Harvard // Current TV

It belongs in a museum!

I am writing to urge you to protect historical artifacts in American museums and universities. The Persepolis Tablets are rare priceless pieces of the heritage of ancient Persia, that are frankly an important piece of world heritage and should continue to be shared at museums and universities, not to mention that fine American universities should not be forced to give up their prized exhibition pieces for political purposes. Why are American universities being held accountable for the actions of the government of Iran? These artifacts have always belonged to the universities and museums in question. They were never the property of Iran to begin with, so why must American institutions give away their own property for something the Iranian government has done?

But an amendment added to the "The Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012" in the Senate Banking Committee by Senator Menendez would strip these antiquities of their last legal protections as noncommercial items under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Past efforts to make it easier to sue state sponsors of terrorism have unwittingly made it possible for lawyers to sue America's leading research universities and museums in order to seize and auction priceless historical artifacts. This amendment--without further clarification that world heritage items are protected--would mean the Persepolis Tablets would be seized and auctioned off to the highest bidder. The amendment would give lawyers open season on Persian antiquities in order to collect judgments against the Iranian government, not to mention bullying longstanding American institutions of learning, such as Harvard, to be forced to hand away their treasured exhibition pieces to the highest bidder.

I believe victims of the Iranian government deserve just compensation. But we can protect the rights of victims without putting irreplaceable ancient Persian antiquities on the auction block.

The U.S. government has seized almost two billion dollars of the Iranian government's financial assets. Under Section 503 of the bill, victims will be able to receive damages from this seized money. But this section needs to be amended to ensure that cultural property is protected from these lawsuits, which the Department of Justice has consistently opposed.

These goals can be achieved simply by exempting historical property held by U.S. museums, libraries, colleges and universities from lawsuits against foreign governments. Closing this loophole will ensure that these world heritage items will continue to increase our understanding of history and culture for generations to come.

Before this bill comes to the Senate floor, I urge you to do everything in your power to ensure that the rights of terror victims are protected without destroying items that clearly belong in museums and libraries for the world to behold. As Indiana Jones would say: it belongs in a museum. If the cute little girl from the videoclip below can understand this, why can't the Senate?

Thank you for your attention.I am writing to urge you to protect historical artifacts in American museums and... more

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Obama appoints 9/11 scriptwriter to Intelligence Advisory Board

Along with the appointment of Ben Bernanke and Gen. Wesely Clark, Obama's appointment of Philip Zelikow, former Executive Director of the 9/11 Cover-up Commission just illustrates the continuity between the Bush and Obama administrations.

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The attacks of September 11, 2001 was a made-for-television spectacular, complete with amazing pyrotechnic special effects and the on-screen murder of almost 3,000 extras.

The question is, who wrote the script?

My best guess: Philip Zelikow – the man Obama just appointed to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

Zelikow describes himself as an expert in the “creation and maintenance of public myths.” He defines “public myth” as a “public presumption” about history that may or may not be true, but which nevertheless exerts a powerful influence on public opinion, and through that influence affects history.

Circumstantial evidence suggests that Philip Zelikow scripted that human sacrifice. Zelikow co-authored a 1998 article in Foreign Affairs speculating on the likely political, social, and psychological consequences of a new Pearl Harbor style terrorist event, such as the destruction of the World Trade Center.

Despite this smoking-gun evidence of his foreknowledge of 9/11, Zelikow was chosen by Cheney-Bush to run the 9/11 Commission. According to Philip Shenon, Zelikow had written all of the chapter outlines of The 9/11 Commission Report before the Commission even began its investigation. Zelikow completely controlled the investigation, ordering underlings to basically just fill in the chapter outlines of his pre-scripted novel. The Report became a “surprise bestseller” because it reads like a novel – which is exactly what it is.

The million-dollar question: WHEN did Zelikow write his novel? My guess: The novel known as the 9/11 Commission Report is adapted from a made-for-TV disaster movie script — the script that was brought to life by covert operations professionals on September 11th, 2001. And who better to write a novel based on that script than the author of the script itself?

When Cheney and his Bush puppet picked Zelikow to write the 9/11 Commission Report, it was a strong indication that they were turning to the original author of the event – the specialist in the “creation and maintenance of public myths” who had created the official myth of 9/11 by authoring the script of the event.

The core 9/11 cover story – the alleged plot by 19 alleged hijackers led by a guy on dialysis in a cave in Afghanistan – is supported by nothing remotely resembling evidence that would stand up in a court of law.

Today, the 9/11 “public myth” has become a legend – a story that is no longer sacred, a story that more and more people doubt. Is Obama bringing Zelikow back on board in order to try to “maintain” the “public myth” of 9/11?Along with the appointment of Ben Bernanke and Gen. Wesely Clark, Obama's... more

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Cost of the War on Drugs VIDEO

Brian Aitken just directed this video on the Cost of the War on Drugs through the Foundation for Economic Education with help from Jeffrey Miron, Harvard Economist and Senior Fellow at the CATO Institute.

After 40 years of violence, murder, and trillions of dollars spent with no end in sight the video begs you to ask yourself: Does it make sense?

The Foundation for Economic Education: FEE is the oldest free-market organization in America. Founded in 1946 FEE’s mission is to offer the most consistent case for the “first principles” of freedom: the sanctity of private property, individual liberty, the rule of law, the free market, and the moral superiority of individual choice and responsibility over coercion.

Brian Aitken: Best known for being sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing his legally owned firearms. After a two year legal battle where corruption reigned he spent four months in prison before being released by Governor Chris Christie. A Deprivation of Civil Rights suit is pending against the Police, Prosecutor and Judge (who has since been dismissed). Aitken is now the Director of New Media for FEE.

Jeffrey Miron: Jeffrey A. Miron is Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. Miron has previously served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and Boston University; at the latter, he was Department chairman for six years. He has been the recipient of an Olin Fellowship from the National Bureau of Economic Research, an Earhart Foundation Fellowship, and a Sloan Foundation Faculty Research Fellowship. Miron holds a B.A. in economics, magna cum laude, from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in economics from M.I.T.

The CATO Institute: The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.Brian Aitken just directed this video on the Cost of the War on Drugs through the... more

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