soc.culture.usa
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa
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Today's topics:
* The Leak and the 'Truth' - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/35e399bfc58cad13
* Neocons Turn up Heat for Iran Attack - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/27c627a5d1c76806
* The Oyster Bunny & the Welsh Origins of Oyster Sunday - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/7f04ac15b96b7279
* Bad Times for Bush's Buddies - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/2d3b02231ba89d7d
* US, Iraqi Forces Killed as Govt Deadlock Hits 4-Month Mark - 1 messages, 1
author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/c611e1c67e9f0e58
* IRAQ: Baghdad Morgue Overflowing Daily - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/4abc3f6efe135148
* US Colonel Apologizes for Devastation of Babylon - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/d74d81f22d914b71
* Report: Rumsfeld allowed Torture - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/a0ecd901302edacd
* Bush, Jr. is No LBJ - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/a3cb877f8b6d5284
* Hersh vs. Bush: Who Would You Believe? - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/ba628ff46dad22bc
* Bush Says Rumsfeld "Crucial" to Terror War - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/3e79580521df78f7
* Sent on its way by US, Iraqi police convoy is ambushed - 1 messages, 1
author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/75230392dff76930
* Cuba Expels Czech Spy Under Diplo Cover - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/bf787d03bfbb2aef
* Mexico: "Nothing Gringo" Boycott - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/5e7c656925dd5419
* E-Mails Link Abramoff, Bush Official - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/91f9a63e7b313185
* The Nino Scalia Guide to Sicilian Hand Gestures - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/ea0e465a8b71d5f
* 3 Coptic churches in Egypt attacked - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/4aa92701fada0fa9
* Rumsfeld Must Go - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/e83759989b7b4534
* Ripples from Iraq disturb Bahrain - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/2f40e06f47d47117
* Cheney to visit North Africa in Search of Oil - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/90e276105b6dc0f5
* The American Jewish Committe pushes Iran war - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/798b813415643838
* Secondary factors why Eyeran wants nukes - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/a6b2f655b2a3f198
* Safe SEX Guide - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/e40c550de2084948
* US Training Guyanese for Venez Invasion? - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/7ced482aa865f60d
* Tax Resisters: When the IRS Shows Up, They Don't Answer - 1 messages, 1
author
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/835ab6749f3bfe87
==============================================================================
TOPIC: The Leak and the 'Truth'
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/35e399bfc58cad13
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:30 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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The Leak and the 'Truth'
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The Nation - May 1, 2006 issue
http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060501&s=corn
The Leak and the 'Truth'
by DAVID CORN
"I wanted people to see the truth."
That's how George W. Bush explained his decision to authorize the selective
dissemination of portions of a classified National Intelligence Estimate
(NIE) on Iraq's WMD in the summer of 2003, when the main rationale for his
war in Iraq was unraveling. But this was no exercise in full disclosure. It
was a political operation. With former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and others
raising questions about Bush's overstatement of the prewar
intelligence--none of the promised unconventional weapons, after three
months, having been found--the Bush gang was beginning to worry. News
reports at the time were carrying leaks from unnamed intelligence officials
indicating that the President and his team had hyped the WMD threat. And a
much noticed Wilson op-ed in the New York Times had made it seem that the
White House had used one charge--that Saddam Hussein had been uranium
shopping in Iraq--after the Administration had reason to know it was bunk.
So it was fight-back time. That meant discrediting Wilson as a critic. Top
White House aides Karl Rove and Scooter Libby told reporters that Wilson's
wife was in the CIA and had been responsible for sending him to Niger to
check out the report that Baghdad had acquired uranium there--a report based
on sloppy forgeries that was easy to rebut. Their point was to make Wilson's
mission seem like a silly junket born of nepotism, which it wasn't. (Wilson,
an Africa expert with knowledge of the uranium industry, was qualified for
the task.) But in this frenzy to undercut Joe Wilson, Rove disclosed Valerie
Wilson's CIA employment--which was classified information--to conservative
columnist Bob Novak, who then outed her in print as a CIA operative. Libby
passed the information on her CIA connection to two reporters, Time
magazine's Matt Cooper and the Times's Judith Miller.
The recent twists in the Libby case show that Cheney was in the weeds,
huddling with Libby about how to respond to Wilson and other critics.
Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's most recent legal filing notes that
Cheney "specifically selected" Libby "to talk to the press about the NIE and
Mr. Wilson." That suggests that when Libby disclosed information about
Valerie Wilson's CIA employment, he did so under Cheney's direction. As part
of this Cheney-managed counterattack, Libby shared slices of the NIE with
Miller--after Bush had told Cheney it was OK to release those portions. But
Libby did not tell Miller about the parts of the NIE that raised serious
questions about the Niger allegation. He only cited the passages that
supported the Administration's position.
Which brings us back to the truth. Had Bush, Cheney and Libby been
interested in spreading the full story, they could have declassified the
entire NIE (with redactions where needed) and tossed out copies in the White
House press room. (The Administration did later release parts of the NIE to
the press.) Instead, they tried to deploy pieces of the NIE as ammunition in
a spin attack. And once the Valerie Wilson story broke, the White House
covered up the involvement of Rove and Libby in the leak and said nothing
about Cheney's hands-on participation in the anti-Wilson efforts. After all,
it was Cheney who first told Libby that Valerie Wilson--a k a Valerie
Plame--worked in a division of the agency's clandestine service.
So if Bush is sincerely interested in putting the truth before the American
public, he can ask the Vice President, Rove, Libby and all his aides to come
clean about the Wilson leak. And he can declassify--on his own--hundreds of
prewar intelligence reports and memos in CIA, NSC, State Department and
Pentagon files that cover Iraq's supposed WMDs and the operational link
between Baghdad and Osama bin Laden that Bush claimed existed. The
Bush-backed, Cheney-approved, Libby-arranged misleading leak to Judith
Miller was a first step--but a false one.
*
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TOPIC: Neocons Turn up Heat for Iran Attack
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/27c627a5d1c76806
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
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Neocons Turn up Heat for Iran Attack
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
sent by Dave Muller (southnews)
InterPress Service - Apr 14, 2006
Neocons Turn Up Heat for Iran Attack
by Jim Lobe
Led by a familiar clutch of neoconservative hawks, major right-wing
publications are calling on the administration of President George W.
Bush to urgently plan for military strikes and possibly a wider war
against Iran in the wake of its announcement this week that it has
successfully enriched uranium to a purity necessary to fuel nuclear
reactors.
In a veritable blitz of editorials and opinion pieces published
Wednesday and Thursday, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard,
and National Review warned that Tehran had passed a significant
benchmark in what they declared was its quest for nuclear weapons and
that the administration must now plan in earnest to destroy Iran's known
nuclear facilities, as well as possible military targets, to prevent it
from retaliating.
Comparing Iran's alleged push to gain a nuclear weapon to Adolf Hitler's
1936 march on the Rhineland, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol
called for undertaking "serious preparation for possible military action
including real and urgent operational planning for bombing strikes and
for the consequences of such strikes."
"[A] great nation has to be serious about its responsibilities,"
according to Kristol, a leading neoconservative champion of the Iraq war
and co-founder of the Project for the New American Century, "even if
executing other responsibilities has been more difficult than one would
have hoped."
National Review, another prominent right-wing weekly, echoed the call.
"Any air campaign should be coupled with aggressive and persistent
efforts to topple the regime from within," advised its lead editorial,
entitled "Iran, Now," and almost certainly written by Michael Ledeen of
the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
"Accordingly, it should hit not just the nuclear facilities, but also
the symbols of state oppression: the intelligence ministry, the
headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard, the guard towers of the
notorious Evin Prison."
The hawks' latest campaign appeared timed not only to exploit the alarm
created by Iran's nuclear achievement and by a spate of reports last
weekend regarding the advanced state of U.S. war plans, but also to
counter new appeals by a number of prominent and more mainstream former
policymakers for Washington to engage Iran in direct negotiations.
The Financial Times Wednesday published a column by Richard Haass,
president of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations and a top
adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell during Bush's first term, in
which he called for Washington to make "a fair and generous diplomatic
offer" to Iran that would permit it to retain a small uranium enrichment
program, if for no other reason than to rally international opinion
behind the U.S. in the event rejects it.
Arguing that the "likely costs of carrying out such an attack
substantially outweigh probable benefits," Haass noted that "the most
dangerous delusion [among those who support military action] is that a
conflict would be either small or quick."
On Thursday, he was joined by Powell's deputy secretary of state,
Richard Armitage, who, in an interview with the Financial Times, also
called for direct talks.
"It merits talking to the Iranians about the full range of our
relationship everything from energy to terrorism to weapons to Iraq,"
said Armitage, who is considered a strong candidate to take over the
Pentagon if Donald Rumsfeld resigns or is forced out.
"We can be diplomatically astute enough to do it without giving anything
away," he added, noting that Washington could be patient "for a while"
given the estimated five to 10 years the U.S. intelligence community
believes it will take before Tehran can obtain a nuclear weapon.
Such statements are anathema to the hawks, who have long depicted any
move to engage Iran as equivalent to the appeasement policies toward
Hitler of France and Britain in the run-up to World War II.
"Is the America of 2006 more willing to thwart the unacceptable than the
France of 1936?" asked the title of Kristol's editorial, which, despite
the reports of advanced Pentagon planning that included even the
possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons against hardened Iranian
targets, asserted that the administration's policy had been "all carrots
and no sticks."
His view echoed that of the neoconservative editorial writers at the
Wall Street Journal, who said the administration's "alleged war fever is
hard to credit, given that for three years the Bush Administration has
deferred to Europe in pursuing a diplomatic track on Iran." The Journal
said the government must give priority to developing "bunker buster"
nuclear bombs.
While Kristol insisted that the "credible threat of force" should
initially be used in support of diplomacy with Washington's European
allies, he also called for "stepping up intelligence activities, covert
operations, special operations, and the like," as well as "operational
planning for possible military strikes."
What he had in mind was laid out in a companion article by ret. Air
Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, a member of the ultra-hawkish Iran
Policy Committee (IPC), entitled "Target: Iran."
If Iran resists diplomatic pressure, according to McInerney, Washington
should be prepared to carry out a "powerful air campaign" led by 60
stealth aircraft, and more than 400 non-stealth strike aircraft with
roughly 150 refueling tankers and other support aircraft, 100 unmanned
aerial vehicles, and 500 cruise missiles to take out some 1,500
nuclear-related and military targets.
Before or during such an attack, he wrote, "a major covert operation
could be launched, utilizing Iranian exiles and dissident forces trained
during the period of diplomacy." The IPC has long advocated support for
the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MeK), an Iraq-based paramilitary group listed as
a terrorist organization by the State Department.
In yet another op-ed published in Thursday's Washington Post, Mark
Helprin, a novelist and Israeli military veteran, called for
anticipating the possibility that U.S. forces in Iraq and its broader
interests in the region could be imperiled by Iranian retaliation and
popular outrage in the Arab Middle East.
To prepare for such an eventuality, "we would do well to strengthen in
numbers and mass as well as quality the means with which we fight, to
reinforce the fleet train with which to supply fighting lines, and to
plan for a land route from the Mediterranean across Israel and Jordan to
the Tigris and Euphrates."
Such concerns, counseled Reuel Marc Gerecht, a Gulf specialist at AEI,
are overblown. In a lengthy analysis of the possible costs of a military
attack that was also published in the Standard, he argued that
Washington should "not be intimidated by threats of terrorism, oil-price
spikes, or hostile world opinion."
"What we are dealing with is a politer, more refined, more cautious,
vastly more mendacious version of bin Ladenism," according to the
article, entitled "To Bomb, or Not to Bomb: That Is the Iran Question."
"It is best that such men not have nukes, and that we do everything in
our power, including preventive military strikes, to stop this from
happening."
***
Christian Science Monitor - April 14, 2006
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0414/p01s01-usfp.html
Behind Bush's hard line on Iran
By Mark Sappenfield
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON Five years with President Bush show that his
administration's boldest assertions are often, in fact, statements of
serious intent - whether they're about "regime change" in Iraq or
educational standards for children.
Mr. Bush has laid down another such marker with his insistence that he
will not allow Iran to have nuclear-weapons capability. Even if they are
partly a flourish of verbal brinksmanship, his words help explain why
the United States - more than other nations - perceives Tehran to be so
dangerous that it is keeping the military option on the table.
One reason is that Iran and America have been avowed enemies since the
1979 hostage crisis, with Iran's clerics calling for the annihilation of
the US. Yet it also seems clear that this administration - galvanized by
9/11 - sees Iran's words, too, as more than rhetoric, and sees itself as
the only nation willing and able to take action.
"After 9/11, there was an awakening," says analyst Richard Perle, a
member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board from 2001 to 2003. "The
administration has to believe that it's possible to wait too long to
deal with a problem, the contours of which could have been seen easily
before. Is it safe to do that again?"
Clearly, the administration is not alone in its concerns. The prospects
of a nuclear-armed Iran are sobering, and Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, is in Tehran this weekend for
discussions about Iran's nuclear program. One of the clearest dangers
comes from the instability of the region. As perhaps the most volatile
area in the world, the Middle East could thus be the most susceptible to
war, raising the possibility that Iran would actually use a bomb.
Yet even if it were never used, an Iranian nuclear weapon could have a
transformative effect. For one, Iran could become bolder in its
terrorist activities, knowing that nations would be less likely to
retaliate. Moreover, a nuclear Iran would recalibrate the balance of
power in the region, perhaps pressing Saudi Arabia or Turkey toward the
development of its own nuclear weapons.
"What kind of arms races do we get into in the region?" asks Anthony
Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington. "As you start to go down the list of uncertainties, it is a
little difficult not to believe that the world wouldn't be far better
off if Iran didn't proliferate."
While the stability of the Middle East - with its enormous oil and gas
reserves - is of vital interest to the Bush administration, the
president's pronouncements point to another, perhaps deeper concern
about Iran's potential behavior.
The rule of the nuclear era has been deterrence: You won't attack me
with nuclear arms because then I would attack you. The concern with Iran
is twofold. One is that Iran could feed a nuclear device into a
terrorist network, which would obscure the weapon's origin and make it
impossible for the US to respond in kind. The other is that the strain
of martyrdom in Shiite Islam - and the Iran regime's extremist ideology
- - could render deterrence meaningless.
Experts debate these points fiercely. But Bush's statements suggest that
he is inclined not to dismiss Iran's threatenings. Just as Al Qaeda
threatened America from afar before 9/11, then acted, there is the worry
that Iran could do the same. "Another lesson of September the 11th is
that we must deal with threats before they come to hurt us," Bush said
in a March 9 speech. "Whenever we see a threat, the United States of
America must take them seriously. We cannot take threats for granted."
The threat is greatest for Israel at the moment, and that, too, creates
unique pressures for an administration that has firmly backed Israel.
Analysts agree that, for now, the US is out of range of Iranian
missiles. But that might not always be true, and Israel is well within
range now. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Israel should
be "wiped off the map" and that "we shall soon experience a world
without the United States and Zionism" - tightening the already strong
bond between the US and Israel.
"Israel is quite important to the US," says Richard Falkenrath, a former
member of the Bush team who helped shape the administration's nuclear
nonproliferation strategy. "Europe is not indifferent, but it's safe to
say they care less."
It is one way America's attitude toward Iran diverges from those in
Europe. In some respects, that divergence is part of what appears to be
the administration's broader worldview, which has placed little faith in
traditional allies and international organizations. "There's the sense
that the US has been willing to lead, but other nations have been
unwilling to do their part," says Ted Galen Carpenter, a foreign-policy
analyst for the Cato Institute in Washington.
But the current crisis also highlights how history has colored America's
attitudes toward Iran. "[Other countries] didn't have a hostage crisis.
They didn't have a break in diplomatic relations like we did," says Mr.
Falkenrath. "They have political ties and business ties that we lack."
Yet Europe is much more closely aligned with the US on Iran than it ever
was on Iraq, many experts also suggest. Part of the Bush
administration's fervor is a simple matter of timing, they say.
"Whatever the Bush administration has done, Iran has systematically
escalated the issue," says Dr. Cordesman. "Until the [discoveries of an
accelerated nuclear program] began in 2002, it was seen as a low-level
threat." For the time being, he and others caution against overstating
the immediacy of the threat, and the rhetorical vehemence of Bush's
response. "It has been policy by statement," says Falkenrath. "There
have been no [US] threats [to Iran]. No ultimatum. No timetable."
At the very least, Iran is still a year or two away from being able to
build a nuclear weapon, and most analysts say Iran might not reach the
threshold until 2010 or later. Many things could happen in the meantime
that could increase the pressure for a military attack or eliminate it
completely. "What reaction [we take] will depend on how these things
play out," says Mr. Perle. "We're not there yet."
*
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NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
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TOPIC: The Oyster Bunny & the Welsh Origins of Oyster Sunday
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/7f04ac15b96b7279
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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The Oyster Bunny & the Welsh Origins of Oyster Sunday
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The Oyster Bunny and the Welsh Origins of Oyster Sunday
by Bill Koehnlein
This year, 2006, marks the bicentennial of the first celebration of
Oyster Sunday, which originated in early April 1806 in the small Welsh
coastal town of Dddyddyllmyrddmyll.
Every spring, after the thaw, thousands of Welsh brown hares (Lepus
arborealis welshii), large, tree-dwelling rabbits common to coastal
regions of Wales, leave their nests and swarm across the countryside
during their migration to the seashore following a long winter
hibernation. For most of them, their path ends near Dddyddyllmyrddmyll,
which means "the cove where the rabbits come to eat."
While the rabbits dine on grasses and spring wildflowers during their
trek, the food of choice is Ostrea crapula deliciocis, a nutrient-dense
but mildly hallucinogenic oyster that is quite abundant in the chilly
waters near Dddyddyllmyrddmyll. It is this morsel that brings them to
the coast, and at low tide the foraging rabbits can be seen digging in
the sand in their search for Ostrea crapula.
The rabbits spend several days at the seashore, gorging on the oysters,
and biologists believe that the mollusks' high mineral and fat content
rejuvenates these animals, who have barely eaten during their period of
winter hibernation. But the oysters also contain aquarabidus, the
substance that gives them their hallucinogenic qualities, and it affects
the rabbits in strange and funny ways. Townspeople and tourists alike
love to gather on the beach to watch the rabbits do somersaults and
other gymnastics, or simply roll on their backs in the sand while making
hyena-like shrieks. It is because of the rabbits' love of oysters that
they have come to be called oyster bunnies by the people of
Dddyddyllmyrddmyll.
After several days of feasting, the rabbits' weight and bulk almost
doubles in size, and they develop what biologists call "high fat
mass"--a rather polite term for flab. At this point the oyster bunnies
begin a return journey to the highlands, but before they embark they
gather oysters and stuff as many as they can carry into the folds of
their fat. On their way to higher ground they periodically stop to bury
or hide an oyster or two. By doing so, they are assured of a continual
supply of food which will last through summer and fall, and which will
keep them nourished during their winter dormancy.
In the late seventeenth century, local farmers themselves began looking
for oysters that the rabbits had hidden, and these buried treasures were
called "bunnies' bounties". A peculiar trait of Ostrea crapula is that
when they are removed from their normal habitat--that is, the
seashore--and buried inland at higher elevations the psychoactive
aquarabidus is neutralized and their reproductive cycle is hastened. A
type of roe is secreted and deposited along the periphery inside the two
bivalve shells. This roe is called oyster eggs and is coveted by chefs
and gourmets throughout the British Isles.
Following a summer drought in 1805 that lasted into the fall, and a
particularly harsh winter in 1805-1806, hungry Dddyddyllmyrddmyll
townspeople welcomed the warmth of spring, and when the oyster bunnies
arrived at the shore the local residents flocked to the beach and began
gathering oysters themselves, digging alongside the rabbits, who were,
presumably, too intoxicated to be frightened away by their human
coworkers. As always, when the rabbits had their fill they left
Dddyddyllmyrddmyll to go back into the hills, while the local people
continued to harvest the oysters. The drought of the previous summer
meant that a famine was possible during the next year, but such
starvation was prevented because of the copious crop of oysters. In
gratitude, the village elders designated the second Sunday of April 1806
as Oyster Sunday, and a harvesting celebration was held on the beach at
sunrise. All the townspeople joined in to gather oysters and Oyster
Sunday is now a tradition that has been ongoing for two-hundred years.
The Oyster tradition spread inland, and farmers' children eagerly awoke
at dawn on Oyster Sunday to go out and dig up oysters that the oyster
bunnies had buried. Sometime around 1820 or 1821, a tradesman returning
from the highlands with a bushel of oyster eggs hid some of the eggs
around town on the night before Oyster Sunday, so that the children in
the town could do what their country counterparts did--go on a dawn
oyster egg hunt. Since that time, children all over Wales have scrambled
to find hidden oyster eggs every Oyster Sunday.
The tradition of Good Friday also originated in Wales. In 1827,
following an exceptionally large oyster harvest on Oyster Sunday,
Dddyddyllmyrddmyll's lord mayor designated the following day as one of
feast and celebration, and oysters were to be fried in giant bonfires on
the beach. As evening set in on Oyster Sunday, townspeople excitedly
made preparations for the next day's feast, and they referred to it as
"fry-day". People seeing their friends and neighbors bid each other to
"have a good fry-day", and within time the day of the oyster feast
became known as Good Fryday.
It was not until 1875, however, that the first oyster parade was held in
Wales. As usual, the children of Dddyddyllmyrddmyll arose at dawn to
hunt for oyster eggs. One group of young girls went directly to the
beach and dug oysters from the sand and ate them for breakfast. But the
aquarabidus affected them and they became "frightful with giddiness and
impudently silly", as one chronicler reported in the local newspaper.
Using string fashioned from kelp and other seaweeds, the girls tied the
largest oyster shells onto their heads, wearing them like helmets, and
marched around the village. Other children joined in, heading to the
beach to look for shells, which they too placed over their heads. Since
that time, children all over Wales look forward to painting and wearing
colorful oyster bonnets, and they spend every afternoon on Oyster Sunday
marching around town, showing off their creative headgear.
Good Fryday and Oyster are now traditional holidays, not only in Wales
but in England as well. Queen Victoria institutionalized them in 1890,
when she proclaimed that "Good Friday will be, and Oyster will follow".
Her intention was to set aside an entire weekend to welcome spring. The
English have taken up the two holidays with relish, and on these days
families and friends, and entire towns, gather for the annual oyster egg
hunt and feast. Everyone looks forward to the tempting Fried Mushy
Oysters, an English national dish. Here is one typical version of it:
5 pounds of oysters (shelled)
3 pounds of oyster eggs (oyster roe)
5 pounds of sheep kidneys
5 pounds of Mars bars
5 pounds of potatoes
2 pounds of lard
8 cups of sugar
3 quarts of vinegar
1 dozen chicken eggs
2 cups of salt
Cover all the ingredients with water and boil all for 8 hours or longer.
When soft, mash up (or put through a food processor), then fry in lard.
Serve over stale white bread. Drench with Marmite. Serves 50-60.
Copyright © 2006 by Bill Koehnlein
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Bad Times for Bush's Buddies
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/2d3b02231ba89d7d
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 4:31 pm
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Bad Times for Bush's Buddies
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
CounterPunch - Apr 14, 2006
http://www.counterpunch.org/mckinlay04142006.html
The Ozzie Under the Pump
Bad Times for Bush's Buddies
By BRIAN McKINLAY
This has not been a great week for some of George Bush's stoutest friends.
In Britain the first week of campaigning in the Municipal elections due
throughout England (not Scotland or Wales) in the second week of May, show
initial signs of a debacle which may well bring on the final chapter of the
Tony Blair Story, rather earlier than its eponymous hero might like.
"New Labour" is running scared faced with a dearth of campaign workers,
party funds and a wish amongst many voters on the left to punish each and
every Labour candidate for the sins of Blair.
Likewise in Italy, the decline and fall of Berlusconi, a companion.of both
Blair and Bush, has so far passed without public comment from either man
though Blair, a regular visitor at Berlusconi's Sardinian palazzo, will no
doubt regret the fall of his neo-fascist, neo-con, friend and the pleasures
of his great house on the sunny Costa 'Smeralda.
Another who expressed great admiration for Berlusconi on their one meeting
last year in Rome, was the Australian P.M. Howard, who found Berlusconi a
real soul-mate, and who invited him to pay a visit to Australia. It now
seems unlikely to ever take place!
Unfortunately, Howard must have had little time to contemplate the fate of
his Italian friend, as this has been a very long and difficulty week for
him, his Foreign Minister Downer, whose faint English accent, springs from
his blue-blood background (having had a conservative politician-father who
though Australian, was more English than the English, and spent his
retirement in Britain, where Downer was educated). The other Minister was
Mark Vaile, the leader of the rural-based, but slowing expiring National
Party, the coalition partner of Howard's misnamed Liberal Party. The
National Party is not really national, but concentrated on a few states, and
then in rural areas only.
The cause of the problems, sprang from the time of the UN Sanctions on Iraq,
under Saddam.
The Howard Government was a participant in the sanctions, but rightfully
fearful of losing the very substantial contract held by the the Australian
Wheat Board Ltd., to the US wheat interests, managed to know nothing of the
fact that the AWB was bribing Saddam with over
$300 million in kickbacks.Very wise move at the time!
All this would have been fine, but the US invasion of Iraq, which Howard
supported warmly, also brought to light the whole sorry story of the huge
amount paid on to Saddam, as part of the deal.
The US wheat interests, were anxious to capitalise on their discovery. A US
government enquiry, last year chaired by Paul Volker, showed the extent of
the corruption.
The Australian Government seems to have been able to do nothing to stop the
US enquiry, and must have regretted the success of the US invasion, which in
public Howard had so enthusiastically supported.
It is a story of lies, deception, corruption, and hubris, and memory-loss,
worthy of one of the ancient Greek dramatists. Forced to hold an enquiry in
Australia, at the insistence of the US Government, the Australian Government
and it leaders had two alternatives.
Admit the whole story, or pretend that they really knew nothing about the
matter, or if they did they had forgotten everything.
Minister Vaile owned up to 22 such lapses. The Foreign Minister Downer
confessed that although there had been many cables from his own
representatives abroad about the matter, he couldn't remember reading any
such memos or cables at all. "I seldom read cables, unless I'm on a plane
and have nothing else to read," he told the rather startled enquiry.
The general picture is of an Australian Government displaying amazing
incompetence and folly, which would earn it instant dismissal if carried out
in any normal enterprise.
It is of course better on some occasions to be thought incompetent, than to
be guilty of telling lies or allowing criminal acts to go on unpunished,
especially if you are the Government of the day.
Polls show that Australians just think the P.M. and his ministers are simply
lying on an epic scale. The Melbourne Herald Sun showed 91% of respondens
felt the government was lying., and the media is full of scornful stories
and cartoons.
Howard, whose support for Bush earned him the sobriquet of "arse-licker"
from a former Labour Leader, must hate every moment of the affair. His
appearance today in Sydney before Commission Cole, must have been a very
galling experience, and walking though demonstators on the sidewalk outside,
he must have wished was in Berlusconi's 'Palazzo in Sardinia.'
Many will find it marvellously fitting that a crisis having it's origins in
Iraq, has wound around the Howard Government like a great python. It may, of
course end with Australia losing the Iraq wheat market to the US, and
Australian farmers are restive and critical of the US.!
The stories of US corporate crime in Iraq is well know now in Australia.
Unlike Berlusconi, Howard and Co. will lie their way out of this debacle,
but it does show the way the consequences of Iraq are slowly undermining the
diminishing little band of George Bush true believers.
[Brian McKinlay, is the author of a number of books on Australian history and
politics, and writes and broadcasts on many topics. He lives in Melbourne.]
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: US, Iraqi Forces Killed as Govt Deadlock Hits 4-Month Mark
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/c611e1c67e9f0e58
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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US, Iraqi Forces Killed as Govt Deadlock Hits 4-Month Mark
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AFP - Apr 15, 2006
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060415082534.v9zeq1ee.html
US and Iraqi forces killed as government deadlock hits four-month mark
BAGHDAD (AFP) - US and Iraqi forces have suffered further casualties as
talks on forming a new government four months after elections floundered
over a bid by Ibrahim Jaafari to remain premier.
Two US marines were killed in a rebel attack, the military announced
Saturday, bringing its death toll since the beginning of the month to about
35 and marking one of the worst periods for US forces in Iraq.
It said 22 other marines were wounded in the attack, but did not provide
details. The US military death toll in Iraq since the invasion has touched
2,368, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.
Three Iraqi army soldiers were killed Saturday when the convoy in which they
were travelling was hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad's dangerous Al-Dura
neighbourhood. Eight soldiers were wounded.
As the security forces continue to face rebel attacks, widespread sectarian
violence between the country's Shiite and Sunni communities has left
hundreds dead across the country.
About 200 people, mostly Shiites, have died in the last 10 days in massive
bombings and shootings, believed to be acts committed by extremists linked
to terror group Al-Qaeda.
The spike in violence comes at a time when the country's political leaders
have hit deadlock over putting together a working cabinet four months after
holding the elections for the first permanent post-Saddam Hussein
parliament.
On December 15, 2005, large numbers of Iraqis participated in the poll,
hoping the new government could rein in the violence and bring a better life
for its 27 million people.
"US and Iraqi leaders have failed the Iraqis," Mahmud Othman, a Kurdish
lawmaker, told AFP.
"Today we enter the fifth month since the holding of the elections and we
still do not have a government. In fact we have not even started the process
of forming the government by at least having a prime minister.
"This shows that all of us as leaders and the US authorities have failed in
Iraq," he said.
The political crisis has largely been aggravated in recent weeks by
Jaafari's refusal to step down as the next premier.
"I was the legitimate and democratic choice," Jaafari told Britain's Channel
4 television Friday.
"I wouldn't have accepted the responsibility if I thought it was against the
will of the people. I don't see how I could repay my people's faith in me by
letting them down."
Jaafari's candidacy has been opposed by Iraq's Kurdish and Sunni leaders, as
well as some of his colleagues in the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, the
largest parliamentary bloc whose candidate will be the premier as per the
Iraqi constitution.
The anti-Jaafari lobby finds him incapable of handling the sectarian
tensions from which the country suffers.
In a bid to expedite the political process ahead of the Monday's opening of
the parliament, the respective heads of Iraq's parliamentary blocs agreed
Friday to form a commission to decide who should fill the various posts.
"Some of the blocs had no candidates in mind and weren't prepared for the
meeting," Bassem Sharif, spokesman of the Shiite Fadhila party told AFP.
"So we decided to form a commission of six members to work intensively on
candidate names and submit them to the party heads before the meeting of the
parliament."
A presidential statement said Talabani held a meeting Friday with these
leaders as well as heads of the seven parties making up the Shiite alliance
and they discussed candidates for the three presidential positions.
"They agreed to hold continuous meetings until they reach a final agreement
before the next parliamentary session, emphasizing the need to achieve a
balance between the actual results of the elections and the need to create a
government of national unity," the statement said.
The Shiite alliance's inability to solve the Jaafari crisis has also
displeased the office of Iraq's revered cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani.
Sistani's aide Ahmed al-Safi blamed the alliance for the precarious security
situation.
"There is a crisis of trust among the lists which won the parliament seats,"
he told Iraq's Al-Sharqiya television, referring to the alliance.
In other violence on the ground, a police lieutenant colonel in Basra was
shot dead while a roadside bomb against a passing police patrol in the
northern city of Kirkuk killed one civilian.
A member Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party was kidnapped
from the city Saturday, police said.
*
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TOPIC: IRAQ: Baghdad Morgue Overflowing Daily
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/4abc3f6efe135148
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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IRAQ: Baghdad Morgue Overflowing Daily
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
InterPress Service - Apr 15, 2006
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32896
Baghdad Morgue Overflowing Daily
by Dahr Jamail and Arkan Hamed
BAGHDAD, Apr 14 (IPS) - As sectarian killings continue to rise in Iraq, the
central morgue in Baghdad is unable to keep up with the daily influx of
bodies.
The morgue is receiving a minimum of 60 bodies a day and sometimes more than
100, a morgue employee told IPS on condition of anonymity.
"The average is probably over 85," said the employee on the morning of April
12, as scores of family members waited outside the building to see if their
loved ones were among the dead.
The family of a man named Ashraf who had been taken away by the Iraqi police
Feb. 16 anxiously searched through digital photographs inside the morgue. He
then found what he was looking for.
"His two sons were killed when Ashraf was taken," said his uncle,
50-year-old Aziz. "Ashraf was a bricklayer who was simply trying to do his
job, and now we see what has become of him in our new democracy."
Aziz found that the body of Ashraf was brought to the morgue Feb. 18 by the
Iraqi police two days after he was abducted. The photographs of the body
showed gunshot wounds in the head and bludgeon marks across the face. Both
arms were apparently broken, and so many holes had been drilled into his
chest that it appeared shredded..
A report Oct. 29, 2004 in the British medical journal The Lancet had said
that "by conservative assumptions, we think about 100,000 excess deaths or
more have happened since the 2003 invasion of Iraq."
In an update, Les Roberts, lead author of the report said Feb. 8 this year
that there may have been 300,000 Iraqi civilian deaths since the invasion.
Such findings seem in line with information IPS obtained at the Baghdad
morgue.
Morgue official said bodies unclaimed after 15 days are transferred to the
cemetery administration to be catalogued, and then taken for burial at a
cemetery in Najaf. As he spoke, three Iraqi police pick-up trucks loaded
with about 10 bodies each arrived at the morgue.
At the cemetery administration, an official told IPS: "From February 1 to
March 31, we've logged and buried 2,576 bodies from Baghdad."
Requests by IPS to meet with administration officials at the Baghdad morgue
were turned down for "security reasons."
Several surveys have pointed to large numbers of civilian deaths as a result
of the U.S.-led occupation.
Iraqiyun, a humanitarian group affiliated with the political party of
interim president Ghazi al-Yawir reported Jul. 12 last year that there had
been 128,000 violent deaths since the invasion. The group said it had only
counted deaths confirmed by relatives, and that it had omitted the large
numbers of people who simply disappeared without trace..
Another group, the People's Kifah, involved hundreds of academics and
volunteers in a survey conducted in coordination with "grave-diggers across
Iraq." The group said it also "obtained information from hospitals and spoke
to thousands of witnesses who saw incidents in which Iraqi civilians were
killed by U.S. fire."
The project was abandoned after one of the researchers was captured by
Kurdish militiamen and handed over to U.S. forces. He was never seen again.
But in less than two months' work, the group documented about 37,000 violent
civilian deaths up to October 2003.
The Baghdad central morgue alone accounts for roughly 30,000 bodies
annually. That is besides the large number of bodies taken to morgues in
cities such as Basra, Mosul, Ramadi, Kirkuk, Irbil, Najaf and Karbala.
(END/2006)
*
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TOPIC: US Colonel Apologizes for Devastation of Babylon
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/d74d81f22d914b71
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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US Colonel Apologizes for Devastation of Babylon
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The Independent - Apr 15, 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article357807.ece
US colonel offers Iraq an apology of sorts for devastation of Babylon
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
In an act of at least partial contrition, an officer in charge of the US
military occupation of Babylon in 2003 and 2004 has offered to make a formal
apology for the destruction his troops wrought on the ancient site.
Colonel John Coleman, former chief of staff for the 1st Marine Expeditionary
Force in Iraq, said yesterday that if the head of the Iraqi antiquities
board wanted an apology, "if it makes him feel good, we can certainly give
him one".
For more than a millennium, Babylon was one of the great cities of
antiquity. It reached its greatest glory in the early 6th century BC, as the
capital of Nebuchadnezzar II, builder of the celebrated Hanging Gardens.
Babylon declined and fell into ruin after it was conquered by the Persians
under Cyrus the Great in around 538BC. But no devastation seems to have
matched that inflicted by US troops and their Polish allies after the
overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
Saddam himself had not helped. He had much of the ancient site rebuilt and
developed as a tourist site as part of efforts to portray himself as
Nebuchadnezzar's modern successor and turn Mesopotamia once more into a
regional superpower. He built a contemporary ziggurat-shaped palace nearby
and carved out an underground car park among archeological deposits.
But after entering Babylon in April 2003, coalition forces turned the site
into a base camp, flattening and compressing tracts of ruins as they built a
helicopter pad and fuel stations. The soldiers filled sandbags with
archeological fragments and dug trenches through unexcavated areas, while
tanks crushed slabs of original 2,600-year-old paving.
"All of these things have combined to do a lot of damage to what is one of
the most important, sensitive archeological sites in the whole world," John
Curtis, curator of the British Museum's Near East department, said last
year.
Col Coleman's repentance was qualified. "If it wasn't for our presence," he
told the BBC, "what would the state of those archeological ruins be?" - a
repeat of the US claim that had its forces not occupied ancient Babylon, the
site would have been laid waste by looters.
"Is there a price for the presence? Sure there is," he declared. "I'll just
say that the price, had the presence not been there, would have been far
greater."
After US and Polish troops left in 2004, the first restoration plans for
Babylon were drawn up. Last November Unesco, the United Nations' cultural
and scientific organisation, said it would be carrying out some initial
repair work, and setting up a photographic registry of the site.
The work, in which France, Britain, Poland, the US, Iraq, Japan, Italy and
the Netherlands are also involved, is being co-ordinated by the German
Archaeological Institute, under the direction of the Iraqi authorities and
Unesco.
But Babylon is not the only point of archaeological controversy in a country
with an estimated 10,000 sites. In a separate complaint, the Iraqi Ministry
for Tourism and Antiquities has demanded that US troops pull out of the city
of Kish, which dates back 5,000 years, accusing American forces of damaging
the precious archaeological site.
It accused the soldiers of preventing anyone from entering the city to
assess damage. There has been no comment from the US military.
* At least six Iraqi policeman died and up to 39 others were missing
yesterday after insurgents ambushed a police convoy near a US base,
officials said. Separately, a suicide car bomber outside Basra wounded four
British soldiers at the Shuaiba military base, and killed at least one
civilian.
Archaeological cost of invasion
* US Marines from the First Expeditionary Force first set up camp in Babylon
in April 2003
* Soldiers filled protective sandbags with sand containing ancient artefacts
* 2,600-year-old pavements were crushed by heavy military vehicles
* Landing helicopters caused structural damage to some of the city's ancient
buildings and sandblasted fragile bricks in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar
* Archaeologists say gravel brought in to build car parks and helipads has
contaminated key sites
* US troops have also been accused of causing damage to the 5,000-year-old
city of Kish by the Iraqi Ministry for Tourism and Antiquities
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Report: Rumsfeld allowed Torture
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/a0ecd901302edacd
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Report: Rumsfeld allowed Torture
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
[Well, duhhh.... no shit, NBC News. -NYTr]
Reuters/MSNBC - Apr 15, 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12319090/from/RSS/
Report: Rumsfeld allowed Guantanamo abuse
Defense secretary reportedly authorized degradation of al-Qaida detainee
MSNBC staff and news service reports
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld allowed an abusive
and degrading interrogation of an al-Qaida detainee in 2002, an online
magazine reported Friday, citing an Army document.
In a report a Pentagon spokesman denounced as fiction, Salon quoted a
December 2005 Army inspector generals report in which officers told of
Rumsfelds direct contact with the general overseeing the interrogation at
the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The report, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, comes amid a
spate of calls by retired U.S. generals for the Pentagon chief to resign to
take responsibility for U.S. military setbacks in Iraq.
Rumsfeld spoke regularly to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, a key
player in the treatment of detainees in Iraq and Guantanamo, during the
interrogation of Mohammed al-Kahtani, who is suspected to have been an
intended Sept. 11 hijacker, Salon quoted the inspector generals report as
saying.
Kahtani, a Saudi national, suffered degrading and abusive treatment by
soldiers who were following the interrogation plan Rumsfeld had approved,
Salon reported, quoting the 391-page report.
Over 54 days in late 2002, soldiers accused him of being a homosexual, and
forced him to stand naked in front of a female interrogator, to wear womens
underwear and to perform dog tricks on a leash, Salon reported.
Kahtani was forced to undergo 18- to 20-hour interrogations during 48 of the
54 days, the magazine said.
Salon cites Lt. Gen. Randall M. Schmidt, an Army investigator, as saying in
a sworn statement to the inspector general that The secretary of defense is
personally involved in the interrogation of one person. Rumsfeld had weekly
contact with Miller, according to Salon.
Schmidt is quoted under oath as saying he concluded that Rumsfeld did not
specifically order the interrogation methods used on Kahtani, but that
Rumsfelds approval of broad policies permitted abuses to take place.
Rumsfeld had approved 16 harsher interrogation tactics for use against
Kahtani on Dec. 2, 2002, Salon reported. Strategies included the use of
forced nudity and removing religious items. Rumsfeld has said publicly that
none of these policies led to inhumane detainee treatment, Salon said.
Pentagon cites reviews dismissing report Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon
spokesman, dismissed the reports allegation that Rumsfeld or the agency
condoned abuse.
Weve gone over this countless times and yet some still choose to print
fiction versus facts, he said by telephone.
Twelve major reviews, to include one done by an independent panel, all
confirm the Department of Defense did not have a policy that encouraged or
condoned abuse. To suggest otherwise is simply false, he said.
Schmidt, an Air Force fighter pilot, was quoted as telling the inspector
general that he had concerns about the length and repetition of the harsh
interrogation methods, which he likened to abuses later uncovered at Abu
Ghraib prison in Iraq.
There were no limits, Schmidt is quoted as telling the inspector general
in an August 2005 interview.
The Pentagon has said Kahtani gave interrogators information on Osama bin
Ladens health and methods of evading capture, and on al-Qaidas
infiltration routes.
Miller who headed the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, helped shape
detention practices at Abu Ghraib and later oversaw all detention operations
in Iraq in January invoked his right not to incriminate himself in the
courts-martial of soldiers tried for Abu Ghraib abuses.
Reuters contributed to this report
© 2006 MSNBC.com
*
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TOPIC: Bush, Jr. is No LBJ
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/a3cb877f8b6d5284
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Bush, Jr. is No LBJ
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
CounterPunch - Apr 14, 2006
http://www.counterpunch.org/meyers04142006.html
Dwarves, Knives and Freedom
Bush, Jr. is No LBJ
By HOWARD MEYERS
The similarities between the Iraq War and the Vietnam War have been pointed
out again and again. But there is also an important difference, that between
the rhetorical styles of two of the war presidents: faux Texan George W.
Bush and dyed-in-the-wool Texan Lyndon B. Johnson. While Bush's logic is
impeccable...
All freedom is good.
Democracy is freedom.
Let's bomb the living shit out of Iraq
his arguments are less than compelling because they deal mostly in
abstractions rather than the concrete images that give Texas-speak its
distinctive power. Bush tries desperately to sound like a colorful Texan,
but these efforts, like so much else he does, come across forced,
self-conscious, inauthentic. "Wanted: Dead or Alive." "Smoke 'em out."
Please, George, trying way too hard. Granted, "mushroom cloud" was a
powerful image, but we haven't heard that one in a while. Perhaps we will
again in the run-up to the Iran War.
President Johnson, on the other hand, fully inhabited his Texasness,
sprinkling his speech with colorful and vivid images such as the famous:
"Without superior air power America is a bound and throttled giant, impotent
and easy prey to any yellow dwarf with a pocket knife."
Johnson unbound the throttled giant, committing even more war crimes than
Bush (so far), thus forfeiting his right to be known as the Thich Nhat Hanh
of his generation. Just as well, since Thich Nhat Hanh is the Thich Nhat
Hanh of his generation. For those suffering from memory loss or youth, Thich
Nhat Hanh is the Vietnamese Bhuddist monk, poet and peace activist ("yellow
dwarf" in presidential parlance) who in 1966 flew to Washington to plead
with Secretary of Defense and uber-technocrat Robert McNamara to stop
killing Vietnamese. This meeting, though not recorded, was later
reconstructed through interviews with the participants:
McNamara: Systems analysis facilitates key decisions on force requirements
and weapon systems.
Thich Nhat Hanh: Breathing in, I relax...
McNamara: Management tools developed to implement PPBS include the FYDP, the
DPM and the DCP.
Thich Nhat Hanh: Breathing out, I smile...
McNamara: FYDP consists of tables projecting strategic forces, general
purpose forces, intelligence and communications, airlift and sealift, guard
and reserve forces, research --
At this point Thich Nhat Hanh took out a pocket knife and stabbed McNamara
in the heart. McNamara continued:
McNamara: -- and development, central supply and maintenance, training and
medical services, force structure, military assistance
Thich Nhat Hanh realized his mission had failed. McNamara eventually felt he
had killed enough Vietnamese, and retired. In later years he came to regret
his role in the war and said he would have stopped it but couldn't find his
glasses.
[Howard Meyers lives in Los Angeles, where he is old and in the way (pace
Jerry Garcia). He can be reached at: hn.meyers @verizon.net]
*
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TOPIC: Hersh vs. Bush: Who Would You Believe?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/ba628ff46dad22bc
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
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Hersh vs. Bush: Who Would You Believe?
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
CounterPunch - Apr 14, 2006
http://www.counterpunch.org/zeese04142006.html
Attacking Iran
Hersh vs. Bush: Who Would You Believe?
By KEVIN ZEESE
Seymour Hersh's extensive article describing plans to attack Iran, including
the use of tactical nuclear weapons, has forced President Bush to respond.
Two days after Hersh's article appeared, President Bush came forward to deny
any intent to attack Iran--calling such claims 'wild speculation.'
Hersh begins his article in the New Yorker explaining the real purpose of
attack on Iran: "There is a growing conviction among members of the United
States military, and in the international community, that President Bush's
ultimate goal in the nuclear confrontation with Iran is regime change."
In response, President Bush said allegations that he plans to use force to
halt Iran's nuclear program are "wild speculation." He went on to say that
his focus is on diplomacy: "I know here in Washington prevention means
force. It doesn't mean force necessarily. In this case it means diplomacy."
When Donald Rumsfeld, the embattled Secretary of State, was asked about
planning for Iran he was evasive saying "The last thing I'm going to do is
to start telling you or anyone else in the press or the world at what point
we refresh a plan or don't refresh a plan and why."
Hersh seemed to expect this response writing before Bush spoke:
"The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order
to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine
activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air
attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said
that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of
American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect
targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority
groups."
And when asked about Bush's comments, Hersh told Amy Goodman on Democracy
Now: "It's simply a fact that the planning has gone beyond the contingency
stage, and it's gone into what they call the operational stage, sort of an
increment higher. And it's very serious planning, of course. And it's all
being directed at the wish of the President of the United States. And I can
understand why they don't want to talk about it, but that's just the
reality."
Pressure is Mounting to Attack Iran--a Long-Term Target of the Bush
Administration
Adding credibility to Hersh's claims is that removing those in power in Iran
has been supported by many neo-cons since before Bush took office. It is
consistent with the re-making of the Middle East, called for by the Project
for a New American Century, as part of ensuring U.S. military and economic
dominance of the world.
In addition, a paper published by an Israeli think tank, the Institute for
Advanced Strategic and Political Studies in 1996 entitled "A Clean Break: A
New Strategy for Securing the Realm," written for Benjamin Netanyahu, set
out a plan for Israel to "shape its strategic environment," beginning with
the removal of Saddam Hussein and restoration of the Hashemites in Iraq.
With Iraq transformed, they describe a strategic axis of Iraq, Jordan and
Turkey that would weaken and "roll back" Syria and divide the Shia'a in Iraq
with those in Iran and Syria.
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), another
hard-line advocacy group, has advocated "regime change" by any means
necessary in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority.
JINSA's board of advisers has included many Bush administration leaders:
Dick Cheney, John Bolton, Richard Perle, James Woolsey and Douglas Feith.
JINSA now sees Iran as THE security threat saying in an April 12 JINSA
Report entitled "Iran, Iran, Iran and Iran:"
"Whatever we do in Iraq and whatever Iraqi politicians do; whatever we
do to Hamas; however hard we look for Bin Laden or al-Zawahiri; whoever runs
our port terminals; whatever the price of gasoline; however we secure our
borders; whoever leaked Valerie Plame's name - under the shadow of a
nuclear-capable Iran, American and allied options are reduced."
Iran, they say, is "the whole list of national security priorities."
The current pressure to attack Iran is building. The hard right Israeli
lobby in the United States is advocating attacking Iran to stop the
development of nuclear weapons. A full page advertisement in The New York
Times on April 4 on page A-15 sponsored by the American Jewish Committee
urged an attack on Iran drawing a map with Iran in the center showing how
far it is from various countries in Asia, Europe and African asking: "Can
anyone within range of Iran's missiles feel safe?"
Just as the pro-Israel lobby beat the war drums for the invasion of Iraq,
they are doing the same for Iran. AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israeli lobby has
a special page on Iran's escalating threat. The concern of many has been
heightened by reported comments by Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
challenging the reality of the Holocaust and that Israel must be "wiped off
the map."
The recent announcement by Ahmadinejad that Iran has enriched uranium in a
164-centrifuge network to 3.5% has heightened the conflict further.
Ahmadinejad says Iran must now be treated as a nuclear country and that it
plans to continue to develop nuclear power. This is far from the level of
enrichment needed for a nuclear weapon--requiring at least 80% enrichment
and thousands of centrifuges. Iran says it plans to go ahead and construct a
3,000 centrifuge network at the Natanz facility within a year and eventually
expand to 54,000 centrifuges. Developing enriched uranium for nuclear power
is legal under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty but the UN Security
Council has given Iran until April 28 to suspend uranium enrichment.
Further, much to the chagrin of the Bush administration, the Iraq invasion
has strengthened Iran. Noted Middle East commentator, Juan Cole, has
described Iran as the real victor in the Iraq War. Iran has been able to
establish warm relations with the government in Iraq. To have a member of
the axis of evil strengthened as result of U.S. policy is an unintended
consequence the U.S cannot let stand.
Problems mounting in Iraq are a two-edged sword. On one side the U.S.
military is stretched thin and exhausted and opening another front in the
Middle East--with a country four times the size of Iraq--would seem to be
physically impossible. And, an air campaign would be a challenge with an
estimated 400 sites that would need to be targeted. In addition, there are
concerns about an alliance between the Shia community in Iraq and Shia
dominated Iran making the difficult Iraq situation even more challenging.
Then, there are the unpredictable economic impacts--oil prices, already high
could jump higher and the reaction of Wall Street and the markets could also
be
But, the other edge of the Iraq-quagmire sword increases the chance of an
attack on Iran. Certainly, the administration would prefer to have
discussion of war strategy instead of the fighting in Iraq. And video of
precision air attacks bombing alleged nuclear facilities in Iran will be
preferred to civilian deaths in Iraq. As former national security adviser
Norman Birnbaum recently said "I fear what the French term a fuite en
avance, a flight in advance, and an attack on Iran."
Is Diplomacy Possible? Is it Really Being Pursued?
Pursuing diplomacy is complicated by President Bush's rhetoric. Four years
ago Iran was labeled by President Bush as part of the "axis of evil." Since
then the United States has surrounded the country with troops in Afghanistan
on its western border, Iraq on its eastern border and the Persian Gulf in
the south. And, the rhetoric is escalating.
Since the Iranian Revolution the US has had no formal diplomatic ties with
Iran. According to a report in the New York Times, in the lead-up to the
2003 Iraq War, Iran reportedly made an overture to U.S. officials to begin
what former U.S. policymaker Flynt Leverett, a former national security
adviser, State Department and CIA official says there was 'a diplomatic
process intended to resolve on a comprehensive basis all the bilateral
differences between the United States and Iran.' The United States did not
take up the offer. Leverett says that Bush "is, on this issue, very, very
resistant to the idea of doing a deal, even a deal that would solve the
nuclear problem." So, is the administration serious about diplomacy?
Leverett's view is consistent with one stated by Javad Zarif, the Iranian
ambassador to the United Nations, in a NY Times op-ed on April 6. Zarif made
the point that "A solution to the situation is possible and eminently within
reach." And, he emphasized that Iran has complied with the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty, indeed, would like to see it strengthened and
enhanced. Further, "Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic
Republic, has issued a decree against the development, production,
stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons."
Further, he points out that Iran wants "stability" and "never initiated the
use of force or resorted to the threat of force against a fellow member of
the United Nations. Although chemical weapons have been used on us, we have
never used them in retaliation - as United Nations reports have made clear.
We have not invaded another country in 250 years." The article also
highlights how Iran has gone above and beyond the inspection requirements of
the UN. Zarif concludes saying: "Finding solutions requires political will
and a readiness to engage in serious negotiations. Iran is ready."
Not only is the President's rhetoric and record a problem for diplomacy, but
so is modern U.S. history with Iran. In 1953, the Eisenhower administration
engaged in public rhetorical attacks on Iran when they nationalized the oil
industry, seizing a British oil company. The CIA overthrew the democratic
government of Mohammed Mossadegh working with Great Britain and installed
the Shah of Iran.
The most recent Democratic Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, excused
the U.S. overthrow of Mossadegh saying in 2000 that: "The Eisenhower
administration believed its actions were justified for strategic reasons.
But the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development and it
is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by
America."
Just as Albright excused the overthrow by a Republican president, there is
essential silence by the Democrats in response to the Bush administration's
talk of bombing Iran. While some Democrats have opposed the use of nuclear
weapons, they have not opposed the idea of attacking Iran with non-nuclear
weapons. Senator Hilary Clinton has said that a nuclear-armed Iran would be
"unacceptable." Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House
describes Iran as "the greatest threat to Israel's right to exist." Senator
John Kerry, told Meet the Press on April 10, that he favored keeping the
option of air strikes against Iran on the table. The strongest opposition to
attacking Iran has come from Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) who notes there is little
resistance in Congress and it appears we have not learned anything from
three years in Iraq.
Hersh reports on a Member of the House of Representatives describing
meetings where carefully selected Members have been briefed on Iran, he
writes: "'There's no pressure from Congress' not to take military action,
the House member added. 'The only political pressure is from the guys who
want to do it.' Speaking of President Bush, the House member said, 'The most
worrisome thing is that this guy has a messianic vision.'"
If diplomacy means gaining international support then the Bush
administration has problems. There is opposition to an attack on Iran around
the world. The U.S. may only have Israel as a serious ally in a military
attack. The Washington Post reports that the Russians and Chinese won't even
go along with economic sanctions. And in the recent security council
resolution Russia and China edited out the threat of sanctions if Iran did
not stop its enrichment of uranium. Further, Saudi Arabia has asked Russia
to use its position on the Security Council to prevent a U.S. military
attack on Iran. Even Great Britain is unlikely to participate in an Iran
attack.
The consensus seems to be that while many would prefer Iran not to have a
nuclear weapon, Iran is certainly not an immediate threat to the U.S. or
surrounding countries. U.S. intelligence agencies and Hans Blix, chief UN
weapons inspector have reported that Iran having a bomb is five to ten years
away. As author Mike Whitney point out, "IAEA chief Mohammed Elbaradei has
repeatedly stated that his team of inspectors, who've had the opportunity to
"go anywhere and see anything," has found nothing to corroborate the
assertions of the US or Israel."
Further, would Iran use a nuclear weapon offensively? Iran does not have any
modern history of attacking other countries. Certainly, with Israel having
250 nuclear bombs and the U.S. with its large arsenal, would leave Iran to
recognize that the use of the bomb would result in the destruction of Iran.
A nuclear response would be something that Israel and the U.S. could easily
justify and the world would accept.
Hersh is Not Alone Reporting on Iran Attack Planning, Including Nuclear
Weapons
Sy Hersh is not the only one reporting on military plans being developed.
According to Philip Giraldi, writing in the American Conservative, last year
Vice President Cheney ordered the Strategic Command to develop plans to
attack Iran if there is another 9-11 type attack on the United States. These
plans include a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional
and tactical nuclear weapons.
Giraldi points out that within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic
targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development
sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could
not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in
the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being
involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Giraldi
reports that several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are
appalled at the implications of what they are doing--that Iran is being set
up for an unprovoked nuclear attack--but no one is prepared to damage his
career by posing any objections.
Further, the Washington Post also wrote that intense planning was underway
including the nuclear option in an article published on April 9. The Post
reports that while U.S. officials continue to pursue the diplomatic course
they privately are increasingly skeptical that it will succeed. And, that
last month the White House's new National Security Strategy labeled Iran the
most serious challenge to the United States posed by any country. They
described two levels of air attack--a quick and limited strike against
nuclear-related facilities and a more ambitious campaign of bombing and
cruise missiles leveling targets well beyond nuclear facilities. The White
House is also considering 'nuclear penetrator munitions' to take out buried
labs.
Hersh describes specific plans using tactical nuclear weapons stating:
"One of the military's initial option plans, as presented to the White
House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster
tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear
sites. One target is Iran's main centrifuge plant, at Natanz, nearly two
hundred miles south of Tehran. Natanz, which is no longer under I.A.E.A.
safeguards, reportedly has underground floor space to hold fifty thousand
centrifuges, and laboratories and workspaces buried approximately
seventy-five feet beneath the surface. That number of centrifuges could
provide enough enriched uranium for about twenty nuclear warheads a year.
(Iran has acknowledged that it initially kept the existence of its
enrichment program hidden from I.A.E.A. inspectors, but claims that none of
its current activity is barred by the Non-Proliferation Treaty.) The
elimination of Natanz would be a major setback for Iran's nuclear ambitions,
but the conventional weapons in the American arsenal could not insure the
destruction of facilities under seventy-five feet of earth and rock,
especially if they are reinforced with concrete."
Hersh describes the nuclear option as creating "serious misgivings inside
the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," with "some officers have talked
about resigning. Late this winter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sought to
remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans for Iran-without
success . . ." Further "some senior officers and officials were considering
resigning over the issue" and "the Joint Chiefs had agreed to give President
Bush a formal recommendation stating that they are strongly opposed to
considering the nuclear option for Iran."
Hersh also comments that the Defense Science board, chaired by William
Schneider, Jr., an Under-Secretary of State in the Reagan Administration,
which has urged the development of tactical nuclear weapons. Schneider
served on an ad-hoc panel on nuclear forces sponsored by the National
Institute for Public Policy, a conservative think tank in January 2001.
Hersh states: "The panel's report recommended treating tactical nuclear
weapons as an essential part of the U.S. arsenal and noted their suitability
'for those occasions when the certain and prompt destruction of high
priority targets is essential and beyond the promise of conventional
weapons.' Several signers of the report are now prominent members of the
Bush Administration, including Stephen Hadley, the national-security
adviser; Stephen Cambone, the Under-Secretary of Defense for Intelligence;
and Robert Joseph, the Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and
International Security."
While seeking to stop Iran, the Bush Administration has made upgrading US
nuclear weapons a key goal. The Los Angles Times reported on April 6 that
"The administration . . . wants the capability to turn out 125 new nuclear
bombs per year by 2022, as the Pentagon retires older bombs that it claims
will no longer be reliable or safe." The last nuclear bomb was built in 1989
but the Bush plan also "calls for a modern complex to design a new nuclear
bomb and have it ready in less than four years, allowing the nation to
respond to changing military requirements."
Thus, the Bush administration is moving to upgrade U.S. nuclear weapons,
develop tactical nuclear weapons and even use nuclear weapons against
Iran--in an effort to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The irony
(or is it irany) of this hypocrisy will not be lost on the world and it is
likely to further weaken U.S. alliances around the world.
Who to Trust Hersh or Bush?
So, back to the original question--who to believe the commander in chief or
the investigative reporter. Sy Hersh is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter
who gained international fame for exposing the My Lai massacre in Vietnam
and more recently the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
President Bush has most recently been tied to the leak of a CIA agents name
in retaliation of her husband's report criticizing claims related to nuclear
weapons in Iraq. He has been widely criticized for exaggerating the threat
of Iraq regarding weapons of mass destruction. And he has claimed that the
United States does not torture people it detains, when photographs and other
evidence indicate that it does.
Right now the U.S. public is divided on attacking Iran. The Los Angeles
Times reports that 48% would support an attack if Iran continued to develop
nuclear weapons, while 40% opposed. In January a Times/Bloomberg poll found
57% support so support is dropping. But, there is loss of trust in Bush,
with 54% saying they do not expect him to make the right decision. Bloomberg
reports that only 37% of Americans believe Bush when he claims progress is
being made on Iraq. And, according to a Washington Post poll, 55% of
Americans do not find Bush to be "honest and trustworthy." So, Bush has a
lot to overcome to convince the public to believe him on Iraq.
Hersh obviously struck a cord deep enough that the president felt he had to
respond. Hopefully, shining the light on the plans to go to war will result
in a more informed electorate and opposition in Congress that stops the
expansion of the war in the Middle East.
Join CounterPunch, Democracy Rising, Gold Star Families for Peace, CODE
PINK, Progressive Democrats of America, Democrats.com, Traprock Peace
Center, Global Exchange, Velvet Revolution, Truthout, OpEdNews, Backbone
Campaign, Consumers For Peace, Campus Antiwar Network, and The Young Turks
in signing a petition to Bush and Cheney opposing the launching of a war of
aggression against Iran. The petition, with all the signatures and comments
you add, will be delivered to the White House by Cindy Sheehan and many
other activists.http://www.dontattackiran.org
Help build a voting bloc to prevent future wars of aggression--sign the
voters pledge at http://www.VotersForPeace.US.
[Kevin Zeese is director of Democracy Rising (http://DemocracyRising.US)
and a candidate for U.S. Senate (see http://ZeeseForSeate.org)]
*
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Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
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TOPIC: Bush Says Rumsfeld "Crucial" to Terror War
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/3e79580521df78f7
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Bush Says Rumsfeld "Crucial" to Terror War
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AP - Apr 15, 2006
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUMSFELD_GENERALS?SITE=NYBUE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Bush Says Rumsfeld Crucial to Terror War
By LOLITA BALDOR
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- At least twice during the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal,
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld offered President Bush his resignation.
On Friday, amid growing criticism of his stewardship of the war from retired
generals who waged it, the issue never came up when the president and his
Pentagon chief spoke.
Bush offered Rumsfeld his full support. And at no time did Rumsfeld offer to
step down, according to a senior defense official familiar with the call who
spoke on condition of anonymity because the call was private.
The president said in a statement that Rumsfeld's stewardship at the
Pentagon was crucial for the United States.
"Earlier today, I spoke with Don Rumsfeld about ongoing military operations
in the global war on terror," the president said. "I reiterated my strong
support for his leadership during this historic and challenging time for our
nation."
Bush's strong endorsement, conveyed in a statement released by the White
House while Bush was at Camp David, Md., for the weekend, appeared designed
to blunt a clamor from within the ranks of retired commanders for Rumsfeld's
ouster.
Six retired generals have called for Rumsfeld to resign, accusing him of
mishandling the Iraq war, ignoring advice of field commanders and having an
arrogant management style.
In an interview aired Friday on Al-Arabiya television, Rumsfeld said he
planned to stay on the job.
"The fact that two or three or four retired people have different views, I
respect their views," he said. "But obviously if, out of thousands and
thousands of admirals and generals, if every time two or three people
disagreed we changed the secretary of defense of the United States, it would
be like a merry-go-round."
Similar statements of support are unlikely for other officials whose time on
the job may be limited, such as Treasury Secretary John Snow, according to a
senior administration official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity
in order to more freely elaborate on White House thinking.
Joshua Bolten took over from retiring Andy Card on Friday as White House
chief of staff, and several administration personnel changes were widely
anticipated, perhaps as early as next week.
The timing of Bush's statement on Rumsfeld seemed designed to tamp down
speculation, particularly in Sunday newspapers and on weekend television
news shows, that Rumsfeld might be on his way out.
Bush's statement also contradicted some of the retired generals who said
Rumsfeld ignored military recommendations from his commanders on missions in
Iraq and in the broader war on terrorism.
"I have seen firsthand how Don relies upon our military commanders in the
field and at the Pentagon to make decisions about how to best complete these
missions," Bush said. "Secretary Rumsfeld's energetic and steady leadership
is exactly what is needed at this period.
"He has my full support and deepest appreciation."
Earlier Friday, retired Gen. John Batiste, who called for Rumsfeld's
resignation, said the recent criticism is "absolutely coincidental" and said
he did not know of any coordinated effort to discredit the defense
secretary.
"I have not talked to the other generals," Batiste said on NBC's "Today"
show. But, he said, the demands for Rumsfeld to step down are "happening for
a reason."
Rumsfeld supporters in the Pentagon said they expect the criticism to
continue, and expressed concern that it could have a damaging effect on
officers who deal with Rumsfeld on a daily basis.
The senior defense official said the criticism from the generals makes it
look as if general officers play no role in decision-making and don't offer
any advice to the civilian leaders. "It makes them look like bystanders and
they're not bystanders."
Also calling for Rumsfeld to resign were retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs,
retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack,
retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton and retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory
Newbold.
[Associated Press Writers Tom Raum and Jennifer Loven contributed to this
report.]
© 2006 The Associated Press.
*
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TOPIC: Sent on its way by US, Iraqi police convoy is ambushed
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/75230392dff76930
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Sent on its way by US, Iraqi police convoy is ambushed
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
[More winning hearts and minds by the US military. Apparently yesterday's
ambush occurred because the US sent one of their upstanding Iraqi police
convoys into harm's way after it asked for, and was refused, permission
to stay in the safety of a US base overnight. Boom. -NY Transfer]
The International Herald Tribune - Apr 15, 2006
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/04/14/news/iraq.php
Sent on its way, Iraqi police convoy is ambushed
By Kirk Semple
The New York Times
BAGHDAD A large Iraqi police convoy was ambushed by insurgents just north of
Baghdad after being refused permission to stay overnight on an American
military base, an Iraqi police commander said Friday.
On Thursday night, at least 9 police officers were killed in the ambush, 18
were wounded and numerous vehicles were destroyed, Iraqi and American
officials said. Dozens of others were missing Friday.
An American military spokesman said the Iraqis had been supposed to spend
the night at the American base in Taji, about 30 kilometers, or 20 miles,
north of the capital, but he could not confirm why the unit had left.
The attack was one of the deadliest against Iraqi security forces in recent
months and threatened to undermine growing confidence between the fledgling
police force and the American military, which has made the rebuilding of the
Iraqi police a top priority this year.
General Abbas Maadal, chief of police in the southern city of Najaf where
the convoy was based, said in an interview that 109 of his officers had gone
to Taji on Thursday morning to pick up 10 vehicles from the American base
there.
"They told us we have just one day to take the vehicles or we would lose
them," he said.
The Iraqi officers requested permission from the Americans to spend the
night at the base for safety reasons and return to Najaf at daybreak.
The American spokesman, Major Steven Stover, said the plan for the mission
had called for the Iraqi forces and an American military police unit that
had accompanied them to rest overnight at Taji before returning to Najaf.
But according to Maadal, the American authorities in Taji refused to allow
the Iraqis to stay.
Stover said that American escorts in Humvees had left the base slightly
ahead of the Iraqis, about 7 p.m. He said he did not know why they had left
before the Iraqis.
About half an hour later, the Iraqi police convoy, traveling behind the
Americans, entered Tarmiya, a village of farms and palm groves just north of
Baghdad, and heard muezzins "calling for jihad" through the amplified
speakers of mosques, according to Maadal, who was briefed on the incident by
survivors.
Suddenly, shooting started, Maadal said. "There was firing from everywhere."
Stover said that the American troops ahead of the Iraqi convoy had heard the
sound of small-arms fire behind them and notified the base at Taji, where a
quick-reaction force of Humvees and Apache helicopters was dispatched.
The American forces killed one insurgent and captured five others before
helping the Iraqi troops recover their casualties, Stover said.
Five Iraqi police officers died at the scene and four others died while
being transported to hospitals, the spokesman said.
The American said it was not clear whether the insurgents had allowed the
American escorts to pass before opening fire on the Iraqis, or had simply
not been ready when the American vehicles rolled by.
"I'm not going to speculate on whether they just let us through," he said.
By late Friday, Maadal said, only about 57 of the policemen, not including
the casualties, had returned to Najaf or been accounted for, and only three
of the 27 vehicles in the convoy had arrived.
In recent months, the rate of fatalities suffered by Iraqi security forces
and civilians has increased dramatically as insurgents and death squads have
focused their attacks on "softer," or more vulnerable, targets, according to
American military officials.
In Baquba, northeast of the capital, two bombs exploded in close succession
outside two Sunni Arab mosques, killing four people and wounding at least
six, a government security official in Diyala Province said.
In Kirkuk, a suicide car bomb exploded as it careened into several cars
parked outside a police station, killing two policemen and wounding five
civilians, according to Colonel Mutlak al-Jabouri of the Kirkuk police
force.
Another police officer was killed south of Kirkuk by two gunmen, said
Colonel Dahaam Abdullah of the Iraqi police.
In Baghdad, a man was killed and another wounded as they accidentally
detonated explosives they were using to build a car bomb inside their home,
an official at the Interior Ministry said.
[An Iraqi employee of The New York Times contributed reporting from Najaf
and John O'Neil contributed from New York.]
© 2006 The International Herald Tribune
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TOPIC: Cuba Expels Czech Spy Under Diplo Cover
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/bf787d03bfbb2aef
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Cuba Expels Czech Spy Under Diplo Cover
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
[Another Czechered gusano has been ousted from Cuba. He is accused
of working as a US agent under diplomatic cover. Just one in a long
line of Czech troublemakers who've been busily trying to undermine
the Cuban revolution.-NYTr]
AP - Apr 14, 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060415/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cuba_czech&printer=1;_ylt=At9wItXZmUvnhexK7mJhYDK9IxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
Cuba Expels Diplomat for Alleged Spying
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press Writer
Cuba ordered the expulsion of a Czech diplomat Friday, accusing him of
spying for the United States.
Stanislav Kazecky, who was in charge of political, cultural and media
affairs for the Czech embassy, was given 72 hours to leave the Caribbean
island. He said he plans to leave Saturday evening.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Kazecky was repeatedly
spotted attempting to photograph and enter military installations.
"These are places where he has no reason to be," Perez Roque said. "We have
decided not to renew his visa." The visa expired Friday.
"He carries out orders by American special services, works closely with the
United States subversive apparatus, distributes money and materials to
mercenary groups and helps the government of the United States," Perez Roque
said.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said he had not heard of any
reports of a Czech diplomat spying for the United States.
Kazecky said the expulsion is a result of the human rights work the Czech
Republic has done.
"I've never knowingly been at a military installation," Kazecky said.
The Czech government repeatedly has criticized Fidel Castro's government and
offered moral support to Cuban dissidents.
The Czech Republic said it was responding by refusing to renew a Cuban
diplomat's visa. The Cuban diplomat, who has not been identified, can stay
in the Czech Republic until April 19, when the visa expires.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press.
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TOPIC: Mexico: "Nothing Gringo" Boycott
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/5e7c656925dd5419
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Mexico: "Nothing Gringo" Boycott
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AP via Yahoo - Apr 14, 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060414/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/mexico_us_immigration_boycott
Groups Ask Mexicans to Boycott U.S. Firms
By MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press Writer
"Nothing gringo," warns the rallying cry of Mexican activists calling for a
boycott of all U.S. businesses south of the border on May 1.
The campaign, aimed at pressuring Congress to legalize undocumented
migrants, was timed to coincide with "The Great American Boycott," in which
activists are urging migrants in the United States to skip work and avoid
spending money to demonstrate their importance to the U.S. economy.
The Mexican boycott was being promoted on Web sites and through e-email
messages, one of which warns that "people shouldn't buy anything from the
interminable list of American businesses in Mexico."
"That means no Dunkin' Donuts, no McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, Sears,
Krispy Kreme or Wal-Mart," the message said.
Promoted by some of the same groups that organized massive immigrant marches
across the United States, the protest also dubbed "A Day Without
Immigrants" comes as Congress debates immigration bills proposing
everything from toughened border security to the legalization of all 11
million undocumented migrants in America.
Mexican unions, political and community groups, newspaper columnists and
even some Mexican government offices have joined the call for a parallel
boycott of U.S. businesses in Mexico. For some it's a way to express
anti-U.S. sentiment, while others see it as part of a cross-border,
Mexican-power lobby.
Advocates occasionally missed their mark in identifying boycott targets. For
example, they incorrectly identified Sears stores in Mexico as American
owned even though Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim bought Sears Mexico
operation since 1997.
And in an ironic twist, the protest targets the U.S. business community
one of the strongest supporters of legalization or guest-worker programs.
"Boycotting would only hurt corporations that are backing what people want
done in the immigration bill," said Larry Rubin, chief executive of the
American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico.
In place of a boycott, Rubin encouraged Mexicans who have relatives in the
U.S. to urge family members to write to their lawmakers in support of
comprehension immigration reform.
Some organizers of the U.S. rallies have told people not to risk their jobs
or education after some workers and students were fired or cited for
truancy. But many others say marchers want to make the sacrifice to show the
importance of immigration reform.
Roberto Vigil, who works in the Mexico City office of the California-based
immigrants rights group Hermandad Mexicana, said his group has asked some of
Mexico's largest labor unions to back the protest in Mexico.
The president of the Phoenix-based Immigrants Without Borders, Elias
Bermudez, also actively promoted the boycott in interviews with Mexican
radio and television stations.
Mexican groups were responding.
Pablo Gonzalez, spokesman for one of Mexico's largest labor unions, the
Federation of Revolutionary Workers and Farmers, said his organization will
support a boycott against "at least four of the most important U.S. firms,
among them Wal-Mart," Mexico's largest retailer.
Two other major labor groups the telephone workers' and auto workers'
unions also were expected to join, Vigil said.
Even parts of the Mexican government have signed on to the protest.
"We are not going to be buying any products from the United States on May
1," said Lolita Parkinson, national coordinator for the National Board of
State Offices on Attention for Migrants, which represents state
government-run migrant aid offices.
For some, the boycott was fueled not just by debate on the immigration bill,
but by long-standing resentment over the perceived mistreatment of Mexicans
in the United States.
"We want to show the power we have as Mexicans," said Carlos Chavez y Pacho,
vice president of the chamber of commerce in Piedras Negras, across from
Eagle Pass, Texas. Chavez y Pacho is also urging Mexicans not to shop in
U.S. border cities on May 1, in part to protest what he calls arrogant
behavior by U.S. customs officials and border officers.
Rafael Ruiz Harrell, who writes a column in the Mexico City newspaper Metro,
predicted the boycott could give rise to a broader, pan-Latino movement.
"If we could get all of Latin America, for one day, to leave the U.S. firms
without customers, we would be sending the kind of clear message they seem
incapable of understanding," he wrote.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press.
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: E-Mails Link Abramoff, Bush Official
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/91f9a63e7b313185
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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E-Mails Link Abramoff, Bush Official
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
AP via Truthout - Apr 15, 2006
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041506A.shtml
E-Mails Link Abramoff, Bush Official
By Mark Sherman
The Associated Press
A batch of 278 e-mails between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a
Bush administration official show a highly inappropriate
relationship where gifts and business interests mixed freely and
frequently, federal prosecutors said Friday.
The prosecutors hope to use the e-mails in the criminal case
against David Safavian, who is accused of lying and obstruction of
justice in connection with investigations of an Abramoff-sponsored
golf outing to Scotland in August 2002.
The e-mails show that Abramoff and Safavian, then chief of
staff at the General Services Administration, were in frequent
contact, played golf often and traded workplace gossip. Abramoff
showered Safavian with offers of meals, invitations to parties as
well as the trip to the fabled St. Andrew's golf course in
Scotland.
One message from Abramoff, sent July 23, 2002, asks Safavian,
"golf Friday? golf Sunday? golf Monday? golf, golf, golf!!"
At the same time, Abramoff is peppering Safavian with questions
and requests for his help on a variety of projects, including
obtaining parcels of federal land that were managed by GSA for
Abramoff's charitable groups.
"The e-mails demonstrate that Mr. Safavian's relationship with
Mr. Abramoff was highly inappropriate," prosecutors wrote in a
court filing accompanying the e-mails.
Prosecutors and Safavian's attorneys are engaged in a legal
fight over how much of this material should be shown to the jury
during Safavian's upcoming trial, which is scheduled to begin May
22.
Barbara Van Gelder, a lawyer for Safavian, described the court
filing as "a press release that allows the government to place
inadmissible hearsay documents into the public record right before
trial."
Van Gelder said that while Abramoff offered Safavian meals,
trips and sports tickets, the "evidence shows that Mr. Safavian
either declined the offers or paid for the expense with his own
money. There is no conspiracy. There is no agreement. This is the
government's attempt to inflate a flat case with hot air."
Sometimes Safavian responds to Abramoff with an invitation of
his own, insisting in one instance that they play golf at
Safavian's club in Springfield, Va. On another occasion, just after
the Scotland trip, Safavian told Abramoff that he recommended the
lobbyist to an architectural and engineering firm that wanted to
become eligible for federal contracts. He titled his e-mail,
"Client Development."
When Abramoff invited Safavian and his wife to have their
anniversary dinner at Abramoff's Signatures restaurant in downtown
Washington, Safavian declined, saying he was preparing veal cutlets
a la suisse at home.
Van Gelder has said that the government has been trying to
pressure Safavian to provide information about Abramoff and others
who are part of the wide-ranging investigation of lobbying fraud
and public corruption.
Abramoff is cooperating with federal investigators. He pleaded
guilty in January to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and
mail fraud.
The e-mails also reveal that in early 2002 Safavian thought
about leaving his congressional staff job for Abramoff's firm,
Greenberg Traurig. Abramoff strongly supported that idea, but
Safavian apparently never received an offer, according to the
e-mails.
"Just spoke with Fred. He asked what I am going to do. I told
him I was leaning towards GSA, but was waiting to hear back from
GT. Unfortunately he didn't talk any numbers," Safavian wrote
Abramoff on April 30.
An hour later, Abramoff replied: "This is crap. Should I call
Fred right now? you should get a ... offer!!! Idiots over here!!"
Instead, Safavian moved from Congress to the General Services
Administration.
The two men also looked for opportunities to get Abramoff
together with GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry. Safavian tells
Abramoff the GSA July 4 party would be a good place to meet Perry.
Abramoff at one point suggests bringing Perry along to Scotland.
Perry was not part of that trip.
*
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TOPIC: The Nino Scalia Guide to Sicilian Hand Gestures
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/ea0e465a8b71d5f
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:31 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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The Nino Scalia Guide to Sicilian Hand Gestures
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The Nation - Apr 10, 2006
http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060424&s=epps
The Nino Scalia Guide to Sicilian Hand Gestures
by GARRETT EPPS
As the world now knows, Justice Antonin Scalia is a practitioner of the
ancient Italian art of the confusing hand gesture. Recently, while in a
cathedral in Boston, he responded to protesters by raising the five fingers
of his right hand in front of his chin and, according to a reporter, saying,
"Vaffanculo."
A worldwide debate at once began over whether his gesture meant "No," "I
don't give a damn" or "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"
Scalia responded with a quotation from Luigi Barzini's The Italians that he
claimed proved the gesture had no profane content.
We should pay close attention to what Scalia says about hand movements. It
can now be revealed that the Justice has, over the years, compiled his own
secret list of gestures drawn from Sicilian street etiquette but expressing
subtle jurisprudential points.
Sources within the court (who cannot be named because they would immediately
be subject to the hand gesture of the closed fist with outstretched thumb
pointing toward the door) have provided a partial draft of Justice Scalia's
unpublished work, Italian Hand Gestures for American Jurists. It is
published here in the hope that understanding the Justice's seemingly random
gestures on the bench will help advocates sharpen their arguments and lead
to better representation of their clients. The gestures include:
1. Both hands made into fists, with right and left thumbs jammed into
respective ears. "Counselor, I'm not listening to any of your stupid
arguments."
2. Right hand held flat and parallel to floor, slowly drawn across neck at
larynx level. "The request for a stay of execution will be denied."
3. Index finger of right hand pointing directly into open mouth. "Tell me
again why there's a constitutional problem with force-feeding prisoners at
Camp X-Ray?
4. Right hand held palm outward, with fingers spread and pointed up. "Talk
all you want, I've already got five votes."
5. Right hand held loosely next to face, holding $5 bill out toward Chief
Justice Roberts. "Hey, sonny, run down to Starbuck's and get me a latte,
willya?"
6. Right hand, with fingers in a straight line above opposed thumb, then
opened and closed rapidly over and over. "That guy Breyer just won't shut
up, will he?"
7. Right and left hands in fists, loosely clinched together above head.
"Who's the smartest Justice, baby?"
8. Right and left hands held together in front of chest, mimicking unusual
secret handshake. "Didn't I see you at the Federalist Society smoker last
night?"
9. Both hands held slightly ahead of the chest, fingers together, facing
outward. "Put down the shotgun, Cheney, and let's talk about it."
10. Right hand held upward in a fist, with only middle finger extended. "I
don't care what it says on the brief. You're no friend of this Court."
Obviously, this list is far from exhaustive, and further study is needed.
However, veteran Court-watchers say that Supreme Court litigators should not
under any circumstances follow the Justice's lead. It is probably a
violation of Court rules, and certainly poor advocacy, to respond to any
member of the Court with a hand gesture. If you must react to something a
member of the Court has said, the proper response is, "Thank you, Your
Honor." The nonverbal meaning of this phrase is the same as Scalia's gesture
No. 10, spelled out above.
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: 3 Coptic churches in Egypt attacked
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/4aa92701fada0fa9
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:32 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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3 Coptic churches in Egypt attacked
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
International Herald Tribune - Apr 15, 2006
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/04/14/news/egypt.php
3 Coptic churches in Egypt attacked
By Abeer Allam
The New York Times
CAIRO Men using machetes attacked worshipers in three Coptic churches in the
port city of Alexandria on Friday morning, killing an 80-year-old man and
wounding at least six other people, the police there said.
A fourth attack was foiled and three attackers were arrested, the police
added.
However, hours after the attack, the Egyptian government, which is sensitive
to sectarian attacks, described the attacks as the work of a single madman.
The governor of Alexandria, General Abdel Sallam Mahgoub, told state-run
television that a mentally unstable 25- year-old carrying two knives had
carried out the attacks in all three churches, wounding two men before he
was arrested. In Cairo, the Interior Ministry issued a statement identifying
that person as Mahmoud Abdel Raziq Hussien.
Some Copts said the government was trying to minimize the event.
"What is worrying me is not the attack itself, but the insistence of the
Egyptian security to cloud the truth," said Youssef Saidhum, editor of the
Coptic daily Watani. "It does not only upset Copts, but it sends a message
to the attackers, regardless of their ideology, that the government is
either afraid of them or supports them, so they get stronger and bolder.
Blaming it on a mentally ill person is nonsense."
The government has often blamed the mentally ill for terror strikes and
other violent attacks. A few months ago, a mentally ill person was blamed
for killing an entire family in a village in the south. In early 1990s, a
person described as unstable attacked a tourist bus and was put in the
mental hospital, only to come back later and attack more tourists.
The attack comes one week before the Coptic calendar celebrates Good Friday.
Coptic Christians constitute as much as 10 percent of Egypt's population of
71 million people.
In October, Muslims attacked churches and shops in Alexandria over the
distribution of a DVD that Muslims felt ridiculed their faith. Four Muslims
were killed by the police in weeklong protests.
When there is violence between Muslims and Christians, the government tries
to hide it, said the Coptic newspaper editor, Saidhum. As such, the
Christians do not feel they have real government protection, he argued.
© 2006 The International Herald Tribune
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Rumsfeld Must Go
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/e83759989b7b4534
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:32 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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Rumsfeld Must Go
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
The Nation - April 5, 2006
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060417/apter
Rumsfeld Must Go
by SIMON MAXWELL APTER
[posted online on April 5, 2006]
Former CENTCOM chief Gen. Anthony Zinni recently joined the lengthening list of those
calling for Secretary Rumsfeld's removal, echoing an appeal first made in The Nation three
years ago. Here are selections from the secretary's most notable critics over the last
three years, from A to Zinni.
The Nation, April 21, 2003 [sent to press April 2] ("Rumsfeld Should Go")
Many political figures activists and organizations--including Democratic
presidential nominee John Kerry, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and
MoveOn.org--are calling for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.
We took that step more than a year ago, and in our edit pointed to
Rumsfeld's rejection of concerns about treatment of Afghan and Al Qaeda
prisoners. Rumsfeld's departure would be only the beginning, not the end, of
a full accounting of who was responsible for prisoner abuses in Iraq and
elsewhere. Fully mindful of that fact, we join the call for his resignation.
The Defense Secretary should resign--now. Although George W. Bush is
ultimately responsible for the catastrophe unfolding in Iraq, it is Donald
Rumsfeld who is the Cabinet member directly charged with planning and
carrying out the nation's wars. He should take with him those two
self-inflated policy warriors, Paul Wolfowitz (his deputy) and Richard Perle
(head of the Defense Policy Board until his venality was exposed). Together
with Vice President Cheney, they were the principal architects of this
venture, in pursuit of which they have deceived the American people, misled
US soldiers whose lives are at risk, scorned the United Nations and defied
international law.
New York Times, April 16, 2003
For writers and editors who live at the far left of liberalism, little has
changed. Last week, with the much criticized war plan suddenly looking
brilliant, The Nation suggested that Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
should resign.
"Even if people think this is a great military victory, we wanted to be out
front on this issue," said Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation.
"There is much to say about whether this is the last unilateralist war by
the Bush regime or the first in a series to reshape the world in the Bush
image."
New York Sun, November 6, 2003
Yesterday, the dean of New York's congressional delegation, Rep. Charles
Rangel, added his voice to the choir. "It's with a heavy heart that I come
here to demand Don Rumsfeld's resignation," said Mr. Rangel, a Democrat.
Slate, April 20, 2004
Neocons Robert Kagan and William Kristol make the too few troops argument in
the April 26 Weekly Standard and call on Rumsfeld to resign.
The Weekly Standard, April 26, 2004
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld famously talks about preparing for the
"unknown unknowns." Yet the present crisis was hardly unforeseeable, and
Rumsfeld did not ensure that the military was prepared to deal with it. He
failed to put in place in Iraq a force big enough to handle the challenges
at hand. That is a significant failure, and we do not yet know the price
that will be paid for it.
The question is whether Rumsfeld and his generals have learned from past
mistakes. Or rather, perhaps, the question is whether George W. Bush has
learned from Rumsfeld's past mistakes. After all, at the end of the day, it
is up to the president to ensure that the success he demands in Iraq will in
fact be accomplished. If his current secretary of defense cannot make the
adjustments that are necessary, the president should find one who will.
Washington Post, May 6, 2004
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations
Committee, said Rumsfeld should resign if investigators conclude the chain
of responsibility reaches his office.
Washington Post, May 7, 2004
After his speech, Kerry said Rumsfeld should resign because of both his
"miscalculation" on the war and the escalating outcry over the abuse
revelations. "In this context, it compounds it," Kerry said. "It was the way
it was handled, the lack of information to Congress...not dealing with
it.... But look, this is...the frosting. I think Iraq and the
miscalculation, and the overextension of the armed forces, and the entire
way in which they rushed the nation to war...is a huge, historic
miscalculation. And I thought he should have resigned then, period."
Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2004
He should do the decent and honorable thing. He should apologize to the
Iraqi people for the conduct of those soldiers and he should resign.
Immediately.
The Economist, May 8, 2004
Responsibility for what has occurred needs to be taken--and to be seen to be
taken--at the highest level too. It is plain what that means. The secretary
of defence, Donald Rumsfeld, should resign. And if he won't resign, Mr Bush
should fire him.
Washington Post, May 10, 2004
Many Democrats, including Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the presumptive
presidential nominee, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), have said Rumsfeld should go. Sen. Richard J.
Durbin (D-Ill.), a member of the intelligence panel, said on CNN that
Rumsfeld, "for the good of this nation, needs to step forward and say, 'As
an important act to show we are changing courses.... I am stepping down.'
That would be an act of patriotism."
A similar statement was made by retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, a former
Democratic presidential aspirant who also said the Iraqi people are
likely--due to these abuses and other problems--to force a "catastrophic
early end to this mission." But two other Democrats who have criticized the
administration's handling of the conflict--Sens. Carl M. Levin (Mich.) and
Evan Bayh (Ind.)--said they worried that Rumsfeld's resignation, by itself,
would make little difference because, they believe, the administration's
policies are so flawed.
New York Times, May 16, 2004
But many hawks across the political spectrum are having public second
thoughts. The National Review has dismissed the Wilsonian ideal of
implanting democracy in Iraq, and has recommended settling for an orderly
society with a non-dictatorial government. David Brooks, a New York Times
columnist, wrote that America entered Iraq with a ''childish fantasy'' and
is now ''a shellshocked hegemon.'' Journalists like Robert Novak, Max Boot
and Thomas Friedman have encouraged Mr. Rumsfeld to resign.
Washington Post, May 27, 2004
In calling for the resignations, Gore said that Rice "has badly mishandled
the coordination of national security policy" and that "the nation is
especially at risk every single day that Rumsfeld remains as secretary of
defense." Gore said three of Rumsfeld's deputies should also resign: Deputy
Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz; Douglas J. Feith, undersecretary of
defense for policy; and Stephen A. Cambone, undersecretary of defense for
intelligence. The sixth resignation Gore demanded was from Tenet, a holdover
from the Clinton administration. "He is a personal friend, and I know him to
be a good and decent man. It is especially painful to call for his
resignation," Gore said. "But I have regretfully concluded that it is
extremely important that our country have new leadership at the CIA
immediately.
Washington Post, December 17, 2004
Speaking to a local chamber of commerce Wednesday in Mississippi, Lott said:
"I am not a fan of Secretary Rumsfeld. I don't think he listens to his
uniformed officers." Lott said Rumsfeld should not be forced to resign
immediately but "I would like to see a change in that slot in the next year
or so."
Washington Post, June 24, 2005
In the day's most dramatic confrontation, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.),
a leading critic of the Iraq campaign, told Rumsfeld that the war has become
a "seeming intractable quagmire." He recited a long list of what he called
"gross errors and mistakes" in the U.S. military campaign and concluded with
a renewed appeal for Rumsfeld to step down. "In baseball, it's three
strikes, you're out," Kennedy said before a standing-room-only session of
the Armed Services Committee. "What is it for the secretary of defense?
Isn't it time for you to resign?"
Washington Post, November 13, 2005
Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Reagan-era Pentagon official, is a good
example: In his Pittsburgh Post-Gazette column, Kelly recently called for
Rumsfeld to resign, even though in many ways he "has been a terrific
secretary of defense.... Army officers think Rumsfeld has it in for them,"
Kelly wrote. "I don't think that is true. But when a perception is as
widespread as this one is, it becomes a reality."
CNN, February 19, 2006
BLITZER: So you're calling on Rumsfeld to resign or be fired?
REP. JANE HARMAN: I think that his leadership post-war in Iraq has been very
damaging to the United States.
BLITZER: So should he be fired?
HARMAN: That's the President's call, but I think if I were going to change a
Cabinet department, that's the one I would change.
Knight-Ridder, March 7, 2006
Union officials representing more than 200,000 civilian defense workers
across the country issued a vote of no-confidence Tuesday in Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and called on him to step down.
The resolution, the first time that federal workers have called for a
defense secretary to resign, came in response to the Pentagon's decision to
appeal a federal judge's ruling last week that blocks controversial new
workplace rules for civilian Defense Department workers.
Guardian, March 17, 2006
The Economist's views, though respected by politicians of all parties, are
not always acted upon. The weekly has been urging the US defence secretary,
Donald Rumsfeld, to resign for some time. It backed Labour in the last
general election and John Kerry in the 2004 US presidential elections.
CQ, March 20, 2006
QUESTION: Senator, yesterday Representative Murtha said that Rumsfeld should
resign and the president's top advisers advising him on the war should be
fired. Do you agree with that?
BIDEN: Absolutely right. But you may recall, I called for him being fired a
year ago. I called for him being fired nine months ago. I called for him
being fired three months ago. I called for him being fired yesterday on
"Late Edition."
Guardian, March 20, 2006
Yesterday, calling on the US to keep its nerve, Mr Rumsfeld pointed to the
swelling ranks of Iraqi government forces. But Mr Eaton, a former major
general, said the defence secretary had "shown himself incompetent
strategically, operationally and tactically", and was "far more than anyone
else, responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq".
Mr Rumsfeld had to step down, he said.
Meet the Press, April 2, 2006
MR. RUSSERT: Should someone resign?
GEN. ZINNI: Absolutely.
MR. RUSSERT: Who?
GEN. ZINNI: Secretary of Defense, to begin with.
MR. RUSSERT: Anyone else?
GEN. ZINNI: Well, I think that, that we--that those that have been
responsible for the planning, for overriding all the, the efforts that were
made in planning before that, that those that stood by and allowed this to
happen, that didn't speak out. And there are appropriate ways within the
system you can speak out, at congressional hearings and otherwise. I think
they have to be held accountable. The point is, those that are in power now
that have been part of this are finding that their time is spent defending
the past. And if they have to defend the past, they're unable to make the
kinds of changes, adjustments, admit the mistakes and move on. And that's
where we are now, trying to rewrite history, defend the past, ridiculous
statements that, "Well, wait twenty years and history will tell you how this
turns out." Well, I don't think anybody wants twenty years to continue like
it is now.
New York Times, April 3, 2006
When asked who should resign, General Zinni said, ''Secretary of Defense, to
begin with,'' adding that resignations should also come from others
responsible for planning the war efforts and from military officials who sat
by without pointing out potential problems.
Time, April 9, 2006
"So what is to be done? We need fresh ideas and fresh faces. That means, as
a first step, replacing Rumsfeld and many others unwilling to fundamentally
change their approach. The troops in the Middle East have performed their
duty. Now we need people in Washington who can construct a unified strategy
worthy of them. It is time to send a signal to our nation, our forces and
the world that we are uncompromising on our security but are prepared to
rethink how we achieve it. It is time for senior military leaders to discard
caution in expressing their views and ensure that the President hears them
clearly. And that we won't be fooled again," said Lt. General Gregory
Newbold, retired director of operations at the Pentagon's military joint
staff.
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Ripples from Iraq disturb Bahrain
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/2f40e06f47d47117
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 11:32 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Ripples from Iraq disturb Bahrain
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
International Herald Tribune - Apr 15, 2006
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/04/14/news/bahrain.php
Ripples from Iraq disturb Bahrain
By Hassan M. Fattah
The New York Times
MANAMA, Bahrain Just minutes after the call went out over Internet chat
rooms and mobile phone text messages late Sunday, a group of young men
trickled onto a main street in the village of Sitra, about 20 minutes
southeast of this city, the Bahraini capital.
The young men, locals say, blocked traffic, set fire to tires laid on the
street and prepared for the arrival of special security forces - and for a
potentially violent confrontation. But the conflict proved tame: Some stones
were tossed, the police dispersed the crowd and arrested a few young men,
and the incident was over within half an hour.
In recent months, organized confrontations between Shiite youth and Bahraini
security forces have become almost weekly events in Bahrain's squalid Shiite
townships and villages. The cycle of confrontation, begun in December when
an Iranian cleric was arrested at the airport, is today the most visible
sign of the rising sectarian tensions tugging at this sliver of a nation.
Bahrain, whose population is two- thirds Shia, faced sectarian strife
bordering on civil war a decade ago. Now, it is often seen as a bellwether
of Sunni- Shiite relations as Shiite influence in the region continues to
grow - and with it, fear of Iranian meddling.
"We don't like going out and demonstrating and closing off streets," said
Ali Hassan Mushaima, 23, a leader of the Unemployed Youth Movement, a group
that agitates for youth labor rights, and a frequent protester. "But there
is no other way to put pressure and get the attention of the government. All
we are asking for is that our civil demands be met."
This once sleepy island, long a weekend playground for Saudis, has become
one of the most strategically important spots in the Gulf. It is the base
for the United States Navy's 5th Fleet, produces a notable amount of oil,
and remains a major banking capital. Massive construction projects - fruit
of Bahrain's share of the Middle Eastern oil boom - dot its coastline.
But politicians also see it as an enclave that mimics the heavily Shiite
demographics of Iraq. In recent years the tiny kingdom has instituted a
series of reforms to turn the country into a constitutional monarchy. But
reforms intended to give citizens more say in the government faltered, and
sectarian tensions grew as Shiites found their hopes of increased clout
dashed.
Sunni extremists in Bahrain paint the country as the edge of a so-called
Shiite Crescent controlled by Iran and threatening to menace the vastly
larger predominantly Sunni Arab world. There is no doubt that this small
state is heavily affected by what happens in Iraq and Iran.
"It is only natural that we'd be affected by Iraq, but that effect has begun
to hurt us," said Jassim Reda, deputy head of the municipality of Manama and
a Shiite politician. "Whenever things in Iraq go haywire, it reflects here."
When the Askariya Shrine in Iraq, a mosque revered by Shiites, was bombed in
February, the protests in Bahrain were the largest in its history, with more
than 100,000 demonstrators
- - most of them Shiite as well as numerous Sunnis - expressing condemnation.
When U.S. marines laid siege to Falluja in late 2004, Reda said, Sunnis in
Bahrain marched in significant numbers in solidarity with Iraq's Sunnis.
Shiite politicians insist their demands are simple: They want jobs, equal
opportunity in the country's institutions and greater representation in
government. But to many Sunnis here, such aspirations sound more like
threats to take control.
They often see Shia as inextricably linked to Iran and contradictory to any
allegiance to Bahrain, pointing to incidents in which demonstrators held up
pictures of Iranian leaders and the leaders of the Iranian-backed militant
group Hezbollah. Portraits of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
and other Iranians hang in many Shiite homes.
Mushaima's Unemployed Youth Movement, meanwhile, has adopted a yellow flag.
He insists it is merely a coincidence that it resembles Hezbollah's
trademark banner, but photographs of Hezbollah leaders hang prominently on
the walls in his family home.
"This is the start of a major shakeup in Bahrain," said Mohammad Khalid
Ebrahim, a Salafist Sunni member of Bahrain's Parliament who has railed
against Shiite influence in the country. Salafists regard most Shiite
doctrine as heresy.
"There is a plan to turn this country into part of a greater Shiite nation.
What they want is the king's seat," he said. But, he added, Sunnis would
never allow it.
Even moderate Sunnis note that the Shiite opposition itself is fighting for
control more than reform.
Shiites bristle at the persistent accusations of allegiance to Iran. They
insist that their ties to Iran are purely spiritual. They note that when the
state was being formed in 1971, they unanimously chose to remain independent
of Iran, quashing Iranian claims to Bahrain.
"The government accuses us of being Iranian pawns, but we don't need Iran's
help, we need the West's help," said Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja, director of the
Bahrain Center for Human Rights, a Shiite-dominated group that was banned in
2004.
"Any support from Iran ultimately weakens us."
Tensions came to a head here in December when Sheik Khalid Hamed Mansour
Sanad, a prominent Shiite cleric, was detained at the airport upon arrival
from Iran. Hundreds of protesters descended on the airport to demand his
release, and violence broke out, leading to numerous arrests.
In March, with many of those arrested still in custody, Shiite parties
demonstrated for their release as thousands of dignitaries descended on
Bahrain for a Formula 1 Grand Prix race. The police efforts to break up the
demonstration prompted rioting, which left tires and garbage burning at a
suburban shopping mall.
Demonstrators have since held quiet weekly protests in various parts of
Manama to demand the release of those arrested, and organized confrontations
by Shiite youth have raged outside the capital.
But many hope the storm will soon pass over.
"They say this is the golden age for the Shia," said Sheik Ahmed Mahouzi, a
prominent Shiite cleric. "But that can only happen if they are just, and
have strong allies. Otherwise they will lose everything when the Americans
leave Iraq."
© 2006 The International Herald Tribune
*
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Cheney to visit North Africa in Search of Oil
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/90e276105b6dc0f5
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 4:32 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Cheney to visit North Africa in Search of Oil
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
[It's incredible. From the Middle East to Latin America, they are pissing
off one oil source after another, and instead of trying to patch things up,
they just go looking for other oil sources. The Algerians should, and we
hope will, spit in Cheney's face. The US is no longer the only customer
in town. -NY Transfer]
Al Jazeera - Apr 15, 2006
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F818C0C0-BB54-4876-94F3-712C0666A09D.htm
Cheney to visit Algeria, paper says
The US vice-president is expected to visit Algeria in late May, Algeria's
prominent al-Khabar newspaper said on Saturday.
The newspaper said Dick Cheney will discuss with Algerian officials
strategic cooperation between the US and North African countries known the
Arab Maghreb.
The newspaper said the US is pushing for access to Algeria's oil production
and to re-establish strong oil ties with Libya.
Economic analysts believe the volatile situation in the Middle East has
pushed the US to seek oil resources coming from a calmer region, al-Khabar
said.
Bush said in January that the US would reduce its dependence on Middle
Eastern oil for the coming two decades.
The US and Algeria have strengthened ties since the September 11, 2001,
attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, stressed during a visit in
February that Algeria is a US ally in the "war on terror".
Aljazeera + Agencies
*
================================================================
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Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: The American Jewish Committe pushes Iran war
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/798b813415643838
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 4:33 pm
From: "Komin"
the AIPAC wanted the war in Iraq,
the AIPAC now wants another war in Iran ,
the AIPAC controls the US presidency .
AIPAC = American -Isreali Pact Against a Common enemy .
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Secondary factors why Eyeran wants nukes
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/a6b2f655b2a3f198
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 4:35 pm
From: "fruitella"
Thanks for the info dude.
Fred J. McCall wrote:
> visualseeplus@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> No reactor is required, but it certainly makes it easier.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Safe SEX Guide
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/e40c550de2084948
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 4:38 pm
From: safesexguide4@rock.com
Using two forms of contraception will make you 1,000's of times safer
than using 1.
There are four main categories of contraceptives:
1.Condoms
2.Oral and Hormonal contraceptives such as the pill
3.The Pull-Out method
4.The Diaphragm or Cervical Cap.
Thus, you have six combinations to choose from:
Condoms and Birth Control
Condoms and Pull-Out
Birth Control and Pull-Out
Diaphragm and any of the other three
Risk of accidental pregnancy
(Assuming perfect use of the contraceptive)
Per Year (assuming 100 sex acts) Per Act
No protection 8 in 10 (1 in 1.25) 1 in 125
Condoms 1 in 50 1 in 5,000
Birth Control 1 in 200 1 in 20,000
Condoms & Birth Control 1 in 1,000,000 1 in 100,000,000
more info on this here:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.seduction.fast/browse_thread/thread/8be21272398a29b3/bf28c0a941fd38c5?tvc=2&q=group:alt.seduction.fast&hl=en#bf28c0a941fd38c5
To have safe sex you should consider vaccinations against Hepatitis B,
and HPV/Genital Warts. A new vaccine called Gardasil is soon coming
out which will protect against 90% of the 1 million yearly cases of
genital warts and 70% of the 4.5 million total yearly cases of
subclinical HPV which cause 10,400 cases of cervical cancer and 3,900
deaths in the U.S. each year.
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2006/04/06/hscout532001.html
ASK the other person if they have ever had Genital Warts, Herpes, HIV,
or any other disease.
Inspect their genitals for Warts and Herpes.
Do not have sex if you have sores, cuts or lesions in your mouth or on
your genitals, because it may increase the likelihood of contracting
HIV or Herpes.
Do not brush your teeth immediately before sex because it can lead to
small cuts, but use Antiseptic mouthwash such as Listerine (or Target
generic brand for 25% the price) or drink some alcohol before kissing.
This helps sterilize the mouth and helps cuts heal faster.
For more comprehensive info on sexually transmitted diseases click
here:http://groups.google.com/group/alt.seduction.fast/browse_thread/thread/799572666ea5a701/6b6295c44515ce80?lnk=st&q=&rnum=1&hl=en#6b6295c44515ce80
If you are sexually active it is wise to have a test for Gonorrhea, &
Chlamydia every 6-12 months, because these diseases are sometimes
asymptomatic and if not treated may lead to Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
(PID) and/or cause infertility.
While the risk of HIV is slimmer for heterosexuals, condoms reduce the
risk of HIV by 90%and provide some protection against other diseases.
A recent test provides more protection than a condom. Use a condom or
see proof your partner has been tested. Even so, if your partner has
only been tested for HIV; forgoing a condom will make it easier to
contract Herpes which is incurable. It also would make it easier to
catch other curable diseases which would require treatment. Condoms
only provide some protection against herpes; for the risk of
contracting herpes with & without condoms see:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.seduction.fast/browse_thread/thread/28acf99e6d4728c1/919f1756b60299ad#9?19f1756b60299ad
The Crown Skinless Skin condom is a pretty good condom.
While the Crown Condom feels a little different than sex without a
condom, it's not worse or better, just different, so while it isn't sex
without a condom, it's not really worse either, just different.
http://www.condomdepot.com/product/detail.cfm/nid/183/pid/2105
Shower before sex and wash your crotch (and preferablly your whole
body) 3-5 times. Start at the head and work down. If you start
sweating change the water to COOL.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: US Training Guyanese for Venez Invasion?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/7ced482aa865f60d
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 4:39 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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US Training Guyanese for Venez Invasion?
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
[GRAIN OF SALT DEPARTMENT: This is a fairly nutty conspiracy-theory source,
loaded with 9-11 conspiracies, etc., but we're distributing it because it
sounds plausible and because Madsen isn't always off the mark. It's worth
keeping this report in mind and investigating further. -NY Transfer]
sent by Rich Winkel (activ-l)
Wayne Madsen Report - Apr 13, 2006
http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/
America Training Guyanese To Invade Venezuela
April 13, 2006 -- As U.S. and NATO descend upon the Caribbean in
two exercises -- Operation Tradewinds and Partnership for the
Americas -- designed to intimidate populist and progressive governments
and political movements in Latin America, particularly the Hugo
Chavez government in Venezuela, comes word from U.S. intelligence
sources that U.S. Special Forces are training Guyanese rebels in
Guyana for cross-border incursions into the eastern part of Venezuela.
It is clear that with the arming and support of secessionist forces
in Zulia state in western Venezuela, the Bush regime has decided
to also foment problems in Venezuela's east. The Guyanese-Venezuelan
border has a history of irredentist problems among the tribal peoples
who live in the region. U.S. missionaries tied to U.S. intelligence
activities have been active among Amerindian tribal peoples of
Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, and Guyana, especially those living
in the border regions of Venezuela. It now appears that President
Hugo Chavez was correct when he accused U.S. missionaries, particularly
the New Tribes Mission, of being linked to the CIA. Suspiciously,
New Tribes Mission is based in Jeb Bush's Florida, which has become
a newly invigorated base for CIA-funded right-wing Cuban, Venezuelan,
Bolivian, and other Latin American paramilitaries and terrorist
groups.
The camouflaged armed bands on the Guyanese-Venezuelan border are
not tropical bird watchers. They represent the "Eastern Front" of
the Bush regime against Hugo Chavez. The Zulia state secessionists
are key players in the "Western Front."
*
================================================================
NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
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==============================================================================
TOPIC: Tax Resisters: When the IRS Shows Up, They Don't Answer
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.usa/browse_thread/thread/835ab6749f3bfe87
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 15 2006 4:39 pm
From: NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
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Tax Resisters: When the IRS Shows Up, They Don't Answer
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
See also: "Tax Day Protests Across US - Apr 17, 2006," distrb'd Apr 9, 2006
http://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/Week-of-Mon-20060403/035347.html
The website of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee:
http://www.nwtrcc.org
The Christian Science Monitor via TruthOut - Apr 14, 2006
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041406S.shtml
When the Tax Man Cometh, They Don't Answer the Bell
By Chris Gaylord
Tax resisters say refusal to pay all or part of their taxes is an
act of civil disobedience. The IRS and US courts say it's illegal.
When Ruth Benn of Brooklyn filed her federal income taxes this
week, she left out an important element: the check.
"In good conscience I cannot pay this money to the US
government," Ms. Benn wrote in a letter to the IRS that accompanied
a completed, but unpaid, 1040 form. "I do not want my tax dollars
to be used for killing and war."
Benn joins an estimated 10,000 Americans refusing to pay their
federal taxes this year in protest of US military power. Many of
these conscientious objectors - some driven by personal politics,
some by religious beliefs - plan to donate their tax obligation to
charity instead.
The Internal Revenue Service does not keep a count of tax
resisters, but they're no doubt a tiny fraction of the 120 million
people expected to file to Uncle Sam. Though her evidence is
anecdotal, Benn sees their ranks growing, noting that three years
into the Iraq war her tax-resister clearinghouse has more than
doubled its online readership, from 200 hits a day to about 500.
Of course, not paying taxes is against the law. Federal courts
have rejected protesters' right to withhold taxes, regardless of
the motive, says IRS spokesman Robert Marvin. Although few tax
resisters ever face charges, the IRS has cracked down on some
offenders.
Last July, a US District judge sentenced three members of the
Restored Israel of Yahweh church, which preaches against war taxes,
to six months in prison for tax evasion and openly allowing
employees of their New Jersey construction company to avoid their
income taxes.
"On rare occasions, if a person has owed a lot of money over a
lot of time, the IRS may go after them," says attorney Peter
Goldberger, who is handling the appeal for two of the Restored
Israel of Yahweh worshipers. "But criminal prosecution is rare to
the point that it is almost not heard of."
In general, the IRS treats tax resisters as it does millions of
other Americans who are behind on their taxes, Mr. Goldberger says.
Fines and interest accumulate, but legal action is usually reserved
for fraudulent or egregious cases.
Jim Allen, a retired Army social worker now teaching at St.
Louis University, knows he is breaking the law by withholding some
of his income taxes. But last year he and his wife, Jan, became fed
up with the billions of dollars spent to fund the war in Iraq and
decided to take a moral stand.
"I am not opposed to paying taxes, but I am when such a large
percent is going to pay for war," says Mr. Allen, who served in the
Army for 20 years.
The White House says 19 cents of every tax dollar goes to
military spending. Many tax resisters dispute the way that figure
is calculated. Allen believes the number is closer to 42 percent,
so he and his wife withheld about $1,300 - 42 percent of what they
owe the IRS this year.
"I see the military getting more and more funding while
education and healthcare get less and less," he says. "As Roman
Catholics, my wife and I know that is wrong and immoral."
Becky Pierce of Boston says she evades the IRS by not filing at
all. Each April she fills out a 1040 form to determine how much
she'll donate to charity, then puts the income tax form in her
filing cabinet.
Ms. Pierce says she is part of a long American tradition of tax
resistance, reaching back to when revolutionaries tossed tea into
Boston Harbor. But to follow in the footsteps of American
protesters such as Henry David Thoreau - who went to jail for
withholding taxes during the Mexican-American War - Pierce says she
must live on a Walden Pond level of thrift. "You need to have
control of your money," she says. "I'm a self-employed carpenter.
No one is reporting what I make. That's why I can go unnoticed."
But Jim Stockwell of Micaville, N.C., refuses to take a vow of
poverty for what he considers "a simple act of conscience." He
laughs about how he never paid income taxes while working as a
vitamin supplement salesman in Maine and a Home Depot employee in
North Carolina.
"I made bundles and bundles of money and gave bundles away [to
charity]," Mr. Stockwell says. "I arranged my life my own way and
the IRS never caught up with me."
Rather than chase down war tax resisters, the IRS often seizes
back taxes by garnishing wages or bank accounts.
Allen assumes the IRS will catch up with him eventually and
regrets he'll probably need to pay back far more than he refused to
pay. "Sooner or later, they're going to get their money," he says.
"But until that happens, I'm going to continue protesting. This is
too important not to."
While Goldberger does not practice tax resistance - and as a
lawyer is barred from advising anyone how to do so - he counsels
those who have hit legal trouble on how to minimize the damage. His
advice: Be honest.
"The IRS would never admit this, but I've found that they go
easier on people with sincere beliefs [who] are open about those
beliefs," he says. "If you are open and honest, you will find it
far easier than if you are sneaky."
*
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