TiM Readers' Forum - April 2002

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TiM GW Bulletin 2002/4-1

Apr. 6, 2002

April 2002 - Part 1

TiM Readers' Forum

Your Turn... (click here to go to Part 2)

PHOENIX, Apr. 4 - Here are some TiM readers' comments about the above TiM Bulletin, along with the TiM editor's replies. But first, so you would be able to put them in a proper context, here's the closing paragraph from the TiM Bulletin:

[...] “The $40 million is a drop in the bucket,” a Belgrade businessman told TiM. “Besides, the Serb people at large would have never seen that money. It would have all gone to Djindjic and his cronies.” If true, Washington has for once made the right move, albeit for the wrong reasons. Djindjic et. al. have already shown that they are ready to sell themselves and their country for pittance. So why waste money bribing beggars?"

HOUSTON, Apr. 4 - Ron Ames, a TiM reader from Houston, Texas, sent us the following comment:

Bob, the Powell st. dept. certifies untold millions for the terrorist Arafat regime and that money goes directly to fund acts of terror and into the bank accounts of P.A. (Palestinian Authority) leaders. The money is supposed to go for building roads, sewage systems, schools, hospitals etc.

One more thing... Bob, guess which org. is off of the U.S. St. Dept's. list of terror orgs.? You guessed it.... the K.L.A.!

Oops, one more thing... the Serbs need that money to rebuild their country after N.A.T.O. devastated the infrastructure.

Thanks, Ron, as always. What you said at the end is a ONE HUGE difference between Serbia and Israel. The U.S. has been supporting Israel militarily and financially for decades. No such thing with Serbia. In fact, it is absolutely arrogant of Powell to even contemplate withholding $40M when in fact the U.S. owes Serbia (unconditionally, interest free) war reparations to the tune of $30B or more.

Thereupon, we've added the following "PS" (last paragraph) to our piece (click here to read it within the original TiM Bulletin):

(Having done the right thing for the wrong reasons) "Powell should do the right thing for the right reasons - pay to Serbia $30 billion+ as unconditional, interest free, war reparations. That would be a small compensation for the destruction of the country's CIVILIAN infrastructure that the American bombs have caused. No amount of money, of course, can compensate the families of innocent civilians killed by American bombs. But a small amount of compassion might be a good start."

JERUSALEM, Apr. 2 - We received the following comment from Barry Chamish, an Israeli author and occasional contributor to TiM with whose writings our longtime readers should be familiar:

Okay, Barry, if that's what you think... I'll consider it for publication in a TiM readers forum.

P.S. I just remembered your piece from three years ago - "Kosovo Jerusalem" (see the headline below). Do you still think that "In order to "save"- Israel from itself, the NWO forces will attack and impose its solutions on her." (a quote from that article - TiM Ed.). To me, such as scenario looks about as likely as snow in Hawaii.

Here... your 1999 piece at our web site (in case you've cleaned those files out, too):

You think I don't know it's a NWO war? I backed the Serbs because they were set up. How's that for a reminder? Barry

TiM Ed.: The Serbs were not "set up." They were ravaged by eight years of genocidal UN sanctions and obliterated by 78 days of Washington-led NATO bombing. Some 23,000 bombs and missiles were dropped on them in 36,000 sorties. Besides Bill Clinton and Al Gore, the most prominent among the American politicians who are responsible for the war crimes against Serbia are Madeleine Albright, Sam Berger, William Cohen, Wesley Clark, Joe Lieberman, Richard Holbrooke... etc. (see 4. Jews vs. "Jews:" Victims Don't Care about Quotation Marks," S99-74, Day 49, Upd 2 - Special TiM GW Bulletins, May 11, 1999):

GERMANY, Apr. 4 - We received the following comment from Nenad Briski, a TiM reader from Germany. The original text was in Serbian. Here's a translation:

"Well-mannered people in Serbia say: "Do not spit into your own soup bowl," as well as "do not bite the hand that feeds you."

Therefore, your intellectual crusade against the despicable, enslaving America would be far more convincing if your contemplations were to originate from Babusnica or Surdulica (Serb towns), rather than from Phoenix, Arizona.

If that country is so terrible, why are you still there, instead of leaving it to help (our) people at home?

"If I were to write this from Surdulica, who in America would care to read it? As it were, Americans from all 50 states, and visitors from about 95 countries around the world, are reading our TiM reports.

Besides, it would be much more cowardly criticizing Washington from abroad than from within.

One correction, though... that "America's hand" does not "feed me." It's the other way around. I "feed it" - as an American citizen and taxpayer.

Finally, America IS MY HOME! That is why I am trying to improve it - however minuscule my contribution. And to the extent I succeed it, that will automatically help that other (former) home which is now being ruled by Washington's servants.

ITALY, Apr. 5 - We received the following comment from Dr. Alexis Menander, commenting about the above letter from Nenad Briski, a TiM reader from Germany, and our response to him:

Regarding "Nenad Briski": Just wanted to share with you, dear Bob, that the same kind of "argument" happened to me many times over here in "my country" (most affectively by my own mother). The thing I want to add to your completely valid response is, that in fact I've never seen that a person who criticizes this way has ever "done a s**t" for it, that is: done nothing at all to practically improve our overall living-conditions where we are.

It's easy for people who are slaves to throw dirt onto non-slaves, for they're not free, and this is what makes them angry - that they haven't got the guts to non-conform, to break-free!

Thus: Keep it up! Many do in fact appreciate your work, wherever you might have chosen to live - which is, besides, your very own, personal decision. Best regards,

We do share one common trait - I also feel at home wherever I happen to be. And try to help improve the quality of life there - even if only by making people laugh once in a while.

NEWCOMB, Victoria, Apr. 5 - We received the following comment from Andrew MacGregor, a TiM reader from Australia:

CALIFORNIA, Mar. 20 - We received the following comment from Bob Karcher, a TiM reader from California:

Congratulations on great reporting of the Perisic treason. In my opinion they should all be shot... Neighbor (the top CIA operative in Belgrade) and Montgomery (the U.S. ambassador) for espionage against a sovereign nation, and Perisic and friends for treason.

In committing espionage against our great WWI and WWII ally Serbia... whom we have been betraying ever since… Neighbor and Montgomery are guilty of treason against the US. I hope they are shot ASAP. How I despise these NWO cretins.

PHOENIX, Apr. 7 - Here are some additional comments about the above TiM Bulletin , along with our replies, where appropriate:

SAVANNAH, Apr. 2 - We receive the following comment from Joe McCullough, a TiM reader from Georgia:

I voted for Bush, and I pray that the Good Lord will forgive me for that vote. The bible said that false prophets would come from within, and if Bush is a Christian, I don't want to be one, that would allow Israel to murder in cold blood and destroy the Palestinians people, their homes, school.

Sharon should be brought before the bar of justice for he really is a war criminal.

BOSTON, Apr. 1 - We received the following comment from Andre Huzsvai, a TiM reader from Massachusetts:

While I'm sickened by both the pushy and cocky policies of the Israeli Jews, and the homicidal culture of their cousins, there is one more party to blame: the U.S.! We should have based its Middle East policy on two principles: Arabs are not to be trusted, and Jews are not to be given preferential treatment.

Now that the situation is way beyond solvable, why doesn’t someone say the unmentionable: Artificial geopolitical entities depending on outside powers do not survive in a hostile environment where none of the neighbors wants them. In the context of the true Palestinian intentions of establishing their state not next to, but rather in the place of Israel, and the demographics that work against the Jewish state in the long haul, the only solution would be to declare Israel a failed geopolitical exercise that perhaps won’t survive another 50 years, or if it does, the price won’t be worth it.

Doesn’t anyone get it still? Nothing will work there, ever. Nobody seems to notice or acknowledge that micromanaging this mess just won't do it any more. They hate each other in a rabid way only members of the same extended family can, strangers never.

Why should WE be dragged into a fight over what hill or at which wall they want to pray?

HOUSTON, Apr. 1 - We received the following comment from Ron Ames, a TiM reader from Texas:

Well Bob, I actually advocate relocation of the Palestinians to any one of the 22 Arab countries. Call it ''ethnic cleansing'' or whatever you want to call it.

The only reason the Serbs did not succeed was the largest air force in the history of the world (NATO) stopped them. Kosovo and Macedonia would be a lot quieter places minus the Albanians and terrorism would be a rare occurrence.

TiM Ed.: The preceding implies that the Serbs were trying to “ethnically cleanse” the Albanians from Kosovo, the “cradle of the Serb civilization,” and the Serb ancestral land for centuries. Rather than debate the “ethnic cleansing” implication, which echoes what Washington had said in order to justify the bombing, we just want to point out some basic facts so TiM readers could judge for themselves.

Prior to WW II, the Serbs accounted for more than 50% of Kosovo’s population. Here’s an excerpt from our article, “Kosovo: Bosnia II, Serbia’s Aztlan,” (Mar. 1998):

In 1929, Serbs constituted 61% of the population in 1929, ethnic Albanians 33%, and others 6%. By 1961, the pendulum had swung the other way, as a result of the communist-sponsored demographic terrorism. Ethnic-Albanians accounted for 67%, the Serbs for 27%, and others for 6%.

Today (1998), the ethnic-Albanians represent about 90% of Kosovo's population, according to their own and the western media figures. But since there has not been a census done in Kosovo for over 10 years, such claims cannot be independently verified.

After the NATO bombing in 1999, the Serbs are practically extinct in all but the very northern tip of Kosovo (Mitrovica area).

If the Serbs did engage in “ethnic cleansing,” they did a pretty lousy job of it, wouldn’t you say? For, the Serbs got exterminated in the process. We suspect that’s not the outcome Mr. Ames had in mind for Israel when he advocated the relocation of Palestinians.

AUSTRALIA, Mar. 31 - We received the following comment from Ian Campbell, a TiM reader from Australia:

The Middle East will always be at war because they cant seem to mature into the world of reality of the fact that there is no life in death.

You can only martyr oneself once, so it has to be a cultural change in the lives of these people and the destructive and cunning manner that we here in Australia have also noticed as a trait of Middle Eastern people.

I believe that the world could do with more acts of philanthropy in the Middle East, and adjust the attitude of the culture to be giving to others. As the Lord Jesus said, “freely you have received, so freely give.”

OREGON, Mar. 30 - We received the following comment from Tom Myisiewicz, a TiM reader from Oregon:

I was reading in the U.S. Military Manual "Tasks for Soldiers" that the taking of reprisals against civilians, including random killings and destruction of dwellings, are actionable war crimes for U.S. personnel. Hopefully, U.S. personnel in this area will be cautioned not to imitate the actions of our Israeli "ally".

CALIFORNIA, Mar. 30 - We received the following comment from Cathy Case, a TiM reader from California:

I don't think that it is accurate to say that "hate and vengeance" represents the Arab position on Zionism. After NATO gave the Kosovo Albanians everything they wanted, they still attacked the Serb minority and “ethnically cleansed” the majority of them, while NATO allowed this to happen saying they couldn't control such "passions".

I would say what the Kosovo Albanians did was based solely on "hate and vengeance".

On the other hand, the Palestinians have never had anyone "rescue" them from Zionism, nor have they had the incredible injustices perpetrated against them corrected. The world never cries "stop the Zionism!" They always cry "Stop the violence".

Can you imagine if the world was crying "stop the violence" in Afghanistan as the Mujahedeens were trying to protect their homeland from a communist occupation. Or if the world had cried "stop the violence" as the Soviet Union tried to resist the invading Nazi forces.

Yet we expect the Arabs and Palestinians to acquiesce to Zionism and what it has meant to their lives, dignity, and futures. Even leaders in their own region no longer represent their just position, but rather cry the same phrases of "stop the violence" instead of "stop the Zionism!".

MARYLAND, Apr. 2 - We received the following comment from E.B. Mechling, a TiM reader from Maryland:

What do you call the suicide bombings? What the hell is the difference - EXCEPT - innocent civilians were involved in the bombings! Go stand in the middle of a bombing scene and make a comparison with Arafat's Guards. Neither is justifiable.

Get off George W's back unless you have a solution that he has ignored, discounted or not considered. The US has no power over fanatical terrorist.

I'm not a Jew, but I know someone who is cornered when I see one. I'm not for one side or another, but your reporter needs to be fair - objective - which he's NOT!!!!

Of course, that neither violence is justifiable. If you read our reports carefully, you will see that point being made in Item 1 of this very TiM Bulletin:

"...As we noted in our September 11 editorial, written the same day, “Collateral Damage Hits Home,” violence is futile, and “madness begets madness:”

“One only needs to look at the Middle East for an example of futility of violence. To stop anti-American terrorism, Washington must stop its own state terrorism. Both brands of terrorism are despicable and inexcusable.”

The same goes for Israel. To stop anti-Israeli terrorism, Israel must stop its own state terrorism. Both brands of terrorism are despicable and inexcusable."

NEW YORK, Mar. 30 - We received the following comment from J.D. Collins (a pen name; the writer’s real identity is known to TiM), a TiM reader from New York:

The problem with U.S. state terrorism is its current focus on the American people.

Indeed. And the problem with the American people, including yours truly, is Apr. 15 (meaning that we willingly keep paying taxes that our enemies are using against us).

TiM Ed.: Also see below James B. Roth’s (Florida) comment apropos the same issue.

ILLINOIS, Mar. 30 - We received the following comment from Lucille Spacek, a TiM reader from Illinois:

Thank you most sincerely for this latest TiM bulletin on the Middle East. I think it is exceptional, Mr. Avnery's article from Haaretz, especially. If all Israeli's had his understanding of the Palestinians situation, Sharon would be out on his ear, and none of this would be happening. Instead of incessantly blaming Arafat for others’ personal decisions, it would be understood that all this, including the brutal, awful deaths and woundings of Israeli's themselves, is Sharon's fervent wish.

As you so rightly pointed out, Arafat is helpless, hopeless and ineffectual to stop any of this. He lost control, years ago It's an illusion that he was ever, in control, of anything. But funds he stole from the Palestinian people, money he took, willingly, to betray them. Arafat stifled the voices of reason and helped breed futility, anger, and soul killing despair among Palestinians, already so crushed by Israel, they could barely survive.

All our presidents since the Zionist, Roosevelt, have supported this ruination, murder, torture and rape of Palestine. It will surprise the evil elites, when they find out all their millennia of evil machinations to dominate this planet are doomed to failure. Evil always destroys itself.

MASSACHUSETTS, Mar. 30 - We received the following comment from David Morgan, a TiM reader from Massachusetts:

I copied below part of your latest on Alan Derschowitz. I believe this is the same man who recommends torture for suspected criminals. Hmmmm... But that's not what upsets me most. I, as a libertarian, am dumbfounded, (or maybe just "dumb") that recently deceased so-called libertarian Harvard philosopher Robert Nozick was a "bosom friend" of 'Adolf' Dershowitz. How could ANY libertarian be a friend of this evil man?

TiM Ed.: Derschowitz is evidently not the only one in our supposedly “civilized” society to recommend torture. This writer was absolutely abhorred at this week's debate on various U.S. TV networks about whether or not we (the U.S. investigators) should be allowed to torture the Al Qaeda leader recently wounded and captured in Pakistan. We weren’t shocked because of what anybody said, but that torturing a prisoner was debated at all. And over public airwaves at that! What are turning into… a new Gestapo-like police state?

PHOENIX, Apr. 7 - The preceding comment is a good point at which to segue into our next topic - your letters that are still coming in regarding our latest TiM Bulletin - about some Nazi look-alike symbols on U.S. stamps:

GEORGIA, Apr. 6 - We received the following comment from Sandra Whittington, a TiM reader from Georgia (or “Occupied Georgia,” as she signed the letter):

We Southerners have an expression -- "Down with the eagle, Up with the Cross." We understand exactly what the eagle represents (and has since the 1860s). Maybe finally others are beginning to understand...

BOLOGNA, Apr. 6 - We received the following comment from Dr. Alexis Menander, a TiM reader from Italy:

The eagle as depicted on the American stamps can still be found on German buildings. Of course, with the swastika removed - that is: carved in stone. The rather "hard lines" and geometric symmetries do support the reason for this: it is not that easy to "carve a circle" into stone; far easier it is to carve a triangle etc.

Additionally, this kind of eagle can be found on Third-Reich-Stamps and propaganda posters.

And, finally, it is congruent what the U.S. does in the world, and how it represents itself to the world.

TiM Ed.: We are grateful to Dr. Menander for the additional Nazi images that he had provided in this e-mail which we have now added to our original story. Click on the image on the right to go to it and view some other images.

FLORIDA, Apr. 6 - We received the following comment from James B. Roth, a TiM reader from Florida:

Are YOU aware of the truly horrible things that our corrupt government is planning for us?!! Are YOU aware of the Nazi-like legislation that the CDC has concocted in the name of "public health"?!!

The following is an alert from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. By the way, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is also very concerned about it!! Sincerely,

Citizen’s Alert from Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.

New State "Emergency" Powers Threaten Civil Liberties Unelected Officials Can Force Vaccinations, Quarantines, Rationing & Property Seizures

December 13, 2001 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is sending a model bill for state legislatures to pass that would give public health officials and governors sweeping new authority to quarantine and vaccinate individuals. Moreover, the proposal allows government authorities to ration and commandeer drugs and other items, including firearms and private property.

This bill would give the governor the power to declare himself dictator in case of a "public health emergency" -- which means whatever he says it does. Further, the governor could then delegate this authority to unelected political appointees in state and local public health offices.

The bill is so alarming that even state legislators are publicly opposing it, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation's largest bipartisan, individual membership organization of state legislators.

While ALEC's Director of the Health and Human Services Task Force acknowledges that safeguarding citizens from biological and chemical attack is a critical function of government, "We must take a much more deliberative approach in crafting effective policy without sacrificing the rights and liberties of individuals and families," said Jennifer King.

The proposed legislation, entitled the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA), is already under consideration in several states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Minnesota, Illinois, and California, while many states will consider the measure during the 2002 legislative sessions, according to King.

• Force you to take a vaccination or a medical treatment decided by the Governor -- or be arrested;

• Herd you into a public quarantine or isolation facility; Seize any of your property that the government decided was necessary to cope with the emergency, such as real estate, fuel, food, clothing, and communication devices;

• Destroy property alleged to be hazardous without compensation and without recourse;

• Impose rationing, price controls, and quotas, and control the transportation or use of any item deemed "reasonable and necessary for emergency response," specifically including firearms; and Suspend any State rules that might hinder the program.

The Governor does not have to consult the public health authority, the legislature, or the courts. He does not have to answer to anyone, ever, for the consequences of his actions.

HHS will probably try to bribe or coerce the legislature into passing this law by threatening to withhold federal funds for state Medicaid or other health programs.

HELP STOP THIS BILL! SIGN THE PETITION. Urge President Bush to stop HHS from pushing this monstrous bill Log on to http://www.aapsonline.org, or call the AAPS Hotline at 800.419.4777.

CHICAGO, Apr. 6 - We received the following comment from Prof. J.P. Maher, a TiM reader from Chicago:

Martin has not proved his case... When I was a first-grader, we saluted the flag with right arm raised; stopped that after Dec 7 '41 (the Pearl Harbor Day - TiM Ed.).

The "Hitler's eagles" are devoid of context. In the 1930s Studebaker [South Bend IN] built a car called the "Dictator". J Caesar was DICTATOR. Benito and Adolf added their meaning to the term; the name was dropped. Thye kept on selling the COMMANDER and PRESIDENT. The series names set the context.

MOSCOW, Apr. 6 - We received the following comment from Victor (whose last name is known to TiM), a TiM reader from Russia:

Your last newsletter, where you compare symbols of New America with Hitler's and Roman symbolism, reminded me a couple of verses from a song written and sung (though of course it could not be sung openly) by Bulat Okudzhava. Of course, he wrote it about the then-Soviet Union, but..... I give it to you in Russian:

As for Lenin, I was greatly surprised when I was listening to a radio program and heard that there is one and the only acting Lenin's museum -- in... Finland! He is still very popular there (at least it's what the authors of that program insist on). The Finns say, "the Swedes didn't give us independence, Russian czars didn't, but Lenin did!"

TiM Ed.: Bulat S. Okudzhava was a Russian dissident poet whose works helped create important literature of dissent in the Soviet Union of the 1950s and 1960s. He died on June 12, 1997. We’ve asked Victor, if possible, to provide an English translation of the two verses for those among our readers who are not proficient in Russian. The two verses compare the Soviet Caesars with those of the Roman Empire.

PENNSYLVANIA, Mar. 30 - Speaking of Caesars, we received the following comment from Mary Paule of Pennsylvania. She simply enclosed a quotation of Julius Ceasar that seems to apply to the current situation in our country:

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.

And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so.

Nazi Germany had the "Fatherland." Communist Soviet Union had the "Motherland." Americans are now being fed the BS of the "Homeland."

MASSACHUSETTS, Mar. 30 - We received the following comment from Jack Garcia, a TiM reader from Massachusetts:

For a few years now, the U.S. Federal government has been pushing war movies and television war shows. They know what they are doing, and they plan ahead. Young men are again being taught that warfare is a noble thing, battle is worthy of Motion Pictures Academy Awards. Since the 911 atrocity, the warrior hype has increased dramatically.

About seven years ago, the U.S. Federal government began to gradually let young men know that they should register their name with the government. I was surprised. I did not know that registration had been again legislated. I did a little checking, and found out that Jimmy Carter had quietly (secretly), signed the quiet (secret) legislation. If you remember, the draft statute had been either repealed, or otherwise put into hibernation after the Vietnam thing. The U.S. Federal government is now gearing up for a full-blown war.

After the failure of the 10th Mountain Division troops in Afghanistan, just a few weeks ago (see The Anaconda Embarrassment, Mar. 20), the U.S. Federal government is in a panic. U.S. soldiers are not able to fight in the mountains against an entrenched army of seasoned fighters.

The U.S. military has had a series of easy successes over the last fifteen years. Those easy successes have given the U.S. military, and the American people, a false sense of confidence.

Operation "Just Cause" to capture or kill Noriega, and install our own puppet, was a “no brainer.” Noriega’s troops were few in number, and poorly trained third world thugs.

Twelve years ago, Operation "Desert Storm" was a bombing campaign, not a war. What little action engaged in by U.S. ground forces was on flat open terrain. Vietnam veterans who served in Iraq called Operation "Desert Storm" a "cakewalk." Further successes on the open terrain sections of Afghanistan have given further false confidence to the U.S. military, and the American people.

In Yugoslavia, three years ago, the bombing campaign was called a "war." It was not a war. There was no large scale, on the ground battle.

The success of small-scale tactics against small groups further clouds the issue. U.S. Special Operations forces are proficient at executing small group actions against small groups of combatants. A series of successful Spec Ops operations have added to the false confidence. Spectacular successes in small group encounters do not translate into success in large-scale warfare in the mountains, or in the jungles, or in densely wooded terrain.

Since we pulled out our last ground combat troops from Vietnam in 1972, the standards in the U.S. military have steadily eroded, in all branches. The standards in the naval and military academies have also been lowered. I have personally spoken with a half dozen cadets. All of them told me they were disgusted.

The standards have been lowered to accommodate teenage girls. The problem here is that it is not the girls who end up facing the enemy eyeball to eyeball, it is the men. It is the men who will come home mutilated and in coffins. American men going into battle today are in greater danger of becoming a casualty because of those lowered standards.

When the Commander in Chief, Bill Clinton, was in the Oral Office with Monica, he was also sending out young men, the same age as Monica, to die in battle. Virtually everyone in the Bush administration, from the Commander-in-Chief to his advisors, including Bush himself, own billions in oil stock in the Middle-East. They should disqualify themselves for conflict of interest. They cannot make objective decisions about your sons and husbands lives.

My experiences in a secret experimental hunter-killer battalion in Vietnam persuaded me that human life is worth more than mindless flag-waving, and nationalistic cries of "The Homeland!" We are being whipped up into a nationalistic hysteria. Nazi Germany had the "Fatherland." The Communist Soviet Union had the "Motherland." Americans are now being fed the BS of the "Homeland."

We must do everything we can to inform our loved ones about (not) registering for the draft. They should not feel obligated die for these bastards in the U.S. Federal government. They should not register for this corrupt government. God Bless,