From: "Introduction to George Shultz, International Terrorist," posted on November 4, 2007By Alex Constantine
A Brotherhood of Ultra-Conservative Swindlers ...
Nugan Hand's Status in the World
... Alexander Butterfield, political junkies recall, made headlines when he casually announced that the president had tape recorded conversations in the oval office. That was the end of Richard Nixon, who was badly kicked around .. and not one reporter stopped to ponder why a spook in the White House would crucify his boss with this devastating revelation.
Butterfield gave away the store at another key point in history when he spilled the dope beans to Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Kwitny, author of The Crimes of Patriots. When asked about Bernie Houghton and other principals at Australia's Nugan Hand Bank, the CIA's cash laundry, Butterfield gave him a few names that broke the bank, so to speak.
Kwitny was referred to General Heine Aderhold, who ran covert operations throughout Asia with John Singlaub, and was in a position to observe the actions of Maurice "Bernie" Houghton at Nugan Hand.
Houghton, it emerged, had been active in the opium trade in the Golden Triangle. Kwitny's investigation led him to dig up a legal claim letter signed by Tom Rahill, an American worker in Dhahrain, Saudi Arabia.
According the this letter, "Mr. Houghton's representatives would visit Aramco construction camps in Saudi Arabia shortly after each monthly payday. We investors would turn over Saudi royals to be converted at the prevailing dollar exchange rate, and receive a Nugan Hand dollar certificate. ... The monies, we were told, were to be deposited in the Nugan Hand Hong Kong branch for investments in various 'secured' government bonds."
But Aramco wasn't the only company that turned Nugan Hand into a burgeoning financial center. "Other large U.S concerns are said by investors to have boosted Nugan Hand, and let salesmen hold meetings on company property. Among them were Bechtel, the giant international construction firm then guided by George Shultz and Caspar Weinberger, and University Industries, Inc. of San Diego." (University Industries is still around, now known as JWP West. The corporate website reports that the company was founded "in the mid-1960s as a water supplier to Long Island and Queens, New York, JWP transformed itself through acquisition. By the start of the 1980s, JWP was the nation's largest computer reseller and the biggest electrical and maintenance contractor. Essentially, clients use JWP to help increase productivity and decrease costs by upgrading their facilities through, for example, more efficient communication and computer systems. JWP designs, installs, and supports these technical systems." For more, see: Pollack, Andrew, "JWP Gains Control of Businessland," New York Times, August 6, 1991, and Steinberg, Jacques, "Water Utility of a Thousand Faces," New York Times, November 2, 1991.. )
Employees of Aramco, Beck, Bechtel and University Industries (officials there actually confirmed Kwitny's allegations, to his complete surprise, with the comment, "sounds like you've got quite a story there.") were directed to Bernie Houghton, who talked them into investing in the bank at a promised return of 18%. Houghton only dealt in hard cash, and was seen leaving Bechtel with garbage bags stuffed full of paper money.
When the bank went bust, the employees lost their investments. The scheme made Enron's stock manipulations look like a putting gteen. ...
http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2007/11/introduction-to-george-shultz.html
•••••••
From: "Media Mafia (Part Five): The CIA/Mafia's Rupert Murdoch, Jim Cownie, et al," posted September 13, 2007
Edited by Alex Constantine
... Michael Jon Hand, the son of a civil servant, was born in the Bronx on 8th December, 1941. According to Jonathan Kwitny in his book The Crimes of Patriots: A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money, and the CIA: "Hand passed every class he took, and was noted for exceptional character, courtesy, cooperation, and appearance. His IQ registered an also exceptional 131."
In 1959 his mother died after falling or jumping from a third-floor window. Soon afterwards he attended a one-year course at the New York State Ranger School. This was followed by a year managing a sports school in Los Angeles.
In May 1963 Hand joined the US Army and started his training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. During the Vietnam War he won the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). According to the DSC citation he almost single-handedly held off a fourteen-hour Vietcong attack on the Special Forces compound at Dong Xaoi.
In 1966 he left the army to work "directly for the U.S, Government". Friends of Michael Hand have suggested that he was employed on undercover missions for the Central Intelligence Agency in Vietnam and Laos. One reported that he "helped train the mountain people - Montagnards - and worked closely with the Air America crews that supplied them". According to Jonathan Kwitny, Hand worked under William Colby during the Vietnam War.
Michael Hand moved to Australia in September, 1967. At first Hand went to work selling development lots along the Australian coast. The company, Ocean Shores Development, was run by lawyer Fred Miller, a senior executive for the shipping empire owned by Sir Peter Abeles, the longtime business partner, Rupert Murdoch. One of the largest investors in this scheme was the singer Pat Boone. The registered directors included Boone of Beverly Hills, California and Patricia Swan of Sydney, Australia. Swan was Frank Nugan's secretary. ... "
Continues:
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?act=Print&client=printer&f=126&t=7574
MICHAEL HAND JOINS THE CIA
" ... In May 1963 Hand joined the US Army and started his training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. During the Vietnam War he won the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). According to the DSC citation he almost single-handedly held off a fourteen-hour Vietcong attack on the Special Forces compound at Dong Xaoi. In 1966 he left the army to work "directly for the U.S, Government". Friends of Michael Hand have suggested that he was employed on undercover missions for the CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY in Vietnam and Laos. ... "
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKhandM.htm
THE CIA'S HAND WORKED FOR PETER ABELES IN AUSTRALIA - ABELES, MURDOCH'S BUSINESS PARTNER, WAS A MAFIA KINGPIN:
" ... Bob Hawk's (Australian Prime Minister from 11th March, 1983 until 20th December, 1991) little mate SIR PETER ABELES was the US MAFIA representative in Australia for many years and is known to have attempted to bribe well known anti-corruption journalist Bob Bottom. Of course Bottom refused but it was well known that Abeles would tie someone up in court for years if they dared to print anything derogatory about him ... "
http://www.wpngnc.org/kissinger.htm
RUPERT MURDOCH, NARCOTICS KINGPIN
" ... Abeles and RUPERT MURDOCH (I seem to have heard that name before) just happened to own 55% of Australia's second biggest domestic airline - ANSETT. Ansett in turn just happened to own a 20% share in another airline - AMERICA WEST Airline. One of their planes was caught in the US chock a block full of DRUGS in the US. The result was intertesting to say the least. ... "
http://www.wpngnc.org/kissinger.htm
MORE ON MURDOCH, NUGAN HAND, THE CIA, DRUGS:
" ... Twenty percent of the stock of AMERICA WEST was owned by ANSETT AIRLINES of Australia and 55% of ANSETT was held by Sir Peter Ables and Rupert Murdock. We know from Jonathan Kwitney's book THE CRIMES OF PATRIOTS that Burny Houghton, perhaps the key figure in the founding of the CIA drug money laundering bank NUGAN)HAND in Australia, had coffee with Sir Peter Ables the night of his first day in Australia. ... "
http://www.wpngnc.org/ables.htm
CIA's Paul Helliwell meets Michael Hand and Frank Nugan
When Frank Nugan was found dead in Australia in 1980, it was accepted as a suicide and the sighs of relief could almost be heard in Langley, on the other side of the globe. But then William Colby's business card was found in Nugan's wallet, and Nugan's partner, Michael Hand, had been a contract agent for the CIA in Vietnam. Australian authorities began tracking Nugan Hand Bank, which developed into the most fun story of Golden Triangle drugs, money-laundering, profiteering, corporate shell games, and financial fraud that has yet surfaced in the CIA's unofficial history.
The most intriguing aspect of Nugan Hand Bank was the list of Yankees who were in on the scam. Theodore Shackley, Richard Secord, Thomas Clines, and Edwin Wilson played peripheral roles, while Gen. Edwin Black ran the Nugan Hand Hawaii office, Gen. Erle Cocke ran the Washington office, Gen. LeRoy Manor ran the Philippine office, Colby was their lawyer, former CIA deputy director Walter McDonald was a consultant, Adm. Earl Yates was president of Nugan Hand, and Robert Jantzen, a former CIA station chief in Thailand, got out of Nugan Hand when he smelled drugs. He needn't have bothered; apart from Kwitny's Wall Street Journal articles in 1982, Nugan Hand received little coverage and no official interest in the U.S.
http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2007/09/media-mafia-part-six-ciamafias-rupert.html
MURDOCH AND SHACKLEY
As I have tried to impress upon one and all with bumper-sticker simplicity: Conformist, CIA-programmed, status quo thinking doesn't begin to notice reality. An individual capable of independent thought begins by looking for telltale influences on Murdoch - say blood-thirsty CIA jackal Ted Shackley, who "had a good relationship with Murdoch when he was CIA station chief in Australia between 1972-75. This was around the time that Murdoch's fortunes changed."http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showPerson.php?id=5818&name=Theodore-Shackley
Murdoch's partner, Peter Abeles, a Mafia kingpin, was the schemer behind Australia's Nugan Hand Bank, the CIA's money laundering front.
And you consider: Perhaps the hideous Rupert Murdoch is not merely an independent
"conservative" propagandist whose view of the world is parallel to General Pinochet's, but one deliberately installed to program public opinion. Could that be?
How did he really get to where he is today? No penetrating answers come from the status quo, ever. Does anyone care that this "conservative" charlatan without a conscience is ushering in open fascist rule on a red carpet of lies?
By Sterling SeagraveAug 22 2007, 06:43 PM
"Bill Casey was one of the key men in the acquisition of media after WW2. It was one of his proteges (a young German immigrant to the US) who was sent back to Germany after the war to take over Bertelsmann and build it up. Rupert Murdoch was very tight with Shackley, which is how he got launched on his global acquisitions and has now taken over the WSJ. Murdoch was running a failed national newspaper in Australia while Shackley was station chief in Oz. Then suddenly he becomes a US citizen literally overnight and goes on an endless buying spree. Shackley's pockets were infinitely deep. At the time, Murdoch was facing the likely closure of his newspaper THE AUSTRALIAN. His ticket out was Shackley. This also explains why Murdoch was allowed to break all the rules in acquisition of media in America."
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=10799&st=0&p=115393&#entry115393
CIA Fascist/Career Criminal Shackley... When Shackley was recalled in February, 1972, he was put in charge of the CIA's Western Hemisphere Division. One of his major tasks was to undermine Philip Agee, an ex-CIA officer who was writing a book on the CIA. The book was eventually published as Inside the Company, but did not include the information that would have permanently damaged the reputation of the CIA.
Shackley also played an important role in the overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile. As his biographer, David Corn points out: "Salvador Allende died during the coup. When the smoke cleared, General Augusto Pinochet, the head of a military junta, was in dictatorial control... Elections were suspended. The press was censored. Allende supporters and opponents of the junta were jailed. Torture centers were established. Executions replaced soccer matches in Santiago's stadiums. Bodies floated down the Mapocho river. Due in part to the hard work of Shackley and dozens of other Agency bureaucrats and operatives, Chile was free of the socialists."
By 1975 he was promoted to Deputy Director of Operations, where he served under George H. W. Bush. He therefore became second-in-command of all CIA covert activity.
Shackley was a close friend of Edwin Wilson, an ex-CIA agent, who became an arms dealer. Wilson was jailed for shipping plastic explosive and detonators to Libya. Stansfield Turner, the head of the CIA, believed Shackley was closely involved in this affair and he was forced to resign. CIA chief, Richard Helms, reportedly said: Ted is what we call in the spook business a quadruple threat - Drugs, Arms, Money and Murder."
After leaving the CIA Shackley formed his own company, Research Associates International, which specialized in providing intelligence to business. He took part in the October Surprise which resulted in the American hostages in Iran being held until Ronald Reagan had defeated Jimmy Carter at the 1980 elections. Soon after Reagan was elected the hostages were released.
During the Ronald Reagan administration, Shackley and some of his former CIA friends, Thomas Clines and Richard Secord, became involved in the Iran-Contra affair. Clines was sent to prison but Shackley managed to escape prosecution. ....
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Theodore_Shackley
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Murdoch's Move to the United States
From: "Rupert Murdoch and the Western Media"
by Rory Moore
... Bill Casey was one of the key men in the acquisition of media after WW2. It was one of his young German immigrants who were sent back to Germany after the war to take over Bertelsmann and build it up. Rupert Murdoch was very tight with Shackley, which is how he got launched on his global acquisitions and has now taken over the WSJ. ... Murdoch was running a failed national newspaper in Australia while Shackley was station chief in Australia. Then suddenly he becomes a US citizen literally overnight and goes on an endless buying spree. Shackley was getting richer by the second.
At the time, Murdoch was facing the likely closure of his newspaper THE AUSTRALIAN. His ticket out was Shackley. This also explains why Murdoch was allowed to break all the rules in taking over of all the media in America.
In the run-up to the 1972 election, Murdoch's paper The Australian was a keen Whitlam supporter, donating some $75,000 in free advertising. By 1975, with Peer de Silva, John Denley Walker and Milton Wonus CIA station chiefs, Murdoch had turned savagely against the Labour government, to the extent there were demonstrations outside The Australian's Sydney offices. Murdoch's role was part of a longer-term CIA operation to destroy Labour’s powerful leftwing and install Bob Hawke and his CIA-affiliated cronies in the New South Wales Right faction, who hosted Bernie Houghton and the merry band called Nugan Hand. Shackley and Walker particularly despised Whitlam who had tolerated the left and believed in Australia's dictatorship!
Murdoch did the same in Britain switching his support from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party in 1997. As we now know, the Labour Party followed a right-wing agenda after they came to power. A senior Blair secretary, Lance Price, reported in his memoirs that Blair always consulted with Murdoch before announcing any major policy decision. Blair is rumoured had been recruited by MI5 in the 1970s to spy on CND Campaign of Nuclear Disarmament activists in the Labour Party. He also took CIA funded trips to the United States in the 1980s. Gordon Brown also went on those trips so don't expect any change since he became prime minister. ...
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/14745
Iran-contra and the Rise of Murdoch's Republican Guard
From: "Iran-Contra's 'Lost Chapter'" By Robert Parry
June 30, 2008
... “One of the CIA’s most senior covert action operators was sent to the NSC in 1983 by CIA Director [William] Casey where he participated in the creation of an inter-agency public diplomacy mechanism that included the use of seasoned intelligence specialists,” ...
“This public/private network set out to accomplish what a covert CIA operation in a foreign country might attempt – to sway the media, the Congress, and American public opinion in the direction of the Reagan administration’s policies.”
However, with the chapter’s key findings deleted, the right-wing domestic propaganda operation not only survived the Iran-Contra fallout but thrived.
So did some of the administration’s collaborators, such as South Korean theocrat Sun Myung Moon and Australian press mogul Rupert Murdoch, two far-right media barons who poured billions of dollars into pro-Republican news outlets that continue to influence Washington’s political debates to this day.
Before every presidential election, Moon’s Washington Times plants derogatory – and often false – stories about Democratic contenders, discrediting them and damaging their chances of winning the White House.
For instance, in 1988, the Times published a bogus account suggesting that the Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis had undergone psychiatric treatment. In 2000, Moon’s newspaper pushed the theme that Al Gore suffered from clinical delusions. [For details, see Robert Parry’s Secrecy & Privilege.]
As for Murdoch, his giant News Corp. expanded into American cable TV with the founding of Fox News in 1996. Since then, the right-wing network has proved highly effective in promoting attack lines against Democrats or anyone else who challenges the Republican power structure.
As President George W. Bush herded the nation toward war with Iraq in 2002-03, Fox News acted like his sheep dogs making sure public opinion didn’t stray too far off. The “Fox effect” was so powerful that it convinced other networks to load up with pro-war military analysts and to silence voices that questioned the invasion. ...
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/062908.html