The BP oil spill has inflicted enormous harm in the Gulf of Mexico and will continue to do so for months, if not decades, to come. I have many thoughts on this disaster. My first reaction is that when the skin of the Earth is punctured, bad things can happen.

Clearly, this disaster could and should have been prevented. Despite all their assurances of safety, BP and/or BP’s subcontractors, failed to ensure the functionality of the emergency equipment on the Deep Horizon rig. The oil industry claims that further regulation will handcuff them, but it is now obvious that more steps need to be taken to prevent a catastrophe like this from ever happening again.

However, this spill did happen, and we now must deal with the aftermath. Although estimates have been that BP could be liable for more than 14 billion dollars in clean up damages, very few in the media have mentioned the long-term, generational consequences of this oil spill. There will inevitably be a surge in cancer cases, widespread degradation of wildlife habitat, and an array of diverse and complex strains on local communities, our nation, and the planetary ecosphere as a whole. We all know that the seas are connected, and ultimately our biosphere suffers globally when suffering locally. Now as the hurricane season approaches, we may see catastrophes converge to create what may be the greatest ecological disaster in hundreds of years.

While we will need a wide array of efforts to address this complex problem, mycoremediation is a valuable component in our toolset of solutions. Mycoremediation has demonstrated positive results, verified by scientists in many countries. However, there is more oil spilled than there is currently mycelium available. Much more mycelium is needed and, fortunately, we know how to generate it.

Pouring oil on straw

Here is what we know about mycoremediation, based on tests conducted by myself, my colleagues and other researchers who have published their results. (See attached references.)

What we know:

1.)    More than 120 novel enzymes have been identified from mushroom-forming fungi.

2.)    Various enzymes breakdown a wide assortment of hydrocarbon toxins.

3.)    My work with Battelle Laboratories, in collaboration with their scientists, resulted in TAH’s (Total Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in diesel contaminated soil to be reduced from 10,000 ppm to < 200 ppm in 16 weeks from a 25% inoculation rate of oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mycelium, allowing the remediated soil to be approved for use as landscaping soil along highways. (Thomas et al., 1999)

4.)    Oil contains a wide variety of toxins, many of which are carcinogens.

5.)    Mycelium more readily degrades lower molecular weight hydrocarbons (3,4,5 ring) than heavier weight hydrocarbons. However, the heavier weight hydrocarbons are reduced via mycelial enzymes into lighter weight hydrocarbons, allowing for a staged reduction with subsequent mycelial treatments.

6.)    Aged mycelium from oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) mixed in with ‘compost’ made from woodchips and yard waste (50:50 by volume) resulted in far better degradation of hydrocarbons than oyster mushroom mycelium or compost alone.

7.)    Oyster mycelium does not degrade keratin-based hair as it produces little or no keratinases, whereas other mold fungi such as Chaetomium species (which include some high temperature-tolerant leaf mold fungi) produce keratinases.

8.)    Worms die when put into contact with high concentrations of hydrocarbon saturated soils, but live after mycelial treatments reduce the toxins below the lethal thresholds.

9.)    Spring inoculations work better than fall inoculations as the mycelium has more time to grow-out. Bioregional specificities must be carefully considered.

10.) Amplifying native mushroom species in the bioregion impacted by toxic spills work better than non-native species.

11.) More funding is needed to better understand and implement mycoremediation technologies.

12.) Oil spills will occur in the future-we need to be ready for them!

Oyster mushrooms on oily straw

What we don’t know:

1.)    The effect of salt water on the growth of mycelium on hair mats soaked in oil. The Presidio project with Matter of Trust did not test the hair mats used to soak up the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco bay. The hair mats that were tested were ones that were put into contact with motor oil and Bunker C oil collected from the bowels of the Cosco Busan, without saltwater.

2.)    The differential gradients of decomposition of the complex oil constituents from contact with Oyster mushroom mycelium. Different toxins degrade at different rates when placed into contact with mycelium.

3.)    The variables that influence the success of mycoremediation, particularly since the targeted toxins are often complex mixtures of volatile and non-volatile hydrocarbons.

4.)    How many other species of fungi could be applied for mycoremediation beyond the few that have been tested? Up to now, Oyster mushroom mycelium (Pleurotus ostreatus) has been tested successfully but there are literally thousands of other species yet to be tested for mycoremediation.

5.)    How each fungal species used pre-selects the subsequent biological populations and how these further enable plant communities as habitats recover from toxic waste exposure.

6.)    Whether or not the mushrooms grown on decomposing toxic wastes are safe to eat.

7.)    To what degree of decomposition by mycelium of toxic soils makes the soils safe for food crops.

8.)    How economically practical will it be to remove mushrooms that have hyper-accumulated heavy metals-will this be a viable remediation strategy? Which species are best for hyper accumulating specific metals?

9.)    How to finance/design composting centers around population centers near pollution threats?

10.) How to train-on a massive scale-the mycotechnicians needed to implement mycoremediation?

11.) How to fund “Myco-U’s”, learning centers with emphasis on implementing myco-solutions to human made and natural catastrophes?

12.) How extensively and diverse will mycoremediation practices be needed in the future?

Oysters on oil

How can we help?

Knowing that the extent of this disaster eclipses our mycological resources should not be a reason to not act.

I proposed in 1994 that we have Mycological Response Teams (MRT’s) in place to react to catastrophic events, from hurricanes to oil spills. We need to preposition composting and mycoremediation centers adjacent to population centers. We should set MRT’s into motion, centralized in communities, which are actively involved in recycling, composting and permaculture-utilizing debris from natural or manmade calamities to generate enzymes and rebuild healthy local soils.

I see the urgent need to set up webinar-like, internet based modules of education to disseminate methods for mycoremediation training so people throughout the world can benefit from the knowledge we have gained through the past decade of research.  Such hubs of learning could cross-educate others and build a body of knowledge that would be further perfected over time, benefiting from the successes and failures of those in different bioregions. The cumulative knowledge gained from a centralized data hub could emerge as a robust yet flexible platform that could help generations to come. Scientists, policy makers, and citizens would be empowered with practical mycoremediation tools for addressing environmental disasters.

There are additional opportunities here. By encouraging strategically placed gourmet mushroom production centers near debris fields from natural and human-made disasters, we can open a pathway for mycoremediation.  The ‘aged compost’ that is produced after mushrooms are harvested is rich in enzymes-a value-added by-product and this ‘waste’ product is aptly suited for mycoremediation purposes. What most people do not realize is that most mushroom farms generate this compost by the tons and are eager for it to be used elsewhere.

On a grand scale, I envision that we, as a people, develop a common myco-ecology of consciousness and address these common goals through the use of mycelium. To do so means we need to spread awareness and information. Please spread the word of mycelium. Educate friends, family and policy makers about mycological solutions. Bring your local leaders up the learning curve on how fungi can decompose toxins, rebuild soils and strengthen our food chains. What we lack is the widespread availability of mycologically skilled technicians and educators and a more mycologically informed public. We need a paradigm shift, a multi-generational educational infrastructure, bringing fungal solutions to the forefront of viable options to mitigate disasters. An unfortunate circumstance we face is that the field of mycology is poorly funded in a time of intense need.

To support this expanded mycological awareness, I offer my books as resources-especially Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World and Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. Also, please see my talk on Ted.com (www.ted.com/speakers/paul_stamets.html)-this is an excellent primer for those wanting to understand how mushrooms and fungi can help mitigate disasters and heal ecosystems.

Let’s become part of the solution. We may not have all the answers now but we can work towards an integrated strategy, flexible in its design, and yet target specific to these types of disasters. We should work in preparation to resolve ecological emergencies before and after they occur.  Together, we can protect and heal our communities and ecosystems.

Oysters on oil

THE PROBLEM: OIL IS A COMPLEX MIXTURE OF TOXIC HYDROCARBONS

Not many people, even experts, fully grasp the diverse range of toxins that are present in oil. Bunker C oil is used as a fuel, particularly in cargo ships, and is especially ‘dirty’. Here is a list of some of the hydrocarbons typically found in Bunker C oil:

CONTAMINANTS IN BUNKER C OIL

cis/trans-Decalin

C1-Fluoranthenes/Pyrenes

17a/b,21b/a 28,30-Bisnorhopane (T14a)

C1-Decalins

C2-Fluoranthenes/Pyrenes

C30 Tricyclic Terpane-22R

C2-Decalins

C3-Fluoranthenes/Pyrenes

17a(H)-22,29,30-Trisnorhopane-TM (T12)

C3-Decalins

C4-Fluoranthenes/Pyrenes

17a/b,21b/a 28,30-Bisnorhopane (T14a)

C4-Decalins

Naphthobenzothiophenes

17a(H)-22,29,30-Trisnorhopane-TM (T12)

Benzothiophene

C1-Naphthobenzothiophenes

17a(H),21b(H)-25-Norhopane (T14b)

C1-Benzo(b)thiophenes

C2-Naphthobenzothiophenes

30-Norhopane (T15)

C2-Benzo(b)thiophenes

C3-Naphthobenzothiophenes

18a(H)-30-Norneohopane-C29Ts (T16)

C3-Benzo(b)thiophenes

C4-Naphthobenzothiophenes

17a(H)-Diahopane (X)

C4-Benzo(b)thiophenes

Benz[a]anthracene

30-Normoretane (T17)

Naphthalene

Chrysene/Triphenylene

18a(H)&18b(H)-Oleananes (T18)

C1-Naphthalenes

C1-Chrysenes

Hopane (T19)

C2-Naphthalenes

C2-Chrysenes

Moretane (T20)

C3-Naphthalenes

C3-Chrysenes

30-Homohopane-22S (T21)

C4-Naphthalene

C4-Chrysenes

30-Homohopane-22R (T22)

Biphenyl

Benzo[b]fluoranthene

30,31-Bishomohopane-22S (T26)

Dibenzofuran

Benzo[k]fluoranthene

30,31-Bishomohopane-22R (T27)

Acenaphthylene

Benzo[a]fluoranthene

30,31-Trishomohopane-22S (T30)

Acenaphthene

Benzo[e]pyrene

30,31-Trishomohopane-22R (T31)

Fluorene

Benzo[a]pyrene

Tetrakishomohopane-22S (T32)

C1-Fluorenes

Perylene

Tetrakishomohopane-22R (T33)

C2-Fluorenes

Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene

Pentakishomohopane-22S (T34)

C3-Fluorenes

Dibenz[a,h]anthracene

Pentakishomohopane-22R (T35)

Anthracene

Benzo[g,h,i]perylene

13b(H),17a(H)-20S-Diacholestane (S4)

Phenanthrene

C23 Tricyclic Terpane (T4)

13b(H),17a(H)-20R-Diacholestane (S5)

C1-Phenanthrenes/Anthracenes

C24 Tricyclic Terpane (T5)

13b,17a-20S-Methyldiacholestane (S8)

C2-Phenanthrenes/Anthracenes

C25 Tricyclic Terpane (T6)

14a(H),17a(H)-20S-Cholestane (S12)

C3-Phenanthrenes/Anthracenes

C24 Tetracyclic Terpane (T6a)

14a(H),17a(H)-20R-Cholestane (S17)

C4-Phenanthrenes/Anthracenes

C26 Tricyclic Terpane-22S (T6b)

13b,17a-20R-Ethyldiacholestane (S18)

Retene

C26 Tricyclic Terpane-22R (T6c)

13a,17b-20S-Ethyldiacholestane (S19)

Dibenzothiophene

C28 Tricyclic Terpane-22S (T7)

14a,17a-20S-Methylcholestane (S20)

C1-Dibenzothiophenes

C28 Tricyclic Terpane-22R (T8)

14a,17a-20R-Methylcholestane (S24)

C2-Dibenzothiophenes

C29 Tricyclic Terpane-22S (T9)

14a(H),17a(H)-20S-Ethylcholestane (S25)

C3-Dibenzothiophenes

C29 Tricyclic Terpane-22R (T10)

14a(H),17a(H)-20R-Ethylcholestane (S28)

C4-Dibenzothiophenes

18a-22,29,30-Trisnorneohopane-TS (T11)

14b(H),17b(H)-20R-Cholestane (S14)

Benzo(b)fluorene

C30 Tricyclic Terpane-22S (T11b)

14b(H),17b(H)-20S-Cholestane (S15)

Fluoranthene

C30 Tricyclic Terpane-22R

14b,17b-20R-Methylcholestane (S22)

Pyrene

17a(H)-22,29,30-Trisnorhopane-TM (T12)

14b,17b-20S-Methylcholestane

Oysters on oil

Toward an Integrated Solution: Mycomediation Resources

Recommended texts:

Gadd, G. 2001. Fungi in Bioremediation. Cambridge University Press.

Singh, H. 2006. Mycoremediation: Fungal Bioremediation. Wiley Interscience.

Stamets, P. 2005. Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California.

Meet Mariam, a five year old orphan living with her grandmother in Uganda. Her family’s house, made of mud and straw, is collapsing due to the heavy rainy season. If we raise $4,000 by June 15, EVERY dollar will go directly into building Mariam and her family a new home. WATCH the video and then… <CLICK HERE to HELP & read more

From Mike Adams:

Today we have a great audio for you.   It shows you how to release any unwanted thought,  feeling or belief.  It works on negative emotions like anxiety, anger, depression and guilt.

Pip Cornall is the author of Sustainable Masculinity and delivers a highly successful male violence prevention program. For the last three years, he has also worked closely with Grace Gawler and her cancer patients. Together, they write books and present workshops.

This article speaks to his experience and observations as a support professional in cancer work. He writes because he is terribly upset witnessing good people with cancer making bad decisions that have cost some their lives. His experience with Grace shows that clients who work closely with her have a much better chances of success.

Once upon a time I held very different views. In 1971 I owned a health food eatery in a small Australian surfing town. New to ‘health foods’ I proselytised everybody about the benefits of eating vegetarian. An avid Rodale junkie; in a few short years I became a ‘born again natural food fundamentalist.’ I soon sold my shop and bought a little plot of land in the mountains behind Byron Bay, to go ‘organic.’ I fervently believed in the power of nature to heal our bodies and I mistrusted western medicine. As much as I wanted to believe totally in the nature path, gradually evidence that came my way worked against it.

So I changed? Time is an amazing teacher—it mellows one like fine wine. With time I’ve seen that elements of the nature-health movement was about as fundamentalist as the western medicine I’d mistrusted. As an ‘older’ person you’ve been around a while—you’ve watched things against the backdrop of time—you see what works and what doesn’t. There is no substitute for time!

Three years ago my world changed requiring further adjustments to my ideology. I entered the cancer healing world. Assisting Grace Gawler with her cancer patients, I became privy to a fast growing trend. Many patients had put their faith in extreme diets widely promoted via books and the internet. I saw how they became lulled by nature-cure ideology while simultaneously their bodies were silently ravaged as the cancer spread. These diets included Gerson, vegan, raw and various combinations. They had become nature fundamentalists like me, ignoring contrary evidence and exceptions to the rule.

Because of my belief in nature I’d desperately wanted to see people curing themselves by following the natural path—but I haven’t—and it rocked my foundations like a force 7 earthquake. That was also Grace’s experience in decades of cancer work. In the mid seventies, at the tender age of 21, she’d become full time care giver for her boyfriend, later husband, Ian Gawler, after he lost his leg to bone cancer.

Against all odds she persisted! When family, friends and the medical profession gave him up for dead she always maintained they’d find a cure. Demonstrating her optimism—they married when he had just 2 weeks to live. Imagine if you can; the calibre of this woman—she married a one legged man with cancer when he had two weeks to live. It wasn’t even a good relationship but she refused to desert him. They tried everything and won—he was in remission by 1978. Their story made history in Australia and birthed the famous Gawler Foundation for people with cancer. Her healing skills established, Grace has since assisted 13,000 cancer patients in a career spanning 35 years.

Nobody wanted the nature cures to work more than Grace—she’d been a vegetarian from the age of five, rare at the time in Australia. But, despite her strong beliefs in natural diets, Grace admits she had never personally seen the Gerson or other extreme diets work successfully with cancer patients. I’ve questioned her thoroughly on this topic. Over the years she’d observed some of her wealthier patients go to Gerson style clinics in Mexico and other countries where diet based treatments were legal. Sadly she’s seen many die following such regimes and did not witness any successes. Today she advocates a middle of the road good diet such as healthy Mediterranean but in not at the expense of other treatment.

Indeed even her husband’s recovery has been widely misreported. It’s a well known cancer recovery story and has impacted millions but it is inaccurate! It has been attributed to a vegan diet, meditation and loving support. But Grace states Ian was never on a vegan diet in the 22 years she was his full time cook and care giver—he ate calf liver, fish, other seafood, eggs, and milk products. She said Ian had little luck with meditation while ill; such was the extent of his pain. In fact they pulled out of the Dr Ainslie Meares meditation classes after 6 weeks since Ian was getting sicker and, by his own admission, only developed his meditation skills long after he recovered.

Even medical journals can get it wrong! Incredibly, some years later, when Ian had his remission, Meares claimed his meditation method was responsible and inaccurately wrote of the Gawler experience in the Australian Medical Journal (MJA). Perhaps Meares, like the diet fundamentalists, had his own agenda, to prove his meditation method could cure serious diseases like cancer. If you Google Ian Gawler or Ainslie Meares you’ll find it written in cyber stone—not true, but patients the world over had no reason to doubt and thus faithfully followed the regimes proposed.

Despite decades trying to address what Grace knew to be false information, reports of Ian Gawler’s recovery have spidered out across the internet, vigorously promoted by nature-cure people like I was. Multiply my story by thousands and we see how ‘memes’ are born. (Ideas that grow) Indeed as a trained yoga and meditation teacher, I vigorously promoted the benefits of meditation. ‘Hey did you hear about that guy who cured his cancer doing intense meditation? Yes, another good reason why we should all be meditating.’ I proselytised. Due to my zeal, my ‘emotional fundamentalism,’ certain contradictory information was invisible to me—for example, I’d not remembered the many famous meditation masters who had died from cancer—it would have been an inconvenient truth. Like Dr Meares, I had an agenda!

I’m concerned that such urban myths snowball into dangerous avalanches which result in unnecessary deaths. In her practice Grace attracts numerous ‘end stage’ patients aware of her reputation for getting the ‘worst cases’ through.’ Many of these are close to death having tried to emulate what they believed to be the Gawler’s path to wellness. Unfairly it falls on Grace to straighten them out. It comes as a shock to be told the accurate account—especially after having endured years doing 3 or more hours daily meditation (with resultant social isolation) and distress from extreme diets and fasting.

Grace says the Gawler story is perhaps one of the most misreported in the new age healing industry but tragically, it is not isolated. Unfortunately there are other prominent ‘celebrities’ in the cancer healing industry whose stories don’t equate with their medical histories. Desperate patients are vulnerable and will want to believe what they read if it offers hope for them—but it must not be false hope.

Fear of surgery, chemotherapy and other treatments drive many to the internet where anecdotal cancer healing miracles abound. Upon deeper scrutiny, many are flimsy at best and few are evidence based. Just because a story is repeated on numerous websites does not testify to its veracity as Grace knows in their own healing situation. Nature-health fundamentalists such as I have been, pick up and spread the stories without much thought to the consequences—cancer patients may live or die depending on the accuracy of the information. I now realise I have a responsibility to promote the truth—as we all do.

The fundamentalist approach (if you don’t think it is fundamentalist, try talking to a raw food advocate about this topic) can be one sided and makes it even harder for desperate patients to navigate the cancer maze. Beware, of your own fundamentalism—like me, you will want to believe you can cure cancer with a raw food diet, meditating 3-5 hours a day or eating apricot kernels–whether true or not.

With millions of web articles responding to a Google search for vegetarianism, vegan, raw diets, meditation cancer cures—many misquoting the Gawler story; Grace advises patients doing internet searches to insist that the claims made by self-proclaimed cancer ‘experts’ who supposedly cured their cancer by ‘natural’ means, be medically authenticated (view the medical records)

For genuine recoveries from cancer that are medically recorded, Grace recommends the IONS publication available on the internet for free – Spontaneous Remission – An Annoted Bibliography. Most of Grace’s memoirs are available for free via Google books. Grace also refers prostate cancer patients to the work of Dr ‘Snuffy’ Myers found on Youtube and the internet. Grace suggests that you be informed, choose wisely, walk the middle path, take the ebst from all modalities—you life may depend on it.

http://www.noetic.org/research/sr/main.html

http://www.prostateforum.com

A former Physical Education and Outdoor Skills teacher, Pip Cornall has worked with young people for over four decades. Pip is concerned by male violence accounting for more than 95% of all violence. From a global perspective this threatens the very existence of our world and at a local level means communities live in fear from gangs, domestic violence, murders, theft and graffiti.

Male challenge is one of Pip’s greatest passions and provides resources to help boys become good men, to help men promote healthy masculine norms, to help parents and single mums raise boys to become good men, and helps sport and sporting communities endorse sensible forms of masculinity.

This is an 8 week on-line course available from DailyOM and Catherine Ann Jones. We will email you when your new lesson is available and you will be able to login and read each lesson on-line or print as they become available and click to listen to the guided audio meditations. Your first lesson will be available immediately after you enroll. If you have any other questions, please contact us.

Our lives may be determined less by past events than by the way we remember them. You are invited to come aboard this inner adventure that offers a step by step journey of discovery and re-visioning through focused journaling. Throughout the eight sessions, you will be engaged in exercises designed to facilitate healing and transformation. Telling stories about our past through focused journaling can help change our perspectives to enable healing and empowerment. In this way, we are able to make meaning out of memory and put the past where it belongs – behind us. Healing and transformation are only possible through changing one’s perspective from within. In this way, global healing takes place one individual, one tribe, at a time. What story are you living? How do you choose to remember your story?

There is a Native American parable about a grandfather who says, I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.” When asked which wolf will win the fight in his heart, the old man replies, “The one I feed.”

ABOUT CATHERINE ANN JONE
Catherine Ann Jones holds a graduate degree in Depth Psychology and Myth from Pacifica Graduate Institute where she has also taught. Earlier she has played major roles in over fifty productions on and off-Broadway, as well as film and television. Disappointed by the lack of good roles for women, she wrote a play about Virginia Woolf (On the Edge) which won a National Endowment for the Arts Award. Ten of her plays, including Calamity Jane (both play and musical) and The Women of Cedar Creek, have won several awards and are produced both in and out of New York. Her films include The Christmas Wife (Jason Robards & Julie Harris), Unlikely Angel (Dolly Parton), Angel Passing (Hume Cronyn & Teresa Wright) which played at Sundance and went on to garner fifteen awards here and abroad, and the popular TV series, Touched by an Angel. A Fulbright Scholar to India studying shamanism, she has also taught at The New School University, University of Southern California, and the Esalen and the Omega Institute. Ms. Jones lives in Ojai, California, leads The Way of Story and Healing Yourself with Writing workshops throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her recent book, The Way of Story: the craft & soul of writing, is used by many schools, including NYU writing programs.www.wayofstory.com

Don’t be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin. –Grace Hansen

Good News of the Day:
Every time 71-year-old Andy Mackie draws a breath, it is music to his ears, whether there’s a harmonica there or not. He’s just glad to be alive.”How are you still sitting here?” asked CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman. “I guess they don’t need a harmonica player in heaven yet,” Mackie said. Mackie, a Scottish-born retired horse trainer, lives in a camper in Northwest Washington State, even though technically, medically, he should have died a long time ago. After his ninth heart surgery, Mackie’s doctors had him on 15 different medicines. But the side effects made his life miserable. So one day he quit taking all 15 and decided to spend his final days doing something he always wanted to do. He used the money he would have spent on prescriptions to give away 300 harmonicas, with lessons. When he didn’t die the next month, he bought a few hundred more.  [ more ]

Be The Change:
Find a way to share an activity that you deeply enjoy with others.

In Web of Debt, Ellen Brown delivers a probing account of the never ending debt being created on our behalf, who really benefits, explores how we came to give our power to print money away and how we can get it back. This is new paradigm writing at its finest. Here is one piece of Ellen’s writing that provides a glimpse into a brilliant mind and caring heart in service to humanity.

From the Introduction:

Money in the Land of Oz

If governments everywhere are in debt, who are they in debt to? The answer is that they are in debt to private banks. The “cruel hoax” is that governments are in debt for money created on a computer screen, money they could have created themselves. The vast power acquired through this sleight of hand by a small clique of men pulling the strings of government behind the scenes evokes images from The Wizard of Oz, a classic American fairytale that has become a rich source of imagery for financial commentators. Editorialist Christopher Mark wrote in a series called “The Grand Deception”:

Welcome to the world of the International Banker, who like the famous film, The Wizard of Oz, stands behind the curtain of orchestrated national and international policymakers and so-called elected leaders. 10
The late Murray Rothbard, an economist of the classical Austrian School, wrote:

Money and banking have been made to appear as mysterious and arcane processes that must be guided and operated by a technocratic elite. They are nothing of the sort. In money, even more than the rest of our affairs, we have been tricked by a malignant Wizard of Oz.

In a 2002 article titled “Who Controls the Federal Reserve System?”, Victor Thorn wrote:

In essence, money has become nothing more than illusion — an electronic figure or amount on a computer screen. . . . As time goes on, we have an increasing tendency toward being sucked into this Wizard of Oz vortex of unreality [by] magician-priests that use the illusion of money as their control device.

James Galbraith wrote in The New American Prospect:

We are left . . . with the thought that the Federal Reserve Board does not know what it is doing. This is the “Wizard of Oz” theory, in which we pull away the curtains only to find an old man with a wrinkled face, playing with lights and loudspeakers.13
The analogies to The Wizard of Oz work for a reason. According to later commentators, the tale was actually written as a monetary allegory, at a time when the “money question” was a key issue in American politics. In the 1890s, politicians were still hotly debating who should create the nation’s money and what it should consist of. Should it be created by the government, with full accountability to the people? Or should it be created by private banks behind closed doors, for the banks’ own private ends?

William Jennings Bryan, the Populist candidate for President in 1896 and again in 1900, mounted the last serious challenge to the right of private bankers to create the national money supply. According to the commentators, Bryan was represented in Frank Baum’s 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by the Cowardly Lion. The Lion finally proved he was the King of Beasts by decapitating a giant spider that was terrorizing everyone in the forest. The giant spider Bryan challenged at the turn of the twentieth century was the Morgan/Rockefeller banking cartel, which was bent on usurping the power to create the nation’s money from the people and their representative government.

To read the full Introduction and order a copy of this powerful expose, visit Ellen’s site.

Ellen Brown developed her research skills as an attorney practicing civil litigation in Los Angeles. In Web of Debt, her latest book, she turns those skills to an analysis of the Federal Reserve and “the money trust.” She shows how this private cartel has usurped the power to create money from the people themselves, and how we the people can get it back. Brown developed an interest in the developing world and its problems while living abroad for eleven years in Kenya, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. She returned to practicing law when she was asked to join the legal team of a popular Tijuana healer with an innovative cancer therapy, who was targeted by the chemotherapy industry in the 1990s. That experience produced her book Forbidden Medicine, which traces the suppression of natural health treatments to the same corrupting influences that have captured the money system. Brown’s eleven books include the bestselling Nature’s Pharmacy, co-authored with Dr. Lynne Walker, which has sold 285,000 copies.