The "Demonization" of Muslims and the Battle for Oil

Throughout history, "wars of religion" have served to obscure the economic and strategic interests behind the conquest and invasion of foreign lands. "Wars of religion" were invariably fought with a view to securing control over trading routes and natural resources.

The Crusades extending from the 11th to the 14th Century are often presented by historians as "a continuous series of military-religious expeditions made by European Christians in the hope of wresting the Holy Land from the infidel Turks." The objective of the Crusades, however, had little to do with religion. The Crusades largely consisted, through military action, in challenging the dominion of the Muslim merchant societies, which controlled the Eastern trade routes.

The "Just War" supported the Crusades. War was waged with the support of the Catholic Church, acting as an instrument of religious propaganda and indoctrination, which was used in the enlistment throughout Europe of thousands of peasants, serfs and urban vagabonds.

America's Crusade in Central Asia and the Middle East

In the eyes of public opinion, possessing a "just cause" for waging war is central. A war is said to be Just if it is waged on moral, religious or ethical grounds.

America's Crusade in Central Asia and the Middle East is no exception. The "war on terrorism" purports to defend the American Homeland and protect the "civilized world". It is upheld as a "war of religion", a "clash of civilizations", when in fact the main objective of this war is to secure control and corporate ownership over the region's extensive oil wealth, while also imposing under the helm of the IMF and the World Bank (now under the leadership of Paul Wolfowitz), the privatization of State enterprises and the transfer of the countries' economic assets into the hands of foreign capital. .

The Just War theory upholds war as a "humanitarian operation". It serves to camouflage the real objectives of the military operation, while providing a moral and principled image to the invaders. In its contemporary version, it calls for military intervention on ethical and moral grounds against "rogue states" and "Islamic terrorists", which are threatening the Homeland.

Possessing a "just cause" for waging war is central to the Bush administration's justification for invading and occupying both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Taught in US military academies, a modern-day version of the "Just War" theory has been embodied into US military doctrine. The "war on terrorism" and the notion of "preemption" are predicated on the right to "self defense." They define "when it is permissible to wage war": jus ad bellum.

Jus ad bellum serves to build a consensus within the Armed Forces command structures. It also serves to convince the troops that the enemy is "evil" and that they are fighting for a "just cause". More generally, the Just War theory in its modern day version is an integral part of war propaganda and media disinformation, applied to gain public support for a war agenda.

The Battle for Oil. Demonization of the Enemy

War builds a humanitarian agenda. Throughout history, vilification of the enemy has been applied time and again. The Crusades consisted in demonizing the Turks as infidels and heretics, with a view to justifying military action.

Demonization serves geopolitical and economic objectives. Likewise, the campaign against "Islamic terrorism" (which is supported covertly by US intelligence) supports the conquest of oil wealth. The term "Islamo-fascism," serves to degrade the policies, institutions, values and social fabric of Muslim countries, while also upholding the tenets of "Western democracy" and the "free market" as the only alternative for these countries.

The US led war in the broader Middle East Central Asian region consists in gaining control over more than sixty percent of the world's reserves of oil and natural gas. The Anglo-American oil giants also seek to gain control over oil and gas pipeline routes out of the region. (See table and maps below).

Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Yemen, Libya, Nigeria, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, possess between 66.2 and 75.9 percent of total oil reserves, depending on the source and methodology of the estimate. (See table below).

In contrast, the United States of America has barely 2 percent of total oil reserves. Western countries including its major oil producers ( Canada, the US, Norway, the UK, Denmark and Australia) control approximately 4 percent of total oil reserves. (In the alternative estimate of the Oil and Gas Journal which includes Canada's oil sands, this percentage would be of the the order of 16.5%. See table below).

The largest share of the World's oil reserves lies in a region extending (North) from the tip of Yemen to the Caspian sea basin and (East) from the Eastern Mediterranean coastline to the Persian Gulf. This broader Middle East- Central Asian region, which is the theater of the US-led "war on terrorism" encompasses according to the estimates of World Oil, more than sixty percent of the World's oil reserves. (See table below).

Iraq has five times more oil than the United States.

Muslim countries possess at least 16 times more oil than the Western countries.

The major non-Muslim oil reserve countries are Venezuela, Russia, Mexico, China and Brazil. (See table)

Demonization is applied to an enemy, which possesses three quarters of the world's oil reserves. "Axis of evil", "rogue States", "failed nations", "Islamic terrorists": demonization and vilification are the ideological pillars of America's "war on terror". They serve as a casus belli for waging the battle for oil.

The Battle for Oil requires the demonization of those who possess the oil. The enemy is characterized as evil, with a view to justifying military action including the mass killing of civilians. The Middle East Central Asian region is heavily militarized. (See map). The oil fields are encircled: NATO war ships stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean (as part of a UN "peace keeping" operation), US Carrier Strike Groups and Destroyer Squadrons in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian deployed as part of the "war on terrorism".

All-nuclear formation: Enterprise, Long Beach (CGN-9), and Bainbridge (CGN-25).

USS Enterprise Strike Group

The ultimate objective, combining military action, covert intelligence operations and war propaganda, is to break down the national fabric and transform sovereign countries into open economic territories, where natural resources can be plundered and confiscated under "free market" supervision. This control also extends to strategic oil and gas pipeline corridors (e.g. Afghanistan).

Demonization is a PSYOP, used to sway public opinion and build a consensus in favor of war. Psychological warfare is directly sponsored by the Pentagon and the US intelligence apparatus. It is not limited to assassinating or executing the rulers of Muslim countries, it extends to entire populations. It also targets Muslims in Western Europe and North America. It purports to break national consciousness and the ability to resist the invader. It denigrates Islam. It creates social divisions. It is intended to divide national societies and ultimately trigger "civil war". While it creates an environment which facilitates the outright appropriation of the countries' resources, at the same time, it potentially backlashes, creates a new national consciousness, develops inter-ethnic solidarity, brings people together in confronting the invaders.

It is worth noting that the triggering of sectarian divisions and "civil wars" is contemplated in the process of redrawing of the map of the Middle East, where countries are slated to be broken up and transformed into territories. The map of the New Middle East, although not official, has been used by the US National War Academy. It was recently published in the Armed Forces Journal (June 2006). In this map, nation states are broken up, international borders are redefined along sectarian-ethnic lines, broadly in accordance with the interests of the Anglo-American oil giants (See Map below). The map has also been used in a training program at NATO's Defense College for senior military officers.

Note: The following map was prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters. It was published in the Armed Forces Journal in June 2006, Peters is a retired colonel of the U.S. National War Academy. (Map Copyright Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters 2006).


The oil lies in Muslim lands. Vilification of the enemy is part and parcel of Eurasia energy geopolitics. It is a direct function of the geographic distribution of the World's oil and gas reserves. If the oil were in countries occupied predominantly by Buddhists or Hindus, one would expect that US foreign policy would be directed against Buddhists and Hindus, who would also be the object of vilification..

In the Middle East war theater, Iran and Syria, which are part of the "axis of evil", are the next targets according to official US statements.

US sponsored "civil wars" have also been conducted in several other strategic oil and gas regions including Nigeria, the Sudan, Colombia, Somalia, Yemen, Angola, not to mention Chechnya and several republics of the former Soviet Union. Ongoing US sponsored "civil wars", which often include the channelling of covert support to paramilitary groups, have been triggered in the Darfur region of Sudan as well as in Somalia, Darfur possesses extensive oil reserves. In Somalia, lucrative concessions have already been granted to four Anglo-American oil giants.

"According to documents obtained by The Times, nearly two-thirds of Somalia was allocated to the American oil giants Conoco, Amoco [now part of BP], Chevron and Phillips in the final years before Somalia's pro-U.S. President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown and the nation plunged into chaos in January, 1991. Industry sources said the companies holding the rights to the most promising concessions are hoping that the Bush Administration's decision to send U.S. troops to safeguard aid shipments to Somalia will also help protect their multimillion-dollar investments there." (America's Interests in Somalia, Global Research, 2002)

Globalization and the Conquest of the World's Energy Resources

The collective demonization of Muslims, including the vilification of Islam, applied Worldwide, constitutes at the ideological level, an instrument of conquest of the World's energy resources. It is part of the broader economic, political mechanisms underlying the New World Order.


Michel Chossudovsky is the author of the international best seller "The Globalization of Poverty " published in eleven languages. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Center for Research on Globalization, at www.globalresearch.ca . He is also a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
ANNEX


For details on th Campaign against the pipeline see
http://www.bakuceyhan.org.uk/more_info/bp_pipeline.htm
Route of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline


NOTES PERTAINING TO THE TABLE ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF OIL RESERVES

Indicated are the world's main oil reserve countries. Countries with less than 0.1 % of total reserves are not indicated.

The Oil and Gas Journal figures indicated above are based on proven oil reserves including the bituminous oil fields (oil sands or tar sands). The World Oil figures indicate oil reserves without the tar sands. The difference between the two sets of figures largely pertains to the position of Canada and Venezuela. The tar-sands are considered by some experts as not recoverable with present technology and prices, although this issue is the object of heated debate.

Muslim countries are indicated in bold. Percentages are rounded up to first decimal.

*Canada appears according to this estimate as the Second Country in terms of the size of proven reserves, due to the size of its bituminous oil fields. The Oil & Gas Journal's oil reserve estimate above for Canada includes 4.7 billion barrels of conventional crude oil and condensate reserves and 174.1 billion barrels of oil sands reserves.

In other recognized estimates, where the oil sands are not accounted for, Canada's reserves are much lower (in billions of barrels):

BP Statistical Review 16.802

Oil & Gas Journal 178.792

World Oil 4.700

BP notes that "the figure for Canadian oil reserves includes an official estimate of Canadian oil sands "under active development"." BP says of its data sources for oil reserves that "the estimates in this table have been compiled using a combination of primary official sources, third-party data from the OPEC Secretariat, World Oil, Oil & Gas Journal and an independent estimate of Russian reserves based on information in the public domain.

World Oil's Canadian oil reserve estimate "does not include 174 billion bbl [barrels] of oil sands reserves."

Japan earthquake as it happened

Hundreds of people are dead after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Japan, triggering a devastating 10-metre-high tsunami along parts of the country's northeastern coastline.

The massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday afternoon local time, creating gigantic waves which swept away cars, boats, homes and people as the surging water overwhelmed coastal barriers.

Widespread fires burned out of control and Japan's nuclear industry was on alert as reactors shut down automatically as a safety precaution.

Millions of people are reported to be without electricity, airports are closed and public transport in Tokyo and other cities has come to a halt as Japan reels amid the twin devastations.

Police said 200 to 300 bodies have been found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai where hundreds of buildings have collapsed. Japan's NHK television said the victims appeared to have drowned.

Police said another 88 were confirmed killed and 349 were missing.

Thousands of people living near a nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture were ordered to evacuate after the reactor developing a cooling fault. Officials said the move was a precaution and there was no evidence of leaking radiation.

Meanwhile, countries around the Pacific basin are on tsunami alert amid warnings that a wall of water could completely wash over low-lying islands.

RAW FOOTAGE

Major Earthquake, Tsunami Hit Japan

A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off Japan's northeastern coast, triggering a four meter tsunami that washed away cars along parts of the coastline.

Video from national broadcaster NHK showed dozens of cars, large ferries and some buildings being swept out to sea in the port city of Kamaishi in the province of Iwate.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warming for the entire Pacific coast of Japan following the quake that struck about 125 kilometers off the eastern coast, at a depth of 10 kilometers. Residents in the coastal areas have been urged to immediately evacuate to higher ground.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in the U.S. state of Hawaii said a tsunami warning was also in effect for Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. It said a tsunami watch was issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Hawaii.

Friday's massive quake was felt in Tokyo, where it shook buildings and caused several fires. The Tokyo metro system says all train and subway traffic in the city has been stopped.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has convened an emergency meeting of the Cabinet to assess the situation.
WATCH FOOTAGE

Watoto From The Nile - Letter to Lil Wayne

this beautiful young sister lays out a song that even Weezy himself will have to acknowledge at some point. Referring to herself as a "little queen," she questions why Lil Wayne has decided to make a career out of degrading black women and chasing corporate greed over creating music that is socially responsible and capable of uplifting a community that is dying by the second.

Mooz-lum': New film tries to bridge faith and fear

Mooz-Lum is an independent film that debuted late last year to standing-room-only audiences and well-earned praise at last year's Urbanworld Film Festival. Making its wide-release debut today after an aggressive grassroots push to elevate its profile sufficiently to get it into theaters, this thoughtful picture arrives at an auspicious time. Culture-watchers are embroiled in a vigorous debate about an apparent dearth of quality roles for black actors, which a few weeks ago resulted in a shutout of Oscar nominations. At the same time, instances of Islamic extremism continue to occupy headlines worldwide, even as the memories of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks still percolate in the minds of many nearly ten years later.

Part coming-of-age drama, part religious exegesis, Mooz-lum strives to be the latest cinematic effort to spark cross-cultural dialogue. In fact, the title is a deliberate mispronunciation of the Muslim, meant to evoke the idea of misunderstanding. At a January screening in New York City, Novice filmmaker Qasim "Q" Basir describes the film as semi-autobiographical, and an attempt to cultivate a better mainstream understanding of the Islamic faith. "When terrorist acts happen, Muslims are affected to. Not only are Muslims affected by the violence of terrorists, but [they are] being associated with terrorists," Basir told a room of viewers. "This is not for the Tyler Perry audience," he joked. And in many ways, he's absolutely correct.

All of which means that Mooz-lum, despite its earnestness and gripping performances, walks something of a tightrope between moralizing and well-meaning, yet ultimately insufficient, attempts to educate. The movie has at its core a compelling though flawed premise, even as it gingerly sidesteps the director's central objective: trying to distinguish the beliefs of peace-loving Muslims from the radical interpretation of Islam that birthed the September 11 plots, and continues to fuel extremism worldwide.
Evan Ross anchors the movie with a brilliant and often mesmerizing performance as Tariq Mahdi, a college-bound African-American who finds himself torn between a devout and disciplinarian Muslim father Hassan (played by the criminally underrated Roger Guenveur Smith), and his doting yet fiercely independent mother (portrayed by Nia Long, another woefully underestimated actor). In a series of jarring flashbacks and flash-forwards, viewers learn that Tariq's seminal religious experience was being enrolled briefly in an Islamic religious school as a young boy, where a series of traumatic events cause him to reject his strict religious upbringing.

Once he enrolls in college, Tariq battles against an encroaching sense of alienation from his peers, distancing himself from his religion and many of those around him. The cast is rounded out by a comparatively brief appearance by Danny Glover, who hovers over the movie malevolently as the college's antagonistic dean.

While Tariq clearly doesn't identify with the strictures of Islam, at various points during the movie he demonstrates a deft understanding of the Qu'ran and speaking Arabic. His religious upbringing leads to some awkward interactions and make adjusting to college life difficult for him. Still, Tariq manages to keep his religion and his observant Muslim roommate at arms length, even as culture wars continually erupt around him.

The traumatic event of Sept. 11 becomes a plot device that propels the narrative into hyperdrive, and it is at this point where Mooz-lum's flaws become most glaring. The immediate aftermath of the attack leads to mass confusion, fear and bigotry on campus, as non-Muslim students inevitably clash with their Islam-following peers. Given the horrifying events of that fateful day, some degree of fear and loathing was an understandable, if irrational, response to the crisis. But as terror sweeps the campus and Tariq's friends are caught in the middle, the movie misses an opportunity to discuss how ordinary Muslims differ from those who are inspired by violent extremism. Rather than fostering understanding, non-Muslims are depicted in semi-caricature fashion as xenophobic, marauding bigots. Motivated by vengeance, they blindly lash out at anyone who isn't like them.

Granted, Mooz-lum is an independent movie with a limited budget, and one that the director forthrightly states was a vehicle for his own personal self-examination. But Mooz-lum's core values seem to be redemption and understanding, its unstated promise to clarify the distinctions between ordinary and radical Muslims ultimately evaporates. Whether by design or accident, the movie actually does more to highlight many of the cultural and relationship conflicts adherence to Islam can provoke. Tariq's parents, who have differing interpretations of what it means to be a good Muslim, are ultimately torn apart by a religion to which they both adhere. The movie only mentions in passing the reasons why, and almost never delves deeply into the reasons why conflict and tension seems to pulsate when the movie's Muslims interact with non-Muslims -- and even when they deal with other Muslims.

In 2006, HBO debuted Big Love, a drama about a fundamentalist Mormon with three wives, to much media fanfare. As someone who was curious about the Mormon faith and mainstream references to its belief in polygamy, I tuned in hoping to be enlightened by Mormonism. After watching the first few episodes -- which were bogged down with interpersonal dynamics and politics and hierarchy between the wives -- I quickly lost interest. It struck me that Mooz-lum, though thought-provoking and gripping in its own way, was weighted by a similar fundamental problem that prevented me from enjoying Big Love: too much emphasis on the dramatic, coupled with underwhelming exposition.

Movies about religion are invariably fraught with controversy, but they should make you think. While it is worth seeing for the dramatic performances alone, Mooz-lum falls short in its effort to promote religious understanding. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't break new ground in illuminating the pressing question of why ordinary Muslims, who are ostensibly eager to avoid being lumped in with extremists, often remain reticent in the face of Islamic-inspired violence.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR 'MOOZ-LUM'

MOOZ-lum Theatrical Trailer from Qasim Basir on Vimeo.

'Ivory Queen of Soul,' Teena Marie dies

Teena Marie's last album, "Congo Square," was titled after a historical meeting place for slaves in New Orleans, featured a tribute to Martin Luther King's widow and also song "Black Cool," written for President Barack Obama.No matter that Marie, 54, was white. The R&B legend revered and fully immersed herself in black culture — and in turn was respected and adored by black audiences, not only for her immense soulful talents, but for her inner soul as well.
"Overall my race hasn't been a problem. I'm a Black artist with White skin. At the end of the day you have to sing what's in your own soul," she told Essence.com in an interview last year while promoting "Congo Square." That album would turn out to be her last.
The self-proclaimed "Ivory Queen of Soul," whose many classic hits included "Lovergirl," Square Biz" and the scorching duet "Fire and Desire" with mentor Rick James, was found dead in her Pasadena home on Sunday at the age of 54. Authorities said her death appeared to be of natural causes.
In an interview with The Associated Press last year, Teena Marie said she had successfully battled an addiction to prescription drugs; she had been performing over the last year.
"The enduring influence of Teena's inspirational, trailblazing career, could only have been made possible through her brilliant song-writing, showmanship and high energy passion which laid the ground work for the future generations of R&B, hip-hop, and soul," said Concord Music Group chief label officer, Gene Rumsey; Concord's Stax Records released her last album.
"We feel extremely fortunate to have worked with a visionary who changed music in indelible ways. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family, friends and of course, millions of fans around the world."
Marie certainly wasn't the first white act to sing soul music, but she was arguably among the most gifted and respected, and was thoroughly embraced by black audiences, and beyond.
Even before she started her musical career, she had a strong bond with the black community, which she credited to her godmother. She gravitated to soul music and in her youth decided to make it her career.
Marie made her debut on the legendary Motown label back in 1979, becoming one of the very few white acts to break the race barrier of the groundbreaking black-owned record label that had been a haven for black artists like Stevie Wonder, the Jackson Five, the Supremes and Marvin Gaye.
The cover of her debut album, "Wild and Peaceful," did not feature her image, with Motown apparently fearing black audiences might not buy it if they found out the songstress with the dynamic, gospel-inflected voice was white.
"(Motown founder Berry) Gordy) said that is was so soulful that he wanted to give the music an opportunity to stand on its own merit. Instead of my face, they put a seascape, so by the time my second album came out people were like, Lady T is White?" she told Essence.com.
Marie was the protege of the masterful funk wizard James, with whom she would have long, turbulent but musically magical relationship.
Marie notched her first hit, "I'm A Sucker for Your Love," with the help of James on that album. But the time her second album was released, her face was known — and on the cover of the record. But there was not a backlash — she would only get more popular on her way to becoming one of R&B's most revered queens. During her tenure with Motown, the singer-songwriter and musician produced passionate love songs and funk jam songs like "Need Your Lovin'," "Behind the Groove."
Marie's voice was the main draw of her music: Pitch-perfect, piercing in its clarity and wrought with emotion, whether it was drawing from the highs of romance or the mournful moments of a love lost. But her songs, most of which she had a hand in writing, were the other major component of her success.
Tunes like "Cassanova Brown" "Portuguese Love" and "Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before)" featured more than typical platitudes on love and life, but complex thoughts with rich lyricism. "Deja vu" was a song about reincarnation.
And "Fire and Desire," a duet with James about a former couple musing about their past love, was considered a musical masterpiece and a staple of the romance block on radio stations across the country.
Marie left Motown in 1982 and her split became historic: She sued the label and the legal battle led to a law preventing record labels from holding an artist without releasing any of their music.
She went to Epic in the 1980s and had hits like "Lovergirl" and "Ooo La La La" but her lasting musical legacy would be her Motown years.
Still, she continued to record music and perform. In 2004 and 2006 she put out two well-received albums on the traditional rap label Cash Money Records, "La Dona" and "Sapphire."
James, who had a romantic relationship with Marie but also a long friendship, died in 2004. His death shook her so she said she became addicted to Vicodin, which she had been taking for pain, for about a year.
But Marie said she successfully battled that addiction.In 2008, she talked about her excitement of being honored by the R&B Foundation.
Marie was the mother of a teenage daughter who was budding singer; she would sometimes bring her daughter onstage to sing during her shows.
In 2009, she celebrated 30 years in the recording industry, and planned for many more.
"All in all, it's been a wonderful, wonderful ride," she told The Associated Press in 2008. "I don't

Scientist has Cancer Cure Breakthrough

A local scientist, intent on finding a cure for cancer, believes he's on the brink of a breakthrough as he and his counterparts in Germany have been able to produce the anti-cancer compound, dibenzyl trisulphide (DTS), from guinea hen weed (petivera alliacea), which grows wild across Jamaica.

According to zoologist Dr Lawrence Williams, a research consultant with the Scientific Research Council, he is now ready to take his research to the next level - the use of the compound on mice induced with cancer and an investigation into the side effects, including DTS's impact on the kidneys and the liver. The work is to cost an estimated US$150,000.

Dr Lawrence Williams examines a guinea hen weed plant on the compound of the Scientific Research Council in Kingston.

And while human testing may be between three and five years away, Dr Williams said he was confident that he would have no problems getting volunteers.

In the last few months, he said, he has been receiving inquiries from people who have heard of the healing properties of the guinea hen weed and who have indicated an interest in participating in any clinical trial that may be set up.

At least five of them have been taking the DTS compound, which Williams said was also synthetically produced by the German firm Aldrich Chemical. The reports filtering in from those people, he added, have been positive.

There is one man with skin cancer, he said, who has been using the plant leaves to make tea and the extract as a salve for his lesions with encouraging results.


"The lesions are gone and he is feeling much better," an enthusiastic and smiling Williams said of the man, who could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The DTS compound, produced through three years of work at the University of Hohenheim in Germany, has, when applied to cancer cells in vitro (outside a living organism), been found effective in the cure of various types of cancer. Among them:


. brain (neuro blastoma),
. bladder (primary bladder carcinoma),
. breast (mammary carcinoma),
. fibrous (sarcoma),
. skin (melanoma), and
. small cell lung cancer.

"Despite the fact that people are using it, we still need to do the toxicological work on the pure compound to validate safety," said Dr Williams. "Also, in terms of patenting the data, we would need to have that data too.

Dr Williams's counterparts in Germany are professors Harold Rosner and Wolfgang Kraus. They intend, Williams said, to create DTS tablets for the human testing phase of the research.


"It is a promising project," said Williams. "I am very positive about the work and I think also that one day it will come off as a curative agent for cancer. It may be that we should look at the effects of DTS in combination with radiation therapy and see if they can enhance each other."

Williams's positive outlook is based in large part, he said, on the fact that the compound was drawn from a plant and that there was need for a cancer drug with limited side effects, if any.


"Cancer is one of the most challenging diseases to mankind, and anything that can work against cancer with minimum side effects is worth the while developing," he said. "Most of the drugs they use to treat cancer now have too many side effects. We are hoping that because the compound is natural, it will have less side effects. That is one of the beliefs."

Cancer is among the leading causes of death in Jamaica and the Caribbean. According to data received from the Cancer Registry at the University of the West Indies, in 1999 there were 2,697 cancer deaths in Jamaica, representing 17.7 per cent of deaths in that year. Of that number, 1,466 were males and 1,231 were females.

Dr Williams told the Sunday Observer that his preliminary work has shown that the DTS compound does not affect healthy cells, which, he said, is a bonus.

"The anti-cancer action of dibenzyl trisulphide is linked to the molecule ability to disrupt the skeletal framework of cells, of which there are two - actin and microtubules," he explained. "Microtubles is the one responsible for cell division and that is the one that the dibenzyl trisulphide acts on. So we have found that with a normal cell, the dibenzyl trisulphide has no effect on it."

This is not the case with chemotherapy, for example, which does affect healthy cells that multiply quickly because the treatment is designed to kill faster growing cancer cells. Among those healthy cells likely to be affected are blood cells forming in the bone marrow and cells in the digestive tract, reproductive system, and hair follicles. Chemotherapy may also damage cells of the heart, kidney and lungs.

Williams' revelation of his work comes on the heels of an announcement by the pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline, of their intention to introduce to the local market next year a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.

The vaccine, called Cervarix, was developed over the last five to 10 years at a cost of approximately £1.8-billion and has been proven to prevent the strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is known to cause cervical cancer.

The vaccine is to be administered to people before they become sexually active.

The Manchester-based Northern Caribbean University is also enaged in cancer research, focussing on sorrel and garlic and their effects on cancer cells, as well as on over-the-counter substances that contain dismuth and their effects on cancer cells.


Dr Devon Gardener, a professor of physical chemistry at the institution, said last October that should funding become available, the expectation was that the scientists would make significant progress in a few years.

Last week, Dr Williams said he was not worried about the possibility of his research being stolen, as he has published works on his progress to date, even as he moves to secure a patent internationally for the biological activity of the DTS compound.

Among the journals in which his works have been published are Phytotherapy Research Journal in England, the Biochemica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Journal and the Jamaica Journal of Science and Technology.

"The Germans and myself are trying to get a patent for the biological activity," Williams said. "The papers that have been published are copyright to the journals and as leading researcher I can write to the journal to get the patent for the biological activity."

Dubai: Real Estate Crash Sends Prices, Rents Falling

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