From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar  1 02:05:55 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar  1 02:04:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Republican Schwarzenegger Still Sticking It To California
Message-ID: <000701c51e46$444d7c80$3f25b7d8@baby1>

Republican Schwarzenegger Still Sticking It To California

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-schwarzenegger-video,0,1149183.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines


I never have understood why Californians would elect a Republican.

It doesn't really make sense.  But in the face of so many other betrayals,
this is just another lost piece of data in the long stream that leads to the
river that leads to the ocean of corruption and endless Indoctrination.
Slick Republican videos going to news stations, paid for by tax-payers,
again, more, now notorious, "Propaganda In A Box", California Style.  One
can only credit the Republicans for being tenacious, once they come up with
a Final Solution game plan, they stick to it through the bitter end, no
matter how much of America they destroy in the process.

Geez, Arnold, we gave you a job as Hercules, Kindergarten Cop, Terminator,
Etc, make you a millionaire, elect you as Governor, and you stab us in the
back just like any other Republican j*rk*ff.

The little people of America will remember how you repaid their kindness.

If nothing else, at least the unions and historians will.




Cheeseburger

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar  1 02:21:23 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar  1 02:19:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Protests force out Lebanon's government
Message-ID: <000d01c51e48$6c2b9000$3f25b7d8@baby1>

Protests force out Lebanon's government

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/03/01/lebanons_prime_minister_cabinet_step_down/


BEIRUT -- The Syrian-backed government of Lebanon stepped down yesterday,
collapsing under a groundswell of street protests, candlelight vigils, and
international pressure to end Damascus's domination of its neighbor.

As 25,000 demonstrators thronged in the streets outside, Prime Minister Omar
Karami, an ally of Syria, stood before Parliament and announced that he
would quit his job and dismantle his Cabinet.

The decision was apparently spontaneous. Pro-Syrian lawmakers appeared
stunned and members of the opposition rose to their feet in a standing
ovation.

The resignation was a triumph for a swelling Lebanese opposition, which has
been calling for Syria to withdraw its soldiers and disentangle its
intelligence services from Lebanon's institutions. Tensions had been
mounting since the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri, which many blamed on Syria.

The fall of the government marked a rare flexing of public will in the Arab
world, where similar protests have been brutally suppressed.

Minutes after Karami announced he was stepping down, jubilant
demonstrators -- shouting, waving flags, and handing red roses to
soldiers -- demanded that Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud bow out, too,
and pressed on with their calls for Syria to withdraw its troops from the
country.

Syria was silent about the changes in Beirut, where it ruled unopposed for
years, even deciding on Lebanon's leaders, after deploying troops ostensibly
as peacekeepers during the 1975-90 civil war.

But the dramatic developments, which were reminiscent of Ukraine's peaceful
''orange revolution" and broadcast live across the Arab world -- could
provoke a strong response from Syria, which deploys 15,000 troops in
Lebanon. It also could plunge this nation of 3.5 million back into a period
of uncertainty, political vacuum, or worse.

In Washington, US officials called the government's dismantling a victory
for the Lebanese people and their efforts to hold new elections. White House
spokesman Scott McClellan stressed the selection of a new government
''should be free of all foreign interference. That means Syrian military
forces and intelligence personnel need to leave the country," he said.
''That will help ensure that elections are free and fair."

The Lebanon Parliament had gathered to debate a no-confidence motion, but
the government was expected to survive. After hours of bickering, Karami
announced his decision to dissolve the government.

''Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good
of the country, I announce the resignation of the government I had the honor
to lead," Karami told lawmakers.

A visibly rattled parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Karami: ''I think I
deserved to have been told beforehand." A few blocks away, protesters
greeted the surprise resignation with rapturous applause. Thousands of
Lebanese had gathered in Martyrs' Square, flouting an official ban on
demonstrations and evading the intense security clampdown that had closed
off the main thoroughfares into the capital.

''We didn't have a chance to speak before," said Marta Bou Raad, a
70-year-old mother of five who joined the protest. ''We were afraid that we
would be hurt or arrested, but we're not afraid anymore."

Opposition lawmakers, their shoulders draped in the red-and-white scarves
that have come to symbolize their movement, emerged from parliament to a
hero's welcome in the square.

''The people of a united Lebanon brought down the government," Mohammed
Qabbani, a lawmaker from Hariri's parliamentary bloc told the crowd. ''Now
we want the truth, we want to know who killed Rafik Hariri."

''Syria, Syria!" shouted the crowd.

After the Cabinet resigned, Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh said he was
comfortable with the evening's turn of events.

''It was a burden on our shoulders, and now it has been released. Let others
carry the burden," the pro-Damascus minister said. ''The main thing is that
we did this without spilling blood."

In addition to its soldiers in Lebanon, Syria uses thousands of intelligence
agents to maintain control on Lebanese politics.

Syrian officials and their Lebanese proxies appeared to be waiting in recent
days for street protests to quell. Public outrage was stoked in part by
Lebanon's refusal to permit an international investigation into Hariri's
death, and encouraged by angry calls from the United States, France, and the
United Nations for Syrian troops to leave Lebanon.

In one sign Syria has no intention of just packing up and leaving, Syrian
President Bashar Assad said in remarks published yesterday that there will
be a price for Syrian troop withdrawal: a settlement with Israel.

''Under a technical point of view, the withdrawal can happen by the end of
the year," Assad told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. ''But under a
strategic point of view, it will only happen if we obtain serious
guarantees. In one word: peace."

Syrian officials announced last week that they would withdraw their soldiers
to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, closer to the Syrian border. But a full
withdrawal is out of the question without a peace deal, Assad said.

The UN Security Council last year passed a resolution demanding a Syrian
withdrawal, a move described by both Syrian and pro-Syria Lebanese officials
as tampering with the ''brotherly relations" between the two countries.

''The government should have resigned a long time ago," said Farid Khazen,
chair of political studies at the American University of Beirut. ''It lacks
credibility and popularity, and it's run by Syria."

The fall of the government clears the path for Lebanon to set up an interim
government to prepare parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held this
spring. The voting has been widely anticipated as a popular referendum on
Syria's influence on Lebanon.

President Lahoud quickly accepted the resignation of Karami's 4-month-old
Cabinet, which replaced Hariri's government, and asked Karami to stay on in
a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.

Opposition leaders -- a diverse group of Muslim, Druse and Christians -- 
demanded a neutral government to organize parliamentary elections this
spring and to investigate Hariri's murder.

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar  1 02:45:05 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar  1 02:43:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Protests force out Lebanon's government
Message-ID: <001b01c51e4b$bba10680$3f25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Protests force out Lebanon's government


I forgot to add a comment.  Scott McClellan is an *ssh*le, as are most of
them Up There.

While it is great for foreign powers such as the USA to jump in, as 25,000
protestors in the streets of Lebanon face down the Syrian Government and its
15,000 troops and thousands of intelligence goons there, and state
(promote?) that their elections there should be "free and fair", they
cannot, or rather will purposely not, even ensure fair elections in their
own country of America.  Boom.

And for him to further state that, well let's just put the whole little
piece of quote up:

====
the selection of a new government ''should be free of all foreign
interference. That means Syrian military forces and intelligence personnel
need to leave the country," he said.  ''That will help ensure that elections
are free and fair."
====


Geez, Scott, lol, you have no intention of having fair elections either
here, nor in Iraq, and you're definitely not going to be pulling American
military forces and intelligence personnel out of Iraq to ensure that
elections are free and fair there, because Halliburton etc is going to be
there a long long long, long time making billions of dollars and needs our
protection while doing it.

If you could just come out of that old cold war era deep bullsh*t crap,
Scott, and start coming out with a little truth instead of the same old
propaganda, I might have a little more respect for you.

And as far as you, Feith, I can see your future, you will go on to bigger
and greater things than you have accomplished so far at the Pentagon.

In the face of what I see in the tea leaves as to your Great Work in the
Future, I can only hope that you fail miserably.

Maybe Scott can keep a job open for you somewhere along the line.  That will
ease your pain, not "ours", but "ours" will never be as important as yours.


Oh my, it turned into another "Treason" lecture...  lol.

Nevermind.     :|




Cheeseburger

.

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  1 07:39:07 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  1 07:40:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Tribe contests Gibson island sale
Message-ID: <20050301_153907_053715.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
5K + acres..guess he's not worried about global warming.

19th century..can our Indians get their lands back ?

** Tribe contests Gibson island sale **
Villagers in Fiji object to a South Pacific island being sold to Hollywood star Mel Gibson.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/4307621.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  1 07:41:09 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  1 07:42:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US high in UN child poverty table
Message-ID: <20050301_154109_036694.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
20% of US children living in poverty ? did I read this graph right? 

** US high in UN child poverty table **
The US has one of the highest rates of relative child poverty among the world's wealthiest states,  a UN report says.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/in_depth/4307745.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  1 07:43:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  1 07:44:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Fossett launches record attempt
Message-ID: <20050301_154302_009364.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
what fun !

** Fossett launches record attempt **
US adventurer Steve Fossett launches a bid to be the first to fly solo, non-stop around the world without refuelling.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4304179.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  1 07:45:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  1 07:45:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Britain reveals flu pandemic plan
Message-ID: <20050301_154502_016361.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
not fun at all..this could jump countries in a few planes..

** Britain reveals flu pandemic plan **
Ministers unveil a flu pandemic plan amid fears Asian bird flu could mutate to create a deadly virus.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4305813.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  1 07:47:22 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  1 07:48:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Drug 'doubles mental health risk'
Message-ID: <20050301_154722_066263.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
know any of those "susceptible individuals" ?

** Drug 'doubles mental health risk' **
Smoking cannabis virtually doubles the risk of developing a mental illness, researchers suggest.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4305783.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar  1 08:10:16 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar  1 08:46:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: PLEASE READ: Lebanon's Hariri Killed To Make a
	'Clean Break' ???
In-Reply-To: <8bc8e19ce53eae677bc8dbd8fefb7d11@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503011646.j21GkhVc030431@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 15:03:50 -0500
Subject: PLEASE READ:  Lebanon's Hariri Killed To Make a 'Clean Break' ???

>  ?
>
> This article appears in the February 25, 2005 issue of Executive
> Intelligence Review.
>
> Lebanon 's Hariri Killed To Make a 'Clean Break'
>
> by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach
>
> http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2005/3208hariri_killed.html
>
> ?
>
> The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, in
> Beirut on Feb. 14, was a carefully planned and executed act, geared to
> trigger a chain reaction of events in the region, that would conform
> with the long-standing policy of the neo-conservative junta running
> Washington.
>
> ?
>
> To understand the why of the assassination?although the material
> perpetrator, the who, remains unclear?one must look back at the 1996
> policy paper prepared under the supervision of now-Vice President Dick
> Cheney, and his neo-con task force of Richard Perle, Doug Feith, David
> and Meyrav Wurmser, et al. Entitled "Clean Break: A New Strategy for
> Securing the Realm," this paper outlined a scenario whereby the 1993
> Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority would be
> torn to shreds, and, first Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Hezbollah, and
> Iran, would be targeted for military assault and political
> destabilization.
>
> ?
>
> The document flatly stated that Israel should engage "Hisbollah,
> Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon,
> including by ... establishing the precedent that Syrian territory is
> not immune to attacks emanating from Lebanon by Israeli proxy forces
> [and] striking Syrian military targets in Lebanon, and should that
> prove insufficient, striking at select targets in Syria proper."
> Furthermore, it said, Israel should divert " Syria's attention by
> using Lebanese opposition elements to destabilize Syrian control of
> Lebanon." The paper also called for focusing on "removing Saddam
> Hussein from power in Iraq...."
>
> ?
>
> The outcome of the regional convulsions provoked by the "Clean Break"
> doctrine, was to be a new Middle East, with Israel hegemonic in the
> region, presiding over a series of newly balkanized states, run by
> puppet regimes. The Bush Administration has recently restated its
> intention to pick off these governments, dubbed "outposts of tyranny,"
> one by one. The order in which they were to be hit was assumed to
> start with Iran. Instead, Syria was moved into first place.
>
> ?
>
> The reason for this, one regional expert told EIR, is that if Iran
> were attacked militarily by the United States or Israel, the Islamic
> Republic would respond asymmetrically, unleashing allied and
> sympathetic Shi'ite forces in the Persian Gulf and in Lebanon:
> Hezbollah's capabilities to target Israel could be effectively
> deployed. Thus, the source said, the need to eliminate the
> Lebanese-based Shi'ite Hezbollah as a factor, and at the same time
> neutralize Syria, before moving against Tehran .
>
> ?
>
> The stage for the immediate destabilization was set diplomatically by
> UN Resolution 1559, presented by the U.S. and France together, and at
> the forefront of recent discussions between Secretary of State
> Condolezza Rice and French President Jacques Chirac. UN Resolution
> 1559, adopted last September, demands the termination of the Syrian
> presence in Lebanon (estimated to be 15,000 troops) and the disarming
> of the Hezbollah. Instead of mounting an Israeli assault directly on
> Syria ?which would have provoked an international outcry?a flanking
> operation was launched, with a terrorist act that would trigger mass
> forces on the ground to move against the Syrian presence.
>
> ?
>
> Thus, the assassination of Hariri.
>
> ?


------ End of Forwarded Message

From sharmagne at msn.com  Tue Mar  1 01:05:05 2005
From: sharmagne at msn.com (Sharmagne Leland-St.John)
Date: Tue Mar  1 09:18:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [Mb-hair] (no subject)
Message-ID: <200503011718.j21HI5ux030526@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Article on Ward Churchill and his rights to free speech.
http://www.snagmagazine.com./index.php?s=23


Sharmagne Leland-St. John-Sylbert
Editor-in-Chief
http://quillandparchment.com/


_______________________________________________
Mb-hair mailing list
Mb-hair@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-hair
From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar  1 08:06:41 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar  1 09:22:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Iran - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -
	2004 
In-Reply-To: <97ffd42c9de93addaa2cb9bdd725f947@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503011722.j21HMRdU030566@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 14:33:17 -0500
Subject: Iran - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004

Iran - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004

  February 28, 2005
U.S. Department of States
  Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

URL for this report: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41721.htm

------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar  1 08:22:46 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar  1 09:24:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: iranian.com Here & there
In-Reply-To: <000901c51e03$7070c120$18161aac@esedona.net>
Message-ID: <200503011724.j21HO4U9030587@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From sierrapecheur at verizon.net  Tue Mar  1 09:32:23 2005
From: sierrapecheur at verizon.net (Sierra Pecheur)
Date: Tue Mar  1 09:33:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: a 'tale' to note   elephants
Message-ID: <00ad01c51e84$a16bf390$71cf1d04@xplcp>


Subject: a 'tale' to note elephants





  a 'tale' to note
  From the unbelievable chaos of the Tsunami disaster comes an incredible tale from Jim France of the Pavilion Hotel Group in Bangkok. 

  At a resort on Phuket, one of the most popular attractions is (was) elephant rides. As many as eight people on one elephant, first into the surrounding forest, then down to the beach, to lunch at a fresh water lagoon, then back to the
  hotel.

  The elephants (nine) were kept chained to in-ground posts, not because they needed to be, but because it made the mothers feel better because their children seemed safe from a tromping when feeding the beasts.


  About twenty minutes before the first wave hit, the elephants became extremely agitated and unruly. Four had just returned from a trip and their handlers had not yet chained them. The four elephants helped the other five tear free from their chains. They all then climbed a hill and started bellowing.

  Many people followed them up the hill. Then the waves hit. After the waves subsided, the elephants charged down from the hill, and started picking up children with their trunks and running them back up the hill; when all the children were taken care of, they started helping the adults.


  They rescued forty- two people. Then, they returned to the beach and carried up four dead bodies, one of a child. Not until the task was done would they allow their handlers to mount them. Then with handlers atop, they began moving wreckage.


__________________________________________________

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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 10:01:45 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:02:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Struggle Looms Over Role of Syria in Lebanon
Message-ID: <20050301180150.7E59022EFD6@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 1, 2005

Struggle Looms Over Role of Syria in Lebanon
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

The dissolution of Lebanon's government sets the stage for an intense struggle over the relationship between Syria and Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/international/middleeast/01lebanon.html?ex=1110344400&en=865a2533c0759ba3&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 10:02:47 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:03:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Blast Kills 122 at Iraqi Clinic in Attack
	on Security Recruits
Message-ID: <20050301180248.BBC381C229@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 1, 2005

Blast Kills 122 at Iraqi Clinic in Attack on Security Recruits
By WARZER JAFF and ROBERT F. WORTH

The suicide attack in Hilla was the deadliest single bombing since the American invasion nearly two years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/international/middleeast/01iraq.html?ex=1110344400&en=59b3eeeb80c1d846&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 10:05:49 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:06:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Mideast Climate Change
Message-ID: <20050301180550.95E9F2062AD@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 1, 2005

Editorial: Mideast Climate Change


This has so far been a year of heartening surprises in the Middle East as a general warming trend spreads in the region.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/opinion/01tue1.html?ex=1110344400&en=f2d9faa9660bfcb7&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 10:06:45 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:07:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Just Say No
Message-ID: <20050301180654.E1B2324AF7F@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 1, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Just Say No
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Even a softened version of the president's privatization plan is a bad deal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/opinion/01krugman.html?ex=1110344400&en=b74c3298abef3725&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 10:08:33 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:09:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Allah and Democracy Can Get Along Fine
Message-ID: <20050301180834.3D89921F1CF@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 1, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Allah and Democracy Can Get Along Fine
By DILIP HIRO

Iran isn't the only example among Iraq's neighbors of how to combine religion and government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/opinion/01hiro.html?ex=1110344400&en=4aa186ed09b79bc6&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar  1 10:18:53 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:19:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: News Alert: Supreme Court Strikes Down Death Penalty
	for Juveniles
Message-ID: <001201c51e8b$231d5720$a03fe440@Harold>



    
     
     10:20 a.m. ET Tuesday, March 1, 2005  
     
           
           
      Supreme Court Strikes Down Death Penalty for Juveniles 
      The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Constitution forbids the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, ending a practice used in 19 states. 
            For more information, visit washingtonpost.com.

           
           
     
     
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 10:25:40 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:26:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Analysis - America takes
	heed of the British pensions 'disaster' 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 10:30:07 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:31:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Europe 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 10:26:26 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 10:47:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Home UK - Why China will overgrow india 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 11:02:35 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 11:03:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. Wants Avowal Against Abortion
Message-ID: <2275547.1109703755150.JavaMail.turbine@s75>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
U.S. Wants Avowal Against Abortion 
--------------------

The issue may dominate a U.N. conference on women's equality, to organizers' dismay.

By Maggie Farley
Times Staff Writer

March 1 2005

UNITED NATIONS &#8212; Ten years after a landmark U.N. women's conference in Beijing, thousands of delegates convened here Monday to review the world's progress toward equality for women. But the meeting was plunged into controversy when the U.S. insisted that delegates declare that women have no right to abortion. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-women1mar01,0,6902325.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 11:05:29 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 11:06:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] What's Wrong With American High Schools
Message-ID: <2202813.1109703929654.JavaMail.turbine@s75>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
What's Wrong With American High Schools 
--------------------

The approaches of 50 years ago cannot work today, Bill Gates says.

By Bill Gates
Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, is co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

March 1 2005

Our high schools are obsolete. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-gates1mar01,0,539241.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 11:06:00 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 11:06:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Force Bush Won't Use on Iran
Message-ID: <19543332.1109703960116.JavaMail.turbine@s75>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
The Force Bush Won't Use on Iran 
--------------------

Robert Scheer

March 1 2005

U.S. policy toward Iran is now a big, dangerous mess. President Bush again has backed us into a corner with his confrontational framing of every dispute as one of pristine virtue versus stark evil, putting us out of sync with our allies in Europe and probably giving the ayatollahs in Tehran a public relations boost at home. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-scheer1mar01,0,7806881.column 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 11:08:22 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 11:09:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] High Cost of Media Circuses
Message-ID: <6507256.1109704102886.JavaMail.turbine@s75>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
High Cost of Media Circuses 
--------------------

By R. Foster Winans
R. Foster Winans is the author of "Trading Secrets" (St. Martin's Press, 1986).

March 1 2005

When Martha Stewart leaves prison this weekend, she will walk into the arms of a media circus and a commercial juggernaut that promises to turn what would be a shameful moment for anyone else into a triumph of marketing. There's something terribly wrong with this picture, and what it says about our culture's ethics and sense of fair play is deeply disturbing. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-winans1mar01,0,6028229.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 11:09:54 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 11:10:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503011909.j21J9sw6030861@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030105Z.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar  1 12:13:36 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar  1 13:26:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: BBC NEWS World Middle East US considers incentives
	for Iran
In-Reply-To: <000901c51e7d$ecefa200$18161aac@esedona.net>
Message-ID: <200503012126.j21LQj5R031553@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar  1 17:09:52 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar  1 17:08:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this.
Message-ID: <000701c51ec4$8b41dd60$7225b7d8@baby1>

Re:  michael wants you to see this.

=====
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030105Z.shtml

The Third Stage of American Empire
By William Rivers Pitt
=====



Excellent (very excellent) article.

There remain (more than) 2 problems.

First, the New Empire, whether it cost us all our lives, money, prosperity,
etc, is not about to back down from running the movie the full gamut into
the ground with a smile on their faces, no matter who complains, nor how,
nor how loudly.

Secondly, being able to literally facilitate the delivery of the words of
that (among so many other good ones) article to actually be able to reach a
Majority of Americans, much less be able to convince them that people like
Pitt even exist anymore, remains a few million dollars short of ever
happening.

Even in his article, referring to "The Media", he has aptly described why,
again, a *Majority* of Americans are sitting around not even going "Pitt
who..?".

They never heard of him.

And until someone creates something =like= "The Global Postcard", they never
will.

Encouraging news from The New Front, eh..?   Go figure.

Freedom etc can be shouted from the rooftops, nobody can hear it.

With such a phenomenal inability to mass communicate to the actual Masses,
what a divine waste of breath.

Internet Community..?  Great thing.  Heck, you can even out gay Republican
lackey sham reporters, and get executives fired from CNN.  Great thing.

With it, however, you couldn't communicate with a Majority of The Masses if
you were Santa Claus doing a hand stand in the buff.

And, again, without a Majority of The Masses (at least being able to *hear*
*your* side of "the story"), especially during this "New Christian Empire",
you will always remain at least 25 million voters short of what you might
wish to achieve.

I always knew computers had multiple functions, I just never realized that
pissing into the wind was one of them.




Cheeseburger

.

From news at electronicintifada.net  Tue Mar  1 16:06:33 2005
From: news at electronicintifada.net (ei News)
Date: Tue Mar  1 17:32:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] US: Palestinians outnumber Jewish population | Ayoub
	family appeal successful | JINSA and war | UNRWA's $1.1 billion plan
Message-ID: <200503020132.j221WQaW032275@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net
_______________________________

(Mailing List Information, including unsubscription instructions, is located at the end of this message.)

1 March 2005


Human Rights
PALESTINIAN POPULATION EXCEEDS JEWISH POPULATION 
SAYS U.S. GOVERNMENT
Michael Brown, Ali Abunimah, and Nigel Parry
The Electronic Intifada, 1 March 2005

The population of Palestinians living in Israel, the
Occupied Gaza Strip, Occupied East Jerusalem and rest of
the Occupied West Bank combined now exceeds the number of
Israeli Jews, a U.S. government report has revealed. The
Palestinian population stands at more than 5.3 million
while the Jewish population stands at 5.2 million. The
figures come from the U.S. State Department's annual
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004. The
report provided population figures for each of these
territorial units separately but failed to connect all the
dots to arrive at the explosive new demographic reality.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3649.shtml



Activism News
AYOUB FAMILY'S APPEAL AGAINST DEPORTATION FROM CANADA ACCEPTED
Update, CADPR, 1 March 2005

Montreal, Monday, February 27th, 2005 -- After taking
sanctuary at the Notre-Dame-de-Gr?ce church in Montreal
more than one-year ago, the Ayoub family - Khalil Ayoub,
67, Nabih Ayoub, 69 and Th?r?se Boulos Haddad, 62 - have
won their battle to remain in Canada. In the context of
this concrete victory, the Coalition Against the
Deportation of Palestinian Refugees stresses the
importance of continuing to build public support and
solidarity with ongoing struggle of more-than 100
Palestinian refugees, who continue to face deportation
from Canada. The Ayoub family's victory brings a sense of
hope and inspiration to the ongoing struggle.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3648.shtml



Israel Lobby Watch
THE JEWISH INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS (AND WAR)
Bob Feldman, The Electronic Intifada, 1 March 2005

Most people in the U.S. now realize that Jewish Institute
for National Security Affairs (JINSA) board member James
Woolsey's pre-war talk about the Iraqi government's
alleged hidden "nuclear weapons equipment" and "biological
weapons laboratories" was inaccurate.? Yet the Jewish
Institute for National Security Affairs role as a pro-war
pressure group with an annual budget of $2.5 million, is
rarely mentioned by the U.S. media. Since 1982, at least
twelve trips to Israel have been sponsored? by the Jewish
Institute for National Security Affairs for retired
Pentagon admirals and generals who are connected to the
American security establishment.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3645.shtml



Development
UNRWA PRESENTS $1.1 BILLION PLAN TO DONORS
Report, UNRWA, 28 February 2005

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees today presented a blueprint to a better future
for four million Palestine refugees to the international
donor community in Geneva. The Agency is requesting an
additional US$1.1 billion over the next five years to
allow it to improve the life chances of the refugees and
enhance the ir ability to support themselves. UNRWA?s
Medium Term Plan (MTP) is the product of many months of
dialogue between the Agency and the donor community and
has been influenced by the recommendations of a major
conference held in Geneva in June 2004 to examine the
future of humanitarian assistance to the Palestine
refugees.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3647.shtml


--
ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
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EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  
More information about our work can be found at
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar  1 17:04:16 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar  1 18:39:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Man Who Fought for the Forgotten
Message-ID: <200503020239.j222dVCc032463@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


The Man Who Fought for the Forgotten
Peter Benenson 1921-2005 Founder of Amnesty International
by Antony Barnett

Published on Sunday, February 27, 2005 by the
Observer/UK http://observer.guardian.co.uk/ ==

Distributed by Common Dreams
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0227-21.htm


There are not many newspaper articles that can
genuinely claim to have changed the world for the
better. But on Sunday, 28 May 1961, The Observer
published a campaigning piece on the front of its
Weekend Review section.

The article was entitled 'The Forgotten Prisoners' and
it was by Peter Benenson, a 33-year old Eton-educated
London lawyer.

Benenson had been angered after learning about two
Portuguese students who had been arrested and
imprisoned for seven years after drinking a toast to
liberty in a Lisbon cafe during the Salazar
dictatorship.

As Benenson later said: 'That so enraged me that I
walked up the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields, out of
the Underground, and went in to see what could really
be done effectively to mobilise world opinion.'

His solution seemed simple: to bombard the Portuguese
regime with written protests. As Martin Ennals, a
future Amnesty secretary-general observed later, it was
'an amazing contention that prisoners of conscience
could be released by writing letters to governments'.

But rather than have just one campaign for one country,
why not draw public attention to the plight of
political and religious prisoners throughout the world?
This was the basis of his Observer article, which took
the shape of a series of letters published as an
'Appeal for Amnesty'.

His article began: 'Open your newspaper - any day of
the week - and you will find a report from somewhere in
the world of someone being imprisoned, tortured or
executed because his opinions or religion are
unacceptable to his government. The newspaper reader
feels a sickening sense of impotence. Yet if these
feelings of disgust all over the world could be united
into common action, something effective could be done.'

He could not have predicted how right he has proved to
be. Benenson had intended his campaign to run for a
year, but the response to his article was overwhelming.

The term 'prisoner of conscience', which he coined,
soon became common currency and the movement's logo, a
candle surrounded by barbed wire, became a worldwide
symbol of hope.

Amnesty's campaigns have saved countless prisoners from
torture or death. From South Africa, Chile and Uganda
to Iraq, Burma and China, Amnesty's work has helped
secure the release of political prisoners and
highlighted human rights violations. Closer to home
Amnesty has also been critical of policies of the
former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, and more
recently Tony Blair's anti-terrorist legislation.

Irene Khan, its present secretary general, said
yesterday: 'His vision gave birth to human rights
activism. Peter Benenson's life was a courageous
testament to his visionary commitment to fight
injustice around the world. He brought light into the
darkness of prisons, the horror of torture chambers and
tragedy of death camps around the world.

'This was a man whose conscience shone in a cruel and
terrifying world, who believed in the power of ordinary
people to bring about extraordinary change and, by
creating Amnesty International, he gave each of us the
opportunity to make a difference.'

The Leader of the House of Commons, Peter Hain, a
long-time campaigner against the former apartheid
regime in South Africa, led the political tributes last
night.

'He lit a torch for human rights which Amnesty
International has kept burning across the world in
being constantly vigilant about abuses,' Hain said.

In Amnesty's first few years Benenson's energy was
vital to its success. He provided much of its funding
and was involved in all aspects of the organisation.
'At that time we were still putting our toes in the
water and learning as we went on,' he later said.

'We tried every technique of publicity and we were very
grateful for the widespread help of journalists and
television crews throughout the world who not only sent
us information about the names of prisoners but also,
whenever they could, gave space to stories about
prisoners.'

Amnesty's membership is now more than a million, with
supporters in more than 160 countries and territories.
It has dealt with the cases of 47,000 prisoners of
conscience and other victims of human rights violation.
More than 45,000 of these are now closed. In 1977
Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for its tireless fight against injustice.

Former prisoner of conscience Julio de Pena Valdez, a
trade union leader in the Dominican Republic, has
spoken of the impact of an Amnesty letter-writing
campaign. 'When the 200 letters came, the guards gave
me back my clothes. Then the next 200 letters came and
the prison director came to see me. When the next pile
of letters arrived, the director got in touch with his
superior. The letters kept coming and coming - 3,000 of
them. The president was informed.

'The letters still kept arriving and the president
called the prison and told them to let me go.'

Benenson was born on 31 July 1921, the grandson of the
Russian-Jewish banker Grigori Benenson. He later
converted to Catholicism. He was tutored privately by
WH Auden, then went to Eton and Oxford, where he
studied history.

His flair for controversy emerged early, when his
complaint to the headmaster of Eton about the poor
quality of the school's food prompted a letter to his
mother warning of her son's 'revolutionary tendencies.
At age 16, he launched his first campaign: to get
school support, during the Spanish Civil War, for the
newly-formed Spanish Relief Committee which was helping
Republican war orphans. He himself 'adopted' one of the
babies, helping to pay for its support.

His concern about political imprisonment and
mistreatment was inspired by Arthur Koestler's Spanish
Testament, which described the horrors of imprisonment
and threatened execution by the Fascists. It was this
concern that led to his next campaign - the plight of
Jews who had fled from Hitler's Germany. Despite some
opposition, he succeeded in getting his school friends
and their families to raise #4,000 to bring two young
German Jews to Britain.

After leaving Eton, he helped his politically committed
mother find homes in various countries for refugee
children who arrived in London.

The Trades Union Congress sent him to Spain as its
observer at the trials of trade unionists in the early
Fifties. He was appalled by what he saw in the
courtrooms and in the prisons. In one instance he was
so outraged by the proceedings that he drew up a list
of complaints with which he confronted the trial judge
over dinner. The trial ended with acquittals, a rarity
in fascist Spain.

Benenson, who had been ill for some time, died on
Friday evening at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.

Lighting a candle in St Martin-in-the Fields church to
mark the twentieth anniversary of Amnesty, he said: 'I
have lit this candle, in the words of Shakespeare,
'against oblivion' - so that the forgotten prisoners
should always be remembered. We work in Amnesty against
oblivion.'

Guardian Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

###
_______________________________________________________


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar  1 17:06:05 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar  1 18:39:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] amazon action alert
Message-ID: <200503020239.j222dowd032475@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


ACTION ALERT
Urge Brazil to End the Violence, Protect the Amazon
  By Forests.org, a project of Ecological Internet, Inc.
  February 25, 2005

TAKE ACTION
  End the business of shutting up environmentalists with violence, while
  keeping pledge to reduce deforestation http://forests.org/action/brazil/


In the Amazon jungles of Brazil's huge and wild Para state, the grabbing
of land by fraud and violence - carried out by an informal alliance of
loggers, ranchers and businessmen backed by private militias and gunmen -
is routine and deadly. Most recently, 73-year-old American nun Dorothy
Stang, who had worked in Brazil for decades defending the rights of rural
workers and for rainforest conservation, was killed by hired assassins.
Stang's death has garnered international attention and forced the
Brazilian government to promise to crack down on violence and land
grabbing, while reducing Amazon deforestation.  Already as much as 20
percent of the Amazon's 1.6 million square miles have been lost to
logging, farming and development, an area the size of France, and record
clearing has taken place in recent years. The mostly illegal loggers open
the doors, moving on after they have exploited what they need. Behind 
them
come ranchers, farmers and settlers, and now soy growers, the stars of
Brazil's agricultural export drive.  In response to Stang's murder,
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has launched Brazil's biggest ever
crackdown on crime in the Amazon. Lula has accelerated creation of
environmental protection areas and deployed military troops to block the
advance of illegal loggers and farmers.  Yet this crackdown is certain to
meet continued fierce defiance and violent resistance.  The government
must pursue swift and effective implementation of the reserves, with
immediate protection for communities in conflict regions, if they are to
be effective.  Crucially, what constitutes "a slowdown in Amazon
destruction" is yet to be defined. In the past the Brazilian government
has asserted that a reduction in the rate of growth of deforestation was a
victory. This is disingenuous, as annual total deforestation figures
remain dangerously high. Please take action immediately and forward
widely:

http://forests.org/action/brazil/

Networked by Forests.org, gbarry@forests.org

-----


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar  1 18:40:47 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar  1 18:41:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Help fight Bush's plan to stack the courts
Message-ID: <BE4A67AF.1EB52%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Dear friend, 
 
This week the senate is debating the judicial nomination of
William Myers III. He's a career cattle and mining industry lobbyist who is
now up for a lifetime appointment to the 4th District Appeals Court. He's
just one of Bush's 20 judicial nominees that Democrats rejected last term,
(compared to over 200 they approved). But Bush is still fighting hard to
make sure every single one gets confirmed. 
 
These 20 judges were singled
out because they consistently picked corporate interests over basic rights,
and want to roll back decades of progress on anti-discrimination, women's
rights, worker's rights, and the environment. If we don't act now to support
a real opposition, these corporate judges will be given lifetime
appointments to lock in Bush's ultra conservative ideology for decades. 

Plus, the Bush administration has threatened to use this fight to take away
the Senate Democrat's ability to resistst any future judges, including
Supreme Court nominees. 
 
MoveOn has started a petition calling on our
Senators to stand firm against Myers and all 20 of these rejected corporate
nominees, and to fight any manipulation of the rules to force them through.
 
Please join me in signing
today:

http://www.moveonpac.org/judges/

Thanks!

[Your Signature]



From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 19:03:27 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 19:04:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503020303.j2233Rkr013964@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030105A.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  1 19:04:31 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  1 19:05:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503020304.j2234VQe013982@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030105E.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 09:50:32 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 09:51:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / International economy - Drug
	trafficking hinders growth in Africa
Message-ID: <20768720.1109785832314.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 09:54:04 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 09:55:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Lebanon's lesson
	for Arab leaders 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 09:55:08 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 09:56:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Columnists - James Boyle:
	Public information wants to be free
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 09:56:03 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 09:57:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Columnists / Notebook - Notebook 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 09:57:53 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 09:58:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Europe 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 10:30:04 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 10:31:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Court and Religion
Message-ID: <20050302183013.EBCA324AF8A@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 2, 2005

Editorials: The Court and Religion


Placing the Ten Commandments in government buildings is not free speech. It is an attempt to tie the legal system to Protestantism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/opinion/02wed1.html?ex=1110430800&en=5d0649b97937ca37&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 10:32:07 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 10:33:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The American Witness
Message-ID: <20050302183207.0F5DC9FCD4@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 2, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The American Witness
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

If we all had the same perspective on Darfur as Brian Steidle, one of the U.S. military advisers there, maybe our government would be doing more.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/opinion/02kristof.html?ex=1110430800&en=70656c36355bf43a&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 10:37:20 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 10:38:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Don't Rush on the Road to Damascus
Message-ID: <20050302183721.E193421F1D6@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

Very interesting position MB


OPINION | March 2, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Don't Rush on the Road to Damascus
By FLYNT LEVERETT

Pushing Syria out of Lebanon too soon could be detrimental to American interests in the region.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/opinion/02leverett.html?ex=1110430800&en=42d23a02bfead1d9&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 10:53:46 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 10:54:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Hold the Confetti
Message-ID: <24860325.1109789626246.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Hold the Confetti 
--------------------


March 2 2005

There's a seductive theory making the rounds that an expanded "Bush Doctrine" has planted seeds of democracy in the Middle East that are already bearing fruit. Editorial pages and columnists are making the argument that the invasion of Iraq, despite its messy aftermath, and the toppling of Saddam Hussein have led inexorably to elections in Arab lands. All aboard the freedom train! 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-mideast2mar02,0,91230.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 10:54:58 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 10:55:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Way to End Bitter Fights Over Justices
Message-ID: <11896173.1109789698681.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
A Way to End Bitter Fights Over Justices 
--------------------

By Doug Bandow
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

March 2 2005

An activist judiciary has joined the legislative and executive branches in making public policy. The influence of judges has been magnified by their relative immunity from political pressure. Although the courts sometimes follow the election returns, in many cases, such as abortion, judicial decisions have short- circuited normal political discourse. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bandow2mar02,0,4333476.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  2 10:53:09 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar  2 10:58:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Taking on Tehran
In-Reply-To: <BE4A5CA9.48DD%kzii@swbell.net>
Message-ID: <200503021858.j22IwLYY003275@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Kay Zafar <kzii@swbell.net>
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:53:45 -0600
To: G-1 <kzii@swbell.net>, Konrad Kikuchi <konradkikuchi@yahoo.com>
Subject: FW: Taking on Tehran


-- 
> 
> 

>  
> http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20050301faessay84204/kenneth-pollack-ray-takeyh/
> taking-on-tehran.html?mode=print
>  
>  
>  
> 
>  </> 
> 
> 
> 
> Taking on Tehran
> By Kenneth Pollack and Ray Takeyh
> From Foreign Affairs, March/April 2005
> 
> Summary: If Washington wants to derail Iran's nuclear program, it must take
> advantage of a split in Tehran between hard-liners, who care mostly about
> security, and pragmatists, who want to fix Iran's ailing economy. By promising
> strong rewards for compliance and severe penalties for defiance, Washington
> can strengthen the pragmatists' case that Tehran should choose butter over
> bombs. 
> Kenneth Pollack is Director of Research at the Saban Center for Middle East
> Policy at the Brookings Institution and the author of The Persian Puzzle: The
> Conflict Between Iran and America. Ray Takeyh is a Senior Fellow in Middle
> East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
> 
> THE TICKING CLOCK
> 
> Even as the United States struggles to fix the troubled reconstruction of
> Iraq, the next big national security crisis has already descended on
> Washington. Investigators from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
> have discovered that Iran is trying to acquire the capability to enrich
> uranium and separate plutonium, activities that would allow it to make fissile
> material for nuclear weapons. Revelations of Iran's massive secret program
> have convinced even doubtful European governments that Tehran's ultimate aim
> is to acquire the weapons or, at least, the ability to produce them whenever
> it wants. 
> 
> It is an open question whether the United States could learn to coexist with a
> nuclear Iran. Since the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, Tehran's
> behavior has conveyed some very mixed messages to Washington. The mullahs have
> continued to define their foreign policy in opposition to the United States
> and have often resorted to belligerent methods to achieve their aims. They
> have tried to undermine the governments of Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies
> in the Middle East; they have waged a relentless terrorist campaign against
> the U.S.-brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace process; and they have even
> sponsored at least one direct attack against the United States, bombing the
> Khobar Towers--a housing complex filled with U.S. troops--in Saudi Arabia in
> 1996. Although Tehran has been aggressive, anti-American, and murderous, its
> behavior has been neither irrational nor reckless. It has calibrated its
> actions carefully, showed restraint when the risks were high, and pulled back
> when threatened with painful consequences. Such calculations suggest that the
> United States could probably deter Iran even after it crossed the nuclear
> threshold. 
> 
> There is no question, however, that the United States, the Middle East, and
> probably the rest of the world would be better off if they did not have to
> deal with a nuclear Iran. The hard part, of course, is making sure that Tehran
> never gets to that point. It appears to have made considerable progress in
> many aspects of its nuclear program, thanks to extensive assistance from
> Chinese, Germans, Pakistanis, Russians, and perhaps North Koreans. Iran's
> clerical regime has also shown itself willing to endure considerable
> sacrifices to achieve its most important objectives.
> 
> Yet there is reason to believe that Tehran's course can still be changed, if
> Washington takes advantage of the regime's vulnerabilities. Although Iran's
> hard-line leadership has maintained a remarkable unity of purpose in the face
> of reformist challengers, it is badly fragmented over key foreign policy
> issues, including the importance of nuclear weapons. At one end of the
> spectrum are the hardest of the hard-liners, who disparage economic and
> diplomatic considerations and put Iran's security concerns ahead of all
> others. At the opposite end are pragmatists, who believe that fixing Iran's
> failing economy must trump all else if the clerical regime is to retain power
> over the long term. In between these camps waver many of Iran's most important
> power brokers, who would prefer not to have to choose between bombs and
> butter.
> 
> This split provides an opportunity for the United States, and its allies in
> Europe and Asia, to forge a new strategy to derail Iran's drive for nuclear
> weapons. The West should use its economic clout to strengthen the hand of
> Iranian pragmatists, who could then argue for slowing, limiting, or shelving
> Tehran's nuclear program in return for the trade, aid, and investment that
> Iran badly needs. Only if the mullahs recognize that they have a stark
> choice--they can have nuclear weapons or a healthy economy, but not
> both--might they give up their nuclear dreams. With concern over Iran's
> nuclear aspirations growing, the United States and its allies now have a
> chance to present Iran with just such an ultimatum.
> 
> THE GREAT DIVIDE
> 
> Iran's conservative bloc is riddled with factions and their contradictions.
> But whereas reformers and conservatives differ over domestic issues, the
> divisions within the conservative faction chiefly relate to critical foreign
> policy issues. Stalwarts of the Islamic revolution launched by Ayatollah
> Khomeini in 1979 still control Iran's judiciary, the Council of Guardians (the
> constitution's watchdog), and other powerful institutions, as well as key
> coercive groups such as the Revolutionary Guards and the Islamic vigilantes of
> the Ansar-e-Hezbollah. The hard-liners consider themselves the most ardent
> Khomeini disciples and think of the revolution less as an antimonarchical
> rebellion than as a continued uprising against the forces that once sustained
> the U.S. presence in Iran: Western imperialism, Zionism, and Arab despotism.
> Ayatollah Mahmood Hashemi Shahroudi, the chief of the judiciary, said in 2001,
> "Our national interests lie with antagonizing the Great Satan. We condemn any
> cowardly stance toward America and any word on compromise with the Great
> Satan." For ideologues like him, international ostracism is the necessary
> price for revolutionary affirmation.
> 
> The pragmatists among Khomeini's heirs believe that the regime's survival
> depends on a more judicious international course. Thanks to them, Iran
> remained a regular player in the global energy market even at the height of
> its revolutionary fervor. Today, these realists gravitate around the
> influential former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and occupy key positions
> throughout the national security establishment. One of the group's leading
> figures, Muhammad Javad Larijani, a former legislator, argues, "We should not
> have what I would call an obstinate policy toward the world." Instead, the
> pragmatic conservatives have tried to develop economic and security
> arrangements with foreign powers such as China, the European Union, and
> Russia. In reaction to the United States' overthrow of two regimes on Iran's
> periphery--in Afghanistan and Iraq--they have adopted a wary but moderate
> stance. Admonishing his more radical brethren, Rafsanjani, for example, has
> warned, "We are facing a cruel and powerful U.S. government, and we have to be
> cautious and awake."
> 
> In a similar vein, the issue of Iraq is also fracturing the theocratic regime.
> In the eyes of Iran's reactionaries, the Islamic Republic's ideological
> mission demands that the revolution be exported to its pivotal Arab (and
> majority Shiite) neighbor. Such an act would not only establish the continued
> relevance of Iran's original Islamic vision but also secure a critical ally
> for an increasingly isolated Tehran. In contrast, the approach of Tehran's
> realists is conditioned by the requirements of the nation-state and its
> demands for stability. For this cohort, the most important task at hand is to
> prevent Iraq's simmering religious and ethnic tensions from engulfing Iran.
> Instigating Shiite uprisings, dispatching suicide squads, and provoking
> unnecessary confrontations with the United States hardly serves Iran's
> interests at a time when its own domestic problems are deepening. As a result,
> Tehran's mainstream leadership has mostly encouraged Iraq's Shiite groups to
> participate in reconstruction, not to obstruct U.S. efforts, and to do
> everything possible to avoid civil war. Hard-liners, meanwhile, have won
> permission to provide some assistance to Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and
> other Shiite rejectionists.
> 
> Teetering between the two camps is Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah
> Seyed Ali Khamenei. As the theocracy's top ideologue, he shares the
> hard-liners' revolutionary convictions and their confrontational impulses. But
> as the head of state, he must safeguard Iran's national interests and temper
> ideology with statecraft. In his 16 years as supreme leader, Khamenei has
> attempted to balance the ideologues and the realists, empowering both factions
> to prevent either from achieving a preponderance of influence. Lately,
> however, the Middle East's changing political topography has forced his hand
> somewhat. With the American imperium encroaching menacingly on Iran's
> frontiers, Khamenei, one of the country's most hawkish thinkers, is being
> forced to lean toward the pragmatists on some issues.
> 
> THE NUCLEAR CARD
> 
> More than any other issue, the pursuit of nuclear weapons has exacerbated
> tensions within Iran's clerical estate. The theocratic elite generally agrees
> that Iran should maintain a nuclear research program that could eventually
> allow it to build a bomb. After all, now that Washington has proved willing to
> put its provocative doctrine of military pre-emption into practice, Iran's
> desire for nuclear weapons makes strategic sense. And Tehran cannot be
> entirely faulted for rushing to acquire them. When the Bush administration
> invaded Iraq, which was not yet nuclearized, and avoided using force against
> North Korea, which already was, Iranians came to see nuclear weapons as the
> only viable deterrent to U.S. military action.
> 
> Although Iranian leaders agree on the strategic value of a strong nuclear
> program, they are divided over just how strong it should be. Conservative
> ideologues press for a nuclear breakout in defiance of international opinion,
> whereas conservative realists argue that restraint best serves Iran's
> interests. The ideologues, who view a conflict with the United States as
> inevitable, believe that the only way to ensure the survival of the Islamic
> Republic--and its ideals--is to equip it with an independent nuclear
> capability. Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri, a conservative presidential candidate in
> 1997 and now an influential adviser to Khamenei, dismissed Tehran's recent
> negotiations with the Europeans, noting, "Fortunately, the opinion polls show
> that 75 to 80 percent of Iranians want to resist and [to] continue our program
> and reject humiliation." In the cosmology of such hard-liners, nuclear arms
> have not only strategic value, but also currency in domestic politics. Iranian
> conservatives see their defiance of the Great Satan as a means of mobilizing
> nationalistic opinion behind a revolution that has gradually lost popular
> legitimacy. 
> 
> In contrast, the clerical realists warn that, with Iran under intense
> international scrutiny, any act of provocation by Tehran would lead other
> states to embrace Washington's punitive approach and further isolate the
> theocratic regime. In an interview in 2002, the pragmatic minister of defense,
> Ali Shamkhani, warned that the "existence of nuclear weapons will turn us into
> a threat to others that could be exploited in a dangerous way to harm our
> relations with the countries of the region." The economic dimension of nuclear
> diplomacy is also pushing the pragmatists toward restraint, as Iran's feeble
> economy can ill afford the imposition of multilateral sanctions. "If there
> [are] domestic and foreign conflicts, foreign capital will not flow into the
> country," Rafsanjani has warned. "In fact, such conflicts will lead to the
> flight of capital from this country."
> 
> IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
> 
> Despite ample natural resources, Iran continues to suffer double-digit rates
> of inflation and unemployment. A million young Iranians enter the job market
> every year, but the economy produces less than half that many jobs. The
> clerics' penchant for centralization has bred an inefficient command economy
> with a bloated bureaucracy. Extensive subsidies for basic commodities, such as
> wheat and gasoline, waste tens of billions of dollars but do little to
> alleviate poverty. Massive foundations that are philanthropic only in name
> monopolize key sectors of the economy, operating with little competition,
> regulation, or taxation. Inefficient state-owned enterprises drain the
> government budget, and a vast gray market of commercial entities has been spun
> off from government ministries. The recent increase in oil prices is not a
> long-term solution to Iran's woes; the economy's flaws run much too deep.
> Twenty-five years after Iran's revolution pledged to deliver a more just
> society, the Islamic Republic has spawned an economy that benefits only an
> elite group of clerics and their cronies and stifles private enterprise.
> 
> Reform is possible, but it would require selling off public enterprises and
> scaling back the government's onerous subsidies. Iran's clerical elite is too
> implicated in corrupt arrangements and too fearful of losing its prerogatives
> to endorse measures that would fundamentally alter the structure of the
> economy. Concerns that an aggressive privatization program would unleash
> popular dissatisfaction are discouraging reform. Any attempt to restructure
> the public sector would exacerbate an already inflamed unemployment crisis.
> The reactionary Council of Guardians is unlikely to countenance privatizing
> key sectors such as the banking industry, as such measures run counter to
> Iran's constitution. And a serious campaign against corruption would alienate
> the regime's remaining loyalists.
> 
> Iran's technocrats recognize the country's deepening economic predicament.
> Muhammad Khazai, the deputy minister of economy and finance, has acknowledged
> that Iran will need $20 billion in investment every year for the next five
> years if it is to provide sufficient jobs for its citizens. The oil
> industry--the lifeblood of Iran's economy--faces an even more daunting
> challenge. The National Iranian Oil Company estimates that $70 billion is
> needed over the next ten years to modernize the country's dilapidated
> infrastructure and is counting on foreign oil companies and international
> capital markets to provide approximately three-quarters of those massive
> investments. Given the clerical elite's inability to reform the economy,
> foreign investments have become critical to Iran's economic revival. Khazai
> insists, "We should be thinking of drawing foreign investments and [of]
> prepar[ing] the ground for [an] inflow of foreign capital."
> 
> Some officials have gone so far as to suggest that Iran's economic
> difficulties cannot be redressed if Tehran continues to have such a tense
> relationship with the United States. The exasperated head of the Management
> and Planning Organization, Hamid Reza Baradaran Shoraka, has noted that among
> the major obstacles to the country's development are the economic sanctions
> imposed by Washington. Continued antagonism toward the United States would
> hardly ensure that these sanctions are lifted.
> 
> As a result, the realists have tried to leverage Iran's nuclear intentions to
> secure a more favorable security and economic relationship with the United
> States. Like the North Korean leadership, Iran's clerical oligarchs are hoping
> to use Tehran's nuclear ambitions to force negotiations with and extract
> concessions from Washington. In a press conference in September, the powerful
> secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Hasan Rowhani,
> acknowledged that Tehran had held constructive talks with U.S. officials on
> the war in Afghanistan and suggested that "such negotiations on the nuclear
> file [are] not totally out of [the] question." Fearful that Iran's feeble
> economy could not withstand more multilateral sanctions, Iran's pragmatists
> are willing to back down on the nuclear question to help save the economy.
> 
> So far, these competing pressures have resulted in inconsistent government
> positions. Even as it has agreed to suspend efforts to acquire nuclear
> capabilities, the Iranian government has insisted that it would never give up
> its nuclear weapons program and, in fact, has prodded it along. Meanwhile, in
> an attempt to head off international sanctions, Khamenei has temporarily sided
> with the realists. Despite calls by clerical firebrands and the Iranian
> parliament to discard the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), in October 2003, he
> agreed that Tehran would sign the NPT's Additional Protocol, including
> provisions for a fairly intrusive inspection regime. Last November, Tehran
> also accepted a deal brokered by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to
> suspend uranium-enrichment activities and forgo completion of the nuclear fuel
> cycle.
> 
> A NEW APPROACH
> 
> With Tehran divided over how to balance its nuclear ambitions with its
> economic needs, Washington has an opportunity to keep it from crossing the
> nuclear threshold. Since the economy is a growing concern for the Iranian
> leadership, Washington can boost its leverage by working with the states that
> are most important to Tehran's international economic relations: the western
> European countries and Japan, as well as Russia and China, if they can be
> persuaded to cooperate. Together, these states must raise the economic stakes
> of Iran's nuclear aspirations. They must force Tehran to confront a painful
> choice: either nuclear weapons or economic health. Painting Tehran's
> alternatives so starkly will require dramatically raising both the returns it
> would gain for compliance and the price it would pay for defiance.
> 
> In the past, dissension among the United States and its allies allowed Tehran
> to circumvent this difficult choice. Throughout the 1990s, the United States
> pursued a strategy of pure coercion toward Iran, with strong sanctions and a
> weak covert action program. In the meantime, the Europeans refused even to
> threaten to cut their commercial relations with Tehran, no matter how bad its
> behavior became. Iran played Europe off against the United States, using
> European economic largesse to mitigate the effects of U.S. sanctions, all the
> while making considerable progress with its clandestine nuclear program.
> 
> Today, the situation is different. A fortunate result of Iran's unfortunate
> nuclear progress is that Tehran will now have a much harder time hedging.
> Revelations that Iran has moved closer toward producing fissile material over
> the past two years could help forge a unified Western position. In the 1990s,
> Europeans could ignore much of Iran's malfeasance because the evidence was
> ambiguous. But with the IAEA recently having uncovered so many of Iran's
> covert enrichment activities--and with Tehran subsequently having admitted
> them--it will be far more uncomfortable, if not impossible, for Europeans to
> keep looking the other way. It is still unclear just how seriously Europe
> takes Iran's nuclear activities, but in public and private statements,
> European officials no longer try to play them down. Moreover, when during
> negotiations with the EU in November Tehran requested that 20 research
> centrifuges remain active, the Europeans refused. Such resolve marked a
> drastic departure from Europe's fecklessness during the 1990s. That Tehran
> quickly complied was a sure sign that it fears incurring the wrath of its
> economic benefactors.
> 
> It may now be possible to fashion a multilateral policy that can persuade
> Tehran to abandon its nuclear program. Working together, the United States and
> its allies should lay out two dramatically diverging paths for Iran. On one
> course, Iran would agree to give up its nuclear program, accept a
> comprehensive inspection regime, and end its support for terrorism. In
> exchange, the United States would lift sanctions and settle Iran's claims over
> the assets of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The West would also consider
> bringing Iran into international economic organizations such as the World
> Trade Organization, granting Iran increased commercial ties, and perhaps even
> providing it with economic assistance. Western nations could sweeten the deal
> by agreeing to assist Iran with its energy needs (the ostensible reason for
> its nuclear research program) and to forswear direct military attack. The
> United States could also help create a new security architecture in the
> Persian Gulf in which Iranians, Arabs, and Americans would find cooperative
> ways to address their security concerns, much as Washington did with the
> Russians in Europe during the 1970s and the 1980s. If, on the other hand, Iran
> decided to stay its current course, U.S. allies would join Washington in
> imposing precisely the sort of sanctions the mullahs fear would scuttle Iran's
> precarious economy. These sanctions could take the form of everything from
> barring investment in specific projects or entire sectors (such as the oil
> industry) to severing all commercial contacts with Iran if it proved utterly
> unwilling to address Western demands.
> 
> UPPING THE ANTE
> 
> In an ideal world, the Iranians would agree to work out all their differences
> with the West in a single grand bargain. Such a comprehensive deal would serve
> Washington well, as it would be the fastest way to resolve current disputes
> and the surest platform from which to build a new, cooperative relationship.
> In fact, under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill
> Clinton, Washington repeatedly offered such an approach. But conservative
> ideologues in Tehran repeatedly quashed the efforts of any Iranian who
> attempted to take up the United States' conciliatory offers. The Clinton
> administration made nearly a dozen unilateral gestures toward Iran, including
> the partial lifting of sanctions, to enable the reformist government of
> President Muhammad Khatami to participate in such negotiations. But these
> overtures triggered a conservative backlash that eventually debilitated
> Khatami's government.
> 
> Even if a grand bargain seems unlikely given Iran's complicated domestic
> politics, a policy of true "carrots and sticks" remains a viable option. In
> this case, Western nations would lay out the same two paths for Iran but would
> do so as statements of a joint policy, rather than as the goals of bilateral
> negotiations with Tehran. Officials from the United States, European
> countries, and Japan--as well as from any other country willing to
> participate, including China and Russia--would explicitly define what they
> expect Iran to do and not do. To each of these actions, the allies would
> attach positive and negative inducements (the "carrots" and the "sticks"), so
> that Tehran could clearly understand both the benefits it would gain from
> ending nuclear and terrorist activities and the penalties it would suffer for
> refusing to end them.
> 
> Such an effort will not be easy. The United States and its allies will have a
> hard time defining clear benchmarks to measure Iran's compliance, and they
> will likely disagree over how much to reward or punish Tehran at each step.
> But the approach can work, so long as a few critical measures are applied.
> 
> First, the strategy requires that both the potential rewards and the potential
> penalties be significant. Iranian hard-liners will not abandon their nuclear
> program easily. Although the mullahs are not as stubborn as North Korean
> leader Kim Jong Il continues to be--they would not knowingly allow three
> million fellow citizens to die of starvation just to preserve their nuclear
> program--they unquestionably are willing to tolerate considerable hardship to
> keep their nuclear hopes alive. In order to change Tehran's behavior,
> therefore, the inducements will have to be potent: big rewards that could
> revive the economy or heavy sanctions that would surely cripple it.
> 
> Second, Tehran must be presented with the prospect of serious rewards, not
> just punishments; Washington must be willing to make concessions to Iran in
> return for real concessions from it. The most obvious reason for this
> condition is that the Europeans insist on it. European diplomats have
> consistently said that they can persuade their reluctant governments to
> threaten serious sanctions for Iran's continued misbehavior only if the United
> States agrees to reward compliance with real economic benefits.
> 
> The carrots, moreover, need to be as big as the sticks. Only the prospect of
> significant bonuses will provide ammunition to pragmatists in Tehran who argue
> that Iran should revise its nuclear stance to secure the benefits necessary to
> revitalize its troubled economy. Current levels of trade and investment from
> Europe and Japan have not been adequate to solve Iran's deep-seated economic
> problems. The pragmatists' case will become convincing only if Tehran's
> compliance with Western demands can help the Iranian economy do better than it
> does now. Granting enough economic concessions to maintain the status quo
> probably would not sway undecided Iranians; significantly more generous
> incentives might.
> 
> The painful experience of trying to make the Iraq sanctions stick during the
> 1990s suggests another prerequisite for the approach that must be adopted with
> Tehran. One of the lessons learned from Iraq was that, although many
> governments threatened Saddam Hussein with sanctions if he defied the
> international community, few imposed them when he did. Spelling out in advance
> all of the steps Tehran is expected to take or to avoid, as well as the
> specific rewards and punishments they would incur, is the best way to prevent
> Iran and U.S. allies from reneging on their commitments as they did in Iraq.
> 
> Last, all incentives must be applied in graduated increments, so that small
> steps, positive or negative, would bring Tehran commensurate gains or
> sanctions. For Iranians to even consider forgoing their nuclear ambitions,
> they will need to see tangible gains from the start, as well as be able to
> point to a pot of gold at the end. Conversely, Tehran probably will not change
> course if it does not systematically suffer increasingly severe consequences
> for its reticence. Without immediate and automatic penalties, it is likely to
> act as it did throughout the 1990s, dismissing the West's promises and
> warnings as empty rhetoric while continuing to advance its program under the
> status quo. 
> 
> THE LEAST BAD OPTION
> 
> There is, of course, no guarantee that such an approach will persuade Tehran
> to end its nuclear projects or its support for terrorism. Even if Iran does
> halt these projects, the strategy is far from perfect: at the very least, it
> will require Washington to live for some time longer with a regime it abhors.
> But by setting out clearly the rewards Iran would accrue for cooperating and
> the penalties it would suffer for bucking, a carrots-and-sticks policy would
> force Iran's leadership to confront the choice it never wanted to make:
> whether to shelve its nuclear program or risk the crippling of its economy.
> Because Iran's economic woes have been a major factor in popular discontent
> with the regime, there is good reason to believe that, if forced to make such
> a choice, Tehran would grudgingly opt to save its economy and look for other
> ways to deal with its security and foreign policy aspirations.
> 
> This approach also is the best available, for it has a much greater chance of
> succeeding than the alternatives. Invading Iran simply should not be an
> option; Washington should not try to deal with Tehran's nuclear program and
> its support for terrorism as it did with the Taliban and Saddam's regime. The
> United States is now in the thick of reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq,
> leaving it with very limited forces available to invade another country.
> Iran's mountainous terrain and large, nationalistic population would likely
> make any military campaign daunting. Postwar reconstruction would be even more
> complex and debilitating there than it has been in Afghanistan and Iraq.
> 
> Although most Iranians want a different type of government than they have and
> a better relationship with the United States, it would be foolhardy to believe
> that Washington could solve its problems with Tehran's nuclear ambitions by
> staging a coup or inciting a popular revolution to topple the current regime.
> Young Iranians seem to have a better image of the United States than their
> elders did, but their greater open-mindedness should not be confused with a
> desire to see U.S. interference in Iranian politics, something Iranians have
> responded to with ferocity in the past. Furthermore, although many Iranians
> may want a different government, they have shown little inclination to do what
> would be necessary to dislodge the current one. Most are weary of revolutions:
> when they had the chance to start one, amid student demonstrations in the
> summer of 1999, few heeded the call. There is good reason to believe that this
> regime's days are numbered, but little to think that it will fall soon enough
> or that the United States can do much to speed its demise. Advocating regime
> change might be a useful adjunct to a new Iran policy, but it will not solve
> Washington's immediate problems with Iran's nuclear program and its support
> for terrorism.
> 
> Likewise, at present, the costs, uncertainties, and risks of waging an air
> campaign to destroy Iran's nuclear sites are too great to make it anything but
> a measure of last resort--the hopes of some in the Bush administration
> notwithstanding. Because Tehran has managed to conceal major nuclear
> facilities, it is unclear by how much even successful bombing could set back
> the country's nuclear development. Moreover, no matter how little damage it
> suffered, Iran would likely retaliate. It has the most capable terrorist
> network in the world, and the United States would have to stand ready for a
> full onslaught of attacks. Perhaps even more important, a U.S. military
> campaign would probably prompt Tehran to unleash a clandestine war on U.S.
> forces in Iraq. The Iranians are hardly omnipotent there, but they could make
> the situation far more miserable and deadly than it already is. Without better
> intelligence about Iran's nuclear program and better protection against an
> Iranian counterattack, the idea of a U.S. air campaign should be kept on the
> shelf as a last-ditch option.
> 
> Iran today is at a crossroads. It might restrain its nuclear ambitions to the
> parameters set out in the NPT, or it might rashly cross the threshold,
> brandishing the bomb as a tool of revolutionary diplomacy. It might play a
> positive role in rebuilding a stable Iraq, or it might be a dogmatic actor
> that exacerbates Iraq's sectarian and ethnic cleavages. As difficult as the
> U.S. predicament is in Iraq today, Tehran could make it much worse: it could
> dramatically inflame the insurgency and destabilize its already insecure
> neighbor. Since the demise of Saddam Hussein, Iran has dispatched clerics and
> Revolutionary Guards to Iraq and released funds to establish an intricate
> network of influence there. It is still unclear what the theocracy's specific
> goals are, but there is concern that they could be at odds with those of the
> United States.
> 
> Much now depends on Washington's conduct, the security environment that
> emerges in the region, and the extent to which Washington and its allies can
> force Tehran to choose between its nuclear ambitions and its economic
> well-being. Given Iran's economic frailty and shifting power dynamics within
> its leadership, a strategy offering strong rewards and severe penalties has a
> reasonable chance of discouraging Tehran from its nuclear plans, especially if
> the Europeans and the Japanese are willing to participate in full. In fact, it
> is the only plan that has any real prospect of success at present. Rather than
> continue to criticize everyone else's Iran policy, the United States should
> stop making perfect the enemy of good enough. Washington has a chance to curb
> Tehran's alarming behavior, with the help of its allies and without resort to
> force. If it does not seize the opportunity now, at some point soon it will
> likely wish it had.
> 
> www.foreignaffairs.org is copyright 2002--2004 by the Council on Foreign
> Relations. All rights reserved.
>  <http://msgtag.com/?source=ffooter>  has notified the sender that this
> message has been received.
> 
> 


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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  2 10:57:33 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar  2 10:59:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: 
In-Reply-To: <BE4A9252.48EA%kzii@swbell.net>
Message-ID: <200503021859.j22IxMII003295@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Kay Zafar <kzii@swbell.net>
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 21:42:42 -0600
To: G-1 <kzii@swbell.net>
Subject: FW: 


> -- 
> 

> 
>  
> The Bush Administration has recently restated its intention to pick off these
> governments, dubbed "outposts of tyranny," one by one. The order in which they
> were to be hit was assumed to start with Iran. Instead, Syria was moved into
> first place. 
> 
> The reason for this, one regional expert told EIR, is that if Iran were
> attacked militarily by the United States or Israel, the Islamic Republic would
> respond asymmetrically, unleashing allied and sympathetic Shi'ite forces in
> the Persian Gulf and in Lebanon: Hezbollah's capabilities to target Israel
> could be effectively deployed. Thus, the source said, the need to eliminate
> the Lebanese-based Shi'ite Hezbollah as a factor, and at the same time
> neutralize Syria, before moving against Tehran.
> 
>  
> 
> http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2005/3208hariri_killed.html
> 
>  <http://msgtag.com/?source=ffooter>  has notified the sender that this
> message has been received.
> 
> 


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From MARRAKI at aol.com  Wed Mar  2 00:35:51 2005
From: MARRAKI at aol.com (MARRAKI@aol.com)
Date: Wed Mar  2 11:26:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Cool Art..
Message-ID: <200503021806.j22I6e4P003047@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed Mar  2 14:03:38 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed Mar  2 14:05:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Drug 'doubles mental health risk'
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV17F7A226D2CB9E229BCED6AB5A0@phx.gbl>

As always I think if you smoke "g-o-o-d" grass it intensifies whatever is happening. If the music is good, good grass makes it better, if you are hungry (ha ha) you will get hungrier etc etc.... so IF someone is already psychotic they will be even more psychotic so don't blame it on the grass researcher from Rethink.


-----Original Message-----
From: Hecate
Sent: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 07:47:22 -0800
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Drug 'doubles mental health risk'

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
know any of those "susceptible individuals" ?

** Drug 'doubles mental health risk' **
Smoking cannabis virtually doubles the risk of developing a mental illness, researchers suggest.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4305783.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
_______________________________________________
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed Mar  2 14:07:41 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed Mar  2 14:09:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: a 'tale' to note elephants
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV11566598E43C5DBB22ECF8AB5A0@phx.gbl>

Sierra.... Thank you for sending this, what a touching story.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Sierra Pecheur
Sent: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 09:32:23 -0800
To: mb-civic@islandemail.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: a 'tale' to note elephants


Subject: a 'tale' to note elephants





  a 'tale' to note
  From the unbelievable chaos of the Tsunami disaster comes an incredible tale from Jim France of the Pavilion Hotel Group in Bangkok. 

  At a resort on Phuket, one of the most popular attractions is (was) elephant rides. As many as eight people on one elephant, first into the surrounding forest, then down to the beach, to lunch at a fresh water lagoon, then back to the
  hotel.

  The elephants (nine) were kept chained to in-ground posts, not because they needed to be, but because it made the mothers feel better because their children seemed safe from a tromping when feeding the beasts.


  About twenty minutes before the first wave hit, the elephants became extremely agitated and unruly. Four had just returned from a trip and their handlers had not yet chained them. The four elephants helped the other five tear free from their chains. They all then climbed a hill and started bellowing.

  Many people followed them up the hill. Then the waves hit. After the waves subsided, the elephants charged down from the hill, and started picking up children with their trunks and running them back up the hill; when all the children were taken care of, they started helping the adults.


  They rescued forty- two people. Then, they returned to the beach and carried up four dead bodies, one of a child. Not until the task was done would they allow their handlers to mount them. Then with handlers atop, they began moving wreckage.


__________________________________________________

From Lyle_Kang at msn.com  Wed Mar  2 15:39:01 2005
From: Lyle_Kang at msn.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Wed Mar  2 16:34:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: I believe...
Message-ID: <22780022.1109806271127.JavaMail.root@bla32.blogger.com>

Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog: 

I believe...but it doesn't matter what I believe...we the people equipped with every emotion must see the end to better understand & find the tools to repair the present.

Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
Post: I believe...
Link: http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/03/i-believe.html

--
Powered by Blogger
http://www.blogger.com/

From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  2 18:55:07 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael butler)
Date: Wed Mar  2 18:56:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Senator Obama needs to hear from you today!
Message-ID: <ATL-WEB03ddfhV7r4nZ00008118@ATL-WEB03.CTSG.COM>


I just sent a free fax to Senator Obama thanking him for fighting to protect our clean air! 

Senator Obama needs to hear from you too!  He is fighting to protect Illinois citizens from the harms of air pollution.  He wants to clean up Illinois skies because he knows that Illinois has "one of the highest asthma rates in the country."  He also knows that reducing air pollution can create jobs.

Unfortunately, some other members of Congress are hard at work to undermine existing safeguards from air pollution.  As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, he is working to dramatically improve the so-called "Clear Skies Initiative," a dangerous piece of legislation that would drastically scale back current restrictions on industrial air pollution.

Click the link below to send a free fax to Sen. Obama to thank him for opposing efforts to weaken clean air safeguards. 
http://www.saveourenvironment.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=13094&ref=443698

The "Clear Skies" initiative repeals protections for our national parks, delays deadlines to meet the Act's health standards, relaxes pollution reduction requirements for power plants and other major pollution sources, and ignores global warming.

If this pollution plan passes, it will mean a huge step backward in reducing the amount of pollution in our air and in our lungs.

Please don't delay! The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is expected to vote on it soon. Click this link to thank Sen. Obama and to urge him to continue to oppose any efforts weaken existing air quality and public health safeguards.
http://www.saveourenvironment.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=13094&ref=443698

We need your help to make sure Sen. Obama hears from as many of his constituents as possible.  Once you've taken action, please take a moment to forward this email to your friends, family and co-workers urging them to send a fax to Sen. Obama too!

Thank you for your help!


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed Mar  2 19:23:27 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed Mar  2 19:24:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU THINK -
	MICHAEL
In-Reply-To: <SPARKLIST-157622-225418-2005.03.02-17.32.20--michael#intrafi.com@nationmag.sparklist.com>
Message-ID: <BE4BC32F.1EBE2%michael@michaelbutler.com>


-- From The Lair of the Bear


------ Forwarded Message
From: "TomDispatch" <tomdispatch@nationinstitute.org>
Reply-To: "TomDispatch" <tomdispatch@nationinstitute.org>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 20:32:16 -0500
To: "Michael Butler" <michael@intrafi.com>
Subject: [TD] Tomgram:  Jonathan Schell on a Less Super Superpower


a project of the Nation Institute <http://www.nationinstitute.org/>

To send this to a friend, or to read more dispatches, go to tomdispatch.com
<http://www.tomdispatch.com/>
Tomgram:  Jonathan Schell on a Less Super Superpower
There is a bleak wondrousness to this American world of ours.  The Bush
administration, after all, loathes fundamentalists -- those dangerous
fanatics in strange lands with bizarre medieval belief systems, who wish us
such ill and are more than ready to go to some twisted paradise to prove
their fervor -- except, of course, for the fundamentalists here who believe
that they'll soon enough be snatched away and enraptured, while the Middle
East and then the world is turned into something like a giant car bomb.  Our
President proclaims the spread of freedom and won't let American officials
sit down alone with their "axis of evil" counterparts in Iran and North
Korea to negotiate nuclear dangers -- as if such contact might literally
pollute them -- and yet consorting with Saudi autocrats, Pakistan's military
ruler Musharraf, or the dictators of various Central Asian 'stans and their
associates is unremarked upon.  (Note, by the way, that one result of Bush
administration militar! y-to-military tsunami aid in Indonesia has been the
official revival <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GC03Ae01.html>
of relations between the Pentagon and the well-bloodied Indonesian
military.)  

The Bush administration calls -- quite rightly -- for the ending of the
Syrian military "occupation" of Lebanon and the withdrawal of Syria's
remaining 15,000 troops in that country -- an occupation, I learned only
yesterday from Juan Cole
<http://www.juancole.com/2005/03/lebanon-realignment-and-syria-it-is.html>
(in the single best backgrounder on the Lebanese situation I've seen), that
was green-lighted by Henry Kissinger himself back in 1976 -- and yet it
sticks grimly with its occupation (
oops, liberation) of Iraq and considers
the idea of withdrawing our 130,000 occupation troops there, no matter in
what phased or timed fashion, cut-and-run heresy.  (Why only the other day,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&u=/nm/20050226/wl_nm/iraq_mye
rs_dc&printer=1>  Gen. Richard Myers was saying that insurgencies around the
world tend to last
 hint, hint
 7-12 years.  That would, of course, involve
Syrian-style stayin! g power.)  And we naturally welcome liberty, except
when it comes to any of the prisoners we hold under unbelievable conditions
and without rights or limit in offshore prisons around the world and even in
the United States. 

Just Tuesday, in our topsy-turvy world, District Court Judge Henry F. Floyd,
appointed to the federal bench in South Carolina by George Bush in 2003,
ruled, according to R. Jeffrey Smith of the Washington Post
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61026-2005Feb28?language=printer>
, that the government must charge or free the imprisoned alleged terrorist
Jose Padilla because it

> "lacks statutory and constitutional authority to indefinitely imprison without
> criminal charges a U.S. citizen who was designated an 'enemy combatant'
 Using
> a phrase often levied by conservatives to denigrate liberal judges, Floyd

> accused the administration of engaging in 'judicial activism'... Floyd said
> the government presented no law supporting this contention and that just
> because Bush and his appointees say Padilla's detention was consistent with
> U.S. laws and the president's war powers, that did not make it so. 'Moreover,
> such a statement is deeply troubling. If such a position were ever adopted by
> the courts, it would totally eviscerate the limits placed on Presidential
> authority to protect the citizenry's individual liberties.'"
  

Indeed.  

What a world when we must rely on right-wing judges appointed by our present
President for the protection of our most basic civil liberties!  What a
world when it's clear to such a judge that a government claim of " blanket
authority under the Constitution to detain Americans on U.S. soil who are
suspected of taking or planning actions against the country" is, in fact,
nothing of the sort!

There was a time when I believed that, of the two famed dystopian novels of
the previous century, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's
1984, Huxley's was the one that best caught the most frightening tendencies
in our American world.  But I may be changing my mind.  After all, we're now
ruled by radicals who have proclaimed, in the name of freedom, that our fate
is eternal war -- a.k.a. World War IV, a.k.a. the Global War on Terror --
and Americans have indeed grown relatively comfortable with a world in which
"peace [ours] is war [against them]" -- or, as William Rivers Pitt writes in
a thoughtful essay on American empire at the Truthout.org website
<http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030105Z.shtml> , "Now, permanent war and
rule by fear are accepted without question."

Click here to read more of this dispatch.
<http://www.nationinstitute.org/tomdispatch/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2235>

---
You are currently subscribed to tomdispatch as: michael@intrafi.com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
leave-tomdispatch-157622L@nationmag.sparklist.com

------ End of Forwarded Message

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed Mar  2 19:35:58 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed Mar  2 19:34:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Brazil OKs Genetically Modified Crops
Message-ID: <000701c51fa2$1f128e80$2a22b7d8@baby1>

Brazil OKs Genetically Modified Crops

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-brazil-biotech-soy,0,2657591.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines


(excerpt)

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- In a victory for U.S.-based biotechnology firm Monsanto
Co., Brazil's lower house of Congress overwhelmingly approved a law
Wednesday creating a framework to legalize biotech seed sales in Latin
America's largest country.

=====

CheeseNote:  Chalk up another victory for Monsanto.  Some day food will not
be able to be produced without paying them their royalties, kind of exactly
like Today, but with the word "completely" added to it in the Future.  The
neat thing about their genetically altered seeds they are shooting around
the world, is that it allows you to spray crops with as much pesticides as
you want without harming the crop.  Now there's a really cool neat thought
your stomach can digest for a few millenium.  Don't say you weren't warned,
but when your childrens' children start getting even larger cases of cancer
etc than their ancestors did, don't blame the tooth fairy.  Just remember to
wash all your veggies under American tap water, and that should fix
everything.  Enjoy your meal.  It cost you your life.  The movie is free.


Cheeseburger

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed Mar  2 20:50:14 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed Mar  2 20:49:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU THINK -
	MICHAEL
Message-ID: <000d01c51fac$7ea05580$2a22b7d8@baby1>

Re:  VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU THINK - MICHAEL




I think.....   I think.....   I think I'm very depressed about the entire
situation.


I could go into a semi-tirade here about everything which would just bore
people and depress me some more, but, oh, well, nevermind, ok, I'll do it
anyway.

It's a mess.  It's a madhouse.  A great job of engineered treason.  Costing
us gazillions of dollars while we pay for them to basically enslave us, ruin
our business, trash our rights, and use the same old hashed over Propaganda
they've used forever to keep us informed that "Everything is going just
fine, don't worry, we have it all under Control".

And I sit here with 84 cents wondering "Hmm, how can I save the world from
here...?", while people like Pitt, Schell, Tom, Etc, report about it etc,
but not much happens to *Change It* for the better, mostly because they 1.
Have no major access to major media anymore, and 2. The whole thing is
basically run by One Party now for the most part, who block access to
Positive Change at every turn in the road.

If indeed "Might Makes Right", as my father used to tell me in bedtime
stories so long ago, they indeed hold all the cards, it would appear.

>From stuffing the judiciary with their people, to putting complete boobs
like Alberto Geneva Conventions Are Quaint Gonzales to head the DOJ, to
using new ThinkSpeak slogans for trashing environments, rights, etcs, such
as "Blue Skies", to, well, the Domestic scene is going down the toilet under
The Mighty rule of the basically Morally Inferior.

It's all a scam, the domestic scene as well as our international plays.
We've been taken.  I'm sitting around with millions of other Americans
(among others) going "What the f*ck can we do to change this now back into
anything even midly resembling Democracy..?".

And people can't even reach The People to instruct them what to do even if
they wanted to for the most part.  They, again, have no control over Major
Media to save their own butts, much less their country.

So, hmmm, you got millions of people sitting out here going "Ok, show us how
to make it better", some people on the side of what's left of Democracy
going "Ok, this is really messed up", but no access to a Majority of the
millions who are still sitting out here wondering what the f*ck to do about
it all.

Nice endless circle that leads nowhere.

They have the entire government for the most part, all their political and
judicial appointees, most of the Supreme Court, the now notoriously shabby
leadership at the head of our Military, Mainstream Media Propaganda, etc etc
etc, and a nice neat package of at least 25 million Fundamentalist voters
who will bark every time they mention "God" from The Top, and we have
millions and millions more of People than that measly little 25 million who
continue to sit out here going "What the f*ck can we do about all this
crap...?", and nobody able to reach them, pull them together, and even give
them Step Number One as to The Right Direction.

Go figure.   Anyways (deep breath), if the statistics remain accurate,
again, out of *all* the people that frequent The Internet, only about 15
percent of that number even bother to check out anything similar to "news
related items", much less wander accidentally upon things like Tom,
TruthOut, etc etc etc.

Bad news for us all around the circle.  That, in itself, is not news either.
You asked what I think.  I think we need a Game Plan.  A way out of this
crap.

No, I don't have one.  The best I can come up with is *some* form of Mass
Communication that at the *very* least *ALLOWS* "our side" to at *least* be
able to *minimally* =communicate= with those MILLIONS of people sitting out
there right now going "What the f*ck can we do to change all this crap these
idiots have created and are running down the field with at breakneck
speed...?".

To the best of my knowledge, one of the most important roadblocks standing
in the way of *any* kind of Progress against these ummm people from the
nether regions, remains The Ability To Communicate With The Millions Of
People Who Are Sitting Out Here Just Waiting For Someone To Communicate With
Them, or rather, The Complete Lack thereof.

Funny, or rather odd, that tonight I sat down briefly here with someone
describing themselves as a Militant Christian.  He's one of that 25 million
votes that put W back in office.  He was relating to me that, in his
factual? verbatim words that "Did you know that 2 percent of Americans are
c*cks*ckers and muff-munchers..?", referring, of course, to Gay People.

Let's look at that.  Here we've got a military industrial business first
government who was just able to dupe 25 American Fundamentalists Christians
into re-electing them, on, among others, the basis that basically all Gay
people should be rounded up and put into little camps.  "Abominations to The
Lord", basically.

That, indeed, is Might.

They were also able to convince them that all the socially upward redeemable
programs that helped poor people for the last 80? years, are completely
worthless.

That is Might.

So they got the Might, and we got a mouse that can't even get 2 oatmeal
boxes tied together with a taut string that can communicate with all the
Millions of people still sitting out here wondering "How the f*ck can we fix
this now...?".

I would go into all the other things in that article, as he's talking about
Pitt's article, and our foreign love affair with dicatorships etc etc, and
how War is good for Business and visa versa and etc, and how they've taken
what was left of Democracy, our actual Core Values handed down to us from
our "Founding Fathers" for the most part, taken a dump on them, and are
re-engineering the world as we know it to make it more resemble the inside
of the anus of someone like Charlie Manson, but that is an entire nother
"What do you think" thing.

For now, I'm still stuck on this "Communication" thing.

There is a VAST army of real patriotic freedom rights liberty justice
equality etc loving Americans sitting out here in No Man's Land, taking the
blows left and right on the chin from the Republicans, Military, Business,
Fundamentalists, Etc, and paying for it all with their taxes, sitting out
here shouting "What the f*ck can we do to change this Pure Crap we see
unfolding before our very eyes...?"

And nobody, N O  B O D Y, able to simply Communicate A Solution to them, or
even a direction to start walking.

Everyone is shouting.

The only small problem is that nobody can hear the people in the next room
anymore.

Without that simple little line of Mass Communication, which The Boys (and
Girls) at The Top already have a vast Propaganda Machine fully loaded and
running through the World, America, Justice, Freedom, Liberty, Equality,
Liberty, We, Etc, don't stand a chance of a snowball on a hot hood in the
Texas sun.


Well, ummm, you asked what I think, there ya go.  Same old stuff.  I'm sure
I got some things wrong, left some things or "thoughts" out, etc in this
brief synopsis of synapse, but I just wanted to get it fresh as it rolled
off my cerebellum.  All in all, you see this right now on your screen.  The
=Multiple Millions= (MANY more than just 25) of People who never view
TruthOut, Pitt, Tom, Etc, sitting down the road from my house looking for A
Door to Anywhere But Here have no clue whatsoever it was ever even typed.

Go figure.

Communication Breakdown.  (Led Zeppelin)

Could actually finding A Method To Do It and actually being Able To
Communicate with The Masses of America really do something to make our world
a better place to live in, stop the giant Monster currently conducting
business here at our and the World's expense, and etc...?  I don't really
know.  The alternative, however, is what we currently enjoy and wish we
didn't.




Cheeseburger

- But Cheeseburger, that's the same stuff you always type.  Yes, yes it is.
Do you think it will make any more of a difference than the last time you
typed it..?  Well, no, probably not.  Then why do you type it..?  Well, I
don't really know, but I know I have to keep typing it for some reason.
That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.  Yes, I know it doesn't.  But
you're going to keep on typing it anyway, aren't you.  Yes, yes I am.  Are
you hungry..?  Yes, I'm famished.  Great, let's go shopping, I hear there's
a great sale at the supermarket on Iraqi baby fingers...  Be right there...
I just have to hit "send".  You always say that right as I'm walking out the
door...  Yes, yes I do.  You're hopeless, you know...  Yes, I know that
dear...  I'll be in the car waiting...  Ok...      Ok.......

.

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  2 20:53:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Wed Mar  2 20:54:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU THINK
	-MICHAEL
References: <BE4BC32F.1EBE2%michael@michaelbutler.com>
Message-ID: <055e01c51fac$f47dfaa0$99ca6c42@ianb0ky45i5r2b>

What can be said?  Haven't many of us been saying these exact things for
months, sometimes years?  How much of this is really new to the
socio-politically "informed?"  How many times have I - and others - pointed
out very specific ways in which our world, and particularly the U.S.,
becomes more "Orwellian" by the day?  In addition to such "new truths" as
"War is Peace," our society has already become WAY too comfortable with both
"doublethink" and "newspeak."  (Indeed, many Civic members have engaged in
both, almost certainly without realizing it.  This is not accusation; simply
observation).  It has simply become so "natural" in some cases that it is
hard to avoid.

Obviously, all of this does not make the points in the article any less
horrifying, angrifying and, ultimately, sad.  What can be done?  Talking is
good, but action is better.  I trust that Civic members spend at least as
much time "doing" in the real world as they do engaging in intellectual
"give and take" in cyberspace.

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Butler" <michael@michaelbutler.com>
To: "Civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>; "HAIR List"
<mb-hair@islandlists.com>; "Family Finance" <michael@michaelbutler.com>;
"BEARS, DOVES & BEAVERS" <michael@michaelbutler.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 10:23 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU
THINK -MICHAEL



-- From The Lair of the Bear


------ Forwarded Message
From: "TomDispatch" <tomdispatch@nationinstitute.org>
Reply-To: "TomDispatch" <tomdispatch@nationinstitute.org>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 20:32:16 -0500
To: "Michael Butler" <michael@intrafi.com>
Subject: [TD] Tomgram:  Jonathan Schell on a Less Super Superpower


a project of the Nation Institute <http://www.nationinstitute.org/>

To send this to a friend, or to read more dispatches, go to tomdispatch.com
<http://www.tomdispatch.com/>
Tomgram:  Jonathan Schell on a Less Super Superpower
There is a bleak wondrousness to this American world of ours.  The Bush
administration, after all, loathes fundamentalists -- those dangerous
fanatics in strange lands with bizarre medieval belief systems, who wish us
such ill and are more than ready to go to some twisted paradise to prove
their fervor -- except, of course, for the fundamentalists here who believe
that they'll soon enough be snatched away and enraptured, while the Middle
East and then the world is turned into something like a giant car bomb.  Our
President proclaims the spread of freedom and won't let American officials
sit down alone with their "axis of evil" counterparts in Iran and North
Korea to negotiate nuclear dangers -- as if such contact might literally
pollute them -- and yet consorting with Saudi autocrats, Pakistan's military
ruler Musharraf, or the dictators of various Central Asian 'stans and their
associates is unremarked upon.  (Note, by the way, that one result of Bush
administration militar! y-to-military tsunami aid in Indonesia has been the
official revival <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GC03Ae01.html>
of relations between the Pentagon and the well-bloodied Indonesian
military.)

The Bush administration calls -- quite rightly -- for the ending of the
Syrian military "occupation" of Lebanon and the withdrawal of Syria's
remaining 15,000 troops in that country -- an occupation, I learned only
yesterday from Juan Cole
<http://www.juancole.com/2005/03/lebanon-realignment-and-syria-it-is.html>
(in the single best backgrounder on the Lebanese situation I've seen), that
was green-lighted by Henry Kissinger himself back in 1976 -- and yet it
sticks grimly with its occupation (.oops, liberation) of Iraq and considers
the idea of withdrawing our 130,000 occupation troops there, no matter in
what phased or timed fashion, cut-and-run heresy.  (Why only the other day,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&u=/nm/20050226/wl_nm/iraq_mye
rs_dc&printer=1>  Gen. Richard Myers was saying that insurgencies around the
world tend to last. hint, hint. 7-12 years.  That would, of course, involve
Syrian-style stayin! g power.)  And we naturally welcome liberty, except
when it comes to any of the prisoners we hold under unbelievable conditions
and without rights or limit in offshore prisons around the world and even in
the United States.

Just Tuesday, in our topsy-turvy world, District Court Judge Henry F. Floyd,
appointed to the federal bench in South Carolina by George Bush in 2003,
ruled, according to R. Jeffrey Smith of the Washington Post
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61026-2005Feb28?language=printer>
, that the government must charge or free the imprisoned alleged terrorist
Jose Padilla because it

> "lacks statutory and constitutional authority to indefinitely imprison
without
> criminal charges a U.S. citizen who was designated an 'enemy combatant'.
Using
> a phrase often levied by conservatives to denigrate liberal judges, Floyd.
> accused the administration of engaging in 'judicial activism'... Floyd
said
> the government presented no law supporting this contention and that just
> because Bush and his appointees say Padilla's detention was consistent
with
> U.S. laws and the president's war powers, that did not make it so.
'Moreover,
> such a statement is deeply troubling. If such a position were ever adopted
by
> the courts, it would totally eviscerate the limits placed on Presidential
> authority to protect the citizenry's individual liberties.'"


Indeed.

What a world when we must rely on right-wing judges appointed by our present
President for the protection of our most basic civil liberties!  What a
world when it's clear to such a judge that a government claim of " blanket
authority under the Constitution to detain Americans on U.S. soil who are
suspected of taking or planning actions against the country" is, in fact,
nothing of the sort!

There was a time when I believed that, of the two famed dystopian novels of
the previous century, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's
1984, Huxley's was the one that best caught the most frightening tendencies
in our American world.  But I may be changing my mind.  After all, we're now
ruled by radicals who have proclaimed, in the name of freedom, that our fate
is eternal war -- a.k.a. World War IV, a.k.a. the Global War on Terror --
and Americans have indeed grown relatively comfortable with a world in which
"peace [ours] is war [against them]" -- or, as William Rivers Pitt writes in
a thoughtful essay on American empire at the Truthout.org website
<http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030105Z.shtml> , "Now, permanent war and
rule by fear are accepted without question."

Click here to read more of this dispatch.
<http://www.nationinstitute.org/tomdispatch/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2235>

---
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  2 20:58:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Wed Mar  2 20:59:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU THINK
	-MICHAEL
References: <000d01c51fac$7ea05580$2a22b7d8@baby1>
Message-ID: <056a01c51fad$9dd0d780$99ca6c42@ianb0ky45i5r2b>

Cheeseburger:


Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net>
To: "mb-civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 11:50 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU
THINK -MICHAEL


> Re:  VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU THINK - MICHAEL
>
>
>
>
> I think.....   I think.....   I think I'm very depressed about the entire
> situation.
>
>
> I could go into a semi-tirade here about everything which would just bore
> people and depress me some more, but, oh, well, nevermind, ok, I'll do it
> anyway.
>
> It's a mess.  It's a madhouse.  A great job of engineered treason.
Costing
> us gazillions of dollars while we pay for them to basically enslave us,
ruin
> our business, trash our rights, and use the same old hashed over
Propaganda
> they've used forever to keep us informed that "Everything is going just
> fine, don't worry, we have it all under Control".
>
> And I sit here with 84 cents wondering "Hmm, how can I save the world from
> here...?", while people like Pitt, Schell, Tom, Etc, report about it etc,
> but not much happens to *Change It* for the better, mostly because they 1.
> Have no major access to major media anymore, and 2. The whole thing is
> basically run by One Party now for the most part, who block access to
> Positive Change at every turn in the road.
>
> If indeed "Might Makes Right", as my father used to tell me in bedtime
> stories so long ago, they indeed hold all the cards, it would appear.
>
> >From stuffing the judiciary with their people, to putting complete boobs
> like Alberto Geneva Conventions Are Quaint Gonzales to head the DOJ, to
> using new ThinkSpeak slogans for trashing environments, rights, etcs, such
> as "Blue Skies", to, well, the Domestic scene is going down the toilet
under
> The Mighty rule of the basically Morally Inferior.
>
> It's all a scam, the domestic scene as well as our international plays.
> We've been taken.  I'm sitting around with millions of other Americans
> (among others) going "What the f*ck can we do to change this now back into
> anything even midly resembling Democracy..?".
>
> And people can't even reach The People to instruct them what to do even if
> they wanted to for the most part.  They, again, have no control over Major
> Media to save their own butts, much less their country.
>
> So, hmmm, you got millions of people sitting out here going "Ok, show us
how
> to make it better", some people on the side of what's left of Democracy
> going "Ok, this is really messed up", but no access to a Majority of the
> millions who are still sitting out here wondering what the f*ck to do
about
> it all.
>
> Nice endless circle that leads nowhere.
>
> They have the entire government for the most part, all their political and
> judicial appointees, most of the Supreme Court, the now notoriously shabby
> leadership at the head of our Military, Mainstream Media Propaganda, etc
etc
> etc, and a nice neat package of at least 25 million Fundamentalist voters
> who will bark every time they mention "God" from The Top, and we have
> millions and millions more of People than that measly little 25 million
who
> continue to sit out here going "What the f*ck can we do about all this
> crap...?", and nobody able to reach them, pull them together, and even
give
> them Step Number One as to The Right Direction.
>
> Go figure.   Anyways (deep breath), if the statistics remain accurate,
> again, out of *all* the people that frequent The Internet, only about 15
> percent of that number even bother to check out anything similar to "news
> related items", much less wander accidentally upon things like Tom,
> TruthOut, etc etc etc.
>
> Bad news for us all around the circle.  That, in itself, is not news
either.
> You asked what I think.  I think we need a Game Plan.  A way out of this
> crap.
>
> No, I don't have one.  The best I can come up with is *some* form of Mass
> Communication that at the *very* least *ALLOWS* "our side" to at *least*
be
> able to *minimally* =communicate= with those MILLIONS of people sitting
out
> there right now going "What the f*ck can we do to change all this crap
these
> idiots have created and are running down the field with at breakneck
> speed...?".
>
> To the best of my knowledge, one of the most important roadblocks standing
> in the way of *any* kind of Progress against these ummm people from the
> nether regions, remains The Ability To Communicate With The Millions Of
> People Who Are Sitting Out Here Just Waiting For Someone To Communicate
With
> Them, or rather, The Complete Lack thereof.
>
> Funny, or rather odd, that tonight I sat down briefly here with someone
> describing themselves as a Militant Christian.  He's one of that 25
million
> votes that put W back in office.  He was relating to me that, in his
> factual? verbatim words that "Did you know that 2 percent of Americans are
> c*cks*ckers and muff-munchers..?", referring, of course, to Gay People.
>
> Let's look at that.  Here we've got a military industrial business first
> government who was just able to dupe 25 American Fundamentalists
Christians
> into re-electing them, on, among others, the basis that basically all Gay
> people should be rounded up and put into little camps.  "Abominations to
The
> Lord", basically.
>
> That, indeed, is Might.
>
> They were also able to convince them that all the socially upward
redeemable
> programs that helped poor people for the last 80? years, are completely
> worthless.
>
> That is Might.
>
> So they got the Might, and we got a mouse that can't even get 2 oatmeal
> boxes tied together with a taut string that can communicate with all the
> Millions of people still sitting out here wondering "How the f*ck can we
fix
> this now...?".
>
> I would go into all the other things in that article, as he's talking
about
> Pitt's article, and our foreign love affair with dicatorships etc etc, and
> how War is good for Business and visa versa and etc, and how they've taken
> what was left of Democracy, our actual Core Values handed down to us from
> our "Founding Fathers" for the most part, taken a dump on them, and are
> re-engineering the world as we know it to make it more resemble the inside
> of the anus of someone like Charlie Manson, but that is an entire nother
> "What do you think" thing.
>
> For now, I'm still stuck on this "Communication" thing.
>
> There is a VAST army of real patriotic freedom rights liberty justice
> equality etc loving Americans sitting out here in No Man's Land, taking
the
> blows left and right on the chin from the Republicans, Military, Business,
> Fundamentalists, Etc, and paying for it all with their taxes, sitting out
> here shouting "What the f*ck can we do to change this Pure Crap we see
> unfolding before our very eyes...?"
>
> And nobody, N O  B O D Y, able to simply Communicate A Solution to them,
or
> even a direction to start walking.
>
> Everyone is shouting.
>
> The only small problem is that nobody can hear the people in the next room
> anymore.
>
> Without that simple little line of Mass Communication, which The Boys (and
> Girls) at The Top already have a vast Propaganda Machine fully loaded and
> running through the World, America, Justice, Freedom, Liberty, Equality,
> Liberty, We, Etc, don't stand a chance of a snowball on a hot hood in the
> Texas sun.
>
>
> Well, ummm, you asked what I think, there ya go.  Same old stuff.  I'm
sure
> I got some things wrong, left some things or "thoughts" out, etc in this
> brief synopsis of synapse, but I just wanted to get it fresh as it rolled
> off my cerebellum.  All in all, you see this right now on your screen.
The
> =Multiple Millions= (MANY more than just 25) of People who never view
> TruthOut, Pitt, Tom, Etc, sitting down the road from my house looking for
A
> Door to Anywhere But Here have no clue whatsoever it was ever even typed.
>
> Go figure.
>
> Communication Breakdown.  (Led Zeppelin)
>
> Could actually finding A Method To Do It and actually being Able To
> Communicate with The Masses of America really do something to make our
world
> a better place to live in, stop the giant Monster currently conducting
> business here at our and the World's expense, and etc...?  I don't really
> know.  The alternative, however, is what we currently enjoy and wish we
> didn't.
>
>
>
>
> Cheeseburger
>
> - But Cheeseburger, that's the same stuff you always type.  Yes, yes it
is.
> Do you think it will make any more of a difference than the last time you
> typed it..?  Well, no, probably not.  Then why do you type it..?  Well, I
> don't really know, but I know I have to keep typing it for some reason.
> That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.  Yes, I know it doesn't.  But
> you're going to keep on typing it anyway, aren't you.  Yes, yes I am.  Are
> you hungry..?  Yes, I'm famished.  Great, let's go shopping, I hear
there's
> a great sale at the supermarket on Iraqi baby fingers...  Be right
there...
> I just have to hit "send".  You always say that right as I'm walking out
the
> door...  Yes, yes I do.  You're hopeless, you know...  Yes, I know that
> dear...  I'll be in the car waiting...  Ok...      Ok.......
>
> .
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
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From lyve at netzero.com  Wed Mar  2 21:42:30 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Wed Mar  2 21:45:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE PLEASE WRITE ME WHAT YOU THINK -
	MICHAEL
Message-ID: <20050302.214313.21382.11880@webmail13.nyc.untd.com>


Michael et ALL,


...They'll put you too sleep.
Don't go into the streets.

...They want you and I to implode.
Don't do it-hit 'em back with overload.

...Die, Die, Die-there's a TORA, TORA, TORA.
Don't do it-hit 'em hard and run-we are at war ah!

...Kill you off-that's the plan.
Get louder, LOU+DER, we knew it-it's Death MAN!

...LOUDER, SCREAM IT!! GET DOWN-IT'S YOUR TOWN.
GET IT! HOLD IT! DON'T FORSAKE ME_GET DOWN!!

...we are being called back into the jungles my friend, my dearest friend, we must do battle again, do it right and LOUD-use the INternet-it's OUR 'A' BOMB!

How can we win the PEACE-that is how.
man has another side and we are asked to come too battle-

DON'T FORGET IT!

You asked!


Lyle Clement Kang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- Michael Butler <michael@michaelbutler.com> wrote:

-- From The Lair of the Bear


------ Forwarded Message
From: "TomDispatch" <tomdispatch@nationinstitute.org>
Reply-To: "TomDispatch" <tomdispatch@nationinstitute.org>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 20:32:16 -0500
To: "Michael Butler" <michael@intrafi.com>
Subject: [TD] Tomgram:  Jonathan Schell on a Less Super Superpower


a project of the Nation Institute <http://www.nationinstitute.org/>

To send this to a friend, or to read more dispatches, go to tomdispatch.com
<http://www.tomdispatch.com/>
Tomgram:  Jonathan Schell on a Less Super Superpower
There is a bleak wondrousness to this American world of ours.  The Bush
administration, after all, loathes fundamentalists -- those dangerous
fanatics in strange lands with bizarre medieval belief systems, who wish us
such ill and are more than ready to go to some twisted paradise to prove
their fervor -- except, of course, for the fundamentalists here who believe
that they'll soon enough be snatched away and enraptured, while the Middle
East and then the world is turned into something like a giant car bomb.  Our
President proclaims the spread of freedom and won't let American officials
sit down alone with their "axis of evil" counterparts in Iran and North
Korea to negotiate nuclear dangers -- as if such contact might literally
pollute them -- and yet consorting with Saudi autocrats, Pakistan's military
ruler Musharraf, or the dictators of various Central Asian 'stans and their
associates is unremarked upon.  (Note, by the way, that one result of Bush
administration militar! y-to-military tsunami aid in Indonesia has been the
official revival <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GC03Ae01.html>
of relations between the Pentagon and the well-bloodied Indonesian
military.)  

The Bush administration calls -- quite rightly -- for the ending of the
Syrian military "occupation" of Lebanon and the withdrawal of Syria's
remaining 15,000 troops in that country -- an occupation, I learned only
yesterday from Juan Cole
<http://www.juancole.com/2005/03/lebanon-realignment-and-syria-it-is.html>
(in the single best backgrounder on the Lebanese situation I've seen), that
was green-lighted by Henry Kissinger himself back in 1976 -- and yet it
sticks grimly with its occupation (…oops, liberation) of Iraq and considers
the idea of withdrawing our 130,000 occupation troops there, no matter in
what phased or timed fashion, cut-and-run heresy.  (Why only the other day,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&u=/nm/20050226/wl_nm/iraq_mye
rs_dc&printer=1>  Gen. Richard Myers was saying that insurgencies around the
world tend to last… hint, hint… 7-12 years.  That would, of course, involve
Syrian-style stayin! g power.)  And we naturally welcome liberty, except
when it comes to any of the prisoners we hold under unbelievable conditions
and without rights or limit in offshore prisons around the world and even in
the United States. 

Just Tuesday, in our topsy-turvy world, District Court Judge Henry F. Floyd,
appointed to the federal bench in South Carolina by George Bush in 2003,
ruled, according to R. Jeffrey Smith of the Washington Post
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61026-2005Feb28?language=printer>
, that the government must charge or free the imprisoned alleged terrorist
Jose Padilla because it

> "lacks statutory and constitutional authority to indefinitely imprison without
> criminal charges a U.S. citizen who was designated an 'enemy combatant'… Using
> a phrase often levied by conservatives to denigrate liberal judges, Floyd…
> accused the administration of engaging in 'judicial activism'... Floyd said
> the government presented no law supporting this contention and that just
> because Bush and his appointees say Padilla's detention was consistent with
> U.S. laws and the president's war powers, that did not make it so. 'Moreover,
> such a statement is deeply troubling. If such a position were ever adopted by
> the courts, it would totally eviscerate the limits placed on Presidential
> authority to protect the citizenry's individual liberties.'"
  

Indeed.  

What a world when we must rely on right-wing judges appointed by our present
President for the protection of our most basic civil liberties!  What a
world when it's clear to such a judge that a government claim of " blanket
authority under the Constitution to detain Americans on U.S. soil who are
suspected of taking or planning actions against the country" is, in fact,
nothing of the sort!

There was a time when I believed that, of the two famed dystopian novels of
the previous century, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's
1984, Huxley's was the one that best caught the most frightening tendencies
in our American world.  But I may be changing my mind.  After all, we're now
ruled by radicals who have proclaimed, in the name of freedom, that our fate
is eternal war -- a.k.a. World War IV, a.k.a. the Global War on Terror --
and Americans have indeed grown relatively comfortable with a world in which
"peace [ours] is war [against them]" -- or, as William Rivers Pitt writes in
a thoughtful essay on American empire at the Truthout.org website
<http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030105Z.shtml> , "Now, permanent war and
rule by fear are accepted without question."

Click here to read more of this dispatch.
<http://www.nationinstitute.org/tomdispatch/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2235>

---
You are currently subscribed to tomdispatch as: michael@intrafi.com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
leave-tomdispatch-157622L@nationmag.sparklist.com

------ End of Forwarded Message

_______________________________________________
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From lyve at netzero.com  Wed Mar  2 21:51:13 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Wed Mar  2 21:53:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] We are Powerful....
Message-ID: <20050302.215128.21382.11950@webmail13.nyc.untd.com>


Michael,

I tend to believe that as a nation we are powerful but as individuals of this nation-most are ignorant and are not critical thinkers.

So sad, so serious when the tricks played by an elected President (Adolf Hitler), in a democracy, and followed and practiced today in America, his tactics are working just as it did in Nazi Germany. Serious stuff-

But where are those that hide between their legs like tails that drag behind their legs?

They come out hiding behind their false patriotism, riding on somebody else's misinformed total crap-without any legs, justificaztion, or history...

They say they support the troops...Don't believe them...they're shallow...we've seen the same kind during the Vietnam war protests-not the hippies stupid-the jerks that think they're in the know.

Let's get real-remember when the Chinese were putting to death the Intellectuals??

What pray tell do we have going on today?? Silencing the Intellectuals.

Come on little small boys with nuts no bigger than acorns-spout your stuff, show the world you are a macho kind of man-speak, share with me your ultimate wisdom why my discussion is not correct...or is it??

You decide---come now! 
...yip, yip yip.

 


Lyle Clement Kang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/
From lyve at netzero.com  Wed Mar  2 21:56:08 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Wed Mar  2 21:59:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Silence the Intellectuals...
Message-ID: <20050302.215635.21382.11981@webmail13.nyc.untd.com>


Michael and ALL,


-they want us to go to the streets so they can arrest the intellectuals and put them away...

They are going after the Professors---they are ...

Blog it out! Blog it to the free world!!

Keep the electronics going with your outrage, your desires, their complete disdain for lack of order, disgust in your own back yard.

Keep on - keep on -keep on!!

They must be defeated-they are the enemy-not you my brother and sister...they are goin to get louder, more terrible yet.

Get louder-and louder-forget about reconcilation-they don't want it.

What they want is to see the Democrats in a grave...YOU SEE how frightened they are..

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP BOOM!
OHHH GOWAA FLOWER-POWER!!!

I am forever blowing bubbles...pretty bubbles in the air...it floats so high, nearly touches the sky and like my dreams, they fall and die...

Fortunes always shining...


Lyle Clement Kang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/
From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  2 11:36:20 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar  2 22:08:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Viewpoints: Iran's nuclear crisis 
In-Reply-To: <20276452a958e571bffb55a1ddcada60@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503030608.j2368gK5005552@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 00:41:08 -0500
Subject: Viewpoints: Iran's nuclear crisis

BBC News
03/01/05

  Viewpoints: Iran's nuclear crisis
  Iran's nuclear ambitions cause alarm in many countries. The US
suspects Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb, has vowed to prevent this,
and wants Tehran to halt all nuclear activities.

  Britain, France and Germany are trying to persuade Iran to scrap its
uranium enrichment programme in exchange for technological and
financial aid.

  But Tehran insists that its intentions are strictly civilian.

  We asked eight commentators for their views on the crisis.

  What do you think about the issue? Please use the form at the bottom
of the page to tell us your views.



  Viewpoints by the following (as well as random comments by readers of
the BBC):

  Danielle Pletka, American Enterprise Institute

  Radzhab Safarov, Centre for Iranian Research, Moscow

  Dr Ali Ansari, University of St Andrews

  Dr Ephraim Kam, Jaffe Centre for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv


Professor Nasser Hadian, University of Tehran

  Francois Heisbourg, Fondation Pour la Recherche Strategique

  Sanam Vakil, Council on Foreign Relations, Washington

  Dr Mehrdad Khonsari, Centre for Arab and Iranian studies

can be read here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4290161.stm


------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
  MY COMMENT:

  It is naive for anyone to believe that the Iranian regime needs
nuclear power for economic reasons. They could not care less for smog,
lack of electical power, water, etc. They have promoted terror within
and outside their borders and are despised by the majority of Iranians
and a menace to the outside world.The nuclear deterrent they are
feverishly working to aquire is their one and only trump card left for
their own survival; it is the only ace left in a deck of cards which is
fully stacked against them. The EU and others should not doubt that
once the mullahs have the nuclear bomb, they will use it to blackmail
and terrorize others into submission - a nightmare scenario!


------ End of Forwarded Message

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Thu Mar  3 00:18:55 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Thu Mar  3 00:17:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re:  Rumsfeld Sued Over Prisoner Abuse
Message-ID: <000b01c51fc9$a5856ec0$1325b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Rumsfeld Sued Over Prisoner Abuse


=======
michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030105A.shtml
======



That was an interesting article.

An article was here last month or something that said a similar lawsuit
against him in Germany was thrown out of the high court or something because
"that's an American legal issue".

The results of this lawsuit should be interesting, and maybe even historical
(or not), however, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that someday someone
will sue and win to see the minutes of the Energy meeting Cheney still won't
let us look at.

Well, it would be nice to see all of them sued and convicted of all their
crimes, wouldn't it...

Lol...

Nevermind, just wishful thinking again of regimelessness.

"Tyrants Behind Bars" - available at all bookstores now.

It sometimes seems that someone took the worst most hardened political and
other criminals from a Federal  Prison, and said "Here, here are all the
resources of the greatest nation on the Earth at your command", and they
were also able to be so sneaky as to even completely dupe the Republican
Party itself.

And they now control all of it, and we pay them to do it, and they simply
put just do not appear to have our best interests at heart whatsoever.

And the propaganda flows.

And Rumsfeld is just another cog in the machine.

A dangerous one, by all means, but just one of so many.

And *that*...  is where I ran out of words again.

Watching the merry-go-round of madness, unable to reach the wiring.

Witnessing the passing of "Rehearsal" from generation to generation.

Wondering what happened to The Show.

A lawsuit is at least a beginning.

Larger miracles have come from smaller things.

No more fingers left to cross, no more cheeks left to turn.

I hear a very simple sound, with my ear down to the ground...

We want the (our) world (back), and we want it....

now





Cheeseburger

- "Uh, yes, well, Mr. Cheeseburger, if you would like your world back, and
now, that will cost you a tidy sum to either buy it back, what's left of it,
piece by piece, or pay for litigation to retrieve it's ownership back into
your possession, the former being of course more expedient if not less
expensive..."   ...  "Mr.  Cheeseburger...?"  "Yes...?"  "Your response...?"
"Don't get your knickers into a panic, I'm thinking..."  "Oh...  ok..."
"Ok...."

.

From Lyle_Kang at Silomanagement.com  Wed Mar  2 21:18:45 2005
From: Lyle_Kang at Silomanagement.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Thu Mar  3 04:20:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you feel
	anger...or are you always elated or...
Message-ID: <33030833.1109826654130.JavaMail.root@bla34.blogger.com>

Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog: 

Help!@
They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-

Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
Link: http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html

--
Powered by Blogger
http://www.blogger.com/

From Lyle_Kang at Silomanagement.com  Wed Mar  2 21:23:00 2005
From: Lyle_Kang at Silomanagement.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Thu Mar  3 04:20:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you feel
	anger...or are you always elated or...
Message-ID: <22584431.1109827380904.JavaMail.root@bla34.blogger.com>

Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog: 

Hold on...they don't need you...get louder and louder.

This is it FOLKS!!!

Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
Link: http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html

--
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http://www.blogger.com/

From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Wed Mar  2 19:14:40 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Thu Mar  3 04:20:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mourning the Bowery
Message-ID: <20050303031440.5864.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar  3 04:21:42 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Thu Mar  3 04:22:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
	feelanger...or are you always elated or...
References: <33030833.1109826654130.JavaMail.root@bla34.blogger.com>
Message-ID: <008001c51feb$8ec99b80$6e436c42@hotprojects>

im both elated and happy and honery and angry
where does that leave me?
im basically elated and angry all the time
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle K'ang" <Lyle_Kang@Silomanagement.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 AM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
feelanger...or are you always elated or...


> Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog:
>
> Help!@
> They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-
>
> Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
> Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
> Link:
http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html
>
> --
> Powered by Blogger
> http://www.blogger.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  2 12:52:00 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Thu Mar  3 09:48:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Public Letter for the attention of 109th US Congress
In-Reply-To: <63927c687d6f950504d44a96e67b31ca@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503031748.j23Hmuvu007838@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 00:47:20 -0500
Subject: Public Letter for the attention of 109th US Congress


>
> The "Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy
> in Iran" (SMCCDI)
> _____________________
>
>
> March 1, 2005
>
> - President of the U.S. Senate:
> Honorable Richard Cheney, the US Vice-President
> - Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives:
> Honorable J. Dennis Hastert
> - Chairman of the U.S. Senate on Foreign Relations:
> Honorable Richard G. Lugar
> - Chairman of the House Committee on International
> Relations: Honorable Henry J. Hyde
> - Honorable Senators Rick Santorum, John Cornyn, Sam
> Brownback & George Allen
>
> Via Fedex and Fax
>
> - Honorable members of the 109th U.S. Congress
>
> Via Fax or E.Mail
>
>
>    Dear Vice President Cheney, Dear Speaker of the House
> Hastert, Dear Chairmen of the Foreign Relations Committees,
> Dear members of the 109th  Congress,
>
>    In regards to the people of Iran's legitimate
> aspirations for freedom, wishing the following be
> considered by the members for sponsorship to be read aloud
> for the record, and entered as Congressional testimony:
>
>    As prescribed by the U.S. Constitution, President George
> W. Bush has, on several occasions definitively outlined
> American policy toward the Islamic Republic regime. These
> policies of freedom's promise outlined by your respected
> President clearly clarify the outstanding issues of the
> "Argument of the age" as defined. To the Iranian people he
> said, "As you stand for your own liberty, America stands
> with you."
>
>    On behalf of the "Student Movement Coordination
> Committee for Democracy in Iran" (SMCCDI), and the good
> people of our nation who have striven so long for freedom,
> we wish to extend our most sincere and humble thanks and
> gratitude for these words and the support of U.S. Congress
> in our long road to liberty.
>    Know this, that as America stands with the people of
> Iran, we stand with America in your fight against terrorism
> and tyranny!
>
>    For in this struggle we are engaged in, the leaders of
> the disreputable and wholly unpopular Islamic Republic
> regime are the terrorists in our people's midst, sponsoring
> it abroad, conducting it at home, and staining the honor of
> our nation with the blood of our citizens, as well as, the
> blood of the innocent throughout the entire world.
>    Indeed, this theocratic entity is engaged in terror,
> torture and atrocity on a daily basis, and this
> illegitimate regime dares to call itself Democratic, an
> advocate of human rights, and protector of the oppressed
> throughout the region. A cruel joke added onto the injury
> to our nation's pride and heritage.
>
>    The horror of this evil regime's hypocrisy, and
> methodical atrocities can only be likened to a daily
> Auschwitz for the stain it brings on the honor of those who
> appease and support and lengthen the life-span of this
> barbarian and tyrannical regime through silence, economic
> incentive, nuclear fuel negotiations, "engagement" and
> illusion, blind or not as they may be of what is taking
> place in our country. Nor can the international community,
> or any member of any government that holds in their heart
> the values of freedom continue to turn their back on the
> Iranian people's legitimate aspirations to formulate a new
> secular political structure, and call themselves human.
>
>   Iran is not Iraq, nor Afghanistan nor China. While the
> overwhelming majority of Iranians, most of them young and
> educated with thirst of modernity and progress, have passed
> the stage of accepting any type of religion mixing with the
> affairs of state. They have also become very lucid and are
> open critics of any "Chinafication" of Iran where the
> governmental ideology will rule unchanged while its foreign
> policy and economy will be adapting to foreign governments
> requests.  The main difference between China and Iran is
> that Marxism was an economical ideology and can be adapted
> or end when the regime needs but the Islamist ideology by
> its essence is supposedly emanating from God and is by
> nature restrictive and against individuals rightful
> aspirations to freedom by trying to anchor them in precepts
> inherited from 14 centuries ago.
>
>
>     Respected Senators and Representatives of the great
> American Nation,
>
>    The Islamic Republic regime cannot be reformed in whole
> or in part by any referendum while the regime sits in power
> able to manipulate the outcome, nor can the regime be
> caused to abandon its blind nuclear ambition through the
> "carrot" of WTO ascension and other European "economic
> incentives".
>
>    This honorable body of the elected is not blinded by
> illusion of propaganda the Islamic Republic regime has
> tried to create, and we wish to illustrate the alarming
> results of eight years of demagogy and sham "reforms from
> within", and to caution the U.S. Congress regarding any
> proposed Congressional testimony from former regime
> theoreticians or members of regime promoted religious
> student bodies. Indeed these 'former' supporters, involved
> in selling the sham reforms scenario and buying time for
> the shaky theocracy, have only recently 'joined' the
> opposition and they do not represent the majority of the
> Iranian people who wish for a totally new form of
> secular-democratic and progressist political structure
> without the backwarded mullahs and their technocrats
> involved in any way.
>
>    The only way our people can regain our honor and the
> world its trust for a WMD-free Iran that seeks to provide a
> safer future for the world is by providing us, the people
> of Iran, the support for our legitimate aspirations of
> liberty and the tools necessary to take back the land that
> Cyrus the Great brought Democracy to over 2500 years ago.
>   Honor demands that we do this of our own accord, and with
> the proper tools provided by this elected body of free men
> and women which is the U.S. Congress, as well as the
> President's noble foreign policy, and with the tools
> provided by the international community through the
> auspices of the UN, we will ultimately succeed.
>    Primary among those tools we seek is the rule of
> international law, as provided by the resolutions on human
> rights, state sponsors of terrorism and terrorist financing
> already in place within the UN in various resolutions, and
> mandated by the Security Council.
>
>    The prayers of suggestion included in SMCCDI's letter to
> the honorable George W. Bush (Jan. 27, 2005:
> http://www.daneshjoo.org/article/publish/article_3270.shtml)
> contains the full list of international tools the Iranian
> people need to solve the problem that plagues all of us.
> None of which include military intervention, or arms sales
> to any faction of the opposition movement within or outside
> Iran.
>
>    We are not blinded by the difficulties involved with
> civil disobedience in stopping the functioning of the
> Islamic Republic, but those here who would have doubt of
> the current leadership's ability or the people's will must
> remember your own history of civil disobedience that
> changed the fabric of your nation, protecting the rights of
> all it's citizens.
>    We remember Gandhi's march, the Gdansk shipyards, the
> Velvet revolution, the Rose revolution, and all the
> non-violent change that has been brought about through
> these non-violent methods throughout history. These leaders
> of civil disobedience were mostly unknown in their
> beginnings, just as the publicly unknowns of many uprisings
> led in anonymity the localized events in these national
> revolutions that have changed the world for the better. So
> it is among all grass roots movements.
>
>    We ask that this letter to U.S. Congress, as well as the
> letter to President Bush be considered in equal measure to
> provide proper perspective to you on the issues, for it is
> our firm belief that only after the Islamic regime is
> removed by the Iranian people can a genuine UN monitored
> referendum, and new political structure be properly debated
> and chosen by the people.
>
>
>    Honorable members of the 109th U.S. Congress,
>
>    Many resolutions have come before you on matters of
> human rights, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and weapons
> development over the years. In particular, the "Iran
> Democracy Act", that the honorable Senator Sam Brownback
> introduced On May 19, 2003., supporting the right of the
> Iranian people to choose their own government. The
> legislation to be considered,
> contained within the "Iran Freedom and Support Act",
> introduced by the honorable Senator Rick Santorum and
> endorsed by Senator John Cornyn and some of your fellow
> colleagues, follows on these measures.
>
>    The honorable George W. Bush, your president, has said
> many times that "We owe it to our children and our
> children's children to free the world from weapons of mass
> destruction in the hands of those who hate freedom." No one
> knows the truth of these words more than the people of our
> nation who have the most to lose should this become
> manifest in the hands of the mullahs, and their terrorist
> allies.
>
>    On behalf of the "Student Movement Coordination
> Committee for Democracy in Iran" (SMCCDI), and the good
> people of our nation who have striven so long for freedom,
> we call upon all members of this great elected body of
> Democracy, to approve the "Iran Freedom and Support Act" in
> a vote of unanimous consent. We hope that this bill will be
> endorsed and/or co-sponsored by a overwhelming majority,
> with both Democrat and Republican adding their names in
> bi-partisan support for our aspirations of liberty.
>    Such supportive action will provide the tools we need to
> free not only our children and grandchildren, but the
> world's as well, from the dangers posed to all by the
> Islamic Republic regime.
>
>    Many among you view the word's "regime change" in
> different ways, and in different manifestations. The
> proposals outlined in SMCCDI's letter to president Bush may
> not require this Congress to debate this phrase that causes
> so much controversy, primarily as we have proposed "regime
> change" the Iranian way, as they are essentially Iranian
> solutions by, for and of, the Iranian people. But these
> solutions may serve as well to create a better world for
> the sake of all people in their success, and we believe
> they merit America's strong and solid support.
>    We believe they will work to provide a better home for
> all our children and grandchildren to live in, and for the
> entire region. It has already begun in Iran, now the
> solution needs the world's support and resolve as well. The
> "Iran Freedom and Support Act" is part and parcel to this.
>
>      With this elected body's firm unanimous voice, and the
> resolve of the U.S. President and his Secretary of State;
> Supporting the measures proposed to be tabled and ratified
> in the UN as outlined in SMCCDI's proposals, and the
> formation of a roundtable of opposition groups and
> international representatives; The coordination of economic
> and military sanction, freezing of assets, closing of
> embassies, banishment from the UN, and other non-violent
> measures as may be found worthy under international law
> will be overwhelming to the Islamic republic regime, and
> it's demise will happen in a fairly short time.
>
>     The Mullahs are on life support, and the machine that
> keeps them alive is their vast financial holdings, the
> Revolutionary Guard and the absence of a unified
> international stand against this evil regime, politically
> and economically.
>    Many rank and file military will join the people of
> Iran, having no loyalty but their families and to a
> paycheck which is never on time. As the infrastructure of
> the economy sit idle, the regime will have to take from
> what's left of the guard to run it, and thereby leaving the
> streets to the people. We believe we can remove the regime
> without undo bloodshed, for we wish not for the future to
> be stained with the blood of civil war.
>     In the end, the only stain we wish to have upon us, is
> a purple one on everyone's index finger held up in a "V".
>
>     On this path of liberty America has been given the task
> to promote, may all the members of U.S. Congress, as well
> as, all free nations support each other in common cause,
> let not your doubts or differences blind you to the correct
> path when the fork in the road is before you, seek not to
> point fingers at one another in confusion and doubt as to
> which road to take. Heed not the confusion sown by those
> who would place that shadow of doubt at the feet of
> freedom.
>     In this great world endeavor of freedom the U.S.
> President has put forth, let all people of the world
> remember why our feet point forward (to walk upright) and
> why our eyes are at the front of our heads (to not look
> backwards while walking).
>     For even as the shadows of doubt follows in the bright
> light of the truth, do not seek to look at the shadow that
> is cast behind lest it cause a people to stumble and
> falter.
>     When the shadow of doubt lies in the path ahead, let
> sturdy feet trample it with reason. And when the shadow of
> doubt is cast beside the path, do not turn aside to speak
> to it, lest it deceive and delay the reaching of the
> "undiscovered country".
>
>     On behalf of the "Student Movement Coordination
> Committee for Democracy in Iran" (SMCCDI), and the good
> people of our nation who have striven so long for freedom,
> we ask simply that every one of you in the 109th U.S.
> Congress stand united with us now, not as Democrat or
> Republican, nor even as Americans per se, but simply as
> Humans. For that, and the hope of liberty is what binds all
> people together in unity.
>
>     With gratitude
>
>     Aryo B. Pirouznia (Movement's Coordinator)
>
>
>
>
>                            SMCCDI
>        5015 Addison Circle #244 Addison, TX 75001 (USA)
>         Tel: +1 (972) 504-6864; Fax: +1 (972) 491-9866;
>                  E.Mail: smccdi@daneshjoo.org
>           www.daneshjoo.org ; www.iranstudents.org
>
> http://www.daneshjoo.org/article/publish/article_3287.shtml
>
> #############################################################


------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar  3 10:35:01 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 10:36:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Alternet: Between Black and Right
Message-ID: <200503031835.j23IZ1Cf008163@alternet.org>


This story has been forwarded to you from
http://www.alternet.org by michael@intrafi.com



-------------------------------------
Between Black and Right
http://www.alternet.org/story/21349

My father's story represents the long tradition of black conservatism in this country. And if we are to truly understand the increasing number of African Americans joining their ranks, we will have to go back a lot further than this election.
 
-------------------------------------

From arianna at ariannaonline.com  Wed Mar  2 11:54:51 2005
From: arianna at ariannaonline.com (Arianna Huffington)
Date: Thu Mar  3 10:39:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Tale of Two Leadership Styles  3-2-05
Message-ID: <200503031839.j23IdHMx007999@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

A TALE OF TWO LEADERSHIP STYLES

By Arianna Huffington

After seeing the young Bruce Springsteen in concert, rock critic Jon Landau famously wrote: "I have seen the future of rock and roll, and its name is Bruce Springsteen."

Well, I've just had a Springsteen moment. After spending some time last week with Andy Stern, the groundbreaking president of the Service Employees International Union, I'm ready to declare: I have seen the future of progressive leadership in America, and its name is Andy Stern.

You'll forgive me if I temporarily trade my critic's platform for a cheerleader's megaphone, but I've spent the better part of my adult life obsessing over the dwarfish nature of modern political leadership. (I even wrote an entire book about it in my mid-20s, and watched while it was rejected by 36 publishers before it finally saw the light of day.) So when I see the real deal, I react like a starving woman being escorted to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Now, I suspected that Stern was the real deal even before I met him, having followed his fight to pull the American labor movement out of its decades-long death spiral. But what indisputably come across in person are his fire and passion for the 1.8 million janitors, nurses, social workers, security guards and home health-care aides he represents--and, by extension, for all working Americans.

When he talks about their lives and their struggle to provide for their families, he so clearly connects with their plight that he invests it with an urgency sorely lacking in our contemporary political discourse. What Stern wants to do is nothing less than create a vibrant 21st-century labor movement, which he considers "America's best anti-poverty program"; turn the tide against the Wal-Martization of our economy; and, while he's at it, help save the Democratic Party.

So how is he doing it? For starters, with a leadership style that is bold, innovative and fearless--and that has recently landed him on the covers of both Business Week and the New York Times Magazine. It was in full display this week as leaders of the AFL-CIO met in Las Vegas to debate labor's future. Like all transformational leaders, Stern knows that the real battle begins not with your enemies but with those on your side of the fence. To this end, Stern has issued an ultimatum to AFL-CIO president John Sweeney: Implement a slate of specific reforms that, in Stern's words, would "build something stronger that really changes workers' lives" or he and his members will leave and continue the process they started on their own. 

Bold actions like this have not exactly endeared Stern to his fellow union leaders--a fact that doesn't seem to trouble him a bit. As my compatriot Pericles used to say, "Courage is the knowledge of what is not to be feared." Stern's courage has been very hard-earned, the result of the tragic loss of his 14-year-old daughter, Cassie, who died in his arms just over two years ago, following what was supposed to be a routine operation. The experience devastated him--but also galvanized his resolve. "Things you think you are scared of become insignificant," he told me. "It suddenly hits you: Why am I so afraid to say what I really think?"

And so that's exactly what he does, shaking things up with his reform-or-else threat to break up the AFL-CIO; with a campaign to bring Wal-Mart to its knees; and with his pledge to "pay back" politicians, "no matter who they are or what party they come from . who looked us in the eye and said they were for us--but then went out and betrayed us."

But Stern is far more than just a fearless fighter; he is also a brilliant and innovative thinker and strategist. "To lead is to choose," he says, "and it is unacceptable in these extraordinary times to ignore the choices facing us. I want the SEIU to be the leading political force in our country that moves our leaders to face the difficult choices."

Compare that with the pale rhetoric and feeble resistance being offered by Democratic leaders in Washington these days. Sure, they've landed some heavy blows playing defense on the president's proposal to overhaul Social Security. But is this the only issue they are able to wrap their minds around? Are they just too exhausted to use their political muscle and imagination for anything else--including what should be the great political debate of our time, Iraq and the war on terror? 

The latest Zogby poll shows that even in the aftermath of the post-Iraq election euphoria, just 39 percent of Americans think the war has been worth the lives lost fighting it. And Monday's 120-plus death toll (the bloodiest single attack since the war began) will only drive that number lower. But all we're hearing from Democratic leaders on Iraq are sentiments like those expressed by Hillary Clinton, who returned from her most recent trip sounding like, well, President Bush, explaining that suicide bombers are "an indication" of the "failure" of the insurgency, and that much of Iraq is "functioning quite well." She must have been visiting downtown Potemkin Village, where they take all U.S. dignitaries. Or maybe the Halliburton courtesy tent in the Green Zone. 

President Bush keeps giving Democrats opening after opening on national security--including porous ports, insufficiently protected nuclear and chemical plants, and diminished numbers of first responders--yet all they can do is brood over whether they should follow Hillary's Zell Miller impersonation and embrace their inner red stater. 

Figuring out how to talk about God and morality is all well and good, but the Democrats will never return to power until they can figure out how to take the national security cudgel out of the GOP's hands--while developing an economic message that, in Stern's words, "appeals to workers, not to entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and intellectuals." (But, as Stern pointed out to me, when John Kerry was accepting his party's nomination, sitting in the seat of honor in his box, right next to Teresa, was Bob Rubin, not anyone representing America's working class.)

Which is why, along with working to remake the future of American labor, Stern is working hard and spending lavishly to help remake the Democratic Party. SEIU donated an astounding $65 million in 2004 to organizations such as America Coming Together, Mi Familia Vota, Voting Is Power and the New Democratic Network. That kind of money should get you more than a seat at the table; you should be picking the freakin' menu. 

Unions and Democrats go back a long way, but Stern feels that many of the problems dogging the labor movement are also dogging the Party: complacency, timidity, an inability to adapt to a changing world. So while continuing his fight for the soul of the labor movement, Stern is also working to push for a new, more progressive, more worker-oriented economic agenda. "The Democratic message is not strong enough," he says. "If there's going to be a viable progressive movement, its main goal has to be to change the lives of people who go to work every day. Democrats need to ask, 'Are we addressing their concerns? Do they have health care? Do they have a secure retirement?  Can their kids go to college?' This is the core test for America. And right now, we're failing the test."

"My responsibility," Stern told me, "is to be a voice for 1.8 million people who don't have a voice on their own, and to help them improve their lives. When leaders start thinking it's about their own lives, that's when they lose their purpose."

Andy Stern was well on the way to being Andy Stern even before his daughter's tragic death. But it took that cruel experience to convince him that it was time to put aside his fear, take the leap of leadership--and let the chips fall where they may. What is it going to take for Democrats to do the same?

? 2005 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

To prevent mailbox filters from deleting mailings from Arianna Huffington, add arianna@ariannaonline.com to your address book.

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed Mar  2 22:30:21 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu Mar  3 10:40:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 18 Amazing Facts About Voting in the USA
Message-ID: <200503031840.j23IeXdC008044@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

18 Amazing Facts About Voting in the USA

Did you know....?

1. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two 
companies: Diebold and ES&S.
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.
html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold
http://www.essvote.com/HTML/about/about.html

2. There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or 
oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry.
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0916-04.htm
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.
html

3. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are 
brothers.
>http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/private_company.html
http: 
/www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html

4. The chairman and CEO of Diebold is a major Bush 
campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was 
"committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the 
president next year."
>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.s
html
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1647886

5. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of 
ES&S. He became Senator in a surprise upset, with votes 
counted by ES&S machines.
http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2004/03/03_200
.html
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/031004Fitrakis/031004fitrakis.
html

6. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, long-connected with the 
Bush family, was recently caught lying about his ownership of 
ES&S by the Senate Ethics Committee.
http://www.blackboxvoting.com/modules.php?name=News&file=arti
http://www.hillnews.com/news/012903/hagel.aspx
http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/000896.php

7. Senator Chuck Hagel was on a short list of George W. 
Bush's vice-presidential candidates.
http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_28/b3689130.htm
http://theindependent.com/stories/052700/new_hagel27.html

8. Kenneth Blackwell co-chaired George Bush's Ohio election 
campaign. As Ohio secretary of state, he left no stone unturned 
to surpress the democratic vote.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/113004Y.shtml#1
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/894
http://67.15.90.110/article.pl?sid=04/10/29/1414219

9. Diebold's new touch screen voting machines have no paper 
trail of any votes. In other words, there is no way to verify that 
the data coming out of the machine is the same as what was 
legitimately put in by voters.
http://www.c mmondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm
http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/041020evotestates/pfindex.html

10. Diebold also makes ATMs, checkout scanners, and ticket 
machines, all of which log each transaction and can generate a 
paper trail.
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm
http://www.diebold.com/solutions/default.htm

11. Exit polls are usually excellent predictors of election 
results. Reputable analyses could not find and explanation of 
the discrepancy between exit polls and results of the 2004 
presidential election.
http://ucdata.berkeley.edu/
http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/04/11/Unexplained_exit_poll_discre
p_v00l.pdf
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/international/europe/23ukraine.
html?ex=1102245800&ei=1&en=3a3c24b7e64fe49

12. A Diebold subsidiary employed 5 convicted felons as 
senior managers and developers. These people helped write 
the central compiler computer code that counted 50% of the 
votes in 30 states. 
http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,61640,00.html
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/301469.shtml

13. Jeff Dean, senior programmer on Diebold's central 
compiler code, was convicted of 23 counts of felony theft in 
the first degree.
http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf

14. Jeff Dean was served jail time for planting back doors in 
his client's accounting software and using a "high degree of 
sophistication" to evade detection over a period of 2 years.
http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf

15. None of the international election observers were allowed 
in the polls in Ohio.
http://www.globalexchange.org/update/press/2638.html
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/26/loc_elexoh.html

16. California banned the use of Diebold machines because 
the security was so bad. Despite Diebold's claims that the 
audit logs could not be hacked, a chimpanzee was able to do 
it! 
(See the movie here with the 
chimp<http://blackboxvoting.org/baxter/baxterVPR.mov>.)
http://wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,63298,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4874190

17. All -- not some -- but all the voting machine errors detected 
and reported in Florida went in favor of Bush or Republican 
candidates.
http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65757,00.html
http://www.yuricareport.com/ElectionAftermath04/ThreeResearchSt
udiesBushIsOut.htm
http://www.rise4news.net/extravotes.html
http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&f
ile=article&sid=950
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00227.htm

18. Serious voting anomalies in Florida -- again always 
favoring Bush -- have been mathematically demonstrated and 
experts are recommending further investigation.
http://www.yuricareport.com/ElectionAftermath 
4/ThreeResearchStudiesBushIsOut.htm
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/polic
y/story/0,10801,97614,00.html
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/tens_of_thousands.html
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1106-30.htm
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/110904.htmlhttp://uscountvot
es.org/


Based on a list compiled by Angry Girl 
http://nightweed.com/usavotefacts.html
______________________________________________
Were American's votes were deliberately miscounted?

If this was done, it means, quite literally, that we are no longer 
living in a democracy.

When I read the list a few days ago, some of the allegations just 
seemed too preposterous to believe. Like:

"Jeff Dean, senior programmer on Diebold's central compiler 
code...served jail time for planting back doors in his client's 
accounting software and using a 'high degree of 
sophistication' to evade detection over a period of 2 years."

I tracked down the author of the list, who graciously responded with 
a list of references for each allegation. I checked out this Jeff Dean 
thing in particular. It didn't take long to get to this:

According to the findings of fact in case no. 89-1-04034-1 
(Washington State):
"...Defendant's thefts occurred over a 2 1/2 year period of time, 
there were multiple incidents, more than the standard range can 
account for, the actual monetary loss was substantially greater than 
typical for the offense, the crimes and their cover-up involved a high 
degree of sophistication and planning in the use and alteration of 
records in the computerized accounting system that defendant 
maintained for the victim, and the defendant used his position of 
trust and fiduciary responsibility as a computer systems and 
accounting consultant for the victim to facilitate the commission of 
the offenses."

Another one of the references led to a detailed account of the 
double database technique pioneered by Mr. Dean to enable 
electronically tabulated votestogive a false total while still 
presenting accurate details in case of spot audits.

In combination with the constellation of undisputed circumstantial 
evidence and open conflicts of interest, these last details are just 
too damning to ignore.

A cloud over the validity of the American electoral process is not 
acceptable.

Please join me in calling for:

1) a full investigation of election irregularities
2) measures to ensure that ballots cannot easily be miscounted, 
and can be recounted



Please -

1) forward this list to everyone you know
2) use it as grist for letters to the editor (in your own words) and 
requests to newspapers, radio and tv for election fraud 
investigation... 
http://www.democraticunderground.com/cu/cu.php?az=blaster
3) write your congressional representatives calling for an 
investigation http://www.house.gov/writerep/


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar  3 10:40:49 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 10:41:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Egyptian Feminist Nawal El Saadawi on Bush's
	'Democratization' of Middle East: "We Were Fighting For
	Years...They Deprive Us of Our Struggle"
Message-ID: <20050303184049.30239.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

michael  ( michael@intrafi.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org




+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Egyptian Feminist Nawal El Saadawi on Bush's 'Democratization' of Middle East: "We Were Fighting For Years...They Deprive Us of Our Struggle"
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/03/1524226
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


Amid growing street protests, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has called on parliament to change the constitution to allow opposition candidates to run for president. We speak with famed Egyptian feminist, psychiatrist and author, Nawal El Saadawi. She has been jailed, threatened with death and now plans to run for president. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/03/1524226

From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar  3 11:32:13 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 11:33:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
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Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World - Observer - Europe 
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Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World - Observer - Europe 
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Date: Thu Mar  3 11:50:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Analysis - Film and TV may
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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 11:50:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Trade not aid
	will meet Africa's challenges 
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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 11:53:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / International economy - Wolfowitz World
	Bank shortlisting raises questions
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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 11:53:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / Middle East & Africa - Bush team to
	consider policy shift on Iran
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar  3 12:07:55 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 12:09:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: New Poll Finds Bush Priorities Are Out of
	Step With Americans
Message-ID: <20050303200805.324BA3880A0@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

WASHINGTON | March 3, 2005

New Poll Finds Bush Priorities Are Out of Step With Americans
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JANET ELDER

Americans are increasingly resistant to the president's plan to revamp Social Security, according to a Times/CBS News poll.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/03/politics/03poll.html?ex=1110517200&en=b928f14a8043d03b&ei=5070



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Date: Thu Mar  3 12:10:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Syria Under Pressure: Worse Trouble May Lie
	Ahead
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 3, 2005

News Analysis: Syria Under Pressure: Worse Trouble May Lie Ahead
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

Syria is facing the prospect of political and economic tumult as its hold over Lebanon grows weaker.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/03/international/middleeast/03syria.html?ex=1110517200&en=5f455ace34c53a4f&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 12:10:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Official Leaving Security Dept. Shifts to
	Advising Contractors
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WASHINGTON | March 3, 2005

Official Leaving Security Dept. Shifts to Advising Contractors
By ERIC LIPTON

Asa Hutchinson has joined a law firm based in Washington that represents major domestic security contractors and companies regulated by the department.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/03/politics/03home.html?ex=1110517200&en=882a065f3e653a10&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 12:12:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Gonzo Gone, Rather Going,
	Watergate Still Here
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ARTS | March 6, 2005

Frank Rich: Gonzo Gone, Rather Going, Watergate Still Here
By FRANK RICH

Today's White House press corps is less likely to be invaded by maverick talents like a drug-addled reporter than by a paid propagandist like Jeff Gannon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/arts/06rich.html?ex=1110517200&en=23f087f81826934a&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 12:13:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Looking the Other Way
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OPINION | March 3, 2005

Editorial: Looking the Other Way


The Bush administration's annual report on human rights violations looks away from American involvement in the mistreatment it decries.

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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 12:13:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bankrupt Bankruptcy Bill
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OPINION | March 3, 2005

Editorial: Bankrupt Bankruptcy Bill


Unamended, the bankruptcy legislation being debated by the Senate is a gift to the credit industry and deserves defeat.

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Date: Thu Mar  3 12:14:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Brave, Young and Muslim
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OPINION | March 3, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Brave, Young and Muslim
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Young Arab and Muslim reformers refuse to be cowed.

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Date: Thu Mar  3 12:14:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Frozen Mermaids, Scary Sirens
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OPINION | March 3, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Frozen Mermaids, Scary Sirens
By MAUREEN DOWD

Women have become so fixated on not withering, they've forgotten that there are infinite ways to be beautiful.

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Date: Thu Mar  3 12:17:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article for you from an Economist.com reader.
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- AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - 

Dear civic,

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A VICTORY BY DEFAULT?
Mar 3rd 2005  

The successful restructuring of Argentina's debts has set a painful new
benchmark for creditors 

IN 1902, after Venezuela defaulted on its sovereign debt, German,
British and Italian gunboats blockaded the country's ports until the
government paid up. In 1881, after the Ottoman empire failed to honour
its obligations, European powers simply seized Ottoman customs houses
and helped themselves to their due. The options available to more than
500,000 aggrieved creditors of the Republic of Argentina, which
defaulted on bonds worth $81 billion in December 2001, were more
limited. After much bluff and bluster, a large majority of them meekly
surrendered their claims before a deadline on February 25th, in
exchange for new bonds worth roughly 35 cents on the dollar.

The giant debt swap is epic in scale. It involves 152 varieties of
paper denominated in six currencies and governed by eight
jurisdictions. These bonds will now be exchangeable for three new
issues. More importantly, the swap carries important lessons for
emerging-market creditors and debtors alike. Bondholder groups think it
a travesty. But on March 1st, Nestor Kirchner, Argentina's president,
declared the restructuring a triumph, claiming "at least 70-75%" of
bondholders had accepted it. As THE ECONOMIST went to press, detailed
figures were still not available, though some reports suggested that
the level of acceptances was even higher than Mr Kirchner's claim.

Even in a default, there is money to be made. So-called "vulture" funds
pick over the non-performing bonds discarded by disheartened investors.
In the summer of 2002, a few months after Argentina stopped honouring
its debts, a brave buyer could have purchased a distressed bond in the
secondary market for 20 cents on the dollar or less. On February 25th,
he could have swapped it for crisp peso-denominated paper worth 35 to
37 cents: a tidy annualised return of 25% or more.

 Not every vulture will settle for such quick pickings. The more
patient among them will hold out for their full pound of flesh in the
courts. They take their inspiration from Elliott Associates, an
American hedge fund that spent $11.8m on distressed Peruvian debt and,
after four years in the courts, forced the government to settle in 2000
for almost $56m. According to Manmohan Singh, an economist at the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the annualised returns from
successful litigation can be more than 300%. Paradoxically, the higher
the acceptance rate for a debt deal, the better for the refusniks:
governments are more likely to settle with a small minority than with
an army of litigants. 

Elliott Associates did not seize Peruvian customs houses. Instead, it
threatened to dip into the payments Peru made to other creditors
through Euroclear, a settlements system based in Belgium. That legal
avenue has since been closed, but other strategies will be tested,
including a class-action lawsuit in New York. That said, litigants are
likely to be more of a nuisance than a real threat to Argentina.
"Vultures" is perhaps too grand a term for them. To a sovereign
borrower, they are no more than mosquitoes who, as Mr Singh suggests,
can draw enough blood to quadruple in size, but not enough to do real
damage. 

If litigation is more an irritant than a deterrent to sovereign
defaulters, why should they ever repay anything? Several hard-pressed
governments may be asking themselves the same question. "Restructuring
was formerly a taboo word, now it's a topic of open conversation," says
Walter Molano, of BCP Securities. The "haircut" inflicted on
bondholders--the proportion of debt that Mr Kirchner has successfully
written off--sets a new standard. In other restructurings, creditors
have had to accept either a cut in principal, a lengthening of maturity
or a reduction in interest payments. Argentina has achieved all three.

Could Argentina afford to pay more? It managed a government budget
surplus which, before interest payments, was around 4% of GDP last
year, and its foreign-exchange reserves increased to more than $19
billion. With this money it could have sweetened its offer, perhaps by
as much as 3 or 4 cents on the dollar, reckons Vladimir Werning of J.P.
Morgan. But the government would have been unwise, he concedes, to do
much more, committing itself to pay more in the future when it does not
know how much money it will have.

Even after the swap, Argentina's debt will be more than $120 billion
(see chart 1). Indeed, the 152 varieties of bonds eligible for the
exchange amounted to just 55% of its total debt last year. It owes
$13.8 billion to the IMF and another $15 billion to other multilateral
institutions, such as the World Bank. During its economic crisis the
federal government shouldered the debts of the provincial governments
and stuffed the country's banks and pension funds full of bonds, called
BODENs, which were then forcibly converted to pesos.

IN THE LONG RUN
At around 75% of GDP, Argentina's debt ratio remains higher than the
52% carried by its neighbour Brazil. But the interest burden on
Argentina's debts is now much lighter (a coupon of 2-5% in the first 10
years, compared with 10% in Brazil) and the maturities much longer than
the market would normally accept. No big Latin American government has
ever fully repaid a 30-year bond; Argentina has offered a 42-year bond.

 Standard & Poor's, a credit rating agency, has said it will upgrade
Argentina to B- after a successful debt swap, a rating shared by
Ecuador, Suriname and Lebanon. Tax revenues are quite buoyant at
present, but may sag when soya prices inevitably ebb and capacity
constraints bite. The budget surpluses that Argentina requires are not
too onerous at first, but sustaining them may be difficult. The country
needs fiscal stamina, not budgetary heroics, if its debt ratio is to
fall.

Argentina defaulted so heavily because it defaulted so late. Its
descent into default, devaluation and destitution is vividly recounted
in a new book by Paul Blustein (see article[1]). Far from being too
ready to flout its obligations, he concludes, Argentina was too
reluctant to do so. Domingo Cavallo, a messianic politician who
returned as finance minister in 2001, would not countenance default.
"Who could conceive such a destructive idea for a country, and be bold
enough to propose it?" he wrote in the Financial Times.

Mr Cavallo had made his name with his 1991 "convertibility" plan, which
killed Argentina's chronic hyperinflation. The plan removed all scope
for monetary mischief by pegging the peso to the dollar, and making the
currencies freely interchangeable. But Argentina's "monetary
self-denial", as Mr Blustein calls it, coexisted uneasily with its
financial self-indulgence. The Argentine government sold unprecedented
amounts of bonds to foreign investors, accounting at its peak for more
than a quarter of all emerging-market issuance. Its public debt
increased from 35% of GDP at the end of 1994 to 64% at the end of 2001,
nearly all of it denominated in dollars.

Russia's default in August 1998 deprived Argentina of such ready access
to foreign capital (see chart 2). Then Brazil's devaluation five months
later destroyed Argentina's competitiveness in foreign markets. The
country was stuck with twin deficits, a trade gap and a budget gap,
that foreigners were less and less willing to finance. To right itself,
the Argentine economy needed to regain competitiveness. Since the
exchange rate could not fall, prices and wages had to instead. As
recession took hold, peso prices edged downwards, tax revenues faltered
and Argentina's dollar debts grew harder to repay.

With a weak hand, Argentina refused to fold, but kept raising the
stakes. It took on a $15 billion loan from the IMF, known as the
BLINDAJE or "armour", at the start of 2001 and a second $8 billion
bail-out that summer. It completed its notorious "megaswap" of
near-dated securities for longer-dated, higher-yielding bonds in June
2001, buying itself a little time. 

Long before the event itself, it was clear that Argentina had to
default on someone. As the last year of dollar-peso convertibility wore
on, everyone jockeyed to make sure that someone would not be them.
Gerardo della Paolera, of the American University of Paris, and Alan
Taylor, of the University of California, have described the "fiscal war
of attrition" that ensued*[2]. Foreign investors moved their money out;
the unions took to the streets, to forestall a raid on their pensions
or a cut in their wages; the provincial governors kept up their
spending, going so far as to issue their own scrip to fund it;
eventually, depositors pulled their money out of the banks.

BANG, CRASH, WALLOP
In the end, Argentina defaulted on everyone. It stopped servicing its
bonds, domestic and international; it cut wages and raided pension
funds; it foisted its bad IOUs on to one side of the banks' balance
sheets, then made a grab for the deposits on the other side, putting a
freeze on withdrawals. It forcibly converted dollar deposits into pesos
at one exchange rate; dollar loans at another. For the banks, this
"asymmetric peso-ification" was every bit as painful as it sounds.

Must default be this messy? If the process were painless, governments
would resort to it more often. Creditors would then be less willing to
lend and bond finance would be more expensive. The sheer disorderliness
of a default ensures that governments do not resort to it lightly.

A period of exile from capital markets is only the most obvious
consequence of default. The legacy of financial disarray is more
insidious. "Default", write Carmen Reinhart, Kenneth Rogoff and Miguel
Savastano--three current or former IMF economists--"can become a way of
life."**[3] The more often default occurs, the less a defaulter has to
lose, hence the more likely it will default again.

As a consequence, serial defaulters struggle to "tolerate" debt levels
that other economies manage quite comfortably. Their credit rating
begins to suffer even at relatively low levels of debt. The authors
estimate Argentina's safe threshold of external debt at just 15% of
GDP. Although a country's financial tendons may heal suspiciously
quickly, they are permanently weakened each time they snap.

TO DEFAULT IS NATURAL
Andrew Haldane, of the Bank of England, and Mark Kruger, of the Bank of
Canada, argue that "default is a natural feature of the market
mechanism"&#8224;[4]. Default and debt go together like risk and
return. Argentine bonds offered higher yields than American Treasuries
precisely because their promise to repay was not as secure. True, a
more orderly system of payments standstills and debt workouts might
marginally raise the incidence of default. But it would also raise the
recovery rate for creditors. The two effects might cancel each other
out. Default should be avoided at some cost, but not, they write, "at
all costs". 

Reluctant to default, Argentina has been painfully slow to restructure
its debts. Its standoff with creditors has been confrontational, drawn
out and poisonous. When national governments go bust, there is no
impartial bankruptcy court that can resolve their differences with
creditors. But in previous defaults, the IMF has served as a close
surrogate, note Nouriel Roubini and Brad Setser, authors of an
admirably thorough book on debt restructuring&#8224;&#8224;[5]. In
return for a loan, the Fund asks for a given amount of fiscal effort
from its ward, which indirectly determines how much money the debtor
can set aside for its creditors. The Fund, as its governors put it in
an April 2000 communique, "should not micromanage the details" of a
deal. But, some say, it should, nonetheless, offer its best guess of
the country's ability to pay.

This time the Fund kept its guesses to itself. It did not set any
fiscal targets for Argentina beyond 2004 and ventured no opinion on
Argentina's capacity to repay its debts. Messrs Roubini and Setser
accuse the Fund and its major shareholders in the capitals of the rich
world of coming close to abdicating their traditional roles. 

If the Fund has remained remarkably hands-off, it is perhaps because
its hands are not entirely clean. After twice lending money to
Argentina in 2001, the IMF is now itself one of the country's biggest
creditors, anxious to be repaid. In September 2003, it agreed to a new
programme, which, in effect, rolls over the billions Argentina still
owes as they come due. This should have helped it chivvy Argentina
towards a deal. But Mr Kirchner was in no mood to be chivvied. First,
he threatened to default on the Fund. Then last summer, he suspended
the September 2003 agreement, deciding that the IMF's money was not
worth the accompanying hen-pecking. 

In such situations, the Fund is only as strong as its major
shareholders want it to be. Having sided against the Fund in its
quarrels with Mr Kirchner in 2003, the American government's stance
will again be crucial in the months ahead. The IMF must decide whether
to give its blessing to the debt exchange, and what to demand of
Argentina in return for rolling over its debts, $5.5 billion of which
falls due this year. To call the Fund a pawn of the American Treasury
is "an exaggeration," says Mr Blustein, "but not an inordinate one."

How quickly will investors shrug off this encounter with
emerging-market risk? Many already have. Gross bond sales are strong,
and the premium over American Treasuries of J.P. Morgan's index of
emerging-market bonds (the EMBI Global) is just 3.35%--around a
ten-year low.

Indeed, capital markets appear to have a remarkably short memory.
Argentina has defaulted on its foreign debts five times in the past 175
years; Brazil seven times; and Venezuela nine times. A debtor can
default no more than once, unless a creditor is willing to forgive and
forget. Amnesia sometimes sets in remarkably quickly. The bad loans
that Argentina inherited from the debt crisis of the 1980s were written
down in 1992. Just three years later, Argentina was carrying more
foreign debt, both in absolute terms and relative to the size of its
GDP, than it had in 1991.

J.P. Morgan has announced that Argentina's weight in the EMBI Global
will rise from 1.9% to about 2.7% once the latest debt swap is declared
a success. The index weights countries according to how much debt they
have issued. Thus any fund manager tracking the index must, in effect,
lend more to the countries borrowing the most. In the heady days before
its default, when Argentina accounted for 23.3% of the index on
average, the perversity of this incentive was manifest. Purists will
protest that bond prices, like all prices, are set at the margin. As
long as the marginal investor is willing to bet against the index,
prices will not be distorted. But such brave investors may be in short
supply.

AGAINST THE GRAIN
Mohamed El-Erian, an emerging-market specialist at PIMCO, an American
fund manager, is one. He quietly eased his firm's money out of
Argentina a year before the default. Cleaving tight to the index, he
says, is about "personal risk management", not asset risk management.
In other words, a fund manager who does badly when the index falters is
unlikely to lose his job. Departing from the index and then
underperforming is a sure way to get fired. This is why so few other
managers walked away from Argentina earlier.

With real interest rates still so meagre in mature markets, investors
are chasing yield even into territories they formerly scorned. But
emerging markets remain chronically vulnerable to sudden drop-offs in
capital flows. Last spring, for example, when the markets realised
American interest rates were about to turn, a yearlong rally in
emerging-market bonds was undone in a matter of weeks. 

In theory, capital should flow from where it is abundant to where it is
scarce. But Argentina's downfall demonstrates the dangers of relying
too much on this dynamic. In the 1990s, Argentina tried to borrow its
way back to the BELLE ePOQUE it enjoyed prior to 1914, when decades of
foreign investment, anchored by a rigid monetary standard, built the
railways and boulevards that still distinguish the country from its
neighbours in the minds of its citizens. The embrace of the
international bond markets in the 1990s lulled Argentina into thinking
it had left the periphery of global capitalism and joined its centre.

Other developing countries appear under no such illusions. For all the
fear that Argentina's default may have set a precedent, many of its
peers seem to have drawn the opposite lesson from this sorry saga. In
recent years emerging-market countries as a whole have been net
exporters of capital. They have offset generous private inflows with
the prudent accumulation of foreign reserves. With these war chests at
their disposal, countries can insure themselves against the sudden
reversals of market sentiment to which they are still vulnerable.
Emerging markets may enjoy the benefit of recurrent exuberance; they
never get the benefit of the doubt.

*Gaucho banking redux[6]. NBER working paper 9457

**Debt intolerance[7]. NBER working paper 9908

&#8224;Bank of Canada Review[8], Winter 2001-2002

&#8224;&#8224;Bailouts or Bail-ins?[9] IIE, 2004

-----
[1] http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_ID=3714880
[2] http://www.economist.com/#footnote1
[3] http://www.economist.com/#footnote1
[4] http://www.economist.com/#footnote1
[5] http://www.economist.com/#footnote1
 

See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3715779&fsrc=nwl

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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Thu Mar  3 13:39:46 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Thu Mar  3 13:38:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Gonzo Gone, Rather Going,
	Watergate Still Here
Message-ID: <000901c52039$86958de0$6125b7d8@baby1>

Re:  NYTimes.com: Gonzo Gone, Rather Going, Watergate Still Here

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/arts/06rich.html?ex=1110517200&en=23f087f81826934a&ei=5070

*snip*


Comments:

Excellent article on "How The West Was Lost".  Makes such things as
Conspiracy Theories bow to the masters of Reality and take its rightful
place on a back burner.  The times are indeed a changing.  The only problem
is that there is nobody left who will report about it happening.  Ironic
such an article has to come from someone like Rich in of all sections, the
Arts section of the NY Times.  He makes several good points, too good,
including the small fact that people are neglecting to even do any further
stories on inconsequential revelations still coming from any outdated boring
things such as 911 investigations.  It should have been more than 3 pages
long, but at least we got 3 pages on The Press's role in the dissection of
Democracy in the Arts section of the NY Times.  That's at least something.
The trading of America for a few cocktails, some ratings, some insane
ideological brouhaha, and star status as a reporter has always made my
pigtails curl, but it's nice to see people like Gannon stealing lines from
people like Hunter Thompson to really put the whole picture of Betrayal and
Treason in true perspective.  The West would never have crumbled so quickly
without such infinite integrity at work by all those who really care in The
Press.  Was it really someone like Ted Turner who in a letter that crossed
this path here not so long ago was complaining about "The Press" or
something after he decided "it was time to sell CNN and move on and make
buffalo burgers with Jane".  Sorry, Ted, you've been Gannonized, you are no
longer relevant.  Keep working on that secret sauce for those burgers,
though, maybe some day you'll change the world.  Stay alert, Ted, don't let
your chance pass you by.




Cheeseburger

.

From lyve at netzero.com  Thu Mar  3 14:09:33 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Thu Mar  3 14:12:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you feelanger.
	..or are you always elated or...
Message-ID: <20050303.141030.4501.22632@webmail32.nyc.untd.com>


yea, I hear you-especially with the news.
Honery and angry-not a good combo.


Lyle Clement Kang

-- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
im both elated and happy and honery and angry
where does that leave me?
im basically elated and angry all the time
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle K'ang" <Lyle_Kang@Silomanagement.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 AM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
feelanger...or are you always elated or...


> Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog:
>
> Help!@
> They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-
>
> Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
> Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
> Link:
http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html
>
> --
> Powered by Blogger
> http://www.blogger.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar  3 14:13:55 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Thu Mar  3 14:15:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
	feelanger...or are you always elated or...
References: <20050303.141030.4501.22632@webmail32.nyc.untd.com>
Message-ID: <01c401c5203e$4a460090$6e436c42@hotprojects>

sure it is
we sicilians thrive on it
we always want to kill someone
then forget when its time to eat spaghetti
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
feelanger...or are you always elated or...


>
> yea, I hear you-especially with the news.
> Honery and angry-not a good combo.
>
>
> Lyle Clement Kang
>
> -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> im both elated and happy and honery and angry
> where does that leave me?
> im basically elated and angry all the time
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lyle K'ang" <Lyle_Kang@Silomanagement.com>
> To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 AM
> Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> feelanger...or are you always elated or...
>
>
> > Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog:
> >
> > Help!@
> > They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-
> >
> > Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
> > Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
> > Link:
>
http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html
> >
> > --
> > Powered by Blogger
> > http://www.blogger.com/
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From lyve at netzero.com  Thu Mar  3 14:17:55 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Thu Mar  3 14:21:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] richard...
Message-ID: <20050303.141842.4501.22763@webmail32.nyc.untd.com>


...you meat ball..you. go for the chianti.


Lyle 

-- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
sure it is
we sicilians thrive on it
we always want to kill someone
then forget when its time to eat spaghetti
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
feelanger...or are you always elated or...


>
> yea, I hear you-especially with the news.
> Honery and angry-not a good combo.
>
>
> Lyle Clement Kang
>
> -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> im both elated and happy and honery and angry
> where does that leave me?
> im basically elated and angry all the time
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lyle K'ang" <Lyle_Kang@Silomanagement.com>
> To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 AM
> Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> feelanger...or are you always elated or...
>
>
> > Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog:
> >
> > Help!@
> > They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-
> >
> > Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
> > Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
> > Link:
>
http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html
> >
> > --
> > Powered by Blogger
> > http://www.blogger.com/
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar  3 14:49:57 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Thu Mar  3 14:51:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] richard...
References: <20050303.141842.4501.22763@webmail32.nyc.untd.com>
Message-ID: <01d801c52043$53159c30$6e436c42@hotprojects>

i prefer grass to drink
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:17 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] richard...


>
> ...you meat ball..you. go for the chianti.
>
>
> Lyle
>
> -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> sure it is
> we sicilians thrive on it
> we always want to kill someone
> then forget when its time to eat spaghetti
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
> To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> feelanger...or are you always elated or...
>
>
> >
> > yea, I hear you-especially with the news.
> > Honery and angry-not a good combo.
> >
> >
> > Lyle Clement Kang
> >
> > -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> > im both elated and happy and honery and angry
> > where does that leave me?
> > im basically elated and angry all the time
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Lyle K'ang" <Lyle_Kang@Silomanagement.com>
> > To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 AM
> > Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> > feelanger...or are you always elated or...
> >
> >
> > > Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog:
> > >
> > > Help!@
> > > They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-
> > >
> > > Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
> > > Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
> > > Link:
> >
>
http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html
> > >
> > > --
> > > Powered by Blogger
> > > http://www.blogger.com/
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Mb-civic mailing list
> > > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar  3 15:07:07 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar  3 15:08:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Open Letter to Ms Condi, from Canada
Message-ID: <000801c52045$bbf75cf0$1025e440@Harold>

Lloyd Axworthey, ret. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada, (most responsible for implementing the International Land Mine Treaties)

has written an open letter to Ms Condi on how Canadians think and relate to the present US administration. (Missle Counter - Attack)

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/westview/story/2610442p-3026695c.html

A good read

Later H
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From Hawaiipolo at cs.com  Thu Mar  3 16:58:00 2005
From: Hawaiipolo at cs.com (Hawaiipolo@cs.com)
Date: Thu Mar  3 17:34:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] (no subject)
Message-ID: <200503040123.j241Nosd009580@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Ray McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years and served Bush the elder. Sad, 
sobering words about US foreign policy and the push for Iran to be next .....
LA TIMES
Mar 3, 2005 


It sounds crazy, but ... 
By Ray McGovern
"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply 
ridiculous." 
(Short pause) 
"And having said that, all options are on the table." 
Even the White House stenographers felt obliged to note the result: laughter. 


- The Washington Post's Dan Froomkin on President George W Bush's February 22 
press conference
For a host of good reasons - the huge and draining commitment of US forces to 
Iraq and Iran's ability to stir the Iraqi pot to boiling, for starters - the 
notion that the Bush administration would mount a "preemptive" air attack on 
Iran seems insane. And still more insane if the objective includes overthrowing 
Iran's government again, as in 1953 - this time under the rubric of "regime 
change". 

But Bush administration policy toward the Middle East is being run by men - 
yes, only men - who were routinely referred to in high circles in Washington 
during the 1980s as the "crazies". I can attest to that personally, but one need 
not take my word for it. 

According to James Naughtie, author of The Accidental American: Tony Blair 
and the Presidency , former secretary of state Colin Powell added an old 
soldier's adjective to the "crazies" sobriquet in referring to the same officials. 
Powell, who was military aide to defense secretary Casper Weinberger in the 
early 1980s, was overheard calling them "the f---ing crazies" during a phone call 
with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw before the war in Iraq. 

At the time, Powell was reportedly deeply concerned over their determination 
to attack - with or without United Nations approval. Small wonder that they 
got rid of Powell after the election, as soon as they had no more use for him. 

If further proof of insanity were needed, one could simply look at the 
unnecessary carnage in Iraq since the invasion in March 2003. That unprovoked attack 
was, in my view, the most fateful foreign policy blunder in our nation's 
history ... so far. 

It can get worse 
"The crazies" are not finished. And we do well not to let their ultimate 
folly obscure their current ambition, and the further trouble that ambition is 
bound to bring in the four years ahead. In an immediate sense, with US military 
power unrivaled, they can be seen as "crazy like a fox", with a value system in 
which "might makes right". Operating out of that value system, and now 
sporting the more respectable misnomer/moniker neo-conservative, they are convinced 
that they know exactly what they are doing. They have a clear ideology and a 
geopolitical strategy, which leap from papers they have put out at the Project 
for the New American Century in recent years. 

The very same men who, acting out of that paradigm, brought us the war in 
Iraq, are now focusing on Iran, which they view as the only remaining obstacle to 
American domination of the entire oil-rich Middle East. They calculate that, 
with a docile, corporate-owned press, a co-opted mainstream church, and a 
still-trusting populace, the US and/or the Israelis can launch a successful air 
offensive to disrupt any Iranian nuclear weapons programs - with the added bonus 
of possibly causing the regime in power in Iran to crumble. 

But why now? After all, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency has 
just told Congress that Iran is not likely to have a nuclear weapon until 
"early in the next decade?" The answer, according to some defense experts, is that 
several of the Iranian facilities are still under construction and there is 
only a narrow "window of opportunity" to destroy them without causing huge 
environmental problems. That window, they say, will begin to close this year. 

Other analysts attribute the sense of urgency to worry in Washington that the 
Iranians may have secretly gained access to technology that would facilitate 
a leap forward into the nuclear club much sooner than now anticipated. And it 
is, of course, neo-conservative doctrine that it is best to nip - the word in 
current fashion is "preempt" - any conceivable threats in the bud. 

One reason the Israelis are pressing hard for early action may simply be out 
of a desire to ensure that Bush will have a few more years as president after 
an attack on Iran, so that they will have him to stand with Israel when bedlam 
breaks out in the Middle East. 

What about post-attack "day two?" Not to worry. Well-briefed pundits are 
telling us about a wellspring of Western-oriented moderates in Iran who, with a 
little help from the US, could seize power in Tehran. I find myself thinking: 
Right; just like all those Iraqis who welcomed invading American and British 
troops with open arms and cut flowers. 

For me, this evokes a painful flashback to the early 1980s when 
"intelligence", pointing to "moderates" within the Iranian leadership, was conjured up to 
help justify the imaginative but illegal 
arms-for-hostages-and-proceeds-to-Nicaraguan-Contras caper. The fact that the conjurer-in-chief of that spurious 
"evidence" on Iranian "moderates", former chief Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) 
analyst, later director, Robert Gates, was recently offered the newly created 
position of director of national intelligence, makes the flashback more eerie 
- and alarming. 

George H W Bush saw through the 'crazies'
During his term in office, George H W Bush, with the practical advice of his 
national security adviser General Brent Scowcroft and secretary of state James 
Baker, was able to keep the "crazies" at arms length, preventing them from 
getting the country into serious trouble. They were kept well below the level of 
"principal" - that is, below the level of secretary of state or defense. 

Even so, heady in the afterglow of victory in the Gulf War of 1991, the 
"crazies" stirred up considerable controversy when they articulated their radical 
views. Their vision, for instance, became the centerpiece of the draft "Defense 
Planning Guidance" that Paul Wolfowitz, de facto dean of the 
neo-conservatives, prepared in 1992 for then-defense secretary Dick Cheney. It dismissed 
deterrence as an outdated relic of the Cold War and argued that the US must 
maintain military strength beyond conceivable challenge - and use it in preemptive 
ways in dealing with those who might acquire "weapons of mass destruction". 
Sound familiar? 

Aghast at this radical imperial strategy for the post-Cold War world, someone 
with access to the draft leaked it to the New York Times, forcing Bush Snr 
either to endorse or disavow it. Disavow it he did - and quickly, on the 
cooler-head recommendations of Scowcroft and Baker, who proved themselves a bulwark 
against the hubris and megalomania of the "crazies". Unfortunately, their 
vision did not die. No less unfortunately, there is method to their madness - even 
if it threatens to spell eventual disaster for our country. Empires always 
overreach and fall. 

The return of the neo-cons 
In 2001, the new Bush brought the neo-cons back and put them in top 
policymaking positions. Even former assistant secretary of state Elliot Abrams, 
convicted in October 1991 of lying to Congress and then pardoned by George H W Bush, 
was called back and put in charge of Middle East policy in the White House. In 
January, he was promoted to the influential post (once occupied by Robert 
Gates) of deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs. From 
that senior position Abrams will once again be dealing closely with John 
Negroponte, an old colleague from rogue-elephant Contra War days, who has now been 
picked to be the first director of national intelligence. 

Those of us who - like Powell - had front-row seats during the 1980s are far 
too concerned to dismiss the re-emergence of the neo-cons as a simple case of 
deja vu. They are much more dangerous now. Unlike in the 1980s, they are the 
ones crafting the adventurous policies our sons and daughters are being called 
on to implement. 

Why dwell on this? Because it is second in importance only to the portentous 
reality that the earth is running out of readily accessible oil - something of 
which they are all too aware. Not surprisingly then, disguised beneath the 
weapons of mass destruction smokescreen they laid down as they prepared to 
invade Iraq lay an unspoken but bedrock reason for the war - oil. In any case, the 
neo-cons seem to believe that, in the wake of the November election, they now 
have a carte-blanche "mandate". And with the president's new "capital to 
spend" they appear determined to spend it, sooner rather than later. 

Next stop, Iran 
When a Special Forces platoon leader just back from Iraq matter-of-factly 
tells a close friend of mine, as happened last week, that he and his unit are now 
training their sights (literally) on Iran, we need to take that seriously. It 
provides us with a glimpse of reality as seen at ground level. For me, it 
brought to mind an unsolicited email I received from the father of a young 
soldier training at Fort Benning in the spring of 2002, soon after I wrote an op-ed 
discussing the timing of Bush's decision to make war on Iraq. The father 
informed me that, during the spring of 2002, his son kept writing home saying his 
unit was training to go into Iraq. No, said the father; you mean Afghanistan 
... that's where the war is, not Iraq. In his next email, the son said, "No, 
Dad, they keep saying Iraq. I asked them and that's what they mean." 

Now, apparently, they keep saying Iran; and that appears to be what they 
mean. 

Anecdotal evidence like this is hardly conclusive. Put it together with 
administration rhetoric and a preponderance of other "dots", though, and everything 
points in the direction of an air attack on Iran, possibly also involving 
some ground forces. 

Indeed, from the New Yorker reports of Seymour Hersh to Washington Post 
articles, accounts of small-scale American intrusions on the ground as well as into 
Iranian airspace are appearing with increasing frequency. 

In a speech given on February 18, former UN arms inspector and Marine officer 
Scott Ritter (who was totally on target before the Iraq war on that country's 
lack of weapons of mass destruction) claimed that the president has already 
"signed off" on plans to bomb Iran in June in order to destroy its alleged 
nuclear weapons program and eventually bring about "regime change". This does not 
necessarily mean an automatic green light for a large attack in June, but it 
may signal the president's seriousness about this option. 

So, again, against the background of what we have witnessed over the past 
four years, and the troubling fact that the circle of second-term presidential 
advisers has become even tighter, we do well to inject a strong note of urgency 
into any discussion of the "Iranian option". 

Why would Iran want nukes? 
So, why would Iran think it has to acquire nuclear weapons? Senator Richard 
Lugar, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was asked this on a 
Sunday talk show a few months ago. Apparently having a senior moment, he failed 
to give the normal answer. Instead, he replied, "Well, you know, Israel has 
..." At that point, he caught himself and abruptly stopped. 

Recovering quickly and realizing that he could not just leave the word 
"Israel" hanging there, Lugar began again: "Well, Israel is alleged to have a 
nuclear capability." 

Is alleged to have? Lugar is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
and yet he doesn't know that Israel has, by most estimates, a major nuclear 
arsenal, consisting of several hundred nuclear weapons. (Mainstream newspapers 
are allergic to dwelling on this topic, but it is mentioned every now and then, 
usually buried in obscurity on an inside page.) 

Just imagine how the Iranians and Syrians would react to Lugar's 
disingenuousness. Small wonder our highest officials and lawmakers - and Lugar, remember, 
is one of the most decent among them - are widely seen abroad as hypocritical. 
Our media, of course, ignore the hypocrisy. This is standard operating 
procedure when the word "Israel" is spoken in this or other unflattering contexts. 
And the objections of those appealing for a more balanced approach are quashed. 


If the truth be told, Iran fears Israel at least as much as Israel fears the 
internal security threat posed by the thugs supported by Tehran. Iran's 
apprehension is partly fear that Israel (with at least tacit support from the Bush 
administration) will send its aircraft to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, just 
as American-built Israeli bombers destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at 
Osirak in 1981. 

As part of the current war of nerves, recent statements by the president and 
vice president can be read as giving a green light to Israel to do just that; 
while Israeli air force commander Major General Eliezer Shakedi told reporters 
on February 21 that Israel must be prepared for an air strike on Iran "in 
light of its nuclear activity". 

US-Israel nexus 
The Iranians also remember how Israel was able to acquire and keep its 
nuclear technology. Much of it was stolen from the US by spies for Israel. As early 
as the late-1950s, Washington knew Israel was building the bomb and could have 
aborted the project. Instead, American officials decided to turn a blind eye 
and let the Israelis go ahead. Now Israel's nuclear capability is truly 
formidable. Still, it is a fact of strategic life that a formidable nuclear arsenal 
can be deterred by a far more modest one, if an adversary has the means to 
deliver it. (Look at North Korea's success with, at best, a few nuclear weapons 
and questionable means of delivery in deterring the "sole remaining superpower 
in the world".) And Iran already has missiles with the range to hit Israel. 

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has for some time appeared eager to 
enlist Washington's support for an early "pre-emptive" strike on Iran. Indeed, 
American defense officials have told reporters that visiting Israeli officials 
have been pressing the issue for the past year and a half. And the Israelis are 
now claiming publicly that Iran could have a nuclear weapon within six months - 
years earlier than the Defense Intelligence Agency estimate mentioned above. 

In the past, Bush has chosen to dismiss unwelcome intelligence estimates as 
"guesses" - especially when they threatened to complicate decisions to 
implement the neo-conservative agenda. It is worth noting that several of the leading 
neo-cons - Richard Perle, chair of the Defense Policy Board (2001-03); Douglas 
Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; and David Wurmser, Middle East 
adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney - actually wrote policy papers for the 
Israeli government during the 1990s. They have consistently had great 
difficulty distinguishing between the strategic interests of Israel and those of the US 
- at least as they imagine them. 

As for Bush, over the past four years he has amply demonstrated his 
preference for the counsel of Sharon who, as Scowcroft said publicly, has the president 
"wrapped around his little finger". (As chairman of the president's Foreign 
Intelligence Advisory Board until he was unceremoniously removed at the turn of 
the year, Scowcroft was in a position to know.) If Scowcroft is correct in 
also saying that the president has been "mesmerized" by Sharon, it seems 
possible that the Israelis already have successfully argued for an attack on Iran. 

When regime change meant overthrow for oil 
To remember why the US is no favorite in Tehran, one needs to go back at 
least to 1953 when the US and Great Britain overthrew Iran's democratically 
elected premier Mohammad Mossadeq as part of a plan to ensure access to Iranian oil. 
They then emplaced the young Shah in power who, with his notorious secret 
police, proved second to none in cruelty. The Shah ruled from 1953 to 1979. Much 
resentment can build up over a whole generation. His regime fell like a house 
of cards when supporters of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini rose up to do some 
regime change of their own. 

Iranians also remember Washington's strong support for Saddam Hussein's Iraq 
after it decided to make war on Iran in 1980. US support for Iraq (which 
included crucial intelligence support for the war and an implicit condoning of 
Saddam's use of chemical weapons) was perhaps the crucial factor in staving off an 
Iranian victory. Imagine then, the threat Iranians see, should the Bush 
administration succeed in establishing up to 14 permanent military bases in 
neighboring Iraq. 

Any Iranian can look at a map of the Middle East (including occupied Iraq) 
and conclude that this administration might indeed be willing to pay the 
necessary price in blood and treasure to influence what happens to the black gold 
under Iranian as well as Iraqi sands. And with four more years to play with, a 
lot can be done along those lines. The obvious question is: how to deter it? 
Well, once again, Iran can hardly be blind to the fact that a small nation like 
North Korea has so far deterred US action by producing, or at least claiming to 
have produced, nuclear weapons. 

Nuclear is the nub 
The nuclear issue is indeed paramount, and we would do well to imagine and 
craft fresh approaches to the nub of the problem. As a start, I'll bet if you 
made a survey, only 20% of Americans would answer "yes" to the question "Does 
Israel have nuclear weapons?" That is key, it seems to me, because at their core 
Americans are still fair-minded people. 

On the other hand, I'll bet that 95% of the Iranian population would answer, 
"Of course Israel has nuclear weapons; that's why we Iranians need them" - 
which was, of course, the unmentionable calculation that Lugar almost conceded. 
"And we also need them," many Iranians would probably say, "in order to deter 
the 'crazies' in Washington. It seems to be working for the North Koreans, who, 
after all, are the other remaining point on President Bush's 'axis of evil'." 


The ideal approach would, of course, be to destroy all nuclear weapons in the 
world and ban them for the future, with a very intrusive global inspection 
regime to verify compliance. A total ban is worth holding up as an ideal, and I 
think we must. But this approach seems unlikely to bear fruit over the next 
four years. So what then? 

A nuclear-free Middle East 
How about a nuclear-free Middle East? Could the US make that happen? We could 
if we had moral clarity - the underpinning necessary to bring it about. Each 
time this proposal is raised, the Syrians, for example, clap their hands in 
feigned joyful anticipation, saying, "Of course such a pact would include 
Israel, right?" The issue is then dropped from all discussion by US policymakers. 
Required: not only moral clarity but also what Thomas Aquinas labeled the 
precondition for all virtue, courage. In this context, courage would include a 
refusal to be intimidated by inevitable charges of anti-Semitism. 

The reality is that, except for Israel, the Middle East is nuclear free. But 
the discussion cannot stop there. It is not difficult to understand why the 
first leaders of Israel, with the Holocaust experience written indelibly on 
their hearts and minds, and feeling surrounded by perceived threats to the 
fledgling state's existence, wanted the bomb. And so, before the Syrians or Iranians, 
for example, get carried away with self-serving applause for the nuclear-free 
Middle East proposal, they will have to understand that for any such 
negotiation to succeed it must have as a concomitant aim the guarantee of an Israel 
able to live in peace and protect itself behind secure borders. That guarantee 
has got to be part of the deal. 

That the obstacles to any such agreement are formidable is no excuse not 
trying. But the approach would have to be new and everything would have to be on 
the table. Persisting in a state of denial about Israel's nuclear weapons is 
dangerously shortsighted; it does nothing but aggravate fears among the Arabs 
and create further incentive for them to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. 

A sensible approach would also have to include a willingness to engage the 
Iranians directly, attempt to understand their perspective, and discern what the 
US and Israel could do to alleviate their concerns. 

Preaching to Iran and others about not acquiring nuclear weapons is, indeed, 
like the village drunk preaching sobriety - the more so as our government 
keeps developing new genres of nuclear weapons and keeps looking the other way as 
Israel enhances its own nuclear arsenal. Not a pretty moral picture, that. 
Indeed, it reminds me of the scripture passage about taking the plank out of your 
own eye before insisting that the speck be removed from another's. 

Lessons from the past ... like mutual deterrence 
Has everyone forgotten that deterrence worked for some 40 years, while for 
most of those years the US and the USSR had not by any means lost their lust for 
ever-enhanced nuclear weapons? The point is simply that, while engaging the 
Iranians bilaterally and searching for more imaginative nuclear-free proposals, 
the US might adopt a more patient interim attitude regarding the striving of 
other nation states to acquire nuclear weapons - bearing in mind that the Bush 
administration's policies of "preemption" and "regime change" themselves 
create powerful incentives for exactly such striving. 

As was the case with Iraq two years ago, there is no imminent Iranian 
strategic threat to Americans - or, in reality, to anyone. Even if Iran acquired a 
nuclear capability, there is no reason to believe that it would risk a suicidal 
first strike on Israel. That, after all, is what mutual deterrence is all 
about; it works both ways. 

It is nonetheless clear that the Israelis' sense of insecurity - however 
exaggerated it may seem to those of us thousands of miles away - is not synthetic 
but real. The Sharon government appears to regard its nuclear monopoly in the 
region as the only effective "deterrence insurance" it can buy. It is 
determined to prevent its neighbors from acquiring the kind of capability that could 
infringe on the freedom it now enjoys to carry out military and other actions 
in the area. Government officials have said that Israel will not let Iran 
acquire a nuclear weapon; it would be folly to dismiss this as bravado. The 
Israelis have laid down a marker and mean to follow through - unless the Bush 
administration assumes the attitude that "preemption" is an acceptable course for the 
US but not for Israel. It seems unlikely that the neo-conservatives would 
take that line. Rather ... "Israel is our ally." 

Or so said our president before the cameras on February 17. But I didn't 
think we had a treaty of alliance with Israel; I don't remember the Senate 
approving one. Did I miss something? 

Clearly, the longstanding US-Israeli friendship and the ideals we share 
dictate continuing support for Israel's defense and security. It is quite another 
thing, though, to suggest the existence of formal treaty obligations that our 
country does not have. To all intents and purposes, our policymakers - from the 
president on down - seem to speak and behave on the assumption that we do 
have such obligations toward Israel. A former colleague CIA analyst, Michael 
Scheuer, author of Imperial Hubris , has put it this way: "The Israelis have 
succeeded in lacing tight the ropes binding the American Gulliver to Israel and its 
policies." 

An earlier American warned:
A passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of 
evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation facilitates the illusion of an imaginary 
common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, infuses into one 
the enmities of the other, and betrays the former into participation in the 
quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification ... 
It also gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, who devote 
themselves to the favorite nation, facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of 
their own country.
- George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
In my view, our first president's words apply only too aptly to this 
administration's lash-up with the Sharon government. As responsible citizens we need 
to overcome our timidity about addressing this issue, lest our fellow Americans 
continue to be denied important information neglected or distorted in our 
domesticated media. 

Ray McGovern served as a CIA analyst for 27 years - from the administration 
of John F Kennedy to that of George H W Bush. During the early 1980s, he was 
one of the writers/editors of the President's Daily Brief and briefed it 
one-on-one to the president's most senior advisers. He also chaired National 
Intelligence Estimates. In January 2003, he and four former colleagues founded Veteran 
Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. 

This article is reposted here by permission of Tomdispatch.com. 

(Copyright 2005 Ray McGovern)


Black holes and rogue states 
(Mar 2, '05)

EU unfazed by Iranian-Russian deal
(Mar 2, '05) 

The peace pipe's on the table 
(Feb 23, '05)

Psywar keeps Tehran on tenterhooks 
(Feb 16, '05)

How Iran will fight back
(Dec 16, '04)











All material on this website is copyright and may not be republished in any 
form without written permission.
? Copyright 1999 - 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd.

Head Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong Kong
Thailand Bureau: 11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 
77110

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu Mar  3 17:43:35 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu Mar  3 18:23:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Solid evidence that U.S. plans to control Iraq
	indefinitely
Message-ID: <200503040223.j242NfoS009780@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Read this to get clear on what the real motives are....


[Much of this has already been reported by Naomi Klein in greater detail,
but it bears repeating.-NY Transfer]

sent by Richard Clark (activ-l) - Feb 28, 2005

FPIF via Alternet
http://www.alternet.org/story/19293/

The Handover That Wasn't

By Antonia Juhasz, Foreign Policy in Focus.

Before his departure, CPA chief Paul Bremer issued 100 Orders to
dramatically restructure Iraq's economy to fit free-market ideals.  And no
Iraqi, including future elected officials, can undo them.

The U.S. occupation of Iraq officially ended on June 28, 2004 , in a
secret ceremony in Baghdad.  Officially, "full sovereignty" was handed
from the Americans to the Iraqi Interim Government.  But it was clear from
the start that this was sovereignty in name, not in deed.  First, there is
the continued military occupation: 138,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines, plus
20,000 troops from other countries and an estimated 20,000 contractors,
all fully under U.S. control and immune to Iraqi laws.  Equally
debilitating, however significantly less well reported upon, is the
continued political and economic occupation by the Bush administration and
its corporate allies.

The most important tools being used by the Bush administration to maintain
varying degrees of economic and political control in Iraq are the 100
Orders enacted by Paul Bremer, head of the now defunct Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) before his departure.  It was thought that the
"end" of the occupation would also mean the end of the Orders.  Instead,
in his final Order enacted on his last day in the country, Bremer simply
transferred authority for the Orders over to the new Prime Minister, Iyad
Allawi.  For his part, Allawi -- a thirty-year exile of Iraq with close
ties to both the CIA and British Intelligence Services -- is considered
America 's new man in charge of Iraq .

Bremer also ensured the implementation of the Orders by stacking every
Ministry with U.S.-appointed authorities with five-year terms -- well into
the period of the new, elected government, which is to take office by the
end of this year.

A sampling of the most important Orders demonstrates the economic imprint
left behind by Bremer:

Order #39 allows for the following:

(1) privatization of Iraq's 200 state-owned enterprises;

(2) 100 percent foreign ownership of Iraqi businesses;

(3) "national treatment" of foreign firms;

(4) unrestricted, tax-free remittance of all profits and other funds; and

(5) 40-year ownership licenses. Thus, it allows the U.S. corporations
operating in Iraq to own every business, do all of the work, and send all
of their money home. Nothing needs to be reinvested locally to service the
Iraqi economy, no Iraqi need be hired, no public services need be
guaranteed, and workers' rights can easily be ignored. And corporations
can take out their investments at any time.

Order #40 turns the banking sector from a state-run to a market-driven
system overnight by allowing foreign banks to enter the Iraqi market and
to purchase up to 50 percent of Iraqi banks.

Order #49 drops the tax rate on corporations from a high of 40 percent to
a flat rate of 15 percent. The income tax rate is also capped at 15
percent.

Order #12 enacted on June 7, 2003 and renewed on February 24, 2004,
suspends "all tariffs, customs duties, import taxes, licensing fees and
similar surcharges for goods entering or leaving Iraq, and all other trade
restrictions that may apply to such goods." This led to an immediate and
dramatic inflow of cheap consumer products, which has essentially wiped
out all local providers of the same products. This could have significant
long-term implications for domestic production as well.

Order #17 grants foreign contractors, including private security firms,
full immunity from Iraq 's laws. Even if they do injure a third party by
killing someone or causing environmental damage such as dumping toxic
chemicals or poisoning drinking water, the injured third party can not
turn to the Iraqi legal system, rather, the charges must be brought to
U.S. courts under U.S. laws.

Order #77 established the Board of Supreme Audit and named its president
and his two deputies. The Board oversees inspectors in every Ministry with
wide-ranging authority to review government contracts, audit classified
programs, and prescribe regulations and procedures.

Order #57 created and appointed an inspector within every Iraqi Ministry
with five-year terms who can perform audits, write policies, and have full
access to all offices, materials, and employees of the Ministries.

Then there are the approximately 200 mostly U.S. and other international
advisers who will remain embedded as consultants in every Iraqi Ministry
well after the official occupation has ended.

Clearly, the Bremer Orders fundamentally altered Iraq's existing laws. For
this reason, the Bremer Orders are also illegal.  Why?  Because the
transformation of an occupied country's laws violates the Hague
regulations of 1907 (the companion to the 1949 Geneva conventions, both
ratified by the United States), and the U.S. Army's Law of Land Warfare.
Indeed, in a leaked memo, British attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned
Tony Blair that "the imposition of major structural economic reforms would
not be authorized by international law."

----


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D (up 
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   ---   George Orwell


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From lyve at netzero.com  Thu Mar  3 19:05:15 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Thu Mar  3 19:08:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] richard...
Message-ID: <20050303.190533.16035.27562@webmail27.nyc.untd.com>


...oh green grass-part of the herb -o- wonder diet, eh.


Lyle 

-- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
i prefer grass to drink
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:17 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] richard...


>
> ...you meat ball..you. go for the chianti.
>
>
> Lyle
>
> -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> sure it is
> we sicilians thrive on it
> we always want to kill someone
> then forget when its time to eat spaghetti
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
> To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> feelanger...or are you always elated or...
>
>
> >
> > yea, I hear you-especially with the news.
> > Honery and angry-not a good combo.
> >
> >
> > Lyle Clement Kang
> >
> > -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> > im both elated and happy and honery and angry
> > where does that leave me?
> > im basically elated and angry all the time
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Lyle K'ang" <Lyle_Kang@Silomanagement.com>
> > To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 AM
> > Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> > feelanger...or are you always elated or...
> >
> >
> > > Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog:
> > >
> > > Help!@
> > > They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-
> > >
> > > Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
> > > Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
> > > Link:
> >
>
http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html
> > >
> > > --
> > > Powered by Blogger
> > > http://www.blogger.com/
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Mb-civic mailing list
> > > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
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_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar  3 20:24:11 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Thu Mar  3 20:25:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] richard...
References: <20050303.190533.16035.27562@webmail27.nyc.untd.com>
Message-ID: <003201c52072$04167b70$6e436c42@hotprojects>

no actually im engaged in a research project
about the sensitivity of cannaboid receptors
it should be completed in 30 - 50 years
jesus willing

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 10:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] richard...


>
> ...oh green grass-part of the herb -o- wonder diet, eh.
>
>
> Lyle
>
> -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> i prefer grass to drink
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
> To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:17 PM
> Subject: [Mb-civic] richard...
>
>
> >
> > ...you meat ball..you. go for the chianti.
> >
> >
> > Lyle
> >
> > -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> > sure it is
> > we sicilians thrive on it
> > we always want to kill someone
> > then forget when its time to eat spaghetti
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
> > To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:09 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> > feelanger...or are you always elated or...
> >
> >
> > >
> > > yea, I hear you-especially with the news.
> > > Honery and angry-not a good combo.
> > >
> > >
> > > Lyle Clement Kang
> > >
> > > -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> > > im both elated and happy and honery and angry
> > > where does that leave me?
> > > im basically elated and angry all the time
> > > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > > From: "Lyle K'ang" <Lyle_Kang@Silomanagement.com>
> > > To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> > > Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 AM
> > > Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> > > feelanger...or are you always elated or...
> > >
> > >
> > > > Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog:
> > > >
> > > > Help!@
> > > > They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-
> > > >
> > > > Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
> > > > Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
> > > > Link:
> > >
> >
>
http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Powered by Blogger
> > > > http://www.blogger.com/
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > Mb-civic mailing list
> > > > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > > > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Mb-civic mailing list
> > > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Mb-civic mailing list
> > > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Thu Mar  3 21:20:17 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Thu Mar  3 21:19:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Solid evidence that U.S. plans to control Iraq
	indefinitely
Message-ID: <000501c52079$db4fd120$ae25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Solid evidence that U.S. plans to control Iraq indefinitely


====
Clearly, the Bremer Orders fundamentally altered Iraq's existing laws. For
this reason, the Bremer Orders are also illegal.  Why?  Because the
transformation of an occupied country's laws violates the Hague
regulations of 1907 (the companion to the 1949 Geneva conventions, both
ratified by the United States), and the U.S. Army's Law of Land Warfare.
Indeed, in a leaked memo, British attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned
Tony Blair that "the imposition of major structural economic reforms would
not be authorized by international law."
======



I love the Internet, heh.  It's good for some people, word gets around, tons
of people learn things, etc etc, good tool for communication, year by year
it's "catching on", yet, even as some people swear by it as the ultimate of
ultimate, and it does indeed have "meaning" and "value", it remains,
unfortunately, a Minority communication tool at this point in regards to a
Majority of people like Americans having absolutely no idea whatsoever what
an "Alternet" is, nor expressing any desire whatsoever to go find it, if
even they have access to do so, which so far a Majority of them do not.

That said, the "100 Rules" Bremer sat down for the Americanization of Iraq
into the 52nd? State of the USA, again, a Majority of Americans never even
heard of it, or if they did (which is highly unlikely), they have no desire
to delve further into the fine print, and remain quite satisfied that
whatever is in it, it must surely put some kind of deserved punishment on
those filthy Iraqis who wear those giant turbans, eat curried rice, and sing
songs of praise to Shiva sacrificing their young as suicide bombers in
Finland, who blew up The World Trade Centers.

Although, yes, such a document *remains* completely Illegal, or "against the
law" of both man and nature, I must remind Lord Goldsmith that "we" ARE "The
Law" at this late date of "we can do anything we want, you are with us or
against us".

We don't give a flying crap about him, laws, conventions, or anything else
in the face of our goals being met, the completed takeover of the Middle
East oil fields, and our fresh direction of America attacking and invading
Iran under Israeli guidance.

I will, however, give Lord Goldsmith at least the thought of consolation
that some day in The Distant Future, these "100 Rules" will form the crux
and basis of the actual Revolution that the Iraqi people will one day find
themselves fighting to simply get rid of people who have turned out to be
worse than anyone named Saddam Hussein ever was, just so they can feel at
least half human again and begin pretending to their children once more that
they at least own their own country.

It's not much, it's going to cost several more 100's of thousands of dead
Iraqi men women and children Civilians, but it's all I have to offer at the
moment.

Lord Goldsmith will just have to live with that just as the 100,000 dead
Iraqi Civilian men women and children buried under the ground in their own
country holding up their fingers stained with purple ink smiling and
laughing have to.

Enclosed is a photograph of the blueprint of one of our new military bases
we have planned for Iraq.  You will notice the big screen tv, pool, and
ample lounging facilities.  I would also have enclosed pictures of the 1,600
American soldiers who people like Bremer, Bush, Blair, and Halliburton found
fit to sacrifice for The Oil Industry (among other things) but we here in
the land of Freedom are still not allowed to photograph them.




Cheeseburger

.

From djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za  Fri Mar  4 00:54:48 2005
From: djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za (peter baker)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:00:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] a pretty pass
Message-ID: <200503041700.j24H0BZj012520@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

bear
.......things have indeed come to a pretty pass with the governments of u.s. and u.k...what to do about it file://????the biggest problem is the media...u.s. casualties have reached 1,500 dead yet no american deaths have been reported by any of the media...this is nothing short of disgraceful...they are banking on the "out of sight, out of mind" principle....how do you force these crooked bastards to report truthfully???maybe a fully independent, world wide, media channel is the answer....someone you start it up and all those interested in truth would subscribe...are there enough of us????? madbaker
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:31:43 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:32:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:33:57 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:35:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Europe 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:36:10 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:37:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Columnists / David Bowen - David Bowen: The
	online transatlantic gap 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:33:19 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:37:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Asia 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:47:21 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:48:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Bush offers to help EU over Iran
Message-ID: <20050304_174721_018265.michael@intrafi.com>

michael saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Bush offers to help EU over Iran **
George Bush says he is willing to help Europe in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4317579.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:53:07 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:54:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Fed's Chief Gives Consumption Tax Cautious
	Backing
Message-ID: <20050304175317.347742062CF@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

WASHINGTON | March 4, 2005

Fed's Chief Gives Consumption Tax Cautious Backing
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS

Alan Greenspan endorsed a major shift in taxation, from focusing on what people earn to focusing on what they spend.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/04/politics/04tax.html?ex=1110603600&en=f6a088a83980b91c&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:55:38 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:56:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Greenspan Talks Tax Increases
Message-ID: <20050304175539.16C811645AF@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 4, 2005

Editorial: Greenspan Talks Tax Increases


A couple of things should now be clear to anyone who is concerned about healing the economy: there can be no new life for old tax cuts - and no new tax cuts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/04/opinion/04fri1.html?ex=1110603600&en=00533b128252f968&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:56:29 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:57:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Deficits and Deceit
Message-ID: <20050304175630.B8D0A2062D4@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 4, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Deficits and Deceit
By PAUL KRUGMAN

President Bush's advisers knew that the 2001 tax cuts would probably cause budget problems, and welcomed the prospect.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/04/opinion/04krugman.html?ex=1110603600&en=822ca6e8b5256cdc&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:57:24 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:58:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Immune to Democracy
Message-ID: <20050304175725.60A5724AEC9@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 4, 2005

Op-Ed Contributors: Immune to Democracy
By BRUCE ACKERMAN AND JOHN ACKERMAN

Although the world has hardly noticed, Mexico is confronting the first great test of its commitment to democracy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/04/opinion/04ackerman.html?ex=1110603600&en=ac4fb5ac24357d78&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 09:58:27 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 09:59:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: New Poll Finds Bush Priorities Are Out of
	Step With Americans
Message-ID: <20050304175827.D667A3AE506@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

WASHINGTON | March 3, 2005

New Poll Finds Bush Priorities Are Out of Step With Americans
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JANET ELDER

Americans are increasingly resistant to the president's plan to revamp Social Security, according to a Times/CBS News poll.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/03/politics/03poll.html?ex=1110603600&en=01140ccf817f8f6f&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 10:14:01 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 10:15:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503041814.j24IE1Ao016920@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030305B.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From cararobindesign at hotmail.com  Fri Mar  4 11:16:50 2005
From: cararobindesign at hotmail.com (cararobindesign@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 11:18:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] What's Wrong With American High Schools
Message-ID: <6121150.1109963810591.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: Cara Robin

--------------------
What's Wrong With American High Schools 
--------------------

The approaches of 50 years ago cannot work today, Bill Gates says.

By Bill Gates
Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, is co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

March 1 2005

Our high schools are obsolete. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-gates1mar01,0,4042947.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From cararobindesign at hotmail.com  Fri Mar  4 11:20:55 2005
From: cararobindesign at hotmail.com (cararobindesign@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 11:22:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] When Democrats Join the Dark Side
Message-ID: <11601892.1109964055090.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: Cara

--------------------
When Democrats Join the Dark Side 
--------------------

Their kowtowing to home-state industries props up the Republicans.

JONATHAN CHAIT

March 4 2005

Not long ago, I was listening to Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) being interviewed, and I was struck at how intelligent and morally serious he was. Biden is justly viewed as a smart foreign policy hawk, but he also expressed his opposition to Social Security privatization in a particularly lucid way. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-chait4mar04,0,6472375.column 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From jherzog at dcnet2000.com  Fri Mar  4 11:39:26 2005
From: jherzog at dcnet2000.com (John Herzog)
Date: Fri Mar  4 11:56:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Walking Eagle
Message-ID: <200503041956.j24JuiPl013143@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Subject: FW: Walking Eagle


>
> >>
> >>Walking Eagle
> >>
> >>President Bush was invited to address a major gathering of the American
> >>Indian Nation last weekend in Arizona.
> >>
> >>He spoke for almost an hour on his future plans for increasing every
> >>Native American's present standard of living. He referred to his career
as
> >>Governor of Texas, how he had signed "YES" 1,237 times - for every
Indian
> >>issue that came to his desk for approval. Although the President was
vague
> >>on the details of his plan, he seemed most enthusiastic about his future
> >>ideas for helping his "red brothers".
> >>
> >>At the conclusion of his speech, the Tribes presented the President with
a
> >>plaque inscribed with his new Indian name - Walking Eagle. The proud
> >>President then departed in his motorcade, waving to the crowds. A news
> >>reporter later inquired to the group of chiefs of how they had come to
> >>select the new name given to the President.
> >>
> >>They explained that 'Walking Eagle' is the name given to a bird so full
of
> >>shit it can no longer fly.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from
>
>>http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm<http://www.papercut.biz/emailStr
ippe
> r.htm>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
>


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar  4 13:01:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 13:02:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?CNN=2Ecom_-_Freed_Italian_journalist?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?=A0wounded=2C_bodyguard_killed=A0in_Baghdad_-_Mar_4=2C_200?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?5?=
Message-ID: <29650312.1109970108308.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



"Mistakenly?"  I wonder...

Peace.



 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 13:09:51 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 13:10:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503042109.j24L9png021151@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030405Y.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From lyve at netzero.com  Fri Mar  4 13:51:34 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Fri Mar  4 13:54:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] richard's...research
Message-ID: <20050304.135230.14946.40593@webmail12.nyc.untd.com>


...research is important, especially a topic of such pronounced expanse.
50 years -you think? 
I bet your research that big business will have persuaded Congress
to tax and market it by that time.

Hell, it's only been 35 or so years and it's still the evil weed.
Who knows, with Bush admitting 'puffing', we've all witnessed first hand that grass will make you insane-thus loco weed.

Good thing Clinton didn't inhale.

Lyle Clement Kang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
no actually im engaged in a research project
about the sensitivity of cannaboid receptors
it should be completed in 30 - 50 years
jesus willing

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 10:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] richard...


>
> ...oh green grass-part of the herb -o- wonder diet, eh.
>
>
> Lyle
>
> -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> i prefer grass to drink
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
> To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:17 PM
> Subject: [Mb-civic] richard...
>
>
> >
> > ...you meat ball..you. go for the chianti.
> >
> >
> > Lyle
> >
> > -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> > sure it is
> > we sicilians thrive on it
> > we always want to kill someone
> > then forget when its time to eat spaghetti
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Lyle K'ang" <lyve@netzero.com>
> > To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 5:09 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> > feelanger...or are you always elated or...
> >
> >
> > >
> > > yea, I hear you-especially with the news.
> > > Honery and angry-not a good combo.
> > >
> > >
> > > Lyle Clement Kang
> > >
> > > -- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> > > im both elated and happy and honery and angry
> > > where does that leave me?
> > > im basically elated and angry all the time
> > > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > > From: "Lyle K'ang" <Lyle_Kang@Silomanagement.com>
> > > To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> > > Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 12:18 AM
> > > Subject: [Mb-civic] Really Now! ... Are You Centered: Why do you
> > > feelanger...or are you always elated or...
> > >
> > >
> > > > Lyle K'ang has sent you a link to a weblog:
> > > >
> > > > Help!@
> > > > They are trying our patience and want us to break ranks-
> > > >
> > > > Blog: Really Now! ... Are You Centered
> > > > Post: Why do you feel anger...or are you always elated or...
> > > > Link:
> > >
> >
>
http://lylescenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/why-do-you-feel-angeror-are-you-always.html
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Powered by Blogger
> > > > http://www.blogger.com/
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > Mb-civic mailing list
> > > > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > > > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Mb-civic mailing list
> > > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Mb-civic mailing list
> > > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Mb-civic mailing list
> > Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> > http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From olhippie at tampabay.rr.com  Fri Mar  4 16:05:21 2005
From: olhippie at tampabay.rr.com (Robin McNamara)
Date: Fri Mar  4 15:06:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] a pretty pass
References: <200503041700.j24H0BZj012520@dune.islandtechnologies.net>
Message-ID: <002f01c52117$063750a0$1606ca44@CowBox>

Hey Mad

I would subscribe, but I think the problem would be who would "control it".

Peace
Robin



 



  From: peter baker 
  To: Michael Butler 
  Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 2:54 AM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] a pretty pass


  "maybe a fully independent, world wide, media channel is the answer....someone you start it up and all those interested in truth would subscribe...are there enough of us????? madbaker"


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


  _______________________________________________
  Mb-civic mailing list
  Mb-civic@islandlists.com
  http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 17:11:48 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 17:13:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Saudi Arabia Joins Calls for Syria Pullout
Message-ID: <17808250.1109985108633.JavaMail.turbine@s75>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Saudi Arabia Joins Calls for Syria Pullout 
--------------------

Crown Prince Abdullah tells President Assad to remove troops from Lebanon. Arab push is seen as a face-saving 'cover' for Damascus.

By Megan K. Stack
Times Staff Writer

March 4 2005

BEIRUT &#8212; In a stark sign of Syria's dwindling diplomatic support, Saudi Arabia on Thursday demanded Damascus pull its soldiers out of Lebanon without delay. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-syria4mar04,0,3031108.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 17:12:33 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 17:13:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. May Aid Iran Activists
Message-ID: <186868.1109985153092.JavaMail.turbine@s75>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
U.S. May Aid Iran Activists 
--------------------

Officials at State have money in hand but are still weighing how to best effect change.

By Sonni Efron and Mark Mazzetti
Times Staff Writers

March 4 2005

WASHINGTON &#8212; The Bush administration is considering a more aggressive effort to foster opposition inside Iran and seeking ways to use a new $3-million fund to support activists without exposing them to the risk of arrest. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usiran4mar04,0,6194111.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar  4 17:24:39 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 17:26:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 'Gunner Palace'
Message-ID: <26085070.1109985879680.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
'Gunner Palace' 
--------------------

Documentary filmmaker Michael Tucker looks at the war in Iraq from the ground up.

By Kenneth Turan
Times Staff Writer

Mar 4 2005

Who in America, no matter how highly placed, couldn't honestly confess to Iraq information overload, to having taken in enough about that beleaguered country and its ceaseless crises to last several lifetimes? But no matter how Baghdad-ed out you may feel, make room for "Gunner Palace," a striking new documentary that shows the war in a way it's not been seen before: from the ground up. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-palace4mar04,1,4389311.story
From sherwin at aceross.com  Fri Mar  4 12:24:47 2005
From: sherwin at aceross.com (sherwin)
Date: Fri Mar  4 17:32:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [Mb-hair] FW: The movie George Bush doesn't want you to
	see
Message-ID: <200503050132.j251W2Mw014288@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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_______________________________________________
Mb-hair mailing list
Mb-hair@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-hair
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar  4 17:50:44 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar  4 17:51:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Harsh Medicine: New York Times Exposes How Private
	Health Care in Jails Can Be a "Death Sentence" for Prisoners *
Message-ID: <BE4E5074.1ECF2%michael@michaelbutler.com>

* Harsh Medicine: New York Times Exposes How Private Health Care in
Jails Can Be a "Death Sentence" for Prisoners *

We take an in-depth look at the for-profit health care in prison and
jails in this country. The New York Times published a series titled
"Harsh Medicine" based on a yearlong investigation of Prison Health
Services, the nation's largest for-profit provider of prisoner medical
care, that exposes how inadequate care has resulted in death and
suicides by prisoners.

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/04/1437213

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Fri Mar  4 18:07:32 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Fri Mar  4 18:08:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Baby born in taxi; driver may face fines
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV674F960E8DDA6493FE7D3AB5D0@phx.gbl>

This is a trip.... only in China. A cab driver rushing a woman to the hospital winds up delivering the Baby and now faces charges...

peace,
barbara

Barbara Siomos <barbarasiomos38@msn.com> has sent you the following web link:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-12/22/content_402433.htm


From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Fri Mar  4 18:37:56 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Fri Mar  4 18:39:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] a pretty pass
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV17D486256B77B148444957AB5D0@phx.gbl>

Hey Mad and Robin.... Michael has been doing a good job with the "Civic List"... :-)

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Robin McNamara
Sent: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 16:05:21 -0800
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] a pretty pass

Hey Mad

I would subscribe, but I think the problem would be who would "control it".

Peace
Robin



 



  From: peter baker 
  To: Michael Butler 
  Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 2:54 AM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] a pretty pass


  "maybe a fully independent, world wide, media channel is the answer....someone you start it up and all those interested in truth would subscribe..are there enough of us????? madbaker"


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


  _______________________________________________
  Mb-civic mailing list
  Mb-civic@islandlists.com
  http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Fri Mar  4 19:19:44 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Fri Mar  4 19:21:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Barbara wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503050319.j253JiZW029366@server1.truthout.org>



Barbara thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030405X.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From maxfury at granderiver.net  Fri Mar  4 22:15:16 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Fri Mar  4 22:14:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] As Beth Blows Her Brains Out
Message-ID: <001201c5214a$b3965ec0$6325b7d8@baby1>

As Beth Blows Her Brains Out




Oh well.

Yawn.....

Death has become so commonplace that I had to train my soul not to die from
simple grief every time I turn around and see it take someone else I know.

Although it might be considered a "sin" to be emotionless to such things, it
surely cannot be bad to at least control one's emotions at least to the
point where they avoid insanity in the process of remaining a living witness
to the...  to the...   well...  to the whole thing.

People leading the cleanest lives in the world dying from the worst cancer
known to mankind.  Old soldiers dying from bedsores in Veteran's hospitals.
3,000 dead in the WTC.  500,000 dead from sanctions under Saddam.  1,600
dead American soldiers in Iraq.  15?,000 wounded.  300,000? dead in the
Tsunami.  100,000? dead Civlians in Iraq.  The death? statistics are
astounding.  The reasons are myriad.

I'm sitting here staring at the wall.  I think it was Sandra Dee that just
went also recently that I saw no mention of here.  Anyway, Hunter just blew
his brains out.  That was strange.  I wonder sometimes, sometimes I think,
hmmm, I can't wait to get back to LA, maybe I'll find a woman, maybe I'll
have children (not likely, but one can dream, lol), then I hear of a lady in
Houston drowning her 5 kids, a lady in Dallas cutting off her kid's arms,
etc etc etc, and then Beth here in my little town takes a shotgun, sticks it
in her mouth, and pulls the trigger.

Hey, God, yo, you can send all those children and all those women to my
house, they can stay here with me and the cats and dogs and live out a nice
happy safe life even if I have to walk down main street naked (or something)
every day to bring a smile to their faces.  What's your problem, man...?

Stop letting people hurt, decapitate, disect, shoot, stab, strangle,
mutilate, rape, shake to death, suffocate, poison, runover, kill, drown,
murder and etc others and themselves, you're starting to piss me off.

If it's not you, God, doing it, then put the *ssh*le on the line who is.


"It's for you..."

"Thanks, God, yes, this is George here..."

"George..?  Bush, the President...?"

"Yes, this is me...  What can I do for you...?"

"You f*cking c*cks*cker...."

< Click.     beep beep beep beep beep beep.... >

"Wow, heh, how rude, he hung up..."

"Don't look at me, George, you're the one that wanted to be President..."

"Oh, yeah, God, nevermind, hehe..."


Ah, yeah, that brings me back to my friend Jerry down here who spent 14
years stuck in a wheelchair paralyzed from the neck down trying to be an
activist with hope in his heart on the Internet drumming up interest for
stem cell research typing his soul out one letter of the alphabet at a time
with a little stick in his mouth.

Until his brain simply finally swelled up inside his skull and exploded.

Hmmm, this must be "death reminder" night.    :|

I guess, every now and then you sometimes gotta write something about
someone who dies.

But there's so many, in every country, dying all the time, it never stops,
you start to wonder, what the f*ck.

Is this really just a chrysalis we are walking around in waiting to ascend
to a brighter and newer being in another form after we die, or is this a
prison we are tortured in, desecrated in, and finally killed in, in one way
or another, and this is really something like either Hell or a prison planet
run by multiple dimensional aliens or something.

:o

Anyways, the weekend Cheeseburger rant....

50 million are expected to be infected in Africa alone by HIV soon...?

8 million or more are fully expected to die in some vast "Flu Pandemic" they
are now talking about, spread by, among other things I believe, simple
birds.

Overdoses, beatings to death, car accidents, diseases of all kinds, murders,
suicides, natural disasters, wars, epidemics, nuclear fallout, pesticides,
food additives, hormones, antibiotics, genetically engineered etc, absestos,
lead, poisonings, millions of people everywhere, day after day, mercury in
the food, overfishing, ozone holes, acid rain, smog, global warming,
ecocide, microwave waves etc inundation, death by mosquito bearers, flus and
viruses evolving to evade treatment, choking on a piece of food, falling
down stairs, slipping on the ice, being set up and killed in the woods for
crack money and your tennis shoes, cutting your babies' head off, being
tasered to death, living in Guantanamo or somewhere until they just kill
you, being beaten to death in an American prison, on and on and on the list
of the ways people go, and are going, have gone, and will be going, millions
and millions and billions and etc.

I was just thinking....  With all the things that can kill us and are
killing us every day of our lives, it is a wonder that we even walk around
to begin with sometimes I muse.

I would like to be busy living instead of busy dying, but this is the worst
play I have ever seen, and if I find the director, I am going to fire his
*ss.

I guess, if I had my way about it, I wouldn't mind being f*cked to death.

Anyway, back to beautiful girls blowing their brains out with shotguns.

I used to play tennis here long ago in high school, and Beth was one of the
best female tennis stars we had.  Actually if you weren't *really* good, you
couldn't make the tennis team to begin with, lol.

She wore these nice short skirts on the tennis courts as did the other
girls, but, alas, for the most part, I was just too young to take *real*
notice and was throwing all my skills into this new thing called Tennis,
lol.

She was good.  The tennis instructor here, his son went on to win State
championship of Texas in tennis, I can't remember if Beth went on to win
that or not.  I do remember that I basically couldn't beat any of them ever
for the most part, heh, but that I had such a good serve, that I could even
beat the guy's sone on every serve, so he matched me up with him just to
drive him crazy with my serve, until finally one day, the guy who went on to
be State champion was able to return my serve, lol.

Hey, I figured since I knew I couldn't beat any of them in a game, the
smartest thing to do was just not let them ever hit the ball.     :|

Anyway, I went on to my life, and Beth, and all the rest, went on to her
life.

I don't really know why she did it, but someone told me that she was
depressed about a recent Divorce.

She was a few years younger than me, really pretty girl.  Never saw her ever
do anything bad to anyone.  She was wealthy, stood to inherit quite a sum in
the future, and well, I just don't know...

I would have walked down the street naked for her if it would have made a
difference.

But now, it's just too late.

Life is apparently not just only "not fair" sometimes, but many of us spend
each waking and sleeping moment trying to avoid dying from one cause or
another.

Until "death" in "old age" takes us, from one "cause" or another.

Wouldn't it be funny if death from old age was just another illusion, part
of a grand lie, just a segment of the torture, and we really can live
forever in these amazing bodies, fully healthy and happy, but we too, in all
our education, experience, and intelligence, are suckers to the very end.

Well, it's nice to dream sometimes anyway...


"Ok, here they are, Cheeseburger..."

"Here are what, Karl (Rove)...?"

"My shoes..."

"What do I want with your shoes, Karl...?"

"To drink champagne from them, Cheeseburger, and taste the sweet taste of
the victory of the liberation of Earth as I have...  And become one with
us..."

"You're a charmer to the very end, Karl..."

"Yes, heh, I know..."


And nobody is ever to blame.

For anything.

Victory is ours.  Forever.



I tell you what, if someone had a chance, the cash, and the ability to make
a worldwide communication channel that does not exist today that would
actually wake up, educate, and literally help those who watched, listened
to, or read it, it would be at least something, no matter how much it cost
to build it, to learn someday that someone did not blow their head off with
a shotgun because they turned on their tv and saw something or picked up
something from their coffee table and read something on it that made them
laugh right as they were thinking of crossing over to the other side.

But there is no one there to stop them and say "Wait, people still need you
and your talents desperately, it is not yet your hour..."

And all the money, fame, and "love" in the world does not seem to make a
difference.

It has come to the point long ago that Ignorance is definitely not Bliss.

Nor is lack of communication Heaven, but rather, inevitable, always the
inverse.


Oh well, there you go, just a little tribute ditty to some lady who lived 50
or so years on this planet, was well to do, had everything to live for, got
depressed over a Divorce, and killed herself, but who I will always also
remember as that beautiful healthy little girl with the great legs in that
short skirt knocking the crap out of that tennis ball over the net like a
cruise missile on a blue sky day with the sun shining off her hair.



"Fear me oh Death, and everything in between, for your powers exceeded your
heart much too long ago."





Cheeseburger

- Sing Muses, sing Graces, sing Fates, another has taken to wing.


.

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:40:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:41:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Italian Hostage, Released in Iraq,
	Is Shot and Wounded by G.I.'s
Message-ID: <20050305134009.22D512062DD@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 5, 2005

Italian Hostage, Released in Iraq, Is Shot and Wounded by G.I.'s
By EDWARD WONG and JASON HOROWITZ

U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint fired on an approaching car carrying a freed journalist. An Italian agent died in the shooting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/international/middleeast/05italy.html?ex=1110690000&en=84dd16304321124b&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:40:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:41:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pro and Con Line Up as Bush Presses Social
	Security Effort
Message-ID: <20050305134031.389F61C250@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 5, 2005

Pro and Con Line Up as Bush Presses Social Security Effort
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT and SAM ROBERTS

President Bush asserted that the retirement system requires a drastic change and urged skeptics to put their own ideas forward.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/politics/05social.html?ex=1110690000&en=7d7271430524ee5f&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:40:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:42:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Violent New Front in Drug War Opens on the
	Canadian Border
Message-ID: <20050305134053.0552D1C24C@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


NATIONAL | March 5, 2005

Violent New Front in Drug War Opens on the Canadian Border
By SARAH KERSHAW

A potent form of marijuana from Canada has become the center of an increasingly violent cultivation and smuggling industry.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/national/05bud.html?ex=1110690000&en=f127ec1ce29958f4&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:41:15 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:42:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Efforts to Hide Sensitive Data Pit 9/11
	Concerns Against Safety
Message-ID: <20050305134115.B0C483880A0@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


NATIONAL | March 5, 2005

Efforts to Hide Sensitive Data Pit 9/11 Concerns Against Safety
By CHRISTOPHER DREW

Federal officials will decide whether to remove signs from tank cars, fearing that terrorists could use them to identify targets.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/national/05secret.html?ex=1110690000&en=370f5643a05d6103&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:41:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:42:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Fighting Strategy for Veterans
Message-ID: <20050305134141.6023121F1D5@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 5, 2005

Editorial: A Fighting Strategy for Veterans


Veterans must refuse to let the president play them against other deserving groups in the fight for their federal benefits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/opinion/05sat1.html?ex=1110690000&en=ee333c2aa324098d&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:42:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:43:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: AIDS Drugs Threatened
Message-ID: <20050305134204.E152C388063@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 5, 2005

Editorial: AIDS Drugs Threatened


India's parliament must preserve the country's ability to make the generic AIDS drugs that are crucial to sick people the world over.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/opinion/05sat3.html?ex=1110690000&en=b93968920dc854e4&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:42:23 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:43:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Lobbyist as Snapping Turtle
Message-ID: <20050305134223.CB2221645BC@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 5, 2005

Editorial: Lobbyist as Snapping Turtle


Investigators in the Senate and the Justice Department are following the tracks of Jack Abramoff, a smooth-talking lobbyist who may have gleaned $80 million from Indian casino tribes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/opinion/05sat4.html?ex=1110690000&en=a6b379efcff6eb7d&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:42:45 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:43:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: When Rapists Walk Free
Message-ID: <20050305134245.DB8341C26F@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 5, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: When Rapists Walk Free
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Mukhtaran Bibi's plight exemplifies what will be the central moral challenge of this century.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/opinion/05kristof.html?ex=1110690000&en=31b1c05445a34e30&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:43:03 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:44:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 40 Years of Character
Message-ID: <20050305134303.C0B2C3880A0@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 5, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: 40 Years of Character
By DAVID BROOKS

The Public Interest, the magazine that has had more influence on domestic policy than any other, is ceasing publication next month.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/opinion/05brooks.html?ex=1110690000&en=04c6383b47082513&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:43:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:44:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Crisis Last Time
Message-ID: <20050305134329.84CCE21F1D3@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 5, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: The Crisis Last Time
By PAUL C. LIGHT

The last time Social Security was "fixed," in 1983, the left and right reached a consensus hardly imaginable today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/opinion/05light.html?ex=1110690000&en=e325c3d7e1d04060&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:43:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:45:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Gonzo Gone, Rather Going,
	Watergate Still Here
Message-ID: <20050305134350.049CE3880BA@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


ARTS | March 6, 2005

Frank Rich: Gonzo Gone, Rather Going, Watergate Still Here
By FRANK RICH

Today's White House press corps is less likely to be invaded by maverick talents like a drug-addled reporter than by a paid propagandist like Jeff Gannon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/arts/06rich.html?ex=1110690000&en=38480115db4a5334&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:44:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:45:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: White House Leak
Message-ID: <20050305134438.D0EAB1C27E@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


OPINION | March 5, 2005

White House Leak


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/opinion/l05press.html?ex=1110690000&en=74546324054e5141&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:45:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:47:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Faithful Track Questions,
	Answers and Minutiae on Blogs
Message-ID: <20050305134600.6E88E1645CB@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Either Michael or I (or possibly both) would want you to see this.


NATIONAL | March 5, 2005

Religion Journal: Faithful Track Questions, Answers and Minutiae on Blogs
By DEBRA NUSSBAUM COHEN

There is a growing number of religion-oriented blogs, many of them irreverent and contrarian, and all serving as a meeting point for the like-minded.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/national/05religion.html?ex=1110690000&en=c1653b0811be056a&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:46:23 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:47:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: E.P.A. Scientist Is Bush's Pick as New Chief
Message-ID: <20050305134624.22E633AE3F5@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 5, 2005

E.P.A. Scientist Is Bush's Pick as New Chief
By FELICITY BARRINGER

Stephen L. Johnson's nomination comes at a time when the Bush administration faces a battle in its effort to rewrite air pollution laws.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/politics/05epa.html?ex=1110690000&en=531bb2feff90330a&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:47:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:48:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Ukrainian Suspected in Reporter's Murder Is
	Found Dead
Message-ID: <20050305134730.0998322EF55@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

FYI


INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | March 5, 2005

Ukrainian Suspected in Reporter's Murder Is Found Dead
By STEVEN LEE MYERS

A former interior minister suspected of involvement in the murder of a journalist in 2000 died in what officials called a suicide.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/international/europe/05ukraine.html?ex=1110690000&en=49878920ad9a1ac9&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:47:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:48:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Syria May Announce Partial Pullout of Troops
Message-ID: <20050305134750.84DB91645BA@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 5, 2005

Syria May Announce Partial Pullout of Troops
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

Syria's president is expected to deliver a speech, raising expectations of an announcement of a partial pullout of troops from Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/international/middleeast/05syria.html?ex=1110690000&en=d9e7306701b67bfa&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:48:05 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:49:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: German Court Awards Jewish Heirs of
	Nazi-Seized Emporium
Message-ID: <20050305134805.EDC4413B79A@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

FYI


INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | March 5, 2005

German Court Awards Jewish Heirs of Nazi-Seized Emporium
By RICHARD BERNSTEIN

The decision resolved one of the biggest and most bitterly disputed claims for restitution of property seized by the Nazis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/international/europe/05germany.html?ex=1110690000&en=727c8fd8869ede72&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:48:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:49:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Panel Backs Women's Rights After U.S. Drops
	Abortion Issue
Message-ID: <20050305134829.BBDB2388063@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

FYI


INTERNATIONAL | March 5, 2005

Panel Backs Women's Rights After U.S. Drops Abortion Issue
By WARREN HOGE

The U.S. bowed to global opposition and dropped its insistence that a document being put to a vote include an antiabortion amendment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/international/05nations.html?ex=1110690000&en=8fa327a8dd8704f9&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:48:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:50:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: London Mayor's Latest Statements on Israel
	Raise New Complaints
Message-ID: <20050305134853.889FA11F881@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

FYI


INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | March 5, 2005

London Mayor's Latest Statements on Israel Raise New Complaints
By ALAN COWELL

Ken Livingstone accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and described Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a war criminal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/international/europe/05london.html?ex=1110690000&en=e9a5662ad8f263bb&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:49:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:50:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Aristide Supporters Demonstrate in Haiti
Message-ID: <20050305134934.06327388064@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

FYI


INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | March 5, 2005

Aristide Supporters Demonstrate in Haiti
By REUTERS

The march in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince was the second in five days in support of deposed president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/international/americas/05haiti.html?ex=1110690000&en=af634d905cb535a3&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:49:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:50:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Stopping Illicit Drugs Is Still Uphill
	Battle, Report Shows
Message-ID: <20050305134938.3875A24AF7C@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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FYI


WASHINGTON | March 5, 2005

Stopping Illicit Drugs Is Still Uphill Battle, Report Shows
By JOEL BRINKLEY

The U.S. has been providing anti-narcotics aid to more than a dozen nations, but many of those countries are still producing illegal drugs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/politics/05drugs.html?ex=1110690000&en=b6715318f3be5e9e&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:49:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:51:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Leftist Chief Is Installed in Uruguay and
	Gets Busy on Agenda
Message-ID: <20050305134953.7E58221F1D3@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

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FYI


INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | March 2, 2005

Leftist Chief Is Installed in Uruguay and Gets Busy on Agenda
By LARRY ROHTER

As his first official action as president, Tabaré Vázquez announced a sweeping "Social Emergency Plan" that contains food, health, job and housing components.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/international/americas/02uruguay.html?ex=1110690000&en=7be13b3f2da94e35&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:50:21 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:51:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: On Iran,
	Bush Weighs a Joint Strategy With the Europeans
Message-ID: <20050305135025.90C9513B7D0@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 4, 2005

On Iran, Bush Weighs a Joint Strategy With the Europeans
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

American and European officials have indicated that the U.S. is considering an endorsement of a European proposal to offer Iran trade benefits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/04/politics/04iran.html?ex=1110690000&en=e2acea6bc550438f&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:50:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:51:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sharon and His Party Trade Gibes Over His
	Plan to Leave Gaza
Message-ID: <20050305135046.AFA8A24AF29@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 4, 2005

Sharon and His Party Trade Gibes Over His Plan to Leave Gaza
By GREG MYRE

Israel's prime minister rejected calls for a referendum by the Likud Party's executive committee and leading cabinet members.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/04/international/middleeast/04mideast.html?ex=1110690000&en=9d8107a49e05c11c&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:51:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:52:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Saudis Join Call for Syrian Force to Quit
	Lebanon
Message-ID: <20050305135103.0C7EC24AF98@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 4, 2005

Saudis Join Call for Syrian Force to Quit Lebanon
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

Saudi Arabia's demand added substantially to Syria's international isolation just a day after Russia made a similar call.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/04/international/middleeast/04syria.html?ex=1110690000&en=d70aaa7915fc1ff6&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:53:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:55:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 'Al-Jazeera': And Now, the Other News
Message-ID: <20050305135403.648ED1C26F@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


BOOKS / SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW | March 6, 2005

'Al-Jazeera': And Now, the Other News
By ISABEL HILTON

Hugh Miles has written a fascinating account of the world's most notorious television station.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/books/review/006HILTON.html?ex=1110690000&en=69e8d60090fb4d44&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar  5 05:52:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 05:55:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Undesirable Rich
Message-ID: <20050305135402.DDE911C26A@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


REAL ESTATE | March 6, 2005

The Undesirable Rich
By TERI KARUSH ROGERS

Co-ops are turning away buyers with huge incomes who don't have enough in liquid assets.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/realestate/06cov.html?ex=1110690000&en=7771d9426eb3a21c&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Sat Mar  5 07:34:29 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:35:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: a pretty pass
Message-ID: <191.3a661958.2f5b2b85@aol.com>

 
madbaker, The St. Petersburg Times runs portrait shots of some  of the troops 
killed every Sunday, many of them look like they should be  sneaking dad's 
beer instead of being killed in an unjust war of deception.   The same media 
that will run a front page photo of someone locally run-over and  killed by a 
car, bodies being carried out of the house up the street, or photos  of the 
aftermath of a suicide bomber on an Iragi police training post,  blood, body parts, 
and all doesn't show photos of dead US troops.  It seems  to be a "it's all 
right to show the other photos because it's not our troops  because pictures of 
what is reality may upset our readers" mentality.  It  was the "upset 
readers" mentality that contributed to people standing up and  saying what was 
happening in Vietnam was wrong.  I don't think a single  national media organization 
has the courage to stand-up and show a wounded  soldier screaming for help.
 
Richard Haerther

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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Sat Mar  5 07:40:46 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:42:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Taser sales to general public
Message-ID: <13c.e6503eb.2f5b2cfe@aol.com>

 
Manufacturer Taser International is touting a new compact, lightweight  
version - this one for sale to the public.  The new model's debut comes as  Taser 
International faces questions about the safety of the weapons, even in the  
hands of trained police officers.  The civilian model blasts targets  with 50,000 
volts of electricity instead of bullets, is remarkably similar to  the 
version carried by agencies including the Tampa Police Department. But the  civilian 
version shoots for up to 30 seconds straight, while the police model  shoots 
only five seconds at a time.  
_http://sptimes.com/2005/03/05/Worldandnation/Taser_sales_to_public.shtml_ 
(http://sptimes.com/2005/03/05/Worldandnation/Taser_sales_to_public.shtml)  
Richard Haerther
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar  5 07:45:13 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:46:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [The Star Article]
Message-ID: <4304156.1110037512963.JavaMail.csuser@windsor.thestar.com>

>From harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

null

America sees China as next big threat

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1109976610172&call_pageid=970599119419

Sat Mar 05 10:45:12 EST 2005
From Rhaerther at aol.com  Sat Mar  5 07:50:59 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:52:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: White House Leak
Message-ID: <c4.227c4501.2f5b2f63@aol.com>

 
I would agree with Mr. Wolf, this is not a free press issue as not only has  
the Intelligence Protection Identities Act been violated, this administration  
has been caught many times paying objective members of the "liberal" media to 
 schill the administration policies, a violation of the regulations regarding 
 propaganda.  The reporters wanted the byline, common sense and ethics  
should have set off little personal warning bells that this could  compromise an 
agent, the agent's life, and all those associated with the agent  and lead to 
legal action in the form of prosecution.  The reporters went  for the glory, now 
they are paying for their lack of judgement.  I'm  wondering if an argument 
could be made that the media actions of the Shrub  ad(vertising)ministration 
may actually weaken a true free press defense when  needed?
 
Richard Haerther

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar  5 07:50:52 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:52:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [The Star Article]
Message-ID: <19596854.1110037852233.JavaMail.csuser@london.thestar.com>

>From harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

Peace

H

The task? Keeping Lebanon's 26 parties united

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1109717416400&call_pageid=970599109774&col=Columnist1016110013469&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes

Sat Mar 05 10:50:52 EST 2005
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 07:51:52 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:53:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <31117788.1110037913477.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Personal Message:
 My ISP is working again - for now...
Hopefully,
Bill
 
 ChoicePoint Data Cache Became a Powder Keg
 
 By Robert O'Harrow Jr.
 
  The man on the phone called himself James Garrett.
 
 Speaking with a lilting accent, the man said he was an executive with a Los Angeles company called M.B.S Financial. He told an employee at ChoicePoint Inc. that he wanted to open an online account with the company to receive electronic reports on people.
 
 It was the kind of request that ChoicePoint, one of the nation's largest information services, gets all the time. Thousands of corporate and government clients rely on the company to provide them with publicly available information on people for help in hiring, fraud detection, journalist research, national security and debt collection.
 
 But the man's call last fall was different, according to a detective's description of the encounter and testimony presented in a later court hearing. Unknown to ChoicePoint, the caller was not Garrett, an actor in the Los Angeles area. Police said he was a con artist involved in a vast identity-theft scam that succeeded in making off with records of at least 145,000 people. The real Garrett was just another victim.
 
 The imposter's attempt to gain access to even more files would not only expose the scam, but spark a national outrage and congressional hearings over whether the nation's growing commercial data industry is doing enough to guard personal information.
 
 Yesterday, the burgeoning scandal led ChoicePoint to cut off access to some sensitive data to thousands of small businesses. The company also announced in filings with the government that two senior executives were under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for stock trades that took place after they learned about the scheme last fall but before they made it public. 
 
 On the day the man called ChoicePoint in late September, he was close to getting what he wanted. He had already filed an application for the right to download reports to his computer, for about $15 each, claiming he needed sensitive personal information like Social Security numbers to track down targets of his collection agency.
 
 But to the ChoicePoint employee on the other end of the line, something wasn't quite right. For starters, the caller used a Los Angeles copy store to fax his paperwork to open an account. That seemed strange for a businessman, and even more so when an in-house investigator realized that similar requests had recently been made by others in the Los Angeles area. Something also seemed out of kilter about the local government documents the man forwarded to prove his business existed.
 
 Authorities in Los Angeles were called for help. The officer assigned to the case, a sheriff's  detective named Duane Decker, asked the company whether it could lure the man posing as Garrett back to the copy store as part of a modest sting operation. ChoicePoint would convince Garrett he needed to go back to the copy store to sign a faxed copy of his application and send it back to the company.
 
 The ruse worked. On Oct. 27, a man claiming to be Garrett showed up as promised at the Copymat store on Sunset Boulevard. He approached the counter, asked for a document filed for James Garrett and paid the bill.
 
 Decker, lingering nearby, asked the man if he was Garrett. When the man said yes, Decker asked him to step outside. As they left the store, the detective said he thought he had an easy case in hand. He couldn't have been more wrong.
 
 The man Decker stopped was Olatunji A. Oluwatosin, a 41-year-old Nigerian national. Oluwatosin claimed he was picking up the paperwork for another man named Bobby, according to testimony at Oluwatosin's court hearing.
 
 On the way out of the store with Decker, Oluwatosin dropped the paperwork he had just received from ChoicePoint and other forms for a company dubbed Gala Financial. At the time, he was carrying five cell phones, only one of them in his own name. Three credit cards bore the names of other people, including at least one woman.
 
 At Decker's request, Oluwatosin shared his address in North Hollywood. Once there, Decker said he found a printout of a ChoicePoint search involving another name, that of a man he later learned had lost $12,000 to identity thieves. Decker also found a receipt for a public storage business not far away. Before long, searching in unit B-245, Decker found what he later told a state court judge were the tell-tale signs of an identity theft operation: new televisions, electric generators and other products in shipping boxes stripped bare of details about where the goods came from.
 
 The paperwork offered other leads. Decker found addresses that turned out to be commercial mail services. Investigators asked to see the unopened mail at some of those locations. One clerk brought out two large bags containing credit card applications, financial statements and other mail that had been redirected from homes around the nation.
 
 Driving to more than a dozen commercial mail services in one day, Decker and a postal inspector identified redirected mail from more than 700 people. Further investigation revealed links to 22 other ChoicePoint accounts that had been opened under false pretenses. 
 
 "I realized that this was just absolutely huge and out of control," Decker said.
 
 Identity theft and fraud has become a national problem in a few short years. In 2003, federal authorities estimated that about 750,000 people fell victim to some identity scam. Now the prevailing estimate is close to 10 million.
 
 Driving the rise is a growing number of clever criminals who use people's Social Security numbers and other facts of their lives to take on their personas to run up credit cards bills, empty bank accounts and commit other crimes. But consumer advocates say it's also the failure of so many information brokers, retailers and credit issuers to adequately protect records or do enough to stop swindlers by verifying the identities of customers.
 
  Credit card companies, marketers and others have lost millions of files to hackers and identity thieves in recent years. Two years ago, ChoicePoint itself was hit by another identity theft scheme involving personal records of thousands of people.
 
 ChoicePoint, based in Alpharetta, Ga., has assembled a huge trove of personal data in recent years. Much of that information, such as court rulings, driver records and real estate details, comes from government agencies. The company also purchases information from the three major credit bureaus and other information services.
 
 Its ability to create and electronically transmit exhaustive dossiers on people makes it a favorite of many Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and law enforcement and Homeland Security authorities. Today, it has more than 100,000 customers and revenue approaching $1 billion, a large proportion based on the resale of details about individuals.
 
 Before granting service, ChoicePoint typically requires a photocopy of a driver's license and business records on file with a state or local government agency. A ChoicePoint employee would then verify that such a person and company exists. Identity thieves skirted this system by using fake IDs and by setting up front companies on paper, registered with government agencies in phony names, according to court and company records.
 
 Olatunji Oluwatosin pleaded no contest to identity theft in a California court last month. He was sentenced to 16 months in state prison. Authorities are still investigating who else may be involved in the scandal. They believe others, possibly many others, worked with him.
 
 ChoicePoint officials, meanwhile, said they have since identified more than 50 accounts that appear to be phony. The company has warned people to watch for unauthorized activity on their credit reports and has offered to give them free access to that information, at an estimated cost of $2 million.
 
  The real James Garrett said he first noticed that something was amiss when he received a call from a credit card company. The company told him that a card in his name had been redirected to another address. When Garrett went to police to report the fraud, police told him he was apparently part of an identity theft ring, possibly related to terrorist financing, Garrett said yesterday.
 
 An investigator in the ChoicePoint case later told him that identity thieves had obtained not only his name and address, but his Social Security number, credit card password and mother's maiden name.
 
 "They knew everything about me," Garrett said.
 
 Behind the scenes, the case continues to expand. Decker and other authorities in Los Angeles have discussed the case with the FBI and Secret Service, which has indicated it may have another identity theft suspect with ties to the ChoicePoint case. The Federal Trade Commission has begun an inquiry. 
 
 At the same time, public ire is intensifying. Congress is planning to hold hearings about the breach and the information industry in general. Some of those hearings may involve questions about national security. Democrats, including Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) have asked for a study about how terrorists might use information brokers like ChoicePoint.
 
 In response to the thefts, ChoicePoint said in an SEC filing that it is "discontinuing the sale of information products that contain sensitive consumer data . . . except where there is either a specific consumer-driven transaction or benefit or where the products support federal, state or local government and law enforcement purposes."
 
 "We fully support a continued national discussion of how to ensure that information is used responsibly, that the positive benefits of information use are preserved and that the illegal uses of data are severely punished," the company's filing said.
 
 The company has defended the sale of hundreds of thousands of shares since November, before the scandal became public, by ChoicePoint chief executive Derek V. Smith and president and chief operating officer Douglas C. Curling, saying the transactions were part of scheduled sales arranged last fall. Smith said he personally did not know about the security breach until January.
 
 Decker, meanwhile, said that after four months it feels like his investigation is just beginning. 
 
 "Sometimes you're looking at Social Security numbers, and all of the sudden a name pops out and you realize, 'These are real people, all of them,' " he said. "They could all be victims, if not now, in the future. The information is out there."
 
 Special correspondent Kimberly Edds contributed to this story from Los Angeles.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 07:52:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:53:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <13941296.1110037961588.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 So Now Bush Cares?
 
 By Eugene Robinson
 
    I have to assume that President Bush's sudden concern for my life expectancy, and that of my homies, is just breathtaking political cynicism,  nothing more. He isn't sincere. If he were, it would mean a road-to-Damascus transformation as profound as his earlier conversion from jejune,  fun-loving frat boy to sober, responsible man of God. 
 
 Here's what he said  in January, pitching his dodgy private Social Security accounts at a forum: "African American males die sooner than other males do, which means the system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people. And that needs to be fixed."
 
 Like I said, it takes your breath away. An administration that claims to be colorblind, that has been consistently hostile to affirmative action, that deals with black America mainly by inviting some preachers to the White House every now and then to toss them a few faith-based dollars -- an administration that denies race any importance -- has suddenly identified a blatant racial injustice and is determined to right it? 
 
 What this would mean, if Bush were serious, is that he now accepts race as an objective, quantifiable factor in American life. Not only that: It would also mean that to measure the impact of race he is using not "opportunity" -- the Republican mantra -- but "outcome," which is doctrinal heresy. The grave, after all, qualifies as the ultimate outcome. 
 
 If the president were serious, he'd have to spend the rest of his term reversing his policies. Take the death penalty. Bush was the Grand Executioner of Texas as governor, but since blacks are disproportionately represented on death row and  the killers of white victims are more likely to be executed than those who killed blacks, the system must be "inherently unfair." Obviously it "needs to be fixed," doesn't it? 
 
 What's so cynical about the whole thing is that Bush, for once, is right. Black men in America, statistically, do die six years sooner than white men. That's irrelevant to the Social Security discussion, because most of those excess deaths occur earlier in life, but it's still a fact -- white men live to 75 on average, black men to 69. 
 
 So let's fix it, Mr. President. According to health statistics your administration published last year, one big factor is that infant and neonatal mortality rates for black Americans are nearly three times those for whites. A lot of black baby boys never make it out of the hospital. Let's start with that. 
 
 Why would infant mortality in black America be nearly twice as high as in impoverished, repressed Cuba, to cite one comparison? For one thing, the mothers of those doomed black baby boys are twice as likely to be teenagers as the mothers of white baby boys, and those too-young black mothers are twice as likely to have had no prenatal care. Blacks are less likely than whites to have health insurance and more likely to use hospital emergency rooms as their primary source of physician care. 
 
  Please, no lectures about personal responsibility and choice. That was the old you. I agree we're all responsible for our decisions, but nobody gets to choose his parents. Nor do black boys choose, in much larger numbers than whites, to grow up in single-mother households, often in desperate, violent, drug-ridden neighborhoods. Black men   15 to 24 are eight times more likely to be murdered than white men that age. Fix it, please. 
 
 Black men are also much more likely to suffer from stress-related diseases such as hypertension and to suffer "serious psychological distress" -- if they're poor, that is. If they're not poor, they have fewer mental problems than whites. 
 
 That's the real reason we black men go to our reward so soon, Mr. Bush -- poverty. According to your figures, 24.1 percent of black Americans live in poverty  vs. 8 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Yet you accept this as a given, so you can make specious arguments to salvage your attempt to privatize Social Security. 
 
  Raise the minimum wage. Put some real money into health care, especially prenatal care, and, while you're at it, put some real money into No Child Left Behind -- serious money, Iraq-scale money, enough to put decent teachers and new books in the classrooms of inner-city schools and toilet paper in the bathrooms. Stop slashing every discretionary program your budget-cutters can find. Care as much about what's happening on the streets of Washington, Detroit and Chicago as you care about Baghdad, Mosul and Basra. 
 
  Until you do, please, no more crocodile tears for my posse and me. 
 
 eugenerobinson@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 07:53:42 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:54:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <21136785.1110038022877.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 'Nuking' Free Speech
 
 By Robert Byrd
 
    A "nuclear option" is targeting the Senate. No, this isn't some terrorist plot. Rather, some in the Senate are considering dropping a legislative bomb that threatens the rights to dissent, to unlimited debate and to freedom of speech.
 
 President Bush has renominated 20 men and women to the federal bench, seven of whom the Senate rejected last year. To force a vote on these nominees, some senators are hoping to launch a parliamentary weapon aimed at the heart of open and extended debate. By a simple majority vote, a Senate filibuster on judicial appointments would be "nuked" for all time.
 
  It starts with shutting off debate on judges, but it won't end there. This nuclear option could rob a senator of the right to speak out against an overreaching executive branch or a wrongheaded policy. It could destroy the Senate's very essence -- the constitutional privilege of free speech and debate.
 
  To understand the danger, one needs to understand the Senate. The Framers created an institution designed not for speed or efficiency but as a place where mature wisdom would reside. They intended the Senate to be the stabilizer, the fence, the check on attempts at tyranny. To carry out that role, an individual senator has the right to speak, perhaps without limit, in order to expose an issue or draw attention to new or differing viewpoints. But this legislative nuclear option would mute dissent and gag opposition voices.
 
  We have heard the president call for an up-or-down vote on his judicial nominees. But nowhere in the Constitution is an up-or-down vote -- or even a vote at all -- guaranteed, and the president cannot reinterpret our nation's founding document to achieve his political goals. Those who disagree with the president in this matter will be labeled "obstructionists," but nothing could be  further from the truth. 
 
 A federal judge is selected for a lifetime appointment. Senators must apply their best judgment to each selection. If a senator believes a nominee should not be confirmed, that senator has a duty not to consent to  confirmation. Yet, for the temporary goal of confirming a handful of objectionable judicial nominees, those pushing the nuclear option would callously trample on freedom of speech and debate.
 
  If senators are denied their right to free speech on judicial nominations, an attack on extended debate on all other matters cannot be far behind. This would mean no leverage for the minority to effect compromise, and no bargaining power for individual senators as they strive to represent the people of their states.
 
  Yes, Americans believe in majority rule, but we also believe in minority rights. Our liberties can be truly secure only in a forum of open debate where minority views can be freely discussed. Leave it to the House to be the majoritarian body. Let the Senate continue to be the one in which a minority can have the freedom to protect a majority from its own folly.
 
 The writer is a Democratic senator from West Virginia and former  majority leader.
 
   

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar  5 07:54:04 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:55:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: US troops kill rescuer as Italian
	hostage is plucked to safety in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050305155404.E5042367E@mullet.gul3.gnl>

Harold spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harold:

Peace H
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

US troops kill rescuer as Italian hostage is plucked to safety in Iraq
Rory Carroll  in Baghdad,  John Hooper  in Rome and Sam Jones
Saturday March 05 2005
The Guardian


American soldiers in Iraq opened fire on a car carrying an Italian journalist who had just been freed by kidnappers last night, injuring the woman and killing an Italian secret service agent who tried to protect her. 

Joy and relief in Italy at the release of Giuliana Sgrena, who had been held hostage for a month, quickly curdled to despair and anger after the car taking her to the airport was fired on by US forces, who apparently thought they were under attack.  

Ms Sgrena, 57, was hit in the shoulder with shrapnel but the wound was not thought to be serious. The agent who threw himself over her, Nicola Calipari, was killed and two other agents wounded. Mr Calipari was the lead negotiator in securing the reporter's release.  

The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, said he was "flabbergasted" by the shooting, which happened at around 9pm, and summoned the American ambassador for answers. Mr Berlusconi has   maintained troops in Iraq despite public hostility.  

"I believe we must have an explanation for such a serious incident ... someone must take the responsibility," he said. The Bush administration said last night it regretted the killing. "We regret the loss of life. The incident is under investigation," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.  

Gabriele Polo, the editor of Ms Sgrena's newspaper, the communist daily Il Manifesto, said staff were celebrating her   release with champagne when they learned of the shooting.  

"This news, which should have be a moment of celebration, has been ruined by this fire fight," Mr Polo told Italian television. "An Italian agent has been killed by an American bullet. A tragic demonstration which we never wanted that everything that's happening in Iraq is completely senseless and mad."  

It was one of the most bizarre "friendly fire" incidents in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.  

"At approximately 8.55pm tonight, coalition forces ... fired on a vehicle that was approaching a coalition checkpoint in Baghdad at a high rate of speed," a US spokesman in Baghdad said. "The recently freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was an occupant in the vehicle and was apparently injured." US troops apparently fired warning shots and opened fire when the car did not respond.  

After countless shootings over the past two years, Iraqis have learned to approach US checkpoints cautiously.  

Ms Sgrena was treated at a US military hospital and is ex pected to go home today. Masked gunmen abducted her near Baghdad's university on February 4 after she had interviewed Sunnis hostile to the occupation. In a video released two weeks ago she was seen weeping as she begged for her life and for foreign troops to leave the country.  

Her plight touched the Italian nation. Thousands marched through Rome calling her for her safe return and football stadiums hung banners reading "Free Giuliana".  

Her release yesterday was unexpected, and the circumstances unclear. Her father was so overwhelmed he needed medical assistance and colleagues at Il Manifesto wept and applauded.  

Speaking to the Guardian last night, Il Manifesto's foreign editor, Angela Pascucci, rejected suggestions that Sgrena had been targeted by the US because she had written about abuses at Abu Ghraib prison.  

Last September, two Italian aid workers who were held captive in Iraq for three weeks were freed amid suggestions, denied by authorities, that a $1m ransom had been paid. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 07:54:22 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:55:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <31154593.1110038062956.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Road to Damascus
 
 By Charles Krauthammer
 
    Revolutions do not stand still. They either move forward or die. We are at the dawn of a glorious, delicate, revolutionary moment in the Middle East. It was triggered by the invasion of Iraq, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and televised images of 8 million Iraqis voting in a free election. Which led to the obvious question throughout the Middle East: Why the Iraqis and not us?
 
 To be sure, the rolling revolution began outside the Middle East with the Afghan elections. That was followed by the Iraqi elections. In between came free Palestinian elections that produced a moderate, reform-oriented leadership, followed by  an amazing mini-uprising in the Palestinian parliament that rejected an attempt to force corrupt cronies on the new government.
 
 And it continued -- demonstrations in Egypt for democracy, a shocking rarity that led President Hosni Mubarak to promise the first contested presidential elections in Egyptian history. And now, of course, the "cedar revolution" in Lebanon, where the assassination of opposition leader Rafiq Hariri led to an explosion of people power in the streets that brought down Syria's puppet-government in Beirut.
 
 Revolution is in the air. What to do? We are already hearing voices for restraint about liberating Lebanon. Flynt Leverett, your usual Middle East expert,  took to the New York Times to oppose the immediate end  of Syria's occupation of Lebanon. Instead, we should be trying to "engage and empower" the tyranny in Damascus.
 
 These people never learn. Here we are on the threshold of what Arabs in the region are calling the fall of their own Berlin Wall and our "realists" want us to go back to making deals with dictators. It would be not just a blunder but a tragedy. It would betray our principles. And it would betray the people in Lebanon who have been encouraged by those principles.
 
 Moreover, the cedar revolution promises not only to liberate Lebanon but to transform the Middle East. Why? Because a forced Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon could bring down the Assad dictatorship. And changing Damascus would transform the region.
 
 We are not talking about invading Syria. We have done enough invading and there is no need. If Bashar Assad loses Lebanon, his regime could be fatally weakened.
 
 This is for two reasons: economics and psychology. Like all Soviet-style systems, the Syrian economy is moribund. It lives off Lebanese commerce and corruption. Take that away and a pillar of the Assad kleptocracy disappears. As does the psychological pillar. Dictatorships such as Assad's rule by fear, which is sustained by power and the illusion of power. Control of Lebanon is the centerpiece of that illusion. Its loss, at the hands of unarmed civilians no less, would be a deadly blow to the Assad mystique.
 
  Bashar Assad has succeeded Saddam Hussein as the principal bad actor in the region. Syria, an island of dictatorship in a sea of liberalization, is desperately trying to destabilize its neighbors. The Hariri bombing is universally believed to be the work of Syria. The orders for  last Friday's Tel Aviv bombing,  designed to blow up the new Palestinian-Israeli rapprochement, came from Damascus. And we know that Syria is sheltering leading Baathist insurgents who are killing Iraqis and Americans. 
 
 There was a brief Damascus Spring five years ago when Syrians began demanding more freedom. Assad repressed it. Now 140 Syrian intellectuals have petitioned their own government to withdraw from Lebanon. They signed their names. The fear is lifting there, too. Were the contagion to spread to Damascus, the entire region from the Mediterranean Sea to the Iranian border would be on a path to democratization.
 
  This  could all be reversed, of course. Liberal revolutions were suppressed in Europe in 1848, Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Tiananmen Square in 1989. Determined and ruthless regimes can extinguish revolutions. Which is why the worst thing we can do is "engage and empower" tyrants.
 
  This is no time to listen to the voices of tremulousness, indecision, compromise and fear. If we had listened to them two years ago, we would still be doing oil for food, no-fly zones and worthless embargoes. It is our principles that brought us to this moment by way of Afghanistan and Iraq. They need to guide us now -- through Beirut to Damascus. 
 
 
 
 charleskrauthammer.com">letters@
 
 charleskrauthammer.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 07:54:57 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:56:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32399102.1110038098467.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Scientist Named To Head The EPA
 
 By Shankar Vedantam
 
   President Bush yesterday nominated a career scientist, Stephen L. Johnson, to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, taking environmental groups by surprise and earning the White House uncharacteristic praise from advocates who have long been bitter foes.
 
 If Johnson is confirmed by the Senate, as is expected, he will become the first professional scientist to head an agency that has become a flash point for controversy on such issues as global warming, pesticide safety and drilling for oil in the Arctic.
 
 Johnson's agency is facing tough budget challenges and sustained accusations that its scientific mission has been undercut by political pressures. Former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman cited such interference in her decision to quit, and a recent inspector general's report suggested that political operatives stampeded agency scientists into a plan for regulating mercury pollution that is biased toward industry interests.
 
 Bush said Johnson would balance environmental concerns with economic imperatives: "His immediate task is to work with Congress to pass my Clear Skies initiative. . . . Congress needs to get it to my desk this year."
 
 That legislation, which Republicans have been struggling in recent weeks to get out of the Senate's Environment and Public Works  Committee, is only one of the tough challenges ahead. Environmental advocates said Johnson had earned substantial goodwill but would need to prove he can  keep politics out of the agency's scientific and regulatory activities. 
 
 "I can't say enough positive about him from the standpoint of his fairness and rigor and openness," said Kenneth Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization that has often clashed with the EPA -- and with Johnson. "The big question will be whether he will have the freedom to call 'em like he sees 'em, or whether there will be the kind of interference that Governor Whitman has written about."
 
 In a break from Washington's usual climate of hostility over environmental issues, Johnson's appointment drew praise from groups as diverse as CropLife America, which represents the pesticide industry; the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, which represents utilities; and environmental advocacy groups such as the National Environmental Trust and the League of Conservation Voters.
 
 Sen.  James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.) said he hopes the appointment "will help repair and restore the credibility of the Bush administration's environmental record with the American public, Congress and the world." Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate committee debating Clear Skies, who has clashed with Jeffords, also welcomed the appointment and said he looks forward to working with Johnson. Both senators, along with Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), have been in tough negotiations over the Bush proposal.
 
 Johnson is likely to find himself in this crossfire immediately. Carper said he congratulated Johnson on his nomination yesterday -- and demanded to know why the EPA had been slow to provide data that would allow comparisons between the Bush plan and alternatives. Carper said he does not think agreement on the initiative will be possible by Wednesday, when the committee, after numerous postponements, hopes to take action on the bill. 
 
 "There is obviously somebody constraining the provision of that information," Carper said in an interview. "We have been told for a couple of years that the hands of EPA have been tied by direction from the White House."
 
 Bush's legislation seeks to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury, but Carper contends that its provisions do not go far enough fast enough and that they would weaken the 1990 Clean Air Act. The two sides are also far apart on whether the proposal should control carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming. 
 
 The EPA is expected to issue two regulations this month that would also control most of those pollutants, but the administration has made it clear it would prefer to see a legislative solution, because it would be less vulnerable to legal challenges. Fred Krupp, president of the advocacy group Environmental Defense, said the first test of Johnson's independence would be whether the EPA issued those rules; spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman said the rules are on the way.
 
 Johnson has worked at the EPA for 24 years, most recently as acting administrator of the agency, which has more than 18,000 employees and a budget of $8.6 billion. His education in biology and pathology led to his taking on responsibilities involving the regulation of pesticides and toxic substances.
 
 Many Washington insiders had expected James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, to take the job, and Johnson's appointment came as a surprise. But Frank O'Donnell, president of the environmental group Clean Air Watch, predicted that Connaughton might still decide  policy. 
 
 "The real story is that on major issues, the decisions are going to be made directly by the White House," O'Donnell said. Johnson's appointment "is another sign that the EPA is, in effect, being downgraded to put a career guy there instead of a former governor," he said.
 
 Whitman, a former governor of New Jersey, was succeeded by Mike Leavitt, former governor of Utah. Bush tapped Leavitt in December to head the Department of Health and Human Services.
 
 An EPA economist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, said many staff members were relieved that Johnson had been chosen: "It will be good for morale, but people in the agency are skeptical about whether he is  really going to be  allowed to accomplish anything."
 
 Those concerns were balanced by industry worries that Johnson might not be independent of his longtime colleagues, said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council. 
 
 "Some in industry are concerned that Johnson is too close to career personnel," he said. "Some in the environmental groups are concerned he is not tough enough. I think this may mean he is just right."
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 07:55:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:56:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <28929405.1110038140827.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 China, Others Criticize U.S. Report on Rights
 
 By Edward Cody
 
   BEIJING, March 3 -- China accused the United States on Thursday of using a double standard to judge human rights in other countries, adding to a list of nations suggesting that the government that produced the Abu Ghraib prison abuses has no business commenting on what happens elsewhere.
 
  "No country should exclude itself from the international human rights development process or view itself as the incarnation of human rights that can reign over other countries and give orders to the others," Premier Wen Jiabao's cabinet declared, three days after the State Department criticized China in its annual human rights report.
 
  The Chinese retort, which contained a long list of what it labeled U.S. human rights abuses at home and abroad, came directly from Wen's cabinet, giving it more weight than a Foreign Ministry comment or editorial. In addition, it used unusually direct language -- for example, charging that the United States "frequently commits wanton slaughters during external invasions and military attacks."
 
  A number of other countries criticized in the U.S. report expressed a similar view, that the Bush administration has compromised on human rights and has no standing to chastise others. Such responses often follow Washington's annual report, but the reaction has become more intense and more readily voiced since U.S. abuses of Iraqi and other prisoners were publicized around the world last year.
 
  "Unfortunately, [the report] once again gives us reason to say that double standards are a characteristic of the American approach to such an important theme," the Russian Foreign Ministry declared after reviewing the report. "Characteristically off-screen is the ambiguous record of the United States itself."
 
  The Venezuelan vice president, Jose Vicente Rangel, said in a statement that the United States was "not qualified from any point of view" to lecture others on human rights. "The State Department report is more of the same, that is to say, more lies, more falsehoods and more hypocrisies, and therefore it has absolutely no worth," he added.
 
  Jose Luis Soberanes, president of Mexico's Human Rights Commission, also said the United States lacked moral authority to pass judgment on others, citing U.S. treatment of Mexicans who sneak across the border into the United States. He compared Washington's criticism of Mexico's record to "the donkey talking about long ears" -- the Spanish-language equivalent of "the pot calling the kettle black" -- "because the United States violates human rights, especially those of our countrymen."
 
  "The U.S. State Department in its human rights report blames countries such as Egypt and Syria for using torture; however, there is not even a mention of the incidents in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq," complained the mainstream Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. "Of course, there is no mention of Guantanamo, either."
 
  Amnesty International, the human rights organization, noted that the Bush administration has turned over prisoners arrested in the battle against terrorism to some of the countries it cites in the report for torturing prisoners. Human rights activists long have charged that U.S. intelligence officers resorted to this practice, known as rendition, as a way to avoid U.S. restrictions prohibiting the torture of prisoners by allowing foreign agents to do so.
 
  "The State Department's carefully compiled record of countries' abuses may perversely have been transformed into a Yellow Pages for the outsourcing of torture," said William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA.
 
  The acting assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, Michael Kozak, acknowledged when his report was released Monday that the United States did not have a perfect record. But he argued that Americans who commit abuses, such as the soldiers at Abu Ghraib, were being court-martialed and that interrogation techniques used with terrorism suspects at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were being challenged in U.S. courts.
 
  The Chinese statement issued Thursday dismissed this defense as legal window-dressing, suggesting that Abu Ghraib and other instances of abuse were not exceptions committed by bad apples, but the Bush administration's policy in the war on terrorism.
 
  "The International Committee of the Red Cross believed that abuse of the detained Iraqis in the notorious Abu Ghraib Prison was not a single case. It was systematic behavior," Beijing's declaration said. "According to some White House documents that were made public on June 22, 2004, the Department of Defense approved to use harsh means to interrogate prisoners in Guantanamo." 
 
  China has made a regular practice in recent years of replying to the annual human rights report, denouncing it as interference in domestic affairs. But in counterattacking, it usually focuses on what Chinese officials see as social rights, saying, for instance, that the United States violates the right to good health, the right to be free from racial prejudice and the right to live in security.
 
  Thursday's response listed these charges. But it also included an expanded and strongly worded section on alleged human rights violations committed in Iraq and worldwide in the battle against terrorism, particularly the heavily publicized mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, near Baghdad.
 
  "The newspaper Pyramid pointed out that the true face of Americans was exposed through this incident," it said, apparently referring to the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, or Pyramids in English. 
 
  In addition, the Chinese document cited what it said was testimony by "one low-ranking U.S. officer" that U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib abused children at the prison and "even assaulted young girls sexually."
 
  China broke off a formal human rights dialogue with the Bush administration a year ago, after the United States sponsored a resolution condemning China at the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva. A U.S. delegation met with officials in Beijing in early February to discuss resuming the dialogue, but the State Department has not yet made clear whether it intends to introduce a similar resolution in Geneva this year.
 
  Correspondents Kevin Sullivan in Mexico City, Peter Finn in Moscow and Doug Struck in Toronto, and researcher Yesim Borg in Istanbul contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 07:56:27 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:57:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10996362.1110038188638.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 New Industry Helping Banks Fight Back
 
 By Brian Krebs
 
  A bustling new sector of the technology industry is helping companies cope with a surge in online financial fraud known as "phishing," which uses e-mail to lure people into giving up their financial data at counterfeit bank and e-commerce Web sites. 
 


 But the fledgling industry as a whole has adopted divergent approaches to combating the problem, and there are signs that federal regulators could soon step in and mandate specific technologies. As a result, many banks have put off adopting the new services until the market matures. In the meantime, some security experts say, a few banks are resorting to hacker-like tactics in their own defense. 
 


 Only a fraction of the roughly 9,000 financial institutions nationwide have been targeted by phishers, but that ratio is changing for the worse each day. To date, online con artists have impersonated more than 150 banks, yet only about a third of those targets have deployed commercial protective technologies, said David Jevans, chair of the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a coalition of banks and technology companies. 
 


 The anti-phishing market is so young that there is little public analyst information about how much banks are spending on the new technologies. The annual sales for each of the companies contacted for this story varied widely, ranging from less than $1 million to $20 million. But several companies only began selling their services in mid-2004, and nearly all said they expected business to double in 2005 as attackers begin targeting other industries. 
 


 Jim Maloney, chief security officer for Portland, Ore.-based Corillian, said the company provides anti-phishing services to roughly 20 banks, with nearly as many currently evaluating its products. Maloney declined to name the company's clients, but said the banking sites it manages in-house range from credit unions to several of the top 30 biggest financial institutions. 
 

Getting Ahead of the Phishers


 Most anti-phishing companies offer a mix of products, such as domain-name monitoring -- checking to see if potentially deceptive Internet addresses have been registered -- and a "takedown" service that involves contacting the Internet service provider (ISP) responsible and persuading them to shut down the offending site. 
 


 But phish busting is a complex endeavor that involves combating online criminal activity on a multitude of fronts, and most companies admittedly excel at just one or two of those areas. Some companies sift junk e-mail; others scour the Web for fraud sites. Some rely on close relationships with domain registrars and ISPs to gain intelligence on current or future attacks. Still others monitor online banking sites for signs that the sites are being cased as possible targets. 
 


 In acknowledgement of the fragmented market for the technologies they offer, several leading anti-phishing companies recently formed the "Anti-Fraud Alliance" to appeal to companies looking for a more comprehensive strategy. The group's members have agreed to promote and re-sell each others' products.
 


 Perhaps the most recognizable name in the alliance is Cupertino, Calif.-based Internet security firm Symantec Corp., makers of Norton antivirus software. Symantec provides customers with information about the latest e-mail scams. Last May, at the height of 2004's phishing epidemic, Symantec acquired anti-spam company Brightmail and now sells access to its spam caches to give clients early warning of scam e-mails. 
 


 One of the more unique approaches comes from Corillian, another member of the alliance. The company got its start in 1997 developing online banking sites for financial institutions and has built more than 60 such sites so far, a dozen of which are controlled directly from its headquarters. Because of this background, Corillian is adept at spotting the telltale signs of an impending phishing attack.
 


 Phishers casing a bank often spend unusual amounts of time on a site they wish to target, or use automated tools to quickly download a copy of every page on the site. Corillian also pays special attention to suspicious bank Web site traffic on weekends, when most phishers conduct their reconnaissance, Maloney said. 
 


 To look more authentic, many fraudulent Web sites also link directly to high-quality images on the targeted bank's real site. By scouring the bank's Internet logs for "hits" from unauthorized sites using their customers' images, the company often can locate a fraud site while it is still being built.
 


 Phishers nearly always verify stolen information before selling it on the black market, so when Corillian spots someone accessing numerous online bank accounts from the same Internet address, the company notifies the bank that those accounts have likely been compromised. 
 


 Alliance partner NameProtect, also based in Portland, watches for signs that phishers are incorporating its clients' trademarks by monitoring spam and domain-name registrations and by trawling the Internet for counterfeit bank sites that are still in production. 
 


 In mid-2004, NameProtect inked a deal with MasterCard International to track the underground market for credit card information. Since then, the company has helped MasterCard find tens of thousands of stolen account numbers, said Sergio Pinon, MasterCard's senior vice president of global security. 
 


 NameProtect also shares most of its intelligence with the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI. Last year, the company helped authorities track down and shutter dozens of fraud-enabling Web sites that trafficked in more than 1.4 million stolen credit card numbers. 
 


 One of NameProtect's closest competitors, San Francisco-based MarkMonitor, last July launched a new service to help customers keep their brand names out of phishers' hands by monitoring online chat rooms and Internet-address registries to spot potential scam Web sites. MarkMonitor uses this data as evidence to convince registrars to transfer ownership of the domains to the companies that own the trademarks. 
 


 MarkMonitor, which is not part of the Anti-Fraud Alliance, also is rolling out another service called Identity Tracker, which can search the company's millions of Internet address records to connect a fraudulent or infringing site with the site's creator or owner. 
 


 Phishers who register domain names that contain trademarked words usually purchase the sites under false identities -- often using the credit data and identities of previous fraud victims. But Mark Shull, MarkMonitor's president and chief executive officer, said that in many cases scam artists reuse at least one piece of information with each registration, usually an e-mail address. By correlating registration data for a known fraud site against millions of other records, the company often finds that the same individual has registered dozens or even hundreds of addresses that could be used in future attacks. 
 


 "In many cases there are sites out there that give you the true identity or at least some piece of real information about whoever is behind it," Shull said. 
 

Poisoned Phish


 Few banks are eager to discuss publicly the steps they are taking to keep out hackers and identity thieves, in part because the scammers can use the information to make future attacks more successful. But some experts say a number of banks have taken a page from the attackers' playbook by using legally questionable techniques to disable public access to fraudulent sites. 
 


 Shutting down a phishing Web site can be a time-consuming and expensive task, particularly if the site is based in a foreign country that either lacks anti-hacking laws or stringent enforcement of such laws. The typical fake site stays online for six days before being shut down; in the meantime the company targeted by the scam must battle a public perception that it is powerless to prevent customers from being robbed. 
 


 Faced with such uncertainty, experts say some banks will quietly overwhelm the fraud sites with so much data that they can no longer accept information from would-be victims. These banks submit massive amounts of phony personal and financial information to a fraud site to dilute the phisher's database, a technique known as “stuffing” or poisoning.” 
 


 But Tom Liston, president and founder of Ingleside, Ill.-based LaBrea Technologies and a volunteer at the SANS Internet Storm Center in Bethesda, Md., said poisoning can result in a de facto "denial-of-service" attack. When launched with the intent to disable a legitimate Web site, such an attack is a federal crime that can carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. 
 


 "What you find is that these phishing sites are mostly run off of Web servers that have been installed on hijacked home computers, so they can't really take a whole lot of submissions all at once," said Liston, who said he has written and tested his own stuffing program against several fraud sites. "I've seen plenty of evidence that indicates that the banks have taken down sites this way, but most will never admit it or if they do they'll say it was done inadvertently as a result of poisoning." 
 


 A number of anti-phishing companies offer the retaliatory service, but few advertise them. One exception is New York City-based Cyota, which specializes in convincing ISPs to quickly disable phishing sites. The average fraud site stays active for roughly six days, but the company claims that most fraud sites targeting its customers last fewer than 5 hours. 
 


 Amir Orad, Cyota's vice president of marketing, said his company offers a poisoning service but that it does not condone denial-of-service attacks. Orad said the service is designed to help banks plant dummy account information at phishing sites, which the banks can then use as breadcrumbs leading them back to the people behind the attacks.
 


 Submitting too much fake data at once would only alert the phishers that the bogus information is being offered as a trap, Orad said. He added that Cyota has applied for several patents on its poisoning technology, which ensures that several minutes pass between submissions of dummy account data. 
 


 Dan Larkin, unit chief of the FBI's Internet Fraud Compliant Center in Morgantown, W.Va., said he has heard reports of banks disabling sites by knocking them offline, but added that the FBI has no evidence that any such incidents ever occurred. 
 


 Liston said he's not surprised. "Who exactly are the phishers going to complain to?" 
 

Phish: An Endangered Species?


 All of the anti-phishing companies can point to graphs or statistics on how rapidly their technologies can detect and disable scams, but few boast that they have devised a solution to prevent scams from being launched in the first place. 
 


 Yet security experts say banks can blunt attacks by requiring their online customers to use so-called "two-factor authentication": something they know – their username and password – plus something they have, such as a tiny, unique photograph or file that resides on their own computers. 
 


 Anti-Fraud Alliance member Passmark Security of Redwood City, Calif., offers such a service, and last month the company announced that a federal credit union has opted to require all of its customers to use Passmark's technology for online banking. 
 


 Few banks require such measures, in large part because of worries that they could drive customers away from Internet banking, which has helped banks to dramatically reduce customer service costs, said Ed Skoudis, founder of Intelguardians, a Washington-based information security consulting firm that frequently works with banks. 
 


 However, financial institutions may be starting to change this view, perhaps because of federal pressure. In December, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which investigates financial institutions for compliance with banking regulations, issued recommendations urging banks to adopt two-factor authentication technologies as a way to stave off what it called a wave of "bank account hijacking." 
 


 "If the FDIC writes it, the [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] and other regulators are almost certainly going to consider whether there should be hard and fast rules," said Jevans of the Anti-Phishing Working Group. 
 


 Officials from the OCC declined to comment for this story. But many in the financial services industry say there is little evidence that consumers are suffering large losses from the attacks, and that in most cases the credit card company or bank will absorb the costs of fraud. 
 


 Despite an eighty-fold increase in phishing attacks over the past year, banks haven't suffered corresponding losses because they have improved their methods for detecting fraudulent transactions before they are fully processed, said Chuck Wade, project leader for the Financial Services Technology Consortium, a group of banks, financial services firms, universities and government agencies. 
 


 Still, Wade said, such precautions are largely hidden from consumers, while the high visibility of relentless attacks threatens to undermine consumer confidence in online banking. And that visibility is becoming increasingly difficult for regulators and lawmakers to ignore. 
 


 "Pretty much everyone in the [banking] industry agrees that better authentication is important and needed," Wade said. "But we have to recognize that it has to be done with a long-term view in mind and in a cooperative fashion across multiple industries." 
 


 There are indications that preventive technologies are helping to deflect attacks, if only toward banks that may not be as experienced in fighting online fraud. In recent months, phishers have begun targeting dozens of smaller, regional financial institutions, many of which have operations in just a handful of states. 
 


 Kevin Omiliak, vice president of marketing for NameProtect, said online criminals will continue widening their target lists unless more financial institutions embrace anti-phishing technologies. 
 


 "If only the top two dozen banks deploy a solution ... then this will remain a Whac-a-Mole problem for some time," Omiliak said. 
 


 The FBI's Larkin said the anti-phishing industry continues to provide invaluable intelligence on the networks of online criminals behind these scams, data that is aiding numerous investigations. 
 


 "As we develop a better approach to the problem in terms of investigating and prosecuting these types of crimes ... a deterrent effect should follow," Larkin said. "We're doing some very good things with investigations that have led to search and seizures that you're not necessarily going to see the results of for a while. For now, we're simply making our way up the fraud food chain." 
 



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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat Mar  5 07:28:50 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:57:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - AIDS COULD KILL 80 MILLION AFRICANS BY 2025:
	UN
Message-ID: <20050305152850.ED7651B679@nmweb06.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
AIDS COULD KILL 80 MILLION AFRICANS BY 2025: UN
WebPosted Fri Mar  4 07:50:06 2005

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia---More than 80 million Africans will likely die of
AIDS by 2025 if the international community doesn't do more soon to stem
the epidemic, a UN report says.

Another 90 million people in Africa &#8211; more than one in 10 people on
the continent &#8211; could contract HIV infections by then, says the
report released Friday.

More than 25 million Africans already have the virus that causes AIDS.
The disease has caused life expectancy in nine countries on the continent
to drop below 40, according to the UNAIDS report, AIDS in Africa.

"If we don't speed up action, if we don't accelerate what we are doing,
then we're going to get into those type of figures," Peter Piot, the
executive director of UNAIDS, told CBC News.

"What it requires is, first of all, making sure the leaders of Africa are
acting now according to what they say in their speeches."

Many African leaders have promised action to combat AIDS but that hasn't
necessarily translated to the community level, he said.

Piot also said the international community must help African countries.
"Most countries are really too poor to stop this epidemic and that will
lead to a decrease in stability all around the world."



Best-case scenario saves 16M lives Researchers present three possible
case studies of how the AIDS epidemic in Africa could evolve, based on
policy decisions by leaders in Africa and elsewhere.

In their best-case scenario, international donors contribute nearly $200
billion US to an intense education and treatment campaign that would
save 16 million people from dying of AIDS and 43 million others from
getting HIV.

Even with huge donations and better treatment, however, the agency says
more than 67 million Africans are likely to die from AIDS.

The worst-case scenario would see 89 million new cases of the disease in
Africa in two decades.

"If by 2025 millions of African people are still becoming infected with
HIV each year, these scenarios suggest that it will not be because there
was no choice," the report says.

"It will be because, collectively, there was insufficient political will
to change behaviour at all levels from the institution, to the
community, to the individual and halt the forces driving the AIDS
epidemic in Africa."

The report was drawn up by some of the world's leading experts on
HIV and AIDS.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat Mar  5 07:33:14 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:57:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - SYRIA EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE PARTIAL TROOP
	WITHDRAWAL
Message-ID: <20050305153314.452E41B679@nmweb06.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
SYRIA EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE PARTIAL TROOP WITHDRAWAL
WebPosted Sat Mar  5 09:28:01 2005

damascus---Syria's president was expected to announce Saturday that his
country will begin withdrawing soldiers from Lebanon as international
pressure for a military pullout continues.

Bashar al-Assad was expected to tell parliament that some of the 15,000
troops would be leaving Lebanon completely, while others would be moved
to the Bekka Valley, closer to the Syrian border, said Lebanese Defence
Minister Abdul-Rahim Murad.

U.S. President George W. Bush has said anything less than a full
withdrawal, as demanded by a UN Security Council resolution, would be
unacceptable.

 FROM FEB. 15, 2005: Lebanon begins mourning ex-PM Al-Assad has faced
 growing pressure to get his troops out of Lebanon since the
 assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister last month.

Many Lebanese have blamed Syria for the Feb. 14 bombing that killed Rafik
Hariri in Beirut.



INDEPTH: Syria Civilians have made their anger known with large and
steady protests in the streets of Beirut since the killing.

In addition, Britain, Russia, and Germany are the latest nations to
insist that Syria withdraw its troops.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat Mar  5 07:35:17 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:57:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - INJURED ITALIAN HOSTAGE BACK HOME
Message-ID: <20050305153517.58A181B679@nmweb06.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
INJURED ITALIAN HOSTAGE BACK HOME
WebPosted Sat Mar  5 08:41:25 2005

 ROME---An Italian journalist held hostage in Iraq for a month &#8211;
 then wounded by U.S. forces shortly after her release &#8211; has
 returned home.

Giuliana Sgrena was helped from a small, private jet and escorted to a
waiting ambulance after arriving in Rome Saturday.

The journalist appeared to be in some pain and was walked with great
difficulty. She was taken to a military hospital where she may undergo
more surgery.

Sgrena was visited by the widow of the man who had helped negotiate her
release and then saved her life: intelligence officer Nicola Calipari.

Sgrena was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel Friday when U.S. soldiers
fired on her car as it approached a coalition checkpoint. Two other
intelligence agents in the car were also injured.

Calipari died when he shielded the journalist from the gunfire. Her
editor said he had thrown his body over Sgrena's in order to protect her.

 FROM FEB. 16, 2005: Abducted Italian reporter pleads for life in video

                      FROM FEB. 19, 2005: Italians
                     press for release of journalist

The Italians' car made no move to slow down despite signals and warning
shots, so U.S. forces fired into its engine block, the U.S. military said
in a statement.

However, Sgrena told Italian radio the car was not going
particularly fast.

U.S. President George W. Bush has said he regrets the incident.

White House press spokesman Scott McClellan said coalition forces
will co-operate with Italian authorities during an investigation into
the incident.

"We regret the loss of life," he said from Washington. "Our thoughts and
prayers are with the family of the Italian citizen."

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 07:57:28 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 07:58:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <17900258.1110038248857.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Senate Democratic Leader Blasts Greenspan
 
 By Dan Balz
 
  Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan generally gets accolades for his public pronouncements. Yesterday he got a brickbat from Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who blasted Greenspan as "one of the biggest political hacks we have here in Washington."
 
 Reid ripped Greenspan during an interview on CNN's "Inside Politics." He said  the Fed chairman has given President Bush a pass on  deficits that have built up in the past four years and should be challenging Republicans on  their fiscal policies, rather than promoting Bush's plan to introduce personal accounts into Social Security.
 
 "I'm not a big Greenspan fan -- Alan Greenspan fan," Reid said when asked about the Fed chairman's testimony this week urging Congress to deal quickly with the financial problems facing  Social Security and Medicare. "I voted against him the last two times. I think he's one of the biggest political hacks we have in Washington."
 
 Reid said  that when  Bill Clinton was president,  Democrats had confronted the deficit problem by enacting a tax increase in 1993, which  helped bring about a balanced budget and strong economic growth later in the decade.
 
 "Why doesn't he respond to the Republicans and tell them the big problem here is the debt that this administration [has]  created?" he said. "We had a $7 trillion-dollar surplus when Bush took office. Now we have a $3 or $4 trillion-dollar deficit. That's, in fact, what Greenspan should be telling people."
 
 A spokeswoman said the Federal Reserve would have no comment.   Brian Jones, spokesman for the Republican National Committee,  which a few weeks ago sharply attacked Reid, called the minority leader's comments regrettable.
 
 "It's unfortunate that at a time when the president is looking to engage Congress in a substantive and meaningful discussion on Social Security that Harry Reid is spending his time attacking the Federal Reserve chairman," he said.
 
 Reid's personal attack reflected Democrats'  frustration over Greenspan's support for the key element of Bush's Social Security plan -- voluntary personal saving accounts for younger workers funded by diverting a portion of payroll taxes. Reid has led  the Democrats in their united opposition to Bush's plan, and Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Greenspan's congressional testimony on Wednesday amounted to "shilling for the president with proposals that would put us deeper in debt."
 
 Greenspan has occupied an unusual position in Washington during his long tenure at the Fed: above partisan criticism, a figure celebrated by many as a wise and evenhanded  guardian of the economy whose public pronouncements not only move markets but also greatly influence policy debates. But in recent years, he has opened himself to more criticism. Having supported tax cuts when Bush was pushing them in 2001 and now backing personal accounts for Social Security, he has become a target for Democrats.
 
 As Reid made clear in his interview with CNN's Judy Woodruff, he  has been a longtime critic of Greenspan. In 1996, Reid opposed a third four-year term for Greenspan and ordered  a General Accounting Office report critical of the Fed's management. He described Greenspan and the Federal Reserve Board as "arrogant."
 
 Reid also differed with Greenspan on monetary policy,  arguing that he was keeping interest rates too high. "We should put the brakes on Mr. Greenspan's nomination before we once again empower him with the ability to put the brakes on the economy," he said then. 
 
 In his first months as successor to  former senator Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), Reid has proven to be a pugnacious and sometimes unpredictable leader. He  has given the administration no quarter, and  his comments sometimes have caused an uproar among  fellow Democrats.
 
 Shortly after winning the leadership post, Reid suggested to NBC's Tim Russert that he might vote for conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia if Bush were to nominate him to be chief justice.  Other Democrats and abortion rights advocates jumped on Reid, who opposes abortion rights.
 
 Research editor Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar  5 08:22:34 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 08:23:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10142982.1110039754937.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Abuse in Secret
 
   THE ARMY has adopted more reforms in response to the prisoner abuse scandal and the continuing challenge of holding and interrogating thousands of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan. A senior officer recently briefed journalists on what he described as a systematic restructuring of training and doctrine, including a revamping of interrogation policies and techniques and a new instructional program for soldiers assigned to prisons. This followed the release this year of plans for new facilities and procedures for handling detainees at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base. Details of the reforms are so far scanty, and none of the senior officers and civilian Pentagon officials responsible for the abuse scandal have yet been held accountable. Still, the uniformed military at least appears to be taking steps to prevent abuses like those of the Abu Ghraib prison in the future.
 
 That still leaves the most serious and systematic violations of human rights standards by the Bush administration unaddressed. These have occurred -- and are still occurring -- in the secret global detention network maintained by the Central Intelligence Agency. In clandestine prisons in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and in detention facilities maintained by authoritarian allies such as Egypt, the CIA is holding dozens of detainees without any legal process, outside review, family notification or monitoring by the Red Cross and other human rights groups. In effect, these prisoners have "disappeared," like the domestic opponents of dictatorships that the State Department annually critiques in its human rights report. Many may have been tortured. As Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales confirmed in January, the administration has authorized CIA interrogators to subject these detainees to "cruel, inhumane and degrading" treatment banned by an international treaty that has been ratified by the United States.
 
 Though the photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison have received the most attention, what is known of the CIA's secret prisons indicates that abuses there have been far more serious. The agency's inspector general is reviewing at least half a dozen cases of criminal abuse -- the number is not publicly known -- including at least four deaths. On Thursday The Post's Dana Priest reported the previously unpublicized case of an Afghan detainee held in a secret facility known as the Salt Pit.  The detainee  died in 2002 after a CIA officer allegedly ordered Afghan guards to strip him naked, chain him to a concrete floor and leave him overnight without protection from severe cold. The prisoner was buried in an unmarked grave, without notice to his family; the CIA officer was promoted. Not a single regular CIA employee has been charged in an abuse case, nor has the agency offered Congress or the public any accounting of its behavior.
 
 Despite this shocking record, Congress has abdicated its responsibility to oversee the agency and prevent it from violating fundamental American standards of decency. The Republican chairmen of the Senate and House intelligence committees, Sen. Pat Roberts (Kan.) and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.), have been resisting Democratic requests for an investigation of the CIA's handling of its secret detainees. Such an investigation need not be a witch hunt or compromise the handling of senior al Qaeda prisoners. On the contrary, it should form the basis for belated  action by Congress to set legal standards for the detention of all foreign prisoners by the United States in keeping with international treaties and human rights laws. In the absence of such standards, the Bush administration has allowed abuses that have tarnished the image of the United States around the world and impeded its ability to fight Islamic extremism. The time to correct the CIA's excesses is long overdue. 
 
   

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From michael at intrafi.com  Sat Mar  5 09:25:55 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 09:27:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503051725.j25HPt12006961@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030505Z.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar  4 20:37:13 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 10:23:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Dr. Arnold's Diet 
Message-ID: <200503051823.j25INZnk018004@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Dr. Arnold's Diet Take a Steroid; Kick a Woman

By ALEXANDER COCKBURN
CounterPunch
March 2, 2005

Back in the early 1990s, the right-wing taste of the
year was Newt Gingrich. He led the Republican sweep
into Congress in the 1994 mid-term elections. His
"Contract With America" loomed in every headline.
Liberals wailed that Gingrichism was invincible.

The counterattack began right in Gingrich's front yard,
in Georgia. The Atlanta Central Labor Council and Jobs
with Justice staged a noisy sit-in in Gingrich's local
Congressional office and seized the headlines with
stinging descriptions of the Contract as a cruel
assault on the poor and the working class. For months,
groups of union workers dogged the Congressman at his
every stop across the country. This noisy guerrilla
warfare rallied the faint-hearted and threw Gingrich,
then Speaker of the House, off balance. By 1995 a
rattled Gingrich had lost his touch, faltering badly in
the famous budget face-off with Clinton.

In the 2000 Democratic primary campaign the AIDS
coalition ACT UP (involved in the earlier Gingrich
protests) adopted the same tactic against Al Gore,
showing up wherever he made public appearances and
shouting out protests at the rotten AIDS policies he'd
signed on to. There weren't always many protesters, but
they were always there, and they had an effect. Gore
changed his line, and so did the Clinton
Administration.

Now it's Arnold Schwarzenegger's turn. California's
nurses have got him rattled, and it's already costing
him. A February 23 Field Poll showed his approval
ratings declining ten points since last September, a
significant drop. One might have thought that it's a
no-brainer to realize that kicking Florence
Nightingale's butt is not a sure-fire way to the
public's heart. But the Governor is so used to
browbeating the press that he thought he could do the
same to the California Nurses' Association (CNA), one
of the most militant unions in the country, with 60,000
members and representing registered nurses at 171
health facilities throughout the state. Schwarzenegger
has been trying to roll back the union's gains on
nurse/ patient ratios, safety standards and kindred
issues.

Schwarzenegger's version of Howard Dean's scream came
in December in Long Beach. As the nurses barracked him
during a speech, he denounced them as one of the
"special interests" and said, "I'm always kicking their
butt." This witty response from the breast-grabber got
plenty of play, and did the nurses nothing but good. At
a January Capitol protest in Sacramento the nurses
carried coffins and had a New Orleans jazz group play a
death march. During the Super Bowl they flew a small
plane over the steroid-swollen Governor's party at his
Santa Monica home. When he was in Washington they took
out a full-page ad in Roll Call flaying his record.
During a Schwarzenegger speech in a Sacramento hotel,
nurses held up a banner saying RNs Say Stop the Power
Grab.

On February 15, when Schwarzenegger and his platoons of
body guards and flunkies trooped into a screening of Be
Cool, 300 nurses demonstrated. Kelly DiGiacomo, 46
years old and 5'2", a nurse at a Kaiser hospital near
Sacramento, had a ticket. She ensconced herself in the
fourth row, wearing her nurse's scrubs.

A bodyguard rushed up, and under the pretext of a
possible meeting with the governor, led her to a room
with a California Highway Patrol cop at the door and
began to grill DiGiacomo. A few days later a CHP
investigator called. DiGiacomo asked why she should be
considered a threat. The investigator replied, "Well,
you were wearing a nurse's uniform." "Oh, sure, the
international terrorist uniform," DiGiacomo scoffed.
Californians scoffed with her when they saw the news
stories. At least Bush and Cheney can claim they're
being targeted by hairy men from the dark side of
Mecca. Here's Arnold hiding behind his goons from the
woman who cares for you when you're in the hospital.

Schwarzenegger's strategy has been to project an image-
calculatedly fascistic in style-of irresistible
momentum, aiming to crush all opposition with threats
to go directly to the people with rallies backed by the
mountains of corporate cash he's been raising since he
was elected.

It's no idle threat. Schwarzenegger has a swollen war
chest, albeit one that's also starting to get him bad
press. One of the reasons Gray Davis, his predecessor
in Sacramento, got recalled was his 24/7 addiction to
fundraising. If anything, Schwarzenegger is even more
relentless, with a corporate cash IV permanently stuck
in his arm. Last year he raised $28.8 million, and this
year he plans to raise at least another $50 million to
promote his agenda. Schwarzenegger's agenda is crudely
simple: Attack and if possible destroy social safety
nets in health, pensions, insurance, workers' comp, job
security, education, etc., with a green light for
business to pillage, outsource jobs and not pay taxes.

He's already tripped. Near the end of February
Schwarzenegger was reportedly abandoning his proposal
to abolish the independent Board of Registered Nursing,
along with eighty-eight other regulatory and policy
boards. But he's still planning to roll California into
DeLay-style redestricting and to ramp up the use of
"emergency" diktats to undercut democratic opposition
from the legislature. One such example is in the area
of healthcare: an emergency order by the Governor in
November to roll back patient safety standards in
California hospitals, reversing the intent of a 1999
law. A CNA lawsuit challenging that order will be heard
in Sacramento Superior Court in early March.

You might have thought Schwarzenegger would have some
sympathy for nurses, who incur long-term back trauma
from having to haul patients up in bed, a task
equivalent, on average, to lifting about 1.8 tons a
day. No. The Governor vetoed a bill requiring hospitals
(heavy Schwarzenegger donors) to install safe-lift
policies and equipment. And yes, he vetoed another bill
to educate school coaches about the dangers of steroids
and performance-enhancing diet supplements.

As I said, political momentum is the key to
Schwarzenegger's game. But what happens when you trip
over a 5'2" woman in nurse's scrubs? You lose momentum.
What happens when you start screaming abuse at nurses
and teachers? What happens when you make working women
your enemies? The humbled president of Harvard,
Lawrence Summers, might want to have a word with
Governor Schwarzenegger on that one.

http://www.counterpunch.org/nurses.html 





-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D (up 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar  4 20:38:34 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 10:24:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Better to be informed than to be in denial...
Message-ID: <200503051824.j25IOfx5018023@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Important environmental news briefs.  Better to be informed than to be in denial...

Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://grist.org>

.
YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY HIDDEN COSTS OF TRANSPORT
Locally grown food greener than organic, British study says

Though organic farming is relatively easy on the environment, buying
locally grown food, even the pesticide-sprayed variety, is usually more
earth-friendly than buying organic, a new study contends. Published in the
journal Food Policy, the study found that the transportation of food over
long distances -- anywhere outside a 12-mile radius -- can cause more harm
than the growing of food with non-organic methods.  Researchers calculated
the hidden costs of farming and food transport and found that the U.K.
would save some $4 billion a year in environmental and traffic costs if
all food consumed was locally grown, and an additional $2.1 billion a year
if all food were grown organically.  The study authors called on
supermarkets to label items with the number of "food miles" they travel to
get to the store.  "The most political act we do on a daily basis is to
eat, as our actions affect farms, landscapes, and food businesses," said
study coauthor Jules Pretty of the University of Essex.

straight to the source:  BBC News, 02 March 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4459>

straight to the source:  The Independent, Steve Connor, 03 March 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4460>


AAA FOR EFFORT
Legislation would force EPA to get realistic about fuel-efficiency stats

A bill debuting in Congress today would require the U.S. EPA to 
revamp its gas-mileage tests to more accurately reflect real-world 
driving conditions.  Currently the EPA determines mileage ratings for
vehicles by using 30-year-old tests that allow vehicle engines to get
warm, never push the speed above 60 mph, never run the air conditioning,
and never accelerate quickly.  Enviro groups have long argued for reform
of the tests, but now the bill has garnered the support of behemoth auto
club AAA, which has conducted its own tests and found that the EPA is
overestimating average gas mileage for several vehicle models, sometimes
by almost 10 miles per gallon.  The AAA's test, though not scientific,
involves drivers around the country "getting groceries, getting stuck in
traffic jams, driving the same way you would," says AAA spokesdude Mantill
Williams.  Now if only AAA would stop lobbying for more highways and fewer
emissions standards ...

straight to the source:  USA Today, James R. Healey, 02 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4462>

see also, in Grist:  Sticker Shocking -- The EPA has been 
misoverestimating the fuel economy of cars sold in the U.S., says 
enviro group -- in Muckraker
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4463>

see also, in Grist:  Road Warriors -- A travel club provides a 
greener alternative to AAA -- by Michelle Nijhuis
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3604>


BRAZILNESS AS USUAL
Amazon forests not doing well

If Amazonian rainforests are, as the old saying goes, the lungs of 
the world, then our respiratory outlook is not good.  The forests 
face a trio of threats.  There are fire and logging, as poor farmers,
cattle ranchers, and agribusinesses clear land for crops or cattle. Then
there's "dieback," whereby the forest vegetation dies from lack of water,
which is driven by drought, which is driven by climate change, which is
driven by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is exacerbated by
fire, logging, and dieback in the Amazonian rainforest.  Ah, such tangled
webs we weave.  Attempts to break the cycle have been inauspicious.  Last
year, Brazil's Workers' Party, led by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,
suspended logging licenses in an attempt to slow deforestation of the
Amazon.  In response, loggers and their allies rioted, blockaded a major
highway, burned buses, threatened to seize an airport and dump poisonous
chemicals in rivers, and promised that "blood will flow."  The government
vowed not to "cave into blackmail," and then, uh, caved into blackmail,
restoring the licenses last week.  And so the world's lung cancer
progresses, untreated.

straight to the source:  The Boston Globe, Associated Press, Charles J.
Hanley, 12 Feb 2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4310>

straight to the source:  The New York Times, Larry Rohter, 13 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4311>


EXHAUSTED
Old diesel engines kill more than 20,000 Americans a year

Particulate pollution generated by old diesel engines is killing more
people per year than drunk driving, said a report released yesterday.
Using data and methodologies from the U.S. EPA, the Clean Air Task Force
and a coalition of public health groups found that more than 20,000
Americans -- particularly those in urban areas near bus stops, highways,
truck stops, or construction sites -- die, and more than 400,000 visit the
emergency room, each year after breathing in tiny particles of diesel
exhaust.  While the EPA has mandated the phase-in of cleaner diesel
engines for highway vehicles and heavy equipment starting in 2007, it has
not addressed the 13 million such engines already in use, which have a
lifespan of some 30 years.  The groups behind the report recommended
requiring the upgrading of current engines and the use of cleaner-burning
fuel.  "We do not need to wait," wrote Howard Frumkin of Emory University
in the report's foreword.  "Technology is available today that can reduce
particulate matter emissions 90 percent."  Industry groups, you'll be
shocked to hear, decried the study.

straight to the source:  Scripps Howard, Joan Lowy, 22 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4394>

straight to the source:  The Washington Post, Shankar Vedantam, 23 Feb
2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4395>

straight to the source:  San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, 
Devlin Barrett, 23 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4396>


GLOBAL WARMING -- IT'S INFECTIOUS
Environmental change linked to spread of infectious diseases

If the catastrophic flooding, drought, and weather-related calamities
associated with global warming don't kill you, exotic infectious diseases
might step up to do the job, a new report released by the U.N. suggests. 
It found that changes to the environment -- such as deforestation, urban
growth, mining, and pollution of coastal waters -- may be aiding the
spread of infectious diseases, including ailments never before seen in
humans.  The report also suggests that global warming could be a major
aggravating factor because rising temperatures and altered habitats could
allow more diseases and their carriers to flourish.  Climate change may
also increase the number of environmental refugees moving to new areas and
taking germs with them.  The researchers noted a rise in the occurrence of
dengue fever, found in only nine countries in the 1970s, but now present
in more than 100.  Other ailments scientists have linked to the
environment include tuberculosis, bubonic plague, and cholera.

straight to the source:  The Independent, Michael McCarthy, 22 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4391>

straight to the source:  VOA News, Cathy Majtenyi, 21 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4392>

straight to the source:  Planet Ark, Reuters, C. Bryson Hull, 22 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4393>


MARSHING OUR MELLOW
Legendary Iraqi marshes slowly on the mend

Despite certain, er, unfortunate events elsewhere in the country, one part
of Iraq, subject to some of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein's worst
crimes, is experiencing a glimmer of hope.  For years after the 1991 Gulf
War, much of Hussein's industrial machinery was turned toward a massive
dam-building project that drained some 90 percent of the southern wetlands
where Marsh Arabs had lived for more than 5,000 years.  Aside from the
human toll -- hundreds of thousands of marshland inhabitants were
displaced -- it was an ecological catastrophe, destroying an area many
call the cradle of Western civilization, periodically flooded by the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers and home to hundreds of fish and bird species.
 After Hussein was booted, residents tore down the dams and water began
flooding back in -- water a group of researchers now says is much cleaner
than they expected.  The researchers report in the latest issue of Science
that the marshes are surprisingly resilient and that while full
restoration is impossible, signs are positive that with enough water, much
of their former glory could return.

straight to the source:  MSNBC.com, Associated Press, 19 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4397>

straight to the source:  Planet Ark, Reuters, Maggie Fox, 21 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4398>

PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO BREED PEOPLE
Better make room -- world population to hit 9.1 billion by 2050

There will be 9.1 billion people on this li'l planet of ours by 2050,
according to revised U.N. population figures released yesterday. That's a
40 percent increase from today's mere (!) 6.5 billion. While population in
developed countries is expected to remain largely stable at 1.2 billion --
mainly due to immigration, as their native birth rates are declining --
the world's 50 poorest countries will see their numbers more than double. 
At the same time, life expectancy in southern Africa has declined from 62
years in 1995 to 48 years in 2000-2005, and is projected to hit a low of
43 before a slow recovery.  That means Africans are being born and lost to
AIDS at a rate almost incomprehensible to comfortable Westerners. Speaking
of which, U.S. population is set to rise from 298 million in 2005 to 394
million in 2050, with immigration the main driver of growth.  Meanwhile,
India will probably surpass China as the world's most populous nation in
coming decades, due to higher birth rates. "It is going to be a strain on
the world," said Hania Zlotnik, U.N. Population Division director and
master of understatement.

straight to the source:  The Globe and Mail, Associated Press, 25 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4416>

straight to the source:  BBC News, 25 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4417>

DAM
Hydropower a major greenhouse-gas producer, researchers say

Although hydroelectric power is often heralded as a green alternative to
fossil fuels like coal, scientists now say that in terms of greenhouse-gas
production, hydro projects may be just as damning. Ahem.  New research
reveals that the initial flooding involved in creating hydroelectric dams
releases large amounts of carbon from plants that are killed in the
process.  Then, leftover plant matter and other plants killed when water
levels rise decompose and release methane into the atmosphere.  These
greenhouse-gas emissions add up -- in the case of one Brazilian dam
project studied, emissions released over a year were more than triple what
would have been produced by burning oil.  The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change is considering counting some hydro-related emissions toward
countries' allotments, but its proposed new guidelines would not count
methane in this group, so some scientists say the proposals don't go far
enough.

straight to the source:  New Scientist, Duncan Graham-Rowe, 26 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4412>

THE CRADLE-TO-CRADLE WILL ROCK
Smart, eco-friendly design making inroads in the business community

The seminal 2002 book "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make 
Things," by architect William McDonough and chemist Michael 
Braungart, inspired a slogan for 21st century designers:  "Pollution is a
symbol of design failure."  They proposed that every material used in
manufacturing should be capable of either biodegrading harmlessly into the
soil or returning with no loss of quality into the manufacturing process. 
More and more businesses are embracing the C2C concept, for economic as
well as environmental reasons. Office design company Herman Miller Inc.
hopes to have 50 percent of its products meet C2C specs by 2010.  Carpet
maker Shaw Industries now offers to pick up and recycle all of its carpet
tiles, reducing both waste and money spent on new materials.  Office
furniture company Steelcase has released "Think," a 99 percent recyclable
office chair.  Going C2C is getting easier, too, as industry introduces
new eco-friendly materials and economies of scale push the prices down. 
As that happens, more companies, says Shaw's Steven Bradfield, "will
quietly adopt this as a basic business practice."

straight to the source:  The Wall Street Journal, Rebecca Smith, 03 
Mar 2005 (access ain't free)
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4458>

see also, in Grist:  Better, By Design -- A review of Cradle to 
Cradle -- by Hal Clifford
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4466>


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D 
(up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options (option A - 
1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - up to 3x/day) 
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which option you'd like.


"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sat Mar  5 10:30:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Khashayar
In-Reply-To: <000901c520d7$df324bc0$18161aac@esedona.net>
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From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sat Mar  5 10:36:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: The next domino
In-Reply-To: <d0aec816abab1c15d21b0ad3811cf4d1@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503051835.j25IZsA0018132@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 19:44:37 -0500
Subject: The next domino

>
> March 4th, 2005
>







Only by author
>
>
> ??? All Articles
>
>
>  
>
> The next domino
>
> March 2nd, 2005
>
>
>
> With virtually no attention from the mainstream media, the United
> States has been taking actions calculated to ratchet-up pressure on
> the mullahs of Iran. A complex plan has been carefully crafted to
> avoid a direct military attack on Iran, which would inflame
> nationalism and build support for the mullahs. Once again, the scope,
> subtlety, and vision of President Bush?s foreign policy confounds his
> carping critics.
>
> The fall of Lebanon?s pro-Syrian government validates GW?s strategy of
> staying the course in Iraq, to prove to the people of the Middle East
> that freedom and liberty can flourish in a region where many thought
> it was impossible to institute democratic reforms.? We mustn?t lose
> sight of the fact that, despite criticism from the so-called realists,
> the US is implementing change in the region for our own long-term
> national interests.? That is, the more functioning democracies there
> are in the world, the less the chance of armed conflict and terrorism.
>
> Over the last several months, Iran?s support of Shia terrorists in
> Iraq and its nuclear ambitions have dominated the discussions of our
> next steps in the War on Terror.? Some commentators, including me,
> have criticized CENTCOM for its failure to view the war in Southwest
> Asia from a regional perspective.? However, we may have been wrong, or
> at least too hasty.
>
>  Iran has been aggressively moving to export terror and build-up its
> ability to threaten the world in two places: the Horn of Africa, and
> the vital Straits of Hormuz, where the Persian Gulf?s oil riches must
> pass on their way to market. There are now some serious indicators
> that the Coalition, including both French and German military
> elements, has been deftly executing a combined political and military
> operation to roll back Iranian gains from the last 12 years.
>
> The Iranian maneuver to dominate the Central Region and isolate the
> Arabian Peninsula started in the Horn of Africa in the early 90s.?By
> aligning with warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed?s forces, Iran hoped to
> gain a foothold in Somalia that could potentially threaten shipping
> moving through the Red Sea. Following the US strategic retreat from
> Somalia after the ?Blackhawk Down? ambush in 1993, the remaining UN
> peacekeepers withdrew in 1995 and  abandoned the country to the
> terrorists and their Iranian sponsors.? After 9-11, the Coalition was
> forced use Djibouti as a base to secure the shipping lanes on the
> Western side of the Arabian Peninsula, and to interdict the movement
> of terrorists into and out of the region.
>
> There are strong indications that the efforts of Combined Joint Task
> Force ? Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA)? are starting to push Iranian
> operators out of the Horn, if they have not gone already.? United
> States naval and ground forces, French commandos, and Die Deutsche
> Kriegsmarine (German Navy), through a combined series of special and
> conventional operations, naval power, and humanitarian assistance
> projects, have established the conditions for the  introduction of up
> to 7,500 troops from the African Union and the Arab League.? This is a
> watershed event for the Coalition in this area, and shows that the
> Somali people are anxious to finally rid their country of bandits,
> terrorists, and Iranian agents, and are looking forward to having the
> government-in-exile return to Mogadishu.
>
> The Coalition also mounted a synchronized diplomatic? and military
> blitz in neighboring Ethiopia, with elements of the 3d Infantry
> Regiment (The Old Guard) moving into the country? last year to secure
> territory for military assistance training and for ?other operations?
> in the War on Terror. (For a summary of the $1.2 billion U.S.
> humanitarian assistance program in the country click here.)? In
> addition, there were several visits by the former and current
> commanders of CENTCOM, General (retired) Tommy Franks and General John
> Abizaid, and visits by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.? This was all
> done under the radar screen of the major press, but it was not lost on
> the mullahs.? All they had to do was look at the map.? The
> Kriegsmarine had sealed off Somalia from the eastern sea approaches,
> Ethiopia became increasingly untenable for cross-border terror bases
> and Iranian training camps, and, more than likely, Coalition special
> operations forces from Djibouti were taking their toll.? In short, the
> Iranians in the Horn of Africa have been surrounded.
>
> The other prong of CENTCOM?s operations against Iran involves Abu Musa
> Island.? The island had been the object of a long-running dispute
> between Iran and the UAE because of its oil reserves and its strategic
> location midway in the narrow channel of the Straits of Hormuz.? In
> 1992, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps  took complete control of
> the island , and proceeded to fortify it?and deploy thousands of
> troops, modern air defense batteries, sophisticated anti-ship missile
> systems, and, according to former SecDef William Perry, chemical
> weapons.? For over a decade, the Iranians have had the capability of
> shutting down the shipping lane and paralyzing shipment of over
> one-fifth of the world?s oil supply.? However, recent US operations in
> the Persian Gulf are, at a minimum, presenting a more aggressive
> military posture to pressure the mullahs, or are signaling a run-up to
> seizure of Abu Musa itself.
>
> This past week, Expeditionary Strike Group 5 (ESG-5) completed an
> amphibious exercise?on the coast of Kuwait.? Keep in mind that a
> rehearsal is a phase of any amphibious operation, and allows the
> afloat Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and the Navy to test the
> communications links, practice disembarkation, exercise the procedures
> for naval surface fire support and air support, and, of course,
> practice the assault itself. The ESG rarely loads at home port in a
> manner that will completely satisfy every contingency.? Therefore, the
> rehearsal is a chance to unload everything on the beach, and then load
> according to a specific assault plan.? This was done in Gulf War I
> during a ?rehearsal? when an actual amphibious assault on Kuwaiti
> beaches was still a viable option.
>
> Additional naval forces are also present in the Gulf  .? Besides
> ESG-5, the Essex Expeditionary Strike Group is underway, as is the USS
> Harry Truman Carrier Battle Group.? One MEU is the ideal force to
> seize Abu Musa, but the additional forces would be needed to protect
> an amphibious group from any interference from nearby Qeshm Island,
> and to continue to secure the Iraqi oil terminals off the Al-Faw
> Peninsula.? Simply put, the mullahs? 12 year old gambit to squeeze oil
> shipments through the Straights of Hormuz could come to an end very
> quickly.
>
> Rather than risk a popular backlash by the citizens of Iran against
> the US by conducting a direct air or land campaign against the Iranian
> homeland, seizure of an island that has been disputed for decades
> would show the Iranians we were willing to support their fight against
> the mullahs without putting their lives at risk or destroying their
> infrastructure. The mullahs launched their gambit as an act of
> aggression; reversing it would demonstrate strength, but indicate no
> hostility to the Iranian people.
>
> This analysis doesn?t even include any possible covert Special
> Operations Force activities designed to foment rebellion in what is
> viewed as an increasingly restive?Iranian population.? Because of the
> pressure being applied in the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf, it
> may require only a slight push from the freedom-loving people in Iran
> to rid themselves of this oppressive regime, following through on the
> very visible promise to them made by President Bush in his State of
> the Union Address.
>
> Sadly for Germany and Russia, they may have to wait a long time, if at
> all, to recover their decades-old investments in Iranian nuclear
> facilities.? Unfortunately for them, their cash flow problems will
> continue to grow for the foreseeable future.? Maybe they should have
> jumped on GW?s freedom bandwagon a long time ago.
>
> Douglas Hanson is our military affairs correspondent
>
>
> Douglas Hanson
>
>  ??Print this article
>




> Go Top -  Home
>


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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Sat Mar  5 11:38:38 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Sat Mar  5 11:39:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Truthout.org - Vietnam War Victims of Agent Orange
	Poisoning Sue U.S. Chemical Companies 
Message-ID: <20050305193838.78014.qmail@web53404.mail.yahoo.com>

Vietnam War Victims of Agent Orange Poisoning Sue U.S. Chemical Companies 
    By Andrew Buncombe 
    The Independent U.K. 
    Friday 04 March 2005 
    Vietnamese citizens who say they have suffered a lifetime of health problems after being poisoned by Agent Orange during the Vietnam War are suing the American chemical companies that provided the Pentagon with the toxic defoliant. 
    The case has huge implications. If successful it could open the way for claims against companies that produce weapons such as depleted uranium-tipped munitions, which have been strongly linked to cancer. 
    In the lawsuit filed this week, it was alleged that up to four million Vietnamese suffered persistent respiratory and reproductive problems as a result of being contaminated by Agent Orange. They are seeking compensation that could run to billions of dollars from 30 companies, such as Dow Chemical and Monsanto. One of the plaintiffs, Dr Phan Thi Phi Phi, told the court in New York she had worked in an area that was heavily sprayed with the defoliant and suffered four miscarriages during the early 1970s. "We did not know what happened to us, what was the cause of it, so we were very sad because we had so many miscarriages and we could not have children," she said. 
    US forces routinely sprayed the defoliant to clear areas of jungle where they believed Communist forces were hiding, and to destroy their crops. 

Find the complete article at: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030405M.shtml

 



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



		
---------------------------------
Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday! 
 Yahoo! Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web 
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Sat Mar  5 11:41:13 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Sat Mar  5 11:42:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Truthout.org - Dean Says Democrats 'Not Going to Concede
	the South'
Message-ID: <20050305194113.78766.qmail@web53404.mail.yahoo.com>

  Dean Says Democrats 'Not Going to Concede the South'
    By Emily Wagster Pettus
    The Associated Press
    Wednesday 02 March 2005

    JACKSON, Miss. - Praying for American troops and evoking biblical images of helping the needy, Howard Dean told Mississippi Democrats on Tuesday night that the national party won't give up on socially conservative states.

    "We're not going to concede the South," the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee told an overflow crowd of more than 900 people in a dining room that was set up for 800 in the Clarion hotel near downtown Jackson.

    "The South will rise again, and when it does, it will have a D after its name," Dean said to applause from the diverse crowd of blacks and whites.

Find the complete article at: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/030305L.shtml

 



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



		
---------------------------------
Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday! 
 Yahoo! Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sat Mar  5 12:34:43 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sat Mar  5 12:35:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] As Beth Blows Her Brains Out
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV3277E8F8950D6F4AE50C72AB5D0@phx.gbl>

Sorry about your local girl Beth Cheeseburger.... one just never knows what another is going through IF they do not share.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Cheeseburger
Sent: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 22:15:16 -0800
To: mb-civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] As Beth Blows Her Brains Out

As Beth Blows Her Brains Out




Oh well.

Yawn.....

Death has become so commonplace that I had to train my soul not to die from
simple grief every time I turn around and see it take someone else I know

Although it might be considered a "sin" to be emotionless to such things, it
surely cannot be bad to at least control one's emotions at least to the
point where they avoid insanity in the process of remaining a living witness
to the...  to the...   well...  to the whole thing.

People leading the cleanest lives in the world dying from the worst cancer
known to mankind.  Old soldiers dying from bedsores in Veteran's hospitals.
3,000 dead in the WTC.  500,000 dead from sanctions under Saddam.  1,600
dead American soldiers in Iraq.  15?,000 wounded.  300,000? dead in the
Tsunami.  100,000? dead Civlians in Iraq.  The death? statistics are
astounding.  The reasons are myriad.

I'm sitting here staring at the wall.  I think it was Sandra Dee that just
went also recently that I saw no mention of here.  Anyway, Hunter just blew
his brains out.  That was strange.  I wonder sometimes, sometimes I think,
hmmm, I can't wait to get back to LA, maybe I'll find a woman, maybe I'll
have children (not likely, but one can dream, lol), then I hear of a lady in
Houston drowning her 5 kids, a lady in Dallas cutting off her kid's arms,
etc etc etc, and then Beth here in my little town takes a shotgun, sticks it
in her mouth, and pulls the trigger.

Hey, God, yo, you can send all those children and all those women to my
house, they can stay here with me and the cats and dogs and live out a nice
happy safe life even if I have to walk down main street naked (or something)
every day to bring a smile to their faces.  What's your problem, man...?

Stop letting people hurt, decapitate, disect, shoot, stab, strangle,
mutilate, rape, shake to death, suffocate, poison, runover, kill, drown,
murder and etc others and themselves, you're starting to piss me off.

If it's not you, God, doing it, then put the *ssh*le on the line who is.


"It's for you..."

"Thanks, God, yes, this is George here..."

"George..?  Bush, the President...?"

"Yes, this is me...  What can I do for you...?"

"You f*cking c*cks*cker...."

< Click.     beep beep beep beep beep beep.... >

"Wow, heh, how rude, he hung up..."

"Don't look at me, George, you're the one that wanted to be President..."

"Oh, yeah, God, nevermind, hehe..."


Ah, yeah, that brings me back to my friend Jerry down here who spent 14
years stuck in a wheelchair paralyzed from the neck down trying to be an
activist with hope in his heart on the Internet drumming up interest for
stem cell research typing his soul out one letter of the alphabet at a time
with a little stick in his mouth.

Until his brain simply finally swelled up inside his skull and exploded.

Hmmm, this must be "death reminder" night.    :|

I guess, every now and then you sometimes gotta write something about
someone who dies.

But there's so many, in every country, dying all the time, it never stops,
you start to wonder, what the f*ck.

Is this really just a chrysalis we are walking around in waiting to ascend
to a brighter and newer being in another form after we die, or is this a
prison we are tortured in, desecrated in, and finally killed in, in one way
or another, and this is really something like either Hell or a prison planet
run by multiple dimensional aliens or something.

:o

Anyways, the weekend Cheeseburger rant....

50 million are expected to be infected in Africa alone by HIV soon...?

8 million or more are fully expected to die in some vast "Flu Pandemic" they
are now talking about, spread by, among other things I believe, simple
birds.

Overdoses, beatings to death, car accidents, diseases of all kinds, murders,
suicides, natural disasters, wars, epidemics, nuclear fallout, pesticides,
food additives, hormones, antibiotics, genetically engineered etc, absestos,
lead, poisonings, millions of people everywhere, day after day, mercury in
the food, overfishing, ozone holes, acid rain, smog, global warming,
ecocide, microwave waves etc inundation, death by mosquito bearers, flus and
viruses evolving to evade treatment, choking on a piece of food, falling
down stairs, slipping on the ice, being set up and killed in the woods for
crack money and your tennis shoes, cutting your babies' head off, being
tasered to death, living in Guantanamo or somewhere until they just kill
you, being beaten to death in an American prison, on and on and on the list
of the ways people go, and are going, have gone, and will be going, millions
and millions and billions and etc.

I was just thinking....  With all the things that can kill us and are
killing us every day of our lives, it is a wonder that we even walk around
to begin with sometimes I muse.

I would like to be busy living instead of busy dying, but this is the worst
play I have ever seen, and if I find the director, I am going to fire his
*ss.

I guess, if I had my way about it, I wouldn't mind being f*cked to death.

Anyway, back to beautiful girls blowing their brains out with shotguns.

I used to play tennis here long ago in high school, and Beth was one of the
best female tennis stars we had.  Actually if you weren't *really* good, you
couldn't make the tennis team to begin with, lol.

She wore these nice short skirts on the tennis courts as did the other
girls, but, alas, for the most part, I was just too young to take *real*
notice and was throwing all my skills into this new thing called Tennis,
lol.

She was good.  The tennis instructor here, his son went on to win State
championship of Texas in tennis, I can't remember if Beth went on to win
that or not.  I do remember that I basically couldn't beat any of them ever
for the most part, heh, but that I had such a good serve, that I could even
beat the guy's sone on every serve, so he matched me up with him just to
drive him crazy with my serve, until finally one day, the guy who went on to
be State champion was able to return my serve, lol.

Hey, I figured since I knew I couldn't beat any of them in a game, the
smartest thing to do was just not let them ever hit the ball.     :|

Anyway, I went on to my life, and Beth, and all the rest, went on to her
life.

I don't really know why she did it, but someone told me that she was
depressed about a recent Divorce.

She was a few years younger than me, really pretty girl.  Never saw her ever
do anything bad to anyone.  She was wealthy, stood to inherit quite a sum in
the future, and well, I just don't know...

I would have walked down the street naked for her if it would have made a
difference.

But now, it's just too late.

Life is apparently not just only "not fair" sometimes, but many of us spend
each waking and sleeping moment trying to avoid dying from one cause or
another.

Until "death" in "old age" takes us, from one "cause" or another.

Wouldn't it be funny if death from old age was just another illusion, part
of a grand lie, just a segment of the torture, and we really can live
forever in these amazing bodies, fully healthy and happy, but we too, in all
our education, experience, and intelligence, are suckers to the very end.

Well, it's nice to dream sometimes anyway...


"Ok, here they are, Cheeseburger..."

"Here are what, Karl (Rove)...?"

"My shoes..."

"What do I want with your shoes, Karl...?"

"To drink champagne from them, Cheeseburger, and taste the sweet taste of
the victory of the liberation of Earth as I have...  And become one with
us..."

"You're a charmer to the very end, Karl..."

"Yes, heh, I know..."


And nobody is ever to blame.

For anything.

Victory is ours.  Forever.



I tell you what, if someone had a chance, the cash, and the ability to make
a worldwide communication channel that does not exist today that would
actually wake up, educate, and literally help those who watched, listened
to, or read it, it would be at least something, no matter how much it cost
to build it, to learn someday that someone did not blow their head off with
a shotgun because they turned on their tv and saw something or picked up
something from their coffee table and read something on it that made them
laugh right as they were thinking of crossing over to the other side.

But there is no one there to stop them and say "Wait, people still need you
and your talents desperately, it is not yet your hour..."

And all the money, fame, and "love" in the world does not seem to make a
difference.

It has come to the point long ago that Ignorance is definitely not Bliss.

Nor is lack of communication Heaven, but rather, inevitable, always the
inverse.


Oh well, there you go, just a little tribute ditty to some lady who lived 50
or so years on this planet, was well to do, had everything to live for, got
depressed over a Divorce, and killed herself, but who I will always also
remember as that beautiful healthy little girl with the great legs in that
short skirt knocking the crap out of that tennis ball over the net like a
cruise missile on a blue sky day with the sun shining off her hair.



"Fear me oh Death, and everything in between, for your powers exceeded your
heart much too long ago."





Cheeseburger

- Sing Muses, sing Graces, sing Fates, another has taken to wing.




_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat Mar  5 15:29:03 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar  5 16:08:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Depleted Uranium: 11, 000 GulfWar I soldiers dead,
	60% disabled
Message-ID: <200503060008.j2608SAa019210@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


When asked if the main purpose of using DU was for ?destroying things and
killing people,? Fulk was more specific: ?I would say it is the perfect
weapon for killing lots of people!?

http://www.sfbayview.com/012605/headsroll012605.shtml

SFBayview.com  February 23, 2005

Heads roll at Veterans Administration 

by Bob Nichols

Project Censored Award Winner

Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter charged Monday that the reason Veterans
Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier this month was the
growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War.

Writing in Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter No. 169, Arthur N. Bernklau,
executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York, stated,
?The real reason for Mr. Principi?s departure was really never given,
however a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret naming
depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the ?Gulf War Syndrome? has fed
a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US
Military.?

Bernklau continued, ?This malady (from uranium munitions), that thousands 
of our military have suffered and died from, has finally been identified as the
cause of this sickness, eliminating the guessing. The terrible truth is now
being revealed.?

He added, ?Out of the 580,400 soldiers who served in GW1 (the first Gulf
War), of them, 11,000 are now dead! By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on
Permanent Medical Disability. This astounding number of ?Disabled Vets?
means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who served have some 
form of permanent medical problems!? The disability rate for the wars of the 
last century was 5 percent; it was higher, 10 percent, in Viet Nam.

?The VA Secretary (Principi) was aware of this fact as far back as 2000,?
wrote Bernklau. ?He, and the Bush administration have been hiding these
facts, but now, thanks to Moret?s report, (it) ... is far too big to hide or
to cover up!?

?Terry Jamison, Public Affairs Specialist, Office of the Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, at the VA
Central Office, recently reported that ?Gulf Era Veterans? now on medical
disability, since 1991, number 518,739 Veterans,? said Berklau.

?The long-term effects have revealed that DU (uranium oxide) is a virtual
death sentence,? stated Berklau. ?Marion Fulk, a nuclear physical chemist,
who retired from the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab, and was 
also involved with the Manhattan Project, interprets the new and rapid
malignancies in the soldiers (from the 2003 Iraq War) as ?spectacular 
 
and a matter of concern!??

When asked if the main purpose of using DU was for ?destroying things and
killing people,? Fulk was more specific: ?I would say it is the perfect
weapon for killing lots of people!?

Principi could not be reached for comment prior to deadline.

References

1. Depleted uranium: ?Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty bullets: A death
sentence here and abroad? by Leuren Moret, 
http://www.sfbayview.com/081804/Depleteduranium081804.shtml.

2. Veterans for Constitutional Law, 112 Jefferson Ave., Port Jefferson NY
11777, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director, (516) 474-4261, fax
516-474-1968.

3. Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter. Email Gary Kohls,
gkohls@cpinternet.com, with ?Subscribe? in the subject line. 

Email Bob Nichols at bobnichols@cox.net.

_______________________________________________
Rad-Green mailing list
Rad-Green@lists.econ.utah.edu

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D (up 
to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options (option A - 1x/week, 
option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - up to 3x/day) please reply 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar  5 16:20:05 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sat Mar  5 16:21:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] US used Mustard Gas and Napalm on Iraqis
Message-ID: <000801c521e2$42566190$2c27e440@Harold>

The US forces used Mustard Gas, Nerve Gas and Napalm in Fallujah !

http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=5430

Who are the War Crime criminals here!!

Melted bodies in the streets.

This is worse than the prison tortures, this is Vietnam horror stories again.

What was it again that the Iraqi did against the Americans? Oh yeah, they have Oil which American consumers want for their SUV's!

Sadam is nothing compared to these American War Criminals!



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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar  5 16:28:55 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar  5 16:30:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Look what I just found on myway.com!
Message-ID: <5305234.1110068935523.JavaMail.root@mprdresin4.nwk.myway.com>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar  5 16:33:48 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar  5 16:35:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Look what I just found on myway.com!
Message-ID: <7739366.1110069228724.JavaMail.root@mprdresin3.nwk.myway.com>

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From michael at intrafi.com  Sat Mar  5 17:01:55 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 17:03:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Former Interior Minister Found Dead in Kiev
Message-ID: <25435537.1110070915248.JavaMail.turbine@s73>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Former Interior Minister Found Dead in Kiev 
--------------------

Ukrainian officials say Yuri Kravchenko shot himself. Prosecutors had sought to question him in the brutal slaying of a journalist in 2000.

By Kim Murphy and Mary Mycio
Special to The Times

March 5 2005

KIEV, Ukraine &#8212; Former Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko was found shot to death in an apparent suicide Friday, just hours before he was to meet with prosecutors investigating the possible involvement of senior Ukrainian officials in the 2000 murder and beheading of a journalist. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ukraine5mar05,0,1750326.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Sat Mar  5 17:03:14 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 17:04:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] London Mayor Assails Israeli Leader
Message-ID: <27989795.1110070994290.JavaMail.turbine@s73>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
London Mayor Assails Israeli Leader 
--------------------

Denying bias, he calls Sharon a war criminal. Weeks before, he laid into a Jewish reporter.

By John Daniszewski and Janet Stobart
Times Staff Writers

March 5 2005

LONDON &#8212; Mayor Ken Livingstone sparked anger from Israel on Friday for labeling Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a war criminal less than a month after comparing a Jewish reporter for a British newspaper to a concentration camp guard. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ken5mar05,0,1292602.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From Rhaerther at aol.com  Sat Mar  5 17:33:06 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 17:34:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: 'Al-Jazeera': And Now, the Other News
Message-ID: <ac.6e5a8367.2f5bb7d2@aol.com>

 
What a unique concept! A media that presents the both sides of  the news 
instead of propaganda.  And gee, we accidentally hit one of  their offices with a 
bomb.  Sorry, guys.  Shit happens.  Perhaps  the reason the cowards within bin 
Laden's organization provide them with  material is because of the 
willingness not to be a governmental media porn,  whoops, pawn, but to present the news 
and not take sides.
 
Richard Haerther

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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Sat Mar  5 17:50:02 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Sat Mar  5 17:51:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Never Again Again
Message-ID: <13e.e5dfc81.2f5bbbca@aol.com>

This one is a bit more sobering than Mark Fiore's usual  animations.  Do most 
people really give a rats ass about what really  happens in other countries?  
 _http://www.markfiore.com/animation/never.html_ 
(http://www.markfiore.com/animation/never.html) 
 
Richard Haerther
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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat Mar  5 20:55:13 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat Mar  5 20:55:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Half Earth's 6,
	000 Languages Will Be Extinct In Less Than 100 Years
Message-ID: <000701c52208$b030d440$7e25b7d8@baby1>

Half Earth's 6,000 Languages Will Be Extinct In Less Than 100 Years

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-apn-dying-cultures,0,6144822.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines



CheeseNote:  This is about African languages for the most part, but
interesting nevertheless as it mentions the extinction of Earth's languages
as a whole as well.  Old languages that helped maintain ecosystems etc for
thousands of years are simply abandoned for those of say a colonial
conqueror's, and the youth just keep on trucking into the bright new world
of globalization, forever separated from not only their origins, and
original cultures, but the languages that bore their ancestors from the
beginning of their existence.

Half of Earth's population now use only 8 languages.

Nice little article, check it out if you can, reminds me of the time about 7
or so years ago that I did a thorough research of all the dying American
Indian languages, from east to west coast, typed up a complete report on the
devastation and the impending extinctions of their languages, sent a copy to
every Representative and Senator in Congress, and only got 1 reply that said
they were on vacation.

It took me 6 months in my spare time to compile that "report", after that, I
just gave up on researching things and mailing Congresspeople.  It must work
for everyone but me I presumed.

Perhaps that old Lithuanian proverb of "As so goes a language, so goes the
tongue" is actually true, I don't really know, I suppose we're fixing to
find out...



Cheeseburger

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat Mar  5 21:16:09 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat Mar  5 21:15:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Sinn Fein Struggles to Defuse IRA Crisis
Message-ID: <000d01c5220b$9cbf6220$7e25b7d8@baby1>

Sinn Fein Struggles to Defuse IRA Crisis

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-ireland-sinn-fein,0,1947000.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines


DUBLIN, Ireland -- Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army-linked party under
fire over the IRA's killing of a Belfast man and other crimes, invited the
victim's sisters into its party conference Saturday in an unprecedented
effort to defuse their criticism.

As four sisters of Robert McCartney sat in the front row, Sinn Fein leader
Gerry Adams said McCartney's killers -- among them, allegedly, seven
suspended members of Sinn Fein and three expelled members of the outlawed
IRA -- "should admit what they did in a court of law. That's the only decent
thing for them to do."

During his speech at Sinn Fein's largest annual gathering, Adams offered
sympathy but no new commitments to the McCartneys, whose high-profile
campaign over the past month has highlighted IRA intimidation of witnesses
to the Jan. 30 attack on their brother.

Adams said he wanted to assure the family, as well as the man's fiancee and
two young children who didn't attend, "that we are on their side."

The four sisters listened with grim expressions.

Adams -- whom the Irish government identified last month as an IRA
commander -- said witnesses should "come forward." He did not specify they
should talk to the Northern Ireland detectives trying to gather evidence on
the mob that fatally knifed and beat McCartney, 33, outside a Belfast pub.

The McCartneys left the conference saying they were not yet satisfied. They
noted that none of 72 potential witnesses has given police statements
identifying the attackers, whose names are common knowledge in the
McCartneys' Belfast neighborhood of Short Strand, a traditional IRA power
base.

"These men murdered my brother. Everyone knows who they are," said Catherine
McCartney.

The McCartney case has highlighted a major obstacle in the peace process -- 
whether Catholics will cooperate with the mostly Protestant police force in
Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein rejects current efforts to reform the police,
while the IRA reserves the right to kill anybody who tells police about IRA
activities.

Such policies were supposed to have ended by now in support of Northern
Ireland's Good Friday peace accord of 1998, which proposed a joint
administration of Protestants and Sinn Fein, which has grown to become the
biggest Catholic-backed party in the British territory.

Protestants say they won't cooperate again with Sinn Fein until the IRA
disarms and disbands. They cite both the McCartney killing and the Dec. 20
robbery of a Belfast bank -- when the IRA allegedly stole a world-record $50
million -- as the worst recent examples.

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, whose moderate Protestant party formed
a power-sharing administration involving Sinn Fein that collapsed in 2002,
told his own party conference Saturday in Belfast that Sinn Fein must become
"a purely peaceful, democratic movement with no private army." He ruled out
renewed negotiations until that happened.

In his speech, Adams qualified the IRA's right to commit crimes and said the
group could not be "wished away, or ridiculed or embarrassed or demonized or
repressed out of existence."

"We know that breaking the law is a crime," Adams said. "But we refuse to
criminalize those who break the law in pursuit of legitimate political
objectives."

Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern, speaking before Adams' speech, said
Sinn Fein and the IRA were "one organization" and emphasized that any new
negotiations involving Sinn Fein would focus on the need to secure the IRA's
disarmament and disbandment.

Ahern said the McCartney case illustrated that the IRA, once viewed as
protectors in the most hard-line Catholic parts of Northern Ireland, now
must "get off the backs of local communities" as peaceful times have
arrived.

In one sign of the unusual political isolation facing Sinn Fein, no members
of the U.S. Congress attended the conference for the first time in more than
a decade. The main international guests instead came from South Africa's
African National Congress, the Palestinian Authority and Basque separatists
from Spain.

The Bush administration confirmed Thursday that Sinn Fein, as well as other
Northern Ireland parties, would not be invited to the White House for St.
Patrick's Day for the first time since 1995.

=======


CheeseNote:  While I do not condone any of the killing etc there (or
anywhere) by anyone, I wouldn't feel too bad about not being able to wear a
green hat and drink champagne with people who have just finished killing
much more people than both the Protestants and the Catholics etc in Northern
Ireland have ever combined;  namely 100,000 dead Iraqi civilian men women
and children remains the latest body count of innocents in Iraq buried under
the ground there.

Wearing a green hat in the White House (which is most likely called that
because nobody can take up residency there unless they are a millionaire
white boy) and only being afforded the privilege of drinking green champagne
with mass murderers once every 12 years isn't so bad a punishment.  By the
time the next opportunity comes around, you will have all probably solved
all your problems up there in Northern Ireland and then you can drink
yourselves silly with our friendly Fascismos we keep on retainer with our
hard-earned taxes here under the table in the oval office to your heart's
content.

Oh well, you can always stop by here on that holiday and I'll put some green
food dye in the ice tea and we can watch the grass grow and pretend the fire
ants are a parade.  All in all though, it seems so profoundly ironic that
people like the IRA will probably actually reform and be drawn back into the
mainstream of "polite society" and non-murderers long before our own
Government here in America will get around to it themselves, if ever.

Funny stuff when you think about it.    :|

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat Mar  5 21:31:26 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat Mar  5 21:36:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea
	Creatures
Message-ID: <001301c5220d$be5cd000$7e25b7d8@baby1>

How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea Creatures

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-stranded-dolphins,0,5860836.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines


Ah well, to sonar or not to sonar, that is the question.  Whether tis nobler
to beach 70 dolphins by using military technological capabilities and
weapons, or to catch a deep sea frogman swimming under the Atlantic for 6
months from the Middle East with C4 strapped to his wet suit, remains the
other question.

Anyways, the capabilities, not just sonar, of the military, our military,
among others, remains nothing short of phenomenal.

I really wouldn't be surprised if sometimes when you might feel you're
walking around in a daze, it has nothing to do with anything but technology
to begin with, but you'll never know, because, hmmm, you don't know in the
first place.

But that's another story.  This one is just about killing Flipper and
denying it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cover story finally emerges that they were
really after Sponge Bob and Patrick who have known ties to al-Qaeda now.

But that's another story as well.




Cheeseburger

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat Mar  5 21:40:48 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat Mar  5 21:39:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Dick Tracy Spreads Democracy In Israel
Message-ID: <001901c5220f$0e748be0$7e25b7d8@baby1>

Dick Tracy Spreads Democracy In Israel

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-israel-video-warfare,0,7879791.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

(excerpt)

HOLON, Israel -- Israeli troops are now sporting gear that Dick Tracy would
be proud of: tiny video screens, worn on the wrist, which display video shot
by unmanned airplanes.



From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun Mar  6 05:31:39 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun Mar  6 05:33:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rule Change Lets C.I.A. Freely Send
	Suspects Abroad to Jails
Message-ID: <20050306133151.320F62062CD@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: harry.sifton@sympatico.ca.

This activity makes the US even more criminal Later H


WASHINGTON | March 6, 2005

Rule Change Lets C.I.A. Freely Send Suspects Abroad to Jails
By DOUGLAS JEHL and DAVID JOHNSTON

The process has been central in U.S. efforts to disrupt terrorism, but has been criticized by human rights groups.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/politics/06intel.html?ex=1110776400&en=e36cc36fc5ef2f81&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar  6 06:08:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 06:09:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?CNN=2Ecom_-_Shot_hostage=A0disputes_U?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?=2ES=2E_account_-_Mar_6=2C_2005?=
Message-ID: <9308412.1110118082477.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



I suspected as much...

Peace.



 
********************
 
If you are having trouble with any of the links in this message, or if the URL's are not appearing as links, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this email.
 
Title: CNN.com - Shot hostage?disputes U.S. account - Mar 6, 2005
 
  
Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to access the sent link:
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Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to SAVE THIS link:
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2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 
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4. Paste the address into your Web browser by selecting Paste from the Edit menu.
5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. 
 
********************
 
 
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun Mar  6 06:43:00 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun Mar  6 06:44:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article from ctv.ca
Message-ID: <16303622.1110120180086.JavaMail.www@kenny2.theglobeandmail.com>

Harold (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) thought you would be interested in this article.

Message From Harold: 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Journalist warned that American's did not want to see her return...

Peace H

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit http://www.ctv.ca for the latest on news, entertainment, weather, and more!

Get news and programs delivered to your in-box. Sign up for our newsletters!
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar  6 06:46:08 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar  6 06:47:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27783004.1110120369184.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Credit Card Penalties, Fees Bury Debtors
 
 By Kathleen Day  and Caroline E. Mayer
 
  For more than two years, special-education teacher Fatemeh Hosseini worked a second job to keep up with the $2,000 in monthly payments she collectively sent to five banks to try to pay $25,000 in credit card debt.
 
 Even though she had not used the cards to buy anything more, her debt had nearly doubled to $49,574 by the time the Sunnyvale, Calif., resident filed for bankruptcy last June. That is because Hosseini's payments sometimes were tardy, triggering late fees ranging from $25 to $50 and doubling interest rates to nearly 30 percent. When the additional costs pushed her balance over her credit limit, the credit card companies added more penalties.
 
  "I was really trying hard to make minimum payments," said Hosseini, whose financial problems began in the late 1990s when her husband left her and their three children. "All of my salary was going to the credit card companies, but there was no change in the balances because of that interest and those penalties."
 
  Punitive charges -- penalty fees and sharply higher interest rates after a payment is late -- compound the problems of many financially strapped consumers, sometimes making it impossible for them to dig their way out of debt and pushing them into bankruptcy.
 
 The Senate is to vote as soon as this week on a bill that would make it harder for individuals to wipe out debt through bankruptcy. The Senate last week voted down several amendments intended to curb excessive fees and other practices that critics of the industry say are abusive. House leaders say they will act soon after that, and President Bush has said he supports the bill.
 
 Bankruptcy experts say that too often, by the time an individual has filed for bankruptcy or is hauled into court by creditors, he or she has repaid an amount equal to their original credit card debt plus double-digit interest, but still owes hundreds or thousands of dollars because of penalties.
 
 "How is it that the person who wants to do right ends up so worse off?" Cleveland Municipal Judge Robert J. Triozzi said last fall when he ruled against Discover in the company's breach-of-contract suit against another struggling credit cardholder, Ruth M. Owens. 
 
 Owens tried for six years to pay off a $1,900 balance on her Discover card, sending the credit company a total of $3,492 in monthly payments from 1997 to 2003. Yet her balance grew to $5,564.28, even though, like Hosseini, she never used the card to buy anything more. Of that total, over-limit penalty fees alone were $1,158.
 
  Triozzi denied Discover's claim, calling its attempt to collect more money from Owens "unconscionable." 
 
 The bankruptcy measure now being debated in Congress has been sought for nearly eight years by the credit card industry. Twice in that time, versions of it have passed both the House and Senate. Once, President Bill Clinton refused to sign it, saying it was unfair, and once the House reversed its vote after Democrats attached an amendment that would prevent individuals such as anti-abortion protesters from using bankruptcy as a shield against court-imposed fines.
 
 Credit card companies and most congressional Republicans say current law needs to be changed to prevent abuse and make more people repay at least part of their debt. Consumer-advocacy groups and many Democrats say people who seek bankruptcy protection do so mostly because they have fallen on hard times through illness, divorce or job loss. They also argue that current law has strong provisions that judges can use to weed out those who abuse the system.
 
  Opponents also argue that the legislation is unfair because it ignores loopholes that would allow rich debtors to shield millions of dollars during bankruptcy through expensive homes and complex trusts, while ignoring the need for more disclosure to cardholders about rates and fees and curbs on what they say is irresponsible behavior by the credit card industry. The Republican majority, along with a few Democrats, has voted down dozens of proposed amendments to the bill, including one that would make it easier for the elderly to protect their homes in bankruptcy and another that would require credit card companies to tell customers how much extra interest they would pay over time by making only minimum payments.
 
 No one knows how many consumers get caught in the spiral of "negative amortization," which is what regulators call it when a consumer makes payments but balances continue to grow because of penalty costs. The problem is widespread enough to worry federal bank regulators, who say nearly all major credit card issuers engage in the practice.
 
  Two years ago regulators adopted a policy that will require credit card companies to set monthly minimum payments high enough to cover penalties and interest and lower some of the customer's original debt, known as principal, so that if a consumer makes no new charges and makes monthly minimum payments, his or her balance will begin to decline. 
 
 Banks agreed to the new rules after, in the words of one top federal regulator, "some arm-twisting." But bank executives persuaded regulators to allow the higher minimum payments to be phased in over several years, through 2006, arguing that many customers are so much in debt that even slight increases too soon could push many into financial disaster.
 
  Credit card companies declined to comment on specific cases or customers for this article, but banking industry officials, speaking generally, said there is a good reason for the fees they charge.
 
 "It's to encourage people to pay their bills the way they said they would in their contract, to encourage good financial management," said Nessa Feddis, senior federal counsel for the American Bankers Association. "There has to be some onus on the cardholder, some responsibility to manage their finances." 
 
 High fees "may be extreme cases, but they are not the trend, not the norm," Feddis said.
 
  "Banks are pretty flexible," she said. "If you are a good customer and have an occasional mishap, they'll waive the fees, because there's so much competition and it's too easy to go someplace else." Banks are also willing to work out settlements with people in financial difficulty, she said, because "there are still a lot of options even for people who've been in trouble."
 
 Many bankruptcy lawyers disagree. James S.K. "Ike" Shulman, Hosseini's lawyer, said credit card companies hounded her and did not live up to several promises to work with her to cut mounting fees.
 
 Regulators say it is appropriate for lenders to charge higher-risk debtors a higher interest rate, but that negative amortization and other practices go too far, posing risks to the banking system by threatening borrowers' ability to repay their debts and by being unfair to individuals.
 
  U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David H. Adams of Norfolk, who is also the president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, said many debtors who get in over their heads "are spending money, buying things they shouldn't be buying." Even so, he said, "once you add all these fees on, the amount of principal being paid is negligible. The fees and interest and other charges are so high, they may never be able to pay it off."
 
  Judges say there is little they can do by the time cases get to bankruptcy court. Under the law, "the credit card company is legally entitled to collect every dollar without a distinction" whether the balance is from fees, interest or principal, said retired U.S. bankruptcy judge Ronald Barliant, who presided in Chicago. The only question for the courts is whether the debt is accurate, judges and lawyers say.
 
  John Rao, staff attorney of the National Consumer Law Center, one of many consumer groups fighting the bankruptcy bill, says the plight consumers face was illustrated last year in a bankruptcy case filed in Northern Virginia.
 
 Manassas resident Josephine McCarthy's Providian Visa bill increased to $5,357 from $4,888 in two years, even though McCarthy has used the card for only $218.16 in purchases and has made monthly payments totaling $3,058. Those payments, noted U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen S. Mitchell in Alexandria, all went to "pay finance charges (at a whopping 29.99%), late charges, over-limit fees, bad check fees and phone payment fees." Mitchell allowed the claim "because the debtor admitted owing it." McCarthy, through her lawyer, declined to be interviewed.
 
  Alan Elias, a Providian Financial Corp. spokesman, said: "When consumers sign up for a credit card, they should understand that it's a loan, no different than their mortgage payment or their car payment, and it needs to be repaid. And just like a mortgage payment and a car payment, if you are late you are assessed a fee." The 29.99 percent interest rate, he said, is the default rate charged to consumers "who don't met their obligation to pay their bills on time" and is clearly disclosed on account applications.
 
 Feddis, of the banker's association, said the nature of debt means that interest will often end up being more than the original principal. "Anytime you have a loan that's going to extend for any period of time, the interest is going to accumulate. Look at a 30-year-mortgage. The interest is much, much more than the principal."
 
  Samuel J. Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, a nonpartisan research group, said that focusing on late fees is "refusing to look at the elephant in the room, and that's the massive levels of consumer debt which is not being paid. People are living right up to the edge," failing to save so when they lose a second job or overtime, face medical expense or their family breaks up, they have no money to cope.
 
 "Late fees aren't the cause of debt," he said.
 
  Credit card use continues to grow, with an average of 6.3 bank credit cards and 6.3 store credit cards for every household, according to Cardweb.com Inc., which monitors the industry. Fifteen years ago, the averages were 3.4 bank credit cards and 4.1 retail credit cards per household.
 
 Despite, or perhaps because of, the large increase in cards, there is a "fee feeding frenzy," among credit card issuers, said Robert McKinley, Cardweb's president and chief executive. "The whole mentality has really changed over the last several years," with the industry imposing fees and increasing interest rates if a single payment is late. 
 
 Penalty interest rates usually are about 30 percent, with some as high as 40 percent, while late fees now often are $39 a month, and over-limit fees, about $35, McKinley said. "If you drag that out for a year, it could be very damaging," he said. "Late and over-limit fees alone can easily rack up $900 in fees, and a 30 percent interest rate on a $3,000 balance can add another $1,000, so you could go from $2,000 to $5,000 in just one year if you fail to make payments."
 
  According to R.K. Hammer Investment Bankers, a California credit card consulting firm, banks collected $14.8 billion in penalty fees last year, or 10.9 percent of revenue, up from $10.7 billion, or 9 percent of revenue, in 2002, the first year the firm began to track penalty fees.
 
  The way the fees are now imposed, "people would be better off if they stopped paying" once they get in over their heads, said T. Bentley Leonard, a North Carolina bankruptcy attorney . Once you stop paying, creditors write off the debt and sell it to a debt collector. "They may harass you, but your balance doesn't keep rising. That's the irony."
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar  6 06:47:11 2005
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Date: Sun Mar  6 06:48:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Some Democrats Say Greenspan  Has Gone From 'Maestro' to Partisan
 
 By Dana Milbank and Nell Henderson
 
  Questioning the wisdom of Alan Greenspan in political Washington is akin to challenging the integrity of the pope in Rome, so figures in both parties agreed yesterday that the top Senate Democrat's description of the Federal Reserve Board chairman as a "political hack" was a blunder.
 
 But Democrats said the accusation by Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) reflected a real frustration in the minority party with Greenspan. Even before Reid's attack, Democrats say, they have been changing their view of Greenspan from one of an above-politics wise man to the Republican partisan he had been in the 1960s and '70s.
 
  In Democrats' view, Greenspan's endorsement of President Bush's tax cut in 2001 reduced the Fed chairman's standing from when he was hailed by both sides in the 1990s as the "maestro" of a healthy economy. Then, last week, Greenspan urged changes to Social Security "sooner rather than later," private retirement accounts and a restructured tax code -- siding with Bush in each case. The White House pointed to this as nonpartisan validation; Democrats cried foul.
 
 Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), who worked with the Fed chairman as a Clinton administration official and in Congress, said Greenspan has been "unbelievably effective" at the Fed but he does not forgive Greenspan for flashing "a green light" to tax cuts that contributed to large deficits. "There's a moat around the Fed that says he doesn't get involved in political discussions," Emanuel said. "He took the moat down."
 
 The frustration has surfaced in congressional hearings. At the Senate banking committee last month, Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.) said that in 2001 Greenspan had "taken the lid off the punch bowl" by endorsing Bush's tax cuts. "And now we've managed to transpose our economic outlook from this projection of over $5 trillion in surplus to almost $4 trillion in deficits." 
 
 At a hearing on the House side, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) implicitly scolded Greenspan for exceeding his role, saying "the question of private accounts is an ideological one."
 
 Democratic strategists say Greenspan, who turns 79 on Sunday and plans to retire in January, is newly vulnerable. "It is about time Democrats stopped treating him like he was an untouchable," said Chris Lehane, a campaign adviser to Democratic presidential nominees Al Gore and John F. Kerry. And Marshall Wittmann of the Democratic Leadership Council said Greenspan has "returned to his Ayn Rand roots" in recent times, referring to his work for a publication affiliated with the libertarian philosopher in the 1960s. "The Fed chairman is the closest thing in Washington to a deity. At least with Democrats, he no longer has that deity status. He's now viewed as a partisan figure."
 
 It was not always this way. Democrats were grateful to Greenspan in 1992, when Republicans blamed the defeat of President George H.W. Bush on the Fed's refusal to drop interest rates more quickly. Greenspan's support was critical to winning passage of President Bill Clinton's 1993 deficit-reduction budget proposal, which included tax increases, with no GOP votes. 
 
 Greenspan, who served as an economic adviser to Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford before being appointed Fed chairman by Ronald Reagan in 1987, was a frequent ally of Clinton. He worked closely with the Clinton economic team in crafting responses to financial crises. In 1998 he helped Clinton block tax cuts, and in 2000 he praised Congress and the White House for reducing debt.
 
 But after Bush became president in 2001, Greenspan sent a different message: His support became a key influence in securing passage of Bush's tax cut. Greenspan told the Senate then that it was likely "that sufficient resources will be available to undertake both debt reduction" and tax cuts. Greenspan suggested that tax cuts could be automatically canceled if surplus projections proved wrong, but the lawmakers ignored that idea.
 
 Democrats were further infuriated that, even after the budget went into deficit, Greenspan repeatedly supported making the temporary tax cuts permanent -- one of the Bush administration's top economic policy goals. He favored cuts in spending, including future Social Security and Medicare benefits. 
 
 And, after repeatedly invoking the bond market as a reason to reduce government borrowing in the 1990s, he rejected Democratic arguments that borrowing to create private retirement accounts would roil the bond market. Greenspan said last week that there is no way to know how interest rates would be affected by the borrowing required. Therefore, he said, Congress should try them.
 
 Greenspan, who declined to respond to Reid, has at times been unhelpful to Bush by complaining about deficits. But the White House has gleefully pointed to Greenspan's validation in recent days. "You all heard testimony from Chairman Greenspan this morning," press secretary Scott McClellan said at Wednesday's briefing. The next day, McClellan said that "we appreciate Chairman Greenspan's comments today" on tax reform. He again cited Greenspan's view that the Social Security problem "really begins to hit in 2008" and said "that's why we need to act now."
 
 The Republican National Committee issued a news release seeking to bolster Greenspan's standing as an above-politics figure. It included quotations from Clinton and half a dozen Democratic senators praising the chairman. "The preponderance of Senate Democrats have always supported Greenspan, unlike Senator Reid," said GOP strategist Charles R. Black Jr.
 
  On CNBC yesterday, Bush's budget director, Joshua B. Bolten, defended Greenspan as "all substance," not politics.
 
  But some economists say Greenspan's tendency to offer opinions on fiscal policy endangers the Fed's political independence. Mickey Levy, chief economist at Bank of America, said "there is a concern that Greenspan sets a bad precedent for the next chairman to think he or she has the liberty to delve into fiscal policy."
 
 Even some of Greenspan's colleagues at the central bank have long complained that he should stay out of debates over federal tax and spending decisions, or fiscal policy. They say the Fed's independence from political pressure is key to its credibility in financial markets. "I believe the chairman shouldn't insert himself and the Fed into political debates over the direction of fiscal policy," former Fed board member Laurence H. Meyer, who served under Greenspan, wrote in a recent book about his time at the central bank.
 
 Greenspan still enjoys broad respect. Last April, a Gallup poll found that the public had more confidence in Greenspan's economic advice than in that of Bush or congressional Democrats.
 
 It may be a sign of waning influence that Greenspan's remarks about Social Security accounts have not transformed the debate the way his endorsement of tax cuts did in 2001. A GOP leadership aide said that "it was helpful to our side" but added that "it was not dynamic-changing." 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar  6 06:48:14 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar  6 06:49:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Wrong AIDS Policy
 
    THE LOUD arguments over AIDS treatment -- How safe are generic drugs? What should the poorest countries pay for them? -- sometimes obscure the fact that slowing the spread of the disease is at least as important. Last year another 4.9 million people became infected with the HIV virus. The low-tech business of raising awareness and encouraging safer behavior could save millions of lives. Unfortunately, it's not easy. To take just one statistic from December's update on the epidemic, published by UNAIDS: Although voluntary counseling and testing services have been greatly expanded in recent years, less than 1 percent of adults ages 15 to 49 use them.
 
 This is why AIDS prevention efforts must focus on high-risk groups -- high-risk not only in the sense that they are at greatest risk of infection but also in the sense that they pose the greatest risks to others. As we said last Sunday, these groups include drug users, who can infect each other quickly via shared needles, then spread the virus to the general population via unprotected intercourse; the Bush administration is wrong to oppose programs that distribute clean needles to addicts. Another high-risk group is prostitutes. If they don't get help to reduce the risks of infection, the victims will include not only the prostitutes and their clients but also the clients' spouses and children. 
 
 Unfortunately, U.S. policy on reaching out to prostitutes may be taking a turn for the worse. Since 2003 foreign groups receiving federal grants for AIDS work have been required to have a policy condemning prostitution; recently, the same requirement has been extended to American grantees, despite earlier concern that this constitutes an unconstitutional free-speech violation. The U.S. Agency for International Development says that this condemnation won't inhibit aid groups from counseling prostitutes on venereal disease, providing them with condoms and offering them HIV tests. But some organizations fear they will be pushed into urging prostitutes to give up their work, rather than helping the many who are in no position to do so. The fear is understandable. And if the new requirement has no practical effect, why have it?
 
 The Bush administration deserves credit for expanding the nation's response to international AIDS. It has been excessively attacked for urging sexual abstinence as part of a broader prevention effort, although a recent study from Uganda questions earlier findings that abstinence programs had worked there. But the administration should not allow its AIDS effort to be guided by utopian delusions. It would be nice if prostitutes the world over could be helped toward a different way of life. But the world's oldest profession is not going to disappear, and millions of lives depend on getting AIDS prevention services to its practitioners.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar  6 06:49:34 2005
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Date: Sun Mar  6 06:50:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 A Democratic Call to Arms
 
 By Peter Beinart
 
    Howard Dean faces a choice. Last month, just hours before the Democratic National Committee chose the former Vermont governor to lead it, it did something else: It created an Office of Military and Veterans Outreach. In the coming weeks, Dean will decide what kind of funding and staff this new office receives. And that will prove an early test of whether the Democrats' new chairman is serious about nursing his party back to political health.
 
 To understand why military voters matter to the Democratic Party's fate, consider what African American and Hispanic voters mean to the Republican Party. For four years -- through faith-based initiatives, conservative cultural appeals, Spanish-language infomercials and Cinco de Mayo celebrations -- Karl Rove has labored to bring ethnic minorities into the GOP. His calculation has been twofold. First, African American and Hispanic votes are valuable in and of themselves. Second, African American and Hispanic support helps Republicans overcome their image as exclusionary and hard-hearted -- and that wins over some moderate white voters as well.
 
 For Democrats, the dynamic with military voters is the same. According to last year's exit polls, 18 percent of voters had served, or were serving, in the military -- roughly the same share of the electorate as blacks and Latinos combined. And just as minority support helps Republicans combat their reputation as mean, military support helps Democrats overcome their reputation as weak -- a reputation that particularly alienates non-college-educated white men, whether they have served in the military or not.
 
  Republicans have been conquering their demographic challenge, while Democrats have not. Between 2000 and 2004, George W. Bush increased his share of African American votes from 9 percent to 11 percent, and in key states such as Ohio, he did much better than that. Among Hispanics, Bush's total rose from 35 percent to as much as 44 percent. But despite widespread talk about military disaffection over Iraq, John Kerry won only 41 percent of Americans with military experience. While active-duty, National Guard and Reserve voters are hard to poll scientifically, a survey last October by the Military Times gave Kerry a mere 18 percent.
 
 It wasn't that Kerry didn't try. In fact, during his career in Massachusetts, the former Vietnam Swift boat commander relied heavily on veterans' support, and during the Democratic primaries, veterans came to his aid once again. At the Democratic National Convention, Kerry brought his fellow Vietnam boat mates on stage, along with 12 former generals and admirals. The imagery could hardly have been better.
 
 But it failed. Partly that's because Kerry lacked a clear, compelling message on Iraq and the struggle against extremist Islam. Partly it's because the right smeared him as a duplicitous radical who had fabricated parts of his military record and betrayed his fellow soldiers when he came home. But it's also because in the four years before Kerry was nominated, while Rove was relentlessly reaching out to Hispanics and African Americans, the Democrats hadn't done the same for veterans. Between 1996 and 2004, the percentage of black and Hispanic delegates to the Republican National Convention more than doubled. In the same period, the percentage of veterans serving as Democratic delegates actually fell.
 
 Democrats have been alienated from the military since Vietnam, almost as long as Republicans have been alienated from African Americans. They need a generational strategy to repair the rift. Criticizing the Bush administration for failing to provide current and former troops and their families the medical and other benefits they deserve is a start. So is developing a cadre of national Democrats with real defense expertise -- something the party has often lacked since Sam Nunn left the Senate and Les Aspin the House -- so Democrats can speak the military's language.
 
 But the biggest problem is cultural. Democrats should acknowledge that at times the left's understandable anger over Vietnam degenerated into a lack of respect for the military. And they should make amends in very practical ways -- most significantly, as the Progressive Policy Institute's Will Marshall has pointed out, by shaming America's colleges and law schools into letting the military recruit on campus. Liberal students, faculty and administrators have the right to criticize the Pentagon's discriminatory policies toward gays and lesbians. But it is outrageous for them to treat the U.S. military -- especially in a time of war -- as a pariah. And Howard Dean should go to the college towns where his most stalwart supporters reside and tell them so.
 
 Genuine multiculturalism is not just about race, ethnicity and gender. It's about embracing people whose culture differs from yours, in hopes of finding core principles that you share. Over the past four years, Republicans have done that. Now Democrats must too.
 
 The writer is editor of the New Republic and a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution. He writes a monthly column for The Post.
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar  6 06:51:07 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar  6 06:52:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Life in the Spin Cycle
 
 By Michael Kinsley
 
   One day last week, four stories on the front page of the Los Angeles Times were about efforts to shape public perceptions.
 
  There was a report about how the worst techniques of modern election campaigns are being adopted by interest groups in legislative battles. For example, a conservative group has been spreading word that the AARP's opposition to Social Security reform is part of a secret agenda that includes  gay marriage.
 
  Another story described how movie studios spend millions trying to influence the Academy Awards.
 
  A third was about the makeover of Harvard University President Lawrence Summers, following his unfortunate remarks about women and science. 
 
  And, like every media outlet in the world, the L.A. Times had the story of Martha Stewart's triumphant positioning of her release from prison: thinner, richer and humbler, too: a walking embodiment of that old joke, "I used to be conceited, but now I'm perfect."
 
  It's an old story that the news and our understanding of it are affected -- or afflicted -- by "spin," meaning efforts by partisans to make us see things their way. But it may be new that so much of the news is actually about these efforts.
 
  Spin is not just a technique. It is not just a political phenomenon. It permeates our culture and our daily life. And it's an industry -- almost a sector of the economy. That one day's stories quoted lobbyists, public relations specialists and professional "damage control" experts. If computers and communications go by the acronym "IT," for information technology, the perceptual industry might be "MT," for misinformation technology.
 
  The business of MT isn't lying. It's shaping perceptions irrespective of the truth. Reality is a consideration, of course. But if reality were sufficient, we wouldn't need spin -- would we?
 
  Of those four front-page stories, only one -- the Social Security piece -- had the slightest tone of disapproval. To disapprove of spin is like disapproving of rain. What's the point? If anything, there were sympathy and admiration for Summers and Stewart. Good spin is an essential life skill and business technique. Bad spin is worthy of criticism. No spin is un-American.
 
  Reporters, whose job is to describe reality, rightly regard spin as an important part of the reality they are supposed to report. Good reporters describe both the real reality and the alternative reality. But even good ones often show no hint of preference as between the stage set and the real thing. If they did, that might be considered bias, I suppose.
 
  It takes real excess of spin -- such as the president putting a practicing pundit on the payroll or the governor of California sending a fake newscast to real TV stations -- to generate much outrage in the press. Who knows what level of artifice would be needed to offend the general population, many of whom assume that the news is made up anyway.
 
  All this sits oddly with the concurrent fashion for "transparency." The word is everywhere. It means what used to be called "truth" and also openness.
 
  "Transparency" is one of the blessings of democracy that President Bush is proud of having brought to Iraq -- right up there with voting and somewhat less torture than before. Corporate reforms following the accounting scandals are supposed to make the books of public companies "transparent." A San Francisco foundation (the Wall Street Journal reports) has decorated its boardroom with glass because, says its chief administrative officer, "One of our values is transparency."
 
  Transparency is a value? Five years ago, that idea would have been incomprehensible, like saying, "One of our values is suede." The transparency metaphor is inexact. It is not that people should be able to see right through you. It is that they should be able to see through to the real you.
 
  But how do we resolve the apparent contradiction between our desire for transparency everywhere, and our tolerance or even approval of spin? The whole point of spin is opaqueness: a no-see-through skin of your own design between the real you and the outside world.
 
  The solution, of course, is to spin your transparency. Make it look like you're transparent. And no doubt there are transparency consultants who will, for a fee, advise you about how to create an appearance of transparency so opaque that no one can see through it.
 
 The dazzling sociologist Erving Goffman used to write essays and books with titles like "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life," arguing that we are all actors in a play of our own devising. All sincerity is calculation, as he saw it, and every statement or gesture is layered with strategy. 
 
  Goffman died at age 60 in 1982. He had no idea. 
 
 The writer is editorial and opinion editor of the Los Angeles Times.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar  6 06:53:13 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar  6 06:54:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9929358.1110120793855.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Wrong on All Counts
 
 By George F. Will
 
    In 1992, before delivering the Supreme Court's ruling in an abortion case, Justice Anthony Kennedy stood with a journalist observing rival groups of demonstrators and mused: "Sometimes you don't know if you're Caesar about to cross the Rubicon or Captain Queeg cutting your own tow line." Or perhaps you are a would-be legislator, a dilettante sociologist and a free-lance moralist, disguised as a judge.
 
  Last Tuesday Kennedy played those three roles when, in yet another 5-4 decision, the court declared it unconstitutional to execute people who committed murder when they were under 18 years old. Such executions, it said, violate the Eighth Amendment proscription of "cruel and unusual" punishments because. . . . Well, Kennedy's opinion, in which Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens joined, is a tossed salad of reasons why those five think the court had a duty to do what state legislatures have the rightful power and, arguably, the moral responsibility to do.
 
  Although the court rendered an opposite decision just 16 years ago, Kennedy says the nation's "evolving standards of decency" now rank such executions as cruel and unusual. One proof of this, he says, is:
 
  Of the 38 states that have capital punishment, 18 bar executions of those who murder before age 18, five more than in 1989. So he constructs a "national consensus" against capital punishment of juvenile offenders by adding a minority of the states with capital punishment to the 12 states that have decided "that the death penalty is inappropriate for all offenders."
 
  But "inappropriate" is not a synonym for "unconstitutional." Kennedy simply assumes that those 12 states must consider all capital punishment unconstitutional, not just wrong or ineffective or more trouble than it is worth -- three descriptions that are not synonymous with "unconstitutional."
 
  While discussing America's "evolving standards of decency," Kennedy announces: "It is proper that we acknowledge the overwhelming weight of international opinion against the juvenile death penalty." Why is that proper when construing the U.S. Constitution? He is remarkably unclear about that. He says two international conventions forbid executions of persons who committed their crimes as juveniles. That, he thinks, somehow illuminates the meaning of the Eighth Amendment.
 
  Kennedy evidently considers it unimportant that the United States attached to one of the conventions language reserving the right "to impose capital punishment . . . for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age." The United States never ratified the other convention Kennedy cites. Kennedy the roving moralist sniffily disapproves of that nonratification as evidence that America is committing the cardinal sin of being out of step with "the world community."
 
  Kennedy the sociologist says "any parent knows" and "scientific and sociological studies" show that people under 18 show a "lack of maturity" and an "underdeveloped sense of responsibility" and susceptibility to "negative influences" and a weak aptitude for "cost-benefit analysis." All of this means, he says, that young offenders "cannot with reliability be classified among the worst offenders."
 
  Well. Is it gauche to interrupt Kennedy's seminar on adolescence with some perhaps pertinent details? The 17-year-old in the case the court was considering bragged about planning to do what he then did: He broke into a woman's home, put duct tape over her eyes and mouth, wrapped her head in a towel, bound her limbs with electrical wire, then threw her off a railroad trestle into a river where, helpless, she drowned.
 
  Justice Antonin Scalia, joined in dissent by Justices William Rehnquist and Clarence Thomas (Justice Sandra Day O'Connor dissented separately), deplores "the new reality that, to the extent that our Eighth Amendment decisions constitute something more than a show of hands on the current Justices' current personal views about penology, they purport to be nothing more than a snapshot of American public opinion at a particular point in time (with the timeframes now shortened to a mere 15 years)."
 
  Kennedy occupies the seat that 52 Senate Democrats prevented Robert Bork from filling in 1987. That episode accelerated the descent into the scorched-earth partisanship that was raging in the Senate Judiciary Committee at the very moment Tuesday morning that Kennedy was presenting the court majority's policy preference as a constitutional imperative. The committee's Democrats were browbeating another appellate court nominee, foreshadowing another filibuster.
 
  The Democrats' standard complaint is that nominees are out of the jurisprudential "mainstream." If Kennedy represents the mainstream, it is time to change the shape of the river. His opinion is an intellectual train wreck, but useful as a timely warning about what happens when judicial offices are filled with injudicious people.
 
 georgewill@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar  6 06:54:25 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar  6 06:55:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14761310.1110120866463.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Education Starts   In School
 
 By David S. Broder
 
    The turnout was terrific, especially given that the title of the program -- "Missing the Mark: Girls' Education and the Way Forward" -- could have been a turnoff. Every seat in the ballroom was filled, and people were standing in the rear. They were there out of a belief that an issue with almost no public visibility in the United States could affect our future -- and the world's -- as much as any single challenge or opportunity we face.
 
  In a sense it was a global extension of the discussion about the shortcomings in American high schools that had occupied the nation's governors meeting in Washington the previous weekend. While the U.S. dropout rate worries American educators and business leaders, who know its damaging effect on our growth rate, it is the "lockout rate" that is the international problem.
 
  Estimates are that at least 100 million youngsters -- a majority of them, and perhaps two-thirds, females -- are not attending school at any point in their lives. That denial blights their individual prospects but also, as I learned from Geeta Rao Gupta and her colleagues, damages their countries.
 
  Gupta is the president of the International Center for Research on Women, a Washington-based institution that combines her passion for gender equality with her scholarly insistence on hard data.
 
  In preparation for the meeting, which her group sponsored along with the Center for Global Development, Gupta and her colleagues released a series of studies measuring the side effects of educating young women in developing countries. They show that schooling is an effective tool for reducing the incidence of HIV-AIDS, because students are less sexually active and practice safe sex more than their non-student contemporaries. Being in school delays the date of marriage and reduces the size of families. It gives young women a sense of confidence and assertiveness that drastically reduces abuse by husbands and boyfriends. It makes them less vulnerable to "inter-generational, non-consensual sex." And it greatly enhances their earning power and ability to contribute to the economy.
 
  Gupta particularly emphasizes the importance of secondary education -- beyond the sixth grade -- in accomplishing these changes, but she and other speakers say the first step must be achieving access to basic education for the millions now locked out.
 
  The first deadline agreed to when the world's leaders signed on to the Millennium Development Goals project in 2000 was to achieve parity in school enrollment for women with men by this year. Gupta reported that 87 countries are not going to make that goal. But there has been progress in narrowing the gap between male and female enrollment almost everywhere and -- as she said -- "We know what needs to be done."
 
  The first step is ridiculously easy -- and relatively inexpensive: Eliminate fees for enrollment in school. Those fees are small, perhaps $25 a year, but in countries where $1 a week is the average wage, an impossible barrier. Gene Sperling, the former Clinton White House economic adviser who has made Third World education his new cause, said that when leaders of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania decided to eliminate the school fees, new students enrolled literally by the millions.
 
  That is all to the good, but it left some teachers Sperling visited struggling with classrooms jammed with 140 or 175 pupils -- hardly a situation conducive to learning. What is needed, he and others said, is for the advanced countries, starting with the United States, to set aside funds that would assure countries that open up their education system to all youngsters that they will have help in building the classrooms and paying the teachers they'll need -- what Sperling called "a preemption policy for winning hearts and minds."
 
  Gupta's meeting heard promises of support for such an effort from Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. Both made the point that, in addition to the humanitarian arguments for such an investment, it constitutes a direct contribution to our own security. Islamic radicals are happy to fill the vacuum with religious exhortation when other education is not available, so the question is whether we want the next generation to be indoctrinated with anti-American propaganda or given tools for learning to think for themselves. The answer, as Hagel put it, is that "armies and military divisions will not produce democracy; education will." 
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun Mar  6 07:39:16 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun Mar  6 07:40:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ABCNEWS.com: Foreigners Vie to Adopt Black U.S. Babies
Message-ID: <16691651.1110123556049.JavaMail._WDIGSvc0406@abctvbar01>

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca


Interesting article on adoption in the USA.

Later H

Foreigners Vie to Adopt Black U.S. Babies
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=547647&page=1
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar  6 07:52:15 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sun Mar  6 07:53:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea
	Creatures
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV10DCB476CED2AD3E7D484EAB5E0@phx.gbl>

We environmentalists have known for years and protesting that sonar is weakening and killing the sea creatures, depending on where they are depends on the creature.

It is sad and sickening... the Navy has known and lies about it.

barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Cheeseburger
Sent: Sat, 5 Mar 2005 21:31:26 -0800
To: mb-civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea Creatures

How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea Creatures

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-stranded-dolphins,0,5860836.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines


Ah well, to sonar or not to sonar, that is the question.  Whether tis nobler
to beach 70 dolphins by using military technological capabilities and
weapons, or to catch a deep sea frogman swimming under the Atlantic for 6
months from the Middle East with C4 strapped to his wet suit, remains the
other question.

Anyways, the capabilities, not just sonar, of the military, our military,
among others, remains nothing short of phenomenal.

I really wouldn't be surprised if sometimes when you might feel you're
walking around in a daze, it has nothing to do with anything but technology
to begin with, but you'll never know, because, hmmm, you don't know in the
first place.

But that's another story.  This one is just about killing Flipper and
denying it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cover story finally emerges that they were
really after Sponge Bob and Patrick who have known ties to al-Qaeda now.

But that's another story as well.




Cheeseburger



_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za  Sun Mar  6 01:23:29 2005
From: djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za (peter baker)
Date: Sun Mar  6 09:26:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] krauthammer
Message-ID: <200503061726.j26HQNg9022832@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

bear
.......the washington post article by the above [couldn't be anything else than a fascist pig with a name like that] is a prime example of the problem we have with the media....the wars on afghanistan and iraq have led to a glorious revolution in the middle east!!!!!!!!!! what a load of misleading and misinformed codswallop....both of these "glorious wars" were in fact disasters....both these "wonderful" "democratic" elections were a complete and utter sham...in reality afghanistan is producing much more opium than under the taliban and iraq is a complete disaster area....under saddam westerners could travel to iraq and enjoy a trouble free visit...today the reporters skulk in their hotels unable to travel freely...american troops are still being knocked off daily despite the media's refusal to publish these deaths...now over 1,500...yet we get krauthammers "everything in the garden is rosy" crap..and the people lap it up greedily......give me strength.....madbaker.
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat Mar  5 22:10:03 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun Mar  6 09:29:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Filibustering the Truth
Message-ID: <200503061729.j26HTp7w022844@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

  http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0305-29.htm
  	
Published on Saturday, March 5, 2005 by The Nation
Filibustering the Truth
by Judd Legum and Christy Harvey
 

The greatest impact of George W. Bush's second term will likely be from his 
judicial nominations, including the appointment of one or more Justices to the 
Supreme Court. The President's selections will have long-lasting effects on all 
aspects of American life, including our health, our freedoms and our privacy. 
Senate conservatives, led by majority leader Bill Frist, have already launched a 
determined campaign to insure that any potential opponents are silenced--
principally by attacking the Senate's most effective tool, the judicial filibuster. A 
closer look shows right-wing arguments for doing so are based on a series of 
myths about the Constitution, history and the right wing's own conduct.

Myth 1: Judicial filibusters are unconstitutional. Frist and other Republicans 
adamantly argue that efforts to challenge Bush's judicial nominees via filibuster 
are unconstitutional. This past November Frist said, "After much debate and 
compromise, the Framers concluded that the President should have the power 
to appoint. And the Senate should confirm or reject appointments by a simple 
majority vote. This is 'advice and consent.'"

Frist and company love talking about the Constitution and what the Framers 
intended. But they should get their facts straight. There is nothing in the 
Constitution requiring the Senate to "confirm or reject appointments by a 
simple majority vote." The Appointments Clause of the Constitution requires 
the consent of the Senate before judicial nominees are appointed. The Rules 
of Proceedings Clause gives the Senate the power to determine the method of 
consent. It doesn't matter how many times Frist says it: There is no 
requirement for the Senate to confirm or reject a nomination. No vote means 
no consent: And that's OK.

In 2003 Judicial Watch, a conservative advocacy group, filed an ultimately 
unsuccessful lawsuit against the Senate, claiming that the judicial filibuster 
was unconstitutional. Although no text supports its argument, Judicial Watch 
argued that it's implied that the Senate's "advice and consent" power must be 
exercised by a simple majority vote, because it's consistent with the "ordinary 
principle of majority rule." Nice try, but that position is actually antithetical to 
the intent of the Framers, who were careful to make sure the majority didn't 
always rule. James Madison wrote in The Federalist Papers that "measures 
are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the 
minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing 
majority." The Senate was created, in part, to prevent the problems associated 
with the tyranny of the majority.

The real culprit here is Bush, who has ripped the "advice" out of "advice and 
consent." He has stubbornly refused to substantively communicate with any 
senators who oppose his nominees. When the Senate fails to confirm his 
nominees, Bush just reappoints them or, worse, bypasses the Senate 
altogether and installs them on the bench during a recess. This kind of toxic 
environment makes judicial filibusters more likely.

Myth 2: Judicial filibusters are unprecedented. Republicans insist that judicial 
filibusters never happened before. Frist put it this way: "In February 2003 the 
minority radically broke with tradition and precedent and launched the first-ever 
filibuster of a judicial nominee who had majority support." In truth, no one 
should understand the legitimacy of judicial filibusters better than Bill Frist. On 
March 9, 2000, Frist participated in a filibuster of Richard Paez, President 
Clinton's nominee to the Ninth Circuit. When confronted about his vote late 
last year, Frist claimed he filibustered Paez for "scheduling" purposes. Not 
true. A press release by former Senator Bob Smith titled "Smith Leads Effort to 
Block Activist Judicial Nominees" plainly states that the intent of the filibuster 
was to "block" the Paez nomination.

In fact, Paez was only one of at least six filibusters Republicans attempted 
during the Clinton years. Senator Orrin Hatch and others argue that these 
filibusters don't count because they ultimately weren't successful in blocking 
the nominees. All that proves, however, is that Clinton's nominees were 
moderate enough to secure sixty votes. It also suggests the remedy to Bush's 
problem: Stop nominating extremist judges to the federal bench.

Myth 3: Republicans have the moral high ground. According to Republicans, 
their opposition to judicial filibusters is motivated by a nonpartisan commitment 
to law and decorum. Frist said Republicans in the Senate "are the stewards of 
rich Senate traditions and constitutional principles that must be respected." 
Frist talks a good game. In reality, Republicans aren't motivated by a desire to 
protect the hallowed pages of the Constitution. Rather, right-wing zealots have 
shown themselves ready to do anything--and everything--to force through their 
judicial nominees while blocking those of their opponents. One of the more 
egregious examples of dirty tricks occurred in 2002-03, when Republican 
staffers from the Judiciary Committee hacked into Democratic computers and 
stole hundreds of files. Fifteen of those confidential memos, which detailed 
Democratic strategies for fighting the most extreme Bush judicial nominees, 
were then leaked to friendly conservative media outlets like the Washington 
Times, columnist Bob Novak and the Wall Street Journal editorial page.

That wasn't the first time Republicans contaminated the judicial nomination 
process. During the Clinton years, they used a slew of questionable legislative 
ploys to smother judicial nominations quietly while in committee. One favorite 
tactic: In 1994 Senator Hatch added language to the Senate rules for 
confirming nominees. His objective: to allow a single senator to easily--and 
secretly--block nominations from leaving committee. It worked. Judge Marsha 
Berzon's nomination was secretly stymied for more than two years. (Senator 
Bob Smith finally admitted his role.) The nomination of Judge Ronnie White, 
who had bipartisan support in the Senate, languished in committee for almost 
two and a half years. Judge Helen White waited four years for a hearing; she 
never got one. This behind-the-scenes scheming proved to be so popular, 
Republicans were able to block more than sixty of Clinton's nominations. (To 
no one's surprise, as soon as Bush took office, Hatch abandoned this 
procedure, allowing nominees to sail through.) The bottom line: While a 
filibuster requires at least forty-one Senators on board to block a nominee, 
under Republican leadership, it took only a single dissent.

Myth 4: Filibusters are more appropriate for legislation than judges. Hatch 
claims that filibusters of judicial nominations are unacceptable. However, 
"filibusters of legislation," he argues, "are different." He's got it backward. Yes, 
the filibuster plays an important role in protecting minority interests when it 
comes to legislation. But unfair laws can be overturned or amended at any 
time. If minority interests are trampled, the aggrieved parties can take their 
case to the American people and set the country down a new path. Federal 
judges, however, are nominated for life. Those confirmed by this Congress will 
be issuing important rulings long after the current group of politicians is history. 
These judges should not be hard-line ideologues for the controlling political 
party. They should be acceptable to a broad range of Americans. In other 
words, if a judicial nominee can't secure sixty votes in the Senate, he or she is 
not a good choice for the federal bench.

Bush may make the nominations, but federal judges interpret the law for all 
Americans. Members of the Senate have the responsibility to use every tool 
they have to make sure the right judges are confirmed. There is no reason that 
taking a hard look at every nominee precludes a civil, substantive and 
productive process. But the first step toward ending the acrimony over judges 
in Washington is putting a stop to Frist's partisan propaganda campaign.

Copyright ? 2005 The Nation

###

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D (up 
to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options (option A - 1x/week, 
option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - up to 3x/day) please reply 
and let us know!  If someone forwarded you this email and you want to be on 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From MARRAKI at aol.com  Sun Mar  6 00:56:21 2005
From: MARRAKI at aol.com (MARRAKI@aol.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 10:38:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Sights you may not see in a lifetime.
Message-ID: <200503061807.j26I7Ivu022976@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From: EZell1525@aol.com
Subject: Fw: Sights you may not see in a lifetime.
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 08:53:44 EST
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar  6 10:54:07 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sun Mar  6 10:55:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Leonard Peltier: The case for a pardon
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV281F9DE4451EF8CE60346BAB5E0@phx.gbl>

IF this is received as an attachment it is a document that was printed in a newspaper from Canada regarding a pardon for Leonard Peltier....

peace,
barbara

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Subject: Leonard Peltier:  The case for a pardon
Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2005 03:06:38 -0600
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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 10:58:18 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 10:59:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Unexpected Whiff of Freedom Proves Bracing
	for the Mideast
Message-ID: <20050306185819.B00383880A3@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 6, 2005

Unexpected Whiff of Freedom Proves Bracing for the Mideast
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

A similar mixture of anticipation and dread has emerged as the Middle East enters uncharted political and social territory.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/international/middleeast/06mideast.html?ex=1110776400&en=be76795b0bd0f7bf&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 11:04:12 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:05:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Black Churches Struggle Over Their Role in
	Politics
Message-ID: <20050306190413.64B8121F1D8@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

WASHINGTON | March 6, 2005

Black Churches Struggle Over Their Role in Politics
By NEELA BANERJEE

A tug of war is under way, spurred by conservative black clergy members who are looking to align themselves more closely with President Bush.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/politics/06clergy.html?ex=1110776400&en=421682032652b8dd&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 11:06:09 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:07:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Senate on the Brink
Message-ID: <20050306190609.1109E1C255@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 6, 2005

Editorial: The Senate on the Brink


If Republicans fulfill their threat to overturn the filibuster they will be inviting all-out warfare and perhaps an effective shutdown of Congress.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/opinion/06sun1.html?ex=1110776400&en=03ef9a6c8263fec3&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 11:06:44 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:07:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Unraveling the Fabric of Our Lives
Message-ID: <20050306190644.052E421F1D0@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 6, 2005

Editorial: Unraveling the Fabric of Our Lives


It is long past time for the United States to take responsibility for its cotton subsidy program, which has managed to drive poor farmers out of business.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/opinion/06sun2.html?ex=1110776400&en=af874c38eadba6be&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 11:07:27 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:08:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Destabilizing Bit of Research
Message-ID: <20050306190728.7A8FC1645B8@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 6, 2005

Editorial: A Destabilizing Bit of Research


Merely hypothesizing about the use of "bunker busting" nuclear weapons feeds anxiety about proliferation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/opinion/06sun3.html?ex=1110776400&en=9ede07eafac48adc&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 11:14:34 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:15:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Taming of the Shrews
Message-ID: <20050306191435.116C521F1D0@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 6, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Taming of the Shrews
By MAUREEN DOWD

Americans like to see women who wear the pants be beaten up and humiliated.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/opinion/06dowd.html?ex=1110776400&en=4fb6c6cae8e98f36&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 11:33:16 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:34:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Arms Sales Begin at Home
Message-ID: <20050306193317.500281C22E@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 6, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Arms Sales Begin at Home
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

There is nothing worse than a pacifist that sells arms - especially in a way that increases the burden on its ally and protector.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/opinion/06friedman.html?ex=1110776400&en=efb9712777968895&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 11:38:24 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:39:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Martha Stewart Living Free
Message-ID: <20050306193825.44C643880A6@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 6, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Martha Stewart Living Free
By CHUCK COLSON

The greatest lesson I learned in prison is that great adversity can produce great blessings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/opinion/06colson.html?ex=1110776400&en=fbc55d443305cc78&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 11:39:26 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:40:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Topic: Essays Are Useful. Discuss.
Message-ID: <20050306193926.D66241C25F@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 6, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Topic: Essays Are Useful. Discuss.
By CURTIS SITTENFELD

I'm glad the SAT is including an essay not because I think the SAT is important, but because I think writing is.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/opinion/06sittenfeld.html?ex=1110776400&en=bc78656f10c1c2f5&ei=5070




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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Sun Mar  6 10:35:35 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sun Mar  6 11:50:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Who Should Apologize to Whom? 
In-Reply-To: <744e2256895a28f4ee77f02a80c87717@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503061950.j26Jog7O023474@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 01:40:39 -0500
Subject: Who Should Apologize to Whom?

ARAB NEWS

Saturday, 5, March, 2005 (24, Muharram, 1426)


Who Should Apologize to Whom?
  Amir Taheri ?

?
Where is the country that Bill Clinton, a former president of the
United States, feels ideologically most at home?

Before you answer, here is the condition that such a country must
fulfill: It must hold several consecutive elections that produce 70
percent majorities for ?liberals and progressives.?

Well, if you thought of one of the Scandinavian countries or, perhaps,
New Zealand or Canada, you are wrong.

Believe it or not, the country Bill Clinton so admires is the Islamic
Republic of Iran.

Here is what Clinton said at a meeting on the margins of the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, just a few weeks ago: ?Iran today
is, in a sense, the only country where progressive ideas enjoy a vast
constituency. It is there that the ideas that I subscribe to are
defended by a majority.?

And here is what Clinton had to say in a recent television interview
with Charlie Rose:

?Iran is the only country in the world that has now had six elections
since the first election of President Khatami (in 1997). (It is) the
only one with elections, including the United States, including Israel,
including you name it, where the liberals, or the progressives, have
won two-thirds to 70 percent of the vote in six elections: Two for
president; two for the Parliament, the Majlis; two for the mayoralties.
In every single election, the guys I identify with got two-thirds to 70
percent of the vote. There is no other country in the world I can say
that about, certainly not my own.?

So, while millions of Iranians, especially the young, look to the
United States as a mode of progress and democracy, a former president
of the US looks to the Islamic Republic as his ideological homeland.

  But who are ?the guys? Clinton identifies with?

  There is, of course, President Muhammad Khatami who, speaking at a
conference of provincial governors last week, called for the whole
world to convert to Islam.

?Human beings understand different affairs within the global framework
that they live in,? he said. ?But when we say that Islam belongs to all
times and places, it is implied that the very essence of Islam is such
that despite changes (in time and place) it is always valid.?

There is also Khatami?s brother, Muhammad-Reza, the man who, in 1979,
led the ?students? who seized the US Embassy in Tehran and held its
diplomats hostage for 444 days. There is Massumeh Ebtekar, a poor man?s
pasionaria who was spokesperson for the hostage-holders in Tehran.
There is also the late Ayatollah Sadeq Khalkhali, known to Iranians as
?Judge Blood?.

Not surprisingly, Clinton?s utterances have been seized upon by the
state-controlled media in Tehran as a means of countering President
George W. Bush?s claim that the Islamic Republic is a tyranny that
oppresses the Iranians and threatens the stability of the region.

  Clinton?s declaration of love for the mullas shows how ill informed
even a US president could be.

  Didn?t anyone tell Clinton, when he was in the White House, that
elections in the Islamic Republic were as meaningless as those held in
the Soviet Union? Did he not know that all candidates had to be
approved by the ?Supreme Guide?, and that no one from opposition is
allowed to stand? Did he not know that all parties are banned in the
Islamic Republic, and that such terms as ?progressive? and ?liberal?
are used by the mullas as synonyms for ?apostate?, a charge that
carries a death sentence?

  More importantly, does he not know that while there is no democracy
without elections there can be elections without democracy?

Clinton told his audience in Davos, as well as Charlie Rose, that
during his presidency he had ?formally apologized on behalf of the
United States? for what he termed ?American crimes against Iran.?

  But what were those ?crimes?? Clinton summed them thus: ?It?s a sad
story that really began in the 1950s when the United States deposed Mr.
Mossadegh, who was an elected parliamentary democrat, and brought the
Shah back and then he was overturned by the Ayatollah Khomeini, driving
us into the arms of one Saddam Hussein. We got rid of the parliamentary
democracy {there} back in the ?50s; at least, that is my belief.?

Duped by a myth spread by the Blame-America-First coalition, Clinton
appears to have done little homework on Iran. The truth is that Iran in
the 1950s was not a parliamentary democracy but a constitutional
monarchy in which the Shah appointed, and dismissed, the prime
minister. Mossadegh was named prime minister twice by the Shah and
twice dismissed. In what way that meant that the US ?got rid of
parliamentary democracy? that did not exist is not clear.

There are at least two things that Clinton does not know about Iran and
Iranians.

  The first is that the claim that the US changed the course of Iranian
history on a whim would be seen by most Iranians, a proud people, as an
insult from an arrogant politician who exaggerates the powers of his
nation more than half a century ago. The second thing that Clinton does
not know is that in the Islamic Republic that he so admires, Mossadegh,
far from being regarded as a national hero, is an object of intense
vilification. One of the first acts of the mullas after seizing power
in 1979 was to take the name of Mossadegh off a street in Tehran. They
then sealed off the village where Mossadegh is buried to prevent his
supporters from gathering at his tomb. History textbooks written by the
mullas present Mossadegh as the ?son of a feudal family of exploiters
who worked for the cursed Shah, and betrayed Islam.?

Apologizing to the mullas for a wrong supposedly done to Mossadegh is
like begging Josef Stalin?s pardon for a discourtesy toward Alexander
Kerensky.

  Clinton does not know that it was President Harry S. Truman?s
energetic intervention in 1946 that forced Stalin to withdraw his
armies from northwestern Iran thus foiling a Communist attempt to
dismember the Iranian state.

  Clinton does not know that if anyone has to apologize it is the mullas
who should apologize to both the Iranian and the American peoples. He
does not appear to remember images of American diplomats paraded in
front of TV cameras, blindfolded, and threatened with summary execution
every day ? images that did lasting damage to the good name of Iran as
a civilized nation.

Speaking of apologies, Clinton also ignores the fact that Iranian
agents in Lebanon, led by the ? liberal progressive? Ayatollah
Ali-Akbar Mohtashami, organized and carried out a string of terrorist
attacks in the 1980s that cost the lives of over 300 US citizens,
including 240 Marines.

  And does Clinton remember the dozens of American citizens who were
held hostage by the mullas? agents in Lebanon, sometimes for more than
five years?

Clinton forgets that anti-Americanism, and hatred of the West in
general, is the ideological backbone of Khomeinism; that that the
devise of the mullas? regime is ?Death to America?, and that the
American flag is burned or trampled under foot in thousands of official
buildings throughout Iran every day?

Clinton claims that the mullas ?still kind of like the West in general,
and America in particular.? That must be as much news to the mullas as
to anyone else.

The former president endorses another claim of the mullas that Saddam
Hussein, the deposed Iraqi dictator, invaded Iran on behalf of the
United States.

Clinton says: ?Most of the terrible things Saddam Hussein did in the
1980s he did with the full, knowing support of the United States
government.?

  Don?t be surprised if Clinton?s next apology is addressed to Saddam
Hussein, another victim of American Imperialism!
---
  ?
Copyright: Arab News ? 2003 All rights reserved. Site designed by:
arabix and powered by Eima IT

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=59952&d=5&m=3&y=2005

------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 13:21:30 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Sun Mar  6 13:22:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Hostage recalls 'hail of gunfire'
Message-ID: <20050306_212130_088976.michael@intrafi.com>

michael saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Hostage recalls 'hail of gunfire' **
Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena describes how US troops shot at her car after her release in Iraq.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4321913.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 13:22:33 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Sun Mar  6 13:23:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China influence seen as positive
Message-ID: <20050306_212233_074711.michael@intrafi.com>

michael saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** China influence seen as positive **
China's world influence is seen as positive by more people than is the case for the US or Russia, a BBC poll finds.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4318551.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar  6 13:23:48 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Sun Mar  6 13:25:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Buffett warns on US trade deficit
Message-ID: <20050306_212348_068063.michael@intrafi.com>

michael saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Buffett warns on US trade deficit **
Billionaire Warren Buffett warns about the extent of the US trade deficit, saying it creates an over-reliance upon foreign investment.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4323267.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun Mar  6 14:26:41 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun Mar  6 14:49:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] "Freedom and Liberty"  Iran and Haiti
Message-ID: <200503062249.j26MnWme024057@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Here are two short and poignant articles illustrating the stunning hypocrisy of 
our current leaders' avoid dedication to democracy and human rights.  The first 
araticle is by the Iranian woman human rights activist who won last year's 
Nobel Peace Prize.

It is so important that we Americans are very clear about the true motives and 
actions of our government....

------
 
Published on Saturday, February 19, 2005 by the lndependent (UK) 
 
Attacking Iran Would Bring Disaster, Not Freedom 
by Shirin Ebadi
 
It is hard not to see America's focus on human rights in Iran as a cloak for its 
larger strategic interests.
 
Condoleezza Rice has given assurances that a military attack by the United 
States on Iran "is simply not on the agenda at this point".
 
But notwithstanding Rice's disavowal, recent statements by the Bush 
administration, starting with President Bush's State of the Union address and 
Vice President Dick Cheney's comments about a possible Israeli military attack 
on Iran, are reminiscent of the rhetoric in the months leading up to the invasion 
of Iraq in 2003. 
 
And Rice herself made clear that "the Iranian regime's human rights behavior 
and its behavior toward its own population is something to be loathed."
 
American policy toward the Middle East, and Iran in particular, is often 
couched in the language of promoting human rights. No one would deny the 
importance of that goal. But for human rights defenders in Iran, the possibility 
of a foreign military attack on their country represents an utter disaster for their 
cause.
 
The situation for human rights in Iran is far from ideal. Security forces harass, 
imprison and even torture human rights defenders and civil society activists. 
The authorities attack journalists and writers for expressing their opinions and 
regularly shut down newspapers. Political prisoners languish in jails. 
Superfluous judicial summonses are routinely used to intimidate critics, and 
arbitrary detentions are common.
 
But Iranian society has refused to be coerced into silence. The human rights 
discourse is alive and well at the grassroots level; civil society activists 
consider it to be the most potent framework for achieving sustainable 
democratic reforms and political pluralism. Indeed, readers might be surprised 
to know how vigorous Iran's human rights organizations are. Last autumn, 
when security forces unlawfully detained more than 20 young journalists and 
bloggers because of what they had written, independent Iranian organizations 
like the Center for Defense of Human Rights, the Association of Journalists for 
Freedom of Press, and the Students Association for Human Rights 
campaigned for their release.
 
This outcry, in tandem with support from the international community and 
organizations such as Human Rights Watch, led to the release of detainees. In 
fact, so great was the criticism that some of Iran's most senior government 
officials came out in favor of releasing the detainees.
 
Independent organizations are essential for fostering the culture of human 
rights in Iran. But the threat of foreign military intervention will provide a 
powerful excuse for authoritarian elements to uproot these groups and put an 
end to their growth.
 
Human rights violators will use this opportunity to silence their critics by 
labeling them as the enemy's fifth column. In 1980, after Saddam Hussein 
invaded Iran and inflamed nationalist passions, Iranian authorities used such 
arguments to suppress dissidents.
 
American hypocrisy doesn't help, either. Given the long-standing willingness of 
the American government to overlook abuses of human rights, particularly 
women's rights, by close allies in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, it is 
hard not to see the Bush administration's focus on human rights violations in 
Iran as a cloak for its larger strategic interests.
 
Respect for human rights in any country must spring forth through the will of 
the people and as part of a genuine democratic process. Such respect can 
never be imposed by foreign military might and coercion - an approach that 
abounds in contradictions.
 
Not only would a foreign invasion of Iran vitiate popular support for human 
rights activism, but by destroying civilian lives, institutions and infrastructure, 
war would also usher in chaos and instability. Respect for human rights is 
likely to be among the first casualties.
 
Instead, the most effective way to promote human rights in Iran is to provide 
moral support and international recognition to independent human rights 
defenders, and to insist that Iran adhere to the international human rights laws 
and conventions that it has signed.
 
Getting the Iranian government to abide by these international standards is the 
human rights movement's highest goal; foreign military intervention in Iran is 
the surest way to harm us and keep that goal out of reach.
 
Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is the founder of the 
Center for Defense of Human Rights in Tehran.

 
***
 
Haiti: A Bleak and Dismal Country One Year Later 
    By Ira Kurzban 
    The Miami Herald 
    Tuesday 01 March 2005 

    One year after the coup d'etat against Haitian President Jean-Bertrand 
Aristide, the nation's first democratically elected president, the situation is 
dismal. 

    The Caribbean Community of nations (CARICOM) just last week expressed 
deep concern over ''the deteriorating human-rights situation in Haiti,'' including 
''serious abuses at the hands of the police'' and ``the indefinite detention of 
Lavalas (Aristide's party) leaders and activists.'' 

    Former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and former Minister of the Interior 
Jocelerme Privert, held for almost one year without any charges, are now on a 
hunger strike. 

    Even journalists broadcasting for U.S. news services are no longer safe 
from the U.S.-installed government of Gerard Latortue. Abdias Jean, a 
correspondent for a Miami radio station, was summarily executed last month 
by Haitian police because he had witnessed the execution of a 17-year-old girl. 
The situation has become so grave for journalists in Haiti that the Inter-
American Press Association convened an Emergency Forum on Press 
Freedom in Haiti two weeks ago. 

    At the same time, Haitians supportive of Aristide are being slaughtered in 
the neighborhoods. The Latortue government and Minister of Justice Bernard 
Gousse celebrated the anniversary of the coup by condoning the execution of 
more than 25 Aristide supporters in various poor areas of Port-au-Prince this 
weekend. The police, who are now largely made up of former military and 
death squad members, conduct ''operations'' in Aristide strongholds that 
constitute little more than summary executions. 

    Just yesterday, Haitian police fired on peaceful protesters marking the one-
year anniversary of Aristide's ouster. Early reports said at least two protesters 
were killed and about a dozen wounded. 

    Meanwhile, U.N. troops provide the firepower to support the political 
cleansing operation. The former members of the Haitian army still remain in 
control of the vast majority of the country and their actions, including the rape 
of 11- and 14-year-old girls last week, go unreported by the mainstream press 
and unchallenged by the U.N. troops allegedly providing security. 

    Aristide's forced departure and kidnapping by the Bush administration is one 
of the saddest moments in our unfortunate history with Haiti. That Aristide was 
kidnapped cannot be seriously challenged, despite reports to the contrary. The 
person who translated his letter of resignation for the U.S. government has 
stated that the version that the Bush administration presented to the United 
Nations and Organization of American States as proof of Aristide's voluntary 
departure was flawed and inaccurate. 

    The Haitian president never resigned, according to the accurately translated 
letter. Rather, U.S. troops allegedly sent to guard the U.S. Embassy in the 
days leading up to the coup were actually special forces used to remove 
Aristide and his wife, a U.S. citizen. He was taken out of his own country on a 
CIA-sponsored aircraft with a phony tail registration, and he and his wife were 
kept incommunicado for 20 hours. Even the declaration presented to the 
government of Antigua when the aircraft stopped to refuel was a phony 
declaration that declared there were no passengers on board. 

    A recent report in The Herald suggesting that Neptune's actions support the 
view that Aristide left voluntarily is deeply flawed. Aristide's alleged 
conversation asking Neptune to leave with him never took place. In fact, 
Neptune, like many people during the days after the coup believes that he was 
duped and has asked for an investigation into Aristide's ``departure.'' 

    The sad fact is that Haiti is another example of the Bush administration's 
complete incompetence and unwillingness to support democratic principles. 
While President Bush seeks democracy in Iraq, he was apparently willing to 
end it in Haiti because he wanted to complete the first coup that his father and 
Dick Cheney, as the secretary of defense at the time, began against Aristide in 
1991. 

    Ira Kurzban is counsel for Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the former attorney for 
the government of Haiti. 


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D (up 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun Mar  6 14:27:32 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun Mar  6 14:49:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Voting Glitches Haunt Statistician
Message-ID: <200503062249.j26MnvLt024067@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0305-23.htm

Published on Saturday, March 5, 2005 by the Madison Capital Times / 
Wisconsin

Voting Glitches Haunt Statistician
by Rob Zaleski
 

Brian Joiner wishes he could "just get over it."

He wishes he could ignore the thousands of reported voting irregularities that 
occurred in the Nov. 2 election, accept the fact that George W. is going to be 
around another four years and just hope that we haven't created even more 
enemies or fallen even deeper into debt by the time 2008 rolls around.

"I'm sure the Republicans would like me to forget all that stuff, just like they 
wanted everyone to forget all the strange things that happened in the 2000 
election," the retired 67-year-old UW-Madison statistics professor said this 
week.

Well, sorry guys, but he can't.

There were, Joiner says, too many things that occurred on Nov. 2 that "still 
don't smell right." He can't just pretend everything is rosy, he says, when he 
reads that Steven Freeman, a respected University of Pennsylvania professor, 
says the odds of the exit polls in the critical states of Ohio, Florida and 
Pennsylvania all being so far off were about 662,000 to 1.

And since no one in the mainstream media has yet to provide a plausible 
explanation for such discrepancies - "investigative reporting essentially is just 
dead in this country," he groans - Joiner and many of his colleagues are going 
to continue to speak out and demand that government leaders provide some 
answers.

So that, at the very least, we don't find ourselves in the same situation in 2008.

But if the irregularities are as suspicious and troubling as he claims, why aren't 
John Kerry and other top Democrats making similar demands?

"Boy, I wish I knew," says Joiner, who was a volunteer observer for the Ohio 
recount in early December. Because you can sure as heck bet that 
Republicans would be screaming and demanding an investigation if Kerry had 
won under similar circumstances, he says.

"I think the Democrats read the tea leaves and think that people don't want to 
make a big fuss over this stuff. They'd just rather be quitters and move on."

Joiner knows full well some people will roll their eyes while reading this and 
dismiss him as yet another shoot-from-the-hip conspiracy nut.

Not quite.

In fact, he's among a group of prominent statisticians and academicians who 
contributed to a recent study that refutes a report by exit pollsters Edison and 
Mitofsky that exit poll errors on Nov. 2 were responsible for the unprecedented 
5.5 percent discrepancy between the exit polls and the official results.

The study, done on behalf of US Count Votes, a volunteer scientific research 
project, not only disagrees with the Edison/Mitofsky findings but concludes that 
"the possibility that the overall vote was substantially corrupted must be taken 
seriously" and urges a thorough investigation.

Does Joiner personally believe the election was stolen?

"I don't know, that's a very tough question," he says. "But it's not clear to me 
that it wasn't, so it's a question of where the burden of proof is."

At the same time, Joiner says, he does believe the country's making a big 
mistake by relying so heavily on electronic voting machines.

"It's just too easy to hack those machines," he says. "And if they are hacked, 
how would we ever know?"

Joiner, incidentally, isn't the least bit surprised that the study - which was 
released Jan. 28 - has been virtually ignored by the media. Neither is Bruce 
O'Dell, vice president of US Count Votes.

"I think the mainstream media - like most Americans brought up to be proud of 
our Democratic traditions - simply assume that elections are honestly counted 
in the United States," O'Dell says. "They discount anecdotal reports of election 
irregularities and refuse to believe that systematic corruption could occur - 
even though serious, systematic vulnerabilities both in voting equipment and in 
counting procedures have been well-documented."

He notes that when reports of widespread voting problems occurred in Ukraine 
last year, both local and international observers quickly concluded the election 
had been stolen.

"But when precisely the same scenario occurred here, not only were 
mainstream journalists not alarmed, they quickly labeled those who questioned 
the results as conspiracy theorists."

O'Dell says US Count Votes wants to develop "a single database of nation-
wide precinct-level election results, along with matching U.S. Census 
demographic information and the type of voting equipment in use."

Its ultimate goal "is to be able to gather and analyze data as it comes in on 
election night, and to spot vote counting problems in time for candidates to 
request an investigation or recount - before they concede."

And it hopes to have such a system in place by 2006.

Kjell Doksum, another UW-Madison statistician, says that if US Count Votes 
accomplishes just one thing, it's that there's a "paper trail" for every vote cast 
in 2008.

"This is easy to achieve," he suggested in an e-mail.

"Start a rumor that the Democrats have the world's best hackers and are going 
to fix the machines the next time."

Copyright ? 2005, Capital Newspapers.

###
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   ---   George Orwell


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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Sat Mar  5 10:30:34 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sun Mar  6 15:02:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: The next domino
In-Reply-To: <d0aec816abab1c15d21b0ad3811cf4d1@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503062301.j26N1slQ024122@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 19:44:37 -0500
Subject: The next domino

>
> March 4th, 2005
>







Only by author
>
>
> ??? All Articles
>
>
>  
>
> The next domino
>
> March 2nd, 2005
>
>
>
> With virtually no attention from the mainstream media, the United
> States has been taking actions calculated to ratchet-up pressure on
> the mullahs of Iran. A complex plan has been carefully crafted to
> avoid a direct military attack on Iran, which would inflame
> nationalism and build support for the mullahs. Once again, the scope,
> subtlety, and vision of President Bush?s foreign policy confounds his
> carping critics.
>
> The fall of Lebanon?s pro-Syrian government validates GW?s strategy of
> staying the course in Iraq, to prove to the people of the Middle East
> that freedom and liberty can flourish in a region where many thought
> it was impossible to institute democratic reforms.? We mustn?t lose
> sight of the fact that, despite criticism from the so-called realists,
> the US is implementing change in the region for our own long-term
> national interests.? That is, the more functioning democracies there
> are in the world, the less the chance of armed conflict and terrorism.
>
> Over the last several months, Iran?s support of Shia terrorists in
> Iraq and its nuclear ambitions have dominated the discussions of our
> next steps in the War on Terror.? Some commentators, including me,
> have criticized CENTCOM for its failure to view the war in Southwest
> Asia from a regional perspective.? However, we may have been wrong, or
> at least too hasty.
>
>  Iran has been aggressively moving to export terror and build-up its
> ability to threaten the world in two places: the Horn of Africa, and
> the vital Straits of Hormuz, where the Persian Gulf?s oil riches must
> pass on their way to market. There are now some serious indicators
> that the Coalition, including both French and German military
> elements, has been deftly executing a combined political and military
> operation to roll back Iranian gains from the last 12 years.
>
> The Iranian maneuver to dominate the Central Region and isolate the
> Arabian Peninsula started in the Horn of Africa in the early 90s.?By
> aligning with warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed?s forces, Iran hoped to
> gain a foothold in Somalia that could potentially threaten shipping
> moving through the Red Sea. Following the US strategic retreat from
> Somalia after the ?Blackhawk Down? ambush in 1993, the remaining UN
> peacekeepers withdrew in 1995 and  abandoned the country to the
> terrorists and their Iranian sponsors.? After 9-11, the Coalition was
> forced use Djibouti as a base to secure the shipping lanes on the
> Western side of the Arabian Peninsula, and to interdict the movement
> of terrorists into and out of the region.
>
> There are strong indications that the efforts of Combined Joint Task
> Force ? Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA)? are starting to push Iranian
> operators out of the Horn, if they have not gone already.? United
> States naval and ground forces, French commandos, and Die Deutsche
> Kriegsmarine (German Navy), through a combined series of special and
> conventional operations, naval power, and humanitarian assistance
> projects, have established the conditions for the  introduction of up
> to 7,500 troops from the African Union and the Arab League.? This is a
> watershed event for the Coalition in this area, and shows that the
> Somali people are anxious to finally rid their country of bandits,
> terrorists, and Iranian agents, and are looking forward to having the
> government-in-exile return to Mogadishu.
>
> The Coalition also mounted a synchronized diplomatic? and military
> blitz in neighboring Ethiopia, with elements of the 3d Infantry
> Regiment (The Old Guard) moving into the country? last year to secure
> territory for military assistance training and for ?other operations?
> in the War on Terror. (For a summary of the $1.2 billion U.S.
> humanitarian assistance program in the country click here.)? In
> addition, there were several visits by the former and current
> commanders of CENTCOM, General (retired) Tommy Franks and General John
> Abizaid, and visits by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.? This was all
> done under the radar screen of the major press, but it was not lost on
> the mullahs.? All they had to do was look at the map.? The
> Kriegsmarine had sealed off Somalia from the eastern sea approaches,
> Ethiopia became increasingly untenable for cross-border terror bases
> and Iranian training camps, and, more than likely, Coalition special
> operations forces from Djibouti were taking their toll.? In short, the
> Iranians in the Horn of Africa have been surrounded.
>
> The other prong of CENTCOM?s operations against Iran involves Abu Musa
> Island.? The island had been the object of a long-running dispute
> between Iran and the UAE because of its oil reserves and its strategic
> location midway in the narrow channel of the Straits of Hormuz.? In
> 1992, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps  took complete control of
> the island , and proceeded to fortify it?and deploy thousands of
> troops, modern air defense batteries, sophisticated anti-ship missile
> systems, and, according to former SecDef William Perry, chemical
> weapons.? For over a decade, the Iranians have had the capability of
> shutting down the shipping lane and paralyzing shipment of over
> one-fifth of the world?s oil supply.? However, recent US operations in
> the Persian Gulf are, at a minimum, presenting a more aggressive
> military posture to pressure the mullahs, or are signaling a run-up to
> seizure of Abu Musa itself.
>
> This past week, Expeditionary Strike Group 5 (ESG-5) completed an
> amphibious exercise?on the coast of Kuwait.? Keep in mind that a
> rehearsal is a phase of any amphibious operation, and allows the
> afloat Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and the Navy to test the
> communications links, practice disembarkation, exercise the procedures
> for naval surface fire support and air support, and, of course,
> practice the assault itself. The ESG rarely loads at home port in a
> manner that will completely satisfy every contingency.? Therefore, the
> rehearsal is a chance to unload everything on the beach, and then load
> according to a specific assault plan.? This was done in Gulf War I
> during a ?rehearsal? when an actual amphibious assault on Kuwaiti
> beaches was still a viable option.
>
> Additional naval forces are also present in the Gulf  .? Besides
> ESG-5, the Essex Expeditionary Strike Group is underway, as is the USS
> Harry Truman Carrier Battle Group.? One MEU is the ideal force to
> seize Abu Musa, but the additional forces would be needed to protect
> an amphibious group from any interference from nearby Qeshm Island,
> and to continue to secure the Iraqi oil terminals off the Al-Faw
> Peninsula.? Simply put, the mullahs? 12 year old gambit to squeeze oil
> shipments through the Straights of Hormuz could come to an end very
> quickly.
>
> Rather than risk a popular backlash by the citizens of Iran against
> the US by conducting a direct air or land campaign against the Iranian
> homeland, seizure of an island that has been disputed for decades
> would show the Iranians we were willing to support their fight against
> the mullahs without putting their lives at risk or destroying their
> infrastructure. The mullahs launched their gambit as an act of
> aggression; reversing it would demonstrate strength, but indicate no
> hostility to the Iranian people.
>
> This analysis doesn?t even include any possible covert Special
> Operations Force activities designed to foment rebellion in what is
> viewed as an increasingly restive?Iranian population.? Because of the
> pressure being applied in the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf, it
> may require only a slight push from the freedom-loving people in Iran
> to rid themselves of this oppressive regime, following through on the
> very visible promise to them made by President Bush in his State of
> the Union Address.
>
> Sadly for Germany and Russia, they may have to wait a long time, if at
> all, to recover their decades-old investments in Iranian nuclear
> facilities.? Unfortunately for them, their cash flow problems will
> continue to grow for the foreseeable future.? Maybe they should have
> jumped on GW?s freedom bandwagon a long time ago.
>
> Douglas Hanson is our military affairs correspondent
>
>
> Douglas Hanson
>
>  ??Print this article
>




> Go Top -  Home
>


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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sun Mar  6 20:50:03 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sun Mar  6 20:49:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Phil Spector Murder Trial September 16
Message-ID: <000701c522d1$219131c0$3525b7d8@baby1>

Phil Spector Murder Trial September 16

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4324167.stm


In the grand scheme of things, "just another murder trial", but I thought it
interesting since he is such a music related figure and I was thinking about
music tonight for some reason.

I was looking for the lost music that nobody sings, but I got distracted in
the whirlwind of news related items we deal with as our realities.


Oh well, rock and roll, "vini vidi vici i'm on trial for murder".




Cheeseburger

- Are you going to get involved with that kind of stuff when you make your
band in LA, Cheeseburger...?  No, no I'm not...  Oh yeah, and how are you
going to avoid that..?  I'm going to have a person at the door which makes
all the chicks leave their guns on the table in the foyer...   Oh...Ok...
Ok.....

.

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar  6 21:04:42 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 21:06:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Bench Under Siege
Message-ID: <5005182.1110171882535.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



This is amazing... a Judges Husband and Mother were murdered and she (the Judge) is in hiding ... NOW they are thinking of protection for Judges.

peace, 
barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar  6 21:06:39 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 21:07:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Escaping Arafat's Shadow
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You have received the following link from barbarasiomos38@msn.com

 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar  6 21:11:33 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun Mar  6 21:12:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Too Young to Die
Message-ID: <13950154.1110172293753.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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I think this is a righteous move....

barbara



 
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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sun Mar  6 21:20:02 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sun Mar  6 21:19:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Compared To Our Guys, Terrorists Are Wussies
Message-ID: <000d01c522d5$50ecc5c0$3525b7d8@baby1>

Compared To Our Guys, Terrorists Are Wussies



Well, this was going to be about a recent spill of hydrochloric,
hydroflouric, and nitric acid that evacuated about 6,000 people recently
from Salt Lake City, but I got to thinking about it all and said, hmmm, our
Top Guys are worse than all the "Terrorists" put together.

LOL...

Just doing =the simple kindergarten basic math= of all the toxic spills, our
attempt at the systematic elimination of Native Americans (that number alone
puts "Terrorists" to real shame, lol), all the malpractice deaths, murders
by lead poisoning, pesticides, murderous pharmaceuticals, drinking water
poisonings, air poisonings, land poisonings, toxic waste dumps, ocean
dumping, tobacco murders, feeding black men radiation to see if they glow in
the dark, defective products, radioactive fallout, absestos, etc etc etc,
and the list goes on and on and on, enjoined and christened of course with
and by all the graft, oversight, malice, corporate etc crime and noncaring
complicit government that normally accompanies such methods of mass murders,
is at the very least, interesting.

Put all together, even with those in the past, and with those surely to
occur in the future, America seems to have murdered not only millions and
millions of its own people while destroying the very environment and
necessities that are needed to sustain actual life, but have spread their
talents across the planet in the process.

No, I'm no fan of Terrorists, they're horrible little murderous vermin, but,
seriously, some day you will just have to either face it or keep walking
around with your head buried in lala land, next to the =millions= Our Top
People have murdered of our own people here in the USA alone, Terrorists
remain nothing but little pipsqueak wussies by comparison.

Just thought I'd remind you of that as you're out for your afternoon stroll
in the land of Oz.





Cheeseburger

.

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar  6 21:29:09 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbara)
Date: Sun Mar  6 21:30:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Spector restates murder innocence
Message-ID: <20050307_052909_064375.barbarasiomos38@msn.com>

barbara saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **

WoW! Phil had a face lift since his last posted photo.... unless this is an OLD picture which I do not think it is... Just my two cents.


** Spector restates murder innocence **
Phil Spector calls his prosecution for murder "bogus" in a BBC documentary.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/4324167.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar  7 03:34:57 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar  7 03:36:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9545064.1110195297537.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Hezbollah To Protest U.S. Stance On Lebanon
 
 By Scott Wilson
 
  BEIRUT, March 6 -- The leader of Hezbollah, the militant Shiite Muslim movement that for weeks has stood on the sidelines of Lebanon's political upheaval, called Sunday for national demonstrations against what he characterized as foreign influences seeking to expel Syria, a key sponsor of the party, from the country.
 
 Hassan Nasrallah, a Shiite cleric who serves as Hezbollah's secretary general, was critical in particular of the United States and France. His announcement dashed the hopes of Lebanese opposition leaders that the large, disciplined movement would join their cause to drive Syrian troops and intelligence services from Lebanon. 
 
 The first demonstration is scheduled for Tuesday in Beirut, along an avenue near the central square where Lebanon's anti-Syrian opposition movement has staged round-the-clock protests since the Feb. 14 assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
 
  Nasrallah appeared after what he called an "emergency meeting" of more than 30 political parties aligned with the Syrian government, which is facing international pressure and a popular uprising here to end its 30-year presence in Lebanon. The meeting was convened hours after Syrian President Bashar Assad outlined a gradual shift of Syria's 15,000 troops in Lebanon to the countries' common border, a plan criticized by U.S. and French officials who have demanded an immediate withdrawal of Syrian forces.
 
  Lebanese officials said Sunday that the redeployment would begin after a meeting on Monday between Assad and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud in Damascus, the Syrian capital, to set a timetable.
 
 "Freedom means that we decide for ourselves the best way to address what we see today as clear intervention of the United States and France in Lebanese internal affairs," Nasrallah said at a news conference in the Shiite suburbs of south Beirut. "The opposition must give us explanations regarding the foreign intervention. We must convince each other that only true sovereignty means independence."
 
 Nasrallah's defiant position comes as an emerging Lebanese alliance of Christian, Druze and Sunni Muslim parties has turned its attention to winning parliamentary elections scheduled for this spring in the hopes of forming a government free of Syrian influence. Nasrallah appeared to serve notice that Hezbollah and a variety of smaller pro-Syrian parties intended to mount a unified campaign to prevent a government hostile to Syrian interests from emerging after the elections.
 
 The Lebanese opposition movement has lacked large numbers of Shiites, who account for a plurality of Lebanon's 4 million people. But the movement's leaders said Sunday that they were heartened by Nasrallah's call for peaceful demonstrations and promises to respect political differences.
 
 "In the end we are calling for a democratic country, and so these demonstrations should be allowed," said Ghattas Khoury, a member of parliament who belongs to Hariri's legislative bloc. "If they win the elections, we will go along with them. If we win, then they should go along with us."
 
 With an extensive social services network and an armed wing celebrated here for helping end the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah is perhaps the most formidable player in the power-sharing system among religious-based parties. Linked to the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut, Hezbollah is now recognized as a legal political party in Lebanon and controls a 12-seat bloc in parliament. The United States has placed Hezbollah and its satellite television channel on its list of terrorist organizations, and the European Union is considering adopting a similar designation.
 
  Nasrallah's ability to mobilize perhaps hundreds of thousands of Hezbollah followers for demonstrations, in addition to other large Shiite, Sunni and pan-Arab parties that will likely take part, threatens to expose a deep gulf in Lebanese society that Syrian officials have warned could widen into the kind of sectarian strife that fueled Lebanon's 15-year civil war.
 
 Assad, in a speech to parliament Saturday, said: "We should not remain in Lebanon one day after there is a Lebanese consensus over our presence," something Hezbollah's counter-demonstrations are likely to show does not exist.
 
  Syria, which first sent troops to Lebanon in 1975 at the invitation of its embattled Christian president, has long served as the gatekeeper for Iranian-supplied arms and money flowing to Hezbollah. The party, in turn, has become a proxy army for Syria against Israel along Lebanon's southern border.
 
 A U.N. Security Council resolution approved last year with U.S. and French support called on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and for Hezbollah to rapidly disarm. Under the 1989 peace accord that ended Lebanon's civil war, Hezbollah was allowed to keep its arsenal of small weapons and rockets because Israel at the time still occupied parts of southern Lebanon.
 
 Five years after the Israeli occupation ended, Hezbollah continues to claim the 100-square-mile Shebaa Farms area as part of Lebanon. The United Nations considers the Israeli-occupied Shebaa to be a part of Syria, whose peace talks with Israel have been dormant for five years.
 
 Nasrallah, known even among his opponents as one of Lebanon's shrewdest political operators, was careful to characterize the demonstrations as protests against foreign interference in Lebanon, not rallies in support of Syria, whose longtime presence here he praised. Instead of the party's distinctive yellow banner bearing a fist clenching an AK-47 rifle, the red-and-white Lebanese flag served as the backdrop for Nasrallah's news conference. It is the same symbol of national unity being used by the opposition.
 
 Nasrallah said the international pressure against Syria and Hezbollah, which increased sharply after the assassination of Hariri, was designed to further Israel's political goals, and he has called on several important Arab governments that have aligned themselves with the U.S. position to change course. Some Lebanese opposition leaders have called openly for Lebanon to recognize the 1949 armistice with Israel signed after the first Arab-Israeli war, a position Hariri was believed to have supported at the time of his assassination.
 
 Assad used those comments to evoke a decision by the Lebanese parliament in May 1983 to authorize President Amin Gemayel to pursue a peace agreement with Israel. The agreement was never concluded. Gemayel, a Christian, is now a prominent figure in the opposition. Addressing his supporters in Lebanon, Assad warned: "I'll tell them that another 17th of May is looming on the horizon. I want you to be prepared to bring it down."
 
 In recent days, Israeli media have reported that Lebanese opposition figures have appealed to Israel to use its diplomatic clout to pressure Syria to withdraw -- reports that Khoury, the member of parliament, called "the stupid and dirty game" of intelligence agencies. Nasrallah Sfeir, the Maronite Christian patriarch who holds decisive political sway within Lebanon's largest Christian sect, said Sunday that "Lebanon would be the last country to sign a peace agreement with Israel."
 
 Assad, in pledging to withdraw forces to the eastern Bekaa Valley and then to the Syrian border, essentially agreed to comply with Syria's commitments under Lebanon's peace agreement, known as the Taif accord. The 1989 agreement called for Syria to pull back its troops to the Bekaa Valley within two years, and consult with the Lebanese government on a timeline for a full withdrawal. 
 
  At their meeting Monday, Assad and Lahoud  are to set a timetable to conclude the first phase of the redeployment before the spring elections.
 
  But Egypt and Saudi Arabia, among other Arab states, have called on Syria to go further by complying with the stricter U.N. resolution, something Nasrallah said Sunday would not happen. 
 
 "Many of them are following U.S. demands," Nasrallah said. "But I ask them to take a minute and contemplate that the U.S. demands are a photocopy of Israeli demands."
 
 Saudi Arabia, in particular, holds financial and political influence in Syria and Lebanon. Hariri held Saudi as well as Lebanese citizenship and was a close friend of the kingdom's ruling family. Many Lebanese blame his assassination on the Syrian intelligence services.
 
 There is little doubt here that the Hezbollah demonstrations will be enormous, given the party's size and discipline, and will likely dwarf those held by the anti-Syrian opposition, which helped force the resignation last week of Prime Minister Omar Karami. Amal, Lebanon's second-largest Shiite party, was represented at Sunday's meeting along with many smaller parties. Chiding the media, Nasrallah asked Sunday for the same "tight zoom" from television cameras that he said has made opposition rallies look larger than they are.
 
 Wael Abou Fadour, a young Druze who will be part of an opposition delegation scheduled to meet Nasrallah, said the Hezbollah leader is "asking for some guarantees about the future of the resistance. . . . About the best we can hope is that he will maintain the same position."
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar  7 03:36:31 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar  7 03:37:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <2861160.1110195391337.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Victims of a Stalled Revolution
 
 By Fred Hiatt
 
   You can tell a lot about a government by the enemies it keeps.
 
 The dictators of Burma, for example, have, since 1991, imprisoned a gentleman by the name of U Saw Nay Don for the crime of supporting democracy. When his wife died last year, security agents visited his prison cell and offered to free him if he would confess the error of his beliefs. U Saw Nay Don refused. He is still in prison. Later this month he will turn 85.
 
 Charm Tong, now a poised young woman of 23, has been an enemy of the Burmese state since she was 6. Her parents, members of the persecuted Shan nationality, sent her across the border into Thailand at that age to escape the pillaging Burmese army, notorious for raping girls as young as 4 and press-ganging their parents into forced porterage.
 
 She grew up essentially an orphan, watching friends forced out of school to work as farmhands on Thai plantations, or as domestic workers or prostitutes. By the time she was 17 she had become a human rights activist.
 
 While Burma's paranoid generals may reveal only their own insecurity when they lock up 84-year-olds, you can't help thinking that they are absolutely right to fear Charm Tong. As she talks about the suffering in her native country, she radiates coiled fury, disciplined determination and empathy. At an age when many Americans are still bringing laundry home to their parents, she has helped found a school for refugees, a network of women activists, a center to counsel rape survivors and to train other counselors, a program to educate women about writing a democratic constitution, and weaving and cooking enterprises to help fund all these ventures.
 
 For Charm Tong, becoming an activist was in part a process of attaching names to horrors she had grown up with. "At first, we know what happened," she says. "But we didn't know, Oh, this is 'forced labor.' This is 'extrajudicial killing.' This is 'extortion.' " 
 
 Victims of the regime, she said, are desperate to attach those names and inform the world. In 2002 she helped research and write a groundbreaking report, "License to Rape," that documented the military's use of rape, torture and sexual slavery as systematic weapons of war and tools of terror. The report triggered widespread condemnation of Burma's rulers. But Charm Tong sounds almost puzzled by what has not happened since. 
 
 "Now many people know," she says. "And still there is no change." 
 
  The persistence of evil is worth pondering amid the exuberance sparked by pro-democracy movements in Georgia, Ukraine, Lebanon and elsewhere. Burma had its own democratic moment. In 1988 thousands of students bravely protested against the regime. Aung San Suu Kyi, the serene and until then apolitical daughter of Burma's independence hero, emerged as reluctant leader of a democracy movement. In 1990, though she was under house arrest (as she remains today), her National League for Democracy won four out of every five seats in a parliamentary election.
 
 Burma's corrupt generals, having utterly miscalculated their popularity, clamped down. The parliament never met. Many of its elected members sit instead in prison. And, if you discount the occasional internal bloodletting as one greedy general purges another, the regime has succeeded in maintaining power.
 
 So democracy movements can fail, or at least stall. This is so if a regime is genuinely unconcerned with the misery of its population and ruthless enough to threaten and torture not only activists but their relatives -- and if the rest of the world chooses to shrug its shoulders.
 
 In Burma's case, the United States has imposed economic sanctions, which  impinge on the regime. But their effectiveness is undermined by the Japanese and Europeans, who cluck disapprovingly but are reluctant to jeopardize commercial ties to a resource-rich Asian nation. China and India want Burma inside their spheres of influence. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, whose envoy hasn't even managed to get a visa into Burma for more than a year, expresses concern from time to time.
 
 So Charm Tong continues to tell the stories of her Shan people. She says soldiers rape and murder girls and dump them on well-trod paths, threatening any relatives who would reclaim their bodies. Villages are destroyed, pigs and chickens slaughtered, and families forced into relocation camps. From there they are prevented from returning to their fields, and they begin to go hungry. "People try their best to survive, until they can't," Charm Tong says. And so the refugees keep coming.
 
 fredhiatt@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar  7 03:37:45 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar  7 03:39:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9740898.1110195465458.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Private Doesn't Mean Better
 
 By William Raspberry
 
    Remember the gag about "the three biggest lies"? They were: "The check is in the mail," "Of course  I'll respect you in the morning" and -- the punch line -- "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you."
 
  Maybe it's time to add a fourth: "We're from the private sector, so naturally we'll do it better."
 
  This last "biggest lie" has become a conservative mantra, a mystical incantation repeated not so much to explain as to make explanations unnecessary.   Of course  the private market will do it better -- whether the "it" is cleaning city streets, funding Social Security or staffing prisons.
 
  Somebody got the bright idea that the private sector would do a better job managing health care for prison inmates. The New York Times, which undertook a year-long examination of one such company, Prison Health Services, reported several cases of inadequate -- sometimes fatally inadequate -- medical treatment of inmates and detainees because the private company had cut staff and services in an effort to keep costs down and protect its multimillion-dollar contracts.
 
  A jail medical director, for example, cut off all but a few of the 32 pills a Parkinson's sufferer had been taking to keep his tremors under control. The patient-inmate died.
 
  Stories abound of similar abuses in prisons operated by private  companies -- many of them the result of attempts to hold down costs and boost profits.
 
 The point is not that public correctional facilities are perfect -- only the foolishness of imagining that privatizing improves them.
 
  Nor is it only conservatives who fall for privatization's big lie. One of my least favorite examples is in the liberal District of Columbia: the privatizing of traffic enforcement -- the dreaded red-light and speed cameras. A lot of people object to the fact that the cameras are hidden and, unlike a highly visible patrol car, don't give  motorists a fair chance. My objection is to the fact that in the District and elsewhere, the cameras are owned and operated by private for-profit companies that issue and collect on tickets. The city managers like the cameras because they bring in more revenue than cops in patrol cars.
 
  The system gives the companies an interest not in public safety but in collecting fines. Private isn't always better.
 
  And yet people keep looking to privatization to improve everything from education (remember Chris Whittle's Edison Project?) to drug safety (leaving it to private lawsuits to drive dangerous medicines off the shelves). 
 
  Even Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement has gone private, albeit in a backdoor sort of way. Securities abuses that ought to be left to the SEC are increasingly being "prosecuted" by private lawyers through class-action lawsuits.
 
  Several times a month, I get notices that a class of which I may be a member (because I once owned a few shares of some company or another) has won a class-action lawsuit. All I need to do is tell the lawyers (or the court) when I owned the stock. They will confirm my membership in the class and certify me for my share of the settlement.
 
  Since I hardly ever know the answers to the questions they ask, I've been tossing the notices in the trash.
 
  Big mistake? I asked Mary Malgoire, president of a Maryland financial planning practice called the Family Firm, what she does about these notices.
 
  "We fill out the paperwork for our clients and submit it -- and, typically, it goes into a black hole," she said. She's had a few clients get back a little money -- "maybe a dollar, maybe 67 cents" -- but most  never see any money at all.
 
  She assumes, as I do, that the lawyers who bring these class-action lawsuits get compensated for their efforts.
 
  Still, doesn't the fact that the misbehaving companies have to pay out a lot of money serve as a deterrent to corporate misbehavior? And doesn't that make the class-action lawsuit a useful form of nongovernmental law enforcement?
 
  Well, not necessarily. As investment adviser Nathan Gendelman explained, the easiest lawsuits for  class-action lawyers to win are those in which the companies have already been ruined by mismanagement. "The threat of a lawsuit in such cases probably doesn't change anybody's behavior, at least not in the way the threat of an SEC investigation might," he said. "The lawyers may get their fee, but the people who suffered the wrongdoing usually don't get much of anything."
 
  Private isn't necessarily better. 
 
 willrasp@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar  7 03:38:55 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar  7 03:40:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9016049.1110195535558.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Redistricting Rampage
 
    WHEN TEXAS Republicans embarked on their unusual  effort to redraw legislative district lines in the middle of a decennial census cycle, the ugly future of one of the ugliest features of American democracy was not hard to foresee. Redistricting fights and abuses, instead of taking place only every 10 years, would become an ongoing fixture of politics. Whenever one party obtained a momentary dominance in a state, it would rearrange the legislative boundaries both to maintain its electoral advantages within the state and to bolster its representation in the House of Representatives at the expense of incumbents of the other party. Barely a year after the Texas fiasco, that future is now.
 
 Republicans in Georgia, newly in control of the major levers of government for the first time since Reconstruction, are finishing a redistricting bill that would put two Democratic members of the House in jeopardy. Democrats are getting into the act, too. At a news  conference last week, House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) insisted that while he believes "on principle" that "this ought to be done every 10 years as it has been historically done," Democrats "would be foolish to sit on the sidelines and have our heads beaten in and not . . . see what we can do in response." National Democrats have reportedly been urging their parties in Louisiana, New Mexico and Illinois -- states where Democrats have gained control over government since the last redistricting -- to reconsider the political maps.
 
 Even redistricting reformers are contributing to this problem. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California (R), whose proposal for reform in his own state represents an exciting alternative to corrupt and politicized line-drawing, would have a panel of retired judges draw district lines not after the next census but in 2006. And Florida Democrats, who are pushing reform-oriented ballot initiatives, would likewise not wait to put them into effect until the next census in 2010.
 
 Redistricting is already playing a deeply corrosive role in American politics, allowing politicians to choose the voters who will maintain them in power. American legislative elections are dramatically noncompetitive; the incumbents nearly always win -- except, that is, when a district has been set up specifically to target someone of the other party. The result is an ever more polarized Congress unaccountable to the voters who nominally elect it.
 
 An alternative exists to Republicans' repeating  their mischief and Democrats' mimicking  it. Both sides could agree on a national law that sets standards for legislative line-drawing. Clarifying that redistricting can take place only immediately after  a census would be a good place to start.
 
   

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 06:58:16 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon Mar  7 06:59:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bulgarian Soldier Killed by US troops
Message-ID: <000701c52326$1bedb5e0$b33fe440@Harold>

Trigger happy US troops kill Bulgarian soldier in Iraq

More friendly fire issues for the US

http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050307/2005-03-07T143146Z_01_MAR726921_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-IRAQ-DC.html

Later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 08:19:32 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar  7 08:21:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [The Star Article]
Message-ID: <12776431.1110212372721.JavaMail.csuser@london.thestar.com>

>From harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

OPEC, says Oil prices to high. There is a good supply and adaequate stocks.

Later H

Oil prices too high, says OPEC

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1110150624453&call_pageid=970599119419

Mon Mar 07 11:19:32 EST 2005
From djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za  Mon Mar  7 09:15:19 2005
From: djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za (peter baker)
Date: Mon Mar  7 09:30:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] more cheek than the fat ladies bum
Message-ID: <200503071730.j27HUVKm027634@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

bear
........americas president demands the immediate withdrawal of syrian troops from lebanon while america has ten times the number of troops illegally occupying iraq ....the syrian troops were invited into lebanon by the arab league in 1976....no-one invited the yanks, or the brits, into iraq...this is unbelievable cheek.....what is happening here is syria being set up for the next "liberation" [not iran, not yet]...off you go george ww3, off you go boy....remember hitler bit off more than he could chew..so did the romans..go for it georgie.....madbaker
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Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Columnists - Amity Shlaes:
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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:47:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Hezbollah Backs Syria,
	Challenging Lebanese Opposition
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 7, 2005

Hezbollah Backs Syria, Challenging Lebanese Opposition
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

The move presents a direct challenge to opposition groups after Syria promised to gradually withdraw troops from Lebanon.

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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 10:46:49 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:48:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Donors' Influence on Schwarzenegger Is an
	Issue
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NATIONAL | March 7, 2005

Donors' Influence on Schwarzenegger Is an Issue
By DEAN E. MURPHY

Some Democrats, independent watchdog groups and scholars are raising questions about the influence of money on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.

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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:48:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clash on Judicial Nominees Could Spill Into
	Lawmaking
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WASHINGTON | March 7, 2005

Clash on Judicial Nominees Could Spill Into Lawmaking
By CARL HULSE

Republicans and Democrats are preparing intently behind the scenes in anticipation of a Senate floor showdown over President Bush's conservative judicial candidates.

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Date: Mon Mar  7 10:49:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Cult of Stewart Bounces Back in the Magazine
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BUSINESS / MEDIA & ADVERTISING | March 7, 2005

Cult of Stewart Bounces Back in the Magazine
By CONSTANCE L. HAYS

If there was any question that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has been eagerly awaiting the return of its founder and namesake, the coming issue of the magazine Martha Stewart Living lays it to rest.

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Date: Mon Mar  7 10:50:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Civil Unions in Connecticut
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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Civil Unions in Connecticut


Though it isn't perfect, the civil union legislation likely to pass in Connecticut is an advance for the rights of gay couples.

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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:51:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Skies, R.I.P.
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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Clear Skies, R.I.P.


President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, which had much more to offer polluters of the air than to those who breathe it, appears doomed.

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Date: Mon Mar  7 10:51:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Skies, R.I.P.
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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Clear Skies, R.I.P.


President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, which had much more to offer polluters of the air than to those who breathe it, appears doomed.

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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:51:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Skies, R.I.P.
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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Clear Skies, R.I.P.


President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, which had much more to offer polluters of the air than to those who breathe it, appears doomed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/opinion/07mon3.html?ex=1110862800&en=b00d90e0de28bc96&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:51:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Skies, R.I.P.
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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Clear Skies, R.I.P.


President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, which had much more to offer polluters of the air than to those who breathe it, appears doomed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/opinion/07mon3.html?ex=1110862800&en=b00d90e0de28bc96&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:51:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Skies, R.I.P.
Message-ID: <20050307185017.1C2632270B9@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Clear Skies, R.I.P.


President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, which had much more to offer polluters of the air than to those who breathe it, appears doomed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/opinion/07mon3.html?ex=1110862800&en=b00d90e0de28bc96&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:51:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Skies, R.I.P.
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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Clear Skies, R.I.P.


President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, which had much more to offer polluters of the air than to those who breathe it, appears doomed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/opinion/07mon3.html?ex=1110862800&en=b00d90e0de28bc96&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:51:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Skies, R.I.P.
Message-ID: <20050307185014.DAA2D22709F@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Clear Skies, R.I.P.


President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, which had much more to offer polluters of the air than to those who breathe it, appears doomed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/opinion/07mon3.html?ex=1110862800&en=b00d90e0de28bc96&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:51:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Skies, R.I.P.
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OPINION | March 7, 2005

Editorial: Clear Skies, R.I.P.


President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, which had much more to offer polluters of the air than to those who breathe it, appears doomed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/opinion/07mon3.html?ex=1110862800&en=b00d90e0de28bc96&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 10:56:14 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:57:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: But Seriously, My Fellow Americans...
Message-ID: <20050307185615.CC84521F1D1@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 7, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: But Seriously, My Fellow Americans...
By HART SEELY

Dick Cheney might be a great candidate for next year's Oscars host.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/opinion/07seely.html?ex=1110862800&en=c0b61498240558bd&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 10:57:36 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Mon Mar  7 10:58:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Series of attacks in Iraq kill 25
Message-ID: <20050307_185736_094075.michael@intrafi.com>

michael saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Series of attacks in Iraq kill 25 **
At least 25 people are killed in a series of bomb and small arms attacks in towns to the north of Baghdad.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4324639.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


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The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 10:58:50 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Mon Mar  7 11:00:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Syrian pullback 'by end of March'
Message-ID: <20050307_185850_099075.michael@intrafi.com>

michael saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Syrian pullback 'by end of March' **
The presidents of Syria and Lebanon announce a Syrian troop pullback, but do not set a date for full withdrawal.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4323463.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 11:15:57 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar  7 11:17:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Buffett attacks American spending
	junkies
Message-ID: <20050307191557.14C051C62@herring.gul3.gnl>

Harold spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harold:

Warnings from Buffett

Peace H
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Buffett attacks American spending junkies
Simon Bowers
Monday March 07 2005
The Guardian


Warren Buffett, one of the world's most successful investors, has launched his most withering attack to date on the US trade deficit, describing Americans as "rich spending junkies" who could turn into a nation of "sharecroppers". 

In his annual letter to investors in Berkshire Hathaway, the fund he has run for more than 30 years, Mr Buffett painted a bleak picture of a future US in which ownership and wealth had continued to move overseas, leaving the economy in thrallto foreign interests and faced with financial turmoil and political unrest.  

He said his performance last year had been "lacklustre". He explained his mounting bet against the dollar in terms of a spiralling US trade deficit - which, he warned, may be approaching crisis point.  

Mr Buffett said Berkshire had built a $21.4bn (&#163;11bn) position in foreign exchange contracts, spread among 12 currencies. He said little appeared to have been done to tackle the problem, despite constant calls for action from "hand-wringing luminaries".  

"Without policy changes, currency markets could even become disorderly and generate spillover effects, both political and financial," Mr Buffett warned. "Such a scenario is a far from remote possibility that policymakers should be considering now," the billionaire said, though he conceded policymakers' "bent, however, is to lean towards not so benign neglect".  

The 74-year-old told investors he "tap-danced to work" and promised them this year's meeting of investors would be another "Woodstock for capitalists". However, on the subject of the US trade deficit, his passions appear to be stirred. "This force-feeding of American wealth to the rest of the world is now proceeding at the rate of $1.8bn daily."  

Mr Buffett said in the last 10 years foreign powers and their citizens had accrued about $3 trillion worth of US debt and assets such as equities and real estate. At current rates, he predicted that in another 10 years' time the net ownership of the US by outsiders would amount to $11 trillion.  

"This annual royalty paid [to] the world would undoubtedly produce significant political unrest in the US. Americans ... would chafe at the idea of perpetually paying tribute to their creditors and owners abroad. A country that is now aspiring to an 'ownership society' will not find happiness in - and I'll use hyperbole here for emphasis - a 'sharecropper's society'."  

Mr Buffett squarely took the blame for the group underperforming the market for the second consecutive year, with a 2004 book value gain of 10.5%. "My hope was to make multibillion-dollar acquisitions that would add new and significant streams of earnings ... but I struck out." In part, he said, he had been frustrated by a lack of "attractive securities to buy", leaving Berkshire with $43bn of cash equivalents.  

&#183; The International Monetary Fund is worried that global growth is becoming too reliant on the performance of the US and Chinese economies, according to a report yesterday.  

While the Chinese are seek ing to slam the brakes on the country's infrastructure spending, the treasury secretary, John Snow, described the US economy as "resilient and dynamic".  

According to today's edition of the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the IMF's forthcoming World Economic Outlook report will warn of increasing risks to global growth if the US and China slow down at the same time.  

"Global growth is to an inappropriate degree linked to the United States and China," the IMF report will say when it is published next month.  

"The eurozone and Japan, which together have about one-fourth of the world's gross domestic product, have once again disappointed. Thus the risks are increased that there could later be a sharp downturn especially if the United States and China are hit with economic slowing." 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar  7 11:18:09 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar  7 11:19:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Something stirs - The Economist
Message-ID: <BE51E8F1.1EE37%michael@michaelbutler.com>

   Click here to find out more!

Economist.com      
    

    
About sponsorship

Something stirs
Mar 7th 2005
>From The Economist print edition


Two years after the invasion of Iraq, the Arab world is beginning to show
tantalising signs of change. But it is too early to talk of a year of
revolutions, as the three prime exhibits being used to make the case for
democracy?Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine?are in many ways special cases

AP
AP


SINCE the American invasion of Iraq in March 2003, many of those who
vehemently opposed it have mocked America?s neo-conservatives for having
believed that the Iraqis would greet their foreign liberators with flowers
and gratitude. Now it is the turn of the neo-cons to mock. A lot of people
in the anti-war camp predicted that the war would cause upheavals across the
Middle East, fanning hatred of the West and tipping friendly regimes into
the hands of Islamist extremists.

It hasn?t worked out that way. On the eve of the war?s second anniversary,
the Middle East does indeed seem to be in the grip of some sort of change.
But, right now, much of the change seems to be pushing in a welcome
direction, towards a new peace chance in Palestine and the spread of
democratic ideas around the Arab world.

Arabs everywhere were affected by the spectacle in January of Iraqis defying
terrorists to cast their vote and elect a new government, and of
Palestinians managing to hold a free election even while under Israeli
occupation. The past couple of weeks have brought even more transfixing
scenes, as Lebanese thronged the streets of Beirut with their flags in an
unprecedented show of ?people power?, forcing the country?s pro-Syrian
government to resign and Syria to announce a phased pull-out of its troops.
At the same time, Hosni Mubarak, Egypt?s president for the past 24 years,
has astonished his countrymen by calling for constitutional changes to allow
rival candidates to vie for his position for the first time.

To the instigators of the Iraq war, all this is manna from heaven. Having
failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, George Bush and Tony
Blair have been forced to emphasise instead the gift of freedom their
toppling of Saddam Hussein delivered to its people. This ?gift? was hardly
free: chaos and murder continue to stalk Iraq. Last week alone, at least 120
people were killed in a single suicide bombing in Hilla. And yet the Iraqis
do still seem impressed by the novelty of being able to vote a government
out of power.

In Bratislava last month, Mr Bush drew a link between Iraq?s vote,
Czechoslovakia?s ?velvet revolution? of 1989, Georgia?s ?rose revolution? at
the end of 2003, and Ukraine?s recent ?orange revolution?. He would say
that. But a growing number of Arab voices are chiming in, too.

In a widely noticed interview, Walid Jumblatt, the leader of Lebanon?s
Druze, told the Washington Post that Iraq?s election was the Arab equivalent
of the fall of the Berlin wall. Hisham Kassem, a former publisher of the
Cairo Times, called the elections the ?start of a ripple effect?. Khaled
al-Meena, the editor of Saudi Arabia?s Arab News, says that if elections can
be held under foreign occupation in Iraq and Palestine, it should be much
easier to hold them in Arab states said to be ?free?.

How far-reaching is this new spirit? The Arab world is large and diverse, so
there is always a risk of connecting the dots in a way that produces a
distorted picture. One oddity is that Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon?all three
of the prime exhibits being used to make the case for democracy?happen to be
under foreign occupation, by America, Israel and Syria respectively. Each is
in many ways a special case.

A cedar revolution?

The foreign occupation of Lebanon began in 1976, when Syria?s dictator,
Hafez Assad, sent his army to intervene in Lebanon?s brutal three-cornered
civil war between Maronite Christians, Muslims and Palestinians. The mass
protests that forced Lebanon?s pro-Syrian government in Lebanon to resign
last week would probably not have happened but for a powerful shock: last
month?s murder of Rafik Hariri, the country?s former prime minister and most
popular politician. This was the catalyst for a chain reaction: amid intense
international pressure on Syria, including from fellow Arab states, Assad?s
son and successor, President Bashir Assad, announced on Saturday March 5th
that Syria would withdraw its troops in two stages, beginning immediately,
though no deadline for completing the pull-out has yet been given. For the
Lebanese, what some are calling a ?cedar revolution? and others a ?peaceful
intifada? carries the promise of an end not just to Syrian occupation but
also to a corrupt spoils system that has long sapped the country?s talent
and morale.

Broad-based popular movements such as this are unlikely to emerge soon in
other countries. Lebanon?s experience is in many ways unique. Famously
fractious, the Lebanese are well educated and politically sophisticated.
Their central government is weak, meaning it lacks the instruments of
control enjoyed by other Arab states. It cannot co-opt enemies with oil
money, because it has none. It cannot suppress protests effectively, because
it lacks even a trained force of riot police. And it cannot silence dissent,
because Lebanon?s vibrant press has remained in private hands. The
enthusiastic, non-stop coverage of the Beirut intifada on opposition TV
channels emboldened tens of thousands of ordinary citizens to ignore
government bans, and take to the streets.

Just now, something else distinguishes the Lebanese: they have a focus for
their anger. Mr Hariri had come to embody the country?s post-war
reconstruction. His assassination united Lebanon?s multiple factions in
outrage. A beleaguered minority movement, led by Christian and Druze
politicians who once fought each other, was reinforced by members of Mr
Hariri?s own Sunni Muslims, as well as thousands of others whose indignation
transcended the old sectarian loyalties.

Lebanon?s anger has a cause as well as a martyred hero: freedom from
domination by Syria, whose regime many Lebanese instinctively blame for the
crime. Over the years, Syria?s occupation helped to smother the flames of
civil war and bolster Lebanon?s resistance to Israel?s occupation of the
south. But the war is long over, the Israelis have gone and the Syrians have
overstayed their welcome. They are blamed now for imposing some of the ills
that afflict other Arab countries, such as grotesque corruption,
intimidation of political opponents, and the subversion of the courts. When
the Lebanese demand the return of national sovereignty, it is as much a call
to restore local freedoms as for Syria?s troops to leave.

Democrats in Palestine

In Palestine, too, the advance of democracy may have been helped by the
weakness of the government. The Palestinian Authority (PA), created by the
1993 Oslo accords to run the occupied territories until a final deal on
statehood was reached, is missing many of a sovereign state?s usual
attributes. Israel controls natural resources, borders, coast and airspace,
the currency, the collection of customs duties, and, in most areas, security
and internal freedom of movement. Yet Palestine?s political system is
vibrant and pluralistic.

Ironic, but no accident: Israel?s occupation is directly responsible. The
two intifadas bred a powerful grassroots movement, subverting the Middle
East?s usual authoritarian tendency. Yasser Arafat?s periodic attempts to
placate Israel by cracking down with his brutal security services alienated
the population, as did graft among his officials. In polls done for
January?s presidential election by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and
Survey Research, 26% of voters rated corruption and lack of reform as the
most serious problem facing Palestinians, only slightly behind the
occupation (31%) and poverty (33%).

Arafat?s death has triggered a quiet cascade of mini-revolutions. January?s
presidential election delivered a predictably solid victory to Mahmoud Abbas
(Abu Mazen), his designated successor in the ruling Fatah party, but also a
strong showing to Mustafa Barghouti, an independent without any of the
benefits of a party structure, previous political jobs or slyly-used state
funds.
Reuters
Reuters

Mahmoud Abbas and friend, perhaps

In the early rounds of the municipal elections, Hamas, the main Islamist
party, did unexpectedly well. This July it can expect to win a hefty
minority in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), whose current members
smell pretty ripe to ordinary Palestinians after a decade in their seats.

Hamas is popular for its armed efforts in the second intifada, which most
Palestinians believe forced Israel?s planned withdrawal from Gaza, and for
its broad network of local social services, trumping those of the PA. It
also did well because many would-be Fatah candidates grew so sick of the old
leadership?s habit of overriding internal primaries and imposing its own
people that they ran independently, thus splitting the vote for the party.
But these habits are changing: a frightened Fatah is beginning to heed its
younger members? calls for reform.

And there was another upset last month when the Palestinian prime minister,
Ahmed Qurei (Abu Alaa), tried to appoint a cabinet packed with Arafat
loyalists. Shrewdly, rather than press Mr Qurei to make changes, Mr Abbas
sat back and let him get into a showdown with PLC members who wanted their
turn. The end result: a ?technocrat? government, made up of politically
inexperienced but professional people, and few Arafat cronies or PLC hacks
in sight. How well it will govern remains to be seen, but Palestinians love
it: shortly after the government was sworn in, a Ramallah street vendor was
heard hawking ?technocrat bread?.

Reform of the PA has been on the agenda since well before Mr Abbas. Salam
Fayyad, the Authority?s determined finance minister, has spent nearly three
years cleaning up the books, and says its revenue collection has gone up
from $45m to $75m a month, even as the economy has withered under the
intifada. Mr Abbas, mindful of Fatah?s plight and the fact that his own poll
rating was close to zero before he became the party?s candidate, is carrying
on with those plans.

The PA outlined them at a meeting last week in London with donors and Middle
Eastern governments. Pension reform will help slim down the civil service,
which until recently was a sponge for unemployment, by encouraging
desk-jockeys to retire. There will be clear procedures for appointing judges
and a shake-up in the court system. The dozen-or-so security services (not
even PA officials agree on the exact number), which functioned as private
fiefs, will be slimmed down, smartened up and brought under central control.
There will be tweaks to fiscal management and business law, and a raft of
other changes. In return, donors upped their pledges of support to $1.2
billion for 2005, and Palestine broke a new record for aid money per head of
population.

Please may we have independence too?

Palestinians plainly welcome reform for its own sake. Above all they want
the occupation to end. Yet Israel insists?and for now the Americans seem to
agree?that the Palestinians must put their domestic house in order before
they will be allowed to negotiate the final status of their putative
independent state. As in Lebanon, therefore, the grassroots appetite for
bottom-up democracy and the impulse for independence combine into a potent
force.

That is no longer true of many Arab countries, where the kings and ?national
liberation? parties that took power after the colonial period have clung
ruthlessly to office ever since. Yet in the past year or so, even
governments of that sort have been making some concessions to democracy. In
some cases this has been done for domestic reasons, in others as a response
to pressure from the Americans. Morocco?s politics have matured lately into
a lively multi-party system, albeit under the supervision of an almost
absolute monarch. Another semi-constitutional monarchy, Jordan, plans to
devolve central powers to elected regional bodies. Yemen, though still
tribally fractious and backward, boasts a rowdy parliament and press.

Even the absolute monarchs of the Gulf have opened up to varying degrees of
citizen participation. Qatar?s emir, the first Arab ruler to abolish his own
ministry of information, actually congratulated the Lebanese for toppling
their government. Kuwait, which has long had a noisy parliament, is on the
verge of enfranchising women, now that Islamists back the idea. In Bahrain,
Oman and Qatar, women already vote. And Saudi Arabia is in the midst of
electioneering as polling for town councils continues across the kingdom.

Change, and the illusion of change

Needless to say, much of this top-down reform has been hesitant and shallow.
In none of these cases has the real balance of power been threatened with
change. Essential attributes of an open society, such as full scrutiny of
state spending, an unfettered press, truly independent courts and
accountable police and security forces remain unachieved. The changes often
look less like Mr Bush?s forward strategy of freedom than like a rearguard
strategy of regime survival.
AP
AP

A more orderly class of protest in Cairo

Mr Mubarak?s initiative, for example, concedes none of his pharaonic powers,
including the right to be re-elected in perpetuity. According to the draft
forwarded to Egypt?s rubber-stamp parliament, presidential candidates would
have to be proposed by legal parties. The hitch is that Mr Mubarak?s own
party controls the legalising process. It may not sanction its most
formidable opponent, the Muslim Brotherhood. After 50 years of virtual
one-party rule, the political stage has been almost swept clean of potential
contenders, aside from the 76-year-old Mr Mubarak and, perhaps, his
42-year-old son Gamal. Besides, Egyptians are so inured to electoral fraud
and manipulation that it may prove hard to persuade them of the utility of
voting.

The arrest in January of a prominent young opposition parliamentarian, Ayman
Nour, underscored the sanitised nature of Egypt?s politics. Mr Nour?s
secular, liberal al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party had only recently been legalised.
Unlike tamer opposition politicians who had agreed to put off calls for
change until after Mr Mubarak?s re-election, Mr Nour had been demanding
immediate constitutional reform. For his pains he was accused of forgery,
had his parliamentary immunity lifted, and was clapped in jail. He remains
locked up, but responded to Mr Mubarak?s initiative by calling off a hunger
strike.

The experience of Algeria and Tunisia, which already permit competition for
the presidency, is not encouraging. Tunisia?s ruler of the past 17 years,
Zeineddine Ben Ali, has twice crushed challengers, but these lightweight
rivals were carefully vetted, and forced to play on a steeply tilted field.
Algeria?s Abdelaziz Bouteflika handily won a fairer race last year, but with
the full support of state media and other government institutions.

Arabs complain that their rulers? gestures towards reform come more in
response to outside pressures than to their own aspirations. Mr Mubarak?s
proposal would not have been made but for the supposedly friendly nagging of
Mr Bush and Condoleezza Rice, America?s new secretary of state. Yet pressure
for reform is also building from within. Hollow or not, each grudging reform
has whetted the public?s appetite for further change.

In the past, popular protests often took the form of riots over price rises
or localised protests at police brutality. Now ?people power? is
increasingly being expressed in organised and peaceful movements by
civil-society groups. Bahrain?s ruler, for example, brought himself immense
popularity three years ago by ending martial rule, inviting exiled
dissidents home, and running free elections for half the seats in the
national legislature. Many Bahrainis, particularly among the disenfranchised
Shia who make up two-thirds of the island kingdom?s native population, are
now demanding more.

Jordan?s King Abdullah, likewise, faces a wave of unrest from trade unions
angered by new rules that ban syndicates from political activity. In Egypt,
Mr Mubarak?s election initiative was greeted not with gratitude, but with
demands for wider freedoms and better guarantees that polls will really be
clean. A small but vociferous reform movement has gained momentum in Cairo,
drawing strength from the coverage of protests by satellite TV channels that
are beyond state control, and a proliferation of groups promoting specific
issues, such as ending torture.

Goodbye Baathism

Even in Syria the feeling that change is inevitable has become palpable. Mr
Assad has proved a weak leader, isolated both by the war in Iraq and his
behaviour in Lebanon. Many other Arabs still share the Syrian regime?s sense
of being under siege, its deep mistrust of the West, and its loathing for
Israel. Yet they are also aware that the armed intifada in Palestine and the
Iraqi insurgency have lost their sheen. They know that state socialism is a
dud, and?after Saddam Hussein?s fall?that dictatorship is ultimately
disastrous. Growing numbers are willing to say that Islam is threatened more
by its own demons than by the West?s armies.

An Arab democratic opening will be long and tortuous. The regimes that block
it are strong, cunning and ruthless. The rhetoric of ?resistance??Islamist,
Arab nationalist, anti-American, anti-globalisation, or whatever?retains a
powerful grip. Many Arabs still support groups such as al-Qaeda. A huge
amount still depends on the outcome in Iraq: a descent into chaos or the
failure of the political process there could crush democratic stirrings
throughout the region. For all these reasons, it is probably too early for
the Americans to crow about an Arab year of revolutions. All the same, the
distance between Mr Bush?s talk of freedom and Arab aspirations, which only
recently seemed to yawn so wide, may at last be starting to close.


Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar  7 11:38:41 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar  7 11:39:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] WINDS OF CHANGE??
Message-ID: <BE51EDC1.1EE3C%michael@michaelbutler.com>


Michael Butler's Blog

http://www.michaelbutler.com/mbblog.html


From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar  7 12:22:07 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Mon Mar  7 12:23:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Had to share this..... :-)
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV6A783352C284EBB814016AB5F0@phx.gbl>

"What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork"-

Pearl Bailey


From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar  7 12:49:06 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Mon Mar  7 12:50:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] more cheek than the fat ladies bum
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV20A0D6E9A93547A88DDE0CAB5F0@phx.gbl>

WoW! all I can say in response to this is your are right on, you can have Georgie if you think you can teach him some manners and thoughtfulness towards others.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: peter baker
Sent: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 09:15:19 -0800
To: Michael Butler
Subject: [Mb-civic] more cheek than the fat ladies bum

bear
.......americas president demands the immediate withdrawal of syrian troops from lebanon while america has ten times the number of troops illegally occupying iraq ....the syrian troops were invited into lebanon by the arab league in 1976....no-one invited the yanks, or the brits, into iraq..this is unbelievable cheek.....what is happening here is syria being set up for the next "liberation" [not iran, not yet]...off you go george ww3, off you go boy....remember hitler bit off more than he could chew..so did the romans..go for it georgie.....madbaker
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 14:02:42 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 14:04:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Il Manifesto Founder on Sgrena Shooting: This Was an
	Attack on Unembedded Journalism
Message-ID: <20050307220242.26622.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org


The journalist fired upon by the americans

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Il Manifesto Founder on Sgrena Shooting: This Was an Attack on Unembedded Journalism
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/07/1449232
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


U.S. soldiers in Iraq shot at the car of Italian journalist - Giuliana Sgrena - killing the Italian intelligence agent who helped free her and wounding three others. Sgrena had just been released after a month in captivity by the Iraqi resistance. We go to Italy to speak with Luciana Castellina, a leading public intellectual and one the founders of Giuliana Sgrena's newspaper - Il Manifesto. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/07/1449232

From deletemail at go.com  Mon Mar  7 14:07:14 2005
From: deletemail at go.com (Greg Stevenson (Peace & Truth On Earth))
Date: Mon Mar  7 14:08:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] President Halfwit strikes again!
Message-ID: <6861607.1110233234075.JavaMail.deletemail@WMAILWEBA04>

"Blessed is the state that hides its most egregious crimes behind the smokescreen of incompetance.

George W Bush makes the perfect empty suit to shoulder the case for ineptitude. Since such a man is titular Commander in Chief, it's no great stretch to imbue the US military with his characteristic imbecility. But that would be to presume a couple of things true, which I think are not: that Bush truly commands, and that chaos and ruin are never the intended result of US policy."

http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2005/03/benefit-of-dumb.html


The Bush/Moron a.k.a. President Halfwit strikes again through the "incompetence" of American troops? I think not!
The murder of an Italian Official and the attempted murder of this Italian journalist was no accident - it was a well constructed attempt to eliminate all journalists who even attempt to tell the truth about the heinous atrocities being inflicted by Americans on the Iraqi people on a daily basis.

Peace and Truth On Earth

Greg Stevenson

___________________________________________________
Check-out GO.com
GO get your free GO E-Mail account with expanded storage of 6 MB!
http://mail.go.com


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 15:58:47 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:00:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ABCNEWS.com: CIA Jets Fly the War on Terror 
Message-ID: <17353668.1110239927993.JavaMail._WDIGSvc0406@abctvbar01>

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

Torture approved by CIA, boiling of suspect was probably alright!!

CIA Jets Fly the War on Terror 
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=559496&page=1
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 16:25:11 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:26:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Syrian Ally Urges Protests
Message-ID: <30606941.1110241511816.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Syrian Ally Urges Protests 
--------------------

Hezbollah drops its tone of caution in Lebanon and calls for a massive demonstration to counter what it calls 'foreign interference.'

By Megan K. Stack
Times Staff Writer

March 7 2005

BEIRUT &#8212; The powerful Syria-backed group Hezbollah on Sunday urged its followers to take to the streets in a massive protest against "foreign interference," abandoning its conciliatory tone during recent weeks of political unrest. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-hezbollah7mar07,0,5875603.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 16:27:18 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:28:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bolton to the UN
Message-ID: <000a01c52375$98f78030$b33fe440@Harold>

I find this amusing, this man has so much distain to the UN, he criticizes Europe for trade with China, yet China's biggest trading partner is the US!

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=558419

He questions arms trade, yet the US is the largest arms trader in the world.

The US is in arrears in it's payments to the UN (billions, has not paid in over 10 years), yet it wants to direct it's policy. Pay up, then talk!

The world is getting tired of the US, as Warren Buffett just said, the US is about to become a sharecropper a debtor to every other nation in the world.
Buffett has been buying Billions in foreign currencies to hedge his positions, what does that tell you? Even the Oracle of Omaha is running away!!

The American economy is a threat to international stability, it is out of control, it is in debt!! The American people are so personally in debt that any hiccup will spiral a collapse. Consumerism run amuck! Just look at the personal bankruptcy rate in the US!

Now this Bolton character wants to reform the UN as to American interests, ah NO, it is an International forum, not American, eh!

Later H

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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 16:31:07 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:32:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Traveling on a Highway of Dread
Message-ID: <28104213.1110241867675.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Traveling on a Highway of Dread 
--------------------

A reporter recalls her own wary journey on airport road hours before an ex-hostage was shot.

By Alissa J. Rubin
Times Staff Writer

March 7 2005

BAGHDAD &#8212; The route runs through a broad and flat landscape, bare but for a few date palms rising tall and dignified and the occasional small bush. Goats mill about, shepherded by young boys or old men. Except for the litter of plastic bottles and bags, the scene is almost pastoral, peaceful. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-airportroad7mar07,0,6383856.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 16:32:39 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:33:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Justice Unit Puts Its Focus on Faith
Message-ID: <12784021.1110241959112.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Justice Unit Puts Its Focus on Faith 
--------------------

A little-known civil rights office has been busily defending religious groups.

By Richard B. Schmitt
Times Staff Writer

March 7 2005

WASHINGTON &#8212; One of the main jobs at the Justice Department is enforcing the nation's civil rights laws. So when a nonprofit group was accused of employment discrimination last year in New York, the department moved swiftly to intervene &#8212; but not on the side one might expect. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-religion7mar07,0,3712918.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 16:33:38 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:34:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Greenspan's Warning on Deficit Ignores His Role in Its
	Growth
Message-ID: <31531801.1110242018911.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Greenspan's Warning on Deficit Ignores His Role in Its Growth 
--------------------

Ronald Brownstein
Washington Outlook

March 7 2005

Is he kidding? 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-outlook7mar07,0,7717601.column 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 16:36:36 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:37:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Genes and Financial Fears
Message-ID: <4745503.1110242196348.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Genes and Financial Fears 
--------------------


March 7 2005

When scientists unraveled the chemical sequences in human DNA four years ago, there was great excitement about the prospect of being able to treat people based on their genetic predisposition to disease. Today, that potential is being squandered by fear. Several recent studies have shown that Americans shun genetic testing because they fear it could be used against them by employers or insurers. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-genes7mar07,0,2888540.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 16:37:15 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:38:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Let's Shoot for Quality Teachers, Not for Mars
Message-ID: <27007552.1110242235078.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Let's Shoot for Quality Teachers, Not for Mars 
--------------------

By Margaret Wertheim
Margaret Wertheim is the "Quark Soup" science columnist for the L.A. Weekly and the author of "The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace: A History of Space From Dante to the Internet" (Norton, 1999).

March 7 2005

In 1609, the German astronomer Johannes Kepler completed a story that is often considered the earliest work of science fiction. Titled "Somnium," or "Dream," Kepler's charmingly bizarre tale describes a trip to the moon by a young Icelander named Duracotus and his mother, Fiolxhilde, a lady who dabbles in magic and communes with spirits. It is one of these beings who transports the pair to our celestial neighbor by sheer force of its will. But if the journey smacks of the supernatural, the moon itself, on their arrival, is very much within the natural order. Indeed, the purpose of Kepler's tale was to describe the lunar orb as a real physical world governed by empirical laws of science. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-wertheim7mar07,0,1923700.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 16:37:36 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:38:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ABCNEWS.com: Senate Defeats Minimum Wage Increase
Message-ID: <15776555.1110242256696.JavaMail._WDIGSvc0406@abctvbar01>

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

The so called richest nation in the world does not want to increase minimum wage?
Go figure eh!

Senate Defeats Minimum Wage Increase
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=559552
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 16:50:40 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon Mar  7 16:52:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Wages
Message-ID: <000c01c52378$dc61ece0$b33fe440@Harold>

Wages

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=559552

The Republican argument that increased wages do not increase revenue sales falls short with me.
For the Republicans say that tax relief increases revenue/consumerism sales, so then what is it then.
If some one is being paid more, they will be buying more, right and if not saving more? And if they are being paid more, won't they being paying more taxes? 

Just observing

H







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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 17:05:44 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar  7 17:07:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ABCNEWS.com: Idaho Rancher Slays Wolf Under New Rule
Message-ID: <30930255.1110243944853.JavaMail._WDIGSvc0406@abctvbar01>

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

Just observing

H

Idaho Rancher Slays Wolf Under New Rule
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=559491
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 17:10:03 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar  7 17:11:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ABCNEWS.com: Skin-Deep Discrimination
Message-ID: <11547420.1110244203540.JavaMail._WDIGSvc0406@abctvbar01>

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

America the beautiful?
Racism is still there, big time, in all cultures.

Later H

Skin-Deep Discrimination
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/GiveMeABreak/story?id=548303&page=1
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 17:16:24 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar  7 17:17:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ABCNEWS.com: Crime Blotter: Man Arrested for Overdue
	Library Books
Message-ID: <32231935.1110244584040.JavaMail._WDIGSvc0406@abctvbar01>

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

Just amusing, arrested for $150.00

Says something about the culture.

Silly time

H

Crime Blotter: Man Arrested for Overdue Library Books
http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=89932&page=1
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 17:33:41 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar  7 17:35:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Check out this page at www.canoe.ca
Message-ID: <200503080133.j281Xf8u001551@nova.fast.canoe.ca>

From:  harry.sifton@sympatico.ca 

The person above has asked that we send you the following URL, as it
contains information that you might find useful or interesting.

        http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/03/07/953270-cp.html

Note that information on CANOE is changed frequently.
In some sections, such as our newspapers, content is removed after 24 hours.

If you have any questions about this service, please send e-mail to:
webmaster@canoe.ca.

Thanks!
CANOE - Your Internet Network
http://www.canoe.ca

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar  7 17:59:39 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:01:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Cargill
Message-ID: <000801c52382$7f23a410$b33fe440@Harold>

It respect to the Canadian Beef issue, the feed mills and slaughter house's in question are all owned by Cargill an American Corporation.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/03/07/953270-cp.html

Yet the Canadian producers are challenged. It is an American corporation that is suspect, and the American producers are capitalizing on the issue!

The protocols of feed content are run by Cargill , an American Corp, so the issue is with Cargill, not the Canadian producers, yet the American producers are pointing fingers at Canada. Certain American producers are capitalizing big time on the issue and want to prolong it as long as they can. Cargill obviously has a plan/profit a foot otherwise this issue would have been put to bed last year and normal free trade would continue.

Once the border is re-opened, Montana's and North Dakota's beef industry profits will lesson, so of course they will challenge any opening.

Later H



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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 18:25:29 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:27:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FWD: [A.N.S.W.E.R.] MARCH 19 GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION
Message-ID: <QjA2M0E0SCRBTCNNNCosMzE4Mjc3@Dragon>

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 18:27:50 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:29:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Trial of Irish Peace Activists Opposed to U.S. Military
	Use of Shannon Airport Begins in Dublin
Message-ID: <20050308022750.24713.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

Bishop Gumbleton...attn: Mad Baker.. are we keeping lists of contacts ?


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Trial of Irish Peace Activists Opposed to U.S. Military Use of Shannon Airport Begins in Dublin
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/07/1449246
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


The trial of five peace activists began Monday in Dublin, Ireland. The five were arrested on February 3rd, 2003 on charges stemming from an action at Shannon Airport - a civilian airport that has been transformed into a pit stop for the U.S military. They face up to 10 years in prison. We go to Dublin to speak with Ciaron O'Reilly, one of the activists on trial and Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/07/1449246

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 18:29:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:30:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Remembering Bloody Sunday: Thousands Mark 40th
	Anniversary of Selma Voting Rights March
Message-ID: <20050308022902.24739.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org


Joan's eyewitness is very moving..

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Remembering Bloody Sunday: Thousands Mark 40th Anniversary of Selma Voting Rights March
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/07/1449252
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


Today is the fortieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday - the historic voting rights march in Selma, Alabama when used billy clubs, tears gas and cattle prods to stop some 600 black marchers from reaching Montgomery in a bid for voting rights. We go to Selma, Alabama to speak with Joanne Bland, of the National Voting Rights Museum who attended the march 40 years ago. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/07/1449252

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 18:30:31 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:31:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Harsh Medicine: New York Times Exposes How Private
	Health Care in Jails Can Be a "Death Sentence" for Prisoners
Message-ID: <20050308023031.25060.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

for profit-organizations rule today..abuse anywhere is abuse


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Harsh Medicine: New York Times Exposes How Private Health Care in Jails Can Be a "Death Sentence" for Prisoners
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/04/1437213
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


We take an in-depth look at the for-profit health care in prison and jails in this country. The New York Times published a series titled "Harsh Medicine" based on a yearlong investigation of Prison Health Services, the nation's largest for-profit provider of prisoner medical care, that exposes how inadequate care has resulted in death and suicides by prisoners. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/04/1437213

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 18:33:43 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:35:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. Court Reverses $54M Verdict Against Salvadoran
	Generals Convicted of Torture
Message-ID: <20050308023343.25299.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

10 years and you have no case..and we still have open Nazi cases for artwork..$ vs torture.. ah so..


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  U.S. Court Reverses $54M Verdict Against Salvadoran Generals Convicted of Torture
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/02/154213
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


A 54.6 million dollar verdict against two retired Salvadoran generals accused of torture in their home country two decades ago was reversed this week by a federal appeals court which ruled that the victim's claims failed to meet a 10-year statute-of-limitations rule. We speak with one of the plaintiffs in the case who was tortured in El Salvador and one the lawyers in the suit. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/02/154213

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 18:36:45 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:38:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Leading Syrian Human Rights Lawyer Blasts U.S. Foreign
	Policy of "Empire" in the Middle East
Message-ID: <20050308023645.25763.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

so who's moving in ? France ? atleast they've always felt Lebanon was enough "theirs" to try and protect it. What's up lately w/ Libya ?


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Leading Syrian Human Rights Lawyer Blasts U.S. Foreign Policy of "Empire" in the Middle East
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/03/1524233
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


As Washington's rhetoric towards Syria grows more hostile, we turn to a perspective seldom heard in corporate media: the perspective of Syrians who are not government officials. We go to Damascus to speak with Haythem al-Maleh, one of Syria's leading human rights lawyers. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/03/1524233

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 18:42:38 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:44:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Annan demands Darfur resolution
Message-ID: <20050308_024238_021587.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
why does everyone forget Africa, Asia ? 2 million fleeing and 80 million due for AIDs..
China and India how many for AIDs? any figures?

are we keeping notes ? presenting a front?

** Annan demands Darfur resolution **
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan tells Security Council members to do more to end "appalling" crimes in Darfur.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4327693.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar  7 18:44:05 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar  7 18:45:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Hunting for tiger poachers
Message-ID: <20050308_024405_090623.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
Tiger lovers unite !

** Hunting for tiger poachers **
The Tiger has just been voted man's most popular species, but ironically the tiger's greatest enemy is man.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/this_world/4305239.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar  7 19:39:41 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar  7 19:41:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] William Dowell on George Bush's Wahabbis
Message-ID: <BE525E7D.1EE9B%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Tomgram: William Dowell on George Bush's Wahabbis

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2244

Whether the Ten Commandments, graven in stone, sit on a lawn by a government
building or in a courthouse, isn't for me exactly a life-and-death issue --
and I think I'm not alone on this, which is why the Ten Commandments cases
at the Supreme Court right now are so dangerous. The Bush administration and
its various fundamentalist allies (religious and political) have proven
especially skilled at finding wedge issues that, because they only seem to
go so far, successfully challenge and blur previous distinctions, thereby
opening yet more possibilities. The Supreme Court's decision in these
particular cases holds great promise for further blurring the lines that
once separated church and state in our country.

We're in a period, of course, when lines of every sort, involving civil
rights, privacy, foreign and domestic spying, presidential power,
Congressional rules, the checks-and-balances that once were such a proud
part of our political system, and so many other matters are blurring
radically. We also have a President who is in the process of casting off the
constraints of any presidency, while placing religion with powerful emphasis
at the very center of Washington's new political culture. He is now adored,
if not essentially worshipped, by his followers as he travels the country
dropping in at carefully vetted "town meetings"; and the adoration is often
not just of him as a political leader but as a religious one, as a
manifestation of God's design for us. It's in this context that the modest
Ten Commandments cases are being heard; in the context, that is, of the
destruction of what's left of an authentic American republican (rather than
Republican) culture.

Below, William Dowell, a former Time magazine Middle Eastern correspondent
and, at present, editor of the Global Beat ("resources for the global
journalist"), a weekly on-line review of international security affairs
published by New York University's Center for War, Peace, and the News
Media, widens the religious lens to include the Middle East and so suggests
another context in which the Ten Commandments cases might be considered. (A
shorter version of this piece will appear Tuesday, March 8 on the op-ed page
of the Los Angeles Times.) Tom

    American Wahabbis and the Ten Commandments
    By William Thatcher Dowell

    For anyone who actually reads the Bible, there is a certain irony in the
current debate over installing the Ten Commandments in public buildings. As
everyone knows, the second commandment in the King James edition of the
Bible states quite clearly: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,
or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
below, or that is in the water under the earth." It is doubtful that the
prohibition on "graven images" was really concerned with images like the
engraving of George Washington on the dollar bill. Rather it cautions
against endowing a physical object, be it a "golden calf" or a two-ton slab
of granite, with spiritual power.

    In short, it is the spirit of the commandments, not their physical
representation in stone or even on a parchment behind a glass frame, which
is important. In trying to publicize the commandments, the self-styled
Christian Right has essentially forgotten what they are really about. It has
also overlooked the fact that there are several different versions of them.
The King James Bible lists three: Exodus 20:2-17, Exodus 34: 12-26, and
Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Catholic Bibles and the Jewish Torah also offer
variants.

    If the commandants are indeed to be green-lighted for our official
landscape, however, let's at least remember that Christianity did not exist
when the commandments were given. It might then seem more consistent to go
with the Hebrew version rather than any modified Christian version adopted
thousands of years after Moses lived. Since the Catholic Church predates the
Protestant Reformation, it would again make more sense to go with the
Catholic version than later revisions.

    It is just this kind of theological debate which has been responsible
for massacres carried out in the name of religion over thousands of years.
It was, in fact, the mindless slaughter resulting from King Charles' efforts
to impose the Church of England's prayer book on Calvinist Scots in the 17th
century which played an important role in convincing the founding fathers to
choose a secular form of government clearly separating church and state.
They were not the first to recognize the wisdom in that approach. Jesus
Christ, after all, advised his followers to render unto Caesar what was
Caesar's due and unto God that which was due God.

    The current debate, of course, has little to do with genuine religion.
What it is really about is an effort to assert a cultural point of view. It
is part of a reaction against social change, an American counter-reformation
of sorts against the way our society has been evolving, and ultimately
against the negative fallout that is inevitable when change comes too
rapidly. The people pushing to blur the boundaries between church and state
are many of the same who so fervently back the National Rifle Association
and want to crack down on immigration. They feel that they are the ones
losing out, much as, in the Middle East, Islamic fundamentalists fear they
are losing out -- and their reactions are remarkably similar. In the Arab
Middle East and Iran, the response is an insistence on the establishment of
Islamic Law as the basis for political life; while in Israel, an
increasingly reactionary interpretation of Jewish law which, taken to
orthodox extremes, rejects marriages by reform Jewish rabbis in America, has
settled over public life.

    In a strange way, George Bush may now find himself in the same kind of
trap that ensnared Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. To gain
political support, Saud mobilized the fanatical, ultra-religious Wahabbi
movement -- the same movement which is spiritually at the core of al-Qaeda.
Once the bargain was done, the Saudi Royal Family repeatedly found itself
held political hostage to an extremist, barely controllable movement
populated by radical ideologues. Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has
found himself in a similar situation, drawing political power from the swing
votes of the ultra-orthodox rightwing religious and fanatical settler's
movement, and then finding his options limited by their obstinacy to change.
President Bush has spent the last several months cajoling evangelicals and
trying to pay off the political bill for their support.

    In Saudi Arabia, the Wahabbis consider themselves ultra-religious, but
what really drives their passions is a deep sense of grievance and an
underlying conviction that a return to spiritual purity will restore the
lost power they believe once belonged to their forefathers. The extremism
that delights in stoning a woman to death for adultery or severing the hand
of a vagrant accused of stealing depends on extreme interpretations of texts
that are at best ambiguous. What is at stake is not so much service to God,
as convincing oneself that it is still possible to enforce draconian
discipline in a world that seems increasingly chaotic. We joke about a
hassled husband kicking his dog to show he still has power. In the Middle
East, it is often women who bear the brunt of the impotence of men. Nothing
in the Koran calls for the mistreatment of women or even asks that a woman
wear a veil. What is at stake here is not religion, but power, and who has a
right to it.

    The Christian Right, the evangelical movement that provided the added
push needed to nudge President Bush past a tight election, is equally prone
to selective interpretations of scripture. The Ten Commandments are used as
a wedge to put across what is essentially a cultural protest against social
change, but in the bitter disputes that have followed these seemingly
ridiculous arguments the message of the commandments is usually lost. The
Christian Right pretends to be concerned about the life of an unborn fetus,
but expresses little interest for the fate of the living child who emerges
from an unwanted pregnancy, and is even ready to kill or at least destroy
the careers of those who do not agree with them. Although the commandments
prohibit killing, and Christ advised his followers to leave vengeance to
God, the fundamentalists seem to delight in the death penalty, and in
reducing welfare support to unwed mothers who are struggling to deal with
the results of pregnancies that they could not control and never wanted to
have.

    In the United States as in the Middle East, the core of this Puritanism
stems from a nostalgia for an imaginary past ? in our case, a belief that
the U.S. was a wonderful place when it was peopled mostly by pioneers who
came from good northern European stock, who knew right from wrong, and
weren't afraid to back up their beliefs with a gun, or by going to war, if
they needed to.

    The founding fathers, of course, had a very different vision. They had
seen the damage caused by the arcane disputes which triggered the religious
wars of the seventeenth century. They preferred the ideas of the secular
enlightenment, which instead of forcing men to accept the religious
interpretations of other men, provided the space and security for each man
to seek God in his own way.

    The idea that religious values should affect, and indeed control
politics, is something that you hear quite often in the Islamic world. But
perhaps the strongest rationale for separating these two dimensions of our
daily lives is that politics inevitably involves compromise, while religion
involves a spiritual ideal in which compromise can be fatal. The conflict is
easy to see in contemporary Iran. Iran's rulers have had to choose whether
they consider politics or religion to be most important. Ayatollah Khomeini
himself once stated that if forced to choose between Islamic law and Islamic
rule, he would choose Islamic rule. The effect of that decision was to
betray Islamic law and ultimately God. Iran's genuine Islamic scholars have
found themselves under continual pressure to change their understanding of
God in order to conform to political realities.

    The appointment of Ayatollah Sayyid al Khamenei to replace Khomeini as
the supreme guide, is a case in point. Khamenei's credentials as a religious
thinker are comparable to a number of other Iranian ayatollahs. But his real
power stems from his political status. Because of that, he is in a position
to affect and ultimately censor the religious writings of religious scholars
who may be more thoughtful than he is, but whose thinking is considered
threatening to Khamenei's vision of a theocratic state.

    Politics inevitably trumps religion when the two domains are merged.
Religion, when incorporated into a political structure, is almost invariably
diluted and deformed, and ultimately loses its most essential power. Worse,
as we have seen recently in the Islamic world (as in the Spanish Inquisition
and the Salem witch trials in the Christian world), a fanatical passion for
one's own interpretation of justice often leads to horror -- as in the
obsession of some practitioners of Sharia law to engage such punishments as
amputations or stoning women to death.

    The fact is that, as Saint Paul so eloquently put it, "Now we see
through a glass darkly." We have a great deal of religious experience behind
us, but only God can understand to the full extent what it really means. Men
have their interpretations, but they are only human and, by their nature,
they are flawed. We see a part of what is there -- but only a part. In that
context, isn't it best to keep our minds open, the Ten Commandants in
whatever version out of our public buildings or off our governmental lawns,
and to lead by example rather than pressuring others to see life the way we
do. As Christ once put it, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

    William Thatcher Dowell is the editor of the Global Beat, a review of
international security affairs published weekly over the internet by New
York University's Center for War, Peace, and the News Media. He has worked
for NBC News, ABC News, and TIME magazine. He was a Middle East
correspondent based in Cairo for TIME from 1989 through 1993.

Copyright 2005 William Thatcher Dowell
E-mail to a Friend

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
posted March 7, 2005 at 8:24 pm
     
             
-
     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar  7 19:42:29 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar  7 19:43:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. Must Address Global Warming,
	Bush Ally Says     Reuters 
Message-ID: <BE525F25.1EE9C%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    U.S. Must Address Global Warming, Bush Ally Says
    Reuters

    Friday 04 March 2005

    Houston - Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, a close ally of
the Bush family, broke ranks with the Bush administration Thursday and
called for the United States to get serious about global warming.

    Baker, in a speech to an audience that included a number of oil company
executives, said "orderly" change to alternative energy was needed.

    "It may surprise you a little bit, but maybe it's because I'm a hunter
and a fisherman, but I think we need to a pay a little more attention to
what we need to do to protect our environment," he told the Houston Forum
Club.

    "When you have energy companies like Shell and British Petroleum, both
of which are perhaps represented in this room, saying there is a problem
with excess carbon dioxide emission, I think we ought to listen," Baker
said.

    Baker ran presidential campaigns for George Bush and served in his
Cabinet and led George W. Bush's controversial legal fight to win the
Florida vote in the 2000 election.

    The current Bush administration has been skeptical about global warming
and refused to sign on to the international Kyoto Treaty to combat climate
change, saying it would hurt the U.S. economy.

    Baker said he agreed with the decision not to join Kyoto, calling it "a
lousy treaty" because it did not include China and India.

    But he said he supported "a gradual and orderly transition" to new
fuels.

    "I think we need to go forward with some sort of gradual, resourceful
search for alternative sources," Baker said.

    Many scientists blame the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil
for creating a "greenhouse" effect that is warming the world climate.

    The United States is the leading oil consumer and top producer of
greenhouse gases. Most U.S. energy companies reject the idea that global
warming is occurring.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar  7 21:05:46 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar  7 21:07:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Negroponte's Dark Past
Message-ID: <BE5272AA.1EEA9%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Negroponte's Dark Past
    By Robert Parry
    In These Times

    Wednesday 03 March 2005

    The case against Bush's new intelligence czar.

    George W. Bush's choice of John Negroponte to be the first U.S.
intelligence czar signals that Washington is heading down the same road that
has led to earlier American intelligence failures and controversies - from
politicizing analysis to winking at human rights abuses.

    Although Negroponte's nomination is expected to sail through the Senate,
one question that might be worth asking about his tenure as U.S. ambassador
to Honduras from 1981 to 1985 is: "Were you oblivious to the Honduran
military's human rights violations and drug trafficking, or did you just
ignore these problems for geopolitical reasons?"

    Negroponte either oversaw a stunningly inept U.S. intelligence operation
at the embassy in Tegucigalpa - missing major events occurring under his
nose - or he tolerated atrocities that included torture, rape and murder,
while slanting intelligence reports to please his superiors in Washington.

    Whichever it is - incompetence or complicity - it is hard to understand
how Negroponte, the current U.S. ambassador to Iraq, can be expected to fix
the intelligence flaws revealed by the Bush administration's failure to
connect the dots before the 9/11 terror attacks or to avert the scandalous
use of torture on Muslim suspects captured in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    Despite the bipartisan praise Negroponte's nomination has elicited, a
clear-eyed look at his record suggests that the Bush administration intends
to continue making two demands on the U.S. intelligence community: that
analysts wear rose-colored glasses when assessing U.S. policies and that
field operatives turn a blind eye to atrocities committed by U.S. allies or
American interrogators.

    A History of Oversight

    Given the human rights records of the Honduran military and the
Nicaraguan contras who set up shop in Honduras during Negroponte's tenure as
ambassador the early '80s, he will have no moral standing as a public
official who repudiates abusive interrogation techniques and brutal
counterinsurgency tactics. Indeed, some cynics might suggest that's one of
the reasons Bush picked him.

    Negroponte's work in Honduras means, too, that he will come to his new
job with a history of forwarding inaccurate intelligence to Washington and
leaving out information that would have upset the upper echelon of the
Reagan-Bush administration. For his part, Negroponte, who is now 65, has
staunchly denied knowledge of "death squad" operations by the Honduran
military in the '80s.

    In 1983, in another move that helped the Honduran military and the
contras, the Reagan-Bush administration closed down the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) office at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa,
just as Honduras was emerging as an important base for cocaine
transshipments to the United States.

    "Elements of the Honduran military were involved ... in the protection
of drug traffickers from 1980 on," is how a Senate Foreign Relations
investigative report, issued in 1989 by a subcommittee headed by Sen. John
Kerry, put it. "These activities were reported to appropriate U.S.
government officials throughout the period. Instead of moving decisively to
close down the drug trafficking by stepping up the DEA presence in the
country and using the foreign assistance the United States was extending to
the Hondurans as a lever, the United States closed the DEA office in
Tegucigalpa and appears to have ignored the issue."

    It's unclear what role Negroponte played in shutting down the DEA office
in Honduras during his time as U.S. ambassador, but it is hard to imagine
that a step of that significance could have occurred without at least his
acquiescence.

    Negroponte's ambassadorship also coincided with the evolution of the
Nicaraguan contra forces from a small band under the tutelage of Argentine
intelligence officers into an irregular army supported by the CIA, and later
by a secret operation inside the White House run by National Security
Council aide Oliver North.

    Recent Revelations

    Despite several investigations into what became known as the Iran-Contra
scandal, many documents about Negroponte's involvement remained classified,
outside public knowledge. Some of that information bubbled to the surface in
September 2001 when Negroponte was facing confirmation to be Bush's
ambassador to the United Nations.

    In a Senate floor speech before Negroponte won confirmation, Sen.
Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said, "The picture that emerges in analyzing this
new information is a troubling one." Summarizing the new documents from the
State Department and CIA, Dodd said the evidence pointed to the fact that
from 1980 to 1984, the Honduran military committed most of the country's
hundreds of human rights abuses. The documents reported that some Honduran
military units, trained by the United States, were implicated in "death
squad" operations that employed counterterrorist tactics, including torture,
rape, and assassinations against people suspected of supporting leftist
guerrillas in El Salvador or leftist movements in Honduras.

    Dodd criticized Negroponte's earlier Senate testimony. In response to
questions about one of these units, Battalion 316, Negroponte had said, "I
have never seen any convincing substantiation that they were involved in
death squad-type activities."

    "Given what we know about the extent and nature of Honduran human rights
abuses, to say that Mr. Negroponte was less than forthcoming in his
responses to my questions is being generous," said Dodd. "I was also
troubled by Ambassador Negroponte's unwillingness to admit that - as a
consequence of other U.S. policy priorities - the U.S. Embassy, by acts of
omissions, end[ed] up shading the truth about the extent and nature of
ongoing human rights abuses in the 1980s."

    "The Inter-American Court of Human Rights had no such reluctance in
assigning blame to the Honduran government during its adjudication of a case
brought against the government of Honduras [in 1987]," Dodd said. "The Court
found that 'a practice of disappearances carried out or tolerated by
Honduran officials existed between 1981-84' ? Based upon an extensive review
of U.S. intelligence information by the CIA Working Group in 1996, the CIA
is prepared to stipulate that 'during the 1980-84 period, the Honduran
military committed most of the hundreds of human rights abuses reported in
Honduras. These abuses were often politically motivated and officially
sanctioned.' "

    However, when Bush nominated Negroponte to be ambassador to Iraq in
2004, Dodd and other Democrats largely dropped their objections. The
National Catholic Reporter, which had covered the right-wing persecution of
Catholic clergy in Central America during the '80s, was one of the few
publications still questioning Negroponte's fitness.

    In an April 2004 article, the magazine recounted a statement from
Society of Helpers' Sister Laetitia Bordes, who had gone to Honduras and
approached Negroponte about the "disappearances" of 32 women who had fled to
Honduras after rightist death squads in El Salvador assassinated Catholic
Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980.

    Later, these women, including one who had been Romero's secretary, "were
forcibly taken from their living quarters in Tegucigalpa, pushed into a van
and disappeared," Sister Laetitia Bordes said. "John Negroponte listened to
us as we exposed the facts. ? Negroponte denied any knowledge of the
whereabouts of these women. He insisted that the U.S. embassy did not
interfere in the affairs of the Honduran government."

    The National Catholic Reporter noted, "Years later, the Baltimore Sun
would reveal that Negroponte apparently knew more than he was letting on. In
fact, charge his many critics, the ambassador oversaw an exponential
increase in military aid to the Honduran army, deceptively downplayed human
rights violations, and played a key role in supporting the activities of
Battalion 316, a CIA-backed Honduran-based regional counterinsurgency unit
subsequently found to be among the cruelest of the cruel."

    Many congressional Democrats, as well as Republicans, consider those
two-decade-old concerns about Central America stale and irrelevant to
Negroponte's nomination as the nation's first National Intelligence
Director. But his tenure as ambassador to Honduras raises questions not only
about his moral judgment and integrity, but his capacity to assess
information and to ensure that political pressures don't influence
intelligence reporting.

    As the first person chosen to hold this post - with oversight
responsibility for all U.S. intelligence activities - Negroponte might
legitimately be expected to represent something other than tolerance of
death squads and politicization of intelligence information.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar  7 21:21:43 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar  7 21:23:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Alternet: Intelligence, Inc.
Message-ID: <200503080521.j285Lhga019126@alternet.org>


This story has been forwarded to you from
http://www.alternet.org by michael@intrafi.com



-------------------------------------
Intelligence, Inc.
http://www.alternet.org/story/21422

The privatization of military intelligence and interrogation has been a booming business. It may also be the cause of the prison scandals in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.
-------------------------------------

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar  7 21:23:31 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar  7 21:24:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Who Owns What?
Message-ID: <BE5276D3.1EEAD%michael@michaelbutler.com>

AlterNet
Who Owns What?
By David Morris, AlterNet
Posted on March 7, 2005, Printed on March 7, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/21408/

In his second Inaugural Address, President George W. Bush declared once
again his desire to "build an ownership society.?

"By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny," he explained,
"we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear, and
make our society more prosperous and just and equal."

Millions of words have been written about how the president intends to
achieve his goals. I'll refrain from adding to that output. For I'm still
bewildered by Bush's bizarre definition of "ownership."

President Bush certainly does not believe one should be able to "own" one's
body, certainly the most essential of all forms of ownership. He's sent
federal agents into California to arrest a woman trying to reduce chronic
pain by using a plant (marijuana) grown in her own backyard, an act the good
citizens of California had declared legal by direct vote.

President Bush believes people can ? and perhaps should ? lose their jobs
because of what they do in the privacy of their bedrooms. He has moved
aggressively to overturn state laws allowing the aged to die with dignity
under their own control.

Ownership of personal information? President Bush opposes policies that
require companies to gain permission before they use my personal information
for private gain.

Ownership of public information? The Bush administration has restricted
access to public information ? information the public has paid to gather ?
to an unprecedented degree. In his first two years in office, for example,
he classified more than 4 times the number of documents as Bill Clinton did
in his first two years.

Bush does seek to increase home ownership. Every president since Franklin
Roosevelt has sought to do so. None has done so little to make that happen
as George W. Bush.

The debate about Social Security illustrates the kind of ownership Bush
views as central to his vision of the ownership society. His proposed Social
Security reform, the centerpiece of his second term in office, will enable
Americans to own shares in huge mutual funds that hold a portfolio of shares
in many corporations.

This is a trivial form of ownership. It's more like having a piece of the
action than having any of the rights or responsibilities that we normally
associate with genuine ownership.

There are, of course, many forms of business ownership. Some, like local
ownership, cooperative ownership, worker ownership, or municipal ownership,
allow individuals to participate directly in decision-making. These are
structures where the loci of authority and responsibility merge. Bush's
policies, on the other hand, vigorously support another less sanguine form
of ownership ? huge, absentee-owned, business structures where those who
make the decisions are very distant from those who feel the impact of those
decisions.

In the end, President Bush's ownership society turns the word "ownership" on
its head.

He firmly believes that we don't own those things that most of us would
indisputably believe we do own ? our bodies, our privacy, our dignity, our
bedrooms. And to add insult to injury, he just as firmly believes that we
can own those things that most of us would argue are not ours to own ? air,
words, folklore.

Over one of the entrances to the massive federal Department of Commerce
building in Washington is an apt and instructive quote from Abraham Lincoln.
"Patents fuel the fire of genius." The patent and copyright systems were
begun so that one could monetarily benefit from a successful invention or
work. But today copyright has been extended far beyond the life of the
original genius, and even, in many cases, the life of his or her heirs. This
is a destructive, indeed dangerous, form of ownership that cannot be
justified on the basis of its encouraging innovation.

In his marvelous recent book, Brand Name Bullies, David Bollier, a fellow at
the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California, offers
abundant examples of the weird nature of the kinds of ownership George Bush
vigorously endorses.

One of the most instructive occurred a few years ago. The American Society
of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) sent out letters to 288 camps
in the American Camping Association, demanding that Brownies and Girl Scouts
stop singing copyrighted songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" or "Row, Row, Row
Your Boat? unless the camping groups ponied up thousands of dollars in
licensing fees.

Bollier, and Peter Barnes and Jonathan Rowe and Larry Lessig and many
others, propose that when George W. Bush talks about the ownership of
property, we engage the discussion by talking about the commons, that is,
property owned in common for all to use sustainably.

Bollier asks, "Who owns the internet? Who owns online knowledge? Who owns
words, letters, and smells? Who owns the fictional characters of mass
culture? Rather than granting ?fair use? exceptions to the default norm of
property ownership (on a parsimonious, case-by-case basis!), the commons
reverses the terms of debate. It asserts that many cultural and creative
intangibles presumptively belong to all of us, and that a strong case must
be made before exclusive rights to privatize them are granted."

Under George W. Bush's ownership society, a person wracked with debilitating
pain does not "own" the right to go into her backyard, pick a plant and eat
it to alleviate that pain. But a non-person ? a corporation ? like McDonalds
has the right to "own" phrases like "Play and fun for everyone" and, "Hey,
it could happen."

There is a word that describes this kind of thinking and the person who
engages in it. Unbalanced.

? 2005 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/21408/

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar  7 21:26:38 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar  7 21:28:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Wanted: Dirty Rotten Scoundrel
Message-ID: <BE52778E.1EEAE%michael@michaelbutler.com>

AlterNet
Wanted: Dirty Rotten Scoundrel
By John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies
Posted on March 5, 2005, Printed on March 7, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/21415/

1. He would follow in the great tradition of World Bank president Robert
McNamara, who also helped kill tens of thousands of people in a poor country
most Americans couldn't find on a map before getting the job.

2. It helps to be a good liar when you run an institution with employees who
earn over $100,000 a year to pretend to help billions of people who live on
less than $1 a day.

3. With all his experience helping U.S. companies grab Iraq 's oil profits,
he's got just the right experience for doling out lucrative World Bank
contracts to U.S. businesses.

4. After predecessor James Wolfensohn blew millions of dollars on
"consultations" with citizen groups to give the appearance of openness,
Wolfowitz's tough-guy style is just what's needed to rid the World Bank of
those irritating activists.

5. Unlike former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, another one of the four
leading candidates, at least Wolfowitz hasn't failed at running a Fortune
500 company.

6. Unlike the Treasury Department's John Taylor, another leading candidate,
at least Wolfowitz doesn't want to get rid of the institution he would head.

7. While earning a University of Chicago Ph.D., he was exposed to the tenets
of market fundamentalism that have reigned at the World Bank for decades.

8. He has experience in constructing echo chambers where only the advice he
wants to hear is spoken.

9. He knows some efficient private contractors who build echo chambers for
only a few hundred billion dollars (cost plus, of course).

10. He can develop a pre-emptive poverty doctrine where the World Bank could
invade countries that fail to make themselves safe for U.S. business,
modeled on the U.S. pre-emptive war doctrine he helped craft.
? 2005 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/21415/

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Mon Mar  7 23:44:48 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Mon Mar  7 23:44:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tennis In Heaven
Message-ID: <000701c523b2$b523cba0$2c25b7d8@baby1>

Tennis In Heaven



I thought that was a much nicer title than the other one, however, this is
just a very scant addition to my lack of memory about Beth whom I mentioned
left not too long ago.  My memory is so bad sometimes, it was so long ago,
but I remember now, in high school the tennis instructor's son went on to
win State championship, and Beth went on to win Singles State Championship 3
times, then she went on to be 5th out of everyone in her age class,
nationally.  Strange little people come from this little town, like me, like
George Strait, like the guy down the street, like Beth.  I guess they come
from all kinds of little towns everywhere.  Now and then I remember those I
can.  George Strait was the first "Rock" singer I ever knew.  He had a
little rock band here in town back in high school and I'd go over to his
pop's house to watch them work out, he had hair down to his *ss and wore
paisley shirts etc, then I went away, and he just went "Country" one day,
last I heard he still had a little band together somewhere.  I told someone
out of town long time ago that George was the first Rock singer I had ever
known and he was so insulted he punched me for lying.  Oh well.  Anyway,
Beth went on to do many more things, for many more people and children, than
just play tennis, but I was just wondering tonight, again, as they put her
to rest today, that if there is tennis in Heaven, she is knocking the crap
out of the ball again right about now.  My memory popped back up again and I
remembered that the tennis instructor used to pair me up with both his son
and Beth, and I was sitting here thinking I must have been going places if I
was playing them both constantly, but then it dawned on me, he was just
letting them cut their teeth on me until they could beat the crap out of me
consistently and go on to "perfection".  For a moment, I was getting a big
head, and then I realized I was just a training device and my brain squeezed
back into my ears with a faint whimper.  Oh well, regardless, I just thought
I'd add that that little girl in high school went on to become 5th best
tennis player in her age in the nation.  I'm sure she's on to better things
now.  The end.  Back to Earth's bs again now and the madness.  It was fun
thinking about her for a few moments.



Cheeseburger

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar  8 03:16:11 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar  8 03:15:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] William Dowell on George Bush's Wahabbis
Message-ID: <000701c523d0$3c7075a0$2c25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  William Dowell on George Bush's Wahabbis



Good article.  Makes sense to me.  Makes sense to a lot of people.  Funny
how things like Pure Logic do that sometimes.  I will just remind Mr.
Dowell, however, not that he needs reminding, but the "Christian Right" are
still the same people who were standing there shouting "Go ahead, Moses,
we're thirsty, knock the crap out of that rock...".  All the articles and
words in the world will not change that permanently imbedded characteristic
anytime soon.  And they still control about 25 million votes.  They haven't
had this much fun in a long time.  They're not about to let go of the
joystick anytime in the near future.



Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar  8 03:38:48 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar  8 03:40:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32184722.1110281928531.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Critic of U.N. Named Envoy
 
 By Glenn Kessler  and Colum Lynch
 
  President Bush named Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton yesterday as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a surprise choice that would send an outspoken critic of the world body's effectiveness to its inner councils.
 
 Bolton's government experience stretches through three Republican administrations, and his tough language and willingness to eschew diplomatic niceties have earned him both fans and critics overseas and in the bureaucracy. In Bush's first term, he proved to be highly effective at advancing his strong conservative views within the administration, even when he was at odds with then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and much of the State Department.
 
 The post requires Senate confirmation, and Democrats immediately signaled they would wage a spirited confirmation battle. Forty-three Democrats voted against his nomination as undersecretary for arms control four years ago; even some Republicans privately expressed dismay at Bolton's elevation yesterday.
 
 Some U.N. diplomats said they were surprised. European officials said they were puzzled at how the appointment meshed with the administration's recent efforts at consultative diplomacy.
 
 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who announced the nomination, alluded to Bolton's reputation when she noted that "some of our best ambassadors" to the United Nations have been those with "the strongest voices," such as Jeane J. Kirkpatrick and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
 
 Bolton would replace John C. Danforth, who resigned after barely six months as ambassador. An aide to Rice, calling the appointment a "Nixon goes to China" move, said the secretary recommended Bolton to Bush several weeks ago. Rice told reporters Bolton was selected "because he knows how to get things done."
 
 Bolton acknowledged yesterday that he has written critically of the United Nations, saying one highlight of his career was his role in the successful 1991 repeal of the General Assembly 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism, "thus removing the greatest stain on the U.N.'s reputation."
 
 He said he has consistently stressed in his writings that "American leadership is critical to the success of the U.N., an effective U.N., one that is true to the original intent of its charter's framers."
 
 Bolton, 56,  served in the administration of George H.W. Bush, father of the current president, as assistant secretary of state for international organizations, and in the Reagan administration as an assistant attorney general. He keeps a mock grenade in his office, labeled "To John Bolton  --  World's Greatest Reaganite."
 
 Throughout the current administration's first term, Bolton was often at odds with the United Nations and related institutions.
 
 He spearheaded U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court, declaring that the day he signed the letter withdrawing the U.S. signature on the treaty was "the happiest moment of my government service." He was the force behind Bush's Proliferation Security Initiative, a coalition designed to halt trade in nuclear materials that bypassed the United Nations. And he pressed the administration's unsuccessful campaign to deny a third term to Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
 
 On the eve of six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear ambitions two years ago, Bolton traveled to Seoul and denounced North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in highly personal terms. He labeled Kim a "tyrannical dictator" who had made North Korea "a hellish nightmare"  --  which prompted the North Korean government to call him "human scum and bloodsucker."
 
 Bolton also frequently riled European allies with his uncompromising stands  --  and his disdain for their fledging efforts to secure an agreement with Iran to end its nuclear programs.
 
 Bolton often had tense relations with his nominal boss, Powell, though he was viewed by Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld as a loyal supporter of the president. Bolton played a key behind-the-scenes role in the 2000 Florida recount battle that secured Bush's victory. When Rice bypassed Bolton for deputy secretary of state  --  picking instead the pragmatic trade representative, Robert B. Zoellick  --  and signaled that a key aide from the National Security Council would take Bolton's arms-control portfolio, it appeared uncertain whether a sufficiently prominent spot could be found for him in the second term.
 
 Bolton was frequently mentioned as undersecretary of defense for policy, which would have kept him in the center of administration debates, frequently opposing State. In some ways, the U.N. post moves Bolton out of a direct policymaking role, though his allies predicted he would retain a prominent voice.
 
 Kirkpatrick, calling Bolton "one of the smartest people I've ever encountered in Washington," said much of his influence would depend on the personal relations Bolton has established in Washington. She noted that she was both a Cabinet member and member of the National Security Council, while Bush downgraded the position so the ambassador reports to the secretary of state.
 
 Asked if the United Nations had concerns about Bolton's history of sharply criticizing the world body, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the institution would welcome a tough reformer. "We do want to be held accountable," he said.
 
 Security Council members said they expect that Bolton would have to moderate his views on the United Nations. China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, said he was not concerned by Bolton's previous promotion of an independent Taiwan. "It's mainly the big boss that makes the agenda, not the small ones," he said.
 
 Wang, who once oversaw China's weapons-proliferation policies, said that Bolton "seemed reasonable" in negotiating sessions. "My feeling is that, of course, his chemistry is different, but I think we can we work together."
 
  Edward Luck, a U.N. expert at Columbia University, said that Bolton has been his favorite debating partner on U.N. matters. "He is very bright, capable and articulate," Luck said. "It just seems that this is an odd place for him to be deployed. He has little patience for the give-and-take of diplomacy." 
 
 Democrats acknowledge that Bolton is highly intelligent, but they have questioned his judgment. "My problem with you over the years is that you've been too competent," Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) told Bolton four years ago. "I would rather you be stupid and not very effective."
 
 Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) called the nomination "a disappointing choice and one that sends all the wrong signals."
 
 Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, did not issue a statement of support. "Don't read anything into that," spokesman Andy Fisher said, though he acknowledged that Lugar had urged Rice to submit nominees who would have "wide support" and help build a "consensus on foreign policy."
 
 Lynch reported from the United Nations.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar  8 03:41:36 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar  8 03:42:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <4448738.1110282096310.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Venom as a Prelude to New Drug Treatments
 
 By Rick Weiss
 
  Sixty million years after the earliest snakes figured out how to make venom in their salivary glands, descendants of the little mammals those snakes preyed on have begun to figure out just how the slithering reptiles did it.
 
 And while it is too late for those who, in the intervening epochs, found themselves hyperventilating, bleeding, paralyzed or worse as a result of a run-in with a pair of fangs, it is not too late for the rest of us.
 
 A better understanding of what snake venoms are -- and how snakes cooked them up over eons of evolution -- promises better antivenins for future snakebite victims. But more important, it promises new drugs  for cancer, heart disease and a variety of other ills, says Bryan Grieg Fry, a snake venom expert at the University of Melbourne in Australia. In a landmark article published this month, Fry traced the evolutionary roots of all the major poisons known to occur in snake venoms -- a feat that scientists said should facilitate a spectrum of biomedical discoveries.
 
 Already, venoms from snakes and other creatures have led to the development of important medications,  including the blood pressure drug captopril, which is a modified version of a toxin found in the green mamba of Africa.
 
 Venoms have also proved their mettle in basic biomedical research -- their ill effects sometimes offering the first clue that there are biological systems in the body no one knew about. A toxin found in the deadly many-banded krait of Southeast Asia, for example, led to the discovery of an entire component of the human nervous system that had been unknown.
 
 "Snakes are so inventive. Their venoms are a tremendous natural pharmacy," said Fry, who milks venom from 2,000 to 3,000 snakes a year and feels lucky to have been bitten only 24 times.
 
  One of those bites launched Fry on his quest to understand the origins of snake venoms and, with luck, discover new medical applications. The culprit was a rare Stephen's banded snake, which Fry was trying to capture in the Australian rain forest.
 
 "It knocked me out very quickly," Fry said. He collapsed in less than a minute. "As I was hitting the ground, I was thinking: 'Hmm, this is a rather unusual effect. If I survive this, I should be able to get a PhD out of it.' "
 
 He did. After recovering, he analyzed the snake's venom and found that it was loaded with especially potent "natriuretic peptides," the class of proteins that in many animals -- including humans -- naturally help reduce blood pressure. "This explained the ability of the snake to knock me out so quickly," Fry said.
 
 Fry went on to find that many snakes have versions of natriuretic toxins in their venoms, which are typically mixtures of toxins. He ended up with not only a doctorate but also a patent application for a version of the poison that may have potential as a treatment for congestive heart failure, a potentially fatal complication of high blood pressure.
 
 But the finding also made Fry wonder: How many other snake toxins are "evil twins" of molecules that are normally helpful or even necessary to life? Biologists had long speculated that some snake toxins are chemical relatives of pancreatic enzymes. The pancreas, after all, is famed for its ability to digest all kinds of biological tissues, and many snakebite wounds end up looking like errant acts of digestion.
 
 Might other toxins have similar roots?
 
 To find out, Fry did something that was relatively simple but that no one else had done before. He knew that snake toxins are proteins, and proteins are long strings of amino acids, whose order determines the protein's shape and function. He compiled the amino acid sequences for all 24 of the major known snake toxins and, with a computer program, compared them with the sequences of all the other known proteins in snakes and other backboned creatures.
 
 As reported in the March issue of the journal Genome Research, 23 of the 24 toxins were very close matches with proteins that have important functions in the bodies of vertebrates.
 
 Apparently snakes have "learned" to make these proteins in their salivary or venom glands. And not just the normal versions of those proteins but mutated versions that in many cases make them lethally more potent than the parent proteins.
 
 Some snakes, for example, make modified versions of chemicals that normally help nerve cells communicate with muscle cells -- and they do it so well they lock up the system, causing paralysis. Other snakes have "recruited" a protein that normally deactivates enzymes and altered it to deactivate an enzyme that mammals use defensively to break down one of the snake's toxins. Still other snakes produce mutated versions of blood-clotting factors that trigger countless small clots in the victims' blood. That uses up victims' own clotting factors and leads to deadly hemorrhaging.
 
 "They're throwing our natural clotting factors right back at us," Fry said.
 
 By comparing different versions of snake toxins that arose at various points in evolution, Fry was also able to get good estimates of which toxins appeared first. He has identified 10 that date to the earliest days of poisonous snakes. Contrary to previous wisdom, none of those are related to pancreatic enzymes, although at least one major toxin type eventually appeared from that source.
 
 Evolutionary studies also indicate that the first snake toxins appeared well before specialized delivery systems such as fangs, Fry said. At first venomous snakes developed grooves in their teeth to direct venom into a bite, and later they developed sophisticated venom pumps and fangs, including some that fold elegantly inside the mouth and others that remain rigid.
 
  Elazar Kochva, a zoologist who studies snake venoms at Tel Aviv University in Israel, praised the new analysis as "the first to show in such detail how many of these toxins are recruited from these other tissues." Kochva studies sarafotoxin from the burrowing asp. It is a potent mimic of the normal body hormone endothelin, which constricts blood vessels and can raise blood pressure to deadly heights.
 
 "It powerfully affects contraction of the heart. I can attest to that," Kochva said, adding, as an afterthought, "fortunately."
 
 For snake-venom researchers, every first-person story of a snakebite is a happy one.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar  8 03:43:34 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar  8 03:44:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <15154439.1110282214920.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Supreme Zealotry
 
 By Richard Cohen
 
    Justice Antonin Scalia, who believes in miracles, is one himself. Coming up on 20 years on the Supreme Court and many more in Washington, he nonetheless has retained the ability to write and speak in plain English. So it was no surprise that Scalia insisted last week that the Ten Commandments were not, as some argued, a mostly secular statement of only incidental religious meaning but rather a mostly religious statement of only incidental secular meaning. In the spirit of the Commandments, he told the truth.
 
  That's not always the case. The standard lie about the display of the Ten Commandments is that they are not really religious. They are supposedly akin to the phrase "In God We Trust" on the coins of the realm or even the Ten Commandments at the high court itself, a rendering abridged so that the religious content is redacted. The rest, stuff about adultery and thievery and murder, is retained  --  not that it has done much good.
 
  There is a pattern to these cases. First someone gets the bright idea to put God back in the (fill in the blank) schoolhouse, courthouse, etc. A religious display is ginned up for the occasion. A lower authority intercedes, citing the Constitution and separation of church and state. After a good deal of back and forth, the religious display is either altered or secularized by proximity to other displays. So, if it is Christmas time, we get a crèche and a figure of Rudolph. This is supposed to transform the site, keeping it religious in the eye of the average beholder but secular to a court supposedly composed entirely of dummies. It was precisely the dummy that Scalia refused to play.
 
  Scalia was, as usual, insisting on calling a spade a spade. "I mean, if you're watering it [the Ten Commandments] down to say that the only reason it's okay is it sends nothing but a secular message, I can't agree with you," he told a lawyer for the state of Texas. He then committed an additional act of candor that was more troubling than enlightening. Not only did he find the Ten Commandments to be religious, he asserted that they were "a symbol of the fact that government derives its authority from God." Oh yeah, Who says?
 
  In fact, his "fact" is not a fact at all. It cannot be proved. It is a matter of faith. It would have been one thing for Scalia to have said that the Founding Fathers probably saw things his way but it is quite another thing for him to assert a belief and call it truth. Even the signers of the Declaration of Independence might have balked at such a statement. They asserted that "governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." That is a bold statement, but not religious in the least.
 
  Scalia's candor is a wonderful thing. He is a devout Roman Catholic, and in 2002 he set out his philosophy in the journal First Things. He cited Saint Paul in Romans 13:1-5: "government . . . derives its moral authority from God." Scalia repeated that formula one way or another several times in his essay, leaving absolutely no doubt about where he stands. This is a learned and religious man.
 
  But it is not my religion  --  or maybe yours. And I wonder how Scalia himself would feel if, instead of the Ten Commandments, a representation of another religion were placed in the courthouse lobby. I wonder how he would feel if somewhere in America Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus became the majority and decided to change the prayer for the opening of court or hang a religious symbol  --  one, of course, that the jurisdiction's lawyer would say was basically secular  --  on the wall behind the judge. Would he feel comfy?
 
  Maybe. I cannot answer for Scalia. And I appreciate what he says about the benign qualities of these symbols. It's still sticks and stones that break bones, not representations  --  and proselytizing is the real issue. But that's here and now  --  and not the future. What might be coming  --  coming here and already present elsewhere  --  is something that could look more like the past, with its religious zealotry and fanatical intolerance. The "fact" that Scalia cites cannot be proved or refuted. All such "facts" are mere beliefs, hardly obnoxious to me but abhorrent to others, resistant to compromise and maybe sufficient reason for violence. Government neutrality  --  rigorous secularism  --  is the way to go. Scalia says what others will not. That's commendable. But others will do what he will not. That's frightening.
 
 cohenr@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar  8 03:44:23 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar  8 03:45:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <3018556.1110282263201.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Tough Love or Tough Luck?
 
 By Susan E. Rice
 
    President Bush has shocked even his most cynical critics by nominating the combative neoconservative John Bolton to one of our most complex and sensitive diplomatic posts: U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton served the past four years as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, though then-Secretary of State Colin Powell initially resisted his appointment.
 
  Powell's successor, Condoleezza Rice, who passed over Bolton for deputy secretary despite strong support for him from Vice President Cheney, put on a brave face yesterday in announcing his appointment to the United Nations. She stressed the administration's commitment to U.N. reform and praised Bolton as a friend of the United Nations who helped repeal the noxious General Assembly resolution equating Zionism with racism. But as Rice must know, keeping Bolton off her team at State may prove a Pyrrhic victory, if he takes his notoriously abrasive style to New York.
 
  The job of U.N. ambassador is always important and delicate, but arguably never more so than now. The United Nations is facing unprecedented, justified criticism for its role in the oil-for-food scandal and its failure to prevent peacekeepers from sexually exploiting civilians in Congo. Several Republican members of Congress are gunning for Secretary General Kofi Annan's head. In response, Annan is shaking up his management team and reminding the United States how badly it needs the United Nations.
 
  Indeed, the United States is relying on the United Nations to carry out a massive tsunami recovery effort and 17 peacekeeping missions, to support the democratization processes in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to pressure Iran to halt its nuclear program. At the 60th anniversary of its founding, the United Nations has rarely been more relevant or in greater need of reform.
 
  President Bush seems to understand this. In December he pledged three international goals for his second term. "The first great commitment," he said "is to defend our security and spread freedom by building effective multinational and multilateral institutions and supporting effective multilateral action."
 
  Is John Bolton the right man to lead this effort? Having served as assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs from 1989 to 1993, Bolton may be deemed qualified, but his record on multilateral issues is alarming. He told the Wall Street Journal that "the happiest moment of his government service" was when the Bush administration renounced the treaty on the International Criminal Court. Bolton led the administration's withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, scuttled an important biological weapons protocol and weakened an international agreement to limit small-arms trafficking. On these issues, Bolton's positions at least reflected administration policy.
 
  But Bolton holds many strong views that diverge sharply from current U.S. policy. He described the United Nations as "a great, rusting hulk of a bureaucratic superstructure . . . dealing with issues from the ridiculous to the sublime . . . ." More important, he maintains that the United States has no legal obligation to pay its U.N. dues. 
 
  Once a paid consultant to the Taiwanese government, Bolton favors Taiwan's independence and its full U.N. membership  --  a dangerous position in light of cross-straits tensions and our efforts to obtain Chinese pressure on North Korea. Will Bolton set aside his support for a Taiwanese U.N. seat while manning the U.S. seat on the Security Council?
 
  Bolton flatly opposes the use of U.N. peacekeepers in civil conflicts, because he does not deem these "threats to international peace and security." By his logic, the United Nations has no business doing peacekeeping in many places where the Bush administration has supported its  deployment of forces.
 
  Bolton has testified against U.N. involvement in Congo, an inter-state conflict that has cost 3 million lives. He blasted the United Nations' concept of operations for its Ethiopia-Eritrea operation and rejected the U.N. civil administration missions in Kosovo and East Timor. Will Bolton undergo such a conversion on the road to First Avenue that he can effectively support U.N. peace operations?
 
  Finally, Bolton criticized any " 'right of humanitarian intervention' to justify military operations to prevent ethnic cleansing or potential genocide." One must wonder how forcefully he will work to halt what the administration deems genocide in Darfur.
 
  Rice asserts that Bolton will be an outspoken, effective U.N. ambassador in the vein of Jeane  Kirkpatrick and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. If his appointment serves to bring the United Nations' most rabid critics in Congress to heel, it may have some merit. Bolton could yet surprise his skeptics by giving "tough love" a whole new definition. To do so, he will have to be for the United Nations what Richard Nixon was for China: a hard-liner who effectively forged groundbreaking change. Those of us who believe the United States needs an effective, reformed United Nations can only hope he succeeds.
 
 The writer is a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution. She was assistant secretary of state from 1997 to 2001.
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar  8 03:45:26 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar  8 03:46:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <30045375.1110282325970.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Social Security Stance Risky, Democrats Told
 
 By Dan Balz
 
  The opening round of the Social Security debate has played out just the way Democrats had hoped, with President Bush on the defensive, Republicans in Congress divided and Democrats united in their opposition to the centerpiece of Bush's plan, voluntary personal accounts.
 
 But at a time when many Democrats are congratulating one another, others are beginning to worry that their strategy of rigid opposition has not begun to pay any political dividends and that Bush could yet outflank them before this fight is over.
 
 The party's situation was posed most provocatively by two veteran Democratic strategists, Stan Greenberg and James Carville. In a memo issued last week, the two wrote: "We ask progressives to consider, why have the Republicans not crashed and burned?" 
 
 "Why has the public not taken out their anger on the congressional Republicans and the president?" they added. "We think the answer lies with voters' deeper feelings about the Democrats who appear to lack direction, conviction, values, advocacy or a larger public purpose."
 
 What worries some Democrats about the debate over Social Security is that Bush stands for something and they do not, other than opposition to the creation of private accounts. So far, party leaders believe that posture has served them well. But some Democrats fear that Bush, by having pushed for changes and by appealing to younger voters with his proposal for the accounts, will score a political victory even if he does not get the main element of his plan.
 
 Harold Ickes, White House deputy chief of staff in the Clinton administration, said that without a plan of their own, Democrats risk GOP inroads among younger voters and the potential of Bush engineering a compromise this year in which he claims victory, even in the absence of the personal accounts he has championed.
 
 Democrats are winning the fight over private accounts, Ickes said. "But if the Democratic position is we can't have private accounts but also can't have an increase in the cap [on earnings subject to the payroll tax] or the retirement age, that may be a difficult position to sustain." He added: "I couldn't predict what form it [a compromise] might take, but I think the administration has a lot at stake on the Social Security issue. . . . They are a wily group and I think they are going to come up with something to claim victory."
 
  The Democratic strategy begins with trying to force Bush to yield on the issue of private accounts. Their latest gambit came Friday, when Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) sent a letter to the White House, signed by all but three Democrats in the Senate, telling Bush they are prepared to work on a bipartisan solution to ensure Social Security's solvency that would include personal accounts outside of the retirement system. But they asked Bush to "unambiguously announce" his rejection of personal accounts in the system.
 
 One of those who signed the letter was Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), who is seen by the White House and his fellow Democrats as someone who eventually may team up with the Republicans for a compromise.
 
  Lieberman once was attracted to the kind of personal accounts Bush has proposed, funded with payroll taxes, but now opposes them. Still, he is actively working with Republicans in the Senate  --  and talking to administration officials  --  about ways to keep the system solvent. He said Democrats must do more to find a compromise with the White House. "It's not enough to oppose the president's privatization plan," Lieberman said. "We've got to come up with an alternative to protect Social Security."
 
 Asked about the prospects of Democrats starting to develop their plan, a Senate leadership aide said: "We're not there yet. We're on the cutting edge of a conversation that really hasn't begun yet. What needs to be done once and for all is to get privatization off the table before there can be serious negotiations."
 
 House Democrats remain as united as their Senate colleagues against Bush's proposal, but some of them came back from meetings with constituents in their districts urging their leadership to begin to develop a Democratic proposal for protecting Social Security. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has called for a plan to pay back money taken from Social Security funds but has not outlined how.
 
 Democrats face tough choices developing their Social Security plan. None has yet proposed rolling back Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, for example. Most serious proposals for keeping the system solvent involve either raising taxes or reducing the growth of benefits, but Democrats have not staked out positions on those either.
 
 In their analysis, Greenberg and Carville said Democrats have resisted saying there is a problem with Social Security, even though 63 percent of Americans in a recent National Public Radio poll said there was. "To say there is no problem simply puts Democrats out of the conversation for the great majority of the country that want political leaders to secure this very important government retirement program," they wrote. "Voters are looking for reform, change and new ideas but Democrats seem stuck in concrete."
 
 David Winston, a GOP pollster, said Democrats have been shortsighted in their strategy, underscoring that they have already lost the battle over defining that there is a problem. "Now we're into the second stage, which is 'Okay, what's the policy?' " he added. "Nobody has the lead on who's the right group to do the policy. Given the history on this, that's a plus for Republicans because we've been so far behind" Democrats on who has the best ideas on Social Security.
 
 Greenberg said Democrats risk a missed opportunity if they do not find their voice on Social Security. "I think Democrats should be real clear on their principles and they should broaden the agenda" to a debate over "the cost of health care, pensions and other issues that are essential to retirement," he said. "Make it a bigger battle for retirement."
 
 Bush may have underestimated Democratic resiliency on Social Security as he steps up his travel and salesmanship. But the more his plan appears to be in trouble, the more pressure will grow on Reid and Pelosi for a Democratic plan. Many Democrats are mindful that Bush has reversed course before  --  on creation of the Homeland Security Department and the commission to investigate the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001  --  and claimed political victory in the process.
 
  "Bush will not leave the table empty-handed," said Marshall Wittmann of the Democratic Leadership Council. "At some moment Democrats will have to recalibrate their strategy. For the time being Democrats have been very successful at holding a united front. The crunch time will come when Bush changes course and adopts a different target for something less than full privatization."
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar  8 03:46:43 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar  8 03:48:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14300955.1110282403539.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Tests Show King Tut Was Not Murdered
 
 By PAUL GARWOOD
 
  CAIRO, Egypt - The results of a CT scan done on King Tut's mummy indicate the boy king was not murdered, but may have suffered a badly broken leg shortly before his death at age 19 - a wound that could have become infected, Egypt's top archaeologist said Tuesday.
 
 Zahi Hawass announced the results of the CT scan about two months after it was performed on Tut's mummy.
 
 Hawass said the remains of Tutankhamun, who ruled about 3,300 years ago, showed no signs that he had been murdered - dispelling a mystery that has long surrounded the pharaoh's death.
 
 "In answer to theories that Tutankhamun was murdered, the team found no evidence for a blow to the back of the head, and no other indication of foul play," according to a statement released Tuesday by Egyptian authorities.
 
 "They also found it extremely unlikely that he suffered an accident in which he crushed his chest."
 
 Hawass said some members of the Egyptian-led research team, which included two Italian experts and one from Switzerland, interpreted a fracture to Tut's left thighbone as evidence that the king may have broken his leg badly just before he died.
 
 "Although the break itself would not have been life-threatening, infection might have set in," the statement said. "However, this part of the team believes it also possible, although less likely, that this fracture was caused by the embalmers."
 
 Some 1,700 images were taken of Tut's mummy during the 15-minute CT scan aimed at answering many of the mysteries that shrouded his life and death - including his royal lineage, his exact age at the time of his death and the reason he died.
 
 Tutankhamun is believed to have been the 12th ruler of ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. He ascended to the throne at about the age of 8 and died around 1323 B.C.
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From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar  7 17:52:25 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Tue Mar  8 04:21:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] More Pics - 1
Message-ID: <200503080215.j282Fwet029722@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

 
 
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From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar  7 17:58:55 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Tue Mar  8 04:21:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] More Pics 2
Message-ID: <200503080217.j282HN99029748@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

 
 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  8 08:39:13 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  8 08:40:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Huge Beirut protest backs Syria
Message-ID: <20050308_163913_064576.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
how many wars does Bush want ?

** Huge Beirut protest backs Syria **
Hundreds of thousands gather in Lebanon's capital to support Syria and reject Western "interference".
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4329201.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  8 08:39:56 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  8 08:41:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China unveils controversial law
Message-ID: <20050308_163956_085856.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
China wants to play with it's toys now

** China unveils controversial law **
China outlines its proposed anti-secession law, which would allow it to use force against Taiwan.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4327997.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  8 08:40:54 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  8 08:42:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China's intolerance of dissent
Message-ID: <20050308_164054_020434.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
just like our "patriot act"

** China's intolerance of dissent **
Haoyu Zhang of Chinese.com looks at China's continued intolerance of dissent.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4326341.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

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webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  8 08:42:08 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  8 08:43:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Kazakhs gain from China's oil needs
Message-ID: <20050308_164208_097055.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
all the "Stans" have natural gas as well, russia has bases there, china, & the usa as well

** Kazakhs gain from China's oil needs **
China's investment in Kazakhstan has brought prosperity - but there are fears that mass immigration will follow.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4316615.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar  8 08:42:44 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  8 08:44:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Why China matters so much
Message-ID: <20050308_164244_037907.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
learning chinese yet ?

** Why China matters so much **
China sees its emergence as an economic power marks a resumption of its rightful status, Paul Reynolds says.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4315109.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


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e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar  8 09:08:52 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar  8 09:08:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Aw Shucks, A Brief Review Of Who You're Dealing With,
	Dangit
Message-ID: <000701c52401$82a5d340$8825b7d8@baby1>

Aw Shucks, A Brief Review Of Who You're Dealing With, Dangit

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_06/004089.php


A little article (among a zillion other analysts) from June of 2004 (not
*that* long ago) by Kevin Drum, just a brief review of the 2000 Texas
Republican Party Platform.  I believe they've toned some of the language
down in the 2004 version, trying to "quaintly" blend in with the real humans
left walking the planet, but this remains, basically, who you are up
against.

The complete 2000 Platform for your perusal if you haven't seen it is at:
http://www.rlctx.org/RLCTX/Texas%20Republican%20Party%20Platform%202000.htm
But Mr. Drum has some nice insight into it at the first website.

Partial Synopsis:  If they could round up all the gay people and put them in
either little camps or to death, end abortions forever, eliminate all social
programs that help the poor or needy, abolish the EPA, HUD, HHS and the
Department Of Education, eliminate the UN, eliminate Social Security,
abolish the Federal Minimum Wage, create a complete Theocracy here to
replace whatever it is we've been living under since 1776, eliminate
separation of Church and State, teach Creationism in all Science classes,
and pre-emptively strike at anyone abroad that catches their fancy, the
world would finally be where it belongs, under their bloody thumb.

So far they're doing a bang up job.

A relentless assault on all fronts, domestically and abroad, shock and awe
to the bitter end, one misdirection on top of a myriad number of other
misdirections, endlessly, distract and keep the opposition busy, again On
All Fronts, while you undermine and destroy them completely.  Sound a little
like Terrorists, don't they...

With the actual Media complicit in the entire treasonable arrangement, the
powers of positive thinking will one day simply become something legislated
and regulated only at the whim of a Republican dominated Congress.

I know to some this is not "news", but I just thought I'd type it again as
you're feeding the bluebirds on your shoulder.

Someone here once stated something like don't worry "we" will someday get
hold of the reins of it all again.

At this rate, that remains nothing but wishful thinking.  Regardless, they
will always be waiting in the wings to retake them if ever they are wrested
from their psychotic hands.

Drum's "update" post on his original is at:

http://www.calpundit.com/archives/002388.html

I know I don't have to remind anyone that the Texas branch of the Republican
Party, among others, are the ones who put Bush, Delay, and Rove into power,
and are also the people who were able to dupe both the Hispanic vote with
the Alberto "Quaint" Gonzales nut, and 25 Million American Christians into
throwing their might behind them, but I thought I would anyway.

The rabid merciless wolves in human clothing gaining control of the hen
house has always been a treacherously infectious disease that has spread far
and wide across the planet, I just never thought we would see it gain
complete control in and of this country called America.

I stand corrected.

But I'm still standing, dammit.

All we need right about now is the GhostBusters to activate the Statue Of
Liberty to come save our *sses.

I never realized dictators were so smiley and friendly before.

Makes me want to burst into song.

"The hills are alive....  with the sound of madness....."

"Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world, red
and yellow black and white, but especially the white ones, and not the gay
ones, or the ones that need abortions, or the poor and needy ones, or the
ones that don't believe in him, or the nimby treehuggers, or the ones that
don't love war, or the scummy ones that don't want to work for a dollar an
hour, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves all the little children of
the world..."

I had a dream...  A great bird came from the sky, ate the Republican party,
and then the real music finally came back on.

And then I woke back up.





Cheeseburger

. Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes...  Are you crazy, those
are the Republican Nuts...   Oh...yeah...   Nevermind...     Fire at will,
lads.......

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar  8 09:19:27 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar  8 09:18:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re:  King Tut's Murder
Message-ID: <000d01c52402$fc722240$8825b7d8@baby1>

Re:  King Tut's Murder


====
You have been sent this message from swiggard at comcast.net as a courtesy
of washingtonpost.com

 Tests Show King Tut Was Not Murdered

 By PAUL GARWOOD
======


Pure Poppycock.  When boobery takes the form of scientific investigation.
I'm glad CT scans aren't the final bottom line of murder investigations in
the "modern world" yet.  He was offed.  I should know, I was there.  Great
new lie, though.  Thanks for the laughs.



Cheeseburger

.

From dragoncastle at cox.net  Tue Mar  8 08:57:34 2005
From: dragoncastle at cox.net (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar  8 10:09:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] MSNBC.com Article: Italy: Car carrying slain agent was
	not speeding
Message-ID: <000501c523ff$ee6e5d10$0200a8c0@Dragon>


Italy: Car carrying slain agent was not speeding
Italy's foreign minister said Tuesday that the car carrying an intelligence officer killed by U.S. fire in Iraq last week was not speeding up and did not receive signals to stop, countering suggestions by American authorities.
http://g.msn.com/0MNBUS00/2?http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7089948&&CM=EmailThis&CE=1
_____________________________
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar  7 21:53:29 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:38:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bankruptcy Bill is Congress' Shame
Message-ID: <200503081938.j28Jc0u1000995@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

(EAN members--there will be a letter in upcoming March packet on this 
legislation.  If you're not an EAN member and wanna send it let me know.)

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0307-25.htm

Published on Monday, March 7, 2005 by the Madison Capital Times / WI
Bankruptcy Bill is Congress' Shame
by Dave Zweifel
 

The Republican-dominated Congress is on the verge of changing the nation's 
bankruptcy laws to make it easier for the hugely profitable credit card 
companies to get their money back and more at the expense of the nation's 
poor.

The big banking interests have been trying - and failing - for the past four 
congressional sessions to make it more difficult for financially beleaguered 
Americans to file for bankruptcy, tipping the balance in favor of the nation's big 
financial interests.

This time, though, the legislation is all but assured of passage in both houses, 
thanks to gains made by Republicans in the 2004 elections. Wisconsin is 
playing a role in the debate. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, who represents silk-
stocking suburban Milwaukee and has long been a toady of special business 
interests, not surprisingly is leading the charge in the House.

The "reform" is ostensibly needed to counter those who are abusing the 
current system by running up large debts and then wiping them out, leaving 
banks and credit card companies high and dry.

But the extent of those abuses is open to debate. It is known, however, that 
one of the leading causes of bankruptcy, especially among Americans over 50, 
has long been devastating medical bills not covered by insurance.

This Republican-dominated Congress would rather pass legislation favoring 
the wealthy and powerful than tackle the nation's shameful health care system 
that has left 42 million Americans without any medical coverage.

The "reform" package would require bankruptcy filers to pass a means test. If 
their incomes are above a certain poverty-line linked level, they wouldn't be 
able to file under Chapter 7, where all but a few debts are wiped out. Rather, 
they would be required to file under Chapter 13, which requires specific 
payments to creditors over a set number of years.

As usual, the bankruptcy law rewrite is aimed only at the little guy. There is 
absolutely no attempt to rein in the credit card companies that shower every 
American household with dozens of enticing credit card offers every month, 
whether they are poor credit risks or college students with no income to repay 
bills.

"What the credit card industry has been doing the last 10 years is akin to 
sending free samples of alcohol to alcoholics," says Travis Plunkett, legislative 
director for the Consumer Federation of America.

All segments of society have been affected. Veterans, for example, are being 
counseled by American Legion Magazine this month about the "debt trap" from 
too much credit card use.

"Paying the minimum payment every time on a $5,000 credit card debt at 21 
percent interest will require 1,040 payments to clear the debt," the article 
points out. "Beyond the $5,000 principal balance, $32,198.66 in interest will be 
paid."

Now that's the kind of abuse that our lawmakers ought to be concerned about.

Instead, representatives like James Sensenbrenner work overtime to punish 
some poor bloke down on his or her luck so that the moneyed interests, the 
ones who grease their palms, can collect even more.

Copyright 2005 The Capital Times

------


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar  7 21:53:29 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:38:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Latin America turning left
Message-ID: <200503081938.j28JcejY001005@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Al Jazeera - March 4, 2005
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3A4E97E5-0A8F-45FF-BAE0-
A107660441E2.htm


Latin America turning left

By Gibby Zobel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Latin America is turning left. With Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas
becoming the first ever left leader in Uruguay on 1 March, more than
three quarters of the continent's 355 million people are living
under leftist governments.

Vazquez's presidential ceremony in the capital Montevideo was a roll
call of those who have turned the politics of this hemisphere upside
down in six short years:

Hugo Chavez, who won in Venezuela in 1999, Ecuador's Lucio 
Gutierrez
and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who
won in 2002 and Nestor Kirchner of Argentina who came to power in
2004.

Vazquez's symbolic first action was the full restoration of diplomatic
ties with Cuba. Fidel Castro failed to appear, citing health reasons
but promised a visit soon.

His foreign minister Felipe Perez Roque was welcomed with open 
arms.

On the horizon are potential victories for Evo Morales in Bolivia,
Michelle Bachellet in Chile's December vote and Manual Lopez 
Obrador,
the mayor of Mexico city and presidential candidate.

Former political prisoners

It all adds up to a sea change with an assortment of rebels,
guerrillas and opponents of military governments - which dominated 
the
region in the 70s - coming of age and taking control.

Uruguay's military government lasted from 1973 until a political
amnesty in 1985.

Five of the country's new ministers are former political prisoners or
exiles.

The new head of the Senate, Jose "Pepe" Mujica was held in a dried-
up
well in the ground for part of his 15 years of incarceration.

Fellow rebel of the Tupamaro National Liberation Movement, Nora
Castro, will head the House of Deputies.

Former exiles in Spain and Argentina, Reinaldo Gargano and Jose 
Diaz,
will take up the posts of foreign and interior ministers respectively.

New blood promised

It is a generation of pensioners and the 65-year-old Vazquez has
already indicated that the old guard in his cabinet will step aside to
make way for new blood by the end of 2006.

"It is with great happiness to be with all of you [new ministers] on a
day of great transition for the country," he said, adding: "I will
work tirelessly for the prosperity of the Uruguayan people."

Vazquez and Mujica were applauded by vast numbers when they 
appeared on the balcony of the independence building.

The crowd chanted "the people, united, will never be defeated",
according to the El Observador newspaper.

Career path

Vazquez, a celebrated cancer specialist, entered politics in 1987 and
had previously stood for president twice.

It was an emphatic and historic first round victory in October 2004
which broke the 180-year-old oligarchy between the Brancos and
Colorados since independence in 1825.

Uruguay, a country sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina, 
suffered
its worst economic crisis in 2002 which left a third of its population
under the poverty line.

It has the lowest birthrate, lowest population growth and oldest
population in Latin America - more than half the people are over 50.

Moreover, it has the greatest emigration rate - on average more than
100 people left each day in 2003.

Returning emigrants

But the Uruguayan community living in Argentina has begun to return
and the country is in the grip of a wave of hope.

In his first speech as president, Vazquez promised "progressive
exchange with our neighbours". Referring to the country's dark
military past, he declared that "never again we will be brothers
against brothers".

Vazquez has already announced an emergency US$100 million 
social 
plan to guarantee a basic level of nutrition and sanitation for 
excluded
communities.

Wasting no time, he has signed an energy deal with Chavez and 
launched
an investigation with Kirchner into 150 Uruguayans who 
"disappeared"
during Argentina's authoritarian rule.

United front

And all three leaders, together with Brazil's Lula, vowed to have a
united front in the face of external debt and international credit
institutions.

"The 19th was the century of Europe, the 20th was the century of the
United States and the 21st century will be that of Latin America,"
said Chavez at the ceremony.

With the exception of Chavez, the continent has undergone a soft
revolution.

Agreements with the International Monetary Fund have been kept 
and the
US appeased, but with a new focus on poverty and social 
programmes
within these constraints.

With each election, Latin America's face is changing against the
Washington consensus. Unity between the left's leaders is becoming
strengthened and they are looking wider afield, forging ties with
China, India and South Africa.

Aljazeera

***

-- 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:40:46 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:42:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bush Nominates Weapons Expert as Envoy to
	U.N.
Message-ID: <20050308194056.2CEAF1C25E@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

WASHINGTON | March 8, 2005

Bush Nominates Weapons Expert as Envoy to U.N.
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

Many diplomats expressed concern with John R. Bolton's nomination, noting that he had been scathing in his criticism of the U.N.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/politics/08bolton.html?ex=1110949200&en=f7b9caf099fb7098&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:42:30 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:44:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bankruptcy Bill Is Arena for Abortion Fight
Message-ID: <20050308194238.C21FF9FD06@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

WASHINGTON | March 8, 2005

Bankruptcy Bill Is Arena for Abortion Fight
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

A bankruptcy bill pending before the Senate is about to provide a forum for the first abortion battle of the new Congress.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/politics/08abort.html?ex=1110949200&en=78f2e65af1ded8a9&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:44:33 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:45:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Torture by Proxy
Message-ID: <20050308194434.4F2F113B7C3@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Torture by Proxy


The Bush administration has been outsourcing torture to countries with little concern for human rights, and intends to keep doing it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue1.html?ex=1110949200&en=c9cdf1db44e920e1&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:44:37 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194438.C217D11F7E9@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:44:37 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194443.CE16D388064@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:44:37 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194444.D7E103880B3@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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

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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194445.CBC7F388064@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194446.CAF301C254@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194450.C99E62062C4@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194448.40AB211F952@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194453.9ADC021F1FF@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:46:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194449.91CEB11F962@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:47:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:47:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
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OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:44:37 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:47:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rules of Engagement
Message-ID: <20050308194455.C96A51C26A@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Rules of Engagement


The rules of engagement for our military in Iraq must be clear-cut and mistake-proof enough to protect civilians if soldiers are jumpy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue2.html?ex=1110949200&en=638ec52c46f8557c&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:45:10 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:47:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Standing Up to the Credit Card Industry
Message-ID: <20050308194511.2772F3AE4B7@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Editorial: Standing Up to the Credit Card Industry


Senator Charles Schumer's challenge to the Senate bill that would roll back bankruptcy protection is a suitable rebuff to the credit card companies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08tue3.html?ex=1110949200&en=84dcae8692dcadf8&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:47:14 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:48:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Debt-Peonage Society
Message-ID: <20050308194715.7E1451645A2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Debt-Peonage Society
By PAUL KRUGMAN

An ideologically driven effort is eroding away government protection from personal misfortune.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08krugman.html?ex=1110949200&en=9671fa76e1231df3&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:50:07 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:52:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Giving Wolfowitz His Due
Message-ID: <20050308195016.A805A83DBA@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: michael@intrafi.com.

OPINION | March 8, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Giving Wolfowitz His Due
By DAVID BROOKS

Over the course of his long career, Paul Wolfowitz has always been an ardent champion of freedom.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08brooks.html?ex=1110949200&en=11bef39b63555062&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:55:40 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:57:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
Message-ID: <9938887.1110311740587.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



You have received the following link from michael@intrafi.com

 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 11:56:35 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 11:57:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Asia 
Message-ID: <20764102.1110311795649.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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You have received the following link from michael@intrafi.com

 
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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar  8 08:01:37 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar  8 12:30:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Ebrahim Yazdi to Run for President ?
In-Reply-To: <33a5fb79c24c89f5d7cac3b25afab025@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503082030.j28KUmgN001457@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 09:50:35 -0500
Subject: Ebrahim Yazdi to Run for President ?

Khaleej Times

Leading Iranian secular dissident to run for presidency
  (DPA)

8 March 2005


  TEHERAN - Leading Iranian secular dissident Ebrahim Yazdi said on
Tuesday that he would conditionally run for the presidency in elections
slated for June 17.

?Certain conditions must be first met for preparing the grounds for
decent political work,? Yazdi told reporters at a press conference.

The candidate of the Freedom Movement Party named the release of all
political prisoners, securing press freedom and increasing the power of
democratically-elected bodies as the main conditions for his
nomination.

?We must win the people?s trust and if the rulers insist on continuing
the same course as in the parliamentary elections (in February 2004),
they will commit a severe strategic mistake both internally and
externally,? warned the US-graduated Yazdi, who was foreign minister in
the early phase of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In the 2004 parliamentary elections, more than 2,000 candidates from
the reformist wing were simply disqualified by the clergy, resulting in
an easy win of the conservative wing.

During his eight-year tenure, President Mohammad Khatami, who cannot
run for a third term, has failed to realize Yazdi?s demands.

The main hurdle for Khatami and his reformist supporters for
implementing an Islamic democracy has been the influence of so-called
?appointed bodies?, consisting mainly of conservative clerics.

These bodies are not democratically elected but appointed by Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state
affairs.

The two main appointed bodies opposing Khatami?s reform movement in the
last eight years were the senate-like Guardian Council and the
judiciary.

While the Guardian Council is constitutionally authorized to veto
parliamentary bills, the judiciary has the power to close down
newspapers and arrest journalists and dissidents on charges which
reformists consider as not clearly specified in the law and therefore
not legal.

The hottest candidate for succeeding Khatami is the 70-year-old former
President Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, challenged only by reformist
candidate Mostafa Moein.

Political observers believe that, considering the crisis over the
nuclear dispute with the European Union and the United States,
Rafsanjani is the only candidate who could lead the country in what are
expected to be upcoming turbulent times.
---

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/
2005/March/middleeast_March219.xml&section=middleeast&col=



------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar  8 11:34:04 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar  8 12:31:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Halliburton operates in Iran despite sanctions !!! 
In-Reply-To: <57cf73adfaba711bf38683cf004fe094@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503082031.j28KVHXO001467@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 11:12:12 -0500
Subject: Halliburton operates in Iran despite sanctions !!!

??MSNBC

Halliburton operates in Iran despite sanctions

How do U.S. contractors legally do business there?

By Lisa Myers & the NBC investigative unit
March 8, 2005


It's just another Halliburton oil and gas operation. The company name
is emblazoned everywhere: On trucks, equipment, large storage silos and
workers' uniforms.

But this isn't Texas. It's Iran. U.S. companies aren't supposed to do
business here.?

  Yet, in January, Halliburton won a contract to drill at a huge Iranian
gas field called Pars, which an Iranian government spokesman said
"served the interests" of Iran.?

  "I am baffled that any American company would want to have employees
operating in Iran," says Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. "I would think
they'd be ashamed."?

  Halliburton says the operation ? videotaped by NBC News ? is entirely
legal. It's run by a subsidiary called "Halliburton Products and
Services Limited," based outside the U.S. In fact, the law allows
foreign subsidiaries of U.S. corporations to do business in Iran under
strict conditions.

  Other U.S. oil services companies, like Weatherford and Baker Hughes,
also are in Iran. And foreign subsidiaries of NBC's parent company,
General Electric, have sold equipment to Iran, though the company says
it will make no more sales. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)

Still, Halliburton stands out because its operations in Iran are now
under a federal criminal investigation. Government sources say the
focus is on whether the company set out to illegally evade the
sanctions imposed ten years ago.

"I am formally announcing my intention to cut off all trade and
investment with Iran," announced President Bill Clinton in 1995.

  Sources close to the Halliburton investigation tell NBC News that
after that announcement, Halliburton decided that business with Iran,
then conducted through at least five companies, would all be done
through a subsidiary incorporated in the Cayman Islands.

"It's gotten around the sanctions and the very spirit and reasons for
the sanctions," says Victor Comras, a former State Department expert on
sanctions.

For Halliburton to have done this legally, the foreign subsidiary
operating in Iran must be independent of the main operation in Texas.
Yet, when an NBC producer approached managers in Iran, he was sent to
company officials in Dubai. But they said only Halliburton headquarters
in Houston could talk about operations in Iran. Still, Halliburton
maintains its Iran subsidiary does make independent business decisions.

Why should Americans even care if U.S. companies circumvent the
sanctions?

"The purpose of these sanctions is to dissuade Iran from supporting
terrorism and from seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction,"
says Comras.

  There's a move in Congress to close the loophole.???

"We don't want American companies propping up a government that's
dedicated to our destruction," says Sen. Collins.

Halliburton says it is unfairly targeted because of politics, but
recently announced it is pulling out of Iran because the business
environment "is not conducive to our overall strategies and
objectives."

However, that exit will be slow. Halliburton announced it was leaving
Iran only three weeks after Iran announced the lucrative new gas deal,
which industry sources say will take three years to complete.
---

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7119752/

------ End of Forwarded Message

From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Tue Mar  8 10:49:41 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Tue Mar  8 13:58:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - CHINA REVEALS TAIWAN ANTI-SECESSION LAW
Message-ID: <20050308184941.410211B679@nmweb06.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
CHINA REVEALS TAIWAN ANTI-SECESSION LAW
WebPosted Tue Mar  8 06:02:34 2005

beijing---China has introduced details of a proposed anti-secession law
that would give Beijing the power to take military action to stop
Taiwan's efforts to achieve formal independence.



 INDEPTH: Taiwan


The law, read before the National People's Congress, doesn't provide
details about what might trigger China to take action against Taiwan.

"If possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely
exhausted, the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary
measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Wang
Zhaoguo, the deputy chairman of the NPC's Standing Committee told about
3,000 people gathered in the Great Hall of the People.



 FROM MAY 20, 2004: Taiwan president calls for 'new start' with China


The two have been separated since 1949, but China claims the island as
its own territory.

China has repeatedly threatened to invade if Taiwan tries to make its
independence permanent.

The new law doesn't propose new conditions or make new threats, but it
does lay out for the first time legal requirements for military action.

The proposed law, it said, was sparked by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-
bian's plan to hold a referendum on a new constitution for the island.
Chinese officials are concerned it could include a declaration of
independence.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which handles the island's relations
with China, said the law amounts to a "blank cheque" to invade.

"Our government lodges strong protest against the vicious attempt and
brutal means &#8230; to block Taiwanese from making their free choice,"
said a council statement.

Taiwan will hold large-scale military exercises from mid-April to August
to practice knocking down Chinese missiles and fighting Chinese
commandos, its defence ministry said.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar  8 15:00:00 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Tue Mar  8 15:01:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] True Majority
Message-ID: <000a01c52432$8f0f3370$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

All:

I just received this from a friend.  Not only is it fun to watch (it reminds me of Fiore's stuff...), but it seems pretty worthwhile.

Peace.

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

http://www.e-tractions.com/truemajority/run/oreo?ep=BWUZtTMzMjEiO%2FP7O%2Fof
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar  8 17:41:53 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue Mar  8 17:43:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Australian, more US abuse of Prisoners
Message-ID: <000801c52449$2e6c28e0$ad3fe440@Harold>

More embarrassing issues for the Pentagon

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12487921%255E2703,00.html

More prisoner abuse by US soldiers!

Later H

PS An army out of control, above the law !
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar  8 17:53:00 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar  8 17:54:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bolton, Out of the Blue
Message-ID: <6764986.1110333180444.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Bolton, Out of the Blue 
--------------------


March 8 2005

President Bush got good reviews in Europe last month, but his second-term diplomatic charm offensive suffered a severe setback Monday with his nomination of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton, an arms control expert with very little patience for multilateral niceties, is a leader of the administration's neoconservative hawks, who have been openly scornful of the United Nations. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-bolton8mar08,0,6304505.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar  8 18:03:07 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar  8 18:04:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Social Security Ain't Broke,
	so Bush Is Obsessed With Fixing It
Message-ID: <BE53995B.1EF58%michael@michaelbutler.com>

latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-scheer8mar08.story
ROBERT SCHEER
Social Security Ain't Broke, so Bush Is Obsessed With Fixing It
He hates government programs no matter how much good they do.
Robert Scheer

March 8, 2005

The problem with Social Security is that it isn't broken, which is precisely
why the president is so eager to destroy it. It is the continued success,
rather than failure, of the program that irks him.

As George W. Bush continues to flail at Social Security, even in the face of
increased public opposition, you have to wonder: "Why?"

The most successful safety net program in human history is currently sitting
on $1.7 trillion in reserve funds and faces a possible shortfall decades
from now, which minor corrections to the program could prevent. Yet our
president has been running around like Chicken Little telling us the sky is
falling.

So, what gives? Is this like a kid at a party whacking a pi?ata in the hope
that wondrous prizes will suddenly pour out ? such as millions in fees for
Wall Street and campaign donations for Republicans? Or is this just a fit of
rage at a target that was heretofore an unquestioned triumph of liberal
society? Perhaps it is just a devilishly clever distraction from the larger
failures of the administration's woeful domestic policies, like the
burgeoning debt and stagnant wages.

But as unpalatable as those explanations may be, I believe the real answer
is much more disturbing: The country is being led by a group of ideologues
who fanatically reject the notion that government has a role to play in
ameliorating the harshest aspects of capitalism.

For them, the mantra is "privatization," in any and all corners of society.

In fact, what the president advocates, and what powerful Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan seems to be endorsing, is a return to the purist
free-market fantasy that characterized the latter's outlook as a young
libertarian academic.

How else to explain the frantic attacks on a system that is clearly working
quite well precisely because it does redistribute income over the span of
one's life?

The elderly were once the poorest sector of the society and now, thanks to
Social Security and Medicare, they may be among the most secure. For the
average American over 65, Social Security makes up nearly 40% of income,
according to AARP, formerly known as the American Assn. of Retired Persons,
and for about 20% it is their only income. These facts alone ought to appeal
to younger taxpayers who would otherwise bear an often crushing personal
responsibility for their parents' retirement.

In Social Security's extremely cautious estimates, it would only begin
seeing actual shortfalls in 2042, and yet this can be prevented in many
ways. One, now supported by Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, would
raise the retirement age by a year. Another, suggested by AARP, would raise
the $90,000 cap on income subject to the Social Security tax to around
$140,000.

Let me go one better to suggest the heresy of removing the cap, without
increasing benefits for top earners. Make all income, even that of those
making millions of dollars a year, subject to Social Security taxes, thereby
bringing more money into the system.

Such a proposal is, of course, anathema to most post-Reagan Republicans, who
believe the government can do nothing right, all taxes are bad and that
although evolution is a crock, Darwinian selection is a grand old system for
society.

This ideological hostility to progressive taxation and income
redistributions is the real issue behind the assault on Social Security, and
it deserves to be debated head-on.

Knowing that the program is far too popular to be axed completely,
hyper-conservatives hatched this idea of diverting its funds into the stock
market. They hate the idea of all that money flowing down the food chain
instead of up ? lower- income workers get a higher rate of return on their
Social Security taxes than those better off.

Social Security-funded private accounts, on the other hand, would not
redistribute income; they simply would extend into retirement the existing
decades-old pattern of the rich getting richer, the poor doing worse and the
middle class eroding.

Let's be blunt: A progressive tax is a good thing for the very reason
libertarian and conservative ideologues think it is bad: It redistributes
income in a way that ever so slightly makes us more equal and minimally
protects the weakest among us.

Anybody who wants a democratic society cannot accept excessively uneven
income distribution. As Alexis de Tocqueville famously observed, the rule of
the majority must be rooted in a thriving middle class.

The alternative? Class warfare and socioeconomic chaos ? exactly what we
faced during the Depression when Social Security was introduced to save
capitalism.

If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at
latimes.com/archives.
TMS Reprints
Article licensing and reprint options


Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar  8 18:08:53 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue Mar  8 18:10:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Only in America
Message-ID: <000f01c5244c$f4540a70$ad3fe440@Harold>

Father charged for selling Girl Scout cookies with daughter?

http://www.wnbc.com/news/4263089/detail.html

What is happening in America?

Is it the land of idiots?

later H
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar  8 18:16:40 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar  8 18:18:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] William Dowell on George Bush's Wahabbis
Message-ID: <BE539C88.1EF5C%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Tomgram: William Dowell on George Bush's Wahabbis

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2244

Whether the Ten Commandments, graven in stone, sit on a lawn by a government
building or in a courthouse, isn't for me exactly a life-and-death issue --
and I think I'm not alone on this, which is why the Ten Commandments cases
at the Supreme Court right now are so dangerous. The Bush administration and
its various fundamentalist allies (religious and political) have proven
especially skilled at finding wedge issues that, because they only seem to
go so far, successfully challenge and blur previous distinctions, thereby
opening yet more possibilities. The Supreme Court's decision in these
particular cases holds great promise for further blurring the lines that
once separated church and state in our country.

We're in a period, of course, when lines of every sort, involving civil
rights, privacy, foreign and domestic spying, presidential power,
Congressional rules, the checks-and-balances that once were such a proud
part of our political system, and so many other matters are blurring
radically. We also have a President who is in the process of casting off the
constraints of any presidency, while placing religion with powerful emphasis
at the very center of Washington's new political culture. He is now adored,
if not essentially worshipped, by his followers as he travels the country
dropping in at carefully vetted "town meetings"; and the adoration is often
not just of him as a political leader but as a religious one, as a
manifestation of God's design for us. It's in this context that the modest
Ten Commandments cases are being heard; in the context, that is, of the
destruction of what's left of an authentic American republican (rather than
Republican) culture.

Below, William Dowell, a former Time magazine Middle Eastern correspondent
and, at present, editor of the Global Beat ("resources for the global
journalist"), a weekly on-line review of international security affairs
published by New York University's Center for War, Peace, and the News
Media, widens the religious lens to include the Middle East and so suggests
another context in which the Ten Commandments cases might be considered. (A
shorter version of this piece will appear Tuesday, March 8 on the op-ed page
of the Los Angeles Times.) Tom

    American Wahabbis and the Ten Commandments
    By William Thatcher Dowell

    For anyone who actually reads the Bible, there is a certain irony in the
current debate over installing the Ten Commandments in public buildings. As
everyone knows, the second commandment in the King James edition of the
Bible states quite clearly: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,
or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
below, or that is in the water under the earth." It is doubtful that the
prohibition on "graven images" was really concerned with images like the
engraving of George Washington on the dollar bill. Rather it cautions
against endowing a physical object, be it a "golden calf" or a two-ton slab
of granite, with spiritual power.

    In short, it is the spirit of the commandments, not their physical
representation in stone or even on a parchment behind a glass frame, which
is important. In trying to publicize the commandments, the self-styled
Christian Right has essentially forgotten what they are really about. It has
also overlooked the fact that there are several different versions of them.
The King James Bible lists three: Exodus 20:2-17, Exodus 34: 12-26, and
Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Catholic Bibles and the Jewish Torah also offer
variants.

    If the commandments are indeed to be green-lighted for our official
landscape, however, let's at least remember that Christianity did not exist
when the commandments were given. It might then seem more consistent to go
with the Hebrew version rather than any modified Christian version adopted
thousands of years after Moses lived. Since the Catholic Church predates the
Protestant Reformation, it would again make more sense to go with the
Catholic version than later revisions.

    It is just this kind of theological debate which has been responsible
for massacres carried out in the name of religion over thousands of years.
It was, in fact, the mindless slaughter resulting from King Charles' efforts
to impose the Church of England's prayer book on Calvinist Scots in the 17th
century which played an important role in convincing the founding fathers to
choose a secular form of government clearly separating church and state.
They were not the first to recognize the wisdom in that approach. Jesus
Christ, after all, advised his followers to render unto Caesar what was
Caesar's due and unto God that which was due God.

    The current debate, of course, has little to do with genuine religion.
What it is really about is an effort to assert a cultural point of view. It
is part of a reaction against social change, an American counter-reformation
of sorts against the way our society has been evolving, and ultimately
against the negative fallout that is inevitable when change comes too
rapidly. The people pushing to blur the boundaries between church and state
are many of the same who so fervently back the National Rifle Association
and want to crack down on immigration. They feel that they are the ones
losing out, much as, in the Middle East, Islamic fundamentalists fear they
are losing out -- and their reactions are remarkably similar. In the Arab
Middle East and Iran, the response is an insistence on the establishment of
Islamic Law as the basis for political life; while in Israel, an
increasingly reactionary interpretation of Jewish law which, taken to
orthodox extremes, rejects marriages by reform Jewish rabbis in America, has
settled over public life.

    In a strange way, George Bush may now find himself in the same kind of
trap that ensnared Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. To gain
political support, Saud mobilized the fanatical, ultra-religious Wahabbi
movement -- the same movement which is spiritually at the core of al-Qaeda.
Once the bargain was done, the Saudi Royal Family repeatedly found itself
held political hostage to an extremist, barely controllable movement
populated by radical ideologues. Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has
found himself in a similar situation, drawing political power from the swing
votes of the ultra-orthodox rightwing religious and fanatical settler's
movement, and then finding his options limited by their obstinacy to change.
President Bush has spent the last several months cajoling evangelicals and
trying to pay off the political bill for their support.

    In Saudi Arabia, the Wahabbis consider themselves ultra-religious, but
what really drives their passions is a deep sense of grievance and an
underlying conviction that a return to spiritual purity will restore the
lost power they believe once belonged to their forefathers. The extremism
that delights in stoning a woman to death for adultery or severing the hand
of a vagrant accused of stealing depends on extreme interpretations of texts
that are at best ambiguous. What is at stake is not so much service to God,
as convincing oneself that it is still possible to enforce draconian
discipline in a world that seems increasingly chaotic. We joke about a
hassled husband kicking his dog to show he still has power. In the Middle
East, it is often women who bear the brunt of the impotence of men. Nothing
in the Koran calls for the mistreatment of women or even asks that a woman
wear a veil. What is at stake here is not religion, but power, and who has a
right to it.

    The Christian Right, the evangelical movement that provided the added
push needed to nudge President Bush past a tight election, is equally prone
to selective interpretations of scripture. The Ten Commandments are used as
a wedge to put across what is essentially a cultural protest against social
change, but in the bitter disputes that have followed these seemingly
ridiculous arguments the message of the commandments is usually lost. The
Christian Right pretends to be concerned about the life of an unborn fetus,
but expresses little interest for the fate of the living child who emerges
from an unwanted pregnancy, and is even ready to kill or at least destroy
the careers of those who do not agree with them. Although the commandments
prohibit killing, and Christ advised his followers to leave vengeance to
God, the fundamentalists seem to delight in the death penalty, and in
reducing welfare support to unwed mothers who are struggling to deal with
the results of pregnancies that they could not control and never wanted to
have.

    In the United States as in the Middle East, the core of this Puritanism
stems from a nostalgia for an imaginary past ? in our case, a belief that
the U.S. was a wonderful place when it was peopled mostly by pioneers who
came from good northern European stock, who knew right from wrong, and
weren't afraid to back up their beliefs with a gun, or by going to war, if
they needed to.

    The founding fathers, of course, had a very different vision. They had
seen the damage caused by the arcane disputes which triggered the religious
wars of the seventeenth century. They preferred the ideas of the secular
enlightenment, which instead of forcing men to accept the religious
interpretations of other men, provided the space and security for each man
to seek God in his own way.

    The idea that religious values should affect, and indeed control
politics, is something that you hear quite often in the Islamic world. But
perhaps the strongest rationale for separating these two dimensions of our
daily lives is that politics inevitably involves compromise, while religion
involves a spiritual ideal in which compromise can be fatal. The conflict is
easy to see in contemporary Iran. Iran's rulers have had to choose whether
they consider politics or religion to be most important. Ayatollah Khomeini
himself once stated that if forced to choose between Islamic law and Islamic
rule, he would choose Islamic rule. The effect of that decision was to
betray Islamic law and ultimately God. Iran's genuine Islamic scholars have
found themselves under continual pressure to change their understanding of
God in order to conform to political realities.

    The appointment of Ayatollah Sayyid al Khamenei to replace Khomeini as
the supreme guide, is a case in point. Khamenei's credentials as a religious
thinker are comparable to a number of other Iranian ayatollahs. But his real
power stems from his political status. Because of that, he is in a position
to affect and ultimately censor the religious writings of religious scholars
who may be more thoughtful than he is, but whose thinking is considered
threatening to Khamenei's vision of a theocratic state.

    Politics inevitably trumps religion when the two domains are merged.
Religion, when incorporated into a political structure, is almost invariably
diluted and deformed, and ultimately loses its most essential power. Worse,
as we have seen recently in the Islamic world (as in the Spanish Inquisition
and the Salem witch trials in the Christian world), a fanatical passion for
one's own interpretation of justice often leads to horror -- as in the
obsession of some practitioners of Sharia law to engage such punishments as
amputations or stoning women to death.

    The fact is that, as Saint Paul so eloquently put it, "Now we see
through a glass darkly." We have a great deal of religious experience behind
us, but only God can understand to the full extent what it really means. Men
have their interpretations, but they are only human and, by their nature,
they are flawed. We see a part of what is there -- but only a part. In that
context, isn't it best to keep our minds open, the Ten Commandments in
whatever version out of our public buildings or off our governmental lawns,
and to lead by example rather than pressuring others to see life the way we
do. As Christ once put it, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

    William Thatcher Dowell is the editor of the Global Beat, a review of
international security affairs published weekly over the internet by New
York University's Center for War, Peace, and the News Media. He has worked
for NBC News, ABC News, and TIME magazine. He was a Middle East
correspondent based in Cairo for TIME from 1989 through 1993.

Copyright 2005 William Thatcher Dowell
E-mail to a Friend

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
posted March 7, 2005 at 8:24 pm
     
             
-
     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar  8 18:34:52 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold)
Date: Tue Mar  8 18:36:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Yahoo! Australia & NZ News - India,
	U.S. Moviegoers Pay Least -New Costs Index
Message-ID: <20050309023453.16FB61C226@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar  8 18:39:48 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue Mar  8 18:41:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Turkish Press
Message-ID: <001601c52451$45bc5ad0$ad3fe440@Harold>

15 headless corpses found in Iraq!

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=38252

US military under question as to conduct

Later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar  8 18:47:24 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue Mar  8 18:48:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Look what I just found on myway.com!
Message-ID: <1491452.1110336444091.JavaMail.root@mprdresin4.nwk.myway.com>

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar  8 19:17:43 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Tue Mar  8 19:19:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] To MB
Message-ID: <000601c52456$8fd8baa0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Michael:

I am back online, and ready to continue.  However, I have lost your personal e-mail address. Can you re-send to me at mine?  Thanks.

Peace.
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar  8 20:12:54 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar  8 20:14:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Prophecy of Oil
Message-ID: <BE53B7C6.1EF6F%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    The Prophecy of Oil
    By William Rivers Pitt
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Monday 07 March 2005

    On August 27, 1859, Edwin Drake's oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania
struck a gusher, making him the man credited with drilling the first
commercially successful oil well in America. In the time between then and
now, the world has burned through about 900 billion barrels of Drake's
discovery.

    Global daily oil consumption today stands at around 82 million barrels,
and many experts believe the emerging mega-industrialization of nations like
China and India will cause that daily consumption to reach at least 120
million barrels a day by the year 2030. Not to fear, however; ExxonMobil
believes there are some 14 trillion barrels still in the ground, including
nonconventional resource fields like the tar sands of Canada and
petroleum-rich shale in the western United States.

    In the last several years, a theory known as 'Peak Oil' has been working
its way into the mainstream. Chief proponent of this theory is Dr. Colin
Campbell, a retired oil-industry geologist now living in Ireland. Dr.
Campbell, who has been raising warnings about Peak Oil for some 15 years,
believes that global consumption of oil is surpassing not only the amount of
oil being pulled from the ground, not only the amount of oil left to be
found, but is also surpassing the ability of technology to compensate for
what he sees as an inevitable and looming shortfall.

    The 'peak,' believes Campbell, will come as early as next year,
heralding a steady rise in prices and the end of cheap oil as we have known
it, causing a seismic shock within the global economy. "The perception of
this decline changes the entire world we know," said Dr. Campbell in a
September 2004 report from the Wall Street Journal. "Up till now we've been
living in a world with the assumption of growth driven by oil. Now we have
to face the other side of the mountain."

    The oil industry, predictably, considers Campbell to be a doomsaying
loony, an espouser of flat-earth economics who totally discounts both the
vast amounts of oil yet to be drilled, and the ability of technology to find
more. Their argument is not without merit, as claims that the petroleum
paradigm is on the edge of extinction are as old as the industry itself.
Sixteen years after Drake's well struck oil, for example, Pennsylvania's
chief geologist warned it would soon run out. Clearly, this was not the
case. Campbell himself has not helped his credibility; the expected date of
imminent catastrophe quoted by the doctor has been pushed back with
regularity since 1990 as each non-disastrous year passes with the industry
still intact.

    More and more, however, noted energy analysts are coming to heed
Campbell's warnings. The respected Washington-based consulting firm PFC
Energy published a report endorsing his theory, noting that the exact date
of the catastrophe is less important than the fact that it is coming. PFC
was hesitant at first to hang its hat on Dr. Campbell, but came to the
conclusion that the decline in global oil discoveries has become so dramatic
that it cannot be ignored, and that this decline calls into question whether
technology can save the industry before the clock winds down to zero.

    Ultimately, the debate over whether 'Peak Oil' is a looming reality or
merely Chicken-Littlism is wide of the point the planet must come to
address. Posit for the moment that ExxonMobil and the rest of the petroleum
industry are correct in their belief that trillions of barrels of oil await
discovery and drilling, and that the petroleum paradigm is safe and secure
for centuries to come. Even if this assumption is true, the fact remains
that the paradigm itself is a suicide ride leading ever downward to danger
and, ultimately, disaster.

    No one can question the benefits oil has brought to global society. Here
in America, millions of homes are heated with oil. Millions of cars make it
easier for millions of people to get to work and take care of their
business. Millions of trucks and ships have delivered billions of tons of
produce to all points on the compass; one could argue that the defining
truth of the luxury inherent in Western society is the ability to stand in a
snowbank in Maine and enjoy a fresh pineapple from Hawaii. Millions of
people can get from New York to Los Angeles in a day, thanks to airplanes.
The incomes and livelihoods of millions - workers in industry and
agriculture and transportation and food services to name a few - depend upon
oil.

    All of these benefits, all of these achievements, along with countless
others, come from the drilling and processing of petroleum. Oil infuses
virtually every aspect of our civilization. It is the basis of the global
economy. It is the inescapable ingredient that creates, supports and
sustains the Western world as we know it.

    Yet even as oil gives generously with one hand, it takes grievously with
the other. Even if the petroleum industry is correct and there remain
trillions of barrels to be plumbed, that oil is located for the most part in
some of the most dangerous and unstable places on the planet. That danger
and instability has been created, in no small part, by the fact that oil can
be found there.

    Oil revenues fund global terrorism. Oil resources motivate wars, and
more wars, and more wars. This is the sharp other edge of the sword; if the
petroleum industry is correct and oil can be found and drilled for
generations to come, that means generations to come will be required to
share the death and destruction we endure today in the grubbing for oil.
There is no escaping this.

    Oil is dirty, and its byproducts are doing demonstrable and
ever-increasing damage to the environment which sustains life on Earth.
Thanks to tanker spills, dumping and the inevitable leakage of petroleum
byproducts from the global shipping industry, every centimeter of ocean on
the planet is covered by a microscopically thin skim of oil.

    All of the scooters, motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, airplanes, tanks,
troop transports, along with the innumerable smokestacks spewing the
byproducts of industry into the air from one side of the globe to the other,
are releasing dramatic levels of poison into the atmosphere every minute of
every day, with no letup in sight. This is chewing inexorably into planetary
stability, melting the ice caps and creating what has become known as the
greenhouse effect.

    Finally, and most importantly, our planetary addiction to oil, combined
with the incomprehensibly huge profits to be made from the development and
sale of oil, have led to the establishment of political and economic power
combines that are as dominant as petroleum itself. Governments all around
the world, most notably here in America but also in places like Saudi
Arabia, China and Russia, are either beholden to petroleum power combines or
controlled outright by them.

    When Vice President Dick Cheney, himself a creation of petroleum
combines, memorably stated that it is the God-given right of every American
to consume as much cheap gas as they can while driving the largest SUVs they
can find, he was speaking the gospel of ascendant power. Neither reasonable
argument nor empirical data can shake the faithful from this premise.

    So long as there is oil and trillions of dollars to be made from it,
this gospel will continue to be preached even as all the attendant problems
that come with oil attack the basic underpinnings of life and liberty. The
paradigm will be continued by any means necessary so long as the ones made
powerful by it reign supreme. This begets a cycle of violence, pollution,
corruption, greed and ever-increasing power for the few over the many that
has nowhere to go but, inevitably, down.

    Only a maniac would hope for the immediate collapse of the petroleum
paradigm and the social, economic and military chaos that would ensue. If
all the oil in the world disappeared tomorrow morning, millions of people
would be dead by sundown, and billions more would follow soon after into the
grave. None but the purest of psychopath would look forward to a catastrophe
of this magnitude.

    Something, however, must be done. If the 'Peak Oil' theory is an
accurate prediction of the imminent future, something must be done. If 'Peak
Oil' is only a myth, something must still be done. One way or the other,
this paradigm is going to destroy itself, and it will take a monstrous
number of people with it.

    If the powerful few who control the reins of our oil-dependant world are
smart, they will invest a considerable chunk of their profits into a crash
program to develop a new, sustainable source of energy. This program must
dwarf the Manhattan Project in scope, funding and immediacy. Human ingenuity
is boundless, and something like cold fusion merely awaits the desire and
effort to find it and make it functional.

    Those addicted to the power and profits given them by oil can patent
this new energy source and slowly but surely use it to supplant petroleum as
the dominant truth of the planet. The power and the profits will be there
for them in this, and the overhead required to locate, process and
distribute oil while killing anyone who might disrupt the flow will cease to
exist. Along the way, the air and water we need will lose its gritty,
metallic taste. In other words, nothing will change and everything will
change. While many will be justifiably outraged by an argument that
essentially advocates for the powerful to remain powerful, few other options
that do not include a global catastrophe appear to be on the table, and the
clock is running.

    Will this happen in time? Will it happen at all? It is, unfortunately,
doubtful. Among other reasons the powerful have for maintaining this smoggy
status quo is the attendant profits to be made from waging wars over oil.
The war-making business is a trillion-dollar global industry. If technology
were introduced that rendered oil obsolete, the deep well of cash to be made
by arming and training armies would become a dry hole.

    If a metaphor is needed to cement the final destination of this
paradigm, consider again Edwin Drake, who got this ball rolling 146 years
ago. Despite being the man to 'discover' petroleum, despite being the father
of what grew into a fabulously rich industry, Drake himself went broke as a
result of his overextended speculation. He died in 1880 a penniless old man.
In Drake we find the prophecy of oil, a resource that gives much but takes
more, a resourse that will leave us all sooner or later holding our empty
hands up to an empty sky.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From lyve at netzero.com  Tue Mar  8 20:25:48 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Tue Mar  8 20:28:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea C
	reatures
Message-ID: <20050308.202617.8871.99390@webmail04.nyc.untd.com>


Barbara and Cheesburger,

In Seattle there is a group that has halted the Navy from transmitting their sonar frequencies because of the death of sea creatures. I don't know the name but they are an agressive group-THANK GOD!


Lyle

-- "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com> wrote:
We environmentalists have known for years and protesting that sonar is weakening and killing the sea creatures, depending on where they are depends on the creature.

It is sad and sickening... the Navy has known and lies about it.

barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Cheeseburger
Sent: Sat, 5 Mar 2005 21:31:26 -0800
To: mb-civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea Creatures

How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea Creatures

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-stranded-dolphins,0,5860836.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines


Ah well, to sonar or not to sonar, that is the question.  Whether tis nobler
to beach 70 dolphins by using military technological capabilities and
weapons, or to catch a deep sea frogman swimming under the Atlantic for 6
months from the Middle East with C4 strapped to his wet suit, remains the
other question.

Anyways, the capabilities, not just sonar, of the military, our military,
among others, remains nothing short of phenomenal.

I really wouldn't be surprised if sometimes when you might feel you're
walking around in a daze, it has nothing to do with anything but technology
to begin with, but you'll never know, because, hmmm, you don't know in the
first place.

But that's another story.  This one is just about killing Flipper and
denying it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cover story finally emerges that they were
really after Sponge Bob and Patrick who have known ties to al-Qaeda now.

But that's another story as well.




Cheeseburger



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar  8 20:33:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Tue Mar  8 20:35:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Old but not...
Message-ID: <003001c52461$33a387f0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

I found this among my files just now.  Although the article is dated (late 1995), the subject is not: it is just as relevant - and scary - now as it was then.  It is a little lengthy, but worth the read...

Peace.

----------

"The top ten agrochemical companies control 81 percent of the $29 billion global agrochemical market.  Ten life-science companies control 37 percent of the $15 billion global seed market.  The world's top ten pharmaceutical firms control 47 percent of the $197 billion pharmaceutical market.  Ten firms control 43 percent of the $15 billion veterinary pharmaceuticals market.  Topping the life-science list are ten transnational food and drink companies, whose sales exceeded $211 billion in 1995."



Concerning the Patenting of Human Tissue, Organs and Body Parts

 

Adapted from an Article by Jeremy Rifkin,

President, Foundation on Economic Trends

 

            The concerns of critics came alive in 1993, when the Rural Advancement Foundation International, a nongovernmental organization, discovered that the U.S. government had sought both U.S. and international patents on a virus derived from the cell of a 26-year-old Guaymi Indian woman from Panama.  A researcher from the National Institutes of Health had taken a blood sample from the woman and developed a cell line.  The Guaymi cell line was of particular interest to N.I.H. researchers because members of this remote Indian community carry a unique virus that stimulates the production of antibodies that scientists believe might be useful in AIDS and leukemia research.  Upon learning about the patent application, representatives of the Guaymi General Congress in Panama waged a public protest.  Isidro Acosta, president of the Congress, said at the time that he was shocked that an august scientific body like the N.I.H. could so wantonly violate the genetic privacy of his tribe and that the U.S. government, without advising the Guaymi of its intentions, could then seek to patent a genetic trait of the Guaymi and profit from their biological inheritance in the global marketplace: "I never imagined people would patent plants and animals.  It's fundamentally immoral, contrary to the Guaymi view of nature, and our place in it.  To patent human material...to take human DNA and patent its products...that violates the integrity of life itself, and our deepest sense of morality."  The public protest forced the U.S. government to withdraw its patent application.

 

            The controversy over patenting genes from indigenous peoples flared again, however, several months later when the U.S. government filed two additional patent claims in the United States and Europe for cell lines taken from citizens of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.  When the government of the Solomon Islands issued a protest, then-Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown responded curtly:

 

            "Under our laws, as well as those of many other countries, subject matter relating to human cells is patentable and there is no provision for considerations relating to the sources of the cells that may be the subject of a patent application."

 

            In March 1995, the U.S. Patent Office issued a patent for the Papua New Guinea Human T-lymphotrophic virus (HTLV-1) to the Department of Health and Human Services, making it the first human cell line from an indigenous population to be patented.  Angry at the U.S. action, a group of South Pacific island nations prepared a joint proposal and communique that would make their sovereign space a "patent-free zone."  The United States quietly dropped the patent claim in 1996.

 

            The concentration of power is impressive.  The top ten agrochemical companies control 81 percent of the $29 billion global agrochemical market.  Ten life-science companies control 37 percent of the $15 billion global seed market.  The world's top ten pharmaceutical firms control 47 percent of the $197 billion pharmaceutical market.  Ten firms control 43 percent of the $15 billion veterinary pharmaceuticals market.  Topping the life-science list are ten transnational food and drink companies, whose sales exceeded $211 billion in 1995.



            Foreign nationals aren't the only ones whose cell lines are being patented by commercial companies in the United States.  In a precedent-setting case in California, an Alaska businessman named John Moore found his own body parts had been patented, without his knowledge, by U.C.L.A. and licensed to the Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corporation.  Moore had been diagnosed as having a rare cancer and underwent treatment at U.C.L.A.  An attending physician and university researcher discovered that Moore's spleen tissue produced a blood protein that facilitates the growth of white blood cells that are valuable anti-cancer agents.  The university created a cell line from Moore's spleen tissue and obtained a patent on its "invention" in 1984. The cell line is estimated to be worth $3 billion.

 

            Moore subsequently sued the University of California, claiming a property right over his own tissue.  In 1990 the California Supreme Court ruled against Moore, holding that he had no property right over his own body tissues.  Human body parts, the court argued, could not be bartered as a commodity in the marketplace.  However, the court did say that the "inventors" had a responsibility to inform Moore of the commercial potential of his tissue and, for that reason alone, had breached their fiduciary responsibility and might be liable for some kind of monetary damage.  Still, the court upheld the primary claim of the university that the cell line itself, while not the property of Moore, could justifiably be claimed as the property of U.C.L.A.  The irony of the decision was captured by Judge Allen Broussard in his dissenting opinion.  He wrote that:

 

            "the majority's rejection of plaintiff's conversion cause of action does not mean that body parts may not be bought and sold for research or commercial purpose or that no private individual or entity may benefit economically from the fortuitous value of plaintiff's diseased cells.  Far from elevating these biological materials above the marketplace, the majority's holding simply bars plaintiff, the source of the cells, from obtaining the benefit of the cell's value, but permits defendants, who allegedly obtained the cells from plaintiff by improper means, to retain and exploit the full economic value of their ill-gotten gains free of...liability."

 

            The extraordinary implications of privatizing the human body - parceling it out in the form of intellectual property to commercial institutions - are illustrated quite poignantly in the case of a patent awarded by the European Patent Office to a U.S. company named Biocyte.  The patent gives the firm ownership of all human blood cells that have come from the umbilical cord of a newborn child and are being used for any therapeutic purposes.  The patent is so broad that it allows this one company to refuse the use of any blood cells from the umbilical cord to any individual or institution unwilling to pay the patent fee.  Blood cells from the umbilical cord are particularly important for marrow transplants, making it a very valuable commercial asset.  It should be emphasized that this patent was awarded simply because Biocyte was able to isolate the blood cells and deep-freeze them.  The company made no change in the blood itself.  Still, the company now possesses commercial control over this part of the human body.

 

              A similarly broad patent was awarded to a U.S. firm, Systemix, of Palo Alto, California, by the U.S. Patent Office, covering all human bone-marrow stem cells.  This patent on a human body part was awarded despite the fact that Systemix had done nothing whatsoever to alter or engineer the cells.  Some, even in the medical establishment, were stunned by the Patent Office's decision.  Dr. Peter Quesenberry, the medical affairs vice chairman of the Leukemia Society of America, quipped, "Where do you draw the line?  Can you patent a hand?"

 

            It's likely that within less than ten years, the nearly 100,000 or so genes that constitute the genetic legacy of our species will be patented, making them the exclusive property of global pharmaceutical, chemical, agribusiness and biotech companies.

 

            Feminists, farmers, animal rights groups, consumer organizations, health advocates and social justice organizations around the world are coalescing into a new and powerful countervailing force to the growing genetic commerce that trades in the blueprints of life.  In May 1995 a coalition of more than 200 religious leaders, including the titular heads of virtually every major Protestant denomination, more than a hundred Catholic bishops and Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders, announced their opposition to the granting of patents on animal and human genes, organs, tissues and organisms...The coalition, the largest assemblage of U.S. religious leaders to come together on an issue of mutual interest in the twentieth century, said that the patenting of life marked the most serious challenge to the notion of God's creation in history. How can life be defined as an invention to be profited from by scientists and corporations when it is freely given as a gift of God, ask the theologians?  Either life is God's creation or a human invention, but it can't be both.  Speaking for the coalition, Jaydee Hanson, an executive with the United Methodist Church, said, "We believe that humans and animals are creations of God, not humans, and as such should not be patented as inventions."  While not all the religious leaders oppose "process" patents for the techniques used to create transgenic life forms, they are unanimous in their opposition to the patenting of the life forms and the parts themselves.  They are keenly aware of the profound consequences of shifting authorship from God to scientists and transnational companies and are determined to hold the line against any attempt by "man" to stake his own claim as the prime mover and sovereign architect of life on earth.

 

            What might it mean for subsequent generations to grow up in a world where they come to think of all life as mere invention - where the boundaries between the sacred and the profane, and between intrinsic and utility value, have all but disappeared, reducing life itself to an objectified status, devoid of any unique or essential quality that might differentiate it from the strictly mechanical?


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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:48:19 2005
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Date: Wed Mar  9 03:49:52 2005
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 Harassment Claims Roil Habitat for Humanity
 
 By Alan Cooperman
 
  AMERICUS, Ga.  --  Since Habitat for Humanity fired its founder and president, Millard Fuller, for sexual harassment six weeks ago, his supporters throughout the giant nonprofit housing organization have campaigned to reinstate him.
 
 Calling the accusation unsubstantiated and the punishment excessive, Fuller's allies have created a Web site and an online petition signed by more than 3,600 donors and volunteers who work in many of Habitat for Humanity's 2,300 independent affiliates around the world. They have conducted weekly prayer vigils in Americus, organized symbolic work stoppages at Habitat construction sites and urged major contributors to withhold gifts.
 
 Yesterday, Habitat's international board of directors unanimously reaffirmed Fuller's dismissal at the beginning of a three-day meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. Despite that vote, supporters said they will continue to push for Fuller's rehiring.
 
 But the outpouring of sympathy for Fuller, 70, has also had a reverse effect. After years of silence, several former employees and close associates of Fuller  --  including three ordained ministers  --  have come forward to say they have inside knowledge of numerous prior allegations of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment by him, beginning before he founded Habitat for Humanity here in 1976.
 
 The seven-member executive committee of Habitat for Humanity's board of directors removed Fuller as president on Jan. 31 after an accusation that he inappropriately touched and made suggestive comments to a female employee during a ride to the Atlanta airport in 2003. The committee also fired his wife, Linda Fuller, who had helped him run the organization for 29 years.
 
 The question posed by Fuller's defenders is how an organization that describes itself as a Christian ministry could dishonor a man who gave away a personal fortune and built a movement to help low-income families buy decent homes.
 
 The question posed by his accusers is how an organization devoted to the dignity of all people could, for many years, hush up allegations that its leader was demeaning women on his staff.
 
 The controversy threatens not only to sully the reputation of one of the nation's most prominent charities but also to embroil its most famous volunteer, former president Jimmy Carter, who lives nine miles west of here in Plains, Ga.
 
 Carter declined through a spokeswoman to comment on the allegations. But according to the Fullers and Habitat board members, the former president tried twice in the past year to broker an agreement to keep the latest accusation quiet and allow Fuller to retire honorably with his $79,000 annual salary for life.
 
 Carter also rose to Fuller's defense on the only previous occasion when sexual harassment charges against him became public. In 1990-91, five women who were current or former employees of Habitat told the board of directors that he had subjected them to unwanted sexual advances  --  including kissing them on the mouth and touching their buttocks  --  as well as vindictive behavior when he was rebuffed.
 
 Board members said they came close to firing Fuller. But they said that after Carter warned in a confidential letter that a "national scandal" could ensue, the directors allowed Fuller to work for a year from an outside office and then restored his duties as chief executive.
 
 In the March 26, 1990, letter, Carter said he himself was given to physical displays of affection and appreciation, such as kisses on the cheek and hugs, to women he knew professionally and socially that were sometimes not welcomed. He wrote that he shook hands with several men and hugged and kissed several women at the dedication of the John F. Kennedy Library in 1979 and that the late president's widow had "visibly flinched" at his actions.
 
 "Without minimizing in any way the significance of what has happened at Habitat, let me say quite frankly that I have had some similar kinds of relationships with some of my own female employees and associates. If one ever complained officially, there could be an avalanche of similar charges," Carter wrote in the letter, which Millard Fuller provided to The Washington Post.
 
 John Wieland, a Georgia developer who has built 26 houses for Habitat for Humanity and donated more than $500,000 to the organization, was on the board in 1990-91. "Our conclusion was that Millard was a hugger and was misinterpreted, and some people went out of their way to make something big out of something that wasn't really that big," he said.
 Clashes Over Expansion 
 In a four-hour interview at his home here, with his wife at his side, Fuller said he believes that the recent sexual harassment charge is false and was merely the pretext for his firing. He said that the real reason was tension with the 31-member board over his drive to expand Habitat's operations.
 
 "There are 190 countries in the world. We're in 100, and I want to go into the other 90," he said. "The board doesn't want to expand. They want to retrench."
 
 If the board does not rehire him, Fuller said, he will create an organization to raise money for Habitat projects, circumventing the international headquarters and dealing directly with local affiliates.
 
 Board Chairman Rey Ramsey, a Washington lawyer, acknowledged that Habitat's directors had clashed with Fuller over budgets and expansion plans. But he said those disagreements were healthy. The firing, he said, resulted from recurring allegations of sexual harassment, as well as from efforts by both of the Fullers to disparage alleged victims, intimidate staff members and pressure the board into ignoring the charges. The Fullers denied disparaging or intimidating anyone and said the board was angry with them for trying to defend themselves.
 
 Millard Fuller "has left a great legacy for Habitat, but he is not a victim of anything. He is the product of his own deeds," Ramsey said.
 Once a Millionaire 
 Fuller has told of his founding of Habitat for Humanity in several books, and it is legendary throughout the organization, which has grown from having a handful of volunteers in 1976 to an organization with a $200 million annual budget and 550 workers at the Americus headquarters.
 
 While in law school at the University of Alabama in 1957, Fuller and a classmate began a direct-mail business, selling cookbooks and candy to high school chapters of the Future Homemakers of America, which resold them at a profit. By the mid-1960s he was a millionaire with two homes, a Lincoln Continental, and thousands of acres of pasture for his cattle and riding horses.
 
 When the Fullers' marriage began to falter, however, they sold their share in the business, gave away their fortune and moved to a Christian communal farm in Americus called Koinonia, the Greek word for fellowship. It was there that the idea of helping the poor to build homes with sweat equity and no-interest loans was born.
 
 Two of Koinonia's former leaders say there is another side that has never been told. Al Zook, now a massage therapist in Denver, and Christopher Bugbee, now a communications consultant in Los Angeles, said Fuller engaged in two extramarital affairs at the farm. Bugbee also said a female volunteer accused Fuller of unwanted sexual advances.
 
 "The discovery that his private conduct was at such odds with his public preaching . . . destroyed the trust between Millard and the rest of the Koinonia leadership and led to the mutual recognition . . . that the community and the Fullers must separate," Bugbee said.
 
 Asked whether that account was true, Fuller said he had made "mistakes" at Koinonia but denied that they had anything to do with the founding of Habitat for Humanity. "I left Koinonia because I was unhappy with the leadership structure and was just restless," he said.
 
 Zook said the farm's leaders quietly brought in Christian counselors from Reba Place Fellowship, a Mennonite group that specializes in reconciliation, to help Fuller. Two decades later, Habitat for Humanity also called on Reba Place for discreet counseling when the five women made their allegations in 1990-91, according to the Rev. David Rowe, who was then Habitat's director of operations.
 
 Rowe, who is now minister of Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield, Conn., said that for a time, Linda Fuller was furious at her husband. "I was present at counseling sessions where she confronted Millard on what he had done and what that did to her," he said. "But then sometime after that . . . she just decided that her fate, her future, her family just required her not only to stand by her man but to back and fight for Millard. And I never understood at the time, nor now, what it was that changed that."
 
 Linda Fuller, who worked for years alongside her husband with little pay and no job title, said she always considered the 1990-91 accusations to be overblown. In the end, Habitat gave some of the women generous compensation packages when they resigned. None sued, and none has spoken out publicly with her name attached, until now.
 
 "What people know who worked with Millard for a long time was that this behavior was very prevalent. Five of us were willing to come forward and confront it," said Susan Rhema, 46, who was a Habitat volunteer in Africa and Peru before serving as the organization's director of training from 1986 to 1991.
 More Allegations 
 The Rev. Julie Peeples and the Rev. Paul Davis, a married couple who were Habitat for Humanity's staff chaplains at the time, said the allegations came to light in their routine exit interviews with women who were leaving the organization. Five women went to the board and "easily four or five others shared their stories" but did not want to confront Fuller, Peeples said.
 
 Millard Fuller "was somebody I had held on a pedestal for years and years, and I didn't want to believe it. But these were women who weren't out for anything," said Peeples, now pastor of the Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, N.C.
 
 In the interview at his home, Fuller described the 1990-91 allegations as a cultural misunderstanding.
 
 "In the southern culture that I was raised up in and Jimmy Carter was raised up in, very warm affection to women was shown by men. So when they said I had done something wrong, I was astounded because I was doing nothing more than what I'd been doing all my life," he said. "But when they said it was offensive to them, I said, 'I'm sorry, please forgive me. It won't happen again.' " While Fuller said his actions 15 years ago were misinterpreted, he called the latest allegation "completely false."
 
 The accuser, Victoria Cross, is a former Habitat for Humanity employee whose husband is serving as a military chaplain in Iraq, according to members of the board. Her attorney, Steven Carrigan of Houston, said that she was negotiating a settlement with Habitat and that she would not discuss the details of the allegation.
 
 According to a report by a law firm hired by the board to investigate Cross's allegation, she drove Fuller from Americus to the Atlanta airport on Feb. 21, 2003. During that 2 1/2-hour ride, he allegedly talked about the Bible and sexuality.
 
 "Millard began to speak in a soft tone about how, in the Old Testament, baby girls develop into little girls who are sweet and innocent, and it would be appropriate for them to sit on his lap, but in the New Testament, those little girls would have gone through God's Plan and met the fulfillment of a little girl growing into beautiful full grown women," the report said.
 
 Fuller allegedly asked Cross several times if it would be appropriate for her, "as a full grown beautiful woman," to sit on his lap. While she was driving, he began rubbing her right arm, then stroked her cheek and chin, told her she had soft skin and ran his fingertips "down the line of her mid-chest to the point of her mid-sternum," at which point she jerked away, the report said.
 
 In the interview at his home, Fuller said he never touched Cross. After she dropped him off at the airport curb, he said, she parked her car and then returned to have lunch with him in the terminal.
 
 "Common sense tells you that if I had done something improper to that woman, she wouldn't have looked me up to have lunch with me," he said.
 
 Many of Fuller's supporters also say the facts are on his side.
 
 Dale Young, a longtime Habitat volunteer in Bedford Hills, N.Y., said she has been with Fuller "in dozens of situations, with dozens and dozens of women" and has never seen any inappropriate behavior.
 
 "Millard is an honest man," she said. "If he had done something wrong, he would own up to it."
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:49:09 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar  9 03:50:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 The Right Questions on Social Security
 
 By Ruth Marcus
 
   Every once in a while, in a debate as dominated by partisanship and dogma as the current slugfest over Social Security, you run into someone whose views seem informed instead by facts and fundamental  principles. One such person came to The Post the other day in the slightly rumpled form of Bob Pozen, who arrived without  the usual ideological baggage or the entourage that trails your average corporate titan.
 
  Pozen is a registered Democrat who served on President Bush's Social Security commission and worked for a year, unpaid, as the chief economic adviser to the Republican governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. He is a former vice chairman of Fidelity Investments Inc., the country's largest mutual fund firm, and is now chairman of  MFS Investment Management, which runs mutual funds. But surprisingly for someone from the industry, he doesn't see personal Social Security accounts as an end in themselves  --  "I'm not a big believer in the ownership society," he says  --  but as a "sweetener" to pave the political way for other, more painful changes to the program.
 
  Most of all, he approaches the Social Security debate asking the right questions: What can be done to put the system on a more solvent footing, and how can that be accomplished in a way that reflects the differing roles that Social Security plays among different income groups? Specifically, the one-fifth of Americans for whom Social Security is the sole source of income ought to be treated differently from those for whom Social Security benefits are merely the icing on a retirement cake composed mostly of savings and pensions. 
 
  Thus, in striving for solvency, Pozen is reluctant to raise the retirement age beyond the current plan, under which it will rise gradually to 67 by 2027. Although life expectancy is increasing, he notes, raising the retirement age would hurt those who engage in manual labor (and who tend to be among the lower earners) and who, age discrimination laws notwithstanding, may have a hard time shifting into less physically demanding jobs later in life. Similarly, he is wary of simply hiking the ceiling on the amount of earnings subject to Social Security taxation: Why, he asks, should those making between $90,000 (the current cap) and, say, $140,000 be hit with what amounts to a 12.4 percent extra tax on their earnings? 
 
 It's tempting to describe the Pozen approach as Bush Lite, because it shares many characteristics of  the president's preferred model, though that will surely damn it among Democrats. Perhaps a better phrase would be Bush Smart: Pozen's plan is less radical and more compassionate than the president's. It would let workers put 2 percentage points of the money they pay toward Social Security into private accounts, half of what the president proposes, and protect the benefits of those who need them most. 
 
  The personal accounts are supposed to be the "sweetener," though in the current political climate they may have a more bitter effect. But Pozen, brandishing a spreadsheet that shows historical returns from the 60-40 blend of stocks and bonds he proposes, views them as a reasonably safe bet. His argument against the alternative  --  having the government take advantage of the equity premium by investing in the market itself  --  does not show the usual mystical attachment to personal ownership or abhorrence of government influence over the markets. Rather, he expresses the pragmatic fear that pressure to eschew certain politically incorrect stocks and invest in others would yield diminished returns.
 
  The medicine is something called "progressive indexing," which would change the formula for calculating benefits in a way that shields those at the bottom, strikes a balance for those in the middle and takes the biggest bite out of the benefits of those best able to afford it. Currently, Social Security benefits rise along with the growth in real wages, which is fair in that it allows those who have retired to enjoy the same growth in living standards enjoyed by other Americans, rather than being pushed back to a far lower level. But it is also enormously costly. Shifting entirely from wage indexing to price indexing  --  setting initial benefit levels not by the rise in real wages over the retiree's working life but by the increase in the cost of living  --  would more than erase the entire $3.7 trillion shortfall that is projected in Social Security over the next 75 years. But benefits for all retirees would fall far below the level currently promised. Pozen would maintain wage indexing for those earning $25,000 or less (about 30 percent of workers), have a blend of both formulas for those in the middle, and switch entirely to price indexing for those earning above $113,000  --  an approach that, by itself, would cut the projected shortfall by two-thirds.
 
  One big downside of the Pozen plan is that it would  not achieve total solvency 75 years out; rather, given the extra borrowing that would be required to finance the shift to private accounts, it would whittle the shortfall by about half, to $1.9 trillion. Another major concern is the risk that personal accounts won't perform as well as expected, something that could be addressed by guaranteeing a minimum benefit to the lowest-tier earners. 
 
  Pozen's solution may not be optimal; it's certainly not perfect. But the insight of progressive indexing is worth taking seriously  --  and it has been: it's an element of the plans proposed by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Robert Bennett (Utah). In an atmosphere too prone to braying over what must be left on the table or taken off, and too devoted to jostling for partisan advantage, Pozen offers the thoughtful voice of a Democrat not reflexively opposed to personal accounts, and a personal-accounts advocate motivated by the desire to save Social Security rather than implement a preconceived agenda.
 
 marcusr@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:49:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar  9 03:51:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Is Bush Right?
 
 By Jefferson Morley
 
   In countries where President George Bush and his policies are deeply unpopular, online commentators are starting to think the unthinkable. 
 
 "Could George W. Bush Be Right?" asked Claus Christian Malzahn in the German newsweekly Der Spiegel.  Essayist Guy Sorman asked last month in the Paris daily Le Figaro (by subscription), "And If Bush Was Right?" In Canada, anti-war columnist Richard Gwyn of the Toronto Star answered: "It is time to set down in type the most difficult sentence in the English language. That sentence is short and simple. It is this: Bush was right."
 
 The tipping point came last week when Lebanon's pro-Syrian government fell. The international online media, much of which had been critical of Bush during his first term, had to acknowledge democratic developments on the American president's watch.   Many commentators also cited free elections in Afghanistan last fall, Palestinian elections in early January followed by the Jan. 30 Iraq elections. Then came local elections in Saudi Arabia and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's announcement of constitutional changes allowing his opposition to challenge him electorally. 
 
 Given Bush's insistence that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq would lead to a democratic political order in the Middle East, many Europeans are "somewhat embarrassed" by these developments, Sorman wrote in Le Figaro. 
 
 "Hadn't they promised, governments and media alike, that the Arab street would rise up [against U.S. military forces], that Islam would burn, that the American army would get bogged down, that the terrorist attacks would multiply, and that democracy would not result nor be exported?"
 
 "These dramas did not occur," Sorman says. "Either Bush is lucky, or it is too early to judge or [Bush's] analysis was not false."
 
 Rüdiger Lentz, Washington correspondent for the German broadcast network Deutsche Welle, wrote, "There have been many good reasons to criticize the messianic political style of Bush's first term. But isn't it time now to stop finger-pointing and bickering?"
 
 "After all, one has to acknowledge that Afghanistan and Iraq might have been catalysts for what we see now happening in Lebanon, in Egypt and even between the Palestinians and Israel."
 
 In Germany, the economic daily Financial Times Deutschland accused Europeans of ignoring events in Lebanon. "It is bizarre that here in Germany, where the Berlin Wall once stood, this development (in Lebanon) is greeted with hardly a shrug," according to a translation by Der Spiegel Web site.  The paper borrowed a phrase from New Yorker columnist Kurt Andersen saying that Europe is engaging in political "short selling -- hoping for bad news to back up the continent's 'ideological investment'" in opposing Bush.
 
  "Short selling," the paper concluded, "is an honorable strategy on the stock exchange but in terms of democracy, it is looking more and more like a major mistake. Indeed, it isn't honorable at all."
 
 Robert Fisk, veteran Middle East correspondent for London's Independent (by subscription) begged to differ on Monday. Writing from Beirut, Fisk predicted that Bush's call for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon would only hurt the Lebanese.  
 
 "Have we forgotten 150,000 dead?" he asked referring to the estimates of the number of people killed in the Lebanese civil war of 1975 to 1989. "Have we forgotten the Western hostages? Have we forgotten the 241 Americans who died in the suicide bombing of 23 October 1983? This democracy, if it comes, will be drenched with blood -- but the blood will be that of the Lebanese who live here, not that of the foreigners who wish to bestow freedom upon them."
 
 Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab is not so pessimistic. 
 
  "The Lebanese intifada has provided a strong model for the Arab world," Kuttab writes in the West Bank-based Arabic Media Internet Network."It has sent shock waves throughout the Arab world," he says, noting that many Arabs had given up on the possibility of peaceful and patriotic democratic movements.
 
 Whether Arab democrats will credit Bush is another issue, Kuttab says. The administration's pro-Israeli policies still give them pause. While the American president's campaign for democracy "echoes deep seated demands that have gone unnoticed in the entire region," Arab democrats also believe that Palestinians "deserve the same democratic independence from the Israeli occupation that they [are] seeking from their autocratic regimes."
 
 The unhappy truth, says Kuttab, is that Arabs find themselves living under occupation in Iraq and Palestine and living under autocracy in 21 other countries. 
 
 "But despite this miserable state of affairs, a glimmer of hope has finally emerged giving lovers of peace democracy and human rights something to celebrate," he writes. 
 
 Rami G. Khouri, editor and columnist for the Daily Star in Beirut says Arab democrats and Bush policymakers both deserve credit. 
 
 In Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine, he writes, established power structures are "being compelled to change by the force of will of their own people -- people in the streets who risk imprisonment, retributive punishment, or even death by challenging and resisting their prevailing power elite."
 
 At the same time, Khouri goes on, "the presence of the U.S. and other foreign forces in Iraq also certainly has played a role in focusing the minds of various Arab leaders on their need to change and modernize quickly."
 
 "The urgent, significant, unprecedented political reality" is that ordinary Arabs and the U.S. government "share mutually advantageous common goals," he writes. Those goals include replacing dictatorships, forging a just Israeli-Palestinian peace and establishing diplomacy and the rule of law in the region. 
 
  "This has never happened in recent memory, which is why it is important now to focus on what needs to be done by all concerned parties, rather than argue about who started the ball rolling. We both did."
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:51:05 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar  9 03:52:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <13719351.1110369065618.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Report by House Democrats Alleges GOP Abuse of Power
 
 By Mike Allen
 
  Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and other revolutionaries used accusations of arrogant and heavy-handed tactics to stir a populist revolt against 40 years of Democratic domination of Congress before the GOP takeover of 1994.
 
 Now, after 10 years of Republican control, House Democrats are making strikingly similar charges against today's Republicans. 
 
 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) plans to lash out at the chamber's Republican leaders today with a report accusing them of abusing their power through parliamentary tactics designed to suppress dissent.
 
 The report contends that rules governing major legislation "severely restrict or sometimes even totally block the minority's ability to debate or amend bills." It charges that Republicans on the Rules Committee have intentionally "used emergency meeting procedures and late-night meetings . . . to discourage Members and the press from participating in the legislative process."
 
 Pelosi, a liberal who has few weapons besides rhetoric to use against the conservatives who control Congress, described the forthcoming report as documenting "devastating details of the profound abuse of power that characterizes House Republicans after 10 years in the majority."
 
 "While this Republican administration has spoken strongly about promoting democracy around the world, the House Republican leadership is working feverishly to undermine democracy here at home," she said in a statement to be released with the report.
 
 Pelosi said the leaders "ram bills through committees without full discussion, permit few if any floor amendments, and if need be, hold open floor votes until enough arms have been twisted to ensure passage." In November 2003, the House leadership kept a roll call going for  two hours and 51 minutes  --  more than double the previous record  --  until they could round up enough votes to pass President Bush's Medicare revision and prescription drug bill.
 
 Republicans replied that Democrats just want to slow down the process and that the opposition has procedural guarantees that were routinely denied to the GOP when it was in the minority. For instance, House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) has a policy that when a bill will not be available until after 10 p.m., a committee meeting is held early the next morning rather than late that night, aides pointed out.
 
 The 147-page report, by the Democratic staff of the House Rules Committee, is called "Broken Promises: The Death of Deliberative Democracy" and is described on the cover as "A Congressional Report on the Unprecedented Erosion of the Democratic Process in the 108th Congress," which ended at noon on Jan. 3.
 
 "In the 108th Congress, House Republicans became the most arrogant, unethical and corrupt majority in modern Congressional history," the report begins. "When they took control of the House after the 1994 elections, Republicans vowed they would be different than previous Congresses."
 
 The report goes on to say that "what sets the 108th Congress apart from its predecessors is that stifling deliberation and quashing dissent in the House of Representatives became the standard operating procedure."
 
 Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (N.Y.), the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, said that the method by which Republicans run the House and their procedures "are moral decisions."
 
 "Over the past two years, the Republican leadership ignored House Rules and the basic standards of legislative fairness and decency with an impunity that is unprecedented in the history of the House of Representatives," she said in a statement.
 
  The report notes that Gingrich said during a January seminar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars that the House leadership's tight rein on  House proceedings is an "enormous strategic mistake."
 
 The report calls for Republicans to "open up the process by allowing debate and votes on more serious amendments" and give members at least three days to read reports from conference committees.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:52:21 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar  9 03:53:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <19471431.1110369141658.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Data Support Ultra-Low Cholesterol
 
 By Rob Stein
 
  A large study has produced the strongest evidence yet that driving cholesterol down to very low levels offers additional protection against heart attacks and strokes, researchers reported yesterday.
 
 The eagerly awaited study involving more than 10,000 at-risk patients showed that using high doses of powerful cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins to slash levels of  "bad cholesterol" far below current targets can markedly reduce patients' risks.
 
 The study addresses one of the biggest debates in treating heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States: How aggressively should doctors and patients use statins to reduce  levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol?
 
 The findings may encourage more doctors to use the drugs to reach ultra-low LDL levels in potentially millions of patients and could lead to new official recommendations if the results of two other  studies reach similar conclusions, experts said.
 
 In the new study, researchers gave 10,001 patients whose arteries were already narrowed by heart disease either the standard dose of the statin Lipitor  --  10 milligrams  --  or a much higher dose  --  80 milligrams.
 
 After about five years, the cholesterol levels dropped in patients in both groups  and their risk for heart attacks and strokes fell.  But the LDL levels of those receiving the high dose plummeted  the most, hitting an average of about 77 milligrams per deciliter of blood, compared with the standard target of about 100 for the other group. Those who received the high dose also were 22 percent less likely to have a heart attack, stroke or heart failure than those in the standard-dose group.
 
 "We saw a clear benefit," said John. C. LaRosa of the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, who led the study. The results, which are being published in the New England Journal of Medicine, were released early yesterday to coincide with a presentation of the data at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Orlando. The study was funded by Pfizer Inc., which makes Lipitor.
 
 A growing body of evidence suggests that driving LDL to very low levels provides significant benefits, and the federal government's National Cholesterol Education Program said in July that those at high risk could consider pushing their levels lower. But the panel stopped short of making an outright recommendation, pending the results of three large studies. The new study is the first of those and the first large one to demonstrate a benefit in heart disease patients who are not experiencing acute problems.
 
 Scott M. Grundy of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, who chaired the federal panel, welcomed the findings. But he said the panel probably would wait for the final two studies before issuing new recommendations, particularly because the new study did not show any drop in the death rate. In fact, there was also a small but puzzling increase in the overall number of deaths among those taking the high doses. In addition, the drugs can have side effects, including potentially life-threatening liver problems in a small number of patients.
 
 "Until we get the results of those other two trials and can put it all together, a note of caution is still reasonable," Grundy said.
 
 Other researchers disagreed, saying the evidence is clear enough to change medical practice now.
 
 "There isn't any question left at this point that we should be more aggressive," said Eric J. Topol of the Cleveland Clinic.
 
 Regardless of whether the recommendations are changed now or later, the new findings are likely to encourage more doctors to adopt the approach in the meantime, some experts said.
 
 "This is going to affect millions of people in terms of the practical implications. A lot of primary care physicians are going to look at this result and say, 'Okay,  it's time to start doing this,' " said Daniel J. Rader of the University of Pennsylvania.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:53:43 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar  9 03:55:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23864050.1110369223328.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 'Rendition' Realities
 
 By David Ignatius
 
    Torture is immoral and illegal, and the refusal to allow cruel interrogation techniques is one measure of a civilized society. But this ironclad moral argument doesn't necessarily apply to the practice known as "extraordinary rendition."
 
  Rendition is the CIA's antiseptic term for its practice of sending captured terrorist suspects to other countries for interrogation. Because some of those countries torture prisoners  --  and because some of the suspected terrorists "rendered" by the CIA say they were in fact tortured  --  the debate has tended to lump rendition and torture together. The implication is that the CIA is sending people to Egypt, Jordan or other Middle Eastern countries because  they can be tortured there and coerced into providing information they wouldn't give up otherwise.
 
  The problem with this argument is that it assumes that the CIA believes that torture works. But in 30 years of writing about intelligence, I've never encountered a spook who didn't realize that torture is usually counterproductive. Professional intelligence officers know that prisoners will confess to anything under intense pain. Information obtained through torture thus tends to be unreliable, in addition to being immoral.
 
  The unreliability of torture as an interrogation technique was conveyed powerfully by Jane Mayer in an article in the New Yorker last month. She cited the case of a Syrian-born terrorist suspect named Maher Arar, who was seized at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport in September 2002 as he was traveling back to his home in Canada. He was then sent to Syria under the CIA's program of "extraordinary rendition" and, by his account, whipped repeatedly on the hands with two-inch-thick electrical cables.
 
 "Although he initially tried to assert his innocence, he eventually confessed to anything his tormentors wanted him to say," wrote Mayer. She quoted Arar as explaining his false confession this way: "You just give up. You become like an animal." The Syrians eventually concluded that Arar was innocent. He was released without charges.
 
  Such stories rightly shock the conscience, and they make you wonder how anyone could ever advocate rendition. But in conversations over the past several years with senior CIA officials and the heads of several Arab intelligence services, I've heard explanations for why the practice is used. These arguments for rendition at least ought to be understood as Congress and the public struggle with the moral issues involved.
 
  What's gained by transferring a prisoner to his home country for interrogation is emotional leverage, according to Arab and American intelligence chiefs. A hardened al Qaeda member often can't be physically coerced into giving up information, no matter how nasty the interrogator. But he may do so if confronted by, say, his mother, father, brother or sister. That family contact is possible if he's near home; it's impossible if he's in an orange jump suit and warehoused at Guantanamo Bay.
 
  I asked the head of an Arab intelligence service once about the widespread belief in his country that prisoners were tortured. People sometimes referred to his headquarters as the "fingernail factory," I said, because they assumed that vicious methods were used, such as ripping out prisoners' nails. This official insisted that torture didn't work. He cited  cases in which prisoners had been broken through softer and more clever measures  --  applying family pressure or, in one remarkable case, ignoring a defiant, self-important prisoner until he all but demanded to be questioned.
 
  The head of another major Arab intelligence service explained how his men cracked an al Qaeda suspect who had refused to talk to the Americans; their main "weapon," he said, was that they prayed five times a day in the man's presence.
 
  These "nice" interrogation stories don't change the fact that hideous methods have been used in rendition cases. And in some instances, the CIA should have known that torture was likely  --  and stopped it. That's wrong; no agency of the U.S. government should ever turn a blind eye to torture. But I think you can oppose torture and still find circumstances where rendition might be appropriate.
 
  Before you make an easy judgment about rendition, you have to answer the disturbing question put to me by a former CIA official: Suppose the FBI had  captured Mohamed Atta before Sept. 11, 2001. Under U.S. legal rules at the time, the man who plotted the airplane suicide attacks probably could not have been held or interrogated in the United States. Would it have made sense to "render" Atta to a place where he could have been interrogated in a way that might have prevented Sept. 11? That's not a simple question for me to answer, even as I share the conviction that torture is always and everywhere wrong. 
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:54:44 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar  9 03:56:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <844492.1110369284479.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Bush's Misplayed Hand
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
    American politics has been so corrupted by concepts such as "positioning" and "message discipline" that citizens don't get credit for their ability to decide issues on the merits. But when the public knows and cares a great deal about what's at stake, it is quite discerning about what's true and what's not.
 
  That's why President Bush's troubles on Social Security cannot be explained by some alleged failure of the White House's usually impeccable communications operation. Conventional explanations fail because this is a battle over principle in which the facts matter.
 
  So far the president has made at least four mistakes. He assumed he could convince the country that Social Security faces a crisis requiring urgent action. He thought he could accentuate the positive  --  those "personal accounts" really do sound  great  --  without laying out what they would cost. He counted on getting good-government points by "facing up" to Social Security's long-term problems without proposing any hard steps to fix them. And he figured that some Democrats would fall his way simply because that's what has always happened before.
 
  The "crisis" claim didn't fly because it wasn't true. The president himself has gotten more careful in how he speaks about the long-term shortfall, because the moment he notes that the Social Security trust fund does not run dry until somewhere between 2042 and 2052, the notion of a crisis goes up in smoke.
 
  As for personal accounts, their more forthright advocates acknowledge that paying for them will require either substantial tax increases or borrowing on the order of $2 trillion. Bush has finessed this nasty detail, hoping that such brave Republican legislators as Sens. Lindsey  Graham and Chuck Hagel would take the hit for delivering the bad news. The president could later claim success for the enactment of a "package" brought about through a secular version of immaculate conception. But if the president really believes in these accounts, why won't he step up and say how he'd pay for them?
 
  The same critique applies to Bush's hope that he would get credit for courage in talking about Social Security's problems. Here again Bush lets members of Congress float proposals for benefit cuts and tax increases without formally embracing any as his own. Polls show Bush's credibility on Social Security dropping because citizens know there must be some pain in his proposal somewhere, and they want him to be candid about it.
 
  And then there are those pesky Democrats. Rep. David Obey says his party colleagues can't be expected to put forward a full alternative to Bush's ideas until a Bush plan actually exists. "Given that he's the person who says that this debate needs to start now and needs to start with such a radical approach, he's got an obligation to lay his specific plan on the table," Obey says. "What he's put on the table is not a plan, it's a concept  --  and Congress doesn't enact concepts."
 
  Obey has credibility on this question because he introduced a Social Security fix of his own in the previous Congress. Based roughly on ideas put forward by Robert Ball, a former Social Security commissioner, Obey's plan would guarantee solvency through a mix of tax increases and modest benefit cuts. Obey said he put the "fine tuning" concepts forward to show that "you don't have to destroy Social Security in order to save it."
 
  Bush faces unexpectedly severe Democratic fire because Social Security is one issue where the Democrats' political interests and their political faith coincide.
 
  "Believe it or not," Obey says, "Democrats do have core values, and those values are brought up front by issues such as Social Security and Medicare." Both are cases in which government has "substituted the social gospel for social Darwinism." He adds: "We really do believe it would be immoral to blow up the one program that sends the signal that we are all in this together." Those cynical about Democratic motives make a tactical blunder if they ignore the practical impact of this intense sense of mission. Liberals made the same mistake in underestimating the passion of conservative supply-siders.
 
  Where does this leave a president? Dropping his call for private accounts carved out of Social Security would allow him to win bipartisan approval for moderate fixes to make the retirement system solvent for decades. Alternatively, he could put forward a serious and detailed plan for private accounts and invite an honest and instructive philosophical face-off with the Democrats on the future of social insurance. The lesson of the first round of the Social Security debate is that the public won't bet on Bush's ideas until he reveals the cards he's holding back. 
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:56:00 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar  9 03:57:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Trial Starts in Nation's Deadliest Human
	Smuggling Case
Message-ID: <20050309115605.CC68E1645B3@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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NATIONAL | March 9, 2005

Trial Starts in Nation's Deadliest Human Smuggling Case
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

The driver of the sealed truck that carried 19 illegal immigrants to grisly deaths nearly two years ago in South Texas went on trial for his life Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/national/09trucker.html?ex=1111035600&en=78b82481e27f234b&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar  9 03:56:55 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar  9 03:58:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Colicky Baby? Read This Before Calling an
	Exorcist
Message-ID: <20050309115655.AF9D31C25C@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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HEALTH | March 8, 2005

Colicky Baby? Read This Before Calling an Exorcist
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE

Researchers and doctors are offering plentiful (if sometimes contradictory) advice on calming screaming babies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/health/08coli.html?ex=1111035600&en=b78c00ecb9a4d35b&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:23:54 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:25:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China's tight rein on online growth
Message-ID: <20050309_142354_074369.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
185 million internet users in china, all carefully limited as to what they can access

** China's tight rein on online growth **
The experience of Chinese net users is very different to that of Western web fans.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/technology/4327067.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:26:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:27:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Experts weigh super-volcano risks
Message-ID: <20050309_142602_039029.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
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** Message **
super-volcanic risks,

** Experts weigh super-volcano risks **
Geologists have called for a task force to be set up to consider emergency management in the event of a massive volcanic eruption.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4326987.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:28:01 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:29:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Concern at Vietnam bird flu cases
Message-ID: <20050309_142801_005291.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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** Message **
worrying..it's going between humans now

** Concern at Vietnam bird flu cases **
Two elderly Vietnamese who are related to bird flu victims have themselves contracted the disease.
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:29:15 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:30:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Strong cyclone to hit Queensland
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** Message **
cyclones in australia now, what's next ?

** Strong cyclone to hit Queensland **
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:30:12 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:31:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: The changing face of US news
Message-ID: <20050309_143012_011709.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
wednesday

** The changing face of US news **
The BBC's Justin Webb looks at the dramatic changes in the US media as Dan Rather steps down as the senior anchor at CBS.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4331479.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:32:41 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:34:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US unease at China's Taiwan law
Message-ID: <20050309_143241_009005.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
so now Rice is going to China..what a mistake

** US unease at China's Taiwan law **
The US voices its concern over a planned Chinese law that would allow the use of force against Taiwan.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4331443.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:36:36 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:38:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai on the Environment,
	the War in Iraq, Debt and Women's Equality
Message-ID: <20050309143636.7174.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

very interesting interview


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai on the Environment, the War in Iraq, Debt and Women's Equality
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/08/1444212
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


Today on this International Women's Day, we spend the hour with Wangari Maathai, the first African woman and first environmentalist to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Her life story is a remarkable one. Wangari Maathai grew up in a rural village in Kenya. She excelled at school and eventually won a scholarship to attend university in the United States. After graduating with a degree in biological sciences she went on to earn a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1971, she received her PhD from the University of Nairobi, making her the first woman in eastern and central Africa to earn a doctorate. 

She then embarked on what would become a life-long campaign against the government-backed forest clearances in Kenya. In 1977, she founded the Green Belt Movement when she planted nine tree seeds in the yard of her house. In the following years, she succeeded in persuading women across Africa to do the same. Today, about 30 million trees have been planted across the continent to fight deforestation. 

Throughout her life, Wangari Maathai has campaigned on issues such as poverty, malnutrition, corruption, women's low economic status and the lack of media freedom in Kenya. She has also criticized the negative images of Africa in the Western media and the reluctance of rich countries to relieve Africa's debt. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/08/1444212

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:39:53 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:41:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fisk article in London Independent
Message-ID: <QjA5WjNGWiN7QU9WNCosMjM4NDkyOQ@Dragon>

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:40:56 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:42:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] record dolphin strandings in UK
Message-ID: <QjA5WjVWWiYmSFQqNCosMjQ0ODI5MA@Dragon>

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 06:43:46 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Wed Mar  9 06:45:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] developers grabbing land from villagers after tsunami
Message-ID: <QjA5WkNGOSNBS1sxNCosMjYxNzcwNA@Dragon>

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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed Mar  9 07:31:34 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed Mar  9 07:33:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea
	C reatures
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV225E7B399CEA8760CF6CC2AB510@phx.gbl>

Lyle..... yeah for Seattle... :-)

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Lyle K'ang
Sent: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 20:25:48 -0800
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea C reatures


Barbara and Cheesburger,

In Seattle there is a group that has halted the Navy from transmitting their sonar frequencies because of the death of sea creatures. I don't know the name but they are an agressive group-THANK GOD!


Lyle

-- "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com> wrote:
We environmentalists have known for years and protesting that sonar is weakening and killing the sea creatures, depending on where they are depends on the creature.

It is sad and sickening... the Navy has known and lies about it.

barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Cheeseburger
Sent: Sat, 5 Mar 2005 21:31:26 -0800
To: mb-civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea Creatures

How To Use American Military Technology To Murder Sea Creatures

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-stranded-dolphins,0,5860836.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines


Ah well, to sonar or not to sonar, that is the question.  Whether tis nobler
to beach 70 dolphins by using military technological capabilities and
weapons, or to catch a deep sea frogman swimming under the Atlantic for 6
months from the Middle East with C4 strapped to his wet suit, remains the
other question.

Anyways, the capabilities, not just sonar, of the military, our military,
among others, remains nothing short of phenomenal.

I really wouldn't be surprised if sometimes when you might feel you're
walking around in a daze, it has nothing to do with anything but technology
to begin with, but you'll never know, because, hmmm, you don't know in the
first place.

But that's another story.  This one is just about killing Flipper and
denying it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cover story finally emerges that they were
really after Sponge Bob and Patrick who have known ties to al-Qaeda now.

But that's another story as well.




Cheeseburger



_______________________________________________
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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Wed Mar  9 07:50:48 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 07:52:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Plan would lift veil on lobbyists
Message-ID: <6.408a0ed8.2f607558@aol.com>

Florida politics, home of the free lunch; let the lobbyists write the  bills, 
they know better than we the elected officials do; and other time honored  
good-old-boy rituals are almost as amusing to read about as  Louisiana politics 
under Long or Edwards.  Then again, most  Florida politicians lack the style 
and cahones of those two.  Now the new  state Senate President has convinced 
Governor Bush it's time for lobbyist  reform.  I wonder if this concept could 
spread to Washington?
 
_http://sptimes.com/2005/03/09/State/Plan_would_lift_veil_.shtml_ 
(http://sptimes.com/2005/03/09/State/Plan_would_lift_veil_.shtml) 
 
Richard Haerther
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 08:04:06 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:05:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Cash offer to one-girl families
Message-ID: <20050309_160406_005684.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
now girls are ok..see next forward

** Cash offer to one-girl families **
Families having a single girl child in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh are to be given $2,300.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4333159.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
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the BBC's views.

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webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 08:04:50 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:06:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Violence warning over Asia's 'surplus men'
Message-ID: <20050309_160450_000801.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
too many men in asia ?

** Violence warning over Asia's 'surplus men' **
India and China are set for instability and violence if they cannot lower the ratio of male-to-female babies, a new book argues.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/3933485.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
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the BBC's views.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar  9 08:06:39 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:08:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Africa's thriving trade with China
Message-ID: <20050309_160639_046921.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
very interesting place to stay in HK, ChungKing mansions, a guest house on every floor

** Africa's thriving trade with China **
BBC Africa Live looks at how Chinese products make it to your local African market.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4332273.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
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the BBC's views.

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webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:17:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:19:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Violence Continues to Ripple Through Iraq
Message-ID: <20050309161740.7C19E2060C0@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 9, 2005

Violence Continues to Ripple Through Iraq
By EDWARD WONG

Along with at least three bombings, officials said 35 bodies, 15 of them headless, had been found over the last two days.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/international/middleeast/09cnd-iraq.html?ex=1111035600&en=73fe562134d5ccc8&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:17:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:19:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Data Is Lacking on Iran's Arms,
	U.S. Panel Says
Message-ID: <20050309161715.ECB8F2270EE@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 9, 2005

Data Is Lacking on Iran's Arms, U.S. Panel Says
By DOUGLAS JEHL and ERIC SCHMITT

A report due this month will describe U.S. intelligence on Iran's weapons programs as inadequate to allow firm judgments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/international/09weapons.html?ex=1111035600&en=dc04a416091f6ba9&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:18:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:19:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The World According to Bolton
Message-ID: <20050309161817.94A501645BF@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 9, 2005

Editorial: The World According to Bolton


President Bush's nominee as representative to the United Nations, John Bolton, seems a good choice to continue the charm offensive against the rest of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/opinion/09wed1.html?ex=1111035600&en=4401a1713a62cba3&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:18:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:20:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Homegrown Osamas
Message-ID: <20050309161854.D0EDE20629E@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 9, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Homegrown Osamas
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Since 9/11, we've focused on the risk of foreign terrorism, but we have plenty of potential terrorists right here at home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/opinion/09kristof.html?ex=1111035600&en=e07511e92659b460&ei=5070




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:19:16 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:20:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Can Hezbollah Go Straight?
Message-ID: <20050309161917.6166220629D@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 9, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Can Hezbollah Go Straight?
By MICHAEL YOUNG

Hezbollah must take its chances as a national party in Lebanon and separate its fate from the Syrian occupation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/opinion/09young.html?ex=1111035600&en=126ef5cba6236c0d&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:20:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:21:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Senate Gearing Up for Fight Over Oil
	Drilling in Alaska
Message-ID: <20050309162009.1F2D29FD18@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 9, 2005

Senate Gearing Up for Fight Over Oil Drilling in Alaska
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

Republicans say they are planning a legislative maneuver to push President Bush's plan through that would avoid the threat of filibusters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/politics/09arctic.html?ex=1111035600&en=81445b2fd12c5765&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:21:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:22:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Doctors' Journal Says Computing Is No
	Panacea
Message-ID: <20050309162131.399A720629D@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


TECHNOLOGY | March 9, 2005

Doctors' Journal Says Computing Is No Panacea
By STEVE LOHR

Recent research casts doubt on the drive by the Bush administration and many health experts to move the nation's health care records quickly into the computer age.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/technology/09compute.html?ex=1111035600&en=b95f58425a10c350&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:22:36 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:24:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Aspirin Does Not Prevent Heart Attacks in
	Women, Study Finds
Message-ID: <20050309162229.53CBF3AE399@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


HEALTH / HEALTH CARE POLICY | March 8, 2005

Aspirin Does Not Prevent Heart Attacks in Women, Study Finds
By MARY DUENWALD

Regular use of low-dose aspirin does not prevent first heart attacks in women, as it does in men, a 10-year study of healthy women has found.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/health/policy/08aspi.html?ex=1111035600&en=5dbd18abc12c7ca7&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar  9 08:23:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:25:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pro-Syria Party in Beirut Holds a Huge
	Protest
Message-ID: <20050309162340.CF12921F1D6@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 9, 2005

Pro-Syria Party in Beirut Holds a Huge Protest
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

The enormous crowd exposed fault lines of class and ideology in the struggle over the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/international/09lebanon.html?ex=1111035600&en=60f05616c8c37c8c&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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0


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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar  9 08:39:23 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed Mar  9 08:40:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBS News Article from Harold Sifton
Message-ID: <200503091639.j29GdNl8030573@web153.bc.cbsig.net>

Dear MB,

The story goes round and round and round ...

Italy Disputes Shooting Account
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/08/iraq/main678743.shtml
CBS News Online

Your friend,
Harold Sifton
harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  9 06:38:51 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar  9 09:49:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: No deal with Iran
In-Reply-To: <315a9f21d9e1621ef1896b413e81edaf@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503091749.j29HnEv7005917@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 17:35:15 -0500
Subject: No deal with Iran

No deal with Iran

By Kenneth R. Timmerman

?

The Washington Times

March 8, 2005
?

http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20050307-083131-8271r.htm

?

PARIS. ? The European effort to induce Iran to give up its nuclear
program crashed and burned when Iranian Vice President Hassan Rohani
told French President Jacques Chirac recently that Iran will not give
up uranium enrichment.

  ??? Sources close to the French president tell me Mr. Rohani's
steadfast refusal to offer any serious commitment to giving up its
suspect nuclear programs convinced Mr. Chirac to join the U.S. in
stepping up pressure on Iran, including an eventual referral to the
United Nations Security Council.

  ?
??? But in Washington, advisers to President Bush now suggest the
United States join a failed European effort to offer new inducements to
Iran, including membership in the World Trade Organization and billions
of dollars of civilian airliners.

  ??? This is the wrong time to offer more carrots to Iran. For nearly
20 years, Iran has pursued a clandestine nuclear weapons program while
suffering through U.S. sanctions and a trade embargo. Mr. Rohani
laughed at Mr. Chirac's insistence that Iran abandon those programs
now, especially after all the "blood and tears" Iran shed to acquire
them.

  ?? ?The clock is ticking on Iran's bomb:

???? On March 1, IAEA Deputy Director General Pierre Goldschmidt told
the Governing Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna
that Iran still refused to allow inspectors to visit key nuclear sites.
The suspect sites and capabilities cited by Mr. Goldschmidt that Iran
so desperately protects coincide precisely with the capabilities Iran
needs to build the bomb.

  ??? ? In Isfahan, the Iranians have been producing uranium
hexafluoride (UF6) feedstock for enrichment purposes. The IAEA has
never believed their claim they built an industrial-scale plant without
testing the production line in a smaller, pilot plant. It now appears
increasingly likely Iran built a pilot plant in hardened underground
facilities it won't allow the agency to inspect, and has been producing
UF6 there secretly for years.

  ??? ? Iran keeps refusing to account for the activities of a facility
at the sprawling defense production complex at Lavisan-Shian in Tehran.
It razed the site in late 2003 to prevent the IAEA for discovering what
had been done there. It now seems probable Iran set up a secret
enrichment cascade at Lavisan-Shian and has been enriching uranium
there for years.

  ??? ? Iran continues to refuse access to facilities at the Parchin
military production plant south of Tehran, where it also produces RDX
explosives, precisely the type of high-powered explosives needed for
the non-nuclear "lenses" that trigger a nuclear implosion device. It
now appears Iran was probably conducting secret weaponization work at
Parchin.

  ??? And the IAEA is finally discovering what many analysts who tracked
Iran the last 15 years have known for some time: Pakistan nuclear
scientist A.Q. Khan has helped Iran since 1987.

  ??? As I reveal in an upcoming book, Mr. Khan first went to Iran in
1986 and signed a nuclear consulting agreement with the regime in early
1987. Now the IAEA has stumbled upon parts of the contract, including
lists of equipment provided by the elusive Mr. Khan. It includes a
veritable Stop 'N Shop of uranium enrichment equipment.

??? No one knows for sure exactly how much uranium Iran has enriched in
secret. But if Iran used the equipment we now know it bought from the
Khan network over the last decade, they could now be able to produce 20
to 25 weapons.

??? President Bush's advisers ill-serve the president, the nation and,
indeed, future generations by suggesting it is still possible to cut a
deal with Iran that will allow the mullahs to retain the capabilities
to build more bombs. It is time for more forceful action and there is
not a moment to lose.

???---?

  ??? Kenneth R. Timmerman is the author of "Countdown to Crisis: the
Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran," forthcoming from Crown Forum.

?

------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  9 10:30:21 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 10:31:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / US - US energy bill attracts supporters
Message-ID: <20310891.1110393021584.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  9 10:32:00 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 10:33:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / Europe - Russia confronts US on nuclear
	arms pact
Message-ID: <31816258.1110393120811.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  9 10:33:01 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 10:34:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / News in depth - Movement in Mideast
	muffles critics of war in Iraq
Message-ID: <10118149.1110393181746.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  9 10:34:39 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 10:36:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - An offer that
	Iran cannot refuse 
Message-ID: <14139780.1110393279981.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  9 10:37:16 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 10:38:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
Message-ID: <12288167.1110393436656.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  9 06:42:08 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar  9 11:01:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Harvard University
In-Reply-To: <200503090016.j290GwlZ072361@mehrdad5.vwh.net>
Message-ID: <200503091901.j29J1ocx006208@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: "RP Secretariat's mailing list" <rpsec@rezapahlavi.org>
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 17:16:58 -0700 (MST)
To: grgolsorkhi@earthlink.net
Subject: Harvard University


-= Reza Pahlavi's Speech =-

Harvard University - March 8th, 2005:

http://www.rezapahlavi.org/speeches/harvard30805.html

Please forward the above information to friends & family.

RP Secretariat

-=-

18 Esfand maah-e 1383:

Tarjomeyeh Faarsiyeh sokhran-raaniyeh Reza Pahlavi dar
Daanesh-gaah-e Haarvaard, be zoodi az tarigh-e
taarnamaayeh internetiyeh ishaan pakhsh o
takseer khaahad shod.




Powered by Subscribe Me Lite (http://www.cgiscriptcenter.com)




------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  9 08:27:31 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar  9 11:03:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: ALERT: Yazdi cancels trip to England in fear of
	arrest.
In-Reply-To: <15b815b8f5d7b9b277db8df118430d27@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503091903.j29J34Gf006218@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2005 02:31:19 -0500
Subject: ALERT: Yazdi cancels trip to England in fear of arrest.

PRESS RELEASE


   Crimes against Humanity Charges against Iranian Ebrahim Yazdi

London , March 8,  2005 ? The Iranian Action Committee, together with
several other prominent Iranians had made necessary preparations to
file charges against Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi for being accessory to acts of
torture and crimes against humanity. The charges were prepared by
British lawyers to be filed on Monday 7 2005, the day that was declared
to be the date of arrival of   Yazdi in London.  The visit was
cancelled without any explanatIon.     Yazdi must have   received
advance information as to preparations for filing of the charges and
his possible arrest  in England.

   Ebrahim Yazdi was the closet associate and the top advisor of
Ayatollah Khomeini in Paris and in Tehran from the start of the
Revolution.

   Ebrahim Yazdi was trained in Yasser Arafat?s terrorist camps in
Lebanon prior to the Iranian revolution and was the principle architect
and founder of the notorious Revolutionary Guards and the Kangaroo
Revolutionary Courts after the inception of the Islamic Republic of
Iran.  Immediately after his return to Iran with   Khomeini,   Yazdi
was named Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Revelutioary Affairs.

During his term in office,   Yazdi played the main role in turning Iran
into a bloodbath with summary executions and draconian torture
chambers. He also held nationally televised interrogations of those
arrested and paraded those individuals on television ? with blood
dripping from the mouth of one of them ? while threatening and
humiliating them. Those individuals included, former Prime Minister
Amir Abass Hoveida, Mr. Salar Jaf ? a member of the parliament, General
Mehdi Rahimi, General Manouchehr Khosrodad, General Nematollah Nasiri,
General Reza Naji and Dr. Mansour Rohani ? former Minister of
Agriculture, all of whom were tortured and executed in the initial days
after the Revloution.

    The Iranian Action Committee, which pursues the International Crimes
of the Islamic Republic of Iran (www.iricrimes.org), is composed of 38
Iranian human rights advocates inside Iran and 27 outside Iran.

    The founding organizer of the Committee to Pursue the International
Crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran is Dr. Manouchehr Ganji a former
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and a former Minister
of Education of Iran.

    The petition to bring Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi before the British Courts to
answer to charges of having been accessory to the commission of acts of
torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment of political
prisoners in Iran constituting crimes against humanity was brought by:

1.    The Iranian Action Committee (www.iricrimes.org);
2.    Mrs. Manijeh Rahimi, the wife of deceased General Mehdi Rahimi ;
3.    Dr. Fereidoun Hoveida, the brother of deceased Prime Minister Amir
Abass Hoveida, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Iran
to the United Nations ;
4.    Dr. Houshang Nahavandi, the former Chancellor of Tehran University
and former Minister of Science and Higher Education,
5.    Professor Hussein Eshraghi, former Professor at Tehran University ;
6.    Professor Iraj Lalezari, former Dean of the faculty of Pharmacology
at Tehran University ;
7.    Mr. Isac Yomtovian, businessman and a leading member of the
Iranian-Jewish community,
8.    Mr. Rafi Khachtorian, actor and a leading member of the
Iranian-Christian community ;

    The Iranian Action Committee , with the financial support of Iranians
is preparing the grounds for the possible arrest and the detention of
such individuals should they intend to visit any of the countries where
the judicial system allows these individuals to be tried for their
support of acts of torture and murder of political prisoners.

-END-

CONTACT:

Website: www.iricrimes.org


?


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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  9 08:49:58 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar  9 11:04:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Foreign Affairs - Taking on Tehran - Kenneth Pollack
	and Ray Takeyh
In-Reply-To: <000901c524c5$06b35360$18161aac@esedona.net>
Message-ID: <200503091904.j29J4dP9006230@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed Mar  9 11:20:34 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed Mar  9 11:22:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Curbing terror or menacing freedom?
Message-ID: <BE548C82.1EFDD%michael@michaelbutler.com>



Economist.com      
    

    
About sponsorship

Curbing terror or menacing freedom?
Mar 9th 2005
>From The Economist Global Agenda


Tony Blair and George Bush are facing challenges to their anti-terrorism
measures, which they insist are necessary but which critics say threaten
basic liberties

Reuters
Reuters


IN THE wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, President
George Bush and the British prime minister, Tony Blair, faced little
opposition in arguing that tough measures had to be taken to counter the
threat from al-Qaeda and other international terror groups, even if this
meant compromising some basic civil liberties. Both countries rushed through
new anti-terror laws and began interning suspects?America mainly at its
military base at Guant?namo Bay in Cuba, and Britain mostly at Belmarsh
high-security jail in London.

But, more than three years after the attacks, both leaders have recently
suffered setbacks to their anti-terror policies. American and British judges
have ruled that their governments cannot go on detaining suspects without
giving them acceptable recourse to the courts. In the latest such ruling in
America, last week, a judge found that Mr Bush had greatly exceeded his
powers in continuing to detain without charge Jos? Padilla, who is accused
of conspiring to build a radioactive ?dirty bomb?. And on Monday March 7th,
the British Parliament?s upper house, the Lords, rejected some key measures
in a new anti-terror bill that Mr Blair is trying to rush in before he is
forced by a court ruling to free the Belmarsh detainees next week.

Mr Blair?s anti-terrorism policy has been in growing disarray for several
months. In December, Britain?s highest court, the Law Lords, struck down one
of the main measures in the terrorism law passed after the September 11th
attacks, which allowed the government to detain foreign terror suspects
indefinitely without trial. To enact this law, the government had to become
the first country to opt out of Article 5 of the European Convention on
Human Rights, which enshrines the right to liberty. The convention allows
such opt-outs only in cases of ?war or public emergency threatening the life
of the nation?. However, the Law Lords rejected the government?s claims that
the current terrorist threat justified such an opt-out.

Faced with having to release Britain?s ten remaining foreign detainees, all
North African Muslims, Mr Blair decided to rush through a second anti-terror
law, allowing ministers to impose other restrictions on terror suspects,
short of imprisonment, ranging from house arrest to curfews. He argued that
such measures were indispensable, for instance in cases where suspects could
not be prosecuted without revealing intelligence sources.

Amid strong criticism of the proposed new law, including from many members
of Mr Blair?s own Labour Party, the government made an important concession
last week, agreeing that only judges, and not ministers, would be able to
impose house arrest. Even this was not enough to avert a big rebellion by
Labour members in the House of Commons, where the prime minister?s nominal
majority of 161 was slashed to just 14 in one key vote. This encouraged the
upper house to take an even tougher line. In a vote on Monday, it struck out
clauses that would have let ministers impose curfews and a range of other
restraints on suspects? freedom, insisting instead that only judges be
allowed to do so. And on Tuesday, it rejected more government proposals,
including those restricting suspects? right to state benefits.

Sunset clauses

Besides the rapidly approaching deadline for releasing the British
detainees, Mr Blair has to bear in mind the imminence of the general
election, expected in May. On Tuesday, the upper house overruled his
objections and voted for a ?sunset clause? in the proposed terror law, under
which its measures would expire in November unless Parliament renewed them.
As the bill returned to the Commons for a vote on Wednesday night, Mr Blair
indicated he would agree to some but not all of the concessions being urged
on him. It remained unclear whether he would now muster enough votes in both
houses or risked losing the proposed law altogether.

There is also a sunset clause affecting some of the most controversial
measures in the Patriot Act, the terrorism law America passed after the
September 11th attacks. Mr Bush is urging Congress to renew these measures,
which include special powers for the FBI to obtain information about
suspects. To help overcome considerable resistance to this in Congress, the
president recently appointed as his new homeland-security secretary Michael
Chertoff, a former judge with a record of speaking up for civil liberties.

While gearing up for a struggle to renew the Patriot Act, the Bush
administration continues to battle with the courts over its detentions of
more than 500 terror suspects, many now held for three years with no legal
advice and no indication of whether they will be charged. Last June, the
Supreme Court made three rulings that were a severe blow to Mr Bush?s
detentions policy. First, the court ruled, prisoners at Guant?namo had the
right to petition against their detention. Second, it decided that Yaser
Hamdi, an American citizen captured in Afghanistan, may not be held
indefinitely as an ?enemy combatant? without any opportunity to face a
court. And third, the court granted Mr Padilla another chance to have his
case against detention heard in a lower court.

Mr Bush?s response to the first ruling was to create ?combatant status
review tribunals? to determine whether each Guant?namo inmate had been
correctly classified as an ?enemy combatant?. However, last month a federal
court ruled that these tribunals were unconstitutional. The government,
pointing out that another federal court had earlier come to the opposite
conclusion, is now taking the matter to the Court of Appeals.

In response to the Supreme Court?s ruling on Mr Hamdi, the government felt
obliged to release him and send him back to Saudi Arabia, where he had been
living. Now it faces a trickier decision over Mr Padilla. Exercising the
right the Supreme Court granted him, he has taken his case to a court in
South Carolina, where he is being held. Last week, the judge in the case
ordered that he be charged with a crime or set free within 45 days.

Mr Bush and Mr Blair are in a bind. They face strong challenges to their
anti-terror measures from judges, lawmakers and civil-rights groups, while
knowing that their public will judge them harshly if another big terror
attack occurs. However, harsh anti-terror laws are no guarantee that
terrorism will stop. Worse still, they risk doing more harm than good. This
was the case with Britain?s old Prevention of Terrorism Act, which was used
during the Northern Ireland conflict to detain large numbers of people, most
of whom were not subsequently charged with a terrorism-related offence. The
resentment that this caused among the province?s Catholic minority only
served to sustain support for the IRA, not deter it. Similarly, long
detentions without trial at Guant?namo and Belmarsh risk serving as
recruiting-sergeants for the terror groups that the measures are aimed at
curbing.


Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed Mar  9 11:22:18 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed Mar  9 11:23:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Made for walking
Message-ID: <BE548CEA.1EFDF%michael@michaelbutler.com>



Economist.com      
    

    
About sponsorship

Buttonwood

Made for walking

Mar 8th 2005
>From The Economist Global Agenda


House prices and America?s mortgage-finance giants have both grown too big
for their boots. Will one trip up the other?


BUTTONWOOD had to chuckle at the photos of Martha Stewart, the world?s most
tasteful jailbird, just released from Cupcake Correctional Facility last
weekend. Adorably dressed, she looked suspiciously botoxed and
understandably cheerful?if only because shares in Martha Stewart Living
Omnimedia had more than doubled in price during the previous seven months
(though they are down this week). She would be a role model, were it not for
the record.

It is hard to know whether the shares have risen at the prospect of her
manicured hand profitably on the tiller once more or because home-furnishing
companies usually rise when the housing sector flourishes. And flourishing
it is. The price of residential housing in America rose faster last year
than at any time since 1979, says Freddie Mac, one of the two big
government-sponsored entities (GSEs) that provide mortgage liquidity. The
ratio of house prices to rents is now a third above its average level from
1975 to 2000, on calculations by The Economist.

Though the pace is likely to slow a bit this year, people keep on buying,
and borrowing to do so. There are all sorts of tempting mortgages on offer,
including 110 LTVs (110% loan-to-value mortgages), which lend the full price
of the house plus a bit extra for transaction costs. Turnover is frenetic:
as one commentator puts it, ?Day traders in shares have become day traders
in real estate.?

Does all this amount to a bubble? Without a doubt. Alan Greenspan?s attempt
to save capitalism from the burst dotcom bubble in 2000 (and the effects of
terrorist attack in 2001), by cutting short-term interest rates from 6.5% in
2000 to 1% in 2003, produced a new bubble in the credit markets. One sign of
that is the compression in bond yields, with riskier assets paying investors
only slightly more than governments and blue chips. Another is the
debt-fuelled explosion in property prices.

What is less clear is the link between America?s huge and hugely troubled
mortgage-finance behemoths?Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?and the house-price
bubble. If these custodians of $3 trillion in securitised mortgages back out
of the market?either because there is further bad news to emerge from within
them or because their masters make them?could this prick the bubble by
making mortgages scarcer and dearer? And would Fannie and Freddie go bust if
the bubble popped?

The GSEs, created by statute but both private-sector companies these days,
are supposed to pump liquidity into the lower end of the housing market.
They do this by buying mortgages from banks and other lenders, most of which
they then pool as collateral for marketable securities, collecting a ?G-fee?
for guaranteeing repayment. Some mortgages and mortgage-backed bonds,
however, they hold in their own portfolios. The difference between what they
pay to borrow (just a little more than Treasuries, as they are assumed to be
guaranteed by the federal government) and what they make on their holdings
(less the cost of hedging against interest-rate risks, plus the G-fees they
earn) has made both companies among the most consistently profitable of the
S&P 500.

But those profits have been called into question. The agencies? regulators
have stumbled more than once on accounting fiddles at both and are now
making Fannie Mae restate four years of earnings, slow the breakneck pace of
growth in its portfolio, and strengthen capital. Mr Greenspan seems keen to
get mortgage lending back into the hands of banks whose behaviour he can
influence. Congress, meanwhile, may enact stronger controls over Fannie and
Freddie. Economists at the Federal Reserve reckon that the GSEs pass on to
consumers only seven basis points of the 15-18 point spread between the
mortgages they buy and ordinary mortgages. Richard Baker, a Republican
congressman who sits on one of the committees considering the GSEs? future,
says he worries that Fannie and Freddie have forgotten their mission to help
low-income people and instead have become ?a very sophisticated hedge fund
which uses its leverage in the marketplace given by the taxpayers to yield
significant profits for shareholders?.

If the agencies are cut back dramatically, how much will it affect the
markets? Looking at it another way, how much is the house-price bubble due
to the availability of this huge pool of cheap credit? Not much, some would
say. After all, many other countries, including Britain, have managed to
produce perfectly good house-price bubbles without Fannie and Freddie, so
the condition may have more to do with general global liquidity and tax
breaks.

More specifically, house prices in America galloped merrily on in 2004 while
Fannie and Freddie were less active than they had been in years. Rising
house prices pushed the size of many mortgages up through the limit
($359,650 at present) that the GSEs are allowed to buy. Many borrowers chose
more complicated mortgages, such as hybrids (partly fixed-rate, partly
floating), which the GSEs find harder to buy up and securitise. The result
of all this is that the GSEs? furious pace of securitising mortgages slowed
in 2004, and their portfolios were virtually flat. Since then, Fannie has
slimmed its portfolio by another 17%.

It is too soon to know whether the GSEs can really absent themselves from
the market without its noticing. Despite everything, says Jim Vogel, senior
vice-president of FTN Financial Capital Markets, ?everyone out there still
assumes that there?s a put [option to sell] at some price back to Fannie and
Freddie.? And there is plenty of money around to lend at the moment. Though
Fannie?s shares, unlike Martha Stewart?s, have fared unhappily over the past
few months, yields on its long-term debt have been reasonably resilient.

If house prices dropped and defaults rose sharply, could that seriously trip
up Fannie and Freddie? That would depend on how sharp the changes were. The
agencies are prohibited from buying mortgages that represent more than 80%
of the value of the house. Prices would have to fall by more than 20%?by
much more, in areas where prices have risen most?before Fannie and Freddie
took a serious hit.

All this is not to say that a sharp change in either the agencies? status or
house prices would not roil the markets. But it seems that Congress could
dare to be bold, paring back the GSEs? portfolios and giving a new, stronger
regulator broader powers. The boldest move of all, of course, would be to
give up altogether on subsidising the American dream of home ownership for
all. Surely Congress would not go that far? Buttonwood thought not?until a
colleague pointed out that Britain had had a similar dream, financed through
tax breaks on mortgage interest. Where are those tax breaks today? History,
pure history. Just like Martha Stewart?s time inside.

Send comments on this article to Buttonwood (Please state whether you are
happy for your comments to be published)

Read more Buttonwood columns at www.economist.com/buttonwood


Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.


From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed Mar  9 12:17:09 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed Mar  9 12:18:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Homegrown Osamas
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV140BFDA066CE9EDE8CB5D4AB510@phx.gbl>

In this article N. Kristof mentions a couple of times "mud people" or a "mud person" in referring to Hale quotations ... what the heck is that? Oh No! is he referring to Black People?

By the way I'll bet Hale was shocked when N. Kristof told him he was married to a Chinese American woman.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: ialterman@nyc.rr.com
Sent: Wed, 9 Mar 2005 08:18:54 -0800
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Homegrown Osamas

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 9, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Homegrown Osamas
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Since 9/11, we've focused on the risk of foreign terrorism, but we have plenty of potential terrorists right here at home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/opinion/09kristof.html?ex=1111035600&en=e07511e92659b460&ei=5070




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

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
From maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed Mar  9 13:50:57 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed Mar  9 13:50:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re:  Movement in Mideast muffles critics of war in Iraq
Message-ID: <000e01c524f2$141a9860$1f25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Movement in Mideast muffles critics of war in Iraq

*snip*


Well, I'm not muffled, nobody can hear me, but I'm unmuffled anyway.

The war in Iraq "results" remain to be seen.  So far we have $9 Billion?
unnacounted for.

I'm a real fan of "Democracy", although the American brand of it fluctuates
between resembling the Original Pattern from 1776 and one step short of a
dictatorship.  That's quite a fluctuation, even for a "neo-conservative",
although you'll never hear one agreeing with the facts about it.

I would be tickled pink if "the middle east" just broke right out into
unison song and became Democratic overnight.  It looks doubtful in the face
of useless Saudi elections, same old dictatorship Egyptian elections, Syria
"pulling out" "but not all the way unless Israel gives in too" which is
highly unlikely, and the Palestinians still fighting against the imperialism
of people like Sharon, extremist settlers, and real estate developers who
haven't changed their preference for acquisition of land over mass murders
in the last 50 years.

That "Iraq" is responsible for all this "New Democracy" budding up
everywhere in places where the controlling entities are still quite willing
and able to shoot anyone who gets too uppity about it all, remains nothing
short of just one more frame in the comic book.

"Was George Bush right..?"....  I love that phrase from that other article
here, lol.

It's like a hitman shoots at the Pope and kills him, but the bullet passes
through him, ricochets off a tree and saves a little girl from eating a
poison apple, and the hitman is crowned king of democracy.  Funny stuff.
Then the hitman goes to church and receives absolution, goes home, watches
football, has a nice meal, and all is still well with the world.  The planet
is still safely in the hands of the hitman.

Well, something like that.    :|

The day the Saudis and the Egyptians hold *real* "free and fair elections"
must be at least a half century away at this rate.  That is not "Democracy
is spreading in the Middle East because Bush attacked Iraq".

The day the Israelis pull *completely* out of the West Bank and Gaza and
give it *back* *completely* to the Palestinians, I will eat my hat.

At least people over there in countries ruled by dictatorships etc under the
thumbs of benevolent mass murderers are "talking" about it.  That's at least
something.

Was it worth 1,600 dead American soldiers, 15,000? wounded American
soldiers, billions of our tax dollars basically down the toilet, the razing
of Fallujah etc, and 100,000 dead Iraqi men women and children Civilians...?

Perhaps the "little people yearning for Democracy" in places like Saudi
Arabia, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, etc now believe so.

The only problem is that we didn't invade *THEIR* countries.

The voices coming from their still dictatorial mass murderer ruled countries
would probably be a lot different right about now if we were setting up 14
military bases in them and they were still crying over their children with
no heads.

That anyone can even mildly print something like "Was Bush right...?"
continues to confirm that some humans will never rise above the basic level
of quasi-pundits grasping at any straws of "hope".

That it cost 100's of thousands of lives, means basically nothing in the
face of continued authoritarian dictatorial mass murderer rule that is most
likely not going away anytime soon, and has arrived as the basic equivalent
of a hitman holding his hands out like Jesus and saying "There will be peace
and freedom here" doesn't seem to impress them.

I continue to remain impressed by the entire matter.

Somewhere in the book of Revelations, I believe, there was a quote of "He
will destroy many with Peace".

If it wasn't Bush & Gang they were talking about, he at the very least has
all the words down perfectly.

Three cheers for the most recent saviours of the world.

The most ruthless cutthroat merciless entrepreneurs you never want to meet
in a dark alley.





Cheeseburger

.

From blackguard at voltaic.com  Wed Mar  9 10:08:07 2005
From: blackguard at voltaic.com (Edward A.Puckett)
Date: Wed Mar  9 15:02:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Canada - Say no to Big Brother plan for Internet
Message-ID: <c0ac8e3b90b22998fa3daf1d0fcbd0d5@voltaic.com>

[ From the Toronto Star ]

Say no to Big Brother plan for Internet

MICHAEL GEIST

During the Internet boom of the late 1990s, Nortel Networks ran an  
advertising campaign that featured as its slogan, "what do you want the  
Internet to be?" The implications were obvious ? the Internet was a  
technology of unlimited possibility that could be whatever we wanted it  
to be.

More than five years later, Nortel's vision is becoming reality. The  
Internet has become so essential to the every day lives of millions of  
people ? a pillar of communication, information, entertainment,  
education, and commerce ? that at times it seems as if the Internet  
really is anything we want it to be.

Notwithstanding the Internet's remarkable potential, there are dark  
clouds on the horizon. There are some who see a very different  
Internet. Theirs is an Internet with ubiquitous surveillance featuring  
real-time capabilities to monitor online activities. It is an Internet  
that views third party applications such as Vonage's Voice-over-IP  
service as parasitic. It is an Internet in which virtually all content  
should come at a price, even when that content has been made freely  
available. It is an Internet that would seek to cut off subscriber  
access based on mere allegations of wrongdoing, without due process or  
oversight from a judge or jury.

...

See:  
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/ 
Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1110150624459&call_pageid=970599119419

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar  9 15:29:50 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed Mar  9 15:32:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Earth Policy News - Learning From China
Message-ID: <002401c524ff$e616c700$353fe440@Harold>

Earth Policy News - Learning From China

Eco-Economy Update 2005-2
For Immediate Release
March 9, 2005

LEARNING FROM CHINA
Why the Western Economic Model Will not Work for the World
www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2005/Update46.htm

Lester R. Brown

Could the American dream in China become a nightmare for the world? For
China's 1.3 billion people, the American dream is fast becoming the
Chinese dream. Already millions of Chinese are living like
Americans--eating more meat, driving cars, traveling abroad, and otherwise
spending their fast-rising incomes much as Americans do. Although these
U.S.-style consumers are only a small fraction of the population, China's
claims on the earth's resources are already becoming highly visible.

In an Eco-Economy Update released in February, we pointed out that China
has replaced the United States as the world's leading consumer of most
basic commodities, like grain, coal, and steel. Now the question is, What
if consumption per person of these resources in China one day reaches the
current U.S. level? And, closely related, how long will it take for
China's annual income per person of $5,300 to reach the 2004 U.S. figure
of $38,000?

During the 26 years since the far-reaching economic reforms of 1978,
China's economy has been growing at a breakneck pace of 9.5 percent a
year. If it were now to grow at 8 percent per year, doubling every nine
years, income per person in 2031 for China's projected population of 1.45
billion would reach $38,000. (At a more conservative 6 percent annual
growth rate, the economy would double every 12 years, overtaking the
current U.S. income per person in 2040.) 

For this exercise we will assume an 8 percent annual economic growth rate.
If the Chinese consume resources in 2031 as voraciously as Americans do
now, grain consumption per person there would climb from 291 kilograms
today to the 935 kilograms needed to sustain a U.S.-style diet rich in
meat, milk, and eggs. In 2031 China would consume 1,352 million tons of
grain, far above the 382 million tons used in 2004. This is equal to two
thirds of the entire 2004 world grain harvest of just over 2 billion tons.
( See data at www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2005/Update46_data.htm

Given the limited potential for further raising the productivity of the
world's existing cropland, producing an additional 1 billion tons of grain
for consumption in China would require converting a large part of Brazil's
remaining rainforests to grain production. This assumes, of course, that
once they are cleared these soils could sustain crop production.

To reach the U.S. 2004 meat intake of 125 kilograms per person, China's
meat consumption would rise from the current 64 million tons to 181
million tons in 2031, or roughly four fifths of current world meat
production of 239 million tons.

With energy, the numbers are even more startling. If the Chinese use oil
at the same rate as Americans now do, by 2031 China would need 99 million
barrels of oil a day. The world currently produces 79 million barrels per
day and may never produce much more than that.

Similarly with coal. If China's coal burning were to reach the current
U.S. level of nearly 2 tons per person, the country would use 2.8 billion
tons annually--more than the current world production of 2.5 billion
tons.

Apart from the unbreathable air that such coal burning would create,
carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning in China alone would rival those
of the entire world today. Climate change could spiral out of control,
undermining food security and inundating coastal cities. 

If steel consumption per person in China were to climb to the U.S. level,
it would mean that China's aggregate steel use would jump from 258 million
tons today to 511 million tons, more than the current consumption of the
entire Western industrialized world.

Or consider the use of paper, another hallmark of modernization. If
China's meager annual consumption of 27 kilograms of paper per person were
to rise in 2031 to the current U.S. level of 210 kilograms, China would
need 303 million tons of paper, roughly double the current world
production of 157 million tons. There go the world's forests.

And what about cars? If automobile ownership in China were to reach the
U.S. level of 0.77 cars per person (three cars for every four people),
China would have a fleet of 1.1 billion cars in 2031--well beyond the
current world fleet of 795 million. The paving of land for roads,
highways, and parking lots for such a fleet would approach the area now
planted to rice in China. The competition between automobile owners and
farmers for productive cropland would be intense.

The point of this exercise of projections is not to blame China for
consuming so much, but rather to learn what happens when a large segment
of humanity moves quickly up the global economic ladder. What we learn is
that the economic model that evolved in the West--the fossil-fuel-based,
auto-centered, throwaway economy--will not work for China simply because
there are not enough resources.

If it does not work for China, it will not work for India, which has an
economy growing at 7 percent per year and a population projected to
surpass China's in 2030. Nor will it work for the other 3 billion people
in the developing world who also want to consume like Americans. Perhaps
most important, in an increasingly integrated global economy where all
countries are competing for the same dwindling resources it will not
continue to work for the 1.2 billion who currently live in the affluent
industrial societies either. 

The sooner we recognize that our existing economic model cannot sustain
economic progress, the better it will be for the entire world. The claims
on the earth by the existing model at current consumption levels are such
that we are fast depleting the energy and mineral resources on which our
modern industrial economy depends. We are also consuming beyond the
sustainable yield of the earth's natural systems. As we overcut, overplow,
overpump, overgraze, and overfish, we are consuming not only the interest
from our natural endowment, we are devouring the endowment itself. In
ecology, as in economics, this leads to bankruptcy.

China is teaching us that we need a new economic model, one that is based
not on fossil fuels but that instead harnesses renewable sources of
energy, including wind power, hydropower, geothermal energy, solar cells,
solar thermal power plants, and biofuels. In the search for new energy,
wind meteorologists will replace petroleum geologists. Energy architects
will be centrally involved in the design of buildings.

In the new economy, the transport system will be designed to maximize
mobility rather than automobile use. This new economy comprehensively
reuses and recycles materials of all kinds. The goal in designing
industrial processes and products is zero emissions and zero waste. 

Plan A, business as usual, is no longer a viable option. We need to turn
quickly to Plan B before the geopolitics of oil, grain, and raw material
scarcity lead to political conflict and disruption of the social order on
which economic progress depends.

# # #

Additional data and information sources at www.earth-policy.org or contact
vjimenez@earth-policy.org
For reprint permission contact rjkauffman@earth-policy.org

For a detailed discussion of this new economic model, see Eco-Economy:
Building an Economy for the Earth, Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress
and a Civilization in Trouble (both available for free downloading at
www.earth-policy.org/Books/index.htm), and the Eco-Economy Update "A Short
Path to Oil Independence" www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update43.htm 


  a.. --To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to 
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From arianna at ariannaonline.com  Wed Mar  9 15:10:18 2005
From: arianna at ariannaonline.com (Arianna Huffington)
Date: Wed Mar  9 15:40:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Senate Opens Fire on U.S. Consumers  3-9-05
Message-ID: <200503092340.j29NeoTS007140@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

THE SENATE OPENS FIRE ON U.S. CONSUMERS

By Arianna Huffington

U.S. consumers and freed Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena found themselves in the same position this week: under fire from those put in place to protect them.

For Sgrena, the bloody barrage came from jittery U.S. soldiers. For consumers, it was jaded U.S. senators who pulled the trigger, about to pass a bankruptcy bill so hostile to ordinary American families that it could only have come about in a place as corrupt, cynical and unmoored from reality as Washington, D.C.

In a normal world, those elected to represent the interests of the people would have fought for bankruptcy legislation that would, well, represent the interests of the people. But not in Beltway Bizarroland. Instead of cracking down on predatory lending practices, closing loopholes that favor the wealthy, and strengthening the safety net for working people, single mothers and elderly Americans struggling to recover from a financial setback, the Senate put together a nasty little bill that reads like a credit industry wish list. Rubbing salt in the wound, Sen. Charles Grassley, the bill's chief sponsor, labeled it the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005--even though it does nothing to prevent bankruptcy abuse or protect consumers. 

So what does the bill do? It makes it harder for average people to file for bankruptcy protection; it makes it easier for landlords to evict a bankrupt tenant; it endangers child support payments by giving a wider array of creditors a shot at post-bankruptcy income; it allows millionaires to shield an unlimited amount of value in homes and asset protection trusts; it makes it more difficult for small businesses to reorganize, while opening new loopholes for the Enrons of the world; it allows creditors to provide misleading information; and it does nothing to reign in lending abuses that frequently turn manageable debt into unmanageable crises. Even in failure, ordinary Americans do not get a level playing field.

Credit card companies have been feverishly lobbying for this legislation for nearly a decade--and it looks like the $34 million the finance and credit industries have contributed to political campaigns since 1996 is finally about to pay off. On Tuesday, the cloture vote on the bill was 69 to 31. The House passed similar legislation last year and GOP leaders are hoping to bypass the conference committee deadlocks that have derailed similar measures in the past and have the bill on President Bush's desk in short order. The president, well aware that credit card giant MBNA is one of the Republican Party's largest donors, has promised to sign the bill as soon as someone hands him a pen. 

Make no mistake, the inequitable nature of the bill--bending over backwards to help the credit card industry while sticking it to American working people who fall on hard times--is no accident. Time and again over the last week, the Senate shot down amendments that would have made the bill a bit less mean-spirited. They denied proposals that would have made it easier for military veterans, the sick and the elderly to qualify for bankruptcy protection. They even rejected an amendment that would have put a 30 percent ceiling on the interest rates credit card companies can charge. Thirty percent--that's more than Paulie Walnuts charges. But 74 U.S. senators--including John Kerry, Harry Reid, Barack Obama and Dick Durbin--clearly thought that wasn't high enough. Quick, somebody send those guys a Bible bookmarked to Deuteronomy 23:19: "Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother." 

For years, credit-card companies have been claiming that tougher laws are needed to reign in high-flying customers using bankruptcy to game the system. But the truth is that the vast majority of people who file for bankruptcy are middle-class folks who can't pay their bills because they've lost their jobs or been hit with high medical bills or gone through a divorce.

Indeed, a recent study by Harvard University found that half of last year's 1.6 million bankruptcies were the result of crushing medical bills. Put another way: Every 30 seconds, someone in this country files for bankruptcy in the wake of a serious illness. How's that for a shocking stat? Here's another: Three-quarters of the so-called medically bankrupt had health insurance. It just wasn't enough to cover the dramatic rise in health-care costs.

But instead of adapting to this harsh new reality, where hardworking, college-educated, middle-class folks can be financially destroyed by a sudden illness, the Senate is about to approve a one-size-fits-all law that treats a family man who has sunk into debt because of a heart attack the same as a con artist who maxes out his MasterCard, then refuses to pay up. 

Worst of all, the bill does absolutely nothing to protect consumers from the aggressive tactics credit-card companies have devised in recent years--tactics that have proven hugely profitable. Along with sending out over 5 billion solicitations a year, they are constantly developing new ways to stick it to the people they've already lured into the tent. For instance, companies now routinely jack up a cardholder's interest rate when their payment is late--and, presto, a "fixed" 7 percent APR is suddenly transformed into a cash-gobbling 30 percent loan. 

There has also been an explosion in the fees that credit card companies charge: late fees, balance transfer fees, cash-advance fees, over-the-limit fees. Such fees bring in billions and are partly responsible for the fact that, even as personal bankruptcies in America have steadily increased, so have the profits of credit card companies--which reached a whopping $30 billion last year. 

So tell me again: Just who is gaming the system?

It's one thing for credit card companies to exact their pound of flesh even as their profits soar. But shouldn't we hold our elected officials to a higher standard? The bankruptcy bill is morally bankrupt. And so is any senator who votes for it. 

? 2005 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar  9 12:08:04 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar  9 15:43:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: MSNBC - Crumbling nation U.S. infrastructure gets a
	'D'
In-Reply-To: <001301c524d6$81404000$18161aac@esedona.net>
Message-ID: <200503092343.j29NhREw007152@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar  9 16:44:05 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed Mar  9 16:45:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Saddam's capture fabricated
Message-ID: <001101c5250a$4515e290$353fe440@Harold>

A US Marine who captured Saddam says Public version fabricated.

He was found a day before in a modest house in a village, not in a hole the ground. 

(Therefore no marine could have said "Bush sends his regards" or what ever?)

http://www.wokr13.tv/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=422B960A-26BA-4891-9E60-21C8818788D4

If this story is true, it would be another slap in the face, another lie by the Pentagon and Rumsfeld

The crap/lies just keep going round and round and round ............

Later H
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  9 17:05:18 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 17:06:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mass Pro-Syria Rally Shows Lebanese Split
Message-ID: <4035565.1110416718184.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Mass Pro-Syria Rally Shows Lebanese Split 
--------------------

By Megan K. Stack
Times Staff Writer

March 9 2005

BEIRUT &#8212; Pouring in from the countryside in a massive show of political force, hundreds of thousands of Hezbollah backers crammed into the Lebanese capital Tuesday to shout "Death to America!" and yell praise for Syria. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-lebanon9mar09,0,3266848.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  9 17:10:38 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 17:12:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.N. May Need Bolton's Bitter Medicine
Message-ID: <17944588.1110417038961.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
U.N. May Need Bolton's Bitter Medicine 
--------------------

By Jacob Heilbrunn
Jacob Heilbrunn is an editorial writer at The Times.

March 9 2005

President Bush's nomination of neoconservative pit bull John R. Bolton to become ambassador to the United Nations is raising red flags among liberals. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-heilbrunn9mar09,0,1776570.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar  9 17:14:14 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar  9 17:15:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Your Death Should Be Your Choice
Message-ID: <19071143.1110417254960.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Your Death Should Be Your Choice 
--------------------

If the right to die is consistently denied, what does freedom mean?

By Crispin Sartwell
Crispin Sartwell's most recent book is "Six Names of Beauty" (Routledge, 2004).

March 9 2005

My father died in 1980 of emphysema, a disease that resembles drowning over a period of years. When the time came to send him to the hospital for the fifth session of useless, torturous intensive care, he, my stepmother, my brother and I decided it was enough. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-sartwell9mar09,0,6707841.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar  9 17:31:52 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed Mar  9 17:33:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Dan Rather and the memo issue
Message-ID: <000801c52510$f28e1770$353fe440@Harold>

The memo issue is still unresolved

http://www.observer.com/pages/frontpage5.asp

No charges have been laid by the Feds as to the memo/docs

Later H
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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed Mar  9 18:00:08 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed Mar  9 17:59:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.N. May Need Bolton's Bitter Medicine
Message-ID: <000701c52514$e3550260$2c25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  U.N. May Need Bolton's Bitter Medicine


*snip*



Funniest thing I've read in a long time.

"Hitler" assembling his entourage for "The Final Conflict".   Fascinating to
watch.

If America, the "neo-conservatives", the "new saviours of the world", on
both sides of The Aisle, could contain their own anti-Humanitarian agendas
both domestically and abroad, half the "Terrorism". "Tyranny" and
"Inequality" across the globe would disappear overnight.

But they can't.  And they won't.  It's just too profitable to remain on "a
steady course" rather than do something imbecilic like rein in their own
crimes and shortcomings.

So, instead, we'll send a right-wing munching on glass guy to "rein in the
UN" like Bolton instead.

Again, funniest thing I've read in a long time.

If it weren't for superpowers like America who continue to maintain the most
advanced and most numerous amount of WMD in stock and who are currently in
The Middle East killing 10's or 100's of thousands of, among other people,
Civilians, and for all reasons, OIL, and using the smokescreen of "We are
bringing Peace and Freedom to the world", for the most part we wouldn't even
need things like the UN.

But we need to rein them in anyway because "They" are "the out of control
people".

Again, LA Times other news outlets political analysts etc, thanks for the
laughs.  My chocolate milk shot right out of my nose, took me an hour to
clean up my computer monitor.




Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 10 03:06:22 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 10 03:07:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14186630.1110452782329.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Senate Impasse Stops 'Clear Skies' Measure
 
 By Shankar Vedantam
 
  President Bush's bid to rewrite federal air pollution laws ground to a halt in Congress yesterday when Republicans were unable to overcome objections in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that the bill would weaken the central pillars of the nation's environmental protection framework.
 
 The setback is a body blow to the White House's prized plan and a victory for environmentalists who have long said that the "Clear Skies" bill is a euphemism for rolling back safeguards at the behest of industry. 
 
 The Environmental Protection Agency will issue new regulations today and next week to set limits on air pollutants, but the rules will not change the provisions in the Clean Air Act that would have been revised by Clear Skies.  
 
 The panel deadlocked over fundamental differences on how to balance the desire for cleaner air with the cost to industry and jobs. 
 
 Republicans accused Democrats of obstructing effective and common-sense legislation to deny Bush an important environmental victory. Democrats, joined by Sen. James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.) and Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.), said the negotiations were conducted in bad faith, that the pollution-control targets were too low and that the bill contained irresponsible loopholes. 
 
 The 9 to 9 vote that blocked the bill from going to the Senate floor followed weeks of postponements marked by lowball tactics and high drama. Although neither side said the bill is doomed, they remain far apart, and future negotiations will have to bridge deep mistrust and radical disagreements. 
 
 "This bill has been killed by the environmental extremists, who care more about continuing the litigation-friendly status quo and making a political statement about carbon dioxide than they do about reducing air pollution," said Chairman James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.). 
 
 Jeffords retorted: "This legislation denies plain scientific evidence of human health damage from toxic air pollution and of global warming from greenhouse gas emissions." 
 
 A central disagreement was whether the bill  --  originally aimed at reducing the emissions of acid-rain-causing sulfur dioxide, smog-forming nitrogen oxides, and toxic mercury from coal-fired power plants and other industries  --  should also address carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming. That issue cost the Republican majority Chafee's crucial vote, said Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio).
 
 "Chafee thinks this is the biggest problem facing the world, and the chairman [Inhofe] has a sign in his office saying this is a hoax," Voinovich said as he threw up his hands. With other Senate business piling up, Democrats demanding new analyses that could take months and next year's elections looming, Voinovich and Inhofe indicated the odds are long that Clear Skies would return to the agenda anytime soon. "There is a limited window here," Voinovich said.
 
 Without alluding to the vote, Bush reiterated his support for the Clear Skies measure in a speech in Ohio yesterday, saying that the EPA rules will be a poor substitute for legislation. 
 
 Democrats said they will continue to press for compromises. Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) suggested that an agreement is still possible  --  even for controls on carbon. One possibility would involve setting voluntary caps on carbon emissions that would harden into a mandatory limit if industry failed to meet the voluntary targets, he said.
 
 But in a briefing a month ago, James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, flatly said: "What will never fly is a mandatory cap on carbon."
 
 Both Republicans and Democrats marshaled an array of supporters, cited the importance of addressing air pollution through bipartisan legislation and accused the other side of intransigence.
 
 Connaughton and several Republicans said that overly stringent measures would raise the price of power, hit seniors hard and cause polluting industries to leave U.S. shores for countries with lower standards. Voinovich and Inhofe cited support from some unions and seniors organizations, along with most industry groups.
 
 Democrats were backed by environmental groups, the attorneys general of 14 states and two bipartisan groups of local officials  --  the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials. S. William Becker, executive director of both organizations, said Inhofe had unfairly targeted them for a financial inquiry after they announced their opposition to Bush's bill. 
 
 Critics of the plan said it would weaken existing law that calls for companies to install emission controls in old power plants when they are modernized, allows states to go to court over pollution from plants in neighboring states, and provides specific protections for national parks. 
 
 Next week, the EPA is scheduled to issue a regulation addressing mercury pollution  --  a proposal that is also controversial and is likely to be taken straight to court by environmental groups. Environmental advocates are more positive about the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which the EPA will announce today, to control sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. 
 
 Like the Clear Skies proposal, both EPA rules involve cap-and-trade schemes that allow industries to decide where to focus pollution control efforts. The CAIR rule may not go far enough fast enough, environmentalists said, but it is superior to Bush's bill.
 
 "Clear Skies was a half-step forward and two steps backward," said Conrad Schneider, a spokesman for the environmental coalition Clear the Air. "The CAIR rule is just a half-step forward." 
 
 Staff writer Jim VandeHei contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 10 03:08:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 10 03:10:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <1868305.1110452931379.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Pentagon's Global View
 
 By Renae Merle
 
  The Pentagon is increasingly shopping overseas for its weapons, ending a long made-in-America tradition that assured U.S. defense contractors of nearly exclusive sales to their best customer.
 
 The Navy's recent selection of a British-Italian design for the president's next helicopter demonstrated the breadth of the move toward foreign suppliers. The U.S. incumbent, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., surprisingly lost to an international team led by Lockheed Martin Corp. In another blow to Buy America advocates, the Army will base the design of its newest spy planes on Brazilian-made Embraer jets instead of Georgia-built Gulfstream aircraft.
 
 Yesterday's announcement that BAE Systems PLC of Britain will acquire Arlington-based United Defense Industries Inc. further emphasizes the interplay between foreign and American defense companies.
 
 The new openness raises the prospect that the Air Force will seriously entertain a European bid to replace its refueling tanker planes after a Boeing Co. deal collapsed last year in an ethics scandal at the company. Sikorsky will face two foreign rivals  --  the British-Italian company AgustaWestland Inc. and Eurocopter, the world's biggest helicopter maker  --  in a $10 billion Air Force competition to build search-and-rescue choppers. Also on the horizon is an Army decision on whether to replace the M16 rifle, designed by Connecticut-based Colt Defense LLC, with a German-designed gun.
 
 "I have often said that we in the United States have never had a global monopoly on good ideas or on innovation," said Suzanne D. Patrick, the deputy undersecretary of defense for industrial policy. 
 
 The consolidation of the defense industry in the 1990s reduced the number of domestic defense companies so sharply that the Pentagon has been forced to widen the field of bidders to keep costs down, industry analysts said. For some products, only one U.S. manufacturer exists. Chicago-based Boeing Corp. is the last domestic maker of wide-body jets, forcing the Pentagon to consider Europe's Airbus SA if it wants a competition. With the Pentagon's budget squeezed by war costs and deficit concerns, military leaders are increasingly willing to buy a foreign product rather than pay more to develop a U.S. alternative, analysts said.
 
 The Pentagon's purchases overseas could have a silver lining for American contractors: Foreign governments may be more willing to buy U.S. products. 
 
 Like its counterpart in the United States, the European defense industry also has consolidated and developed expertise, and is aggressively pursing work with the Pentagon, which is still flush with cash compared with their nations' defense departments. Last year, the United States spent $454 billion on defense, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while NATO spent $172 billion and Britain spent only $38 billion, according to figures collected by the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University.
 
 "The policy paradigm in the late 1990s was that the formation of transatlantic defense industry teams could help ensure competition in consolidating defense markets," said Jeffrey P. Bialos, executive director of the Johns Hopkins program, who was deputy undersecretary of defense for industrial affairs in the Clinton administration. "The truth is, this administration has shown few intentions of following through on that design." The presidential-helicopter award "is a hopeful sign," he said.
 
 Some in Congress worry that relying too much on foreign military suppliers would hurt domestic industries and raise national security concerns. They contend that foreign governments could choose to slow or stop production of U.S.-bound products when the Pentagon needs them most. "The average taxpayer pays $1,000 a year for the Defense Department's budget," said Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee. "There is an equity argument to the effect that the people who pay for the defense of the free world . . . should have the right to build the defense system of the free world, or at least the American defense systems."
 
 The Pentagon has bought some foreign products for years. Many of the latest examples involve foreign contractors teamed with U.S. companies that act as their prime contacts with the Defense Department. 
 
 The Italian-designed Beretta 9mm pistol replaced the Colt .45 as the standard sidearm for soldiers in the 1980s. The Army has used the C-23 Sherpa, a small cargo jet, from Northern Ireland's Short Brothers PLC for decades. And when it holds a competition to replace the Sherpa this year it is likely to choose between an international team led by New York-based L-3 Communications Inc.  --  which has a partnership with Alenia Aeronautica SpA, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica SpA  --  and a jet from European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., which is owned partly by the French government. L-3's team may have the advantage, according to Wall Street analysts, because Italy supported the United States in the Iraq war. 
 
 Foreign incursions into the market also are threatening smaller defense firms. Arch Chemicals Inc. of Norwalk, Conn., is seeking to retain its 50-year monopoly on supplying the rocket fuel hydrazine to the Pentagon. Last year the Defense Energy Support Center said it would hold a competition for the fuel, arguing that a contest could drive down Arch's rising prices. The average price per pound for the fuel has doubled since 1995, according to the agency. 
 
 Arch has sued to disqualify its major competitor, United Paradyne Corp. of Santa Maria, Calif., which would license technology from a French manufacturer, SNPE SA, to help produce the fuel. A United Paradyne executive said SPNE's role is limited, but in court documents Arch argues that awarding the contract to its competitor "could effectively give a French government-owned company control over our nation's only source of hydrazine, thereby giving the French government the ability to ground all of our . . . spy satellites, and GPS launch vehicles."
 
 The Pentagon plays down such concerns. The only requirement is that the fuel be produced domestically even if the company relies on foreign technology, said Jack L. Hooper, spokesman for the Defense Logistics Agency, which oversees the program. 
 
 The franchise of Connecticut-based Colt Defense LLC also is being challenged. For years, soldiers have used the M-16 and M-4 rifles developed by the company. Now the Army is testing a weapon called the XM8, developed by Germany-based Heckler & Koch GmbH, which has interchangeable parts and barrels that allow it to be turned into a light machine gun or sniper rifle. After some members of Congress raised concerns, Heckler & Koch established a joint venture with Falls Church-based General Dynamics Corp. to manufacture the weapons domestically. "I think with a fair competition it would be a really tough fight," said William Keys, president of Colt Defense LLC.
 
 Not everything is open to competition. Arianespace SA, the European rocket-launch company, is hoping to work with NASA, but doesn't expect the same with the Pentagon. "Maybe in the civil space industry there will be an opportunity" for cooperation, said Clay Mowry, president of Arianespace Inc., the U.S. subsidiary. "But we haven't seen any kinks in the armor on the defense side."
 
 A significant sign of Pentagon policy will emerge from its decision on how to modernize its fleet of refueling tankers. The Air Force was close to a deal with Boeing but the contract fell through after the company became embroiled in an ethics scandal that led to the firing of two high-level executives.
 
 Now Boeing is likely to face its European rival in a competition to build the planes. The prospect will anger Boeing supporters in Congress, but the Pentagon may not have a choice, industry analysts said. Lockheed could compete but would have to develop a new plane from scratch, an expensive proposition for the Air Force. Instead, the Pentagon may be more willing to buy cheaper, established technology from overseas, the analysts said.
 
 While critics are concerned that the trend could reduce the already shrinking aerospace workforce, the Pentagon argues that foreign competitors are creating jobs. Last year, EADS NV, Europe's largest defense firm, opened a helicopter plant in Mississippi. Embraer SA of Brazil is leasing a 71,000-square-foot plant in Jacksonville, Fla., to assemble the Army spy planes. Foreign investment in the United States from 2000 to 2003 fell 12 percent, to $566 billion, according to a Pentagon report. But in the same period, foreign investment in the aerospace sector jumped 198 percent, to $3.4 billion.
 
 "Those companies have made extraordinary investments in the U.S. defense industrial base and not investments that provide no benefit to the local communities and to the strength of our defense industrial base  --  quite the contrary," said Patrick, the Pentagon industrial policy official. "I cannot see how this weakens the U.S. defense industrial base." 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 10 03:07:27 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 10 03:10:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32309318.1110452847399.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Feeling the Pull of Thai Massage
 
 By Dana Scarton
 
  The demands of Tim Prue's combined roles of production engineer and business owner, from booking clients to building a set, can leave him exhausted. But he's found a way to manage the stress.
 
 Twice a month he gets a Thai massage, a form of bodywork that has little to do with a Swedish-style rubdown. In Thai massage, the practitioner's table is replaced by a floor mat, no oils or lotions are used, and clients wear clothing suitable for exercise. The practitioner uses his hands, knees and feet to manipulate the client's body into a series of postures and stretches that resemble yoga positions. In fact, some call Thai massage "lazy man's yoga."
 
 "Thai massage is the one type that really worked for me," said Prue, 41, of Gaithersburg. "I usually feel rejuvenated when I finish. That's why I keep going back." Prue's treatment is provided in-home by Tony Jackson, who also offers the therapy at Studio Infinity in D.C.'s Glover Park and at the YWCA Fitness and Aquatics Center in Chinatown. 
 
  Although it's been popular on the West Coast for years and in Asian countries for centuries, Thai massage is in its infancy in the Washington area. By most estimates, the therapy is catching on here.
 
  "In our first six months, we saw eight to 10 [Thai massage] clients a week," said David Roylance, who along with his wife, Tukta, founded Touch of Asia in Sterling 18 months ago. "Now we see 40 people per week. We could see more if we had the capacity."
 
  Steven Brown of D.C. Massage Therapies in Tenleytown estimated that 30 percent of his business is devoted to Thai massage, which he began offering three years ago. 
 
  Pierce Salguero says the technique evolved in Thailand as early as the 17th century. Salguero spent five years in Thailand, completed a master's degree in East Asian Studies at the University of Virginia and now operates Tao Mountain, a nonprofit association in Charlottesville that teaches the form of massage Thai physicians learn as part of their formal training. 
 
 Essentially the method is acupressure combined with stretches and postures achieved through interaction with the practitioner. In the plow, for example, the practitioner carefully lifts your legs over your head while you rest on your back.
 
 "In most villages in Thailand, every grandmother knows how to do this," said Salguero, author of The Encyclopedia of Thai Massage (2004, Findhorn Press). "It is part of family life and is done weekly to promote longevity and flexibility." 
 The Treatment 
 I arrived at Touch of Asia in a T-shirt and sweat pants to learn what Thai massage was like from the receiving end.
 
 After completing a two-page health questionnaire, I was escorted to a room furnished with a thin mattress in the middle of the floor. Lights were dim, and relaxing New Age music played as I got comfortable on my back, my head propped on a pillow. The 90-minute treatment began with Tukta Roylance kneeling at my feet and gently kneading each one, from the ankle to the tips of each toe. Nothing new here, I thought. 
 
  Moments later, though, Tukta, a Thai who trained at Bangkok's premier massage school, Wat Po, began using her body to stretch mine. In one move she sat facing me, slightly off to one side, while I lay on my back. She pressed the soles of her feet against the hamstrings of my left leg while tugging my left ankle toward her. This gentle push-pull maneuver had the effect of stretching my left quadriceps, a deep, gentle, sustained stretch much more satisfying than any quad stretches I'd done on my own. An identical stretch was performed on my right leg. 
 
  Things continued, with Tukta maneuvering me into various poses. The cobra involved my lying on my stomach while Tukta crouched over my rear end and, gripping my forearms, leaned back, causing my head and upper chest to lift off the ground. Between stretches, Tukta used her thumbs to knead muscles. 
 
 Without my saying a word, she was able to gauge precisely how far to push or pull to attain a maximum stretch while avoiding injury and pain. My job was simply to inhale prior to a stretch and exhale during it. I didn't have to move a muscle, at least not voluntarily. It felt fabulous. 
 Energy and Balance 
  The underlying goal of Thai massage, according to David Roylance, is to balance the body's energy systems. 
 
 Thai medicine asserts that the body contains an infinite number of energy channels called "sen" lines. These are similar to the meridians of Chinese medicine, but meridians are said to correlate with specific organs while sen lines correlate with symptoms. 
 
 "If there are blockages in the energy systems, you can start to see symptoms in the body -- a cramp in your arm, asthma, skin disease, a psychological illness," said Roylance, who studied with Salguero. "What we do, using acupressure and stretching and compressions, is to free those blockages, open up the body, and restore it back to health."
 
 Thai massage resembles a type of dance. "It's very fluid, very methodical," Brown said. "Each movement flows into the next." The dance improves with each visit, he said, as the practitioner gains a deeper understanding of a client's body and its limitations and the client comes to know the routine. 
 
  Because the massage is active -- and interactive -- recipients aren't likely to nod off.
 
  "If someone wants to zone out, I'd tell them to go get a Swedish massage," said Martine Burkel of Bethesda, a client of Brown's for the past two years. 
 
  "I'm a terrible self-stretcher, so I sort of feel that I compensate by doing this," said Burkel, 46. "If it's between five more minutes of running [at the end of a workout] or going to stretch, I'll choose the running."
 
 But even if you're a dedicated self-stretcher or yoga regular, you can derive benefits from Thai massage, practitioners and clients say. There seems to be something unique about having stretching done to you. 
 
  "If you stretch yourself, you are actively stretching," Roylance said. "Your muscles are actively engaged in stretching. But if someone is stretching you, your muscles are relaxed and passive, which means you can go into a pose much more easily and deeply than if you were to do it on your own." 
 
  A relative newcomer to massage therapies, I'd expected to lump Thai massage under a general "feel-good treatment" umbrella along with the Swedish massages I'd thoroughly enjoyed on a few occasions. 
 
  It did feel good. I felt so limber and light I worried mid-massage that I'd have to be poured into my car afterward and pumped with caffeine to stay focused for the drive home. 
 
  But when the treatment ended and I stood, I felt straight and tall and loose -- in a wide-awake, the-juices-are-flowing way. I gladly accepted the cup of hot peppermint tea -- caffeine-free -- Tukta handed me on the way out. I didn't need the energy boost. I simply wanted to savor the moment. •
 
 Freelance writer Dana Scarton has written about fitness topics for the Health section.
     
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 10 03:09:46 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 10 03:11:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5859201.1110452986699.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Those Subtle Chinese
 
 By Robert Kagan
 
    For the past few months I've been hearing from a bevy of China experts about how subtle and brilliant Beijing's diplomacy has become in recent years. Sophisticated and confident, Chinese diplomats have been running rings around the United States, winning friends and influencing people throughout East Asia and the world.  So I can only marvel at China's latest diplomatic gambits, whose brilliance and sophistication must be so subtle as not to be susceptible to normal modes of analysis.
 
 First, China's leaders this week introduced a draft "Anti-Secession Law" in the People's Congress that  threatens military action against Taiwan. An official summary of the legislation declares that "in the event that the 'Taiwan independence' forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan's secession from China should occur, or that possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted, that [the] state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity." This deliberately vague threat would seem to suggest that China might attack Taiwan in the event that (a) Taiwan declares independence,  (b) seems to be about to declare independence,  (c) seems to be thinking about possibly declaring independence some time in the future or (d) is not thinking about independence at all but merely refuses to be absorbed by China in a timely manner.
 
 What's striking about this bellicose "legislation" is not only the content but the timing.  It comes on the heels of an election in Taiwan in which pro-independence forces are widely assumed to have suffered a bit of a setback and when Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, seems intent on improving the climate of cross-strait relations. He recently announced  publicly that he would "not declare independence," would not seek an amendment to the constitution to change Taiwan's status and would not "promote a referendum to change the status quo in regards to the issues of independence or unification." Perhaps Beijing thinks it is wise to follow this softening of the Taiwanese position with a renewed round of threats and intimidation, though if history is any guide, such intimidation will produce the opposite effect  in Taiwan.
 
 The threat also comes as some of China's neighbors, notably Japan and, more quietly, Australia, are evincing some nervousness about China's growing power and muscle-flexing. Japan has recently sought to broaden the scope of its security ties with the United States  and for the first time has explicitly discussed joint U.S.-Japanese cooperation in the event of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. What better way for China to soothe Japanese nervousness than to appear even more belligerent?
 
 But Chinese subtlety doesn't end there. According to a report this week in The Australian, Chinese officials have recently demanded that the Australian government "review" its 50-year-old treaty with the United States. Australia "needs to be careful," Beijing Foreign Ministry official He Yafei reportedly warned, lest it wind up in a confrontation with China as part of its treaty obligations to the United States. Now, anyone who knows the Australian character knows that this kind of blunt "warning" and demand for a loosening of security ties with the United States is precisely the wrong tack to take if you really hope to influence Australian policy. So the Chinese must be operating on an entirely different plane of diplomatic sophistication.
 
 In fact, of course, there is nothing at all subtle about Chinese "diplomacy." The Chinese are indeed flexing their muscles, wielding their increasing economic and military clout to demand greater obedience from their neighbors. There is nothing surprising in this. The only surprise is the way the world, including the United States, has in recent years tried to ignore China's growing belligerence, mesmerized by its economic performance and dreaming of a reformed, postmodern China that can be "integrated" into the global liberal economic order. Some American analysts have even been calling for the erection of new collective security structures in East Asia that would include China.
 
 But that rather misses the point. New security structures are needed in East Asia, but they should involve America's democratic allies, all of whom now share an increasing fear of a China whose rise may or may not be entirely peaceful. Since Sept. 11, 2001, a United States understandably consumed with the terrorist threat has done less than it might have to reassure those allies that America's power and its will to deter remain undiminished in East Asia. This may have helped convince the Chinese that bullying can work.
 
 It is possible that China hopes to get what it wants by bullying alone and that the Chinese leadership has no real intention of making good on its threats. It is also possible, however, that the Chinese are laying the groundwork for an eventual military assault on Taiwan. Who knows?  Either way it would be foolish and dangerous to ignore Chinese threats. The best way to avoid war in the Taiwan Strait is to make clear that the United States will abide by its defense commitments, together with its Australian and Japanese allies. Let's not be too subtle.
 
 Robert Kagan, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, writes a monthly column for The Post.
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 10 03:11:26 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 10 03:12:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10546426.1110453086340.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 An Unlikely Campaign Reformer
 
 By David S. Broder
 
   When compiling a list of genuine reformers in the Senate, a name that does not spring automatically to mind is that of Trent Lott of Mississippi. But the Republican former majority leader has seized the role and is driving hard to end the worst abuses of the last presidential campaign. Those abuses stemmed from the expansion of so-called 527 groups, nominally independent political organizations that collected $400 million in essentially unregulated funds and poured them into TV ad campaigns, often of the nastiest variety.
 
  Democrats were the main abusers, with billionaire George Soros and friends financing a network of groups run by longtime party and labor activists. But Republicans drew even more blood, thanks to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads questioning John Kerry's service in Vietnam.
 
  One of the unexpected results  of this bipartisan excess is a resolve by senators of both parties, led by Lott, chairman of the Rules Committee, to clamp down on 527s before the next election.
 
  John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), who teamed up to sponsor the major campaign finance reform bill passed  in 2002, can hardly believe the support they are getting for their new legislation restricting 527s. McCain-Feingold became law only after years of fierce battles, with Republican regulars fighting it every step of the way and some Democrats quietly hoping for its demise. That law essentially shut down the unregulated "soft money" contributions to political parties, which had ballooned into the principal source of funding on the Democratic side and a major revenue stream for Republicans.
 
  Despite the restrictions, both parties found they could finance the 2004 campaigns on an even larger scale, thanks primarily to a flood of small contributions, solicited by phone and mail and (for the first time) through the Internet.
 
  But just when the reformers were about to see their dreams realized  --  a campaign fueled by relatively small and fully visible contributions  --  the 527s moved in and basically attempted to swamp the airwaves with lavishly financed and mostly negative ads. More than one-third of the 527s' money  --  $146 million  --  came from 25 wealthy individuals.
 
  Because the outrage was bipartisan, establishment figures such as Lott, who opposed earlier measures, now have joined McCain and Feingold in pushing the next step in campaign reform. On Tuesday Lott held the first hearing of the year in his committee on legislation to curb the 527s and stacked the witness list with proponents of action. He announced at the end of two hours that he hoped to mark up a bill soon after the Easter recess and move it to the Senate floor quickly enough that it might take effect for the 2006 campaign.
 
  The bill would basically require 527s to comply with the same contribution limits that any other political committee now faces. As McCain put it, "a George Soros could give $25,000 per year . . . as opposed to $10 million."
 
  The 527s were able to escape the restrictions of McCain-Feingold in 2004 because of some fancy legal maneuvering by their lawyers, who gained a tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Service by arguing that they were engaged in exempted political activities and then turning around and convincing the Federal Election Commission that they were not political committees as defined by the Supreme Court.
 
  The legislation being drafted for the Senate has to walk  a narrow constitutional line, because the reformers, including Lott, do not want to inhibit communication to voters by more traditional advocacy groups pushing particular issues or causes. But that's a matter of drafting, which can be solved.
 
  Tuesday's hearing included warnings from some campaign finance experts that if 527s are restricted, that money may be shifted into other, less visible political channels. But Michael Malbin, head of the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute, said such warnings should not deter action against a visible evil. "Observe what happens," he counseled, "and then see if further steps are needed."
 
  That is precisely what Lott is determined to do. His goal, he said, is to pass "a pretty sensitive, targeted bill," one that will not infringe on the freedom of advocacy groups but that also will not satisfy those who would, if the Constitution permitted it, restrict the campaign dialogue to the candidates and the political parties.
 
  Early Senate action will put pressure on the House, where reform sentiment does not have the same reach into the Republican leadership. That will be another story.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 10 03:12:12 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 10 03:13:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <12538220.1110453132109.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Nurturing The Beirut Spring
 
 By Jim Hoagland
 
    Lebanon, when I lived there, was a simmering cauldron that I watched explode into vicious civil war in the spring of 1975. Thirty years have not dimmed my regard for the Lebanese people or my regret over their fate. Trusting their political instincts still comes hard, however.
 
  This is to take nothing away from the tens  of thousands who seized the streets to protest the ill-begotten Syrian occupation of their land. These outpourings have required, and shown,  courage and a national unity long absent from Lebanon.
 
  Nor should we quarrel with those who portray this embryonic Beirut Spring as a positive step in the democratic transformation of the Middle East. This is a moment that should be celebrated, supported and expanded, as President Bush suggested by predicting on Tuesday that "the thaw has begun" for the region.
 
  But it is also a moment to keep expectations from racing too far ahead of Lebanon's complex reality and the differing views  its troubles still provoke from outside powers, principally France and the United States. The best way to aid Lebanon's rebirth as a nation is to keep the focus on the intricate set of political negotiations over power-sharing that the Lebanese themselves must initiate, manage and make succeed once the Syrian boot is off their neck.
 
  Each of Lebanon's three large population groups  --  Christians, Sunnis and Shiites  --  has competitively and disastrously relied on outsiders to provide a margin of domination that none can achieve alone. The United States can help most by catalyzing and then shielding the process of reconciliation from outside interference, as it now does by pushing the Syrians to leave. Overreaching because of early, inflated optimism is to be avoided not only for Lebanon's sake but for the sake of the larger U.S. project for regional transformation.
 
 Exaggerated optimism about Iraq  --  mine included  --  gave rise to post-invasion bitterness and exaggerated pessimism inside and outside the administration. The overreaction  --  the swift, continuing alternation in perception between "success" and "failure"  --  obscured the need for a speedy transfer of responsibility to Iraqis and helped delay elections there. The political runways in Iraq were overshot, successively, in opposite directions.
 
  Something similar could easily happen in Lebanon, a country that provides a study in contrasts, physical and political, as I kept hearing when I was preparing to move there for The Post in 1972: You can ski down snowy slopes in the morning to swim in the Mediterranean at lunch. Lebanon contains the Arab world's most energetic, resourceful and warm people  --  until their divisions and hatreds explode into internecine butchery.
 
  These foreign-correspondent stereotypes captured a split-level reality that civil war, Syrian occupation, great-power neglect and now this effervescent moment of political change have not erased. Anything is possible in Lebanon.
 
  But the country's deep social chasms make Lebanon a weak reed for the Bush administration to lean on in pursuing its Greater Middle East ambitions. Those in search of historical analogies may eventually have to consider Europe's promising but stillborn revolutions of 1848 instead of the collapse of the Soviet empire and the Berlin Wall in 1989 as the model.
 
  Initially successful uprisings in France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and elsewhere in 1848 were reversed by authoritarian governments. But to say the revolutions "failed" is to misread history. The impulses they generated continued to course through those societies and guide them toward national unity and democracy long afterward. A rush to judgment concerning the coming difficult weeks in Lebanon might also miss their fundamental importance.
 
  In the last century, Lebanon was an  intellectual and political catalyst in the Arab world. Events have placed restoration of that role within reach  --  if Syrian withdrawal and its aftermath are managed tenaciously and with vision. And that outcome would reinforce the waves of change that regime change and elections in Iraq have provoked.
 
  France and the United States have found common cause to press Syria's Bashar Assad to withdraw troops that were first sent to Beirut in 1976 with the approval of both powers. "Paris wants to stabilize Lebanon, and Washington wants to destabilize Syria," a diplomat in Europe said to me recently. "There's something for everyone."
 
  The hard work lies ahead, as Assad predictably tries to buy time with vague promises and muscle-flexing through his Hezbollah allies, who organized a massive pro-Syrian rally Tuesday. But the key judgment made by the Bush administration in the spring of 2002  --  that the political status quo could not and should not be maintained in the Middle East  --  is being proved prescient and worth pursuing through this Beirut Spring.
 
 jimhoagland@washpost.com
 
  
 
  
 
   

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:08:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:10:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: G.O.P. Senators Balk at Tax Cuts in Bush's
	Budget
Message-ID: <20050310130858.E2CF911F8C9@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | March 10, 2005

G.O.P. Senators Balk at Tax Cuts in Bush's Budget
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG BR / and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

Republican leaders offered a budget for 2006 that would undo more than a fourth of the cuts that President Bush has requested.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/politics/10budget.html?ex=1111122000&en=de81ead1f2912644&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:11:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Called Ready to See Hezbollah in
	Lebanon Role
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WASHINGTON | March 10, 2005

U.S. Called Ready to See Hezbollah in Lebanon Role
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

The U.S. move was a reluctant recognition that Hezbollah could block efforts to get Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/politics/10diplo.html?ex=1111122000&en=d4e6b9d3d47f4d44&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:11:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: New Interrogation Rules Set for Detainees
	in Iraq
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WASHINGTON | March 10, 2005

New Interrogation Rules Set for Detainees in Iraq
By ERIC SCHMITT

A new report finds that warning signs of serious abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan did not receive enough high-level attention.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/politics/10abuse.html?ex=1111122000&en=122aa01666e8ba11&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:12:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Putting Last Things First
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OPINION | March 10, 2005

Editorial: Putting Last Things First


The president seems determined to ignore the biggest challenges and to home in on politically charged side issues.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:11:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:13:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Death Behind Bars
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OPINION | March 10, 2005

Editorial: Death Behind Bars


The country has tacitly decided to starve the prison system of medical care, even though AIDS, tuberculosis and hepatitis are rampant behind bars.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/opinion/10thu2.html?ex=1111122000&en=c3be4e128778b07f&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:12:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:13:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Beirut Tea Party
Message-ID: <20050310131219.99D573AE4BC@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 10, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Beirut Tea Party
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

The spreading virus that "things can change and I can make a difference" is the most important thing happening in the Arab world today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/opinion/10friedman.html?ex=1111122000&en=c823ee8ef6b7c75a&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:12:49 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:14:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Defense That's Offensively Weak
Message-ID: <20050310131250.4019521F1D1@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 10, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: A Defense That's Offensively Weak
By MAUREEN DOWD

Can't the president find a little time to remake our security to protect this generation?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/opinion/10dowd.html?ex=1111122000&en=c577e10be43e87eb&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:13:21 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:14:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Five Years Later and Still Floating
Message-ID: <20050310131322.244121C263@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 10, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Five Years Later and Still Floating
By JAMES GRANT

Five years after the peak of the great millennial stock market, the bubble is still unpopped.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/opinion/10grant.html?ex=1111122000&en=84fdaabcf026282b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:15:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:17:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Says It Has Withdrawn From World
	Judicial Body
Message-ID: <20050310131543.DF6269FD01@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 10, 2005

U.S. Says It Has Withdrawn From World Judicial Body
By ADAM LIPTAK

The State Department said that the U.S. was prompted by a decision ordering new hearings for 51 Mexicans on death rows.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/politics/10death.html?ex=1111122000&en=dd5f3c4546b18090&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:15:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:17:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Says It Has Withdrawn From World
	Judicial Body
Message-ID: <20050310131543.6F0E39FD18@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 10, 2005

U.S. Says It Has Withdrawn From World Judicial Body
By ADAM LIPTAK

The State Department said that the U.S. was prompted by a decision ordering new hearings for 51 Mexicans on death rows.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/politics/10death.html?ex=1111122000&en=dd5f3c4546b18090&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:15:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:17:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Says It Has Withdrawn From World
	Judicial Body
Message-ID: <20050310131543.658E8388064@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 10, 2005

U.S. Says It Has Withdrawn From World Judicial Body
By ADAM LIPTAK

The State Department said that the U.S. was prompted by a decision ordering new hearings for 51 Mexicans on death rows.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/politics/10death.html?ex=1111122000&en=dd5f3c4546b18090&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money.  When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.  MILLIONS opens in select cities March 11.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 10 05:18:55 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 05:20:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Across Iraq,
	Fresh Mass Graves and Fatal Bomb Attacks
Message-ID: <20050310131901.8DF4311F8D7@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 10, 2005

Across Iraq, Fresh Mass Graves and Fatal Bomb Attacks
By ROBERT F. WORTH

While insurgents continued a wave of attacks across Iraq, 20 bodies were found in a remote valley near the Syrian border.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/international/middleeast/10iraq.html?ex=1111122000&en=e677babfd406e27b&ei=5070




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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:29:27 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:31:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Hong Kong's leader Tung resigns
Message-ID: <20050310_152927_034467.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
doubt much will change there

** Hong Kong's leader Tung resigns **
Hong Kong's Tung Chee-hwa resigns as chief executive of the former British colony, citing poor health.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4335061.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:30:34 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:32:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Paris strike hits Olympic visit
Message-ID: <20050310_153034_015283.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
the strikes may be a reason why the french have 6 weeks vacation every year while american workers get two

** Paris strike hits Olympic visit **
A French general strike brings Paris to a standstill, just as the IOC assesses the city's 2012 Olympic bid.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4335043.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:31:43 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:33:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Gunmen storm Fatah reform meeting
Message-ID: <20050310_153142_010884.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
a long way yet til peace

** Gunmen storm Fatah reform meeting **
Palestinian gunmen storm a meeting of the mainstream Fatah faction in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4336261.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:33:51 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:35:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Blair issues terror bill warning
Message-ID: <20050310_153351_000760.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
progress? no wonder this gets so little coverage here

** Blair issues terror bill warning **
Peers inflict further defeats on the government's anti-terror bill despite Tony Blair ruling out more concessions.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4335197.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:35:30 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:37:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: How tunes get stuck in your head
Message-ID: <20050310_153530_059884.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
interesting info coming from memory studies

** How tunes get stuck in your head **
Scientists say they have pinpointed the part of the brain where the "hook" of catchy tunes is caught.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4332771.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:36:45 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:38:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Rice to soothe Mexico relations
Message-ID: <20050310_153645_066469.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
legal status ? have you seen " A Day Without Mexicans" ?

** Rice to soothe Mexico relations **
Condoleezza Rice is expected smooth over disagreements with Mexico, in her first visit as US Secretary of State.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4335377.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:40:32 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:42:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China's global hunt for oil
Message-ID: <20050310_154032_050714.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
China accounted for 40% of the growth in oil demand in just the past 4 years..also advanced seismic imaging techniques

** China's global hunt for oil **
China is desperate to find enough oil to fuel its economic boom and its love affair with the motorcar.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4191683.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:44:24 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:45:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Global toll of malaria 'doubled'
Message-ID: <20050310_154424_087552.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
2.2 billion at risk..

** Global toll of malaria 'doubled' **
The number of cases of the deadliest form of malaria could be twice as high as thought, research suggests.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4332921.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 07:47:00 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:48:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Immokalee Tomato Pickers Win Campaign Against Taco Bell
Message-ID: <20050310154700.19057.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

pick 2 TONS of tomatoes to earn $50 ???


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Immokalee Tomato Pickers Win Campaign Against Taco Bell
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/10/1519210
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


The Coalition of Immokalee Workers - a group of tomato pickers from Florida - claimed a decisive victory in their national boycott of fast food giant Taco Bell to improve wages and working conditions. We speak with a farmworker with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and a member of the Student Farmworker Alliance.
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/10/1519210

From DustyWright at aol.com  Thu Mar 10 04:24:45 2005
From: DustyWright at aol.com (DustyWright@aol.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:52:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Victory over the Bush Dirty Skies Bill!
Message-ID: <200503101552.j2AFqVrM010474@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From: "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., NRDC Action Fund" <members@nrdcaction.org>
Subject: Victory over the Bush Dirty Skies Bill!
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 01:53:48 -0500 (EST)
Size: 3077
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed Mar  9 22:48:42 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu Mar 10 07:53:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Haiti's Torment 
Message-ID: <200503101553.j2AFrkrp010484@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Here's "exhibit A" in demonstrating how dedicated America is to spreading 
democracy...


Distibuted by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services
Published on Tuesday, March 8, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
Haiti's Torment Ignored

In Haiti, 'hunger in dark places' is real ... and ignored U.S. media, 
rights groups silent on country's torment
by Mark Weisbrot
 
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0308-25.htm

President Bush's State of the Union speech was long on "the force of human 
freedom," which he called "the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark 
places, the longing of the soul." Yet just 600 miles from Florida, that hunger 
and longing is being met every day with bullets, beatings, arrests and rape by 
the unelected, unconstitutional government in Haiti. That government's biggest 
supporter is the administration of George W. Bush.

One year ago, Washington helped depose the elected government of Haiti. 
The populist ex-priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's president, became the 
first elected leader to be overthrown twice by armed thugs supported by the 
United States.

The first time was in 1991, after he had served only seven months as the 
country's first democratically elected president. At the time, the evidence of 
Washington's culpability was circumstantial: The leaders of the coup were on 
the CIA payroll. A death squad organization that killed thousands of Aristide's 
supporters during the 1991-1994 dictatorship was headed by Emanuel 
Constant, who told the world on CBS' 60 Minutes that the CIA hired him for the 
job.

This time, our government's role in the coup was more overt. "This is a case 
where the United States turned off the tap," said economist Jeffrey Sachs, 
director of the Earth Institute at Colombia University. "I believe they did that 
deliberately to bring down Aristide." Sachs was referring to the cut off of 
funding from the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank from 
2001-2003. It was an unusually cruel thing to do: Haiti is desperately poor, with 
the worst incidence of malnutrition and disease in the hemisphere.

But it worked, in that it made people's lives more miserable in Haiti. The 
economy shrank, and Washington poured in tens of millions of dollars through 
USAID, the International Republican Institute and other organizations to forge 
a political opposition. It was a movement that could never win an election, but 
it controlled the media and had some heavily armed former military personnel - 
including convicted murderers - who wanted to get back in power.

On Feb. 29 of last year they got their wish. As their insurrection closed in on 
Port-au-Prince, U.S. officials told Aristide they could not guarantee his safety - 
despite the fact that they managed to secure the airport with just a handful of 
U.S. Marines. According to U.S. press reports, they told Aristide he was going 
to a news conference. They took him instead to the airport where he boarded a 
plane to an unknown location, which turned out to be the Central African 
Republic.

The Bush administration's major allegation against Aristide was that he allowed 
armed gangs, called "Chimeres," to attack his political opponents. Whatever 
the truth to these charges, they cannot match the hell on Earth that is now 
Haiti's existence.

The Center for the Study of Human Rights at the University of Miami Law 
School conducted an investigation in Haiti last November. Among the findings: 
"summary executions are a police tactic," and the jails are filled with political 
prisoners "including the ousted constitutional government's Prime Minister 
Yvon Neptune and Interior Minister Jocelerme Privert." Many of these 
prisoners are held without charge, beaten and denied medical help.

Cite Soleil, a horribly poor slum of 250,000 people, is under virtual lockdown, 
cut off from commercial traffic. Young men cannot leave for fear of arrest, since 
the neighborhood is known to support Aristide. People who are shot by police, 
army or pro-government thugs treat their injuries at home because anyone who 
shows up at a hospital with a bullet wound can be arrested. Bodies of victims 
can be seen in the streets, being devoured by dogs and pigs.

The goal of the present government seems to be to use violence and fear to 
intimidate the pro-Aristide population, which appears still to be the majority and 
who continue to demand the return of their elected president. It is eerily similar 
to the 1991-1994 dictatorship in both its objectives and methods.

But they are making sure that, unlike last time, Haitians do not escape the 
island to embarrass the U.S. government by washing up - alive or dead - on 
the shores of Florida. The silence here regarding Haiti's torment, in the media 
and among major U.S. human rights organizations, is deafening and shameful.

Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, 
in Washington, D.C. (www.cepr.net).

###

-- 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 10 08:00:24 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 10 08:01:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: If the world was run like eBay
Message-ID: <20050310_160024_046767.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
very very interesting..lending our your own $ at a profit..(P2P)

** If the world was run like eBay **
The launch of an eBay-style banking website this week, where users lend to and borrow from each other, is the latest step in what is being seen as a quiet consumer revolution.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4334391.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 10 08:03:03 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 08:04:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 10 08:04:13 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 08:05:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Asia 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 10 08:05:03 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 08:06:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Europe 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 10 08:05:55 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 08:07:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Markets data & tools / Funds - The Short View:
 Is a 018golden age019 emerging?
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 10 08:06:47 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 08:08:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - A transatlantic
	taskforce to fight for freedom 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Thu Mar 10 10:22:12 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 10:24:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] I recommend this article from The Times of Tibet
Message-ID: <20050310182212.17396.qmail@devo.highspeedweb.net>


Hi Civic,
I found an article at The Times of Tibet called 'Minnesotans honors the Martyrs(10th March Tibetan Uprising)' that I thought would be of interest to you. The link is: http://www.timesoftibet.com/articles/340/1/Minnesotans-honors-the-Martyrs%2810th-March-Tibetan-Uprising%29

Regards,
barbara
barbarasiomos38@msn.com
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Thu Mar 10 11:28:05 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 11:29:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Take Action on Democrats.org
Message-ID: <3n0d1d$7j833@mailer.democrats.org>


Barbara Siomos <barbarasiomos38@msn.com> has asked the Democratic Party to tell you about the following action center on Democrats.org.

Tell Democrats in Congress You Stand With Them in Their Fight to Protect Social Security

Sign our petition to let Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and all the Democrats in Congress know that they have your support in the fight to stop President Bush's risky plan to privatize Social Security.

Click here to take action today!

http://www.democrats.org/action/200503070001.html?psc=taf


Barbara Siomos <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>'s comments:

Don't let Bush change Social Security...

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 10 12:05:00 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar 10 12:06:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Report on torture flawed
Message-ID: <000b01c525ac$72ed3cc0$3f3fe440@Harold>

Admril Chuch's report flawed

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4336959.stm

A whitewash

Later H
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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Thu Mar 10 14:56:20 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Thu Mar 10 14:57:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: U.S. Says It Has Withdrawn From World Judicial Body
Message-ID: <b7.53602284.2f622a94@aol.com>

 
Is this administration forgetting that SCOUS allowed Sosas, who was  
kidnapped in Mexico by the DEA under suspicion of being involved in the murder  of a 
DEA agent (Sosas was found not guilty in a US court) to claim damages in  2003 
under the Federal Torts Claim Act, which "waives sovereign immunity in  suits 
'for personal injury...caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission  by 
any [Government] employee while acting within the scope of his  employment or 
office."  SCOUS stated the DEA overstepped their bounds and  Sosas was 
entitled to damages.  The courts also upheld the Alien Torts Act  of 1789, which 
allows prosecution of a US citizen who deliberately causes harm  to citizens of 
another country when the harm caused violated the laws of that  country.  There 
are a few more aspects involved, but simply put, executives  who knowingly 
sell chemicals to a country that uses the same chemicals in  genocide can be 
held liable under this law.  Small wonder this  administration encouraged SCOUS 
to find the 1789 Tort Act  unconstitutional.  The future can be interesting.
 
Richard Haerther


 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 10 15:05:53 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 10 15:07:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tomgram: Which War Is This Anyway?
Message-ID: <BE5612D1.1F0AD%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Tomgram: Which War Is This Anyway?

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2251

Are We in World War IV?
By Tom Engelhardt

Throughout much of the Cold War, people feared above all else a global hot
war, the third great one in a century of devastating world wars; and we
crept up to it more than once -- most desperately, there can be no doubt, at
the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. For decades, the world
was poised for that next world war; the two superpowers with their nuclear
arsenals running to thousands of weapons (as they still do), a few hundred
of which would have been civilization-busting, many hundreds of which might
have been nuclear-winter inducing and life extinguishing; all of them cocked
in their silos or loaded in the bomb-bays of Soviet or American planes, or
stashed on the submarines that made up the unreachable third leg of the
nuclear "tripod" and were primed for almost instantaneous action. World War
III, which might have ended it all, could indeed have started, as the U.S.
military feared for decades, with those Soviet tanks pouring through the
Fulda Gap in Germany, and escalated from there to "theater," and finally
intercontinental, ballistic missiles. It would have been a show. The last
picture show, you might say. And, let's face it, it didn't happen.

Yes, the two superpowers, armed to the teeth and eyeing each other for half
a century, oozed aggression, and fought and bled each other in a series of
proxy border wars; relatively overtly in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan;
more covertly or indirectly in lands ranging from Tibet to Angola. (Yes,
yes, in each of those cases, other powerful forces were at work, but
certainly the global Cold War was part of the mix.) Nonetheless, over those
fifty-plus years -- despite mutual memories of bloody stalemate in Korea,
our memories of grim defeat in Vietnam, and Russian memories of the same in
Afghanistan -- the most striking aspect of the Cold War was that the
emphasis remained, however barely at times, on the "cold," not the "war."
It's worth saying more than once, given our present moment and the claims
being made: World War III never happened -- or I wouldn't be sitting here on
the Internet writing this and you wouldn't be at your computer reading it.
Put another way, "the Cold War" was simply an oxymoron that we got
incredibly used to; a small, bleak sigh of linguistic relief at what hadn't
quite (yet) come to be.

I mention this ancient history only because, to listen to the
neoconservatives and their various allies now embedded in the top ranks of
the Bush administration (or in well-connected think tanks and front groups
scattered inside Washington DC's Beltway), we are in fact enmeshed in
nothing less than "World War IV" today. Eliot Cohen, professor of Strategic
Studies at Johns Hopkins University, first proclaimed us there as the Afghan
War was underway, just a couple of months beyond September 11, 2001. Former
CIA Director James Woolsey swore we were there as the invasion of Iraq began
in 2003. The grandfather of the neocons, Norman Podhoretz, reaffirmed that
World War IV was the only war in town, the only thing that mattered, last
September in a gargantuan piece in Commentary magazine. Others regularly say
the same. It's become a commonplace trope of the imperial right. They even
have full-scale World War IV conferences (happily attended by Paul Wolfowitz
among others) and arguments over the term's exact nature abound. Woolsey,
who seems to be making a profession of roaming the country, preaching World
War IV to the unconverted, is already dubbing it "the longest war of the
21st century," or as Steve Clemons, President of the New American
Foundation, puts it, the new "Hundred Years' War."

Conceptually, it underlies the slightly toned down, but still distinctly
ramped up, description of our present state proclaimed from the planetary
rafters by the Bush administration -- that we are, as the White House was
already announcing before the end of 2001, "one hundred" days into a
multi-generational "global war on terrorism," now more familiarly (and
rather fondly) known among the cognoscenti by the awkward acronym GWOT.
Since WWIV and GWOT are the allied rubrics under which our world is being
reorganized, it's worth taking a look at them and how well or poorly they
describe that world.

Back in November 2001, introducing the term World War IV -- he now says
"tongue-in-cheek" -- Eliot Cohen wrote: "Political people often dislike
calling things by their names. Truth, particularly in wartime, is so
unpleasant that we drape it in a veil of evasions, and the right naming of
things is far from a simple task."

The right naming of things. As Cohen says, it's no small matter. And since
he wrote that passage, this administration of lexicographers has spent
startling amounts of time, dictionaries in hand, renaming and redefining
terms ranging from our country or nation (now "the homeland") to the
outsourcing of torture ("extraordinary rendition") -- always, not
surprisingly, to their advantage. Either in its baldest form as World War
IV, or as the slightly milder GWOT, this particular renaming of our moment
-- in a sense, the largest renaming of all -- has many advantages.

At the simplest level, each term provides an umbrella of meaning for what
otherwise might be experienced as remarkably disparate events. Both are
convenient catch-all terms that implicitly advance political programs and so
are remarkably useful. World War IV, in particular, places whatever is
happening now in an ancestry that descends from World War II or the "Good
War" (World War I is really just an add-on) and what's now called "the
greatest generation." As a name, it's also instantly alarming, fitting an
American sense that something cataclysmic, apocalyptic, and completely
singular happened to us on September 11, 2001 and that any response to it
should be in a similar cataclysmic, singular, and even apocalyptic vein.
(After all, a quarter of Americans in a recent Gallup poll claimed
themselves ready and willing over three years later to use nuclear weapons
to "attack terrorist facilities.")

With its Cold War overtones of nuclear annihilation, World War IV implies
that our very existence as a nation is in immediate danger and will be for
years, decades, perhaps a century or more to come; and yet it is also a
familiar, even reassuring image -- another global war in the triumphant
tradition of the three that preceded it. In this way, it can both scare
people and help make instant sense of, and lend instant meaning to, things
happening all over the world. After all, if this is a global war, then
events in Afghanistan and Spain, or Central Asia and Iraq don't really have
to be explained fully; they can just be subsumed in, and related to, the
larger World War, using the familiar war language of "fronts," "battles,"
and "theaters" in a far vaster struggle. ("But as I will attempt to show,"
writes Podhoretz typically, "we are only in the very early stages of what
promises to be a very long war, and Iraq is only the second front to have
been opened in that war: the second scene, so to speak, of the first act of
a five-act play.") In fact, you can sweep anything -- Iraq, Iran, Lebanon,
Syria, North Korea -- into the same war-basket of meaning, just as our
President swept two bitter enemy nations (Iraq and Iran) and one completely
unrelated state (North Korea) into an "axis of evil" (which drew, obviously,
on the memory of World War II's Axis powers).

"World War IV" does many other useful things as well. It moves the goalposts
into the future, way off there in an endless generational struggle. In other
words, it conveniently excuses much that might otherwise seem baleful or
ridiculous in the present. And of course it disarms critics -- for who wants
to stand in the path of a necessary global war against your own
annihilation? As an image, it (and GWOT) undergird what, in the Cold War,
was called the national security state and now has morphed into an even more
all-encompassing homeland security state. The two terms make sense of
soaring Pentagon budgets, offshore mini-gulags, and so much else. It becomes
possible to write, as Earl Tilford, former director of research at the U.S.
Army's Strategic Studies Institute, did: "This is World War IV. Forget the
sleazy sickness of Abu Ghraib. Stop mouthing meaningless slogans like, ?Bush
lied, soldiers died.' Steel yourselves for a long, bloody fight. This is a
war we must not lose."

Think of WWIV or GWOT as a kind of "bulking up," a Rambo-esque urge to
hype-up the present. If you go back to the 1950s and catch your basic cowboy
film, those strong, silent heroes -- it doesn't matter whether you're
talking about John Wayne, Gary Cooper, or even Alan Ladd -- are, in
retrospect, strangely unimpressive looking. They don't seem either that
large or particularly strong. They usually were only modestly armed with a
six-gun or two. Most of the time, they didn't even shoot down that many
enemies. And yet, in those post-World War II/early Cold War days, they
looked strong enough to us.

After the American defeat in Vietnam, our heroes ? from Rambo (Sylvester
Stallone) to Arnold Schwarzenegger -- began to bulk up, to wear their
muscles on their sleeves, so to speak, so that no one could mistake them for
anything but strong, silent types; and should you have made that mistake,
they and their slightly shrimpier peers were so completely over-armed that
you wouldn't have made it twice. In the post-Vietnam era, the United States
began to muscle up in a similar manner and that process ? at first
psychologically defensive in nature -- has now, I suspect, neared its zenith
in the imagery of World War IV. It's the good fortune of the Bush
administration neocons that they have as an enemy the fanatics of al-Qaeda,
filled with their own global-war pretensions and hell-bent on their own
version of bulking up. (Let's not forget, by the way, that, given
globalization, both sides have probably seen and been affected by the same
bulked-up action and disaster movies with bulked-up special effects.)

But are we really in a multi-generational GWOT? Is this really World War IV?
Let's start with that number IV. For the image to work, you do have to
accept that the "Cold War" -- and the marriage of those two words always
indicated that as a war it would remain half-frozen because the full-fledged
hot version of itself could never be fought -- was indeed World War III,
which, as I've already indicated, it most distinctly wasn't. And if you move
beyond the phrase World War IV (which most people won't) into the elaborate
writings produced by its proponents, you find that what they really want to
do is cherry-pick the "best" of the two actual world wars -- their sense of
globalism and mission, the threat of mass death and the apocalyptic (the
Holocaust in particular) against which to mobilize, the raw badness of World
War II's enemies ? and combine it with the "best" of the Cold War.

After all, World Wars I and II lasted inconveniently short periods of time
for our planners' purposes; 4 years in one case, 6 in the other (longer, if
in Asia you begin with the Japanese invasion of China). No
multi-generational struggle there, unfortunately, and it's the time they
want above all. Time without end and a war that can be put in the company of
World War II (but without anything like the equivalent in actual warfare).
What they would far prefer is the threat level of the World Wars combined
with the localized fighting of the Cold War era.

Of course, they want their enemies not only evil, but imposingly so ? and,
as a result, scattered groups of terrorists and their supporters in World
War IV writings are regularly compared to Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia,
the monster industrial states of the last century. Despite the constant
invocation of the Nazis, Roosevelt, Churchill, and so on, World War IV-ers
in the fine print can be almost defensive about the limited nature of World
War IV. ("Those parallels [with the Cold War] are: that it will last a very
long time -- decades; that it will sporadically involve the use of military
force, as did the Cold War in Korea for example; but that an important
component would be ideological.") What they are especially enamored with,
though, is the idea of a lengthy, life-and-death global struggle to victory,
or as James Woolsey puts it, "We helped win World War I, we prevailed, along
with Britain, in World War II, and we prevailed in the Cold War."

As people who like having a war on their hands, they have long been in the
process of both bulking up and stripping history down to one-size-fits-all,
streamlining it for action in support of a program of American global
domination that involves the further militarization of our society, remaking
the Middle East in their own image, controlling the oil lands (the so-called
"arc of instability") of the world, and, oh yes, of "democracy" of a sort.
Much of their program, as you'll notice if you read old documents from the
Project for the New American Century website, was already in place before
September 11, 2001 (just as the ill-named Patriot Act was brought into
existence so quickly because all sorts of already existing right-wing legal
hobbyhorses were simply swept into it).

As the names "World War IV" and "the Global War on Terror" imply, modestly
is ill-suited to the men who are promoting them. No John Waynes or Gary
Coopers in this crowd. From their think-tank or governmental perches, every
one of them is a Terminator with the intellectual muscles to show for it.
But if we were to put WWIV aside for a moment and, starting with September
11, 2001, took a calmer look at the world we find ourselves in, what would
we actually discover?

Re-examining the War We Have

September 11, 2001: On that morning over three years ago, three planes
smashed into American buildings (and one went down short of its target over
Pennsylvania). Of the three buildings, the Pentagon is in a sense now
largely forgotten, despite the memorial being built for it using private
funds. As a target, it had obviously been chosen to represent America's
global military power -- as the World Trade Center was to represent
financial power, as the downed plane was surely heading for some building
representing political power in Washington DC. And yet, as far as I know,
the spot where United Flight 93 ploughed into the Pentagon has no special
name and no particular mythology attached to it, although people died there
too.

In the Hollywood terrorist Kabuki that Osama bin Laden engineered and
Mohammed Atta carried out, what's remembered, of course, is not the smoking
Pentagon but the two towers in New York crumbling (and crumbling again and
yet again on television for all to see). The spot where they went down, with
the slaughter of thousands, was promptly dubbed Ground Zero, previously the
designation only for an atomic blast, and it was treated the way it looked
on television (and I might add, for those of us who lived in New York, the
way its ruins looked in person) -- as if an apocalyptic event worthy of the
World War-III-we-hadn't-had had actually taken place in our midst.

The brilliant aspect of the al-Qaeda assault on America was its ability to
combine such modest ingredients into a visual mega-package, a blockbuster of
a disaster: money in the range of $400,000-$500,000, flight-school training,
box cutters, mace cans, the element of surprise, and the hijacking of a
vehicle -- a very large vehicle well supplied with combustible fuel -- all
of the above to be directed at three symbolic targets on, as luck would have
it, a bright, beautiful, photogenic day, in the knowledge that (as
everywhere in our world) the cameras would be there, and on, and prepared to
mix-and-match scenes that had already been previewed in so many Hollywood
action thrillers in which terrorists attack, the towering inferno burns, the
atomic bomb goes off. And then there was just the blind, dumb good luck --
from the attackers' vantage point -- of having both buildings collapse in
full camera view in the midst of New York City. Throw in the fact that
nothing like this had happened in the continental United States since the
British burned down Washington in the War of 1812 and you have a truly
combustible mix of elements.

Not surprisingly, most Americans focused on the apocalyptic aspects of what
had happened, and not the paltry 19 men in stolen vehicles who carried out
the attack. Nothing proved more fortuitous for Bush administration planning
than that. (In 1993, after all, when one tower of the World Trade Center was
bombed and damaged but didn't come down, no one thought that we were in
World War IV, though the intent was hardly different.) Top officials in
Washington seized not the relatively modest scale of the preparations for
the attack, but on the apocalyptic look and feel of the event.

And yet -- though no one in the mainstream can say this any more -- as World
War IV or even a global "war" on terrorism, this is all absurd (however
useful it may have been in forwarding administration desires to sweep Saddam
Hussein from power, free the President from the checks and balances of our
system, curtail irritating civil liberties, and so on). Imagine, for
instance, if after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by a Serbian
terrorist (or, if you're a Serbian, nationalist) in August 1914, the
European powers had mobilized their vast, lumbering armies not against each
other but against anarchists, terrorists, and others threatening the crowned
heads and leaders of Europe -- and declared the world at war.

That the Bush administration did this certainly confirmed Osama bin Laden's
wildest dreams of al-Qaeda's global importance, in this sense, as Robert Jay
Lifton suggested in his book Superpower Syndrome, the most extreme American
and Islamist apocalyptic visions had soon partnered up and begun to dance
together. In reality, the al-Qaeda variety of militant, political Islamism
is (or at least then was) a paltry figure to fill the role of a Nazi-style
enemy (or to fit the term "Islamo-fascism"). Though in the writings of
neocons (like former CIA director Woolsey's) they are regularly compared to
Nazis, Osama bin Laden and his associates in 2001 bore a far greater
resemblance to a malign version of the Wizard of Oz behind that curtain.
After all, their organization was relatively small in numbers and controlled
not a single industrial plant, not a significant army (despite those
training camps and the armed fighters they organized for the Taliban), not a
weapon of major importance, and only, to some degree, a single state -- one
of the most impoverished on this planet, decimated by decades of occupation
and civil war: Talibanized Afghanistan.

The Afghan War: That leads us to the first war the Bush administration
launched -- against the Taliban (and al-Qaeda in its camps and caves). This
was a proxy war, similar to the one fought by the CIA in Laos in the 1960s
and early 1970s (or even various proxy wars fought in Central America in the
1980s). CIA agents toting suitcases stuffed with money hired local tribal
leaders (the Northern Alliance and various Afghan warlords) as their foot
soldiers, then supplied arms, overwhelming air power, some special forces
units on the ground, and in short order the ill-prepared, ill-armed Taliban
and al-Qaeda fighters were swept from the battlefield, and largely destroyed
as a fighting force.

Though presented in typical hyped-up form as a monumental victory and
monumental payback for September 11, this was a modest triumph indeed by
Cold War standards; a non-war when set against either World Wars I or II. It
wasn't even terribly successful. It didn't, after all, manage to capture or
destroy either the Taliban or al-Qaeda leadership. What it managed to do was
dismantle the most rickety, most regressive state on Earth and, as it
happened, replace it with one of the poorest and still most regressive
states on Earth whose only claim to fame is that it's fast becoming the
globe's most advanced narco-state. (In our press, Afghanistan is now
generally hailed as a "democracy" largely because, as in the period of the
Soviet occupation, greater rights are available, especially to women, in
Kabul and a few other cities.)

Even as a blow against "global terrorism," the Afghan War may have not been
especially effective ? and here I'm not referring to the fact that Osama bin
Laden escaped capture. The irony is that the Taliban, left alone to fester
and implode, would have been one of the great anti-examples on Earth when it
came to al-Qaeda's medieval dream of a revived Islamic Caliphate. It was
such a bottom-of-the-barrel theocratic state that there would have been few
on this planet, Muslim or otherwise, yearning to emulate it. Swept away in
the manner it was, it actually freed al-Qaeda types around the world to
dream of glorious futures unimpeded by ugly reality.

The Iraq War: Saddam Hussein's Iraq, unconnected as we know now (as we could
have known back then) to the September 11th assaults or to al-Qaeda, was
swept conveniently into World War IV/GWOT in ways now familiar to many. If,
however, you think "empire" rather than "global war," our Iraq invasion and
occupation makes a lot more sense, falling as it then would into the
category of a frontier or colonial war. Like so many imperial wars before
it, it is being fought, at least in part, for the control of rich natural
resources meant either for the imperial homeland or at least as a way to
gain an advantage over other great powers of the moment.

Our now unending Iraq War has all the hallmarks of a nineteenth or early
twentieth century colonial war (even, in fact, of Great Britain's colonial
war in Iraq in the 1920s). There was the initial shock-and-awe attack,
representing the disparity between the weaponry and industrial organization
available to Western imperial states and to the native peoples they
conquered. There was the occupation with its glorious civilizational claims
and its overweening arrogance; there was the developing resistance, which
quickly took the form of a guerrilla war and shocked the occupying great
power with its ferocity, tenacity, cruelty, and success against what looked
like overwhelming odds; there was the ever more brutal colonial response,
the obvious racism, the attempts to create malleable "native" regimes, and
so on. None of this had then, or has now, anything to do with the twentieth
century's global wars as we understand them.

Terrorism: In the meantime, since September 11, 2001, in Spain (the Madrid
railroad bombings, 191 dead), Turkey (synagogue and bank bombings, 29 dead),
Lebanon (the Hariri assassination, at least fifteen dead), Morocco (Jewish
community center, Spanish restaurant and social club, hotel, and the Belgian
consulate, 40 dead), Afghanistan (recent car bombings, 12 dead), Tunisia
(synagogue, 19 people dead),Bali (nightclub bombings, 202 dead), Thailand
(car bombing, 5 dead), Saudi Arabia (at least 35 dead in multiple attacks on
housing projects and an oil facility), Pakistan (12 dead), Russia (330 dead
in Beslan school attack, 89 on two sabotaged jetliners, and 5 more in a
bombing near Kizlyar), the Philippines (coordinated bomb attacks, 11 dead),
and a relative handful of other places, there have been destructive
terrorist attacks, each bloody and horrific in itself, many of them
unconnected or barely connected, and none, except the Spanish one briefly,
crippling to any aspect of the modern world as we know it. While several
hundred people died in Spain and in Bali, overall the casualty figures --
for a purported world or global war on and of terrorism seem modest. Set any
of this against the Holocaust, or Hiroshima, or D-Day, or the rape of
Nanking, or the siege of Leningrad, or the taking of Berlin, or the battles
of Ypres or the Marne in World War I, or any of the grim battles of the
Korean War, and you can see how relatively un-warlike all this really is.

Scorecard: One terrifying, massively destructive terrorist attack; one small
proxy war (very low-level guerilla attacks still ongoing); one
colonial-style war and occupation (ongoing); scattered terror attacks
(ongoing). And a steady drumbeat of very heated rhetoric.

Weapons of Mass Destruction: What gives World War IV its very partial sense
of reality isn't what's happening now (despite the fierceness of the Iraq
War) or even what happened on September 11, 2001, but a set of frightening
future possibilities, all of which rest on the present existence of vast
arsenals of weapons of mass destruction, especially of nuclear weapons. Tens
of thousands of them have been built and still reside on this Earth, and
more are clearly coming. At least some of them, especially in the former
Soviet Union and also in Pakistan are now held, politely put, under less
than reliable circumstances. (But let's remember as well that the anthrax in
the unsolved and now largely forgotten anthrax mail attacks of 2001 -- the
only weapon of mass destruction ever used on American soil, if you ignore
atomic testing -- almost surely dropped out of the American Cold War bio-war
labs, not the Soviet ones.)

It's now clear that, ever since the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
there has been a brake of some kind -- one that seems to have preceded the
concept of "deterrence" into existence -- on nuclear powers using the
nuclear weapons they have. This was the deepest reality of the Cold War and
remains so -- as in the Indian-Pakistani nuclear stand-off not so many years
back -- in our present world (as it undoubtedly will even if North Korea
already has the bomb and Iran gets it). But it's a brake that works only for
states. There is no reason to believe that terrorist groups which might
someday get their hands on such weapons would be similarly constrained. In
fact, car- and airplane-suicide bombers speak grimly to this reality; as
does the fact that the only WMD ever in the hands of terrorists or cult
groups (as far as we know) has been used -- in those anthrax mailings of
2001 but also in the Aum Shinrikyo sarin-gassing of the Tokyo subway system
back in 1995.

This horrific possibility -- in the future, not the present -- is, I
suspect, what actually gives World War IV its punch, what makes it seem
faintly plausible and relatively small groups of terrorists so dangerous; or
rather, this, plus Bush administration global policies that involve the
profligate threat of and use of military force in ways sure to breed further
terrorism and terrorists (while offering some of them on-the-spot training
in Iraq), and that have reaffirmed nuclear weapons as the global currency of
ultimate power. In this sense, World War IV and GWOT may be the policy
equivalents of self-fulfilling dreams.

What Could or Should Be Done?

Police Work: It's worth recalling that another post-9/11 path was suggested
in the wake of the suicide attacks on America. When you read the World War
IV literature what you quickly notice is that these men, their eyes focused
on the crumbling towers (and on a prior policy wish-list), claimed the
moment to be transformative and undoubtedly believed themselves (like our
initially panicked President) in a World-War-IV-type situation. There was,
however, another group which looked at the same situation, considered the
horror, but focused, both more modestly and, as it turns out, more
realistically, not so much on the crumbling towers as on the small set of
men and the obviously audacious yet circumscribed operation that made those
towers crumble. What they saw, reasonably enough, was a massive act of
terror and murder, both an international crime and an armed act of
propaganda, but not an act of war ? la, say, Pearl Harbor.

As the Bush administration and its neocon allies called for a global
response that rose to the level of apocalyptic battle, small groups of legal
types and liberals called for a response keyed to those 19 men and the
dangerous but modest-sized organization behind them. They claimed
"terrorism" was a method of asymmetric warfare, not an enemy; that our
actual enemy, while determined, fanatical, and murderous was not the
equivalent of a state and that what was at stake was not "war" at all; so
they called, in one fashion or another, for internationally cooperative
police work to bring the criminals and murderers to justice and to dismantle
their organization or organizations. This approach was instantly and roundly
dismissed -- trashed, you might say -- by the administration and its various
acolytes and has now largely fled the national mind.

Law professor Anne-Marie Slaughter was not atypical. On September 16, at a
time when the Bush administration was already making plans to take out Iraq
as well as Afghanistan, she wrote a piece for the Washington Post (A
Defining Moment in the Parsing of War) in which she reminded all and sundry,
in part, that:

    "From a legal perspective, the difference between calling what has
happened war and calling it terrorism is considerable. It is the difference
between military conflict and criminal justice (of the sort meted out just
months ago on the terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993). It
is the difference between bombing a state and punishing an individual or
several individuals. And it should mean the difference between acting
together with other nations and going it alone.

    "International law has a framework for hunting down hijackers and
terrorists. More than 150 states have signed treaties designed to prevent
terror in the skies. They have pledged to make hijacking a criminal offense
and either to prosecute or extradite hijackers found within their
territories. The U.N. General Assembly has also condemned terrorism and
upheld the obligation to prosecute all terrorists."

Such thoughts were dismissed as typical of liberals, an ill-equipped and
unwarlike crowd, scared to flex anyone's muscles, and obviously incompetent
to respond to such an attack on "the homeland." Four years later, however,
with Iraq firmly, even catastrophically, ensconced as what the President now
likes to call "the central theater in the war on terrorism" -- as, that is,
a terrorism-creation machine as well as a bottomless pit for the American
military -- things look a bit different. Our military claims to have swept
up thousands of low-level al-Qaeda (and Taliban) members in their literal
"war" on terrorism and many of them ended up either in Guantanamo or at
various secret or semi-secret detention centers around the world; but when
it came to significant figures in the terror organization, the actual "war"
on terrorists has turned out to be a matter of -- as Anne-Marie Slaughter
and others suspected back then -- hard-won law enforcement and police work
by various combinations of national police forces around the world.

In fact, as research for this piece by the Center on Law and Security at NYU
School of Law suggests, just about all the major captures of significant
al-Qaeda figures (or figures claimed to be significant) have been made not
by the American military (a blunt instrument indeed when it came to the
capture of men like Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, or countless others) but by law enforcement. Here is a listing
of a number of the alleged terrorist figures, large and small, who were
captured in the post-9/11 years (arranged by name, place and time of
apprehension, whom apprehended by [LA stands for "Local Authorities"], and
current custody if known):

John Walker Lindh, Afghanistan 12/2001, US, US
Yasser Hamdi, Afghanistan, 12/2001, US, US
Mullah Fazel Mazloom, Afghanistan, Northern Alliance, US
Mullah Abdul Wakil Muttawakil, Afghanistan 2/2002
Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, Afghanistan, US
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Pakistan 3/2003, US, US
Ramzi Binalshibh, Pakistan 9/2002, Local Authorities (LA)
Abu Zubaydah, Pakistan 3/2002, Joint Pakistani police, FBI, and CIA team, US
Yassir al-Jazeeri, Pakistan 3/2003, LA
Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi, Pakistan/Afghanistan, LA
James Ujaama, US 7/2002, LA, US
Richard Reid "shoe bomber," US 12/2001, LA, US
Jose Padilla, US 5/2002, LA, US
Zacarias Moussaoui, US 8/2001, LA, US
Enaam M. Arnaout, US 4/2002, LA
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Undisclosed, LA, US
Mohammed Haydar Zammar, Morocco, LA, Syria
Abu Zubair al-Haili, Morocco
Ali Abdul Rahman al-Ghamdi, Saudi Arabia 2003, LA (surrendered himself)
Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal, Malaysia, LA
Abu Anas Al-Liby, Sudan 3/2002, LA, Sudan
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Mauritania, LA, US
Omar al-Faruq, Indonesia 6/2002, LA, US
Imam Samudra, Indonesia 11/2002, LA, Indonesia
Mohsen F, Kuwait 11/2002, LA
Najib Chaib-Mohamed, Spain 1/2002, LA, Spain
Atmane Resali, Spain 1/2002, LA, Spain
Ghasoub al-Abrash al-Ghalyoun, Spain, LA, Spain
Abu Talha, Spain, LA, Spain
Bassan Dalati Satut, Spain, LA, Spain
Mounir al-Motassadek, Germany 11/2002, LA, Germany
Ibrahim Mohammed K, Germany 2005, LA, German
Yasser Abu S, Germany 2005, LA, German
Ahmed Ellattah, Belgium 2002, LA
Tarek Maaroufi, Belgium, LA
Nizar Trabelsi, Belgium
Djamel Beghal, UAE, LA, France
Kamel Daoudi, France, LA, France
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Iran 7/2003, LA, Unknown (possibly Iran after Kuwait
refused to take him)

As you'll note, with few exceptions, these men were taken by "local
authorities." While the Bush administration has used our military to turn
Iraq into a terrorist hot spot in the Middle East, police forces around the
world have taken terrorists down. This is one reality that lies behind the
"global war on terrorism." Had the post-9/11 focus been on international
police work (backed up by military force), we might be in a far different
situation today.

Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disarmament: Imagine, in terms of the real
dangers of this Earth, if the United States had invested even a fraction of
those endless billions of dollars dropped into the Iraqi sinkhole into
nailing down the semi-loose WMD and nuclear arsenals of this world. In other
words, if we had put our money and energy into the serious, hard-working,
less than glorious task of denying future terrorists their most obvious
sources of annihilating weaponry (including the various makings for
so-called dirty bombs) and into real security measures at ports, chemical
plants, nuclear plants, and the like, the possibility for World War IV-style
apocalyptic scenarios would have dropped precipitously. What if, instead of
proclaiming nuclear weapons bad and undesirable only if states we dislike
try to create them, working to expand and improve our own nuclear arsenal
while ignoring the arsenals of allies, and finally launching
counter-proliferation wars as a means of "disarmament," we had led the way
in putting the possession of nuclear, biological, and chemical arsenals,
including our own, on the table? What if we had worked at creating a
policing system for WMD as fierce as any policing system for terror -- not
so illogical since these are the real terror weapons on our planet? Had we
really declared a global "war" on terror, we would certainly have had to
make the complex and difficult questions of dismantling all such arsenals
its centerpiece and so, instead of ensuring that WMD would be the preferred
currency of power for the foreseeable future, we might well have begun to
hack out new pathways for the world.

Of course, the mind-set that goes with World War IV and GWOT ensures that
nothing complex and untelegenic, nothing that smacks of our real,
complicated world but doesn't have the clean, Manichaean feel of a global
crusade to it, is possible. If, on our proliferating planet, we end up, one
of these days, with an actual apocalyptic scenario on our hands, it will be
too late to thank the GWOT intellectuals, who took a terrible situation and
are managing to turn it into the Schwarzenegger movie from Hell.

[Special research thanks go to Omer Z. Bekerman of the Center on Law and
Security at the NYU School of Law and Nick Turse of Tomdispatch.]

Tom Engelhardt, who runs the Nation Institute's Tomdispatch.com ("a regular
antidote to the mainstream media"), is the co-founder of the American Empire
Project and the author of The End of Victory Culture, a history of American
triumphalism in the Cold War.

Copyright 2005 Tom Engelhardt
E-mail to a Friend

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posted March 10, 2005 at 8:39 am
     
             
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     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 10 20:30:22 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 10 20:32:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Egyptian Diplomat Rebuts Bush's Views on Mideast
Message-ID: <BE565EDE.1F0D1%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Egyptian Diplomat Rebuts Bush's Views on Mideast
    By Daniel Williams
    Washington Post Foreign Service

    Notion of sudden democratic shift is rejected.

    Cairo - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Wednesday offered
a point-by-point rebuttal of President Bush's argument that the Middle East
is opening to an era of democracy stimulated by the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

    In an interview, Aboul Gheit criticized Bush's speech Tuesday to the
National Defense University at Fort McNair, in which the president listed
elections held by Iraqis and Palestinians and anti-Syrian demonstrations in
Lebanon as signs that "clearly and suddenly, the thaw has begun" in the
largely authoritarian Middle East.

    "What model are we talking about in Iraq? Bombs are exploding
everywhere, and Iraqis are killed every day in the streets," Aboul Gheit
said. "Palestinian elections? There were elections seven years prior."

    As for Lebanon, Aboul Gheit noted something that Bush did not: Tuesday's
huge pro-Syrian demonstration mounted by Hezbollah, the Lebanese group that
the State Department labels a terrorist organization. The rally showed that
"there are other trends in society," Aboul Gheit said, warning that U.S.
pressure might lead ethnically and religiously divided Lebanon into chaos.

    "Maybe things will get better, but we see what we see," he concluded.

    Aboul Gheit also criticized Bush for suggesting that for Egypt to keep
pace with the shift toward democracy, it ought to carry out specific reforms
to ensure competitive presidential elections in September. Hosni Mubarak has
been the uncontested president of Egypt for 24 years.

    Aboul Gheit's comments were in line with Egypt's criticism of what it
has termed U.S.-engineered "regime change" in Iraq as well as with what it
regards as U.S. interference in Arab affairs. But the vehemence with which
the former U.N. ambassador expressed his concerns came during a period of
unusually tense relations with the Bush administration.

    Mubarak has yet to announce whether he will run in September. He has
never had challengers in a direct popular vote; rather, his rule has been
affirmed by referendums in which his was the only name on the ballot. Last
month, Mubarak proposed amending Egypt's constitution to allow
multi-candidate elections, although the conditions and details of who would
be able to run have not been spelled out.

    Bush made his own suggestions on Tuesday: "Like all free elections,
these require freedom of assembly, multiple candidates, free access by those
candidates to the media and the right to form political parties."

    Aboul Gheit responded that in the "so-called democratic endeavor, the
pace will be set by Egypt and the Egyptian people and only the Egyptian
people. The Egyptian people will not accept what we call trusteeship.

    "I think Egypt is a lighthouse for the Middle East. The need for Egypt
to be a friend of the United States is something I'm sure people in
Washington value very much. We are not subject to any kind of pressure."

    Aboul Gheit expressed irritation at reports that Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice canceled a trip to Egypt because of its slow pace of
reform. She called off a trip to the region, not just to Egypt, he insisted.

    At the conclusion of the interview, he took issue with notions that
Egypt is a police state. He did a pantomime of a pedestrian looking over his
shoulder in fear, then led a reporter by the hand to his office window.

    "I invite anyone to come to Egypt and see. We are not in shackles. We
follow our own course independently," he said as the Nile flowed by below.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 10 20:47:23 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar 10 20:49:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Israeli Racism
Message-ID: <000801c525f5$6d0b75d0$2f3fe440@Harold>

Israeli racism, to ban al employment of Palestinians

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453439.6826388887.html

go figure, eh?
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 03:42:17 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:43:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <25202171.1110541337383.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 EPA Enacts Long-Awaited Rule  To Improve Air Quality, Health
 
 By Rick Weiss
 
  The Environmental Protection Agency enacted a broad new rule yesterday aimed at significantly reducing levels of health-damaging ozone and atmospheric soot caused by emissions from power plants in eastern and midwestern states.
 
 The long-awaited Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR)  --  viewed as the most substantial tightening of air quality standards since the Clean Air Act was last amended in 1990  --  is expected to save thousands of lives each year and prevent the loss of millions of workdays missed annually because of pollution-related heart attacks, asthma and other health problems.
 
 The rule, to be phased in over the next decade, sets limits  for the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from power-plant smokestacks in 28 states and the District. To meet the goals, many plants will have to install new scrubbers and other emissions-capturing equipment. 
 
 Plants that cannot meet their deadlines will be  allowed to buy credits from those that are ahead of schedule  --  an approach that the industry and environmentalists alike had sought as a way to achieve cost-effective regional reductions.
 
 "The action we are taking will require all 28 states to be good neighbors, helping states downwind by controlling airborne emissions at their source," said EPA Acting Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, whom President Bush has nominated to head the agency.
 
 The District and its surroundings are among the dirtier regions of the country, but 70 percent of the pollution on the worst summer days arrives from coal-fired power plants and heavy industry farther west. The new rule is expected to produce gradual improvement, but meeting the new standards will be difficult without further measures, including reducing pollution from vehicles, officials have said.
 
 Nitrogen oxides react with sunlight in warm air to make ground-level ozone, also known as smog, which causes respiratory problems and damages crops. Sulfur dioxide makes acid rain, which has been wreaking environmental havoc in the East for many years. Both pollutants are key contributors to fine particulate soot, which causes a variety of respiratory ailments and contributes to the haze that has increasingly marred views in some of the nation's most pristine areas.
 
  Under the rule, sulfur dioxide pollution is expected to decline by 73 percent over the next decade, compared with 2003 levels, EPA officials said. Oxides of nitrogen are expected to drop by 61 percent.
 
 All told, the EPA calculated, the rule will prevent 17,000 premature deaths; 1.7 million lost workdays; 500,000 lost school days; 22,000 non-fatal heart attacks; and 12,300 hospital admissions annually by 2015.
 
 Yesterday's action ends  years of efforts to deal with the fact that many eastern states have been unable to meet Clean Air Act standards because of emissions from power plants located in states upwind. The EPA determined last year that 160 million people in 450 counties in 32 states were living in areas that were out of compliance for airborne particulates and smog.
 
 Officials have said they will release a rule next week restricting mercury, the other major power plant pollutant. That rule is considered to be far more controversial and likely to be challenged in court.
 
 The CAIR and mercury rules, which had been languishing at the EPA, rose to sudden prominence Wednesday when a congressional committee did not advance the Bush administration's "Clear Skies" initiative. The legislation  --  which  Bush had argued was superior to yesterday's administrative action, in part because it was less likely to get hung up in a tangle of lawsuits  --  was widely disparaged by environmental groups as a fundamental weakening of the Clean Air Act.
 
 By contrast, several environmental groups applauded CAIR.
 
 "EPA's action is a big breath of fresh air for the millions of Americans across the eastern U.S. suffering from unhealthy particulate and smog pollution," said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense.
 
 While industry representatives grumbled that they would have preferred the president's bill, several expressed general support for CAIR, which grants them more time to cut emissions than many environmentalists had demanded.
 
 "CAIR should help clarify and streamline a contradictory and overlapping mess of existing regulations that plague industry and regulators," said Bryan Brendle, director of air quality for the National Association of Manufacturers. "Business planners need such certainty, and flexibility, when considering investments in technological upgrades that further clean our air, improve efficiency and boost economic growth."
 
 Some environmental groups warned, however, that Americans may not realize the full benefits of the rule until 2022 because the cap-and-trade program allows utilities to bank pollution credits. The federal government's acid rain program  --  which has used a cap-and-trade program to cut sulfur dioxide emissions for the past 15 years  --  will not meet its 2000 emission targets until 2008, said John Stanton, senior counsel at the advocacy group Clear the Air, who called CAIR "too little, too late."
 
 Even without that complication, the EPA predicts that several major municipalities  --  including Washington  --  are unlikely to achieve compliance with the Clean Air Act by the time the rule takes full effect in 2015.
 
 "Many states will need additional cleanup to protect their citizens," said Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Watch.
 
 Agency officials have calculated that the benefits of CAIR will outweigh the costs to industry and consumers by as much as 25 to 1. According to the EPA, the rule could save $100 billion a year in health costs and $2 billion in yearly "visibility benefits," including improved views at national parks. The agency has estimated the cost to industry at $4 billion a year.
 
  The agency has also said the new rule is not expected to increase retail electricity prices or homeowner utility bills noticeably until at least 2020.
 
 Staff writers Shankar Vedantam and Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 03:43:53 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:45:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <4413495.1110541433473.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 U.S. Doctors Treated Yushchenko
 
 By Glenn Kessler and Rob Stein
 
  A team of U.S. doctors, headed by a University of Virginia professor, secretly flew to Vienna in mid-December to assist in the treatment of then-Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, according to U.S. officials, two of the doctors and the head of the Austrian clinic visited by Yushchenko.
 
 The team's role in Yushchenko's recovery from an apparently deliberate case of massive dioxin poisoning has been  undisclosed until now, largely because U.S. officials and the doctors did not want to appear to interfere in the political drama of the Ukrainian elections. Yushchenko, whose once-youthful face was mysteriously transformed into a blotch of lesions after the poisoning, visited the private Rudolfinerhaus clinic between the election that was declared fraudulent and the election that resulted in his presidential victory.
 
 Yushchenko's election was a bitter blow to the Russian government, and even today U.S. officials are reluctant to officially say they assisted the medical team. Gregory Saathoff, the lead doctor and executive director of  U-Va.'s Critical Incident Analysis Group in Charlottesville, would confirm only broad details after saying he received permission from the family to discuss it "on a very limited basis." He said the U.S. government was not involved in his team's work.
 
 "It was clear that the U.S. government had no interest or ability in being involved in this situation because this would be interference in the election of another country," Saathoff said. "The U.S. government was notably hands-off."
 
 But a senior U.S. official directly involved in the operation said it began with a request from Yushchenko's family for assistance, via an official in the Pentagon, and the State Department provided logistical support during the doctors' overseas trip. He said Saathoff kept in touch with the State Department in Washington, at one point informing officials they suspected they were being followed  --  by police or even Russian intelligence agents  --  and would cut their stay in Vienna short by a day. 
 
 The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, John E. Herbst, and the U.S. Embassy in Vienna also provided assistance, officials said. Herbst declined to comment yesterday.
 
 Michael Zimpfer, director of the clinic, said it was not experienced in treating poison cases or bioterrorism and initially  did not detect the dioxin when Yushchenko first fell ill in September. He said the U.S. team provided  expertise for a "difficult, vexing case" and also a "qualified second opinion" that helped determine Yushchenko's treatment.
 
 Zimpfer was the public face of Yushchenko's care at the clinic, frequently briefing the press. "He was the greatest cover because he was so willing to take credit for everything," the U.S. official said.
 
 Saathoff was recruited by Washington lawyer Robert A. McConnell and his wife, Nadia, who runs the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation; the couple  have been friends with Yushchenko  for more than a decade, McConnell said yesterday. He said he found Saathoff through an informal recommendation from someone in government, whom he declined to name.
 
 "When the poisoning took place, they were having trouble getting any breakthroughs in Europe, so they asked us if we could help," McConnell said.
 
 In the fall, a member of the Ukrainian parliament traveled to Washington to meet with McConnell and his wife, and also gave hair, nail and blood samples  from Yushchenko to Saathoff for analysis.
 
  "They didn't want it to be known it was being done in the United States because a major part of the campaign against him was anti-Americanism," McConnell said. The CIAG, located within U-Va.'s School of Medicine, is a think tank that focuses on helping the public and government respond to emergencies. Saathoff said he organized a team of about six U.S. doctors in various specialties, including dermatology, neurology, toxicology and neuroradiology. He would not name the other doctors, except for the toxicologist  --  Christopher Holstege of U-Va.
 
 After reviewing Yushchenko's records with the help of interpreters from U-Va.'s language department,  Holstege said he sent an e-mail to Saathoff on Oct. 31,  in which he said dioxin was at the top of his list of culprits. "It's not every day that you're asked to evaluate someone of this stature. It's probably the poisoning of the century," he said.
 
 In December, Saathoff, Holstege and another doctor traveled to Vienna to meet Yushchenko and consult with his doctors. During the trip, Holstege's diagnosis was confirmed by a lab in the Netherlands.
 
  Dioxins are organic compounds that contain chlorine and are a byproduct in the manufacture of many industrial chemicals. Zimpfer said the Dutch lab determined that the level of dioxin in Yushchenko's blood was greater than  100,000 picograms per gram of fat; he said the maximum tolerable level is believed to be about 30 picograms. A picogram is one-trillionth of a gram.
 
 The U.S. official said there are indications that the substance found in Yushchenko's body was similar to highly concentrated dioxin produced by a Russian lab earlier in the decade. Zimpfer declined to comment, except to say that prosecutors are working to identify possible sources.
 
 Another U.S. official familiar with the Vienna trip said the possible connection to the Russian lab did not mean the Russians were involved, since the material could have been stolen. "We are not embarrassed by the truth, but at bottom no one is able to say who did it. We just don't know," he said.
 
 The trip ended with an amusing cloak-and-dagger coda. On Dec. 12, as the doctors stood outside their hotel to head to the airport, a black, unmarked car arrived and the driver announced, "Dr. Saathoff, this is your car." They started to put their luggage in the trunk but suddenly became worried, since  they had not ordered a car. They quickly withdrew the bags and flagged a cab to speed them to the airport.
 
 The car had been arranged by the U.S. Embassy.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 03:44:33 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:46:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <21858016.1110541473393.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 A Year After Madrid Attacks, Europe Stalled in Terror Fight
 
 By Pamela Rolfe
 
   MADRID, March 10  --  Last March, when a series of bombs ripped through four rush-hour commuter trains, killing 191 people and injuring more than 1,500, the attack was widely seen as Europe's 9/11  --  a shock that would force governments to take coordinated action against a terrorist threat that had moved to their soil.
 
  One year later, Europe's fight against terrorism remains hampered by some of the same national rivalries, fragmented intelligence services and bureaucratic obstacles that existed before the blasts of March 11, 2004, according to analysts, diplomats and other experts. About 75 people  --  the majority of them Moroccan nationals  --  have been arrested in connection with the attacks, and 23 remain in prison. But central questions of who organized them, and how, remain unanswered.
 
  Shortly after the bombings, the European Union created the post of counterterrorism coordinator to facilitate cooperation among European governments. It appointed a Dutchman, Gijs de Vries, to the post, but the position lacks real power or resources, and intelligence officials in E.U. countries continue to resist sharing their most sensitive data.
 
  Many proposals raised just after the attacks  --  for a Europe-wide fingerprint and DNA database and biometric passports, for instance  --  remain just proposals. Plans for a common arrest warrant, to make extradition of suspects easier, have faltered because some countries have withheld approval.
 
 Despite five decades of economic and political integration in Europe, national governments retain major powers and often undermine standardization plans that originate in Brussels, headquarters of the 25-nation European Union. Even when political will exists, the E.U.'s tangle of rules and regulations can stall change for years. 
 
  "We are on the right way, but we didn't go far enough," said Berndt Georg Thamm, a terrorism expert in Germany who works with the country's security agencies and military. "The big bang of 11 March pushed the European Union in the right direction," he said, but added that it would "take some years before we have complete international, and also national, information-centered cooperation."
 
  "There's a lot on paper," said Daniel Keohane, a researcher with the London-based Centre for European Reform. "They have an action plan with over 100 measures . . . the whole gambit of cooperation. But the E.U. is not a government. It doesn't have its own intelligence resources." 
 
 "Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, which have the greatest intelligence resources, don't want to share with the 25," he added.
 
  Another subject awaiting more action is control of financing. "Terrorists have found new ways to finance their activities, resorting to petty crime and fundraising within their communities, which is much more difficult to trace," said Loretta Napoleoni, author of the book "Terror Inc.: Tracing the Money Behind Global Terrorism." 
 
  Napoleoni was in Madrid attending the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security, an annual event scheduled for March this year to commemorate the attacks. She coordinated a work group on terrorism financing, which recommended that the United Nations set up a finance monitoring center to help with intelligence and intergovernmental cooperation.
 
  Even here in Spain, scene of the attacks, many of the pre-March 11 problems persist. In the weeks following the train blasts, Spaniards pledged to find ways to increase security and prevent attacks. But other than increasing communications channels among the security and intelligence branches and adding Arabic-speaking intelligence and judiciary workers, not much has been accomplished, according to security experts.
 
  Immediately after the attacks, many European countries stepped up security at crowded rail stations. For a while, there was talk of setting up airport-style security systems at stations, but the idea was soon abandoned. 
 
  At commuter train stations across Madrid, there are no visible signs of heightened security a year after the attacks. "We have increased security in every possible way," said Joaquin Ruano, who heads the security division of the rail company Renfe. "But there is an average of 885,000 travelers per weekday in Madrid alone. It's very hard to control that."
 
  "People think about it as they get on the trains, and there is still fear," said Cristina Cobo, a daily commuter at Madrid's Atocha station, the destination of the bombed trains.
 
  A year after the attacks, some key details of the plot remain largely unknown. Much about the culprits and their exact motives is still a mystery, and large parts of the investigation, conducted by the Spanish judiciary, are under a news blackout.
 
  The government attributes the attacks to Islamic radicals linked to al Qaeda. The Popular Party  --  in power at the time of the attacks  --  stands by its initial suggestions that the Basque separatist group ETA was involved. The national daily El Mundo, which has broken several stories on the investigation, has reported extensively on an alleged connection involving elements of the Moroccan secret security services. The Moroccan government denies the allegation. 
 
  A parliamentary commission was set up to investigate the attacks and suggest ways to strengthen security measures. But it deteriorated into a forum for blame-casting between the Popular Party and the Socialists, who won a surprise victory in general elections held three days after the attacks.
 
  Survivors and relatives of victims have been sharply critical of the commission and its report. "They haven't let us know what really happened, and we want to know the truth," said Pilar Manjon, president of the Association of Victims of March 11 Terrorism. She lost her son in one of the bombings.
 
 "The first impression is that it was a wide-reaching plan with multiple explosions perfectly synchronized, backed by important resources and preparation indicating a terrorism of Islamic character," Carlos Divar, president of Spain's highest court, said at a recent news conference. "But I did not say exclusively of Islamic character. We still do not know."
 
  Formal charges are due this summer, with a trial possibly starting early next year.
 
  About 218 people remain hospitalized because of injuries suffered in the attacks.
 
 Correspondent Keith B. Richburg and special correspondent Erika Lorentzsen in Paris contributed to this report.
  
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 03:45:54 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:47:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29205098.1110541554814.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Sum of Our Fears
 
 By Eugene Robinson
 
    Today we eschew both cotton-candy indulgence (the Michael Jackson trial) and eat-your-peas sobriety (whither Social Security?) to tuck into more starkly existential fare: If you're the worrying kind, what do you choose from the smorgasbord of dread laid out upon the table of modern life?
 
 Osama bin Laden still out there scheming, somewhere at large? Terrorists with a radioactive "dirty bomb" or just a Ryder truck full of fertilizer and fuel oil? A laboratory accident that looses a real-life Andromeda  strain? Iran (almost) with nukes? North Korea (it boasts) with nukes? Something as general as global warming, or as specific as the dangerous intersection on the way to your daughter's school?
 
 Now comes avian influenza, a virus that has jumped from chickens, ducks and geese to humans. Avian flu has infected fewer than 100 people we know of, all in faraway Southeast Asia, yet the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already sees "a very ominous situation for the globe," while a World Health Organization official warns of "the gravest possible danger."
 
 So are we supposed to stop fretting about everything else and focus a laser beam of anxiety toward Vietnamese barnyards? To help make sense of it all, I rounded up a few experts in the burgeoning field of risk analysis. 
 
 Paradoxically, the exercise was a comfort. It turns out there's no "right" or "wrong" way to calculate the sum of our fears.
 
 Elizabeth Anderson, who runs a risk-analysis firm and edits an academic journal devoted to the field, pointed out that in deciding what to worry about, "you're comparing risks with varying degrees of certainty, and some may be low probability but high consequence."
 
 In other words, few people (except the parents of teenagers) worry themselves sick about car accidents, which are common but usually minor. An explosion at a nuclear plant, on the other hand, is vastly less likely  --  but utterly devastating if it ever happens. Also, one man's risk can be another man's breakfast: Europeans see grave dangers in genetically modified "Frankenfood";  Americans generally don't care if their corn flakes were engineered in a lab. 
 
 Paul Slovic, a professor at the University of Oregon, did a striking experiment in which he asked  experts and laymen  to rank a list of 30 dangers. "Nuclear power," ranked most dangerous by regular folks, was just 20th on the experts' list. The experts, who knew the statistics, were far more concerned about such things as medical X-rays and surgical mishaps.
 
 Further research has led Slovic to conclude that this subjectivity is inherent. We tend to overestimate risks that strike us viscerally with dread  --  a dirty bomb that spews radiation, say  --  and underestimate risks that don't. Slovic found that we even change our evaluation of a risk depending on the language used to describe it: Illogically, we perceive "20 out of 100" as a greater risk than "one out of five" or "a 20 percent chance."
 
 The experts agreed that there's one thing that can be fixed: how authorities communicate with the public about the risks we face. 
 
 Health authorities can give us more than blurted pronouncements of certain doom. They can give us enough information to make an informed assessment. Is there still a good chance  the flu will fizzle out? What is that chance, realistically? What's the plan if and when the first human case shows up in this country?
 
 The Department of Homeland Security should lead a similar conversation about terrorism threats. Basically, all we get now is the green-blue-yellow-orange-red color chart, which tells us nothing. Occasionally there's an all-points bulletin for a few people  whose only crime may be their swarthiness, but the alert always comes with the admonition to go about our normal lives. Michael Chertoff, new DHS secretary, here's a job for you: Talk to us constructively about what "normal" means these days.
 
 Baruch Fischhoff, a Carnegie Mellon University professor who heads the Society for Risk Analysis, said, "Risk analysis is easier when you have a historical record, but it's a matter of theory when you don't." Trying to judge the risk of any kind of terrorist attack is hard, because by definition, it's an exercise in reading the terrorists' minds. 
 
 On the other hand, he noted, there's a long historical record of how influenza outbreaks grow into epidemics that explode into pandemics, and "it's not as if we have to read the minds of the microbes." That record includes the Spanish influenza of 1918-19, which killed between 20 million and 40 million people worldwide.
 
 So if eminent epidemiologists are running around with their hair on fire over avian flu, I'm afraid we might want to pay attention.
 
 eugenerobinson@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 03:46:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:48:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <3165032.1110541607373.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Thou Shalt Not Create
 
 By Charles Krauthammer
 
   I will work with Congress to ensure that human embryos are not created for experimentation or grown for body parts, and that human life is never bought and sold as a commodity. (Applause)
 
      --  State of the Union address, Feb. 2, 2005
  
 That declaration drew more than applause. It received a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle  --  demonstrating that even amid the confusion and dishonesty in this country's bioethics debates, some truths remain self-evident. And one of those truths is that human embryos are to be created for the purpose of producing  babies, not for commerce and not to be dismembered for study or spare parts.
 
  Yet what was remarkable about this moment  --  at the time, and for over a month now, almost entirely overlooked by the media  --  was that the Democrats who rose to join the applause were endorsing a principle that is at war with a key part of their own biotech agenda: research cloning.
 
  Let me explain. When you clone a (somatic, i.e. adult) human cell, you turn it first into an embryonic cell with which you can do two things: (a) let it grow (in theory, with implantation in a uterus) to become a cloned baby, or (b) take it apart very early to derive stem cells (research cloning).
 
  Everyone opposes (a) because everyone agrees that cloning children is a monstrous idea that deserves to be banned. But congressional Democrats (with the support of some equally confused Republicans) support (b), research cloning. But that means you've just created a human embryo for the exclusive purpose of experimentation and dissection  --  the banning of which most everyone in the House chamber stood up to cheer.
 
  The Democrats were oblivious to this contradiction. It jumped out at me because three years ago, in working out my own contribution to the cloning report of the President's Council on Bioethics (on which I serve), I had proposed creation as the bright line to separate what is permissible from what is impermissible in embryonic research.
 
  The principle I suggested (and elaborated in "Crossing Lines: A Secular Argument Against Research Cloning," the New Republic, April 29, 2002) was this: No creating human embryos for experimentation.  That means no to all cloning. And that means yes to using existing embryos such as the thousands of frozen and/or discarded embryos left over from work by  in vitro fertilization  clinics  --  embryos that were created for the purpose of becoming children but which, for one reason or other, were not used.
 
  I support that research. The president does not. In his Aug. 9, 2001, address to the nation, he opposed embryonic research using newly discarded embryos from fertility clinics. I initially thought that the 2005 State of the Union declaration was signaling a retreat from that position. My firm understanding from subsequent inquiries is that it was not. The administration continues to oppose such research.
 
  But note that Bush only prevented federal funding for it. Bush did not ban it. It continues legally in the private sector. His State of the Union proposal would do nothing to change that balance. (Because it deals only with creation, it leaves aside the question of discarded embryos.)
 
  Presidents come and go. And when this president goes, the next president could, and  probably will, reverse the Bush policy and allow federal funding for stem cells derived from newly discarded embryos. I would applaud that. But I deplore the step that proponents of such research are already demanding: research cloning, i.e., creating special embryos entirely for the purpose of using them for their parts.
 
  This is crossing a critical moral red line. We may honorably disagree about the moral dignity due a tiny human embryo. But we must establish some barrier to the most wanton, reckless and hubristic exploitation of the human embryo for our own purposes.
 
  The line is easy to find: You do not create a human embryo to be a means to some other end. Most people with a moral sense, as demonstrated by the spontaneous response to the State of the Union declaration, understand immediately that there is something fundamentally different, fundamentally corrupting, fundamentally dangerous about allowing  --  indeed, encouraging  --  the manufacture of human embryos for the purpose of their dissection and use for parts.
 
  It is time to act on precisely that intuition and pass a law that draws that line: no creation for the purpose of destruction. We need to do it consensually. And we need to do it now. Tomorrow is too late. By tomorrow we will have an embryo manufacturing industry, and we will already be numb to it.
 
 letters@charleskrauthammer.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 03:47:52 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:49:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26688201.1110541672183.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Welfare vs. Wall St.
 
 By Robert J. Samuelson
 
    Let's suppose Congress approves President Bush's "personal accounts" for Social Security. The Social Security system would then become the largest single investor in U.S. stocks. By 2050 Social Security could hold 25 percent of all stocks, estimate economists at Goldman Sachs. This estimate reflects a modest plan for personal accounts; other proposals would permit bigger stock purchases. Hardly anyone has thought about the economic consequences of concentrating so much stock in the Social Security system. My hunch is that it would turn out to be a huge mistake  --  or worse.
 
  The idea of personal accounts is that Wall Street should triumph over the welfare state. Just the opposite might occur: The welfare state would triumph over Wall Street. The money flowing into personal accounts would not be invested according to the "free market." Individuals wouldn't have the freedom to invest in Microsoft, General Electric or eBay. Instead, it would be invested according to rules made by Congress, influenced by politics. There would be unrelenting pressure from interest groups, "experts" and public opinion.
 
  The danger is that investment decisions would become unduly politicized and that the economy would consequently suffer. The rules governing which stocks could or couldn't  be purchased for personal accounts might become irrational or counterproductive. The reason is that what personal accounts aim to accomplish is inherently difficult, perhaps impossible. The economic and social roles of Wall Street and the welfare state are fundamentally opposed. The attempt to blend them through personal accounts would create massive contradictions.
 
  The role of Wall Street is to move investment funds to their most productive uses. If the process works well, the economy expands, living standards rise and the stock market advances. But inevitably there are losers, because Wall Street is an exercise in collective risk-taking. A free market means continuous trial and error.
 
  By contrast, the welfare state is an exercise in collective risk reduction. It strives to provide some security  --  aka the "safety net"  --  against life's misfortunes and the economy's upsets. It aims to protect society's poorest and weakest members. We have many welfare programs. Social Security is the largest and most popular.
 
  Personal accounts would be a strange hybrid: part "private" investment, part public entitlement. This is a hard straddle. There's an unavoidable dilemma: Making personal accounts safer for individuals might make the stock market less useful  --  less dynamic  --  for society. The conflict has already surfaced. One criticism of personal accounts is that they might subject beneficiaries to huge losses, because stocks fluctuate erratically. The administration counters that it would allow accounts to be invested only in "index funds"  --  for example, funds representing the Standard & Poor's 500 stocks. The idea is to minimize the risk of big losses on individual or speculative stocks. Sounds sensible. But it would bias the market in favor of existing companies, industries and technologies. It would discriminate against the new, exciting and different.
 
  If investment became too hidebound, it might slowly degrade the economy's performance. Conflicts like this won't conveniently fade away. Nor would personal accounts, if created, remain fixed for all time. As public entitlements, they would  create their own ferocious politics. Millions of Social Security beneficiaries and countless interest groups would periodically agitate to modify the accounts, reacting to their own experiences or interests. The specter of rule changes would constantly hang over Wall Street;  the larger the personal accounts became, the more the rules would affect how the stock market behaves.
 
  What looms is a massive expansion of government power over Wall Street. To be sure, it would occur gradually, over decades, and its outlines are murky. The irony is that it comes from "conservatives." Facing the rising costs of federal retirement programs, practical politicians seek ways to cover the costs without resorting to unpopular benefit cuts. Putting payroll taxes into stocks seems one painless way out.
 
  But even good stock returns can't erase the basic problem. The costs of federal retirement programs are growing much faster than any plausible portfolio of private accounts. Sometime between now and 2030,  with the aging of the baby boom generation, the relentless increases in costs will force significant benefit cuts, big tax increases or both. The bipartisan consensus is to ignore this inconvenient fact. In their hearts, the Democrats want to do nothing. Republicans have at least proposed something. Unfortunately, it may be worse than nothing.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 03:48:55 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:50:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <4224409.1110541735655.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Lebanon's Next Steps
 
 By David Ignatius
 
    "We don't want to be another Iraq," says one of the leaders of the Lebanese movement for democracy. That's not meant as a shot at the Bush administration but as a statement of political strategy. He knows the Beirut  Spring will wither and die if the United States becomes the driving force for change, rather than the Lebanese people.
 
  That's why the Bush administration must be very careful as it steers around the curve of history in the Middle East. President Bush's bully-pulpit speech this week about Arab democracy unfortunately pumped the gas so much it risked flooding the engine. It threatened to make the United States the issue, rather than the Lebanese people.
 
  The Bush administration rightly wants to keep the focus on Syria  --  and the demand that the Syrians withdraw their troops from Lebanon. To accomplish that, the White House needs to cool its rhetoric and keep its allies out front in pressuring Syrian President Bashar Assad to pull out. The lead negotiator with Assad will be U.N. representative Terje Roed-Larsen; that's as it should be. Behind him is a broad coalition that includes France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other nations, in addition to the United States. That powerful alliance should deny the Syrians any port in the Lebanese storm.
 
  This week's events in Beirut and Damascus showed that the passage toward Arab democracy won't be a smooth, straight line of the sort Americans like but a complicated series of stops and starts, curlicues, smudges and ink blots. That is to say it will be written in the political language of the Middle East.
 
  The biggest challenge involves the Shiite militia, Hezbollah. If anyone had forgotten that this was crucial, they got a noisy reminder Tuesday when the group's leader,  Hasan Nasrallah, pulled 500,000 of his followers into the streets of Beirut. Calling it a "pro-Syria" rally was a misnomer; this was a pro-Hezbollah demonstration  --  a statement that Nasrallah has the ability to sabotage the democracy movement if he chooses.
 
  Wednesday brought one of those absurd rent-a-crowd demonstrations in Damascus, like the ones Saddam Hussein used to stage in Baghdad. A crowd of Syrians "spontaneously" marched on the president's palace and called on the beloved leader to speak. To me, it only underlined Assad's weakness. Another sign of Assad's weak hand was his  restoration of the Lebanese puppet government of Prime Minister Omar Karami. That government was deeply unpopular, and trying to push it back into power is just "the old, old, old Syrian game of trying to buy time," as a Lebanese democracy leader put it to me.
 
   Members of the Lebanese democracy movement saw mixed messages in Nasrallah's self-celebration. They were upset that he chose belligerent anti-Western and pro-Syrian language, but they noted that he repeated his calls for dialogue with other Lebanese factions about building a new Lebanon. The Hezbollah demonstrators carried both Lebanese flags and portraits of Assad. The Bush administration thinks Hezbollah should have to choose between these symbols: Lebanese independence or fealty to Damascus. That seems like the right strategy.
 
  In dealing with Hezbollah, perhaps the Lebanese democracy movement can learn from John F. Kennedy's ploy in the Cuban missile crisis: Respond to the message you like and ignore the one you don't. In practice, that means people should take Nasrallah up on his demand for dialogue. The goal of these discussions should be to find a formula for bringing Hezbollah and its millions of poor Shiite followers into the political framework of a new Lebanon.
 
  When I interviewed Nasrallah in Beirut in October 2003, I asked him what he wanted to do with the power he had created in Hezbollah. Could the Lebanese state, I asked, accommodate that new political energy? Nasrallah replied that Hezbollah wanted to be part of Lebanon and would take no actions to undermine the Lebanese state.
 
  So here's a simple agenda for Lebanese democrats and their supporters around the world: First, Syrian troops must leave Lebanon, and Assad must set a clear and unambiguous timetable for their withdrawal. Second, negotiations should begin on finding ways to adapt the Lebanese political formula to the reality of Hezbollah's power. That agenda puts the issue squarely to Nasrallah: Is he a Lebanese patriot or a Syrian stooge? Is he a man of the future or the past? It's time to find out. 
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 03:49:54 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:51:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11894443.1110541794092.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Wag the Cow
 
   TWELVE YEARS ago, the Clinton administration set out to change policy toward Japan. The Cold War approach, according to the Clinton view, had emphasized political and military cooperation to the detriment of  U.S. economic interests; with the Soviet threat gone, it was time to get tough on Japan's trade protectionism. The Clintonites set about demanding that Japan stop running its economy through a system of murky government guidance and instead embrace transparent rules, figuring that this would create a fair playing field for  U.S. businesses. But trade confrontation had costs. It forced up the yen, increasing the danger of a banking collapse that would send tremors around the world, and  it threatened the political viability of U.S. military bases. In 1995, the rape of a Japanese schoolgirl by American servicemen caused smoldering anti-American resentment to explode in street protests. The Clintonites concluded that trade friction was not worth it.
 
 This history illuminates President  Bush's strange call to Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, on Wednesday. Mr. Bush phoned his counterpart not to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons or China's military ambitions but rather to complain about Japan's closed beef market. To ram home the depth of American impatience, the State Department refused to volunteer any of its officials to meet with Japan's deputy foreign minister, who was in Washington. When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Japan next week,   it's reported that beef will be high up on the agenda, along with nuclear proliferation. 
 
 If it was wrong to prioritize trade in the 1990s, it is even more mistaken now. The North Korean threat has grown more urgent, and addressing it requires diplomatic coordination with Japan, among others. The United States continues to have a stake in its military relationship with Japan: Mr. Koizumi sent a small contingent of troops to Iraq, even though this was unpopular with his electorate. The claim that Japan's economy is opaque and unfair to foreigners has become less persuasive: Sony is the latest flagship corporation to install non-Japanese management, and transparent, rules-based regulation is spreading.  Ironically, the U.S. complaint in the beef case is that an independent food safety commission is refusing to listen to government pleas to allow  U.S. beef in. Finally, trade friction can cause other sorts of economic trouble. Today the issue is not the stability of Japan's banks but the danger that Japan might start selling off its huge dollar reserves. The day after Mr. Bush called him about beef, Mr. Koizumi suggested that this might not be a bad idea. The dollar immediately fell, and U.S. interest rates spiked upward.
 
 Like the Clintonites before them, the Bush team resents Japan's enormous trade surplus and fears domestic producer lobbies. The Bush reelection campaign was endorsed and financially supported by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, which has now grabbed the trade tail of Japan policy and is swinging the beast mercilessly. It took the Clinton administration three years to see that larger issues ought to dominate the U.S. relationship with Japan. May the Bush team awake faster. 
 
   

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From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Wed Mar  9 21:46:48 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Fri Mar 11 03:58:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Thug Radio
Message-ID: <20050310054648.79881.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 11 07:24:12 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:25:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China's magnificent historic past
Message-ID: <20050311_152412_079628.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
chinese economy

** China's magnificent historic past **
BBC Economics editor Evan Davies looks back at the crucial role played by China in the world economy over the last few centuries.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4337203.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Fri Mar 11 07:25:13 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:26:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Schiavo's case lands in Congress
Message-ID: <15.4070e6ad.2f631259@aol.com>

Schiavo's case lands in Congress.  In Florida one of the issues  against what 
was called "Terrie's Law" was the government overriding personal  wishes or 
wishes of the families or guardian(s). Fortunately the state court  rightly 
found the bill passed in Florida as unconstitutional.  While there  is a need for 
laws in any civilized society, we need to be aware of the  potential for 
abuse of the laws and the potential for laws to take away rights  of the 
individual or those appointed to watch over them.  We are becoming  more and more of a 
society that expects government to tell us what we can and  cannot do, and in 
the case of a court-appointed guardian, they cannot fulfill  their roles, 
however distasteful those roles may be when the issue becomes a  political tennis 
ball in order to pander for votes.  As far as guardians  abusing their 
positions of trust as determined by the courts, there are already  laws in place to 
provide proper punishment, including incarceration and fines,  for abuse of the 
guardianship role.  The article can be found on The St.  Petersburg Times 
website, 
 
_http://sptimes.com/2005/03/11/Tampabay/Schiavo_s_case_lands_.shtml_ 
(http://sptimes.com/2005/03/11/Tampabay/Schiavo_s_case_lands_.shtml) 
 
Richard Haerther
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 11 07:25:28 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:27:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Typing error causes nuclear scare
Message-ID: <20050311_152528_079970.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
don't know if nuclear tests in their country ??

** Typing error causes nuclear scare **
Sudan gets worried after a US congressional report mentions that the Americans carried out nuclear tests there.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4338835.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 11 07:26:53 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:28:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Vietnam fury at Agent Orange case
Message-ID: <20050311_152653_076395.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
how many years before the Iraqis are in the courts over the uranium bombs?

** Vietnam fury at Agent Orange case **
Vietnamese plaintiffs condemn a US court's dismissal of their case against the makers of Agent Orange.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4339419.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 11 07:29:01 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:30:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Forbes rich list at record levels
Message-ID: <20050311_152901_003384.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
the $ people

** Forbes rich list at record levels **
The Forbes magazine list of world billionaires grows to 691 super-rich, with  Bill Gates topping the list and Martha Stewart in for the first time.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4337493.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 11 07:30:26 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:32:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Genes help immunity disease boy
Message-ID: <20050311_153026_031394.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
gene therapy

** Genes help immunity disease boy **
Gene therapy has been used to treat a little boy with no immune system, British scientists reveal.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4337105.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 11 07:31:23 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:33:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US held youngsters at Abu Ghraib
Message-ID: <20050311_153123_041399.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
this is horrid !

** US held youngsters at Abu Ghraib **
A US general in charge of the of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq says children as young as 11 were held there.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4339511.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 11 07:34:18 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:36:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US trade gap expands to $58.4bn
Message-ID: <20050311_153418_006750.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
there goes the dollar

** US trade gap expands to $58.4bn **
The US's trade deficit widens to its second-highest level yet in January, forcing the dollar lower.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4340217.stm >


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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Fri Mar 11 07:53:02 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Fri Mar 11 07:54:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Judge killed in Atlanta
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV12992F0C75AD3BBBD64784AB530@phx.gbl>

A Judge and his Court Reporter have been shot and killed in Atlanta in a courtroom by a man who was coming up on re-trial charges of Rape. He had taken the gun from a deputy that was in the courtroom, then escaped and was chased by other deputies and two of them have been shot and wounded...

Anyone in the Atlanta area be careful this guy is hijacking cars (so far 5) and is on the loose and desperate.

barbara

From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 08:11:21 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 08:12:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5335828.1110557482194.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Hackers Target  U.S. Power Grid
 
 By Justin Blum
 
  Hundreds of times a day, hackers try to slip past cyber-security into the computer network of Constellation Energy Group Inc., a Baltimore power company with customers around the country.
 
 "We have no discernable way of knowing who is trying to hit our system," said John R. Collins, chief risk officer for Constellation, which operates Baltimore Gas and Electric. "We just know it's being hit."
 
 Hackers have caused no serious damage to systems that feed the nation's power grid, but their untiring efforts have heightened concerns that electric companies have failed to adequately fortify defenses against a potential catastrophic strike. The fear: In a worst-case scenario, terrorists or others could engineer an attack that sets off a widespread blackout and damages power plants, prolonging an outage.
 
 Patrick H. Wood III, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, warned top electric company officials in a private meeting in January that they need to focus more heavily on cyber-security. Wood also has raised the issue at several public appearances. Officials will not say whether new intelligence points to a potential terrorist strike, but Wood stepped up his campaign after officials at the Energy Department's Idaho National Laboratory showed him how a skilled hacker could cause serious problems.
 
 Wood declined to comment on specifics of what he saw. But an official at the lab, Ken Watts, said the simulation showed how someone could hack into a utility's Internet-based business management system, then into a system that controls utility operations. Once inside, lab workers simulated cutting off the supply of oil to a turbine generating electricity and destroying the equipment. 
 
 Describing his reaction to the demonstration, Wood said: "I wished I'd had a diaper on."
 
 Many electric industry representatives have said they are concerned about cyber-security and have been taking steps to make sure their systems are protected. But Wood and others in the industry said the companies' computer security is uneven. 
 
  "A sophisticated hacker, which is probably a group of hackers . . . could probably get into each of the three U.S. North American power [networks] and could probably bring sections of it down if they knew how to do it," said Richard A. Clarke, a former counterterrorism chief in the Clinton and Bush administrations.
 
 Clarke said government simulations show that electric companies have not done enough to prevent hacking. "Every time they test, they get in," Clarke said. "It's nice that the power companies think that they've done things, and some of them have. But as long as there's a way to get into the grid, the grid is as weak as its weakest company."
 
 Some industry analysts play down the threat of a massive cyber-attack, saying it's more likely that terrorists would target the physical infrastructure such as power plants and transmission lines. James Andrew Lewis, director of technology policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the District, said a coordinated attack on the grid would be technically difficult and would not provide as much "bang for the buck" as high-profile physical attacks. Lewis said the bigger vulnerability may be posed not by outside hackers but by insiders who are familiar with their company's computer networks.
 
 But in recent years, terrorists have expressed interest in a range of computer targets. Al Qaeda documents from 2002 suggest cyber-attacks on various targets, including the electrical grid and financial institutions, according to a translation by the IntelCenter, an Alexandria firm that studies terrorist groups.
 
 A government advisory panel has concluded that a foreign intelligence service or a well-supported terrorist group "could conduct a structured attack on the electric power grid electronically, with a high degree of anonymity, and without having to set foot in the target nation," according to a report last year by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
 
 Cyber-security specialists and government officials said that cyber-attacks are a concern across many industries but that the threat to the country's power supply is among their top fears.
 
 Hackers have gained access to U.S. utilities' electronic control systems and in a few cases have "caused an impact," said Joseph M. Weiss, a Cupertino, Calif.-based computer security specialist with Kema Inc., a consulting firm focused on the energy industry. He said computer viruses and worms also have caused problems.
 
 Weiss, a leading expert in control system security, said officials of the affected companies have described the instances at private conferences that he hosts and in confidential conversations but have not reported the intrusions publicly or to federal authorities. He said he agreed not to publicly disclose additional details and that the companies are fearful that releasing the information would hurt them financially and encourage more hacking.
 
 Weiss said that "many utilities have not addressed control system cyber-security as comprehensively as physical security or cyber-security of business networks." 
 
 The vulnerability of the nation's electrical grid to computer attack has grown as power companies have transferred control of their electrical generation and distribution equipment from private, internal networks to supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA, systems that can be accessed through the Internet or by phone lines, according to consultants and government reports. That technology has led to greater efficiency because it allows workers to operate equipment remotely. 
 
 Other systems that feed information into SCADA or that operate utility equipment are vulnerable and have been largely overlooked by utilities, security consultants said.
 
 Some utilities have made hacking into their SCADA systems relatively easy by continuing to use factory-set passwords that can be found in standard documentation available on the Internet, computer security consultants said.
 
 The North American Electric Reliability Council, an industry-backed organization that sets voluntary standards for power companies, is drafting wide-ranging guidelines to replace more narrow, temporary precautions already on the books for guarding against a cyber-attack. But computer security specialists question whether those standards go far enough.
 
 Officials at several power companies said they had invested heavily in new equipment and software to protect their computers. Many would speak only in general terms, saying divulging specifics could assist hackers.
 
 "We're very concerned about it," said Margaret E. "Lyn" McDermid, senior vice president and chief information officer for Dominion Resources Inc., a Richmond-based company that operates Dominion Virginia Power and supplies electricity and natural gas in other states. "We spend a significant amount of time and effort in making sure we are doing what we ought to do."
 
 Executives at Constellation Energy view the constant hacking attempts -- which have been unsuccessful -- as a threat and monitor their systems closely. They said they assume many of the hackers are the same type seen in other businesses: people who view penetrating corporate systems as fun or a challenge.
 
 "We feel we are in pretty good shape when it comes to this," Collins said. "That doesn't mean we're bulletproof."
 
 The biggest threat to the grid, analysts said, may come from power companies using older equipment that is more susceptible to attack. Those companies many not want to invest large amounts of money in new computer equipment when the machines they are using are adequately performing all their other functions.
 
 Security consulting firms said that they have hacked into power company networks to highlight for their clients the weaknesses in their systems.
 
 "We are able to penetrate real, running, live systems," said Lori Dustin, vice president of marketing for Verano Inc., a Mansfield, Mass., company that sells products to companies to secure SCADA systems. In some cases, Dustin said, power companies lack basic equipment that would even alert them to hacking attempts.
 
 O. Sami Saydjari, chief executive of the Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.-based consulting firm Cyber Defense Agency LLC, said hackers could cause the type of blackout that knocked out electricity to about 50 million people in the Northeast, Midwest and Canada in 2003, an event attributed in part to trees interfering with power lines in Ohio. He said that if hackers destroyed generating equipment in the process, the amount of time to restore electricity could be prolonged.
 
  "I am absolutely confident that by design, someone could do at least as [much damage], if not worse" than what was experienced in 2003, said Saydjari, who was one of 54 prominent scientists and others who warned the Bush administration of the risk of computer attacks following Sept. 11, 2001. "It's just a matter of time before we have a serious event."
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 11 08:11:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard)
Date: Fri Mar 11 08:13:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [Fwd: Bush's U.N. Ambassador: "There's no such thing as
	the U.N."]
Message-ID: <4231C347.9090103@comcast.net>



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Bush's U.N. Ambassador: "There's no such thing as the U.N."
Date: 	Fri, 11 Mar 2005 07:33:18 -0800
From: 	Eli Pariser, MoveOn PAC <moveon-help@list.moveon.org>
To: 	William Swiggard <swiggard@comcast.net>



Dear MoveOn member,

It's a little like nominating a felon to be police chief. Yesterday, 
President Bush nominated John Bolton, one of the most active opponents 
of U.S. multilateralism and diplomacy, to be ambassador to the U.N. But 
Bolton doesn't believe in international law, or in the U.N. In 2000, 
Bolton said, "If I were doing the Security Council today, I'd have one 
permanent member [the United States] because that's the real reflection 
of the distribution of power in the world." And he's gone on record 
saying that all international laws are invalid, meaningless attempts to 
constrict American power.

The whole idea of the U.N., of course, is that it's a place for the 
world community to work together on the problems that face us all. And 
at a time when we need other nations' goodwill and cooperation to deal 
with the mess in Iraq and to fight al Qaeda, confirming an inflammatory 
unilateralist like John Bolton as our ambassador to the rest of the 
world is a terrible idea. Even Republicans on the Foreign Relations 
committee in the Senate are nervous--according to the New York Times, 
Senator Lugar, who chairs the committee, advised Secretary of State Rice 
not to nominate Bolton.

If all the Democrats and one Republican on the Senate's Foreign 
Relations committee vote against Bolton's nomination, it'll stop there. 
But the committee will vote soon, and your Senator alone could make the 
difference. Please take a moment to call Senator Kerry at the number 
below today and ask him to oppose the nomination of John Bolton as U.N. 
Ambassador.

Here's Senator Kerry's number:

    Senator John Kerry
    DC Phone: 202-224-2742

After you call, please help us track the volume of calls by reporting 
your call here:

http://www.moveonpac.org/boltoncalls.html?id=5201-619396-omh_HYkDe8TpfwUN6psdIg

Bolton's take on foreign policy is so far out of the mainstream, he even 
makes Fox News' Bill O'Reilly look pretty good. Here's an excerpt from 
their 1999 conversation on "The O'Reilly Factor":

O'REILLY: And I find it difficult to stand by and watch another 
Cambodia, another Rwanda, unfold. And I believe the United States has a 
responsibility here.

BOLTON: Let me ask you this, Mr. O'Reilly. How many dead Americans is it 
worth to you to stop the brutality?

O'REILLY: I don't think I would quantify that because...

BOLTON: I think you have to quantify it. I think if you don't answer 
that question...

O'REILLY: ... I think if you're going to be a superpower...

BOLTON: ... you're ducking the key point that the commander in chief has 
to decide upon before putting American troops into a combat situation. 
We are now at war with Serbia. And the president has to be able to 
justify to himself and to the American people that Americans are about 
to die, or may well die, for a certain specific American interest.

[edit]

BOLTON: I believe...

O'REILLY: ... I do not believe in standing by while people are slaughtered.

BOLTON: ... Our foreign policy should support American interests. Let 
the rest of the world support the rest of the world's interests.

If John Bolton is confirmed as U.N. ambassador, he'll be one of the 
primary links with the international community. Please call your Senator 
today and ask him to vote against John Bolton as U.N. Ambassador.

Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser
  March 11, 2005
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

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

Subscription Management:
This is a message from MoveOn PAC. To remove yourself (William Swiggard) 
from this list, please visit our subscription management page at:
http://moveon.org/s?i=5201-619396-omh_HYkDe8TpfwUN6psdIg
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From mailer at haaretz.co.il  Fri Mar 11 07:46:26 2005
From: mailer at haaretz.co.il (mailer@haaretz.co.il)
Date: Fri Mar 11 08:42:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [HS] [harry.sifton@sympatico.ca] has sent you an article
	from Haaretz
Message-ID: <20050311154626.5CEE56534@sendmail.haaretz.com>

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu Mar 10 20:51:40 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:12:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action
Message-ID: <200503111712.j2BHC55U015457@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action
By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman

We traveled to Graceland last year, and picked up a CD.

30 Elvis Number One Hits.

A seven-year old we know borrowed the CD.

He had never heard about Elvis or heard an Elvis song.

His favorite song?

It wasn't Jailhouse Rock.

It wasn't Hound Dog.

It wasn't Heartbreak Hotel.

It wasn't Hardheaded Woman.

It was none of the 30 Number One Hits.

It was the last song on the CD.

It was the bonus song.

Number 31: A Little Less Conversation.

Refrain:

A little less conversation, a little more action please
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark

This is the seven year old's favorite song.

He plays it over and over and over.

This song came to mind after scanning the web and picking up the flood of
writing and criticism about the state of the world.

Here are three stories dated from yesterday, March 9:

In the New York Observer, Nicholas Von Hoffman writing about his son's
return from Iraq, in which he observes: "It is the incontestable truth
that the politicians and news personalities who talk so blithely about war
would adopt a different and more cautious tone in their advocacy of
killing others were they to know that a degree of risk attaches to
themselves and their own kith and kin should war ensue. It would be a more
peaceful world if the law read that the children of every elected official
and every TV news celebrity would immediately be drafted on the
commencement of hostilities."

A report out by the American Society for Civil Engineers, showing how our
nation's infrastructure is crumbling, as we spend billions overseas in
wars of destruction.

In the Brown Daily Herald, a report on Seymour Hersh's talk the day
before at Brown University.

"The problem is that George Bush is convinced he's doing the right
thing," Hersh said. "It doesn't matter how many body bags come back. At
some level he thinks he'll be vindicated. It doesn't matter what we write,
we can't shape [Bush]. If you think it's a little terrifying, it is. Other
[presidents] felt the heat, this guy doesn't."

There's just a non-stop flow of factual reporting and critical analysis.

Those are three stories, just from yesterday. And we could deliver 50 more
of equal quality and interest -- just from yesterday.

It is all here at our fingertips.

True, it doesn't often make it onto the mainstream media.

But click a button and there you have it.

It is all right there.

Available to anyone with access to the Internet.

The concentrated corporate mass media is the primary source of
information for most citizens in the United States.

But the fact remains that we have access to every news outlet and web site
in the world.

We can communicate instantaneously with anyone we wish.

There is a flood of quality information and informed criticism, more
than we can use.

We can't keep up with it.

You can't keep up with it.

We are drowning.

You are drowning.

We know this may sound strange coming from two writers who spend most of
their time researching and writing and contributing to the flood.

But someone has to come up for air and scream:

It's not making any difference!

Or as Hersh put it -- "It doesn't matter what we write. 
 Other
presidents feel the heat, this one doesn't."

To which we would add -- other politicians feel the heat, these don't.

As a citizenry outraged by this war in Iraq, and the possibility of wars
against Syria and Iran, we must ask ourselves: will the flood of
information break the dam?

Or are we deluding ourselves into thinking that information matters?

Shouldn't we be spending less time writing and more time organizing?

We can't predict.

But we suspect this:

We are at a tipping point.

Bush can be pushed over.

And we know for sure that Elvis wasn't talking about politics.

But his advice holds true for the here and now:

A little less conversation.

A little more action.


Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime
Reporter, <http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com>. Robert Weissman is
editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Multinational Monitor,
<http://www.multinationalmonitor.org>. Mokhiber and Weissman are
co-authors of On the Rampage: Corporate Predators and the Destruction of
Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press).

(c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman

This article is posted at:
<http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/corp-focus/2005/000197.html>

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D 
(up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options (option A - 
1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - up to 3x/day) 
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   ---   George Orwell


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu Mar 10 20:52:59 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:12:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Lebanon and the Avaricious Superpower -- The Next
	Crusades
Message-ID: <200503111712.j2BHCaiZ015467@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Lebanon and the Avaricious Superpower 
The Next Crusades

By URI AVNERY

March 7, 2005 

http://www.counterpunch.org/

Many years ago, I read a book called "The Quiet
American" by Graham Greene. Its central character is a
high-minded, naive young American operative in Vietnam.
He has no idea about the complexities of that country
but is determined to right its wrongs and create order.
The results are disastrous.

I have the feeling that this is happening now in
Lebanon. The Americans are not so high-minded and no so
naive. Far from it. But they are quite prepared to go
into a foreign country, disregard its complexities, and
use force to impose on it order, democracy and freedom.

Civil war: Lebanon. Lebanon is a country with a
peculiar topography: a small country of high mountain
ranges and isolated valleys. As a result, it has
attracted throughout the centuries communities of
persecuted minorities, who found refuge there. Today
there are, side by side and one against the other, four
ethno-religious communities: Christians, Sunnis,
Shiites and Druse. Within the Christian community,
there are several sub-communities, such as Maronites
and other ancient sects, mostly hostile to each other.
The history of Lebanon abounds in mutual massacres.

Such a situation invites, of course, interference by
neighbors and foreign powers, each wanting to stir the
pot for its own advantage. Syria, Israel, the United
States and France, the former colonial master, are all
involved.

Exactly 50 years ago a secret, heated debate took place
among the leaders of Israel. David Ben-Gurion (then
Minister of Defense) and Moshe Dayan (the army
Chief-of-Staff) had a brilliant idea: to invade
Lebanon, impose on it a "Christian major" as dictator
and turn it into an Israeli protectorate. Moshe
Sharett, the then Prime Minister, attacked this idea
fervently. In a lengthy, closely argued letter, which
has been preserved for history, he ridiculed the total
ignorance of the proponents of this idea in face of the
incredibly fragile complexity of the Lebanese social
structure. Any adventure, he warned, would end in
disaster.

At the time, Sharett won. But 27 years later, Menachem
Begin and Ariel Sharon did exactly what Ben-Gurion and
Dayan had proposed. The result was exactly as foreseen
by Sharett.

Anyone who follows the American and Israeli (there is
no difference) media, gets the impression that the
present situation in Lebanon is simple: there are two
camps, "the supporters of Syria" on the one side, the
"opposition" on the other. There is a "Beirut Spring".
The opposition is a twin sister of yesterday's
Ukrainian opposition, and loyally imitates all its
methods: demonstrations opposite the government
building, a sea of waving flags, colorful shawls, and,
most importantly, beautiful girls in the front row.

But between the Ukraine and Lebanon there exists not
the slightest similarity. The Ukraine is a "simple"
country: the east tends towards Russia, the west
towards Europe. With American help, the west won.

In Lebanon, all the diverse communities are in action.
Each for its own interest, each plotting to outfox the
others, perhaps to attack them at a given opportunity.
Some of the leaders are connected with Syria, some with
Israel, all are trying to use the Americans for their
ends. The jolly pictures of young demonstrators, so
prominent in the media, have no meaning if one does not
know the community which stands behind them.

Only thirty years ago these communities started a
terrible civil war and all of them massacred each
other. The Christian Maronites wanted to take over the
country with the help of Israel, but were defeated by a
coalition of the Sunnis and Druze (the Shiites played
no significant role at that time). The Palestinian
refugees, led by the PLO, who formed a kind of fifth
"community", joined the battle. When the Christians
were in danger of being overrun, they called on the
Syrians for help. Six years later, Israel invaded, with
the aim of evicting both the Syrians and the
Palestinians and imposing a Christian strongman
(Basheer Jumail).

It took us 18 years to get out of that morass. Our only
achievement was to turn the Shiites into a dominant
force. When we entered Lebanon, the Shiites received us
with showers of rice and candies, hoping that we would
throw out the Palestinians, who had been lording it
over them. A few months later, when they realized that
we did not intend to leave, they started to shoot at
us. Sharon is the midwife of Hizbullah.

It is difficult to foresee what will happen if the
Syrians accede to the American ultimatum and leave
Lebanon. There is no indication that the Americans are
concerned with the creation of a new fabric of life for
the Lebanese communities. They are satisfied with
babbling about "freedom" and "democracy", as if a
majority vote could create a regime acceptable to all.
They do not understand that "Lebanon" is an abstract
notion, since for almost all Lebanese, belonging to
their own community is vastly more important than
loyalty to the state. In such a situation, even an
international force will be of no help.

The re-ignition of the bloody civil war is a distinct
possibility.

Civil war: Iraq. If a civil war breaks out in Lebanon,
it will not be the only one in the region. In Iraq,
such a war- if almost secret - is already in full
swing.

The only effective military forces in Iraq, apart from
the occupation army, are the Kurdish "Peshmerga"
("Those who face death"). The Americans use them
whenever they are fighting the Sunnis. They played an
important role in the battle of Faluja, a big town that
was totally destroyed, its inhabitants killed or driven out.

Now the Kurdish forces are waging a war against the
Sunnis and Turkmens in the north of the country, in
order to take hold of the oil-rich areas and the town
of Kirkuk, and also to drive out the Sunni settlers who
were implanted there by Saddam Hussein.

How can such a war be practically ignored by the media?
Simple: everything is swept under the carpet of the
"war against terrorism".

But this small war is nothing compared to what may
happen in Iraq, once the time comes for deciding the
future of the country. The Kurds want complete
autonomy, or independence by another name. The Sunni
would not dream of accepting the rule of the Shiite
majority, which they despise, even if came about in the
name of "democracy". The outbreak of a full-fledged
civil war may only be a question of time.

Civil war: Syria. If the Americans succeed, with
Israel's discreet help, in breaking the ruling Syrian
dictatorship, there is no assurance at all that it will
be replaced by "freedom" and "democracy".

Syria is almost as splintered as Lebanon. There is a
strong Druze community in the south, a rebellious
Kurdish community in the north, an Alawite community
(to which the Assad family belongs) in the west. The
Sunni majority is traditionally divided between
Damascus in the south and Aleppo in the north. The
people have resigned themselves to the Assad
dictatorship out of fear of what may happen if the
regime collapses.

It is not likely that a full-scale civil war will break
out there. But a prolonged situation of total chaos is
quite likely. Sharon would be happy, though I am not
sure that it would be good for Israel.

Religious fervor: Iran. The main American objective is,
of course, the overthrow of the Ayatollahs in Iran. (It
is a little bit ironic that at the same time the
Americans are helping to install the Shiites in power
in neighboring Iraq, where they insist on introducing
Islamic law.)

Iran is a much harder nut to crack. Unlike to Iraq,
Syria and Lebanon, this is a homogenous society.

Israel is now openly threatening to bomb the Iranian
nuclear installations. Every few days we see on our TV
screens the digitally blurred faces of pilots boasting
of their readiness to do this at a moment's notice.

The religious fervor of the Ayatollahs has been
flagging lately, as happens with every victorious
revolution after some time. But a military attack by
the "Big Satan" (the US) or the "Little Satan" (us) may
set fire to the whole Shiite crescent: Iran, South Iraq
and South Lebanon.

And here, too. Israel, too, has recently witnessed a
tiny civil war.

In the Galilean village Marrar, where a Druze and an
Arab Christian community have been living side by side
for generations, a bloody incident suddenly erupted. It
was a full-fledged pogrom: the Druze fell upon the
Christians, attacking, burning and destroying. By a
miracle, nobody was killed. The Christians say that the
Israeli police (many of whose members are Druze) stood
aside. The immediate reason for the outbreak: some
doctored nude pictures on the Internet.)

It is easy to ignite a civil war, whether out of
fanaticism or out of intolerable naivete. George Bush,
the (not-so-) Quiet American, runs around the world
hawking his patent medicines, "freedom" and
"democracy", in total ignorance of hundreds of years of
history. Hard to believe, but he draws his inspiration
from a book by our own Nathan Sharansky, a very small
genius, to say the least.

Every human being and every people has a right to
freedom. Many of us have shed their blood for this aim.
Democracy is an ideal that every people has to realize
for itself. But when the banners of "freedom" and
"democracy" are hoisted over a crusade by an avaricious
and irresponsible super-power, the results can be
catastrophic.

Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with
Gush Shalom. He is one of the writers featured in The
Other Israel: Voices of Dissent and Refusal. He is also
a contributor to CounterPunch's hot new book The
Politics of Anti-Semitism. He can be reached at:
avnery@counterpunch.org. 

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu Mar 10 20:54:35 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:16:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Greg Palast on Dan Rather
Message-ID: <200503111716.j2BHGpC1015499@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

I'D RATHER NOT SAY GOOD-BYE, DAN
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
By Greg Palast

Without his make-up, Dan looked like hell warmed over: old, defeated, yet
angry. And he told our television audience something that just blew me
away.  Dan Rather said that American reporters may not ask tough questions
about George Bush or his wars.

"It's an obscene comparison," Rather said, "but there was a time in South
Africa when people would put flaming tires around peoples' necks if they
dissented. In some ways, the fear is that you will be neck-laced here, you
will have a flaming tire of lack of patriotism put around your neck."

Talking to another reporter, Dan told it straight about the careerism that
keeps US journalists in line. "It's that fear that keeps [American]
journalists from asking the toughest of the tough questions and to
continue to bore-in on the tough questions so often."

Silence as patriotism. Ugh. He confessed, "One finds oneself saying, ?I
know the right question, but you know what, this is not exactly the right
time to ask it." It was making him ill and he was ready to say, BASTA,
enough. Suddenly, there was fire in those eyes:  "It's extremely dangerous
and cannot and should not be accepted and I'm sorry to say that, up to and
including this moment of this interview, that overwhelmingly it has been
accepted by the American people. And the current Administration revels in
that, they relish and take refuge in that."

Of course, Dan said all these things to a British audience. But back in
the USA, Dan had promised America he would be a good boy, a trained press
puppy who would poop on the paper set down for him. He told his US
audience, "George Bush is the President. He makes the decisions. He wants
me to line up, just tell me where."

But CBS' million-dollar man was about to step out of line. 

In 2003, BBC Television questioned George Bush's career as Viet Nam era
Top Gun fighter pilot. In the British broadcast, I held up a confidential
letter from Justice Department files stating that Poppy Bush had put in
the fix to get Junior Bush out of 'Nam and into the Texas Air Guard.
George could spend the war protecting Houston from Viet Cong attack. 

A year after the BBC broadcast, the I'm-going-to-be-a-real-journalist-now
Rather decided to run the same story on 60 Minutes. And just as he
predicted, the press-police at the network and in the White House seized
him and lit the tire around his neck.

What was Dan's mistake? Yes, yes, he shouldn't have embellished the story
with a document he couldn't fully source. But that memo (not the one in
the BBC report) was about a side issue, not the key accusation, that
Senior Bush got Junior out of the draft. Despite not a jot of evidence
that the main story of draft-dodgin' George was wrong (BBC never withdrew
it), CBS cited Rather's insistence on the veracity of that report as
grounds to crush his career and his reputation.

Rather was convicted by a corporate kangaroo court. Dickie Thornburgh, who
had been Poppy Bush's Attorney General and owed his big salaries and
career to the Bush family, ran an "independent" investigation which
concluded -- surprise! -- the Bushes had done no wrong. It was Dan that
committed the evil. That whacky conclusion went along just fine with the
diktat of Sumner Redstone, CEO of Viacom, CBS' owner, that a "Republican
administration is better for media companies."

In "Darkness at Noon," Arthur Koestler explained why old Communists,
brought up for trial by Stalin, still sang the system's praises -- just
before they were shot. To do otherwise would have been to cast doubt on
the cause to which they sacrificed their lives. Now, Dan Rather, like
those soon-to-be executed victims of Stalin, has bowed his head in silence
in the face of the evil purge. To do otherwise, I suppose, would be to
acknowledge that his career has been a path of increasing salaries and
celebrity bought by increasing toady-dom. 

Imagine if Edward R. Murrow, after having exposed Joe McCarthy, replied to
criticism by bowing his head for the noose-man. 

Rather died as a journalist years ago by accepting the evil gag orders of
the media moguls. Still, I applaud his attempt with the Bush story to kick
his way out of his professional coffin. Unfortunately, his current silence
simply gives aid and comfort to the censoring corporate news-killers.

Last night, Rather read off his last "news" broadcast, if you can call it
that. To Dan the newsman, and to American journalism, all I can say is,
rest in peace.


*****
?Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Best
Democracy Money Can Buy. Subscribe to his reports at www.gregpalast.com

To see a segment regarding George Bush's war years from the BBC film,
"Bush Family Fortunes," winner of the Freedom Film Festival's George
Orwell Prize (2005), go to: 
http://www.gregpalast.com/images/TrailerClips.mov

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 11 09:40:03 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:41:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World - Fed governor takes on 018global
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 11 09:41:15 2005
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Date: Fri Mar 11 09:42:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / US - Bush camp sees UN move as blow to
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 11 09:41:57 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:43:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - The folly of
	forcing regime change 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 11 09:42:57 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:44:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / US - Democrats slam report that clears
	Pentagon
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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:45:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Your money / Global investing - Banks earn
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 11 09:45:32 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:47:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 11 09:46:22 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:47:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Europe 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 11 09:47:11 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:48:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Asia 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 11 09:48:03 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 09:50:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Markets data & tools / Funds - The Short View:
 Playing 018chicken019 with the dollar
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 11 10:30:47 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 11 10:32:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US plan to transfer Cuba captives
Message-ID: <20050311_183047_074665.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** US plan to transfer Cuba captives **
The Pentagon is looking to halve the number of detainees at its controversial Guantanamo Bay centre, say officials.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4340921.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 11 11:05:48 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 11 11:07:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Curbing terror or menacing freedom?
Message-ID: <BE572C0C.1F12F%michael@michaelbutler.com>



Economist.com      
    

    
About sponsorship

Curbing terror or menacing freedom?
Mar 11th 2005
>From The Economist Global Agenda


Tony Blair and George Bush are facing challenges to their anti-terrorism
measures, which they insist are necessary but which critics say threaten
basic liberties

Reuters
Reuters


IN THE wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, President
George Bush and the British prime minister, Tony Blair, faced little
opposition in arguing that tough measures had to be taken to counter the
threat from al-Qaeda and other international terror groups, even if this
meant compromising some basic civil liberties. Both countries rushed through
new anti-terror laws and began interning suspects?America mainly at its
military base at Guant?namo Bay in Cuba, and Britain mostly at Belmarsh
high-security jail in London.

But, more than three years after the attacks, both leaders have recently
suffered setbacks to their anti-terror policies. American and British judges
have ruled that their governments cannot go on detaining suspects without
giving them acceptable recourse to the courts. In the latest such ruling in
America, last week, a judge found that Mr Bush had greatly exceeded his
powers in continuing to detain without charge Jos? Padilla, who is accused
of conspiring to build a radioactive ?dirty bomb?. And on Friday March 11th,
Britain's two houses of Parliament continued in deadlock after an all-night
battle of wills over a new anti-terror bill that the prime minister is
trying to rush in, to replace the 2001 law. Just when it looked like
Parliament was set to continue arguing all weekend, Mr Blair apparently gave
in to his critics' main demand and agreed to give lawmakers a chance to
rewrite the new legislation, a year from now.

Mr Blair was desperate for the bill to be made law by the weekend because
the 2001 terrorism law, with its powers to continue detaining suspects, is
due to expire on Monday as a result of a ruling by Britain's highest court,
the Law Lords. To enact the 2001 law, the government had to become the first
country to opt out of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights,
which enshrines the right to liberty. The convention allows such opt-outs
only in cases of ?war or public emergency threatening the life of the
nation?. However, the Law Lords rejected the government?s claims that the
current terrorist threat justified such an opt-out and thus struck down the
detention powers in the law.

The first draft of Mr Blair's controversial new bill had proposed to replace
indefinite detention without trial with a range of restrictions, including
house arrest and curfews, that ministers would be able to impose on terror
suspects. Mr Blair argued that such measures were indispensable, for
instance in cases where suspects could not be prosecuted without revealing
intelligence sources. However, amid fierce resistance, including from many
members of the prime minister's own Labour Party, he was forced to agree
that only judges, not politicians, will be able to impose such restraints.

Sunset, sunrise?but still no sunset clause

Nevertheless, Mr Blair continued to reject some of his opponents' remaining
demands. In particular, he was adamant that there should be no ?sunset
clause? in the new law, triggering its automatic expiry within a year,
thereby giving Parliament a chance to rewrite it from scratch. All he would
concede, until Friday, was an annual review of the law, meaning that it
would remain in force except in the unlikely event of Parliament voting
expressly for its abolition.

In marathon debates throughout Thursday night and into Friday, the upper
house, the Lords, repeatedly reinserted the sunset clause, only for the
Commons, the lower house, to strike it out and throw the bill back down the
corridor linking the two houses. While the politicians continued arguing, an
appeals commission headed by a senior judge began freeing the terror
suspects?all North African Muslims?on bail, subject to curfews or other
conditions, using the old terrorism law that was due to expire.

Finally, on Friday afternoon, Mr Blair announced that Parliament would,
after all, be given a genuine chance to amend the new law in a year's time,
when he (assuming he wins the forthcoming elections) will present it with
yet another anti-terrorism bill, replacing the one currently being argued
over. Michael Howard, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, said
Mr Blair had conceded a ?sunset clause in all but name? and declared
victory. Whatever the case, the way was thus cleared for Conservative
members of the Lords to let the draft law finally pass.

There is already a sunset clause affecting some of the most controversial
measures in the Patriot Act, the terrorism law America passed after the
September 11th attacks. Mr Bush is urging Congress to renew these measures,
which include special powers for the FBI to obtain information about
suspects. To help overcome considerable resistance to this in Congress, the
president recently appointed as his new homeland-security secretary Michael
Chertoff, a former judge with a record of speaking up for civil liberties.

While gearing up for a struggle to renew the Patriot Act, the Bush
administration continues to battle with the courts over its detentions of
more than 500 terror suspects, many now held for three years with no legal
advice and no indication of whether they will be charged. Last June, the
Supreme Court made three rulings that were a severe blow to Mr Bush?s
detentions policy. First, the court ruled, prisoners at Guant?namo had the
right to petition against their detention. Second, it decided that Yaser
Hamdi, an American citizen captured in Afghanistan, may not be held
indefinitely as an ?enemy combatant? without any opportunity to face a
court. And third, the court granted Mr Padilla another chance to have his
case against detention heard in a lower court.

Mr Bush?s response to the first ruling was to create ?combatant status
review tribunals? to determine whether each Guant?namo inmate had been
correctly classified as an ?enemy combatant?. However, last month a federal
court ruled that these tribunals were unconstitutional. The government,
pointing out that another federal court had earlier come to the opposite
conclusion, is now taking the matter to the Court of Appeals.

In response to the Supreme Court?s ruling on Mr Hamdi, the government felt
obliged to release him and send him back to Saudi Arabia, where he had been
living. Now it faces a trickier decision over Mr Padilla. Exercising the
right the Supreme Court granted him, he has taken his case to a court in
South Carolina, where he is being held. Last week, the judge in the case
ordered that he be charged with a crime or set free within 45 days.

Mr Bush and Mr Blair are in a bind. They face strong challenges to their
anti-terror measures from judges, lawmakers and civil-rights groups, while
knowing that their public will judge them harshly if another big terror
attack occurs. However, harsh anti-terror laws are no guarantee that
terrorism will stop. Worse still, they risk doing more harm than good. This
was the case with Britain?s old Prevention of Terrorism Act, which was used
during the Northern Ireland conflict to detain large numbers of people, most
of whom were not subsequently charged with a terrorism-related offence. The
resentment that this caused among the province?s Catholic minority only
served to sustain support for the IRA, not deter it. Similarly, long
detentions without trial like those at Guant?namo and Belmarsh risk serving
as recruiting-sergeants for the terror groups that the measures are aimed at
curbing.


Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 11 11:07:39 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 11 11:09:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Now for the counter-revolution
Message-ID: <BE572C7B.1F130%michael@michaelbutler.com>



Economist.com      
    

    
About sponsorship

Now for the counter-revolution
Mar 10th 2005
>From The Economist print edition


Lebanese who welcome Syrian occupation confront those who abhor it

AP
AP


IT IS not a new question: it is, in fact, the very question that sparked the
civil war that tore the country apart. A speaker at one of many giant
rallies in Beirut put it simply. Is Lebanon to stand with Syria at the heart
of Arabism, or is it to join what he called ?the Israeli-American project??

Just last week, the answer looked clear. Tens of thousands of flag-waving
Lebanese took to the streets to demand an end to Syrian meddling, the
withdrawal of its troops and justice for the killers of Rafik Hariri, the
political strongman whose assassination last month looked to many like
Syria?s handiwork. The pro-Syrian government abruptly resigned. Shaken by
the rare show of unity between Lebanon?s main Sunni Muslim, Christian and
Druze parties and isolated by international opprobrium, Syria grudgingly
announced that it would pull back its forces. Lebanon, it seemed, was to be
the next Ukraine. Freed from Syria?s yoke, it would return to its
pre-civil-war status as a beacon of democratic light in a dim region.

This week, the answer looked less clear, as Syria?s allies recovered their
balance. The most powerful of these by far, the Shia party-cum-militia
Hizbullah, called out a demonstration that dwarfed previous displays of
people power. In a rock-concert setting, with the vast throng roused by such
stirring songs as ?America, Mother of Terror?, Hizbullah?s charismatic
leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared resoundingly that this was not Ukraine.
Lebanon would never renounce resistance to Israel.

His supporters, many of them black-shirted or veiled, working-class Shias,
presented a stark contrast to the young, jeans-clad and largely Christian
anti-Syrian protesters who had enlivened Lebanese television screens for the
previous month. Hizbullah?s turnout of 500,000 was a blunt reminder of the
changing demographics that have made the once-marginalised Shias the largest
of the country?s sects. And not only are they well-organised, they are
armed. Hizbullah?s 20,000-strong militia was exempted from the general
disarmament agreed by other parties at the conclusion of the civil war in
1990.

Hizbullah?s muscle-flexing has strengthened Syria?s hand. On Thursday March
10th, Lebanon?s collaborationist president, Emile Lahoud, reappointed as
prime minister the similarly pro-Syrian Omar Karami, whose government
resigned last month, but who was renominated by parliament this week. Mr
Karami said that he will now try to bring opposition figures into a
government of national unity. If they refuse, he warned, ?it means we are
heading to destruction.?

Mr Lahoud's reinstatement of the old prime minister has, predictably, gone
down badly in western capitals; so too has his decision to ignore a key
demand by the opposition, to dismiss the heads of Lebanon?s tainted security
forces. More ominously, incidents of intimidation have begun to multiply,
including threats and gunshots aimed at suspected opposition supporters.

Yet optimism survives. The pro- and anti-Syrian camps are less polarised
than they may appear. Both declare the importance of Lebanese sovereignty.
Even Mr Nasrallah accepts the need for Syrian troops to leave. Both camps
say they forswear the use of force and are committed both to the principles
of democracy and to the Taif Accords, the agreement that ended the war by
reapportioning powers among the country?s 18 religious confessions.

In fact, only one issue really divides them. A UN Security Council
resolution passed last year calls not only for Syrian withdrawal, but also
for disbanding all local militias. To many Lebanese, tired of their country
being an occasional punch-bag for Israel, this obviously includes
Hizbullah?s ?resistance? forces. But to other Lebanese who share Hizbullah?s
view of Israel as a mortal threat, the maintenance of an armed deterrent is
non-negotiable.

Hizbullah is popular because its fighters humiliated Israel, forcing an end
to its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000. Many Lebanese share
the general Arab view that Israel and America seek regional hegemony. The
crushing of the Palestinian intifada, America?s Iraqi adventure, the
pressure it has applied to Iran and Syria and its promotion of democracy are
all seen as part of this ?project?. Abandoning Lebanon?s ?resistance? would
thus be seen as part of a wider capitulation.

Yet even Hizbullah must eventually realise that times have changed. Syria,
the linchpin of Arab resistance, is economically, militarily and
strategically weak, not to mention ideologically bankrupt. All other Arab
governments, many Palestinians and a good half of the Lebanese are weary of
resisting what is, ultimately, the rest of the world?s desire for peace.
Perhaps what Lebanon needs is a formula that allows it to retain its Arabism
while being part of that dreaded American project.



Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri Mar 11 16:05:58 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri Mar 11 16:07:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Beauty business
Message-ID: <000801c52697$47600740$3127e440@Harold>

As in Barnum and Bailey, there is a sucker born every 2 minutes

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,345938,00.html

The Beauty business is supported by suckers who pay way, way too much!!

Later H
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:47:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:48:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Army Details Scale of Abuse in Afghan Jail
Message-ID: <20050312024722.135791C256@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 12, 2005

Army Details Scale of Abuse in Afghan Jail
By DOUGLAS JEHL

Two prisoners who died in U.S. custody in Afghanistan were beaten by soldiers in sustained assaults that caused their deaths.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/politics/12detain.html?ex=1111208400&en=b11523991870ea67&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:47:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:49:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pentagon Seeks to Transfer More Detainees
	From Base in Cuba
Message-ID: <20050312024752.E17122062D7@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | March 11, 2005

Pentagon Seeks to Transfer More Detainees From Base in Cuba
By DOUGLAS JEHL

The Pentagon is seeking to enlist help from U.S. agencies in transferring hundreds of suspects to foreign governments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/politics/11detain.html?ex=1111208400&en=fb37954f9738b2d6&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:49:21 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:51:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Offers Modest Incentives to Iran
Message-ID: <20050312024930.BDC8A11F860@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 11, 2005

U.S. Offers Modest Incentives to Iran
By DAVID E. SANGER

The U.S. agreed to offer incentives that would go into effect only if Iran agreed to halt the enrichment of uranium permanently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/international/middleeast/11cnd-iran.html?ex=1111208400&en=fc1b101aa8982033&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:49:43 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:51:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bombing at Shiite Mosque in Mosul Leaves 40
	Dead
Message-ID: <20050312024943.04A3C21F1F9@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 11, 2005

Bombing at Shiite Mosque in Mosul Leaves 40 Dead
By ROBERT F. WORTH and EDWARD WONG

The attack occurred as Shiite and Kurdish officials said that they had reached an agreement in principle on forming a coalition government in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/international/middleeast/11iraq.html?ex=1111208400&en=0ec416435658a808&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:50:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:52:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: They're Back, and Still Unworthy
Message-ID: <20050312025027.7CA1E21F1CF@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 11, 2005

Editorial: They're Back, and Still Unworthy


The federal judiciary deserves better than President Bush's judicial nominees.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/opinion/11fri1.html?ex=1111208400&en=4c980576687b44de&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:50:49 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:52:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Abu Ghraib, Whitewashed Again
Message-ID: <20050312025050.8FB1A83DBD@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 11, 2005

Editorial: Abu Ghraib, Whitewashed Again


Whitewash is typical of the reports issued by the Bush administration on the abuse, humiliation and torture of prisoners at camps run by the military.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/opinion/11fri2.html?ex=1111208400&en=cbd3636c373535d1&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:51:20 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:52:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Fine Rendition
Message-ID: <20050312025120.E746713B7CF@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 11, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: A Fine Rendition
By MICHAEL SCHEUER

The Central Intelligence Agency was right to ship terror suspects abroad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/opinion/11scheuer.html?ex=1111208400&en=791089162989d8a3&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:51:49 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:53:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rescission Time in Congress
Message-ID: <20050312025149.F05F583DB7@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 11, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Rescission Time in Congress
By JIM COOPER

If Republicans really want to cut spending and reduce the deficit, they have more weapons than any political party has had in decades.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/opinion/11Cooper.html?ex=1111208400&en=abadae336992b0c9&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 11 18:53:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 11 18:54:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Slanting Social Security
Message-ID: <20050312025311.D4CFF13B7E2@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 11, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Slanting Social Security
By PAUL KRUGMAN

This year's trustees report on Social Security will have to be read with an eye to the ways it will try to mislead.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/opinion/11krugman.html?ex=1111208400&en=04102d7a52d5c269&ei=5070




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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat Mar 12 01:32:43 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat Mar 12 01:32:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Fine Rendition
Message-ID: <000501c526e6$732d2840$0925b7d8@baby1>

Re:  NYTimes.com: A Fine Rendition


======
Second, the rendition program has been a tremendous success. Dozens of
senior Qaeda fighters are today behind bars, no longer able to plot or
participate in attacks. Detainee operations also netted an untold number of
computers and documents that increased our knowledge of Al Qaeda's makeup
and plans.

Third, if mistakes were made, like the alleged cases of innocent detainees,
they should be corrected, but the C.I.A. officers who followed orders should
not be punished. Perfection is never attainable in the fog of war, and any
errors should not distract from the overwhelming success of the program.

All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women of the agency who
executed these presidentially requested and approved operations, often at
the risk of their lives. Unfortunately, rather than receiving thanks, the
C.I.A. officers are again learning the usual lesson: to follow orders, make
America safer and prepare to be abandoned and prosecuted when the policy
makers refuse to defend their own decisions.

Michael Scheuer is the author of "Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing
the War on Terror."
=======




I really haven't read this guy's book.  Maybe it's a really great book.

Yet, am I missing something...?  Is his book really great, defending the
core principles and mechanisms of real democracy and outing all the bad
stuff and people..?  Or...  or whatever.  Like I said, I haven't read the
book.

I still find myself disagreeing with him, and anyone else, that sending
*anyone* to a 2nd country to be tortured under their "legal system of their
own country" so we can attain various information remains nothing less than
a complete separate system of Democracy within America that conducts a
global game of "Spy vs Spy" from the Mad Magazine era.

With the continued complete inability and willingness to admit America's
culpability and complicity in even the smallest tiniest fragmentation of
something called "Terrorism", our People At The Top are not about to anytime
soon do about face from the "Full Speed Ahead" movement that has been going
on forever here now it seems to obtain or destroy whatever it is that we
desire or is in our way.

To study and practice War endlessly, and never seek any other viable
alternatives, has become the norm of our beloved country, no longer the
exception, even it it means we must to the end of time deny our own
involvement in the creations of less desirable movements and situations
around the planet which we ourselves helped to create, perpetuate,
manipulate, and, at the lower levels, always pay the price for in more ways
than just our simple expendable lives.

Leaders like that we can live without, and Democracy will thrive, rather
than turn into what has become nothing much more than, as Eisenhower stated,
a military industrial fiasco, taking us to the poorhouse and the graveyard,
as they march bravely back to their banks to deposit their spoils of The
Endless War.

"Rendering" people to be tortured to countries to "get vital information
from them which we need" remains nothing less, again, than just another line
written in a script which should have been torn up and burned in ritual
Democratic ceremony centuries ago here in America, but which some people
still profit off of so greatly that you can no longer even get close enough
to the holy words of the dogs of war to even spit on it.

If you did, they would just shoot you, and whitewash the entire incident,
just as they always have, again, for Centuries.

It's pleasant to live in dreams, especially when you yourselves at the
bottom pay to with your hard earned taxes and through really poor Leadership
to help create, foster and breed Terrorism to begin with on some levels,
then have its very life used against you to further manipulate you into
putting more money into fighting Terrorism which you have already payed to
help develop, but then you wake up one day and realize, hey, you're not even
in control of your own Country anymore.

That's a good feeling.

Then you get to stay up at night and dream of people screamin in 2nd
countries which you've paid to fly over there to be tortured to extract
information from them about Terrorism which you yourself helped to pay for
and execute through poor Leadership, just so you can protect yourself from
the Terrorists which you helped create, thereby, through Torture to begin
with, losing another little slice of your ever-evaporating soul, what's left
of it.

And America is never to blame for any of it.

As any of our Top People.  They'll all tell you.  Just like they told the
world on international television a few moments and days after 911.

"Ok, now let's not play The Blame Game.  We have a common enemy and cause
now.  Let's just move on to The Future to the Fight that we are now engaged
in.  The Blame Game is off the map."

Everybody at The Top who could reach a camera during those moments and days
said the exact same thing, as if that was the script going around on The
Hill from office to office.

A TON of Our Own People at The Top actually helped to literally Create the
current situation we are in and the level of Terrorism that we get to enjoy
and very likely look forward to.

That's one reason so many coverups and whitewashes and people involved
investigating themselves and etc etc etc will =never= go away, fix itself,
or make it better, or, God forbid, ever find themselves stooping so low as
to reveal their own involvement in the entire situation by sinning the
greatest sin of all in America at The Top by Telling The Simple Truth.

It's just too much for them to accomplish.

The great Lie and the great Illusions and the great Body Counts that so many
people have, are, and will enjoy in the Future remain much more desirable
than a courtroom and prison, or the firing squad for Treason itself against
America.

Not much more I can say, I just disagree with the great value of "Rendering"
people to be Tortured anywhere or for any reason.

Do I have a direct alternative.  Well, no, not immediately as I'm briefly
thinking about it, give me the entire budget of The United States Of America
at The Top, for just one week, and I'm sure that any 6 year old could come
up with something better.

I'll need some different brains than the ones that are currently at The Top
here if we're going to have a realistic think tank about it all, as these
were tainted long ago.  As to their souls, you couldn't find them if they
were an elephant hiding in a haystack.

As Rumsfeld once said "Well, heck, dangit, there's just some bad people out
there in the world, and sometimes you just have to do bad things to catch
the bad guys..."

There's only a few problems with that.  We ourselves, our sick poor
Leadership among others, helped to actually created those "bad guys", and
yet we now want to go out and catch them.  Well, hey, guys, that's great.
They did bad things, they need to be punished.

I just still can not figure out why you yourselves are too gutless to face
the music for your own crimes to begin with.

And for getting all the rest of us Bottom People in the thick of your own
crimes and bullsh*t which you spent OUR money to help create to begin with.

Eisenhower continues to be right in his farewell presidential speech about
the Military Industrial Complex "eating America and its children in the
Future".

The only problem is that The Future he warned America about is here already,
has been for a while, that "Complex" does NOT get smaller and less lethal to
America, Democracy, and The World as each day goes by, and our own Congress
sits there and gets slapped down endlessly as everything in the world
continues to be CLASSIFIED so nobody can even read it to begin with, and our
Bad People at our Top continue to Investigate Themselves and put out the
most ridiculous whitewashed and altered reports to save their own butts like
it was going out of style.

And if anyone objects, they're labelled as "Unpatriotic" and "Not in support
of our Military Personnel".

I'd like to see somebody say that to Eisenhower's face today if he called
them the crooks they remain each day as we pay their salaries at The Top.

Here's the bottom line problem.  If Eisenhower were alive today, and he
called them on all their bullsh*t they have been able to accomplish at
anyone else's expense but their own since Eisenhower's day up to the
present, they would bury Eisenhower, his career, his character, and if
necessary, his body, in a cement block right beside Jimmy Hoffa.

I could have done without such Great Leadership yesterday, I can do without
it today, and I, and America, and The World, can do without it Tomorrow.

The puzzle we have left sitting in our lap is that it has absolutely no
intention of going away, and anyone who gets in its path, it will destroy,
at the drop of a hat.

And it still demands we pay its salary every time it barks in our direction,
and with the blood of innocent soldiers caught up in their endless useless
"Spy vs Spy" game which our people at The Top helped create so long ago and
continue to nurse and worship like it is the golden calf itself.

That, along with something called "Rendering", remains about as far away
from even the most remote unimportant facts that I was taught about how
"America is" and "America is supposed to be" and "America will one day be"
in "all her glory and freedom" as a child, or even as an adult.

That remains unacceptable to anyone with even a needle's eye strand of true
patriotism left in them in America.

Now if you could just find some way to remove the apple pie gag, the God
earmuffs, and the red white and blue blindfold that has been molded into
some of the finest Propaganda I have ever seen coming from The Top, from The
People who profess that War remains God because "Our Top Guys would never
screw us or lie to us", you might actually have something, to nibble on, for
miniscule opening cards.

It's kind of funny when you sit around and watch day by day something that
used to be considered a "Democracy" turn slowly but surely into nothing but
a cheap copy of "Starship Troopers".

I would actually laugh about it, but I'm still busy counting all the cool
dead bodies my taxes have bought me all these many years.

Truly something to pass down throughout the decades and centuries to those
whom you love with all your heart.

As if you have a f*cking choice.





Cheeseburger

-  America..?  Yeah, well, we had to get rid of that b*tch.  She started
complaining too much.  Didn't like how I was runnin' the place, heh...  I
seem to remember watching her pull up her panties, shoot me the finger, and
walk out the door.  Never heard from her again.  But, look, we got a new
one, his name is Olaf, he's out in the back cleaning his gun and humming
marching tunes, I'm sure he can fill all your needs.......

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 12 05:01:27 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 12 05:03:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5555326.1110632488031.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Gambling Interests  Funded DeLay Trip
 
 By James V. Grimaldi and R. Jeffrey Smith
 
  An Indian tribe and a gambling services company made donations to a Washington public policy group that covered most of the cost of a $70,000 trip to Britain by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), his wife, two aides and two lobbyists in mid-2000, two months before DeLay helped kill legislation opposed by the tribe and the company.
 
  The sponsor of the week-long trip listed in DeLay's financial disclosures was the nonprofit National Center for Public Policy Research, but a person involved in arranging DeLay's travel said that lobbyist Jack Abramoff suggested the trip and then arranged for checks to be sent by two of his clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and eLottery Inc.
 
 The dates on the checks coincided with the day DeLay left on the trip, May 25, 2000, according to grants documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The Choctaw and eLottery each sent a check for $25,000, according to the documents. They now say that they were unaware the money was being used to finance DeLay's travels.
 
  But Amy Ridenour, president of the National Center, said that, when the trip was arranged, Abramoff promised he would secure financial backing. She said that even without Abramoff's efforts, the National Center would have borne the cost of the trip, which was intended to allow the group to network with conservative British politicians and included an outing to the famous St. Andrews golf course in Scotland.
 
 "We paid for the trip," Ridenour said. "This trip was going to be paid for by the National Center, regardless of whether we got the donations from the Choctaw or eLottery."
 
 House ethics rules allow lawmakers and their staffs to have travel expenses paid only for officially connected travel and only by organizations directly connected to the trips. The rules also require that lawmakers accurately report the people or organizations that pay for the trips. They prohibit payments by registered lobbyists for lawmakers' travel.
 
 DeLay's spokesman, Dan Allen, said: "The trip was sponsored, organized and paid for by the National Center for Public Policy Research, as our travel disclosures accurately reflect and what the National Center has publicly said."
 
 Abramoff's attorney, Abbe David Lowell, declined to comment. Abramoff, the National Center and the flow of money between them are now being investigated by a federal task force and by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; DeLay was admonished three times last year for infringements of House ethics rules.
 
 To prove an ethics violation, investigators would have to show that DeLay and his staff knew the gambling interests were funding the trip, said Jan W. Baran, a Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP ethics lawyer who often represents Republicans. "If somebody is doing some backdoor financing, how would the member know?"
 
 Abramoff, a member of the National Center's board, joined the DeLays on the May 25 to June 3, 2000, trip, which DeLay's congressional office has said included a stop in London and a visit with Margaret Thatcher, along with the golf outing at St. Andrews, where colleagues say Abramoff has a membership.
 
  DeLay, an avid golfer, listed the purpose of the trip on a report filed with the House clerk as "educational." He was majority whip at the time and brought his wife, Christine, and two top staff members  --  Tony Rudy from the whip's office and chief of staff Susan Hirschmann, as well as her husband, David Hirschmann, according to filings with the House clerk that indicated the total cost of transportation, lodging and meals was $70,265.
 Internet Gambling Bill Killed 
  Two months later, in July 2000, DeLay and 43 other Republicans joined 114 Democrats in killing the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, which would have made it a federal crime to place certain bets over the Internet and was opposed by eLottery and the Choctaws. The bill was supported by 165 Republicans and 79 Democrats but fell about 25 votes short of passage; because of a parliamentary maneuver, it required a two-thirds majority vote.
 
 DeLay spokesman Allen said that DeLay voted against the bill because it had exemptions for jai alai and horse and dog racing. Rudy later that year went to work for Abramoff as a lobbyist. 
 
 The Choctaw Indians run a highly profitable casino near Philadelphia, Miss., that bankrolls their community activities and has subsidized an extensive lobbying effort in Washington. The tribe donated a total of $65,000 to Ridenour's group in 2000 and $1.07 million in 2002.
 
 The Choctaw money was intended to help the center create a program to build support for the idea that Indian casinos could drive prosperity for poor tribes, Ridenour said. "We were trying to tell the Choctaw story," she said. On its Web site, the center attributes the following statement to DeLay: "The National Center is The Center for conservative communications."
 
 Asked about the DeLay trip to Britain, tribal lawyer Bryant Rogers said: "The tribe did not authorize the use of any money for this purpose. . . . If it occurred, it occurred without the tribe's knowledge."
 
 ELottery is a Connecticut company that provides Internet services to state lotteries. One version of the gambling legislation contained a provision that would have severely restricted state lottery sales over the Internet. Edwin J. McGuinn, president of eLot Inc., the parent of eLottery, said the provision would have killed his company. "We wouldn't have been able to operate," he said.
 
 McGuinn said he was unaware that eLottery's $25,000 check was meant to pay for DeLay's trip. Of the donation to the National Center, he said: "It certainly was our impression that any and all moneys were being positioned to get the attention and focus of our cause."
 
 DeLay today describes himself as a longtime opponent of any expansion of gambling. But in a House floor speech six months after his trip to Britain, he praised the head of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians as a "champion of peace and prosperity" and placed in the Congressional Record an editorial praising chief Phillip Martin for enriching the tribe through the "construction of a casino."
 
 The editorial, from the magazine Indian Country Today, noted that Martin had also wisely positioned his tribe "to solidify friendships with Republican powerhouses." It said  --  in an apparent reference to Abramoff  --  that the tribe and its chief had hired "quality lobbyists as their new wealth allowed" and successfully persuaded Republican leaders that the tribal revenue from gambling and other ventures should not be taxed.
 
 Three and a half weeks after DeLay's Jan. 3, 2001, speech saluting Martin "for all he has done to further the cause of freedom," at least one of DeLay's aides went on a trip via private jet to the Super Bowl in Tampa arranged and financed by one of Abramoff's companies. Sources familiar with the trip said the guests were also taken out to an Abramoff-owned gambling ship that was anchored near Tampa.
 
 No one on DeLay's staff filed a report disclosing the trip, a task required by House rules for "the receipt of travel expenses from private sources" but not for government-funded or political travel. 
 
  DeLay spokesman Allen said: "The staffer went down to participate in a National Republican Congressional Committee party, so it was considered political travel. The staffer never saw Abramoff during the trip."
 
  The Internet gambling legislation was the only issue Abramoff and his employer at the time, Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP, mentioned in lobbying disclosure records when they reported earning $440,000 in fees from eLottery in 2000. The Internet gambling bill was one of several legislative issues listed in a separate lobbying disclosure for the firm's efforts on behalf of the Choctaw, which paid Preston Gates $880,000 in 2000.
 Expense Voucher Submitted 
  The trip to Britain by the DeLays previously attracted notice because Abramoff submitted an expense voucher to Preston Gates seeking a reimbursement of $12,789.73 to cover expenses for meals, hotels and transportation incurred by the DeLays, the Hirschmanns and a former DeLay chief of staff  --  lobbyist Ed Buckham  --  who also went on the trip.
 
 House ethics rules prohibit registered lobbyists such as Abramoff from paying for a lawmaker's expenses. But the Preston Gates records state that Abramoff told his firm he paid $4,285.35 for the DeLays' stay at London's Four Seasons Hotel, plus $5,174.64 for the Hirschmanns' stay. He also reported spending $800 on transportation for the group between May 25 and May 29.
 
 The existence of the voucher and a portion of its contents were reported last month in the National Journal. The voucher's tally of expenses differs from the account given by DeLay in a signed report to the House clerk on June 30, 2000, in which he reported that total lodging for the couple over nine nights cost Ridenour's group $3,840. Susan Hirschmann's separate, signed report also gave a different figure from Abramoff; she stated that lodging expenses for her husband and her for this period amounted to $3,360.
 
  Both the DeLays and the Hirschmanns reported their meal expenses during the trip as $2,000 per person, or roughly $200 a day.
 
 Last week, DeLay told reporters that he had reported the trip "as we are supposed to do." He said that, to his knowledge, the National Center "paid for the trip."
 
  DeLay told Cox News Service earlier this month: "I went to London to meet with conservatives in England and Scotland and talk about the things we had been doing in the Republican, conservative House. They wanted to dialogue to see if they could adopt some the things that we had done."
 
 A person who went on the trip but spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the controversy said that DeLay talked with Thatcher about her efforts to help end the Cold War and with others about trade issues. An aide to Thatcher confirmed that the meeting occurred.
 
 Abramoff was a member of the board of the National Center from about 1997 until last October, when the center accepted his resignation.
 
 Stanley Brand, a former Democratic counsel to the House and an ethics specialist, said arrangements in which funds are passed through an intermediary to pay for a lawmaker's travels breach ethics rules if the lawmaker who benefited "knew or should have known" the origin of funds.
 
 Brand said the House ethics committee, if it opens an investigation, would have to decide whether the circumstances of the travel "should have put a reasonable person on notice that it was paid for by someone else."
 
 Researchers Alice Crites, Lucy Shackelford and Don Pohlman contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 12 05:01:49 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 12 05:03:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <31382718.1110632510063.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Humanoids With Attitude
 
 By Anthony Faiola
 
   TOKYO  --  Ms. Saya, a perky receptionist in a smart canary-yellow suit, beamed a smile from behind the "May I Help You?" sign on her desk, offering greetings and answering questions posed by visitors at a local university. But when she failed to welcome a workman who had just walked by, a professor stormed up to Saya and dished out a harsh reprimand.
 
  "You're so stupid!" said the professor, Hiroshi Kobayashi, towering over her desk.
 
  "Eh?" she responded, her face wrinkling into a scowl. "I tell you, I am not stupid!"
 
  Truth is, Saya isn't even human. But in a country where robots are changing the way people live, work, play and even love, that doesn't stop Saya the cyber-receptionist from defending herself from men who are out of line. With voice recognition technology allowing 700 verbal responses and an almost infinite number of facial expressions from joy to despair, surprise to rage, Saya may not be biological  --  but she is nobody's fool.
 
  "I almost feel like she's a real person," said Kobayashi, an associate professor at the Tokyo University of Science and Saya's inventor. Having worked at the university for almost two years now, she's an old hand at her job. "She has a temper . . . and she sometimes makes mistakes, especially when she has low energy," the professor said.
 
  Saya's wrath is the latest sign of the rise of the robot. Analysts say Japan is leading the world in rolling out a new generation of consumer robots. Some scientists are calling the wave a technological force poised to change human lifestyles more radically than the advent of the computer or the cell phone. 
 
  Though perhaps years away in the United States, this long-awaited, as-seen-on-TV world  --  think "The Jetsons" or "Blade Runner"  --  is already unfolding in Japan, with robots now used as receptionists, night watchmen, hospital workers, guides, pets and more. The onslaught of new robots led the government last month to establish a committee to draw up safety guidelines for the keeping of robots in homes and offices. Officials compiled a report in January predicting that every household in Japan will own at least one robot by 2015, perhaps sooner.
 
  Scientists and government authorities have dubbed 2005 the unofficial "year of the robot," with humans set to interact with their electronic spawn as never before at the 2005 World Expo opening just outside the city of Nagoya on March 25. At the 430-acre site, 15 million visitors are expected to mingle with some of the most highly developed examples of Japanese artificial intelligence, many of which are already on sale or will be within a year.
 
  Greeting visitors in four languages and guiding them to their desired destinations will be Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' yellow midget robot, Wakamaru. A trio of humanoid robots by Sony, Toyota and Honda will be dancing and playing musical instruments at the opening ceremony. Parents visiting the World Expo can leave their children in the care of a robotic babysitter  --  NEC's PaPeRo  --  which recognizes individual children's faces and can notify parents by cell phone in case of emergency.
 
  Also on display: a wheelchair robot now being deployed by the southern city of Kitakyushu that independently navigates traffic crossings and sidewalks using a global positioning and integrated circuit chip system. In June, Expo visitors can enter a robot room  --  a more distant vision of the future where by 2020 merely speaking a word from your sofa will open the refrigerator door, allowing your personal robot assistant to deliver the cold beverage of your choice.
 
  "We have reached the point in Japan of a major breakthrough in the use of robot technology and our society is changing as a result," said Kazuya Abe, a top official at NEDO, the national institute in charge of coordinating science research and development. "People are and will be living alongside robots, which are seen here as more than just machines. This is all about AI"  --  artificial intelligence, Abe said  --  "about the creation of something that is not human, but can be a complement or companion to humans in society. That future is happening here now."
 
  While employing a measure of new technology, many such robots are envisioned merely as new interfaces  --  more user-friendly means of combining existing ways of accessing the Internet or reaching loved ones through cell phone networks.
 
  In the quest for artificial intelligence, the United States is perhaps just as advanced as Japan. But analysts stress that the focus in the United States has been largely on military applications. By contrast, the Japanese government, academic institutions and major corporations are investing billions of dollars on consumer robots aimed at altering everyday life, leading to an earlier dawn of what many here call the "age of the robot."
 
  But the robotic rush in Japan is also being driven by unique societal needs. Confronting a major depopulation problem due to a record low birthrate and its status as the nation with the longest lifespan on Earth, Japanese are fretting about who will staff the factory floors of the world's second-largest economy in the years ahead. Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, has come up with one answer in moving to create a line of worker robots with human-like hands able to perform multiple sophisticated tasks.
 
  With Japanese youth shying from so-called 3-K jobs  --  referring to the Japanese words for labor that is dirty, dangerous or physically taxing  --  Alsok, the nation's second-largest security guard company, has developed a line of robo-cops. The guard robots, one version of which is already being used by a client in southern Japan, can detect and thwart intruders using sensors and paint guns. They can also put out fires and spot water leaks.
 
  It is perhaps no surprise that robots would find their first major foothold in Japan. Japanese dolls and toys, including a moving crab using clockwork technology dating to the 1800s, are considered by some to be among the first robots. Rather than the monstrous Terminators of American movies, robots here are instead seen as gentle, even idealistic creatures epitomized by Astroboy, the 1960s Japanese cartoon about an electronic kid with a big heart.
 
  "In Western countries, humanoid robots are still not very accepted, but they are in Japan," said Norihiro Hagita, director of the ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories in Keihanna Science City near Kyoto. "One reason is religion. In Japanese [Shinto] religion, we believe that all things have gods within them. But in Western countries, most people believe in only one God. For us, however, a robot can have an energy all its own."
 
  A case in point is the Paro  --  a robotic baby harp seal, developed with $10 million in government grants, that went on sale commercially this month for $3,500 each. All 200 units sold out in less than 50 hours.
 
  The seal is meant to provide therapy for the elderly who are filling Japanese nursing homes at an alarming rate while often falling prey to depression and loneliness.
 
  With 30 sensors, the seal begins over time to recognize its master's voice and hand gestures. It coos and flaps its furry white down in delight at gentle nuzzles, but squeals in anger when handled roughly.
 
  Researchers have been testing the robot's effect on the elderly at a nursing home in Tsukuba, about 40 miles northeast of Tokyo. During a recent visit by a reporter, the sad eyes of elderly residents lit up as the two resident robot seals were brought out. Tests have shown that the cute newcomers indeed reduce stress and depression among the elderly. Just ask Sumi Kasuya, 89, who cradled a seal robot while singing it a lullaby on a recent afternoon.
 
  "I have no grandchildren and my family does not come to see me very often," said Kasuya, clutching fast to the baby seal robot wiggling in her arms. "So I have her," she said, pointing to the seal. "She is so cute, and is always happy to see me."
 
  Special correspondent Akiko Yamamoto contributed to this report.
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 12 05:02:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 12 05:04:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <346421.1110632541001.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Blogging Clicks With Colleges
 
 By Susan Kinzie
 
  First the Internet turned colleges upside down, extending classrooms and changing the way people learned. Next came Napster and other file-sharing tools, then Web logs. Now blogs are morphing into the next big thing on campus: wikis.
 
 The wiki, which got its name from the Hawaiian word for "quick," is the scrappy little brother to the blog, an interactive Web page that can be changed by anyone who stumbles upon it. While blogs let people  publish their thoughts online, wikis take things a step further, creating freewheeling, collaborative communities: Students can edit one another's work, bounce ideas around or link to infinite other Web sites. 
 
 "Students keep pushing for more interactivity, often in ways I hadn't thought of yet," said Mark L. Phillipson, assistant professor of English at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
 
 Phillipson's students can go to a wiki he designed and highlight a phrase in a poem such as John Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale." From "tender is the night," for example, they could create links to their own essays, a scanned image of the ink-blotted original manuscript, artwork, something about the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel with that title  --  anything. 
 
 Sometimes wikis don't click. But at their best, wikis are provocative, inspiring, funny and addictive. Some course sites read like journals, some like debates and some shimmy in and out of topics with music, photos and video pulling readers along. One of Phillipson's students drew a picture of a poem; another made a movie. Wikis can encourage creativity, remove the limits on class time, give professors a better sense of student understanding and interest and keep students writing, thinking and questioning. 
 
 Early e-mail lists, newsgroups and chat rooms were ephemeral, like a passing conversation, said Steve Jones, a communication professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Now computers and networks are fast enough that many people can share text, videos, sound and art and work on them together, he said, building a body of knowledge over time. Wikis, including interactive encyclopedia Wikipedia, have been around for several years but they're just on the cusp of becoming mainstream; as the technology improves, they're popping up in a few classrooms and offices, and people are finding all sorts of uses for them. 
 
 It's the plugged-in version of a long tradition in literature, said wiki user Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, an assistant professor of English at the University of Maryland. Hundreds of years ago people kept "commonplace books," in which they would write down poems, passages from books, and observations to share. Most people think of writing as solitary, he said  --  "the lonely poet taking long walks in the woods, but there's another type of writing that's social and reactive."
 
 In many cases, professors are scrambling to keep up with changes driven by students. Some graduate students create wikis for collaborative science research projects. At Johns Hopkins University, junior Asheesh Laroia talked with a teaching assistant about setting up a wiki for a section of a course on Baltimore. In the summer, Matt Bowen, a senior at U-Md., dreamed up a wiki to help struggling writers; now, he and others post drafts online, and his friends at other colleges can click onto his wiki and rewrite the stories, add a poem, or take a scene and spin it into something new entirely. 
 
  "Sometimes things improve," Bowen said, "sometimes they get worse. Sometimes they just get funnier." 
 
 Blogs already have seeped into everyday life on campus. At Johns Hopkins, two juniors just set up a service for students and faculty to start their own blogs. Georgetown University tinkered with software to make it easy for professors to create blogs. There are course blogs on religion, war, literature, even cattle, at Texas A&M University. 
 
 "It's more power to the student," said junior John Dorman, whose Georgetown government class blog bubbled with a debate over morality and politics recently, with students posting comments from 7:30 p.m. until nearly 7:30 the next morning.
 
 Students in sophomore Craig Kessler's English class got hooked, and he said they became closer and more engaged than in any class he has taken. When the semester ended this winter, students asked the professor, David Lipscomb: Could they keep writing the blog? 
 
 Lipscomb quickly found he had to put limits on the posts  --  some students wrote so much that he could hardly keep up. Most professors who use blogs and wikis said they set ground rules early on and act quickly to stamp out problems. 
 
 As the technology goes mainstream, universities will have to think about libel and intellectual property issues, Kirschenbaum said. 
 
 Now there are wikis here and there cooked up by whiz-kid professors and students, but he thinks schools soon will build frameworks. Georgetown's Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship hopes to offer faculty wikis-made-easy technology by the fall semester. 
 
 What else is ahead? Maybe wikis to go. At American University this fall, students posted updates from political events to "moblogs" with their mobile phones. Jones predicts that kind of thing will happen more, as gizmos make it easier to write and send photos and videos from anywhere.
 
 Milad Doueihi, a communications and contemporary society instructor at Johns Hopkins, said that this summer, students will be able to listen to his lectures anytime: He will broadcast them on the class wiki using his iPod  --  a technology called  --  what else?  --  podcasting. 
 
 "It's much more productive," he said, as though sitting in a classroom were  hopelessly outdated.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 12 05:03:04 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 12 05:04:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <13987486.1110632584787.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Karen Hughes  To Work on The World's View of U.S.
 
 By Peter Baker
 
  Former White House counselor Karen P. Hughes will take over the Bush administration's troubled public diplomacy effort intended to burnish the U.S. image abroad, particularly in the Muslim world, where anti-Americanism has fueled extremist groups and terrorism, a senior administration official said yesterday.
 
 Hughes, 48, who has been one of President Bush's closest advisers since his tenure as Texas governor, plans to return to Washington soon to rejoin the president's team after a three-year absence and set up shop at the State Department, where she will work with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to reinvigorate the campaign for hearts and minds overseas.
 
  Hughes will take over an operation that has been criticized as lackluster by many analysts and, privately, even by some administration officials, despite its mission of waging a war of ideas against Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist organizations. The last undersecretary for public diplomacy, Margaret Tutwiler, left last summer after less than a year on the job. The post has remained vacant  since.
 
 Tutwiler was at the White House yesterday and has been advising Hughes about the job. Hughes, who left her White House job in the summer of 2002 to return to Texas with her family, did not return telephone or e-mail messages.
 
 Through exchange programs, foreign language  media and other initiatives, the public diplomacy campaign aims to promote American values of democracy, tolerance and pluralism abroad while combating negative images propagated in many parts of the world. The State Department spent $685 million on public diplomacy in 2004, but critics complain that it has not been increased enough since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and that most of it has not targeted  the Muslim world.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 12 05:04:01 2005
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Date: Sat Mar 12 05:05:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Social Security: On With the Show
 
 By Jim VandeHei   and Peter Baker
 
  MEMPHIS, March 11  --  It sounded as if all of Graceland were clamoring for President Bush's plan to restructure Social Security.
 
 The mostly white audience in this mostly black southern city clapped wildly as Bush took what he called the "presidential roadshow" to its 14th state Friday. He was greeted like Elvis  --  adoring fans hooting and hollering, and hanging on his every word.
 
 The few dissenting voices in the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts were quickly silenced or escorted out by security. One woman with a soft voice but firm opposition to Bush was asked to leave, even though her protests were barely audible beyond her section in the back corner of the auditorium. The carefully screened panelists spoke admiringly about Bush, his ideas, his "bold" leadership on Social Security.
 
 If the presentations sound well rehearsed, it's because they often are. The  guests at these "Oprah"-style conversations trumpet the very points Bush wants to make. Seniors on stage express confidence that Bush's plan to create private investment accounts would not eat into promised benefits, and the granddaughter of one spoke hopefully on Friday of a richer retirement if the president prevails.
 
 These meticulously staged "conversations on Social Security," as they are called, replicate a strategy that Bush used to great effect on the campaign trail. But instead of appealing to his political base in hopes of driving up turnout, Bush this time is  targeting a far narrower audience of swing voters in the Senate  --  centrists who so far appear unswayed by the president's public salesmanship. And Democrats, led by their new party chairman, Howard Dean, have begun firing back, belittling the forums as rigged spectacles rather than true town hall meetings.
 
 The White House follows a practiced formula for each of the meetings. First it picks  a state in which generally it can pressure a lawmaker or two, and then it lines up panelists who will sing the praises of the president's plan. Finally, it loads the audience with Republicans and other supporters.
 
 To help make its case, the White House recruits people such as Mark Darr, 31, an insurance agent from Benton, Ark., who joined the president on stage at a forum in Little Rock last month. In a subsequent interview, Darr said he believes he was chosen because he went to college with one son of Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee and provided insurance for another.
 
 After the governor's office called, Darr said, he began receiving one call after another from the White House, quizzing him on his thoughts on Social Security and his family history, just as they did all the other candidates. "I'm sure they wanted to . . . make sure they weren't going to embarrass the president," Darr said. 
 
 Not so his mother. At first when he mentioned that she receives Social Security, he said,  White House aides seemed eager to add her to the panel. Then they called her. "She wasn't really for the private accounts, so they didn't decide to use her," Darr said.
 
 The night before the event, the chosen participants gathered for a rehearsal in the hall in which  the president would appear the next day. An official dispatched by the White House played the president and asked questions. "We ran through it five times before the president got there," Darr said.
 
 Erma Fingers Hendrix, 74, a retired nurse who also participated in the Little Rock event, said she believes she was picked because she has been active for years in Republican women's clubs in Arkansas and campaigned for Bush in 2000 and 2004   --  once even introducing him at a campaign rally just before he was elected  president. "The ones who contacted me in 2000 probably said, 'Erma's easy to work with,' " she said.
 
 Hendrix said the administration official who helped them practice educated the panelists on the plan without scripting them.
 
  "It was just a matter of learning," she said. "We just really talked about what was going on, what the president was proposing and what did we think about it. . . . They didn't prompt me what to say or how to say it."
 
 Don Farnsworth, 74, a retired pilot and Air Force major, described a similar session before Thursday's event in Montgomery, Ala.
 
  "They had a couple people on the staff come down and introduce us all," he recalled. "We all went into a small room, and they told us what they were looking for was what our ideas were on the president's Social Security plan." By then, he said, the interview process had thinned out the group. "They found out how we felt about it, and I guess that's how we got chosen."
 
 With signs saying "Protecting our Seniors" flanking him, the president talks at length at these events about his desire for bipartisanship and a solution to save a troubled system for future generations. Nothing is said of the benefit cuts White House officials privately acknowledge will be part of any Social Security deal.
 
 The mood and conversation inside the room are often at odds with what is  happening outside. More than a month after Bush began his campaign to restructure Social Security, politicians and the public are deeply divided over private accounts and the tax increases, benefit cuts or both that experts say are sure to accompany them.
 
 Unlike the seniors at these events, most older Americans, when polled, express deep skepticism about private accounts. And  many Republicans are dubious. Bush, who continues to calibrate his pitch, told the audience here the solution is simple: Members from both parties should lay down their arms, come to the table and hammer out a compromise.
 
 "There's still people saying, 'I'm not so sure I want to get involved,' " Bush said. "Now is the time to put aside our political differences and focus on solving this problem for generations to come."
 
 He made nearly half a dozen similar appeals, although the president has yet to engage many congressional Democrats personally. To illustrate his bipartisan ways, Bush invited former Democratic representative Tim Penny (Minn.) onto the stage to tell the audience that Social Security is an "urgent issue, and it's one that needs to be addressed sooner than later."
 
 Next up was Mary Hines, a Social Security recipient who worked for 40 years as a secretary. "Are you worried about the reforms?" asked Bush, who is increasingly trying to convince skeptical seniors their  benefits will go untouched.
 
 "No," she said. "In fact, as we understand it, the reforms will not affect us."
 
 Pastor Andrew Jackson of the Faith Temple Ministries Church of God praised Bush for tackling the issue and lamented what he described as some of the false charges made about the president's plan. "That's called political propaganda,"  Bush said.
 
 Harry Summer testified to the benefit of "compound interest" in private accounts  --  a point the president stresses at every stop.
 
 And, finally, Karen Siegfried, representative of the younger generation that Bush says will benefit most from the plan, made a plea.
 
 "I presume you expect Congress to get something done now, before it's too late?" Bush said.
 
 "Yes, I do," she concluded. 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 12 05:06:06 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 12 05:07:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <241186.1110632766505.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 The GOP's Lesson on Abortion
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
   Why are George W. Bush and his party so skillful in dealing with the  abortion issue, and why are Democrats so clumsy?
 
  It turns out that Democrats willing to grapple seriously with these questions risk getting seriously trashed. It makes you wonder  whether Democrats enjoy losing elections.
 
  First, let's look at Bush's mastery. He warms the hearts of abortion's staunchest foes by appointing conservative judges and invoking the code words "a culture of life." But he rarely gets directly crosswise  with supporters of abortion rights by explicitly calling for an end to abortion.
 
  In the third debate last fall, John Kerry noted that while he would "not allow somebody to come in and change Roe v. Wade, the president has never said whether or not he would do that." In a 220-word reply, Bush never mentioned Roe and made a point of stressing, "I understand there's great differences on this issue of abortion." That's how Bush managed to win 38 percent of voters who told exit pollsters last year that they thought abortion should be "mostly legal."
 
  More than that, the Republican Party has been utterly realistic, indeed ruthless, in engineering the nomination of pro-choice candidates if they had the better chance of winning. The amazing thing is that some of the staunchest opponents of abortion went right along and sidetracked allies if that was what victory required.
 
  The best example: last year's Republican primary in Pennsylvania between Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Pat Toomey. Specter is pro-choice, Toomey pro-life. Guess who campaigned hard for Specter, following the dictates of Bush and the party establishment? None other than Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania's other Republican senator and one of the most resolute opponents of abortion in Congress. Santorum turned his back on his fellow pro-lifer because Specter, he said, was "an important ally to the president." Specter won the primary and held the seat for the GOP.
 
  Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat, is a close student of these events. As the new chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, his job is to elect more Democrats. He's ruffled some feathers by thinking the way Karl Rove does, searching for the strongest Democratic candidate in a contested  state and trying to prevent divisive primaries.
 
  Schumer's initial salvo, ironically, involved a quest for a candidate to run against Santorum in 2006. According to Schumer, "it turned out that the strongest candidate in Pennsylvania, according to everyone we talked to, was Bob Casey." That would be Robert Casey Jr., the state treasurer whose name may sound familiar because his father, a pro-labor liberal, became a hero to the right-to-life movement when the Democrats denied him platform time at their 1992 convention. The son, like his father (who died in 2000), is pro-life.
 
  It's hard to find a stronger supporter of abortion rights than Schumer. But he fears that the causes he cares about, including legal abortion, will be in jeopardy if Democrats continue to lose ground in the Senate. "If we lose three seats," Schumer said, "many of the things we've cherished and valued over the last 50 years would go out the window." Schumer pushed hard for Casey, and last week Barbara Hafer, a pro-choice former state treasurer,  reluctantly took herself out of the contest.
 
  A similar struggle is taking shape in Rhode Island, where the Senate Democratic leadership is, in theory, neutral but has seen polls indicating that Rep. James Langevin, another opponent of abortion, is the strongest potential Democrat against Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a moderate pro-choice Republican. The Democratic secretary of state, Matt Brown, who favors abortion rights, is a potential primary foe.
 
  Enter Hollywood. Virginia Hopper, wife of actor Dennis Hopper, organized a letter with her pro-choice allies urging financial support for Brown: "This is even more important than one precious Senate seat; it is a fight to protect women and families, and a fight for the core and soul of our party." In a rather graceless warning, the Hopper letter declared that "money is the biggest and loudest message." Langevin deserves a writing Oscar for his tart reply: "I find it hard to believe people in Hollywood can relate to the struggles of working families in Rhode Island."
 
  Karl Rove must be grinning about all this. By managing the abortion issue with considerable cunning, Republicans are winning the power to stack the courts with the very sorts of conservative judges the pro-choice movement fears. You have to wonder why it is so hard for so many Democrats to learn that a little open-mindedness on a very difficult question is not only a virtue but also a necessity. 
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 12 05:07:09 2005
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Date: Sat Mar 12 05:08:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24761193.1110632829621.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Senate Passes Bill To Restrict Bankruptcy
 
 By Kathleen Day
 
   The Senate approved a measure yesterday backed  by the credit card industry that would make it harder for people to wipe out debt through bankruptcy, setting a path for quick passage of the bill by the House within weeks. 
 
 The 74 to 25 vote in favor of the bill, which would make the most significant changes in bankruptcy law in more than 25 years, was propelled by a 55-member Republican majority that voted in unison, joined by 18 Democrats and one independent.
 
 House Republican leaders have promised to take up the bill next week and to deliver the votes to pass it. That commitment was based on the Senate keeping the bill free of major new amendments that would have undone scores of compromises made over several years in an effort to get it passed. 
 
 President Bush has said he would sign the bill. It would be the second major victory for big business in Bush's second term, after passage last month of legislation intended to curb class-action lawsuits against corporations.
 
  Republicans repeatedly said that all amendments, even those some Republican senators agreed with, had to be defeated because any change would undo delicate, hard-won compromises. Using that reasoning, the Senate's 55 Republicans voted largely as a bloc to defeat most proposals yesterday, as they had during nearly two weeks of debate. During that time business groups warned against voting for amendments they didn't like. The National Retail Federation, for example, said it would call to the attention of its members any senator's vote for an amendment that in its view would "undermine the legislation."
 
 In a victory for the Wall Street investment banking industry, the Senate voted, largely along party lines, against an amendment proposed by Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) to prohibit an investment bank that advises a company before it files for bankruptcy from continuing to advise it after the company is in bankruptcy. The Republican leadership, led by the bankruptcy bill's major sponsor, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), pushed to defeat the amendment even though it was backed by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William H. Donaldson, a Bush appointee, who has called permitting such dual representation "a mistake" that could undermine investor confidence.
 
  Republicans made exceptions to their own no-amendment rule yesterday, however, and allowed senators from their party to vote in favor of a few amendments, which passed. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) led an unsuccessful attempt to curb exemptions during bankruptcy for complex trusts that wealthy people can use to shield money from debtors. But to appease several Republican senators who are troubled by the trusts, the Republican leadership allowed Sen.  James M. Talent (R-Mo.) to offer an amendment, which was adopted, that would extend to 10 years from the current two the time creditors have to challenge whether such a trust was created  to hide money.
 
 Schumer said the Talent amendment was keeping "the status quo" because it is hard to prove intent, in two years or 10. "Which millionaire is going to hire a lawyer and say, 'Make sure to leave a paper trail so they can prove intent'?" Schumer said. "Of course you can't prove intent, particularly if the intent is to hide the assets. . . . As my kids would say, 'Hello?' "
 
 Republicans also agreed to an amendment offered by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) to give some bankruptcy exemptions to disabled military veterans.
 
 Otherwise the bill remained essentially as it was introduced. It would require credit card companies to give customers more information on how much longer it will take to pay off their balances by making minimum payments, a requirement the industry fought but eventually agreed to. It would give bankruptcy judges more power to impose more limitations on severance bonuses and other compensation paid to executives at companies that have filed for bankruptcy protection -- a provision some businesses, including the troubled asbestos industry, had hoped to change to apply only where fraud contributed to a bankruptcy, not just unethical or incompetent behavior.
 
 The Senate-passed bill would require many people filing for bankruptcy court protection to repay a portion of their debt under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code rather than allowing them to erase it almost entirely under the more commonly used Chapter 7. It is estimated that the proposed legislation would force 30,000 to 100,000 additional filers a year into Chapter 13.
 
  Consumer groups and many Democrats say the bill is too harsh on people dealing with sickness, divorce or job loss.
 
 The banking, credit card and retail industries, which have pushed for the legislation for more than seven years, argue that changes to current law are needed to end abuse of the system by people who shirk their financial obligations when they could repay some of what they owe. 
 
 The three industries gave more than $56 million to political parties and candidates in the 2004 elections, most of it going to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan nonprofit research group that tracks political contributions. For example, more than 60 percent of a combined $44 million in political contributions by banks and retailers went to Republicans.
 
 Grassley, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) praised yesterday's vote as a victory for people who pay their debts responsibly. Consumer advocates and Democrats including  Durbin, Sen. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts said it was a triumph of special interests such as big banks and other lenders over the public interest.
 
   

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 12 07:17:34 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 12 07:19:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Army Details Scale of Abuse of Prisoners in
	an Afghan Jail
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WASHINGTON | March 12, 2005

Army Details Scale of Abuse of Prisoners in an Afghan Jail
By DOUGLAS JEHL

Two prisoners who died in U.S. custody in Afghanistan were beaten by soldiers in sustained assaults that caused their deaths.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/politics/12detain.html?ex=1111294800&en=07e9bafa5a718d0b&ei=5070



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Date: Sat Mar 12 07:19:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.N. Gets Timetable for Syrian Withdrawal
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INTERNATIONAL | March 12, 2005

U.N. Gets Timetable for Syrian Withdrawal
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Bashar al-Assad reiterated his commitment to withdrawing all Syrian troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon, a U.N. envoy said today.

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 12 07:19:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iran Vows to Continue Nuclear Program
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INTERNATIONAL | March 12, 2005

Iran Vows to Continue Nuclear Program
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Neither threats nor incentives will alter Iran's pursuit of its nuclear program, the Iranian foreign ministry said today.

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Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Bullies of Belfast
Message-ID: <20050312151855.312431645CA@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 12, 2005

Editorial: The Bullies of Belfast


The leaders of the I.R.A. should return to a more honorable agenda and stop dancing around promises.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/opinion/12sat2.html?ex=1111294800&en=228e3b179d3fc4c6&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 12 07:19:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 12 07:21:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 'I Have a Nightmare'
Message-ID: <20050312151930.7A6EC1645C1@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 12, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: 'I Have a Nightmare'
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Sadly, it's true, environmentalism is dead.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/opinion/12kristof.html?ex=1111294800&en=4f331d4816571895&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 12 07:20:32 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 12 07:22:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Dark Shadow of Torture (6 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050312152041.A2F2E22EFF8@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | March 12, 2005

The Dark Shadow of Torture (6 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/opinion/l12torture.html?ex=1111294800&en=b6f78d08152aabec&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 12 07:22:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 12 07:23:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Over Bitter Opposition,
	Antiterrorism Bill Passes in Britain
Message-ID: <20050312152212.DDF4021F1D0@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | March 12, 2005

Over Bitter Opposition, Antiterrorism Bill Passes in Britain
By SARAH LYALL

Prime Minister Tony Blair's new antiterrorism package allows authorities to place terrorist suspects under a strict form of house arrest.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/international/europe/12britain.html?ex=1111294800&en=7da9308b539fcd97&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 12 07:22:32 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 12 07:24:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Syrian Troop Convoy Withdraws From Lebanon
Message-ID: <20050312152232.8231838809C@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 12, 2005

Syrian Troop Convoy Withdraws From Lebanon
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A 62-vehicle convoy carrying Syrian troops and equipment withdrawn from northern Lebanon crossed the border early on Saturday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/international/middleeast/12syria.html?ex=1111294800&en=7bad03f1464c47ff&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar 11 23:40:25 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Sat Mar 12 10:22:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Lone Ranger
Message-ID: <200503121822.j2CIMSRl020501@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

THE  LONE RANGER

The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert.
After  they got their tent all set up, they fell sound
asleep. Some  hours later, the Lone Ranger wakes his
faithful friend and says,  "Tonto, look up at the sky
and tell me what you see."

Tonto  replies, "Me see millions of stars." "What does
 that tell you?" asked The Lone Ranger. Tonto ponders
for a  minute, then says, "Astronomically speaking, it
tells me  that there are millions of galaxies and
potentially billions of  planets. Astrologically, it
tells me that Saturn is in Leo.  Timewise, it appears
to be approximately a quarter past three in  the
morning. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is 
all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. 
Meteorologically, it seems we will have beautiful day
tomorrow.  What it tell you, Kemo Sabi?" 

The Lone Ranger is silent for  a moment, then says,
"Tonto, you idiot, someone has stolen  our tent."
From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Thu Mar 10 08:18:54 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sat Mar 12 10:33:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Harvard University
In-Reply-To: <BE550935.1F027%michael@michaelbutler.com>
Message-ID: <200503121833.j2CIX8mB020536@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

On 3/9/05 11:12 PM, "Michael Butler" <michael@michaelbutler.com> wrote:

> What does he recommend be done in pragmatic steps. We don't want to see
> another abandonment like the Shias  or Kurds in Iraq or the Hungarians and
> Czechs. US has a bad habit of egging people on and then not coming to the
> party.
> Michael 
> 
>> 
>> ------ Forwarded Message
>> From: "RP Secretariat's mailing list" <rpsec@rezapahlavi.org>
>> Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 17:16:58 -0700 (MST)
>> To: grgolsorkhi@earthlink.net
>> Subject: Harvard University
>> 
>> 
>> -= Reza Pahlavi's Speech =-
>> 
>> Harvard University - March 8th, 2005:
>> 
>> http://www.rezapahlavi.org/speeches/harvard30805.html
>> 
>> Please forward the above information to friends & family.
>> 
>> RP Secretariat
>> 
>> -=-
>> 
>> 18 Esfand maah-e 1383:
>> 
>> Tarjomeyeh Faarsiyeh sokhran-raaniyeh Reza Pahlavi dar
>> Daanesh-gaah-e Haarvaard, be zoodi az tarigh-e
>> taarnamaayeh internetiyeh ishaan pakhsh o
>> takseer khaahad shod.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Powered by Subscribe Me Lite (http://www.cgiscriptcenter.com)
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ------ End of Forwarded Message
>> 
> 
Michael.  What H.M has been saying all along is asking for the moral support
of the US Administration.  One voice.  He feels that the students and the
younger people on the whole do not (rightly) care or want this regime any
more.  He is seeking a 'referendum' under International controls to see what
the people want.  Unlike H.M. I am not sure this can work honestly, for the
Mullahs can and will determine the outcome, e.g. the referendum during the
military 'junta' of the Colonels in Greece.  I would also be very suspicious
if a 'Carter' type were to monitor such an event.   What has and is
undermining this movement is the economic interests of the EU and Japan as
has been articulated by H.M for a long time.  By trading and giving support
to the Mullahs, this student movement is being undermined by the selfish
economic interests of these (3rd, my thoughts) rate European powers.  So
long as this continues, the people inside will be muzzled and shackled in
trying to determine the country's future.  H.M's goal has and is to try and
emphasize this point.  So far the US has been vocal about freedom etc., for
the people of Iran, but seems to have little or no sway over the EU, who,
today, have been very visible in propping up unpopular states in our region,
in order to keep their perspective interests alive.  The Mullahs all too
well understand this greed, and play along with the EU to ensure their own
survival.  I, like you am somewhat concerned that the economic interests of
the powers that be will take priority over the people in Iran.  This in turn
could well result in betrayal and abandonment, such as the Shia's and Kurds
in Iraq.  There is a strong undercurrent today in the US with 'experts' such
as Pollack, to go along with the Europeans (casing in point, Iran's nuclear
ambitions) and engage the Mullahs and try to bring forth the moderate
pragmatics, i.e. Rafsanjani to the fore, with promises from these moderate
pragmatics to allow some freedoms in Iran and a promise not to interfere in
Iraq, etc.,  I guess this means that the West would be content to sleep with
the lesser of two evils and continue with business as usual..  This is where
I believe the students and the people of Iran will get the royal shaft from
the US and Europe.  We, in the Middle East have shown a great disregard for
life, whether our own or some one else's, therefore, the West will do what
is in their own 'regretfully', short term interests, and sell the people of
Iran down the toilet. I sure hope that I am wrong.  Regards,  Reza

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sat Mar 12 10:39:11 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sat Mar 12 10:41:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Obama Slams Bush for Linking Accounts to Blacks' Life
	Span
Message-ID: <BE58774F.1F191%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Also see below:    
Poll Bad News for Bush on Social Security    ?

    Go to Original

    Obama Slams Bush for Linking Accounts to Blacks' Life Span
    By Jeff Zeleny
    The Chicago Tribune

    Friday 11 March 2005

    Social Security pitch 'stunning,' he says.

    Washington - Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday called President Bush's
suggestion that African-Americans could reap greater rewards from
overhauling Social Security a "stunning" argument that ignored the true
health issues facing blacks in this country.

    As the president launched a two-day tour through the South to build
support for his controversial plan to revamp Social Security, Democrats
challenged a White House assertion that blacks would particularly gain from
Bush's proposed private retirement accounts because they have fewer years to
collect benefits considering they die younger.

    "It is puzzling to me that we are even having this debate about whether
Social Security is good or not for African-Americans," said Obama, an
Illinois Democrat. "I frankly found the statement that the president made
somewhat offensive."

    While Bush argued his case that the future of the Social Security
program was in peril without substantial changes like creating private
investment accounts, Senate Democratic leaders tapped Obama to rebut the
argument about overhauling Social Security.

    Before the president arrived in Montgomery, Ala., Obama, the only black
member of the Senate, conducted satellite interviews there from Washington.

    "There is no doubt a disparity in the lifetime opportunities between
white America and black America," Obama said. "The notion that we would
cynically use those disparities as a rationale for dismantling Social
Security as opposed to talking about how are we going to close the health
disparities gap that exists, and make sure that African-American life
expectancy is as long as the rest of this nation ... is stunning to me."

    The administration and conservative scholars have quietly suggested that
blacks may be more inclined to support the Social Security changes because,
on average, whites live to age 78 and blacks to 72. So blacks, after
contributing to Social Security their whole lives, are more likely to die
before collecting their fair share.

    "African-American males die sooner than other males do, which means the
system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people," Bush said this
year at a forum on Social Security. "And that needs to be fixed."

    The president campaigned in Louisville and Montgomery to try to ease
anxiety among retirees and give political cover to Republican lawmakers
facing voters in midterm elections. Bush did not use the African-American
argument in either stop on Thursday.

    Bush repeatedly has reassured those age 55 and over that the Social
Security checks they receive, or look forward to getting, won't be touched.

    Still, seniors - a group that votes in greater numbers than the nation's
youth - are wary about what will happen to the 70-year-old government
retirement system if lawmakers tinker with it.

    Facing an uphill battle to enact changes, Republicans in Congress
recently have begun to emphasize the solvency problems of Social Security
over the controversial private retirement accounts.

    On his road trip, Bush did too. But while he is focusing on solvency,
the president is not letting up on his push for private accounts.

    "I'm saying to members of the United States Congress, 'Let's fix this
system permanently - no Band-Aids,'" Bush said in Montgomery. "Woe be to the
politician who doesn't come to the table and try to come up with a
solution."

 

    Go to Original

    Poll Bad News for Bush on Social Security
    By Will Lester
    The Associated Press

    Friday 11 March 2005

    Washington - As President Bush campaigns to change Social Security, he
needs to win over independents, married women and Southerners - people who
tend to support him on terrorism but have indicated doubts about his plans
for the retirement program.

    Just over a third of Americans, 37 percent, approve of Bush's handling
of Social Security, an Associated Press poll found. When it comes to Bush's
strong suit - handling foreign policy and terrorism - 52 percent approve of
the president.

    A majority of Americans, 56 percent, say they disapprove of Bush's
handling of Social Security. A similar number in a recent AP poll opposed
the creation of personal investment accounts, a proposal central to Bush's
plans.

    The war on terrorism was the principal theme of Bush's re-election
campaign, but in the early days of his second term he has focused on Social
Security. Some polls indicate he's been losing ground on that issue.

    On Tuesday, Bush went back to the war on terrorism. He talked about
"welcome signs" of democratic reform in the Middle East, including elections
in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

    "The president has multiple responsibilities and can't just talk about
one thing," said David Rohde, a political scientist at Michigan State
University. "Even if he has other reasons for talking about terrorism,
however, this could be a benefit for him. Given the way things are going on
Social Security, he's likely to try anything."

    Approval of Bush's handling of foreign policy and terrorism has risen
slightly since February, from 47 percent to 52 percent, according to the
poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs.

    "In the war on terrorism, the president seems to be doing what it takes
to get the job done," said Derek Dailey, an electronic technician from
Indianapolis. "A few countries are experiencing freedoms they've never had
before."

    On the issues of foreign affairs and terrorism, many groups approve of
Bush's performance or are closely divided. Non-whites, residents of the
Northeast, those who make less than $25,000 and Democrats were the groups
most likely to show strong opposition.

    Madison Slusher, a physician and teacher in Winston-Salem, N.C., has
mixed feelings about some Bush policies but says the president deserves
respect for his approach to fighting terrorism.

    "I think we did the right thing by taking the fight to the Middle East,
even though the weapons thing wasn't handled just right," Slusher said.
"It's not something that all Americans like, but it's necessary."

    On the subject of Social Security, political independents, Catholics,
married women, older Americans and Southerners indicate stronger doubts than
they have about Bush's handling of terrorism.

    On Friday, Bush continued a swing through several Southern states to
talk about Social Security.

    He is campaigning for these changes at a time that more than half of
Americans, 55 percent, have a general sense that the country is headed down
the wrong track.

    "The price of oil keeps going up, making everybody else rich, and many
people here are making minimum wage," said Brian Wiatr, a laborer living on
the fringe of Detroit. "You can't even afford to fill your car up with gas
and buy groceries."

    The public is about evenly split on Bush's job performance overall, with
48 percent approving and 50 percent disapproving. Men were more likely than
women to approve of Bush's job performance.

    "I lean toward disapproval," said Tammy Schneider, a stay-at-home mother
of three who lives near Peoria, Ill. "I just feel he has not been judicious
with our financial affairs."

    The AP-Ipsos poll of 1,001 adults was taken March 7-9 and has a margin
of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sat Mar 12 10:42:27 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sat Mar 12 10:44:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Calif. Gov. 'News' Videos Cause a Stir
Message-ID: <BE587813.1F194%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Also see below:    
Karen Hughes Will Try to Rescue Bush, Rice    ?

    Go to Original

    Calif. Gov. 'News' Videos Cause a Stir
    The Associated Press

    Friday 11 March 2005

    Sacramento - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration has
acknowledged making several videos masquerading as news stories to promote
its agenda, creating an uproar from Democrats and labor leaders in a
controversy parallel to one ignited by the Bush administration.

    "When the governor produces official government propaganda and tries to
fake it to look like news it's very, very corrosive to democratic values,"
said Barry Broad, a labor lobbyist who compared it to efforts by
totalitarian regimes.

    Criticism initially focused on a video promoting labor regulations
altering workers' meal breaks. But the administration later said it made
videos on Schwarzenegger's efforts to reshape state government, stall rules
that would increase nurse staffing at hospitals and alter teacher pay and
tenure requirements, said aides to Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles.

    Critics said the tailored-for-TV-news videos amount to taxpayer-funded
campaign propaganda.

    Last year, the federal Government Accountability Office said the Bush
administration violated a prohibition against using public money for
propaganda when it created videos made to resemble news reports promoting
Medicare changes.

    Deputy Legislative Counsel Cecilia Moddelmog told a Senate budget
subcommittee Thursday that she doubted the Schwarzenegger administration had
the authority to produce the videos.

    The videos included suggested opening remarks for a news anchor, a
narrative by a state employee and interviews with supporters of the
administration policies. It's not evident to viewers who produced them and
no opposition is expressed.

    "In essence, those are all mock news stories," Romero said.

    Administration officials said the videos were news releases and lawyers
considered them legal. The administration said only portions of the videos
were broadcast, but two stations identified by officials denied using the
material.

    Sen. John Campbell of Irvine, an ally of the governor and fellow
Republican, said the Legislature produces its own video releases.

    "This whole thing is like a charade," he said. "Every one of us does a
lot of propaganda on lots of things every day."

 

    Go to Original

    Karen Hughes To Work on The World's View of U.S.
    By Peter Baker
    The Washington Post

    Saturday 12 March 2005

    Former White House counselor Karen P. Hughes will take over the Bush
administration's troubled public diplomacy effort intended to burnish the
U.S. image abroad, particularly in the Muslim world, where anti-Americanism
has fueled extremist groups and terrorism, a senior administration official
said yesterday.

    Hughes, 48, who has been one of President Bush's closest advisers since
his tenure as Texas governor, plans to return to Washington soon to rejoin
the president's team after a three-year absence and set up shop at the State
Department, where she will work with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to
reinvigorate the campaign for hearts and minds overseas.

    Hughes will take over an operation that has been criticized as
lackluster by many analysts and, privately, even by some administration
officials, despite its mission of waging a war of ideas against Osama bin
Laden's al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist organizations. The last
undersecretary for public diplomacy, Margaret Tutwiler, left last summer
after less than a year on the job. The post has remained vacant since.

    Tutwiler was at the White House yesterday and has been advising Hughes
about the job. Hughes, who left her White House job in the summer of 2002 to
return to Texas with her family, did not return telephone or e-mail
messages.

    Through exchange programs, foreign language media and other initiatives,
the public diplomacy campaign aims to promote American values of democracy,
tolerance and pluralism abroad while combating negative images propagated in
many parts of the world. The State Department spent $685 million on public
diplomacy in 2004, but critics complain that it has not been increased
enough since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and that most of it has not
targeted the Muslim world.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar 11 21:36:06 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar 12 10:50:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] More on "democracy on the ropes"
Message-ID: <200503121850.j2CIo46L020618@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Here's another important article by Thom Hartmann on our 
dysfunctional democracy.  After reading it, if you haven't yet, you can 
take some positive action by calling and/or writing your 
congresspeople and demanding they cosponsor and support the 
"Count Every Vote Act"  (H.R.939/S.450).  (You can start by sending an 
email by going to http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/  and click on "Take 
Action" )

Teresa Heinz Kerry - Hacking the 
"Mother Machine"? 
by Thom Hartmann 
"Two brothers own 80 percent of the [voting] machines used in the 
United States," Teresa Heinz Kerry told a group of Seattle guests at a 
March 7, 2005 lunch for Representative Adam Smith, according to 
reporter Joel Connelly in an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 
Connelly noted Heinz Kerry added that it is "very easy to hack into the 
mother machines." 
The two brothers Mrs. Kerry is referencing are, according to voting 
machine expert (and founder of www.BanVotingMachines.org) Lynn 
Landes, in an article for the Online Journal, Bob Urosevich, president 
of Diebold Election Systems, and Todd Urosevich, who was vice 
president for customer support of Chuck Hagel's old company, now 
known as ES&S. 
Presumably the "mother machines" Teresa was talking about are the 
"central tabulator" computers, like the Windows-based Diebold central 
tabulator PC that Howard Dean hacked into and untraceably changed 
an election on - in 90 seconds - live on the "Topic A With Tina Brown" 
CNBC TV show late last year. 
As Dean noted while hacking the Diebold machine on national 
television, "In 1998, only 7% of all U.S. counties used electronic voting 
machines." But, Dean noted of the 2004 race, "in the next presidential 
election, roughly 1 in 3 of us will use one." 
Dean added: 
    "But critics have found all sorts of flaws with these machines, 
    from software security concerns, to the complete lack of a paper 
    trail to verify votes. These machines cannot be recounted. 
    "In Riverside County, California, an incumbent mysteriously 
    pulled ahead after the voting machine company employees 
    stopped the tally to tinker with the machines. 
    "In Iowa [graphic shows 'Allamakee County, Iowa'], machines in 
    one precinct returned 4 million votes-- when only 300 actual 
    voters turned out. 
    "In San Diego, election officials reportedly turned to teenagers 
    to reboot their malfunctioning machines. 
    "And in Florida, a computer crash erased the records from 
    Miami-Dade's first widespread use of touchscreen voting 
    machines-- all data from the 2002 gubernatorial primary is gone. 
    "There are two problems. One, there's no paper trail which 
    means you can't verify your vote, and it can't be recounted. The 
    other potentially serious problem: tampering and rigging of 
    elections. We asked Diebold, one of the companies that makes 
    these machines, and Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood to 
    appear on this program. They both turned us down." 
Democratic concern about electronic voting machines has floated 
around for several years, particularly since voting rights activist Bev 
Harris (of  www.blackboxvoting.org) reported that she was Googling 
around the internet and stumbled across an FTP backdoor on 
Diebold's website that, just after the 2002 election, contained a folder 
titled "Rob Georgia." (Cleland's 2002 loss in Georgia helped hand 
control of the Senate back to the Republicans, who had lost it when 
Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the party to become an independent.) 
In Georgia and Florida, where paper had been totally replaced by 
touch-screen machines in many to most precincts during 2001 and 
2002, the 2002 election produced some of the nation's most startling 
precursors to the alarming shift from an "exit poll win" for Kerry to the 
"voting-machine win" for Bush in 2004. 
USA Today reported on Nov. 3, 2002, "In Georgia, an Atlanta Journal-
Constitution poll shows Democratic Sen. Max Cleland with a 49%-to-
44% lead over Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss." Cox News Service, 
based in Atlanta, reported just after the election (Nov. 7) that, 
"Pollsters may have goofed" because "Republican Rep. Saxby 
Chambliss defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Max Cleland by a 
margin of 53 to 46 percent. The Hotline, a political news service, 
recalled a series of polls Wednesday showing that Chambliss had 
been ahead in none of them." 
Just as amazing was the 2002 Georgia governor's race. "Similarly," the 
Zogby polling organization reported on Nov. 7, "no polls predicted the 
upset victory in Georgia of Republican Sonny Perdue over incumbent 
Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes. Perdue won by a margin of 52 to 45 
percent. The most recent Mason Dixon Poll had shown Barnes ahead 
48 to 39 percent last month with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 
points." 
Almost all of the votes in Georgia were recorded on the new touch-
screen computerized voting machines, which produced no paper trail 
whatsoever. Similarly, as the San Jose Mercury News reported in a 
Jan. 23, 2003 editorial titled "Gee Whiz, Voter Fraud?" "In one Florida 
precinct last November, votes that were intended for the Democratic 
candidate for governor ended up for Gov. Jeb Bush, because of a 
misaligned touchscreen. How many votes were miscast before the 
mistake was found will never be known, because there was no paper 
audit." ("Misaligned" touchscreens also caused 18 known machines in 
Dallas to register Republican votes when Democratic screen-buttons 
were pushed in 2002: it's unknown how many others weren't noticed.) 
Maybe it's true that the citizens of Georgia simply decided that 
incumbent Democratic Senator Max Cleland, a wildly popular war 
veteran, was, as Republican TV ads suggested, too unpatriotic to 
remain in the Senate, even though his Republican challenger, Saxby 
Chambliss, had sat out the Vietnam war with a medical deferment. 
Maybe, in the final two days of the race, those voters who'd pledged 
themselves to Georgia's popular incumbent Governor Roy Barnes 
suddenly and inexplicably decided to switch to Republican challenger 
Sonny Perdue. 
Maybe George W. and Jeb Bush, Alabama's new Republican governor 
Bob Riley, and a small but congressionally decisive handful of other 
long-shot Republican candidates around the country really did win 
those states where conventional wisdom and straw polls showed them 
losing in the last few election cycles, but computer controlled voting or 
ballot-reading machines showed them winning. 
Perhaps, after a half-century of fine-tuning exit polling to such a 
science that it's now used to verify if elections are clean in Third World 
countries, it really did suddenly become inaccurate in the United States 
in the past few years and just won't work here anymore. Perhaps it's 
just a coincidence that the sudden rise of inaccurate exit polls 
happened around the same time corporate-programmed, computer-
controlled, modem-capable voting machines began recording and 
tabulating ballots. 
As the Washington Post noted in a January 20, 2005 article by Richard 
Morin and Claudia Deane ("Report Acknowledges Inaccuracies in 
2004 Exit Polls"): 
    "But 'there were 26 states in which the estimates produced by 
    the exit poll data overstated the vote for John Kerry....' said Joe 
    Lenski of Edison Media Research and Warren Mitofsky of 
    Mitofsky International. 
    "Throughout election night, the national exit poll showed the 
    Massachusetts senator leading President Bush by 51 percent to 
    48 percent. But when all the votes were counted, it was Bush 
    who won by slightly less than three percentage points." 
Mitofsky and Edison's work also showed that Ohio was one of the 
states where the discrepancies between the official tabulation and the 
exit polls were most noticeable. The Washington Post noted: "At the 
request of the media sponsors, Mitofsky and Lenski are continuing to 
examine exit polling in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two critical battleground 
states where the poll results were off." 
When four attorneys in Ohio sued that state to discover details of how 
voting was conducted in that state, they report they were slapped with 
a massive and expensive lawsuit engineered by the State of Ohio's 
Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell (also co-chair of the Ohio Bush For 
President campaign) and Ohio Attorney General, Republican Jim 
Petro. The Ohio lawyer/activists have launched a legal defense fund 
(information available at http://freepress.org/store.php#donate) to help 
them fight both for an expos? of Ohio irregularities and to defend 
themselves against this attack by the Republican officials who control 
the voting systems in that state. 
Oddly, though, as statistics experts Steven Freeman and Josh 
Mittledorf noted in an article for In These Times, analyzing the data 
provided by exit polling companies Mitofsky and Edison, "only in 
precincts that used old-fashioned, hand-counted paper ballots did the 
official count and the exit polls fall within the normal sampling margin 
of error." In those places where computers were used to count the 
vote, oddly the exit polls showed Kerry winning but the voting 
machines had Bush winning. 
Mitofsky/Edison tried to explain this away with their "shy Republican" 
theory, suggesting that they'd hired young pollsters and older 
Republican voters were less willing to talk with them. Noted Freeman 
and Mittledorf: 
    "But in fact, the data suggest that Bush voters were slightly 
    more likely to complete the survey: 56 percent of voters 
    completed the survey in the Bush strongholds, while 53 percent 
    cooperated in Kerry strongholds."
Thus, say these two university experts: "The exit polls themselves are 
a strong indicator of a corrupted election." 
This analysis comes just as Bev Harris' organization 
www.blackboxvoting.org provided testimony to the House Judiciary 
Committee, as reported on their website: 
    "In mid-February, Black Box Voting, together with computer 
    experts and videographers, under the supervision of appropriate 
    officials, proved that a real Diebold system can be hacked. 
    "This was not theoretical or a 'potential' vulnerability. Votes were 
    hacked on a real system in a real location using the actual setup 
    used on Election Day, Nov. 2, 2004. 
    "In October, Black Box Voting published an article on this Web 
    site about remote access into the Diebold system. After 
    examining the Diebold software and related internal e-mails, 
    local security professionals were able to demonstrate a hack 
    into a simulated system. 
    "In February, we were allowed to try various hacking techniques 
    into a real election system. To our surprise, the method used in 
    our October simulation did not work. 
    "However, another method did work. The hack that did work 
    was unsophisticated enough that many high school students 
    would be able to achieve it. This hack altered the election by 
    100,000 votes, leaving no trace at all in the central tabulator 
    program. It did not appear in any audit log. The hack could have 
    been executed in the November 2004 election by just one 
    person. 
    "This hack stunned the officials who were observing the test. It 
    calls into question the results of as many as 40 million votes in 
    30 states. We are awaiting the response of the House Judiciary 
    Committee to this new development for their investigation. 
    "In another real-world example, Black Box Voting obtained the 
    actual files used in the Nov. 2 election in a specific county. In 
    this situation, the local officials did not know how to run their 
    Diebold system, so a Diebold tech ran the election in that 
    county. Election officials remembered the Diebold tech's first 
    name, but not his last name. 
    "The Diebold tech had gone home after the election, and no one 
    in the county was able to access their own voting system, 
    leading to some consternation because they could not provide 
    our public records request. 
    "Because local officials could not access their logs, we were 
    given permission to sit down and copy files. (We have since 
    found that this is not an isolated problem -- many local officials 
    are painfully unfamiliar with their own voting systems.) 
    "Local officials did not know their password, so Bev Harris 
    asked if they would like her to hack the password. They said 
    'yes' (!) 
    "Later, to our even greater surprise, Bev Harris found that the 
    password set by the Diebold tech on this real election file, used 
    in the Nov. 2004 election was ... drum roll please ... the 
    diabolically clever password: 'diebold.' (This took only two tries 
    to guess.)" 
So what to do? Here's a five-step process that Americans interested in 
clean elections - regardless of party affiliation - could start immediately, 
so it'll in place in time for the 2006 elections. 
*   1. Organize and fund a national exit poll, using a non-partisan, 
    professional organization like Zogby, or one built from the 
    ground up.
*   2. Have detailed systems in place - using the internet and email, 
    in particular - to release the results of those exit polls within an 
    hour of the close of the polls on election eve in November, 
    2006.
*   3. Plan for vote fraud, and brand the plan. In the Ukraine, the 
    slogan was "Time's up!" The logo was a ticking clock, and 
    thousands of paper stencils were distributed so the logo could 
    be spray-painted on sidewalks or buildings in the event 
    evidence of vote-fraud showed up. The color was orange, and 
    orange scarves and hats were mass purchased before election 
    day.
*   4. Develop a corps of people committed to showing up and 
    speaking out wherever the exit polls demonstrate the clear 
    possibility of election fraud.
*   5. Have a relentless media strategy in place to keep the 
    pressure on and bring people out into the streets. 

If you think this isn't viable, it is. It's already been done, in Ukraine, 
Belarus, the former Soviet state of Georgia, and Serbia. In three of 
those four elections, this very strategy succeeded in getting "official" 
vote tabulations changed and elections reversed. And, irony of ironies, 
it was largely funded by the United States. 
One would think that the United States Congress would be working for 
greater transparency in our elections. And, indeed, Congressman 
Rush Holt and Senator Hillary Clinton have introduced bills into the 
House and Senate that would call for that. But, inexplicably, 
Republicans in the House and Senate have blocked them from coming 
to a vote. 
At the same time, computer programmer Clinton Curtis charged, in a 
sworn affidavit before a U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary 
Committee investigation in Ohio, that Republican Congressman Tom 
Feeney of Florida participated in hiring Curtis to write "undetectable" 
(when compiled) voting-machine-rigging software. Republicans in the 
House have also blocked efforts to investigate this and other charges 
made during hearing held in Ohio by Congressman John Conyers. 
In Ukraine, an entrenched political machine dedicated to single-party 
rule laughed off the possibility that exit polls, colored scarves, a catchy 
slogan, and spray-painted logos could force a change in a national 
election. As Peter Finn reported in The Washington Post on November 
22, 2004: 
    "The [Russian-supported and "officially" winning] Yanukovych 
    campaign said the exit polls, which were funded by the United 
    States and other Western countries, and the demonstration 
    were a calculated effort to preempt the official result.... 
    "'These polls don't work,' said Gennady Korzh, a spokesman for 
    Yanukovych. 'We will win by between 3 to 5 percent. And 
    remember, if Americans believed exit polls, and not the actual 
    count, John Kerry would be president.'"
According to a survey released the day before the November 2, 2004 
election by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of 
Pennsylvania, one of the most respected and non-partisan groups to 
regularly take the pulse of the American electorate, "As of Election 
Eve, only 62 percent of registered voters are 'very confident' that their 
votes will be accurately counted." 
Perhaps Teresa Heinz Kerry was one of the skeptical voters 
Annenberg surveyed. And, if the fears she candidly expressed this 
week have any basis, Americans - of all political persuasions - who 
believe in democracy, fairness, and open elections must be prepared 
to act in 2006. 
Thom Hartmann (thom at thomhartmann.com) is a Project Censored 
Award-winning best-selling author, psychotherapist and licensed NLP 
Trainer, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk 
show. www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are "The Last 
Hours of Ancient Sunlight," "Unequal Protection," "We The People," 
"The Edison Gene", and "What Would Jefferson Do?" 

-------


-- 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar 11 21:47:00 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar 12 10:50:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] History lesson: The Night Hell Fell From The Sky
Message-ID: <200503121850.j2CIoOJL020640@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Today's commentary:
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-03/11mcneill.cfm

==================================

ZNet Commentary
The Night Hell Fell From The Sky March 11, 2005
By David  McNeill 

March 10 is the 60th anniversary of one of the great forgotten atrocities
of World War 2: the fire-bombing of Tokyo which killed over 100,000 people
Saotome Katsumoto was 12 when he heard the familiar rumble of B-29
bombers.  "It was a midnight air raid, but unlike anything we had
experienced before. The planes flew in very low, so low you could see the
fires reflected in their undercarriages, and they dropped mostly
incendiaries. The fires started everywhere and we tried to fight them, but
there was a strong, northerly wind fanning the flames. All around me
people were on fire, writhing in agony." 

Sixty years ago today, on March 10 1945, the US abandoned the last rules of 
warfare against civilians when 334 B-29's dropped close to half a million 
incendiary bombs on sleeping Tokyo.  The aim was to cause maximum 
carnage in an overcrowded city of flimsy wooden buildings; an estimated 
100,000 people were 'scorched, boiled and baked to death,' in the words of the 
attack's architect, General Curtis LeMay. It was then the single largest mass 
killing of World War II, dwarfing even the destruction of the German city of 
Dresden on Feb. 13, 1945. 

B-29 pilot Chester Marshall flew above the destruction, but not far enough: 
"At 5,000 feet you could smell the flesh burning," he later told Australian 
broadcaster ABC. "I couldn't eat anything for two or three days. You know it 
was nauseating, really. We just said 'What is that I smell?' And it's a kind of a 
sweet smell, and somebody said, 'Well that's flesh burning, had to be.'"

 Even the city's rivers were no escape from the firestorm: the jellied petroleum 
that filled the bombs, a prototype of the napalm that laid waste to much of 
Vietnam two decades later, stuck to everything and turned water into fire. 
"Canals boiled, metal melted, and buildings and human beings burst 
spontaneously into flames," wrote John Dower in War Without Mercy. People 
who dived into rivers and canals for relief were boiled to death in the intense 
heat. 

The next day, Suzuki Ikuko, then a 19-year-old student, went looking for
survivors. "We tried to find our teacher who lived downtown, but there was
nothing left, just ruins and charred trees. You couldn't tell east from
west because everything was gone, so we gave up. Afterwards we heard that
our teacher was found in a pile of bodies in Omotesando" [Today a
fashionable district of central Tokyo]. The bombing incinerated over 15
kilometers of central Tokyo, left over a million homeless and opened the
curtain on an orgy of destruction in the final months of the Pacific War
that included dozens of similar raids on Japanese cities and culminated in
the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August. When the droning
of bombers finally stopped on August 15, 1945, nearly 70 cities had been
reduced to rubble and well over half a million people, mostly civilians,
were dead. LeMay reportedly said: "If we had lost the war, we would have
been tried as war criminals." 

Some thought that Imperial Japan, like Nazi Germany, deserved what it got 
for the brutal, relentless bombing of Shanghai and Chongqing, the Rape of 
Nanjing and other war atrocities across Asia. Gregory Clark, former 
Australian diplomat and now vice-president of Akita university, says: "You 
have to put it in context. All I remember as a kid was cheering when we heard 
that Japan was bombed."

Revenge was mixed with the fear of Allied casualties in the event of a
land invasion of the Japanese peninsula, where millions of civilians had
been mobilized to defend the homeland.  But others asked where had the
moral high ground of the Allies gone since Franklin D. Roosevelt described
the 1940 Nazi blitzkrieg of British cities as "inhuman barbarism"? "No one
seemed conscious of the irony," wrote US historian Howard Zinn. "One of
the reasons for the general indignation against the Fascist powers was
their history of indiscriminate bombing of civilian populations." 

The Tokyo fire bombing was the apprenticeship for a generation of future 
Cold War warriors. LeMay, the inspiration for the demented General Jack D.
Ripper in Stanley Kubrick's antiwar satire Dr. Strangelove who once said
"You've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop
fighting," later became US Air Force chief of staff (1961-65). He is now
remembered mainly for his attempt to goad the USSR into World War III.  In
a moment of political surrealism rivaled by the award of the 1973 Nobel
Peace Price to Henry Kissinger, Le May was awarded the First Order of
Merit by the Japanese government in 1964, for helping to reconstruct
Japan's Self Defense Forces after the war. Robert McNamara, a former
statistician who helped plan the Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki raids, went
on to become US Defense Secretary (1960-68) during the war against
Vietnam, where he authorized carpet bombing of vast swathes of the country
with incendiaries and Agent Orange. In last year's documentary The Fog of
War, McNamara ponders the morality of victor's justice, saying: "Was there
a rule then to say that you shouldn't bomb, shouldn't kill, shouldn't burn
to death one hundred thousand civilians in a single night?"  

The legacy of the  March 10 raid though is what it bequeathed to the rest of 
the century: the trumping of political and moral arguments against mass 
civilian slaughter by military technicians and rationalists. As historian Mark
Selden wrote: "Elimination of the distinction between combatant and
non-combatant would shape all subsequent wars from Korea to Vietnam to 
the Gulf War and the ethnic conflicts of the former Soviet Union and
Yugoslavia, to mention but a few."

 It's a legacy we still live with. Today, the gleaming plantation of concrete and 
glass spires in downtown Tokyo, built over the carbonized remains of the 
victims of the 1945 firebombing, is testimony to Japan's remarkable talent for 
reinvention, and for forgetting.

 "My mother never told me about the firebombing," says Shinozaki Hatae, 
who is too young to remember it. "She says the past is the  past." Few want to 
talk about what happened, least of all the Japanese government, which has 
sheltered under the US defense umbrella since the 1950s and buried the sins 
of the past beneath the rhetoric of the trans-Pacific alliance.  

In a bid to reverse this historical amnesia, survivor Saotome Katsumoto, now 
72 and a historian and novelist, collected $800,000 and built a museum 
dedicated to the firebombing two years ago. Harrowing photographs and 
testimonies, and twisted and melted household artifacts are among the small 
number of items left over from the firestorm. "Japanese people haven't fully 
learned from the past," he says. "I think that is the government's intention. In 
my opinion, they think if people learn about this miserable past then Japan 
will not be able to go to war in the future."  

Saotome says his greatest fear as an old man is forgetting. "All the people 
who experienced Dresden, Auschwitz and Tokyo are getting older. Today is a 
turning point in history and the following generations will have to depend on 
the accounts that the past generation left. Young people are not being taught 
about what happened and that its dangerous. Countries that learn from the past 
don't repeat it. That's why Germany and France didn't take the same course as 
the US in Iraq I think."

"Youngsters do not understand the horror of war," agrees Mrs. Suzuki
Ikuko. "When the Iraq War started I couldn't watch it on TV. It was too
painful. But my grandson said he though it was cool. He said it was like a
videogame." 

David McNeill prepared this article for Japan Focus. He is a Tokyo-based
journalist and teacher, and a coordinator of Japan Focus on ZNet. 



-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
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From marylouiseparis at hotmail.com  Sat Mar 12 10:50:15 2005
From: marylouiseparis at hotmail.com (Mary Louise smn)
Date: Sat Mar 12 10:51:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Lone Ranger
In-Reply-To: <200503121822.j2CIMSRl020501@dune.islandtechnologies.net>
Message-ID: <BAY15-F29719957148883716DC84DB8540@phx.gbl>

How absolutely marvelous!    Merci!!!!     Marylouise

>From: Gerald Gerald <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
>Reply-To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
>To: Gerald Cooper <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
>Subject: [Mb-civic] Lone Ranger
>Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 23:40:25 -0800 (PST)
>
>THE  LONE RANGER
>
>The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert.
>After  they got their tent all set up, they fell sound
>asleep. Some  hours later, the Lone Ranger wakes his
>faithful friend and says,  "Tonto, look up at the sky
>and tell me what you see."
>
>Tonto  replies, "Me see millions of stars." "What does
>  that tell you?" asked The Lone Ranger. Tonto ponders
>for a  minute, then says, "Astronomically speaking, it
>tells me  that there are millions of galaxies and
>potentially billions of  planets. Astrologically, it
>tells me that Saturn is in Leo.  Timewise, it appears
>to be approximately a quarter past three in  the
>morning. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is
>all-powerful and we are small and insignificant.
>Meteorologically, it seems we will have beautiful day
>tomorrow.  What it tell you, Kemo Sabi?"
>
>The Lone Ranger is silent for  a moment, then says,
>"Tonto, you idiot, someone has stolen  our tent."
>_______________________________________________
>Mb-civic mailing list
>Mb-civic@islandlists.com
>http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

_________________________________________________________________
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar - get it now! 
http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 12 11:43:49 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sat Mar 12 11:45:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] US hands Guantanamo prisoners their death sentance!
Message-ID: <000a01c5273b$d234da40$593fe440@Harold>

Rumsfeld wants Guantanamo detainees sent to foreign jails

http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,13743,1435896,00.html

Later H
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sat Mar 12 14:48:41 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sat Mar 12 14:50:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Google Image Result for
	http://www.snowwowl.com/images/chibitty/Mchibitty1.jpg
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV1170A96B925A2F0F7FD5F3AB540@phx.gbl>

If anyone has a soft spot for our Native People our LAST living Comanche Code Talker 83 years old, was just made a ward of the state and put into a nursing home in Tulsa. He has nothing, no possessions. 

I just went on the internet and found so many pictures and things, printed them and am sending to him, Also I am framing a picture and sending for his wall or dresser.. Some of his pictures are so beautiful and proud. If you click on these two things I am sending one is a picture, one is an article to read. IF you want to know more, go to Google and put in his name Charles Chibitty OR Comanche Code Talker his name is everywhere so many pages, beautiful pictures and articles.

If your in Oklahoma stop by and say hello, or send him a card, gift or money.

Charles Chibitty
Maplewood Care Center, Rm #45
6202 E. 61st St.
Tulsa OK #74136-2119

peace,
barbara
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From blissan at yahoo.com  Fri Mar 11 19:16:10 2005
From: blissan at yahoo.com (ananda hart)
Date: Sat Mar 12 18:09:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fwd: FW: The World in Only 7 Pictures
Message-ID: <200503121810.j2CIAMkC020446@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Note: forwarded message attached.


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:38:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:40:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - Pilots' group: Aviation security programs
	failing - Mar 10, 2005
Message-ID: <4503551.1110721121923.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



Ian wanted you to see this.



 
********************
 
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Title: CNN.com - Pilots' group: Aviation security programs failing - Mar 10, 2005
 
  
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Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to SAVE THIS link:
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Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to forward this link:
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:42:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:43:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?CNN=2Ecom_-_Documents_offer_details_ab?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?out=A0Abu_Ghraib=27s_children_-_Mar_10=2C_2005?=
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*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



Ian wanted you to see this.



 
********************
 
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Title: CNN.com - Documents offer details about?Abu Ghraib's children - Mar 10, 2005
 
  
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:48:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:50:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Looting at Iraqi Weapons Plants Was
	Systematic, Official Says
Message-ID: <20050313134836.3A3A83880B2@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 13, 2005

Looting at Iraqi Weapons Plants Was Systematic, Official Says
By JAMES GLANZ and WILLIAM J. BROAD

Some of the looted machinery included high-precision equipment capable of making parts for nuclear arms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/international/middleeast/13loot.html?ex=1111381200&en=02ded96991b5c6cb&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:49:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:51:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Under Bush,
	a New Age of Prepackaged Television News
Message-ID: <20050313134946.ECD1383EC4@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

It should send up an enormous "red flag" to any society when "the news" is news - especially of a political nature... Peace.


WASHINGTON | March 13, 2005

Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged Television News
By DAVID BARSTOW and ROBIN STEIN

Government-made news segments have been broadcast on local television stations without acknowledgement of their origin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/politics/13covert.html?ex=1111381200&en=2d48dec4b53dff33&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:50:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:52:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A World of Ways to Say 'Islamic Law'
Message-ID: <20050313135049.17A9721F1F3@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WEEK IN REVIEW | March 13, 2005

A World of Ways to Say 'Islamic Law'
By DAVID ROHDE

The question of whether Islamic law and democracy can co-exist in Iraq may determine how well the country holds together.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/weekinreview/13rohd.html?ex=1111381200&en=7e3360148040c112&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:51:06 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:52:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Hezbollah Leader's New Fray: Lebanese
	Politics
Message-ID: <20050313135107.730C01645A7@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 13, 2005

Hezbollah Leader's New Fray: Lebanese Politics
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah organization, is making a bid for a statesman's role.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/international/13hezbollah.html?ex=1111381200&en=2e9ba6a5678a72ef&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:51:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:53:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Mr. Bush's Stealthy Tax Increase
Message-ID: <20050313135140.39F0121F21D@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 13, 2005

Editorial: Mr. Bush's Stealthy Tax Increase


President Bush is presiding over a big middle-class tax hike.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/opinion/13sun1.html?ex=1111381200&en=86678bdf8ff802b7&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:52:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:53:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Hezbollah and the Cedar Revolution
Message-ID: <20050313135202.D871D22F18A@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 13, 2005

Editorial: Hezbollah and the Cedar Revolution


To be a real political party, Hezbollah has to confirm that it intends to engage exclusively in peaceful politics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/opinion/13sun2.html?ex=1111381200&en=9d72099fa980d8a3&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:52:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:54:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: New Signs on the Arab Street
Message-ID: <20050313135242.343F79FEE2@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 13, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: New Signs on the Arab Street
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

The "Baghdad spring" will not blossom into sustainable democracy in Arab states without a broader middle class and civil society institutions to support it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/opinion/13friedman.html?ex=1111381200&en=246c5a0b67f0a148&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:56:16 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 05:58:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Dish It Out, Ladies
Message-ID: <20050313135616.136901645F9@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Always a pleasure to read...and this time its personal... Peace.


OPINION | March 13, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Dish It Out, Ladies
By MAUREEN DOWD

While a man writing a column taking on the powerful may be seen as authoritative, a woman doing the same thing may be seen as castrating.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/opinion/13dowd.html?ex=1111381200&en=1b6f2c9b6dec0470&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:59:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 06:00:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_Judge_Blocks_the_Tran?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?sfer_of_13_Detainees_From_Guant=E1namo?=
Message-ID: <20050313135915.1ED6F3880E6@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 13, 2005

Judge Blocks the Transfer of 13 Detainees From Guantánamo
By SCOTT SHANE

The government was prohibited from transferring the prisoners until a hearing could be held on their lawyers' fear that they might face torture in another country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/politics/13gitmo.html?ex=1111381200&en=866b7ef9ae5dc5ae&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 05:59:51 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 06:01:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iran Dismisses Economic Offer From the U.S.
Message-ID: <20050313135951.DBEFC21F21A@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 13, 2005

Iran Dismisses Economic Offer From the U.S.
By NAZILA FATHI

Iran reacted testily on Saturday to a statement from the United States that it should give up its nuclear program in return for economic incentives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/international/13iran.html?ex=1111381200&en=a31468e5fcaaaac2&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 06:00:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 06:01:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Hamas Will Take Part in Vote for a
	Palestinian Legislature
Message-ID: <20050313140014.323C39FE95@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 13, 2005

Hamas Will Take Part in Vote for a Palestinian Legislature
By STEVEN ERLANGER

The Hamas announcement, at a news conference in Nablus in the West Bank, is a victory for the new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/international/middleeast/13mideast.html?ex=1111381200&en=836b75a56a271804&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
-------------- next part --------------
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 13 06:00:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 06:02:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Syria Reported to Accept Demand to Pull All
	Forces From Lebanon
Message-ID: <20050313140033.F2C7B1C28D@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 13, 2005

Syria Reported to Accept Demand to Pull All Forces From Lebanon
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria agreed to carry out a resolution calling for a complete withdrawal from Lebanon, and offered to set a timetable for the pullout.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/international/middleeast/13syria.html?ex=1111381200&en=9a614a5d2f9e181d&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From bodhababe at hotmail.com  Sat Mar 12 19:41:21 2005
From: bodhababe at hotmail.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Sun Mar 13 06:37:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: ACLU Online: Rumsfeld Lawsuit,
	Death Penalty Victory and more
Message-ID: <BAY103-F3570D9C4E4F5B2CE4E1D3AAB550@phx.gbl>

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From: ACLU Online  <ACLUOnline@aclu.org>
Subject: ACLU Online: Rumsfeld Lawsuit, Death Penalty Victory and more
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:31:14 GMT
Size: 23235
Url: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050312/c4f476f7/attachment.mht
From bodhababe at hotmail.com  Sat Mar 12 19:45:54 2005
From: bodhababe at hotmail.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Sun Mar 13 06:37:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: God email
Message-ID: <BAY103-F4272CC77CBA4223549F0EBAB550@phx.gbl>

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 08:39:46 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:41:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Spain 'cracks $300m money racket'
Message-ID: <20050313_163946_084237.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Spain 'cracks $300m money racket' **
Spain cracks a $300m money-laundering racket and alleges Russian oil giant Yukos may have been involved.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4344447.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 08:40:21 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:42:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China's Hu takes overall control
Message-ID: <20050313_164021_013164.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** China's Hu takes overall control **
China's parliament approves President Hu as the head of the military, completing the transfer of power.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4344547.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From lindahassler at sbcglobal.net  Sun Mar 13 08:40:17 2005
From: lindahassler at sbcglobal.net (Linda Hassler)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:42:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] You are what you read
Message-ID: <89c4803b45e35daaeb869e97562bef16@sbcglobal.net>


> Hi,? Just thought you might enjoy this?
>
> You are what you read
> ?
> 1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
>
> 2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the 
> country.
>
> 3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the
> country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
>
> 4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country 
> ?but
> don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like 
> their
> statistics shown in pie charts.
>
>  5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running 
> ?the
> country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to 
> leave
> Southern California to do it.
>
> 6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the 
> country
> and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
> ?
> 7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure ?who's
> running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a 
> ?seat
> on the train.
>
> 8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running 
> ?the
> country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably 
> while
> intoxicated.
>
>  9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country 
> but
> need the baseball scores.
>
> 10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure 
> there is a
> country ... or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all 
> that
> they stand for. There are occasional! excepti ons if the leaders are
> handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be 
> illegal
> aliens from any other country or galaxy provided, of course, that they 
> are
> not Republicans.
>
>  11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the 
> ?grocery
> store.
>
> 12. None of these are read by the guy who is running the country into 
> the
> ground.
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 08:41:39 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:43:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: How China is changing Hollywood
Message-ID: <20050313_164139_031697.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
Hero is basically the same story as Emperor and the Assassin

** How China is changing Hollywood **
Hollywood films are increasingly showing  influences from Chinese pictures, says director Zhang Yimou.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/film/4332841.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 08:42:55 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:44:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Argentina expels Chile cult head
Message-ID: <20050313_164255_049501.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Argentina expels Chile cult head **
Argentina deports a former Nazi to Chile, where he is wanted on charges of sexually abusing children.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4344503.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 08:43:33 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:45:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Cold exposes Afghanistan's broken promises
Message-ID: <20050313_164333_093647.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Cold exposes Afghanistan's broken promises **
Journalist Ahmed Rashid says the rash of deaths in Afghanistan's severe winter exposes the poor infrastructure.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4310863.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 08:46:07 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:47:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Scientist attacks bird flu plans
Message-ID: <20050313_164607_097725.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Scientist attacks bird flu plans **
A leading scientist attacks government plans for tackling a bird flu pandemic and says two million Britons could die.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/4345079.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 08:46:30 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:48:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China begins HIV vaccine trials
Message-ID: <20050313_164630_030219.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** China begins HIV vaccine trials **
China starts human trials of a new HIV vaccine, testing it first on a 20-year-old volunteer.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4344629.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 08:55:32 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 08:57:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China 'ripe' for media explosion
Message-ID: <20050313_165532_080441.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** China 'ripe' for media explosion **
Analysts say the time is ripe for foreign media groups to tap China's huge new media market potential.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/technology/4341413.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 09:00:56 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun Mar 13 09:02:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: GDR athletes sue over steroid damage
Message-ID: <20050313_170056_065860.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** GDR athletes sue over steroid damage **
A big group of former East German athletes is suing drug company Jenapharm over damage they sustained under the country's doping programme.  
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4341045.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

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webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar 13 09:45:55 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sun Mar 13 09:47:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Charles Chibitty
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV10CBEBB272317EB7B1FFB4AB550@phx.gbl>

Yesterday I sent an e-mail regarding Charles Chibitty last Comanche Code Taker living at age 82 who had been made a ward of the state in Oklahoma... The reason it was asked to communicate was Charles is a very social person and just has had a toe amputated because of diabetes so his health is poor and he does not have many visitors, so it  is desirable to have folks come by to visit. He would love to have a chance to play the drum and dance and some good traditional food such as fry bread would also help to get him eating again... His room is sparse as well.

If you go to Google and put in his name and click images you may see many pictures and stories of him with his beautiful long white hair, medals and regalia.

Charles Chibitty
Maplewood Care Center, Rm #45
Tulsa, OK #74136-2119

peace,
barbara

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun Mar 13 11:01:28 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Sun Mar 13 11:03:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Walmart
Message-ID: <QjBLUUFBRylISytLNCosOTQ4ODE0@Dragon>

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 13 11:06:39 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 13 11:08:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Cry for Freedom in the U.S. Senate
Message-ID: <BE59CF3F.1F1FE%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    A Cry for Freedom in the U.S. Senate
    By Senator Robert Byrd
    t r u t h o u t | Statement

    Thursday 10 March 2005

    Senator Byrd delivered the following remarks in the Senate, urging his
colleagues to back away from the so-called "nuclear option" that would
stifle debate first on judicial nominees, and then, perhaps, on all
legislation.

    "Freedom is a fragile thing and never more than one generation away from
extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and
defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.
Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again." -
Ronald Reagan

    I rise today to discuss freedom. Not the grandiose world-wide "freedom
talk" one hears so much of. No. Not far-flung foreign policy goals. Rather
my concern today is preserving our freedoms right in our own backyard here
at home. Freedom, like a good garden, needs constant tending. One must watch
for the worms in the wood. As Wendell Phillips, the abolitionist, orator,
and columnist once said, "Eternal Vigilance is the price of liberty." One
must pay the price if one wants the blessing.

    In a culture where sports metaphors are more common public parlance than
historical analogies, our unique form of government, carefully restraining
powers while protecting rights, presents a special challenge to maintain.
The "winning is everything" philosophy so beloved by Americans may, without
careful balance, obscure the goal of justice for all that must be the aim of
a representative democracy. Demeaning minority views, characterizing
opposition as obstructionist, these are first steps down the dark alley of
subjugating rights.

    Majorities can prevail by numerical force; they do not need protection
from minorities. Yet, some would have us believe that minority voices
threaten the larger public good in the case of presidential judicial
appointments. The opposite is true. It is minorities who are most in
jeopardy without fairness from the Federal bench. The persecuted, the
disadvantaged, the poor, the downtrodden - - these are the very citizens who
need the strong protection of an unbiased legal system. Appointees to the
Federal Bench should be scrutinized for traces of ideological rigidity, or
allegiance to political movements which could cloud impartial judgment. I,
for one, do not favor activist judges of any stripe. I do not think that the
proper role for a judge is to make new law from the bench, and my own
preference is usually for strict Constitutionalists. "Conservative" judges
can hold activist views just as can "liberal" judges. Such labels tell us
very little. What we should strive for on the Federal bench is blind
justice, that is justice absent a political agenda.

    Judicial appointments must never be a "sure thing" for the bench, simply
because they please the majority party, whether that majority is Democratic
or Republican. Federal judges enjoy life tenure, making decisions of huge
importance to the lives and livelihoods of our citizens. They are
accountable to no one and no President can fire them. It is ridiculous to
suggest that mere superiority of numbers in the Senate should, alone,
guarantee confirmation. Such a claim reduces the Constitutional advice and
consent function of the Senate to a pro forma rubber stamping of
presidential judicial appointments, whenever the President's party controls
the Senate. We are talking about a separate branch of the Federal government
here which wields tremendous power. There is no God-given right to a seat on
the Federal bench. Should a minority have only the recourse of delay to
defeat a judicial candidate of concern, that minority is well within its
rights to filibuster. In fact, they would be derelict in their duty if they
did not. There is no shortage of candidates for the Federal bench. Another
name can always be offered. Our aim should be to select excellent judges
acceptable across a wide spectrum of political views.

    There was a time in this country when men and women of opposite
political parties could reason together to achieve such goals. There was a
time when the concerns of honorable men and women serving in this Senate
received the respect of fellow members of the Senate, even though they were
in the minority. Now, I am very sorry to observe, the Senate and the country
are so polarized and politicized that nearly all dissent is discarded as
obstructionist and politically motivated. Get out of the way is the cry. Few
take the time to consider other views. If 41 members of the Senate have
objections to any judicial candidate, perhaps those objections should be
heeded. Perhaps that nominee should not serve. Perhaps the minority is
right.

    Senate service often reminds me of a game of "red rover." We line up
like two opposing camps and run as hard as we can at each other to score
points. The talk show mavens keep the fires fanned, and through the din
honest discourse is nearly impossible. I worry about a country whose major
political pastime is not finding compromise, but seeking conflict. The
people are not well-served. The courage to speak out about one's convictions
is in scarcer and scarcer supply. Where are the 21st century's profiles in
courage? President John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize winning book, Profiles
in Courage, lionized public servants who did not fear to stand alone, like
Senator George Norris of Nebraska.

    From 1806 to 1917, there was no ability to invoke cloture in the Senate.
But, in 1917 a cloture rule passed after a filibuster by twelve determined
Senators who opposed U.S. intervention in World War I. That debate began
when President Wilson asked Congress for the authority to arm U.S. merchant
ships against Germany. The House of Representatives passed Wilson's bill -
the "Armed Ship" bill - by a vote of 403 to 13. But a handful of determined
United States Senators who opposed U.S. intervention in World War I,
including Republican George W. Norris of Nebraska, launched a filibuster
with far-reaching consequences. George Norris' filibuster killed President
Wilson's bill, though Wilson resurrected its contents by Executive Order
shortly after the filibuster ended.

    Nebraskans and in fact, the entire nation, were consumed with rage at
George Norris because of public disclosures that Germany had promised Mexico
several U.S. states if Mexico would align itself with Germany in war against
the United States.

    The New York Times called Norris and others, "perverse and disloyal
obstructionists," and editorialized that, "the odium of treasonable purpose
will rest upon their names forevermore." The Hartford Courant called them,
"political tramps." The New York Sun called them "a group of moral
perverts." The Providence Journal called their action "little short of
treason," and the Portland Free Press said they should be "driven from
public life."

    Senator George W. Norris, this Nebraskan from the heart of America,
suffered merciless abuse, vicious invective, and public scorn, tarred by
public sentiment, savaged by a strident press in the grip of a public filled
with hate of Germany at the start of World War I. Yet, he was and is an
American hero.

    George Norris was "fearful of the broad grant of authority" that
President Wilson sought to go to war, and "resentful of the manner in which
that authority was being ?steam rolled' through the Congress." How history
repeats itself.

    In Senator Norris' words:

    I will not . . . even at the behest of a unanimous constituency, violate
my oath of office by voting in favor of a proposition that means the
surrender by Congress of its sole right to declare war. . . I am, however,
so firmly convinced of the righteousness of my course that I believe if the
intelligence and patriotic citizenship of the country can only have an
opportunity to hear both sides of the question, all the money in Christendom
and all the political machinery that wealth can congregate will not be able
to defeat the principle of government for which our forefathers fought.

    When George Norris went home to explain why he had filibustered in the
face of universal criticism, he sought an open meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska.
"I had expected an unfriendly audience," Norris wrote. "And," he said, "it
was with some fear that I stepped forward. When I stepped out on the stage,
there was a deathlike silence," he said.

    Senator Norris began, President Kennedy tells us, by stating simply: "I
have come home to tell you the truth."

    After more than an hour, the crowd in Lincoln, Nebraska, Kennedy wrote,
roared its approval.

    Many have written extensively - and with legitimate fear - of what could
happen if men without the courage of their convictions simply sat back and
let themselves be swept away by a powerful majority, including George Orwell
writing of the horrors of power run rampant, of a world run by "thought
police," who seek to control not just information, but the speech and
thoughts of every individual citizen. In 1984, Orwell recorded what life
would be like under the thumb of Big Brother, with no autonomy of thought or
speech. George Orwell's fictional warning against Big Brother should
encourage us all to ponder, cherish, and protect our precious freedom to
think and speak freely. And the means to that end is protecting the right to
dissent. Orwell said of liberty, "If liberty means anything at all, it means
the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." That right will be
in jeopardy if a misguided attempt to eliminate the filibuster succeeds.

    Robert Caro, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his renowned book about
Lyndon Johnson, made Orwell's point in a letter to the Senate Rules
Committee in June 2003. "Many times in America's history, the right of
extended debate has been used to defend causes with which I profoundly
disagree. . ." "Nonetheless," he said, "great care should be taken in
placing new restrictions on that right. Senators who are considering doing
so should understand that they will be taking a step that has significant
implications for the balance of powers created under the Constitution, and
also for another very fundamental concern in a democracy: the balance
between majority and minority rights."

    Caro stressed that the Framers gave the Senate strong protections from
transient public passions or executive pressure, and that the Constitutional
Convention kept the Senate small, so that it would have, in Madison's words,
less propensity "to yield to the impulse of sudden and violent passions, and
to be secluded by factious leaders into intemperate and pernicious
resolutions." Madison believed that, ". . . there are more instances of the
abridgement of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of
those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." Madison was right.

    The loss of freedom will not come as a thunderclap. Rather, if it goes,
it will slip silently away from us, little by little, like so many grains of
sand sliding softly through an hour glass. The curbing of speech in the
Senate on judicial nominations will most certainly evolve to an eventual
elimination of the right of extended debate. And that will spur intimidation
and the steady withering of dissent. An eagerness to win - win elections,
win every judicial nomination, overpower enemies, real or imagined, with
brute force - holds the poison seeds of destruction of free speech and
decimation of minority rights. The ultimate perpetrator of tyranny in this
world is the urge by the powerful to prevail at any cost. A free forum where
the minority can rise to loudly call a halt to the ambitions of an over
zealous majority must be maintained. We must never surrender that forum, the
United States Senate, to the tyranny of any majority.'

    This House is a sanctuary; a citadel of law, of order, and of liberty;
and it is here - it is here, in this exalted refuge; here, if anywhere, will
resistance be made to the storms of political phrensy and the silent arts of
corruption; and if the Constitution be destined ever to perish by the
sacrilegious hands of the demagogue or the usurper, which God avert, its
expiring agonies will be witnessed on this floor. - Aaron Burr, March 2,
1805

    The so called nuclear option, if successful, will begin the slow and
agonizing death spiral of freedom and speech and dissent and it will be
witnessed on this Floor.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Sun Mar 13 10:49:03 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sun Mar 13 11:18:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: MSNBC - Iran defiant in face of united U.S.,
	EU approach
In-Reply-To: <000901c5271f$06eea620$18161aac@esedona.net>
Message-ID: <200503131918.j2DJICCa025643@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat Mar 12 11:41:21 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun Mar 13 12:35:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Baghdad Burning:  Iraqi woman' weblog, latest chapter
Message-ID: <200503132035.j2DKZZjY025922@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


?Girl Blogger?s Baghdad Burning


    ... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can 
    heal and souls can mend...
Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Chalabi for the Nobel Peace Prize...
We woke up this morning to a huge explosion. I was actually awake 
and just lying there, staring at the ceiling, trying to decide if today would 
be a good day to go shopping for some things we need in the house. 
Suddenly, there was a loud blast and the house shuddered 
momentarily. In a second I was standing in front of the window in my 
room, hands pressed to the cool glass. I couldn?t really see anything, 
but the sky seemed overcast. 

I rushed downstairs to find E. and my mother standing in the kitchen 
doorway, trying to see beyond the houses immediately in front of our 
own. ?Where did it happen?? I asked E. He shrugged his shoulders 
indicating he couldn?t tell either. We later learned it was a large 
garbage truck of explosives in front of Sadeer Hotel, a hotel famous for 
hosting foreign contractors- some of a dubious/mysterious reputation. 
It?s said that the foreign security contractors stay at the hotel, like 
former South African mercenaries, etc. Since the hotel is quite far from 
our home, we assume it was a very large explosion. Immediately 
afterwards, black plumes of smoke began to drift into the sky. 

I got an interesting email today telling me about an internet petition to 
nominate Sistani, of all people, for the Nobel Peace Prize. That had 
me laughing and a little bit incredulous. Why should Sistani get the 
Nobel Peace Prize? Because he urged his followers to vote for a list 
that wants to implement an Iranian-styled government in Iraq? Is that 
what the Nobel Peace Prize has come to? 

Someone once told me that they thought Sistani was responsible for 
the fact that civil war didn?t break out in Iraq. That?s garbage. Sistani 
has no influence over Sunnis and he also has little influence over many 
Shia. Civil war hasn?t broken out in Iraq because Iraqis are being 
tolerant and also because we?re very tired. It?s like we spent our lives in 
conflict with someone or another, and being in conflict with each other 
is not the most tempting option right now. Sistani is an Iranian cleric 
quietly pushing a frightening agenda and we're feeling the pressure of 
it every day.

If ANYONE should get the Nobel Peace Prize, it should be my favorite 
Puppet- Ahmed Chalabi. No, really- stop laughing. Ahmed Chalabi is 
the one Iraqi politician we can all agree on. Iraqi political debates were 
never pretty. Lately, they?ve been worse than ever. I think, to a certain 
degree, we don?t really know how to debate. Sometimes, a debate will 
begin over a subject both debating parties actually agree upon and 
then it will escalate into a full-blown yelling match. It never fails to 
happen with politics. 

A debate will usually begin about two current parties or politicians- say 
Allawi and Jaffari. Someone will say something like, ?Well it?s too bad 
Allawi didn?t win
 Now we?re stuck with that Da?awachi Jaffari
? 
Someone else will answer with, ?Oh please- Allawi is completely 
American. We?ll never have our independence if he gets power.? A few 
more words will be exchanged in a ?debating? tone of voice. The voices 
will get sharper and someone will drudge up accusations
 In no time 
it turns into a full-scale political brawl with an underlying religious 
intonation. No one knows just how it happens- how that frightening 
thing that is an Iraqi political debate develops and escalates so quickly.

At some point there is silence. This is the point when both sides are 
convinced that the other one is completely inane and ridiculously 
intractable. It?s sort of a huffy silence, with rolling eyes and lips drawn 
into thin slits of scorn. 

I?ve learned the best way to mediate these arguments is to let them 
develop into what they will. Let the yellers yell, the shouters shout and 
the name-calling and innuendos ensue. The important part is the end- 
how to allow the debating parties to part friends or relatives, or (at the 
very least) to make sure they do not part sworn enemies for life. It?s 
simple, no matter what their stand is, all you have to do is get a couple 
of words in towards the end. The huffy silence at the end of the debate 
must be subtly taken advantage of and the following words murmured 
as if the thought just occurred that moment: 

?You know who?s really bad? Ahmed Chalabi. He?s such a lowlife and 
villain.? 

Voila. Like magic the air clears, eyebrows are raised in agreement and 
all arguing parties suddenly unite to confirm this very valid opinion with 
nodding heads, somewhat strained laughter and charming anecdotes 
about his various press appearances and ridiculous sense of fasion. 
We?re all friends again, and family once more. We?re all lovey-dovey 
Iraqis who can agree nicely with each other. In short, we are at peace 
with each other and the world
 

And that is why Ahmed Chalabi deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

- posted by river @ 9:01 PM 
Tuesday, March 08, 2005


You want a rabbit?
We are relieved the Italian journalist was set free. I, personally, was 
very happy. Iraqis are getting abducted these days by the dozen, but it 
still says something else about the country when foreigners are 
abducted. Iraqis have a fierce sense of hospitality that can border on 
the obnoxious sometimes. When people come to our houses, we insist 
they have something to drink and then we insist they stay for whatever 
meal is coming- even if its four hours away. We cringe when 
journalists and aide workers are abducted because it gives us the 
sense that we?re bad hosts.

People are always wondering why they abduct journalists, and other 
innocents. I think its because the lines are all blurred right now. It?s 
difficult to tell who is who. Who is a journalist, for example, and who is 
foreign intelligence? Who is a mercenary and who is an aide worker? 
People are somewhat more reluctant to talk to foreigners than they 
were at the beginning. 

The irony of the situation lay in the fact that Sgrena was probably safer 
with her abductors than she was with American troops. It didn?t come 
as a surprise to hear her car was fired at. Was it done on purpose? It?s 
hard to tell. I can?t think why they would want to execute Giuliana 
Sgrena and her entourage, but then on the other hand, I can?t think 
how it could have possibly happened that they managed to fire that 
many rounds at a car carrying Italian intelligence officers and a 
journalist (usually they save those rounds for Iraqi families in cars). 

There really is no good excuse for what happened. I?ve been racking 
my brain trying to figure out what the Pentagon will say short of an 
admission that it was either on purpose or that the soldiers who fired at 
the car were drunk or high on something
 

I have a feeling it will be the usual excuse, ?The soldiers who almost 
killed the journalist were really, really frightened. They?ve been under 
lots of pressure.? But see, Iraqis are frightened and under pressure 
too- we don?t go around accidentally killing people. We?re expected to 
be very level-headed and sane in the face of chaos. 

I wager that this little incident will be shoved aside with one of those 
silly Pentagon apologies that don?t really sound like apologies, you 
know: ?It was an unfortunate incident, but Sgrena shouldn?t have been 
in Iraq in the first place. Journalists should stay safely in their own 
countries and listen for our daily military statements telling them 
democracy is flourishing and Iraqis are happy.? 

I don?t understand why Americans are so shocked with this incident. 
Where is the shock? That Sgrena?s car was under fire? That 
Americans killed an Italian security agent? After everything that 
occurred in Iraq- Abu Ghraib, beatings, torture, people detained for 
months and months, the stealing, the rape
 is this latest so very 
shocking? Or is it shocking because the victims weren?t Iraqi? 

I?m really glad she?s home safe but at the same time, the whole 
situation is somewhat painful. It hurts because thousands of Iraqis 
have died at American checkpoints or face to face with a tank or 
Apache and beyond the occasional subtitle on some obscure news 
channel, no one knows about it and no one cares. It just hurts a little 
bit. 

The event of the week occurred last Wednesday and I was surprised it 
wasn?t covered by the Western press. It?s not that big a deal, but it 
enraged people in Baghdad and it can also give a better picture of 
what has been going on with our *heroic* National Guard. There was 
an explosion on Wednesday in Baghdad and the wounded were all 
taken to Yarmuk Hospital, one of the larger hospitals in Baghdad. The 
number of wounded were around 30- most of them National Guard. In 
the hospital, it was chaos- patients wounded in this latest explosion, 
patients from other explosions and various patients from gunshot 
wounds, etc. The doctors were running around everywhere, trying to 
be in four different places at once.

Apparently, there weren?t enough beds. Many of the wounded were in 
the hallways and outside of the rooms. The stories vary. One doctor 
told me that some of the National Guard began screaming at the 
doctors, telling them to ignore the civilians and tend to the wounds of 
the Guard. A nurse said that the National Guard who weren?t wounded 
began pulling civilians out of the beds and replacing them with 
wounded National Guard. The gist of it is generally the same; the 
doctors refused the idea of not treating civilians and preferring the 
National Guard over them and suddenly a fight broke out. The doctors 
threatened a strike if the National Guard began pulling the civilians out 
of beds. 

The National Guard decided the solution to the crisis would be the 
following- they?d gather up some of the doctors and nurses and beat 
them in front of the patients. So several doctors were rounded up and 
attacked by several National Guard (someone said there was liberal 
use of electric batons and the butts of some Klashnikovs). 

The doctors decided to go on strike. 

It?s difficult to consider National Guardsmen as heroes with the image 
of them beating doctors in white gowns in ones head. It?s difficult to 
see them as anything other than expendable Iraqis with their main 
mission being securing areas and cities for Americans. 

It seems that Da?awa Party?s Jaffari is going to be the Prime Minister 
and Talbani is going to get the decorative position of president. It has 
been looking like this since the elections. There is talk of giving our 
token Sunni Ghazi Al Yawir some high-profile position like National 
Assembly spokesperson. The gesture is meant to appease the Sunni 
masses but it isn?t going to do that because it?s not about Sunnis and 
Shia. It?s about occupation and Vichy governments. They all look the 
same to us.

What it seems policy makers in America don?t get, and what I suspect 
many Americans themselves *do* get, is that millions of Iraqis feel 
completely detached from the current people in power. If you don?t 
have an alliance with one of the political parties (ie under their 
protection or on their payroll) then it?s difficult to feel any affinity with 
people like Jaffari, Allawi, Talbani, etc. We watch them on television, 
tight-lipped and shifty-eyed after a meeting where they quarreled about 
Kirkuk or Sharia in the constitution and it feels like what I imagine an 
out-of-body experience should feel like. 

In spite of elections, they still feel like puppets. But now, they are high-
tech puppets. They were upgraded from your ordinary string puppets 
to those life-like, battery-powered, talking puppets. It?s almost like 
we?re doing that whole rotating president thing Bremer did in 2003 all 
over again. The same faces are getting tedious. The old Iraqi saying 
sums it up nicely, ?Tireed erneb- ukhuth erneb. Tireed ghazal- ukhuth 
erneb.? The translation for this is, ?You want a rabbit? Take a rabbit. 
You want a deer? Take a rabbit.? 

Except we didn?t get any rabbits- we just got an assortment of snakes, 
weasels and hyenas.

Check out Imad Khadduri's blog- he has some great links about the 
Italian journalist.

- posted by river @ 2:34 PM

***


-- 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 13 12:35:52 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 13 12:37:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tomgram: Greenberg on the Legal War on Terror at Home
Message-ID: <BE59E428.1F20C%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Tomgram: Greenberg on the Legal War on Terror at Home

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2256

In the rush of recent news about renditions, extraordinary renditions, the
beating to death and systematic abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan, the
holding of children as young as 11 in Abu Ghraib prison, the desire of
Donald Rumsfeld to transfer large numbers of prisoners in Guant?namo back to
their countries of origin, and other tales of detention mayhem, a piece
tucked away in the crease column, deep inside last Tuesday's New York Times,
was easy enough to overlook. According to Neil A. Lewis (U.S. Eroding
Inmates' Trust at Cuba Base, Lawyers Say), "Defense lawyers for detainees at
Guant?namo Bay, Cuba, say the military has been working to undermine the
inmates' trust in them."

The Guant?namo authorities have, prisoners claim, sent in lawyer-act-alikes
in civvies to question them (and take away their papers), punished them in
various small ways after they conferred with their actual lawyers, and "in
one case, a lawyer said, a military interrogator recently told a detainee
that he should not trust his lawyers because they are Jews." Here's the full
passage on that gem, which could have come directly out of Saudi Arabia:

    "Mr. Wilner [a defense lawyer] said that when he interviewed a Kuwaiti,
a 28-year-old whom he declined to name, the man told him that his
interrogator was a young woman known to him as Meghan. He described her as
attractive and blond with shoulder-length hair and said she had engaged in
the kind of flirtatious techniques that have been the basis of accusations
that female interrogators have tried to flaunt themselves sexually? ?She
told him several times not to trust his lawyers,' Mr. Milner said. He said
she told the detainee that he would be tortured if he returned to Kuwait.
When the detainee said his lawyer had told him otherwise, she replied:
?Don't trust your lawyers. Don't you know they're Jews?'"

Lt. Col. Brad K. Blackner, spokesman for the joint task force that runs the
detention center, has denied that any of this took place, adding, "We are
not going to respond in the media to every claim [by a defense lawyer]?
Where appropriate, those matters will be addressed as part of the litigation
process." Given that the wildest prisoner stories seeping out of Guant?namo
over the years (like women interrogators smearing menstrual blood ?
evidently red ink or paint ? on Muslim prisoners as an act of intended
humiliation) proved accurate and the calmest of denials from American
officials proved false, I think it's clear enough who should be believed in
this case. It's a small reminder of a basic attitude towards lawyers, the
law, and the courts that's imprisoned deep in the heart of this
administration. A sense of impunity -- an old-fashioned but useful word --
rules the thinking of its officials; legalities that stand in their way are
seen as essentially contemptible.

Karen J. Greenberg, who runs NYU's Center on Law and Security and is
co-author of a monumental volume, The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu
Ghraib, offers below a run-down on the Bush administration's over-hyped,
less-than-striking legal battle with terrorism in our courts and suggests
that that sense of impunity and contempt has worked its way deep into the
Department of Justice's efforts to deal with terrorism here. (The FBI, by
the way, recently suggested that maybe the al-Qaeda version of terrorism
wasn't exactly a major presence in this country.) It's not surprising then
that what Greenberg calls "a pale version" of the coercive methods of
Guant?namo has already found its way into the Justice Department's process
of plea bargaining with the various small-fry suspects it has managed to
pick up in this country. Anyone who believes that Americans can use
Guant?namo and Abu Ghraib methods abroad, safe from all versions of them at
home, is living in his or her own bubble. Tom

    The Courts and the War on Terror
    By Karen J. Greenberg

    On the eve of his departure from office, Attorney General John Ashcroft
boasted, "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and
terror has been achieved." In this, he echoed a drumbeat of announcements by
top officials who have repeatedly proclaimed that, when it came to the war
on terror, the administration was succeeding in the courts as well as on the
battlefield. As President Bush declared in a speech to the FBI Academy in
September 2003, "We've thwarted terrorists in Buffalo and Seattle, in
Portland, Detroit, North Carolina and Tampa, Florida."

    In fact, looked at with a cold eye, the administration's record of
convictions in terrorism cases is remarkably inconsequential. Although it is
extremely difficult to obtain reliable information on such cases, the facts,
as best we know them, are these: Of the 120 terrorism cases recorded on
Findlaw, the major information source for legal cases of note, the initial
major charges leveled have resulted in only two actual terrorism convictions
-- both in a single case, that of Richard Reid, the notorious shoe bomber.
Of 18 actual charges of "terrorism" brought between September 2001 and
October 2004, 15 are still pending and one was dismissed. In lieu of
convictions for terrorist acts, the Justice Department uses another related,
lesser charge ? that of "material support," which means providing aid or
services to a terrorist or a terrorist organization. Its extreme breadth and
over-inclusiveness has rendered it the fallback charge of choice and a
catch-all for anything from having trained in an Al Qaeda camp in
Afghanistan back in the 1990s (when Al Qaeda's focus was the war in Bosnia
and other places outside of the United States) to weapons training, or even
the exceedingly modest category of producing fraudulent documents, so long
as they are knowingly provided to a designated "foreign terrorist
organization."

    But what of the six cases of "terrorism convictions," material support
or otherwise, that the President himself hailed as the benchmarks of the
administration's courtroom success story? As it happens, five resulted from
questionable plea bargains, often on lesser charges, not necessarily closely
related to terrorism, and one has yet to be tried. Only in the Detroit case
has there been an actual conviction for "terrorism," (albeit material
support for terrorism), and that case has since been overturned in a manner
embarrassing to the Bush administration.

    When the plea bargains are considered in their own right, their apparent
circumstances should cause the odd eyebrow to be raised. After all, over
half of all terrorism cases tried so far have resulted in plea bargains. The
Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that such pleas are offered in exchange
for important information in the war on terrorism and spokespersons at the
DOJ invariably maintain that, as in criminal cases generally, these have
yielded invaluable information. Yet despite the implementation of the
Patriot Act and the re-organization of our law enforcement efforts to fight
terrorism, the yield seems neither better, nor worse than that which existed
prior to 9/11.

    Let's just consider the five already tried cases that the President
cited. In most of them, the evidence seems to show that the use of plea
bargains had a good deal less to do with getting crucial "terror"
information than with getting convictions on the books in situations where a
conviction at trial might have proved difficult indeed. In the Buffalo case,
the defendants -- known as the Lackawanna Six ? were initially accused of
belonging to an "al-Qaeda sleeper cell," but instead ended up pleading to
material support charges.

    What's especially interesting here, however, is the way in which some of
those plea bargains seem to have been achieved. According to defense
attorneys, the defendants were threatened with the prospect of being
classified as "unlawful combatants," the new Bush-administration-defined
status which entails imprisonment without end as well as the loss of the
right to a lawyer and to communicate with anyone in the outside world. Nor
did these appear to be idle threats. There were frightful precedents. The
administration had seen no reason for restraint, for example, when, in 2002,
it labeled Jose Padilla and Yasser Esam Hamdi, both American citizens, as
"enemy combatants" and placed them in military detention and (so far) beyond
the reach of the law. (Just last week, U.S. District Judge Henry Floyd ruled
that the Department of Justice has 45 days to charge Padilla, jailed in the
spring of 2002, or release him.)

    Although we have no way of knowing how many domestic suspects have been
threatened with enemy-combatant status and so with the possibility of being
placed indefinitely in a black hole of detention, several defense attorneys
have gone on record with similar stories in which the DOJ used warnings
about potential enemy-combatant status as leverage for obtaining cooperation
in a plea. Allegedly responding to such threats, Lyman Faris, who was
accused in 2003 of threatening to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge, pled guilty
to immigration fraud. Days later, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who had been
arrested in 2001 on charges of document fraud, refused to plea bargain,
virtually daring authorities to reclassify him as an enemy combatant. He
was, in fact, then placed in military custody without access to a lawyer,
where he remains today, a potent symbol for any defendant or defense lawyer
who cares to look.

    The use of such "leverage" -- itself completely outside the normal
justice system -- would at any other moment have qualified as an obvious
kind of extra-legal coercion. While plea bargains are certainly useful tools
with which prosecutors can obtain information, the question needs to be
asked: If there is coercion, can whatever information is obtained be
trusted? Or are we here facing a very pale version of the more directly
coercive and illegal methods used against alleged terrorists at our
detention centers in Guantanamo and other places not on American soil?

    Of note also is the failure of DOJ prosecutors to tie many of these
cases directly to terrorism. In the Portland case, for instance, seven men
were arrested on material support charges. Two of the men, Patrice Lumumba
Ford and Jeffrey Leon Battle, were the main focus of the government's
indictments. "Evidence" came largely from secret FISA (Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act) warrants. FISA and its secret courts were originally
designed to regulate the FBI's spying by distinguishing between
counterintelligence operations and persecution of the government's political
opponents.

    The Patriot Act and post-9/11 court decisions have, in effect,
eliminated the requirement that FISA surveillance -- wiretapping, searches,
and otherwise -- be primarily for intelligence-gathering as opposed to
criminal investigatory purposes. By jettisoning that standard, Congress and
the courts now permit the government to avoid the strictures of the Fourth
Amendment and ordinary wiretap statutes by simply declaring anything, no
matter how flimsy or marginal, is for intelligence purposes. Indeed, under
the new standards, FISA warrants have mushroomed at an alarming rate; and
the public sees only the tip of the iceberg, since FISA warrants and their
fruits never see the light of day unless they are used in a criminal
prosecution -- which represent only an infinitesimal fraction of the total
number of FISA wiretaps and searches.

    Nonetheless, government prosecutors, evidently worried that new
post-9/11 Bush administration rules extending FISA requests to terrorism
cases might sooner or later be challenged as unconstitutional, again offered
plea bargains. The defendants agreed. Terrorism-related charges against
Battle and Ford were dropped and each was sentenced not to life for
"terrorism," but to 18 years for "treason"; the other five defendants pled
on lesser charges. Despite the convictions, the administration failed, as it
had failed in the Lackawanna case, to link the accused directly to a
terrorist conspiracy.

    The Detroit case, hailed at one point as the ultimate showpiece in the
legal war on terror, now stands as the greatest rebuke to the Bush
administration's prosecution of alleged domestic terrorists. In June 2003,
four Arab men were convicted of providing material support for terrorism and
of conspiring to engage in fraud or the misuse of visas, permits, and other
documents. Their conviction was, however, overturned in July 2004, on the
grounds that the prosecution had blatantly withheld exculpatory evidence
from the defense -- in this case, a videotape and photos. Though the
government is currently once again trying to prosecute two of the
defendants, it is doing so on the lesser charge of "insurance fraud."

    The kinds of mistakes prosecutors have made in cases billed as important
to national security may or may not have been intentionally fraudulent, but
they certainly suggest signs of administration frustration with the very
idea of using the courts to combat terror. How regularly, we should ask, are
prosecutors rushing into court without solid cases, pressured to get results
in a manner similar to the way the Pentagon pressured the military to obtain
information from detainees in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib? Has a fear of being
accused of incompetence in the war on terror merely led to more
incompetence?

    In only one of the President's cases, as far as we know, did significant
information come from the plea bargaining process. In the Seattle case,
James Earnest Thompson, who goes by the name Earnest James Ujaama, was
alleged to have attended al Qaeda training camps and indicted on charges of
conspiring to set up an al Qaeda terrorist training camp in Oregon. In the
end, he pleaded guilty on the lesser charges of bringing money, computer
equipment, and a recruit to the Taliban. His plea was entered in exchange
for his cooperation in terrorism investigations. In particular, he is
alleged to have given evidence on al-Masri, a terrorism suspect being held
in British custody.

    Overall, despite all the hype, the Department of Justice's record in
terrorism cases is unimpressive indeed and even that record now faces a new
hurdle -- if information, however paltry, has been gained from suspects by
illegal coercion or, in the case, of suspects held abroad, through torture,
it may prove inadmissible in future court cases against other suspects. This
will be yet another setback in the legal confrontation with terrorism.

    Perhaps this paltry and flawed record can be explained by the
administration's well known lack of belief in the importance of law
enforcement in the war on terror. As Bush suggested in his last State of the
Union Address, and other top officials have emphasized elsewhere, the war on
terror is not supposed to be about law enforcement at all but about the use
of force, about taking the fight to the terrorists by whatever means are
necessary outside the United States. Another reasonable conclusion might be
that, for all the color-coded alerts we've lived through, there just aren't
that many terrorists among us -- at least not Al Qaeda related ones.

    Terrorists do indeed exist who would like to do great damage to the
United States, but convictions like those in the President's cases are
generally less than helpful in the defense against them. If anything, they
lull Americans into a false sense of security, into a sense that important
terrorists are indeed being convicted and jailed for crimes or plans of
significance. In the meantime, most of these cases represent, at best,
sloppy prosecutions; at worst, fraudulent ones. In all of them, there is a
powerful sense of apparent desperation and hype, of prosecutors flailing
about as if there were nothing more important than simply declaring, "Yes,
we have found sleeper cells; yes, there is danger in our midst; yes, we are
winning this war in the homeland."

    The fact is that the political expediency of the war on terror has
undermined the strategy of an effective pursuit of terrorists. The rush to
prosecution, the pressure to get convictions, even the holding of detainees
without charging them, speaks more to politics than to justice, more to
appearances than substance. It is time for the courts to assert their
professionalism, to prosecute alleged terrorists carefully, without a rush
to judgment, and in so doing to help the legal war on terror take its
rightful place in the annals of American jurisprudence.

    Karen J. Greenberg, coauthor of The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu
Ghraib and the Executive Director of the Center on Law and Security at the
NYU School of Law. The Center has just produced a "Terrorist Trial Report
Card."

    Copyright 2005 Karen J. Greenberg
    E-mail to a Friend

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    posted March 13, 2005 at 3:21 pm

     
             
-
     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From geomilman at milman.com  Sun Mar 13 13:40:48 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (geomilman@milman.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 13:42:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Deal to Disarm Kadafi
Message-ID: <26689835.1110750048382.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: George Milman

--------------------
The Deal to Disarm Kadafi 
--------------------

Libya's decision to hand over its banned weapons followed lengthy talks and an equipment seizure. Some see ideas for dealing with Iran.

By Douglas Frantz and Josh Meyer
Times Staff Writers

March 13 2005

LONDON &#8212; The senior British official paced his office as evening turned to night, every few minutes grabbing the telephone to dial Tripoli, the Libyan capital. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya13mar13,0,3136843.story?coll=la-home-headlines 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From geomilman at milman.com  Sun Mar 13 13:46:05 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun Mar 13 13:47:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Resurrection of Indie Radio
Message-ID: <20050313214605.D40602270CA@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

FM never sounded so good. How the coming digital boom is driving the new
golden age of multichannel, microniche broadcasting.

 <http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/radio.html>
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/radio.html

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From geomilman at milman.com  Sun Mar 13 13:51:35 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun Mar 13 13:53:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Why Your Broadband Sucks
Message-ID: <20050313215140.F32F09FD44@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

Telecom toadies (ahem, state officials) stifle competition to keep prices
high.

 

 <http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/view.html?pg=5>
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/view.html?pg=5

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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar 13 16:34:18 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 16:36:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Lobbyist's Clients Bump Into DeLay Flap
Message-ID: <26840930.1110760458922.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Lobbyist's Clients Bump Into DeLay Flap 
--------------------

Head of a conservative think tank says it received donations from an Indian tribe and a gambling company before a golf junket.

By Chuck Neubauer
Times Staff Writer

March 13 2005

WASHINGTON &#8212; Clients of a lobbyist under investigation for influence peddling donated a total of $50,000 to the conservative think tank that said it funded House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's trip to Britain in 2000, the head of that nonprofit group confirmed Saturday. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-golf13mar13,0,6221630.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Sun Mar 13 16:35:33 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun Mar 13 16:37:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. Gives a Cold Shoulder to Treaties
Message-ID: <30782896.1110760533044.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
U.S. Gives a Cold Shoulder to Treaties 
--------------------

Bush's trend of opting out of international pacts might endanger America's standing in the world and hinder global efforts, some say.

By Evelyn Iritani
Times Staff Writer

March 13 2005

When he helped pioneer an antismoking movement a decade ago, Eduardo Bianco looked to the United States for novel ways to keep young people in Uruguay from taking up cigarettes. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-treaties13mar13,0,6740192.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 13 16:52:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 13 16:54:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11138822.1110761573075.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Reassessing  Putin
 
 By Jim Hoagland
 
   Russian President Vladimir Putin's siege mentality  is deepening and pushing him to take an ever-harder line against neighbors and opponents. Western plans to moderate Putin's behavior through conciliation and engagement have failed. They should now be reassessed.
 
  Neither a crushing political defeat in Ukraine's December elections nor a friendly session of tough-love diplomacy with President Bush in Slovakia last month persuaded Putin to change tone, much less gears.
 
  The Russian leader's defiant demeanor at a joint news conference after the summit with Bush in Bratislava hinted at an assertive determination to do things his way, come what may. That mood was confirmed in blood by the killing of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov by Russian security forces on Tuesday.
 
  "This is a message to the entire region, and probably the world, that Putin will not pursue any negotiated settlement to the conflict with the Chechens," says a Washington-based diplomat from a former Soviet republic. "He has eliminated any alternative to Russian military conquest as an acceptable outcome for him."
 
  Russian forces chose to kill the surrounded Maskhadov with a grenade instead of trying to capture him. Coming only weeks after Putin's meeting with Bush, the killing is an operational setback as well as a public relations problem for Washington.
 
  It derails a subtle, behind-the-scenes effort by the Bush administration to nudge Putin toward seeking a political solution in Chechnya  --  an outcome that only Maskhadov might have been able to deliver, in the view of some U.S. officials.
 
  Maskhadov, the president of the Chechen republic's underground separatist government since 1997, portrayed himself as a willing negotiator who rejected the terrorist outrages of the brutal warlord Shamil Basayev. The Russians, however, accused Maskhadov of being a front man for Basayev and his allies in al Qaeda's terrorist network.
 
  Maskhadov's death ends that debate for all practical purposes. Both Russian dissidents and Chechen guerrillas predict that the rebellion will now be a fight to the finish that will be marked by even more horrendous terrorist acts.
 
  Bush's need for Putin's help in the global war on terrorism gave him little room to pressure the Russian on Chechnya. But Bush has been more restrained than was President Bill Clinton in backing Moscow on the issue of Chechen separatism, and the president let his aides keep lines of communication open to the Maskhadov camp.
 
  Bush's instinctive liking for Putin seems to endure: For one thing, neither of them does nuance. "One cool dude" is the way Bush described Putin to another leader shortly after first meeting him in June 2001. The Russian president is "Vladimir" when they talk and "Puty" on Bush's long list of nicknames.
 
  Before the February meeting in Bratislava, more skeptical readings of Putin circulating at the State Department had not been absorbed by the White House. That should no longer be the case.
 
  It is not just Chechnya. One leader who talked with Putin in recent weeks recounts that the Russian launched a long tirade against the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which was established in 1975 to monitor security, human rights, democracy and other issues. NATO is "a serious organization" and presents no problems for Russia, Putin said, according to the surprised European official. It is the OSCE that is intent on destabilizing Russia, interfering in its former sphere of influence by encouraging democracy in Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere, the Russian leader maintained. 
 
 This paranoia has led Putin to try to block funding for the body of 55 nations. The West must present a united front against this disastrous course and against other self-defeating lurches of retrenchment and isolation by Putin.
 
  German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is best positioned to lead in establishing and communicating to Putin U.S. and European expectations and constraints on Russian behavior. It was Schroeder who reassured Putin in December that European mediation in Ukraine was not directed against Russia and should not be opposed, according to a reliable account.
 
  But Schroeder will need strong encouragement, and perhaps prodding, from Washington, London and Paris to get him to take a firmer line with Putin. Only if Schroeder is convinced that Putin is choosing self-defeating options will the chancellor intervene.
 
  Not long before going to Bratislava, Bush asked a foreign leader two vital questions that are late in coming but nonetheless welcome. They were, as relayed to me in paraphrase: Was I too trusting in my first meeting with Putin? Did I overinvest in him?
 
  To ask those particular questions is to begin to answer them, correctly. If Putin won't change gears, Bush and his partners must.
 
 jimhoagland@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 13 16:53:52 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 13 16:55:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Hitler in the Berlin Bunker: An Eerie, Chilling 'Downfall'
 
 By Stephen Hunter
 
  "Downfall" asks three disturbing questions: How human do we want Hitler to be? How brave do we want the SS to be? And how much compassion have we for people trapped like rats on a sinking ship when they're all Nazis?
 
 In other words, it tests us on the limits of our humanity, which is why it is so eerily fascinating.
 
 It chronicles the last few days of the Thousand-Year Reich, a political entity that lasted 988 fewer years than its creators boasted. The setting, roughly, is Adolf Hitler's underground bunker in the government district of Berlin, and those nasty boys 300 yards away with all the tommy guns, they would be the Russian army.
 
 But the film, nominated for  the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this year, is surprisingly non-claustrophobic. Other variants of this material  --  "The Bunker" (1981) with Anthony Hopkins comes to mind, or "Hitler: The Last Ten Days" (1973) with Alec Guinness  --  kept the camera in the hole with the nutcase with the trembling hand, the little blot of mustache and the rapidly shrinking career prospects. It's almost always like being locked in a phone booth with Sean Penn as he explains Method acting.
 
 By contrast, Oliver Hirschbiegel's film is unexpectedly broad in the canvas it covers. It's close to being a vanished popular form, the epic, as it indeed tells the story of the downfall of Berlin in April and May of 1945. It flashes all over the dying city dynamically, visiting the Werewolf Units  --  full of 10-year-old boys turned antitank commandos  --  as well as hospitals choked with the elderly and the dying, the dangerous streets where fanatic Nazi vigilantes prowl in search of "deserters" to hang, and an on-street command post where an SS general tries to rally his troops for the hopeless fight, while he (and they) decide whether  surrender is a viable option, or only death.
 
 As a historical re-creation, it's meticulous. Only seven other viewers besides me will note the presence of the proper late-war-issue assault rifle, called an StG-44, in the hands of the German troops, a weapon that has appeared in almost no other movies. That bespeaks an attention to detail on the part of the filmmakers  that's almost pedantic, but also reassuring. One can infer from it the larger reach of accuracy in uniform, vehicle, military protocol, haircut, even web gear, which is one reason why from the very first seconds a viewer believes totally in "Downfall."
 
 But there are other reasons. Quite important is Hirschbiegel's style itself, which is restless and probing. He avoids docudrama cliches like clattering teletype announcements of time and date, or titles establishing character. His stock in trade, besides accuracy, is speed. You are simply there. Then, very quickly, you are somewhere else. It's thoroughly gripping in the way the scenes mount, the tensions accumulate; and although the ending is foreordained, it's still somehow dramatically powerful.
 
 Of course the most important reason is the brilliance of the acting, which essentially gets at the movie's moral probity. The great Swiss-German actor Bruno Ganz plays Hitler, and this surely is one of the most daunting tasks in performance. Both Guinness and Hopkins, for my money, failed. The problems are enormous: Do you make Hitler camp? He's become a parody of evil, while at the same time his gestures and uber-familiar eccentricities  --  that little smudge atop his lip, his own creepy nonchalance with the Sieg Heil salute that all the others snap out like ceremonial volleys, that baggy double-breasted brown coat he affected toward the end, the hank of hair hanging over the forehead  --  make him weirdly comic, no matter how ghastly and inappropriate that may be.
 
 Or do you make him a stock movie villain, another kind of cartoon, so over-the-top in his evil that he's unbelievable? 
 
 According to publicity materials, Ganz studied a rare recording of the conversational Hitler, and found him to be different from that herky-jerky orator with the floppy hair and the ball-bearing eyes. Modeling his performance on that recording, Ganz seems to find exactly the right pitch: His Hitler feels real and human, yet there's nothing particularly ingratiating or sentimentalized about him. We never forget who he is. Despite his kindness to secretaries (one point of view is stenographer Traudl Junge's, a role played by Alexandra Maria Lara; Junge was herself the subject of an interesting documentary, "Blind Spot," some years ago), he's a man consumed in anger and at any moment is apt to skew off on a rant on this or that traitor, to issue a snap-judgment death sentence and rescind it just as quickly; he's clearly in cloudcuckooland, believing in phantom armies and stunned when they don't follow his orders. How could they? They don't exist.
 
 The film never feels, however, like an actor's vanity project built around a performance as big as all outdoors. So unselfconscious is Ganz that you have no sense of him wanting or needing the camera's attention, and it looks everywhere, swiftly interpreting its subsidiary characters. As Eva Braun, Juliane Koehler  is brilliantly shallow. Her devotion is utter and total, but the girl just wants to jitterbug and can't help herself. She seems more like a high school cheerleader than the mistress  --  ultimately wife  --  of the world's most twisted sociopath. 
 
 Probably the best performance is by Corinna Harfouch as the terrifying Magda Goebbels. A woman of beauty and poise, a social climber of the most rigid and grotesque sort, she is able to say to her leader as he pins a little swastika on her lapel amid the shells of the red guns outside, "You have made me the happiest woman in Germany!" This is a few hours before she poisons her six children.
 
 That scene is hard to get through. For reasons unclear, Hirschbiegel does not give us the full-frontal when Hitler and Eva finish themselves off, nor Magda and her creepy husband, Joseph (played with steely intensity by Ulrich Matthes), but he stays with the death of the kids through it all, making us see Magda's resolve overcoming her love, and the craziness under her icy beauty. It's truly chilling.
 
 Perhaps the most problematic character is an SS doctor, Ernst-Guenter Schenck (played brilliantly by Christian Berkel). When one sees the double-runes, the lightning flashes, of the inner party adorning his black lapel, one's trigger finger begins to twitch. Yet it turns out that Dr. Schenck is genuinely humane and heroic: He's all over the place, bringing penicillin to cut-off hospitals, scampering through fire to deliver it, working 21-hour days in a trauma ward where he gets a crash course in wound surgery, arguing against the Nazi martyr complex in favor of mercy for civilians and the wounded.
 
 Equally, the German officers seem exceedingly professional and heroic. They're all duty guys: no deserters, just hard, practical military men stuck in a dreadful mess and aware that they are doomed and struggling to find an ethical  --  by their standards  --  way of dealing with it.
 
 And so we ask: Should we admire these people? They are genuinely heroic, caught in a genuinely tragic situation, in the crushing midst of death and chaos. The movie invites you to despise them, but somehow, you can't. How much easier if the country had been all Joes and Magdas, all Adolfs and Evas, clear mutants from normalcy. But alas, and unforgettably, as "Downfall" makes clear, most of the Nazis were human beings.
 
   Downfall (148  minutes, in German and Russian with subtitles, at Landmark's E Street and Loews Georgetown) is rated R for extremely graphic depictions of wounds, some nudity and the disturbing deaths of children.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 13 16:54:43 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 13 16:56:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 A Bankrupt 'Reform'
 
 By David S. Broder
 
    When it comes to blatant hypocrisy, nothing beats the Senate record on the just-passed bankruptcy bill.
 
  This "reform," which parades as an effort to stop folks from spending lavishly and then stiffing creditors by filing for bankruptcy protection, is a perfect illustration of how the political money system tilts the law against average Americans.
 
  The simple fact that for eight straight years it has gained a place on a crowded congressional calendar is testimony to the impact of the millions of dollars that banks and credit card companies have spent on lobbyists and campaign contributions.
 
  What happened  --  and didn't happen  --  during two weeks of Senate debate demonstrates just how the powerful exert their influence. It's all too typical of what takes place now in Washington with most issues.
 
  Few policy battles, Social Security being a current example, draw enough public and press interest for the legislators to feel real scrutiny. Most are in a netherworld where media coverage is cursory and interest groups' pressure determines the outcome. That's how bankruptcy reform made it through the Senate and why it will soon pass the House and be signed into law by President Bush.
 
  The recent decade's rise in the number of bankruptcy cases has been dramatic, and it is not difficult to find cases of abuse. But most bankruptcy petitions are filed by people with real financial problems, often the result of family illness, divorce or loss of jobs. This bill will make it harder for everyone  --  chiselers and innocent victims alike  --  to get a clean start without the overhang of mounting interest payments on unpaid credit cards and other debt.
 
  For two weeks the Senate sponsors shot down virtually every attempt to separate the sheep from the goats and carve out protections for the average family trapped by circumstances. The dry language of the Congressional Record recites a series of one-sided votes rejecting amendments "to protect service members and veterans . . . to exempt debtors whose financial problems were caused by serious medical problems . . . to preserve existing bankruptcy protections for individuals experiencing economic distress as caregivers to ill or disabled family members . . . to exempt debtors if their problems were caused by identity theft." Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the creditors' pursuit of those folks.
 
  On the other hand, when an amendment was offered to restrict so-called "asset protection trusts," used by wealthy individuals to shelter their portfolios from creditors, it was rejected. Five states  --  Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, Rhode Island and Utah  --  have changed their laws to let people who live anywhere in the country establish trusts of unlimited size that cannot be reached by federal bankruptcy proceedings. The amendment would have limited this "millionaires' loophole" to $125,000. But Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the bill's chief sponsor, intent on blocking any amendment that might prove indigestible in the House, said, "This is an issue that just needs more time for us to determine whether there is an abuse that needs to be corrected." With no more debate, it was rejected.
 
  These amendments came from the liberal camp  --  senators such as Edward Kennedy, Russ Feingold, Richard Durbin and Charles Schumer  --  and were easily dismissed by the Republican majority. Even more instructive was what happened when a staunch conservative, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, tried to put a little balance into the bill.
 
  When he was attorney general of Texas, Cornyn said, the notorious Enron bankruptcy case "opened my eyes to a very real abuse in the current bankruptcy system," the loophole that allows corporations to go "judge-shopping" for jurisdictions with permissive standards. Enron, which had 7,500 employees in Houston, filed for bankruptcy in New York, where it had 57 workers, because New York, along with Delaware, is known for being lenient on big business.
 
  Congress recently passed a law restricting plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits from judge-shopping in the state courts, and Cornyn argued that it should also require corporations' bankruptcy cases to be filed in their principal place of business. Citing cases of Polaroid, Kmart, WorldCom and Enron, he said the judge-shopping loophole "serves to unfairly enable corporate debtors to evade their financial commitments, [and] it badly disables consumers, creditors, workers, pensioners, shareholders and small businesses from pursuing and receiving reasonable compensation from bankruptcy proceedings."
 
  No one rose to dispute Cornyn. So what happened? He withdrew the amendment, without a vote, "out of respect to the managers of this bill who say that amendments to this bill would endanger its ultimate passage." 
 
 A Cornyn spokesman told me that the bill sponsors said  his amendment would cost them the support of the two Democratic senators from Delaware  --  that favorite haven for big business. And, except for the lobbyists, no one even noticed.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 13 16:55:54 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 13 16:57:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <3041340.1110761755536.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Give the Arabs Credit
 
 By Mona Eltahawy
 
    The invasion of Iraq was the equivalent of a bucket of freezing water thrown in the face of an Arab world in deep slumber.
 
  There, I've said it. Can we move on now?
 
  There is a way to talk about the effect of the Iraq war on the rest of the Arab world without actually supporting that war. This time last year and the year before, I marched in demonstrations in New York against the war on Iraq, which I did not believe was launched in the name of democracy and freedom. But we would be lying to ourselves if we didn't acknowledge that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is a major catalyst for what has been happening lately, be it in Egypt, Lebanon or Saudi Arabia.
 
  As an Egyptian man told me recently, if there was a "domino effect" sparked by the invasion, it was one of questions.
 
  "The U.S. invasion revealed the ability to overthrow one of the worst tyrants around and led to this question: If this regime collapsed, why not the others? Why shouldn't Syria leave Lebanon? Why shouldn't we change the Egyptian regime? Isn't it enough (kifaya) already?"
 
  Kifaya indeed. The word is the slogan of Egypt's National Campaign for Change, which has staged several demonstrations calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 24-year rule. It has appeared on banners in anti-Syrian demonstrations in Beirut. But ultimately Arabs have been saying kifaya to violence. Beheadings, shock and awe, checkpoint shootings and the loss of thousands of lives in Iraq have sickened Arabs. It is no mean feat that demonstrations in Cairo and in Beirut  --  both for and against Syria  --  have been peaceful.
 
  But I have a kifaya of my own: Enough already to the tiresome intellectual tropes that liberals and neoconservatives are wasting time on as they argue over the war.
 
  In the United States it is almost impossible to separate support or opposition to the Bush administration from support for the democratic aspirations of Arabs. The endless tango of "for" or "against" the war that the Bush administration and its opponents insist on dancing wastes time and conveniently ignores murky details both sides would prefer to forget.
 
  I am tired of having to remind those who supported the war of the moral failures of Abu Ghraib and of rendition, by which the United States sends terrorism suspects to countries  --  such as my own, Egypt  --  where they are likely to be tortured. The violence unleashed on Iraq is appalling and most often targets ordinary Iraqis whose numbers remain uncounted in this country and whose stories always lose out to the kidnappings and deaths of non-Iraqis.
 
  I am equally fed up with having to remind those who opposed the war that in their rush to condemn the Bush administration, they should not ignore or condone the continued tyranny of Arab leaders; that as vehemently as they oppose the Bush administration they must not forget that Arab dictators are simply that  --  dictators.
 
  And, no, I have not forgotten that the current administration, like its predecessors, continues to support many of those same dictators. It is heartening to hear President Bush say that authoritarian rule in the Middle East is the "last gasp of a discredited past"  --  but disappointing when he focuses only on Syria.
 
  I am still waiting for the Bush administration to urge Egypt to end emergency laws that have been in effect since Mubarak assumed power in 1981. I am still waiting for the United States to urge the Saudi royal family to release reform activists whose only crime was to sign a petition calling for change.
 
  So, now what? We must not lose attention or interest. Just as I have acknowledged the jolt the Arab world felt from the Iraq war, so it is imperative to remember that if there hadn't been civil societies already in place in the Arab world, such a jolt would have found no echo.
 
  Brave Arab men and women have for decades toiled, often without credit, for the sake of rights and better lives for their compatriots. Their work must be acknowledged and supported. The conversation about change in the Arab world must be about them and about ordinary Arabs, not about scoring points for or against the Bush administration. 
 
 The writer is a New York-based columnist for the pan-Arab publication Asharq al-Awsat. Her Web site is www.monaeltahawy.com.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 13 16:56:38 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 13 16:58:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Will the Mideast Bloom?
 
 By Youssef M. Ibrahim
 
   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
 
  Listen to the conversations in the cafes on the edge of the creek that runs through this Persian Gulf city, and it is hard to believe that the George W. Bush being praised by Arab diners is the same George W. Bush who has been widely excoriated in these parts ever since he took office.
 
 Yet the balmy breeze blowing along the creek carries murmurs of approval for the devoutly Christian U.S. president, whose persistent calls for democracy in the Middle East are looking less like preaching and more like timely encouragement. 
 
 Nowadays, intellectuals, businessmen and working-class people alike can be caught lauding Bush's hard-edged posture on democracy and cheering his handling of Arab rulers who are U.S. allies. Many also admire Bush's unvarnished threats against Syria should it fail to pull its soldiers and spies out of Lebanon before the elections there next month  --  a warning the United Nations reinforced last week with immediate effects. For Bush, it is not quite a lovefest but a celebration nonetheless.
 
  "His talk about democracy is good," an Egyptian-born woman was telling companions at the Fatafeet (or "Crumbs") restaurant the other night, exuberant enough for her voice to carry to neighboring tables. "He keeps hitting this nail. That's good, by God, isn't it?" At another table, a Lebanese man was waxing enthusiastic over Bush's blunt and irreverent manner toward Arab autocrats. "It is good to light a fire under their feet," he said.
 
 From Casablanca to Kuwait City, the writings of newspaper columnists and the chatter of pundits on Arabic language satellite television suggest a change in climate for advocates of human rights, constitutional reforms, business transparency, women's rights and limits on power. And while developments differ vastly from country to country, their common feature is a lifting  --  albeit a tentative one  --  of the fear that has for decades constricted the Arab mind.
 
 Regardless of Bush's intentions  --  which many Arabs and Muslims still view with suspicion  --  the U.S. president and his neoconservative crowd are helping to spawn a spirit of reform and a new vigor to confront dynastic dictatorships and other assorted ills. It's enough for someone like me, who has felt that Bush's attitude toward the Mideast has been all wrong, to wonder whether his idea of setting the Muslim house in order is right. 
 
 And yet, it is too early for congratulations. Bush may feel inspired by the example of President Ronald Reagan, who told Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall" in Berlin, but the Middle East may more closely resemble 1989 Beijing than 1989 Berlin. While communism collapsed largely of its own weight in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union without U.S. intervention, pro-democracy demonstrators in China were squashed. What will U.S. policy in the Middle East look like if the autocrats, princes and religious fundamentalists make a stand against the voices of freedom?
 
 That said, there have been many reasons in the past two months for Arab democrats to feel giddy.
 
 On Jan. 9, Palestinians cast ballots in free elections where the winner did not, unlike candidates in "elections" so often held elsewhere in the region, get 99 percent of the vote. And within the late Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, younger members are calling for primaries to choose fresh candidates before July's legislative elections.
 
 Then at the end of January, 8 million Iraqis marched to the polls, despite threats of violence, to vote for a new parliament. Since then, the winners have been negotiating and balancing legislative blocks in ways that have defied predictions of Shiite domination and which, despite continued bombings and Sunni discontent, could yet be a model of the multiparty political process.
 
 On Feb. 10, in the veiled Saudi kingdom, royal princes let in a crack of light with the first municipal elections in 42 years. Instead of being welcomed as a step forward, the elections were sarcastically derided on Saudi Internet chat sites as Mickey Mouse exercises in which half the people  --  women  --  couldn't vote, and half the winners were appointed by government. In the past, this sort of brazen truth-telling wouldn't have taken place, and it shows that sham or limited elections won't satisfy people. 
 
 Above all there has been the outburst in the streets of Beirut following the Feb. 14 assassination of Lebanese leader Rafiq Hariri. The murder was, to use the phrase that Napoleon's foreign minister Talleyrand is often credited with coining, "worse than a crime; it was a blunder." It laid bare all the resentment of Syria's 30-year occupation, meddling and hit squads. The demonstrations against Syria, and even the massive counter-demonstrations last week by Hezbollah, have framed a broad and (so far) nonviolent debate on the future shape of the entire Arab world. 
 
 In the largest Arab country, Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak grudgingly announced on Feb. 26 that the constitution would be altered to allow other candidates to run for the presidency. While everyone expects Mubarak, who has ruled for 24 years, to win yet another six-year term in elections this fall at the age of 77, the Sphinx had blinked. More evidence of Bush's pressure. 
 
 The groundswell continues to spread. A few days ago, Kuwaiti women hit the streets to demand the right to vote, challenging bearded Islamist parliamentarians over what the Koran says, or does not say, about the rights of women. They won the government's support for a new proposal to parliament. The Saudis then rushed to say they would allow women to vote in the next municipal elections. It matters little whether they mean it, Saudi women heard it.
 
  This much is real. And while many Arab democrats have been struggling for years, there is a keen sense of irony that a passionately Christian American president who has supported Israel, invaded an Arab country and presided over an occupation marred by violence might actually make a positive difference in the Muslim world. It has people here citing the Koranic verse that speaks of a catastrophe that bears good fruits.
 
 The din of democracy talk has been amplified by satellite television, the Internet and cell phones, and that is a new wrinkle for autocratic regimes experienced at quiet repression.
 
  Al-Jazeera, whose audience numbers in the tens of millions, gave blanket coverage of the Lebanese protests, including live interviews from Beirut's Martyrs' Square as well as debates, analysis and talk shows. CNN and BBC broadcasts seen here have also tracked the events hour by hour. 
 
 As the Beirut anti-Syria demonstrations attracted the young and the hip, their images appealed to their well-to-do, educated but usually detached peers throughout the region, triggering new interest in politics. Other governments must sense popular opinion moving because none, except Iran, has rallied to Syria's side.
 
 The intensity of it all has drowned out, at least for now, the usual noise about alleged Israeli conspiracies, neoconservative plots and America's misadventures in Iraq. 
 
 Instead, more people are baring their souls, with little apparent fear. On Tuesday an all-women's program on al-Jazeera featured a verbal wrestling match between a veiled advocate of multiple marriages and male supremacy in Islam and several other women who swatted down her views. Even the infamous religious authority Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi of Qatar  --  whose edicts range from legitimizing wife beating to the killing of foreigners in Iraq to the shunning of Christians and Jews  --  has been remarkably demure on his TV show.
 
 The slogan for this nascent people's revolt has become "Kifaya," which means "enough." It's a word that is both emphatic and vague enough to be all-encompassing yet effective: enough of autocrats, enough corruption, enough occupation, enough repression. It has acquired magical and perhaps lasting power. 
 
  A respected Egyptian analyst of the Arab condition, Abdel Moneim Said , argued in the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat last Wednesday that the "Enough" movement can already claim an important achievement  --  sweeping aside the tired argument that "special circumstances" preclude Arabs and Muslims from sharing universal democratic principles.
 
 Another notable voice, Egypt's guru of Arab nationalism, author and writer Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal, has pronounced 2005 "the year of the big scare" where old assumptions crumble in the face of demands for reform.
 
 A cartoon that appeared March 3 in a Jordanian newspaper, al-Ghad, captured the sense that the age of autocracy may be drawing to a close. Political cartoonist Emad Hajjaj drew four statues on pedestals. The one furthest to the right, Saddam Hussein, is cracking at the knees and toppling into an almost identical statue of Syrian leader Bashir Assad, which is teetering into a statue of Mubarak, who is falling into a statue whose face can't be seen. 
 
 Bush, in his inaugural address, proclaimed America's commitment to spreading democracy. "All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors," he said. "When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you."
 
 This isn't the first time that a President Bush has encouraged Arabs to rise up against their oppressors. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush egged on Iraqi Shiites and Kurds to revolt, only to abandon them when Saddam Hussein cracked down. 
 
 The question that lingers is whether the current president's resolve will last longer than his father's. How hard will Bush pressure Mubarak, while sending terrorist suspects to him and relying on Egypt for help in Gaza? If Mubarak keeps his leading opponents in jail, if Syria keeps its intelligence network in place and uses Hezbollah as its right arm, if the extensive Saudi royal family and its fundamentalist allies cling to power, what is Bush's Plan B?
 
 Not a single Arab ruler is a willing participant in democratic reform. Their regimes are festooned with opportunists attached to their financial and political privileges. And while the Arab media have changed, these regimes still possess the same coercive instruments that have proven effective means of control in the past.
 
 Just as important, many of the potential forces for change are wary of going along with Western-inspired momentum. And violent extremists threaten progress made in Iraq and within the Palestinian Authority.
 
 In Lebanon, Hezbollah is a wild card. In a speech to some 500,000 supporters who gathered under his movement's banners on Tuesday in Beirut, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah said the real objective of the United States and Israel was to disarm and dismantle Hezbollah rather than to institutionalize democracy. While it would be better to have the heavily armed Hezbollah, which already has 12 seats in the Lebanese parliament, brought into the political process, that would be hard for the Bush administration to swallow. Hezbollah is still on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. Will the administration be willing to make a deal?
 
 Given the uncertainties about U.S. policy, perhaps the most pertinent question is whether the resolve of Arab reformers will prove durable and effective even without substantive U.S. support.
 
  So one is left to wonder if this moment will last more than a moment, whether it will turn into a repeat of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall or whether it will be a reprise of the truncated Beijing Spring. The region lacks China's economic dynamism, but it also lacks a Gorbachev and his policy of perestroika. 
 
 For now, all the Middle East has are demonstrators and brave voters who, ballot by imperfect ballot, e-mail by e-mail are burying a culture of fear. And for the moment, that may be enough. 
 
 Author's e-mail: ymibrahim@seig.org
 
 Youssef Ibrahim, a former Middle East correspondent for the New York Times and energy editor of the Wall Street Journal, is managing director of the Dubai-based Strategic Energy Investment Group, a consulting firm. 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 13 16:58:40 2005
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 Partisans Gear Up for High Court Fight Ahead
 
 By Michael A. Fletcher  and Charles Babington
 
  The brochure is hardly subtle. "Emergency instructions for a Supreme Court Retirement," it screams in bold red letters. Delivered by e-mail to tens of thousands of NARAL Pro-Choice America supporters, the missive directs them to "print, cut and fold this card and keep it in your wallet. When a Supreme Court justice retires, you'll be READY for action."
 
  Cardholders are instructed to call their senators and declare that  a new justice must support abortion rights. They are also told to log on to a Web site "for more action instructions," and to "TELL everyone you know!"
 
  The  abortion rights group is among about 185 self-styled "progressive" organizations sharing information, ideas and resources in anticipation of a Supreme Court vacancy. Conservative groups also are in full campaign mode  --  raising money, conducting polls and planning advertising campaigns to stir grass-roots support in anticipation of the looming fight over the next nominee to the nation's high court.
 
  Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's thyroid cancer has kept him away from the Supreme Court's public deliberations since its current term began in October, leading activists on both sides to assume his retirement is imminent. That speculation was  fueled by the 80-year-old jurist's frail appearance when he swore in President Bush for a second term on Inauguration Day. With eight of the nine justices  65 or older, it is possible that other court vacancies could soon occur, and activists are gearing up for the partisan wars sure to ensue.
 
  Bush has promised to appoint a conservative to fill any Supreme Court vacancy. He has cited the work of current justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas  --  both of whom favor a sharply limited federal government, oppose a national right to abortion and view affirmative action as unconstitutional  --  as models of high court jurisprudence.
 
  Inside the White House, lawyers in the counsel's office long ago began vetting potential high court candidates. They have combed through  court opinions, speeches and other writings of potential candidates in preparation for a possible vacancy, according to former counsel employees.
 
  When a new justice is appointed, "it will be a very big and very significant event," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative advocacy group founded by Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson. "Next to the election of the president himself, selection of a justice has a greater impact on the country than anything."
 
  Sekulow said his group has been preparing for a court vacancy for the past several years by researching the records of potential candidates and sending e-mails and letters to its 730,000 members, "letting people know how the process works." That work has intensified in recent months as scores of conservative groups have joined forces to plan a campaign to support what they expect will be a conservative candidate for the high court.
 
  The Judicial Confirmation Network, a new coalition headed by former Bush campaign official Gary Marx, has been raising millions of dollars that will be used for television ads to support conservative high court candidates. The group also has launched an online petition drive aimed at pressuring the  Senate to change its rules allowing as few as 41 members to block confirmation of judicial nominees they find objectionable.
 
  Meanwhile, the Federalist Society has assembled a list of right-leaning lawyers and law professors who can be summoned to offer reporters a conservative view on the direction of the Supreme Court and the qualifications of any potential nominee.
 
  Skirmishes  already are occurring over Bush's choices for seats on the nation's federal appeals courts. Last month, Bush renominated seven appeals court candidates whom Democrats had blocked with filibusters during the last Congress because they considered the nominees too conservative.
 
  Angered by the Democratic tactics, conservative advocacy groups are pressuring Republican senators to alter the rules to disallow filibusters. "The tradition of the filibuster is being abused," said Wendy E. Long, a former  law clerk for Justice Thomas who is counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network. "If it requires a rule change to end that, so be it."
 
  If Republicans can break the filibuster power before a Supreme Court vacancy occurs, Bush's nominee would need only 51 Senate votes for confirmation, instead of 60.
 
  "We have to give 41 senators the support they need to keep their backbone strong," NARAL's Nancy Keenan said. Her group is pressuring moderate Republicans to oppose the so-called "nuclear option" that would rule filibusters of judicial nominees invalid.
 
  Partisan wars over high court nominations are hardly new. But the battles became more pitched after the 1987 effort that derailed the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork, a conservative icon.
 
 The Bork fight was followed four years later by a drive by  liberal and women's advocacy groups to try to block Thomas's Supreme Court nomination. His nomination was nearly defeated after former aide Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment. He won confirmation by  a vote of  52 to 48, one of the smallest margins for a high court confirmation in the nation's history.
 
  The two justices appointed  since Thomas  --  Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer  --  were widely viewed as moderates and did not engender much  opposition. But with Bush expected to follow through on his promise to nominate a staunch conservative to fill any Supreme Court vacancy, groups on both sides of the political spectrum are girding for an all-out battle.
 
  "This is the most organized effort our side has ever been engaged in," Sekulow said. "It is unprecedented, actually."
 
  The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and its liberal allies hold several meetings a week attended by  as many as 50 representatives of organizations focused on environmental, labor and other issues. The coalition was created  more than four years ago to combat Bush's appointment of John D. Ashcroft as attorney general, and it has stayed in business to battle judicial nominees whom the activists consider to be outside the political mainstream.
 
  "The reason all these groups have come together and stayed together is because we understand we are in the fight of our lives," said Nancy Zirkin, the conference's deputy director.
 
 Earlier this year, the National Association of Manufacturers, which represents thousands of large firms such as the Boeing Co. and Caterpillar Inc., said it was going to change its  practice and actively support conservative judicial nominees with money for television ads and grass-roots mobilization.
 
   Association President John Engler said that for too long social and civil rights issues have defined Supreme Court nomination battles, even as economic cases fill most of the court's docket. "I think the president framed the issue right during the campaign," Engler  said. "We should have justices who interpret the law, not make it." 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 14 03:53:55 2005
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 China Puts Threat to Taiwan Into Law
 
 By Philip P. Pan
 
   BEIJING, March 14  --  China enacted a law Monday authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves toward formal independence, codifying its long-standing threat to attack the island. The measure could provoke a popular backlash in Taiwan and quickly unravel recent progress in cross-strait relations. 
 
  The National People's Congress, the ruling Communist Party's rubber-stamp parliament, approved the anti-secession law by a vote of 2,896 to 0, with two abstentions, defying U.S. appeals for restraint and strong protests by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian as well as some of his political rivals.
 
 Chen has vowed a tough response, and mainland analysts have expressed concern that Taiwan's pro-independence camp will use the law to rally public sentiment against Beijing and push for measures that could escalate tensions. Chen's government convened a national security meeting and was preparing to announce limited changes in trade policy toward the mainland, local media reported.
 
  The vote came a day after President Hu Jintao was named chairman of the state military commission, relieving Jiang Zemin, the former president, of his final post. Passage of the law appeared timed to highlight the new leader's control of Taiwan policy and his resolve on the issue.
 
  "We shall step up preparations for possible military struggle and enhance our capabilities to cope with crises, safeguard peace, prevent wars and win the wars, if any," Hu said Sunday at a meeting of the Chinese military's delegation at the parliament.  The legislation says the government "shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity" but is not specific about what would trigger such action against Taiwan.
 
 Instead, it uses language that leaves the Chinese leadership with the flexibility to judge when an attack would be necessary, slightly altering the wording used by the government in previous statements of its Taiwan policy. The law says China should use force if Taiwan secedes, if "major events" move the island toward secession or if "possibilities for peaceful reunification are completely exhausted."
 
 In a televised news conference immediately after the vote, Premier Wen Jiabao sought to focus attention on other provisions of the law that call for greater economic and cultural exchanges with Taiwan. He also said Beijing was ready to allow regular charter flights between the mainland and Taiwan. 
 
 "This is a law for advancing peaceful reunification. It is not targeted at the people of Taiwan, nor is it a war bill," he said. "The law is intended to check and oppose Taiwan independence forces. Only by checking and opposing Taiwan independence forces will peace emerge in the Taiwan Strait."
 
 Wen compared the law to anti-secession resolutions passed by the U.S. Congress before the Civil War and said military action would be a last resort. He said China lagged far behind the United States in military strength, but he prompted applause from Chinese journalists and officials by adding, "We don't hope for foreign interference, yet we are not afraid of it."
 
  Taiwan's government has  condemned the anti-secession law as a "blank check" to invade and suggested it might retaliate by pursuing sensitive revisions to the island's constitution  --  a move China has warned could prompt a military response. In a speech Saturday, Chen said the law risked triggering a "full-phase backtracking of relations" and pledged to mobilize 1 million people for a protest against the Chinese decision.
 
  "The Taiwanese people will not remain silent and will stand up," he said, adding that "the proposed anti-secession law will backfire, and end up only driving both sides of the strait further apart."
 
  The Chinese government asserts that Taiwan is part of its territory and has as many as 700 missiles aimed at the island located 100 miles off the mainland's southeast coast. Taiwan's elected leaders insist it is an independent, sovereign country. The United States formally recognizes only the Chinese government, but it sells arms to Taiwan and has pledged to help defend the island of 23 million.
 
 The Bush administration had urged China to abandon the anti-secession law and warned it could jeopardize the recent warming in cross-strait relations. 
 
 It has also been pressuring the European Union to drop plans to end a 15-year-old arms embargo against China, arguing that weapons from Europe might be used against U.S. forces in a conflict over Taiwan. The E.U. has so far rejected the U.S. appeals, but European diplomats say heightened tensions in the strait caused by the anti-secession law could lead it to reconsider.
 
  Chinese officials and scholars have debated adopting legislation on Taiwan for years. Some of the party's more hawkish members had urged a "reunification law" that set a deadline for the island to be returned to mainland rule. The anti-secession law includes no such deadline.
 
  But analysts said the law could limit a Chinese leader's options in a crisis, as well as in talks with Taiwan on resolving a standoff dating to the 1949 Communist revolution. Its enactment represents a strong political commitment by Hu to risk a confrontation with the U.S. military and employ force if Taiwan goes too far in its efforts to achieve formal independence.
 
  In one of the dangerous ambiguities of cross-strait relations, though, China has never specified how it defines formal independence, given that the island has already governed itself for more than a half-century, held several elections and established diplomatic relations with foreign countries. 
 
 Chen has been testing China's bottom line with proposals to rewrite Taiwan's constitution, remove the word "China" from the name of its overseas diplomatic offices and seek entry into international organizations.
 
 Chinese officials said the anti-secession legislation was intended to deter Chen. Preparations to enact it began last year as his party appeared on the verge of taking control of Taiwan's parliament. But Chen scaled back his pro-independence campaign after his party failed to win a majority in the December elections.
 
  Mainland officials responded with softer rhetoric, and tensions eased as the two sides agreed to allow nonstop charter flights between the mainland and Taiwan during last month's Lunar New Year holidays.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 14 03:55:54 2005
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Date: Mon Mar 14 03:57:35 2005
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 The Missing Proposal
 
 By Sebastian Mallaby
 
    Last year Democrats impaled themselves on the Iraq war. They were so anxious to denounce the invasion that they failed to acknowledge the most basic point of all: that, having waded into Iraq, the United States could not leave prematurely. By attacking the Bush policy relentlessly, Democrats sounded negative. By refusing to say clearly that they would finish the Iraq job, they sounded irresponsible.
 
 Now Democrats risk making the same mistake on Social Security. They are so anxious to denounce private accounts that they fail to acknowledge the most basic point: Social Security has a serious deficit. The Post reported Friday that nearly every Democratic senator refuses even to contemplate the Bush proposals. But the  Democrats have no proposal of their own. They sound negative and irresponsible.
 
 This is a mistake, first, because it's bad for the country. Social Security's deficit does need to be fixed, and the fix will be harder if we miss the current opportunity. Whatever one thinks of President Bush's personal accounts, he's out there touring the country, trying to open people's minds to the necessity of reform; meanwhile, Republican members of Congress are sticking their necks out with detailed overhaul proposals. If this moment is squandered, it may be years before any politician musters the courage to tackle Social Security.
 
 Those are years we can't afford. As the  debate illustrates, reform is  salable only if it exempts people near retirement. The oldest baby boomers, those born in 1946, are already almost 60. With each year that passes, the cohort of politically inviolable near-retirees expands sharply  --  meaning that the burden of remedial tax hikes and benefit cuts on younger workers will have to be that much heavier.
 
 So Democrats must ask themselves a question. They hope to ride the Republican "attack" on Social Security to victory in the midterm elections, but what if this scheme backfires? What if they get painted as dishonest hacks, who cynically lied to the electorate about the urgency of reform and who thereby condemned citizens to  nastier reforms later?
 
 That's the tactical issue, but there's a strategic one also. Over the next couple of decades, entitlement costs will drive government spending upward, leaving precious little room to pursue other progressive objectives. If Democrats want to spend money on the environment, inner-city schooling, or safety nets that cushion the effects of globalization, they had better start thinking about how to control entitlements, or there'll be no money left over.
 
 The Democrats' stock answer to this point is that they will repeal the Bush tax cuts. The cuts are indeed unaffordable and appalling: Their cost over the next 75 years comes to about $11 trillion, or three times the Social Security shortfall. But the coming baby-bust budget crisis is bigger than $11 trillion. There was an entitlement problem before Bush took office, and there would still be one if his tax cuts were eliminated.
 
 So the Democrats face a strategic choice, and the current Social Security debate is just an early taste of it. They can become the party that says no to entitlement reform, in which case they will have to fight that battle over and over again, and in the end the mathematics of the budget will make their fight futile. Call that the ostrich option.  Alternatively, Democrats  can become the party that seeks to reform entitlements in a way that protects the poor, in which case they may carve out some space in the budget for other enlightened programs. That is the progressive option.
 
 A progressive Democratic Party would introduce its own Social Security reform bill. It could be based on the package designed by Gene Sperling  --  a mix of benefit cuts, tax hikes, and add-on personal savings accounts targeted at poor and middle-income workers. The progressives could point out that their plan fixes not only the Social Security deficit but also the national savings deficit, since add-on personal accounts involve  extra contributions from workers and extra tax collection by the government.
 
 But progressive Democrats should also admit the truth about Republican proposals: They're a heck of a lot better than leaving Social Security's deficit to get worse. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, is  talking about reasonable benefit cuts coupled with extra taxation  and modest personal accounts.  This is not a plan to burn FDR in effigy. After all, well-designed personal accounts benefit poor Americans, not the rich. The rich already own stocks, and having a new way of holding  shares should logically lead them to switch other savings out of equities and into bonds, so that their overall risk profile stays constant.  It is the bottom half of households that stand to gain from the opportunity (not the obligation) to  own equities as part of their retirement savings. Democrats who say that any personal accounts are a first step to dismantling the system should recall their own fury at equivalent Republican  claims  --  that Hillarycare, for example, promised "socialized medicine."
 
 Progressives may prefer Sperling-style add-on accounts, as I do. But a party whose senators unanimously refuse to contemplate carve-out accounts is a party that's closed its collective mind. And a party that refuses to acknowledge the urgency of entitlement reform is a party of ostriches.
 
 •
 
  After I attacked the administration last week, many readers demanded to know whom I would want for World Bank president. Proven public-sector leaders who understand finance and development are hard to come by  --  there's Bob Rubin, hardly a likely pick for the Bush administration. But the field gets wider if you consider non-Americans. Kemal Dervis, a World Bank vice president who went on to be Turkey's finance minister, is my favorite. Dervis is a charismatic, pro-Western Muslim economist who helped the United States by leading the reconstruction of Bosnia.
 
 mallabys@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 14 03:56:35 2005
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Date: Mon Mar 14 03:58:17 2005
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 Democracy From the Inside Out
 
 By Jackson Diehl
 
   Last week's mass demonstration by Hezbollah in the streets of Beirut was commonly described as a check on the Middle East's first mass movement for freedom, and a setback for the United States and its regional allies. It could be. But it might also serve as a starting point for the necessary next phase of the Arab awakening, which is the incorporation of Hezbollah, Hamas and other Islamic movements into the region's new politics.
 
 While cheering on Lebanon's liberals  --  most of them Christians and Druze  --  and accepting the likely reality of a Shiite-led government in Iraq, the Bush administration hasn't changed its old approach to the  Islamic movements that command large popular followings in the region. Together with Israel, it has  --  at least until recently  --  pressed European governments to declare Hezbollah a terrorist movement and strangle its finances; it has also supported Israeli demands that Hamas be "dismantled," rather than merely pacified, by the new Palestinian government. U.S. diplomats won't even talk to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the grandfather of the region's Islamic parties.
 
 Yet, as the Hezbollah rally demonstrated, these anti-Western and frequently violent actors will not simply melt away in the face of more democratic politics. Like the Sunni Islamists of Iraq, they may try to disrupt any transition from the region's current autocracies to rule by ballot. If so, both Hezbollah and Hamas are well armed, and they would not be easily defeated. But both movements may also choose to participate in democratic politics, in part because in Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt, they can command not only rockets and suicide bombers but many thousands of voters.
 
 Therein lies the opportunity for President Bush's pro-democracy team. If the Islamists can be induced to pursue power by politics  --  if Hezbollah continues to make its case with rallies rather than car bombs in Beirut  --  then those movements might be detached from their violent cells and, over time, the more extreme elements of their agendas.  Reuel Marc Gerecht, an expert on the Islamic world at the American Enterprise Institute, calls this fighting bin Ladenism "from the inside out"; by participating in an open political system and competing for support,  Islamists could be driven over time to moderation.
 
  This may not be likely, but neither is it fantasy. In recent years the Egyptian Islamic Group  --  a forerunner of al Qaeda  --  and the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan have sworn off violence. In Jordan and Morocco, Muslim fundamentalists have been allowed to compete in elections after agreeing in advance to abide by the rule of law. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the Egyptian pro-democracy activist, helped broker that deal between the late King Hussein of Jordan and the Islamists; he says similar "democracy pacts" could give Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian Hamas full access to the political system in exchange for a full commitment to constitutional rule.
 
  Why would the Islamists accept, especially when they are financed and armed by anti-democratic regimes such as Syria and Iran? Because, as events in both Lebanon and Palestine have recently shown, Hamas and Hezbollah are sensitive to popular opinion  --  and that opinion, at least at the moment, regards democratic politics as a promising alternative to more years of tyranny and terrorism. 
 
 The strategy won't work unless a couple of long-standing tenets of American Middle East policy are revised. One is the notion that any Islamic victory in a democratic election would necessarily be a catastrophe. "One man, one vote, one time," the pithy prediction of one former ambassador, long ago hardened into State Department conventional wisdom. But it need not be so. Respect for the constitution can be enforced by regional accords, as in Latin America, or by a national army, as in Turkey. Egypt's Ibrahim, among other experts, doesn't believe that the Muslim Brotherhood would ultimately win a free election. But the Bush administration has to come to terms with the possibility that it might  --  and be willing to endure the bumpy patch that would follow.
 
  The United States also has to be prepared to set aside coercion as the primary instrument for combating groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas  --  provided they observe their own cease-fires. Last week Bush administration officials suggested that they were considering such a shift in the case of Hezbollah, bending to European suasion. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas already has adopted a political strategy for Hamas, which, encouragingly,  announced on Saturday that it will participate in legislative elections  later this year. 
 
  Both of these steps are deeply troubling to Israel, which remains unwilling to treat the Islamic groups as anything other than a mortal adversary and military target. In the short term, at least, the emergence of Arab democratic politics could look threatening to the Middle East's only established democracy. That is a paradox for which neither Israel nor the Bush administration appears to be prepared.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 14 03:57:39 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 14 03:59:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29797851.1110801459704.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 What Isn't Partisan?
 
 By William Raspberry
 
    Maybe it overstates the case to call the Federal Reserve chairman a "political hack," as Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) did, but Alan Greenspan does appear to be acting more as apologist for the Bush administration than as wise and independent elder  --  a far more valuable role.
 
 Maybe I should have suspected a shift in Greenspan's role early in  George W. Bush's first term, when the longtime chairman's support of the president's proposal for a massive tax cut for the richest Americans virtually ensured its passage. But the Treasury was enjoying a heady surplus at the time, and I thought Greenspan was being merely pragmatic when he said we could afford to cut taxes  and  continue the debt reduction scheme initiated by Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton. Greenspan even murmured something about undoing the tax cut if the projections for the surplus proved wrong.
 
 But when the country slipped into deficit, Greenspan supported the president's attempt to make the tax cuts permanent.
 
 As always, the support was couched in the oracular verbiage that renders Greenspan's pronouncements both impressive and somewhat unintelligible.
 
 Now he has announced his support for the president's assault on Social Security, explaining that the borrowing necessary to ensure promised benefits for future retirees would drive up interest rates and harm the economy. His proposal for fixing the problem is to cut benefits and raise the age at which they begin. Like the president, he refuses to consider rolling back the tax cuts as any part of the solution.
 
 It is possible, of course, that  the Fed chairman just happens to believe what the man who reappointed him believes.
 
 The problem, though, is that you have to be more than slightly naive to accept such an explanation  --  unless you have your own reasons for supporting their mutual policy.
 
 This  --  for me, at least  --  is not a small matter. One by one, I'm being deprived of the independent sources that I have found so valuable in reaching my own conclusions.
 
  Please understand that I'm not speaking of sources that reflect my own philosophy. I used to profit from reading certain conservative columnists because they helped me to see America from a different point of view. Now many of those once-helpful pundits have become (so it seems to me) mere partisans for particular politicians  --  less concerned with their independence than with political victory.
 
  Similarly with certain "think tanks" I used to rely on for a different  --  often stimulating  --  take on things. I knew they weren't politically neutral, but I knew I could factor in their predispositions while I looked at their facts and figures. Now, in too many cases, I find the facts and figures themselves suspect.
 
  Nor is it just conservative institutions that have left me in the intellectual lurch. The U.S.  Commission on Civil Rights, once a valuable influence on the White House because of its ability to speak uncomfortable truth to power, has largely been reduced to a forum for partisan squabbling.
 
  Am I worrying too much? I don't think so. We're running around trying to create democracies all over the world while forgetting that what makes democracies work is not just the ballot but the existence of institutions and agencies that enjoy near-universal public trust. We are incredibly lucky, for instance, to have a nonpolitical military. We may know that military personnel tend to be more conservative than the population as a whole, but the military  as an institution is expected to be free of political interest.
 
  The Supreme Court was another such institution  --  perhaps still is for a majority of Americans. But who can doubt that the court's resort to what appeared to be political partisanship (as in the settlement of the 2000 presidential vote in Florida) reduced the public's trust?
 
  And there is the Federal Reserve Board. Let me be clear: I was personally disappointed when former secretary of state Colin Powell used suspect evidence to back his boss's desire to launch a war against Iraq. But I understand that secretaries of state are members of administrations. They may argue against a policy behind closed doors. But once the president has decided, they are expected not to go public with their independent notions to the contrary.
 
 The Fed is supposed to be independent, and the apparent politicization of its chairman threatens not only to make his pronouncements less weighty but also to render the institution a less reliable factor in the decisions we make as citizens.
 
  Is it alarmist to fear that we may be headed toward the politicization of everything?
 
 willrasp@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 14 03:58:56 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 14 04:00:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10245529.1110801536954.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Women of Islam
 
    THEY MET THE new secretary of state, spoke to women's organizations and conferred with the U.S. Agency for International Development.  But the delegations of Afghan and Iraqi women  --  led by Massouda Jalal, Afghanistan's minister of women's affairs, and Narmin Othman, her counterpart in Iraq  --  were not in Washington last week merely to make courtesy calls. They were here to stress that women's issues, in the new democracies of Iraq and Afghanistan, are not peripheral. How these two countries resolve them may determine whether they remain democratic societies, or even open societies. 
 
 In Iraq, this question will surface soon, during debate over the new Iraqi constitution. The issue is central to all Iraqis: What Westerners think of as fundamental rights for women  --  to own money and property and to work outside the house  --  can be established only if the constitution guarantees all Iraqis the right to religious freedom. But if the constitution establishes an extreme form of sharia law, either directly or by implication, then clerics will be able to set the rules not only for women but eventually for everyone, men and women, in Iraq's Christian, Kurdish and secular communities. Any clause or formula that enables unelected clerics to veto laws passed by the elected legislature will, over time, erode whatever fragile democracy is in place at the time the constitution takes effect. 
 
 This is not to say that either Iraq or Afghanistan should look like the West or that they should accept an American notion of separation of church and state. But outsiders should pay attention to at least two fundamental issues. One is a guarantee for women to have a role in the political process: the rights to vote and stand for office. The second is that elected politicians, not clerics, should have ultimate jurisdiction over the legal system.
 
 If those two elements are in place, then Iraqi society will be able to evolve, as have other Islamic societies such as Morocco. That will not only protect the rights of women who do not want to live according to the most fundamentalist interpretations of Islam but also ensure that Iraq does not become a static theocracy.
 
  The United States cannot dictate outcomes, but the view that American politicians, legal advisers, aid workers and others take of these issues can continue to influence the debate in Iraq, as in Afghanistan. It is in U.S. interests, as well as Iraq's interests, for Americans at the highest levels to continue to push hard on those issues and not assume that they can be dealt with later. 
 
   

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From lbirdie at hotmail.com  Mon Mar 14 07:37:43 2005
From: lbirdie at hotmail.com (Little Birdie)
Date: Mon Mar 14 07:39:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] aol List members
Message-ID: <BAY104-F225A0606856931A6F74436B2560@phx.gbl>

A quick note from the list moderator!

For some unknown reason, the aol servers refused to deliver posts from the 
list for a few days, resulting in excessive bounces from all aol accounts, 
which disabled all the subscriptions of aol subscribers to the list. I have 
reset them all, so all is fixed, and you should be receiving posts from the 
list again, but you might want to check the archived posts to the list at 
the url below, and make sure you haven't missed anything:

http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/

My apologies for any inconvenience this has caused - I have no idea why aol 
did this, although it is not the first time they have done so. In future, if 
you don't receive posts from the list for an entire day or two please feel 
free to email me at dayton3@rcn.com so that I can check into what's going 
on.

Thanks,
Nina

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar 14 08:17:00 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar 14 08:19:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Blood and coal: the human cost of
	cheap Chinese goods
Message-ID: <20050314161700.9430A1BF4@herring.gul3.gnl>

Harold spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harold:

The Human cost of cheap labour
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Blood and coal: the human cost of cheap Chinese goods
Jonathan Watts in Miaowan, Sha'anxi province 
Monday March 14 2005
The Guardian


"Someone has snitched. The security men are coming. Shut the door, close the curtains and stay quiet." 

Moments later, footsteps outside. A rap on the door. A mother squeezes her child tightly to her breast to muffle his cries. An older woman holds back sobs, her eyes red with tears. Two others sit on a   bed, exchanging anxious glances. It is my fault the security are here, bringing trouble to people who have already suffered too much. But why is a meeting between four middle-aged women and a foreign journalist considered such a threat?  

The women are not subversives, they are widows and bereaved daughters. Their husbands and fathers were among the 166 men killed in an explosion at the Chenjiashan   colliery in Miaowan, a mining community in north-west China's Sha'anxi province, last November. Such accidents are so common in China that their plight and that of tens of thousands of other mining widows has become one of the most sensitive issues facing the communist government.  

More than 5,000 Chinese miners are killed each year, 75% of the global total, even though the country produces   only a third of the world's coal. Working under appalling safety conditions, they are sacrificed to fuel the factories that make the cheap goods snapped up by consumers in Britain and other wealthy nations.  

Faced with energy shortages this winter, the government has stepped up the pressure on mine operators to raise output. This has contributed to a spate of the worst disasters in the country's history. Last month, 216 miners were killed at Sunjiawan mine in north-east China in the most deadly accident in 50 years. Last October, another gas explosion killed 148. Last Thursday, a cave-in at a mine in Sha'anxi province killed 16 miners and left another 11 trapped underground.  

Countless other accidents at small unregistered mines go unreported because the owners - often in collusion with local officials - buy off or threaten   the victims' families. There is widespread anger that miners' lives are being sacrificed for economic growth. "It's said there is blood on every piece of coal in China," says one of the widows, Mrs Wang. "My husband used to talk about the danger all the time. But we are very poor. We have children. What else could we do?"  

The five-mile deep pit at Chenjiashan had a particularly bad reputation. Four   years ago, 38 men died in a gas explosion. Five days before the latest accident a fire broke out underground. "We came up, but the bosses told us to go back. We didn't want to, but we had to," says one miner, Li, who lost his brother in the explosion. "We all needed the money and there is a penalty of 100 yuan (around &#163;6) for refusing to go down."  

The managers, who had reportedly been promised a hefty bonus to increase production, ordered the men to keep working even though it had become hard to breathe underground. On the morning of the accident, Li was preparing to start his shift, when workers came running out of the shaft, saying they had seen thick fog and smoke. "Every miner knows that means there's been an explosion," he said.  

Last week the bereaved were supposed to hold ceremonies to mark the end of the 100-day mourning period, but many widows say they are still unable to grieve properly because their husbands' bodies have yet to be recovered. "Our husbands' bodies are still underground," said Mrs Zhang. "But when we went to ask the mine supervisor for action, the security men beat us. One   woman was hurt so badly she is still in hospital."  

Economics are a major factor in the death rate. Life is cheap, while coal is increasingly dear.  

In calculating compensation for the victims of the Chenjiashan blast, the state estimated the value of a miner's life at 51,000 yuan (&#163;3,200). An extra 20,000 yuan was paid as a widow's allowance and another 20,000 yuan for an unrecovered body. By contrast, mine operators were reportedly promised a 400,000 yuan bonus if they could raise output by 400,000 tonnes in the last two months of the year. They could afford at least   three deaths and still come out with a profit. Providing 75% of the country's energy needs, coal output must more than match the near 10% annual growth of the economy. There have been no reports of punishments for any of the mine operators who forced their men into the burning pit.  

"The government won't make real inroads into the mining death toll until it increases compensation and signals that managers will go to jail for putting people's lives at risk," said Robin Munro of Labour Action Bulletin. "Why haven't they arrested any of the men who perpetrated   crimes that led to more than 100 deaths?"  

The government has closed many of the most dangerous illegal pits, but the death rate remains alarmingly high at big state-owned collieries.  

China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, has gone further than any previous Chinese leader to tackle the problem and in a rare show of solidarity, he visited Miaowan at new year and attended a memorial service for the dead. But the widows of Chenjiashan say Wen's visit earlier this year was a clumsily staged propaganda exercise.  

"We weren't allowed anywhere near him," said Mrs Zhang. "We heard he personally donated money to the victims' relatives, but none of it came to us or anyone we know."  

There was no way to check the allegations. After leaving the widow's house, I was spotted by mine security personnel, and taken to the police station for a four-hour interrogation. "You shouldn't be here without permission," a local police officer said. "Something very unfortunate happened here. You should not make more trouble for the local people."  

&#183; All names in this report have been changed to protect their identities.  

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 14 08:27:43 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 14 08:29:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: 'Record protest' held in Beirut
Message-ID: <20050314_162743_036696.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** 'Record protest' held in Beirut **
Nearly one million opposition protesters gather in Beirut, a month after former PM Rafik Hariri's killing.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4346613.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 14 08:28:19 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 14 08:30:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Taiwan blasts China 'provocation'
Message-ID: <20050314_162819_007971.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Taiwan blasts China 'provocation' **
Taiwan denounces a law giving China the right to use force against it while the US says the law is "unfortunate".
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4346629.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 14 08:30:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 14 08:31:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Rice 'will not run' for president
Message-ID: <20050314_163002_011808.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
what an awful, shudder, thought she was even considered

** Rice 'will not run' for president **
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tries to dampen speculation that she will run for president in 2008.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4347607.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 14 08:30:35 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 14 08:32:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Pirates storm Indonesian tanker
Message-ID: <20050314_163035_013990.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Pirates storm Indonesian tanker **
Pirates attack a gas tanker in the Malacca Strait, kidnapping hostages for ransom, a watchdog says.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4347167.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 14 08:31:07 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 14 08:32:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: '500 arrested' in Nepal protest
Message-ID: <20050314_163107_090308.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** '500 arrested' in Nepal protest **
Opposition parties in Nepal say 500 people have been detained in nationwide pro-democracy protests.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4346385.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 14 08:33:10 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 14 08:34:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Korean dish 'may cure bird flu'
Message-ID: <20050314_163310_015898.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
better hope this works !

** Korean dish 'may cure bird flu' **
The Korean dish kimchi, spicy fermented cabbage, could help to cure bird flu, according to researchers.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4347443.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 14 08:33:51 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 14 08:35:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Quake experts urge Tehran move
Message-ID: <20050314_163351_022610.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Quake experts urge Tehran move **
Iranian scientists say the country should consider moving its earthquake-prone capital, which lies across hundreds of fault lines.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4346945.stm >


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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar 14 09:23:33 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 09:25:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME Magazine: Hail, Mary
Message-ID: <10249222.1110821013066.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



You have received the following link from barbarasiomos38@msn.com

 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar 14 09:25:36 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 09:27:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Zarqawi Planning U.S. Hit?
Message-ID: <4918689.1110821136296.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar 14 09:29:54 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 09:31:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Woody and Women
Message-ID: <29746787.1110821394110.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar 14 09:33:10 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 09:34:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME - Joe Klein - : Look Who Has a Shot at the Nobel
	Peace Prize
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From mbh at beeskneesfilms.com  Mon Mar 14 09:36:38 2005
From: mbh at beeskneesfilms.com (mbhacker)
Date: Mon Mar 14 09:37:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] digest mode?
In-Reply-To: <BAY104-F225A0606856931A6F74436B2560@phx.gbl>
References: <BAY104-F225A0606856931A6F74436B2560@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <p06200767be5b7b432b17@[165.247.37.132]>

Sorry to write directly to you, but I've just subscribed and I would 
like to subscribe in digest mode. I tried via the website but got an 
error page and when I sent an email I received a reply"The results of 
your email command are provided below" which was incomprehensible to 
me. I could not decipher how I could subscribe in digest mode.

Thank you for your kind attention,

Melissa


>A quick note from the list moderator!
>
>For some unknown reason, the aol servers refused to deliver posts 
>from the list for a few days, resulting in excessive bounces from 
>all aol accounts, which disabled all the subscriptions of aol 
>subscribers to the list. I have reset them all, so all is fixed, and 
>you should be receiving posts from the list again, but you might 
>want to check the archived posts to the list at the url below, and 
>make sure you haven't missed anything:
>
>http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/
>
>My apologies for any inconvenience this has caused - I have no idea 
>why aol did this, although it is not the first time they have done 
>so. In future, if you don't receive posts from the list for an 
>entire day or two please feel free to email me at dayton3@rcn.com so 
>that I can check into what's going on.
>
>Thanks,
>Nina
>
>The Mb-Civic List
>http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>The Mb-Hair List
>http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-hair
>The Hair Archives
>http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/Hair.html
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Mb-civic mailing list
>Mb-civic@islandlists.com
>http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 10:44:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 10:46:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rally Against Syria Appears to Be Largest
	Yet in Beirut
Message-ID: <20050314184440.319963880B1@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 14, 2005

Rally Against Syria Appears to Be Largest Yet in Beirut
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

The rally added pressure on the government of Syria to announce a serious timetable for the withdrawal from Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/international/middleeast/14cnd-beir.html?ex=1111467600&en=e7aee813a9c2c87a&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 10:45:34 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 10:47:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Is Displeased With China's 'Taiwan'
	Bill
Message-ID: <20050314184546.0317824AF29@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | March 14, 2005

U.S. Is Displeased With China's 'Taiwan' Bill
By JIM YARDLEY

"It does not serve the purpose of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," the White House said today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/international/asia/14cnd-beij.html?ex=1111467600&en=cbf8f2c7f4e03f48&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 10:46:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 10:47:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Travel Advisory
Message-ID: <20050314184615.6636C21F23D@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 14, 2005

A Travel Advisory


The White House's decision to withdraw the right to consular help by the World Court could imperil Americans abroad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/opinion/14mon2.html?ex=1111467600&en=4a4deb3665dc3f48&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 10:46:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 10:48:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Call of the Mild
Message-ID: <20050314184700.9C0022062C1@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

For the environmentally-minded... Peace.


OPINION | March 14, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Call of the Mild
By GALE A. NORTON

In the world of Arctic energy exploration in the 21st century, we have learned how to get access to oil and gas reserves while protecting the tundra's ecosystems and wildlife.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/opinion/14norton.html?ex=1111467600&en=29f57bb34cf047dd&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 10:47:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 10:49:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bush Picks Hughes to Change Islamic
	Perceptions of U.S.
Message-ID: <20050314184759.136EC9FD82@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


NATIONAL | March 14, 2005

Bush Picks Hughes to Change Islamic Perceptions of U.S.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former presidential adviser Karen Hughes is the White House's choice for a State Department post designed to change Islamic perceptions about America.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-State-Hughes.html?ex=1111467600&en=a78d7fd8fb975612&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 10:49:05 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 10:50:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israeli Cabinet Pledges to Raze Some
	Outposts in West Bank
Message-ID: <20050314184906.1938E20651B@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 14, 2005

Israeli Cabinet Pledges to Raze Some Outposts in West Bank
By GREG MYRE

The cabinet decision was the strongest public commitment to remove at least some of the more recent settlement outposts, as demanded by the Middle East peace plan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/international/middleeast/14mideast.html?ex=1111467600&en=b97df9e45e92b550&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 10:50:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 10:51:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Lebanon Needs to Act First for Syria to
	Exit, Envoy Says
Message-ID: <20050314185003.98E7C38809C@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 14, 2005

Lebanon Needs to Act First for Syria to Exit, Envoy Says
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

The special U.N.envoy on Lebanon warned that a pledge by Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon was contingent on the formation of a new government in Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/politics/14diplo.html?ex=1111467600&en=f94c1a7e3e105d8c&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 10:53:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 10:56:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bush Finds Affirmation in a Frenchman's
	Words
Message-ID: <20050314185336.835C713B96A@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Two comments. First, it is ironic in the extreme that Bush is quoting a Frenchman, given his disdain for the French (remember "Freedom Fries?"). Second, it is bizarre (though not, perhaps, entirely unexpected from Bush) that he quotes a Frenchman to support his policy on faith-based initiatives while ignoring the "Founding Fathers'" clear belief in the separation of church and state. Peace.


WASHINGTON | March 14, 2005

White House Letter: Bush Finds Affirmation in a Frenchman's Words
By ELISABETH BUMILLER

In snuggling up to Europe in his second term, President Bush has made it de rigueur to drop the names of famous French intellectuals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/politics/14letter.html?ex=1111467600&en=cc378e10d138144a&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 14 11:37:42 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 11:39:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?FT=2Ecom_/_World_/_US_-_Bush_orders_po?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?licy_to_=02018contain=02019_Ch=E1vez?=
Message-ID: <9446817.1110829062373.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



You have received the following link from michael@intrafi.com

 
********************
 
If you are having trouble with any of the links in this message, or if the URL's are not appearing as links, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this email.
 
Title: FT.com / World / US - Bush orders policy to 018contain019 Ch?vez
 
  
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*********************



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5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. 
 
********************
 
 
 
 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 14 11:44:00 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 11:46:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Capital markets / Credit bubble - Growing fears
	credit boom may implode
Message-ID: <5058299.1110829440525.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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-----------------------------------------
If your e-mail program doesn't recognize Web addresses:
1. With your mouse, highlight the Web Address above. Be sure to highlight the entire Web address, even if it spans more than one line in your email. 
2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 
3. Launch your Web browser.
4. Paste the address into your Web browser by selecting Paste from the Edit menu.
5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. 
 
********************
 
 
 
 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar 14 11:59:14 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Mon Mar 14 12:00:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Travel Advisory
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV18CCA748741FAF4813EED5AB560@phx.gbl>

Ian,

This is scary stuff and I hope our traveling Americans are paying attention.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: ialterman@nyc.rr.com
Sent: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 10:46:14 -0800
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Travel Advisory

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 14, 2005

A Travel Advisory


The White House's decision to withdraw the right to consular help by the World Court could imperil Americans abroad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/opinion/14mon2.html?ex=1111467600&en=4a4deb3665dc3f48&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

From EAN at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar 14 13:43:34 2005
From: EAN at sbcglobal.net (EAN@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon Mar 14 13:45:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?Re=3A_Bush_orders_policy_to_contain_Ch?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?=E1vez?=
Message-ID: <AA-CFAB53A54AFA26FCE903A801D3F78891-ZZ@rome1.prodigy.net>

This piece is indicative of the Bush administration's 
utter contempt for democracy.  Chavez was chosen in a 
fair democratic election and survived multiple 
national referendum's on his presidency.  But Bush 
and co. could care less about democracy--they are 
interested only in regimes which co-operate with 
their agenda.  Bush and co. were the key players in 
ousting Haiti's President Aristide, elected by the 
Haitian people in a landslide, and replacing him with 
a regime which has allowed brutal human rights abuses 
and killings of Aristide supporters and utter chaos 
in Haiti...but it IS friendly to U.S. multinational 
corporations and their sweatshops.  --Mha Atma


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 14 18:26:18 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 14 18:28:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Help fight Bush's plan to stack the courts
Message-ID: <BE5B87CA.1F2D0%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Dear friend, 
 
This week the Senate is debating the judicial nomination of
William Myers III. He's a career cattle and mining industry lobbyist who is
now up for a lifetime appointment to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He's
just one of Bush's 20 judicial nominees that Democrats rejected last term,
(compared to over 200 they approved). But Bush is still fighting hard to
make sure every single one gets confirmed. 
 
These 20 judges were singled
out because they consistently picked corporate interests over basic rights,
and want to roll back decades of progress on anti-discrimination, women's
rights, worker's rights, and the environment. If we don't act now to support
a real opposition, these corporate judges will be given lifetime
appointments to lock in Bush's ultra conservative ideology for decades. 

Plus, the Bush administration has threatened to use this fight to take away
the Senate Democrats' ability to resist any future judges, including Supreme
Court nominees. 
 
MoveOn has started a petition calling on our Senators to
stand firm against Myers and all 20 of these rejected corporate nominees,
and to fight any manipulation of the rules to force them through. 
 
Please
join me in signing today:

http://www.moveonpac.org/judges/

Thanks!

[Your
Signature]



From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 14 18:29:08 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 18:30:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503150229.j2F2T8Hq016666@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031305A.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 14 18:33:31 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 18:35:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200503150233.j2F2XVfN016759@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031405Y.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 14 18:57:07 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 14 18:58:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Thanks , Nina
Message-ID: <BE5B8F03.1F2D3%michael@michaelbutler.com>

For taking care of the AOL problem,
Thanks
Michael

From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 14 20:24:45 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 20:26:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Extreme Cinema Verite
Message-ID: <16136586.1110860685036.JavaMail.turbine@s78>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Extreme Cinema Verite 
--------------------

GIs shoot Iraq battle footage and edit it into music videos filled with death and destruction. And they display their work as entertainment.

By Louise Roug
Times Staff Writer

March 14 2005

BAQUBAH, Iraq &#8212; When Pfc. Chase McCollough went home on leave in November, he brought a movie made by fellow soldiers in Iraq. On his first night back at his parents' house in Texas, he showed the video to his fiancee, family and friends. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-videos14mar14,0,7535845.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 14 20:27:24 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 20:29:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] By nixing show, PBS spotlights gay family
Message-ID: <10185190.1110860844149.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
By nixing show, PBS spotlights gay family 
--------------------

Lesbian couple, their kids become a cause celebre after 'Buster' episode is dropped.

By Lynn Smith
Times Staff Writer

Mar 14 2005

Like a twisted practical jokester, Buster the cartoon rabbit hopped into Vermont in late January, leaving a basket of good news and bad news for Karen Pike, partner Gillian Pieper and their three children. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-buster14mar14,1,1465537.story
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 14 20:29:05 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 20:31:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Age-old conflict over God's word
Message-ID: <22696483.1110860945424.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Age-old conflict over God's word 
--------------------

Whose Bible Is It? A History of the Scriptures Through the Ages Jaroslav Pelikan Viking: 274 pp., $24.95

By Merle Rubin
Special to The Times

Mar 14 2005

Monotheists of every stripe &#8212; Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim &#8212; worship the same God. Yet despite the potential for harmony inherent in this shared belief, many of history's fiercest conflicts have been between believers with disparate versions of the same story. Each faith &#8212; and within each faith, each sect &#8212; considers itself the one true heir, a situation epitomized in the famous ring parable of Gotthold Lessing's story "Nathan the Wise," in which a king, equally fond of all three sons, bequeaths identical rings to the three, each of whom supposes his to be the only authentic one. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-book14mar14,1,2791061.story
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 14 20:30:49 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 14 20:32:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fighting for Freedom of the Keyboard
Message-ID: <32678509.1110861049180.JavaMail.turbine@s78>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Fighting for Freedom of the Keyboard 
--------------------

Officials can jail bloggers but can't stop the meme.

By Curt Hopkins
Curt Hopkins directs the Committee to Protect Bloggers.

March 14 2005

The number of blogs around the world has jumped from 5.4 million two months ago to 7.5 million today, according to the blog search engine Technorati. They are read by an estimated 32 million people a day. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-hopkins14mar14,0,3056155.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 14 20:53:22 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Mon Mar 14 20:55:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Age-old conflict over God's word
References: <22696483.1110860945424.JavaMail.turbine@s74>
Message-ID: <00c701c5291a$eb56a5e0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Michael:

Although Pelikan has always been one of my favorite faith-based authors, he 
makes a surprising - and enormous - error.  He refers to the "three peoples 
of the Book," meaning the Jews, Christians and Muslims.  However, the 
Muslims are not a "people" of the bible (i.e., the Old and New Testaments). 
Although all three faiths claim Abraham as "father," and the Biblical story 
of Hagar is a prelude to the Muslim story, Muslims are the people of the 
Qu'ran, and the prophet Mohammed, whom they consider greater than Moses or 
Jesus.  Indeed, in the Qu'ran, Mohammed continually refers to the Jews as 
the "people of the Book," by which he means the Old Testament.  Thus, 
Mohammed himself apparently "disclaimed" any connection to the Hebrew Bible, 
and thus would not have considered himself, or his people, a "people of the 
Book"; indeed, it would have been seen as an insult.

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <michael@intrafi.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 11:29 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Age-old conflict over God's word


> This story was sent to you by: michael butler
>
> --------------------
> Age-old conflict over God's word
> --------------------
>
> Whose Bible Is It? A History of the Scriptures Through the Ages Jaroslav 
> Pelikan Viking: 274 pp., $24.95
>
> By Merle Rubin
> Special to The Times
>
> Mar 14 2005
>
> Monotheists of every stripe &#8212; Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern 
> Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim &#8212; worship the same God. Yet despite the 
> potential for harmony inherent in this shared belief, many of history's 
> fiercest conflicts have been between believers with disparate versions of 
> the same story. Each faith &#8212; and within each faith, each sect 
> &#8212; considers itself the one true heir, a situation epitomized in the 
> famous ring parable of Gotthold Lessing's story "Nathan the Wise," in 
> which a king, equally fond of all three sons, bequeaths identical rings to 
> the three, each of whom supposes his to be the only authentic one.
>
> The complete article can be viewed at:
> http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-book14mar14,1,2791061.story
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Mon Mar 14 07:47:15 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Mon Mar 14 21:16:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: MEQ interviews Jordan's King Abdullah II on "Iraq is
	the Battleground - the West against Iran"
In-Reply-To: <6d9c38f3690b23e3c64a0d75629a3a5e@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503150516.j2F5GUjR000480@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 00:32:41 -0500
Subject: MEQ interviews Jordan's King Abdullah II on "Iraq is the
Battleground - the West against Iran"



Begin forwarded message:

> From: "MEF News" <mefnews@meforum.org>
> Date: March 11, 2005 1:58:29 PM EST
> To: shahla@thesamiis.com
> Subject: MEQ interviews Jordan's King Abdullah II on "Iraq is the
> Battleground - the West against Iran"
>
> On the eve of a visit by King Abdullah II of Jordan to Washington, the
> editors of the Middle East Quarterly are pleased to provide a special
> preview of the Spring 2005 issue featuring an interview with the
> Jordanian monarch. In it, he describes his concerns about Iran and
> Iraq, explains his strategy to counter radical Islam, and outlines his
> hopes for Arab-Israeli peace.
>
>
> King Abdullah II: "Iraq is the Battleground - the West against Iran."
>
> Middle East Quarterly
> Spring 2005
> http://www.meforum.org/article/688
>
> King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, descendant of the Prophet Muhammad,
> is the fourth ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the
> great-grandson of his namesake, the kingdom's founder. Born on January
> 30, 1962, to King Hussein's second wife, the British-born Princess
> Muna, he is the eldest of Hussein's sons and was proclaimed crown
> prince at birth. When Abdullah was three years old, however, Hussein
> transferred that title to his own younger brother, Hassan. After his
> early schooling in Amman, Abdullah was educated in private schools in
> England and the United States and then, in 1980, embarked on a
> military career, attending Britain's Royal Military Academy at
> Sandhurst. For the next nineteen years, he rose through the ranks of
> the Jordanian army, eventually serving as commander of the Royal
> Jordanian Special Forces and as special operations commander. Along
> the way, he took classes at Oxford and Georgetown universities and
> further military training at Fort Knox and the Royal Staff College at
> Camberley, United Kingdom. In 1998, he assumed the rank of major
> general, which he held when he was proclaimed crown prince by his
> father on January 24, 1999. Abdullah assumed the throne when his
> father died on February 7, 1999. Abdullah and his wife, Queen Rania,
> have two sons and two daughters. On January 11, 2005, Robert Satloff,
> executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy,
> interviewed King Abdullah II at his private office in a secluded
> compound outside of Amman.
>
> Fighting Extremism
>
> Middle East Quarterly: How do you identify and energize the "silent
> majority" of Muslims that opposes Islamist extremism?
>
> Abdullah: It's just not good enough to say, "Fine, we are God-fearing
> Muslims, this is what we believe in and this is the line that we draw
> in the sand." The real question for us is how do we take the battle to
> the street and start winning the street war. It's not just inside the
> Muslim world. It's also a battle for our friends in Europe and in the
> West.
>
> MEQ: What is the best way to fight against the extremist ideology that
> motivates Islamist terrorism?
>
> Abdullah: One of our top priorities for addressing the "hearts and
> minds" question is to tackle the issue of extremist clergy and how
> they operate inside Muslim communities. We are currently working on
> setting up pilot projects with our friends, the British, to get Muslim
> clergy from our part of the world to give the clergy in British
> society the ammunition to start winning back the street. This is not
> something that happens overnight; this will take five, ten years. If
> we can get the mechanism working in England, we can then duplicate it
> in Europe and other countries. We're starting our work in England. If
> we can succeed there, then we can multiply the effort and apply it to
> the United States. I've talked to the president about this; I just had
> a long talk with John Kerry about this, too. This is different than
> the work of interreligious organizations. Our challenge is how to get
> these ideas down to the average Muslim.
>
> MEQ: Specifically, what can be done?
>
> Abdullah: A lot of it is financing. Take, for example, the financial
> problems we have with our Ministry of Religious Affairs. Its budget is
> minuscule. They may want to get the right preachers into the mosques,
> but the ministry has no money. Out of the 3,625 mosques in the
> country, plus another 280 under construction, about 20 to 30 percent
> have no state preachers. The result is that anybody can stand up and
> give a sermon. We need to find the money so we can hire the right
> people.
>
> Something else we are trying to do is turn religious training into a
> master's program. Up until now, the situation was that the students
> with the worst grades on their tawjihi (high school graduation) tests
> had two options?journalism or religious affairs. The result is
> obvious, in both fields. One solution we are trying is to make
> religious training into a master's program and to build a center of
> excellence in religious education at ?Ahl al-Bayt University, where we
> can actually articulate the curricula. It's going to take another
> three to four years until we can close the religious studies program
> down at other universities, transfer it to ?Ahl al-Bayt, and make it a
> full master's program so we actually get bright people coming out that
> know exactly what true moderate Islam is all about and that are not
> influenced by extremist teachings and thinking.
>
> MEQ: Do your neighbors have the same approach?
>
> Abdullah: In private, they do. At the time of the Beslan school
> massacre in Russia, all of us were disgusted. But it's just not good
> enough to sit in the privacy of one's home and say how awful this is
> and condemn these people who are defaming Islam. This was a crime
> against humanity, and we have to be much more vocal, in public. In my
> view, Islam is going in a direction that's very scary, and as the
> Hashemite Kingdom, we have a moral obligation to stand up. Yes, there
> are a lot of other things that are happening inside the Muslim world,
> but we have to draw the line. If we don't, then these people are going
> to win.
>
> Even the Saudis have started talking more openly. They were supportive
> of the conference that we had here in Jordan for Iraq's neighboring
> states where we issued a clear and unambiguous call against
> extremism.[1] They were vocal in Amman. They are more vocal in their
> own country, now. But there are still some in Saudi Arabia who think
> that the problem of these bin Ladin supporters is a passing threat and
> that six months from now the extremists won't have a leg to stand on.
> That's just not the case and to think so is to sugarcoat the problem.
> It doesn't solve the problem that they have inside the country, nor
> does it solve the problem that we in the Muslim world have.
>
> In Jordan, one of the reasons my late father wanted to make some
> changes in the way that the family council was run a couple of years
> before he died was that he wanted to relieve himself of responsibility
> of being king in order to focus full-time on dealing with this
> problem. But there was an issue with his brother [Hassan, then-crown
> prince] in terms of coming to an agreement on that and, in the end, my
> father couldn't do it. But he saw this problem coming in the 1990s.
>
> Iraq and "The Shi'ite Crescent"
>
> MEQ: On Iraq, you warned that a Shi?ite-led Iraq might develop a
> special relationship with Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Lebanese Hezbollah
> to create a "crescent ? that will be very destabilizing for the Gulf
> countries and for the whole region."[2] Please explain.
>
> Abdullah: The Hashemites are from ?Ahl Al Bayt [family of the Prophet]
> and do not have a problem with Shi?ites. We are as close to them as we
> are to the Sunnis. But, there are many people in Iraq?including
> Shi?ites?who have their own concerns about Iran.
>
> We keep saying that the core problem in the Middle East is the
> Israeli-Palestinian one, but for the first time, my fear is that if
> things do not quickly settle in Iraq into an inclusive process that
> brings stability and security, then the Israeli-Palestinian issue may
> no longer be the core problem. In that situation, the core problem is
> going to be based around Iraq, and it's going to be a terrible
> conflict within Islam?a Shi?ite-Sunni conflict?which would be
> devastating for this part of the world. The so-called issue of "the
> crescent" was taken out of context and blown out of proportion. My
> concern is political, not religious, revolving around Iran, Iran's
> political involvement inside Iraq, its relation with Syria and
> Hezbollah, and the strengthening of this political-strategic alliance.
> This would create a scenario where you have these four [Iran,
> Iran-influenced Iraq, Syria, and Hezbollah] who have a strategic
> objective that could create a major conflict. I don't have any problem
> with Shi?ites. I have a real problem with certain Iranian factions'
> political influence inside Iraq. Our argument to the United States is
> that a capable, independent, secure Iraq is the best way of containing
> Iran. There's one reason why 1980 happened?the war between Iraq and
> Iran. The Iranians realize that the way to have success against the
> West is by them succeeding in Iraq. So Iraq is the battleground, the
> West against Iran.
>
> MEQ: What advice would you give the Bush administration on the
> development of the Iraqi army?
>
> Abdullah: I don't think Iraq should be a launching pad for an
> offensive against Iran. If you have a stable, capable Iraq defending
> itself, and you have the Iranians and other outsiders losing any
> strategic capability inside Iraq, you've won. But there are those in
> the U.S. administration who do not really understand the Iraqi
> mentality. They believe, for example, that Iraq should only have a
> police force. In Iraq, if you send the police into a situation,
> everybody throws rocks at them, but the minute the army walks in, the
> people are out with tea and cookies. Disbanding of the Iraqi armed
> forces and the security service was a major mistake at the beginning
> of the process. On de-Baathification, I've been saying to the
> president: identify the core element of the Baath Party, the ones that
> you're concerned with, and then let the rest of Iraqi society off the
> hook. He [President Bush] understood what we were talking about, but
> we felt that every time we came and he asked what should we [the U.S.
> government] do, I had to argue those same points over again, knowing
> that he had sent his messages to members of his administration to
> implement this policy, but it hadn't been taken up.
>
> At the moment, they're trying to build the capacity of the army, but
> they're in such a rush. They want to piecemeal people in, bring them
> in [for training] for six weeks and take them back. Really, that's not
> how to train counterterrorist forces.
>
> Here in Jordan, because many [Iraqi special forces personnel] have
> come through our Special Operations Command for training, we could
> identify the best people that were in training and have them come back
> as instructors. The next course that we have is actually going to be
> trained by the Iraqi cadre that we initially had in the first two,
> three courses. We want to adapt that capability to the army.
>
> Then, there will be the issue of the Iraqi air force. Two or three
> years from now, somebody's going to say they need an air force, and
> you're going to have to start from scratch with fighter pilots.
> Instead, let's identify the young majors, captains, and even some
> lieutenants you think are good and bring them into the training. They
> have Mirages. We have Mirages. There are ways for us to help. But the
> typical argument that we get is that instead of spending a year
> training, we should do it in six weeks.
>
> Let's do everything as we've said, but on top of that, let's get a
> long-term plan in place. For example, I have a suggestion to put an
> Iraqi armored company inside of a Jordanian battalion or an Iraqi
> battalion inside a Jordanian brigade and have them go through our
> one-year training cycle. We're downsizing our armed forces and will
> have these fine American tanks. We'll give them the equipment, and
> we'll train them inside of our brigades and our divisions, and then at
> the end of a training cycle they can go back to Iraq as a united,
> well-trained force.
>
> MEQ: You have warned that the United States would have to draw some
> red lines for the Persian Gulf, defining what would constitute
> acceptable behavior. What do you mean?
>
> Abdullah: If what we are hearing from many Iraqis is correct, and Iran
> starts to influence Shi?ites inside of Iraq, then that immediately
> creates problems inside Gulf countries. The U.S. administration will
> have to realize where it is going to draw the red lines because it's
> not just the political crescent that I was concerned about, but also
> the stabilization of the Gulf countries. So, again, the battleground
> is Iraq. That is where the red line has to be drawn.
>
> MEQ: The Iranian acquisition of nuclear capability would change the
> equation. What is the best response to this?
>
> Abdullah: You have to deal with Iran with a united front. When we went
> to Iran about a year and a half ago, the Iranians were under
> tremendous pressure. They felt that they had gotten themselves into a
> very tight corner, and that's why they said, "Please, we want to reach
> out to the United States; we have our Al-Qaeda prisoners that we want
> to hand over; we want to talk about weapons of mass destruction; and
> we want to have some sort of a common understanding on the issue of
> Iraq, the unity of Iraq." But the minute the Europeans had prime
> ministers knocking on Iran's door, the Iranians felt the pressure was
> off. How do you address the nuclear issue now, given the way Europe
> is, with France's and Germany's relationship with the United States?
> How do you get a united front to deal with Iran? You need a unified
> front. But even so, that doesn't mean we should be letting the
> Iranians off the hook with what they're trying to do in Iraq.
>
> The Arab-Israeli Peace Process
>
> MEQ: The end of the 2003 Iraq war and Yasir Arafat's death may have
> opened a window of opportunity to advance Israeli-Palestinian
> relations. What are the Arab states' responsibilities?
>
> Abdullah: How did my late father get into the peace process? How was
> he successful in building a relationship with the late Yitzhak Rabin?
> It was because he put himself in their shoes. What do Israelis desire?
> Israel wants to be part of this region, from Morocco all the way
> across the Arab world. That's the price Arabs should be willing to
> pay. Israelis should have free movement and free access and a sense of
> fully being part of this region. The sacrifice they need to make for
> this is a clear future for the Palestinians. But does paying this
> price guarantee the Israelis that they will receive the benefits?
> There are serious Israelis who look at the region and say, "Okay,
> we'll make this sacrifice; we'll make this hard decision, and we'll
> work with the Palestinians so that we can have some sort of
> coexistence with them. But does that really change the relationship
> that we have with Arab countries?"
>
> Our job is to convince them. This was started in Jordan, which then
> became the Jordanian-Egyptian "two-basket approach" in 2001 that was
> later translated into Crown Prince Abdullah's position that came out
> as the Arab Summit Declaration of Beirut in 2002. I think that needs
> to be readdressed, and we've already started.
>
> There's a peace conference in London in March. There's the Arab summit
> two weeks after that. We have to reach out to the Israelis?and not
> just about this. We need to see what guarantees we can give Israel
> about what the Arabs need to do. We need to come to the Arab League
> summit in Algiers with a "Beirut-plus-plus," a realistic statement to
> the Israelis that this is what we can do, and what more can we do.
>
> MEQ: Beirut fell flat because the summit declaration was issued the
> day of one of the most heinous terrorist attacks in Israel?the Park
> Hotel bombing on Passover?and people in Beirut said nothing.
>
> Abdullah: Politics. We're hoping that maybe in Algeria we'll have
> better luck. But the ball is in our court. It's up to us to reach out
> to the Israelis in a much stronger and clearer way. One good thing
> about the Beirut declaration is that it was even signed by Saddam
> Hussein. So one problem?getting Arab unanimity?is not an exercise that
> we have to really trouble ourselves over.
>
> MEQ: This year?2005?is about Israel's disengagement from Gaza and the
> northern West Bank, not about final status negotiations. How do you
> keep diplomatic and political momentum alive knowing that discussions
> about the endgame are not on the table anytime soon?
>
> Abdullah: That was the one thing that I discussed with President Bush
> in our t?te-?-t?te. I said, "Sir, you articulated a vision of a
> viable, independent Palestinian state. It comes down to the viable
> part. And I'm concerned that we may, in a year or two, run out of
> being able to talk about a viable Palestinian state." So looking at
> the bigger picture, if there is no future for the Palestinians, then
> do we doom this region to several more decades of conflict between
> Israel and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians?
>
> Prime Minister Sharon does want peace with the Palestinians, but
> there's also part of him that wouldn't mind waiting ten years. Can we
> really suffer another ten years? My father used to say that he wants
> peace for his children and our children's children. He was talking
> about us. Do I now have to start saying I want peace for my children
> and our children's children? The Middle East cannot wait that long.
>
> On the question of having a viable state, we don't have more than two
> to three years, maximum. And if we don't have a future for the
> Palestinians, where does that leave us? If you don't have a viable
> Palestinian state, then I could conceive of an Israeli-Palestinian
> problem becoming an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian problem. As I said
> to the president, in a private discussion, "Please, if there's one
> word that I would like you to focus on, that's the word viable."
>
> MEQ: The president referred to a "viable" state in his January 9
> statement after the Palestinian election[3] and then he mentioned the
> term again the following day, but he said only that "it is essential
> that there be a viable economy and a viable health care system,"[4]
> not mentioning territory.
>
> Abdullah: He and I know what is meant by the word, because he said,
> "Do you mean the maps?" I said, "Mr. President, from what I gather,
> you know the settlements, the roads, the maps a lot better than I do."
> So when he and I talked about it, it was territorial. And he said, "I
> got the message."
>
> Jordanian Political Reform
>
> MEQ: When you first took office six years ago, you highlighted a
> policy of non-interference in the affairs of others. But over the last
> year, you have spoken out about developments inside Iraq and advised
> Arafat that he should look in the mirror and see if he is helping his
> people. Why the change?
>
> Abdullah: Not getting involved in the internal affairs of others means
> that we are not committing ourselves to get into the West Bank. We've
> been very careful about doing that, and using the Iraq example, this
> is one of the arguments I'm using. I have been very opposed to the
> idea of the Hashemite family getting involved in Iraq. Sheikh Ali, the
> Hashemite prince, keeps pounding on our door to come and visit us, but
> I refuse and have said so to everyone, including Prince Hassan.
> Whenever the subject came up, I have disagreed with members of my
> cabinet about getting involved in Iraq. I don't think that there is a
> role for the Hashemites. If there is a role for the Hashemites, that
> comes many years down the line if the Iraqis want it. But it's a
> non-starter for me. It's the same argument that I use when I'm talking
> about the moral high ground of the Iranians and others who wish
> certain involvement in Iraq when I say that I don't believe that Amman
> should get involved in Baghdad.
>
> We don't play those sort of Cold War games, with my people inside the
> West Bank trying to foment against the other side. So yes, I call
> things as I see them, whether on Iran and Iraq or Arafat and
> Palestinians.
>
> My statement on Arafat was calculated to have an impact. I didn't know
> that he was that ill. But I just saw what was going on with him and
> had to speak out. The problem with the Palestinians is they spend most
> of their time blaming the Arab street and the Arab leaders. And that's
> what I was saying?Stop blaming us, because we're ready to help you,
> but you've got to help yourself first. If you look at Al-Jazeera, it's
> always saying, "Where are the Arab leaders; where's the Arab street,
> and they're letting us down." No. You're letting yourselves down. We
> want to help you, but every time I sat down with Arafat and asked,
> where's your plan, where's your strategy, there was nothing there.
>
> MEQ: Six years ago the economy was your top priority, and you said it
> a 100 times. What is your top priority now?
>
> Abdullah: When we change priorities, it doesn't mean that we lessen
> any of the other ones. So I think socioeconomic issues are something
> that we still have to move on full speed, and we can't take any
> prisoners on that. But a year ago I announced that we're now ready for
> political reform. Then, in a speech in parliament, I said political
> reform is important, but the flavor of the next couple of months is
> administration reform. Some people here said, "Ah, we're backing down
> on political reform." But it's not one thing and not the other. We
> start on a layered level of attacking different problems in Jordan,
> and all these programs are going to continue. But we're now in a
> position to really tackle political reform.
>
> We will have a major proposal coming out on political reform.[5] The
> problem is I have tried to deal with political reform from the top
> down, and it's not working. I've been trying to engage with this
> parliament on creating, instead of our current thirty or so political
> parties, just two or three or four that represent left, right, and
> center. I've been begging the parliamentarians. There are 110
> parliamentarians who are better educated and younger than their
> predecessors, and I said, "What do you stand for? We know what the
> older generation stands for, but you, as a young parliamentarian,
> where do you stand on health? Where do you stand on education? Where
> do you stand on social services?" I was hoping that we'd be able to
> tackle the issues of giving enough bite to young parliamentarians so
> that we could start creating these blocs. If we do this, we said to
> them, then in the next parliamentary elections, you'll be elected
> because of your party's political platform and not because you're from
> this tribe or this village or this particular group. Unfortunately,
> we're not going to get there, not in this round. So I'm now going to
> work from the bottom up. We're going to do something in Jordan that
> has not been done before in the Middle East. And it's serious. I had
> my first meeting with a very small group, and I said, "You all
> understand when we start the process, we're talking about true
> democratic political reform. Once we start this, there's no going
> back, and it's comprehensive, and it's long term."
>
> You'll notice when we talk about political reform, there's reform also
> for the security services. I think they're beginning to get the
> message that you can't have political reform and have the archaic way
> of doing things.
>
> [1] "Final Communiqu? of the Seventh Meeting of the Neighboring
> Countries of Iraq," Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amman, Jan.
> 6, 2005.
> [2] Interview on Chris Matthews Show, MSNBC, Dec. 12, 2004.
> [3] White House news release, Jan. 9, 2005.
> [4] White House news conference, Jan. 10, 2005.
> [5] On Jan. 26, 2005, King Abdullah announced an initiative to
> decentralize Jordanian political life, creating directly elected
> regional assemblies with control over local expenditures.
>
> To unsubscribe from the MEF News list, go to
> http://www.meforum.org/unsubscribe.php
> To subscribe to the MEF News list, go to
> http://www.meforum.org/subscribe.php
> To receive alerts of MEF staff media appearances, please sign up for
> the MEF Alerts mailing list at: http://www.meforum.org/subscribe.php
>
> You may freely forward this information, but on condition that you
> send the text as an integral whole along with complete information
> about its author, date, and source.


------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 14 21:17:17 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 14 21:19:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Age-old conflict over God's word
In-Reply-To: <00c701c5291a$eb56a5e0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>
Message-ID: <BE5BAFDD.1F2EB%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Ian,
Thanks for the information.
Michael

> Michael:
> 
> Although Pelikan has always been one of my favorite faith-based authors, he
> makes a surprising - and enormous - error.  He refers to the "three peoples
> of the Book," meaning the Jews, Christians and Muslims.  However, the
> Muslims are not a "people" of the bible (i.e., the Old and New Testaments).
> Although all three faiths claim Abraham as "father," and the Biblical story
> of Hagar is a prelude to the Muslim story, Muslims are the people of the
> Qu'ran, and the prophet Mohammed, whom they consider greater than Moses or
> Jesus.  Indeed, in the Qu'ran, Mohammed continually refers to the Jews as
> the "people of the Book," by which he means the Old Testament.  Thus,
> Mohammed himself apparently "disclaimed" any connection to the Hebrew Bible,
> and thus would not have considered himself, or his people, a "people of the
> Book"; indeed, it would have been seen as an insult.
> 
> Peace.
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <michael@intrafi.com>
> To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 11:29 PM
> Subject: [Mb-civic] Age-old conflict over God's word
> 
> 
>> This story was sent to you by: michael butler
>> 
>> --------------------
>> Age-old conflict over God's word
>> --------------------
>> 
>> Whose Bible Is It? A History of the Scriptures Through the Ages Jaroslav
>> Pelikan Viking: 274 pp., $24.95
>> 
>> By Merle Rubin
>> Special to The Times
>> 
>> Mar 14 2005
>> 
>> Monotheists of every stripe &#8212; Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern
>> Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim &#8212; worship the same God. Yet despite the
>> potential for harmony inherent in this shared belief, many of history's
>> fiercest conflicts have been between believers with disparate versions of
>> the same story. Each faith &#8212; and within each faith, each sect
>> &#8212; considers itself the one true heir, a situation epitomized in the
>> famous ring parable of Gotthold Lessing's story "Nathan the Wise," in
>> which a king, equally fond of all three sons, bequeaths identical rings to
>> the three, each of whom supposes his to be the only authentic one.
>> 
>> The complete article can be viewed at:
>> http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-book14mar14,1,2791061.story
>> _______________________________________________
>> Mb-civic mailing list
>> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
>> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
>> 
> 
> 

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar 14 20:33:50 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon Mar 14 21:20:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Urgent action on ANWR plus corrupt bankruptcy bill report
Message-ID: <200503150520.j2F5K5ON000538@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

The following alert is from our Calif. Senator Barbara Boxer.  If you are 
reading this on Tuesday before 5 PM east coast time do the email 
action right now then pick up the phone and call your own Senators 
(call Feinstein if you live in CA) and demand that they oppose oil 
drilling in the Arctic Refuge.  If it's after Tuesday, call anyway--if they 
don't hear from you they'll think you don't care.....



Every day on the Senate floor is more and more like "Barbara in 
Wonderland."  Sometimes the Senate seems so foreign to me, I 
wonder if I'm living in some kind of bad dream.  And just when I 
thought it couldn't get worse, it has. 

Read on to learn more about this week's Senate Republican 
scheme to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling -
- and then reject these radical efforts by signing my petition to 
Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist:
http://ga4.org/campaign/boxer_anwr/du3nk7rfjk7b8k

Last week, the Senate debated and passed a horrible new 
bankruptcy bill -- a sweetheart deal providing a huge financial 
windfall to big credit card companies while punishing the lower-
income Americans these companies prey upon.  I thought for 
sure when I offered a common-sense amendment that would 
place a modicum of responsibility on these credit card 
companies it would surely pass.  Well... it didn't.  Imagine voting 
against this: 

My amendment proposed that if a credit card company gives a 
seventh credit card to a person under age 21; a person with 
below poverty-level income; without the credit card company 
asking for a co-signer -- then the bankrupcy judge should take 
into consideration the fact that the credit card company should 
have known better if that young person files for bankruptcy. 
My amendment wouldn't automatically exonerate that young 
person, mind you.  It just said that the judge should be able to 
take these circumstances into account during the bankruptcy 
process.  Seems to make sense, right?  

Well we only got forty votes on my common-sense amendment.  
And unfortunately, this is the way it's going.  The American 
people and their interest come in FAR behind the powerful 
special interests. 

Now we face the ultimate special interest issue:  Drilling in 
Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  For six months of oil, 
not to be realized for ten years, my colleagues seem bent on 
handing over this most pristine land to the big oil companies.  
Never mind that we can save the equivalent of an infinite number 
of ANWR fields by simply raising fuel economy a modest amount 
-- that doesn't matter.  The Republicans don't care about the 
native peoples whose lives will be ruined; they don't care that 
President Eisenhower set this land aside; they don't care about 
the more than one hundred species of wildlife that depend on this 
refuge. 

What they do care about is the precedent.  If they open up ANWR, 
they'll think they can do anything to the environment -- anything 
at all.  Drilling in Yosemite?  In the Grand Canyon?  What's next? 
Stand with me and reject any attempts to open the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling -- sign my petition today! 

I urgently need your help.  Last week, the Republican leadership 
snuck a provision into the Budget bill that moves us one step 
closer to opening ANWR to drilling. It's a sneaky way of trying to 
get what they want without having to vote on it directly. 
We can't let that happen!  I urge you to sign my new petition to 
Republican Leader Bill Frist -- tell him that any Republicans who 
vote to open up the Alaska wilderness to oil drilling will pay a 
price in the next election.  The Budget bill with this terrible ANWR 
provision will be up for a vote in the Senate by the end of the 
week.  Let the Republican leadership know that we won't forget 
the votes they cast. 

Sign my petition to Bill Frist today -- stand firm against 
Republican efforts to open up ANWR! 
http://ga4.org/campaign/boxer_anwr/du3nk7rfjk7b8k

I need you now more than ever.  Please stand with me on this 
critical issue. 
In Friendship, 

Barbara Boxer
U.S. Senator 
P.S.  Thanks to the more than 14,000 of you who contacted your 
Members of Congress in support of the Count Every Vote Act last 
month!  I'll keep you posted on our progress with this important 
election reform legislation in the coming weeks. 

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

Here is Arianna's rant about the truly offensive "Bankruptcy reform" 
legislation that was just passed by our corrupt Congress.  It will remain 
corrupt until enough of us raise enough public outrage to truly "reform" 
it by major campaign finance reform and major voting reform.  When 
our Senators and congresspeople and president and media do NOT 
hear from us they assume we don't mind....

THE SENATE OPENS FIRE ON U.S. CONSUMERS
By Arianna Huffington
U.S. consumers and freed Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena found 
themselves in the same position this week: under fire from those put in 
place to protect them.
For Sgrena, the bloody barrage came from jittery U.S. soldiers. For 
consumers, it was jaded U.S. senators who pulled the trigger, about to 
pass a bankruptcy bill so hostile to ordinary American families that it 
could only have come about in a place as corrupt, cynical and 
unmoored from reality as Washington, D.C.
In a normal world, those elected to represent the interests of the 
people would have fought for bankruptcy legislation that would, well, 
represent the interests of the people. But not in Beltway Bizarroland. 
Instead of cracking down on predatory lending practices, closing 
loopholes that favor the wealthy, and strengthening the safety net for 
working people, single mothers and elderly Americans struggling to 
recover from a financial setback, the Senate put together a nasty little 
bill that reads like a credit industry wish list. Rubbing salt in the wound, 
Sen. Charles Grassley, the bill's chief sponsor, labeled it the 
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005--
even though it does nothing to prevent bankruptcy abuse or protect 
consumers.
So what does the bill do? It makes it harder for average people to file 
for bankruptcy protection; it makes it easier for landlords to evict a 
bankrupt tenant; it endangers child support payments by giving a wider 
array of creditors a shot at post-bankruptcy income; it allows 
millionaires to shield an unlimited amount of value in homes and asset 
protection trusts; it makes it more difficult for small businesses to 
reorganize, while opening new loopholes for the Enrons of the world; it 
allows creditors to provide misleading information; and it does nothing 
to reign in lending abuses that frequently turn manageable debt into 
unmanageable crises. Even in failure, ordinary Americans do not get a 
level playing field.
Credit card companies have been feverishly lobbying for this legislation 
for nearly a decade--and it looks like the $34 million the finance and 
credit industries have contributed to political campaigns since 1996 is 
finally about to pay off. On Tuesday, the cloture vote on the bill was 69 
to 31. The House passed similar legislation last year and GOP leaders 
are hoping to bypass the conference committee deadlocks that have 
derailed similar measures in the past and have the bill on President 
Bush's desk in short order. The president, well aware that credit card 
giant MBNA is one of the Republican Party's largest donors, has 
promised to sign the bill as soon as someone hands him a pen.
Make no mistake, the inequitable nature of the bill--bending over 
backwards to help the credit card industry while sticking it to American 
working people who fall on hard times--is no accident. Time and again 
over the last week, the Senate shot down amendments that would 
have made the bill a bit less mean-spirited. They denied proposals that 
would have made it easier for military veterans, the sick and the elderly 
to qualify for bankruptcy protection. They even rejected an amendment 
that would have put a 30 percent ceiling on the interest rates credit 
card companies can charge. Thirty percent--that's more than Paulie 
Walnuts charges. But 74 U.S. senators--including John Kerry, Harry 
Reid, Barack Obama and Dick Durbin--clearly thought that wasn't high 
enough. Quick, somebody send those guys a Bible bookmarked to 
Deuteronomy 23:19: "Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother."
For years, credit-card companies have been claiming that tougher laws 
are needed to reign in high-flying customers using bankruptcy to game 
the system. But the truth is that the vast majority of people who file for 
bankruptcy are middle-class folks who can't pay their bills because 
they've lost their jobs or been hit with high medical bills or gone 
through a divorce.
Indeed, a recent study by Harvard University found that half of last 
year's 1.6 million bankruptcies were the result of crushing medical bills. 
Put another way: Every 30 seconds, someone in this country files for 
bankruptcy in the wake of a serious illness. How's that for a shocking 
stat? Here's another: Three-quarters of the so-called medically 
bankrupt had health insurance. It just wasn't enough to cover the 
dramatic rise in health-care costs.
But instead of adapting to this harsh new reality, where hardworking, 
college-educated, middle-class folks can be financially destroyed by a 
sudden illness, the Senate is about to approve a one-size-fits-all law 
that treats a family man who has sunk into debt because of a heart 
attack the same as a con artist who maxes out his MasterCard, then 
refuses to pay up.
Worst of all, the bill does absolutely nothing to protect consumers from 
the aggressive tactics credit-card companies have devised in recent 
years--tactics that have proven hugely profitable. Along with sending 
out over 5 billion solicitations a year, they are constantly developing 
new ways to stick it to the people they've already lured into the tent. 
For instance, companies now routinely jack up a cardholder's interest 
rate when their payment is late--and, presto, a "fixed" 7 percent APR is 
suddenly transformed into a cash-gobbling 30 percent loan.
There has also been an explosion in the fees that credit card 
companies charge: late fees, balance transfer fees, cash-advance 
fees, over-the-limit fees. Such fees bring in billions and are partly 
responsible for the fact that, even as personal bankruptcies in America 
have steadily increased, so have the profits of credit card companies--
which reached a whopping $30 billion last year.
So tell me again: Just who is gaming the system?
It's one thing for credit card companies to exact their pound of flesh 
even as their profits soar. But shouldn't we hold our elected officials to 
a higher standard? The bankruptcy bill is morally bankrupt. And so is 
any senator who votes for it.
? 2005 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.

-------


"And even if your debts are the consequence of identity theft,
of someone stealing your credit card and running up charges,
you still are on the hook for them, as the Senate amazingly
voted down an amendment to shelter victims of identity theft."

Democratic Senators Cave on Bankruptcy Bill

By Matthew Rothschild

March 12, 2005, The Progressive

http://www.progressive.org/webex05/wx031205.php

On March 11, the U.S. Senate passed the bankruptcy bill that
will fill the coffers of the credit card companies while
bleeding consumers dry.

The bill passed by a whopping 74 to 25 margin, with eighteen
Democratic Senators going over to the dark side.

Here are the spineless 18:

Max Baucus, Montana.

Evan Bayh, Indiana.

Joe Biden, Delaware.

Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico.

Robert Byrd, West Virginia.

Thomas Carper, Delaware.

Kent Conrad, North Dakota.

Daniel Inouye, Hawaii.

Tim Johnson, South Dakota.

Herb Kohl, Wisconsin.

Mary Landrieu, Louisiana.

Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas

Bill Nelson, Florida.

Ben Nelson, Nebraska.

Mark Pryor, Arkansas.

Harry Reid, Nevada, Senate Minority Leader!

Ken Salazar, Colorado.

Debbie Stabenow, Michigan.

"This is not where we as Democrats ought to be, for crying
out loud," as Senator Tom Harkin noted. "We are making a
terrible mistake by thinking that we can have it both ways.
We have to remember where our base is."

The bill is a fantasy come true for credit card companies,
which have been pushing it for years. But it's not as though
they're suffering. They made $30 billion in profits last
year.

The bill severely limits the ability of consumers to wipe
away some of their debts and get a fresh start.

Half the people who file for bankruptcy do so because of sky-
high medical bills, and another 40 percent due so because of
disability, job loss, family death, or divorce, according to
the National Consumer Law Center. If you make more than the
median income in your state, no matter how high your bills
are, you can't wipe the debts clean.

As a result, debtors will be at much greater risk of losing
their cars or their homes.

And even if your debts are the consequence of identity theft,
of someone stealing your credit card and running up charges,
you still are on the hook for them, as the Senate amazingly
voted down an amendment to shelter victims of identity theft.

Yet at the same time, the bill assigns guilt to consumers who
are doing perfectly understandable and legal things. "The
bill presumes that a struggling family that spends more than
$42 a week on credit card purchases before declaring
bankruptcy is guilty of fraud," according to the Consumer
Federation of America.

The bill also requires anyone filing for bankruptcy to get
credit counseling beforehand. But as Senator Russ Feingold
pointed out, there are some people who need to file for
bankruptcy who can't get that counseling. He mentioned a
person with Alzheimer's, for instance. "Do we think anything
is to be gained by requiring a debtor who is ill with a
terrible, incurable disease, not even competent to sign legal
papers anymore, to take a credit education course?"

He also mentioned U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq or
Afghanistan. Some of them are going broke because their
military pay is much less than they were earning at home. On
the Senate floor, Feingold again asked: "Do we want to
require a soldier to sit down at a computer and take a credit
counseling or credit education course while they are in Iraq
in order to protect his or her family back home from
financial ruin?"

Meanwhile, the new bill won't do anything to force the credit
card companies to stop their predatory lending, nor will it
even make them come clean on how much interest or penalties
they are charging to consumers who pay only the minimum
balance or who pay late.

Middle class debtors are the ones who are going to suffer the
most under this bill.

The poor will still be able to get Chapter 7 protection,
which releases them from most of their debts. And the
indebted rich can still shelter their property if they get a
good lawyer to draw up an asset protection trust in states
where that's allowed. And many affluent debtors could still
declare bankruptcy and still keep their mansions. On top of
that, corporations like Enron could still file bankruptcy to
avoid paying their employees.

But if you're struggling to keep your head above water, this
bill has one piece of advice for you: drown.

And eighteen Democratic Senators refused to throw you a rope.

(c) 2005 The Progressive

-----------




-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar 14 20:47:55 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon Mar 14 21:21:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] No Social Security crisiis--take online action
Message-ID: <200503150521.j2F5LeC0000565@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

In direct contradiction of Bush Administration claims, the head of the
Government Accountability Office said last week that the Social Security
system "does not face an immediate crisis." A pillar of the New Deal,
Social Security provides tens of millions of workers with a guaranteed
retirement income as well as disability and life insurance during their
working lives. Moreover, contrary to conservative rhetoric, the system is
extremely efficient.

Click below to urge your elected reps to oppose the President's plan for
privatization:

http://www.capwiz.com/thenation/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6750026 


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
up to 3x/day) please reply and let us know!  If someone forwarded you 
this email and you want to be on our list, send an email to 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar 14 20:47:56 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon Mar 14 21:22:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] DU: Our Tools of War, Turned Blindly Against Ourselves
Message-ID: <200503150522.j2F5MXXU000583@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

This article is a little long but important for understanding and survival...


Chronicle of Higher Education - February 18, 2005
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i24/24b00701.htm


Our Tools of War, Turned Blindly Against Ourselves

By ROB NIXON

What is a war casualty? The answer appears painfully obvious. It asserts
itself not through argument but, more viscerally, through photographs: a
torso shredded by a road-side bomb; a bloodied peasant spread-eagled in a
ditch; a soldier (cigarette dangling nonchalantly) smashing his boot into
a dead woman's head. Yet such images account only for immediate, visually
arresting fatalities. What about those casualties that don't fit the
photographic stereotypes, casualties that occur long after major combat
has been concluded, casualties whose belatedness and dispersal make them
resistant to dramatic packaging? The news media, in thrall to speed and
spectacle, lack the attention span to follow war-inflicted catastrophes
that take years or generations to exact their toll.

Public debate is overdue on war's hidden human and environmental costs, a
debate that acknowledges the changes in the ways that contemporary wars
kill. We also need more scholarly inquiry into the ways that military
euphemisms like "precision" warfare, "surgical" strikes, "smart" wars, and
now "depleted" uranium have helped legitimize recent, high-tech conflicts
while concealing their long-term toxic impact. The rhetoric of precision
has lulled us into regarding the fatalities of war as swift, immediate
killings. But, ironically, the increasing reliance of American and British
forces on "precision" warfare has coincided with the integration of
depleted uranium into their missiles, bullets, and tank armor.

Ever since the Persian Gulf war of 1991, a new kind of fatal,
environmental imprecision has been built into "precision" warfare. The
gulf war was history's first depleted-uranium conflict. Arguably, not
since Hiroshima and Nagasaki have humans unleashed a military substance so
tenaciously hostile to life itself. Depleted uranium possesses a
durability beyond our comprehension -- it has a radioactive half-life of
4.51 billion years. When it enters the environment, it effectively does so
for all time.

In the age of depleted-uranium warfare, we have an ethical obligation to
challenge the military body counts that consistently underestimate (in
advance and in retrospect) the true toll of waging high-tech wars. Who is
counting the staggered deaths that civilians and soldiers suffer from
depleted uranium ingested or blown across the desert? Who is counting the
belated fatalities from unexploded cluster bombs that lie in wait for
months or years, metastasizing into landmines? Who is counting deaths from
chemical residues left behind by so-called "pinpoint" bombing, residues
that turn into foreign insurgents, infiltrating native rivers and
poisoning the food chain? Who is counting the victims of genetic
deterioration -- the stillborn, malformed infants conceived by parents
whose DNA has been scrambled by war's toxins?

The calculus of any conflict needs to incorporate such environmental
casualties. They may suffer slow, invisible deaths that don't fit the news
cycle at CNN or Fox, but they are casualties of war nonetheless.

The proponents of "smart" wars often market them as humane because they
appear to promise not just greater accuracy but greater brevity. The Iraq
war has complicated that assumption, exposing the chasm between a
hygienically "smart" war and the messy hazards of a drawn-out,
urban-guerrilla conflict. Innumerable commentators have made this point.
They typically overlook, however, the way technologies that purport to
shorten a conflict may delay, disperse, and therefore obscure "precision"
warfare's full fatal impact. Such technologies, when they compromise the
environment, morph into long-term killers, creating landscapes that
inflict lingering, off-camera casualties.

Time itself becomes the ultimate cover-up, a dependable ally in
camouflaging high-tech warfare's true toll. Clearly, if
depleted-uranium-tipped warheads are involved, there is no such thing as a
surgical strike. "Surgical" suggests a precise excision in the name of
healing, yet such strikes poison the environment, imperiling not just
combatants and civilians but their progeny as well.

Environmentalists routinely face the quandary of how to communicate urgent
issues that unfold too slowly to qualify as breaking news -- issues like
climate change and species extinction that threaten in slow motion. Any
environmentalist who seeks to tally the delayed-action casualties of
"precision" warfare labors under a similar disadvantage. How many years,
how many decades, how many generations will she be granted to come up 
with
a final count that includes war's after-dead? Since 1991, depleted-uranium
ordnance has been deployed in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Serbia,
Somalia, and now -- in unprecedented quantities -- in Iraq. Given depleted
uranium's extraordinarily long half-life, at what point do we stop
counting casualties?

War deaths from environmental toxicity demand patient, elaborate proof.
Spikes in renal collapse; infertility; leukemia; testicular, brain, and
breast cancers; and clusters of infant malformations are harder to link to
war's technologies than is a bullet through the head. The military
statistician can simply count corpses within a given place and time,
subdivide those columns into combatants and civilians, and draw a line
beneath his sums. Such calculations conform tidily to our preconceptions
about the time frame within which a war is waged. However, to view war
through the prism of ecological time demands a different ethical attention
span, one that strives to give the slow, discounted dead their due.

Earlier environmental historians have addressed this problem of the
relationship between changing military technologies and belated
casualties. Harvey Wasserman and Norman Solomon's 1982 book, Killing 
Our
Own: The Disaster of America's Experience With Atomic Radiation, detailed
the catastrophic, long-term impact of atmospheric nuclear testing on
America's "atomic soldiers." Thomas Whiteside's The Withering Rain:
America's Herbicidal Folly and John Lewallen's Ecology of Devastation:
Indochina, both published in 1971, began the by now extensive literature
on the protracted lethality of Agent Orange. The turn to depleted-uranium
warfare demands that we revisit the question of who counts as a casualty.
This new development demands that we start counting returning veterans
slain or disabled by environmentally transmitted "friendly fire," and that
we count, too, the deferred casualties among returning refugees. Both
groups harbor the illusion that the war is safely over.

Forty years ago, Rachel Carson -- that indefatigable enemy of lethal
euphemism -- coined a phrase that best articulates the threat that
"precision" warfare poses. Carson spoke of "death by indirection." She was
referring not to war casualties but to the scattershot victims of
"herbicides" and "pesticides," products she insisted ought to carry the
label "biocides" instead. Carson's astute phrasing is as relevant as ever
to our depleted-uranium age. From behind a linguistic cloak of bogus
precision, today's "smart" warfare operates biocidally, dispensing
widespread "death by indirection."

It is easy to forget how advocates of the Vietnam War pitched it as the
smart war of its day, with boasts of imminent victory via the "electronic
battlefield" and of the insurmountable advantages that cluster bombs and
chemical weaponry would deliver. Carson died shortly after the United
States began to deploy as instruments of war the dioxins she'd condemned
as "biocides." Yet her Silent Spring foreshadowed the enduring
consequences of those spraying runs: Thirty years after Vietnam received
its last "dusting" of Agent Orange, that war's slow chemical slaughter
continues, claiming 21st-century victims. A 2002 study recorded dioxin
levels in the bloodstreams of Bien Hoa residents 135 times the normal
level. The dioxins build up in the fatty tissues of pivotal human foods
like duck and fish, gathering concentration as they move up the chain. So
an old war's poisons pass from nature and from livestock into the cooking
pot and from there into the next generation. Children born long after the
war's end are still dying Agent Orange deaths of painful prematurity.

The conventional view is that, as an April 2003 New York Times editorial
put it, "during our dozen years [in Vietnam], the U.S. killed and helped
kill at least 1.5 million people." Yet that "during" shrinks the toll: How
many thousands survived the war years only to have their lives (or their
children's and grandchildren's lives) foreshortened by Agent Orange?

Because depleted uranium carries both a chemical and a radiological
threat, its long-term implications are even more severe. Depleted uranium,
despite that reassuring adjective in its name, possesses 60 percent of
natural uranium's radioactivity. Malcolm Hooper, a professor of medicinal
chemistry at the University of Sunderland, in England, has characterized
depleted uranium as "a new weapon for indiscriminate, mutually assured
destruction." During the gulf war alone, U.S. troops discharged munitions
containing 340 tons of depleted uranium. That contributed significantly,
in Hooper's view, to making the gulf war "the most toxic war in Western
military history."

On the eve of the gulf war, the American nuclear scientist Leonard A.
Dietz warned of catastrophic consequences if the United States and its
allies introduced depleted-uranium weaponry to the battlefield. His
prescient appeal was ignored. And the gulf war has left in its wake
radioactive landscapes that will continue, for untold years, to wage
widespread, random warfare.

When Dietz cautioned against integrating depleted uranium into
conventional warfare, his alarm was grounded in experience. During the
late 1970s, he was employed to monitor depleted-uranium levels outside an
Albany, N.Y., factory that produced cannon shells for the Air Force. New
York State authorities, on learning that radiation levels near the factory
had reached 10 times permissible state standards, shut down the plant. The
subsequent cleanup cost more than $100-million.

Dietz underscored the hypocrisy of such stringent domestic regulation when
the United States was creating, in the Persian Gulf, an infinitely more
toxic environment for its troops and for the region's inhabitants.

"To protect the health of Americans, we shut down a factory for
discharging the equivalent of about two 30-mm. shells into the atmosphere
per month," Dietz says. "How can we justify using a million such shells in
Iraq and Kuwait, most of it in only four days of war?"

What accounts for depleted uranium's sudden surge in military popularity?
As a byproduct of nuclear testing and nuclear power, depleted uranium is
extremely cheap

indeed, better than free. Half a century of nuclear-weapons and
nuclear-power production has left the Department of Defense with over a
billion pounds of nuclear waste in storage. The department is delighted to
offload some of that waste onto arms manufacturers, gratis, in the form of
depleted uranium. The result is a seductive kind of alchemy: Weapons
manufacturers magically cut their production costs while the Defense
Department magically rids itself of a five-alarm waste product that no
American wants buried in his backyard. The result is a kind of
anti-environmental recycling that converts highly toxic waste into even
more deadly explosive forms.

By expanding its depleted-uranium arsenal, America is effectively
exporting nuclear waste to foreign soil -- nuclear waste that contains
plutonium, for which there are no safe levels. This nuclear waste also
contains the uranium isotope 236, which does not exist in nature and has
caused concern among epidemiologists.

Foreign war zones may appear far off; and, yes, foreign civilians bear the
brunt of the noxious load. However, they do not bear that load alone:
American troops also become victims of depleted uranium's slow-motion
slaughter. In 2001 Asaf Durakovic, former chief of nuclear medicine at the
Veterans Administration Hospital in Wilmington, Del., published (in the
peer-reviewed journal Military Medicine) the results of his research that
found depleted uranium and the more radioactive isotope, uranium 236, in
the urine and bone tissue of 62 percent of sick gulf-war veterans.
Durakovic had taken his samples nine years after the war had ended.

Depleted uranium's current military popularity threatens children most
directly: Children are 10 to 20 times more sensitive than adults to
radiation's cancerous effects. Once depleted uranium passes into the water
system, it quickly travels from there into mothers' milk, gathering
concentration as it goes, producing the cancer clusters among children
that we have witnessed in the gulf war's aftermath, particularly around
the heavily bombarded Basra region. The result: sharp increases in
stillbirths and congenitally malformed infants -- in some areas by more
than 250 percent from 1989 to 1999 -- born in and around Basra. A report
on gulf-war veterans from Mississippi noted that an abnormally high
proportion who have attempted to start families have produced stillborn or
malformed infants. Those veterans, disproportionately minority and
disproportionately poor, were never asked whether they were ready to make
that other ultimate sacrifice-- sacrificing in perpetuity the integrity of
their DNA.

The Pentagon loves depleted uranium not just because it's free, but
because the metal's density gives it a high penetrative capacity. That
means that depleted-uranium munitions can be fired from greater distances,
ensuring improved "kill range" and thereby purportedly helping keep U.S.
troops out of harm's way. But such reasoning depends on a myopic notion of
both "harm's way" and "kill range": Both phrases demand an environmental
gloss. We need to measure a weapon's "kill range" not just across
battlefield space but across time as well.

When a depleted-uranium warhead strikes a metal target, the depleted
uranium spontaneously combusts, releasing, in aerosol form, minute glass
particles. Ceramic aerosols give off no scent, so troops and civilians
alike inhale them unknowingly. Because ceramic aerosols emit radiation in
lethal doses, if they enter your lungs, or if you ingest them, or if they
seep into a cut, you are at grave risk of developing life-threatening
renal carcinoma, leukemia, lymphomas, or any one of multiple cancers.

Most cancers take 5 to 30 years to incubate. In a classified
acknowledgment of depleted uranium's perils, Britain's Atomic Energy
Authority warned that in the gulf war's wake, depleted uranium could enter
the food chain and cause half a million premature deaths in Iraq and
Kuwait. If the gulf war is any measure, we can anticipate an even more
disastrous epidemic of belated deaths following the war in Iraq, given the
considerably greater volume of depleted-uranium munitions that American
and British troops have deployed this time around.

It is timely, in this context, to revisit Elaine Showalter's notoriously
controversial reading of gulf-war syndrome in her 1997 book Hystories:
Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Media. Showalter, a literary critic and
professor emerita of English at Princeton University, lumped the syndrome
in with such phenomena as alien abduction, Satanic ritual abuse,
multiple-personality syndrome, and the recovered-memory movement. She
classified all of them as hysterias virally transmitted through the media
in a climate of premillennial panic. "Hysteria not only survives in the
1990s, it is more contagious than in the past," she wrote. "Infectious
epidemics of hysteria spread by stories circulated through self-help
books, articles in newspapers and magazines, TV talk shows and series,
films, the Internet, even literary criticism."

For Showalter, gulf-war syndrome was a hysterical "plot line" contracted
from the media, a plot line that gave shape and meaning to the war
neuroses of returning veterans. "Patients learn about diseases from the
media, unconsciously develop the symptoms, and then attract media
attention in an endless cycle," she wrote. "The human imagination is not
infinite, and we are all bombarded by these plot lines every day.
Inevitably, we all live out the social stories of our time."

Gulf-war syndrome, in this view, becomes little more than a feedback loop
in which "psychogenic symptoms" generate stories, which in turn generate
further self-identifying victims. Gulf-war syndrome is a fin de si?cle
hysterical script -- like alien abduction and Satanic-ritual-abuse
stories, part of, in Showalter's phrase, a media-transmitted
"psychological plague."

Well, the millennium has come and gone, but the numbers of veterans
reporting a spectrum of ailments associated with gulf-war syndrome
continues to rise: from Showalter's 1997 figure of 60,000 (out of 697,000
gulf-war veterans) to some 182,000 today. Is gulf-war syndrome really best
treated, as Showalter recommends, with psychotherapy and an education in
the history of combat neurosis? She sees the syndrome as a variant of
Civil War battle fatigue and World War I shell shock.

In reaching for psychological and historical generalizations, Showalter
ignores the fact that each war has a unique chemical and radiological
character. As the technologies of war change, so, too, does war's
epidemiological and environmental aftermath. The inhabitants of the Basra
region, where depleted-uranium weaponry was used most extensively during
the gulf war, share disturbingly similar symptoms to America's ailing
veterans. Are we to believe that the Basrans, too, contracted these
symptoms from America's millennial media?

After NATO planes deployed depleted-uranium-tipped missiles in the Balkan
war, returning European troops reported a high incidence of what has come
to be known as "peacekeepers' syndrome" or "Balkan syndrome." They show
strong epidemiological similarities with America's gulf-war veterans and
the Basrans. All three groups have experienced spikes in leukemia,
lymphomas, and other cancers, kidney disease, and premature mortality.

Showalter's inner literary critic (perhaps overly in love with the power
of textuality and plot lines) does not treat with sufficient seriousness
the role of radiation poisoning in contemporary depleted-uranium warfare.
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights views the matter
differently: It has condemned depleted-uranium munitions, classifying them
-- along with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons -- as "weapons of
indiscriminate effect." Thus we face a grim irony: American and British
forces, seeking to cleanse Iraq of elusive weapons of mass destruction,
have blasted Iraqi society with their own fatal, long-lasting WMD's.

One man's precision-guided missile is another man's weapon of
indiscriminate destruction. But with depleted uranium, we're not talking
about rogue missiles that accidentally shred a marketplace or a wedding
party. We're talking about the triumphant, pinpoint strike that doubles as
a chaotic weapon, a weapon that, in time, strikes down innocents who --
whether under some future tyranny or democracy -- just happen to live
downwind.

At least 17 nations have bought depleted-uranium weapons from the United
States since they were first showcased during the gulf war. As these
previously unacceptable weapons become enfolded into contemporary 
warfare,
we have an ethical responsibility to redraw the boundary between the war
survivor and the war casualty. People may outlast a given conflict, but if
thousands then die deferred war deaths, what kind of justice is it to call
them survivors?

"Smart wars" become wars of ecological folly when we turn soil, air, and
water into slow weapons of mass destruction, wielded unremittingly against
ourselves. Armies move on, as do our memories, but a deeper memory 
remains
lodged in the earth. Despots may be deposed, but environmental mayhem
outlives regime change.

Perhaps the greatest challenge we now face is to reinstate a more
expansive vision of what it means to be secure. What span of time will we
allow to define our national security and our security as a species? At
home and across the planet, in wartime and in peace, environmental
safeguards must be reasserted, safeguards on which our health, freedoms,
and international standing depend.

The current fixation on meeting terror with high-tech military terror has
shrunk our vision of what constitutes sustainable security. If we improved
the fuel efficiency of America's cars and light trucks by a mere 2.7 miles
per gallon, we would be liberated from the need to import any oil from
Saudi Arabia. Such a bold but feasible move to conserve energy would also
help reintegrate a viable environment into our vision of how to protect
America in the long term.

We cannot afford to shrink the threats to our future to the real but
reductive threat of terrorism. If we continue to glorify poisonous weapons
of fake precision, belated war deaths will become increasingly widespread,
as will the political consequences of the accompanying blow-back rage. We
will face an unbounded war, as the planet itself metastasizes into a
combatant: the ultimate, toxic hyperpower, a force of random, abiding
retribution.

Rob Nixon is the Rachel Carson Professor of English at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison. He is working on a book on the environmental and
epidemiological aftermaths of high-tech wars.

http://chronicle.com
Section: The Chronicle Review
Volume 51, Issue 24, Page B7

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
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   ---   George Orwell


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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Mon Mar 14 22:08:28 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Mon Mar 14 22:08:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Extreme Cinema Verite
Message-ID: <000701c52925$697c26c0$7325b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Extreme Cinema Verite


=====
This story was sent to you by: michael butler
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-videos14mar14,0,7535845.story
=====



Let me know when the T-shirts come out.  Beats the heck out of the "Global
Postcard" idea.   A "Killing Hajis" video in every living room in America..?
+With+ a soundtrack..?   I'll take 4.   Iraq, oh, Iraq (fill in so many
other countries' names in here as well), wherefore is thy Steven
Spielberg...?  Nevermind.  We found them.

Demented, sick, twisted, disrespectful or not, there is at least some brains
left alive in the military.  Whether they know what they are doing, remains
to be seen at the box office.

Perhaps there is no crackdown on military personnel making "mtv style music
videos" of killing, destruction etc in Iraq and shipping it back because
they realize the "old etc folks" will just not watch it (at least a lot), or
if they are ever accidentally forced to, put it out of all their daily
thoughts as quickly as possible.

It's a "young people's" thing.  Let 'em have fun.  Hey, recruiting numbers
will escalate exponentially to the number of videos in circulation
stateside.

Well, regardless of whomever's intentions, or any of the various
descriptions and feelings about them making such gory
"entertainment"-videos, it's funny that these people, among others, are now
distributing more film (Real War) footage of the war in Iraq than our own
government and the American media combined.

One small undesired side-effect will always remain, however, just as with
any other similar product, there will always be a group of people sitting
somewhere in front of a screen in America (as well as other people in other
countries) going "F*ck yeah.....!!!!" to the beat and visual of these
videos, the thought of the actual realities and horrors and
avoid-at-all-costs-if-you-can's of War escaping them completely other than
as pure unadulterated fun.  Some will be future enlistees.  Others will be
people who sit back and remember the good old days when they were young, far
away, could kill anything that moved, nobody said anything about it, and
they felt more alive than ever especially compared to their now-"mundane by
comparison" existence.

Great "entertainment" (gag.. choke..), but now if you could only get a copy
to every household in America, you'd actually have something.

Oh, well, at least little Judis and Jimis can get a glimpse of all the fun
they can have overseas.  Just like playing a video game.  Fun in the sun.
We're livin' large now.

My turn.  No, my turn.  My turn.  No, my turn.  Mom..!!


How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm once they've seen "Iraq"...





Cheeseburger

- T-shirts..!!  Get your tutsi fruitsi "Killing Hajis" t-shirts..!!  Right
here..!!  Yes, yes, how much for a t-shirt..?  50 dollars...  50 dollars..?
Well, look, if you don't want that, I got baseball caps.. 45 dollars...   45
dollars...?  Ok, well, ok, here, I got a nice poster, only 40 bucks...  40
bucks..?   Yeah, hey, that's the best I got, if you don't like it, go down
the street...  Does it come with the "Killing Hajis" video...?  I'll throw
one in...  Great...Give me 10 of each...   There ya go, thanks very much...
Thank you...  T-shirts..!!  Get your tutsi fruitsi "Killing Hajis"
t-shirts..!!  Right here..!!   T-shirts....!!

.

From geomilman at milman.com  Mon Mar 14 22:46:43 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Mon Mar 14 22:48:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Miscl.
Message-ID: <20050315064641.4951321F1D6@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

Oy Vitae.  Jews vs. Catholics in the stem cell debate -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2114733/#ContinueArticle

 


Critical Thinking About Energy -- The Case for Decentralized Generation of
Electricity -  Technical, but well worth the read.  We need to move quickly
away from stereotypical political associations in evaluating our world
approach to energy.   <http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-01/energy.html>
http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-01/energy.html


Geo.

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 15 03:37:09 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 15 03:38:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6234957.1110886629144.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Skepticism of Bush's Social Security Plan  Is Growing
 
 By Jonathan Weisman
 
  Three months after President Bush launched his drive to restructure Social Security by creating private investment accounts, public support for his program remains weak, with only 35 percent of Americans now saying they approve of his handling of the issue, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
 
 While the White House has helped convince more than two-thirds of those polled that Social Security is heading for a crisis or possible bankruptcy without change, 56 percent disapprove of his approach, a survey of 1,001 adults conducted March 10-13 shows. By comparison, 38 percent approved of his handling of the issue and 52 percent disapproved of it in mid-December.
 
  Moreover, 58 percent of those polled this time said the more they hear about Bush's plan, the less they like it. The latest polling, combined with detailed interviews last week, shows that Bush's drive to significantly alter the 70-year-old national insurance program has run into significant hurdles with every age cohort.
 
 A majority of elderly voters have turned against the plan for private accounts, even though the White House has assured them it would  have no impact on their Social Security benefits. Younger workers, who have the most to gain, also tend to be the most difficult to mobilize, according to interviews. And many middle-aged workers are faced with the reality that there would not be enough time before their retirement to gain much financial benefit from the new approach.
 
  "The president knows it's a challenge and is taking it head-on," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said. "He is just getting started, and he's going to keep traveling, pushing and explaining to people of all ages why Social Security needs to be fixed permanently and why it's best that personal accounts be part of the solution."
 
 For middle-aged workers such as Kathy Remenar of Midland, Mich., the issue is simple mathematics.
 
  "I personally wouldn't get a whole lot out of it, really," said the 46-year-old director of science and technology for Dow Corning Corp.'s specialty chemicals business. "It's not relevant to me."
 
 Bush has promised that, under his proposal, workers would eventually be able to divert 4 percent of their income subject to payroll taxes to private accounts, which could then be invested in stocks and bonds. A 46-year-old earning the maximum income subject to Social Security taxation  --  currently $90,000  --  could theoretically salt away $3,600 a year.
 
 But the plan would be phased in slowly, starting in 2009 with an initial annual cap of $1,000 and rising by $100 a year. It would take an additional 26 years for someone at the taxable maximum to save the promised 4 percent. By then, Remenar would be 76 and long since retired. And in the short time period available to middle-aged workers, investment gains would have to exceed inflation by 3 percent for the accounts to make more money than the traditional Social Security system would provide.
 
 "If there are no other incentives than this, we probably wouldn't take part in it, because the numbers don't make a whole lot of sense for us personally," said Sue Smorodin, 45, a homemaker in St. Louis.
 
 Republican Michael Cardwell, a land-use planner  in Washington state, did the math. He would retire with $11,000 in his account, plus maybe $900 more in investment gains if all went well on the stock market.
 
 "Wow," Cardwell, 50, said with a laugh. "I may get one additional paycheck, thank you very much." Nonetheless, he said he will support the president. 
 
 Not all middle-aged workers are skeptical. Marilyn Donnelly, a 46-year-old nurse on Florida's central Atlantic coast, said that with luck a personal account could grow substantially, and she relishes the opportunity to give it a try. She is already saving 16 percent of her income for retirement, Donnelly said, but too much of her paycheck is going to a Social Security system that is not likely to do as well with the money as she could. 
 
 "I want the opportunity to invest some of that money myself so it will grow more than what Social Security is going to give me," said Donnelly, of Rockledge. "And I feel [Bush is] offering me that opportunity."
 
 But after nearly a dozen interviews with middle-aged voters, it appears Donnelly's optimism is not widely shared.
 
 "If you're my age, it isn't going to make much difference really," said Mark Kaufman, 52, a rancher and farmer in Nebraska's panhandle. "I can't get all that excited."
 
 "It won't add up to much," agreed John Hall, 50, a small-business man in Lubbock, Tex., and a strong supporter of the president. "But for my daughter, it could be a tremendous amount. She's 19 years old, and for her, the future of the Social Security system is not too bright."
 
 Indeed, the White House is pinning its political hopes on younger voters such as Hall's daughter. They tend to be deeply ambivalent about the future of Social Security and blessed with enough time until retirement to build up sizable accounts.
 
 In this month's poll, 68 percent of adults 18 to 29 years old said they support investing some Social Security contributions in the stock market. That support falls with the respondents' age, to 60 percent among those 40 to 49, 53 percent among those 50 to 64, and 37 percent among those 65 and older.
 
 But young workers present their own political problems. For one thing, they tend to be less politically involved. Only 38 percent of young respondents say they know much about Bush's Social Security proposal, well below the levels seen among middle-aged and elderly respondents.
 
 At 32, Kathy Lavigne of Wayzata, Minn., said she thinks she supports the president's Social Security plans. But, she conceded, she cannot be sure.
 
 "Honestly, I've discussed it with my business partner here or there, but I'm not watching it too closely," the insurance saleswoman said. 
 
 If she were  moved to call her representative in Congress, she would have a little problem. She does not know her congressman's name.
 
 If it were up to Ray Waters, a 32-year-old construction sales representative in Kansas, he would keep all of his Social Security taxes in a private account, but absent that, he strongly backs Bush's proposal. "I guess it comes down to it's my money," he said.
 
 But though his congressman, Rep. Dennis Moore, is a perennial Republican target, Waters is not clamoring for a bullhorn to pressure the state's only Democrat in Congress.
 
 "I don't get to camp out in front of Fox News as much as I would like to," he said. "Between work and a little boy and a baby, there's not a whole lot of time for politics."
 
 Finally, younger workers may support the idea of private accounts, but they also tend to oppose Bush. Democratic candidate John F. Kerry claimed 54 percent of the 18-to-29-year-old vote in November, the only age bracket he carried. And distrust of the president is lingering among even some young workers inclined to support investing part of their Social Security contribution. Only 40 percent of these younger workers say they support Bush's Social Security proposal.
 
 "I'm not a big fan of Bush, not at all," said Michelle Hinson, 31, of Morgan Hill, Calif., just south of San Jose. But she grudgingly says she likes the idea of personal accounts. "If I think it's a good idea, then I'm willing to listen and hear what's going on. But for the most part, I don't agree with anything he's doing."
 
  If young voters tend to be apathetic or ambivalent, the elderly are anything but. GOP strategists are convinced Republican politicians must emphasize over and over that anyone older than 55 will not be affected by the plan. By exempting those in or near retirement from participation in the accounts or any benefit reductions, Bush hopes to neutralize opposition from the most vocal and reliable voting bloc. 
 
 But the strategy may backfire, homemaker Smorodin said, noting that her mother has grown incensed about the issue. By and large, the elderly do understand the president has promised not to touch their Social Security checks, according to polling. 
 
 But that is not relevant to their political opposition, Smorodin said, noting that older people also worry that pension benefit cuts will hurt their children and grandchildren.
 
 At 69, Gene Wallace knows the White House's proposal would  have no impact on his Social Security check, but if Bush believes that will silence the Republican mayor of Coldwater, Mich., Wallace grumbled, "he's all wet."
 
 "I'm a parent as well as a grandparent. Somewhere along the line, they are going to be eligible for retirement assistance," he said, with all the energy he could muster three weeks after open-heart surgery. "It's everybody's concern what happens to this country."
 
 Assistant polling director Claudia Deane contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 15 03:37:44 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 15 03:39:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11634826.1110886664493.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Green in Gridlock
 
 By Paul W. Hansen
 
   While President Bush and many of today's Republican leaders seem to be out of step with the American public and much of their own party when it comes to environmental conservation, the tactics of some environmentalists also play a significant role in creating the political polarization and stalemate that have caused gridlock for more than a decade on environmental policy.
 
  The environment is not a "liberal" cause; it is everyone's cause. An overwhelming percentage of Americans care deeply about conservation of natural resources and the environment. This includes strong majorities across all major demographic categories: ethnic, religious, racial, age, gender and political party affiliation.
 
  There are a variety of theories on the causes of the gridlock on such a popular issue: corporate shortsightedness, the influence of money on the legislative process, the alleged interest of Democrats in having the environment as a perennial campaign issue and the perceived antipathy of Republican leaders. But while all play a role, the polarizing tactics and strategies of some environmentalists are part of the problem as well.
 
  During the 1990s the major laws governing the fundamental environmental infrastructure of our nation  --  the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and Superfund  --  were all due to be reauthorized. All had been reauthorized before, some several times. But in the past 15 years, none of them has  been reauthorized.
 
  During that time progress came to a stop on emerging issues, such as climate change  --  which threatens the entire planet  --  and on old ones, such as improving energy efficiency, which saves money, prevents pollution and reduces dependence on foreign oil. The Environmental Protection Agency tells us that 860 billion gallons of raw sewage still flow into our waterways annually. And while our air is cleaner, it is still not healthful.
 
  All of the major environmental acts of Congress that we  rely on were imperfect bipartisan compromises. In the current climate, however, we have, by letting  the perfect be the enemy of the good, chosen in effect to accomplish nothing. When we stop compromising in a bipartisan fashion, environmental progress stops as well.
 
  For example, the Wilderness Act of 1964 was a compromise. It protected only a fraction of the land that qualified. But it did set up an inclusive process for adding areas, and every president since 1964 has signed bills protecting additional land. Few environmentalists would argue that passing the Wilderness Act was a bad idea  --  yet, would they support this compromise if it were before them today?
 
  In 1990, the last time the Clean Air Act was reauthorized, it was a compromise. Acid rain emissions were reduced by 40 percent, but not by the 60 percent that scientists told us was needed. Toxic mercury emissions were not controlled at all. It wasn't a perfect bill, but it reduced air pollution. Clearly, we are better off than we would be if it had not passed. But would such a compromise be acceptable if it were being considered today?
 
  Before the 1990s, the leaders of national conservation groups took the political support and public opinion available to them and, in most cases, made the best deal possible. The nation passed some important, though imperfect, legislation.
 
  In the early '90s, this dynamic changed. When Republican leaders attempted to roll back long-standing protections, national environmental leaders came under intense criticism from some local and more radical environmental groups for being too close to power, too accommodating and too compromising. This dynamic is reemerging today.
 
  A lack of civility in the rhetoric and tactics used by some groups also has played a role in the stalemate on many current environmental issues. When communications about the environment are too extreme, too dire or too partisan, large segments of the public tune out and dismiss the message. Presenting solutions, expressing concern about lost opportunities or engaging Americans in "can do" thinking are better ways to generate interest in conservation.
 
 Results from the last elections are a good case in point. Voters in 121 communities in 24 states passed ballot measures to create $3.25 billion in  public funding to protect land as parks and open space. Since 1996, 1,065 out of 1,376 conservation ballot measures have passed in 43 states, raising more than $27 billion in funding for land conservation.  
 
 When given the chance, Americans vote for conservation solutions  --  even if it means a tax increase. If you look at the campaign materials for these initiatives, you see little strident rhetoric and a lot of practical solutions.
 
  The case for environmental protection is itself a great one, full of compelling examples of smart solutions that are good for the environment and the economy at the same time. Americans want environmental solutions. They deserve a better commitment to finding those solutions from Congress, the administration, business groups and the environmental community.
 
 The writer is executive director of the Izaak Walton League of America.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 15 03:38:55 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 15 03:40:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <22684870.1110886735331.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Rolling the Dice on a GOP Rift
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
    House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ethics troubles threaten more than his own political future. They have the potential to create a much wider scandal over lobbying on the Indian gambling issue and to open a rift among socially conservative Republicans.
 
  For now much of the public attention focuses on DeLay's connections with lobbyist Jack Abramoff's efforts to protect Indian gambling interests. The Post reported on Saturday that DeLay, a Texas Republican, took a trip to Britain in 2000 that was largely financed by two of Abramoff's clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and eLottery Inc.
 
  Republicans are alarmed that the flow of the news is against DeLay. Democrats are using the reports to challenge new rules pushed through by the House Republican leadership that make it harder to investigate and discipline ethics lapses by members of Congress. The Democrats' strategy will be to put pressure on moderate Republicans to break with DeLay and enact tougher standards.
 
  But the larger controversy lies beneath the surface. It involves a collision between the business interests of Republican lobbyists and the moral commitments of the party's large wing of social conservatives who strongly oppose the spread of gambling.
 
  Perhaps the most bizarre example of this contradiction was detailed by Post reporter Susan Schmidt. When one Louisiana tribe, the Jena Band of Choctaws, won initial approval of a casino three years ago, another tribe, the Louisiana Coushattas, hired Abramoff to block the potential competition. Abramoff and an associate in turn paid $4 million to Ralph Reed, a Republican consultant and evangelical leader, to organize local anti-gambling sentiment against the Jenas. To get the job done, Reed worked with his fellow evangelical James Dobson.
 
  The result: Reed, a public opponent of the spread of casinos, profited from a battle between Indian gambling interests. Reed has insisted that in opposing one casino group, he was being consistent with his public position. He also says he didn't know that his fees came from gambling proceeds, though he does acknowledge that he knew of Abramoff's connection to the tribes.
 
  Even before the rise of the Native American casinos, the gambling issue regularly gave birth to strange-bedfellows politics. Opponents of the proliferation of casinos have included some of the most liberal Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans. Liberals see gambling interests as preying on the less well-to-do, and they argue that the growing dependence of state and local governments on revenue connected to gambling is a cop-out by politicians unwilling to finance government programs through general tax increases.
 
  Social conservatives also speak of gambling as "a tax on the poor," but their core objection is the old-fashioned moral assertion that it is simply wrong. And both liberal and conservative gambling foes have argued that the spread of casinos has a corrupting effect on politics because so much money is at stake.
 
  Supporters of legal gambling are an equally motley crew. Economically libertarian Republicans who oppose state regulation of businesses are often allied with Democrats who are skeptical of state regulation of personal behavior. The rise of Indian casinos gave the debate a multicultural twist, with allies of Indian gambling arguing that a new industry was creating opportunity for previously impoverished tribes. Democrats, with their long ties to Native American interests, often backed the tribes.
 
  Abramoff's innovation  --  and the source of his profits  --  was to argue successfully with many tribes that they needed Republican and conservative allies now that Republicans were dominant in Washington. But in doing so, Abramoff was fighting some of the strongest social conservatives in Congress, notably Rep. Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican whose principled opposition to the spread of gambling has been one of his central causes.
 
  Shortly after the 2000 election was settled, Wolf issued a strong and prophetic letter urging reform in the regulation of Indian gambling. Wolf, joined by other lawmakers, criticized "a tainted recognition process, massive revenue windfalls for the gambling industry and a few well-connected individuals, and worst of all, continuing poverty for most Native Americans."
 
  Last year Wolf specifically urged the Justice Department to investigate whether the Indian tribes Abramoff represented were the victims of fraud.
 
  Wolf has not commented on DeLay, an ally on many issues and a friend. But Wolf's passion about gambling is shared by many social conservatives who will no doubt find it surprising that some of those they once saw as allies are profiting from an industry they see as corrupt. This new scandal is thus a test of conviction for Republican moralists who were right to see that the spread of casinos could have untoward consequences for politics.
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 15 03:39:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 15 03:41:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24247990.1110886781492.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 To Trump Bush on Taxes
 
 By John Podesta
 
    A presidential advisory panel has quietly begun work on the critically important issue of tax reform. It does so against a political backdrop that makes it appear increasingly likely that the president's twin domestic goals of reforming Social Security and the tax system will merge by the summer.
 
  This is a time when progressives would be wise to apply some of the lessons from the battle over the president's 2001 massive tax cuts for the wealthy.
 
  President Bush put the debate in a philosophical, value-driven framework. He asked, "Who do you trust with the people's money, the people or the government?" He then unleashed the special interest groups to lobby for the tax giveaways covered by this theme, which implied that they were fighting for the people instead of their narrow interests.
 
  We ended up with a tax bill that produced exploding deficits, protected the special interests, undid the progressivity of the tax code,  and laid more of the burden on wage earners and less on those with investment income. But our arguments against it were never heard; we didn't offer a larger progressive counter-narrative, and we didn't offer a tax cut alternative worthy of its name.
 
  Hampered by these strategic errors, the Democrats were left with a "just say no" campaign that ultimately was not much of a match for the president's considerable lobbying effort. What Democrats offered as an alternative was simply a little less of what the president had in mind. The truth is that the president's tax changes weren't just bad fiscal policy; they were the wrong thing to do.
 
  But we lost more than the vote; we also lost a crucial opportunity to remind people that progressive values  --  the belief in an expanding middle class and in providing the greatest rewards for people who work the hardest  --  promote both economic growth and economic justice. These are ideas that are more relevant and needed than ever, because we live in a world where global competition is rising and wages, benefits and incomes are under much pressure;  it really matters who reaps the rewards of tax policy.
 
  The 2001 tax debate was just a warm-up. The real sweepstakes will come as the administration pursues comprehensive and permanent tax reform. Progressives must do more than  argue against the president's additional tax cuts. They need to offer their own comprehensive reform plan. They must also seize the moral high ground on this issue. Comprehensive tax reform should be based on three principles: a commitment to fairness, rewarding hard work and the belief that a good tax system must be easy to understand. In addition, reform should aim to promote new opportunity and shared prosperity for the middle class, which only come through economic growth.
 
  The Center for American Progress has put forth one such comprehensive tax reform plan that meets these tests while reducing the deficit.
 
  The center's plan would create a fairer tax system. It would equalize the treatment of all income  --  wages and capital income alike  --  by taxing each source of income according to the same rate schedule. The plan shifts taxes away from the regressive payroll tax by eliminating the 6.2 percent that employees pay on their wages. The number of tax brackets is cut in half, and we replace them with a fair, progressive three-rate structure with marginal tax rates set at 15, 25 and 39.6 percent. Eligibility for the child tax credit is expanded.
 
  By reducing payroll taxes and restructuring the income tax we are able to provide lower taxes for the poor and the middle class, who are disproportionately affected by the payroll tax, while still raising enough revenue to meet our vital commitments to domestic and international priorities and to enhance retirement security. For the vast majority of households with incomes under $200,000 a year, the center's plan would offer a tax cut in the neighborhood of $600 a year or more.
 
 The center's plan would help America climb out of debt and strengthen the economy. By restoring fiscal discipline and equity over  the next 10 years, it would generate nearly $500 billion in new revenue to reduce the deficit, thus increasing national savings.
 
  And the plan would simplify the tax code. Under President Bush, the tax code and related regulations have increased by 10,000 pages. Unless you are a tax attorney, this is not a positive development. The center's plan would also invest in enforcing existing corporate tax laws and closing loopholes, many of which encourage companies to send American revenue and jobs to other countries. The plan also eliminates the alternative minimum tax, which threatens to make tax filing even more maddeningly complicated for more than 30 million middle-class families by 2010.
 
  Progressive tax reform would enhance economic opportunity and overall retirement security. It would guarantee additional revenue to the Social Security trust fund and cut in half the long-run difference between dedicated revenue and outlays. It also offers new incentives to save by providing all Americans a 25 percent refundable tax credit for money saved for retirement.
 
  Conservatives will argue that to have a simple tax code, you have to have a regressive tax code. Don't believe it. We can have a tax code that is simple, rewards hard work, expands economic growth and opportunity, and is fair to all. This is a fight that the president's opponents can win. But they must get on the field. 
 
 The writer is president of the Center for American Progress and served as President Bill  Clinton's last chief of staff.
 
   

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 15 07:25:27 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar 15 07:27:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Cancer cells put into deep sleep
Message-ID: <20050315_152527_067939.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Cancer cells put into deep sleep **
Scientists have found a way to block the development of cancer by putting tumour cells into a permanent coma.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4348281.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 15 07:28:20 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar 15 07:30:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Church fights Da Vinci Code novel
Message-ID: <20050315_152820_079179.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
Ratzinger "a possible successor to the Pope"???? no thanks

** Church fights Da Vinci Code novel **
The Roman Catholic Church speaks out against  "shameful lies" in best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/4350625.stm >


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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 08:14:03 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 08:16:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bush Seeks to Ban Some Nations From All
	Nuclear Technology
Message-ID: <20050315161413.36CD1388066@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | March 15, 2005

News Analysis: Bush Seeks to Ban Some Nations From All Nuclear Technology
By DAVID E. SANGER

One goal behind President Bush's shift in dealing with Iran is to rewrite the main treaty governing the spread of nuclear technology.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/politics/15treaty.html?ex=1111554000&en=6448e4e628fb2a02&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 08:14:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 08:17:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The $600 Billion Man
Message-ID: <20050315161511.6E79E3AE65E@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 15, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The $600 Billion Man
By PAUL KRUGMAN

At issue in the Social Security debate is what kind of society America should be.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 08:15:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 08:17:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Requiem for Reform
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OPINION | March 15, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: A Requiem for Reform
By DAVID BROOKS

The demise of Social Security reform exemplifies everything that's wrong with contemporary politics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/opinion/15brooks.html?ex=1111554000&en=061abcf8c5968ad2&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 08:19:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 08:21:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Huge Demonstration in Lebanon Demands End
	to Syrian Control
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 15, 2005

Huge Demonstration in Lebanon Demands End to Syrian Control
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

The rally added pressure on the government of Syria to announce a serious timetable for its withdrawal from Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/international/middleeast/15lebanon.html?ex=1111554000&en=abbb0307d1015d9b&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 08:20:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 08:21:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel to Turn Over Control of 2 West Bank
	Towns to Palestinians
Message-ID: <20050315162002.5FE0D2062A6@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 15, 2005

Israel to Turn Over Control of 2 West Bank Towns to Palestinians
By GREG MYRE

Israel's defense minister and the Palestinian interior minister reached a deal to put the Palestinians in control of Jericho and Tulkarm.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/international/middleeast/15mideast.html?ex=1111554000&en=89b09220bb352ead&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 15 11:55:05 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 11:56:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / Middle East & Africa - Israel to start
	delayed West Bank pullback
Message-ID: <33266531.1110916505055.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 15 11:57:18 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (Michael)
Date: Tue Mar 15 11:59:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Forwarded from Electronic Iraq
Message-ID: <200503151957.j2FJvI925052@lma345.siteprotect.com>

civic,

I thought you would be interested in the following link:
http://electroniciraq.net/news/1902.shtml



Michael (michael@intrafi.com)
--

Electronic Iraq [http://electronicIraq.net] is a news portal on the US-Iraq crisis published by veteran antiwar campaigners Voices in the Wilderness [http://www.vitw.org] and respected Middle East supplementary news publishers, the Electronic Intifada [http://electronicIntifada.net].

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar 15 12:00:34 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:02:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Forwarded from Electronic Iraq
Message-ID: <200503152000.j2FK0Y925217@lma345.siteprotect.com>

MB Civic,

I thought you would be interested in the following link:
http://electroniciraq.net/news/1770.shtml

battles still rage in Fallujah

HS (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
--

Electronic Iraq [http://electronicIraq.net] is a news portal on the US-Iraq crisis published by veteran antiwar campaigners Voices in the Wilderness [http://www.vitw.org] and respected Middle East supplementary news publishers, the Electronic Intifada [http://electronicIntifada.net].

From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 15 12:03:43 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:05:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
Message-ID: <29098651.1110917023254.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 15 12:07:35 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:09:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Asia 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 12:10:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:12:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ex-WorldCom CEO Ebbers found guilty on all counts - Mar.
	15, 2005
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One down - too many more to go!!

Peace.



 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 15 12:12:03 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:13:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - A catastrophic
	strategy for Syria 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 12:17:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:19:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - White House defends video news releases - Mar
	15, 2005
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Our government in denial...

Peace.



 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar 15 12:19:49 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:21:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] DeLay Scandal
Message-ID: <BE5C8365.1F33E%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Also see below:    
DeLay's Dirty Dozen    ?

    Go to Original

    At Least Four Ethics Groups Will Hold Press Conference on Widening DeLay
Ethics Scandal
    Raw Story

    Monday 14 March 2005

    Washington ethics groups on both sides of the aisle will hold a 10 a.m.
press conference Tuesday to discuss the widening ethics scandals surrounding
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a disgraced lobbyist close to the
congressman, RAW STORY has learned.

    The groups likely to attend include Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington, Common Cause, Public Citizen, Judicial Watch and
Democracy 21, a spokesperson for one of the groups said. Also in attendance
may be the Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Legal Center.

    Judicial Watch, a more conservative watchdog group, has repeatedly taken
a firm stand against DeLay ethics charges.

    The focus of the conference is expected to center on DeLay?s role with
the House Ethics Committee. DeLay removed three members of the Ethics
Committee in February after they voted to admonish him late last year on
charges relating to appearance of impropriety and abusing his power in
redistricting Texas.

    "The ethics process in the House of Representatives is in total
shambles," Democracy 21 president Fred Wertheimer said in a statement Monday
evening. "This complete breakdown is the direct result of steps taken by
House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other House Republican leaders in this
Congress to undermine the House ethics enforcement process."

    "This includes actions taken by the House Republican leadership to
cripple the House ethics enforcement process and to purge Republican Members
and staff from the Ethics Committee in retribution for holding House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay accountable last year for his multiple ethics
improprieties," he added.

    Among the groups will include Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in
Washington, the watchdog group which wrote the most recent ethics complaint
against Rep. DeLay.

    That complaint, filed by former Rep. Chris Bell, resulted in DeLay being
admonished for a third time by the House Ethics Committee.

 

    Go to Original

    DeLay's Dirty Dozen
    Think Progress

    Monday 14 March 2005

    House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has been a busy man these last few
years. Whether bribing congressmen, threatening political opponents,
vacationing with lobbyists, or gutting House ethics rules, it's been hard to
keep up with all the Hammer's activities. Here are twelve highlights from
DeLay's illustrious career:

    DeLay Raises Corporate Cash for TRMPAC:

    DeLay is embroiled in a scandal in Texas for his active participation in
illegally funneling corporate funds to assist state political campaigns.
DeLay's political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority
(TRMPAC), is under criminal investigation for using corporate money to
finance Texas campaigns. DeLay has tried to distance himself from the group,
but documents show DeLay "personally forwarded at least one large check" to
the group and was "in direct contact with lobbyists for some of the nation's
largest companies" on TRMPAC's behalf. [Source: NYT, 3/10/05; Salon,
10/04/04]

    DeLay Bribes Congressman to Vote for Medicare:

    DeLay has admitted offering to endorse Sen. Nick Smith's (R-MI) son
Brad, who was running for Congress at the time, in exchange for Smith's
"yea" vote on the Medicare bill. His actions violated House rules and earned
DeLay a "public admonishment" from the Ethics Committee. Smith originally
alleged - and then retracted after pressure from House leaders - that DeLay
also offered a $100,000 bribe for his vote. DeLay extended the role call on
the Medicare bill for nearly three hours in order "to avoid an embarrassing
loss." [Slate, 10/1/04; WP, 10/1/04]

    DeLay Uses Taxpayer Money for Partisan Stunt:

    The House ethics panel rebuked DeLay for using government resources to
help locate a private plane he thought was carrying Texas Democratic
legislators. DeLay was trying to force the legislators back to the capitol
so he could push through his "bitterly disputed congressional
redistricting." The ethics report cited House rules that bar members from
taking "any official action on the basis of the partisan affiliation?of the
individuals involved" and said DeLay's behavior raised "serious concerns
under such "standards of conduct." [WP, 10/7/04]

    DeLay Pays for Golf Tournaments with Cash Meant for Kids:

    DeLay used a children's charity, Celebrations for Children Inc., as
cover for collecting soft money from anonymous interest groups, some of
which was used for "dinners, a golf tournament, a rock concert, Broadway
tickets and other fundraising events" at the Republican convention in New
York. Because the money was supposedly for charity, companies wishing to
curry favor with DeLay were able to do so without revealing themselves as
campaign donors. Federal laws governing tax-exempt charities allow no more
than an insubstantial portion of a group's revenue to be spent on activities
other than the charity's main stated purpose. [CBS, 11/14/03; WP, 3/24/04]

    DeLay Promises 'Seat at Table' for Donor:

    In one of its three public rebukes, the House Ethics Committee cited the
belief on the part of executives at an energy company, Westar Energy Inc.,
that a $56,500 contribution to a political action committee associated with
DeLay would get them a "seat at the table" where key energy legislation was
being drafted. DeLay also participated in Westar's golf fundraiser at The
Homestead resort in the summer of 2002, " just as the House-Senate
conference on major energy legislation?was about to get underway." [WP,
10/7/04]

    DeLay Takes Money from Texas Prison Company with Legislation Pending:

    DeLay "took a $100,000 check from a private prison company" - the
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) - at a fundraiser for his
children's charity, the DeLay Foundation for Kids. CCA - whose 20-year
history has been "fraught with malfeasance, mismanagement, and abuse" - was
part of an ongoing lobby for a bill that would privatize up to half of
Texas's jails. DeLay is known for wielding major influence over the
Republican-led legislature that will decide on the matter. [Knight Ridder,
11/30/04; Texas Observer, 6/6/03]

    DeLay Blocks Legislation for Partisan Vendetta:

    In 1999, DeLay received a "private rebuke" for threatening retaliation
against the Electronic Industries Association when the trade group named a
Democrat to head its Washington operation. To punish the group, DeLay
stopped two uncontroversial trade bills that would have benefited the EIA
and told the association it would lose all GOP access unless it hired a
Republican instead. The group still hired the Democrat, but a little later,
the EIA quietly hired a former House Republican staff member who promptly
showed up at a fundraiser for DeLay's ARMPAC. [Texas Observer, 2/4/00;
Slate, 12/5/98]

    DeLay Takes Shady Donations for Legal Defense Fund:

    The list of recent donors to DeLay's legal defense fund includes two
lawmakers placed on the House Ethics Committee this year (they replaced
conservatives who were purged for being critical of DeLay), and corporations
implicated in DeLay's alleged fundraising violations. Corporate donors
include Bacardi U.S.A., the rum maker that has also been indicted in the
Texas investigation, and Reliant Energy, "another major contributor to a
Texas political action committee formed by Mr. DeLay that is the focus of
the criminal inquiry." In December, DeLay was forced to return funds from
registered lobbyists because those contributions violated House ethics
rules. [NYT, 3/13/05; Time, 3/13/05]

    DeLay Leaves Ethics Behind on European Vacation:

    DeLay enjoyed a luxurious vacation at the Four Seasons Hotel in London
in mid-2000, paid for by an Indian tribe and a gambling services company,
both of which opposed gambling legislation DeLay voted against two months
later. The payment was funneled through lobbyist Jack Abramoff, best known
for teaming up with right-wing religious fundamentalist Ralph Reed to close
down a Texas casino operated by the Tigua Indians in 2002, then persuading
the tribe to pay the two of them $4.2 million to lobby Washington lawmakers,
including DeLay, to reopen it. According to expense accounts obtained by the
Journal, Abramoff financed DeLay and DeLay's staff's stay at the Four
Seasons hotel to the tune of $4,285.35. The total reimbursement for expenses
in London was $13,318.50. [WP, 3/12/05; Raw Story, 2/25/05; WP, 9/29/04]

    DeLay Leaves House Rules Behind on Asian Vacation:

    DeLay accepted an expense-paid trip to South Korea which, in direct
violation of House rules, was paid for by a South Korean lobbying group. The
Korea-US Exchange Council, a group registered with the Foreign Agents
Registration Act, was created with help from DeLay's former chief of staff.
The cost to send DeLay, his wife and three of his lawmaker friends to Seoul
for three days was $106,921, the fourth largest cost for any single trip
taken by lawmakers between January 2000 and September 2004. [WP, 3/10/05]

    DeLay Kicks Ethics Out of House:

    DeLay and his allies in the House have sought to cripple the House
Ethics Committee. The committee, which rebuked DeLay three times last year,
was purged of its most "responsible" members last month and is currently
"paralyzed" by a proposed rules change that "would prevent the committee
from launching any investigation without the support of at least one
Republican?a restriction designed to protect the majority leader." [WP,
2/5/05; WP, 10/7/04; Time, 3/13/05]

    DeLay Tries to Change Rules to Protect Power:

    DeLay was the driving force behind the decision by House leaders to
abandon an 11-year-old party rule that "required leaders to step aside
temporarily if indicted." The idea was dropped only after rank-and-file
lawmakers complained "the party was sending the wrong message." [NYT,
11/18/04; WP, 3/11/05]

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 12:23:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:25:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - Senate panel holds secrecy hearings - Mar 15,
	2005
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Thought you should see this.

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar 15 12:23:24 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:26:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, Coming to Terms with China 
Message-ID: <BE5C843C.1F33F%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, Coming to Terms with China

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2259

In our media lives, Asia plays a remarkably small and fragmented role, given
its growing importance in the world. In our press, coverage of Asia is a
strange jumble of alarums, fears, and trends: the North Korean bomb, avian
flu and SARS, the tsunami, the Taiwan "war bill," the growth of the Chinese
Navy, anime (and remilitarization) in Japan, the U.S. military in Indonesia,
the possibility that the central banks of East Asia may dump dollars for
euros triggering an economic cataclysm, and the normal run of monks,
exotica, and strange customs -- all adding up to conceptual chaos. Seldom do
you find a piece that tries to put East Asia together, laying out for us, in
particular, the explosive nature of the U.S./Japan/China triangular
relationship, which in various combinations has in the past plunged us into
bloody war .

Below, Chalmers Johnson does just that and in monumental fashion. It's rare
for us to take time out of busy lives to consider how exactly the dots might
be connected, how the world actually works. I urge all of you to consider
doing so in the case of Johnson's long essay. It will repay your time many
times over. And while you're at it, any of you who haven't laid your hands
on the first two volumes of Johnson's Blowback Trilogy on imperial America
and the loss of our republic (the third of which is being written at this
moment) should do so immediately. Both Blowback: The Costs and Consequences
of American Empire, and The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the
End of the Republic are now available in paperback and are must reads: The
first was a prophetic account, published in 2000, that laid out the
background to the attacks of 9/11; the second focuses, as no one else has,
on the dramatic story of the endless growth of our military and its bases
abroad. Tom

    No Longer the "Lone" Superpower
    Coming to Terms with China
    By Chalmers Johnson

    I recall forty years ago, when I was a new professor working in the
field of Chinese and Japanese international relations, that Edwin O.
Reischauer once commented, "The great payoff from our victory of 1945 was a
permanently disarmed Japan." Born in Japan and a Japanese historian at
Harvard, Reischauer served as American ambassador to Tokyo in the Kennedy
and Johnson administrations. Strange to say, since the end of the Cold War
in 1991 and particularly under the administration of George W. Bush, the
United States has been doing everything in its power to encourage and even
accelerate Japanese rearmament.

    Such a development promotes hostility between China and Japan, the two
superpowers of East Asia, sabotages possible peaceful solutions in those two
problem areas, Taiwan and North Korea, left over from the Chinese and Korean
civil wars, and lays the foundation for a possible future Sino-American
conflict that the United States would almost surely lose. It is unclear
whether the ideologues and war lovers of Washington understand what they are
unleashing -- a possible confrontation between the world's fastest growing
industrial economy, China, and the world's second most productive, albeit
declining, economy, Japan; a confrontation which the United States would
have both caused and in which it might well be consumed.

    Let me make clear that in East Asia we are not talking about a little
regime-change war of the sort that Bush and Cheney advocate. After all, the
most salient characteristic of international relations during the last
century was the inability of the rich, established powers -- Great Britain
and the United States -- to adjust peacefully to the emergence of new
centers of power in Germany, Japan, and Russia. The result was two
exceedingly bloody world wars, a forty-five-year-long Cold War between
Russia and the "West," and innumerable wars of national liberation (such as
the quarter-century long one in Vietnam) against the arrogance and racism of
European, American, and Japanese imperialism and colonialism.

    The major question for the twenty-first century is whether this fateful
inability to adjust to changes in the global power-structure can be
overcome. Thus far the signs are negative. Can the United States and Japan,
today's versions of rich, established powers, adjust to the reemergence of
China -- the world's oldest, continuously extant civilization -- this time
as a modern superpower? Or is China's ascendancy to be marked by yet another
world war, when the pretensions of European civilization in its U.S. and
Japanese projections are finally put to rest? That is what is at stake.

    Alice-in-Wonderland Policies and the Mother of All Financial Crises

    China, Japan, and the United States are the three most productive
economies on Earth, but China is the fastest growing (at an average rate of
9.5% per annum for over two decades), whereas both the U.S. and Japan are
saddled with huge and mounting debts and, in the case of Japan, stagnant
growth rates. China is today the world's sixth largest economy (the U.S. and
Japan being first and second) and our third largest trading partner after
Canada and Mexico. According to CIA statisticians in their Factbook 2003,
China is actually already the second-largest economy on Earth measured on a
purchasing power parity basis -- that is, in terms of what China actually
produces rather than prices and exchange rates. The CIA calculates the
United States' gross domestic product (GDP) -- the total value of all goods
and services produced within a country -- for 2003 as $10.4 trillion and
China's $5.7 trillion. This gives China's 1.3 billion people a per capita
GDP of $4,385.

    Between 1992 and 2003, Japan was China's largest trading partner, but in
2004 Japan fell to third place, behind the European Union (EU) and the
United States. China's trade volume for 2004 was $1.2 trillion, third in the
world after the U.S. and Germany, and well ahead of Japan's $1.07 trillion.
China's trade with the U.S. grew some 34% in 2004 and has turned Los
Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland into the three busiest seaports in America.

    The truly significant trade development of 2004 was the EU's emergence
as China's biggest economic partner, suggesting the possibility of a
Sino-European cooperative bloc confronting a less vital Japanese-American
one. As Britain's Financial Times observed, "Three years after its entry
into the World Trade Organization [in 2001], China's influence in global
commerce is no longer merely significant. It is crucial." For example, most
Dell Computers sold in the U.S. are made in China, as are the DVD players of
Japan's Funai Electric Company. Funai annually exports some 10 million DVD
players and television sets from China to the United States, where they are
sold primarily in Wal-Mart stores. China's trade with Europe in 2004 was
worth $177.2 billion, with the United States $169.6 billion, and with Japan
$167.8 billion.

    China's growing economic weight in the world is widely recognized and
applauded, but it is China's growth rates and their effect on the future
global balance of power that the U.S. and Japan, rightly or wrongly, fear.
The CIA's National Intelligence Council forecasts that China's GDP will
equal Britain's in 2005, Germany's in 2009, Japan's in 2017, and the U.S.'s
in 2042. But Shahid Javed Burki, former vice president of the World Bank's
China Department and a former finance minister of Pakistan, predicts that by
2025 China will probably have a GDP of $25 trillion in terms of purchasing
power parity and will have become the world's largest economy followed by
the United States at $20 trillion and India at about $13 trillion -- and
Burki's analysis is based on a conservative prediction of a 6% Chinese
growth rate sustained over the next two decades. He foresees Japan's
inevitable decline because its population will begin to shrink drastically
after about 2010. Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs reports that the
number of men in Japan already declined by 0.01% in 2004; and some
demographers, it notes, anticipate that by the end of the century the
country's population could shrink by nearly two-thirds, from 127.7 million
today to 45 million, the same population it had in 1910.

    By contrast, China's population is showing signs that it will stabilize
at approximately 1.4 billion people, and is heavily weighted toward males.
(The government-imposed one-child-per-family policy and the availability of
sonograms have resulted in a ratio of 129 boys born for every 100 girls; 147
boys for every 100 girls for couples seeking second or third children.)
Chinese domestic economic growth is expected to continue for decades,
reflecting the pent-up demand of its huge population, relatively low levels
of personal debt, and a dynamic underground economy not recorded in official
statistics. Most important, China's external debt is relatively small and
easily covered by its reserves; whereas both the U.S. and Japan are
approximately $7 trillion in the red, which is worse for Japan with less
than half the U.S. population and economic clout.

    Ironically, part of Japan's debt is a product of its efforts to help
prop up America's global imperial stance. For example, in the period since
the end of the Cold War, Japan has subsidized America's military bases in
Japan to the staggering tune of approximately $70 billion. Refusing to pay
for its profligate consumption patterns and military expenditures through
taxes on its own citizens, the United States is financing these outlays by
going into debt to Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and India.
This situation has become increasingly unstable as the U.S. requires capital
imports of at least $2 billion per day to pay for its governmental
expenditures. Any decision by East Asian central banks to move significant
parts of their foreign exchange reserves out of the dollar and into the euro
or other currencies in order to protect themselves from dollar depreciation
would produce the mother of all financial crises.

    Japan still possesses the world's largest foreign exchange reserves,
which at the end of January 2005 stood at around $841 billion. But China
sits on a $609.9 billion pile of dollars (as of the end of 2004), earned
from its trade surpluses with us. Meanwhile, the American government and
Japanese followers of George W. Bush insult China in every way they can,
particularly over the status of China's breakaway province, the island of
Taiwan. The distinguished economic analyst William Greider recently noted,
"Any profligate debtor who insults his banker is unwise, to put it mildly. .
. . American leadership has . . . become increasingly delusional -- I mean
that literally -- and blind to the adverse balance of power accumulating
against it."

    The Bush administration is unwisely threatening China by urging Japan to
rearm and by promising Taiwan that, should China use force to prevent a
Taiwanese declaration of independence, the U.S. will go to war on its
behalf. It is hard to imagine more shortsighted, irresponsible policies, but
in light of the Bush administration's Alice-in-Wonderland war in Iraq, the
acute anti-Americanism it has generated globally, and the politicization of
America's intelligence services, it seems possible that the U.S. and Japan
might actually precipitate a war with China over Taiwan.

    Japan Rearms

    Since the end of World War II, and particularly since gaining its
independence in 1952, Japan has subscribed to a pacifist foreign policy. It
has resolutely refused to maintain offensive military forces or to become
part of America's global military system. Japan did not, for example,
participate in the 1991 war against Iraq, nor has it joined collective
security agreements in which it would have to match the military
contributions of its partners. Since the signing in 1952 of the Japan-United
States Security Treaty, the country has officially been defended from
so-called external threats by U.S. forces located on some 91 bases on the
Japanese mainland and the island of Okinawa. The U.S. Seventh Fleet even has
its home port at the old Japanese naval base of Yokosuka. Japan not only
subsidizes these bases but subscribes to the public fiction that the
American forces are present only for its defense. In fact, Japan has no
control over how and where the U.S. employs its land, sea, and air forces
based on Japanese territory, and the Japanese and American governments have
until quite recently finessed the issue simply by never discussing it.

    Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the United States has repeatedly
pressured Japan to revise article nine of its Constitution (renouncing the
use of force except as a matter of self-defense) and become what American
officials call a "normal nation." For example, on August 13, 2004, Secretary
of State Colin Powell stated baldly in Tokyo that if Japan ever hoped to
become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council it would first have
to get rid of its pacifist Constitution. Japan's claim to a Security Council
seat is based on the fact that, although its share of global GDP is only
14%, it pays 20% of the total U.N. budget. Powell's remark was blatant
interference in Japan's internal affairs, but it merely echoed many messages
delivered by former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, the leader
of a reactionary clique in Washington that has worked for years to
remilitarize Japan and so enlarge a major new market for American arms. Its
members include Torkel Patterson, Robin Sakoda, David Asher, and James Kelly
at State; Michael Green on the National Security Council's staff; and
numerous uniformed military officers at the Pentagon and at the headquarters
of the Pacific Command at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

    America's intention is to turn Japan into what Washington
neo-conservatives like to call the "Britain of the Far East" -- and then use
it as a proxy in checkmating North Korea and balancing China. On October 11,
2000, Michael Green, then a member of Armitage Associates, wrote, "We see
the special relationship between the United States and Great Britain as a
model for the [U.S.-Japan] alliance." Japan has so far not resisted this
American pressure since it complements a renewed nationalism among Japanese
voters and a fear that a burgeoning capitalist China threatens Japan's
established position as the leading economic power in East Asia. Japanese
officials also claim that the country feels threatened by North Korea's
developing nuclear and missile programs, although they know that the North
Korean stand-off could be resolved virtually overnight -- if the Bush
administration would cease trying to overthrow the Pyongyang regime and
instead deliver on American trade promises (in return for North Korea's
agreement to give up its nuclear weapons program). Instead, on February 25,
2005, the State Department announced that "the U.S. will refuse North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il's demand for a guarantee of ?no hostile intent' to get
Pyongyang back into negotiations over its nuclear weapons programs." And on
March 7, Bush nominated John Bolton to be American ambassador to the United
Nations even though North Korea has refused to negotiate with him because of
his insulting remarks about the country.

    Japan's remilitarization worries a segment of the Japanese public and is
opposed throughout East Asia by all the nations Japan victimized during
World War II, including China, both Koreas, and even Australia. As a result,
the Japanese government has launched a stealth program of incremental
rearmament. Since 1992, it has enacted 21 major pieces of security-related
legislation, 9 in 2004 alone. These began with the International Peace
Cooperation Law of 1992, which for the first time authorized Japan to send
troops to participate in U.N. peacekeeping operations.

    Remilitarization has since taken many forms, including expanding
military budgets, legitimizing and legalizing the sending of military forces
abroad, a commitment to join the American missile defense ("Star Wars")
program -- something the Canadians refused to do in February 2005 -- and a
growing acceptance of military solutions to international problems. This
gradual process was greatly accelerated in 2001 by the simultaneous coming
to power of President George Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Koizumi made his first visit to the United States in July of that year and,
in May of 2003, received the ultimate imprimatur, an invitation to Bush's
"ranch" in Crawford, Texas. Shortly thereafter, Koizumi agreed to send a
contingent of 550 troops to Iraq for a year, extended their stay for another
year in 2004, and on October 14, 2004, personally endorsed George Bush's
reelection.

    A New Nuclear Giant in the Making?

    Koizumi has appointed to his various cabinets hard-line anti-Chinese,
pro-Taiwanese politicians. Phil Deans, director of the Contemporary China
Institute in the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London, observes, "There has been a remarkable growth of pro-Taiwan
sentiment in Japan. There is not one pro-China figure in the Koizumi
Cabinet." Members of the latest Koizumi Cabinet include the Defense Agency
chief Yoshinori Ono, and the foreign minister Nobutaka Machimura, both
ardent militarists; while Foreign Minister Machimura is a member of the
right-wing faction of former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, which supports an
independent Taiwan and maintains extensive covert ties with Taiwanese
leaders and businessmen.

    Taiwan, it should be remembered, was a Japanese colony from 1895 to
1945. Unlike the harsh Japanese military rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945,
it experienced relatively benign governance by a civilian Japanese
administration. The island, while bombed by the Allies, was not a
battleground during World War II although it was harshly occupied by the
Chinese Nationalists (Chiang Kai-shek's Guomindang) immediately after the
war. Today, as a result, many Taiwanese speak Japanese and have a favorable
view of Japan. Taiwan is virtually the only place in East Asia where
Japanese are fully welcomed and liked.

    Bush and Koizumi have developed elaborate plans for military cooperation
between their two countries. Crucial to such plans is the scrapping of the
Japanese Constitution of 1947. If nothing gets in the way, Koizumi's ruling
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) intends to introduce a new constitution on
the occasion of the party's fiftieth anniversary in November 2005. This has
been deemed appropriate because the LDP's founding charter of 1955 set as a
basic party goal the "establishment of Japan's own Constitution" -- a
reference to the fact that General Douglas MacArthur's post-World War II
occupation headquarters actually drafted the current Constitution. The
original LDP policy statement also called for "the eventual removal of U.S.
troops from Japanese territory," which may be one of the hidden purposes
behind Japan's urge to rearm.

    A major goal of the Americans is to gain Japan's active participation in
their massively expensive missile defense program. The Bush administration
is seeking, among other things, an end to Japan's ban on the export of
military technology, since it wants Japanese engineers to help solve some of
the technical problems of its so far failing Star Wars system. The United
States has also been actively negotiating with Japan to relocate the Army's
1st Corps from Fort Lewis, Washington, to Camp Zama, southwest of Tokyo in
the densely populated prefecture of Kanagawa, whose capital is Yokohama.
These U.S. forces in Japan would then be placed under the command of a
four-star general, who would be on a par with regional commanders like
Centcom commander John Abizaid, who lords it over Iraq and South Asia. The
new command would be in charge of all Army "force projection" operations
beyond East Asia and would inevitably implicate Japan in the daily military
operations of the American empire. Garrisoning even a small headquarters,
much less the whole 1st Corps made up of an estimated 40,000 soldiers, in a
sophisticated and centrally located prefecture like Kanagawa is also
guaranteed to generate intense public opposition as well as rapes, fights,
car accidents and other incidents similar to the ones that occur daily in
Okinawa.

    Meanwhile, Japan intends to upgrade its Defense Agency (Boeicho) into a
ministry and possibly develop its own nuclear weapons capability. Goading
the Japanese government to assert itself militarily may well cause the
country to go nuclear in order to "deter" China and North Korea, while
freeing Japan from its dependency on the American "nuclear umbrella." The
military analyst Richard Tanter notes that Japan already has "the undoubted
capacity to satisfy all three core requirements for a usable nuclear weapon:
a military nuclear device, a sufficiently accurate targeting system, and at
least one adequate delivery system." Japan's combination of fully
functioning fission and breeder reactors plus nuclear fuel reprocessing
facilities gives it the ability to build advanced thermonuclear weapons; its
H-II and H-IIA rockets, in-flight refueling capacity for fighter bombers,
and military-grade surveillance satellites assure that it could deliver its
weapons accurately to regional targets. What it currently lacks are the
platforms (such as submarines) for a secure retaliatory force in order to
dissuade a nuclear adversary from launching a pre-emptive first-strike.

    The Taiwanese Knot

    Japan may talk a lot about the dangers of North Korea, but the real
objective of its rearmament is China. This has become clear from the ways in
which Japan has recently injected itself into the single most delicate and
dangerous issue of East Asian international relations -- the problem of
Taiwan. Japan invaded China in 1931 and was its wartime tormentor thereafter
as well as Taiwan's colonial overlord. Even then, however, Taiwan was viewed
as a part of China, as the United States has long recognized. What remains
to be resolved are the terms and timing of Taiwan's reintegration with the
Chinese mainland. This process was deeply complicated by the fact that in
1987 Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, who had retreated to Taiwan in 1949 at
the end of the Chinese civil war (and were protected there by the American
Seventh Fleet ever after), finally ended martial law on the island. Taiwan
has since matured into a vibrant democracy and the Taiwanese are now
starting to display their own mixed opinions about their future.

    In 2000, the Taiwanese people ended a long monopoly of power by the
Nationalists and gave the Democratic Progressive Party, headed by President
Chen Shui-bian, an electoral victory. A native Taiwanese (as distinct from
the large contingent of mainlanders who came to Taiwan in the baggage train
of Chiang's defeated armies), Chen stands for an independent Taiwan, as does
his party. By contrast, the Nationalists, together with a powerful
mainlander splinter party, the People First Party headed by James Soong
(Song Chuyu), hope to see an eventual peaceful unification of Taiwan with
China. On March 7, 2005, the Bush administration complicated these delicate
relations by nominating John Bolton to be the American ambassador to the
United Nations. He is an avowed advocate of Taiwanese independence and was
once a paid consultant to the Taiwanese government.

    In May 2004, in a very close and contested election, Chen Shui-bian was
reelected, and on May 20, the notorious right-wing Japanese politician
Shintaro Ishihara attended his inauguration in Taipei. (Ishihara believes
that Japan's 1937 Rape of Nanking was "a lie made up by the Chinese.")
Though Chen won with only 50.1% of the vote, this was still a sizeable
increase over his 33.9% in 2000, when the opposition was divided. The Taiwan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately appointed Koh Se-kai as its informal
ambassador to Japan. Koh has lived in Japan for some 33 years and maintains
extensive ties to senior political and academic figures there. China
responded that it would "completely annihilate" any moves toward Taiwanese
independence -- even if it meant scuttling the 2008 Beijing Olympics and
good relations with the United States.

    Contrary to the machinations of American neo-cons and Japanese
rightists, however, the Taiwanese people have revealed themselves to be open
to negotiating with China over the timing and terms of reintegration. On
August 23, 2004, the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan's parliament) enacted changes
in its voting rules to prevent Chen from amending the Constitution to favor
independence, as he had promised to do in his reelection campaign. This
action drastically lowered the risk of conflict with China. Probably
influencing the Legislative Yuan was the warning issued on August 22 by
Singapore's new prime minister, Lee Hsien-loong: "If Taiwan goes for
independence, Singapore will not recognize it. In fact, no Asian country
will recognize it. China will fight. Win or lose, Taiwan will be
devastated."

    The next important development was parliamentary elections on December
11, 2004. President Chen called his campaign a referendum on his
pro-independence policy and asked for a mandate to carry out his reforms.
Instead he lost decisively. The opposition Nationalists and the People First
Party won 114 seats in the 225-seat parliament, while Chen's DPP and its
allies took only 101. (Ten seats went to independents.) The Nationalist
leader, Lien Chan, whose party won 79 seats to the DPP's 89, said, "Today we
saw extremely clearly that all the people want stability in this country."

    Chen's failure to capture control of parliament also meant that a
proposed purchase of $19.6 billion worth of arms from the United States was
doomed. The deal included guided-missile destroyers, P-3 anti-submarine
aircraft, diesel submarines, and advanced Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile
systems. The Nationalists and James Soong's supporters regard the price as
too high and mostly a financial sop to the Bush administration, which has
been pushing the sale since 2001. They also believe the weapons would not
improve Taiwan's security.

    On December 27, 2004, mainland China issued its fifth Defense White
Paper on the goals of the country's national defense efforts. As one
long-time observer, Robert Bedeski, notes, "At first glance, the Defense
White Paper is a hard-line statement on territorial sovereignty and
emphasizes China's determination not to tolerate any moves at secession,
independence, or separation. However, the next paragraph . . . indicates a
willingness to reduce tensions in the Taiwan Strait: so long as the Taiwan
authorities accept the one China principle and stop their separatist
activities aimed at ?Taiwan independence,' cross-strait talks can be held at
any time on officially ending the state of hostility between the two sides."

    It appears that this is also the way the Taiwanese read the message. On
February 24, 2005, President Chen Shui-bian met for the first time since
October 2000 with Chairman James Soong of the People First Party. The two
leaders, holding diametrically opposed views on relations with the mainland,
nonetheless signed a joint statement outlining ten points of consensus. They
pledged to try to open full transport and commercial links across the Taiwan
Strait, increase trade, and ease the ban on investments in China by many
Taiwanese business sectors. The mainland reacted favorably at once.
Astonishingly, this led Chen Shui-bian to say that he "would not rule out
Taiwan's eventual reunion with China, provided Taiwan's 23 million people
accepted it."

    If the United States and Japan left China and Taiwan to their own
devices, it seems possible that they would work out a modus vivendi. Taiwan
has already invested some $150 billion in the mainland, and the two
economies are becoming more closely integrated every day. There also seems
to be a growing recognition in Taiwan that it would be very difficult to
live as an independent Chinese-speaking nation alongside a country with 1.3
billion people, 3.7 million square miles of territory, a rapidly growing
$1.4 trillion economy, and aspirations to regional leadership in East Asia.
Rather than declaring its independence, Taiwan may try to seek a status
somewhat like that of French Canada -- a kind of looser version of a Chinese
Quebec under nominal central government control but maintaining separate
institutions, laws, and customs.

    The mainland would be so relieved by this solution it would probably
accept it, particularly if it could be achieved before the 2008 Beijing
Olympics. China fears that Taiwanese radicals want to declare independence a
month or two before those Olympics, betting that China would not attack then
because of its huge investment in the forthcoming games. Most observers
believe, however, that China would have no choice but to go to war because
failure to do so would invite a domestic revolution against the Chinese
Communist Party for violating the national integrity of China.

    Sino-American and Sino-Japanese Relations Spiral Downward

    It has long been an article of neo-con faith that the U.S. must do
everything in its power to prevent the development of rival power centers,
whether friendly or hostile. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this
meant they turned their attention to China as one of our probable next
enemies. In 2001, having come to power, the neo-conservatives shifted much
of our nuclear targeting from Russia to China. They also began regular
high-level military talks with Taiwan over defense of the island, ordered a
shift of Army personnel and supplies to the Asia-Pacific region, and worked
strenuously to promote the remilitarization of Japan.

    On April 1, 2001, a U.S. navy EP-3E Aries II electronic spy plane
collided with a Chinese jet fighter off the south China coast. The American
aircraft was on a mission to provoke Chinese radar defenses and then record
the transmissions and procedures the Chinese used in sending up
interceptors. The Chinese jet went down and the pilot lost his life, while
the American plane landed safely on Hainan Island and its crew of
twenty-four spies was well treated by the Chinese authorities.

    It soon became clear that China was not interested in a confrontation,
since many of its most important investors have their headquarters in the
United States. But it could not instantly return the crew of the spy plane
without risking powerful domestic criticism for obsequiousness in the face
of provocation. It therefore delayed eleven days until it received a pro
forma American apology for causing the death of a Chinese pilot on the edge
of the country's territorial air space and for making an unauthorized
landing at a Chinese military airfield. Meanwhile, our media had labeled the
crew as "hostages," encouraged their relatives to tie yellow ribbons around
neighborhood trees, hailed the President for doing "a first-rate job" to
free them, and endlessly criticized China for its "state-controlled media."
They carefully avoided mentioning that the United States enforces around our
country a 200-mile aircraft-intercept zone that stretches far beyond
territorial waters.

    On April 25, 2001, during an interview on national television, President
Bush was asked whether he would ever use "the full force of the American
military" against China for the sake of Taiwan. He responded, "Whatever it
takes to help Taiwan defend herself." This was American policy until 9/11,
when China enthusiastically joined the "war on terrorism" and the President
and his neo-cons became preoccupied with their "axis of evil" and making war
on Iraq. The United States and China were also enjoying extremely close
economic relations, which the big- business wing of the Republican Party did
not want to jeopardize.

    The Middle East thus trumped the neo-cons' Asia policy. While the
Americans were distracted, China went about its economic business for almost
four years, emerging as a powerhouse of Asia and a potential organizing node
for Asian economies. Rapidly industrializing China also developed a
voracious appetite for petroleum and other raw materials, which brought it
into direct competition with the world's largest importers, the U.S. and
Japan.

    By the summer of 2004, Bush strategists, distracted as they were by
Iraq, again became alarmed over China's growing power and its potential to
challenge American hegemony in East Asia. The Republican Party platform
unveiled at its convention in New York in August proclaimed that "America
will help Taiwan defend itself." During that summer, the Navy also carried
out exercises it dubbed "Operation Summer Pulse ?04," which involved the
simultaneous deployment at sea of seven of our twelve carrier strike groups.
An American carrier strike group includes an aircraft carrier (usually with
9 or 10 squadrons of planes, a total of about 85 aircraft in all), a guided
missile cruiser, two guided missile destroyers, an attack submarine, and a
combination ammunition-oiler-supply ship. Deploying seven such armadas at
the same time was unprecedented -- and very expensive. Even though only
three of the carrier strike groups were sent to the Pacific and no more than
one was patrolling off Taiwan at a time, the Chinese became deeply alarmed
that this marked the beginning of an attempted rerun of 19th century gunboat
diplomacy aimed at them.

    This American show of force and Chen Shui-bian's polemics preceding the
December elections also seemed to overstimulate the Taiwanese. On October 26
in Beijing, Secretary of State Colin Powell tried to calm things down by
declaring to the press, "Taiwan is not independent. It does not enjoy
sovereignty as a nation, and that remains our policy, our firm policy? We
want to see both sides not take unilateral action that would prejudice an
eventual outcome, a reunification that all parties are seeking."

    Powell's statement seemed unequivocal enough, but significant doubts
persisted about whether he had much influence within the Bush administration
or whether he could speak for Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld. Early in 2005, Porter Goss, the new director of the CIA,
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and Admiral Lowell Jacoby, head of the Defense
Intelligence Agency, all told Congress that China's military modernization
was going ahead much faster than previously believed. They warned that the
2005 Quadrennial Defense Review, the every four-year formal assessment of
U.S. military policy, would take a much harsher view of the threat posed by
China than the 2001 overview.

    In this context, the Bush administration, perhaps influenced by the
election of November 2 and the transition from Colin Powell's to Condi
Rice's State Department, played its most dangerous card. On February 19,
2005 in Washington, it signed a new military agreement with Japan. For the
first time, Japan joined the administration in identifying security in the
Taiwan Strait as a "common strategic objective." Nothing could have been
more alarming to China's leaders than the revelation that Japan had
decisively ended six decades of official pacifism by claiming a right to
intervene in the Taiwan Strait.

    It is possible that, in the years to come, Taiwan itself may recede in
importance to be replaced by even more direct Sino-Japanese confrontations.
This would be an ominous development indeed, one that the United States
would be responsible for having abetted but would certainly be unable to
control. The kindling for a Sino-Japanese explosion has long been in place.
After all, during World War II the Japanese killed approximately 23 million
Chinese throughout East Asia -- higher casualties than the staggering ones
suffered by Russia at the hands of the Nazis -- and yet Japan refuses to
atone for or even acknowledge its historical war crimes. Quite the opposite,
it continues to rewrite history, portraying itself as the liberator of Asia
and a victim of European and American imperialism.

    In -- for the Chinese -- a painful act of symbolism, after becoming
Japanese prime minister in 2001, Junichiro Koizumi made his first official
visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, a practice that he has repeated every
year since. Koizumi likes to say to foreigners that he is merely honoring
Japan's war dead. Yasukuni, however, is anything but a military cemetery or
a war memorial. It was established in 1869 by Emperor Meiji as a Shinto
shrine (though with its torii archways made of steel rather than the
traditional red-painted wood) to commemorate the lives lost in campaigns to
return direct imperial rule to Japan. During World War II, Japanese
militarists took over the shrine and used it to promote patriotic and
nationalistic sentiments. Today, Yasukuni is said to be dedicated to the
spirits of approximately 2.4 million Japanese who have died in the country's
wars, both civil and foreign, since 1853.

    In 1978, for reasons that have never been made clear, General Hideki
Tojo and six other wartime leaders who had been hanged by the Allied Powers
as war criminals were collectively enshrined at Yasukuni. The current chief
priest of the shrine denies that they were war criminals, saying, "The
winner passed judgment on the loser." In a museum on the shrine's grounds,
there is a fully restored Mitsubishi Zero Type 52 fighter aircraft that a
placard says made its combat debut in 1940 over Chongqing, then the wartime
capital of the Republic of China. It was undoubtedly not an accident that,
in Chongqing during the 2004 Asian Cup soccer finals, Chinese spectators
booed the playing of the Japanese national anthem. Yasukuni's leaders have
always claimed close ties to the imperial household, but the late Emperor
Hirohito last visited the shrine in 1975 and Emperor Akihito has never been
there.

    The Chinese regard Yasukuni visits by the Japanese prime minister as
insulting, somewhat comparable perhaps to Britain's Prince Harry dressing up
as a Nazi for a costume party. Nonetheless, Beijing has tried in recent
years to appease Tokyo. Chinese President Hu Jintao rolled out the red
carpet for Yohei Kono, speaker of the Japanese Diet's House of
Representatives, when he visited China in September 2004; he appointed Wang
Yi, a senior moderate in the Chinese foreign service, as ambassador to
Japan; and he proposed joint Sino-Japanese exploration of possible oil
resources in the offshore seas that both sides claim. All such gestures were
ignored by Koizumi who insists that he intends to go on visiting Yasukuni.

    Matters came to a head in November 2004 at two important summit
meetings: an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Santiago,
Chile, followed immediately by an Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) meeting with the leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea that took
place in Vientiane, Laos. In Santiago, Hu Jintao directly asked Koizumi to
cease his Yasukuni visits for the sake of Sino-Japanese friendship.
Seemingly as a reply, Koizumi went out of his way to insult Chinese Premier
Wen Jiabao in Vientiane. He said to Premier Wen, "It's about time for
[China's] graduation [as a recipient of Japanese foreign aid payments],"
implying that Japan intended unilaterally to end its 25-year-old financial
aid program. The word "graduation" also conveyed the insulting implication
that Japan saw itself as a teacher guiding China, the student.

    Koizumi next gave a little speech about the history of Japanese efforts
to normalize relations with China, to which Premier Wen replied, "Do you
know how many Chinese people died in the Sino-Japanese war?" Wen went on to
suggest that China had always regarded Japan's foreign aid, which he said
China did not need, as payments in lieu of compensation for damage done by
Japan in China during the war. He pointed out that China had never asked for
reparations from Japan and that Japan's payments amounted to about $30
billion over 25 years, a fraction of the $80 billion Germany has paid to the
victims of Nazi atrocities even though Japan is the more populous and richer
country.

    On November 10, 2004, the Japanese Navy discovered a Chinese nuclear
submarine in Japanese territorial waters near Okinawa. Although the Chinese
apologized and called the sub's intrusion a "mistake," Defense Agency
Director Ono gave it wide publicity, further inflaming Japanese public
opinion against China. From that point on, relations between Beijing and
Tokyo have gone steadily downhill, culminating in the Japanese-American
announcement that Taiwan was of special military concern to both of them,
which China denounced as an "abomination."

    Over time this downward spiral in relations will probably prove damaging
to the interests of both the United States and Japan, but particularly to
those of Japan. China is unlikely to retaliate directly but is even less
likely to forget what has happened -- and it has a great deal of leverage
over Japan. After all, Japanese prosperity increasingly depends on its ties
to China. The reverse is not true. Contrary to what one might expect,
Japanese exports to China jumped 70% between 2001 and 2004, providing the
main impetus for a sputtering Japanese economic recovery. Some 18,000
Japanese companies have operations in China. In 2003, Japan passed the
United States as the top destination for Chinese students going abroad for a
university education. Nearly 70,000 Chinese students now study at Japanese
universities compared to 65,000 at American academic institutions. These
close and lucrative relations are at risk if the U.S. and Japan pursue their
militarization of the region.

    A Multipolar World

    Tony Karon of Time magazine has observed, "All over the world, new bonds
of trade and strategic cooperation are being forged around the U.S. China
has not only begun to displace the U.S. as the dominant player in the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation organization (APEC), it is fast emerging as the
major trading partner to some of Latin America's largest economies. . . .
French foreign policy think tanks have long promoted the goal of
?multipolarity' in a post-Cold War world, i.e., the preference for many
different, competing power centers rather than the ?unipolarity' of the U.S.
as a single hyper-power. Multipolarity is no longer simply a strategic goal.
It is an emerging reality."

    Evidence is easily found of multipolarity and China's prominent role in
promoting it. Just note China's expanding relations with Iran, the European
Union, Latin America, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Iran
is the second largest OPEC oil producer after Saudi Arabia and has long had
friendly relations with Japan, which is its leading trading partner.
(Ninety-eight percent of Japan's imports from Iran are oil.) On February 18,
2004, a consortium of Japanese companies and the Iranian government signed a
memorandum of agreement to develop jointly Iran's Azadegan oil field, one of
the world's largest, in a project worth $2.8 billion. The U.S. has opposed
Japan's support for Iran, causing Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) to charge
that Bush had been bribed into accepting the Japanese-Iranian deal by
Koizumi's dispatch of 550 Japanese troops to Iraq, adding a veneer of
international support for the American war there.

    But the long-standing Iranian-Japanese alignment began to change in late
2004. On October 28, China's oil major, the Sinopec Group, signed an
agreement with Iran worth between $70 and $100 billion to develop the giant
Yadavaran natural gas field. China agreed to buy 250 million tons of
liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran over 25 years. It is the largest deal
Iran has signed with a foreign country since 1996 and will include several
other benefits, including China's assistance in building numerous ships to
deliver the LNG to Chinese ports. Iran also committed itself to exporting
150,000 barrels of crude oil per day to China for 25 years at market prices.

    Iran's oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, on a visit to Beijing noted that
Iran is China's biggest foreign oil supplier and said that his country wants
to be China's long-term business partner. He told China Business Weekly that
Tehran would like to replace Japan with China as the biggest customer for
its oil and gas. The reason is obvious: American pressure on Iran to give up
its nuclear power development program and the Bush administration's declared
intention to take Iran to the U.N. Security Council for the imposition of
sanctions (which a Chinese vote could veto). On November 6, 2004, Chinese
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing paid a rare visit to Tehran. In meetings with
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Li said that Beijing would indeed
consider vetoing any American effort to sanction Iran at the Security
Council. The U.S. has also charged China with selling nuclear and missile
technology to Iran.

    China and Iran already did a record $4 billion worth of two-way business
in 2003. Projects included China's building of the first stage of Tehran's
Metro and a contract to build a second link worth $836 million. China will
be the top contender to build four other planned lines, including a 19 mile
track to the airport. In February 2003, Chery Automobile Company, the eighth
largest automaker in China, opened its first overseas production plant in
Iran. Today, it manufactures 30,000 Chery cars annually in northeastern
Iran. Beijing is also negotiating to construct a 240 mile pipeline from Iran
to the northern Caspian Sea to connect with the long-distance Kazakhstan to
Xinjiang pipeline that it began building in October 2004. The Kazakh
pipeline has a capacity to deliver 10 million tons of oil to China per year.
Despite American bluster and belligerence, Iran is anything but isolated in
today's world.

    The EU is China's largest trading partner and China is the EU's second
largest trading partner (after the United States). Back in 1989, to protest
the suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen
Square, the EU imposed a ban on military sales to China. The only other
countries so treated are true international pariahs like Burma, Sudan, and
Zimbabwe. Even North Korea is not subject to a formal European arms embargo.
Given that the Chinese leadership has changed several times since 1989 and
as a gesture of goodwill, the EU has announced its intention to lift the
embargo. Jacques Chirac, the French president, is one of the strongest
proponents of the idea of replacing American hegemony with a "multipolar
world." On a visit to Beijing in October 2004, he said that China and France
share "a common vision of the world" and that lifting the embargo will "mark
a significant milestone: a moment when Europe had to make a choice between
the strategic interests of America and China -- and chose China."

    In his trip to Western Europe in February 2005, Bush repeatedly said,
"There is deep concern in our country that a transfer of weapons would be a
transfer of technology to China, which would change the balance of relations
between China and Taiwan." In early February, the House of Representatives
voted 411 to 3 in favor of a resolution condemning the potential EU move.
The Europeans and Chinese contend that the Bush administration has vastly
overstated its case, that no weapons capable of changing the balance of
power are involved, and that the EU is not aiming to win massive new defense
contracts from China but to strengthen mutual economic relations in general.
Immediately following Bush's tour of Europe, the EU Trade Commissioner,
Peter Mandelson, arrived in Beijing for his first official visit. The
purpose of his trip, he said, was to stress the need to create a new
strategic partnership between China and Europe.

    Washington has buttressed its hard-line stance with the release of many
new intelligence estimates depicting China as a formidable military threat.
Whether this intelligence is politicized or not, it argues that China's
military modernization is aimed precisely at countering the Navy's carrier
strike groups, which would assumedly be used in the Taiwan Strait in case of
war. China is certainly building a large fleet of nuclear submarines and is
an active participant in the EU's Galileo Project to produce a satellite
navigation system not controlled by the American military. The Defense
Department worries that Beijing might adapt the Galileo technology to
anti-satellite purposes. American military analysts are also impressed by
China's launch, on October 15, 2003, of a spacecraft containing a single
astronaut who was successfully returned to Earth the following day. Only the
former USSR and the United States had previously sent humans into outer
space.

    China already has 500 to 550 short-range ballistic missiles deployed
opposite Taiwan and has 24 CSS-4 ICBMs with a range of 13,000 km to deter an
American missile attack on the Chinese mainland. According to Richard
Fisher, a researcher at the U.S.-based Center for Security Policy, "The
forces that China is putting in place right now will probably be more than
sufficient to deal with a single American aircraft carrier battle group."
Arthur Lauder, a professor of international relations at the University of
Pennsylvania, concurs. He says that the Chinese military "is the only one
being developed anywhere in the world today that is specifically configured
to fight the United States of America."

    The U.S. obviously cannot wish away this capability, but it has no
evidence that China is doing anything more than countering the threats
coming from the Bush administration. It seeks to avoid war with Taiwan and
the U.S. by deterring them from separating Taiwan from China. For this
reason, in March 2005, China's pro-forma legislature, the National People's
Congress, passed a law making secession from China illegal and authorizing
the use of force in case a territory tried to leave the country.

    The Japanese government, of course, backs the American position that
China constitutes a military threat to the entire region. Interestingly
enough, however, the Australian government of John Howard, a loyal American
ally when it comes to Iraq, has decided to defy Bush on the issue of lifting
the European arms embargo. Australia places a high premium on good relations
with China and is hoping to negotiate a free trade agreement between the two
countries. Canberra has therefore decided to support the EU in lifting the
15-year-old embargo. Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schr?der both say,
"It will happen."

    The United States has long proclaimed that Latin America is part of its
"sphere of influence," and because of that most foreign countries have tread
carefully in doing business there. However, in the search for fuel and
minerals for its booming economy, China is openly courting many Latin
American countries regardless of what Washington thinks. On November 15,
2004, President Hu Jintao ended a five day visit to Brazil during which he
signed more than a dozen accords aimed at expanding Brazil's sales to China
and Chinese investment in Brazil. Under one agreement Brazil will export to
China as much as $800 million annually in beef and poultry. In turn, China
agreed with Brazil's state-controlled oil company to finance a $1.3 billion
gas pipeline between Rio de Janeiro and Bahia once technical studies are
completed. China and Brazil also entered into a "strategic partnership" with
the objective of raising the value of bilateral trade from $10 billion in
2004 to $20 billion by 2007. President Hu said that this partnership
symbolized "a new international political order that favored developing
countries."

    In the weeks that followed, China signed important investment and trade
agreements with Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, and Cuba. Of
particular interest, in December 2004, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela
visited China and agreed to give it wide-ranging access to his country's oil
reserves. Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter and normally
sells about 60% of its output to the United States, but under the new
agreements China will be allowed to operate 15 mature oil fields in eastern
Venezuela. China will invest around $350 million to extract oil and another
$60 million in natural gas wells.

    China is also working to integrate East Asia's smaller countries into
some form of new economic and political community. Such an alignment, if it
comes into being, will certainly erode American and Japanese influence in
the area. In November 2004, the ten nations that make up ASEAN or the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), met in
the Laotian capital of Vientiane, joined by the leaders of China, Japan, and
South Korea. The United States was not invited and the Japanese officials
seemed uncomfortable being there. The purpose was to plan for an East Asian
summit meeting to be held in November 2005 to begin creating an "East Asia
Community." In December 2004, the ASEAN countries and China also agreed to
create a free-trade zone among themselves by 2010.

    According to Edward Cody of the Washington Post, "Trade between China
and the 10 ASEAN countries has increased about 20% a year since 1990, and
the pace has picked up in the last several years." This trade hit $78.2
billion in 2003 and was reported to be about $100 billion by the end of
2004. As the senior Japanese political commentator Yoichi Funabashi
observes, "The ratio of intra-regional trade [in East Asia] to worldwide
trade was nearly 52% in 2002. Though this figure is lower than the 62% in
the EU, it tops the 46% of NAFTA [the North American Free Trade Agreement].
East Asia is thus becoming less dependent on the U.S. in terms of trade."

    China is the primary moving force behind these efforts. According to
Funabashi, China's leadership plans to use the country's explosive economic
growth and its ever more powerful links to regional trading partners to
marginalize the United States and isolate Japan in East Asia. He argues that
the United States underestimated how deeply distrusted it had become in the
region thanks to its narrow-minded and ideological response to the East
Asian financial crisis of 1997, which it largely caused. On November 30,
2004, Michael Reiss, the director of policy planning in the State
Department, said in Tokyo, "The U.S., as a power in the Western Pacific, has
an interest in East Asia. We would be unhappy about any plans to exclude the
U.S. from the framework of dialogue and cooperation in this region." But it
is probably already too late for the Bush administration to do much more
than delay the arrival of a China-dominated East Asian community,
particularly because of declining American economic and financial strength.

    For Japan, the choices are more difficult still. Sino-Japanese enmity
has had a long history in East Asia, always with disastrous outcomes. Before
World War II, one of Japan's most influential writers on Chinese affairs,
Hotsumi Ozaki, prophetically warned that Japan, by refusing to adjust to the
Chinese revolution and instead making war on it, would only radicalize the
Chinese people and contribute to the coming to power of the Chinese
Communist Party. He spent his life working on the question "Why should the
success of the Chinese revolution be to Japan's disadvantage?" In 1944, the
Japanese government hanged Ozaki as a traitor, but his question remains as
relevant today as it was in the late 1930s.

    Why should China's emergence as a rich, successful country be to the
disadvantage of either Japan or the United States? History teaches us that
the least intelligent response to this development would be to try to stop
it through military force. As a Hong Kong wisecrack has it, China has just
had a couple of bad centuries and now it's back. The world needs to adjust
peacefully to its legitimate claims -- one of which is for other nations to
stop militarizing the Taiwan problem -- while checking unreasonable Chinese
efforts to impose its will on the region. Unfortunately, the trend of events
in East Asia suggests we may yet see a repetition of the last Sino-Japanese
conflict, only this time the U.S. is unlikely to be on the winning side.

    Source citations and other references for this Tomgram are available on
the web site of the Japan Policy Research Institute.

    Chalmers Johnson is president of the Japan Policy Research Institute.
The first two books in his Blowback Trilogy -- Blowback: The Costs and
Consequences of American Empire, and The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism,
Secrecy, and the End of the Republic -- are now available in paperback. The
third volume is being written.

    Copyright 2005 Chalmers Johnson

    E-mail to a Friend

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    posted March 15, 2005 at 8:27 am

     
             
-
     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 15 12:25:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 12:27:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - Syria intel pulling out of Beirut - Mar 15,
	2005
Message-ID: <9953209.1110918310421.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



A first step toward total withdrawal?  Stay tuned...

Peace.



 
********************
 
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Title: CNN.com - Syria intel pulling out of Beirut - Mar 15, 2005
 
  
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From geomilman at milman.com  Tue Mar 15 13:40:58 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Tue Mar 15 13:42:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Senator suggests targeting Net 'indecency'
Message-ID: <20050315214100.3D901388064@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

The U.S. Congress may be preparing for another round in the Internet
"decency" wars.   <http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5618332.html>
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5618332.html


Not a good time to just sit idly watching from afar as it comes down.


Geo

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar 15 14:46:36 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue Mar 15 14:48:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Quality of Life survey 'cities'
Message-ID: <000901c529b0$db8904a0$a227e440@Harold>

Quality of life survey by Mercers

http://www.mercerhr.com/qualityofliving

Canada has 5 in the top 25, USA best was Honolulu 45th.

http://travelcanada.sympatico.msn.ca/Home/ContentPosting.aspx?contentid=d7ba6dcd66204e48afa04a523c06d4c9&show=True&number=5&showbyline=False&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc

Safety was a major issue.

Luxemburg, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Canada and New Zealand with Australia are tops.

Bagdad was the worst.

Later H
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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Tue Mar 15 15:55:31 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Tue Mar 15 15:57:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: White House Letter: Bush Finds Affirmation in a
	Frenchman's Words
Message-ID: <155.4c8ddaaa.2f68cff3@aol.com>

The Shrub has stated that he never reads newspapers, now we are supposed to  
believe he read a book?  And it wasn't a Dr. Seuss reader?
 
Richard Haerther
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Tue Mar 15 16:20:16 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Tue Mar 15 16:22:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Children of the Fallen
Message-ID: <20050316002017.8558.qmail@web53402.mail.yahoo.com>


Children of the Fallen

 

Over 1,000 American kids have lost a parent in the Iraq war. Who they are, and how they're coping. 

 

Find complete story at;

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7169451/site/newsweek/



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Tue Mar 15 16:20:59 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Tue Mar 15 16:22:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Letter to the Grieving
Message-ID: <20050316002059.17754.qmail@web53409.mail.yahoo.com>


A Letter to the Grieving

 

She lost her own father in Vietnam. Now, Karen Zacharias wants to help children dealing with that pain today. 

 

Find complete story at;

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7167398/site/newsweek/



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



		
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Tue Mar 15 16:21:31 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Tue Mar 15 16:23:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Day in the Life of the Homeless in America 
Message-ID: <20050316002131.72363.qmail@web53410.mail.yahoo.com>


   A Day in the Life of the Homeless in America 

    By Sharon Cohen 

    The Associated Press 

 

    Sunday 27 February 2005 

 

>From villages to large cities, homelessness has spread like dye through the weave of America’s social fabric. A single day in the life of the homeless reveals hundreds of thousands without shelter, and blame goes to everything from the lack of affordable housing and unemployment to drug abuse, mental illness and a flawed foster care system.

 

Find complete story at;

 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/022705Y.shtml



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



		
---------------------------------
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Tue Mar 15 16:22:12 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Tue Mar 15 16:24:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Vietnam Redux: Iraq War Vets on Anti-War Offensive
Message-ID: <20050316002212.89370.qmail@web53404.mail.yahoo.com>


Vietnam Redux: Iraq War Vets on Anti-War Offensive

 

The New Face of Protest? 

    By Karen Houppert 

    The Nation 

 

    28 March 2005 Issue 

 

    On a Sunday afternoon in February a young man made a plea to a room full of 400 antiwar activists who had gathered in St. Louis for three days of strategizing on how to end the war in Iraq. "I'm probably the most experienced activist in my organization and I've been an activist for one year," 25-year-old Michael Hoffman said, "so we need your help with logistics." In return, he promised that his group would serve as a shield. "When there are massive protests, we will be out front. We will say that you are doing everything you can to support the troops by demanding that this war is ended, and ended now, so that the troops are brought home and cared for when they return."  

 

Find complete story at;

 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031505A.shtml



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar 15 16:57:02 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar 15 17:02:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: The demise of Social Security reform
In-Reply-To: <200503152000.j2FK08PC003525@dune.islandtechnologies.net>
Message-ID: <423713DE.17179.1F1F7FB@localhost>

This article by noted right wing intellectual David Brooks is, in my 
humble opinion, utter nonsense.  Social Security "reform" is about 
privatizing and ultimately destroying the most popular and successful 
govt program in US history by rightwing idealogues who are bent on 
destroying every shred of the 20th Century legacy of progressive social 
reforms.  Private accounts have utterly nothing to do with saving social 
security from being underfunded (sort of like invading Iraq had nothing 
to do with weapons of mass destruction.....or with democracy)  
beginning in either 2042 or 2052 (depending on whether you believe 
the SS adminstrators or the GAO).  The deficit can be easily solved by 
doing away with the payroll tax ceiling.  Despite the propoganda 
campaign around Social Security, the majority of Americans, clinging 
to common sense, oppose it.  

So I guess the point of sharing this article is to show us that for once, 
the ultraright wing seems to be losing a battle.  Well, I guess that is 
worthwhile--maybe it will signal a trend!  May sanity prevail!

--Mha Atma

On 15 Mar 2005 at 12:00, mb-civic-request@islandlists.com wrote:

> The demise of Social Security reform exemplifies everything that's wrong
> with contemporary politics.


From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar 15 17:39:49 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar 15 17:39:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Children of the Fallen
Message-ID: <000c01c529c9$0c120500$9a25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Children of the Fallen

=====
Over 1,000 American kids have lost a parent in the Iraq war. Who they are,
and how they're coping. Find complete story at;
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7169451/site/newsweek/
======



As has been quoted here before, or something similar, "the death of any man
diminishes me".  I can't really, completely, begin to even converse about an
American Kid who has lost a parent in the Iraq war, I'm sure it's more than
phenomenally devastating, especially to children, to lose anyone, much less
a parent they love and adore.

What continues to irk me, however, is that there are no stories coming from
people like "msnbc" etc that read anything like "Over 100,000 unarmed men
women and children Iraqi Civilians had their heads blown off in the Iraq
war.  How are their relatives and children, if any managed to survive,
coping with it..?"

I dunno, I just like sitting around and doing The Math sometimes.  1,600
dead American soldiers there.  1,000 American kids lost parents there.  But
then I come to the figure of =100,000=, and I stop and think, just like so
many other Americans, *their* losses over there can =never= compare to
*ours*.  Even if the numbers are overwhelmingly tragic in their favor
mathwise, nor even if that 100,000 were unarmed men women and children.

I have to continue to hand it to American Media Outlets across this great
nation.  They already realize that most people here could just care less if
100,000 men women and children unarmed Civilians were wiped out "over there"
in Iraq, so they don't even report about it anymore.

We get wiped out, tragic loss.  They get wiped out, Civilians no less, in
enormous numbers that swamp our numbers, just the cost of doing business.

Another great win for the Gipper.





Cheeseburger

.

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar 15 18:14:29 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar 15 18:16:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] VERY IMPORTANT READ
Message-ID: <BE5CD685.1F24D%michael@michaelbutler.com>

May I suggest that you read the China article in Vol. 9, Issue 80.
It's not short will take about 15 minutes to read. It is very worthwhile.
I will save it if you have lost it and will send to you upon request.
Michael

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Tue Mar 15 20:46:00 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Tue Mar 15 20:47:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Day in the Life of the Homeless in America
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV9414F531D64D9DE3CBCD9AB480@phx.gbl>

Re: the Homeless... has anyone read the book "Stranger to the System"? It is actual folks telling their story of a New York City homeless community, mostly around Tompkins Square park....I read the book in one day...could not put it down.

Stranger to the System
Jim Flynn
Nelson Hall
Curbside Press

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathon Johnson
Sent: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:21:31 -0800
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Day in the Life of the Homeless in America


   A Day in the Life of the Homeless in America 

    By Sharon Cohen 

    The Associated Press 

 

    Sunday 27 February 2005 

 

>From villages to large cities, homelessness has spread like dye through the weave of Americas social fabric. A single day in the life of the homeless reveals hundreds of thousands without shelter, and blame goes to everything from the lack of affordable housing and unemployment to drug abuse, mental illness and a flawed foster care system.

 

Find complete story at;

 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/022705Y.shtml



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



		
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
 Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!

From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 16 03:42:59 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 16 03:44:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <8490201.1110973379302.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Is the Global Economy Unstable?
 
 By Robert J. Samuelson
 
    One of the big questions of our time is whether the global economy is stable. The gains from "globalization"  --  more cross-border trade, investment and technology transfers  --  are indisputable. Countless millions have escaped poverty in Asia and Europe. A recent study by the Institute for International Economics concluded that American living standards are roughly 10 percent higher as a result of globalization's benefits (cheap imports, greater competition, new technologies). Globalization's winners vastly outnumber its losers.
 
  Unfortunately, that could change if the world economy turns out to be unstable  --  incapable of sustaining adequate growth or vulnerable to severe crises. For the moment the dangers are abstract. In 2004 the global economy grew 4.7 percent, economists at Goldman Sachs report. Asia (excluding Japan) grew 8.2 percent; Latin America, 5.6 percent; the United States, 4.4 percent. Global economic growth should average about 4 percent in 2005 and 2006, the Goldman economists predict. Still, the specter of instability lingers.
 
  Global economic integration  --  the merging of markets, the mutual dependencies of countries  --  has raced well ahead of either political integration or intellectual mastery. We simply don't understand well how the global economy operates. Nor is it clear how countries with diverging interests and shared suspicions will cooperate in a crisis.
 
  One obvious problem is oil. Even if the United States could end  dependence on imports for 64 percent of its oil demand (a practical impossibility anytime soon), Europe would still import 80 percent of its needs and Japan 100 percent. Any major shutdown of Persian Gulf exports  --  from war, terrorism or a political act  --  could devastate the world economy. Global terrorism or a world pandemic would also pose threats beyond the initial tragedies. Countries might try to protect themselves from outsiders  --  imposing restrictions on trade, travel and immigration  --  in ways that would destroy global commerce.
 
  At present the greatest peril may lie in huge global trade imbalances  --  and the financial pressures they create. The basic dilemma is that the world needs American trade deficits as an "engine" of growth, compensating for weak growth in Europe and Japan. But the same trade deficits may now be destabilizing because they send large amounts of dollars abroad. The danger: a dollar "crash" on foreign exchange markets that spills over into the U.S. stock and bond markets, driving down those markets and triggering a global recession.
 
  Look at the numbers. In 2004 the U.S. current account deficit reached an estimated $650 billion, or a record 5.6 percent of gross domestic product. (The current account includes all trade, plus other international payments such as those generated by travel and tourism.) The mirror images of U.S. deficits are other countries' surpluses. In 2004 Japan's current account surplus was 3.7 percent of GDP, Germany's was 2.9 percent and China's was 2.3 percent, Economy.com estimates. But even with the stimulus of selling to the United States, economic growth in Europe and Japan has averaged only 2 percent and 1.5 percent annually since 1994.
 
  What's the problem? Foreign exporters receive dollars for what they ship to the United States. If those dollars aren't reinvested in American assets  --  say, U.S. stocks, bonds or Treasury securities  --  they'll be sold on foreign exchange markets for other currencies: the euro, the yen, the pound. As dollar sales drive down its value, foreigners note that their existing U.S. stocks and bonds are worth less in their own currencies. So they may sell U.S. securities to limit losses. At the end of 2003, foreigners owned $1.5 trillion in U.S. stocks; widespread sales could trigger steep market declines.
 
  The risk is an economic implosion. A sinking stock market could damage American consumer confidence and spending. Higher currencies for Europe and Japan could weaken their export competitiveness. (A higher currency tends to make a country's exports more expensive and its imports cheaper.) Together, the United States, Europe and Japan are half the global economy. If they went into recession, other countries might follow.
 
  Economists are divided. Some fear the worst, because the world is flooded with dollars. Relax, say others. Asian central banks (their versions of the Federal Reserve) will buy surplus dollars, because they want to export to the United States and don't want their currencies to rise against the dollar. Still other economists (including Alan Greenspan) believe that we'll muddle through  --  that shifts in exchange rates and economic growth will slowly narrow today's trade imbalances. So far the evidence supports everyone. Since mid-2001 the dollar has dropped against many currencies, especially the euro. Asian central banks have bought lots of dollars. And we have muddled through.
 
  Every economic system requires a political framework, but the framework for the global economy is creaky. Twenty years ago, the "world economy" consisted mainly of the United States and its Cold War allies. Economic, military and foreign policy objectives overlapped. Now the world economy includes China, India and the former Soviet Union. Global interdependence has inspired some cooperation  --  the SARS outbreak and Asia's 1997-98 financial crisis being examples. But the political foundation for cooperation has weakened. Our relations with old Cold War allies are strained, while relations with new trading partners  --  China especially  --  are ambiguous. Could we someday be at war with China over Taiwan? Or will trade defuse conflict?
 
  The well-being of advanced nations presumes a smoothly operating global economy. We take this for granted without knowing whether it will always be true. We don't ask hard questions because we don't know the answers and fear what they might be.
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 16 03:44:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 16 03:46:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9025823.1110973460192.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Flirting With Deficit Disasters
 
 By David Ignatius
 
    While President Bush has been on the road trying to woo public support for his plan to privatize Social Security, two of the nation's economic gurus have been warning that the country is flirting with financial disaster. It's time for the president to stop focusing on a risky and unpopular scheme for addressing the problems of 2040 and to pay more attention to crises that could unfold during the next few years.
 
  The difficulties with Bush's plan for private investment accounts have become clear: First, it wouldn't address the solvency of the Social Security system, which Bush rightly warns is a serious problem, and it might actually make that problem worse; and, second, it's unpopular with the folks who just reelected Bush. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Monday  showed that only 35 percent of Americans say they approve of Bush's handling of the issue.
 
  What's truly unfortunate about Bush's privatization road show is that it has distracted him and the nation from the financial threats that loom just over the horizon. Those dangers were highlighted in frightening analyses made this month by investor Warren Buffett and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Though the two differ about precisely what may lie ahead, they agree that unless the United States puts its financial house in order, it faces real trouble.
 
  Buffett's comments came in his annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., released March 5. Every year, Buffett's letter offers blunt economic analysis, and it has become a kind of cult object for his devotees. But this year's version was enough to give you indigestion after devouring the sage's favorite meal of a T-bone steak and double hash browns at Gorat's in Omaha. Indeed, it was downright scary in its comments about the dangers posed by America's trade deficit.
 
  Buffett has argued since 2003 that this huge trade deficit will eventually bring a sharp decline  in the dollar, and he has tried to protect his company's shareholders against that dollar crash by speculating in foreign currencies. But this year, with the trade deficit having ballooned  to a record $618 billion in 2004, Buffett's tone is almost apocalyptic.
 
  "The evidence grows that our trade policies will put unremitting pressure on the dollar for many years to come," Buffett writes. "The decline in its value has already been substantial, but it is nevertheless likely to continue. Without policy changes, currency markets could even become disorderly and generate spillover effects, both political and financial." That's careful language, but what Buffett is saying is that America is risking a financial crash  --  a bursting bubble  --  if political leaders don't do something about the trade deficit.
 
  Buffett phrases his analysis in his usual homespun metaphors. By buying more abroad than we produce at home, "We are like a family that consistently overspends its income," he writes;  we are financing this self-indulgence only by writing IOUs that are claims on our future income. Rather than an "ownership society," we are creating a "sharecropper's society" that, by Buffett's calculation, will owe the world $11 trillion by 2015 if we continue on the current course. Servicing that debt would cost $550 billion annually, a payment to the rest of the world that "would undoubtedly produce significant political unrest in the U.S.," Buffett fears.
 
  Greenspan focuses on the other looming financial disaster, the federal budget deficit. In a March 10 speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, he warned that the deficit "will rise significantly as the baby boomers start to retire in 2008." And he offered a stark warning that this rising deficit could eventually threaten U.S. financial markets: "Our fiscal prospects are, in my judgment, a significant obstacle to long-term stability because the budget deficit is not readily subject to correction by market forces that stabilize other imbalances." In other words, politicians have to solve this problem; the markets can't.
 
  I should note that Greenspan disagrees with Buffett about the trade deficit. The Fed chairman thinks that over time a declining dollar and other adjustments will reduce U.S. demand for expensive imports. There's no sign that this gradual market adjustment is happening, however. Despite a falling dollar, the trade deficit increased in January to $58.3 billion, the second-highest monthly total ever.
 
  Our wisest economic thinkers are sounding the alarm bells, but where are the political leaders? Where, in particular, is President Bush? After Sept. 11, 2001, he showed that he could rally the country to deal with a deadly threat to its security. He faces that challenge again in dealing with the nation's financial imbalances. Bush should put the distraction of his privatization plan behind him and focus on the economic crises that are here and now. Time to step up, Mr. President.
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 16 03:46:01 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 16 03:47:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <20910835.1110973561593.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 DeLay Defends Trip and Vote, Attacks Critics
 
 By Mike Allen  and James V. Grimaldi
 
  House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) yesterday launched a defense of his travel arrangements and relationships with lobbyists, offering to appear before the ethics committee to answer questions and charging that his critics were relying on "fiction and innuendo."
 
 DeLay's efforts at political damage control followed a recent spate of news reports raising ethical questions about his fundraising and overseas travel paid for by special interests. 
 
 DeLay also moved to shore up his support with conservatives, one of his most important constituencies, with an afternoon speech to a tax summit of the National Republican Congressional Committee and an evening appearance at an $8 million fundraiser featuring President Bush. DeLay also told leaders that he wants Congress to find a way to help Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Floridian whose feeding tube is scheduled to be removed Friday.
 
 Speaking at a weekly session with reporters, DeLay alternated between attacks on the news media and attacks on Democrats. "With all the partisan politics of personal destruction that the Democrats have announced and have carried through on, I have yet to be found breaking any House rules," he said. "It is very unfortunate that the Democrats have no agenda. All they can do is try to tear down the House and burn it down in order to gain power."
 
  The Washington Post reported last weekend that an Indian tribe and a gambling services company made donations to a policy group that covered most of the cost of a $70,000 trip to Britain by DeLay, his wife, two aides and two lobbyists in mid-2000, two months before DeLay voted against legislation opposed by the tribe and the company. The group said it paid for the trip, and the group and DeLay said he did not know about the gambling money. 
 
 The Post also recently reported that an organization that had registered as a foreign agent picked up the cost of DeLay's trip to South Korea. DeLay and the policy group have said that he did not know of the registration. House ethics rules bar the acceptance of travel funds from registered lobbyists. They also require lawmakers to report the original source of funds and prohibit them from taking gifts of any kind from foreign agents.
 
 Last year, the House ethics committee admonished DeLay three times for official conduct, including asking federal aviation officials to track an airplane involved in a Texas political spat and for conduct that suggested political donations might influence legislative action. The committee found that DeLay had not violated a specific House rule. Nonetheless, the committee told him in one of the rebukes that it was "clearly necessary for you to temper your future action."
 







 DeLay's offer to appear before the committee comes after House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) in February replaced three of the Republican members who had voted with the Democrats to admonish DeLay.
 
 Since then, the committee has been stalemated by a partisan feud over a series of rules changes that the Republican leadership forced through earlier this year.
 
 DeLay, 57, an 11-term veteran, helped orchestrate the 1994 GOP takeover of the House and became renowned for his tough tactics as majority whip and later majority leader and an unrivaled fundraiser.
 
 With more than 60 reporters crowded around a huge table in his conference room at the Capitol, DeLay defended his 2000 vote that took the side of some gambling interests, an apparent break from his usual opposition to gambling.
 
 "As Paul Harvey likes to say, here's the rest of the story," DeLay said.
 
 The vote came two months after the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians that runs casinos and the gambling services company eLottery Inc. had written checks to a nonprofit group  --  the National Center for Public Policy Research  --  that covered the same amount as the cost of DeLay's London trip.
 
 The dates on the $25,000 checks to the public policy group coincided with the day DeLay left on the trip, May 25, 2000, according to grants documents reviewed by The Washington Post.
 
 DeLay said the financing of the trip and his vote had nothing to do with each other. He said he had voted against the anti-gambling bill only because it was too weak  --  adding that he later supported a measure that remedied its flaws.
 
 DeLay said the bill "fell short of its intended purpose," was unenforceable and "would not have reduced illegal gambling over the Internet." He said it would have "opened the doors to the expansion of gambling like horse racing, dog racing and jai alai over the Internet."
 
 DeLay mentioned a different version of the bill passed in 2003. "I voted for it," he said, "because those specific exemptions that would have given explicit federal permission for the expansion of gambling on the Internet were no longer in the bill." Both votes, DeLay said, were based on the bills' merits.
 
  But lawmakers and lobbyists who worked on the 2003 bill that DeLay supported said it was in many respects weaker than the bill he opposed in 2000. Its constraints on Internet gambling left more room for individual states to decide what to permit.
 
 The 2003 bill did not prohibit Internet wagering on jai alai, horse racing and dog racing. The 2003 bill exempts "any lawful transaction with a business license or authorized by a state."
 
  The Justice Department said the legislation was too ambiguous to be effectively enforced. Assistant Attorney General William E. Moschella said in a letter to Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) that the 2003 bill could allow "the expansion of gambling opportunities" by letting states legalize Internet gambling currently considered illegal under federal law.
 
  Before DeLay voted for the 2003 bill, the political landscape on the legislation had changed and the tribe and eLottery were no longer active on the legislation, according to their lobbying disclosure forms.
 
 The majority leader  castigated what he called "a growing frenzy surrounding the ethics committee, with Democrats and their allies attempting to use it as a partisan tool for partisan ends."
 
 "When some stories recently emerged about me and the inevitable politically motivated allegations along with them, I instructed my staff to consult the ethics committee to get to the bottom of them," he told reporters. "We want to work with the ethics committee to prove how baseless these and other allegations are." He said he welcomes "the opportunity to respond with facts and information  --  not the fiction and innuendo that have been thrown around by some."
 
 DeLay said that the House "needs an ethics committee" and that he will work to resolve the current impasse. House Republicans turned back an effort yesterday by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to create an ethics task force.
 
 DeLay and two Florida Republicans  --  Reps. Ander Crenshaw and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen  --  wrote to the ethics committee March 11 explaining their decision to accept a trip in 2001 from the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council, which registered as a foreign agent right before the trip began. They said they did not know the group had registered and were "as surprised as everyone when this new information was brought to us this week." Several Democrats made similar trips.
 
 DeLay saved his most caustic comments for The Post's coverage of the funding of his trip to Britain.
 
 "Through implication and innuendo, not facts, The Post attempted to lead readers to the conclusion that, one, I was somehow aware of how the National Center for Public Policy Research funded a trip they invited me on, organized and paid for," he said, reading from a statement. He said that the article "implied that because of that trip, I cast a vote against a particular bill" and added that the accusation "is why I'm just a little less than my normal chipper self."
 
 White House press secretary Scott McClellan, for the second day in a row, offered a careful endorsement of DeLay yesterday. "The majority leader is someone that we support," McClellan said. "He is someone we'll work very closely with in Washington to get things done on behalf of the American people."
 
 DeLay chuckled but did not directly answer a question about whether he would step down for the good of his party if issues about his conduct became too big a distraction. A few hours later, DeLay received a standing ovation when he addressed about 1,000 party donors at a National Republican Congressional Committee luncheon at a hotel here.
 
 He began with a dig at Howard Dean, the presidential candidate who is now chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and joked that "Republicans from Texas aren't known for our eloquocity." DeLay strode in to the strains of "Still the One."
 
 Staff writers Shailagh Murray and R. Jeffrey Smith and researcher Alice Crites contributed to this report.
 
   

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:09:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:12:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraqi Assembly Convenes Against Backdrop of
	Explosions
Message-ID: <20050316130951.11CD5227101@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 16, 2005

Iraqi Assembly Convenes Against Backdrop of Explosions
By EDWARD WONG

The meeting took place in the grim shadow of uncertainty, given that politicians have so far failed to form a coalition government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/international/middleeast/16cndiraq.html?ex=1111640400&en=ea5100d42401ae00&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:10:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:12:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Italy Planning to Start Pullout of Iraq
	Troops
Message-ID: <20050316131014.D48DE11FB2F@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | March 16, 2005

Italy Planning to Start Pullout of Iraq Troops
By IAN FISHER

The withdrawal of Italy's troops from Iraq signaled that the domestic cost of loyalty to the U.S. over the war was growing too high.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/international/europe/16italy.html?ex=1111640400&en=17535080bc8849a1&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:11:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:13:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Ex-Chief of WorldCom Is Found Guilty in $11
	Billion Fraud
Message-ID: <20050316131138.8099F1645F2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

As noted yesterday: one down - far too many more to go! Peace.


BUSINESS | March 16, 2005

The Overview: Ex-Chief of WorldCom Is Found Guilty in $11 Billion Fraud
By KEN BELSON

Bernard Ebbers is the highest executive yet to be convicted in a corporate fraud case, but other executives face similar charges.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/business/16ebbers.html?ex=1111640400&en=38cd93bc729e888b&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:12:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:14:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israeli Forces Pull Back From West Bank Town
Message-ID: <20050316131201.0EDE821F1F1@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 16, 2005

Israeli Forces Pull Back From West Bank Town
By REUTERS

JERICHO, (Reuters) - Israeli forces pulled back from Jericho on Wednesday, strengthening the hand of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as he seeks to commit militants to a formal cease-fire so that he can talk peace with Israel.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html?ex=1111640400&en=62e0c905a04bf087&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:13:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:15:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: And Now, the Counterfeit News
Message-ID: <20050316131352.323AB9FD9B@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Orwell was only a couple of decades off... Peace.


OPINION | March 16, 2005

Editorial: And Now, the Counterfeit News


News organizations deceive the public when they air segments produced by the White House public relations machine as real news.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/opinion/16wed1.html?ex=1111640400&en=d271bbf4ab50782d&ei=5070




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:14:16 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:16:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Who Gets It? Hillary
Message-ID: <20050316131417.801D41645F2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 16, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Who Gets It? Hillary
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Hillary Clinton, much more than Democrats, understands how the national party needs to rebrand itself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/opinion/16kris.html?ex=1111640400&en=0f862198682a1a8c&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:15:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:17:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Is the Empire Striking Back?
Message-ID: <20050316131518.B72E53AE599@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this. My note: looks like things are heating up - dangerously - in the East... Peace.


OPINION | March 16, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Is the Empire Striking Back?
By YONG XUE

The U.S. would be wise to deal with China alone on the Taiwan question, and leave Japan out of it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/opinion/16xue.html?ex=1111640400&en=f41e89cbedba531a&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:15:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:17:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Hidden News and Government Spin (7 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050316131539.764AD11FB64@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying... Peace.


OPINION | March 16, 2005

Hidden News and Government Spin (7 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/opinion/l16covert.html?ex=1111640400&en=f639efd3f8f2b77a&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:21:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:23:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Climate Change Is Called Economic Threat at
	Talks
Message-ID: <20050316132114.463172270CA@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Let's see...Berlusconi is pulling out of Iraq, Blair puts climate change at the top of the G8 "to-do" list... Sounds like Bush is being marginalized by all his best friends! Peace.


INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | March 16, 2005

Climate Change Is Called Economic Threat at Talks
By HEATHER TIMMONS

Britain has declared climate change a top issue as it takes the leadership of the Group of 8 industrialized nations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/international/asia/16climate.html?ex=1111640400&en=e6f82940e6604382&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 05:21:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 05:23:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Lebanon Flag Is Hoisted as Syrians Slip Away
Message-ID: <20050316132200.4225E21F1EF@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 16, 2005

Lebanon Flag Is Hoisted as Syrians Slip Away
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The symbols of Syrian power began coming down in parts of Lebanon, as Syrian military intelligence agents emptied their offices.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/international/middleeast/16lebanon.html?ex=1111640400&en=f2db8bd0498f7c23&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar 16 08:45:46 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar 16 08:47:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Pentagon hawk to run World Bank
Message-ID: <20050316_164546_097234.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
speaking of trouble ahead

** Pentagon hawk to run World Bank **
The US president has nominated Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4354839.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar 16 08:49:14 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar 16 08:51:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Taiwan leader blasts Chinese law
Message-ID: <20050316_164914_078527.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
after just reading the excellent article Michael posted "Coming to Terms w/ China" this is even more worrying

** Taiwan leader blasts Chinese law **
Taiwan's president says a new law giving China the right to force against Taiwan is a "law of aggression".
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4352935.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

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not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar 16 08:50:34 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar 16 08:52:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US current account gap hits high
Message-ID: <20050316_165034_030363.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
and our declining dollar, huge debt, ..

** US current account gap hits high **
The US current account deficit hits a record $665.5bn in 2004 driven by rising oil imports and consumers' appetite for foreign goods.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4354759.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar 16 10:06:11 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar 16 10:08:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Climbing research to aid patients
Message-ID: <20050316_180611_023494.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
very interesting article about low oxygen levels

** Climbing research to aid patients **
Scientists probe how mountain climbers cope with low-oxygen in the hope it will yield new ways to fight illness.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4351207.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

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webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed Mar 16 11:17:45 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed Mar 16 11:19:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Buttonwood  Starkers 
Message-ID: <BE5DC659.1F298%michael@michaelbutler.com>


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Mar 16th 2005
>From The Economist Global Agenda


The dollar may get another short-lived respite but it is heading inexorably
down. The question is how much it takes with it


Get article background

ALL you need to get into Harvard Law School these days, it seems, is a pair
of fuchsia-pink high-heeled shoes. Or so say Buttonwood?s daughters,
reliably informed by an early-teen cult film, ?Legally Blonde?. On the basis
that they can probably manage the shoes, if not the grades, Buttonwood is
paying close attention these days to exchange rates. Her hope is that in
seven years? time, if the dollar continues to slide against other currencies
(and British universities continue to raise their fees), it might cost
little more to send the thuglets to study in Cambridge, Massachusetts than
it would to pay their way in Cambridge, England.

What gives with the greenback? In two of the past three weeks, the dollar
took a pasting on reports that various Asian central banks, whose purchases
of America?s debt help it to go on borrowing and consuming, were planning to
diversify their foreign-exchange reserves away from dollars. Bond yields
spiked up (ie, prices fell) and shares looked glum too.

Then, on Tuesday March 15th, keenly-awaited figures from America?s Treasury
showed a big increase in net purchases by foreigners of American long-term
securities. The net flow in January ($91.5 billion) was 50% up on December?s
figure ($60.7 billion), way over January?s trade deficit of $58.3 billion.
Hidden in the figures were some interesting trends: purchases of American
shares picked up, for example?which suggests a genuine fondness for the
dollar unlikely to be unwound soon. But so too did purchases from the
Caribbean?home to even more hedge funds than The Economist?s own St James?s
Street?which could be liquidated tomorrow. Mark Austin, chief of
foreign-exchange research at HSBC, a British bank, points out that central
banks bought about the same amount as before, while private-sector purchases
increased sharply. Is that positive for the dollar or negative? The currency
rallied, though questions persisted.

The Treasury data tend to be volatile and in any event show only a portion
of real flows. And one month does not a summer make. But taken together with
other figures from the Federal Reserve showing an increase in February and
early March in the securities it holds in custody for foreign owners, they
do suggest two things. The first is that the full shock-horror scenario, in
which Asian central banks dump the dollar and America promptly collapses, is
way overdone. The second is that although Bretton Woods II is still in
business, it is likely to change fundamentally.

The fact is that the markets are hyper-sensitive to these figures, and
analysts pore over them like Kremlinologists. The fear that central banks
are contemplating industrial action against the dollar?and the collective
sigh of relief when it seems they are not?is part of a broader unease about
the nature and solidity of America?s economic growth. Based, as it is, on
mammoth consumption by both the private and public sectors?ie, on big trade
and fiscal deficits?it needs foreigners willing to suspend disbelief and buy
shiploads of securities denominated in a currency that has steadily lost
value for about 40 years.

So far, the foreigners?mainly Asians plus a few outliers, including Russia
and Brazil?have obliged, permitting America to scoop up 75% of the world's
surplus savings. Together, Asian central banks have accumulated about $2.5
trillion in foreign-exchange reserves, up almost a quarter in little more
than a year, most of it in dollars; Japan and China alone have reserves of
nearly $1.5 trillion between them.


Central banks have more reason to purchase dollar assets than to dump them.
Buying American securities keeps their own currencies low, their exports
competitive and their workers free to move from fields to factories.
America?s economy is still growing strongly, despite higher oil prices: this
week?s retail-sales figures confirmed that. There is money to be made there:
like investors everywhere, foreign buyers are chasing yield by moving up the
risk-reward curve these days into bigger purchases of agency debt (the stuff
put out by Fannie Mae and other government-sponsored agencies) and corporate
bonds. And the biggest dollar holders?especially China and Japan?cannot
really afford to start talking down the currency for they would see the
value of their own holdings diminished at a stroke.

But the Faustian deal into which Bretton Woods II has turned?whereby America
gets to spend beyond its means and Asia gets to invest in export-led growth,
at the cost of recycling much of its earnings in America?s securities
markets?turns out to have a shorter horizon than most people reckoned. It
could turn sour at any time now. And confirmation of that came from another
set of economic data, released on Wednesday: America?s fourth-quarter
current-account deficit widened to $187.9 billion, a record.

The dollar?s role as the reserve currency of discriminating central bankers
everywhere has already lost ground. On figures from the Bank for
International Settlements (BIS), the world held 76% of its reserves in
dollars in 2000; by 2003, the proportion had slipped to 68%. Part of that
reflects the dollar?s slide in value. But part reflects growing
diversification, which is as it should be. Asian countries are trading more
with each other these days, as well as with Europe. The euro now offers a
liquid alternative to the dollar, and Europe shows no signs of wanting to
flood the world with its paper.

Russia, Indonesia, South Korea, India and Japan have all murmured
significantly, if guardedly, about diversifying of late. Though figures are
elusive, the best guess is that most are doing so already. At the end of
February, officials and academics from all around Asia met in Bangkok to
discuss the sliding dollar and concluded that they should move more
definitively to their own advantage. There are repeated suggestions that
regional payments systems should be set up, such as the gold dinar standard
proposed for the Islamic world in 2002 by Malaysia?s prime minister.

It is possible that, this time around, OPEC and other oil exporters will
channel their windfall profits through the Treasury?s books. But what will
happen if a significant portion of countries decided not to add to their
dollar holdings? More than the dollar would weaken. Big foreign buyers of
bonds have been keeping interest rates down, perhaps by one percentage
point, as Alan Greenspan suggests. That would change, for a start. Without
this support, the yield on the ten-year benchmark Treasury bond could rise
to more than 5%, pushing up interest rates on mortgages. That, in turn,
could prick America?s house-price bubble and prompt a general deleveraging,
with implications for economic growth both in America and elsewhere.
Standard & Poor?s, a rating agency, warned on Monday that a weak dollar
would substantially increase concerns about credit quality.

This is perhaps not the week to air such apocalyptic concerns, though they
are much on Buttonwood?s mind. In the end, what foreign central bankers have
it in their power to do is to reveal before all the world that the mighty
American economic empire has no clothes?not even a pair of little
fuchsia-coloured shoes.

Send comments on this article to Buttonwood (Please state whether you are
happy for your comments to be published)

Read more Buttonwood columns at www.economist.com/buttonwood


Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.


From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar 15 20:07:06 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed Mar 16 11:38:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The $600 Billion Man
Message-ID: <200503161938.j2GJcoeG008294@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Published on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 by the New York Times
The $600 Billion Man
by Paul Krugman
 

The argument over Social Security privatization isn't about rival views 
on how to secure the program's future - even the administration admits 
that private accounts would do nothing to help the system's finances. 
It's a debate about what kind of society America should be.

And it's a debate Republicans appear to be losing, because the public 
doesn't share their view that it's a good idea to expose middle-class 
families, whose lives have become steadily riskier over the past few 
decades, to even more risk. As soon as voters started to realize that 
private accounts would replace traditional Social Security benefits, not 
add to them, support for privatization collapsed.

But the Republicans' loss may not be the Democrats' gain, for two 
reasons. One is that some Democrats, in the name of centrism, echo 
Republican talking points. The other is that claims to be defending 
average families ring hollow when you defer to corporate interests on 
votes that matter.

Let's start with the case of the bogus $600 billion.

In his Jan. 15 radio address, President Bush made a startling claim: 
"According to the Social Security trustees, waiting just one year adds 
$600 billion to the cost of fixing Social Security." The $600 billion cost 
of each year's delay has become a standard administration talking 
point, repeated by countless conservative pundits - who have 
apparently not looked at what the trustees actually said.

In fact, the trustees never said that waiting a year to "fix" Social 
Security costs $600 billion. Mr. Bush was grossly misrepresenting the 
meaning of a technical discussion of accounting issues (it's on Page 
58 of the 2004 trustees' report), which has nothing to do with the cost 
of delaying changes in the retirement program.

The same type of "infinite horizon" calculation applied to the Bush tax 
cuts says that their costs rise by $1 trillion a year. That's not a useful 
measure of the cost of not repealing those cuts immediately.

So anyone who repeats the $600 billion line is helping to spread a lie. 
That's why it was disturbing to read a news report about the deputy 
commissioner of the Social Security Administration, who must know 
better, doing just that at a pro-privatization rally.

But in his latest radio address, Mr. Bush - correctly, this time - 
attributed the $600 billion figure to a "Democrat leader." He was 
referring to Senator Joseph Lieberman, who, for some reason, 
repeated the party line - the Republican party line - the previous 
Sunday.

My guess is that Mr. Lieberman thought he was being centrist and 
bipartisan, reaching out to Republicans by showing that he shares their 
concerns. At a time when the Democrats can say, without 
exaggeration, that their opponents are making a dishonest case for 
policies that will increase the risks facing families, Mr. Lieberman gave 
the administration cover by endorsing its fake numbers.

The push to privatize Social Security will probably fail all the same - but 
such attempts at accommodation may limit the Democrats' political 
gain.

Meanwhile, the party missed a big opportunity to make its case against 
increasing families' risk by acquiescing to the credit card industry's 
demand for harsher bankruptcy laws.

As it happens, Mr. Lieberman stated clearly what was wrong with the 
bankruptcy bill: "It failed to close troubling loopholes that protect 
wealthy debtors, and yet it deals harshly with average Americans 
facing unforeseen medical expenses or a sudden military deployment," 
making it unfair to "working Americans who find themselves in dire 
financial straits through no fault of their own." A stand against the bill 
would have merged populism with patriotism, highlighting Democrats' 
differences with Republicans' vision of America.

But many Democrats chose not to take that stand. And Mr. Lieberman 
was among them: his vote against the bill was an empty gesture. On 
the only vote that opponents of the bill had a chance of winning - a 
motion to cut off further discussion - he sided with the credit card 
companies. To be fair, so did 13 other Democrats. But none of the 
others tried to have it both ways.

It isn't always bad politics to say things that aren't true and claim to 
support things you actually oppose: just look at who's running the 
country. But Democrats who engage in these tactics right now create 
big problems for a party that has been given a special chance - maybe 
its last chance - to remind the country of what Democrats stand for, 
and why.

? 2005 New York Times, Co.

###


-- 
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From editor at terminalcity.ca  Tue Mar 15 09:45:24 2005
From: editor at terminalcity.ca (Terminal City)
Date: Wed Mar 16 11:39:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Corporate America invades Canadian Schools
Message-ID: <659c723f8ea0589ad9d06a2e146c6a96@www.terminalcity.ca>

 The following page from the "Terminal City" website has been sent to you by Harold ( harry.sifton@sympatico.ca ).

You can access it at the following url: 
http://www.terminalcity.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=261&Itemid=2

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar 15 19:32:38 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed Mar 16 11:43:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] New EPA corrupt mercury emissions "caps" and more fun
	environews!
Message-ID: <200503161943.j2GJhX3G008358@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

CAP AND BETRAYED
Bush administration releases weak mercury rules

The U.S. EPA is releasing its plan to reduce mercury emissions today, and
even jaded environmentalists are appalled. "This is ... the most
dangerous, dishonest, and illegal air-pollution rule I have ever seen come
out of the agency," said ex-EPA official and Natural Resources Defense
Council attorney John Walke. If the agency had classified mercury as a
"hazardous air pollutant" -- as the Clinton administration did -- existing
regulations would have forced reductions of power-plant mercury emissions
to five tons a year within three to five years. Instead, it reversed
Clinton's assessment, opting for a plan that will reduce emissions to 15
tons a year by 2017. Instead of mandating reductions at every plant, the
agency opted for a cap-and-trade program that critics say will leave high
concentrations of mercury around several power plants, generally in poor
communities. Both the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office and the
EPA's own inspector general have found that the agency distorted
scientific and economic analyses to justify the plan. Mercury is a
neurotoxin that damages brain development in fetuses and young children.

straight to the source: Knight Ridder, Seth Borenstein, 14 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4558>

straight to the source: The Boston Globe, Beth Daley, 15 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4559>

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Alan C. Miller and Tom 
Hamburger, 15 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4560>

SUE IT, DON'T SPRAY IT
Landmark Agent Orange case goes to federal court

Did U.S. chemical companies commit war crimes by producing toxic 
dioxin-laced herbicide -- known as Agent Orange -- that the U.S. 
military used to douse more than 2 million Vietnamese and that still
lingers on in their environment and food chain?  That's the question at
the heart of a landmark case that will be heard starting today in a U.S.
federal court in New York City.  The suit was filed last year against
Monsanto, Dow Chemical, and a dozen other companies on behalf of millions
of Vietnamese citizens who still live with a horrific array of illnesses
and whose children suffer from crippling birth defects.  They seek what
could be billions for damages and environmental cleanup.  The companies
say they are indemnified since they were acting on government contracts,
and the Justice Department filed a brief on the companies' behalf.  The
companies also claim that Agent Orange has never been conclusively linked
to serious human health problems -- though they paid out $180 million to
U.S. soldiers who had been exposed.

straight to the source:  The Boston Globe, Matt Steinglass, 27 Feb 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4426>

straight to the source:  The New York Times, William Glaberson, 28 Feb
2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4427>


A GREAT LEAP FORWARD, WITHOUT ALL THE FAMINE
China passes its first renewable-energy law

The Chinese legislature on Monday passed a bill aimed at increasing 
the country's use of renewable energy by mandating that power-grid 
operators get a portion of their electricity from local renewable 
sources and by providing financial inducements such as tax 
incentives, discounted loans, and a national development fund.  When it
takes effect in 2006, the law -- the first of its kind for China -- will
be a big step toward fulfilling a pledge made at an international
renewables conference last year to increase the country's renewable-energy
production from under 1 percent of the total to about 10 percent by 2010. 
Said Beijing Greenpeacer Yu Jie, "China could and should be a world leader
in renewable-energy development."  Couldn't happen too soon. 
Fast-developing China is now second only to the U.S. in emissions of
carbon dioxide (though, as the world's most populous country, it ranks far
lower on a per capita basis).

straight to the source:  Terra Daily, Agence France-Presse, 01 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4449>

straight to the source:  China Daily, Hu Cong, 01 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4450>


IT'S NOT WATCHING CARS GO IN CIRCLES THAT DOES IT
NASCAR race-cars spew lead

What's the connection between NASCAR racing, diminished mental 
capacity, and increased criminal behavior?  If your answer was 
"lead," well, we commend your high-mindedness.  Indeed, that is the 
answer:  Though leaded gasoline was phased out in the U.S. decades 
ago, the racing industry (along with aviation) was exempted.  Despite
years of pleas from the U.S. EPA, NASCAR has not developed an alternative
to leaded gas, which it says keeps engine valves lubricated.  "We just
have not been able to find a solution," said NASCAR spokesguy Ramsey
Poston.  Lead from auto exhaust can stay in the air for up to 10 days and
travel many miles.  Those in the most danger are children, for whom lead
presents the threat of permanently diminished mental capacity.  Low-level
lead exposure has also been linked to criminal behavior.  NASCAR is the
fastest-growing "sport" in America, with some 3.5 million spectators a
year attending races. (Look, we made it all the way through the blurb
without saying "Bush" or "red state"!  Oh, oops.)

straight to the source:  Scripps Howard News Service, Joan Lowy, 28 Feb
2005 <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4452>

AND YOU THOUGHT CLINTON LIKED HUMMERS
Feds using terrorism excuse to crack down on eco-activists

The U.S. government is using the Patriot Act to go after radical 
environmental activists -- and some unfortunate folks who just happen to
look like them -- by branding them as "terrorists."  Despite the fact that
the Earth Liberation Front has caused no injuries during its acts of
sabotage and arson over the years, the FBI told U.S. senators that the
group and others like it are "a domestic terrorism investigative
priority."  One FBI agent says President Bush himself called to inquire
about a 2003 incident in Southern California in which Hummers were torched
or defaced at a dealership, acts for which ELF claimed responsibility. 
Thanks to the Patriot Act, groups or individuals deemed terrorists lose
several constitutional protections and can be surveilled without a
warrant.  "It's a ludicrous extension of the word terrorist," says
professor Steven Best of the University of Texas at El Paso, who has
written about the animal-rights movement.  "It drains it of any meaning."

straight to the source:  The Guardian, Peter Huck, 02 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4455>


WE'LL DRINK TO THAT
Americans prefer their water clean, poll shows

"An overwhelming majority" -- some 86 percent -- of Americans believe
clean, safe water is a national issue worthy of government spending, a new
poll concludes.  The two polling firms (one from each side of the partisan
divide) conducting the opinion survey asked 900 adults a variety of
questions related to hypothetical federal legislation creating a
clean-water trust fund.  The response favored the fund, with more than
eight in 10 surveyed supporting the idea and some 71 percent picking
clean-water programs over road construction and aviation projects as the
most deserving of a trust fund.  Two-thirds said they would rather the
government spend more to guarantee clean water than cut taxes, and almost
80 percent would be more likely to vote for congressional representatives
who supported the legislation. Says pollster Frank Luntz of the results,
"Americans are sending their lawmakers a clear message."

straight to the source:  Environment News Service, 07 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4510>

see also, in Grist:  Frankly, They Do Give a Damn -- GOP pollster 
says voters want action on clean water -- in Muckraker
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4513>

THE PRICES' HEIGHT
Market notices that natural resources are shrinking fast

While some folks in political circles still like to pretend that 
natural resources are endless, global financial markets aren't, uh, 
buying it.  Commodity prices recently hit a 24-year high, driven by 
worries that burgeoning global demand is rapidly outstripping supply.
We'll try to spare you most of the numbers (masochists may click the link
below), but suffice it to say:  Copper and oil prices are near record
highs.  Countries that export loads of raw materials (Australia, Canada,
South Africa, et al) are loving life as their currencies rise against the
dollar.  Continuing economic growth in the U.S. and China means that
prices will probably continue to go up, and "[t]he only thing that will
get us to move decisively lower is a global recession that would reduce
demand,'' said Citigroup analyst Kyle Cooper.  Analysts at Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc. said oil prices will rise until 2008 and stay high
thereafter, based on worries that global oil production is reaching its
peak.  Hmm ... seems like the Birkenstock crowd has been saying that for a
while.

straight to the source:  Bloomberg.com, 08 Mar 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4511>


-----------------------------------------
As Tax Day Approaches for Consumers, Energy Corporations are Already
Calculating Their Savings

Corporate Tax Cut Bill Signed in October 2004 Provides New
Billion-Dollar Break to Energy Companies

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Washington state's  three corporate utilities will
lower their collective 2005 tax bill by as much as $3.75 million -- the
result of a $76.5 billion federal corporate tax cut bill President Bush
signed in October 2004. The savings for Washington state utilities will
rise exponentially in future years, as the value of the tax deduction
doubles in 2007 and rises by an additional third in 2009.

The tax cut estimate came in response to a request that Public Citizen
sent to energy regulators in all 50 states asking them to estimate the
savings from the tax bill that utilities in their states will reap. The
letter also asked that regulators order that any tax break given to the
corporate utilities be refunded to consumers.

Because of state laws, consumers in the 35 states where electric
utilities remain regulated should be able to force the utilities to
share at least some of the proceeds of this tax cut with utility
customers. That means Washington state most likely will require its
utilities to return much of the $3.75 million to consumers in the form of
a rate reduction.

But those 15 states that deregulated their wholesale markets by
breaking up their former monopolies will be powerless to force power
companies in their states to share the bounty. That's because once a
state deregulates, it cannot recoup tax breaks from utilities. For
example, correspondence Public Citizen received from officials in the
deregulated state of Virginia stated that the state's deregulation law
does not allow regulators to force utilities to share tax breaks with
consumers.

In addition, consumers living in those 15 deregulated states will
continue to suffer escalating energy prices. According to data supplied by
the U.S. Department of Energy, deregulated states have seen rates grow
faster and become more volatile than rates consumers in regulated states.

"With Tax Day around the corner, consumers are calculating what they
owe while energy companies are tallying up their tax break - and those
power producers in deregulated states won't have to share the loot with
consumers," said Tyson Slocum, research director for Public Citizen's
energy program. "When the higher prices paid by consumers in deregulated
states are included, this double whammy will cost consumers more."

In October 2004, President Bush signed H.R. 4520, which provides $76.5
billion in new tax breaks for corporations' domestic production activities
over the next 10 years, including electricity, natural gas and oil
production. The amount of the tax deduction is 3 percent of a company's
qualified production income in 2005 and 2006, rising to 6 percent in
2007-2009 and 9 percent after 2009.

The response to Public Citizen by the Washington Utilities and
Transportation Commission represents the first time that companies have
provided public estimates of how much they stand to benefit from this new
tax change. Electric utility corporations have contributed $34 million to
federal candidates since 2001, with 69 percent of that total going to
Republicans.

Fifteen other states -- Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and
Wisconsin -- said that they have either initiated or are considering
initiating an investigation in response to Public Citizen's request.

The corporate tax cut bill passed the House of Representatives by a
vote of 280-141, and the Senate passed it by a vote of 69-17. The entire
Washington state congressional delegation voted in favor of the
legislation, except for Rep. Jim McDermott, who voted against it.

To see a list of deregulated states, please go to
http://www.citizen.org/documents/retailderegfail.pdf

To read the response from Washington state, please go to
http://www.citizen.org/cmep/energy_enviro_nuclear/electricity/deregulation
/articles.cfm?ID=13110

###

Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization
based in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit
www.citizen.org.

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar 15 20:07:06 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed Mar 16 11:45:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Stop fake news (government propoganda) on local TV
Message-ID: <200503161945.j2GJjkYN008381@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


On Sunday, the New York Times reported that at least 20 federal 
agencies have made and distributed pre-packaged, ready-to-serve 
television news segments to promote President Bush's policies and 
initiatives. 

Congress' Government Accountability Office determined that 
these "video news releases" were illegal "covert propaganda" 
and told federal agencies to stop. But last Friday, the White 
House ordered all agencies to disregard Congress' directive. 

The Bush administration is using hundreds of millions of your tax 
dollars to manipulate public opinion. Here's how to stop them: 

Sign our petition and help us get 250,000 people to join our call to 
Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and local 
television stations. Tell Congress and the FCC to toughen and enforce 
laws against "covert propaganda" and demand that broadcasters come 
clean with viewers about using government-produced news.  Go to:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=8755106&url_nu
m=2&url=http://www.freepress.net/act/fakenews

Join others in your community to create "citizen agreements" with your 
local TV stations to stop fake news broadcasts. These agreements are 
official documents filed at the FCC that -- if broken -- can be used to 
deny license renewals. Free Press will connect you with others in your 
area working to ensure local broadcasters identify the sources behind 
the "news." 

Unless we speak out now, the White House will continue to act with 
impunity -- taking advantage of understaffed and incautious local news 
operations to manipulate public opinion. 

Please take a few moments to sign the Free Press petition and 
forward this message to everyone you know. 
Onward, 

Timothy Karr
Campaign Director
Free Press

John Stauber
Executive Director
Center for Media and Democracy 

P.S. To learn more, read the in-depth report from Free Press on the 
systematic effort by the Bush administration to manipulate journalists 
and the American public. 
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=8755106&url_nu
m=5&url=http://www.freepress.net/propaganda/
-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 16 11:46:22 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 11:48:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / US - Bush team fights for 'coalition of
	willing' funds 
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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 11:49:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - China and
	America's common energy interests 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed Mar 16 15:57:19 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed Mar 16 15:59:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Happy Birthday Cara
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV105E94F10E7A2565302D99AB480@phx.gbl>

Cara..... wherever you may be "Happy Birthday" with love and so much more

Love,
barbara

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed Mar 16 16:36:32 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed Mar 16 16:36:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] China, Karen Hughes, Tom Delay, WalMart, NPR
Message-ID: <000701c52a89$5edf3620$6525b7d8@baby1>

China, Karen Hughes, Tom Delay, WalMart, NPR



Michael,  I don't get Civic in digest form, so I don't know which article
you're talking about in reference to China, pls send it to me or post it up
here again so I can see it, thanks.  As far as my own outlook on China,
there have been several interesting points made here in posts recently about
it, one describing what would happen if China ever catches up to "us" in
becoming like us in their consuming, the world would simply be unable to
supply their demands of consumption of resources (I won't reference India's
population now), the other was the one about Taiwan and referred to the
Japanese slaughter of millions of Chinese during WWII, the latter has a good
point there, the Chinese will never forgive them for that tiny act.  My take
on it is that unless something extraordinary happens, the US will one day
find itself facing a Chinese military who has already stormed Taiwan and
taken full possession of it, and will acquiesce, just as they did with
Tibet.  Nothing worth fighting over to them and having to engage in a
full-scale war with China over something it used to own.  As far as
consuming, I look at it like this, China is not going to stop growing, nor
consuming.  And all those incredible computations of it sucking up resources
from a world that will someday be completely unable to meet its demands,
will simply come true, rather than remain in the category of projected
possibilities.  It's an inevitability people should start to come to grips
with now (and plan accordingly), rather than later when it is much too late
to even mildly think about, but they live in the "Now", the "Problem"
remains "not really fully gelled" in the Present, they do not or can not see
the "Future", therefore it remains the "Task" of someone far from now to
deal with effectively.  Fat chance.  I dunno, just for population and
resources problems alone, I have always been a great fan of things like
inter-galactic space travel and offworld colonization, the only problem that
we have with that is that we are living on a planet that hunted things like
the carrier pigeon into extinction and often seems to have the combined
intellect of a marble.

Karen Hughes.  Heh.  Oh crap.  The lady who helped with every Propaganda and
Dirty Trick angle she could muster to put George into the White House.  I'm
surprised that Karl Rove takes credit for anything almost in the shadow of
Karen.  It's nice to hear she finally got back with the main crowd up in
D.C. and will be handling the Propaganda to convince the entire rest of the
world what great people George & Gang are and represent.  This should
finally really get the ball rolling in the right direction.  If ever there
was a female anti-hero (other than Rice), Karen is our man.

Tom Delay.  A tawdry cheap mean crook.  As are most with this new (same old)
gang at the top.  One can only hope they hand him his head on a stick.  The
only problem is that there will always be another one just like him to step
up to the podium to release Democracy from its suffering into the already
bloodied hands of people just like him.  Gives the term of "care giver" a
new twist.  He's a bad person.  I don't like him.  He has done bad things.
He is not alone.  Bad bad bad.

Listening the other night to NPR, they came to a commercial break, and
WalMart is now a great sponsor of their radio efforts.  It was lovely to
reminisce about tobacco companies and beer companies and etc sponsoring such
things as tennis matches, football games, sports every youngster loves and
enjoys, as I listened to the WalMart advertisement boom out inbetween all
the messages coming from NPR.  Kind of made me feel that, finally, sanity
has returned to earth.

:|

With Karen Hughes finally fully back in The Game spreading the same
propaganda goodwill now across the globe that helped get George elected as
king here and with WalMart now oozing its ads across the NPR network, China
should work out just fine for everyone.

Taiwan..?   Ah, just another blister waiting to be popped.







Cheeseburger

.

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar 16 16:39:05 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed Mar 16 16:41:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Democrats asleep at the wheel:
Message-ID: <000601c52a89$bbbb0810$633fe440@Harold>

Hi Michael, just thought I would forward this site to you, do not know if 
you already knew about it.
It has the same spirit of MB-Civic

Lv H

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Information Clearing House" <emailtom@cox.net>
To: <harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 6:21 PM
Subject: ICH: Democrats asleep at the wheel:


> Information Clearing House, is 100% non commercial. It does not sell 
> books, t-shirts or advertising and is completely dependent on readers to 
> fund it's website and newsletter.
>
> News and information is posted to the website regardless of any commercial 
> considerations.
>
> Without the support of readers, both in forwarding news items to me and 
> financial contributions, this site would not exist. I need your help to 
> keep it going.  Hit the donation link. 
> http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/support.htm or if you prefer to 
> send a check or money order, Tom Feeley, PO Box 365 Imperial Beach, CA 
> 91933. USA.
>
> Please forward news items to tom@informationcleringhouse.info
>
> For low income readers: Don't send money, just encourage others to 
> subscribe.
>
> http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/subscribe.htm
>
> To those of you who have been kind enough to provide support in the past. 
> Thank you.
>
> Peace & Joy.  Tom
>
> =
>
> "If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, 
> and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will be 
> secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. 
> We will control ourselves.": Howard Zinn, historian and author
>
> =
>
> "The point of public relations slogans like "Support our troops" is that 
> they don't mean anything... That's the whole point of good propaganda. You 
> want to create a slogan that nobody's going to be against, and everybody's 
> going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean 
> anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a 
> question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? That's the 
> one you're not allowed to talk about.": Noam Chomsky
>
> =
>
> [torture]  "presupposes, it requires, it craves the abrogation of our 
> capacity to imagine others' suffering, dehumanizing them so much that 
> their pain is not our pain. It demands this of the torturer, placing the 
> victim outside and beyond any form of compassion or empathy, but also 
> demands of everyone else the same distancing, the same numbness..." from 
> his new book "Torture: A Collection", Ariel Dorfman
>
> =
>
> Those liberals who continue to inhale the intoxicant of bipartisanship had 
> best sober up because Guantanamo beckons:  Carolyn Kay, Make Them 
> Accountable
>
> =
>
> Jose Padilla : U.S. Citizen Imprisoned Without Trial or Charges for 2 
> Years and 283 Days
>
> ===
>
> To read this newsletter online http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
>
> To Unsubscribe see information at the base of this newsletter
>
> RSS FEED http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/informationclearinghouse/rss
>
> ===
>
> A Warning From Auschwitz
>
> How Do You Shoot Babies?
>
> By: David Edwards
>
> "I saw a young Iraqi dragged by his shoulders through a pool of his own 
> blood or an innocent man was decapitated by our machine gun fire. The time 
> I saw a soldier broken down inside because he killed a child, or an old 
> man on his knees, crying with his arms raised to the sky, perhaps asking 
> God why we had taken the lifeless body of his son."
> http://207.44.245.159/article8290.htm
>
> http://tinyurl.com/467km
>
> ===
>
> Democrats asleep at the wheel:
>
> THE REPUBLICANS just did it again. They pushed through Congress a 
> bankruptcy ''reform" bill written by credit card companies.
>
> The bill makes it harder for ordinary people crushed by debt (often 
> medical debt) to start anew. It leaves intact dodges used by wealthy 
> people, such as asset-hiding trusts, and the corporate ability to use 
> bankruptcy to slash wages, evade pension responsibilities, and stiff 
> creditors.
> http://tinyurl.com/7x25d
>
> ===
>
>
> 180,000 die from hunger in Darfur :
>
> Deadlock on sanctions as UN reveals toll from starvation and disease
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,14658,1438471,00.html
>
> ===
>
> 3 killed, 8 hurt in Afghanistan landmine blast:
>
> At least three civilians died and eight were wounded when a mine tore 
> through a minibus in western Afghanistan, shortly after another blast 
> nearby killed a US soldier
> http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1282095,00050004.htm
>
> ===
>
> Landmine Kills U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan :
>
> A landmine exploded near a group of US soldiers in western Afghanistan, 
> killing one and injuring four more, the American military said today.
> http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4261925
>
> ===
>
> US Considering Permanent Bases in Afghanistan, General Says
> http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-03-16-voa15.cfm
>
> ===
>
> Five killed in Baquba car bomb:
>
> Suicide car bombing at Iraqi army checkpoint in Baquba kills five 
> soldiers, wounds 12 people.
> http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12993
>
> ===
>
> Bomb Kills 3 Iraqi soldiers:
>
> A suicide car bomber attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in Baquba northeast 
> of Baghdad, killing at least three Iraqi soldiers, police say.
> http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050316/325/fed55.html
>
> ===
>
> Iraqi police officer assassinated in Mosul :
>
> Anonymous militants assassinated a major in the Iraqi police force in the 
> northern town of Mosul, Iraqi police sources told reporters Wednesday.
> http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=714047
>
> ===
>
> Marine Dies in Fallujah:
>
> Torrence joined the Corps in January last year.
> http://www.wach.com/Global/story.asp?S=3084473
>
> ===
>
> G.I. gets 45 days for role in Iraqi's death:
>
> Soldier admits forcing civilians into river at gunpoint
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7200520/
>
> ===
>
> Report: Many Died in U.S. Custody in War :
>
> At least 108 people have died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
> most of them violently, according to government data provided to The 
> Associated Press.
> http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re_ap.aspx?re=U/US_PRISONER_DEATHS
>
> http://tinyurl.com/5y8tg
>
> ===
>
> Murder Suspected in 26 Iraq/Afghan Deaths:
>
> At least 26 prisoners have died in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan 
> since 2002 in what Army and Navy investigators have concluded or suspect 
> were acts of criminal homicide
> http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7913372
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4qw5o
>
> ===
>
> Interrogator disciplined over techniques now teaching soldiers:
>
> An ex-Army interrogator punished for sexually humiliating detainees at the 
> Guantanamo prison is now teaching soldiers interrogation techniques, the 
> New York Daily News has learned.
> http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/politics/11147494.htm
>
> ===
>
> 'Abusive techniques' at Gitmo had Navy brass talking pullout :
>
> The previously undisclosed events were revealed at a hearing of the Senate 
> Armed Forces Committee Tuesday. The disclosures shed new light on the 
> military services' objections to the Bush administration's policies on how 
> to interrogate prisoners from the Afghanistan war.
> http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/65865.php
>
> ===
>
> Army captain accused of terrorizing Iraqi town:
>
> Martin's court-martial opened Monday with witnesses saying he ruled like a 
> tyrant over Ar Rutbah, a community of 25,000 in Iraq's western desert, 
> kicking and screaming at civilian detainees and pointing a pistol at them.
> http://tinyurl.com/6gjlt
>
> ===
>
> The forgotten Fallujah- U.S. offensive continues:
>
> The Atrocities committed in Fallujah is a clear example of the 
> self-defeating insanity of the Bush Administration's strategy in the 
> so-called "war on terror"
> http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/article_full_story.asp?service_ID=7500
>
> http://tinyurl.com/525wf
>
> ===
>
> Iraqi parliamentarians hold first session:
>
> Iraq's new parliament has concluded its first meeting since the January 
> election without reaching an agreement on a government line-up or electing 
> a three-member presidential council and a speaker.
> http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7256C523-473D-47D2-AC05-61AF4B8B230F.htm
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4x2h4
>
> ===
>
> "Coalition of the Willing?":
>
> The cracks in the coalition of the willing are growing wider. From a 
> high-flying 300,000 soldiers who shipped out to Iraq in early 2003, only 
> 172,750 remain. And of those, close to 87 percent -- about 150,000 
> soldiers -- are American.
> http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,346732,00.html
>
> ===
>
> Britain will likely be asked to fill gap in Iraq left by Italy:
>
> More British troops will probably be asked to go to Iraq to help fill the 
> void left by Italy's proposed withdrawal of its 3,000 troops there, a 
> British military expert said.
> http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=38814
>
> ===
>
> The Trials of Tony Blair:
>
> British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose willingness to go along even with 
> the most illegitimate and dangerous of Bush's mad schemes has made him a 
> hero to American conservatives, is paying a high price for being what his 
> countrymen refer to as "Bush's lapdog."
> http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=2260
>
> ===
>
> UK: No escape from the war :
>
> The front benches of both main parties would like to fight the forthcoming 
> election on the Basil Fawlty principle of "don't mention the war". They 
> will not be so lucky.
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1438526,00.html
>
> ===
>
> Did the BBC Broadcast Fake News Reports?:
>
> We have our very own fake journalists operating in the UK. The government 
> pays for their wages and they provide news as if they were normal 
> journalists rather than paid propagandists.
> http://www.counterpunch.org/miller03142005.html
>
> ===
>
> Pentagon 'hid' damning Halliburton audit :
>
> The Pentagon stood accused of sitting on a damaging report from its own 
> auditors on a $108.4m (?56.6m) overcharge by Halliburton for its services 
> in Iraq yesterday.
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1438694,00.html
>
> ===
>
> KBR spent millions getting $82,100 worth of LPG into Iraq:
>
> Iraq needed fuel. Halliburton Co. was ordered to get it there - quick. So 
> the Houston-based contractor charged the Pentagon $27.5 million to ship 
> $82,100 worth of cooking and heating fuel.
> http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3085603
>
> ===
>
> Iraq 'facing corruption threat' :
>
> The reconstruction of post-war Iraq is in danger of becoming "the biggest 
> corruption scandal in history", Transparency International has warned.
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4353491.stm
>
> ===
>
> Paul Wolfowitz to Be Nominated as Next World Bank President :
>
> President George W. Bush will name Wolfowitz later today. Wolfowitz's 
> nomination must be approved by all of the World Bank's member countries, 
> which analysts said would be largely a formality.
> http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a_oy7QvpaN28&refer=top_world_news
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3rjwa
>
> ===
>
> In case you misssed it:
>
> Confessions of an Economic Hit Man:
>
> How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions.
>
> Real Video and transcript.
> http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8171.htm
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4kget
>
> ===
>
> Six Convicted in Alleged Paris Bomb Plot :
>
> A French court convicted six men Tuesday in an alleged plot inspired by 
> al-Qaida to send a suicide bomber into the U.S. Embassy in Paris
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4867201,00.html
>
> ===
>
> Iran: An offer that can be refused:
>
> The Bush administration has offered modest incentives - of Iran's entry to 
> the World Trade Organization and spare parts for its aging airplanes - 
> rejected by Iran as incommensurate with the huge nuclear card. Iranian 
> Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said that the country was 
> determined to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, and "no 
> pressure, bribe or threat" could make Iran give up.
> http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GC16Ak02.html
>
> ===
>
> Bush seeks to alter global nuclear pact:
>
> Bush's aides have acknowledged that Iran appears to have the right - on 
> paper, at least - to enrich uranium to produce electric power. But Bush 
> has managed to convince his reluctant European allies that the only 
> acceptable outcome of their negotiations with Iran is that it give up that 
> right.
> http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/03/15/news/nukes.html
>
> http://tinyurl.com/656hp
>
> ===
>
> Knesset resolution demands Pollard's release:
>
> The Knesset passed a resolution on Tuesday demanding that the government 
> make the US release of Pollard a condition for Israel's freeing of 
> Palestinian prisoners.
> http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110857199425
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4u5g4
>
> ===
>
> We Won't Forget Rachel Corrie: Uprising on the Anniversary of a Death:
>
> On March 16, 2003, two Israeli soldiers drove a house-crushing bulldozer 
> over her twice crushing her into the Gaza dirt.
> http://www.counterpunch.org/weir03152005.html
>
> ===
>
> The Killing of Rachel Corrie
>
> Amnesty International Urges Condoleezza Rice to Support Independent 
> Investigation
> http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=52A4E74D1EA54C3F85256FC50077DD71
>
> http://tinyurl.com/5ecee
>
> ===
>
> Family of protester killed by bulldozer suing Caterpillar:
>
> The parents of a 23-year-old activist killed while trying to prevent the 
> demolition of a Palestinian home have sued Caterpillar Inc., the company 
> that made the bulldozer that ran over her.
> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Protester%20Killed%20Lawsuit
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6xb37
>
> ===
>
> Former CIA Agent Affirms Possibility of Chavez's Assassination in 
> Venezuela:
>
> In an interview on Miami's Spanish-language channel 22, the former CIA 
> agent Felix Rodriguez said that the U.S. government has plans to "bring 
> about a change in Venezuela."
> http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1549
>
> ===
>
> Security boosted for Venezuelan president:
>
> Venezuela's presidential guard has boosted security measures to protect 
> President Hugo Chavez in response to an alleged assassination plot
> http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/breaking_news/11143614.htm
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4sba6
>
> ===
>
> Venezuela warns US of freeze in oil sales:
>
> Venezuela's energy minister warned the United States Wednesday that his 
> country would not sell the US a single barrel of oil if the government of 
> Hugo Chavez again came under "attack" from Washington.
> http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=38832
>
> ===
>
> U.S. Calls Venezuela Purchase of Russian Warplanes Waste of Money:
>
> General Bantz Craddock, the senior officer responsible for security 
> co-operation in Latin America says that Venezuela's arms procurement 
> program represents a danger to the entire region, and it raises concern 
> among its neghbors.
> http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/03/16/venezuelaarmed.shtml
>
> ===
>
> One dead in Guatemala free trade protests:
>
> Gunfire erupted Tuesday as police clashed with demonstrators who blocked a 
> highway in northeastern Guatemala to protest a free trade plan with the 
> United States. Authorities said one protester was killed.
> http://www.newsobserver.com/24hour/world/story/2234104p-10378789c.html
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3wgnh
>
> ===
>
> Salvador president rejects probe of 1981 civil war massacre :
>
> According to the church office, members of the U.S.-trained Atlacatl 
> Battalion "concentrated and killed hundred of civilian residents, 
> including children, women and the elderly" in December 1981.
> http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20050315-1258-salvador-massacre.html
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6lybk
>
> ===
>
> American Hypocracy At Work: Agent Orange -- Thirty Years After:
>
> Agent Orange is still poisoning the Vietnamese people today, over thirty 
> years after spraying ended, through highly contaminated foods including 
> poultry and fish.
> http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Mar05/Williamson0315.htm
>
> ===
>
> In case you missed it:
>
> Study finds link between Agent Orange, cancer:
>
> Military concedes toxic chemical increases risk of illness
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4037340/
>
> ===
>
> Reid threatens partial Senate shutdown
>
> Democratic Leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada threatened Tuesday to shut 
> down the Senate over the issue of filibusters of President Bush's judicial 
> nominations. Reid would exempt from his shut-down only national defense 
> matters and spending needed to ensure ongoing federal operations.
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7193614/
>
> ===
>
> U.S. Dollar Slides as Current Account Deficit Soars:
>
> The dollar slid against the euro Wednesday on data that showed the U.S. 
> current account deficit soaring more than expected in the fourth quarter 
> and far exceeding its previous record for the full year.
> http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBBSWFMD6E.html
>
> ===
>
> Apocalyptic concerns:
>
> The dollar may get another short-lived respite but it is heading 
> inexorably down. What foreign central bankers have it in their power to do 
> is to reveal before all the world that the mighty American economic empire 
> has no clothes
> http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3761805
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4fuaw
>
> ===
>
> Senate Votes to Open Alaskan Oil Drilling :
>
> Amid the backdrop of soaring oil and gasoline prices, a sharply divided 
> Senate on Wednesday voted to open the ecologically rich Alaska wildlife 
> refuge to oil drilling, delivering a major energy policy win for President 
> Bush.
> http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ARCTIC_DRILLING?SITE=NCWIN&SECTION=HOME
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3rv8m
>
> ===
>
> US tries to sink forests plan :
>
> The US plans to wreck a British initiative to commit the G8 states to 
> combatting illegal logging in the world's threatened rainforests, a leaked 
> memorandum revealed last night.
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1438522,00.html
>
> ===
>
> "10 Years To Save The Planet":
>
> The effect of global warming around the planet has recently been 
> highlighted by the reduction in ice on the Himalayan mountain range.
> http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,31500-13312011,00.html
>
> ===
>
> US Government 'out on a limb over climate change science:
>
> The President of the Royal Society, called on the US Government to make 
> its position on climate change science clear following comments by James 
> L. Connaughton, senior environmental and natural resources adviser to 
> President George W. Bush.
> http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/news.asp?id=2992
>
> ===
>
> UK: Gordon Brown rounds on US over climate change:
>
> Gordon Brown today increased the pressure on the United States to cut its 
> carbon emissions, saying that there was no need to hide behind the 
> argument that tackling climate change damaged the economy.
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1526572,00.html
>
> ===
>
> In case you missed it: Map: The world's water hotspots:
>
> From disappearing lakes and dwindling rivers to military threats over 
> shared resources, water is a cause for deep concern in many parts of the 
> world. Click on the map to read about some of the world's water hotspots.
> http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3754520.stm
>
> ===
>  Peace & Joy
>     Tom Feeley
> ===
> Liberty can not be preserved without general knowledge among people." 
> (August 1765) John Adams
>
>
>
> _____________________________
> Unsubscribe: http://www.ymlp.com/u.php?feminine+harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
> Hosting by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com
> 


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed Mar 16 16:40:01 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed Mar 16 16:41:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Democratic Leader Harry Reid's Letter to Bill Frist
Message-ID: <BE5E11E1.1F2D8%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Editor's Note: The information below is an analysis of the facts
produced by the office of Senate Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid.
Tomorrow TO will publish a response from the office of Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist.

Also see below:    
Preserving Checks and Balances    ?

    Go to Original

    Democratic Leader Harry Reid's Letter to Bill Frist
    By Senator Harry Reid
    Democratic Minority Leader

    Tuesday 15 March 2005


    
Electronic image of Senator Reid's letter;
page 1
    

 

 

    
Electronic image of Senator Reids letter;
page 2
    
    Dear Majority Leader Frist:

    During President Bush's first four years in office, the Senate confirmed
204 judicial nominees and withheld its consent to only 10 nominations, a
confirmation rate of over 95%. Last year the federal court vacancy rate
reached its lowest level in 15 years. Nonetheless, in recent press reports
you have threatened to use extraordinary parliamentary tactics allowing the
Republican majority to rubberstamp the handful of nominees already rejected
and all future Bush nominees.

    On behalf of every Democratic Senator, I urge you and your colleagues to
reconsider this course of action, which would remove one of the
constitutional checks and balances that has served our country so well for
over two centuries. I also want to describe the likely effect of this
so-called "nuclear option" on the operation of the Senate.

    The role of the Senate in the confirmation of presidential nominees is a
central element of our democracy. The Framers of the Constitution created a
system of checks and balances to limit the power of each branch of
government, and in that way to protect the rights of the American people.
The Senate's review of judicial nominees is especially important because
federal judges are the only government officials to receive lifetime
appointments. These men and women will serve on the federal bench for
decades, making far-reaching decisions that affect all Americans.

    Every citizen has an enormous stake in this debate. Federal judges apply
the laws that Congress passes to protect the environment, guard against
discrimination and punish criminals. They give life to the First Amendment
guarantee of free speech, the free exercise of religion and other vital
constitutional rights. The Senate's role in the confirmation of judges is as
important as any of our duties.

    The power to confirm judges includes the right to use well-established
Senate rules to reject nominees. No one has seriously doubted that right in
over 200 years, and Senators have exercised it in recent times. Of course
that right should be exercised responsibly - while Republicans are concerned
about the treatment of President Bush's judicial nominees, Democrats were
concerned about the Senate's treatment of President Clinton's judicial
nominees, more than 60 of whom were denied a vote by the full Senate.

    I am willing to work with you to improve the procedures by which the
President seeks the advice of Senators with regard to nominations and the
procedures by which the Senate considers whether to grant its consent,
consistent with constitutional checks and balances. But to alter these
procedures unilaterally would be an unprecedented abuse of power. The Senate
should not become like the House of Representatives, where the majority
manipulates the rules to accommodate its momentary needs.

    -2-

    Democrats in the Senate may be in the minority, but we represent
millions of American citizens. The nuclear option would deny these Americans
their rightful voice in the governance of the nation. Moreover, we will not
always be in the minority. The nuclear option would trample on the rights of
whichever group of Americans - Republicans or Democrats - happen to be
represented by the Senate minority at any given time.

    Listen to the words of two of our great Senate Leaders: Former
Republican Leader Howard Baker wrote in 1993 that limiting the right to
extended debate "would topple one of the pillars of American Democracy: the
protection of minority rights from majority rule. The Senate is the only
body in the federal government where these minority rights are fully and
specifically protected." And half a century earlier, Democratic Leader and
later President Lyndon Johnson said: "In this country, a majority may govern
but it does not rule. The genius of our constitutional and representative
government is the multitude of safeguards provided to protect minority
interests."

    The Senate conducts most of its business by cooperation and consent. The
minority provides that consent with the expectation that the courtesies it
extends to the majority will be met with respect for minority rights. And no
Senate right is more fundamental than the right to debate. Should the
majority choose to break the rules that give us that right, the majority
should not expect to receive cooperation from the minority in the conduct of
Senate business.

    Of course Democrats would never block legislation vital to our troops or
other national security interests, and we will help ensure that critical
government services continue to function for the American people. Beyond
that very limited scope, however, we will be reluctant to enter into any
consent agreement that facilitates Senate activities, even on routine
matters. Just this year we passed the class action and bankruptcy bills
under procedures negotiated in good faith between the majority and the
minority. We would decline to provide such cooperation in the future if you
implement the nuclear option.

    There is a better way. Working together, I believe we can discharge the
Senate's constitutional duty to consider judicial nominees in a fair and
sensible manner. If you abandon the nuclear option, I can assure you that
Senate Democrats will cooperate with you to consider legislation and
nominations. We will exercise our procedural rights in a responsible
fashion, cognizant of the President's prerogatives. We will do our part to
preserve the bipartisanship that defines the Senate and that serves the
nation so well.

    Sincerely,
    Harry Reid Democratic Leader

 

    Preserving Checks and Balances
    By Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid
    Delivered on the Steps of the Capitol
    t r u t h o u t | Address

    Tuesday 15 March 2005

    
Video of this speech
(Real Player Required)
    
    "On a late September day in 1787, the Constitutional Convention finished
its work. As Benjamin Franklin walked down the steps of Independence Hall, a
Philadelphia woman named Elizabeth Powell stopped him and asked, "Well,
Doctor, what have we got: a republic or a monarchy?"

    He responded, "A republic. If you can keep it."

    For more than two centuries, we have kept our republic because Americans
have understood that our liberty is protected by our laws and by a
government of limited powers.

    Our Constitution provides for checks and balances so that no one person
in power - so that no one political party - can hold total control over the
course of our nation.

    But now, in order to break down the separation of powers and ram through
their appointees to the judicial branch, President Bush and the Republican
leadership want to eliminate a two-hundred-year-old American rule saying
that every member of the Senate can rise to say their piece and speak on
behalf of the people that sent them here.

    The fact is that this President has a better record of having his
judicial nominees approved than any President in the past twenty-five years.
Only ten of 214 nominations have been turned down.

    So it is clear that this attempt to strip away these important checks
and balances is not about judges. It is about the desire for absolute power.

    But our nation's basic rules are there for the moments when the eyes of
the powerful grow large and hungry; when their willfulness makes them
determined to do whatever it takes to win, and prevail at whatever the cost.

    Presidents and parties have grown drunk with power before. Two
Presidents of my own party - Thomas Jefferson and Franklin Roosevelt - began
their second terms of office with majorities in Congress and then tried to
change the rules governing judges so that they could stack the court with
those who would do their bidding. They were wrong to try to change our basic
American rules - and Americans, and Senators of both parties, stood up to
tell them so.

    Today, another attempt is being considered to rewrite the rules so that
those in power can get their way.

    It would mean that the U.S. Senate becomes merely a rubber stamp for the
Executive Branch.

    It would mean that one political party - be it Republicans today or
Democrats tomorrow - gets to have all the say.

    It would mean that one man, sitting in the White House, has the
practical ability to personally hand out lifetime jobs to judges whose
rulings can last forever.

    That's not how America works.

    Here, in America, the people rule - and all the people have a voice

    We pledge allegiance to "one nation, under God, with liberty and justice
for all." Not liberty and justice for whoever may be in the majority of the
moment. Liberty and justice for all. In America, everyone gets their say and
their due.

    Today, we say to the American people: if you believe in liberty and in
limited government, set aside your partisan views and oppose this arrogant
abuse of power.

    Our freedom as a people was purchased by soldiers and Senators, by those
who fell for our country and those who rose to speak for it, even when they
stood alone.

    The courage of patriots has given us a republic. Now, it is our task -
and our test - to show that we can keep it.

Myth: There is precedent for the "Nuclear Option."

    ? During Senator Specter's press conference accepting the Chairmanship
of the Judiciary Committee he claimed that "if a rule change is necessary to
avoid filibusters, there are relevant recent precedents to secure rule
changes with 51 votes." He also asserted that "Senator Byrd had four rule
changes in 1977, '79, '80 and '87, where, as a master parliamentarian, he
moved them through the body on a ruling of the chair and 51 votes. And one
of those was a filibuster by amendment." Right-wing pundit Bob Novak has
reiterated these claims.

Reality: There is no precedent for overriding the rules of the Senate and
forcing majority cloture. To do so would radically alter rights protected
for 200+ years.

    ? The examples cited by Sen. Specter and Mr. Novak furnish no precedent
for the imposition of majority cloture in the Senate. While they are
procedural "precedents" for incremental clarifications of Senate Rules, they
do not in any way serve as precedent for the radical deletion of the
Senate's long-standing Rules allowing filibusters and providing for cloture.

    ? By analogy, Miranda v. Arizona is Supreme Court precedent but it
furnishes no binding or persuasive precedent for Bush v. Gore. Similarly,
the examples cited by Sen. Specter and Mr. Novak do not justify or support
the Republican effort to remove one of the pillars of the Senate.

    ? There is no language in the Constitution prohibiting filibusters.

    ? The Constitution protects Members' rights to speech and debate. As
Joseph Story noted in his 1833 Commentaries on the Constitution: "[A] great
and vital privilege is the freedom of speech and debate, without which all
other privileges would be comparatively unimportant, or ineffectual."

    ? The Framers of the Constitution were well aware of filibusters and
other parliamentary tactics to delay. There was a filibuster over the
location of the U.S. Capitol in the First Congress following the drafting of
the Constitution.

    ? Over fifty law professors wrote to the Senate last year to make clear
that "[b]oth the text of the Constitution and historical practices strongly
support the constitutionality of the filibuster."

    ? The Constitution does not require a vote on every nominee proposed or
piece of legislation introduced, no matter how ill advised or deserving.

    ? Since our earliest days, nominees were defeated by blocking
confirmation votes. See, e.g., G. H. Haynes, The Senate of the United States
(1938).

    ? Out of the 24 Supreme Court nominees who were never confirmed, more
than half (14) were defeated by delay and not by confirmation votes,
including Justice Abe Fortas, who was successfully filibustered by
conservative Senators in 1968.

Reality: The examples cited by Sen. Specter and Mr. Novak are inapposite.

Each of the four examples cited is qualitatively different from the nuclear
option in both order and magnitude. If it were so easy to get rid of the
filibuster, it would have been eliminated by a thwarted majority decades if
not centuries ago.

Democrats Confirmed 95% of Bush Judges

204 judges have been confirmed during the Bush Administration.

Democrats have confirmed 35 circuit court nominees, more than in the first
term of Reagan or Clinton.

Republicans Create False Crisis to Pack the Courts and Rollback Rights

At the end of the last Congress, the federal court vacancy rate hit its
lowest point in 14 years.

Democrats rejected 10 of Bush's nominees because they lacked a commitment to
protecting the constitutional rights and liberties of every American.

Rejected nominations include:

    William Pryor, who believes federal protections for voting rights, the
environment, equal rights, education and privacy are illegal. Pryor has
argued for the politicization of picking extreme Supreme Court justices,
stating "Please God, no more Souters."

    Janice Rogers Brown, who has likened federal protections for the elderly
to "senior citizens - cannibaliz [ing] their grandchildren" and that
policies against age discrimination don't benefit the public. As a state
court judge, she has worked to deny the rights of victims of discrimination,
consumers and workers.

    Priscilla Owen, a Texas Supreme Court justice who has been hostile to
the rights of workers, women seeking to exercise their right to choose,
consumers, and injured individuals. Even Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
wrote that one of her opinions was "unconscionable judicial activism."

Republicans pocket-filibustered more than 60 nominees.

More than 60 judicial nominees and 200 executive branch nominees of Clinton
were defeated by calculated delay by Republicans, not by votes."

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 16 16:32:31 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 16:49:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Story from Grist Magazine
Message-ID: <200503170032.j2H0WVAr067487@grist2.electricembers.net>


I thought you might be interested in this feature in Grist Magazine:

Caribou-Hoo-Hoo, by Amanda Griscom Little. Senate votes to open Arctic Refuge to drilling. 
http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2005/03/16/little-arctic/index.html?source=muck
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar 16 16:59:35 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed Mar 16 17:01:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Wolfowitz to head World Bank
Message-ID: <000701c52a8c$98df82a0$633fe440@Harold>

The Head of the World Bank should be apolitical, Wolfowitz is not.
He has agenda's, the Neo-Conservatism American Way or the highway. He will please his friends as neo-conservatives do!

http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/03/16/worldbank-050316.html

This is not a good thing. By the way what is the difference between neo-conservatism and fascism? Is fascism a derivative of and related to fanatic?

Pax America

Later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar 16 17:17:29 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Wed Mar 16 17:19:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / International economy - Wolfowitz
	nomination a shock for Europe 
Message-ID: <2237323.1111022249147.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



America vs the World

Later H



 
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Title: FT.com / World / International economy - Wolfowitz nomination a shock for Europe 
 
  
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From lyve at netzero.com  Wed Mar 16 17:17:41 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Wed Mar 16 17:21:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Kerry WARNED us in October
Message-ID: <20050316.171814.602.219763@webmail23.nyc.untd.com>


In October 2004, just three weeks before the election, Senator John 
Kerry said Bush was planning a surprise second-term effort to privatize 
Social Security and he forecast a "disaster for America's middle 
class."
White House spokesmen denied it, naturally; "It is just flat 
inaccurate," said GOP chairman Ed Gillespie.
But sadly, now we know the truth.
Read the whole story here: 
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=173606



Lyle
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar 16 17:19:54 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Wed Mar 16 17:21:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Genes contribute to religious inclination
Message-ID: <20035044.1111022394206.JavaMail.orion@cartman>

Your friend thought you should see this article on New Scientist.com today.

Follow the link below for the full story:

Genes contribute to religious inclination
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7147

Their message:
This is something to discuss!

New Scientist.com is the world's leading online science and technology news service, with a global network of award-winning journalists. Visit www.newscientist.com now for constantly updated and authoritative reporting that's both fast and fascinating.
From lyve at netzero.com  Wed Mar 16 17:23:50 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Wed Mar 16 17:26:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 2 YEAR Anniversary-IRAQ WAR
Message-ID: <20050316.172355.602.219842@webmail23.nyc.untd.com>


The Two Year Anniversary of the Iraq War will be memorialized with peace 
rallies, marches and demonstrations in hundreds of locations nationwide 
this weekend.
The attached email is being forwarded to you as an FYI -- should you be 
interested, the information is there.
We do know that there are events scheduled in Olympia and in Seattle for 
Saturday.
If you have any questions about the Olympia events, please email me.
For questions about the Seattle event, please email John Burns at 
zzzipcode@hotmail.com



Lyle
From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 16 18:26:48 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 18:28:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Energy Non-Policy
Message-ID: <21846700.1111026408055.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Energy Non-Policy 
--------------------


March 16 2005

Sure, it's cynical to attach an otherwise unpassable bill to the federal budget resolution. In the case of permitting oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it's bad budgeting as well. The resolution projects that oil leases will be auctioned at unheard-of prices. Worse, it marks a larger failure to create an energy policy that would honestly lead to less dependence on foreign oil. The measure hangs today on whether the Senate dares to separate Arctic drilling from the budget. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-anwar16mar16,0,5601942.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 16 18:27:34 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 18:29:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Different Battle, Same Struggle
Message-ID: <22237866.1111026454396.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Different Battle, Same Struggle 
--------------------

But equating gay plight and black history goes too far.

By Tobias Barrington Wolff
Tobias Barrington Wolff, a professor at UC Davis Law School, is on the executive board of the Equal Justice Society, a civil rights advocacy group.

March 16 2005

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer made a bold choice in Monday's opinion recognizing the equal right of gay couples to marry: He invoked Brown vs. Board of Education and the American legacy of segregation to explain a part of his ruling. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-wolff16mar16,0,3944826.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 16 18:28:06 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 18:29:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Truth Is, Bush's Propaganda Hurts the U.S.
Message-ID: <22671438.1111026486154.JavaMail.turbine@s76>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Truth Is, Bush's Propaganda Hurts the U.S. 
--------------------

ANDRES MARTINEZ

March 16 2005

When I was growing up in Mexico, we subscribed to the local Chihuahua newspaper and a Mexico City paper whose arrival around lunchtime was a much-anticipated treat &#8212; it had a far better sports section. My exposure to U.S. news in that pre-Internet, pre-satellite-TV era was intermittent, mostly by way of the El Paso Times and Time magazine. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-martinez16mar16,0,3030907.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 16 19:16:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Wed Mar 16 19:18:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Genes contribute to religious inclination
References: <20035044.1111022394206.JavaMail.orion@cartman>
Message-ID: <005b01c52a9f$b548a210$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

This is not the first time the question of a "God gene" has come up - nor, 
almost certainly, will it be the last.  Yet if proving the existence of God 
is impossible, proving the existence of a "God gene" will likely be even 
more difficult.

I also note that this study dealt exclusively with twins.  Yet few "twin" 
studies - of anything - have set precedents, much less been accepted as 
"proof" of any aspect of human behavior, be it psychology, emotions, 
whatever.

As for its application to non-twins, I need look no further than myself for 
"proof" that the theory of a "God gene" is
faulty.  I was raised in an atheist household by a Marxist father for whom 
religion was "the opiate of the people," and a mother who is a scientist, 
and thus based in rationality and empiricism.  There was no "spirtuality" at 
all in my household, and my brother both grew up to become rabid atheists 
like my parents.  As an aside, none of my grandparents, on either side, were 
believers either; nor, I suspect, were THEIR parents.

Yet I had formed a sense of "spirituality" by age 15, and went on to become 
not only a believer in God, but a Christian, and then a minister.

In this regard, I would understand, and even entertain (though I would 
disagree with), the notion that my faith is a "reaction" to my parents 
and/or my upbringing.  But it is certainly NOT genetic.

Peace.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 8:19 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Genes contribute to religious inclination


> Your friend thought you should see this article on New Scientist.com 
> today.
>
> Follow the link below for the full story:
>
> Genes contribute to religious inclination
> http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7147
>
> Their message:
> This is something to discuss!
>
> New Scientist.com is the world's leading online science and technology 
> news service, with a global network of award-winning journalists. Visit 
> www.newscientist.com now for constantly updated and authoritative 
> reporting that's both fast and fascinating.
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From maxfury at granderiver.net  Thu Mar 17 01:28:03 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Thu Mar 17 01:27:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The End Is Near - Gasoline Hits $2.00 A Gallon In
	Cheeseburgerville
Message-ID: <000701c52ad3$9f746a80$1925b7d8@baby1>

The End Is Near - Gasoline Hits $2.00 A Gallon In Cheeseburgerville


Must be something big in play behind the scenes coming.  I thought I was
watching them rather carefully.  Get ready for an interesting move somewhere
in the shadows.

Anyway, gasoline hit $2.00 a gallon in my little town here now.  Never seen
it that high in my entire lifetime.  That's a long long time by the way.

Just thought I'd let you know in case you're paying a dollar a gallon still
somewhere.  Email me some in a balloon.  Glad to see the economy is booming.




Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 17 03:34:22 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 17 03:36:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6749333.1111059262918.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 CIA's Assurances On Transferred Suspects Doubted
 
 By Dana Priest
 
  The system the CIA relies on to ensure that the suspected terrorists it transfers to other countries will not be tortured has been ineffective and virtually impossible to monitor, according to current and former intelligence officers and lawyers, as well as counterterrorism officials who have participated in or reviewed the practice.
 
 To comply with anti-torture laws that bar sending people to countries where they are likely to be tortured, the CIA's office of general counsel requires a verbal assurance from each nation that detainees will be treated humanely, according to several recently retired CIA officials familiar with such transfers, known as renditions.
 
 But the effectiveness of the assurances and the legality of the rendition practice are increasingly being questioned by rights groups and others, as freed detainees have alleged that they were mistreated by interrogators after the CIA secretly delivered them to countries with well-documented records of abuse.
 
 President Bush weighed in on the matter for the first time yesterday, defending renditions as vital to the nation's defense.
 
 In "the post-9/11 world, the United States must make sure we protect our people and our friends from attack," he said at a news conference. "And one way to do so is to arrest people and send them back to their country of origin with the promise that they won't be tortured. That's the promise we receive. This country does not believe in torture. We do believe in protecting ourselves." One CIA officer involved with renditions, however, called the assurances from other countries "a farce."
 
 Another U.S. government official who visited several foreign prisons where suspects were rendered by the CIA after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said: "It's beyond that. It's widely understood that interrogation practices that would be illegal in the U.S. are being used."
 
 The CIA inspector general recently launched a review of the rendition system, and some members of Congress are demanding a thorough probe. Canada, Sweden, Germany and Italy have started investigations into the participation of their security services in CIA renditions.
 
 The House voted 420 to 2 yesterday to prohibit the use of supplemental appropriations to support actions that contravene anti-torture statutes. The measure's co-author, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), singled out renditions, saying "diplomatic assurances not to torture are not credible, and the administration knows it."
 
 Rendition, a form of covert action that is supposed to be shrouded in the deepest secrecy, was first authorized by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and was used by the Clinton administration to transfer drug lords and terrorists to the United States or other countries for military or criminal trials.
 
 After the 2001 attacks, Bush broadened the CIA's authority and, as a result, the agency has rendered more than 100 people from one country to another without legal proceedings and without providing access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, a right afforded all prisoners held by the U.S. military.
 
 The CIA general counsel's office requires the station chief in a given country to obtain a verbal assurance from that country's security service. The assurance must be cabled back to CIA headquarters before a rendition takes place.
 
  CIA Director Porter J. Goss told Congress a month ago that the CIA has "an accountability program" to monitor rendered prisoners. But he acknowledged that "of course, once they're out of our control, there's only so much we can do."
 
 Asked to explain Goss's statement, an intelligence official said: "There are accountability procedures in place. For example, in some cases, the U.S. government is allowed access and can verify treatment of detainees." The official declined to elaborate.
 
 Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said in an interview last week that, once a transfer occurs, "we can't fully control what that country might do. We obviously expect a country to whom we have rendered a detainee to comply with their representations to us. If you're asking me 'Does a country always comply?,' I don't have an answer to that."
 
 In practice, though, the CIA has little control over prisoners once they leave CIA custody, said three recently retired CIA officials and other intelligence officials who have dealt with foreign intelligence services on detainee matters.
 
 "These are sovereign countries," said Michael Scheuer, a recently retired CIA officer who favors the use of renditions to disrupt terrorist networks. "They are not going to let you into their prisons."
 
 "Once they are in the jurisdiction of another country, we have no rights to follow up," said Edward S. Walker Jr., a former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and now president of the Middle East Institute.
 
 The U.S. official who visited foreign detention sites said the issue "goes far beyond" the assurance: "They say they are not abusing them, and that satisfies the legal requirement, but we all know they do."
 
 For a country offering assurances, following up could imply the United States does not trust its leaders.
 
 "We wouldn't accept the premise that we would make a promise and violate it," said the Egyptian ambassador to the United States, Nabil Fahmy, whose country has accepted rendered terrorism suspects. He denied that Egyptian officers employ torture in interrogations. "I don't accept the premise that if you want to torture someone, you send them to Jordan or Egypt. That would be the exception to the rule." Egypt, he added, "is becoming more and more rigorous" in prosecuting officers who use excessive force.
 
 But Mamdouh Habib, an Australian citizen, has alleged he was tortured in Egypt for six months after U.S. officials sent him there. Habib had been detained in Pakistan in October 2001 as a suspected al Qaeda trainer. In Egypt, he alleges, he was hung by his arms from hooks, shocked, nearly drowned and brutally beaten. He was then sent to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was released in February.
 
 Another Arab diplomat, whose country is actively engaged in counterterrorism operations and shares intelligence with the CIA, said it is unrealistic to believe the CIA really wants to follow up on the assurances. "It would be stupid to keep track of them because then you would know what's going on," he said. "It's really more like 'Don't ask, don't tell.' "
 
  Questions about assurances have stalled the release of prisoners from Guantanamo. 
 
  Guarantees of humane treatment by Yemen notwithstanding, a federal court in the District of Columbia prohibited on Saturday the transfer of 13 Yemeni prisoners from Guantanamo to Yemen until a hearing is held on their attorneys' assertion that they could be tortured if returned there.
 
 And despite assurances by China, State Department officials have been unwilling to send 22 Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo to China for fear they would be tortured.
 
 Researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 17 03:35:17 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 17 03:37:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <3909402.1111059317178.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Chertoff  Orders Agency Review
 
 By John Mintz
 
  Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said yesterday that he has launched a top-to-bottom review of the 180,000-employee department  and will consider revamping entire agencies and programs that are part of it.
 
 "Old categories, old jurisdictions and old turf will not define our objectives," Chertoff said in a speech at George Washington University, 13 days after he took over the department. "Bureaucratic structures and categories exist to serve our mission, and not to drive it."
 
  Chertoff described his 60- to 90-day examination as "a comprehensive review of our entire organization, the way it's structured . . . and its policies."
 
 In an interview with reporters, Chertoff declined to elaborate on possible changes, but officials said one option is merging two of its agencies.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which investigates crimes, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which monitors foreigners arriving at U.S. airports,  are  separate parts of the former U.S. Customs Service and the old Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Proponents say the reunited agency would function more effectively.
 
 In his speech, Chertoff said his study to identify the department's top priorities will focus on three factors: the specific kinds of threats terrorists pose, American society's vulnerabilities to attack and which kinds of attacks would be most devastating.
 
 In his address, Chertoff for the first time laid out his vision for protecting the nation, and there were no obvious differences with the priorities of his predecessor, Tom Ridge. But Chertoff hinted at  subtle changes in emphasis.
 
 Chertoff, who headed the Justice Department's criminal division under former  attorney  general John D. Ashcroft, said he expects smoother coordination between federal agencies, particularly his department and Justice. Aides have pointed out that  Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has a much more circumspect style than Ashcroft, his predecessor.
 
 "We have a new group of players, people who are in government," Chertoff said. "I don't think there's anybody here who's looking to jostle for position in front of the camera. I think what we're looking to do is project a disciplined and steady flow of information to the public, which keeps people informed."
 
 On a few occasions in the past couple of years, Ridge was frustrated when Ashcroft  announced alarming terrorist threat information  --  a duty  that, under presidential directive, falls to the homeland security secretary. At times, the DHS disagreed with the tone of Ashcroft's announcements.
 
 Chertoff said his inclination is to avoid commenting publicly about fast-moving threat-related events, especially in the realm of scientific investigations, unless he is  certain of the facts  --  even if the media are clamoring for information. "I may say we don't know very much at all," he said. "I'm not going to guess."
 
 Aides said those remarks were prompted in part by events on Tuesday when, they said, two cable television networks incorrectly reported that government laboratories had confirmed finding anthrax bacteria at a Defense Department mail facility in Virginia. By Tuesday evening, officials said  tests all but ruled out the presence of anthrax bacteria.
 
 Chertoff declined to discuss details about 12 possible scenarios for terrorist attacks identified by the White House's Homeland Security Council last year. The council's report, distributed to state homeland security offices,  was designed to sharpen preparedness planning at all levels of government. It was revealed by the New York Times in yesterday's editions.
 
 A 10-kiloton nuclear bomb, for example, would destroy everything within a half mile, would cost hundreds of billions of dollars and would contaminate 3,000 square miles of land, according to the report. An attack on a petroleum refinery could kill 350 people and hospitalize 1,000, it said.
 
 Attacking a chlorine tank at an industrial plant could cause 17,500 deaths, and likely would prompt large groups of people to flee in panic, which would cause more fatalities in traffic accidents and other mishaps. The rule of thumb, the report said, is one fatality for every 10,000 people who evacuate.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 17 03:37:33 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 17 03:39:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6495639.1111059453058.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Secretary of Spin?
 
 By Richard Cohen
 
    I have only a glancing acquaintance with George Bush's good friend Karen Hughes. I met her on the first Bush presidential campaign and was awed by her uncanny ability to answer a question over and over again, each time with the same inflection, volume and, of course, words. This left me suspecting she had a computer chip implanted somewhere in her body or that she was naturally one of those people who, no matter how forceful your complaint, respond with the wholesome but empty phrase "Have a nice day." When she comes before the Senate for confirmation in her new job  --  undersecretary of state  --  Hughes should not have a nice day.
 
 I have no animus toward Hughes, and this  should not be seen as anything personal. It is just that Hughes, once a counselor to the president and always an intimate, represents an administration that values truth only in the abstract. In its day-to-day dealings with the American people, it has the ethical approach of a slippery door-to-door salesman  --  anything to make the sale. Until the Bush administration vows to become more forthright, the Senate ought to put the Hughes nomination in mothballs.
 
 Take, for instance, the government's smarmy practice of preparing video news releases and packaging them as actual television news. The New York Times recently detailed how government agencies prepare admiring reports  on what they are doing and then send them off to local TV stations, which use them, sometimes pretending the reports are their own. Only a fool would expect the TV industry  --  especially local TV news  --  to grow up and embrace professional standards, but the government is a different story. It's ours. We fund it. It should not be using our money to propagandize us. That, truly, is adding insult to injury.
 
 The Bush administration did not originate this practice. The Clintons did it, too. But the Bushies have apparently expanded it, and the administration has rejected a Government Accountability Office ruling that this sort of stuff is "covert propaganda"  --  inappropriate on its face. What the administration seems not to understand is that the practice  --  no matter when it originated and who else did it  --  only enhances the White House's reputation for slyness.
 
 It was also inappropriate for the Education Department  to offer money to Armstrong Williams and other media figures  --  a bit of Tammany largesse that spoke volumes about the ethical standards of some administration officials. Bush ordered it stopped, but no one was disciplined. Fortunately for the Education Department, a bribe can always be called a grant.
 
 This kind of just-this-side-of-honest approach to things is exemplified by Bush's Social Security road show. You would think that any president, especially one who claims a landslide-like mandate, would be able to pitch a tent anywhere in this great nation and talk to Americans at random. But that is not what Bush does. His questioners are his groupies, adoring fans of our adorable president who would not think of asking him a hard question. They are vetted, examined down to their ideological DNA, rehearsed and then sent out like automatons to ask programmed questions. Bush's town meetings are town meetings only if the town is Pyongyang.
 
 Of course, all of this is small potatoes compared with what it took to sell the Iraq war to the nation. Dick Cheney was a one-man Mount St. Helens, erupting lies and exaggerations about Iraq's (nonexistent) nuclear threat. Those lies cannot now be suddenly changed to truth because, at the moment, a fragile flower of democracy has poked through the sands of the Middle East. Hughes was once part of the White House smoke machine. Maybe she can't be held responsible for every White House fib, but she ought to be asked to explain the ones on her watch.
 
 What matters most at the moment, however, is that Hughes is Bush's creation and a great target of opportunity. She represents a chance to force  --  or, better yet, shame  --  the Bush administration into ceasing  its use of our money to sell us a bill of goods or pretend that its Social Security town halls, about as spontaneous as a military funeral, are really exercises in small-town democracy. Her nomination is a gift, a chance for Senate Democrats, even some Republicans (I'm looking at you, McCain) to get the Bush administration to stop blowing smoke. After all, this is not a Democratic or Republican issue. In the spirit of bipartisanship that Bush has long promised, his administration has been deceiving us all. 
 
 cohenr@washpost.com
 
   

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From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Wed Mar 16 22:40:36 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Thu Mar 17 05:41:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Portrait of a Young Satanist
Message-ID: <20050317064036.7244.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

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From lbirdie at hotmail.com  Thu Mar 17 06:05:02 2005
From: lbirdie at hotmail.com (Little Birdie)
Date: Thu Mar 17 06:06:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mb-Civic List FAQ
Message-ID: <BAY104-F30F67A88A1976737C50708B2490@phx.gbl>

Hi all,

Here is the FAQ for the Mb-Civic List. Please keep it somewhere that you can 
refer to it. Email me if you have any questions.

Nina


Frequently Asked Questions about the Mb-Civic Lists

The Mb-Civic list is an email mailing list for the purpose of discussing 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:14:24 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:16:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Wolfowitz Nod Follows Spread of
	Conservative Philosophy
Message-ID: <20050317161429.CFE9D1C22E@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 17, 2005

News Analysis: Wolfowitz Nod Follows Spread of Conservative Philosophy
By TODD S. PURDUM

By sending Paul D. Wolfowitz to the World Bank, President Bush all but announced his belief that it could benefit from discipline.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/politics/17assess.html?ex=1111726800&en=28072af4df496df2&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:15:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:17:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rice Visits Afghanistan as Bomb Blast Kills
	5
Message-ID: <20050317161530.22329388064@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | March 17, 2005

Rice Visits Afghanistan as Bomb Blast Kills 5
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Weeks after the United States declared Afghanistan on the verge of becoming a narcotic state, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday praised Afghan efforts to clamp down on the heroin trade and Afghan President Hamid Karzai predicted drug production will drop significantly this year.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Rice-Afghanistan.html?ex=1111726800&en=6a1fc90892062086&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:15:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:18:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Why Paul Wolfowitz?
Message-ID: <20050317161611.3DF1624AFFE@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 17, 2005

Editorial: Why Paul Wolfowitz?


We hope that as leader of the World Bank, Mr. Wolfowitz reverts to the communicator he was before he provoked the ire of the international community over Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/opinion/17thu2.html?ex=1111726800&en=7d03067d61e92158&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:16:42 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:18:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sham Self-Discipline in the Capitol
Message-ID: <20050317161643.3366B388098@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 17, 2005

Editorial: Sham Self-Discipline in the Capitol


The Republican majorities in Congress are making a show of financial restraint while shamelessly turning aside from the principles that produced a surplus in the 1990's.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/opinion/17thu4.html?ex=1111726800&en=2c4fb66af4b88793&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:17:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:19:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Homeland Insecurity
Message-ID: <20050317161712.B768E3AE4A7@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 17, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Homeland Insecurity
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

The Bush team has been steadily eroding America's leverage vis-à-vis our biggest long-term competitor: China.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/opinion/17friedman.html?ex=1111726800&en=cb2e8dc68d96d69d&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:17:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:19:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Wink and a Fraud
Message-ID: <20050317161742.3B22121F1D7@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 17, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: A Wink and a Fraud
By MAUREEN DOWD

George W. Bush started his presidency with a chip on his shoulder. Now he's a barrel of laughs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/opinion/17dowd.html?ex=1111726800&en=7d251f9e971237c5&ei=5070




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:19:25 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:21:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Senate Votes to Allow Drilling in Arctic
	Reserve
Message-ID: <20050317161928.6E83111FA51@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this...


WASHINGTON | March 17, 2005

Senate Votes to Allow Drilling in Arctic Reserve
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

The Senate voted to include President Bush's plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling in its budget.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/politics/17arctic.html?ex=1111726800&en=c861d44150051399&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:20:00 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:21:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Security Chief Signals a Shift in Approach
	to Terror
Message-ID: <20050317162001.894FC1C229@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 17, 2005

Security Chief Signals a Shift in Approach to Terror
By ERIC LIPTON

Michael Chertoff's remarks reflected his view that the department must transform itself to one engaged in a more focused, sustainable and reasoned battle against terrorism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/politics/17home.html?ex=1111726800&en=02fced925e898689&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:21:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:23:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraqi Assembly Opens as Talks Over a
	Government Drag On
Message-ID: <20050317162109.AAD8E227113@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 17, 2005

Iraqi Assembly Opens as Talks Over a Government Drag On
By EDWARD WONG

The divisiveness of the negotiations was evident when the assembly failed to take even the first formal step of appointing a president.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/international/middleeast/17iraq.html?ex=1111726800&en=9efdfd9661c1f3b8&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:21:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:23:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Palestinians Gain Security Control of
	Jericho
Message-ID: <20050317162130.EC8F21645B1@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 17, 2005

Palestinians Gain Security Control of Jericho
By GREG MYRE

The move was largely symbolic but pointed to the prospect of a broader Israeli pullback in the West Bank.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/international/middleeast/17mideast.html?ex=1111726800&en=382c08b7161bc6a0&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 08:24:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 08:26:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - Iraq,
	Afghanistan spending clears House - Mar 16, 2005
Message-ID: <15010286.1111076652960.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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Ian wanted you to see this.



 
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CNN.com will expire this article on 04/15/2005. 
  
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 17 09:02:23 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar 17 09:04:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Brown boots/shirts of US Customs and Homeland
	Security
Message-ID: <000801c52b13$19342d30$7f3fe440@Harold>

A Canadian on his way to a meeting with McGraw-Hill was strip searched, interrogated and banned from the United States for being a blogger.

http://www.blogherald.com/2005/03/17/blogger-interogated-strip-searched-banned-from-united-states/

They 'US Customs' could not believe Mr Jeremy Wright could make a living from blogging and therefore accused him of lying.

As you can see in the article, McGraw Hill wanted to $ign him up. 

The stupidity of these customs agents/brown shirts is amazing!

Later H



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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 17 10:38:26 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 17 10:40:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] White House to Agencies: Ignore GAO's Ruling on
	'Illegal' TV News Releases
Message-ID: <BE5F0EA2.1F34B%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    TO Editor's Comment: This story appears to be gathering steam quickly.
In addition to considerable public outrage, the White House's position was
further complicated by a ruling from the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) that the practice described was illegal, violating laws prohibiting
the U.S. government from producing covert propaganda. In response to the
GAO's ruling, an attorney for the Justice Department issued a statement in
opposition to the GAO's position, stating the White House had not broken the
law and is within its rights to continue the practice.

    While the attorney who drafted the opinion was Steven Bradbury, the
final decision on whether or not to take legal action against the White
House would have to be made by the head of the Justice Department, Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales, the man who has been George W. Bush's personal
attorney for decades. Accordingly, we are reporting that the Justice
Department, under the direction of Gonzales, is shielding the White House
rather than acting on the recommendation of the GAO. - ma.

    Go to Original

    White House to Agencies: Ignore GAO's Ruling on 'Illegal' TV News
Releases
    By Ken Herman
    Cox News Service

    Tuesday 15 March 2005

    Washington - The White House, intent on continuing to crank out "video
news releases" that look like television news stories, has told government
agency heads to ignore a Government Accountability Office memo criticizing
the practice as illegal propaganda.

    In a memo on Friday, Joshua Bolten, director of the Office of Management
and Budget, said the lawyers the White House depends on disagree with the
GAO's conclusions.

    Accompanying Bolten's memo was a letter from Steven Bradbury, principal
deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of
Legal Counsel, who said video news releases "are the television equivalent
of the printed press release." advertisement

    "They can be a cost-effective means to distribute information through
local news outlets, and their use by private and public entities has been
widespread since the early 1990s, including by numerous federal agencies,"
Bradbury said.

    Comptroller General David Walker of the GAO said Monday that his agency
is "disappointed by the administration's actions" in telling agency heads to
ignore the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress.

    "This is not just a legal issue, it's also an ethical matter," Walker
said. "The taxpayers have a right to know when the government is trying to
influence them with their own money."

    Bradbury's memo said video news releases are legal and legitimate as
long as they don't "constitute advocacy for any particular position or
view."

    The GAO, in a Feb. 17 memo to agency heads, said its review of video
news releases distributed to television stations by the Department of Health
and Human Services and the Office of National Drug Control Policy showed
violations of federal law barring the use of government money for
propaganda. The GAO said, "Television-viewing audiences did not know that
stories they watched on television news programs about the government were,
in fact, prepared by the government."

    Giving no indication that the administration would change its policy,
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "It's very clear to the TV
stations where they are coming from."

    But the GAO, in the Feb. 17 memo from Walker, said that's not enough.

    "They are intended to be indistinguishable from news segments broadcast
to the public by independent television news organizations," Walker wrote.
"To help accomplish this goal, these stories include actors or others hired
to portray 'reporters' and may be accompanied by suggested scripts that
television news anchors can use to introduce the story during the
broadcast."

    Former White House press secretary Mike McCurry, who held the job in the
Clinton administration, said there was a "considerable amount of video news
release activity" during those years, but much of it was limited to raw
footage."

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 17 12:28:51 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 17 12:30:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Warped advice
	blights American intervention 
Message-ID: <23303607.1111091331298.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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You have received the following link from michael@intrafi.com

 
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From geomilman at milman.com  Thu Mar 17 12:06:38 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Thu Mar 17 13:07:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Highly Recommended.
Message-ID: <20050317210548.9B51C3AE4F8@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 17 13:42:14 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 17 13:44:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tomgram: Dilip Hiro on Playing the Democracy Card 
Message-ID: <BE5F39B6.1F377%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Tomgram: Dilip Hiro on Playing the Democracy Card

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2268

Have we really almost rolled around -- yet again -- to the anniversary of
the invasion of Iraq, this time amid much Bush administration and neocon
self-congratulation, as well as media congratulations (grudging or
otherwise) for an Iraqi-election-inspired spread of democracy in the Middle
East? And what will we be congratulating ourselves on next year, when the
usefulness of "democracy" passes, oil prices continue to rise, and the war
in Iraq grinds on?

Right now, we're in "Arab Spring," "the Cedar revolution," "a mighty storm,"
and opinions on what's actually going on in the Middle East are varied
indeed. Youssef M. Ibrahim, a thoughtful former New York Times reporter,
writes from Dubai for the Washington Post:

    "Listen to the conversations in the cafes on the edge of the creek that
runs through this Persian Gulf city, and it is hard to believe that the
George W. Bush being praised by Arab diners is the same George W. Bush who
has been widely excoriated in these parts ever since he took office?
Nowadays, intellectuals, businessmen and working-class people alike can be
caught lauding Bush's hard-edged posture on democracy and cheering his
handling of Arab rulers who are U.S. allies? It's enough for someone like
me, who has felt that Bush's attitude toward the Mideast has been all wrong,
to wonder whether his idea of setting the Muslim house in order is right."

Or could it be, as Robert Kuttner suggested recently in the American
Prospect magazine, that democracy is indeed threatening to break out in the
Middle East, but no thanks to Bush? Or are the Bush people just using a new
"Arab Spring" logo to "rebrand" their failing efforts, as Naomi Klein
suggests in the Nation? ("Faced with an Arab world enraged by its occupation
of Iraq and its blind support for Israel, the US solution is not to change
these brutal policies; it is, in the pseudo-academic language of corporate
branding, to 'change the story.'")

Or is it possible, as conservative Toronto Sun columnist Eric Margolis
proposes, that the man responsible for springtime in Lebanon is not George
Bush, but Osama bin Laden, and that the democratic reforms breaking out in
American client states in the Middle East are mostly "pure sham"? Or could
it be that, in Lebanon at least, we've confused the urge of a significant
segment of the public to be free of an occupying force with "democracy."
After all, as Juan Cole writes at his Informed Comment website, "The
Lebanese have been having often lively parliamentary election campaigns for
decades. The idea that the urbane and sophisticated Beirutis had anything to
learn from the Jan. 30 process in Iraq is absurd on the face of it."

Or could it be that, as Seumas Milne writes in a fierce column in the
British Guardian:

    "The claim that democracy is on the march in the Middle East is a fraud.
It is not democracy, but the US military, that is on the march? What has
actually taken place since 9/11 and the Iraq war is a relentless expansion
of US control of the Middle East, of which the threats to Syria are a part.
The Americans now have a military presence in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE,
Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar -- and in not one of those countries did an
elected government invite them in. Of course Arabs want an end to tyrannical
regimes, most of which have been supported over the years by the US, Britain
and France: that is the source of much anti-western Muslim anger. The
dictators remain in place by US licence, which can be revoked at any time --
and managed elections are being used as another mechanism for maintaining
pro-western regimes rather than spreading democracy."

At the very least, there can be little question that the Iraq invasion and
occupation has destabilized the region (as the neocons, who had long assumed
that chaos would be their ally, hoped it would). But the Bush administration
must know that genuinely free elections in its various client and allied
states would likely sweep Islamic parties, including in some places the
Muslim Brotherhood, into power. Not exactly a dream for them. So, in Iraq,
they created a "democracy" so weak (a gridlock-inducing two-thirds vote is
needed in the new National Assembly even to form a government) that it would
be unlikely to rule successfully over anything; while no administration
official spoke up when Tunisia's military strongman, in another U.S.-allied
regime, won re-election with 94.5% of the vote (a total that might have made
Saddam Hussein proud).

Less noted as well have been other destabilizing signs that might not serve
the Bush administration's story-line so admirably. For instance, the spread
of terrorism in Kuwait as well as Saudi Arabia (with Jordan waiting in the
wings), or the rise in the price of an AK-47 assault rifle in Lebanon from
$100 in the pre-Cedar Revolution days to $700 now -- a sign of the jitters
and, undoubtedly, of fears that the country's civil war might return. Or
what about another kind of "spreading" story: The Pentagon is set to
introduce Matrix, a new remote-controlled land-mine system, in democratic
Iraq by May. (These mines can evidently be set off by a soldier stationed at
a laptop computer miles away, based on blips registering on his screen -- a
surefire formula for democratic "collateral damage.")

Meanwhile, cheering away for an Arab spring, the Bush administration is also
reportedly at work on the beginnings of a democratic winter in Latin
America. The British Financial Times reports that a new policy is being
formulated -- "at the request of President George W. Bush and Condoleezza
Rice" -- to "contain" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. (Of course, the Bush
administration has already tried to overthrow the man -- a democratic coup
d'?tat, naturally.) Don't these Financial Times quotes from Roger
Pardo-Maurer, deputy assistant secretary for western hemisphere affairs at
the Department of Defense, sound familiar? "Ch?vez is a problem because he
is clearly using his oil money and influence to introduce his conflictive
style into the politics of other countries? He's picking on the countries
whose social fabric is the weakest. In some cases it's downright
subversion." Don't they do a pretty reasonable job of describing the Bush
administration?

In addition to an Arabian Spring and a Latin Winter, it looks like we're
going to get a variety of bonus seasons: What about a UN Fall, thanks to the
nomination of John Bolton as our ambassador there? Or a long, hot World Bank
Summer, given the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to be the bank's next head?
Or an Alaskan Thaw, thanks to the Senate's vote this week paving the way for
the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

When I consider the Iraq War and the Arab Spring, I can't help thinking of
the myth of Pandora. It seems, at least as Gustav Schwab tells the story in
his Gods and Heroes, Myths and Epics of Ancient Greece, that Zeus, angry at
Prometheus for stealing fire from the gods, had the fire-god Hephaestus
create a beautiful woman, Pandora ("she who has gifts from all"). Zeus then
sent her as a present to Prometheus's not-so-sharp brother, carrying a
tightly closed box the gods had filled with baleful "gifts" for humanity --
and you know the rest. When Pandora opened the box, all the ills that
humanity until then had avoided came tumbling out, leaving only one small
good thing at the bottom -- hope. Whether hope even made it out of the box
seems to depend on which version of the myth you read.

For the global gamblers of the Bush administration, Iraq was that box. When
they blasted its lid off, the resulting shock-and-awe blew back on everyone.
But at the bottom of the box, there's always that one small unpredictable
thing. Thank the Bush administration, if you will, for the mayhem of the
Middle East, but (as veteran journalist and Middle Eastern expert Dilip Hiro
makes clear in the piece that follows,) don't thank any American government
of recent times for an Arab spring, if it really comes. The historical
record tells us otherwise. Just thank the gods above, or luck, or our
natures, for the fact that, even amid mayhem, there's usually hope
somewhere; and that, despite every horror, there are usually human beings
ready to make some modest use of it. Tom

    Playing the Democracy Card
    How America Furthers Its National Interests in the Middle East
    By Dilip Hiro

    The United States flaunts the banner of democracy in the Middle East
only when that advances its economic, military, or strategic interests. The
history of the past six decades shows that whenever there has been conflict
between furthering democracy in the region and advancing American national
interests, U.S. administrations have invariably opted for the latter course.
Furthermore, when free and fair elections in the Middle East have produced
results that run contrary to Washington's strategic interests, it has either
ignored them or tried to block the recurrence of such events.

    Washington's active involvement in the region began in 1933 when
Standard Oil Company of California bid ten times more than the
British-dominated Iraq Petroleum Company for exclusive petroleum exploration
rights in Saudi Arabia's eastern Hasa province.

    As a leading constituent of Allied forces in World War II, the U.S. got
its break in Iran after the occupation of that country by the British and
the Soviets in August 1941. Eight months later President Franklin Roosevelt
ruled that Iran was eligible for lend-lease aid. In August 1943, Secretary
of State Cordell Hull said, "It is to our interest that no great power be
established on the Persian Gulf opposite the important American petroleum
development in Saudi Arabia."

    The emergence of Israel in 1948 added a new factor. Following its
immediate recognition of Israel, Washington devised a military-diplomatic
strategy in the region which rested on the triad of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and
the new state of Israel, with the overall aim of keeping Soviet influence
out of the Middle East. While each member of the troika was tied closely to
the U.S., and links between Iran and Israel became progressively tighter,
Saudi Arabia and Israel, though staunchly anti-Communist, remained poles
apart. Nonetheless, the overall arrangement remained in place until the
Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979.

    Besides pursuing the common aim of countering Soviet advances in the
region overtly and covertly, each member of this troika had a special
function. Being contiguous with the Soviet Union, Iran under the Shah helped
the Pentagon by providing it with military bases. By inflicting a lightning
defeat on Egypt and Syria -- then aligned with Moscow -- in June 1967,
Israel proved its military value to the U.S. This strengthened Washington's
resolve to get Israel accepted by its Arab neighbors, a policy it had
adopted in 1948 and implemented soon after, even though it meant subverting
democracy in Syria.

    In March 1949, following Brig.-General Husni Zaim's promise to make
peace with Israel, the CIA helped him mount a military coup against a
democratically elected government in Syria. After Zaim had signed a truce
with Israel on July 20, he tried to negotiate a peace treaty with it through
American officials. A month later, however, he was ousted by a group of
military officers and executed. The military rule that Washington triggered
lasted five years albeit under different generals.

    As the possessor of the largest reserves of petroleum in the region,
Saudi Arabia helped the U.S. and its Western allies by keeping oil prices
low. Furthermore, as a powerful and autocratic monarchy Saudi Arabia played
a leading role in helping to suppress democratic movements in the small,
neighboring, oil-rich Gulf States.

    American clout increased when Britain -- the dominant foreign power in
the region for a century and a half -- withdrew from the Gulf in 1971. The
British withdrawal allowed the U.S. to expand its regional role as the four
freshly independent Gulf States -- Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates,
and Oman -- struggled to adjust to the new reality. But instead of
pressuring these sheikhdoms to institute democracy, Washington either opted
for secret defense agreements with them or let the House of Saud implement
an anti-democratic agenda in the region unhindered.

    The Saudi Anti-Democratic Mission

    In 1962, during a severe crisis in the House of Saud, Crown Prince
Faisal promised political reform, especially the promulgation of a written
constitution specifying a Consultative Council, with two-thirds of its
members elected. But when he ascended the throne two years later he reneged
on his promise.

    Washington said nothing. It also remained silent when Riyadh helped
suppress democracy in neighboring countries.

    After its independence from Britain in 1961, Kuwait acquired a
constitution which specified a National Assembly elected on a franchise
limited to males belonging to families domiciled in Kuwait since 1921 -- in
other words, about a fifth of adult citizens. Despite its limited nature,
the Assembly evolved into a popular forum for expressing the aspirations and
grievances of several important constituencies. Stung by criticism of
official policies by its representatives, and encouraged by the Saudi
monarch, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah ibn Salim al Sabah suspended the Assembly in
1976, accusing it of "malicious behavior," and then dissolved it. Its
revival in 1981 lasted a mere five years.

    At no point did Washington criticize the ruler's undemocratic actions.

    Since 1992, when limited parliamentary elections were restored, voters
have returned more Islamist MPs than pro-Western liberals. Emir Jabar ibn
Ahmad al Sabah's efforts to extend the vote to women have failed, while he
has made no move to extend the vote to the remaining four-fifths of adult
male citizens -- nor has America pressured him to do so. He and the
Americans fear, of course, that a universal adult male franchise would
bolster the strength of the Islamist bloc in the Assembly.

    Bahrain: Limited Democracy Derailed

    In Bahrain, Saudi Arabia's anti-democratic mission melded with America's
military needs. Bahrain became independent in August 1971. Its constitution,
drafted by a constituent assembly (half nominated, half elected on a limited
franchise), specified a National Assembly of 42 deputies, 30 of whom were to
be elected on a restricted franchise. The first Assembly convened in
December 1972 while Saudi Arabia watched warily.

    As in Kuwait, however, the elected representatives criticized the
government, angering the ruler, Shaikh Isa al Khalifa. This -- combined with
pressure from Riyadh -- led the Emir to dissolve the Assembly in August 1975
and suspend the constitution.

    Once again, Washington said nothing about the quashing of limited
democracy in Bahrain. Why? In 1971, after the Pentagon leased naval
facilities previously used by the British, Bahrain became the headquarters
of the American Middle East Force. In 1977, the ruler extended the
US-Bahraini agreement; and in 1995 Bahrain became the headquarters of the
U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

    Jordan: An Election Law Altered by Decree

    Jordan provides another telling example of how American administrations
have dealt with democracy in the Middle East. In an uncommonly free and fair
election in November 1989, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political
wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, won 32 seats in the 80-member House of
Representatives. It joined the government and ran five ministries.

    During the 1990 Kuwait crisis which culminated in the 1991 Gulf War, the
Jordanian king took into account popular opinion, both inside and outside
parliament, which was opposed to joining the US-led alliance against Iraq,
and advocated a negotiated solution to the crisis. By so doing, he acted as
a constitutional monarch.

    Instead of praising this welcome democratic development, the
administration of George Herbert Walker Bush pilloried Hussein as "a dwarf
king." Unable to stand the pressure, King Hussein crawled back into
Washington's fold after the 1991 Gulf War. To thwart the possibility of the
IAF emerging as the leading party in the next election, he altered the
election law by decree. In quietly applauding his action, the elder Bush's
administration showed its cynical disregard for democracy.

    Egypt: Supporting the Autocrat

    While King Hussein manipulated the Jordanian political system with some
sophistication to achieve the result he wanted, President Anwar Sadat of
Egypt blatantly used the government machinery and state-run media to produce
a pre-ordained electoral result to endorse his signing of the U.S.-brokered
bilateral peace treaty with Israel in 1978-79 after he had broken ranks with
the Arab League.

    The depth and durability of popular antipathy towards peace with Israel,
while it continues to occupy the Palestinian Territories, is highlighted by
the fact that a quarter-century after the peace treaty, relations between
the two neighbors remain cold. While remaining firmly under American
tutelage, President Husni Mabarak has continued to spurn offers to visit Tel
Aviv.

    As in Jordan, the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest political party in the
Middle East and long outlawed in Egypt, offers a credible challenge to the
semi-dictatorship of Mubarak (in power since 1981). His regime has continued
to be the second largest recipient of the U.S. aid after Israel under both
Democratic and Republican Presidents.

    Several months ago, Mubarak mused that democracy in Egypt would mean
Muslim Brotherhood rule over the country. The key question now is: Will
Mubarak -- who recently agreed to hold the Presidential election scheduled
for September through "direct, secret balloting" instead of simply
rubber-stamping his sole candidacy in a stage-managed referendum -- let the
Brotherhood challenge him?

    The answer will come in the wording with which Article 76 of the
constitution will be amended and passed by a Parliament dominated by
Mubarak's National Democratic Party. At present, it specifies a single
presidential candidate, endorsed by at least two-thirds of parliamentary
deputies, to be offered to the voters for approval.

    Yemen: Rebuffing Democracy

    Another victim of the way American administrations have placed their
narrow interests above any program to democratize the Middle East was Yemen.
Ever since the creation of Republic of Yemen, following the union of North
Yemen and South Yemen in 1991, the country has had a multiparty political
system. Indeed, since North Yemen had been governed by the General People's
Congress and South Yemen by the Yemen Socialist Party, a peaceful
unification could only come about through the creation of a multi-party
system.

    In April 1993, the government organized the first general election on
the Arabian Peninsula based on universal suffrage. It was for a 301-member
House of Representatives and the Presidency. This historic event went
unnoticed in the United States where the Clinton administration continued to
rebuff the Yemeni government because of its insistence on an Arab solution
to the 1990-91 Kuwait crisis and its negative vote on United Nations
Security Council Resolution 678 authorizing military action against Iraq.

    Encouraged by the Yemeni election, six Saudi human rights activists --
professors, judges, and senior civil servants -- established the Committee
for the Defense of Legitimate Rights (CDLR) in Saudi Arabia. It demanded
political reform in the kingdom, including elections based on universal
suffrage. Government persecution followed, including job dismissals and
arrests. Prof. Muhammad al Masaari, the head of the CDLR, managed to flee
first to Yemen, and then to Britain.

    Yet Washington did not protest.

    Now George W. Bush loudly applauds the local elections held recently in
the Saudi Kingdom. His administration ignores the fact that only half of the
seats were even open for contest, and so distrustful were Saudi citizens of
their government's electoral promise that only a quarter of eligible voters
even bothered registered. Women were, of course, barred from voting.

    By contrast, Bush endlessly laments the absence of freedom for the
people of Iran, which his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently
described as "a totalitarian state." These statements run counter to the
facts. Since the 1979 revolution in that country, the Islamic regime has
held seven parliamentary, eight presidential, and two local elections -- as
well as four Assembly of Experts polls -- all of them multi-candidate and
based on universal suffrage with a voting age of 15.

    What explains this blatant myopia? While practicing an Islamic version
of democracy, Iran is actively opposing the economic, military, and
strategic ambitions of America in the region.

    Actually, the historic pattern of American administrations in the Middle
East -- downgrading democracy at the expense of narrow national interests --
is in line with what the United States has been practicing in Central and
South America for a much longer period -- a phenomenon that has gone largely
unnoticed in the United States itself.

    Dilip Hiro is the author of The Essential Middle East: A Comprehensive
Guide (Caroll & Graf) and Secrets and Lies: Operation "Iraqi Freedom" and
After (Nation Books).

Copyright 2005 Dilip Hiro

A printed version of this article will appear in Middle East International,
no. 746.

E-mail to a Friend

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
posted March 17, 2005 at 8:25 am
     
             
-
     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 17 13:43:53 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 17 13:45:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] God Gene
Message-ID: <BE5F3A19.1F378%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Is there a political motive behind the reports about a God Gene?

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 17 13:54:43 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 17 13:56:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] George Milman's "Highly Recommended"
Message-ID: <BE5F3CA3.1F37B%michael@michaelbutler.com>

This book seems to be an important look at a most serious problem - The
Corruption of the Media. MB

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 17 13:56:49 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 17 13:59:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] UN Sees East Congo as Worse Crisis Than Darfur By Robert
	Evans
Message-ID: <BE5F3D21.1F37C%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Also see below:    
UN Vows to Act in Congo    ?

    Go to Original

    UN Sees East Congo as Worse Crisis Than Darfur
    By Robert Evans
    Reuters

    Wednesday 16 March 2005

    Geneva - Eastern Congo is suffering the world's worst current
humanitarian crisis, with a death toll outstripping that in Sudan's
strife-torn Darfur region, a top United Nations official said on Wednesday.

    U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland said that over the last
six years the toll in the Democratic Republic of Congo's amounted to "one
tsunami every six months" - a reference to the December disaster which left
about 300,000 people dead or missing in Asia.

    "In terms of the human lives lost ... this is the greatest humanitarian
crisis in the world today and it is beyond belief that the world is not
paying more attention," he told a news conference.

    Egeland was speaking during a visit to Geneva for talks with U.N. and
other relief workers on improving the global humanitarian aid system can be
improved.

    On Tuesday he came under fire from the Sudanese government over
estimates transmitted through his spokesman that up to 180,000 people may
have died from hunger and disease in Darfur, western Sudan, over the past 19
months of fighting.

    At his Geneva news conference, he insisted the figure was a reasonable
assumption - given that an average of 10,000 civilians had been dying each
month since the start of the conflict between local rebel groups and
government forces backed by militias.

    But the rate was declining now that the Sudanese authorities had allowed
foreign aid teams into the country to help about 1.8 million people driven
from their homes and largely living in refugee camps, Egeland said.

    He spoke before a U.N. envoy in Khartoum said all international staff in
part of Western Sudan were being pulled back to the local state capital
because of threats from the pro-government Janjaweed militia.

    More Focus on Congo

    Asked if too much emphasis was being put on Darfur by the international
community, and especially big Western powers, Egeland said: "The amount of
focus on Darfur is correct, but there is too little on (eastern) Congo."

    Egeland, fresh from a tour of the region, said he had impressed on the
Sudanese government and rebels that they had to negotiate seriously for
peace.

    He had also expressed indignation to the government in Khartoum that
some women raped by Janjaweed fighters and now pregnant were being
persecuted for violating Islamic sharia law against sexual relations outside
marriage.

    "That is the ultimate insult for women who have been raped," he
declared.

    Egeland said the problems in eastern Congo arose because of the
complexity and variety of the fighting groups there, which included regular
soldiers, militias and criminal groups.

    Among the fighters in eastern Congo are ethnic Hutus who fled Rwanda
after the 1994 genocide there - many of them accused of involvement in the
violence in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were
killed.

    The United Nations has mounted a major relief operation in the region,
where Egeland said some 3 million civilians buffeted by the conflict are in
need of help to survive, and this week gave militia fighters two weeks to
disarm.

 

    

    Go to Original

    UN Vows to Act in Congo
    Scotsman

    Thursday 17 March 2005

    Militiamen fighting in north-east Congo grilled bodies on a spit and
boiled two girls alive as their mother watched, UN peacekeepers claimed
today.

    "Those responsible for atrocities will be brought to justice," said
General Patrick Cammaert, the Dutch Navy commander of UN forces in Congo, as
he presented a report on abuses allegedly committed by the Patriotic
Resistance Front of Ituri.

    Cammaert said peacekeepers were working to cut off weapons supplies to
the group, who apparently entered the country from neighbouring Uganda.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 17 14:53:29 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 17 14:55:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Secret U.S. Plans for Iraq's Oil     By Greg Palast
Message-ID: <BE5F4A69.1F387%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Secret U.S. Plans for Iraq's Oil
    By Greg Palast
    OfficialWire

    Thursday 17 March 2005

    The Bush administration made plans for war and for Iraq's oil before the
9/11 attacks sparking a policy battle between neo-cons and Big Oil, BBC's
Newsnight has revealed.

    Two years ago today - when President George Bush announced US, British
and Allied forces would begin to bomb Baghdad - protestors claimed the US
had a secret plan for Iraq's oil once Saddam had been conquered.

    In fact there were two conflicting plans, setting off a hidden policy
war between neo-conservatives at the Pentagon, on one side, versus a
combination of "Big Oil" executives and US State Department "pragmatists."

    "Big Oil" appears to have won. The latest plan, obtained by Newsnight
from the US State Department was, we learned, drafted with the help of
American oil industry consultants.

    Insiders told Newsnight that planning began "within weeks" of Bush's
first taking office in 2001, long before the September 11th attack on the
US.

    An Iraqi-born oil industry consultant Falah Aljibury says he took part
in the secret meetings in California, Washington and the Middle East. He
described a State Department plan for a forced coup d'etat.

    Mr Aljibury himself told Newsnight that he interviewed potential
successors to Saddam Hussein on behalf of the Bush administration.

    Secret Sell-Off Plan

    The industry-favored plan was pushed aside by yet another secret plan,
drafted just before the invasion in 2003, which called for the sell-off of
all of Iraq's oil fields. The new plan, crafted by neo-conservatives intent
on using Iraq's oil to destroy the Opec cartel through massive increases in
production above Opec quotas.

    The sell-off was given the green light in a secret meeting in London
headed by Ahmed Chalabi shortly after the US entered Baghdad, according to
Robert Ebel. Mr. Ebel, a former Energy and CIA oil analyst, now a fellow at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, flew to
the London meeting, he told Newsnight, at the request of the State
Department.

    Mr Aljibury, once Ronald Reagan's "back-channel" to Saddam, claims that
plans to sell off Iraq's oil, pushed by the US-installed Governing Council
in 2003, helped instigate the insurgency and attacks on US and British
occupying forces.

    "Insurgents used this, saying, 'Look, you're losing your country, your
losing your resources to a bunch of wealthy billionaires who want to take
you over and make your life miserable," said Mr Aljibury from his home near
San Francisco.

    "We saw an increase in the bombing of oil facilities, pipelines, built
on the premise that privatization is coming."

    Privatization Blocked by Industry

    Philip Carroll, the former CEO of Shell Oil USA who took control of
Iraq's oil production for the US Government a month after the invasion,
stalled the sell-off scheme.

    Mr Carroll told us he made it clear to Paul Bremer, the US occupation
chief who arrived in Iraq in May 2003, that: "There was to be no
privatization of Iraqi oil resources or facilities while I was involved."

    The chosen successor to Mr Carroll, a Conoco Oil executive, ordered up a
new plan for a state oil company preferred by the industry.

    Ari Cohen, of the neo-conservative Heritage Foundation, told Newsnight
that an opportunity had been missed to privatize Iraq's oil fields. He
advocated the plan as a means to help the US defeat Opec, and said America
should have gone ahead with what he called a "no-brainer" decision.

    Mr Carroll hit back, telling Newsnight, "I would agree with that
statement. To privatize would be a no-brainer. It would only be thought
about by someone with no brain."

    New plans, obtained from the State Department by Newsnight and Harper's
Magazine under the US Freedom of Information Act, called for creation of a
state-owned oil company favored by the US oil industry. It was completed in
January 2004, Harper's discovered, under the guidance of Amy Jaffe of the
James Baker Institute in Texas. Former US Secretary of State Baker is now an
attorney. His law firm, Baker Botts, is representing ExxonMobil and the
Saudi Arabian government.

    Questioned by Newsnight, Ms Jaffe said the oil industry prefers state
control of Iraq's oil over a sell-off because it fears a repeat of Russia's
energy privatization. In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, US
oil companies were barred from bidding for the reserves.

    Jaffe said "There is no question that an American oil company ... would
not be enthusiastic about a plan that would privatize all the assets with
Iraq companies and they (US companies) might be left out of the
transaction."

    In addition, Ms. Jaffe says US oil companies are not warm to any plan
that would undermine Opec, "They [oil companies] have to worry about the
price of oil."

    "I'm not sure that if I'm the chair of an American company, and you put
me on a lie detector test, I would say high oil prices are bad for me or my
company."

    The former Shell oil boss agrees. In Houston, he told Newsnight, "Many
neo-conservatives are people who have certain ideological beliefs about
markets, about democracy, about this that and the other. International oil
companies without exception are very pragmatic commercial organizations.
They don't have a theology."

    Greg Palast's film - the result of a joint investigation by BBC
Newsnight and Harper's Magazine - will broadcast on Thursday, 17 March,
2005. You can watch the program online - available Thursday, March 17 after
7 pm EST for 24-hrs - from the Newsnight website.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 17 16:40:28 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar 17 16:42:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Breaking News: Secret U.S. Plans For Iraq's Oil
Message-ID: <000f01c52b53$170c01f0$4a3fe440@Harold>





> "To those who have called me a coward I say that they are wrong, and that 
> without knowing it, they are also right. They are wrong when they think 
> that I left the war for fear of being killed. I admit that fear was there, 
> but there was also the fear of killing innocent  people, the fear of 
> putting myself in a position where to survive means to kill, there was the 
> fear of losing my soul in the process of saving my body, the fear of 
> losing myself to my daughter, to the people who love me, to the man I used 
> to be, the man I wanted to be. I was afraid of waking up one morning to 
> realize my humanity had abandoned me." - Sgt. Camilo Mejia, who served one 
> year in prison for refusing to return to fight in Iraq. He was released 
> from prison Feb. 15, 2005.
>
> ===
>
> To read this newsletter online http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
>
> To Unsubscribe see information at the base of this newsletter
>
> RSS FEED http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/informationclearinghouse/rss
>
> ===
>
> Jose Padilla : U.S. Citizen Imprisoned Without Trial or Charges for 2 
> Years and 284 Days
>
> ===
>
> Secret U.S. Plans For Iraq's Oil
>
> "We saw an increase in the bombing of oil facilities and pipelines [in 
> Iraq] built on the premise that privatisation is coming"
>
> By: Greg Palast - Reporting for BBC Newsnight
>
> The industry-favored plan was pushed aside by yet another secret plan, 
> drafted just before the invasion in 2003, which called for the sell-off of 
> all of Iraq's oil fields. The new plan, crafted by neo-conservatives 
> intent on using Iraq's oil to destroy the Opec cartel through massive 
> increases in production above Opec quotas.
> http://tinyurl.com/4uac3
>
> ===
>
> Cheerleading War and Slaughter
>
> The assumption that one nation has the right to forcefully change the 
> culture of another negates the concept of "principle" based on morality. 
> It is on its face anarchy.
>
> By William A. Cook
>
> How many of us after all have the opportunity to change cultures, to 
> redirect whole countries to adjust to the Capitalistic forces that define 
> modernity, to send a nation to war by fabricating reasons to pit the 
> greatest military force the world has ever known against an enfeebled 
> nation subjugated to 12 years of sanctions.
> http://tinyurl.com/44prv
>
> ===
>
> When The War Music Stops
>
> This rage to march in lockstep to the war music is a fundamentalism of 
> thought that enslaves America
>
> By Luciana Bohne
>
> A day will come when this crazed war music will stop, and the American 
> people will hear the judgment that the Germans heard at Nuremberg-that, in 
> Justice Robert Jackson's words, they had supported a regime which had 
> committed "acts which have been regarded as criminal since the time of 
> Cain."
> http://tinyurl.com/64eap
>
> ===
>
> Naming The Real Killers
>
> The UK government finds it convenient to blame Colombia's huge murder rate 
> on the drugs trade. The reality is that most of the killings are being 
> done by a regime it supports.
>
> By John Pilger
>
> The basic role of the state is to marginalise the popular forces and 
> ensure that Colombia's resources - notably oil - remain in the correct 
> hands. [US andUK] strategy is to support this . . . The "war on drugs" is 
> a cover.
> http://tinyurl.com/3tjy7
>
> ===
>
> Charge Him or Release Him:
>
> by Jacob G. Hornberger
>
> Make no mistake about it: The governmental power exercised in the Padilla 
> and al-Marri cases will be a back door to military control of our nation. 
> While the American people might not realize that, Pentagon officials most 
> certainly do.
> http://tinyurl.com/5cqtj
>
> ===
>
> At Least Five Killed in Kandahar Blast -- Officials:
>
> A blast rocked the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Thursday, killing 
> at least five people and wounding more than 30, security officials there 
> said.
> http://tinyurl.com/4nuoa
>
> ===
>
> 12 killed in Iraq attacks :
>
> Twelve people, including a US soldier, were killed on Wednesday in car 
> bombs and other attacks across Iraq.
> http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=97946
>
> ===
>
> U.S. Soldier killed by IED explosion
> http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Casualty_Report.asp?CasualtyReport=20050312.txt
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4rj36
>
> ===
>
> U.S. Army Captain Convicted In Iraqi Assaults:
>
> An Army captain accused of terrorizing an Iraqi town's residents with 
> threats, a pistol and a baseball bat was convicted Wednesday of three 
> counts of assault on Iraqis
> http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4293532/detail.html
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6ex8v
>
> ===
>
> New Iraq assembly descended into farce :
>
> Despite calls for the meeting to be held outside the heavily protected 
> Green Zone, to demonstrate parliament's independence from its American 
> protectors, the threat was such that the deputies had no choice but to 
> meet there in a vast convention centre.
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1528314,00.html
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4nfmr
>
> ===
>
> Analysis: Berlusconi's non-pullout announcement:
>
> It was British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the rescue on Wednesday when 
> he distanced himself from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's 
> announcement of a phased withdrawal of Italy's forces from Iraq starting 
> in September.
> http://about.upi.com/products/perspectives/UPI-20050316-032838-1205R
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6jfqp
>
> ===
>
> Berlusconi under fire at home after Iraq withdrawal climbdown:
>
> Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi took a battering from the press 
> and opposition parties, after being forced into an ignominious climbdown 
> by his more powerful allies over his stated intention to withdraw Rome's 
> troops from Iraq
> http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1514&ncid=732&e=4&u=/afp/20050317/wl_mideast_afp/italyiraqtroops
>
> http://tinyurl.com/5qy6l
>
> ===
>
> MP Expelled from Commons after Blair Remark :
>
> An MP was expelled from the Commons chamber today after he claimed that 
> Tony Blair had "misled" Parliament over the war with Iraq.
> http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/17326477?source=PA
>
> http://tinyurl.com/464wd
>
> ===
>
> Australians Against New Iraq Deployment :
>
> Many adults in Australia reject their government's decision to send more 
> soldiers to Iraq, according to a poll by AC Nielsen. Only 37% of 
> respondents support the deployment of 450 troops.
> http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=6341
>
> http://tinyurl.com/65qf7
>
> ===
>
> Bulgaria to Pull Out of Iraq: Official:
>
> Bulgaria will gradually withdraw its troops from Iraq by the end of this 
> year, Minister of Defense Nikolay Svinarov said Thursday.
> http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=19758
>
> ===
>
> US Army seeks longer enlistments as recruitment falters :
>
> The US Army has asked Congress to allow it to extend enlistment contracts 
> offered to future soldiers by two years in order to "stabilize the force," 
> as top defense officials warned that key recruitment targets for the year 
> could be missed.
> http://news.inq7.net/world/index.php?index=1&story_id=30824
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6sc67
>
> ===
>
> The St. Patrick's Four and Resistance to the War in Iraq :
>
> The St. Patrick's Four were four people from the Catholic peace movement 
> who, on St. Patrick's Day last year, poured their blood around at a 
> military recruiting station in Ithaca, New York, and they were put on 
> trial. And the jury refused to convict.
> http://tinyurl.com/6wxz3
>
> ===
>
> Wolfowitz To Rule the World (Bank):
>
> In 1967, Robert McNamara, the captain of the Vietnam tragedy, left his 
> post as secretary of defense to become president of the World Bank. So 
> Bush is establishing a bipartisan tradition: you screw up a war, you get 
> to run the World Bank. With this announcement, the impoverished of the 
> world have less reason for hope.
> http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=2265
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4n85j
>
> ===
>
> Wolfowitz to spread neo-con gospel :
>
> By nominating Paul Wolfowitz to be head of the World Bank, President 
> George Bush appears to be sending a message to the world that he intends 
> to spread into development policy the same neo-conservative philosophy 
> that has led his foreign policy.
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4358045.stm
>
> ===
>
> Democrats for Wolfowitz :
>
> Senator Joe Biden isn't the only Democrat supporting Paul Wolfowitz for 
> president of the World Bank.
> http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/363ubjiw.asp
>
> http://tinyurl.com/58fvw
>
> ===
>
> A Perfect Fit: Wolfowitz at the World Bank:
>
> If you want to know how Professor Wolfowitz got the job, follow the money.
> http://www.counterpunch.com/wanniski03172005.html
>
> ===
>
> UK: Short savages Wolfowitz nomination:
>
> Former International Development Secretary Clare Short has savaged the 
> nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank.
> http://www.itv.com/news/world_2081891.html
>
> ===
>
> Europe Alarmed by Wolfowitz Nomination :
>
> In Germany, Michael M?ller, the Social Democrats deputy parliamentary 
> leader, described the choice as "horrifying."
> http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1521182,00.html
>
> http://tinyurl.com/53uh4
>
> ===
>
> Wolfowitz Pick for World Bank Prompts Head-Scratching:
>
> As with his fellow-neo-conservatives, Wolfowitz also has special concerns 
> about the fate of Israel, where he lived during part of his teenaged years 
> and which now is his sister's home.
> http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=27902
>
> ===
>
> Israel pleased with choice of Wolfowitz:
>
> The World Bank is expected to supervise the implementation of hundreds of 
> million of dollars worth of projects to rebuild Gaza. One official said 
> that Wolfowitz would likely ensure that the Palestinians fulfill strict 
> conditions regarding reform and democratization in order to get the money.
> http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1110943128218
>
> http://tinyurl.com/62fgk
>
> ===
>
> Israel: A Call for Divestment:
>
> From 1986 to 1991 I served in the Israeli army in the occupied 
> territories. During this period I was shocked and disgusted at what my 
> comrades and I were repeatedly ordered to do to Palestinian civilians.
> http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20050328&s=leibowitz
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6979s
>
> ===
>
> Hizbollah Says Will Not Lay Down Weapons:
>
> "I'm holding on to the weapons of the resistance because I think the 
> resistance ... is the best formula to protect Lebanon and to deter any 
> Israeli aggression," Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in a live television 
> interview with Hizbollah's al-Manar station.
> http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7923594
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6v3f4
>
> ===
>
> Yeshiva students attack Palestinians, wound at least five :
>
> Some 40 yeshiva students from a West Bank settlement attacked a group of 
> eight Palestinian laborers on Thursday morning, wounding at least five of 
> them.
> http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/553474.html
>
> ===
>
> Rafah marking Corrie anniversary :
>
> Palestinian children have marked the second anniversary of the death of US 
> activist Rachel Corrie, killed during an Israeli army operation in Gaza.
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4359325.stm
>
> ===
>
> Annan's Bow at Arafat's Grave Sparks Outrage in City:
>
> U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's decision to lay a wreath at the grave 
> of Yasser Arafat while on his way to the dedication of a Holocaust museum 
> in Israel is infuriating New York politicians and Jewish leaders.
> http://www.nysun.com/article/10695
>
> ===
>
> In case you missed it:
>
> Irgun:
>
> The Irgun was considered to be a terrorist organization by the British, 
> amongst others, but many Jews regarded its members as freedom fighters. 
> Its best known activity was the bombing of King David Hotel in Jerusalem 
> in 1946, which killed close to a hundred people.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun
>
> ===
>
> In case you missed it:
>
> Video: BBC Interview With Rafik Hariri:
>
> HARDtalk spoke to Mr Hariri in November 2001 when he was still the 
> country's prime minister. They talked about the war on terror, the 
> situation in the Middle East and relations with neighbouring Syria.
> http://tinyurl.com/43l7o
>
> ===
>
> Video: Mosaic: World News Reports from Middle East TV For 03/16/05:
>
> The nation's only uncensored compilation of daily television news reports 
> from more than 15 countries in the Middle East. QuickTime Video.
> http://tinyurl.com/4auvg
>
> ===
>
> In case you missed it:
>
> None Of Us Are Free - If One Of Us Is Chained
> http://tinyurl.com/559lj
>
> ===
>
> Chavez followers get paramilitary training:
>
> The start of training for "Popular Defense Units" marks a more 
> confrontational stage in U.S.-Venezuelan relations.
> http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-03-16-venezuela-chavez_x.htm
>
> http://tinyurl.com/6rxyp
>
> ===
>
> The Venezuelan prosecutor general indicted twenty former officers.
>
> The admirals and generals are accused of rebellion and disobedience of the 
> laws of the country, for their role in the coup that removed President 
> Hugo Chavez from power for about 48 hours.
> http://www.misna.org/news.asp?lng=1&id=130505
>
> ===
>
> Paul Craig Roberts: America's Has-Been Economy:
>
> Outsourcing is rapidly converting US corporations into a brand name with a 
> sales force selling foreign designed, engineered, and manufactured goods. 
> Whether or not they realize it, US corporations have written off the US 
> consumer market.
> http://tinyurl.com/3qk82
>
> ===
>
> Bush Defends Packaged News Stories from Government:
>
> President Bush said on Wednesday that the U.S. government's practice of 
> sending packaged news stories to local television stations was legal and 
> he had no plans to cease it.
> http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7923729
>
> ===
>
> In case you missed it:
>
> Video: Despotism & Democracy:
>
> Measures how a society ranks on a spectrum stretching from democracy to 
> despotism. Where does your community, state and nation stand on these 
> scales?
> http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4971.htm
>
> ===
>   Peace & Justice
>      Tom Feeley
> ===
> Liberty can not be preserved without general knowledge among people." 
> (August 1765) John Adams
>
>
>
> _____________________________
> Unsubscribe: http://www.ymlp.com/u.php?feminine+harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
> Hosting by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com
> 


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 17 17:37:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Thu Mar 17 17:43:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] God Gene
References: <BE5F3A19.1F378%michael@michaelbutler.com>
Message-ID: <009a01c52b5a$fc538470$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Michael:

That is an interesting question.  I suppose it might depend on who it is who 
stands to gain or lose from it - "on which side of the aisle," as it were.

Conspiracy theorists, I'm sure, could give numerous reasons why it may be 
so, from either side of the aisle.  However, it would seem that one wouldn't 
have to go too far to find a reason or two.

I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I will certainly give 
it some thought, now that you bring it up.

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Butler" <michael@michaelbutler.com>
To: "Civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 4:43 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] God Gene


> Is there a political motive behind the reports about a God Gene?
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From lyve at netzero.com  Thu Mar 17 19:16:08 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Thu Mar 17 19:19:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] God Gene
Message-ID: <20050317.191643.18212.15231@webmail25.nyc.untd.com>


Yes this is very political. 

It is non-scientific because dna and genes as I understand it are incorporated within the structures of the human cellular body. 

To say that one has the gene because they had better schooling than the next person about how one should go to church, etc, from an early stage of life is ridiculous.

Going to church happens first with the parents or grandparents-after that it is because of perceived communication between the one going to church and his or her God as it may be.

After that-as the individual, couple or family get older and they have had time to think, analyze and question authenticity, historical records, and what amounts to vast data that has been manipulated by the churches, makes one a critical thinker-from this action spurs enlightenment.

This is like saying the greatest of all angels, before the fall had the gene and dna, therefore is superior to us all. Who am I speaking of? 

It is simply a matter of environment and what one decides to do with the knowledge that they have received, accumulated and/or shared.

I'm sorry-it is not about genes - it sounds as though it is really about arrogance, greed, non-humility, and the action of steering people yet, deeper into the darkness of ignorance!


Lyle

-- Michael Butler <michael@michaelbutler.com> wrote:
Is there a political motive behind the reports about a God Gene?

_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Thu Mar 17 22:38:59 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Thu Mar 17 22:38:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tomgram: Dilip Hiro on Playing the Democracy Card
Message-ID: <000701c52b85$2b126e00$7025b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Tomgram: Dilip Hiro on Playing the Democracy Card

*snip*



Good article.  It's always nice to be reminded that America is basically led
by a well-organized Gang that keeps such things as Democracy as far away
from their thoughts as they can possibly place them, and that your Average
American is about as stupid about the actual historical actions of their own
country as they can possibly be.  It continues to encourage me to listen to
the local American folks who wave the red white and blue in my face while
shouting things like "Yeah, go get em, spread our Democracy thick over
there...!!" while the only thing being exported from here is the equivalent
of a peanut butter sandwich with no bread and nothing inbetween but a bullet
and an American entrepreneur's business card.

It is sometimes said that some Criminal Minds are to be envied for their
phenomenal perspective, the only drawback is, like now, when they begin to
run countries, command militaries, and direct secret polices both
domestically and abroad to do their bidding.  That all "this" will come back
(it's here already just not in full force yet) to haunt America as a Lasting
Legacy from "hell" is surely no secret anymore, well, at least to a few
people here, but that Americans continue to pay for it All with their
hard-earned taxes, wave the red white and blue, and push intelligent people
out of the way while demanding that the Criminals they have "elected" "go
forth and spread our word", as they do in universal deceit, remains one of
the funniest things I have ever seen, sardonic to the bitter end, but
laughable nevertheless.

What..?  You want me to sit and cry over people and their
bred-in-ignorance-and-indoctrination plight waving red white and blue
things, invoking the name of God, and financing one of the most powerful
criminal organizations ever to reside on earth as they divide and conquer
and breed anything but "Democracy and Freedom"...?  Sorry, I did that long
ago.  My tear ducts dried up for the irretrievably ignorant long ago.
Propaganda is a strong thing.  It can induce entire peaceful freedom-loving
nations into blood-thirsty rampaging genocides.  You, nobody, and especially
since The Media has sold out, has yet achieved a Propaganda machine capable
of countering the one they currently wield so cleverly.  Until then, my
tears are wasted.  If you create it, I will bawl my eyes out for joy.  Until
then, it's just a waste of moisture over the walking doomed.




Cheeseburger

-  (unrelated)  Jeans..?   Yeah, God lent me a pair of his jeans once.  They
were great for picking up chicks with.  Only a few drawbacks.  Every time I
walked into a church in them, the stained-glass windows blew out, the
priests got on their knees and begged for forgiveness for deceiving the
sheep, and all the hypocrite businessmen in the front row threw their
wallets at me and began crying and tearing their clothes.  I washed them one
day with too much bleach and they disintegrated.  Oh well, it was a lot of
fun for a while to have God's jeans, but I'll just have to do with what I
have I guess.

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 18 05:41:14 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 05:43:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26833883.1111153274863.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Prayer Toward Equality
 
 By Mona Eltahawy
 
    NEW YORK  --  Today, somewhere in New York, a Muslim woman will give the sermon that precedes the congregational noon prayers, called Jum'ah,  that mark the highlight of the Muslim week. She will then lead men and women in prayer,  becoming the first woman on record to lead a public, mixed-gender Friday prayer.
 
  I can't tell you where the prayer will be held because I don't know yet. The location is being kept secret because the original venue backed out after it received threats for opening its doors to such a service.
 
  But I can tell you that the courage of Amina Wadud, a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University who will lead us all, is impossible to describe. And I can tell you what a thrill it will be to stand before God as the spiritual equal  of the   male congregants  --  praying together, not behind the men and not in another room  --  with a woman leading us.
 
  There is nothing in Islam that bars a woman  from giving the Friday sermon or from leading a mixed-gender prayer. The fact that only men have done both for centuries is one of many things that Muslims have rarely questioned. We have wasted time and energy circling the same old subjects: Just how much of woman's body should be covered; can men and women shake hands, etc.
 
  By standing behind Amina Wadud today, we will be clearing the deck of distractions and acknowledging the egalitarianism that permeates Islam. My faith resides deep in my heart, but it has been hard at times to reconcile my heart with my mind, which too often recoils at the blatant misogyny that centuries of male-dominated interpretation of my religion have wrought.
 
  We are taught that Islam gave women rights more than 1,400 years ago that made them the envy of women in Europe's Dark Ages. When European women were mere chattel, Muslim women gained the right to inherit and own property.
 
 But now the descendants of those women who envied Muslim women in the  seventh century have moved far ahead. Where is that spirit of the early days of Islam?
 
  One of my favorite stories from Islamic history  --  apocryphal or not  --  goes like this: Women at the time of the prophet  Muhammad complained that the revelations he had received so far addressed "believing men." What about us, they asked? Soon after, the prophet began receiving revelations that addressed both "believing men" and "believing women."
 
 If God included us in the narrative, who has kept us out?
 
 Not surprisingly, conservative scholar  Yusuf Qaradawi has condemned the mixed-gender prayer on his weekly show on al-Jazeera. But we were not waiting for his blessing or anyone else's. Many male scholars and clerics have let the Muslim world down. Their apathy and disinclination to speak out  --  be it against misogyny or against violence in the name of Islam  --  long ago turned many of us off.
 
  Several Muslim organizations in the United States have either condemned Amina Wadud's decision to lead the Friday prayer or have remained silent, choosing to stay on the sidelines of an event that embodies the aspirations of Muslim women to be recognized as men's spiritual equals.
 
  Many of us have moved beyond these scholars, clerics and organizations and are  setting our own agenda. The Muslim world is large and diverse. Issues that concern women in Saudi Arabia  --  where they cannot be admitted to a hospital without a male guardian's signature  --  are very different from those in Malaysia, where women recite the  Koran on national television.
 
  Here in the United States, where we can debate and argue without fear of losing our lives, there will, God willing, be no violence at today's prayer. But we have had an exciting few months leading up to it.
 
  Late last year three men and a woman co-founded the Progressive Muslim Union of North America to provide a forum for Muslims who feel alienated by the conservatism of many of the existing organizations. The woman, Sarah  Eltantawi, was once the spokeswoman of a mainstream American Muslim organization but left in frustration at the  same silence and ambivalence over women's issues that we have seen with regard to Amina Wadud's brave move.
 
  Thousands of us take refuge in the Web site MuslimWakeUp.com, edited by Ahmed Nassef, who co-founded it in 2003. The site, which receives 3 million hits a month, has allowed writers and commentators to argue and take to task the stifling mind-set that has held us back for so long.
 
  Amina Wadud's decision to lead the Jum'ah is the most public example of setting our own agenda. It will be women who will change Islam and bring it into the 21st century, because we have nothing to lose. But many men support us in these efforts, because our fight is their fight.
 
 The writer, a New York-based columnist for the pan-Arab publication Asharq al-Awsat, is a  member of the board of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America. Her Web site is at www.monaeltahawy.com.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 18 05:42:38 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 05:44:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <8094483.1111153358985.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 What's Left? Shame.
 
 By Charles Krauthammer
 
    At his news conference on Wednesday, President Bush declined an invitation to claim vindication for his policy of spreading democracy in the Middle East. After two years of attacks on him as a historical illiterate pursuing the childish fantasy of Middle East democracy, he was entitled to claim a bit of credit. Yet he declined, partly out of modesty (as with Ronald Reagan, one of the secrets of his political success) and partly because he has learned the perils of declaring any mission accomplished.
 
 The democracy project is, of course, just beginning. We do not yet know whether the Middle East today is Europe 1989 or Europe 1848.  In 1989 we saw the swift collapse of the Soviet empire; in 1848 there was a flowering of liberal revolutions throughout Europe that, within a short time, were all suppressed.
 
 Nonetheless, 1848 did presage the coming of the liberal idea throughout Europe. (By 1871, it had been restored to France, for example.) It marked a turning point from which there was no going back. The Arab Spring of 2005 will be noted by history as a similar turning point for the Arab world.
 
 We do not yet know, however, whether this initial flourishing of democracy will succeed. The Syrian and Iraqi Baathists, their jihadist allies, and the various regional autocrats are quite determined to suppress it. But we do know one thing: Those who claimed, with great certainty, that Arabs are an exception to the human tendency toward freedom, that they live in a stunted and distorted culture that makes them love their chains  --  and that the notion  the United States could help trigger a democratic revolution by militarily deposing their oppressors was a fantasy  --  have been proved wrong.
 
  As an advocate of that notion of democratic revolution, I am not surprised that the opposing view was proved false. I am  surprised only that it was proved false so quickly  --  that the voters in Iraq, the people of Lebanon, the women of Kuwait, the followers of Ayman Nour in Egypt would rise so eagerly at the first breaking of the dictatorial "stability" they had so long experienced (and we had so long supported) to claim their democratic rights.
 
  This amazing display has prompted a wave of soul-searching. When a Le Monde editorial titled "Arab Spring" acknowledges "the merit of George W. Bush," when the cover headline of London's The Independent is "Was Bush Right After All?" and when a column in Der Spiegel asks "Could George W. Bush Be Right?" you know that something radical has happened.
 
  It is not just that the ramparts of Euro-snobbery have been breached. Iraq and, more broadly, the Bush doctrine were always more than a purely intellectual matter. The left's patronizing, quasi-colonialist view of the benighted Arabs was not just analytically incorrect. It was morally bankrupt, too.
 
  After all, going back at least to the Spanish Civil War, the left has always prided itself on being the great international champion of freedom and human rights. And yet, when America proposed to remove the man responsible for torturing, gassing and killing tens of thousands of Iraqis, the left suddenly turned into a champion of Westphalian sovereign inviolability.
 
  A leftist judge in Spain orders the arrest of a pathetic, near-senile Gen. Augusto Pinochet eight years after he's left office, and becomes a human rights hero  --  a classic example of the left morally grandstanding in the name of victims of dictatorships long gone. Yet for the victims of contemporary monsters still actively killing and oppressing  --   Khomeini and his successors, the Assads of Syria and, until yesterday,  Hussein and his sons  --  nothing. No sympathy. No action. Indeed, virulent hostility to America's courageous and dangerous attempt at rescue. 
 
  The international left's concern for human rights turns out to be nothing more than a useful weapon for its anti-Americanism. Jeane Kirkpatrick pointed out this selective concern for the victims of U.S. allies (such as Chile) 25 years ago. After the Cold War, the hypocrisy continues. For which Arab people do European hearts burn? The Palestinians. Why? Because that permits the vilification of Israel  --  an outpost of Western democracy and, even worse, a staunch U.S. ally. Championing suffering Iraqis, Syrians and Lebanese offers no such satisfaction. Hence, silence.
 
  Until now. Now that the real Arab street has risen to claim rights that the West takes for granted, the left takes note. It is forced to acknowledge that those brutish Americans led by their simpleton cowboy might have been right. It has no choice. It is shamed. A Lebanese, amid a sea of a million other Lebanese, raises a placard reading "Thank you, George W. Bush," and all that Euro-pretense, moral and intellectual, collapses. 
 
 letters@charleskrauthammer.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 18 05:44:09 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 05:46:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26784749.1111153449776.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Syrians Slip Away
 
 By David Ignatius
 
   The most frightening spot in Beirut over the past 20 years was Syrian intelligence headquarters at the Beau Rivage hotel. This was a place most Lebanese mentioned only in whispers. When the local newspapers had to discuss something controversial involving the Syrians, they would often refer to them with circumlocution, "a regional power," say, for fear that the men from the Beau Rivage would come and get them. Or worse, come and shoot them.
 
  So you have to imagine what it must have felt like Wednesday morning when Lebanese citizens saw that the Syrian intelligence officers had packed up and left the Beau Rivage  before dawn  --  tiptoeing away from a city they had intimidated for so long and from a people who had grown to despise them.
 
 "This was the interrogation room, the cockpit from which they ran all their operations," says Jamil Mroue, a Lebanese Shiite journalist who publishes the Daily Star. Mroue bravely ran articles about the Syrian occupation over the past few years, while the intelligence officers still lurked in the old hotel. "Nobody is unhappy that they are gone," he says. "But the Lebanese are concerned about what comes next."
 
 The Syrians officially have left Beirut, retreating over the mountains toward the Syrian border. But a few secret operatives undoubtedly are still in the city. And, according to the Reuters news agency, 8,000 to 10,000 Syrian troops remain in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. They won't leave without continued, unyielding international pressure. Lebanon has been too rich a prize. And if Syria can't fight its political battles in Lebanon any longer, those feuds may come home  --  and tear apart Syria's own fragile stability.
 
  The Lebanese struggle for democracy and independence is still in its early, uncertain stages, but it's important to celebrate victories. And this week's departure of the Syrian  moukhabarat, as the intelligence officers are known in Arabic, was an important moment. The iron curtain of fear dropped a bit; Lebanese people began to breathe more easily. And best of all, these small but exhilarating moves toward freedom were broadcast live on al-Jazeera, so that the rest of the Arabs could watch  --  and dream.
 
 To understand what the Lebanese must have felt this week as those Syrian trucks rumbled away from the Beau Rivage, you have to comprehend the bloody thread of assassination that has been woven through Lebanon's history since Syrian troops first intervened in 1976. This is history as nightmare, a story in which people who spoke out ended up dead.
 
 The first great martyr was the Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt, who was assassinated near a Syrian checkpoint on March 16, 1977. He had publicly criticized the Syrian occupation and privately was more outspoken. "My father warned that if the Syrians came into Lebanon, they would never get out," his son Walid told me last month at his ancestral home in Mouktara. A portrait of Kamal loomed over us as we talked. Now Walid is risking his own life as the leader of the anti-Syrian opposition.
 
 Those who protested the killings paid with their lives. A Lebanese journalist named Selim Lowzi, who dared to write critically about Damascus, was found dead near a Syrian checkpoint on Feb. 24, 1980. The fingers with which he had typed his articles were said to have been mutilated. A few months later, the leader of the Lebanese union of editors, Riad Taha, was assassinated.
 
 Nobody was immune from the reign of terror. In May 1989  Sheik Hassan Khaled, the highest-ranking Sunni Muslim leader in Lebanon, was assassinated after he criticized indiscriminate Syrian shelling of Lebanese Christian and Muslim neighborhoods. In November of that year, Lebanese President Rene Moawad was killed by a car bomb after he disagreed openly with Damascus. And finally, last month, former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri was killed by a massive bomb that had been buried under one of Beirut's main thoroughfares.
 
 The brazen murder of Hariri finally broke the curtain of fear and silence. Lebanese  braved Syrian troops and marched in the streets by the thousands, in effect reclaiming their capital. Their message was simple: We aren't afraid of you anymore. We would rather die than keep living like this.
 
 That was the moment the Syrian chokehold was broken. The retreat of the intelligence men from the Beau Rivage this week was inevitable  --  once the Lebanese people had decided they wouldn't take it any longer. That's the astonishing fact about history. It seems to advance in big, inevitable movements, but it's actually made one person at a time. 
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 18 05:45:37 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 05:47:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9446938.1111153538062.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 An Inspiring Story's Loose Ends
 
 By Eugene Robinson
 
    It's no surprise that the tragic courthouse slayings in Atlanta have drawn a swarm of Hollywood producers to the hub of the South. The story is simple, powerful and profound: a rampage of pure evil followed by an act of pure redemption. 
 
 Brian Nichols, after allegedly killing four innocent people, forces his way at gunpoint into the life of Ashley Smith, a young woman whose look of blonde, damsel-in-distress vulnerability could have been ordered up by a casting director. Smith turns out to be something else  --  a tough girl from the wrong side of the tracks who also knows what it's like to be on the wrong side of the law.
 
 She has a record for shoplifting and other petty crimes. She's a widow  --  her murdered husband died in her arms. She has a 5-year-old daughter, but not the wherewithal to care for her, so the girl lives with Smith's aunt.
 
 Smith talks to Nichols about her faith in God, and she touches something inside a man with nothing left to lose. She reads to him from "The Purpose-Driven Life." She tells him that God must have brought him to that apartment; that no matter what he's done, his life still has a purpose. She makes him pancakes. Finally, the most dangerous man in America just lets her go, and when the police arrive, he surrenders.
 
 The story is inspiring, but a couple of things have been nagging at me, so I thought I'd share them and maybe they'll nag at you, too.
 
  First, there's the question of race. Nichols is black and Smith is white. Race seemed irrelevant, since Nichols allegedly killed both black and white, in an enlightened city  largely run by black officials. It was easy to dismiss the unbidden, illegitimate image  --  once used to "justify" lynchings  --  of the powerful black predator threatening the delicate flower of white womanhood.
 
 But according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which interviewed a law enforcement official who witnessed the first statement Nichols gave after his arrest, Nichols's alleged killings   was fueled by racial anger.
 
 While in custody on a rape charge, Nichols apparently seethed at the fact that so many of the other inmates  were black. "He called it systematic slavery," the newspaper quoted the official as saying. Nichols reportedly felt like a "soldier" while killing his victims with military precision.
 
 So there's the question I can't answer. Nichols, educated at a Catholic school, had no history of violence before the rape charge, on which a jury couldn't agree. When you look at him, you don't see a beast; you see a clean-cut young man with intelligent, sensitive eyes. Will we ever find out why race was the first thing out of his mouth? Or do we think it even matters?
 
 My other question begins with God and His design. "The Purpose-Driven Life," by pastor and evangelist Rick Warren, has sold more than 21 million copies; its point is that God knows why we're here, that God knows what we are to do with our time on Earth.
 
 Smith started her reading to Nichols where she had left off the night before, with a passage that begins, "We serve God by serving others." Perhaps, she told him, he was destined "to go to jail and save many more people than you killed" by preaching to other inmates and bringing them to God.
 
 It's a comfort to think that. But given what Nichols is accused of doing  --  killing a judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy and a federal agent, all in cold blood  --  I think it's safe to assume that if he's convicted, he'll face the death penalty. Maybe he'll plead insanity, but let's suppose that he's found guilty and sentenced to die.
 
 If Smith was right and Nichols's purpose is to bring other inmates to God, then the state of Georgia  probably will cut that mission short. Or is his ultimate purpose to die, so that his death will be an example? If so, an example to whom, and does that make him some kind of martyr? Or does what remains of his life have a purpose after all? 
 
 I can't make sense of it. We are a nation that believes in capital punishment and also believes in the basic Christian concept of redemption. Try as I might, I can't reconcile those two ideas. So there's my last nagging question: Which do we value more? 
 
 eugenerobinson@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 18 05:44:45 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 05:50:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ScientificAmerican.com: If Smallpox Strikes Portland ...
Message-ID: <200503181345.j2IDix1P025622@sa-v210.sciam.com>

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 18 05:53:39 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 05:55:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Quest Beyond the Grail
Message-ID: <20050318135348.CB2193880AC@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: swiggard@comcast.net.

I know this editor is supposed to cover the Washington Post and Scientific American (sorry, Ian) - BUT this was irresistable. Bill


THEATER / THEATER REVIEWS | March 18, 2005

Theater Review | 'Monty Python's Spamalot': A Quest Beyond the Grail
By BEN BRANTLEY

The Broadway chapter of the Monty Python fan club officially came to order — or to be exact, came to disorder — with the opening of this resplendently silly new musical.

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/theater/reviews/18spam.html?ex=1111813200&en=52fd2f0db312dad3&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:08:18 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:10:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Questions Are Left by C.I.A. Chief on the
	Use of Torture
Message-ID: <20050318140823.750942062D5@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 18, 2005

Questions Are Left by C.I.A. Chief on the Use of Torture
By DOUGLAS JEHL

Porter J. Goss came close to admitting that some of the C.I.A.'s interrogation practices since 9/11 may have crossed the legal limits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/politics/18intel.html?ex=1111813200&en=1c93bd7221748dbe&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:08:57 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:10:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Un-Volunteering: Troops Improvise to Find
	Way Out
Message-ID: <20050318140858.3FFD92270B4@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


NATIONAL | March 18, 2005

Un-Volunteering: Troops Improvise to Find Way Out
By MONICA DAVEY

A trickle of soldiers and marines - some just back from duty in Iraq, others facing a trip there soon - are seeking ways to get out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/national/18soldiers.html?ex=1111813200&en=dfa837d175aae4ba&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:09:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:11:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Two Years Later
Message-ID: <20050318140933.3A29F3AE510@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 18, 2005

Editorial: Two Years Later


The positive results of the invasion of Iraq exist mainly as hopes and are fewer than the bad ones, some of which are all too concrete.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/opinion/18fri1.html?ex=1111813200&en=1c8aca0c840a39ac&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:10:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:12:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Ugly American Bank
Message-ID: <20050318141008.1A6903880A8@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 18, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Ugly American Bank
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Developing countries will distrust any economic advice Paul Wolfowitz might give as leader of the the World Bank.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/opinion/18krugman.html?ex=1111813200&en=1634d49bbbee4f9b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:10:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:12:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Neocon at the World Bank? (3 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050318141048.D225C13B7D5@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | March 18, 2005

A Neocon at the World Bank? (3 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/opinion/l18wolf.html?ex=1111813200&en=f721546d99670f54&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:13:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:15:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sizable Cut in U.S. Forces in Iraq Called
	Possible in '06
Message-ID: <20050318141314.B29C02062D5@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 18, 2005

Sizable Cut in U.S. Forces in Iraq Called Possible in '06
By ERIC SCHMITT

An Army general said that the number of American troops in Iraq would probably drop to around 105,000 from 150,000.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/politics/18military.html?ex=1111813200&en=b1f063740ff3de46&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:13:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:15:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Palestinian Factions Agree to Extend Truce
	With Israel
Message-ID: <20050318141340.EF00013B7D5@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 18, 2005

Palestinian Factions Agree to Extend Truce With Israel
By GREG MYRE

Although the groups set conditions on Israel, their move bolsters recent efforts to end four-and-a-half years of fighting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/international/middleeast/18mideast.html?ex=1111813200&en=f2fa44de46325e71&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:15:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:17:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rice Calls Afghans Inspiring,
	but Election Is Delayed Again
Message-ID: <20050318141551.D99F13880A8@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | March 18, 2005

Rice Calls Afghans Inspiring, but Election Is Delayed Again
By JOEL BRINKLEY and CARLOTTA GALL

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made the announcement, apparently inadvertently, during a news conference with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/international/asia/18rice.html?ex=1111813200&en=5ade5fb8abf042c0&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 06:21:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 06:23:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - U.S. drops China rights censure - Mar 17, 2005
Message-ID: <1557289.1111155698566.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



Ian wanted you to see this.



 
********************
 
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From olhippie at tampabay.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 07:22:47 2005
From: olhippie at tampabay.rr.com (Robin McNamara)
Date: Fri Mar 18 07:24:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Russia & China
Message-ID: <000601c52bce$577e75d0$1606ca44@CowBox>


Russia & China plan to hold joint military exercises aimed at Taiwan.


http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3rc.htm


Peace
Robin
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From geomilman at milman.com  Fri Mar 18 09:16:15 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Fri Mar 18 09:18:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Orrin Hatch heads up Senate copyright laws panel. 
Message-ID: <20050318171619.AD96524AF86@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

Orrin Hatch, the senator who once said the recording industry should be able
to destroy music pirates' PCs, will be in charge of a new Senate panel
responsible for writing copyright laws.

 <http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5623975.html>
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5623975.html

 

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 18 11:58:51 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 18 12:00:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The World Bank  Wolf at the door - Economist
Message-ID: <BE6072FB.1F417%michael@michaelbutler.com>



The World Bank

Wolf at the door
Mar 17th 2005
>From The Economist print edition


Paul Wolfowitz is certainly an audacious choice to head the World Bank. Is
he a good one?

Reuters
Reuters


SOMETIMES George Bush's chutzpah beggars belief. On March 16th he nominated
Paul Wolfowitz?deputy defence secretary, hard-line neoconservative and
intellectual architect of the Iraq war?to head the World Bank, barely a week
after appointing John Bolton, another hard-liner, to be his man at the
United Nations. Europeans and others were aghast, particularly about Mr
Wolfowitz. How could Mr Bush, who promised a more conciliatory diplomatic
touch in his second term, put one of his most controversial lieutenants into
the world's top economic-development job? Clear proof, they fumed, that Mr
Bush doesn't give a fig for multilateralism.

Is that fair? The appointment of Mr Wolfowitz at least shows that the Bush
team takes the World Bank seriously. Mr Wolfowitz may be controversial, but
he is certainly no lightweight?and the administration has appointed plenty
of those to top economic jobs (see article). If Mr Bush and his team
disdained the organisation, they would not have chosen him. Better questions
are whether Mr Wolfowitz has the right talents for the job and, even if he
does, whether his close association with Mr Bush dooms him to failure.

The World Bank is the world's biggest development agency?a sprawling
bureaucracy that is extremely difficult to run well. Its leader needs to
know about development, be able to articulate a workable vision and be a
good manager. Mr Wolfowitz scores passably on two counts. He is not an
economist or a banker, but has first-hand experience of developing countries
(as American ambassador to Indonesia). He has public-sector management
experience?not least as number two at the Pentagon, although the bungling in
Iraq raises questions about just how good his management skills are.

The biggest concern is that Mr Wolfowitz is an idealist, some would say a
Utopian, whose career has been guided by zeal to bring democracy to the
world?regardless of what the world might make of that ambition. Thus far, Mr
Wolfowitz has focused on the relationship between democracy and security,
but his belief in the power of democracy will surely colour his views of
economic development as well.

So it should, you might say. But it is doubtful that Mr Wolfowitz's
zealotry, albeit in that noble cause, is right for the Bank. Its job is
alleviating poverty, and the relationship between democracy and the relief
of poverty is, let us say, complicated. Think of China. There is also a risk
in coming to the World Bank with a vision that is both grand and
idiosyncratic?witness Robert McNamara, another Bank president fresh from the
Pentagon with a mind to change the world. Haunted by Vietnam, Mr McNamara
had big ideas for eliminating poverty and oversaw a huge expansion of the
Bank. The result was bad lending and a weakened institution. Jim Wolfensohn,
whom Mr Wolfowitz will replace, was likewise drawn to the grandiose. The
Bank needs a realist more than a visionary.

Worse than this, however, is Mr Wolfowitz's closeness to Mr Bush. His
appointment tells the world that Mr Bush wants to capture the World Bank and
make it an arm of American foreign policy. If that is his intention, it is a
mistake. As the biggest shareholder, America rightfully has outsize
influence in the Bank. That does not mean the Bank should become
Washington's tool. If Mr Wolfowitz is to be a credible and effective head of
the Bank, his first task must be to dispel the suspicion that he is Mr
Bush's lackey. His goal when he comes to make his first speech should be to
disappoint his former boss.

Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.

From arianna at ariannaonline.com  Fri Mar 18 06:35:17 2005
From: arianna at ariannaonline.com (Arianna Huffington)
Date: Fri Mar 18 12:18:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Washington Establishment Fails Logic 101  3-16-05
Message-ID: <200503182018.j2IKIRQt018101@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

THE WASHINGTON ESTABLISHMENT FAILS LOGIC 101

By Arianna Huffington

I just got back from a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. Didn't ride the Teacups, though. Because I wasn't in Disneyland but in Washington, D.C., where everyone is walking on air, swept away by the Beltway's latest consensus: President Bush was right on Iraq, and, as a result, Tomorrowland in the Middle East will feature an E-ticket ride on the Matterhorn of freedom and democracy.

The political and cultural establishment has gone positively Goofy over this notion. In the corridors of power, Republicans are high-fiving, and Democrats are nodding in agreement and patting themselves on the back for how graciously they've been able to accept the fact that they were wrong. The groupthink in the nation's capital would be the envy of Dear Leader Kim Jong Il.

Even heroes of mine like Jon Stewart and my buddy Bill Maher have hopped on the Bush bandwagon. "I've been supportive of President Bush," Maher told Wolf Blitzer this week, "now that I think Iraq is turning around. . . . He had a bigger and better idea than the rest of us."

How did this cozy unanimity come to pass? Is it something in the water, a byproduct of Bush gutting the EPA? But then I thought back to my time at Cambridge, taking a course in elementary logic, studying the Fallacy of the Undistributed Middle. For those of you in need of a refresher on the concept, here's an example from the first chapter of my Logic 101 textbook: "All oaks are trees. All elms are trees. Therefore, all oaks are elms." See how easily you can go from point A to point Z, jumping over all the important steps in between?

So: We invaded Iraq. Change is afoot in the Middle East. Therefore, the Middle East is changing because we invaded Iraq. Q.E.D. G.W.B.

See how simple it is? And how illogical? The Bush White House has been masterful at this infantile reasoning: America is free and democratic. Terrorists attacked America. Therefore, terrorists hate freedom and democracy. And that's all anyone needs to know.

What makes this particularly seductive is the historical longing of Americans for political consensus. It's no accident that the European idea of a loyal opposition never took hold here in the New World. Instead, Democrats are all too eager to suspend disbelief and go along with the fairytale the president is telling about freedom and democracy on the march, and the happily-ever-after future of the Middle East. 

But flip the page on this "Once Upon a Time" fantasy and what's revealed is a very ugly war story--a bloody narrative we hear shockingly little about on our daily news. Maybe the four people Brian Nichols killed in Atlanta are more important than the tens of thousands killed in Iraq. Or maybe Bush's fairytales have inoculated us to the daily horrors of life over there. The dream is so wonderful that, in its name, we accept all sorts of nightmares.

In truth, I doubt the people of Iraq are going to bed with visions of Thomas Jefferson dancing in their heads. Not when their days are filled with random bombings and checkpoint shootings and kidnappings that have become commonplace. And six weeks after so many of them risked their lives to go to the ballot box, there is still no new Iraqi government in place.

What about the highly touted changes going on elsewhere in the Middle East? 

The "cedar revolution" in Lebanon turned out to be only part of the story, as 500,000 pro-Syrian demonstrators took to the streets of Beirut last week to denounce U.S. involvement in their country. What's more, the competing protests were ignited by the assassination of the anti-Syrian former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which wasn't--as far as we know at least--the handiwork of George and Condi and Wolfie.

The local elections in Saudi Arabia were a start--but women weren't allowed to vote and only half of the seats were up for grabs, with the rest appointed by the royal family. In the meantime, a new report from the State Department found that "the record of human rights abuses and violations in Saudi Arabia . . . still far exceeds the advances."

In Egypt, President Mubarak's promise to open future elections to competing parties hasn't been accompanied by the lifting of the current repressive emergency laws that, among other things, ban all public demonstrations and allow citizens deemed a threat to national security to be held indefinitely without formal charges. Nor did it stop the recent arrest of Ayman Nur, a leading opposition figure in Egypt. So remind me: What exactly are we celebrating? 

As much as I hate to rain on the president's Democracy Parade, the fact remains: Holding an election is not the same thing as establishing a democracy. Just ask the people of Russia. Or Algeria. Or Haiti. Or Africa. Indeed, there have been more than 50 elections in Africa over the past decade and a half--but the continent is not exactly a hotbed of political freedom.

The truth is, the vast majority of Arabs remain skeptical of U.S. motives. So as long as the idea of democracy is equated with America--and promoted by America--it will be much harder for real democracy to take root in the Middle East. Especially when it is democracy accompanied by 150,000 U.S. troops. 

And can we really blame the Arab world for its skepticism about the Unites States' sudden commitment to freedom and democracy? After all, it wasn't that long ago that Dick Cheney was opposing the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa; Donald Rumsfeld was cutting deals with Saddam Hussein; and the CIA was overthrowing Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically elected leader of Iran, and installing the Shah. And President Bush continues to make nice with Mr. Putin, Gen. Musharraf and the House of Saud. 

And let's not forget that the great underpinning of the president's devotion to spreading democracy throughout the world is his oft-stated belief that more freedom will lead to less terrorism--a belief for which he has offered little evidence. Mohammed Atta was exposed to all the freedom and openness America has to offer. So was Timothy McVeigh. That didn't stop them from leading the two deadliest terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Each was driven by a fanatical ideology, not by a hatred of freedom and democracy.  

The most dangerous aspect of the president's newfound dedication to freedom is that it completely ignores the fact that his aggressive push to liberate the people of Iraq has made us much less safe here at home. And this, more than anything else, is the highest priority of any government. Yet our ports, railways and borders remain porous. Our first responders remain underfunded. Our troops are stretched way too thin. And the war in Iraq has been both a breeding ground and a training ground for the next generation of Islamic terrorists.

But the White House continues to razzle-dazzle the Beltway with its command of the Undistributed Middle: The president invaded Iraq. There have been no terrorist attacks in America since 9/11. Therefore, the invasion of Iraq has made us safer--and lit the torch of freedom throughout the Arab world.

In any freshman course in logic, this reasoning would collapse, shot full of holes. In Washington, it's become the conventional wisdom. 

? 2005 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

To prevent mailbox filters from deleting mailings from Arianna Huffington, add arianna@ariannaonline.com to your address book.

To remove yourself from this mailing, please go to http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M67684796701125912713965

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 18 12:17:23 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 18 12:19:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: CIA agents 'do not use torture'
Message-ID: <20050318_201723_057083.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
yeah, right..

** CIA agents 'do not use torture' **
The CIA chief tells senators agents do not use torture on captives, but refuses to say it has not happened in the past.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4360689.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 18 12:23:22 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 12:25:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Analysis - Washington019s
 sway in Asia is challenged by China
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 18 12:28:13 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 12:30:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Home UK - Sharon welcomes militants' offer of
	ceasefire 
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What a hoot!! Like asking NRA to  disarm all its members!
Michael



 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 18 12:32:01 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 12:34:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World - Wolfowitz won019t impose US line at
 World Bank 
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Today is a day for hoots!!
Another will Wolfkowitz follow an world line or a USA line?
Michael



 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 18 12:38:47 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 12:40:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 18 12:39:57 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 18 12:41:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - Europe 
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From cararobindesign at hotmail.com  Fri Mar 18 14:29:35 2005
From: cararobindesign at hotmail.com (Cara Robin)
Date: Fri Mar 18 14:31:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tell the big oil companies to stay out of ANWR!
Message-ID: <20050318222935.7740.1769.qmail@web7.getactive.com>

Dear Friend,

I thought you might be interested in this online advocacy
campaign sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer's PAC for a Change.

Recently, the United States Senate passed legislation that moves
us one step closer to opening the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge to oil drilling.

We can't let that happen! Senator Boxer has introduced a new
advocacy effort, telling the oil companies that we will boycott
their products if they decide to drill in ANWR.

I urge you to sign Senator Boxer's petition to the oil companies
-- tell them that they will face a consumer boycott if they move
forward. 

Thanks for your help! 

To read more about what's at stake, and to send your own message
directly to the big oil companies, you can take action on this
PAC for a Change petition at:

http://ga4.org/campaign/boycott?rk=I7zznv11sBZ2W

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri Mar 18 16:54:36 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri Mar 18 16:56:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Spamalot
Message-ID: <000701c52c1e$3b7a9ee0$4d3fe440@Harold>

Monty Python still reigns

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/03/18/Arts/monty20050317.html

Harold
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 18 17:19:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Fri Mar 18 17:20:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Spamalot
References: <000701c52c1e$3b7a9ee0$4d3fe440@Harold>
Message-ID: <00e901c52c21$a27f1eb0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Harold:

Add to that article that Ben Brantley in The New York Times gave it a very good review, and one can be assured of its success for some time.

As an aside, I work part-time as a concierge at one of NYC's finer hotels, and have done so for about 18 months.  One of my jobs is theater ticket sales.  In this regard, I can tell you that we (concierges) knew that Spamalot was going to be an enormous hit right from the beginning, even in previews.  Indeed, we had not seen anything like the response to it since Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick were in The Producers.

Consider that the face value of an orchestra or front mezzanine seat in any theater is $100.  The average price for a ticket to a show through concierges (who work through ticket search firms) is $105-$185, depending on the show and the night.  (Right now, the top two shows - Wicked, and 700 Sundays - command $200 per ticket.)  When Lane and Broderick returned to The Producers, the price went from $175 to $250 per ticket - and people did not even blink paying it.

Only two weeks into previews, the price of Spamalot tickets was already $200.  Today - the day after its formal opening - tickets are $225, and are expected to go to $250 after Easter.  And again, few people are blinking at the price.

There is no question that Spamalot is the new "Producers," and that it will dominate Broadway for as long as the three principals (Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria) choose to remain in the show.  (N.B.  The other new show that is doing bang-up business is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.)

Personally, and in keeping with the Python philosophy, I am glad to see its...resurrection.  I do not doubt for a moment that the show's success will now lead to re-airing of the TV show (probably on Nick at Nite), and re-release of all the Python films.  Given the sorry state of the world, it will be nice to have something to laugh, giggle and guffaw about!

And remembers: "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

Peace.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Harold Sifton 
  To: MB Civic 
  Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 7:54 PM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] Spamalot


  Monty Python still reigns

  http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/03/18/Arts/monty20050317.html

  Harold


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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 18 20:23:45 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 18 20:25:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Why Graft Thrives in Postconflict Zones
Message-ID: <BE60E951.1F45D%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Why Graft Thrives in Postconflict Zones
    By Mark Rice-Oxley
    The Christian Science Monitor

    Thursday 17 March 2005

    A report issued Wednesday said Iraq could become 'the biggest corruption
scandal in history.'

    London - Five Polish peacekeepers are arrested for allegedly taking
$90,000 worth of bribes in Iraq. Several Sri Lankan officials are suspended
for mishandling tsunami aid. US audits show large financial discrepancies in
Iraq. Reports of aid abuse taunt Indonesia.

    Two of the world's biggest-ever reconstruction projects - Iraq and
post-tsunami Asia - are facing major tests of credibility, as billions of
dollars of aid and reconstruction money pour in.

    And according to a major report released Wednesday by Transparency
International (TI), an international organization that focuses on issues of
corruption, the omens are not good.

    From Iraq and Afghanistan to Cambodia and Bosnia, from the wrecked
coasts of Asia to the kleptocratic carve-up in some African countries,
crisis zones are proving to be fertile soil for corruption, the report
argues.

    "Many postconflict countries figure among the most corrupt in the
world," says Philippe le Billon of the University of British Columbia,
Canada, in the TI report. "Corruption often predates hostilities and in many
cases it features among the factors that triggered political unrest or
facilitated conflict escalation."

    The report cites weak government, haphazard law and order, armed
factions that need appeasing, and a scramble for rich resources as factors
that render a country prone to corruption.

    Nations that face security threats are even more vulnerable, since they
require protection money and may not be able to keep monitors safe.

    Bosnia is a good example. During the breakdown of communism in the late
1980s, factions scrambled for assets by plundering state companies, a
situation exacerbated by the 1992-1995 war.

    Wartime sanctioned nefarious activity. Criminal gangs became cherished
paramilitary groups; black markets flourished; underworld players became
rich and powerful. After peace was declared in 1995, the world community was
wary of upsetting the status quo. It's still unclear how much of the $5
billion spent on aid after the war ended up in the pockets of shady
characters.

    "These elements were either part of the ruling political parties, or
criminal elements that were financing the ruling political parties," says
James Lyon, an analyst in Belgrade with the International Crisis Group.

    In Iraq, allegations range from petty bribery to large-scale
embezzlement, expropriation, profiteering and nepotism. The TI report says
it could become "the biggest corruption scandal in history."

    "I can see all sorts of levels of corruption in Iraq," says report
contributor Reinoud Leenders, "starting from petty officials asking for
bribes to process a passport, way up to contractors delivering shoddy work
and the kind of high-level corruption involving ministers and high officials
handing out contracts to their friends and clients."

    The recent elections may help, he adds, but already he notes a tendency
for political bargaining indicative of "dividing up the cake of state
resources."

    But it is not just about Iraqis dividing up the cake. US audits of its
own spending have found repeated shortcomings, including a lack of
competitive bidding for contracts worth billions of dollars, payment of
contracts without adequate certification that work had been done, and in
some cases, outright theft.

    A report on the disbursement of Iraqi oil revenues to ministries by the
Coalition Provisional Authority, which governed Iraq until last July found a
$340 million contract awarded by the electricity ministry without a public
tender.

    A January report by special inspector Stuart Bowen found that $8.8
billion dollars had been disbursed from Iraqi oil revenue by US
administrators to Iraqi ministries without proper accounting.

    And earlier this week, it emerged that the Pentagon's auditing agency
found that Halliburton, the Houston oil services giant formerly run by Vice
President Dick Cheney, overcharged by more than $108 million on a contract.

    A Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown and Root, faces a number of
investigations for overcharging, including one case where it charged the
Army more than $27 million dollars to transport $82,000 worth of fuel from
Kuwait to Iraq, according to excerpts of the report released this week by
Rep. Henry Waxman (D) of California.

    In a written statement. Halliburton defended the cost, explaining that
delivering the fuel was "fraught with danger."

    Analysts also point to an entrenched culture of graft in the Iraqi
government.

    It doesn't help that much of Iraq needs physical rebuilding, which
involves the sector more vulnerable to corruption than any other:
construction.

    "Public works and construction are singled out by one survey after
another as the sector most prone to corruption - in both the developing and
the developed world," says TI chairman Peter Eigen.

    Construction is considered prone to sleaze for several reasons: the
fierce competition for "make or break" contracts; permits and approvals that
are open to requests for backhanders; opportunities for delays and overruns;
and the physical cover-up opportunity presented by plaster and concrete.

    With whole swaths of Southeast Asia requiring rebuilding after the
tsunami, experts worry that construction corruption could take a deadly
toll.

    "The cost will be lives lost," said Eigen, noting that cheap materials
and corner-cutting can prove lethal in earthquake-prone parts of the world.

    So how to battle corruption? Good governance is clearly the No. 1
priority, but TI identifies several other initiatives that can help improve
probity.

    These include vetting contractors and blacklisting those with shady
records, ensuring competitive bidding for deals and assuring independent
auditing and multilayered monitoring involving local communities, rotating
staff in sensitive positions, and encouraging donors to disburse funds in a
timely fashion to reduce pressure on local officials and prevent accounting
trickery.

    "We are simply making the case that a series of norms should be applied
which make it much more feasible to avoid the kind factors driving
corruption," says Lawrence Cockcroft, chairman of TI UK.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 18 20:25:35 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 18 20:27:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Why Iraq Withdrawal Makes Sense
Message-ID: <BE60E9BF.1F45E%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Why Iraq Withdrawal Makes Sense
    By Norman Solomon
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Friday 18 March 2005

    President Bush just told reporters that he has no intention of setting
any timetable for withdrawal. "Our troops will come home when Iraq is
capable of defending herself," he said. Powerful pundits keep telling us
that a swift pullout of U.S. troops would be irresponsible. And plenty of
people have bought into that idea - including quite a few progressives. Such
acceptance is part of what Martin Luther King Jr. called "the madness of
militarism."

    Sometimes, an unspoken assumption among progressive activists is that
the occupation of Iraq must be tolerated for tactical reasons - while other
issues, notably domestic ones, are more winnable on Capitol Hill. But this
acceptance means going along with many of the devastating effects of a
militarized society: from ravaged budgets for social programs to more
authoritarian attitudes and violence in communities across the country.

    "The bombs in Vietnam," King said in 1967, "explode at home; they
destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America." He rejected the
insistent claims that it would be more prudent to avoid clear opposition to
the war in order to concentrate on domestic issues. "I speak for those whose
land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is
being subverted," he said. "I speak for the poor in America who are paying
the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in
Vietnam."

    As spring 2005 begins, many who like to praise Martin Luther King are
going out of their way to evade the fundamental destructiveness of this war.
Of course, throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, a prevailing argument
was that removing U.S. troops would be a betrayal of U.S. responsibility to
the people of South Vietnam. Today, likewise, opposition to a swift U.S.
pullout from Iraq is often based on the idea that the American military must
stay because of a responsibility to the people of Iraq.

    But most Iraqis want the U.S. military out of their country - pronto. As
Newsweek reported in its Jan. 31 edition: "Now every major poll shows an
ever-larger majority of Iraqis want the Americans to leave." Yet we hear
that U.S. troops must stay for the good of the Iraqi people - even though
most of those people clearly want U.S. troops to leave. (Are we supposed to
believe that Americans know better than Iraqis whether American troops
should stay in Iraq?)

    To paper over such illogic, a media-stoked myth tells us that getting
out of Iraq is a notion remaining outside the boundaries of what the U.S.
public could take seriously. Most politicians and pundits insist that it's
off the table. But polls are telling a different story.

    "According to a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken after the Iraq
elections, 59 percent of the public believes the United States should pull
its troops out of Iraq in the next year," Amy Quinn of the Institute for
Policy Studies wrote in early March. "Yet the ranks of those actively
demanding that the president produce an exit strategy from Iraq are slim."

    In mid-March, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that a large
proportion of the U.S. population has a negative view of the war. For
instance, the poll asked: "All in all, considering the costs to the United
States versus the benefits to the United States, do you think the war with
Iraq was worth fighting or not?" Only 45 percent said "worth fighting,"
while 53 percent said "not worth fighting."

    Such nationwide poll numbers hardly indicate a country where few people
are interested in proposals for extricating U.S. troops from Iraq. But the
point is not only that political space exists in the United States for a
grassroots movement to effectively organize for a swift pullout. It's also
the best alternative for Iraq.

    Consider the perspective of David Enders, a brave American journalist
who has been in Iraq most of the time since the invasion. While writing for
such outlets as MotherJones.com, the Nation magazine and the British daily
Independent, he actually covers Iraqi society firsthand rather than staying
behind American lines. Days ago, responding to my questions via email from
Iraq, Enders provided some of the reasons for his assessment that American
troops should leave rather than stay. For instance:

        * "It is the will of the Iraqi people." Enders cites a recent survey
by Iraqi pollster Saadun Al-Dulaimie, who found that 85 percent of Iraqi
people want U.S. troops out of their country as soon as possible.

        * "The U.S. does not provide security for the average Iraqi, and it
never has."

        * "The U.S. has not prevented a civil war from taking place. If
anything, it has exacerbated it."

        * "It is not morally derelict to pull out; it's morally derelict to
stay. Returning real control and sovereignty to Iraqis is the most effective
way to prevent the country from breaking apart. U.S. troops complain Iraqis
don't want to stand up and fight for themselves, and a big part of the
reason is the occupiers' presence."

    Meanwhile, Enders voices enthusiasm for the resolution sponsored by more
than two dozen members of the House of Representatives "expressing the sense
of Congress that the President should develop and implement a plan to begin
the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq" (House
Concurrent Resolution 35.)

    This spring, as U.S. activists work to build a strong movement against
the war, the need to pressure Congress is clear. What's less apparent is the
need to also push - and, if necessary, confront - hesitant progressive
organizations that are taking the easy way out by refusing to challenge the
ongoing war.

    Fortunately, some national organizations are providing forthright
leadership to pursue the goal of getting U.S. troops out of Iraq. Those
groups - including United for Peace & Justice, Progressive Democrats of
America, Military Families Speak Out, TrueMajority, Iraq Veterans Against
the War, Code Pink, Campus Antiwar Network, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Pledge
of Resistance, American Friends Service Committee, Democracy Rising and U.S.
Labor Against the War, to name just a dozen - inspire as they organize.

    Only clear opposition to the war can change the terms of the national
debate. Taking the paths of least resistance won't get us very far.

    Norman Solomon's latest book, "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits
Keep Spinning Us to Death," will be published in early summer. His columns
and other writings can be found at: normansolomon.com.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu Mar 17 18:53:33 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 20:36:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] MoveOn.org: Making Peace With the War in Iraq
Message-ID: <200503190436.j2J4aYpl019725@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

After reading this I went to the MoveON website and left a strongly 
worded comment (by going to the lower right corner of home page, 
clicking the "speak out" link, then clicking the orange "submit your own 
comment" box).

Published on Thursday, March 10, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
MoveOn.org: Making Peace With the War in Iraq
by Norman Solomon
 

Sadly, it has come to this. Two years after the invasion of Iraq, the 
online powerhouse MoveOn.org -- which built most of its member base 
with a strong antiwar message -- is not pushing for withdrawal of U.S. 
troops from Iraq.

With a network of more than 3 million "online activists," the MoveOn 
leadership has decided against opposing the American occupation of 
Iraq. During the recent bloody months, none of MoveOn's action alerts 
have addressed what Americans can do to help get the U.S. military 
out of that country. Likewise, the MoveOn.org website has continued to 
bypass the issue -- even after Rep. Lynn Woolsey and two dozen 
cosponsors in the House of Representatives introduced a resolution in 
late January calling for swift removal of all U.S. troops from Iraq.

That resolution would seem to be a natural peg for the kind of kinetic 
activism that established MoveOn's reputation. A movement serious 
about ending U.S. military activities in Iraq could use the resolution as 
a way to cut through political tap dances and pressure members of 
Congress to take a stand. Down the road, generating grassroots 
support for a get-out-of-Iraq resolution has potential to clear a 
congressional pathway for measures cutting off funds for the war.

But, tragically, MoveOn's leadership is having none of it. Over a period 
of recent weeks, the word "Iraq" appeared on the MoveOn.org home 
page only in a plug for a documentary released last year. Inches away, 
a blurb has been telling the website's visitors: "Support Our Troops: 
Contribute your frequent-flyer miles so that American troops can get 
home." (But not stay home.) Many soldiers are returning to the killing 
grounds of Iraq, while a growing number are vocally opposed to this 
war.

Why won't MoveOn "support our troops" by supporting a pullout of our 
troops from Iraq? "We believe that there are no good options in Iraq," 
MoveOn.org's executive director, Eli Pariser, told me. "We're seeing a 
broad difference of opinion among our members on how quickly the 
U.S. should get out of Iraq. As a grassroots-directed organization, we 
won't be taking any position which a large portion of our members 
disagree with."

In sharp contrast, early in the 2004 primary campaign, MoveOn 
committed itself to endorsing any Democratic presidential candidate 
receiving more than 50 percent of the Internet ballots cast by its 
activists. (Howard Dean fell shy of a majority, so there was no MoveOn 
endorsement.) But now, evidently, a majority of MoveOn members in 
favor of swift withdrawal from Iraq would be insufficient if a "large 
portion" disagreed.

When I asked Eli for clarification, he replied: "We've been talking with 
our members continuously on this issue. We've surveyed slices of our 
membership in January and in December, and surveyed our whole 
membership last spring. That's how we know there's a breadth of 
opinion out there."

But last spring was a year ago. And any surveying of "slices of our 
membership in January and in December" came before the Woolsey 
resolution offered an opportunity to find out how the MoveOn base 
views the measure. In any event, there will always be "a breadth of 
opinion" about this war -- a fact that does not trump the crucial need 
for clarity of purpose.

If MoveOn leaders were willing to submit the House get-out-of-Iraq 
resolution to MoveOn's rank-and-file in an up-or-down vote, the 
chances of a substantial majority would be excellent. Too bad the 
leadership of MoveOn.org is currently unwilling to find out.

The 29 members of the House now sponsoring the resolution are 
hardly radicals. They recognize the kind of grisly consequences of 
equivocation that occurred during the Vietnam War: Refusal to speak 
forthrightly about the urgent need to end military involvement only fuels 
the war's deadly momentum.

It's all well and good for MoveOn.org to do superb work in the current 
battle over the future of Social Security. And it's very helpful to 
excoriate President Bush for his many big lies in the lead-up to the 
invasion of Iraq. But such activities don't make up for going along with 
the basics of the present-day Iraq war.

When a large progressive organization takes the easy way and makes 
peace with war, the abdication of responsibility creates a vacuum. 
Ironically, a group that became an Internet phenom by recognizing and 
filling a void is now creating one. And other groups are bound to 
emerge to fill it.

Among the emerging organizations is Progressive Democrats of 
America (www.pdamerica.org), a fledgling national group with an 
activist focus on the Iraq war that is laudably straightforward. "We're 
organizing a new campaign in every Congressional District we can to 
call for the end of funding for war and occupation, and for the transfer 
of reconstruction assistance to Iraqis themselves," says Tim Carpenter 
of PDA. He contends that "public pressure can awaken Congress to an 
opposition role."

War in Iraq requires continual funding, of course, so President Bush's 
new supplemental boost of $80 billion in war appropriations has been 
moving through Congress in recent days. Tacitly accepting the war's 
continuation, MoveOn declined to take a stand against the essence of 
congressional backing for the war -- the money that keeps paying for it. 
Meanwhile, PDA launched an effort against the $80 billion; the 
organizing included a National Call-In Day aimed at members of 
Congress on March 10.

MoveOn.org pioneered the use of email and web technologies as 
creative tools to further its political agenda. Now that the MoveOn 
agenda on the Iraq war has tumbled into the shallow depths of the 
Potomac, some similar online activism will be needed if MoveOn's dive 
is going to be merely temporary. So, to help get the cyber-ball rolling, 
please forward this article around the Internet and post it where 
appropriate.

Friends don't let friends drive drunk, and peace advocates do a lot 
more than shrug when a previously great antiwar organization starts to 
get lost.

If MoveOn continues to abandon its antiwar base, that base will get the 
picture -- and move on.

Norman Solomon's latest book, "War Made Easy: How Presidents and 
Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death," will be published in early 
summer. His columns and other writings can be found at: 
www.normansolomon.com

###


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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   ---   George Orwell


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar 18 20:31:42 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 20:37:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] David McReynolds:  My friend the judge
Message-ID: <200503190437.j2J4bbvv019735@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

The following thoughtful and worthwhile comments are (via Ed Pearl) from 
David McReynolds, past presidential candidate for Socialist Party USA 
and Green Party candidate for NY governor....

 From: David Mcreynolds 

Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 6:59 PM
Subject: My friend the judge and Saturday's arrest



    This evening I got an agitated call from an old friend, a judge here 
    in New York City, someone who had once been in the Socialist 
    Party. She had gotten a mailing from War Resisters League 
    abouta legal demonstration here in Manhattanthis Saturday, 
    March 19th, at the Times Square Recruiting Station, and the civil 
    disobedience some of us will take part in. She was furious at the 
    idea that we would stop people from exercising their right to get into 
    the military recruiting station in Times Square. In her view this was 
    an outrageous violation of an individual's freedom to enlist or to get 
    information on enlisting. In passing, she deplored what was 
    happening at Harvard with Larry Summers, as another example of 
    the left gone wrong. I'm not sure what Harvard has to do with the 
    recruiting station, but I assured her that while I thought Summers 
    wasan arrogant jerk,he certainly had a right to make his voice 
    heard - in the same way that, in the recent fracas about Ward 
    Churchill, I thought he wasjust as much an arrogant jerkas 
    Summers, but both, one neo-conservative, and one a sham radical 
    ,should have their rights respected.

My friend said she thought we should all be arrested and jailed for life. I 
pointed out to her that, as a judge, she could hardly really believe this, 
since even the dreadful crime of blocking the Recruiting Station was a 
nonviolent offense, the penalties for which were prescribed by law, and 
that she, as a judge, needed to respect the limits of the law. Our 
discussion ended when I said I simply refused to be a good German, and 
thought the US was headed where Germany was in the 1930's - 
provocative comments that Iknow hardly persuaded her.

But the discussion both reminded me not onlyof how raw some emotions 
have become in this troubled time, but how easily otherwise quite sensible 
people can forget just where the country is today.

A week ago I'd gone to see Downfall,the German film about the final 
days of the Third Reich as seen from Hitler's bunker in Berlin. The film 
was well done, it is worth seeing, and I remain haunted by it, and by the 
parallel to our own situation today. One of the most disturbing things about 
Downfall (and the thing which alarmed critics both in Germany and here) 
was that it showed Hitler as a man of charm and charisma as well as 
madness, a complex person, who inspired deep loyalty as well as fear.
We want our villains to be stereotypes. We don't want them - particularly 
in the case of Hitler, who set such vast horrorin motion - to have any 
endearing traits.

This being the third year of the war in Iraq, it is becoming easier and 
easier to forget the basic fact that the United States and Great Britain 
violated international law and the Charter of the United Nations in 
launching a war of aggression - a war which is defined as a crime under 
the decisions of the Nuremburg Tribunal. A crime for which all of the key 
officials in the US and British governments should nowbe on trial. It is 
easy to forget that the toll of death for our own troops has now passed 
1,500, or to ignore the nervous breakdowns the surviving troops are 
having, the increase in the suicide rate, the pain of those who survived but 
are missing parts of their bodies and perhaps of their souls. Easy to 
overlook that over 100,000 civilians in Iraq have been killed. Easy to grow 
accustomed to the charges of torture and murder at the hands of US 
interrogating officials in Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and Iraq. Easy to 
forget that all the reasons given for the war proved to be lies. Easy to 
forget the one absolute fact - we are there for the oil, not for free 
elections. Easy to forget that the cost of the war is now running to about 
300 billion dollars - at a time when we face cut backs to health care, 
human services, aid to the poor,proper funding for fire and police, and, of 
course, social security.

These thoughts take me back toDownfall and the question of why the 
Germans went along with Hitler. Of course a great many Germans did not 
-one of the painfully brutal ironies of history is that Berlin, which had never 
been a Nazi stronghold, suffered so badly from the bombing.It is true 
many Germans did not know what was happening to the Jews. We can 
say "they should have", but the fact is they didn't. (How many Americans 
were aware of the number of Muslims arrested and held in secret in this 
country after 9.11?) I suspect most Germans didn't give deep thought to 
the policies of Hitler until the death count on the Eastern front became so 
staggering. 

Hitler, the Holocaust, the Nazis - all of this is, for young people, so very 
long ago. Sixty years ago. It is as if, when I was entering political life in the 
1950's, people were making a great fuss about events in 1890. It is that 
distant from the here and now. 

And what does this have to do with why I'll join those being arrested on 
Saturday? It is because, as the late Bayard Rustin said, one must put 
one's body into the machinery of the state so it cannot turn. Only by such 
nonviolent, peaceful actions - actions undertaken without hatred of the 
police - that we can hope to get our friends (in my case, my old friend the 
judge) to ponder why we are so foolish, in our old age, as to get arrested.

Most people care as little about politics as I do about sports. I'm not proud 
of this deficit on my part - it is simply a fact of my nature. I take the sports 
section out of the New York Times first, look at the weather report which is 
usually on its back page, and put it aside. I rarely know whether it is the 
season for football, baseball, or basketball. I am aware that if I can "blank 
out" the sports news on TV, as if it were a mysteriously vacantspace in 
time, most people are equally able to blank out political news. Most people 
tend to trust the President. After all, shouldn't he know best? And surely 
he knows more than we do. During the Vietnam War, which is now a 
generation in the past, it was only as the body bags began to come home 
that ordinary working people thought about the war.

Those of us who are intellectuals, political people, never grasp this. We 
assume that under Stalin all the Soviet citizens lived in fear. Nonsense. 
Most of them got up in the morning to get to work, ate their lunch, chatted 
with co-workers about sports or sex,, got home at the end of the day to 
drink, make love, or fall asleep. They did not live in terror. Nor did most 
Germans think about Hitler and the Nazis until the bombs fell. Falling 
bombs are, for many, a kind of alarm clock, reminding them it is perhaps 
time to wake up.

Those of us on the left tend to think that under Joe McCarhty all of 
America lived in fear - nonsense. The only people who even knew we 
were deep in a period of hysterical anti-Communism were those of us on 
the left, who were either fearful because we were Communists, or angry 
that anyone would think that we, good "anti-Communist radicals", were 
thought to be Communists. I remember the period very well. I thought at 
the time things would just get worse and we would drift into a police state. 
But things didn't get worse, the clouds lifted. So I can hope things improve 
in the here and now - with a little help from some of us. 

If I had been an African American during the 1940's I might have assumed 
things would never change. Yet we were on the edge of change. (And let 
us realize that most of the whites in the Deep South gave no more thought 
to the daily horrors of Jim Crow than most Germans gave to the plight of 
the Jews . . . it was not until December, 1955, that the white South began 
to stir, and thenonly because the Black South had begun to stir).

I put little stock in getting arrested. I've been arrested more than a dozen 
times and it hasn't seemed to change things much. I think "everyone 
should be arrested once", if only to realize how little good it does, that it is 
only one more tactic, no so different from the silent vigils the Quakers 
organize, or the strikes the trade unions call, or the electoral efforts to 
which we give ourselves every two years, or the study groups we 
organize,or the simple fact of trying to be a good parent or a good 
teacher. Nothing much will change the world, only little by little, drop by 
drop, is the world changed.

But if you are in New York City, join us Saturday the 19th at 10:30 a.m.at 
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th St. between First and Second Avenues). 
We will march with coffins in a solemn procession to Times Square to the 
Recruiting station. At noon some will stand to observe, and some will 
submit to civil disobedience. We will carry no weapons. We will damage 
no property. We will use no physical violence nor verbal abuse toward any 
person. Our attitude will be one of openness and respect toward each 
person we encounter, including the police.

We know that the "enemy" is not the military - it is the institution of war 
itself, which has trapped good men and women. And in my view, as a 
socialist, it is also the system of capitalism which helps to breed war. We 
know that while the war in Iraq is a crime, the men and women in the 
armed forces are caught up by slogans, directed by leaders, acting on a 
trust that has been betrayed. We reach out to them. And may my friend of 
many years, the good judge in Manhattan, consider that the key issue is 
not the precise way in which resistance is shown, but the fact it is shown. 
Sooner rather than later. Now, not when the risk becomes too great.

David McReynolds
(for full info go to: www.warresisters.org or call the WRL at 212 / 
228.0450)

***

So...to recap:
Neocon warlord Paul Wolfowitz will head the World Bank;
The White House illegally puts out fake news reports, and the Justice 
Department does nothing;
Another $81 billion of your money and mine is to be poured onto the Iraqi 
sand;
The GOP majority in Congress is preparing to trash 200 years of Senate 
tradition in order to post a number of certifiably insane people to the 
bench;
Kevin Martin, a conservative Christian activist for the GOP, will now chair 
the FCC;
The Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve, one of the most ecologically 
pristine areas remaining to us, will be paved and drilled for its tiny amount 
of petroleum.
And that was just yesterday. 

Will Pitt

***

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar 18 20:30:43 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 20:42:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Brand USA is in trouble, so take a lesson from Big Mac
Message-ID: <200503190442.j2J4g0Gm019785@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5147118-103677,00.html

Guardian     Monday March 14, 2005

Brand USA is in trouble, so take a lesson from Big Mac

Instead of changing his foreign policy, President Bush is changing the
story


By Naomi Klein

Last Tuesday, George Bush delivered a major address on his plan to fight
terrorism with democracy in the Arab world. On the same day, McDonald's
launched a massive advertising campaign urging Americans to fight obesity
by eating healthily and exercising. Any similarities between McDonald's
"Go Active! American Challenge" and Bush's "Go Democratic! Arabian
Challenge" are purely coincidental.

Sure, there is a certain irony in being urged to get off the couch by the
company that popularised the "drive-thru", helpfully allowing customers to
consume a bagged heart attack without having to get out of the car and
walk to the counter. And there is a similar irony to Bush urging the
people of the Middle East to remove "the mask of fear" because "fear is
the foundation of every dictatorial regime", when that fear is the direct
result of US decisions to install and arm the regimes that have
systematically terrorised for decades. But since both campaigns are
exercises in rebranding, that means facts are besides the point.

The Bush administration has long been enamoured of the idea that it can
solve complex policy challenges by borrowing cutting-edge communications
tools from its heroes in the corporate world. The Irish rock star Bono has
recently been winning unlikely fans in the White House by framing world
poverty as an opportunity for US politicians to become better marketers.
"Brand USA is in trouble ... it's a problem for business," Bono warned at
the World Economic Forum in Davos. The solution is "to redescribe
ourselves to a world that is unsure of our values".

The Bush administration wholeheartedly agrees, as evidenced by the orgy of
redescription that now passes for American foreign policy. Faced with an
Arab world enraged by the US occupation of Iraq and its blind support for
Israel, the solution is not to change these brutal policies: it is to
"change the story".

Brand USA's latest story was launched on January 30, the day of the Iraqi
elections, complete with a catchy tag line ("purple power"), instantly
iconic imagery (purple fingers) and, of course, a new narrative about
America's role in the world, helpfully told and retold by the White
House's unofficial brand manager, the New York Times columnist Thomas
Friedman. "Iraq has been reframed from a story about Iraqi 'insurgents'
trying to liberate their country from American occupiers and their Iraqi
'stooges' to a story of the overwhelming Iraqi majority trying to build a
democracy, with US help, against the wishes of Iraqi Ba'athist fascists
and jihadists."

This new story is so contagious, we are told, that it has set off a domino
effect akin to the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of communism.
(Although in the "Arabian spring" the only wall in sight - Israel's
apartheid wall - pointedly stays up.) As with all branding campaigns, the
power is in the repetition, not in the details. Obvious non sequiturs (is
Bush taking credit for Arafat's death?) and screeching hypocrisies
(occupiers against occupation!) just mean it's time to tell the story
again, only louder and more slowly, obnoxious-tourist style. Even so, with
Bush now claiming that "Iran and other nations have an example in Iraq",
it seems worth focusing on the reality of the Iraqi example.

The state of emergency was just renewed for its fifth month and Human
Rights Watch reports that torture is "systematic" in Iraqi jails. The
Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena's double nightmare provides a window
into the pincer of terror in which average Iraqis are trapped: daily life
is a navigation between the fear of being kidnapped or killed by fellow
Iraqis and the fear of being gunned down at a US checkpoint.

Meanwhile, the ongoing wrangling over who will form Iraq's next
government, despite the United Iraqi Alliance being the clear winner,
points to an electoral system designed by Washington that is less than
democratic. Terrified at the prospect of an Iraq ruled by the majority of
Iraqis, the former chief US envoy, Paul Bremer, wrote election rules that
gave the US-friendly Kurds 27% of the seats in the national assembly, even
though they make up just 15% of the population.

Skewing matters further, the US-authored interim constitution requires
that all major decisions have the support of two-thirds or, in some cases,
three-quarters of the assembly - an absurdly high figure that gives the
Kurds the power to block any call for foreign troop withdrawal, any
attempt to roll back Bremer's economic orders, and any part of a new
constitution.

Iraqi Kurds have a legitimate claim to independence, as well as very real
fears of being ethnically targeted. But through its alliance with the
Kurds, the Bush administration has effectively given itself a veto over
Iraq's democracy - and it appears to be using it to secure a contingency
plan should Iraqis demand an end to occupation.

Talks to form a government are stalled over the Kurdish demand for control
over Kirkuk. If they get it, Kirkuk's huge oil fields would fall under
Kurdish control. That means that if foreign troops are kicked out of Iraq,
Iraqi Kurdistan can be broken off and Washington will still end up with a
dependent, oil-rich regime - even if it's smaller than the one originally
envisioned by the war's architects.

Meanwhile, Bush's freedom triumphalism glossed over the fact that, in the
two years since the invasion, the power of political Islam has increased
exponentially, while Iraq's deep secular traditions have been greatly
eroded. In part, this has to do with the deadly decision to "embed"
secularism and women's rights in the military invasion. Whenever Bremer
needed a good-news hit, he had his picture taken at a newly opened women's
centre, handily equating feminism with the hated occupation. (The women's
centres are now mostly closed, and hundreds of Iraqis who worked with the
coalition in local councils have been executed.) But the problem for
secularism is not just guilt by association. It's also that the Bush
definition of liberation robs democratic forces of their most potent
tools.


The only idea that has ever stood up to kings, tyrants and mullahs in the
Middle East is the promise of economic justice, brought about through
nationalist and socialist policies of agrarian reform and state control
over oil. But there is no room for such ideas in the Bush narrative, in
which free people are only free to choose so-called free trade. That
leaves democrats with little to offer, but empty talk of "human rights" -
a weedy weapon against the powerful swords of ethnic glory and eternal
salvation.

But we shouldn't be surprised that the Bush administration, despite
telling stories about its commitment to freedom, continues to actively
sabotage democracy in the very countries it claims to have liberated.
Rumour has it McDonald's also continues to serve Big Macs.

***


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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   ---   George Orwell


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar 18 20:30:31 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri Mar 18 20:44:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Former CIA Agent Affirms Possibility of Chavez's
	Assassination in Venezuela
Message-ID: <200503190444.j2J4iNme019795@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Ongoing News and Analysis from Venezuela
www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1549

Former CIA Agent Affirms Possibility of Chavez?s 
Assassination in Venezuela

Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 		
By: Gregory Wilpert ? Venezuelanalysis.com

Former CIA agent Felix Rodriguez talked about Venezuela on the talk 
show "Maria Elvira Confronta."
Credit: Channel 22, Miami

Caracas, Venezuela, March 15, 2005?In an interview on Miami?s 
Spanish-language channel 22, the former CIA agent Felix Rodriguez 
said that the U.S. government has plans to ?bring about a change in 
Venezuela.? When pressed as to what type of plans these might be, 
Rodriguez responded that the Bush administration ?could do it with a 
military strike, with a plane.?

The former CIA agent?s comments were made last week, on Thursday, 
during the talk show of a well-known supporter of the anti-Castro 
movement, Maria Elvira Salazar. Rodriguez affirmed during the 
program, ?According to information I have about what is happening in 
Venezuela, it is possible that at some moment they [the Bush 
administration] will see itself obliged, for national security reasons and 
because of problems they have in Colombia, to implement a series of 
measures that will bring about a change in Venezuela.?

The moderator, not satisfied with his vague answer, asked Rodriguez 
what kind of measures these might be and he responded, ?They could 
be economic measures and at some point they could be military 
measures.? He then added, ?If at some point they are going to do it, 
they will do it openly.? As an example, Rodriguez gave the Reagan 
administration?s strike against Khadafi, whose residence was bombed 
and whose adoptive daughter was killed in the process.

Felix Rodriguez is presumed to have been one of the CIA agents who 
captured Ernesto ?Ch?? Guevara in Bolivia and who was involved in his 
assassination in 1962.

For the past several weeks, President Chavez has been saying that he 
has evidence that the Bush administration is planning his 
assassination. Bush spokespersons, such as Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice, have dismissed the charge, calling it ?absurd.? 
Chavez and officials from his government, however, have insisted that 
they have intelligence information about a possible assassination, but 
that they cannot reveal their sources, as this would ruin their 
investigations.

Venezuela?s Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez has also pointed out that 
the U.S. denied for a long time its involvement in the overthrow of the 
governments of Chile in 1973 or of Guatemala in 1954, but that their 
involvement was eventually proven.

Yesterday, the British newspaper Financial Times reported that, 
"Senior US administration officials are working on a policy to 'contain' 
President Hugo Chavez." the report went on to say, "A strategy aimed 
at fencing in the Ch?vez government is being prepared at the behest 
of President George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of 
state, senior US officials say."

The Financial Times quoted Roger Pardo-Maurer, deputy assistant 
secretary for western hemisphere affairs, as saying that, "Chavez is a 
problem because he is clearly using his oil money and influence to 
introduce his conflictive style into the politics of other countries."

Roger Pardo-Mauro became known during the Reagan 
administration's Iran-Contra scandal, when he was a spokesperson for 
the Nicaraguan Contras. He is also said to have met with Venezuela's 
top general, Lucas Rincon Romero, in the weeks prior to the April 2002 
coup.



-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 18 21:12:15 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 18 21:14:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Senator Pledges Fight in Energy Committee
Message-ID: <BE60F4AF.1F46F%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Senator Pledges Fight in Energy Committee
    U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell
    t r u t h o u t | Statement / Press Release

    Wednesday 16 March 2005

    Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today said the
fight to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling has only
begun. While the Senate today rejected on a 49-51 vote Cantwell's amendment
to the Senate budget resolution that would have stripped provisions paving
the way to Arctic drilling, the next battle will be fought in the Senate
Energy Committee.

    "The fight over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is far
from over," said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Energy Committee. "We
almost stopped this budget trickery on the floor today. But now that the
Energy Committee will consider this legislation, I'll be prepared to use
every tool at my disposal to stop drilling in the Arctic. We need a serious
national strategy to move us toward energy independence."

    "This will be a short-lived vote for those who want to drill in the
wildlife refuge," Cantwell added. "As this battle moves to the Energy
Committee, defenders of a sensible energy plan for the 21st Century will
live to fight another day."

    The Senate Budget Committee included in its version of the Fiscal Year
2006 budget resolution provisions that would pave the way to opening the
Arctic for oil drilling. As written, the budget directs the Senate Energy
Committee to come up with legislation by June 6 that would produce $2.7
billion in new federal revenue, including $2.5 billion from opening up the
Arctic Refuge's coastal plain to oil exploration and development. Special
rules that guide consideration of this "budget reconciliation" measure would
put drilling in the Artic on the fast-track to Senate approval. Last night
on the Senate floor, Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) said the
Committee would attempt to report the Arctic drilling measure in the next
four weeks.

    "Drilling in the Arctic is the wrong choice," Cantwell said. "But if
that's where we're headed in the Energy Committee, then we need to look
seriously at a number of issues. If we're going to destroy one of America's
last natural treasures for oil, shouldn't we require that that oil be sold
in the U.S. rather than exported? If we're going to sell off America's
future to the big oil companies, shouldn't' we make sure that our nation's
taxpayers get a fair share of the revenues? These are a few of the issues
we'll address in the Energy Committee," Cantwell said.

    Recent estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey suggest there are between
3.2 to 5 billion barrels of economically recoverable oil. The U.S. as a
whole was on track to use more than 7.4 billion barrels in 2004, or about
20.4 million barrels per day, according to the federal Energy Information
Administration (EIA). The EIA has also estimated that it would take seven to
10 years for oil from the Arctic to reach the market, meaning it would have
no effect on today's high gasoline prices.

    "We can't drill our way to energy independence in the Arctic," Cantwell
said. "Most Americans agree that drilling in a wildlife refuge - to secure a
six month supply of oil a decade from now-just isn't worth it. There are far
better options on the table that rely on American ingenuity, strategic
investment, and revitalizing existing sources of oil supply."

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 18 21:25:51 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 18 21:27:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Enron: Patron Saint of Bush's Fake News By Frank Rich
Message-ID: <BE60F7DF.1F471%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Enron: Patron Saint of Bush's Fake News
    By Frank Rich
    The New York Times

    Sunday 20 March 2005

    Just when Americans are being told it's safe to hand over their savings
to Wall Street again, he's baaaack! Looking not unlike Chucky, the demented
doll of perennial B-horror-movie renown, Ken Lay has crawled out of
Houston's shadows for a media curtain call.

    His trial is still months away, but there he was last Sunday on "60
Minutes," saying he knew nothin' 'bout nothin' that went down at Enron. This
week he is heading toward the best-seller list, as an involuntary star of
"Conspiracy of Fools," the New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald's epic
account of the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme anointed America's "most
innovative company" (six years in a row by Fortune magazine). Coming soon,
the feature film: Alex Gibney's "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," a
documentary seen at Sundance, goes into national release next month. As long
as you're not among those whose 401(k)'s and pensions were wiped out, it's
morbidly entertaining. In one surreal high point, Mr. Lay likens
investigations of Enron to terrorist attacks on America. For farce, there's
the sight of a beaming Alan Greenspan as he accepts the "Enron Award for
Distinguished Public Service" only days after Enron has confessed to filing
five years of bogus financial reports. Then again, given the implicit quid
pro quo in this smarmy tableau, maybe that's the Enron drama's answer to a
sex scene.

    The Bush administration, eager to sell the country on "personal" Social
Security accounts, cannot be all that pleased to see Kenny Boy again. He's
the poster boy for how big guys can rip off suckers in the stock market. He
also dredges up some inconvenient pre-9/11 memories of Bush family business.
Enron was the biggest Bush-Cheney campaign contributor in the 2000 election.
Kenny Boy and his lovely wife Linda flew the first President Bush and
Barbara Bush to the ensuing Inauguration on the Enron jet. Even as Enron was
presiding over rolling blackouts in California, Dick Cheney or his aides had
at least six meetings with the company's executives to carve up government
energy policy in 2001. Even now what exactly transpired at those meetings
remains a secret.

    But never mind. The president himself gave his word when the Enron
scandal broke that Kenny Boy was really more of a supporter of Ann Richards
anyway. Feeling our pain, Mr. Bush told us of his own personal tragedy: his
mother-in-law lost $8,000 she had invested in Enron. Soon stuff was
happening in Iraq, and the case was closed, or at least forgotten.

    Yet the larger shadows linger. Revisiting the Enron story as it
re-emerges in 2005 is to be reminded of just how much the Enron culture has
continued to shape the Bush administration long after the company itself
imploded and the Lays were eighty-sixed from the White House Christmas card
list.

    The enduring legacy of Enron can be summed up in one word: propaganda.
Here was a corporate house of cards whose business few could explain and
whose source of profits was an utter mystery - and yet it thrived,
unquestioned, for years. How? As the narrator says in "The Smartest Guys in
the Room," Enron "was fixated on its public relations campaigns." It churned
out slick PR videos as if it were a Hollywood studio. It browbeat the press
(until a young Fortune reporter, Bethany McLean, asked one question too
many). In a typical ruse in 1998, a gaggle of employees was rushed onto an
empty trading floor at the company's Houston headquarters to put on a
fictional show of busy trading for visiting Wall Street analysts being
escorted by Mr. Lay. "We brought some of our personal stuff, like pictures,
to make it look like the area was lived in," a laid-off Enron employee told
The Wall Street Journal in 2002. "We had to make believe we were on the
phone buying and selling" even though "some of the computers didn't even
work."

    If this Potemkin village sounds familiar, take a look at the ongoing
60-stop "presidential roadshow" in which Mr. Bush has "conversations on
Social Security" with "ordinary citizens" for the consumption of local and
national newscasts. As in the president's "town meeting" campaign
appearances last year, the audiences are stacked with prescreened fans; any
dissenters who somehow get in are quickly hustled away by security goons.
But as The Washington Post reported last weekend, the preparations are even
more elaborate than the finished product suggests; the seeming reality of
the event is tweaked as elaborately as that of a television reality show.
Not only are the panelists for these conversations recruited from
administration supporters, but they are rehearsed the night before, with a
White House official playing Mr. Bush. One participant told The Post, "We
ran through it five times before the president got there." Finalists who
vary just slightly from the administration's pitch are banished from the
cast at the last minute, "American Idol"-style.

    Like Enron's stockholders, American taxpayers pay for the production of
such propaganda, even if its message, like that of the Enron show put on for
visiting analysts, misrepresents and distorts the bottom line of the scheme
that is being sold. We paid for last year's phony television news reports in
which the faux reporter Karen Ryan "interviewed" administration officials
who gave partially deceptive information hyping the Medicare
prescription-drug program. We paid Armstrong Williams his $240,000 for
delivering faux-journalistic analysis of the No Child Left Behind act.

    The administration cycled the Ryan and Williams paychecks through the PR
giant Ketchum Communications. Ketchum was also one of the companies hired to
flack for Andersen, the now-defunct Enron accounting firm that shredded a
ton of documents. We don't know what, if any, role Ketchum is playing in the
White House's Social Security propaganda push, though we do know the company
has received at least $97 million from the government, according to a
Congressional report.

    That $97 million may yet prove a mere down payment. The Times reported
last weekend that the administration told executive-branch agencies simply
to ignore a stern directive by the Congressional Government Accountability
Office discouraging the use of "covert propaganda" like the Karen Ryan "news
reports." In other words, the brakes are off, and before long, the
government could have a larger budget for fake news than actual television
news divisions have for real news. At last weekend's Gridiron dinner, Mr.
Bush made a joke about how "most" of his good press on Social Security came
from Armstrong Williams, and the Washington press corps yukked it up. The
joke, however, is on them - and us.

    USA Today reported this month that the Department of Homeland Security,
having failed miserably to secure American ports and air transportation from
potential Al Qaeda attacks, has nonetheless shelled out $100,000-plus to
hire "a Hollywood liaison": Bobbie Faye Ferguson, an actress whose credits
include the movie "The Bermuda Triangle" and guest shots on television
schlock like "Designing Women" and "The Dukes of Hazzard." She will "work
with moviemakers and scriptwriters" to give us homeland security
infotainment - which is to actual homeland security what the movie
"Independence Day" is to an actual terrorist attack.

    Another propagandist with a rising profile is Susan Molinari, the
onetime CBS News personality who appears regularly on news shows like
"Hardball" and "Capitol Report." As she bloviates from the right about
Social Security or the fake newsman Jeff Gannon, she is invariably described
as "a former Republican Congresswoman" or a "CNBC political analyst." But
her actual current jobs remain mysteriously unmentioned: C.E.O. of the
Washington Group, Ketchum's lobbying firm, and president of Ketchum Public
Affairs. Were the Ketchum link disclosed, perhaps some real NBC reporter
might find the nerve to ask her what other Karen Ryans and Armstrong
Williamses might be on the Ketchum payroll. Or not.

    The Bush propagandists have been successful at many tasks, from
fomenting the canard that Iraqis attacked on 9/11 to deflecting moral
outrage from Abu Ghraib and toward indecency as defined by its Federal
Communications Commission. But Social Security may be a bridge too far even
for propaganda machinery of this heft. Polls find that an ever-increasing
majority of the country rejects the idea of letting Wall Street get its
hands on its retirement savings.

    Americans do have short memories, but it's the administration's bad luck
that not just Kenny Boy but a whole brigade of bubble plutocrats have lately
been yanked back into the spotlight by their legal travails: WorldCom's
Bernard J. Ebbers, Tyco's L. Dennis Kozlowski, HealthSouth's Richard M.
Scrushy, Global Crossing's Gary Winnick. No one is glad to see them. The
public knows that the economy has not fully mended, and that there remain
different economic rules for insiders than for the panelists drafted for the
presidential Social Security roadshow. The new bankruptcy bill embraced this
month by Republicans and Democrats alike throws Americans paying usurious
credit-card interest to the wolves even as wealthy debtors remain protected.

    You can catch the public mood in the reaction to Martha Stewart's
homecoming. Despite the news media's heavy-breathing efforts to hype her
emergence from jail as the heartwarming comeback of a born-again
humanitarian, the bottom line shows that few in the audience are buying it.
The Martha Stewart Omnimedia stock price started tumbling the moment she was
back on camera, in line with the cratered circulation and ad sales of her
magazine. Handing out hot cocoa to reporters at her Bedford, N.Y., estate
did not turn the tide, and her spinoff of "The Apprentice" may be arriving
just as the country is getting sick of C.E.O.'s again. Coincidentally or
not, ratings for the existing "Apprentice" are off in tandem with the filing
for bankruptcy protection by Donald Trump's casino empire, the saturation
coverage of his lavish nuptials and the introduction of a Trump fragrance.

    It's against this backdrop that the returning Mr. Lay - completely
unrepentant, still purporting on "60 Minutes" that he's an innocent victim
of others - could be the Democrats' new best friend. A Texas tycoon who
helped create the political career of George W. Bush only to be discarded
when scandal struck has re-emerged at just the precise moment when he might
do his old buddy the most harm.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From geomilman at milman.com  Fri Mar 18 23:18:30 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Fri Mar 18 23:20:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Highly recommended
Message-ID: <20050319071831.3E20A2270AD@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

I highly recommend subscribing to this free newsletter site.  I usually get
roughly 2 to 5 emails per day, many of which are quite interesting and right
on the money - especially if one follows the thread on a fairly regular
basis.  Declan McCullagh (see bio from the site below) includes viewpoints
from all sides when he thinks they are relevant.

 

Declan McCullagh is editor of the Politech web site and mailing list. 

McCullagh founded Politech in 1994, and since then it
<http://www.politechbot.com/info/about/> has grown into a venerable online
community. For his day job, McCullagh is the chief political correspondent
for CNET Networks's  <http://www.news.com/> News.com. He lives and works in
Washington DC. 

McCullagh's articles have appeared in scores of publications including
George magazine, The New Republic, the Wall Street Journal, Playboy
magazine, Communications of the ACM, and the Harvard Journal of Law and
Public Policy. He has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, ABC News'
Good Morning America, NBC Evening News, Court TV, and CNN. He has been an
Adjunct Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland,
Ohio for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years. Previously McCullagh was
the Washington bureau chief for Wired News, in addition to being a reporter
at Time Inc. and HotWired. 

McCullagh's photos have appeared in scores of publications including The New
York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, Gear magazine, and
Premiere magazine. They appear in the Getty Images archive. They have
appeared on magazine covers, book covers (most recently "Smoothing The Rough
Edges," about life in Istanbul) and have been incorporated into television
segments including programs created by the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation. He has worked on assignment for the Canadian

 

 

Unsubscribing is easy if you disagree, although I doubt you will.

 

 <http://www.politechbot.com/> http://www.politechbot.com/

 

George R. Milman

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 04:53:12 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar 19 04:55:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: 'One huge US jail'
Message-ID: <20050319125312.6FD6A1BDF@herring.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

'One huge US jail' Afganhanistan
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

'One huge US jail'
Afghanistan is the hub of a global network of detention centres, the frontline in America's 'war on terror', where arrest can be random and allegations of torture commonplace. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark investigate on the ground and talk to former prisoners
Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark
Saturday March 19 2005
The Guardian


Kabul was a grim, monastic place in the days of the Taliban; today it's a chaotic gathering point for every kind of prospector and carpetbagger. Foreign bidders vying for billions of dollars of telecoms, irrigation and construction contracts have sparked a property boom that has forced up rental prices in the Afghan capital to match those in London, Tokyo and Manhattan. Four years ago, the Ministry of Vice and Virtue in Kabul was a tool of the Taliban inquisition, a drab office building where heretics were locked up for such crimes as humming a popular love song. Now it's owned by an American entrepreneur who hopes its bitter associations won't scare away his new friends.Outside Kabul, Afghanistan is bleaker, its provinces more inaccessible and lawless, than it was under the Taliban. If anyone leaves town, they do so in convoys. Afghanistan is a place where it is easy for people to disappear and perilous for anyone to investigate their fate. Even a seasoned aid agency such as
  M&#233;d&#233;cins Sans Fronti&#232;res was forced to quit after five staff members were murdered last June. Only the 17,000-strong US forces, with their all-terrain Humvees and Apache attack helicopters, have the run of the land, and they have used the haze of fear and uncertainty that has engulfed the country to advance a draconian phase in the war against terror. Afghanistan has become the new Guant&#225;namo Bay.Washington likes to hold up Afghanistan as an exemplar of how a rogue regime can be replaced by democracy. Meanwhile, human-rights activists and Afghan politicians have accused the US military of placing Afghanistan at the hub of a global system of detention centres where prisoners are held incommunicado and allegedly subjected to torture. The secrecy surrounding them prevents any real independent investigation of the allegations. "The detention system in Afghanistan exists entirely outside international norms, but it is only part of a far larger and more sinist
 er jail network that we are only now beginning to understand," Michael Posner, director of the US legal watchdog Human Rights First, told us.When we landed in Kabul, Afghanistan was blue with a bruising cold. We were heading for the former al-Qaida strongholds in the south-east that were rumoured to be the focus of the new US network. How should we prepare, we asked local UN staff. "Don't go," they said. None the less, we were able to find a driver, a Pashtun translator and a boxful of clementines, and set off on a five-and-a-half-hour trip south through the snow to Gardez, a market town dominated by two rapidly expanding US military bases.There we met Dr Rafiullah Bidar, regional director of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, established in 2003 with funding from the US Congress to investigate abuses committed by local warlords and to ensure that women's and children's rights were protected. He was delighted to see foreigners in town. At his office in central G
 ardez, Bidar showed us a wall of files. "All I do nowadays is chart complaints against the US military," he said. "Many thousands of people have been rounded up and detained by them. Those who have been freed say that they were held alongside foreign detainees who've been brought to this country to be processed. No one is charged. No one is identified. No international monitors are allowed into the US jails." He pulled out a handful of files: "People who have been arrested say they've been brutalised - the tactics used are beyond belief." The jails are closed to outside observers, making it impossible to test the truth of the claims.Last November, a man from Gardez died of hypothermia in a US military jail. When his family were called to collect the body, they were given a $100 note for the taxi ride and no explanation. In scores more cases, people have simply disappeared.Prisoner transports crisscross the country between a proliferating network of detention facilities. In a
 ddition to the camps in Gardez, there are thought to be US holding facilities in the cities of Khost, Asadabad and Jalalabad, as well as an official US detention centre in Kandahar, where the tough regime has been nicknamed "Camp Slappy" by former prisoners. There are 20 more facilities in outlying US compounds and fire bases that complement a major "collection centre" at Bagram air force base. The CIA has one facility at Bagram and another, known as the "Salt Pit", in an abandoned brick factory north of Kabul. More than 1,500 prisoners from Afghanistan and many other countries are thought to be held in such jails, although no one knows for sure because the US military declines to comment.Anyone who has got in the way of the prison transports has been met with brutal force. Bidar directed us to a small Shia neighbourhood on the edge of town where a multiple killing was still under investigation. Inside a frozen courtyard, a former policeman, Said Sardar, 25, was sat beside h
 is crutches. On May 1 2004, he was manning a checkpoint when a car careened through. "Inside were men dressed like Arabs, but they were western men," he said. "They had prisoners in the car." Sardar fired a warning shot for the car to stop. "The western men returned fire and within minutes two US attack helicopters hovered above us. They fired three rockets at the police station. One screamed past me. I saw its fiery tail and blacked out."He was taken to Bagram, where US military doctors had to amputate his leg. Afterwards, he said, "an American woman appeared. She said the US was sorry. It was a mistake. The men in the car were Special Forces or CIA on a mission. She gave me $500." Sardar showed us into another room in his compound where a circle of children stared glumly at us; their fathers, all policemen, were killed in the same incident. "Five dead. Four in hospital. To protect covert US prisoner transports," he says. Later, US helicopters were deployed in two similar i
 ncidents that left nine dead.In his builders' merchant's shop, Mohammed Timouri describes how he lost his son. "Ismail was a part-time taxi driver, waiting to go to college," he says, handing us a photograph of a beardless, short-haired 19-year-old held aloft in a coffin at his funeral last March. "A convoy delivering prisoners from a facility in Jalalabad to one in Kabul became snarled up in traffic. A US soldier jumped down and lifted a woman out of the way. She screamed. Ismail stepped forward to explain she was a conservative person, wearing a burka. The soldier dropped the woman and shot Ismail in front of a crowd of 20 people."Mohammed received a letter from the Afghan police: "We apologise to you," the police chief wrote. "An innocent was killed by Americans." The US army declined to comment on Ismail's death or on a second fatal shooting by another prison transport at the same crossroads later that month. It also refused to comment on an incident outside Kabul when a
  prison patrol reportedly cleared a crowd of children by throwing a grenade into their midst. However, we have since heard that the CIA's inspector general is investigating at least eight serious incidents, including two deaths in custody, following complaints by agents about the activities of their military colleagues.There are insurgents active in the Gardez area, as there are throughout the south of Afghanistan, remnants of the old order and the newly disaffected. Every morning it takes Afghan police several hours to pick along the highway unearthing explosives concealed overnight. And so it was mid-morning before we were able to leave town, crawling over the Gardez-Khost pass, some 10,000ft high. No one saw us slipping on to the fertile Khost plain, where Osama bin Laden once had his training camps - the camps were destroyed by US cruise missiles in August 1998. Today a shrine to Taliban loyalists still greets travellers to the city, although no one here would say they p
 referred the old life.US Camp Salerno, the largest base outside Kabul, dominates the area around Khost. Inside the city, Kamal Sadat, a local stringer for BBC World Service, told how he was detained last September and found himself locked up in a prison filled with suspects from many countries. "Even though I showed my press accreditation, I was hooded, driven to Salerno and then flown to another US base. I had no idea where I was or why I had been detained." He was held in a small wooden cell, and soldiers combed through his notebooks, copying down names and phone numbers. "Every time I was moved within the base, I was hooded again. Every prisoner has to maintain absolute silence. I could hear helicopters whirring above me. Prisoners were arriving and leaving all the time. There were also cells beneath me, under the ground." After three days, Sadat was flown back to Khost and freed without explanation. "It was only later I learned that I had been held in Bagram. If the BBC 
 had not intervened, I fear I would not have got out." After his release, the US military said it had all been a misunderstanding, and apologised.Camp Salerno, which houses the 1,200 troops of US Combined Taskforce Thunder, was being expanded when we arrived. Army tents were being replaced with concrete dormitories. The detention facility, concealed behind a perimeter of opaque green webbing, was being modernised and enlarged. Ensconced in a Soviet-era staff building was the camp's commanding officer, Colonel Gary Cheeks. He listened calmly as we asked about the allegations of torture, deaths and disappearances at US detention facilities including Salerno. We read to him from a complaint made by a UN official in Kabul that accused the US military of using "cowboy-like excessive force". He eased forward in his chair: "There have been some tragic accidents for which we have apologised. Some people have been paid compensation."We put to him the specific case of Mohammed Khan, fr
 om a village near the Pakistan border, who died in custody at Camp Salerno: his relatives say his body showed signs of torture. "You could go on for ages with a 'he said, she said'. You have to take my word for it," said Cheeks. He remembered Khan's death: "He was bitten by a snake and died in his cell." He added, "We are building new holding cells here to make life better for detainees. We are systematising our prison programme across the country."For what reason? "So all guards and interrogators behave by the same code of behaviour," the colonel said. Is it not the case that an ever-increasing number of prisoners have vanished, while others are being shuttled between jails to keep their families in the dark? Cheeks moved towards his office door: "There are many things that are distorted. No one has vanished here ... Look, the war against the Taliban is one small part. I want the Afghan people with us. They are the key to ending conflict. If they fear us or we do wrong by t
 hem, then we have lost."However, many Afghans who celebrated the fall of the Taliban have long lost faith in the US military. In Kabul, Nader Nadery, of the Human Rights Commission, told us, "Afghanistan is being transformed into an enormous US jail. What we have here is a military strategy that has spawned serious human rights abuses, a system of which Afghanistan is but one part." In the past 18 months, the commission has logged more than 800 allegations of human rights abuses committed by US troops.The Afghan government privately shares Nadery's fears. One minister, who asked not to be named, said, "Washington holds Afghanistan up to the world as a nascent democracy and yet the US military has deliberately kept us down, using our country to host a prison system that seems to be administered arbitrarily, indiscriminately and without accountability."What has been glimpsed in Afghanistan is a radical plan to replace Guant&#225;namo Bay. When that detention centre was set up 
 in January 2002, it was essentially an offshore gulag - beyond the reach of the US constitution and even the Geneva conventions. That all changed in July 2004. The US supreme court ruled that the federal court in Washington had jurisdiction to hear a case that would decide if the Cuban detentions were in violation of the US constitution, its laws or treaties. The military commissions, which had been intended to dispense justice to the prisoners, were in disarray, too. No prosecution cases had been prepared and no defence cases would be readily offered as the US National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers had described the commissions as unethical, a decision backed by a federal judge who ruled in January that they were "illegal". Guant&#225;namo was suddenly bogged down in domestic lawsuits. It had lost its practicality. So a global prison network built up over the previous three years, beyond the reach of American and European judicial process, immediately began to pic
 k up the slack. The process became explicit last week when the Pentagon announced that half of the 540 or so inmates at Guant&#225;namo are to be transferred to prisons in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.Since September 11 2001, one of the US's chief strategies in its "war on terror" has been to imprison anyone considered a suspect on whatever grounds. To that end it commandeered foreign jails, built cellblocks at US military bases and established covert CIA facilities that can be located almost anywhere, from an apartment block to a shipping container. The network has no visible infrastructure - no prison rolls, visitor rosters, staff lists or complaints procedures. Terror suspects are being processed in Afghanistan and in dozens of facilities in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the British island of Diego Garcia in the southern Indian Ocean. Those detained are held incommunicado, without charge or trial, and frequently shuttled between ja
 ils in covert air transports, giving rise to the recently coined US military expression "ghost detainees".Most of the countries hosting these invisible prisons are already partners in the US coalition. Others, notably Syria, are pragmatic associates, which work privately alongside the CIA and US Special Forces, despite bellicose public statements from President Bush (he has condemned Syria for harbouring terrorism, for aiding the remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime, and most recently has demanded that Syrian troops quit Lebanon).All the host countries are renowned for their poor human rights records, enabling interrogators (US soldiers, contractors and their local partners) to operate. We have obtained prisoner letters, declassified FBI files, legal depositions, witness statements and testimony from US and UK officials, which document the alleged methods deployed in Afghanistan - shackles, hoods, electrocution, whips, mock executions, sexual humiliation and starvation - an
 d suggest they are practised across the network. Sir Nigel Rodley, a former UN special rapporteur on torture, said, "The more hidden detention practices there are, the more likely that all legal and moral constraints on official behaviour will be removed."The only "ghost detainees" to have been identified by Washington are a handful of high-profile al-Qaida operatives such as Abu Zubayda, Bin Laden's lieutenant, who vanished after being picked up by Pakistani authorities in Faisalabad in March 2002. In June of that year, US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Zubayda was "under US control". He did not say where, although sources in the Pakistani government said Zubayda was being held at a CIA facility in their country.In May 2003, Bush clarified the fate of Waleed Muhammad bin Attash, an alleged conspirator in the USS Cole bombing, who disappeared after being arrested by police in Pakistan in April 2003. Bush described Attash as "a killer ... one less person that people w
 ho love freedom have to worry about"; he is also one more person who has never appeared on a US prison roll.In June 2004, a senior counterterrorism official in Britain confirmed that Hambali (a nom de guerre) - accused of organising the October 2002 Bali bombings and unseen since Thai police seized him in August 2003 - was "singing like a bird", apparently at the US base on Diego Garcia.Evidence we have collected, however, shows that many more of those swept up in the network have few provable connections to any outlawed organisation; experts in the field describe their value in the war against terror as "negligible". Former prisoners claim they were released only after naming names, coerced into making false confessions that led to the arrests of more people unconnected to terrorism, in a system of justice that owes more to Stanley Milgram's Six Degrees Of Separation - where anyone can be linked to everyone else in the world in as many stages - than to analytical jurisprude
 nce.The floating population of "ghost detainees", according to US and UK military officials, now exceeds 10,000.The roots of the prison network can be traced to the legal wrangles that began as soon as the first terror suspects were rounded up just weeks after the September 11 attacks. As CIA agents and US forces began to capture suspected al-Qaida fighters in the war in Afghanistan, Alberto Gonzales, White House counsel, looked for ways to "dispense justice swiftly, close to where our forces may be fighting, without years of pre-trial proceedings or post-trial appeals".On November 13 2001, George Bush signed an order to establish military commissions to try "enemy belligerents" who commit war crimes. At such a commission, a foreign war criminal would have no choice over his defence counsel, no right to know the evidence against him, no way of obtaining any evidence in his favour and no right of attorney-client confidentiality. Defending the commissions, Gonzales (now promot
 ed to US attorney general) insisted, "The suggestion that [they] will afford only sham justice like that dispensed in dictatorial nations is an insult to our military justice system."When the first prisoners arrived at Guant&#225;namo Bay in January 2002, Donald Rumsfeld announced that they were all Taliban or al-Qaida fighters, and as such were designated "unlawful combatants". The US administration argued that al-Qaida and the Taliban were not the official army of Afghanistan, but a criminal force that did not wear uniforms, could not be distinguished from civilians and practised war crimes; on this basis, the administration claimed, it was entitled to sidestep the Geneva conventions and normal legal constraints.From there, it was only a small moral step for the Bush administration to overlook the use of torture by regimes previously condemned by the US state department, so long as they, too, signed up to the war against terror. "Egypt, Jordan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesi
 a, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and even Syria were all asked to make their detention facilities and expert interrogators available to the US," one former counterterrorism agent told us.In the UK, a similar process began unfolding. In December 2001, the then home secretary David Blunkett withdrew Britain from its obligation under the European human rights treaty not to detain anyone without trial; on December 18, the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act was passed, extending the government's powers of arrest and detention. Within 24 hours, 10 men were seized in dawn raids on their homes and taken to Belmarsh and Woodhill prisons (some of them will have been among those released in the past week).Subsequently the Foreign Office subtly modified internal guidance to diplomats, enabling them to use intelligence obtained through torture. A letter from the Foreign &amp; Commonwealth Office directorate sent to Sir Michael Jay, head of the diplomatic service, and Mathew Kidd of Whitehall 
 liaison, a euphemism for MI6, suggested in March 2003 that although such intelligence was inadmissible as evidence in a UK court, it could still be received and acted upon by the British government. The government's attitude was spelt out to the Intelligence and Security Committee of MPs and peers by foreign secretary Jack Straw who, while acknowledging that torture was "completely unacceptable" and that information obtained under torture is more likely to be embellished, concluded, "you cannot ignore it if the price of ignoring it is 3,000 people dead" &#91;a reference to the September 11 attacks&#93;.One former ambassador told us, "This was new ground for the FCO. As long as we didn't do it, we're OK. But by taking advantage of this intelligence, we're encouraging the use of torture and, in my opinion, are in contravention of the UN Convention Against Torture. What worried me most was that information obtained under torture, given credence by some gung-ho Whitehall warrior
 , could be used to keep another poor soul locked up without trial or charge."Although the true extent of the US extra-legal network is only now becoming apparent, people began to disappear as early as 2001 when the US asked its allies in Europe and the Middle East to examine their refugee communities in search of possible terror cells, such as that run by Mohammed Atta in Hamburg which had planned and executed the September 11 attacks. Among the first to vanish was Ahmed Agiza, an Egyptian asylum seeker who had been living in Sweden with his wife and children for three years. Hanan, Agiza's wife, told us how on December 18 2001 her husband failed to return home from his language class."The phone rang at 5pm. It was Ahmed. He said he'd been arrested and then the line went dead. The next day our lawyer told me that Ahmed was being sent back to Egypt. It would be better if he was dead." Agiza and his family had fled Egypt in 1991, after years of persecution, and in absentia he 
 had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court. Hanan said, "I called my mother-in-law in Egypt. Finally, in April, she was allowed to see Ahmed in Mazrah Torah prison, in Cairo, when he revealed what had happened."On December 18 2001, Agiza and a second Egyptian refugee, Mohammed Al-Zery, had been arrested by Swedish intelligence acting upon a request from the US. They were driven, shackled and blindfolded, to Stockholm's Bromma airport, where they were cuffed and cut from their clothes. Suppositories were inserted into both men's anuses, they were wrapped in plastic nappies, dressed in jumpsuits and handed over to an American aircrew who flew them out of Sweden on a private executive jet.Agiza and Al-Zery landed in Cairo at 3am the next morning and were taken to the state security investigation office, where they were held in solitary confinement in underground cells. Mohammed Zarai, former director of the Cairo-based Human Rights Centre for the Assistance of 
 Prisoners, told us that Agiza was repeatedly electrocuted, hung upside down, whipped with an electrical flex and hospitalised after being made to lick his cell floor clean. Hanan, who was granted asylum in Sweden in 2004, said, "I can't sleep at night without expecting someone to knock on the door and send us away on a plane to a place that scares me more than anything else. What can Ahmed do?" Her husband is still incarcerated in Cairo, while Al-Zery is under house arrest there. There have been calls for an international independent investigation into the roles of the Swedish, US and Egyptian authorities.We were able to chart the toing and froing of the private executive jet used at Bromma partly through the observations of plane-spotters posted on the web and partly through a senior source in the Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence agency (ISI). It was a Gulfstream V Turbo, tailfin number N379P; its flight plans always began at an airstrip in Smithfield, North Carolina, a
 nd ended in some of the world's hot spots. It was owned by Premier Executive Transport Services, incorporated in Delaware, a brass plaque company with nonexistent directors, hired by American agents to revive an old CIA tactic from the 1970s, when agency men had kidnapped South American criminals and flown them back to their own countries to face trial so that justice could be rendered. Now "rendering" was being used by the Bush administration to evade justice.Robert Baer, a CIA case officer in the Middle East until 1997, told us how it works. "We pick up a suspect or we arrange for one of our partner countries to do it. Then the suspect is placed on civilian transport to a third country where, let's make no bones about it, they use torture. If you want a good interrogation, you send someone to Jordan. If you want them to be killed, you send them to Egypt or Syria. Either way, the US cannot be blamed as it is not doing the heavy work."The Agiza and Al-Zery cases were not the
  first in which the Gulfstream was used. On October 23 2001, at 2.40am at Karachi airport, it picked up Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed, a Yemeni microbiologist who had been arrested by Pakistan's ISI and was wanted in connection with the USS Cole attack. On January 10 2002, the jet was used again, taking off from Halim airport in Jakarta with a hooded and shackled Mohammed Saeed Iqbal Madni on board, an Egyptian accused of being an accomplice of British shoe bomber Richard Reid. Madni was flown to Cairo where, according to the Human Rights Centre for the Assistance of Prisoners, he died during interrogation.Since then, the jet has been used at least 72 times, including a flight in June 2002 when it landed in Morocco to pick up German national Mohammed Zamar, who was "rendered" to Syria, his country of origin, before disappearing.It was in December 2001 that the US began to commandeer foreign jails so that its own interrogators could work on prisoners within them. Among the first
  were Haripur and Kohat, no-frills prisons in the lawless North West Frontier Province of Pakistan which now hold nearly as many detainees as Guant&#225;namo. In January, we attempted to visit Kohat jail, but as we drove towards the security perimeter our vehicle was turned back by ISI agents and we were escorted back to the nearby city of Peshawar. We eventually located several former detainees, including Mohammed, a university student who described how he was arrested and then initially interrogated in one of many covert ISI holding centres that are being jointly run with the CIA. Mohammed said, "I was questioned for four weeks in a windowless room by plain-clothed US agents. I didn't know if it was day or night. They said they could make me disappear." One day he was bundled into a vehicle. "I arrived in Kohat jail. There were 100 prisoners from all over the Middle East. Later I was moved to Haripur where there were even more."Adil, another detainee who was held for three
  years in Haripur after illegally crossing into Pakistan from Afghanistan, where he had escaped from the Taliban, says, "US interrogators came and went as they pleased." Both Mohammed and Adil said they were often taken from the hot cell and doused with ice-cold water. Adil says, "American women ordered us to get undressed. They'd touch us and taunt us. They made us lie naked on top of each other and simulate acts."Mohammed and Adil were released without charge in November 2004 but, according to legal depositions, there are still 400 prisoners detained in the jails at the request of the US. Among them are many who it is extremely unlikely took part in the Afghan war: they are too young or too old to have been combatants. Some have taken legal action against the Pakistani authorities for breach of human rights.A military intelligence official in Washington told us that no one in the US administration seemed concerned about the impact of the coercive tactics practised by the g
 rowing global network on the quality of intelligence obtained, although there was plenty of evidence it was unreliable. On September 26 2002, Maher Arar, a 34-year-old Canadian computer scientist, was arrested at New York's JFK airport as a result of a paper-thin evidential chain. Syrian-born Arar told us, "I was pulled aside by US immigration at 2pm. I told them I had a connecting flight to Montreal where I had a job interview." However, Arar was "rendered" in a private jet, via Washington, Portland and Rome, landing in Amman, Jordan, where he was held at what a Jordanian source described as a US-run interrogation centre. From there, he was handed over to Syria, the country he had left as a 17-year-old boy. He says he spent the next 12 months being tortured and in solitary confinement, unaware that someone he barely knew had named him as a terrorist.The chain of events that led to Arar's arrest, or kidnapping, began in November 2001, when another Canadian, Ahmad Abou El-Maa
 ti, from Montreal, was arrested at Damascus airport. He was accused of being a terrorist and asked to identify his al-Qaida connections. By the time he'd endured two years of torture, El-Maati had reeled off the names of everyone he knew in Montreal, including Abdullah Almalki, an electrical engineer. Almalki was arrested as he flew into Damascus airport to join his parents on holiday in May 2002, and would spend the next two years being tortured in a Syrian detention facility.Almalki knew Arward Al-Bousha, also from Ottawa, who in July 2002, upon arriving in Damascus to visit his dying father, was also arrested. El-Maati, Almalki and Al-Bousha all knew Maher Arar by sight through Muslim community events in Ottawa. After his release from jail in Syria, uncharged, in January 2004, El-Maati admitted that he had erroneously named Maher Arar as a terrorist to "stop the vicious torture". Arar, who was eventually released in October 2003 after a Syrian court threw out a coerced co
 nfession in which he said he had been trained by al-Qaida, told us, "I am not a terrorist. I don't know anyone who is. But the tolerant Muslim community I come from here in Canada has become vitriolic and demoralised." Arar's case is now the subject of a judicial inquiry in Canada, but since his release and that of Al-Bousha and Almalki, another five men from Ottawa have been detained in Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.Five days after the US supreme court ruled in July 2004 that federal courts had jurisdiction over Guant&#225;namo, Naeem Noor Khan, a 25-year-old computer programmer from Karachi, disappeared during a business trip to Lahore. He was not taken to Guant&#225;namo. His father Hayat told us that he learned of his son's fate after a neighbour called on August 2 to say that US newspapers were running a story about "the capture of a figure from al-Qaida in Pakistan" who had led "the CIA to a rich lode of information". An unnamed US intelligence official claimed Naeem N
 oor Khan operated websites and email addresses for al-Qaida. The following day Pakistan's information minister trumpeted the ISI's seizure of Naeem Noor Khan on behalf of the US on July 13. The prisoner had "confessed to receiving 25 days of military training from an al-Qaida camp in June 1998". No corroborative evidence was offered.Babar Awan, one of Pakistan's leading advocates, representing the family, said he had learned from a contact in the Pakistani government that Naeem Noor Khan was wanted by the US, having been named by one of a group of Malaysian students who had been detained incommunicado and threatened with torture in Pakistan in September 2003. Awan said, "The student was subsequently freed uncharged and described how he was threatened until he offered the names of anyone he had met in Pakistan. There is no evidence against Naeem Noor Khan except for this coerced statement, and even worse he has now vanished and so there is no prison to petition for his releas
 e."Khan had been swallowed up by a catch-all system that gathers up anyone connected by even a thread to terror. Unable to distinguish its friends from its enemies, the US suspects both.Dawn broke on the festival of Eid and four US army vehicles gunned their engines in preparation for a "hearts and minds" operation in Khost city, Afghanistan. A roll call of marines, each with their blood group scrawled on their boots, was ticked off and we were added to the muster. The convoy hurtled towards the city. Men and boys began to run alongside. First a handful and then a dozen. The crowd was heading for a vast prayer ground, and soon there were thousands of devotees in brand newEid caps and starched shalwas marching out to pray. The US Humvees pulled over. The armoured personnel carriers, too. A dozen US marines stepped down, eyes obscured by goggles, faces by balaclavas.They fell into formation and stomped into the crowd while a group of Afghan police looked on incredulously. "Kee
 p tight. Keep tight. Keep looking all around us," a US marines captain shouted. More than 10,000 Pashtun men were now on their knees praying as a line of khaki pushed between them.An egg flew. Then another. "One more, sir, and the guy who did it is going down," a young sergeant mumbled, as the disturbed crowd rose to its feet. Bearded men with Kalashnikovs emerged from behind a stone wall and edged towards us, cutting off our path. The line of khaki began to panic, and jostled the children. "Back away, back away now," shouted the sergeant. Suddenly an armoured personnel carrier roared to meet us. "Jump up, people," the captain shouted, and the convoy sped back to Camp Salerno.And perhaps this event above all others - of a nervous phalanx of US marines forcing its way across a prayer ground on one of the holiest, most joyous days in the Islamic calendar, an itching trigger away from a Somalian-style dogfight of their own making - is the one that encapsulates everything that h
 as gone wrong with the global war against terror. The US army came to Afghanistan as liberators and now are feared as governors, judges and jailers. How many US marines know what James Madison, an architect of the US constitution, wrote in 1788? Reflecting on the War of Independence in which Americans were arbitrarily arrested and detained without trial by British forces, Madison concluded that the "accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny"

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 05:16:58 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:19:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Murder victim's sisters return to
	more hostile climate in Belfast
Message-ID: <20050319131658.76CA63B4F@mullet.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

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Note from HS:

IRA intimidation machine a work again. The IRA is above all laws. They are now criminals/gangsters using politics as their sheild!
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To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Murder victim's sisters return to more hostile climate in Belfast
The McCartney family's trip to the US is part of a wider plot to harm Sinn FÃ©in, some republicans allege
Angelique Chrisafis, Ireland correspondent
Saturday March 19 2005
The Guardian


On the radio phone-ins, the barometer of Northern Ireland's bottomless pit of moral outrage, some republican voices have raged about the plot to destroy their movement.  

The McCartney sisters were making "a complete political issue" of their brother's killing by IRA members, one said.  

American Teresa McShane was affronted, having not had a shred of help from her own government since her husband was crushed to death by an army personnel carrier in Derry nine years ago. She too was convinced the McCartneys were "being used" as a part of an anti-republican crusade.  

The Belfast to which the sisters and fiancee of Robert McCartney are returning this weekend is a more hostile place than the one they left. Despite the hundreds of interviews in Washington and an audience with the president, they are no closer to justice. Their brother's killers are still   free to saunter to the bookies near their home.  

But the fight the family faces has got tougher. Republican gloves have come off. Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams have publicly suggested that a political machine is manipulating the sisters to damage Sinn F&#233;in.  

The feeling that republicans are being victimised echoes the fury of one woman in the tea-room at Sinn F&#233;in's party conference two weeks ago, who complained: "My husband was murdered by loyalists. Why should these women get more publicity than anyone else?"  

The family has long complained of a whispering campaign against it. But Sinn F&#233;in's line now that political enemies are exploiting the McCartneys seems meant to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of a wider nationalist community pained and confused by the murder and its implications.  

When Mr McGuinness gives you a piece of friendly advice, and you live in a republican area of Belfast, it's a good idea to listen. His "well-intentioned" words to the McCartney sisters this week to keep their noses out of party politics was interpreted as a threat. He denied this. But many saw it as a bid to stop them running as highly embarrassing independents in May's elections. Catherine McCartney has since decided not to stand. Paula McCartney may still run for a council seat.  

Mr McGuinness claimed the sisters were being secretly advised by a Svengali figure who was against the Good Friday agreement - Anthony McIntyre, an ex-IRA prisoner and a prominent republican critic of Sinn F&#233;in.  

Mr McIntyre, who served 18 years in the Maze, contributes to the Blanket, one of the most read political websites in Northern Ireland. He dismissed claims that he had called himself an adviser to the McCartneys. He interviewed the sisters forthe website soon after the murder, and attended the vigil and funeral. But he had not advised them, he said, nor did they need advice.  

The McCartneys laugh off the suggestion that Mr McIntyre or anyone else is pulling their strings. Catherine McCartney is a politics lecturer who trains women to become community activists. She finds it strange that anyone doubts her ability to run a campaign.  

Belfast was still a macho and sexist place, she said. "Just because we are women, people underestimate us, hoping to find someone behind us."  

The McCartney sisters have no PR people or fixers, something which shocked and frustrated Washington politicians and the media when they arrived in the US. They write their own statements on A4 pads in their kitchen, surrounded by their children and cups of tea.  

As republicans and Sinn F&#233;in voters themselves, they made a point of appearing with Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness at Sinn F&#233;in's conference earlier this month.  

But the sisters' growing frustration with the party was becoming clear even as they left for Washington. When it emerged that three Sinn F&#233;in election candidates were in Magennis's bar on the night of the murder and had made statements to solicitors saying they saw nothing, Paula said the situation "stinks of a cover-up".  

One former Sinn F&#233;in assembly candidate, Cora Groogan, said she had seen nothing. But a taxi driver who picked her up half an hour after the initial bar brawl told a Sunday newspaper: "She told me Magennis's had erupted and there were glasses and bottles flying everywhere."  

Gemma McCartney, noting that many people in the bar were probably members of Sinn F&#233;in or the IRA, said the lack of witnesses who had seen anything was sinister.  

Sinn F&#233;in has now turned the spotlight on the police, saying they are deliberately holding up the investigation in order to damage the party.  

It said a key suspect made himself available to police for interview this week but was turned away. One witness had named the person who hit him with a steel bar outside Magennis's.  

A second witness had named people involved in the bar brawl, and a third said he could pick out McCartney's attackers in an identity parade, it said. Mr Adams questioned why charges had not been brought against those named, and why an identity parade had not been arranged.  

The chief constable, Hugh Orde, dismissed claims of political manipulation. Witnesses were not coming forward to give evidence, so the investigation could not progress quickly, he said.  

The SDLP accused Sinn F&#233;in of creating a "smokescreen". The police ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, could launch an inquiry were she to suspect officers of behaving inappropriately, but has not intervened.  

Catherine McCartney said: "The police are accountable and under scrutiny. The only people who aren't accountable are the IRA."  

Whether all these accusations are damaging the McCartneys, who still have overwhelming support, or Sinn F&#233;in itself, remains to be seen.

Timeline of events

 Tuesday am  

Dismissing a warning by Sinn Fein to stay out of US politics, four of the sisters of the murdered 33-year-old Belfast man Robert McCartney - Gemma, Donna, Claire and Catherine - arrived at Dublin airport to collect their tickets ahead of their St Patrick's Day meeting with US President George Bush. Prior to boarding the Baltimore flight, Catherine McCartney said: 'We are being very careful not to be used - we're not stupid women. The only person behind this is our Robert.' 

 Tuesday pm   

On arriving at Baltimore Washington International airport the five McCartney sisters, now joined by Paula and their brother's fiancee, Bridgeen Hagans, give a further press conference at which they promise to dispel any romantic visions that the US might have about the Irish Republican Army.  

 Wednesday  

Senator Edward Kennedy the US's most influential Irish-American politician, welcomes the sisters to Capitol Hill. He said that their presence in Washington sent 'a very powerful signal that it's time for the IRA to fully decommission, end all criminal activity and cease to exist as a paramilitary organisation'. Earlier, Senator Kennedy had pointedly refused to meet Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.  

 Thursday   

President Bush, with the Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern beside him, shakes hands with Robert McCartney's sister Paula as Bridgeen Hagans and Catherine look on. During their St Patrick's Day meeting at the White House, the visitors gave Mr Bush details of their claim that IRA members murdered Robert McCartney in a brawl in a Belfast bar on January 30.   

 Thursday, later   

Bridgeen Hagans and the McCartney sisters leave the White House. According to Paula McCartney, the president appeared to have a 'very good understanding' of their campaign and told them that he was 100% behind them.  

Catherine McCartney added: 'He said he believed we would get justice, and he felt that the peace process was not safe unless justice was done.'  

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 05:38:10 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:40:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] I thought you would be interested to read this article
	from The Times
Message-ID: <200503191338.j2JDcA916336@php-web3.wpng.newsint.co.uk.>



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-1530888,00.html
                 'Something was going to happen &#150; it was going to be me or him' An investigation by <i>The Times</i> has found clear evidence that Syria assassinated Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese politician
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 05:48:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:50:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Car Bomb Wounds 9 in Lebanon,
	Raising Tensions
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INTERNATIONAL | March 19, 2005

Car Bomb Wounds 9 in Lebanon, Raising Tensions
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- Investigators searched the rubble of a car-bombed building in Beirut for clues to an attack Saturday that boosted fears of renewed bloodshed in Lebanon and complicated already troubled negotiations between rival political groups over the formation of a new government.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Lebanon-Syria.html?ex=1111899600&en=5c41700103d7cb6a&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 05:48:43 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:50:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: President Bush's Debt
Message-ID: <20050319134844.5AF7638809D@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 19, 2005

Editorial: President Bush's Debt


In return for his unwavering support on Iraq, Tony Blair is asking a noble favor of President Bush: Help us stamp out world poverty.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/opinion/19sat2.html?ex=1111899600&en=299161168e66369e&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 05:49:22 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:51:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Captains of Piracy
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OPINION | March 19, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Captains of Piracy
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

In Russia, those who manipulate capitalism for personal gain are called oligarchs. Here they have a different name: C.E.O.'s.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/opinion/19kristof.html?ex=1111899600&en=74c50b2b54be3982&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 05:49:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:51:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Do-Nothing Conspiracy
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OPINION | March 19, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Do-Nothing Conspiracy
By DAVID BROOKS

The combination of the looming fiscal crisis and the increasing polarization of the political class paints a grim future for politics in this country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/opinion/19brooks.html?ex=1111899600&en=d5a612977771a77e&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 05:50:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:52:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: After 2 Years,
	Lessons From a War (4 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050319135029.2FF5224AFB1@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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What we're saying...


OPINION | March 19, 2005

After 2 Years, Lessons From a War (4 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/opinion/l19iraq.html?ex=1111899600&en=0c7e8f59c0ef675b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 05:52:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:54:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Syria's Leader Moves to Consolidate His
	Power
Message-ID: <20050319135245.8C0A313B7C5@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 19, 2005

Syria's Leader Moves to Consolidate His Power
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

Syria's president has started a campaign to consolidate power in the midst of the crisis over Syria's domination of Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/international/middleeast/19syria.html?ex=1111899600&en=c5aba0cf131aa7e7&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 05:53:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 05:55:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: C.I.A. Says Approved Methods of Questioning
	Are All Legal
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INTERNATIONAL | March 19, 2005

C.I.A. Says Approved Methods of Questioning Are All Legal
By DOUGLAS JEHL

The C.I.A. said that all interrogation techniques approved for use in questioning terrorism suspects were permissible under laws prohibiting torture.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/international/19intel.html?ex=1111899600&en=fd4f23299f96d8ec&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 06:03:43 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 06:05:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Insurgency Is Fading Fast,
	Top Marine in Iraq Says
Message-ID: <20050319140344.8FEB81645A2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 19, 2005

Insurgency Is Fading Fast, Top Marine in Iraq Says
By ERIC SCHMITT

The top Marine officer in Iraq said that the number of insurgent attacks in western Iraq and death tolls had dropped sharply over the last four months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/international/middleeast/19marine.html?ex=1111899600&en=0d5dcf2be499519e&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 19 06:04:07 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 06:06:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 
	NYTimes.com: Talks in Lebanon Stall, Threatening Election
Message-ID: <20050319140407.769B91645A2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 19, 2005

Talks in Lebanon Stall, Threatening Election
By DEXTER FILKINS

BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 18 - Political leaders trying to form a new government in the wake of the last month's upheavals said Friday that negotiations had stalled, raising the possibility that nationwide elections scheduled for this spring might be postponed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/international/middleeast/19lebanon.html?ex=1111899600&en=7e6028bbea9aba9e&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 19 07:39:29 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 19 07:41:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9364818.1111246769785.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Defense Dept. Surveys Academy Sex Assaults
 
 By Daniel de Vise
 
  One female student in seven attending the nation's military academies last spring said she had been sexually assaulted since becoming a cadet or midshipman, according to a report on the first survey of sexual misconduct on the three campuses released yesterday by the Defense Department.
 
 More than half the women studying at the Naval, Air Force and Army academies reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment on campus, according to survey responses. But few of those incidents, and only a third of the assaults, were reported to authorities. A new confidentiality policy for assault victims, also released yesterday, attempts to improve reporting of sex crimes on military campuses.
 
 The survey, conducted largely in response to allegations of widespread sexual harassment and assault at the Air Force Academy in 2003, suggests a prevailing climate at the academies that worries military leaders. Too many students condone off-color jokes and unwanted sexual advances. Too few dare to confront classmates with their transgressions or to report them to anyone else, the survey shows. 
 
 "The very idea that anyone here at the academy family could be part of an environment that fosters sexual harassment, misconduct or even assault is of great concern to me; it keeps me awake at night," Vice Adm. Rodney Rempt, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, said in a statement.
 
 In March and April 2004, the Defense Department surveyed 1,906 women, or nearly all of the 1,971 who attend the three academies, along with a representative sample of 3,107 men. The survey attempted to go beyond general impressions, to "drill down and actually find out what happened" to each victim of assault or harassment, said Department of Defense Inspector General Joseph E. Schmitz, whose office conducted the survey.
 
 The survey attempts to give a sense of the scale of sexual assault on military campuses and expands the research begun during the investigation of misconduct at the Air Force Academy. That review found that 142 female cadets had reported sexual assaults in a 10-year span.
 
 Among the women surveyed last spring across the three academies, 262 students reported 302 incidents of sexual assault, including 94 instances of alleged rape. About 176 cases involved inappropriate touching and fondling. Men reported 55 sexual assaults. The incidents occurred from 1999 to 2004, mostly in dormitory rooms, and the offenders were primarily upperclassmen, according to the report.
 
 "Our goal is to produce military leaders of character," Schmitz said at a news conference. "And obviously, sexual assaults are not a good indication of character. In fact, they're a very bad indication."
 
 Two-thirds of the sexual assaults against men and women --  248 incidents  --  were not reported to authorities, the survey shows. Officials said this is a result of privacy concerns and myriad other factors that deter assault victims from reporting the crime in the general population.
 
 But students reported other factors germane to their campus culture. One is fear among victims that they, too, could be punished for conduct related to the assault, such as underage drinking. Another is a sense of loyalty to classmates. A third is fear of reprisals by classmates or senior officers, according to the survey. Of the 96 cases that women reported to academy authorities, 29 led to criminal investigations, according to the survey. It was unclear how many led to actual charges against the alleged offender. 
 
 David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the frequency of sexual assaults and the reluctance of victims to report the crimes seem to reflect trends among other college campuses, based on department research. Rape is considered the most under-reported violent crime in the nation at large; Schmitz said the share of such crimes reported within the academies is actually somewhat higher than in the civilian population. 
 
 Chu said: "I think the broad conclusion I would reach is that we are about where the college campuses are, tragically. That is not, frankly, terribly surprising. These individuals, these young men and women, come from civil society."
 
 A 2004 study by the American College Health Association found comparable rates of sexual assault among female college students. But the military academies say they hold themselves to higher standards than the rest of society. Defense officials said they were particularly concerned about the widespread cynicism students revealed toward the honor codes that pervade their studies.
 
 Substantial shares of students at all three schools reported that their classmates will break academy rules and even the honor code if they know they won't get caught.
 
 Officials at the Air Force and Naval academies pointed to additional research suggesting that the campus climates may be improving over time. The spring 2004 survey was the second taken of Air Force cadets in consecutive years; the Naval Academy has surveyed midshipmen for several years. Both campuses reported steady gains in attitudes about the honor code, willingness to report sexual misconduct and faith in the reporting system.
 
 "We're making progress," said Johnny Whitaker, Air Force Academy communications director.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 19 07:40:29 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 19 07:42:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23212272.1111246829865.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Battered Justice for Battered Women
 
 By Joan Meier
 
   It is common for the public and the courts to criticize women who are victims of domestic abuse for staying in an abusive relationship and tolerating it. But what happens when women do try to end the abuse? Jessica Gonzales's story provides one horrifying answer.
 
 In May 1999 Gonzales received a protection order from her suicidal and frightening husband, Simon Gonzales, whom she was divorcing. The order limited his access to the home and the children. On June 22 the three girls disappeared  near their house. But when Jessica Gonzales called the Castle Rock, Colo., police department, she received no assistance. Over a period of eight hours, the police refused to take action, repeatedly telling her that there was nothing they could do and that she should call back later  --  even after she had located her husband and daughters by cell phone. The three young girls, ages 7, 9 and 10, were not to survive the night. At 3 a.m. on June 23, Simon Gonzales arrived at the police station in his truck, opened fire and was killed by return fire. The bodies of Leslie, Katheryn and Rebecca were found in the back of his truck.
 
  Next week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of Town of Castle Rock, Colorado  v. Jessica Gonzales, which stems from Gonzales's lawsuit against the police. The question before the court is whether the constitutional guarantee of procedural due process was violated by the police department's dismissal of the protection order, in clear violation of the state statute, which required them to use "every reasonable means" to enforce it. If procedural due process  --  required by the 14th Amendment  --  means anything, then it must be found that it was violated here, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has so ruled.
 
  The doctrine of procedural due process derives from the principle that when a state chooses to establish a benefit or right for citizens, it may not deny such benefits in an arbitrary or unfair way. In this case, the state established a benefit of mandated police enforcement of protection orders. Aware that police discretion too often fails, the Colorado legislation required the police to make arrests or otherwise to enforce domestic violence restraining orders of the sort issued to Jessica Gonzales. Police discretion was limited to determining whether a violation of an order had occurred. Yet in this case the police did nothing; they simply ignored the complaint, a clear example of "arbitrary" conduct.
 
  This type of police behavior has to be understood in its historical and legal context. Early English common law and some U.S. courts once  endorsed the right of men to beat their wives and children, on the grounds that the man was head of the household. By the mid-19th century, most states had abandoned such legal doctrines, but the courts and police continued to refuse to protect victims of violence in the family in the name of so-called family privacy. In the past few decades, while many police departments have implemented better procedures, too many have continued to be indifferent and sometimes even hostile to women's calls for help. Thus many states such as Colorado have tried to force change by requiring  police responses to victims of abuse, particularly where a protection order has been violated.
 
  The Castle Rock police department and its defenders, such as the National League of Cities, the National Sheriffs' Association and others, are arguing that the police could not have predicted the terrible outcome of what appeared at the time to be a mere "domestic dispute." But it was not the police department's job to make predictions. As in 19 other states and the District of Columbia, Colorado's mandatory-arrest statute was adopted to end precisely this type of speculative decision making by police. Indeed, the Castle Rock police department's dismissive attitude not only defied the law, it flouted standard practices for domestic violence cases. Four police associations and the police-led Americans for Effective Law Enforcement have   signed on to a brief opposing the Castle Rock police department, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police has refused to support the town's position.
 
 Castle Rock and, shamefully, the Bush administration argue that to uphold the 10th Circuit's finding of a constitutional violation would be to inappropriately insert the federal courts into state matters. But here the state has done everything it could to ensure police action: Both the legislature and courts have spoken emphatically to require police protection in domestic violence cases. A negative decision from the high court, far from respecting the state's policy, would undercut it and would give police everywhere a green light to ignore state mandates requiring enforcement. Such a decision would encourage police to do less than they do now, drastically weakening the effectiveness of protection orders, which are a crucial legal means of protecting battered women and children. 
 
  In fact, the history of profound gender inequality in the government's treatment of wife-beating makes the problem one of core constitutional concern. No less than police brutality, this kind of passive misconduct implicates fundamental civil rights. 
 
 The writer is a professor of clinical law at George Washington University and director of the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project. She is co-author of a friend-of-the-court brief submitted to the Supreme Court in the case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 19 07:43:10 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 19 07:45:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <31242731.1111246990725.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Wolfowitz's Tough Tasks
 
 By Colbert I. King
 
    Before the sun could set on Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz's first day as President Bush's nominee to be president of the World Bank, the e-mails started arriving. The first, from the online Nation magazine, produced this item from David Corn's Capital Games column: "The Wolfowitz nomination is a win for the Pentagon but a loss for the world. Wolfowitz's achievement as a warmonger may say little about his views on international development, but his record on Iraq is one of miscalculation and exaggeration. And the poor of the world deserve a World Bank president with better judgment." 
 
 Another e-mail, from the Institute for Public Accuracy, offered four sources for possible interviews, including William Hartung, a senior research fellow at the World Policy Institute, who was quoted as saying: "Paul Wolfowitz has a serious credibility problem. He understated the cost of the Iraq war, while promoting vast distortions about Baghdad's weapons capabilities as a way to sell the conflict to the American public. He couldn't remember how many U.S. casualties there were in Iraq, and he's now slated to be head of a nominally humanitarian agency."
 
  The criticism since then has been nonstop. Given his controversial role in the Iraq war, Wolfowitz shouldn't be surprised. Neither should his supporters. Besides, this is not the first time a top Pentagon figure got slammed for landing a World Bank job.
 
 The Internet wasn't up and running in 1967, when President Lyndon Johnson announced that Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara would resign to become president of the World Bank. Then, as now, the prospect of a wartime Pentagon leader assuming the helm of a global financial institution caused heartburn in some foreign capitals. Whether Wolfowitz's bank presidency will become a disaster for the developing world remains to be seen. First he has to get there.
 
  If the Bush administration has done its homework and touched all the right bases in key European capitals, Paul Wolfowitz will be the next World Bank president. If, however, Bush officials failed, before this week's announcement, to run Wolfowitz's name by countries critical to his selection, then the administration is as arrogant and foolish as its critics contend. 
 
 In McNamara's case, the World Bank did not become a tool of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or an instrument of U.S. foreign policy, as many had feared. This isn't to say the bank had all successes on McNamara's watch. The record won't support that.
 
  Some bank loans made no difference at all. Bank funds at times ended up in the wrong hands. It is fair to observe, however, that the World Bank became a vigorous proponent of poverty reduction in the developing world during McNamara's 13 years at the helm, from 1968 to 1981. At least that's my observation, having served on the World Bank board as U.S. executive director from December 1979 to April 1981. For three years before  my appointment to the bank by President Jimmy Carter, I worked as a deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department helping to carry the World Bank legislative load through an often hostile Capitol Hill. McNamara's presidency at the bank didn't make our job any easier. McNamara's aggressive leadership pushed the bank's lending programs in directions that upset many well-placed congressional protectionists and foreign aid opponents.
 
  Why did he do it? Attribute his immersion in bank projects for building schools and roads, developing agriculture and fighting diseases to his guilt over Vietnam or a desire to do penance for the casualties of that war? Whatever his motivations, under his presidency the World Bank became a major source of development funds for poor countries. That statement is supported by the record.
 
 There's no way of knowing what Paul Wolfowitz's legacy will be when his World Bank tour is over  --  if he lands the job. As with Bob McNamara, Wolfowitz's Pentagon record, especially in selling the Iraq war, may not forecast the kind of service he will render at the World Bank. At least let's hope it doesn't.
 
 If Wolfowitz is the talented, compassionate, intellectual force and skilled manager that his supporters say he is, the World Bank could end up in good hands. That is, if Wolfowitz  --  as touted  --  approaches the job in the right frame of mind.
 
  Unlike John R. Bolton, recently named to be America's U.N. ambassador, Wolfowitz is not going to the World Bank as Bush's representative. Officially, Wolfowitz's name will be placed in nomination by the U.S. executive director and formally accepted by 24 members of the bank's board of executive directors, who represent 184 countries. At that point, Wolfowitz becomes an international civil servant in charge of a specialized U.N. agency. He's answerable to the countries that own the bank and oversee its spending  --  not to the Bush administration, to "neoconservatism" or to the Republican-controlled Congress.
 
 Will there be times when Wolfowitz might still confer informally with his Bush administration friends? Of course, just as the World Bank president stays in contact with leaders in other world capitals.
 
  Is Wolfowitz likely to take his world view to the bank? Sure. But he should leave Bush administration policies behind. Will that make a difference? If Wolfowitz is as willing to learn new things as he is eager to dispense his own wisdom, both he and the bank could be in for a mutually rewarding relationship that might ultimately benefit the world's poor.
 
 Too optimistic?
 
 In August 2003 I wrote that Wolfowitz was one of the Bush administration's war planners who cut no ice with me: "They seem to make it up as they go along and can be expected to say anything to get their way." For the sake of those developing countries where 33,000 children die each day, let's hope there's another Paul Wolfowitz under the one now wearing a Pentagon hat.
 
 kingc@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 19 07:45:36 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 19 07:47:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32106376.1111247137285.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Personal Message:
 If you read nothing else I have sent today, PLEASE read this. Insanely great, as Steve Jobs would say.
Love, Peace, Liberty -
Bill
 
 Nothing 'New' in This War
 
 By Andrew J. Bacevich
 
   "We are redefining war on our terms." So declared an exuberant George W. Bush just two years ago as the U.S. military completed its stunning demolition of Saddam Hussein's regime.
 
 The president seemingly had good reason to boast. In its initial stages, Operation Iraqi Freedom surpassed all expectations, affirming the verdict first rendered more than a decade before by Operation Desert Storm: The United States, the greatest power the world had ever seen, had apparently mastered the art of war. America's armed forces appeared invincible.
 
  Two years later war is no longer doing the president's bidding. In recent weeks, much of the news from the Middle East has been about the movements for democracy and free elections in Iraq and neighboring countries. But the claims that "freedom is on the march" cannot conceal this fact: In Iraq, protracted conflict is draining the lifeblood from America's armed services.
 
  Evidence that U.S. forces are badly overstretched has become incontrovertible. Recruits for the all-volunteer force are drying up. Only the quasi-permanent mobilization of tens of thousands of part-time soldiers allows the Army to meet its day-to-day requirements  --  an arrangement that the chief of Army reserves has declared unsustainable. Meanwhile, revelations of GI misconduct accumulate, a worrisome sign of eroding discipline. Worst of all, the   casualty  list grows ever longer. To the discerning observer, stress fractures in the imposing edifice of American military supremacy have begun to appear.
 
  How are we to account for this surprising turn of events? Among some observers, incompetence in the Pentagon's upper echelons has found favor as the preferred explanation. But blaming Donald Rumsfeld for our predicament in Iraq makes as much sense as blaming Paris Hilton for the trashiness of American pop culture: It's an exercise in scapegoating that lets too many others  --  including the American people  --  off the hook.
 
  The conflict in Iraq derives from a specific estimate of U.S. military capabilities, fostered by hawks such as Rumsfeld but casually endorsed by far too many Americans. According to that estimate, a combination of matchless technology and professionalism enabled the United States in the heady aftermath of the Cold War to devise a radically new way of war. Armed force in American hands had become both effective and economical  --  not a bludgeon, as in days of old, but a scalpel. So, at least, we convinced ourselves.
 
  In Iraq, this assessment and the expectations to which it gave rise have been found wanting. Rather than demonstrating a novel approach to war, combat there has become distressingly familiar.
 
  Whereas technology was supposed to render the battlefield transparent, the "fog of war" settled over Iraq like a suffocating blanket. Never have U.S. forces fought in such ignorance of the enemy's purpose, strength, leadership and order of battle. George Armstrong Custer knew more about the warriors he faced in 1876 than U.S. commanders today know about their adversaries.
 
  Whereas precision weapons were supposedly making error, waste and collateral damage a thing of the past, the fight to control Iraqi cities has given the past a new life. Comparisons between the "liberation" of Fallujah and the Marines' assault on Hue in 1968 are only too apt. In both cases, victory was gained the old-fashioned way: through brute force.
 
  Toppling Saddam Hussein opened a Pandora's box of unanticipated complications.  Whether it was attacks on oil pipelines or insurgents infiltrating into the new Iraqi security forces, events time and again caught U.S. officials flat-footed. Even success proves transitory, with yesterday's apparent accomplishment becoming unglued today.
 
  To which anyone with even a passing knowledge of history would reply: of course. This is what war has always been  --   grueling, filthy, confusing, replete with accidents and miscues that victimize the innocent, giving rise to unforeseen consequences and   loose ends. What qualifies as truly perplexing is not that the conflict in Iraq has reaffirmed this reality but that so many Americans, seduced by claims that this nation could bend war to our purposes, indulged in the fantasy that it would be otherwise.
 
  Well, now we know better. But let this be said: If our experience in Iraq demolishes once and for all the martial illusions to which the current generation of Americans has proven susceptible, then the United States may yet derive some benefit from this costly misadventure. 
 
 The writer is a professor of international relations at Boston University and author of "The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War."
 
  
 
   

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 08:49:56 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sat Mar 19 08:52:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The IRA , what went wrong, by Gywnne Dyer
Message-ID: <000801c52ca3$b0f14360$bd27e440@Harold>

Gywnne Dyer says that the IRA's time has come, they are now more like a mafia than the protectors they once were.

http://www.gwynnedyer.net/articles/Gwynne%20Dyer%20article_%20%20IRA05.txt

Later H

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat Mar 19 09:14:32 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sat Mar 19 09:16:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Protests on Iraq war anniversary
Message-ID: <20050319_171432_096078.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Protests on Iraq war anniversary **
Protests take place across the world marking two years since the start of the war on Iraq.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4364305.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat Mar 19 09:16:34 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sat Mar 19 09:18:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Cannabis rethink 'not a reversal'
Message-ID: <20050319_171634_089745.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Cannabis rethink 'not a reversal' **
The Home Office says a review of the reclassification of cannabis is not a U-turn, as charities back the move.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/4363075.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat Mar 19 09:17:51 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sat Mar 19 09:19:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Farm animals 'need emotional TLC'
Message-ID: <20050319_171751_042726.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
of course they have feelings too..

** Farm animals 'need emotional TLC' **
Farm animals have feelings which should be respected and catered for, academics at a London conference have said.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4360947.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za  Sat Mar 19 07:00:33 2005
From: djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za (peter baker)
Date: Sat Mar 19 09:25:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] desperate men
Message-ID: <200503191725.j2JHPcPF022433@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

bear
.......clutching at straws...krauthammer strikes again....does he really believe the guck he writes or is he just a part of the desperate conspiracy....lebanon rushes back towards civil war as the illegal occupiers of iraq demand the end of syrias legal occupation....as ariana huffington states more than 85% of iraqis want the u.s. out..period...the "election success" was a complete joke...there is still no government  ...american servicemen are still getting bumped off daily and the media remains silent.....how long can this sham go on??  madbaker
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat Mar 19 09:26:53 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 09:29:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] No Child Left Unrecruited: Rep. Jim McDermott Seeks to
	Protect Students From Military Recruiters
Message-ID: <20050319172653.15193.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org


very nice interview w/ McDermott

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  No Child Left Unrecruited: Rep. Jim McDermott Seeks to Protect Students From Military Recruiters
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/18/1450217
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


We speak with Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) who is backing a bill that would make it easier for parents to block military recruiters from gaining access to their high school-aged children. The bill seeks to amend a provision of the No Child Left Behind Act that requires school districts to provide the Pentagon the names, addresses and phone numbers of every student in the school. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/18/1450217

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat Mar 19 09:28:22 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Sat Mar 19 09:30:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Campus Resistance: Students Stage Counter-Recruitment
	Protests Across the Country
Message-ID: <20050319172822.15289.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

Dugan is a very articulate speaker in this interview


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Campus Resistance: Students Stage Counter-Recruitment Protests Across the Country
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/18/1450222
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


Students around the country have launched a national week of campus resistance to mark the second anniversary of the Iraq invasion and high profile counter-recruitment protests are being staged at university campuses around the country. We speak with a former marine and recruiter's assistant who is now speaking out against the military and two people arrested during a protest against military recruiters on university campus. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/18/1450222

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat Mar 19 09:56:05 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sat Mar 19 10:28:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Asia 'wakes up' to animal welfare
Message-ID: <20050319_175605_060167.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Asia 'wakes up' to animal welfare **
Caring for animals is not just a Western whim - millions of people in Asian countries think animal welfare matters, a Mori poll has revealed.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4357527.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sat Mar 19 09:54:00 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sat Mar 19 11:48:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Op-Ed in today's London Times
In-Reply-To: <423bd936bfc34@samharris.org>
Message-ID: <BE61A738.1F499%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
From: <sam@samharris.org>
Reply-To: sam@samharris.org
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 01:48:06 -0600
To: michael@michaelbutler.com
Subject: Op-Ed in today's London Times

Here is the latest op-ed to see the light of day, largely cribbed from my
book.  Please feel free to pass it along.
Best,
Sam



>From the Times (London)
March 19, 2005 

The virus of religious moderation
Sam Harris


PERHAPS it should come as no surprise that a mere wall of water, sweeping
innocent multitudes from the beaches of 12 countries on Boxing Day, failed
to raise global doubts about God?s existence. Still, one wonders just how
vast and gratuitous a catastrophe would have to be to shake the world?s
faith. The Holocaust did not do it.

 God?s ways are, indeed, inscrutable. It seems that any fact, no matter
how infelicitous, can be rendered compatible with religious faith. In
matters of faith, we have kicked ourselves loose of the earth. Given the
degree to which religion still inspires human conflict, this is not the good
news that many of us imagine it to be.

 One of the greatest challenges facing civilisation in the 21st century is
for human beings to learn to speak about their deepest concerns ? about
ethics, spiritual experience, and human suffering ? in ways that are not
flagrantly irrational. Incompatible religious doctrines have Balkanised our
world and these divisions have become a continuous source of bloodshed.

 Indeed, religion is as much a living spring of violence today as it was at
any time in the past. The recent conflicts in Palestine (Jews v Muslims),
the Balkans (Orthodox Serbians v Catholic Croatians; Orthodox Serbians v
Bosnian and Albanian Muslims), Northern Ireland (Protestants v Catholics),
Kashmir (Muslims v Hindus), Sudan (Muslims v Christians and animists),
Nigeria (Muslims v Christians)and Iran and Iraq (Shia v Sunni) are merely a
few cases in point. These are places where religion has been the explicit
cause of millions of deaths in the past decade.

 It is in the face of such pointless horrors that many people of goodwill
now counsel ?moderation? in religion. The problem with religious
moderation is that it offers us no bulwark against the spread of religious
extremism and religious violence. Moderates do not want to kill anyone in
the name of God, but they want us to keep using the word ?God? as though
we knew what we were talking about. And they don?t want anything too
critical to be said about people who really believe in the God of their
forefathers because tolerance, above all else, is sacred. To speak plainly
and truthfully about the state of our world ? to say, for instance, that
the Bible and the Koran both contain mountains of life-destroying gibberish
? is antithetical to tolerance as moderates conceive it.

 In so far as religious moderates attempt to hold on to what is still
serviceable in orthodox religion, they close the door to more sophisticated
approaches to human happiness. Rather than bring the full force of
21st-century creativity and rationality to bear, moderates ask that we
merely relax our standards of adherence to ancient superstitions and taboos.

 But by failing to live by the letter of the texts ? while tolerating the
irrationality of those who do ? religious moderates betray faith and
reason equally. As moderates, we cannot say that religious fundamentalists
are dangerous idiots, because they are merely practising their freedom of
belief. We can?t even say that they are mistaken in religious terms,
because their knowledge of scripture is generally unrivalled. All we can
say, as religious moderates, is that we don?t like the personal and social
costs that a full embrace of scripture imposes on us. It is time we
recognised that religious moderation is the product of secular knowledge and
scriptural ignorance.

 Religious moderates imagine that theirs is the path to peace. But this very
ideal of tolerance now drives us toward the abyss. Religious violence still
plagues our world because our religions are intrinsically hostile to one
another. Where they appear otherwise, it is because secular knowledge and
secular interests have restrained the most lethal improprieties of faith. If
religious war is ever to become unthinkable for us, in the way that slavery
and cannibalism seem poised to, it will be a matter of our having dispensed
with the dogma of faith.

 Moderation in religion has made it taboo even to acknowledge the
differences among our religious traditions: to notice, for instance, that
Islam is especially hostile to the principles of civil society. There are
still places in the Muslim world where people are put to death for imaginary
crimes ? such as blasphemy ? and where the totality of a child?s
education consists of his learning to recite from an ancient book of
religious fiction. Throughout the Muslim world, women are denied almost
every human liberty, except the liberty to breed.

 And yet, these same societies are acquiring arsenals of advanced weaponry.
In the face of these perils, religious moderates ? Christians, Muslims and
Jews ? remain entranced by their own moderation. They are least able to
fathom that when jihadists stare into a video camera and claim to ?love
death more than the infidels love life?, they are being candid about their
state of mind. 

 But technology has a way of creating fresh moral imperatives. We can no
longer ignore the fact that billions of our neighbors believe in the
metaphysics of martyrdom, or in the literal truth of the book of Revelation
? because our neighbors are now armed with chemical, biological and
nuclear weapons. There is no doubt that these developments mark the terminal
phase of our credulity. Words like ?God? and ?Allah? must go the way
of ?Apollo? and ?Baal? or they will unmake our world.

Sam Harris is author of The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future
of Reason.  He can be reached at www.samharris.org.






To be REMOVED from the mailing list, click here:
http://www.samharris.org/index.php?ACT=5&id=206UdRzdY8


------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Sat Mar 19 10:22:06 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sat Mar 19 12:23:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Inside the Committee that Runs the World   
In-Reply-To: <59e5ae2e5ada6394291c2ec4afbaba35@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503192023.j2JKNsGq023011@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

    
------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 19:53:31 -0500
Subject: Inside the Committee that Runs the World

FP

Inside the Committee that Runs the World


By David J. Rothkopf


  March/April 2005

September 11, 2001, was a catalytic event that revealed the core
character of the Bush administration?s national security team. As rival
factions fought for the president?s ear, the transformative ideals
espoused by the neocons gained ascendancy?triggering a rift that has
split the Republican foreign-policy establishment to its foundations.


The inner circles of the U.S. national security community?members of
the National Security Council (NSC), a select number of their deputies,
and a few close advisors to the president?represent what is probably
the most powerful committee in the history of the world, one with more
resources, more power, more license to act, and more ability to project
force further and swifter than any other convened by king, emperor, or
president.

At the same time, the political party controlling that committee has a
grip on power in Washington unprecedented in recent history. For the
first time in nearly eight decades, the Republican Party has won
control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives in two
consecutive elections. Yet, despite this political monopoly, the elites
who exert the most influence on this little-understood, shadowy
committee are being buffeted and pulled apart by forces from within.

An increasingly bitter philosophical debate pits the supporters of the
policies of former President George H.W. Bush and many of his one-time
team of foreign-policy experts, led by former National Security Advisor
Brent Scowcroft, against those who back views embraced by President
George W. Bush and his team, led by Vice President Dick Cheney,
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice. What Scowcroft calls the ?traditionalists? of the
Bush 41 team are pitted against the ?transformationalists? of the Bush
43 team, pragmatists vs. neocons, internationalists vs. unilateralists,
the people who oversaw the end of the Cold War against those who
oversaw the beginning of the War on Terror. Of course, the irony is
that many of these people were not too long ago seen as parts of a
whole. All are or once were close. What happened?

To read the full article:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/files/story2601.php

------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Sat Mar 19 11:46:26 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sat Mar 19 12:35:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: LEBANON: BULLETS OR BALLOTS?  
In-Reply-To: <206af1d5a04e872eb589c35660f7a665@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503192035.j2JKZpci023043@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 10:21:15 -0500
Subject: LEBANON: BULLETS OR BALLOTS?

   "The next big issue in Lebanon could be the choice between bullets
and ballots. Hezbollah leaders, and beyond them the leadership in
Tehran, have much hard thinking to do."
---

   LEBANON: BULLETS OR BALLOTS?
   By AMIR TAHERI



March 18, 2005 --  FOR more than a month, Beirut has been trans formed
into a giant-size arena in which the political future not only of
Lebanon but of perhaps the entire Middle East is in play. As always at
moments of revolutionary tension, the debate is between advocates and
opponents of change.

  On one side we have all those who, for various reasons, believe that
the status quo is no longer sustainable. To them the key to change is
an end to Syria's military and political domination of Lebanon.

  On the opposite side we have all those who, again for varied reasons,
wish to save as much of the status quo as possible. Having realized
that it is no longer possible for Syria to keep an army in Lebanon,
they are trying to preserve as much other Syrian influence as possible.

  This is why President Emile Lahoud appears determined to cling to his
recently extended mandate, and why Omar Karami is back as prime
minister-designate.

  The message of the anti-change camp is clear: The Syrian army may be
leaving, but the structures and policies that it sustained should
remain.

  Not surprisingly, the pro-change coalition rejects that.

  Where do we go from here?


  The truth is that no one knows.

  For five weeks, both sides have been engaged in demonstrating their
respective forces, and sizing up one another. With the institutes of
the state discredited or paralyzed, we are left with the politics of
the street ? which means putting the crowd at the center of things.

  At first glance, the two sides seem to be evenly matched as far as
crowd power is concerned.

  Since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, the
pro-change coalition has managed to bring in tens of thousands of
people into the streets almost every day. Last Monday it managed to
field almost a million demonstrators.

  Yet the anti-change party, led by the Lebanese branch of the
Hezbollah, has also fielded huge crowds of its own.

  But as an instrument of politics, a crowd is at its most efficient if
it is given a clear goal.

  In that context the pro-change coalition in Lebanon has an advantage.
It wants the Syrians out, a simple goal that everyone could easily
understand.

  The anti-change coalition, however, has so far failed to match that
with an equally straightforward demand. It couldn't come up with a
slogan demanding that Syria keep its army in Lebanon, especially when
the Syrians had already begun to withdraw.

  Also, there is no evidence that the Hezbollah, the main component of
the anti-change coalition, really wants Syria to remain the arbiter of
Lebanese politics.

  If anything, there is evidence that the alliance between the Hezbollah
and Syria's Ba'athist elite has been one of convenience rather than
conviction:

  * The Hezbollah, which puts religion at the center of politics, cannot
be a true ally of the Ba'ath, a militantly secularist party.

  * The Hezbollah also knows that Nabih Berri's Amal, its main rival
within the Shiite community, could not have survived without Syrian
support.

  * Then there is the Syrian-dictated electoral-reform bill, which would
take three parliamentary seats away from the Hezbollah, giving them to
the Christians in the south.

  The Hezbollah has one more, perhaps the most important, reason not to
appear as an instrument of Syrian domination. This is the party that
made its reputation by posing as the most ardent defender of Lebanese
territory against foreign occupiers.

  There is, to be sure, a big difference between the Syrian presence in
Lebanon and the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, if only because
the former came in the context of the Taef accords endorsed by most
Lebanese political parties at the time.

  Nevertheless, it is not easy for the Hezbollah, as a party of
resistance against one foreign occupier, to transform itself into a
fifth column for another.

  The Hezbollah has been careful not to call for the Syrians to stay.
The party did not send its "volunteers for martyrdom" to lie down on
the roads to Syria to prevent the Syrian tanks and troop carriers to
leave Lebanon. All it has done is to thank the Syrians for what they
did in the past, implicitly endorsing the demand that it is time for
them to leave.

  Even then, the Hezbollah has taken enormous risks by spearheading the
anti-change movement. Until a month ago, the party enjoyed almost
universal admiration among the Lebanese. Even those who did not agree
with its ideology and questioned its ties to Tehran praised it for the
"patriotic role" it had played in pressuring Israel into withdrawing
from southern Lebanon.

  Now, however, the Hezbollah has descended from its pedestal to become
just another party.

  This is clear from the composition of the crowds that Hezbollah has
brought into the streets in recent weeks. More than 95 percent of these
crowds are Shiites, almost all from the south and some neighborhoods of
Beirut. The pro-change coalition, by contrast, has drawn crowds from
all over Lebanon ? including the Shiite heartland in the south.

  Even the most cursory glance at the crowds shows that the pro-change
coalition represents all Lebanese communities, while the anti-change
side consists almost exclusively of the Hezbollah.

  The Hezbollah succeeded in becoming a major force in Lebanese politics
for two reasons: It could mobilize larger crowds, and it had more guns
than anyone else.

  The first advantage is now gone ? but the Hezbollah still has lots of
guns. Yet U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 demands not only the
withdrawal of Syria, but also an end to private armies in Lebanon.

  The next big issue in Lebanon could be the choice between bullets and
ballots. Hezbollah leaders, and beyond them the leadership in Tehran,
have much hard thinking to do.
---
  Iranian author and journalist Amir Taheri is a member of Benador
Associates.
---
  Copyright 2005 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

  URL:  http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/41193.htm

------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Sat Mar 19 12:11:59 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Sat Mar 19 12:36:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: WHY THE IRI SURVIVES !!!
In-Reply-To: <02d8d63a47510c9647dd6d571ef2cca0@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503192036.j2JKauAt023053@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 11:35:28 -0500
Subject: WHY THE IRI SURVIVES !!!

?


Worldly Iran becomes dynamic new market

  European firms zero in on a new crop of consumers

  Borzou Daragahi

Chronicle Foreign Service
  Saturday, March 19, 2005


Tehran -- Iran has emerged as one of the world's flash points, as the
United States and several European allies warn Tehran to give up its
plans to produce nuclear fuel.

  While the Europeans offer the carrot of diplomacy, the Bush
administration threatens to push for United Nations sanctions. Some
international experts speculate that, if all else fails, an American
military strike is possible.

  But Andreas Gabriel isn't worried. The director of Iran operations for
the French automaker Renault is sitting in his chic, open-space Tehran
office, sipping tea and lauding the opportunities in Iran's market,
which is growing at a rate of about 500,000 new vehicles a year.

  "There is a big discrepancy between the image that you can have about
Iran and the reality," he says. "It's a huge market that was closed to
foreign companies for 30 years. The pioneers get the biggest part of
the cake, so I think it's better to hurry than to wait."

  The international community has intensified its pressure on Iran,
which stands accused of failing to keep its promises to suspend its
uranium enrichment activities.

  Tehran has dismissed the demands -- as well as Washington's offer to
remove a ban on selling spare airplane parts and end opposition to Iran
entering the World Trade Organization in exchange for a halt of nuclear
activity -- as "hallucinations."

  But while diplomatic rhetoric has reached a fever pitch, in the
Iranian capital, the drumbeats of war are drowned out by the sounds of
deals being made between Iran and European firms.

  Europeans consider Iran one of the most attractive, untapped consumer
markets in the world. Renault has already invested an estimated $300
million in Iran and is set to invest more in the coming years.

  Oil companies have long ignored the country's diplomatic problems and
human rights violations in their pursuit of energy supplies. But Iran's
increasing business ties with Europe now go well beyond petroleum and
gas.

  Last month, Germany's Mercedes Benz announced a joint venture with
Iran's main car manufacturer, Iran Khodro.

  They'll be rushing to catch up with Peugeot, the French automaker,
which has had a deal to build cars in Iran for years. And last week,
Iran and Italy signed a trade cooperation deal worth more than $3.5
billion.

  European Union trade with Iran totaled at least $15 billion a year in
2001, according to the latest EU statistics, and has been steadily
rising since. Europe buys 40 percent of Iran's exports, mostly oil.

  Business consultant Siamak Namazi says despite a few international
deals canceled or delayed by the government, foreigners are rushing to
do business in Iran.

  "One of the best indicators is to check the number of business-class
flights to Tehran, which are completely booked through," he said.

  Europeans aren't just bringing their briefcases and laptops here.
They're bringing their families.

  Gabriel brought his wife and three kids for a life of diplomatic
parties, language classes, upscale gyms and new restaurants like
Bistango, a continental restaurant that was started by a Canadian chef.

  "Our daily life is really much better than we could have expected,"
Gabriel said.

  American companies are forbidden to engage in most trade with Iran
because of sanctions. But Europeans say they've been drawn here by the
business potential. Iran sits atop some of the world's largest energy
reserves.

  Paul-Marie Graf used to head the Iranian operations of the big French
oil company Total. Now he's a business consultant living in Tehran with
his wife in a plush mansion. "You cannot ignore Iran today," he said.

  Namazi says it's no mystery why European companies are so keen on
Iran. They're merely exploiting U.S. sanctions. "There are a lot of
American businesses that could have won a contract, and their main
European competitors know that they can only compete in a country where
the American company isn't present," he said.

  "So actually they come to Iran precisely because American companies
cannot come."

  In any case, the potential rewards are so high that they outweigh the
risks, which include a hot war with the United States.

  "They don't think really the U.S. is going to attack," said Nasser
Hadian, a professor at Tehran University. "The perception is that if
they attack it will be a surgical kind of attack, and that's not going
to have a major impact on their investment. So they feel relatively
secure."

  European diplomats in Tehran say opening the floodgates of trade with
Iran is the best way to neutralize conservative Islamic organizations,
like the Revolutionary Guards, which control huge sections of the
economy.

  Instead of isolating or attacking the country, they say, send in an
army of Western businesspeople.

  "The revolution in Ukraine last year did not happen overnight," said
one European diplomat in Tehran, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The revolution in Georgia did not happen overnight. It took 10 years
of economic trade and normalization."

---
  ?2005 San Francisco Chronicle

URL:  
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/19/
BUGD8BRM1I1.DTL

------ End of Forwarded Message

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sat Mar 19 13:38:50 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sat Mar 19 13:40:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Bidding for Leonard Peltier original painting -
	reminder
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV20900B3474B3F97672B400AB4B0@phx.gbl>

This attachment is regarding bidding on a Leonard Peltier original painting, If I could afford it would already be gone. :-)

peace,
barbara

-------------- next part --------------
An embedded message was scrubbed...
From: info@leonardpeltier.org
Subject: Bidding for Leonard Peltier original painting - reminder
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 18:26:06 -0500
Size: 2011
Url: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050319/db3736b7/attachment.mht
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sat Mar 19 13:46:57 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sat Mar 19 13:48:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Bidding for Leonard Peltier original painting -
	reminder
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV240B65AACE605FF6ABC1BBAB4B0@phx.gbl>

This seems to have failed before....

If I could afford this painting it would be gone, his work is magical, especially since he has only the use of one eye and colors/paints he is able to get in prison..... :-)

peace,
barbara

-------------- next part --------------
An embedded message was scrubbed...
From: "Barbara Siomos" <dreams8@webtv.net>
Subject: Fw: Bidding for Leonard Peltier original painting - reminder
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 20:29:56 GMT
Size: 3369
Url: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050319/134ddc2c/attachment.mht
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 14:17:31 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar 19 14:19:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: 'They can't train you for the
	reality of Iraq. You can't have a mass grave with dogs eating
	the people in it'
Message-ID: <20050319221731.EFDF83A90@mullet.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

US soldiers do not want to go back!!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

'They can't train you for the reality of Iraq. You can't have a mass grave with dogs eating the people in it'
Two years after the war began, a growing number of US troops are refusing to return to Iraq
Suzanne Goldenberg in Fort Stewart, Georgia
Saturday March 19 2005
The Guardian


At the same time that Kevin Benderman's unit was called up for a second tour in Iraq with the Third Infantry Division, two soldiers tried to kill themselves and another had a relative shoot him in the leg. Seventeen went awol or ran off to Canada, and Sergeant Benderman, whose family has sent a son to every war since the American revolution, defied his genes and nine years of military training and followed his conscience. 

As the division packed its gear to leave Fort Stewart, Sgt Benderman applied for a discharge as a conscientious objector - an act seen as a betrayal by many in a military unit considered the heart of the US army, the "Walking Pride of Uncle Sam".  

Two years ago today, the columns of the Third ID roared up from the Kuwaiti desert for the push towards Baghdad. When the city fell, the Marines controlled the neighbourhoods on the east side of the Tigris and the Third ID had the west. It was, according to the army command, an occasion for pride.  

Some of the men and women who were there remain unconvinced. Like Sgt Benderman, who served six months in Iraq at the start of the war, they were scarred by their experience, and angry at being called again to combat so soon.  

They may not be part of any organised anti-war movement, but the conscientious objectors, runaways, and other irregular protesters suggest that, two years on, the war is taking a heavy toll. "They can't train you for the reality. You can't have a mass grave with dogs eating the people in it," Sgt Benderman told the Guardian. "It's not like practising for a football game, or cramming for a test in college. You can go out there and train, but until you actually experience war first hand you don't know what it's like."  

A large man in his uniform, with blue eyes and a southern drawl, the 40-year-old is every inch the soldier. He has spent nearly 10 years in the army, signing up for a second stint in 2000 because he felt he had not done his duty to his country. The war did away with that feeling, with the sergeant horrified by Iraqi civilian deaths and the behaviour of the young menhe commanded, who he said treated war like bumping off targets in a video game.    

 Unthinkable
 

"I didn't turn into the pope overnight. I am still Kevin Benderman, but I am trying to find a better way of living," he said.  

Once such dissent would have been unthinkable - as would the growing disquiet within the ranks of the US army as its forces rotate into Iraq on second and even third tours. Open resistance remains relatively rare. Only a handful of troops have filed conscientious objector applications; Vietnam, which was fought by conscripts, produced 190,000 such petitions.  

But the conscripts only had one tour. Soldiers' advocates and peace activists believe the first signs of opposition within the military could slowly grow - as it did for Vietnam - turning disgruntled soldiers and their families into powerful anti-war advocates. A number of Iraq veterans have begun to speak out. The root causes for more widespread dissent are there. Longer and repeat deployments have worn down regulars and reservists. So has the rising toll, with more than 1,500 US soldiers dead and 11,000 wounded. Recruitment and re-enlistment rates are down - especially for African-Americans, a 40% drop in the past five years - increasing the strain on the Pentagon.  

Between 40,000 and 50,000 military personnel are in Iraq despite serious medical conditions that should have ruled them out of combat, according to the National Gulf War Resource Centre. The GI Rights Hotline, which counsels troops, says it fielded 32,000 calls last year from soldiers seeking an exit from the military, or suffering from post-combat stress.  

Others vote with their feet. Last year the Pentagon admitted that 5,500 of its forces had gone awol, although it claims many returned to their units after resolving personal crises. Some abandoned the country altogether - like Chris Cornell, a Third ID private. At 24, he had been in the military for two years, joining up in search of a better life than in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. Army life had begun to pall - "because of the crap that goes on" - when the division began to prepare for Iraq. He didn't want to go. "I didn't sign up to kill people. I couldn't live with myself," he told the Guardian. At first, he tried to get a medical discharge, deliberately failing dozens of physical training tests.  

Then, weeks before his unit's January 10 departure, his sergeant called the troops in for a talk. "He got up there in front of the whole battery and he told us we were going to Iraq, whether we liked it or not."  

Pte Cornell went home on leave and consulted the activists he calls his adopted family. They suggested Canada - terra incognita for a southerner like Pte Cornell - and he landed in Toronto, jobless, sleeping in someone else's flat, and seeking political asylum. He was the seventh US soldier to apply for refugee status in Canada, and a half dozen more with Canadian parents or spouses are claiming citizenship, according to Jeffrey House, a Toronto lawyer handling many of the claims. But there could be hundreds more who have gone to ground. "I believe there a number of people here illegally," he says. "No one would suspect them by their accent, and so they just disappear."  

Among those who serve, resentment is high, fuelled by "stop loss" orders by which the Pentagon hangs on to troops past their release date, and shortages of armoured vehicles and other protective gear. Emails and blogs from Iraq regularly rail against their officers and the war.  

The high command does not want to hear them, soldiers' advocates say, because it does not want to encourage dissent. When Sgt Benderman tried to file his papers as a conscientious objector in December, his commanding officer called him a coward. Last month he was ordered to face a court martial for desertion. He could face seven years in prison.  

Now, away from his unit in the war zone, Sgt Benderman waits for the army to hear his case. Each morning he leaves his home in Hinesville, Georgia, to report for 6.30am drill. Others in his situation have gone underground, but Sgt Benderman views that option with distaste. So does his wife, Monica, who says: "If you really believe in what you are doing, then why run?"  

Carl Webb, 39, a member of the Texas National Guard, claims he didn't have a choice. His protest is just as public as Sgt Benderman's - and even less conventional. He has been awol since last August but the military should not have any problems finding him. Mr Webb has posted his email address, phone number, and several photos of himself on a website setting out his opposition to the war  

For years, the military had been his one constant in an otherwise anchorless life, and Mr Webb did stints in the regular army as well as various guard units. But by last July, when he was a month away from getting out, he got the call that he was being plucked from his unit to serve with a tank company near Baghdad.  

"It was a total surprise. Even my command said this is some kind of a mistake, and I could file a hardship case," he told the Guardian. Mr Webb thought about filing a conscientious objector application, but decided he didn't fit the strict criteria. Now he is daring the Pentagon to try to get him because he figures that would encourage other opponents of the war.  

"Most soldiers obey their orders because they are afraid of what could happen to them. They think, 'Oh, they are going to throw me in a dungeon, and put shackles on me, and I'll never see the light of day,' or they fear the isolation," he said.  

"But just by being out there, I am going to give them ideas. I'm an example."    

Iraq in figures: the toll of the conflict so far

 1,512 US troops killed in Iraq   
 1,157 US troops killed in combat 
   355 US non-combat deaths  
 11,285  US troops wounded   
 86 UK troops killed in Iraq  
  
 35 UK troops killed in combat    

 91  troops from other states killed    

 17,053-19,422 estimated number of civilian casualties since the war started, according to Iraq Body Count   
 
 257 number of non-Iraqi civilians killed (30 of whom were British) 
   
 189 number of foreign nationals kidnapped since October 2003    

 47 number still captive   
 
 170,000 number of coalition troops in March 2003    

 175,000 number of coalition troops in Iraq in March 2005   
 
 45,000 number of British troops in March 2003    

 8,930 number of UK troops in Iraq in March 2005    

 30 number of countries identified as members of the coalition backing the war in March 2003  
  
 38 number of countries which have provided troops in Iraq at some point 
   
 24 number of states currently providing troops in Iraq  
  
 5  number of countries currently planning to withdraw troops from Iraq    

 18,000 latest estimate of strength of insurgency   
 
 1,000 estimated number of foreign fighters involved in the insurgency 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 14:22:15 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar 19 14:24:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Europe marks anniversary of Iraq
	invasion
Message-ID: <20050319222215.95BF81BFC@herring.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

Big Oil wins, everyone else looses!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Europe marks anniversary of Iraq invasion
Associated Press
Saturday March 19 2005
The Guardian


>From London's Trafalgar Square to the streets of Istanbul, tens of thousands of people across Europe protested against the Iraq war today on the second anniversary of the US-led invasion. British elections expected in May lent an added charge to the largest protest, in London, where Tony Blair's staunch backing of the war has dented his support. Police said about 45,000 demonstrators participated in a march from Hyde Park past the US Embassy and on to Trafalgar Square. Organisers said almost 100,000 took part. Several army veterans were among the demonstrators. "I disagreed with [the war] to start with because I was suspicious of the weapons of mass destruction claims," said Ray Hewitt, 34, a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War. "I saw the Iraqi army in 1991 and we destroyed it." In Istanbul, Turkey, an estimated 15,000 people marched in the Kadikoy neighbourhood to protest against the US presence in Iraq. "Murderer Bush, get out," read one sign. Two marchers dressed like US soldier
 s pretended to rough up another, who was dressed as a detainee with a sack on his head, a mimed criticism of prisoner abuse cases. In the southern Turkish city of Adana, home to a Turkish military base used by American forces, protesters laid a black wreath in front of the US Consulate to protest against the war, the Anatolia news agency reported. In Poland - which commands a multinational security force in Iraq that includes 1,700 Polish troops - about 500 protesters marched to the US Embassy in Warsaw, holding banners reading "Pull out from Iraq now" and "Poles back to Poland." "We are protesting this war in Iraq because it has no point. Only innocent people are killed, and nothing good results from it," said Klaudia Kosicinska, a 17-year-old high school student. At an anti-war march in the industrial city of Katowice, protesters - including one dressed up as a blindfolded Statue of Liberty - urged the United States and Britain to leave Iraq. In Athens, about 3,000 trade u
 nionists, members of peace groups and students, brought the city centre to a standstill for about three hours as they marched to the US Embassy. In Sweden, about 300 protesters filled up Sergel Square in downtown Stockholm, chanting: "USA, out of Iraq!" The protests were nowhere near as big as those in February 2003, just before the war when millions marched in cities around the world to urge George  Bush and his allies not to attack Iraq. "People have become apathetic about this, it's no longer something they walk around thinking about every day," said Linn Majuri, 15, a protester in Stockholm. With international forces still facing violent opposition in Iraq, protesters were divided about what to demand from leaders now. While some wanted a full troop withdrawal, others argued that would leave Iraqis in a worse position than before the invasion. "We got the Iraqis into this mess, we need to help them out of it," said London protester Kit MacLean, 29. Security was heavy out
 side the US Embassy in London, where cement barricades and metal fences blocked the building, as they have since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Two former British soldiers placed a cardboard coffin bearing the words "100,000 dead" outside the embassy. With music and banners, marchers in Rome called for the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq. "Iraq to the Iraqis!" read one banner. In Oslo, Norway, about 400 people rallied to demand that the 10 Norwegian officers in Baghdad be sent home. Norway has previously withdrawn 150 soldiers from Iraq. "It's becoming more and more embarrassing that we are in the 'coalition of the willing' when many other countries are withdrawing," said Ingrid Fiskaa, head of the peace activism group Fredsinitiativet, which organised the event. Demonstrations were also planned in nine Spanish cities, including Madrid, Barcelona and the Basque seaside resort of San Sebastian. Many at the London protest vented their anger at Blair, who has been B
 ush's staunchest ally in Iraq despite strong domestic opposition to the war, especially among members of the Labour Party. Some at the protest said they couldn't support Blair, but didn't know who else to vote for. The Conservatives strongly backed the war while the Liberal Democrats opposed it. Several smaller parties are running anti-war candidates in hopes of loosening Blair's hold on power. "I think it's outrageous what Blair and Bush think they can get away with," said John Salway, 59. "I'd like to think we can put a dent in their arrogance."

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 14:26:43 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar 19 14:28:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: 'Mother to mother' plea to Cherie over
	Scottish soldier killed in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050319222643.649FE1BB5@herring.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the The Observer site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

The other war is at home where poverty/oppoutunity makes young people enlist!!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the The Observer site, go to http://www.observer.co.uk

'Mother to mother' plea to Cherie over Scottish soldier killed in Iraq
Anti-war campaigner makes film revealing poverty which forced her son to join up
Lorna Martin
Sunday December 19 2004
The Observer


Tears trickle down Rose Gentle's cheeks as she watches Dear Mrs Blair, a short film about one mother's son. It evokes too many memories.

But she forces herself to sit through a rough cut clasping her gold necklace which contains a photograph of her dead teenage son.

The most difficult parts to watch are clips from home videos: there he is, her boy Gordon, aged about eight, a cherubic child, performing in a school play; then as a teenager, fooling around with his sisters during a family holiday in Benidorm. This is more painful, she sobs, than looking at photos, because now she can also hear him.

It's the first time Gentle has heard his voice since he called her mobile from Iraq on Friday 25 June three days before a roadside bomb exploded under him.  

Since losing her only son, Gentle has embarked upon a controversial campaign: launching a petition to bring troops home; hand-delivering with her daughter, Maxine, 14, an angry letter to Downing Street and announcing plans to sue the Ministry of Defence.  

Now, as she prepares for her first Christmas without him, Gentle has made a short film. 'A mother to mother appeal' is how she describes it, an unusual festive gift for the Prime Minister's wife.  

Before it is dispatched to Downing Street, the film, whose soundtrack has been composed by the Ivor Novello and Mercury Music-nominated Belle and Sebastian, and which has been endorsed by numerous Scottish actors and writers, including AL Kennedy and Iain Banks, will be shown in Glasgow's GFT cinema before Christmas.  

'Cherie Blair said she cried when her son Euan went away to university,' said Gentle. 'But at least they will get to spend Christmas together as a happy family. For the past six months, I have cried myself to sleep every single night. My family and others who've lost sons in Iraq are dreading Christmas. I can't bear to put up decorations or to open Christmas cards.'  

Gentle hopes the film will persuade Mrs Blair to influence her husband in two ways: first, to ask him to bring British troops home; and second, to urge him to visit Pollok to see the unemployment that forced Gordon to join the army.  

'Some people say that soldiers have to expect to die or be injured when they sign up for the armed services,' she said. 'Maybe so. But Gordon didn't join out of any burning desire to defend his country.  

'He joined because he lost his job and was surviving on &#163;40 a week in benefits with no prospect of finding work.'   

The film features Gordon's friends. It shows that last year three of them spotted an army recruitment stand inside their local job centre.  

The sales pitch mentioned places such as Canada and Switzerland and there was talk of a guaranteed job and driving lessons. It proved irresistible. A week later, they were picked up in an army Jeep and taken away to complete full applications.  

But Gordon's best friend's application was rejected over his asthma while the other friend changed his mind.  

So Gordon went alone to Catterick Garrison and after six months' training was told that he would be posted to Iraq. Four weeks after he arrived he was dead.  

'My son didn't even know where Iraq was,' said his mother. 'In his last phone call he sounded down. He said he hated it. He was with a good crowd of boys but he said no one back home was seeing what was really happening ... He was beginning to realise what it was all about.'  

We are sitting in Gordon's bedroom which has become a hive of activity for the Justice for Gordon Gentle Campaign.  

The walls are decorated with dozens of Celtic and Rangers shirts - in times of grief old enmities are forgotten - and numerous photographs: Gordon at home as a five-year-old; Gordon cuddling his baby godson; Gordon in uniform, proud and smiling.  

Gordon Gentle's friends have been an enormous source of support for Rose and her family.  

They visit her often; call her 'Ma'; Gordon's best friend, Gary Scott, has become like a big brother for Maxine.  

Before they leave, Scott scrolls through his text messages. There is one he received from Gordon the day he left Britain on his tour of duty. It reads: 'Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again. Love Gento.' 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 14:31:46 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Sat Mar 19 14:33:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Hospitals endure Iraqi paralysis
Message-ID: <20050319_223146_073175.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

HS saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
The Doctors in Iraq just can not deal with it anymore, too many civilians injured!

** Hospitals endure Iraqi paralysis **
Delays in setting-up Iraq's new government is hindering the reconstruction effort, says BBC's Matthew Price.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/4357323.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 14:36:00 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Sat Mar 19 14:38:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Press gives Iraq parliament wary welcome
Message-ID: <20050319_223600_084703.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

HS saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
The so called democratic election in Iraq is starting to show its cracks.
The controlled power grab is not fooling the people!

** Press gives Iraq parliament wary welcome **
Papers in Iraq hail the inaugural session of the Iraqi parliament as a first step towards national unity.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/4357679.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 19 14:49:45 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Sat Mar 19 14:51:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Iraq's transitional law under attack
Message-ID: <20050319_224945_043734.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

HS saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Iraq's transitional law under attack **
Debate rages over the process of democratisation in Iraq as its new lawmakers jostle for power.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/4359559.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sat Mar 19 16:41:38 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sat Mar 19 16:43:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Deconstructing Iraq: Year Three Begins 
Message-ID: <BE6206C2.1F4DD%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Deconstructing Iraq: Year Three Begins

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2274

A Little Background Music

Shakar Odai, the head of the Internal Affairs Department of the Baghdad
police was recently interviewed by David Enders of Mother Jones magazine who
wrote: "?More than 98' percent of the police officers (a force known alike
for its use of torture and its widespread corruption) returned to work after
the war, [Odai] said, and added that the police force has been greatly
expanded as well. Some of the officers definitely sympathize with the
resistance, he says. As he speaks, a bomb goes off outside, rattling the
windows. Odai doesn't even turn around to look. ?That happens sometimes
fifteen times a day,' he sighs before continuing. ?Before the war, we had
six months to do background checks on any police officer we hired,' he said.
?After the war, the Americans just began appointing officers.'

"Before he refers me to the seventh floor, where the MOI [Ministry of the
Interior]'s human rights department is located, he offers me a piece of
wardrobe advice, specifically in regard to the powder-blue Oxford I'm
wearing, the same color the police wear. ?You should change your shirt.
Someone might try to assassinate you.'"

Caryle Murphy and John Ward Anderson of the Washington Post offered the
following on the opening of the Iraqi National Assembly inside "little
America," also known as "the Green Zone" in a completely shut down Baghdad:
"Amid tight security and the sound of explosions, Iraq's new parliament met
for the first time Wednesday as Iraqi politicians and citizens alike urged
lawmakers to stop bickering, form a new government and tackle the country's
numerous problems, particularly the violent insurgency. The source of the
blasts, which apparently came from mortars, was under investigation by the
U.S. military. The explosions rattled windows in the auditorium inside
Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where lawmakers gathered? for the
first meeting of a freely elected parliament in Iraq in almost 50 years.
U.S. helicopters hovered overheard, and several bridges approaching the
Green Zone were closed because of the threat of suicide bombings, car bomb
attacks and other potential insurgent strikes."

A Little Road Static

Dan Murphy of the Christian Science Monitor reports on the difficulty of
leaving Baghdad in safety heading in any direction now that guerrilla and
criminal "no-go" areas have spread so completely around the capital:
"Mohammed Ghazi Umron has a front-row seat for the perils of Iraq's roads:
the cab of his truck. And while this Shiite in his 30s enthusiastically
voted in Iraq's January election, from where he sits the country is as
dangerous as ever. The road north through Baquba? ?Pretty dangerous,' he
says. Due south through Mahmudiyah? ?It's bad, but I haven't heard of any
drivers being killed there in a few weeks.' How about west through Abu
Ghraib and on to Fallujah? ?Very, very dangerous. We try not to go past Abu
Ghraib.'? Nearly two years since President Bush declared an end to major
combat operations in Iraq, Baghdad is still one of the most dangerous cities
in the world. It is ringed in peril. Travel in any direction a few miles
outside city limits and the risks intensify."

Juan Cole at his Informed Comment blog reminds us that: "US Embassy
employees are forbidden to travel by land the ten miles [from the Green
Zone] to Baghdad airport because it is so dangerous, and have to be
helicoptered in and out of the capital." Too bad they didn't bother to tell
that to the Italians before intelligence operative Nicola Calipari headed by
car for the airport with the freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena.

A Little Vietnam Buzz, or Thanks for the Memories (how brief they are!)

Back in late January, John Hedren of the Los Angeles Times reported: "The
latest attempt to overhaul the U.S. approach [to the Iraqi forces] will
incorporate lessons of military training successes in Afghanistan -- where
American advisors remain with Afghan units for two years -- and will address
what commanders describe as the scarcity of mid-level Iraqi leadership." In
the minds of American planners, this represents a "sea change in methods"
enabling "U.S. military strategists to assign an expanded cadre of American
advisors to work closely with Iraqi units after they receive basic training?
Under one proposal being considered, Americans would lead Iraqi military
units, which U.S. commanders say suffer from a 'leadership gap.'"

This Friday, in a piece on exceedingly modest American troop cuts planned
for Iraq in 2006 (if everything goes peachily), Eric Schmitt of the New York
Times reported: "To speed the training, General [Richard A.] Cody [the Army
vice chief of staff] announced Thursday that 666 Army officers and senior
enlisted soldiers would be dispatched to Iraq to work with the Iraqis as
part of a shift away from combat operations. In addition, he said 1,140
officers and senior enlisted troops would be drawn from Army units already
in Iraq to comprise 10-member training teams to work with Iraqi forces."
(It's surprising, given this administration, that the Pentagon would ship
exactly 666 soldiers anywhere -- that number, of course, representing the
Mark of the Beast.)

On the plan to station "advisors" with Iraqi forces over the long term,
Hedren quotes Centcom commander Gen. John Abizaid as saying, "There are
certainly lessons that we can take from Afghanistan and apply to Iraq." Of
course, those of us of a certain age can actually remember the odd event
from the dark ages that preceded the military glory that is now America;
and, in that murk of history, the "lessons" that come to mind are from
Vietnam, not Afghanistan, where our "advisors," despite endless years of
effort, could somehow never quite turn "our" Vietnamese into the sort of
fighting force the other side had. (Anyone wanna lay a bet about which model
better applies to Iraq?)

Donald Rumsfeld recently put the new policy this way: "I think that you will
see over the coming weeks and months a modest refocusing of U.S. efforts
towards increasing the mentoring and training and assisting of the Iraqi
forces as the Iraqi forces take over more and more responsibility for the
security in the country." "Mentoring," it sounds so darn nurturing and
sensitive as we start into year three in Iraq.

The Killing Fields

Way back in March 2002, then-Centcom Commander Tommy Franks, speaking of the
Afghan dead in our recent war, famously said, "I don't believe you have
heard me or anyone else in our leadership talk about the presence of 1,000
bodies out there, or in fact how many have been recovered? You know we don't
do body counts." (At least in that distant year, there was still a fighting
man implicitly ready to claim some memory of the "lessons" of Vietnam!)

Even as the Bush administration moved its operations forcefully to Iraq,
which has since become a monster killing field, its officials, military and
civilian, have remained consistent on this matter. The American dead are to
be slipped home in the dead of night -- none of those disturbing Vietnam-era
"body bags" in sight ? and foreign "body counts" are out. No toting up of
Iraqi bodies, no matter how many may be lying around or how civilian they
might be.

Nonetheless, in a piece published last year in the British medical journal
The Lancet, a group of researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Columbia
University, and Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad did a household study
of civilian deaths in Iraq (knocking on doors in 33 places in the country
for almost 8,000 interviews, a dangerous task indeed). They estimated, based
on their work, that somewhere around 100,000 Iraqi civilians, a majority of
them women and children, had died due to the invasion and the ongoing
occupation of the country and the insurgency. This study, for reasons well
explained by Lila Guterman (Dead Iraqis) in the Columbia Journalism Review,
was barely reported on in the American press, though the figures,
approximate as they must be, are nonetheless probably conservative, or so
concludes Guterman. Based on this study, it would not, she adds, be
unreasonable to assume that in the five months since the paper came out, if
"the death rate has stayed the same, roughly 25,000 more Iraqis have died."

Oh, one figure on the Iraqi and Afghan dead did come to light last week. One
hundred and eight of them managed to die "in American custody," and "most of
them violently, according to government data provided to The Associated
Press. Roughly a quarter of those deaths have been investigated as possible
abuse by U.S. personnel." This is assuredly but the tip of some iceberg or
other.

As it happens, when it comes to the grim statistics of death, we know far
more, and far more precisely, about the non-Iraqi (and Afghan) dead.

For American troops, 1,521 died between March 19, 2003, when the invasion of
Iraq began and March 19, 2005; 1,384 since our President essentially
declared the war won. According to Pentagon figures (which are in dispute),
11,344 of our troops have officially been wounded. In Afghanistan, there
have been 153 American military deaths.

Some Americans, as it happens, are far more likely to die in Iraq and
Afghanistan than others: "43 percent of those killed in action in Iraq and
44 percent killed in Afghanistan through mid-February came from towns of
20,000 people or fewer. Less than 23 percent of the U.S. population lives in
towns that size."

Among other nations whose governments sent troops to Iraq, there have been
171 deaths, ranging from 86 British troops to 1 Hungarian soldier. Among
contractors working in Iraq, there have been at least 212 deaths and this
has to be a partial listing, given that the privatized world of contractors
remains firmly hidden in the shadows of our Iraqi policy.

Among journalists (and "assistants"), 48 seem to have died since the war
began; according to the Columbia Journalism Review, Iraq remains "the most
dangerous place in the world to work as a journalist" and (depending on whom
you are counting) between 33 and 39 of them died in 2004 alone. Above all,
according to CJR's Mariah Blake, you don't want to be an Arab journalist in
Iraq. It's practically the equivalent of a death sentence. As a result,
while Iraq's insurgency has grown ever fiercer, devolving events in the
country have become ever harder to cover. "[E]ven the Arab media are finding
themselves increasingly reliant on secondhand accounts and official reports
from Washington and Baghdad, and less able to gauge how events are playing
out in the lives of ordinary Iraqis. 'We can no longer get close to people's
suffering, people's hopes, people's dreams,' says Nabil Khatib, Al Arabiya's
executive editor for news. 'We no longer know what's really going on because
we can no longer get close to reality.'"

All sides (including Iraqi criminals) are now, it seems, targeting
journalists in one fashion or another. Steve Weissman of the Truthout.org
website has done the most interesting work on the American aspect of this, a
four-part, open-ended, open-minded investigation of the subject.

On the home front, Newsweek reports that "as of last week 1,043 American
children had lost a parent in Iraq. To put it another way, nearly two years
after the invasion on March 19, 2003, among the 1,508 American troops who
have died as of March 11 were an estimated 450 fathers, and 7 mothers."

All in all, this is no small record for a mission our President declared
"accomplished" back in the spring of 2003.

The mayhem in Iraq can be measured in other ways as well. Here, for
instance, are some figures from the air war: Total air sorties, 41,000;
Strike Sorties, 15,500; Bombs Dropped, 27,000. And that only covers the
pre-"Mission Accomplished" phase of the war. Since then, even as our Air
Force has been loosed on Iraq's cities, the air war has simply fallen out of
the media. Even though the old city of Najaf and just about all of Falluja
were essentially destroyed, in part from the air and numerous other cities
bombed, missiled, and strafed, American reporters have evinced no interest
whatsoever in the destruction of heavily populated urban areas from the
skies.

Or perhaps instead of more figures, a description might do fuller justice to
the Iraqi mayhem -- this one from Juan Cole. (Had we not had his Informed
Comment blog, we would be in the dark on all sorts of matters.):

    "Readers often write in for an update on Fallujah. I am sorry to say
that there is no Fallujah to update. The city appears to be in ruins and
perhaps uninhabitable in the near future. Of 300,000 residents, only about
9,000 seem to have returned, and apparently some of those are living in
tents above the ruins of their homes?. The scale of this human tragedy --
the dispossession and displacement of 300,000 persons -- is hard to imagine.
Unlike the victims of the tsunami who were left homeless, moreover, the
Fallujans have witnessed no outpouring of world sympathy. While there were
undeniably bad characters in the city, most residents had done nothing wrong
and did not deserve to be made object lessons -- which was the point
Rumsfeld was making with this assault. He hoped to convince Ramadi and Mosul
to fall quiet lest the same thing happen to them. He failed, since the
second Fallujah campaign threw the Sunni Arab heartland into much more chaos
than ever before. People forget how quiet Mosul had been. And, the campaign
was the death knell for proper Sunni participation in the Jan. 30 elections
(Sunnis, with 20 percent of the population, have only 6 seats in the 275
member parliament). However much a clich? it might be to say it, the US
military really did destroy Fallujah to save it."

The Killings Fields

While the killing has gone on ceaselessly in Iraq, the country has also
essentially been looted, as has the American treasury, to the tune of
multi-billions of dollars by Bush-friendly corporations on the make. Tales
of the corruption involved pour out weekly, one more unbelievable than the
next (or is it all too believable?) in what can only be called the "killings
fields" of Iraq.

Not surprisingly, our Veep's former company, Halliburton, has been right up
there at the front of the line with its corporate hand out for hand-outs. In
the last week alone, David Ivanovich of the Houston Chronicle revealed that
Halliburton's KBR subsidiary "charged the Pentagon $27.5 million to ship
$82,100 worth of cooking and heating fuel" to Iraq. (And critics assume that
this but a fraction of the overcharges Halliburton dumped on the Pentagon --
and so on us all.) At the same time, Ken Silverstein and T. Christian Miller
of the Los Angeles Times discovered that a pet project of Iyad Allawi, the
creation of a tank division for the new Iraqi Army (to the tune of $283
million), overseen by an American task force headed by Army Lt. Gen. David
H. Petraeus, may have resulted in enormous cash kickbacks to officials of
the Iraqi Defense Ministry through a Lebanese middleman. Dale Stoffel, a
contractor/weapons dealer who tried to expose this scheme by emailing a
Petraeus aide, was shot to death in an ambush near Baghdad only 8 days
later. (Good luck to the FBI agents who are now investigating his death.) As
a little footnote to the above, even after Stoffel's killing, the Americans
evidently didn't blink an eye about continuing to work with the Lebanese
middleman who promptly took over part of Stoffel's contract.

And that's just this week's news. Iraq is quite literally a cesspool, when
it comes to the American taxpayer's dollar. If you want a little glimpse of
how it all works, in the case of Halliburton's KBR, check out Vanity Fair
writer Michael Shnayerson's, The Spoils of War.

On Enthusiasm for the War, or Voting with Their Feet

As news of the Iraq War filters into this country, recruits for our
all-volunteer military, many having signed on for the promise of a good
education in return for their time, are proving increasingly resistant to
taking classes in Baghdad or environs:

"The Marine Corps for the second straight month in February missed its goal
for signing up new recruits."

"The Army in February, for the first time in nearly five years, failed to
achieve its monthly recruiting goal."

With the military being stretched to its limits, "part-time soldiers now
make up about 40 percent of the 150,000 troops in Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman
said." And the National Guard and the Reserves are fairing even worse than
the regular military when it comes to volunteers: "Recruiting for the Army's
reserve component -- the National Guard and Army Reserve -- is suffering
even more as the Pentagon relies heavily on these part-time soldiers to
maintain troop levels in Iraq. The regular Army is 6 percent behind its
year-to-date recruiting target, the Reserve is 10 percent behind, and the
Guard is 26 percent short."

In early January, "Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly -- commander of the Army Reserve
-- ? said morale was slipping and that the reserve might become a ?broken'
force because of the burdens it has taken on since the 9-11 attacks. ?I do
not wish to sound alarmist. I do wish to send a clear, distinctive signal of
deepening concern,' Helmly wrote in a memo to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter
J. Schoomaker." All this, despite skyrocketing financial incentives and
bonuses meant to get people into the military and keep them there.

Even the look of the military has been affected: "Since fiscal 2000, when
African Americans made up 23.5 percent of Army recruits, their numbers have
fallen steadily to less than 14 percent in this fiscal year, officials said.
A similar trend has reduced the number of female Army recruits, who have
dropped from 22 percent in 2000 to about 17 percent of this year's new
soldiers."

Among Americans more generally, enthusiasm for the war, according to the
latest Washington Post poll, continues to sink below the horizon. Asked in
mid-March, "Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling the
situation in Iraq?" 39% of Americans approved and 57% disapproved. Compare
that with the 75%/22% response to the same question in late April of 2003.

The Coalition of the Willing Is Increasingly Willing to Go

Loss of enthusiasm isn't just a national phenomenon. As Boston Globe
columnist Derrick Z. Jackson recently put the matter, the Coalition of the
Willing in Iraq is turning into the Coalition of the "Wilting." Even in
countries (other than the United States) whose governments were willing to
send troops, the war in Iraq was never anything but unpopular. But the
enthusiasm of those governments is now fast receding. The Netherlands and
the Ukraine are withdrawing their troops. The Poles are planning to do so,
and even Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, our President's closest non-Anglo
war-pal, made his first withdrawal sounds last week, pressured by future
elections and the war's immense unpopularity in Italy, before the Bush
administration pressured him into backing down on his modest statements.

If you want to see the figures on foreign withdrawals, check out this New
York Times chart (scroll down and click on "graphic"). What no one counts
when counting forces in Iraq, however, are the possibly tens of thousands of
mercenary security types, who make ever more money as the situation gets
ever worse.

Other than the mercenaries, for whom the going gets good only when it gets
really bad, the sole major players unwilling to speak of setting up
schedules for withdrawal are Tony Blair and George W. Bush. Just this week,
our President refused to discuss a "timetable" for withdrawal and insisted,
"Our troops will come home when Iraq is capable of defending herself,"
which, given present realities, is more or less like saying: Never!

War Architects Heading for Other Planets, or Will This Be the Year of
Consolidation?

Something else may be wilting -- the neocon grip on the upper levels of the
Bush administration. Two key neocons crucial to pushing through an Iraq
invasion policy at the Pentagon, Douglas Feith and Paul Wolfowitz ("the Mr.
Magoo of American foreign policy? the Mozart of ineptitude, the Einstein of
incapacity."), are heading out of the administration, while former State
Department Neanderthal John Bolton has been farmed out to -- from the Bush
point of view -- the minor leagues. (Senator Jesse Helms once recommended
him in the following way: "John Bolton is the kind of man with whom I would
want to stand at Armageddon, or what the Bible describes as the final battle
between good and evil.") Feith announced that he was leaving his job as
undersecretary of defense "for personal reasons? citing the desire to spend
more time with his four children. 'For the last four years, they haven't
seen me a lot.'" (Why is it that important men suddenly discover the need
for family time only when their jobs evaporate?) Wolfowitz (the World Bank)
and Bolton (the UN) are evidently being dumped on the international
community (as, in the Vietnam era, President Lyndon Johnson also dumped his
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on the World Bank). Donald Rumsfeld is
reputedly planning to leave town within the year (possibly ceding his post
to former State Department hardliner and "realist" Richard Armitage), and
Dick Cheney is said to be spending much of his time on the President's
social security package.

Meanwhile, the so-called realists are evidently being brought in to clean up
shop and possibly consolidate the gains, such as they are, out there in the
imperium. Evidently Afghanistan is the model they have in mind. While the
hard-headed John Negroponte flies off from (or is it flees?) Baghdad for
Washington to become the nation's first "intelligence czar," the
administration is reputedly getting ready to fly in our present ambassador
to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, the former oil company consultant who has
steered the ex-Taliban principality into a Bush-style democracy -- that is,
a warlord-divided narco-state of a grim sort with a desperately weak
"central" government.

But look on the bright side, just the other day and possibly a tad early,
Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers proclaimed Afghanistan "secure" and
promptly suggested that "the United States is considering keeping long-term
bases here as it repositions its military forces around the world."

Perfect! Now that the Khalilzad-installed government of Hamid Karzai is, we
are told, seeking what's so charmingly referred to as a "strategic
partnership" with the United States. U.S. Major General Eric Olsen added to
the picture by mentioning our desire to hang onto the sprawling Soviet-era
base at Bagram, north of Kabul. Already a major American base, he called it
"a place where we see a long-term presence of coalition and, frankly, U.S.
capabilities."

Frankly indeed.

Right now, Baghdad may be ungovernable, the insurgency remains fierce, the
new Iraqi government unable to chose its leaders, gas lines endless in
Baghdad, electricity supplies desperately low in significant parts of the
country, allies dropping away, and security dismal, but what-we-worry. After
all, above all, chaos or not, we're still there, the self-invited guests who
came for dinner, and stayed on and on and on?.

In fact, though it's hardly mentioned in our media, we've been digging in.
Joshua Hammer of Mother Jones magazine reported in a recent issue that
approximately $4.5 billion dollars has gone to -- who else? -- KBR for the
construction and maintenance of up to 14 "enduring camps" or permanent
military bases in Iraq. Many of these bases have a look of permanency that
undoubtedly has to be seen to be imagined. But here's Hammer's description
of just one:

    "Camp Victory North, a sprawling base near Baghdad International
Airport, which the U.S. military seized just before the ouster of Saddam
Hussein in April 2003. Over the past year, KBR contractors have built a
small American city where about 14,000 troops are living, many hunkered down
inside sturdy, wooden, air-conditioned bungalows called SEA (for Southeast
Asia) huts, replicas of those used by troops in Vietnam. There's a Burger
King, a gym, the country's biggest PX -- and, of course, a separate compound
for KBR workers, who handle both construction and logistical support.
Although Camp Victory North remains a work in progress today, when complete,
the complex will be twice the size of Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo -- currently
one of the largest overseas posts built since the Vietnam War."

And let's just remember what those 14 bases sit on.

The Word That Cannot Be Spoken or Written

There's a word that can't really be spoken, or written, not at least in
conjunction with "Iraq," or off the business pages of our papers (even
though this week, the price of a barrel of the stuff broke $56).
Fortunately, I can spell it for you: It's o-i-l. Take, as the Village Voice
pointed out, the New York Times piece on the possible Khalilzad appointment
which "ran 592 words and referred to Khalilzad's high school basketball
career and his graduate work at the University of Chicago," but not his
"experience as a consultant to a major oil company," one that once
negotiated with the Taliban to build a pipeline across Afghanistan.

Iraq, as it happens, sits on top of probably the second largest oil deposits
in the Middle East (after Saudi Arabia where we've been drawing down our
bases for a while) and right in the strategic heartland of the oil lands of
the Earth. As far as I can tell, there hasn't even been much oil exploration
in the country in the last two decades, so who knows how much of what may
lie under its territories? As is too seldom mentioned, the Bush
administration is an energy regime with a number of its major players
connected at various past moments to energy companies of various sorts.
(Failing sorts in the case of our President.) Our present Secretary of
State, a Chevron director from 1991-2001, once even had an oil tanker named
after her.

As a group, they quite naturally look on the planet in an energy sort of way
and dream of global control, at least in part, in terms of controlling
energy flows. (That some of these dreams may prove quite irrational is
beside the point. Just recall the mad fantasies of gold that once drove
Spaniards deep into the New World and that have left us with land developers
who give their projects historically bizarre names like El Dorado Acres?
After all, they don't call oil "black gold" for nothing.) In the future, can
there be any question that historians will look upon our most recent Iraq
War as an energy war? If you have your doubts and want a sense of just how
much oil was on the mind of the Bush administration as it invaded Iraq,
consider Greg Palast's most recent piece of reportage, Secret U.S. Plans for
Iraq's Oil, based on revelations by the BBC's Newsnight (or Juan Cole's take
on it).

Or just think about the "withdrawal" news in the New York Times piece
mentioned above. If all goes really well, we might draw down to 105,000
troops in Iraq by 2006. And if the Iraqis can begin to take over basic
internal security jobs, then, as in Afghanistan, perhaps we'll try to
organize one of those "strategic partnerships" and claim at least some of
those KBR bases that are now as much a part of the Iraqi landscape as any
ziggurat.

The most significant fact of our Iraq War and occupation (and war), which
can't be repeated too many times, is that the Bush administration busted
into the country without an exit strategy for a simple reason: They never
planned to leave -- and they still don't. If you have a better reason for
taking a withdrawal position and pressing for it, let me know by at least
the beginning of Year Four of the Iraqi Deconstruction Era. Tom

[Special thanks for research work goes to Nick Turse.]
E-mail to a Friend

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
posted March 19, 2005 at 12:15 am
     
             
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     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sat Mar 19 16:48:15 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sat Mar 19 16:55:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Dolphin Story
Message-ID: <BE62084F.1F4E1%michael@michaelbutler.com>


Michael Butler's Blog

http://www.michaelbutler.com/mbblog.html


From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat Mar 19 18:42:00 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar 19 21:47:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Global Bully Goes to Guatemala
Message-ID: <200503200547.j2K5lgCu024791@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Note the actiion alert/opportunity at the end of this article

Global Bully Goes to Guatemala
By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman

There's something profoundly disturbing -- sickening, really -- about
watching a bully at work.

You feel either complicit, or powerless, or both.

The global bully, the United States, has just coerced Guatemala, its
latest victim, into repealing an important law to lower the price of
pharmaceuticals and promote generic competition. The U.S. ambassador to
Guatemala acknowledged that the Guatemalan law was intended to advance
public health objectives. But, no matter, he said -- U.S. commercial
interests in the form of Big Pharma demanded that the law go.

Here's how this went down, what it will mean, and what can be done:

The United States has negotiated a trade deal with the Central American
countries. It goes by the acronym of CAFTA (US-Central America Free Trade
Agreement).

CAFTA is a complex agreement, but in shorthand you can consider it an
extension of NAFTA to Central America.

CAFTA includes a chapter on patents, copyright and other forms of
monopoly protections for knowledge. All of the CAFTA countries are
already members of the World Trade Organization, which requires
countries to adopt U.S.-style patent systems, featuring 20-year patent
protection of all products, including pharmaceuticals.

Although it imposed on countries the requirement to adopt 20-year
patents for drugs, the WTO also contains certain safeguards. Most
important among them is the right to undertake compulsory licensing --
enabling governments to authorize generic competition for on-patent
products.

These safeguards are vital, especially in the developing world. Patent
monopolies drive up prices, and are the main reason drug prices are so
high. The best remedy to these high prices is generic competition.
Evidence: The price of a triple-drug AIDS therapies in developing
countries has fallen by 98 percent over the last six years, thanks to
generic competition, as well as an international campaign for access to
medicines.

But in CAFTA, the United States proposes to eviscerate countries' right to
speed up generic competition and undertake compulsory licensing for
pharmaceuticals, most importantly by requiring CAFTA members to establish
special monopoly protections for pharmaceutical regulatory data (known as
"data exclusivity").

To gain regulatory approval to sell generic versions of drugs already
approved for market, generic companies generally do not repeat safety and
efficacy studies, which are very time consuming and relatively costly.
Instead, they typically show their product is chemically equivalent to,
and works the same in the body as, the brand-name drug. Then they rely the
drug regulatory agency?s approval of the patented product to earn approval
for the generic version of the product.

But the U.S.-imposed provision would prevent this, and establish a 5-10
year period during which generic firms could not rely on the brand-name
companies' tests. As a result, brand-name companies would get protected
monopolies even if a product is not on patent, or even if a compulsory
license was issued.

Under pressure from the United States, Guatemala has adopted exclusivity
on two separate occasions in recent years.

But each time, after health advocates pointed out the dangers, the
provisions have been eliminated.

Making Big Pharma very unhappy.

So John Hamilton, the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, issued what amounted
to an ultimatum: Guatemala had to change its law to provide data
exclusivity, as is required by CAFTA, or the U.S. Congress wouldn't
approve the deal.

And so Guatemala did.

Despite intense street protests, including by people with HIV/AIDS, the
Guatemalan Congress last week imposed a data exclusivity regime, and then
approved CAFTA.

Get this: the United States demanded the change on data exclusivity even
as it acknowledged that Guatemala had rid itself of such rules in order to
advance public health objectives.

In an op-ed in the Guatemalan press demanding a change in the country's
data protection rules, Ambassador Hamilton wrote, "there is no doubt" that
Guatemala had rescinded data exclusivity rules "out of its concern to
protect public health."

But no matter.

Protecting public health isn't a good enough reason to offend Pfizer.

Unfortunately, this is not just an esoteric matter. It will have
life-and-death consequences.

"In Guatemala today, 78,000 people are infected with HIV/AIDS," says
Berta Chete, who works with the Association Gente Positiva, an
organization of people living with HIV/AIDS in Guatemala. "Nearly 13,500
of us are in urgent clinical need of ARV treatment. But only an estimated
3,600 people receive it. Most of them get it from the Social Security
system and non-governmental organizations. The Ministry of Health only
provides treatment to 350 patients."

The government has the duty to provide treatment, she points out.

But, "we doubt that the Government has the capacity to respond to this
situation, because, if there is not competition between generic medicines
and brand-name drugs to reduce prices, the national budget will never be
able to cover the needs of the country in terms of treating AIDS
patients."

The group Doctors Without Borders (known by the French acronym, MSF)
offers an example of the harm to come from the U.S.-imposed data
exclusivity rules, based on the period April 2003-November 2004, when
Guatemala had data exclusivity rules in place.

During that time, according to MSF, 25 medicines received data
exclusivity.

One of them was the AIDS drug atazanavir, a key part of second-line
therapy for people with HIV/AIDS once they experience treatment failure on
their first-line regimen. It is used widely in the United States, Europe
and Brazil.

There is presently no generic competition for atazanavir, a relatively new
drug, and today's price is more than $10,000 per person, per year.

"If a more affordable generic version of atazanavir is developed,
however," MSF notes -- and such a version would be expected if
competition is permitted -- "it will not be able to enter the Guatemalan
market until 2009," thanks to the data exclusivity rules.

"This means," explains MSF, "that Bristol-Myers Squibb will have a
monopoly during the entire period of exclusivity and, free from
competition, will be able to charge whatever the market will bear --- far
more than what the average Guatemalan will be able to afford. It is
therefore unlikely that the vast majority of Guatemalans who will need
this medicine will be able to access it."

These issues don't only involve HIV/AIDS, but the severity of the AIDS
epidemic, and the importance of recently developed medicines in providing
treatment, highlights the issue.

There is one piece of good news in this disgusting bully-boy saga: CAFTA
is not yet enacted.

The odds are reasonably good that CAFTA will be defeated in the U.S.
Congress.

And so this is unlike most occasions when you witness a bully at work.
This time, at least if you live in the United States, you can undo the
bully's violence -- by demanding your Member of Congress vote against the
trade pact.

For a quick and easy first step, go to:

<http://action.citizen.org/pc/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6064681>


Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime
Reporter, <http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com>. Robert Weissman is
editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Multinational Monitor,
http://www.multinationalmonitor.org, and co-director of Essential Action,
a corporate accountability group that works on access to medicines issues.
Mokhiber and Weissman are co-authors of On the Rampage: Corporate
Predators and the Destruction of Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common 
Courage
Press).

(c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 20 04:08:57 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 20 04:11:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6283214.1111320537360.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Two Years of War: Taking Stock
 
 By Anthony Shadid
 
  BAGHDAD
 
  A bear of a man, with an exuberance that matches his girth, Mohammed Hayawi looked over one shoulder, then the other. He glanced up at shelves eight rows high, and down at dusty stacks spilling across his bookstore, some a dozen deep.
 
 There were books by communist poets and martyred clerics, translations of Shakespeare, a 44-volume tome by a revered ayatollah and tales of Gertrude Bell, a British archaeologist and adventurer. Along the window were books on Iraq's recent past: "What Happened in Baghdad," "The Secret Life of Saddam" and "The American Empire and the Invasion of Iraq." 
 
 Hayawi shook his head. He shrugged his burly shoulders. None of them can describe his country, nor his time.
 
 "Not one book," Hayawi said. He squinted his eyes, a look of suspicion tempered by a mercurial smile.
 
 There's a phrase that Hayawi has uttered often over the past two years. He has said in times that are good and bad, chaotic and, more rarely, subdued: "I challenge anyone to say what has happened, what is happening now and what will happen in the future."
 
 In interviews every few months, beginning before the U.S. invasion in March 2003, Hayawi, now 41, has watched the fate of his country unfold with fear that turned to anger, and resentment that melted into resignation, bound together by a resilience that is perhaps this country's defining trait. Resilience can mean many things  --  fatalism, endurance, persistent hope and an ability to make the unusual normal.
 
 Hayawi's story is neither stirring nor tragic, but rather quiet  --  the conflicted reflections of one man, a prominent bookseller in Baghdad on a journey through tumult in a country that he, like his fellow citizens, struggles even now to understand.
 
 Hayawi is an Iraqi who resents the U.S. occupation but voted in the election the United States backed. He is a devout Muslim, but fears the rise of religion in politics. He is a Sunni who resists identifying himself as such, even as he is forced to do so more and more. And from behind his desk, over cups of excessively sweet tea, cigarettes that never stop burning and a water pipe that is delivered every day after lunch, he watches the very complexion of his country transform  --  in books, conversations and politics, sometimes in the most subtle of ways. Iraq changes even as the rhythm of its life remains the same.
 
 In streets more tattered than ever, there is the inspirational: posters of voters with their ink-stained fingers, a testament to their courage in defying insurgent threats to disrupt the election. And there is the grim: rubble crafted by the bombs of the U.S. invasion that mixes with the birds' nests of steel rods, concrete slabs and twisted girders left by the more recent destructiveness of car bombs.
 
 Outside Hayawi's bookstore are the lasting scars of looting that followed the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Inside, he celebrates an inventory in which "the prohibited has become permitted." He points to celebrated freedoms that Iraqis will probably never surrender. And in the same breath, he glumly asks any customer who will listen, "Can Iraqis live on freedom alone?"
 
 The Renaissance Bookstore is on Mutanabi Street, a stretch of bookstores and stationery shops that is as storied as it is narrow. For a generation or more, the street, named after one of the Arab world's greatest poets, served as the capital's intellectual entrepot. Under international sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, with Hussein still in power, it embodied the capital's plight.
 
 Its stores were lined with textbooks from another generation and dust-covered religious tomes that seemed more for show than for sale. (Displayed outside Hayawi's store was a copy of Business Week from June 29, 1987. "Who's Afraid of IBM?" the cover read.) More often than not, the street was a dreary, depressing flea market for used books. Vendors sold off their private collections in a desperate attempt to get by, as Iraq's already feeble economy descended further into misery.
 October 2002 
 It was five months before the U.S. invasion. Hayawi smiled, but was tired and unshaven, the hue of the heavy bags under his eyes deepening as the day wore on.
 
 "Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was wrong," he said quite boldly  --  a blasphemous idea in the prevailing theology of Hussein. 
 
 As an Arab, he said, he was embarrassed by the idea of an Arab country attacking another Arab country. As a Muslim, he was ashamed of a war that pitted co-religionists against each other. And, in remarkably brave words, he declared he was angry at Hussein for doing it. Looking back, he could even understand the justification for the 1991 Persian Gulf War, when U.S. troops attacked Iraq in response to the invasion.
 
 But now? he asked.
 
 He listed possible justifications for war, then explained them away. Because of weapons of mass destruction? We don't have any. If we did, he declared, we would have fired them at Israel. Because of our leader? What, he asked, does he have to do with us?
 
 Baghdad was gripped then with anticipation of war so deep it seemed to accelerate time. In those days, it could sometimes be heard that the capital was cursed  --  that it was being made to pay for all the wrongs of Hussein. It was a corollary of fatalism: We can do nothing about what we deserve.
 
 "Why the crisis after crisis?" Hayawi asked. And he shook his head, helpless.
 Summer 2003 
 After the invasion, Mutanabi Street told another story. Before, it was a tale of isolation, sanctions and dictatorship, a country with no future. Now, it was an exposition on the half-truths of occupation and liberation.
 
 At every turn were the lingering scenes of looting: arched windows shattered and yellow-brick walls scalded black. Before the war, the market stayed open until 10 p.m., sometimes 11 p.m. Now the street shut down by 3 p.m., often earlier.
 
 A once-limited catalogue of books had exploded. There were titles by Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Sadr, a brilliant theologian killed, as the story goes, when Hussein's executioners drove nails into his forehead in 1980. The long-discouraged iconography of the Shiite revival was everywhere: renderings of living ayatollahs competing for space with portraits, glossy in the sun, of 7th-century saints marching to their deaths. Nearby were new issues of FHM and Maxim, their covers adorned with scantily clad women.
 
 Liberation was never easy to define; the occupation was unlike any other.
 
 "If the Americans want to do well, they have to gain the trust of the people," Hayawi said at the time. "Until now, there is nothing. We want to see something malmus," or tangible. Rafahiya, Hayawi said. It was a word heard often those days. It means prosperity, and it was what Hayawi and most Iraqis thought the Americans had promised after Hussein's fall. Those promises, he said ruefully, were like water that trickles through your fingers when you cup your hands.
 
 He ran his hand over his fleshy, sweaty cheeks. "Does this look like the face of 39 years?"
 
 In the months following the invasion, the Americans and Iraqis rarely measured material progress the same way, their perceptions spanning the chasm of culture, language and experience. To the United States, the point of reference began with the day after Hussein's fall. To Iraqis, it stretched back a generation, to the 1970s, when Iraq's standard of living competed with those of Europe's poorer countries. 
 
 "It has changed definitely," Hayawi said. "It has changed for the better. But we wish that it could even be better." 
 Spring 2004 
 A year after the invasion, when the U.S. occupation was still called an occupation, Hayawi was always conflicted. He and his four brothers who ran the bookstore  --  founded by their father in 1954  --  were making twice as much as they had before the U.S. invasion. They traveled freely to Lebanon to purchase books. Their shelves burst with new titles, some purchased by government employees whose burgeoning salaries had created a new consumer class.
 
 But living under occupation, Hayawi found his pride wounded. He told a story that he often liked to repeat. 
 
 In his Chevrolet Caprice, he was driving to Syria on business when he was stopped at a U.S. checkpoint manned by soldiers in two Humvees. Through an interpreter, one of the officers  --  clad in camouflage and dusty from a desert wind  --  began to ask routine questions. 
 
 " 'What are you doing here?' he asked. I said, 'What are you doing here? You're my guest. What are you doing in Iraq? I should ask you, you shouldn't ask me.' " The interpreter told the U.S. officer what Hayawi said.
 
 "He laughed, and he patted my shoulder," Hayawi recalled. "This really happened."
 Winter 2005 
 Iraq's first free election in a half-century, on Jan. 30, posed a difficult choice for Hayawi. He thought, wrongly, that "the roads would be flooded with blood up to our foreheads." He was a Sunni Arab, part of a community that largely boycotted the vote, out of fear or principle. He was uncertain whether to vote until the day itself, when Baghdad erupted in joy unparalleled since Hussein's fall.
 
 The election "was like someone inviting me to lunch. I can't say no," he said, a little meekly. "If you say no, this is disrespectful."
 
 Hayawi sat at his cluttered desk days after the vote, atop a cream tile floor swept clean but stained with age.
 
 "I knew that the paper I put in the ballot box was for America. I know I was being hypocritical. But there was no other choice," he said, waving his cigarette between his fingers. "The future of Iraq is a line that goes through the occupation. If you asked me why I was voting, it's because I want to find something to pull me out of this mud."
 
 He looked out his window, emblazoned with an Iraqi flag. "Maybe this is the rope that will save us."
 
 Two years on, his complaints were the same: lines for gasoline in a country with the world's second-largest oil reserves; less electricity than a year ago; his suspicion that foreigners were taking the profits from oil, whose production hovered at prewar levels.
 
 But little else  --  neither past nor future  --  was conclusive.
 The Present 
 Every day on his way to work, Hayawi passes a wall, right before the Sarafiya Bridge.
 
 A slogan celebrating the fallen Iraqi leader has faded, leaving only his name. A leaflet by followers of a young militant cleric, Moqtada Sadr, exhorts, "Be an enemy of the oppressor." Partially blotted out is another slogan that declares, "Death to the lackeys." Election posters linger, promising "to revive what was destroyed by the criminal Baath regime." Nearby is a heap of tin cans, plastic bags, wet orange peels and flies, underneath an injunction to keep the city clean.
 
 His views over what was ahead were like the wall itself. They collided and intersected, contradicted and agreed.
 
 He approved of attacks on U.S. soldiers  --  like most Sunnis, he considered that part of the insurgency legitimate resistance. But he recoiled at the car bombs and suicide attacks against Iraqi police and civilians, whose deaths are far more numerous.
 
 "A car bomb in front of a school, in front of children?" he asked. "Can you call this an act of resistance?"
 
 He worried about the growing sectarian and ethnic divisions in the country, perhaps the most lasting legacy of the U.S.-supported political process in Iraq. He was Sunni, but did not identify himself as such. To Hayawi, the sectarian focus was a harbinger of strife like the civil war that consumed Lebanon from 1975 to 1990. "Iraq resists sectarianism, but can't prevent it," he said.
 
 In his bookstore, once-banned titles were selling well. Most were Iranian imports by Shiite clerics. Also popular were titles by radical Sunnis: Mohammed ibn Abd Wahhab, the 18th-century godfather of Saudi Arabia's strict brand of Islam; the austere medieval thinker Ibn Taimiya; and Sayyid Qutb, the Egyptian author of the seminal militant tract "Signposts on the Road," who was executed in 1966.
 
 Even more sought-after were language books  --  English, French, Turkish and Farsi  --  what Hayawi called passports to the rest of the world. The bestsellers: books on astrology by Lebanese writers made famous by satellite television.
 
 "People want to know what their destiny is," he said, smiling.
 Rhythms of Life 
 Every morning, Hajji Sadiq, the money-changer, ambles into the Renaissance Bookstore.
 
 "What's the exchange rate?" Hayawi bellows to him.
 
 "I won't tell you unless you're going to buy," Hajji Sadiq answers him, slurring his words through the gaps in his teeth.
 
 Business resumes for another day, with endless trays of tea  --  each glass costing 10 cents  --  brought through the door.
 
 "Habibi!" Hayawi shouts to customers, greeting them with an Arabic term of endearment. An elderly beggar covered in black appears at the entrance, as she does every day. "God's mercy on your parents," she mutters. "Can you help me?"
 
 The topic is the rain that had flooded Baghdad in March, and Hayawi tells a story about Hajjaj, a medieval ruler of Baghdad known for his cruelty. In the tale, Hajjaj asks a subject, "Who brought me? Did God bring me, did I bring myself, or did you bring me to you?" The first answered that Hajjaj came on his own. Wrong, Hajjaj said, and he ordered him beheaded. The second answered God. He was beheaded, too. The third said he would answer only if his life was guaranteed. Hajjaj agreed.
 
 "Our misdeeds brought you to rule us," his subject said.
 
 Others in the bookstore nodded. "Maybe God's angry with us," Hayawi said.
 
 Two Kurdish booksellers come in, bringing a gift of honey from Sulaymaniyah in the north. They greet Hayawi in Kurdish, then the conversation continues in Arabic.
 
 "If you can give us a good deal, it's okay," Hayawi said. "If you can't, we'll depend on God."
 
 The electricity cuts out, an event so routine no one seems to notice. Hayawi scrutinizes a 25,000-dinar note, suspicious that it's counterfeit. His brothers call for more tea.
 
 Hajji Sadiq returns hour after hour, quoting hardly perceptible changes in the exchange rate. Hayawi whispers in jest that the money-changer is carrying $10,000. "Be careful out there," Hayawi shouts before turning to his brother. "There will be a day when I rob Hajji Sadiq," he jokes.
 
 By 1 p.m., power returns, and 10 minutes later, a water pipe arrives. Sweet-smelling, apple-flavored tobacco fills the room.
 
 "Life goes on," Hayawi says. "We are in the middle of a war, and we still smoke the water pipe."
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 20 04:11:06 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 20 04:13:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <4650756.1111320666550.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Clay Shaw's Alternative
 
 By David S. Broder
 
    President Bush's open-ended invitation for anyone to come forward with ideas on Social Security reform has brought responses from a number of Republican legislators. Some, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have won deserved praise for acknowledging that rescuing the endangered retirement, survivor and disability fund from the fiscal effects of the baby boom may require sacrifice from taxpayers and beneficiaries alike.
 
  But, because of its source, another new idea on the bargaining table is entitled to more attention than it has received so far. It is the handiwork of Republican Rep. Clay Shaw of Florida, a 24-year veteran who served as chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security until term-limited out at the beginning of this year.
 
  I have been covering Shaw since the 1970s, when he was mayor of Fort Lauderdale, and know him to be a serious legislator. If you assume, as most knowledgeable people do, that any solution to the Social Security problem will require bipartisan agreement, then your gaze naturally falls on people such as Shaw. Nine years ago, when he headed the subcommittee with jurisdiction over welfare, he successfully brokered the bill that has dramatically reduced the welfare rolls in this country.
 
  In that instance he had to negotiate agreements with governors of both parties and the White House. The first two bills he passed drew presidential vetoes, but Shaw persisted and President Clinton signed the third version in 1996. This is a guy patient enough to wait for powerful people to embrace his ideas.
 
  When I interviewed Shaw last week, he began by saying  --  as do almost all Republicans  --  that it is impossible to close the gap between promised Social Security benefits and current Social Security taxes unless younger workers are allowed to create individual retirement accounts invested in stocks and bonds.
 
  The political reality, said this House veteran, is that Democrats are adamantly opposed to financing these private accounts by diverting one-third of the current 12.4 percent Social Security tax, as Bush has proposed. Shaw also says that drastically reducing future benefits by changing the formula by which they are indexed for inflation will be rejected by Democrats  --  and by enough Republicans to block legislation.
 
  "The only way to get a bipartisan bill passed," he argued, "is to make the private accounts an add-on to the existing system."
 
  How to pay for them? Shaw's answer is to have the government pre-fund them from general revenue, without a tax increase. Under his plan, every worker who chooses could sign up to receive a tax credit of 4 percent of his or her wages, up to $1,000 a year. The tax credit would be deposited in the worker's account, and could be invested, as the worker wishes, in one of three approved index funds with varying mixes of stocks and bonds. Proceeds would accumulate tax-free but could not be touched until the worker retired or was disabled.
 
  At that point, the worker would receive 5 percent of the accumulated savings as a lump sum, and the rest would revert to Social Security, which would then calculate a monthly lifetime payout. The government would guarantee that, whatever the size of the savings account, the monthly check would not be smaller than the promised Social Security benefit, but if the account has grown large enough, it could be higher. Workers who die before collecting benefits or who decide to forgo Social Security could leave their accounts to their heirs tax-free.
 
  Shaw emphasizes the "security" aspect of this plan, with a guarantee that no one would face any reduction in benefits, higher Social Security taxes or a later retirement age.
 
  How would it be financed? By borrowing $3.4 trillion from the Treasury. That is a staggering sum, he concedes, but he says that Social Security actuaries calculate that as people began to cash in their accounts later this century, the money the Treasury had advanced would come back, and in 75 years, all that debt would be repaid and excess cash would be generated each year  --  which he would insist be used to retire other government debt.
 
  Critics object that Shaw would be creating a new entitlement program, but he argues that it should, instead, be considered a way to eliminate what is now an unfunded government obligation to future retirees.
 
  He is just beginning to walk the idea around Capitol Hill, looking particularly for Democratic co-sponsors. A patient man, he seems confident that his time will come. 
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 20 04:12:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 20 04:14:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5841789.1111320771350.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 For Bush, Personnel as Policy
 
 By Jim Hoagland
 
    President Bush's second-term appointments confirm how important individual loyalty is to him. Even more than most, this president treats personnel matters as personal matters.
 
  But Bush's  choices for top-tier jobs in foreign policy and at the World Bank reveal another overriding priority that gets less attention. The other "L" word  --  legacy  --  goes unspoken by Bush but already shapes a hugely ambitious agenda for global change that he wants set in concrete by 2009.
 
  The president has hidden this enormous ambition and the tools for achieving it in plain sight. He built his second inaugural address around repetitive emphasis of the word "freedom" and now is sending trusted aides out to design or modify specific policies and institutions to make the speech a conceptual blueprint for the next four years.
 
  The nominations last week of Karen Hughes to run the State Department's public diplomacy effort and of Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank should be seen in that longer-term light. So should the less publicized but equally revealing decision by Bush to give his chief speechwriter, Michael Gerson, a significant role in planning policies pegged to turning the lofty rhetoric on the Middle East into reality.
 
  Judgments about the desirability or realism of Bush's grand designs for change  --  and Congress's willingness to fund them  --  must await future columns. But as his nominations move forward, it is important to understand that they do not represent random or unconnected choices made simply to reward loyalists. Be relieved or terrified, but realize that there is a plan at work here. Bush himself never talks about legacy and does not encourage conversations in which the word might figure, say officials who meet with him. Nor does he seem to mind that there is little public awareness that he is developing methods to pursue what the president's critics call madness  --  his obsession with spreading freedom.
 
  "He gets right down to business and talks about how to get these things done, not about the philosophy of why we should do them," says one senior official. "As soon as he makes his mind up on the World Bank, for example, the question right away becomes who to call to get support."
 
  Bush was encouraged by the early call he placed to Jacques Chirac. The French president at first showed an undisguised coolness to moving Wolfowitz from the Pentagon's No. 2 slot to No. 1 at the World Bank, a 184-nation institution that is a major provider of aid to developing countries.
 
  "Please remember that this is the World Bank," Chirac said, in an ironic phrase interpreted by one U.S. official as a plea to Bush not to turn the institution into the Arab World Bank or the American Bank for Spreading Democracy in the Middle East. Europeans and others must also have meaningful input, Chirac insisted. But Chirac then told Bush that France would not fight the nomination, a decision that bolsters Wolfowitz's chances of being confirmed by the bank's board of governors, in the view of U.S. and European officials.
 
  "This nomination shows that the president is not indifferent to the World Bank as an institution. There is a desire to fit the bank into an agenda of change that other leaders can work with and influence," said one U.S. official. "If Chirac can see beyond the caricature of Wolfowitz as a warmonger, others will as well."
 
  Wolfowitz's advocacy of invading Iraq as a linchpin for the democratization of the Middle East has made him a lightning rod for controversy, as has the gross mischaracterization of him as a neoconservative. His intellectual abilities and extensive government service make him a solid candidate to continue James Wolfensohn's spirited efforts to rescue the bank from irrelevancy or worse.
 
  Bush's strong personal ties to Karen Hughes will make her a formidable figure that foreign governments will have to pay attention to as she works to change the U.S. image abroad. The same is true for John Bolton as ambassador-designate to the United Nations, an organization pushing for its own far-reaching  reforms that need and deserve U.S. engagement. Bolton, European officials tell me, is far easier to work with in private negotiations than his public abrasiveness suggests.
 
  Could other Bush motives account for these nominations? A perverse sense of humor? A desire to punish or destroy the World Bank or the United Nations? A taste for poetic justice slaked by condemning the talented wordsmith Gerson to try to bring his rhetoric to life?
 
  Maybe. But count on that, and you run the risk of "misunderestimating" George W. Bush and his ambition once again.
 
 jimhoagland@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 20 04:15:04 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 20 04:17:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <21533124.1111320904760.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Painful Echoes Of My Father's Ordeal
 
 By Janet Schmidt Zupan
 
    I recently found a letter written by my mother just after my dad left for his final tour in Vietnam. "It's been hectic," she began. "Norm's afraid he won't get things done. He tried to fix up the whole house and the corral before he left. I wanted him to forget it but he had to keep working. . . . He's had a severe headache which has him worried. . . . It broke my heart to see him climb into that airplane."
 
  I remember that summer  --  July, Mojave Desert, my sisters and I complaining as we shoveled horse manure into a creaky wheelbarrow, my dad tamping creosote posts plumb in an afternoon wind. I remember touching his shoulder where he knelt to set a tile in his beautiful floor, trowel in hand, the musty odor of concrete and Spanish brick in the air. I recall us all sitting around the table, Dad blowing out the candles of his 40th birthday cake, and the deep silence beyond the tear of wrapping paper and clipped ribbons. I was 11. On the tarmac of George Air Force Base, I breathed in the smell of his flight suit when he hugged me for the last time.
 
  On Sept. 1, 1966, his F-104 was hit by flak during a mission, and the plane went down. My dad bailed out, drifting toward his last 364 living days, days that separated him so utterly from his life as a son, husband, father and career test pilot. In his final months he was deemed a "war criminal," beyond our desperate love and worry, beyond the protection of the country he served, and excluded from the regard for human safety, dignity and life inherent in the articles of the Geneva Convention.
 
  In an audiotape in 1974, Cmdr. Robert Shumaker shared recollections of my dad. They were in a nine-foot-square   cell with two other POWs in the Little Vegas section of the Hanoi Hilton in the summer of 1967. It was a harrowing period for the prisoners, in the wake of a communications purge. Shumaker described an incident on Aug. 21: "After Norm had finished washing he was peeking out [a] crack and trying to get a look at some of the other prisoners. Wouldn't you know it, a guard caught him." For this offense, my dad's legs were locked in stocks attached to his bed. Ten days passed before guards released him from this confinement and took him away for interrogation. He was never seen again. Shumaker concluded that "[Norm] was subjected to torture and succumbed in the process." Other prisoners, in cells down the hall from the interrogation room, reported hearing the "sounds of torture . . . a loud scuffle and then silence." My father's remains were disinterred from the Ba Huyen Cemetery in Hanoi in 1974 and returned to us.
 
  These days, the unspeakable aspects of  my father's death have reared back into focus through the most shocking of sources: Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan. How many of us trusted in unwavering U.S. adherence to the principles of the Geneva Convention? We committed to the accord, in good part, as a way of securing the protection of our own soldiers. Yet, recent, mounting evidence reveals that the United States has been engaging in abhorrent interrogation methods sanctioned from the executive branch down.
 
  Someone tell me, please, what marks the difference between the fatal techniques used against my father, Col. Norman Schmidt  --  labeled "war criminal"  --  and those used on "enemy combatant" Manadel Jamadi, whose death in custody in Baghdad has been classified as a homicide? 
 
 What makes one instance an internationally recognized, heinous crime and the other an increasingly condoned practice, something we're supposed to believe is unfortunate but necessary? I cannot find the answer.
 
  But I know that we owe it to our soldiers to treat prisoners of war and conflict humanely, no matter the circumstances that led to their incarceration, no matter the label they are given. Our national hesitation and then silence, our lack of outcry for an independent, thorough investigation into illegal detentions and torture, leave me grieving once again, deeper now for what seems the futility and waste in my father's honorable service and ultimate sacrifice in the name of the highest ideals of freedom and decency.
 
 The writer is a college instructor in Montana.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 20 04:33:45 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 20 04:36:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Growth of Wireless Internet Opens New Path
	for Thieves
Message-ID: <20050320123350.2ACBE1C229@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: swiggard@comcast.net.

TECHNOLOGY | March 19, 2005

Growth of Wireless Internet Opens New Path for Thieves
By SETH SCHIESEL

Federal and state law enforcement officials say criminals have begun to use unsecured Wi-Fi networks to help cover their tracks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/technology/19wifi.html?ex=1111986000&en=18e9a55e51ba9869&ei=5070



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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun Mar 20 05:42:39 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun Mar 20 05:44:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: Creationists take their fight to the
	really big screen
Message-ID: <20050320134239.9D68A1A2D@herring.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the The Observer site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

Films on evolution no longer being shown in certain areas of the US !!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the The Observer site, go to http://www.observer.co.uk

Creationists take their fight to the really big screen
US row forces southern Imax cinemas to shun films on evolution
Robin McKie, science editor
Sunday March 20 2005
The Observer


They are the epitome of safe family entertainment, renowned for lavish animations, exquisitely filmed scenes of natural grandeur and utterly tame scripts. But Imax films have suddenly found themselves catapulted into controversy, thanks to their occasional use of the dreaded E-word: evolution.

In several US states, Imax cinemas - including some at science museums - are refusing to show movies that mention the subject or suggest that Earth's origins do not conform with biblical descriptions.  

Films include Cosmic Voyage, an animated journey through the universe; Galapagos, a documentary about the islands where Darwin made some of his most important observations; and Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, an underwater epic about the bizarre creatures that flourish near ocean vents.

In most southern states, theatre officials found recent test screenings of several of these films triggered accusations from viewers that the films were blasphemous.  

Carol Murray, marketing director of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History in Texas, said audience members who had watched Volcanoes had commented 'I really hate it when the theory of evolution is presented as fact', or 'I don't agree with their presentation of human existence.'  

As a result, the science museum had decided not to screen the film. 'If it is not going to draw a crowd and it is going to create controversy, from a marketing point of view, I cannot make a recommendation,' Murray told  the New York Times yesterday.

Superficially, the decision affects only a dozen or so cinemas. But it could have a profound knock-on effect across the world because of the high cost of producing Imax films.  

They require special cameras and expensive projectors. The economics of Imax film-making are therefore very tight, and the actions of these southern Imax cinemas will only exacerbate the problem. It is expected that producers will be far less likely to make films that could offend fundamentalists, as the loss of venues in the southern states could be enough to turn profit to loss.

'It is going to be hard for our film-makers to continue to make unfettered documentaries when they know that 10 per cent of the market will reject them,' said Joe DeAmicis, vice-president of the California Science Centre in Los Angeles.  

This point was emphasised by Bayley Silleck, who wrote and directed Cosmic Voyage. Many institutions across America were coming under pressure about issues relating to natural selection. 'They have to be extremely careful as to how they present anything relating to evolution,' he said.   

A spokesman for the Science Museum in London described the development as worrying: 'It is a very tight market in the Imax business and we would be extremely disappointed if this sort of pressure led to a narrowing of the market for popular Imax films. These films are very popular with families.'  

The decision has also dismayed James Cameron, the Hollywood director who made the Imax film Aliens of the Deep and who was one of the producers of  Volcanoes. He said he was 'surprised and somewhat offended' that people were sensitive to the references to evolution in  Volcanoes.

He also revealed that objections had been made to parts of Aliens of the Deep, but these had remained in the final cut. 'It seems to be a new phenomenon, obviously symptomatic of our shift away from empiricism in science to faith-based science,' he said.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar 20 14:57:36 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 14:59:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME Magazine: The Decency Police
Message-ID: <2256188.1111359456268.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



Here we go again with the critics/censors.... bummer.

barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar 20 15:11:19 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sun Mar 20 15:13:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME: 25 Most Influential Evangelicals Photo Essay:
	Howard and Roberta Ahmanson
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV267AF4C0F056BE9FE8CCECAB4C0@phx.gbl>

Barbara Siomos <barbarasiomos38@msn.com> has sent you the following web link:

http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/covers/1101050207/photoessay/2.html


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 20 16:24:20 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 20 16:26:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Media Downplay Historic Day of Protests
Message-ID: <BE635434.1F542%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Media Downplay Historic Day of Protests
    By Scott Galindez
    t r u t h o u t | Report

    Sunday 20 March 2005

    Fayetteville, NC -- The second anniversary of the war was the impetus
for major demonstrations throughout the world. In the United States, over
800 communities held events calling for an end to the occupation.

    CNN, however, reported that in the United States "barely a ripple was
made while large protests took place in Europe." The New York Times reported
that protests in the United States ranged from 350 people in Times Square to
thousands in San Francisco. Later in the same story, the Times reported that
several thousand marched from Harlem to Central Park. If thousands marched
in New York, why did the Times highlight the 350 in Times Square?

    CNN's report was worse ? nothing about US protests. While they only saw
a ripple, a huge wave passed them by. If CNN had been in Fayetteville, North
Carolina, they would have seen what could be a major turning point in the
anti-war movement. The largest Anti-war protest ever in this heavily
military town took place.

    The march was led by two banners carried by family members of soldiers
who died or served in Iraq. The first banner said "The World Still Says No
to War" and the second banner was "Bring the Troops Home Now." A few feet
behind was a banner carried by Veterans of the Iraq War. One of those
veterans, Sergeant Camillo Mejia, recently served 9 months in jail for
refusing to return to Iraq after leave. Mejia told the crowd: "After going
to war and seeing its ugly face, I could no longer be a part of it."

    Following the Iraq Veterans was Military Families Speak Out. "I can't
remain silent on these issues, slap a yellow ribbon on my car and call it
supporting our troops," said Kara Hollingsworth, the wife of a soldier
serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. "I support our troops by making
sure they are not put in harm's way unless absolutely necessary."

    Many veterans of past wars were also among the ranks. Sections of the
march resembled army units marching in formation calling cadence.

    Speaker after speaker told stories of loved ones they had lost during
the war and the now 2-year-old occupation of Iraq. Flag-draped mock coffins
were carried by many.

    Congresswoman Lynn Woosley of California called on the crowd to lobby
Congress in support of House Concurrent Resolution 35, calling on the
President to bring U.S. troops home.

    The March was part of a series of events aimed at breathing new life
into the anti-war movement. The first-ever Iraq Veterans Against the War
national conference is also taking place, along with a Conference of
Military Families Speak Out. A third major conference of Southern anti-war
organizers is also taking place in Fayetteville.

    CNN missed the boat ? perhaps a good thing for them, since they were
only prepared for a ripple and not the giant wave that formed in
Fayetteville.

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun Mar 20 16:53:31 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Sun Mar 20 16:55:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Shamed US car maker DeLorean dies
Message-ID: <20050321_005331_051912.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

HS saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
A man who tried to do things and did!

** Shamed US car maker DeLorean dies **
Former car maker John DeLorean whose factory in Belfast went bust in 1983 dies after a stroke.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4366733.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun Mar 20 16:56:47 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:50:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - 1 IN 6 PEOPLE SUBJECTED TO RACISM: REPORT
Message-ID: <20050321005647.466B469AFA@nmweb09.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
1 IN 6 PEOPLE SUBJECTED TO RACISM: REPORT
WebPosted Sun Mar 20 16:54:38 2005

OTTAWA ---About 1 in 6 Canadian adults &#8211; roughly four million
people &#8211; have been victims of racism, a survey suggests.

Conversely, one in 10 respondents said they wouldn't want people from
another race as next-door neighbours, according to the Ipsos-Reid study
to be released Monday.

A greater number &#8211;13 per cent &#8211; told pollsters they would
never marry or have a relationship with someone from another race.

The study was commissioned by the Dominion Institute to mark the
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The survey results challenge Canadians' perception that the country is a
model of tolerance and multiculturalism, according to the institute's
director, Rudyard Griffiths.

"We knew that racism was a problem of the last generation. Well,
according to four million of our fellow citizens, they feel that they've
been the victim of racism," Griffiths told the Canadian Press.

"I think that shows that we can't be kind of complacent about the need to
challenge racism whenever it rears its ugly head."

Most respondents said they didn't think the amount of racism in their
communities had changed much in the past five years, according to the Ipsos-
Reid study to be released Monday.

Nearly 15 per cent of the 1,001 people surveyed said they thought skin
colour made a difference at work.

The results of the survey, conducted March 12 to 15, are considered
accurate to within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of
20.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:48:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:50:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME: 25 Most Influential Evangelicals Photo
	Essay:	Howard and Roberta Ahmanson
References: <BAY5-DAV267AF4C0F056BE9FE8CCECAB4C0@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <002a01c52db8$23b7af00$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Barbara:

It won't let me look at it unless I become a subscriber.  Is there a way 
around this?

Thanks.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 6:11 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME: 25 Most Influential Evangelicals Photo Essay: 
Howard and Roberta Ahmanson


Barbara Siomos <barbarasiomos38@msn.com> has sent you the following web 
link:

http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/covers/1101050207/photoessay/2.html


_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:50:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:52:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Insurgent Attacks Flare on a Violent Day in
	Iraq
Message-ID: <20050321015034.C3F359FD1F@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 20, 2005

Insurgent Attacks Flare on a Violent Day in Iraq
By EDWARD WONG

Insurgents and U.S. forces fought on the outskirts of Baghdad, and the American military said that 24 insurgents were killed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/international/middleeast/20cnd-iraq.html?ex=1111986000&en=3d495ab6debff803&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

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This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:51:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:53:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Annan Will Recommend Sweeping Reforms for
	the U.N.
Message-ID: <20050321015121.2700F11F8CB@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 20, 2005

Annan Will Recommend Sweeping Reforms for the U.N.
By WARREN HOGE

The secretary general's proposed changes include expanding the Security Council and restructuring the Human Rights Commission.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/international/20cnd-nations.html?ex=1111986000&en=2b12a642b6bfe908&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:51:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:53:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Nobel for Sistani
Message-ID: <20050321015153.78E4A83D51@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 20, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: A Nobel for Sistani
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

If democracy emerges in Iraq, it will be in large part due to the dominant Iraqi Shiite communal leader, Ali al-Sistani.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/opinion/20friedman.html?ex=1111986000&en=2837c8e19ae1cd6d&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:53:16 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:55:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Race: A Word,
	an Ideology or a Fact? (6 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050321015316.C8AB783D8C@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | March 20, 2005

Race: A Word, an Ideology or a Fact? (6 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/opinion/l20race.html?ex=1111986000&en=3a97bfc1829c2c15&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:54:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:56:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rumsfeld Cautions Iraqis on New Government
Message-ID: <20050321015412.86FB583DCD@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 20, 2005

Rumsfeld Cautions Iraqis on New Government
By BRIAN KNOWLTON, BR / International Herald Tribune

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned Iraqi politicians to be "darned careful" in forming a new government that they not weaken Iraqi security forces.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/politics/20cnd-policy.html?ex=1111986000&en=8c55cf05cb45e4b5&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:54:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:57:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Peres, Worried Yet Optimistic,
	Chooses Subjects One at a Time
Message-ID: <20050321015459.2D87321F1DA@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 20, 2005

Peres, Worried Yet Optimistic, Chooses Subjects One at a Time
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Shimon Peres, Israel's vice prime minister, said that he is worried about the survival of the government in a vote on the state budget that must take place before the end of March.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/international/middleeast/20cnd-mideast.html?ex=1111986000&en=4288d890eff854d2&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:55:34 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:57:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Two Years After Iraq Invasion,
	Protesters Hold Small Rallies
Message-ID: <20050321015534.F196F13B749@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


NATIONAL | March 20, 2005

Two Years After Iraq Invasion, Protesters Hold Small Rallies
By ROBERT D. McFADDEN

Small crowds of demonstrators mobilized in New York and other cities to condemn the war and demand the withdrawal of troops.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/national/20protests.html?ex=1111986000&en=fb0f6490e90369e7&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:57:25 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 17:59:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Counting of 2004 Provisional Ballots Varied
	Widely, Study Finds
Message-ID: <20050321015734.82B8A3AE3E9@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 20, 2005

Counting of 2004 Provisional Ballots Varied Widely, Study Finds
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Two-thirds of the provisional ballots cast in last year's presidential election were counted, but there were wide differences from state to state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/politics/20ballot.html?ex=1111986000&en=7959409adc9ea86d&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:58:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 18:00:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Behind Lebanon Upheaval,
	2 Men's Fateful Clash
Message-ID: <20050321015813.E8BB49FD09@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 20, 2005

Behind Lebanon Upheaval, 2 Men's Fateful Clash
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

The assassination of Rafik Hariri eliminated the one man potentially able to pressure Syria to release its grip on Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/international/middleeast/20lebanon.html?ex=1111986000&en=ab92b55c9e1dda37&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:58:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 18:00:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Insurgent Attacks Flare on a Violent Day in
	Iraq
Message-ID: <20050321015839.927CB2062AC@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 20, 2005

Insurgent Attacks Flare on a Violent Day in Iraq
By EDWARD WONG

Insurgents and U.S. forces fought on the outskirts of Baghdad, and the American military said that 24 insurgents were killed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/international/middleeast/20cnd-iraq.html?ex=1111986000&en=3d495ab6debff803&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:59:23 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 18:01:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Taliban Trek Rocky Road Back to Afghanistan
Message-ID: <20050321015924.57F5B9FD15@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | March 20, 2005

Taliban Trek Rocky Road Back to Afghanistan
By CARLOTTA GALL

The Afghan program of reconciliation has faced resistance in the cabinet and among ethnic groups that suffered under the Taliban.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/international/asia/20afghan.html?ex=1111986000&en=4aa20edd5fd8acb4&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 17:59:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 18:01:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Avoids Role of Mediator as Iraqis
	Remain Deadlocked
Message-ID: <20050321015948.9C98B21F1D3@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 20, 2005

U.S. Avoids Role of Mediator as Iraqis Remain Deadlocked
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

Officials said that any attempt by the U.S. to mediate among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions would be likely to backfire.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/politics/20diplo.html?ex=1111986000&en=8d141247591c5c47&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 18:00:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 20 18:02:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Jews in Gaza Recoil at Idea of Expulsion
Message-ID: <20050321020015.CAD8511F8BC@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 20, 2005

Jews in Gaza Recoil at Idea of Expulsion
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Anger and denial have set in as the plan to dismantle all 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip draws nearer to completion.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/international/middleeast/20gaza.html?ex=1111986000&en=8e759dd26d487b2e&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 20 18:34:49 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun Mar 20 18:36:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: Creationists take their fight to
	the	really big screen
References: <20050320134239.9D68A1A2D@herring.gul3.gnl>
Message-ID: <003d01c52dbe$8e055f00$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Harry:

As a minister, I am appalled by this.  That the so-called "Christian Right" 
frightens theater owners so much that they are scared to show films simply 
because they may touch on secular beliefs is repulsive.  No single ideology 
should ever dictate - overtly or tacitly - what should or should not, or can 
or cannot, be seen, heard, etc. in the "public square."  Indeed, it is 
ironic in the extreme that a group that felt that their "voice" was not 
being represented - i.e., who felt that their freedom of speech was being 
impinged - is now causing others to feel like they have to restrict THEIR 
freedom of speech.

I believe that the "public square" can handle both "The Passion of the 
Christ" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" - both films with Christian 
messages and films with secular messages.  If a person of faith does not 
agree with the subject matter or presentation of a film with a secular bent, 
they do not have to see the film.  Similarly for non-believers and 
Christian-oriented films.

Ultimately, however, the "shame" here is on the theater owners for 
kowtowing.  After all, even if the Christian community were actually to 
"come out" and protest the film, we all know - especially the theater 
owners - that that very controversy will increase ticket sales.  So they 
have nothing to lose by showing the film anyway.

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 8:42 AM
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: Creationists take their fight to the 
really big screen


> HS spotted this on the The Observer site and thought you should see it.
>
> -------
> Note from HS:
>
> Films on evolution no longer being shown in certain areas of the US !!
> -------
>
> To see this story with its related links on the The Observer site, go to 
> http://www.observer.co.uk
>
> Creationists take their fight to the really big screen
> US row forces southern Imax cinemas to shun films on evolution
> Robin McKie, science editor
> Sunday March 20 2005
> The Observer
>
>
> They are the epitome of safe family entertainment, renowned for lavish 
> animations, exquisitely filmed scenes of natural grandeur and utterly tame 
> scripts. But Imax films have suddenly found themselves catapulted into 
> controversy, thanks to their occasional use of the dreaded E-word: 
> evolution.
>
> In several US states, Imax cinemas - including some at science museums - 
> are refusing to show movies that mention the subject or suggest that 
> Earth's origins do not conform with biblical descriptions.
>
> Films include Cosmic Voyage, an animated journey through the universe; 
> Galapagos, a documentary about the islands where Darwin made some of his 
> most important observations; and Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, an underwater 
> epic about the bizarre creatures that flourish near ocean vents.
>
> In most southern states, theatre officials found recent test screenings of 
> several of these films triggered accusations from viewers that the films 
> were blasphemous.
>
> Carol Murray, marketing director of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and 
> History in Texas, said audience members who had watched Volcanoes had 
> commented 'I really hate it when the theory of evolution is presented as 
> fact', or 'I don't agree with their presentation of human existence.'
>
> As a result, the science museum had decided not to screen the film. 'If it 
> is not going to draw a crowd and it is going to create controversy, from a 
> marketing point of view, I cannot make a recommendation,' Murray told  the 
> New York Times yesterday.
>
> Superficially, the decision affects only a dozen or so cinemas. But it 
> could have a profound knock-on effect across the world because of the high 
> cost of producing Imax films.
>
> They require special cameras and expensive projectors. The economics of 
> Imax film-making are therefore very tight, and the actions of these 
> southern Imax cinemas will only exacerbate the problem. It is expected 
> that producers will be far less likely to make films that could offend 
> fundamentalists, as the loss of venues in the southern states could be 
> enough to turn profit to loss.
>
> 'It is going to be hard for our film-makers to continue to make unfettered 
> documentaries when they know that 10 per cent of the market will reject 
> them,' said Joe DeAmicis, vice-president of the California Science Centre 
> in Los Angeles.
>
> This point was emphasised by Bayley Silleck, who wrote and directed Cosmic 
> Voyage. Many institutions across America were coming under pressure about 
> issues relating to natural selection. 'They have to be extremely careful 
> as to how they present anything relating to evolution,' he said.
>
> A spokesman for the Science Museum in London described the development as 
> worrying: 'It is a very tight market in the Imax business and we would be 
> extremely disappointed if this sort of pressure led to a narrowing of the 
> market for popular Imax films. These films are very popular with 
> families.'
>
> The decision has also dismayed James Cameron, the Hollywood director who 
> made the Imax film Aliens of the Deep and who was one of the producers of 
> Volcanoes. He said he was 'surprised and somewhat offended' that people 
> were sensitive to the references to evolution in  Volcanoes.
>
> He also revealed that objections had been made to parts of Aliens of the 
> Deep, but these had remained in the final cut. 'It seems to be a new 
> phenomenon, obviously symptomatic of our shift away from empiricism in 
> science to faith-based science,' he said.
>
> Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From lyve at netzero.com  Sun Mar 20 20:03:52 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Sun Mar 20 20:07:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: Creationists take their fight to the	real
	ly big screen
Message-ID: <20050320.200453.4931.51463@webmail13.nyc.untd.com>


Forty days and forty nights has been proven that the world could not flood but perhaps during those times the world where this was happening was their 'small' acre of a bit of land on a world that was viewed as flat.

Believe what you want but use critical thinking in your solutions. Here in Yakima, the Last Temptations of Christ was banned and so was John Lennons, Imagine.

I thought the world is rounded not flat-and where do we put those carbon datings that go far back -beyond 5,000 years-do these scientific marvels offend biblical scholars as well? Of course, they do.

What of the the Universe and its Galaxies which are more than billions of years old-are these scientific findings enough to get burned at the stake and accused of hieracy? Of course, today we dismiss these findings.

Who were the Romans? Who were the brutal ones but the Romans...Jews were all over the region-the Jews do not owe a blood debt, contrary, it is the white man.

The Roman Church with its wealth has changed the scriptures and rule the world...Did you catch that? Romans....

How many out there still believe the Jews must perish before the rapture happens?
How many believe in the rapture?
This is your belief-but again use your critical thinking skills to surmise, facts, from lies.

I am very surprised and my yoke has lifted after 60 years on this earth. Years of dogma, confusion, and belief has now changed to fact, because of the wrongs that have been done to believers like me.

Hallelujah! I am finally free of the world's inadequacy to belief in something, anything except there own love. I believe in love and myself and I am not alone-there are millions of us here who now see the fullness of that Light...the Inner Light which I possess.

Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- "Ian" <ialterman@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
Harry:

As a minister, I am appalled by this.  That the so-called "Christian Right" 
frightens theater owners so much that they are scared to show films simply 
because they may touch on secular beliefs is repulsive.  No single ideology 
should ever dictate - overtly or tacitly - what should or should not, or can 
or cannot, be seen, heard, etc. in the "public square."  Indeed, it is 
ironic in the extreme that a group that felt that their "voice" was not 
being represented - i.e., who felt that their freedom of speech was being 
impinged - is now causing others to feel like they have to restrict THEIR 
freedom of speech.

I believe that the "public square" can handle both "The Passion of the 
Christ" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" - both films with Christian 
messages and films with secular messages.  If a person of faith does not 
agree with the subject matter or presentation of a film with a secular bent, 
they do not have to see the film.  Similarly for non-believers and 
Christian-oriented films.

Ultimately, however, the "shame" here is on the theater owners for 
kowtowing.  After all, even if the Christian community were actually to 
"come out" and protest the film, we all know - especially the theater 
owners - that that very controversy will increase ticket sales.  So they 
have nothing to lose by showing the film anyway.

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 8:42 AM
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: Creationists take their fight to the 
really big screen


> HS spotted this on the The Observer site and thought you should see it.
>
> -------
> Note from HS:
>
> Films on evolution no longer being shown in certain areas of the US !!
> -------
>
> To see this story with its related links on the The Observer site, go to 
> http://www.observer.co.uk
>
> Creationists take their fight to the really big screen
> US row forces southern Imax cinemas to shun films on evolution
> Robin McKie, science editor
> Sunday March 20 2005
> The Observer
>
>
> They are the epitome of safe family entertainment, renowned for lavish 
> animations, exquisitely filmed scenes of natural grandeur and utterly tame 
> scripts. But Imax films have suddenly found themselves catapulted into 
> controversy, thanks to their occasional use of the dreaded E-word: 
> evolution.
>
> In several US states, Imax cinemas - including some at science museums - 
> are refusing to show movies that mention the subject or suggest that 
> Earth's origins do not conform with biblical descriptions.
>
> Films include Cosmic Voyage, an animated journey through the universe; 
> Galapagos, a documentary about the islands where Darwin made some of his 
> most important observations; and Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, an underwater 
> epic about the bizarre creatures that flourish near ocean vents.
>
> In most southern states, theatre officials found recent test screenings of 
> several of these films triggered accusations from viewers that the films 
> were blasphemous.
>
> Carol Murray, marketing director of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and 
> History in Texas, said audience members who had watched Volcanoes had 
> commented 'I really hate it when the theory of evolution is presented as 
> fact', or 'I don't agree with their presentation of human existence.'
>
> As a result, the science museum had decided not to screen the film. 'If it 
> is not going to draw a crowd and it is going to create controversy, from a 
> marketing point of view, I cannot make a recommendation,' Murray told  the 
> New York Times yesterday.
>
> Superficially, the decision affects only a dozen or so cinemas. But it 
> could have a profound knock-on effect across the world because of the high 
> cost of producing Imax films.
>
> They require special cameras and expensive projectors. The economics of 
> Imax film-making are therefore very tight, and the actions of these 
> southern Imax cinemas will only exacerbate the problem. It is expected 
> that producers will be far less likely to make films that could offend 
> fundamentalists, as the loss of venues in the southern states could be 
> enough to turn profit to loss.
>
> 'It is going to be hard for our film-makers to continue to make unfettered 
> documentaries when they know that 10 per cent of the market will reject 
> them,' said Joe DeAmicis, vice-president of the California Science Centre 
> in Los Angeles.
>
> This point was emphasised by Bayley Silleck, who wrote and directed Cosmic 
> Voyage. Many institutions across America were coming under pressure about 
> issues relating to natural selection. 'They have to be extremely careful 
> as to how they present anything relating to evolution,' he said.
>
> A spokesman for the Science Museum in London described the development as 
> worrying: 'It is a very tight market in the Imax business and we would be 
> extremely disappointed if this sort of pressure led to a narrowing of the 
> market for popular Imax films. These films are very popular with 
> families.'
>
> The decision has also dismayed James Cameron, the Hollywood director who 
> made the Imax film Aliens of the Deep and who was one of the producers of 
> Volcanoes. He said he was 'surprised and somewhat offended' that people 
> were sensitive to the references to evolution in  Volcanoes.
>
> He also revealed that objections had been made to parts of Aliens of the 
> Deep, but these had remained in the final cut. 'It seems to be a new 
> phenomenon, obviously symptomatic of our shift away from empiricism in 
> science to faith-based science,' he said.
>
> Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From lyve at netzero.com  Sun Mar 20 20:11:32 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Sun Mar 20 20:15:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Media Downplay Historic Day of Protests
Message-ID: <20050320.201214.4931.51534@webmail13.nyc.untd.com>


It was a good day. Many affiliates carried the news. Local news here showed a handful here and there. 

Their messages were succinct-"Peace now freedom now-What do we want-Peace"!

"Give Peace a chance"!

The rhetoric is there are "no WMD's, no terrorists in Iraq, let's get out, now!"

I was satisfied with the strength, conviction and focus of my brothers and sisters.

I too am a Veteran, like my Dad and two younger brothers. My Dad a vet from WWII, my brothers and I-Vietnam era.


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- Michael Butler <michael@michaelbutler.com> wrote:
    Media Downplay Historic Day of Protests
    By Scott Galindez
    t r u t h o u t | Report

    Sunday 20 March 2005

    Fayetteville, NC -- The second anniversary of the war was the impetus
for major demonstrations throughout the world. In the United States, over
800 communities held events calling for an end to the occupation.

    CNN, however, reported that in the United States "barely a ripple was
made while large protests took place in Europe." The New York Times reported
that protests in the United States ranged from 350 people in Times Square to
thousands in San Francisco. Later in the same story, the Times reported that
several thousand marched from Harlem to Central Park. If thousands marched
in New York, why did the Times highlight the 350 in Times Square?

    CNN's report was worse Š nothing about US protests. While they only saw
a ripple, a huge wave passed them by. If CNN had been in Fayetteville, North
Carolina, they would have seen what could be a major turning point in the
anti-war movement. The largest Anti-war protest ever in this heavily
military town took place.

    The march was led by two banners carried by family members of soldiers
who died or served in Iraq. The first banner said "The World Still Says No
to War" and the second banner was "Bring the Troops Home Now." A few feet
behind was a banner carried by Veterans of the Iraq War. One of those
veterans, Sergeant Camillo Mejia, recently served 9 months in jail for
refusing to return to Iraq after leave. Mejia told the crowd: "After going
to war and seeing its ugly face, I could no longer be a part of it."

    Following the Iraq Veterans was Military Families Speak Out. "I can't
remain silent on these issues, slap a yellow ribbon on my car and call it
supporting our troops," said Kara Hollingsworth, the wife of a soldier
serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. "I support our troops by making
sure they are not put in harm's way unless absolutely necessary."

    Many veterans of past wars were also among the ranks. Sections of the
march resembled army units marching in formation calling cadence.

    Speaker after speaker told stories of loved ones they had lost during
the war and the now 2-year-old occupation of Iraq. Flag-draped mock coffins
were carried by many.

    Congresswoman Lynn Woosley of California called on the crowd to lobby
Congress in support of House Concurrent Resolution 35, calling on the
President to bring U.S. troops home.

    The March was part of a series of events aimed at breathing new life
into the anti-war movement. The first-ever Iraq Veterans Against the War
national conference is also taking place, along with a Conference of
Military Families Speak Out. A third major conference of Southern anti-war
organizers is also taking place in Fayetteville.

    CNN missed the boat Š perhaps a good thing for them, since they were
only prepared for a ripple and not the giant wave that formed in
Fayetteville.

 

© Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 20 21:57:42 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 20 21:59:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Money Behind the Debate Over Drilling in ANWR
Message-ID: <BE63A256.1F566%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    The Money Behind the Debate Over Drilling in ANWR
    By Courtney Mabeus
    CapitalEye

    Friday 18 March 2005

    After years of trying, Senate Republicans on Wednesday succeeded in
easing the path to opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil
drilling, a development that promises to intensify a decades-old lobbying
battle as proponents of drilling move into the homestretch of their effort.

    The Senate defeated by 51 to 49 an attempt to remove from the 2006
budget resolution a provision that would open ANWR to drilling. By including
the provision in the budget bill, Republican leaders have avoided the threat
of a Democratic-led filibuster.

    Opponents of drilling will have another chance to defeat the proposal
after House and Senate leaders meet to resolve differences in their
respective budget resolutions, or later when committees in both chambers
decide the details for drilling in ANWR.

    But Democratic and Republican lawmakers have acknowledged in public
statements that supporters of drilling have a better chance than ever of
success, setting up a dramatic last-ditch lobbying effort on both sides of
the debate.

    Oil companies are hoping their considerable political clout, built up
over years of generous campaign giving and lobbying, will put drilling in
ANWR over the top. The oil and gas industry has contributed $179.7 million
since 1989 to federal candidates and political parties, 74 percent to
Republicans.

    Two oil companies, ChevronTexaco and Exxon Mobil, rank among the top
all-time campaign contributors. ChevronTexaco has contributed $8.9 million
since 1989 in individual, PAC and soft money donations, 75 percent to
Republicans. The company, the second largest oil producer in the country,
has spent more than $38 million since 1997 to lobby Congress and the federal
government. Exxon Mobil, one of the world's largest oil producers, has
contributed $8.2 million since 1989 in individual, PAC and soft money
donations, 87 percent to Republicans. The company has spent more than $62
million on lobbying since 1997.

    Exxon Mobil is a member of Arctic Power, which bills itself as a
grassroots, non-profit organization endorsed by the Alaska legislature that
has been at the forefront of the ANWR drilling issue since 1992. The
organization, which includes among its 10,000 members the Alaska Chamber of
Commerce and state oil and gas associations, contends on its Web site that
drilling could create as many as 736,000 jobs. Artic Power has spent $1.7
million on federal lobbying since 1997.

    An Arctic Power representative could not be reached for comment.

    ChevronTexaco was once a member of Arctic Power, but the company
withdrew its financial support of the group several years ago, according to
The New York Times So did oil giants ConocoPhillips and BP, which said they
preferred to sit out the contentious political debate on drilling in ANWR,
the Anchorage Daily News reported. However, neither company stated its
opposition to drilling.

    The promise of new job creation has brought the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters into an unusual alliance with oil companies on the
subject of ANWR. The Teamsters, which have openly opposed many of Bush's
policies, broke from the heavily Democratic labor movement to support
drilling.

    The Teamsters are among the nation's largest campaign donors, having
contributed $21.9 million since 1989 in individual, PAC and soft money
donations, 93 percent to Democrats. The union has spent $7.7 million on
lobbying since 1997.

    Mike Mathis, director of government affairs for the Teamsters, said the
union has sent representatives to lobby new GOP members and lawmakers from
labor-heavy states such as Pennsylvania. He added that the union is working
to "firm up as many Democrats as we can."

    Mathis said the Teamsters have been working with Sen. Ted Stevens, an
Alaska Republican who has long supported drilling. Teamsters members in
Alaska also have been coordinating with Arctic Power. The union has not
contributed money to the group, as it did a few years ago, but it would do
so if "there was a need," Mathis said.

    Oil and gas companies have contributed $368,000 in individual and PAC
contributions to Stevens since 1989, more than any other industry.

    Other Alaska officials have struck it big from the industry as well.

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), who won a tight election last year, raised
$195,000 from the industry in the 2004 election cycle alone, enough for a
No. 10 ranking among all federal candidates. Alaska's lone representative in
the House, Don Young (R), has raised $874,000 from oil and gas interests
since 1989, more than from any other industry. Murkowski and Young both
support ANWR drilling.

    The 19.6-million acre refuge was established in 1960 and expanded by
President Jimmy Carter in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act. Administration officials have estimated that 10 billion
barrels could be housed within in a 1.5-million acre slice of ANWR known as
the coastal plain.

    Republicans have long touted drilling in ANWR as a means to reducing
U.S. dependency on foreign energy sources. Opponents argue that the oil
yield would not make much of a dent in the country's reliance on foreign oil
and would wreck havoc on the environment.

    Last week, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a Washington-based
watchdog that opposes drilling, mailed 600 copies of a documentary about the
risks of oil extraction in ANWR to lawmakers, The New York Times reported.
The group has spent $4.3 million on lobbying since 1997.

    Despite the group's loss Wednesday, Athan Manuel, director of PIRG's
arctic wilderness campaign said it would continue to "make sure that our
Republican champs are active, especially the moderates." Despite the group's
loss Wednesday, Athan Manuel, director of PIRG's arctic wilderness campaign
said it would continue to "make sure that our Republican champs are active,
especially the moderates." Seven GOP senators, including John McCain
(R-Ariz.) and Lincoln Chaffee (R-R.I.) opposed this week's vote.

    The Sierra Club has been running radio and television ads in opposition
to drilling, according to the Times. The leading environmental group has
spent $1.3 million on lobbying since 1997. It and other large environmental
organizations have spent many millions more on grassroots efforts.

    A number of smaller groups have entered the fray as well. The Alaska
Wilderness League, a state environmental group that opposes drilling, has
spent $440,000 on lobbying since 1997. Brian Moore, the League's legislative
director, said ANWR is the group's highest priority, but as a "mom and pop
operation" the group finds itself having to spend more carefully. The group
has been running targeted advertisements in a number of congressional
districts in conjunction with a loose coalition of 18 to 20 other
environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, he said.

    "We don't do any lobbying where we take members out to dinner," Moore
said. "We don't have the money. That's for gas companies. We try to work at
the grassroots level. We're not buying a page in The New York Times for
$60,000."

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 20 22:01:35 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 20 22:03:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Greed is Good
Message-ID: <BE63A33F.1F569%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    George Bush's Leveraged Buyout of Social Security
    By Stirling Newberry
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Tuesday 15 March 2005

    In reading the new Richard Parker biography of John Kenneth
Galbraith,(1) it becomes clear that while others may have dazzled with
equations, John Kenneth Galbraith chose, instead, to become the wisest of
economists. He has spent his career, not laying out arguments about that
metaphysical creature "the rational economic actor," but looking at how
people actually make decisions. He is also among the most quotable of
writers: he quipped "financial genius is leverage and a rising market." By
"leverage" he means the ability to borrow to invest, or more often
speculate, in stocks. When stocks are rising generally, borrowing cheaply
and investing in the rise of the market seems as sure a thing as there is.

    It was this sure thinking that lead to the bust of Long Term Capital
Management in September of 1998. The market stalled, and a trillion-dollar
bet went wrong.(2) The Federal Reserve was called in to prevent the markets
from imploding under the unraveling of "financial genius" failing. Of
course, anyone who had read Galbraith would know that it had to fail:
eventually the money or the market would run out of map.

    We are being treated now to the spectacle of the fall of the House of
Enron, in which the executives are offering the "Yes, I am, I am an idiot"
defense,(3) and the world's largest insurer is facing a shake-up because of
probes into whether it inflated its figures.(4) But inflating figures is
business as usual; in my career in business I found several cases of not
merely "aggressive accounting," but outright manipulation of the databases
that really tell people what a company is worth - not merely among small
dot-com companies, but in large companies run by people who were worth, on
paper, more than a billion dollars. During the rising market, one must not
only prove one can do what one says, but that things are going better than
already outrageously high expectations.

    But what many observers of Bush's tenure in office have not understood
is that we now have a government run the same way: like a company on the
make, trying to bamboozle its share holders and creditors just to keep the
game going. That is how business works at the top: get control of the board
- 51% will do - and then put your plan into operation. It could involve a
hostile takeover, or a leveraged buyout, or selling off divisions, or
entering a new line of business. Then comes the hard part, waiting for it to
pay off - because often that payoff never comes, or comes much later than
expected. The job of a CEO is then to herald every green leaf as the sign of
coming spring, even if it was glued on and spray-painted by the army of
consultants he has hired. He must, above all else, convince the share
holders to "stay the course" and the lenders to continue to hand money over,
no matter what.

    And when that fails, the time comes to cook the books. Or come up with a
new scheme for borrowing. Or both. As we know, the first Bush plan was a
hostile takeover of Iraq, his goal from day one,(5) which has not produced
the promised economic results.(6) And that is in which we are now: the plan
for Bush's second term in the White House was simple - a leveraged buyout of
Social Security. He's hoping for some financial genius in borrowing public
money and dumping it into the stock market. It seems, to him, like a sure
thing.

    The key to a leveraged buyout is to borrow money, and then pay it back
by chopping apart the company to be purchased. This kind of "LBO" was very
popular in the 1980s, and is based on a simple idea: if there is money
there, why not get it now? And that is precisely what Bush proposed:
borrowing a vast sum of money, and then extracting value from the Social
Security system by cutting benefits. The future retirees would pay for the
cost of creating "private accounts," by getting less from the FICA taxes
that they paid. The people who would be sure winners would be the stock
brokers and companies who, in the present, would get the money flowing in
from people's contributions to "private accounts" right now.

    The beauty of this plan, even if an ugly kind of beauty, is that while
merely cutting benefits can be reversed by a later, saner, Congress -
borrowing and private accounts can't. Even though private accounts do little
to nothing for fixing the problem, or less than nothing, they become a
weight that is hard to reverse.

    Paul Krugman sees that the public mood has turned, and worries about
cooking the books in his most recent Op-Ed for the New York Times.(7) It
might seem that this attempt has been thwarted, that the American public has
turned sharply against "private retirement accounts," simply because they
realize that they aren't going to get the benefits now, and they are sure to
pay the taxes no matter what happens. The public understands that they get
the risk, no matter what the reward.

    This, however, misses the other part of how business works: when you
need to get control of a company, create a sense of crisis. Normally
business is nothing happening all at once: people go about their jobs, do
what they need to do, and hope that, at the end of the week, there is
another to make payroll. Making anything happen is a maze of checks and
balances, approvals, meetings, and signatures, and even the smallest
decision can require approval of higher-ups. To get something to happen now,
you need to create a sense of impending crisis, disaster waiting behind the
bend, so that panicked shareholders will vote absolute power, with
absolutely no reason, to whoever says he is in charge.

    We saw this with Iraq in 2002 and early 2003, where even the State of
the Union address became a conduit for delivering scare tactics about
Saddam's atomic bomb, and the American public was convinced that Osama bin
Saddam was out to get them. It worked, America marched to war, and even
Wesley Clark, a former general, was aghast at how the process had become
"cockeyed." September 11th was a very thick book of blank checks, and the
freely flowing money helped the US bounce back, momentarily, from the 2001
recession. But instead of pushing for total recovery, where people would be
hired back, Bush blocked the kinds of stimulus bills that would normally
have been passed, and played on the sense of economic, military and social
crisis to push America towards the option that he, and those who backed him,
had in mind.

    Now let us look at the present: just as with Iraq, the first attempts at
pushing America into the Social Security LBO have failed(8) - just as
attempts to rattle sabers about Iraq failed in early 2001, and attempts to
blame the anthrax attack on Iraq failed in late 2001. But we haven't
repealed the business cycle, and many are, in fact, worried that the current
stalled stock market could lead to a sharp drop in share prices. There will
be another recession, sooner or later, and when that happens, Bush will be
on the television saying that the problem is that bond holders and others
have lost faith in America because of the "Social Security Crisis."

    Now this is not in the least the case. The real problem in the US is
that we have slashed government revenues, and kept spending, much of it for
Iraq, very, very, very high. If there is a crisis of confidence in America,
it is not in the question of how to meet benefit levels in 2060, but in how
we are going to pay the debt service on the national debt, when interest
rates are rising. But just as with Iraq, Bush has never let the facts being
against him make any difference.(9)

    According to the rosiest of predictions - from the White House's Office
of Management and Budget - the interest paid on the national debt is going
to rise in 66% between 2003 and 2008, in real terms.(10) That is the
interest on what the Federal Government is borrowing - and that's real
money, not inflated money. We will owe, as our national debt, 40% of
everything made or sold in the US. That, not some distant question of Social
Security Benefits, is what worries bond holders. To put it another way, we
are going to be paying as much in increased interest costs every year as the
cost of the war in Iraq. Or if you want to think about it another way, the
interest on the debt is going to be more than 10% of the total Federal
Budget. If you ask a credit agency, someone spending 10% of their total
gross income on debt service is not a good candidate for a loan.

    This is the real crisis - and in politics, it isn't whether you win or
lose, it is how you place the blame. Right now, the Republicans are saying
over and over again that there is a crisis, and they are going to blame
Social Security. You can take that to the bank. This is why it is not a good
idea to make compromises now just to quiet the Republicans, because
appeasement doesn't work. They aren't making noise to get something small,
but to grab a big chunk of the future revenues of America. It is also time,
for everyone who wants to see Social Security work, to push back, and hard,
on the real crisis: the borrow and squander policies that are slowing
America's economy and the growth of real wages.

    Or as Max Sawicky(11) says, "No deals with dipsticks."(12)

(1) The Galbraith biography website is here:
http://www.johnkennethgalbraith.com/

(2) A sobering case study on the collapse can be found here:
http://www.erisk.com/Learning/CaseStudies/ref_case_ltcm.asp

(3) Andrew Leonard reviews Kurt Eichenwald's book on Enron here:
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2005/03/15/eichenwald/index.html

(4) The Financial Times reports:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6855b5e2-9499-11d9-8dd3-00000e2511c8.html

(5) Bush's people were meeting on this starting in early 2001:
http://scoop.agonist.org/archives/015920.html

(6) In 2002, many thought that "a successful outcome" in Iraq would improve
the world economy, echoing sentiments from Bush's council on economic
advisors. An example of the thinking of that time can be seen here:
http://www.iie.com/publications/pb/pb02-9.pdf

(7) Krugman's piece is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/opinion/15krugman.html

(8) The Washington Post reports that "support for Bush on Social Security
wanes": http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33028-2005Mar14.html

(9) Dean Baker and David Rosnick go over the facts on Social Security here:
http://www.cepr.net/publications/facts_social_security.htm

(10) The gory details are here, particularly in table 6.1, on page 121:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/pdf/hist.pdf

(11) Max is a noted labor economist and one of those grouchy but quotable
types who is respected because he is so often on the mark:
http://maxspeak.org/mt/archives/001204.html

(12) An economist writing under the nom de guerre "Pro-Growth Liberal" has
been busy debunking the day-to-day fabrications of the right wing for some
time. He has some very interesting observations here:
http://angrybear.blogspot.com/2005/03/is-social-security-trust-fund-worth.ht
ml

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 21 04:03:31 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 21 04:05:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14770022.1111406611113.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Negroponte's Time In Honduras at Issue
 
 By Michael Dobbs
 
   It has been two decades since John D. Negroponte left his post as ambassador to Honduras, but the man President Bush has chosen to become the United States' first intelligence czar is still being hounded by human rights activists such as Zenaida Velasquez.
 
  Their paths first intersected in 1983, when Velasquez asked for the ambassador's help in tracing dozens of Hondurans, including her brother, allegedly kidnapped by agents of the U.S.-backed Honduran military. Little came of the meeting, and the disappearances continued for at least another year.
 
  Over the years, Velasquez has gotten the CIA, an official Honduran ombudsman and an international human rights court to acknowledge that the Honduran army was responsible for her brother Manfredo's kidnapping and presumed killing. But Negroponte has repeatedly insisted that military-backed death squads did not operate in Honduras while he was ambassador.
 
  The selection of Negroponte for the new post of national intelligence director has focused renewed attention on the question of how much he knew about the Honduran military's involvement in nearly 200 unsolved kidnappings during the 1980s, and what he did about it. The subject has dogged him in the past, and Democratic staff members said it is likely to be revisited when the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence holds nomination hearings, tentatively scheduled for April 12.
 
  A review of hundreds of declassified State Department and CIA documents suggests that Negroponte was preoccupied with "managing perceptions" about a country that had become a key U.S. ally in a decade-long campaign to stop the spread of communism in Central America. The documents show that he sought to depict Honduras in a generally positive light in annual human rights reports to Congress, and played down allegations of government abuse.
 
 Opinions differ sharply over whether Negroponte, who served most recently as U.S. envoy to Iraq and the United Nations, ever suppressed pertinent intelligence information for fear of undermining support for U.S. policies.
 
  Negroponte's admirers see him as a tough-minded, professional diplomat who loyally implemented Reagan administration policies in Central America during an exceptionally difficult period. His critics view him as a symbol of what they consider a dark chapter in American history, when the United States closed its eyes to crimes by Third World strongmen because they were seen as partners in a larger anti-communist crusade.
 
 For Velasquez, who founded a relatives' committee to investigate the spate of kidnappings and disappearances in Honduras in the early 1980s and is now a U.S. citizen living in California, the controversy is more personal. She wants Negroponte to do something he has so far declined to do: acknowledge the existence of death squads in Honduras, and their ties with the U.S.-backed Honduran security forces.
 
  "It's like a slap in the face," she said of Negroponte's selection to the intelligence post. "He knew what was going on, but he still refuses to speak the truth."
 
  Negroponte declined through a spokesman to be interviewed for this article, in accordance with the tradition that presidential nominees refrain from public statements before their confirmation hearings. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September 2001, before assuming the U.N. post, he continued to insist that the disappearances were not the result of Honduran "government policy."
 Human Rights Concerns 
 When John Dmitri Negroponte arrived in Tegucigalpa as ambassador in December 1981 at  age 42, Honduras had just become key to the Reagan administration's strategy of rolling back communism in Central America. Over the next six years, Honduras would become the principal staging ground for U.S.-backed contra rebels struggling to overthrow Nicaragua's Sandinista government.
 
 Honduras had a better human rights record than its neighbors  --  Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala  --  and was fairly tranquil. The army was transferring power back to an elected civilian government, while retaining control over security matters.
 
  After winning the 1980 election, President Ronald Reagan needed someone reliable in Honduras to replace Jack R. Binns, a Carter administration holdover. The new ambassador would coordinate a huge increase in military assistance, from $3.9 million in 1980 to $77.4 million in 1984. Negroponte had hawkish credentials: A former aide to Henry A. Kissinger, he had criticized his patron for making too many concessions to the North Vietnamese in the previous decade.
 
  Before his departure, Binns had sent cables to Washington warning of some ominous human rights trends. Gen. Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, who was selected to be commander in chief of the Honduran armed forces, told Binns privately that "extralegal" methods might be necessary to "take care" of subversives, declassified State Department documents show. He praised the "Argentine method" of dealing with the problem, which Binns took to refer to the kidnappings and disappearances of thousands of government opponents.
 
  In June 1981, Binns cabled the State Department to say that he was "deeply concerned at increasing evidence of officially sponsored/sanctioned assassinations," which suggested that the repressive policies Alvarez favored were being implemented "much faster than we anticipated." The State Department's response, Binns said, was to instruct him to use "back channels," meaning the CIA, to report on sensitive human rights issues that could create problems for Honduras if they were leaked to Congress or the media.
 
  A 1994 report by Oscar Valladares, a lawyer appointed by the Honduran parliament to investigate human rights abuse, blamed the Honduran army and the contras for 174 disappearances and kidnappings in the 1980s. Most of the incidents took place before the March 1984 ouster of Alvarez as armed forces chief.
 
  The kidnapping of Manfredo Velasquez in September 1981, a few weeks before Negroponte arrived in Honduras, established what would be a familiar pattern. A university student and left-wing political activist, Velasquez was seized in daylight in a public parking lot by several men in civilian clothes, one of whom was later identified as a Honduran police sergeant. They bundled him into a car, and he was never seen again.
 
  According to a November 1985 CIA report, which has since been partly declassified, the kidnapping was the work of the Honduran Anti-Communist Liberation Army, or ELACH. A 1997 CIA study identified ELACH as a "death squad" with close ties to a special security unit reporting to Alvarez.
 
  In a 1988 ruling, the Inter-American Commission Court on Human Rights found the government of Honduras responsible for Velasquez's disappearance and ordered it to pay damages to his family.
 Disappearances Continue 
  The disappearances continued after Negroponte became ambassador. The Valladares report cites 17 disappearances and kidnappings in 1982, 20 in 1983 and 18 in 1984. There were 26 disappearances in 1985, but they were mainly the work of the contras, rather than Honduran security forces, the report says. The kidnapped included trade union activists, journalists and professors opposed to the military authorities.
 
  The embassy played down the problems in the annual human rights reports on Honduras that it was required to submit to Congress, according to declassified cables collected by the National Security Archive, a nonprofit research group. In 1982, for example, the embassy recommended including a sentence asserting that there was "no evidence of systematic violation of judicial procedures" by the Honduran police.
 
 "Allegations to the effect that death squads have made their appearance in Honduras appear to be totally without merit," the embassy cable added, reflecting a position Negroponte has maintained ever since.
 
  In an interview, Binns noted that reporting about killings and disappearances "would have made it much more difficult to sustain our economic and security assistance" to Honduras.
 
  A 1997 report by then-CIA Inspector General Frederick P. Hitz on CIA activities in Honduras contains numerous references to Negroponte's concerns about the possible "political ramifications" of negative human rights reporting. It cites several instances when reports were "suppressed" or given very limited circulation because of fears that they "would reflect negatively on Honduras." Hitz quoted an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency as saying that "the Embassy country team" wanted to keep human rights reporting "benign" in order "to avoid Congress looking over its shoulders and to keep Congress satisfied with the ongoing implementation of U.S. policy." The analyst's name was redacted.
 
  Raymond Burghardt, head of the embassy's political section under Negroponte, said he never felt any pressure from Negroponte to "pull our punches or delude anybody in Washington as to what the real situation was." But he did not contest references in the 1997 CIA report to attempts by Negroponte to "manage perceptions" of Honduras in Washington at a time when the political debate about Central America was highly partisan.
 
  "There are two ways you can manage reporting," said Burghardt, who is now director of seminars at the East-West Center in Hawaii. "One way is to make sure that reports are balanced. . . . The other is to steer people away from reporting on certain topics, and lie about what is going on. Negroponte's approach was the former, not the latter."
 
  Negroponte and his supporters have criticized some of the conclusions of Hitz's report, saying that the ambassador never "suppressed" information about human rights abuse. During Negroponte's 2001 Senate confirmation hearing, then-Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) quoted from a letter written by a senior CIA officer at the Tegucigalpa embassy asserting that decisions on disseminating such information were made entirely on "intelligence merits, and not on any extraneous political considerations."
 
  In his own testimony, Negroponte described the Hitz report as "grossly unfair" and "misleading." He said his attitude about human rights reporting was "almost the opposite" of the picture presented in the inspector general's report.
 
  Desperate to draw attention to the disappearance of her brother and dozens of other activists, Zenaida Velasquez tried every avenue available to her. She organized street demonstrations, filed complaints to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and helped set up a Honduran committee for the relatives of the missing. She also badgered the U.S. Embassy for a meeting with Negroponte.
 
  Velasquez says she and other relatives met with the ambassador around March 1983. "It was like a bucket of cold water," she said. "Our hopes were high, because we knew the influence that the embassy had with the government. But he denied knowing anything, and said it was an internal affair of Honduras. We got out of there wanting to cry."
 
  Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2001, Negroponte said he had no recollection of that meeting, but did not deny it took place. He expressed "surprise" that he would have described the disappearances as an "internal" Honduran affair.
 
  Negroponte said he preferred "quiet diplomacy." On some occasions, he approached Alvarez and other Honduran leaders about the disappearances. The most frequently cited case was the July 1982 abduction of Oscar Reyes, a Honduran journalist sympathetic to the Sandinistas, and his wife, Gloria.
 
  Reyes, who now edits the Spanish-language Catholic newspaper El Pregonero from an office near Catholic University, said in a recent interview that masked men took him and his wife from their house in Tegucigalpa to another house, where they were beaten and subjected to electric shocks. At one point, he was forced to undergo a mock execution in front of a tree, but the torturers changed their minds at the last moment, saying, "We'll kill him another day."
 
  Cresencio Arcos, who was then the embassy media attache, said that he talked to Negroponte about the Reyeses' disappearance and that the ambassador took the matter up with Alvarez. Reyes and his wife were subsequently brought before a judge and eventually released.
 
  While Reyes is grateful to Negroponte for "helping to save our lives," he said his case proves that U.S. diplomats exercised influence with Honduran authorities and were well-informed about what was going on. "If they saved our lives, they could have saved a lot of other people's lives as well," he said.
 
  No attempt was made to find and arrest those who seized and tortured the Reyeses before handing them over to police. The embassy did not mention the incident in its annual human rights report on Honduras, which said the Honduran government had taken action "to discipline police who violated legal procedures."
 CIA Group Backs Claims 
  In 1983, even as a dissident Honduran army officer accused Alvarez of masterminding "death squads," Reagan awarded him the Legion of Merit for "encouraging the success of democratic processes in Honduras."
 
  Alvarez's fellow generals were less confident about his commitment to democracy. In March 1984, they accused him of abuse of authority and sent him into exile. He was hired by the Pentagon as a consultant on unconventional warfare, and was assassinated by leftist guerrillas in Tegucigalpa in 1989 while exploring a political comeback.
 
  A CIA working group set up in 1996 to look into the U.S. role in Honduras found that "the Honduran military committed most of the hundreds of human rights abuses reported in Honduras" between 1980 and 1984. The report added that "death squads" linked to the military had used tactics such as "killings, kidnapping and torture" to deal with people suspected of supporting leftist guerrillas.
 
  U.S. "intelligence collection and reporting requirements on human rights abuses [in Honduras] were subordinated to higher priorities," the CIA working group reported, according to a summary released to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2001, before confirmation hearings on Negroponte's nomination to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
 
  Attempts by Democratic senators to block the appointment evaporated after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Meeting just two days later, the Foreign Relations Committee voted 14 to 3 to support the nomination, on the grounds that the Bush administration needed an experienced diplomat at the United Nations at such a crucial time.
 
  While acknowledging that there had been occasional "abuses of authority" by Honduran police officials, Negroponte reiterated his assertion that they were not officially sanctioned. He told the committee that he associated the term "death squad" with events in El Salvador, where more than 50,000 people had disappeared.
 
 "I did not think that any activities that were occurring in Honduras at that time fit that description," Negroponte said.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 21 04:04:39 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 21 04:06:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14356023.1111406679671.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 The Paradox of George F. Kennan
 
 By Richard Holbrooke
 
    George F. Kennan, who died  last week at  101, was a unique figure in American history. I greatly admired him but disagreed with him profoundly on many critical issues, and, in the  35 years I knew him, I often reflected on this strange paradox.
 
  His extraordinary memoirs had made the idea of a life in the Foreign Service seem both exciting and intellectually stimulating to me. He had watched Joseph Stalin at close hand, and sent Washington an analysis of Russia that became the most famous telegram in  U.S. diplomatic history. This was followed closely by the most influential article ever written on American foreign policy, the "X" article in Foreign Affairs, which offered an easily understood, single-word description for a policy ("containment") that our nation  was to pursue for  40 years  --  with ultimate success.
 
  To a young, aspiring diplomat, Kennan's career suggested that good writing and the study of history  --  both in short supply in the government  --  could really matter. No one in government ever wrote better than Kennan, and this was a critical component of his success; the same ideas expressed less cogently by others did not have the same impact. But Kennan was deeply ambivalent about the writings that had catapulted him to world fame. He felt lonely, conflicted and even anguished over his famous works, which, in retrospect, he felt were simplistic and had been misused by people he deplored. Yet his work inspired the hardheaded power politics that shaped the Cold War.
 
  As editor of Foreign Policy, I once edited Kennan, an experience not easily forgotten. On the  25th anniversary of the X article, I asked him for an interview. He refused because of what he felt was the imprecision of the spoken word, but he offered to answer questions in writing. It was a generous gesture toward a tiny, unknown journal then challenging the prestigious quarterly that had made him famous. But editing Kennan was beyond difficult. He agonized over every comma and every adjective and revised regularly as the deadline approached. Having written in his memoirs that his 1946 "Long Telegram" read in retrospect "exactly like one of those primers put out by alarmed congressional committees," and that his X article was riddled with "serious deficiencies"  that "inadvertently loosened a large boulder from the top of a cliff," Kennan did not want to be misunderstood  --  or  misused  --  again.
 
 Dean Acheson once told a Yale student named Bob Woodward, who was writing a thesis, that Kennan reminded him of his father's old horse who, when crossing wooden bridges, would make a lot of noise, then stop, alarmed by the racket he had caused. I printed this wonderful description alongside the Kennan interview in Foreign Policy. (Wonder whatever happened to young Woodward.) 
 
 When Stalin's daughter, Svetlana, defected, she  went briefly to Princeton, and I arranged to bring Kennan's old Moscow boss, Averell Harriman, to Kennan's house for dinner. We sat, transfixed, as she told us bitterly that she had longed to meet the two great Americans (and their daughters) in wartime Moscow but was forbidden to by her tyrannical father. It was a small footnote to history, but Harriman, Kennan and Stalin's daughter meeting for the first time,  30 years after Stalin had prevented it, gave new layers to the human dimensions of history.
 
  In 1996 Kennan  went to Columbia University to hear a speech by Pamela Harriman, Averell's widow and, at that time, ambassador to France. A distinguished group, including Strobe Talbott, deputy secretary of state and one of Kennan's  greatest admirers, gathered for dinner afterward in the home of Columbia's president. After dessert we asked Kennan to speak, giving him no advance warning. The  92-year-old legend rose slowly, and in a weak, high-pitched voice, delivered a flawlessly constructed and fairly brutal attack on one of the pillars of the Clinton administration policies  Talbott and I were most closely associated with, the  expansion of NATO to include Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
 
  Kennan's warning that enlarging NATO would destabilize Europe  --  "an enormous and historic strategic error"  --  carried the dinner audience with its eloquence and sense of history. Events, of course, proved Bill Clinton right, and Kennan  --  and the bulk of the liberal intellectual community  --  wrong. But in a sense, Kennan that evening was fulfilling his true role in American foreign policy: not the brilliant architect of containment but an eloquent skeptic, forcing people in power to make sure their easy justifications stood up before his polite but ferocious criticism. In today's Washington, with its emphasis on orthodox thinking, such a person could never rise inside the government, and even in 1947 it was almost an accident. This is a great loss, because, as the life of George F. Kennan shows, individual, original thinking by one lonely person can sometimes illuminate and guide us better than all the high-level panels and commissions and interagency meetings.
 
  We disagreed on many issues: his belief in the need for a "council of elders"  --  really a plea for the power of elites  --  to contain the excesses of democracy; his  19th-century attitude toward Africa; his view that the promotion of human rights and democracy was a terrible, morally arrogant mistake; and his advocacy of a deal with Moscow over American troops in Europe. He had accurately predicted, at the end of the Cold War, the outbreak of ethnic violence in Yugoslavia, but he did not understand the need for American involvement in the problem, let alone the use of military force to end the Balkan wars. "Why should we try to stop ancient ethnic hatreds?" he asked me one day in the dark-paneled library of his house in Princeton. He shook his head as I tried to explain. He had been ambassador to Yugoslavia, and I wanted him to understand  --  to agree with me  --  as a sort of stamp of approval from one generation to another in the Balkans. But, though, as always, he was polite and gracious  --  and he loved the intellectual combat  --  he was firm in his disagreement. He was our greatest diplomat, and I admired him for his intellectual courage, but there was no bridging the gap. 
 
 Richard Holbrooke, an ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, writes a monthly column for The Post.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 21 04:05:46 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 21 04:08:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <19771031.1111406746241.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Easy Ways to Aid Africa
 
 By Sebastian Mallaby
 
    People know that Africa is desperate  --  that half the population lives on less than one dollar daily; that life expectancy has fallen to 46 because of the AIDS crisis. But people are mostly resigned to this. They believe, wrongly, that progress is impossible. They suppose, wrongly, that helping Africa would cost impossible amounts.
 
 In 1960 the same pessimism infected Asia. Life expectancy in South Asia has since  jumped from 44 to 63 years, and in East Asia it has leapt from 39 to 69. Surprising and dramatic change is possible. Indeed, the turning point for Africa might even be now.
 
 In the past five years, as the British-convened Commission for Africa recently noted, more than two-thirds of the countries south of the Sahara have had multiparty elections, albeit of varying quality. In the decade  ending in 2002, 16 of them sustained average annual growth rates of 4 percent or higher. Ethiopia notched  average growth of 6 percent, up from 0.5 percent in the previous decade. Mozambique sustained growth of 7 percent, thanks partly to aid flows amounting to more than $100 per citizen per year.
 
 So progress is possible. Is it expensive? The Commission for Africa calls for an extra $25 billion in annual aid for the continent, rising to $50 billion later on. The United States might be on the hook for $12 billion of that eventual figure, meaning that it is being asked to double current aid spending.
 
  Would this be unreasonable? The $12 billion represents 0.1 percent of the U.S. economy, and Americans spend about $9 billion on movie tickets each year. Aid is cheap, relative to the unspeakable misery of absolute poverty, and the only reason to stint is the fear that it  might be wasted. The best research suggests that it won't be wasted in countries with good policies. If you look at a country such as Ghana, which lifted perhaps 1.5 million people out of poverty in the 1990s, it's hard to argue that the $500 million or so it gets in annual aid  isn't money well spent.
 
 So it's scandalous that, as a share of the global economy, aid fell by about half during the 1990s and has only recouped part of that loss since the terrorist attacks of 2001. But then there's a second scandal, which is even less excusable. There are things that would help Africa but that would cost the rich world nothing. And yet these things remain undone.
 
 Rich countries could enforce transparency in extractive industries, enablers of the official corruption that destroys poor countries' prospects. The British government is sponsoring a voluntary code that would commit poor states to independent audits of their oil, gas and mining revenue; money received in broad daylight is less likely to vanish down dark holes. But the British, French, Americans and others could also pass laws requiring their own companies to publish their payments. That would reinforce transparency and remove the incentive for odious governments to ignore the voluntary code.
 
 Rich countries could also stop hiding the corrupt money that flees poor countries into Western banks. Nigeria's democratic government is fighting to retrieve money stolen by the former dictator, Sani Abacha. The Swiss, to their credit, disgorged $458 million last month, but the British have  returned only a fraction of the Abacha millions under their control. Rich countries are prepared to force banks to cooperate in tracking terrorist finances. They should be equally tough in tracking dictators' loot.
 
 Rich countries should also eliminate the agricultural subsidies and trade barriers that fleece their own citizens and harm producers in poor countries. Every cow in Europe receives almost $2 a day in subsidies, or double the average African's income; Japanese cows receive nearly $4. The U.S. sugar program transfers $120 million a year to two companies in Florida, according to a new paper by Kimberly Elliott for the Center for Global Development; it exists because these companies ply politicians with money, and it damages efficient sugar exporters such as Brazil and South Africa. The  United States subsidizes 25,000 cotton farmers, who are paid twice the world market price for cotton, threatening the livelihoods of more than 10 million West Africans.
 
 Helping the poor world is not just a matter of charity. The United States and its rich allies will gain if African societies grow strong enough to control the pathologies that spill beyond their borders, whether environmental, viral or criminal. But sometimes the cost of helping Africa is zero, or even negative; the only obstacle to action is entrenched lobbies. During the 2004 election cycle, those two fortunate Florida sugar companies slipped $925,000 to politicians. Corruption is not exclusively the problem of the poor world. 
 
 mallabys@washpost.com
 
   

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 21 07:10:25 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 21 07:12:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Asian river dolphins 'threatened'
Message-ID: <20050321_151025_071959.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Asian river dolphins 'threatened' **
River dolphins across Asia are in danger of extinction, says global conservation body the WWF.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4367135.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 21 07:16:08 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 07:18:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. Broadcast Exclusive: Secret U.S. Plans For Iraq's
	Oil Spark Political Fight Between Neocons and Big Oil
Message-ID: <20050321151608.12489.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org




+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  U.S. Broadcast Exclusive: Secret U.S. Plans For Iraq's Oil Spark Political Fight Between Neocons and Big Oil
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/21/1455245
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


In an explosive new report, investigative journalist Greg Palast charges that President Bush was planning to invade Iraq before the September 11th attacks and was considering two very different plans about what to do with Iraq's oil. The plans reportedly sparked a political fight between neoconservatives and big oil companies. Greg Palast joins us in our firehouse studio and we air his exclusive report, "Secret U.S. Plans For Iraq's Oil" for the first time in this country.
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/21/1455245

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun Mar 20 22:00:55 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:18:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 5,500 US deserters: We won't fight in Iraq
Message-ID: <200503211718.j2LHIQRF032014@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Green Left Weekly - Mar 16, 2005
http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/619/619p14.htm

5,500 US deserters: We won't fight in Iraq

by Doug Lorimer

On February 25, US Army officials at Fort Stewart, Georgia, announced
that Sergeant Kevin Benderman, a 40-year-old army mechanic who 
refused to deploy to Iraq for a second tour of duty, will be court-
martialed
on desertion charges. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in
prison.

After having spent 10 years in the US military, Benderman missed his
unit's deployment flight to Iraq on January 7. Ten days earlier, he
had given his commanders notice that he planned to seek a discharge 
as
a conscientious objector, saying he had become opposed to the war
after having served eight months in Iraq in 2003.

Benderman joins a growing number of soldiers who are protesting the
Iraq war by refusing orders, going AWOL, fleeing to Canada or 
speaking
out. CBS News reported on December 8 that the Pentagon has 
admitted
that at least 5500 US military personnel have deserted since the war
started in Iraq.

Furthermore, Steve Morse of the GI Rights Hotline says that the 
number
of calls they have received has grown from 17,000 in 2001 to more than
32,000 in 2004. He says that about 30% are from soldiers who are 
AWOL
or are thinking about deserting.

"Many people don't [desert] lightly, and they would like to do right
by the country. But they see what's going on, and they can't do it",
Morse told the February 20 St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

That is what motivated 39-year-old US Army veteran Carl Webb to
desert. "I won't kill if I feel I'm on the wrong side. This is a war
about oil and profits", he told the St Louis Post-Dispatch.

Unemployed and facing eviction from his home in Austin, Texas, Webb
enlisted in the Texas National Guard in 2001, after a seven-year break
from the US military. He expected to serve for only three years. But
in July 2004, less than two months shy of his service completion date,
the military told Webb that under the "stop-loss" program he would
serve 525 more days and that his unit was being deployed to Iraq.

The "stop-loss" program, which made its first appearance in the Gulf
War of the early 1990s, keeps US soldiers scheduled for deployment to
Iraq or Afghanistan from leaving when their term of service ends.
"This policy is practically an unofficial draft", Webb told the
February 10 Workers World weekly. "It is conscription against a
person's will."

Webb said he had ruled out seeking conscientious-objector status
because he couldn't meet the military's criteria for such status --
basically, opposition to all wars. "I'm not a pacifist... I'm refusing
to go to war because I do not believe the US is on the right track. I
think this war is not about liberating people, it's about oppressing
them."

When his National Guard unit reported for training in August, Webb
stayed away. He did the same when the unit left in January for Iraq.
He is now a fugitive with a federal warrant out for his arrest.

"My case is different from some of the other soldiers who have
deserted, either because they just don't want to go, or because they
think these `stop-loss' orders are illegal", Webb told Workers World.
"I tell people that even if there was no stop-loss policy, even if the
government wasn't illegally using the reserves and National Guard and
retirees as they are, I would still be opposed to this war. I don't
think it matters what category of service you're in -- whether you're
in the reserves, National Guard or the regular army -- I think all
military personnel should oppose fighting in this war of imperialism."

An anti-war soldier who has attracted international attention is
28-year-old Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia, who was released on 
February
15 after being sentenced to one year in a military prison for refusing
to return to Iraq.

Mejia joined the US Army in 1995. Following a three-year stint with
the regular army, he joined the Florida National Guard partly because
he was promised tuition assistance at Florida's state universities.

Mejia's National Guard unit was called up for active duty in January
2003, and then deployed to Iraq in April 2003. He spent six months in
combat in Iraq, then returned for a two-week furlough to the US. In
March 2004 he turned himself in to the US military and filed an
application for conscientious objector status, declaring that his
experiences in Iraq had convinced him the war was illegal and immoral.

"The justification for this war is money, and no soldier should go to
Iraq and give his life for oil", Mejia told the New York-based Citizen
Soldier anti-war website. "I have witnessed the suffering of a people
whose country is in ruins and who are further humiliated by the raids,
patrols, curfews of an occupying army. My experience of this war has
changed me forever.

"One of our sergeants shot a small boy who was carrying an AK-47
rifle. The other two children who were walking with him ran away as
the wounded child began crawling for his life. A second shot stopped
him, but he was still alive. When an Iraqi tried to take him to a
civilian hospital, army medics from our unit intercepted him and
insisted on taking the injured boy to a military facility. There, he
was denied medical care because a different unit was supposed to treat
our unit's wounded. After another medical unit refused to treat the
child, he died.

"Another time, my platoon responded to a political protest in Ramadi
that had turned violent. My squad took a defensive position on a
rooftop after some protesters started throwing grenades at the mayor's
office. We were ordered to shoot anyone who threw anything that 
looked
like a grenade.

"A young Iraqi emerged from the crowd carrying something in his right
hand. Just before he threw it, we all opened fire, killing him. The
object turned out to be a grenade, which exploded far from everyone. I
know that the man we killed had no chance of hurting us -- he was too
far away. My platoon leader later told us that we killed three other
Iraqis during this same protest although I didn't see them die.

"Going home on leave in October 2003 provided me with the 
opportunity
to put my thoughts in order and to listen to what my conscience had to
say. People would ask me about my war experiences and answering 
them
took me back to all the horrors -- the firefights, the ambushes, the
time I saw a young Iraqi dragged by his shoulders through a pool of
his own blood, the time a man was decapitated by our machine-gun fire
and the time my friend shot a child through the chest.

"Coming home gave me the clarity to see the line between military duty
and moral obligation. My feelings against the war dictated that I
could no longer be a part of it. Acting upon my principles became
incompatible with my role in the military and by putting my weapon
down I chose to reassert myself as a human being."

While there are not as many deserters and anti-war soldiers as during
the peak of the US movement against the Vietnam War in the early
1970s, soldiers and their families are organising against this war
much earlier on than their counterparts did during the Vietnam War.
Thus, Iraq Veterans Against the War was founded in July 2004, a little
over a year after the war began. Vietnam Veterans Against the War 
was
created in April 1967, about five years after the US war in Vietnam
officially started.

And unlike the Vietnam War, military families have been at the
forefront of demonstrations against the Iraq war. More than 2000
families belong to Military Families Speak Out, which was formed in
November 2002, four months before the US invaded Iraq.

Stan Goff, a former career soldier with the US Special Forces, whose
son is an army mechanic in Iraq, has played a prominent role in the
organisation of antiwar military families through the Bring Them Home
Now! movement. "We're not saying bring the troops home because 
they're
suffering hardship and danger", he told In These Times magazine in
September 2003. "Most soldiers know that hardship and danger are 
part
of their job. What we're saying is bring the troops home because they
are facing hardship and danger in a war that is immoral and illegal."

***
-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D (up 
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   ---   George Orwell


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun Mar 20 22:00:56 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:20:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Playing the Democracy Card
Message-ID: <200503211720.j2LHKdRU032047@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

The following illuminates how serious American leaders have been about 
promoting democracy

***

>From Policy Planning Study 23, written by George Kennan for the State
Department planning staff in 1948:

"we have about 50% of the world's wealth, but only 6.3% of its
population....In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy
and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern
of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of
disparity....To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality
and day-dreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated
everywhere on our immediate national objectives....We should cease to talk
about vague and...unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of
the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we
are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then
hampered by idealistic slogans, the better."



http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2268

TomDispatch March 17, 2005

Playing the Democracy Card

How America Furthers Its National Interests in the Middle East

By Dilip Hiro

The United States flaunts the banner of democracy in the Middle East only
when that advances its economic, military, or strategic interests. The
history of the past six decades shows that whenever there has been
conflict between furthering democracy in the region and advancing American
national interests, U.S. administrations have invariably opted for the
latter course. Furthermore, when free and fair elections in the Middle
East have produced results that run contrary to Washington's strategic
interests, it has either ignored them or tried to block the recurrence of
such events.

Washington's active involvement in the region began in 1933 when Standard
Oil Company of California bid ten times more than the British-dominated
Iraq Petroleum Company for exclusive petroleum exploration rights in Saudi
Arabia's eastern Hasa province.

As a leading constituent of Allied forces in World War II, the U.S. got
its break in Iran after the occupation of that country by the British and
the Soviets in August 1941. Eight months later President Franklin
Roosevelt ruled that Iran was eligible for lend-lease aid. In August 1943,
Secretary of State Cordell Hull said, "It is to our interest that no great
power be established on the Persian Gulf opposite the important American
petroleum development in Saudi Arabia."

The emergence of Israel in 1948 added a new factor. Following its
immediate recognition of Israel, Washington devised a military-diplomatic
strategy in the region which rested on the triad of Saudi Arabia, Iran,
and the new state of Israel, with the overall aim of keeping Soviet
influence out of the Middle East. While each member of the troika was tied
closely to the U.S., and links between Iran and Israel became
progressively tighter, Saudi Arabia and Israel, though staunchly
anti-Communist, remained poles apart. Nonetheless, the overall arrangement
remained in place until the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979.

Besides pursuing the common aim of countering Soviet advances in the
region overtly and covertly, each member of this troika had a special
function. Being contiguous with the Soviet Union, Iran under the Shah
helped the Pentagon by providing it with military bases. By inflicting a
lightning defeat on Egypt and Syria -- then aligned with Moscow -- in June
1967, Israel proved its military value to the U.S. This strengthened
Washington's resolve to get Israel accepted by its Arab neighbors, a
policy it had adopted in 1948 and implemented soon after, even though it
meant subverting democracy in Syria.

In March 1949, following Brig.-General Husni Zaim's promise to make peace
with Israel, the CIA helped him mount a military coup against a
democratically elected government in Syria. After Zaim had signed a truce
with Israel on July 20, he tried to negotiate a peace treaty with it
through American officials. A month later, however, he was ousted by a
group of military officers and executed. The military rule that Washington
triggered lasted five years albeit under different generals.

As the possessor of the largest reserves of petroleum in the region, Saudi
Arabia helped the U.S. and its Western allies by keeping oil prices low.
Furthermore, as a powerful and autocratic monarchy Saudi Arabia played a
leading role in helping to suppress democratic movements in the small,
neighboring, oil-rich Gulf States.

American clout increased when Britain -- the dominant foreign power in the
region for a century and a half -- withdrew from the Gulf in 1971. The
British withdrawal allowed the U.S. to expand its regional role as the
four freshly independent Gulf States -- Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab
Emirates, and Oman -- struggled to adjust to the new reality. But instead
of pressuring these sheikhdoms to institute democracy, Washington either
opted for secret defense agreements with them or let the House of Saud
implement an anti-democratic agenda in the region unhindered.

The Saudi Anti-Democratic Mission

In 1962, during a severe crisis in the House of Saud, Crown Prince Faisal
promised political reform, especially the promulgation of a written
constitution specifying a Consultative Council, with two-thirds of its
members elected. But when he ascended the throne two years later he
reneged on his promise.

Washington said nothing. It also remained silent when Riyadh helped
suppress democracy in neighboring countries.

After its independence from Britain in 1961, Kuwait acquired a
constitution which specified a National Assembly elected on a franchise
limited to males belonging to families domiciled in Kuwait since 1921 --
in other words, about a fifth of adult citizens. Despite its limited
nature, the Assembly evolved into a popular forum for expressing the
aspirations and grievances of several important constituencies. Stung by
criticism of official policies by its representatives, and encouraged by
the Saudi monarch, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah ibn Salim al Sabah suspended the
Assembly in 1976, accusing it of "malicious behavior," and then dissolved
it. Its revival in 1981 lasted a mere five years.

At no point did Washington criticize the ruler's undemocratic actions.

Since 1992, when limited parliamentary elections were restored, voters
have returned more Islamist MPs than pro-Western liberals. Emir Jabar ibn
Ahmad al Sabah's efforts to extend the vote to women have failed, while he
has made no move to extend the vote to the remaining four-fifths of adult
male citizens -- nor has America pressured him to do so. He and the
Americans fear, of course, that a universal adult male franchise would
bolster the strength of the Islamist bloc in the Assembly.

Bahrain: Limited Democracy Derailed

In Bahrain, Saudi Arabia's anti-democratic mission melded with America's
military needs. Bahrain became independent in August 1971. Its
constitution, drafted by a constituent assembly (half nominated, half
elected on a limited franchise), specified a National Assembly of 42
deputies, 30 of whom were to be elected on a restricted franchise. The
first Assembly convened in December 1972 while Saudi Arabia watched
warily.

As in Kuwait, however, the elected representatives criticized the
government, angering the ruler, Shaikh Isa al Khalifa. This -- combined
with pressure from Riyadh -- led the Emir to dissolve the Assembly in
August 1975 and suspend the constitution.

Once again, Washington said nothing about the quashing of limited
democracy in Bahrain. Why? In 1971, after the Pentagon leased naval
facilities previously used by the British, Bahrain became the headquarters
of the American Middle East Force. In 1977, the ruler extended the
US-Bahraini agreement; and in 1995 Bahrain became the headquarters of the
U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Jordan: An Election Law Altered by Decree

Jordan provides another telling example of how American administrations
have dealt with democracy in the Middle East. In an uncommonly free and
fair election in November 1989, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the
political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, won 32 seats in the 80-member
House of Representatives. It joined the government and ran five
ministries.

During the 1990 Kuwait crisis which culminated in the 1991 Gulf War, the
Jordanian king took into account popular opinion, both inside and outside
parliament, which was opposed to joining the US-led alliance against Iraq,
and advocated a negotiated solution to the crisis. By so doing, he acted
as a constitutional monarch.

Instead of praising this welcome democratic development, the
administration of George Herbert Walker Bush pilloried Hussein as "a dwarf
king." Unable to stand the pressure, King Hussein crawled back into
Washington's fold after the 1991 Gulf War. To thwart the possibility of
the IAF emerging as the leading party in the next election, he altered the
election law by decree. In quietly applauding his action, the elder Bush's
administration showed its cynical disregard for democracy.

Egypt: Supporting the Autocrat

While King Hussein manipulated the Jordanian political system with some
sophistication to achieve the result he wanted, President Anwar Sadat of
Egypt blatantly used the government machinery and state-run media to
produce a pre-ordained electoral result to endorse his signing of the
U.S.-brokered bilateral peace treaty with Israel in 1978-79 after he had
broken ranks with the Arab League.

The depth and durability of popular antipathy towards peace with Israel,
while it continues to occupy the Palestinian Territories, is highlighted
by the fact that a quarter-century after the peace treaty, relations
between the two neighbors remain cold. While remaining firmly under
American tutelage, President Husni Mabarak has continued to spurn offers
to visit Tel Aviv.

As in Jordan, the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest political party in the
Middle East and long outlawed in Egypt, offers a credible challenge to the
semi-dictatorship of Mubarak (in power since 1981). His regime has
continued to be the second largest recipient of the U.S. aid after Israel
under both Democratic and Republican Presidents.

Several months ago, Mubarak mused that democracy in Egypt would mean
Muslim Brotherhood rule over the country. The key question now is: Will
Mubarak -- who recently agreed to hold the Presidential election scheduled
for September through "direct, secret balloting" instead of simply
rubber-stamping his sole candidacy in a stage-managed referendum -- let
the Brotherhood challenge him?

The answer will come in the wording with which Article 76 of the
constitution will be amended and passed by a Parliament dominated by
Mubarak's National Democratic Party. At present, it specifies a single
presidential candidate, endorsed by at least two-thirds of parliamentary
deputies, to be offered to the voters for approval.

Yemen: Rebuffing Democracy

Another victim of the way American administrations have placed their
narrow interests above any program to democratize the Middle East was
Yemen. Ever since the creation of Republic of Yemen, following the union
of North Yemen and South Yemen in 1991, the country has had a multiparty
political system. Indeed, since North Yemen had been governed by the
General People's Congress and South Yemen by the Yemen Socialist Party, a
peaceful unification could only come about through the creation of a
multi-party system.

In April 1993, the government organized the first general election on the
Arabian Peninsula based on universal suffrage. It was for a 301-member
House of Representatives and the Presidency. This historic event went
unnoticed in the United States where the Clinton administration continued
to rebuff the Yemeni government because of its insistence on an Arab
solution to the 1990-91 Kuwait crisis and its negative vote on United
Nations Security Council Resolution 678 authorizing military action
against Iraq.

Encouraged by the Yemeni election, six Saudi human rights activists --
professors, judges, and senior civil servants -- established the Committee
for the Defense of Legitimate Rights (CDLR) in Saudi Arabia. It demanded
political reform in the kingdom, including elections based on universal
suffrage. Government persecution followed, including job dismissals and
arrests. Prof. Muhammad al Masaari, the head of the CDLR, managed to flee
first to Yemen, and then to Britain.

Yet Washington did not protest.

Now George W. Bush loudly applauds the local elections held recently in
the Saudi Kingdom. His administration ignores the fact that only half of
the seats were even open for contest, and so distrustful were Saudi
citizens of their government's electoral promise that only a quarter of
eligible voters even bothered registered. Women were, of course, barred
from voting.

By contrast, Bush endlessly laments the absence of freedom for the people
of Iran, which his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently described
as "a totalitarian state." These statements run counter to the facts.
Since the 1979 revolution in that country, the Islamic regime has held
seven parliamentary, eight presidential, and two local elections -- as
well as four Assembly of Experts polls ? all of them multi-candidate and
based on universal suffrage with a voting age of 15.

What explains this blatant myopia? While practicing an Islamic version of
democracy, Iran is actively opposing the economic, military, and strategic
ambitions of America in the region.

Actually, the historic pattern of American administrations in the Middle
East -- downgrading democracy at the expense of narrow national interests
-- is in line with what the United States has been practicing in Central
and South America for a much longer period -- a phenomenon that has gone
largely unnoticed in the United States itself.

Dilip Hiro is the author of The Essential Middle East: A Comprehensive
Guide (Caroll & Graf) and Secrets and Lies: Operation "Iraqi Freedom" and
After (Nation Books).


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 21 09:26:41 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:28:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: The Fire in Iran
In-Reply-To: <BE6452C1.318E%grgolsorkhi@earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <BE6443D1.1F5AA%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Reza,
Sadly you write the truth. How many times and places has the US
administration led people down a garden path of pursuit of freedom to their
peril. Michael

------ Forwarded Message
From: Golsorkhi <grgolsorkhi@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 10:30:25 -0500
To: <michael@michaelbutler.com>
Subject: FW: The Fire in Iran

Michael,  Oh so true!  Reza
------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 18:08:19 -0500
Subject: The Fire in Iran

   The most dramatic events took place in Shiraz, where the
demonstrators directed a chant toward Washington: "Bush, you told us to
rise up, and so we have. Why don?t you act?"


Article:
http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen200503170753.asp




------ End of Forwarded Message


------ End of Forwarded Message

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:26:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:29:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: There Are Signs the Tide May Be Turning on
	Iraq's Street of Fear
Message-ID: <20050321172705.3D9E3227135@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 21, 2005

There Are Signs the Tide May Be Turning on Iraq's Street of Fear
By JOHN F. BURNS

Insurgents have been attacking with less intensity along Haifa Street, a road that leads to the seat of U.S. power in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/international/middleeast/21haifa.html?ex=1112072400&en=a5e3b48358002fa4&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:27:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:30:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rumsfeld Faults Turkey for Barring Use of
	Its Land in '03 to Open Northern Front in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050321172759.E16571C269@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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Michael would probably want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 21, 2005

Rumsfeld Faults Turkey for Barring Use of Its Land in '03 to Open Northern Front in Iraq
By THOM SHANKER

The defense secretary addressed criticisms that the Pentagon did not commit sufficient troops to the major offensive or to stability efforts after Baghdad fell.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/politics/21military.html?ex=1112072400&en=9f617821f7f95877&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:28:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:30:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 10 Dead in Insurgent Attacks Across Iraq
Message-ID: <20050321172829.0A1FC2062B0@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 21, 2005

10 Dead in Insurgent Attacks Across Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The attacks came a day after U.S. troops killed 26 militants in one of the largest battles since the Jan. 30 election.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?ex=1112072400&en=1269f5fc9a5a8b8b&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:29:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:32:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Annan Offers Plans for Changes in U.N.
	Structure
Message-ID: <20050321172954.EB7122062C1@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 21, 2005

Annan Offers Plans for Changes in U.N. Structure
By WARREN HOGE

The changes would, among other things, expand the Security Council and restructure the discredited Human Rights Commission.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/international/21cnd-nations.html?ex=1112072400&en=27475f881f05abcd&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:30:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:33:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Our Terrorist-Friendly Borders
Message-ID: <20050321173109.C8EF51645AA@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 21, 2005

Editorial: An Insecure Nation: Our Terrorist-Friendly Borders


After Sept. 11, it was shocking to learn how easily the hijackers entered the country. What is shocking today is how little progress has been made in securing our borders.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/opinion/21mon1.html?ex=1112072400&en=57838445895af398&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:31:09 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:33:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Dissing Democracy in Asia
Message-ID: <20050321173111.AF0C11645B6@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 21, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Dissing Democracy in Asia
By LARRY PRESSLER

As long as we favor dictatorships like Pakistan over free countries like India, we are not putting liberty and democracy at the center of our foreign policy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/opinion/21pressler.html?ex=1112072400&en=36ef77e1f7de60ee&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:32:36 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:35:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Hughes Doctrine
Message-ID: <20050321173237.1976E9FE3A@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 21, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: The Hughes Doctrine
By BOB MANN

The former professor of Karen P. Hughes offers a peek at what's in store for American public diplomacy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/opinion/21mann.html?ex=1112072400&en=60230e19e66cceed&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:32:03 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:35:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Minority Rules
Message-ID: <20050321173237.94A6D9FD39@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 21, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Minority Rules
By IAIN DUNCAN SMITH

As Republicans decide whether to do away with filibusters by changing Senate rules, they would do well to cast their eyes at their Conservative cousins across the Atlantic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/opinion/21duncan-smith.html?ex=1112072400&en=cbca95fcd1da20e2&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:34:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:40:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Nonprofit Groups Question Motive for
	Federal Actions
Message-ID: <20050321173811.CBE8C2062B2@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 21, 2005

Nonprofit Groups Question Motive for Federal Actions
By STEPHANIE STROM

The N.A.A.C.P., which is locked in a standoff with the I.R.S., is not the only group that believes it is being made a government target for its positions on issues.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/politics/21charity.html?ex=1112072400&en=b3c1cdb8228e224b&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 21 09:38:07 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:40:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Suspends Military Aid to Nicaragua
Message-ID: <20050321173813.9F5482062B0@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Well, better late (30 years?) than never...


INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | March 21, 2005

U.S. Suspends Military Aid to Nicaragua
By GINGER THOMPSON

The United States has suspended military assistance to Nicaragua because it has failed to move forward with the destruction of an arsenal of antiaircraft missiles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/international/americas/21nicaragua.html?ex=1112072400&en=eb6d6c9f79ec7946&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 21 09:40:25 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:42:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Reforms take the
	security out of Social Security
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 21 09:41:21 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:43:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / UK - US, Germany, France,
	UK face junk debt status
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 21 09:44:22 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 09:46:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Columnists - Amity Shlaes:
	The vanguard of muscular diplomacy 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 21 10:01:02 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 21 10:03:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Creationists
Message-ID: <BE644BDE.1F5BD%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Harry, Ian, Lyle, et al.
I am appalled by what you write. Not your words of opinion but that you even
have to write them. These are perilous times. Keep up the fight for freedom.
I started to express my opinions but I think I can do no better than a
favorite quote:
Michael

-- The Battle
"There are two great powers and they've been fighting since time began.
Every advance in human life, every scrap of knowledge and wisdom and decency
we have has been torn by one side from the teeth of the other. Every little
increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who
want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to
obey and be humble and submit"
 "The Subtle Knife"  by Philip Pullman



From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 21 11:25:06 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 21 11:27:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A better UN, for a safer world
Message-ID: <BE645F92.1F5D2%michael@michaelbutler.com>



Economist.com      
    

    
About sponsorship

A better UN, for a safer world
Mar 21st 2005
>From The Economist Global Agenda


The United Nations? secretary-general, Kofi Annan, has proposed the most
sweeping reforms of the body since its founding in 1945. If approved, these
would answer many of the strongest criticisms of the UN and should help
rebuild its damaged credibility
AP
AP

Get article background

IF THERE is one thing on which both critics and supporters of the United
Nations agree?especially since the enormous row over the Iraq war?it is that
the world body is in need of reform. America and its allies were exasperated
at the UN?s failure to agree action against Saddam Hussein?s regime.
Opponents of the war were equally angry at the UN?s failure to stop America
from launching it. In the run-up to the Iraq invasion, there was the
revolting spectacle of Britain and France sucking up to Lansana Cont?, the
tinpot dictator of tiny Guinea, because the UN?s rules had given him one of
the Security Council?s rotating seats. Earlier, there was the equally
stomach-churning sight of the tyrannical Libyan regime getting a turn at
chairing the UN?s Commission on Human Rights. Then there was the gross
embezzlement that has been uncovered in the UN?s $70 billion oil-for-food
programme in Iraq?not to mention the UN?s prolonged inaction while the mass
slaughter has continued in Sudan?s Darfur region.

Fearing that the UN was sliding into irrelevance, Kofi Annan, its
secretary-general, set up an international panel, mainly of former heads of
government and ministers, which late last year suggested sweeping reforms
(see our profile of Mr Annan). On Monday March 21st, Mr Annan presented his
recommendations for change, based on the panel?s conclusions, to a gathering
of the UN?s 191-member General Assembly. He is calling for an expansion of
the Security Council, so that it better reflects the global realities of
today?though he did not specify how the council?s membership and veto rules
should be changed. The Commission on Human Rights would, he proposes, be
replaced by a smaller human-rights council, on which it would be harder for
tyrants to get seats. To avoid repeats of past stalemates, the UN would
agree a definition of ?terrorism?, which would be incorporated in a new
anti-terror treaty. It would also adopt clearer principles on when military
force is justified.

Everyone agrees that the Security Council is an unrepresentative relic: five
of its 15 seats are occupied by permanent, veto-wielding members (America,
Russia, China, Britain and France), while the remaining 186 countries have
to take turns occupying the remaining ten seats, and have no veto. Japan and
Germany, the second- and third-biggest contributors to the UN budget,
believe they are entitled to permanent seats. So do India, the world?s
second most populous country, and Brazil, Latin America?s biggest. Egypt,
Nigeria and South Africa all argue that Africa merits two permanent
seats?and each thinks it deserves one of them. However, each of the leading
aspirants to a permanent seat has its opponents (Pakistan opposes India,
Mexico opposes Brazil, etc), so years of arguing over reforms to the
council?s membership have got nowhere.

Mr Annan?s panel of experts suggested two alternatives, both involving an
expanded council of 24 members. The first option would give permanent seats,
but no veto, to six countries (none is named but probably Germany, Japan,
India, Brazil and two of the three African giants) while creating three
extra rotating seats. Under the second option there would be no new
permanent members but a new middle tier would be created, whose members
would serve for four years and could be immediately re-elected, unlike the
current, two-year rotating seats. Mr Annan has urged UN members to adopt
either of these options, or failing that something similar.

As for the smaller council that Mr Annan wants to see replace the 53-member
Commission on Human Rights, its members would have to be approved by a
two-thirds majority in the General Assembly. In an ideal world, membership
of this and other important UN bodies would be restricted to democracies.
This is far more practicable now than when the UN was founded, since most
populous countries are nowadays, to some degree, democratic. However, the
one that sticks out like a sore thumb is China?and kicking it out of the
UN?s main bodies is unthinkable.

Terrorists to some, freedom fighters to others

A commonly agreed definition of terrorism would make it easier for the UN to
agree joint action to curb it. Mr Annan?s panel achieved unanimity on such a
definition: any act intended ?to cause death or serious bodily harm to
civilians?. But some Arab UN members, with Palestine in mind, may still
demand exemptions for those resisting foreign occupation. America and others
might worry that too sweeping a definition risked labelling as terrorism the
bombing of military targets hidden in civilian neighbourhoods, as in Iraq.

The Bush administration would like to see the UN Charter tweaked to let
countries launch preventive strikes without the Security Council?s
permission, even where no attack seems imminent (eg, where a terrorist group
is about to acquire nuclear know-how but is not yet able to make a bomb).
But Mr Annan and his panel have rejected this idea. Instead, they say the
Security Council should agree clearer rules on when it should authorise
military action against such ?latent? threats. Mr Annan has also called on
the UN to embrace the principle that member countries have a ?responsibility
to protect? civilians suffering atrocities when their own government is
failing to act. This has UN-watchers excited, as it would mean moving away
from one of the organisation's founding principles, respect for national
sovereignty.

These are but a few in the long list of big changes that Mr Annan pressed
the UN to adopt on Monday. The aim is for the General Assembly to hold a
special summit in September to approve the reform package. A 23-country
opinion survey commissioned by the BBC, published on Monday, suggests
widespread public support for an overhaul of the UN along the lines Mr Annan
is proposing. In every participating country except Russia, a majority
supported the expansion of the Security Council. In most countries (even
including America), a majority backed making the UN ?significantly? more
powerful.

Even so, it will be tough to get the two-thirds majority among member
countries that Mr Annan?s reforms will need. Even those that ought to
command unanimity, such as a drastic shake-out of bureaucracy and corruption
in UN bodies, are likely to run up against some governments? vested
interests at some stage. The final report on the oil-for-food scandal, due
soon, may so damage Mr Annan and some senior colleagues that the credibility
of his reform package is damaged. Now, amid unprecedented consensus about
the UN?s shortcomings, the chances of reforming it should be strongest. But
it could all too easily descend into the sort of futile squabbling for which
the General Assembly has become infamous.



Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.


From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar 21 12:01:08 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Mon Mar 21 12:03:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Save Native Programs
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV10CCDDA6A42DADD7AA1405AB4D0@phx.gbl>

From: The Peltier Legal Team

The Bush Administration's budget for fiscal year 2006 proposes cutting funds for reservations. Advocates for American Indian & Native Alaskan families, are beginning to ask some tough questions.

1. Why is it that the U.S. can afford unlimited amounts for destruction & reconstruction on the other side of the world, but cannot afford resources for people who have been historically mistreated within its own borders?

2. Why would the Congress cut infrastructure money for disadvantaged communities at home while billions in reconstruction money can disappear in Iraq?

3. Why is it fair to run up the deficit giving tax cuts to the very rich & then decide to reduce that deficit by hurting the poor?

Those in Congress who are aware of the living conditions of poor tribes agree that the proposed cuts for Indian programs in the 2006 budget make little sense. Fiscal conservative Senator John McCain(AZ) says the dramatic cuts proposed will do nothing for the country at large but will cause much harm to the most vulnerable & deprived people in Indian Country. In his words:

The federal government has continually reneged on its trust & moral obligations to meet the educational, health care & housing needs of Indians & these needs far outweigh the imperceptible contribution that the proposed cuts will make to reducing the deficit.

Background

The following factual picture is drawn from information provided by the National American Rights Fund & the Navajo Nation. We call your attention to reservation distress.

A Navajo soldier who built infrastructure in Iraq may face these circumstances at home:

+ Only 2,000 miles of roads in 25,000 square miles of countryside, many dirt & gravel.
+ Housing in short supply; in some cases, 10 people live in a one-bedroom home.
+ Some people live in buses.
+ Utilities lacking in 85 percent of homes, many lacking plumbing.
+ No  telephones in 40 percent of homes.
+ Wood fire stoves, which too often brings on asthma & respiratory problems, but ventilators are not an option because there is no electricity.
+ Grocery store as much as 40 miles away.
+ Drinking water hauled in 50-gallon drums.
+ Extremely high unemployment.
+ Inadequate schools.
+ A health system that provides half as many care dollars as are spent on other poor citizens.
+ A trust system where those with Individual Indian Money accounts get little of the money owed them from the land & leases that the federal government manages for them.

At Now

Your representative & senators will be voting on a budget resolution THIS WEEK. Visit:  http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=7228431&type=CO.

Urge them:

PLEASE DON'T VOTE TO CUT PROGRAMS THAT ARE BRINGING NATIVE AMERICANS OUT OF POVERTY.

Also write to President Bush. Let him know that his mistreatment of the First Nations is unacceptable under ANY circumstances.

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Phone Numbers:
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461

E-Mail: president@whitehouse.gov
       


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar 21 12:13:24 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon Mar 21 12:16:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [FWD] Scoop: John Chuckman: Nightmare Vision Of North
	America
Message-ID: <200503212013.j2LKDO4I051615@io.scoop.co.nz>

John Chuckman: Nightmare Vision Of North America
http://scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0503/S00184.htm



John Chuckman: Nightmare Vision Of North America
		Monday, 21 March 2005, 11:36 am

Opinion: John Chuckman

Nightmare Vision Of North America
By
John Chuckman
March 19, 2005
[....]
From EAN at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar 21 13:57:22 2005
From: EAN at sbcglobal.net (EAN@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:00:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Rumsfeld Faults Turkey for Barring Use of Its Land 
Message-ID: <AA-BAF057EE9059D769A55C1E4F0C04D151-ZZ@rome1.prodigy.net>

A great illustration of the administration's deep 
respect for democracy....Over 95% of the people of 
Turkey were adamently against allowing the U.S. to 
use their nation as a staging ground for 
invasion...and the Turkish parliament actually voted 
to uphold the will of the vast majority of its 
people....and Rumsfeld and co. find that it 
was "Turkey's fault" that we didn't invade with 
enough troops.  Democracy can be so annoying, its no 
wonder that any self respecting neocon needs to avoid 
it and ignore it unless it's convenient....
--Mha Atma

Rumsfeld Faults Turkey for Barring Use of Its Land 
in '03 to Open Norther
n Front in Iraq
By THOM SHANKER

The defense secretary addressed criticisms that the 
Pentagon did not comm
it sufficient troops to the major offensive or to 
stability efforts after
Baghdad fell.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/politics/21military.
html?ex=111207240
0&en=9f617821f7f95877&ei=5070


From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Mon Mar 21 16:31:22 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Mon Mar 21 16:33:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Orphans of Tall Afar
Message-ID: <20050322003122.54259.qmail@web53409.mail.yahoo.com>


Orphans of Tall Afar

What 15 seconds did to the Hassan family—and to the men of Apache Company.

By Owen Matthews  NewsweekMarch 28 issue – 

 

Army investigators in Iraq have cleared Apache Company's soldiers of any wrongdoing. The men did what they were trained to do under the circumstances. Yet that's small comfort to the Hassan orphans. "If it were up to me, I'd kill the Americans and drink their blood," says Jilan, 14. Her 12-year-old brother, Rakan, was discharged from Mosul General Hospital this month. Doctors said his best hope of walking again is to seek treatment outside Iraq. At least he can move his legs. As far as he knows, his parents are in the hospital, recovering from the shooting. No one dares to tell him the truth. 

 

For the complete story go to:

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7245228/site/newsweek/



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



		
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
 Make Yahoo! your home page   
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Mon Mar 21 16:31:55 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Mon Mar 21 16:34:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] "George Bush, Uncle Sam. Iraq Will Be Your Vietnam" 
Message-ID: <20050322003155.84875.qmail@web53403.mail.yahoo.com>


"George Bush, Uncle Sam. Iraq Will Be Your Vietnam" 

Protests in US, Europe as Bush Defends Iraq War Reuters, Saturday 19 March 2005

 

    London/New York - Thousands of protesters against the war on Iraq marched in Europe and the United States on Saturday, but President Bush said the invasion just two years ago shielded the world from "grave danger."

 

    "George Bush … Uncle Sam. Iraq will be your Vietnam," chanted 45,000 protesters winding through central London as they put down a black cardboard coffin with the slogan "100,000 dead" scrawled on the lid outside the U.S. Embassy.

 

    The protesters, marking the second anniversary of the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, called on Bush and his ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to pull their troops out of Iraq and restore sovereignty to its people.

 

    Some 10,000 people marched through the center of Rome, waving anti-war banners and protesting against the Italian troop presence in Iraq. Protesters also marched in Madrid and Barcelona.

 

For the complete story go to:

 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/032005B.shtml



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Mon Mar 21 16:32:30 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Mon Mar 21 16:34:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 'Preemptive Strikes' Become Policy
Message-ID: <20050322003230.12973.qmail@web53401.mail.yahoo.com>


'Preemptive Strikes' Become Policy

    By John Hendren, The Los Angeles Times,  Friday 18 March 2005

 

National defense now extends beyond U.S. borders to include acts of 'active deterrence.'

    Washington - A new "National Defense Strategy" for the first time makes the kind of preemptive strike used in Iraq part of the nation's military policy in dealing with rogue nations, Pentagon officials said today.

 

    The plan that specifies the Bush administration's goals in protecting the nation describes a muscular policy of "active deterrence."

 

    Under it, the United States will seek to expand its relationships with allies and "act with others when we can" to prevent growing regional problems from erupting into wars, according to an unclassified version of the document outlined at the Pentagon by Douglas Feith, the Defense Department's undersecretary for policy. The policy also reserves the right for the United States to act on its own when necessary.

 

    "The president has the obligation to protect the country," Feith said. "And I don't think that there's anything in our Constitution that says that the president should not protect the country unless he gets some non-Americans' participation or approval of that."

 

For the complete story go to:

 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031905F.shtml

 

 



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



		
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
 Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar 21 16:39:05 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon Mar 21 16:41:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Social Security
Message-ID: <000a01c52e77$91ad8060$943fe440@Harold>

Something tells me Wall Street will make billions on the proposed social security bill, in fees to handle the accounts!

http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California2/CA_Social_Security_Cheney_178809CA.shtml

Cheney's buddies are looking to make money, the oil thing is happening, a done deal and they are just counting their monies, but they want more, the fees they can generate from managing independent social security is astronomical. 

America, blindly and willingly raped by their own!

later H

PS please wake up and get it!
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon Mar 21 16:40:55 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Mon Mar 21 16:47:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guantanamo abuse 'videotaped'
	(http://theaustralian.com.au report)
Message-ID: <200503220040.LAA16382@scye.news.com.au>

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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Mon Mar 21 17:06:02 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 17:08:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Power abused, democracy corrupted
Message-ID: <65.4195c8c5.2f70c97a@aol.com>

Power abused, democracy corrupted.
 
For Congress to step into the Schivao case is a blatant trampling of  
individual rights.  Last week Judge Greer refused to answer a Congressional  
subpoena, correctly stating that Washington has had numerous opportunities in  the 
past 7 years to get involved.  Michael Schivao asked why Bush  is so hot and 
heavy to get involved now, he hasn't bothered stopping by or  mentioning the case 
in any of the numerous trips made to the Tampa Bay area in  the past year.  
This whole thing stinks of political pandering to a  minority.  In the following 
article Times Columnist Howard  Troxler brings up a interesting scenario if 
the same issue of overriding  individual rights occurred with Hilary as 
president, would she get the same  rabid support?  What is really sad is these 
grandstanding bastards are  ignoring the wishes of the majority of citizens - the 
decision should rest with  the spouse.
 
_http://sptimes.com/2005/03/21/Columns/Power_abused__democra.shtml_ 
(http://sptimes.com/2005/03/21/Columns/Power_abused__democra.shtml) 
 
Richard Haerther
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 21 17:09:32 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 17:11:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Kyrgyz Protesters Burn a Police Building
Message-ID: <5471065.1111453772873.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Kyrgyz Protesters Burn a Police Building 
--------------------

Demonstrators venting anger over the results of recent elections, which they call fraudulent, attack the headquarters in a southern city.

By David Holley
Times Staff Writer

March 21 2005

MOSCOW &#8212; Protesters rallying against President Askar A. Akayev burned down police headquarters Sunday in the southern Kyrgyzstan city of Jalal-Abad, raising tensions in a country considered key to U.S. hopes for democracy in Central Asia. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kyrgyz21mar21,0,6932252.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 21 17:10:06 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 17:12:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Afghan Election System May Undermine Karzai
Message-ID: <19628536.1111453806237.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Afghan Election System May Undermine Karzai 
--------------------

In the parliamentary poll set for Sept. 18, voters pick candidates, not parties, which could make it difficult for the president to govern.

By Halima Kazem
Special to The Times

March 21 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan &#8212; Afghans will go to the polls Sept. 18 to elect their parliament under a system that some experts say could make it difficult for President Hamid Karzai to govern this war-torn nation. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan21mar21,0,3748519.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 21 17:12:10 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 17:14:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Midnight Coup
Message-ID: <13985323.1111453930171.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
The Midnight Coup 
--------------------


March 21 2005

Republican leaders, eyeing an opportunity to appease their radical right-wing constituents, convened Congress over the weekend to shamelessly interject the federal government into the wrenching Schiavo family dispute. They brushed aside our federalist system of government, which assigns the resolution of such disputes to state law, and state judges. Even President Bush flew back from his ranch to Washington on Sunday to be in on what amounts to a constitutional coup d'etat. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-schiavo21mar21,0,2140071.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 21 17:16:44 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 21 17:19:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Sharia: Iraq's Dark Cloud
Message-ID: <4959930.1111454204069.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Sharia: Iraq's Dark Cloud 
--------------------

An Islamic constitution is huge peril.

By Susan Jacoby
Susan Jacoby is the author of "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism" (Metropolitan Books, 2004) and director of the Center for Inquiry-Metro New York.

March 21 2005

One of the more disturbing byproducts of the U.S. involvement in Iraq is the recent outpouring of rationalization from across the American political and cultural spectrum for the incorporation of Islam into the new Iraqi constitution. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-jacoby21mar21,0,595614.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 21 18:24:53 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 21 18:27:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Casting Aside the Separation of Powers
Message-ID: <BE64C1F5.1F61D%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Also see below:    
Congress Passes Schiavo Measure    ?

    Casting Aside the Separation of Powers
    By John Conyers, Jr.
    t r u t h o u t | Statement

    Sunday 20 March 2005

    By passing this bill, in this form, we will be intruding in the most
sensitive possible family decision at the most ill-opportune time. It will
be hard for this member to envision a case or circumstance that Congress
will not be willing to involve itself in under this precedent.

    By passing legislation which takes sides in an ongoing legal dispute, we
will be casting aside the principle of separation of powers. We will be
abandoning our role as a serious legislative branch, and take on the role
not only of Judge, but of Doctor, Priest, Parent and Spouse.

    By passing legislation which wrests jurisdiction away from a state judge
and sends it to a single preselected federal court, we will abandon any
pretense of federalism. The concept of a Jeffersonian Democracy as
envisioned by the founders, and the states as "laboratories of democracy" as
articulated by Justice Brandeis will lie in tatters.

    By passing this legislation, in the complete absence of hearings or a
committee markup, and with no opportunity for amendments, in complete
violation of what we used to call "regular order," we will send a signal
that the usual rules of conduct and procedure no longer apply when they are
inconvenient to the Majority Party.

    By passing this legislation, and taking this sensitive decision away
from a spouse and giving it to a federal court, we will make it abundantly
clear that all the talk last year about marriage being a "sacred trust
between a man and a woman" was just that - talk.

    My friends on the other side of the aisle will declare that this
legislation is about principle, and morals and values.

    But if this legislation was only about principle, why would the Majority
party be distributing talking points in the other body declaring that "this
is a great political issue" and that by passing this bill, "the pro-life
base will be excited."?

    If the president really cared about the issue of the removal of feeding
tubes, why would he have signed a bill in Texas that allows hospitals to
save money by removing feeding tubes over a family's objection?

    If we really cared about saving lives, why would the Congress sit idly
by while 40 million Americans have no health insurance, or while the
president tries to cut billions of dollars from Medicaid - a virtual
lifeline for millions of our citizens?

    When all is said and done, this bill is about taking sides in a legal
dispute. Last year, the Majority passed two bills stripping the federal
courts of their power to review cases involving the Defense of Marriage Act
and the Pledge of Allegiance because they feared they would read the
Constitution too broadly. Last month, the Majority passed a class action
bill that took jurisdiction away from state courts because they feared they
would treat corporate wrongdoers too harshly. Today we are sending a case
from the state courts to the federal courts even though it is the most
extensively litigated "right to die" case in our nation's history.

    There is only one principle at stake here - manipulating the court
system to achieve pre-determined substantive outcomes. By passing this law,
it should be obvious to all that we are no longer a nation of laws, but have
been reduced to a nation of men. By passing this law, we will be telling our
friends abroad that even though we expect them to live by the rule of law,
Congress can ignore it when it doesn't suit our needs. By passing this law
we diminish our nation as a democracy and ourselves as legislators.

 

    Go to Original

    Congress Passes Schiavo Measure
    Bush Signs Bill Giving U.S. Courts Jurisdiction in Case of Fla. Woman
    By Charles Babington and Mike Allen
    Washington Post

    Monday 21 March 2005

    Congress gave jurisdiction over a brain-damaged Florida woman's case to
federal courts early today, an extraordinary legislative move that could
empower a U.S. judge to order the reinsertion of a feeding tube that a state
court allowed to be removed Friday.

    Voting 203 to 58 at 12:42 a.m., the House joined the Senate in approving
the measure and rushing it to President Bush. He signed the bill into law at
1:11 a.m., saying, "I will continue to stand on the side of those defending
life for all Americans, including those with disabilities."

    With their votes and signature, the Republican-controlled Congress and
Republican president wrote another chapter in an emotionally charged saga
that has divided the patient's family and many other Americans over
right-to-die questions.

    Calling the bill a "Palm Sunday Compromise" that will keep Terri
Schiavo, 41, alive, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) said, "It won't
take a miracle to help Terri Schiavo. It will only take the medical care and
therapy that all patients deserve." In a rare gesture, Speaker J. Dennis
Hastert (R-Ill.) presided over the three-hour debate, and he quoted Pope
John Paul II on the subject of life-sustaining treatments.

    The legislation requires a federal judge, upon the family's request, to
launch a new inquiry into the legal and medical questions surrounding
Schiavo, who suffered a severe loss of oxygen to her brain when her heart
temporarily stopped 15 years ago. Doctors appointed by Florida courts to
examine Schiavo say she has since lived in a persistent vegetative state,
although other physicians have questioned that diagnosis.

    David Gibbs II, an attorney for Schiavo's parents, filed that request
overnight, the Associated Press reported from Florida, but there was no
immediate response from the federal judge.

    The Senate, operating under unanimous-consent rules, passed the
legislation yesterday afternoon with no debate and with only three members
present. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a renowned heart
surgeon, said Congress cannot force a U.S. judge to order that Schiavo's
feeding tube be reinserted while the new federal case goes forward. However,
he said, "I would expect that a federal judge would grant a stay [of the
state court's order removing the tube] under these circumstances, because
Terri would need to live in order for the court to consider the case."

    Frist called the measure "a unique bill" that "should not serve as a
precedent for future legislation." Some Democrats objected to an earlier,
broader version that might have applied to many cases of incapacitated
patients.

    Schiavo's husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, has said that she
has no hope of recovery and that, based on their conversations before her
heart attack, she would not want to continue living as she is now. Florida
courts have repeatedly sided with him, and the U.S. Supreme Court has
declined to hear appeals of those rulings. He said on CNN this morning that
if the federal courts take up the case, he will continue to press to allow
her to die.

    Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings have fought to keep her alive,
drawing many right-to-life activists and other political groups to their
side. In his Senate speech yesterday, Frist denounced an unsigned memo
circulated to Republican lawmakers over the weekend calling the Schiavo case
"a great political issue."

    Frist said he had not seen the memo, adding: "I condemn the content of
the memo and reaffirm that the interest in this case by myself, and the many
members of the Senate on both sides of the aisle, is to assure that Mrs.
Schiavo has another chance at life."

    GOP lawmakers have said Terri Schiavo's failure to draft a "living will"
makes it impossible to know her wishes, and therefore it is essential that
the government help her stay alive. Frist said the bill will allow Schiavo's
parents to file a federal claim on her behalf "for alleged violations of
constitutional rights or federal laws relating to the withholding of food,
water or medical treatment necessary to sustain life."

    The legislation will put a federal court in direct conflict with Florida
courts, Senate aides acknowledged, a move subject to possible legal
challenges whose duration and outcome is hard to predict. Republicans have
urged the Florida legislature to overcome its impasse on the issue and try
to override the state court's rulings, which could make federal intervention
unneeded.

    Schiavo's feeding tube was temporarily removed twice before under
various legal maneuvers. Doctors say she probably will die from dehydration
in about two weeks if the tube is not reinserted.

    Michael and Terri Schiavo won a $700,000 malpractice lawsuit after her
heart attack 15 years ago, but his lawyers say most of the money has been
spent on health care and legal costs. Medicaid pays for her medication and
Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., provides her care for free, the
lawyers say.

    Congress had largely steered clear of the Schiavo case until last week,
when appeals to Florida courts were exhausted and the state's GOP-controlled
legislature appeared unlikely to step in. Although numerous lawmakers,
especially Democrats, expressed unease over interfering with a state court's
rulings and Michael Schiavo's assertion that he knows his brain-damaged
wife's desires, they generally have been quieter than the conservative
activists and right-to-life groups campaigning vociferously to keep Schiavo
alive.

    A single senator could have postponed yesterday's action but none did
so, even though some criticized Congress's actions. "I think it's unwise for
Congress to intervene in a very deeply personal matter such as this," Sen.
Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said on CNN's "Late Edition."

    House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), traveling in the Middle
East, said in a statement: "Congressional leaders have no business
substituting their judgment for that of multiple state courts that have
extensively considered the issues in this intensely personal family matter.
The actions of the majority in attempting to pass constitutionally dubious
legislation are highly irregular and an improper use of legislative
authority."

    Congressional GOP leaders were unapologetic for intervening in a way
that is likely to raise constitutional separation-of-powers questions and
that is at odds with traditional Republican calls for honoring marital
privilege and limiting the role of federal courts. "Every hour is terribly
important to Terri Schiavo," DeLay said.

    House GOP leaders had hoped to vote yesterday afternoon. But they were
operating under rules that allowed even one objection to prevent approval of
the bill before today. They spent much of the afternoon and evening
scrambling to summon 218 colleagues -- the minimum for a quorum -- in order
to pass the bill in the earliest moments of today. Congress had begun a
two-week recess, and many lawmakers were traveling overseas or domestically.
A two-thirds majority was required to pass the bill because it was on a
"suspension calendar," usually reserved for non-controversial matters.

    The three-hour House debate, however, was anything but uncontroversial.
Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) accused the
Florida courts of "enforcing a merciless directive." He invoked the civil
rights movement and said it "required federal judicial action" to right the
wrongs of southern courts.

    But Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) chastised Republicans. "We
are not doctors," she said. "We are not bioethicists."

    Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said it is foolish to think the bill will
not become a legal precedent. "Every aggrieved party in any similar
litigation now will go to Congress, come to Congress and ask us to make a
series of decisions," he said. "This is a terribly difficult decision which
we are, institutionally, totally incompetent to make."

    When reporters asked DeLay how the bill squares with conservatives'
calls to get the federal government out of state affairs, he flashed a copy
of the Constitution. "We, as Congress, have every right to make sure that
the constitutional rights of Terri Schiavo are protected, and that's what
we're doing," he said. "It has nothing to do with state's rights. We aren't
overriding state law."

    Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler, visited the Capitol yesterday,
accompanied by an official of the National Right to Life Committee. He told
reporters he was there "to help save my sister's life."

    In the House Press Gallery, Schindler encountered Rep. James P. Moran
Jr. (D-Va.), who had said the bill set "a very dangerous precedent that will
come back to haunt us." As Schindler described his sister and produced a
video disk that he said shows she is functional, Moran nodded
sympathetically, accepting the disk, but said he had not changed his mind.

    Moran later cited the encounter in a floor speech. "I don't know who's
right and who's wrong" in the battle over Schiavo, he said. "But that's the
point: Neither do my colleagues." Moran said: "Ten courts, and 19 judges all
have reached the same conclusion," ruling in favor of Michael Schiavo's
request on his wife's behalf.

    Reflecting on the estrangement of the Schiavo and Schindler families,
Schindler told reporters: "It amazes me that Michael Schiavo is trying to
portray himself as a loving, caring husband, when he's abandoned my sister.
She's been warehoused now over 12 years, and he has been cohabitating with
another woman for 10 years and has two children with this woman. That is his
family."

    Michael Schiavo has acknowledged the relationship and children, but he
and his lawyer have sharply rejected other criticism, saying outside groups
and elected officials have seized the issue for political purposes.

    Outside Woodside Hospice, where Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed
Friday, dozens of demonstrators -- some singing hymns, others quietly
praying -- maintained the vigil they have kept for days. An attorney for her
parents filed a motion with a federal appellate court to have the feeding
tube reconnected as soon as Bush signed the bill into law.

    House opposition to the Schiavo legislation was led by Rep. Robert
Wexler (D-Fla.), who said the legislation is "totally unconstitutional" and
likely to be struck down by federal courts. "Congress is violating the
separation of powers that have kept a distinct role for the judicial and
legislative branches for over two centuries," Wexler said.

    Maryland Democrats Benjamin L. Cardin, Steny H. Hoyer and Chris Van
Hollen voted against the bill, and Elijah E. Cummings and Albert C. Wynn
joined Republicans Roscoe G. Bartlett and Wayne T. Gilchrest in voting for
it. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D) did not vote.

    Virginia Democrats Moran and Robert C. "Bobby" Scott opposed the
measure; Republicans Eric I. Cantor, Jo Ann S. Davis, Thomas M. Davis III,
Thelma D. Drake, J. Randy Forbes, Virgil H. Goode Jr. and Robert W.
Goodlatte voted for it. Frank W. Wolf (R) and Rick Boucher (D) did not vote.

    House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told reporters that he is "going
to look at my living will that I haven't looked at for about 10 years and be
sure it still says exactly what I wanted it to say."

 

? Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org


From lyve at netzero.com  Mon Mar 21 19:17:48 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon Mar 21 19:21:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Save Native Programs
Message-ID: <20050321.191754.18938.10111@webmail33.nyc.untd.com>


After a hundred years have gone by it is obvious that indigenous people from ALL countries have been under attack from the white brother.

It is an unfortunate truth, the dark skinned, the brown skinned, the red skinned has faced decades of discrimination-it is a sad truth.

Compare this program to other successful programs and it will be obvious that no one can be this dumb, ignorant, or cruel, and willfully forget tribes of people in need. If these were white brothers crying out to the Senate, and asking in the name of Jesus Christ, we would see momentum.

Unfortunately, if you have not been in a situation to understand how the minority is treated, it is hard to accept this premise and reality. 

There are concerned individuals, like Barbara that feel, genuinely about these people and their future because like Barbara, they are endowed with special privilege and sensitivity to understand from the heart, deep pain and positive critical thinking solutions for generations of mistaken misdeeds because of ideology, insensitivity, arrogance, and stubbornness. Where ignorance builds walls instead of stable bridges, we have a continuance of these misdeeds-this time not mistaken, but deliberate.  
Lyle
-- "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com> wrote:
From: The Peltier Legal Team

The Bush Administration's budget for fiscal year 2006 proposes cutting funds for reservations. Advocates for American Indian & Native Alaskan families, are beginning to ask some tough questions.

1. Why is it that the U.S. can afford unlimited amounts for destruction & reconstruction on the other side of the world, but cannot afford resources for people who have been historically mistreated within its own borders?

2. Why would the Congress cut infrastructure money for disadvantaged communities at home while billions in reconstruction money can disappear in Iraq?

3. Why is it fair to run up the deficit giving tax cuts to the very rich & then decide to reduce that deficit by hurting the poor?

Those in Congress who are aware of the living conditions of poor tribes agree that the proposed cuts for Indian programs in the 2006 budget make little sense. Fiscal conservative Senator John McCain(AZ) says the dramatic cuts proposed will do nothing for the country at large but will cause much harm to the most vulnerable & deprived people in Indian Country. In his words:

The federal government has continually reneged on its trust & moral obligations to meet the educational, health care & housing needs of Indians & these needs far outweigh the imperceptible contribution that the proposed cuts will make to reducing the deficit.

Background

The following factual picture is drawn from information provided by the National American Rights Fund & the Navajo Nation. We call your attention to reservation distress.

A Navajo soldier who built infrastructure in Iraq may face these circumstances at home:

+ Only 2,000 miles of roads in 25,000 square miles of countryside, many dirt & gravel.
+ Housing in short supply; in some cases, 10 people live in a one-bedroom home.
+ Some people live in buses.
+ Utilities lacking in 85 percent of homes, many lacking plumbing.
+ No  telephones in 40 percent of homes.
+ Wood fire stoves, which too often brings on asthma & respiratory problems, but ventilators are not an option because there is no electricity.
+ Grocery store as much as 40 miles away.
+ Drinking water hauled in 50-gallon drums.
+ Extremely high unemployment.
+ Inadequate schools.
+ A health system that provides half as many care dollars as are spent on other poor citizens.
+ A trust system where those with Individual Indian Money accounts get little of the money owed them from the land & leases that the federal government manages for them.

At Now

Your representative & senators will be voting on a budget resolution THIS WEEK. Visit:  http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=7228431&type=CO.

Urge them:

PLEASE DON'T VOTE TO CUT PROGRAMS THAT ARE BRINGING NATIVE AMERICANS OUT OF POVERTY.

Also write to President Bush. Let him know that his mistreatment of the First Nations is unacceptable under ANY circumstances.

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Phone Numbers:
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461

E-Mail: president@whitehouse.gov
       


_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon Mar 21 20:33:35 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Mon Mar 21 20:35:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Save Native Programs
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV133F4A2CC7D2DBD2305FBFAB4E0@phx.gbl>

Thank you for being so sweet Lyle.... must say though regarding insensitivity what you say is sad and true.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Lyle K'ang
Sent: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 19:17:48 -0800
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Save Native Programs


After a hundred years have gone by it is obvious that indigenous people from ALL countries have been under attack from the white brother.

It is an unfortunate truth, the dark skinned, the brown skinned, the red skinned has faced decades of discrimination-it is a sad truth.

Compare this program to other successful programs and it will be obvious that no one can be this dumb, ignorant, or cruel, and willfully forget tribes of people in need. If these were white brothers crying out to the Senate, and asking in the name of Jesus Christ, we would see momentum.

Unfortunately, if you have not been in a situation to understand how the minority is treated, it is hard to accept this premise and reality. 

There are concerned individuals, like Barbara that feel, genuinely about these people and their future because like Barbara, they are endowed with special privilege and sensitivity to understand from the heart, deep pain and positive critical thinking solutions for generations of mistaken misdeeds because of ideology, insensitivity, arrogance, and stubbornness. Where ignorance builds walls instead of stable bridges, we have a continuance of these misdeeds-this time not mistaken, but deliberate.  
Lyle
-- "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com> wrote:
From: The Peltier Legal Team

The Bush Administration's budget for fiscal year 2006 proposes cutting funds for reservations. Advocates for American Indian & Native Alaskan families, are beginning to ask some tough questions.

1. Why is it that the U.S. can afford unlimited amounts for destruction & reconstruction on the other side of the world, but cannot afford resources for people who have been historically mistreated within its own borders?

2. Why would the Congress cut infrastructure money for disadvantaged communities at home while billions in reconstruction money can disappear in Iraq?

3. Why is it fair to run up the deficit giving tax cuts to the very rich & then decide to reduce that deficit by hurting the poor?

Those in Congress who are aware of the living conditions of poor tribes agree that the proposed cuts for Indian programs in the 2006 budget make little sense. Fiscal conservative Senator John McCain(AZ) says the dramatic cuts proposed will do nothing for the country at large but will cause much harm to the most vulnerable & deprived people in Indian Country. In his words:

The federal government has continually reneged on its trust & moral obligations to meet the educational, health care & housing needs of Indians & these needs far outweigh the imperceptible contribution that the proposed cuts will make to reducing the deficit.

Background

The following factual picture is drawn from information provided by the National American Rights Fund & the Navajo Nation. We call your attention to reservation distress.

A Navajo soldier who built infrastructure in Iraq may face these circumstances at home:

+ Only 2,000 miles of roads in 25,000 square miles of countryside, many dirt & gravel.
+ Housing in short supply; in some cases, 10 people live in a one-bedroom home.
+ Some people live in buses.
+ Utilities lacking in 85 percent of homes, many lacking plumbing.
+ No  telephones in 40 percent of homes.
+ Wood fire stoves, which too often brings on asthma & respiratory problems, but ventilators are not an option because there is no electricity.
+ Grocery store as much as 40 miles away.
+ Drinking water hauled in 50-gallon drums.
+ Extremely high unemployment.
+ Inadequate schools.
+ A health system that provides half as many care dollars as are spent on other poor citizens.
+ A trust system where those with Individual Indian Money accounts get little of the money owed them from the land & leases that the federal government manages for them.

At Now

Your representative & senators will be voting on a budget resolution THIS WEEK. Visit:  http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=7228431&type=CO.

Urge them:

PLEASE DON'T VOTE TO CUT PROGRAMS THAT ARE BRINGING NATIVE AMERICANS OUT OF POVERTY.

Also write to President Bush. Let him know that his mistreatment of the First Nations is unacceptable under ANY circumstances.

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Phone Numbers:
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461

E-Mail: president@whitehouse.gov
       


_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From graphics at verizon.net  Mon Mar 21 23:54:24 2005
From: graphics at verizon.net (John Michael Cox, Jr.)
Date: Mon Mar 21 23:56:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: A Blow to the
	Rule of Law
Message-ID: <423FCF30.7080000@verizon.net>

The New York Times
------------------------------------------------------------------------


          March 22, 2005

EDITORIAL


    A Blow to the Rule of Law


If you are in a "persistent vegetative state" and there is a dispute 
about whether to keep you alive, your case will probably go no further 
than state court - unless you are Terri Schiavo. President Bush signed 
legislation yesterday giving Ms. Schiavo's parents a personal right to 
sue in federal court. The new law tramples on the principle that this is 
"a nation of laws, not of men," and it guts the power of the states. 
When the commotion over this one tragic woman is over, Congress and the 
president will have done real damage to the founders' careful plan for 
American democracy.

Ms. Schiavo's case presents heart-wrenching human issues, and difficult 
legal ones. But the Florida courts, after careful deliberation, ruled 
that she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means in her 
current state, and ordered her feeding tube removed. Ms. Schiavo's 
parents, who wanted the tube to remain, hoped to get the Florida 
Legislature to intervene, but it did not do so.

That should have settled the matter. But supporters of Ms. Schiavo's 
parents, particularly members of the religious right, leaned heavily on 
Congress and the White House to step in. They did so yesterday with the 
new law, which gives "any parent of Theresa Marie Schiavo" standing to 
sue in federal court to keep her alive.

This narrow focus is offensive. The founders believed in a nation in 
which, as Justice Robert Jackson once wrote, we would "submit ourselves 
to rulers only if under rules." There is no place in such a system for a 
special law creating rights for only one family. The White House insists 
that the law will not be a precedent. But that means that the right to 
bring such claims in federal court is reserved for people with enough 
political pull to get a law passed that names them in the text.

The Bush administration and the current Congressional leadership like to 
wax eloquent about states' rights. But they dropped those principles in 
their rush to stampede over the Florida courts and Legislature. The new 
law doesn't miss a chance to trample on the state's autonomy and 
dignity. There are a variety of technical legal doctrines the federal 
courts use to show deference to state courts, like "abstention" and 
"exhaustion of remedies." The new law decrees that in Ms. Schiavo's 
case, these well-established doctrines simply will not apply.

Republicans have traditionally championed respect for the delicate 
balance the founders created. But in the Schiavo case, and in the battle 
to stop the Democratic filibusters of judicial nominations, President 
Bush and his Congressional allies have begun to enunciate a new 
principle: the rules of government are worth respecting only if they 
produce the result we want. It may be a formula for short-term political 
success, but it is no way to preserve and protect a great republic.


Copyright 2005 
<http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html> The New 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 22 03:31:09 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 22 03:33:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26752611.1111491069563.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Legal Experts  Say Parents  Are Unlikely To Prevail
 
 By Dana Milbank
 
   Even with the intervention of Congress and President Bush, Terri Schiavo's parents have only a slim chance of convincing federal courts that their daughter should be kept alive indefinitely, constitutional lawyers said yesterday.
 
 The unusual action by Congress on Sunday gave the parents of Schiavo the right to sue in federal court over the withdrawal of a feeding tube for their severely brain-damaged daughter  --  trumping the judgments of Florida courts and the wishes of Schiavo's husband-guardian. Although the move raises a wide range of complex constitutional questions and could ultimately require the Supreme Court's involvement, Schiavo's parents face a daunting array of legal obstacles in persuading federal courts to involve themselves in an area of state authority.
 
 "There are so many substantial hurdles that the case has to get over that it's hard for them not to trip on one," said Michael C. Dorf, a professor of constitutional law at Columbia University. 
 
 Alan Meisel, who directs the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Bioethics and Health Law, called it "very, very unlikely" that Schiavo's parents will prevail.
 
 The difficulty showed itself immediately yesterday when attorneys for Schiavo's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, filed their request for an injunction in U.S. district court. They argued that the federal court should rule that the Florida judge's order to remove Schiavo's feeding tube "violates and continues to violate" her constitutional rights of religion and due process. But that request is at odds with the law signed early yesterday  by Bush directing the federal courts to consider the case de novo  --  without taking into account the state court's findings.
 
 The judge assigned to the case, James Whittemore, expressed skepticism about the Schindlers' lawsuit. "I think you'd be hard-pressed to convince me that you have a substantial likelihood" of success, he said, declining to give an immediate order to restore the feeding tube.
 
 The attorneys for the Schindlers need to weave their way around some difficult Supreme Court precedents. The 1990 Cruzan case made it clear that a person in a persistent vegetative state has a constitutional right to be removed from a feeding tube. In a 1997 ruling, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist affirmed that the Cruzan case assumed that "the due process clause protects the traditional right to refuse unwanted lifesaving medical treatment." And in the 1995 Plaut ruling, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the court struck down an effort by Congress to direct courts to reopen final judicial judgments.
 
 Thus, even if the case goes to the Supreme Court, some of the conservative justices who might have the most sympathy for the Schindlers' claim have in the past sided with the states on similar cases. "I don't think the chance is much above zero" that this will change now, said Bruce Fein, a constitutional lawyer who is a columnist for the Washington Times.
 
 Article Three of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to send a case to federal courts, particularly if a person's constitutional rights have been violated. But it is not clear that Congress can dictate guardianship rules to states. "I don't think any power Congress has under the commerce clause or other powers gives them the authority to make federal guardianship laws," said Mary Cheh, a law professor at George Washington University.
 
 As to the substance of the Schindlers' case, their lawyers cited Terri Schiavo's rights under the first and 14th amendments and under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 1983. They said the state trial judge denied her a fair trial  and did not make "reasonable accommodations to Terri's sincerely-held religious beliefs."
 
 Columbia's Dorf said these claims are weak. He said due-process claims against a judge are "very hard to win." The claim that the judge violated her free exercise of religion, he said, is equally difficult to establish. "You have to show that the government targeted you because of your religion and did not apply a general law or principle to you," he said. A better argument, Dorf said, would be to assert that Schiavo's husband was wrong to claim she is in a vegetative state and that removing her feeding tube violates her right to life. Even then, he said, "it's very implausible that they would win."
 
 The Schindlers' success may hinge on their ability to disqualify the judgment of Schiavo's husband, Michael. Their complaint yesterday made some effort to do that, noting that he "abandoned his marriage to Terri in 1995 by cohabiting with and having two children by a woman other than his wife."
 
 But to convince the courts that Michael Schiavo is acting in bad faith as her guardian would require a federal court to reach a finding on the medical evidence that is different from the state court's. "If the Florida courts are doing their jobs, it's inconceivable the district court would find anything different," Meisel said. "If there had been a problem, somebody would have caught it." The case has been in Florida courts for 12 years.
 
 In the lawsuit filed yesterday, Terri Schiavo is both the plaintiff and the defendant, represented by her parents as plaintiff and by her husband as defendant. That creates an unusual situation: If the federal courts recognize Michael Schiavo as guardian, then the federal proceedings requested by her parents could violate her constitutional rights.
 
 "Can they force her to relitigate a right she has won?" Cheh wondered. "That may be a violation of her due-process rights." Cheh said she, for one, is happy not to be the one to answer such odd questions. "If I were the judge who got assigned to this by the computer, I'd flee the country," she said. 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 22 03:32:25 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 22 03:34:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <12599048.1111491145623.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Will Republicans Go Nuclear?
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
    Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, called an urgent meeting last week with leaders of civil rights, civil liberties, environmental and women's groups. His message: The Senate faces a nuclear winter that could engulf them.
 
  What emerged at that meeting was an order of battle that could mark American politics for years. Reid told the participants that he had learned from friendly Republican senators that Bill Frist, the majority leader, intended to push forward with what has come to be known as the "nuclear option," a fiddling with Senate rules that would block filibusters of judicial nominees.
 
  And Reid warned the groups that the Republican effort to curb the rights of the Senate minority would not stop with judges. If Frist won on judges, Reid predicted, Republicans would be emboldened to roll other legislation through on narrow majority votes.
 
  The battle over the filibuster seems like an insider's game. In fact it is a historic fight over the structure of U.S. government that could affect almost every issue in the public realm.
 
  The details are clear enough: Democrats filibustered 10 of President Bush's first-term judicial nominees while confirming 204 others.
 
  Under current filibuster rules, it takes 60 votes to shut off Senate debate on most subjects. That means that if the Senate's 44 Democrats stay united, they can block Bush's appointees. Republicans say it should not take 60 votes to confirm a judge.
 
  Under the nuclear option, Republicans would use a simple majority to amend Senate Rule 22, the filibuster provision, even though the rule itself explicitly requires a two-thirds vote for any filibuster changes. They would do this by having Vice President Cheney, in his role as president of the Senate, uphold a "point of order" that would have the effect of ending filibusters on judges. And it takes only a majority to uphold a point of order.
 
  If this sounds convoluted, that's because it is a blatant effort to twist the rules and  --  this ought to bother conservatives  --  ignore the traditions of the Senate.
 
  Reid's argument to the liberal groups is important because it raises the stakes. (Reid wouldn't confirm the substance of the private meeting, though he did not dispute the account offered by other participants.) On the narrow issue of judicial nominations, Republicans might muster a bare majority to overturn the filibuster. But there is genuine worry across the usual political divides that the precedent set on this one issue would be disastrous for minority rights on all others.
 
  Conservatives say that liberals are a strange bunch to be defending the filibuster  --  and the conservatives have a point. Liberals fought the filibuster when it was used by the Senate's Southern segregationist minority to stall civil rights bills. I'll acknowledge that when Republicans used the filibuster to obstruct health care reform and other pieces of progressive legislation in the first years of President Bill Clinton's term, I was tempted to support changes in the filibuster rules.
 
  But conservatives who support the nuclear option are utterly unwilling to acknowledge their own convenient change of heart. They defended the filibuster as long as they were in the minority, but would cast it aside now that they have grabbed the presidency and narrow majorities in both houses. The liberals, moreover, never tried to twist the rules to get rid of the filibuster, as the conservatives are doing. 
 
  And if the principle at stake is "majority rule," consider that the Senate is, by its very nature, an affront to majoritarian principles. The 52 senators from the nation's smallest states could command a Senate majority even though they represent only 18 percent of the American population.
 
  According to the Census Bureau's July 2004 population estimates, the 44 Democratic senators represent 148,026,027 people; the 55 Republican senators 144,765,157. Vermont's Jim Jeffords, an independent who usually votes with the Democrats, represents 310,697. (In these calculations, I evenly divided the population of states with split Senate delegations.) What does majority rule really mean in this context? If the Republicans pushing against the filibuster love majority rule so much, they should propose getting rid of the Senate altogether. But doing so would mean acknowledging what's really going on here: regime change disguised as a narrow rules fight. We could choose to institute a British-style parliamentary system in which majorities get almost everything they want. But advocates of such a radical departure should be honest enough to propose amending the Constitution first.
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 22 03:34:21 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 22 03:36:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29033546.1111491261484.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 'A Great  Political Issue'
 
 By Richard Cohen
 
   Sen. Bill Frist watched a videotape last week of Terri Schiavo made by her parents in 2001. He did this in his capacity as Senate majority leader and as a renowned physician. In both roles he performed miserably. As a senator, he showed himself to be an unscrupulous opportunist. As a physician, he was guilty of practicing medicine without a brain.
 
  After viewing the tape, Frist felt confident in questioning the several courts and many doctors who  --  apparently handicapped by firsthand examinations  --  had erroneously concluded that Schiavo was in a "persistent vegetative state."
 
  "I question it based on a review of the video footage," he told the Senate. "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli." Doubtful. What's more certain is that Frist and his colleagues were responding to political stimuli: the so-called right-to-life crowd.
 
  Frist and his (mostly) GOP colleagues were operating under such pressure that they sometimes did not know which subterfuge to adopt. After all, it should not matter  --  it must not matter  --  if Schiavo is in a vegetative state or not. What should matter  --  under right-to-life reasoning  --  is that she is alive. In many respects, she is as alive as a zygote the moment after fertilization or a fetus that will die shortly after birth  --  or any other manifestation of life as it either exists or is proclaimed to exist. Life is life, Frist. Get with the program.
 
  But the unreasonableness of the Republican position  --  President Bush hurrying back to Washington to sign the bill as soon as it was passed  --  flummoxed speaker after speaker. Rep. Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, proved you don't need a medical degree to make foolish statements about Schiavo. "It won't take a miracle to help Terri Schiavo," he said, neglecting to cite his source. "It will only take the medical care and therapy that all patients deserve." DeLay then forgot to have Schiavo yanked from the Woodside Hospice, where he apparently believes that she is not getting such care, and went on about his business. This is the thanks the hospice gets for caring for Schiavo gratis.
 
  Someone  --  no one knows who  --  committed candor and truth in Washington (a federal offense?) by circulating a memo to Republicans alerting them to the obvious: Schiavo was "a great political issue." Frist, who is almost certainly running for president next time out, took umbrage at that: "I condemn the content of the memo," he umbraged, "and reaffirm that the interest in this case by myself (and others) is to assure that Mrs. Schiavo has another chance at life." 
 
  Bravo! But why not insist that whatever state she's in, she keeps getting a chance at life  --  forever? After all, a miracle could happen (DeLay), and she recognizes visual stimuli (Frist) and "she can recover substantially if she gets the proper rehabilitation" (Frist again, this time citing another doctor). Almost no one here is a hands-on doctor, but they don't hesitate to play one on TV.
 
  Watching the House debate Sunday night, I wondered why the Democrats  --  some of them, anyway  --  even bothered debating the bill. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was eloquent and persuasive, but the GOP had the votes. Congress was intent on intruding into a family matter in which the courts had ruled repeatedly in favor of the husband. The parents felt otherwise, granted, but they had had their day in court. Those courts did not rule as Congress would have liked and so, by pretty close to fiat  --  no hearings, no witnesses and absolutely no thought  --  the matter was moved to the federal courts, where the outcome will probably be what it was at the state level. A change in jurisdiction is not going to change Schiavo's condition.
 
  Terri Schiavo's husband said she would not want to live the way she does now  --  and that she even said so. But she was only 26 when tragedy struck, probably too young to have given serious thought to these matters. Besides, what she once wanted is not the point. That person is gone  --  or so say the experts and so say the courts that have heard from the experts. What remains is a legal case that no longer is about Schiavo. Instead it's about the politics of abortion  --  right to life  --  and political opportunism. Terri Schiavo lives so that others, notably Frist, can run for higher office. I know that by watching the tape.
 
 cohenr@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 22 03:35:22 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 22 03:37:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23436597.1111491322675.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Bobby Short, Appearing Nightly At the Cabaret Of Our Dreams
 
 By Wil Haygood
 
  "Hannah  and Her Sisters" didn't do much for me. But the singer in the movie  --  appearing at the Cafe Carlyle on-screen, as he did in real life  --  exuded so much style, so much class and taste. He fairly floated from the screen. The voice was breathy, tender and, oddly, a little hoarse  --  which gave it all its magic. His name was Bobby Short, and for decades, before and after that movie, he did as much as one voice could to keep cabaret and Cole Porter and Harold Arlen and 1940s music alive. 
 
 "People flocked to the Carlyle to be transported for an hour or so to a more civilized and dignified time," says Robert Nahas, who knew Short for four decades and is executor of his estate.
 
 Short, who died yesterday at age 80, was as old-fashioned as a cigarette case, as a walking stick. Not cane; walking stick. He was ever and always the man in the tuxedo. Accompanying himself on piano, he was an elegant vessel for a half-century's worth of mighty fine music.
 
 He had announced last year that he was retiring from the Carlyle, the swank and intimate Upper East Side boîte that had been his room for more than 35 years. Time was, as it does, gaining on Short. He mentioned Paris, the countryside. Many couldn't believe it. He heard their lamentations and reversed course, said he'd do his Carlyle thing for a couple more years.
 
 But he died.
 
 I will tell you in a moment about my time at the Carlyle, listening to Bobby Short. But first this:
 
 Born in Danville, Ill., in 1924, he had a precocious bent and pleaded with his parents to allow him to go into vaudeville. Those sunny Cole Porter lyrics aside, it was sometimes sad, sometimes lonely, being on the road for weeks. 
 
 Short wrote a memoir, quite good, called "Black and White Baby," published in 1971. "Sometimes on a weekend night at a roadhouse on the outskirts of town," he wrote, "I'd go to sleep at the piano during a lull, my head on my arms. When the lights of approaching cars were seen around the bend, they'd wake me, and before the customers got to the door, I'd be sitting up and playing 'Nobody's Sweetheart Now,' full tilt."
 
 That's a shatteringly lovely memory. So is this  --  little Bobby Short realizing that as much as he loved music, it had become a job: "One day when you're in show business and are a child, something clicks and you realize what you do is important to a lot of adults around you. You are emboldened, and your childhood is over. It's not a happy circumstance. If you don't go on, you're going to hurt a lot of people."
 
 He had made enough to buy a dinner jacket for himself at the age of 14.
 
 A famous pop music singer by the name of Margaret Whiting is on the phone. She lives in Manhattan. For decades she has been faithful in voice to the kinds of tunes Short so loved.
 
  "I met him in the early 1940s, when he worked in Los Angeles," she recalls. "This man, Johnny Walsh, had been a singer. He started a club in L.A. called Cafe Gala. Bobby came from Danville and performed. In three days he became a sensation in L.A. People would hear him sing songs from Broadway."
 
 They became friends. She says he would talk about his family back in Illinois. "He told me they'd bring records home for him to listen to. And sheet music."
 
 He was self-taught. She goes on: "He brought a touch of sophistication to L.A. Those of us in L.A. at the time dreamed of New York. He brought all of that to us. I don't know what the word 'foxy' means to you. But Bobby Short was the first foxy man I ever met. He was charming, funny. He'd call me up and say, 'I've found a new Cole Porter song, at least one that not many people are familiar with.' And he'd sing it to me over the phone."
 
 A singer who went by one name, Hildegarde, had touched him immensely. It was her style, her manner at the piano. She was blond, beautiful, a little kitschy, sang for high society in Manhattan. She wore white gloves and gave roses away while performing. She was known to chat during shows. As Short did.
 
 Having traveled America in his youth, Bobby Short dashed abroad during the 1950s. His act played well there  --  London, Paris  --  but he got homesick and returned stateside by the end of the decade.
 
 "Bobby was this wonderful little colored boy who had traveled all over Europe and wanted to come back home," Evelyn Cunningham said yesterday. Cunningham, herself black, worked for many years as a New York-based writer for the Pittsburgh Courier. "We all fell in love with him. Many of us really wanted to know more about him. I don't think, up until that time, I had ever heard of him. But everything I had read about him from London had been so good." 
 
 Short also wrote this in his memoir: "I am a Negro who has never lived in the South, thank God, nor was I ever trapped in an urban ghetto."
 
 Cunningham remembers a wonderful evening when Short was welcomed back to the States with a dinner party on 139th Street in Harlem: "Bobby played and sang and was so charming and sweet. I would bet that rarely had he been with such a large group of blacks in London."
 
 Which makes her want to say something about Short and race. "His music wasn't what I'd call black music. It was highly sophisticated white music. But he connected that evening with everybody." 
 
 Short, who lived in Manhattan for years, would ring up Cunningham often. "He gave wonderful parties at his home. He had a huge table that took up the entire dining room. He also had two or three bedrooms that he made into sitting rooms. I was wandering through one evening and ran into Gloria Vanderbilt. They were very close, as you know."
 
 There would, through the years, be White House appearances, appearances with symphony orchestras. Some wildly successful TV commercials for Charlie perfume.
 
 It was in 1986 that I  persuaded an editor to send me to Manhattan following the release of "Hannah," Woody Allen's movie. I wanted to write about Bobby Short. I wanted to see his show at the Carlyle. (The price of the expense-account dinner  --  not to mention the sorbet!  --  at the Carlyle made me gulp. But, alas, one's gotta eat.) 
 
  During my interview with Short before his show, I asked  what were the most difficult times of his life. The '60s, he said, were awful. It was rock music. "I barely kept the wolf from the door!" he said, nearly crying the words out. He seemed, still, grief-stricken that he, Bobby Short, had had to fight to keep his lovely music, his Cole Porter standards, alive. 
 
 At the show at the Carlyle that evening  --  he had seemed to glide into the room, a man light as smoke  --  he sat and began playing. Soon enough, he swayed into "I'm in Love Again," and his voice tenderly soared. 
 
 I'm in love again
 
 And the spring is coming,
 
 I'm in love again,
 
 Hear my heartstrings humming . . .
 
 He threw a glance my way during the song and grinned wildly. 
 
 The wolf at the door. Bless his heart.
 
   

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 22 07:10:38 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar 22 07:12:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Mystery illness kills Angola kids
Message-ID: <20050322_151038_099731.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
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** Mystery illness kills Angola kids **
More than 90 people have died from an Ebola-like fever in northern Angola in the past five months.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4372205.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 22 07:13:00 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar 22 07:15:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Chicks used to create nerve cells
Message-ID: <20050322_151300_096764.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Chicks used to create nerve cells **
Scientists have found a way to transform stem cells from human bone marrow into nerve cells.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4369185.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 22 07:14:16 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar 22 07:16:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Chocolate 'has health benefits'
Message-ID: <20050322_151416_000565.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
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** Chocolate 'has health benefits' **
Eating dark chocolate could help control diabetes and blood pressure, Italian experts say.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4371867.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 22 07:16:20 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar 22 07:18:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Pakistan warns of 'tribal crisis'
Message-ID: <20050322_151620_076589.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
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** Pakistan warns of 'tribal crisis' **
Pakistani security officials warn of crisis in Balochistan Province as tribesmen besiege troops for a fifth day.
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:13:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:16:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Blow to the Rule of Law
Message-ID: <20050322171353.4B2EE1645B1@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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Ian wanted you to see this.


OPINION | March 22, 2005

Editorial: A Blow to the Rule of Law


When the commotion over Terri Schiavo is over, Congress and the president will have done real damage to the founders' careful plan for American democracy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/opinion/22tue1.html?ex=1112158800&en=01d283328fb3dcc1&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:14:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:16:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Congress's Midnight Frenzy
Message-ID: <20050322171402.DE1AA1645A7@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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Ian wanted you to see this.


OPINION | March 22, 2005

Editorial: Congress's Midnight Frenzy


Congressional Republicans have used one family's pain to score points with evangelical and fundamentalist conservatives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/opinion/22tue2.html?ex=1112158800&en=92a12b1530d2c735&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:14:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:17:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Lending the Good Loan
Message-ID: <20050322171448.9805C1645A2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 22, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Lending the Good Loan
By JAMES P. RUBIN

Though criticisms of his miltary decisions are valid, Paul Wolfowitz is the right person to lead the World Bank.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/opinion/22rubin.html?ex=1112158800&en=2c5be7825c4083a9&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:14:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:17:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Return of Latin America's Left
Message-ID: <20050322171442.AFD3213B812@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 22, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: The Return of Latin America's Left
By ÁLVARO VARGAS LLOSA

The new wave of leftist governments in Latin America must seize this opportunity to make aggressive reforms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/opinion/22Vargas_Llosa.html?ex=1112158800&en=c9e034b259f64abe&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:15:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:17:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Nation Gripped by a Drama of Life and
	Death (11 Letters)
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What we're saying...


OPINION | March 22, 2005

A Nation Gripped by a Drama of Life and Death (11 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/opinion/l22schiavo.html?ex=1112158800&en=7949e9f107ecebdd&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:16:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:18:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: For McNamara and Wolfowitz,
	a War and Then the World Bank
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BUSINESS / WORLD BUSINESS | March 22, 2005

For McNamara and Wolfowitz, a War and Then the World Bank
By ELIZABETH BECKER

Having directed a divisive war himself, Robert McNamara can appreciate the predicament facing President Bush's nominee to head the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/business/worldbusiness/22bank.html?ex=1112158800&en=e28e0d7308017fef&ei=5070



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Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:19:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_More_of_F=2EB=2EI=2E_?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?Memo_Criticizing_Guant=E1namo_Methods_Is_Released?=
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WASHINGTON | March 22, 2005

More of F.B.I. Memo Criticizing Guantánamo Methods Is Released
By DAVID JOHNSTON

The Justice Department released an F.B.I. memo in which departmental lawyers dismissed intelligence obtained by the military at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as "suspect at best."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/politics/22detain.html?ex=1112158800&en=7b6dfaeb25108be8&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:17:57 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:20:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Warning to Nicaragua
Message-ID: <20050322171758.63B5E11F89B@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | March 22, 2005

A Warning to Nicaragua
By REUTERS

Nicaragua must destroy more than 1,000 shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles or face the loss of $2.1 million in frozen American military aid, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/international/americas/22nicaragua.html?ex=1112158800&en=0ad5e870443f9811&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:18:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:21:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: European Union Said to Keep Embargo on Arms
	to China
Message-ID: <20050322171857.C5BFD1645BB@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | March 22, 2005

European Union Said to Keep Embargo on Arms to China
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

Yielding to pressure from President Bush, the European Union has put off plans to lift its arms embargo on China this spring.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/politics/22diplo.html?ex=1112158800&en=ce63e27243b0f36c&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:19:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:22:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Religion and Natural History Clash Among
	the Ultra-Orthodox
Message-ID: <20050322171950.7ACB62062A7@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

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SCIENCE | March 22, 2005

Religion and Natural History Clash Among the Ultra-Orthodox
By ALEX MINDLIN

Is a rhinoceros kosher? Trying to reconcile Jewish Scripture and natural history.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/science/22rabbi.html?ex=1112158800&en=a82829aea57bc16e&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:20:15 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:22:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Roadside Bomb Kills 4 Civilians in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050322172024.A63CC22EFAB@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL | March 22, 2005

Roadside Bomb Kills 4 Civilians in Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Militants targeted a U.S. patrol with a roadside bomb today that killed four nearby civilians in the northern city of Mosul.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?ex=1112158800&en=269710f13133e693&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:20:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:22:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel to Expand Largest West Bank
	Settlement
Message-ID: <20050322172033.CA0A82062B0@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 22, 2005

Israel to Expand Largest West Bank Settlement
By GREG MYRE

Palestinians said the action would violate the Middle East peace plan and would be a obstacle to resolving disputes over Jerusalem.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/international/middleeast/22mideast.html?ex=1112158800&en=546a751cc41830a8&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:21:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:23:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Arab Leaders to Show Solidarity With Syria
	at Summit Meeting
Message-ID: <20050322172103.3FA671645A2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 22, 2005

Arab Leaders to Show Solidarity With Syria at Summit Meeting
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

Despite rejecting the international pressure on Syria, the Arab League encouraged President Bashar al-Assad to continue with the planned withdrawal from Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/international/middleeast/22arab.html?ex=1112158800&en=26fa0a9ef3192635&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 09:21:20 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 09:23:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Top Shiite Cleric Urges Iraqis to Form
	Coalition
Message-ID: <20050322172120.9E55C24AF81@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 22, 2005

Top Shiite Cleric Urges Iraqis to Form Coalition
By EDWARD WONG

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for agreement on a new government, expressing displeasure with drawn-out haggling.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/international/middleeast/22iraq.html?ex=1112158800&en=647bb10008434feb&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za  Tue Mar 22 01:16:05 2005
From: djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za (peter baker)
Date: Tue Mar 22 10:37:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] revolution
Message-ID: <200503221837.j2MIbMcw005358@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

bear
......peaceful demonstrations are getting nowhere...the media just plays them down and continues to propogate lies...what to do??? what is needed is an armed revolution...properly planned and executed simultaeneously in the u.s. and europe....first target should be the media..all major t.v.stations and newspapers...a very large force is required...the force is there [take, for instance, the 50% who no longer bother to vote!] all that is lacking here is leadership...a dozen good men would fit the bill, like one for each territory...recruiting should commence [in secret] and include law enforcement and military...an armed take over of western media and immediate broadcasting of the real situation and the day would be won....let's take back our countries and boot out the gangsters....it is the only solution.....madbaker
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar 21 20:32:55 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar 22 11:08:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Normalization of Torture and Contempt for the Rule
	of Law 
Message-ID: <200503221908.j2MJ81Is005469@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


https://www.zmag.org/sustainers/forums

Today's commentary:
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-03/18herman.cfm

==================================

ZNet Commentary
The Normalization of Torture, Death Squads and Contempt for the Rule 
of Law 

March 19, 2005 By Edward Herman 

The U.S. political establishment keeps reaching new levels of hypocrisy,
deception (including self-deception), and open immorality as the empire
expands in the pursuit of "freedom," militarism and war become more
institutionalized, and rightwing political power is consolidated. The
appointment of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney-General is the most dramatic
illustration of these developments, as he epitomizes the
institutionalization of a regime of torture on the U.S.'s own Devil's
Island (Guantanamo), at Abu Ghraib, Bagram, Kabul (the "pit") and
elsewhere in the empire, along with the official contempt for law. (Human
Rights First lists some 44 disclosed and 13 suspected detention centers in
the gulag: see, Ending Secret Detentions, Deborah Pearlstein et al., Human
Rights First, June, 2004:

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/detainees/rpt_disclose_intro.htm
[Media Material]

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/PDF/EndingSecretDetentions_web.p
df
[Complete Report]).

Gonzalez' appointment was an announcement that the United States under
Bush is now openly and proudly an outlaw regime in which torture is
acceptable and a feature of state policy, and was to be used further (as
it has been), despite its illegality in a host of international agreements
(and U.S. law) and the widespread view that it is deeply immoral. As
Amnesty International noted in its 1974 Report on Torture, "One of the
shared values of the humanist tradition was the abolition of torture. This
principle found its way into the post-war declarations on human rights and
laws of war without any dissent of debate" (p. 30). In elevating Gonzales,
the Bush administration has officially rejected that humanist tradition
and associated human rights and laws of war principles, not without
dissent but with little or no debate. 

It should be emphasized that U.S. involvement in torture is far from new.
In the frontispiece to The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism,
published back in 1979, Noam Chomsky and I showed that 26 of the 35
countries that used torture on an administrative basis in the mid-to-late
1970s were clients of the United States, and there was solid evidence that
torture technology and training flowed out from the "sun" to all its
"planets." But this was not overt and openly defended in important
segments of the media (as it is with Limbaugh, O'Reilly et al. today), and
it was done largely by proxies working over their indigenous dissidents
and labor organizers. With the usual cooperation of the mainstream media,
the U.S. public was spared knowledge of these activities. 

Today the United States is heavily into torture directly as well as via
"renditions" and proxy operations (e.g., the U.S.-employed Iraqis are now
torturing with great zeal: see Human Rights Watch,, The New Iraq? Torture
and Ill-treatment of Detainees in Iraqi Custody). And Gonzales, the
principal legal apologist for this torture outburst, is rewarded with
appointment as the highest law enforcement official in the United States.
Could there be a more brazen statement of a country's leadership's
contempt for basic morality and the rule of law?

Of course, another brazen statement was the invasion of Iraq itself, a
clear case of aggression in violation of the most fundamental principle of
the UN Charter and declared at Nuremberg to be the "supreme crime." Even
though this was based on Big Lies in the Goebbels style, the establishment
media and moralists have never considered this supreme criminality a point
worth mentioning, let alone the basis of moral condemnation. 

Aggression by Saddam against Kuwait in 1990 and alleged efforts to create
a "Greater Serbia" by Milosevic - which I consider unadulterated baloney
[see Diana Johnstone, Fools Crusade, pp. 32-40] - caused great indignation
and harsh sanctions and military responses by the Great Powers, but a
really major aggression based on lies by the Godfather, although it
received a plaintive wee protest about "illegality" from Kofi Annan, was
swallowed and the aggressor's further pacification and takeover of Iraqi
affairs was even sanctioned by Kofi Annan and the Security Council (UN
Security Council Resolution 1546 [2004], adopted unanimously, gives the
"multinational force in Iraq" the authority to "take all necessary
measures to contribute to the maintenance [sic] of security and stability
in Iraq," and it "welcomes" the "security partnership between the
sovereign Government of Iraq [i.e., the U.S.-appointed Allawi government]
and the multinational force?
"). 

The Bush government's contempt for basic morality and the rule of law is
also displayed in the appointment of John Negroponte to be chief of the
new intelligence bureaucracy. Negroponte was part of the war management
apparatus during the Vietnam War, and helped organize the killing of
millions and destruction of that country in that failed attempt to save it
for a minority government under our control. 

He played a sinister role in the war against Nicaragua as Ambassador to
Honduras from 1981 to 1985, maintaining warm relations with and bribing a
military-dominated government that allowed the contras to work from
Honduran bases in their terrorist activities, tolerating and almost
certainly giving sub rosa support to the murder of hundreds of dissidents
at the El Aguacate air base and by the CIA-trained death squad Battalion
3-16. Negroponte's predecessor Jack Binns claimed that 30 Salvadoran nuns
who fled El Salvador to Honduras in 1981 were savagely tortured by the
Honduran police and later thrown out of helicopters to their death.

 Negroponte has denied knowledge of any of these serious human rights
 violations, but the leading Honduras newspapers "carried at least 318
 stories about military abuses in 1982 alone," and he contradicted himself
 by boasting that he "personally intervened ?
to secure the release of
 politically sensitive detainees." "Instances of disappearances,
 harassment and abductions of political dissidents all escalated under
 Negroponte, yet the annual Human Rights Reports prepared by the
 ambassadorial staff ?
were masterpieces of cunning redaction or
 invention, consistently downplaying human rights abuses and denying that
 any evidence existed of systematic violations by manipulating language
 and statistics." 

There is a "huge amount of material implicating him in playing a
sedulously deceitful role after being posted to Honduras." (Council on
Hemispheric Affairs, "Negroponte: Nominee for Baghdad Embassy, a Rogue 
for
all Seasons," April 27, 2004:
http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2004/
04.20_Negro
ponte.htm.)

So Negroponte is an established liar, lying to congress as well as to the
public, willing to violate national and international law, including the
1983 Boland amendment barring military aid to groups working to overthrow
the Sandinista government, and he is a proven efficient manager of death
squads (see ibid.; also Sam Smith, Undernews, Feb. 17, 2005:
http://www.prorev.com/indexa.htm; Marjorie Cohn, "Negroponte, Director of
Intelligence Manipulation," Feb. 21, 2005:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/022105B.shtml)

This background of course made Negroponte a logical Bush appointment as
ambassador to Iraq, bringing knowledge of ruthless pacification policy
from Vietnam and death squad-support experience from his Honduras years.
His return to the United States as head of intelligence gives that job to
a man who is totally ruthless in serving his masters, willing to use force
and deception in all their forms, and an expert in lying in all of its
forms. 

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs calls him "an-ends-justifies-the-means
operator" and describes him as "the anti-Christ of democracy, repeatedly
dragging its noble cause through the offal." His appointment signifies an
advance over the puny tricks of a J. Edgar Hoover, with a potential for
blowing back to this country some of the uglier forms of dissident control
that Negroponte has been involved with in Vietnam, Honduras and Iraq. 

There was some sharp media criticism of the Gonzalez appointment;
virtually none of the appointment of Negroponte (see FAIR's Media
Advisory: "Media Omissions on Negroponte's Record ," Feb. 22, 2005:
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2452 ). The New York Times set a
hard-to-beat standard for apologetics for criminality and human rights
violations in reporting on the Negroponte appointment. 

Under a general heading on his appointment which refers to him only as
"Longtime Diplomat," David Sanger's article "An Old Hand In New Terrain"
only reaches Negroponte's human rights record in the 16th of 20
paragraphs, where Sanger tells us that Negroponte was "immersed in" U.S.
aid to Honduras, with not one word about human rights violations or what
precisely Negroponte did there. Then, "He has spent the ensuing two
decades vigorously defending himself against allegations that he played
down human rights violations in Honduras when their exposure could have
undermined the Reagan administration's Latin American agenda." 

So, not a word of what those human rights violations charges were, no
suggestion that he might have had an active role in those violations
rather than merely playing them down, not a trace of investigative effort
seeking evidence about the truth or falsity of those charges, and an
implicit defense of anything he might have done as based on loyal support
of Reagan's program (unspecified as to ends or methods). Saddam Hussein
needs somebody like David Sanger to write up a news account of charges of
his human rights violations, exposure of which might have undermined the
reputation of the Iraqi state.

Despite some reservations on the Bush regime's policies and actions in its
aggression/occupation and torture - and as just noted there are few if any
on the appointment of death squad supervisor Negroponte--the Democrats,
mainstream media, and much of the intellectual class still identify with
this outlaw regime, and automatically side with it in its struggle to
pacify Iraq, accommodate Sharon and the Israeli occupation, and move on to
a war with Iran. Completely destroy a city (Fallujah), openly bombing one
hospital and occupying another to prevent "propaganda"? N

o problem - no suggestion of illegality, immorality, or qualification of
who are the good guys. Ditto for the use of cluster bombs, napalm and
depleted uranium in Iraq (following their use in Afghanistan and
Yugoslavia). Ditto for Abu Ghraib and its numerous affiliates and the
regular use of "extraordinary renditions" - more "errors" and regrettable
even if unremedied exceptions to alleged normally decent behavior. Support
the apartheid wall and continued illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing
on the West Bank and East Jerusalem? Continues a great tradition. Support
the claim that Iran poses a real threat and is not entitled to seek
defensive capability in the face of explicit and real U.S. and Israeli
threats, including the nuclear? What good propaganda system members ever
fail to jump on the bandwagon of any threat that their leadership
proclaims no matter how implausible or unsupported by credible evidence?
Remember the WMDs! 



-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar 21 20:32:56 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar 22 11:08:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fallujah...and...Arab democracy just an illusion?
Message-ID: <200503221908.j2MJ8NSH005481@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Here is a poignant paragraph about Fallujah, an entire city of 300,000 that the 
U.S. forces "destroyed in order to save it."  And then a revealing piece about 
Arab democracy.

http://www.juancole.com/2005/03/fallujah-tent-city-awaits-
compensation.html

"Readers often write in for an update on Fallujah. I 
am sorry to say that there is no Fallujah to update. 
The city appears to be in ruins and perhaps 
uninhabitable in the near future. Of 300,000 
residents, only about 9,000 seem to have returned, 
and apparently some of those are living in tents 
above the ruins of their homes
. The scale of this 
human tragedy -- the dispossession and displacement 
of 300,000 persons -- is hard to imagine. Unlike the 
victims of the tsunami who were left homeless, 
moreover, the Fallujans have witnessed no outpouring 
of world sympathy. While there were undeniably bad 
characters in the city, most residents had done 
nothing wrong and did not deserve to be made object 
lessons--which was the point Rumsfeld was making with 
this assault. He hoped to convince Ramadi and Mosul 
to fall quiet lest the same thing happen to them. He 
failed, since the second Fallujah campaign threw the 
Sunni Arab heartland into much more chaos than ever 
before. People forget how quiet Mosul had been. And, 
the campaign was the death knell for proper Sunni 
participation in the Jan. 30 elections (Sunnis, with 
20 percent of the population, have only 6 seats in 
the 275 member parliament). However much a clich? it 
might be to say it, the US military really did 
destroy Fallujah to save it."

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

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Eric_Margolis/20
05/03/13/pf-959224.html

Sun, March 13, 2005
Arab democracy just an illusion?
By Eric Margolis

THE BUSH administration is crowing about what it claims is "a wave of 
democracy and freedom" sweeping the Middle East. And it's all thanks 
to the invasion of Iraq, insists the White House, offering the umpteenth 
new rationale for going to war.

Just look: Iraq held an election of sorts under U.S. "guidance." Egypt's 
long-time ruler, Gen. Hosni Mubarak, says he will allow multi-party 
elections. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia recently held elections. Lebanon, 
rent by pro- and anti-Syrian protests, may soon hold new elections.

All this does look like the dawn of Arab democracy -- to those who 
don't know much about the region. Up close, the picture is less rosy.

Ironically, the man most responsible for pushing the Arab world 
towards political change is not George W. Bush, but his nemesis, 
Osama bin Laden.

Overthrow

For over a decade, bin Laden has agitated for the overthrow of the 
corrupt, despotic Arab regimes supported by the U.S., and their 
replacement by a traditional Islamic democratic consensus.

As bin Laden's anti-American insurgency gathers strength and 
resonates among the restive Arab masses, the Bush administration 
has urged the frightened kings and generals running Washington's 
client Arab regimes to make a show of democratic reforms to head off 
popular uprisings.

Most of these reforms are pure sham. Washington stage-managed 
Iraq's vote to empower Shia and Kurdish yes-men who will pretend to 
rule while the U.S. continues to run Iraq and pump its oil. Mubarak, the 
U.S.-backed military ruler of Egypt, is apparently grooming his son to 
take over under cover of rigged "open, multi-party" elections.

In October, Tunisia's U.S.-backed military dictator won "re-election" by 
a Soviet-style 94.5%. Saudi Arabia's recent vote was an empty 
exercise.

Lebanon's noisy anti-Syrian demonstrations, which Bush hailed a 
"democratic revolution," were staged by a minority of its citizens -- 
mostly anti-Syrian Maronite Christians and Druze.

Lebanon's largest ethnic group, Shia, strongly back both Syria's 
presence and Hezbollah, Lebanon's most popular political party. 
Mounting U.S. involvement in Lebanon risks re-igniting that nation's 
bloody, 15-year civil war.

The Arab world desperately needs democracy, rule of law, free speech 
and honest government. Ironically, even Israel's Arabs, though 
second-class citizens, enjoy more human and political rights than in 
many Arab states.

But most Arabs see Bush's "freedom" crusade as a cynical campaign 
to tighten U.S. control of the Mideast by ditching old-fashioned 
generals and monarchs for more modern, democratic-looking civilian 
regimes that still do Washington's bidding.

The Arab world's only truly free election was held in 1991 by Algeria's 
U.S.- and French-supported military regime. Islamic parties won a 
landslide. The military annulled the vote and jailed Islamist leaders -- 
backed by Washington and Paris.

It's likely any honest votes held in feudal Jordan, Morocco, Saudi 
Arabia, or military-run Egypt, Libya, and Syria, would produce similar 
results.

Most Arab states lack political legitimacy. Soldiers and ferocious secret 
police keep their repressive regimes in power. Once U.S. support for 
these oligarchies wavers, as is happening now, opposition swells up.

After Washington began voicing doubts in 1979 about the old U.S. ally, 
the Shah of Iran, revolution ensued. The same process is now under 
way in Saudi Arabia.

The Bush administration is right. Arabs need democracy. But it is 
behaving like a bull in the Mideast china shop and is following 
contradictory policies. Bush wants more popular, less dictatorial 
regimes, but only those catering to U.S. strategic interests.

Dangerous muddle

All this ham-handed U.S. political engineering may produce a 
dangerous muddle or even provoke collapse of pro-U.S. despots and 
their replacement by anti-U.S. revolutionary forces.

If Bush really wants real Mideast democracy, he should begin with 
Egypt, which contains a third of all Arabs, and is essentially a U.S. 
protectorate. End its military dictatorship, allow real political parties, a 
free press, and honest elections. Do not allow Egypt to get away with 
more sham elections. Set a sterling example for the democracy-
deficient Muslim world.

The problem, unfortunately, is that the Arab world's most popular 
political figure is very likely bin Laden.


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar 22 11:22:54 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue Mar 22 11:43:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] HUMAN EVENTS Article: Slanted Journalism is Everywhere
Message-ID: <200503221922.j2MJMs1E018620@mantis1.eaglepub.com>

H S has sent you an article from HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE
with the following personal message:

Wheel of Fortune Host \'Pat Sajak\' comments on slanted journalism.

Slanted Journalism is Everywhere
by Pat Sajak

I awoke Sunday morning wanting to know what was happening in the Terri Shiavo saga, and hereâ€™s what one of the major news services had to say: 

 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush cut short a holiday to return to Washington and be ready to sign a bill that may keep a brain-damaged woman alive in a case pitting Christian conservatives against right-to-die activists. 

That sentence is just one of dozens of examples you can find almost daily of whatâ€™s wrong with the press. First of all, it is inaccurate. The notion that Christian Conservatives are the only ones on one side of this issue is ludicrous. Most of the discussions Iâ€™ve had this past weekend happened to be with Jewish friends who were appalled by the notion of starving an innocent woman to death. There are millions of people on the side of life in this case who are neither Christian nor Conservative, but it is a convenient bit of stereotypical shorthand that the press uses with regularity. 

Second, if the Christians are Conservative, why arenâ€™t the right-to-die activists Liberal? There is a very limited spectrum that the press generally uses to describe a personâ€™s politics. There are Conservatives and then there is everyone else. â€œ Conservative Senator so-and-so debated Senator whatâ€™s-his-name today.â€� In the world of the press, a Liberal rarely exists unless he or she is so identified by those hateful Conservatives. 

In the Reuterâ€™s example I cited, why not â€œChristian activistsâ€� or â€œright-to-live proponentsâ€�? No, they are Christian Conservatives, get it? Christians (and we know how closed-minded they are) and Conservatives (scary, huh?). The other side favors the right-to-die (giving people rights is always noble) and they are activists (caring, involved people). No contest here. Neanderthals vs. The Enlightened. 

I have a little hobby of collecting these examples of subtle bias, and they are very easy to find. The problem is that you appear to be nit-picking when you point them out; however, these kinds of ingrained prejudices are endemic. One Senator merely states a fact, while the Conservative Senator â€œclaimsâ€� something. Unnecessary and prejudicial adjectives are used with abandon, usually to the detriment of the more Conservative side. Alarming statistics about global warming, spousal abuse, homelessness or dozens of other issues are given without challenge if they come from activists. The challenge comes only when those issues are discussed from a more Conservative point of view. (â€œConservative Senator Smith claimed homelessness is dropping, but the Center for Homelessness reportsâ€¦â€�) 

Sadly, I donâ€™t believe most of this is done deliberately. I, being the magnanimous guy I am, think that the people who write this stuff are, for the most part, honorable journalists who genuinely try to write without prejudice. The problem is that when you write about something with which you agree there is no need to explain it or characterize it. It is only when writing about those â€œotherâ€� people and their take on the issues that you have to add some clarification because they are so out of step with what you know and believe. Who could possibly be against the right to die? Why, itâ€™s those Christian Conservatives. 

As long as mainstream journalists share a similar view of the world, that world can never be reported â€œobjectivelyâ€�. And that is why the so-called alternative media have had such an impact. But donâ€™t these bloggers also have a slanted view of the issues? Of course they do, but, in most cases, they acknowledge it and the consumers can factor in that slant when they read. When you check out something called â€œThe View from the Rightâ€�, you know what youâ€™re getting, but when you read The New York Times, you think youâ€™re getting â€œAll the news thatâ€™s fit to printâ€�. 

I donâ€™t suggest for a moment that people should completely give up the mainstream media for the alternative types. I merely suggest that all of them be viewed with a discerning eye and a recognition that they all slant the news to one degree or another. Itâ€™s just that some are less forthcoming about it. 

Of course, thatâ€™s merely the claim of a Conservative entertainer.

-----------
Read more articles like this at HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE!
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar 22 11:54:39 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue Mar 22 11:56:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited Politics: Blair praises faith's place
	in society, but not politics
Message-ID: <20050322195439.88C846A38@mussel.gul3.gnl>

hs spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited Politics site and thought you should see it.

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited Politics site, go to http://politics.guardian.co.uk

Blair praises faith's place in society, but not politics
Matthew Tempest, political correspondent
Tuesday March 22 2005
The Guardian


Tony Blair today called on Britain's churches to play a "bigger role" in national life, but rejected the US style of politics in which people "beat their chests" about their faith.In a speech to Faithworks, an organisation of largely evangelical Christians in London, the prime minister said churches made a "visible, tangible difference" for the better in society.And, despite a recent cross-party understanding that religious beliefs on issues such as abortion should not become part of party politics, Mr Blair said he would like to see church leaders "play a bigger, not a lesser role in the future."But in a question and answer session after the speech, Mr Blair added that he did not want Britain to emulate the US, with politicians "beating their chests" about their faith.Mr Blair did not directly mention the recent row over abortion, which was sparked by an interview with Cosmopolitan in which Conservative leader Michael Howard said he would personally vote to lower the abortio
 n limit to 20 weeks.The other party leaders have also addressed the Faithworks group in South London in recent weeks, although Charles Kennedy, brought up a Roman Catholic, and Michael Howard, Jewish but not thought to be highly observant, are less obviously religious than Mr Blair. The prime minister is thought to attend a Church of England service every Sunday, and is even rumoured to be contemplating converting to Roman Catholicism - his wife's religion - once he steps down from power.In his speech, Mr Blair said Christian organisations had a crucial role to play in helping young people."So many of your organisations have the capacity not only to help, but to inspire and to enthuse, by being unashamed about your beliefs, your commitment and your example," he said.Mr Blair said people in society had a responsibility to each other. "A selfish society is a contradiction in terms," he said.He said most people in Britain were now relatively well-off. But a significant minority
  was set apart from the mainstream, "often passing on a life of poverty, hopelessness and alienation from one generation to another"."We cannot call ourselves a fair and strong society until every one of our children, whatever their background, gets the chance to make the most of themselves, to lead a fulfilled life, to feel they are participating members of our community," he said.The prime minister also paid tribute to the role of churches and faith groups in campaigning against international poverty and injustice.And he highlighted the recent publication of the commission for Africa report.He said 2005 could mark a turning point for the international community, "the year our eyes opened to the full reality of Africa".He concluded his speech by saying: "At the heart of my politics has always been the value of community, the belief that we are not merely individuals struggling in isolation from each other, but members of a community who depend on each other, who benefit fro
 m each other's help, who owe obligations to each other."From that everything stems: solidarity, social justice, equality, freedom. We are what we are, in part, because of the other."In the early 21st century I believe it is not merely the right moral sentiment but enlightened self-interest."Mr Blair said the voluntary sector, including churches and faith communities, had a critical role to play in the modernisation process.He insisted increasing voluntary activity did not mean the withdrawal of state support for decent schools and hospitals.But he said the government could not do everything, which was why voluntary organisations had to help. "Government can't raise your family, government alone can't get you a job," he said."Government on its own can't, from Whitehall, run the NHS properly, look after the sick and elderly, educate the children in the classroom, mind them when you are in work."

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 22 12:03:39 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar 22 12:06:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: India backs cheap drug clampdown
Message-ID: <20050322_200339_074870.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
this is an awful sellout to the drug companies and will leave many many without affordable drugs

** India backs cheap drug clampdown **
The Indian Parliament has moved a step closer to banning domestic firms from manufacturing low-cost generic versions of patented drugs.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4372955.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 22 12:06:56 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 12:09:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
Message-ID: <6433075.1111522016371.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 22 12:11:48 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 22 12:14:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - US interest rates must
	rise, and quickly 
Message-ID: <26548586.1111522308728.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From graphics at verizon.net  Tue Mar 22 14:11:50 2005
From: graphics at verizon.net (John Michael Cox, Jr.)
Date: Tue Mar 22 14:14:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Reuters News Article
Message-ID: <42409826.9010808@verizon.net>


http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=7976090 
<http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=7976090>
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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar 22 07:19:19 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar 22 14:15:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: International News Article  Reuters.com
In-Reply-To: <000901c52e6a$bea4a740$18161aac@esedona.net>
Message-ID: <200503222215.j2MMFptC006236@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar 22 09:57:25 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar 22 14:16:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Russia Helped Al-Qaeda, Arming Iran
	=?iso-8859-1?q?=A0?= - 	Intelligence Reports - NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM
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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar 22 10:02:26 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar 22 14:16:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Reuters  Latest Financial News - Full News Coverage
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar 22 14:17:41 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar 22 14:19:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tomgram: Michael Klare on our Oil-Crunch Planet 
Message-ID: <BE65D985.1F6A4%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Tomgram: Michael Klare on our Oil-Crunch Planet

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2277

Back in August 2004, I took up the issue of the Bush administration, Dick
Cheney, oil, and Iraq. As an introduction to Michael Klare's latest oil
piece for Tomdispatch, over half a year later, with the price of a barrel of
oil nudging the $57 mark and gas at the pump Tomgram: up above $2.10 a
gallon and climbing, I don't think I'd change a word:

    With prices peaking (and peaking? and peaking?), the world looks a tad
more peaked than it did not so many months ago and "peak oil" -- the
possibility that the limits of fossil fuel resources on this globe of ours
might in our lifetime, even in the coming decade, run up against the soaring
desire for the stuff -- looks ever less like the stuff of fantasy. In that
light, I thought it might be interesting to revisit a few comments Dick
Cheney made back when he was the CEO of a giant energy company. Now, we all
know, courtesy of our media, that control of global energy resources had
nothing (or next to nothing) to do with the invasion of Iraq and that global
energy flows and resources were the last things on the minds of neocon and
Pentagon hawks, national security advisors, or even vice presidents while
they were hatching plans to dominate the world forever and a day.

    But you see, back before Dick Cheney became our Veep, a whole year-plus
earlier, before, that is, he forgot all about the importance of energy in
our world and cut all ties with Halliburton, the company most involved in
(and that seems to have sucked the most money out of) our Iraqi adventure,
he had a few choice words for a sympathetic audience gathered at the
Institute for Petroleum on a relevant subject or two. He was introduced by
Chris Moorhouse, who reviewed his career in and out of government and then
commented, "Not surprisingly, with such a wide ranging career in politics
and now at Halliburton, Dick Cheney [h]as a deep interest in the
geo-politics of the energy industry."

    Cheney then went on point out that oil remains basically "a government
business" and to lay out briefly some of the math behind peak-oil fears:

        "For the world as a whole, oil companies are expected to keep
finding and developing enough oil to offset our seventy one million plus
barrel a day of oil depletion, but also to meet new demand. By some
estimates there will be an average of two per cent annual growth in global
oil demand over the years ahead along with conservatively a three per cent
natural decline in production from existing reserves. That means by 2010 we
will need on the order of an additional fifty million barrels a day. So
where is the oil going to come from?"

    If you happened to be a vice president with the kind of power no vice
president has ever had, you might give a passing thought or two to securing
some of that oil -- if you were still worried a year-plus later about where
it was going to come from. He also offered the following assessment of oil
in our world back in the distant days of 1999:

        "Oil is unique in that it is so strategic in nature. We are not
talking about soap flakes or leisurewear here. Energy is truly fundamental
to the world's economy. The [1991] Gulf War was a reflection of that
reality. The degree of government involvement also makes oil a unique
commodity. This is true in both the overwhelming control of oil resources by
national oil companies and governments as well as in the consuming nations
where oil products are heavily taxed and regulated? It is the basic,
fundamental building block of the world's economy. It is unlike any other
commodity."

    Actually, here's the strange thing about our media and the latest Iraq
war: If Iraq had indeed been the global capital of soapflakes or
leisurewear, I guarantee you fears and speculations about either product
would have garnered far more press during those months of war and occupation
than (until very recently) oil did.

Mike Klare, author of an indispensable book on the role of oil (and arms) in
our world, Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing
Petroleum Dependency, recently revisited the question of oil, the invasion
of Iraq, and the Bush administration's desire to put in place a
post-Saddam-Hussein regime "disposed to satisfy U.S. energy objectives," at
the ZNET website. Below he explains the potential crisis that lies behind
the American urge to put, as they say at the Pentagon, our "footprint" (and
all those little prints from our military bases) down on the "arc of
instability," which is basically a term for the major oil lands of our
planet. When you read Klare on the potential oil crunch to come, you can
understand all too well why the rush to secure oil supplies by hook or crook
(or cruise missile) is only accelerating. Tom

    The Energy Crunch to Come
    Soaring Oil Profits, Declining Discoveries, and Danger Signs
    By Michael T. Klare

    Data released annually at this time by the major oil companies on their
prior-year performances rarely generates much interest outside the business
world. With oil prices at an all-time high and Big Oil reporting record
profits, however, this year has been exceptional. Many media outlets covered
the announcement of mammoth profits garnered by ExxonMobil, the nation's
wealthiest public corporation, and other large firms. Exxon's fourth-quarter
earnings, at $8.42 billion, represented the highest quarterly income ever
reported by an American firm.

    "This is the most profitable company in the world," declared Nick Raich,
research director of Zacks Investment Research in Chicago. But cheering as
the recent announcements may have been for many on Wall Street, they also
contained a less auspicious sign. Despite having spent billions of dollars
on exploration, the major energy firms are reporting few new discoveries and
so have been digging ever deeper into existing reserves. If this trend
continues -- and there is every reason to assume it will -- the world is
headed for a severe and prolonged energy crunch in the not-too-distant
future.

    To put this in perspective, bear in mind that the global oil industry
has, until now, largely been able to increase its combined output every year
in step with rising world demand. True, there have been a number of
occasions when demand has outpaced supply, producing temporary shortages and
high gasoline prices at the pump. But the industry has always been able been
able to catch up again and so quench the world's insatiable thirst for oil.
This has been possible because the big energy companies kept up a constant
and successful search for new sources of oil to supplement the supplies
drawn from their existing reserves. The world's known reserves still contain
a lot of oil -- approximately 1.1 trillion barrels, by the estimates of
experts at the oil major BP -- but they cannot satisfy rising world demand
indefinitely; and so, in the absence of major new discoveries, we face a
gradual contraction in the global supply of petroleum.

    Signs of an Energy Crunch

    It is in this context that the following disclosures, all reported in
recent months, take on such significance.

    * ConocoPhillips, the Houston-based amalgam of Continental Oil and
Phillips Petroleum, announced in January that new additions to its oil
reserves in 2004 amounted to only about 60-65% of all the oil it produced
that year, entailing a significant depletion of those existing reserves.

    * ChevronTexaco, the second largest U.S. energy firm after ExxonMobil,
also reported a significant imbalance between oil production and
replacement. Although not willing to disclose the precise nature of the
company's shortfall, chief executive Dave O'Reilly told analysts that he
expects "our 2004 reserves-replacement rate to be low."

    * Royal Dutch/Shell, already reeling from admissions last year that it
had over-stated its oil and natural gas reserves by 20%, recently lowered
its estimated holdings by another 10%, bringing its net loss to the
equivalent of 5.3 billion barrels of oil. Even more worrisome, Shell
announced in February that it had replaced only about 45-55% of the oil and
gas it produced in 2004, an unexpectedly disappointing figure.

    These and similar disclosures suggest that the major private oil
companies are failing to discover promising new sources of petroleum just as
demand for their products soars. According to a recent study released by PFC
Energy of Washington, D.C., over the past 20 years, the major oil firms have
been producing and consuming twice as much oil as they have been finding.
"In effect," says Mike Rodgers, author of the report, "the world's crude oil
supply is still largely dependent on legacy assets discovered during the
exploration heydays." True, vast reservoirs of untapped petroleum were
discovered in those "heydays," mostly the 1950s and 1960s, but these
reserves, being finite, will eventually run dry and, if not replaced soon,
will leave the world facing a devastating energy crunch.

    The notion that world oil supplies are likely to contract in the years
ahead is hotly contested by numerous analysts in government and industry,
who contend that many large fields await discovery. "Is the resource base
large enough [to satisfy rising world demand]? We believe it is," affirmed
ExxonMobil president Rex W. Tillerson in December. But other experts cast
doubt on such claims by pointing to those disappointing reserve-replacement
rates. "We've run out of good projects," said Matt Simmons, head of the
oil-investment bank Simmons & Co. International. "This is not a money
issue.... If these companies had fantastic projects, they'd be out there
[developing new fields]."

    That the major oil firms see few promising new fields to invest in right
now is further suggested by reports that these companies are sinking their
colossal profits in mega-mergers and stock buy-back programs rather than in
exploration and field development. ExxonMobil, for example, spent $9.95
billion to buy back its own stock in 2004, while ChevronTexaco put out $2.5
billion to do the same. Meanwhile several big companies, including
ChevronTexaco, are said to be eyeing California-based Unocal Corp. as a
possible acquisition, and ConocoPhillips recently announced a $2 billion
investment in Lukoil, the Russian energy giant. These moves are consuming
funds that might have gone into new-field exploration -- yet another
indicator of diminished expectations for major new discoveries. "If they had
attractive things to invest in, they'd be investing their little heads off,"
explained PFC Energy managing director Gerald Kepes. But the great
exploration opportunities of yesteryear "have largely dried up."

    It is true, of course, that the private energy firms are largely barred
from investment in Mexico, Venezuela, and the Persian Gulf countries, where
oilfield development is the exclusive prerogative of state-owned companies.
Hence, a major goal of the Bush administration's energy policy is to
persuade or compel these countries to open up their territories to
exploration by U.S. firms -- which, it is claimed, possess the advanced
technological know-how that would make possible the discovery of previously
unknown fields. But the energy professionals who run the state-owned
companies insist that they do not need outside help to search for oil and
that they have already mapped their countries' major prospects. Here, too,
there has been a marked slowdown in new discoveries over the past decade or
so.

    The worldwide decline in new discoveries has profound implications for
the global supply of energy and, by extension, the world economy. Given a
recent surge in energy demand from China and other rapidly-developing
countries, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) predicts that, for all future
energy needs to be satisfied, total world oil output will have to climb by
50% between now and 2025; from, that is, approximately 80 million to 120
million barrels per day. A staggering increase in global production, that
extra 40 million barrels per day would be the equivalent of total world
daily consumption in 1969. Absent major new discoveries, however, the global
oil industry will likely prove incapable of providing all of this additional
energy. Without massive new oil discoveries, prices will rise, supplies will
dwindle, and the world economy will plunge into recession -- or worse.

    Where Is Oil's Peak?

    Just how soon such an energy crunch will arrive and just how severe it
is likely to be are matters of considerable debate. To a great extent, this
debate hinges on the concept of "peak oil," or maximum sustainable daily
output. In the 1950s, a petroleum geologist named M. King Hubbert published
a series of equations showing that the output of any given oil well or
reservoir will follow a parabolic curve over time. Production rises quickly
after initial drilling and then loses momentum as output reaches its maximum
or "peak" -- usually when half of the total amount of oil has been extracted
-- after which production falls at an increasingly sharp rate. In 1956,
using these equations, Hubbert predicted that conventional (that is, liquid)
U.S. oil output would peak in the early 1970s. His prediction provoked much
derision at the time, but earned him considerable renown when U.S. output
did indeed achieve its peak level in 1972. Because of insufficient data at
the time, Hubbert was unable to apply his equations to non-U.S. production.
He did, however, predict that global output -- just like U.S. output --
would eventually reach a peak level and then begin an irreversible decline.

    Today, the concept of global peak oil is widely accepted in the energy
field, though debate rages over when this moment will actually occur. Those
who believe that oil supplies are abundant tend to put this date far in the
future, well beyond our immediate concern. The DoE, for example, noted in
its International Energy Outlook for 2004 that it expects "conventional oil
to peak closer to the middle than to the beginning of the 21st century." But
other analysts are not so sanguine. "It is my opinion that the peak will
occur in late 2005 or in the first few months of 2006," says Princeton
geologist Kenneth S. Deffeyes in a new book, Beyond Oil. A more conservative
estimate by Mike Rodgers of PFC Energy locates the peak somewhere in the
vicinity of 2010-2015. If either of these predictions proves accurate,
global oil supply can never climb high enough to satisfy the elevated
consumption levels projected by the DoE for 2025 and beyond.

    Where one stands on this critical issue depends on one's estimate of how
much petroleum the Earth originally possessed. Those like Deffeyes, who
contend that peak oil will arrive soon, believe that our petroleum
inheritance amounted to roughly 2,000 billion barrels when commercial oil
drilling first commenced in 1859. Since we have already consumed
approximately 950 billion barrels and are now burning some 30 billion
barrels each year, in this scenario the halfway point of total world
extraction -- and so the moment of peak production -- should be just a year
or two away. By contrast, those who hold that peak oil is safely in the
distance claim that the world's total inheritance is closer to 3,000 billion
barrels. This more optimistic figure would include the 950 billion barrels
already consumed, "proven" reserves of approximately 1,150 billion barrels,
and as-yet-undiscovered fields believed to hold another 900 billion barrels.
This latter amount, it should be noted, represents the equivalent of all the
known oil in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa combined.

    Where might these mammoth still-undiscovered reservoirs lie? This is no
idle question, given that the major oil companies have scoured the world for
over a century in the search of new sources of supply -- and, in recent
years, have come up virtually empty-handed. True, a handful of impressive
finds -- in the 1 billion barrel range -- have been uncovered off the west
coast of Africa, and one very large field (the 10-billion barrel Kashagan
field) was discovered in Kazakhstan's portion of the Caspian Sea.

    Most other recent discoveries have been relatively small, and often
located in deep offshore waters or other remote locations where the costs of
production are high. "The reason [investment] is not increasing," Mike
Rodgers has observed, "is that, in so many regions of the world, the fields
have gotten so small that even though you might be able to drill a well and
get a positive rate of return, the incremental value doesn't mean a lot." It
is conceivable, of course, that Iraq and Saudi Arabia could harbor large
fields that have simply escaped discovery in earlier sweeps. Perhaps these
could indeed be located through the use of advanced seismic technology, as
advocated by the Bush administration.

    Put all of this together, however, and none of it comes remotely close
to the scale of discovery needed to generate that additional 900 billion
barrels of oil, which is why the recent oil-company reports are so
significant. If the more optimistic estimates of global oil are on the mark,
it stands to reason that the major firms should be finding more new oil
every year than they are producing; yet the very opposite has been the case
for the last 20 years. If this continues to be the case, it is hard to
imagine that the approach of global peak oil can be that far in the future.

    Whether peak oil arrives in 2005, 2010, or 2015, and whether the maximum
level of daily oil output turns out to be 90 or 100 million barrels will not
matter much in the long run. In any of these scenarios, global oil
production will level off and begin to decline at a level far below the
anticipated world demand of 120 million barrels per day in 2025. True, some
of this shortfall may be absorbed by the accelerated development of
"unconventional" petroleum fuels -- liquid condensate from the production of
natural gas, fuels derived from tar sands and oil shale, liquids extracted
from coal, and the like -- but these materials are exceedingly costly to
produce and their manufacture entails too many environmental risks to make
them practical substitutes for conventional oil.

    Even with increased production of such substitutes, the inevitable
contraction in global petroleum supplies would only be postponed for a few
years. Eventually, scientists and engineers may develop entirely new sources
of energy -- for example, geothermal, biomass, or hydrogen-based systems --
but at current rates of development, none of these alternatives will be
available on a large enough scale when petroleum products become scarce.

    So while the major stockholders of Exxon, Chevron, and the other oil
giants may be exulting at the moment, the rest of us should be deeply
disturbed by their recent reports. Despite all the optimistic talk from
Washington, we are facing a substantial and inescapable threat of global
energy scarcity, which can only have dire consequences for our economy and
the world's. Indeed, we are beginning to see hints of that today, with
rising prices at the neighborhood gas pump and a perceptible decline in
consumer spending.

    This coming scarcity cannot be wished away, nor can it be erased through
drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which contains far too
little petroleum to make a significant difference even in U.S. oil supplies.
Only an ambitious program of energy conservation -- entailing the imposition
of much higher fuel-efficiency standards for American automobiles and SUVs
-- and the massive funding of R&D in, and then the full-scale development of
alternative, environmentally-friendly fuels can offer hope of averting the
disaster otherwise awaiting us.

    Michael T. Klare is a professor of peace and world security studies at
Hampshire College and the author, most recently, of Blood and Oil: The
Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Petroleum Dependency
(Metropolitan Books).

Copyright 2005 Michael Klare
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
posted March 22, 2005 at 1:16 pm
     
             
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     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar 22 14:58:05 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar 22 15:00:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] What happened to real Republicans? 
Message-ID: <BE65E2FD.1F6A8%michael@michaelbutler.com>

For all my republican friends( or like many of us...former republican
s...)MD
 Monday, March 21, 2005

 What happened to real Republicans?

 L.A. HEBERLEIN
GUEST COLUMNIST

I was a Teenage Republican. Working my precinct for Barry Goldwater, I got a
thorough education in what real Republicans believe. And whether I still
agree with all I learned then, I will always understand and respect it. I'm
just not sure the people calling themselves Republicans today do.

 When I was a Teenage Republican, all Republicans knew the 10th Amendment by
heart and Republicans resisted the increasing power of the central
government. Now Republicans leap over one another to make the federal
government ever more powerful. It is Republicans at the federal level who
now want to tell states whether they can allow medical marijuana or assisted
suicide, or even who can have a driver's license. They want to tell the
states who can get married. Imagine a Republican of my youth thinking the
federal government should dictate policy to local school boards.

 When I was a boy, Republicans cherished personal liberty. Creating secret
no-fly lists and spy-on-your-neighbor programs, turning medical records over
to police, holding people without trial in hidden military compounds, saying
it's legal to torture them -- that's how we thought only Communists would
behave. 

Above all, the Republicans back in those days were the party of
responsibility. They understood a balance sheet. "Yes," they would say, like
a patient father with an immature child, "we'd all love that, but we can't
afford it. Look right here at the numbers." Fiscal discipline was a value
held almost as deeply as family and religion. Republicans knew that nothing
works if you can't pay for it, that only ruin and shame can come from laying
out more than you take in.

 Where have all those Republicans gone? The ones running Washington, D.C.,
today inherited a $236 billion budget surplus, and like kids on crack with a
credit card, turned it into a trillion-dollar deficit almost overnight.

If there was one thing the Republicans of my youth understood the value of,
it was the American dollar. Today's Republicans stand around and watch the
American dollar fall further every day. With our out-of-control trade
deficits and increasingly shaky credit, all it might take is for one central
banker from one small country to switch reserves to the Euro, and the dollar
could plummet like the Space Shuttle Columbia, leaving a smoking trail of
ugly wreckage.

 When the issue of long-term planning for the future of Social Security came
up, I thought maybe the Republicans I remember had resurfaced. That is
exactly the sort of issue a white-haired Republican accountant for the water
district would have raised in my youth. "Now, in 40 years," he would
patiently explain, "the way these bonds are structured, we're going to have
a shortfall, unless we adopt prudent measures right now." So the board would
adopt prudent measures. After all, they were responsible people.

 But have you followed the Social Security story? Do you know the plan?

The way Social Security works is that the people paying in support the
people taking out. The "Republicans" in Washington want to let people stop
paying in, so they can put their money in private investment accounts. But
if we let people stop paying in, where's the money for people who are
drawing out now?

 Listen, you'll never believe this. The plan is to borrow it -- to borrow a
trillion more dollars.

Oh, for a time machine. Mr. Twenty-First-Century-Call-Yourself-Republican,
can I get you to come back with me to explain to a real Republican how, with
our nation in debt as never before, your plan to fix Social Security is to
borrow a trillion more dollars?

 L.A. Heberlein lives in Seattle.
 

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar 22 15:00:25 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar 22 15:02:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Madness in Congress Edition 
Message-ID: <BE65E389.1F6A9%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Pretty "spot on " ..and very entertaining
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/> ..MD
The Top 10 Conservative Idiots
(No. 190)

 March 21, 2005
Madness in Congress Edition

 It's been a particularly bizarre week on Capitol Hill. Congressional
Republicans (1,8) first prevented Democrats from saving ANWR, and then
attempted to turn poor Terri Schiavo into their political plaything.
Congress also approved another $80+ billion dollars for Iraq despite recent
revelations that War Profiteers (6) like Halliburton are consistently
over-billing the Pentagon. Fortunately this isn't getting in the way of
George W. Bush (2,3,4) who's currently fighting a losing battle on Social
Security as well as telling fibs about government propaganda. Elsewhere,
David Horowitz (5), Tom DeLay (7), and John Rowland (9) give us all a good
lesson on Republican morals and values. Don't forget the key
<javascript:openWin('/top10/key.html');> ...

 Congressional Republicans
The story of Terri Schiavo is a sad one. She exists in a vegetative state
and is kept alive by a feeding tube. Her parents want her to remain that
way, her husband of twenty-one years wants to remove the feeding tube, and
the courts have become involved. But last week Republicans on Capitol Hill
lost their minds and decided to make a political issue out of Schiavo's
case. 

First they issued a subpoena <http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=593023>
which in theory prevented the courts from taking further action in the case,
but also raised the possibility of Schiavo being wheeled in front of a
committee so that Republicans could use her as a political prop. Senate
Majority Leader Dr. Bill "HIV Can Be Transmitted Via Sweat" Frist took to
the Senate floor to dispute
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1533567,00.html>  the
diagnosis that Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state - based on a
video that he had spent "an hour or so looking at" - which caused raised
eyebrows among medical experts and ethicists. Tom Delay called the case "an
act of medical terrorism," demonstrating once again that Republicans will
play the terrorism card on just about any issue. John McCain suggested that
Terri Schiavo should divorce her husband, despite the fact that Republicans
are constantly harping on about the sacred bond of marriage between a man
and a woman. 

But all this rhetoric is put neatly into perspective by the revelation that
Senate Republicans circulated a talking points memo
<http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Schiavo/story?id=595905&page=2>  last week
explaining why they should try to make political hay out of Terri Schiavo.
The memo stated that the "pro-life base will be excited" and that it is a
"great political issue - this is a tough issue for Democrats." Excited?
Great? Do these ghouls have no shame whatsoever?

George W. Bush 
Over the past couple of weeks Our Great Leader has been pottering around the
country on his "Abandoning Social Security Helps America" Tour (ASSHAT), and
unfortunately his little jaunt is already suffering from poor attendance and
cancellations. The majority of Republicans in Alabama's congressional
delegation said "thanks but no thanks" to an invitation to join the
president during his stop in Montgomery
<http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050309/APN/50309
0981&cachetime=3&template=dateline> , and Bush was forced to cancel his trip
to Sarasota 
<http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050311/NEWS/50311
0518/1060>  after even Rep. Katherine Harris - she of the perpetual Bush
brown nose - decided that having the Chimp stop by would be more trouble
than it was worth. (Harris then pretended that she had nothing to do with
the cancellation.) 

Meanwhile Republicans were busy making excuses
<http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050310-114934-7336r.htm>  for Bush,
saying that he'd received "bad advice" on the Social Security issue,
therefore putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of, um, someone else,
I guess. Quote of the week came from an unnamed Republican senator in the
Washington Times, who said, "The message coming out of the White House is
that we'll fix Social Security by raising your taxes and cutting your
retirement benefits and, to get something passed, we'll forget about the
personal retirement accounts we promised." He then said that's like telling
voters, "Never vote for Republicans again - we lie." Sounds about right.

George W. Bush And Friends
Of course, one of the problems Bush is having with his plan for Social
Security is that he doesn't have a plan. Yes, Dubya's tour is just a big
waste of everybody's time. "I have not laid out a plan yet," said he
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&e=3&u=/nm/20050316/pl_n
m/retirement_bush_dc>  last week, adding, "...intentionally." Aha! I get it.
It's all a cunning plan to confuse everybody - and the plan seems to be
working perfectly. "I'm interested in coming up with a permanent solution,"
Bush said. "I'm not interested in playing political games."

Oh really? Tell that to Congressional Republicans who, according to
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-03-16-gop-townhalls_x.htm?csp=
34>  USA Today, will be "chucking the open town-hall format" when they try
to sell Bush's plan - or lack of a plan, rather - to pissed-off constituents
over the coming weeks. It seems that Republicans were so taken aback by loud
protests at recent town hall meetings that they have decided to take a leaf
out of the Bush playbook and bypass most of the public entirely, instead
focusing on "newspaper editorial boards ... Rotary Club lunches, senior
citizen centers, chambers of commerce meetings and local businesses," where
they will parade "panels of experts from the Social Security Administration,
conservative think tanks, local colleges and like-minded interest groups to
answer questions about the federal retirement program."

Not that Bush and his radical conservative friends are "interested in
playing political games," you understand.

 George W. Bush 
Bush spokesman Dan Bartlett told <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6832586/>  Tim
Russert on Meet the Press back in January that "President Bush has ... made
it clear that he believes there ought to be a bright line between those who
are journalists and those who are advocates for particular issues." He was
referring of course to revelations that journalists are secretly being paid
fat cash <http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1401211,00.html>  -
taxpayer cash - to promote Bush administration policies, and that the Bush
administration has been producing videos - propaganda pieces
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41077-2004May19.html>
featuring fake reporters - which are distributed to news organizations who
broadcast them as if they're real. So where does Our Great Leader really
stand on the "bright line?" Let's find out! Here's part of the transcript
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/03/20050316-3.html>  from last
week's presidential press conference. Some of the names have been changed.

 


> Q: Mr. President, earlier this year, you told us you wanted your
> administration to cease and desist on payments to journalists to promote your
> agenda. You cited the need for ethical concerns and the need for bright line
> between the press and the government. Your administration continue to make the
> use of video news releases, which is prepackaged news stories sent to
> television stations, fully aware that some - or many of these stations will
> air them without any disclaimer that they are produced by the government. The
> Comptroller General of the United States, this week, said that raises ethical
> questions. Does it raise ethical questions about the use of government money
> to produce stories about the government that wind up being aired with no
> disclosure that they were produced by the government?
> 
>  CHIMPY McCOKESPOON: There is a Justice Department opinion that says these -
> these pieces are within the law, so long as they're based upon facts, not
> advocacy. And I expect our agencies to adhere to that ruling, to that Justice
> Department opinion. This has been a longstanding practice of the federal
> government to use these types of videos. The Agricultural Department, as I
> understand it, has been using these videos for a long period of time. The
> Defense Department, other departments have been doing so. It's important that
> they be based on the guidelines set out by the Justice Department. Now, I also
> - I think it would be helpful if local stations then disclosed to their
> viewers that that's - that this was based upon a factual report, and they
> chose to use it. But evidently, in some cases, that's not the case. So,
> anyway.
> 
>  


Uh, so as long as the Justice Department - that's Bush's Justice Department
- says that it's okay for the administration to create these pieces, then
they're going to keep creating them? What about lazy news stations who don't
tell their viewers that they're watching propaganda? What about the bright
line? Let's continue...
> 
> Q: The administration could guarantee that's happening by including that
> language in the pre-packaged report.
> CHIMPY McCOKESPOON: Yes, I don't - oh, you mean a disclosure, "I'm George W.
> Bush, and I" - 
> Q: Well, some way to make sure it couldn't air without the disclosure that you
> believe is so vital.


> 
> CHIMPY McCOKESPOON: You know, Ken, there's a procedure that we're going to
> follow, and the local stations ought to - if there's a deep concern about
> that, ought to tell their viewers what they're watching.


Okay - I get it. When Bush says he "believes there ought to be a bright line
between those who are journalists and those who are advocates for particular
issues," he's talking out of his lying ass.
David Horowitz 
David Horowitz made a first-class monkey of himself last week when it was
revealed <http://mediamatters.org/items/200503160001>  that a story he'd
been touting to "prove" liberal bias on college campuses turned out to be a
load of old rubbish. In a nutshell, Horowitz claimed that a University of
Northern Colorado student was asked to write an essay on "why President Bush
was a war criminal" and received a failing grade when she instead wrote an
essay on why Saddam Hussein was a war criminal. Liberal bias! Liberal bias!
At least, it would be if the story wasn't complete bullcrap.
A spokesperson for the university said, "the test question was not the one
described by Horowitz, the grade was not an F, and there were clearly
non-political reasons for whatever grade was given." After a lot of bluster,
Horowitz admitted <http://mediamatters.org/items/200503180001>  that "Some
of our facts were wrong," but - you'll like this - "We were right." So let
me get this straight - he tries to make a point about rotten liberals on
campus, uses a story which is apparently completely false, and then shrugs
and says well I'm right anyway and the facts are irrelevant? How utterly
fascinating. 
Funnily enough, Horowitz is now accusing Media Matters, the University of
Northern Colorado, the Associated Press, and the student involved, of such
things as lying, slander, misrepresenting the facts, dishonesty, and
tampering. Hmmm... blaming other people for exactly the things you've been
doing... Is that one of these new-fangled conservative values?
War Profiteers 
Last week the House of Representatives approved
<http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=3232>  yet another $80+
billion request by Our Great Leader to fund the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan. That's about $300 billion or so we've spent on these wars since
Bush came to power. Impressive. Of course, all the money is going to a good
cause, right? I mean, surely its worth cutting child services, education,
and health care in this country so that the Iraqi people can elect an
Islamic theocracy, thus severely punishing the people who attacked us on
9/11... wait a second, that doesn't sound right.
Anyway, there's no need to worry at all about where this money might be
going because helpful corporations such as Halliburton will be taking care
of it. Why, just last week it was revealed that Halliburton had bought
liquefied petroleum gas from Kuwait for $82,000 and then charged the
Pentagon $27 million to transport it into Iraq. In fact, Pentagon auditors
reckon the amount of overbilling
<http://nytimes.com/2005/03/14/business/14cnd-halliburton.html?hp&ex=1110862
800&en=ddf21ca3ee29b90d&ei=5094&partner=homepage>  by Halliburton on fuel
imports alone adds up to $108 million dollars.
So as you can see, destroying Iraq was the smart thing to do. Not only do
companies with extremely close ties to the Bush administration now get to
make vast profits off the backs of the American taxpayer, we also get to cut
programs at home for those who need them the most! It's a win-win situation!
Tom Delay 
The noose appears to be tightening around House Majority Leader Tom Delay
and while he may not be sweating just yet, he's certainly starting to glow.
According to 
<http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/03/17/tom_delay/index_np.html?
x>  Salon.com, "Three of his closest aides in Texas are standing trial for
criminal campaign-finance violations," and when it started to look like he
might have to stand trial himself, Delay tried to change a House rule (which
was originally created by the Republicans) so that he wouldn't have to step
down from his leadership position. Now it's starting to look like Delay may
be involved in all kinds of freebies-for-favors
<http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/230003-3043-021.html>  activities. Tsk
tsk. 
Fortunately, he's got a good excuse - it's not his fault, it's those rotten
partisan Democrats out to get him. Never mind the ethics violations, the
rule-changing, the abuses of power. Never mind that Delay is in control of
the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. "Waaah! Those mean
Democrats are picking on me!" Well I've got four words for Tom Delay: suck
it up, asshole.

Congressional Republicans
Last week, after a long battle, the Senate voted
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1529175,00.html>  to allow
oil companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The
final vote tally was 51-49, with Democrats more united than Republicans on
the issue. Of course, the Republicans would never have passed this if they
hadn't performed an end-run
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40670-2005Mar16.html>  and
slipped the provision into the budget resolution, thus preventing the
Democrats from filibustering. The Republicans argue that opening ANWR to
drilling will reduce our reliance on foreign oil, despite consistently
voting against alternative energy plans which would do the same thing
without digging up large chunks of environmentally-sensitive protected
wilderness. 
So here's the plan: Republicans should be forced to pledge that from now on,
every single drop of oil obtained from American land goes directly into the
American marketplace. Because if we're ruining ANWR in order to export this
oil, why, surely that would be downright unpatriotic. Meanwhile, there's
still plenty that can be done to stop the Republicans from ruining the
environment for profit. Head over to Barbara Boxer's website
<http://ga4.org/campaign/boycott/step1.tcl>  to continue the fight.
John Rowland 
More from the Morals and Values file: last week federal prosecutors urged a
judge to double 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4873134,00.html>  the
former Connecticut governor's prison sentence, "saying he has misled his
probation officers as part of a yearslong pattern of deceiving state
officials and the public," according to the UK Guardian. The prosecutors say
that John Rowland (R-Naturally) tried to hide a retirement account worth
more than $400,000 from the judge. Rowland resigned last year and was
charged with trading political access for favors (see Idiots 161
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/04/161.html>  and 139
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/04/139.html> ) - he now faces up
to three years in prison.
Funnily enough, the prosecution's recommendation for a longer sentence
includes a quote from a 2000 speech in which Rowland himself said, "When
that trust is violated, the damage becomes in some ways permanent because it
is immediately part of our popular culture and part of the public's
perception. The public needs to know that offenders are punished under our
system of government." But like all good Republicans caught with their pants
down, Rowland knew exactly what to do - last week he blamed a "former top
adviser." Couldn't see that coming, could ya?
Charles and Patrick Linton
And finally, 15-year-old Patrick Linton recently walked out of school
<http://www.nbc4i.com/education/4271505/detail.html>  - with the full
support of his father, Charles - after his school read the Pledge of
Allegiance in a foreign language. "This is America, and we got soldiers at
war," said Patrick. "When you're saying the Pledge in a different language
which nobody understands, that's not OK." Charles Linton backed him up with
some marvelous hyperbole, saying, "It's like wearing a cross upside down in
a church." Never mind the fact that the Pledge was read in a different
language each day - Spanish, French, Russian, German, and Latin - as part of
Foreign Language Week.
"I looked around, and I was like, 'What's going on?'" Patrick said. "We're
at war right now, and our schools are supposed to be patriotic." Actually,
dumbass, schools are supposed to be teaching you stuff. Like how there are -
believe it or not - other countries in the world, and - gasp - some of them
don't speak English. So take that, Spain, France, Russia, Germany, and, um,
Latinland. How dare you not support the troops and have stupid languages
that Patrick Linton can't understand?
There is at least one small flicker of amusement in this tale of utter
ignorance, though - the fact that Patrick's father has to suffer the name
"C. Linton." See you next week!

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue Mar 22 17:30:24 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue Mar 22 17:32:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ROBERT SCHEER Life, Death and Cynical Grandstanding
Message-ID: <BE6606B0.1F6CA%michael@michaelbutler.com>

latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-scheer22mar22.story
ROBERT SCHEER
Life, Death and Cynical Grandstanding
Robert Scheer

March 22, 2005

I cannot remember a time when Congress and the president have acted with
more egregious political opportunism and shameless trafficking in human
misery than last weekend, leaping into the 15-year-long Terri Schiavo saga
at the last possible moment as grandstanding defenders of the defenseless.

Although Schiavo's relatives on both sides of the issue are assuredly acting
in good faith, national politicians certainly are not.

That was clear even before ABC News revealed the contents of a memo
circulating among Senate Republicans that trilled over how exploiting this
complex case in the most simplistic way would "excite" the GOP base and
would be "a great political issue."

Otherwise, they would have taken up this tortuous issue in earnest long ago.
Better yet, they should have trusted the Florida state legal system and
doctors who have examined Schiavo's case over and over again.

Instead, facing a media storm dominated by heart-rending but inconclusive
video clips of Schiavo, Republican demagogues led by Rep. Tom DeLay
(D-Texas) ? who is battling ethics problems ? took the easy, cynical way
out. They rushed through a bill, past cowed Democrats, that moves the case
to federal court and applies only to Schiavo's parents.

Even more shocking, President Bush did what he would not do in August 2001
when terrorism warnings were "blinking red," in the words of the then-head
of the CIA: He returned to Washington from one of his many sacrosanct
vacations, in this case to sign this ill-conceived legislation.

Despite the shrill howls of outrage that have been inciting politicians from
talk radio, 70% of Americans polled nationally by ABC News called
congressional intervention in the Schiavo case inappropriate, with 58%
holding that view "strongly."

It seems obvious that such a delicate life-and-death case should not be
decided by radio shock jocks hunting for ratings, embattled politicians
looking for wedge issues or even majority rule ? in this case the 63% of
Americans polled who believe that Schiavo's feeding tube should be removed.
Instead, it is family members, doctors and, when needed as an impartial
arbitrator, the courts that must carefully and dispassionately weigh the
extremely complex medical, ethical and legal issues involved.

Which, in fact, is exactly what happened in the Schiavo case. Impartial
doctors and judges methodically examined Schiavo and the legal case,
respectively, for seven years, consistently backing the guardianship rights
of Schiavo's husband and his decision to end artificial life-support
treatments that kept her alive in what the Florida courts concluded is "a
persistent vegetative state ? with no hope of a medical cure."

Further, the federal courts already had the power to act if they believed a
fundamental right had been abrogated. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court
turned down an appeal to intervene ? as it had done in 2001 and earlier this
year. But that didn't stop the Christian right and the politicians in its
thrall from seizing on the Schiavos' plight to advance their "right to life"
agenda. If only this agenda were consistent. For example, as governor of
Texas, George W. Bush refused to review cases involving mentally retarded
death row inmates. Nor can I remember any time Congress rushed back from a
vacation to deal with real-time incidents of genocide in the Balkans, Rwanda
or Sudan. This is selective compassion of the most pandering sort.

In the end, it is not about who is right in the depressingly ugly battle
between Schiavo's parents on one side and her husband on the other. Those of
us who have dealt with the slow death of a beloved relative in the hospital
are all too familiar with the pain in facing the myriad decisions that can
tear us apart.

What this case is really about is keeping politics and state-endorsed
religion out of our private lives. Many seniors like me now must dread that
our most personal and painful private matters might be turned into political
footballs by those cravenly seeking approval from certain voting blocs, or
that we could be imprisoned against our wishes inside a dead body because of
somebody else's religious beliefs. This is why seniors polled by ABC were
the most likely of any age group to support the removal of Schiavo's feeding
tube.

The one bright spot in this sad story is that millions of Americans are now
talking about how they want to be cared for medically and are writing or
reviewing living wills.

As the polls show, while our Beltway politicians are making fools of
themselves, those of us in the real world are trying to ensure that our most
private moments are not turned into a humiliating circus.

If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at
latimes.com/archives.
TMS Reprints
Article licensing and reprint options


Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar 22 17:30:18 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue Mar 22 17:32:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article from ctv.ca
Message-ID: <9465618.1111541417774.JavaMail.www@chico2.theglobeandmail.com>

HS (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) thought you would be interested in this article.

Message From HS: 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another sad day in America!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit http://www.ctv.ca for the latest on news, entertainment, weather, and more!

Get news and programs delivered to your in-box. Sign up for our newsletters!
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From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue Mar 22 17:50:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Check out this page at www.canoe.ca
Message-ID: <200503230147.j2N1le8u010559@nova.fast.canoe.ca>

From:  harry.sifton@sympatico.ca 

The person above has asked that we send you the following URL, as it
contains information that you might find useful or interesting.

        http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2005/03/22/968973.html

Note that information on CANOE is changed frequently.
In some sections, such as our newspapers, content is removed after 24 hours.

If you have any questions about this service, please send e-mail to:
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http://www.canoe.ca

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar 22 16:27:46 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar 22 17:54:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Young People: The Key To Republican Single-Party Rule 
Message-ID: <200503230154.j2N1s6LS007026@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Young People: The Key To Republican 
Single-Party Rule 
by Thom Hartmann 
Democrats and progressives make the mistake of thinking that today's 
Social Security debate is about Social Security. It's not. It's about 
creating single party rule for a generation or more. To do that, 
Republicans believe they need only to grab the hearts and minds of 
the generation currently under 30 - and they can do that, win or lose, 
by properly framing the Social Security debate. 
According to exit poll data from the Associated Press, under-30 voters 
were up more than nine percent in voter participation in 2004, bringing 
4.6 million new young people into the polls just since 2000. 
And, as Martha Irvine of the Associated Press noted in an article in 
USA Today the week after the 2004 election, "This time, young voters 
were the only group that favored Democrat Kerry. The AP's exit polls 
found that under-30s favored Kerry over Bush, 55% to 44%...." 
This was not lost on Republicans. As Irvine noted in her AP article, 
even safe-seat Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa 
designed an entire ad campaign "targeting young people." 
And many among this young demographic - the first generation in over 
200 years raised in schools largely unable to teach civics and 
American history both because of budget cuts and fear of claims of 
"liberal bias" from conservative fanatics - are politically na?ve and ripe 
for the picking. 
Those under 30 don't remember - or, largely, even know - that the 
leading causes of death among the elderly, the widowed, and the 
disabled after the Republican stock market crash of 1929 included 
starvation and hypothermia. Before Roosevelt instituted Social Security 
in 1935, the majority of America's elderly lived in poverty. Today it's, 
but take away Social Security and today's elderly poverty rate would be 
47.6 percent. 
These are statistics that the Republicans and their corporate media will 
not be sharing with people under 30. 
Thus, as David King of Harvard's Institute of Politics told the AP's 
Irvine of the young vote: "I think that young people are there for the 
taking...." 
Stalin's year for the final consolidation of single-party rule in Russia 
was 1927, and that rule lasted over fifty years. American conservatives 
intend their year of final consolidation to be 2006, and are planning for 
a similar fifty-year horizon. 
So Republicans and their NLP expert Frank Luntz had to figure out 
what issue could bring young people into the fold. Gay bashing was 
out, as young people are the most gay-tolerant of all demographic 
groups. Ditto for other "social" issues like the death penalty, abortion, 
and government posting of "Thou shall have no other gods before me" 
at taxpayer expense. 
Similarly, young people weren't likely to easily fall for Republican spin 
on "Clear Skies" efforts to increase pollution, phony "science" denying 
global climate change, "Healthy Forests" giveaways to timber company 
contributors, and "free trade" policies that are hollowing out America's 
middle class. Cons may be able to spin these issues for the already-
"conservative" 30-55 "Reagan/Limbaugh demographic," but not for 
young people. 
And elderly Democrats - who still clearly remember how Roosevelt's 
policies lifted America out of Republican Herbert Hoover's Great 
Depression - are a group whose minds Republicans won't change, and 
who are dying off. 
Young people are where the political hay is to be made: Republicans 
believe they are the necessary key to single party rule. 
So the tacticians at the RNC developed an elaborate - and, so far, very 
successful - sleight of hand. They'd use a dubious Social Security 
"crisis" to convince young people that: 
1. Republicans want young people to get the best "return" on their 
"Social Security tax dollar investment." 
2. Democrats don't care about the interests of young people, but only 
want to pander to old people to get their votes. 
3. Selfish old people, their "special interest" lobby the AARP, and the 
Democrats they "own" will prevent young people from getting the 
"benefits" of the "free market." 
All of this, of course, ignores a series of realities: 
1. Social Security is an anti-poverty insurance program, not an 
investment program. A third of its payments don't even go to retirees 
but, instead, are distributed to - literally - widows, orphans, and people 
so crippled or disabled that they can't work. (And people who outlive 
actuarial averages often get more back than they paid in.) 
2. The "iceberg" Social Security will "hit" is based on very slow/low 
growth assumptions of the American economy (a continuation of the 
Bush recession for 75 years). But if the economy grows over the next 
75 years at exactly the same rate it has for the past 75 - even including 
the years of the Great Depression - there will be no Social Security 
shortfall whatsoever. 
3. The "high return" assumptions for private accounts assume the 
American economy will grow so fast that, if they're met, there would be 
no need for any Social Security reform whatsoever. 
4. Even if Social Security does run low on cash in 2042 or 2052 
(depending on which arm of Congress you're listening to), private 
accounts won't add a single penny to that cash-flow problem. In fact, 
the borrowing necessary to fund the first generation's private accounts 
will throw the system even further in the red. 
But the real Republican agenda here has little to do with Social 
Security. (Energizing "free market conservatives" like Greenspan, who 
have always thought of Social Security as socialism, is a bonus 
freebie, as is any payback to Wall Street for campaign donations.) It's 
really all about capturing the only demographic that voted as a block 
against Bush in 2004, to establish a future fifty years of Republican 
single-party rule. 
This is why it's so critical for Bush to carefully control who's allowed 
into his "conversations" about Social Security around the country. It's 
why the former Swift Boat folks are running such openly deceptive ads. 
It's why our tax dollars are illegally being used to push propaganda on 
young Americans about Social Security (propaganda that's even being 
repeated on youth-friendly venues like The Daily Show). And it's why 
otherwise rational and even usually honest Republicans are (although 
occasionally only mildly) "supporting the President" on this issue. 
And, most important, it's why Bush won't put forward a program to 
"solve" the funding problems that Social Security may or may not face 
30 or 40 years from now, but instead simply talks about the "problem," 
and how he wants "young people" to get a "better return" and have 
"greater control" over their Social Security "investment." It's why he 
most likely will never put forth a comprehensive program: It'll 
conveniently be declared "dead in the water" because of "Democratic 
opposition" even before it comes out. 
And, thus, "win or lose," Bush and the Republicans will psychologically 
win big with the under-30 demographic. 
In fact, studies show Republicans may have already accomplished 
much of their goal. Even though there is no official "Bush plan" for 
Social Security, USA Today reported on February 16, 2005: "Support 
for Bush's plan is highest among the under-30 crowd, the only age 
group in which backers outnumber doubters." 
Republicans will say - over and over - that they valiantly tried to help 
young people get a better "return" on their taxes, but the Democrats 
and those terrible old people prevented them. They'll say they tried to 
solve a "crisis" and a "problem," and "reform" an "antiquated" Social 
Security system, but were outmaneuvered by evil Democrats, 
"liberals," and greedy old people. The Right Wing Noise Machine (so 
well documented by David Brock) will repeat this mantra so hard and 
so often that today's young people will be able to recite it from memory 
for the next fifty years. 
Divide and conquer has been the slogan of the Bush dynasty ever 
since Poppy first used television advertising to mentally merge Michael 
Dukakis with a black killer, pitting whites against blacks in America. It 
worked then, and Republicans are betting that pitting young people 
against the elderly will work just as magically now. 
Since the rise of Coors' and Scaife's Heritage Foundation, Rev. Moon's 
Washington Times, Newt and his Machiavelli Frank Luntz, Murdoch's 
Fox News, and Lee Atwater's Reagan/Bush "perpetual campaign," 
Republicans have been playing chess, planning a dozen moves and 
three to four election cycles ahead. They plan to win big among under-
30's in their long-term electoral chess game, even as they set it up to 
appear to "lose" at short-term Social Security checkers. 
If they succeed - and they're already halfway there - single-party 
corporate/Republican rule could be a reality for the next generation 
and (especially if they maintain control of electronic voting machines) 
generations beyond. This outcome will foul our environment, further 
decimate our remaining middle class, and lead us into a brave new 
world of perpetual oil and religious wars, maintained by a brutal and 
intrusive corporate/police state. 
Progressive Democrats must immediately develop and implement a 
strategic, multi-step response to the Republican Social Security 
gambit, carefully targeted to the under-30 demographic, if Jefferson's 
Party and the Enlightenment ideals of our democracy are to survive. 
Thom Hartmann (thom at thomhartmann.com) is a Project Censored 
Award-winning best-selling author, NLP Trainer, and host of a 
nationally syndicated daily progressive talk show. 
www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are "The Last Hours 
of Ancient Sunlight," "Unequal Protection," "We The People," "The 
Edison Gene", and "What Would Jefferson Do?" 


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar 22 16:28:29 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar 22 18:00:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Chatting with Jesus
Message-ID: <200503230200.j2N20UOi007083@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Chatting with Jesus

Minister:  Jesus, what do you think of the recent presidential election?

Jesus:  In the United States?

Minister:  Yes.

Jesus:  I don't do politics.

Minister:  But the President is a Christian. He has dedicated his life
to serving you.

Jesus:  He has dedicated his life to serving himself. That is the
opposite of what I teach.

Minister:  But he's a Christian.

Jesus:  He is an Old Testament Christian. The ancient Hebrew scriptures
say that God is an angry God, a vengeful God, a jealous God. But he is
not. Nor is he petty, nor vindictive, nor narrow minded, nor self-righteous. 
God was not made in our image. He is not insecure or emotionally immature. 
God is not like us, but in our better moments we can be like him. 

God wants his children to be full of love, not full of hate. 
He wants his children to be compassionate, not vindictive. 
He wants his children to be open-minded, not narrow-minded. 
He wants his children to be accepting not intolerant. 
He wants his children to be righteous, not self-righteous. 

This is the message that God sent me to share with the world two
thousand years ago. This is the message for which I was crucified. And just as
those who put me to death then ignored god's message, so your president 
ignores God's message today.

Minister:  But President Bush believes in the Ten Commandments.

Jesus:  If he does, then why does he ignore them? One says that "Thou 
shalt not kill." Yet he sends an army to invade a foreign land and kill
tens of thousands of men, women, and children. Another commandment 
says "Thou shalt not bear false witness." In modern language, this means
that you shouldn't tell a lie. Is there anything your president has said
that isn't a lie?

Think of the Ten Commandments as one, single commandment that 
encompasses all the others: Love your fellow human beings as you love 
yourself. If you obey this one commandment then all the other 
commandments will take care of themselves. 

This single commandment is the foundation of god's laws, the one on 
which all of the others are based. If you treat this as the foundation
of your laws, and of your life, then you will be doing god's work. If you honor this 
single commandment with all your heart, and with all your soul, 
and with all your mind, then you honor god. There is no greater form of worship.

There is no other form of worship that even matters. A thousand years in 
church are not worth a single act of compassion toward another human 
being, or to any of god's creatures. 

Minister:  But Bush has been born again. He accepts you as his Lord and
Savior.

Jesus:  I was sent to teach people to turn the other cheek. He starts a
war in the Middle East.

I was sent to teach people to feed the poor. He steals from the poor
and gives to the rich.

I was sent to teach people to heal the sick. He ignores the tens of
millions people in his own country who have no way to pay for health care. And he 
cares even less about those outside his country who need help.

I was sent to teach people to love all their fellow human beings as they
love themselves. He orders American soldiers to slaughter the citizens of a foreign 
land. He brags about the death penalty. He ignores the millions 
of starving and sick human beings around the world who will die without 
food and medical supplies, things that his rich nation could provide for 
half the cost of his war in the Middle East. 

It doesn't matter who you claim as your Lord and Savior when your hands 
are drenched in blood.

Minister:  Are you saying that President Bush will go to Hell?

Jesus:  I'm saying that he has brought hell to us.

Minister:  But he says he is a Christian. People believe him. I
believe him.

Jesus:  Then watch what he does instead of what he says. He is a man
full of hate, and anger, and violence. He is an anti-Christian. Verily, I say
unto you that if he had he been alive two thousand years ago, his voice would have 
been the loudest among those who clamored to have me 
crucified. To him I would have been a terrorist.

The Bible speaks of the Antichrist. But there isn't just one, there are
many. 
Everyone who washes his hands in blood and then claims to do so in my 
name is an Antichrist. These hypocrites say one thing and then do the 
opposite. They say they love god but then they brutalize god's children. 
They say they are compassionate, but instead of comforting those in need
they increase the suffering of their fellow human beings. The Antichristians are 
those who spew hatred, intolerance, and violence in the name of Jesus 
Christ. For now, for this generation, your president is their leader.

Minister:  Then you don't agree with his policies?

Jesus:  I don't agree with his morals. He talks about moral values but his actions 
are immoral. In a world full of poverty and want, his life's work is 
to make the rich still richer. In a world from which god's creatures are 
disappearing in huge numbers, where the air in many places is unfit to 
breathe and the water unfit to drink, where the future of life on the planet is in 
jeopardy, the crowning glory of his presidency is to make matters worse. 
He is a liar and a hypocrite. Worst of all, he is a mass murderer. 
These are the things I condemn.

Minister:  Do you condemn him for using politics to pursue his religious
agenda?

Jesus:  I condemn him for using religion to pursue his political agenda.
He uses religion to manipulate people. He uses religion to spread
intolerance and commit violence. And he does it all in my name. 

He claims to follow my teachings, but I teach love, not hate. 
I teach compassion, not "compassionate conservatism." 
I teach acceptance, not intolerance. 
I teach forgiveness, not revenge. 
I teach that "Thou shalt not kill" means just what it says. There is no
exception for capital punishment. There is no exception for war.
Your president lives a life that violates everything that God asks of
us.

Minister:  But he's such a devout man.

Jesus:  If you believe that a liar, and a hypocrite, and a mass murderer can be 
devout, then you do not know the meaning of the word. Reading 
the Bible doesn't make the world a better place. Going to church doesn't
save lives or feed the hungry. God doesn't care about our devotion to
scripture, he cares about our devotion to each other. That's why he sent me here. 

Not to save man from sin, but to save man from himself. That is the 
meaning of salvation.

---------

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D (up to 3 
emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options (option A - 1x/week, option B - 
3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - up to 3x/day) please reply and let us know!  
If someone forwarded you this email and you want to be on our list, send an email 
to ean@sbcglobal.net and tell us which option you'd like.


"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar 22 18:03:09 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue Mar 22 18:05:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Look what I just found on myway.com!
Message-ID: <2743811.1111543389682.JavaMail.root@mprdresin3.nwk.myway.com>

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From lyve at netzero.com  Tue Mar 22 18:26:31 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Tue Mar 22 18:30:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Chatting with Jesus
Message-ID: <20050322.182633.9149.28328@webmail31.nyc.untd.com>

Wonderful-epecially about those of us that are anti-christs; preach Jesus but do otherwise.

I must say that those who do this bidding of an anti-christ is its acolyte, and there are millions today that do the devils work in their heart and consciousness.


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

Please note: message attached


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From lyve at netzero.com  Tue Mar 22 18:29:05 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Tue Mar 22 18:33:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Stolen Election Reform
Message-ID: <20050322.182957.9149.28388@webmail31.nyc.untd.com>


 	

Please consider attending or supporting in some way.

"Gathering to Save Our Democracy" -- National Conference on 
2004 Election & Need for Election Reform - Nashville, TN - April 
8-10, 2005

Gathering To Save Our Democracy
National Conference on the 2004 Election
and the Need for Election Reform
Nashville, Tennessee, April 8-10, 2005

TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE TODAY!
http://www.freepress.org/conf.php

Featuring
Judith Alter
Cliff Arnebeck
David Cobb
Clinton Curtis
Dr. Sonnye Dixon
Kathy Dopp
Larry English
Bob Fitrakis
Brad Friedman
Phil Fry
John Gideon
Teresa Hommel
Dr. Charles Kimbrough
Paul Lehto
David Lytel
Dr. Tommie Morton-Young
R. H. Phillips
Larry Quick
Joanne Roush
Lara Schaffer
Jonathan Simon
Bernard Windham

Or contact Bernard Ellis, Jr., MA, MPH (931/682-2864; 
tracevu@bellsouth.net ) for more information on the conference.

Thank you for supporting the conference and for promoting the 
preservation of democracy in America.

Hope to see you there
thedeanpeople


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 18:37:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Tue Mar 22 18:40:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Chatting with Jesus
References: <200503230200.j2N20UOi007083@dune.islandtechnologies.net>
Message-ID: <00a101c52f51$52af16f0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Bravo!  With two minor quibbles (i.e., that Jesus would never refer to Himself as "Jesus Christ," and that He would have used an initial cap on the word "God"), this is one of the best things I have read in a very long time.  I am going to share this with my entire ministry network, and strongly suggest that each of the people on that network share it with their networks.

As an ironic aside, I have been working on an article entitled "Is President Bush Truly Christian?"  I think I can safely set it aside...

Peace.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: ean@sbcglobal.net 
  To: ean@sbcglobal.net 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 7:28 PM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] Chatting with Jesus


  Chatting with Jesus


  Minister:  Jesus, what do you think of the recent presidential election?


  Jesus:  In the United States?


  Minister:  Yes.


  Jesus:  I don't do politics.


  Minister:  But the President is a Christian. He has dedicated his life
  to serving you.


  Jesus:  He has dedicated his life to serving himself. That is the
  opposite of what I teach.


  Minister:  But he's a Christian.


  Jesus:  He is an Old Testament Christian. The ancient Hebrew scriptures
  say that God is an angry God, a vengeful God, a jealous God. But he is
  not. Nor is he petty, nor vindictive, nor narrow minded, nor self-righteous. 
  God was not made in our image. He is not insecure or emotionally immature. 
  God is not like us, but in our better moments we can be like him. 


  God wants his children to be full of love, not full of hate. 
  He wants his children to be compassionate, not vindictive. 
  He wants his children to be open-minded, not narrow-minded. 
  He wants his children to be accepting not intolerant. 
  He wants his children to be righteous, not self-righteous. 


  This is the message that God sent me to share with the world two
  thousand years ago. This is the message for which I was crucified. And just as
  those who put me to death then ignored god's message, so your president 
  ignores God's message today.


  Minister:  But President Bush believes in the Ten Commandments.


  Jesus:  If he does, then why does he ignore them? One says that "Thou 
  shalt not kill." Yet he sends an army to invade a foreign land and kill
  tens of thousands of men, women, and children. Another commandment 
  says "Thou shalt not bear false witness." In modern language, this means
  that you shouldn't tell a lie. Is there anything your president has said
  that isn't a lie?


  Think of the Ten Commandments as one, single commandment that 
  encompasses all the others: Love your fellow human beings as you love 
  yourself. If you obey this one commandment then all the other 
  commandments will take care of themselves. 


  This single commandment is the foundation of god's laws, the one on 
  which all of the others are based. If you treat this as the foundation
  of your laws, and of your life, then you will be doing god's work. If you honor this single commandment with all your heart, and with all your soul, 
  and with all your mind, then you honor god. There is no greater form of worship.


  There is no other form of worship that even matters. A thousand years in 
  church are not worth a single act of compassion toward another human 
  being, or to any of god's creatures. 


  Minister:  But Bush has been born again. He accepts you as his Lord and
  Savior.


  Jesus:  I was sent to teach people to turn the other cheek. He starts a
  war in the Middle East.


  I was sent to teach people to feed the poor. He steals from the poor
  and gives to the rich.


  I was sent to teach people to heal the sick. He ignores the tens of
  millions people in his own country who have no way to pay for health care. And he cares even less about those outside his country who need help.


  I was sent to teach people to love all their fellow human beings as they
  love themselves. He orders American soldiers to slaughter the citizens of a foreign land. He brags about the death penalty. He ignores the millions 
  of starving and sick human beings around the world who will die without 
  food and medical supplies, things that his rich nation could provide for 
  half the cost of his war in the Middle East. 


  It doesn't matter who you claim as your Lord and Savior when your hands 
  are drenched in blood.


  Minister:  Are you saying that President Bush will go to Hell?


  Jesus:  I'm saying that he has brought hell to us.


  Minister:  But he says he is a Christian. People believe him. I
  believe him.


  Jesus:  Then watch what he does instead of what he says. He is a man
  full of hate, and anger, and violence. He is an anti-Christian. Verily, I say
  unto you that if he had he been alive two thousand years ago, his voice would have been the loudest among those who clamored to have me 
  crucified. To him I would have been a terrorist.


  The Bible speaks of the Antichrist. But there isn't just one, there are
  many. 
  Everyone who washes his hands in blood and then claims to do so in my 
  name is an Antichrist. These hypocrites say one thing and then do the 
  opposite. They say they love god but then they brutalize god's children. 
  They say they are compassionate, but instead of comforting those in need
  they increase the suffering of their fellow human beings. The Antichristians are those who spew hatred, intolerance, and violence in the name of Jesus 
  Christ. For now, for this generation, your president is their leader.


  Minister:  Then you don't agree with his policies?


  Jesus:  I don't agree with his morals. He talks about moral values but his actions are immoral. In a world full of poverty and want, his life's work is 
  to make the rich still richer. In a world from which god's creatures are 
  disappearing in huge numbers, where the air in many places is unfit to 
  breathe and the water unfit to drink, where the future of life on the planet is in jeopardy, the crowning glory of his presidency is to make matters worse. 
  He is a liar and a hypocrite. Worst of all, he is a mass murderer. 
  These are the things I condemn.


  Minister:  Do you condemn him for using politics to pursue his religious
  agenda?


  Jesus:  I condemn him for using religion to pursue his political agenda.
  He uses religion to manipulate people. He uses religion to spread
  intolerance and commit violence. And he does it all in my name. 


  He claims to follow my teachings, but I teach love, not hate. 
  I teach compassion, not "compassionate conservatism." 
  I teach acceptance, not intolerance. 
  I teach forgiveness, not revenge. 
  I teach that "Thou shalt not kill" means just what it says. There is no
  exception for capital punishment. There is no exception for war.
  Your president lives a life that violates everything that God asks of
  us.


  Minister:  But he's such a devout man.


  Jesus:  If you believe that a liar, and a hypocrite, and a mass murderer can be devout, then you do not know the meaning of the word. Reading 
  the Bible doesn't make the world a better place. Going to church doesn't
  save lives or feed the hungry. God doesn't care about our devotion to
  scripture, he cares about our devotion to each other. That's why he sent me here. 


  Not to save man from sin, but to save man from himself. That is the 
  meaning of salvation.


  ---------


  -- 
  You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options (option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - up to 3x/day) please reply and let us know! If someone forwarded you this email and you want to be on our list, send an email to ean@sbcglobal.net and tell us which option you'd like.




  "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
     ---   George Orwell




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


  _______________________________________________
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 22 19:18:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard)
Date: Tue Mar 22 19:21:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] America has undergone "regime change," not Iraq
Message-ID: <4240E010.2030009@comcast.net>


 > Subject: Not Iraq, but America has undergone "regime change," from  
democracy to delusion

> Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 19:30:42 +0000
>
> March 21, 2005
>
> Soma Nation
> A Threat Greater Than Terrorism
> By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
>
> Delusion has settled over America. Washington cannot tell fact from 
> fantasy. Neither can sycophantic media nor nothink economists.
>
> The Bush administration is the first government in history to initiate 
> a war based entirely on fantasy--fantasy about nonexistent "weapons of 
> mass destruction," fantasy about nonexistent "terrorist links," 
> fantasy about "liberating" a people from their culture, fantasy about 
> a "cakewalk" invasion, fantasy about America's omnipotence.
>
> Reality has yet to penetrate the Oval Office or America's "red state" 
> consciousness. The gratuitous invasion of Iraq, the torture and the 
> war crimes have made America despised the world over. Our once 
> formidable alliances are shattered.
>
> The Muslim world, which perceives America as Israel's enabler of 
> Palestine's oppression, has uniformly turned against us.
>
> $300 billion--red ink to the last cent--has been wasted in a pointless 
> war and occupation that has emboldened Islamic revolutionaries, who 
> will be more successful than the US in changing the face of the Middle 
> East.
>
> Bush's invasion of Iraq has proved the limits of America's "hegemonic" 
> military power: Eight heavily armored high tech US divisions are tied 
> down by a few thousand lightly armed insurgents who control most of 
> the roads and many towns and cities.
>
> Any Iraqi collaborator with the US occupation who is foolish enough to 
> leave the heavily fortified "Green Zone" is shot down or blown up in 
> the streets.
>
> Such an outcome is proclaimed a "success" by the White House, 
> Republican politicians and a cheerleading media.
>
> The reality is that an ignorant and blundering Bush administration has 
> created a Shi'ite crescent from Iran to Lebanon that is 
> revolutionizing the Middle East. The reality will not penetrate the 
> Bush administration. Reality contradicts Bush fantasy and is "against 
> us." Facts that don't support Bush fantasy are "liberal" and 
> "anti-American." Truth is dismissed as anti-Bush propaganda.
>
> It is America that has undergone regime change. The Bush 
> administration constitutes a Jacobin revolution. Its fanatics have 
> declared world war on political diversity. The first victim of Bush's 
> "war on terror" is the Bill of Rights. In its place we have an 
> incipient police state.
>
> One might easily conclude that Bush is first among the deluded, but 
> the more one observes economists' romance with outsourcing, the more 
> one wonders if economists are not the most deluded of all.
>
> Outsourcing converts domestic supplied goods and services into 
> imports. It divorces Americans from the incomes and careers associated 
> with the production of the goods and services that Americans consume.
>
> That divorce is highly detrimental for Americans. As foreign labor is 
> substituted for US labor in the production of tradable goods and 
> services, the displaced US work force seeks employment in domestic 
> services that cannot be outsourced. This increases the supply of 
> labor, thus depressing wages, in those labor markets already impacted 
> by the entry of high rates of legal and illegal immigration.
>
> By turning domestic production into imports, outsourcing increases the 
> trade deficit. America pays the import bill by turning over the 
> ownership of her wealth, and the income streams that wealth produces, 
> to foreigners. Thus, Americans not only lose jobs and careers but also 
> the ownership of their companies, real estate, corporate and 
> government bonds. The incomes from these lost assets pass from 
> Americans to foreigners.
>
> Today America's consumption and the government's budget deficits are 
> financed by foreigners, principally Asians. There are now so many 
> dollars in foreign hands that the willingness of foreigners to hold 
> more is declining. For the past three years foreign central banks have 
> been diversifying their reserve holdings away from dollars into other 
> currencies.
>
> The result has been to drive the value of the dollar down sharply 
> against many other currencies. As prices adjust to the changed 
> currency values, Americans become poorer.
>
> When economists preach that America benefits from outsourcing, they 
> deny all the hard facts, just as do Republicans when they proclaim 
> "success" in Iraq. How does America benefit from a process that 
> destroys jobs, lowers incomes, and reduces the exchange value of the 
> dollar?
>
> What outsourcing is doing for America is destroying entire sectors of 
> US manufacturing, entire high tech occupations, the value of a college 
> education, . the design and innovative capabilities of the US economy, 
> and the dollar as reserve currency. This is a lot of destruction. It 
> goes far beyond what terrorists can inflict.
>
> So far in the 21st century, the US has experienced a net loss of jobs. 
> Fewer Americans are employed today than when President Bush was first 
> inaugurated. This has not happened since the Great Depression in the 
> 1930s.
>
> When economists claim that the US is made better off by outsourcing, 
> they ignore the evidence of job loss, stagnant incomes, and a 
> collapsing dollar.
>
> A perfect example is a recent "study" by three economists reported in 
> the March 21 issue of Barron's. The economists used economic models to 
> calculate the benefits to Americans of outsourcing. An economic model 
> is comprised of assumptions about relationships. Many relationships 
> are historical and reflect America's post-World War II economic 
> dominance, which is no longer the reality.
>
> The economists concluded that the benefits to Americans from 
> outsourcing ranged from $7,100 to $12,900 per household.
>
> According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wages 
> of private, nonfarm, nonsupervisory production workers produced an 
> annual income of $33,072 as of February 2005.
>
> Only economists completely detached from reality could believe that 
> American households owe such a large percentage of income to 
> outsourcing, which is threatening them with a depreciating currency 
> and the loss of their jobs and careers.
>
> One of the dumbest defenses of outsourcing is the claim that history 
> shows that America benefits from free trade. First of all, there has 
> been precious little free trade. Economists mean that America has 
> benefitted from trade during the decades following World War II when 
> the rest of the world was recovering from war or smothered in 
> socialism. It is easy to benefit from trade when you are the only 
> economy.
>
> Second, outsourcing is not trade; it is labor arbitrage. Outsourcing 
> is a new phenomena birthed by the collapse of world socialism and the 
> rise of the high speed internet. It reflects the operation not of 
> "comparative advantage" but of "absolute advantage" --the flow of 
> capital and technology across borders to the cheapest labor. 
> Outsourcing is the substitution of foreign labor for domestic labor. 
> It reduces the demand for domestic labor and drives down incomes.
>
> Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the 
> Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street 
> Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He 
> is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: 
> pcroberts@postmark.net
>
>

-- 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Larry Gross
* Professor and Director
* School of Communication
* Annenberg School for Communication
* University of Southern California
* 3502 Watt Way
* Los Angeles, CA 90089-0281
* [213] 740-3770  / FAX [213] 740-3913
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 22 19:52:36 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Tue Mar 22 19:54:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Who really reads anymore?
Message-ID: <00e301c52f5b$c11efc90$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

FW: Who really reads anymore?Thought you would all like this...

Peace.

----------

Subject: Who really reads anymore?

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics
shown in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.

9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.

10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country ... or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for.

11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.

12. None of these are read by the guy who is running the country into the ground.
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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed Mar 23 01:36:23 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed Mar 23 01:36:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] revolution
Message-ID: <000701c52f8b$c8367960$1425b7d8@baby1>

Re:  revolution


Baker wrote:


=========
bear
......peaceful demonstrations are getting nowhere...the media just plays
them down and continues to propagate lies...what to do??? what is needed is
an armed revolution...properly planned and executed simultaeneously in the
u.s. and europe....first target should be the media..all major t.v.stations
and newspapers...a very large force is required...the force is there [take,
for instance, the 50% who no longer bother to vote!] all that is lacking
here is leadership...a dozen good men would fit the bill, like one for each
territory...recruiting should commence [in secret] and include law
enforcement and military...an armed take over of western media and immediate
broadcasting of the real situation and the day would be won....let's take
back our countries and boot out the gangsters....it is the only
solution.....madbaker
==============




While it worked in 1776, so to speak, today such a solution appears
impractical, especially with such traffic during rush hours.  The closest
alternative even mildly related to such an approach of "relating
information" would be something like in the movie "Hackers".  But a bunch of
guys with bullets and guns running around Europe and the USA taking over
newspapers and radio and television news studios simultaneous while
"broadcasting the truth" would probably, in the end, turn into nothing more
productive over here than another reality TV thing, eventually beating
everyone else out during sweeps week, with, eventually, a whole bunch of
dead people and all the newspapers and radio and television news studios
going back to business as usual the next convenient Monday morning
broadcasting "the truth" about the "wackos" who all flipped out together and
are now either dead or behind bars awaiting trials, conveniently leaving
plenty of room for the now already overobviously psychotic truly wacked out
"powers that be" to once again point their fingers and publicly state "See,
we told you so, you need people like us to protect you from people like
them", which is how we got into all these messes to begin with in the first
place.

In closing, please try to remember that it was not so long ago about 200
miles north of Cheeseburgerville here up in Waco Texas that the FBI and all
the rest burned about 75 civilian men women and children Americans to death,
in their own home, after the Sheriff had already told them "Hey, all I had
to do was call the main guy on the telephone and he would have gladly come
into town to my office..." for simply just *possessing* illegal weapons, and
they were a "Christian Offshoot Cult" or somesuch (not even athiests,
liberals or treehuggers).  And no legal charges whatsoever were brought
against any of them for even breaking a fingernail of a goose.  I don't
really know where you live, but where I live, if you spit on the sidewalk,
there are people hanging around waiting to see you are formidably punished
for it.  I simply do not wish to productivelessly go down in a blaze of
glory for a halfcocked plan that should not even be considered, especially
in places like Europe or the USA, until we are a hop a skip and a jump from
the actual future government internment camps and there are no other
alternatives left available to people who still profess to be free but that
one.

My best, at least at the current moment, heh, advice remains "hack the
planet", sue their *sses off, impeach impeach impeach, sue sue sue, discover
discover discover, expose expose expose, etc etc etc, and, if one is truly
adventurous, begin throwing all one's resources into an actual Global
Information Machine that is at the very least if nothing else capable of at
least keeping pace with, if not surpassing, the flavor of the moment
Propaganda Machine that we are currently forced to endure, which so far such
a tiny possibly useful item remains completely nonexistent.





Cheeseburger


- Ok, Cheeseburger, I don't have all night, it's getting late, hurry up,
decide, are you going to go with those boys and take over CNN tonight or
check out my edible panties I bought today at the mall...?    :|
Cheeseburger...?   Are you going to answer me, Cheeseburger...?     Uh, just
a second, darlin', I'm thinkin'...     Oh...ok...      Ok.......

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 23 03:42:53 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 23 03:45:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11490421.1111578173647.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Cheney Defends Bush Appointments
 
 By Jim VandeHei
 
   Vice President Cheney said yesterday that the elevation of White House loyalists and supporters of the Iraq war to key diplomatic posts puts the United States in a stronger position to force changes at the United Nations and improve the U.S. image abroad.
 
 In an interview aboard Air Force Two, Cheney said the nomination of John R. Bolton to serve as ambassador to the United Nations in particular shows President Bush's commitment to ending corruption and changing the culture at the world body.
 
  "There is clearly a lot that needs to be done at the United Nations," he said pointing to the oil-for-food scandal and recent charges of sexual assault by a U.N. official. "There is ample evidence here at home a great many Americans are not happy with the performance of the United Nations," Cheney said.
 
  "We are the host country, we're the biggest contributor to its budget, and success long-term, I think, depends on the continued support of the U.S. and the American people," he continued. Cheney said the fact that Bolton has been a critic of the United Nations will give him "a great deal more credibility" tackling the challenges there.
 
 In the interview conducted en route from Reno, Nev.,  the vice president bluntly acknowledged the administration's shortcomings in overcoming international hostility to American foreign policy and communicating a positive image of the United States abroad, especially to the Arab and Muslim worlds.
 
 "If we are going to be successful long-term in the war on terror and in the broader objective of promoting freedom and democracy in that part of the world, we have to get the public diplomacy piece of it right," Cheney said. "Up until now, that has been a very weak part of our arsenal."
 
 Cheney has been a driving force in the administration's foreign policy and privately advocated for Bolton to get the U.N. job and for longtime ally Paul D. Wolfowitz to head the World Bank. The vice president said top-level changes at the State Department should help set a better course.
 
 "What the president has done . . . is make some personnel changes that he felt would strengthen our capacity as an administration to achieve our objectives," Cheney said.
 
  The vice president said the decision to put three of the most influential women from Bush's first-term White House  --  Condoleezza Rice, Karen P. Hughes and Dina Powell  --  at the State Department signifies a new approach for Foggy Bottom. Privately, White House aides said the department is now a power center and one of the few agencies with a significant second-term role, especially dealing with Bush's inaugural pledge to spread democracy.
 
 "Having Karen Hughes over there with Dina Powell and Condi gives us the best possible combination of people [to] actively and aggressively address those issues," Cheney said.
 
 Conservative Fred Barnes, in an article on yesterday's Wall Street Journal editorial page, said the moves are part of "Mr. Bush's shake-up-the-world view." Bolton, Hughes and Powell still must be confirmed by the Senate, and Wolfowitz needs the approval of the World Bank; all are expected to overcome any opposition.
 
 The rise of close White House allies is not over and may include Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, replacing Wolfowitz as deputy defense secretary, according to White House officials. When asked about the possible change, all Cheney would say is: "I need Scooter."
 
 Cheney, who sometimes clashed with  then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell over the Iraq war, said he would not discuss whether the new team is working better than the first-term one because he did not want to offend anyone.
 
  Critics charge the White House is purging its voices of dissent and sending the wrong signal to the world with Bolton and Wolfowitz, two controversial architects of the Bush foreign policy.
 
 "I can't think of anybody more qualified than Paul Wolfowitz to run the World Bank," Cheney said.
 
 During the interview, Cheney continued to take a hard line with Syria and Iran but did not express serious concerns about China's policies. He said he had not been briefed on Rice's trip to Asia this week, during which China's role in pressing North Korea to return to negotiations over its nuclear program was left unsettled.
 
  Citing diplomatic sensitivity, Cheney said he did not want to discuss China's more bellicose tone toward Taiwan. Some senior White House officials expressed concern over the growing instability in rural China, where poverty is ubiquitous and is leading to demonstrations, as well as China's dealings with North Korea and Taiwan.
 
  "Generally, the relationship is in pretty good shape," Cheney said. "That does not mean we agree on everything."
 
  As international pressure intensifies on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon before the spring elections, Cheney said: "It's not clear yet they will do what they need to do." If not, he said the United Nations will be "obliged" to consider other actions, though he would not discuss if or how forcefully the United States would push for punitive sanctions. "Syria is pretty isolated at this point," he said.
 
  Cheney, who is described by administration officials as a leading proponent of a hard-line policy toward Tehran, said he is  uncertain  whether Iran has nuclear weapons. "We have made the judgment that they are seeking to acquire" such weapons, the vice president said.
 
 He did not set a timetable for Iran to reach an international agreement on its nuclear program, and said the United States will continue to work through  European allies for now. "It is important to make clear to the Iranians that they need . . . to give up any aspirations they might have had to acquire nuclear weapons."
 
  Iran denies it is using that program to develop nuclear weapons and says it needs nuclear energy. 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 23 03:43:30 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 23 03:45:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <672923.1111578210477.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Target of Opportunism
 
 By Harold Meyerson
 
    For Tom DeLay, Terri Schiavo came along just in the nick of time. "One thing that God brought to us is Terri Schiavo, to help elevate the visibility of what is going on in America," DeLay told a group of Christian conservatives last Friday.
 
  And what, exactly, is going on in the United States? "Attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many others," DeLay told his flock. So God has now thrown in with DeLay in his efforts to pack the House ethics committee with his allies so that he no longer need be the subject of the scrutiny and censure of his peers.
 
  I don't think this is what Martin Buber meant when he referred to an "I-Thou" relationship with the Lord, but I could be mistaken.
 
  For Bill Frist, Terri Schiavo came along at an opportune moment. After inspecting some videotapes made by her parents, the doctor announced that the examinations by court-appointed physicians were erroneous in concluding that Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state for the past 15 years. He may also have concluded that if getting the jump on the 2008 Republican presidential field required issuing a preposterous diagnosis, that was a small price to pay. Frist isn't running for Neurologist in Chief, after all.
 
  For George W. Bush, too, Terri Schiavo came along at a propitious time. All is not well in Bushland. The more the American people hear about the president's Social Security scheme, the more they reject it  --  lately by margins approaching 2 to 1. The Bush bills that have been moving through Congress  --  tightening up bankruptcy regulations, authorizing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, limiting consumer lawsuits  --  do nothing for the Christian conservatives who helped reelect him. Indeed, the whole Bush economic agenda threatens social conservatives of modest means, as it does anyone of modest means. If signing a bill in his pajamas meant he could rekindle their support, why, that was worth even interrupting his sleep.
 
  At its topmost ranks, and not only there, the party of Lincoln has become the party of Elmer Gantry. It peddles miracle cures and elixirs of life, to the benefit of the preachers, not the patients. When it comes to promoting real cures, today's Republicans are nowhere to be found. The Medicaid cuts pushed by the White House and passed by House Republicans last week would, if enacted into law, shorten the lives of numerous poor Americans living in conscious, not vegetative states. But that's a topic of no demonstrable interest to Christian conservatives, though I've yet to come across the biblical passage that exempts them from such concerns.
 
  Bush, Frist, DeLay and the Republican apparat have behaved throughout this episode as if the political advantage clearly belonged to those who satisfied the most die-hard elements of the Christian right. But if polling conducted Sunday by ABC News is even remotely accurate, the Republicans may be badly mistaken. By 63 percent to 28 percent, the public supported the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, and fully 70 percent opposed the federal government's intervention. Those rejecting the Republican leadership's position included even Republicans (by a 58  to 39 percent margin) and evangelicals (by a 50  to 44 percent margin).
 
  In their haste to curry favor with the Christian right, the Republican leaders have run roughshod over some very deeply rooted American  --  and conservative  --  beliefs. Americans tend to believe in their doctors, and in the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. They believe in spheres of privacy where the state cannot intrude. There's no more distinctly American belief than the right to be left alone by government. Liberals and conservatives differ over which great causes compel a suspension of that right, but both sides of the spectrum acknowledge it axiomatically.
 
  That places a special burden on advocates for governmental activism in the United States. At a minimum, the consequences that the government's intervention will have on private lives  --  and on the principle of the private life  --  need to be weighed. And by intervening by fiat in the Schiavo tragedy, at the last minute, from on high, with no serious inspection of the particulars of the case and to clear political ends, the Republicans failed that test abysmally. In that sense, the Schiavo affair looks like their equivalent of what court-ordered busing was to liberals: an act of social engineering that runs counter to Americans' desire for control over their own, and their families', lives.
 
  As with Social Security, the Republicans are now going too far, promoting priorities of party in-groups that don't resonate at all with the larger public. This is classic second-term overreaching, mixed in with the most myopic opportunism. The real opportunity here is for the Democrats, if they have sense enough to realize it. 
 
 meyersonh@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 23 03:47:54 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 23 03:50:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <444351.1111578474337.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Between Travesty and Tragedy
 
 By Charles Krauthammer
 
    If I were in Terri Schiavo's condition, I would not want a feeding tube. But Schiavo does not have the means to make her intentions known. We do not know what she would have wanted. We have nothing to go on. No living will, no advance directives, no durable power of attorney.
 
  What do you do when you have nothing to go on? You try to intuit her will, using loved ones as surrogates.
 
  In this case, the loved ones disagree. The husband wants Terri to die; the parents do not. The Florida court gave the surrogacy to her husband, under the generally useful rule that your spouse is the most reliable diviner of your wishes: You pick your spouse and not your parents, and you have spent most of your recent years with your spouse and not your parents.
 
  The problem is that although your spouse probably knows you best, there is no guarantee that he will not confuse his wishes with yours. Terri's spouse presents complications. He has a girlfriend, and has two kids with her. He clearly wants to marry again. And a living Terri stands in the way.
 
  Now, all of this may be irrelevant in his mind. He may actually be acting entirely based on his understanding of his wife's wishes. And as she left nothing behind, the courts have been forced to conclude, on the basis of his testimony, that she would prefer to be dead.
 
  That is why this is a terrible case. The general rule of spousal supremacy leads you here to a thoroughly repulsive conclusion. Repulsive because in a case where there is no consensus among the loved ones, one's natural human sympathies suggest giving custody to the party committed to her staying alive and pledging to carry the burden themselves.
 
  Let's be clear about her condition. She is not dead. If she were brain-dead, we would be talking about harvesting her organs. She is a living, breathing human being. Some people have called her a vegetable. Apart from the term being disgusting, how do they know? How can we be sure of the complete absence of any consciousness, any awareness, any anything "inside" this person?
 
  The crucial issue in deciding whether one would want to intervene to keep her alive is whether there is, as one bioethicist put it to me, "anyone home." Her parents, who see her often, believe that there is. The husband maintains that there is no one home. (But then again he has another home, making his judgment somewhat suspect.) The husband has not allowed a lot of medical testing in the past few years. I have tried to find out what her neurological condition actually is. But the evidence is sketchy, old and conflicting. The Florida court found that most of her cerebral cortex is gone. But "most" does not mean all. There may be some cortex functioning. The severely retarded or brain-damaged can have some consciousness. And we do not go around euthanizing the minimally conscious in the back wards of mental hospitals on the grounds that their lives are not worth living.
 
  Given our lack of certainty, given that there are loved ones prepared to keep her alive and care for her, how can you allow the husband to end her life on his say-so? Because following the sensible rules of Florida custody laws, conducted with due diligence and great care over many years in this case, this is where the law led.
 
  For Congress and the president to then step in and try to override that by shifting the venue to a federal court was a legal travesty, a flagrant violation of federalism and the separation of powers. The federal judge who refused to reverse the Florida court was certainly true to the law. But the law, while scrupulous, has been merciless, and its conclusion very troubling morally. We ended up having to choose between a legal travesty on the one hand and human tragedy on the other.
 
  There is no good outcome to this case. Except perhaps if Florida and the other states were to amend their laws and resolve conflicts among loved ones differently  --  by granting authority not necessarily to the spouse but to whatever first-degree relative (even if in the minority) chooses life and is committed to support it. Call it Terri's law. It would help prevent our having to choose in the future between travesty and tragedy.
 
 letters@charleskrauthammer.com
 
  
 
   

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar 23 05:04:22 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar 23 05:07:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China warns of water pollution
Message-ID: <20050323_130422_054241.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** China warns of water pollution **
A third of China's rural population, or 360m people, lack access to safe drinking  water, Chinese officials warn.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4374383.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar 23 08:10:34 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed Mar 23 08:13:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fear in the workpace
Message-ID: <000901c52fc2$db31ebd0$ac27e440@Harold>

Interesting article on productivity and how fear is not a good thing!

http://sympaticomsn.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/fasttrack/20050316/CATIMSON16?section=TheWayWeAre

Harold
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 23 11:32:34 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 11:34:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / US - Appeals court rules against
 Schiavo019s parents 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 23 11:33:41 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 11:36:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - History tells us
	to keep the arms ban on China 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 23 11:35:05 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 11:37:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 23 11:41:50 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 11:44:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Markets / Commodities - Yamani says high oil
	prices not sustainable
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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar 23 10:18:31 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar 23 11:56:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Latest News:  No deal in Iranian nuclear talks 
In-Reply-To: <406ad2de51d144a8d3d1c73e81a7910d@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503231956.j2NJuaKf010606@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 11:56:15 -0500
Subject: Latest News:  No deal in Iranian nuclear talks

BBC News
03/23/05

  No deal in Iranian nuclear talks
  Iran and leading EU nations have failed to reach agreement in talks
about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

  The EU Three - France, Germany and the UK - want Iran to abandon its
uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities.

  They are offering Tehran economic, political and technological
incentives for giving up the programme.

  Iranian negotiators, who insist Iran has the right to a civilian
nuclear programme, said all sides have agreed to meet again in the
coming weeks.

  Iranian nuclear negotiators had said on Tuesday that Tehran would
reconsider its position on the talks if no real progress was made.

  Wednesday's meeting offered a chance to review progress made in
working groups over three months.

  At the end of the talks, Sirus Nasseri, a senior Iranian negotiator,
confirmed the four parties would meet again, adding: "Each side still
has its own views."

  Optimism

  The EU Three recently admitted that progress had not been as rapid as
they might have wished.

  Nevertheless, the BBC's Pam O'Toole says they appear encouraged that
Iran is willing to suspend uranium enrichment while negotiations are
under way.

  Publicly, Iranian officials have been dismissive about a US offer of
limited economic incentives.

  The Europeans have warned they would back US moves to take Tehran to
the UN Security Council if Iran breaches agreements or resumes uranium
enrichment during the talks.

  Iran maintains its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, but
Washington suspects it of secretly trying to build a nuclear weapon.
---

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4374485.stm

------ End of Forwarded Message

From arianna at ariannaonline.com  Wed Mar 23 11:40:27 2005
From: arianna at ariannaonline.com (Arianna Huffington)
Date: Wed Mar 23 12:09:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Paying the Price for Bush's Retro Energy Policy 3-23-05
Message-ID: <200503232009.j2NK9sQQ010686@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

PAYING THE PRICE FOR BUSH'S RETRO ENERGY POLICY

By Arianna Huffington

The new sales pitch for President Bush is that he's a forward-thinking visionary, right? His policies in the Middle East were, it turns out, not about the bloody debacle in Iraq today but about democracy spreading throughout the region in a glorious future. And his plan to fix Social Security is not at all about privatizing the jewel of the New Deal but simply about ensuring a safe and secure system well past 2052.

But when it comes to dealing with the many energy-related crises we're facing, can the Bushies really go on pretending that their policies are any more forward-looking than a rerun of "That '70s Show"?

Exhibit A is the president's bizarre and long-standing obsession with drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which just got Senate approval last week. I mean, how retro can you get? Instead of pushing to increase fuel efficiency standards that could save millions of barrels of oil each day and calling for a national commitment to investing in renewable sources of energy, he's after one more fix of dinosaur byproducts from one of the world's last pristine places.

Which might be understandable if making an Exxon Mobil theme park out of the refuge would actually reduce our dependence on foreign oil. But it won't. At best, there's only enough oil there to satisfy U.S. demand for about six months. And it won't be available for at least a decade--which is the only forward-looking aspect to Bush's ANWR dream.

The consequences of Bush's head-in-the-tundra policies are already all around us--starting with the record prices Americans are paying to gas up their cars. The national average just raced past $2.10 a gallon--up 21 percent from last year. The U.S. remains the world's largest oil consumer, but with growing countries like China and India demanding more and more oil, and the world's refineries already close to maxed out, things are only going to get worse. How long will it be before filling stations are asking: "Cash, Credit or Home Equity Loan?"

In response to this mounting economic calamity, President Bush summoned all his authority as leader of the free world and, uh, well, sent an official complaint to OPEC ministers meeting in Iran. I'm sure it was very strongly worded. In any case, most experts agree that even OPEC can't pump enough additional oil to make a long-term difference.

Meanwhile, the president's old oil company pals are raking in record profits. Exxon Mobil, for instance, more than doubled its cash flow last year, ending 2004 with $23.1 billion in its bulging coffers. In fact, every time the price of a barrel of oil goes up a dollar, Exxon's accountants chalk up another $550 million in after-tax profits. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that oil companies are actually having a hard time figuring out what to do with all that cash.

The president's outdated energy policies are also pushing us to the brink of an economic and ecological catastrophe brought about by global warming. Temperatures are climbing, sea levels are rising, Antarctica is thawing--and these are just the tip of the rapidly melting iceberg. The winter ice cap at the North Pole has shrunk 20 percent in the past two decades, and all that disappearing ice is going to reappear in the form of rising seas threatening coastal areas from New York to New Orleans.

Our MBA president's energy plan is designed to coddle corporations, of course. But the most surprising aspect of the scheme is how bad it has been for business (non-oil business, that is). Oh, those unintended consequences. 

Just look at the head-on collision at General Motors, which, along with the rest of the industry, has enjoyed one fuel economy loophole after another. The company bet the farm on hulking gas-guzzlers and engines whose basic designs date to the 1950s. Now, with gas prices heading through the sunroof, demand for SUVs has tumbled--and with it, GM's fortunes. Despite rebates as high as $6,000, sales of models including the Hummer H2 have dropped by double digits. As a result, GM has taken a $4 billion cash flow hit and laid off thousands of workers--yet losses are still expected to reach $850 million in the first quarter of 2005 alone.

At the same time, Toyota and Honda, companies that have shown a commitment to higher fuel efficiency and fuel-saving hybrid technology, are running away with Detroit's market share. In true Neanderthal fashion, GM has responded to its troubles by redoubling its focus--and its multibillion-dollar advertising budget--on hawking the upcoming models of its SUVs. They just don't get it--and for that they are paying a heavy price.  

And our leaders in Washington--their pockets stuffed with oil, gas and auto-industry donations--have been willing accomplices in this financial fiasco. By keeping mileage standards for SUVs lower than for cars, allowing unconscionable fuel efficiency loopholes that exempt monster trucks like the Hummer H2, and giving a special tax break allowing write-offs up to $100,000 on luxury SUVs, they helped create an artificial market for gas guzzlers--and helped lead GM to the corporate ICU. 

Bush and company call themselves free marketers, but by indulging Detroit they've discouraged innovation and made it much easier for companies like GM to slowly destroy themselves--and their workers. It's assisted suicide, Beltway-style.

Tom DeLay and Bill Frist should immediately call another midnight session of Congress to look into this. And someone needs to wake up President Bush before his habit of looking in the rear view mirror when it comes to energy policy leads us even further off the road to energy independence--and straight over a cliff.

? 2005 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:11:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:13:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: At Least 80 Killed in Raid on Insurgent
	Camp in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050323211120.3BD001C26E@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 23, 2005

At Least 80 Killed in Raid on Insurgent Camp in Iraq
By EDWARD WONG

Iraqi and U.S. forces raided what appeared to be the biggest guerrilla camp yet discovered, Iraqi officials said today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/international/middleeast/23cnd-iraq.html?ex=1112245200&en=13c4c95bf1640e5a&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:11:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:14:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: One Step Back in the Mideast
Message-ID: <20050323211155.DBADE22EFC1@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 23, 2005

Editorial: One Step Back in the Mideast


Expanding Israel's settlements east of Jerusalem is a cynical move by Ariel Sharon that could endanger the new era of hope in the Middle East.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/opinion/23wed1.html?ex=1112245200&en=e6713b83cc3d7c21&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:12:22 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:15:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Morsel of Goat Meat
Message-ID: <20050323211301.557B838809C@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


OPINION | March 23, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: A Morsel of Goat Meat
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Ordinary black Zimbabweans, who are dying in great numbers from hunger and AIDS, would prefer to go back to the white racist government of the 1970's.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/opinion/23kristof.html?ex=1112245200&en=d0b8bd9595f3ec04&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:13:00 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:15:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Congress,
	the Courts and the Terri Schiavo Case (8 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050323211301.ECEE23880A9@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | March 23, 2005

Congress, the Courts and the Terri Schiavo Case (8 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/opinion/l23schiavo.html?ex=1112245200&en=912b4d75558fd004&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:21:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:25:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Seeks Israeli Clarification on
	Settlement Expansion Plans
Message-ID: <20050323212129.537642272D8@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 23, 2005

U.S. Seeks Israeli Clarification on Settlement Expansion Plans
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

The Bush administration expressed muted concern about Israeli plans to build new housing outside Jerusalem.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/international/middleeast/23mideast.html?ex=1112245200&en=769e0aaa42eeb14a&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:20:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:25:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: G.O.P. Right Is Splintered on Schiavo
	Intervention
Message-ID: <20050323212128.B8DBD22716A@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this. As an aside, a question for all: is this issue - and these types of issues (i.e., government intrusion into private choice) - one which you believe should be included here? That is, should I (and others) continue to post articles on this issue?


WASHINGTON | March 23, 2005

Conservatives: G.O.P. Right Is Splintered on Schiavo Intervention
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

The vote by Congress to allow the federal courts to take over the Schiavo case has created distress among some conservatives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/politics/23repubs.html?ex=1112245200&en=b4a548834a37bc79&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:22:21 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:29:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sharon Seems Likely to Survive Crucial Vote
	on State Budget
Message-ID: <20050323212723.275C11C261@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 23, 2005

Sharon Seems Likely to Survive Crucial Vote on State Budget
By STEVEN ERLANGER

The Israeli prime minister can now press ahead with his plan to dismantle all Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/international/middleeast/23cnd-mideast.html?ex=1112245200&en=99cb1986587b89fe&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:23:00 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:29:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Arab Leaders to Market 2002 Peace Plan
Message-ID: <20050323212723.2714438809D@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 23, 2005

Arab Leaders to Market 2002 Peace Plan
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -- Arab leaders on Wednesday concluded a two-day summit with a decision to better market a 2002 peace plan for Israel by sending a committee to explain it to Europe, the United States and other nations.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Arab-Summit.html?ex=1112245200&en=149ee6eb4dc0e69f&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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0


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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 23 13:24:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 13:30:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraqi Civilians Fight Back Against
	Insurgents
Message-ID: <20050323212724.A301A1C262@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL | March 23, 2005

Iraqi Civilians Fight Back Against Insurgents
By ROBERT F. WORTH

Ordinary Iraqis rarely strike back at the insurgents, but private citizens retaliated successfully in Baghdad Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/international/worldspecial/23iraq.html?ex=1112245200&en=69d328cf28b77628&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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From lyve at netzero.com  Wed Mar 23 20:16:29 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Wed Mar 23 20:19:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] revolution
Message-ID: <20050323.201700.28246.48089@webmail30.nyc.untd.com>


Hi Guys,

What worked in the late 50's and early sixties was the display of torment from the faces of the down-trodden.

The down-trodden during that time were Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers. We saw pain, we saw police beatings, billy clubs flying, assasinations (CIA?) and the famous freedom rides.

If we can capture that again-with the riots in the streets, we might have something.

I am supporting Martin Luther King's Peace marches. Let the wackos beat upon those of us brave enough to go through it again. (It captures air time).

Anarchy-violent revolution will get us no where (well put by the way).
Crank out our newspapers, and watch them get raided and closed down. Continue (gorilla style), open printing offices whereever. Keep the news flowing from the grass-roots level.

Watch those in the streets try to change us by committing their own degree of violence and hate towards us.

The black panther movement, no matter how strong, righteous and visionary, created a magnetic force that drew those who hate blacks and found an excuse to infiltrate using government resources.

Peace marches (non-violent)-Buddha style-watch the clubs wail down, but in the end when the cloud clears-confusion is naught and a message emerges.

Peace through agressive, non-violent confrontation is the answer always.
We have seen what happens the other way...Ruby Ridge, Waco, Wounded Knee, breaking into the armory, Black Panthers, Timothy McVey, etc.

Besides the media today will turn their cameras on pain, beatings, and peace demonstrations if they turn wild, which they will. You know, the media loves that kind of stuff, black jack-boots, black fatigues, black helmets and lots of mace. Something like the WTO riots here in Seattle a while back.


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net> wrote:
Re:  revolution


Baker wrote:


=========
bear
......peaceful demonstrations are getting nowhere...the media just plays
them down and continues to propagate lies...what to do??? what is needed is
an armed revolution...properly planned and executed simultaeneously in the
u.s. and europe....first target should be the media..all major t.v.stations
and newspapers...a very large force is required...the force is there [take,
for instance, the 50% who no longer bother to vote!] all that is lacking
here is leadership...a dozen good men would fit the bill, like one for each
territory...recruiting should commence [in secret] and include law
enforcement and military...an armed take over of western media and immediate
broadcasting of the real situation and the day would be won....let's take
back our countries and boot out the gangsters....it is the only
solution.....madbaker
==============




While it worked in 1776, so to speak, today such a solution appears
impractical, especially with such traffic during rush hours.  The closest
alternative even mildly related to such an approach of "relating
information" would be something like in the movie "Hackers".  But a bunch of
guys with bullets and guns running around Europe and the USA taking over
newspapers and radio and television news studios simultaneous while
"broadcasting the truth" would probably, in the end, turn into nothing more
productive over here than another reality TV thing, eventually beating
everyone else out during sweeps week, with, eventually, a whole bunch of
dead people and all the newspapers and radio and television news studios
going back to business as usual the next convenient Monday morning
broadcasting "the truth" about the "wackos" who all flipped out together and
are now either dead or behind bars awaiting trials, conveniently leaving
plenty of room for the now already overobviously psychotic truly wacked out
"powers that be" to once again point their fingers and publicly state "See,
we told you so, you need people like us to protect you from people like
them", which is how we got into all these messes to begin with in the first
place.

In closing, please try to remember that it was not so long ago about 200
miles north of Cheeseburgerville here up in Waco Texas that the FBI and all
the rest burned about 75 civilian men women and children Americans to death,
in their own home, after the Sheriff had already told them "Hey, all I had
to do was call the main guy on the telephone and he would have gladly come
into town to my office..." for simply just *possessing* illegal weapons, and
they were a "Christian Offshoot Cult" or somesuch (not even athiests,
liberals or treehuggers).  And no legal charges whatsoever were brought
against any of them for even breaking a fingernail of a goose.  I don't
really know where you live, but where I live, if you spit on the sidewalk,
there are people hanging around waiting to see you are formidably punished
for it.  I simply do not wish to productivelessly go down in a blaze of
glory for a halfcocked plan that should not even be considered, especially
in places like Europe or the USA, until we are a hop a skip and a jump from
the actual future government internment camps and there are no other
alternatives left available to people who still profess to be free but that
one.

My best, at least at the current moment, heh, advice remains "hack the
planet", sue their *sses off, impeach impeach impeach, sue sue sue, discover
discover discover, expose expose expose, etc etc etc, and, if one is truly
adventurous, begin throwing all one's resources into an actual Global
Information Machine that is at the very least if nothing else capable of at
least keeping pace with, if not surpassing, the flavor of the moment
Propaganda Machine that we are currently forced to endure, which so far such
a tiny possibly useful item remains completely nonexistent.





Cheeseburger


- Ok, Cheeseburger, I don't have all night, it's getting late, hurry up,
decide, are you going to go with those boys and take over CNN tonight or
check out my edible panties I bought today at the mall...?    :|
Cheeseburger...?   Are you going to answer me, Cheeseburger...?     Uh, just
a second, darlin', I'm thinkin'...     Oh...ok...      Ok.......

.

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed Mar 23 21:13:34 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed Mar 23 21:41:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] GW Bush--another little example of democracy in action
Message-ID: <200503240541.j2O5fjqE012659@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Published on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 by the Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA Young Democrat Banned from Forum
by Cassie Tomlin
 

A UA student was banned from attending President Bush's Social 
Security forum at the Tucson Convention Center yesterday.

UA Young Democrat Steven Gerner, a political science and pre-
pharmacy sophomore, said he and three other Young Democrats had 
been waiting in line with their tickets for about 40 minutes when a staff 
member approached him and asked to read his T-shirt.


A 13-year-old girl was arrested yesterday at the Tucson Convention 
Center after she threw an egg at President Bush's motorcade. The girl 
and her aunt were protesting the president's speech on Social Security 
reform. The aunt was cited with disorderly conduct and released.
(Photo/CASSIE TOMLIN/Arizona Daily Wildcat)
Gerner was the only one of the four wearing a UAYD T-shirt, which 
read, "Don't be a smart (image of a donkey, the Democratic Party 
symbol). UA Young Democrats."

Gerner said the staffer, who refused to provide his name, asked for 
Gerner's ticket and crumpled it up.

The staffer walked away, returned in 20 minutes, and told Gerner his 
name had been added to a list banning him from entering the 
convention center for the speech.

"I was certainly shocked," Gerner said. "Everyone should have access 
to this information."

Gerner said he obtained a free ticket to the speech from the office of 
Congressman Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. The ticket had his name printed 
on it.

"I really wanted a chance to hear the Bush side of the Social Security 
debate," Gerner said. "Unfortunately, I won't hear all the facts now, 
first-person."

Kate Calhoun, TCC sales and marketing manager, said the venue's 
staff did not control entrance to the event, but said the Secret Service 
was taking tickets and exercising "no discrimination whatsoever."

"The venue does not issue or check or take tickets," Calhoun said. "It's 
coming straight from the White House - we rent them our space and 
don't get involved. It was a smooth operation from start to finish, and I 
did not see anyone denied entry."

Jonathan Cherry, Secret Service spokesman, said the Secret Service 
was not taking tickets at the event.

"The host committee controls who gets in and who gets out," Cherry 
said. "Secret Service agents are not ticket takers."

Tony Cani, president of Young Democrats of Arizona, said Gerner's 
dismissal was not at all surprising but a disappointment.

"If this would have been paid for by the Bush-Cheney campaign and 
they discriminated entrance, it would have been unethical, 
undemocratic and wrong, but they would have had the right," Cani 
said. "The distinction is that this was paid for with taxpayers' dollars - 
some of the money even comes out of Social Security."

Cani said the tax-payer-funded public forum was supposed to be about 
sharing ideas and helping people learn, not blocking specific people 
from attending.

"It's not very democratic, and this is the type of action that dissuades 
young people from being interested in politics," Cani said.

Gerner said after he was refused entry, he proceeded to Armory Park 
to attend a rally with other Democrats and then to the protest on the 
west side of the TCC.

When the president's motorcade passed down South Granada Avenue 
on the way into the TCC, about 1,000 protesters lined the streets.

Gerner said the protest was important in order to express dissenting 
voices, although he does not expect the president to take notice.

"Protests don't get policies changed," Gerner said.

Protesters once again lined the west side of South Granada Avenue 
when the president's motorcade escorted him out of the TCC.

A 13-year-old girl was arrested after she threw an egg at the 
motorcade. Three police officers, after observing the girl's aunt whisper 
something in her ear and then seeing the girl launch the egg, rushed 
the two and dragged them across the street, where they were both 
handcuffed.

It is unknown whether the egg hit the motorcade or not, reports stated.

The girl's aunt was cited for disorderly conduct and released.

More than 40 people were banned from the president's Feb. 3 Social 
Security speech in North Dakota, according to The Washington Post.

The Post reported that the names of a liberal radio producer, several 
university professors and a deputy democratic campaign manager 
were on a list supplied to workers at two ticket distribution sites, which 
the White House said might have come from volunteers but did not 
come from the White House.

? Copyright 2005 - The Arizona Daily Wildcat - Arizona Student Media

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0322-09.htm
-- 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed Mar 23 21:13:34 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed Mar 23 21:44:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Credit for Mideast 'Climate Change'
Message-ID: <200503240544.j2O5i44F012681@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Published on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 by the Daytona Beach News-
Journal
Credit for Mideast 'Climate Change'
by Pierre Tristam
 

As walls were falling all around the Soviet bloc in 1989, east 
Europeans were either dancing on the rubble or rushing west by the 
trainload. Two years later the Soviet Union was history, and with it a 
74-year blight on humanity. Naturally, Cold War hagiographers gave 
Ronald Reagan all the credit. Forty-five years of containment couldn't 
possibly have been more than a warm-up act and 100 million eastern 
Europeans couldn't have budged history their way like a good old 
Hollywood story line. Reagan himself believed that in 1945 he'd been 
among the soldiers liberating Nazi death camps even though his war 
experience was restricted to a few movie studios in Burbank. So it was 
more a sequel than a stretch to make him the world's savior.

His apostles claimed that deploying the Pershing II medium-range 
nuclear missile in Europe, his "evil empire" branding of the Soviet 
Union and his missile defense scheme had pushed the Soviets toward 
bankruptcy and the bargaining table. The claims weren't without their 
grainy truths. But the "evil empire" was long past its evil peak in the 
1980s and was as rotten and desiccated economically as every Soviet 
leader going back to Leonid Brezhnev had looked physically (until 
Mikhail Gorbachev's brief botox era known as glasnost). And star 
wars? It will be 22 years ago Wednesday that Reagan made his 
famous "Strategic Defense Initiative" speech promising to make 
nuclear weapons "impotent and obsolete" with a space-based shield. 
More than $135 billion and a trail of failed tests later, the missile 
defense system is the punch-line to every suitcase terrorist's favorite 
joke. It will sooner bankrupt us than protect us, and may well endanger 
us for still diverting $1 billion a month on the wrong threat.

Then again bankrupting diversions posing as favors to the world have 
a long tradition in the Good Empire. Which brings us to Iraq, the Middle 
East's fibrillating tyrannies and George W. -- Bush or Washington, it 
doesn't matter which. The projectionists of Middle East freedom are 
happy to make the superb confusion. It is one of many, beginning with 
the cause-and-effect mania linking Bush to elections in Iraq and 
Palestinian territories, democracy demonstrations in Beirut, lip-service 
elections in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

To say that Bush's policies had nothing to do with what The New York 
Times called a "Mideast climate change" is, of course, stupid. But to 
give it more than token credit is equally stupid. When the world's only 
superpower invades a fourth-rate tyranny and plunks down $300 billion 
along the way, you expect some payoff. The disgrace is how little the 
payoff has been, how poorly thought out, how bloody. The pro-
democracy stirrings elsewhere in the Middle East don't vindicate 
Bush's policies so much as they prove how much he could have 
achieved politically and diplomatically, if he'd had the will and the 
diplomatic skills.

The whole region is like the Soviet bloc in the 1980s. It is a collection 
of corrupt, bankrupt, politically reprehensible societies held together by 
totalitarian perversions of Islam (and lavish American and western 
indulgence). Like the Soviet bloc, it was a matter of time before the 
crumbling began. Containment and pressure were the key. Invasion 
was the trap. The Middle East has a long, deeply scarred memory of 
western meddling, for good reason. The West's treatment of the 
Middle East since the Crusades, through colonialism's bludgeoning 
and up to the Reagan administration's coddling of Saddam Hussein 
has been a blight of its own. Whatever the aims of the Iraq invasion, 
the American occupation is as likely to retard the crumbling of 
Mideastern tyrannies as to hurry it along, or foment new ones. 
American credibility is suspect, and any western occupation gives 
regressive maniacs of the Hezbollah and al-Qaida variety a rallying 
point.

The Iraq war's diversion from the so-called war on terror and the 
occupation's effects on the U.S. Treasury, which we will all feel soon, 
are the other rising tides of this supposed climate change. So maybe 
the Middle East is warming up to democracy. But at what cost?

An Arab thaw will mean nothing to me -- an ex-Lebanese who'd like 
nothing more than to see his ancestral land reclaim its cedar-like 
dignity -- if it compromises the freedoms and economic solidity of my 
adopted land. I suspect it will mean nothing to my compatriots from 
here to Kansas to the Cascades, either. And yet with every deficit, 
every renewed tax cut while war bills pile up, every enforcement of the 
Patriot Act, every excuse for Guantanamo and an archipelago of 
torturers, every blank check for Iraq and every scaled-back social 
commitment at home, the compromises are piling up. A democratic 
renewal would be a wonderful thing. I'd like to see it in America first.

Tristam is a News-Journal editorial writer. Reach him at 
ptristam@att.net.

? 2005 News-Journal Corporation 

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0322-27.htm


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Wed Mar 23 22:01:59 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Wed Mar 23 22:04:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Chatting with Jesus
Message-ID: <1d9.3935a757.2f73b1d7@aol.com>

Thank you for a piece that is realistic based upon the ideals of the Bible  
as opposed to the corrupted ranting's of a rabid minority.  I'm forwarding  
this yo several family members who feel the Shrub is acting in a "Christian"  
manner.
 
Richard Haerther
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 24 03:43:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 24 03:46:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <20833996.1111664620710.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Gov. Bush Is Rebuffed in Schiavo Case
 
 By Manuel Roig-Franzia
 
  PINELLAS PARK, Fla., March 23  --  Florida Gov. Jeb Bush again raised the possibility  of the state's intervention in the frantic battle over Terri Schiavo, asserting Wednesday that the state may have authority to take custody of the brain-damaged woman even though the federal courts have refused to resume her tube-feeding.
 
  But a circuit judge  in Pinellas County issued an order preventing the Adult Protective Team of the Florida Department of Children and Families from taking Schiavo from her hospice and reinserting her feeding tube. The possibility of an appeal or some other move by the state lent a dramatic note to the rapidly moving legal struggle.
 
 Bush's attempt to  again enter the case came the same day that Schiavo's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, were twice rejected by a federal appeals court and lost a battle in the Florida legislature to keep their daughter alive. Undeterred, the Schindlers pushed their case to the next court level, appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, while still hoping that Bush would come up with a way to use the power of Florida's state government to trump the courts.
 
  "I'm doing everything within my power to make sure that Terri is afforded at least the same rights that criminals convicted of the most heinous crimes take for granted," Bush (R) said at a late-afternoon news conference in Tallahassee.
 
  Schiavo's feeding tube has been out since Friday, and doctors say she could die within two weeks, leaving her supporters increasingly desperate for an eleventh-hour intervention to save her. Early Wednesday, demonstrators camped outside her hospice in this town across the bay from Tampa while another group packed into the rotunda of the state Capitol in Tallahassee. Schiavo supporters have posted "Wanted" signs there in hopes of pressuring nine Republican senators to change their minds and support a law that would force doctors to resume the 41-year-old woman's feeding.
 
  But the intense lobbying effort failed Wednesday afternoon when the state Senate voted 21 to 18 against a bill that would have prevented the removal of feeding tubes from vegetative patients, such as Schiavo, who did not leave written instructions about their wishes.
 
  Before the vote, Sen. Dennis L. Jones (R), who represents Pinellas County, said he had felt pressured by Bush in 2003 and "voted wrong" when he supported a bill backed by the governor intended to save Schiavo that was later declared unconstitutional.
 
  "I certainly wouldn't make that mistake again," said Jones, who on Wednesday voted against the Bush-backed bill. 
 
  Jones and other lawmakers who have declined to support efforts to keep Schiavo alive have been the subject of angry Internet commentaries, e-mail campaigns and protests. On Tuesday, Jones said, 20 demonstrators sat on the floor of his local office in Seminole  --  a town near Schiavo's hospice  --  and refused to leave. Sheriff's deputies  were summoned to remove them, he said.
 
  The Schiavo case has been profoundly divisive in the Capitol, occupying so much time that some Florida newspaper editorials have demanded that lawmakers turn their attention to other pressing state business. Even in Pinellas County, opinions are split. When the state Senate and House voted last week on bills designed to keep Schiavo alive, half the county's delegation voted yes and half voted no.
 
  Rep. Everett S. Rice (R), the former Pinellas County sheriff, was confronted by a lawmaker who pushed for the Schiavo legislation a few days ago. "We're saying a special prayer for you," Rice said his colleague told him.
 
  Bush has been the public face of Florida government efforts to resume Schiavo's tube-feeding. His brother, President Bush, said Wednesday that "this is an extraordinary and sad case" but that he would wait for the courts to decide it.
 
   Jeb Bush has spoken about the case repeatedly and emotionally. But his storied mastery of legislative arm-twisting failed Wednesday.
 
  Bush based his assertion that Schiavo should be kept alive on what he called  "new information" about her condition gleaned by William P. Cheshire, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., whom the state had asked to evaluate her condition. Cheshire has not formally examined Schiavo, but he did observe her at her bedside and review the videotapes of her appearing to react to her family. Bush said Cheshire had determined that Schiavo may be in a "minimally conscious" rather than a "persistent vegetative" state. The distinction is important because recent studies have suggested that patients in minimally conscious states might have some cognitive powers and may have hope of recovery.
 
  "Several times I witnessed Terri, albeit it inconsistently, laugh in response to a humorous comment someone in the room made," Cheshire wrote in an affidavit submitted to the Pinellas County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
 
  Cheshire's observation conflicts with the conclusions of court-appointed neurologists, who have examined her closely and say Schiavo's cerebral cortex has been liquefied and that she cannot feel, sense or think.
 
  Cheshire has been associated with the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, an organization formed in the 1990s by leading Christian bioethicists. A poem attributed to him about assisted suicide is posted on the Web site Ethics & Medicine (www.ethicsandmedicine.com):
 
  "The notion of a right to die/ In reason finds approval nil,/ From such a harsh judicial lie/ Would obligate doctors to kill."
 
  Although the conclusions of Cheshire and the attempted intervention by Bush stirred emotions on talk radio and in legal circles, the familiar wrenching scenes of the Schindler family's vigil played out in Pinellas Park. Mary Schindler, whose appearance outside the hospice is now routinely greeted by cheers from supporters, stood with her family again Wednesday and pleaded.
 
  "When I close my eyes at night, all I can see is Terri's face in front of me, dying, starving to death," she said. "Please, someone out there, stop this cruelty. Stop the insanity. Please let my daughter live."
 
  The demonstrators surrounding Schindler have maintained a mostly peaceful demeanor, quietly praying or silently holding signs. A small symbolic act lead to 10 arrests Wednesday morning when a group of protesters  --  including three children  --  tried to get around police and deliver water to Schiavo.
 
  The arrests were sandwiched between appeals court rulings that left the Schindlers with little hope in the federal courts, short of the U.S. Supreme Court taking the case. That seemed unlikely to many legal experts because the high court refused to hear appeals of state court rulings in the case, though new issues may have been raised by the congressional law that shifted jurisdictions to the federal courts. An appeals court panel voted 2 to 1 to reject the Schindlers' appeal, siding with attorneys for Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, who says his wife would have wanted her feeding tube removed. Later the full court refused to hear the case.
 
  "There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo," wrote Judges Ed Carnes and Frank M. Hull of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. "We all have our own family, our own loved ones, and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision."
 
 In dissent, Judge Charles R. Wilson wrote, "I fail to see any harm in reinserting the feeding tube."
 
  The judges ruling against the Schindlers have been the objects of great derision here in Pinellas Park, where demonstrators have carried signs that say "God's law" should supersede "man's law." As the adults argued about the court rulings, a 16-year-old girl named Katrina Munchmore stood balancing a 14-foot cross she had built Wednesday morning with her dad. A sign attached to the cross was inspired by the words Christians believe Jesus spoke before he died: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."
 
 Staff writer Dana Milbank and research editor Lucy Shackelford in Washington contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 24 03:44:42 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 24 03:47:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <1647715.1111664682684.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Tiananmen's Legacy
 
 By Jim Hoagland
 
    Nearly 16 amazing years have passed since Chinese soldiers slaughtered thousands of their fellow citizens protesting corruption and misrule. The Soviet empire, wars in the Balkans and in Iraq, and a flood of dot-com billionaires and paupers have come and/or gone in that busy time.
 
 So it came as no great surprise last autumn when Chinese officials made a quiet but insistent request to European Union leaders: You have changed. So have we. Lift the arms embargo imposed after the 1989 "events." The Chinese request seemed to be, well, another geopolitical slam-dunk.
 
 Except suddenly it isn't. The United States and Europe have stumbled into an increasingly bruising dispute over the efforts  of E.U. leaders to remove one of the few remaining symbols of international condemnation of a human rights atrocity.
 
 Score the fact that the dispute has broken out as a good thing. It delays a decision that should not be taken lightly. But there are also dangers  in the dispute  being pushed too far. European governments and the Bush administration must manage their differences on this to make clear, particularly to Beijing, what has  --  and has not  --  changed.
 
 The Chinese leadership has provoked exactly what it could not have wanted: renewed international attention to the meaning and legacy of the Tiananmen protests. That is the first useful purpose the U.S.-E.U. embargo tiff serves. Because China's government hides the truth about June 3 and 4, 1989  --  and the six weeks of protests that preceded the use of brute force  --  those events live on in China's political present and future.
 
  That remains true even though the E.U. arms embargo itself has long since been circumvented by China, which manufactures or imports from Russia all the arms it needs. The embargo is in many ways a tool of the past. Concentrating the debate on arms sales alone risks letting a symbolic tail wag a real dog.
 
  That is why there is merit to the European suggestion  that Washington  begin a "strategic dialogue" on China. The Europeans made that proposal last month during President Bush's trip to Europe, after turning aside U.S. ideas on drawing up new joint lists that would restrict arms and technology transfers to Beijing.
 
  The European proposal suffered from vagueness and  from not according a significant place to Japan in consultations about East Asia's future.
 
  Immediately after Bush's return from Europe and a high-level White House meeting, the administration began taking a progressively tougher line against lifting the embargo. Bush aides shifted from merely warning the Europeans of congressional retaliation to publicly voicing their own  opposition to the step. The  European Union has reportedly put the embargo decision on hold as a result of this harder line.
 
 But the administration will need to do more than hold out for technology control lists, which are overly reminiscent of the Cold War. Restrictive lists cannot deal with the most complex strategic issue the world will face in the coming two decades.
 
 That issue is the continuing emergence of China simultaneously as a global economic power and manufacturing hub, a regional military Goliath with irredentist claims, a diplomatic lightweight unwilling to lead constructively at the United Nations or elsewhere, a Leninist dictatorship that abuses the human rights of its people, and much more.
 
  It is difficult for anyone to focus meaningfully on the totality of China's multiple but related identities. Instead of acknowledging that, we tend to pick one to explain, deny or reshuffle the others.
 
 Business executives see the world's most impressive growth spurt, but they may miss the internal dislocation and corruption that accompany the growth  --  which is managed by a communist leadership that bases its claim to rule on the statistics of prosperity. Similarly, those of us who witnessed the Tiananmen Spring of protests tend to make human rights a salient guide to China.
 
 That is because time has not wiped away the essential truth the Chinese government continues to deny: The 1989 protests were among the greatest acts of mass valor and decency in that or any nation's history. Millions of people living in impoverished circumstances went to the streets to defend the lives and reputation of idealistic students, civil servants and workers who were seeking democratic change. The essential meaning of "Tiananmen" is one of Chinese glory and not shame, as the government's secrecy suggests.
 
 Strategic dialogues, or arms embargoes, will not produce much change until there is a government in Beijing that sees what happened almost 16 years ago that way. 
 
 jimhoagland@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 24 03:45:23 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 24 03:47:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <33217147.1111664723474.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Where Are the Democrats?
 
 By Richard Cohen
 
   Rep. Tom DeLay is called "The Hammer." He is a man of fierce beliefs who has long confused politics with war  --  religious war at that. At one time he would have been labeled an "extremist," the sort of politician  whom reporters seek out for colorful, wacko quotes. But now he is in the GOP mainstream where, among other things, he has bludgeoned the Democratic Party into pathetic meekness. On the Terri Schiavo debate, the party went AWOL.
 
 By late Sunday, when the debate had reached the House of Representatives, Barney Frank stood almost alone in opposing the bill. Cliches suffered. Here was an openly gay Democrat, the Massachusetts liberal of all Massachusetts liberals, defending the Founding Fathers, federalism and the American tradition of keeping the government's nose out of a family's business.
 
 It was a bravura performance and one could only have wished that it had been matched by John Kerry or Hillary Clinton  --  or any of the other Democrats who are being mentioned as presidential candidates. Most of them seemed to be cowering in some bunker, calling their consultants and pollsters, asking what they should do and how they should do it. Please, have a memo on the desk by morning.
 
  You could call this a misreading of public sentiment, and it is that, for sure. When the instant pollsters reported on their instant polls, it turned out that by lopsided majorities the public was appalled at what Congress had done. By a margin of 63 percent to 28 percent, an ABC News poll said Americans supported the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. An even larger majority  --  70 percent  --  opposed Congress getting into the act. And for some reason, 67 percent of those polled said Congress was more interested in scoring political points than in Terry Schiavo's fate. As they say in the red states, amen to that.
 
  Given those numbers, it would be reasonable to conclude that Republicans  --  the congressional leadership and, of course, the White House  --  went barking up the wrong political tree. No doubt. What's more, it's not even clear that the GOP solidified its base. Conservative Christians were probably gratified, but many political conservatives were appalled. These are the people who cherish tradition and hold the Constitution dear. When Congress  --  without a committee hearing or much real debate  --  pushed the Schiavo matter from Florida court jurisdiction, where it had been decided, to a federal one, you could almost hear conservatives gasp. This, after all, is what they had been lambasting liberals about for years.
 
  But for me the real loser was the Democratic Party. It showed that it's almost totally without leadership. If there is a national figure (other than Frank) who stood up and took on the GOP in this matter, his  --  or her  --  name does not come to mind. In the Senate, oddly enough, it was Virginia's John Warner who pointed out that he opposed the bill  --  and he's a Republican, for goodness' sake. The Democrats were nowhere.
 
  It's not hard to understand why. A vote against the bill would almost certainly be used by  some future campaign as a vote in favor of putting Schiavo to death. In a quick TV spot, that sort of stuff can do real damage. At the same time, a fair number of Democrats who were appalled by the bill were reluctant to put their colleagues on the spot. It might have been  okay for Ted Kennedy or John Kerry to oppose the bill  --  they come from Massachusetts, after all  --  but it could be a different story for some Democrat whose state is not quite so blue. Out of consideration for the imperiled, some tongues were clearly held. Still, it seemed that the party's highest principle was to have almost none at all.
 
  Once again, it was a Republican  --  Christopher Shays of Connecticut  --  who got it right. "This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy," he said. Bingo! It is DeLay and the Christian right  that set the agenda for the Republican Party and, therefore, for Congress. It is DeLay, whose religious zealotry prompted him to leap all sorts of constitutional barriers and go court-shopping,  who, have no doubt about it, would reshape this country in his religious image.
 
  Say what you will about DeLay, he is not afraid to state his beliefs and fight for them. Say what you will about the Democrats, they are. That's why DeLay's called "The Hammer." What would you call the Democrats? Never mind. When they're ready, they'll call you.
 
 cohenr@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 24 03:45:55 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 24 03:48:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23711204.1111664755565.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Welfare Junkies
 
 By Robert J. Samuelson
 
   We are a nation of closet welfare junkies, which helps explain why we can't have an honest  debate about Social Security. Social Security and Medicare are our biggest welfare programs, but because Americans regard "welfare" as shameful, we've found other labels for them. We call them "social insurance" or "entitlements." Anything but welfare. Democrats and Republicans alike embrace the deception. No one wants to upset older voters. Well, if you can't call something by its real name, you can't discuss it honestly.
 
 Welfare is a governmental transfer from one group to another for the benefit of those receiving. The transfer involves cash or services (health care, education). We have welfare for the poor, the old, the disabled, farmers and corporations. Social Security is mainly welfare. Workers' payroll taxes pay the benefits of today's retirees. The taxes aren't "saved" for the workers' own retirement. There have been huge disparities between taxes paid and benefits received.
 
 Ida May Fuller, the first retiree to receive benefits, in 1940, paid $24.75 and got almost a thousand times that ($22,888.92). In the 1950s and '60s, many beneficiaries received 10 or more times the amount their payroll taxes would have returned if invested in U.S. Treasury bonds and kept for retirees (they weren't). Indeed, most beneficiaries who retired before 2000 have received  --  or will receive  --  a surplus in benefits over what their taxes would have returned if similarly invested, write Sylvester Schieber and John Shoven in their history of Social Security, "The Real Deal." This surplus now has a present value of almost $16 trillion, says Schieber, head of research for the consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide. (Shoven is a Stanford University economist.) 
 
 Naturally, the elderly don't see themselves as freeloaders. They think they've "earned" their Social Security benefits by paying payroll taxes. As Schieber and Shoven note, the term "social insurance" dates to Bismarck in 19th-century Germany. But applying it to Social Security involved much political license. In normal usage, insurance suggests protection against something you don't expect to happen  --  a house fire, a car accident. By contrast, most people expect to grow old. Using the "terminology of insurance . . . [was intended] to mask the huge welfare payments being made," they write. People falsely believe they're "only getting what they have paid for." That is even less true of Medicare. In 2006 the Congressional Budget Office expects Medicare to cost $383 billion. Medicare premiums (paid by recipients) pay 12 percent; payroll taxes, 49 percent; general taxes and borrowing provide the rest.
 
 This mass deception may seem harmless. After all, most Social Security recipients have been responsible citizens and productive workers. Why accuse them of living on government handouts? The answer is that today's myths perpetuate unrealistic expectations and prevent honest debate. Americans regard "earned benefits" and "welfare" differently. The first is a right, the second a privilege. In theory, welfare should serve some public purpose and not just enrich the recipients. By admitting that Social Security and Medicare are welfare, we allow relevant questions to be raised. Do all beneficiaries "need" or "deserve" their welfare? Is the cost "unfair" to taxpayers or burdensome to the economy? Have the social and economic conditions that originally justified the welfare changed?
 
 For Social Security, they have. In 1935 Americans 65 and older were 6 percent of the population. They're now 12 percent and by 2030 are projected to be 20 percent. Most Americans can now save for their own retirement, including the cost of health insurance. The Social Security debate ought to involve moral values and economic realities. How generous a "safety net" for the elderly can a decent society afford without overtaxing the young or harming the economy? How can changes be made without being too disruptive? Instead, the debate has degenerated into an obscure technical exercise focused on baffling accounting concepts (trust fund "solvency," "unfunded liabilities").
 
 Despite what you've heard, the real issue is not Social Security's "solvency." It is the total cost to the government of baby boomers' retirement, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (which covers much nursing home care). The real issue is preventing  those costs from becoming economically oppressive and politically poisonous. Even if the Social Security trust fund is made permanently "solvent"  --  in the sense that taxes cover benefits  --  the costs of all federal retirement programs may still become undesirably high. In 2004 Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid were 8 percent of national income. Left alone, they'll reach 14.5 percent by 2030,  the Government Accountability Office projects. The CBO has made a similar projection.
 
 If these costs are too high (and I think they are), the only way to curb them is to cut benefits. Neither Democrats nor Republicans want to face that reality. President Bush's proposal for "personal accounts" diverts the debate. To enhance their appeal, he promises to exempt anyone 55 or older (anyone born in 1950 or earlier) from any benefit cuts. Some other proposals lower the exemption to 45 (anyone born in 1960 or earlier). Well, that covers most of the baby boom, which stretched from 1946 to 1964. If the real problem is the baby boomers' retirement costs and you exempt baby boomers from benefit cuts, then by definition you ignore the problem.
 
 On these issues, we can't think straight unless we talk straight. We can't control our welfare habit unless we admit our addiction. Don't hold your breath. 
 
   

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From sierrapecheur at verizon.net  Thu Mar 24 05:11:01 2005
From: sierrapecheur at verizon.net (Sierra Pecheur)
Date: Thu Mar 24 05:13:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Look at that! Grow your own!
Message-ID: <002001c53072$edc01280$71cf1d04@xplcp>

The article is wonderful. Sierra
:;
Subject: Re: rock dust growing vegetables in Scotland

Hello Folks

Many of you may be aware of a book that came out twenty years ago entitled ""The Survival of Civilization" by John Hamaker and Don Weaver. This book was a particular favorite of the late Dr. John Ray's, and one that he spent much time lecturing about in the late 1980s at his own seminars. The book deals with the demineralization of the earth through a combination of natural forces as well as mankind's own activities, and puts for the theory that the earth is periodically remineralized through the action of glaciers during ice ages. It also discusses the use of finely ground rock dust to remineralize soil, basically mimicking the action of the glaciers.

Anyways, here is an article about a couple in Scotland who've applied Hamaker and Weaver's ideas to their own little farm, and have managed to take a previously barren bit of land and turn it into a wonderfully fertile place using rock dust from their local quarry. This was sent to me by my good friend Peter Hinde from England -- many thanks as always, Peter!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/beyond/factsheets/changing8_prog3.shtml
http://bbc.co.uk/education/beyond/factsheets/changing8_prog3.shtml 
Cheers

Doug

-- 

******************************************************************** 

Douglas Morrison
<doug@d-w-m.com> <mailto:doug@d-w-m.com> 
www.d-w-m.com <http://www.d-w-m.com> 


******************************************************************** 

    
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 24 07:08:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 07:10:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Threat to Iraqi Women
Message-ID: <20050324150820.1437D1645D2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 24, 2005

Editorial: A Threat to Iraqi Women


The United States cannot be complicit in allowing politicians in Iraq to subordinate the goal of a free, democratic and unified country to their own narrow agendas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/opinion/24thu1.html?ex=1112331600&en=dc634a7897c7c983&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 24 07:08:51 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 07:11:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: George W. to George W.
Message-ID: <20050324150851.1389D1C284@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 24, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: George W. to George W.
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Killing prisoners of war, presumably in the act of torture, is an inexcusable outrage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/opinion/24friedman.html?ex=1112331600&en=3bea1361dfc2dd66&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 24 07:09:23 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 07:11:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: DeLay, Deny and Demagogue
Message-ID: <20050324150936.A8D0411F884@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 24, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: DeLay, Deny and Demagogue
By MAUREEN DOWD

The president and his ideological partners don't believe in separation of powers. They just believe in their own power.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/opinion/24dowd.html?ex=1112331600&en=ecf826b9fd248e01&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 24 07:09:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 07:12:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Wall of Faith and History
Message-ID: <20050324150948.1FD943AE52B@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 24, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: A Wall of Faith and History
By DAVID FROMKIN

Why the Mideast's 2005 is unlike Europe's 1989.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/opinion/24fromkin.html?ex=1112331600&en=88f2aa80d84c08b5&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 24 07:12:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 07:14:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S.-Backed Iraqis Raid Camp and Report
	Killing 80 Insurgents
Message-ID: <20050324151233.F041A3880CA@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 24, 2005

U.S.-Backed Iraqis Raid Camp and Report Killing 80 Insurgents
By EDWARD WONG

Iraqi and U.S. forces raided what appeared to be the largest guerrilla training camp to be discovered in the war.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/international/middleeast/24iraq.html?ex=1112331600&en=9472d5bf1bbb782e&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 24 07:13:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 07:15:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Nuclear Accord Eludes Iran and Europeans
Message-ID: <20050324151311.0EA9613B7F1@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | March 24, 2005

Nuclear Accord Eludes Iran and Europeans
By ELAINE SCIOLINO

Iran and Europe struggled without success to break an impasse over an agreement on nuclear, economic and security cooperation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/international/europe/24iran.html?ex=1112331600&en=5770f175e244221b&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 24 08:10:19 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 24 08:12:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Protesters oust Kyrgyz government
Message-ID: <20050324_161019_093843.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
speaking of revolution

** Protesters oust Kyrgyz government **
The opposition in Kyrgyzstan says it has control of the capital Bishkek after seizing the president's palace.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4379441.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 24 08:11:15 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 24 08:13:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Inquiry into Texas oil plant fire
Message-ID: <20050324_161115_077315.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Inquiry into Texas oil plant fire **
US investigators seek the cause of a huge blast at an oil refinery that killed 14 people and injured more than 100.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4378825.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 24 08:13:52 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 24 08:16:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Elephants learn by sound mimicry
Message-ID: <20050324_161352_069717.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Elephants learn by sound mimicry **
Elephants learn some of their calls through imitation, scientists report in this week's Nature magazine.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4377297.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 24 08:15:07 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 24 08:17:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Second bird flu case in Cambodia
Message-ID: <20050324_161507_040234.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
"scores" with flu-like symptoms

** Second bird flu case in Cambodia **
A 28-year-old man becomes the second person in Cambodia to die from the latest outbreak of bird flu.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4378201.stm >


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From geomilman at milman.com  Thu Mar 24 08:27:34 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Thu Mar 24 08:30:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Moore's Law - The tale of a frivolous rule of thumb ... 
Message-ID: <20050324162739.6A4F52270DC@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

 
<http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_
id=3798505&amp;subjectID=348909&amp;fsrc=nwl&amp;emailauth=%2527%2528%2540%2
522%253EK%255EO%255CRA%2528%255C%250A>
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_i
d=3798505&amp;subjectID=348909&amp;fsrc=nwl&amp;emailauth=%2527%2528%2540%25
22%253EK%255EO%255CRA%2528%255C%250A

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From geomilman at milman.com  Thu Mar 24 08:33:35 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Thu Mar 24 08:36:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Galapagos Islands - Endangered Eden
Message-ID: <20050324163341.EC4652270D2@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

 
<http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_
id=3797415&amp;subjectID=348924&amp;fsrc=nwl&amp;emailauth=%2527%2528%2540%2
522%253E4%252CWFVA%2528%253C%250A>
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_i
d=3797415&amp;subjectID=348924&amp;fsrc=nwl&amp;emailauth=%2527%2528%2540%25
22%253E4%252CWFVA%2528%253C%250A

 

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From geomilman at milman.com  Thu Mar 24 08:35:56 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Thu Mar 24 08:38:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] L.A. Times Editorial - Rehnquist's Test
Message-ID: <20050324163600.7BB3B83DC8@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

 
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-schiavo24mar24,0,35163
33.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials>
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-schiavo24mar24,0,351633
3.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials

 

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From geomilman at milman.com  Thu Mar 24 08:29:37 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Thu Mar 24 08:40:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] China protects its trees, devours others...
Message-ID: <20050324163751.9CDDE11F86C@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

 
<http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_
id=3795330&amp;subjectID=348924&amp;fsrc=nwl&amp;emailauth=%2527%2528%2540%2
522%253E4LKDWQ%2528L%250A>
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_i
d=3795330&amp;subjectID=348924&amp;fsrc=nwl&amp;emailauth=%2527%2528%2540%25
22%253E4LKDWQ%2528L%250A

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From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Wed Mar 23 21:49:59 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Thu Mar 24 09:06:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Money Shot
Message-ID: <20050324054959.62200.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 24 09:23:25 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 09:26:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_Guant=E1namo_Detainee?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?s_Make_Their_Case?=
Message-ID: <20050324172338.E682C9FD79@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


NATIONAL | March 24, 2005

Guantánamo Detainees Make Their Case
By NEIL A. LEWIS

More than 500 prisoners are being reviewed under the latest military legal proceeding designed to reduce Guantánamo's prison population.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/national/24gitmo.html?ex=1112331600&en=c1aa78fdcec99b33&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za  Wed Mar 23 23:40:57 2005
From: djinbaqr at tiscali.co.za (peter baker)
Date: Thu Mar 24 09:57:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] cheese
Message-ID: <200503241757.j2OHvORu015543@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

bear
......our friend cheese seems determined to misunderstand me....revolution, in order to work, requires an enormous turn out of the public...i'm talking here in excess of one million bodies...let us remember what happened in georgia....a huge crowd [far too many for the police to have any effect] stormed into the houses of parliament and edvard shevanadze was out....then look at the recent events in ukraine, a huge crowd occupied the town centre and refused to disperse til they got justice....they won....now we have similar events in krgystan [spelling?] where so many people rioted that the police ran away.....two years ago over one million people marched in london to protest the iraq war...only these were "civilised" british folk and they peacefully demonstrated and went home...the result a complete failure...what, i wonder, would have happened had this huge crowd stormed parliament and kicked out tony blair??????? madbaker
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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Thu Mar 24 06:41:25 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Thu Mar 24 10:43:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Fereydoun Hoveyda on the U.N. and Kofi Annan
In-Reply-To: <94e9082993775653b07cabbf2f93fe36@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503241843.j2OIh70Q015724@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

    
------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 17:21:42 -0500
Subject: Fereydoun Hoveyda on the U.N. and Kofi Annan

Fereydoun Hoveyda

The piano and its stool
How to reform the United Nations

March 22, 2005
iranian.com

  U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan  has proposed a series of reforms of
the world organization, including  new rules for use of military force
and adopting a tough anti-terrorism  treaty that would. Among other
things he is seeking to enlarge  the membership of the Security
Council, overhaul the discredited  Human Rights  Commission, increase
development  aid and debt relief to poor countries and stem the
proliferation  of weapons of mass destruction.

  Obviously, the Secretary General whose term in office will end  in
about two years, wants to appear as the restorer of international
confidence in a body that has been traumatized in the past three  years
by divisions over the war in Iraq and revelations of financial
improprieties and sexual misconduct by U.N. personnel. Even if  he
fails to move Member States on the road to reform, Annan would  at
least be remembered for trying to bring the 60-year-old organization
up to date.

  Annan has titled his report to the General  Assembly: "In  Larger
Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights  For All". It
is based on the conclusions of  a high-level panel of specialists he
himself nominated in 2003.

  Ambitious as it is, the Secretary General's proposals are not  new or
surprising. The ideas it contains have been discussed more  or less
privately over  the years, to no avail. During my years of  association
with the U.N. system, either on the governmental or  secretariate
levels, I had heard similar suggestions. Member  States always resist
new ideas. They don't want to alter  institutions or ways of dealing
with matters that are benefitial  to them.

  Already some major  Member States have objected to parts of Annan's
report. Most  of the proposals are, if I may say so, too large to
handle. Even  if consensus could be reached, they would take years to
implement.  Yet  Annan and other reform-minded  people insist on the
urgency of the reforms to restore the credibility of a badly battered
U.N.

  While reading last December the report of the high-level panel,  and
now Mr. Annan's proposals, which are more or less the  same, a
childhood memory popped in my mind.

  Back in the 1930s,  the celebrated European clown Grock was prepared
to retire. In  one of his farewell appearances he tried to play a
piano. He sat  on  the stool and extended his arms. But his fingers did
not reach  the board. He got up and attempted to push the huge piano
towards  the stool, provoking hearty laughs from the audience.

  The ideas put forth by Annan -- and other reform-minded people  for
that matter -- remind me of my childhood clown! Instead of  moving the
stool,  they are trying  to push the heavy piano.

  Indeed not the problem is not the number of seats in the Security
Council or in the Commission of Human Rights. Rather what is ailing the
United Nations is the fact that Member States often  disregard the
principles on which it was (and still should be)  based.

  The U.S. Charter, for instance, proclaims  that one of the purposes of
the U.N. is to promote and encourage  "respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all without  distinction as to race, sex
,language or religion  " (article one , paragraph 3). It particularly
reaffirms  "faith  in... the dignity and worth of the human person, in
the equal  rights of men and women."

  How many of U.N.'s 191 members respect and apply these principles?
Actually more than two-thirds  ignore them, either totally or in part.
Under these circumstances  can one expect a smooth and positive
operation of the organization?  Adding seats to the Security Council
would not change  things.

  Yet there is a simple way of correcting this sorry situation.  I think
it is the principal duty of the Secretary General to list  in his
annual report to the General Assembly the names of countries  that are
in violation of the principles of the Charter. But  to perform such a
duty, the Secretary General  should serve only one term so that he
would not feel compelled  to enlist the backing of Member States for
re-election.

  If  after  several  years  countries  violating the Charter do not
change their ways, they should be  deprived of the right to vote.  In
the 1960s, South Africa was singled out because of its Apartheid
policies and after several warnings, its voting right within U.N.
organizations was suspended.

  This should become a common policy. Indeed if Member States,  big or
small, powerful or weak, respect and apply basic  principles of human
rights, then the the U.N. will function  properly. This is an easy
reform which can be carried out immediately  and without difficulty.

  Most reform advocates, including Annan, insist that the U.N.  should
reflect the changes that have taken place in the world.  I diasgree. In
my opinion it is the new  world that must reflect principles and values
of the United  Nations' Charter.
---

URL: http://www.iranian.com/FereydounHoveyda/2005/March/UN/index.html

------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Thu Mar 24 06:48:21 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Thu Mar 24 10:44:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: The Economics of Oil 
In-Reply-To: <14c676964613274208df8e509f98a50c@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503241844.j2OIicx2015737@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:35:29 -0500
Subject: The Economics of Oil

The Christian Science Monitor

March 24, 2005

A poorer OPEC no longer spreads its wealth
By David R. Francis

  In the bad old days of an oil embargo and gasoline lines, Americans at
least got billions of petrodollars back from the oil-rich Middle East.

  That money got recycled into the United States, mostly in safe bank
deposits. The banks then invested it at great risk in Latin America and
elsewhere.

So this time as gasoline prices soar again - an average $2.11 cents a
gallon this week in the US - some Americans may be expecting another
influx of Mideast cash. They shouldn't. The petrodollar is losing its
international clout.

That trend says much about how oil-rich nations have changed, often for
the worst, despite the big windfalls they're currently reaping.

"Oil is a curse, not a blessing" for oil producers, says Leo Drollas,
chief economist of the Center for Global Energy Studies in London.
"They tend to blow [their oil money]." Some nations spend it on arms
and other military costs, some on job creation or bureaucrats' pay.

One of the key drivers is demographics. The population of most Middle
East nations has about doubled in the past 30 years. Population has
also soared in other OPEC nations. That means more youths to feed,
educate, and house - at a cost. It also explains why seven of the 11
nations that make up the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) are poorer (or no richer) today per capita than they were in
1974.

So instead of investing their petrodollars abroad this time, most OPEC
nations have ways to spend or use them at home.

Saudi Arabia's government, for instance, is repaying some $12 billion a
year of the $160 billion it had borrowed from domestic pension funds in
prior years to cover its deficits. Other OPEC members also are using
extra oil money to reduce budget deficits.

Venezuela's President Hugo Ch?vez is spending it on programs to bolster
his political base, the nation's poor. Nigeria and Indonesia are
heavily in debt, and find no trouble in spending every extra dime.

Another factor behind the reduced outflow of petrodollars: The price of
oil today has not reached the peak in 1981, if inflation is factored
in. Moreover, the record $57 a barrel reached this week in oil markets
exaggerates the return to many OPEC members. It is for high-quality
crude, not the heavier oils that many fields provide. The average price
is less than $35 a barrel, says A.F. Alhajji, an economist at Ohio
Northern University's business school in Ada.

Of the petrodollars that do leave home, fewer find their way to the US.
In a post-9/11 scene, citizens of the Middle East are uneasy about
traveling to America to splurge. They expect to be fingerprinted and
possibly face other indignities at the airports.

Oil money going abroad is now spent mostly in Europe and Asia. And
that's in spite of the fact that the decline of the dollar - by 40
percent against the euro - makes US goods cheaper.

While OPEC may seem to be riding high as oil prices soar, its influence
is limited. Except for Saudi Arabia, members have only marginal
influence in setting prices.

For example, several ministers of the cartel would like to see prices
drop to the low $40s or high $30s, says John Lichtblau, an economist at
the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation in New York. They fear
today's relatively high prices could reduce demand for their oil by
slowing the world economy, prompting more conservation, and encouraging
more output in non-OPEC countries.

But they're having a hard time getting markets to go along.

Meeting in Iran last week, OPEC pledged an immediate 1.9 percent rise
in its overall quota to 27.5 million barrels per day. Ministers spoke
of raising their output ceiling by 500,000 barrels per day, and maybe
another 500,000 b.p.d. in May. Talks about the latter hike are already
under way, says the Saudi oil minister.

Oil markets were not impressed, however. Prices stayed above $57 a
barrel. It may be that speculators have pushed up oil's price by buying
futures - delivery of oil in the months ahead. But most market experts
agree that rapidly rising demand, especially from China and India, has
put a strain on surplus capacity.

The Iraq war hasn't helped. Before the conflict, it exported 3 million
b.p.d. Because of sabotage, Iraq now exports 2 million b.p.d. at best.

OPEC can't do much about these factors. "One shouldn't blame OPEC for
high prices," says Mr. Lichtblau.

Within the cartel today, only Saudi Arabia can raise output decidedly,
from about 9.5 million b.p.d. now to 11 million over a short period of
time. Other OPEC members together might stretch to get another 500,000
b.p.d., he says.

In reality, OPEC has been mostly a failure as a cartel. OPEC first
introduced quotas in 1983, long after its founding in 1960. When oil
prices were dropping, these quotas "kept prices higher than they would
have been," says Lichtblau.

But it hasn't been particularly effective when demand is growing,
despite appearances.

It has no punishment mechanism for cheaters, Professor Alhajji says.
(The Saudis have acted independently, punishing nations by flooding the
market and driving down prices.) OPEC has no buffer stocks, no division
of the market, and an insufficient market share (40 percent) to be
effective.

The International Energy Agency in Paris expects growth in demand to
slow to 1.5 million b.p.d this year. That may not be enough to trim
prices.
---

  Copyright ? 2005 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0324/p16s01-cogn.htm

------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Thu Mar 24 10:20:43 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Thu Mar 24 10:45:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Going soft on Iran
In-Reply-To: <59d9f18d84ef03bf2b5b6d452dcbc5d9@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503241845.j2OIjOh2015747@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:19:54 -0500
Subject: Going soft on Iran

This article was written in 2004, but it is worth a reread:

The Temptation of America's Foreign Policy "Realists"

by Reuel Marc Gerecht:




------ End of Forwarded Message

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 24 11:33:04 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 24 11:35:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Transforming the Earth
Message-ID: <BE6855F0.1F7F1%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Sierra,
Interesting and super
Thanks
Michael

From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 24 12:25:23 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 12:27:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
Message-ID: <8919099.1111695923015.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 24 12:27:49 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 12:30:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Columnists - John Gapper:
	General Motors' warning to the world 
Message-ID: <470112.1111696069082.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Thu Mar 24 11:38:39 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Thu Mar 24 12:33:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: 'Something was going to happen =?iso-8859-1?q?=AD?=
	it was 	going to be me or him'  
In-Reply-To: <2936dff97adc0dcfc4c8f684c4b91b82@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503242033.j2OKXMSj016149@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:52:13 -0500
Subject: 'Something was going to happen ? it was going to be me or him'


TIMES online / UK
Middle East


  March 18, 2005


'Something was going to happen ? it was going to be me or him'

By Nicholas Blanford, Richard Beeston and James Bone

An investigation by The Times finds clear evidence that Syria
assassinated Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese politician



To read full article, please go to:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-1530888_1,00.html



------ End of Forwarded Message

From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Thu Mar 24 11:47:26 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Thu Mar 24 12:34:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: GOOD QUESTION !
In-Reply-To: <3d364e6cc631738c4c45e5f10dd0c323@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503242034.j2OKYB0s016159@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 12:25:48 -0500
Subject: GOOD QUESTION !

Iran va Jahan

Thursday, March 24, 2005

  Illegitimate Regime and Fraudulent Elections


  March 24, 2005
Iran va Jahan
Shaheen Fatemi


  In spite of the long 2-week New Year holiday in Iran, the political
pot continues to boil. Taking advantage of the holiday mood and the
absence of students on campuses, the regime is trying to seize the
initiative by putting forth a vast propaganda scheme around the theme
of 'presidential election' scheduled for June of 2005. The nature of
the public reaction to this latest version of deceitful 'democratic'
pretension of the regime ranges from indifference to outright
hostility.

  The clerics ruling Iran have played many hoaxes on the gullible world
press and public opinion. These range from their deceitful nuclear
shell game to 'accidental' death of Zahra Kazemi, who died of
'heart-attack' while she was being tortured in 'judicial custody.'
Their so-called 'elections,' in my opinion top all their other games
and no journalist or so-called 'western expert' has ever tried to
honestly expose this colossal fraud.

  Free and honest elections are the oxygen of democracies. Without them
no government system can claim legitimacy. They are the best and so far
the only mechanism guaranteeing representative government. The
mechanical aspect of marking a secret ballot and depositing it in the
ballot-box is only the tip of the iceberg. Many other aspects of
democratic process such as freedom of speech and assembly as well as a
free press are sine qua non of this exercise. If candidates are not
free to speak and express themselves and/or the press is not free to
publish and broadcast these views, the public can not be fully informed
and therefore unable to reach an informed judgment as a basis of choice
among the candidates.

The question of eligibility of candidates is generally established by
law and is generally restricted to specifications such as nationality,
age and residence. Every citizen that meets such requirements is
eligible to vote. Any other arbitrary restriction imposed by the
government is a violation of rights of the citizens and violates
fundamental human rights.

For the past twenty-six years every one of these principles has been
violated during the elections in IRI and no international objection has
been raised. No one has asked how a regime could claim democratic
legitimacy when it violates the most fundamental pre-requisites of a
fair and free election. Let us look at the facts:

    1.      Freedom of the press has not existed in the Islamic Republic
even 
for one day during its entire life. According to impartial
international organizations such as Amnesty International and
'Reporters Without Borders' there are more journalists in jail and more
newspapers banned in Iran than any other country in the world.
    2.       Freedom of assembly is denied to the people of Iran. Over the
past two-decades there has not been one single street demonstration
allowed. All forms of public protests are forbidden unless authorized
by the government. Permits for such gatherings are not issued to groups
which are not puppets of the regime. Whenever there is any spontaneous
gathering of people, plain-clothes security and intelligence agents or
hoodlums hired by the regime invade the gathering, brutalize the
civilians and leave the scene. Then the uniform security forces arrive
and arrest everyone for illegal assembly!
    3.      Judicial protection which is fundamental to the functioning of
any democratic society has been denied to the Iranian public including
candidates and the electorate. Even the lawyers who attempt to
represent dissidents are arrested and put in jail. The judicial system
instead of serving as a bastion of support for the citizens against
transgressions of the state has become an instrument of suppression and
part of the state security system.
    4.      On top of all these barriers to the free exercise of electoral
rights there is one additional handicap. After the candidates register
their name, a group of Mullahs appointed by other non-elected officials
will decide on the 'suitability' of the candidates. During every
election since the revolution hundreds and sometimes thousands of
legitimate candidates have been barred from running on absolutely
arbitrary grounds by this committee.

It is because of these basic violations of citizen's rights that
recently more and more elections are being boycotted by the people and
only a very small fraction of the electorate pay any attention to these
fraudulent and deceitful acts. The question remains why the European
governments who all have embassies in Tehran and are fully aware of
these facts, continue to deal with the Mullahs as if they were
legitimate representatives of the Iranian people?
---

http://www.iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2005&m=03&d=24&a=4

------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 24 12:38:41 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 24 12:41:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] One-Way Planet - TomDispatch
Message-ID: <BE686551.1F80B%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

One-Way Planet

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2284

Quote of the day: "I don't think that the world gives us the luxury of
picking areas," [Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas] Feith said.
"We have interests all over the world. I dare say that if anybody before
September 11, 2001, was listing places that we would want to focus on as a
matter of priority, Afghanistan would have been rather low on the list."
(John Hedren, Policy OKs First Strike to Protect US, the Los Angeles Times)

At breakfast a couple of weeks back, having made my way through the sports
section and chomping on the last of a morning bagel, I picked up the
front-page of my hometown paper and a headline caught my eye -- Data Lacking
on Iran's Arms, U.S. Panel Says. Not exactly a barnburner, but I was curious
nonetheless. The piece by reporters Douglas Jehl and Eric Schmitt focused on
a "nine-member bipartisan presidential panel, led by Laurence Silberman, a
retired federal judge, and Charles S. Robb, a former governor and senator
from Virginia." Appointed by the President, evidently to look into the state
of American intelligence, the panel had been given "unrestricted access to
the most senior people and the most sensitive documents of the intelligence
agencies," and was soon due to report back to Bush. However, material from
its report had been leaked to the two New York Times reporters, who led with
what seemed the news of the second:

    "A commission due to report to President Bush this month will describe
American intelligence on Iran as inadequate to allow firm judgments about
Iran's weapons programs, according to people who have been briefed on the
panel's work."

The piece was fairly typical of this sort of reporting in our imperial
press. If anything, the anonymous sourcing was even vaguer than usual: That
"according to people who have been briefed" was about as specific as it got,
revealing next to nothing to a reader who wasn't a devotee of
inside-the-Beltway, intra-bureaucratic wars. Perhaps this was another leak
in the CIA's ongoing guerrilla struggle with the President (and new Agency
boss, Porter Goss). Perhaps those well-briefed souls or spooks came from
somewhere else entirely.

Still, to an outsider, it did look as though the information might have been
leaked by someone (or ones) disturbed by the administration's drive to find,
twist, or create evidence for a reasonably imminent Iranian bomb (and so by
the campaign lurking behind those claims to take out the present Iranian
regime in a repeat of our recent Iraqi experience). You might then say that
this piece, however drab and obscure, was on the side of the gods.

What actually struck me, however, were the following paragraphs which lay at
the heart of the piece:

    "One person who described the panel's deliberations and conclusions
characterized American intelligence on Iran as ?scandalous,' given the
importance and relative openness of the country, compared with such an
extreme case as North Korea.

    "That person and others who have been briefed on the panel's work would
not be more specific in describing the inadequacies. But former government
officials who are experts on Iran say that while American intelligence
agencies have devoted enormous resources to Iran since the Islamic
revolution of 1979, they have had little success in the kinds of human
spying necessary to understand Iranian decision-making.

    "Among the major setbacks, former intelligence officials have said, was
the successful penetration in the late 1980's by Iranian authorities of the
principal American spy network inside the country, which was being run from
a C.I.A. station in Frankfurt. The arrests of reported American spies was
known at the time, but the impact on American intelligence reverberated as
late as the mid-1990's."

Now, for anyone, there are moments when the norm falls away and the
previously normal suddenly seems slightly absurd. Sitting over the breakfast
table, pondering these paragraphs, I found myself trying to imagine what
this piece would look like from an Iranian point of view; or rather, I tried
to imagine the unimaginable -- an Iranian equivalent:

    On the front page of the English-language Tehran Times or a major
Iranian paper, two journalists report on a special commission established by
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to reassess Iranian intelligence. They
describe the news leaked to them: Iranian intelligence on the United States
is now a hopeless scandal, the commission report will say, even though the
U.S. is a reasonably "open" country. Thanks to a major setback two decades
ago, the roll-up by the FBI of an Iranian spy network centered in Washington
DC (but operating out of Halifax, Canada), Iranian intelligence has next to
no boots on the ground at a moment when nothing is more important than
grasping the contours of the U.S. nuclear program. (This is crucial, though
the piece doesn't quite say so, because the government is considering an air
attack on key American nuclear sites in the near future.) "It is
scandalous," the Iranian reporters quote their "well briefed" sources as
saying, "a genuine failure of Iranian intelligence," and given the
importance of the issue, the implications are clear: It must be rectified.

Of course, were the Iranian press to publish such a piece (inconceivable for
so many reasons), can you imagine the reaction here? An open discussion --
call it, from the American perspective, an admission -- on the front-page of
a major paper in a hostile nation of their previous failure to sustain
massive spy operations inside our country and of the obvious need to rectify
that failure? Just think what Russ Limbaugh or the pundits at Fox news, no
less the major TV networks, would do with that one. My guess is that it
would be taken as little short of a cause for war.

And yet, we do feel quite free to appoint commissions to look into such
matters and then to discuss them on the front pages of our newspapers -- and
the full range of discussion on such subjects these days runs only from
whether our intelligence on Iran and its nuclear program is too "inadequate"
for the judgments necessary to take further action against that country to
just how large a network to set up within Iran to get us the information
that it is our right to have. That is normalcy.

The thought that there might be anything strange about setting up massive
spy operations inside another country (or, in fact, inside, above, and
around just about any country on Earth) is really now beyond discussion,
beyond thought. This is hardly surprising in an America where it's assumed
that our "intelligence community" must grow ever vaster via an ever
proliferating set of agencies, ever better funded, for ever more covert
acts, done ever more freely in ever more places.

To think otherwise increasingly -- and in an increasing range of areas --
has come to feel unnatural. And to consider what our assumptions might look
like from the perspective of other peoples, other nations, is really beyond
the bounds -- not so much impermissible as just something that never comes
to mind. Of course, the whole thrust of the Bush administration has been to
emphasize that the United States has a right to do anything -- forget
international treaties, alliances, conventions, usages, agreements, opinion,
or even the issue of national sovereignty -- without regard to others; and,
so far, in terms of what can be brought up in the American mainstream, they
have been remarkably successful in advancing this perspective.

Globe-girding Bombs and Hunter-Killer Planes

Think of this dispatch then as a little series of thought experiments,
bouncing off recent news reports, meant to indicate how the range of what's
debatable, what's "normal," what simply comes to mind, has narrowed in
recent years.

But first a couple of news reports from the Washington Post. On March 16, in
a piece headlined Pentagon Has Far-Reaching Defense Spacecraft in Works,
Walter Pincus wrote:

    "The Pentagon is working to develop a suborbital space capsule within
the next five years that would be launched from the United States and could
deliver conventional weapons anywhere in the world within two hours, defense
officials said? Because CAVs [Common Aero Vehicles], unlike missiles, can be
recalled, they could be launched toward a potential target even before a
final decision was made to attack? The first-generation CAV, expected to be
ready by 2010, will have ?an incredible capability to provide the warfighter
with a global reach capability against high payoff targets,' Gen. Lance W.
Lord, commander of Air Force Space Command, told the House Armed Services
Committee last Wednesday? The system could, Lord said, ?deliver a
conventional payload precisely on target within minutes of a valid command
and control release order?' Last October, the Pentagon announced deployment
of its first mobile ground-based system that could temporarily disrupt
satellite-based communications from an enemy satellite."

And on March 22, Pincus, on the high-tech weaponry beat, reported (Predator
to See More Combat):

    "The newest version of the Air Force's Predator unpiloted aircraft will
perform primarily ?hunter-killer' missions, according to newly available
Pentagon documents? According to unclassified budget material, ?The aircraft
is being designed primarily to prosecute critical emerging time-sensitive
targets as a radar-based attack asset with on-board hard-kill capability.'
The Predator B will fly at 50,000 feet, twice the altitude capable by its
predecessor, and will carry seven times the munitions load. It will be able
to stay aloft for more than 30 hours, covering targets hundreds of miles
from its land base."

Pincus is a skilled reporter, but the pieces are essentially technical in
nature. Even the term "hunter-killer" isn't defined or discussed, although
the Pentagon's ground based versions of the same -- "hunter-killer teams" --
are essentially meant to be international assassination squads sent out to
"kick down the doors" of sovereignty and kill our assumed enemies wherever
they may be, whenever we choose to do so.

So in the near enough future we'll have both land and airborne
"hunter-killer" assassination capabilities and a weapon, hovering in the
previously unweaponized heavens, capable of landing powerful munitions
almost instantly anywhere on Earth. What we're clearly dealing with here is
the Pentagon version of a hunter-killer principle raised to a planetary
level, though none of this -- including the subject of giving free rein to
an international assassination regime -- is likely to be considered or
discussed in such pieces or others on similar subjects.

However, all of this, as Pincus indicates, has to be put in the context of
the newest Pentagon document, the National Defense Strategy just signed by
Donald Rumsfeld, which defines priorities for the various branches of the
military in the coming years. It should be read, but it's been well summed
up by the indefatigable Jim Lobe of Inter Press Service. In essence, it
emphasizes preemptive war; codifies "preventive" war; endorses unilateralism
in global affairs; denies safety from attack to those nations that do not
"exercise their sovereignty responsibly" or that "use the principle of
sovereignty as a shield" for nefarious activities, as we define them; and,
as Lobe summarizes the document, insists that U.S. freedom of action must
also be assured "in and from the global commons, including space and
cyberspace, as well as international waters and airspace? Key goals ...are
to ensure our access to and use of space, and to deny hostile exploitation
of space to adversaries."

It's in this context that we might consider a front-page,
anonymously-sourced, New York Times piece Steven R. Weisman wrote on March
22, headlined Europeans Said to Keep Embargo on Arms to China. Datelined
Washington, it begins:

    "Yielding to pressure from President Bush and threats of retaliation
from Congress, the European Union has put off plans to lift its arms embargo
on China this spring and may not press the issue until next year, American
and European officials said Monday. The officials said that in addition to
American pressure, European nations have been shaken by the recent adoption
of legislation by the Chinese National People's Congress authorizing the use
of force to stop Taiwan from seceding. The Chinese action, they said, jolted
France and undercut its moves to end the embargo before June."

Now, let's try to imagine the unimaginable, a mirror-image piece in the
leading Chinese paper, the People's Daily:

    Beijing -- Yielding to pressure from President Hu Jintao and threats of
retaliation from the National People's Congress, the European Union has put
off plans to lift its arms embargo on the United States this spring and may
not press the issue until next year, Chinese and European officials said
Monday. The officials said that in addition to Chinese pressure, European
nations have been shaken by the Pentagon's recent adoption of a planning
document that would authorize the employment of high-technology weaponry and
the use of force globally, without reference to sovereignty, to assassinate
foes of choice or make war on any nation that it declares not to have used
its "sovereignty responsibly." The Pentagon's action, they said, jolted
France and undercut its moves to end the embargo before June.

Alternately, imagine a People's Daily piece that began this way:

    Beijing -- Chinese military officials announced last week that Chinese
scientists are working on a suborbital spacecraft, launchable from China by
the year 2010, and capable of delivering conventional weapons anywhere in
the world within two hours. In addition, the same military officials
indicated that a new generation of Chinese unpiloted aircraft would soon be
in the skies ready to undertake "hunter-killer" missions anywhere that
China's enemies may reside. These two developments were backed up by the
Chinese military's new strategic assessment of its mission in the world,
made public this week, that declared no nation committing acts the Chinese
considered dangerous to its homeland security would be able to hide behind
the "shield of national sovereignty."

Okay, dream on. But if you don't think that there would be both panic and
outrage in this country, given the appearance of anything like either of the
above pieces, you're the dreamer. As it happens, the American desire to
force the Europeans to continue their embargo on China is based on an
expansion of Chinese military power far more modest than anything dreamed of
in the Pentagon's heavens.

Mission Creep (or Is It Leap?)

On March 19, Ann Scott Tyson of the Washington Post offered an interesting
portrait of our over-stretched military in crisis (Two Years Later, Iraq War
Drains Military): its recruitment problems, its strains, its equipment
breakdowns, and its fears for the future. ("'What keeps me awake at night
is, what will this all-volunteer force look like in 2007?' Gen. Richard A.
Cody, Army vice chief of staff, said at a Senate hearing this week.") This
sense of crisis has, for instance, forced the National Guard and Reserves to
raise their recruitment age limits from 34 to 40; and recruiters, even with
ever richer financial inducements to offer, are still struggling to fill
quotas. Quite typically, though, Tyson's piece assumes that there is only
one solution imaginable to the crisis. As she puts it:

    "The Iraq war has also led to a drop in the overall readiness of U.S.
ground forces to handle threats at home and abroad, forcing the Pentagon to
accept new risks -- even as military planners prepare for a global
anti-terrorism campaign that administration officials say could last for a
generation. Stretched by Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States lacks a
sufficiently robust ability to put large numbers of ?boots on the ground' in
case of a major emergency elsewhere, such as the Korean Peninsula, in the
view of some Republican and Democratic lawmakers and some military leaders.
They are skeptical of the Pentagon's ability to substitute air and naval
power, and they believe strongly that what the country needs is a bigger
Army."

Of course, she's only quoting "some Republican and Democratic lawmakers and
some military leaders," but I can assure you that you can search the
mainstream press high and low without finding a reported piece suggesting
another obvious response to the present crisis -- the scaling back of the
American global mission. It is, by now, simply beyond discussion that we
should garrison the planet. The question is never really the mission (as
opposed to how to accomplish it more effectively), though we would obviously
need less troops and a far smaller Pentagon if our orientation to the world
and to "global force projection" were different ? if, that is, the Pentagon
were actually a "defense department." This not only isn't a subject up for
discussion anywhere in the mainstream any more, it doesn't even come to
mind.

There is, for example, no equivalent in the present day to Senator J.
William Fulbright, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the
Vietnam Era. No Fulbright-like figure will soon be writing a book about us
entitled The Arrogance of Power. ("Power," as he wrote in 1966, "has a way
of undermining judgment, of planting delusions of grandeur in the minds of
otherwise sensible people and otherwise sensible nations.") Though Robert
Byrd, the last senatorial leftover from that era, has said similar things,
he's a completely marginalized figure in the Senate today.

Similarly, let's consider another recent Tyson piece out of the Pentagon. On
March 11, under the headline U.S. Gaining World's Respect From Wars,
Rumsfeld Asserts, Tyson began a piece on some testimony before the House
Armed Services Committee by our Secretary of Defense this way: "Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld upheld the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
yesterday as powerful demonstrations of U.S. military prowess that will make
other countries think twice about making 'mischief' around the world."

In addition to suggesting that there were great advantages in creating "a
force of ?battle-hardened veterans' whose overthrow of the Taliban
government in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq erased
doubts in the minds of the nation's friends and foes over U.S. willingness
to use force and stay the course of conflicts," Rumsfeld seems to have
suggested, by Tyson's account, a curious new post-Cold War form of
deterrence. She quotes him as saying, "The world has seen, in the last 3 1/2
years, the capability of the United States of America to go into Afghanistan
. . . and with 20,000, 15,000 troops working with the Afghans do what
200,000 Soviets couldn't do in a decade. They've seen the United States and
the coalition forces go into Iraq. . . . That has to have a deterrent effect
on people."

Now, I think anyone might admit that there's something striking in Rumsfeld
comparing our Afghan War to the Soviet one; and, as it happens, Tyson did
record a muted critical note among our congressional representatives on
hearing his testimony. "Lawmakers," she wrote, "asked Rumsfeld to solve a
shortage of jammers to counteract road bombs that have killed many U.S.
troops in Iraq."

In fact, comments like Rumsfeld's, documents like the new National Security
Strategy, and articles like Tyson's on our overstretched military and the
need to strengthen it in order to fulfill our global "responsibilities" are
everyday parts of what passes for public discourse in this country. Nobody
thinks them at all strange. But imagine the Russian version of them in
Pravda ("Years Later, War in Chechnya Drains Military"):

    Moscow -- The Russian Army is suffering from a loss of new recruits due
to the war in Chechnya, according to recent reports from military officials.
The unexpectedly heavy demands of sustained ground combat are depleting
military manpower and gear faster than they can be fully replenished.
Shortfalls in recruiting and backlogs in needed equipment are taking a toll,
and growing numbers of units have been broken apart or taxed by repeated
deployments. "What keeps me awake at night is, what will this force look
like in 2007?" General Yury Baluyevsky, head of the Russian General Staff,
said at a Duma Foreign Affairs Committee hearing this week.

    Only hours after the hearing ended, President Vladimir Putin pointed out
that the Russian mission against "terrorists" must be bolstered, the
conflict in Chechnya pursued to its successful conclusion, and the armed
forces strengthened radically. There were, he pointed out, great advantages
in creating "a force of battle-hardened veterans whose defeat of the
Chechnyan bandits has erased doubts in the minds of the nation's friends and
foes over Russian willingness to use force and stay the course of conflicts.
That has to have a deterrent effect on people." Some Russian officials also
worried that Russia lacks a sufficiently robust ability to put large numbers
of "boots on the ground" in case of a major emergency elsewhere, such as in
El Savador or Mexico. They are skeptical of the Russian military's ability
to substitute air and naval power, and they believe strongly that what the
country needs most is a bigger Army."

Call me an apocalypt, but I think the denunciations of such statements here
-- and undoubtedly actions stronger than that -- would come hard and fast.

Alas, Babylon

Just to mention a final act -- though not the sort of thing you're likely to
find front-paged in our press, not the sort of thing likely to cause a media
stir in the US of A -- let me quote from a report in the British Guardian
(later passed on by the Associated Press). Written by Rory McCarthy and Maev
Kennedy, the January 15 piece Babylon wrecked by war began:

    "Troops from the US-led force in Iraq have caused widespread damage and
severe contamination to the remains of the ancient city of Babylon,
according to a damning report released today by the British Museum?The
ancient city has been used by US and Polish forces as a military depot for
the past two years, despite objections from archaeologists? [John Curtis,
keeper of the museum's Ancient Near East department] saw a 2,600-year-old
brick pavement crushed by military vehicles, archaeological fragments
scattered across the site, and trenches driven into ancient deposits. Vast
amounts of sand and earth, visibly mixed with archaeological fragments, were
gouged from the site to fill thousands of sandbags and metal mesh baskets."

Put in a nutshell, in April 2003 as the invasion of Iraq was winding down,
the Pentagon, in its infinite wisdom, decided to build a military base --
the construction company was, of course, Halliburton subsidiary KBR --
cheek-to-jowl with one of the most treasured archeological sites on the
planet. (The base actually enclosed part of ancient Babylon.) This was,
let's remember, part of a war to preserve what our President called the
Iraqi "patrimony" (though, to be fair, he used that word in reference to
Iraqi oil). Among the few American responses of outrage I've seen was that
of Nation magazine editor Katrina vanden Heuvel, who, under the appropriate
headline Cultural Barbarism, recently wrote at her blog, Editor's Cut:

    "The overall situation in Iraq is overwhelmingly a human tragedy but
that does not exempt the US authorities, who set up Camp Babylon, from the
consequences of what The Guardian called an act of ?cultural
barbarism'--carried out in their name by a subsidiary of Halliburton. There
must be a full investigation of the damage caused, and Halliburton should be
made to offer whatever compensation is possible for the wanton destruction
of the world's cultural treasure."

The military's response was, as it happened, far quieter. The Guardian
quotes Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan, an American military spokesman in
Baghdad as saying, "The significance of Babylon is not lost on the
coalition. The site dates back to the time of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, but
there are very few visible original remains to the untrained eye." Evidently
the principle here is out-of-sight, out-of-mind, which might stand in for a
lot these last years.

So, for a final thought experiment, let's imagine -- though the parallel,
given our relative historical newness, is hardly exact -- as a mirror-image
for this, the great set of encampments the Syrian military has set up in
Massachusetts, one of which encloses most of the original site of the first
Plymouth settlement. "Unfortunately," a Syrian Air Force spokesman is quoted
as saying, "though we recognize the richness of American history in the
Plymouth military region, we were short on material for our air field and
it's not an area rich in gravel. We had no choice but to grind up Plymouth
Rock. It was," he added, "only a boulder, after all."

Okay, much as I happen to love Plymouth Plantations, it's largely a
re-creation of the original settlement and so hardly comparable to Babylon
-- and, of course, we all know that the Chinese pressure on the Europeans
for that embargo against the United States, the Iranian spy program run out
of Halifax, Vladimir Putin's comments about the Russian army and Mexico, and
the Syrian base in Massachusetts are all in our present world the equivalent
of ridiculous geopolitical jokes. After all, we're on a one-way planet when
it comes to such matters -- and there are so many of them. Similar thought
experiments could be done with, for instance, Bush administration nuclear
policy vis-?-vis any country we dislike (we build ?em, you don't);
occupation policy vis-?-vis Syria and Iraq (we occupy, you can't), and so
many other subjects that most of you can probably fill in better than I can.

In this way, we find ourselves living in a "category of one" world with an
exaggerated version of a mentality that would have been familiar to most
great imperial powers. (Until recently, however, even great imperial powers
-- with the possible exceptions of Rome, Han China, and perhaps Spain at
their heights -- would have found it hard to think of themselves as being in
a category of one, given the competition.) The Bush administration embodies,
with pride, a sense of what once would have been called imperial impunity;
and, when it comes to most of the crucial issues having to do with our
"mission" in the world, whatever the criticism in the mainstream, the
mission itself and most of our ways of pursuing it now remain remarkably
sacrosanct and off limits. There are few doubts about our right to put those
CAVs in space, or send out that new generation of Predators to assassinate
whomever, and so on.

But to really grasp why this is so, I suspect you have to throw in, as a
kicker, a deep-seated American sense of national "exceptionalism," a sense
of American goodness that can't be matched elsewhere on the planet. This is
something most of us grew up with, that lies deep in our nation's history,
in that sense of being in a New World, and well rid of an evil European old
world. Though this is a deeply honorable (if also in many ways deeply
flawed) strain of American thinking -- it's where much of the idea of
American "promise" comes from -- it is also a state of mind that the Bush
administration has played upon with consummate skill.

The combination of imperial impunity and national goodness of a kind not
possessed by other lands has, in fact, proved something of a lethal
cocktail. It lifts us into a "category of one" mentality in a way that seems
to explain why we can possess weaponry and do things that, in others, would
horrify us, and it absolves us of thinking about how others might look on us
and our acts in the world. Tom

E-mail to a Friend

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
posted March 24, 2005 at 3:06 pm
     
             
-
     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 24 13:18:36 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 24 13:21:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US deserter denied Canada asylum
Message-ID: <20050324_211836_010253.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
doesn't look good..

** US deserter denied Canada asylum **
A former US soldier loses his fight to claim refugee status in Canada after quitting the army over the Iraq war.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/in_depth/4381009.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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in one daily e-mail
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 24 13:56:06 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 24 13:58:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Aloha
In-Reply-To: <0IDV00B5OLTR0513@vms048.mailsrvcs.net>
Message-ID: <BE687776.1F819%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Great quote
Thanks
Michael

> Aloha Michael:
> 
> I like this quote from Desmond Tutu's book, "God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope
> for Our Time."  
> 
> "During the darkest days of apartheid I used to say to P. W. Botha, the
> president of South Africa, that we had already won, and I invited him and the
> other white south Africans to join the winning side.  All the "objective"
> facts were against us---the pass laws, the imprisonments, the teargassing, the
> massacres, the murder of political activists--- but my confidence was not in
> the present circumstances, but in the laws of God's universe.  This is a moral
> universe, which means that, despite all evidence that seems to be to the
> contrary, there is no way that evil and injustice and oppression and lies can
> have the last word....God is in charge.  That is what had upheld the morale of
> our people, to know that in the end good will prevail.  It was these higher
> laws that convinced me that our peaceful struggle would topple the immoral
> laws of apartheid."
> 
> Had a great trip to Oahu, one day lunched at Turtle Bay Hilton which was been
> updated and looks great!!!
> 
> Aloha nui loa,
> Bette

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 24 13:57:14 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 24 13:59:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: In Times of Trial
In-Reply-To: <BAY102-F15D67C62CC96736EA1E604F9400@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <BE6877BA.1F81B%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Thanks
Michael

> Eleven Religious Views of Life
> 
> 
> TAOISM                            Shit Happens
> 
> 
> Confucianism                      Confucius say:   Shit Happens
> 
> 
> Buddhism                           If Shit Happens, it really isn't shit
> 
> 
> Zen                                  What is the sound of Shit Happening?
> 
> 
> Hinduism                            This Shit Happened before
> 
> 
> Islam                                  If Shit Happens, its the will of Allah
> 
> 
> Protestantism                      Shit won't happen if I work harder
> 
> 
> Catholicism                          If Shit Happens I deserve it
> 
> 
> Judaism                             Why does this Shit always Happens to me?
> 
> 
> Atheism                              I don't believe this Shit
> 
> 
> Agnosticism                        What is this Shit?

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 24 16:23:10 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 24 16:25:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Capitol Bill Aims to Control 'Leftist' Profs
Message-ID: <BE6899EE.1F846%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Capitol Bill Aims to Control 'Leftist' Profs
    By James Vanlandingham
    The University of Florida Alligator

    Wednesday 23 March 2005

    The law could let students sue for untolerated beliefs.

    Tallahassee - Republicans on the House Choice and Innovation Committee
voted along party lines Tuesday to pass a bill that aims to stamp out
"leftist totalitarianism" by "dictator professors" in the classrooms of
Florida's universities.

    The Academic Freedom Bill of Rights, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Baxley,
R-Ocala, passed 8-to-2 despite strenuous objections from the only two
Democrats on the committee.

    The bill has two more committees to pass before it can be considered by
the full House.

    While promoting the bill Tuesday, Baxley said a university education
should be more than "one biased view by the professor, who as a dictator
controls the classroom," as part of "a misuse of their platform to
indoctrinate the next generation with their own views."

    The bill sets a statewide standard that students cannot be punished for
professing beliefs with which their professors disagree. Professors would
also be advised to teach alternative "serious academic theories" that may
disagree with their personal views.

    According to a legislative staff analysis of the bill, the law would
give students who think their beliefs are not being respected legal standing
to sue professors and universities.

    Students who believe their professor is singling them out for "public
ridicule" - for instance, when professors use the Socratic method to force
students to explain their theories in class - would also be given the right
to sue.

    "Some professors say, 'Evolution is a fact. I don't want to hear about
Intelligent Design (a creationist theory), and if you don't like it, there's
the door,'" Baxley said, citing one example when he thought a student should
sue.

    Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, warned of lawsuits from students
enrolled in Holocaust history courses who believe the Holocaust never
happened.

    Similar suits could be filed by students who don't believe astronauts
landed on the moon, who believe teaching birth control is a sin or even by
Shands medical students who refuse to perform blood transfusions and believe
prayer is the only way to heal the body, Gelber added.

    "This is a horrible step," he said. "Universities will have to hire
lawyers so our curricula can be decided by judges in courtrooms. Professors
might have to pay court costs - even if they win - from their own pockets.
This is not an innocent piece of legislation."

    The staff analysis also warned the bill may shift responsibility for
determining whether a student's freedom has been infringed from the faculty
to the courts.

    But Baxley brushed off Gelber's concerns. "Freedom is a dangerous thing,
and you might be exposed to things you don't want to hear," he said. "Being
a businessman, I found out you can be sued for anything. Besides, if
students are being persecuted and ridiculed for their beliefs, I think they
should be given standing to sue."

    During the committee hearing, Baxley cast opposition to his bill as
"leftists" struggling against "mainstream society."

    "The critics ridicule me for daring to stand up for students and
faculty," he said, adding that he was called a McCarthyist.

    Baxley later said he had a list of students who were discriminated
against by professors, but refused to reveal names because he felt they
would be persecuted.

    Rep. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, argued universities and the state Board
of Governors already have policies in place to protect academic freedom.
Moreover, a state law outlining how professors are supposed to teach would
encroach on the board's authority to manage state schools.

    "The big hand of state government is going into the universities telling
them how to teach," she said. "This bill is the antithesis of academic
freedom."

    But Baxley compared the state's universities to children, saying the
legislature should not give them money without providing "guidance" to their
behavior.

    "Professors are accountable for what they say or do," he said. "They're
accountable to the rest of us in society ... All of a sudden the faculty
think they can do what they want and shut us out. Why is it so unheard of to
say the professor shouldn't be a dictator and control that room as their
totalitarian niche?"

    In an interview before the meeting, Baxley said "arrogant, elitist
academics are swarming" to oppose the bill, and media reports misrepresented
his intentions.

    "I expect to be out there on my own pretty far," he said. "I don't
expect to be part of a team."

    House Bill H-837 can be viewed online.

 

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu Mar 24 16:40:34 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu Mar 24 17:12:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A disabled woman speaks out on the Terri Schiavo case
Message-ID: <200503250112.j2P1C3dR017039@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Today's commentary:
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-03/24russell.cfm

==================================

ZNet Commentary
Bush's Smokescreen March 24, 2005
By Marta Russell 

Bush and his cohorts rushed to Washington this past week end to conduct
special sessions of Congress so that Bush could sign a bill that would
mandate the Terri Schiavo case be heard in the federal district court.

"It should be our goal as a nation to build a culture of life, where all
Americans are valued, welcomed, and protected - and that culture of life
must extend to individuals with disabilities," Bush's press release said.

Watching this spectacle on TV and knowing what I know, frankly, it was
enough to make one throw up. A memo, which the AP reports was distributed
by Senate leadership to right-wing members, called Schiavo "a great
political issue" and urged senators to talk about her because "the
pro-life base will be excited."

The issue was not only turned into a political football but also a sly
distraction. Here is a man and his political party eviscerating the Social
Contract while they profess to have concern over all disabled peoples
lives.

The truth is that over the past months this Bush administration has
attacked nearly every program upon which low-income and middle-class
disabled persons rely to survive - Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare,
Section 8 housing, food stamps, education, and veterans' medical care. I
am sure that I have missed some. 

No mind, the point is that the rush to save Terri Schaivo's life stinks of
hypocrisy. While they gather over one disabled woman millions remain at
risk.

While disabled people are wondering how they are going to make it if the
Bush administration succeeds with this unconscionable budget, the
Republicans are preaching from the pulpit of congress about what good
people they are. Oh please! As a disabled woman I am repelled.

Some disabled individuals I know are preparing for the worst, even death
at their own hand. The billions in cuts will cut off their life-saving
prescriptions, limit their access to assistive technology, the ability to
live in the community, wheelchairs, wheelchair repairs, access to an
affordable place to live, food, clothing, and a host of things many
Americans take for granted like those sitting in the Congress.

Then this in the New York Times from ethics meister Tom Delay: "One thing
that God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo, to help elevate the
visibility of what is going on in America," Mr. DeLay told a conference
organized by the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.

Mr. DeLay the American people could use more visibility about your highly
suspicious conduct in Texas where you may be indicted on several fronts
for foul (read alleged illegal) play. 

In the end the Shiavo bill only applies to her! The thousands languishing
in hospitals and nursing homes across the nation don't count, you see, in
the light of all this holy goodness.

In 1999, Bush the Governor, signed a law that "allows hospitals to
discontinue life-sustaining care, even if patient family members
disagree." Recently, the law permitted Texas Children's Hospital to remove
the breathing tube from a 6-month-old boy named Sun Hudson.

Bush has no qualms about executing "mentally ill" persons on death row or
anyone else. Under Bush's governorship Texas executed - killed -- more
than 150 prisoners. Nevermind their guilt or innocence, where is the
culture of life in that?

More hypocrisy. The Republicans have attacked the trial lawyers for
bringing "frivolous" lawsuits against hospitals and doctors - in
particular Senator (Dr.) Bill Frist who is grandstanding on the Shiavo
matter - yet a malpractice award of one million dollars is financing much
of Shiavo's care. If the Congress gets its way people like Shaivo would
already be dead.

The smokescreen has been lifted and the creeps are behind the curtains.

If you think all this sucks, congratulations - you still have warm blood
running through your veins.

Marta Russell is the author of Beyond Ramps: Disability at the End of the
Social Contract. She can be reached at ap888@lafn.org

--
Marta Russell
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.martarussell.com/


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu Mar 24 16:47:32 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu Mar 24 17:14:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] PAYING THE PRICE FOR BUSH'S RETRO ENERGY POLICY
Message-ID: <200503250114.j2P1EdYb017049@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

PAYING THE PRICE FOR BUSH'S RETRO ENERGY POLICY

By Arianna Huffington

The new sales pitch for President Bush is that he's a forward-thinking 
visionary, right? His policies in the Middle East were, it turns out, not 
about the bloody debacle in Iraq today but about democracy spreading 
throughout the region in a glorious future. And his plan to fix Social 
Security is not at all about privatizing the jewel of the New Deal but 
simply about ensuring a safe and secure system well past 2052.
But when it comes to dealing with the many energy-related crises we're 
facing, can the Bushies really go on pretending that their policies are 
any more forward-looking than a rerun of "That '70s Show"?

Exhibit A is the president's bizarre and long-standing obsession with 
drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which just got 
Senate approval last week. I mean, how retro can you get? Instead of 
pushing to increase fuel efficiency standards that could save millions of 
barrels of oil each day and calling for a national commitment to 
investing in renewable sources of energy, he's after one more fix of 
dinosaur byproducts from one of the world's last pristine places.
Which might be understandable if making an Exxon Mobil theme park 
out of the refuge would actually reduce our dependence on foreign oil. 
But it won't. At best, there's only enough oil there to satisfy U.S. 
demand for about six months. And it won't be available for at least a 
decade--which is the only forward-looking aspect to Bush's ANWR 
dream.

The consequences of Bush's head-in-the-tundra policies are already 
all around us--starting with the record prices Americans are paying to 
gas up their cars. The national average just raced past $2.10 a gallon--
up 21 percent from last year. The U.S. remains the world's largest oil 
consumer, but with growing countries like China and India demanding 
more and more oil, and the world's refineries already close to maxed 
out, things are only going to get worse. How long will it be before filling 
stations are asking: "Cash, Credit or Home Equity Loan?"

In response to this mounting economic calamity, President Bush 
summoned all his authority as leader of the free world and, uh, well, 
sent an official complaint to OPEC ministers meeting in Iran. I'm sure it 
was very strongly worded. In any case, most experts agree that even 
OPEC can't pump enough additional oil to make a long-term 
difference.

Meanwhile, the president's old oil company pals are raking in record 
profits. Exxon Mobil, for instance, more than doubled its cash flow last 
year, ending 2004 with $23.1 billion in its bulging coffers. In fact, every 
time the price of a barrel of oil goes up a dollar, Exxon's accountants 
chalk up another $550 million in after-tax profits. Indeed, the Wall 
Street Journal reported last week that oil companies are actually 
having a hard time figuring out what to do with all that cash.
The president's outdated energy policies are also pushing us to the 
brink of an economic and ecological catastrophe brought about by 
global warming. Temperatures are climbing, sea levels are rising, 
Antarctica is thawing--and these are just the tip of the rapidly melting 
iceberg. The winter ice cap at the North Pole has shrunk 20 percent in 
the past two decades, and all that disappearing ice is going to 
reappear in the form of rising seas threatening coastal areas from New 
York to New Orleans.

Our MBA president's energy plan is designed to coddle corporations, 
of course. But the most surprising aspect of the scheme is how bad it 
has been for business (non-oil business, that is). Oh, those unintended 
consequences.

Just look at the head-on collision at General Motors, which, along with 
the rest of the industry, has enjoyed one fuel economy loophole after 
another. The company bet the farm on hulking gas-guzzlers and 
engines whose basic designs date to the 1950s. Now, with gas prices 
heading through the sunroof, demand for SUVs has tumbled--and with 
it, GM's fortunes. Despite rebates as high as $6,000, sales of models 
including the Hummer H2 have dropped by double digits. As a result, 
GM has taken a $4 billion cash flow hit and laid off thousands of 
workers--yet losses are still expected to reach $850 million in the first 
quarter of 2005 alone.

At the same time, Toyota and Honda, companies that have shown a 
commitment to higher fuel efficiency and fuel-saving hybrid technology, 
are running away with Detroit's market share. In true Neanderthal 
fashion, GM has responded to its troubles by redoubling its focus--and 
its multibillion-dollar advertising budget--on hawking the upcoming 
models of its SUVs. They just don't get it--and for that they are paying 
a heavy price. 

And our leaders in Washington--their pockets stuffed with oil, gas and 
auto-industry donations--have been willing accomplices in this financial 
fiasco. By keeping mileage standards for SUVs lower than for cars, 
allowing unconscionable fuel efficiency loopholes that exempt monster 
trucks like the Hummer H2, and giving a special tax break allowing 
write-offs up to $100,000 on luxury SUVs, they helped create an 
artificial market for gas guzzlers--and helped lead GM to the corporate 
ICU.

Bush and company call themselves free marketers, but by indulging 
Detroit they've discouraged innovation and made it much easier for 
companies like GM to slowly destroy themselves--and their workers. 
It's assisted suicide, Beltway-style.

Tom DeLay and Bill Frist should immediately call another midnight 
session of Congress to look into this. And someone needs to wake up 
President Bush before his habit of looking in the rear view mirror when 
it comes to energy policy leads us even further off the road to energy 
independence--and straight over a cliff.

? 2005 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.


DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

------



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You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 24 17:44:30 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Thu Mar 24 17:52:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Straw hits back in Iraq law row
Message-ID: <20050325_014430_089871.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

HS saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
British MP's may not have voted for war had they known of still existing legal concerns!!

** Straw hits back in Iraq law row **
The foreign secretary mounts a defence of the attorney general's advice on the legality of the Iraq war.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4379381.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 24 17:51:42 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar 24 17:54:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Iraqi scientist  killed while in custody
Message-ID: <000a01c530dd$33f5a750$7d27e440@Harold>

A prominent Iraqi scientist killed while in custody, US Military investigating under pressure from family

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050324/D891GOU82.html

Later H

PS, More disappointments !
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 24 18:13:38 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 18:16:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Phil Donahue: "We Have an Emergency in the Media and We
	Have to Fix It"
Message-ID: <20050325021338.13427.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org


this a must watch interview..don't read it, watch it!

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Phil Donahue: "We Have an Emergency in the Media and We Have to Fix It"
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/24/1446244
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


Phil Donahue - one of the best-known talk show hosts in the history of television in the United States - joins us in our firehouse studio to discuss the state of the media in this country. Donahue's show was on the air for more than 29 years. In 2003, he was fired by MSNBC because he was allowing antiwar voices on the air. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/24/1446244

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 24 18:19:57 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Thu Mar 24 18:22:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Red Lake Struggles to Cope with Shooting Tragedy
Message-ID: <20050325021957.13990.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

this government is continuing to do to our native americans as the chinese did to the tibetans, and as the ___ did and do to ____ . 

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Red Lake Struggles to Cope with Shooting Tragedy
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/24/1446227
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


Tribal and religious ceremonies are being held in the Red Lake Native American reservation in northern Minnesota following Monday's high school shooting that left 10 people dead. We speak with an indigenous rights activist who grew up in a neighboring reservation and we go to Minnesota to speak with a Bemidji community organizer. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/24/1446227

From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 25 03:20:14 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 25 03:22:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23226025.1111749614862.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Native Americans Criticize Bush's Silence
 
 By Ceci Connolly
 
  MINNEAPOLIS, March 24  --  Native Americans across the country  --  including tribal leaders, academics and rank-and-file tribe members  --  voiced anger and frustration Thursday that President Bush has responded to the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history with silence.
 
  Three days after 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed nine members of his Red Lake tribe before taking his own life, grief-stricken American Indians complained that the White House has offered little in the way of sympathy for the tribe situated in the uppermost region of Minnesota.
 
  "From all over the world we are getting letters of condolence, the Red Cross has come, but the so-called Great White Father in Washington hasn't said or done a thing," said Clyde Bellecourt, a Chippewa Indian who is the founder and national director of the American Indian Movement here. "When people's children are murdered and others are in the hospital hanging on to life, he should be the first one to offer his condolences. . . . If this was a white community, I don't think he'd have any problem doing that."
 
  Weise's victims included his grandfather and five teenagers; seven other students were wounded, and two of them remain in serious condition in a hospital in Fargo, N.D.
 
 White House spokesman Scott McClellan, in an informal discussion with reporters Tuesday, said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were killed."
 
  "I hope that he would say something," said Victoria Graves, a cultural educator at Red Lake Elementary School on the reservation. "It's important that there's acknowledgment of the tragedy. It's important he sees the tribes are out here. We need help."
 
  The reaction to Bush's silence was particularly bitter given his high-profile, late-night intervention on behalf of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman caught in a legal battle over whether her feeding tube should be reinserted. 
 
  "The fact that Bush preempted his vacation to say something about Ms. Schiavo and here you have 10 native people gunned down and he can't take time to speak is very telling," said David Wilkins, interim chairman of the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota and a member of the North Carolina-based Lumbee  tribe.
 
 "He has not been real visible in Indian country," said former senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.). "He's got a lot of irons in the fire, but this is important." 
 
 Even more alarming than Bush's silence, he said, is the president's proposal to cut $100 million from several Indian programs next year.
 
  After hearing grumbling from tribal leaders, Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, called the White House on Thursday to inquire about Bush's silence. "I wanted to make sure the White House is paying attention to this issue," she said. "I wasn't sure."
 
  Asked Thursday about Bush's silence, spokeswoman Dana Perino said that he plans to dedicate part of his Saturday radio address to the Red Lake tragedy and that he is following the case closely through the FBI and the Justice Department.
 
 In the hours after the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, President Bill Clinton publicly expressed his condolences and followed up a few days later with a radio address in which he proposed new gun control measures and school safety projects.
 
  At the Red Lake Urban Indian Office here, volunteer Marilyn Westbrook said she was disappointed but not surprised.
 
  "I don't feel he cares about the American Indian people," said Westbrook, as she collected donations of gas cards and money to enable fellow Red Lake members to make the 260-mile journey to the reservation. "Why hasn't he made any statements about what happened with this shooting?"
 
 Staff writers Dana Hedgpeth in Red Lake and  Peter Baker in Waco, Tex., and research editor Lucy Shackelford in Washington contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 25 03:22:43 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 25 03:25:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <16297512.1111749763112.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Thin View of 'Life'
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
   FORT MYERS, Fla.  --  What does it mean to be pro-life?
 
  The label is thrown around in American politics so blithely that you'd imagine it refers to some workaday issue such as a tax bill or a trade agreement. Might the one good thing to come out of the rancid politics surrounding the Terri Schiavo case be a serious discussion of the meaning of that term? 
 
  To begin with, why did Congress feel an obligation to turn Schiavo's tragedy into a federal case? President Bush's answer was compelling: "In a case such as this, the legislative branch, the executive branch ought to err on the side of life."
 
  You don't have to be a religious conservative to agree with that or to worry about prematurely allowing someone to die. But what, exactly, does "a case such as this" mean? Does it refer to one that received widespread publicity and became a major national cause for the right-to-life movement? Does it refer to one in which the parents and the spouse disagree?
 
  There are countless decisions made every week when a family member removes someone they love from life support. Just over a week ago, a 5 1/2-month-old baby named Sun Hudson died after doctors at Texas Children's Hospital removed the breathing tube that had kept him alive. It was removed over  his mother's opposition under the provisions of the 1999 Texas Advance Directives Act signed by then-Gov. George W. Bush.
 
  Democrats such as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida have been arguing that Bush's decision to sign the bill aimed at protecting Schiavo's life is inconsistent with his earlier decision to sign a law designed to rationalize the way end-of-life decisions are made.
 
  But leave that aside and just ask why Schiavo's case was a national cause and Sun Hudson's wasn't. I am sure there are medical and moral distinctions to be made, but honestly: How many bills would Congress have to pass to ensure that in every  close medical call around the country, we "err on the side of life"? How many courts would have to be involved? That's why it's not surprising the Supreme Court decided  yesterday to stay out of this controversy.
 
 Whether or not signing that Texas bill puts the 1999 Bush at odds with the 2005 Bush, the act of approving it was an acknowledgment that end-of-life issues in an age of advanced medical technology must be confronted, however wrenching they are. Facing up to those questions and drawing distinctions is especially important for those  --  and I'm one of them  --  who oppose doctor-assisted suicide.
 
  How has Terri Schiavo's care been financed? The available information suggests that some of the money came from one of those much-derided medical malpractice lawsuits and that the drugs she needs have been paid for by Medicaid.
 
  The irony has not been lost on Democrats. Just a few days after most Republicans in both houses of Congress had supported cuts in federal funding of Medicaid, here they were erring "on the side of life" in a single case. The same issue has come up here in Florida, where Gov. Jeb Bush, a strong supporter of keeping Schiavo alive, has been proposing cuts in Medicaid  spending.
 
  Republicans cry foul when any link is made between the Schiavo question and the Medicaid question. "The fact that they're tying a life issue to the budget process shows just how disconnected Democrats are to reality," harrumphed Dan Allen, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
 
  Forgive me, Mr. Allen, I know you're just doing your job, but what's disconnected from reality is refusing to accept the idea that health care is about life issues  and  money issues.
 
  People who lack access to health care because they can't afford insurance often die earlier than they have to  --  with absolutely no national publicity and with no members of Congress rising up at midnight to pass bills on their behalf. What is the point of standing up for life in an individual case but not confronting the cost of choosing life for all who are threatened within the health care system or by their lack of access to it?
 
  What does it mean to be pro-life? As far as I can tell, most of those who would keep Schiavo alive favor the death penalty. Most favored allowing the assault weapons ban to expire and oppose other forms of gun control. The president makes an excellent point when he says we "ought to err on the side of life." It's a shame how rarely that principle is put into practice.
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 25 03:23:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 25 03:26:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5066454.1111749831042.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Breach of Principle
 
 By David S. Broder
 
   If there is one constitutional principle that has animated and energized conservatives during the past five decades, it is the notion of judicial restraint. Philosophers and politicians of the right have lectured Americans repeatedly about the dangers of "legislating from the bench."
 
 This is not idle chatter. Many of us who may be skeptical of other tenets of conservative faith  --  the aversion to taxes, say, or the priority of national security over individual rights  --  respect and share the belief that the judicial branch, with its unelected judges, should not usurp the functions and prerogatives of those in the legislative branch, who hold their seats by vote of the people.
 
 This is a principle that has been given eloquent expression by the heroes of the conservative movement. Take, for example, the words of President Ronald Reagan in a 1987 radio address explaining his nomination of Judge Robert Bork for the Supreme Court.
 
 Reagan described Bork as "a man who would be faithful to the kind of judicial restraint envisioned by our Founding Fathers, a judiciary that was independent and strong, yes, but one whose power would also be confined within the boundaries of the Constitution and the laws of the land. . . . That's why over the years both progressive and conservative judges have understood the importance of judicial restraint  --  the principle that says the highest exercise of judicial duty is to subordinate the judges' private views to what the law permits or determines."
 
 "But now," Reagan continued, "liberal special-interest groups seek to politicize the court system, to exercise a chilling effect on judges, to intimidate them into making decisions, not on the basis of the law or the merits of the case, but on the basis of a litmus test or a response to political pressure."
 
 Despite that warning, Bork was rejected by the Senate  --  the starting point for the unseemly and dangerous pattern  in which a Republican Senate majority blocked many of President Bill Clinton's judicial appointments and the current Democratic minority uses the threat of filibusters to hold up a number of President Bush's judges.
 
 The fault here is not in the judiciary. The fault lies largely  with the legislators, who have acted   heedless of the damage these bitter partisan controversies wreak on the independence of the judicial branch.
 
 In a properly functioning system of representative government, with divided powers and an independent judiciary, judges are obligated to avoid legislating from the bench and the legislature should exercise great restraint in intervening in judicial proceedings.
 
 That is a principle that has been grossly violated in the Terri Schiavo case. As a parent, I can certainly sympathize with the anguish of her mother and father and their desire to give her every possible chance to extend her life, meager as it is.
 
 But for Congress to substitute its  opinion for the considered judgment of Florida courts that have invested hundreds of hours in  this tragic case is unconscionable in constitutional terms.
 
 No one in the truncated congressional debate suggested that the Florida judges had been biased or negligent or anything but conscientious in weighing the conflicting claims of Schiavo's parents and her husband and in evaluating the medical evidence about the poor woman's condition.
 
 The majority simply did not like the result of the case and decided to intervene. The shift of jurisdiction from the state courts to the federal courts violated yet another conservative principle: respect for the autonomy and diversity of states in the federal system.
 
 The Republicans implicitly acknowledged that this intervention was a violation of several of their avowed principles. Instead of writing legislation that would affect similar cases, they passed a bill for the relief of this one patient.
 
 But principles are brittle, and every time one is violated, it is weakened. This is not the first time that Republican leaders such as Sen. Bill Frist and Rep. Tom DeLay have cast aside sound conservative principles and precedents  to achieve a short-term political objective.
 
 Principled conservatives should be calling them  --  and the president who cheered them on  --  to account. When Congress overrules a state court judge, it is hard to argue with a straight face that a Senate minority has no right to block a federal judge's confirmation.
 
 Restraint is a virtue for all involved. 
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 25 03:25:38 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 25 03:28:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <18846774.1111749938592.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Overlooked in the Shadows
 
 By Harriet McBryde Johnson
 
    The Terri Schiavo case is hard to write about, hard to think about. Those video images  are hard to look at. I see that face, maybe smiling, maybe not, and I am reminded of a young woman I knew as a child, lying on a couch, brain-damaged, apparently unresponsive, and deeply beloved  --  freakishly, perhaps, but genuinely so  --  living proof of one family's no-matter-what commitment. I watch nourishment flowing into a slim tube that runs through a neat, round, surgically created orifice in Terri Schiavo's abdomen and I'm almost envious. What effortless intake!  Because of a congenital neuromuscular disease, I am having trouble swallowing, and it's a constant struggle to get by mouth the calories my skinny body needs. For whatever reason, I'm still trying, but I know a tube is in my future. So, possibly, is speechlessness. That's a scary thought. If I couldn't speak for myself, would I want to die? If I become uncommunicative, a passive object of other people's care, should I hope my brain goes soft and leaves me in peace?
 
 My emotional response is powerful, but at bottom it's not important. It's no more important than anyone else's, not what matters. The things that ought to matter have become obscured in our communal clash of gut reactions. Here are 10 of them:
 
 • Ms. Schiavo is not terminally ill. She has lived in her current condition for 15 years. This is not about end-of-life decision making. The question is whether she should be killed by denying her food and fluids.
 
 • Ms. Schiavo is not dependent on life support. Her lungs, kidneys, heart and digestive systems work fine. Just as she uses a wheelchair for mobility, she uses a tube for eating and drinking. Feeding Ms. Schiavo is not difficult, painful or in any way heroic. That Ms. Schiavo eats through a tube should have nothing to do with whether she should live or die.
 
 • This is not a case about a patient's right to refuse treatment. I don't see eating and drinking as "treatment," but even if they are, everyone agrees that Ms. Schiavo is at present incapable of articulating a decision to refuse treatment. The question is who should make the decision for her and whether that substitute decision maker should be authorized to kill her.
 
 • There is a  dispute as to Ms. Schiavo's awareness and consciousness. But if we assume that those who would authorize her death are correct, she is completely unaware of her situation and therefore incapable of suffering physically or emotionally. Her death thus can't be justified  as relieving her suffering.
 
 • There is a genuine dispute as to what Ms. Schiavo believed and expressed about life with severe disability before she herself became incapacitated; certainly, she never stated her preferences in an advance directive such as a living will. If we assume that she is aware and conscious, it is possible that, like most people who have lived with a severe disability for as long as she has, she has abandoned her preconceived fears of the life she is now living. We have no idea whether she wishes to be bound by things she might have said when she was living a very different life. If we assume she is unaware and unconscious, we can't justify her death as her preference. She has no preference.
 
 • Ms. Schiavo, like all people, incapacitated or not, has a federal constitutional right not to be deprived of her life without due process of law.
 
 • In addition to the rights all people enjoy, Ms. Schiavo has a statutory right under the Americans With Disabilities Act not to be treated differently because of her disability. Obviously, Florida law would not allow a husband to kill a non-disabled wife by  denying her nourishment. It is Ms. Schiavo's disability that makes her killing different in the eyes of the Florida courts. Because the state is overtly drawing lines based on disability, it has the burden under the ADA of justifying those lines.
 
 • In other contexts, federal courts are available to make sure state courts respect federally protected rights. Although review will very often be a futile, last-ditch effort  --  as with most  habeas petitions from death row  --  federalism requires that the federal government, not the states, have the last word. When the issue is the scope of a guardian's authority, it is necessary to allow other people, in this case other family members, standing to file a legal challenge.
 
 • The whole society has a stake in making sure state courts are not tainted by prejudices, myths and unfounded fears  --  like the unthinking horror in mainstream society that transforms feeding tubes into fetish objects, emblematic of broader, deeper fears of disability that sometimes slide from fear to disgust and from disgust to hatred. While we should not assume that disability prejudice tainted the Florida courts, we cannot reasonably assume that it did not.
 
 • Despite the unseemly Palm Sunday pontificating in Congress, the legislation enabling Ms. Schiavo's parents to sue did not reflect a taking of sides in the so-called culture wars. It did not dictate that Ms. Schiavo be fed. It simply created a procedure whereby the federal courts could decide whether her federally protected rights have been violated.
 
 In the Senate, a key supporter of a federal remedy was Iowa's  Tom Harkin, a progressive Democrat and longtime friend of labor and civil rights, including disability rights. Harkin told reporters, "There are a lot of people in the shadows, all over this country, who are incapacitated because of a disability, and many times there is no one to speak for them, and it is hard to determine what their wishes really are or were. So I think there ought to be a broader type of a proceeding that would apply to people in similar circumstances who are incapacitated."
 
 I hope against hope that I will never be one of those people in the shadows, that I will always, one way or another, be able to make my wishes known. I hope that I will not outlive my usefulness or my capacity (at least occasionally) to amuse the people around me. But if it happens otherwise, I hope whoever is appointed to speak for me will be subject to legal constraints. Even if my guardian thinks I'd be better off dead  --  even if I think so myself  --  I hope to live and die in a world that recognizes that killing, even of people with the most severe disabilities, is a matter of more than private concern.
 
 Clearly, Congress's Palm Sunday legislation was not the broader type of proceeding Harkin and I want. It does not define when and how federal court review will be available to all of those in the shadows. To create a general system of review, applicable whenever life-and-death decisions intersect with disability rights, will require a reasoned, informed debate unlike what we've had until now. It will take time. But in the Schiavo case, time is running out.
 
 The writer is a disability rights lawyer in Charleston, S.C. Her memoir in stories, "Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales From a Life," will be released next month. This article is reprinted from Slate magazine.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 25 03:26:28 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 25 03:28:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <20580785.1111749988722.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Clean  Like a  Pro
 
 By Annie Groer
 
   I love to cook, am a whiz with a hot iron and rather enjoy polishing the family silver(plate). 
 
  But the larger task of cleaning an entire apartment or house leaves me cold. Always has. 
 
  I might have remained forever ignorant of what it really means to clean from "top to bottom" (remember this phrase, it will reappear) had not a flyer from MaidPro, the Boston-based national cleaning franchise, recently come my way.
 
  "All our service providers are professionally trained through our MaidPro University," the ad boasted. University? Where better to acquire a remedial education than from a firm that charges by the hour, trains two-person crews to clean as many as four houses a day, and has as its pun-ly motto, "It's About Time." 
 
  Clearly grime is money.
 
  My professor was self-described "neat freak," Philip Doyle, who spent 25 years in hotel management (housekeeping was definitely part of his portfolio) before he bought the Adams Morgan MaidPro franchise in October. His classroom was the Spring Valley home of a client, where I watched Doyle and one of his top cleaners do everything from shaking dead leaves off a pair of potted trees and dusting oil paintings with a fat, sable paintbrush to vacuuming a sofa and knife-creasing throw pillows.
 
  Doyle's first rule of cleaning echoes that of many household experts: "top to bottom." This technique drives all dust, cobwebs, pet hair and shower scum downward from ceilings, walls and furnishings. Once on the floor, the collective mess becomes a snap to vacuum, sweep or mop up. 
 
  His second-favorite direction is "from the farthest point to the door," which allows the cleaner to exit without tracking dirt over newly pristine surfaces. 
 
  Yikes! In less than 10 minutes, I had acquired two foundations of cleaning.
 
  But real Maid Pro students learn much more, especially the overarching lesson of the order of chores.
 
  First, strip the beds and put sheets and pillowcases in the washer. Then clean the whole kitchen, which is the toughest room in the house and gets a full half-hour of attention. (Doyle loves washing kitchen floors with a "Sh-mop," its large head covered by an abrasive pad and elasticized cloth cap). Continue by cleaning all bathroom surfaces before doing the bedrooms. Finish the laundry and bathrooms, clean the hallway and stairwell, and end up in the living and dining rooms.
 
  MaidPro owners nationwide must use the same cleaning products, most of them from Procter & Gamble, including a liquid Comet cleanser that is not available to the public. The techniques are also uniform.
 
  Take the toilet: Spray liquid scouring solution on the outside, from the top of the tank to the base of the throne. Pour Mr. Clean Toilet Bowl Cleaner into the water. Wait 15 minutes, wipe the exterior with a nylon scrubby and a microfiber cloth (color coded so it will not mistakenly be reused in the kitchen, thank heavens). Tackle the bowl with a long-handled toilet brush.
 
  For framed art, spray Windex onto a paper towel to clean the glass. Spraying the glass directly may ruin the picture behind it. To shine a metal frame, first remove the photo, glass and backing, then apply polish (Doyle uses Nonox for Brass, Mrs. Wright's Silver Cream for sterling or silverplate and a soft toothbrush for detail work). When the polish dries, rinse it off with hot water and completely dry the frame with a soft cloth before reassembly.
 
  He routinely damp-cleans hardwood floors with a mild solution of four ounces of Spic and Span and 28 ounces of water. Occasionally, he uses Dura Seal paste wax on a wood floor and polishes it to high gleam with an electric buffer. He uses Riccar upright and tank vacuums with HEPA filters for most tasks, but prefers a ProTeam backpack vacuum for draperies because the wand has an adjustable suction vent and the machine is light enough for the cleaner to wear while climbing a ladder.
 
 In dusting furniture  --  MaidPro uses Starfiber microfiber cloths because they create enough static to attract dust and pet hair  --  he instructs cleaners to move every single knickknack and clean each with a brush before applying the fabric to the tabletop. 
 
  He generally just dusts wooden furniture or goes over it with a cloth slightly dampened with a diluted Spic and Span solution because, over time, Doyle says, aerosol furniture polish containing silicon softens the finish and makes it less dirt-resistant and more scratch-prone. 
 
  There are other rules to master, including these: Always put newspaper on the floor before de-gunking an oven, never spray cleaners on or near a fish tank or pet cage, and check for toothpaste splatters on bathroom mirrors. 
 
 After several weeks of MaidPro University training, it's time for "graduation" to a team of one's own. In this area, MaidPro prices range from about $60 for a condo (oven and refrigerator cleaning cost extra, and the firm will not do personal laundry) to $1,200 for a five-story ambassador's residence. 
 
  To be sure, other commercial services also train their staffs, although they don't call it college.
 
  Maid Brigade, based in Atlanta with several Washington area franchises, offers a week-long combination of morning classes and afternoon hands-on cleaning lessons. Chicago-based Merry Maids, the nation's largest franchise cleaning service, not only trains its own workforce but posts helpful hints on its Web site (www.merrymaids.com) for the rest of us. 
 
 Who knew that lemon oil applied to bathroom tile walls can retard soap-scum buildup? Ditto for car or boat wax on the sides of a porcelain bathtub (do not for a second think about waxing the bottom of the tub and inviting a horrific fall). If stubborn toilet bowl rings don't succumb to an acid-based bowl cleaner and a nylon-backed scrubby sponge, attack them with a pumice stone (it must always be kept wet during rubbing). This will work only on vitreous porcelain. 
 
  I cannot wait to run my own private tutorial for the industrious young woman who currently cleans my apartment every other week. But first I must buy some microfiber cloths, a fat paintbrush and a Sh-mop.
  
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 25 03:27:39 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 25 03:30:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <3314673.1111750059033.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Magical Mystery Tour
 
 By Glenn Frankel
 
   LONDON, March 23
  
  The four long-haired young men from Liverpool were a half-hour late when they poured into Studio Two at EMI Records on Abbey Road on June 6, 1962. They raced nervously through a ragged set of songs, while a producer named George Martin listened to the audition from the control booth upstairs. Afterward, he delivered an hour-long lecture on what they needed to do to make a professional record.
 
 The rest, as they say, is history. Despite his initial misgivings, Martin signed the Beatles to a recording contract, albeit for a rock-bottom rate. The group came back three months later to record their first single, "Love Me Do." It peaked at No. 17 on the British charts. But their next attempt, "Please Please Me," launched a run of 12 No. 1 singles in a row and a dozen gold albums, and the most successful pop music group in history started down the long and winding road to fame, fortune and Yoko Ono.
 
 Ever since, the Abbey Road Studios, most especially Studio Two, have been part of the legend  --  the place where, by EMI's count, 192 of the Beatles' 202 songs were recorded. Its significance was enshrined when the Beatles named the last LP that they recorded "Abbey Road," complete with iconic album cover of the four band members crossing the street the studio complex is named after. ("Let It Be," recorded earlier, was the last album released.)
 
 For years, pilgrims, fanatics and the mildly curious have traversed the crosswalk and stood outside the gates of the studios  --  by EMI's informal count, between 100,000 and 120,000 walk past each year. But except for a brief stretch in 1982, its doors have remained closed to the public.
 
  Until now. Last Saturday, Abbey Road's owners opened its gates for a film festival honoring the 25th anniversary of the studio's work as one of the world's largest producers of movie music. Nearly two dozen films are being shown over 16 days in Studio One, the cavernous, auditorium-like room where the movie scores are performed and recorded. But for many, the main attraction is just across the hall: Studio Two is also open for festival-goers.
 
 EMI veterans say the studio looks much the way it did when the Beatles worked there between 1962 and 1969. A soundproof iron door that looks like it could have done service on a German U-boat still guards the entrance. Inside, white paint is peeling from parts of the acoustic panels on the walls, and the parquet floor is scuffed from hundreds of amplifiers and instruments that have been hauled over it. There are a half-dozen sets of multicolored lights that were installed at the demand of the Beatles, who felt it gave the room a warmer, more psychedelic ambience.
 
 "You can feel the ghosts when you're in here, and you can sense the atmosphere as well," said David Holley, EMI's managing director. "It's almost as if everyone who's ever worked here has left a sound behind."
 
  Located in posh, leafy St. John's Wood in north London, Abbey Road began life in the 1830s as an elegant, nine-bedroom estate house with a long, lush garden in the back. EMI bought it in the late 1920s and turned it into one of the world's first recording studios.
 
  Musical history was made here long before the Beatles arrived. Edward Elgar, one of Britain's most distinguished composers and conductors, inaugurated the studio in 1931 with a historic recording of "Land of Hope and Glory," Britain's unofficial national anthem, by the London Symphony Orchestra. Violin prodigy Yehudi Menuhin, then 16, came to record the next year, followed by cellist Pablo Casals, violinist Jascha Heifetz and pianist Artur Schnabel.
 
 Hundreds of actors, musicians, singers and songwriters made their way to Abbey Road: Fred Astaire, Noel Coward, Paul Robeson, Glenn Miller, Dinah Shore, Sophia Loren, Richard Burton, Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Dirk Bogarde, Burt Bacharach and Ravi Shankar. And, lest we forget, Herman's Hermits, Cilla Black and Olivia Newton-John. Plus an entire generation of British comedians, including Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Dudley Moore and the various casts of "The Goon Show," "Beyond the Fringe" and "That Was the Week That Was."
 
  Since 1980, the movies have come to dominate. The first blockbuster to be scored here was Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Its composer, John Williams, came back to do "Return of the Jedi" in 1983 and all of the films in the new "Star Wars" trilogy. Williams and filmmaker George Lucas finished up work on the latest film a few weeks ago.
 
  Music for the three parts of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was recorded in Studio One, as were the soundtracks for director Anthony Minghella's three major films: the Oscar-winning "The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain"  --  all of the music composed by Gabriel Yared. The remake of "Alfie" and the Bobby Darin biopic "Beyond the Sea" are among the latest soundtracks to be recorded here.
 
  But the Beatles are still Abbey Road's defining faces. In the early days they were considered just another musical act that needed to abide by the studio's strict code of conduct. They wore coats and ties when they came to record, and the sessions were conducted in three-hour blocks, with long breaks for tea and lunch.
 
  Gradually, as the hits came and the money started to flow, the Beatles took over. The coats and ties came off, and the band started pulling legendary all-nighters. With Beatlemania exploding just outside the studio gates, band members saw Abbey Road as a refuge where they could work uninterrupted, sleep when they needed to, then work some more.
 
  The drugs flowed at times, too. In his 1979 memoir "All You Need Is Ears," Martin recalls John Lennon freaking out and collapsing one evening in 1967 while making "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Martin helped him to the roof to get some fresh air, then feared Lennon might fall off. Martin stayed with Lennon until the crisis subsided.
 
 The first couple of Beatles albums were each recorded in one long sprint, never taking more than a few days. But "Sgt. Pepper" took several months. The climax came with "A Day in the Life," the album's concluding song, when Lennon and Paul McCartney commandeered Studio One, hired 39 classical musicians and requested that they all come formally attired. McCartney provided funny hats for each player and a bright red nose for the conductor.
 
  After the Beatles broke down and broke up in 1970, Pink Floyd took over as Studio Two's unofficial house band. In recent years Radiohead, Ozzy Osborne, the Spice Girls and a host of other acts have made the studio their home. McCartney was back last year with the slick, powerful band he has performed with in concert in recent years to lay down a series of tracks for an album due later this year.
 
  "None of this stuff was supposed to have lasted," novelist Nick Hornby, a pop music aficionado, writes in his introduction to the film festival guide. "The three-minute pop songs and the one-line jokes were intended for immediate consumption, but it didn't happen like that." Instead, the story of Abbey Road "must also be the story of 20th and 21st century popular culture, pretty much all of which is dependent on recorded sound." 
 
   

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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Fri Mar 25 03:36:41 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Fri Mar 25 03:37:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] cheese
Message-ID: <000d01c5312e$eba5dea0$0c25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  cheese



=========
bear
......our friend cheese seems determined to misunderstand me....revolution,
in order to work, requires an enormous turn out of the public...i'm talking
here in excess of one million bodies...let us remember what happened in
georgia....a huge crowd [far too many for the police to have any effect]
stormed into the houses of parliament and edvard shevanadze was out....then
look at the recent events in ukraine, a huge crowd occupied the town centre
and refused to disperse til they got justice....they won....now we have
similar events in krgystan [spelling?] where so many people rioted that the
police ran away.....two years ago over one million people marched in london
to protest the iraq war...only these were "civilised" british folk and they
peacefully demonstrated and went home...the result a complete
failure...what, i wonder, would have happened had this huge crowd stormed
parliament and kicked out tony blair??????? madbaker
============




Ok, sorry, yes, I seem to not understand everyone all the time, an old habit
from my younger "rock and roll days", my brain moves either faster or slower
than my fingers upon occasion, and of course sometimes it just sits there,
doesn't move at all, and stares at me, waiting to see who blinks first.   :|
I like hearing about those other "far away" places, even in Lebanon, where
10's or 100's of thousands or a milion etc people do something to at least
try to take their countries back from the basic "dictatorships" that
continue to run them into the ground and sometimes succeed in "getting
justice" by sheer numbers alone.

We couldn't get enough Americans enough together here to "get justice" here
if the golden goose itself was popping kruggerands out its b*tt like it was
Christmas.  Heck, half of them don't even know there's anything wrong yet.
So much for the idea of "communication".  A dead American art, just like the
ruins in Babylon.  They didn't pave paradise and put up a parking lot, they
paved it and put up military bases and security borders on everything
physical, mental, and spiritual they could find.

It's, again, nice to hear that things in Georgia, Krygistan, etc can be
changed for the better by massive amounts of caring humans spreading their
presence in the face of authority to retake their own destinies, countries,
and just basic dignity, but in America, again, we have a tendency to shoot
first and ask questions later when we see large amounts of people gathering
to try that kind of crap over here.

Which is why so many many people just stay home, it's safer.  They stay
home, they don't care anymore, they don't want to know, they already know,
they sit in front of their television sets and try to forget, and voting has
become useless as well, as has now been openly proven in the great country
of America.

So they sit at home.  They go to work, they come home, they go back to work,
they come home, and some of them have the weekends off.  They're not going
to march on D.C, CNN, or anywhere else for the most part.  They don't have
the guts, and they have already seen what happens to not only protestors on
the streets, but to people like the Waco 78 who got burned alive with their
children in their own homes for even just possessing illegal weapons.

They sit at home.  It's safer.  The revolution is dead.

Unless, of course, someone finds the money to build a global information
machine that can at the very least bring them the courage they once
possessed.

Without that simple little tiny miniscule irreplaceable piece of the puzzle,
"the revolution", and ourselves, can continue to kiss our *sses goodbye,
just as we are doing now.

"Fight the good fight to the end".  Great slogan.

The only problem is that you can't reach enough people a consistent amount
of the time to even inform them of not only the problems, but the solutions,
much less be able to do something unthinkable like give them back their
backbone, or at least enough to retake what freedom they once thought was
theirs.

Getting them "on the streets and into 'parliament' to actually be able to do
something concrete" will probably just wind up being one more Disney
attraction ride, just as it is now.

The 60's are dead.  Long live the 60's.

Somewhere between the 60's and now, America lost its guts.

We can endlessly finance with our own taxes the murders of 100's of
thousands of civilians, And Their Children, both domestically and abroad,
weapons in space, and our own enslavement and the end of True Democracy in
the entire world, but we just don't have the guts to get out on the streets
and retake our own country, it's too safe at home, and too dangerous out
there.

We applaud, however, in front of our televisions when we see others so far
away do it.

We don't do it here, though, as, of course, there is nothing really wrong,
football's still on TV, how could there be.......





Cheeseburger

.

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 25 07:53:01 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 25 07:55:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: 'Podcasters' look to net money
Message-ID: <20050325_155301_038433.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** 'Podcasters' look to net money **
Ex-MTV VJ Adam Curry thinks the fledgling "podcasting" trend, DIY net radio, has potential for making money.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/technology/4371555.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri Mar 25 08:14:42 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri Mar 25 08:17:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Prankster infiltrates NY museums
Message-ID: <20050325_161442_094062.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Prankster infiltrates NY museums **
A British graffiti artist smuggles his work into four of New York's top art museums.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4382245.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:06:06 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:09:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Attacks Kill 6 Policemen and 5 Women in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050325170615.9CB8A22F106@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 25, 2005

Attacks Kill 6 Policemen and 5 Women in Iraq
By ROBERT F. WORTH

A car bomber killed at least six policemen and attackers killed five women as they drove home after work at a U.S. base.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/international/middleeast/25cnd-iraq.html?ex=1112418000&en=183dbb485bda329e&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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0


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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:07:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:09:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. to Sell F-16 Jets to Pakistan and India
Message-ID: <20050325170727.F294120629B@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

This is helpful! (NOT!!) At least we are equal opportunity arms dealers...


NATIONAL | March 25, 2005

U.S. to Sell F-16 Jets to Pakistan and India
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Bush administration has agreed to sell sophisticated fighter planes to both Pakistan and its next-door rival India.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-US-India-Pakistan.html?ex=1112418000&en=34acdb8cc2129a8d&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:08:22 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:11:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Era of Exploitation
Message-ID: <20050325170823.564F711FA10@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 25, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Era of Exploitation
By BOB HERBERT

President Bush believes in an "ownership" society, which means that except for the wealthy, you're on your own.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/opinion/herbert25.1.html?ex=1112418000&en=e9a9f4a87015410b&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:08:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:11:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: What Happens Once the Oil Runs Out?
Message-ID: <20050325170854.7A90921F00D@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 25, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: What Happens Once the Oil Runs Out?
By KENNETH S. DEFFEYES

The controversy over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a side issue. The problem we need to face is the impending world oil shortage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/opinion/25deffeyes.html?ex=1112418000&en=f29c9a6ab8290bf2&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:09:22 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:11:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Me and My Hybrid
Message-ID: <20050325170923.54FCB24AFD9@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


OPINION | March 25, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Me and My Hybrid
By OLIVER SACKS

Americans could save 50 billion gallons of gas a year by switching to hybrid vehicles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/opinion/25sachs.html?ex=1112418000&en=3f2b754cbf27a9f6&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:10:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:13:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.N. Cites Syria as Factor in Lebanese
	Assassination
Message-ID: <20050325171038.850C31C279@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 25, 2005

U.N. Cites Syria as Factor in Lebanese Assassination
By WARREN HOGE

A U.N. report said Syrian interference in Lebanon created the tensions that led to the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister, and called for an inquiry.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/international/middleeast/25hariri.html?ex=1112418000&en=ee6552a265e01f5b&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:11:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:14:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. to Lift Ban on Military Aid to
	Guatemala
Message-ID: <20050325171150.A3ECD13B7E3@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Rumsfeld has been "impressed by reforms" in Guatemala. Which means, of course, that there haven't been any... Peace.


INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | March 25, 2005

U.S. to Lift Ban on Military Aid to Guatemala
By GINGER THOMPSON

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced that the United States would lift its ban on military aid to Guatemala.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/international/americas/25guatemala.html?ex=1112418000&en=9fc2071b5e8a2dde&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:12:24 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:15:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Palestinian Urges U.S. to Oppose an Israeli
	Plan
Message-ID: <20050325171225.BC34E83E2D@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 25, 2005

Palestinian Urges U.S. to Oppose an Israeli Plan
By GREG MYRE

The Palestinian prime minister called on the White House to take a clear position against Israel's planned expansion of its largest Jewish settlement, just east of Jerusalem.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/international/middleeast/25mideast.html?ex=1112418000&en=8666a3575022865f&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:17:55 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:20:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Carter, Baker to Work on Election Reform
Message-ID: <20050325171800.4EDE12062DD@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Wow! The Trilateral Commission (of which Carter is a founder and Honorary Chair) and The Carlyle Group (of which Baker is the Managing Director) are leading the way to election reform! Is this Orwellian or what?!?! Peace.


NATIONAL | March 25, 2005

Carter, Baker to Work on Election Reform
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III are teaming up to head a star-studded study commission that will recommend improvements to the nation's federal election system.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Carter-Election-Reform.html?ex=1112418000&en=37136b2417b2782b&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Fri Mar 25 09:44:43 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Fri Mar 25 09:47:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] also in regard to rereleasing the film
Message-ID: <00a301c53162$544c74e0$6e436c42@hotprojects>

as brilliant as the play was
( i personally think its the greatest evening i ever spent in the theater and HAIR still informs my work today constantly )
the movie was an abortion at least in my opinion and in the unanimous opinion of the authors
tom, julie etc
( i dont know how michael ways in on it )
and should not be rereleased
it was terrible untrue to the spirit of the play etc
i thought

similar to the movie of a chorus line that could have been something and wasnt

i think there needs to be a new movie made
perhaps
either in period ( 60s ) or updated

but the film missed the boat horribly i think
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From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Thu Mar 24 20:42:50 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Fri Mar 25 10:51:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Happy Easter
Message-ID: <200503251851.j2PIppoe020795@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Go to this site for a funny bunny thing:  
http://www.grayace.com/dex/bunny.html

Also, new US Treasury $$ now in distribution.  Several
friends have gotten them.  Local banker says they are
in ATM machines: $20's and $50's are available
currently.  These are gold backed and the FRN's are
going bye-bye       Gerald.
From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Fri Mar 25 08:15:09 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Fri Mar 25 11:04:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Iraqi Shiism could topple the mullahs
In-Reply-To: <000901c5314b$1df91ae0$1ccd3542@net>
Message-ID: <200503251904.j2PJ4fXY020867@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 25 12:40:12 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 25 12:42:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: John Glenn[Take a minute to read]
In-Reply-To: <0IDX00DDM5K9O3C0@vms040.mailsrvcs.net>
Message-ID: <BE69B72C.1F8DB%michael@michaelbutler.com>

There are people who feel that way.
That is their right
Michael

> Michael:  My friend, Sharon, sent this today, interesting stats.  Bette
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jack and Sharon<mailto:CloudJ001@hawaii.rr.com>
> To: LAYTON<mailto:jack.bette.layton@verizon.net>
> Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 7:36 AM
> Subject: Fw: John Glenn[Take a minute to read]
> 
>         -------Original Message-------
> 
>           Subject: Fw: John Glenn[Take a minute to read]
> 
> 
>            PLEASE BE SURE TO READ WHAT SENATOR JOHN GLENN SAID, Scroll down.
> 
> 
> 
>           Things that make you think a little........
> 
> 
> 
>           1. There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq during the month of
> January.....
> 
> 
> 
>           In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of
> January.
> 
> 
> 
>           That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war
> torn country of Iraq.
> 
> 
> 
>           2. When some claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war,
> state the following:
> 
> 
> 
>           FDR...led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan
> did. From
> 
>           1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost an average of 112,500 per year.
> 
> 
> 
>           Truman...finished that war and started one in Korea, North Korea
> never attacked us. >From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of
> 18,334 per year.
> 
> 
> 
>           John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never
> attacked us. Johnson...turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000
> lives were lost an average of 5,800 per year.
> 
> 
> 
>           Clinton...went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent, Bosnia
> never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three
> times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.
> 
> 
> 
>           3. In the two years since terrorists attacked us President Bush has
> liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear
> inspectors in Libya, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured
> a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.
> 
> 
> 
>           The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking,
> but...It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the
> Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.
> 
> 
> 
>           We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for less
> time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.
> 
> 
> 
>           It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to
> destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the
> police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick killing a woman.
> 
> 
> 
>           Wait, there's more.......................
> 
> 
> 
>           Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what
> they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator
> Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive
> impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why
> men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living. This is a
> typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of our
> military.
> 
> 
> 
>           JOHN GLENN ON THE SENATE FLOOR Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:13 Senator
> Howard Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've
> never held a real job?"
> 
> 
> 
>           Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps.
> I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions & my plane was hit by
> anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program.
> 
> 
> 
>           It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was
> not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts
> to the bank. I ask you to go with me .. as I went the other day... to a
> veteran's hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the
> eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program
> at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus
> Grissom and Roger Chaffee... and you look those kids in the eye and tell them
> that their Dads didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you
> stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than
> I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags.
> 
> 
> 
>           You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell ME
> that those people didn't have a job? I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum; you
> should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were
> some men -
> 
>           SOME MEN - who held REAL jobs. And they required a dedication to a
> purpose -
> 
>           and a love of country and a dedication to duty - that was more
> important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country
> possible.
> 
> 
> 
>           I HAVE held a job, Howard! What about you?"
> 
> 
> 
>           For those who don't remember - During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was
> an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA.
> 
> 
> 
>           If you can read this, thank a teacher.... If you are reading it in
> English thank a Veteran. Please keep this circulating.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>          
>                  
>          
> 
>    
>            
>    
> 

From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri Mar 25 13:31:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri Mar 25 13:34:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The ID-Sniper rifle (something Orwell never dreamed of)
Message-ID: <138280-220053525213140548@M2W028.mail2web.com>

THINGS ORWELL NEVER DREAMED OF
http://www.backfire.dk/EMPIRENORTH/newsite/products_en001.htm

EMPIRE NORTH - What is the ID SNIPER rifle? It is used to implant a
GPS-microchip in the body of a human being, using a high powered sniper
rifle as the long distance injector. The microchip will enter the body and
stay there, causing no internal damage, and only a very small amount of
physical pain to the target. It will feel like a mosquito-bite lasting a
fraction of a second. At the same time a digital camcorder with a 
zoom-lense
fitted within the scope will take a high-resolution picture of the target.
This picture will be stored on a memory card for later image-analysis.

Why use the ID SNIPER rifle? As the urban battlefield grows more complex 
and
intense, new ways of managing and controlling crowds are needed. The
attention of the media changes the rules of the game. Sometimes it is
difficult to engage the enemy in the streets without causing damage to the
all important image of the state. Instead Empire North suggests to mark and
identify a suspicious subject on a safe distance, enabeling the national 
law
enforcement agency to keep track on the target through a satellite in the
weeks to come.

The ID SNIPERTM rifle was presented by Empire North in Beijing at the China
Police 2002 exhibition.


--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .


From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri Mar 25 05:14:55 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri Mar 25 14:04:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - TEACHERS SUSPENDED FOR PRAISING ANTI-JEWISH
	ESSAY
Message-ID: <20050325131455.890B11B691@nmweb07.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
TEACHERS SUSPENDED FOR PRAISING ANTI-JEWISH ESSAY
WebPosted Thu Mar 24 10:21:24 2005

OTTAWA---Two teachers at an Islamic school in Ottawa have been suspended
while the school and the Ontario government investigate allegations they
incited hatred against Jews.

One teacher praised a student essay about martyrdom and killing Israeli
soldiers and another helped with the artwork.

The administration of Abraar Islamic school was shocked by the student's
tale of ambushing and killing Israeli soldiers, said school principal
Aisha Sherazi.

The eight-page story, written in Arabic, was about avenging last year's
death of one of the founders of the Hamas militant movement. It included
a cover page illustrated with a burning Star of David, a machine gun and
a Palestinian flag flying from the top of the Dome of the Rock, an
Islamic shrine in Jerusalem.

"Without thinking, Ahmed took his M-16 machine gun and threw the bombs
and he showered the Jews, this resulted in the killing of the soldiers,"
the student wrote in one passage.

A teacher wrote on the title page "God bless you, your efforts are good,"
adding that Ahmed's story "is still alive and the end will be soon when
God unites us in Jerusalem." A second helped with the artwork. They were
both suspended Wednesday.

"It's very disturbing," Sherazi said on Thursday.

"The whole thing is very, very disturbing indeed, but as I say, it's
being investigated now and we're certainly going to try and get to the
bottom of it."

Ontario's Education Minister Gerard Kennedy has agreed to launch an
investigation. He said the incident proves the province needs more
control over what goes on in private schools.

         Sherazi said the school of 200 students, ranging from
         kindergarten to Grade 8, does not condone this kind of thinking.

"Encouraging or inciting hatred is strictly prohibited at our school,"
she said earlier in a prepared statement. "We will take all measures to
investigate this matter and insure that it does not reoccur."



External investigation needed: Jewish group

The Canadian Jewish Congress praised the principal for her swift
response.

"We believe the principal did exactly what was supposed to be done,"
Bernie Farber said.

He called for a government investigation. Kennedy agreed with the
request.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From Katrackley at aol.com  Thu Mar 24 18:36:49 2005
From: Katrackley at aol.com (Katrackley@aol.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 14:04:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] thoughts at Easter--a really amazing woman
Message-ID: <200503251828.j2PISekf020698@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

People are often unreasonable,
 Illogical and self-centered.
 Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
People may accuse
 You of selfish motives;
 Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
 You will win some false friends
 And some true enemies;
 Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
People may cheat you;
 Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
Someone could destroy overnight;
 Build anyway.
 If you find serenity and happiness,
 They may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
 
The good you do today,
 People will often forget tomorrow;
 Do good anyway.
 
Give the world the best you have,
 And it may never be enough;
 Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
It is between you and God;
 It never was between you and them anyway.
 
~Mother Teresa~
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri Mar 25 14:25:16 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri Mar 25 14:28:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] That Rumbling Is Cheneymania
Message-ID: <6594334.1111789516784.JavaMail.turbine@s80>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
That Rumbling Is Cheneymania 
--------------------

The columns hyping the VP seem to plead for Bush's OK.

Jonathan Chait

March 25 2005

In the summer of 2000, Dick Cheney was appointed to find a vice presidential candidate for George W. Bush, and, as we now know, the winner of the search turned out to be Dick Cheney. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-chait25mar25,0,1201495.column 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From lyve at netzero.com  Fri Mar 25 15:18:13 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Fri Mar 25 15:22:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] also in regard to rereleasing the film
Message-ID: <20050325.151836.10313.76338@webmail24.nyc.untd.com>

95% of the energy that flowed across the stage play did not come across in the film.

I have spoke to people that saw the film and not the stage play and they said the stage play was difficult to understand and it seemed rather raw.

Well, I agree with you Richard in that a new movie should startup and capture the energy, so when it's the end-the film would draw your ass off the conservative couch to pick off those liberals (not saying you're a conservative Richard).

There needs to be filmakers skillfull in displaying the inner emotions, one feels when entering the 'church' of HAIR. 

Capture it-there's another block-buster for you and Michael.


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

Please note: message attached


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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri Mar 25 17:58:05 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri Mar 25 18:00:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bush has 2 faces
Message-ID: <000d01c531a7$42afe3d0$6527e440@Harold>

Bush wears the face that gets him vote and money!

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8359.htm

Bush is a weak, immoral man, and America suffers from it!

later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri Mar 25 18:07:48 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri Mar 25 18:10:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] America sells F-16s
Message-ID: <000801c531a8$9e0b3ad0$6527e440@Harold>

America can sell arms to who ever they want, i.e. Pakistan (F 16's) in Asia

But America will not allow anyone else to sell arms i.e. European to Asia 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4382735.stm

Hypocrite America is!

Later H

PS No wonder no one trusts America anymore.

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri Mar 25 18:15:08 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri Mar 25 18:17:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] This is America the violent
Message-ID: <000801c531a9$a3f5b4b0$6527e440@Harold>

University students riot after sport event, for fun!

http://www.wvmetronews.com/index_forsub.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=11322

This is a culture gone wild!

H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri Mar 25 18:19:24 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri Mar 25 18:21:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Moves to Sell F-16's to Pakistan Over
	Indian Objections
Message-ID: <20050326021929.B5EBF2062A2@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: harry.sifton@sympatico.ca.

America is creatinng an im-balance of power with 2 Nuclar Militaries........ The thinking is all wrong........ But the money is good..... right?


WASHINGTON | March 25, 2005

U.S. Moves to Sell F-16's to Pakistan Over Indian Objections
By DAVID STOUT

The sale of the fighter planes is a policy shift meant to reward Pakistan for its help in combating terrorism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/politics/25cnd-military.html?ex=1112418000&en=b219c4774edf9a4e&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 25 19:31:29 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 25 19:33:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Conservatives Invoke Case in Fund-Raising Campaigns
Message-ID: <BE6A1791.1F90C%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Conservatives Invoke Case in Fund-Raising Campaigns
    By David D. Kirkpatrick
    The New York Times

    Friday 25 March 2005

    Videotape of Terri Schiavo blinking at her parents has inspired
donations from people around the country to the foundation set up to help
pay for the family's legal battle. But many other groups are soliciting
donations in her name as well, some for a much broader agenda.

    "Help Save Terri Schiavo's Life!" says the Web site of the Traditional
Values Coalition, a Christian conservative group best known for its
campaigns against gay rights. Next to a link to the Web site of her parents'
foundation is a pitch to "become an active supporter of the Traditional
Values Coalition by pledging a monthly gift."

    "What this issue has done is it has galvanized people the way nothing
could have done in an off-election year," said Rev. Lou Sheldon, the founder
of the group, acknowledging that the case of Ms. Schiavo, a severely
brain-damaged Florida woman, had moved many to open up their checkbooks.
"That is what I see as the blessing that dear Terri's life is offering to
the conservative Christian movement in America."

    Mr. Sheldon, whose organization is based in Anaheim, Calif., said his
group had sent e-mail messages and direct mailings telling supporters to
call elected officials about the Schiavo case and usually asking for
donations as well.

    Voice for Terri, a coalition of anti-abortion and Christian conservative
groups, is one of several organizations that has sent e-mail messages and
set up Web sites pointedly criticizing Ms. Schiavo's husband, Michael, who
has fought for years to have his wife's feeding tube removed over the
objections of her parents. Troy Newman, the president of the anti-abortion
group Operation Rescue and a spokesman for Voice for Terri, said the
coalition was spending the money it raised to cover the costs of rallies, of
hotel rooms and of rental cars for organizers of protests in Florida, and of
e-mail and letter-writing campaigns.

    "This is not something you make money off of," Mr. Newman said. "It is a
tragedy."

    The Web site of Ms. Schiavo's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler,
terrisfight.org, warns visitors that their foundation and Web site are the
only legitimate places to contribute to her legal defense.

    "Any other source that claims to be a fund-raising effort on her behalf
should be brought to our attention here," the site says.

    Paul Nelson, the president of the Evangelical Council for Financial
Accountability, which certifies the accounting of many of the best-known
evangelical charities, said his organization frowned on groups raising money
for causes peripheral to their work. And Mr. Nelson said any accusations or
criticisms against Mr. Schiavo or others that were raised on Web sites and
could not be proved would stretch his organization's requirement that all
fund-raising be truthful.

    None of these conservative groups would say how much they had raised so
far by invoking the Schiavo case.

    The connections can be complicated. Ms. Schiavo's parents invited
Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, who is estranged from the
group, to help organize rallies and protests for their cause. Mr. Terry, in
turn, asked his friends and fellow conservative activists, William Greene
and Philip Sheldon - the son of Lou Sheldon of Traditional Values - to help
raise money through their organization RightMarch.com.

    The two founded RightMarch.com two years ago "to counter the
well-financed antics of radical left-wing groups like MoveOn.org," according
to the group's Web site. Often quoting Ms. Schiavo's father's endorsement of
Mr. Terry, their organization has taken out advertisements in USA Today and
The Washington Times, and on radio stations around the country, directing
supporters to its Web site. It has also sent millions of e-mail messages to
its mailing list urging "Save Terri Schiavo from starvation!" and asking for
donations.

    Mr. Greene, who is also president of Strategic Internet Campaign
Management (the acronym is pronounced "sic 'em," according to the group's
Web site), said he did not expect to raise more than the group spent on
advertising and computer services for the battle over Ms. Schiavo, but any
surplus would be spent on conservative causes.

    "General operating procedure for anyone, I guess," Mr. Greene said.

 

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 25 19:33:01 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 25 19:35:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Rice Warns Israel against Settlement Expansion
Message-ID: <BE6A17ED.1F90D%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Rice Warns Israel against Settlement Expansion
    By Paul Richter and Tyler Marshall
    The Los Angeles Times

    Thursday 24 March 2005

    Washington - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Israel today
that its plan for a large expansion of an Israeli West Bank settlement was
"at odds with American policy" and could threaten progress toward peace with
the Palestinians at a critical moment.

    In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the secretary of State said
Israel's explanation of its plans to add 3,500 housing units to the Maaleh
Adumim settlement east of Jerusalem was "not really a satisfactory
response."

    "We have noted our concerns to the Israelis," she added.

    Her blunt remarks were a signal that the administration does not want
the Sharon government to make concessions to Israeli settlers, although the
government is under tremendous political pressure from the right as it
prepares to withdraw settlers and troops from Gaza this summer, analysts
said.

    On other issues, Rice claimed that new U.S.-European cooperation had
brought progress in diplomatic efforts to force Iran to give up nuclear
enrichment activities, but she said that the Iranians had yet to take "some
very clear steps they could take" to end suspicions they are seeking a
nuclear weapon.

    Rice also confirmed that the administration wanted to end the right of
all non-nuclear states to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes - a right
guaranteed under the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - claiming that
it posed too great a risk for proliferation.

    Discussing the Arab-Israel issue, Rice emphasized that despite recent
progress, the peace effort remains at a "fragile" stage and that Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas needs help as he tries to reform the
Palestinian government and bring its security services under control.

    She said U.S. officials had told the Israelis that they have obligations
under the peace plan, known as the road map, not to expand settlements. She
said U.S. officials expect that the Israelis "are going to be careful about
anything," including settlements, new laws, or the route of a barrier that
separates them from the Palestinians, which could affect the outcome of the
final peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

    "We will continue to note that this [settlement expansion] is at odds
with ... American policy. So, full stop," she said.

    She said both sides needed to work on the immediate tasks before them,
but they are on the threshold of a major advance toward peace.

    With a withdrawal from Gaza and Palestinian reform, "we will be in a
fundamentally different situation in several months, and I think we will be
very advanced in terms of where we would be in relations to the road map,"
she said.

    Rice spoke on the day the United States was bringing to a vote in the
U.N. Security Council a resolution that would increase the number of
peacekeepers in the Sudan to 10,000. Washington was forced to separate that
issue, which was less controversial, from its proposal to sanction the
Sudanese leadership, which has been rejected by the Russians and the
Chinese.

    "We have been, frankly, disappointed that there are those who don't seem
to know - see the need for this kind of sanctions resolution," Rice said.
"We're working with the Chinese and the Russians and others who have been
reluctant to have one, and hopefully we can get a sanctions resolution
fairly soon."

 

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri Mar 25 21:42:58 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri Mar 25 21:45:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Something You Should Read
Message-ID: <BE6A3662.1F91B%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Michael Dailey sent this. It is a sobering point of view. Don't just dismiss
it.
Michael
Here's a thought provoker of an article...MD

The Long Emergency 
By James Howard Kunstler
The Rolling Stone 
Thursday 24 March 2005
What's going to happen as we start running out of cheap gas to guzzle?

 
A few weeks ago, the price of oil ratcheted above fifty-five dollars a
barrel, which is about twenty dollars a barrel more than a year ago. The
next day, the oil story was buried on page six of the New York Times
business section. Apparently, the price of oil is not considered significant
news, even when it goes up five bucks a barrel in the span of ten days. That
same day, the stock market shot up more than a hundred points because, CNN
said, government data showed no signs of inflation. Note to clueless nation:
Call planet Earth. 
Carl Jung, one of the fathers of psychology, famously remarked that "people
cannot stand too much reality." What you're about to read may challenge your
assumptions about the kind of world we live in, and especially the kind of
world into which events are propelling us. We are in for a rough ride
through uncharted territory.
It has been very hard for Americans - lost in dark raptures of nonstop
infotainment, recreational shopping and compulsive motoring - to make sense
of the gathering forces that will fundamentally alter the terms of everyday
life in our technological society. Even after the terrorist attacks of 9/11,
America is still sleepwalking into the future. I call this coming time the
Long Emergency. 
Most immediately we face the end of the cheap-fossil-fuel era. It is no
exaggeration to state that reliable supplies of cheap oil and natural gas
underlie everything we identify as the necessities of modern life - not to
mention all of its comforts and luxuries: central heating, air conditioning,
cars, airplanes, electric lights, inexpensive clothing, recorded music,
movies, hip-replacement surgery, national defense - you name it.
The few Americans who are even aware that there is a gathering global-energy
predicament usually misunderstand the core of the argument. That argument
states that we don't have to run out of oil to start having severe problems
with industrial civilization and its dependent systems. We only have to slip
over the all-time production peak and begin a slide down the arc of steady
depletion. 
The term "global oil-production peak" means that a turning point will come
when the world produces the most oil it will ever produce in a given year
and, after that, yearly production will inexorably decline. It is usually
represented graphically in a bell curve. The peak is the top of the curve,
the halfway point of the world's all-time total endowment, meaning half the
world's oil will be left. That seems like a lot of oil, and it is, but
there's a big catch: It's the half that is much more difficult to extract,
far more costly to get, of much poorer quality and located mostly in places
where the people hate us. A substantial amount of it will never be
extracted. 
The United States passed its own oil peak - about 11 million barrels a day -
in 1970, and since then production has dropped steadily. In 2004 it ran just
above 5 million barrels a day (we get a tad more from natural-gas
condensates). Yet we consume roughly 20 million barrels a day now. That
means we have to import about two-thirds of our oil, and the ratio will
continue to worsen.
The US peak in 1970 brought on a portentous change in geoeconomic power.
Within a few years, foreign producers, chiefly OPEC, were setting the price
of oil, and this in turn led to the oil crises of the 1970s. In response,
frantic development of non-OPEC oil, especially the North Sea fields of
England and Norway, essentially saved the West's ass for about two decades.
Since 1999, these fields have entered depletion. Meanwhile, worldwide
discovery of new oil has steadily declined to insignificant levels in 2003
and 2004. 
Some "cornucopians" claim that the Earth has something like a creamy nougat
center of "abiotic" oil that will naturally replenish the great oil fields
of the world. The facts speak differently. There has been no replacement
whatsoever of oil already extracted from the fields of America or any other
place. 
Now we are faced with the global oil-production peak. The best estimates of
when this will actually happen have been somewhere between now and 2010. In
2004, however, after demand from burgeoning China and India shot up, and
revelations that Shell Oil wildly misstated its reserves, and Saudi Arabia
proved incapable of goosing up its production despite promises to do so, the
most knowledgeable experts revised their predictions and now concur that
2005 is apt to be the year of all-time global peak production.
It will change everything about how we live.
To aggravate matters, American natural-gas production is also declining, at
five percent a year, despite frenetic new drilling, and with the potential
of much steeper declines ahead. Because of the oil crises of the 1970s, the
nuclear-plant disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl and the acid-rain
problem, the US chose to make gas its first choice for electric-power
generation. The result was that just about every power plant built after
1980 has to run on gas. Half the homes in America are heated with gas. To
further complicate matters, gas isn't easy to import. Here in North America,
it is distributed through a vast pipeline network. Gas imported from
overseas would have to be compressed at minus-260 degrees Fahrenheit in
pressurized tanker ships and unloaded (re-gasified) at special terminals, of
which few exist in America. Moreover, the first attempts to site new
terminals have met furious opposition because they are such ripe targets for
terrorism. 
Some other things about the global energy predicament are poorly understood
by the public and even our leaders. This is going to be a permanent energy
crisis, and these energy problems will synergize with the disruptions of
climate change, epidemic disease and population overshoot to produce higher
orders of trouble. 
We will have to accommodate ourselves to fundamentally changed conditions.
No combination of alternative fuels will allow us to run American life the
way we have been used to running it, or even a substantial fraction of it.
The wonders of steady technological progress achieved through the reign of
cheap oil have lulled us into a kind of Jiminy Cricket syndrome, leading
many Americans to believe that anything we wish for hard enough will come
true. These days, even people who ought to know better are wishing ardently
for a seamless transition from fossil fuels to their putative replacements.
The widely touted "hydrogen economy" is a particularly cruel hoax. We are
not going to replace the US automobile and truck fleet with vehicles run on
fuel cells. For one thing, the current generation of fuel cells is largely
designed to run on hydrogen obtained from natural gas. The other way to get
hydrogen in the quantities wished for would be electrolysis of water using
power from hundreds of nuclear plants. Apart from the dim prospect of our
building that many nuclear plants soon enough, there are also numerous
severe problems with hydrogen's nature as an element that present forbidding
obstacles to its use as a replacement for oil and gas, especially in storage
and transport. 
Wishful notions about rescuing our way of life with "renewables" are also
unrealistic. Solar-electric systems and wind turbines face not only the
enormous problem of scale but the fact that the components require
substantial amounts of energy to manufacture and the probability that they
can't be manufactured at all without the underlying support platform of a
fossil-fuel economy. We will surely use solar and wind technology to
generate some electricity for a period ahead but probably at a very local
and small scale. 
Virtually all "biomass" schemes for using plants to create liquid fuels
cannot be scaled up to even a fraction of the level at which things are
currently run. What's more, these schemes are predicated on using oil and
gas "inputs" (fertilizers, weed-killers) to grow the biomass crops that
would be converted into ethanol or bio-diesel fuels. This is a net energy
loser - you might as well just burn the inputs and not bother with the
biomass products. Proposals to distill trash and waste into oil by means of
thermal depolymerization depend on the huge waste stream produced by a cheap
oil and gas economy in the first place.
Coal is far less versatile than oil and gas, extant in less abundant
supplies than many people assume and fraught with huge ecological drawbacks
- as a contributor to greenhouse "global warming" gases and many health and
toxicity issues ranging from widespread mercury poisoning to acid rain. You
can make synthetic oil from coal, but the only time this was tried on a
large scale was by the Nazis under wartime conditions, using impressive
amounts of slave labor.
If we wish to keep the lights on in America after 2020, we may indeed have
to resort to nuclear power, with all its practical problems and
eco-conundrums. Under optimal conditions, it could take ten years to get a
new generation of nuclear power plants into operation, and the price may be
beyond our means. Uranium is also a resource in finite supply. We are no
closer to the more difficult project of atomic fusion, by the way, than we
were in the 1970s. 
The upshot of all this is that we are entering a historical period of
potentially great instability, turbulence and hardship. Obviously,
geopolitical maneuvering around the world's richest energy regions has
already led to war and promises more international military conflict. Since
the Middle East contains two-thirds of the world's remaining oil supplies,
the US has attempted desperately to stabilize the region by, in effect,
opening a big police station in Iraq. The intent was not just to secure
Iraq's oil but to modify and influence the behavior of neighboring states
around the Persian Gulf, especially Iran and Saudi Arabia. The results have
been far from entirely positive, and our future prospects in that part of
the world are not something we can feel altogether confident about.
And then there is the issue of China, which, in 2004, became the world's
second-greatest consumer of oil, surpassing Japan. China's surging
industrial growth has made it increasingly dependent on the imports we are
counting on. If China wanted to, it could easily walk into some of these
places - the Middle East, former Soviet republics in central Asia - and
extend its hegemony by force. Is America prepared to contest for this oil in
an Asian land war with the Chinese army? I doubt it. Nor can the US military
occupy regions of the Eastern Hemisphere indefinitely, or hope to secure
either the terrain or the oil infrastructure of one distant, unfriendly
country after another. A likely scenario is that the US could exhaust and
bankrupt itself trying to do this, and be forced to withdraw back into our
own hemisphere, having lost access to most of the world's remaining oil in
the process. 
We know that our national leaders are hardly uninformed about this
predicament. President George W. Bush has been briefed on the dangers of the
oil-peak situation as long ago as before the 2000 election and repeatedly
since then. In March, the Department of Energy released a report that
officially acknowledges for the first time that peak oil is for real and
states plainly that "the world has never faced a problem like this. Without
massive mitigation more than a decade before the fact, the problem will be
pervasive and will not be temporary."
Most of all, the Long Emergency will require us to make other arrangements
for the way we live in the United States. America is in a special
predicament due to a set of unfortunate choices we made as a society in the
twentieth century. Perhaps the worst was to let our towns and cities rot
away and to replace them with suburbia, which had the additional side effect
of trashing a lot of the best farmland in America. Suburbia will come to be
regarded as the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the
world. It has a tragic destiny. The psychology of previous investment
suggests that we will defend our drive-in utopia long after it has become a
terrible liability.
Before long, the suburbs will fail us in practical terms. We made the
ongoing development of housing subdivisions, highway strips, fried-food
shacks and shopping malls the basis of our economy, and when we have to stop
making more of those things, the bottom will fall out.
The circumstances of the Long Emergency will require us to downscale and
re-scale virtually everything we do and how we do it, from the kind of
communities we physically inhabit to the way we grow our food to the way we
work and trade the products of our work. Our lives will become profoundly
and intensely local. Daily life will be far less about mobility and much
more about staying where you are. Anything organized on the large scale,
whether it is government or a corporate business enterprise such as
Wal-Mart, will wither as the cheap energy props that support bigness fall
away. The turbulence of the Long Emergency will produce a lot of economic
losers, and many of these will be members of an angry and aggrieved former
middle class. 
Food production is going to be an enormous problem in the Long Emergency. As
industrial agriculture fails due to a scarcity of oil- and gas-based inputs,
we will certainly have to grow more of our food closer to where we live, and
do it on a smaller scale. The American economy of the mid-twenty-first
century may actually center on agriculture, not information, not high tech,
not "services" like real estate sales or hawking cheeseburgers to tourists.
Farming. This is no doubt a startling, radical idea, and it raises extremely
difficult questions about the reallocation of land and the nature of work.
The relentless subdividing of land in the late twentieth century has
destroyed the contiguity and integrity of the rural landscape in most
places. The process of readjustment is apt to be disorderly and
improvisational. Food production will necessarily be much more
labor-intensive than it has been for decades. We can anticipate the
re-formation of a native-born American farm-laboring class. It will be
composed largely of the aforementioned economic losers who had to relinquish
their grip on the American dream. These masses of disentitled people may
enter into quasi-feudal social relations with those who own land in exchange
for food and physical security. But their sense of grievance will remain
fresh, and if mistreated they may simply seize that land.
The way that commerce is currently organized in America will not survive far
into the Long Emergency. Wal-Mart's "warehouse on wheels" won't be such a
bargain in a non-cheap-oil economy. The national chain stores' 12,000-mile
manufacturing supply lines could easily be interrupted by military contests
over oil and by internal conflict in the nations that have been supplying us
with ultra-cheap manufactured goods, because they, too, will be struggling
with similar issues of energy famine and all the disorders that go with it.
As these things occur, America will have to make other arrangements for the
manufacture, distribution and sale of ordinary goods. They will probably be
made on a "cottage industry" basis rather than the factory system we once
had, since the scale of available energy will be much lower - and we are not
going to replay the twentieth century. Tens of thousands of the common
products we enjoy today, from paints to pharmaceuticals, are made out of
oil. They will become increasingly scarce or unavailable. The selling of
things will have to be reorganized at the local scale. It will have to be
based on moving merchandise shorter distances. It is almost certain to
result in higher costs for the things we buy and far fewer choices.
The automobile will be a diminished presence in our lives, to say the least.
With gasoline in short supply, not to mention tax revenue, our roads will
surely suffer. The interstate highway system is more delicate than the
public realizes. If the "level of service" (as traffic engineers call it) is
not maintained to the highest degree, problems multiply and escalate
quickly. The system does not tolerate partial failure. The interstates are
either in excellent condition, or they quickly fall apart.
America today has a railroad system that the Bulgarians would be ashamed of.
Neither of the two major presidential candidates in 2004 mentioned
railroads, but if we don't refurbish our rail system, then there may be no
long-range travel or transport of goods at all a few decades from now. The
commercial aviation industry, already on its knees financially, is likely to
vanish. The sheer cost of maintaining gigantic airports may not justify the
operation of a much-reduced air-travel fleet. Railroads are far more energy
efficient than cars, trucks or airplanes, and they can be run on anything
from wood to electricity. The rail-bed infrastructure is also far more
economical to maintain than our highway network.
The successful regions in the twenty-first century will be the ones
surrounded by viable farming hinterlands that can reconstitute locally
sustainable economies on an armature of civic cohesion. Small towns and
smaller cities have better prospects than the big cities, which will
probably have to contract substantially. The process will be painful and
tumultuous. In many American cities, such as Cleveland, Detroit and St.
Louis, that process is already well advanced. Others have further to fall.
New York and Chicago face extraordinary difficulties, being oversupplied
with gigantic buildings out of scale with the reality of declining energy
supplies. Their former agricultural hinterlands have long been paved over.
They will be encysted in a surrounding fabric of necrotic suburbia that will
only amplify and reinforce the cities' problems. Still, our cities occupy
important sites. Some kind of urban entities will exist where they are in
the future, but probably not the colossi of twentieth-century industrialism.
Some regions of the country will do better than others in the Long
Emergency. The Southwest will suffer in proportion to the degree that it
prospered during the cheap-oil blowout of the late twentieth century. I
predict that Sunbelt states like Arizona and Nevada will become
significantly depopulated, since the region will be short of water as well
as gasoline and natural gas. Imagine Phoenix without cheap air conditioning.
I'm not optimistic about the Southeast, either, for different reasons. I
think it will be subject to substantial levels of violence as the grievances
of the formerly middle class boil over and collide with the delusions of
Pentecostal Christian extremism. The latent encoded behavior of Southern
culture includes an outsized notion of individualism and the belief that
firearms ought to be used in the defense of it. This is a poor recipe for
civic cohesion. 
The Mountain States and Great Plains will face an array of problems, from
poor farming potential to water shortages to population loss. The Pacific
Northwest, New England and the Upper Midwest have somewhat better prospects.
I regard them as less likely to fall into lawlessness, anarchy or despotism
and more likely to salvage the bits and pieces of our best social traditions
and keep them in operation at some level.
These are daunting and even dreadful prospects. The Long Emergency is going
to be a tremendous trauma for the human race. We will not believe that this
is happening to us, that 200 years of modernity can be brought to its knees
by a world-wide power shortage. The survivors will have to cultivate a
religion of hope - that is, a deep and comprehensive belief that humanity is
worth carrying on. If there is any positive side to stark changes coming our
way, it may be in the benefits of close communal relations, of having to
really work intimately (and physically) with our neighbors, to be part of an
enterprise that really matters and to be fully engaged in meaningful social
enactments instead of being merely entertained to avoid boredom. Years from
now, when we hear singing at all, we will hear ourselves, and we will sing
with our whole hearts.
Adapted from The Long Emergency, 2005, by James Howard Kunstler, and
reprinted with permission of the publisher, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
------- 

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar 25 20:44:10 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri Mar 25 21:55:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Action: Biotech Industry Pushes to Release "Suicide"
	Gene in Plants
Message-ID: <200503260555.j2Q5t1S9023124@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Dear friend,

Consumer, farmer, and environmental organizations across the globe 
are mobilizing to stop the legalization and commercialization of the 
controversial Terminator Gene Technology, whereby seeds are 
genetically engineered to commit suicide after one growing season. 
The biotech industry and seed companies support the Terminator 
Technology, because it prevents farmers from saving their seeds and 
forces them to buy seeds every year.

In addition, scientists are concerned that this could lead to killing off a 
wide range of crops and plants, as pollen from plants with the 
Terminator gene spreads unpredictably in the wind. After a massive 
international campaign in 1998, Monsanto Corporation announced they 
were shelving plans to commercialize the Terminator, while the United 
Nations (UN) called for a global ban. But on February 11, 2005 
renewed efforts to overturn the worldwide ban were launched at a UN 
conference in Bangkok.

Learn more and sign the Organic Consumers Association's petition to 
the UN to terminate the Terminator Gene. 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/un.htm

Please also forward this message to interested friends and colleagues. 
(source: Organic Consumers Association 
http://www.organicconsumers.org)

Thank you!

-----


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
up to 3x/day) please reply and let us know!  If someone forwarded you 
this email and you want to be on our list, send an email to 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat Mar 26 02:22:48 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat Mar 26 02:23:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Something You Should Read
Message-ID: <000901c531ed$c3aafba0$4b25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Something You Should Read


*snip*

======
These are daunting and even dreadful prospects. The Long Emergency is going
to be a tremendous trauma for the human race. We will not believe that this
is happening to us, that 200 years of modernity can be brought to its knees
by a world-wide power shortage.
======



Nice, disturbing, informative article.

My turn.

In all the =many= "impractical power alternatives" (especially the idiotic
"more nuclear plants" one) that the gentleman listed, I still did not notice
one mention of the earth's oceans.  Either I am crazy from sitting too long
in one room in the middle of nowhere thinking about all this, or the earth's
oceans remain One Big Battery.  All one has to do is tap it.  From either
the continuous motion (on several levels) of the oceans or the basic fact of
its inherent salinity, power can be produced, on a massive scale.  All one
has to build are the simple instruments to extract the power.  I mentioned
this about a year ago, nobody commented, but it still remains a basic fact
that the oceans on this planet border every continent on the globe, and
they, besides being full of salt and water which can easily produce
=Electricity=, are also In Constant Motion, day and night, Without Fail,
endlessly, which can also be easily harnessed to produce the same old
Electricity.  Again, an endless supply on a massive scale.

Year after year.  Decade after decade.  Century after century.

The pyramids will pass away.  The ocean tides, waves, and salinity will
continue each day as if nothing happened (unless a giant meteorite hits us
and then we won't have to worry about energy production anymore, so far
global funding tracks only about 5 percent or something of "the heavens"
looking for those things headed our way).

Someone please write the guy who wrote that article and mention it to him, I
have other things to do rather than continuously take credit for saving
entire planets, or don't, and live through all the estimations and
projections he has presented.

One Big Battery.  Try to remember that amid all the verbage from everyone.
One Big Gigantic Ever-In-Motion Battery.  Sitting there with tourists taking
photographs of it and their children sailing and surfing on it all over the
world as the global headlines read "Energy Crisis Dooms Earth".

All you have to do is find one person smart enough to hook it up.  Most "B"
average American high school students could easily come up with several
workable cost-effective methods in less than one hour.

What am I..?  The smartest scientist in the world..?  Is such a Simple Fact
so invisible to everyone but myself..?  Probably not.  But the logic escapes
me that I never see such an overobvious power production solution spoken of
by anyone who goes over all the bad stuff that is going to happen if we
don't come up with "a viable option and now".  Who really knows.  I do know
that I'm getting tired of being paid peanuts to revolutionize power
production on earth as we know it.

I want a d*mn raise or I'm going back on strike.





======
The survivors will have to cultivate a religion of hope - that is, a deep
and comprehensive belief that humanity is worth carrying on. If there is any
positive side to stark changes coming our way, it may be in the benefits of
close communal relations, of having to really work intimately (and
physically) with our neighbors, to be part of an enterprise that really
matters and to be fully engaged in meaningful social enactments instead of
being merely entertained to avoid boredom. Years from now, when we hear
singing at all, we will hear ourselves, and we will sing with our whole
hearts.
=======


That guy has obviously never lived in some of the neighborhoods I have.

:|




Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 26 02:55:34 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 26 02:58:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27363955.1111834535382.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Rice Describes Plans  To Spread Democracy
 
 By Glenn Kessler  and Robin Wright
 
   Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday set out ambitious goals for the Bush administration's push for greater democracy overseas over the next four years, including pressing for competitive presidential elections this year in Egypt and women's right to vote in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.
 
 Rice, in an interview with Washington Post editors and reporters, said she was guided less by a fear that Islamic extremists would replace authoritarian governments than by a "strong certainty that the Middle East was not going to stay stable anyway." Extremism, she said, is rooted in the "absence of other channels for political activity," and so "when you know that the status quo is no longer defensible, then you have to be willing to move in another direction."
 
 Rice, who became secretary of state two months ago today, took stock of a period of tumultuous change in the one-hour interview, touching on relations with Russia, China, Israel and Latin America and addressing a range of conflicts across the globe. 
 
 Since taking charge of State from her predecessor, Colin L. Powell, Rice has moved quickly to put her stamp on the agency, enlisting a tight-knit group of political operatives who make sure the message and images of her diplomacy are consistent with White House policy. Rice has traveled extensively, impressing diplomats in Europe, Asia and the Middle East with a combination of charm and bluntness  --  and a clear sense that her words reflect President Bush's thinking.
 
 After Rice canceled a trip to Egypt recently to protest the continued imprisonment of an opposition leader, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced the nation would hold multi-party elections this year for the first time, though with potentially significant caveats. Rice cautioned yesterday that Egyptian elections "will not look like American competitive presidential elections," but she said the United States believes "competitiveness is an important element of the democratic enterprise."
 
 Asked whether she hopes to see women vote in Saudi Arabia, where they are barred, Rice replied: "In terms of women, I hope they are voting everywhere." She said she recalled a photograph of the recent Saudi municipal elections "that was very striking to me": a man having his daughter put his ballot in the box, which she interpreted as demonstrating his hopes for his daughter.
 
 One of the most difficult challenges for the Bush administration is how to balance the push for democracy with its relations with Russia, which has become increasingly authoritarian under President Vladimir Putin.
 
 With Kyrgyzstan this week becoming the third former Soviet republic to fall to a popular uprising, Rice stressed that "nobody is trying to encircle Russia." She said that "the space around Russia" is changing rapidly and the United States is trying to impress upon the Russians that liberalization and democracy around Russia will lead to greater prosperity within Russia.
 
 "It's very important that Russia not get isolated," she said, adding that Russian cooperation during the Kyrgyzstan revolution has been much better after the tensions over the Ukrainian elections last year. "We don't need a new dividing line on the other side of the Ukraine."
 
 Rice, who visited Beijing this week, said she had been told by the Chinese leadership that they will begin to make amends for the recent passage of a law authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves toward formal independence. She said Chinese leaders understood that the law  --  mainly drafted for internal political reasons  --  had negative consequences overseas. "They talked a good deal about what they were going to try to do to reduce tensions in the Taiwan Straits," she said. "And we'll see. That would be a good next step."
 
 Rice also said she made the case to Chinese officials that they cannot make a distinction between stability on the Korean Peninsula and North Korea possessing nuclear weapons. In more than two years of talks over North Korea's nuclear ambitions, a major problem for U.S. policy has been that China has been hesitant to press North Korea too hard for fears of sparking instability in the closed communist country on its border.
 
 "My discussion with the Chinese was to suggest to them that those two [concepts] are indivisible," Rice said. "They understand that a nuclear North Korea on the Korean Peninsula has potentially unpredictable effects that will not make the Korean Peninsula very stable, will not make the region very stable. And so I didn't find much pushback on that."
 
 Rice denied reports from Israeli officials  --  and some U.S. officials  --  that the Bush administration had struck an arrangement with Israel that would allow for some settlement growth in Palestinian areas. Israeli officials had said that the administration would allow for growth within settlements as long as additional housing units did not exceed existing construction lines. The U.S.-backed "road map" plan for peace calls for Israel to freeze settlement growth.
 
 Rice said the "only commitment or assurance" was made last April, when Bush announced that because of "new realities on the ground"  --  existing settlements in Palestinian areas  --  Israel could expect to retain some settlements as part of a final peace deal. She said that since then the United States has asked Israel for more detail on its settlement activity because "there is so much information, misinformation . . . that the picture was just too confusing."
 
 After the interview, Rice called a reporter twice to expand on her remarks on the administration's settlement policy. The administration has had "discussions about steps toward a settlement freeze," she said in one of the phone calls. "But we've never reached closure on that. It's complicated."
 
 On Latin America, Rice said there needs to be "a new focus in the hemisphere on how democratic governments deliver better for their people." With corruption and growing gaps between the wealthy and poor in terms of education and health care, she said the region is increasing susceptible to what she called "a kind of demagoguery about class differences."
 
 "In the hemisphere there's a gap between economies that are growing and the status of people, and it's leading to fertile ground for populism," Rice said. She added there are "very strong signs" that Venezuela  --  headed by a president, Hugo Chavez, who makes clear his disdain for the Bush administration  --  is interfering in the affairs of Colombia and other countries.
 
 The secretary defended the administration's decision to sell F-16s to Pakistan, even though it is run by a military leader who ousted an elected government in a bloodless coup. Under Gen. Pervez Musharraf, "Pakistan has come a long way, it's on a better trajectory than it's ever been, or that it's been in many, many years," she said.
 
  Rice said that she was struck by the conclusions of the Sept. 11 commission: "Basically invest in the relationship with Pakistan, because if you don't, you're going to create the same situation we created in the '90s," when Pakistan forged close ties with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 26 02:57:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 26 03:00:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7337180.1111834672594.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Tainted Easter Message
 
 By Colbert I. King
 
    This is an Easter season story with all the makings of an uplifting message, except for one thing: At the end, there is no victory. To be sure, this account contains elements of despair, pain, sacrifice, hope and an unselfish devotion to the powerless. There's also international intrigue linking a central Pennsylvania community to a distant village in East Africa. But coming at the time of Christianity's central event, this is, in essence, a tragic tale of ignorance, bigotry and love unreturned.
 
 It begins in southwest Uganda near Mount Rwenzori (Mountains of the Moon) in an area called the Kasese district. Kasese is home to about 520,000 mostly illiterate people. During the war in nearby Congo that ended four years ago, more than 150,000 of Kasese's residents were displaced; many ended up living in camps.
 
 The insurgents have faded away, only to be replaced by another deadly enemy: HIV-AIDS. Kasese has the highest rate in Uganda, with five people dying of AIDS every week. Would that HIV-AIDS were Kasese's only danger. Each week, malaria also kills about 20 of its children. The 1996-2001 insurgency has left much of Kasese broken and with pressing needs: schools, dispensaries, homes and morale, all in need of repair. About 70 people who lost their legs to land mines are still living in the area.
 
 All this has become known through a written appeal for help issued by Jackson Nzerebende Tembo, Anglican bishop of the South Rwenzori Diocese, which serves the Kasese district. Bishop Tembo, a native of the area, prayed in his message that "the Lord will bless the Diocese with resources needed" to continue the church's work with the desolate and forlorn people of his community.
 
 The bishop's desperate call for help was heard and answered by the Anglican Communion on the other side of the Atlantic: the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, headquartered in Harrisburg.
 
 The Pennsylvanians pulled together more than $350,000 for Kasese to support HIV-AIDS patients as well as a little extra money for the Bishop Masereka Christian Foundation to help pay for the education of Kasese's orphans. The Pennsylvania Episcopalians also arranged to send a group of physicians and other medical personnel to the South Rwenzori Diocese this summer.
 
 After a visit to the area by  Tom Leaman, who is a physician and professor at Penn State University's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and a member of a local Episcopal parish, the diocese of Central Pennsylvania set up a Prayer Friend program in which a diocesan member would select a Ugandan as a prayer partner, keeping that person in daily prayers and regular correspondence. Nearly two dozen members of the Pennsylvanian diocese had entered into such arrangements.
 
 Then, darkness and betrayal.
 
 Last week Bishop Tembo suspended all activities with the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. He withdrew his request for $352,941 to support his HIV-AIDS program, including money for orphans' education, and he postponed the visit of the medical team. What, pray tell, could have led the bishop to refuse this help for people in need?
 
 In every large organization, there's always that 5 percent who never get the word. The Anglican Communion is no exception. In a March 8 "Dear Friends" letter, Bishop Tembo said he had just learned the week before that the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania had voted "yes" to the election of openly gay Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. The election, by the way, took place two years ago.
 
  Asserting that the South Rwenzori Diocese "upholds the Holy Scriptures as the true word of God," and implying that the  Pennsylvanian diocese  --  by supporting a gay bishop  --  does not, Bishop Tembo proclaimed the two dioceses to be in "theological conflict," thus leading him to reject all ties to his brothers and sisters in Christ living in and around Harrisburg.
 
 Apparently it matters less to the good Bishop Tembo  --  who does not have AIDS  --  that it is the suffering men, women and children in his diocese who may pay with their lives for his action, not the Central Pennsylvania Diocese. What's more, Bishop Tembo and his wife, Dorothy Nzerebende, are the proud parents of five children who don't have to fend for themselves. So when he turns down money for the education of orphans, it's no skin off the teeth of his kids.
 
 Yes, Kasese has only 15 trained physicians to treat more than 500,000 residents. Which, however, is better? Thumbing one's nose at Episcopalians in the United States or bringing more doctors into the midst of Kasese's human suffering? Bishop Tembo made it known where he stands.
 
 All this he did in the name of God.
 
 Sadly, Bishop Tembo is being cheered by conservative Episcopalians in this country. Some of them believe that the Episcopal Church of the United States, by consecrating a gay bishop, is, as one of them put it on a conservative Web site, "sending people to hell by the boatload, by presenting a false gospel." Thus, the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania's money is tainted.
 
 So here we are this Easter, the day that Bishop Michael Creighton of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania described in this month's message as representing "the victory of God's love and life." What a victory. What an Easter moment.
 
 kingc@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 26 02:58:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 26 03:01:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5822494.1111834732590.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Major T. Rex Breakthrough
 
 By Guy Gugliotta
 
  Paleontologists have recovered what appear to be soft tissues from the thighbone of a 70 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex, potentially enabling dinosaur research to make a leap into studying the animals' physiology and perhaps even their cell biology, the research team said yesterday.
 
 Working with the remains of a T. rex unearthed in northeastern Montana's celebrated Hell Creek formation, the paleontologists spied the soft tissue when they were forced to break the thighbone into pieces to fit it aboard a helicopter.
 
  Once in the lab, the team systematically removed mineralized deposits from the bone, exposing blood vessels, bone cells and possibly intact blood cells with their nuclei. "The tissues are still soft, transparent and flexible, and we can manipulate the vessels with our probe," said team leader Mary H. Schweitzer of North Carolina State University.
 
 News of the discovery, reported in this week's edition of the journal Science, amazed many scientists. "It's a tremendous thing," Ohio University paleontologist Lawrence M. Witmer said. "It's the first time for anything this old, and if we can start getting the biomolecules of these animals, that will take us to a place we have never been."
 
 Schweitzer said the team is conducting further chemical analysis to determine whether  individual proteins could be isolated from the specimen. She said she did not know  whether it would be possible to recover DNA from the thighbone.
 
 But "there's no 'Jurassic Park' scenario," said paleontologist Hans-Dieter Sues, associate director of research and collections at the National Museum of Natural History, adding that the bone is so old that DNA fragments are probably the best that could be hoped for.
 
 Still, he added, the ability to isolate soft tissues, by itself, opened up research horizons never before imagined. "We would have insights into all kinds of things  --  diet, sexual maturity, whether the specimen is the male or female," Sues said. "There's a lot of biological information locked up in this material."
 
 Scientists have frequently found indirect evidence of soft tissues in fossils, with the outlines of bird and, increasingly, dinosaur feathers, fish fins or leaf outlines appearing in ancient sedimentary beds.
 
 Fossilized trees also appear as mineralized "petrified wood," and insects and lizards have been found in amber  --  fossilized tree sap. Also, large, partly fossilized mammoths and other animals, and even ancient humans, have been found virtually intact in bogs or frozen in ice, but those beasts and humans lived long after the dinosaurs disappeared.
 
 Research team member John R. Horner of Montana State University's Museum of the Rockies said the skeleton of a smallish but mature T. rex, about 18 years old, was found beneath 1,000 cubic yards of sandstone at the base of the Hell Creek formation along the Missouri River in northeastern Montana.
 
 Hell Creek has produced fossils of hundreds of animal species that lived between 70 million and 65 million years ago, including ancient clams, sharks, sturgeon, turtles, lizards, crocodiles, small mammals and about two dozen species of dinosaurs.
 
 Horner, speaking with Schweitzer during a telephone news conference, described the T. rex discovery as "a fantastic specimen" that took three years to excavate. The site is so remote that pieces of the skeleton had to be transported by helicopter to the Museum of the Rockies.
 
 "We have a laboratory where we do cellular and molecular paleontology, so we do cut into bones," Horner acknowledged. Still, he added, the discovery of what appeared to be soft tissues in the matrix of the fossilized femur was "serendipitous" because the team broke the femur simply because it would not otherwise fit in the helicopter.
 
 The lab work was supervised by Schweitzer, a paleontologist with experience in forensic analysis of modern biological samples, an advantage in a profession in which  backgrounds in geology or other earth sciences are more common.
 
  Schweitzer explained that bone requires a good blood supply and is "infiltrated" with many  blood vessels, which bring in "bone-specific" cells known as osteocytes and follow with the calcium that makes the hard tissue.
 
 "What we did was try to work backwards," Schweitzer said, using modern methods to remove the mineralized calcium until they exposed the blood vessels and osteocytes, along with a fibrous matrix, probably composed mostly of collagen, a common protein in animals.
 
 The team also found small reddish-brown "dots" inside the vessels that Schweitzer said could be the nuclei of cells that line the vessel walls or the nuclei of blood cells themselves. Making that determination, however, is "very far down the road," she said.
 
 Horner said the team was lucky that water appeared not to have penetrated the femur, leaving it hollow. Water is the usual way that mineralizing compounds creep into ancient skeletons and fossilize them, replacing the biological material and essentially turning it into rock.
 
 Horner said T. rex thighbones are particularly dense because they supported the entire weight of very large two-legged carnivores, while plant eaters were mostly four-legged. Because of this, he said, the new T. rex was probably "not really unique." He suggested that other researchers would find more soft tissues if they overcome their reluctance to cut up their exhibits.
 
 "Oh, that's right, for sure," said Ohio University's Witmer. "Until now, we never thought we could find something like this, so we never looked. A big part of research is not only knowing what to look for, but also knowing it's there."
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 26 03:02:33 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 26 03:04:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <21077837.1111834953452.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Toxic Indifference to North Korea
 
 By Abraham Cooper
 
    A day after Pearl  Harbor, on Dec. 8, 1941, German death squads in the Polish village of Chelmno gassed Jews in specially equipped vans for the first time. Far from generating banner headlines, the story did not appear in the New York Times until nearly seven months later, on Page 6. Like the Allied powers, the Times consistently ignored or buried such reports until it was too late for 6 million European Jews.
 
  In 2005, the civilized world seems to be deploying the same dismissive, deadly strategy again. I recently returned from debriefing North Korean defectors in Seoul who told me of their involvement in the Pyongyang regime's gassing of political prisoners, dating back to the 1970s and continuing into the 21st century. I traveled to South Korea after officials in Seoul refused to grant a visa to Dr. Lee Byom-Shik (a pseudonym) to come to the United States to serve as a key witness about alleged murders by gassing in North Korea. He was to testify at a Simon Wiesenthal Center conference on human rights abuses in North Korea.
 
  Dr. Lee, 55, is a chemist who told me of his important "achievements" in serving the North Korean regime since the 1970s. He worked with one team that produced bogus Japanese diplomatic passports used by agents to smuggle aboard the bomb that brought down Korean Airlines Flight 001. He helped produce counterfeit $100 bills used by diplomats traveling abroad.
 
  It took an hour into our debriefing for Dr. Lee to get around to the fact that he helped develop deadly agents at a secret underground poison and toxin research institute. In that connection, he matter-of-factly described how, in 1979, he was in charge of gassing two political prisoners. The victims' suffering was documented by scientists, who took notes outside glass-encased gas chambers that were also wired for sound. One prisoner died after 2 1/2 hours, the other after 3 1/2 hours of agony. Then a young scientist, Dr. Lee was rewarded with a medal and promotions for his role in these successful experiments. Twenty-five years later, he expressed no remorse, but his recall of details and dates make him a credible, if frightening, witness.
 
  Another North Korean defector I interviewed was 31-year-old Chun Ji Suang (also a pseudonym). In 1994, while attending a prestigious scientific institute, he was selected to be part of two teams researching various types of gassing -- from slow-acting, untraceable poisons to be used for assassinations to those that would cause instantaneous death. For eight years these scientists constantly moved their base of operations throughout the North Korean gulag. He belonged to Team A, which experimented exclusively on animals. When they successfully concluded an experiment, Team B then used those results on human guinea pigs. Unlike Dr. Lee, this young man is very remorseful. His escape from North Korea was facilitated by a supervisor and other secret sympathizers who urged him to expose Kim Jong Il's atrocities.
 
  Since 2002, defectors among the flood of refugees from North Korea have detailed firsthand accounts of systematic starvation, torture and murder. Enemies of the state are used in experiments to develop new generations of chemical and biological weapons that threaten the world. A microcosm of these horrors is Camp 22, one of 12 concentration camps housing an estimated 200,000 political prisoners facing torture or execution for such "crimes" as being a Christian or a relative of someone suspected of deviation from "official ideology of the state." Another eyewitness, Kwon Hyuk, formerly chief manager at Camp 22, repeated to me what he asserted to the BBC: "I witnessed a whole family being tested on suffocating gas and dying in the gas chamber. . . . The parents were vomiting and dying, but until the very last moment they tried to save kids by doing mouth-to-mouth breathing."
 
  So why no worldwide outrage?
 
  For now it appears that realpolitik trumps distant horrors. Despite heroic efforts by Christian activists on both sides of the Pacific to sound the alarm, the South Korean government views these accusations as unwelcome complications to its problematic and complex relations with the North. Indeed, a foreign ministry official whom I met did not deny that North Korea gassed political prisoners to further its program to develop weapons of mass destruction. He politely stated that Seoul was focusing exclusively on the threat from Pyongyang's nuclear program in the context of the six-nation peace talks. Meanwhile, most South Korean nongovernmental organizations are so committed to the idyllic vision of a reunified Korean Peninsula that they have turned a deaf ear to the horrors inflicted on their own people north of the 38th parallel.
 
  The Western media haven't exactly ignored this story. Instead, they have generally treated it in an offhand manner chillingly reminiscent of how the Holocaust was reported during World War II. For example, the Pentagon just recently sought emergency authority to resume administering the anthrax vaccine to U.S. troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula as well as in the Persian Gulf because of "a significant potential for a military emergency involving a heightened risk to United States military forces of attack." The limited coverage of the story focused not on the threat posed by North Korean chemical and biological weaponry but on the controversy over the safety of inoculating the troops.
 
  North Korea's Mengele-style experimentation with killer agents such as anthrax has not escalated into a mass-murder campaign against the regime's own population, the Allied troops stationed in the Korean DMV or North Korea's neighbors -- not yet. But beyond the nuclear threat, the world has reason to be deeply concerned over how much of this deadly know-how has been transferred to terrorist states or entities.
 
  It isn't necessary to insist on "regime change" as a precondition of dialogue. But the world community -- with the United States, Japan, China and Russia in the lead -- must insist on behavioral change, ameliorating the North's human rights pathologies, before making diplomatic concessions. We should start by identifying -- by name -- those involved in crimes against humanity against their own people, and warning these criminals that eventually they will be held accountable before the bar of justice. 
 
 The writer is associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and a member of the North Korean Freedom Coalition.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat Mar 26 03:34:12 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat Mar 26 03:36:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10229003.1111836853052.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Schiavo  Case Tests Priorities Of GOP
 
 By Shailagh Murray  and Mike Allen
 
  A week after their unprecedented intervention in the Terri Schiavo case, Republican congressional leaders find themselves in a moral and political thicket, having advanced the cause as a right-to-life issue  --  only to confront polls showing that the public does not see it that way.
 
  "How deep is this Congress going to reach into the personal lives of each and every one of us?" asked Rep. Christopher Shays (Conn.), one of only five Republicans in the House to vote against the Schiavo bill.
 
 Republican lawmakers and others engaged in the debate say an internal party dispute over the Schiavo case has ruptured, at least temporarily, the uneasy alliance between economic and social conservatives that twice helped President Bush get elected.
 
 "Advocates of using federal power to keep this woman alive need to seriously study the polling data that's come out on this," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, who has been talking to both social and economic conservatives about the fallout. "I think that a lot of conservative leaders assumed there was broader support for saying that they wanted to have the federal government save this woman's life."
 
  Some Republicans said they do not believe the vote to allow a federal court to examine whether any of Schiavo's constitutional rights had been violated will become a political issue, especially since 47 House Democrats voted for the measure, while 53 voted against.
 
 "It was not a partisan issue. It was one of conscience," said Rep. Eric I. Cantor (R-Va.), the chief deputy whip. "People will remember that the majority attempted to address a very difficult situation and did it with a real seriousness of purpose."
 
 Democrats struggled with their own internal divisions over whether to join Republicans in urging federal courts to consider the Schiavo case  --  or to oppose it as a dangerous legislative overreach. The decision of so many Democrats to support Republican action represented a rare moment of detente between the two otherwise warring parties.
 
  Even House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), one of the most partisan politicians in Washington, conceded, "There's been incredible cooperation by the Democrats and Republicans." Aides in both parties say a shared concern about the fate of incapacitated people could lead to bipartisan legislation addressing their rights.
 
  The fracas over congressional involvement has taken many GOP lawmakers by surprise. Most knew little about the case and were acting at the direction of their leaders, who armed them with the simple argument that they just wanted to give Schiavo a final chance, and that they wanted to err on the side of life. But because of the rush to act and the insistent approach of the leadership, Republicans had no debate about whether their vote could be seen as federal intrusion in a family matter, or as a violation of the separation of powers between the judicial and legislative branches. Both issues are concerns of many voters responding to polls, and of some legislators themselves.
 
  Republican leaders knew from the outset they were entering new and possibly rocky terrain. DeLay said that he told Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) two weeks ago, "We have to do something for Terri Schiavo," but that the chairman was reluctant because, as DeLay recounted, "we don't have a precedent for doing private bills in these matters, and he didn't want to violate that precedent."
 
 The majority leader's response to Sensenbrenner: "Be creative."
 
 One senior GOP lawmaker involved in the negotiations, who did not want to speak for the record, said that DeLay, who is fighting ethics charges on several fronts, faced considerable pressure from Christian conservative groups to respond to pleas by the parents of the brain-damaged woman to intervene before her husband, Michael Schiavo, removed the feeding tube that kept her alive. The lawmaker said that DeLay "wanted to follow through" but added that many House Republicans were dubious and suspected that the leader's ethics problems were a motivating factor.
 
 Republican concerns grew, the senior House GOP lawmaker said, as a succession of federal judges, some of them conservative appointees, rejected Congress's entreaty. "A lot of members are saying, 'Why did you put us through this?' " said the lawmaker, who agreed to recount the events on the condition that he not be named.
 
 There has been similar grumbling in the Senate, where the Schiavo effort was led by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a former transplant surgeon who is retiring in 2006, presumably to run for president; Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a conservative Catholic who also may harbor presidential ambitions; and freshman Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.).
 
  Aides to other Republican senators said there was little discussion of the matter outside that group. "It definitely would have gone down differently had it actually been considered," a senior aide to a moderate Republican senator said.
 
 The stakes could be particularly high for Frist. Even as he shores up support with one crucial presidential primary voting bloc  --  Christian conservatives  --  he may have repelled another: small-government conservatives, who are particularly key in the New Hampshire primary. "A lot of Republicans who vote up here would be inclined to see this as a personal matter . . . and would be uncomfortable with what Congress did," said Dante Scala, a political scientist at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.
 
 One wild card in the debate was the degree to which lawmakers, including DeLay and Frist, questioned Schiavo's medical condition  --  a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery, according to the doctors who examined her. DeLay said of Schiavo, "She talks and she laughs and she expresses happiness and discomfort," and he blamed her inability to speak on the fact that "she's not been afforded any speech therapy  --  none!"
 
 In a Senate floor statement March 16, Frist referred to a videotaped exam he had seen of Schiavo and suggested there could be questions about her condition. He described her as having "a severe disability similar to what cerebral palsy might be." Neurologists and other experts say that Schiavo's facial expressions, captured on videotapes that her parents are circulating, are nothing more than involuntary movements. Scans show her cerebral cortex has been severely damaged, and other tests indicate no normal electrical activity in her brain.
 
 Aggravating GOP frustrations are disturbing new polls, including a CBS survey that found that 82 percent of Americans  --  including a whopping 68 percent of people who identify themselves as evangelical Christians  --  think Congress's intervention was wrong.
 
 Democrats, who note that the action is identified with the GOP-led Congress and the president, hope that the public's negative response could translate into a more general unease with Republican rule. "They look out of step," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), a Clinton White House adviser who runs the House Democrats' campaign committee. "This Congress is getting involved in things they shouldn't be getting involved in, and not getting involved in things they should be."
 
  Republicans are "going to get kicked around a lot," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. On the other hand, he sees a silver lining in the otherwise miserable polls: The minority that does back congressional action probably supports it intensely, while the majority that disagrees "won't remember this woman's name in a few months."
 
  Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.), who represents one of the  toughest districts for Republicans and is exploring a run for governor, flew back to vote for the Schiavo bill and said he has no regrets.
 
  "If civil rights issues are a federal issue, and I agree they are, how about the issue of life?" Beauprez asked. "If I'm going to be the only one standing up at the end of this that said, 'I stood for life,' I'm happy to do that."
 
   

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri Mar 25 20:44:10 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar 26 05:25:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Gore Vidal on war for oil, politics-free elections,
	and the late, great U.S. Constitution
Message-ID: <200503260556.j2Q5uTSg023141@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

There is no one alive who is anything like Gore Vidal.  One example of his 
unique persona and reputation:  altho he is an incredibly outspoken and rather 
cynical critic of the American empire, and of course of the antics of Bush and 
co., my mother-in-law, a retired English teacher and dyed-in-the-wool 
Republican who has never considered voting for a Democrat and thinks FDR 
was the worst President ever, thinks fondly of Vidal because of the many very 
interesting historical novels he has written (and she would be amazed and 
dismayed if she read this interview!)....   --Mha Atma


City Pages - Mar 23, 2005
http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1268/article13085.asp

The Undoing of America:  

Gore Vidal on war for oil, politics-free elections, and
the late, great U.S. Constitution

by Steve Perry

For the past 40 years or so of Gore Vidal's prolific 59-year literary
career, his great project has been the telling of the American story from
the country's inception to the present day, unencumbered by the court
historian's task of making America's leaders look like good guys at every
turn.  The saga has unfolded in two ways: through Vidal's series of seven
historical novels, beginning with Washington DC in 1967 and concluding
with The Golden Age in 2000; and through his ceaseless essay writing and
public appearances across the years. Starting around 1970, Vidal began to
offer up his own annual State of the Union message, in magazines and on
the talk circuit.  His words were always well-chosen, provocative, and
contentious: "There is not one human problem that could not be solved," he
told an interviewer in 1972, "if people would simply do as I advise."

Though it's a dim memory now, Vidal and commentators of a similarly
outspoken bent used to be regulars on television news shows.  Vidal's most
famous TV moment came during the 1968 Democratic Convention, when 
ABC
paired him with William F. Buckley on live television.  On the next to
last night of the convention, the dialogue turned to the question of some
student war protesters raising a Vietcong flag.  The following exchange
ensued:

Vidal: "As far as I'm concerned, the only sort of proto- or crypto-Nazi I
can think of is yourself.  Failing that, I'll only say that we can't
have--"

Buckley: "Now listen, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll
sock you in the goddamn face and you'll stay plastered."

That was TV in the pre-Information Age for you.  These days Vidal, who put
his Italian villa on the market a few months ago and moved full-time to
his home in Los Angeles, speaks mostly through his essay writing about the
foreign and stateside adventures of the Bush administration.  In the past
five years he has published one major nonfiction collection, The Last
Empire, and a book about the founding fathers called Inventing a Nation:
Washington, Adams, Jefferson.  But mainly he has stayed busy producing
what he calls his "political pamphlets," a series of short essay
collections called Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So
Hated (2002), Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta
(2003), and Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia
(2004).  Last month at Duke University, he produced a short run of On the
March to the Sea, an older play about the Civil War that he has rewritten
entirely.

I spoke to Vidal, who will turn 80 this October, by phone from his home in
Los Angeles on March 9.

City Pages: I'll start with the broadest of questions: Why are we in Iraq,
and what are our prospects there at this point?

Gore Vidal: Well, let us say that the old American republic is well and
truly dead.  The institutions that we thought were eternal proved not to
be. And that goes for the three departments of government, and it also
goes for the Bill of Rights.  So we're in uncharted territory.  We're
governed by public relations.

Very little information gets to the people, thanks to the corruption
and/or ineptitude of the media.  Just look at this bankruptcy thing that
went through--everybody in debt to credit cards, which is apparently 90
percent of the country, is in deep trouble.  So the people are uninformed
about what's being done in their name.

And that's really why we are in Iraq.  Iraq is a symptom, not a cause. 
It's a symptom of the passion we have for oil, which is a declining
resource in the world.  Alternatives can be found, but they will not be
found as long as there's one drop of oil or natural gas to be extracted
from other nations, preferably by force by the current junta in charge of
our affairs.  Iraq will end with our defeat.

CP: You've observed many times in your writing that the United States has
elections but has no politics.  Could you talk about what you mean by
that, and about how so many people have come to accept a purely
spectatorial relationship to politics, more like fans (or non-fans) than
citizens?

Gore Vidal: Well, you cannot have a political party that is not based upon
a class interest.  It has been part of the American propaganda machine
that we have no class system.  Yes, there are rich people; some are richer
than others.  But there is no class system.  We're classless.  You could
be president tomorrow.  So could Michael Jackson, or this one or that one.
This isn't true.  We have a very strong, very rigid class structure which
goes back to the beginning of the country.  I will not go into the details
of that, but there it is.  Whether it's good or bad is something else.

We have not had a political party since that, really, of the New Deal of
Franklin Roosevelt, who was a member of the highest class, an aristocrat
who had made common cause with the people, who were in the midst of
depression, not to mention the Dust Bowl, which had taken so many farms in
the '30s.  We were a country in deep trouble, and he represented those in
deep trouble. He got together great majorities and was elected four times
to the presidency. And launched us on empire--somewhat consciously, too. 
He saw to it that the European colonial empires would break up, and that
we would inherit bits and pieces, which we have done.

If we don't have class interests officially, then therefore we have no
political parties.  What is the Republican Party?  Well, it used to be the
party of the small-town businessman, generally in the Middle West,
generally sort of out of the mainstream.  Very conservative.  It now
represents nothing but the gas and oil business.  They own it.  And the
people who go to Congress are simply bought.  They are lawyers who are
paid to represent Halliburton, big oil, big banking.  So the very rich
corporate America has a party for itself, the Republican Party.  The
Democrats don't have much of anything but a kind of wistful style.  They
just want everyone to be happy, and politically correct at all times.  Do
not hurt other people's feelings. They spend so much time on political
correctness that they haven't thought of what to do politically about
anything.  Like say "no" to these preemptive wars, which are against not
only the whole world's take on war and peace, but against United States
history.

This is something new under the sun--that a president, just because he
feels like it, can declare war on anybody.  And Congress will go along
with him, and the courts will support him.  The founding fathers would be
mortified if they saw what had happened to their handiwork, which wasn't
very great to begin with but is now done for.  When you have preemptive
wars, and you have ambitious companies like Bechtel who will build up
what, let us say, General Electric has helped to destroy with its
weaponry--these interests are well-represented.

There is no people's party, and you can't even use the word.  "Liberal"
has been demonized.  A liberal is a commie who's also a pedophile.  Being
a communist and a pedophile, he's so busy that he hasn't got time to win
an election and is odious to boot.  So there is no Democratic Party.  We
hope that something might happen with the governor of Vermont, and maybe
something will or maybe it won't.  But we are totally censored, and the
press just follows this.  It observes what those in power want it to
observe, and turns the other way when things get dark.  Then, when it's
too late sometimes, you get some very good reporting.  But by then,
somebody's playing taps.

CP: Has the media played a role in transforming citizens into spectators
of this process?

Vidal: Well, they have been transformed, by design, by corporate America,
aided by the media, which belongs to corporate America.  They are no
longer citizens.

They are hardly voters.  They are consumers, and they consume those things
which are advertised on television.  They are made to sound like happy
consumers.

Listen to TV advertising: This one says, "I had this terrible pain, but
when I put on Kool-Aid, I found relief overnight.  You must try it too."
All we do is hear about little cures for little pains.  Nothing important
gets said.  There used to be all those talk shows back in the '50s and
'60s, when I was on television a great deal.  People would talk about many
important things, and you had some very good talkers.  They're not allowed
on now.  Or they're set loose in the Fox Zoo, in which you have a number
of people who pretend to be journalists but are really like animals.  Each
one has his own noise--there's the donkey who brays, there's the pig who
squeals.  Each one is a different animal in a zoo, making a characteristic
noise.  The result is chaos, which is what is intended.

They don't want the people to know anything, and the people don't.

CP: You wrote at the end of a 2002 essay that so-called inalienable
rights, once alienated, are often lost forever.  Can you describe what's
changed about America during the Bush years that represent permanent, or
at least long-term, legacies that will survive Bush?

Vidal: Well, the Congress has ceded--which it cannot do--but it has ceded
its power to declare war.  That is written in the Constitution.  It's the
most important thing in the Constitution, ultimately.  And having ceded
that to the Executive Branch, he can declare war whenever he finds
terrorism. Now, terrorism is a wonderful invention because it doesn't mean
anything. It's an abstract noun.  You can't have a war against an abstract
noun; it's like having a war against dandruff.  It's meaningless.

But you can terrify people.  The art of government now, the art of control
as practiced by the current junta, is: Keep the people frightened.  It's
exactly what Adolf Hitler and his gang did.  Keep them frightened: The
Russians are coming.  The Poles are killing Germans who live within the
borders of Poland. The Czechs are doing the same thing in the Sudetenland.
These are evil people.  We must go after them.  We must save our kin.

Keep everybody frightened, tell them lies--and the bigger the lie, the
more they'll believe it.  There's nothing the average American now
believes (because he's been told it 10,000 times a day) that is true.  Now
how do you undo so much disinformation?  Well, you have to have truth
squads at work 24 hours a day every day.  And we don't have them.

CP: I'd like to ask you to sketch our political arc from Reagan down to
Bush II.

It seemed to me that Reagan took a big step down the road to Bush when he
was so successful in selling the ideology of the market, the idea that
whatever the interests of money and markets dictated was the proper and
even the most patriotic course--which was hardly a new idea, but one that
had never been embraced openly as a first principle of politics.  Is that
a fair assessment?

Vidal: He was small-town American Republican, even though he started life
as a Democrat.  He believed in the values of Main Street.  Sinclair
Lewis's novels are filled with Ronald Reagans, though Babbitt doesn't get
to the White House. But this time Babbitt did.  So it was very congenial
for Reagan to play that part, not that he had a very clear idea of what
his lines were all about. Those who were writing the scenarios certainly
knew.

I'd say the downward skid certainly began with Reagan.  I came across a
comment recently, someone asking why we had gone into both Grenada and
Panama, two absolutely nothing little countries who were no danger to us,
minding their own business, and we go in and conquer them.  Somebody said,
well, we did it because we could.  That's the attitude of our current
rulers.

So they will be forever putting--what they do is put us all at risk.  You
and I and other civilians are going to be the ones who are killed when the
Moslems get really angry and start suicide-bombing American cities because
of things the Bush/Cheney junta has done to them.  We will be the ones
killed.

Bush/Cheney will be safe in their bunkers, but we're going to get it.  I
would have thought that self-interest--since Americans are the most easily
terrified people on earth, as recently demonstrated over and over again--
we would be afraid of what was going to befall us.  But I think
simultaneously we have no imagination, and certainly no sense of cause and
effect.  If we did have that, we might know that if you keep kicking
somebody, he's going to kick you back. So there we stand, ignoring the
first rule of physics, which is that there is no action without reaction.

CP: Didn't the previous successes of our economy and our empire, post
WWII, condition people to expect that consequences were for other people
in other places?

Vidal: Well, wishful thinking, perhaps.  I spent three years in World War
II, and it was a clear victory for our team.  But it was nothing to write
Mother about, I'll tell you.  Walt Whitman once said, of the Civil War,
that it is a lucky thing the people will never know what happened in the
war. One can think of a lot of things, one can imagine a lot of things,
but...

The sense that there are no consequences--that can happen if you keep the
people diverted.  Television changed everything.  Some 60 or 80 percent of
Americans still think Saddam Hussein was a partner of Osama bin Laden. 
They hated each other, and they had nothing to do with each other.  Saddam
had nothing to do with 9/11.  But if you keep repeating it and repeating
it--and Cheney still does; nobody's switched him off, so he just babbles
and babbles like a broken toy--how are they to know otherwise?  Yes, there
are good journals here and there, like The Nation, but they're not easily
found.  And with our educational system, I don't think the average person
can read with any great ease anything that requires thought and the
ability to exercise cause-and-effect reasoning: If we do this to them,
they will do that to us. We seem to have lost all track of that rather
primitive notion that I think people all the way back to chimpanzees have
known.  But we don't.

CP: In your latest book, Imperial America, you refer to Confucius's
admonition to "rectify the language." In that regard I'm wondering about
the Clinton years, and about the success of the Clinton/Morris strategy of
"triangulation," which mainly consisted of talking to the left and
governing to the right.  Did that play a role in setting the stage for a
figure like Bush, who throws around words like "democracy" and "freedom"
when they bear no relation to reality?

Vidal: Well, certainly it did.  Clinton represented no opposition to this.
He was so busy triangulating that he was enlisting under the colors of the
other team, hoping to pick up some votes.  I don't think he did, but he
got himself reelected by not doing the job of an opposing political party.
 In other words, the Republican Party as it now is funded, is the party of
corporate America, which is no friend to the people of America.  Now
that's a clear division.  The people of America, if you ever run for
office, you find out they're very shrewd about figuring out who's getting
what money, and who's on their side.  But you have to organize them.  You
have to tell them more things than they get to know from the general
media.

Clinton just gave up.  Also, to his credit, or rather, to explain him, the
Republican Party realized that this was the most attractive politician
since Franklin Roosevelt, and that he had a great, great hold over people.
 They also realized that if he got going, we really would have National
Health--we would actually become a civilized country, which we are nowhere
near.  I mean, we're in the Stone Age again.  He was working toward it,
and they saw he had to be destroyed.  Later they got a cock-sucking
interlude to impeach him.  If I were he, I would have called out the Army
and sent Congress home.

CP: Really.

Vidal: Yes, really.  They went beyond anything in the laws of impeachment.
They have to do with the exercise of your powers as president, abuses of
power as president.  He wasn't abusing any powers.  He was caught telling
a little lie about sex, which you're not supposed to ask him about anyway,
and he shouldn't have answered.  So they use that: oh, perjury!  Oh, it's
terrible, a president who lies!  Oh, God--how can we live any longer in
Sodom and Gomorrah?  You can play on the dumb-dumbs morning, noon, 
and
night with stuff like that.

CP: Clearly Bush does represent something radical and new, and there's
been an understandable tendency on the part of people who don't like where
the country is going to focus their outrage exclusively on Bush and the
Republicans.  But don't the media and the Democrats come in for a great
deal of blame for creating the political vacuum in which he rose?

Vidal: Well, the media is on the other side.  The media belongs to the big
money, and the big money, their candidates, their party, is the Republican
Party as now constituted.  So everybody is behaving typically [in media].
What isn't typical is a Democratic Party that has also sold out.  There
are just as many lobbyists and propagandists there as on the other side.
They're never going to regain anything until they remember that they're
supposed to represent the people at large, and not the very rich.

But they need the very rich in order to be able to run for office, to buy
television time.  I'd say if you really want to date the crash of the
American system, the American republic, it was in the early '50s, when
television suddenly emerged as the central fact of American life.  That
which was not televised did not exist.  And any preacher, because religion
is tax-free--I would tax all the religions, by the way--any evangelical
who wants to get up there and say, send me millions of dollars and I will
cure you of your dandruff, he gets to spend the money any way he likes,
and there's no tax on it.  So he can have political action groups, which
he's not supposed to have but does have.  So you have all that religious
money, and then you have the enormous cost of campaigning, which means
every politician who wants to buy TV time has got to sell his ass to
somebody. And corporate America is ready to buy.

CP: Likewise, there's a great tendency among his detractors to call Bush
stupid.

You've called him "dumb," albeit not as dumb as his dad.  But I'm
recalling what you wrote about Ronald Reagan years ago in your review of
the Ronnie Leamer book about him: that no one who's stupid aces every
career test he faces.  The same is clearly not true of George W.  Bush,
who had failed in a lot of things before he entered politics.  But he
hasn't failed in politics. Do you think Bush possesses a kind of
intelligence akin to Reagan's in that regard, or is that giving him too
much credit?  How do you think his mind works?

Vidal: I should think very oddly.  He's dyslexic, which means--it's a
problem of incoherence.  I have some dyslexia in my family, and they can
be reasonably intelligent about most things, but they have problems with
words, the structure of language.  Not really getting it.  There's an
inability to study anything.

Sometimes they also have an attention deficiency and so on.

I would say that he is undisturbed by these things.  His is a mind totally
lacking in culture of any kind.  I'm not talking about highbrow culture,
just knowledge of the American past, and our institutions.  He's got rid
of due process of law, which is what the United States is based upon. 
Once you can send somebody off and put them in the brig of a ship in
Charleston Harbor and hold them as long as you like uncharged, you have
destroyed the United States and its Constitution.  He has done those
things.

CP: How did so many Americans come to embrace and even celebrate these
bullying, anti-democratic displays of authoritarian, censorial governance?
There's a palpable sense of mean- spiritedness about a good deal of public
sentiment, it seems.

Vidal: I wouldn't call it the public.  There are groups that rather like
it. And these are the same groups that don't like black people, gay
people, Jews, or this or that.  You always have that disaffected minority
that you can play to.

And it helps you in states with small populations.  If you get eight of
those states, you don't get much of a popular vote, but you can get the
Electoral College--a device that our founders made to make sure we never
had a democratic government.  In other words, I don't blame the public. 
He's not popular.  I've just been reading a report on Conyers's trip to
Ohio with his subcommittee's experts.  Ohio was stolen.  The Republican
Congress will never have a hearing on it.  But I think attempts are being
made to publish the details of what was done there, and elsewhere too in
America.

In other words, I put the case that Bush was never elected--not in 2000,
and not in 2004.  This is a new game in the world.  Through the magic of
electronic voting, particularly through Mr.  Diebold and friends, you can
take a non-president and make him president.  But how to keep the people,
including the opposition who should know better, so silent, this
introduces us to a vast landscape of corruption which I dare not enter.

CP: I saw a recent CIA report that referred to the United States as a
"declining superpower." To your knowledge, has the government ever said so
before?

Vidal: Well, their style is hortatory and alarmist.  And I think they say
we're declining every day and every minute.  We must do this, we must
overthrow this government, we must do that, stop China.  Why not nuke
China? [The American right] was all set to do that at one point, I
remember. William F.  Buckley Jr.

was in favor of a unilateral strike at their nuclear capacity.  A whole
bunch of people, moderately respectable, were in favor of that.  It all
comes from propaganda.  It all comes from knowing how to use the media to
your own ends, and keep the people frightened.

It was very striking--before the inauguration, CNN showed a bunch of
inaugural addresses starting with Roosevelt.  Roosevelt was a master
politician.  What theme does he hit first?  "We have nothing to fear but
fear itself." Well, that's it.

He intuited it, having followed the Nazis and knowing how Hitler was
putting together his act, which was creating fear in the Germans of
everybody else so he could mobilize them and make the SS.  Roosevelt was
saying that it was this unnameable fear that we had to watch out for. 
Then we skip over to Harry Truman, a real dunce, but there was a genius
behind him in Dean Acheson.  We jump over to him, and he is declaring war
on communism, all over the world. They're on the march!  Wherever you
look, there they are, and we must be on our guard!

He instituted loyalty oaths for everybody--for janitors in high schools as
well as members of the cabinet.  Unthinkable, the distance from Roosevelt
to his admittedly despised successor.  We've gone from, we must not
succumb to fear itself, to the next one saying, oh, there's so much to be
afraid of! We must arm!  We must militarize America and its economy, which
he did.

CP: One theory about the reason the US invaded Iraq concerns currency--the
fear that European deals for Iraqi oil might lead to oil's being
denominated in euros rather than dollars.  Do you think that notion holds
any water?

Vidal: I do.  Perhaps more oil than water, but yes, that's what it's
about--the terror that Europe...Europe, after all, is more populous than
the United States, better educated, better quality of life for most of its
citizens.  And it has actually achieved, here and there, a civilization,
which we haven't.  There's a lot of nasty response on the part of those
Americans who are eager for more oil, more money, more this, more that, to
put Europe down, to regard Europe as a rival and perhaps as an enemy.  It
was America that saw to it that we got a weak dollar, though.  The
Europeans had nothing to do with it.  In fact they were rather appalled,
because they own an awful lot of treasury bonds that will be worthless one
day.

So yes, it was a power struggle.  Ultimately the whole thing is about oil.
We should be looking to hydrogen, or whatever is the latest replacement
for fossil fuels.  All the money we put into these wars in the Middle
East, we should have put into that.  Then we wouldn't be so desperate at
the thought that in 2020, or in 2201 or whenever, there will be no more
oil.

CP: Talk a little more about public education's decay in the current
scene. Much of the Bush administration's spending on No Child Left Behind
is earmarked for private corporate tutors.

Vidal: I don't think Bush himself is particularly relevant to any of this,
since he avoided education entirely throughout his life.  Which gives him
a sort of purity.  He was a cheerleader at Andover, where he learned many
skills that have been very useful to him since.

The educational system was pretty good once.  I never went to a public
school, and the private schools here are generally good, though we are
also better indoctrinated than the public schools.  It certainly got bad
around the '50s. Just as we became a global empire, the first thing I was
struck by was that they stopped teaching geography in public schools.  Now
here we are a global power, and nobody knows where anything is.  I loved
geography when I was a kid.  It's really the way to get to know the world.
 The success of Franklin Roosevelt was that he was a great philatelist. 
He collected stamps, and he knew where all the countries were and who
lived in them.  Now we have people who don't know where anything is.  I
remember a speech Bush gave in which he was reaching out not only to the
"Torks" but the "Grecians" at some point.  We live in total confusion
time.

There is also something in the water--let us hope it was put there by the
enemy--that has made Americans contemptuous of intelligence whenever they
recognize it, which is not very often.  And a hatred of learning, which
you don't find in any other country.  There is not one hamlet in Italy in
which you can fail to find kids desperate to learn.  Yes, there are areas
where they might be desperate to become members of the Mafia, but that's
because they don't have any money.  And a country like Italy is not rich,
not as rich as we are.  But there isn't a kid in Italy who can't quote
Dante. There's no one in America now who knows who Shakespeare is, 
because
they stopped teaching him in high schools.So we are out of it.  And no
attempt is being made to put us back into it.

CP: When does this current bout of foreign adventurism end?  You've said
in other interviews that it ends with us going broke.  Can you explain?

Vidal: I haven't changed my line.  We don't have the money for these
adventures.

We don't even have the money to operate those prisons which are the
delight of Iraq.  All we were doing at Abu Ghraib was export what we do to
our own people in our own prisons, you know.  We are sharing with the rest
of the world penology-- in every sense.  No, there isn't the money to do
it.  And the few who are making most of the money are probably investing
it elsewhere, preparing islands for themselves to escape to.  And then
their followers, who are not very many, will be experiencing rapture. 
They won't be here.

CP: Is there any winning back some semblance of the older republic at this
point?

Vidal: You have to have people who want it, and I can't find many people
who do.

CP: What can average people do about this state of affairs at present, if
anything?

Vidal: Well, some of the internet has been very useful.  Radio has been
very useful.  There are means of getting things across.  It's why I write
those little books of mine, the pamphlets as I call them.  Our first form
of politics was pamphleteering in the 18th century.  They serve a
purpose--more pamphlets, more readers, more this, more that.  There's a
battle to do an interesting kind of guide to the American centuries, and
how we got where we are and how we can get out of it.  I'm engaged with
some people working on that.  Further, deponent sayeth not.

)2005, City Pages Media, Inc.

------


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From geomilman at milman.com  Fri Mar 25 22:31:22 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sat Mar 26 05:25:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Get Your War On: The Culture of Life
Message-ID: <20050326063132.13CCE3AE4D4@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 26 05:37:21 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat Mar 26 05:40:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: MI6, Jack Straw,
	defence staff: Blair ignored them all
Message-ID: <20050326133721.65E043C2F@mullet.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

Blair ignored MI6, Jack Straw, Defense staff (MoD ...
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

MI6, Jack Straw, defence staff: Blair ignored them all
His public assertions on Iraq were at odds with what he was told in private
John Ware
Saturday March 26 2005
The Guardian


I was recently speaking to a former senior civil servant about the prime minister's relationship with the truth. "Has he got one?" he asked. He was deadly serious. 

Because of the way Tony Blair made the case for war with Iraq, quite a lot of people have begun to think the relationship is tenuous. The suggestion that he found in the attorney general a lawyer who fortuitously told him that what he wanted to do was legal adds to the perception. Blair himself denies anyone was deceived.  

It would be fairer, perhaps, to ask why some of his claims in public during the build-up to war, when compared to what was going on in private, show up inconsistencies that more than two years on have still to be explained.  

Central to this question is a meeting on July 23 2002. The minutes were taken by Blair's private secretary, and were not to be discussed with anyone not on the circulation list. This excluded most cabinet ministers.  

The prime minister was at a crossroads. Having told the White House he wouldn't "budge" in his support for regime change, he had sought to persuade the president at their summit in April that, in return for British troops, Bush should seek as much support as possible through the UN for invasion, if that's what it came to.  

By July, the neocons had chipped away at the president's flirtation with multilateralism. Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6, and Kevin Tebbit, the permanent   secretary at the Ministry of Defence, had returned from separate visits to the US and were reporting that an invasion was inevitable.  

Would the prime minister continue with his commitment to the Americans and risk a huge split within the parliamentary Labour party; or would he pull out and risk damage to the alliance?  

Dearlove reported that the "facts and the intelligence" were being "fixed" by the Americans "round the policy", meaning not that they were inventing the intelligence on WMD, but that they were trawling around for intelligence to support the decision President Bush had already made to replace the Iraqi regime. Did something similar happen here?  

People close to Blair have told me that whenever he was invited to rethink his commitment to Bush, he closed down the conversation. Following the July 23 meeting, he redoubled his efforts to get Bush to go through the UN, in part to make it palatable to the PLP - provided the UN did not dictate the terms or timing of an invasion.  

His problem was that British public opinion was lagging far behind the rapidly advancing American military timetable. The intelligence case had to be built up, in order to convince the public that the removal of Saddam Hussein was worth British troops dying for.  

Prior to July 23, the prime minister had been told the intelligence on Saddam still having weapons of mass destruction was thin. The   joint intelligence committee, described it as "patchy" and "sporadic" and the defence and overseas secretariat said "our intelligence is poor". Two-thirds of MI6's intelligence on Iraq in 2002 had been coming from just two main sources.  

A draft dossier summarising the intelligence for the public had been postponed the previous March, partly because it was not convincing - though Blair flatly denied this at the time. We now know that the day after it was postponed, Peter Ricketts, the Foreign Office's political director, had penned his thoughts for Jack Straw to pass on to the prime minister: "I am relieved that you decided to postpone publication ... even the best of Iraq's WMD programmes ... have not, so far as we know, been stepped up."  

On July 23, Jack Straw again said he was not convinced Iraq posed a threat sufficient to warrant an invasion, having previously put this in writing to the prime minister. Straw thought the case was "thin".  

But Blair's commitment to the president was unshakeable. Following the meeting, MI6 revisited its handful of main sources, urging them to go out and get everything   they could. The driving force for this was presentation. There was to be a new dossier.  

In August came four reports that were influential. One was from an MI6 source who had previously reported reliably on non-WMD issues but who had been tasked to find out what he could about weapons. Back came what turned out to be the nonsense about Saddam's ability to deploy chemical and biological weapons in 45 minutes. The JIC took this as confirmation that Saddam did actually have chemical and biological weapons.  

When MI6 interviewed the source after the war, he is said to have denied ever having sent his message in the terms in which it had been reported.  

The political imperative set by July 23 had a further disastrous consequence midway through the drafting of the dossier. A new source, who MI6 now suspect was in financial difficulties and may have spun a yarn for money, claimed for the first time positively to have details of the locations of chemical agent production. Again, there was no time to get collateral because the prime minister had set a deadline for the dossier's presentation to parliament, which he was about to specially recall.  

A reliable source concludes that, as a result of the July 23 prime ministerial summit, "there was a direct cause and effect" between the arrival of last-minute uncorroborated intelligence and the political imperative set by Blair in   order to keep his commitment to Bush.  

It's now clear that the JIC lost its critical faculties by failing to spot that the intelligence was being fixed around that policy, much as the Americans were doing. The committee had allowed itself to become sucked into helping Blair make the case for war.  

Yet if the JIC gave these new, meagre, intelligence pickings credibility beyond their merit, Blair went a step further in his foreword to the dossier by asserting the intelligence was "beyond doubt", reinforced in parliament by his assertion that the intelligence picture was "extensive, detailed and authoritative". It was nothing of the sort, and we know from Lord Butler's review that he had been told of its inherent weaknesses.  

Was the fervour of Blair's belief in weapons such that he did not recognise these weaknesses? Or, did he deliberately hide them because, as Robin Cook says, he was committed to the Americans?  

Blair had also been told by the attorney general of the risks he ran in going to war without the explicit support of the UN security council. To this day, these caveats have not been disclosed to parliament or even the cabinet.  

In judging the truthfulness of the prime minister on Iraq, the central question remains: how he reconciles what he said in public with what he knew in private.  

&#183; John Ware is a BBC Panorama reporter; his programme, Iraq: the Truth and Tony, was broadcast last Sunday 
www.bbc.co.uk/panorama  

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat Mar 26 06:13:16 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Sat Mar 26 06:15:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Taiwan rallies against China law
Message-ID: <20050326_141316_067245.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

HS saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Taiwan rallies against China law **
Hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese demonstrate against China's anti-secession law that threatens force.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4382971.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat Mar 26 06:14:55 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat Mar 26 06:24:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - LEBANESE OFFICIALS REJECT UN REPORT ON HARIRI
Message-ID: <20050326141455.717B669AFB@nmweb09.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
LEBANESE OFFICIALS REJECT UN REPORT ON HARIRI
WebPosted Fri Mar 25 09:49:26 2005

beirut---Senior Lebanese government officials on Friday vehemently
rejected a United Nations report linking Lebanon to the assassination of
its former prime minister.

"The [UN] mission had no authority to allow it to reach these
conclusions," said Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud.

"We see this as infringement on the role of the Lebanese government."

Released on Thursday, the UN report linked the Feb. 14 assassination
of Rafik Hariri with political tensions surrounding Syria's presence
in Lebanon.

 FROM MARCH 24, 2005: UN report blames Syria, Lebanon in Hariri's death


"It is clear that the assassination took place in a political and
security context marked by an acute polarization around the Syrian
influence in Lebanon," said the report.

Hammoud blamed international interference for the political polarization.

"We say that tension began when signals starting coming from abroad that
a resolution was to be issued by the Security Council," said Hammoud.

UN Security Resolution 1559 called for Syria to withdraw its 14,000
troops from Lebanon.

Lebanese Justice Minister Adnan Addoum said the UN report is not a legal
or judicial document, but a "technical" report.

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has accepted the report's recommendation
for an international inquiry into Hariri's death, however.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat Mar 26 06:16:24 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat Mar 26 06:24:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - U.S. ARMY RELEASES DETAILS IN 27 DETAINEE
	DEATHS
Message-ID: <20050326141624.5593D69AFB@nmweb09.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
U.S. ARMY RELEASES DETAILS IN 27 DETAINEE DEATHS
WebPosted Fri Mar 25 16:46:31 2005

Washington---The U.S. army released details Friday of the suspected or
confirmed homicides of 27 detainees who died in U.S. custody in Iraq and
Afghanistan between August 2002 and November 2004.

The Army Criminal Investigation Command said in the 16 cases it has
completed so far, it found sufficient evidence to support a range of
charges against 21 soliders, including murder, negligent homicide
and assault.

Five of those cases were referred to other agencies, including the case
of an Iraqi who died of "blunt force trauma" at the Abu Ghraib prison
outside Baghdad. The navy took the case and filed court martial charges
against several navy SEAL commandos and one sailor.

There are 24 cases in all, most involving a single person. One case
involved two deaths and another involved three. Seventeen of the cases
happened in Iraq and seven in Afghanistan.

Of the eight army criminal investigations that remain open, five involve
incidents that occurred during raids or firefights, or in other
circumstances outside of a U.S. detention facility.

In one of those cases, four soldiers have been charged with murder and
dereliction of duty in the death of an Iraqi major-general.

Another of the open cases involves three separate killings in the Sadr
City section of Baghdad in August 2004, all involving soldiers who
allegedly shot Iraqis during search operations.

Two soldiers have been convicted of murder, two have pleaded guilty at
courts martial and charges against two others are pending.

"We take each and every death very seriously and are committed and sworn
to investigating each case with the utmost professionalism and
thoroughness," said Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Criminal
Investigation Command.

Grey added that some cases are complicated by the fact that allegations
have arisen long after the incidents occurred.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From Reuters_News at reuters.com  Sat Mar 26 07:10:21 2005
From: Reuters_News at reuters.com (Reuters_News@reuters.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 07:12:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Reuters.com - U.S. Troops Tortured Iraqis in Mosul,
	Documents Show - Sat March 26, 2005 07:43 AM ET
Message-ID: <28426732.1111849820841.JavaMail.root@prod-app5>

HS (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) has sent you this article.

Personal message:
   Hopefully charges will be laid ?

Reuters.com - U.S. Troops Tortured Iraqis in Mosul, Documents Show
  http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8005978


This service is not intended to encourage spam. The details provided by your colleague have been used for the sole purpose of facilitating this email communication and have not been retained by Reuters. Your personal details have not been added to any database or mailing list.

If you would like to receive news articles delivered to your email address, please subscribe at www.reuters.com



From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat Mar 26 11:04:25 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sat Mar 26 11:06:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Taiwan rallies against China law
Message-ID: <20050326_190425_011675.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Taiwan rallies against China law **
Hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese demonstrate against China's anti-secession law that threatens force.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4382971.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat Mar 26 11:08:07 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sat Mar 26 11:10:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Local net TV takes off in Austria
Message-ID: <20050326_190807_091532.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Local net TV takes off in Austria **
An Austrian village is testing technology that could represent the future of television.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/technology/4378945.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat Mar 26 14:26:21 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat Mar 26 14:27:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Electricity From The Ocean
Message-ID: <000701c53252$d842f120$6425b7d8@baby1>

Electricity From The Ocean

http://www.google.com/search?q=electricity+from+the+ocean&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official


Aha....  So...  I'm behind the times.  Again.  I'm not crazy...  At least
not a majority of the time.  I just don't Google enough.

:|

Now if we could only find a workable substitute for Oil, we'd be in business
and we wouldn't have to stand around watching humans rip their eyeballs out
in the future when energy begins to become depleted everywhere.  Besides, we
already have people like our government to rip our eyeballs out for us as we
pay for the privilege of letting them do it to us.

Wouldn't it be funny if something simple like peanut butter was the
alternative to Oil..?  Hehe...  Yes, go ahead, admit it, it would.

Alternatives To Oil:

http://www.google.com/search?q=alternatives+to+oil&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

Wouldn't it also be funny if "the last hope of mankind" wound up being
Google...?  Hehe, yes, yes it would.    :|

Ah well, I'll stick with the peanut for now.  There's probably enough oil in
a handful of peanuts to run a toy tractor for a week.

Anyway, the price of gas in my small town here has reached $2.10 per gallon.
History in Smallville.  At the pump the other day, I overheard someone say
"Well, that's another great thing that has come from the war in Iraq, higher
gas prices here", and the response from a lady with 3 children filling up
her vehicle was "Yeah, I know...".

The rabble are beginning to mumble.

Ah well, who knows, there's probably a giant supply of Oil sitting under the
surface of Mars for all I know.  But, of course, we will never get there,
we're still in the Middle East playing God.

I always knew something good would come out of Texas, I just never realized
it would be the end of the world.




Cheeseburger

.

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:29:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:32:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Is Examining Plan to Bolster Detainee
	Rights
Message-ID: <20050326232957.107C224AEAD@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 27, 2005

U.S. Is Examining Plan to Bolster Detainee Rights
By TIM GOLDEN

The White House is considering changes to the tribunals it created to try foreign terrorist suspects at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/politics/27detain.html?ex=1112504400&en=a91867ab9d927794&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:30:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:32:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Boats, Cows,
	Tasty Lamb: Iraq Battles Smuggling
Message-ID: <20050326233027.8E9FF22708F@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 27, 2005

Boats, Cows, Tasty Lamb: Iraq Battles Smuggling
By EDWARD WONG

The interim Iraqi government is struggling to deal with a sharp rise in smuggling two years after the American invasion left the borders wide open.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/international/middleeast/27border.html?ex=1112504400&en=54504c978df6a78f&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:31:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:33:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Morality and Reality
Message-ID: <20050326233132.7E2EF9FD14@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 26, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Morality and Reality
By DAVID BROOKS

The Terry Schiavo case represents a clash of two serious but flawed arguments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/26/opinion/26brooks.html?ex=1112504400&en=305b9df21f7a4f49&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:31:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:34:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: All the News That's Fed
Message-ID: <20050326233153.AE7D522EE99@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 26, 2005

Op-Ed Contributors: All the News That's Fed
By MARION JUST and TOM ROSENSTIEL

Local broadcasters are being asked to do more with less, and they have been forced to rely more on prepackaged news to take up the slack.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/26/opinion/26just.html?ex=1112504400&en=ad9674efe9964d78&ei=5070




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

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:32:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:35:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: New Details on F.B.I. Aid for Saudis After
	9/11
Message-ID: <20050326233245.5645F1C24A@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 27, 2005

New Details on F.B.I. Aid for Saudis After 9/11
By ERIC LICHTBLAU

Newly released records point to a more active role by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in aiding some of the Saudis in their departure.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/politics/27exodus.html?ex=1112504400&en=288af352e9814761&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:33:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:35:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: What Set Loose the Voice of the People
Message-ID: <20050326233318.E67CF38809B@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


WEEK IN REVIEW | March 27, 2005

Baghdad and Beirut: What Set Loose the Voice of the People
By DEXTER FILKINS

Democracy has allowed the Lebanese to develop a discourse that seems far more nuanced and sophisticated than the one practiced by their counterparts in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/weekinreview/27filk.html?ex=1112504400&en=234dae31c62808ac&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:33:55 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:36:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Is Examining Plan to Bolster Detainee
	Rights
Message-ID: <20050326233356.2F4AD22EF20@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 27, 2005

U.S. Is Examining Plan to Bolster Detainee Rights
By TIM GOLDEN

The White House is considering changes to the tribunals it created to try foreign terrorist suspects at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/politics/27detain.html?ex=1112504400&en=a91867ab9d927794&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:35:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:37:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Car Bomb Explodes in East Beirut
Message-ID: <20050326233511.5EEA513B732@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

1st of 3...


INTERNATIONAL | March 26, 2005

Car Bomb Explodes in East Beirut
By REUTERS

A car bomb exploded in an industrial suburb of east Beirut on Saturday, causing a large fire and wounding five people, security sources said.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-lebanon-bomb.html?ex=1112504400&en=ecb8b50639ad2d08&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:35:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:37:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Lebanon Blast Injures 3 Foreign Workers
Message-ID: <20050326233511.C976413B750@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

2nd of 3


INTERNATIONAL | March 26, 2005

Lebanon Blast Injures 3 Foreign Workers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A loud explosion was heard in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, and Arab TV stations cited security officials as saying it was caused by a bomb. There was no word on casualties.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Lebanon-Explosion.html?ex=1112504400&en=ab3aef8aa5a6c4a5&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:35:25 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:38:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 4 G.I.'s Killed Near Kabul
Message-ID: <20050326233526.A88CB1C229@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

3rd of 3


INTERNATIONAL | March 27, 2005

4 G.I.'s Killed Near Kabul


Four American soldiers were killed Saturday when their vehicle struck a land mine in southeast Afghanistan, the United States military said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/international/27afghan.html?ex=1112504400&en=fd8157bc588dcde6&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:36:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:38:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 23 Are Killed in a Series of Attacks Across
	Iraq
Message-ID: <20050326233630.E8CD92062A3@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

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4th of 3 (...)


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 26, 2005

23 Are Killed in a Series of Attacks Across Iraq
By ROBERT F. WORTH

The attacks, ending a week of relative quiet, included three suicide car bombs and the assassination of a police official.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/26/international/middleeast/26iraq.html?ex=1112504400&en=cc12717abeee9dfd&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:36:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:39:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pentagon Will Not Try 17 G.I.'s Implicated
	in Prisoners' Deaths
Message-ID: <20050326233653.9558A388063@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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Typical...


WASHINGTON | March 26, 2005

Pentagon Will Not Try 17 G.I.'s Implicated in Prisoners' Deaths
By DOUGLAS JEHL

Investigators had recommended that all 17 soldiers be charged in the deaths of three prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/26/politics/26abuse.html?ex=1112504400&en=598f219c6abcc886&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat Mar 26 15:38:00 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Mar 26 15:40:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Fictional Doomsday Team Plays Out Scene
	After Scene
Message-ID: <20050326233801.3C85221F1CB@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Hmmmmm....


WASHINGTON | March 26, 2005

Fictional Doomsday Team Plays Out Scene After Scene
By ERIC LIPTON

The Department of Homeland Security has compiled a dozen doomsday scripts in an effort to help the nation prepare for, or perhaps even prevent, future attacks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/26/politics/26home.html?ex=1112504400&en=2193d13e845cee25&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat Mar 26 16:43:54 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar 26 16:53:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] What do you think of Arnold now?
Message-ID: <200503270053.j2R0rQDC027102@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Mar 24, 2005
Campaign Finance Reform Hypocrisy
by Jamie Court
 
The following commentary by FTCR President Jamie Court was 
broadcast on KPCC 89.3FM in Pasadena, CA on Thursday, March 24, 
2005. Click here to listen to the audio of the commentary.
---------------
Host: A Sacramento judge issued a preliminary ruling that allows 
Governor Schwarzenegger to control a group that is raising unlimited 
funds to push his ballot measures. Jamie Court, president of the 
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, says Governor 
Schwarzenegger has turned into a traitor in the war for campaign 
finance reform.

Jamie Court - FTCR: When he ran for office, Arnold Schwarzenegger 
pledged he would stop the
influence of money in politics, and presented himself as THE 
campaign finance reformer. After taking office and raising more money 
than any politician in California history, Schwarzenegger THEN 
claimed he simply meant he was so rich that campaign cash had no 
influence over him.

Well, now we know for sure that money talks to Arnold 
Schwarzenegger. You see, to bust state fundraising limits for his ballot 
measures the Guv argued in court that raising as much money as 
possible is the equivalent of exercising his freedom of speech.

So, if Arnold thinks that money talks, how can he continue to claim that 
he's not listening to his donors? And if money is speech, how can 
those of us without much of it be heard? You see why the legal logic is 
so troubling. It puts government and governors up for sale. That's why 
even the Rehnquist-led US Supreme Court recently repudiated that 
reasoning.

Big business has relied on the "money is speech" argument for two-
and-a-half decades to stymie campaign finance reformers in the 
courts. The tenor was set by a 1976 Supreme Court ruling that 
corporations have a right to speak via unlimited donations to political 
parties and Political Action Committees. In a 1978 decision the high 
court ruled that the first amendment right to speak through money 
trumped state limits on corporate spending for political referendums.

It was only a year-and-a-half ago that the Supreme Court said there is 
no absolute right to speak through campaign cash. That came in its 
ruling upholding the McCain-Feingold overhaul. Now Governor 
Schwarzenegger is trying to turn back the clock.

Arnold says the money is not for him, but for his so-called "reforms." 
Well, Gray Davis didn't pocket the dough either. Campaign cash is all 
about putting politicians on television and making them more popular.

Schwarzenegger clearly believes money is power, and that the cash to 
market himself and his spin will determine what voters remember, not 
the positions he takes. For campaign finance reformers, however, this 
Arnold will be remembered just like another famous one -- Benedict
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/ftcr/co/co004964.php3

------

Associated Press
Mar 22, 2005
by TOM CHORNEAU, Associated Press Writer
Schwarzenegger Criticized for Fund-Raising
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Shortly before he was elected governor 
in 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger stood in the state's railroad museum, 
which he called a monument to the special interest that dominated 
California politics for decades until it was finally curbed in the early 
1900s.

Californians, Schwarzenegger declared that day, believe their 
government "is corrupted by dirty money, closed doors and back-room 
dealing. They see the contributions go in, the favors go out and they're 
punished with wasteful spending and high taxes."

Now, as governor, Schwarzenegger is being accused of blatant 
hypocrisy over his own two-fisted fund-raising.

The Republican collected a record $26 million in contributions last 
year, much of it in big corporate checks from the pharmaceutical, 
insurance and energy industries. And this year he wants to raise twice 
that amount to push government-overhaul measures he is trying to put 
on the ballot this fall.

He has raised more money in more ways than former Gov. Gray 
Davis, whose own lusty fund-raising helped lead to his recall from 
office. To back his agenda, Schwarzenegger has created a network of 
nonprofit groups that do not reveal their sources of money or where 
they spend it. And he has sued the state's election watchdog to let his 
allies raise more money than California regulations allow.

"This is Gray Davis on steroids," said Jamie Court, president of the 
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica 
consumer group.

Accusations of hypocrisy are growing louder as the man who once said 
he didn't need outside money is spending increasing amounts of time 
raising it.

"He's doing the exact opposite of what he said he would do," said 
Raphael Sonenshein, a political science professor at California State 
University, Fullerton.

For his part, Schwarzenegger insists he can accept big campaign 
checks and remain completely independent, while his opponents 
cannot. The governor has said he is "representing the people's 
interests, not the special interests, and not the unions' interests."

Schwarzenegger is pushing for ballot measures that would cut state 
spending; partially privatize public employees' pensions; pay teachers 
according to merit, not seniority; and let retired judges, not lawmakers, 
draw legislative districts.

This month he completed a fund-raising swing through Washington, 
New York and Cincinnati. Last week he had events in Sacramento and 
Los Angeles.

In Cincinnati, financier Carl Lindner, who owns baseball's Cincinnati 
Reds, and his wife, Edith, each gave $22,300, the maximum allowed 
under California law, to the California Recovery Team, a political fund 
controlled by Schwarzenegger. He also gave $200,000 to Citizens to 
Save California, a coalition of business and anti-tax interests raising 
money to support Schwarzenegger's proposals.

At the New York fund-raiser, he took $22,300 from the American 
International Group, the huge insurance company whose chief 
executive, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg was forced to resign last week 
amid investigations into AIG's business practices.

At each stop, wealthy Republicans and corporate lobbyists stood in line 
to pay as much as $100,000 to share a meal, a photo and a brief 
moment with the governor. At each stop, too, have been protesters; on 
March 16 in Los Angeles, close to 1,000 union members shut down 
the streets surrounding the Century Plaza Hotel.

Despite his claims of independence, critics see troubling instances of 
the governor's policy decisions intersecting with the desires of his 
contributors.

The trade group representing the nation's biggest drug manufacturers 
emerged in recent months as one of Schwarzenegger's biggest 
supporters after the governor vetoed four bills in September that would 
have made it easier for Californians to buy cheaper prescription drugs 
from Canada. So far, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers 
of America Alliance has raised almost $8 million from drug companies 
to get voters to approve a discount drug plan backed by 
Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger and his aides said contributions 
have no effect on his decisions; donors, they said, give because they 
support his overall goals.

The governor has brought some of the problem on himself, said Allan 
Hoffenblum, a GOP consultant.

"He gave the impression that he would not need to raise money, and 
many people perceive what he's doing now as hypocritical,'' 
Hoffenblum said. "And secondly, he never defined what special 
interests were."

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/nw/nw004954.php3
--------


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat Mar 26 16:44:33 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat Mar 26 16:57:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] reforming the Democrats...and supporting Cynthis McKinney
Message-ID: <200503270057.j2R0v01a027112@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

The Alleged Impossibility of Moving the Democrats Left
By David Swanson

I think Progressive Democrats of America owes a thanks to Lance 
Selfa for his March 25th article in Socialist Worker predicting that we in 
PDA will not manage to move the Democratic Party to the left. 
http://www.socialistworker.org/2005-1/536/536_07_PDA.shtml

The warning of the difficulty, and of where we can easily go wrong, is 
helpful.

Selfa began his article with these words: "In a recent fundraising 
appeal on behalf of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), Global 
Exchange and Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin urged support 
for the PDA's effort to 'take over and transform the Democratic Party.' 
But this is only the latest in a long line of attempts to 'take over and 
transform the Democratic Party.' If history is any guide, the PDA's 
attempt will end like all the others--in failure." 

But for every new development in history, history was not "any guide." 
New achievements are, by definition, new, and their possibility cannot 
be ruled out by past failures. Of course, the Democratic Party has 
never been what we want it to be ? though at times it's been much, 
much closer to it. We and those who have come before us have tried 
to reform it and failed again and again. But the organization for which 
Selfa writes advocates the overthrow of capitalism, and we haven't 
managed that yet either. If history is "any guide," we won't.

Luckily for progressive Democrats and socialists, and for those of us 
who sympathize with both, there's as much wisdom in Ford and Joyce 
as in Santayana. We don't want to repeat historical mistakes, but we 
do want to awaken from history's nightmares and recognize history, 
ultimately, as bunk.

The right wing announced that September 11th "changed everything," 
and then proceeded to change quite a few things. We can, if we 
choose, announce that George W. Bush changed everything, or that 
the pathetic failure of John Kerry changed everything. These are not 
empirical claims. They're commitments. We make them true and give 
them meaning afterwards.

In reforming the Democrats, the trick, as Selfa points out, lies in 
maintaining a working relationship with the Democratic Party without 
selling out to it, without being co-opted, without falling victim to the 
allure of petty power. The same danger lies in working with large 
funding sources, of course. 

I cannot predict with any certainty that PDA will manage to take over 
the Democratic Party for progressive popular positions, but I am 
convinced that PDA is going into this with its eyes wide open. PDA's 
approach to Democrats, even progressive Democrats, is not one of 
subservience but of useful pressure. A fair number of elected 
representatives want to move left on various issues but are reluctant to 
do so in the absence of public pressure. PDA intends to provide it ? 
when they want it and when they don't. 

PDA's support in primary elections will be for progressive candidates, 
whether incumbents or challengers. A progressive challenger 
sometimes has more strength as a Democrat than as the candidate of 
another party, because she or he is able to draw on the support of the 
party even while pulling the party away from its corrupting corporate 
influence. But Greens and Socialists and other party candidates may 
also gain PDA support. When their election advances the public good 
and advances both efforts to reform the Democrats and efforts to build 
another party, then we need to act, not stop and argue over our long-
term visions. PDA will work for instant runoff voting and for fusion, the 
strategy that the Working Families Party is using to build progressive 
power.

We in PDA need socialists with us. But we also need with us many for 
whom "socialism" is a poorly understood and greatly feared word. Part 
of what is required of us is reshaping our public discourse so that 
majority opinions are not marginalized. The majority of Americans 
want single-payer health care, serious investment in education, fair 
and clean elections, democratic media, an aggressive response to 
global warming, an end to the war, fair trade policies, and numerous 
other policies that are not acceptable in the corporate media. When 
Dennis Kucinich brought up single-payer health care in a presidential 
candidates debate, Larry King cut him off and told him it was 
socialism. Well, we either need to make it not be socialism or make 
socialism be acceptable (or take our airwaves away from the likes of 
Larry King), but one way or the other we need to recognize our own 
status and strength as a majority. 

Our strength will be greater not just if we all work together, but if we 
concentrate only on supporting candidates who are fully behind our 
platform. PDA has no intention of wasting energy on lesser evil 
candidates. Our work, rather, will go into developing good candidates 
at the local, state, and national levels, and into holding our elected 
officials accountable. 

We'll put on coats and ties and meet with them. We'll flood their 
mailboxes, fax machines, and telephones. And we'll protest their 
actions through nonviolent civil disobedience. We'll do what it takes to 
take back our country from robber barons, war profiteers, and 
gangsters, whatever party they try to call their own. We'll succeed if 
you help us.


David Swanson is a board member of Progressive Democrats of 
America. His website is http://www.davidswanson.org 

Link to this column:
http://www.davidswanson.org/columns/alleged.htm 

---------------
(the following appeal for funds is from one of the most courageous and 
outspoken members of Congress)

March 24, 2005

Dear Friend,

Thank you for the support you've given me in the past. And because 
you are on this list, I know you are a trusted friend in peace.

I need your help now more than ever. With the Republicans targeting 
Georgia for redistricting, we know they expect to make manipulated 
gains here as they just did in Texas. Please help me send a message 
to them to leave the progressive voices in Georgia alone! You can do 
that by making a contribution to my campaign before the March 31 
Federal Election Committee (FEC) reporting deadline.

A strong fundraising total will let them know that I am ready to 
campaign despite the Republican effort to change lines on a map. I 
need your help today because there are only a few days left until the 
FEC deadline.

I have already hit the ground running on the House Budget Committee 
and its Armed Services Committee. If you're a C-Span junkie, you've 
undoubtedly seen me at work, asking the tough questions on the 
people's behalf.

Please visit my website at www.cynthiaforcongress.com/donations 
today or put a check in the snail mail at:

Cynthia McKinney for Congress
Post Office Box 371125
Decatur, GA 30037

If you're in town on Saturday, March 26th, come by our fundraiser with 
Isaac Hayes at the home of State Senator Gloria Butler:

6241 Southland Trace
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
4:30 pm - 6:30 pm

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,
Cynthia McKinney

P.S. Please visit the web address below and tell your friends to do so, 
too! 

www.cynthiaforcongress.com/donations.html 

(Campaign contributions are not tax deductible and corporate 
contributions are not allowed.) 


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 05:14:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 05:17:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Vatican Code
Message-ID: <20050327131451.7A52524AF8C@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 27, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Vatican Code
By MAUREEN DOWD

It's obvious that Vatican officials did not read to the end of "The Da Vinci Code" or they never would have denounced it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/opinion/27dowd.html?ex=1112590800&en=2ff6f7c6ca6db23e&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 05:16:43 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 05:19:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Geo-Greening by Example
Message-ID: <20050327131643.E4D401C22B@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 27, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Geo-Greening by Example
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

How will future historians explain why President George W. Bush decided to ignore the energy crisis staring us in the face?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/opinion/27friedman.html?ex=1112590800&en=e85edf21e130bca0&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 05:17:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 05:19:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Dying to Be Famous
Message-ID: <20050327131702.1CF3B20629D@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


OPINION | March 27, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Dying to Be Famous
By LIONEL SHRIVER

The sad lesson of school shootings: there is no lesson.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/opinion/27shriver.html?ex=1112590800&en=1e4b5e348e68981e&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 05:19:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 05:21:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: States Focus on 'Black Boxes' in Vehicles
Message-ID: <20050327131901.E61A424AF11@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Big Brother gets closer and closer...


NATIONAL | March 27, 2005

States Focus on 'Black Boxes' in Vehicles
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BISMARCK, N.D., March 26 (AP) - When Raymon Holmberg bought a new sedan, the dealer did not mention the "black box," a computer chip that stores information on speed and seat belt use.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/national/27black.html?ex=1112590800&en=b792bc1aface149a&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 05:20:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 05:23:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Is a State Sponsor of Terrorism Winning?
Message-ID: <20050327132058.DA55C38809C@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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Michael would want you to see this.


MAGAZINE | March 27, 2005

The Security Adviser: Is a State Sponsor of Terrorism Winning?
By RICHARD A. CLARKE

Why it's springtime for Tehran's fundamentalists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/magazine/27ADVISER.html?ex=1112590800&en=d38f7dadcbc0e980&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 05:23:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 05:26:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Soul of the New Exurb
Message-ID: <20050327132408.1FBDC3AE3EF@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Personally, I find this sad in the extreme. They apparently care more about Krispy Kreme donuts than about God. That's fine if you're atheist or agnostic, but it is a bad sign if you claim to be a believer. Peace.


MAGAZINE | March 27, 2005

The Soul of the New Exurb
By JONATHAN MAHLER

Radiant megachurch in Arizona offers financial planning, child care, counseling and Krispy Kremes with every sermon. Welcome to the expanding conservative frontier.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/magazine/327MEGACHURCH.html?ex=1112590800&en=1d388f2c94f7024d&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 05:24:25 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 05:27:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Wounded
Message-ID: <20050327132429.2176B3880B0@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


MAGAZINE | March 27, 2005

The Wounded
By JOHNNY DWYER

Treating combat trauma on the ground in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/magazine/27WOUNDED.html?ex=1112590800&en=d8239187a6c4d3fa&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 05:25:22 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 05:27:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: China Gives America a D
Message-ID: <20050327132523.40C0821F00D@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WEEK IN REVIEW | March 27, 2005

Word for Word | Report Card: China Gives America a D
By PETER EDIDIN

China's assessment of America's human rights record is an indictment, and draws a picture of the U.S. that approaches caricature.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/weekinreview/27word.html?ex=1112590800&en=940bc1561df09e0c&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 27 08:41:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 27 08:44:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23503435.1111941702527.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Panel Ignored Evidence on Detainee
 
 By Carol D. Leonnig
 
  A military tribunal determined  last fall that Murat Kurnaz, a German national seized in Pakistan in 2001, was a member of al Qaeda and an enemy combatant whom the government could detain indefinitely at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 
 
 The three military officers on the panel, whose identities are kept secret, said in papers filed in federal court that they reached their conclusion based largely on classified evidence that was too sensitive to release to the public. 
 
 In fact, that evidence, recently declassified and obtained by The Washington Post, shows that U.S. military intelligence and German law enforcement authorities had largely concluded there was no information that linked Kurnaz to al Qaeda, any other terrorist organization or terrorist activities. 
 
 In recently declassified portions of a January ruling, a federal judge criticized the military panel for ignoring the exculpatory information that dominates Kurnaz's file and for relying instead on a brief, unsupported memo filed shortly before Kurnaz's hearing by an unidentified government official. 
 
 Kurnaz has been detained at Guantanamo Bay since at least January 2002.
 
 "The U.S. government has known for almost two years that he's innocent of these charges," said Baher Azmy, Kurnaz's attorney. "That begs a lot of questions about what the purpose of Guantanamo really is. He can't be useful to them. He has no intelligence for them. Why in the world is he still there?"
 
 The Kurnaz case appears to be the first in which classified material considered by a "combatant status review tribunal" has become public. While attorneys for Guantanamo Bay detainees have frequently complained that their clients are being held based on thin evidence, Kurnaz's is the first known case in which a panel appeared to disregard the recommendations of U.S. intelligence agencies and information supplied by allies.
 
 A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Daryl Borgquist, said the government  will not answer questions about the decisions made by the tribunals. "We don't comment on the decisions of the tribunals," he said. "They make the best decision based on what they saw before them at the time."
 
 About 540 foreign nationals are detained at Guantanamo Bay as suspected al Qaeda or Taliban fighters, or associates of terrorist groups. In response to a landmark Supreme Court ruling in June that allowed the detainees to challenge their imprisonment, the military began holding new review tribunals last fall. 
 
 During tribunal hearings, a panel of military officers considers public and secret evidence, and the detainee is offered an opportunity to state his case and answer questions. The panel then decides whether a captive should be designated an enemy combatant and be further detained. A second panel later reviews how dangerous the detainee would be if released.
 
  According to the Defense Department, 558 tribunal reviews have been held. In the 539 decisions made so far, 506 detainees have been found to be enemy combatants and have been kept in prison. Thirty-three have been found not to be enemy combatants. Of those, four have been released. 
 
 In January, U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green ruled that the tribunals are illegal, unfairly stacked against detainees and in violation of the Constitution. The Bush administration has appealed her decision. 
 
 U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, who, like Green, sits in the federal district for the District of Columbia, has ruled that the tribunals provide an appropriate legal forum for the detainees. Detainees are appealing his ruling.
 
 In Kurnaz's case, a tribunal panel made up of an Air Force colonel and lieutenant colonel and a Navy lieutenant commander concluded that he was an al Qaeda member, based on "some evidence" that was classified.
 
 But in nearly 100 pages of documents, now declassified by the government, U.S. military investigators and German law enforcement authorities said they had no such evidence. The Command Intelligence Task Force, the investigative arm of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the Guantanamo Bay facility, repeatedly suggested that it may have been a mistake to take Kurnaz off a bus of Islamic missionaries traveling through Pakistan in October 2001.
 
 "CITF has no definite link/evidence of detainee having an association with Al Qaida or making any specific threat against the U.S.," one document says. "CITF is not aware of evidence that Kurnaz was or is a member of Al Quaeda."
 
 Another newly declassified document reports that the "Germans confirmed this detainee has no connection to an al-Qaida cell in Germany." 
 
 Only one document in Kurnaz's file, a short memo written by an unidentified military official, concludes that the German Muslim of Turkish descent is an al Qaeda member. It says he was working with German terrorists and trying in the fall of 2001 to reach Afghanistan to help fight U.S. forces. 
 
 In recently declassified portions of her January ruling, Green wrote that the panel's decision appeared to be based on a single document, labeled "R-19." She said she found that to be one of the most troubling military abuses of due process among the many cases of Guantanamo detainees that she has reviewed.
 
 The R-19 memo, she wrote, "fails to provide significant details to support its conclusory allegations, does not reveal the sources for its information and is contradicted by other evidence in the record." Green reviewed all the classified and unclassified evidence in the case.
 
 Eugene R. Fidell, a Washington-based expert in military law, said Green appropriately chided the tribunal for not considering the overwhelming conclusion of the government that Kurnaz was improperly detained and should be released.
 
 "It suggests the procedure is a sham," Fidell said. "If a case like that can get through, what it means is that the merest scintilla of evidence against someone would carry the day for the government, even if there's a mountain of evidence on the other side."
 
 Douglas W. Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University who supports the tribunal process, said the lack of evidence against Kurnaz is "very troubling" and should prompt a military review of this particular tribunal. 
 
 "Failing to do that would undercut the argument that the military, in times of war, is capable of policing itself."
 
 Azmy, Kurnaz's attorney, said reading the classified records at first "exhilarated" him, because they corroborated his client's account. Now that Kurnaz remains detained and some of the information about his case can come to light, Azmy said he is deeply disturbed at what he calls the government's "whitewash." 
 
  "No American could possibly understand why we are holding someone we know we don't need to hold," said Azmy, a professor at Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey. "Having concluded long ago that he has no links to terrorists, what is keeping him there?"
 
 Azmy said the Pentagon seems  unable to admit it was wrong to detain someone  so long. "Or perhaps it's just a bureaucratic trap that Murat cannot get out of," Azmy said.
 
 Justice Department lawyers told Azmy  last week that the information may have been improperly declassified and should be treated in the foreseeable future as classified. 
 
 Kurnaz, 23, told the tribunal  he was traveling to Pakistan with an Islamic missionary group.  He said he is a religious man who pays no attention to politics and detests terrorists for violating the Koran's teachings to practice  nonviolence, according to transcripts of his appearance before the tribunal, which are available in federal court.
 
 One of the tribunal's assertions is that Kurnaz was traveling to Pakistan with Selcuk Bilgin, who Kurnaz said was a friend from his gym and who the military said is suspected of being "the Elalananutus suicide bomber." 
 
 Military records do not make it clear what the incident was, but in November 2003, an Istanbul synagogue was bombed and suspected bomber Gokhan Elaltuntas died. 
 
 Bilgin, who is still alive and living in Germany, did not go on the trip with Kurnaz, according to German court records that are part of the tribunal process. He was detained at the airport in Germany for failing to pay a fine  on his dog. 
 
 Uwe Picard, the German prosecutor who investigated the case against Bilgin, said in an interview last week that there was no evidence of Bilgin being a suicide bomber and that authorities there had to drop the case. 
 
 "We don't have proof the two wanted to go to Afghanistan or had any terrorist plans," he said through a German translator. 
 
  He said  German state security agencies  told him they had never heard of an Elalananutus bombing or a group by that name.
 
 "As far as I'm concerned, this group is just a series of letters that means absolutely nothing," he said. "And as I see it, the Americans really have no reason to hold Mr. Kurnaz. That wouldn't be allowed under German law."
 
 Staff writer Dita Smith and researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 27 08:42:32 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 27 08:45:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <20947355.1111941753667.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Catholic Stance on Tube-Feeding Is Evolving
 
 By Manuel Roig-Franzia
 
   PINELLAS PARK, Fla.  --  The Terri Schiavo case, for all its legal and political wranglings, is also churning up spiritual questions, ones with particular relevance for Catholics during  the holiest days of the church calendar this weekend.
 
 The Roman Catholic Church has taken a strong stance in the saga of Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman whose parents are fighting to keep her alive. Her Catholic faith has been such an important issue in the case that a court ordered doctors to deliver the sacrament of Holy Communion through her feeding tube before it was removed March 18. Pope John Paul II has said feeding tubes are "morally obligatory" for most patients in vegetative states, and high-ranking cardinals have followed up by referring to Schiavo, saying that removing her feeding tube could lead to legalized euthanasia.
 
 Theologians disagree about whether the pope is altering Catholic tradition, but there is consensus across the ideological spectrum that the Vatican's position in the Schiavo case has given Roman Catholics a new calculus for end-of-life decision  making.
 
 "This is the most authoritative statement we have to date," said Richard M. Doerflinger, vice president of the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and an opponent of ending Schiavo's feeding.
 
 Before this case, before the pope's statement, even conservatives such as Doerflinger say there was enough of a debate about the Catholic position that a person could choose which side to take: continue or discontinue tube-feeding. But now the pope and the cardinals have made much more definitive statements that Doerflinger and his polar opposites agree seem to require Catholics to continue with tube-feeding, as long as it "provides nourishment" and "alleviates suffering."
 
 The debate is far from an academic exercise. Its ultimate answers could affect how Catholics draw up their living wills and influence the decisions at the end of life now being faced by Schiavo's deeply divided family. And the church's evolving stance on feeding-tube cases may end up as one of the most lasting legacies of the Schiavo controversy. 
 
 Some prominent theologians argue that the pope is contradicting his recent predecessors by declaring that food and water are morally obligatory "basic care" and, as the Rev. John Paris, a bioethicist at Boston College, put it, "wholly upending four centuries of consistent Catholic moral analysis." Other prominent Catholic thinkers believe the Vatican is merely updating the church's position to reflect modern medical advances.
 
 Catholics have been wrestling with the ethics and obligations of technologically advanced life-sustaining treatment for decades, a debate that surged with the cases of Nancy Cruzan, Karen Ann Quinlan and others whose court fights established much of the legal precedent being applied to Schiavo. Conservative Catholics, such as Doerflinger, argued that patients should not be disconnected, except in rare instances. Others argued that centuries of Roman Catholic tradition allowed patients to be disconnected if they had no hope of recovery.
 
 That uncertainty left Catholics free to decide: disconnect or don't disconnect. Either way, they would not have sinned, Doerflinger said, as long as they "prayerfully considered" the dilemma and followed the moral argument they felt was most persuasive. Before the pope made his statement about feeding-tube cases at a conference last year, Doerflinger said there was enough uncertainty about the church's position that Catholics could remove feeding tubes without fear of committing a sin.
 
 "No one could fairly have said to you that you were dissenting from clear Catholic teaching,"  Doerflinger said.  "Now you would have to say, 'Yes, you are.' "
 
 On this point, Doerflinger's ideological opposites agree with him, saying the pope's stance has greatly narrowed the morally acceptable conditions under which Catholic patients and their families can remove life-sustaining care. "He's overshot the mark by drawing a line in the sand on withdrawing nutrition," said James J. Walter, a bioethicist at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles who has written extensively about the Catholic tradition in end-of-life cases.
 
 Catholics abound in the Schiavo case. Schiavo, now 41, was a practicing Catholic. Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, are Catholics and have been surrounded by sympathetic priests during public appearances. Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who has been rebuffed by the courts for taking unprecedented steps to preserve her life, converted to Catholicism after his marriage. 
 
 Almost from the beginning, both sides  --  Schiavo's parents and her husband, Michael Schiavo  --  have mixed religion into the process. Initially, the spiritual mantle seemed to tilt in favor of Michael Schiavo, who says his wife would have wanted him to remove the feeding tube that has kept her alive since her brain was damaged from lack of oxygen after a heart attack 15 years ago. A Catholic priest testified on Michael Schiavo's behalf at a trial in 2000.
 
 Around the same time, the Schindlers were striking out with the Catholic hierarchy. They pleaded with the Diocese of St. Petersburg to intervene after Michael Schiavo won a court ruling that allowed him to briefly remove his wife's feeding tube in 2001. Bishop Robert Lynch refused.
 
 "I'm ashamed of him," Jim Eckert, who was then the Schindlers' attorney, said of Lynch at the time. Lynch also issued a statement in February that said the ultimate decision rested with Schiavo's husband, though he has since signed statements by the Catholic bishops of Florida that urged Schiavo's feeding be continued. Catholic scholars, such as Walter and Paris, say Lynch's original position was supported by more than four centuries of precedent.
 
 In the 1530s, the renowned Spanish theologian Francisco de Vitoria wrote that a sick man could refuse food without risk of committing a mortal sin if he had no hope of survival. Another prominent Catholic theologian, Domingo Banez, built on Vitoria's premise in 1595 by establishing the guideline that "ordinary" means of medical treatment were obligatory, but "extraordinary" means  --  methods that would cause great pain or burdens  --  were not required. That position was further solidified in 1957 by Pope Pius XII, considered the modern architect of Catholic medical ethics, who told a group of  anesthesiologists that they were not required to provide life-sustaining care unless there was a reasonable hope of recovery.
 
 For years, though, theologians such as Doerflinger have contended that tube-feeding is not an extraordinary means, arguing against theologians such as Paris and Walter. Doerflinger's pro-life committee issued recommendations in the 1990s that discouraged the removal of feeding tubes from patients in a persistent vegetative state, though the full conference noted in its guidelines that the issue "hasn't really been settled."
 
  In Florida, the Schindlers have not been without their Catholic supporters throughout the 1990s, even as the church initially was rejecting their pleas. Students at a Catholic high school in Tampa raised $4,000 for the Schindlers by selling ribbons. Conservative priests posted letters of support on the Internet.
 
 As  the case bounced from one Florida courtroom to another, the Catholic leadership worldwide was veering toward a more vocal stance against abortion and assisted suicide. 
 
 In spring 2004, Pope John Paul II told the audience at an ethics conference that providing food and water was "morally obligatory."
 
 It was just what the Schindlers needed.
 
 They highlighted the pope's comments in a public relations campaign that has drawn masses of supporters, including antiabortion activists and advocates for the disabled. But judges have said the pope's remarks do not affect the legal case.
 
 "Terri wants to do what the pope has instructed her to do, which is basically what God has instructed her to do," said Pat Anderson, one of the  Schindlers' attorneys.
 
 The pope's statements have become all the more intriguing to bioethicists because of his failing health. Some Catholic thinkers have begun to wonder what decisions would be made if the 84-year-old pope  --  who has Parkinson's disease and recently received a tracheostomy  --  needed a feeding tube.
 
  The pope's condition is preventing him from participating in Easter Sunday services for the first time in his 26-year papacy. But the protesters outside Schiavo's hospice were praying for him and for the woman his words have been unable to save. 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 27 08:44:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 27 08:47:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6449518.1111941882188.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Yucca Mountain Basket
 
 By George F. Will
 
    YUCCA MOUNTAIN, Nev.  --  Things have a grand scale out here. The Nevada Test Site adjacent to this mountain is bigger than Rhode Island but smaller than Nellis Air Force Base, which also is adjacent. But the biggest thing is the dispute, now roiling a second decade, about carving a nuclear waste repository in this mountain's innards, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
 
  The Bush administration says that sound science proves this: Because of the aridity of this eastern end of the Death Valley hydrologic basin and because of what scientists have learned about the mountain's reaction to the sort of heat that will be generated by the slowly decaying waste and because metallurgical advances will make waste containers extraordinarily durable, no significant corrosion can threaten the structural integrity of containers that will hold the waste for at least 10,000 years  --  and probably 80,000.
 
  Not so, says Steve Frishman, a geologist employed by Nevada. He insists that enough water will reach the metal containers to cause, within just 200 years, seepage of radioactive waste that will threaten the groundwater and irrigation systems. He says that by emphasizing metallurgy, his adversaries prove that they have to disregard the principal criterion for a satisfactory repository  --  that "geology is the workhorse." He says geologic disposal of nuclear waste is feasible in rock less porous to water than this mountain is  --  in granite deposits of a sort found from Minnesota to North Carolina. For Nevadans who are not scientists, all they want to hear is: Not here.
 
  NIMBY  --  not in my back yard  --  is a normal response, but Nevada is mostly back yard: 92 percent of the state is owned by the federal government. And Nevada has a history of being put to unusual uses.
 
  In 1864 it was rushed into statehood before it had the required number of residents because President Lincoln thought he might need its three electoral votes. When the Comstock Lode's silver was exhausted, so, too, was Nevada: Between 1880 and 1900, while other mountain states' populations tripled, Nevada's declined, from 62,266 to 42,335. Some Easterners, thinking that one senator for each 22,500 people was ridiculous, suggested stripping Nevada of statehood.
 
  But Nevada, practicing "entrepreneurial federalism," built a gaudy future from the marriage of divorce and gambling. Some states had competed for the "migratory divorce" business  --  people shopping for the most permissive laws. In 1931 Nevada crushed competitors by enacting a six-week residency requirement for divorce and by legalizing gambling.
 
  This not notably decorous state rests on what it decorously calls "gaming," an industry that prospers from people not understanding risks with thrown dice or shuffled cards. Risk assessment tests rationality, and Oscar Goodman, the flamboyant former mob lawyer and current mayor of Las Vegas, is flunking the test when he promises to block any truck passing through his city carrying nuclear waste. Well.
 
  Union Pacific freight trains rumble less than a half a mile behind many of the 75,000 hotel rooms on the Strip. Some tank cars contain chlorine gas and other hazardous materials. An industrial society uses, and hence transports, vast quantities of them, weighing their benefits against their risks and trying to reduce the latter.
 
  Mayor Goodman, relax: Very little nuclear waste will come to Yucca Mountain by truck. Most will come by rail, on a line not yet built, that will loop far around the metropolitan area's 1.6 million residents. In the past 40 years more than 2,700 shipments of spent nuclear fuel have been transported more than 1.6 million miles. Four highway and four railway vehicles were involved in accidents, but no container of nuclear materials failed.
 
  Las Vegas is farther from this mountain than 161 million Americans are from 125 nuclear waste storage facilities in 39 states. These sites are much less secure than Yucca Mountain would be, with the material 1,000 feet below ground and the mountain located next to the Nuclear Emergency Support Team at Nellis.
 
  The nation should generate much more than the one-fifth of its electricity nuclear power currently produces. Forty percent of the Navy is nuclear-powered. More nuclear waste is produced daily. 
 
  Nevada has two tactics. It is insisting on a degree of certainty  --  absolute certainty, over 100 millennia  --  that is unreasonable, even considering the stakes. And it is making testable assertions about geological and metallurgical matters about which scientists are reaching conclusions that are beyond reasonable doubts.
 
  Three truths: America must store nuclear waste more safely, can never prove perfect safety forever and hence cannot store waste anywhere it will be welcomed. An axiom: Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket. 
 
 georgewill@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun Mar 27 08:45:16 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 27 08:47:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <22875585.1111941917009.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Life as We  Don't Know It
 
 By Michael Kinsley
 
    Based on the two big domestic stories of last week  --  Terri Schiavo and Social Security personoramification (or whatever they want us to call it instead of privatization)  --  the Republican philosophy seems to be that people need more control over their own retirements but less control over their own deaths.
 
  Based on recent polls, most people feel the exact opposite. They prefer the modest but certain Social Security check they get every month over the opportunity to spend their twilight years nursing their portfolios and worrying every time Alan Greenspan's successors open their mouths. On the other hand, they want to set for themselves the rules about their own final departure. Specifically, people are terrified of being kept joylessly alive, active minds trapped in shut-down bodies or lost minds mocking the dignity of a lifetime, just to prove somebody's political point.
 
  The Schiavo case is not exactly about anyone's right to die, since we don't know whether Schiavo would want to die in her current circumstances. But concern about being able to choose death over pain and/or extreme degradation is what has riveted people to the Schiavo story.
 
  This is far from illogical. A Congress that has diddled for decades while a growing fraction of the populace has no health insurance, and a president who lectures us constantly about the evils of big government, managed to pass and sign a law within a day trying to keep Terri Schiavo on life support for another 15 or 30 or 45 years.
 
  Why have they done this? There is a reflexive habit in Washington of assuming that everything Bush does is the result of opportunism. If he were to cure cancer in his spare time, people would ask, "What is Karl Rove up to?" In fact, George W. Bush is probably more motivated by principled belief than any other recent president. He enjoys the stubborn conviction of the unreflective mind. Unfortunately  --  or fortunately for the Democrats  --  his principled convictions are often wrong and sometimes unpopular. This leaves an opening for rival principled convictions, if only the Democrats had some to spare.
 
  In the Schiavo case, Bush and de facto House Speaker Tom DeLay earnestly believe that human life is a gift from God that no one has the right to extinguish. "No one" includes the person whose life it is. The president and Congress probably would not swoop down and prevent a family from pulling the plug if everyone involved agreed that this was the unambiguous wish of the patient herself. But the situation is rarely so clear. Even when there are living wills, people's wishes are often thwarted. The right to die on your own terms  --  and, more important, the ability to take comfort in knowing, long before you need to, that you will have that right if you wish to exercise it  --  is barely alive. Clearly, if Bush and DeLay had their way, they would pull the plug on that notion.
 
  Bush's motive for pushing so hard on Social Security reform is more mysterious. But the possibility of idealism must be entertained, because any cynical motive for threatening Social Security seems so far-fetched. The explanation can't be Bush's official one, that the system will be in crisis by 2042. Anyone worried about financial crises in 2042 should be sobbing inconsolably about a half-dozen big issues likely to explode sooner. Further, Bush has as good as admitted that privatization won't solve the trust fund crisis. Well, he has admitted that privatization "alone" won't solve the crisis, when in fact it won't solve the crisis at all, except by fiat. His "plan"  --  still no details  --  assumes that the trust fund will be made actuarially sound as a prerequisite for privatization. It's not much of a magic trick to pull a rabbit out of your hat if you start by demanding a rabbit to put in the hat.
 
  People say Bush's real motive for privatizing Social Security is to turn millions of Americans into Republicans over the next half-century by giving them a stake in the stock market. You could call this idealism or Rovism, but it would be Rovism on a stick so long that it almost doesn't count. Something similar did work politically for Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. She allowed millions of Britons living in public housing to buy their apartments, thereby creating a whole class of homeowners.
 
  But this technique appeals to a very different kind of conservatism than the one Bush is offering. It is the conservatism of order and security, not of uncertainty and risk. As people grow older, plan for retirement and think about death, they become hungry for reassurance and more resistant to it at the same time. Fear of the unknown looms larger. What Bush's tinkering with Social Security and his meddling in the right to die have in common is that both make life's last couple of chapters seem less predictable and secure. That may not matter to Bush, since he enjoys the ultimate security of knowing  --  or thinking he knows  --  what happens in the chapter that follows these two. And it looks pretty good. Others are not so sure  --  about themselves or about him. 
 
 The writer is editorial and opinion editor of the Los Angeles Times.
 
   

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun Mar 27 09:39:35 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun Mar 27 09:42:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ABCNEWS.com: Silicon Insider: Farewell to Newspapers
Message-ID: <25487446.1111945175310.JavaMail._WDIGSvc0406@abctvbar01>

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

I may have already sent this ?

Silicon Insider: Farewell to Newspapers
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/SiliconInsider/story?id=88655&page=1
From geomilman at milman.com  Sun Mar 27 10:09:31 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun Mar 27 10:12:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Did Descartes Doom Terri Schiavo?
Message-ID: <20050327180936.54D3E388099@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/weekinreview/27lela.html?ei=5070&en=5b0f2
ab01556a5db&ex=1112072400&pagewanted=print&position>
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/weekinreview/27lela.html?ei=5070&en=5b0f2a
b01556a5db&ex=1112072400&pagewanted=print&position=

 

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 27 10:46:09 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 27 10:48:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: [Mb-hair] How Broadway Lost Its Voice to 'American
	Idol'
In-Reply-To: <20050327175811.9E95F13B78F@lax-gw04.mroute.net>
Message-ID: <BE6C3F71.1F9C6%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Thanks, George Milman for sending this

> 
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/theater/newsandfeatures/27bran.html?ex=11
> 12072400&en=c266c4386bbe2745&ei=5070>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/theater/newsandfeatures/27bran.html?ex=111
> 2072400&en=c266c4386bbe2745&ei=5070
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-hair mailing list
> Mb-hair@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-hair
> 

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 27 10:48:14 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 27 10:50:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] HAPPT EASTER
Message-ID: <BE6C3FEE.1F9C9%michael@michaelbutler.com>

God is Love

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sun Mar 27 11:29:19 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sun Mar 27 11:29:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The True Story Of The Easter Bunny
Message-ID: <000701c53303$469f7160$7e25b7d8@baby1>

The True Story Of The Easter Bunny



Every time I hear someone say something like you must go to church to be one
with God etc, I laugh.  It's the most ridiculous thing Man ever created.

For centuries churches have bled the populace dry of its money, its time,
its labor, and, yes, its soul.

Church is about the last place someone is going to find salvation.

One can just about more easily find salvation while filling up your car at a
gas station.

There are still people and children who don't have 2 sticks to rub together
in my little town here, but the churches bloom.  10's of thousands of
dollars of stained glass windows, beautiful floors, gorgeous pews, new
additions, satellite dishes on the roof, even more additions, etc.  It seems
God loves people who go to church, just as long as they finance it all with
their money as they are on their knees praying for salvation in it.

If you don't go to church, it seems he just doesn't love you as much.
Actually, it's the men and women who run Churchland Incorporated who don't
seem to hold you in as much esteem as the poverty stricken people on their
knees in the churches paying for salvation through the nose with what little
they have.

It doesn't seem enough that churches are not taxed at all in America.  Did
you ever stop to think who picks up the tab for all the "non-profit status"
taxes that churches don't pay..?  Good question.  Whatever your conclusion,
it certainly isn't the church.

I was struck by the "Megachurch in Arizona" story here somewhat, although I
couldn't be bothered to read 14 pages about someone who has been able to
bamboozle people into another Ringland Brothers scenario on their knees in a
well-financed non-profit building praying for salvation like a bunch of
suckered-in lemmings.

That religion has turned into nothing more than just another tawdry
corporate venture is surely no surprise to anyone anymore.  That some of the
most worthless cheating vicious backstabbing crooks that ever walked the
earth sit on the front pews of most churches each day it's open, is
certainly no sudden awakening either.

And that leaves God and you where...?  Certainly not sitting there singing
Hymn #23 and passing the collection plate.

Certainly one of the biggest scams Man ever created was to form churches and
dupe the human soul into believing that it had to enter one in order to
attain salvation.

And in this new age of hypocrites running every angle on the planet
including religion, just as they always have, it remains no surprise that
anyone who is not seen in church each meeting day need not apply down the
street for anything less than coal dust as their reward.

"Be still and know I am God" still remains a great little biblical passage.
And entails no trips to a mega-church with spiralling spirals, shining
stained glass windows, huge feeding troughs, bands a jammin', day care
centers, drive up bank window, satellite dishes on top, the ever-passed
collection plate, renewable by angels non-profit status, and all the best
hypocrites in town sitting on the front row proving their closeness to God
and their undying fake piety until the end of time and beyond.

And then we come to Jesus himself.

More people have been murdered, suckered, disinherited, tortured, and
drained clean of their finances in the name of Jesus than there are grains
of sand on the beaches of earth almost.

Hiding behind the robes of such a spiritual man, we have made it even all
the way to Iraq on his coat tails.

100,000 dead Iraqi men women and children civilians, and 4 more years of
Bush.

Quite an accomplishment for Christendom.

If Jesus were here, he would be pissing on their heads right about now for
achieving such madness and attaching his name to it when he had his back
turned.

And then we come to Christianity itself.

Christianity simply is not "the only way to heaven", no matter how many
words one uses to justify one's conclusions that it is.

Just grow up, people.

There is no way, again you can use all the words from some book you found
sitting on your desk to argue against it and it remains ultimately
meaningless repeatings of drivel you have had drilled into you over
centuries, that Jesus today would sit around and condemn anyone and
everything that is not down on its knees in a Christian church professing
his ways just as all the humans remain fervently condemning the ways,
beliefs, and lives of all the rest who do not.

Salvation does not have just one door.

That's propaganda.

A lie.  A beautiful one albeit, full of starry stories, stained glass
windows, beautiful pews, great additions, giant spirals, lush floors,
shining gold cups, satellite dishes on the roof, the promise of the only way
to salvation, and a great band singing like a bunch of unadulterated angels,
but a lie nevertheless.

I remember a cartoon in some ancient magazine portraying the 3 wise men at
the manger with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, it read something like "We bring
gold, frankinscense, and Murray our lawyer to negotiate the film rights..."

And that's about it.  One giant greatly written and directed film, with a
zillion unwitting players who not only don't receive scale wages for their
parts, but pay for the privilege to even be in it.

That's star material, eh...   The drawing power of a real star.  Heck, if
one tried very hard, one could even build hugely profitable enormous cottage
industries around his image.

Oh, wait a moment, they already have.  Nevermind.

And that it remains "the only door to real salvation" is still one of the
best drawing cards I have ever seen.

Still pure propaganda, but, hey, if you can just get them in the door, the
rest is cake.

Ah well, this was going to be about the true story of the Easter Bunny, but
I got sidetracked.  I'll save that story for another time.

The line between a crucifix and a chocolate egg begins to fade now and then
when I just sit down and think about it all without someone shoving their
point of view down my throat.

That that point of view has actually now been used to help re-elect abject
unrepentant Tyrants in the land of the Free and slaughter 100,000 unarmed
men women and children must surely remain one more good reason to wake up
today and shout "He is risen...!!"

The only problem remaining is that he arose, looked around, said "Oh crap,
look at all this bullsh*t they've done in my name", and split.

"Know ye not that your body is the temple of God" is a great line from the
"New Testament".

There remain, of course, several other lines in that book that can be used
to counter the idea that the actual human body is The Temple Of God Himself,
lines that admonish one to "go to church and have communion with the body of
Christ (the other people etc)", but I still prefer to think that someone way
back then had the right idea that the "spirit of God" resides primarily
within our own beings, not in some structure built by Man with people
singing their butts off up on a stage as a priest, minister or preacher
reads and reflects on books they found in caves thousands of years ago as
the collection plate surreptitiously winds its way around the crowd.

And even Jesus himself would not bar "a good person" from Heaven itself if
they did not believe that he was "the one and only".

Surely Jesus has evolved a little over these last couple of thousand years.

It appears it has been the Humans themselves that have regressed to the
biblical days before even Jesus himself showed up here.

It appears that it is no longer "He has risen", but rather "We have risen".
They say the words "He has risen", but the results of their actual Actions
both here and across the globe tell an entirely different story.

How one can be such a hyprocrite, put money in that collection plate, and
let both the image of Jesus and their own beliefs destroy and kill rather
than create and heal, remains just another Mystery Of The Church, which is
only explainable to you by people from such things as the Vatican who
tortured people to death in his name.

Oh well, so much for "The True Easter Bunny Story".

Anyway, it's a nice stormy day down here, ya'll stop by if you want, I'm
cooking up a huge batch of fried chocolate eggs the Easter Bunny dropped by
on his way to Confession.  You can get down on your knees and pray and sing
hymns in my Temple Of God here if you can force your way down my throat.

Other than that, we're just going to hang out in the back yard and watch the
trees grow.





Cheeseburger

.

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar 27 13:50:37 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 13:53:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME Magazine: Neurology
Message-ID: <22041898.1111960237182.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



Very interesting...

barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar 27 13:57:13 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 13:59:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How Does '80s Art Look Now?
Message-ID: <26978256.1111960633453.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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IF Jean-Michel Basquiat only knew then was could happen now with HIS artwork.

barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar 27 14:05:23 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 14:07:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tom DeLay: "It Is More Than Just Terri Schiavo"
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun Mar 27 14:10:39 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 14:13:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tom DeLay: "It Is More Than Just Terri Schiavo"
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 27 14:01:02 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 27 14:13:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: The White House Follies
In-Reply-To: <6.1.2.0.2.20050327160533.023738e0@incoming.verizon.net>
Message-ID: <BE6C6D20.1F9E4%michael@michaelbutler.com>

>From one of our own.

------ Forwarded Message
From: Charles Kaiser <Charles@charleskaiser.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005 16:06:25 -0500
To: intrafi <michael@michaelbutler.com>
Subject: The White House Follies

The Washington press corps at rest.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Charles Kaiser
Charles@charleskaiser.com

------ End of Forwarded Message

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 14:38:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun Mar 27 14:40:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] HAPPT EASTER
References: <BE6C3FEE.1F9C9%michael@michaelbutler.com>
Message-ID: <014e01c5331d$a9b385b0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Amen!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Butler" <michael@michaelbutler.com>
To: "Civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>; "HAIR List" 
<mb-hair@islandlists.com>; "BEARS, DOVES & BEAVERS" 
<michael@michaelbutler.com>; "Family Finance" <michael@michaelbutler.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 1:48 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] HAPPT EASTER


> God is Love
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 14:51:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun Mar 27 14:54:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The True Story Of The Easter Bunny
References: <000701c53303$469f7160$7e25b7d8@baby1>
Message-ID: <015e01c5331f$8e235490$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Cheeseburger:

Bravo on your citing perhaps the most important Old and New Testament quotes 
vis-a-vis what faith and Christianity "are" and what they are "not": "Be 
still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) and "Know ye not that ye are 
the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Cor. 
3:16).



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net>
To: "mb-civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 2:29 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] The True Story Of The Easter Bunny


> The True Story Of The Easter Bunny
>
>
>
> Every time I hear someone say something like you must go to church to be 
> one
> with God etc, I laugh.  It's the most ridiculous thing Man ever created.
>
> For centuries churches have bled the populace dry of its money, its time,
> its labor, and, yes, its soul.
>
> Church is about the last place someone is going to find salvation.
>
> One can just about more easily find salvation while filling up your car at 
> a
> gas station.
>
> There are still people and children who don't have 2 sticks to rub 
> together
> in my little town here, but the churches bloom.  10's of thousands of
> dollars of stained glass windows, beautiful floors, gorgeous pews, new
> additions, satellite dishes on the roof, even more additions, etc.  It 
> seems
> God loves people who go to church, just as long as they finance it all 
> with
> their money as they are on their knees praying for salvation in it.
>
> If you don't go to church, it seems he just doesn't love you as much.
> Actually, it's the men and women who run Churchland Incorporated who don't
> seem to hold you in as much esteem as the poverty stricken people on their
> knees in the churches paying for salvation through the nose with what 
> little
> they have.
>
> It doesn't seem enough that churches are not taxed at all in America.  Did
> you ever stop to think who picks up the tab for all the "non-profit 
> status"
> taxes that churches don't pay..?  Good question.  Whatever your 
> conclusion,
> it certainly isn't the church.
>
> I was struck by the "Megachurch in Arizona" story here somewhat, although 
> I
> couldn't be bothered to read 14 pages about someone who has been able to
> bamboozle people into another Ringland Brothers scenario on their knees in 
> a
> well-financed non-profit building praying for salvation like a bunch of
> suckered-in lemmings.
>
> That religion has turned into nothing more than just another tawdry
> corporate venture is surely no surprise to anyone anymore.  That some of 
> the
> most worthless cheating vicious backstabbing crooks that ever walked the
> earth sit on the front pews of most churches each day it's open, is
> certainly no sudden awakening either.
>
> And that leaves God and you where...?  Certainly not sitting there singing
> Hymn #23 and passing the collection plate.
>
> Certainly one of the biggest scams Man ever created was to form churches 
> and
> dupe the human soul into believing that it had to enter one in order to
> attain salvation.
>
> And in this new age of hypocrites running every angle on the planet
> including religion, just as they always have, it remains no surprise that
> anyone who is not seen in church each meeting day need not apply down the
> street for anything less than coal dust as their reward.
>
> "Be still and know I am God" still remains a great little biblical 
> passage.
> And entails no trips to a mega-church with spiralling spirals, shining
> stained glass windows, huge feeding troughs, bands a jammin', day care
> centers, drive up bank window, satellite dishes on top, the ever-passed
> collection plate, renewable by angels non-profit status, and all the best
> hypocrites in town sitting on the front row proving their closeness to God
> and their undying fake piety until the end of time and beyond.
>
> And then we come to Jesus himself.
>
> More people have been murdered, suckered, disinherited, tortured, and
> drained clean of their finances in the name of Jesus than there are grains
> of sand on the beaches of earth almost.
>
> Hiding behind the robes of such a spiritual man, we have made it even all
> the way to Iraq on his coat tails.
>
> 100,000 dead Iraqi men women and children civilians, and 4 more years of
> Bush.
>
> Quite an accomplishment for Christendom.
>
> If Jesus were here, he would be pissing on their heads right about now for
> achieving such madness and attaching his name to it when he had his back
> turned.
>
> And then we come to Christianity itself.
>
> Christianity simply is not "the only way to heaven", no matter how many
> words one uses to justify one's conclusions that it is.
>
> Just grow up, people.
>
> There is no way, again you can use all the words from some book you found
> sitting on your desk to argue against it and it remains ultimately
> meaningless repeatings of drivel you have had drilled into you over
> centuries, that Jesus today would sit around and condemn anyone and
> everything that is not down on its knees in a Christian church professing
> his ways just as all the humans remain fervently condemning the ways,
> beliefs, and lives of all the rest who do not.
>
> Salvation does not have just one door.
>
> That's propaganda.
>
> A lie.  A beautiful one albeit, full of starry stories, stained glass
> windows, beautiful pews, great additions, giant spirals, lush floors,
> shining gold cups, satellite dishes on the roof, the promise of the only 
> way
> to salvation, and a great band singing like a bunch of unadulterated 
> angels,
> but a lie nevertheless.
>
> I remember a cartoon in some ancient magazine portraying the 3 wise men at
> the manger with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, it read something like "We bring
> gold, frankinscense, and Murray our lawyer to negotiate the film 
> rights..."
>
> And that's about it.  One giant greatly written and directed film, with a
> zillion unwitting players who not only don't receive scale wages for their
> parts, but pay for the privilege to even be in it.
>
> That's star material, eh...   The drawing power of a real star.  Heck, if
> one tried very hard, one could even build hugely profitable enormous 
> cottage
> industries around his image.
>
> Oh, wait a moment, they already have.  Nevermind.
>
> And that it remains "the only door to real salvation" is still one of the
> best drawing cards I have ever seen.
>
> Still pure propaganda, but, hey, if you can just get them in the door, the
> rest is cake.
>
> Ah well, this was going to be about the true story of the Easter Bunny, 
> but
> I got sidetracked.  I'll save that story for another time.
>
> The line between a crucifix and a chocolate egg begins to fade now and 
> then
> when I just sit down and think about it all without someone shoving their
> point of view down my throat.
>
> That that point of view has actually now been used to help re-elect abject
> unrepentant Tyrants in the land of the Free and slaughter 100,000 unarmed
> men women and children must surely remain one more good reason to wake up
> today and shout "He is risen...!!"
>
> The only problem remaining is that he arose, looked around, said "Oh crap,
> look at all this bullsh*t they've done in my name", and split.
>
> "Know ye not that your body is the temple of God" is a great line from the
> "New Testament".
>
> There remain, of course, several other lines in that book that can be used
> to counter the idea that the actual human body is The Temple Of God 
> Himself,
> lines that admonish one to "go to church and have communion with the body 
> of
> Christ (the other people etc)", but I still prefer to think that someone 
> way
> back then had the right idea that the "spirit of God" resides primarily
> within our own beings, not in some structure built by Man with people
> singing their butts off up on a stage as a priest, minister or preacher
> reads and reflects on books they found in caves thousands of years ago as
> the collection plate surreptitiously winds its way around the crowd.
>
> And even Jesus himself would not bar "a good person" from Heaven itself if
> they did not believe that he was "the one and only".
>
> Surely Jesus has evolved a little over these last couple of thousand 
> years.
>
> It appears it has been the Humans themselves that have regressed to the
> biblical days before even Jesus himself showed up here.
>
> It appears that it is no longer "He has risen", but rather "We have 
> risen".
> They say the words "He has risen", but the results of their actual Actions
> both here and across the globe tell an entirely different story.
>
> How one can be such a hyprocrite, put money in that collection plate, and
> let both the image of Jesus and their own beliefs destroy and kill rather
> than create and heal, remains just another Mystery Of The Church, which is
> only explainable to you by people from such things as the Vatican who
> tortured people to death in his name.
>
> Oh well, so much for "The True Easter Bunny Story".
>
> Anyway, it's a nice stormy day down here, ya'll stop by if you want, I'm
> cooking up a huge batch of fried chocolate eggs the Easter Bunny dropped 
> by
> on his way to Confession.  You can get down on your knees and pray and 
> sing
> hymns in my Temple Of God here if you can force your way down my throat.
>
> Other than that, we're just going to hang out in the back yard and watch 
> the
> trees grow.
>
>
>
>
>
> Cheeseburger
>
> .
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 15:23:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun Mar 27 15:26:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The True Story Of The Easter Bunny
References: <000701c53303$469f7160$7e25b7d8@baby1>
Message-ID: <016201c53324$02436e60$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Cheeseburger:

Oops!  Accidentally hi the "send" button too quickly.

In addition to thanking you for the two Scriptural quotes, I wanted to point 
out that there are no passages in Scripture of which I am aware that exhort 
anyone to "go to church and have communion with the body of Christ."

First, as you correctly point out, the word "church" when used in the NT 
does not mean a building with stained glass windows, wrought-iron chancels 
and extravagantly carved teak pews.  It means the "body of Christ" (the 
believers) in a certain area, or even in one particular home.  Indeed, in 
almost half the cases in which Paul writes to the "church," that word is 
attached to the words "in the home of" or similar phrase.

In this regard, again you are correct that Jesus never had in mind a 
"church" they way we have it today: what we call mainstream, heirarchical, 
organized religion.  The early Christians met in what we would now call 
"home churches" or "alternative churches": usually a specific person's 
house, where perhaps 10-50 people, maybe more, would meet.

This is the way the "body of Christ" was meant to be nurtured, taught, 
etc, - in small, intimate groups in solid fellowship, with one or two elders 
and/or ministers who are available pretty much 24/7; not in groups of 500 or 
1000 or 5000 or 10000 or more.  Setting aside issues of money, huge 
congregations are not spiritually healthy either, since there can be very 
little "solid" connection between a minister (or even multiple ministers) 
and 5000 individuals.  In this regard, although there may be growth - even 
manic growth - in some churches (e.g., the one mentioned in the article), 
the other side of that coin is that an equal number - or more - are falling 
away from mainstream "organized" religion: i.e., the growth in home churches 
and alternative churches is equally strong.  One of the reasons is that 
people simply cannot "connect" - and feel spiritually isolated - at a church 
with hundreds, even thousands of people.  (Yes, there are other reasons, 
including hypocrisy, corruption, etc.)

It was never even Paul's intent that all the various churches "coordinate" 
with each other, much less come together to create a massive "mega-church." 
This was only possible after Constantine legalized Christianity some 300 
years after Jesus' death and resurrection, and 200 years after Paul's death.

As you infer, this is an absolutely critical point: that the "primitive 
Christians" - i.e., from Jesus' ministry, and through the lives of the 
apostles' and the early disciples', up to perhaps 100 AD - never sought to 
create an "organized" church.  What we know as "the Church" is a later 
construct that had - and has - little or nothing to do with what Jesus 
preached, what Paul taught, or what the apostles and disciples sought after 
Jesus' death and resurrection.  For the most part (since there are some good 
"mainstream" churches out there, though they may be few and far between), 
"organized religion" is as spiritually bankrupt, corrupt and apostate - and 
often heretical - as the Temple Preists, scribes and pharisees were in 
Jesus' day.

As a final thought, in his new book "God's Politics," Rev. Jim Wallis says 
that the "Christian Right" has narrowed the "national discussion" on "moral 
values" to two issues: abortion and gay marriage.  However, he points out 
that there are more verses in Scripture about poverty - over 3,000 - than 
about any other "issue," yet over one-half the population of the earth - 
almost 3 BILLION people - live on less than $2 per day.  So where is the 
voice of the "Christian Right" re this "moral values" issue?  The question 
is rhetorical.

Have a good cook-out.  And save me a frankfurter and some Freedom 
Fries...LOL

Peace.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net>
To: "mb-civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 2:29 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] The True Story Of The Easter Bunny


> The True Story Of The Easter Bunny
>
>
>
> Every time I hear someone say something like you must go to church to be 
> one
> with God etc, I laugh.  It's the most ridiculous thing Man ever created.
>
> For centuries churches have bled the populace dry of its money, its time,
> its labor, and, yes, its soul.
>
> Church is about the last place someone is going to find salvation.
>
> One can just about more easily find salvation while filling up your car at 
> a
> gas station.
>
> There are still people and children who don't have 2 sticks to rub 
> together
> in my little town here, but the churches bloom.  10's of thousands of
> dollars of stained glass windows, beautiful floors, gorgeous pews, new
> additions, satellite dishes on the roof, even more additions, etc.  It 
> seems
> God loves people who go to church, just as long as they finance it all 
> with
> their money as they are on their knees praying for salvation in it.
>
> If you don't go to church, it seems he just doesn't love you as much.
> Actually, it's the men and women who run Churchland Incorporated who don't
> seem to hold you in as much esteem as the poverty stricken people on their
> knees in the churches paying for salvation through the nose with what 
> little
> they have.
>
> It doesn't seem enough that churches are not taxed at all in America.  Did
> you ever stop to think who picks up the tab for all the "non-profit 
> status"
> taxes that churches don't pay..?  Good question.  Whatever your 
> conclusion,
> it certainly isn't the church.
>
> I was struck by the "Megachurch in Arizona" story here somewhat, although 
> I
> couldn't be bothered to read 14 pages about someone who has been able to
> bamboozle people into another Ringland Brothers scenario on their knees in 
> a
> well-financed non-profit building praying for salvation like a bunch of
> suckered-in lemmings.
>
> That religion has turned into nothing more than just another tawdry
> corporate venture is surely no surprise to anyone anymore.  That some of 
> the
> most worthless cheating vicious backstabbing crooks that ever walked the
> earth sit on the front pews of most churches each day it's open, is
> certainly no sudden awakening either.
>
> And that leaves God and you where...?  Certainly not sitting there singing
> Hymn #23 and passing the collection plate.
>
> Certainly one of the biggest scams Man ever created was to form churches 
> and
> dupe the human soul into believing that it had to enter one in order to
> attain salvation.
>
> And in this new age of hypocrites running every angle on the planet
> including religion, just as they always have, it remains no surprise that
> anyone who is not seen in church each meeting day need not apply down the
> street for anything less than coal dust as their reward.
>
> "Be still and know I am God" still remains a great little biblical 
> passage.
> And entails no trips to a mega-church with spiralling spirals, shining
> stained glass windows, huge feeding troughs, bands a jammin', day care
> centers, drive up bank window, satellite dishes on top, the ever-passed
> collection plate, renewable by angels non-profit status, and all the best
> hypocrites in town sitting on the front row proving their closeness to God
> and their undying fake piety until the end of time and beyond.
>
> And then we come to Jesus himself.
>
> More people have been murdered, suckered, disinherited, tortured, and
> drained clean of their finances in the name of Jesus than there are grains
> of sand on the beaches of earth almost.
>
> Hiding behind the robes of such a spiritual man, we have made it even all
> the way to Iraq on his coat tails.
>
> 100,000 dead Iraqi men women and children civilians, and 4 more years of
> Bush.
>
> Quite an accomplishment for Christendom.
>
> If Jesus were here, he would be pissing on their heads right about now for
> achieving such madness and attaching his name to it when he had his back
> turned.
>
> And then we come to Christianity itself.
>
> Christianity simply is not "the only way to heaven", no matter how many
> words one uses to justify one's conclusions that it is.
>
> Just grow up, people.
>
> There is no way, again you can use all the words from some book you found
> sitting on your desk to argue against it and it remains ultimately
> meaningless repeatings of drivel you have had drilled into you over
> centuries, that Jesus today would sit around and condemn anyone and
> everything that is not down on its knees in a Christian church professing
> his ways just as all the humans remain fervently condemning the ways,
> beliefs, and lives of all the rest who do not.
>
> Salvation does not have just one door.
>
> That's propaganda.
>
> A lie.  A beautiful one albeit, full of starry stories, stained glass
> windows, beautiful pews, great additions, giant spirals, lush floors,
> shining gold cups, satellite dishes on the roof, the promise of the only 
> way
> to salvation, and a great band singing like a bunch of unadulterated 
> angels,
> but a lie nevertheless.
>
> I remember a cartoon in some ancient magazine portraying the 3 wise men at
> the manger with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, it read something like "We bring
> gold, frankinscense, and Murray our lawyer to negotiate the film 
> rights..."
>
> And that's about it.  One giant greatly written and directed film, with a
> zillion unwitting players who not only don't receive scale wages for their
> parts, but pay for the privilege to even be in it.
>
> That's star material, eh...   The drawing power of a real star.  Heck, if
> one tried very hard, one could even build hugely profitable enormous 
> cottage
> industries around his image.
>
> Oh, wait a moment, they already have.  Nevermind.
>
> And that it remains "the only door to real salvation" is still one of the
> best drawing cards I have ever seen.
>
> Still pure propaganda, but, hey, if you can just get them in the door, the
> rest is cake.
>
> Ah well, this was going to be about the true story of the Easter Bunny, 
> but
> I got sidetracked.  I'll save that story for another time.
>
> The line between a crucifix and a chocolate egg begins to fade now and 
> then
> when I just sit down and think about it all without someone shoving their
> point of view down my throat.
>
> That that point of view has actually now been used to help re-elect abject
> unrepentant Tyrants in the land of the Free and slaughter 100,000 unarmed
> men women and children must surely remain one more good reason to wake up
> today and shout "He is risen...!!"
>
> The only problem remaining is that he arose, looked around, said "Oh crap,
> look at all this bullsh*t they've done in my name", and split.
>
> "Know ye not that your body is the temple of God" is a great line from the
> "New Testament".
>
> There remain, of course, several other lines in that book that can be used
> to counter the idea that the actual human body is The Temple Of God 
> Himself,
> lines that admonish one to "go to church and have communion with the body 
> of
> Christ (the other people etc)", but I still prefer to think that someone 
> way
> back then had the right idea that the "spirit of God" resides primarily
> within our own beings, not in some structure built by Man with people
> singing their butts off up on a stage as a priest, minister or preacher
> reads and reflects on books they found in caves thousands of years ago as
> the collection plate surreptitiously winds its way around the crowd.
>
> And even Jesus himself would not bar "a good person" from Heaven itself if
> they did not believe that he was "the one and only".
>
> Surely Jesus has evolved a little over these last couple of thousand 
> years.
>
> It appears it has been the Humans themselves that have regressed to the
> biblical days before even Jesus himself showed up here.
>
> It appears that it is no longer "He has risen", but rather "We have 
> risen".
> They say the words "He has risen", but the results of their actual Actions
> both here and across the globe tell an entirely different story.
>
> How one can be such a hyprocrite, put money in that collection plate, and
> let both the image of Jesus and their own beliefs destroy and kill rather
> than create and heal, remains just another Mystery Of The Church, which is
> only explainable to you by people from such things as the Vatican who
> tortured people to death in his name.
>
> Oh well, so much for "The True Easter Bunny Story".
>
> Anyway, it's a nice stormy day down here, ya'll stop by if you want, I'm
> cooking up a huge batch of fried chocolate eggs the Easter Bunny dropped 
> by
> on his way to Confession.  You can get down on your knees and pray and 
> sing
> hymns in my Temple Of God here if you can force your way down my throat.
>
> Other than that, we're just going to hang out in the back yard and watch 
> the
> trees grow.
>
>
>
>
>
> Cheeseburger
>
> .
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun Mar 27 15:51:41 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun Mar 27 15:54:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Media tightwards
Message-ID: <000801c53327$eefc9940$ba27e440@Harold>

I found this article disturbing. This men have made their fortunes on media, but they have no sense of charity.

http://www.variety.com/VR1117920103.html

Later H
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From geomilman at milman.com  Sun Mar 27 16:05:31 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun Mar 27 16:08:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A blend of risks makes dollar's outlook grim
Message-ID: <20050328000533.B1B3A3AE3A5@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

 <http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/27/business/dollar.html>
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/27/business/dollar.html

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From geomilman at milman.com  Sun Mar 27 16:07:08 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun Mar 27 16:09:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A blend of risks makes dollar's outlook grim (Print
	friendly)
Message-ID: <20050328000708.1493920629E@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

 
<http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/03/27/business/do
llar.html>
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/03/27/business/dol
lar.html

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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Sun Mar 27 18:58:41 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Sun Mar 27 19:01:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: John Glenn[Take a minute to read]
Message-ID: <5b.666b3249.2f78cce1@aol.com>

 
John Glenn[Take a minute to read]
 
I have always admired and respected Senator John Glenn for his  courage, and 
having read "The Right Stuff" and watched the movie  understand the film 
version is Hollywood.  My respect for him grew after  going to the Kennedy Space 
Center and seeing a full-size version of one of the  Mercury rockets the 
original astronauts flew into space in.  Anyone who had  the courage to strap 
themselves into that tinker toy (by 1980's standards)  deserves respect.  My 
admiration for him is not diminished by the recent  posting concerning comments he 
made during an exchange between himself and  Senator Metzenbaum.  I do find it 
sad that a veteran of his stature is  using revisionist history to support his 
statements.  
 
In #1, he compares the murder rate in Detroit to the US forces  attrition 
rate in Iraq.  Please, Senator Glenn, tell me the relevance of US  forces being 
killed in wartime to citizens being murdered in Detroit?  What  are the figures 
of Iraqi citizens killed in any comparable sized Iraqi city for  the same 
month?  And, as a long-term U.S. Senator, do you not feel that you  could have 
made a difference in the Detroit murder rate by making it more  difficult for 
weapons, especially handguns and automatic weapons to be  available?  (For the 
record I support the right to bear arms, I see nothing  wrong with owning 
hunting rifles or pistols.  Automatic weapons designed  for military use have no 
business being easily available)
 
2. Congress declared war on Germany, not FDR, and it was after declaring  war 
on Japan.  As Germany, Japan and Italy had signed mutual defense  treaties 
(as had Britain, France, The Netherlands, and other Allied countries)  Congress 
was correct in declaring war on Germany AFTER declaring war on  Japan.  
 
North Korea, with the support of Chinese troops, invaded South Korea, a  
country we had troops stationed in and who were killed in action when the  Chinese 
invaded and nearly captured Seoul.  We also had a defense  support treaty 
with South Korea that required support.  Australia, Britain,  France, Turkey, and 
other U.N. nations provided military support as well.   While Congress never 
officially declared war at that time, referring to the  conflict as a "police 
action," Congress several years ago recognized veterans of  Korea as war 
veterans.  This was the second major use of United Nations  troops to prevent a 
hostile takeover since their formation in 1945, and many  more followed (picture 
Iraq I, there was international support for that  conflict, and rightfully so 
as Kuwait had been invaded and  occupied).


 
JFK did not get us involved in Vietnam, it was Eisenhower at the request of  
either the French or Vietnamese government, I do not recall which.  JFK did  
escalate the conflict followed by Johnson before Nixon started  de-escalation.  
My parents, both of whom are Korean War veterans, told my  older brother and 
I we were being sent to Canada if drafted as they felt the war  was a mistake.
 
3. President Bush has not crushed the Taliban or  completely crippled 
al-Qaida, otherwise we would not still be getting  security alerts warning about 
attacks within the U.S. or the increased number of  attacks occurring in Iraq.  
Nuclear inspectors were already in place  under U.N. protocol in Libya, Iran and 
North Korea.
 
As far as Koresh, yes the Branch Davidian situation had a tragic  ending, but 
Ms. Reno took the time to negotiate a settlement before rushing  in.  
Negotiation does not appear to be a concept this administration  understands, guns 
and bullying, yes.  As far as having "taken  Iraq," why are U.S. and coalition 
forces and civilians still dying?   Did the war end and we are now back to the 
Iraq being the equivalent of the  streets of Detroit?
 
Senator Metzenbaum's comments to Senator Glenn, as provided for in the  
exchange, I feel  were a bit out of line.  However, the casual comment  about his 
being an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA  means nothing.  
An honorable attorney knows his job is to provide the best  legal consol for 
his clients.  How many attorneys have represented scum yet  put their personal 
biases behind them to represent their clients?  It's  like being a stagehand 
or a hooker - you may not agree with the client but the  work is what pays the 
bills.  I don't know a single attorney or stagehand  who would turn down work 
unless they were too busy.  I guess that means  hookers have the upper hand on 
us.
 
Richard Haerther
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun Mar 27 20:24:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun Mar 27 20:27:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Quote
Message-ID: <017a01c5334e$156da4e0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

I was going through an old Life Magazine special issue (1997) called "Celebrating Our Heroes," and found the following quote:

"A hero loves, and in love acts upon the belief that someome else's life is more important than his or her own.  A hero gives, and this adds to rather than subtracts from his or her value.  A hero serves and does not feel his or her shoulders bend under the weight.  A hero answers God's call and ventures across the threshold separating the safety of home from the unknown of the frontier.  A hero seeks truth in the wilderness.  A hero is not made of stone: A hero fails, doubts, cries and suffers great moments of despair.  A hero perseveres: higher duty and purpose triumph over forgetfulness and arrogance.  A hero loves, and is loved in return."

If you don't already know, anyone want to venture a guess who said this?  Hint: He is considered (by many) a 20th century hero, and is still a well-known public figure.

Peace.
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun Mar 27 22:23:57 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun Mar 27 22:26:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Entries for a Devil =?iso-8859-1?q?=B9?=
	s Dictionary of the Bush 	Era 
Message-ID: <BE6CE2FD.1FA24%michael@michaelbutler.com>


TomDispatch.com     a project of the Nation Institute
compiled and edited by Tom Engelhardt
        
      

Entries for a Devil?s Dictionary of the Bush Era

This post can be found at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2288

For the last few years we have been ruled by lexicographers. Never has an
administration spent so much time creating, defining, or redefining terms,
perhaps because no one (since George Orwell) has grasped the power and
possibility that lay hidden in plain sight in the naming and renaming of
words. In a sense, our post-9/11 moment began with two definitions: The Bush
administration named our global enemy "terrorism" and called the acts that
followed a "war," which was soon given the moniker "the global war on
terror" (later reduced to the acronym GWOT, also known as World War IV),
which was then given an instant future -- being defined as a "generational
struggle" that was still to come. All this, along with "war" itself, was
simply announced rather than officially "declared."

Given that we were (by administration definition) at war, it should have
been self-evident that those we captured in our "war" on terrorism would
then be "prisoners of war," but no such luck for them, since their rights
would in that case have been clearly defined in international treaties
signed by the United States. So the Bush administration opened its Devil's
Dictionary and came up with a new, tortured term for our new prisoners,
"unlawful combatants," which really stood for: We can do anything we want to
you in a place of our choosing. For that place, they then chose Guant?namo,
an American base in Cuba (which they promptly defined as within "Cuban
sovereignty" for the purposes of putting our detention camps beyond the
purview of American courts or Congress, but within Bush administration
sovereignty -- the sole kind that counted with them -- for the purposes of
the Cubans).

In this way, we moved from a self-declared generational war against a method
of making war to a world of torture beyond the reach of, or even sight of,
the law in a place that (until the Supreme Court recently ruled otherwise)
more or less didn't exist. All this was then supported by a world of
pretzeled language constantly being reshaped in the White House Counsel's
office, the Justice Department, and the Pentagon so that reality would have
no choice but to comply with the names given it.

The way gunmen once reached for their six-guns, so the various legal and
other counselors of this administration reach for their dictionaries. The
lawyer-authors of the various tortured memos about torture that came out of
the White House Counsel's office and the Justice Department, for instance,
expended much effort acted as if they were part of a panel for a new edition
of some dictionary. Here are just a couple of examples along their tortuous
path to redefining responsibility for the inflicting of pain:

    "The word 'profound' has a number of meanings, all of which convey a
significant depth. Webster's New International Dictionary 1977 [2nd ed. 1935
defines profound as...]"

    "The word ?other' modifies ?procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly
the senses.' As an adjective, ?other' indicates that the term or phrase it
modifies is the remainder of several things. See Webster's Third New
International Dictionary 1598 (1986) (defining ?other' as ?the one that
remains of two or more') Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 835
(1985) (defining ?other' as ?being the one (as of two or more) remaining or
not included')."

It seems they sat surrounded by the Webster's New International Dictionary
(sometimes the 1935 edition, sometimes later ones), the American Heritage
Dictionary, and the Oxford English Dictionary, medical dictionaries, and who
knows what else, as they decided just how much pain wasn't actually pain for
the benefit of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the President.

While they consulted piles of dictionaries and other reference materials to
draw the pain out of a global torture regime, their true definitional focus
was on removing all fetters, all checks and balances, from George W. Bush's
power as president. Since we were "at war," they did so, in large part, by
highlighting the role of our "war President" as commander-in-chief; and then
redefining what his "wartime" powers would be. Their definitional goal: To
place presidential power (in the form of the powers of the
commander-in-chief to prosecute war) in a kind of constitutional Guant?namo;
that is, beyond the "sovereignty" of any other powers in the American
political system, thus removing from Bush and his subordinates any
responsibility for acts he may have ordered committed. In the process, they
redefined torture so narrowly that it became the definitional property of
the torturer.

This unfortunately is but part of our unfinished journey through the
language of the Bush era. Every day brings new and strange "wonders," the
equivalent of the news of bizarre creatures and weird races -- the
Cynocephali (dog-headed men), the Anthropophagi (whose heads were said to
grow beneath their shoulders), the Blemmyae (with faces on their breasts),
and the Sciopods (swift one-legged creatures)-- brought back to Europe by
Medieval travelers. To take but a single example, the newest National
Security document (pdf file) out of the Pentagon redefines the category of
Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD (which itself blunted the
world-destroying impact of nuclear weapons by sweeping them into a larger
category of potential weaponry) with a new acronym WMD/E:

    "The term WMD/E relates to a broad range of adversary capabilities that
pose potentially devastating impacts. WMD/E includes chemical, biological,
radiological, nuclear, and enhanced high explosive weapons as well as other,
more asymmetrical 'weapons'. They may rely more on disruptive impact than
destructive kinetic effects. For example, cyber attacks on US commercial
information systems or attacks against transportation networks may have a
greater economic or psychological effect than a relatively small release of
a lethal agent."

Soon, in addition to going to war with "terrorism" (al Qaeda) and "rogue
nations" (Iraq), it seems that we will be able to go to "war" with
cyber-hackers, a generational battle which will undoubtedly be known as the
Global War on Computer Hackers (GWOCH)

Recently, Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of the Nation magazine, has been
focusing on Bush-administration-speak in the on-line columns she writes at
her Editor's Cut weblog. She's been attempting to demystify what she calls
"a veritable Orwellian Code of encrypted language." Her definitions are
amusing, biting, and on target. ("Neoconservatives, n. Nerds with Napoleonic
complexes.") At some point, she opened her column up to Nation readers and
now plans to put together a Republican Dictionary out of the various
definitions that are coming in.

I thought that Tomdispatch might lend a hand and so asked a number of
Tomdispatch writers if they would contribute their own Bush-era definitions.
You'll see the results below -- along with a few definitions of my own --
directly from the "pens" of Rebecca Solnit, Chalmers and Sheila Johnson,
Arlie and Adam Hochschild, and Nick Turse among others (including one
definition sent in by Bill Moyers; admittedly, not as yet a Tomdispatch
writer but nonetheless brought in to bat clean-up). Should Tomdispatch
readers care to enter the fray and submit definitions for possible use in
the Nation's future book, Katrina vanden Heuvel suggests that you send them
to webeditor@thenation.com or click here and fill out the form. (In either
case, put "GOP dictionary" in the subject line.)

A small Tomdispatch treat: Joshua Brown, who does the on-line cartoon series
Life During Wartime, has prepared a set of visual definitions especially for
this dispatch to go with the verbal ones below. (Unfortunately, my site
can't post images, so you'll have to click to his.)

When asked if he would like to submit a Bush-era definition or two, Noam
Chomsky replied, "I suspect that I'll have to fall back on Mark Twain's
despair when trying to satirize General Funston: 'No satire of Funston could
reach perfection, because Funston occupies that summit himself....[he is]
satire incarnated.'" (General Frederick N. Funston was a commander of part
of the American expeditionary force that crushed the Philippine independence
movement as the twentieth century began.)

Herewith, then, entries (or are they entrees?) for a modern Devil's
Dictionary (with a small bow to Ambrose Bierce). Tom

JOSHUA BROWN

Click here for the definitions in Joshua Brown's "My First Book of
Government."

TOM ENGELHARDT

Homeland n: A term successfully used by the Germans and the Soviets in World
War II, less successfully (and in the plural) by Apartheid-era South Africa.
It means neither home, nor land, has replaced both country and nation in
American public speech, and is seldom wielded without the companion word
"security." It is the place to which imperial forces return for R&R.

Homeland Security: synonymous with Homeland insecurity.

Homeland Security Department: The new Defense Department, known for
declaring bridges yellow and the Statue of Liberty orange.

Homelandism n: a neologism for love of the Homeland Security State as in,
"My Homeland, ?tis of thee, sweet security state of liberty?"

Intelligence n: What Dick Cheney wants and the CIA must provide -- or else.
(See, Iraq, weapons of mass destruction)

Nationalism n: How foreigners love their country (when they do). A very
dangerous phenomenon that can lead to extremes of passion, blindness, and
xenophobia. (See, Terrorism)

Oil n: 1. Black gold. 2. (defunct acronym) Operation Iraqi Liberation or OIL
(name changed to Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF, without explanation). 3. What
the Bush administration wasn't after in Iraq and isn't after in Iran. (See,
Democracy)

Patriotism n: How Americans love their country. A trait so positive you
can't have too much of it, and if you do, then you are a super-patriot which
couldn't be better. (Foreigners cannot be patriotic. See, Nationalism)

Pentagon n: Formerly, the Defense Department, but since we now have a new
defense department (see, Homeland Security Department), soon be renamed the
Global Forward Deployment Department or GFDD (Ge-Fudd). Its forward-deployed
headquarters will be established in a two-sided building, the Duogon, now
being constructed in Bahrain out of sand imported from the beaches of Texas
by Halliburton subsidiary KBR. From there, it plans to rule the known world.

ARLIE HOCHSCHILD

Environmental Protection Agency: Economic Predators Inc.

Homeland Security Advisory System: Color-coded program for emotional
destabilization.

Leave No Child Behind: Social class divide maintenance system

ADAM HOCHSCHILD

Senate n: Exclusive club, entry fee $10 to $30 million.

House of Representatives: Exclusive club, entry fee $1 to $5 million.

Washington Press Corps: Extension of White House and Pentagon press offices.

CHALMERS AND SHEILA JOHNSON

Stuff Happens: Donald Rumsfeld as master historian.

March of Freedom Around the World: John Negroponte's career.

Shock and Awe: A classic combination like "surf and turf"; special effects
produced at missile point by the U.S. military. (See, State Terrorism).

BILL MOYERS

"Burning Bush": A biblical allusion to the response of the President of the
United States when asked a question by a journalist who has not been paid to
inquire.

JONATHAN SCHELL

Republican Party: A party that assails the foundations of the Republic,
attacking the balance and separation of powers (See, Assertions of
Untrammeled Presidential Authority -- to violate domestic and international
laws forbidding torture); habeus corpus (See, Assertion of Right to Lock
Away "Enemy Combatants" Forever -- without due process of law); and
federalism (See, Legislative and Executive Rampage -- to overturn state
court decisions in the Terry Schiavo case).

ORVILLE SCHELL

Strategic Competitor (China branch): Containing China militarily while using
it as an industrial park for outsourcing low-paying and often polluting
industries.

MICHAEL SCHWARTZ

Democracy n: A country where the newspapers are pro-American.

Public Opinion Polls: Progress reports for spin doctors.

STEPHEN SHALOM:

Checks and Balances. The system whereby the campaign checks of the few
balance the interests of the many.

Free Speech Zone The area to which those who differ from the administration
are confined should they be so audacious as to wish to exercise their right
of free speech.

Free Press: 1. Government propaganda materials covertly funded with a
quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money but given out for free to the
press and then broadcast without any acknowledgment of the government's role
in their preparation. 2. Newspapers that obscure the truth on behalf of
corporate and government interests for free.

Town-hall Meeting: A meeting in a hall in a town where all the participants
have first been vetted for loyalty to the Bush administration.

Mandate: 1. The opinion expressed by about a quarter of the eligible voters.
2. The opinion reflected in an electoral-vote margin smaller than in any
20th century election other than 1916 and 2000. 3. The opinion expressed by
the smallest popular vote margin obtained by a sitting president since 1916.

REBECCA SOLNIT

China: See WalMart.

Death n: An increasingly rare phenomenon, no longer occurring among soldiers
of the U.S. army or civilians in affected countries. However, the media
reports that death is still caused by lone gunmen and over-consumption of
saturated fats as well as natural disasters.

Democracy n: 1. A product so extensively exported that the domestic supply
is depleted. 2. When they vote for us. (See, tyranny: When they vote for
someone else.)

Liberal adj: Widely used after the words progressive, radical, left,
revolutionary, and insurrectionary were banned from the mainstream media,
having the double benefit of making moderates seem vaguely dangerous and
making revolutionaries seem vaguely embarrassing and ineffectual. Liberal
media: Ted Koppel and anarchist zines.

Negroponte, John: Good diplomat, in the sense that Pol Pot is a good
family-planner.

Ownership Society: You no longer own your national parks, your public
transit, your commons, your government, your Bill of Rights, or your future,
but you may purchase a Burger King franchise or some stocks with your
WalMart earnings.

Peace n: What war is for.

Security n: Something to be applied to the homeland but not to the social.

Social Security: A good idea except for two problems: Social verges on
socialism and guarantees of security violate a free market.

The Marketplace of Ideas: Buy low, sell high.

WalMart: The nation-state, future tense.

NICK TURSE

Abuse n: Modern word for what was once referred to as torture. An interim
term, soon to be replaced by "tough love" (which, in turn, is expected to be
replaced by "freedom's caress").

Mullah n: 1. (archaic) Religious teacher or leader, a title of respect in
Islamic countries, pronounced "mull-a." 2. (informal) In the modern
presidential vernacular, a title of disrespect (pronounced "moo-lah") in
reference to Muslims deemed too fanatical to be bought-off by American
"moo-lah."

Rummy slang: 1. (archaic) A person so drunk he can't recall a thing. 2.
(modern) A SECDEF so drunk on power that he refuses to remember anything.

Support the Troops: A mandatory mantra which need no longer be mouthed since
full "support" can be offered with a simple $1 investment in a magnetic
yellow ribbon to affix to the back of your SUV.

CHIP WARD

Healthy Forests: Forests made safe from the ravages of nature, i.e. bugs and
fires, by removal to pulp mills and lumber yards.

Wilderness n: 1. Publicly owned former habitat for wildlife, often
endangered, where private corporations go wild drilling for oil and gas,
grazing cattle, logging, and building roads. 2. Off-road vehicle theme parks
characterized by abundant stumps, oil slicks, tire tracks, flattened owls,
and coughing caribou.

E-mail to a Friend

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posted March 28, 2005 at 12:06 am
     
             
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     Click here to read more Tom Dispatch

From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 28 03:51:00 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 28 03:53:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9190385.1112010660104.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Storage of Nuclear Spent Fuel Criticized
 
 By Shankar Vedantam
 
  A classified report by nuclear experts assembled by the National Academy of Sciences has challenged the decision by federal regulators to allow commercial nuclear facilities to store  large quantities of radioactive spent fuel in pools of water.
 
  The report concluded that the government does  not fully understand the risks that a terrorist attack could pose to the pools and ought to expedite the removal of the fuel to dry storage casks that are more resilient to attack. The Bush administration has long defended the safety of the pools, and the nuclear industry has warned that moving large amounts of fuel to dry storage would be unnecessary and very expensive. 
 
  The report was requested by Congress after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as homeland security officials sought to understand the potential consequences of a Sept. 11-scale attack on a nuclear facility. 
 
  Because the report is classified, its contents were not made public when it was delivered to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last summer. Even a stripped-down, declassified version has remained under wraps since November because the commission says it contains sensitive information.
 
 However, the commission made excerpts of the report public when Chairman Nils Diaz sent a letter to Congress on March 14 rebutting some of the academy's concerns. His letter also suggested that the academy had largely backed the government's views about the safety of existing fuel storage systems.
 
 E. William Colglazier, executive officer of the academy, said the letter was misleading and warned that the public needs to learn about the report's findings.
 
 "There are substantive disagreements between our committee's views and the NRC," he said in an interview. "If someone only reads the NRC report, they would not get a full picture of what we had to say."
 
 Although the commission said it is keeping the report under wraps for security reasons, some officials who have seen the document suggest that the NRC is merely suppressing embarrassing criticism.
 
 "At the same time that the NRC is saying that the National Academy's study is classified and not releasable to the public, it has somehow managed to send a detailed rebuttal of the report's conclusions to Congress in unclassified form," said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who has seen the report.
 
 "I am concerned that the totality of the Commission's actions reflect a systemic effort to withhold important information from . . . the public, rather than a genuine effort to be protective of national security," Markey said in a March 21 letter to the commission's inspector general. 
 
 NRC spokesman Eliot Brenner countered that the commission is "a very open agency" and that regulators are working with the academy to make the report public.
 
  "Our core concern is making sure that information that could reasonably be expected to be available to a terrorist is not publicly available," he said. "We are continuing to work with them on finding the right balance."
 
 The report was solicited by Congress to study how best to store spent nuclear fuel  --  tons of rods containing radioactive byproducts of nuclear fission reactions are produced each year by the nation's 103 electricity-generating nuclear reactors. Spent fuel rods generate intense heat and dangerous long-term radiation that must be contained. 
 
 Most of the spent rods are stored in large swimming-pool-like structures called spent fuel pools, said David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer at the science and advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists, who has worked at several plants. The pools are about 45 feet deep and 40 feet square and are filled with about 100,000 gallons of circulating water to remove heat and serve as a radiation shield, he said. 
 
 After cooling for about five years, the rods can be moved to dry storage  --  heavy casks of lead and steel. But the casks are expensive, and commercial reactors have elected to leave the rods in the pools until the pools fill up. Lochbaum said some pools hold 800 to 1,000 tons of rods. In the event of a terrorist strike, Lochbaum said, the dry casks would be much safer, because explosions could drain the pools and set off fire and radiation hazards.
 
 The nuclear industry wants the fuel moved to a storage site in Nevada, but that project has long been plagued by delays and opposition. Steven Kraft, director of waste management at the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group, said studies had shown that the pools are as safe as the dry casks  --  the same position adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
 Kraft said that the risk of catastrophic attacks is minuscule and that modeling analyses have shown that even plane crashes are unlikely to affect the pools' integrity. And even if they did cause damage, he added, there would not be catastrophic consequences because of safety systems already in place.
 
 "If the pool is safe and the casks are safe and they both meet the requirements, there is no justification for going through what is a huge amount of expense and worker exposure" to move the rods to dry storage, he said.
 
  In his letter to Congress, Diaz said the academy's recommendation to move fuel to dry storage was based on "scenarios that were unreasonable."
 
 But Arjun Makhijani, a nuclear engineer with the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that supports underground dry storage of the rods, said the commission had been lax.
 
 "There is no question that any terrorist who wants to know about spent fuel has plenty of information already," he said of the withheld report. "Publication of a report on security will not help terrorists. The only thing it is hindering is discussion of public safety."
 
 Diaz's letter to Congress shows that the academy recommended that the government conduct additional analyses to evaluate  "the vulnerabilities and consequences" to storage pools of "attacks using large aircraft or large explosives." The academy also called for a review and upgrade of security measures to prevent theft of spent fuel rods by insiders and an assessment of security by "an independent organization."
 
 The commission letter defended measures it has in place and said that "the likelihood an adversary could steal spent fuel . . . is extremely low." The letter said the additional analysis demanded by the academy study was "more than is needed" and rejected the call for an independent security analysis, saying the commission's own assessments were "sound and realistic."
 
 To keep the report secret, the federal agency used a classification called "Safeguards Information" that it applies to data that are unclassified but reveal sensitive details about nuclear facilities and security procedures. Brenner, the spokesman, emphasized that the academy's report and the commission's response had been seen by the Department of Homeland Security and members of Congress charged with oversight. "The full report is there with those with the appropriate clearances," he said.
 
 The academy's Colglazier said the science organization had produced many classified reports but had never encountered such hurdles in creating a public version.
 
 "We don't want to provide information in our report that could be used by terrorists to exploit vulnerabilities," he said. "But we also want the public and decision makers to know what things need to be addressed."
 
 The scientist also rejected Brenner's reassurance that the classified report had been seen by relevant decision makers. Governors of states with nuclear plants need to see the report, he said, and the public had an important role as well.
 
 "The way our political system works, when politicians hear from their constituents, they are motivated to take action that they don't when the public is unaware," he said. 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 28 03:51:55 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 28 03:54:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <17122958.1112010715404.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Nanotech Is Booming Biggest in U.S., Report Says
 
 By Rick Weiss
 
   The science of the very small is getting big in the United States. Americans are investing more money, publishing more scientific papers and winning more patents than anyone else in the quickly growing field of nanotechnology, according to the first comprehensive federal report on the science of things only a few hundred millionths of an inch in size.
 
 But the nation's lead may be short-lived, the report warns, as Europe and Asia show evidence of gaining. 
 
 Moreover, important questions about the technology's safety and oversight remain unanswered and under-studied, the report concludes. Research on the health effects of nanomaterials  --  and necessary revisions in the way they are regulated  --  are lagging, government officials said, even as the novel materials find their way into an ever-widening spectrum of products, including clothing, cosmetics and computer hard drives.
 
 The toxicity studies now underway are "a drop in the bucket compared to what needs to be done," John H. Marburger III, science adviser to President Bush and chief of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said at a media briefing last week.
 
 Nanotechnology, which deals with materials and devices manufactured on the scale of billionths of a meter, is widely touted as the engine of the next industrial revolution. The promise is not so much its ability to produce ever smaller and more efficient machines  --  although that is certainly one aspect of its attraction. The main benefit of gaining control over such tiny bits of matter is that ordinary materials behave in extraordinary ways when shaved down to the scale of atoms and molecules. 
 
 Platinum, for example, which is at the heart of catalytic converters, removes pollutants from auto exhaust far more efficiently as nanoparticles. That can reduce the quantities of the expensive metal needed  --  and the amount that ends up in junkyards and dumps. 
 
 Similarly, unlike larger chunks of carbon  --  such as the graphite in pencils, which does not conduct electricity well  --  microscopically thin nanotubes of carbon are excellent conductors of electricity. Before long, they may replace copper wire for some applications. 
 
 The new report is the work of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a 24-member committee of experts from industry, academia and research institutions tasked with periodically assessing the nation's nanotech research and development programs. The first such report, prepared with the help of dozens of outside experts, is scheduled to be released next month but was previewed at a council meeting last week.
 
 In terms of global competitiveness, the report offers good news for  the United States  --  at least for now. 
 
 "The data seem to conclusively say we are the leader," said E. Floyd Kvamme, co-chairman of the committee with Marburger. "But the data also conclusively say that a lot of others are getting interested." 
 
 For example, fully 50 percent of the research articles on "nano" published in the world's best scientific journals has come from U.S. labs, even though  the United States accounts for only about 25 percent of global investment. The United States also leads in the number of nano-related patents, with about 1,000 issued in 2003, the last year for which statistics are available.
 
 But U.S. dominance in publications has begun to shrink. And while Americans hold fully two-thirds of all recent nano patents, the fraction has been shrinking as other countries grab a bigger portion each year. 
 
 Similarly, with a federal investment in nanotechnology of about $1 billion last year, the United States outspent every other country, including the entire European Union. But Japan, China and Europe are all close behind, in the $900 million range each, with growth rates comparable to U.S. increases.
 
 The U.S. spending lead is being boosted by unparalleled private investment (accounting for nearly half of the $4 billion spent by corporations and venture capital globally) and a major investment by the states, which see nano as a ticket to revitalizing old industrial bases.
 
  "The states are spending mountains of money," Kvamme said  --  about 40 cents for every federal dollar of investment. "They are the folks turning this into a commercial enterprise."
 
 That enterprise is still very young. For the next five years, the report predicts, nanotechnology will for the most part produce novel materials  such as the stain-proof fabrics and super-strong tennis rackets already on the market, as well as catalysts and other products useful to the chemical industry.
 
 Longer term, the field is expected to produce medical products, including nanospheres that attach themselves to tumor cells and then fatally fry them, and novel materials for absorbing poisons from the environment.  Further out, scientists envision development of "bio-enhancement" nanoproducts that would give people greater strength, better vision and perhaps even computer-assisted thinking  --  goals that raise ethical issues that already are "very much on Congress's mind," Marburger said.
 
  The report notes that the extreme chemical reactivity of nanomaterials makes them potentially toxic. The threat to consumers seems modest, it concludes, but may be significant for factory workers exposed to nanodust. 
 
 To date, however, federal regulations limiting exposures do not differentiate between bulk quantities of chemicals and their potentially much more toxic nanoparticulate forms.
 
 "Existing rules for exposure to bulk substances don't apply" and will need to be changed, Marburger said. One of the things holding that up, he added, is the need to work out an internationally agreed upon naming system for the new materials so that everyone will be talking the same chemical and regulatory language.
 
 Even if nanomaterials are relatively safe while embedded in larger products, it will be important to find out how they will affect the environment and human health after those products wear out, said David Rejeski of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, which is studying that issue with Yale University scientists. 
 
 "Who knows what happens when you grind this stuff up, incinerate it or it goes into a landfill?" Rejeski asked. "These products may be safe in the tennis racket, but all products become obsolete at some point"  --  if nothing else because they go out of fashion.
 
 "Those teal-colored nanopants are going to be out of style next year," he said, only half-joking. "Then what?" 
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 28 03:52:28 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 28 03:55:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <8125589.1112010748814.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Saving Nonproliferation
 
 By Jimmy Carter
 
    Renewal talks for the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are scheduled for May, yet the United States and other nuclear powers seem indifferent to its fate. This is remarkable, considering the addition of Iran and North Korea as states that either possess or seek nuclear weapons programs. A recent United Nations report warned starkly: "We are approaching a point at which the erosion of the non-proliferation regime could become irreversible and result in a cascade of proliferation."
 
 A group of "Middle States" has a simple goal: "To exert leverage on the nuclear powers to take some minimum steps to save the non-proliferation treaty in 2005." Last year this coalition of nuclear-capable states  --  including Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and eight NATO members  --  voted for a new agenda resolution calling for implementing NPT commitments already made. Tragically, the United States, Britain and France voted against this resolution.
 
  So far the preparatory committee for the forthcoming NPT talks has failed even to achieve an agenda because of the deep divisions between nuclear powers that refuse to meet their own disarmament commitments and the nonnuclear movement, whose demands include honoring these pledges and considering the Israeli arsenal.
 
  Until recently all American presidents since Dwight Eisenhower had striven to restrict and reduce nuclear arsenals  --  some more than others. So far as I know, there are no present efforts by any of the nuclear powers to accomplish these crucial goals.
 
 The United States is the major culprit in this erosion of the NPT. While claiming to be protecting the world from proliferation threats in Iraq, Libya, Iran and North Korea, American leaders not only have abandoned existing treaty restraints but also have asserted plans to test and develop new weapons, including anti-ballistic missiles, the earth-penetrating "bunker buster" and perhaps some new "small" bombs. They also have abandoned past pledges and now threaten first use of nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states.
 
 Some corrective actions are obvious:
 
 • The United States needs to address remaining nuclear issues with Russia, demanding the same standards of transparency and verification of past arms control agreements and dismantling and disposal of decommissioned weapons. With massive arsenals still on hair-trigger alert status, a global holocaust is just as possible now, through mistakes or misjudgments, as it was during the depths of the Cold War. We could address perhaps the world's greatest proliferation threat by fully securing Russia's stockpiles.
 
 • While all nuclear weapons states should agree to non-first use, the United States, as the sole superpower, should take the lead on this issue.
 
 • NATO needs to de-emphasize the role of its nuclear weapons and consider an end to their deployment in Western Europe. Despite its eastward expansion, NATO is keeping the same stockpiles and policies as when the Iron Curtain divided the continent.
 
 • The comprehensive test ban treaty should be honored, but the United States is moving in the opposite direction. The administration's 2005 budget refers for the first time to a list of test scenarios, and other nations are waiting to take the same action.
 
 • The United States should support a fissile materials treaty to prevent the creation and transport of highly enriched uranium and plutonium.
 
 • Curtail U.S. development of the infeasible missile defense shield, which is wasting huge resources, while breaking our commitment to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty without a working substitute.
 
 • Act on nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, an increasing source of instability in that region. Iran has repeatedly hidden its intentions to enrich uranium while claiming that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. This explanation has been given before, by India, Pakistan and North Korea, and has led to weapons programs in all three states. Iran must be called to account and held to its promises under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. At the same time, we fail to acknowledge how Israel's nuclear status entices Iran, Syria, Egypt and other states to join the community of nuclear weapons states.
 
  These are vital questions, and the world will know the answers during the NPT conference in May. 
 
 Former president Carter is founder of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 28 03:53:02 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 28 03:55:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <666830.1112010782554.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Whose Life Are We Supporting?
 
 By William Raspberry
 
    One of the ways we maintain our sense of personal superiority (and by implication, the superiority of our ideas) is to focus on the unseemly behavior of those who disagree with us.
 
 And so liberals have had a field day with the sad, sad case of Terri Schiavo. The obvious political motivation of the likes of Tom DeLay and at least some of the members of both houses of Congress who rushed through that absurd legislation a week ago, the alacrity with which President Bush, importuned by his brother Jeb, leapt to sign the bill to keep  Schiavo alive, and all the public hoo-ha from partisans with bigger fish to fry served to confirm the tawdriness of the worst of the right and, therefore, the sweet reason of liberal views.
 
 Jumping on the tawdry behavior of those who disagree with us is easy. The issue itself is excruciatingly difficult.
 
 In its simplest terms, the question is: Is Terri Schiavo dead or alive? And if we grant that she is "technically" alive, is hers a life worth continuing?
 
  And it becomes instantly clear why we would rather make ad hominem arguments, or carry on about the wishes apparently expressed by  Schiavo herself more than 15 years ago.
 
  Ostensibly neutral outsiders have examined the latter issue and have arrived at the conclusion that the woman really did discuss with her husband their mutual wish not to be kept alive solely through the use of heart-lung machines, feeding tubes and other "heroic" means.
 
  That would seem to settle the legal question. But far more than law is at issue. The Schiavo case is, among other things, a proxy for the legally resolved but still troubling debate over abortion.
 
 Right-to-lifers understand that if they permit the quality of Terri Schiavo's life to become the determining issue, they will have accepted the rationality of abortion for damaged fetuses and put themselves on the slippery slope that makes it hard to resist abortion on demand.
 
 Abortion rights advocates understand that to accept the sanctity of all life  --  including the persistent vegetative state of Schiavo's  --  is to make abortion immoral. So we intrude into the private torment of  Schiavo's husband and her parents and use their agony to carry the weight of our own ideas.
 
 But we also use it to mask the inherent difficulty of the debate. We might agree as a matter of law that the  recorded wishes of the person whose death is at issue ought to be determinative. But it doesn't really carry us through the deeper moral questions. I don't wish to be kept artificially alive beyond reasonable hope of medical help, and I've indicated as much in my living will. I think my view should be honored. But what of the guy who doesn't wish to go on living without the girlfriend who left him? Does he have a right to die? To call on others to help him die? Even if he has recorded  his morbid desire and had it notarized?
 
 The quality-of-life standard, I am saying, is not as reliable as some of us would like to believe. The question of ending life  --  of which life is not worth prolonging  --  is never easy, nor should it ever become easy.
 
 Even beyond the philosophical questions, there is another matter  the Schiavo case calls to mind: our unease with death.
 
 Much of our knowledge of ancient cultures has been gleaned from the unwillingness of the living to acknowledge the death of the dead. Not just pharaohs and kings but ordinary folk, as well, have hoped to preserve life even after death.
 
  How much more tempting it must be with loved ones whose blood still circulates, and whose faces seem to smile.
 
  I mean no insult to mention the thousands of people who have their beloved pets mounted  to keep them near after death. But it seems clear to me that we will develop the means to blur even further the line between death and life  --  machines to mimic bodily functions, induce facial expressions and give the appearance of life to the dead. Is it so hard to imagine that some who can afford it would choose to keep their dear ones permanently at ersatz peace behind gauzy curtains and dim lights? Are you certain we're not creeping toward human taxidermy?
 
  The law seems to be on the side of Terri Schiavo's husband, though only a heartless ideologue would dismiss the feelings of her parents to the contrary.
 
  The questions of death  --  when to forestall it, when to assist it and who gets to decide  --  are agonizingly difficult.
 
  May they ever remain so.
 
 willrasp@washpost.com
 
   

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From refertofriend at reply.yahoo.com  Mon Mar 28 05:24:23 2005
From: refertofriend at reply.yahoo.com (Yahoo!News)
Date: Mon Mar 28 05:27:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Yahoo! News Story - Documents show FBI helped Saudis
	depart after 9/11 attacks: New York Times
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 28 07:39:19 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 28 07:42:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: GM 'golden rice' boosts vitamin A
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** Message **
have you seen the movie Corn yet ?

** GM 'golden rice' boosts vitamin A **
UK scientists develop a new strain of GM rice, which could reduce vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4386933.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon Mar 28 07:47:23 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon Mar 28 07:50:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Global nuclear policy irks India
Message-ID: <20050328_154723_062475.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Global nuclear policy irks India **
India's foreign minister criticises the world community for failing to prevent the spread of nuclear arms.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4387055.stm >


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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 28 09:43:59 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 28 09:46:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7780130.1112031839916.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Schwarzenegger Prepares to Do Battle in Calif.
 
 By Dan Balz
 
  SACRAMENTO  --  California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came to office 16 months ago determined to shake the political system to the core, but few envisioned the boldness of his ambition. Today, he is girding for what could be the most contentious political confrontation the nation's most populous state has seen in years.
 
 The battle, between the Republican governor and a coalition of public-sector unions and their Democratic allies in the legislature, might yet be avoided. Schwarzenegger maintained last week that his door is open to negotiation on an agenda that includes political, budgetary and education reforms.
 
  But during an interview in his spacious Capitol office, the celebrity governor gave every indication that he relishes the opportunity to defeat, not compromise with, his opponents. When it was suggested that Schwarzenegger sounded as though he would be disappointed if a face-off were averted by compromise, he  responded without hesitation. "There's something very attractive about it," he said. "You're absolutely right."
 
 What is unfolding here has all the earmarks of a classic struggle, with clear national implications. The outcome will affect the future of the state, the legacy of the actor-turned-politician, the balance of power in Sacramento and possibly the politics of other states.
 
 Schwarzenegger casts the contest in the same way he framed his gubernatorial campaign during the state's recall election in 2003. "They're going to spend $200 million this year to take me out and to keep the status quo," he said. "They're going to fight for the status quo and for their power, and the people in the end will make the decision: Do we want to be ruled by the unions and by the special interests of California, or do we want to go and take the power back?"
 
 The governor said the battle is not Democrats vs. Republicans. But his opponents see him and his  agenda as part of a partisan and ideological battle that echoes the priorities of President Bush and the Republicans in Washington. Schwarzenegger, they say, has turned from  conciliator to partisan by embracing an economic agenda championed by wealthy corporate interests. They contend that he turned increasingly partisan after candidates he backed lost a series of legislative elections last November.
 
 "He is at his best when he is trying to bring people together, like he did last year," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D). "But that rhetoric has changed. He now has shifted over far more to the Republican mantra of dig in your heels and fight for those things which ideologically position the party to be able to motivate its base."
 
 The battle started in January, when Schwarzenegger used his State of the State address to aim a series of thunderbolts at the political establishment. He spent his first years grappling with California's budget deficit, which remains severe despite a rebounding economy. In January, rather than keeping his focus strictly on the budget, he  opened up a multi-front war, to the surprise and consternation of his opponents.
 
  Schwarzenegger is challenging the status quo and the Democrats' coalition on several fronts. He wants a rigid limit on state expenditures that would impose across-the-board cuts when spending exceeds revenue.  He proposes to change the state pension system by replacing defined benefits with individual accounts for newly hired workers, patterned after private-sector 401(k) accounts and in the spirit of Bush's Social Security plan.
 
 He is defying the education establishment and the California Teachers Association by backing merit pay for teachers and a change in tenure requirements. He is at war with the California Nurses Association over staffing ratios at hospitals. And in a battle other states are watching closely, Schwarzenegger wants to take the power to draw legislative and congressional district boundaries away from the legislature and put an independent panel of judges in charge of redistricting.
 
 Schwarzenegger says the proposals are needed to fix the structural deficit facing the state and the way politics are  practiced in Sacramento. His critics say they will do nothing of the sort and accuse him of lacking the courage to do what two of his GOP predecessors, Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson, did when they were in Sacramento, which was to raise taxes to overcome deep deficits.
 
 Schwarzenegger disagrees. "No one has ever raised taxes and solved the problem, nor will we solve the problem," he said. "We don't have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem."
 
 Critics say the governor is avoiding the budget deficit, and even some of his allies question why he decided to take on so many fights. Schwarzenegger said he was elected "to create reform, to fix the problem, fix the broken system," not to move slowly. "Remember the greatest things that you can accomplish, the more risks you take," he said. "It's directly related to risk. Everything like this  --  investments and everything else. If you're willing to take risks, then the upside can be spectacular."
 
 Schwarzenegger has roused widespread opposition. Now when he travels the state, in addition to crowds of enthusiastic supporters, he is met with protesters: nurses, teachers, firefighters, police and correctional officers, PTA leaders. Schwarzenegger labels them all special interests and inflamed matters when he dismissed the protests of nurses at a women's event last  December. "The special interests don't like me in Sacramento because I am always kicking their butts," he said.
 
 The battles have begun to take a toll on his image. The Field Poll reported in February that Schwarzenegger's approval rating had fallen from 65 percent in September to 54 percent, with particular erosion among Democrats and independents. A poll completed last week for the teachers association put his approval rating at 42 percent, pollster Mark Mellman said.
 
 "I don't think I've ever seen a governor who has caused such visceral division, attacking nurses, teachers, police officers and firefighters," said state Treasurer Phil Angelides, a longtime critic who is running for the 2006 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. "This state is now deeply divided, and emotionally so."
 
 Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce and one of the organizers of Citizens to Save California, which is pushing for ballot initiatives incorporating Schwarzenegger's plans,  said his group's polling shows the governor remains popular everywhere except in the San Francisco Bay Area, a bastion of Democratic support. But the teachers association poll reportedly shows deterioration everywhere except in the San Diego area.
 
 The battle is playing out on two tracks. The first is through the Democratic-controlled legislature, which Schwarzenegger has challenged to negotiate a deal over his agenda. But  he has warned that, if negotiations fail, he will take his fight to the public through ballot initiatives, aiming for a special election in November.
 
 Schwarzenegger used the same strategy last year to strike a deal with legislators on workers' compensation, and it is possible that the same outcome could occur this year on some or all of his priorities. But in interviews last week, neither side sounded optimistic about the prospects for compromise, and the machinery to fill a November ballot with initiatives and counter-initiatives is in full force.
 
 Citizens to Save California is gathering signatures to qualify the governor's initiatives for the ballot. State law allows Schwarzenegger to raise money for the group, and he has appeared at events in New York and Washington as well as in California. His fundraising from corporate interests is part of the controversy. State law does not allow the governor to control the committee, complicating the drafting of the initiatives, but he and the committee are challenging that in court. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Alliance for a Better California, a 10-union coalition, is preparing initiatives on prescription drugs, car buyers' rights, energy re-regulation and possibly another to raise the minimum wage. The unions rarely come together in this way, said Gale Kaufman, a  Democratic strategist who is helping to organize the opposition. "They are coming together in a unique way. . . . They're very unified and very angry."
 
 With a deadline  of late April or early May  for the signature-gathering, Schwarzenegger's advisers believe only the threat of initiatives will force negotiations. But some of his opponents see a special election as an opportunity to deal the governor a devastating defeat, potentially crippling his administration and possibly causing him not to seek reelection in 2006. 
 
 Seated at the head of a long table in his gubernatorial office last week, Schwarzenegger declined to talk about 2006. But he exuded the confidence of a man who surmounted great odds to become a world champion bodybuilder and later one of Hollywood's most popular actors and who knows he is the state's dominant political figure. 
 
 The legislators have a spending "addiction," he said. The unions have won "sweetheart pension deals" from the state. Now, he said, their time is over. "There's always something wonderful about fighting for the right thing, when you know you're right and you know when you've got clear vision, as I always have about the end product," he said.
 
 Schwarzenegger revels  in the theatrics of the competition. "The whole thing is a big stage play," he said with amusement as he talked about his opponents. "They are all very important characters in this play, in order to carry out this play. It's wonderful. . . . Since they are all part of the play, you have to appreciate all those pieces and all those characters."
 
 "And your role?" he was asked.
 
 "Leading role," he said with a bright smile. "Above-the-title billing."
 
 Political researcher Brian Faler in Washington contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon Mar 28 09:48:57 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Mar 28 09:51:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <15068875.1112032137735.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Politics as Bodybuilding
 
 By David Broder
 
    SACRAMENTO  --  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he brought with him to government from the world of competitive bodybuilding a belief in what "they used to call the third eye  --  when you see things as a finished product way before it happens."
 
  In an interview with Post reporter Dan Balz and me last week, he said that when he was on stage with 10 other muscular guys, "I was never worried or never kind of rattled" because he knew the judges would pick the one "who has the mind of the winner, who [says] . . . I deserve to be the winner because I am the best. . . . It's a very calming feeling . . . knowing that you're on the right track and that all  is just a matter of time and the effort."
 
  The same sublime confidence that carried the Austrian immigrant to success in bodybuilding and in Hollywood action films has transferred to politics, where he ousted incumbent Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election and sailed through his first year in office on a wave of celebrity adulation.
 
  Now the Republican governor has challenged the Democratic legislature and a powerful array of public-sector unions to a showdown over the structure of California government. It will largely determine the future direction of this megastate and have ripple effects on politics across the country.
 
  Still mired in inherited deficits despite robust economic growth, Schwarzenegger opted in his January state of the state speech to move beyond his narrow focus on the budget and challenge the status quo on many fronts simultaneously.
 
  He proposed shifting control of reapportionment of legislative and congressional districts from the legislature to a panel of retired judges, a move he said would force accountability on currently unchallenged lawmakers. He called for tough new spending caps that would automatically reduce expenditures to fit within available revenue.
 
  He said he would break the lock voters had placed on a major share of future taxes when they earmarked them for schools. He said he would toughen teacher tenure requirements and institute merit pay for outstanding educators. He said he would postpone or eliminate requirements for hiring more nurses in state hospitals. And, in an echo of President Bush's proposed Social Security reforms, he said he would shift the pension system for public employees from one of guaranteed benefits to one in which market forces would determine how big a nest egg they enjoyed on retirement day.
 
  To give force to his proposals, Schwarzenegger announced in advance that if the legislature balked, he would take these constitutional changes directly to the voters in a series of initiatives in a special election this fall.
 
  So far Democrats have shown no signs of acquiescing  --  or even negotiating seriously on any of these fronts. Schwarzenegger has launched a campaign to collect business contributions to pay for multimillion-dollar initiative campaigns, and the unions are preparing to fight him with a series of populist initiatives of their own.
 
  A month remains in which to negotiate compromises on some or all of these issues, but the political climate in Sacramento last week was as chilly as the unseasonable weather.
 
  Leaders of unions representing nurses, teachers and service employees denounced Schwarzenegger in interviews as a "right-wing ideologue" who has broken his word repeatedly. Gale Kaufman, the veteran political operative handling the unions' counterattack, claims that focus groups and polls show Schwarzenegger is riding for a fall. His attacks on teachers and nurses as "special interests" have backfired, while his corporate fundraising has tagged him as a servant of big business. His agenda is anything but popular, she says. Voters care about crowded schools and gridlocked roads and expensive drugs  --  not pensions and reapportionment.
 
  She points out that Schwarzenegger failed to defeat any of the targeted Democratic legislators last November, when his popularity was higher than it is now.
 
  On the other hand, the governor won every initiative fight he undertook last year, and Democrats have no one with his star power to make the case against his program or rebut his claim that they are defending an unaffordable status quo.
 
  Many students of California government say structural reforms are needed, but fault Schwarzenegger for not following the example of Republican predecessors Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson and seeking small tax increases to balance the budget. But Schwarzenegger is scornful of that view, and so far Democrats have not been willing to run the political risk of advocating any tax hikes.
 
  Meanwhile, the most relaxed and least fretful man in the capital is the bodybuilder who tells himself, "I deserve to be the winner because I am the best."
 
  Until someone equally confident comes along to challenge him, the title is his.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
   

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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 28 10:10:48 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 10:13:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Analysis - Property gold
	rush threatens US growth 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 28 10:14:11 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 10:16:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Columnists - Amity Shlaes:
	Lots of talk can prevent rash action 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 28 10:15:09 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 10:17:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Pragmatic path
	to an ideal world 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 28 10:17:47 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 10:20:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Markets / Currencies - Rate hike speculation
	boosts dollar
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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Mon Mar 28 10:17:47 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Mon Mar 28 10:30:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Tehran Twist   
In-Reply-To: <867ea1de54eb079224f3192aabefdbd4@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503281830.j2SIUElg003254@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

    
------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 12:32:30 -0500
Subject: Tehran Twist

Iran va Jahan

Monday, March 28, 2005

  Bush's New Iran Policy


  March 28, 2005
The New Republic
  Lawrence F. Kaplan


  Tehran Twist

Not since Reykjavik--the 1986 summit at which Ronald Reagan emerged
from his meeting with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev sounding like,
well, Mikhail Gorbachev--has an American president turned so quickly on
a dime. But there was President Bush on the final leg of his trip to
Europe three weeks ago, emerging from meetings with French President
Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schr?der. Jettisoning the
administration's long-standing and vocal contempt for European efforts
to cut a deal with Iran over its nuclear program, Bush announced that,
when it came to the Islamic Republic, the United States and Europe were
now "on the same page." National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said
that, while Bush's trip heralded a new "convergence" with Europe, it
still left open the question of "who should the carrots come from and
what should they be."

  As it turns out, the carrots will come from an administration whose
own secretary of state was portraying Europe's Iran strategy as a
toothless enterprise only two weeks before the president declared
otherwise. Reversing course, Condoleezza Rice announced last week that
the administration would join the European Union in offering Iran
incentives--aircraft parts and membership in the World Trade
Organization--in exchange for halting its drive to build a nuclear
bomb. Why the sudden about-face? On a foreign policy team where ideas
typically bubble up to the surface, and where debates over seemingly
trivial topics rage for months at the Cabinet level, this one comes
from the president himself.

  In fact, because the initiative did come from Bush--or, more exactly,
his European interlocutors--it was subject to less of the bureaucratic
wrangling that has been this foreign policy team's signature. Before
most administration officials had a chance even to come up with an
opinion, the proposal had already been enshrined as official policy.
Hence members of the Bush team have been lending their own
Rashomon-like interpretations to a policy that is, if nothing else,
wide open to interpretation.

Within the administration, Hadley leads a camp of true believers,
making a case for the European initiative that puts him at odds with
more skeptical members of the Bush team. "Hadley argues that, given the
right incentives, Iran just might bend to the Europeans," says an
official involved in the deliberations. So, too, according to their
colleagues, do Undersecretary for Political Affairs William Burns, a
proponent of engaging Iran when he was chief of the State Department's
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; members of the Nonproliferation and
Near Eastern bureaus; and other NSC staffers.

  The argument that Iran may agree to a deal is dismissed by one
administration hawk as "fantasy." But the optimistic interpretation
hasn't been spun out of whole cloth. As former National Security
Adviser (and Hadley confidante) Brent Scowcroft put it in a Financial
Times op-ed last week, "Tehran's actions suggest it is not indifferent
to the threat of being hauled before the United Nations Security
Council, or to the economic benefits from trade agreements with Europe
and accession to the World Trade Organization." In this telling,
Iran--unlike, say, North Korea--desperately wants to avoid being cast
as a pariah on the international stage. As evidence for this
proposition, supporters of the deal point to, among other things, the
fact that the Europeans were able to persuade Tehran to suspend uranium
enrichment in 2003 and to enter into the current round of negotiations
last November.

  At the opposite end of the spectrum, Vice President Dick Cheney,
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and their hard-line aides mounted a
campaign to scuttle the administration's embrace of the European
position, beginning with a principals' meeting the day after the
president's return from Europe and continuing until the moment the
initiative was unveiled last Friday. Their opposition derives from more
than bureaucratic pique. They don't trust the Europeans to be firm with
Iran, and they don't trust Iran, period. Cheney, in particular,
resisted to the end, arguing that, if negotiations collapse, the
Europeans cannot be counted on to support a tougher U.S. stance. "What
you could have is another Iraq scenario," explains one Defense
Department official, "where we involve the Europeans only to have them
come back and ask for more time and more concessions." Better,
opponents of the European position argued, to continue with what has
amounted to administration policy for the past two years: pressing the
International Atomic Energy Agency (iaea) to refer Iran to the U.N.
Security Council, where, they hope, it will be singled out for
international opprobrium and possible sanctions.

  Ultimately, Cheney and the Pentagon backed down but demanded two
crucial conditions. First, Cheney insisted late last week that the
Europeans agree, in writing, that they will support the United States
hauling Iran before the Security Council if negotiations fail. Which
the Europeans did: A document drafted by the European Union last week
pledges, "We shall have no choice but to support referring Iran's
nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council" if Tehran rejects a
permanent halt to its uranium-enrichment program. Second, according to
officials, administration hawks have insisted on a timeline for
Europe's talks, with a drop-dead date probably arriving in the fall, a
few months after Iran's election this summer.

  There is a third, and ultimately dominant, position in the
administration: the cynical one. Its adherents split the difference
between Hadley's and Cheney's arguments--they want to offer Iran
incentives, but under the assumption they will likely be refused.
Europe, not Iran, is the audience here. "The point," says a senior
administration official, "is, when diplomacy fails, we can say to the
Europeans, 'Hey, we tried.'" Rice, Deputy National Security Adviser
Elliott Abrams, and Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who
worked out the final details with the Europeans last week, are the main
engines of this compromise. But the logic comes mostly from the
president himself, who has been assured by British Prime Minister Tony
Blair that, if the United States backs the Europeans now, Europe will
back the United States if the negotiations run into a brick wall.
Administration officials claim that the British and French suspect the
Iranians will not, in the end, cooperate. Once the Europeans know this
for a fact, the argument goes, they will follow Washington's lead and
refer the Iranians to the Security Council--where hard-line U.N.
Ambassador John Bolton will, if he is confirmed, be waiting for them.
In the meantime, however, the administration has resisted moves--such
as a reference to democratizing Iran, subsequently deleted from Rice's
announcement of the new U.S. policy--that could upset continental
sensibilities.

  For all their differences, each camp's strategy has one thing in
common: It is unlikely to work. For the true believers, the ink had
barely dried on last week's agreement when Iranian negotiator Cyrus
Naseri dismissed it as "really not something so significant that we
could even discuss it as a trade-off for anything at all." Underscoring
the point, deliberations over the U.S.-European initiative were
interrupted by the iaea's finding that Iran had blocked inspectors from
a military and possible nuclear facility, was continuing apace with its
efforts to build a heavy-water reactor, and was busy digging an
underground tunnel system. "Regardless of what the Europeans do or
don't do," says Ray Takeyh, an Iran scholar at the Council on Foreign
Relations, "the Iranians will pursue a nuclear program so long as they
believe it's in their interest."

  For their part, the hawks must contend with the certainty that, absent
European support, the iaea--where the Iranian representative feels
sufficiently unthreatened that he goes to sleep when American officials
speak, and where iaea chief Mohammed ElBaradei spent much of the past
two years shouting at Bolton, who led the U.S. delegation--will never
refer Iran to the Security Council. As for the cynics who recognize the
tactical importance of European support, they may find that European
backing is not forthcoming. To begin with, it's unclear whether the
Europeans actually find themselves on "the same page" as Bush. The
Germans, for one, remain wedded to the negotiating process, and there
may not be sufficient evidence to budge their attachment, says a senior
official--or anyone else's, for that matter. When Russia announced,
immediately after Bush's trip, that it would supply nuclear fuel to
Iran--a move the administration had been lobbying for years to
forestall--European Commission external relations spokeswoman Emma
Udwin painted the deadly shipment as "compatible with our own
approach." Moreover, even if the Europeans were to back a referral to
the Security Council, says David Albright, president of the Institute
for Science and International Security, "going to the U.N. would only
be the beginning of a strategy, and there you have the problem of
Russia and China." Administration officials repeat the mantra that
China has never vetoed a resolution unrelated to China and insist that
Russia won't block sanctions. But neither Moscow (itself the principal
sponsor of Iran's nuclear program) nor Beijing (which signed a $70
billion deal to purchase natural gas from Iran last October) has any
reason to punish its client.

  Nor does the administration seem to have a clear idea of what the
point of the whole enterprise is meant to be, other than to insist it's
not military action. Hence the problem with today's sideshow: American
and European officials insist that Iran must never have the bomb, and
yet, absent a willingness to match words with deeds on either side of
the Atlantic, it clearly will. As the Nonproliferation Policy Education
Center's Henry Sokolski, who has studied Iran's nuclear program
extensively, puts it, "No other major gaps remain: Iran has the
requisite equipment to make the weapons fuel, the know-how to assemble
the bombs, and the missile and naval systems necessary to deliver them
beyond its borders." At this rate, rather than debating what to do
about an Iran that wants to go nuclear, the Bush team and its European
counterparts may soon be debating what to do about an Iran that just
did.

Lawrence F. Kaplan is a senior editor at TNR.
---
URL: 
http://www.iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2005&m=03&d=28&a=3

------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 28 10:58:36 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 28 11:01:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Collision Course
In-Reply-To: <f.41b43f37.2f78b83a@cs.com>
Message-ID: <BE6D93DC.1FA82%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Hawaiipolo@cs.com
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005 20:30:34 EST

An interesting economic and political analysis of the inherent conflict
between the current US high deficit/low interest rate  growth at any
economic 
policy and Europe's focus on low deficit ,low inflation monetary policy...MD
Collision Course
By Stirling Newberry
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

 Sunday 27 March 2005

 Europe is in the process of trying to pass a new constitution, and it is
going to be a delicate business. Le Figaro reported that, for the first
time, 
more than half of French surveyed were against the new constitution, and the
opposition asked Chirac to put his own political weight behind its passage.

 Why should this be of interest to the US, and even more so to the
opposition 
to Bush? Because Europe and the Bush are on a collision course, over a deep
issue: what kind of world we will live in. It is a global game of chicken
over 
wages and prices.

 What is this division? George Bush and Alan Greenspan are pushing a world
where materials prices are higher, wages are lower, and the profits of large
corporations are higher. They are doing this by running very high budget
deficits, having very low interest rates, and using China as a vast engine
of 
deflation to keep wages, and thus consumer inflation in line. This leads to
what 
Professor David Hackett Fischer called a "money drought" in his book The
Great Wave
. We can see the results: oil has gone from a rock bottom $11 a barrel, to
hovering over $55 dollars a barrel. Real wages in the US have barely moved,
and 
yet Wall Street banks are showing record profits. Bush wants everywhere to
look 
just like here: high profits, low wages, and a rush for mining and drilling.

 This catches Europe in a bind, because it imports energy, and manufactures
goods. The higher material prices go in real terms, the more they have to
manufacture to buy energy. The European Central Bank warned about the
dangers of 
increased material prices, and painted a picture of high European
unemployment 
combined with sluggish growth - and said that they were committed to staying
the course of fighting inflation. This hard stance has meant that the dollar
has 
fallen dramatically against the Euro, the Swiss Franc, and the British Pound
Sterling.

 This discipline from Europe is not an issue of left or right: center-right,
center-left and left governments have all backed strong currencies. It is
not 
only the Eurozone, as Great Britain and Switzerland show. Instead, it is
about 
holding the line on falling real wages, and being willing to withstand the
pressure from the Federal Reserve and United States. Europe has decided to
maintain real wages, and not buckle. Either the US Federal Reserve wins, and
Europe 
devalues, or the US runs out of money to borrow, and must dramatically cut
expenditures.

 Many have commented that the current budget and trade deficits cannot be
maintained or sustained; what is not as widely written about is whether
Europe 
can withstand the political pressure of having Germany with 12.5%
unemployment, 
and 8.9% unemployment across the E25 nations. The pressure is for Europe to
throw in the towel, lower interest rates dramatically, and accept
dramatically 
lower wages in real terms.

 Through most of 2002-2003, it seemed that Europe was alone: most of the
other economies in the world devalued to match the dollar, and the Asian
central 
banks bought US debt, allowing the US to finance its borrowing binge.
However 
in 2004 Korea and Japan began "limiting their dollar exposure," which is
central bank speak for buying more Euros. Even the Chinese, pinched by
higher steel 
prices and facing a hard slowdown that threatens their internal security,
has 
started to be more assertive.

 If Asia swings away from the Bush-Greenspan inflation policy, then the
United States will have to come to terms quickly. If it backs that policy,
Europe 
will face increasing internal pressure. Already "blaming Europe" has become
something of a pastime in France, and without the European Union, no single
nation in Europe is strong enough to fight the Fed by itself.

 In 1987, when the US and Europe last disagreed so vehemently about monetary
policy, there was a stock market crash that rocketed around the world.
Cooler 
heads prevailed, and agreements were reached. This time, however, Bush has
promoted the same gaggle of unilateralists that pushed this policy in the
first 
place. Bolton, Rice and Wolfowitz are his way of telling Europe that he
won't 
back down, and instead is willing to have a replay of the collapse of
Bretton-Woods under Richard Nixon.

 So if you want to know why Europe is increasingly estranged from the US,
the 
reason is simple: by printing too many dollars, Bush is trying to tax the
Europeans to pay for his borrow and squander policies. By appointing Bolton,
Rice, Wolfowitz and other neocons to high positions, he sends the signal
that he 
expects Europe to capitulate.

 It is a global game of chicken, and it is the working people of the world
who are going to get plucked should reason not prevail. And reason could,
still, 
prevail. The amount of growth in our "black gold" world economy is based on
two factors: how much more oil we can extract, and how much more we can make
with that oil. These two numbers together are the pie to be split.
Currently, 
the United States, by having an inflationary monetary policy, can force more
of 
that growth to go here rather than elsewhere. Not because the US is doing
better, but because oil is priced in dollars and protected by US carriers. A
new 
Bretton-Woods system could divide this global growth equitably, rather than
by 
Federal Reserve fiat. There would be
restructuring: more use of technology, changes in land use, changes in
government regulations, but the stress would be distributed around the
globe, 
forcing all of the developed and developing nations to make painful choices.

 But right now the house of Saud and the house of Bush see no reason to do
this, and they have enough allies in countries eager to keep resource
extraction 
economies to try to force the issue. However, increasingly, the rest of the
developed world is turning against this system. And that means, as markets
are 
wont to do, there will be a correction, and it will be short, sharp, sudden
and surprising. The question is: will Europe run out of political capital
before 
Bush runs out of capital to borrow against.

 

Stirling Newberry is an internet business and strategy consultant, with
experience in international telecom, consumer marketing, e-commerce and
forensic 
database analysis. He has acted as an advisor to Democratic political
campaigns 
and organizations and is the the co-founder, along with Christopher Lydon,
Jay 
Rosen and Matt Stoller, of BopNews, as well as being the military affairs
editor of The Agonist. -------

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 28 12:11:30 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 28 12:14:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mr. Bush and His Easter Rebellion
Message-ID: <BE6DA4F2.1FAAF%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Mr. Bush and His Easter Rebellion
    By Steve Weissman
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Sunday 27 March 2005

    Why do so many zealots live in the land of darkness?

    Whatever they believe, those consumed by truth rarely understand how
anyone of good faith can possibly fail to see their particular light. Those
who refuse "the truth" must be wicked, willful, or somehow uninstructed, and
become the target of fervid evangelism, whether with soothing words or
avenging fire.

    Our President uses both, as he showed in his Easter message.

    For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.

    I send greetings to all those celebrating Easter, the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Through His sacrifice and triumph over death, Christ lifted
the sights of humanity forever. In His teachings, the poor have heard hope,
the proud have been challenged, and the weak and dying have found assurance.
Today, the words of Jesus continue to comfort and strengthen Christians
around the world. 

    Many - though by no means anywhere near a majority - who believe in
these words will find it wonderful that the President has repeated them in
the exercise of his public office. Mr. Bush and his political advisors know
this, and clearly used the opportunity of his weekly radio address to
further cement the bond between the President and those who want to turn
America into "a Christian nation."

    Nor does the president or his flock necessarly mean to hurt or exclude
those of us who follow other paths - or no religious path at all. He is only
bringing us the Word, and what could be a greater gift?

    Well, thanks, but no thanks. The dangers are far too real. By so
publicly rejecting the Constitutionally mandated separation of church and
state - and throwing off the good manners of millions of Americans who
exercise their freedom of belief in private - Mr. Bush threatens to lead
America down the road to open religious conflict. We've seen where that
leads from South Asia to the Middle East, and in the bloody history of
Europe's religious wars. Is that what we want for America? Is that what we
want for the world?

    From his first use of the word "Crusade" to describe his "War on
Terror," Mr. Bush has led Muslims everywhere to see America as fighting a
holy war against them. This only builds support for Osama bin Laden and
others who would fight a holy war, or jihad, against those who fail to
salute their religious banner. Why, in his self-righteous blindness, does
Mr. Bush persist in being their recruiting sergeant?

    No doubt, many on my side of the political divide will dismiss Mr.
Bush's Easter antics as merely pandering to or emboldening his supporters on
the religious right. I fear worse. I could be wrong, and hope I am. But I
see our preacher-president raising the flag of Christian nationalism over
the Oval Office. As my colleague Will Pitt has discussed, the religious
right openly, even seditiously, calls for the creation of a United States of
Jesus. With his Easter message, Mr. Bush has come perilously close to
publicly joining their ranks.

 

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:18:09 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:21:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: On Eve of National Assembly,
	Iraqi Parties Still Lack Consensus
Message-ID: <20050328221818.806282270EB@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 28, 2005

On Eve of National Assembly, Iraqi Parties Still Lack Consensus
By EDWARD WONG

The country's leading political parties held last-minute talks today before a meeting of the National Assembly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/international/middleeast/28cnd-iraq.html?ex=1112677200&en=42d1ed57c537d9d5&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:20:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:23:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Court Examines Rights of Foreigners on
	Death Row
Message-ID: <20050328222059.506911645A8@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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NATIONAL | March 28, 2005

Court Examines Rights of Foreigners on Death Row
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The court is considering whether Texas and other states can execute 51 Mexicans who say they were improperly denied legal help from their consulates.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Scotus-Death-Penalty.html?ex=1112677200&en=f1bee7543cdde5b5&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:21:28 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:24:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: China Warrants an Arms Embargo
Message-ID: <20050328222129.386129FD3F@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 28, 2005

Editorial: China Warrants an Arms Embargo


China's threatening position on Taiwan is plenty of reason to keep the American and European arms embargo against it alive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/opinion/28mon2.html?ex=1112677200&en=77c6934d354335b9&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:22:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:24:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Is No One Accountable?
Message-ID: <20050328222213.E7F651645B6@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | March 28, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Is No One Accountable?
By BOB HERBERT

The administration has behaved as if it were above the law when it comes to prison abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/opinion/28herbert.html?ex=1112677200&en=de3505266ea30f87&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:23:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:25:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Parliament Vote Removes Another Obstacle to
	Gaza Pullout
Message-ID: <20050328222311.E03F924AF87@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 28, 2005

Parliament Vote Removes Another Obstacle to Gaza Pullout
By GREG MYRE

Parliament rejected a referendum that could have delayed or blocked the prime minister's efforts to evacuate Jewish settlers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/international/middleeast/28cnd-mideast.html?ex=1112677200&en=ef274f2095edd91a&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:23:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:26:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rings That Kidnap Iraqis Thrive on Big
	Threats and Bigger Profits
Message-ID: <20050328222355.626CF22EF9B@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 28, 2005

Rings That Kidnap Iraqis Thrive on Big Threats and Bigger Profits
By JAMES GLANZ

As many as 5,000 Iraqis have been kidnapped in the last year and a half, and ransom is the main motivation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/international/middleeast/28kidnap.html?ex=1112677200&en=28f2a55dc8db00a6&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:24:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:27:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel Says Palestinians Abet Smuggling of
	Antiaircraft Missiles
Message-ID: <20050328222439.B219424AF85@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 28, 2005

Israel Says Palestinians Abet Smuggling of Antiaircraft Missiles
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Palestinians have smuggled missiles with the help of the Palestinian military intelligence service, Israel's defense minister said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/international/middleeast/28cnd-mofaz.html?ex=1112677200&en=6cf934a6ca00f3f8&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:25:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:27:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraqi Guards Open Fire on Other Guards
	Protesting
Message-ID: <20050328222505.5B1D321F1FA@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 28, 2005

Iraqi Guards Open Fire on Other Guards Protesting
By ROBERT F. WORTH

Guards opened fire on a crowd of protesting government employees outside a ministry office here, killing one and wounding three.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/international/middleeast/28iraq.html?ex=1112677200&en=95d472eb8efcee44&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 14:26:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 14:28:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Under New Chief,
	F.C.C. Considers Widening Its Reach
Message-ID: <20050328222620.284EC3880C0@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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BUSINESS / MEDIA & ADVERTISING | March 28, 2005

Under New Chief, F.C.C. Considers Widening Its Reach
By STEPHEN LABATON

Lawmakers and the new leader of the Federal Communications Commission have proposed an expansion of indecency rules.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/business/media/28decency.html?ex=1112677200&en=a7f4ca9cb5ed12bf&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon Mar 28 17:25:31 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 17:28:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. Embrace Can Be Fatal to Arabs
Message-ID: <13452971.1112059531155.JavaMail.turbine@s75>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
U.S. Embrace Can Be Fatal to Arabs 
--------------------

The opposition in Lebanon owes no thanks to Washington.

By Adam Shatz
Adam Shatz is literary editor of the Nation.

March 28 2005

Only a year ago, American supporters of the Iraq war were in despair. The spread of the Iraqi insurgency &#8212; and of anti-American sentiment throughout the Arab and Muslim world &#8212; had undercut the claim of Paul Wolfowitz and others that Saddam Hussein's downfall would spark a wave of democratization in the region. If democracy meant burning cities, suicide attacks, life-threatening checkpoints and Abu Ghraib-style torture, Arabs and Muslims wanted nothing of it, something deeply reassuring to their autocratic rulers. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-shatz28mar28,0,794515.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 28 20:06:52 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 28 20:09:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Where's the Party At?
Message-ID: <BE6E145C.1FAEC%michael@michaelbutler.com>

AlterNet
Where's the Party At?
By Ari Melber, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Posted on March 26, 2005, Printed on March 28, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/21601/

Howard Dean has officially taken charge of the Democratic Party but it's not
clear where he plans to take it. Many observers want to see if he will pull
the party left while congressional Democrats keep repeating that the party
chairman has no effect on policy. Sen. Joe Biden announced that Dean would
have absolutely no "policy role." Dean has told reporters "most of the
policy pronouncements" will come from Democratic leaders in Congress.

This approach is a mistake ? and it misses a unique opportunity for the
party to cultivate new ideas and better define its policy goals.

Instead of stiff-arming Dean away from policy debates, congressional
Democrats should leverage his durable popularity with the base to rally
support for the Democratic agenda. Meanwhile, Dean must acknowledge the
ideological uncertainty within the party. In a letter to supporters, he
claimed "there is no crisis of ideology in the Democratic Party, only a
crisis of confidence." But the "crisis" of self-doubt stems from enduring
questions about where the party stands.

Despite Dean's assertions, the Democratic Party doesn't just need a better
message. It needs a new platform. Instead of waiting until '08 to rewrite
it, party leaders must start now.

Usually, platforms are hurriedly written under election-year pressure and
forgotten. Many are highly forgettable, and the 2004 Democratic Platform is
no exception. It is vague and meek. (It was drafted by appointees selected
by the Kerry campaign and former party chairman Terry McAuliffe.) In fact,
the platform embodies several failures of the Democrats' approach in 2004,
including indecision, mixed messages and weak delivery.

For example, the section on Iraq sounds more like a polling memo than
foreign policy: "People of good will disagree about whether America should
have gone to war in Iraq." The references to gay marriage are confusing. The
platform supports "gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation,"
calls for marriage to be defined by states and then repudiates the Federal
Marriage Amendment ? all without actually taking a stand on gay marriage
itself. And the 39-page platform devotes only one paragraph to protecting a
woman's right to choose. If the Democrats do not take the time and detail to
defend a core principle in the platform, it's no wonder they're losing
ground in public opinion and elections.

Overall, the current platform is hazy on policy and weak on politics. It
does not help candidates advance a unified message. It does not appeal to
potential voters. It does not even represent Democratic activists.

Yet the Democrats have a lot more to offer. Dean should work with Illinois
Rep. Rahm Emanuel and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the aggressive and
talented leaders of the Democrats' midterm campaign committees, to draft a
bold, specific and politically-appealing platform this year. This project
could build genuine internal consensus, energize Democrats with a clear
statement of principals and show voters in 2006 exactly what Democrats stand
for ? just as the 10-point "Contract with America" did for Republicans in
1994. (The "contract" listed specific legislation and governmental reforms,
which Republicans highlighted in the midterm elections that returned them to
power in 1994.)

Both established Democratic leaders and grassroots supporters should have
input on the new platform. Innovative ideas could be considered without the
typical campaign pressures stifling any audacity or creativity. Dean's
credibility and empowering style might even bridge the gap between the
party's base and its Washington leadership.

There is little doubt that when the next elections roll around, Dean will
have raised enough money and Democrats will have fulfilled their role as the
opposition party. But if they don't work together now to outline a specific
and unified Democratic agenda, they may remain the opposition party for a
long time.
? 2005 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/21601/

From Rhaerther at aol.com  Mon Mar 28 20:39:33 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 20:42:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: The True Story Of The Easter Bunny
Message-ID: <9d.5c992126.2f7a3605@aol.com>

 
The True Story Of The Easter Bunny
 
I have no qualm with a preacher, minister, or whatever term is preferred to  
making a living and being properly compensated by their respective  parishes.  
What I do object to is the way a vocal minority of  these individuals use 
religion as a means to a financial end, let alone those  that bastardize religion 
for political gain.  Whomever deity these  individuals believe in, I truly 
believe they are in for a wake-up call they  don't expect when their Maker asks 
them to justify their lack of tolerance,  love, and fellowship towards their 
fellow beings espoused by the various  religions.
 
Richard Haerther


 
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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Mon Mar 28 20:50:45 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Mon Mar 28 20:53:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Cross Bayou Elementary School relocates students
Message-ID: <81.247aac44.2f7a38a5@aol.com>

This is how low the protesters have reached.  Children have had  to deal with 
the fanatics off and on, but now it has escalated to where the  school board 
has concerns for the welfare of young children.  The  priorities of these 
protesters is so misplaced and uncaring it makes me ashamed  to at least admit the 
feeble attempts in my life to be  a Christian.  If these same protesters are 
so adamant about  starvation, where is the same zeal and commitment to African 
nations?  Or  don't they count because they aren't Christian or white?  I 
hate to think  of the racist issue, but look at the pictures of the protesters.  
I don't  see very few non-white faces.
 
_http://sptimes.com/2005/03/28/Tampabay/Furor_forces_pupils_t.shtml_ 
(http://sptimes.com/2005/03/28/Tampabay/Furor_forces_pupils_t.shtml) 
 
Richard Haerther
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon Mar 28 20:52:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Mon Mar 28 20:56:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ?
Message-ID: <01e301c5341b$2839b8c0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

I don't want to read more into this than need be (...), but a friend pointed out a truly extraordinary coincidence to me:

The earthquake that caused the devastating tsunami occurred on December 26th.  The second earthquake in the same region (the one that occurred Monday) occurred on March 28th.

Thus, the two most recent major earthquakes occurred exactly one day after the two holiest holidays of the Christian calendar: Christmas and Easter.

Like I said, a strange coincidence...

Peace.
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 28 21:17:25 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 28 21:20:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Wolfowitz, the Bad Surprise
Message-ID: <BE6E24E5.1FAF6%michael@michaelbutler.com>



    Wolfowitz, the Bad Surprise
    By Esther Duflo
    Lib?ration

    Monday 28 March 2005

    It's practically certain that Paul Wolfowitz, the candidate proposed by
George W. Bush, will be approved by the World Bank's (WB) Board of Directors
next week and will become its new president.

    Wolfowitz's nomination has made many teeth grit, as much in Europe as
among intellectuals and the American left, right up to WB employees, who
console themselves by posting jokes on the Internet ("It will no longer be
necessary to prepare an action plan after signing a debt agreement with a
government: if an action plan wasn't necessary in Iraq, why would it be
anywhere else?"; "The WB's watchword will change
from: 'Our dream, a world without poverty' to 'Our dream, a world without
the poor ... we'll send them all to Guantanamo.'"). Joseph Stiglitz, Paul
Krugman and Jeffrey Sachs have all come out against this choice. In Europe,
an appeal launched by a group of economists, including Daniel Cohen, regrets
a choice that "at the very least, is contentious." The NGOs scream at the
provocation and developing countries worry.

    Wolfowitz, a former political science professor specializing in
international relations, is one of the "thinking heads" of American
neo-conservatives. At the end of the Cold War, with American preeminence
firmly established, the objective of foreign policy must be to maintain that
preeminence and seize all opportunities to consolidate it. Wolfowitz's
professional experience, consequently, does not make him an obvious
candidate for several reasons.

    The WB is a bank whose mission is, in part, to help developing countries
invest in profitable projects, even for very long terms. That presumes an
ability (and the will) of the organization to identify the most promising
projects in the perspective of long-lasting economic development. Wolfowitz
has neither an economist's training nor (unlike the departing president)
private sector experience. He acknowledges himself that he knows nothing
about Africa, undoubtedly the most important continent for the WB. His only
African experience was his support for American intervention in Somalia
during the Clinton presidency.

    Wolfowitz has in the past defended a more political vision of
international aid: aid is one of the tools in the arsenal available to the
United States to make, and keep, political friends. Europeans are not exempt
from such thoughts, and bilateral aid is highly politicized. It's precisely
for that reason that the WB has an essential role to play in a more rational
allocation of economic aid, one that takes into account the needs of the
developing countries rather than the ambitions of the rich countries.

    Even in the soothing statements Wolfowitz proliferates since the
announcement of his candidature, in which he insists on the importance of
these institutions, of transparency, of democracy, there are as many
references to the possibility of using the WB's aid as a lever to advance
"regime change."

    Now, with Wolfowitz at the head of the WB, these recommendations in
favor of regime change risk, whether rightly or wrongly, being seen as a
United States' maneuver to advance its own agenda. More generally, if the WB
is perceived as "the Americans' bank," WB advice may be received with even
more suspicion than is already the case today. Now the bank plays an
important role as advisor and also often serves as an alibi that allows
reforming governments to pass on difficult messages. Seen as an American
fifth column, the bank will go from alibi to rejection. If nothing changed
in WB practices, its effectiveness could, in consequence, be diminished.

    Nonetheless, the Europeans, who have the opportunity to vote against
Bush's choice on the Board (the new president needs 80% of votes and
Europeans hold 30%) are going to let it go, thus following a
well-established tradition according to which the WB president is chosen by
the Americans and the IMF president is chosen by Europeans. Since this pill
is particularly bitter, the Americans are helping it go down by promising
the WTO leadership to Pascal Lamy, and the replacement of the WB's present
number 2, a Chinese, with a European.

    Developing countries have no say in this horse-trading. It's not even
clear that a European veto would have led to a better choice: when Larry
Summers, then at Treasury, had opposed (probably with good
reason) his veto to Koch-Weiser's IMF candidacy, the replacement candidate
was still worse. Stanley Fischer, by far the best candidate for that job,
was never even considered because he is American. Americans have no monopoly
on bad candidates.

    Even if Wolfowitz were to turn out to be a "good surprise" as Schroeder
hopes, it's time to reform a system in which the president of an
organization supposedly representing 184 countries is elected in spite of
the contempt or the fear of the vast majority of them.
--------

    Esther Duflo is an economist, professor at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT).

 

    By Esther Duflo
    Lib?ration

    Monday 28 March 2005

    It's practically certain that Paul Wolfowitz, the candidate proposed by
George W. Bush, will be approved by the World Bank's (WB) Board of Directors
next week and will become its new president.

    Wolfowitz's nomination has made many teeth grit, as much in Europe as
among intellectuals and the American left, right up to WB employees, who
console themselves by posting jokes on the Internet ("It will no longer be
necessary to prepare an action plan after signing a debt agreement with a
government: if an action plan wasn't necessary in Iraq, why would it be
anywhere else?"; "The WB's watchword will change
from: 'Our dream, a world without poverty' to 'Our dream, a world without
the poor ... we'll send them all to Guantanamo.'"). Joseph Stiglitz, Paul
Krugman and Jeffrey Sachs have all come out against this choice. In Europe,
an appeal launched by a group of economists, including Daniel Cohen, regrets
a choice that "at the very least, is contentious." The NGOs scream at the
provocation and developing countries worry.

    Wolfowitz, a former political science professor specializing in
international relations, is one of the "thinking heads" of American
neo-conservatives. At the end of the Cold War, with American preeminence
firmly established, the objective of foreign policy must be to maintain that
preeminence and seize all opportunities to consolidate it. Wolfowitz's
professional experience, consequently, does not make him an obvious
candidate for several reasons.

    The WB is a bank whose mission is, in part, to help developing countries
invest in profitable projects, even for very long terms. That presumes an
ability (and the will) of the organization to identify the most promising
projects in the perspective of long-lasting economic development. Wolfowitz
has neither an economist's training nor (unlike the departing president)
private sector experience. He acknowledges himself that he knows nothing
about Africa, undoubtedly the most important continent for the WB. His only
African experience was his support for American intervention in Somalia
during the Clinton presidency.

    Wolfowitz has in the past defended a more political vision of
international aid: aid is one of the tools in the arsenal available to the
United States to make, and keep, political friends. Europeans are not exempt
from such thoughts, and bilateral aid is highly politicized. It's precisely
for that reason that the WB has an essential role to play in a more rational
allocation of economic aid, one that takes into account the needs of the
developing countries rather than the ambitions of the rich countries.

    Even in the soothing statements Wolfowitz proliferates since the
announcement of his candidature, in which he insists on the importance of
these institutions, of transparency, of democracy, there are as many
references to the possibility of using the WB's aid as a lever to advance
"regime change."

    Now, with Wolfowitz at the head of the WB, these recommendations in
favor of regime change risk, whether rightly or wrongly, being seen as a
United States' maneuver to advance its own agenda. More generally, if the WB
is perceived as "the Americans' bank," WB advice may be received with even
more suspicion than is already the case today. Now the bank plays an
important role as advisor and also often serves as an alibi that allows
reforming governments to pass on difficult messages. Seen as an American
fifth column, the bank will go from alibi to rejection. If nothing changed
in WB practices, its effectiveness could, in consequence, be diminished.

    Nonetheless, the Europeans, who have the opportunity to vote against
Bush's choice on the Board (the new president needs 80% of votes and
Europeans hold 30%) are going to let it go, thus following a
well-established tradition according to which the WB president is chosen by
the Americans and the IMF president is chosen by Europeans. Since this pill
is particularly bitter, the Americans are helping it go down by promising
the WTO leadership to Pascal Lamy, and the replacement of the WB's present
number 2, a Chinese, with a European.

    Developing countries have no say in this horse-trading. It's not even
clear that a European veto would have led to a better choice: when Larry
Summers, then at Treasury, had opposed (probably with good
reason) his veto to Koch-Weiser's IMF candidacy, the replacement candidate
was still worse. Stanley Fischer, by far the best candidate for that job,
was never even considered because he is American. Americans have no monopoly
on bad candidates.

    Even if Wolfowitz were to turn out to be a "good surprise" as Schroeder
hopes, it's time to reform a system in which the president of an
organization supposedly representing 184 countries is elected in spite of
the contempt or the fear of the vast majority of them.
--------

    Esther Duflo is an economist, professor at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT).

 

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 28 21:21:52 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 28 21:24:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Movement in the Pews Tries to Jolt Ohio
Message-ID: <BE6E25F0.1FAFA%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Movement in the Pews Tries to Jolt Ohio
    By James Dao
    The New York Times

    Sunday 27 March 2005

    
The Ohio secretary of state, J. Kenneth Blackwell, has the support of the
state's conservative church leaders.
(Photo: Greg Sailor / The New York Times)
    
    Columbus, Ohio - Christian conservative leaders from scores of Ohio's
fastest growing churches are mounting a campaign to win control of local
government posts and Republican organizations, starting with the 2006
governor's race.

    In a manifesto that is being circulated among church leaders and on the
Internet, the group, which is called the Ohio Restoration Project, is
planning to mobilize 2,000 evangelical, Baptist, Pentecostal and Roman
Catholic leaders in a network of so-called Patriot Pastors to register half
a million new voters, enlist activists, train candidates and endorse
conservative causes in the next year.

    The initial goal is to elect Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, a
conservative Republican, governor in 2006. The group hopes to build
grass-roots organizations in Ohio's 88 counties and take control of local
Republican organizations.

    "The establishment of the Ohio Republican Party is out of touch with its
base," said Russell Johnson, the pastor of the Fairfield Christian Church
and the principal organizer of the project. "It acts as if it lives in
Boston, Mass."

    Pastor Johnson's challenge to the party establishment could have
far-reaching consequences in a state dominated by Republican elected
officials but still considered a bellwether in presidential politics.
Conservatives in other swing states are watching closely.

    "In Ohio, the church is awakening to its historic role as the moral
voice in the community," said Colin A. Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring,
a conservative group based in Pennsylvania that trains ministers in
political activism. "Ohio is in the vanguard of that nationally. I very much
want Pennsylvania to be with them."

    The church leaders say they will try to harness the energy of religious
conservatives who were vital not only to Mr. Bush's narrow victory in Ohio
but also to passage of an amendment to the state constitution banning
same-sex marriage. The amendment, known as Issue 1, was credited with
drawing large numbers of rural and suburban conservatives to the polls and
increasing Mr. Bush's support among urban blacks.

    "We're calling people to act, not just wring their hands in the pews,"
said Rod Parsley, senior pastor of the World Harvest Church outside
Columbus, who is considered a rising star in the religious broadcasting
world and will be an inspirational speaker for the project. "We got people
motivated last year, and then the election was over. We don't want folks to
think our work is over."

    Republican officials are watching warily. The chairman of the state
party, Robert T. Bennett, warned that the decade-long dominance of his party
could be jeopardized if it was pushed too far to the right. "This is a party
of a big tent," Mr. Bennett said. "The far right cannot elect somebody by
itself, any more than somebody from the far left can."

    The conservatives point to the governor's race as an example of what
they consider wrong with the state Republican Party. Of the three Republican
candidates, only Mr. Blackwell has the solid support of religious
conservatives. Jim Petro, the attorney general, opposed the same-sex
marriage amendment on the grounds that it would invite litigation against
companies that provided domestic partner benefits. Betty D. Montgomery, the
state auditor, has supported some abortion rights.

    Gov. Bob Taft, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits,
allowed a sales tax increase to close a budget shortfall and opposed the
marriage amendment.

    "We're very confused that you have a Republican Party platform, and yet
people running for higher office pay no attention to it," said Phil Burress,
the leader of the Issue 1 campaign, who is also helping organize the
Restoration Project. "Why don't they just become Democrats?" he asked.

    [On March 22, Mr. Petro announced that his running mate for lieutenant
governor would be Phil Heimlich, a conservative from Cincinnati, and Ms.
Montgomery has asked for a meeting with Pastor Johnson. Conservatives said
that was evidence that the candidates recognized the churches' power.]

    "They understand what happens when 100,000 people committed to our views
are on the same page," Pastor Johnson said. "In their little political
gatherings and cocktail meetings at the country club, they can't build that
kind of loyalty. They can't spend millions to buy what our people will give
for free."

    In a three-way primary, many Republican leaders say, Mr. Blackwell has a
solid chance of winning because conservatives represent much of the party's
base. But moderates worry that he could alienate independent voters and lose
the general election. Some are discussing enlisting the White House to prod
Mr. Blackwell to quit the race.

    In a recent meeting of leaders from some of the state's largest
churches, many of them in booming Republican suburbs, the Restoration
Project issued a blueprint calling for Patriot Pastors to register 500,000
new voters by the May 2006 primary, then inform and energize them with voter
guides, rallies and so-called e-prayer networks on the Internet. The group
hopes to raise $1 million and is considering creating a political action
committee to provide direct donations to candidates.

    The project, which describes itself as nonpartisan and nonprofit, will
not endorse candidates. But Mr. Blackwell will be invited to speak to
pastoral meetings and to a statewide Ohio for Jesus rally next spring, along
with other prominent Christian conservatives like the Rev. Franklin Graham,
Dr. James Dobson and Charles Colson, the plan says.

    Democrats say they are buoyed by the insurgency of Mr. Blackwell. "He's
formidable in many ways, but he's the candidate we'd most like to run
against," said Greg Haas, a strategist for Michael Coleman, the mayor of
Columbus, who is seen as a favorite for the Democratic nomination.

    In an interview, Mr. Blackwell, who is black, said that Ohio had shifted
to the right and that he now represented mainstream voters. He also
predicted that he would draw black religious conservatives into the
Republican Party, breaking the Democrats' hold on urban precincts.

    "I think what's happening is we're seeing a struggle for the heart and
soul of the Republican Party," he said. "And that's healthy."

    Experts said that religious conservatives could bring energy to
campaigns, but that they had mixed results trying to win control of local
political organizations.

    "For short periods of time, they often had successes," said John C.
Green, a professor of political science at the University of Akron. "But it
was very difficult to sustain."

    Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of
Church and State, said the Restoration Project might have greater impact
because it was more homegrown and had ties to a wider array of denominations
than previous groups like the Moral Majority.

    "This represents a new wave in organizing on the part of conservative
evangelicals," Mr. Lynn said. "From my standpoint, as someone who doesn't
agree with their conclusions, this is a more dangerous model."

    Pastor Johnson says the project can sustain political energy. Among
conservative leaders, his church, which draws 2,500 regular Sunday
worshipers in a heavily Republican suburb of Columbus, is considered a model
for activism. In the last five years, a half dozen of its congregants have
been elected to local offices, including a judge, several Lancaster city
councilmen and the Fairfield County sheriff, Dave Phalen.

    Mr. Phalen said he was encouraged by church members to run for office in
2000, when the incumbent was under investigation for corruption.

    Sheriff Phalen's official letterhead now reads, "With God, all things
are possible."

    "These people turn out to vote," he said of Christian conservatives.
"They give money and will become active. And there will always be issues to
keep people mobilized."

 

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 28 21:23:48 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 28 21:26:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Democrats: MIA
Message-ID: <BE6E2664.1FAFC%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Democrats: MIA
    The Nation | Editorial

    11 April 2005 Issue

    After giving George W. Bush far too easy a ride in his first term, the
Democratic leadership in Congress promised that the second term was going to
be different. "This is not a dictatorship," announced Senate minority leader
Harry Reid. The new head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,
Illinois Representative Rahm Emanuel, declared, "The President neither has
the mandate he thinks he has nor a majority to make policy." But three
months of watching the Democrats' stumbling, often incoherent responses to
Administration appointments and initiatives shows clearly that the party is
making the same mistakes that cost it so dearly in the 2002 and 2004
elections.

    It's easy simply to blame the GOP majorities in the Senate and House
when bad legislation passes those chambers. But too frequently it has been
Democratic disorder rather than Republican treachery that has made possible
the Bush White House's legislative victories. That's what happened with the
mid-March Senate vote on a budget amendment that would have protected the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Seven Republican senators voted to protect
ANWR from oil drilling. Had the Democratic caucus simply held firm in
support of the amendment, it would have won by a 52-to-48 margin. But three
Democrats--Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Mary Landrieu of
Louisiana--broke ranks to back the Administration. All three had their
excuses, and if this had been the only bill on which Democrats failed to
hold together, it might not be a cause for serious concern. But this is
hardly an isolated example of Democrats doing the bidding of the President
and the special interests that support him.

    Consider the February Senate vote on tort "reform," another issue on
which Democrats are supposed to be the defenders of the common good against
the rapacious Republicans. The battle lines could not have been clearer:
Bush and his allies wanted to limit sharply the ability of citizens to file
class-action lawsuits against corporations that injure or defraud them. A
united Democratic opposition in the Senate could have mounted a populist
challenge that might well have won GOP allies for a fight to preserve the
sovereignty of state courts, which will be lost under the legislation.
Instead, Democrats helped give Bush the first major legislative victory of
his second term. Only twenty-six Senate Democrats opposed the proposal,
while eighteen--including serial compromisers Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh
and some who ought to know better, like Charles Schumer and Jay
Rockefeller--sided with the GOP. It was just as bad in the House, where
fifty Democrats--including Rahm ("no mandate") Emanuel--backed the bill,
handing Bush an easy win that provides momentum for an agenda that includes
proposals to restrict asbestos litigation and curb medical malpractice
suits.

    Even more disappointing was the mid-March vote on legislation designed
to make it harder for middle-class and poor Americans to declare personal
bankruptcy, leaving crooked companies like Enron free to declare bankruptcy
themselves and thus be protected from claims like those by employees who
lost their pensions. The vote on the measure, which had been blocked for
years by such progressive Democrats as the late Paul Wellstone and a timely
veto from then-President Bill Clinton, passed by an overwhelming 74-to-25
vote. Eighteen Democrats--including Reid and key players like Joseph Biden
of Delaware and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico--aligned themselves with the
President and the credit card companies that wrote and promoted the bill.

    Apologists for these egregious compromises would have us believe that
Democrats, as a minority party, have little leverage. But the Social
Security debate belies such claims; with Democrats sticking together against
privatization, it is the Republicans who have found themselves under
pressure to compromise. The same goes for the Democratic refusal to give
ground on ethics issues, which has done so much to increase pressure on
scandal-plagued House majority leader Tom DeLay. Unfortunately, shows of
solidarity on Social Security and ethics issues represent the exception
rather than the rule when it comes to checking and balancing the White House
and its Congressional allies. Again and again Democrats have failed the
basic tests of an opposition party. They couldn't muster the forty votes
needed to mount a Senate filibuster against Alberto Gonzales's nomination
for Attorney General, only twelve Democrats opposed the nomination of
Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State and none opposed the nomination of
Michael Chertoff to head the Department of Homeland Security, despite
concerns about Rice and Chertoff that were as troubling as those regarding
Gonzales's role in approving torture.

    House Democrats have been even less effective in their opposition than
their Senate colleagues. Despite polls showing that the vast majority of
Americans opposed federal intervention in the Terri Schiavo right-to-die
case, only fifty-three Democrats opposed DeLay's move to override Florida
state law and judicial rulings in a rush to satisfy the demands of the GOP's
most extreme constituencies. Only thirty-six opposed the Broadcast Decency
Enforcement Act, which Representative Jan Schakowsky correctly identified as
a move to "put Big Brother in charge of deciding what is art and what is
free speech." And just thirty-nine rejected the Administration's demand for
another $81.4 billion to maintain the occupation of Iraq and related
military misadventures.

    In 2002 and 2003 the Democrats tried the strategy of giving the
President blank checks for the invasion and occupation of Iraq and then
criticizing how the President spent them. That strategy cost the Democrats
any chance to frame the debate about the war and ultimately cost them at the
polls. But while some individual Democrats, like California Representative
Henry Waxman, have come to recognize the folly of such an approach, the
party as a whole continues to cede too much ground to the President--on Iraq
and on most other issues.

    Perhaps being shamed publicly, and being pressured by the grassroots,
will help Congressional Democrats get their act together. Toward that end,
we've initiated a biweekly "Minority/Majority" feature that identifies--by
name--Democrats who give succor to the GOP. (It also praises those who've
helped the cause of Democrats becoming the majority party again.) If
Democrats don't define themselves as an effective opposition soon, they
could end up being an ineffective one for a long time to come.

 

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon Mar 28 22:22:43 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon Mar 28 22:25:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Go to Original Follow the Money By Michael Hirsh 
	Newsweek Monday 04 April 2005 Issue Watchdogs are warning that
	corruption in Iraq is out of control. But will the United States join
	efforts to clamp down on it?      By many accounts,
	Custer Battles was a
	nightmare contractor in Iraq. The company's two principals,
	Mike Battles
	and Scott Custer, overcharged occupation authorities by millions of
	dollars, according to a complaint from two former employees. The firm
	double-billed for salaries and repainted the Iraqi Airways forklifts
	they found at Baghdad airport-which Custer Battles was contracted to
	secure-then leased them back to the U.S. government,
	the complaint says. In the fall of 2004,
	Deputy General Counsel Steven Shaw of the Air Force
	asked that the firm be banned from future U.S. contracts,
	saying Custer
	Battles had also "created sham companies, whereby [it] fraudulently
	increased profits by inflating its claimed costs." An Army inspector
	general, Col. Richard Ballard,
	concluded as early as November 2003 that
	the security outfit was incompetent and refused to obey Joint Task
	Force 7 orders: "What we saw horrified us,
	" Ballard wrote to his superiors in an
	e-mail obtained by NEWSWEEK. Yet when the two whistle-blowers sued
	Custer Battles on behalf of the U.S. government-under a U.S. law
	intended
	to punish war profiteering and fraud-the Bush administration declined
	to
	take part. "The government has not lifted a finger to get back the
	$50 million Custer Battles defrauded it of, " says Alan Grayson,
	a lawyer for the two whistle-blowers,
	Pete Baldwin and Robert Isakson. In recent months
	the judge in the case, T. S. Ellis III of the U.S. District Court in
	Virginia, has twice invited the Justice Department to join the lawsuit
	without response. Even an administration ally, Sen. Charles Grassley, 
	demanded to know in a Feb. 17 letter to Attorney General Alberto
	Gonzales
	why the government wasn't backing up the lawsuit. Because this is a
	"seminal" case-the first to be unsealed against an Iraq
	contractor-"billions of taxpayer dollars are at stake" based on the
	precedent it could set, the Iowa Republican said.      Why hasn't the
	administration joined the case? It has argued privately that the
	occupation government, known as the Coalition Provisional Authority,
	was a multinational institution,
	not an arm of the U.S. government. So the U.S.
	government was not technically defrauded. Lawyers for the
	whistle-blowers
	point out, however, that President George W. Bush signed a 2003 law
	authorizing $18.7 billion to go to U.S. authorities in Iraq,
	including the CPA,
	"as an entity of the United States government." And several contracts
	with Custer Battles refer to the other party as "the United States of
	America." Pressure has been building on the administration to join
	the case-or at least to file a brief saying publicly if it believes
	defrauding
	the CPA is the same as defrauding the United States. The judge's
	latest
	deadline for that brief is this Friday. But a Justice Department
	spokesman
	said last week the government "could" still refuse to take part.
	"I'll bet you $50 they will not show up, " says Richard Sauber,
	a lawyer for Custer Battles,
	which is still operating in Iraq. (He also rejects the charges of
	fraud and incompetence.) The administration's reluctance to prosecute
	has turned the Iraq occupation into a "free-fraud zone,
	" says former CPA
	senior adviser Franklin Willis. After the fall of Baghdad,
	there was no
	Iraqi law because Saddam Hussein's regime was dead. But if no U.S.
	law applied either, then everything was permissible,
	says Willis. The former
	CPA official compares Iraq to the "Wild West,
	" saying he delivered one $2
	million payment to Custer Battles in bricks of cash. ("We called Mike
	Battles in and said, 'Bring a bag',
	" Willis told Congress in February.)
	Willis and other critics worry that with just $4.1 billion of the
	$18.7
	billion spent so far, the U.S. legal stance will open the door to much
	more fraud in the future. "If urgent steps are not taken,
	Iraq ... will
	become the biggest corruption scandal in history," warned the
	anti-corruption group Transparency International in a recent report.
	Grassley adds that if the government decides the False Claims Act
	doesn't
	apply to Iraq, "any recovery for fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer
	dollars ... would be prohibited." More than U.S. money is at stake.
	The administration has harshly criticized the United Nations over
	hundreds
	of millions stolen from the Oil-for-Food Program under Saddam. But
	the
	successor to Oil-for-Food created under the occupation, called the
	Development Fund for Iraq,
	could involve billions of potentially misused
	dollars. On Jan. 30, the former CPA's own inspector general,
	Stuart Bowen, 
	concluded that occupation authorities accounted poorly for $8.8
	billion in
	these Iraqi funds. "The CPA did not implement adequate financial
	controls, " Bowen said. U.S. officials argue that it was impossible,
	in a war environment,
	to have such controls. Yet now the Bush administration is
	either ignoring or stalling inquiries into the use of these Iraqi oil
	funds, according to reports by Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman,
	and others.  
	In one case, the Pentagon's own Defense Contract Audit Agency found
	that the leading U.S. contractor in Iraq, Halliburton subsidiary KBR, 
	overcharged Iraq occupation authorities by $108 million for a task
	order
	to deliver fuel. Yet the Pentagon permitted KBR to redact-or black
	out-almost all negative references to the company in this Oct. 8, 2004,
	audit. These included any mention of the $108 million in alleged
	overcharges and the audit's clear conclusion that KBR's
	price-supporting
	data were "not adequate." The Defense Department then forwarded this
	censored version to a U.N. monitoring board that Washington had
	agreed to
	under U.N. Resolution 1483. Normally, an audited company is allowed to
	censor its proprietary or personal information,
	but "these redactions went
	beyond anything U.S. law would allow, " says Tom Susman, a Washington
	expert. Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall insists that the company
	had the right to make such redactions because the audit was
	"predecisional"
	and "represented only one side of the case." Hall also denies the
	company overcharged.      The U.N. audit team,
	called the International Advisory
	and Monitoring Board, is angry over these heavily censored reports,
	officials tell NEWSWEEK. The board last fall asked that a special
	auditor
	be hired. But the Pentagon has yet to award that contract after six
	months
	of delays. A Pentagon spokeswoman says the U.N. audit team "agreed
	that
	the [KBR] information provided was responsive to their request." A
	U.N.
	spokesman says this is untrue.      The administration's seemingly
	detached approach to these cases could have other implications.
	NEWSWEEK
	has learned that federal prosecutors plan to indict several U.S.
	contractors in Iraq on criminal charges but that these could be
	undercut
	if the court rules in the Custer Battles case that the CPA was not a
	U.S. government arm. "If you make the CPA a U.S. entity,
	you open the door to
	all sorts of liability claims. But if it's not a U.S. entity, then you
	can't parade these people through the court,
	" says Jim Mitchell of the CPA
	inspector general's office. And that could mean Custer Battles and
	other companies will ultimately answer to no one.    
Message-ID: <BE6E3433.1FB04%michael@michaelbutler.com>



    Follow the Money
    By Michael Hirsh
    Newsweek

    Monday 04 April 2005 Issue

    Watchdogs are warning that corruption in Iraq is out of control. But
will the United States join efforts to clamp down on it?

    By many accounts, Custer Battles was a nightmare contractor in Iraq. The
company's two principals, Mike Battles and Scott Custer, overcharged
occupation authorities by millions of dollars, according to a complaint from
two former employees. The firm double-billed for salaries and repainted the
Iraqi Airways forklifts they found at Baghdad airport-which Custer Battles
was contracted to secure-then leased them back to the U.S. government, the
complaint says. In the fall of 2004, Deputy General Counsel Steven Shaw of
the Air Force asked that the firm be banned from future U.S. contracts,
saying Custer Battles had also "created sham companies, whereby [it]
fraudulently increased profits by inflating its claimed costs." An Army
inspector general, Col. Richard Ballard, concluded as early as November 2003
that the security outfit was incompetent and refused to obey Joint Task
Force 7 orders: "What we saw horrified us," Ballard wrote to his superiors
in an e-mail obtained by NEWSWEEK.

    Yet when the two whistle-blowers sued Custer Battles on behalf of the
U.S. government-under a U.S. law intended to punish war profiteering and
fraud-the Bush administration declined to take part. "The government has not
lifted a finger to get back the $50 million Custer Battles defrauded it of,"
says Alan Grayson, a lawyer for the two whistle-blowers, Pete Baldwin and
Robert Isakson. In recent months the judge in the case, T. S. Ellis III of
the U.S. District Court in Virginia, has twice invited the Justice
Department to join the lawsuit without response. Even an administration
ally, Sen. Charles Grassley, demanded to know in a Feb. 17 letter to
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales why the government wasn't backing up the
lawsuit. Because this is a "seminal" case-the first to be unsealed against
an Iraq contractor-"billions of taxpayer dollars are at stake" based on the
precedent it could set, the Iowa Republican said.

    Why hasn't the administration joined the case? It has argued privately
that the occupation government, known as the Coalition Provisional
Authority, was a multinational institution, not an arm of the U.S.
government. So the U.S. government was not technically defrauded. Lawyers
for the whistle-blowers point out, however, that President George W. Bush
signed a 2003 law authorizing $18.7 billion to go to U.S. authorities in
Iraq, including the CPA, "as an entity of the United States government." And
several contracts with Custer Battles refer to the other party as "the
United States of America." Pressure has been building on the administration
to join the case-or at least to file a brief saying publicly if it believes
defrauding the CPA is the same as defrauding the United States. The judge's
latest deadline for that brief is this Friday. But a Justice Department
spokesman said last week the government "could" still refuse to take part.
"I'll bet you $50 they will not show up," says Richard Sauber, a lawyer for
Custer Battles, which is still operating in Iraq. (He also rejects the
charges of fraud and incompetence.)

    The administration's reluctance to prosecute has turned the Iraq
occupation into a "free-fraud zone," says former CPA senior adviser Franklin
Willis. After the fall of Baghdad, there was no Iraqi law because Saddam
Hussein's regime was dead. But if no U.S. law applied either, then
everything was permissible, says Willis. The former CPA official compares
Iraq to the "Wild West," saying he delivered one $2 million payment to
Custer Battles in bricks of cash. ("We called Mike Battles in and said,
'Bring a bag'," Willis told Congress in February.) Willis and other critics
worry that with just $4.1 billion of the $18.7 billion spent so far, the
U.S. legal stance will open the door to much more fraud in the future. "If
urgent steps are not taken, Iraq ... will become the biggest corruption
scandal in history," warned the anti-corruption group Transparency
International in a recent report. Grassley adds that if the government
decides the False Claims Act doesn't apply to Iraq, "any recovery for fraud,
waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars ... would be prohibited."

    More than U.S. money is at stake. The administration has harshly
criticized the United Nations over hundreds of millions stolen from the
Oil-for-Food Program under Saddam. But the successor to Oil-for-Food created
under the occupation, called the Development Fund for Iraq, could involve
billions of potentially misused dollars. On Jan. 30, the former CPA's own
inspector general, Stuart Bowen, concluded that occupation authorities
accounted poorly for $8.8 billion in these Iraqi funds. "The CPA did not
implement adequate financial controls," Bowen said. U.S. officials argue
that it was impossible, in a war environment, to have such controls. Yet now
the Bush administration is either ignoring or stalling inquiries into the
use of these Iraqi oil funds, according to reports by Democratic Rep. Henry
Waxman, and others.

    In one case, the Pentagon's own Defense Contract Audit Agency found that
the leading U.S. contractor in Iraq, Halliburton subsidiary KBR, overcharged
Iraq occupation authorities by $108 million for a task order to deliver
fuel. Yet the Pentagon permitted KBR to redact-or black out-almost all
negative references to the company in this Oct. 8, 2004, audit. These
included any mention of the $108 million in alleged overcharges and the
audit's clear conclusion that KBR's price-supporting data were "not
adequate." The Defense Department then forwarded this censored version to a
U.N. monitoring board that Washington had agreed to under U.N. Resolution
1483. Normally, an audited company is allowed to censor its proprietary or
personal information, but "these redactions went beyond anything U.S. law
would allow," says Tom Susman, a Washington expert. Halliburton spokeswoman
Wendy Hall insists that the company had the right to make such redactions
because the audit was "predecisional" and "represented only one side of the
case." Hall also denies the company overcharged.

    The U.N. audit team, called the International Advisory and Monitoring
Board, is angry over these heavily censored reports, officials tell
NEWSWEEK. The board last fall asked that a special auditor be hired. But the
Pentagon has yet to award that contract after six months of delays. A
Pentagon spokeswoman says the U.N. audit team "agreed that the [KBR]
information provided was responsive to their request." A U.N. spokesman says
this is untrue.

    The administration's seemingly detached approach to these cases could
have other implications. NEWSWEEK has learned that federal prosecutors plan
to indict several U.S. contractors in Iraq on criminal charges but that
these could be undercut if the court rules in the Custer Battles case that
the CPA was not a U.S. government arm. "If you make the CPA a U.S. entity,
you open the door to all sorts of liability claims. But if it's not a U.S.
entity, then you can't parade these people through the court," says Jim
Mitchell of the CPA inspector general's office. And that could mean Custer
Battles and other companies will ultimately answer to no one.

 


From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 29 03:19:53 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 29 03:22:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7586729.1112095193827.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Hundreds Die in Indonesia After Undersea Earthquake
 
 By Ellen Nakashima
 
  MEDAN, Indonesia, March 29  --  A major underwater earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island late Monday, killing hundreds of people and crushing buildings on a nearby resort island, according to Indonesian police.
 
  Panicking residents raced to higher ground from the shoreline in Sumatra, fearing that a tsunami would be generated. A larger earthquake in the same region on Dec. 26 produced a tsunami that killed an estimated 280,000 people in eleven countries around the Indian Ocean. Tsunami warnings blared in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, which were hit in December, but no killer waves were produced.
 
 The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.7, triggered fires and devastated portions of Nias Island, a popular surfing destination 45 miles from the epicenter and 75 miles off the western coast of Sumatra. It ranks among the 10 biggest quakes since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. 
 
 Raymond Laia, a Catholic priest in the Nias town of Gunungsitoli, reported that a large fire was raging early Tuesday, according to the Missionary Service News Agency.
 
 "From the window I see very high flames," the agency quoted Laia as saying. He spoke by telephone about two miles from the town center.
 
 In Jakarta, about 800 miles to the southeast, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday he would fly to the stricken island. Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in a radio interview that the death toll on Nias could be between 1,000 and 2,000. He said he based his estimate on reports that 70 percent of buildings in the town had collapsed, rather than on confirmed deaths. 
 
  Indonesia's disaster center estimated Tuesday that about 1,000 people were killed on Nias, the Reuters news agency reported.
 
 Police in Gunungsitoli also reported destruction and death. "About the victims, we cannot count them now," said Zulkifly Sirait, a police sergeant quoted by the Reuters news agency. "We only know there are many buildings flattened." 
 
 Nias, with a population of more than 600,000, was hit hard in the earlier quake, with 340 people reported killed and 10,000 left homeless.
 
  Another police officer quoted by the Associated Press said rescuers were trying to pull people out of the rubble and that many were still panicking because of continuing aftershocks.
 
  "We are busy now trying to pull people or bodies of children from the collapsed building," said the officer, Nainggolan, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. "It is very hard also because there is no power."
 
  "The situation here is really messy," he said. "Aftershocks keep hitting every half hour, making thousands of people flee their homes and afraid to go home."
 
 "It was a very violent earthquake," said Jonathan Evans, the Indonesia country director for Catholic Relief Services who was in Medan at the time. Evans said his group was still trying to charter an aircraft to take emergency equipment to Nias and evacuate the wounded. "We've gotten reports of serious loss of life and very damaged buildings in Gunungsitoli," he said in a telephone interview.
 
 "People haven't rebuilt their lives from the last one; this is such a body blow for everyone living there," said Jude Barrand, of SurfAid International, a non-profit group providing tsunami relief to islands off the western coast of Sumatra, including Nias.
 
 "We're getting reports that on the islands it may worse than December in terms of loss of life and infrastructure," Barrand said in a telephone interview from the Sumatran town of Padang. She said SurfAid, which was organized by surfers in 2000, was preparing a barge to take relief supplies to Nias and other nearby islands.
 
 In Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on Sumatra, people reported tremors that lasted several minutes and said power was lost for about 10 minutes. At least 106,000 people were killed in Aceh in the December tsunami.
 
  Residents said they had been instructed in recent community briefings to seek higher ground if they felt a large earthquake. "If things happen, we have to leave," said Iwan, a security guard at a house in downtown Aceh who was reached by cell phone.
 
  Refugees who still live in tents and temporary housing streamed along darkened Banda Aceh streets clogged with cars and motorbikes and fled to higher ground. Some cried and clutched children in their arms. Others sought shelter in mosques, which proved resistant in December when the ocean surged ashore.
 
  "Where can I go? You can't outrun a tsunami," called out one man rushing into a mosque, the Associated Press reported. 
 
  The Monday quake "was the biggest I've ever felt," said Helene Barnes, regional manager for Asia and Pacific for Fauna & Flora International, an environmental group. But she said that no houses appeared to have collapsed in her area and that her colleagues in Calang on the western coast of Sumatra had reported no damage.
 
  "Here in Banda Aceh, there have been a lot of people panicking. A lot of people running and walking and driving from the sea. It's not an organized evacuation, but lots of people were moving. I can hear lots more vehicles than normal," she said.
 
 At 1:45 a.m., Indonesian Metro TV broadcast footage of a man with a megaphone shouting in Indonesian on the streets of Banda Aceh. "The situation has returned to normal," he announced. "The water is not rising. So you can all go back to your homes." 
 
 Governments in other countries issued warnings based on the possibility of a tsunami because of the quake's intensity.
 
 Indian officials activated a disaster program early Tuesday and issued an advisory for eight coastal states, citing the "possibility of this earthquake triggering a tsunami." Dhirendra Singh, a Home Ministry official, said precautions were needed for six to eight hours after the quake. The advisories were dropped Tuesday morning when no tsunami developed. 
 
 While officials in Indian Ocean nations have discussed a satellite-based tsunami warning network, it has not yet been implemented. "Our biggest preparation is that there are no people on the coast," said Shivraj Patil, India's home minister. "We are asking people not to panic, but at the same time to be vigilant. Every earthquake does not convert into a tsunami."
 
 Public address systems in the southern state of Tamil Nadu issued alerts and warned some coastal residents to move inland as a precaution. At Port Blair, in India's Andaman and Nicobar archipelago off the coasts of Thailand and Burma, officials said sea levels had not changed. Portions of the islands were devastated in the December tsunami.
 
  Sri Lankan officials also held emergency meetings and broadcast warnings. Indian television reported incidents of panic along the Sri Lankan coast, with people fleeing their houses. Two people were reportedly killed in Sri Lanka during a panicky evacuation from the coast in a Tamil rebel-held area, the Associated Press reported.
 
 In Thailand, officials issued advisories for southern regions where an estimated 5,300 people died in the December tsunami. "Please evacuate to higher places now," said Samith Dhammasaroj, a senior Thai official, in a radio broadcast. 
 
  Six Thai provinces were given evacuation orders, including Phuket island, a tourist location that had been luring visitors back with bargains.
 
 Special correspondent Rama Lakshmi in New Delhi and Yayu Yuniar in Medan contributed to this report.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 29 03:21:56 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 29 03:24:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32077585.1112095316977.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Conservative, Liberal, Principled
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
   Liberals have so little respect for conservatives these days that people on the left are genuinely astonished when people on the right have principled disagreements with each other. The left assumes the right marches in lock step under orders from the White House.
 
  Conservatives have so little respect for liberals that they see every liberal action as inspired by hatred of President Bush, opposition to religion and contempt for people in "the heartland."
 
  The paradoxical result of this mutual contempt is that each side is simultaneously underestimated and overestimated. As a result, current political arrangements are seen as permanent and the possibilities of political change are missed  --  even when change is in the process of happening.
 
  The right is widely assumed to have more coherence and discipline than it does. That means its dominance in our politics is exaggerated while its intellectual energy is insufficiently appreciated. Few outside its ranks acknowledge how many philosophical streams feed the conservative movement.
 
  The left is widely assumed to be in a state of a perpetual disarray, inspired mostly by knee-jerk responses such as "political correctness" or "radical secularism." For at least a decade now, conservatives have gleefully called their political foes "reactionary liberals" whose main task, they say, is the preservation of a New Deal-Great Society status quo. Since the 2004 election gave narrow but firm control of Washington's two elected branches of government to a Republican Party committed to conservatism, the dominant political narrative has highlighted the right's effectiveness and the left's fecklessness.
 
  Yet the liberals' opposition to many of Bush's policies  --  in particular his Social Security program and his tax cuts for the wealthy  --  cannot be dismissed as a blind rejection of whatever this controversial president proposes. If there is a principle that unites the left side of the political spectrum, it is a belief that an energetic government can effectively use progressive taxation to insure the poor, the unlucky and the elderly against undue hardship. Bush's embrace of the partial privatization of Social Security has thus united liberals and created a sense of momentum unusual for the left during the Bush years.
 
  For all these reasons, the split among conservatives over the Terri Schiavo case and Bush's difficulties in selling his Social Security plan should not have been surprising. Schiavo's tragedy has underscored the delicate intellectual balancing act involved in holding conservatism together. The bill to force Schiavo's case into federal court in the hope of overturning decisions by state judges and forcing reinsertion of her feeding tube was bound to lead to a confrontation among different kinds of principled conservatives. An ancient and often religiously rooted commitment to the inviolability of life crashed head-on into the commitment of one brand of conservatism to state and local control and a more libertarian brand's wariness of government meddling in private decisions. Even Bush, the most skilled mediator among conservative factions since Ronald Reagan, has been unable to keep peace on the right in this instance.
 
  The privatization debate has not only strengthened the left. It also brought the economically libertarian, market-oriented faction of the right front and center, to the discomfort of many traditionalist conservatives.
 
  The traditionalists' main concern is the preservation of traditional values, including family values, and Social Security violates none of these. Indeed, Gary Bauer, a leading social conservative, argued in 1997 that Social Security "provides special compensations for couples who devote themselves to rearing children during their active years." In a New York Times article opposing privatization, Bauer asked: "Why do we think the nation will be better off by forcing workers to put their money into stock rather than, say, spending it on rearing children?" It's hard to imagine a more thoroughly conservative critique of privatization.
 
  It would be premature to predict that the rise of new issues in the first quarter of 2005 marks the beginning of a "conservative crack-up," a phrase invoked by conservative writer R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. to describe an earlier period of conservative malaise. The Bush administration has been unusually successful in managing the nation's political agenda and has regularly succeeded in uniting its own camp and dividing liberals by pushing the issues of terrorism and national security to the fore.
 
  But even the most skilled politicians can be severely tested when their political task requires asking principled constituencies to preserve party unity by ignoring their most serious commitments. Political conservatism is alive and interesting, and therefore difficult to manage. Bush made the conservative balancing act look easy during his first four years. That does not mean it will stay that way.
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 29 03:23:59 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 29 03:26:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7610756.1112095439877.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 We Could Breathe Easier
 
 By Richard A. Falkenrath
 
  The basic strategy al Qaeda used on Sept. 11, 2001, was to strike a common, poorly secured commercial system in a way that would cause catastrophic secondary effects. The terrorists did a better job of identifying the vulnerability associated with fully fueled commercial airliners than the government did  --  and they exploited this vulnerability to terrible effect. Now, because of the work of the Transportation Security Administration, commercial aircraft in the United States are all but impossible to hijack.
 
  But the terrorist is an adaptive enemy. One central question in homeland security is whether terrorists will again locate a catastrophic civilian vulnerability before the government gets around to addressing it.
 
  There are an infinite number of potential targets in America that, if attacked, could result in hundreds of civilian casualties. The number of potential targets that could result in thousands of civilian casualties is, however, finite and knowable. In the federal government, the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for identifying these potentially catastrophic targets, analyzing their security schemes and taking action if the security arrangements are  deficient. 
 
  It is in general a bad idea to call attention to America's most serious civilian vulnerabilities. Government officials should never do so and should not be asked to. Private citizens should do so with care, and only when the government fails to act.
 
  Of the all the various remaining civilian vulnerabilities, one stands alone as uniquely deadly, pervasive and susceptible to terrorist attack: industrial chemicals that are toxic when inhaled, such as chlorine, ammonia, phosgene, methyl bromide, and hydrochloric and various other acids. These chemicals, several of which are identical to those used as weapons on the Western Front during World War I, are routinely shipped through and stored near population centers in vast quantities, in many cases with no security whatsoever.
 
  A cleverly designed terrorist attack against such a chemical target would be no more difficult to perpetrate than were the Sept. 11 attacks. The loss of life could easily equal that which occurred on Sept. 11  --  and might even exceed it. I am aware of no other category of potential terrorist targets that presents as great a danger as toxic industrial chemicals.
 
  The federal government has the authority to regulate the security of chemicals as they are being transported on roads, railways and waterways. With only one minor exception, the administration has not exercised this authority in any substantial way since Sept. 11.  There has been no meaningful improvement in the security of these chemicals moving through our population centers.
 
  In a desperate step, the D.C. council recently voted to ban hazardous material shipments through downtown Washington. This ordinance is clearly good for Washington, but it is bad for the other parts of the country that will absorb the diverted chemical loads. Furthermore, its economic burden falls principally on CSX Corp., the company that owns the two rail lines through downtown Washington. CSX is suing to block implementation of the ordinance. The federal government is supporting CSX's effort, an awkward position for a security-conscious administration that has so far failed to mandate a systematic, nationwide reduction in the vulnerability of this sector. 
 
 The administration can and should act immediately to enhance the security of toxic chemicals in transit nationwide; no new legislation is required. Specifically, the departments of Homeland Security and Transportation should promulgate regulations that will, over time, require chemical shippers to track the movement of all hazardous chemicals electronically; to report this data to DHS in real time; to use fingerprint-based access controls for all chemical conveyances; to adopt container signs that do not reveal the contents to most observers; to perform rigorous background checks on all employees; to strengthen the physical resilience of chemical containers; to reduce chemical loads; to ship  decoy containers alongside filled containers; and to install perimeter security at loading and switching stations. Violators should suffer harsh civil and criminal penalties. 
 
  But the federal government does not have authority to regulate the security measures inside chemical plants and storage facilities. President Bush has twice called on Congress to pass legislation granting the Department of Homeland Security this authority. The 108th Congress declined to do so. It is often alleged  --  incorrectly  --  that lobbying by the chemical industry was behind Congress's inaction. The real reasons had to do with the full agendas of the committees involved;  the administration's competing legislative priorities; and the obscure, esoteric and theoretical nature of the issue.
 
  The voluntary security enhancements many of the larger chemical firms have implemented  --  in some cases with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security  --  are a step in the right direction but are insufficient. Congress should promptly grant powerful authority to regulate chemical-plant security to that department as the president has requested.
 
  There is no silver bullet to improving the security of chemicals that are toxic when inhaled. A layered, nationwide approach is required. It is right and proper for the government to require industries to take on the security costs of their activities. The immediate cost of these regulations would be borne by the chemical industry. Over time, costs would be passed on to consumers, and the market would adjust to a new, more socially responsible equilibrium. The real losers would be al Qaeda and its successors.
 
  The writer was deputy homeland security adviser to President Bush until May 2004. He is now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and senior director of the Civitas Group, an advisory and investment services firm serving the homeland and national security markets.
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue Mar 29 03:24:50 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Mar 29 03:27:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <31627148.1112095490137.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Russian Politics, Playing With Fuhrer
 
 By Masha Lipman
 
   
 
 Sergei Mironov, speaker of the Russian upper house, was talking recently about the "real threat of a fascist putsch in Russia"  --  "a new fuhrer with fascist-type, nationalist ideology" emerging in the 2008 presidential campaign.
 
  But while it would seem that so grave a danger calls for urgent and resolute action, Mironov sounded vague and nerveless about what should be done. Perhaps, he mused, the looming threat would simply impel the Russian people to ask President Vladimir Putin "to stay, not to leave" in 2008, when his constitutional term expires.
 
  The idea that the Kremlin might use the risk of a nationalist takeover  as a justification for scrapping the election and extending Putin's tenure is but one of several 2008 scenarios thought to be circulating in that body. It's telling that the one scenario missing from the political rumor mill and analysts' forecasts is a democratic transfer of presidential authority, something that has never occurred in Russia.
 
  As in any "soft" authoritarian regime, the prospect of yielding power to a political rival is unacceptable to the ruling elite. Putin presides over a political system in which state power is basically usurped by the administration. Other branches of government are reduced to mere decoration, and decision making is confined within the Kremlin walls.
 
 Laws and courts are bent to fit the needs of the regime. In addition, the new Putin elite has increasingly gained control over huge chunks of Russia's resources, the most striking example being the destruction of the oil company Yukos, followed by the sale of its best asset in a farcical auction and its prompt resale to a state-run company controlled by Putin's top aide. Big power and big property have become so closely entangled in Putin's Russia that a change of supreme authority would be bound to result in a new round of property redistribution, stripping those in the Kremlin's inner circle and their clients of their gains. The example of Ukraine's former president, Leonid Kuchma, provides a horrible prospect for Russia's ruling elite: Kuchma failed to preserve the status quo, and now he may be facing legal action at the hands of his political rivals.
 
  Hence the urgency of "the challenge of 2008," as the effort to preserve the political status quo has been called in political circles.
 
  Rumors have it that the Kremlin may attempt a replay of the anointment that propelled Putin to power in 2000, or that it might consider a change in the constitution that would provide for a transition to a parliamentary system, with Putin assuming the role of an all-powerful prime minister and leaving the now-powerless presidency to a trusted puppet. Whatever scenario the Kremlin might opt for, it is not at all sure that it would be able to handle it without provoking a political crisis.
 
  Capitalizing on the nationalist threat appears to be especially destabilizing. Nationalism and xenophobia are not invented dangers but very real ones. Ethnic violence and even the murder of non-Russians  --  ranging from Tajik children to African diplomats  --  have become almost routine on the streets of Moscow and other cities. Nationalist literature is abundant in respectable Moscow bookstores. In the polls, an increasing number of Russians support ideas such as "Russia is for Russians." Young people are more likely than older ones to share the view that "ethnic minorities have too much power in our country." Overall, more people accept this idea than reject it.
 
  Putin's policies have played a large role in the rise of ethnic bias and hatred. The ongoing, atrocious war in Chechnya has had a brutalizing effect on those who have served in it (about 1 million altogether in the past decade) and on the nation as a whole. Putin and his aides have stirred the besieged-fortress mentality by resorting to militant, Soviet-style rhetoric and implying that the West is seeking to harm Russia. A raving nationalist journalist is granted prime time on television and radio professing extreme anti-Western views to the broad public. Almost invariably the police respond to ethnic violence by denying the ethnic element in it and qualifying such crimes as "mere hooliganism."
 
  Rather than taking drastic measures to curb the nationalist threat, the Kremlin opts for a policy of using it to its own advantage: Such a threat is a sure justification for tough policies. Even the squeamish West is unlikely to insist that democratic procedures be observed if there's real risk of a fascist lunatic emerging as the leader of a nuclear state. Putin or one of his trusted men may come to be regarded as acceptably benign compared with a "fuhrer."
 
  Before the parliamentary election of 2003 the Kremlin masterminded creation of a nationalist party, Rodina, headed by Dmitry Rogozin. Rodina drew the nationalist vote, but it did even better than the Kremlin had expected, and today it is on the rise. To what extent Rogozin himself is controlled by the Kremlin  --  or whether he'll be able to keep control of the sentiments and impulses of his constituency  --  is an open question. In seeking to ensure the survival of the current political elite, the Kremlin is engaged in a highly dangerous game.
 
 Masha Lipman, editor of the Carnegie Moscow Center's Pro et Contra journal, writes a monthly column for The Post.
 
  
 
   

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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue Mar 29 04:15:20 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue Mar 29 04:36:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Movement in the Pews Tries to Jolt Ohio
Message-ID: <000701c53458$fbb47040$4b25b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Movement in the Pews Tries to Jolt Ohio


*snip*

======
    "This represents a new wave in organizing on the part of conservative
evangelicals," Mr. Lynn said. "From my standpoint, as someone who doesn't
agree with their conclusions, this is a more dangerous model."

    Pastor Johnson says the project can sustain political energy. Among
conservative leaders, his church, which draws 2,500 regular Sunday
worshipers in a heavily Republican suburb of Columbus, is considered a model
for activism. In the last five years, a half dozen of its congregants have
been elected to local offices, including a judge, several Lancaster city
councilmen and the Fairfield County sheriff, Dave Phalen.

    Mr. Phalen said he was encouraged by church members to run for office in
2000, when the incumbent was under investigation for corruption.

    Sheriff Phalen's official letterhead now reads, "With God, all things
are possible."

    "These people turn out to vote," he said of Christian conservatives.
"They give money and will become active. And there will always be issues to
keep people mobilized."
========





My comments...  This is not just Ohio.  I'll simply relate my little story
here then be on my way.  There is a guy here in my little town, nice guy, I
like him, I guess.  He appears rather likeable.  Been here about 3 years or
something.  I met him, eventually, after I tried to get all the biblical
verses white signs that had been planted all around this town one day at
least moved off of Public property back into people's yards, with the
argument that not only was not everyone in this town a "Jesus Christ and
Judeo-Christianic" fan, but that if they put the signs on Public property, I
should also be able to put up sayings on Public property from Allah, Buddha,
Krishna, Jimi Hendrix, Whomever, I pay for that property, how is it possible
that "Jesus freaks" are able to utilize it to put up 3 feet wide signs with
biblical verses on them and I am not... etc.

Anyways....  I went to the City.  I talked to the mayor.  He referred me to
the new city manager.  The new city manager kept asking me questions
indicating that I must be a "wacko with a psychological problem" if I wanted
to do anything with those signs in the first place.  The city manager has
been here less than a year, I've lived here about a half of century, I know
all the wackos in town already, I don't think I'm one, at least not yet.

The city manager indignantly referred me to the city lawyer, actually the
lawyer for the city is now also the lawyer for the county, which makes
litigation by one against the other quite interesting these days.  Anyway,
the city/county lawyer put me off and put me off, asked me questions also
indicating that maybe I was a "wacko with a psychological problem", and like
the city manager, asked me also what was my "motive" for wanting the signs
removed from Public property (on every streetcorner they could put them on)
and moved back a couple of feet back on to Private property, the yards of
the people who allow them to remain in the front of their homes.

I told him, as I told the city manager, that my "motive" was that it was The
Law.  And that if I could not put up signs on Public property advertising
whatever religion, cause, or philosophy that *I* wanted to, then nobody else
should be able to either.  At least to me, pure legal logic.

It didn't make a dent.  He told me he would have his secretary look into all
the Laws about it and get back to me.  That was 2 or 3 years ago.  The signs
still remain everywhere scattered across this little town.  They have also
made up little bitty signs that can be easily nailed to a telephone pole,
which they nail them up all over town, which state things like "Repent, or
burn in Hell forever".

Anyway, the man who put up the signs, obviously a "religious" one.  I was
having a conversation with him once and he stated something like "Well, yes,
I'm a Christian", "Ok", I replied, "But I'm a right wing Christian", "Ok",
"But I'm a right wing Christian activist", "Ok", "But I'm a right wing
militant Christian activist", "Ok".

Which basically gets right to the heart of the nut.  "Right wing militant
Christian activists".  Trust me, Ohio is not so very alone.

At the main stoplight here, the man either opened up or helped open up some
sort of Christian whatever for youth, it used to be a Pharmacy, now there is
a large sign on a metal pole that reads in big letters something like "Jesus
Loves You Youth Gym & Meeting Hall".

The man who put the signs everywhere, the right wing Christian militant
activist, opened up a music store, we've never had one here, youth youth
youth, reach them young, they all love music, anyway, there it is, nice
little store.  I go in and wow the kids now and then on guitar by request or
just for the heck of it.

Back to the story, I'm so very out of the loop down here, I rarely hear
about things anymore here even though I once ran for city council twice and
county commissioner once.  I guess I just lost interest in all the
corruption, backstabbing, and hypocrites.  Anyways, I'm in the music store a
few weeks back, and there's cards laying on the table, they're advertising
his run for Mayor of my little burg here.  So here's this guy, right wing
militant Christian activist, has Jesus signs put all over town, even the
politicians are afraid of Jesus apparently now, nobody will enforce the law
about it, I gave up on that, opens a music store, doing nice in real estate,
goes to church, when people die at the hospital, they call him up as they
think he has special powers or something who knows what has been worked on
whom's minds at this late date kids, anyway, nice "Jesus Loves You Youth
Gym" sign at the main streetlight, and possibly he will be elected Mayor in
May of this year here.  If elected, I'm sure one of his first acts will be
to try to rezone downtown so there can never be another head shop (one just
opened up here recently, it's literally scandalous, lol, they even sell
pipes and screens "for tobacco use only", horrendous, heh) and end liquor
licenses for the rest of eternity, or so he has said.  I'm sure one of the
worst things God hates is a drunk non-Christian running down the street
trying to escape all the hypocrite zealout religous politicians as he's
throwing pipe screens out of his pockets and screaming, but, who really
knows...

Ah, well, I'm sure it's just the tip of the iceberg what I know about what's
going on with him and whomever and whatever here in my little town, and I
didn't write it very well and I'm sure I left some things out, but I thought
it mildly interesting to briefly point out that "Ohio" is by no means just
"a little thing happening", and that one can be mainly and relatively
completely assured that this "phenomena" is, of course, a well-planned out
campaign nationally to simply and once and for all ensure that if they
cannot make the politicians jump through their staunch strictarianist
pilgrimatic back to the bible spare the rod and spoil the child everybody
but Christians are going to Hell and soon hoops, that they themselves will
simply take over the entire political structure of America, one little
office at a time.

Just like they are doing.  Right as you're taking the time to read this.

Anyways, just thought I'd let you know what's going on behind your back as
you're enjoying that flick on HBO.

Take a break now and then and look out your window, Jesus is eating your
country.

Actually, Jesus himself has absolutely nothing to do with any of it, but try
arguing that with your new Sheriffs, Mayors, City Managers, Judges, Etc's,
who are apparently less tolerant of religious, and now
political-religious-social, views that are not exactly like theirs.

They're having none of it, the Lord's work is at hand.

:|

There is indeed a "movement in the pews" afoot.

Anyone who is not "one of them" best stand out of the way and learn how to
recognize the new masters and mistresses of the new world of God they are
creating at the expense of anyone but themselves.

Face it, kids, if it's not in The Bible, it just shouldn't be in America, or
any other country, nor inside of you either.      :/

An aside to Rhaether:  Yes, there is a huge line of "religious folks" who
think they are waiting to get into Heaven, but are headed the wrong way and
in for a great surprise because they were such pure intolerant sh*ts in this
life, the only problem I have with "Vengeance is Gods" or "Justice is Gods"
or "Whatever" is that we have to deal with these *ssholes in the here and
now.  That they actually use "Jesus" and "The Bible" to train their new
legions of Pilgrim Superheros which they glean from The Youth Of Earth is
something else people might consider.  It boggles the mind that spiritual
teachings could be used to indoctrinate millions of youth into not only
wishing to reign with supreme control over the entire earth, but that they
feel justified in destroying anyone and anything that disagrees with them or
stands in their way.  Sounds familiar, doesn't it.  Think "Hitler Youth"
with Jesus at the front leading them though.  Different "ideas", same
movement toward Society.  Sure, it's great to train any Youth in any
religion one might choose.  It has come to the crossroads in America,
though, that this new Youth Army Of God has all the tolerance for anyone
"unlike them" that a rattlesnake has for its next meal, and all the tools to
achieve their goals.  The adults have trained them well.  They will go forth
into the world and divide and conquer.  With us or against us.  There is no
inbetween.  The Youth who are not with them will suffer.  And be ruled by
them.  As will everyone else.  It's a brand new day.  "Someone" has indeed
"risen", but this time he has all the Judges, Sheriffs, City Managers,
Mayors, Etc's running down the street looking for evil people, who are
apparently comprised of anyone but them.  How this world is going to deal
with these "Right Wing Militant Christian Activists" who feel it is not only
their sworn duty to inform the entire world of "The words of Jesus" but to
convert them also to their "one and only true religion" and "worthy causes
from God himself" stretches far into the Future, far from Ohio and my little
town here.  And no matter how many sweet voices are singing beautiful things
in the choir, it simply does not look pretty.  Who needs "The New Crusades"
in The Middle East.  They've been right here in America all along.  Who
needs to fantasize or imagine religious nuts taking over our country, they
did a long time ago, they're just now geting more organized is all.  When
they finish separating the wheat from the chaff with their "terrible swift
swords of their Lord", I have a sneaking suspicion that the political,
social, educational, communication, etc systems that now exist here will
cease to exist as we know them, or at least cower and fear as these new
Right Wing Militant Christian Activist Religios Politicians walk down the
street and shine up their new white signs on every streetcorner in our
nation.

Oh well, I've rambled on again.  Sorry.  Lol.....    It's probably just the
new $2.15 per gallon price of gasoline getting to me down here in the middle
of nowhere.

Maybe "The New American Christian Movement" can fix that also.

Since so many of them hold stock in Wall Street, I doubt it.

The next time you ever see any of them "selling all they have, giving it to
the poor, and doing the work of the Lord" on the street like Matthew, Mark,
Luke, or John, will be never.

They're too rich to be beggars like the Apostles.

And souls are a dime a dozen these days.

It's good to see so many Hypocrites running and winning political and etc
offices in America.

They fit right in.





Cheeseburger

.

From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Mon Mar 28 22:34:11 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Tue Mar 29 05:55:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Don't make me do it ..
Message-ID: <200503290641.j2T6fCUN006163@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

 
 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 29 06:09:33 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue Mar 29 06:12:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Ex-US diplomats round on Bolton
Message-ID: <20050329_140933_071595.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Ex-US diplomats round on Bolton **
Dozens of former US diplomats urge Congress to block the appointment of John Bolton as UN ambassador.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4389639.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar 29 06:16:43 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue Mar 29 06:19:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Asian Carp ivading the Great Lakes
Message-ID: <000801c53469$f194fa10$2c3fe440@Harold>

The escapees of a Mississippi Asian Carp fish farm are a threat to the eco - system of the Great Lakes

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1112054534389_74/?hub=TopStories


The State of Mississippi should be held accountable, being that they are guardians of a large portion of the Great Mississippi River.

Later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue Mar 29 06:46:31 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue Mar 29 06:49:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Carlyle is on the move
Message-ID: <001d01c5346e$1b4598c0$2c3fe440@Harold>

The Carlyle Group has raised over 7 Billion $ for more acquisitions.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aWyZkLNYhkxE&refer=us

Later H
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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 06:52:36 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Tue Mar 29 07:36:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Carlyle is on the move
References: <001d01c5346e$1b4598c0$2c3fe440@Harold>
Message-ID: <001a01c5346e$f2ac1d20$6e436c42@hotprojects>

i want some of it harry
im drooling
come on you and michael tell me what to do
nothing is too degrading as long as i dont have to hurt any one
lol
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Harold Sifton 
  To: MB Civic 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 9:46 AM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] Carlyle is on the move


  The Carlyle Group has raised over 7 Billion $ for more acquisitions.

  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aWyZkLNYhkxE&refer=us

  Later H


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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 08:41:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:44:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 2nd Iraqi Assembly Meeting Breaks Down Amid
	Accusations
Message-ID: <20050329164209.3BD3C11F9D9@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 29, 2005

2nd Iraqi Assembly Meeting Breaks Down Amid Accusations
By EDWARD WONG

The meeting turned into a shouting match and showed the tensions that are rising as the main parties fail to reach an agreement to form a coalition government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/international/middleeast/29cnd-iraq.html?ex=1112763600&en=e4cc0ebc9019c8b3&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 08:42:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:45:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Walking in the Opposition's Shoes
Message-ID: <20050329164242.D682B3AE424@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


OPINION | March 29, 2005

Editorial: Walking in the Opposition's Shoes


The filibuster is rough instrument to use with caution, but its existence goes to the center of America's form of government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/opinion/29tue1.html?ex=1112763600&en=6572b46ef0d4520f&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 08:43:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:45:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Fuel for South Asia's Arms Race
Message-ID: <20050329164303.345F73880A7@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael wold want you to see this.


OPINION | March 29, 2005

Editorial: Fuel for South Asia's Arms Race


The U.S. has better ways to reward Pakistan for helping with the war on terror than by selling it arms so it can threaten India.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/opinion/29tue2.html?ex=1112763600&en=0136a5b409ba6866&ei=5070




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 08:43:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:46:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Leaders of the Opposition
Message-ID: <20050329164354.CE20A2064F9@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probabyl want you to see this.


OPINION | March 29, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Leaders of the Opposition
By NOAM SCHEIBER

To appeal to the middle, the Republicans have recently invoked some longtime Democratic positions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/opinion/29scheiber.html?ex=1112763600&en=3373767246d58699&ei=5070




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This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 08:49:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:52:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sunni Leader Insists on Timetable for U.S.
	Withdrawal
Message-ID: <20050329164940.378F424AECC@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 29, 2005

Sunni Leader Insists on Timetable for U.S. Withdrawal
By ROBERT F. WORTH

Sheik Harith al-Darimade said he would continue to view the armed resistance in Iraq as legitimate until the U.S. military offered a timetable for its withdrawal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/international/middleeast/29sunni.html?ex=1112763600&en=79f8638adfcb5f1b&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue Mar 29 08:49:19 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:52:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYPD Attempts To Criminalize Bike Riders Taking Part in
	Critical Mass
Message-ID: <20050329164919.14923.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

big first amendment question here, excellent civil rights lawyer's commentary


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  NYPD Attempts To Criminalize Bike Riders Taking Part in Critical Mass
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/28/1434209
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


On Friday, police arrested 37 riders and confiscated dozens of bicylcles. Last week, the city filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the group TIME'S UP! from promoting or advertising events that the city alleges to be illegal. The lawsuit also states that TIME'S UP! and the general public cannot participate in riding or gathering at the Critical Mass bike ride. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/28/1434209

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 08:49:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:52:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sharon Set to Win Vote Crucial to Gaza
	Pullout
Message-ID: <20050329164957.2BCF02062DA@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 29, 2005

Sharon Set to Win Vote Crucial to Gaza Pullout
By REUTERS

Israeli lawmakers are expected to pass the national budget today, the last legislative hurdle to a Gaza pullout plan.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html?ex=1112763600&en=e5f9ce53fddd7563&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 08:51:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:53:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Panel's Report Assails C.I.A. for Failure
	on Iraq Weapons
Message-ID: <20050329165105.3C4FD21F225@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 29, 2005

Panel's Report Assails C.I.A. for Failure on Iraq Weapons
By DAVID E. SANGER and SCOTT SHANE

The C.I.A. and other intelligence bodies were criticized by a panel studying U.S. intelligence failures regarding illicit weapons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/politics/29weapons.html?ex=1112763600&en=c92155251b1a9832&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue Mar 29 08:53:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 08:55:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Medicinal Marijuana on Trial
Message-ID: <20050329165315.BE22C2064EC@gw06-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael...well...you know...


HEALTH / HEALTH CARE POLICY | March 29, 2005

Medicinal Marijuana on Trial
By DAN HURLEY

Despite efforts to legalize medical marijuana, there remains much confusion over whether it in fact has any significant medical effect.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/health/policy/29mari.html?ex=1112763600&en=b97d7574d2e3d0d3&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 29 09:59:14 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 10:01:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / Asia-Pacific - Washington upgrades ties
	with Delhi
Message-ID: <21709751.1112119154547.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.



As I wrote earlier, for certain US will sell to India assisting the weapons makers. It also will make it easier for more people to be killed in war.
Michael



 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 29 10:03:27 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 10:06:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
Message-ID: <4069958.1112119407395.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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You have received the following link from michael@intrafi.com

 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 29 10:17:07 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 10:19:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Middle East
	freedom needs a true shift
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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Tue Mar 29 10:19:16 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Tue Mar 29 10:45:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: In the Media
In-Reply-To: <000901c53482$2bf386a0$6401a8c0@2r6cx01>
Message-ID: <200503291845.j2TIjLhG008812@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From arianna at ariannaonline.com  Tue Mar 29 11:08:28 2005
From: arianna at ariannaonline.com (Arianna Huffington)
Date: Tue Mar 29 11:19:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Schiavo Case Proves Dems Are Starving For Leadership
	3-29-05
Message-ID: <200503291919.j2TJJAX3008927@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

SCHIAVO CASE PROVES DEMS ARE STARVING FOR LEADERSHIP

By Arianna Huffington

This column is not about Terri Schiavo and the wrenching spectacle that has surrounded her tragic fate. May she rest in peace.

It is about Congressional Democrats and how they once again pathetically misread what moral values mean in a political context. May they miraculously wake from their persistent vegetative state--or it won't be long before they are receiving their political last rites.

Ever since November, Republicans (aided and abetted by a poorly worded exit poll) have not only succeeded in defining the last election as having been about moral values, they've succeeded in defining moral values. In the GOP's extraordinarily abridged moral dictionary, fighting against gay marriage is morally valuable; fighting against 12 million children living in poverty is not.  

Democrats, meanwhile, have been going through the most embarrassing public identity crisis since Anne Heche couldn't decide if, when it came to the bedroom, she preferred surf or turf. They've been mastering the feeble arts of second-guessing themselves and ducking for cover. 

While real political leadership is determining the direction the country needs to go and convincing the public to follow you down that road, Democrats keep choosing the path of least resistance. Party leaders have been sticking their fingers in the air, feeling which way the political wind is blowing, and then chasing after these zephyrs of public sentiment. Which is bad enough. But making matters much, much worse, they are consistently misreading the wind--an affliction that has led to their being blown away in three straight elections. 

The Schiavo case is a perfect example. Before the cards had even been dealt, Senate Democrats decided that the Republicans already held all the aces. So instead of calling Dr. Frist's bluff, they folded, sat out the hand, and headed into the kitchen to see what kind of sandwiches Felix was whipping up. Not a single Democratic senator formally objected to the pro forma voice vote that sent the Schiavo bill to the House, where, with a few notable exceptions--especially Rep. Barney Frank and rising star Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz of Florida--Democrats were nearly as compliant.

In an interesting twist, it turns out that Bill Clinton had a behind-the-scenes role in the party's decision to adopt a hands-off policy on the Schiavo debate. According to CBS News, the former triangulator-in-chief helped sway Schiavo bill backer Tom Harkin, "egging him on" to roll over and play dead--an odious echo of his efforts to get John Kerry to come out in favor of all 11 state constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. This kind of strategic calculation may have been all right in the mid-'90s, but not today, when the party is in desperate need of bold, decisive leadership. 

So the Democrats punted; Frist, DeLay and Bush got their photo ops; and the reptilian Randall Terry was born again as a media figure. Then the polls started pouring in--with each and every one showing that the vast majority of the American people thought the Republicans had wildly overreached, seeking a political advantage as opposed to acting out of concern for Terri Schiavo. 

But the Democrats, having gone MIA, were unable to ride the tidal wave of public sentiment. Yet again. For years now, they have failed to grasp that when it comes to their party's core issues--including providing affordable health care, protecting the environment, safeguarding Social Security, gun control and basic abortion rights--they are on the same side of the fence as the majority of Americans. 

Look, I understand why the Democratic powers-that-be didn't want to be seen as fighting to end Terri Schiavo's life. They've got enough problems without giving Karl Rove and his GOP image masters an executioner's song to sing in 2006. And, if the decision were up to me, I would not have voted to pull the feeding tube. As a mother, I deeply empathize with the plight of Terri's parents--and don't see why, given their willingness to take over their daughter's care, they shouldn't be given that chance. But it wasn't my decision to make--just as it wasn't Congress'. 

And being steamrolled by the Republicans or dancing on Terri Schiavo's grave were not the only two options open to Democrats. If they hadn't been running around hiding from their own shadows, they would have easily found a larger moral frame in which to put the fight over Schiavo's fate. 

If the Republicans insist on making the "culture of life" a federal issue, the Democrats should, by all means, let them. But they need to make sure that the national debate doesn't center on tragic anomalies like the Schiavo case but on the thousands of people whose lives are cut short because they lack access to decent health care or on the prolonged suffering of the millions of children living in poverty. 

Instead of allowing themselves to be cowed by the fear of looking like they're coming down on the immoral side of the moral values debate, Democrats should snap out of it and demand that the president interrupt his next vacation and that Bill Frist hold another midnight session of Congress to address the moral disgrace of 45 million people with no health insurance and 36 million people living in poverty. This is the only way to reclaim the moral high ground.

? 2005 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

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From harperalexander at mail.com  Tue Mar 29 12:44:14 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Tue Mar 29 12:46:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Abusive relationships amongst teenagers
Message-ID: <20050329204415.64A174BEAD@ws1-1.us4.outblaze.com>

Hallo all - I have just returned from Cuba. Interesting. Too complicated to email, hence the hiatus.

I reproduce a letter from my younger daughter, published in The Independent and The Week. After making full allowance for paternal pride, I thought it was worth sending on to you.
quote

Abusive relationships,
22 March 2005
The reason young women tolerate abusive relationships 

Sir: Like many people I was saddened to read about the levels of violent abuse teenage girls suffer at the hands of their boyfriends ("One in five girls hit by boyfriend", 21 March) but perhaps unlike other readers I was not surprised.

Most of the media attention has focused on the correlation between girls who witness or suffer abuse at home and go on to suffer abuse from boyfriends. While this obviously needs to be addressed, I am surprised that nobody has focused on the more startling fact that the majority of teenage girls who accept being hit by their partners (over two thirds) have never had experience of abuse before.

As a young woman in my early twenties I have been concerned since my teenage years by my peer group's distressing lack of self-esteem. On all sides in film, commercials and magazines we are fed the message that finding and keeping a man is the ultimate goal and the ultimate status of cool. You cannot open a girls' or women's magazine without finding myriad surveys on what clothes men find attractive, how to get a date, what sex tips to use etc. The implied message is that to take part in mainstream culture you have to have a man.

The result is that girls find their self-image depends on sexual relationships and they become increasingly prepared to take a man at any price, violence being the extreme end of the scale. I cannot name one girl of my acquaintance (myself included) who has not at some point put up with bullying behaviour or given into sexual demands they secretly didn't want rather than lose a man. Sometimes this is not even a case of girls acting on misguided love but because they believe this is what they should be doing. As one friend who was sexually coerced told me, "Maybe I'm just uptight; isn't this what everyone else is doing?"

Until we address the way our culture presents sex and relationships to young girls, I'm afraid we will continue to see figures like these.

ELODIE HARPER 
London NW3

unquote

Al Baraka


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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Tue Mar 29 12:54:14 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Tue Mar 29 12:57:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Abusive relationships amongst teenagers
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV999311F8BF0584058F7C7AB450@phx.gbl>

Hello...

Am wondering how and IF not too personal why you were in Cuba? I love the Cuban people and culture and am in e-mail contact with a couple of people there. Since the travel ban it is very hard to travel there but I am still hoping to do so. I have an excellent list of places to stay, and the room (apartment) rates are so cheap compared to here. You are not part of the miami mafia are you? ha ha... miami mafia being those who did NOT support Elian going back to his Dad among other things.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Alexander Harper
Sent: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 12:44:14 -0800
To: MB-Civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Abusive relationships amongst teenagers

Hallo all - I have just returned from Cuba. Interesting. Too complicated to email, hence the hiatus.

I reproduce a letter from my younger daughter, published in The Independent and The Week. After making full allowance for paternal pride, I thought it was worth sending on to you.
quote

Abusive relationships,
22 March 2005
The reason young women tolerate abusive relationships 

Sir: Like many people I was saddened to read about the levels of violent abuse teenage girls suffer at the hands of their boyfriends ("One in five girls hit by boyfriend", 21 March) but perhaps unlike other readers I was not surprised.

Most of the media attention has focused on the correlation between girls who witness or suffer abuse at home and go on to suffer abuse from boyfriends. While this obviously needs to be addressed, I am surprised that nobody has focused on the more startling fact that the majority of teenage girls who accept being hit by their partners (over two thirds) have never had experience of abuse before.

As a young woman in my early twenties I have been concerned since my teenage years by my peer group's distressing lack of self-esteem. On all sides in film, commercials and magazines we are fed the message that finding and keeping a man is the ultimate goal and the ultimate status of cool. You cannot open a girls' or women's magazine without finding myriad surveys on what clothes men find attractive, how to get a date, what sex tips to use etc. The implied message is that to take part in mainstream culture you have to have a man.

The result is that girls find their self-image depends on sexual relationships and they become increasingly prepared to take a man at any price, violence being the extreme end of the scale. I cannot name one girl of my acquaintance (myself included) who has not at some point put up with bullying behaviour or given into sexual demands they secretly didn't want rather than lose a man. Sometimes this is not even a case of girls acting on misguided love but because they believe this is what they should be doing. As one friend who was sexually coerced told me, "Maybe I'm just uptight; isn't this what everyone else is doing?"

Until we address the way our culture presents sex and relationships to young girls, I'm afraid we will continue to see figures like these.

ELODIE HARPER 
London NW3

unquote

Al Baraka


-- 
___________________________________________________________
Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm

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Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Tue Mar 29 12:56:15 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Tue Mar 29 12:58:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Abusive relationships amongst teenagers
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV3098D77E895C781851201FAB450@phx.gbl>

Great article.... I am sure you are very proud of this young lady.

peace,
barbara



-----Original Message-----
From: Alexander Harper
Sent: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 12:44:14 -0800
To: MB-Civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Abusive relationships amongst teenagers

Hallo all - I have just returned from Cuba. Interesting. Too complicated to email, hence the hiatus.

I reproduce a letter from my younger daughter, published in The Independent and The Week. After making full allowance for paternal pride, I thought it was worth sending on to you.
quote

Abusive relationships,
22 March 2005
The reason young women tolerate abusive relationships 

Sir: Like many people I was saddened to read about the levels of violent abuse teenage girls suffer at the hands of their boyfriends ("One in five girls hit by boyfriend", 21 March) but perhaps unlike other readers I was not surprised.

Most of the media attention has focused on the correlation between girls who witness or suffer abuse at home and go on to suffer abuse from boyfriends. While this obviously needs to be addressed, I am surprised that nobody has focused on the more startling fact that the majority of teenage girls who accept being hit by their partners (over two thirds) have never had experience of abuse before.

As a young woman in my early twenties I have been concerned since my teenage years by my peer group's distressing lack of self-esteem. On all sides in film, commercials and magazines we are fed the message that finding and keeping a man is the ultimate goal and the ultimate status of cool. You cannot open a girls' or women's magazine without finding myriad surveys on what clothes men find attractive, how to get a date, what sex tips to use etc. The implied message is that to take part in mainstream culture you have to have a man.

The result is that girls find their self-image depends on sexual relationships and they become increasingly prepared to take a man at any price, violence being the extreme end of the scale. I cannot name one girl of my acquaintance (myself included) who has not at some point put up with bullying behaviour or given into sexual demands they secretly didn't want rather than lose a man. Sometimes this is not even a case of girls acting on misguided love but because they believe this is what they should be doing. As one friend who was sexually coerced told me, "Maybe I'm just uptight; isn't this what everyone else is doing?"

Until we address the way our culture presents sex and relationships to young girls, I'm afraid we will continue to see figures like these.

ELODIE HARPER 
London NW3

unquote

Al Baraka


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From harperalexander at mail.com  Tue Mar 29 13:44:27 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Tue Mar 29 13:47:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Xenophobia at election time in UK
Message-ID: <20050329214427.4197C4BEAD@ws1-1.us4.outblaze.com>

Isn't it a shame that politicians always seem to feel that it is more profitable to play on the electorate's baser instincts rather than its finer ones?
AlBaraka
  

The electoral bogeyman is back 
>By Adam Kuper
>Published: March 29 2005 20:11 | Last updated: March 29 2005 20:11
>>
Tony Blair's government was briefly rattled in the current run-up to the UK general election campaign when Michael Howard, the Conservative party leader, had a go at the Gypsies. This tiny and long-established minority is hardly a national issue in the UK, one might have thought, even if the label could be stretched to include assorted itinerants, largely of Irish origin. But photogenic "bogeymen" are thin on the ground this election. Bogus asylum-seekers - another vaguely defined group that cannot be counted but is surely very small - have been making front-page news. The most frightening of the bogeymen are Muslim radicals. Yet even when the government felt free to lock up anyone who might be a danger to the state, it could only find a handful of such radicals - none of whom had done anything they could be charged for in a court of law.

These are all symbolic targets. They stand for something larger. Dodgy foreigners are accused of stealing, money-laundering, enslaving women and cheating on welfare. But there is a deeper fear, of people who not only look different but march to a different drum, support foreign cricket teams, worship other gods. They are out to rob us of our very identity.

Europeans' identity was once rooted in religion, and states tried to maintain religious monopolies. At best, a concordat could be agreed with other Christians, although often only after generations of civil war. "Ultimately, antagonistic religions mean antagonistic cultures," T.S. Eliot warned, "and ultimately, religions cannot be reconciled." He was writing in the aftermath of the second world war and probably had in mind Catholics and Protestants, and perhaps Jews. Europeans today might think of Muslims, and perhaps agree with Eliot. But religion is not an easy card to play in contemporary Europe. The true division today is between a minority of believers and a majority of secularists. The Conservatives tried but failed to raise abortion as a religious issue but found religion has no place in British politics. The mainstream parties in France criticise Muslims for not being secular enough. In reaction, people of all faiths find common cause. Some German Christian Democrats join with Muslims on issues including gay marriage and abortion, in opposition to unbelievers.

But if religion is taken out of politics, talk of cultural difference remains both respectable and effective. Culture seems to explain everything at the moment, the way gender once did or, before that, class. However, culture is a slippery term. It expands to mean a way of life, or contracts to mean the idiosyncratic atmosphere of a company's head office, and it may also still be used in Matthew Arnold's very different sense to mean high culture, "the best that has been thought and said". But ambiguity does not rob the term of its potency. People feel they can see the cultural threat as they walk the streets of European cities. That is because culture has become a euphemism for race. And, like race, it is seen as something to which one is born, and which cannot be changed.

Yet even our own home-grown culture is hard to pin down. Most English people, for example, would not even recognise half the items on T.S. Eliot's list of traits defining English culture: "Derby Day, Henley Regatta, Cowes, the 12th of August, a cup final, the dog races, the pin table, the dart board, Wensleydale cheese, boiled cabbage cut into sections, beetroot in vinegar, 19th century Gothic churches, the music of Elgar." In Britain, there is another issue - the Scots and the Welsh. Is there such a thing as British culture?

We are even more inclined to work with muddled ideas about immigrant cultures. The very labels we use are hopelessly misleading. Pakistanis, Arabs and Somalis are lumped together as "Muslims" in Britain today. Yet until recently, Pakistanis in the UK were called "Asians", a category that included Indians, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans, regardless of linguistic, religious and ethnic differences. For some reason Chinese people were left out.

Not only are the gross cultural labels absurd. The experiences and attitudes of succeeding generations may be very different. What happens when the first language of the children of immigrants is English, and the second Punjabi or Yoruba, and when they refuse to marry the partners picked for them? The fact is that young people in large cities have more in common with each other than with their parents. If they are divided, it is by class rather than by ancestral culture, or even by religion.

But urban myths are more potent than everyday experiences. When the Channel Tunnel was opened, there was panic that it would provide a conduit for illegal immigrants and rabid dogs. The bogeyman comes back, especially at election time, the dangerous foreigner along with the paedophile and the mugger. Symbolic targets work for politicians because they play on vague, disreputable fears. Be afraid.

The writer, professor of social anthropology at Brunel University, is author of Culture: The Anthropologists' Account (Harvard University Press)
 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue Mar 29 18:09:09 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue Mar 29 18:11:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Con Job by Pakistan's Pal, George Bush
Message-ID: <6543581.1112148549723.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
A Con Job by Pakistan's Pal, George Bush 
--------------------

Robert Scheer

March 29 2005

Trying to follow the U.S. policy on the proliferation of nuclear weapons is like watching a three-card monte game on a city street corner. Except the stakes are higher. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-scheer29mar29,0,656567.column 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 30 03:18:49 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 30 03:21:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27521619.1112181529342.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Dissent on Intelligence Is Critical, Report Says
 
 By Walter Pincus and Peter Baker
 
  A presidential commission assigned to look into the intelligence failures leading up to the Iraq war will recommend a series of changes intended to encourage more dissent within the nation's spy agencies and better organize the government's multi-tentacled fight against terrorism, officials said yesterday.
 
 In a report to be made public tomorrow,  the officials said, the panel will propose more competitive analysis and information-sharing by intelligence agencies, improved tradecraft training, more "devil's advocacy" in the formation of national intelligence estimates and the appointment of an intelligence ombudsman to hear from analysts who believe their work has been compromised.
 
 The report will also suggest the creation of a new national nonproliferation center to coordinate the fight against weapons of mass destruction, according to officials who have read the 700-page classified version of the report and declined to be identified because it  has not been released. But unlike the trend toward greater centralization enshrined in a new intelligence law signed by President Bush, the report envisions the center as a facilitating body and urges the government to keep its specialists dispersed in various intelligence agencies.
 
 The net result, according to officials, would be to move away from the intelligence community's tradition of searching for consensus, in favor of opening up internal debate and including a more diverse spectrum of views. The goal is to provide policymakers a fuller understanding of the state of the government's knowledge.
 
 Bush appointed the panel, officially known as the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, in February 2004 after initially resisting any further examination of the assessments that preceded his decision to invade Iraq.
 
 Like other studies, the commission report offers a scathing review of the CIA for concluding that Saddam Hussein had secret weapons that ultimately were never found, while also taking aim at the FBI, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and other agencies, according to officials. In addition, it examines the performance of intelligence agencies in Iran, North Korea, Libya and Pakistan, but the Iran and North Korea sections remain classified.
 
 The White House, while refusing to disclose the contents of the report, embraced it  as the authoritative account of what went wrong in Iraq. Bush was briefed on the report yesterday by aides who have reviewed it. The president will meet with the panel's co-chairmen, Senior U.S. Appeals Court Judge Laurence H. Silberman and former senator Charles S. Robb (D-Va.), at the White House  tomorrow and then join the two at a briefing for reporters.
 
 White House press secretary Scott McClellan praised the report as "a very thorough job" and suggested that Bush would adopt many, though not necessarily all, of its ideas. "We will carefully consider the recommendations and act quickly on the recommendations, as well," he told reporters at his daily briefing. "They build upon the steps we've already taken to improve our intelligence-sharing and -gathering."
 
 But McClellan offered no second thoughts about the Iraq war despite the intelligence failures documented in the commission report. "Saddam Hussein's regime was creating instability in the region, and we are better off with his regime out of power," he said.
 
 In analyzing the preparation of Iraq intelligence, the commission singled out case studies that demonstrated faulty conclusions. Among those highlighted was the allegation that Iraq had built unmanned aerial vehicles that could be loaded with weapons of mass destruction and sent to attack the United States. The report noted that Air Force analysts expressed serious doubts about such a scenario, but were  disregarded.
 
 The panel also dissected the use of information from an Iraqi exile nicknamed "Curve Ball," a German intelligence source who was never questioned by the CIA but provided information on Iraq's supposed mobile biological weapons production facilities. Curve Ball's assertions provided the basis for some statements by then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to the U.N. Security Council, but the information was later questioned by the Germans and eventually by U.S. intelligence.
 
 The panel's conclusions and recommendations will be made public in a declassified version of the report that runs over 500 pages and is summarized in a 40-page overview, all of which will be posted on the Internet tomorrow,  officials said. Some findings were reported yesterday in the New York Times.
 
 The commission's plan for remedying the problems it found follows a reorganization of the intelligence community that Bush signed into law in December, a move also motivated by dissatisfaction with the misjudgments on Iraq. The legislation led to the recent nomination of longtime diplomat John D. Negroponte as the first director of national intelligence, charged with coordinating the government's 15 disparate intelligence agencies, and the commission offers him  guidance on how to proceed once he assumes the job.
 
 Among other things, the panel plans to recommend that the FBI move more quickly to modernize its computer systems and broaden access to its security information, and that the Justice Department create a new national security division, according to officials. 
 
 The changes to intelligence-gathering were meant to emphasize improving the quality of the analysis, officials said. Government specialists should be left in their jobs rather than moved to other fields, and intelligence analysis should be made into more of a career track, the panel concluded. Rather than smothering disagreement, analysts would be encouraged to explain why they reached different conclusions.
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 30 03:19:49 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 30 03:22:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14616418.1112181589709.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 How We Die: Choice and Chance
 
 By Anne Applebaum
 
    
 
  No matter how you ask the question, most people  --  right-wing, left-wing, atheist, religious  --  will tell you that they don't want to die like Terri Schiavo. That is, they don't want to spend their final days in a hospital, tied up to a machine, unable to feed themselves, unable to speak. Nine out of 10 Americans have told Gallup pollsters that they don't want to die in an institution. Another poll found that 82 percent of Americans would, upon being told they had very little time to live, prefer simply to go home: They want to die in their own beds, surrounded by family, in a setting that feels natural. 
 
 The vast majority, of course, will not die at home. Perhaps they won't be on a feeding tube, but they will almost certainly be in a hospital or a nursing home. Perhaps their relatives won't be battling one another in the national media, but they are statistically more likely to be at odds with one another, or with their doctors, than ever before. Many will be surrounded by strangers and hooked up to machines, even if they've written living wills that say they don't want to be. Many will die, in other words, in a setting that doesn't feel natural at all. 
 
 Along with all of its unexpected political implications, the Schiavo case has had the effect of exposing the enormous gap between what Americans imagine death should be like and what death actually is like for most people in the 21st century. A hundred years ago, when average life expectancy was 47, people who got sick either recovered or died quickly. Now that life expectancy is 75, most Americans will spend at least two years of their lives too disabled, one way or another, to care for themselves without help. 
 
 Yet, although we see video images of death all the time  --  movie shootouts, scenes of faraway warfare  --  we don't much like dwelling on the medicalized environments in which most people in our society actually pass away, and we don't like thinking about the murky ethical dilemmas that their deaths often present. In some sense the Schiavo case has attracted so much attention precisely because it brings, almost for the first time, a very common, very painful, but usually very private dilemma into the public sphere. This case is unusual only in that the family has such a relatively clear set of choices, or at least knows with some degree of certainty what will happen when the tube is removed. More often, the decisions are extraordinarily delicate medical and ethical judgment calls. When is someone's health so frail that the risks of an operation  --  or the price of an operation  --  become too great? Who decides when the pain that will result from a particular cancer treatment is going to outweigh the benefits? 
 
 But because we don't dwell on it, and because we haven't thought about it, the system that has sprung up to care for the elderly and the terminally ill is neither medically nor ethically consistent. In different regions of the country  --  even among hospitals rated the best in the country  --  there are huge variations in the kind of treatment given to dying patients. In one study  --  carried out over several years, in five different hospitals in five different regions  --  nurses were trained to conduct constant conversations with the ill and dying, trained to respect their wishes, and trained to allow those who wanted to die at home to do so. Even so, there was a wide range of outcomes. In one region, a third of the patients died in a hospital despite their wishes. In another, the figure was 66 percent. 
 
 These variations couldn't be explained by medical necessity or patient preferences. On the contrary, it seems that the most important factor in determining whether a particular region has a high rate of medical intervention on behalf of the terminally ill  --  risky operations, respirators, artificial feeding  --  is not local religious practices but the local availability of hospital beds and the number of local doctors. There are, for example, a lot of both in Miami. As a result, Medicare spending on a patient in the last six months of life was twice as high in Miami as in Minneapolis. Dying patients in Miami spent four times as many days in intensive care units and saw at least twice as many specialists, too. Yet another study, conducted by the Dartmouth medical school, found no correlation between the amount of treatment given to dying patients in particular regions and that region's overall mortality rate: Just because you see more specialists doesn't mean you'll live longer.
 
 In this sense, the Schiavo case is not only unusual but actually misleading. All of the commentary makes it sound as though these momentous decisions are not only crystal clear but are ultimately made on moral grounds, as if there were something important at stake: the sanctity of human life vs. the right to die, or the wishes of the dying person vs. the wishes of the family. But in practice, we've designed a health care system in which the fulfillment of one's wishes on this matter depends on serendipity. You will die at home  --  or not  --  because of where you live. You will be kept on a respirator  --  or not  --  because that's how your local hospital does it. And until we and our politicians are able to focus more thoughtfully on the realities of 21st century death, serendipity, not ethical debate, will remain the ruling principle. 
 
 applebaumanne@yahoo.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 30 03:20:29 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 30 03:23:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6158858.1112181629482.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A New Era for Oil?
 
 By Robert J. Samuelson
 
  The interesting question about the advent of $50-a-barrel oil is whether it signals a new era in the economics and politics of energy. To sharpen the question: Have we entered a period when, owing to consistently strong demand and chronically scarce supplies, prices have moved permanently higher? We don't know, but the answer could be "yes" for at least one reason: China.
 
  Americans consume almost 21 million barrels of oil a day, a quarter of the world total of 84 million barrels a day, reports the International Energy Agency. But China is now second at 6.4 million barrels a day, and its demand could double by 2020, various analysts told a conference last week held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. Moreover, China will import most of its new needs; its domestic output is steady at about 3.5 million barrels a day. It's unclear how much China's extra demand  --  and that of other developing countries, especially India  --  will stimulate extra oil production.
 
  Oil markets do undergo seismic shifts. Until 1974 the United States was the world's largest oil producer. Supplies were plentiful; Americans controlled their own oil prices, as Daniel Yergin explained in his 1991 book "The Prize." With surplus production capacity, the Texas Railroad Commission  --  which despite its name regulated the state's oil  --  limited output to stabilize prices while maintaining a "security reserve" for times of crisis, wrote Yergin. In March 1971 the commission allowed all-out production to meet rising demand. America's oil surplus had vanished. Worldwide prices rose, and OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) became more powerful.
 
  We could now be at a similar inflection point, where the global oil system changes dramatically. Certainly the short-term outlook already has. From 1991 to 1999 world oil demand rose annually about 1 million barrels a day, Guy Caruso, head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, told the CSIS conference. But in 2004 demand unexpectedly jumped 2.7 million barrels a day. A third of the increase came from China, and much of that reflected electricity shortages. Unable to get reliable power, factories installed their own generators. China's regular power plants overwhelmingly use coal, but the new generators used imported diesel fuel. China could solve this problem by building more power plants and easing rail bottlenecks that hinder coal shipments. But there will still be new sources of oil demand. China now has about 20 million cars and trucks, energy consultant James Dorian said; by 2020 it could have 120 million. (In 2001 the United States had about 230 million cars, vans and trucks.) Higher oil demand has now strained the global production system to its limits. Spare capacity of about 1.5 million barrels a day is the lowest in 30 years, said CSIS's Frank Verrastro. Most is located in Saudi Arabia. Higher prices partly reflect fear of more supply disruptions  --  from terrorism, war, political upheavals, weather or accidents. In theory, higher prices should be partially self-correcting. They should dampen demand and encourage supply. But theory must always be revised for new realities. Here, there are two.
 
  One is that in rich countries  --  notably the United States  --  rising incomes make it easier to afford higher energy prices. In the latest month, American oil demand was actually up 2 percent from a year earlier (and, yes, adjusted for inflation, today's gasoline prices are still roughly a third below levels reached in 1980 and 1981). A second reality is that big oil companies seem less willing or able to find new oil. A study by Credit Suisse First Boston reports that major companies have replaced more than half their depleted oil reserves by buying reserves from other companies or re-estimating existing reserves. In 1990 companies replaced two-thirds of reserves with new discoveries. The poor performance may partly reflect the fact that 72 percent of the world's oil reserves are controlled by state-owned oil companies, says Verrastro. Private companies can often get exploration rights only on terms that involve (to them) too much risk and too little profit.
 
  Anything could now happen to oil. Prices could drop if the immediate fears behind today's buying don't materialize. But the long-term trends are unpromising. Global demand is rising inexorably; global supply seems less expansive. Dependence on precarious Persian Gulf oil will probably increase. The global economy remains hostage to uncertain or expensive fuel. Producing countries may become stronger, consuming countries weaker. There may be more competition among consuming nations to secure long-term supply contracts. China has already made a few such deals.
 
  The message for Americans is simple. We import nearly 60 percent of our oil. We can't eliminate imports any time soon, but we could limit them by producing more at home and conserving more (meaning higher fuel taxes, tougher gasoline standards, smaller vehicles and more hybrid engines). That would lessen our own vulnerability and ease pressures for the rest of the world. The debate that pits greater production against greater conservation is wrong. We need both.
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed Mar 30 03:21:55 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 30 03:24:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10677113.1112181715252.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Rumsfeld And the Generals
 
 By David Ignatius
 
    Sometime this summer President Bush will pick a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to lead a U.S. military that has been battered by the war in Iraq. When you ask military officers who should get the job, the first thing many say is that the military needs someone who can stand up to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
 
  The tension between Rumsfeld and the uniformed military has been an open secret in Washington these past four years. It was compounded by the Iraq war, but it began almost from the moment Rumsfeld took over at the Pentagon. The grumbling about his leadership partly reflected the military's resistance to change and its reluctance to challenge a brilliant but headstrong civilian leader. But in Iraq, Rumsfeld has pushed the services  --  especially the Army  --  near the breaking point. The military is right that the next chairman of the JCS must be someone who can push back.
 
  The process of selecting the next chairman is one of those subterranean Washington political affairs that the public often learns about when it's over. But it is already a subject of lively discussion among current and former officers. Since there's so much at stake in this year's decision, here's a JCS form sheet, based on conversations with current and retired officers and Pentagon civilians:
 
  To appreciate the difficulty of the job, think about the body language when Rumsfeld holds a news conference with the current chairman, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers. Rumsfeld is feisty, irreverent, outspoken; Myers is decorous, upright, respectful. Perhaps that's the way it should be, but some in the military argue that Myers has taken deference too far. His friends counter that working for Rumsfeld isn't easy and that Myers has tried, quietly and behind the scenes, to challenge the secretary when he was over the line.
 
  Iraq has been a delicate dilemma for Myers  --  he needs to support the president's policy publicly while also challenging the civilians privately. Critics think Myers sometimes erred in sounding too dutifully supportive, as in comments he made during an April 2004 visit to Iraq. The insurgency had exploded so violently then that there was contingency planning to evacuate the Green Zone. But Myers blandly called the intense fighting "a symptom of the success that we're having here in Iraq," according to a forthcoming history of the war by The Post's Thomas E. Ricks.
 
  The leading candidate to succeed Myers is the current vice chairman, Marine Gen. Peter Pace. He has served as Myers's deputy since October 2001 and is the image of the solid, square-jawed Marine. His supporters say that after four years of dealing with the White House and Pentagon civilians, he has unique skills, especially in operating at the interface of political and military affairs. Pace's detractors argue that he has been co-opted by Rumsfeld. They complain that he will sometimes pull his punches in meetings with the secretary and avoid criticizing him face to face.
 
  Some observers think Rumsfeld has already decided to recommend Pace, and that he's likely to pick Navy Adm. Edmund Giambastiani as Pace's vice chairman. Giambastiani is a leading military expert on Rumsfeld's pet topic of high-tech "transformation." A Pace-Giambastiani team might help Rumsfeld lock in his legacy, but at a cost of continued grumbling in the Pentagon corridors.
 
  A second Marine candidate is Gen. James Jones, who's currently the NATO commander. He's smart and sophisticated, with the polish of a corporate CEO. It's said he was considered for chairman last time around but signaled that he wasn't interested, and he was recently on the short list for director of national intelligence. Jones wouldn't be pushed around by anyone, but observers wonder whether he would have the right chemistry with Rumsfeld and Bush.
 
  The third candidate mentioned most frequently is Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of Centcom. He's probably the strongest strategic thinker in the Army. It's said that Rumsfeld was ready to appoint him as Army chief of staff in 2003 but that Abizaid preferred to be in the field. He's tough, smart and outspoken, and is said to have challenged Rumsfeld, quietly but effectively, in the past.
 
  When Bush thinks about picking the next Joint Chiefs chairman, he might recall an unusual gesture by Myers's predecessor, Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, who told his service chiefs to read a book called "Dereliction of Duty." Its subject was how the Joint Chiefs failed to challenge Defense Secretary Robert McNamara adequately during the Vietnam War. It took the Army decades to recover fully from Vietnam; that's a history the next JCS chairman must not repeat.
 
  Rumsfeld won't be defense secretary forever, but a Joint Chiefs chairman who can stand up to him is the right military leader post-Rumsfeld. 
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 05:54:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 05:57:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Suit by Detainee on Transfer to Syria Finds
	Support in Jet's Log
Message-ID: <20050330135502.9CE9422EF98@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | March 30, 2005

Suit by Detainee on Transfer to Syria Finds Support in Jet's Log
By SCOTT SHANE

Aviation records appear to corroborate a man's account of being sent to Syria by U.S. officials as he changed planes in New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/international/americas/30plane.html?ex=1112850000&en=43cdbdbc4ba10dee&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 05:55:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 05:58:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: In the Name of Politics
Message-ID: <20050330135556.D2B5621F1CE@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 30, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: In the Name of Politics
By JOHN C. DANFORTH

The Republicans' current fixation on a religious agenda has turned us in the wrong direction.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/30danforth.html?ex=1112850000&en=0c5f9ad72bca1732&ei=5070




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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 05:56:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 05:59:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Party Inverted
Message-ID: <20050330135648.171CB22F000@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 30, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: A Party Inverted
By BILL BRADLEY

The Republicans have built a stable structure to further their goals, but the Democratic Party rests on much more shakey ground.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/30bradley.html?ex=1112850000&en=4b1afc51fe764957&ei=5070




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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 06:11:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 06:13:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sharon Clears Final Hurdle in Gaza Pullout
	Plan's Path
Message-ID: <20050330141109.953CF13B7DF@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 30, 2005

Sharon Clears Final Hurdle in Gaza Pullout Plan's Path
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel won an extraordinary victory Tuesday over his own party and the settler movement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/international/middleeast/30mideast.html?ex=1112850000&en=16193326e6ad9050&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 06:10:43 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 06:14:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Delay Possible on Iraq Charter as Talks
	Falter
Message-ID: <20050330141044.508A611FA1B@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 30, 2005

Delay Possible on Iraq Charter as Talks Falter
By EDWARD WONG

Political leaders said that the delay in forming a new government would probably force them to postpone by half a year the writing of a permanent constitution.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/international/middleeast/30iraq.html?ex=1112850000&en=35ceb2b595b19009&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 06:11:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 06:14:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pro-Syrian Premier Expected to Resign in
	Lebanon Today
Message-ID: <20050330141155.04A0811FA1E@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 30, 2005

Pro-Syrian Premier Expected to Resign in Lebanon Today
By DEXTER FILKINS

Omar Karami said today he would step down because he could not persuade opposition figures to join a national unity government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/international/middleeast/30lebanon.html?ex=1112850000&en=50fffdfe21428293&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 06:19:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 06:22:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Harsh Tactics Were Allowed,
	General Told Jailers in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050330141939.98D1C13B7D1@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 30, 2005

Harsh Tactics Were Allowed, General Told Jailers in Iraq
By REUTERS

The top United States commander in Iraq authorized prisoner interrogation tactics that were harsher than accepted Army practice, a memo made public on Tuesday showed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/international/middleeast/30abuse.html?ex=1112850000&en=2bf383d57c4af293&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 06:22:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 06:25:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_Judge_Limits_the_Tran?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?sfer_of_13_From_Guant=E1namo?=
Message-ID: <20050330142247.A24D783D0B@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


WASHINGTON | March 30, 2005

Judge Limits the Transfer of 13 From Guantánamo
By DAVID JOHNSTON

A federal judge ruled that the government could not transfer 13 Yemenis unless it notified the judge and gave their lawyers a month to challenge the removal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/politics/30gitmo.html?ex=1112850000&en=56b240b193ec99e2&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed Mar 30 06:20:09 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 06:48:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_Yemeni_Held_in_Guant?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?=E1namo_Was_Seized_in_Cairo=2C_Group_Says?=
Message-ID: <20050330142009.471EF3884BC@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | March 30, 2005

Yemeni Held in Guantánamo Was Seized in Cairo, Group Says
By NEIL A. LEWIS

Human Rights Watch says that Abdul Salam Ali al-Hila was abducted on a Cairo street and is now among those imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/international/americas/30detain.html?ex=1112850000&en=b9c38bba696dfaec&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar 30 07:56:57 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Wed Mar 30 07:59:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Two-thirds of world's resources
	'used up'
Message-ID: <20050330155657.2B86B1DD5@herring.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up'
Tim Radford, science editor
Wednesday March 30 2005
The Guardian


The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure.

The study contains what its authors call "a stark warning" for the entire world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet, and to itself.

"Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted," it says.

The report, prepared in Washington under the supervision of a board chaired by Robert Watson, the British-born chief scientist at the World Bank and a former scientific adviser to the White House, will be launched today at the Royal Society in London. It warns that:

&#183; Because of human demand for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel, more land has been claimed for agriculture in the last 60 years than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined.

&#183; An estimated 24% of the Earth's land surface is now cultivated.

&#183; Water withdrawals from lakes and rivers has doubled in the last 40 years. Humans now use between 40% and 50% of all available freshwater running off the land.

&#183; At least a quarter of all fish stocks are overharvested. In some areas, the catch is now less than a hundredth of that before industrial fishing.

&#183; Since 1980, about 35% of mangroves have been lost, 20% of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed and another 20% badly degraded.

&#183; Deforestation and other changes could increase the risks of malaria and cholera, and open the way for new and so far unknown disease to emerge.

In 1997, a team of biologists and economists tried to put a value on the "business services" provided by nature -   the free pollination of crops, the air conditioning provided by wild plants, the recycling of nutrients by the oceans. They came up with an estimate of $33 trillion, almost twice the global gross national product for that year. But after what today's report, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, calls "an unprecedented period of spending Earth's natural bounty" it was time to check the accounts.

"That is what this assessment has done, and it is a sobering statement with much more red than black on the balance sheet," the scientists warn. "In many cases, it is literally a matter of living on borrowed time. By using up supplies of fresh groundwater faster than they can be recharged, for example, we are depleting assets at the expense of our children."

Flow from rivers has been reduced dramatically. For parts of the year, the Yellow River in China, the Nile in Africa and the Colorado in North America dry up before they reach the ocean. An estimated 90% of the total weight of the ocean's large predators - tuna, swordfish and sharks - has disappeared in recent years. An estimated 12% of bird species, 25% of mammals and more than 30% of all amphibians are threatened with extinction within the next century. Some of them are threatened by invaders.

The Baltic Sea is now home to 100 creatures from other parts of the world, a third of them native to the Great Lakes of America. Conversely, a third of the 170 alien species in the Great Lakes are originally from the Baltic.

Invaders can make dramatic changes: the arrival of the American comb jellyfish in the Black Sea led to the destruction of 26 commercially important stocks of fish. Global warming and climate change, could make it increasingly difficult for surviving species to adapt.

A growing proportion of the world lives in cities, exploiting advanced technology. But nature, the scientists warn, is not something to be enjoyed at the weekend. Conservation of natural spaces is not just a luxury.

"These are dangerous illusions that ignore the vast benefits of nature to the lives of 6 billion people on the planet. We may have distanced ourselves from nature, but we rely completely on the services it delivers."

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed Mar 30 08:36:52 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed Mar 30 08:39:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Study highlights global decline
Message-ID: <20050330_163652_070969.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Study highlights global decline **
Human activities are causing irreversible damage to the natural world, a major study finds.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4391835.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this
e-mail, and anything said in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect
the BBC's views.

If you don't wish to receive such mails in the future, please e-mail
webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
not want to receive "E-mail a friend" mailings.
From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar 29 19:36:10 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed Mar 30 10:03:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] online action--say no to Bolton
Message-ID: <200503301803.j2UI3TS1013369@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Think of Ann Veneman as the Paul Wolfowitz of food policy.

Just as Wolfowitz used his position as deputy secretary of defense to spin
whacked-out neoconservative theories into the justification for an
unnecessary war, so Veneman used her position as secretary of agriculture
to spin equally whacked-out theories about the genetic modification of
food and free trade into disastrous policies for farmers and consumers.

And, as John Nichols writes in the Online Beat, just as Wolfowitz is being
rewarded with a prominent new position as president of the World Bank, so
Veneman is also moving onto the world stage, as the likely nominee to be
the next executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF). http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=2289

Veneman would be just the latest in a line of extreme in-your-face
nominees put forth recently by the White House. John Bolton's appointment
to serve as US ambassador to the UN is another appointment causing
controversy. It's being reported today that a group of 59 former American
diplomats are urging the Senate to reject Bolton's nomination, lending a
powerful establishment voice to the growing campaign against Bolton. Check
out The Nation's activist weblog, ActNow, to add your voice to theirs.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow?bid=4&pid=2292

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

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
(option A - 1x/week, option B - 3/wk, option C - up to 1x/day, option D - 
up to 3x/day) please reply and let us know!  If someone forwarded you 
this email and you want to be on our list, send an email to 
ean@sbcglobal.net and tell us which option you'd like.


"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue Mar 29 19:57:25 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed Mar 30 10:04:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Crush Corporate Crime
Message-ID: <200503301804.j2UI41va013379@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Folks--at the end of this short important article is a call to action.  I have 
pasted the short email letter that I sent to the Galveston County D.A., and you 
are welcome to use it with your own name and contact info. --Mha Atma


Crush Corporate Crime
By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman

Last week, we attended a press conference.

It was held by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which
identifies itself as "an international learned society composed of the
world's leading scientists, scholars, artists, business people, and public
leaders."

The Academy held the press conference to draw attention to a new study it
was releasing: "Restoring Trust in American Business."

The idea for the study came from three corporate insiders -- securities
lawyer powerbrokers Martin Lipton and Larry Sonsini, and Harvard Business
School Professor and Computer Associates board member Jay Lorsch -- the
same Computer Associates that was recently criminally charged in a massive
corporate fraud, and was granted a deferred prosecution agreement, which
let the company off the hook for the consequences of the crime.

These corporate insiders said that they found a "disturbing breakdown of
values in corporate America."

But search as we would through the 184 pages of "Restoring Trust in
American Business," we found nary a suggestion that one way to restore
trust and deter corporate criminal wrongdoing would be to criminally
prosecute felonious corporations or their executives.

No, in their book, the power brokers talk on and on about ethics, and
gatekeepers, and stronger professional standards, lack of judgment, and
independence -- but nothing about prosecuting corporate crime.

And so at the press conference, we asked -- why didn't you address this
issue in your study?

Damon Silvers, a lawyer at the AFL-CIO, and a friend of ours, rose to
answer.

Silvers says that he attended business school.

And he said that on his first day at business school, he attended a
mandatory ethics class.

The question addressed on the first day of class was -- do you take a
factory overseas where you are certain to benefit from child labor?

Half the class, mostly Americans said -- if it is value maximizing in the
short term, do it.

The other half of the class, mostly non-Americans said -- of course not,
that is dangerous, bad things will happen to your corporation in the long
run if you do it.

Nobody in the class -- no student, nor the teacher -- suggested that
there might be things that would be value maximizing but would be wrong to
do, short term or long term.

"There are a lot of bad apples," Silvers said. "Maybe there are some
sociopaths out there. But when you have a culture where people who are
given control of most of the resources of our society believe there are in
fact no moral limits, none, that every moral question can be answered on a
spreadsheet, then what we have essentially seen in the last few years is
doomed to repeat itself. But the solution to that cannot be putting
sociopaths in jail. Because that is not the problem. The problem is
systemic structures that encourage people to behavior in really
destructive ways. It is not about good people and bad people, which is how
President Bush framed it. It is about how we channel ordinary people.
That's why I think the criminal issue, while important, is necessarily and
unavoidably a limited solution."

Well, if the people who are "given control of most of the resources of our
society believe there are in fact no moral limits, none," as Silvers puts
it, then we have a nation of corporate sociopaths.

And all the informed business ethics courses and codes of professional
responsibility are not going to make a dent in corporate crime.

But criminal prosecution might actually do the trick.

Criminal prosecution is not just about catching and holding accountable a
few bad apples. It is about society drawing clear lines of right and
wrong, and then enforcing those social norms seriously.

Had the academy added even one or two citizen activists, or one or two
academics who have studied corporate and white-collar crime, they might
have added this to their list of remedies.

Just to name one, they might have talked with University of Tennessee
criminologist Neal Shover, who has written a book titled Choosing White
Collar Crime.

It will be published by Cambridge University Press in September 2005.

Shover argues that the choice to commit corporate and white-collar crime
is a far more careful, prudent and protracted process than it is for
street crime.

Therefore, criminal prosecution will have a greater deterrent impact
with white collar crime than with street crime.

Translated: Shover wants to crack down hard on corporate crime.

We were thinking about all of this the other day when we pulled over to a
rest stop in Virginia.

The Virginia State Police had posters up at the rest stop encouraging the
citizenry to join with the police to "crush crime."

According to the poster, the Virginia State Police are seeking to curb
"escalating crime" with "112 specially trained state troopers who work
with citizens, civic groups, and governmental agencies on crime prevention
issues."

To which we counter today with our "Crush Corporate Crime" campaign.

Our "Crush Corporate Crime" campaign will seek to curb escalating
corporate crime with the millions of Americans who recognize that
corporate crime and violence inflicts far more damage than all street
crime combined -- yet receives far less attention from the corporate
political, media, academic and law enforcement establishments.

Our first item on the agenda:

Get the District Attorney in Galveston County, Texas to open a criminal
homicide and reckless endangerment investigation of BP and its executives.

Last week, 15 workers were incinerated, and more than 70 injured,
following an explosion at BP's sprawling refinery in Texas City, Texas.

It was the third fatal accident at the Texas City BP facility in the
last four years.

In September 2004, two workers were burned to death and another was
seriously injured.

In 2001, a maintenance worker at the facility died after falling into a
tank that had been shut down.

Nationwide, BP's facilities have had more than 3,565 accidents since
1990, ranking first in the nation, according to a 2004 report by the
Texas Public Interest Research Group (TexPIRG).

To charge BP or its executives with reckless homicide, or involuntary
manslaughter, the DA would have to find that BP and its executives
consciously disregarded "a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a death
will occur."

We believe that the families of the dead deserve a full-blown reckless
homicide investigation by the District Attorney in Galveston County.

Ira Reiner, when he was district attorney of Los Angeles County in the
early 1990s, would open a criminal investigation any time there was a
worker death in his jurisdiction.

But Mohamed Ibrahim, the first assistant district attorney in Galveston
County, told us that his office had opened no such criminal investigation
into the BP matter.

"We have no reason to believe at this point that it was anything but an
unfortunate industrial accident," Ibrahim said. "If OSHA (Occupational
Safety and Health Administration) came to us and said it was a result of
criminal recklessness, we would look at an investigation."

But OSHA has proven that it can't be trusted with worker safety
investigations.

Why not an independent homicide investigation?

"We don't have the resources or expertise," Ibrahim said.

Well, it's time to ramp up.

We call on all citizens of conscience to take a moment now and write to
Kurt Sistrunk, the district attorney in Galveston County, and call on him
to open a criminal investigation of BP and its executives in connection
with the blast that killed at least 15 and injured more than 70.

Opening a criminal investigation doesn't mean a crime has been committed.

It means only that there are 15 dead human beings -- may they rest in
peace -- and the need for an all-out criminal investigation.

The District Attorney can be reached at kurt.sistrunk@co.galveston.tx.us
-- or give him a call (409) 766-2355.


Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime
Reporter, <http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com>. Robert Weissman is
editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Multinational Monitor,
http://www.multinationalmonitor.org. Mokhiber and Weissman are co-authors
of On the Rampage: Corporate Predators and the Destruction of Democracy
(Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2005).

(c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman

This article is posted at:
<http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/corp-focus/2005/000200.html>

_______________________________________________

Kurt Sistrunk
Galveston County District Attorney 

Dear Mr. Sistrunk,

As concerned Americans we are interested in justice and we believe, as we are 
sure you do,  that criminal wrongdoing, especially that which results in the 
deaths of innocent people, should be investigated and punished.

We therefore strongly urge you to open a criminal investigation of BP and its 
executives in connection with the blast that killed at least 15 and injured more 
than 70.

We will join millions of Americans in closely following your actions in this 
case, and we hope that you will do your job and seek justice.

Most sincerely,

Martha Oaklander
Dr. Mha Atma S Khalsa
1536 Crest Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90035


-- 
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Date: Wed Mar 30 10:12:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / Middle East & Africa - Oil-for-food
	probe clears UN chief
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Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World / Asia-Pacific - Zhou rules out move to
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 30 10:14:10 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Wed Mar 30 10:21:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Tom Dispatch
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From harperalexander at mail.com  Wed Mar 30 11:02:15 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Wed Mar 30 11:04:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Schiavo - Two Republicans and dying decency - FT Andrew
	Shrimsley
Message-ID: <20050330190216.0D39A16402D@ws1-4.us4.outblaze.com>

Two Republicans and dying decency

 

 
 
 
 
 
At the time of writing, Terri Schiavo, the irreparably brain-damaged woman at the centre of an unprecedented American political and legal battle, is still starving to death in a Florida hospital en route to an unsought martyrdom as the new poster girl of the right-to-life brigade. 

But whatever one's moral view; and whatever one thinks of the people at the heart of this sad saga - the parents who battled to keep her alive and the husband determined to let her die - they are indisputably reluctant actors in this drama. 

Not so the other participants; notably the two Republican leaders who hitched their political wagons to her waning star to burnish their right-wing credentials by involving Congress in a private legal affair - a remarkable act of legislative over-reach from the supposed part of small government. 

Men such as Bill Frist, the senate Republican leader who fancies his chances for a run at the presidency. From his comfortable Washington office Mr Frist reviewed video footage of Mrs Schiavo taken four years ago. 

He did not hurry things. He took a full hour of viewing before suggesting the doctors had got it wrong. Mrs Schiavo was not, he concluded, in a "persistently vegetative state" after all. 

Senator Frist was a cardio surgeon before he entered politics. That is a tad different from being a neurosurgeon but perhaps his heart was in the right place. Then again, perhaps his heart was in Iowa or New Hampshire and the first presidential primaries. 

As public sentiment turned against the extraordinary Congressional intervention in a legal and state affair - one poll showed 82 per cent of Americans felt national leaders should stay out of the case and let the courts do their job - Mr Frist suddenly became keen that his remarks not be misinterpreted. His spokesman said suggestions he was making a diagnosis were "absurd". 

In the meantime Americans are doubtless taking advantage of his extraordinary diagnostic skills to send him video footage of their ailments. Has Aunt Betty's sciatica started playing up? Doctors do not know what to do? Contact the senate majority leader on 1-800-Vote-Bill or e-mail him for an online diagnosis. 

Don't fancy Mr Frist? Well, try House majority leader Tom DeLay. He is not a doctor at all; although he did get a degree in biology. Not that his lack of qualifications stopped him from disputing the medical opinions on the case as he mobilised congressmen. 

In fairness, Mr DeLay - who is battling against allegations of political impropriety and illegal fundraising and would like to portray the attacks on him as a campaign to bring down a leading conservative - does have some experience of these matters. Some years back he took part in a decision to switch off his father's life support machine because he knew that Dad would not want to go on that way. Mrs Schiavo, however, was not to be afforded the same consideration. 

Soon Mrs Schiavo will be gone. Messrs Frist and DeLay are already doubtless planning their next campaigns. Perhaps the only cause for hope from this entire wretched business lies in the American public, which showed itself more attached to constitutional principle and the rule of law than the political machinations of the Republican right.


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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed Mar 30 14:33:59 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Wed Mar 30 14:36:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Yahoo! News Story - McKenna backs Canada's cattle
	farmers, debunks terrorism myths on U.S. show
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 30 16:53:19 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 16:57:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article for you from an Economist.com reader.
Message-ID: <200503310032.TAA09815@stage-web-app.economist.com>

  
- AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - 

Dear civic,

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GROKSTER AND STREAMCAST FACE THE MUSIC
Mar 30th 2005  

The entertainment industry has taken its battle against illegal
downloading to America's Supreme Court. But attacking the technology
behind file-sharing could stifle innovation without tackling the
industry's long-term problems


THE music business should have stuck by Thomas Edison's technology if
it wanted to avoid the threat of piracy. His wax cylinders could record
a performance but could not be reproduced; that became possible only
with the invention of the flat-disc record some years later. On Tuesday
March 29th, America's Supreme Court began to hear testimony in a case
brought by the big entertainment companies that is intended to stop the
illegal downloading of copyright-protected music and film. The
industry's target is the peer-to-peer (P2P) technology that allows the
swapping of files directly over the internet. The case in question pits
two makers of file-sharing software, StreamCast Networks and Grokster,
against the entertainment business, represented by one of Hollywood's
most famous studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). And the judges, despite
their years, showed that they were well acquainted with the world of
file swappers and the digital gadgetry that a ruling against the P2P
firms might stymie.

The entertainment business has long been susceptible to copyright
infringement--and it has usually blamed the electronics industry. The
music industry first cried foul at the introduction of the
cassette-tape recorder in the late 1960s. More recently, the
digitisation of music has led to widespread "burning" of music tracks
on CDs using home computers. The latest threat to the record companies
is a copying technique of even greater speed, ease and scope. Every day
some 4m Americans swap music files over the internet, according to
figures from Pew, an independent research organisation. Now the
swapping of new films online is also gaining ground, to the chagrin of
the movie industry. Donald Verrilli, the lawyer representing the
entertainment business, said in Tuesday's court hearing that
file-sharing was "a gigantic engine of infringement" that allowed the
theft of 2.6 billion digital music, film and other files every month.

The file-sharing threat has come at a particularly bad time for the
music industry, which is struggling to reverse a long-term decline.
According to the IFPI, a recording-industry body, worldwide music sales
plunged in value by 22% in the five years to 2003--a drop of over $6
billion. In 2004, sales fell by 1.3%, though that decline looks less
bad when revenue from legal digital downloads is added in. Though there
has been a debate on the extent to which file-sharers would otherwise
have gone out and bought copies of the songs they are downloading, the
music industry largely blames them for its ills, noting that CD sales
are dipping steeply in countries where broadband internet access is
growing fast. Since P2P software allows computers to talk directly to
others running the same program without intermediaries, Grokster and
StreamCast argue that they are unable to control how their software is
being used, and thus are not responsible for any illegal sharing. 

Some suggest that the latest attempt to curb illicit
file-swapping--legal action against the technology that drives P2P
networks--threatens the future of innovation. Justice Antonin Scalia
appeared to have some sympathy with this view. He suggested that a
ruling for the plaintiffs in MGM V GROKSTER could stifle development of
new technologies, since potential innovators might fear that, as he put
it, "I'm a new inventor, I'm going to get sued right away."

THE BETAMAX PRECEDENT 
In court, the two software firms cited the case of Sony's Betamax
technology as a precedent. The home video-recording system, which was
eventually superseded by the rival VHS format, faced a suit in 1984 in
which Disney and Universal called for its ban. The film studios feared
that the ability to record on to video would allow considerable
infringement of their copyright. The Supreme Court ruled then that Sony
was not liable because the equipment had "substantial" uses other than
infringement, such as the recording of TV programmes for later viewing.
(Ironically, Sony nowadays owns a giant music-recording business and
thus finds itself, awkwardly, on both sides of the argument.)

Similarly, the software produced by StreamCast and Grokster has
significant non-infringing uses, such as sharing music that is not
copyright-protected and making phone calls over the internet. In fact,
some make the case that P2P technology could make the internet more
robust and secure by avoiding the use of centralised servers, and that
the entertainment companies' lawsuit is thus harmful to the web as a
whole. Richard Taranto, Grokster's lawyer, pressed the justices to
apply the Sony precedent but was reminded by Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg that the previous ruling was longer and less straightforward
than merely deciding if a technology had some non-infringing uses.

Napster, the first and best-known of the file-sharing businesses, was
killed off by the music industry in 2001. Because it used central
servers and so had the ability to block users who broke copyright laws,
a judge issued an injunction ordering Napster to shut its servers down.
At the time, it boasted some 14m users. Since then, the industry has
ramped up action against file-sharing and widened its attack by going
after individual downloaders as well.

At present, some 8,000 individuals around the world face lawsuits for
illegal file-sharing. The industry has backed up its legal moves with a
publicity offensive aimed at convincing the public that unauthorised
downloading is theft. As well as cinema- and TV-advertising campaigns,
45m instant messages have gone out to users of P2P services, warning
them to stop putting copyright material on the internet. America's
Department of Justice has weighed in too, even suggesting that P2P
services could be used to support terrorism. Others have muttered
darkly that the technology is a conduit for illegal pornography.

There are some signs that these measures are working: surveys suggest
that internet users are becoming more wary of illegal file-sharing, for
instance. However, according to the IFPI's own figures, the number of
unauthorised music files on the web has grown in recent months after
falling sharply in the first half of 2004 (see chart). The number of
users is also up, with 8.6m offering illegal files compared with 6.2m a
year ago. 

The music business has employed other defensive measures. Apart from a
round of mergers and cost-cutting over recent years, the industry has
tried to embrace legal downloading. Napster itself was reborn as a
legal downloading service. In 2004, says the IFPI, the number of
legal-download sites increased four-fold to 230 and the number of legal
downloads to over 200m. Apple's iTunes, the largest legal-download
catalogue, has more than 1m songs and handles over 1m downloads a day. 

The Supreme Court is expected to take about three months to rule on MGM
V GROKSTER. But even if the entertainment business wins the case, while
managing to coax more users into downloading legally, its problems are
unlikely to go away. The rush into legal downloading is bound to
cannibalise sales of CDs and DVDs, hitting profits. And perhaps the
decline in global sales is indicative of a far greater problem for the
music industry--that consumers simply think many of its products are
not worth paying for.
 

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From grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net  Wed Mar 30 11:19:10 2005
From: grgolsorkhi at earthlink.net (Golsorkhi)
Date: Wed Mar 30 17:20:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: 2 articles : Europe's Double Standard - Iran/Zimbabwe
In-Reply-To: <483dc4720326843b38a6c4919058ac82@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200503310120.j2V1KGY7014978@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

    
------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 13:40:19 -0500
Subject: 2 articles : Europe's Double Standard - Iran/Zimbabwe

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

  Mugabe Prepares for Threat of Uprising by Arming Youth Militia with
Iranian Arms


  March 30, 2005
Belfast Telegraph
Basildon Peta in Johannesburg


  The Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is not taking lightly a
respected cleric's call for a Ukrainian-style uprising to overthrow his
regime. Sources close to Mr Mugabe said yesterday that the President
had taken a last-minute decision to secretly arm thousands of party
youth militias.

He has already readied troops in case the opposition heeds the call
from Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo, for a peaceful uprising to
oust him from power if he steals tomorrow's ballot, as widely expected.

Archbishop Ncube is the Roman Catholics' second most senior cleric in
Zimbabwe. His unprecedented call for a peaceful uprising to stop Mr
Mugabe, whom he has branded a brutal crook who relies on ballot theft
to cling to power, has seemingly energised a previously cowed populace.

The sources said that Mr Mugabe had ordered the army to provide the
youth militias with weapons and maintain them in army barracks should
their services be required.

The youth militias were indoctrinated at ruling party training camps
across the country under a national youth service training programme.

Although they had been used previously to commit violent acts on Mr
Mugabe's enemies, he had not integrated them with the army or provided
them with heavy weaponry.

Mr Mugabe has also recalled retired soldiers and taken delivery of a
consignment of arms from China and Iran to ensure the army is
well-equipped.

It is believed that about 40,000 militias had been trained in the youth
camps. Up to 15,000 would have been roped into army barracks by now and
supplied with heavy weaponry. Even if nothing happens after the
election, they will be integrated into the army and police to ensure
their loyalty, military sources said.

The Zimbabwe army and the defence ministry refused to comment.

  link to original article

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

Iran va Jahan


Wednesday, March 30, 2005

  Europe's Double Standard: Elections in Zimbabwe and Iran


  March 30, 2005
Iran va Jahan
Shaheen Fatemi


  Recently Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice placed the governments of
Zimbabwe and Iran among the six most repressive regimes in the world.
However, she neglected to mention one major difference between the two.
Zimbabwe, unlike Iran, is poor, has no oil. Therefore the Europeans
dare to stand up to it. As people of Zimbabwe get ready to vote this
difference in European attitudes becomes obvious.

Yesterday, the EU presidency had harsh words for Zimbabwe's President
Robert Mugabe describing the upcoming general election there as a
mockery, in a speech to the European Parliament. Speaking on behalf of
the EU presidency, Luxembourg's junior foreign minister Nicolas Schmit
said the conditions surrounding the March 31 general election in
Zimbabwe were deeply worrying as Mugabe "would tolerate no observation
of this sham election."

  "We're worried and shocked, not only by this pseudo election campaign
but by what's been going on there for years," Schmit said, promising
the election would be debated at the next council of foreign ministers.
Schmit said the election proceedings so far failed to conform to
accepted norms and said the EU would take swift action. Luxembourg
currently holds the revolving European Union presidency.

In connection with tomorrow's elections in Zimbabwe, Human Rights Watch
has issued a briefing paper which sets out specific cases of
intimidation and violations of the right to association, expression and
assembly in that country. Exactly the same three main objections which
we raised last week in relation to Iran's forthcoming presidential
elections.

  Human Rights Watch's 35-page paper, ?Not a Level Playing Field:
Zimbabwe?s 2005 Parliamentary Elections,? documents cases of political
intimidation of opposition parties, their supporters and ordinary
citizens by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front
(ZANU PF) and its political allies. The paper also highlights the
government's use of repressive laws to restrict the activities of
political parties and civil society activists. The paper is based on
research conducted by Human Rights Watch in several regions of Zimbabwe
in December 2004 and February 2005.

  ?The people of Zimbabwe should go to the polls in an atmosphere free
from intimidation,? said Kasambala. ?The government has denied the
opposition, civil society activists and ordinary citizens the right to
freely express their opinions.?

  During the past twenty five years the same Human Rights Watch has
systematically denounced every IRI election as unfair and undemocratic.
However, never have the Europeans expressed any concerns.

In hundreds of reports Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the
United Nations Human Rights Commission and many other international
NGO's have condemned the Iranian regime's outright violations of basic
human rights. During the past presidential elections in Iran, HRW
summarized the plight of the Iranian people:

? The independent press was a particularly important target as it had
emerged as the major mobilizing force for the reform movement
??.Writers and thinkers initiated debates about a broad range of
subjects previously considered taboo in the Islamic Republic, including
the role of the Supreme Leader and the place of the clergy in
government and politics. Independent newspapers and journals carried
expos?s of corruption and the involvement of senior religious and
government officials in illegal political violence as well as
discussion about the role of women in society. The Majles also sought
to amend the law to allow greater press freedom, only for this to be
blocked by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i, and the Council
of Guardians, on the grounds that such a change would be "un-Islamic."?

Time has come for the Iranian people to stand up for their legitimate
rights and warn the European governments of the consequences of their
double standards and their total disregard for decency and human
rights.

URL:  
http://www.iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2005&m=03&d=30&a=3

------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at intrafi.com  Wed Mar 30 18:55:37 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed Mar 30 18:58:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Grokster Case's Silent Majority
Message-ID: <25525455.1112237737048.JavaMail.turbine@s80>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
The Grokster Case's Silent Majority 
--------------------

By Chris Anderson
Chris Anderson is the editor in chief of Wired magazine and is writing a book on the shift from mass markets to niche markets. His blog is at www.thelongtail .com.

March 30 2005

This week the Supreme Court received an avalanche of friend-of-the-court filings for its hearing of the Grokster case, which pits a peer-to-peer file-trading technology against MGM. Yet the outpouring of concern in the case only hints at the true number of interested parties. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-anderson30mar30,0,3236693.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed Mar 30 19:12:02 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed Mar 30 19:12:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Eating People As A Last Resort
Message-ID: <000b01c5359f$69862b80$1425b7d8@baby1>

Eating People As A Last Resort




It's sad really when you think about it.  A person's ethical level has
purportedly always been partially judged by the way one treats their
animals.

So the dogs are so hungry in Iraq that they are eating the corpses out of
mass graves.

So what.  Nobody cares over here.  Not about the dead people.  And certainly
not about a bunch of stray dogs eating the dead people in graves there.

I recall that most breeds of dogs do not normally feed off of human flesh,
so this might be a new breeding-in quality for certain Middle Eastern canine
species.  Eating humans.  I'm not sure the last time I really wanted to
purchase or acquire a human flesh eating dog, but if the gas prices get any
higher here in my little nowhere town, it might at the very least be prudent
to acquire some kind of investment in Iraq, human flesh eating dogs being
most likely a hot commodity that could be marketted globally.

Soylent Green.  What a strange movie.  The ecosystems had finally given out.
The population exploded.  Food production and natural resources piddled
away.  And the people at The Top decided they would just take the dead
people and process them into little wafers full of protein called Soylent
Green.  Nobody really knew they were eating people, they just knew it made
their bodies feel better, so nobody cared.  Huge profits were made from this
action.  The divide between The Top and The Bottom was finally permanently
established, albeit by way of feeding The Bottom its own dead people for
lunch.

Maybe someone could get a canning and processing plant going in Iraq and
other places abroad that will take the dead corpses of whomever we or anyone
else kills and turn them into dog food, thereby eliminating the horrible
thought of new breeds of human flesh eating canines beginning to proliferate
the other species across the planet slowly but surely.

It might be such a big seller that it could even one day offset the cost of
gasoline at the pumps over here.  At least =something= good will have come
from "The Iraq Syndrome".  It could inspire people around the world to no
longer just throw their dead or murdered people into graves.  The worms will
eventually eat them underground anyway.  Why at least not make a profit off
of it while doing Humanity and Society a favor.  And it would do away with
all the lumps under the carpet where it has been swept and shown as a true
example of progress toward Democracy, Freedom, and Commerce For All by
revealing the no longer wasted dead bodies under the ground rotting.
Finally, Big Brother will show that he does actually have a heart and that
all those dead bodies did not die in vain but have gone to preserving
non-human flesh eating canine species for centuries to come around the
Earth.  Well, at least so they're not caught on film in graveyards doing it
which upsets some of The Public.  We can even stamp it National Security
censored and then nobody will even know its going on.  I know what you're
saying, that sounds like War Profiteering, but, hey, it's no lower than what
George W. Bush's own grandfather did during World War II while he was
trading arms to and laundering money for Adolph Hitler.

Is that what we've really come to...?  No way out..?  The dogs eating the
dead humans we have seen fit to eliminate for business purposes...?

The economy is terrible, the ecology is crumbling, the infrastructures are
going, etc etc etc, all the problems you look around at the headlines each
day, or at least know, staring you back all humming in unison "There is no
way out of Hell...".

This isn't Hell....?  Prove it to me.

Either way, I'm breaking out.

The girl at the convenience store told me gasoline would go up to over $3.00
a gallon here in nowhereland sometimes in May.  I asked her who told her
that and she said it was the owner of the establishment.  I asked her if she
knew why gasoline prices were going up so high, higher than they are now
here which is the highest in history here they have ever hit, and she
replied that no she didn't know.  I left the store and went back home.
Thinking about the dogs eating the dead people we've killed and buried in
mass graves there and wondering if the price of gasoline at the pump here
was somehow related to that.

I think it's ALL related to ALL of it, in one way or another.

A simple nice little place to live, whether someone named God put us here or
we crawled out of the oceans to evolve into this.

Reduced to paying with our taxes for our own destruction, and others, both
here and abroad, getting to hear that dogs are eating the dead our people
have killed somewhere far away, and our biggest reaping of rewards so far in
the whole deal is to have the price of gasoline the highest at least I have
seen here in my entire life.

And nobody really cares that much, or even knows what's going on, much less
about dogs eating corpses of children in Iraq, but only where they are going
to get the money to fill up their tanks on their vehicles.

Makes the premise in so many Fiction movies seem so like historical
prophecies coming true from Hollywoodland minds, but especially the one "3
Days Of The Condor" when Robert Redford was talking to the CIA guy about the
"CIA within the CIA's" plan to take over the Middle East for its oil fields,
and Redford said something like "The American people will never buy into
such crap" and the CIA guy said "No, don't ask them now and see what they
say, ask them when they're running out of gas and oil for their vehicles,
and to heat their homes in the winter, and their children are sitting under
the blankets shivering etc staring at their parents, ask them THEN and see
what they will say about us taking over the Middle East Oil Fields".

"They won't care =how= we get it for them then, they'll just want us to get
it."

Welcome to the days of Fiction movies becoming our day to day Reality.

It is not pleasant.  And then I read those other posts here about the
reports from 95 countries that say the environment etc is basically going
down the toilet in a handbasket, and I wonder, can eating human flesh dog
food really be THAT bad for your puppy...?

I don't know.  When gas hits $5.00 a gallon, I'll let you know.





Cheeseburger

.  Uh, hey, look, Cheese, this isn't Hell.  Yes it is.  No it's not.  Yes it
is.  No it's not.  Yes it is.  No it's not.  Ok, prove it's not Hell.  Well,
I can't, but you can't prove it *is* Hell.  Uh, well yeah, I can't prove
that either.  It does *seem* like Hell though doesn't it..?  Well, yes, yes
it does...  See. I told you so.  Yeah, but just because it seems like it is
Hell doesn't mean it is Hell, Cheese...  Yeah, but just look around...  Oh,
ok, I see what you mean...  See..?  Yeah...  That still doesn't mean it *is*
Hell though...  Yes it does.  No, it doesn't.  Yes, it does.  No, it
doesn't.  Yes, it does.  No, it doesn't.  Ok, look, regardless whether this
is really Hell or not, they say everything is beginning to crumble, from a
to z, and the people don't have the guts, power, or knowledge to change it,
and we're stuck watching the whole thing go down the drain eventually and
take us with it.  Yeah..?  So..?  What's your point..?  There is no point...
To any of it...  They screwed us...  All of us...  Then stamped it all
Classified, Top Secret, or National Security Secret, and made us all pay for
it...  That's considered slavery in some countries, isn't it...?  Yes, yes
it is.  But not here..?  No, not here, here it is termed "in our best
interests"...  A real ripoff job.  Exactly.  Ok, this *might* be Hell,
Cheese, but I'm not going to just come right out and say that it is
definitively without a doubt *actually* Hell...  Well, ok, that's good for
starters, now, look up in the sky.  What do you see...?  Nothing.  Exactly.
And, so..?  There are probably more radio, microwave, who knows what waves
zipping through your head from satellites and other things in the sky than
there are almost grains on the beach.  So...?  So, and even our own military
now has things they can point at your head, a beam shoots out, and invisibly
they can from their little headset put words into your actual mind.  Do you
think they're not going to put those on satellites also, as if they haven't
been there quite some time already...?  Well, I don't know...  Maybe...
There is no longer a maybe about this.  One large well-controlled global
penal colony.  Think "The Matrix" except with a slight twist.  Ok, look,
you're starting to scare me again, Cheese.  I'm not trying to scare you,
only just keep you aware that with one tiny headset from some little place
on Earth, with the right satellite equipment hooked up, you could alter the
brain patterns of millions of people at the same time down here on the
planet, as if, again, they haven't been doing that for almost forever now,
and that the technology has finally surpassed their humanity, which means we
will basically be just eventually a bunch of dogs feasting off of the flesh
of our own species, just like in Soylent Green, and there will be some
people from The Top pushing a few buttons controlling it all eating steaks
and fresh vegetables while people at The Bottom are eating little wafers of
processed dead humans.  Ok, look, if I agree this is Hell, can we drop the
subject and go on to something else, that movie on ShowTime is coming on
soon and I want to tape it.  Well, you don't really give a flying frig about
any of this, do you...?  Uh, no, Cheese, no I don't.  It's reality now,
though, you know, not 5 years or something from now.  Great, Cheese, have
some popcorn, the movie's coming on.  Look, if this isn't Hell, then they
created Hell here on Earth, which is just as dismal a thought.  Ok, great,
and so what are you going to do about it...?  I dunno, I thought telling
people like you about it would do something to make the world a better place
to live...  You're dreaming again, Cheese...  So..?  What's wrong with
that...?  Nothing...  Just don't dream aloud so much anymore, nobody is
listening, and even if they are, they either don't want to know about it, or
can't do anything about it, at least not in their own minds, so you're
wasting your breath.  See..?  See what...?  Right there, all that junk, just
another facet of Hell, devil-made or man-made, all that "nobody is listening
etc" stuff...  But they're not listening, Cheese, trust me, or, again, they
can't do anything about it, or just don't want to even hear about it
anymore...  But that kind of knowledge is the only thing that will save
their *sses...  Save them from where...?  Save them from here, Hell...  This
is not, Hell, Cheese, admit it.  It is...  It isn't...  It is...  It
isn't...  It is....  Ok, shhh, the movie's coming on, bring me a beer from
the fridge...  Ok....  The last glimmer of hope for Life on planet Earth,
circumvented by Blockbuster videos...  What are you mumbling, Cheese...?
Oh, nothing... nobody's listening anyways...  Yeah, I know...

.

From lindahassler at sbcglobal.net  Wed Mar 30 20:31:44 2005
From: lindahassler at sbcglobal.net (Linda Hassler)
Date: Wed Mar 30 20:34:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes article by former senator
Message-ID: <ed974228e743b8d984c7c73edac43842@sbcglobal.net>

 From the just-retired U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Danforth, on 
what's happened to the Republican Party, a woefully-written piece in 
today's NYTimes.
 From Linda Hassler

In the Name of Politics
????By John C. Danforth
  ????The New York Times

  ????Wednesday 30 March 2005

  ????St. Louis - By a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have 
transformed our party into the political arm of conservative 
Christians. The elements of this transformation have included advocacy 
of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, opposition to stem 
cell research involving both frozen embryos and human cells in petri 
dishes, and the extraordinary effort to keep Terri Schiavo hooked up to 
a feeding tube.

  ????Standing alone, each of these initiatives has its advocates, 
within the Republican Party and beyond. But the distinct elements do 
not stand alone. Rather they are parts of a larger package, an agenda 
of positions common to conservative Christians and the dominant wing of 
the Republican Party.

  ????Christian activists, eager to take credit for recent electoral 
successes, would not be likely to concede that Republican adoption of 
their political agenda is merely the natural convergence of 
conservative religious and political values. Correctly, they would see 
a causal relationship between the activism of the churches and the 
responsiveness of Republican politicians. In turn, pragmatic 
Republicans would agree that motivating Christian conservatives has 
contributed to their successes.

  ????High-profile Republican efforts to prolong the life of Ms. 
Schiavo, including departures from Republican principles like approving 
Congressional involvement in private decisions and empowering a federal 
court to overrule a state court, can rightfully be interpreted as 
yielding to the pressure of religious power blocs.

  ????In my state, Missouri, Republicans in the General Assembly have 
advanced legislation to criminalize even stem cell research in which 
the cells are artificially produced in petri dishes and will never be 
transplanted into the human uterus. They argue that such cells are 
human life that must be protected, by threat of criminal prosecution, 
from promising research on diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and 
juvenile diabetes.

  ????It is not evident to many of us that cells in a petri dish are 
equivalent to identifiable people suffering from terrible diseases. I 
am and have always been pro-life. But the only explanation for 
legislators comparing cells in a petri dish to babies in the womb is 
the extension of religious doctrine into statutory law.

  ????I do not fault religious people for political action. Since Moses 
confronted the pharaoh, faithful people have heard God's call to 
political involvement. Nor has political action been unique to 
conservative Christians. Religious liberals have been politically 
active in support of gay rights and against nuclear weapons and the 
death penalty. In America, everyone has the right to try to influence 
political issues, regardless of his religious motivations.

  ????The problem is not with people or churches that are politically 
active. It is with a party that has gone so far in adopting a sectarian 
agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious 
movement.

????When government becomes the means of carrying out a religious 
program, it raises obvious questions under the First Amendment. But 
even in the absence of constitutional issues, a political party should 
resist identification with a religious movement. While religions are 
free to advocate for their own sectarian causes, the work of government 
and those who engage in it is to hold together as one people a very 
diverse country. At its best, religion can be a uniting influence, but 
in practice, nothing is more divisive. For politicians to advance the 
cause of one religious group is often to oppose the cause of another.

  ????Take stem cell research. Criminalizing the work of scientists 
doing such research would give strong support to one religious 
doctrine, and it would punish people who believe it is their religious 
duty to use science to heal the sick.

  ????During the 18 years I served in the Senate, Republicans often 
disagreed with each other. But there was much that held us together. We 
believed in limited government, in keeping light the burden of taxation 
and regulation. We encouraged the private sector, so that a free 
economy might thrive. We believed that judges should interpret the law, 
not legislate. We were internationalists who supported an engaged 
foreign policy, a strong national defense and free trade. These were 
principles shared by virtually all Republicans.

????But in recent times, we Republicans have allowed this shared agenda 
to become secondary to the agenda of Christian conservatives. As a 
senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I 
did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the 
institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around.

  ????The historic principles of the Republican Party offer America its 
best hope for a prosperous and secure future. Our current fixation on a 
religious agenda has turned us in the wrong direction. It is time for 
Republicans to rediscover our roots.

  ????-------

  ????John C. Danforth, a former United States senator from Missouri, 
resigned in January as United States ambassador to the United Nations. 
He is an Episcopal minister.

  
  
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed Mar 30 21:42:23 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed Mar 30 21:45:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Energy Insanity By Molly Ivins, AlterNet
Message-ID: <BE70CDBF.1FC96%michael@michaelbutler.com>

AlterNet
Energy Insanity
By Molly Ivins, AlterNet
Posted on March 29, 2005, Printed on March 30, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/21622/

As a general rule about Bush & Co., the more closely a policy is associated
with Dick Cheney, the worse it is. Which brings us to energy policy ?
remember his secret task force? In the long history of monumentally bad
ideas, the Cheney policy is a standout for reasons of both omission and
commission. Dumb, dumber and dumbest.

Ponder this: Next year, the administration will phase out the $2,000 tax
credit for buying a hybrid vehicle, which gets over 50 miles per gallon, but
will leave in place the $25,000 tax write-off for a Hummer, which gets 10-12
mpg. That's truly crazy, and that's truly what the whole Cheney energy
policy is.

According to the Energy Information Administration in the Department of
Energy, last year's energy bill (same as this one) would cost taxpayers at
least $31 billion, do nothing about the projected over-80 percent increase
in America's imports of foreign oil by 2025, and increase gasoline prices.
(Since every bureaucrat who tells the truth in this administration ? about
the cost of the drug bill or the safety of Vioxx ? seems to get the ax, I'm
probably getting those folks in trouble.)

The bill is loaded with corporate giveaways and tax breaks for big oil.
Meanwhile, Bush's budget cuts funding for renewable energy research and
programs, and anyone who tells you different is lying.

Now, here's the Catch-22 we get with this administration: It is using the
exact language of the bill's critics ? stealing it wholesale and using it to
promote its bill. It's our friend Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster who
specializes in "framing" issues (framing means the same thing as spinning,
and in the non-political world it is known as lying), at work again. Luntz
put out a memo in January: "Eight Energy Communication Guidelines for 2005"
telling R's how to talk about energy using language people like.

The Natural Resources Defense Council found a Bush speech on energy on March
9 in Ohio that parrots Luntz's suggestions to a laughable point ? threat to
national security, diversity of supply, innovation, conservation and (my
fave) Point 4, "The key principle is 'responsible energy exploration.' And
remember, it's NOT drilling for oil. It's responsible energy exploration."

So there was Bush, as per Luntz's memo, talking about "environmentally
responsible exploration" and announcing one of his top energy objectives is
"to diversify our energy supply by developing alternative sources of
energy." Polling shows 70 percent of Americans support a drastic increase in
government spending on renewable energy sources.

I'm tired of arguing about whether Bush is so ignorant he doesn't know that
he is cutting alternative energy programs and subsidizing oil companies or
so fiendishly clever that he knows and doesn't care what he says. In the
end, it doesn't make any difference. You get wretched policy either way.

The Apollo Project, a sensible outfit dedicated to reducing America's
dependence on foreign oil, says 90 percent of Americans support its goal of
energy independence. Bracken Hendricks, the executive director, points out
that there is "remarkable agreement among many so-called strange bedfellows
? labor and business, environmentalists and evangelicals, governors and
generals, urbanites and farmers."

Meanwhile, what we are sticking with is soaring oil prices (ExxonMobil just
reported the highest quarterly profit ever, $8.42 billion, by an American
company) and declining discoveries. Several oil companies are reporting
disappearing reserves, and Royal Dutch/Shell admitted it had overstated its
reserves by 20 percent last year.

Nor are the major oil companies spending their mammoth profits on
exploration or field development ? they're doing mega-mergers and stock
buybacks. ExxonMobil spent $9.95 billion to buy back its own stock in 2004.
The Chinese and the Indians are now buying cars like mad, and the result is
going to be an enormous supply crunch, sooner rather than later.

It is possible with existing technology to build a car that gets 500 miles
per gallon, but the Bushies won't even raise the CAF? (fuel efficiency)
standards for cars coming out now. The trouble with the Bush plan to develop
hydrogen cars is that while you can get hydrogen out of water, you have put
energy in to get it out, so there's a net energy loss.

Conservation is simply the cheapest and most effective way of addressing
this problem. If you put a tax on carbon, it would move industry to wind or
solar power. Wind power here in Texas is at the tipping point now ?
comparably priced. Our health, our environment, our economy and the globe
itself would all benefit from a transition to renewable energy sources.

And as Tom Friedman recently pointed out, it would do a lot for world peace,
too: "By doing nothing to lower U.S. oil consumption, we are financing both
sides in the war on terrorism and strengthening the worst governments in the
world. That is, we are financing the U.S. military with our tax dollars and
we are financing the jihadists ? and the Saudi, Sudanese and Iranian mosques
and charities that support them ? through our gasoline purchases."

? 2005 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/21622/

From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 31 03:00:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 31 03:03:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <3000080.1112266820513.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Better Model Than Beirut
 
 By Tamara Cofman Wittes
 
    In Beirut, Baghdad, Ramallah, Cairo and, yes,  Riyadh, the pace of politics in the once-somnolent Arab Middle East is making even seasoned observers dizzy. The Beirut Spring in particular captured the world's imagination by displaying all the hallmarks of a people-power velvet revolution: multicultural crowds, students sleeping in tents in the city square, sympathetic police helping marchers evade roadblocks. Some believe that the peaceful demonstrations that brought down the Lebanese government this past month signal the cracking of the region's autocratic edifice, the end of Arab rulers' ability to smother popular discontent or coopt dissenters into submission.
 
  But those who hope that Lebanon will play the role of catalyst for a regional democratic awakening may be looking in the wrong place. For a variety of reasons, Lebanon's demonstrations, though they surprised and stirred Arab observers, are not likely to be emulated in other Arab capitals. There is, however, an emerging model that speaks volumes to aspiring Arab democrats  --  in the Palestinian territories to the south. If the Palestinian experiment survives the spring, its reverberations may prove more powerful than the chanted slogans from the streets of Beirut.
 
  Many Arabs view Lebanon as a regional exception  --  its volatile ethnic mix, its close ties to Europe and its relative cultural liberality have long set Lebanon apart from its neighbors. But even beyond this, Lebanon's demonstrations fail to resonate widely with Arabs elsewhere in the region because of what they are. The Lebanese opposition labeled this past month's actions its "independence intifada," not its democracy intifada. The demonstrators have demanded the free exercise of Lebanese sovereignty  --  independent of the influence of their domineering neighbor, Syria. Although compromised by sectarian bargaining and Syria's heavy hand, Lebanon's democratic tradition is among the most developed in the Arab world. The Lebanese demonstrators have a problem with Syria. That's not a message that speaks to Arabs elsewhere, because the primary barrier to democracy they face is not an outside power's diktat but rather indigenous dictatorship.
 
  What's happening in the Palestinian territories, by contrast, could be a real jolt to political realities elsewhere in the Arab world. After the death of their longtime leader, Yasser Arafat, Palestinians chose a successor through an open, contested election  --  despite continued Israeli military occupation  in the West Bank and Gaza. This fact, especially in close proximity to the Iraqi elections, was a clear challenge to Arab leaders who tell their citizens that the need for stability trumps any exercise in political participation. If Iraqis and Palestinians could have free elections under such unfavorable conditions, some Arab commentators asked, why can't we? To compound the power of their action, Palestinians chose as their new president a man who took a clear stance on the major divide in his society  --  a stance that rejected violence against Israel as a means to free his homeland. Democracy produced not just a legitimate leader but a moderate one.
 
  As they prepare for more municipal elections in April and legislative balloting in July, Palestinians are debating the problem of official corruption, the proper role of security services in a democratic state and the legacy of one-party dominance of political life  --  problems with which most other Arabs are intimately familiar. If the tentative cease-fire now in place takes hold, the next question will be how to remove violence from the political stage and integrate Palestine's radical Islamist movements into mainstream politics. This, too, is a key concern for Arabs across the region, especially secular liberals who are at the core of the pro-democracy movement.
 
  Palestinians come to their democratic struggle with determination born of their experience living under the ironic reality of military occupation by the region's most democratic government. As much as anything, Palestinian activists often note, seeing Israel's democracy close up  --  warts and all  --  has fed Palestinians' commitment to build their own. The occupation and the Palestinians' lack of sovereignty also add special burdens on their path to a democratic future  --  and they mean that the fate of Palestinian democracy does not rest solely in Palestinian hands.
 
  If the Palestinians' fragile democratic experiment is to succeed, it will require urgent investment by Israel, the United States and the international community  --  including the Arab leaders who might desire Israeli-Palestinian rapprochement but who fear the implications of growing Palestinian democracy. That's even more reason to hope that the White House keeps its focus on Ramallah even while it basks in the warmth of the Beirut Spring.
 
  The writer is a research fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Her essay "Promoting Reform in the Arab World: A Sustainable Strategy" appears in the center's new book, "The Road Ahead."
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 31 03:01:27 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 31 03:04:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <15203835.1112266887181.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 De Gaulle's Tattered Legacy
 
 By Jim Hoagland
 
    Charles de Gaulle bequeathed the French  two big ideas and the atomic bomb to see them  through the sad national duty of surviving without him. The bomb is still there and probably always will be. The ideas may not be as resilient. They face severe challenge this spring.
 
  One idea was to form a superbly educated, merit-based political elite to revitalize the defeated and demoralized nation that emerged from World War II. The cream of the intellectual crop would be chosen by rigorous examinations, educated in prestigious national schools and assigned important government jobs based on grades.
 
  This meritocracy produced two working generations of talented, dedicated administrators who gradually moved to the top of France's business and political establishments. How you respond to "the French" depends in some measure on how you react to dealing with the smartest kid in the class, who cannot resist occasionally reminding you of that fact. You may not find that as invigorating as I (usually) do.
 
 But the French elite  --  and the system that produced it  --  is on trial this spring in a Paris courtroom, where 47 political party activists and business executives stand accused of falsifying government contracts to provide France's main parties with secret campaign funds.
 
  If these people did participate in a corrupt, long-standing conspiracy to parcel out hidden business payoffs to France's Gaullists, socialists, communists and others, the probability that the country's most important political leaders were not involved approaches zero. France's political class operates as the country's central nervous system.
 
  Constitutional law prevents the investigation or prosecution of President Jacques Chirac in such cases. But the trial, which is expected to last four months, casts shadows on the Elysee Palace and saps the moral authority of Chirac's government, which also faces voter discontent over unfulfilled promises and a sluggish economy.
 
  This noxious mix is creating a challenge to the other big idea, which de Gaulle adopted, reshaped and sold to the French public as a matter of national survival. That is the concept of a united Europe  --  united under French intellectual leadership and political parity with Germany (which also has ideas, but does not have the bomb).
 
  France's leaders have been stunned by recent public opinion polls that show a clear majority of the electorate intending to vote against the European Union's draft constitutional treaty in a May 29 referendum. A "non" from France would kill the treaty and open an existential crisis in the 25-nation union.
 
  These two trials of France's elite  --  the legal one in Paris, the political one of coaxing a "oui" to a more politically integrated Europe  --  are merging into a policy maelstrom that swirls beyond France's borders.
 
  As his domestic challenges mount, Chirac seeks refuge and armor in foreign policy decisions and meetings. To reassure the electorate that French rights are not threatened by the new constitution, he has been busy defying the existing procedures and powers of the union's executive arm in Brussels.
 
  French opinion makers portray the polls as symbolic vehicles for voters to express their disillusion with the Chirac government, not with Europe. The polls are treated as a beneficial early warning: They will mobilize the elite into vigorously and lucidly campaigning, explaining Europe to the voters anew to get to "oui."
 
  The constitution was after all drafted under the leadership of former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing. He predicts that when the French go into the voting booth, they will put aside their national quarrels and their concern over losing influence in a body that began with six members in de Gaulle's day but jumped to 25  in 2004.
 
  "The French people already think enlargement went too far too fast. They are probably right," Giscard said at a Council on Foreign Relations meeting in New York on March 7. "Once they understand there is nothing in the constitution that permits a further enlargement" that would include Turkey, they will vote yes.
 
  It may well be so. The odds are often with the smartest kid in class. But de Gaulle's progeny  --  the French elite  --  is today deeply divided over the future of the union he helped create. Chirac supports eventual Turkish membership; Giscard opposes it; Socialist Laurent Fabius believes he can regain control of his party by defeating the constitution, which normally he would be expected to support; and so on.
 
  This suggests that instead of growing clarity, there could be growing confusion on Europe and other matters. In a Paris courtroom, acid drops daily on the bedrock of credibility and integrity that has empowered modern French rulers to govern, and to explain. 
 
 jimhoagland@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 31 03:02:23 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 31 03:05:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10901194.1112266943502.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Tax Plan To Kill K Street
 
 By George F. Will
 
    The power to tax involves, as Chief Justice John Marshall said, the power to destroy. So does the power of tax reform, which is one reason why Rep. John Linder, a Georgia Republican, has a 133-page bill to replace 55,000 pages of tax rules.
 
  His bill would abolish the  Internal Revenue Service and the many billions of tax forms it sends out and receives. He would erase the federal income tax system  --  personal and corporate income taxes, the regressive payroll tax and self-employment tax, capital gains, gift and estate taxes, the alternative minimum tax, and the earned-income tax credit  --  and replace all that with a 23 percent national sales tax on personal consumption. That would not only sensitize consumers to the cost of government with every purchase, it would destroy K Street.
 
  "K Street" is shorthand for Washington's lawyer-lobbyist complex. It exists to continually complicate and defend the tax code, which is a cornucopia from which the political class pours benefits on constituencies. If the income tax were replaced  --  Linder had better repeal the 16th Amendment, to make sure the income tax stays gone  --  everyone and all businesses would pay their taxes through economic choices, and K Street's intellectual capital, which consists of knowing how to game the tax code, would be radically depreciated.
 
 Under his bill, he says, all goods, imported and domestic, would be treated equally at the checkout counter, and all taxpayers  --  including upward of 50 million foreign visitors annually  --  would pay "as much as they choose, when they choose, by how they choose to spend." And his bill untaxes the poor by including an advance monthly rebate for every household equal to the sales tax on consumption of essential goods and services, as calculated by the government, up to the annually adjusted poverty level.
 
  Today the percentage of taxpayers who rely on professional tax preparers is at an all-time high. The 67 percent of tax filers who do not itemize may think they avoid compliance costs, which include nagging uncertainty about whether one has properly complied with a tax code about the meaning of which experts differ. But everyone pays the cost of the tax system's huge drag on the economy.
 
  Linder says Americans spend 7 billion hours a year filling out IRS forms and at least that much calculating the tax implications of business decisions. Economic growth suffers, because corporate boards waste huge amounts of time on such calculations rather than making economically rational allocations of resources. Money saved on compliance costs would fund job creation.
 
  Corporations do not pay payroll and income taxes and compliance costs; they collect them from consumers through prices. So the 23 percent consumption tax would allow taxpayers to stop paying the huge embedded cost of corporate taxation. Linder says the director of the Congressional Budget Office told him it costs individuals and businesses about $500 billion to remit $2 trillion to Washington. And studies show that it costs the average small business $724 to collect and remit $100.
 
  In 1945 corporations paid more than one-third of the government's revenue. Now they pay only 11 percent, because corporations, especially multinationals, are voluntary taxpayers. In a world increasingly without borders that block capital movements, corporations pay where the burden is lowest. Linder says $6 trillion in offshore accounts would have an incentive to come home under his plan.
 
  Furthermore, by ending payroll and corporate taxes,  the United States would become the only nation selling goods with no tax component  --  such as Europe's value-added tax  --  in their prices. With no taxes on capital and labor, multinationals would, Linder thinks, stampede to locate here, which would be an incentive for other nations to emulate America. "This," Linder says, "would unleash freedom around the globe."
 
  Critics argue that ending the income tax, with its deductibility of charitable contributions, would depress giving. Linder says: Piffle. In 1980, when the top personal income tax rate was 70 percent, a huge incentive for giving, individual charitable contributions were $40.7 billion. In 1986 the top rate was reduced to 28 percent, and by 1988 charitable giving was $86.7 billion. The lesson, says Linder, is that we give more money when we have more money.
 
  When Speaker Dennis Hastert published a book last year, he was startled to find that interviewers were most interested in talking about Linder's bill, which then had 54 co-sponsors. This year Hastert added Linder to the Ways and Means Committee. Linder cheerfully says his bill would reduce Ways and Means to "a B committee" by ending the political fun of making the tax code ever more baroque for the benefit of K Street's clients. Bliss.
 
 georgewill@washpost.com
 
   

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu Mar 31 03:02:54 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu Mar 31 03:05:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <16856810.1112266974412.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Crossing Lines in California
 
 By David S. Broder
 
    SACRAMENTO  --  The hardest challenge in the state capital these days is to locate anyone who will defend the way California has drawn its legislative and congressional district lines in the past decade.
 
 In this the largest and most influential of the 50 states, there are 173 major political subdivisions: 80 seats in the state Assembly, 40 in the state Senate and 53 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 
 In 2002 exactly three of them changed parties. In 2004 none did.
 
 This Soviet-style conformity was no accident. It was the result of a carefully negotiated deal between congressional Republicans and the legislature's Democrats to guarantee each side against any political losses.
 
 Similar deals have been cut in many other states, which is one reason the House, which was designed by the Constitution to be the most sensitive barometer of short-term changes in the country's political climate, now has become the most rigid and inelastic part of the federal government.
 
 Over the  past three national elections, those of 2000, 2002 and 2004, when control of the White House and the Senate changed hands and the nation was treated to the spectacle of dramatically close national and statewide races between two highly motivated and mobilized political parties, the House has never budged. In the three election cycles, a grand total of 21 House incumbents were defeated. Most of the others were effectively unchallenged, vastly outspending their opponents and swamping them at the polls.
 
 But now pacesetter California may be ready to change the pattern. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has thrown his support behind a move to shift control of the line-drawing from the legislature to a panel of retired judges.
 
 On a visit here last week, I was surprised to find that  --  unlike his other "structural reforms," involving the state budget process, pensions and education  --  almost no one in the capitol building wanted to challenge the rationale behind the governor's move.
 
 Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, perhaps the sharpest of Schwarzenegger's partisan critics, told Post reporter Dan Balz and me, "It is not in the best interests of democracy to have legislators drawing their own districts. We have to move [that power] to some neutral party."
 
 Nuñez said he is opposed to Schwarzenegger's plan only because it calls for redistricting before the next census, in 2010, measures the changes in California's population. Schwarzenegger originally hoped that new lines could be drawn for 2006, but he now concedes that if that is impractical, it should be "as soon as possible," meaning probably 2008.
 
 Despite the remarkable silence of the opposition, the Schwarzenegger plan could still fail. Most of the Republicans in the House delegation have urged the governor to abandon the idea because they are comfortable with their current safe seats and their House seniority. At a meeting in Washington, they told him that their powerful committee chairmanships were assets to the state and worth protecting. He told them to take a hike, but it remains to be seen if the public is as stirred by the issue as Schwarzenegger  is. The first polls on an initiative to shift the line-drawing to judges showed only lukewarm support, and similar efforts sponsored by Republicans have failed  in this Democratic state.
 
 But no governor has campaigned on the issue as Schwarzenegger will. He is convinced that the districting deal has created the polarized legislature and made compromise on budgetary and governance issues all but impossible. Each party now plays only to its hard-core supporters, and the pragmatic center goes unrepresented.
 
 The same thing has happened, of course, to the House of Representatives  --  and for the same reason. Because the only threat most incumbents have to worry about is a possible challenge in a primary, they heed the importunings of any interest group that can make trouble for their renomination. That heightens the power of hard-core constituencies with uncompromising views.
 
 Changing the way districts are drawn will not completely solve that problem. Because Democrats and Republicans now often live in separate areas  --  urban or rural  --  there is only so much "blending" that a neutral redistricting plan can accomplish. But at least at the margins, creating more competitive districts would  probably help re-create a moderate center in Congress and the state legislatures.
 
 When it happens, a shift by California to a nonpartisan commission on redistricting would lend powerful impetus to such an effort.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
  
 
   

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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Wed Mar 30 19:54:15 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Thu Mar 31 03:51:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - U.S. COURT GRANTS REVIEW IN SCHIAVO CASE
Message-ID: <20050331035415.730A41B679@nmweb06.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
U.S. COURT GRANTS REVIEW IN SCHIAVO CASE
WebPosted Wed Mar 30 01:02:11 2005

ATLANTA, GA.---A U.S. federal appeal court agreed early Wednesday to
consider a request for a new hearing on whether to reconnect Terri
Schiavo's feeding tube.

The ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, announced before 1 a.m.
local time Wednesday, came as the brain-damaged Florida woman edged
closer to death on her 13th day without nourishment.

Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have fought a seven-year court
battle because they believe their daughter wants to live and can recover
after 15 years of being in a persistent vegetative state.

 INDEPTH: Persistent vegetative state



Michael Schiavo insists his wife, who is now 41, would never have wanted
to live in her current state.

The federal appeal court ruling was sure to surprise many legal experts,
who said the Schindlers had exhausted all legal options after they lost
two more appeals in Florida courts on Saturday.

In their latest request for a new hearing, the Schindlers argued that a
federal judge in Tampa should have considered the entire state court
record and not just the procedural history when he ruled against them
last week.

The appeals court did not say when it would decide whether to grant the
new hearing.

Jesse Jackson prays with parents

Just hours earlier, Rev. Jesse Jackson joined the Schindlers to pray
outside the Florida hospice where Schiavo lingered, asking God to work
a miracle.

"This is one of the profound moral, ethical issues of our time &#8230;
today we pray for a miracle, for God's intervention and God has done it
before," Jackson told reporters after meeting with Schiavo's parents.



He also appealed to U.S. legislators to "please help us find some way to
get food and water to Terri."

"While the law is important, the law must be tempered with mercy to have
justice. We ask for justice today," said Jackson.

Jackson was only the latest in a long string of well-known figures who
have waded into the case, including President George W. Bush and his
brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

The president signed legislation that allowed the parents to appeal to
federal courts, beyond the Florida state courts where they had already
lost. Those appeals were unsuccessful.

The governor tried legal and political manoeuvres, including an effort to
make her a ward of the state, which also failed legally.

Schiavo has been taken off her feeding tube twice before and later
reattached.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Wed Mar 30 21:19:28 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Thu Mar 31 03:51:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Terri Schiavo: Judicial Murder
Message-ID: <20050331051928.4367.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 31 08:07:37 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 31 08:10:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Brain chip reads man's thoughts
Message-ID: <20050331_160737_026992.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.

** Message **
fascinating

** Brain chip reads man's thoughts **
A paralysed US man becomes the first person to benefit from a brain chip that reads his mind.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4396387.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu Mar 31 08:10:55 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu Mar 31 08:13:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Pill 'could lead to longer lives'
Message-ID: <20050331_161055_044600.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

Hecate saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you
should see it.



** Pill 'could lead to longer lives' **
People could one day extend their lifespan by up to 30 years by taking a pill, a scientist has claimed.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4396495.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
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From harperalexander at mail.com  Thu Mar 31 08:24:54 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Thu Mar 31 08:28:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The A-Z of Dr Johnson's dictionary (Independent)
Message-ID: <20050331162454.868821CE303@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com>

The A-Z of Dr Johnson's dictionary
Samuel Johnson defined both language and life in 18th-century England. As his eponymous lexicon marks its 250th anniversary, Christopher Hirst and Genevi?ve Roberts salute a literary hero
31 March 2005
A is for Argument. For all his legendary conversational powers, Johnson was ruthless in debate. When he once expressed his satisfaction following a social gathering, Boswell bravely replied: "Yes, you tossed and gored several persons." Johnson's friend Oliver Goldsmith described his technique thus: "If he cannot shoot you with his pistol, he will knock you down with the butt-end of it."

B is for Boswell, James (1740-1795). A sexually voracious alcoholic is an unlikely candidate for writing the most famous biography in the English language. Still irresistibly readable, this vast work set the template for the "warts and all" portrait that includes quirky personal detail along with the great achievements of the subject.

C is for Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, Fourth Earl of (1694-1773). He agreed to be patron of the dictionary but provided no assistance during the 10 years it took to produce. His congratulations to Johnson on the dictionary's publication earned him a magisterial rebuke from the lexicographer: "Is not a Patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and, when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help?" This view was underlined by the definition of "Patron" in the dictionary: "Commonly a wretch who supports with indolence and is paid with flattery."

D is for Dictionary. Embarrassed by the lack of an English dictionary, a group of London publishers headed by Longman contracted Samuel Johnson in 1746 to complete the task for ?1,575. He estimated the job would take three years. In fact, Johnson's Dictionary did not appear in print until 1755. Though generally admired, Johnson's idiosyncratic definitions were criticised, as were a handful of celebrated inaccuracies. When asked why he defined pastern as "a horse's knee" (it is actually part of the foot), Johnson replied: "Ignorance, madame, pure ignorance."

E is for English brilliance. When a friend pointed out that 45 members of the French Royal Academy had taken 40 years to complete their dictionary, Johnson breezily replied: "Let me see; 40 times 40 is 1,600. As three to 1,600, so is the proportion of an Englishman to a Frenchman."

F is for Fanny Burney. The novelist, diarist and travel writer was a prominent member of Johnson's circle of female admirers. He met "little Burney" at her father's home in March 1777 and their friendship lasted until his death.

G is for Garrick, David (1717-1779). Within a single decade, the small Staffordshire town of Lichfield produced two of the most celebrated figures of the 18th century. In 1735, David Garrick was among the few pupils to enrol at the unsuccessful academy Johnson set up with his wife's money. In 1737, the two men walked together to London to seek fame and fortune. Both arrived far earlier for Garrick than for Johnson, who was inclined to belittle his friend's acting prowess. However, he penned one of the most famous of all obituaries for Garrick, memorably asserting that his friend's death would "eclipse the gaiety of nations".

H is for Hester Thrale. Following the completion of his edition of Shakespeare in 1766, Johnson lapsed into a severe depression and was virtually adopted by Henry and Hester Thrale.

A wealthy Southwark brewer, Thrale had a country house with an extensive library at Streatham, where Johnson spent much time. The ungainly literary giant fell for the lively and intelligent Hester in a big way. She tended him during illness, possibly even shackling him during brief periods of insanity. Following the death of Henry Thrale in 1781, Hester fell in love with Gabriel Piozzi, an Italian singer. Though their marriage was happy, Johnson could not be reconciled to what he regarded as a betrayal by the second great love of his life.

I is for Integrity. Johnson's view was that: "Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful."

J is for Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784). This scruffy, ungainly Black Countryman was a mass of personality oddities, which ranged from a fear of being alone to avoiding treading on pavement cracks. Yet he was a giant of literature in a highly literary era. If he hadn't produced the first great dictionary of English, we would still be reading his Lives of the Poets. He single-handedly wrote two magazines, The Idler and The Rambler, and virtually invented the political column. For all his dark fears, Johnson was extraordinarily brave, whether standing up to a noble thug or separating a pair of fighting mastiffs. Perhaps his most endearing quality was his sense of fun. It is hard to imagine many of today's literary lions suddenly deciding to roll down Greenwich Hill.

K is for Kindness. Johnson wrote: "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."

L is for London. One of Johnson's most famous quotes: "He who is tired of London is tired of life." Later, he was even more specific: "I think the full tide of human existence is at Charing Cross."

M is for Marriage (second). Johnson defined a second marriage as "a triumph of hope over experience". He never remarried.

N is for Network. One of today's most fashionable buzzwords famously confounded Johnson when he attempted a definition: "Anything reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the inter-sections."

O is for Oats. Johnson scoffed at the fashionable breakfast cereal: "A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people."

P is for Pension. As a lifelong Tory who detested the sinecures the Whig government paid to its supporters, Johnson defined "Pension" thus: "In England, it is generally understood to mean pay given to a state hireling for treason to his own country." This caused him some embarrassment in 1762 when George III provided him with a pension of ?300 a year. For the first time, Johnson did not have to scrape a living on Grub Street, which he defined as "a street ... much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet".

Q is for Quotations. Next only to William Shakespeare, Johnson is believed to be the most quoted of English writers: "Every quotation contributes something to the stability or enlargement of the language."

R is for Rasselas. Published in 1759, this is Johnson's only extended prose tale. Said to have been written in a week to pay for his mother's burial, it tells the story of a prince of Abyssinia who leaves the Happy Valley of his birth in order to travel with friends through Egypt looking for the happiest mode of life. They never find it.

S is for social success. Despite his shabby dress, Johnson was much in demand as a social acquaintance. Several clubs were created so the most prominent members of literary London could enjoy his conversation. He was even an object of fascination for young ladies, though they observed this odd figure "with more wonder than politeness... as if he had been some monster from the deserts of Africa". Johnson is alleged to have remarked: "Ladies, I am tame. You may stroke me."

T is for Tetty Johnson (1686-1752). Johnson's wife Elizabeth was years older than him and though they were undoubtedly in love at the start of their relationship, they drifted apart as Johnson forged his literary life and she took to the bottle. He scourged himself for not being at her side when she died on a visit to Bromley where her grave can still be seen.

U is for Uncle. Johnson's uncle Andrew was a boxing champion, and taught his nephew to fight. On one occasion Johnson managed to hold his own against four robbers when he was attacked on a London street.

V is for Vinous inebriation. After enjoying a drop for some years, Johnson took to tea as he got older. "Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others."

W is for the Western Isles. "There are many fine prospects in Scotland ... but the finest sight a Scotsman ever sees is the high road to England." Johnson's views on the Scots were moderated when he discovered that (in general) he very much enjoyed his perilous journey made late in life to the Hebrides with Boswell.

X is for Excise. Johnson's dictionary definition remains unarguable: "A hateful tax collected by wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid."

X is for Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This Fleet Street pub was a regular haunt of Johnson, who lived round the corner in Johnson's Court. His favourite chair can still be seen in the pub today.

Z is for Zed. Johnson may have been running out of steam by this stage. His definition reads: "Zed n.s. The name of the letter z. "Thou whoreson zed, thou unnecessary letter." (Shakespeare.)" 

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 31 09:32:29 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar 31 09:35:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Children staving in New Iraq
Message-ID: <001f01c53617$9feca140$5227e440@Harold>

Children's malnutrition in Iraq has gone from 4% to 8% since the invasion!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4395525.stm

This is inexcusable, things are supose to get better, not worse!

Peace H
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 31 10:38:01 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 10:40:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Observer - US 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 31 10:38:59 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 10:41:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - The west needs a
	new sense of self 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu Mar 31 10:46:17 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 10:49:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Markets data & tools / Funds - The Short View:
 Have money, won019t spend
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From harperalexander at mail.com  Thu Mar 31 11:33:59 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:36:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] After the Scandal: UR Sec. General speaks (Shrimsley-FT)
Message-ID: <20050331193359.9BC806F04F@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com>

After the scandal: UR chief speaks 

Few would deny that it has been a torrid time for the United Residents, the peacekeeping body of Middle Road, and for myself as secretary-general. 
 
As you know, the UR sprang from the desire to end the years of bloody feuding among the residents and was modelled on the United Nations (you will have seen the sculpture of a twisted broom handle outside our HQ). 

For decades the street had been riven by conflict: aggressive barbecueing; urban fox-hunt saboteurs; the usual things. However, when the skirmishes over access rights to the passage between number 79 and 81 turned into full-scale name-calling it was clear a new approach was needed. 

The UR has been a real force for good. Our swift action in sending a force into number 63 prevented the battle for the TV remote from spiralling into a humanitarian disaster. When number 54 ran out of Sultana Bran only our delivery of emergency cereal prevented the Joneses leaving for work on an empty stomach. 

We do not always succeed. Despite all our efforts, we have been unable to halt the tiresome late night deliveries of unordered pizzas to the Robinsons. The aggressor is defying all resolutions telling him to desist. Thus far our sanctions regime - cancellation of his Blockbuster card - has had little impact. 

We have also been criticised for our failure to act over the murders at number 23. However, our constitution prevents us intervening in the domestic affairs of a sovereign household except in cases of serial killing. So although we regret the deaths, our inquiry has accepted the word of the occupant, a Miss Sue Dan, that the 27 bodies found under her patio were workmen who perished while excavating the garden in readiness for a new lawn and decking. 

Of course we are not perfect. Our general assembly meetings do drag on a bit; some wonder whether the annual tree-pruning requires speeches by every resident, but bore-bore is better than war-war. An organisation of our size inevitably suffers from bureaucracy and competing territorial interests. Our policy of awarding jobs on a geographic basis can prevent us getting the best candidate but I am clear that it was Surrey's turn to landscape the communal gardens. 

However, I accept the recent scandal over our anti-graffiti programmes and my son cast a cloud over our work. I am therefore pleased an investigation has found no real evidence to connect me to any wrongdoing. 

Naturally I knew that Rob Jnr had been hired as a sales opportunities consultant for a commercial cleaning firm specialising in graffiti removal. But I had no reason to connect his appointment with either his extensive collection of spray-paint cans or with the sudden eruption of graffiti on the fences, walls and slow-moving pedestrians of our street. I love my son; his work hangs on some of the best railway bridges in London. 

But as the inquiry shows, I was not involved in, or aware of, the awarding of the contract to Shrimclean. I realise I was wrong to deny that I met its chief executive privately, shortly before the contract was awarded, but I can't be expected to remember every meeting with the head of a company for which my son works and which also employs one of my oldest friends. 

With hindsight I can see the actions of my chief of staff (Auntie Rita) in shredding bundles of papers found in Robert Jnr's room might look bad. But honestly, it was just part of our usual eight-month clear-out. The room was a real mess and there was no reason to connect those rough sketches with the Middle Road artwork. Some may find it odd that this never came up in conversations with my son, but have you ever tried talking to your children? Unless I'm offering a new BMX bike I'm lucky to get a grunt. 

Now that this grim business is behind me, I want to dedicate the rest of my term to reform of our outmoded structures and ensuring that no future contract becomes a byword for fraud and kickbacks. I am convinced we need to widen the permanent membership of our security council beyond the five detached houses on the street - perhaps to include those two nine-storey blocks of flats near the station - and streamline our administration. Do we really need 43 regional co-ordinators for a neighbourhood watch service? 

To those who say I should resign, my reply is hell no. I'm busy working for a better, safer Middle Road. 


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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:37:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:40:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Report Calls U.S. Intelligence 'Dead Wrong'
	on Iraq Weapons
Message-ID: <20050331193742.1CD3921F1CB@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

There are millions of people for whom the only - incredibly frustrating - response to this is "we told you so." Peace.


WASHINGTON | March 31, 2005

Report Calls U.S. Intelligence 'Dead Wrong' on Iraq Weapons
By DAVID STOUT

The report also contends that the American response to the threat of unconventional weapons has lacked the proper urgency.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/politics/31cnd-intel.html?ex=1112936400&en=55d314b6bfbbed55&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:39:28 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:42:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rice's Poker Hand
Message-ID: <20050331193928.DD49B1645B1@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 31, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Rice's Poker Hand
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

The secretary of state's challenge is to make the four fragile democratizations unfolding in the Middle East self-sustaining.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/opinion/31friedman.html?ex=1112936400&en=3c158b3239d5a5ab&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:39:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:42:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Science-Fiction Army
Message-ID: <20050331193913.3D6682270CF@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 31, 2005

Editorial: A Science-Fiction Army


Donald Rumsfeld needs to recognize that the Army's plans for high-tech weapons must be radically scaled back.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/opinion/31thu1.html?ex=1112936400&en=c38560f7139754cd&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:39:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:42:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: I Spy a Screw-Up
Message-ID: <20050331193949.BF50D11F8E4@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 31, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: I Spy a Screw-Up
By MAUREEN DOWD

It is possible to view today's big story on the tremendous intelligence failures before the Iraq war as either comedy or tragedy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/opinion/31dowd.html?ex=1112936400&en=505a013480ee5898&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:39:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:42:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: I Spy a Screw-Up
Message-ID: <20050331193949.BBF0311F88B@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


OPINION | March 31, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: I Spy a Screw-Up
By MAUREEN DOWD

It is possible to view today's big story on the tremendous intelligence failures before the Iraq war as either comedy or tragedy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/opinion/31dowd.html?ex=1112936400&en=505a013480ee5898&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:40:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:43:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Spring Forward Faster
Message-ID: <20050331194028.168601645AD@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Ian wanted you to see this.


OPINION | March 31, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Spring Forward Faster
By DAVID PRERAU

Additional daylight time can save the United States energy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/opinion/31prerau.html?ex=1112936400&en=87c7b469eac6ace8&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:40:43 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:43:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Tyranny's Full Tank
Message-ID: <20050331194043.B5A3B1645A2@gw05-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


OPINION | March 31, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Tyranny's Full Tank
By MARINA OTTAWAY

How high oil prices hurt democracy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/opinion/31ottaway.html?ex=1112936400&en=81b8f6bb5284130a&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:41:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:44:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Who'll Speak Against Extremism? (5 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050331194127.3C2AF227033@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying... The first and last letters express my personal feelings well... Peace.


OPINION | March 31, 2005

Who'll Speak Against Extremism? (5 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/opinion/l31krugman.html?ex=1112936400&en=138ccd4ced501b12&ei=5070




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NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:42:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:45:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 2 Suicide Bombers Strike in Iraq During
	Shiite Holiday
Message-ID: <20050331194215.79CB421F1CE@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

And the beat goes on... Peace.


INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | March 31, 2005

2 Suicide Bombers Strike in Iraq During Shiite Holiday
By ROBERT F. WORTH

The attacks killed at least five Iraqis and wounded more than 20 as Shiites gathered to celebrate a religious festival.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/international/middleeast/31cnd-iraq.html?ex=1112936400&en=307750fc34c0f051&ei=5070



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MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:42:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:45:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: World Bank Board Approves Wolfowitz
Message-ID: <20050331194247.7BB669FD43@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


BUSINESS | March 31, 2005

World Bank Board Approves Wolfowitz
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) --The World Bank's board on Thursday unanimously approved the nomination of Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, an architect of the Iraq war, to be the next president of the 184-nation development bank.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-World-Bank-Wolfowitz.html?ex=1112936400&en=4493b44352e5ca65&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:44:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:46:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Abbas Expels Militants from West Bank
	Headquarters
Message-ID: <20050331194404.440C083D2B@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL | March 31, 2005

Abbas Expels Militants from West Bank Headquarters
By REUTERS

RAMALLAH, (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday expelled a group of militants from his West Bank headquarters who had been given refuge by Yasser Arafat, a spokesman for the gunmen said.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html?ex=1112936400&en=09856836d9838149&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 11:44:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 11:47:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clerics Fighting a Gay Festival for
	Jerusalem
Message-ID: <20050331194500.7A22221F1F0@gw04-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Michael would probably want you to see this.


INTERNATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL | March 31, 2005

Clerics Fighting a Gay Festival for Jerusalem
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and GREG MYRE

Leaders of Christianity, Judaism and Islam are making a rare show of unity to try to stop a WorldPride festival.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/international/worldspecial/31gay.html?ex=1112936400&en=049e1c8970a86a2c&ei=5070



----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\

MILLIONS: FROM THE IMAGINATION OF DIRECTOR DANNY BOYLE

Danny Boyle once again reinvents the cinematic experience with a heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles... and lots of money. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money. MILLIONS is now playing in select theaters.  Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/millions/index_nyt.html




----------------- Advertisement --------------------------

0


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

ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service.  For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com.

NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From moveon-help at list.moveon.org  Thu Mar 31 12:40:36 2005
From: moveon-help at list.moveon.org (Eli Pariser, MoveOn PAC)
Date: Thu Mar 31 14:35:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] $817,403.76 so far for Byrd--absolutely amazing.
Message-ID: <200503312235.j2VMZg7v019224@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Dear Michael,

If you had asked me, a few days ago, to guess how much MoveOn members
would give to support Senator Robert Byrd, I would have told you that we'd
be lucky to reach a couple of hundred thousand dollars. After all, it's
early in the cycle, folks are busy, and you've been so generous recently
on our Social Security and judicial campaigns.

But as I write this email, only about two days after our email went out,
19,214 of us have given $817,403.76 to support Senator Byrd. It's a
whopping amount in electoral politics--more than MoveOn members have given
in support of any other Senator--and at this early stage, it'll make a
tremendous impact. This could be a knock-out blow for Republicans who are
considering running against the Senator.

What you've done over the last few days won't just be felt by Senator
Byrd--although I can tell you that the folks at the Byrd campaign are
totally blown away by your generosity. By making our contributions
together, we're showing all of our Democratic elected representatives that
if they stick their necks out for the issues people believe in, we'll have
their backs.

I know that money's tight. Thanks so much for making this investment in an
important leader and in a Democratic Senate. And thanks for everything
you've done to make MoveOn PAC a great success.

Sincerely,

--Eli Pariser
  Executive Director, MoveOn PAC
  March 31st, 2005

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

________________

Subscription Management:
This is a message from MoveOn PAC. To remove yourself (Michael Butler) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at:
http://moveon.org/s?i=5299-615480-pqxTcROpMuyoDTAjqxuOWg
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 31 14:37:32 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 31 14:40:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tide Turning
In-Reply-To: <105.5dedc0fb.2f7db918@cs.com>
Message-ID: <BE71BBAC.1FD12%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Hawaiipolo@cs.com
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 15:35:36 EST

Is the tide finally turning? Is there hope that this cabal of unethical
idiots might be turned out of power? Pray , my friends , pray....MD
>
>Headline: GOP conspiracy theorizing: A side-effect of hubris?
>Byline: Dante Chinni
>Date: 03/29/2005
>
>(WASHINGTON)There are some basic rules in politics. When the public is
>with you, 
>claim a mandate by the will of the people. When the public is against
>you, claim a strong personal compass that isn't swayed by polls. And
>when you think your control and approval are slipping, talk about the
>conspiracy working against you.
>
>With those simple rules in mind, we turn our attention to the
>Republican leadership and House majority leader Tom DeLay.
>
>After facing several rebukes from the House ethics committee for a
>variety of offenses - everything from having an interest group pay for
>his travel to having federal aviation authorities help track down
>Democratic lawmakers in Texas - Mr. DeLay recently told a Christian
>conservative group that he had met the enemy and it was "a huge
>nationwide concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in." This
>"syndicate," DeLay said, was attacking the conservative movement by
>launching vicious personal attacks against its leaders.
>
>Ah, we know we're through the looking glass when DeLay turns to the
>words of Hillary Clinton for inspiration. It was Mrs. Clinton,
>remember, who was greeted with chortles when she decried the "vast
>right-wing conspiracy" out to destroy her and then-President Bill
>Clinton.
>
>Who knows? Maybe DeLay is right. Maybe there is a secret cabal
>somewhere, right now plotting against him and the conservative
>movement. But, if it exists, at the moment it's about as successful as
>the 2004 Kerry campaign. For all the efforts of the "syndicate,"
>DeLay's targeted party controls all three branches of the federal
>government. And maybe, just perhaps, DeLay has faced a series of ethics
>complaints because he has been dancing right on the edge of House rules.
>
>President Bush hasn't been so extreme when he talks of the image
>problems he faces. There's no "syndicate" in his way, only "the filter"
>that he says the media put on the news. But the more the president
>reaches around the so-called filter and speaks at neatly packaged
>events to sell his Social Security reform plan, the more people seem to
>be tuning him out. Polls show support for his plan for private accounts
>is waning. And as he finally starts to acknowledge that the proposal
>won't solve Social Security's long-term solvency problems, it's hard to
>imagine how support will grow.
>
>What's happening in Washington is that perception and spin are starting
>to run into real life and the dissonance between them is growing more
>obvious. There simply may not be a lot of support for the GOP's agenda
>right now or its methods.
>
>The president and his party emerged from last fall's elections with an
>extremely narrow win on paper that they tried to claim as a mandate.
>They reached for big, broad goals. That's their choice, of course, but
>it's a risky strategy, particularly in the US in 2005, which is much
>like the US of 2000: divided and not much interested in radical changes
>- especially partisan ones.
>
>The nation's reaction to the media's No. 1 topic of the past several
>weeks, the fate of Terri Schiavo, may signal an awakening to reality.
>Ms. Schiavo's situation and her family's battle over her life and death
>are terribly sad. But is anyone actually surprised that people are
>upset that Congress got involved in the case? One poll showed 82
>percent of Americans - even 68 percent of evangelical Christians -
>thought Congress's action was wrong. Is it a shock that Americans, who
>hold their independence and ability to make personal decisions sacred,
>would object to Congress intervening in the case of one person?
>
>That's not to say that politicians didn't vote their conscience in
>Congress or that Mr. Bush didn't deeply believe in signing the bill
>Congress passed. What it does say is this: The ruling party is so sure
>of itself, it stepped into the middle of a family dispute, even though
>doing so put the party at odds with what it has historically stood for
>- lack of government interference.
>
>Yes, people will argue that Democrats were involved in passing the
>legislation as well, and they were. But it was GOP leadership in the
>House and Senate that brought the issue to Washington. They decided
>they didn't like the rulings that came out of the Florida courts, so
>they'd supersede those courts in this one case - as if it was somehow
>different from thousands of other dilemmas they simply ignore.
>
>There are few electoral mandates ever big enough to support that kind
>of action. And if the Republicans don't soon do a quick mental
>accounting and acknowledge they're facing a divided and skeptical
>country (as the US often is), they may find that 2006 and 2008 are
>unhappy election years. Americans love confidence in their leaders, but
>they don't like hubris.
>
>* Dante Chinni is a senior associate with the Pew Project for
>Excellence in Journalism. He writes a twice-monthly political opinion
>column for the Monitor.
>
>
>
>
>
>(c) Copyright 2005 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
>
>Click here to email this story to a friend:
>http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/send-story?2005/0329/p09s02-codc.txt
>
>The Christian Science Monitor-- an independent daily newspaper providing
>context and clarity on national and international news, peoples and
>cultures, and social trends. Online at http://www.csmonitor.com
>
>Click here to order a free sample copy of the print edition of the
>Monitor: 
>http://www.csmonitor.com/aboutus/sample_issue.html
>
>
>-- ADVERTISEMENT --
>
>Sign up to have the Monitor's headlines sent directly to your inbox.
>http://www.csmonitor.com/email
>


------ End of Forwarded Message

From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Thu Mar 31 14:40:27 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Thu Mar 31 14:43:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tide Turning
References: <BE71BBAC.1FD12%michael@michaelbutler.com>
Message-ID: <002001c53642$a2cf8e60$6e436c42@hotprojects>

the tide is turning the question is how deep is the damage that elements of
the far right have done and will do

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Butler" <michael@michaelbutler.com>
To: "Civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 5:37 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tide Turning


>
> ------ Forwarded Message
> From: Hawaiipolo@cs.com
> Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 15:35:36 EST
>
> Is the tide finally turning? Is there hope that this cabal of unethical
> idiots might be turned out of power? Pray , my friends , pray....MD
> >
> >Headline: GOP conspiracy theorizing: A side-effect of hubris?
> >Byline: Dante Chinni
> >Date: 03/29/2005
> >
> >(WASHINGTON)There are some basic rules in politics. When the public is
> >with you,
> >claim a mandate by the will of the people. When the public is against
> >you, claim a strong personal compass that isn't swayed by polls. And
> >when you think your control and approval are slipping, talk about the
> >conspiracy working against you.
> >
> >With those simple rules in mind, we turn our attention to the
> >Republican leadership and House majority leader Tom DeLay.
> >
> >After facing several rebukes from the House ethics committee for a
> >variety of offenses - everything from having an interest group pay for
> >his travel to having federal aviation authorities help track down
> >Democratic lawmakers in Texas - Mr. DeLay recently told a Christian
> >conservative group that he had met the enemy and it was "a huge
> >nationwide concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in." This
> >"syndicate," DeLay said, was attacking the conservative movement by
> >launching vicious personal attacks against its leaders.
> >
> >Ah, we know we're through the looking glass when DeLay turns to the
> >words of Hillary Clinton for inspiration. It was Mrs. Clinton,
> >remember, who was greeted with chortles when she decried the "vast
> >right-wing conspiracy" out to destroy her and then-President Bill
> >Clinton.
> >
> >Who knows? Maybe DeLay is right. Maybe there is a secret cabal
> >somewhere, right now plotting against him and the conservative
> >movement. But, if it exists, at the moment it's about as successful as
> >the 2004 Kerry campaign. For all the efforts of the "syndicate,"
> >DeLay's targeted party controls all three branches of the federal
> >government. And maybe, just perhaps, DeLay has faced a series of ethics
> >complaints because he has been dancing right on the edge of House rules.
> >
> >President Bush hasn't been so extreme when he talks of the image
> >problems he faces. There's no "syndicate" in his way, only "the filter"
> >that he says the media put on the news. But the more the president
> >reaches around the so-called filter and speaks at neatly packaged
> >events to sell his Social Security reform plan, the more people seem to
> >be tuning him out. Polls show support for his plan for private accounts
> >is waning. And as he finally starts to acknowledge that the proposal
> >won't solve Social Security's long-term solvency problems, it's hard to
> >imagine how support will grow.
> >
> >What's happening in Washington is that perception and spin are starting
> >to run into real life and the dissonance between them is growing more
> >obvious. There simply may not be a lot of support for the GOP's agenda
> >right now or its methods.
> >
> >The president and his party emerged from last fall's elections with an
> >extremely narrow win on paper that they tried to claim as a mandate.
> >They reached for big, broad goals. That's their choice, of course, but
> >it's a risky strategy, particularly in the US in 2005, which is much
> >like the US of 2000: divided and not much interested in radical changes
> >- especially partisan ones.
> >
> >The nation's reaction to the media's No. 1 topic of the past several
> >weeks, the fate of Terri Schiavo, may signal an awakening to reality.
> >Ms. Schiavo's situation and her family's battle over her life and death
> >are terribly sad. But is anyone actually surprised that people are
> >upset that Congress got involved in the case? One poll showed 82
> >percent of Americans - even 68 percent of evangelical Christians -
> >thought Congress's action was wrong. Is it a shock that Americans, who
> >hold their independence and ability to make personal decisions sacred,
> >would object to Congress intervening in the case of one person?
> >
> >That's not to say that politicians didn't vote their conscience in
> >Congress or that Mr. Bush didn't deeply believe in signing the bill
> >Congress passed. What it does say is this: The ruling party is so sure
> >of itself, it stepped into the middle of a family dispute, even though
> >doing so put the party at odds with what it has historically stood for
> >- lack of government interference.
> >
> >Yes, people will argue that Democrats were involved in passing the
> >legislation as well, and they were. But it was GOP leadership in the
> >House and Senate that brought the issue to Washington. They decided
> >they didn't like the rulings that came out of the Florida courts, so
> >they'd supersede those courts in this one case - as if it was somehow
> >different from thousands of other dilemmas they simply ignore.
> >
> >There are few electoral mandates ever big enough to support that kind
> >of action. And if the Republicans don't soon do a quick mental
> >accounting and acknowledge they're facing a divided and skeptical
> >country (as the US often is), they may find that 2006 and 2008 are
> >unhappy election years. Americans love confidence in their leaders, but
> >they don't like hubris.
> >
> >* Dante Chinni is a senior associate with the Pew Project for
> >Excellence in Journalism. He writes a twice-monthly political opinion
> >column for the Monitor.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >(c) Copyright 2005 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
> >
> >Click here to email this story to a friend:
> >http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/send-story?2005/0329/p09s02-codc.txt
> >
> >The Christian Science Monitor-- an independent daily newspaper providing
> >context and clarity on national and international news, peoples and
> >cultures, and social trends. Online at http://www.csmonitor.com
> >
> >Click here to order a free sample copy of the print edition of the
> >Monitor:
> >http://www.csmonitor.com/aboutus/sample_issue.html
> >
> >
> >-- ADVERTISEMENT --
> >
> >Sign up to have the Monitor's headlines sent directly to your inbox.
> >http://www.csmonitor.com/email
> >
>
>
> ------ End of Forwarded Message
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 31 14:44:14 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 31 14:47:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Zoom in & pull out
In-Reply-To: <c0893889edbc177805f3171f79cdba9c@sbcglobal.net>
Message-ID: <BE71BD3E.1FD17%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Linda Hassler <lindahassler@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 15:49:08 -0600

Subject: Zoom in & pull out

Now, this time I'm including the web site for that artwork I just asked
you to look at...... Linda

http://www.eviltree.de/zoomquilt/zoom.htm


------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 31 15:36:54 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 31 15:39:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Going Geo-Green
In-Reply-To: <1c7.2586d123.2f7de1e6@cs.com>
Message-ID: <BE71C996.1FD24%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Hawaiipolo@cs.com
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 18:29:42 EST



Going Geo-Green
By Kelpie Wilson
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Thursday 31 March 2005

"I am a geo-green," says New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who has
written a series of columns expounding his "geo-green" stance. Geo-greens,
he 
says, combine geopolitics with green strategies - specifically in the
context of 
the Middle East and terrorism.

Friedman says that Bush's failure to advocate conservation and renewable
energy results in a "no mullah left behind" policy. By refusing to conserve,
America ensures high oil prices that keep the regimes of Iran and Saudi
Arabia 
flooded with cash and resistant to democratic reform.

What Friedman neglects to say is that these same windfall profits are also
landing in the laps of western oil companies. Look at Exxon-Mobil: now
valued at 
more than $400 billion, it is the world's most profitable corporation.
Friedman also continues to spin the fantasy that Bush's Iraq invasion has
helped to 
bring democracy to the Middle East, but his geo-green idea, at least, makes
perfect sense. 

Friedman has addressed his plea to Bush and the neocons, and some neocons
are 
already with him. Former CIA director James Woolsey owns a Prius and has
been 
outspoken about the need to promote energy independence as a national
security strategy. 

Woolsey is not the only conservative who is going geo-green. Here's some
news 
for my friends in the biodiesel movement: the Red State folks are fascinated
by your veggie mobiles. See this blog post at Redstate.com . They detect a
whiff of the French about you that goes beyond your French fry oil, they
laugh at 
your goatees and wonder if you wash, but they are intrigued. Some of them
are 
even brave enough to consider Friedman's idea of a dollar a gallon gas tax
to 
help wean us from petroleum.

On March 14th, ultraconservative congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) gave a
presentation on the House floor on the topic of Peak Oil. Peak Oil is the
theory 
that all of the significant petroleum reserves have already been located and
that we have now used up about half of that 2000 gigabarrel legacy from the
Earth's past. Because the last 1000 gigabarrels will be increasingly hard to
extract, the era of cheap oil is over, starting now. Bartlett explained the
dangers of the intersecting curves of rising demand and falling production.
He even 
advanced the heretical notion that "? transition to sustainability will not
happen if left to market forces alone."

Friedman has called for "making energy independence our generation's moon
shot." He's not the only one with this idea. A non-profit group called the
Apollo 
Alliance has already built the launch pad. They propose a renewable energy
investment program of $30 billion a year for ten years that would create
more 
than 3.3 million jobs and produce $284 billion in net energy cost savings.

Apollo has teamed up with Set America Free, a group headed by right-wingers
like Richard Perle prot?g? Frank Gaffney. Set America Free advocates a crash
program of alternative fuels development centered on the 500 mpg car - a
plug-in 
hybrid vehicle that fills up both at the gas pump and the wall plug. It
could 
easily run on ethanol or biodiesel as well.

Gaffney and his neocon colleagues at Set America Free are clearly worried
about more than the Islamists. In a recent column, Gaffney said, "? we are
likely 
to find increasing competition from China for limited oil will become a
flash 
point for future conflict, if not an actual causus belli."

So where are the Democratic voices linking energy conservation and national
security? With awareness of Peak Oil rising along with prices at the pump,
it's 
time for Democrats to make it clear they are leading the charge for the
geo-green strategy. They might even want to call it "energy security."

Energy security is the big tent that the Dems desperately need, because
energy security encompasses just about everything. For starters, take the
economy, 
which is starting to bog down under escalating energy prices. Diverting
money 
that would go to ayatollahs and sultans (as well as to oil company CEOs and
wealthy investors, by the way) and pumping it into renewable energy programs
would create jobs and lower future energy prices.

And saving the economy through energy security might well be the REAL
salvation of social security.

There is no doubt that the environment is much better served by achieving
long-term energy security. Eventually we will have to give up fossil fuels
altogether, and if we can make the transition sooner rather than later, we
may be 
able to avoid the worst effects of global warming. Drilling, spilling,
mining, 
refining and burning oil, coal and gas also take a hefty toll on our health.
Fetal brain damage from mercury pollution, asthma, heart disease and cancer
are 
the wages of our sin. Religion, too, fits under this big tent. Some
Christians 
have started a "What Would Jesus Drive" (WWJD) campaign to encourage us to
make a deeper commitment to earth stewardship. Many faiths have a green core
that will embrace geo-green ideas.

Every time I hear John Kerry talk about dipping into the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve to ease gas prices, I cringe. Democrats need to get over their fear
of 
asking for a national sacrifice. How can Americans be willing to send our
young people to die in Iraq but refuse to sacrifice one bit of our comfort
and 
convenience to help the cause? Jimmy Carter's cardigan hangs over the
Democrats 
like a shroud. But times are different now. When Reagan turned the
thermostat 
back up at the White House and ripped the solar panels off the roof, the oil
boom of the 1980s was about to begin. There will never be another oil boom.

Next week, when Congress returns from Easter recess, it will begin to take
up 
the President's energy bill. There is no indication at this point of any
significant change from last year's version, which devoted two dollars out
of 
every three to oil, coal, gas and nuclear subsidies.

The Democrats need to stand tall for energy security. And along with any
conservatives who, living up to their name, believe in conservation, they
can 
point the way to a green future that just maybe, if we are blessed with a
bit of 
foresight and courage, awaits us all.



Kelpie Wilson is the t r u t h o u t environment editor. A veteran forest
protection activist and mechanical engineer, she writes from her
solar-powered 
cabin in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwest Oregon. -------

 Jump to today's TO Features:
                   

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed 
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t
has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r
u t 
h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and
allow 
for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often
updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not
match 
the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.

Print This Story E-mail This Story



    
    
        
    
| t r u t h o u t | FYI | issues | environment | labor | women | health |
voter rights | multimedia | donate | contact | subscribe |

    




------ End of Forwarded Message

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu Mar 31 15:43:46 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu Mar 31 15:46:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Iraqi Children Fared Better Under Saddam
Message-ID: <BE71CB32.1FD29%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Children 'Starving' in New Iraq
    BBC

    Thursday 31 March 2005

    Increasing numbers of children in Iraq do not have enough food to eat
and more than a quarter are chronically undernourished, a UN report says.

    Malnutrition rates in children under five have almost doubled since the
US-led intervention - to nearly 8% by the end of last year, it says.

    The report was prepared for the annual meeting of the UN Human Rights
Commission in Geneva.

    It also expressed concern over North Korea and Sudan's Darfur province.

    UN specialist on hunger Jean Ziegler, who prepared the report, blames
the worsening situation in Iraq on the war led by coalition forces.

    He was addressing a meeting of the 53-nation commission, the top UN
rights watchdog, which is halfway through its annual six-week session.

    When Saddam Hussein was overthrown, about 4% of Iraqi children under
five were going hungry; now that figure has almost doubled to 8%, his report
says.

    Governments must recognise their extra-territorial obligations towards
the right to food and should not do anything that might undermine access to
it of people living outside their borders, it says.

    That point is aimed clearly at the US, but Washington, which has sent a
large delegation to the Human Rights Commission, declined to respond to the
charges, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.

    Increasing Hunger

    Mr Ziegler also says he is very concerned about the lack of food in
North Korea, where there are reports that UN food aid is not being
distributed fairly.

    In Darfur, the continuing conflict has prevented people from planting
vital crops, he says.

    Overall, Mr Ziegler says, he is shocked by the fact that hunger is
actually increasing worldwide.

    Some 17,000 children die every day from hunger-related diseases, the
report claims, which it says is a scandal in a world which is richer than
ever before.

    "The silent daily massacre by hunger is a form of murder," Mr Ziegler
said. "It must be battled and eliminated."

 

From Hawaiipolo at cs.com  Thu Mar 31 15:51:17 2005
From: Hawaiipolo at cs.com (Hawaiipolo@cs.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 15:54:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] (no subject)
Message-ID: <55.70431a18.2f7de6f5@cs.com>

Subj:    Re: (no subject)   
Date:   3/31/2005 1:40:10 PM Hawaiian Standard Time 
From:   michael@michaelbutler.com   
To: Hawaiipolo@cs.com   
Received from Internet: click here for more information 
    


BB,

You would do me a great favor if you would post your stuff directly to Civic
<mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Also put the title in the Subject Line.
Hope you can do it.

Thanks Bear

>
>Going Geo-Green
>By Kelpie Wilson
>t r u t h o u t | Perspective
>
>Thursday 31 March 2005
>
>"I am a geo-green," says New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who has
>written a series of columns expounding his "geo-green" stance. Geo-greens, 
he
>says, combine geopolitics with green strategies - specifically in the 
context
>of 
>the Middle East and terrorism.
>
>Friedman says that Bush's failure to advocate conservation and renewable
>energy results in a "no mullah left behind" policy. By refusing to conserve,
>America ensures high oil prices that keep the regimes of Iran and Saudi 
Arabia
>flooded with cash and resistant to democratic reform.
>
>What Friedman neglects to say is that these same windfall profits are also
>landing in the laps of western oil companies. Look at Exxon-Mobil: now 
valued
>at 
>more than $400 billion, it is the world's most profitable corporation.
>Friedman also continues to spin the fantasy that Bush's Iraq invasion has
>helped to 
>bring democracy to the Middle East, but his geo-green idea, at least, makes
>perfect sense. 
>
>Friedman has addressed his plea to Bush and the neocons, and some neocons 
are
>already with him. Former CIA director James Woolsey owns a Prius and has 
been
>outspoken about the need to promote energy independence as a national
>security strategy.
>
>Woolsey is not the only conservative who is going geo-green. Here's some 
news
>for my friends in the biodiesel movement: the Red State folks are fascinated
>by your veggie mobiles. See this blog post at Redstate.com . They detect a
>whiff of the French about you that goes beyond your French fry oil, they 
laugh
>at 
>your goatees and wonder if you wash, but they are intrigued. Some of them 
are
>even brave enough to consider Friedman's idea of a dollar a gallon gas tax 
to
>help wean us from petroleum.
>
>On March 14th, ultraconservative congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) gave a
>presentation on the House floor on the topic of Peak Oil. Peak Oil is the
>theory 
>that all of the significant petroleum reserves have already been located and
>that we have now used up about half of that 2000 gigabarrel legacy from the
>Earth's past. Because the last 1000 gigabarrels will be increasingly hard to
>extract, the era of cheap oil is over, starting now. Bartlett explained the
>dangers of the intersecting curves of rising demand and falling production. 
He
>even 
>advanced the heretical notion that "? transition to sustainability will not
>happen if left to market forces alone."
>
>Friedman has called for "making energy independence our generation's moon
>shot." He's not the only one with this idea. A non-profit group called the
>Apollo 
>Alliance has already built the launch pad. They propose a renewable energy
>investment program of $30 billion a year for ten years that would create 
more
>than 3.3 million jobs and produce $284 billion in net energy cost savings.
>
>Apollo has teamed up with Set America Free, a group headed by right-wingers
>like Richard Perle prot?g? Frank Gaffney. Set America Free advocates a crash
>program of alternative fuels development centered on the 500 mpg car - a
>plug-in 
>hybrid vehicle that fills up both at the gas pump and the wall plug. It 
could
>easily run on ethanol or biodiesel as well.
>
>Gaffney and his neocon colleagues at Set America Free are clearly worried
>about more than the Islamists. In a recent column, Gaffney said, "? we are
>likely 
>to find increasing competition from China for limited oil will become a 
flash
>point for future conflict, if not an actual causus belli."
>
>So where are the Democratic voices linking energy conservation and national
>security? With awareness of Peak Oil rising along with prices at the pump,
>it's 
>time for Democrats to make it clear they are leading the charge for the
>geo-green strategy. They might even want to call it "energy security."
>
>Energy security is the big tent that the Dems desperately need, because
>energy security encompasses just about everything. For starters, take the
>economy, 
>which is starting to bog down under escalating energy prices. Diverting 
money
>that would go to ayatollahs and sultans (as well as to oil company CEOs and
>wealthy investors, by the way) and pumping it into renewable energy programs
>would create jobs and lower future energy prices.
>
>And saving the economy through energy security might well be the REAL
>salvation of social security.
>
>There is no doubt that the environment is much better served by achieving
>long-term energy security. Eventually we will have to give up fossil fuels
>altogether, and if we can make the transition sooner rather than later, we 
may
>be 
>able to avoid the worst effects of global warming. Drilling, spilling, 
mining,
>refining and burning oil, coal and gas also take a hefty toll on our health.
>Fetal brain damage from mercury pollution, asthma, heart disease and cancer
>are 
>the wages of our sin. Religion, too, fits under this big tent. Some 
Christians
>have started a "What Would Jesus Drive" (WWJD) campaign to encourage us to
>make a deeper commitment to earth stewardship. Many faiths have a green core
>that will embrace geo-green ideas.
>
>Every time I hear John Kerry talk about dipping into the Strategic Petroleum
>Reserve to ease gas prices, I cringe. Democrats need to get over their fear 
of
>asking for a national sacrifice. How can Americans be willing to send our
>young people to die in Iraq but refuse to sacrifice one bit of our comfort 
and
>convenience to help the cause? Jimmy Carter's cardigan hangs over the
>Democrats 
>like a shroud. But times are different now. When Reagan turned the 
thermostat
>back up at the White House and ripped the solar panels off the roof, the oil
>boom of the 1980s was about to begin. There will never be another oil boom.
>
>Next week, when Congress returns from Easter recess, it will begin to take 
up
>the President's energy bill. There is no indication at this point of any
>significant change from last year's version, which devoted two dollars out 
of
>every three to oil, coal, gas and nuclear subsidies.
>
>The Democrats need to stand tall for energy security. And along with any
>conservatives who, living up to their name, believe in conservation, they 
can
>point the way to a green future that just maybe, if we are blessed with a 
bit
>of 
>foresight and courage, awaits us all.
>
>
>
>Kelpie Wilson is the t r u t h o u t environment editor. A veteran forest
>protection activist and mechanical engineer, she writes from her 
solar-powered
>cabin in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwest Oregon. -------
>
>Jump to today's TO Features:
>
>
>(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is 
distributed
>without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
>included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t
>has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r 
u
>t 
>h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
>
>"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and 
allow
>for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often
>updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not
>match 
>the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.
>
>Print This Story E-mail This Story
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>| t r u t h o u t | FYI | issues | environment | labor | women | health |
>voter rights | multimedia | donate | contact | subscribe |
>
>
>
>
>

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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Thu Mar 31 16:17:17 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Thu Mar 31 16:20:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An Illegal, Immoral Order
Message-ID: <20050401001717.53868.qmail@web53402.mail.yahoo.com>


‘An Illegal, Immoral Order’ - An American soldier explains why he is refusing to fight in Iraq. By Tracy McNicoll – Newsweek Updated: 12:50 p.m. ET March 30, 2005March 30. 

 

When his unit of the 82nd Airborne Division was getting ready to deploy to Iraq last year, U.S. Army Pfc. Jeremy Hinzman started fighting a battle of his own—in Canada. Hinzman, 26, was the first of at least eight U.S. soldiers to apply for refugee status there in the last 15 months. Many are already veterans of the post-9/11 wars. One earned a Purple Heart on his first tour in Iraq. Hinzman himself served seven months in Afghanistan. But all risk prison sentences in the United States for desertion if they are forced to return.

 

For complete story, go to:

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7337109/site/newsweek/



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Thu Mar 31 16:17:53 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Thu Mar 31 16:20:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] WMD Commission Releases Scathing Report
Message-ID: <20050401001753.85898.qmail@web53407.mail.yahoo.com>


WMD Commission Releases Scathing Report, By Katherin Shrader, The Associated Press, Thursday 31 March 2005.

 

Panel finds US intelligence on Iraq's weapons was 'dead wrong.'

    In a scathing report, a presidential commission said Thursday that America's spy agencies were "dead wrong" in most of their judgments about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the war and that the United States knows "disturbingly little" about the threats posed by many of the nation's most dangerous adversaries. 

    The commission called for dramatic change to prevent future failures. It outlined 74 recommendations and said President Bush could implement most of them without action by Congress. It urged Bush to give broader powers to John Negroponte, the new director of national intelligence, to deal with challenges to his authority from the CIA, Defense Department or other elements of the nation's 15 spy agencies. 

    It also called for sweeping changes at the FBI to combine the bureau's counterterrorism and counterintelligence resources into a new office. 

    The report was the latest somber assessment of intelligence shortfalls that a series of investigative panels have made since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Numerous investigations have concluded that spy agencies had serious intelligence failures before the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks against the United States. 

    The report implicitly absolves the Bush administration of manipulating the intelligence used to launch the 2003 Iraq war, putting the blame for bad intelligence directly on the intelligence community. 

 

For complete story, go to:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/033105Y.shtml



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



		
---------------------------------
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 Show us what our next emoticon should look like. Join the fun.
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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Thu Mar 31 16:18:27 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Thu Mar 31 16:21:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Draft May Be Needed in a Year, Military Analysts Warn
Message-ID: <20050401001828.27184.qmail@web53409.mail.yahoo.com>


Draft May Be Needed in a Year, Military Analysts Warn, By Bob Dart, Cox News Service, Wednesday 30 March 2005.

 

    Washington - If American forces aren't pulling out of Iraq in a year, a draft will be needed to meet manpower requirements, military analysts warned Wednesday.

 

    With recruitment lagging and no end in sight for U.S. forces in Iraq, the "breaking point" for the nation's all-volunteer military will be mid-2006, agreed Lawrence Korb, a draft opponent and assistant defense secretary in the Reagan administration, and Phillip Carter, a conscription advocate and former Army captain.

 

    "America's all-volunteer military simply cannot deploy and sustain enough troops to succeed in places like Iraq while still deterring threats elsewhere in the world," Carter concluded in the March issue of "Washington Monthly." advertisement. Korb is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, and a senior adviser to the Center for Defense Information. Carter is attorney who writes on military affairs for Slate.com and other media. They debated at a symposium on the draft Wednesday.

 

    While conceding that the Army, Marines, National Guard and Army Reserve -- the branches serving most in Iraq -- face recruitment difficulties, military officials have denied any plans to revive the draft, which was replaced by an all-volunteer force in 1973.

 

    "The 'D-word' is the farthest thing from my thoughts," Army Secretary Francis Harvey said at a Pentagon press briefing last week. He said the all-volunteer force has proven its value and applauded the performance of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

For complete story, go to:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/033105C.shtml



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good HAIR Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR, by Jonathon Johnson. For more information on the book and how to order it, visit www.goodhairdays.net. Visit our other websites at www.uversa.net and www.kidstherapyassociates.com. 
 



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 31 16:40:49 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar 31 16:44:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Terri's death
Message-ID: <000c01c53653$7c147c70$733fe440@Harold>

The Media's coverage of Terri's situation and final death was and is unwarranted and has only fed the Christen Right's fanatics.

I am not arguing the right to die, euthanasia issues, I'm arguing the privacy of family events vs. fanatics, politicians, media and interest groups abusing family privacy and personal issues for personal gain. 

http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1112278242558_9/?hub=TopStories

I found Limbaugh's rhetoric very disturbing, he is only after ratings points, shame on him and unfortunately some people actually listen to him.

This should have been a private affair, in respect to Terri's medical situation and her husbands ability to help her and then finally make the hard decision he had to. The professionals/doctors and finally judicial concurred with her husband, her family did not. Her family made a spectacle out of her tragic disposition, not her husband who was at her side for 7 years after her fateful event. 

The medias have made an event/circus out of this tragedy, shame, shame. Even in Canada I got the tragic event on all the news, why I do not know, because it should not be news or a national or international event but a very private one. There are many many people in the world today that are in the same emotional, tragic situation, but they are not news events, and again nor should they be. Even as a legal issue it should be keep private!

Her family members, cousins are all over the media today, Inside Edition, ABC, NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, Insider, etc... but not her husband.
These medias pay for stories and 'her' family/cousins are capitalizing on her death, not her husband.

The media and her immediate family members have taken the dignity of her passing away. 

My condolences to her husband and families.

H

PS I could be wrong in my opinion on privacy, but it is how I feel! This event makes me suport living wills.








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From lyve at netzero.com  Thu Mar 31 18:17:02 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Thu Mar 31 18:20:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mental Disorders
Message-ID: <20050331.181712.14237.167321@webmail34.nyc.untd.com>


>From USA Today 
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-03-30-veterans-disorders_x.htm

Mental disorders are on the rise among Afghanistan, Iraq veterans
By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY

As many as one out of four veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq treated at 
Veterans Affairs hospitals in the past 16 months were diagnosed with 
mental disorders, a number that has been steadily rising, according to a 
report in Thursday's /New England Journal of Medicine./

Records show that 20% of eligible ex-soldiers came to VA hospitals 
seeking medical treatment between October 2003 and February 2005. 
Overall, 26% of them were diagnosed with mental disorders, say Han Kang 
and Kenneth Hyams of the VA.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was most common, diagnosed in 10% 
of patients, followed by drug or alcohol abuse (9%). Seven percent were 
diagnosed with depression; 6% had anxiety disorders, such as phobias and 
panic. Many ex-soldiers had multiple disorders, Kang says.

But these are tentative diagnoses. Sometimes they were made by 
primary-care doctors and not yet confirmed by mental health specialists, 
he says.

At this point, it is an open question whether these numbers predict how 
many soldiers ultimately will develop mental health problems, Kang says.

Patients coming to the VA often lack insurance and might be at a 
disproportionately higher risk for mental health problems, he says. 
Also, soldiers who have left active duty may be in more mental distress 
than those who stayed, adds Army Lt. Col. Carl Castro, chief of military 
psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

On the other hand, fear of being stigmatized was a key reason that 
traumatized soldiers didn't seek help while still in the military, an 
earlier study showed. So these post-duty numbers could more accurately 
reflect the final toll, says Harvard psychologist Richard McNally, a 
PTSD expert.

So far, VA hospitals can easily meet the challenge of mental health care 
for Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans, Kang says.

But large funding cuts in VA psychiatry programs over the past several 
years and the limited number of doctors trained in PTSD could signal big 
trouble ahead, cautions Bruce Kagan, staff psychiatrist at the West Los 
Angeles VA Hospital.

"The soldiers didn't come right away after Vietnam, either. If they come 
in the numbers predicted, the numbers the VA's own studies predict, we 
could be overwhelmed," Kagan says.

About 31% of male soldiers who served in Vietnam developed PTSD, but 
diagnosis standards were looser then than they are now, says McNally.

Treatments using therapy and medication have improved greatly since 
Vietnam, he says. The increasing numbers coming for help could be a 
positive sign, suggesting earlier detection and possibly better recovery 
rates. "There's reason for optimism," he says.


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu Mar 31 18:25:19 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu Mar 31 18:28:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Canadian Journalist tortured/raped in Iran
Message-ID: <000d01c53662$0f9fc130$733fe440@Harold>

Iranian Doctor says Canadian Photo Journalist was tortured and raped before she died!

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/03/31/Dr.Azam050331.html

All she did was take some pictures

Peace on earth

H

There is injustice in 'all' countries/cultures in this world we live in, everyone and no one is to blame. 
But power, greed, ignorance, fear and fanaticism (religious, political or life style/culture) are most to blame for the unnecessary actions/tragedies!
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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Thu Mar 31 21:18:00 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Thu Mar 31 21:21:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Two Republicans and dying decency 
Message-ID: <e8.10448771.2f7e3388@aol.com>


Two  Republicans and dying decency  - locally the ST. Petersburg Times  has 
quoted several of Ms. Schiavo's supporters making statements along  the lines 
of "we put you in office, you let Terri die, there will be hell  to pay, we 
will get you out of office."  Ironically, these comments were  made about 
Republican leaders.  It will be interesting to see if this  case splits the 
Republican party and the true backlash.  Several  members of Congress have now learned 
the hard way people are getting tired of  political grandstanding and a 
minority dictating to the  majority.
 
Richard Haerther
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From geomilman at milman.com  Thu Mar 31 22:42:33 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Thu Mar 31 22:45:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: [Politech] Religious leaders warn of Apple
	Computer's "Satanic" daemon, Darwin ties
Message-ID: <20050401064234.3E89683D8C@lax-gw03.mroute.net>


[Let's hope this is a joke! --Declan]

DENVER, Co. -- Apple Computer is facing criticism over its Macintosh 
computers from an unusual source: religious conservatives.

They're upset about products from the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer 
maker being associated with a logo of a two-horned red devil.

"That suggests Satan to me, and I don't think I'm alone," James Dobson, 
chairman of Focus on the Family, said during an interview on Fox News 
Channel on Thursday evening. "Apple needs to realize this is offensive 
to God-fearing Christians or face a boycott."

Apple's OS X computers are based on software called "FreeBSD," which has 
chosen a pitchfork-wielding devil as its logo and mascot. FreeBSD is 
published by the FreeBSD Foundation in Boulder.

Dobson said he and other religious leaders had become aware of the devil 
imagery as a result of Apple's expected release of its new Tiger 
version. "No respectable American company should want to ally itself 
with the Lord of Darkness or make light of him," he said.

Another reason why Christians may want to choose Microsoft products is 
that Apple computers are based on the "Darwin" code, Dobson warned. "If 
  you ask me, Steve Jobs should rename it 'Paley' to avoid further 
confrontation with our community," he said.

William Paley is the early-19th century English theologian who advanced 
the theory of intelligent design, basically that some facets of nature 
were so complex that they could have been created only by God. Charles 
Darwin is known for his theory of evolution.

Apple released a statement late Thursday that said: "Jokes about daemons 
and wizards and the Berkeley Unix mascot have a long history in the 
computer world. We mean no disrespect toward Christians and will work 
with the FreeBSD Foundation toward finding a more appropriate symbol for 
our products. We thank the Rev. Dobson for bringing this to our attention."

The FreeBSD Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank that opposes the 
teaching of evolution, wrote a letter to Apple last week raising 
questions about the use of the name "Darwin" in the OS X code. The think 
tank is sponsoring a lecture in Seattle next week titled: "From Darwin 
To Hitler: Does Darwinism Devalue Human Life?"

Related sites:

http://developer.apple.com/darwin/
http://www.freebsd.org/
http://www.discovery.org/
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From geomilman at milman.com  Thu Mar 31 22:45:48 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Thu Mar 31 22:48:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: [Politech] Use encryption online,
	become more visible? [priv]
Message-ID: <20050401064548.811A322708E@lax-gw08.mroute.net>


-----Original Message-----
From: politech-bounces@politechbot.com
[mailto:politech-bounces@politechbot.com] On Behalf Of Declan McCullagh
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 10:31 PM
To: politech@politechbot.com
Subject: [Politech] Use encryption online, become more visible? [priv]

We've covered some of these topics on Politech before. Yes, encryption 
can flag you if someone is monitoring network traffic. Steganography is 
a countermeasure. If seizure of your equipment is your concern, try 
deniable cryptographic filesystems:
http://www.mirrors.wiretapped.net/security/cryptography/filesystems/rubberho
se/rubberhose-README.txt

The question of whether you can be compelled to produce your private key 
is a more complicated legal one (involving the 5th Amendment, among 
others, especially if your passphrase is needed as well). To the best of 
my knowledge there is no case on point that answers that question.

Previous Politech message:
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/03/30/nude-photos-on/

-Declan

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Encryption skeleton keys
Date: 	Thu, 31 Mar 2005 17:37:33 -0500
From: 	Pyke, Gila <gila.pyke@ssha.on.ca>
To: 	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>





Hi Declan, I don't know if these have made it through the list yet.



This whole discussion revolving around ISPs "logging" info for "lawful
access" keeps sending this one alarm off in my head - that of
encryption. What happens to that minority of people (like me) who
habitually encrypt their email, IM and local documents just for sheer
safety and self-protection from ID theft, eavesdropping, etc? Do I
become a suspicious character? Will I get flagged for wearing an
"internet trenchcoat"? Will I be obliged by law to share my private key?
Or will those seeking "lawful access" merely involve themselves in some
of the programs outlined below (some very outdated but included for
completeness) - either for cracking, or "skeleton" key escrow?



In any case, the entire subject makes me makes me shiver. I knew the day
would come when I'd become a bad guy just for being comfortable with math.



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





The US Secret Service's Distributed Networking Attack (DNA) program for
cracking "criminals' encrypted data caches":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A6098-2005Mar28?language=printer



A bit dated perhaps (and you're probably already familiar with this) but
the US vs. Scarfo case involved the FBI's use of key logging:

http://www.epic.org/crypto/scarfo.html



A bit dated perhaps (and you're probably already familiar with this) but
the US vs. Scarfo case involved the FBI's use of key logging:

http://www.epic.org/crypto/scarfo.html





ECHELON: the NSA's billion-dollar surveillance program for intercepting
communications was a big deal in the late 90's, though nobody believed
it was technologically feasible.  I haven't heard any news about it in
the last couple of years so I don't know what has happened to it.  But I
imagine it hasn't completely died away yet.

http://www.hermetic.ch/crypto/echelon/echelon.htm

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/echelon.html





And on a completely unrelated note - WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?!?!:



As someone who has spent years in vulnerability management, the issue of
software vulnerability disclosure is one that gets my blood boiling.
Sybase is currently threatening legal action against anyone who
discloses certain vulnerability information:

http://www.computerworld.com/printthis/2005/0,4814,100637,00.html





Gila
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From paulg at bltomato.com  Thu Mar 31 17:43:21 2005
From: paulg at bltomato.com (Paul Gremmler)
Date: Fri Apr  1 19:03:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fwd: SOAPBOX: Conscientious Objector Policy Act 
Message-ID: <200504020303.j3233hTU025934@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


The Michigan House has passed a bill that allows health care workers to refuse service to anyone on moral, ethical or religious grounds.  The Conscientious Objector Policy Act (which will now go to the Senate) would allow health care providers to assert their objection within 24 hours of when they receive notice of a patient or procedure with which they don't agree.  However, it would prohibit emergency treatment to be refused.  

This bill would allow health care workers to discriminate not only based on procedures with which they do not agree, but against patients based on moral or religious grounds.  Hindu, Jewish, homosexual?  Tough luck.  Call it morality, and prejudice completely overrides the Hippocratic oath.      

I was hoping this was a sick April Fool's Day joke, but I poked around and found the actual bill.

I am in complete shock.

Here's one article, and if you google "conscientious objector policy act" you'll find more like it: http://www.proudparenting.com/page.cfm?Sectionid=65&typeofsite=snippetdetail&ID=1204&snippetset=yes

The bill itself:  http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2003-2004/billengrossed/house/htm/2003-HEBH-5006.htm




