"To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us and make a broken tyrant into a latter-day hero ... assigning young soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning them to fight in what would be an un-winnable urban guerilla war. It could only plunge that part of the world into even greater instability." A World Transformed (1998) George Herbert Walker Bush | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coverup of Cheney's Energy Task Force. Millions of people in the U.S. and abroad believe Bush invaded Iraq partly in order to steal its oil for the benefit of U.S. oil companies. If this is true, then the plans for this invasion may well have been discussed by Cheney's Energy Task Force, which included Bush's largest donors from the oil industry. Yet Bush refuses to provide Congress or journalists with documents from the Energy Task Force, and has responded to a series of defeats in court by filing further appeals, in order to delay the release of the documents for as long as possible. The Hoaxes: Jessica Lynch, Mission Accomplished, the Air Force One Sighting, and the Decoration Turkey. These would be the most trivial of Bush's Iraq scandals, except that they demonstrated the Bush's administration's willingness to lie about absolutely anything - large or small - to get a few days of positive publicity during an election year. Bush's Madness. It is unclear whether the war in Iraq has affected George Bush's actual sanity. He has made delusional claims, such as telling the Palestinian Prime Minister, "[God] instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did." In July, he told reporters "We gave [Saddam] a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in." Speaking at a fundraiser in NJ on December 1, Bush claimed he eliminated Weapons of Mass Destruction from Iraq. These statements suggest Bush may be insane or drugged. Source: http://www.democrats.com/view2.cfm?id=18639 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| How To Cover Up The Stolen Election I also very much enjoyed Senator John McCain (the Bush administration's supposed non-partisan heaviest hitter) going on the Tonight Show on Thursday, November 4, 2004 (the perfect day), to try to quell any talk of mischief in the Florida and Ohio exit polls vs. the final results. Bringing out McCain coupled with the perfect timing to try to cover up this stolen election is a dead give away of what truly happened. 3) http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=2519038 4) http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/FL 5) http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/OH 6) http://ustogether.org/Florida_Election.htm 9) http://www.mitofskyinternational.com 10) http://www.exit-poll.net/pool.html 11) http://www.exit-poll.net/election-night/subscribers.html
http://John-Lennon.com | http://John-Lennon.net
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| http://www.counterpunch.org/cohen1228.html All of this is concealed in a new HBO "behind-the-scenes true story" of the Gulf War, which is being released at this crucial political moment. As Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting writes, "HBO's version of history never makes clear that the incubator story was fraudulent, and in fact had been managed by an American PR firm, not Iraq. Curiously, however, the truth seems to have been clear to Robert Wiener, the former CNN producer who co-wrote 'Live from Baghdad.'As he explained to CNN's Wolf Blitzer (11/21/02), 'that story turned out to be false because those accusations were made by the daughter of the Kuwaiti minister of information and were never proven.' Unfortunately, HBO viewers won't know that when they see the film."(6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stacey Michael is a New Orleans-based journalist and the author of Religious Conceit. His most recent book is Weapons of Mass Dysfunction: The Art of "Faith-Based" Politics, due in early 2004. He can be reached by email at: staceymichael@religiousconceit.com Source: http://www.nhgazette.com/cgi-bin/NHGstore.cgi?user_action=detail&catalogno=NN_Bush_Nazi_2 Related Links: Bush - Nazi Link Confirmed Bush Grandfather Director Of Bank With Hitler Ties President's Family Had Links To Bank With Ties To Hitler Supporter
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Wednesday, June 14, 2006Would a book have changed Hitler?
The Ecologist: Which one book would you give to every politician? Derrick Jensen: One that explodes. Before you freak out, let’s change the question and see what you think: Which one book would you give to Hitler, Goering, Himmler, and Goebbels? Let’s ask this another way: Would a book have changed Hitler? I don’t think so. Unless it exploded. Full Ecologist interview here. Tuesday, June 13, 2006"Popular anger may be something to behold"
I first met Greg Elich more than two years when we were both speakers at the One Dance People’s Summit. We’ve since become friends and I was proud to write the afterword for his recently released book, Strange Liberators: Militarism, Mayhem, and the Pursuit of Profit. Sample: Mickey Z.: The phrase “Strange Liberators” certainly resonates with the current U.S. occupation of Iraq. Why did you choose this title? Greg Elich: The phrase is taken from a speech given by the Rev. Martin Luther King in 1968 on the subject of the Vietnam War. Not much has changed since that time in at least one respect: U.S. leaders still use high-sounding phrases to cloak wars, interventions and aggressive policies that serve corporate interests. One of the book’s primary goals is to demonstrate the reality of those policies for those on the receiving end, hence the title. To read the complete interview, you might wanna click here. +++
Posted on Thursday 8th June 2006, by Mickey Z.. You gotta think like a multi-national to earn like a multi-national What do trans-national corporate giants know that we don’t? Do you ever wonder why CEOs have all that fun dwelling in decadent luxury while the rest of us live from paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet? Of course you do. Well, stop dreaming and read on...because here, for the first time ever, are the top seven secrets of America’s most dynamic and successful corporations: 1. Say no to unions. Avoid the annoying hassles and unnecessary costs of dealing with overtime pay, sick leave, OSHA rules, strike threats, and other labor related nuisances. Keep those union organizers away, hire temps, outsource jobs overseas; it’s the American Way. 2. Cut labor costs. 3. Exploit corporate welfare. Here’s how the commies at Public Citizen explain it: "Each year, U.S. taxpayers subsidize U.S. businesses to the tune of almost $125 billion, the equivalent of all the income tax paid by 60 million individuals and families. These corporations receive a wide range of favors: special corporate tax breaks; direct government subsidies to pay for advertising, research and training costs; and incentives to pursue overseas production and sales." Well...what are you waiting for? 4. Disregard environmental regulations. Ask your shareholders how they feel about installing those expensive safeguards just to save a salamander or two. Besides, thanks to "greenwashing," it’s not like anyone notices. Just because you’re an oil company doesn’t mean you can’t sell yourself as a friend of the environment, right? Learn from Kraft. They creatively promoted their cereals as having "natural ingredients" when in fact, the corn they use is genetically engineered. Take-home message: Perception is reality. 5. Take advantage of the magic of public relations. Toxic sludge has become bio-solids. Used is now pre-owned. McDonald’s sells salads. Front groups, fake op-eds, third party testimonials...check out what PR Watch is bitching about if you’re not sure what to do. 6. Make strategic campaign contributions. Managing your bottom line is so much easier with a few members of Congress on your side. We live in a democracy; why not make it work for your company? Remember: Senators need vacations, too. 7. Donate lots of money to safe, generic charities. Nothing says "hero" like a big fat check ostensibly earmarked for needy kids in some godforsaken corner of the globe. Don’t forget to enlist a celebrity to keep the focus on your generosity and away from the conditions that create the need for charity in the first place. As J. Paul Getty sez: "Formula for success: Rise early, work hard, strike oil." So what you are waiting for? This is truly the land of opportunity... Mickey Z. is the author of several books, most recently 50 American Revolutions You’re Not Supposed to Know (Disinformation Books). He can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| While commenting on gun control: "We’re supposed to have guns. It says so in the Bible; and the second greatest book ever written, the Texas State Constitution."- Wyoming Weekly Journal, Mar. 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://weaselweek.com/ Beware This Sort of Government "Protection"! by Milt Shook
When I was a kid, we made fun of the old Soviet Union. We thought it was funny and pathetic that the Soviet government listened to the phone conversations of its citizens, monitored what they read and wrote, kept a close eye on whatever they listened to or watched on radio or television, and monitored communications between Soviets and people in other countries, to make sure they complied with their version of the law. Back in the day, we even found it to be a major violation of human rights when they put people away in prisons and mental hospitals, or otherwise vilified them for having political views not in tune with what the government saw as a right and proper political view for a good Soviet citizen.
It was funny and pathetic when it was happening to other people. Now, it's happening to us, and it's not so funny or pathetic; in fact, it's actually becoming scary, because we all know what happened to people in the Soviet Union when they didn't toe the party line. More... A New Novel by Milt Shook: Talent on Loan In the meantime, enjoy a couple of short stories by Milt Shook by Milt Shook http://weaselweek.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://www.crooksandliars.com/ Only on The Colbert Report: Only on The Colbert Report: Westmoreland co-sponsors bill on the Ten Commandments and can't even name them Video-WMP Video-QT (rough transcript) Colbert: You have not introduced a single piece of legislation since you entered Congress. Westmoreland: That's correct. Colbert: This has been called a do nothing Congress. Is it safe to say you're the do nothingest? Westmoreland: I, I, ..Well there's one other do nothiner. I don't know who that is, but they're a Democrat. Colbert: What can we get rid of to balance the budget? Westmoreland: The Dept. of Education. Colbert: What are the Ten Commandments? Westmoreland: You mean all of them?--Um... Don't murder. Don't lie. Don't steal Um... I can't name them all. emailer Ruth asks: Does this guy deserve a $3,300 pay raise? The guy co-sponsors a bill about the Ten Commandments and doesn't even know them. Priceless. (h/t Vincent) emailer Ruth asks: Does this guy deserve a $3,300 pay raise? Mike's Blog Round Up Whiskey Bar: Base Motives Scrutiny Hooligans: U.S. Nuclear Security Breach. Don't you feel safer? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
And again; what gives Ann Coulter more moral authority to inject herself into the public debate than people who actually understand first hand what the debate is about? But it gets better...
Hillary Clinton heard what Coulter said about the "Jersey Girls," all of whom lost husbands in the terrorist attacks, and issued a statement (since she is the Senator from New York, after all) and called Coulter "heartless" for what she said about these widows. And Hannity gets her to respond by regurgitating every goddamned unsubstantiated rumor about Sen. Clinton's husband that has floated around Right Wing World in the last 15 years. Check it at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTAAtTRk9bc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fweaselweek%2Ecom%2Fright%5Fboob%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fweek061106%2Ehtm I mean, the eternally loony David Horowitz, whose main claim to fame has to do with his conversion from extremist leftwing loon to extremist right wing loon, without even experiencing a transition, actually called Coulter a "national treasure." It was amazing how many of them claimed that she had a point; as if losing a loved one takes away a person's First Amendment right to speak out... The silence from Republicans was deafening. Except for George Pataki and Peter King, no one from the GOP stood up and said "enough!" Keith Olbermann discusses this phenomenon...
Olbermann Covers Coulter Apologists | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recommended diaries at 9 pm, Monday, Nov 07, 2005 : More on the Use of Napalm in Iraq - the story that won't dieby dbnkr Italian Satellite TV to Broadcast Evidence of US Use of Chemical Weapons on Civilians Hardball Monday Eve. Pigs Fly. Vatican Rejects Intelligent Design Why I am running for Congress in 2006 - TX CD 6 Fun With Kilgore Campaign Get our peers to the polls + change the culture of politics US Consumer: Sick As a Dog | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Humans As Natural Selection's Guinea Pigs Category: Evolution A bunch of good reviews on natural selection in humans are coming out, reflecting the explosion of research on how evolution has shaped our genome. See here and here. Today in Science another good one is out. What sets this one apart from the others is that it comes with a slide show with audio from the authors. As far as I can tell, the show is free. And it's a pretty clear summary. Check it out. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomas Frank, in his new book, What's the Matter with Kansas? : How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, discusses why poor farmers and the working class have become conservative, Republican, supporters. Here is a discussion by him of the failure of liberalism: Red-State America Against Itself. See also an interview with Frank by Bill Moyers: Thomas Frank on NOW with Bill Moyers. (POSTED: July 15, 2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/WhereIsUSHeaded.htmOverall TrendsThomas Frank, in his new book, What's the Matter with Kansas? : How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, discusses why poor farmers and the working class have become conservative, Republican, supporters. Here is a discussion by him of the failure of liberalism: Red-State America Against Itself. See also an interview with Frank by Bill Moyers: Thomas Frank on NOW with Bill Moyers. (POSTED: July 15, 2004) Susan Sontag recently won the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels (the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade). Her acceptance speech, Susan Sontag on the great Atlantic divide eloquently discusses the origins of the current tension between Europe and America. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: October 26, 2003) It is the genius of the United States, a profoundly conservative country in ways that Europeans find difficult to fathom, to have devised a form of conservative thinking that celebrates the new rather than the old. But this is also to say, that in the very ways in which the United States seems extremely conservative - for example, the extraordinary power of the consensus and the passivity and conformism of public opinion (as Tocqueville remarked in 1831) and the media – it is also radical, even revolutionary, in ways that Europeans find equally difficult to fathom.... The United States is a generically religious society. That is, in the United States it's not important which religion you adhere to, as long as you have one.... Whatever historic faiths the different American religious entities purport to represent, they all preach something similar: reform of personal behavior, the value of success, community cooperativeness, tolerance of other's choices. (All virtues that further and smooth the functioning of consumer capitalism.) The very fact of being religious ensures respectability, promotes order, and gives the guarantee of virtuous intentions to the mission of the United States to lead the world. "Old" and "new" are the perennial poles of all feeling and sense of orientation in the world.... The inner life tends to mistrust the new. A strongly developed inner life will be particularly resistant to the new. We are told we must choose --- the old or the new. In fact, we must choose both. What is a life if not a series of negotiations between the old and the new? It seems to me that one should always be seeking to talk oneself out of these stark oppositions. The Guardian (UK) US correspondent, Ed Vulliamy, wrote this eloquent good bye essay: Farewell America: After six years, The Observer's award-winning US correspondent Ed Vulliamy takes his leave from a wounded and belligerent nation with which, reluctantly, he has now fallen out of love (PUBLISHED August 24 and POSTED: August 31, 2003) Sheldon S. Wolin, emeritus professor of politics at Princeton University, echoes others in drawing similarities between the US today and fascism: A Kind of Fascism Is Replacing Our Democracy (PUBLISHED and POSTED: July 18, 2003) Paul Krugman argues that the US is well on its way to becoming a one-party state: Toward One-Party Rule (POSTED: June 27, 2003) "If you want to play in our revolution," Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, once declared, "you have to live by our rules."... like Mr. DeLay, Republican leaders often talk of "revolution," and we should take them at their word. Noam Chomsky has been one of the foremost critics of US foreign (and domestic) policy for decades. Here is one of many interviews Chomsky has given in recent months outlining his analysis of the current direction of the country: What's Happening? Atilio A.Boron Interviews Noam Chomsky (PUBLISHED and POSTED: June 14, 2003) Here is a very clear summary of The New Right Wing Agenda by Steven E. Miller, formerly Board Chair of Grassroots International (PUBLISHED June 13 and POSTED: June 14, 2003) Eliot Weinberger, writing originally in the German Vorwarts, produces one of best short descriptions of what is happening in Bush's America: What Is Happening in America? (PUBLISHED June 8 and POSTED: June 17, 2003) It is very difficult to speak of what is happening in America without resorting to the hyperbolic cliches of anti-Americanism that have lost their meaning after so many decades, but that have now finally come true.... This is, quite simply, the most frightening American administration in modern times, one that is appalling both to the left and to traditional conservatives. This junta is unabashed in its imperialist ambitions; it is enacting an Orwellian state of Perpetual War; it is dismantling, or attempting to dismantle, some of the most fundamental tenets of American democracy; it is acting without opposition within the government, and is operating so quickly on so many fronts that it has overwhelmed and exhausted any popular opposition. Perhaps it cannot be stopped, but the first step toward slowing it down is the recognition that this is an American government unlike any other in this country's history, and one for whom democracy is an obstacle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/WhereIsUSHeaded.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HOMELAND INSECURITY Terror alerts manufactured? FBI agents say White House scripting 'hysterics' for political effect Posted: January 4, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Jon Dougherty Intelligence pros say the White House is manufacturing terrorist alerts to keep the issue alive in the minds of voters and to keep President Bush's approval ratings high, Capitol Hill Blue reports. The Thursday report said that the administration is engaging in "hysterics" in issuing numerous terror alerts that have little to no basis in fact. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/iraqresources_resources2.htm#ResignationsCommentary and Op-Ed PiecesA collection of interesting commentary and op ed pieces. Obviously a tiny selection from what's out there:Arundhati Roy pre-recorded this talk for the May 31, 2003 United For Peace and Justice teach-in in Washington, DC. The Day of the Jackals The US invasion of Iraq was perhaps the most cowardly war ever fought in history.... US and British troops had orders to kill people, but not to protect them. Their priorities were clear. The safety and security of Iraqi people was not their business. " Those of us who belong to former colonies think of imperialism as rape. So you rape. Then you kill. Then you demand the right to rape the corpse. That's usually known as necrophilia. Iraq is no longer a country. It's an asset. It's no longer ruled. It's owned.(PUBLISHED and POSTED: June 2, 2003) Senator Robert Byrd, perhaps because he's too old to worry about political consequences, has made an impassioned speech regarding the lies behind the US attack and occupation of Iraq: "The Truth Will Emerge"(PUBLISHED and POSTED: May 21, 2003) it is becoming all too clear that the smiling face of the U.S. as liberator is quickly assuming the scowl of an occupier. The image of the boot on the throat has replaced the beckoning hand of freedom. Arundhati Roy made the following speech at the Riverside Church on May 13, 2003: Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy: (Buy One, Get One Free) (PUBLISHED and POSTED: May 18, 2003) after making sure that most of its weapons had been destroyed, in an act of cowardice that must surely be unrivalled in history, the "Coalition of the Willing" (better known as the Coalition of the Bullied and Bought) - sent in an invading army! Operation Iraqi Freedom? I don't think so. It was more like Operation Let's Run a Race, but First Let Me Break Your Knees.... "Democracy, the modern world's holy cow, is in crisis. And the crisis is a profound one. Every kind of outrage is being committed in the name of democracy. It has become little more than a hollow word, a pretty shell, emptied of all content or meaning. It can be whatever you want it to be. Democracy is the Free World's whore, willing to dress up, dress down, willing to satisfy a whole range of taste, available to be used and abused at will. Find out about the American hero, Charmaine Means, the Major who refused to shut down the tv station in Mosul to suppress free speech and was promptlt relieved of duty: Nonviolence is Starting to Matter in the Middle East by Ira Chernus. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: May 13, 2003) Sidney Hall, Jr. a poet and publisher who lives in New Hampshire, and the owner of Hobblebush Books describes the nation we have become: A Nation of Cowards (PUBLISHED May 8 and POSTED: May 10, 2003) A comment on the paternalistic ideology behind the occupation of Irq, by Ira Chernus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ideology is Key to Corporate Imperialism in Iraq (PUBLISHED and POSTED: May 9, 2003) Paul Krugman's reflections on the meaning for American democracy of Bush's photo-op from the aircraft carrier. Man on Horseback (PUBLISHED and POSTED: May 6, 2003) Daniel Pipes, leading neocon foreign policy adviser advocates dispensing with the fantasy of Iraqi democracry, in the short-run at least: A Strongman for Iraq? [From New York Post] (PUBLISHED April 28 and POSTED: April 30, 2003) "Iraq needs - and I write these words with some trepidation - a democratically-minded Iraqi strongman." Robert Steinback in the Miami Herald discusses an obvious point: Most Americans know now that the President lied about Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction, but they don't care. Military victory with few US casualties is all that matters. Did our leaders lie to us? Do we even care? (PUBLISHED and POSTED: Aprol 29, 2003) [T]he agony of Sept. 11 has pushed us into an altogether new realm, where we don't even care if our rhetoric makes sense, as long as we're led to a feel-good conclusion. The joy of kicking butt obliterates the need to make an honest case for war.... Wasn't it just four years ago -- I reminded my acquaintance -- that a roiling posse of critics piously preached how utterly unacceptable it was for a president to be excused even for a piddling lie that had absolutely no impact on the lives of any non-Beltway American?... In a nation where hypocrisy is rewarded, expect more lies. Norman Mailer: We went to war just to boost the white male ego (PUBLISHED and POSTED: April 29, 2003) Revealed: How the road to war was paved with lies (PUBLISHED April 27 and POSTED: April 26, 2003) Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity , concerned about the possibility the US will plant weapons of mass destruction, have published a study of the history of US intelligence lies: The Stakes in the Search for Weapons of Mass Destruction (PUBLISHED April 25 and POSTED: April 26, 2003) See also their May 1, 2003 open Memorandum to President Bush: SUBJECT: Intelligence Fiasco(POSTED: May 2, 2003) Iraqi expatriates Kamil Mahdi discusses The real significance of Kerbala:Religious leaders are legitimising Iraqi resistance to occupation (PUBLISHED April 23 and POSTED: April 25, 2003) George Monbiot writes in the Guradian (UK) of the danger of having one superpower. He berlieves that the only way to counter this power is to shift the dominant world cuurrency from dollars to euros. The Bottom Dollar (PUBLISHED April 22 and POSTED: April 23, 2003) Wallace Shawn in The Nation states the obvious: that the hawks are possessed by the opportunity to express their internal violence: Fragments From a Diary (POSTED: april 23, 2003) Why are we being so ridiculously polite? It's as if there were some sort of gentlemen's agreement that prevents people from stating the obvious truth that Bush and his colleagues are exhilarated and thrilled by the thought of war, by the thought of the incredible power they will have over so many other people, by the thought of the immensity of what they will do, by the scale, the massiveness of the bombing they're planning, the violence, the killing, the blood, the deaths, the horror. The love of killing is inside each one of us, and we can never be sure that it won't come out. We have to be grateful if it doesn't come out. In fact, it is utterly wrong for me to imagine that Bush is violent and I am not, that Bush is cruel and I am not. I am potentially just as much of a killer as he is, and I need the help of all the sages and poets and musicians and saints to guide me onto a better path, and I can only hope that the circumstances of my life will continue to be ones that help me to stay on that path. But we can't deny that Bush and his men, for whatever reason, are under the sway of the less peaceful side of their natures. Philip Hensher used to support the war. Now he points out Crimes against culture are remembered for ever: The Muslim world will ask why US forces let the looting happen and produce a simple answer: they hate Islam (PUBLISHED and POSTED: April 22, 2003) Jonathan Steele in The Guardian (UK) writes: This occupation is a disaster. The US must leave - and fast: Any gratitude for the removal of Saddam is now virtually exhausted (PUBLISHED April 21 and POSTED: April 20, 2003) Jonathan Rabanargues in The greatest gulf that military intervention in Iraq ...represented a disastrous failure of imagination and a fatal inability to understand the role of history - and religion - in the region (PUBLISHED April 19 and POSTED: April 20, 2003) John Pilger in The Independent (UK): The unthinkable is becoming normal. Do not forget the horror (PUBLISHED April 20 and POSTED: April 19, 2003) Howard Zinn, in piiece from Newsdaypropses A Kinder, Gentler Patriotism that is clearly cognizant of the difference between troops dying for their counrry and dying for their government. (PUBLISHED April 13 and POSTED: April 14, 2003) Ira Chernus discusses the peace movement's need to crete alternative stories to the official US account of Iraqi "liberation". He discusses characteristics of "good stories" that are more likely to be taken over by the populace. Next Task for Peace Movement: Let a Thousand Stories Bloom (PUBLISHED April 12 and POSTED: April 14, 2003) Joan Smith in The Independent (UK) sees the war as a reflection of a failure of the US to successfully sell itself and its way of life to the rest of the world: The golden arches over Baghdad "The purpose is not to remake the world in America's image, a project that would require politically unacceptable levels of expenditure, but to make the world safe for the US. It is not about helping foreigners enjoy the American way of life think of the cost of providing clean water for six billion people, let alone all the labour-saving devices Americans rely upon – but removing threats to it, regionally and globally." (PUBLISHED and POSTED: April 13, 2003) A facinating commentary from Aviad Kleinberg in Haaretz of the potential negative consequences, for Israel of the US invasion of Iraq: The war's implications for Israel (PUBLISHED April 15 and POSTED: April 14, 2003) Israel's great strategic weight stemmed from its ability to act - or to constitute a potential threat - in a region in which the United States did not want to intervene directly. Israel was a regional mini-power through which it was possible to threaten the Soviet bloc and its satellites, or the Arab world.... American involvement becomes direct, there is no further need for mediators. The United States does the dirty work itself.... It will mean that American readiness to go on paying so as to extricate us from the morass in which we are mired will be diminished. Andrew Gumbel asks in The Independent (UK) America targeted 14,000 sites. So where are the weapons of mass destruction? Perhaps they'll be recycled: "If the Bush administration should ever seek to turn its military wrath on Damascus, the weapons of mass destruction it is failing to find in Iraq might just provide the excuse once again. " (PUBLISHED and POSTED: April 13, 2003) Roger Morris, Nixon biographer and former National Security Council member aanalyzes the rise of the new Imperial Presidency From republic to empire [from The Globe & Mail (Canada)] (PUBLISHED and POSTED: Aporil 14, 2003) Maureen Dowd has a rather scathing analysis of this war and its promoters: Perle's Plunder Blunder . This op-ed piece posed a problem. It could go here, or in Scoundrel Time. Nicholas von Hoffman has a rather scathing analysis of this war in the context of the stealing of the 2000 election and the Christian right's influence on the Presidency: A Faith-Based War That Promises Disorder . Arthur Schlesinger Jr., major figure in the Kennedy administration concludes: Today, It is We Americans Who Live in Infamy . In case you weren't scared enough, Paul Krugman, in a New York Times op ed piece compares the present administration to the crazy Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny: George W. Queeg . Another Paul Krugman New York Times op ed piece Things to Come expreses the fears of many of us that this war is just the beginning of horrors to come. NPR's All Things Considered broadcast this commentary by Peter Freundlich on the Illogic of the Bush Administration's logic of war. Resignations and Other Protest LettersThere are increasing numbers of resignations and other protest letters. These come not just from the usual suspects, but from former GOP Chairmen and CIA agents as well. Here are a sample:Mary A. Wright Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia has resigned March 19, 2003 after 15 years as a diplomat and 26 years in the US Army/Army Reserves. She received the State Department's Award for Heroism as Charge d'Affaires during the evacuation of Sierra Leone in 1997. Here is her Resignation Letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Read Robin Cook's resignation speech to the House of Commons or watch. John Brady Kiesling, a career diplomat in the U.S. embassy in Greece resigned effective March 7 sending this Letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell. taken from ZNet.. John Brady Kiesling, later gave this acoount of his reasons: Diplomatic Breakdown (PUBLISHED April 27 and POSTED: April 29, 2003) Jack Walters,Columbia, Missouri GOP Chairman Resignation Letter. The following Letter was signed by 1,000 war veterans and given to the President on March 10, 2003. This is quite unusual. A memorandum from former and retired CIA professionals to the President complaining about the faking and misuse of intelligence information: Forgery, Hyperbole, Half-Truth: A Problem . You know there's something wrong when even CIA agents complain! And here is a Letter from Henry A. Waxman, who voted for the war resolution, to President Bush complaining about the use of faked and unreliable intelligence data to convince Congress, the UN, and the public to support the war. Comments by Famous People52 former diplomatic officials in Britain rebel, penning a letter condemning Blair's poodle-like foreign policy approach: Former ambassadors unite to condemn Blair's foreign policy. The actual letter: A letter to Blair: Your Middle East policy is doomed, say diplomats. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: April 27, 2004) Jimmy Carter criticizes Bush and Blair for starting needless war: Jimmy Carter: Stirring up a hornet's nest, the president turned peacemaker: 'There was no need for that war' -- The Monday Interview: Former President of the United States. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: March 22, 2004) "There was no reason for us to become involved in Iraq last year. That was a war based on lies and misinterpretations from London and Washington, claiming falsely that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, claiming falsely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. "President Bush and Prime Minister Blair probably knew that many of the allegations were based on uncertain intelligence and a decision was made to go to war [and then people said] 'lets find a reason to do so'." As a sign of mainstream disquiet, former bush State Department official Richard N. Haass discusses the limits of Imperial war: Wars of Choice. (PUBLISHED November 23 and POSTED: November 24, 2003) Jessica Lynch joins those denouncing the lies: Private Jessica says President is misusing her 'heroism' (PUBLISHED and POSTED: November 9, 2003) Now Senator Fritz Hollings joins the attack: The War in Iraq, Its Parallels to Vietnam and Congress' Unwillingness to Pay for It (PUBLISHED November 3 and POSTED: November 7, 2003) The latest broadside from Senator Robert Byrd: The Emperor Has No Clothes. At the end he quotes Hermann Goering to characterize the Senate's lac of responsibility in going along with the charade. (PUBLISHED October 17 and POSTED: October 19, 2003) The mainstream political class continue their attack on the Bush revolution: Eyeless in Iraq by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: October , 2003) A new mainstream group of right-wingers and liberals, the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy, has formed to oppose the current imperialist oreintation of contemporary US foreign policy. See the article: Thinkers Launch Anti-Empire Drive. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: October 17, 2003) Senator Ted Kennedy's October 16, 2003 floor speech on the Iraq situation: On the Administration's Failure to Provide a Realistic, Specific Plan to Bring Stability to Iraq (PUBLISHED and POSTED: October , 2003) Heartfelt comments on repression in America today by mystery novelist Sara Paretsky: For Those Who Wish to Dissent: Speech, Silence and Patriotism and by Walter Cronkite The new Inquisition (PUBLISHED September 21 and POSTED: September 22, 2003) John Dean of Watergate fame discusses: Liberties disappearing before our eyes (POSTED: September 22, 2003) Senator Robert Byrd seems to be only one with the courage to say how disgusting it was that the President dressed in a flight jacket and used an aircraft carrier for his made-for-campaing-2004 "victory " speech: A Troubling Speech "I do question the motives of a deskbound President who assumes the garb of a warrior for the purposes of a speech." (PUBLISHED and POSTED: May 6, 2003) Here's George McGovern's commentary, comparing the injustice of the Iraq war to the injustice of the Vietnam war, from the Nation: (April 21, 2003 issue). The Reason Why. Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. --Alfred, Lord Tennyson "The Charge of the Light Brigade" Arundhati Roy the author of bestselling, and Booker Prize winning The God of Small Things comments on Mesopotamia. Babylon. The Tigris and Euphrates:. How many children, in how many classrooms, over how many centuries, have hang-glided through the past, transported on the wings of these words? And now the bombs are falling, incinerating and humiliating that ancient civilization. A quote: Operation Iraqi Freedom? I don't think so. It's more like Operation Let's Run a Race, but First Let Me Break Your Knees. Documentary film-maker Michael Moore has released the following Letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush on the Eve of War . He also made antiwar comments at the Academy Awards. (See also this account.) Here is the Statement of Senator Mark Dayton On The Senate Giving Up Its Constitutional Responsibility to Declare War . The Pope told employees at a Catholic television station: When war, like the current conflict in Iraq, threatens the fate of humanity, it becomes especially important to say in a strong and decisive voice that peace is the only way to build a more egalitarian and unified society. The threat of violence cannot solve man's problems. (Source.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Music and MusiciansJohn Fogerty sings: Deja Vu All Over Again, summing up the feelings of many of us. Tom Gallaghe says someone should play it for John Kerry: Turn on the Radio, John Kerry. (POSTED: September 29, 2004) Our free country! If it ain’t pro-war, it ain’t on country radio: While Toby Keith gets airtime, Emmylou Harris gets ignored. (PUBLISHED June 9 and POSTED: June 10, 2004) Kadim Alsahir & Brightman's song: The War Is Over (audio) or video. (POSTED: May 2, 2004) Singer Stephan Smith has a new song: You Ain't A Cowboy available free online. (POSTED: March 18, 2004) Willie Nelson has evidently written a new antiwar song, "Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth", only the second protest song of his career: New Willie Nelson song condemns Iraq war. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: January 1, 2004) Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow's song Peace Salaam Shalom. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: September 15, 2003) PeaceSong has three songs freely available: Baghdad Road, Enemy Me, and Sudden Sound (POSTED: July 24, 2003) Baghdad Road follows the aftermath of the Iraq War for a U.S. soldier-- PTSD. Enemy Me, based on an ACLU ad, takes on the Patriot Act. Sudden Sound explores the myth of 'precision' bombing. Billy Bragg's song: The Price of Oil -- from his web site. We Don't Want Your War -- from Lynx. See his web site. and his Video Slideshow. Folk singer Iris DeMent told a Madison WI crowd of 600 people that she couldn't sing because she was profoundly sad because of the war. The country music band The Dixie Chicks is drawing flack, including bulldozing of their records (sound familiar?), for the comments made about President Bush by singer Natalie Maines. Paul Krugman in the New York Times explains that these attacks were not sponataneous, but involve close Rebublican connections to the music industry: Channels of Influence. Maines originally said:"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." On their web site they further explain: And here's the lyrics to their song Travelin' Soldier . And here's a follow-up story on their fighting back against critcs: 'Dixie sluts' fight on with naked defiance (PUBLISHED and POSTED: April 25, 2003) And another article on antiwar sentiment in country music: Country of protest And the boss, Bruce Springsteen has come to their defense; The Dixie Chicks are Getting a Raw Deal...(PUBLISHED March 29 and POSTED: April 25, 2003) And yet another comment on what the treatment of the DC says about country music today: Another country. "Whereas country music used to celebrate people who bucked the system, recent criticism of the Dixie Chicks shows just how ossified and reactionary it has become, writes Duncan Campbell " (PUBLISHED and POSTED: May 27, 2003) The Beastie Boys song In a World Gone Mad can be downloaded here. If you having streaming broadband, click here. The lyrics can be viewed here. Iraqi singer Kathem El Saher and Lenny Kravitz has a new song We Want Peace which can be downloaded from the Rock the vote website. John_Mellencamp's To Washington. The lyrics can be viewed on his web page. Here is REM's Final Straw. The lyrics are also available there. Here is Billy Joe Armostrong's (of bay Area punk band Green Day) Life During wartime. The Peace Not War project has compiled a CD that can be obtained at deep discount by peace groups. The music can be heard via streaming audio at their web site as well. Plege of Resistance and other songs are available from the Not in My Name Music Project Boom Boom Boom Mr. Son of a Bush! Here are some lyrics from antiwar songs from the New York Times March 9, 2003. Bush Recession Radio has an extensive collection of antiwar and other protest rock songs. Protest Records is developing a large collection of free antiwar and other protest songs. VideoMusic video: Bombs Away! [Windows Media Player] (POSTED: June 26, 2004) If you feel in a nasty mood, view the MoveOn parody: Bush in 41.2 Seconds. (PUBLISHED and POSTED: February 3, 2004) To remind yourself of the cost in American lives of the war to enrich Bush's buddies, view the flash video at: http://www.ericblumrich.com/ma.html. (POSTED: December 10, 2003) And a jigsaw puzzle! What's Missing? (POSTED: April 29, 2003) Flash Video Welcome To The New World Order (POSTED: April 17, 2003) G.W. Bush and the Whitehouse Neo-Con Choir Sings We'll meet again! (POSTED: April 17, 2003) A beautiful video: Winning Peace! (POSTED: April 9, 2003) Here are some more chilling flash animation commentaries on the war and the current situation from: Bush Flash . Includes Dr. Bushlove, Terror, Democracy, and Liberation, and the first, Antiwar2 which points out that: All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. In addition to media criticism, Take Back the Media also have many satiric flash videos for download. They are of unequal quality, but some are excellent. Try out the Chickenhawk Hall of Shame, Cities in the Dust, or the chilling Bush is not a Nazi,so stop saying that and pass them on! Michael Moore and System of a Down have collaborated to create a new anti-war music video for the System song BOOM! Scott Ritter video No Case Against War in Iraq presented in Vancouver, British Columbia in October 2002. "There is no case for war. It would not be justified in international law and it would be morally wrong" he explained. "Friends don't let friends drive drunk. We have a drunk as President of the United States." A lecture of on the origins of the current war Stephen C. Pelletiere, a former CIA analyst during the Iran-Iraq war and former professor at the Army War College for 12 years: The Predicament Mr. Bush And The Pentagon Have Gotten US Into . |
2006-06-17
bloodthirsty peacocks
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