"For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail."
Variation of 15th Century Folk Saying, Posted in WWII Supply HQ in London
OTHER AREAS AND INSTANCES OF BAD STEEL
Hoan Bridge Collapse in Wisconsin
I won't belabor the point, but the following case history of a bridge collapse, the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee, illustrates how serious the potential problem of embrittlement can be. The only difference is that this bridge was constructed from 1970 to 1977, before Clinton. However, as documented in this paper, the present situation can only be worse.
The history of the Hoan Bridge is typical of many highways. During its first seven years of life, it was called the "Bridge to Nowhere" because the $75.1 million bridge was barely used. Planners predicted it would carry 85,000 vehicles per day, but in reality it averaged 15,000. Even now it only carries 37,000 vehicles a day to and from downtown Milwaukee.
On December 13, 2000, two of the three steel beams supporting the span over the Menomonee River cracked completely in two, causing the road to sag 3-4 feet. If the third had failed the entire bridge would have collapsed. The road and waterway below were closed. Officials said it could take a year to repair the bridge. The cracks in the steel was not the first problem-in 1992, 15 years after completion, pieces of concrete began falling from the bridge.
The collapse occurred after highway officials had just inspected the bridge one week earlier, and noticed some cracks but reported that there was no serious danger. After the collapse a Milwaukee engineer said, "It was a brittle failure. There's never warning for that."
The incident was very reminiscent of the Titanic. The engineer said that the girders were supposed to be flexible, like rubber bands, but that in this instance they simply snapped in two. This is what the Titanic experienced, along with extremely cold temperatures as occur in a typical Wisconsin winter.
After a full investigation, which included testing of bridge materials, the exact cause of failure could not be determined. However, the strength of some of the flange plates was below specifications. But according to the fabrication records, they were all cut from the same plate during manufacturing and should have tested the same. One of the plates showed almost no ductility, even at high temperatures. The possibility of weld failure was discounted. All of the fracture surfaces showed evidence of corrosion from environmental exposure.
Inferior Steel in Ships
The use of bad steel is not limited to highways. The steel in the many large ships used globally in trade are suspect. Think about all the thousands of foreign ships, especially Chinese, entering our harbors each year, leaking who-knows-what chemicals, and each one a potential environmental catastrophe. In 1996 six COSCO ships were detained for violating international shipping safety regulations, prompting the Coast Guard to put them on its monitoring list of shippers to watch. And in December 1996, a COSCO ship struck a New Orleans boardwalk, injuring 116 people. The accident was blamed on mechanical failure (The Washington Times, 3/10/97). Do we really want foreign substandard freighters in our harbors?
Belgian Captain Pierre Woinin offered the following comments on the Titanic investigation and the general poor quality of global freighters:
"Consequently the investigators of structural failures have no more excuses to avoid checking the exact chemicals composition of steel sample taken from fractured bulk carriers, or others vessels, eventually recovering it with other deep diving expeditions (Suggest the next one: the Mineral Diamond). This because my next suspicion goes about the real quality of steel as, with some colleagues, I observed more cracks appearing in steel produced in Japan in Korea...
"I learned that fatigue cracks are mostly generated around sulfur inclusions...
"When I asked if the sulfur content could be precisely checked, the answers were not so definite...[T]he technology is there to achieve even much better sulfur contents...but at a serious price. I am not sure here that the large steel mills will not be tempted to play with the allowed margins...
"After the 9 years old Mineral Diamond foundered in the Indian Ocean during mild bad weather in 1991, I heard somewhere that an organisation or a company (Hyundai, the builder of the ship, DNV its classification body, the management Anglo-Eastern?) was considering to have a look at the wreck and investigate the cause of the disaster. Obviously this was not done, while it could have provided invaluable clues to detect much sooner the bulk carriers weaknesses.
"In the worst case we can listen to the arguments of those who say that such an expensive expedition is out of the question, meaning in fact that the lives of a few Indian seamen is not worth it. (The usual excuse was evoked: 'The ship succumbed to the force of the ocean', while the meteorological offices are at pain to find back traces of bad weather.) In that case these costs conscious gurus could at least suggest that sample of the steel used in the structure could be conserved for further analyses if something that bad happens. If the classes had taken such precautions, they would have now a substantial data bank of various chemical compositions. Or perhaps they have them already, but no seafarer knows about it, and even less can have a look at all the class comparative data regarding steel products.
"No, instead of providing this data to seafarers...the classes prefer to support...the procedures and audits of the ISM Code, assuming that more clerical work for a skeleton crew will replace the sound design they failed to implement."
The volume of oil shipped by supertankers is escalating, along with an epidemic of corrosion. An average of 408 supertankers, from 1995 to 2001, either broke apart or almost foundered at sea. The phenomenon is due to "hyper-accelerated corrosion" or "super-rust." The industry has tried to "keep a lid" on this problem, to avoid government regulation.
Super-rust has developed in spite of regular inspections and "maintenance." However, since the '70s profit margins have fallen in the shipping industry and if a ship doesn't pass inspection, the registry can be changed to another location that will accept a bribe. Between 1970 and 1990, the amount of steel used in tanker construction has decreased almost 20%. It seems likely that one of the contributing factors to hyper-accelerated corrosion is the high sulfur content of petroleum along with inferior steel used in ship building.
In 1999, the Erika, built in 1975 in Japan, broke apart and spilled 10 million gallons of oil in the Bay of Biscay in Europe. In November 2002, the supertanker Prestige, which transported oil from Russia to China, broke up and spilled its 80-ton load of oil in Spain. It had last passed inspection in Dubai in May 2002. Think about this the next time you see foreign ships made entering an American harbor, or hear the clamor from globalists about expanding free trade.
Inferior Steel in Nuclear Reactors?
The nuclear power construction industry is subject to much stricter standards than highways, ships, etc. But there is still the possibility of failure in this area, too. In November 2000, Duke Energy found cracks and boric acid leaks in one of its plants. The problem had also occurred at other plants. Then in March 2002 at the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio, it was discovered (allegedly by accident) that the pressure vessel had a hole eaten through the 6" steel of the vessel head. The hole was 7" x 5". The only layer containing the 2,200 psi of water was a 3/8" stainless steel liner that was bulged outward 1/8". The problem was thought to be caused by leaking boric acid. While there is no way of knowing whether the steel in these incidents was defective, this illustrates how important it is that only steel of the highest quality be used in these applications. We can only hope that cheap foreign steel has not been used in nuclear power plant construction.
Inferior Steel in Signs
Another very dangerous problem that has received virtually no media attention is that of sign failure along highways. Throughout our interstate system, huge signs have been erected alongside the right of way. In one instance I personally know of, a tall sign inexplicably collapsed, snapping off 20-30' above the base, and blocked the southbound lanes of an interstate. It was a miracle that no one was killed. The cause of this accident was never determined. I searched extensively for this and similar incidents across America, but there has been virtually no publicity of this problem whatsoever. In fact, I could find no mention on the Internet or in computerized records from the local newspaper even of the incident I personally knew had occurred. Therefore, because of this media blackout, it would be impossible to quantify how serious this threat really is.
Many of these signs have undoubtedly been constructed with inferior steel and represent a significant danger to motorists. They are like giant fly swatters stationed alongside our highways, waiting to swat passing cars. While they can severely endanger the safety of the travelling public, in the majority of instances there is little quality control governing their emplacement or construction.
The interstate system was originally justified for military use in the defense of the country. Viewed in this light, anything like these signs that endanger it should be illegal. It is questionable how many of these signs have even been inspected, even though they threaten public highways. Recall that in the aforementioned Lowes Speedway bridge collapse, even though the private bridge was over a major U.S. highway, the state of N.C. had never inspected it.
I did find an unfinished research project that addresses the problem (Foley et al., 2000), which is more rampant than the media would allow us to believe. However it dealt primarily with cantilevered signs over highways. One problem with them is that gusts of wind from passing vehicles, depending on the sign height, can put stress on the sign. This paper did mention that in Virginia a sign fell over at its base due to wind pressure from passing trucks. It also quoted a survey of state DOTs, in which 18 of 36 respondents reported problems with their cantilevered signs. Another problem is that high-tensile bolts are actually less fatigue resistant, which seems counterintuitive, unless specifically designed with consideration of fatigue.
The state of Wisconsin has had many problems with their signs. In one instance an investigation found that sign failure was due to "liquid metal embrittlement cracking that occurred during the hot-dipped galvanizing process." In another instance, in June 1998 a 30' high sign support fell across I-894. The failure was due to severe loss of section from corrosion. As a result many other poles were inspected and found to be in a similar condition.
In another poorly-publicized case, on July 18, 1994, the world's largest free-standing sign fell in a storm. The sign was in Las Vegas, and had just been completed shortly before its collapse. The project was built using the design/build process and the sign should have been engineered to withstand the storm. An investigation revealed that it had been poorly designed and constructed, in spite of its compliance with all regulations.
The next time you drive along the interstate or other highways, think about the implications of the possibility that inferior steel was used in the signs above your head.
Unexplained Catastrophes on the Increase
As I prepared this final report, it seemed that almost daily some unexplained catastrophe occurred which potentially involved defective steel. It was very difficult to find out details or to even find confirmation, because the media refuses to give this topic much coverage. Here's a sample:
July 29, 2002 - A 166-foot concrete beam snapped in two during the construction of the Route 35 bridge over the Shark River. There was no explanation for the accident.
July 30, 2002 - A construction worker in Detroit was killed at Ford Field when the crane holding him up collapsed. The cause of the collapse was unknown. I was told the crane was made in China.
August 1, 2002 - A 35,000-pound billboard collapsed and killed three workers in Atlanta. The cause of the accident was unknown.
August 5, 2002 - Three construction workers were killed in Greensboro, N.C. when a 80,000 steel-reinforced concrete wall fell on them. It was speculated that the wall was unattached.
August 8, 2002 - A 38' steel aquarium bridge over a shark tank split in two and collapsed, dumping ten people into the water with about two dozen sharks. The cause of the collapse was unknown.
Construction Workers' Lives May Be in Jeopardy
In another terrible tragedy that occurred while I was preparing this paper, on October 10, 2002, an entire pedestrian bridge collapsed in New York while construction workers were pouring the concrete bridge deck over the steel structure. Nine workers were injured, including one that was killed and two in critical condition. The catastrophe is being investigated by state and federal agencies. The senior investigator with the N.Y. Bureau of Criminal Investigation said, "This is the worst disaster I've ever rolled up on. This is a massive disaster" (Utica Observer Dispatch, 10/12/02). The spokesman for the construction company said that they pour about 50 bridge decks a year and that the accident was unprecedented (The Post-Standard, 10/11/02). The steel and concrete used in the bridge had passed inspection (Utica Observer Dispatch, 10/12/02; The Post-Standard, 10/11/02). While it is not possible to say at this time what caused the catastrophe, the use of inferior steel would have to a prime suspect, in spite of the fact that it had passed inspection. The pouring of concrete decks is an everyday event, and barring some engineering design flaw, inferior steel would be the most likely cause.
In another tragic example, on November 15, 2002 a parking garage in Montgomery County, Maryland that was under construction collapsed, killing three workers (Washington Post, 11/16/02). The garage was almost complete and had passed a preliminary inspection two days before. These accidents serve to highlight how not only the public is in danger from faulty construction, but also the construction workers themselves.
CHINA, TERRORISM AND AMERICA'S INFRASTRUCTURE
China is run by a godless oligarchy who maintain a tight control on the citizenry. As an example, the government shut off the electricity and threatened to shut off water to a home where Christians met for church services. More recently, according to AP, China has conducted a sweeping crackdown of Chinese underground "house" churches, arresting 70 Christian leaders. The Digital Angel Corporation, the company that makes an implantable tracking device for humans, has opened a research facility in China, hoping to cash in on the vast markets of Asia. Some of their experiments will be on humans. It appears that China will be moving towards using the chips to keep track of its citizens.
Harry Wu was a Chinese dissident and is now an American citizen. The Wanderer (2/23/97) reports Wu saying, "You all know about the Nazi death camps and the Soviet gulags. It is time that everyone knows about the laogai," i.e. the Chinese prison camps. Wu said, "Prison camp and labor camp, same thing. Among the products available in the United States that are made in such camps are chemicals, textiles and rubber shoes...Wal-Mart is the biggest seller of these shoes." In 1995, Wu took a hidden camera into China to prove these allegations. He documented the fact that China sells body parts of imprisoned dissidents on the open global market for transplants (up to 100,000 kidneys have been exported). They are shot in the head and the organs are removed while they are still alive. There is nothing China would not try.
China, Ports and Shipping-Containers Are the Perfect Trojan Horse
As previously mentioned, China is seeking to gain control of ports across the globe. This gives them the opportunity to ship contraband wherever they wish. Shipping containers are the perfect Trojan horse. Americans naively accept the "gift" of free trade and suffer the consequences of terrorists, weapons, etc. entering the country. China has a major foothold only 55 miles from Florida in Freeport, through the company Hutchison Whampoa. As another example of how China is not acting alone, but has been cooperating with the Olympians for many years, Hutchison is a product of 19th century British colonial Hong Kong. They have many companies outside of China. Hutchison is owned by the richest man in China, Li Ka-shing, who is half-British himself. Li has business contacts not only with China but also directly with the Queen of England. Li is business partners with COSCO, whose military connections have been discussed above. China is trying to displace Taiwan in the Caribbean, and the Bahamas had diplomatic relations with them until 1997, when they switched to Beijing. As an example of how long these things are planned in the future, the Freeport project has been 46 years in the making, and involved British and Americans as well as Chinese.
Hutchison now has control of the Panama Canal through two subsidiaries, one of which is run out of England. The control of ports not only facilitates the smuggling in of contraband, but also the smuggling out of things like stolen military weapons technology.
Hutchison is also trying to buy Global Crossing, the international telecom company, which will allow them to spy on American communications. Incredibly, Hutchison has now entered into a partnership with PSA Corp. of Singapore and P&O Ports of London to test a new cargo security system (Newsmax, 8/6/02). The pilot project will be conducted at Seattle, which is known for its China connections.
Foreign Trade Zones
Foreign trade zones were created by the Foreign-Trade Zones Act of 1934. It was passed to supposedly alleviate the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs, to "expedite and encourage foreign commerce" in America. The act designated certain geographical areas in or adjacent to U.S. Customs Ports of Entry. These areas then receive the same Customs treatment as if they were outside of the U.S. All merchandise held there is exempt from tariffs and other taxes. This is designed to lower the costs of U.S.-based companies engaged in international trade. The trade zones are subject only to occasional spot checks by Customs officials, instead of their continual onsite presence typical of most ports.
The act was not utilized extensively until the last thirty years. In 1970 there were 8 zone projects, now there are over 230. In 1950 the act was amended to allow manufacturing in the zones. But real growth occurred as a result of GATT negotiations which reduced global tariffs. Then in 1980, the U.S. Customs Service issued a formal ruling that allowed U.S.-based manufacturers to import parts from foreign sources and assemble them here, paying duty only on the value of the foreign parts.
Each zone has many subzones, and now there are thousands of locations across America where these zones are located. It is almost impossible to keep track of them all. The system would be easy to abuse by importing who-knows-what into America. If Customs can't keep track of what is coming in on containers, it certainly can't (and is not supposed to) monitor FTZs. As previously mentioned, according to Sherman Skolnick, Wal-mart got one established in Arkansas which they use to import Chinese merchandise duty-free, along with contraband. From what I can gather about how free trade zones function, when foreign goods enter a port and are trucked to a FTZ site, it is incumbent upon the importer to clear the goods with local Customs officials. Obviously if he is importing something illegal, he won't contact Customs and no one knows it is here.
More Strange Coincidences-Stevedoring Services of America
China gained control of both ends of the Panama Canal, when the Panamanian government granted concessions for port operations to Hutchison Whampoa in 1999. Coincidentally, Stevedoring Services of America (SSA), the largest stevedoring company in America, also received concessions for the Panama Canal, along with Hutchison Whampoa and Mobil Oil/Alireza petroleum of Saudi Arabia. They are majority owner of the Manzanilla International Terminal in Panama and received financing from the International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank. SSA had a 110-acre facility at Pier J of Long Beach Port, which serviced COSCO. They also operate out of Seattle's Terminal 18 with COSCO. SSA is financing the bulk of the Seattle port expansion, and received $13 million in funding from the port of Seattle.
SSA entered into an agreement with a Bangkok company to develop an Indian port at Dhamra. The international VP of SSA said, "Once you start looking outside the U.S., in most cases it makes good business sense to have a foreign partner."
SSA also has the contract for the port at Savannah, Georgia. It also happens by coincidence that T.Y. Lin designed a new cable-stayed bridge over the Savannah River in 1990. And furthermore, SSA wants to build a $400 million port expansion at Savannah (The State, 3/20/02). In some suspicious political finagling I couldn't figure out, and which was tied up in court, the land for the expansion is in S.C. but is owned by the Georgia Dept. of Transportation. The rural, economically depressed county in S.C. wants to condemn the property for the port expansion.
China and Gray Market Goods
As previously mentioned, one of the ways terrorists fund their activities is through gray market goods. In early 1995 high retaliatory tariffs were almost brought against China because they fraudulently produce goods labeled as higher quality American brands. In 1998 U.S. Customs proposed a rule to restrict importation of gray market items with genuine trademarks but which are of lower quality. This can occur when there are two branch companies with the same name; one is foreign and one domestic, but with different ownership. The American branch produces higher quality goods, whereas the foreign one produces cheaper goods. Both trademarks and products are legal, but there is no apparent difference in quality. This is designed to fool the consumer into buying the poorly made foreign items, thinking he is getting the high quality domestic merchandise.
The China Threat Towards the U.S.
China now admits that it had a hand in the events of 9/11 (Newsmax, 9/24/02). Three years previous two Chinese colonels wrote a book, Unrestricted Warfare, proposing the attacks and citing Osama bin Laden. After the attacks, the colonels were interviewed by a government-owned newspaper in Hong Kong, where they took credit for the attacks. They agreed that the attacks were right out of their book.
In light of the events of 9/11, the implications of what I have discussed in this report are frightening. We actually have foreigners and foreign-owned firms designing, constructing, and providing foreign-manufactured materials for America's infrastructure system. This is beyond stupid. Highways, and bridges in particular, are vital to a nation in wartime. As previously mentioned, the interstate system was initiated for defense purposes, and now we have foreigners designing and building it.
It is a matter of public record that a certain country, which I will refrain from identifying, has infiltrated construction firms within enemy nations and placed explosives in their bridges. In case this nation ever goes to war against any of them, these bridges can be blown up remotely by radio wave frequency.
Since we know that this military technique is being employed today, and has been for some time, how do we know that China, for example, has not done the same to us? It is not even a matter of letting foreign firms build projects here. All it takes is for one foreigner to infiltrate an American construction company as a worker and drop a bomb into the concrete of a bridge during construction. Furthermore, even an American worker could be bribed into doing so.
One of the main features of T.Y. Lin's prestressed concrete method of construction is that numerous pieces from one mold are used which can be prefabricated more cheaply offsite and then hauled to the construction site. This provides the perfect opportunity to place explosives or other devices into the construction materials at the leisure of the perpetrators in a secure atmosphere.
China and the other nations that are against America could easily be doing this today. They are all waiting for the right time to attack America and have undoubtedly placed these Trojan horses across the U.S. God alone only knows the extent of their activities.
Even if the above were not true, there should be an immediate moratorium on cable bridges in the U.S. Without going into too many details to avoid educating terrorists, it is obvious that a cable bridge could be more easily destroyed because the entire structure is held up by only two towers. If only one tower is significantly damaged the bridge cannot be salvaged. A traditional bridge structure with multiple piers, in contrast, would be more difficult to permanently destroy. While multiple piers could be damaged, it may still be possible to repair and salvage the bridge.
According to a recent article in Insight Magazine (7/31/02), China's leaders believe that "despite overwhelming U.S. military and technological superiority, China can still defeat the United States by transforming its weakness into strength and exploiting U.S. vulnerabilities through asymmetric warfare, assassin's-mace weapons, deception, surprise and pre-emptive strikes."
Imagine if China has indeed placed explosives in some of our bridges built during the Clinton era. They would have used deception to provide the perfect opportunity for the pre-emptive strike to surprise us. Recall the shock America felt when the WTC attacks occurred, and try to imagine the shock we would feel if China conducted the surprise attack that they think they can accomplish.
Another possibility is that China, in cooperation with Russia, could purposely build inferior bridges in areas of known earthquake faults, such as in southern California. Then when they are ready to attack, these fault lines could be hit with sophisticated electromagnetic weapons which can destabilize the ground, thus initiating earthquakes. Russia is known to have developed such weapons. (See www.cheniere.org for more.)
Recently both the Pentagon and a bipartisan commission on behalf of Congress issued independent reports that agreed that China has been using cash from American consumers and investors to support their military buildup. They also agreed that our intelligence on China is sketchy.
China has been cozying up to the Muslims in the Middle East. Recently Egyptian President Mubarak cancelled a talk in Egypt with Colin Powell, but talked with China's Premier, who also met with the Secretary General of the League of Arab States. China is also angry at Israel and the U.S., promising to pay us back because America insisted that Israel break a military contract with China. According to investigative journalist Rayelan Allan, it appears that new alliances are being forced along religious lines, with Christians, Jews and Hindus (India) against China, Pakistan and the Muslim world. One of her intelligence sources said that China created the first Taliban fanatics. Consistent with this, Chinese artillery was found in Afghanistan, suggesting that China was supporting the Taliban (The Washington Times, 4/12/02). In late June an al Qaeda terrorist was captured, and testified that he had fired a Chinese-made SAM (surface to air missile) at a U.S. military plane in Saudi Arabia (Newsmax, 8/02).
In April 2002 the CIA warned that China was working to launch wide-scale computer attacks on American and Taiwanese computer networks, including military systems vulnerable to sabotage. They are turning much of their resources into this high-tech field.
Dr. Michael Pillsbury, in China Debates the Future Security Environment (2000) says:
"According to some Chinese military authors, the United States already knows China can defeat it in 2020. General Pan Junfeng states that the United States will not have formed a full information warfare force until the middle of the 21st century. He explains three ways that in future wars American computers can be very vulnerable. 'We can make the enemy's command centers [remember China is trying to gain a presence near the Southern Command in Tampa-J.S.] not work by changing their data system. We can cause the enemy's headquarters to make incorrect judgments by sending disinformation. We can dominate the enemy's banking system and even its entire social order.' General Pan states that the United States already realizes these three points and that on January 30, 1994, Defense News reported that in war games between the Chinese military and the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, at the U.S. Naval War College, the Chinese forces defeated U.S. forces."
Are China's Steel Cable Bridges Gigantic Antennas?
A lingering question I have had for some time is, why has China built so many cable bridges across China? It suddenly struck me that they look like gigantic harps in the sky. A harp is sensitive to vibrations and frequencies-cable bridges would be the perfect antennas. Indeed, they look exactly like networks of gigantic antennas stretching across the horizon. They would be the perfect listening devices for eavesdropping on communications. China could use them to spy on their own citizens, and in America could spy on us. In wartime they could also be used as transmission devices. China has already taken Russia's place to eavesdrop on America from Cuba, and is trying to get a presence in Tampa Bay near our military headquarters there. It would be a simple matter to place transmitters and receivers inside the concrete towers of cable bridges, connected to the giant antennas Americans paid them to construct, to eavesdrop on the U.S.
Recall the above statement from General Pan Junfeng, that China can send false data to the U.S. to fake out our military systems. Pillsbury (2000) also quotes an article by Chen Huan in the COSTIND journal Contemporary Military Affairs: [M]aking the computer an operational means of attacking the object of a strike has already become a reality...for example, concealing a virus source in the integrated circuits of enemy computers and, when necessary, activating the virus by electronic measures, then propagating and duplicating it. Again, for example, with the aid of electromagnetic waves, a virus can be injected from a long distance into the enemy's command and communication systems and into the computers on aircraft, tanks, and other weapons, causing nonlethal destruction."
In other words, a computer virus could be injected or stimulated in our military computers remotely using electromagnetic waves. This could easily be done using the steel cable in cable bridges as an antenna. I previously discussed the difference between cable-stayed and suspension bridges. Cable-stayed bridges, which are cheaper and more commonly built, are perfect sets of dipole antennas. A dipole antenna has one cable with two wires coming out of a radio which split into a "Y." Each leg of the "Y" must be the same length. The length of the legs is calculated for an optimum length for a desired frequency. Cable-stayed bridges, with pairs of equal-length wires coming off of the tower, offer perfect sets of dipole antennas.
The Chinese have a segment of society known as "taizidang" or princelings. They are the children of China's top military and political families. Many have been educated in the finest Western schools. Do not sell them short-many of them are extremely brilliant. Coleman tells of one who was educated in electrical engineering in the West, and returned to China where she designed some super-sophisticated sigint equipment. In fact, the Queen of England thought she had secure communications with Hong Kong, when in fact this princeling was able to capture and decode Her Majesty's top-secret messages.
Some would argue that such measures are unnecessary, because other means of transmission and reception are available, such as satellites, etc. That is certainly true, but in a wartime situation one always wants redundant systems. An antenna system in a bridge may not be the preferred mode of eavesdropping, but in case of a war satellites and other methods may be destroyed. One can never have too many aces in the hole.
Globalism Makes Our Ports Insecure
Thanks to the efforts of NWO globalists, each year more than 7,500 commercial vessels make about 51,000 port calls and leave six million shipping containers (Newsmax, 4/15/02). They interviewed the Port of Charleston, which said it has only 2 dozen inspectors and can't possibly keep up with the container volume. It is therefore virtually impossible to guarantee that these containers are safe. In one case, U.S. Customs audited 181 ships and found that 96 were wrong in the number of containers on board, and had falsified or incomplete bills of lading describing their contents.
Arnaud de Borchgrave said that terrorists have already bragged about being able to explode an oil tanker in the Straits of Hormuz, which could be done in a U.S. port. Bin Laden already owns a fleet of freighters used to smuggle explosives into Africa. The Phillipines, recruiting ground for many militant groups, is the largest supplier of ships' crews, followed by Muslim Indonesia as second. And it is known that some ships have false bottoms constructed to jettison explosives to land on the bottom of some harbor. It would be no trouble to do so in a high-quality stainless steel container, where the bomb would be protected for future detonation years down the road when the enemy nation attacks America.
Again, as I finalized this report, such scenarios came dangerously close to being fulfilled. On September 13, 2002, the ship Palermo Senator was sent out to see off New Jersey on an intelligence tip that nuclear weapons may have been on board. A NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team) was called out to inspect the ship, which is only done when there is a serious reason. The official final explanation for the radiation was that some of the cargo of clay tiles was slightly radioactive. This appears to be a cover story, because initial reports said neutron radiation was found, which would not be emitted from natural earth materials like clay tiles. It may be possible that nuclear material was already jettisoned or somehow removed.
As an example of how the shipping paper trail can be obfuscated, the media said the Palermo Senator was owned by a firm out of Hamburg, Germany, a home base for some of the 9/11 terrorists. But actually, 80% of the ship is owned by Hanjin Lines out of Korea. And the ship is in a partnership between Hanjin, Cho Yang (Hong Kong, remember Coleman said Hong Kong inspects no ships), and United Arab Shipping. The scheduled ports of call for this ship included many Arab ports such as Jeddah, Dubai, Bahrain, etc. along with Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. In fact, Hanjin's Chinese routes required explicit permission from the government at Beijing.
As an example of the hypocrisy of American politicians, Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) said in recent trade debates (The California Statesman, 5/02): "We began the United States with protectionism...We built this industrial giant, the United States of America with protectionism." Then after 9/11 Hollings had hearings on port security, while in his own backyard, foreigners are designing and constructing a bridge in Charleston, S.C., where there are multiple foreign trade zones and the state wants port expansion, all to allow the importation of more foreign goods through containerized shipping.
POSSIBLE EXAMPLES OF CONSTRUCTION SABOTAGE
WTC Collapse
As previously mentioned, I documented how the WTC could have had explosives mixed in the concrete during construction for later detonation to cause its collapse (click here). The architect, Minora Yamasaki, had strong Muslim ties; in fact the WTC was designed with Arabic architectural styles. Yamasaki designed many projects for the Saudi Royal family, whose primary contractor was/is the Saudi Binladin Group (see http://slate.msn.com/?id=2060207). The Group has been named, along with numerous other Muslim parties, in a lawsuit by WTC survivors for funding the WTC attack.
The WTC was built over thirty years ago; think of all the other opportunities terrorists have had since then to conduct similar sabotage. It would be a simple matter for terrorists to get construction jobs and sabotage projects. This could be done with or without knowledge of the construction companies. The fact that buildings are now built with inferior foreign materials means that it is that much easier to bring them down. While I am not trying to cause panic, American citizens need to be vigilant. Even the Bush administration has warned Americans to be wary of infrastructure attacks.
Pentagon Attack on 9/11
While there are numerous disinformation stories floating around concerning the plane crashing into the Pentagon on 9/11, the fact remains that the section that was destroyed had just recently been renovated by a foreign-owned construction company, Asset Management and Engineering Consultancy (AMEC). The CEO of AMEC is Sir Peter Mason, a British Knight (American Free Press, 8/15/02). A Pentagon spokesman said that the awarding of a contract to a foreign-owned company such as AMEC was "not a problem." But again, this would have provided a perfect opportunity for the planting of explosives during construction, to augment the plane attack on the Pentagon. The wisdom and motivations of such decisions must be questioned. Coincidentally, AMEC also received the clean-up contract for the WTC and Pentagon debris.
Maryland Parking Garage Collapse
Another possible example of construction sabotage which received little media attention is the aforementioned parking garage collapse in Montgomery County, Maryland. Witnesses on the scene said they heard a popping sound immediately before the structure collapsed (Washington Post, 11/16/02). This popping sound could have been the sound of small charges placed at key locations in the structure, or of the shearing of certain steel components. This destruction would not necessarily be noisy. It is interesting to note that this disaster occurred in the vicinity of some of the Washington sniper killings.
In two strange coincidences related to the garage collapse, the firm chosen to investigate then incident, KCE Structural Engineers of Washington, D.C., also investigated the Oklahoma City bombing, the first WTC bombing and both the Pentagon and WTC attacks on 9/11 (Washington Post, 11/20/02). This would suggest a government coverup of a terrorist attack on the Maryland garage, but yet on the other hand, coincidentally the same firm that built the prefabricated concrete decks for the garage also built them for the bridge that collapsed at the Lowes Motor speedway. The company, Tindall Corp., had to pay damages in that case.
CLINTON HOLDOVERS CONTINUE DAMAGE TO AMERICA
As shown in this paper, the federal government has become infiltrated with bureaucrats and officials whose goal is to destroy America. While this did not begin with Clinton, it was certainly accelerated during his tenure. Examples from previous administrations include John Foster Dulles' firing of all history experts from the State Department who refused to suppress historical evidence documenting American assistance in building up the Soviet Union (Sutton, 1986). It will take a long time to weed these traitors out of the government. The following is an example of the damage they are still causing.
Commerce and Defense Departments Rule That Steel Imports Don't Affect National Security
On January 12, 1999, U.S. Representative Jim Oberstar (D-MN) sent a terse letter to President Clinton protesting his inaction over foreign steel being dumped in America. He stated:
"The steel and iron ore mining industry was admonished to modernize in order to compete with foreign steel. They did: $50 billion of investments in basic steel and $1 billion in iron ore mining and processing...As a result, the steel industry is...the world's most efficient producer of steel in all of its forms. The iron ore mining industry, with 6,000 jobs (10,000 fewer than a decade earlier) produces...almost as much as the highest production year of 1979. In short, we've done our part: downsized, modernized, invested, become the most highly-efficient producers of steel and iron ore in the world, and still, foreign, inefficient producers are able to dump their product in the U.S. market from as far as 7,000 miles away for half the cost of steel produced here."
Then on January 16, 2001, Oberstar and Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) wrote a letter to Commerce Secretary Mineta requesting a Section 232 investigation into effects of importation of iron ore and steel slab upon U.S. national Security. Their justifiable concern was that domestic iron and steel producers are being bankrupted by dumping and that during wartime we would not be able to produce adequate quantities of steel to defend America.
The Commerce Department, in cooperation with the Defense Department, held hearings and issued a report in October 2001, less than 10 months after the request. Their conclusion was that "there is no probative evidence that imports of iron ore or semi-finished steel threaten to impair national security." Needless to say, the report was ludicrous in its logic and conclusions, however, space does not permit a full critique. But it offers further evidence of how the government is still controlled by enemies of America, and some points should be briefly addressed.
First note the use of the weasel word "probative." The authors sought absolute proof (after only a nine-month investigation) that steel and iron ore imports are harming national security. This is an impossible task. It would only be possible to absolutely prove this after the fact. If we were attacked and unable to produce adequate quantities of steel, we would then know the truth but it would be too late. Even then, there are many things concerning past wars upon which historians cannot agree in hindsight. Yet in the same paper the authors admit that "Imports of iron-ore and semi-finished steel could threaten to impair U.S. national security in either of two ways: (i) through excessive domestic dependency on unreliable foreign suppliers, or (ii) if such imports fundamentally threaten to impair the capability of the U.S. iron ore and semi-finished steel industries to satisfy national security requirements."
The Commerce Department made no attempt to address steel quality in their report. But this urgent concern was accurately noted in the testimony of some producers. Cleveland-Cliffs, a domestic iron ore producer, said that "integrated mills are important to U.S. national security, noting that, for metallurgical and technical reasons, only steel produced from integrated mills using iron ore is suitable for end uses in some applications in vehicle manufacturing, food can and container fabrication, and production of certain essential heavy gauged plate for ships and tanks." They stated that "the health of the domestic iron ore industry is in jeopardy because many integrated facilities are replacing blast furnace production, which consumes iron ore pellets, with lower-priced semi-finished steel imports."
It is significant to note that the Commerce report confined its investigation to semi-finished steel products and iron ore, while conveniently ignoring other steel products and problems such as mentioned in this report. For example, unaddressed was the fact that the U.S. interstate system, designed and constructed for defense, is affected by the national problem of deteriorating roads and bridges and inferior construction materials. The report defended this narrow focus by stating that it was "[c]onsistent with the initiating request" from the U.S. Representatives. This is akin to a contestant on Jeopardy having a correct but mistated response, and being told by host Alex Trebek, "Oh, I'm sorry you're wrong, sir, but you didn't phrase the question properly."
The Commerce report did admit some interesting facts, however. According to the U.S. Geological Service, our natural iron ores, which averaged 50-60% iron, have been largely depleted. We can only mine low-grade iron, around 20-30% iron content, which we have in reasonable quantity. One reason for this is that we senselessly exported iron ore in years past and exhausted our own high quality reserves.
The problem with both mines and integrated mills is that once they are closed, it is difficult to reopen them. The report states: "The Department has found that, once closed, an iron ore mine cannot be reconstituted quickly due to the significant challenges associated with resuming the iron ore mining and processing operations, rebuilding the infrastructure to support the mine, and acquiring workers with the required skills." There are only nine iron ore mines in the U.S., and the Department surveyed them for this report. Only five of them responded that they would likely be open in five years. This means that the U.S. could lose almost half our protected, domestic iron ore production in five years. Also, only 62% of surveyed U.S. steel mills responded that they would likely be open in five years.
Another example of the fallacious reasoning in the report is the statement: "DOD's current national defense strategy is described in the Quadrennial Defense Review Report ('QDR') recently completed on September 30, 2001...DOD indicated that the QDR adopts a new force-sizing construct, moving away from the two major theater war ('2 MTW') scenario that previously had served as the basis for defense planning. DOD indicated that the evolved strategy in the new QDR will not increase its requirement for steel." So America's military leaders are unprepared for a war on two fronts, while we now face the threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea, and China invading Taiwan, while sending men to the Middle East for a war that could easily escalate into Armageddon.
The Commerce report stated that our foreign iron ore supplies are not in jeopardy because they are controlled by friendly nations. The fallacy with that reasoning is right before our eyes. If we look at the opposition President Bush is now receiving over his proposed war against Iraq, the situation is basically America vs. the world. If serious war ever breaks out, and we are perceived by our "allies" as being in the wrong, it is highly unlikely that they would sell us iron ore or steel products, or if so it would be at highly inflated prices. In fact, two of our so-called allies, the Netherlands and Germany, would not even release their designs for a submarine President Bush wanted to send to Taiwan to defend itself from China (more on this later).
Also unaddressed by the report was the possibility that inferior construction materials jeopardize the safety of the general population, in light of the terrorist events of 9/11. As previously mentioned, it is obvious that the steel used in the WTC was inferior, given its deteriorated appearance. Yet the report states, "DOD indicated to the Department that it 'does not anticipate any change in the DOD assessment as a result of the September 11, 2001, events...'" If a building designed to withstand a plane crash was actually knocked down by one in a terrorist attack, because foreign inferior steel was used in its construction, this should give cause to reconsider the national security effects of inferior foreign materials in public buildings.
The situation we now face is akin to shutting the barn door after the horse has escaped. We have squandered America's resources like Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of porridge. As previously discussed, the problems with recycled steel are contamination and processing a material of unknown, inconsistent quality. Perhaps if our nation had addressed these concerns decades ago, and restricted the importation of inferior steel (and exportation of our high-quality steel/scrap) in years past, our scrap pool would be of higher quality and could provide a reliable supplement for finished steel products. But this Commerce report only further documents how our government is controlled by those who prefer to deceive the American public, and even our leaders, at the expense of our national security and sovereignty.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Foley, C.M., Fournelle, R.A., Ginal, S. and J. Peronto. Structural Analysis of Sign Bridge Structures and Luminaire Supports. 2000. See: http://www.eng.mu.edu/~foleyc/wisdot1/chap1.pdf.
Pillsbury, M. China Debates the Future Security Environment. 2000. National Defense University Press. Washington, D.C.
Sutton, A.C. The Best Enemy Money Can Buy. 1986.
