~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'You've been drafted'
By Rob Kall


"The questions are:
What can you do?
What have you done today?
How passionate are you about committing to fighting to make the change happen?
How big a change in your life are you willing to institute?
You know that the assault on America, on democracy on the working and middle class is nothing less
than a full blown pearl harbor attack, a declaration of war.
Will you sit passively and cooperate like the vast majority of Poles and French did during world war two?"

**Sign up for news mailing lists so you know what is going on in the world-- like the OpEdNews.Com mailing list, MoveOn.org and True Majority**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tongue-in-chimpcheek-
"A Peek Inside Bush's Post-War Diary"
By: Bernard Weiner

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Most Dangerous Lie

"There comes a moment when the only option is to look the liar directly in the eyes and confront him,
not with his lies, but with his reasons for telling them.
There comes a moment when we must realize that time is running out, that if we wait much longer,
the shame that currently prevents the widespread and open advocacy of an unconscionable agenda will be gone."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

READ THIS BOOK!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: "Get Your War On"



*See website: Donate $125 to fund land mine removal in Iraq and receive a FREE "My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable" print.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MAKE NO MISTAKE--HOWARD DEAN IS HIS OWN MAN

http://www.startribune.com/stories/465/3944452.html

"National politics briefly comes to Minnesota with the arrival of President Bush today.
Bush's visit will be followed on Friday and Saturday by a parade of yawns, also known as the field of Democratic presidential candidates.
The one Democrat in that parade who seems to have any buzz factor is Dean.."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What Did You Do in the Postwar, Daddy?
By Rick Horowitz

"The newscasters read what's put in front of them. The parts that I notice sound roughly like this:

"American soldiers encountered stiff resistance today outside the Iraqi village of Such-and-Such, in some of the heaviest fighting since the war ended."
Or...
"The Pentagon reported the capture today of Just This Many Iraqis, in the biggest American military operation since the war ended."
Or...
"A U.S. soldier was shot and killed early this morning by Iraqi sniper fire, the Somethingth American to die in Iraq since the war ended."

If the newscasters find any of this troublesome, they don't let on. I, on the other hand, find myself sitting there with forehead furrowed and nostrils flared. If there's heavy fighting, I say to myself, if there are large military operations, if there are dozens of fatalities "since the war ended" --
Maybe the war hasn't ended!
I mean, not to be a party pooper or anything, but does any of this sound like peace to you?

________________________

Rumsfeld says it's cool...after all, it's just like any other day on any other US urban battlefield

"You've got to remember that if Washington, D.C., were the size of Baghdad, we would be
having something like 215 murders a month," Rumsfeld said. "There's going to be violence in a big city."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From "Meet the Press" transcript
June 15, 2003
Tim Russert interviewing guest Gen Wesley Clark:

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK (RETIRED), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: ...All of us in the community who read intelligence believe that Saddam wanted these capabilities and he had some. We struck very hard in December of ’98, did everything we knew, all of his facilities. I think it was an effective set of strikes. Tony Zinni commanded that, called Operation Desert Fox, and I think that set them back a long ways. But we never believed that that was the end of the problem. I think there was a certain amount of hype in the intelligence, and I think the information that’s come out thus far does indicate that there was a sort of selective reading of the intelligence in the sense of sort of building a case.
TIM RUSSERT: Hyped by whom?
GEN. CLARK: Well, I...
MR. RUSSERT: The CIA, or the president or vice president? Secretary of Defense, who?
GEN. CLARK: I think it was an effort to convince the American people to do something, and I think there was an immediate determination right after 9/11 that Saddam Hussein was one of the keys to winning the war on terror. Whether it was the need just to strike out or whether he was a linchpin in this, there was a concerted effort during the fall of 2001 starting immediately after 9/11 to pin 9/11 and the terrorism problem on Saddam Hussein.
MR. RUSSERT: By who? Who did that?
GEN. CLARK: Well, it came from the White House, it came from people around the White House. It came from all over. I got a call on 9/11. I was on CNN, and I got a call at my home saying, “You got to say this is connected. This is state-sponsored terrorism. This has to be connected to Saddam Hussein.” I said, “But—I’m willing to say it but what’s your evidence?” And I never got any evidence. And these were people who had—Middle East think tanks* and people like this and it was a lot of pressure to connect this and there were a lot of assumptions made. But I never personally saw the evidence and didn’t talk to anybody who had the evidence to make that connection.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.anshellmedia.com/anshell_home.htm
LIBERAL RADIO ON THE HORIZON!
Employment opportunity!

Q: DO YOU THINK THIS HAPPENED IN IRAQ?

"You could say it was an ambush," he said. "When they got fired upon they said 'Hell with it' and pulled away." Someone in the crowd fired several rounds of ammunition at them, but they were not hit. Two of them were, however, injured by the flying objects."

Check here for answer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_Investigative_Report_Texas.pdf

See the DHS Inspector General's report on the wacky Texas Democrat hunt....
...uh....if you can figure out what any of it means after reading around all the black-outs!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Found another interesting website while reading the Sound and the Fury blog.
See:
http://www.newleftblogs.blogspot.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a natural consequence of misleading your people to war..leaders and media alike...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/content_objectid=13087653_method=full_siteid=50143_headline=-US%2DTROOPS%2DADMIT%2DSHOOTING%2DIRAQI%2DCIVILIANS-name_page.html

"Describing the scene during combat Richardson admitted shooting injured soldiers and leaving them to die.
He said: "S***, I didn't help any of them. I wouldn't help the f******. There were some you let die. And there were some you double-tapped."
Making a shooting sign with his hand he went on: "Once you'd reached the objective, and once you'd shot them and you're moving through, anything there, you shoot again. You didn't want any prisoners of war. You hate them so bad while you're fighting, and you're so terrified, you can't really convey the feeling, but you don't want them to live."
And despite there being no link between Iraq and the September 11 attacks Richardson admitted that it gave him his motivation to fight Iraqis.
"There's a picture of the World Trade Centre hanging up by my bed and I keep one in my flak jacket. Every time I feel sorry for these people I look at that. I think, 'They hit us at home and, now, it's our turn.' I don't want to say payback but, you know, it's pretty much payback."

*commentary also on http://www.thismodernworld.com/*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Too strange. Too, too strange. I hope the Padilla family hears from Benjamin soon.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/727family030619.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Found an interesting website while reading the Sound and the Fury blog.
See:
http://www.wnyc.org/onthemedia/otm061303.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From:
ETHICS FOR A NEW MILLENIUM
By His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama





An excerpt:

"Consider the following. We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others’ actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others’ activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others. Nor is it so remarkable that our greatest joy should come when we are motivated by concern for others. But that is not all. We find that not only do altruistic actions bring about happiness but they also lessen our experience of suffering. Here I am not suggesting that the individual whose actions are motivated by the wish to bring others’ happiness necessarily meets with less misfortune than the one who does not. Sickness, old age, mishaps of one sort or another are the same for us all. But the sufferings which undermine our internal peace anxiety, doubt, disappointment these things are definitely less. In our concern for others, we worry less about ourselves. When we worry less about ourselves an experience of our own suffering is less intense.

What does this tell us? Firstly, because our every action has a universal dimension, a potenial impact on others’ happiness, ethics are necessary as a means to ensure that we do not harm others. Secondly, it tells us that genuine happiness consists in those spiritual qualities of love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness and so on. For it is these which provide both for our happiness and others’ happiness."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Stop.
You've found it.
This is the place.
Americana HQ.
Patriotism in a giant tin bucket.
This is where souls recoil
...children wail
....dreams die."

Hilarious commentary...
...and true!"

"In A Wal-Mart Kind Of Hell"
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist June 18, 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GOVERNOR DEAN WANTS YOUR SUPPORT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"At a time when liberationist, decentralizationist, and anti-governmental views are becoming increasingly prominent, postmodernists must become aware of their own political traditions. Without such an awakening of awareness, our political future may well be reduced to a choice between the paranoid individualism of the right and the simulatory practices of "democratic representation."


"Historicizing the Spontaneous Revolution: Anarchism and the Spatial Politics of Postmodernism"
Nicholas Spencer
University of Nebraska, Lincoln

"I propose to make a small contribution to this process of
historicization by seeking to find clues to the true
politics of postmodernism within leftist traditions of the
past one hundred and fifty years....."

Companion links:

Situationist International

Rosa Luxemburg

Essay-Methods of Détournement-Guy-Ernest Debord

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

George W Bush.....Have You Forgotten?


http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/06/18/911/index_np.html



No, Mr. Bush...these are not images of anti-Americans.
These are not liberals who hate you because you stole an election.
These are people who represent the best of the heart and soul of America.
And they want to know why you have smothered every attempt to get to the bottom of the outrageous intelligence failures
that took place on your watch on 9-11-2001.
Look at the faces in the photographs they hold dearly.
It's all they have left to hold on to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hall of Mirrors
by John Chuckman
Interactivist Info Exchange

"Power is power, regardless of how it is conferred, whether elected or not. When an American President wants something produced or an attitude assumed by the intelligence services, intellectual integrity and notions of independence soon melt in the furnace of his wishes."

"It is impossible for a director of intelligence to long resist a President's demands without being put in an untenable position: the appointed official of a secretive organization unresponsive to the elected President of a democratic society."

" We can assume, always, with events holding the world's attention, as with the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, that the White House orders support for the arguments it wants to make. Of course, generally, a President will not demand nor will the intelligence people produce material that is immediately absurd or embarrassingly inaccurate. It's up to all those clever people with unlimited resources to provide something suitable, something that only detailed study might reveal as faulty."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STRIKING!



"It's a striking finding," said Steve Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, which asked the weapons questions during a May 14-18 poll of 1,256 respondents.He added, "Given the intensive news coverage and high levels of public attention, this level of misinformation suggests some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance...

.....That is, having their beliefs conflict with the facts...."

"A third of the American public believes U.S.
forces found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, according
to a recent poll. And 22 percent said Iraq actually used
chemical or biological weapons.
Before the war, half of those polled in a survey said Iraqis
were among the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001."

**What the hell's wrong with the American people?**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraq scandal a threat to democracy
June 16 2003
Robert Manne / Professor of politics at La Trobe University


"..To achieve greater certainty, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz created inside the Pentagon a new body called the Office of Special Plans, under the leadership of a neocon former Cold Warrior, Abram Shulsky. As Seymour Hersh has argued in a recent article in The New Yorker, it was through uncritical acceptance or even manipulation of intelligence supplied by Iraqi defectors that the Office of Special Plans was able to deliver the concrete evidence concerning Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that the case for war required.
If Hersh is right, it was on the basis of this kind of highly politicised intelligence that Bush, Blair and Howard claimed to know for certain that Saddam Hussein had amassed a vast arsenal of chemical and biological weapons that were ready for use; that the production of such weapons was increasing in tempo; and that it was almost certain that within a short few years Saddam Hussein would be in possession of nuclear weapons as well.
It now appears that every part of this assessment was false. If so, the conclusion seems inescapable.
The anglophone democracies invaded Iraq on the basis of a lie."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'M BEGINNING TO WONDER.....



Iraq: WMD In Dispute, 'Teflon Tony' Takes The Heat While Bush Unscathed

"....Bowman of the American Enterprise Institute said the Bush administration need not worry about the current row. "Americans give their presidents considerable latitude in foreign policy once a basic level of trust has been established. Bush didn't have that trust before [11 September 2001], he clearly has it now, his marks on handling foreign policy on war issues are extraordinarily high. it's unlikely to dent his armor. [There are] people who think he deliberately misled the nation, there are some people who see political motivations in it, there are others who thing the intelligence has been bad all along, but [it's] just unlikely to affect him," Bowman said.

"She said the hearings in Congress would have to come up with something "really explosive" to inflict any damage."

**So... the near-daily deaths of U.S. troops based on a war of greed, dishonesty, and out-and-out lies to the public is not explosive?
What the hell is wrong with the American people?**

________________________________


Why, all of a sudden, does it seem that the press is smearing only Tony Blair and giving Bush a virtual free pass?
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/crook2003-06-17.htm

"But what of the issue of good faith? The salient question is not whether the two governments genuinely believed that Iraq possessed WMD, but whether, so believing, they then embroidered or even invented "intelligence" in order to bring public opinion more firmly around to the same conclusion....."
"Deliberately misleading voters, even in a cause as good as the destruction of Saddam Hussein, is bad in itself. It may very well prove counterproductive as well—especially if America and its allies are right to suppose that the war against the West's enemies is only just beginning. In prosecuting this long war, the electorate's trust is a vital strategic asset. George W. Bush's stock of credibility with voters seems ample, for now. But what happens next time when Tony Blair, clutching bulging dossiers of intelligence, asks Britain to trust his assessment of national security and to go to war? Unless danger by then is staring them in the face, his audience is going to take an awful lot of convincing."


**Why the hell is the press promoting benefit of doubt for Bush in "hopes that it just won't happen again"? Haven't they learned anything from Bush's offense? There has been an unforgiveable abuse of the American people. The utmost good faith is required of the American President in light of the sheer power of the Executive office. Bush has broken faith with the American people. How could we ever trust him again? What is the press afraid of?

_______________________________________

Australian PM Now Taking Heat for Bush's War Lies

_____________________________________

Why don't we care about the WMD?
"So far, Americans are giving Bush a pass about the lies used to justify the Iraq war. But will fear, ignorance, and
faith in the president's integrity keep him Teflon-coated forever?"
"...The question, then, is whether American democracy can survive a citizenry that either doesn't know or doesn't care if its leaders tell the truth.
At the very least, observe some experts, public ignorance, apathy or denial could change the kind of democracy under which Americans live."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Human Rights Watch: U.S. troops used excessive force
By JIM KRANE
Salon.com


Rights Group Says U.S. Soldiers Twice Used Excessive Force
By DAVID ROHDE
NY Times

From Human Rights Watch:
VIOLENT RESPONSE:
THE U.S. ARMY IN AL-FALLUJA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

----IT'S ALIVE!!----
BUSHENSTEIN---A must-see!
President Bush is Dr. Frankenstein and he wants to put a rightwing monster on the
Supreme Court.


Go to:
http://www.democrats.org/scotus/bushenstein.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


While Bush stuffs his right-wing nominees into the Federal courts,
the House of Representatives gives Big Business a gift--
and the environment a kick in the kiester.
One more sharp blow to democracy.
Watch what happens in the Senate.
Contact your Senators!
http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,977761,00.html

"...But the House of Representatives has voted by 253 to 170 to thwart the vast majority of class action suits in state courthouses, limiting all but the smallest claims to federal courts, where the big companies, say citizens' groups, find it easier to delay the progress of suits and 'shop' for courts more favourable to their interests.
'It's the biggest thing for years,' said a jubilant Lawrence Fineran, vice-president at the Association of Manufacturers. 'Just about every industry group is on this bandwagon, because every industry is affected.'
The battle over the future of class actions, in which consumer and environmental groups face some of the Bush administration's most powerful financial backers,
now goes to the Senate, where Republicans won a powerful majority during last winter's mid-term elections.
Big firms and their lobbying groups in Washington - led by the insurance, energy and private health giants - have been pushing for years to achieve a shift away from state benches, to which judges are usually elected, to the politically appointed federal judiciary....."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Time Has Come To Say It Out Loud"

http://globalresearch.ca/articles/GER306A.html

"..."It’s that fear that keeps journalists from asking the toughest of the tough questions."

"..it is now time to say and act upon the fact that the United States, as a state, is Fascist."

"...Bush II’s War has nothing to do with 9/11 or al Qaeda or terrorism...."

"...the goal was and is control of the whole region. Not just to own the oil and gas, but also to control their sale, in order to dictate which developing country the US will help and which it will sink into desperate poverty. After Iraq, they want to invade Iran. Then any other country, especially the oil-rich "...stans" surrounding the Caspian Sea if they balk at US demands and where the US now has bases.

"...What has happened to the US when murderers and liars run our affairs and neither Congress nor ordinary Americans seem to care?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two new and very interesting articles from the FPIF (Foreign Policy In Focus) website:


Iraq: Integrity and Ethics in Formulating and Interpreting Intelligence
By Col. Daniel Smith (Ret.) | June 17, 2003
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2003/0306ethics.html

"...The back-up tack is the assertion that "the road to Jerusalem runs through Baghdad." This assertion sought to conflate two separate policy problems through repeated public pronouncements to the effect that removing Saddam would be the key that unlocked peace in the Middle East and the gulf. (Such contorted reasoning in the face of the known support by Syria and Iran of violent groups operating in Palestine, if done purposefully, raises the question of integrity in trying to resolve this dispute.)"

_____________________________________

Is U.S. Foreign Policy
a Threat to U.S. Security?
By Muqtedar Khan | June 17, 2003
http://www.presentdanger.org/commentary/2003/0306security.html

"...Perhaps the president would do well to change his foreign policy team--as he did with his economic policy team. At the least he must return the foreign policy portfolio to the State Department and insist that the Department of Defense execute, not formulate, foreign policy. The president might also do well to focus on allaying the fears of the global community and take steps to reassure its members that Washington is neither threatening them nor is it going to pursue its interests at the expense of everyone else...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear friends,

I'm blogging this to ask you to take part in MoveOn.org's
presidential primary. Too often, the real choices in presidential nomination processes are made long before the real primaries.
Pundits, pollsters and big donors shouldn't be the only voices that count at this early and important stage of the process.
MoveOn's primary will give at least 1.4 million people
the opportunity to make their voices heard. You can be
one of them by registering to vote in the MoveOn Primary
here:
http://www.moveon.org/pac/reg/

Thanks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hear them cheering yet? "Liberation - yay."


from www.ridiculopathy.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today I couldn't help but notice the gentleman standing in front of me in line at the Taco Bell. I'd seen his face many times before.
I'd "seen" him more in writing. I've read his many books. He is an American poet.
I recalled a wonderful poem I'd read by him a few months ago and wish to share it here..with you:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


COMPLAINT AND PETITION
by Hayden Carruth

"Mr. President: On a clear cold
morning I address you from a remote
margin of your dominion in plain-
style Yankee quatrains because

I don't know your exalted language
of power. I'm thankful for that. This
is a complaint and petition, sent
to you in the long-held right I claim

as a citizen. To recapitulate your
wrong-doings is unnecessary; the topic
is large and prominent and already
occupies the attention of historians

and political scholars, whose findings
will in the near future expose your
incontinent and maniacal ambition
for all to see. Let it suffice to

say that you have warped the law and
flouted the will and wisdom of the
people as no other has before you.
You have behaved precisely as a tin-pot

tyrant in any benighted, inglorious
corner of the earth. And now you are
deviously and corruptly manipulating
events in order to create war.

Let us speak plainly. You wish to
murder millions, as you yourself
have said, to appease your fury. We
oppose such an agenda--we, the people,

artists, artisans, builders, makers,
honest American men and women,
especially the poets, for whom I dare
to speak. We say, desist, resign,

hide yourself in your own shame,
lest otherwise the evil you have
loosed will destroy everything
and love will quit the world."

1/28/03
_________________________

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'IN THESE TIMES' article:

MEET HOWARD DEAN
by David Moberg

Excerpt:
"...Polls..suggest that Dean’s stance against the war may help him. It’s unclear, Dean argues, whether six months from now Iraq will be peaceful or in tumult against U.S. occupation. In any case, the issue will be a wash politically, he thinks. “People don’t believe that being against the war in Iraq is as Joe [Lieberman] says, a tendency to be weak on defense. The Dean doctrine would be very clear. We have a right to defend ourselves against an immediate threat, an imminent threat. But we don’t have a right to engage in preventive war without an immediate threat being established.” In late April, a survey by the Program on International Policy Attitudes showed that more than 75 percent of Americans favored the United States cooperating with other countries to solve problems. These majorities are closer to the position of Democrats like Dean than to Bush or his Democratic apologists...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Impeachment Kit against Wolfowitz-PNAC Cabal: Why 911
was important for Iraq War
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wolfowitz Cabal in August 2001 -Why Sep11th was
important for Iraq War
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/15/0553240

"... In the latest Vanity Fair article on the NeoCons
(not available online) you will find a photo, which
shows Paul Wolfowitz, who visited President Bush on
his vacation in August 2001 at the Farm in Crawford.
What was the reason for this visit?
And did it take place before or after the CIA's memo
on a pending attack on August 6th?..."

911 Skeptics Unite -the encyclopedia
http://globalfreepress.com/ewing2001

The Top 150 Subpoena list for the 911 Commission
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/05/26/0450229

The real people behind 911?
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/05/08/0354202&mode=thread

Gerard Holmgren's 911 Evidence Kit (Update 06/14/03)
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/14/1332239

Thompson + Wood -new Timeline of Sep11th
http://www.cooperativeresearch.net/timeline/main/essayaninterestingday.html

Who profited from Ground Zero in New York?
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/08/1119253

PNAC -related collection
http://news.globalfreepress.com/index.pl?section=pnac
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/04/15/0110205&mode=thread

Deck of War Profiteers
http://www.warprofiteers.com/cards/alphabet.html
http://www.ghostelectricity.com/warprofiteers/WarProfiteerCardDeck.pdf

Impeach Bush Campaigns
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=impeach+bush

Global Free Press- the 911 Archive
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/04/0146225

Shadow Government TV -every thursday on Cable 34 (NYC)
http://www.globalfreepress.com/sgtv

The BENS-CIA-911-Homeland Sec.-connection
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/04/15/0129239&mode=thread

Tom Flocco: 9-11 Commission Testimony Too Hot...
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/05/30/0037246

FBI Denies Mix-Up Of 9/11 Terrorists
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/11/1525250

Ex-FBI Whistleblower Wright under investigation
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/13/0439244

The unsolved mystery of Building 7 Collapse
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/07/2252254&mode=thread

Breitwieser + Co.- "Jersey Girls" get in Muellers face
(Isikoff)
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/12/0756203

Top Pentagon Paper of '99: If an oil "problem" arises,
"US forces might be used"
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/05/20/0359252&mode=thread

Halliburton secretly worked with DoD long time before
Iraq War
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/05/19/0543210&mode=thread

Latest on Iraq-Gate:
========================================================
New pressure on UK Government (incl.
Marconi-Greenberg-ties)
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/15/0624235

Sen. Warner (R) might have public hearings
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/13/2355246

Secret US Army found no WMD before War started
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/13/2158250

CIA Says It cabled Key Iraq Data to White House
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/13/0451207

Krugman strikes again: "Nation misled into war in
Iraq"
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/11/1715255

IraqGate: Voices are getting louder worldwide
http://new.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/06/10/0118201&mode=thread

--

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the blog of the ever-astute Anonymoses:

Censored 2003: The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2001-2002

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How dumb do they think we are?
I mean..really!
Homeland Security investigates itself....
..and absolves itself?!
Like, WOW....
I could have has a V8!!!!





Report Finds No Wrongdoing in Search for Texas Lawmakers
By PHILIP SHENON
NY TIMES

"An internal investigation at the Department of Homeland Security has
found no evidence that the department did anything wrong when it
agreed to assist in the search for a group of Texas Democratic
lawmakers who had fled the state in a partisan dispute, according to a
report made public today...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The War Built On A Lie

"Why mince words? These are the facts:

1) President George W. Bush is a liar.
2) Secretary of State Colin Powell is a liar.
3) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is a liar.
4) National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice is a liar.

To the above facts we might add these: There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, none were there when our war against Iraq began, and none will be found unless we plant them there........."

"One might also conclude that Waxman has found the smoking gun that could -- and should -- bring down the corrupt Bush Administration.
But, observing the events in Congress last Wednesday, one might conclude further that the Republicans in Congress, by blocking the call for a decent investigation, intend to do their best to see that the Bush Gang is never brought to account for its lying ways.
The sordid truth is that the Bush team lied through its teeth to justify its desire to go to war against Iraq....."

" am not a seer. I have no magical powers that allow me to see the future. But obvious is obvious, and it was obvious long before the war began that Bush would not be satisfied until he could send our young people off to avenge Saddam's attempt to assassinate his father...."


How long will you sit there and think all these lies are acceptable?
Read the article!
Bush should be impeached for these lies!


"They impeached me for lying about that woman.
What will they do to the guy who drags the entire nation into
a troop-endangering / terror-recruiting war based on an obvious series of lies?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An excellent column from June 16, 2003 by Neal Gabler
Alameda Times-Star
I think he's right on the money in his assessment of Karl Rove.

From Gabler's well-stated opinion:

" At some level, liberals know what the president and Rove are up to and fear that they will succeed in dismantling an effective two-party system. The left knows that Rove and company aren't keen on debating issues, negotiating, compromising and horse-trading, the usual means of getting things done politically. On the contrary: The administration is intent on foreclosing them.
As much as liberals abhor the conservative agenda, there is something far more frightening to them now -- not that Republicans have an ideological grand plan but that they don't have one. Instead, the GOP plan is policy solely in the service of politics, which should terrify all Democrats."

_________________________________





Rove's strategies may backfire upon him when the American people see the result of his political "finesse"...when the American people see that he, through his
political fanagling, has been nothing more than a prime contributor to killing American democracy.

The American people are already beginning to see the truth. The latest polls would certainly indicate so. George W. Bush's job performance rating has slipped to 58% from his most recent high of 61% in April, according to the newest Zogby America poll conducted June 6 - 10. Four in ten (41%) view his job performance negatively.
If the presidential election were held today, Bush would beat a generic Democratic candidate, 44% - 37%. (Just wait until a Democrat's
name and a face are secured in the voter's minds!)

For all his deliberate democracy-deconstruction, Karl Rove will only have lead Bush to the ashcan of one-term Presidents.
Karl's boss wasn't even elected. The President's arrogance in all his presumptive/aggressive/radical political maneuvering via Karl Rove will
assure his send-off back to Texas next year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poll suggests world hostile to US
People around the world take a dim view of the US, poll suggests
Nearly two-thirds of respondents to an international poll for the BBC say they have an unfavourable opinion of George W Bush.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LIKE IRAQ---IT LOOKS LIKE THE
STATE DEPARTMENT VS. THE NEOCONS--
WILL THESE NEOCONS PUSH US INTO
ANOTHER WAR SO SOON?
BEWARE!

From The Forward
June 6, 2003
Pentagon Team on Iran Comes Under Fire

"Several sources said the State Department was seeking to improve contacts with Tehran and was skeptical of the neoconservative assessment that the regime was on the verge of collapse..."

"State officials also question the clout and democratic credentials of exiled opposition figures like Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late shah who has emerged as an advocate of Iranian secular democracy and a darling of neoconservatives.
The source close to Iran policymakers added that the Pentagon was very much in favor of regime change in Iran and enjoyed the support of the vice president's office. He said advocates were hoping to convince the president over the objections of the State Department."
________________________________________

and Forward story from May 16, 2003:
New Front Sets Sights On Toppling Iran Regime

"Neoconservatives advocating regime change in Tehran through diplomatic pressure — and even covert action — appear to be winning the debate within the administration, several knowledgeable observers said.

"There is a pact emerging between hawks in the administration, Jewish groups and Iranian supporters of Reza Pahlavi [the exiled son of the former shah of Iran] to push for regime change," said Pooya Dayanim, president of the Iranian-Jewish Public Affairs Committee in Los Angeles and a hawk on Iran.

"The emerging coalition is reminiscent of the buildup to the invasion of Iraq, with Pahlavi possibly assuming the role of Iraqi exile opposition leader Ahmed Chalabi, a favorite of neoconservatives. Like Chalabi, Pahlavi has good relations with several Jewish groups. He has addressed the board of the hawkish Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and gave a public speech at the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and met with Jewish communal leaders.

Pahlavi also has had quiet contacts with top Israeli officials. During the last two years, according to a knowledgeable source, he has met privately with Prime Minister Sharon and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Israel's Iranian-born president, Moshe Katsav.

In another parallel to the pre-invasion debate over Iraq, an intense policy battle is heating up between the State and Defense departments over what to do in Iran.

"The president, the vice president and, even more so, the Pentagon support regime change," said a source who follows the internal debate closely. "But State does not want to meddle in Iran, so you have a big fight right now within the administration."

________________________________

Richard Perle said today, in an interview with a German newspaper:

"We { U.S.} only use military force when all peaceful means are exhausted. That was the case in Iraq," {Perle} said, in comments published in German.

Perle, one of the US administration's leading proponents of the war on Iraq, said that Washington was nevertheless interested in regime change in Iran...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How The Press Favors Bush


Excerpts:

"Particularly since 9/11, the U.S. media has mostly given Bush a....


"...his {Bush's} rote stump speech -- which varied only by inserting the local candidate's name at the appropriate spots -- repeated his claim that Hussein was linked somehow to al-Qaeda, even though it was known for months that there is no evidence to support it. Yet not one news report can be found that pointed out that the President was lying, or at best, repeating an unsubstantiated rumor......"

"The Y2000 election controversy ended the moment the jets smashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon...."

"The War on Terror bestowed on Bush a Teflon coating that Reagan would envy, as he sailed through both political and personal scandals this year.


Widespread corporate fraud generated plenty of stinging commentary in broadcast and print media -- but aside from Bush making a short speech about enforcing corporate accountability and prosecuting the guilty, few in the press mentioned that he wasn't doing much on either front..."

"The media's gentle treatment of Bush stands in razor-sharp contrast to the mauling of Clinton...."



"So what's going on here? Is the media's pro-Bush tilt just a pendulum swing from its bias against Clinton -- or is there something more conspiratorial at work?"

"The problem is not just muck from the RNC occasionally slipping into the mainstream -- it's that U.S. media is increasingly an active player in that disinformation campaign....."

"It's increasingly clear that Bush has the advantage because the U.S. press shows him favor. Rarely is the bad stuff mentioned or framed in an alarming way..."

" Would there be more upset about Enron if Ken Lay had been a close personal friend of Clinton's?


...Or reporting that Times poll with the dismal finding that most people don't want to reelect Bush, wouldn't an equivalent 1994 headline have read something like, "2 Out Of 3 Voters Say They Won't Vote Again For Clinton"?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just one look at the headlines from this hour and you can almost smell the fishy PNAC planning their next fishy preemptive war.

Are you ready for more lies? More war and destroyed lives for oil and imperialism..er... I mean ' the furtherance of democracy'?


--UN calls on Iran to allow stricter nuclear inspections (AFP) - June 16 11:23 pm
--Iran sends official protest to US over "interference" (AFP) - June 16 7:51 pm
--Tehran has failed to report certain nuclear activities: IAEA (AFP) - June 16 7:50 pm
--Iran sticks to refusal to allow full IAEA nuclear inspections (AFP) - June 16 4:03 pm
--North Korea exports missiles to Iran by air (AFP) - June 16 3:28 pm
--UN nuclear agency meets in Vienna amidst concern over Iran program (AFP) - June 16 12:12 pm

ABRAHAM LINCOLN SAID:



"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it.
Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise
their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember
or overthrow it."

Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address / March 4, 1861
_____________________________

They're doing it to Gray Davis.
Trying to overthrow him.
Gray Davis didn't even lie blatantly to create fear and net support based on sheer falsity.. to send our troops to their death for oil ...
nor did Gray Davis, with his corporate associates, rob his State's citizens blind. We know who did.
Bush and Cheney helped to kill California's economy and rob and antagonize California's citizens by their secrecy and
complicity in their political facilitating of the energy scandals.

We, the people, refuse to rise up against the real economy-killers and war mongerers.

Yet we watch complacently as those who support the unelected killers overthrow democratically-elected victims.

Why are we afraid?

Have we forgotten who owns this country according to the sacred Founding documents?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have to say this. It needs to be said.
If Hillary Clinton is not going to run in 2004..possibly the most important election in American history (the very LIFE of our
American democracy may depend upon it)...then she should get the hell off the stage and let the serious 2004 contenders into the light.
This is no time to play primadonna bookseller to the idiotic entertainment news media and all the dumbed-down gullible souls that follow that same
disgusting gossip-mill-journalism's every word.
The time for playing games is surely not now. I lose respect for her by the day. She ought to be running for President now when the country
really needs her if she is indeed serious. She is completely "patriotically incorrect" by telling us she may wait until 2008. That's like saying she expects and
hopes for a Democrat defeat this time around... simply because 'tis not HERSELF in the running!
Pfffflt! Hillary gets the raspberry of the day!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The road to Bush’s impeachment is open. All we need to do is follow it.

"The Bush administration wants to repackage the Iraq war as a noble war of choice. But that’s not how they sold it. Billions of dollars and thousands of lives were consumed based upon the determination stating that this was a war of necessity, to protect America and the world from a regime armed with WMDs...."

~~~~~~~~~~~


**He swears he didn't.**


U.S. VICE PRESIDENT LINKED TO TERRORIST FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION!!!

"...Cheney's office repeatedly has said he had no role....."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

VICTORIA CLARKE WANTS TO "SPEND MORE TIME WITH THE FAMILY"......

... joining a fast-growing list of others....
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030613-124516-9620r.htm


such as:

-Karen Hughes (White House aide)
-Paul O'Neill (Secretary of the Treasury)
-Thomas White (Army Secretary)
-Richard Perle (Chairman, Defense Policy Board)
-Jay Garner (Reconstruction/Iraq Humanitarian Aid)
-Barbara Bodine (US coord. for central Iraq)
-Ari Fleischer (White House press secretary)
-Christine Todd Whitman (EPA Administrator)
-Rand Beers (White House counterterrorism adviser)
-Rosario Marin (U.S. Treasurer)
-General Eric Shinseki (Chief of Staff, US Army)
-John Brady Kiesling (US Diplomat / Greece)
-Martin Sullivan (Bush cultural advisor)
-Eric Schaeffer (head of EPA Regulatory Enforcement)
-General Tommy Franks (Commander/CENTCOM)
-Mitch Daniels (OMB Director)
-Larry Lindsay (Bush Chief Economic Advisor)

WHO'LL BE NEXT? HMMM????

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 14, 2003
Dean Easily Wins Wisconsin Democratic Straw Poll

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Reuters) - Former Vermont governor Howard Dean easily won the first straw poll of the 2004 presidential race at the Wisconsin Democratic convention on Saturday in a contest that national party officials and campaign organizations derided as a waste of time.
Dean, who spoke at the convention on Friday night, trounced the other eight Democratic presidential contenders in the unofficial poll sponsored by two political Web sites, winning 203 votes to 50 for the second-place finisher, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.
_______________________________________________________

June 15, 2003

"Trying to please everybody never works for Democrats," said Drumer, who is still undecided in the Democratic race. "You have to stand for something."

That view, echoed by many of the delegates in Milwaukee, is great news for candidates like former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whose outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq vaulted him from obscurity to the top tier of candidates and has fired up the party's liberal wing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*

"We can easily become as much slaves to precaution as we can to fear. Although we can never rivet our fortune so tight as to make it impregnible, we may.......
by our excessive prudence.....squeeze out of the life that we are guarding so anxiously all the adventurous quality that makes it worth living."
***************
Randolph Bourne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Those Americans who opposed our going to war with Iraq, who wanted the United Nations to remove those weapons without war, need not apologize for giving voice to their conscience, last year, this year or next year. In a country devoted to the freedom of debate and dissent, it is every citizen's patriotic duty to speak out, even as we wish our troops well and pray for their safe return.
Congressman Abraham Lincoln did this in criticizing the Mexican War of 1846, as did Senator Robert F. Kennedy in calling the war in Vietnam 'unsuitable, immoral and intolerable.'
"This is not Iraq, where doubters and dissenters are punished or silenced - this is the United States of America. We need to support our young people as they are sent to war by the President, and I have no doubt that American military power will prevail. But to ensure that our post-war policies are constructive and humane, based on enduring principles of peace and justice, concerned Americans should continue to speak out; and I intend to do so."

Howard Dean
March 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THEY IMPEACH MURDERERS, DON'T THEY?
Bush Must Step Down

"George W. Bush told us that Iraq and Al Qaeda were working together. They weren't. He repeatedly implied that Iraq had had something to do with 9/11. It hadn't. He claimed to have proof that Saddam Hussein possessed banned weapons of mass destruction. He didn't..."

"George W. Bush, like Richard Nixon, "endeavor[ed] to misuse the Central Intelligence Agency." George W. Bush, like Richard Nixon, "[made] or caus[ed] to be made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damnable lies....Impeachable lies?

"The latest challenge to the CIA involved a claim in Bush's State of the Union address that
Saddam had been trying to buy "significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Bush aides have given somewhat conflicting accounts of how this claim made it into the speech.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said intelligence officials declared the charge incorrect
"as the information was received."

"..Condoleezza Rice said "someone may have known" the information was false 11 months before Bush's speech,
but the White House believed it to be true at the time.
But she said the claim, attributed in the speech to the British government, was what "the intelligence community said we could say."


"We must find out whether
the CIA deceived the president ... or whether it is deceiving the
public now to protect the president and the vice president."
Rep. Henry Waxman
LINK

...and there stands a White House In Denial
"I don't believe that the president deliberately lied to the public in an attempt to scare Americans into supporting his war. But it does look as if ideologues in the administration deceived themselves about Iraq's nuclear programs — and then deceived the American public as well." Nicholas Kistof

Note: **I think Mr. Kristof is giving Bush too much benefit of doubt. I believe he DID deliberately lie to scare Americans into supporting his war.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IT IS NOT FOR THE TRULY FREE MIND
TO SIMPLY ACCEPT OR TO SIMPLY DENY

"One has to find out for oneself."


"This does not mean that you reject what others say...

___*______*_____*___

....but that you inquire without acceptance or denial."



^~^~^~^~^~^"An aggressive mind, a mind tethered to a belief, is not free.......


^~^~^~^~^~^

~^~^~^~^~^~and therefore it is incapable of inquiry."



"All this demands intensive inquiry, not acceptance."
____________________________________


KRISHNAMURTI
.
.
.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An open invitation to Greens

.........................

Thursday June 12, 2003 2:56 AM

To Whom it may concern:

My name is Todd Schneider. I , and my family live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. I am a yellowdog Democrat. Having gotten that out of the way, I am writing today in the spirit of unquestioning friendship, admiration and loyalty.

Friendship, because we are all still brothers and sisters in the fight to save our nation from tyranny. Despite the conservative trend in a branch of my party, I can tell you that our differences are little. In some ways, the rightward trend in the DLC has been forced by factors of which you are all aware. The corporate hypnotism that has convinced America to adopt consumerism as its national religion has in many ways been a success. The American people have become comfortable with the idea that endless consumption is the answer to all ills, both economic and social. In large measure, the stance of the DLC may be a side-effect of this social trend - to gain votes from the centrist majority of our citizens. And of course the same argument could be applied to the trend toward militarism - the centrist majority falls for the idea that there is a boogieman out there, waiting to get them. The corporate media makes their money on this psychology of fear, the Republicans get their votes to perpetuate their power, and the DLC feels it has to fall into line, in order to scrape up some swing voters that haven't totally bought the Republican lie. But this is NO excuse, and Greens are RIGHT to hold my party's ass to the fire.

Admiration, because I have gotten to know you as honorable, hard-working people that make an effort to keep our country as it was intended. I have marched with you in NYC and DC in recent months. I have read your platforms and visited your sites, and know you mean business. Though I felt sour after the 2000 election, I understand now that you BELIEVE what you say, and had to make a stand. And that is why I admire Greens most; you make a stand, and don't back up. I have learned from you, and have re-examined myself to find out if I have slipped back into acquiescence.

Loyalty, because we are all seeking justice for mankind, and we must be united to fight against what are frightening odds. The forces arrayed against us are the most powerful in the history of mankind, with endless resources at their disposal. This stands to only get worse, should the corporate puppet-masters remain in power, and the only thing we have is each other. And loyal we progressives must be, because our land and world are coming perilously close to a point of no return.

So, what do we do? We have problems in our party; there can be no denying that. But when I look out at our social/political landscape, I can't help but think that the problems of the Democratic Party pale to insignificance before the 'onslaught to humanity' and total disregard for the rule of law that is The Republican Party. The other side (yes, you and I are STILL on the same side) parades one injustice to humankind after another before us on almost a daily basis. They have gone to great lengths to polish their game over decades, and have become so good at that game that they are nearly unstoppable.

You might ask, "If you believe what we believe, why don't you become a Green?" One word - time. The power of the other side is growing exponentially, and at a rate that the electorate seems to be unable to comprehend, let alone get themselves worked up over. This is not an insult to the electorate - indeed the other side USES the distractions of everyday life in order that their will be done. This is a well-oiled machine that we are up against! Why else would the concept of freedom of expression have disappeared so completely - almost overnight?

In the great scheme of things, I am really nobody of any consequence. Just a 48 year old family man who welds and makes things for a living. With our cultural backdrop of 'You are what you do', one might ask why you should care what I say. All I can tell you is that I fight this fight so my sons can live in a country where our Constitution is sacred, and justice prevails across the economic spectrum. My friends and I fight this fight every day, and are in it for the duration. The biggest battle in our country's history is coming, and it is election day, 2004.

How are we going to come together to defeat tyranny? We must find a way. We are the same. We are friends. We are the progressive family of humankind. We must find a way.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Todd J. Schneider

Copied with permission of author.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the Army chief of staff who pushed his tradition-bound service on a difficult path toward transformation, retired today, warning against arrogance in leadership.

"You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader," he said. "You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it. And without leadership, command is a hollow experience, a vacuum often filled with mistrust and arrogance."
Gen Shinsecki

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







"There exists only the present moment...a Now which
always and without end is itself
now...
There is no yesterday.. nor any tomorrow.. but only Now, as it was a thousand years
ago...and as it will be a thousand years hence."

Meister Eckhart
.
.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is Your Story - The Progressive Story of America. Pass It On.
by Bill Moyers
Text of speech to the Take Back America conference
sponsored by the Campaign for America’s Future
June 4, 2003
Washington, DC

"....this is the oldest story in America:
"....the struggle to determine whether
"we, the people" is a spiritual idea embedded in a political reality – one nation, indivisible – or merely a charade masquerading as piety and manipulated by the powerful and privileged to sustain their own way of life at the expense of others..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Azerbaijan




A beautiful place.
Learn about it.
Educate yourself on its history.
Its political struggles.
Its location between the great Caspian oil fields and the oil fields of northern Iraq.
You'll be hearing a lot about it in days to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WAR MAY HAVE KILLED 10,000 CIVILIANS

SIMON JEFFERY, GUARDIAN - At least 5,000 civilians may have been killed during the invasion of Iraq, an independent research group has claimed.
As more evidence is collated, it says, the figure could reach 10,000. Iraq Body Count, a volunteer group of British and US academics and
researchers, compiled statistics on civilian casualties from media reports and estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 civilians died in the
conflict. Its latest report compares those figures with 14 other counts, most of them taken in Iraq, which, it says, bear out its findings.
Researchers from several groups have visited hospitals and mortuaries in Iraq and interviewed relatives of the dead; some are conducting surveys
in the main cities. Three completed studies suggest that between 1,700 and 2,356 civilians died in the battle for Baghdad alone. . . The Iraqi
authorities estimated that 2,278 civilians died in the 1991 Gulf war.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,976392,00.html



*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*


"At least 3,240 civilians died across Iraq during a month of war, including 1,896 in Baghdad,
according to a five-week Associated Press investigation."

"Even if hospital records were complete, they would not tell the full story. Many of the dead were never taken to hospitals,
either buried quickly by their families in accordance with Islamic custom, or lost under rubble.."
____________________

Since Baghdad fell two months ago, 44 U.S. troops have died, 12 from
hostile fire.

The Pentagon has about 150,000 troops in Iraq, mostly Army soldiers.

Collins predicted that it would require three to four divisions --
about 60,000 to 80,000 troops -- to maintain law and order long-term.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GW Bush has recommended (lifetime) appointment of William Pryor, former attorney general of
Alabama, to the Federal bench. (One step below Supreme Court).
Pryor is an advocate of ultraconservative causes.
The American Bar Association gives Pryor its lowest possible rating.
He is totally opposed to Roe v. Wade and wants it overturned at
the earliest possible opportunity.
He has an abhorrent record on gay civil rights.
He is totally opposed to federal laws that require
access to public buildings for handicapped people.
A group of Republicans has already announced that they will oppose
him. (Yes- I did say Republicans.)
He is very much in favor of permanent displays of religious
symbols in public buildings.
Pryor's record places him far out of the mainstream. In addition to his vocal anti-abortion stance, even in cases of rape,
Pryor has attacked federal environmental protections on the basis of his radical states' rights philosophy.
The court has two vacancies for Bush to fill.
The addition of this extremist seems the beginning of an ugly and obvious move to extreme right.

Voice your opinion...TODAY!
Contact your Senators!

If you don't tell them, you are responsible for allowing it to happen to your nation's Justice system!




FARRRRR RIGHT!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Speaking exclusively to the Guardian from his 31st floor office at the UN in New York, Mr Blix said: "I have my detractors in Washington.
There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media. Not that I cared very much."

EXCLUSIVE HANS BLIX INTERVIEW WITH THE GUARDIAN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a recent quote regarding the recently called-for Congressional investigation (re: possible intelligence
lapses in documents that backed up the Bush administration's case for war):

"The Democrats' real problem is that the American public doesn't seem to care," says Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia.
"You have to have enough interest and even anger in the general public to sustain this type of inquiry, and it's not there.
Americans do not like to look their victories in the mouth."



It is time to tell your government what you think.
If you're reading this and have failed to act, please do so now..before it's too late.

You may want to read a Buzzflash.com reader commentary from today entitled:
Ousting The Liars: What We Need To Do
by Mike Kress
Quote:
Here are a few suggestions to start a movement that will hopefully see the impeachment of George W. Bush and the abolishment of the so-called "Bush Doctrine":

1.) Write letters to the editor;

2.) Protest and picket at the headquarters of national media outlets (CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, USA Today, Washington Post, NY Times, etc.);

3.) Call every political talk show possible;

4.) Leaflet and flyer;

5.) Submit op-eds to local papers;

6.) Conduct education forums in your community;

7.) Talk to your friends and relatives;

8.) Make and wear buttons and bumper stickers;

9.) Hold protests and vigils in your community;

10.) Make sure the media knows about every protest, picket, forum, etc., in advance;

11.) Buy magazines and papers that expose the gradually emerging truth (e.g. Time, US News, Newsweek);

12.) Write and call your representatives.
_____________________________________

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paul Krugman tells it like it is.

"It's now two months since Baghdad fell — and according to The A.P., military units searching for W.M.D.'s have run out of places to look.."

"....the Bush administration's determination to see what it wanted to see led not just to a gross exaggeration of the threat Iraq posed, but to a severe underestimation of the problems of postwar occupation. When Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, warned that occupying Iraq might require hundreds of thousands of soldiers for an extended period, Paul Wolfowitz said he was "wildly off the mark" — and the secretary of the Army may have been fired for backing up the general. Now a force of 150,000 is stretched thin, facing increasingly frequent guerrilla attacks, and a senior officer told The Washington Post that it might be two years before an Iraqi government takes over. The Independent reports that British military chiefs are resisting calls to send more forces, fearing being "sucked into a quagmire."
I'll tell you what's outrageous. It's not the fact that people are criticizing the administration; it's the fact that nobody is being held accountable for misleading the nation into war."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEE A HILARIOUS DEBATE BETWEEN PRESIDENT GW BUSH
AND TEXAS GOVERNOR GEORGE W BUSH WITH JON STEWART!

A must-see! :)

go here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time to Come Clean, Mr. President
By Sen. Robert Byrd
June 6, 2003

"The fundamental question that is nagging at many is this: How reliable were the claims of this President and
key members of his Administration that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction posed a clear and imminent threat to
the United States, such a grave threat that immediate war was the only recourse?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/160/wash/Bush_insists_Iraq_had_illicit_:.shtml

Bush Insists Iraq Had Banned Arms Program


"Iraq had a weapons program," Bush said.

"Intelligence throughout the decade shows they had a weapons program,"
Bush told reporters during a meeting of his Cabinet.

Flashback 1964:
"There IS, TOO a Santa Claus!!", the 6-year-old Iddybud steadfastly swore to naysaying companions
(all too familiar with reality).
"Throughout history, the elves have brought him information on who was good and who was naughty."

Meanwhile, back in 2003, some people ( such as Sweden's Foreign Minister ) still believe in the Lone Ranger! :)



Sweden's Lindh Calls Bush 'Lone Ranger' on Iraq
"Nobody should try to be the lone ranger... That is a threat today that you can see in several countries, and the fear is that the U.S. action (in Iraq) will increase the idea that other countries can act militarily without involving the U.N.," Lindh said.
U.S.-led forces toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in April but are yet to find any weapons of mass destruction, given by Washington as the main justification for the war."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I THOUGHT SO.....

Last week, I asked: "How long do you think it will be before Colin Powell decides he needs to spend more time with his family?
In this weekend's news, we learn that Richard Haass is leaving the State Department (to be President of the Council on Foreign Relations).
A recent commentary about Haass' potential replacement (Foreign Policy In Focus.org) states:


"The fact that Powell has not put forward anyone of Haass' stature is being interpreted as an indication that
the retired general probably intends to step down himself after next year's election, if not
before."

Also, from the commentary by political analyst Jim Lobe, he quotes Haass as saying:
" The reason I'm leaving is that this offer came along, and the opportunity to lead an organization with such tremendous influence is not something anyone would lightly pass up."

..Lobe then wryly throws this in:

Apparently, the State Department no longer fits that definition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

B*STARDS!
FEDS ARE OUT-AND-OUT LYING ABOUT THE CRIMINAL MISUSE
OF HOMELAND SECURITY RESOURCES TO TRACK TEXAS DEMS!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26278-2003Jun6.html?nav=hptop_tb

"In a brief statement, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- an arm of Homeland Security -- said the air interdiction center was motivated by safety concerns. "From all indications, this request . . . [from Texas was related to] a missing, lost or possibly crashed aircraft," the statement said. But at least three officials involved in the May 12 search said safety issues were not raised by the air interdiction center, which has no safety-related responsibilities.

"There was never any inference that the plane might be down, or something like that," said Marvin Miller, an airport official in Plainview, Tex. -- near Laney's home -- who said he was contacted by an "air interdiction" official on the evening of May 12. "There was never any safety concern, or indication that it was missing or overdue," Miller said. "The guy said at the end, 'This is just somebody looking for politicians they can't find.' "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Must-Read Speech
"..there have been too few examples of viewpoints, other than those consistent with the Administration's, breaking through to the public."
What can we do about it? Act!

How Badly Do You Want to Win?
By U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky
June 6, 2003

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois) made the following speech at the
Campaign for America's Future conference in Washington DC on June 4, 2003:

"Do you want a different President in 2004? I'm asking this as a serious question, not a rhetorical one. Do you want it badly enough to actually do what is necessary to win the election that will take place just 17 months from now?......."

see link for entire speech

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Is the U.S. chucking the rule of law
by forgetting all about international trade
principles in its wild thirst for Iraqi oil?

see:
Secrets and Lies:
How Secret Bidding and the Shut-Out of Foreign Corporations
in Iraqi Reconstruction Violates International Trade Principles
By ANUPAM CHANDER

"At the same time that the U.S. has promised to foster democracy in Iraq, it seems to have forgotten some basic principles of capitalism.

One is free competition, which serves both to lower prices and improve product quality and variety.
Another is free trade - which increases competition by drawing in suppliers all over the world.
A third is transparency - which is important whether the government is in the role of buyer or that of seller. Transparency requires publishing full information about the government's proposed deal, and freedom of access to the process to become its partner in that deal. Without transparency and free competition, cronyism and bribery proliferate.
These principles are elementary. They are essential to remember today because the Iraqi reconstruction project may be the world's biggest since the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild post-war Europe. Yet the U.S. has ignored these basic tenets - awarding huge contracts for rebuilding Iraq in secrecy, exclusively to U.S. companies, and almost without competition.
The lack of competition harms the U.S.'s claim to be Iraq's liberator. Rather than championing justice, the U.S. appears to be engaged in the colonial enterprise of propping up domestic industry through foreign engagements."

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Q: When did GW Bush say this?

"You've got to have a clear vision. That's what a leader does. A leader also understands that the United States must be strong to keep the peace. Saddam Hussein still is a threat in the Middle East. Our coalition against Saddam is unraveling. Sanctions are loosened. The man who may be developing weapons of mass destruction... we don't know.... because inspectors aren't in. "

A: 10-17-2000. Presidential debate.

And guess what?
We STILL don't know anything...
except for the fact that Bush was hot for a preemptive action against
Iraq.. even before he was selected.

Now..after Iraq..and from here on in,
Bush will be only be seen as the
mythmaking president who cried:
"WOLF!"
*while actually creating the wolf and feeding it to make it grow*.

"Bush stoked America's post-9/11 fears to build support for war. He was abetted by Pentagon hawks, who put the darkest spin on inconclusive evidence that the Central Intelligence Agency treated with caution."
"....this is a mess. It casts a shadow over America's credibility. It will make it harder for Washington to rally support in the future. Prudent allies will take what they are told, with more than a grain of salt."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Missing Weapons Of Mass Destruction
Is Lying About The Reason For War An Impeachable Offense?
by John W. Dean

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20030606.html

"Nixon claimed that his misuses of the federal agencies for his political purposes were in the interest of national security. The same kind of thinking might lead a President to manipulate and misuse national security agencies or their intelligence to create a phony reason to lead the nation into a politically desirable war. Let us hope that is not the case."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If Zell keeps Congressionally a-dressin' like he does, he's a-gonna get date-raped..
and so will democracy!

DUPED AND BETRAYED
Paul Krugman

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/06/opinion/06KRUG.html

"Will "moderates" — the people formerly known as "conservatives" — ever learn? Today's "conservatives" — the people formerly known as the "radical right" — don't think of a deal as a deal; they think of it as an opportunity to pull yet another bait and switch."

"Grover Norquist, the right-wing ideologue who has become one of the most powerful men in Washington, once declared: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." Mr. Bush has made a pretty good start on that plan.
Which brings us back to Senator Miller, and all those politicians and pundits who still imagine that there is room for compromise, that they can find some bipartisan middle ground. Mr. Norquist was recently quoted in The Denver Post with the answer to that: "Bipartisanship is another name for date rape."

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I'm wondering how long it will be
before Colin Powell decides he
"needs to spend more time with the family."

Like Ari..Gen Tommy Franks... Gen Eric Shinseki...Christine Todd-Whitman...Rosario Marin..Steve Griles..
John Brady Kiesling....etc...

Oh---and just who is Abram Shulsky and why does his name keep popping up?

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/05/international/worldspecial/05PENT.html?ex=1055390400&en=746b68919a515408&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

"The administration's handling of intelligence on Iraq is growing into a significant political issue. Mr. Bush, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, have in recent days all defended the intelligence used by the administration to justify the attack against Iraq."

"...the planning office, led by the neo-conservative scholar Abram N. Shulsky, was created last October to handle the growing duties of preparing for a possible war with Iraq."
_______________________________

Other reference:
http://www.mwaw.org/print.php?sid=1760

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RED ALERT
BUSH NEEDS ANOTHER 9/11
By: Ed Henry

"The idea that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked by a group of suicidal maniacs who envied our freedoms is beginning to wear thin. It wasn't the Al Qaeda that stonewalled any investigation into why this happened and then delivered the ultimate insult to victim families by appointing Henry Kissinger, Dr. Strangelove himself, a man who can't leave the country without fear of arrest for crimes against humanity, to head up an investigation. And finally, when another commission of friends to the administration is selected to investigate, their results are not released to the public because it might endanger national security. Does that sound like freedom to you?"

"deep in our hearts we all know that having thousands of American troops spread across the globe has engendered a great deal of hate and distrust of Americans.."

"..there's a real fear story that could be developed. Suppose the war channels and loyal news services started leaking rumors that shipments of cocaine were laced or cut with anthrax. How many bankers, judges, hotel and restaurant operators, other business types and people on the street would suddenly develop nervous breakdowns?
The booga-booga fear stories about one or two groups of organized terrorists wanting to kill as many Americans as possible make just about as much sense.."





"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."

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Hmmm..I wonder....
...would Leo Strauss have said THIS:
"Let's look at it simply. The most important difference
between North Korea and
Iraq is that economically,
we just had no choice in Iraq.
The country swims on a sea of oil."
?????????

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15935

"A follower of Leo Strauss may just hire the "right" kind of men to get the job done – people with the intellect, acuity, and, if necessary, the political commitment, polemical skills, and, above all, the imagination to find the evidence that career intelligence officers could not detect.
"The "right" man for Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, suggests Seymour Hersh in his recent New Yorker article entitled 'Selective Intelligence,' was Abram Shulsky, director of the Office of Special Plans (OSP) – an agency created specifically to find the evidence of WMDs and/or links with Al Qaeda, piece it together, and clinch the case for the invasion of Iraq.

Like Wolfowitz, Shulsky is a student of an obscure German Jewish political philosopher named Leo Strauss who arrived in the United States in 1938."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is an assured prescription for DLC failure.
Even "real people"...no.....
ESPECIALLY "real people" need
grassroots activists
(who, frankly, are REAL PEOPLE, too).

Real Live Democrats
By Harold Meyerson
Wednesday, June 4, 2003; Page A27
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9423-2003Jun3.html

"In a recent memo addressed to "Leading Democrats," Al From and Bruce Reed, the leaders of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, have all but read the party's activists out of the human race. Purporting to dispel some noxious myths about the Democrats, they write, "Real Democrats are real people, not activist elites."

"In 2002.......The fact that the Democrats had no message whatever, that they had failed to draw clear lines of distinction between themselves and a radical-right Republican regime, doubtless contributed to the collapse of the Democratic base. As Lear told Cordelia, "Nothing will come of nothing" -- and it did."

"If Joe Lieberman is the only major Democratic presidential candidate whom liberals really don't want to see nominated, that's not only a function of philosophical differences but also because they see Lieberman as an Election Day loser."

"What the DLC duo misses above all is the degree to which the radicalism of the current administration has concentrated the liberal mind on the need to unseating Bush in next year's election. Greens are even talking about lining up behind the Democrat."


READ ADDITIONAL REFERENCE:

"The Real Soul of the Democratic Party
By Al From and Bruce Reed"

THEN-- TAKE ACTION!
The DLC blasts Activists…Time to Fight Back!