The Kevin Trudeau Show: 11-30-10

Today, Kevin reveals his lie detector results and explains how food lobbyists are getting away with paying off politicians.

Self Help:
Be Pure Now
Get The Secret To Wealth & Success
Apple Cider Vinegar
March Madness Membership Drive Extended
Natural Cures Works
Healing The Brain
Adding Stevia To Your Diet
Beating Addiction
Global Information Network

Kevin Was Right AGAIN:
Seasonal Flu Vaccines Increase Risk of H1N1 Flu
Twenty-Five Minutes of Exercise a Day Helps Treat Depression
Johnson & Johnson Pushed Drugs on Seniors
Censorship Bill Passes in UK
News Sites Rethink Anonymous Online Comments
The Masters
Conspiracy Against Poland
Procter & Gamble to Reduce Toxins in Herbal Essences Shampoos
FDA Finally Admits Asthma Drugs Cause Asthma Attacks
Sunlight New Hope For MS Patients

Health:
China Faces New Health Scare Due to Bad Vaccines
Cash Better At Killing Pain Than Aspirin
Triclosan Used in Sanitizers & Soaps Raise Concerns
UK to Ban the Word ‘Obese’ to Avoid Offending Overweight Children
Smiling May Help You Live Longer
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Could Treat Male Infertility
BPA Now Contaminating Earth’s Oceans

NWO:
Sabotaging The Tea Party Movement
Cops & CPS Seize Child From Parents for Mistrusting Government
American Jihadi Suspects Set Up by Police
Europe Warned of Toyota Pedals Before U.S.
Serpico

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Undiplomatic Diplomats — Gadhafi and the ‘Voluptuous Blonde’

November 30th, 2010

AOL News

By: Theunis Bates

American ambassadors could be in for some awkward embassy parties this holiday season. Because hidden in WikiLeaks’ release of diplomatic files are some exceptionally unflattering portrayals of world leaders. Here’s a roundup of the most insulted:

Col. Moammar Gadhafi. An adviser to the sultan of Oman describes the Libyan leader as “just strange.” A report by Gene Cretz, the U.S. ambassador in Tripoli, meanwhile, says Gadhafi cannot travel anywhere without his “voluptuous blonde” Ukrainian nurse, Galyna Kolotnytska, 38, as she alone “knows his routine.” The Libyan tyrant is also afraid of flying over water and “appears to have an intense dislike or fear of staying on upper floors.” His vertigo is so extreme that he can’t climb any more than 35 steps.

Silvio Berlusconi. The gaffe-prone Italian prime minister is “feckless, vain and ineffective as a modern European leader,” according to Elizabeth Dibble, U.S. charge d’affaires in Rome, reports The Guardian. Another cable from the Italian embassy described Berlusconi as a “physically and politically weak” leader whose “frequent late nights and penchant for partying hard mean he does not get sufficient rest.”

Berlusconi’s relationship with Russia also comes under suspicion. Cables mention lavish gifts, energy contracts and a “shadowy,” Russian-speaking Italian fixer. Berlusconi “appears increasingly to be the mouthpiece of Putin.”

Nicolas Sarkozy. France’s president is dubbed “an emperor with no clothes” who has a “thin-skinned and authoritarian personal style.”

Hamid Karzai. The Afghan leader is portrayed as a paranoid wreck. A dispatch from Kabul calls him “an extremely weak man who did not listen to facts but was instead easily swayed by anyone who came to report even the most bizarre stories or plots against him.” His brother Ahmed Wali Karzai, a powerful and untouchable figure in the southern province of Kandahar, also comes in for criticism. “While we must deal with AWK as the head of the provincial council,” records a September 2009 cable, “he is widely understood to be corrupt and a narcotics trafficker.”

Angela Merkel. U.S. diplomats struggled to warm to the German chancellor, whose political survival skills led them to dub her “Angela ‘Teflon’ Merkel.” In a 2009 dispatch from Berlin, officials declared, “She is risk averse and rarely creative.”

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. Prime Minister Putin may have handed Medvedev the Russian president’s office in 2008, but a cable from the Moscow embassy that same year states that Putin is still “alpha-dog.” It adds that Medvedev is “pale and apprehensive” and “plays Robin to Putin’s Batman.”

Kim Jong Il. A diplomat’s source referred to North Korea’s ailing despot as a “flabby old chap” who had suffered “physical and psychological trauma” as a result of a stroke.

Robert Mugabe In an unduly optimistic 2007 cable titled “The End Is Nigh,” Christopher Dell — then America’s ambassador in Harare, Zimbabwe — predicted the dictator’s imminent downfall. “To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant tactitian [sic],” says Dell. “However, he is fundamentally hampered by several factors: his ego and belief in his own infallibility; his obsessive focus on the past as a justification for everything in the present and future; his deep ignorance on economic issues (coupled with the belief that his 18 doctorates give him the authority to suspend the laws of economics, including supply and demand).”

Click here for the full report from AOL News

No More Kevin Trudeau Infomercials? Not So Fast…

November 30th, 2010

WalletPop

By: Mitch Lipka

Just when it seemed as if infomercial king Kevin Trudeau was dealt a final knockout blow in his never-ending bout with the Federal Trade Commission, the Teflon pitchman is at it again – and he’s as cocky as ever.

Who was that guy talking smack about the FTC at 5 a.m. the other night? You guessed it.

After his latest round in court, it appeared as though TV’s insomnia-hours fixture had been banned from the airwaves. A federal appeals court allowed part of an earlier ruling to stand that severely limits Trudeau’s commercial appearances, permitting him on only previously-aired productions he doesn’t directly profit from. To air a new production, a judge said he must post a $2 million bond (the FTC asked for the bond to be set at $10 million) or be held in contempt of court.

“We’re on the air every day,” Trudeau says in an interview with Consumer Ally. “I haven’t posted a bond so I’m not airing any new shows.”

In characteristic fashion, Trudeau has found a way to remain in the spotlight. He’s not directly profiting from the books he’s currently promoting — Debt Cures and Free Money — because the rights are owned by a third party, but he’s still right there in front of the cameras pitching away in the wee hours of the morning.

To the FTC and the courts, Trudeau’s recent appearances are just one more slap in the face. The FTC has branded him a modern day snakeoil salesman who misleads consumers into buying a wide range of products that he claims can help people beat cancer, fix their finances, improve their memory… basically, fix almost anything.

It’s a cat and mouse game that has been going on for more than a decade. In 1998, the FTC and Trudeau negotiated a settlement over allegations his advertisements for “Hair Farming,” “Mega Memory System,” “Addiction Breaking System,” “Action Reading,” “Eden’s Secret,” and “Mega Reading” were deceptive. Then, in 2004, he was banned from infomercials — except for selling books — and settled his case with FTC by agreeing to pay $500,000 cash and by surrendering a “luxury vehicle” and a home in California. A few years later,Trudeau was back in the FTC’s crosshairs regarding claims he was making about his book The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.

The agency filed a lawsuit alleging Trudeau was using deceptive tactics to sell the book. Earlier this year, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Gettleman fined Trudeau $37.6 million and banned him from infomercials for three years. If Trudeau were to air one of his traditionally long-form infomercials (the ones that resemble a talk show with only attractive women as guests) he would have to pay up. (Gettleman also found Trudeau in criminal contempt for exhorting his followers to pepper the judge with so many emails of support that they crashed his computer).

“Trudeau willfully deceived thousands of consumers by producing and publishing the deceptive infomercial at issue regarding the Weight Loss Cure book, causing tens of millions of dollars in losses to those consumers,” Gettleman wrote in his order earlier this year. “The court has no faith in the notion that Trudeau has somehow been reformed by these proceedings or anything else that has happened since the publications of the offending infomercials in 2007. Indeed, Trudeau continues to deny that he did anything wrong, contends that his deceptive information is somehow protected by the Constitution, and pretends that he did not profit from the book or the infomercials and thus should not have to pay anything to the people he deceived.”

Trudeau is appealing Gettleman’s ruling and and is contemplating elevating his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We’re pretty bullish the ruling is blatantly unconstitutional,” Trudeau says.

In fact, he maintains that while the FTC claims to be acting on behalf of consumers, he has done no harm to them. Trudeau says he has made more than 500 infomercials that have generated some $3 billion in sales and has never been the target of litigation over false or misleading advertising that came from customers.

“There’s not one consumer complaint at the FTC office,” he says. “It just shows the frivolous nature of what they’re trying to do.This is not about protecting customers.”

An FTC spokeswoman said the agency would not discuss Trudeau or the pending litigation. In fact, Trudeau remains a rather sensitive subject.

While the FTC refuses to engage outside of court with Trudeau, he knows no such bounds and, in a conversation with Consumer Ally, once again skewered the federal government and the judge’s decision.

“I’m very proud of what I’m doing. I don’t think we should be restricted or intimidated by the government when you write a book that they don’t like,” Trudeau tells Consumer Ally. “It’s blatant prior restraint. The government can’t stop you from doing something legally.”

Yet, even with all of this rhetoric, Trudeau has lost a few rounds in the past (he freely acknowledges his felony convictions from cons pulled in his younger days) and the government’s pursuit has had an impact on some of his actions. Now, nearly 80% of his business interests are overseas, for example.

“I find the business environment here very restrictive,” he says.

He even claims that the government has begun harassing him. “When you start blowing the whistle on what’s going on in Washington… I said I will be attacked,” he says. “Every single time (I fly), my bags are looked through. That’s statistically impossible.”

Will Trudeau beat the odds again and regain his place on U.S. airwaves or finally wilt under the relentless pressue of the government? Stay tuned.

Click here for the full report from WalletPop

Jury Convicts DeLay in Money Laundering Trial

November 29th, 2010

AOL News

By: Juan A. Lozano

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay – once one of the most powerful and feared Republicans in Congress — was convicted Wednesday on charges he illegally funneled corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.

Jurors deliberated for 19 hours before returning guilty verdicts against DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge.

After the verdicts were read, DeLay hugged his daughter, Danielle, and his wife, Christine. There was no immediate comment from him or his attorneys.

Prosecutors said DeLay, who once held the No. 2 job in the House of Representatives and whose heavy-handed style earned him the nickname “the Hammer,” used his political action committee to illegally channel $190,000 in corporate donations into 2002 Texas legislative races through a money swap.

DeLay and his attorneys maintained the former Houston-area congressman did nothing wrong as no corporate funds went to Texas candidates and the money swap was legal.

The verdict came after a three-week trial in which prosecutors presented more than 30 witnesses and volumes of e-mails and other documents. DeLay’s attorneys presented five witnesses.

Prosecutors said DeLay conspired with two associates, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, to use his Texas-based PAC to send $190,000 in corporate money to an arm of the Washington-based Republican National Committee, or RNC. The RNC then sent the same amount to seven Texas House candidates. Under Texas law, corporate money can’t go directly to political campaigns.

Prosecutors claim the money helped Republicans take control of the Texas House. That enabled the GOP majority to push through a Delay-engineered congressional redistricting plan that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004 – and strengthened DeLay’s political power.

DeLay’s attorneys argued the money swap resulted in the seven candidates getting donations from individuals, which they could legally use in Texas.

They also said DeLay only lent his name to the PAC and had little involvement in how it was run. Prosecutors, who presented mostly circumstantial evidence, didn’t prove he committed a crime, they said.

DeLay has chosen to have Senior Judge Pat Priest sentence him. He faces five years to life in prison on the money laundering charge and two to 20 years on the conspiracy charge. He also would be eligible for probation.

The 2005 criminal charges in Texas, as well as a separate federal investigation of DeLay’s ties to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, ended his 22-year political career representing suburban Houston. The Justice Department probe into DeLay’s ties to Abramoff ended without any charges filed against DeLay.

Ellis and Colyandro, who face lesser charges, will be tried later.

Except for a 2009 appearance on ABC’s hit television show “Dancing With the Stars,” DeLay has been out of the spotlight since resigning from Congress in 2006. He now runs a consulting firm based in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land.

Click here for the full report from AOL News

British Girl, 15, Arrested Over Alleged Koran Burning

November 29th, 2010

AOL News

By: Theunis Bates

A 15-year-old British girl has been arrested on suspicion of inciting religious hatred after she allegedly set fire to an English-language copy of the Koran and posted footage of the incident on Facebook.

The unidentified teenager is accused of torching the Islamic holy book at her school in Sandwell, near the city of Birmingham in central England, as other students watched. She was questioned by police on Friday and was released later that day pending further inquiries.

Police also arrested a 14-year-old boy on Tuesday on suspicion of making threats on the social networking site, in connection with the alleged burning. He has also been released on bail pending further inquiries.

The group that published the English-language version of the Koran is believed to have visited the school this week, to talk to pupils and explain the significance of the book to Muslims, the BBC reports.

Under British law, if an adult is found guilty of religious hatred — something no one has been convicted of since the law was introduced in 2006 — they can face up to seven years in prison, a fine or both. However, it is not clear what kind of penalty a minor found guilty of the charge would incur.

Click here for the full report from AOL News

Overstock.com Accused of Overcharging Consumers

November 29th, 2010

WalletPop

By: Dawn Fallik

Consumers hunting for a deal on Overstock.com might not have been getting what they bargained for.

Seven California counties are suing the web retailer, claiming it “routinely” inflated original prices and misled customers into believing they were getting great savings. In fact, the complaint says, they might have been paying more than the item originally cost.

In one instance, Overstock sold a patio set on its website for $449 and claimed the “list price” was $999. A consumer who ordered the set, however, reported that it came in a box with a Walmart sticker showing the sale price to be $247.

“Overstock’s misrepresentations about its pricing were likely to mislead consumers into believing that [its] prices would always be significantly lower than the prices offered by other merchants for the identical products,” the lawsuit stated.

The attorneys want $15 million in fines and restitution.

But Utah-based Overstock says the patio sale was just an isolated incident. And they accuse the attorneys of fishy timing because the complaint was filed just before Christmas.

Jonathan Johnson, president of Overstock.com, says his company has been trying to deal with the California county complaints “for years.”

“We profoundly regret that these officials have chosen to file this lawsuit at what appears to us to be a strategically timed moment,” he said in a statement today. “Regardless, we have confidence in the California courts to hear and fairly decide these issues. As always, we look forward to our day in court.”

Click here for the full report from WalletPop

Better Business Bureau Issues Mea Culpa for Pay-to-Play Ratings

November 29th, 2010

WalletPop

By: Gergana Koleva

The Better Business Bureau has issued a mea culpa over a series of egregious missteps in its ratings system that included giving top grades to two fake companies set up to prove the organization favors any business that pays its accreditation fees.

In exchange for $425, a dummy company named “Hamas” became an accredited BBB member and got an A- rating, while a neo-Nazi website called Stormfront got an A+. Oblivious to the terror group reference, the BBB listed the former as a business “providing educational programs for troubled youth.”

By comparison, in July the organization gave Starbucks an F, but changed it to a B- two weeks later after an indepedent website questioned the grade. It similarly gave the Los Angeles Times a failing grade in February 2009 and without explanation changed it to an A a month later. Last year, the BBB granted dues-paying Yahoo! an A despite 1,228 consumer complaints, but assigned a D to non-accredited Google, which had just 423 complaints.

“Plain and simple, we made a mistake,” said Steve Cox, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, in an interview with a TV reporter. The nonprofit was founded in 1912 to alert the public to frauds against consumers and businesses, but in recent years has run afoul of business groups and officials for operating what they say is a pay-to-play system.

Cox’s apology came after the ABC News program 20/20 aired a segment last week documenting how firms can secure substantially higher BBB ratings when they apply for fee-based accreditation. The report addressed numerous criticisms alleging the letter-grading system, which the BBB adopted last year, is unfair to small businesses and is often used capriciously.

In September, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal echoed some of those concerns when he warned his state chapter that it risked losing credibility for rewarding companies that pay for the privilege of displaying the BBB accreditation seal over those that don’t. Blumenthal called the ratings “unreliable” and “suspect” due to the fact that the bureau lacks the resources to verify much of the information that goes into its rankings, relying instead on businesses to self-report, without independent confirmation.

And for the past three years, a former CBS newsman who goes by the nom de plume Jimmie Rivers has run an investigative website building the case that the BBB is on the take.

“What’s going on at the Better Business Bureau reflects what’s going on throughout America, where greed plays an ugly hand,” Rivers told Consumer Ally. “That’s what happens when you have outsourced field representatives selling accreditation for a commission.”

Rivers, who says much of his information comes from former employees, described the organization’s accreditation process as a “boiler room,” high-pressure sales operation where representatives are expected to fill quotas and are rewarded with up to 40% commission for closing calls with prospective new members.

What that means for consumers is that top-rated companies aren’t always the best ones. Many consumers misunderstand what the BBB is, believing it to be a government agency rather than a membership-based business organization.

Accreditation fees run between $400 and $800, depending on the size of the business. But for those that choose not to pay them – which does not release them from scrutiny, only witholds the BBB seal from them – this could mean dismal ratings justified by as few as one consumer complaint.

“The BBB does not have the resources to really go out and do their due diligence, and yet they arbitrarily run some kind of algorithm that assigns a letter grade. The grades are just ludicrous, but unfortunately they carry weight because of the BBB reputation,” Rivers said.

Neither consumers nor businesses have a recourse when that happens. The BBB has been riding on the coattails of its brand for at least a decade now, according to Rivers’s website.

“This goes back to their arrogance and smugness — ‘We’re the BBB, so how dare you question us.’ They tend to believe their own press releases and you can’t take them to court, because they claim to be a whistleblower,” the former newsman said.

He explained he uses a pseudonym because some of the clients he currently works with are BBB-accredited members and his muckraking may affect their grades.

Rivers told Consumer Ally the BBB often doesn’t have the right contact information to notify businesses when there are consumer complaints lodged against them. It also goes so far as to intentionally fail to notify non-paying businesses when there’s a problem, so as to justify slapping them with a low grade and bully them into paying for accreditation.

“How many degrees of evil do we need to know,” he offered.

Click here for the full report from WalletPop

FDA, WebMD Expand Health Information Partnership

November 29th, 2010

FDA.gov

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and WebMD Health Corp. have expanded their partnership to provide increased access to FDA’s consumer health information.

The partnership’s second phase, announced on Oct. 29, 2009, gives consumers a larger selection of timely information and multimedia tools at www.webmd.com/fda.

One highlight of this new phase is the addition on WebMD of five new sections containing personalized FDA health information. These sections will initially focus on allergies and asthma, children’s health, diabetes, heart health, and vitamins and supplements.

“We see partners like WebMD as critical to helping us reach the public with important health information,” says Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs.

WebMD President and Chief Exec- utive Officer Wayne Gattinella says his company is proud to partner with FDA to help Americans live healthier lives. “This collaboration provides health-minded consumers with access to FDA as a source of timely health information focusing on daily issues such as food safety and the safe use of prescription drugs, over the counter medications, and cosmetics,” he says.

Site is Already a Hit
Since the joint effort’s launch in December 2008, more than 150,000 consumers have accessed FDA’s destination on WebMD for health and wellness information on topics ranging from egg safety to contact lens safety to medicine safety.

In May 2009, FDA’s joint partnership center on WebMD’s site increased the reach of the agency’s warning to stop using an over-the-counter weight loss product after reports of serious health problems associated with the product.

A special WebMD email alert with the warning reached almost 3 million consumers.

FDA’s information is also located within WebMD’s homepage (www. webmd.com), WebMD Health News, WebMD Health Search, RSS feeds, and targeted WebMD Newsletters and Special Reports.

The agency’s consumer information is also available through WebMD the Magazine, which is distributed

10 times a year and reaches an additional 11 million consumers with each issue.

This article appears on FDA’s Consumer Updates page (www.fda.gov/For- Consumers/ConsumerUpdates), which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.

Click here for the full report from the FDA

EU Bans Chemical BPA in Baby Bottles

November 29th, 2010

AOL News

By: Lauren Frayer

Starting next year, the European Union will outlaw baby bottles that contain the so-called “gender-bending” chemical BPA, which mimics female hormones and has been linked to breast cancer, fertility problems and other illnesses.

By March 1, BPA will be forbidden in all baby bottles manufactured on the continent. And by June 1, Europe will ban the import and sales of such products. The ban was announced Thursday by EU Health Commissioner John Dalli.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical that acts as a hardener in plastics compounds. But it can also be a “tumor stimulator,” Dalli told The Independent newspaper. In September, the European Food Safety Authority cited some “uncertainties” about BPA. “On that decision we decided to ban the use of Bisphenol A in baby bottles,” Dalli said.

“The decision … is good news for European parents who can be sure that as of mid-2011 plastic infant feeding bottles will not include BPA,” Dalli also told the UK’s Daily Mail.

However, BPA remains in the lids of baby food jars and many other consumer products, including soda cans, cash register receipts, cell phones and computers. Scientists estimate that 90 percent of Westerners have been exposed to BPA and carry traces of it in their bodies.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has “some concern” over BPA’s potentially harmful effects on the human brain and development of glands in fetuses, babies and young children. Several U.S. states have since moved to restrict the substance.

Last month, Canada became the first country to officially list BPA as a toxic substance.

Plastics manufacturers object to BPA bans, saying research has been inconclusive about how harmful it can be. But groups like the Brussels-based Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) say the chemical can affect human brain tissue even “at surprisingly low doses.”

The chemical releases harmful toxins when it’s heated up with certain compounds found in food, HEAL spokeswoman Lisette van Vliet told EuroNews. In a demonstration with a plastic bowl made for children, van Vliet said, “If you put some fatty substance in here, and you put this in the microwave, and you heated it up, it is possible for bisphenol A to leach out of this and into the food.”

BPA is also found in some food packaging, milk containers, water pipes — and even dental work.

Click here for the full report from AOL News

Leaking of Secret U.S. Cables Sparks Diplomacy Crisis

November 29th, 2010

Politics Daily

By: Luisita Lopez Torregrosa

A large batch of secret American diplomatic cables over the past three years offers an unusual look at back-channel discussions by embassies around the world, unflattering views of world leaders and stark evaluations of nuclear and terrorist threats, The New York Times reported Sunday.

The disclosures in the Times and four other major world news organizations could fuel a worldwide diplomacy crisis with the United States at its center. “It is nothing short of a political meltdown for U.S. foreign policy,” said Der Spiegel, the German publication that, like The Times, obtained the secret cables.

The White House condemned the disclosure of classified documents and released a statement Sunday saying, in part: “We anticipate release of what are claimed to be several hundred thousand classified State Department cables on Sunday night that detail diplomatic discussions with foreign governments. By its very nature, field reporting to Washington is candid and often incomplete information. It is not an expression of policy, nor does it shape final policy decisions.” The statement acknowledged that the cables could “compromise private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leaders,” and warned that the disclosures put diplomats and intelligence and other officials at risk.

The cables were initially obtained by WikiLeaks, a website dedicated to obtaining and disseminating government secrets. Late Sunday, WikiLeaks issued a statement saying the leaked cables are the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain. The website said that the cables, which date from 1966 until the end of February this year, will be released in stages over the next few months. WikiLeaks claimed that the documents show the extent of United States spying on its allies and the United Nations; overlooking or accepting corruption and human rights abuse in friendly states; doing backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; and lobbying for American corporations.

“Every American schoolchild is taught that George Washington – the country’s first president – could not tell a lie,” WikiLeaks said. “If the administrations of his successors lived up to the same principle, today’s document flood would be a mere embarrassment. Instead, the U.S. government has been warning governments — even the most corrupt — around the world about the coming leaks and is bracing itself for the exposures.”

The cache of a quarter-million U.S. diplomatic cables were obtained in turn by the Times, Der Spiegel in Germany, The Guardian in Britain, Le Monde in France and El País in Spain. The cables constitute the third bundle of classified material involving the United States released by WikiLeaks to selected news media in the past six months.

The cables, most of them from the past three years, reportedly reveal the Obama administration’s communications and discussions over foreign crises. Among startling revelations, The Guardian disclosed that Arab leaders privately urged an air strike on Iran and that American officials have been ordered to spy on the United Nations leadership.

Such revelations have thrown Washington into a worldwide diplomatic crisis. The expected disclosure of the cables had reportedly alarmed the diplomatic establishment in Washington and other world capitals in the past days.

Anticipating an uproar, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and American ambassadors around the world have been contacting foreign officials in recent days to alert them to the expected disclosures, The Times said Sunday.

The cables are part of the daily traffic between the State Department and some 270 embassies and consulates and, according to the Times, amount to a secret account of Washington’s relations with the world in an era of global terrorism.

Among disclosures that could potentially cause a problem for Washington, according to The Guardian, are fears in Washington and London over Pakistan’s nuclear program; suspected links between the Russian government and organized crime; criticism of British military operations in Afghanistan; and claims of inappropriate behavior by a British royal family member.

The Times cited “gaming out an eventual collapse of North Korea: American and South Korean officials have discussed the prospects for a unified Korea, should the North’s economic troubles and political transition lead the state to implode. The South Koreans even considered commercial inducements to China, according to the American ambassador to Seoul. She told Washington in February that South Korean officials believe that the right business deals would ‘help salve’ China’s ‘concerns about living with a reunified Korea’ that is in a ‘benign alliance’ with the United States.”

The Times also cited “suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government: When Afghanistan’s vice president visited the United Arab Emirates last year, local authorities working with the Drug Enforcement Administration discovered that he was carrying $52 million in cash. With wry understatement, a cable from the American Embassy in Kabul called the money ‘a significant amount’ that the official, Ahmed Zia Massoud, ‘was ultimately allowed to keep without revealing the money’s origin or destination.’ (Mr. Massoud denies taking any money out of Afghanistan.)”

The Times said that more than 251,287 cables, first obtained by WikiLeaks, were obtained by the newspaper from an intermediary to whom the newspaper promised anonymity. Many of the documents, the Times said, were unclassified and none were marked “top secret.” But some 11,000 are classified “secret.”

The Times concluded that the cables demonstrated that “the dark shadow of terrorism still dominates the United States’ relations with the world.” The Times said it planned to publish details of the revelations in the coming days.

In a critical article Sunday, Der Spiegel concluded: “Never before in history has a superpower lost control of such vast amounts of such sensitive information — data that can help paint a picture of the foundation upon which U.S. foreign policy is built. Never before has the trust America’s partners have in the country been as badly shaken. Now, their own personal views and policy recommendations have been made public — as have America’s true view of them.”

As for WikiLeaks, the U.S. Justice Department and other agencies have been investigating the website for potential violation of national security laws. In the meantime, the controversial founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, is under investigation in Sweden on allegations that he sexually abused two women while visiting that country last summer. Assange, an Australian master hacker, is believed to be living in London.

Click here for the full report from Politics Daily

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