Oregon News - Bombing of Baghdad (live) segues to Segway as real Oregon News A newspaper is not just for reporting news, it's to get people mad enough to do something about it. -- Mark Twain
"Life in the USA is a whole lot less fun than it used to be..."
From Danny Schechter: Where is
the perspective? Missing in Action. A man you should have been seeing in an anchor's chair if his
retirement had not been forced, is still speaking out. Walter Cronkite was pushed out of CBS at age 65.
Company rule, he was told. Dan Rather is now 70, and Don Hewitt won a contract that will pay him until
he is 90. The newsman once called the most trusted in the nation was on a campus yesterday as well, at
Drew University. The college paper reported him saying: "We are going to be in such a fix when this war
is over, or before this war is over," he said. "Our grandchildren's grandchildren are going to be
paying for this war. I look at our future as, I'm sorry, being very, very dark." [MORE]
Ed note: Stone amazing what TV news brings anymore! More terrible than "Survivor" and
"The Osmonds" combined!!
Watching the bombing of Baghdad (live), instead of it evoking whatever
response the military strategists had in mind beyond killing a bunch of people,
only saddened me as I was reminded all over again about 911 and the Challenger
explosion and Krista McAuliffe.
On the overnight: Pink pick-up trucks with NYPD stickers are no match
for what
Uncle Sam brings to the process.
Also, did you hear the one about the (presumed) Black Muslim who fragged
the brass?
Bad news about the non-imbedded (independent) Australian photographer
getting
blown away in what was characterized as a "suicide" bombing that took
place at
a border crossing.
Say, does anyone remember TV Dinners or John Belushi's Stand on the
Saturday
Night Live set? Tonight we watched TV with dinner: Hamburger, hamburger,
hamburger (I can't eat cheese anymore), and chips (no fries, French or otherwise).
(*Is that like sleep-overs in the Lincoln bedroom with a Presidential
wife or White House intern? oops! didn't mean to say that - speaking of
when "great
news stories" were about sex instead of war...)
THIS JUST IN (also from CNN): Royal Air Force jet shot down with a U.S.
"Patriot" missile. Nothin' against Orwell, but where do they get these names?
Another veteran US diplomat has resigned from the State Department in protest over President George W.
Bush's policy toward Iraq, becoming the third and the highest-ranking career foreign service officer to
do so since last month. Mary Wright told Secretary of State Colin Powell she was resigning because she
could no longer perform her job in good conscience. Wright's concerns echoed those of the two other US
diplomats known to have resigned in protest due chiefly to Iraq. John Brown resigned on March 10
because he said he could not support Washington's Iraq policy, which he said was fomenting a massive
rise in anti-US sentiment around the world. The first diplomat to quit was J. Brady Kiesling. He
submitted his resignation to Powell in late February.
[MORE]
What's striking at the moment is simply that "we" won't go away. The American antiwar movement is
alive and kicking in the first domestic shock-and-awe days of this new age of war. There are
demonstrations, large and small, everywhere in America. Small towns, large cities; large
civil-disobedient crowds; small, quiet groups of peace vigilators. Whatever failure we feel over
the war's beginning, we haven't departed the scene. [MORE]
Those who have an interest in keeping the machinery of war going are a very
powerful body; they will stop at nothing to make public opinion subservient
to their murderous ends.
In my opinion, deliverance can only come from the peoples themselves... As
long as armies exist, any serious conflict will lead to war. A pacifism
which does not actively fight against the armament of nations is and must
remain impotent.
May the conscience and the common sense of the peoples be awakened, so that
we may reach a new stage in the life of nations, where people will look
back on war as an incomprehensible aberration of their forefathers.
Our postwar world does not make a bright picture. We, the physicists, we
are no politicians and it has never been our wish to meddle in politics.
But we know a few things that the politicians do not know. And we feel the
duty to speak up and to remind those responsible that there is no escape
into easy comforts, there is no distance ahead for proceeding little by
little and delaying the necessary changes into an indefinite future, there
is no time left for petty bargaining.
The situation calls for a courageous effort, for a radical change in our
whole attitude, in the entire political concept. May the spirit... of trust
and confidence, of generosity and brotherhood among men, prevail in the
minds of those upon whose decisions our destiny rests. Otherwise,
human civilisation will be doomed.
More than 5,000 people demonstrated in San Franciso, and more than 1,000 participated in non-violent
civil disobedience. Vowing to shut down the city for the second day in a row, anti-war protesters
descended upon the streets of San Francisco's financial district this morning. About 80 to 100
protesters were arrested, adding to the 1,400 people arrested yesterday.
[MORE]
Hullo friends, and hullo and thanks to Andy Carvin for establishing the
new gulfwar-2 list at Yahoo!!
I'm new to the list but not new to the issue. I hope I am writing this in such a way that as to not
overwhelm the folks new to war, and I'll try not to bore the peaceniks and/or PC users.
I've been following the Iraq angle since Halabja and Saddam's war on the Islamic Republic (Iran), and
April Glaspie's "Green Light" for Saddam to invade Kuwait that in turn gave George HW the opportunity
to kill a bunch of people and accomplish little else. Oh, and I have some (humble) opinions on the
subject as I seek to find humor in the post-911 era. Did you hear the one about how many lawyers died
in the Twin Towers? Never mind.
With such a glut of info out there from all the usual suspects, sources and resources; the networks,
cable, and Google News*, I've got my daily essentials down to these:
In the article Nussbaum says, "The U.S. will win militarily in Iraq, but a victory in the period after
the war is still in question."
As a Friday morning quarterbacking goes, I would (now) be saying instead, after 'shock and awe' and
dead Americans and Iraqi (soldiers and civilians), the U.S. will win militarily, but a victory
in the period after the war is out of the question! If this is Day Two of the Iraq War,
the counting will stop only after the day the last of the U.S. troops have left the country.
The war won't end for as long as Iraq is occupied by the American military.
Does anyone remember when President Reagan sent 500 American soldiers to Lebanon? Half of them got
blown away, and we quickly withdrew the troops to tiny little Granada, where we conquerd them!
Never mind we accidentally bombed a mental hospital, killed another bunch of unarmed folk and
"friendly fired" a bunch of our own guys in the process...
So, forget oil. Conquering Saddam can't be the measure of victory. This I base on two simple points that
U.S. military planners have not thought through; the concerns of the Kurds (in the north), and the
concerns of the mostly Shi'ah Muslims (in the south), plus the Causescu-like retaliation for the bad
treatment of Iraqi citizens at the hands of Saddam's Ba'athist Party.
And then "
Beyond War" (The High Price of Bad Diplomacy - Mismanaging the runup to war will do more
than squander goodwill and damage alliances we have beyond Iraq). Again,
(from tomdispatch.com,
we read "We could win Iraq and lose the world" as The Intangible Costs of War.
In this instance, the juxtaposition of these two articles alone meet my own editorial slant,
prejudices and bias. I am a Muslim. I am an American. I am a poet. I am a newspaper copy writer.
I filter my views on Iraq through Islam and the Constitution of the United States.
No conflict there.
The Constitution means freedom. Islam means peace.
Even with the racism, bigotry, profiling, discrimination and being treated in an unfair manner re:
employment, housing (even motel rooms on the road) and getting occasionally vibed as a second class
citizen (at best) or a terrorist (at worst), being a Muslim in America up until 911 was better than
being a Muslim almost anywhere else in the world, except maybe France. Did I say that??
Anyhow, I love this country, and I abhor U.S. involvement in the mideast process
because of the U.S. policy makers' hypocrisy and military industrial complex greed - we are willing
to democratize Iraq (because it has the oil we want control of) while we leave Palestine out in the
cold holding its dick in its hand because it has nothing we need or want. Also, I am outraged with
most of the Arab world, but especially the (wealthy and influential) Sa'udi for having abandoned the
Palestinian for all these years. Never mind the Sa'udi involvement in 911 that besides killing 3,000
plus Americans, also foisted John Ashcroft and Homeland Insecurity upon us, speaking of the kind of
freedom lost none in the whole rest of the world ever knew, and a U.S. Constitution that was freedom's
glue.
Besides, Danny's "dissecting" and
Tom's "dispatch", the very
"list" that pointed me to this one is a valuable source of news. I recommend subscribing to
the Politech list moderated by Declan McCullough.
If, as and/or when any "Iraq news" hits the Politech pages, it will be hot and relevant and likely
helpful in our gaining a broader understanding of what is really at the heart of the Iraq war and why
we're in it. For example, in recent hours, there have been some postings
on Is Iraq's Internet still
functioning?
They're easy enough to find at the top of the Google Web and News
search heap(s), but don't miss Electronic Intifada
as having a thumb on the Iraqi pulse.
I'll mention too that the most obvious tabloids in the UK are useful, and generally give
lines on news stories about Iraq and the war as much as 24 hours ahead of TV news and cable.
posed a number of serious questions that all of us need the answers to, or even opinions about.
I'll add my $0.02's worth in due course, but immediately I would like the answers to: Who (really)
set Saddam's oil wells alight? Who is (really) responsible the racin episode in France? And who
(really) was responsible for the Anthrax attack on the U.S. in the days following 911? And one last
one since Saddam had nothing to do with it: Is there a German connection between Oklahoma City and 911?
*Google allows one word searches; Iraq, Philippines, North Korea (that's two words), Colombia,
Afghanistan and France - first the "Web" search, and then to the "News" click.
TRENTON -- If the nation escalates to "red alert," which is the highest in
the color-coded readiness against terror, you will be assumed by
authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home,
the state's anti-terror czar says.
"This state is on top of it," said Sid Caspersen, New Jersey's director of
the office of counter-terrorism.
Caspersen, a former FBI agent, was briefing reporters, alongside Gov. James
E. McGreevey, Thursday, when for the first time he disclosed the realities
of how a red alert would shut the state down.
A red alert would also tear away virtually all personal freedoms to move
about and associate.
"Red means all non-critical functions cease," Caspersen said. "Non-critical
would be almost all businesses, except health-related."
A red alert means there is a severe risk of terrorist attack, according to
federal guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security.
"The state will restrict transportation and access to critical locations,"
says the state's new brochure on dealing with terrorism.
"You must adhere to the restrictions announced by authorities and prepare
to evacuate, if instructed. Stay alert for emergency messages."
Caspersen went further than the brochure. "The government agencies would
run at a very low threshold," he said.
"The state police and the emergency management people would take control
over the highways.
"You literally are staying home, is what happens, unless you are required
to be out. No different than if you had a state of emergency with a
snowstorm."
"The reason being is, what we're saying is, 'Everybody sit down!'
"If you are left standing, you are probably a terrorist. And if you are not
law enforcement or emergency response; That's how we're going to catch you.
"You're not going to have a seat to go to.
"That is the basic premise of it."
Ed. note: We received a
letter from a fellow in Taiwan who criticized us for speaking ill of
the al-Sa'ud Family - for their adoption of a British-like "royalty" which as Americans we abhor,
for their abandoning the Palestinians in such a socially irresponsible manner for all these years,
and for their no-doubt-about-it involvement in 911, which if you look at the Ashcroft influence alone has caused us more
harm than Usama could have ever hoped for. The writer thought this newspaper should be scrutinized.
A more enlightened chap wrote to Danny Schechter and warned, "I am from Taiwan which was ruled by a
tiny facist gangs from China until recently, I have experience fascism in both bloody and benign form.
It is very sad for me to inform you that US is already a facist state, the endless propaganda,
the secret arrests, trials and executions, thought polices checking people's readings and email,
search without warranty, these are things happened only in fascist states. Democratic South Korea and
Taiwan don't do these things any more even now they are facing strong enemies like North Korea and
China. People in the US need to face the truth and fight for their freedom now."
The following guide will help you plan, prepare, and get ready in the event
that martial law threatens you safety and well being. It is divided into
two parts. The first part describes the framework for martial law and the
second part the actions to take in preparing or the actual declaration of
martial law.
INTERESTING FACTS
* Martial law is defined as: military rule or authority imposed on a
civilian population when the civil authorities cannot maintain law and
order, as in a time of war or during an emergency.
* Hitler turned Germany into a Nazi dictatorship through executive orders.
* Executive Order 10995: All communications media are to be seized by the
Federal Government. Radio, TV, newspapers, CB, Ham, telephones, and the
internet will be under federal control. Hence, the First Amendment will be
suspended indefinitely.
* Executive Order 10997: All electrical power, fuels, and all minerals well
be seized by the federal government.
* Executive Order 10998: All food resources, farms and farm equipment will
be seized by the government. You will not be allowed to hoard food since
this is regulated.
* Executive Order 10999: All modes of transportation will go into
government control. Any vehicle can be seized.
* Executive Order 11000: All civilians can be used for work under federal
supervision.
* Executive Order 11490: Establishes presidential control over all US
citizens, businesses, and churches in time of "emergency."
* Executive Order 12919: Directs various Cabinet officials to be constantly
ready to take over virtually all aspects of the US economy during a State
of National Emergency at the direction of the president.
* Executive Order 13010: Directs FEMA to take control over all government
agencies in time of emergency. FEMA is under control of executive branch of
the government.
* Executive Order 12656: "ASSIGNMENT OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
RESPONSIBILITIES", "A national emergency is any occurrence, including
natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other
emergency that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national
security of the United States. Policy for national security emergency
preparedness shall be established by the President." This order includes
federal takeover of all local law enforcement agencies, wage and price
controls, prohibits you from moving assets in or out of the United States,
creates a draft, controls all travel in and out of the United States, and
much more.
* Martial law can be declared due to natural disasters, Y2k Crisis, Stock
Market crash, no electricity, riots, biological attack, .... anything
leading to the breakdown of law and order.
* Prepare before any declaration of marial law by becoming self reliant.
You may become subject to a bureaucratic system and be prepared to stay one
step ahead of it which is easy to do if you are prepared and in a position
to be self reliant. You may also face mob rule, chaos, panic, or a complete
breakdown in law and order. Surival situations may be easier to handle in
rural areas than urban.
* Avoid areas of marital law. Can be imposed due to natural disasters or
man caused events. Important to have a retreat or place in a rural area
away from populated areas.
* Create alliances with like minded neighbors or community members that
share your views. Team work and numbers may help your situation.
* Become transparent in the sense that you do not draw attention to
yourself or your family. For instance, do not tell people that you are
storing food just store food. Be prepared to render assistance to neighbors
if need be. You never know when you will need them.
* Remain calm! Do not panic.
* Avoid areas of civil unrest if possible. If caught in civil unrest take
appropriate action.
* Get informed and stay informed. Understand martial law can be a temporary
crisis or an extended one. In extreme cases the shape of a whole nation can
change.
* Declaration of martial law means your rights are suspended and it is
government by decree. Your constitutional rights may no longer apply. This
could mean a state of National Emergency.
* People can be arrested and imprisoned indefinitely without charges.
* Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly can be suspended, and
censorship of the media imposed.
* Gun ownership will also come under severe attack during marital law. We
could see house to house searches by the military or National Guard looking
for guns and seizing any they find along with stored food.
* Take a stand on issues and make a choice that fits your beliefs and the
situation. Do you believe as Patrick Henry, "Give me liberty or give me
death?" Realize you may have some hard choices to make. Understand you may
have to sacrifice your principles on trivial matters or take a hard stand.
Always remember that you may have to come back and fight another day.
In addition to the previously outlined
Protective Measures, the following may be applied:
Assigning emergency response personnel and pre-positioning
specially trained teams; Monitoring, redirecting or constraining
transportation systems; Closing public and government facilities; and
Increasing or redirecting personnel to address critical emergency needs.
Written comments may be sent to: Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Homeland Security Advisory System, Room 7222, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20535. Comments may also be submitted electronically to:
HSAScomments@fbi.gov
Plans: Agencies anticipate possible terror; ports, other facilities to be guarded By Bill Hillburg
Long Beach Press-Telegram Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON Should war with Iraq erupt, Southern Californians could find themselves living in a world of restricted travel, constrained trade, closed schools and public buildings, canceled events and hypersecurity.
With growing fears of domestic terrorist acts linked to military action against Saddam Hussein, state and federal officials are bracing for a possible worst-case scenario.
"It certainly would be incumbent upon us to take into consideration military involvement as we
determined the level of protection we needed for homeland security. We'd be foolish if we didn't,"
said Homeland Defense Secretary Tom Ridge. [MORE]
Ed. note: As the local municipalities and counties catch on to how profitable Red Alerts can
be, we'll likely be seeing more of them. How did these Stalinist bureaucrats ever survive without
terrorism and war?
Direct Action? Is it Time?
from radioman
What IS Direct Action?
I've been looking through the 'Net, clipping stories, as
many of us have been ... seems the "Civil Disobedience"
phase is about to begin ... many of us are quite frustrated,
and with that story of the "hollywood" set / media center in
Qatar built for $1.5M for propaganda use, by our Military. I
clearly see there have been far more preparations than just
"military exercises" and practice runs ...
Human blockades of the Business District in Downtown
Seattle makes little sense, this time or the last time, and
if many realize the political process has failed, then upm-teen
more petitions to congress won't override an Executive Order
either ... the future looks dim ...
Dr. King, among many others, advicated non-violence, and I
still agree, and Gandhi really was effective, it just took a long
time ... don't give up on non-violence ... as an Ordained Minister
and a Reiki Master, I could hardly recommend otherwise ...
Still I understand the interest in the "next step" - whatever that
may be ... all this too, has happened before. Remembering that
there were only four Conscientious Objectors in my County,
including myself, of nearly half a million population in California,
and a good friend was the last of four; there are so few who
will take any furthur actions, beyond the initial protests and
petitions and will be a very small minority in numbers indeed ...
This too has also happened before. Yes, I'm leading up to
something here ...
For those who have a similar background, to volunteer with the
Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors ( American Friends
Service Committee ) may be a good way to use past experience
or talents ... I'm sure we've all done something in the past that
would still be useful today. One only has to look ...
I've been noticing the polarization starting too. My friend, and
mentor, Major Ed Dames is no longer in touch via email. His
background is, according to Ingo Swann :
" ... a former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer of high standing
and recipient of many military awards and governmental honors."
"He was Targeting Director of the U.S. Intelligence Electronic
and Security Command, and assistant director of special operations
in the DIA Directorate of Science and Technical Intelligence, and
an area controller of special operations of Headquarters Department
of the Army. For several years, he was mandated to brief on a daily
and/or weekly basis DIA, NSA, other agencies, and, when circumstances
required, the President and his advisors."
I know Ed as my instructor of "Military" Remote Viewing (PSIOPS),
or CRV. In his last major national radio interview, he said the North
Koreans will invade, and use a nuclear weapon against South Korea
just after the invasion of Iraq. I challenged Ed on this since the MOAB
super-bomb (non-nuclear) also has a 'mushroom cloud'. I passed this
on, since Ed always grills his students to look for any imaginationary
content/interpretation in their psychic remote viewing sessions, and
with this new bomb, the assumption of a mushroom cloud is always
from a nuclear weapon is no longer valid, and an 'AOL' now - an
analytical overlay. Ed would have jumped at this even a month ago,
unless he's back to CIA/DIA work - he's stopped all his classes ...
Another oddity is that there are now three of us on the CPASJ
subscriber list who are being very deliberately targeted for a virus/
worm that would normally remove us from the Internet, and ruin
our PC's - I may get even more confessions from others as to
recent cyber-attacks, quite focused, targeted and deliberate ...
Email in this County is running over 50% "anti-war" content, and
while not 'junk mail', but letters, like this one, account for more
email than any other category, including advertising, business mail,
and personal correspondence combined these days ...
There are unreported incidents, by CPASJ members, of vandalized
cars, up-ended trash cans at 3 AM, and other pranks against us. The
polarization is already here ... not just "anti-protest" flag waving ...
this too has happened before ...
If this were a speech, about now would be the time to "rally support",
provide some encouragement, and tell everyone to press on ... this too
has happened before ...
Rather than do that, since most here have had ample time to try
to consider what to do next, I'll mention what I've been thinking and
starting to do ...
I've taken inventory of the current situation here in Clatsop County.
There are ample individuals to cut/paste and foreward news stories,
many to circulate petitions, still others to organize events, like Sunday's
Peace Experience II. Those of us (still) disillusioned with the public
processes, who only seem to make "targets" of ourselves, who have
already attended "one too many protest (peace) rally", need to decide
what talents we have, and if we can use them for 'the good' ...
The email monitoring of several thousands of email accounts here
in Clatsop County can be resumed, and "keyword" screened, even
automated ! There are wonderful leads/stories and links sent to the
media every day that are never used, even by the alternative press -
tracing back some of these to their source in England, or wherever
can be very useful - some of these things, once verified, can be then
forewarded on to those who WILL print/broadcast them ... enuf said ...
Direct action can take many non-traditional paths - there are many
international organizations of remote viewers I have yet to contact, and
there is an open invite, by the Gov't of Iraq to parapsychologists and
psychics worldwide to participate ... you get the idea ...
I have a friend, of the Muslim faith, who publishes a small newspaper
in Florence, OR. He's been aware of problems way before 9/11. Another lead I can
persue, as he has done a great deal for the Muslim community, under
some fear of retaliation recently. I won't go into details, but I hope
you see that there are many things, WE, as individuals, can follow up
on, perhaps we may just be the only ones who can ...
I have many press contacts, you know, the kind who scan classified
CIA documents, and then email them out to the "chosen". My site at
www.psychicspy.com rarely ever
uses them, but I still can contact many of
them, except the one in Japan, whose website was shut down by a
joint Japan/US gov't investigation - yes, he did actually have some
program agenda copies of actual CIA meetings he scanned, for real ...
As part of the SPYder Web News, I've met everyone from talk show
host Art Bell, to some of the best computer hackers in the world - well
there are enough "keywords" in this email to keep some of the NSA
boys busy for a while. I generally use cryptography and steganography
for the really "secret stuff" ... by not updating my site in a while, at
psychicspy.com, I've been dropped from the scheduled monitoring
for website content by both the CIA and the DOJ. I'm finally to my
point here ...
There are disadvantages in being a "public person", whether as
a talk show guest, webmaster, or protestor ... in my mind, I was on
the right track in 1995 with my website, but since I've probably
trained as many people to be internet detectives as I'm ever going to
with Windows_XP being the most restrictive operating system these
days, and while classified documents are still out there, the quality
and usefulness is degrading, now with Outlook in-baskets/folders
with mundane content, it's no longer worth the risk to look at - the
pentagon has been "sweeping clean" all Military Servers for over two
years now, and my links no longer work, sorry ...
More valuable is a lifetime of skills - a case in point, a PC repair
client, ill and bedridden, needed a time sensitive document replied
to via email. Being a Licensed/Bonded/Registered Locksmith, it's
not a problem to have "doors open" for me, to make a quick PC
call if the client cannot answer the door ... Without being too specific,
I hope that you see that there are things we all can do, more "direct
action", as it were, to make a difference. And I'm still available as a
"computer tutor" if you need to acquire some additional skills for
the Internet ...
As I said in '95 - keep an open mind, and if being public, as a
community member, or interview guest, or webmaster doesn't provide
any real help, there are many more non-public things we can all do ...
Someday soon, you may be the right person to do something that
only you can do - be vigilant, and be ready. Opportunities come from
some of the least likely places ...
> here's some 'alternative' music from Crystal Gayle ...
> Not exactly an anti-war song, but a 'wake up call' and it
> has a very odd history ... it's also no longer available
> anywhere on the internet ...
> Art Bell listeners will be familiar with this particular
> song ... crystal wrote it 'for Art', and there are photos
> of the studio session as well as from when she presented it
> to him ... aside from being quite wonderful - here's the story
> to date :
> It won two national music awards ( native american ) recently
> despite the fact it's unavailable anywhere. It was given away
> on Art Bell's website, which no longer exists as he retired from
> his radio show. Nothing remains, the show, the website, nor the
> song ... for a while, Crystal made it available as a free CD
> single ... this too is gone ...
> All attempts to contact Art, Crystal, and her music publishing
> house have failed ... I've uploaded it, and am still awaiting
> instructions to remove it, which never came either ...
> Here, in it's full original length, CD quality is :
>
> Midnight in the Desert > http://psychicspy.com/scan/midnight.mp3
Lifeteime Achievement winner Crystal Gayle posing with Arigon Starr at the Nammy show after-party. Arigon complemented Crystal on Midnight in the Desert, the special song she recorded for radio host Art Bell. Art is probably Crystal's most ardent fan -- and she is such a sweet person.
LIKE A VIRGIN DRUG BUST
Ed note: In at attempt to take Saddam out, Bush did a pre-emptive pre-emptive. They sent in
some 40 missiles with a price tag of about one million dollars per pop, and didn't get him. After the
miss, Saddam got on the tube and railed Bush for being such a jerk, saying "Alahu-akbar! Allahu-akbar!
(which literally translates as "God is Great!" but which in Islamic tradition, and as heard in the ears
of the soldier is an admonition to be brave and trust God Alone in the battle ahead)."
This war was suppose to be about finding and destroying the caches of chemical, biological and other
unconventional weapons. In yesterday's
News Dissector column, Danny Schechter
mentioned the many
suspicions raised about the possibility of US troops planting such weapons and then dramatically
"discovering them" in the manner of so many drug busts in America...
SADDAM IS BAD NEWS - HOW BAD?
Also from yesterday's News Dissector
column: Saddam is one of the worst people in the world when
measured by his gassing of Kurds/Iranians, mass shootings/mass burials of Kurds, his use of extensive
torture including having parents witness their children having eyes popped out, blowtorches to their
genitals, forcing families to witness rape of mothers and grandmothers, and or seeing them put on meat
hooks etc. Truly if there is a vile villain today, a cruel, vicious psychopathic bastard, it is he.
Other stories, not as well documented, report then when other parents took little kids to the zoo, he
took Usay and Uday to prisons to watch people being tortured. It was said that he watched tapes of
people being tortured to get sexually aroused. Michael Ignatieff recently argued that his crimes
against humanity, his maintenance of Iraq as a prison justify the war. Far more people die every year
from the sanctions than will die in the attack.
POLLS POINT TO BUSH AS MORE OF A THREAT TO PEACE THAN SADDAM
(CBS)
Consider this: an opinion poll, taken a few days ago, asked people in Britain: who is the greatest
threat to world peace: George W. Bush or Saddam Hussein? 45 percent said Saddam Hussein. No surprise
there. But, get this, another 45 percent said George W. Bush.
A poll released today by The Wisdom Fund, identified President George Bush, Jr. as the "biggest threat to justice and peace."
Visitors to The Wisdom Fund web site when presented with three choices: Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, George Bush, Jr., voted overwhelmingly for President Bush.
Mr. Bush received 55 percent of the votes cast, Osama bin Laden 24 percent, and Saddam Hussein 21 percent.
"Like polls conducted by CNN," said Mr. Enver Masud, president of The Wisdom Fund, "our poll is not scientific."
In his acceptance speech Moore thanked France for "having the courage to stand up and say no" to US plans to attack Iraq.
"One of the best definitions of an ally, of a friend, is that your friend is the one who can tell you when you're wrong," he said.
"So thank you for showing us the way, for standing up and for something very important... I want to let you know that there are tens of millions of Americans who feel the same way."
We join with our Israeli colleagues in calling for vigilance as events unfold in Israel and the Occupied Territories. With an average of more than $10 million dollars per day of American tax dollars going to Israel, we believe Americans cannot remain silent while crimes as abhorrent as ethnic cleansing are being openly advocated.
We urge our government to communicate clearly to the government of Israel that the expulsion of people according to race, religion or nationality would constitute crimes against humanity and will not be tolerated. For more information about the U.S. letter, including instructions on how to sign it, see: www.professorsofconscience.org.
From Danny Schechter: Where is
the perspective? Missing in Action. A man you should have been seeing in an anchor's chair if his
retirement had not been forced, is still speaking out. Walter Cronkite was pushed out of CBS at age 65.
Company rule, he was told. Dan Rather is now 70, and Don Hewitt won a contract that will pay him until
he is 90. The newsman once called the most trusted in the nation was on a campus yesterday as well, at
Drew University. The college paper reported him saying: "We are going to be in such a fix when this war
is over, or before this war is over," he said. "Our grandchildren's grandchildren are going to be
paying for this war. I look at our future as, I'm sorry, being very, very dark." [MORE]
Whatever "feel good" is being generated by the in-bedded* press
accompanying the military about how grateful the Iraqis are to be
"liberated" is bullshit! Some of the Iraqi "farmers" were soldiers two
hours earlier. The "peace sign" is only a sign of peace with two fingers
up. As soon the U.S. military's back is turned or their guard is down,
only ONE finger will be up - the same one I raise to Faux cable TV:
@#$% Faux!! To a lesser degree CNN and MSNBC also tend to cheer-lead
rather than report. Beyond cheer leading, the apologist and pathetic
Faux is downright and shamelessly propagandizing in behalf of the White House.
"Macintosh is friendly to technically-challenged people like me." -- Yo Yo Ma, Cellist
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