From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May  1 06:46:43 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May  1 07:19:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Blair started plans for War in July 2002
Message-ID: <000a01c54e54$381978e0$a327e440@Harold>

Report that after Blair met with Bush in Crawford Texas he start planning for war in Iraq.

 "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy"

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=634702

Later H
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:26:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:31:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Real Security, or Politics as Usual?
Message-ID: <20050501142643.126069FC77@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 1, 2005

Editorial: An Insecure Nation: Real Security, or Politics as Usual?


Defending places where the terrorist threat is greatest is not parochialism; it is defending America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01sun1.html?ex=1115611200&en=9a7f7e7a56c4539b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:26:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:31:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Support Our Troops
Message-ID: <20050501142643.A825313B7E7@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 1, 2005

Editorial: Support Our Troops


American soldiers are still needlessly dying because of the Pentagon's slowness in protecting their Humvees with adequate armor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01sun2.html?ex=1115611200&en=9bbf7e7a96c4539b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:27:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:31:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Godzilla vs. the Giant Scissors: Cutting
	the Antiwar Heart Out of a Classic
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OPINION | May 1, 2005

Editorial Observer: Godzilla vs. the Giant Scissors: Cutting the Antiwar Heart Out of a Classic
By BRENT STAPLES

When the 1954 classic Godzilla" was released in the United States, much of the anti-American, antinuclear messages were stripped out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01sun3.html?ex=1115611200&en=9aff7e7ad6c4539b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:27:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:32:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Conservatives [heart] 'South Park'
Message-ID: <20050501142728.A850211F887@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 1, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Conservatives [heart] 'South Park'
By FRANK RICH

Emboldened by the supposed "moral values" landslide on Election Day, the faith-based right became the new left.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01rich.html?ex=1115611200&en=147ec21c6852b43b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:27:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:32:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Greediest Generation
Message-ID: <20050501142800.D173022F007@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 1, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Greediest Generation
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

We boomers won't be remembered as the "Greatest Generation." Rather, we'll be scorned as the "Greediest Generation."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01kristof.html?ex=1115611200&en=68a183c91711a427&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:27:51 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:32:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Let's Make a Deal
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OPINION | May 1, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Let's Make a Deal
By DAVID BROOKS

Defusing the nuclear option in the Senate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01brooks.html?ex=1115611200&en=b45f0f1e20d8d9ad&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:28:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:32:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Other Voices: The Great Divide in the
	Middle East
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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 1, 2005

Letters to the Public Editor: Other Voices: The Great Divide in the Middle East


Readers respond to a column about The Times's coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/weekinreview/01publicletters2.html?ex=1115611200&en=ba70e1c32bdbc1a6&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:28:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:33:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The War We Could Have Won
Message-ID: <20050501142831.1A1EA24AEEA@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 1, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: The War We Could Have Won
By STEPHEN J. MORRIS

In 1974-75, the United States snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01morris.html?ex=1115611200&en=21ae13ef090fb56e&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:28:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:33:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 'The World Is Flat': The Wealth of Yet More
	Nations
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BOOKS / SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW | May 1, 2005

'The World Is Flat': The Wealth of Yet More Nations
By FAREED ZAKARIA

In the global economy, says Thomas L. Friedman, intellectual work could be transmitted to intellectual workers anywhere on earth.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/books/review/01ZAKARIA.html?ex=1115611200&en=33181f7f243e5b28&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:32:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:44:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Way of the Commandos
Message-ID: <20050501143427.4A71622F1DE@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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MAGAZINE | May 1, 2005

The Way of the Commandos
By PETER MAASS

The counterinsurgency in Iraq is increasingly being waged by an elite regiment of Sunni-led fighters and they sometimes play by the rules of the old Iraq. Is the war getting dirtier?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/magazine/01ARMY.html?ex=1115611200&en=88bcbc555a6278f2&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:33:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:45:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Lobbyist in Full
Message-ID: <20050501143429.E7C5622F0E9@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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MAGAZINE | May 1, 2005

A Lobbyist in Full
By MICHAEL CROWLEY

Jack Abramoff is at the center of a Congressional controversy. But as he sees it, he is simply very, very good at doing Washington's work.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/magazine/01ABRAMOFF.html?ex=1115611200&en=4e0c215ad32653f6&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:31:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:45:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: At Los Alamos, Blogging Their Discontent
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NATIONAL | May 1, 2005

At Los Alamos, Blogging Their Discontent
By WILLIAM J. BROAD

A blog rebellion among scientists and engineers at Los Alamos, the federal government's premier nuclear weapons laboratory, is threatening to end the tenure of its director.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/national/01alamos.html?ex=1115611200&en=912c6732676ead40&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:31:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:46:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_Inquiry_Finds_Abuses_?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?at_Guant=E1namo_Bay?=
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NATIONAL / THREATS AND RESPONSES | May 1, 2005

Inquiry Finds Abuses at Guantánamo Bay
By NEIL A. LEWIS and ERIC SCHMITT

An investigation into allegations of detainee abuse at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has concluded that several prisoners were mistreated or humiliated, perhaps illegally.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/national/nationalspecial3/01gitmo.html?ex=1115611200&en=e4ccbf6c2d7c4daa&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:34:09 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:46:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Brawl That May Erupt Over the High Court
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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 1, 2005

The Brawl That May Erupt Over the High Court
By JEFFREY ROSEN

The political fight over judicial confirmations is only a dress rehearsal for the coming battle over a replacement for Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/weekinreview/01rosen.html?ex=1115611200&en=9d3e21789866d5d2&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:33:51 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:46:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bush, the Great Shiite Liberator
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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 1, 2005

The World Turns: Bush, the Great Shiite Liberator
By LEE SMITH

After nearly 1,400 years of Sunni-dominated Islamic history, for a predominantly Shiite government to preside over an Arab state is utterly revolutionary.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/weekinreview/01smith.html?ex=1115611200&en=4b036c9fdac8a421&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:30:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:46:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Attacks Batter Iraqi Civilians
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 1, 2005

Attacks Batter Iraqi Civilians
By SABRINA TAVERNISE

Bombing attacks killed more than 15 Iraqis on Saturday in Baghdad and in the northern part of Iraq, officials said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/international/middleeast/01iraq.html?ex=1115611200&en=ac5dc1085e46d061&ei=5070



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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:46:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Leaves of Grass,
	and Basic Rights (5 Letters)
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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 1, 2005

Leaves of Grass, and Basic Rights (5 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/l01park.html?ex=1115611200&en=72ce342b3a276b55&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  1 08:29:51 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  1 07:46:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraq Insurgents Continue Wave of Attacks
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 1, 2005

Iraq Insurgents Continue Wave of Attacks
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

There were more gun and bomb attacks today in Baghdad, including an ambush at a checkpoint that killed five Iraqi policemen.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?ex=1115611200&en=3d0c75976859ea79&ei=5070



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Date: Sun May  1 07:46:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Wave of Attacks in Iraq Kill 40 and Wound
	100
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | April 30, 2005

Wave of Attacks in Iraq Kill 40 and Wound 100
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and ROBERT F. WORTH

Insurgents determined to destabilize Iraq's new government executed a series of coordinated attacks on Iraqi forces.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/30/international/middleeast/30iraq.html?ex=1115611200&en=3860f5f7d7bea108&ei=5070



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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:19:22 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  1 08:24:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26018244.1114960763195.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Power Grid In Iraq Far From Fixed
 
 By Caryle Murphy  and Bassam Sebti
 
  BAGHDAD -- When his lights and television go dark, as they regularly do, Khalid Qasim Ali flips a switch in his living room to bring back the power. This electricity is not state-supplied. Instead, it comes from a generator three blocks away that is connected to Ali's home by a wire strung in the air.
 
 All told, 107 families in Baghdad's working-class neighborhood of Topchi are hooked up to the generator. The arrangement gives them power during the long blackouts that are routine in Iraq. It also darkens the skies over Topchi with a tangled skein of unsightly, dangerous cables. Like everyone else, Ali is billed by the ampere. He pays the generator's owner around $10 a month.
 
 "We should enjoy electricity without using a generator because Iraq is a wealthy country," said Ali, a 65-year-old retired truck driver. "Regretfully, the Americans did nothing since they came."
 
 Thousands of roaring generators in Iraqi back yards, driveways and street corners demonstrate that after two years and at least $1.2 billion, the U.S. effort to resuscitate Iraq's electrical system is still very wide of its mark. In fact, the national grid's average daily output of 4,000-4,200 megawatts falls below its prewar level of about 4,400 megawatts.
 
 The shortage is a huge source of public anger and dissatisfaction, as seen in a recent poll by the International Republican Institute, a U.S.-funded nonprofit organization that promotes democracy. Asked what the government's priorities should be, Iraqis put "inadequate electricity" first, ahead of "crime," which was fourth, "the presence of coalition forces," which ranked seventh, and "terrorists," which ranked eighth.
 
 Nothing has done more to puncture Iraqis' once-widespread belief in Americans' technological superiority and power than their inability to quickly revive the power system, vital for Iraq's oil industry. And perhaps nothing has frustrated U.S. reconstruction officials more than that failure.
 
 There are many reasons for the slow pace, from flawed planning by the U.S. early on, to continuing sabotage by insurgents. In addition, with the establishment of an interim government in June, U.S. officials said they had to work more closely with Iraqi electricity officials who were not always as efficient or as willing to take on responsibility as the Americans had hoped.
 
 Now, as Iraq's first democratically elected government assumes power, U.S. officials insist they are only playing a supportive role in rebuilding Iraq's electricity sector. The country's civilian leaders, they say, are responsible for bringing reliable power to Iraq's 26 million people, a task experts estimate will take years and require billions more dollars.
 
 "It is the government of this country who is going to provide electricity. The Americans don't provide electricity," William B. Taylor, director of the U.S. Embassy's Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, said in an interview. "The government is going to get the credit and they're taking the responsibility, and they're doing a good job. They've got some problems. We're helping them as much as we can. We got a lot of money we're putting into this. And we have a lot at stake here. We want them to succeed. We want them to be able to provide electricity to their people."
 
 With a scorching summer approaching, Iraqi and U.S. officials are worried about the shortage. A brisk consumer goods market has put more refrigerators and air conditioners in Iraqi homes than ever, leading U.S. officials to forecast that peak daily demand in the 100-degree days of July and August could go up to 8,000 to 8,800 megawatts.
 
 Although current output averages 4,000 to 4,200 megawatts, the level on many days is lower because of unplanned outages or shutdowns for scheduled maintenance. During the second week in April, for example, average output was 3,517 megawatts, according to the Iraq Index, which is compiled by the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy.
 
 "I have concerns about this summer," said Rick Whitaker, who oversees power-related projects in Iraq for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Whitaker estimated that by midsummer, the national grid might be able to produce "slightly less than 6,000 megawatts daily peak."
 
 Electricity "is a huge issue in every province," said Mohammed Musabah, governor of Iraq's southern city of Basra, where riots broke out in the summer of 2003 to protest lengthy power cuts. Musabah gets a daily report on power production and frequent visits from Maytham Wasfi, assistant general director for power distribution for southern Iraq.
 
 "We want people to understand," Wasfi said recently, "the situation of electricity this summer is going to be worse than last summer."
 
 American expertise, Iraqi ingenuity and U.S. taxpayer dollars were supposed to have rapidly resurrected Iraq's electrical grid. What went wrong?
 
 Even before the U.S. invasion, Iraq's power system did not produce enough power to meet demand, which ranged from 3,000 to 6,500 megawatts, depending on the weather. Before March 2003, average output was 4,400 megawatts, according to the Brookings' Iraq Index.
 
 Former president Saddam Hussein drained power from other parts of the country to serve Baghdad. U.S. occupation authorities ordered that the burden be equally shared, and the routine almost everywhere has been three hours on, three hours off.
 
 During the summer of 2003, U.S. officials spent about $230 million on emergency repairs and brought grid production back to around 3,500 megawatts. In the fall, they launched a campaign to increase output to 4,400 megawatts by midwinter, concentrating on repairs and purchasing spare parts. When that succeeded, they set a new goal: Reach 6,000 megawatts by June 1, 2004.
 
 "The mantra was 'megawatts on the grid,' " recalled a senior U.S. Embassy official involved in reconstruction who could not be identified under embassy ground rules. "We didn't make it."
 
 By this point, U.S. officials knew that they had initially failed to grasp how fragile the network was. Decades of poor maintenance, the U.S. bombing of Iraqi infrastructure in 1991, more than a dozen years of harsh economic sanctions and postwar looting in 2003 contributed to a state of severe dilapidation not fully recognized at first.
 
 "It was like trying to restore a rusty old car on a farm some place," said the embassy official. "You repair it when you really should have started from scratch. But we didn't have the time or the money to do that."
 
 It was a misjudgment that still bedevils the U.S. effort, according to the latest report on U.S. reconstruction delivered to Congress in April. The report said the "original estimate of the damage done to the basic infrastructure from decades of neglect and warfare was significantly underestimated," and as a result, "more time and resources are required to stand-up and maintain systems than originally thought."
 
 Another major drag on increasing the grid's output has been insufficient fuel supplies. The favored fuels are either natural gas or diesel. But because Iraq does not produce enough diesel and has little natural gas, it has been substituting other fuels. The substitutes make generators less efficient. State Department figures released in mid-April, for example, indicate that nearly 1,000 megawatts are "currently offline in unplanned outages" and that 341 of those are "due to insufficient fuel supplies."
 
 But perhaps the biggest constraint has been the insurgency, which Whitaker called "a big wet blanket that's thrown over the projects. It's a big decelerator." In a dramatic example, a huge, German-made 260-megawatt combustion turbine generator for Kirkuk power station sat in Jordan for at least six months until U.S. military and civilian officials could organize a convoy to bring it unscathed through insurgent territory.
 
 "Security continues to be a destabilizing factor, leading to project delays and cost increases," the recent update to Congress stated. Sabotage to an oil line has delayed the addition of two combustion turbine units at Baiji power station, it noted. And at the Baghdad South power plant, where 21 workdays were lost because of a mortar attack and the murder of two Iraqi engineers, installation of two new generators will be delayed several months.
 
 The insurgency has also sharply raised security costs for U.S. corporations working in the electrical sector. For example, an ongoing project to install two huge generators at a power station in Kirkuk involves 323 mostly foreign employees who live on-site. Of those workers, 141 provide security for the rest.
 
 "Every month, costs were going up," the embassy official recalled. "And we'd have weeks with no work getting done."
 
 After U.S. occupation officials transferred political authority to an Iraqi interim government in June, the U.S. Embassy's Iraq Reconstruction Management Office took over the rebuilding effort from the Pentagon.
 
 The relationship between U.S. and Iraqi officials then changed -- they became more like consultant and client, as the embassy official put it. And different kinds of problems surfaced, including "a general resistance by some Ministry personnel to accept responsibility for managing and operating power stations," said the recent report to Congress.
 
 "There's an apathy within the plants," Whitaker said. "They haven't grabbed it and said 'good.' "
 
 Taylor and Whitaker blame the lethargy on years of working in a system in which the fear of punishment reduced individual initiative. "When you made a mistake under Saddam Hussein bad things happened to you," Taylor said. "There was not an incentive . . . to take responsibility."
 
 An Iraqi businessman, Khalid Baderkhan, whose firm manages electrical construction projects, offered another explanation. Many ministry employees, he said, are holdovers from the Hussein government who got their jobs through patronage and see change as a threat. As products of a state-run, socialist economy, he added, they lack modern management skills, and do not appreciate the importance of costs, schedules and quality control.
 
 "As long as people in control of the ministries are the old guard who act like mafias and are controlling all management and financial dealings," it will be difficult to make headway in improving the power system, said Baderkhan. "If they don't benefit" from a new project, he said, "they will block it."
 
 Reconstruction chief Taylor said poor information plagued the effort from the start. "Everyone assumed that the plant and equipment just needed some work." he said. "Well, it turns out it needs a lot of work. We assumed the Iraqis could and would take care of it and that's proven to be a wrong assumption."
 
 U.S. officials moved millions of dollars designated for electricity improvement to the Oil Ministry to facilitate projects needed by power plants, such as improving a natural gas line from the southern oil fields. But the Oil Ministry moved slowly or not at all on these projects, the embassy official said.
 
 There have also been "delays caused by the transition" to a new Iraqi government, the report to Congress stated. In the three months since the Jan. 30 election, construction projects, major new contracts and government reorganization were put on hold until a new government was formed.
 
 During a review of U.S. reconstruction spending last year, about $1 billion was diverted to security programs from the $5.5 billion that Congress had allocated for electricity improvement in late 2003.
 
 Of the $4.3 billion still currently assigned to the electric sector, $961 million had been spent as of mid-April, according to the latest State Department figures. With the $230 million spent on emergency repairs in 2003, the total outlay so far is at least $1.2 billion. Another $2.9 billion is currently under contract, the figures show.
 
 Last year, a joint United Nations and World Bank study estimated that restoring Iraq's power sector would cost $12 billion through 2007. That will require international investment, which is likely only after drastic improvement in security and legal reforms, experts say.
 
 Despite their ubiquity, generators are beyond the family budget for millions of Iraqis. "It is too much for a family with one breadwinner," said Um Abeer, who lives in Topchi with her brother and daughter in a tiny house with cracked walls and, during a recent visit, no power.
 
 "We are tired from just thinking of the coming summer," Um Abeer said, adding, "I am confident that the new government will not listen to the Americans and will start depending on the Iraqi experience to return the power back."
 
 Electrician Ahmed Abdul Sahib, however, said the Americans still have a big role to play. "They occupied Iraq so they are responsible," said Sahib, 43. "If they are making Iraq a model for democracy, they must make things go well. Others will not welcome American democracy if they see Iraq in this situation."
 
 Correspondent Anthony Shadid contributed to this report.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:19:48 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  1 08:24:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <31216269.1114960789255.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Repair Teams Try to Calm 'Computer Rage'
 
 By Ariana Eunjung Cha
 
  NOVATO, Calif.-- The young woman at the other end of the phone wept to Kelly Chessen that the world was against her. She had been in a minor car accident. A thief had stolen some things from her house. And now this: The family's computer, which contained her husband's business files, was dead.
 
 Chessen, a crisis counselor who answered the hotline, soothingly assured the caller that such things happen to everyone, that it was no one's fault, that her luck would turn around. It wasn't until 20 minutes into the conversation that Chessen began to address the cause of the young woman's agony.
 
 Send us the machine, Chessen said, and we'll do everything we can to help.
 
 Chessen, who once was a manager for a suicide prevention hotline, now works in customer service for DriveSavers Data Recovery Inc. "This is a lot like my old job," she said. "Oftentimes the most helpful thing we can do is just to listen and to let people get whatever they are feeling off their chests."
 
 Technology has become a bane of modern life. People juggle a mountain of electronic equipment to store their most important records and intimate secrets. But the complicated nature of their machines, with their manuals full with unintelligible acronyms, tangles of cords and invisible wireless signals, means a breakdown is almost inevitable. The loss of a computer, cell phone or other gadget can be so jolting that it is fueling the rise of what some psychologists call "computer rage."
 
 The phenomenon is transforming the nature of technology service, an industry long infamous for being impersonal.
 
 Business is booming for companies with names like Rent-a-Geek, Geeks on Call and Geek Squad that make house calls to fix computers. Television technicians, once near extinction, are again driving to homes to adjust complicated settings on high-definition sets and hook them up to multi-component home-entertainment systems. Some of the world's largest computer makers train their support personnel as much about customers' delicate psyches as they do about technical matters.
 
 "There's this frustration that you are really dependent on these things that you don't understand and that you have no idea how to fix," said Kent L. Norman, a researcher at the University of Maryland's Laboratory for Automation Psychology and Decision Processes. "We place so much trust in computers that it gets a little scary."
 
 No one is immune. No device is exempt. Online message boards are filled with rants about iPods -- sold by the millions on the idea that they are easy to use -- freezing up, and $50,000 luxury cars with windows that roll up and down on their own at random times.
 
 The recounting of one's personal technological Armageddon is often desperate and emotional. A recent survey by Norman found that as many as one out of 10 users have hit, kicked or otherwise abused their equipment.
 
 Barbara Gould said that in the past two years her family's computers have broken down six times and her cell phone twice. Then, while she was in the middle of watching the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy one night, her DVD player mysteriously began to freeze every few minutes.
 
 "I was ready to throw everything out the window or burn them or do something violent," said Gould, 53, a contractor for Fannie Mae, who works on manuals and other technical documentation.
 
 Instead, Gould, who lives in Herndon, ran a search on Google and found Erik Bursch, a computer-repair consultant who works in the Tysons Corner area.
 
 Bursch said he has made several hundred house calls over the past few years and that he is often welcomed as a conquering hero. He said he has found more and more people willing to pay the $60 to $70 an hour he charges.
 
 The peaceful, park-like setting of the DriveSavers compound in a San Francisco suburb belies the frenzy inside.
 
 The company's labs operate like a hospital emergency room.
 
 Chessen, 31, and the other 12 customer service representatives do triage. The challenge is to recognize which of the five stages of grief -- denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance -- a given customer is in, and respond accordingly.
 
 One recent afternoon, a man whose small business had burned down was telling Chessen how his insurance company was still inspecting the place so he could not even go in to see the carpets or to fetch his computer -- on which he had a lot of important documents. "I was thinking, Why is he yelling at me?" Chessen said later.
 
 In another part of the building, delivery people rush in and out with oddly shaped cartons containing precious cargo. The contents of the boxes, hard drives and other data storage devices, are carefully taken to a clean room where they are dissected by technicians in white jumpsuits and blue gloves and then "cloned." The copies are sent upstairs to data specialists who try to retrieve and reconstruct what people are looking for.
 
 Sometimes the information is important only to the person it belongs to -- pictures of one's firstborn, musical compositions, résumés, old e-mail, business plans, love letters. For others, it is something more: scripts for 12 then-unaired episodes of "The Simpsons"; research data for a cancer scientist at a major East Coast university.
 
 The work is not cheap -- the bill is usually $500 to $2,000 -- but for many the information is priceless. In addition to paying the company's fees, some customers have sent wine and roses to show their gratitude.
 
 David K. Schoenkin, executive director and asset management consultant at Oppenheimer & Co., recently lost his computer, Palm Pilot and cell phone when he dropped his shoulder bag in a Manhattan street and an 18-wheeler ran over it. He said the crunch of the truck going over his equipment was "horrible, deafening" as he thought about losing his journals from five years of travel to Kenya, Morocco, Chile and Laos and digital pictures of the paintings he created and sold years ago when he was an art student.
 
 "You have to understand how devastating this was. Every single piece of electronic detail in my life was lost," he said.
 
 DriveSavers managed to recover everything.
 
 Not everyone is so fortunate. Ed Sit, the no-nonsense 49-year-old who is the clean-room manager, has the difficult job of giving people bad news. Some customers politely thank him for trying, Sit said. Others want to cast blame. They think that if they talk to his boss or if they pay more money they can get a different result. Sit said he thinks to himself: "I'm sorry -- but if your relative is dead in a hospital, even millions and millions of dollars are just not going to bring him back."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:20:11 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  1 08:25:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <18052776.1114960811884.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Keeping a Sweet Dream Alive
 
 By Paul Duggan
 
  WINCHESTER, Va. -- A lot of people in Ginny Hensley's staid and upright home town regarded her as plain hillbilly trash back when she was poor and coming of age here in the Shenandoah Valley. This was just after World War II and into the 1950s, when she'd sing in any beer dive with a stage, when she worked regional radio and the Moose lodge circuit and boasted she'd get to Nashville.
 
 Her betters liked to gossip what a hussy that young Virginia Hensley was, going around right in front of folks with her ruby lipstick and her short pants, crawling under the covers with this one and that one. . . .
 
 "For instance, she would go to our drive-in theater and try to perform," says Judy Sue Kempf, 60, a tour guide. "She would get up on top of the roof of the concession stand, and do you know what happened? The people would actually throw things at her."
 
 Kempf pauses, standing in the aisle of a bus packed with women in their sixties and seventies, grandmothers in leisure polyester and cushioned shoes. They've traveled two hours from Baltimore to see where Ginny Hensley came up, where she was no lady by local standards, on her way to being the fabulous Patsy Cline. This was before "Sweet Dreams," before "So Wrong," before that pure lonesome voice on the nickel jukeboxes the grandmothers sang with ages back.
 
 This was before "Crazy."
 
 Hurt looks come over some of the seniors, hearing the drive-in story, but the bubbly Kempf, Miss Shenandoah Apple Blossom of 1961, says not to fret: "Her roots are in Winchester, and there are some of us, at least, who are proud of that. And, by golly, we will get a museum for her, one way or the other."
 
 Climb aboard for one of her Patsy Cline motor coach tours in Winchester, 75 miles west of Washington, and you'll soon realize this is her theme: that Patsy's strait-laced home town looked down on her, back when she was Ginny and later when she was making records; that Winchester couldn't abide a brassy, ambitious woman from the wrong part of town, especially one known for her loose ways.
 
 Now, 42 years have passed since her plane plunged into storm-soaked Tennessee woods, and Kempf figures this city of 24,000 ought to have a museum celebrating its very own Nashville legend. It's a project she and some other folks here have been working on without success since 1994, hampered by a shortage of money, occasional disorganization and a lukewarm public response in a region where tourism is mainly about the Civil War and the annual Apple Blossom Festival, which is this weekend.
 
 They dream of restoring Patsy's girlhood home and opening a downtown exhibit hall for the best Patsy memorabilia collected from scattered hands -- temples for the pilgrims who roll in from time to time on Highway 7 and the few hundred fans trekking here on Labor Day weekends to observe her birthdays.
 
 Until then, though, you'll have to look for Pasty in her old places. And she's not always around.
 
 The bus pulls to the curb on Pleasant Valley Road in front of radio station WINC (92.5 FM/1400 AM), where Ginny Hensley is said to have made her broadcast debut shortly after World War II, at age 15 or thereabouts. This is the first sight on the Patsy tour, and Kempf says that unfortunately the women won't be allowed inside. "It's too small," she tells them.
 
 Anyway, they wouldn't see much of Patsy in there, just a photo of her hanging by the reception desk, taken when she was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
 
 Kempf relates that young Ginny walked into the station alone one day, found a deejay called Jumpin' Joltin' Jim McCoy, and told him, "If you let me sing, I promise not to charge you." The grandmothers get a chuckle out of the story. Kempf likes it, too, and doesn't mention it's probably apocryphal. She says McCoy was so taken with Ginny's sweet vocals that he invited her to be a regular on his show.
 
 Now she tells the women about another WINC deejay, Phil Whitney, who recorded a candid interview with Patsy after she got to be famous. "He usually comes out and talks with us and shares that recording," Kempf says.
 
 But he passed away this spring.
 
 "So we'll just have to move on."
 
 The motorcoach eases into downtown and across a rail bed to the wrong side of the tracks, where Ginny Hensley came from.
 
 "South Kent Street is today as it was in Patsy's day," Kempf says as the tour stops at No. 608. The house is white with black shutters, a two-story clapboard box hard by the sidewalk. It's in a ramshackle neighborhood, so once again the seniors won't be getting off the bus.
 
 They stare through the windows at the house, which is rental property now, owned by a real estate company, and there's hardly a sign of life, just a phone bill stuck in the mailbox and some stubbed-out Marlboros in an ashtray by the door. The Hensley family settled here in the late 1940s, having moved in from the countryside. It was around the time Ginny's father, a blacksmith, up and ran off for good. Her mother didn't earn much as a seamstress, so Ginny quit school to work and wound up a counter girl at Gaunt's Drug Store.
 
 At night she sang, at roadhouses, fire halls, racetracks. And from the way she carried herself loose around Winchester, it was plain she liked men a lot, particularly men who might help her, and they sure liked her back.
 
 "Therefore, she was not looked upon kindly in this area," Kempf says to the seniors. In 1994, though, about a dozen people, Kempf included, "formed a group called Celebrating Patsy Cline. And it's our job to keep her memory alive by opening a museum."
 
 There's plenty to exhibit. The group's collections chairman, Phil Hunter, 60, a campus security officer, keeps track of Patsy memorabilia all over the country, and says fans would gladly offer collectibles on loan. "We got a letter from one club that bought the dress she wore at Carnegie Hall," he says. "They're willing to put it in a case for us and everything."
 
 At auctions in New York and Beverly Hills, the group spent $28,000 for two of Patsy's blouses, two of her cowgirl outfits and a Western hat she wore. There's a sizable collection of lesser memorabilia filling a room in Hunter's townhouse, including record albums, posters and more stuff in 15 three-ring binders. Open one at random: "This is an X-ray receipt from the hospital," he says. It's dated Sept. 12, 1955. "That was one time when she hurt her knee."
 
 Hundreds of photos in the binders show Patsy at every stage of her career. The 1950s were bad times and better ones for her, as she joined the popular "Town and Country Jamboree," airing regionally out of Washington, and her first marriage, to Gerald Cline, fell apart. She became Patsy (from Patterson, her middle name) and won the wide acclaim she craved in 1957 with a sensational performance on CBS-TV's "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts." Four years later, just after Hunter's high school graduation here, Patsy topped Billboard's country chart for the first time, with "I Fall to Pieces."
 
 There's fresh hope for a museum, Kempf says. The group's new president, Philip Martin, 54, is "a ball of fire," an entrepreneur with dynamic ideas for marketing and fundraising. Hunter's fiancee lives in Virginia Beach, and he had planned to move there this summer to get married. He even had a job lined up. But all that's on hold now. "This project is my passion," he says, "and I want to see it accomplished."
 
 At Gaunt's, not far from 608 S. Kent, the grandmothers finally step off the motor coach, greeted by Harold "Doc" Madagan, who says: "Welcome to Winchester and welcome to the corner drugstore. I'll begin by saying Patsy worked here in 1950 and 1951."
 
 Block out the McDonald's next door, the Midas across the street, and Gaunt's is pre-CVS Americana, a pharmacy with no food aisle or racks of beach chairs, just mainly medicines, balms and aluminum aids for Winchester's frail and sick. Ginny worked the soda fountain counter, which is a relic now, jammed deep in a storage room that's too dim and cluttered to be part of the tour.
 
 "Well," says Madagan, 65, "let me show you my little picture museum. . . ."
 
 He started here as a clerk in 1958. He'd see Patsy when she came back to visit. And after he bought the store, he hung a dozen photos of her behind the cash register. The seniors gather close, and he says, "Right here's a little picture, about 1957. . . ."
 
 There's a story with each. There's one of Patsy in a cowgirl outfit waving from a convertible in a local parade, before she made it big. Madagan says she wasn't invited by the parade committee. She butted in, and folks booed. By the door, next to a row of walkers, there's a life-size wooden cutout of her in just such an outfit, smiling and waving her white cowgirl hat.
 
 Madagan says he'll be retiring soon and doesn't know who'd want to take over the place.
 
 "Most everything I have I hope ultimately will go in the museum," he tells the women as they head to the bus, bound for Shenandoah Memorial Park, Patsy's last stop and theirs, too. "Hopefully, we'll get things off the ground; I don't know."
 
 She was flying home to Nashville after a benefit in Kansas when the four-seater went down in a thunderstorm -- March 5, 1963. The crash killed her manager, Randy Hughes, who was at the controls; Opry stars Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas; and Patsy.
 
 Who was 30.
 
 "I had just gotten out of the bathtub and, for some reason, I don't know, I turned on the radio," says Marlene Gair, who's on the tour. That was how she heard. "I couldn't believe it. I was numb. I was cold. I got chills all over me."
 
 At the cemetery, just south of Winchester, Gair is off the bus with the others, and they're staring down, conversing in reverent whispers. In the distance, a bell tower erected by fans rises near the gates, and at the women's feet is a flat bronze marker reading, "Virginia H. (Patsy Cline) 1932 -1963. . . . Death cannot kill what never dies."
 
 "I sing her songs all the time," says Gair, a West Virginia miner's daughter born seven months before Patsy. She's 73 now, a retired nurse, a grandmother of nine, a great-grandmother of four. "I'm all Patsy Cline," she says. "I do everything Patsy. I loved Patsy."
 
 That day, after the news sank in, Gair says, she called the nursing home where she worked -- said she wouldn't be in, she wasn't feeling well. When her boss asked what was wrong, "I said, 'I don't know, but I just can't work today.'. . .
 
 "Now, had I told them the real reason, they would not have accepted that." So she just hung up the phone, and stayed home playing records, and cried some.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:21:52 2005
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 For Better, For Worse
 
 By Stephanie Coontz
 
  Thirteen years ago, Vice President Dan Quayle attacked the producers of TV sitcom's Murphy Brown for letting her character bear a child out of wedlock, claiming that the show's failure to defend traditional family values was encouraging America's youth to abandon marriage. His speech kicked off more than a decade of outcries against the "collapse of the family." Today, such attacks have given way to a kinder, gentler campaign to promote marriage, with billboards declaring that "Marriage Works" and books making "the case for marriage." What these campaigns have in common is the idea that people are willfully refusing to recognize the value of traditional families and that their behavior will change if we can just enlighten them.
 
 But recent changes in marriage are part of a worldwide upheaval in family life that has transformed the way people conduct their personal lives as thoroughly and permanently as the Industrial Revolution transformed their working lives 200 years ago. Marriage is no longer the main way in which societies regulate sexuality and parenting or organize the division of labor between men and women. And although some people hope to turn back the tide by promoting traditional values, making divorce harder or outlawing gay marriage, they are having to confront a startling irony: The very factors that have made marriage more satisfying in modern times have also made it more optional.
 
 The origins of modern marital instability lie largely in the triumph of what many people believe to be marriage's traditional role -- providing love, intimacy, fidelity and mutual fulfillment. The truth is that for centuries, marriage was stable precisely because it was not expected to provide such benefits. As soon as  love became the driving force behind marriage, people began to demand the right to remain single if they had not found love or to divorce if they fell out of love.
 
 Such demands were raised as early as the 1790s, which prompted conservatives  to predict that love would be the death of marriage. For the next 150 years, the inherently destabilizing effects of the love revolution were held in check by women's economic dependence on men, the unreliability of birth control and the harsh legal treatment of children born out of wedlock, as well as the social ostracism of their mothers. As late as the 1960s, two-thirds of college women in the United States said they would marry a man they didn't love if he met all their other, often economic, criteria. Men also felt compelled to marry if they hoped for promotions at work or for political credibility.
 
 All these restraints on individual choice collapsed between 1960 and 1980. Divorce rates had long been rising in Western Europe and the United States, and although they had leveled off following World War II, they climbed at an unprecedented rate in the 1970s, leading some to believe that the introduction of no-fault divorce laws, which meant married couples could divorce if they simply fell out of love, had caused the erosion of marriage.
 
 The so-called divorce revolution, however, is just one aspect of the worldwide transformation of marriage. In places where divorce and unwed motherhood are severely stigmatized, the retreat from marriage simply takes another form. In Japan and Italy, for example, women are far more likely to remain single than in the United States. In Thailand, unmarried women now compete for the title of "Miss Spinster Thailand." Singapore's strait-laced government has resorted to sponsoring singles nights in an attempt to raise marriage rates and reverse the birth strike by women.
 
 In the United States and Britain, divorce rates fell slightly during the 1990s, but the incidence of cohabitation and unmarried child-raising continues to rise, as does the percentage of singles in the population.
 
 Both trends reduce the social significance of marriage in the economy and culture. The norms and laws that traditionally penalized unwed mothers and their children have weakened or been overturned, ending centuries of injustice but further reducing marriage's role in determining the course of people's lives. Today, 40 percent of cohabiting couples in the United States have children in the household, almost as high a proportion as the 45 percent of married couples who have kids, according to the 2000 Census. We don't have a TV show about that yet, but it's just a matter of time.
 
 The entry of women into the workforce in the last third of the 20th century was not only a U.S. phenomenon. By the 1970s, women in America and most of Europe could support themselves if they needed to. The 1980s saw an international increase in unmarried women having babies (paving the way for Murphy Brown), as more people gained the ability to say no to shotgun marriages, and humanitarian reforms lowered the penalties for out-of-wedlock births. That decade also saw a big increase in couples living together before marriage.
 
 Almost everywhere, women's greater participation in education has raised the marriage age and the incidence of non-marriage. Even in places where women's lives are still largely organized through marriage, fertility rates have been cut in half and more wives and mothers work outside the home.
 
 From Turkey to South Africa to Brazil, countries are having to codify the legal rights and obligations of single individuals and unmarried couples raising children, including same-sex couples. Canada and the Netherlands have joined Scandinavia in legalizing same-sex marriage, and such bastions of tradition as Taiwan and Spain are considering following suit.
 
 None of this means that marriage is dead. Indeed, most people have a higher regard for the marital relationship today than when marriage was practically mandatory. Marriage as a private relationship between two individuals is taken more seriously and comes with higher emotional expectations than ever before in history.
 
 But marriage as a public institution exerts less power over people's lives now that the majority of Americans spend half their adult lives outside marriage and almost half of all kids spend part of their childhood in a household that does not include their two married biological parents. And unlike in the past, marriage or lack of marriage does not determine people's political and economic rights.
 
 Under these conditions, it is hard to believe that we could revive the primacy of marriage by promoting traditional values. People may revere the value of universal marriage in the abstract, but most have adjusted to a different reality. The late Pope John Paul II was enormously respected for his teaching about sex and marriage. Yet during his tenure, premarital sex, contraception use and divorce continued to rise in almost all countries. In the United States, the Bible Belt has the highest divorce rate in the nation. And although many American teens pledged abstinence during the 1990s, 88 percent ended up breaking that pledge, according to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Youth that was released in March.
 
 Although many Americans bemoan the easy accessibility of divorce, few are willing to waive their personal rights. In American states where "covenant" marriage laws allow people to sign away their right to a no-fault divorce, fewer than 3 percent of couples choose that option. Divorce rates climbed by the same percentage in states that did not allow no-fault divorce as in states that did. By 2000, Belgium, which had not yet adopted no-fault divorce, had the highest divorce rates in Europe outside of Finland and Sweden.
 
 Nor does a solution lie in preaching the benefits of marriage to impoverished couples or outlawing unconventional partnerships. A poor single mother often has good reason not to marry her child's father, and poor couples who do wed have more than twice the divorce risk of more affluent partners in the United States. Banning same-sex marriage would not undo the existence of alternatives to traditional marriage. Five million children are being raised by gay and lesbian couples in this country. Judges everywhere are being forced to apply many principles of marriage law to those families, if only to regulate child custody should the couple part ways.
 
 We may personally like or dislike these changes. We may wish to keep some and get rid of others. But there is a certain inevitability to almost all of them.
 
 Marriage is no longer the institution where people are initiated into sex. It no longer determines the work men and women do on the job or at home, regulates who has children and who doesn't, or coordinates care-giving for the ill or the aged. For better or worse, marriage has been displaced from its pivotal position in personal and social life, and will not regain it short of a Taliban-like counterrevolution.
 
 Forget the fantasy of solving the challenges of modern personal life by re-institutionalizing marriage. In today's climate of choice, many people's choices do not involve marriage. We must recognize that there are healthy as well as unhealthy ways to be single or to be divorced, just as there are healthy and unhealthy ways to be married. We cannot afford to construct our social policies, our advice to our own children and even our own emotional expectations around the illusion that all commitments, sexual activities and care-giving will take place in a traditional marriage. That series has been canceled.
 
 Author's e-mail:  coontzs@evergreen.edu
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:24:24 2005
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Date: Sun May  1 08:29:27 2005
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 North Korea Labels Bush a 'Dictator'
 
 By Glenn Kessler
 
  North Korea lashed out  at President Bush yesterday for comments he made about  the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, at a news conference Thursday, asserting that the North Korean nuclear  impasse will never be resolved while Bush remains in office.
 
 Bush is "a half-baked man in terms of morality and a philistine whom we can never deal with," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, according to  the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement described Bush as the "world's dictator," who as president had "turned the world into a sea of blood."
 
 North Korea  declared in February that it had produced nuclear weapons and refused to return to six-nation disarmament talks. Yesterday's statement appears to signal the end of that diplomatic process, heightening the stakes in the impasse. The Bush administration has warned Asian allies in the past week that satellite images suggest North Korea is preparing its first underground nuclear test.
 
 "We can no longer tolerate and wait for a shift in the [U.S.] policy," the North Korean statement concluded. "Quite just is the path chosen by us, and we will proceed straight and square along that path."
 
 The Bush administration has engaged in an intensive effort to  persuade North Korea to return to the talks, with a senior envoy shuttling among Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul last week. Bush took State Department officials and foreign diplomats by surprise with unusually strong language at the televised news conference, calling Kim a "tyrant" and a "dangerous person" who ran "concentration camps."
 
 Kim is considered almost a deity in  his country, and the North Korean statement said it could not ignore such "slandering and cursing remarks." The statement noted that "no one can expect to hear reasonable words from Bush, once a cowboy at a ranch in Texas. His remarks often stun audiences as they reveal his utter ignorance."
 
 Bush  had never made such cutting remarks about Kim in such a high-profile setting, though he occasionally referred to Kim as a tyrant while on the campaign trail last year. He was quoted in "Bush at War," by Washington Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward,  as saying he loathed Kim because "he is starving his people."
 
 Administration officials have declined to explain the president's remarks. "The president said what he had to say about Kim Jong Il and his regime, plain and simple in his plain-spoken way," one official said.
 
 Christopher R. Hill, the assistant secretary of state who is attempting to lure Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, reported little progress Friday at the conclusion of his tour of Asian capitals. "We are still in a situation where one of the parties is refusing to come to the table, and that, of course, is North Korea," he said in Seoul, adding that a nuclear test "would be truly troubling for the talks."
 
 Hill declined to discuss other options if North Korea does not return, saying it would undermine the diplomacy. U.S. officials are considering a number of ideas, including increasing pressure through a tightened blockage of North Korea's illicit activities and bringing the matter to the U.N. Security Council.
 
 But some partners in the talks, especially China and South Korea, have balked at tougher measures.  Rather than isolating Pyongyang, China has increased trade with  North Korea by about 20 percent in the past year. North Korea appears to be gambling that divisions among the United States and its allies will eventually yield to acceptance of its status as a nuclear power.
 
 Last week, the top military intelligence official told Congress that it was unlikely Pyongyang would ever give up its nuclear weapons because the arms gave it leverage in its relations with other nations. "Our assessment has been that it's unlikely that they would negotiate away completely that capability or associated ambiguities because of their concerns about changing world events, regional dynamics and so forth," said Vice Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
 
 U.S. intelligence analysts believe North Korea has harvested enough plutonium for about nine weapons. North Korea's nuclear facility at Yongbyon was shut down last month, indicating officials planned to extract  more plutonium  from the fuel rods.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:26:17 2005
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Date: Sun May  1 08:30:54 2005
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 For Democrats, Two States of Hope
 
 By David S. Broder
 
  New Jersey and Virginia are the only states electing governors this year, but for very different reasons those contests have unusual national importance. The New Jersey election could help create a Democratic power bloc of big-state governors rivaling the influence of the Republican grip on key Sun Belt  states. And Virginia could not only test the GOP's hold on the South but directly influence the prospects of a pair of potential presidential candidates.
 
 Virginia clings to a one-term limit on its governors, and Democrat Mark Warner is leaving after a successful four-year run in which the state has climbed out of a financial hole, added thousands of jobs and notably improved its education system.
 
 The contest to succeed Warner pits Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine against Republican former attorney general Jerry Kilgore. Kilgore has minor opposition in the GOP primary but a potentially more serious problem with state Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., a maverick Republican, running as an independent in November.
 
 Virginia was part of President Bush's sweep of Dixie last November, when the South also elected five new Republican senators to formerly Democratic seats. The Kaine-Kilgore race will signal whether the momentum of those victories continues. Should Warner be able to help Kaine keep the governorship in Democratic hands, it would enhance Warner's growing reputation as a potential aspirant for the 2008 national ticket. Warner has won plaudits as the current chairman of the National Governors Association, one of the steppingstones in Bill Clinton's rise to the presidency. But he needs to demonstrate, through a successful effort for Kaine, that he was more than a brief deviation in Virginia's Republicanism.
 
 On the other side, Kilgore has the backing of the state's former Republican governor, Sen. George Allen, a personable conservative campaigner who built his national reputation as last year's successful chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. A Kilgore victory would be another feather in Allen's 2008 cap.
 
 In New Jersey, which is normally a Democratic state, odd circumstances have created an opening for the first truly imposing Democrat in decades to win the governorship. He is Jon Corzine, now a U.S. senator and previously the chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment bank.
 
 In 2000 Corzine, as a novice candidate, spent $60 million of his own fortune to win an upset victory in the Senate primary and general election. Now 58 and with high approval ratings, he would normally be preparing for a relatively easy reelection campaign in 2006.
 
 But Democratic Gov. James McGreevey was forced to step down last year after revealing a sexual affair with a man he had appointed to state office, and acting Gov. Richard Codey, a veteran legislator, was viewed as vulnerable to Republican challenge.
 
 So Corzine stepped in and instantly became a favorite over anyone who emerges from the multi-candidate Republican field. Corzine's name surfaced recently on tapes made of George Norcross III, an influential Democratic power broker, whose political action committee had benefited from Corzine's largesse and who claimed in the clandestine recordings to be influential with the senator.
 
 But Republicans have a way to go to dent Corzine's reputation for independence, and he has put forward a "reform" agenda that he says would substantially reduce the possibility of any New Jersey governor's handing out jobs and contracts to political friends.
 
 In an interview, Corzine said that as a business executive he is excited by the prospect of running a major state, showcasing "what a progressive politician with a commitment to fiscal responsibility can do." With New York's Democratic attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, leading the 2006 gubernatorial polls in that state (and growing doubts about whether incumbent Republican Gov. George Pataki will even run for reelection), Democrats can foresee the possibility of a pair of highly aggressive, politically sophisticated and business-savvy governors leading those two states in the 2008 campaign.
 
 Toss in Pennsylvania's Gov. Ed Rendell, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and an early favorite for reelection in 2006, and the Democrats would have a bloc of Northeastern political powerhouses whose combined weight would come close to matching that of the Republican governors of California, Florida and Texas -- the anchors of the GOP Sun Belt strategy.
 
 Democratic incumbents will also be running next year in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, all of which were won by John Kerry last year, so the party could have a second regional base from which to rally in 2008. But for now, the spotlight will be on Virginia and New Jersey, and Democrats like their chances in both states.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:29:21 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  1 08:33:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 The Shoot-First State
 
  LET'S SAY that you're behind the wheel and think someone wants to carjack your automobile and cause you bodily harm. Or suppose you get into a dispute with another shopper over a place in the supermarket's checkout line, and the shopper's aggressive behavior causes you to fear imminent peril. In both cases, you could -- and common sense suggests that you should -- retreat or back away from the scene if it can be done safely. But in Florida under a measure passed overwhelmingly by the state legislature last week, you would no longer have a duty to escape or retreat before resorting to the use of deadly force. The bill, signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jeb Bush (R), will allow people in Florida -- without fear of criminal prosecution or civil action -- to shoot, stab or pummel to death anyone who causes them to fear for their lives outside of their homes, on the street, or in their cars or businesses. It's called the "Castle Doctrine," meaning your body, not just your home, is your castle and that you can stand your ground and meet force with force virtually anywhere if you reasonably believe injury or death might occur. A retired police officer in St. Petersburg, writing in the St. Petersburg Times, described the legislature's bill as the "citizens' right to shoot others on the street if they feel threatened" and asked, "Are they nuts?" That, we cannot answer.
 
 We do, however, recognize a bad law when we see one, and any measure that increases the possibility of innocent people being killed or injured is a threat to public safety and does not belong on the books. This law, first of its kind in the nation, encourages people to be quick with guns, knives or fists. That's scary. According to the Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Inc., there are already "6 to 7 million untrained gun owners in Florida."
 
 Telling them that they need only feel threatened in a park or a hospital or a stadium
 
 or a domestic dispute to start pulling the trigger is tantamount to turning Florida into
 
 Dodge City.
 
 The prospect of the Wild West coming to Florida probably gladdens the heart of the National Rifle Association, which spawned the bill. But it should spread fear in the halls of other statehouses where the NRA plans to peddle similar legislation over the next year. The Florida law is the "first step of a multi-state strategy," NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said in an interview with the Post's Manuel Roig-Franzia, making it clear that the NRA believes it has a favorable political climate, especially in the South and the Midwest, in which to market its macho bill. Weapons sellers couldn't be happier. More work for morticians, too. And more danger on the nation's streets.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:30:59 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  1 08:35:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29356154.1114961460205.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 How to Fix Health Care
 
 By Dan Crippen
 
  In just 25 years, federal spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (which was originally designed for the poor but increasingly also supports long-term care for the elderly) will about equal what we now spend on the entire federal government. Paying for those programs, without reform, will take tax increases of nearly 10 percent of gross domestic product -- the equivalent of payroll taxes of 30 to 35 percent.
 
 Social Security today is the chief topic of conversation, but it's no secret that health care costs for the elderly will increase much more than retirement payments and much more quickly.
 
 If we are to provide health care for seniors in superior and ultimately cheaper ways, we must face critical facts that point the way to effective, long-term Medicare reform:
 
 First, the lion's share of Medicare spending is going for a relatively small number of people. Second, we are wasting time and money by not having a coordinated care system for these big users. Third, we lack the information needed to guide our caregiving. Fourth, we continue to drive up costs by overusing hospitals and preventing nurses and technicians from doing routine work that doctors now needlessly perform.
 
 Let's start with the cost breakdown. Just 10 million of the 40 million Medicare beneficiaries are burning through 90 percent of the program's costs every year. That's where big changes are needed to hold down costs and improve care. But to build political support for reform we also must do something for the 30 million who are responsible for just 10 percent of the costs.
 
 These relatively healthy people don't cost enough for the government to be following them around with a rulebook or forcing their physicians and pharmacists to file mountains of paperwork. Instead, for the majority of them, we should introduce "smart cards" to serve as virtual medical coordinators. By using the cards, recipients could go to any doctor, get any lab test and fill any prescription -- with the appropriate co-pays -- and the transactions would be electronically recorded (and could be monitored to identify patients who are headed for trouble). They wouldn't be constrained by a government-defined "benefit package" or separate pharmaceutical benefit, and they would enjoy all the freedom of medical savings accounts.
 
 But unfortunately this wouldn't save much money and possibly could cost a little more. So what to do about the 10 million patients who are driving most of the costs? Some are in their last weeks or months of life. But most of the program's costs are for patients who are chronically ill and in need of extensive care. They typically have multiple chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and lung disease. They routinely consult a dozen or more doctors and fill 50 prescriptions per year. They are often hospitalized at least once a year. And no one is in charge of coordinating their care, which results in overuse of medical services and conflicts in treatments and drugs.
 
 We need to know more about these patients. Only recently have government agencies begun to assemble the mountains of data the government collects into patient records. When my father visits a physician, it is treated as a single, separate transaction in the record. Any subsequent tests, treatments or visits are similarly reported, each with its separate record. Rarely has anyone examined what he was being treated for, what the results were of those treatments or the costs he incurred. And we know little about treatments not covered by Medicare, such as pharmaceuticals. As we collect data, we can begin to assess the state of knowledge on treatment of multiple conditions to determine the best forms of treatment, including pharmaceuticals, and the best settings for treatments.
 
 We should also begin to develop and test compensation systems that encourage physicians to change their practice patterns. Much of the past three decades has been spent trying to modify patient behavior by changing deductibles and co-pays -- with only marginal effects on health costs. The truth is that most of the high costs incurred in Medicare are for procedures that patients do not consider discretionary -- hospitalization and inpatient procedures and testing. When a doctor tells my father he needs to be hospitalized for a series of cardiac tests, my father doesn't think about his deductible and co-pays -- he goes to the hospital.
 
 Doctors should have incentives to assume the role of care coordinators for the chronic users of Medicare in an effort to improve care and hold down costs. We should start reducing the utilization of hospitals to curb costs without lowering the level of care provided. The current revolving door between nursing homes and hospitals is unnecessary, expensive and a burden to patients. Some basic tests and care procedures, such as diagnosis and treatment for dehydration, can easily be performed by other health care workers in nursing homes and other settings, if doctors will allow it. Hospitals need not worry about emptying out. The number of elderly is about to double; we could cut admission rates in half and still keep utilization at today's levels.
 
 With proper incentives, we can have physicians coordinating the entire care regimes of the chronically ill, regulating the prescriptions and doing everything in their power to provide the best treatment without using the hospital as a default. The patient will get better care, and Medicare will recoup big savings.
 
 President Bush is to be commended for opening the debate on Social Security, but we can no longer ignore the elephant in the room that is Medicare. It's too important for everybody.
 
 The writer is a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and was an economic adviser in the Reagan administration.
 
 
 
 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun May  1 11:34:36 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun May  1 08:39:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Comments about Vietnam
Message-ID: <BE9A6F4C.210E4%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Ian sent this very interesting article:
The author may be correct in his assessment. However he avoids the point: We
should not have been in Vietnam to begin with.
Michael

Message: 5
Date: Sun, 01 May 2005 10:28:30 -0500
From: ialterman@nyc.rr.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The War We Could Have Won
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Message-ID: <20050501142831.1A1EA24AEEA@lax-gw02.mroute.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 1, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: The War We Could Have Won
By STEPHEN J. MORRIS

In 1974-75, the United States snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01morris.html?ex=1115611200&en=21a
e13ef090fb56e&ei=5070

From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:27:43 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  1 08:47:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7551543.1114961264724.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 In Praise of Bush's Honesty (Honest)
 
 By Michael Kinsley
 
  Q: Is the poll troubling?
 
 PRESIDENT BUSH: Polls? You know, if a president tries to govern based upon polls, you're kind of like a dog chasing your tail. I don't think you can make good, sound decisions based upon polls. And I don't think the American people want a president who relies upon polls and focus groups to make decisions for the American people.
 
 -- from the April 28 news conference.
 
 
 
 The comic high point of the president's prime-time news conference was this muddled disquisition on how the American people don't want the president to do what polls say the American people want the president to do.
 
 This could be simple nonsense -- an unfortunate conflation of two rhetorical devices treasured by politicians of both parties but best kept a few paragraphs apart. One is the insistence that they don't follow the polls. The other is substituting the phrase "the American people" for the word "I" in sentences like, "The American people demand immediate passage of H.R. 5712, the Grotesque Subsidies to Widget Producers Act."
 
 Or the president could be struggling toward some kind of Burkean notion that he has been elected to lead people, not to follow their whims, and leadership matters only when it takes people where they don't want to go. Bush hinted at this after his reelection, saying that he had "chips" (of popularity) that he was prepared to cash in. And I'm giving him credit for this high-minded explanation based on the rest of his performance Thursday evening.
 
 There was a remarkable amount of honesty and near-honesty. Bush's rebuff to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was superb. The people who oppose his judgeship nominees aren't prejudiced against religion, he said. They do it because they have a different "judicial philosophy." That is exactly the point. His characterization of the difference -- his opponents "would like to see judges legislate from the bench" -- is not quite right. Just a couple of weeks ago, his party tried desperately to force judges to "legislate from the bench" to prevent the removal of life support from Terri Schiavo. But a straightforward debate about judicial philosophy is indeed what we need.
 
 Then it got even better. Starting with the cliche that in America you can "worship any way you want," Bush plunged gratuitously into a declaration that "if you choose not to worship, you're equally as patriotic as somebody who does worship." How long has it been, in this preacher-spooked nation, since a politician, let alone the president, has spoken out in defense of non-believers?
 
 Above all, Bush was honest and even courageous about Social Security. Social Security is entirely about writing checks: Money goes in, money goes out. As Bush has discovered in the past few months, there are no shadows to hide in while you fiddle with it. The problem is fewer and fewer workers supporting more and more retirees, and there are only two possible solutions: Someone has to pay more in, and/or someone has to take less out.
 
 Bush didn't go from explicitly denying this to explicitly admitting it. But he went from implicitly suggesting that his privatization scheme is a pain-free solution to implicitly endorsing a plan for serious benefit cuts. For a politician, that's an admirable difference.
 
 Even more to Bush's credit, the plan he's backing is highly progressive. Benefits for low-income workers would keep rising with average wages, as now, but benefits for middle- and high-income people would be geared more toward merely keeping up with inflation. This allows Bush to say that no one's benefits will be cut, although some people will be getting as much as 40 percent less than they are currently promised. But in the swamp of Social Security politics, that is really minimal protection from the alligators.
 
 So Democrats now face a choice: Are they going to be alligators on this one? Why Bush has taken this on remains a mystery. There is no short-term political advantage, and there are other real long-term problems that are more pressing. But he has done it, to his credit.
 
 As this column has argued to the point of stupefaction, Bush's privatization ideas are a mathematical fraud. There is no way that allowing people to manage part of the money they put into the system can produce a surplus to supplement their benefits or cushion the shock of the necessary cuts. But if privatization is truly voluntary, it can't do much harm. And if that is Bush's price for being out front on a real solution to the real problem, the Democrats should let him have it.
 
 Unless they are complete morons -- always a possibility -- the Democrats could end up in the best of all worlds. They know in their hearts that Social Security has got to change in some unpleasant way. Bush, for whatever reason, is willing to take this on and to take most of the heat. And all he wants in return is the opportunity to try something that will alienate people from the Republican Party for generations to come.
 
 ·
 
 The April 24 column incorrectly referred to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as Senate majority leader.
 
 The writer is editorial and opinion editor of the Los Angeles Times.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  1 08:23:53 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  1 08:47:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <20459626.1114961034586.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Windows Again Chasing Mac OS to Shelves
 
 By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
 
  With its new operating system ready to ship, Apple felt justified in kicking some sand in Microsoft's face. Its marketers crowed about how its new Mac OS X release included features that Microsoft could only talk about while it continued to work on its own long-delayed successor to Windows XP.
 
 That was a problem for Microsoft -- in 2003, when Apple was talking up Mac OS X 10.3, a k a Panther. Now, two years later, things haven't changed much.
 
 A new Apple update, OS X 10.4, or Tiger, is on store shelves while that XP replacement -- nicknamed Longhorn for now -- is still, well, not here.
 
 Longhorn is now scheduled to arrive during the 2006 holiday season. Originally, it was to show up sometime in 2004.
 
 It was also supposed to have a lot more features in its original incarnation. The most important of these were to be an improved, faster file system, the Windows File System (WinFS). WinFS would turn today's static lists of files and folders into a searchable database, allowing users to find files in a snap and quickly build their own custom folders on the fly.
 
 A second core Longhorn component was Palladium, Microsoft's nickname for a special chip and a new layer of software to ensure that only trusted programs, not viruses or spyware, were afoot on a PC.
 
 Now, WinFS has been dropped entirely (although Microsoft says it will still build in the sort of desktop-search capabilities that users now get only with add-on software. Palladium's reach has been downgraded, allowing this technology to regulate only what software runs right after the computer boots up.
 
 Instead of the biggest, baddest operating system ever, skeptics see Longhorn as Windows XP Service Pack 3.
 
 But it should certainly look better than XP as we know it. Longhorn's graphics architecture, called Avalon, will allow for some of the same slick graphics effects as in Mac OS X, but it's not just a pretty new Windows face. (Microsoft calls those interface graphics Aero.)
 
 Avalon also can work with properly written applications to adjust their appearance, making the best use of display hardware. For example, it would allow a desktop-publishing program to tap every pixel of the higher resolution of a future display instead of crudely scaling up its graphics.
 
 A second Longhorn technology, Indigo, may be of less relevance to home users. It's more of an office feature that will help programmers write applications that run across local networks.
 
 A third change, however, should benefit anybody anxious about security. Microsoft plans to reduce the authority Windows grants to individual programs to operate as they see fit, which should reduce the amount of damage any one virus can do.
 
 Longhorn's system requirements are still somewhat up in the air. Microsoft has been cagey about saying exactly what users will need to run Longhorn, but so far it seems clear that they'll need at least 512 megabytes of memory. Its fanciest 3-D graphics will, in turn, require a high-end video card, along the lines of what is needed to run a fast-paced video game today.
 
 Microsoft representatives have also said that Longhorn will run best on dual-core processors, which put the guts of two processors on a single chip. AMD and Intel are both hard at work producing dual-core chips, but none are sold in home PCs.
 
 But Microsoft also insists that users will be able to run Longhorn on older machines with 128 or 256 megabytes of memory and today's graphic cards. It just won't be a great experience, they admit, and may not look much different from XP today. (Microsoft offers some information on Longhorn, though mostly oriented toward developers, at http://msdn.microsoft.com/longhorn .)
 
 To make the most of Longhorn, users will also need to upgrade their applications, although XP-capable programs, such as Microsoft Office and Intuit's Quicken, should still run just fine.
 
 Microsoft reaffirmed the holiday 2006 timetable for Longhorn at last week's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle, but that will take some quick work. It has yet to release a beta of Longhorn, although it plans to do so this summer. If that test release should slip, watch out -- it took Microsoft a year to go from its first beta of XP to the shipping product. And Longhorn incorporates many more changes than XP did.
 
 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun May  1 11:59:54 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun May  1 09:05:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] EDITORIAL Bush 2.0  -  LATimes
Message-ID: <BE9A753A.210E8%michael@michaelbutler.com>

latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-bush1may01.story
EDITORIAL
Bush 2.0

May 1, 2005

It seems like just yesterday that George W. Bush was bragging about all the
political chips he'd accumulated on Nov. 2, and about how he was going to go
about spending them. But in holding the first prime-time news conference of
his second term on Thursday, just shy of its 100-day mark, the president was
remarkably subdued. He came across as humble even, maybe on account of his
plunging approval ratings. Or maybe it was because NBC made the president of
the United States defer to "The Apprentice" and change the time of the
conference.

Bush has been traveling the country for weeks like a wild-eyed prophet of
Social Security doom, pitching his private accounts as salvation. The more
he talks, the less popular his proposals have become. Obsessing about a
distant crisis (the eventual shortfall facing the Social Security system)
and linking it to a fake solution (those private accounts) have made Bush
seem adrift. This is odd when you consider that Bush is the first president
since Lyndon B. Johnson to have his party in command of both houses of
Congress at the start of his second term.

The Republican Congress is making its way down its golden-oldies wish list ?
like tort reform and the recent changes in bankruptcy law ? but Bush looks
increasingly like a bystander. Bush claims to want to overhaul immigration
policy, passionately, but the White House is not leading on the issue. Bush
was a hapless observer recently as the Senate filibustered a sensible
bipartisan bill that would address the status of undocumented agricultural
workers.

On Social Security, last week's news conference was all about bringing the
wild-eyed prophet back from the wilderness, reviving the debate and
reinserting Bush at its center. And here Democrats should be careful not to
underestimate the president, who has proved in the past to be quite adept at
midcourse adjustment. It's still a long shot, admittedly, but it wouldn't be
out of character for Bush to pull off a fundamental change in Social
Security that shores up the system's finances, even though he first latched
onto the peripheral private accounts issue.

The president hinted at a significant adjustment when he raised the idea of
embracing "progressive indexing." The idea is to link the growth of benefits
owed to higher- income retirees to inflation, while keeping the benefits
owed to lower-income retirees indexed to wage growth, which is usually
greater. Bush, who likes saying that being president is hard work but rarely
acknowledges that it entails tough choices, was, for once, talking about
possible solutions to the real problem.

Another measure of Bush's sincerity will be his willingness to raise the cap
on the amount of wages ? currently $90,000 ? subject to the payroll tax. The
president was careful to say he was willing to look at any "good-faith
proposal that does not raise the payroll tax rate" ? words that leave open
the possibility of applying the same rate to more of an individual's wages.

Such a move could ensure Social Security's solvency for generations to come,
and maybe even pay for some contribution to his beloved private accounts.


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 hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May  1 09:01:28 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May  1 09:06:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: North Korea 'tests new missile'
Message-ID: <20050501_160128_000160.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** North Korea 'tests new missile' **
Japan says it is checking reports that North Korea may have launched a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4503531.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  Sun May  1 09:01:55 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May  1 09:30:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Iran issues nuclear warning to US
Message-ID: <20050501_160155_079315.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Iran issues nuclear warning to US **
Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warns the US to stay out of his country's nuclear programme.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4503915.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  Sun May  1 09:06:46 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May  1 09:30:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Vietnam: The Music of Protest
Message-ID: <20050501_160646_099603.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
they should have mentioned Hair !

** Vietnam: The Music of Protest **
The protest movement against the Vietnam War spawned a wider cultural movement whose repercussions are still evident today.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4498011.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
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the BBC's views.

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From CLARKE445566 at msn.com  Sun May  1 03:49:31 2005
From: CLARKE445566 at msn.com (ROBERT CLARKE)
Date: Sun May  1 10:32:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Nuking Water
Message-ID: <200505011347.j41DltS3008340@dune.islandtechnologies.net>



----- Original Message -----

Subject: Nuking Water


 I checked Snopes and this is true.
  
Microwaving Water!

(I did not know this, did you?)

A 26-year old man decided to have a cup of coffee. He took a cup of water and put it in the microwave to heat it up (something that he had done numerous times before). I am not sure how long he set the timer for, but he wanted to bring the water to a boil. When the timer shut the oven off, he removed the cup from the oven. As he looked into the cup, he noted that the! water was not boiling, but suddenly the water in the cup "blew up" into his face. The cup remained intact until he threw it out of his hand, but all the water had flown out into his face due to the build up of energy. His whole face is blistered and he has 1st and 2nd degree burns to his face which may leave scarring.

He also may have lost partial sight in his left eye. While at the hospital, the doctor who was attending to him stated that this is a fairly common occurrence and water (alone) should never be heated in a microwave oven If water is heated in this manner, something should be placed in the cup to diffuse the energy such as a wooden stir stick, tea bag, etc., (nothing metal).

It is however a much safer choice to boil the water in a tea kettle.

General Electric's Response:

Thanks for contacting us, I will be happy to assist you. The e-mail that you received is correct. Microwaved water and other liquids do not always bubble when they reach the boiling point. They can actually get superheated and not bubble at all. The superheated liquid will bubble up out of the cup when it is moved or when something like a spoon or tea bag is put into it.

To prevent this from happening and causing injury, do not heat any liquid for more than two minutes per cup. After heating, let the cup stand in the microwave for thirty seconds! before moving it or adding anything into it.

Here is what our local science teacher had to say on the matter: "Thanks for the microwave warning. I have seen this happen before. It is caused by a phenomenon known as super heating. It can occur anytime water is heated and will particularly occur if the vessel that the water is heated in is new, or when heating a small amount of water (less than half a cup).

What happens is that the water heats faster than the vapor bubbles can form. If the cup is very new then it is unlikely to have small surface scratches inside it that provide a place for the bubbles to form. As the bubbles cannot form and release some of the heat has built up, the liquid does not boil, and the liquid continues to heat up well past its boiling point.

What then usually happens is that the liquid is bumped or jarred, which is just enough of a shock to cause the bubbles to rapidly form and expel the hot liquid. The rapid formation of bubbles is also why a carbonated beverage spews when opened after having been shaken."

If you pass this on you could very well save someone from a lot of pain and suffering.

Thank You Very Much.



  
    





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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May  1 15:02:35 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May  1 15:07:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Dark Side Rising - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the
	Sith - TIME Magazine
Message-ID: <7010423.1114984955681.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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Aaah!!  Star Wars... Oh and how I love Yoda.... :-)

peace,
barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May  1 15:07:27 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May  1 15:12:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How to Get Out Alive
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Not to panic is the key to getting out alive in most disaster's....I agree!

peace,
barbara 




 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May  1 15:10:22 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May  1 15:15:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Look Who's Talking
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The Super Lobbyist is now talking?? What does he reveal about Tom DeLay?

peace,
barbara



 
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May  1 16:29:33 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May  1 17:03:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - DEMONSTRATORS WANT DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL
Message-ID: <20050501232933.D63441B679@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
____________________________________________________
DEMONSTRATORS WANT DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL
WebPosted Sun May  1 15:37:20 2005

KATHMANDU---Peaceful demonstrators in Nepal took advantage of the end of
emergency rule to ask the king to restore democracy.

On Saturday, King Gyanendra ended the state of emergency, which gave him
complete control of the mountain kingdom. But he retained special powers,
which leave him in control.

 FROM APRIL 29, 2005: Nepal's king ends state of emergency On Sunday, an
 estimated 8,000 demonstrators marched in Kathmandu, the capital,
 carrying signs asking the king to restore democracy.

They called for the release of hundreds of prisoners, including
opposition politicians and reporters, jailed since Gyanendra imposed the
state of emergency when he fired the government in February.

The march was organized by unions, and also marked May Day.

The demonstrators avoided confronting the police.

But they said they will continue to push for the restoration of
democracy.

Gyanendra, 55, justified seizing power on Feb. 1 by saying the government
had failed to confront Maoist rebels.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May  1 16:30:49 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May  1 17:03:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - UN TO SET UP KHMER ROUGE TRIALS
Message-ID: <20050501233049.3FAD31B679@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
____________________________________________________
UN TO SET UP KHMER ROUGE TRIALS
WebPosted Sat Apr 30 12:46:30 2005

UNITED NATIONS ---The United Nations has decided to go ahead with a
tribunal to prosecute leaders of the Khmer Rouge for genocide and crimes
against humanity.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has told Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
there are now sufficient international pledges and contributions to fund
trials for a "sustained period of time."

An agreement reached with the UN prevented the tribunal from commencing
until pledges had been received to fund a full three years of its
operations.

The decision to go ahead with the hearings was announced at UN
headquarters a day after the European Commission pledged $1.3 million US
to help fund the tribunal. As of last month, international donors had
pledged $38 million.

Annan says he now looks forward to the trials being established and
functioning as soon as possible.

Up to two million Cambodians, about a quarter of the population, were
either killed, or died of starvation, disease or forced labour during the
rule of the communist regime from 1975-79.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May  1 16:32:05 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May  1 17:03:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - VIETNAM MARKS 30 YEARS SINCE WAR'S END
Message-ID: <20050501233205.A1BF71B679@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
____________________________________________________
VIETNAM MARKS 30 YEARS SINCE WAR'S END
WebPosted Sat Apr 30 09:12:29 2005

HO CHI MINH CITY---Military bands and troops marched down the main
boulevard in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, on Saturday to mark the
30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

More than 1,000 veterans watched as soldiers made their way toward the
one-time presidential palace of South Vietnam.

People waved flags and giant pictures of Ho Chi Minh, whose leadership in
North Vietnam led to the unification of North and South Vietnam six years
after his death in 1969.

The fall of Saigon marked the official end to America's more than decade-
long attempt to halt the spread of communism in the region.

On April 29, 1975 the American Embassy in Saigon was abandoned; the next
day, North Vietnamese tanks rolled into the city.

An estimated three million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans were killed
during the war.

Although the fighting ended three decades ago, almost three-quarters of
Vietnam's 80 million people are too young to remember it first-hand.

But the legacy of what the Vietnamese call the American War lingers in
unexploded ordinance, in wounded veterans and in victims of Agent Orange,
a toxic defoliant U.S. troops used to wipe out the jungle foliage that
provided cover to their opponents.

The mess left behind includes some 300,000 tons of unexploded bombs,
landmines and other explosives, dropped especially on Quang Tri province,
near the former demilitarized zone that divided North and South Vietnam.

About 35,000 Vietnamese have died from such unexploded ordnance since the
end of the war, and while casualties are fewer now, they still happen.

The Vietnamese government blames Agent Orange for the serious health
problems of at least one million people.

The Vietnam Association of Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims says more than
200,000 Vietnamese live with birth defects, deformities and disease that
can be traced to exposure to the chemicals.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May  1 16:33:31 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May  1 17:03:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - 40 KILLED IN TERROR ATTACKS IN IRAQ
Message-ID: <20050501233331.5BFF81B679@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
____________________________________________________
40 KILLED IN TERROR ATTACKS IN IRAQ
WebPosted Sun May  1 14:18:55 2005

Baghdad---About 30 Iraqis were killed and more than 50 were wounded when
a bomb exploded at a funeral Sunday, while at least 10 more people died
in other violent incidents.

At least 110 people, including 11 U.S. soldiers, have been killed in a
wave of attacks since the Iraqi National Assembly chose a Shia-dominated
cabinet on Thursday. The minority Sunnis are believed to be the main
supporters of the militant attacks.

 FROM APRIL 29, 2005: 11 car bombings kill dozens in Iraq Sunni factions
 had been promised six ministers and one deputy prime minister, but they
 received four portfolios considered relatively insignificant.

In the most deadly attack Sunday, a Kurdish official was being buried in
Tal Afar in northern Iraq when a suicide car bomb blew up.

Many other well-planned car bombings and ambushes were reported on Sunday
in Baghdad and other places in Iraq.

Iraqi police are a frequent target.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May  1 17:51:35 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May  1 17:56:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Why America needs to be defeated in Iraq
Message-ID: <000a01c54eb1$19ab6cd0$a327e440@Harold>

Washington based journalist Mike Whitney, makes an intriguing point!

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8716.htm

Later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May  1 17:54:24 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May  1 17:59:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Uzbekistan partner in US Torture
Message-ID: <001101c54eb1$7e9689e0$a327e440@Harold>

Look at the facts

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8707.htm
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May  1 18:03:39 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May  1 18:08:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Laura Bush has joke writer, she lies to audience !!
Message-ID: <000801c54eb2$c9b402d0$a327e440@Harold>

Laura Bush lied to her audience, her words were scripted by joke writer.

http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/05/01/news/letter.php

Her interruption to her husband was also scripted........

So now how do the rubes/wanna be's etc..... in the audience feel  ......... lied to again .....

Later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May  1 18:52:38 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Sun May  1 18:57:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Italy media reveals Iraq details
Message-ID: <20050502_015238_001749.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
There have been so many mistakes and cover ups by the US military that I do not think that the American people even care, they are in denial of the issues at hand!

** Italy media reveals Iraq details **
Italian media publishes classified sections of a US report into the killing of agent Nicola Calipari in Iraq.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4504589.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.

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 barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May  1 20:08:10 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May  1 20:13:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Why Gas Won't Get Cheaper
Message-ID: <24206323.1115003290837.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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Hmmn.

barbara





 
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May  1 18:48:25 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May  2 03:54:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - QUEBEC WAL-MART CLOSES EARLIER THAN PLANNED
Message-ID: <20050502014825.C8B571B679@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
____________________________________________________
QUEBEC WAL-MART CLOSES EARLIER THAN PLANNED
WebPosted Fri Apr 29 12:19:16 2005

JonquiÈre, Que.---Wal-Mart announced plans to close its store in
Jonquière, Que., on Friday &#8211; one week earlier than planned.

Wal-Mart had originally decided to close the store on May 6 after
employees received union accreditation last fall. The company had said
the store was not profitable.

In the wake of Friday's surprise closure announcement, media reports said
employees met with management and workers will be paid over the next few
weeks despite the shutdown.

Lawyers for the company and the employees met Friday morning.

The store in Saguenay made history when about 190 employees joined the
United Food and Commercial Workers Union after a long fight.

As they began negotiating a contract with Wal-Mart, the retail giant said
unionizing employees would threaten the economic viability of the store.

A Wal-Mart store in St-Hyacinthe, Que., is also unionized. A spokesperson
for the union there refused to comment on Wednesday's announcement.

Wal-Mart is facing certification applications at about a dozen other
locations in Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia &#8211; with
unionization applications pending at seven Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express
departments in B.C.

Wal-Mart has strongly resisted any attempts to unionize workers at its
1,000 stores worldwide.

Wal-Mart has more than 230 stores in Canada, employing more than
60,000 people.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  2 04:01:21 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  2 04:06:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <28085290.1115031681866.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Odyssey of an Al Qaeda Operative
 
 By Craig Whitlock
 
  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- In the post-Sept. 11 world, Karim Mejjati was the perfect undercover al Qaeda operative. The former medical student from Morocco could speak several languages, had many passports and excelled at building bombs. He was also good at avoiding attention as he crisscrossed four continents to organize a wave of catastrophic attacks.
 
 On May 12, 2003, an al Qaeda network that investigators say was put together by Mejjati in Saudi Arabia blew up three residential compounds for foreign workers in Riyadh, leaving 23 dead. Less than a week later, about 3,000 miles away, suicide bombers trained by Mejjati carried out the deadliest terrorist attacks in Moroccan history, killing 45 people in Casablanca.
 
 For the next two years, authorities in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North America pressed a secret but intensive global manhunt for the French-schooled suspect, fearing that he had set up other al Qaeda sleeper cells that had yet to be activated. Saudi Arabia put him near the top of its list of most wanted terrorism suspects. In Morocco, he was sentenced in absentia to 20 years for the Casablanca bombings. The FBI named him in a global anti-terrorism alert, warning that he was suspected of planning attacks in the United States.
 
 According to investigators, his success in organizing terrorist networks in multiple countries is clear evidence that al Qaeda can still order devastating attacks around the world, even though most of its commanders have been killed or on the run since Sept. 11, 2001.
 
 The search for Mejjati, 37, ended last month in a small town in the heart of Saudi Arabia when he was killed in a gun battle with security forces who stumbled on his hideout. Now, investigators trying to retrace his footsteps acknowledge that they still do not know how many more sleeper cells the well-educated explosives expert may have created.
 
 "They need guys like him in the field in order to remain effective," said Mohammed Darif, a political science professor at Mohammedia University in Morocco, who is an expert on Islamic radicals in the country and has studied Mejjati's background. "He was very valuable for them. They could use him in different places and rely on him to complete the job."
 
 U.S. officials have said that the direct threat posed by al Qaeda's central leadership has diminished and that it has taken on a different role of providing encouragement, but little concrete assistance, to local cells or networks that plan attacks on their own. On Wednesday, in its annual report on global terrorism trends, the State Department said the shift illustrates "what many analysts believe is a new phase of the global war on terrorism, one in which local groups inspired by al Qaeda organize and carry out attacks with little or no support or direction from al Qaeda itself."
 
 But an examination of Mejjati's role in organizing cells in Saudi Arabia, Morocco and possibly Spain -- three of the countries hardest hit by Islamic terrorism since Sept. 11 -- challenges that assumption.
 
 In interviews, security officials in Saudi Arabia said that Mejjati was dispatched from Afghanistan by top al Qaeda leaders in 2002 to help recruit and train a network of cells dedicated to overthrowing the Saudi royal family. Saudi officials said Mejjati served as the general strategist to the network's first chief, Yusuf Ayeri, who reported directly to al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. Starting with the May 2003 bombing in Riyadh, the network has rattled the kingdom with a series of explosions, kidnappings and beheadings that have taken more than 90 lives and contributed to a global rise in oil prices.
 
 In Morocco, counterterrorism officials said Mejjati provided explosives training to a cell of Islamic radicals recruited from the slums surrounding Casablanca. At first, investigators thought the operation was conceived and planned locally. But a suspect who later divulged Mejjati's name to interrogators led them to conclude that those responsible for the attacks were taking their cues from al Qaeda's top leadership.
 
 Some U.S. and European officials say they believe Mejjati may also have been involved in the planning of the March 11, 2004, bombings of four commuter trains in Madrid in which 191 people were killed and more than 1,800 were wounded, although other investigators disagree. Spanish authorities have not issued an indictment against him. A local cell consisting mostly of Moroccan immigrants is believed to have carried out the attacks, but Spanish investigators have been unable to determine whether they acted on their own or took orders from al Qaeda middlemen such as Mejjati.
 
 The son of a French mother and Moroccan father, Mejjati had a privileged upbringing in Casablanca. He attended an exclusive French-language school and, at his father's urging, applied to medical school in France.
 
 He moved to France in the early 1990s to study, but dropped out of school and became more devout as a Muslim, according to neighbors and relatives in Casablanca. When he returned to Morocco a few years later, he dressed in Afghan-style clothes and wore a long beard, a style that made him stand out in his family's cosmopolitan neighborhood, next to the city's old Jewish sector.
 
 In the late 1990s, he caused a small stir in the neighborhood by loudly berating a young man who had put his arm around his girlfriend in public, neighbors recalled. When visitors came from out of town, he would insist that he and his bushy-bearded male friends sleep in cars on the street while the women stayed in his small two-room apartment.
 
 "We thought, well, he's weird, but what can he possibly do?" said one neighbor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, saying he didn't want to antagonize Mejjati's friends or the Moroccan security services. "He was always with strange people, but not to the point where we were worried."
 
 Mejjati married a Moroccan woman, with whom he had two sons, but the family rarely interacted with others. As his sons grew up, Mejjati increasingly spent his time traveling. One resident from his apartment building said he recalled seeing Mejjati only twice after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, though he never suspected that he might be involved in militant groups.
 
 That changed after suicide bombers struck several targets in Casablanca in May 2003, including a Jewish community center not far from Mejjati's apartment. Shortly afterward, detectives began interrogating neighbors about Mejjati and set up a round-the-clock stakeout of the apartment building. Neighbors said the police shadowed Mejjati's wife whenever she left her home and kept up the surveillance until last month, when he was reported killed in Saudi Arabia.
 
 Moroccan officials said they assumed that Mejjati had fled the country before the May 2003 attacks, but were unsure how much time he had spent in Morocco training the suicide bombers.
 
 In an interview in March, Moroccan Justice Minister Mohamed Bouzoubaa said Mejjati was one of six suspects from the Casablanca bombings who remained at large. He said Mejjati was considered "a big fish," one of the top leaders in the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, a local network that has become increasingly affiliated with al Qaeda.
 
 After the attacks in Casablanca and Riyadh, counterterrorism officials in other countries became increasingly alarmed about Mejjati as well.
 
 In September 2003, the FBI issued a worldwide bulletin warning the public to be on the lookout for Mejjati. The notice said he was "being sought for questioning in connection with possible threats against the United States." The FBI also confirmed that he had entered the country between 1997 and 1999.
 
 A U.S. law enforcement agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mejjati entered the United States on at least two occasions during that period, with each stay lasting several months. What he did or where he went during that time is unclear, the official said.
 
 "We frankly do not have a lot of information about him, and most of what we do have has come from interrogations," the official said. "We knew he had the proven ability to travel here, and that is what was a particular concern about him."
 
 Other counterterrorism officials said Mejjati, who was fluent in English, could easily blend into Western societies. Neighbors in Casablanca said he spoke French better than Arabic, the native tongue for most Moroccans.
 
 Investigators said he also had an uncanny ability to change his appearance. Grainy mug shots of Mejjati released by the FBI show a dark-haired man with a scraggly beard. A wanted poster in Morocco portrays a completely different look: a thinner Mejjati wearing glasses and a red-and-white checkered kaffiyeh, or headdress, with a neatly trimmed mustache and no beard.
 
 Mejjati drew fresh attention in Europe after the Madrid train bombings. Although investigators have not confirmed his presence in Spain, they said he worked closely with a suspected ringleader in the plot, another Moroccan named Amer Azizi, who has been indicted by Spanish officials but remains a fugitive.
 
 The investigators said Azizi and Mejjati trained together at militant camps in Afghanistan in the late 1990s and are considered top leaders of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, which allegedly recruited many of the foot soldiers who carried out the attacks in Madrid.
 
 Less than a month after the Madrid explosions, Mejjati's name surfaced again, this time in Belgium. Threatening e-mails sent to several newspapers in Antwerp on April 1, 2004, warned of pending attacks against Jewish targets in the city. The messages were unsigned but contained Mejjati's name in the text and suggested that he had inspired those making the threats.
 
 Belgian authorities said at the time that they did not take the threats seriously, but they became more concerned a few months later when police in a town outside Antwerp arrested a suspected al Qaeda operative named Hussein Mohammed Haski. The arrest set off alarm bells throughout Europe because Haski was known by Moroccan and Saudi officials to be a follower of Mejjati.
 
 Several months earlier, Mejjati and Haski, also a Moroccan, joined 24 others on Saudi Arabia's most wanted list, the only two who were not from the Arabian Peninsula. When Haski surfaced in Belgium, some European counterterrorism officials feared that Mejjati was trying to set up another sleeper cell, this time in their back yard.
 
 The search for Mejjati then shifted to Europe, although some counterterrorism officials speculated that he had sought refuge in more remote areas, such as Pakistan, Iran or along the Syria-Iraq border.
 
 But Saudi security forces last month unexpectedly came across him in the small town of Ar Rass, about 220 miles northwest of Riyadh. After receiving a tip that some militants were in the area, Saudi police surrounded a building and engaged in a fierce gun battle that lasted for three days, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry.
 
 Saudi officials said they killed 15 militants and captured six others. Only after the shooting stopped did they discover that one of the dead was Mejjati. His teenage son, Adam, was also killed.
 
 "He was so good that we had no idea what he was doing," said a Saudi security source who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We had no tangible evidence where he was. The thing we do know is how sophisticated he was and what he was able to set up, inside and outside the kingdom."
 
 Staff writers Steve Coll in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, and Dan Eggen in Washington, and special correspondent Maria Gabriella Bonetti in Paris contributed to this report.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  2 04:03:08 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  2 04:08:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Mac's Tiger Gives Panther Owners Little Reason to Pounce
 
 By Rob Pegoraro
 
  Since the debut of Mac OS X in March 2001, Apple has been cranking out new versions of its operating system as if they were movie sequels. Its new OS X 10.4 release -- which Apple also calls Tiger -- took longer than any other OS X update and still showed up barely 18 months after its predecessor, Mac OS X 10.3 Panther.
 
 This pace of updates can't have been good for the sleep cycles of Apple's developers, and it certainly has taken a financial toll on users who have kept up with them all. With a purchase of Tiger, $129 ($9.95 if you bought a Mac after April 12), the total bill for OS X updates tops $500.
 
 Each of those earlier releases justified its price with added features and functions. Tiger should as well. But Panther is already very good on its own, while this release exhibits a few rough patches -- meaning Tiger doesn't quite have an immediate, must-buy-now appeal.
 
 For one thing, it can't be loaded on many computers that could run 10.3 -- Tiger requires a Mac with a built-in FireWire port and 256 megabytes of memory. Given how halting and sluggish Tiger ran on a 256 MB Mac Mini, doubling the memory seems wise.
 
 For another, while Tiger features some remarkably powerful capabilities, they're not all provided in the most effective manner.
 
 Tiger's highlight is Spotlight. This search tool provides most of the capabilities of such add-on Windows programs as Google Desktop -- except that Spotlight's integration into the operating system lets it index your files as they change, not minutes or hours later.
 
 It also makes Spotlight searches easier to start; click the blue magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the screen or use the search form included in every Finder window and file dialogue box. It even pops up in the System Preferences window; instead of wondering which control panel affects what setting, just type what you want to do and Spotlight will find the right one.
 
 Out of the box, Spotlight already indexes the contents of nearly every file on a Mac -- e-mail messages, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, PDF files, address-book entries, calendar appointments, digital music, and even comments embedded in digital photos. (Spotlight's vocabulary can be expanded with downloadable plug-ins.)
 
 But Spotlight is missing one of the most useful options of other desktop search utilities: the ability to index the contents of Web pages you've visited.
 
 While Spotlight is Tiger's most sweeping change, Dashboard is its flashiest addition. This array of small "widget" programs for such quick tasks as address and weather look-ups whooshes into view at the tap of a key, then whisks itself out of sight when you're done. Tiger includes 14 widgets, with more offered online by Apple and others.
 
 Apple's three core Internet programs -- Mail, the Safari Web browser and the iChat instant messenger -- gain new roles in Tiger.
 
 Mail now runs much faster, incorporates Spotlight searching and lets you create "smart mailboxes" that function like iTunes' Smart Playlists, grouping messages by matching preset search terms. But the criteria available to build a smart mailbox are oddly limited; for example, you can't have Mail show only unanswered messages. (You can create similar automatic-search folders in the Finder and in the Address Book program.)
 
 Mail works outstandingly well with IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) accounts, but remains clumsy at managing more widely used POP (Post Office Protocol) inboxes. It also lacks the screening for fake "phishing" messages now offered by the Eudora and, soon, Thunderbird mail programs. Finally, the space-wasting, pointlessly quirky toolbar slapped onto Mail's windows needs to go.
 
 Safari's major addition is support for the "news feeds" many Web sites publish; it usually finds them automatically, allowing you to subscribe to one with two clicks then easily sort through its headlines. A "Private Browsing" option ensures Safari will store no records of your use, handy if you're borrowing a stranger's computer.
 
 But other parts of Safari now look a bit creaky. Although this browser will block pop-up ad windows, that option is turned off by default. Its notification of the secure encryption used at real financial sites (but not at the fakes set up by phishers) is way too subtle, compared with the obvious cues offered by Firefox and Opera.
 
 Apple's iChat instant messenger now allows group video conferencing, but you'll need a high-end Power Mac desktop to host one. A more consumer-relevant feature, support for the MSN and Yahoo IM networks, goes missing.
 
 Tiger expands Panther's limited parental-use controls with options to restrict a child's online use to designated Web sites, e-mail addresses and IM chatters.
 
 One of Tiger's most promising components is easy to overlook. Its Automator program makes it drag-and-drop simple to instruct your programs to perform repetitive tasks. Not having to master programming syntax makes this a huge advance, although many programs can't yet be orchestrated by Automator.
 
 Tiger is prey to as many viruses and spyware attacks as Panther -- none. But Apple missed a chance to augment OS X's already strong defenses: When a program's installer asks for an administrator's password, Tiger still provides no details about what will happen next, leaving users to hope for the best.
 
 Stability has always been a core virtue in OS X, but I did see one serious system crash in five days of testing on three Macs. I also spotted several bugs, some merely cosmetic (overlapping controls in a Mail window) and others more serious (a new .Mac synchronization utility failed to copy all of the e-mail settings to a second Mac that it said it would). And Apple neglected to address such long-standing OS X issues as the runaround needed to erase rewritable CDs and DVDs and the painfully slow Finder performance when copying large sets of files.
 
 Flaws and all, Tiger still beats Windows soundly, from its smooth, nag-free installation (save a brief but heavy-handed promotion of Apple's $100-per-year .Mac online service) to its sleek, shimmering graphical interface. But it's not such a huge leap past Panther to merit upgrading today. Some cleanup work from Apple could fix that. If the management there can hold off on starting the next big OS X project, there should be plenty of time to do the job right.
 
 Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob Pegoraro at rob@twp.com.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  2 04:03:42 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  2 04:08:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7270827.1115031822648.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 The Cost Of Putin's Repression
 
 By Fred Hiatt
 
  Morality aside, President Vladimir Putin's gradual strangling of democracy in Russia provides a valuable case study in the relationship between freedom and competent governance. So far, as freedom dwindles, competence seems to be losing also. That may have implications for U.S. policy.
 
 History does not suggest a one-for-one correlation between democracy and economic growth. Singapore has restricted political freedom yet built a world-class economy; democratic India is growing quickly now, but for many years it embraced self-defeating economic policies.
 
 Yet it is not surprising that societies that tolerate criticism of the powerful generally self-correct more readily and advance more quickly -- a lesson that Russia seems ready to reteach the world. "It is becoming evident," says Yegor Gaidar, "that those who invented the system of checks and balances were not the stupidest in the world."
 
 Gaidar is a Russian economist and former prime minister, and also one of the world's clearer thinkers. With respect to Putin, he has been at times cautiously supportive, at times moderately critical. But on a recent visit to Washington he was notably gloomy, not only about the decline of democracy but also about the practical consequences.
 
 Though "he was never a very great believer in democracy," Putin came to power in 2000 with a sound economic policy and a pragmatic foreign policy, Gaidar said, and in his first term he accomplished some significant reforms. He did so in a Russia that still enjoyed some checks and balances: media and a business establishment not controlled by the Kremlin; regional authorities with their own bases of support; a parliament with a viable opposition.
 
 These were "more or less entirely eliminated, step by step, through the end of 2003," Gaidar said. So when Putin recently proposed a reform of social programs, there was no one to raise questions: not in Duma committee, not on television, not in any chamber of commerce. The reforms, as it happens, were badly needed but stupidly designed, which became clear only when angry protests broke out across the country. Then Putin retreated.
 
 Now the government is unlikely to try again, and other needed reforms also are on hold -- "a textbook example of how to misuse a window of opportunity," Gaidar said. Macroeconomic policy, well-managed in Putin's first term, is untethered. One foreign policy mistake has followed another. Senior advisers privately complain of drift and uncertainty.
 
 As long as oil prices remain high, none of these problems is likely to threaten Putin's regime, Gaidar said. Russia is a major exporter of oil and gas, and the revenue is enough to paper over almost any mistake.
 
 But those same soaring prices may ultimately be the undoing of the one-party state that Putin is re-creating. Economic development in other sectors is stunted, corruption increases, bureaucratic malfeasance is tolerated and then rewarded. Or, as Gaidar says, "oil prices are strongly negatively correlated to the IQ of the leadership."
 
 If and when those prices do fall, Russians will find that the state can no longer fulfill its promises (to military officers, retirees, teachers and so on) and that independent businesses from other sectors are too weak to fill the gap. It is a familiar arc to Gaidar, who has studied the decline of the Soviet economy from the late 1970s, when the Communist cadres of the late Brezhnev era believed high oil prices would last forever, to Gorbachev's ignominious dissolution of a bankrupt state in 1991.
 
 Putin last week called that collapse "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century," and added: "The old ideals were destroyed." But it is perhaps less striking that the KGB veteran would mourn the ideals of the gulag state than that he would seemingly forget its hapless incompetence.
 
 If Putin the can-do tough guy turns out to fulfill only half of that promise, there will be cause for the United States to worry -- about the security of Russia's vast nuclear arsenal, for example, or the reliability of the thousands of missiles that could still destroy this country and the world.
 
 And there is reason to worry on behalf of Russia's neighbors, too, because in foreign policy one mistake can trigger the next. The nostalgia for empire that Putin expresses and stokes among his people triggers interventions (in Georgia, in Ukraine) that end in humiliation, deepening popular resentments, which then provoke the leadership into further disastrous interventions.
 
 That rising nationalism, Gaidar said, "is the most serious danger for Russia -- and the world."
 
 fredhiatt@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  2 04:05:30 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  2 04:10:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <22341676.1115031930106.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Toward a Nuclear Strategy
 
 By John J. Hamre
 
  America is sleepwalking through history, armed with nuclear weapons. The Cold War left us with a massive inventory of weapons we no longer need, an infrastructure we can no longer use or maintain, and no thought of where our future lies. A shrinking community of nuclear experts holds on to a massive and aging inventory as a security blanket for a future they cannot define. That same community now advocates the development of a weapon (the so-called Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, or RNEP) that commands no conviction from either the military or the broad policy community. In short, we are nowhere.
 
 Last year Congress, led by Rep. Dave Hobson (R-Ohio), chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee, rejected the administration's plan for RNEP. Hobson rightly asked, "What is the administration's overall plan?" and he has yet to get an answer that makes any sense. The plan he seeks is not some micro-agenda for testing components of a new design but rather a comprehensive plan for keeping America a credible nuclear power in the future. We have now gone a decade without one.
 
 Before we decide what new things to buy, the country needs a national debate about the role of nuclear weapons and their contribution to our security. The global security environment has changed dramatically, and we need new thinking, thinking that is not mired in the battles over nuclear forces that date from the 1980s and 1990s. To stimulate that national debate, I offer these points.
 
 First, there is an important reason the United States must have nuclear weapons: Other nations have them, and more seem to want them. We still must deter potential opponents, avoid nuclear intimidation by other powers and prevent strategic surprise by aspirant nations. America also extends its deterrence to many allies so that they do not feel compelled to build nuclear weapons of their own. Thus we must maintain a credible nuclear deterrent force, as well as theoretical and operational knowledge of nuclear weapons superior to that of anyone else.
 
 Second, the current inventory of nuclear weapons is grossly oversized and ill-suited for whatever the future might bring. These weapons were designed for an earlier age. While the force is quite capable today and provides a reliable deterrence, its credibility will erode as it ages.
 
 Third, we do better to hedge an uncertain future by maintaining competent design teams and building new weapons at low production rates than by holding on to a massive inventory of aging weapons.
 
 Fourth, while many of my colleagues and associates do not share this view, I believe we should commit to retiring all our existing nuclear warheads and building a small number of new-design weapons in their place. I do not believe there is any sustainable political support for building new weapons when we continue to hold on to more than 8,000 warheads. If we start with the premise that the weapons of the past should be retired and dismantled, we can start fresh in our thinking about what kind of force we need for the future and how large it should be. I suspect that it will be a very small inventory.
 
 Fifth, we must minimize the risk that nuclear weapons might fall into the hands of terrorists. There is no greater priority in the global war on terrorism. We can accomplish this by reducing the availability of nuclear weapons and material on a global basis. This is an urgent requirement. Consistent with it, we should start now to reconfigure the U.S. nuclear production complex to dramatically reduce its size. We should not start producing new weapons until we have a much smaller, safer production complex.
 
 Sixth: Russia still holds on to even larger inventories of nuclear weapons than we do, in the false belief that this compensates for its current conventional weaknesses. This is counterproductive. After all, Russia has hostile terrorist forces on its borders and has experienced terrorism directly on its own soil. The greatest danger it faces stems from its huge nuclear inventory. Both the United States and Russia must lead the world to smaller inventories. But the United States has a much better basis for making this argument if it takes the lead.
 
 Seventh, any approach to building new warheads for a future arsenal needs to be integrated into a comprehensive program that minimizes the attractiveness of nuclear weapons to nonnuclear countries, encourages the reduction of excessive inventories among nuclear states, and strengthens the controls over nuclear stocks and material. This requires that we return to the fundamental goals that shaped adoption of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty and retool them for today. Simply skimming over things in periodic review conferences -- such as the one scheduled to start today -- is another example of sleepwalking.
 
 Finally, I do not believe we need to test the existing arsenal of weapons. The Energy Department's Stockpile Stewardship Program is adequate to that limited task, though I recognize that experts I trust argue that at some point we may need to test in order to validate the knowledge base underlying our current certification process. This problem will disappear, however, as we retire the current inventory.
 
 Almost all technical experts believe we probably do not need to test new-design weapons to have high confidence in their effectiveness. But if we completely retire all existing systems, I think we should test the new weapons to demonstrate to the world that they are credible. Such testing need not be extensive. And while I acknowledge that testing is widely seen as a provocative act, it can be made acceptable internationally so long as it is preceded by a commitment to retire our entire existing inventory.
 
 The actions I recommend would probably save a considerable amount of money, but that isn't why I support them. They are necessary if we are to have a reliable deterrent in the future and a diminished risk of nuclear terrorism. This is an area in which we need to scrap the past and start from scratch. The time for sleepwalking is indeed over.
 
 The writer, a former deputy defense secretary, is president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  2 04:06:17 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  2 04:10:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24567428.1115031977706.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Teams Pry Secrets From What's Left of Genesis
 
 By Guy Gugliotta
 
  HOUSTON -- Stunt helicopters were supposed to pluck the Genesis space capsule gently from the sky as it parachuted earthward, but the hoped-for Hollywood thriller turned into a sour farce when the parachutes failed to open and it plummeted to the ground like a B-movie flying saucer.
 
 That was Sept. 8, 2004, the beginning of what Eileen Stansbery called "a stressful, tension-filled time" for a NASA-led team of forensic specialists who spent 26 days in a makeshift clean room trying to salvage a priceless treasure -- particles from the sun like those that gave birth to the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.
 
 Eight months later, however, the Genesis project is "open for business," said Stansbery, assistant director of astromaterials research and exploration science at Houston's Johnson Space Center. Samples are available to researchers for study, and it appears the project will probably realize all the science it hoped for, although "maybe not with the same precision" and not "as quickly as we originally wanted," she said.
 
 Some research is already underway. A team at Washington University in St. Louis anticipates little problem gleaning samples of noble gases -- helium, neon, argon, xenon and krypton that came from the sun -- from the shiny surface of Genesis's aluminum heat shield.
 
 At the University of California at Berkeley, however, cosmochemist Kunihiko Nishiizumi is seeking suggestions as he struggles to figure out how to straighten sheets of crumpled platinum foil that hold traces of radioactive isotopes of beryllium, aluminum, manganese and other elements.
 
 Genesis was launched Aug. 8, 2001, and eventually spent 850 days collecting particles of the solar wind by exposing a variety of surfaces to the sun's rays. Over time, the heat shield, the foil and hundreds of four-inch-wide ceramic "wafers" were impregnated with samples of all the elements and isotopes spewed by the sun -- a benchmark for studying how the solar system's chemistry evolved on Earth and elsewhere.
 
 The particles were precious -- the equivalent of a few grains of salt in all -- and NASA had devised the midair helicopter recovery to eliminate the jolt of a touchdown and to keep the fragile hexagonal wafers intact. Instead, the capsule crashed into Utah's Dugway Proving Ground at 193 mph, split open and came to rest waist-deep in a salty mud flat.
 
 One silicon-on-sapphire wafer was intact, two others were broken in two, and two more were in "a few large pieces," Stansbery said. But the 301 ceramic hexagons and half-hexagons that began the trip were in tens of thousands of pieces, most of them an inch in diameter or smaller. Virtually all were contaminated with various combinations of dust, mud, salt and mashed-up pieces of spacecraft.
 
 NASA's Dugway team had planned for various contingencies. This one was worse than the one they had called "hole in the side" of the capsule, but not as bad as "shards across the desert."
 
 Two tasks were crucial: map the location of the pieces inside the container so forensic specialists could identify which wafers they came from; and use a variety of packaging methods, so if one piece of wafer was ruined in transit, others would survive.
 
 "We had field kits -- five-gallon buckets, trowels, zip-lock bags, cameras," Stansbery said in an interview. The team worked in a temporary clean room at Dugway, packed the shards in one- and two-inch vials, wafer containers, plastic and glass jars, tissue culture dishes, aluminum foil wrappers and 96-hole sample trays.
 
 On Oct. 4, a NASA plane flew the salvaged material to the Johnson Space Center, where it is stored in low-humidity nitrogen gas in a repository below the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility that houses moon rocks from the Apollo era.
 
 Once locked away, the Genesis team began researching decontamination methods and offering researchers a menu of possibilities, Stansbery said. "One cleaning method may work if you want to do one kind of analysis, but you would need to do it differently for another kind of analysis."
 
 On March 1, her team officially offered samples to waiting scientists. "We are not doing anything until people ask," Stansbery said. "If they want to clean it, we'll give them a recipe. If they want us to do it, we'll do it, but they'll have to wait longer."
 
 Cleaning can be easy or difficult, and perhaps impossible in some cases depending on what contaminant is being removed -- dust is relatively easy, mud is hard and salt is nasty -- and how it is being done. The team has software that will find and remember the locations of dust particles on a shard as it is viewed on a microscope, enabling researchers to ignore bad spots.
 
 "An important thing to understand is that even independent of the crash, this is really difficult analytical chemistry," said University of Chicago cosmochemist Andrew Davis, who chairs the NASA oversight committee that monitors the care of the samples and evaluates researchers' requests. "Most of the people with serious interest have been thinking about it for years."
 
 And developing their own techniques. At the University of Minnesota, researchers plan to expose gold foil to mercury in a vacuum, a process that will release nitrogen deposited by the solar wind. Contamination does not affect this chemical reaction.
 
 Also facing a relatively easy task are Washington University researchers Charles Hohenberg and Alex Meshik, who designed a special laser system to peel the surface from the aluminum heat shield layer by layer so they can read the levels of noble gas from the vapor.
 
 "It's like removing a tattoo," Meshik said in a telephone interview. "We have some mud spots, but we just avoid them. We have plenty of clean surface." Meshik said the team has already successfully tested the technique.
 
 Berkeley's Nishiizumi, by contrast, has a daunting challenge. He needed a large surface to capture his radionuclides, and Genesis had provided him with 1,240 square centimeters of platinum foil covered with a thin film of molybdenum. The idea is to dissolve the molybdenum, extract the radionuclides and analyze them with an accelerator mass spectrometer.
 
 "The major problem is that most of the foil is twisted and hard to open," Nishiizumi said in a telephone interview. He cannot touch the molybdenum surface, and so must flatten the foil from the back, a problem made even more difficult because platinum foil becomes brittle after it is crumpled.
 
 "I've talked to materials scientists and many museum people to get ideas," Nishiizumi said. "I can't heat it so I'm going to have to develop a mechanical method. I'll probably have to do it by hand -- with my fingers."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  2 04:07:38 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  2 04:12:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27066028.1115032058616.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Frist Protest at Princeton Is Lesson in Art of the Filibuster
 
 By Charles Babington and Mike Allen
 
  If only Senate filibusters were this enlightening.
 
 Princeton University students and faculty have been talking round-the-clock to protest the legislative strategy of a famous alumnus and benefactor, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). In what some might consider an act of ingratitude -- even by college students' standards -- protesters have lectured, read and generally droned on outside the Frist Campus Center, built with $25 million from the senator's family.
 
 The speakers are protesting Frist's threat to change Senate rules to ban filibusters of judicial nominees. Democrats have used the parliamentary delaying tactic to block confirmation votes for 10 of President Bush's appellate court nominees.
 
 The campus talk-a-thon started Tuesday and continued into the weekend. Some protesters honored Senate history by reading from phone books, but many were more high-minded. They read from biographies of federal judicial nominees, poetry, the Constitution and Shakespeare's plays.
 
 Physics professor Chiara Nappi lectured on the origin and behavior of elementary particles. "I support the efforts of these students in defending the rights of the minority party and attacking conservative attempts to reduce civil liberties," she told the campus newspaper, the Princetonian. "I disagree with what Frist is trying to do, and because he has strong ties to Princeton, we have the duty to take a stand."
 
 Besides, Nappi said, "perhaps I will convince students to study more physics." Try that in the Senate cloakroom.
 
 With Democrats among the lawmakers rushing to update incomplete or erroneous travel disclosures, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)  referred yesterday to missing reports as "technicalities on reporting" and said those should not be confused or equated with larger ethical issues.
 
 One of Pelosi's aides did not report a trip to South Korea last year with a group that had registered as a foreign agent, which would make it ineligible to pay for trips for lawmakers and their aides. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), the second-ranking Democrat in the House, also has recently filed paperwork that had been missing for past trips.
 
 Pelosi, asked by George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week" about her staff's disclosure violations, said that her own "reporting has always been complete and in a timely fashion."
 
 "The staff didn't have the same experience in traveling, and so some of the filing was done -- was overdue when it was filed," she said.
 
 But then Pelosi went on to refer to disclosure requirements as "technicalities," and criticized Republican leaders for replacing the chairman, two members and two top aides on the ethics committee, formally known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
 
 "Do not fall into the Republican trap of equating technicalities on reporting -- timing of reporting with not upholding an ethical standard of the House," she said. "I don't get into anybody's ethical issues. That's for the ethics committee to do. But I do have a responsibility to uphold an ethical standard, and when the Republicans gutted the ethical process, purged the committee, firing the chairman and firing the staff, then that became an issue that we all had to play a role in."
 
 Is it too early to talk about '08?
 
 A new poll of Republican Party insiders gives the early edge in the race for its 2008 presidential nomination to one of its least well-known potential candidates: Sen. George Allen (Va.).
 
 National Journal asked 85 GOP members of Congress, party officials and strategists to predict who would win the party's nod in three years. Allen, a former Virginia governor who is little known outside the mid-Atlantic region, took the top spot, edging Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) came in third, followed by, in descending order, former New York City mayor  Rudoph W. Giuliani, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Florida Gov.  Jeb Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and New York Gov. George E. Pataki.
 
 Allen, at a lunch Friday with reporters and editors of The Washington Post, said that he would leave poll interpretation to the pundits and that he  is focused on winning reelection in 2006. "You can never predict the future." But he added this when asked  whether he believes  he is  qualified to be president: "Common-sense Jeffersonian principles that work so well for Virginia, I think, make this country more competitive when applied to the national level as well, whether that's advocated by me or somebody else."
 
 The 90 Democratic insiders surveyed were much more in agreement on who would win their party's nomination, giving the overwhelming edge to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.). Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) came in second, followed by outgoing Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.) and John F. Kerry (Mass.).
 
 The rest of the top 10? New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark and former vice president Al Gore.
 
 Researcher Brian Faler contributed to this report.
 
 
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 08:36:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 07:41:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS,
	Alleging Biases
Message-ID: <20050502143619.EBBCF1C22D@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

ARTS / TELEVISION | May 2, 2005

Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS, Alleging Biases
By STEPHEN LABATON, LORNE MANLY and ELIZABETH JENSEN

The chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting wants public television to correct what he considers liberal bias.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/arts/television/02public.html?ex=1115697600&en=8c6280377676888a&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 08:35:57 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 07:41:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: New Round of Car Bombs Kills at Least 11 in
	Baghdad
Message-ID: <20050502143605.E4BB824B05C@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 2, 2005

New Round of Car Bombs Kills at Least 11 in Baghdad
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. br / and TERENCE NEILAN

Today's attacks, which wounded at least 23, capped the bloodiest four-day period of violence in two months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/international/middleeast/02cnd-iraq.html?ex=1115697600&en=7b71de3181fc0920&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 08:36:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 07:41:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
Message-ID: <20050502143658.F0C2D83D59@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 2, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
By BOB HERBERT

A soldier talks about his time in Iraq and the amount of gratuitous violence that was routinely inflicted by American soldiers on civilians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/opinion/02herbert.html?ex=1115697600&en=145c406a42c43a77&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 08:37:15 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 07:42:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Gut Punch to the Middle
Message-ID: <20050502143717.6C75922EF98@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 2, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: A Gut Punch to the Middle
By PAUL KRUGMAN

The attempt to turn Social Security into a program for the poor is not driven by budget cuts but ideology: President Bush comes to bury Social Security, not to save it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/opinion/02krugman.html?ex=1115697600&en=91c036c2ec89cd25&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 08:38:03 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 07:42:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Insurgents in Iraq Continue to Press With
	Spate of Attacks
Message-ID: <20050502143804.30E62388064@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 2, 2005

Insurgents in Iraq Continue to Press With Spate of Attacks
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

More than 100 Iraqis have been killed and 200 wounded since Friday, as insurgents try to undermine and intimidate the new government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/international/middleeast/02iraq.html?ex=1115697600&en=d908d7425378ccce&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 08:38:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 07:43:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sharansky Is Quitting Israel's Cabinet
Message-ID: <20050502143811.7FB9083D2F@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 2, 2005

Sharansky Is Quitting Israel's Cabinet
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Natan Sharansky, the Soviet dissident turned politician, intends to resign from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet on Monday because he opposes Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/international/middleeast/02israel.html?ex=1115697600&en=5e9759da45de1e52&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 08:38:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 07:43:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: For Blair, Iraq Issue Just Won't Go Away
Message-ID: <20050502143841.C788E1C228@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 2, 2005

For Blair, Iraq Issue Just Won't Go Away
By ALAN COWELL

An article suggested the British prime minister had committed himself to a U.S. plan for "regime change" months before he told either the British Parliament or people that British participation was all but guaranteed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/international/europe/02britain.html?ex=1115697600&en=fcb888da66de0556&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 08:38:23 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 07:43:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Turkish Leader Visits Israel,
	Restoring Friendly Ties
Message-ID: <20050502143824.5390624AF8A@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 2, 2005

Turkish Leader Visits Israel, Restoring Friendly Ties
By GREG MYRE

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, offered to serve as a Middle East peace mediator and looked to build on trade and military ties.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/international/middleeast/02mideast.html?ex=1115697600&en=e363b9ce27cf8b62&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/melindaandmelinda/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  Mon May  2 09:33:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 08:38:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Giant Insurer Finds $1 Billion More in Flaws
Message-ID: <20050502153351.695921C22B@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Hmmm...just a little matter of overstating revenues by one-third!!


BUSINESS | May 2, 2005

Giant Insurer Finds $1 Billion More in Flaws
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

The American International Group said an in-depth examination of its operations had turned up additional accounting improprieties.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/business/02aig.html?ex=1115697600&en=974e451d9d7a7f95&ei=5070



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

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

WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/melindaandmelinda/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 May  2 09:34:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  2 08:38:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Thousands Protest on Eve of a U.N. Nuclear
	Conference
Message-ID: <20050502153405.4BC993AE551@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Finally - some coverage for "our" side!


NEW YORK REGION | May 2, 2005

Thousands Protest on Eve of a U.N. Nuclear Conference
By KIRK SEMPLE

Several thousand protesters marched through Midtown to call for the end of nuclear proliferation and the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/nyregion/02protest.html?ex=1115697600&en=c0f2dcbe5b1d98d6&ei=5070



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

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

WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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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  Mon May  2 11:00:18 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon May  2 11:05:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Organic Trade Assoc.
Message-ID: <000e01c54f40$d0303a50$663fe440@Harold>

Organic Trade Association web site where you can search for info. on what is available, where to buy and certification.

http://www.ota.com/index.html

Cheers, Harry
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From cararobindesign at hotmail.com  Mon May  2 11:10:09 2005
From: cararobindesign at hotmail.com (Cara Robin)
Date: Mon May  2 11:25:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] RE: Truth Fairy
Message-ID: <BAY103-F299A4F524BB9624B92E3FAB4270@phx.gbl>

Hiya,
As is so often the case, another FALSE story circulating around the internet 
and our Lists...as if we don't have enough stuff to read already.
PLEASE EVERYBODY, CHECK OUT YOUR STORIES BEFORE SENDING THEM ON!!
It's easy, go to www.snopes.com, type in the subject of your story in the 
search bar and read on.
If it's true, pass it onto us; otherwise, spare us!
Thanks,
Cara T-F

From: Michael Butler
To: Cara Robin
Subject: Truth Fairy
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 15:00:25 -0700
Cara,
Please advise.
XO Michael
------ Forwarded Message
From: Harperalexander@aol.com
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 14:48:59 -0400
To: michael@michaelbutler.com
Subject: Fwd: FW: Please Read Its Important Could Save Your Life
Bear - this, fwiw, originated from Janet March (Goodwood). It has probably
been put out by the sugar industry but probably worth reading anyway. I
think I might post it on mbc - someone might have an informed comment.
Love Toro
------ End of Forwarded Message
<< ForwardedEmail >>


From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 11:26:49 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Mon May  2 11:31:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] RE: Truth Fairy
References: <BAY103-F299A4F524BB9624B92E3FAB4270@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <005101c54f44$81aa28b0$6e436c42@hotprojects>

artificial sweeteners are highly highly toxic
and that is not a story
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cara Robin" <cararobindesign@hotmail.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 2:10 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] RE: Truth Fairy


> Hiya,
> As is so often the case, another FALSE story circulating around the
internet
> and our Lists...as if we don't have enough stuff to read already.
> PLEASE EVERYBODY, CHECK OUT YOUR STORIES BEFORE SENDING THEM ON!!
> It's easy, go to www.snopes.com, type in the subject of your story in the
> search bar and read on.
> If it's true, pass it onto us; otherwise, spare us!
> Thanks,
> Cara T-F
>
> From: Michael Butler
> To: Cara Robin
> Subject: Truth Fairy
> Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 15:00:25 -0700
> Cara,
> Please advise.
> XO Michael
> ------ Forwarded Message
> From: Harperalexander@aol.com
> Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 14:48:59 -0400
> To: michael@michaelbutler.com
> Subject: Fwd: FW: Please Read Its Important Could Save Your Life
> Bear - this, fwiw, originated from Janet March (Goodwood). It has probably
> been put out by the sugar industry but probably worth reading anyway. I
> think I might post it on mbc - someone might have an informed comment.
> Love Toro
> ------ End of Forwarded Message
> << ForwardedEmail >>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May  2 12:22:24 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Mon May  2 12:27:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] From A Friend: 'WFTV.com - News - Burrito Leads To
	School Lockdown, Armed Officers On Roof Tops'
Message-ID: <20337845.1115061744718.JavaMail.nfsnobody@app104.mtc.ibsys.com>


    
HS has sent you a story: "WFTV.com - News - Burrito Leads To School Lockdown, Armed Officers On Roof Tops"

the link:
http://www.wftv.com/news/4437950/detail.html

Message from HS:  This is just too funny!

  
From maxfury at granderiver.net  Mon May  2 12:26:18 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Mon May  2 12:29:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
Message-ID: <001b01c54f4c$d23c4080$8025b7d8@baby1>

NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/opinion/02herbert.html?ex=1115697600&en=145c406a42c43a77&ei=5070

*snip*



Good article.  Makes me wanna just talk and talk and talk but I haven't the
time.  If they hadn't have used the word "Iraq" in that piece, I would have
almost sworn they were talking about the USA.  I remember when the headlines
came through here that a couple of good old boys had strung up a black man
by his neck or something and dragged him to his death behind a pickup truck
here in Texas.  I thought "who are these people" "I thought we got rid of
these people" "I didn't realize this mind set was still in fully operational
status in America" etc.

And then our Military hires them, trains them, enhances such mind sets, in
fact such mind sets are relished, lauded, and admired.  After all it is that
kind of mind set of "If it moves, kill it, ask questions later" which keeps
a lot of our G.I.'s alive in a war zone, whether they "want to be there or
not".

But then it becomes a way of life.

Just like our Military here in America has become a completely different Way
Of Life other than the rest of us Regular Non-Military Citizens.

I wonder what we are called behind our backs when we are not looking.

Surely they must have a name for those of us who are not fortunate enough to
be in an Organization which while being sworn to protect our nation has
degenerated into a cult which condones shooting 6 year olds 10,000 miles
away in the head and laughing about it, has a completely separate Justice
System completely adrift from that of the rest of America, and once in if
you don't want to be there and squawk up too much about it you just might
wind up dead in your bunk or shot in the back by Friendly Fire.

I have known and know a lot of Military personnel.  Many of them appear to
be just "regular people" like "the rest of us".  Yet there is this pervasive
mind set that runs throughout the core of the entire institution that, for
one reason or another, the civilians of America just "don't get it", nor or
they accepted nor recognized as being equal in status as someone in our
Military.

This bothers me.

It reminds me of a little skit from an old Red Skelton show, the rich well
to do are sitting in a nice expensive restaurant eating a sumptious meal
warm from the snow and the cold laughing and drinking while the poor hungry
in rags are staggering half frozen outside with their faces pressed up
against the window wishing.

I can't really believe that we give our Military such an enormous amount of
our Taxes each year here in this country, and then they wind up in wars that
should never even happen, with not enough body armor to even protect
themselves, then kneel down say a little prayer and then shoot an unarmed
man with a rock behind barbed wire in a detainment camp in the head.

And then go have lunch with their buddies.

And then when they get out, we pay for their college educations with our
Taxes.

While the poor hungry in rags regular old Americans down the street drop out
of high school to support their families, pitch watermelons, clean toilets,
and fill up military alumni BMW's at the gas station inbetween classes of
Philosophy and Literature 101.

I'll be the first one to state "yeah, of course, it's great to have
something between our country and The Wolves, whoever they might be at the
time, and to pay them well and support them in their efforts, duties and
jobs", but then I look at people like Rumsfeld etc on television and I
realize "Hey, wait a minute, he's talking about Bad People, but he's one of
the Bad People himself to begin with".

And then the reports begin and never stop coming in about our troops
committing atrocities in wars that never should have happened, praying then
shooting then doing lunch and catching a few winks before they watch a
football game on a widescreen tv in the middle of the desert.

And I pause.  And reflect.  Between that, all the abuse, all the Little Guys
at the bottom of the Military pecking order taking all the blame for
Military Policy and Mind Set endlessly trickling down from the Top, a
completely separate Justice System within American society and disparaging
of "all things Civilian including their Justice System because they Just
Don't Understand Us", investigating themselves endlessly and stating "that
should be enough for anyone" as they whitewash their own crimes, dedact
information from documents, withhold information from Congress itself,
classify and stamp Military or Top Secret everything that should be
America's Business to begin with since we pay for every g*ddamn paperclip
they use, and their delvings into every kind of Warfare Technology known and
not known to Mankind including devices that boil the water under your skin,
can burst internal organs, or put thoughts into your cranium, surely someone
else other than myself is going to wake up one day and go "Hey, wait a
minute, we've completely lost All Control over our Military here in The
United States of America.  Weren't they supposed to be our Servants rather
than our Masters...?"

Sorry folks, if you're even mildly thinking something even relatively
similar to that, you're just a dollar short and many many years too late to
even do anything about it anymore.

Just keep paying your Taxes into the kitty and don't worry, we have
everything Under Control.  Even though you, your predecessors and your
childrens' childrens' children have paid and will continue to pay for every
last paperclip we use to do what we do, it's actually none of your business,
so you'll just have to Trust us.

All those unarmed dead men women and children...?  Ignore them.  It's just
the cost of keeping all of you Civvies free over here in the land of Oz.

Oh well, another day, another speech, nobody cares.  I'm simply waiting for
them to finally have some real guts and get around to changing that slogan
of "Be all that you can be" to "Kneel down, pray, stand up, pull the
trigger".

Let's at least be realistic about who we are and what we condone.

After all, we're paying for Every Damn Ounce Of It All.

Just like we always have.

Just like we always will.

Maybe our Military is right.

With Civilians who are actually that stupid to pay for such slop and accept
it as The Normal Way Of American Life, they don't really deserve the time of
day from anyone.

Do they.......?

"CivvyDumb".....   Kind of has a nice ring to it now that I think about
it.......

Keep up the good work, boys, bring me back some more Haji ears I can hang on
my necklace, these Gook ones are starting to dry out.

p.s.:  Shove it up your *ss, Rumsfeld etc.






Cheeseburger

.

From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 12:26:00 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Mon May  2 12:30:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
References: <001b01c54f4c$d23c4080$8025b7d8@baby1>
Message-ID: <000601c54f4c$c6187e90$6e436c42@hotprojects>

as a " wog " i can relate
being often mistakenly taken for a rag head
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net>
To: "mb-civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 3:26 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'


> NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
>
>
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/opinion/02herbert.html?ex=1115697600&en=145c406a42c43a77&ei=5070
>
> *snip*
>
>
>
> Good article.  Makes me wanna just talk and talk and talk but I haven't
the
> time.  If they hadn't have used the word "Iraq" in that piece, I would
have
> almost sworn they were talking about the USA.  I remember when the
headlines
> came through here that a couple of good old boys had strung up a black man
> by his neck or something and dragged him to his death behind a pickup
truck
> here in Texas.  I thought "who are these people" "I thought we got rid of
> these people" "I didn't realize this mind set was still in fully
operational
> status in America" etc.
>
> And then our Military hires them, trains them, enhances such mind sets, in
> fact such mind sets are relished, lauded, and admired.  After all it is
that
> kind of mind set of "If it moves, kill it, ask questions later" which
keeps
> a lot of our G.I.'s alive in a war zone, whether they "want to be there or
> not".
>
> But then it becomes a way of life.
>
> Just like our Military here in America has become a completely different
Way
> Of Life other than the rest of us Regular Non-Military Citizens.
>
> I wonder what we are called behind our backs when we are not looking.
>
> Surely they must have a name for those of us who are not fortunate enough
to
> be in an Organization which while being sworn to protect our nation has
> degenerated into a cult which condones shooting 6 year olds 10,000 miles
> away in the head and laughing about it, has a completely separate Justice
> System completely adrift from that of the rest of America, and once in if
> you don't want to be there and squawk up too much about it you just might
> wind up dead in your bunk or shot in the back by Friendly Fire.
>
> I have known and know a lot of Military personnel.  Many of them appear to
> be just "regular people" like "the rest of us".  Yet there is this
pervasive
> mind set that runs throughout the core of the entire institution that, for
> one reason or another, the civilians of America just "don't get it", nor
or
> they accepted nor recognized as being equal in status as someone in our
> Military.
>
> This bothers me.
>
> It reminds me of a little skit from an old Red Skelton show, the rich well
> to do are sitting in a nice expensive restaurant eating a sumptious meal
> warm from the snow and the cold laughing and drinking while the poor
hungry
> in rags are staggering half frozen outside with their faces pressed up
> against the window wishing.
>
> I can't really believe that we give our Military such an enormous amount
of
> our Taxes each year here in this country, and then they wind up in wars
that
> should never even happen, with not enough body armor to even protect
> themselves, then kneel down say a little prayer and then shoot an unarmed
> man with a rock behind barbed wire in a detainment camp in the head.
>
> And then go have lunch with their buddies.
>
> And then when they get out, we pay for their college educations with our
> Taxes.
>
> While the poor hungry in rags regular old Americans down the street drop
out
> of high school to support their families, pitch watermelons, clean
toilets,
> and fill up military alumni BMW's at the gas station inbetween classes of
> Philosophy and Literature 101.
>
> I'll be the first one to state "yeah, of course, it's great to have
> something between our country and The Wolves, whoever they might be at the
> time, and to pay them well and support them in their efforts, duties and
> jobs", but then I look at people like Rumsfeld etc on television and I
> realize "Hey, wait a minute, he's talking about Bad People, but he's one
of
> the Bad People himself to begin with".
>
> And then the reports begin and never stop coming in about our troops
> committing atrocities in wars that never should have happened, praying
then
> shooting then doing lunch and catching a few winks before they watch a
> football game on a widescreen tv in the middle of the desert.
>
> And I pause.  And reflect.  Between that, all the abuse, all the Little
Guys
> at the bottom of the Military pecking order taking all the blame for
> Military Policy and Mind Set endlessly trickling down from the Top, a
> completely separate Justice System within American society and disparaging
> of "all things Civilian including their Justice System because they Just
> Don't Understand Us", investigating themselves endlessly and stating "that
> should be enough for anyone" as they whitewash their own crimes, dedact
> information from documents, withhold information from Congress itself,
> classify and stamp Military or Top Secret everything that should be
> America's Business to begin with since we pay for every g*ddamn paperclip
> they use, and their delvings into every kind of Warfare Technology known
and
> not known to Mankind including devices that boil the water under your
skin,
> can burst internal organs, or put thoughts into your cranium, surely
someone
> else other than myself is going to wake up one day and go "Hey, wait a
> minute, we've completely lost All Control over our Military here in The
> United States of America.  Weren't they supposed to be our Servants rather
> than our Masters...?"
>
> Sorry folks, if you're even mildly thinking something even relatively
> similar to that, you're just a dollar short and many many years too late
to
> even do anything about it anymore.
>
> Just keep paying your Taxes into the kitty and don't worry, we have
> everything Under Control.  Even though you, your predecessors and your
> childrens' childrens' children have paid and will continue to pay for
every
> last paperclip we use to do what we do, it's actually none of your
business,
> so you'll just have to Trust us.
>
> All those unarmed dead men women and children...?  Ignore them.  It's just
> the cost of keeping all of you Civvies free over here in the land of Oz.
>
> Oh well, another day, another speech, nobody cares.  I'm simply waiting
for
> them to finally have some real guts and get around to changing that slogan
> of "Be all that you can be" to "Kneel down, pray, stand up, pull the
> trigger".
>
> Let's at least be realistic about who we are and what we condone.
>
> After all, we're paying for Every Damn Ounce Of It All.
>
> Just like we always have.
>
> Just like we always will.
>
> Maybe our Military is right.
>
> With Civilians who are actually that stupid to pay for such slop and
accept
> it as The Normal Way Of American Life, they don't really deserve the time
of
> day from anyone.
>
> Do they.......?
>
> "CivvyDumb".....   Kind of has a nice ring to it now that I think about
> it.......
>
> Keep up the good work, boys, bring me back some more Haji ears I can hang
on
> my necklace, these Gook ones are starting to dry out.
>
> p.s.:  Shove it up your *ss, Rumsfeld etc.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Cheeseburger
>
> .
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  2 12:28:36 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Mon May  2 12:33:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
References: <001b01c54f4c$d23c4080$8025b7d8@baby1>
	<000601c54f4c$c6187e90$6e436c42@hotprojects>
Message-ID: <000601c54f4d$23143490$6e436c42@hotprojects>

hey cheesburger hows it hanging?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 3:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'


> as a " wog " i can relate
> being often mistakenly taken for a rag head
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net>
> To: "mb-civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
> Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 3:26 PM
> Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
>
>
> > NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
> >
> >
> >
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/opinion/02herbert.html?ex=1115697600&en=145c406a42c43a77&ei=5070
> >
> > *snip*
> >
> >
> >
> > Good article.  Makes me wanna just talk and talk and talk but I haven't
> the
> > time.  If they hadn't have used the word "Iraq" in that piece, I would
> have
> > almost sworn they were talking about the USA.  I remember when the
> headlines
> > came through here that a couple of good old boys had strung up a black
man
> > by his neck or something and dragged him to his death behind a pickup
> truck
> > here in Texas.  I thought "who are these people" "I thought we got rid
of
> > these people" "I didn't realize this mind set was still in fully
> operational
> > status in America" etc.
> >
> > And then our Military hires them, trains them, enhances such mind sets,
in
> > fact such mind sets are relished, lauded, and admired.  After all it is
> that
> > kind of mind set of "If it moves, kill it, ask questions later" which
> keeps
> > a lot of our G.I.'s alive in a war zone, whether they "want to be there
or
> > not".
> >
> > But then it becomes a way of life.
> >
> > Just like our Military here in America has become a completely different
> Way
> > Of Life other than the rest of us Regular Non-Military Citizens.
> >
> > I wonder what we are called behind our backs when we are not looking.
> >
> > Surely they must have a name for those of us who are not fortunate
enough
> to
> > be in an Organization which while being sworn to protect our nation has
> > degenerated into a cult which condones shooting 6 year olds 10,000 miles
> > away in the head and laughing about it, has a completely separate
Justice
> > System completely adrift from that of the rest of America, and once in
if
> > you don't want to be there and squawk up too much about it you just
might
> > wind up dead in your bunk or shot in the back by Friendly Fire.
> >
> > I have known and know a lot of Military personnel.  Many of them appear
to
> > be just "regular people" like "the rest of us".  Yet there is this
> pervasive
> > mind set that runs throughout the core of the entire institution that,
for
> > one reason or another, the civilians of America just "don't get it", nor
> or
> > they accepted nor recognized as being equal in status as someone in our
> > Military.
> >
> > This bothers me.
> >
> > It reminds me of a little skit from an old Red Skelton show, the rich
well
> > to do are sitting in a nice expensive restaurant eating a sumptious meal
> > warm from the snow and the cold laughing and drinking while the poor
> hungry
> > in rags are staggering half frozen outside with their faces pressed up
> > against the window wishing.
> >
> > I can't really believe that we give our Military such an enormous amount
> of
> > our Taxes each year here in this country, and then they wind up in wars
> that
> > should never even happen, with not enough body armor to even protect
> > themselves, then kneel down say a little prayer and then shoot an
unarmed
> > man with a rock behind barbed wire in a detainment camp in the head.
> >
> > And then go have lunch with their buddies.
> >
> > And then when they get out, we pay for their college educations with our
> > Taxes.
> >
> > While the poor hungry in rags regular old Americans down the street drop
> out
> > of high school to support their families, pitch watermelons, clean
> toilets,
> > and fill up military alumni BMW's at the gas station inbetween classes
of
> > Philosophy and Literature 101.
> >
> > I'll be the first one to state "yeah, of course, it's great to have
> > something between our country and The Wolves, whoever they might be at
the
> > time, and to pay them well and support them in their efforts, duties and
> > jobs", but then I look at people like Rumsfeld etc on television and I
> > realize "Hey, wait a minute, he's talking about Bad People, but he's one
> of
> > the Bad People himself to begin with".
> >
> > And then the reports begin and never stop coming in about our troops
> > committing atrocities in wars that never should have happened, praying
> then
> > shooting then doing lunch and catching a few winks before they watch a
> > football game on a widescreen tv in the middle of the desert.
> >
> > And I pause.  And reflect.  Between that, all the abuse, all the Little
> Guys
> > at the bottom of the Military pecking order taking all the blame for
> > Military Policy and Mind Set endlessly trickling down from the Top, a
> > completely separate Justice System within American society and
disparaging
> > of "all things Civilian including their Justice System because they Just
> > Don't Understand Us", investigating themselves endlessly and stating
"that
> > should be enough for anyone" as they whitewash their own crimes, dedact
> > information from documents, withhold information from Congress itself,
> > classify and stamp Military or Top Secret everything that should be
> > America's Business to begin with since we pay for every g*ddamn
paperclip
> > they use, and their delvings into every kind of Warfare Technology known
> and
> > not known to Mankind including devices that boil the water under your
> skin,
> > can burst internal organs, or put thoughts into your cranium, surely
> someone
> > else other than myself is going to wake up one day and go "Hey, wait a
> > minute, we've completely lost All Control over our Military here in The
> > United States of America.  Weren't they supposed to be our Servants
rather
> > than our Masters...?"
> >
> > Sorry folks, if you're even mildly thinking something even relatively
> > similar to that, you're just a dollar short and many many years too late
> to
> > even do anything about it anymore.
> >
> > Just keep paying your Taxes into the kitty and don't worry, we have
> > everything Under Control.  Even though you, your predecessors and your
> > childrens' childrens' children have paid and will continue to pay for
> every
> > last paperclip we use to do what we do, it's actually none of your
> business,
> > so you'll just have to Trust us.
> >
> > All those unarmed dead men women and children...?  Ignore them.  It's
just
> > the cost of keeping all of you Civvies free over here in the land of Oz.
> >
> > Oh well, another day, another speech, nobody cares.  I'm simply waiting
> for
> > them to finally have some real guts and get around to changing that
slogan
> > of "Be all that you can be" to "Kneel down, pray, stand up, pull the
> > trigger".
> >
> > Let's at least be realistic about who we are and what we condone.
> >
> > After all, we're paying for Every Damn Ounce Of It All.
> >
> > Just like we always have.
> >
> > Just like we always will.
> >
> > Maybe our Military is right.
> >
> > With Civilians who are actually that stupid to pay for such slop and
> accept
> > it as The Normal Way Of American Life, they don't really deserve the
time
> of
> > day from anyone.
> >
> > Do they.......?
> >
> > "CivvyDumb".....   Kind of has a nice ring to it now that I think about
> > it.......
> >
> > Keep up the good work, boys, bring me back some more Haji ears I can
hang
> on
> > my necklace, these Gook ones are starting to dry out.
> >
> > p.s.:  Shove it up your *ss, Rumsfeld etc.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Cheeseburger
> >
> > .
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > 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 harperalexander at mail.com  Mon May  2 12:52:55 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Mon May  2 12:58:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: no no aspartame
Message-ID: <20050502195256.210D94BEAD@ws1-1.us4.outblaze.com>

Thanks, Harold - the honey + raw sugar in Argentina are pretty good too and pretty well organic, not to mention beef and fruit. The argentines consume an awful lot of nutra sweet though because they are obsessed with looking beautiful.
I am taking enough exercise at the moment to be able to take a certain amount of sugar but loike anything else in life you just can't overdo it.

Albaraka
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harold Sifton" <harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>
To: "Alexander Harper" <harperalexander@mail.com>
Subject: no no aspartame
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 18:45:07 -0400

> 
> Give me real sugar or no sugar at all including white sugar (white 
> death), Raw Demerara or the likes of......... and not much of....
> ...for my coffee, cereal etc....... I have never like the taste of 
> aspartame or nutra sweet and likes of!
> 
> Diet soda drinks are chemicals and flavoured water, soda drinks are 
> refined sugar and flavoured water.
> If you need a flavoured carbonated water try Stewarts, lesser of 
> all evils, and any carbonated real fruit drink,but even juices can 
> have to much sugar.
> 
> Now about honey, well I have a source, whether it be, raw, creamy, 
> buck wheat, etc... or just golden nectar of the gods.
> In Toronto, we have the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, 
> http://www.royalfair.org/  over 100 years old. I as a volunteer run 
> an auction at the end of the fair to raise monies for youth 
> activities from donations of the exhibitors.. Well my main items 
> are gift baskets of Prise Winning Cheeses, Honeys, Maple syrups, 
> Jams and Jellies, wax candles etc... from national competition. You 
> can not buy these in stores, I get many hundreds of dollars per 
> Championship baskets, which is great, but what I get is the 
> addresses of the artists/manufacturer/winners of the items.
> 
> Point being, if you want sugar, go to the rural markets and get the 
> honey that has not been played with, or get access to New Zealand 
> honey.
> 
> Later H

-- 
___________________________________________________________
Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm

From jameshburns at webtv.net  Mon May  2 12:53:44 2005
From: jameshburns at webtv.net (Jim Burns)
Date: Mon May  2 12:58:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Suggested Action, To Help PBS...
In-Reply-To: mb-civic-request@islandlists.com's message of Mon, 2 May 2005
	07:41:48 -0700
Message-ID: <3992-42768548-1768@storefull-3273.bay.webtv.net>


I happen to have enjoyd Paul igot, in the past, but fair is fair...

 
Date: ?? Mon, May 2, 2005, 11:10am (EDT-1) From: ?? "Josh
Silver, Exec. Director" <list@freepress.net> Reply to: ??
list@freepress.net 
Subject: ?? PBS is under attack

PBS is in jeopardy. Today's New York Times describes secret efforts by
Republican operatives to make our Public Broadcasting System more "fair
and balanced." 

Kenneth Tomlinson, the Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting (CPB) -- the government-funded organization that was
designed to shield PBS from political pressure -- is aggressively
pressing PBS to correct what he considers "liberal bias." 

He secretly hired a White House staffer to help draft "guiding
principles" for the future of CPB. He brought in a consultant to monitor
the "anti-Bush" and "anti-Tom Delay" content on Bill Moyers' NOW
program, and then set up and funded right-wing commentator Paul Gigot's
new PBS program. Now Tomlinson is working behind the scenes to stack
CPB's board and executive offices with Republican Party cronies. 
CLICK HERE TO SAVE PBS

http://www.freepress.net/action/pbs 



Together we can stop this partisan attack. Join our call to Congress,
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS station managers to: 

1. Remove Kenneth Tomlinson from the CPB board. 

2. Return PBS to the people by holding local town meetings in your
community. We the public -- not partisan political operatives -- should
decide what we want from PBS. 
Tomlinson told the Times that he's trying to restore "objectivity and
balance" to public broadcasting. This top-down partisan meddling goes
against the very nature of PBS and the local stations we trust. Let the
people speak and decide the future of PBS, not secret dealings by White
House operatives. 

Send your message now -- and forward this letter to all of your friends
and colleagues, asking them to do the same. 

Onward, 

Josh Silver
www.freepress.net

From jameshburns at webtv.net  Mon May  2 13:00:31 2005
From: jameshburns at webtv.net (Jim Burns)
Date: Mon May  2 13:05:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] "Is Arnold Losing It?"
In-Reply-To: mb-civic-request@islandlists.com's message of Mon, 2 May 2005
	07:41:48 -0700
Message-ID: <3994-427686DF-775@storefull-3273.bay.webtv.net>


I happen to think it would be a disaster, in this political era, to
change the mentioned election law...

 
"Is Arnold Losing It?"
By Mark Z. Barabak, Washington Monthly.
 
The governor of California is seated in his office at Oak Productions,
smoking a cigar and sipping espresso, his black cowboy boots propped on
the distressed wood table before him. A plate of apple strudel sits
untouched. The Santa Monica outpost, which houses the governor's film
company, doubles as his state office whenever Arnold Schwarzenegger is
in the neighborhood. It is quite unlike any governor's office anywhere
in the country, that much is certain. The walls are lined with movie
posters and photographs of Schwarzenegger in all manner of political and
commercial poses. Outside the door to his inner office stands a
life-size mock up of Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, his face half
gone and a red laser eye gleaming. Inside the office, amid a jumble of
movie memorabilia, rests a stuffed crocodile. Overall, the effect is
interior design by a very rich, very extravagant 16 year old.
The governor is speaking of his role on a larger stage as smooth jazz
wafts in the background. Far be it for him to offer prescriptions for
the GOP. "I'm not elected to represent the Republicans," Schwarzenegger
said over the course of a 55-minute interview with The Washington
Monthly. "When I look at my pad of things that I want to accomplish
every day, or every week, or every month...it does not have on there
anywhere to get more Republicans registered.... It's not something that
I ever get up in the morning and say, 'This is my mission.'"
That may be just as well. His support for gay rights, stem-cell
research, legal abortion, gun control, vigorous environmental
protection, and prisons that focus less on punishment and more on
rehabilitation are hardly in the mainstream of GOP thinking. He suggests
that religion "should have no effect on politics,"' giving a
back-of-the-hand to the Christian conservatives who have become a pillar
of the national party. In many ways, Schwarzenegger's style and
philosophy recall those of California's last celebrity governor, Jerry
Brown, who famously practiced what he called "canoe politics: Paddle a
little on the left, paddle a little on the right, and keep on going
right down the middle." Or, as Schwarzenegger himself put it: "One has
to find some kind of happy medium in this whole thing. So that's the way
I do my governing."
It may not win hearts and minds in the ruddiest red-state precincts. But
it may be the only way for Schwarzenegger to succeed in California,
where the GOP remains a distinct minority in both the statehouse and
among registered voters. Schwarzenegger is something of an anomaly in
Sacramento, not quite an accidental governor, but one elected under
extraordinary circumstances: a recall election that short-circuited the
usual political process and played like campaign burlesque. It may have
been the only way Schwarzenegger could have been elected governor, even
in California.
The glamour and novelty he brought to the drowsy state capital served
him well throughout his first year in office. But in the second reel,
much of the glitter has started flaking from California's movie-star
governor, making him appear a good deal more like one of the
standard-issue politicians he regularly vilifies.
When he was first elected, some Republican strategists--as well as
fretful Democrats--thought Schwarzenegger's centrist approach, enticing
to voters of both parties, might represent the future of an even more
dominant national GOP. There was discussion of amending the Constitution
to let an immigrant like the Austrian-born Schwarzenegger become
president and speculation that he, like a certain other
actor-turned-California-governor, would become a transformative national
figure.
But in recent months, such talk has diminished considerably.
Schwarzenegger showed during the recall that conventional politicians in
a hurry-up campaign are no match for someone of his outsized
personality. But governing has proven far different. He has been forced
to pare back much of his second-year reform agenda. His poll numbers are
sagging, and newly emboldened Democrats are challenging the governor at
every turn. Now, the question is whether Schwarzenegger can make the
transition from a cartoon-like character, all swagger and bluster, into
a political leader capable of using his fame and considerable charm to
achieve something lasting and meaningful.
Can he repeat the success of Ronald Reagan, who picked up Barry
Goldwater's fallen standard and made Western conservatism the governing
philosophy of the Republican Party? Or is Schwarzenegger destined to
relive the implosion of Jesse Ventura, another muscle-bound insurgent
who won early acclaim as Minnesota governor, stumbled badly, then
disappeared--from politics anyway--without a trace?
Benchmarking Reagan
Back in the 1970s, when Ronald Reagan was California governor, the Los
Angeles County Republican Party sponsored a biannual seminar known as
the "Western Winner's Roundup." From across the region, GOP nominees for
Congress and state legislatures would gather at an airport hotel for a
series of workshops on campaign strategy and tactics. Everyone was
welcome; privately, staffers called it the "Western Loser's Roundup,"
reflecting the often mediocre quality of the candidates and their dismal
performance on Election Day.
The highlight each year was Reagan's keynote address. The governor would
arrive early and retire to a small conference room where he would
individually greet each of the candidates and pose for an hour or so
before dinner. Smiling his crinkly smile, treating his supplicants like
the big shots they weren't, Reagan appeared in grip-and-grin photos from
the Cascade Mountains to the Sonoran Desert.
The current governor of California is decidedly more stinting in his
political generosity. When Republican candidates gathered after the 2004
primaries at a luxury hotel across the street from the state Capitol,
Schwarzenegger dropped by and posed for portraits with the hopefuls. But
afterward, his office controlled the pictures for release at the
governor's discretion. Later, when Schwarzenegger agreed to a lone
fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones, who was waging a
hapless struggle against Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer, reporters
and camera crews were barred. (Not that it mattered; an air-traffic
glitch prevented the governor from showing up at the Beverly Hilton
hotel. There was no make-up appearance.)
Schwarzenegger's standoffishness should come as little surprise. He was
elected governor essentially as a nonpartisan combatant. The effort to
recall Democrat Gray Davis had been led by conservative Republicans; but
once they gathered the voter signatures needed to force a special
election, the field was open to all comers. In all, 135 candidates
eventually made the ballot, including a Ripley's menagerie of hustlers,
performance artists and other unabashed publicity-seekers, most of whom
were not already politicians. There was no primary and no runoff, thus
no need to pass the litmus tests of one party or another. Schwarzenegger
ran not as a Republican but a reformer, with a message perfectly pitched
to one of California's regular voter upheavals.
In a state that's still as blue as the Pacific (Democrats enjoy an
8.5-point registration edge over Republicans, virtually the same as
before the governor was elected), keeping the Republican Party at arm's
length may be the smartest way for Schwarzenegger to position himself
for reelection in 2006, should he run. (Republicans send up nightly
prayers. But the governor's influential wife, Maria Shriver, recently
told Oprah Winfrey she wants her husband home.)
Action, action, action
When Schwarzenegger was elected in October 2003, he promised to
revolutionize the way California operates. He spoke of action, action,
action. But in the roughly year-and-a-half since, his record has been
decidedly mixed, stopping well short of the extravagant promises he made
while campaigning and the larger-than-life image he brought to
Sacramento.
Upon taking office, Schwarzenegger immediately repealed an unpopular
vehicle license fee--blowing a further $4 billion hole in the state
budget--and overturned legislation that would have granted driver's
licenses to illegal immigrants. Both moves won wide applause. He worked
with Democrats to overhaul the workers' compensation system,
renegotiated gambling compacts with the state's Indian tribes, and
forged a bipartisan coalition to push through a $15 billion borrowing
measure that kicked California's fiscal reckoning further down the road,
limiting the pain for politicians in both parties. But as Dan Schnur, a
Republican strategist and one of Sacramento's wryest observers, put it,
"Nobody builds statues to the guy who passed workmen's comp reform."
Schwarzenegger began the new year by setting his sights considerably
higher. In his January 2005 State of the State address, he outlined the
most ambitious legislative agenda Sacramento has seen in a very long
time. He proposed paying teachers based on merit and not their length of
employment, partially privatizing the retirement system for state
employees, enshrining a legal limit on state spending, eliminating
nearly 100 bureaucratic boards and commissions, revamping the state's
prison system, and eliminating partisan gerrymandering by allowing
retired judges, not lawmakers, to draw the state's political boundaries
starting in 2006.
"If we here in this chamber don't work together to reform the
government,'' he warned lawmakers, "the people will rise up and reform
it themselves. And I will join them. And I will fight with them."
Schwarzenegger drew a line: If lawmakers defied him, he would go over
their heads and call a special election, the sixth statewide vote in
three years. To back up his threat, the governor launched a $50 million
fundraising frenzy, which made Davis--once the very model of political
voraciousness--appear amateur by comparison.
After much bluster from both sides, the governor began yielding,
shelving certain proposals and signaling that he was open to
negotiations on others. He was plainly wounded when teachers, nurses,
police, and firefighters--all having separate beefs with
Schwarzenegger--began dogging his public appearances and mussing his
public image. He fired back with TV ads and rhetoric that were
alternately inflammatory and contrite.
Part of the problem seems to be apathy. For all the governor's efforts,
the obtuse matters of redistricting and worker retirement just haven't
stirred Californians much. Ineptitude also played a part; the governor
abruptly dropped his support for a measure overhauling the state pension
system when it turned out that the ballot initiative could deny death
benefits to police and firefighters. The governor capitulated after
weeks of bad publicity, including complaints from the widows and orphans
of public-safety officers.
But more than anything, Schwarzenegger has suffered from the way in
which he tried to challenge the entire power structure in Sacramento:
frontally, all at once, with little preparation for the inevitable
backlash.
It may be the contradictions are finally catching up with
Schwarzenegger. After campaigning as the scourge of special interests
and vowing to take money from no one, the governor has collected
political cash at a ravenous pace, raising more than $30 million since
taking office. (Invitations to a recent Sacramento fundraiser, "An
Evening With Governor Schwarzenegger," blithely offered access at four
levels, starting at $10,000 for a ticket and one photograph and topping
out at $100,000 for a seat at the head table.)
He routinely assails Democratic lawmakers at the same time that he
insists he would prefer to work in bipartisan fashion. In one radio
interview, Schwarzenegger criticized lawmakers for wasting time on
"silly bills," such as one regulating the height of motorcycle
handlebars. Unmentioned was the fact the governor had signed the bill
into law three to four weeks earlier.
Or perhaps it is merely the turning of the political season. Whatever
the reason, the governor is no longer viewed as the invincible
dragon-slayer he once was. While most handicappers agree that
Schwarzenegger remains a strong favorite to win reelection in 2006, the
prospect no longer seems as certain as it did as recently as six months
ago.
Worse, perhaps, for a governor so image-obsessed has been his decline in
public opinion surveys, which has been almost entirely a function of
Democratic and independent defections. (Like President Bush,
Schwarzenegger continues to enjoy near universal support among
Republicans despite his disdain for party-building.) By late February,
his approval number in the statewide Field Poll was a decidedly mortal
55 percent, down 10 points in five months. More galling still, the
governor's rating stood a tick below that of the rejected Davis before
the bottom fell out for the beleaguered Democrat amid the 2001
California energy fiasco.
An encore performance
If the narrative arc sounds familiar--a charismatic, unconventional
governor comes to the statehouse in a weird election, succeeds at minor
reforms, but soon overreaches with ambitions exceeding his political
skills--that's because we've seen this movie before.
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura won office in 1998 as an independent
in a fluky three-way contest. He began his tenure with promise and in
his first year achieved some modest accomplishments. He managed to push
an on-time budget through the Democratic Senate and Republican House
with relative ease. He also made a start at improving public transit and
reducing congestion in the Twin Cities area. By the end of his second
year, however, voters grew weary of Ventura's macho act, impatient with
his inability to balance the state budget or work with lawmakers, and
indifferent to initiatives such as creating a unicameral legislature.
Lawmakers, once cowed, gleefully struck back, slashing--among other
things--money for the governor's security detail. Ventura left office
bitter and mocked, his "populist-centrist" reforms largely unfulfilled.
The danger for Arnold Schwarzenegger is falling into a similar spiral.
Voters are clearly less awed by their celebrity governor in his second
year in office, and he's staked out ambitious goals that would try even
a far more practiced politician. "He's shown himself to be someone who
really can communicate with voters," says Tony Quinn, a non-partisan
Sacramento analyst. But more than any philosophy or set of policies, he
suggests, Schwarzenegger's tenure, thus far, has been primarily about
salesmanship. "The problem he seems to be having now is getting a
consensus on what we need to sell," Quinn adds. In short, the business
of governing.
There are reasons to believe Schwarzenegger is smarter and more
resilient than Ventura. He has shown a willingness to cut his losses
before the political wounds fester: When the public responded with
outrage to a proposal to hasten the execution of cats and dogs--at a
savings of $14 million to local communities--Schwarzenegger quickly
dropped the plan, thereby limiting the damage from one of his biggest
public relations blunders. He backed off controversial plans to slice
health-care funding for the elderly and disabled and, more recently,
abandoned efforts to "wipe out" 88 government boards and commissions in
the face of widespread political opposition.
Stuart Spencer, the campaign genius who helped Reagan become governor,
then move from Sacramento to the White House, is among those keeping a
close watch on Schwarzenegger.
"It's too early to tell," Spencer says from his retirement aerie above
Palm Springs. "He's an aberration. He's not viewed as a Republican, he's
viewed as a star and a personality. A lot of personalities have a short
shelf life." Some, a la Reagan, make the transition." In
Schwarzenegger's case, Spencer surmises, his future rests on whether he
proves himself "a great political leader. He hasn't proven that yet."
President Arnold?
Arnold Schwarzenegger would love to be president someday. (First,
however, there is the matter of his reelection in 2006. He is not
expected to announce his intentions before the end of the year, if
then.)
Before Schwarzenegger can run for president, however, there is the
matter of the U.S. Constitution, specifically Article II, which holds
that a president must be a "natural born" citizen. Schwarzenegger was
born in Austria and maintains dual citizenship. Supporters have started
a movement to amend the Constitution, with the governor's quiet support.
(The Schwarzenegger camp sent one booster a complimentary picture of the
governor to use in her effort, sparing her the royalty fee she'd been
paying for a different shot.)
Still, the odds of success are exceedingly long. In the whole history of
the United States, just 27 of more than 10,000 proposed amendments have
passed. Opinion polls have shown little public support for overhauling
the Constitution; one survey of California voters showed opposition
running 2-to-1, and that was back when Schwarzenegger's popularity was
at 65 percent. Moreover, consider the political hurdles: A proposed
constitutional amendment must win the support of two-thirds of both
houses of Congress, followed by ratification by 38 states. As Sherry
Bebitch Jeffe, a political scholar at the University of Southern
California, notes, "There's not a senator who doesn't wake up in the
morning and look in the mirror and see the next president of the United
States. You think they're going to roll over and open the door for
Arnold Schwarzenegger? I don't think so."
Still, an immigrant governor can hope. For someone who arrived in
America with little more than a gym bag and his dreams (as the movie
poster might say), nothing can seem utterly impossible. And
refreshingly, Schwarzenegger does not offer the usual rococo double-talk
when asked about his future political prospects.
"If I do my job really well in California and I create the reforms this
year, I don't have to worry about anything,'' he says. "Running for
governor. Walking away from the whole thing.... I can have all the
different options, to run for another office, whatever it may be. The
key thing is to do whatever you do well, and that opens opportunities."
Hence, Schwarzenegger stands at a pivot point in his governorship. The
policies that he has made his priority in 2005 are of a much different
order than anything he has previously attempted, and not just because
Democrats and their allies are fiercely resisting the governor, tagging
him with the partisan label he has worked so hard to avoid.
The fact is that Schwarzenegger's greatest political successes have come
when he transcended politics and rose above partisanship. First, as an
epic figure in the 2003 recall and, more recently, when he linked hands
with prominent Democrats--among them U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and
former Govs. Davis and Brown--to push through last year's borrowing
measure and defeat a provision to relax the state's three-strikes prison
sentencing law.
There has been little public clamor for such reforms as redrawing
California's political lines, overhauling state worker pensions, or
changing the way public schoolteachers are paid. "He's facing a whole
new battle, a whole new level of competition," says Mark Baldassare,
director of research at the Public Policy Institute of California, a
non-partisan think tank in San Francisco. "There are pretty serious odds
for him to overcome as a Republican governor."
Democrats in Sacramento have learned not to underestimate
Schwarzenegger, in the same way that Democrats in Washington know better
than to count Bush out too soon. But the president has never tried to do
what the former muscle man is attempting to accomplish: maintaining his
popularity with Republicans while shunning much of what the party stands
for; bidding for the support of Democrats while antagonizing many of the
party's core constituencies; creating a sense of urgency around issues
about which most voters have never given much thought.
Schwarzenegger, who has known little in the way of professional failure,
continues to brim with outward confidence, even as he acknowledges
uncertainty over where both he and California are headed. "All I know is
that I have faith in myself and in my abilities to bring people
together, that we will be successful," Schwarzenegger said, punctuating
his point with the stub of his cigar. "But how it's going to happen,
that should be a nice surprise."
Just ask Ventura
For all his heresies, some Republicans say the party would be foolish to
ignore Schwarzenegger and his hybrid philosophy, treating him as some
overstuffed attraction to be trotted out at fundraisers, or to give an
American Dream speech like the one he delivered on Bush's behalf at the
Republican National Convention last summer.
"If we want to get some blue states to turn red, we ought to take a
lesson in what he's saying,'' says Tom Rath, a veteran GOP strategist in
the lead presidential primary state of New Hampshire.
Schnur, the Sacramento party strategist, suggests there is an important
difference "between a precarious majority and a permanent majority."
"Bill Clinton spent the better part of the 1990s convincing economically
upscale, socially liberal voters"--the famed soccer parents--"to move
Democratic," Schnur says. "George W. Bush has spent the last several
years convincing economically populist, cultural conservatives to move
in precisely the opposite direction. To take the current Republican
majority and lock it in long term, some of those soccer parents are
going to have to come back. And Schwarzenegger represents the sector of
the party best equipped to speak to those soccer parents."
But the Republican Party is hardly in the shambles that followed
Goldwater's landslide defeat, suggesting Schwarzenegger would have to
prove himself an extraordinarily effective leader to move the national
GOP in his centrist direction. Which means, for starters, delivering on
his vaunted "year of reform." Experience shows there is a limit to the
politics of personality. Unorthodox political philosophies tend to rise
and fall with the fortunes of their messenger. Celebrity can only carry
an insurgency so far. Just ask Jesse Ventura.
Mark Z. Barabak is a roving political writer for the Los Angeles Times.
 
E-mail message   
 
From: ASTARMITE@aol.com Date: Mon, May 2, 2005, 6:27am To:
undisclosed-recipients: ; Subject: Is Arnold Losing It? 
THIS IS A LONG, BUT VERY INFORMATIVE ARTICLE (PRETTY FAIR-MINDED TOO)
ABOUT HOW ARNOLD IS ACTUALLY DOING SO FAR....B
Is Arnold Losing It?
By Mark Z. Barabak, Washington Monthly. 
The governor of California is seated in his office at Oak Productions,
smoking a cigar and sipping espresso, his black cowboy boots propped on
the distressed wood table before him. A plate of apple strudel sits
untouched. The Santa Monica outpost, which houses the governor's film
company, doubles as his state office whenever Arnold Schwarzenegger is
in the neighborhood. It is quite unlike any governor's office anywhere
in the country, that much is certain. The walls are lined with movie
posters and photographs of Schwarzenegger in all manner of political and
commercial poses. Outside the door to his inner office stands a
life-size mock up of Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, his face half
gone and a red laser eye gleaming. Inside the office, amid a jumble of
movie memorabilia, rests a stuffed crocodile. Overall, the effect is
interior design by a very rich, very extravagant 16 year old.
The governor is speaking of his role on a larger stage as smooth jazz
wafts in the background. Far be it for him to offer prescriptions for
the GOP. "I'm not elected to represent the Republicans," Schwarzenegger
said over the course of a 55-minute interview with The Washington
Monthly. "When I look at my pad of things that I want to accomplish
every day, or every week, or every month...it does not have on there
anywhere to get more Republicans registered.... It's not something that
I ever get up in the morning and say, 'This is my mission.'"
That may be just as well. His support for gay rights, stem-cell
research, legal abortion, gun control, vigorous environmental
protection, and prisons that focus less on punishment and more on
rehabilitation are hardly in the mainstream of GOP thinking. He suggests
that religion "should have no effect on politics,"' giving a
back-of-the-hand to the Christian conservatives who have become a pillar
of the national party. In many ways, Schwarzenegger's style and
philosophy recall those of California's last celebrity governor, Jerry
Brown, who famously practiced what he called "canoe politics: Paddle a
little on the left, paddle a little on the right, and keep on going
right down the middle." Or, as Schwarzenegger himself put it: "One has
to find some kind of happy medium in this whole thing. So that's the way
I do my governing."
It may not win hearts and minds in the ruddiest red-state precincts. But
it may be the only way for Schwarzenegger to succeed in California,
where the GOP remains a distinct minority in both the statehouse and
among registered voters. Schwarzenegger is something of an anomaly in
Sacramento, not quite an accidental governor, but one elected under
extraordinary circumstances: a recall election that short-circuited the
usual political process and played like campaign burlesque. It may have
been the only way Schwarzenegger could have been elected governor, even
in California.
The glamour and novelty he brought to the drowsy state capital served
him well throughout his first year in office. But in the second reel,
much of the glitter has started flaking from California's movie-star
governor, making him appear a good deal more like one of the
standard-issue politicians he regularly vilifies.
When he was first elected, some Republican strategists--as well as
fretful Democrats--thought Schwarzenegger's centrist approach, enticing
to voters of both parties, might represent the future of an even more
dominant national GOP. There was discussion of amending the Constitution
to let an immigrant like the Austrian-born Schwarzenegger become
president and speculation that he, like a certain other
actor-turned-California-governor, would become a transformative national
figure.
But in recent months, such talk has diminished considerably.
Schwarzenegger showed during the recall that conventional politicians in
a hurry-up campaign are no match for someone of his outsized
personality. But governing has proven far different. He has been forced
to pare back much of his second-year reform agenda. His poll numbers are
sagging, and newly emboldened Democrats are challenging the governor at
every turn. Now, the question is whether Schwarzenegger can make the
transition from a cartoon-like character, all swagger and bluster, into
a political leader capable of using his fame and considerable charm to
achieve something lasting and meaningful.
Can he repeat the success of Ronald Reagan, who picked up Barry
Goldwater's fallen standard and made Western conservatism the governing
philosophy of the Republican Party? Or is Schwarzenegger destined to
relive the implosion of Jesse Ventura, another muscle-bound insurgent
who won early acclaim as Minnesota governor, stumbled badly, then
disappeared--from politics anyway--without a trace?
Benchmarking Reagan
Back in the 1970s, when Ronald Reagan was California governor, the Los
Angeles County Republican Party sponsored a biannual seminar known as
the "Western Winner's Roundup." From across the region, GOP nominees for
Congress and state legislatures would gather at an airport hotel for a
series of workshops on campaign strategy and tactics. Everyone was
welcome; privately, staffers called it the "Western Loser's Roundup,"
reflecting the often mediocre quality of the candidates and their dismal
performance on Election Day.
The highlight each year was Reagan's keynote address. The governor would
arrive early and retire to a small conference room where he would
individually greet each of the candidates and pose for an hour or so
before dinner. Smiling his crinkly smile, treating his supplicants like
the big shots they weren't, Reagan appeared in grip-and-grin photos from
the Cascade Mountains to the Sonoran Desert.
The current governor of California is decidedly more stinting in his
political generosity. When Republican candidates gathered after the 2004
primaries at a luxury hotel across the street from the state Capitol,
Schwarzenegger dropped by and posed for portraits with the hopefuls. But
afterward, his office controlled the pictures for release at the
governor's discretion. Later, when Schwarzenegger agreed to a lone
fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones, who was waging a
hapless struggle against Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer, reporters
and camera crews were barred. (Not that it mattered; an air-traffic
glitch prevented the governor from showing up at the Beverly Hilton
hotel. There was no make-up appearance.)
Schwarzenegger's standoffishness should come as little surprise. He was
elected governor essentially as a nonpartisan combatant. The effort to
recall Democrat Gray Davis had been led by conservative Republicans; but
once they gathered the voter signatures needed to force a special
election, the field was open to all comers. In all, 135 candidates
eventually made the ballot, including a Ripley's menagerie of hustlers,
performance artists and other unabashed publicity-seekers, most of whom
were not already politicians. There was no primary and no runoff, thus
no need to pass the litmus tests of one party or another. Schwarzenegger
ran not as a Republican but a reformer, with a message perfectly pitched
to one of California's regular voter upheavals.
In a state that's still as blue as the Pacific (Democrats enjoy an
8.5-point registration edge over Republicans, virtually the same as
before the governor was elected), keeping the Republican Party at arm's
length may be the smartest way for Schwarzenegger to position himself
for reelection in 2006, should he run. (Republicans send up nightly
prayers. But the governor's influential wife, Maria Shriver, recently
told Oprah Winfrey she wants her husband home.)
Action, action, action
When Schwarzenegger was elected in October 2003, he promised to
revolutionize the way California operates. He spoke of action, action,
action. But in the roughly year-and-a-half since, his record has been
decidedly mixed, stopping well short of the extravagant promises he made
while campaigning and the larger-than-life image he brought to
Sacramento.
Upon taking office, Schwarzenegger immediately repealed an unpopular
vehicle license fee--blowing a further $4 billion hole in the state
budget--and overturned legislation that would have granted driver's
licenses to illegal immigrants. Both moves won wide applause. He worked
with Democrats to overhaul the workers' compensation system,
renegotiated gambling compacts with the state's Indian tribes, and
forged a bipartisan coalition to push through a $15 billion borrowing
measure that kicked California's fiscal reckoning further down the road,
limiting the pain for politicians in both parties. But as Dan Schnur, a
Republican strategist and one of Sacramento's wryest observers, put it,
"Nobody builds statues to the guy who passed workmen's comp reform."
Schwarzenegger began the new year by setting his sights considerably
higher. In his January 2005 State of the State address, he outlined the
most ambitious legislative agenda Sacramento has seen in a very long
time. He proposed paying teachers based on merit and not their length of
employment, partially privatizing the retirement system for state
employees, enshrining a legal limit on state spending, eliminating
nearly 100 bureaucratic boards and commissions, revamping the state's
prison system, and eliminating partisan gerrymandering by allowing
retired judges, not lawmakers, to draw the state's political boundaries
starting in 2006.
"If we here in this chamber don't work together to reform the
government,'' he warned lawmakers, "the people will rise up and reform
it themselves. And I will join them. And I will fight with them."
Schwarzenegger drew a line: If lawmakers defied him, he would go over
their heads and call a special election, the sixth statewide vote in
three years. To back up his threat, the governor launched a $50 million
fundraising frenzy, which made Davis--once the very model of political
voraciousness--appear amateur by comparison.
After much bluster from both sides, the governor began yielding,
shelving certain proposals and signaling that he was open to
negotiations on others. He was plainly wounded when teachers, nurses,
police, and firefighters--all having separate beefs with
Schwarzenegger--began dogging his public appearances and mussing his
public image. He fired back with TV ads and rhetoric that were
alternately inflammatory and contrite.
Part of the problem seems to be apathy. For all the governor's efforts,
the obtuse matters of redistricting and worker retirement just haven't
stirred Californians much. Ineptitude also played a part; the governor
abruptly dropped his support for a measure overhauling the state pension
system when it turned out that the ballot initiative could deny death
benefits to police and firefighters. The governor capitulated after
weeks of bad publicity, including complaints from the widows and orphans
of public-safety officers.
But more than anything, Schwarzenegger has suffered from the way in
which he tried to challenge the entire power structure in Sacramento:
frontally, all at once, with little preparation for the inevitable
backlash.
It may be the contradictions are finally catching up with
Schwarzenegger. After campaigning as the scourge of special interests
and vowing to take money from no one, the governor has collected
political cash at a ravenous pace, raising more than $30 million since
taking office. (Invitations to a recent Sacramento fundraiser, "An
Evening With Governor Schwarzenegger," blithely offered access at four
levels, starting at $10,000 for a ticket and one photograph and topping
out at $100,000 for a seat at the head table.)
He routinely assails Democratic lawmakers at the same time that he
insists he would prefer to work in bipartisan fashion. In one radio
interview, Schwarzenegger criticized lawmakers for wasting time on
"silly bills," such as one regulating the height of motorcycle
handlebars. Unmentioned was the fact the governor had signed the bill
into law three to four weeks earlier.
Or perhaps it is merely the turning of the political season. Whatever
the reason, the governor is no longer viewed as the invincible
dragon-slayer he once was. While most handicappers agree that
Schwarzenegger remains a strong favorite to win reelection in 2006, the
prospect no longer seems as certain as it did as recently as six months
ago.
Worse, perhaps, for a governor so image-obsessed has been his decline in
public opinion surveys, which has been almost entirely a function of
Democratic and independent defections. (Like President Bush,
Schwarzenegger continues to enjoy near universal support among
Republicans despite his disdain for party-building.) By late February,
his approval number in the statewide Field Poll was a decidedly mortal
55 percent, down 10 points in five months. More galling still, the
governor's rating stood a tick below that of the rejected Davis before
the bottom fell out for the beleaguered Democrat amid the 2001
California energy fiasco.
An encore performance
If the narrative arc sounds familiar--a charismatic, unconventional
governor comes to the statehouse in a weird election, succeeds at minor
reforms, but soon overreaches with ambitions exceeding his political
skills--that's because we've seen this movie before.
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura won office in 1998 as an independent
in a fluky three-way contest. He began his tenure with promise and in
his first year achieved some modest accomplishments. He managed to push
an on-time budget through the Democratic Senate and Republican House
with relative ease. He also made a start at improving public transit and
reducing congestion in the Twin Cities area. By the end of his second
year, however, voters grew weary of Ventura's macho act, impatient with
his inability to balance the state budget or work with lawmakers, and
indifferent to initiatives such as creating a unicameral legislature.
Lawmakers, once cowed, gleefully struck back, slashing--among other
things--money for the governor's security detail. Ventura left office
bitter and mocked, his "populist-centrist" reforms largely unfulfilled.
The danger for Arnold Schwarzenegger is falling into a similar spiral.
Voters are clearly less awed by their celebrity governor in his second
year in office, and he's staked out ambitious goals that would try even
a far more practiced politician. "He's shown himself to be someone who
really can communicate with voters," says Tony Quinn, a non-partisan
Sacramento analyst. But more than any philosophy or set of policies, he
suggests, Schwarzenegger's tenure, thus far, has been primarily about
salesmanship. "The problem he seems to be having now is getting a
consensus on what we need to sell," Quinn adds. In short, the business
of governing.
There are reasons to believe Schwarzenegger is smarter and more
resilient than Ventura. He has shown a willingness to cut his losses
before the political wounds fester: When the public responded with
outrage to a proposal to hasten the execution of cats and dogs--at a
savings of $14 million to local communities--Schwarzenegger quickly
dropped the plan, thereby limiting the damage from one of his biggest
public relations blunders. He backed off controversial plans to slice
health-care funding for the elderly and disabled and, more recently,
abandoned efforts to "wipe out" 88 government boards and commissions in
the face of widespread political opposition.
Stuart Spencer, the campaign genius who helped Reagan become governor,
then move from Sacramento to the White House, is among those keeping a
close watch on Schwarzenegger.
"It's too early to tell," Spencer says from his retirement aerie above
Palm Springs. "He's an aberration. He's not viewed as a Republican, he's
viewed as a star and a personality. A lot of personalities have a short
shelf life." Some, a la Reagan, make the transition." In
Schwarzenegger's case, Spencer surmises, his future rests on whether he
proves himself "a great political leader. He hasn't proven that yet."
President Arnold?
Arnold Schwarzenegger would love to be president someday. (First,
however, there is the matter of his reelection in 2006. He is not
expected to announce his intentions before the end of the year, if
then.)
Before Schwarzenegger can run for president, however, there is the
matter of the U.S. Constitution, specifically Article II, which holds
that a president must be a "natural born" citizen. Schwarzenegger was
born in Austria and maintains dual citizenship. Supporters have started
a movement to amend the Constitution, with the governor's quiet support.
(The Schwarzenegger camp sent one booster a complimentary picture of the
governor to use in her effort, sparing her the royalty fee she'd been
paying for a different shot.)
Still, the odds of success are exceedingly long. In the whole history of
the United States, just 27 of more than 10,000 proposed amendments have
passed. Opinion polls have shown little public support for overhauling
the Constitution; one survey of California voters showed opposition
running 2-to-1, and that was back when Schwarzenegger's popularity was
at 65 percent. Moreover, consider the political hurdles: A proposed
constitutional amendment must win the support of two-thirds of both
houses of Congress, followed by ratification by 38 states. As Sherry
Bebitch Jeffe, a political scholar at the University of Southern
California, notes, "There's not a senator who doesn't wake up in the
morning and look in the mirror and see the next president of the United
States. You think they're going to roll over and open the door for
Arnold Schwarzenegger? I don't think so."
Still, an immigrant governor can hope. For someone who arrived in
America with little more than a gym bag and his dreams (as the movie
poster might say), nothing can seem utterly impossible. And
refreshingly, Schwarzenegger does not offer the usual rococo double-talk
when asked about his future political prospects.
"If I do my job really well in California and I create the reforms this
year, I don't have to worry about anything,'' he says. "Running for
governor. Walking away from the whole thing.... I can have all the
different options, to run for another office, whatever it may be. The
key thing is to do whatever you do well, and that opens opportunities."
Hence, Schwarzenegger stands at a pivot point in his governorship. The
policies that he has made his priority in 2005 are of a much different
order than anything he has previously attempted, and not just because
Democrats and their allies are fiercely resisting the governor, tagging
him with the partisan label he has worked so hard to avoid.
The fact is that Schwarzenegger's greatest political successes have come
when he transcended politics and rose above partisanship. First, as an
epic figure in the 2003 recall and, more recently, when he linked hands
with prominent Democrats--among them U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and
former Govs. Davis and Brown--to push through last year's borrowing
measure and defeat a provision to relax the state's three-strikes prison
sentencing law.
There has been little public clamor for such reforms as redrawing
California's political lines, overhauling state worker pensions, or
changing the way public schoolteachers are paid. "He's facing a whole
new battle, a whole new level of competition," says Mark Baldassare,
director of research at the Public Policy Institute of California, a
non-partisan think tank in San Francisco. "There are pretty serious odds
for him to overcome as a Republican governor."
Democrats in Sacramento have learned not to underestimate
Schwarzenegger, in the same way that Democrats in Washington know better
than to count Bush out too soon. But the president has never tried to do
what the former muscle man is attempting to accomplish: maintaining his
popularity with Republicans while shunning much of what the party stands
for; bidding for the support of Democrats while antagonizing many of the
party's core constituencies; creating a sense of urgency around issues
about which most voters have never given much thought.
Schwarzenegger, who has known little in the way of professional failure,
continues to brim with outward confidence, even as he acknowledges
uncertainty over where both he and California are headed. "All I know is
that I have faith in myself and in my abilities to bring people
together, that we will be successful," Schwarzenegger said, punctuating
his point with the stub of his cigar. "But how it's going to happen,
that should be a nice surprise."
Just ask Ventura
For all his heresies, some Republicans say the party would be foolish to
ignore Schwarzenegger and his hybrid philosophy, treating him as some
overstuffed attraction to be trotted out at fundraisers, or to give an
American Dream speech like the one he delivered on Bush's behalf at the
Republican National Convention last summer.
"If we want to get some blue states to turn red, we ought to take a
lesson in what he's saying,'' says Tom Rath, a veteran GOP strategist in
the lead presidential primary state of New Hampshire.
Schnur, the Sacramento party strategist, suggests there is an important
difference "between a precarious majority and a permanent majority."
"Bill Clinton spent the better part of the 1990s convincing economically
upscale, socially liberal voters"--the famed soccer parents--"to move
Democratic," Schnur says. "George W. Bush has spent the last several
years convincing economically populist, cultural conservatives to move
in precisely the opposite direction. To take the current Republican
majority and lock it in long term, some of those soccer parents are
going to have to come back. And Schwarzenegger represents the sector of
the party best equipped to speak to those soccer parents."
But the Republican Party is hardly in the shambles that followed
Goldwater's landslide defeat, suggesting Schwarzenegger would have to
prove himself an extraordinarily effective leader to move the national
GOP in his centrist direction. Which means, for starters, delivering on
his vaunted "year of reform." Experience shows there is a limit to the
politics of personality. Unorthodox political philosophies tend to rise
and fall with the fortunes of their messenger. Celebrity can only carry
an insurgency so far. Just ask Jesse Ventura.
Mark Z. Barabak is a roving political writer for the Los Angeles Times.

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May  2 13:50:32 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May  2 13:55:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Punters bet on an albatross race
Message-ID: <20050502_205032_093950.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Punters bet on an albatross race **
Punters around the world have been placing their bets on an usual form of racing - an albatross migration across the Indian Ocean.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4506295.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  Mon May  2 14:42:53 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May  2 14:49:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - GREENPEACE CO-FOUNDER BOB HUNTER DIES
Message-ID: <20050502214253.A7B411B679@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
____________________________________________________
GREENPEACE CO-FOUNDER BOB HUNTER DIES
WebPosted Mon May  2 14:25:47 2005

Toronto---Broadcaster, author and journalist Bob Hunter, who co-founded
the environmental action group Greenpeace, has died. He was 63.

Hunter, who spearheaded campaigns against whaling and seal hunting as
well as nuclear testing and the dumping of toxic waste into the oceans,
had been battling prostate cancer.

In 1971, Hunter and a group of other environmentalists sailed a rusty
old 80-foot fishboat, the Phyllis Cormack, from Vancouver to Alaska in
a campaign to stop a nuclear weapons testing on Amchitka in the
Aleutian Islands.

The group became Greenpeace, and by 1973 Hunter became its first
president, helping turn it into the biggest environmental organization in
the world.

Rex Weyler, a long-time friend and member of Greenpeace, said Hunter was
a born leader.

"He was a natural leader because people would get caught up in his
enthusiasm, not just for the cause for peace or for ecology, but the
enthusiasm just for the magic of life and the wonder of life and vision
of what we could do."

In the late 1980's, Hunter left Greenpeace and returned to his
journalistic roots, writing books, working as a TV reporter in Toronto,
and making documentaries &#8211;including a film on the prostate cancer
he had been diagnosed with.



 CBC ARCHIVES: Bob Hunter

He became the ecology news specialist for CHUM's Citytv and was also
known in Toronto for his early morning Paper Cuts &#8211; a segment on
the network where he would appear in his bathrobe and comment on the
stories of the day in the newspapers.

"This was a man with a great loving heart, a brilliant mind and a
massive spirit," said Stephen Hurlbut, vice-president of news
programming for Citytv.

Hunter was honoured as one of Time magazine's Eco Heroes of the 20th
Century. He won a number of awards for his writings, including a Governor
General's Award in 1991 for his work Occupied Canada: A Young White Man
Discovers His Unsuspected Past.

In 2001, he ran unsuccessfully for the Liberals in a provincial
by-election.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon May  2 16:30:58 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Mon May  2 16:35:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: PBS is under attack
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV15C67C8C3533DFB7709206AB270@phx.gbl>

Have you folks seen this? Open the attachment IF it comes through that way... it is from PBS and they are being attacked by the Republican Party... Unbelievable what they are trying to do.

peace,
barbara

-------------- next part --------------
An embedded message was scrubbed...
From: "Josh Silver, Exec. Director" <list@freepress.net>
Subject: PBS is under attack
Date: Mon, 2 May 2005 12:16:50 -0500 (CDT)
Size: 8122
Url: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050502/4a40de01/attachment.mht
From cararobindesign at hotmail.com  Mon May  2 11:00:20 2005
From: cararobindesign at hotmail.com (Cara Robin)
Date: Mon May  2 16:51:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] RE: FW: BY PAUL HARVEY............
Message-ID: <200505022351.j42NpQYK015507@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050502/d49a13b2/attachment.htm
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon May  2 16:51:54 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Mon May  2 16:56:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] From A Friend: 'WFTV.com - News - Burrito Leads To
	School Lockdown, Armed Officers On Roof Tops'
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV2706BF355A20FA07B5E3E9AB270@phx.gbl>

Hey Harry....

Know what?  This is also a bit sad that we live in a time that this could happen. But it makes me feel safe knowing it would even be noticed, normally it would not be but in our time off terrorists... one never knows what could happen especially with the school shootings lately.

peace

-----Original Message-----
From: HS
Sent: Mon, 2 May 2005 12:22:24 -0700
To: MB
Subject: [Mb-civic] From A Friend: 'WFTV.com - News - Burrito Leads To School Lockdown, Armed Officers On Roof Tops'


    
HS has sent you a story: "WFTV.com - News - Burrito Leads To School Lockdown, Armed Officers On Roof Tops"

the link:
http://www.wftv.com/news/4437950/detail.html

Message from HS:  This is just too funny!

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

From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May  3 03:56:09 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May  3 04:00:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <21935107.1115117769146.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Security-Tip Sentiment, Just for Mom
 
 By Caroline E. Mayer
 
  Forget the flowers. And the chocolates.
 
 For Mother's Day, give your mom a special electronic greeting card, a "bouquet of information" sent with love from FTC.gov.
 
 The Federal Trade Commission has designed a flowery message, complete with soft, sugary piano music, fluttering butterflies and greeting-card poetry, to give Mom some key consumer tips: Safeguard your Social Security number; read your bills and bank statements, exercise doubt and check it out; and report fraud.
 
 "This year, instead of giving your mother something she doesn't need for Mother's Day, you can give her something she can really use" -- tips on how to keep her personal information secure, the agency said in announcing the card. "She's already a great mom -- now help her be a confident consumer."
 
 Lesley Fair, an FTC attorney, said the card is an attempt to broaden the agency's outreach to consumers. "We realized that a one-page brochure doesn't attract much consumer attention anymore," Fair said. "We've got to come up with new and creative ways to get the word out. . . . And what better way to reach consumers where they need to be most careful but when they're online? So many women are online that Mother's Day seemed an opportune time to spread the message."
 
 Dads needn't feel left out. The agency is planning another e-card to send on Father's Day about phishing, e-mail scams designed to trick consumers into giving out their credit card and bank account information.
 
 The Mother's Day message can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/mom or in Spanish at http://www.ftc.gov/madre .
 
 Fair cautions that the card alone may not suffice this Mother's Day. She has already sent it to her mom, Alys Fair, who promptly replied in an e-mail, "Don't think this means I don't expect flowers and candy, too."
 
 
 Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May  3 03:57:36 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May  3 04:02:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32982282.1115117856475.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Speaking Truth  To Rumsfeld
 
 By Michael O'Hanlon
 
  When the White House nominated Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace last week to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, many observers said they hoped he would be able to stand up to  Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They were implying, not so subtly, that he and most of the nation's other top military leaders had not done so in the past. As Congress prepares for Pace's confirmation hearings, it is important to explore this issue.
 
 Civil-military relations are always complicated in a constitutional democracy -- and always critical to the nation's security in times of war. The questions about Pace derive, of course, from his role as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs during the Iraq events. The post-invasion phase of the operation ("Phase IV") there has been the most poorly planned U.S. military mission since Somalia in 1993 -- if not Lebanon in 1983 -- with greater consequences for national security than any use of force since Vietnam.
 
 Because the United States was unprepared for the job of reestablishing order after Saddam Hussein's fall, chaos ensued, Iraqi goodwill toward the United States was largely squandered, and the insurgency established a momentum it might not otherwise have been able to gain. This happened despite ample warnings beforehand from members of Congress, retired military officers, State Department experts and numerous independent scholars.
 
 The standard explanation for this debacle is that Rumsfeld and other Bush administration officials insisted on fighting the war with too few troops and with a Pollyannaish view of what would happen in Iraq once Hussein was overthrown. This explanation is largely right. Taken to an extreme, however, it is dangerously wrong.
 
 It blames civilian leaders for a war plan in which top military planners, from Central Command leader  Tommy Franks to most members of the Joint Chiefs, were fully complicit. By caving to Rumsfeld, high-ranking officers of the U.S. armed forces failed to fulfill their responsibilities to their own brave fighting men and women -- and to Congress, to which they are also entrusted by law with providing advice.
 
 The Constitution makes the president commander in chief and requires military leaders to follow his orders. It does not, however, require them to remain mute when poor plans are being prepared. Nor does it require them to remain in uniform when they are asked to undertake actions they know to be unwise or ill planned.
 
 U.S. civilian leaders and military officers must not pretend that their jobs can be neatly separated into two broad and distinct bins, with high strategy as the primary province of civilians and military operations as the area in which the uniformed services have exclusive expertise. The fact is that broad strategy and military operations are inherently intertwined.
 
 The question of how wars should be conducted affects decisions on whether to fight them. Thus, civilians must think about the technical subjects in which the armed forces specialize. And by the same token, the political goals in the nation's conflicts affect the tactics and operational plans available to the uniformed services -- meaning that military commanders must also understand strategy.
 
 Lest there be any doubt about the lack of a proper plan for post-Hussein Iraq, one need only consider the 3rd  Infantry Division's after-action report, which reads: "Higher headquarters did not provide the [division] with a plan for Phase IV. As a result, Third Infantry Division transitioned into Phase IV in the absence of guidance."
 
 A broader Defense Department report on the war similarly observed that "late formation of Department of Defense [Phase IV] organizations limited time available for the development of detailed plans and pre-deployment coordination."
 
 Among top military officers, it appears that only Gen. Eric Shinseki, when he was Army chief of staff, effectively challenged the Rumsfeld-Franks war plan for Iraq, focusing specifically on whether the force was large enough for the post-invasion mission.
 
 By contrast, Pace clearly leaned toward the Rumsfeld-Franks view, as is clear from his April 6, 2003, appearance on "Meet the Press" and other times. Pace also acknowledged that he had seen the war plan on several occasions and supported it -- this at a time when no institution in the U.S. government other than the uniformed military was in a strong position to play the role of checking and balancing Rumsfeld.
 
 Congress needs to air the issue before approving Pace's nomination. Whether he supported the war plan for reasons of political convenience, excessive deference to the country's civilian leadership or just because he made a mistake in judgment, he needs to be held accountable -- and pushed to do better next time.
 
 The writer is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May  3 03:58:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May  3 04:03:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29057682.1115117927345.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Torture Whitewash
 
 By Eugene Robinson
 
  Twenty years from now, how will we remember this "global war on terrorism''? Assuming it's over by then -- assuming we haven't escalated a fight against al Qaeda into an all-out clash of civilizations -- will we look back on the GWOT, as Washington bureaucrats call it, and feel pride in the nation's resolve and sacrifice? Or will history's verdict be tempered by shame?
 
 The answer will depend on how this Congress comes to terms with the documented mistreatment of prisoners in Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Iraq and who knows where else in the secret archipelago of U.S. detention.
 
 The Bush administration and the Pentagon are whitewashing the whole thing. Congress still has the chance to uphold this nation's ideals and values, and some Senate Republicans (Lindsey Graham, John McCain, John Warner) vow to seek accountability. Given the inaction so far, though, I'm not holding my breath -- unlike the prisoners who were apparently tortured by "waterboarding," an interrogation technique in which the subject is strapped down and held underwater until he feels himself at the point of drowning.
 
 It was a year ago when the first snapshots emerged from Abu Ghraib -- the pyramids of naked men; the vicious dogs lunging at naked men; and Lynndie England with her leash, leading a naked man like an animal. The one I can't get out of my mind is the hooded prisoner with wires attached to his genitals, fearing electrocution but seeming almost resigned to it, arms outstretched and head slightly inclined in a pose suggesting the Passion. It's something out of Hieronymus Bosch, a fantasy of Hell from the late Middle Ages.
 
 A year later, only the low-ranking grunts who grinned and gave thumbs-ups while committing these sadistic acts have been made to answer. Only one ranking officer -- a reservist, a woman, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski -- has been sanctioned. The White House and Pentagon officials who opened the door to these abuses, and the careerist Army brass who oversaw the brutality, sit comfortably in their offices, talking disingenuously of "rogue" privates and sergeants.
 
 Physicians for Human Rights has just issued a report finding that U.S. authorities carried out "an ongoing regime of psychological torture of detainees" in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and Iraq.
 
 The U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which the United States has signed, bans the inflicting of severe "physical or mental" pain to obtain information or a confession. There's no way that the infliction of physical agony, prolonged sleep and sensory deprivation, confinement in painful positions for hours on end, sexual humiliation, threats with snarling dogs and other documented U.S. abuses fall short of the definition.
 
 Some prisoners were "rendered" to cooperating countries where old-fashioned fingernail-pulling is a routine investigative technique. Others have simply "disappeared," as if the U.S. government were some Latin American junta whose generals wear gold-braided epaulets as big as vultures. Most prisoners have been given neither adequate military nor civilian rights. Many don't know why they were arrested or what charges they face.
 
 It may be that these are all terrible people who wish to harm the United States -- we have no way of knowing, because the supposed evidence is secret. But even if they are, this mistreatment is wrong. If the price we pay for complete safety is complete abandonment of our ideals, the price is too high.
 
 How can President Bush preach to the world about democracy, about transparency, about the rule of law, and at the same time disregard national and international law at will? What message can Vladimir Putin be hearing? Or the dictators in Beijing? Or the mullahs in Tehran?
 
 The thing is, history tends to be relentless in pursuit of the truth -- and its judgments tend to be harsh. World War II may have forged the Greatest Generation, but the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps will never be excused.
 
 History, I predict, will not be kind to government lawyers who invented ways to interpret statutes against torture so that they supposedly permitted the abuses they were designed to prohibit. It will not be kind to medical doctors who attended interrogation sessions that clearly crossed the line -- doctors who helped inflict pain rather than alleviate it. Ultimately, there will be no free pass for the Bush administration officials who permitted torture, or for a Congress that let them get away with it.
 
 eugenerobinson@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May  3 03:59:57 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May  3 04:04:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <16162407.1115117998015.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Time to Leave the Table
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
  There is a name for those who continue to sit at a gambling table even after they learn that the game is fixed. They are called fools.
 
 Now that President Bush has proposed Social Security benefit cuts through "progressive indexing," his critics are said to have an obligation to negotiate in good faith to achieve a solution. There are just two problems with that sentence: The words "good faith" and "solution."
 
 Bush's "plan" is still not a plan, just a few ideas. If the president is serious, let him first persuade members of his own party to agree to a detailed proposal so everyone knows what the trade-offs are. If what he has in mind is a good idea, Republicans will be eager to sign on. And if Bush can't get Republicans to go along, might that say something about the merits of his suggestions?
 
 Opponents of Bush's cut-and-privatize project -- they include not only Democrats but also skeptical Republicans -- do have a responsibility. Their task is to subject half-baked concepts to the criticism they deserve and insist that they be fully baked before serious discussions can begin. Social Security, the most successful government program in our history, should not be overturned lightly.
 
 That the president is fixing the Social Security reform game should be obvious. The most basic corruption of the process is the way the Republican congressional leadership has transformed the bargaining that once took place between the House and the Senate.
 
 In the old days, when each house produced different versions of the same bill, a "conference" committee typically including members of both parties from both houses would thrash out the details and reach a compromise. Now the Republicans will concede whatever is necessary to get a bill out of the Senate, even as the lockstep-Republican House produces a right-wing version of the same proposal. In conferences, Republicans routinely freeze out all but the most pliable Democrats. The supposed "compromise" that emerges is not a compromise at all. Democrats who go along become enablers of a game being played with a stacked deck.
 
 The game is also fixed because the president has narrowed the range of Social Security options to protect his most questionable policy choices.
 
 Some press reports have suggested that Bush's willingness to cut Social Security benefits for the wealthy turned him into some latter-day Karl Marx, or at least Ted Kennedy.
 
 This is nonsense.
 
 Bush has refused to put his own tax cuts on the table as part of a Social Security fix. Repealing Bush's tax cuts for those earning more than $350,000 a year could cover all or most of the 75-year Social Security shortfall. Keeping part of the estate tax in place could cover a quarter to half of the shortfall. Some of the hole could be filled in by a modest surtax on dividends or capital gains.
 
 But Bush is resolute about protecting the interests of the truly rich by making sure that any taxes on wealth are ruled out of the game from the beginning. The Social Security cuts he is proposing for the wealthy are a pittance compared with the benefits they get from his tax cuts. The president is keeping his eye on what really matters to him.
 
 The real costs of progressive indexing as currently conceived would be paid by middle-income earners -- those with incomes in the range of $35,000 to $60,000 a year.
 
 Eventually, such earners would face benefit cuts of 20 to 30 percent from what they are promised under the current program. And it gets worse: Rising Medicare premiums are eating up an increasing share of middle-class Social Security checks. Even without the cuts, Social Security payments will, over time, barely cover an individual's Medicare costs.
 
 Last, there are the trillions of dollars that Bush would have us borrow to cover the transition to the private accounts he wants to set up. It's far from clear that cutting future Social Security benefits for younger members of the middle class and saddling them with mounds of new indebtedness would make either them or the country better off. Anyone who is truly conservative might have a question or two about whether this "solution" is worse than the problem it is purportedly addressing.
 
 Walking away from a rigged game is hard for some people, especially when those running it and the respected opinion-makers who support them insist that this time the game will truly be on the level. But, especially when the danger involves gambling away the future of Social Security, the truly responsible thing is to leave the table.
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May  3 04:01:03 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May  3 04:06:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32507099.1115118063767.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 U.S. Called Unprepared For Nuclear Terrorism
 
 By John Mintz
 
  When asked during the campaign debates to name the gravest danger facing the United States, President Bush and challenger Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) gave the same answer: a nuclear device in the hands of terrorists.
 
 But more than 3 1/2  years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. government has failed to adequately prepare first responders and the public for a nuclear strike, according to emergency preparedness and nuclear experts and federal reports.
 
 Although hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved by rapidly evacuating people downwind of a radiation cloud, officials have trained only small numbers of first responders to prepare for such an event, according to public health specialists and government documents. And the information given to the public is flawed and incomplete, many experts agree.
 
 "The United States is, at the moment, not well prepared to manage an [emergency] evacuation of this sort in the relevant time frame," said Richard Falkenrath,  former deputy homeland security adviser and now a fellow at the Brookings Institution. "The federal government currently lacks the ability to [rapidly] generate and broadcast specific, geographically tailored evacuation instructions" across the country, he said.
 
 Security experts consider a terrorist nuclear strike highly unlikely because of the difficulty in obtaining fissionable material and constructing a bomb. But it is a conceivable scenario, especially in light of the lax security at many former Soviet nuclear facilities and the knowledge of atomic scientists in such places as Pakistan.
 
 Two closely held government reports obtained by The Washington Post -- one by the White House's Homeland Security Council,  the other by the Energy Department -- describe in chilling detail the effects of a nuclear detonation, using the scenario of a strike on Washington. They make clear the need for split-second execution by top officials of the Department of Homeland Security  if downwind communities dozens of miles away are to be saved -- a level of performance that some experts say is well beyond officials' ability now.
 
 U.S. officials say they are only in the first stages of planning ways to communicate with endangered downwind communities, via radio, television or cell phones.
 
 Members of the public who seek information from Homeland Security's   Web site, Ready.gov, may not be getting the best advice, experts said.
 
 Take, for example, a Ready.gov graphic showing that someone a city block from a nuclear blast could save his or her life by walking around the corner. The text reads, "Consider if you can get out of the area." Nuclear specialists say that advice is unhelpful because such a blast can destroy everything within  a radius of as much as three-quarters of a mile.
 
 "Ready.gov treats a nuclear weapon in this case as if it were a big truck bomb, which it's not," said Ivan Oelrich, a physicist who studies nuclear weapons for the nonprofit Federation of American Scientists. "There's no information in Ready.gov that would help your chances" of surviving a nuclear blast or the resulting mushroom cloud, he said.
 
 Homeland Security officials acknowledge they have lots of work ahead to prepare for a nuclear strike -- a task they point out is extraordinarily difficult -- but say they have made progress.
 
 "A lot of good work's been done, and a lot of federal resources are poised to respond," said Gil Jamieson, who helps run  the department's  programs to unify national, state and local emergency response efforts. "Can more work be done? Absolutely."
 
 Department officials also say they have made strides in the monumental task of establishing standard protocols and plans among federal agencies, and with state and local authorities, on how to prepare for and respond to different types of terrorist attacks.
 
 Homeland Security officials point with pride to the nuclear response training given to 2,200 first responders. But domestic defense experts point out there are 2 million such firefighters, police officers and emergency medical personnel nationwide.
 
 More of them need crucial training in the dangers of radiation, how to limit their own exposure to it, how to triage victims and how to decontaminate them, they say. Many experts believe the government needs to train responders in these techniques and, more fundamentally, decide what their jobs would be in a nuclear attack.
 
 A 2003 report by the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), designated "For Official Use Only," said the government lacks rules and standards for sending first responders into radiated areas to save people or warn them of approaching fallout. This would include standards for radiation exposure for firefighters and how to decide where to deploy responders.
 
 The prospect of a nuclear strike "requires a fundamental shift in radiological protection policy for members of the public and emergency responders," the report added. Officials said work in these areas has barely begun.
 
 In detailing the consequences of a 10-kiloton bomb attack on Washington, the NNSA document, and another prepared in July 2004 by the Homeland Security Council (HSC), used different wind projections and assumptions about the government's success in evacuating residents.
 
 The HSC document, also stamped "For Official Use Only," shows a radioactive plume heading east over Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties, killing 99,000 to 190,000 people. The NNSA report describes a cloud moving northeast over Prince George's and Howard counties, and, assuming less success in evacuation, estimates 300,000 deaths.
 
 A blast from a 10-kiloton weapon would destroy everything within a half-mile, the reports say, and cause severe damage for miles beyond. Many people would suffer "flash blindness" from the explosion.
 
 First responders would be unlikely to enter the blast zone but would establish care centers upwind to help victims who escape, the reports say. "Triage will be a major issue," the HSC report said, noting that because of the huge numbers of victims, responders will have to turn away people too sick from radiation to survive.
 
 In the end, years of cleanup of 3,000 to 5,000 square miles would be needed, the reports say. They  also raise the possibility of forever abandoning many radiated neighborhoods. An atomic strike on this country "would forever change the American psyche, its politics and worldview," according to the White House report.
 
 The government also has failed to communicate well with the public about nuclear dangers, terrorism experts said.
 
 In late 2003, months after the debut of Homeland Security's Ready.gov Web site, Rand Corp. released a detailed study advising individuals on responding to various attack scenarios -- but with starkly different recommendations.
 
 Ready.gov gave almost no information on which to base a hide-or-flee decision, beyond advice such as to "Quickly assess the situation" after a nuclear blast. In general, it advised going inside, underground if possible, and fleeing by car rather than on foot.
 
 Rand, which in the 1950s was an architect of U.S. nuclear doctrine, said going indoors "would provide little protection in a nuclear attack." It said Ready.gov's suggestion that people in the blast zone head underground after a blast is "misleading" because few people would have time to take that step.
 
 Ready.gov made no mention of the critical factor of wind. But Rand advised that if wind is carrying smoke and the mushroom cloud toward people, they should immediately head perpendicular to it, on foot, for at least a few miles, to get out of the plume's path. Driving would be futile because of impassable roads, Rand said.
 
 "Guidance from Ready.gov fails to indicate the time urgency involved," said Lynn E. Davis, a former undersecretary of state for arms control who was the Rand study's lead author. "We must act in a matter of minutes to survive."
 
 Homeland Security officials said that some of the criticisms of Ready.gov are valid, and that they might change its wording in some places. But they said several experts they consulted believe miles-high winds could carry radiation in a different direction from wind on the ground.
 
 "We decided [advice to flee crosswind] was not necessarily the best guidance for the American people," said Lara Shane, a Homeland Security spokeswoman who runs Ready.gov.
 
 Department officials said their strategy is not for people themselves to decide what to do, but for them to listen for officials' advice over radio or television. Some emergency response experts, however, pointed out many radio and TV stations would be off the air.
 
 "The threat information our leaders have given post-9/11 has often been disorganized, not confidence-inspiring," added Irwin Redlener, director of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness. "It's perilous to have a system solely dependent on central leadership to save lives."
 
 Retired Gen. Dennis Reimer, a former Army chief of staff who is now the director of the Oklahoma-based National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, said he prefers Rand's specificity. "The American people can handle that," he said. "It's like the Red Cross's lifesaving tips," he said. "Most of us aren't doctors, but we can help save lives."
 
 Researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May  3 04:02:11 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May  3 04:07:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <19244827.1115118131916.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 On Bloggers and Money
 
 By Brian Faler
 
  You could almost hear the blogosphere sigh with relief earlier this spring when federal election officials indicated that they did not plan to crack down on bloggers who write about politics.
 
 The Federal Election Commission, which has been considering issuing new regulations on a range of political activities on the Internet -- and was said by some to be contemplating taking a tough stance on the online commentators -- revealed in late March that it intends to be much less aggressive than many had feared. But now some observers are wondering whether the FEC is not being aggressive enough when it comes to one category of bloggers: those who take money from political campaigns.
 
 The FEC requires candidates to disclose their expenditures, including any payments to bloggers, in periodic reports to the government. Some bloggers also disclose their financial relationships with candidates, but they are not obliged to reveal those payments, and the agency recently said it is not proposing requiring them to do so.
 
 Some election law experts want the FEC to reverse that policy, saying it gives campaigns the opportunity to use ostensibly independent blogs as fronts to create the illusion of grass-roots support, mount attacks on their opponents and disseminate information to which candidates do not want their names attached.
 
 "The concern is that somebody is blogging at the behest of a campaign and nobody knows it," said Richard L. Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who maintains a blog on election law.
 
 "If, for example, you are a U.S. Senate candidate and you have a blogger who you're paying to write good things about you and bad things about your opponent, it will eventually come out. But that may not come out until after the election," Hasen said.
 
 "But even if it comes out, there's something to be said for having the information right there, so when you click on the Web site you see it says 'Authorized by Smith for Congress,' " he added. "Voters rely on those pieces of information as cues in terms of how much stock they should put in what someone is saying."
 
 Others pushing for the disclaimers note the FEC said it is leaning toward requiring them on certain types of political advertising on the Internet. They say paid bloggers' sites can be tantamount to ads and ought to be subject to the same disclosure rules.
 
 The agency is tackling that and a number of other often arcane legal questions after a federal court ordered it to rewrite election rules that had left online political activities virtually free from government regulation. The six-member commission revealed its regulatory agenda March 23 in a "notice of proposed rulemaking."
 
 That document indicated that the panel is disinclined to impose many new rules on bloggers and others who use the Internet to engage in political activities. The agency, which is accepting public comments on the issue until June 3, is not expected to decide the final regulations until later this year. Scott Thomas, the FEC's Democratic chairman, said it has yet to hear from the authors of the 2002 campaign finance reform legislation or any of the prominent watchdog groups on the disclaimer issue.
 
 "We really haven't gotten any of the usual suspects to submit a comment yet," Thomas said.
 
 Congress could short-circuit the FEC process, though, if it passes a measure approved last week by the Senate Rules Committee. That bill would bar the FEC from regulating political activities online. Thomas declined to comment on the legislation.
 
 The FEC is taking up the disclaimer issue after news reports last year indicated that a handful of campaigns from both parties had put bloggers on their payrolls. The most contentious example came in South Dakota, where GOP senatorial candidate John Thune paid $35,000 to two local bloggers who ran sites critical of the state's largest newspaper's coverage of Thune's Democratic opponent, incumbent Thomas A. Daschle.
 
 Neither the Thune campaign nor the bloggers revealed the relationship until it was disclosed in his finance reports. Both the campaign and the bloggers -- one a history professor, the other a lawyer -- denied they were paid to write, saying they were hired as consultants. The Daschle camp said the two were paid to smear the lawmaker.
 
 Those who want additional disclosure requirements said they fear that scenario will become increasingly common as politicians become more sophisticated in using the Internet, as blogs attract larger audiences and as more mainstream news outlets report on -- and amplify -- what the blogosphere is saying.
 
 But their complaints are meeting skepticism from those who say additional reporting requirements are not only unnecessary but would be legally suspect and difficult to enforce.
 
 Some said, for example, that campaigns routinely take a magnifying glass to their opponents' finance reports -- and can be relied upon to publicize any unannounced payments to bloggers. And some said such requirements would impose obligations on bloggers that are not expected of anyone else who takes money from campaigns and then sounds off on them in other media, such as letters to newspapers or calls to radio shows.
 
 Trevor Potter, a former FEC commissioner, said as a practical matter it would often be difficult to distinguish between those who have been hired to blog and those who have been hired for some other reason -- to help run a campaign's Internet operations, for example -- and, as is increasingly the case these days, also happen to have a blog.
 
 "The problem is that it's not going to be clear when a blogger is speaking in his or her capacity as a paid employee or consultant to a campaign and when they happen to be an employee or consultant and are blogging on their own," he said.
 
 Some political bloggers say disclaimers are unnecessary because most of them make no attempt to hide their support or opposition to individual candidates. Relatively few, some say, would risk their credibility and readership by accepting undisclosed payments -- and that those who do would be quickly outted by other bloggers.
 
 "I think a lot of these things are reasonable as a matter of ethics," said Duncan Black, who runs a popular liberal blog called Eschaton under the pen name Atrios. "But that's different from being reasonable as a matter of law."
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May  3 05:56:34 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Tue May  3 06:01:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: MI6 and the Croatian general
Message-ID: <20050503_125634_087710.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
As the world turns......

** MI6 and the Croatian general **
Nick Thorpe travels to Dubrovnik, as he attempts to unravel a Central European spy story.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4497385.stm >


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon May  2 21:36:12 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May  3 10:50:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Reich and Krugman on the real crisis and the fraud
Message-ID: <200505031750.j43HoHUu018931@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0502-23.htm

Published on Monday, May 2, 2005 by USA Today
Social Security Reform is Simply a Diversion
by Robert B. Reich
 
The president just ended a 60-day whirlwind tour to try to sell his Social 
Security plan. But almost everyone inside the Beltway, and a growing 
number outside, know it's going nowhere.

Polls show most Americans don't want to tinker with Social Security. 
Many Republicans, facing re-election, don't want to touch it. Why still 
flog it?

Because Social Security is a place holder. As long as it remains on the 
domestic agenda, it blocks consideration of the real domestic crisis 
President Bush doesn't want to touch: the health care system.

Consider the symptoms. Medicare, the government's health care 
program for the elderly, is heading toward bankruptcy faster than 
Social Security. Its future unfunded liabilities are seven times larger. 
Social Security is projected to be in financial trouble in four decades; 
Medicare, within 10 years.

Medicaid, the government's health care program for the poor, is also in 
trouble. Its costs are rising so fast the White House and congressional 
Republicans want to whack it by $10 billion over the next five years. 
But governors don't want Medicaid cut. States pick up half its cost. If 
the feds bow out, states will have to make up the difference.

Symptom No. 3 is the increasing number of Americans without health 
insurance. Ten years ago, when President Clinton's proposal for 
universal health care tanked, 38 million lacked health insurance. Now, 
44 million are without it at some point during the year.

Meanwhile, Americans who get health insurance through their 
employer are suffering sticker shock. That's because companies are 
rapidly shifting the escalating costs onto their employees. They're 
doing it through higher co-payments and larger deductibles and 
premiums.

The last symptom is the huge financial burden on companies that can't 
shift rising health care costs onto employees because of union 
contracts. For example, every car General Motors produces costs 
thousands of extra dollars because of GM's health care tab. Health 
care is the single most contentious labor-management issue today.

But it's possible to control health costs and at the same time give 
Americans far more health security.

One step is to use the government's bargaining clout to cut the prices 
medical providers and suppliers charge. Through Medicare and 
Medicaid, the U.S. government is the biggest health purchaser in the 
world. It has the heft to get pharmaceutical companies to agree to far 
lower drug prices. The same bargaining power could be used to bring 
down prices of other health care supplies and services.

Another step is to offer every American the chance to buy basic health 
insurance for the family at say, a few hundred dollars a year. The low 
cost would be possible because so many Americans would be in the 
same plan, generating vast economies of scale. In such a uniform 
system, transacting with a doctor or hospital of your choice would be 
as easy as using an ATM.

As a result, far more Americans would get regular checkups, and 
health problems could be prevented. Chronic illnesses such as heart 
disease could be identified before they got out of control. And 
catastrophic illnesses such as cancer could be treated early. We'd end 
up with lower costs and better care.

It's the perfect time to respond to America's health care crisis. With the 
middle class squeezed by soaring costs, big companies reeling and 
governors screaming, the political momentum is there.

But the Bush administration doesn't want to tackle it. Doing so would 
require an active role for government, and they're ideologically 
opposed. They know the nation can pay attention to only one big 
domestic crisis at a time. So they're using the fake crisis of Social 
Security as a diversion.

That's a shame. The real crisis of health care demands the nation's 
real attention.

Robert B. Reich, former U.S. secretary of Labor, is professor of social 
and economic policy at Brandeis.

? 2005 USA Today

###

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0502-24.htm
Published on Monday, May 2, 2005 by the New York Times
A Gut Punch to the Middle
by Paul Krugman
 
By now, every journalist should know that you have to carefully check 
out any scheme coming from the White House. You can't just accept 
the administration's version of what it's doing. Remember, these are 
the people who named a big giveaway to logging interests "Healthy 
Forests."

Sure enough, a close look at President Bush's proposal for 
"progressive price indexing" of Social Security puts the lie to claims 
that it's a plan to increase benefits for the poor and cut them for the 
wealthy. In fact, it's a plan to slash middle-class benefits; the wealthy 
would barely feel a thing.

Under current law, low-wage workers receive Social Security benefits 
equal to 49 percent of their wages before retirement. Under the Bush 
scheme, that wouldn't change. So benefits for the poor would be 
maintained, not increased.

The administration and its apologists emphasize the fact that under the 
Bush plan, workers earning higher wages would face cuts, and they 
talk as if that makes it a plan that takes from the rich and gives to the 
poor. But the rich wouldn't feel any pain, because people with high 
incomes don't depend on Social Security benefits.

Cut an average worker's benefits, and you're imposing real hardship. 
Cut or even eliminate Dick Cheney's benefits, and only his accountants 
will notice.

I asked Jason Furman of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to 
calculate the benefit cuts under the Bush scheme as a percentage of 
pre-retirement income. That's a way to see who would really bear the 
burden of the proposed cuts. It turns out that the middle class would 
face severe cuts, but the wealthy would not.

The average worker - average pay now is $37,000 - retiring in 2075 
would face a cut equal to 10 percent of pre-retirement income. 
Workers earning 60 percent more than average, the equivalent of 
$58,000 today, would see benefit cuts equal to almost 13 percent of 
their income before retirement.

But above that level, the cuts would become less and less significant. 
Workers earning three times the average wage would face cuts equal 
to only 9 percent of their income before retirement. Someone earning 
the equivalent of $1 million today would see benefit cuts equal to only 1 
percent of pre-retirement income.

In short, this would be a gut punch to the middle class, but a fleabite 
for the truly wealthy.

Beyond that, it's a good bet that benefits for the poor would eventually 
be cut, too.

It's an adage that programs for the poor always turn into poor 
programs. That is, once a program is defined as welfare, it becomes a 
target for budget cuts.

You can see this happening right now to Medicaid, the nation's most 
important means-tested program. Last week Congress agreed on a 
budget that cuts funds for Medicaid (and food stamps), even while 
extending tax cuts on dividends and capital gains. States are cutting 
back, denying health insurance to hundreds of thousands of people 
with low incomes. Missouri is poised to eliminate Medicaid completely 
by 2008.

If the Bush scheme goes through, the same thing will eventually 
happen to Social Security. As Mr. Furman points out, the Bush plan 
wouldn't just cut benefits. Workers would be encouraged to divert a 
large fraction of their payroll taxes into private accounts - but this would 
in effect amount to borrowing against their future benefits, which would 
be reduced accordingly.

As a result, Social Security as we know it would be phased out for the 
middle class.

"For millions of workers," Mr. Furman writes, "the amount of the 
monthly Social Security check would be at or near zero."

So only the poor would receive Social Security checks - and regardless 
of what today's politicians say, future politicians would be tempted to 
reduce the size of those checks.

The important thing to understand is that the attempt to turn Social 
Security into nothing but a program for the poor isn't driven by 
concerns about the future budget burden of benefit payments. After all, 
if Mr. Bush was worried about the budget, he would be reconsidering 
his tax cuts.

No, this is about ideology: Mr. Bush comes to bury Social Security, not 
to save it. His goal is to turn F.D.R.'s most durable achievement into 
an unpopular welfare program, so some future president will be able to 
attack it with tall tales about Social Security queens driving Cadillacs.

? 2005 NY Times, Co.

###


-- 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue May  3 10:47:18 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue May  3 10:52:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Iran nuclear threat increases transatlantic friction
Message-ID: <BE9D0736.1FDF1%michael@michaelbutler.com>


 
FT.com     
 
Click Here to Print
      EMAIL THIS | Close
 
Iran nuclear threat increases transatlantic friction
>By Guy Dinmore in Washington, Daniel Dombey in Brussels and Gareth Smyth in
Tehran
>Published: May 3 2005 00:40 | Last updated: May 3 2005 00:40
>>

Iran's threat to resume nuclear enrichment-related activities has led to
more friction between the three European governments negotiating with Tehran
and the Bush administration, which refuses to join the talks, diplomats said
on Monday.

Nevertheless, the so-called EU3 of France, Germany and the UK are in broad
agreement with Washington that they would refer the crisis to the United
Nations Security Council if Iran renewed production of uranium hexafluoride
gas.

Negotiations between Iran and the EU3 stalled last Friday in London. On
Monday night, on the sidelines of a New York conference to review the
nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Joschka Fischer, Germany's foreign
minister, warned Kamal Kharrazi, his Iranian counterpart, of the
repercussions of a possible Iranian decision to end its agreed freeze of
enrichment-related activities.

But policy differences between the US and the EU3 emerged over the weekend
in Washington. Senior European diplomats expressed their frustration to US
officials over Washington's refusal to take part in the negotiations with
Iran, saying they could make no headway.

One US official said the Bush administration was concerned that the EU would
not live up to its tough rhetoric and tackle Iran at the UN.

It is not clear if the western powers will seek to refer Iran immediately if
the nuclear freeze is abandoned or wait several months until a new Iranian
president is in place.

At present the Europeans are reluctant to force the issue to a crisis, just
weeks before Iranian presidential elections scheduled for June 17.

Iran has always insisted that its nuclear programme is wholly peaceful.
Production of the gas yields the feedstock that can then be fed through
centrifuges to give enriched uranium for use in reactors, or possibly for a
nuclear bomb.

Western governments demand that Iran cease and dismantle its nuclear fuel
cycle programme. Iran has refused.

On Friday the EU refused to discuss Tehran's proposals to retain a small
number of centrifuges under the supervision of the International Atomic
Energy Agency. No new formal talks between the two sides have been
scheduled.

Frustrated with a lack of progress and what itsees as a deliberate EU
attempt to string out the talks, Iran has threatened to resume nuclear
activities this week.

EU officials are not convinced the threat is genuine and see it as another
attempt to bring the US into the process. A source close to the
administration said it was possible Iran would resume gas production this
week.

The EU agreed in March that it would respond to such a move by backing
referral of the case to the Security Council. In exchange the US, for the
first time, extended limited incentives to Iran, including the sale of
aircraft parts and allowing discussion of Iran's bid to start accession
talks at the World Trade Organisation.

A European diplomat in Iran said it would not be ?helpful? for the nuclear
talks to become an election issue in the country. He suggested the EU needed
to bear in mind the domestic pressures Iranian negotiators faced.

But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has vehemently rejected
any link between the country's elections and the nuclear talks.

In a speech in Kerman on Sunday he denounced ?spokesmen of the Arrogance?
for saying ?they would like to talk to Iran about the nuclear issue after
thepresidential election?, and warned that the electionwas ?nothing to do
withthem?.

>
>
>
 
 
 
Find this article at:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1cc5e7f0-bb63-11d9-911a-00000e2511c8,ft_acl=,s01=1.
html
 
Click Here to Print
     EMAIL THIS | Close
 Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article.
 
 

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:04:00 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:08:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pentagon Says Iraq Effort Limits Ability to
	Fight Other Conflicts
Message-ID: <20050503210404.55DDE13B7ED@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 3, 2005

Pentagon Says Iraq Effort Limits Ability to Fight Other Conflicts
By THOM SHANKER

A report says that other combat operations, if needed, would probably be more protracted because of commitments in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/politics/03military.html?ex=1115784000&en=76b64177e67b0e21&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:03:45 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:09:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraq Swears In New Cabinet,
	but Some Posts Remain Unfilled
Message-ID: <20050503210403.98F2A13B7E8@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 3, 2005

Iraq Swears In New Cabinet, but Some Posts Remain Unfilled
By ROBERT F. WORTH BR / and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

At least six cabinet posts remain empty, and tensions were apparent at the ceremony at which Iraq's new leaders took their oaths.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/international/middleeast/03cnd-iraq.html?ex=1115784000&en=6063256639a0934b&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:04:23 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:09:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Measure to Expand Political Rights for
	Kuwaiti Women Fails
Message-ID: <20050503210424.BEA6683E73@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 3, 2005

Measure to Expand Political Rights for Kuwaiti Women Fails
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

Kuwait's Parliament effectively killed a measure that would have allowed women to participate in municipal elections for the first time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/international/middleeast/03cnd-kuwait.html?ex=1115784000&en=9577ea58cd0c0e94&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:04:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:09:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Hitting the Middle Class, Again
Message-ID: <20050503210442.1AC9F3AE5C3@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 3, 2005

Today's Editorials: Hitting the Middle Class, Again


Congress must find a better Social Security plan than the one President Bush is endorsing, which would take a huge bite out of benefits for the middle class.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/opinion/03tue1.html?ex=1115784000&en=03ea6624dd6f6962&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:05:09 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:10:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 
	NYTimes.com: Baby Boomers Say, Don't Blame Us (4 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050503210512.C42D311F981@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 3, 2005

Baby Boomers Say, Don't Blame Us (4 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/opinion/l03kristof.html?ex=1115784000&en=81d21a8a3036eb6b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:06:18 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:11:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Chilean, Once Opposed by U.S.,
	Is Elected Head of the O.A.S.
Message-ID: <20050503210619.3D40E22EF40@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 3, 2005

Chilean, Once Opposed by U.S., Is Elected Head of the O.A.S.
By JOEL BRINKLEY and LARRY ROHTER

The Organization of American States elected José Miguel Insulza, a Chilean Socialist, as its new secretary general.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/politics/03OAS.html?ex=1115784000&en=5460404228b88c5a&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:07:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:12:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Time Warner Says Data on Employees Is Lost
Message-ID: <20050503210712.8886F11F956@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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Holy Cow!


BUSINESS / MEDIA & ADVERTISING | May 3, 2005

Time Warner Says Data on Employees Is Lost
By TOM ZELLER Jr.

Time Warner reported the loss of computer backup tapes containing data including the names and Social Security numbers of about 600,000 people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/business/media/03warner.html?ex=1115784000&en=59b05d196d2bef67&ei=5070



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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:08:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:13:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: African Strain of Polio Virus Hits Indonesia
Message-ID: <20050503210855.2AA4A24AECF@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Combined with the recent Marburg virus outbreak, this is truly frightening...


INTERNATIONAL | May 3, 2005

African Strain of Polio Virus Hits Indonesia
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.

The case of polio indicates that an outbreak spreading from Nigeria has reached the world's fourth-most-populous country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/international/03virus.html?ex=1115784000&en=6552863455e24c3e&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 15:11:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 14:16:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bob Hunter, 63, a Founder of Greenpeace,
	Is Dead
Message-ID: <20050503211117.EA3123AE601@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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OBITUARIES | May 3, 2005

Bob Hunter, 63, a Founder of Greenpeace, Is Dead
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mr. Hunter, a columnist for The Vancouver Sun in the 1960's, helped establish the aggressive communication style that became a Greenpeace trademark.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/obituaries/03hunter.html?ex=1115784000&en=167963e54c0feded&ei=5070




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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Tue May  3 14:58:52 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Tue May  3 15:04:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Dark Side Rising - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of
	the Sith
Message-ID: <1f1.3af9d399.2fa94e1c@aol.com>

Barbara, weren't Yoda's those little cars manufactured in East Germany back  
in the '70's?  Did you have the two-door or four-dour sedan?  I  remember they 
were extremely advanced not only by eastern bloc standards, but  Detroit as 
well.  The came with rear window heaters that kept your hands  warm while 
pushing the car down the road in winter,  were well  sound-proofed from outside 
noises, after all, you can't hear anything with  the engine roaring next to you, 
and ran on anything flammable, including  Russian vodka.
 
Richard Haerther
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Tue May  3 15:11:56 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Tue May  3 15:16:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Dark Side Rising - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge
	of the Sith
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV223D33DF40946620FF4B98AB180@phx.gbl>

Are you serious?  :-)

There was a car called a Yugi or something like that I think...... BUT I was talking about "Yoda" from "Star Wars" the very Wise Man who was cute and Chubby with sort of pointy ears... :-)

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhaerther@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 3 May 2005 14:58:52 -0700
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Dark Side Rising - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Barbara, weren't Yoda's those little cars manufactured in East Germany back  
in the '70's?  Did you have the two-door or four-dour sedan?  I  remember they 
were extremely advanced not only by eastern bloc standards, but  Detroit as 
well.  The came with rear window heaters that kept your hands  warm while 
pushing the car down the road in winter,  were well  sound-proofed from outside 
noises, after all, you can't hear anything with  the engine roaring next to you, 
and ran on anything flammable, including  Russian vodka.
 
Richard Haerther

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May  3 15:39:41 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May  3 15:45:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] I thought you would be interested to read this article
	from The Times
Message-ID: <200505032239.j43Mdf207123@php-web3.wpng.newsint.co.uk.>



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1592963,00.html
                 Food wrap linked to prostate cancer 
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From geomilman at milman.com  Tue May  3 17:43:17 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Tue May  3 17:48:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Conservatives (heart)  'South Park' - Frank Rich
Message-ID: <20050504004324.6C1E238807D@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01rich.html?pagewanted=print
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01rich.html?pagewanted=print&posi
tion> &position=

 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May  3 18:34:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May  3 18:39:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?CNN=2Ecom_-_Poll=3A_Most=A0in_U=2ES=2E?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?=A0say_Iraq=A0war_not=A0worthwhile_-_May_3=2C_2005?=
Message-ID: <28325361.1115170492258.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



!



 
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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue May  3 23:38:23 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Tue May  3 23:41:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'
Message-ID: <000701c55073$dfd88fa0$2a25b7d8@baby1>

NYTimes.com: From 'Gook' to 'Raghead'



Haase wrote:

======
hey cheeseburger hows it hanging?
======




"If I were to think of and dwell on disastrous possibilities, I could do
nothing. I throw myself headlong into my work, and come up again with my
studies; if the storm within gets too loud, I take a glass too much to stun
myself.  I am not strictly speaking mad, for my mind is absolutely normal in
the intervals, and even more so than before. But during the attacks it is
terrible - and then I lose consciousness of everything. But that spurs me on
to work and to seriousness, as a miner who is always in danger makes haste
in what he does."  (Vincent Van Gogh)

"All my life I have worked to be able to earn my living, but I thought that
one could do good painting without attracting attention to one's private
life. Certainly, an artist wishes to raise himself intellectually as much as
possible, but the man must remain obscure. The pleasure must be found in the
work."  (Paul Cezanne)

"One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened
reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams."  (Salvador
Dali)

"The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection."
(Michelangelo)

"We never really know what stupidity is until we have experimented on
ourselves.  But I owe something to Vincent, and that is, in the
consciousness of having been useful to him, the confirmation of my own
original ideas about painting. And also, at difficult moments, the
remembrance that one finds others unhappier than oneself.  Art is either
plagiarism or revolution.  Life is hardly more than a fraction of a second.
Such a little time to prepare oneself for eternity."  (Paul Gauguin)

"Being born is like being kidnapped. And then sold into slavery."  (Andy
Warhol)

"My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece."  (Claude Monet)

"Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity, and in cold
weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.
Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.  One can have
no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself."  (Leonardo da Vinci)

"It's hanging to the left on most days except when I ride my bicycle then it
kind of flops all around left right center, but then again, I'm an American,
what else can one expect from years of tyranny, indoctrination and economic
slavery."  (Cheeseburger)

And I looked over the Earth and wondered why such a diamond would be dipped
in chocolate then I realized that it was easier to sell that way to a bunch
of lemmings who had been trained to be marketting pincushions, pay for wars,
death and destruction with their own money at the behest of gangsters
holding their children up to the cameras, and that it also diguised the
smell of pee and feces which they had covered it with from pole to pole
before they gift-wrapped it for the peasants.

That they all actually learned to live with it and still look their families
in the eyes each day without wincing is quite an accomplishment.

Other than that, it's hanging, I'm running out of steak tartare, find me a
loan shark and I'll keep you posted.

We leave you with one man's List of 24 Ways George Bush is like Adolph
Hitler:

http://peaceaware.com/documents/24_ways_Bush_is_like_Hitler.htm






Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May  4 03:54:49 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May  4 03:59:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <22383696.1115204089758.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Democrat Plans Run Against DeLay
 
 By Mike Allen
 
  Last November, four-term Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Tex.) lost his job after a controversial redrawing of the state's congressional seats -- engineered by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) -- left Lampson in a district that was more than half new to him and much more heavily Republican than before.
 
 Now, with DeLay facing a barrage of questions about lavish overseas trips and close dealings with lobbyists, Lampson wants to settle the score for the redistricting, which cost four veteran Texas congressmen their seats and is known by local Democrats as "Tommymandering."
 
 Lampson, a moderate Democrat and one-time public school teacher from Beaumont, plans to formally file papers as a candidate today and then to move into DeLay's suburban Houston district. He said he will spend $4 million or more to try to defeat the majority leader, using ethics as a major issue.
 
 Two recent polls by local news organizations contained troubling news for DeLay, and Democrats contend that his problems are distracting him from his job and provide them with an unusual opportunity to knock off a GOP leader. DeLay was admonished by the House ethics committee three times last year. When the panel is formally reconstituted this week after a four-month hiatus, it will consider whether to launch a formal investigation of DeLay's travel and dealings with lobbyists.
 
 "He's certainly caught up in a swirl of scandal and corruption," Lampson said in a telephone interview yesterday, adding that he is not convinced DeLay is properly focused "on just serving the people of that district."
 
 With Democrats in Washington vowing to pour as much money as necessary into the Texas district if they determine that Lampson has a chance, the race for the 22nd District seat could wind up as one of the marquee contests of the 2006 midterm elections. DeLay's strategists have expressed concern that the absence of a presidential race next year could make his district a magnet for huge spending by liberal interest groups and labor-backed political organizations, although business interests could be expected to answer overwhelmingly if DeLay needs them.
 
 DeLay found himself in a tighter race than he expected last November against a relatively unknown Democrat. He won  55 percent of the vote and ran well behind President Bush. DeLay spent $3 million on his reelection. Republican sources said he plans to raise more than $5 million this time.
 
 Bush taped a telephone message to help turn out DeLay's voters in November. White House officials were surprised that the majority leader needed that kind of help.
 
 The redistricting plan that hurt Lampson was one reason for DeLay's straits. While the plan maximized the number of Republican districts in the state, it diluted the party's strength in a few GOP-held districts, including DeLay's.
 
 Although administration and GOP officials said yesterday that they consider Lampson a weak opponent, a vigorous challenge to DeLay would force Bush and Vice President Cheney to decide whether they want to risk their own political capital as DeLay is excoriated as a symbol of Republican excess.
 
 A close race could also force DeLay to spend more time at home and less time raising money for the party's candidates elsewhere.
 
 Dan Allen, DeLay's communications director, said the majority leader "is focused on the job he was elected to do," which is working on issues important to constituents -- including expanding the economy, fully funding the space program and fighting for tax cuts.
 
 DeLay, 58, was first elected to the House in 1984. Lampson, 60, was the ranking Democrat on the space subcommittee of the House science panel when he left Congress. DeLay's redistricting had moved the Johnson Space Center from Lampson's district to his own.
 
 Lampson said he believes character will be a major issue as DeLay seeks a 12th term.
 
 "Maybe the adage that 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely' rings true," he said.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May  4 03:56:44 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May  4 04:01:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26161654.1115204204227.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 When Columnists Cry 'Jihad'
 
 By John McCandlish Phillips
 
  I have been looking at myself, and millions of my brethren, fellow evangelicals along with traditional Catholics, in a ghastly arcade mirror lately -- courtesy of this newspaper and the New York Times. Readers have been assured, among other dreadful things, that we are living in "a theocracy" and that this theocratic federal state has reached the dire level of -- hold your breath -- a "jihad."
 
 In more than 50 years of direct engagement in and observation of the major news media I have never encountered anything remotely like the fear and loathing lavished on us by opinion mongers in these world-class newspapers in the past 40 days. If I had a $5 bill for every time the word "frightening" and its close lexicographical kin have appeared in the Times and The Post, with an accusatory finger pointed at the Christian right, I could take my stack to the stock market.
 
 I come at this with an insider/outsider vantage and with real affection for many of those engaged in this enterprise. When the Times put me on its reporting staff, I was the only evangelical Christian among some 275 news and editorial employees, and certainly the only one who kept a leather-bound Bible on his desk. As a professional insider (18 years of reporting, mostly general assignment work) and a spiritual outsider, I reaped some sweet rewards. Two Times editors, A.M. Rosenthal and Arthur Gelb, collaborated on a sketch of me. Responding to skeptics about the capacity of a "deeply religious man" to do such work, they concluded: "There are editors, indeed, who believe that if having a Bible on his desk has been of any help to Phillips, the Times might well be advised to form a Gideon society of its own for the benefit of other reporters."
 
 The opening salvo of the heavy rhetorical artillery to which I object came in on March 24, when Maureen Dowd started her column in the Times with the declaration "Oh my God, we really are in a theocracy." While satiric, as always with the ever-so-readable columnist, it was not designed to be taken lightly. (Reading everything Dowd writes, while agreeing with scarcely any of it, is one of life's guilty pleasures for me. Now and then she sends a short left jab straight to the jaw of a rightist absurdity, as she recently did with regard to a White House press room admittee, the pseudonymous right-wing suck-up styled "Jeff Gannon.")
 
 Three days later Frank Rich, an often acute, broadly knowledgeable and witty cultural observer, sweepingly informed us that, under the effects of "the God racket" as now pursued in Washington, "government, culture, science, medicine and the rule of law are all under threat from an emboldened religious minority out to remake America according to its dogma." He went on to tell Times readers that GOP zealots in Congress and the White House have edged our country over into "a full-scale jihad." If Rich were to have the misfortune to live for one week in a genuine jihad, and the unlikely fortune to survive it, he would temper his categorization of the perceived President Bush-driven jihad by a minimum of 77 percent. If any "emboldened minority" is aiming to "remake America according to its dogma," it seems to many evangelicals and Catholics that it is the vanguard wanting, say, the compact of marriage to be stretched in its historic definition to include men cohabiting with men and women with women. That is, in terms of the history of this nation, a most pronounced and revolutionary novelty.
 
 From March 24 through April 23 (when The Post twinned Colbert I. King's "Hijacking Christianity" with Paul Gaston's "Smearing Christian Judges"), I counted 13 opinion columns of similarly alarmist tone aimed at us on the Christian right: two more in The Post by the generally amiable and highly communicative Richard Cohen headlined "Backward Evolution" and "Faith-Based Pandering"; one by his colleague, the urbane Eugene Robinson, "Art vs. the Church Lady" (lamenting that "the pall of religiosity hanging over the city was reaching gas-mask stage"); and three by Dowd, two by Paul Krugman and three by Rich in the Times.
 
 In "What's Going On" [March 29], Krugman darkly implied that some committed religious believers in our nation bear a menacing resemblance to Islamic extremists, by which he did not mean a few crazed crackpots but a quite broad swath of red-staters. In "An Academic Question" [April 5], Krugman, conceding the wide majority of secular liberals over conservatives on the faculties of our major universities, had the supreme chutzpah to tell us why: The former, unfettered by presuppositions of faith, are free to commit genuine investigative work and to reach valid scholarly conclusions, while the latter are disabled in that critical respect by their unprovable prior assumptions. So they are disqualified as a class from the university enterprise by their unfortunate susceptibility to the God hypothesis.
 
 Yet most of what became the great East Coast universities (Harvard, Dartmouth, Princeton, Columbia and Yale among them) were, in cold fact, founded by men of faith and prayer for purposes that were informed and motivated by explicitly biblical principles. If Prof. Krugman were to read some of their faith-based pronouncements -- many of them as much stronger than typical modern evangelical utterance as rum is from root beer -- it would surely curl his hair. Timothy Dwight, the president under whose mind and hand Yale made the turn from a college to a university, wrote a hymn quite unabashedly titled "I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord." Dwight was a prodigious scholar and a monumental figure in the history of Yale, altogether unbelamed by his evangelical fervor.
 
 In the long journey from the matchless moment when I became "born again" and encountered the risen and living Christ, I have met hundreds of evangelicals and a good many practicing Catholics and have found them to be of reasonable temperament, often enough of impressive accomplishment, certainly not a menace to the republic, unless, of course, the very fact of faith seriously held is thought to make them just that. It is said, again and again and again, that the evangelical/Catholic right is out of accord with the history of our republic, dangerously so. What we are out of accord with is not that history but a revisionist version of it vigorously promulgated by those who want it to be seen as other than it was.
 
 Evangelicals are concerned about the frequently advanced and historically untenable secularists' view of the intent of our non-establishment/free exercise of religion clause: that everything that has its origin in religion must be swept out of federal, and even civil, domains. That view, if militantly enforced, constitutes what seems dangerous to most evangelicals: the strict and entire separation of God from state. This construct, so desired by some, is radically out of sync with much in American history that shows a true regard for the non-establishment of religion while giving space in nearly all contexts to wide and free expressions of faith.
 
 The fact is that our founders did not give us a nation frightened by the apparition of the Deity lurking about in our most central places. On Sept. 25, 1789, the text of what was later adopted as the First Amendment was passed by both houses of Congress, and subsequently sent to the states for ratification. On that same day , the gentlemen in the House who had acted to give us that invaluable text took another action: They passed a resolution asking President George Washington to declare a national day of thanksgiving to no less a perceived eminence than almighty God.
 
 That's president , that's national, that's official and, alas, my doubting hearties, it's God -- all wrapped up in a federal action by those who knew what they meant by the non-establishment clause and saw their request as standing at not the slightest variance from it. It's a pity our phalanx of columnists cannot crawl into a time machine to go back and reinstruct them.
 
 John McCandlish Phillips is an author and former reporter for the New York Times.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May  4 03:59:28 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May  4 04:04:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29020445.1115204368218.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 'You Can't Win Wars Alone'
 
 By Michel Barnier
 
  French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier met with Washington Post editors and reporters on Monday. Following are excerpts of his remarks  :
 
 On European negotiations with Iran: We are going into this with our eyes wide open. It's a fragile, difficult negotiation for France. My sense is the political and diplomatic option that we have pursued is better than all other alternative options. . . . Our main purpose is to get an objective guarantee that the Iranian nuclear program will be exclusively focused on and destined to civilian use. But we haven't gotten there yet. And we need to take whatever time is necessary. As long as there is no setback then in a sense we are moving forward. Whatever the language, whatever the so-called threats, for the time being we are moving ahead.
 
 On France's upcoming referendum on the European constitution: I'm not working or even thinking along the lines of there being a "no" vote on the constitution. I really don't believe it. At the end of the line, if you don't have 25 ratifications, there will be no constitution. . . . Europe's reunification, Europe's enlargement is a fragile process. If we do not have strong rules that we can abide by, it will make it all the more fragile. In terms of judicial cooperation, the fight against terrorism, in terms of foreign policy, research, we need these new rules of the game so that the 25 can function smoothly all the time. But there isn't an alternative plan in the event of a "no."
 
 There have been two guiding principles in Europe over the last 50 years. One is a huge free-trade zone, which is a more Anglo-Saxon approach. And then the idea that in addition to that, we'd be a real community with a real voice counting on the international scene. We do feel that Europe must count as an entity, because not one of our countries alone, singly, has the kind of clout, has the kind of strength that the United States has or that China has. And it is in the interest of the United States to have in Europe a political structure that has clout, that is capable, that is able because you can't go it alone. You can't win peace alone. Poverty will be overcome only if we work together. [The war on] terrorism will only be won if we work together.
 
 On intervention in Darfur: Our position or attitude is that we be very responsive, speedily responsive to any requests coming in from the African Union. . . . They need the logistics, they need the planning, the transport, the sanitation, the health care. We have to be ready for that. Is it NATO, is it the European Union? We've got to come up with a speedy and pragmatic response to that. . . . And we will endorse practical solutions. And we need to do more.
 
 On ending the embargo on European arms sales to China: I am aware of the sensitiveness of the question of the embargo here in the U.S. That's a question we see as a political one. It has no quantitative or qualitative impact on arms exports to China. In fact, we tightly control any such exports. . . . I will tell you frankly, the purpose is not to beef up or step up military trade with China, but simply to lift a measure that we consider to be an anachronism in this day and age vis-à-vis that particular country.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May  4 04:00:08 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May  4 04:04:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11602336.1115204408958.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Proliferation Crisis
 
  EVENTS OF THE PAST few days have underlined the vulnerability of the international regime that for 35 years has mostly prevented the spread of nuclear weapons. On Sunday, North Korea, which claims to be a nuclear power and has refused to return to multilateral negotiations about its presumed arsenal, test-fired another missile, dramatizing its ambition to acquire the capacity to attack Japan and the United States. Yesterday, Iran's foreign minister restated his country's intention to enrich uranium, an advance that would allow Tehran to assemble a nuclear bomb at its discretion.
 
 The Bush administration, meanwhile, demonstrated another reason why the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is in danger. It dispatched a mid-level State Department official, rather than Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to address the foreign ministers who gathered at a major review conference in New York. It thereby signaled that it will not make a serious effort during the month-long forum to build an international consensus behind desperately needed reforms. Once again, the administration's distaste for arms control and international treaties appears to have won out over diplomatic common sense.
 
 Though he has failed to stop the Iranian or North Korean nuclear programs, President Bush has managed in the past year to focus global attention on one of the most serious proliferation problems, which is the increasing availability of nuclear weapons technologies to states that are likely to misuse them. Alt hough more than 180 countries have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, its terms allow them to acquire the capacity to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium, the most important steps in creating weapons, because these technologies can also be legitimately used by a nuclear energy industry. Iran is exploiting this loophole, and if it succeeds in acquiring a weapons capacity, other states may follow: Taiwan, Egypt, South Korea and possibly many others.
 
 A number of possible solutions to this danger have been floated. Mr. Bush has called for the manufacturers of nuclear technology to agree on a blanket ban on sales to countries that do not now have it. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called this week for "incentives" for states to voluntarily forgo enrichment and reprocessing. European governments have floated the idea of setting standards for allowing countries to acquire such capabilities. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has called for a moratorium on building new facilities for processing uranium and plutonium, including by existing nuclear powers.
 
 None of these proposals is likely to fly on its own, especially with the nonnuclear powers. What's needed is some intensive diplomacy that might win broad acceptance for new restrictions in exchange for guaranteed access to fuel supplies for legitimate uses and fresh steps toward disarmament by the nuclear powers. Yet the Bush administration appears loath even to attempt such work; instead, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld chose last week to renew his request for congressional funding for studies of new U.S. nuclear weapons. Administration policy supposes that the United States will devote the coming years to building, and probably testing, new nuclear weapons while banning most of the rest of the world from acquiring increasingly accessible technologies. It is, to say the least, an unrealistic strategy.
 
 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May  3 18:47:10 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Wed May  4 04:09:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] doberman & fireman
Message-ID: <QjQ4TUxGTSRNRVVNNCosMjI0NDUzNzQ@Dragon>

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May  3 19:38:47 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed May  4 04:09:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Impossible Victory: Vietnam
Message-ID: <200505040253.j442ruWE020699@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Last Saturday April 30 2005 was the 30th anniversary of the end of the 
Vietnam War.  Many of Americans have forgotten or never learned what 
happened and why.  The following exerpt, from Howard Zinn's People's 
History of the United States, is long for an email--will take 15 minutes or so 
to read--but an extremely worthwhile 15+ minutes in remembering.  When we 
forget our history we become extremely gullible and believe the lies that are 
told to us about current and past events.  This is worth forwarding, printing, 
reading to your children.  Maybe you will be inspired to read, if you haven't 
already, Howard Zinn's book.  Or to call your kids' or grandkids' history 
teachers and ask them to use it in class (as many have).....

***

Vietnamese Children's Song

The enemy is not people
Kill people, who shall we live with then?

The enemy's name is cruelty
The enemy's name is no conscience
Its name is hatred; its name is bitterness
It's a group of phantoms

The enemy wears a coat of doctrine
The enemy wears the false front of freedom
It wears a deceiving appearance
It sifts and twists our words

People, oh people, have compassion for the weak
People, oh people, have compassion for the innocent
Have compassion for the sellouts
Have compassion for the cheats
Have compassion for those who pity us

The enemy's name is unjust accusation
The enemy's name is ignorance
Its name is greed
Its name is selfishness
Its name is jealous hatred

The enemy is no stranger
It lies here, inside each one of us
The enemy is covetous eyes
The enemy is an arrogant head
In a lonely head
In a narrow mind
In the dream of conquering

People, oh people, love people more and more
People, oh people, love people as people
Love people forever
Love people night and day
Love people hand in hand.

The enemy is not people

Kill people, who will we live with then?

The enemy is no stranger
It lies here, inside each one of us.

                   *

News of Victory

by Ho Chi Minh

The Moon opens my window, asking:
"Is your poem ready yet?"
-Wait a minute, Moon,
I am still busy on military matters
And can't possibly compose poetry.
-Just a moment, Moon.
There, the mountain bell
Awakens autumn dreams,
 From the front lines
News of victory has just arrived!

---

The Impossible Victory: Vietnam

excerpted from "A People's History of the United States"

by Howard Zinn

In the fall of 1945 Japan, defeated, was forced to leave Indochina, the
former French colony it had occupied at the start of the war. In the
meantime, a revolutionary movement had grown there, determined to end
colonial control and to achieve a new life for the peasants of Indochina.
Led by a Communist named Ho Chi Minh, the revolutionists fought against
the Japanese, and when they were gone held a spectacular celebration in
Hanoi in late 1945, with a million people in the streets, and issued a
Declaration of Independence. It borrowed from the Declaration of the
Rights of Man and the Citizen, in the French Revolution, and from the
American Declaration of Independence, and began: "All men are created
equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights;
among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Just as the
Americans in 1776 had listed their grievances against the English King,
the Vietnamese listed their complaints against French rule:

They have enforced inhuman laws.... They have built more prisons than
schools. They have mercilessly slain our patriots, they have drowned
uprisings in rivers of blood. They have fettered public opinion.... They
have robbed us of our rice fields, our mines, our forests, and our raw
materials...

They have invented numerous unjustifiable taxes and reduced our people,
especially our peasantry, to a state of extreme poverty....... from the
end of last year, to the beginning of this year... more than two million
of our fellow-citizens died of starvation....

The whole Vietnamese people, animated by a common purpose, are deter
mined to fight to the bitter end against any attempt by the French
colonialists to reconquer their country.

The U.S. Defense Department study of the Vietnam war, intended to be
"top secret" but released publicly by Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo in
the famous Pentagon Papers case, described Ho Chi Minh's work:

"... Ho had built the Viet Minh into the only Vietnam-wide political
organization capable of effective resistance to either the Japanese or the
French. He was the only Vietnamese wartime leader with a national
following, and he assured himself wider fealty among the Vietnamese people
when in August September, 1945, he overthrew the Japanese... established
the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and staged receptions for in-coming
allied occupation forces.... For a few weeks in September, 1945, Vietnam
was-for the first and only time in its modern history-free of foreign
domination, and united from north to south under Ho Chi Minh...."

The Western powers were already at work to change this. England occupied
the southern part of Indochina and then turned it back to the French.
Nationalist China (this was under Chiang Kai-shek, before the Communist
revolution) occupied the northern part of Indochina, and the United States
persuaded it to turn that back to the French. As Ho Chi Minh told an
American journalist: "We apparently stand quite alone.... We shall have to
depend on ourselves."

Between October 1945 and February 1946, Ho Chi Minh wrote eight letters 
to
President Truman, reminding him of the self-determination promises of the
Atlantic Charter. One of the letters was sent both to Truman and to the
United Nations:

I wish to invite attention of your Excellency for strictly humanitarian
reasons to following matter. Two million Vietnamese died of starvation
during winter of 1944 and spring 1945 because of starvation policy of
French who seized and stored until it rotted all available rice....
Three-fourths of cultivated land was flooded in summer 1945, which was
followed by a severe drought; of normal harvest five-sixths was lost....
Many people are starving.... Unless great world powers and international
relief organizations bring us immediate assistance we face imminent
catastrophe....

Truman never replied.

In October of 1946, the French bombarded Haiphong, a port in northern
Vietnam, and there began the eight-year war between the Vietminh movement
and the French over who would rule Vietnam. After the Communist victory in
China in 1949 and the Korean war the following year, the United States
began giving large amounts of military aid to the French. By 1954, the
United States had given 300,000 small arms and machine guns, enough to
equip the entire French army in Indochina, and $1 billion; all together,
the U.S. was financing 80 percent of the French war effort. Why was the
United States doing this? To the public, the word was that the United
States was helping to stop Communism in Asia, but there was not much
public discussion. In the secret memoranda of the National Security
Council (which advised the President on foreign policy) there was talk in
1950 of what came to be known as the "domino theory"-that, like a row of
dominoes, if one country fell to Communism, the next one would do the same
and so on. It was important therefore to keep the first one from falling.

A secret memo of the National Security Council in June 1952 also pointed
to the chain of U.S. military bases along the coast of China, the
Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea:

Communist control of all of Southeast Asia would render the U.S.
position in the Pacific offshore island chain precarious and would
seriously jeopardize fundamental U.S. security interests in the Far East.

Southeast Asia, especially Malaya and Indonesia, is the principal world
source of natural rubber and tin, and a producer of petroleum and other
strategically important commodities....

It was also noted that Japan depended on the rice of Southeast Asia, and
Communist victory there would "make it extremely difficult to prevent
Japan's eventual accommodation to communism." In 1953, a congressional
study mission reported: "The area of Indochina is immensely wealthy in
rice, rubber, coal and iron ore. Its position makes it a strategic key to
the rest of Southeast Asia." That year, a State Department memorandum said
that the French were losing the war in Indochina, had failed "to win a
sufficient native support," feared that a negotiated settlement "would
mean the eventual loss to Communism not only of Indochina but of the whole
of Southeast Asia, and concluded: "If the French actually decided to
withdraw, the U.S. would have to consider most seriously whether to take
over in this area."

In 1954, the French, having been unable to win Vietnamese popular
support, which was overwhelmingly behind Ho Chi Minh and the
revolutionary movement, had to withdraw.

An international assemblage at Geneva presided over the peace agreement
between the French and the Vietminh. It was agreed that the French would
temporarily withdraw into the southern part of Vietnam, that the Vietminh
would remain in the north, and that an election would take place in two
years in a unified Vietnam to enable the Vietnamese to choose their own
government.

The United States moved quickly to prevent the unification and to
establish South Vietnam as an American sphere. It set up in Saigon as head
of the government a former Vietnamese official named Ngo Dinh Diem, who
had recently been living in New Jersey, and encouraged him not to hold the
scheduled elections for unification. A memo in early 1954 of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff said that intelligence estimates showed "a settlement
based on free elections would be attended by almost certain loss of the
Associated States [Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam-the three parts of
Indochina created by the Geneva Conference] to Communist control." Diem
again and again blocked the elections requested by the Vietminh, and with
American money and arms his government became more and more firmly
established. As the Pentagon Papers put it: "South Viet Nam was
essentially the creation of the United States."

                              *

During 1965, over 200,000 American soldiers were sent to South Vietnam,
and in 1966, 200,000 more. By early 1968, there were more than 500,000
American troops there, and the U.S. Air Force was dropping bombs at a rate
unequaled in history. Tiny glimmerings of the massive human suffering
under this bombardment came to the outside world. On June 5, 1965, the New
York Times carried a dispatch from Saigon:

As the Communists withdrew from Quangngai last Monday, U.S. jet
bombers pounded the hills into which they were headed. Many Vietnamese 
one
estimate is as high as 500 were killed by the strikes. The American
contention is that they were Vietcong soldiers. But three out of four
patients seeking treatment in a Vietnamese hospital afterward for burns
from napalm, or jellied gasoline, were village women.

On September 6, another press dispatch from Saigon:

"In Bien Hoa province south of Saigon on August 15 United States
aircraft accidentally bombed a Buddhist pagoda and a Catholic church.. .
it was the third time their pagoda had been bombed in 1965. A temple of
the Cao Dai religious sect in the same area had been bombed twice this
year. In another delta province there is a woman who has both arms burned
off by napalm and her eyelids so badly burned that she cannot close them.
When it is time for her to sleep her family puts a blanket over her head.
The woman had two of her children killed in the air strike that maimed
her."

Few Americans appreciate what their nation is doing to South Vietnam
with airpower... innocent civilians are dying every day in South Vietnam.

Large areas of South Vietnam were declared "free fire zones," which
meant that all persons remaining within them-civilians, old people,
children-were considered an enemy, and bombs were dropped at will.
Villages suspected of harboring Viet Cong were subject to "search and
destroy" missions-men of military age in the villages were killed, the
homes were burned, the women, children, and old people were sent off to
refugee camps. Jonathan Schell, in his book The Village of Ben Suc,
describes such an operation: a village surrounded, attacked, a man riding
on a bicycle shot down, three people picnicking by the river shot to
death, the houses destroyed, the women, children, old people herded
together, taken away from their ancestral homes.

The CIA in Vietnam, in a program called "Operation Phoenix," secretly,
without trial, executed at least twenty thousand civilians in South
Vietnam who were suspected of being members of the Communist 
underground.
A pro-administration analyst wrote in the journal Foreign Affairs in
January 1975: "Although the Phoenix program did undoubtedly kill or
incarcerate many innocent civilians, it did also eliminate many members of
the Communist infrastructure."

After the war, the release of records of the International Red Cross
showed that in South Vietnamese prison camps, where at the height of
the war 65,000 to 70,000 people were held and often beaten and tortured,
American advisers observed and sometimes participated. The Red Cross
observers found continuing, systematic brutality at the two principal
Vietnamese POW camps-at Phu Quoc and Qui Nhon, where American 
advisers
were stationed.

By the end of the war, 7 million tons of bombs had been dropped on
Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia-more than twice the amount of bombs
dropped on Europe and Asia in World War II. In addition, poisonous sprays
were dropped by planes to destroy trees and any kind of growth- an area
the size of the state of Massachusetts was covered with such poi son.
Vietnamese mothers reported birth defects in their children. Yale
biologists, using the same poison (2,4,5,T) on mice, reported defective
mice born and said they had no reason to believe the effect on humans was
different.

On March 16, 1968, a company of American soldiers went into the hamlet of
My Lai 4, in Quang Ngai province. They rounded up the inhabitants,
including old people and women with infants in their arms. These people
were ordered into a ditch, where they were methodically shot to death by
American soldiers. The testimony of James Dursi, a rifleman, at the later
trial of Lieutenant William Calley, was reported in the New York Times:

Lieutenant Calley and a weeping rifleman named Paul D. Meadlo the same
soldier who had fed candy to the children before shooting them-pushed the
prisoners into the ditch...

"There was an order to shoot by Lieutenant Calley, I can't remember the
exact words-it was something like 'Start firing.' "Meadlo turned to me and
said: 'Shoot, why don't you shoot?'

"He was crying. "I said, 'I can't. I won't.'

"Then Lieutenant Calley and Meadlo pointed their rifles into the ditch and
fired.

"People were diving on top of each other; mothers were trying to protect
their children...."

Journalist Seymour Hersh, in his book My Lai 4, writes:

"When Army investigators reached the barren area in November, 1969, in
connection with the My Lai probe in the United States, they found mass
graves at three sites, as well as a ditch full of bodies. It was estimated
that between 450 and 500 people-most of them women, children and old men-
had been slain and buried there."

The army tried to cover up what happened. But a letter began circulating
from a GI named Ron Ridenhour, who had heard about the massacre. There
were photos taken of the killing by an army photographer, Ronald Haeberle.
Seymour Hersh, then working for an antiwar news agency in Southeast Asia
called Dispatch News Service, wrote about it. The story of the massacre
had appeared in May 1968 in two French publications, one called Sud
Vietnam en Lutte, and another published by the North Vietnamese delegation
to the peace talks in Paris-but the American press did not pay any
attention.

Several of the officers in the My Lai massacre were put on trial, but only
Lieutenant William Calley was found guilty. He was sentenced to life
imprisonment, but his sentence was reduced twice; he served three
years-Nixon ordered that he be under house arrest rather than a regular
prison-and then was paroled. Thousands of Americans came to his defense.
Part of it was in patriotic justification of his action as necessary
against the "Communists." Part of it seems to have been a feeling that he
was unjustly singled out in a war with many similar atrocities.  Colonel
Oran Henderson, who had been charged with covering up the My Lai killings,
told reporters in early 1971: "Every unit of brigade size has its My Lai
hidden someplace."

Indeed, My Lai was unique only in its details. Hersh reported a letter
sent by a GI to his family, and published in a local newspaper:

"Dear Mom and Dad:

Today we went on a mission and I am not very proud of myself, my
friends, or my country. We burned every hut in sight!

It was a small rural network of villages and the people were incredibly
poor. My unit burned and plundered their meager possessions. Let me try to
explain the situation to you.

The huts here are thatched palm leaves. Each one has a dried mud bunker
inside. These bunkers are to protect the families. Kind of like air raid
shelters.

My unit commanders, however, chose to think that these bunkers are
offensive. So every hut we find that has a bunker we are ordered to burn
to the ground.

When the ten helicopters landed this morning, in the midst of these
huts, and six men jumped out of each "chopper", we were firing the
moment we hit the ground. We fired into all the huts we could....

It is then that we burned these huts.... Everyone is crying, begging and
praying that we don't separate them and take their husbands and fathers,
sons and grandfathers. The women wail and moan.

Then they watch in terror as we burn their homes, personal possessions and
food. Yes, we burn all rice and shoot all livestock."

                               *

The massacre at My Lai by a company of ordinary soldiers was a small
event compared with the plans of high-level military and civilian
leaders to visit massive destruction on the civilian population of
Vietnam. Assistant Secretary of Defense John McNaughton in early 1966,
seeing that large-scale bombing of North Vietnam villages was not
producing the desired result, suggested a different strategy. The air
strikes on villages, he said, would "create a counterproductive wave of
revulsion abroad and at home." He suggested instead:

Destruction of locks and dams, however-if handled right-might...
offer promise. It should be studied. Such destruction doesn't kill or
drown people. By shallow-flooding the rice, it leads after a time to
widespread starvation (more than a million?) unless food is provided-which
we could offer to do "at the conference table."...

The heavy bombings were intended to destroy the will of ordinary
Vietnamese to resist, as in the bombings of German and Japanese
population centers in World War II-despite President Johnson's public
insistence that only "military targets" were being bombed. The government
was using language like "one more turn of the screw" to describe bombing.
The CIA at one point in 1966 recommended a "bombing program of greater
intensity," according to the Pentagon Papers, directed against, in the
ClA's words, "the will of the regime as a target system."

Meanwhile, just across the border of Vietnam, in a neighboring country,
Laos, where a right-wing government installed by the CIA faced a
rebellion, one of the most beautiful areas in the world, the Plain of
Jars, was being destroyed by bombing. This was not reported by the
government or the press, but an American who lived in Laos, Fred Branfman,
told the story in his book Voices from the Plain of Jars:

Over 25,000 attack sorties were flown against the Plain of Jars from
May, 1964, through September, 1969; over 75,000 tons of bombs were
dropped on it; on the ground, thousands were killed and wounded, tens of
thousands driven underground, and the entire aboveground society leveled.

                             *

In September 1973, a former government official in Laos, Jerome
Doolittle, wrote in the New York Times:

"The Pentagon's most recent lies about bombing Cambodia bring back a
question that often occurred to me when I was press attach? at the
American Embassy in Vientiane, Laos.

Why did we bother to lie?

When I first arrived in Laos, I was instructed to answer all press
questions about our massive and merciless bombing campaign in that tiny
country with: "At the request of the Royal Laotian Government, the United
States is conducting unarmed reconnaissance flights accompanied by armed
escorts who have the right to return if fired upon."

This was a lie. Every reporter to whom I told it knew it was a lie.
Hanoi knew it was a lie. The International Control Commission knew it was
a lie. Every interested Congressman and newspaper reader knew it was a
lie....

After all, the lies did serve to keep something from somebody, and the
somebody was us."

By early 1968, the cruelty of the war began touching the conscience of
many Americans. For many others, the problem was that the United States
was unable to win the war, while 40,000 American soldiers were dead by
this time, 250,000 wounded, with no end in sight. (The Vietnam casualties
were many times this number.)

Lyndon Johnson had escalated a brutal war and failed to win it. His
popularity was at an all-time low; he could not appear publicly without a
demonstration against him and the war. The chant "LBJ, LBJ, how many kids
did you kill today?" was heard in demonstrations throughout the country.
In the spring of 1968 Johnson announced he would not run again for
President, and that negotiations for peace would begin with the Vietnamese
in Paris.

In the fall of 1968, Richard Nixon, pledging that he would get the
United States out of Vietnam, was elected President. He began to
withdraw troops; by February 1972, less than 150,000 were left. But the
bombing continued. Nixon's policy was "Vietnamization"-the Saigon
government, with Vietnamese ground troops, using American money and air
power, would carry on the war. Nixon was not ending the war; he was ending
the most unpopular aspect of it, the involvement of American soldiers on
the soil of a faraway country.

In the spring of 1970, Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
launched an invasion of Cambodia, after a long bombardment that the
government never disclosed to the public. The invasion not only led to an
outcry of protest in the United States, it was a military failure, and
Congress resolved that Nixon could not use American troops in extending
the war without congressional approval. The following year, without
American troops, the United States supported a South Vietnamese invasion
of Laos. This too failed. In 1971, 800,000 tons of bombs were dropped by
the United States on Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam.

                               *

... In August of 1965, 61 percent of the population thought the American
involvement in Vietnam was not wrong. By May 1971 it was exactly 
reversed;
61 percent thought our involvement was wrong. Bruce Andrews, a Harvard
student of public opinion, found that the people most opposed to the war
were people over fifty, blacks, and women. He also noted that a study in
the spring of 1964, when Vietnam was a minor issue in the newspapers,
showed that 53 percent of college educated people were willing to send
troops to Vietnam, but only 33 percent of grade school-educated people
were so willing.

It seems that the media, themselves controlled by higher-education,
higher-income people who were more aggressive in foreign policy, tended to
give the erroneous impression that working-class people were superpatriots
for the war. Lewis Lipsitz, in a mid-1968 survey of poor blacks and whites
in the South, paraphrased an attitude he found typical: "The only way to
help the poor man is to get out of that war in Vietnam... These taxes-high
taxes-it's going over yonder to kill people with and I don't see no cause
in it."

The capacity for independent judgment among ordinary Americans is
probably best shown by the swift development of antiwar feeling among
American GIs-volunteers and draftees who came mostly from lower-income
groups. There had been, earlier in American history, in stances of
soldiers' disaffection from the war: isolated mutinies in the
Revolutionary War, refusal of reenlistment in the midst of hostilities in
the Mexican war, desertion and conscientious objection in World War I and
World War II. But Vietnam produced opposition by soldiers and veterans on
a scale, and with a fervor, never seen before.

It began with isolated protests. As early as June 1965, Richard Steinke, a
West Point graduate in Vietnam, refused to board an aircraft taking him to
a remote Vietnamese village. "The Vietnamese war," he said, "is not worth
a single American life." Steinke was court-martialed and dismissed from
the service. The following year, three army privates, one black, one
Puerto Rican, one Lithuanian-Italian-all poor-refused to embark for
Vietnam, denouncing the war as "immoral, illegal, and unjust." They were
court-martialed and imprisoned.

In early 1967, Captain Howard Levy, an army doctor at Fort Jackson,
South Carolina, refused to teach Green Berets, a Special Forces elite in
the military. He said they were "murderers of women and children" and
"killers of peasants." He was court-martialed on the ground that he was
trying to promote disaffection among enlisted men by his statements. The
colonel who presided at the trial said: "The truth of the statements is
not an issue in this case." Levy was convicted and sentenced to prison.

The individual acts multiplied: A black private in Oakland refused to
board a troop plane to Vietnam, although he faced eleven years at hard
labor. A navy nurse, Lieutenant Susan Schnall, was court-martialed for
marching in a peace demonstration while in uniform, and for drop ping
antiwar leaflets from a plane on navy installations. In Norfolk, Virginia,
a sailor refused to train fighter pilots because he said the war was
immoral. An army lieutenant was arrested in Washington, D.C., in early
1968 for picketing the White House with a sign that said: " 120,000
American Casualties-Why?" Two black marines, George Daniels and William
Harvey, were given long prison sentences (Daniels, six years, Harvey, ten
years, both later reduced) for talking to other black marines against the
war.

As the war went on, desertions from the armed forces mounted. Thousands
went to Western Europe-France, Sweden, Holland. Most deserters crossed
into Canada; some estimates were 50,000, others 100,000. Some stayed in
the United States. A few openly defied the military authorities by taking
"sanctuary" in churches, where, surrounded by antiwar friends and
sympathizers, they waited for capture and court-martial. At Boston
University, a thousand students kept vigil for five days and nights in the
chapel, supporting an eighteen-year old deserter, Ray Kroll.

Kroll's story was a common one. He had been inveigled into joining the
army; he came from a poor family, was brought into court, charged with
drunkenness, and given the choice of prison or enlistment. He enlisted.
And then he began to think about the nature of the war.

On a Sunday morning, federal agents showed up at the Boston University
chapel, stomped their way through aisles clogged with students, smashed
down doors, and took Kroll away. From the stockade, he wrote back to
friends: "I ain't gonna kill; it's against my will...." A friend he had
made at the chapel brought him books, and he noted a saying he had found
in one of them: "What we have done will not be lost to all Eternity.
Everything ripens at its time and becomes fruit at its hour."

The GI antiwar movement became more organized. Near Fort Jackson,
South Carolina, the first "GI coffeehouse" was set up, a place where
soldiers could get coffee and doughnuts, find antiwar literature, and talk
freely with others. It was called the UFO, and lasted for several years
before it was declared a "public nuisance" and closed by court action. But
other GI coffeehouses sprang up in half a dozen other places across the
country. An antiwar "bookstore" was opened near Fort Devens,
Massachusetts, and another one at the Newport, Rhode Island, naval base.

Underground newspapers sprang up at military bases across the country; by
1970 more than fifty were circulating. Among them: About Face in Los
Angeles; Fed Up! in Tacoma, Washington; Short Times at Fort Jackson;
Vietnam Gl in Chicago; Graffiti in Heidelberg, Germany; Bragg Briefs in
North Carolina; Last Harass at Fort Gordon, Georgia; Helping Hand at
Mountain Home Air Base, Idaho. These newspapers printed antiwar articles,
gave news about the harassment of GIs and practical advice on the legal
rights of servicemen, told how to resist military domination.

Mixed with feeling against the war was resentment at the cruelty, the
dehumanization, of military life. In the army prisons, the stockades, this
was especially true. In 1968, at the Presidio stockade in California, a
guard shot to death an emotionally disturbed prisoner for walking away
from a work detail. Twenty-seven prisoners then sat down and refused to
work, singing "We Shall Overcome." They were court-martialed, found guilty
of mutiny, and sentenced to terms of up to fourteen years, later reduced
after much public attention and protest.

The dissidence spread to the war front itself. When the great Moratorium
Day demonstrations were taking place in October 1969 in the United States,
some GIs in Vietnam wore black armbands to show their support. A news
photographer reported that in a platoon on patrol near Da Nang, about half
of the men were wearing black armbands. One soldier stationed at Cu Chi
wrote to a friend on October 26, 1970, that separate companies had been
set up for men refusing to go into the field to fight. "It's no big thing
here anymore to refuse to go." The French newspaper Le Monde reported that
in four months, 109 soldiers of the first air cavalry division were
charged with refusal to fight. "A common sight," the correspondent for Le
Monde wrote, "is the black soldier, with his left fist clenched in
defiance of a war he has never considered his own."

Wallace Terry, a black American reporter for Time magazine, taped
conversations with hundreds of black soldiers; he found bitterness
against army racism, disgust with the war, generally low morale. More and
more cases of "fragging" were reported in Vietnam-incidents where
servicemen rolled fragmentation bombs under the tents of officers who were
ordering them into combat, or against whom they had other grievances. The
Pentagon reported 209 fraggings in Vietnam in 1970 alone.

Veterans back from Vietnam formed a group called Vietnam Veterans
Against the War. In December 1970, hundreds of them went to Detroit to
what was called the "Winter Soldier" investigations, to testify publicly
about atrocities they had participated in or seen in Vietnam, committed by
Americans against Vietnamese. In April 1971 more than a thousand of them
went to Washington, D.C., to demonstrate against the war. One by one, they
went up to a wire fence around the Capitol, threw over the fence the
medals they had won in Vietnam, and made brief statements about the war,
sometimes emotionally, sometimes in icy, bitter calm.

In the summer of 1970, twenty-eight commissioned officers of the
military, including some veterans of Vietnam, saying they represented
about 250 other officers, announced formation of the Concerned Officers
Movement against the war. During the fierce bombings of Hanoi and
Haiphong, around Christmas 1972, came the first defiance of B-52 pilots
who refused to fly those missions.

On June 3, 1973, the New York Times reported dropouts among West
Point cadets. Officials there, the reporter wrote, "linked the rate to an
affluent, less disciplined, skeptical, and questioning generation and to
the anti-military mood that a small radical minority and the Vietnam war
had created."

But most of the antiwar action came from ordinary GIs, and most of these
came from lower-income groups-white, black, Native American, Chinese.

A twenty-year-old New York City Chinese-American named Sam Choy
enlisted at seventeen in the army, was sent to Vietnam, was made a cook,
and found himself the target of abuse by fellow GIs, who called him
"Chink"

and "gook" (the term for the Vietnamese) and said he looked like the
enemy. One day he took a rifle and fired warning shots at his
tormentors. "By this time I was near the perimeter of the base and was
thinking of joining the Viet Cong; at least they would trust me. " Choy
was taken by military police, beaten, court-martialed, sentenced to
eighteen months of hard labor at Fort Leavenworth. "They beat me up every
day, like a time clock." He ended his interview with a New York Chinatown
newspaper saying: "One thing: I want to tell all the Chinese kids that the
army made me sick. They made me so sick that I can't stand it."

A dispatch from Phu Bai in April 1972 said that fifty GIs out of 142 men
in the company refused to go on patrol, crying: "This isn't our war!" The
New York Times on July 14,1973, reported that American prisoners of war in
Vietnam, ordered by officers in the POW camp to stop cooperating with the
enemy, shouted back: "Who's the enemy?" They formed a peace committee in
the camp, and a sergeant on the committee later recalled his march from
capture to the POW camp:

Until we got to the first camp, we didn't see a village intact; they
were all destroyed. I sat down and put myself in the middle and asked
myself: Is this right or wrong? Is it right to destroy villages? Is it
right to kill people en masse? After a while it just got to me.

Pentagon officials in Washington and navy spokesmen in San Diego
announced, after the United States withdrew its troops from Vietnam in
1973, that the navy was going to purge itself of "undesirables"- and that
these included as many as six thousand men in the Pacific fleet, "a
substantial proportion of them black." All together, about 563,000 GIs had
received less than honorable discharges. In the year 1973, one of every
five discharges was "less than honorable." indicating something less than
dutiful obedience to the military. By 1971, 177 of every 1,000 American
soldiers were listed as "absent without leave," some of them three or four
times. Deserters doubled from 47,000 in 1967 to 89,000 in 1971.

One of those who stayed, fought, but then turned against the war was
Ron Kovic. His father worked in a supermarket on Long Island. In 1963, at
the age of seventeen, he enlisted in the marines. Two years later, in
Vietnam, at the age of nineteen, his spine was shattered by shellfire.
Paralyzed from the waist down, he was put in a wheelchair. Back in the
States, he observed the brutal treatment of wounded veterans in the
veterans' hospitals, thought more and more about the war, and joined the
Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He went to demonstrations to speak
against the war. One evening he heard actor Donald Sutherland read from
the post-World War I novel by Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun, about a
soldier whose limbs and face were shot away by gunfire, a thinking torso
who invented a way of communicating with the outside world and then beat
out a message so powerful it could not be heard without trembling.

Sutherland began to read the passage and something I will never forget
swept over me. It was as if someone was speaking for everything I ever
went through in the hospital.... I began to shake and I remember there
were tears in my eyes.

Kovic demonstrated against the war, and was arrested. He tells his story
in Born on the Fourth of July:

They help me back into the chair and take me to another part of the
prison building to be booked. "What's your name?" the officer behind the
desk says.

"Ron Kovic," I say. "Occupation, Vietnam veteran against the war."

"What?" he says sarcastically, looking down at me.

"I'm a Vietnam veteran against the war," I almost shout back.

"You should have died over there," he says. He turns to his assistant "I'd
like to take this guy and throw him off the roof."

They fingerprint me and take my picture and put me in a cell. I have
begun to wet my pants like a little baby. The tube has slipped out
during my examination by the doctor. I try to fall asleep but even
though I am exhausted, the anger is alive in me like a huge hot stone in
my chest. I lean my head up against the wall and listen to the toilets
flush again and again.

Kovic and the other veterans drove to Miami to the Republican National
Convention in 1972, went into the Convention Hall, wheeled themselves 
down
the aisles, and as Nixon began his acceptance speech shouted, "Stop the
bombing! Stop the war!" Delegates cursed them: "Traitor!" and Secret
Service men hustled them out of the hall.

In the fall of 1973, with no victory in sight and North Vietnamese
troops entrenched in various parts of the South, the United States
agreed to accept a settlement that would withdraw American troops and
leave the revolutionary troops where they were, until a new elected
government would be set up including Communist and non-Communist 
elements.
But the Saigon government refused to agree, and the United States decided
to make one final attempt to bludgeon the North Vietnamese into
submission. It sent waves of B-52s over Hanoi and Haiphong, destroying
homes and hospitals, killing unknown numbers of civilians. The attack did
not work. Many of the B-52s were shot down, there was angry protest all
over the world-and Kissinger went back to Paris and signed very much the
same peace agreement that had been agreed on before.

The United States withdrew its forces, continuing to give aid to the
Saigon government, but when the North Vietnamese launched at tacks in
early 1975 against the major cities in South Vietnam, the government
collapsed. In late April 1975, North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon. The
American embassy staff fled, along with many Vietnamese who feared
Communist rule, and the long war in Vietnam was over. Saigon was renamed
Ho Chi Minh City, and both parts of Vietnam were unified as the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam.

Traditional history portrays the end of wars as coming from the
initiatives of leaders-negotiations in Paris or Brussels or Geneva or
Versailles-just as it often finds the coming of war a response to the
demand of "the people." The Vietnam war gave clear evidence that at least
for that war (making one wonder about the others) the political leaders
were the last to take steps to end the war-"the people" were far ahead.
The President was always far behind. The Supreme Court silently turned
away from cases challenging the Constitutionality of the war. Congress was
years behind public opinion.

In the spring of 1971, syndicated columnists Rowland Evans and Robert
Novak, two firm supporters of the war, wrote regretfully of a "sudden
outbreak of anti-war emotionalism" in the House of Representatives, and
said: "The anti-war animosities now suddenly so pervasive among House
Democrats are viewed by Administration backers as less anti-Nixon than as
a response to constituent pressures."

It was only after the intervention in Cambodia ended, and only after the
nationwide campus uproar over that invasion, that Congress passed a
resolution declaring that American troops should not be sent into Cambodia
without its approval. And it was not until late 1973, when American troops
had finally been removed from Vietnam, that Congress passed a bill
limiting the power of the President to make war without congressional
consent; even there, in that "War Powers Resolution," the President could
make war for sixty days on his own without a congressional declaration.

The administration tried to persuade the American people that the war was
ending because of its decision to negotiate a peace-not because it was
losing the war, not because of the powerful antiwar movement in the United
States. But the government's own secret memoranda all through the war
testify to its sensitivity at each stage about "public opinion" in the
United States and abroad. The data is in the Pentagon Papers.

In June of 1964, top American military and State Department officials,
including Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, met in Honolulu. "Rusk stated 
that
public opinion on our SEA policy was badly divided and that, therefore,
the President needed an affirmation of support."

Diem had been replaced by a general named Khanh. The Pentagon
historians write: "Upon his return to Saigon on June 5 Ambassador Lodge
went straight from the airport to call on General Khanh... the main thrust
of his talk with Khanh was to hint that the United States Government would
in the immediate future be preparing U.S. public opinion for actions
against North Vietnam." Two months later came the Gulf of Tonkin affair.

On April 2, 1965, a memo from CIA director John McCone suggested that the
bombing of North Vietnam be increased because it was "not sufficiently
severe" to change North Vietnam's policy. "On the other hand... we can
expect increasing pressure to stop the bombing... from various elements of
the American public, from the press, the United Nations and world
opinion." The U.S. should try for a fast knockout before this opinion
could build up, McCone said.

Assistant Secretary of Defense John McNaughton's memo of early 1966
suggested destruction of locks and dams to create mass starvation,
because "strikes at population targets" would "create a
counterproductive wave of revulsion abroad and at home." In May 1967, the
Pentagon historians write: "McNaughton was also very deeply concerned
about the breadth and intensity of public unrest and dissatisfaction with
the war... especially with young people, the underprivileged, the
intelligentsia and the women." McNaughton worried: "Will the move to call
up 20,000 Reserves... polarize opinion to the extent that the 'doves' in
the United States will get out of hand-massive refusals to serve, or to
fight, or to cooperate, or worse?" He warned:

There may be a limit beyond which many Americans and much of the
world will not permit the United States to go. The picture of the world's
greatest superpower killing or seriously injuring 1000 non-combatants a
week, while trying to pound a tiny backward nation into submission, on an
issue whose merits are hotly disputed, is not a pretty one. It could
conceivably produce a costly distortion in the American national
consciousness.

                               *

One sign that the ideas of the antiwar movement had taken hold in the
American public was that juries became more reluctant to convict antiwar
protesters, and local judges too were treating them differently. In
Washington, by 1971, judges were dismissing charges against demonstrators
in cases where two years before they almost certainly would have been sent
to jail. The antiwar groups who had raided draft boards- the Baltimore
Four, the Catonsville Nine, the Milwaukee Fourteen, the Boston Five, and
more-were receiving lighter sentences for the same crimes.

The last group of draft board raiders, the "Camden 28," were priests,
nuns, and laypeople who raided a draft board in Camden, New Jersey, in
August 1971. It was essentially what the Baltimore Four had done four
years earlier, when all were convicted and Phil Berrigan got six years in
prison. But in this instance, the Camden defendants were acquitted by the
jury on all counts. When the verdict was in, one of the jurors, a
fifty-three-year-old black taxi driver from Atlantic City named Samuel
Braithwaite, who had spent eleven years in the army, left a letter for the
defendants:

To you, the clerical physicians with your God-given talents, I say, well
done. Well done for trying to heal the sick irresponsible men, men who
were chosen by the people to govern and lead them. These men, who failed
the people, by raining death and destruction on a hapless country.. You
went out to do your part while your brothers remained in their ivory
towers watching... and hopefully some day in the near future, peace and
harmony may reign to people of all nations.


The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
http://www.freedomarchives.org

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May  4 03:58:26 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May  4 04:10:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10661406.1115204306887.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Lessons for Iraq From Gettysburg
 
 By David Ignatius
 
  GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- The most famous battlefield of the American Civil War might seem an unlikely place to look for lessons about Iraq. But as historian James McPherson leads a group of Pentagon officials in a discussion of postwar reconstruction, some startling common themes emerge.
 
 The Pentagon officials gathered here last weekend for a conference on "Transition From Crisis." The meeting was organized by the Highlands Forum, a discussion group sponsored by the secretary of defense and the Pentagon's research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Usually, the group's meetings focus on the military implications of new technologies, such as nanotechnology or computer networking robotics. But this session was about how to rebuild societies, rather than defeat them militarily. It was Colin Powell's famous "Pottery Barn rule" revisited. You broke it, and now you own it. So how do you put it back together?
 
 To prepare for the discussion, McPherson guided the Army generals and Pentagon civilians along the rocky slope of Little Round Top to where the 20th Maine volunteers launched the mad bayonet charge that saved the Union army's flank, and then to the open field where Confederate Gen. George Pickett made his disastrous charge against the Union lines on Cemetery Ridge. After walking the battlefield, McPherson and the group explored what happened when the war ended -- and the intriguing parallels between postwar Iraq and the postwar South.
 
 The Civil War, like the invasion of Iraq, was a war of transformation in which the victors hoped to reshape the political culture of the vanquished. But as McPherson tells the story, reconstruction posed severe and unexpected tests: The occupying Union army was harassed by an insurgency that fused die-hard remnants of the old plantation power structure with irregular guerrillas. The Union was as unprepared for this struggle as the Coalition Provisional Authority was in Baghdad in 2003. The army of occupation was too small, and its local allies were often corrupt and disorganized.
 
 Reconstruction suffered partly because of a mismatch between a transformational strategy and haphazard tactics. Northern radicals such as Rep. Thaddeus Stevens wanted to break the old slaveholding aristocracy and remake the South into a version of New England, with former slaves and poor whites dividing up the plantations. But within weeks of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, President Andrew Johnson was moving to protect the privileges of the old regime. Even after Johnson was impeached, the government balked at enforcing the tough land-reform strategy evoked by the slogan "Forty Acres and a Mule."
 
 For a time, it still seemed that reconstruction might work. "In 1870 things looked pretty good -- if not rosy, at least optimistic," says McPherson, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1988 narrative, "Battle Cry of Freedom." A black man was serving in the U.S. Senate and Northerners were investing in what they believed would be a new South.
 
 But the insurgency was potent and took more than 1,000 lives. Along with the Ku Klux Klan, there were underground groups such as the White Brotherhood and the Knights of the White Camellia, determined to preserve the old regime's power. White insurgents staged bloody riots in Memphis and New Orleans in 1866. The rebels also drew support from the remnants of irregular Confederate units such as Quantrill's Raiders, which produced the outlaws Frank and Jesse James. "It was a matrix of lawlessness," says Oregon law professor Garrett Epps, who chronicles the period in a forthcoming book, "Second Founding."
 
 The poison that destroyed reconstruction was racial hatred. The white elite managed to convince poor whites that newly freed blacks were their enemies, rather than potential allies. There's an obvious analogy to the Sunni-Shiite divide that has poisoned postwar Iraq. In the South, the die-hard whites began to believe that if they held tough, the North would abandon the campaign to create a new, multiracial South. And it turned out they were right.
 
 By 1877, says McPherson, the North essentially gave up. Demoralized by the economic depression of 1873, Northern investors pulled back from projects in the South and turned their attention to the West. The troops occupying the South were withdrawn. White Southerners, defeated in war, had won the peace. The South slipped into more than 80 years of racism, isolation and economic backwardness.
 
 What lessons does this dismal history convey for U.S. forces in Iraq? First, what you do immediately after the end of hostilities is crucial, and mistakes made then may be impossible to undo. Don't attempt a wholesale transformation of another society unless you have the troops and political will to impose it. Above all, don't let racial or religious hatred destroy democratic political institutions as in the post-bellum South. Giving up on reconstruction led to a social and economic disaster that lasted nearly a century. That's a history nobody should want to repeat, least of all the Iraqi insurgents.
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 07:55:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:01:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bomber Posing as Job Applicant Kills at
	Least 45 in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050504135615.4CDCD9FCE2@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 4, 2005

Bomber Posing as Job Applicant Kills at Least 45 in Iraq
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

A suicide bomber struck a crowd applying for police jobs in the northern city of Irbil in the deadliest attack in over two months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/international/middleeast/04cnd-iraq.html?ex=1115870400&en=dd8ed8c83bfcaea7&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 07:56:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:01:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Politicizing Public Broadcasting
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OPINION | May 4, 2005

Editorial: Politicizing Public Broadcasting


The last thing Americans need is public broadcasting where the politics of the moment limits the news of the day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/opinion/04wed2.html?ex=1115870400&en=d6059a181bf8cb3d&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 07:56:42 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:01:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: An Unrealistic 'Real ID'
Message-ID: <20050504135644.C9C6783E1F@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 4, 2005

Editorial: An Unrealistic 'Real ID'


This federal driver's license mandate being put forth in Congress puts a new burden on the states and potentially subverts the real purpose of driver's licenses: safe drivers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/opinion/04wed1.html?ex=1115870400&en=9e8dd388c95d685a&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 07:57:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:02:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Reaping What It Sowed
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OPINION | May 4, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Reaping What It Sowed
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

The suicide bombings in Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are signs of the struggle that the U.S. attempt to erect democracy in Iraq has touched off.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/opinion/04friedman.html?ex=1115870400&en=255e6a9571bc2f60&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 07:57:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:02:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Politics by Another Means
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OPINION | May 4, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Politics by Another Means
By DAVID LODGE

Reticence and disillusionment are neck and neck in the British general election.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/opinion/04lodge.html?ex=1115870400&en=a8d93e1ef1a08682&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 07:58:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:03:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Still Haunted by Vietnam's Ghosts (6
	Letters)
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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 4, 2005

Still Haunted by Vietnam's Ghosts (6 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/opinion/l04viet.html?ex=1115870400&en=d0f844e18c9d8bff&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 07:59:34 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:04:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraqi Cabinet Is Sworn In,
	but 6 Positions Still Remain Unfilled
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 4, 2005

Iraqi Cabinet Is Sworn In, but 6 Positions Still Remain Unfilled
By ROBERT F. WORTH and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Iraq's first fully and freely elected government remains hobbled by divisions more than three months after the elections.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/international/middleeast/04iraq.html?ex=1115870400&en=e3429aabbe704b3c&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 07:59:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:05:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Palestinian and Israeli Die in Battle in
	West Bank
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 3, 2005

Palestinian and Israeli Die in Battle in West Bank
By GREG MYRE

The shooting reflected the strain on a truce, nearly three months old, that has reduced violence rather than stopping it altogether.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/03/international/middleeast/03mideast.html?ex=1115870400&en=a4097fabde8e0e44&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 08:00:21 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:05:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraq Backlash in Britain May Affect Future
	Military Moves
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INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 4, 2005

Iraq Backlash in Britain May Affect Future Military Moves
By ALAN COWELL

Disclosures about the prelude to the Iraq invasion provoked forecasts that future prime ministers will face greater constraints in sending troops to war.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/international/europe/04britain.html?ex=1115870400&en=fecf80c1bb10b6fb&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May  4 08:00:51 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May  4 07:20:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Suspected Qaeda Chief in Pakistan Is
	Captured
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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 4, 2005

Suspected Qaeda Chief in Pakistan Is Captured
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Authorities arrested the nation's most-wanted militant, the head of al-Qaida operations in Pakistan who had a $10 million bounty on his head, and said Wednesday they now were ''on the right track'' to catch Osama bin Laden.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Pakistan-Terror-Arrests.html?ex=1115870400&en=8089a07fef761ea8&ei=5070



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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May  4 09:28:55 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May  4 09:35:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Suicide bomber hits Iraqi Kurds
Message-ID: <20050504_162855_061544.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Suicide bomber hits Iraqi Kurds **
More than 50 people are killed and dozens wounded in a massive blast in the Kurdish city of Irbil.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4511799.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 May  4 09:31:42 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May  4 09:36:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Ethiopia appeal after 'huge crop'
Message-ID: <20050504_163141_062518.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
3 million need food

** Ethiopia appeal after 'huge crop' **
The Ethiopian government asks for food aid three months after saying there had been a bumper harvest last year.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4513717.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 May  4 09:36:05 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May  4 09:41:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China walks nationalist tightrope
Message-ID: <20050504_163605_055577.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** China walks nationalist tightrope **
Beijing has always made political use of nationalist sentiment, but China also recognises its dangers, writes Louisa Lim.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4508393.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
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From sierrapecheur at verizon.net  Wed May  4 09:48:22 2005
From: sierrapecheur at verizon.net (Sierra Pecheur)
Date: Wed May  4 09:53:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Dark Side Rising - Star Wars Episode III: Revengeof
	the Sith
References: <BAY5-DAV223D33DF40946620FF4B98AB180@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <014501c550c9$15b6fe90$a2c16a47@xplcp>

YUGO, you guys. Sierra

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: <Rhaerther@aol.com>; <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Re: Dark Side Rising - Star Wars Episode III: 
Revengeof the Sith


Are you serious?  :-)

There was a car called a Yugi or something like that I think...... BUT I was 
talking about "Yoda" from "Star Wars" the very Wise Man who was cute and 
Chubby with sort of pointy ears... :-)

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhaerther@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 3 May 2005 14:58:52 -0700
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Dark Side Rising - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of 
the Sith

Barbara, weren't Yoda's those little cars manufactured in East Germany back
in the '70's?  Did you have the two-door or four-dour sedan?  I  remember 
they
were extremely advanced not only by eastern bloc standards, but  Detroit as
well.  The came with rear window heaters that kept your hands  warm while
pushing the car down the road in winter,  were well  sound-proofed from 
outside
noises, after all, you can't hear anything with  the engine roaring next to 
you,
and ran on anything flammable, including  Russian vodka.

Richard Haerther

_______________________________________________
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Mb-civic@islandlists.com
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed May  4 10:24:34 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed May  4 10:30:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fed's error highlights policy role of inflation
Message-ID: <BE9E5362.1FE94%michael@michaelbutler.com>


 
FT.com     
 
Click Here to Print
      EMAIL THIS | Close
 
Fed's error highlights policy role of inflation
>By Andrew Balls in Washington
>Published: May 4 2005 00:35 | Last updated: May 4 2005 00:35
>>

Few 150-word statements are read as widely and as closely as the one
accompanying the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions.

The fact that the Fed on Tuesday chose to own up to an error and face
criticism from traders demonstrated the importance of making a judgment on
inflation expectations in setting monetary policy.

The seven words the Fed omitted just after 2.15pm, and reinserted just
before 4pm, amounted to the same judgment given in each of its previous four
meetings: ?Longer-term inflation expectations remain well contained.?

Well behaved inflation expectations, together with still robust productivity
growth, have allowed the central bank to proceed in ?measured? quarter point
increments as it has raised its target federal funds rate from 1 per cent
last June to 3 per cent on Tuesday.

?If inflation expectations rise, then that's how you get inflation embedded
in wage demands and the pricing system,? said Joshua Feinman, chief
economist at Deutsche Asset Management. ?This is the kind of pernicious
inflation they want to avoid.?

Having to resort to more aggressive rate increases would have disturbed
financial markets considerably more than Tuesday's error.

The Fed looks at various measures of inflation expectations, including the
spread between the yield on the 10-year Treasury note and the yield on
Treasury inflation-protected securities.

Alan Greenspan, Fed chairman, favours a measure based on disaggregating
long-term interest rates, using information from futures markets, to see
what inflation expectations look like in each of the next 10 years.

Such measures remained reassuring, economists said on Tuesday. However, the
Fed also pays close attention to surveys of consumer expectations. The
Michigan survey, released last week, indicated just the kind of increase in
long-term expectations that the Fed does not want to see.

Tuesday's mistake was embarrassing for a central bank that has placed such
emphasis on its communication with markets as a means of driving policy. The
Fed said human error was to blame. A spokesman declined to comment on
whether the confusion followed a discussion among members of the Federal
Open Market Committee as to whether the assurance was still warranted.

But the other change on the inflation language did purposefully indicate
increased concern about inflation pressure.

The FOMC dropped its judgment that higher headline inflation was not feeding
into higher core inflation.

Fed policymakers have been relatively relaxed about the high headline
inflation rate, driven by the oil price. But there is growing concern over
possible effects on business pricing decisions as well as consumer
expectations.

Ian Shepherdson, at High Frequency Economics, said the net effect of the
corrected statement was to make the Fed's message a bit less stark. But, he
added in a note to clients, the clear signal remained that: rates were still
too low; inflation pressures were building; and the slowdown was nothing
like severe enough to induce a pause in the rate increases. The solid pace
of spending growth might have slowed a bit, the statement said, but this was
in large part the result of high energy prices. At most this suggested the
Fed sees the recent lull as another soft-patch, similar to the short-lived
slowdown last summer.

Hardening the language on inflation offset the Fed's acknowledgement of
recent weaker economic data. Since the FOMC does not meet again until the
end of June, it has plenty of time to watch the data.

Mickey Levy, chief economist at Bank of America, said in prescient fashion
after the first version of yesterday's statement was issued: ?I would not
emphasise the tweaking of the language as much as the fact that, after eight
rate increases, the Fed acknowledged that policy remains accommodative and
said it will continue to raise rates at a measured pace.?

>
>
>
 
 
 
Find this article at:
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html
 
Click Here to Print
     EMAIL THIS | Close
 Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article.
 
 

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed May  4 10:49:04 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed May  4 10:53:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The global locomotive loses steam
Message-ID: <BE9E5920.1FE9B%michael@michaelbutler.com>



Economist.com      
    

    
About sponsorship

The global locomotive loses steam
May 4th 2005
>From The Economist Global Agenda


For several years, America?and particularly the American consumer?has been
powering global economic growth. Now, however, the locomotive seems to be
losing momentum. Estimated GDP growth for the first quarter was a
disappointing 3.1%, and other indicators look decidedly soft


IN CERTAIN quarters in America, a dreadful word is once again being
whispered. ?Stagflation?, that puzzling combination of high inflation and
economic stagnation, was once thought impossible. The 1970s disproved that
painfully, but most thought the phenomenon had been banished when the
government got a firmer grip on fiscal and monetary policy. Now, however,
all the economic data indicate that America has hit another economic soft
patch, even as resurgent inflation begins to nibble at purchasing power and
push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Higher oil prices, gaping
foreign-exchange imbalances and disappointing jobs data?could the dark days
of the 1970s be returning?

Hardly. Economic growth, 3.1% for the first quarter, according to an
estimate released on Thursday April 28th, may not be quite as fast as the
nation has got used to (see chart). But it doesn?t compare to the economic
era between the first oil shock in 1973 and the successful assault on
inflation by Paul Volcker, the then Fed chairman, in the early 1980s. That
period saw three recessions, double-digit inflation and unemployment mostly
in the 6-10% range. Now, America is seeing moderate GDP growth, moderate
core inflation (3.3% for the three months to March) and a 5.2% unemployment
rate. Even oil prices are less painful than in the bad old days: in real
terms, they were nearly twice as high in the 1970s.

But if the hour of doom is not quite at hand, there are still good reasons
to worry. Though a 3.1% growth rate would be envied in most European
countries, it is probably still below the natural rate at which America?s
economy can grow without touching off inflation; that rate is estimated to
be 3.5-4%. The rapid pace of America?s economic recovery, and its voracious
appetite for imports, have been among the strongest pillars underpinning
global growth in recent years. Of the other big economies, only Britain is
in relatively good health; France, Germany and Japan are ailing. But should
America falter, Britain?s economy is neither big enough nor sufficiently
import-hungry to take up the slack.

So far, America?s consumers have saved the day, spending big even through
recession, high oil prices and a costly war in Iraq. But to do so, they have
taken on a lot of debt, drawing down home equity and piling into credit
cards. Low interest rates have kept their monthly payments modest, even as
their debt has shot up. But as interest rates rise?on Tuesday, the Fed
announced an eighth successive quarter-point increase in its federal funds
rate, to 3%?this well of consumer demand seems to be running dry. Moreover,
payments on credit-card debt and adjustable-rate mortgages will squeeze
consumers when interest rates increase further, as most economists reckon
they will.

By this stage in the economic cycle, the job market should have been taking
the slack, boosting consumer confidence?and incomes. But though the slowdown
of 2000-01 did not feature the heavy job losses common in earlier slowdowns,
employment figures have not yet picked up as they should. Though the
unemployment rate has remained surprisingly low throughout, this is
deceptive. It stayed low partly because of a big rise in people who had
given up looking for work. The number of people claiming disability benefits
has also increased; these are no longer counted in the labour force. A
better measure of the employment picture is payrolls, which only surpassed
their February 2001 peak in January of this year. Since the working-age
population has grown over those four years, this means the jobs picture is
still decidedly troubling.

The most likely explanation for sluggish recovery in payrolls comes from
Erica Groshen and Simon Potter of the Federal Reserve. They argue that while
most unemployment in earlier slowdowns was cyclical?firms laying off
employees who would then get their jobs back (or ones very like them) when
the economy picked up?in the last two it has increasingly been structural,
meaning that people need to switch sectors, locations or skills in order to
find a job. Since it takes much longer to do the latter, payrolls are not
rebounding as they used to.

No longer shopping till they drop

Already, the numbers show that consumer spending is weakening, with growth
falling to 3.5% in the first quarter from 4.2% in the previous one; the
latest figures show consumer confidence down sharply. Further moderation is
expected, as high oil prices and rising debt payments curtail disposable
incomes. There had been hope that businesses would step in to help, but the
latest figures make that unlikely. Inventories rose sharply in the first
quarter; if goods that were stockpiled rather than sold are left out, GDP
grew by only 1.9%. In April, manufacturing activity grew at the slowest pace
since July 2003. And durable goods orders fell in March for the third month
in a row, with a particularly sharp fall of 4.7% in non-defence capital
goods, an indicator of business-investment levels. Shipments of those goods
also fell. With less capital equipment, and inventories piling up in their
warehouses, companies seem set for lower production in the months ahead.
That, in turn, will make the jobs outlook less sunny.

There are other clouds on the horizon. Though the impact of higher oil
prices has probably already made itself felt, this could change if oil
prices rise. Though inflation remains moderate, it is still high enough that
the Fed will need to control it by raising interest rates, even if growth is
slowing down. And there are also worries about America?s increasingly frothy
housing market and surging current-account deficit.

Still, if the future looks darker than the recent past, this may be because
in many ways the recent past has been unusually bright. While Alan
Greenspan, the Fed chairman, did not quite engineer the ?soft landing? that
many had hoped for at the height of the boom, he has presided over a
slowdown that could barely be called a recession, and a quick recovery.
Cheap Chinese imports have helped America avoid the high inflation that
would otherwise have been the natural result of the extremely low interest
rates enjoyed since 2001. Those low rates have also enabled Americans to
increase their spending without increasing their incomes. Tax cuts, financed
by foreign investors who buy American bonds at bargain rates, have even put
a little extra money in their pockets. After such halcyon days, it is
undoubtedly hard to return to modest growth and consumer spending. But
barring an oil shock or some other external crisis, Americans can keep their
bellbottoms in the wardrobe.



Copyright ? 2005 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights
reserved.


From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed May  4 10:51:00 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed May  4 10:55:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Army Withheld Details about Tillman's Death By Josh White
Message-ID: <BE9E5994.1FE9C%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Army Withheld Details about Tillman's Death
    By Josh White
    The Washington Post

    Wednesday 04 May 2005

    Investigator quickly learned 'friendly fire' killed athlete.

    The first Army investigator who looked into the death of former NFL
player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan last year found within days that he was
killed by his fellow Rangers in an act of "gross negligence," but Army
officials decided not to inform Tillman's family or the public until weeks
after a nationally televised memorial service.

    A new Army report on the death shows that top Army officials, including
the theater commander, Gen. John P. Abizaid, were told that Tillman's death
was fratricide days before the service.

    Soldiers on the scene said they were immediately sure Tillman was killed
by a barrage of American bullets as he took shelter behind a large boulder
during a twilight firefight along a narrow canyon road near the Pakistani
border, according to nearly 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and
investigative reports obtained by The Washington Post.

    The documents also show that officers made erroneous initial reports
that Tillman was killed by enemy fire, destroyed critical evidence and
initially concealed the truth from Tillman's brother, also an Army Ranger,
who was near the attack on April 22, 2004, but did not witness it.

    Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones prepared the report in response to questions
from Tillman's family and from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz). Jones concluded
that there was no official reluctance to report the truth but that "nothing
has contributed more to an atmosphere of suspicion by the family than the
failure to tell the family that Cpl. Pat Tillman's death was the result of
suspected friendly fire, as soon as that information became known within
military channels."

    "Notifying families in a timely way that they have had a loved one
killed or severely injured is complex and imperfect work. We can do better,"
said Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman. "At the heart of every notification
effort is a commitment to compassion and completeness in providing
information as it is known to those who sustained the loss. That is what
happened in the case of Corporal Tillman, and that effort continues to this
day."

    In interviews with Jones, soldiers who were with Tillman when he died
said they immediately reported that other Rangers, riding in a Humvee,
emptied their weapons at his position on a hill without first identifying
who they were shooting. Perceiving they were in a heated firefight, the
soldiers rounded a corner and used several high-powered weapons to kill an
Afghan Militia Force soldier working with the Rangers before pausing and
turning their guns on Tillman. About 65 meters away, Tillman had been waving
his arms and throwing a smoke grenade to signal his unit that he was not an
enemy fighter.

    Jones reported that "some soldiers lost situational awareness to the
point they had no idea where they were."

    Tillman's death was an enormous blow to the image of the Army and the
Special Forces because of his storybook personal narrative. Tillman turned
down a multimillion-dollar football contract with the Arizona Cardinals to
enlist in the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He and his
brother joined the elite Army Rangers and deployed to Iraq and later
Afghanistan, hunting the Taliban and al Qaeda through mountainous terrain.

    While parts of the unit's mission were classified -- one of six volumes
of Jones's report contains entirely classified material -- Jones found that
the operation on April 22, 2004, was a routine "confirm or deny" trip to
determine whether enemy combatants were in the town of Manah. Commanders did
not think hostile forces were in Manah, the report said, but an order to
hurry up and get troops on the ground there before dusk was passed on
because "we were trying to get them back and save them for the next part of
the fight," an unnamed officer said in redacted documents.

    Tillman's platoon had to split up because of a broken Humvee. Tillman's
half went ahead toward the town. When the second half of the platoon
followed through the canyon, it reportedly came under enemy fire. Tillman
grabbed another Ranger and the Afghan soldier and got into position to lend
fire support. When the second half of the platoon rounded a corner, they
mistook the trio as foes.

    In the documents, the soldiers who fired on Tillman cite many reasons
for the confusion: The sun was going down and lighting conditions were bad;
soldiers shot where they saw muzzle flashes but did not appropriately
determine a target; they shot in the same direction as their team leader,
assuming that he was firing at the enemy.

    "I've replayed the events of that day and my actions in response to the
events in my mind countless times . . . given the same circumstances and
having the same information I had, I would do the same thing," one soldier
wrote in response to his punishment, which was getting kicked out of the
Rangers. "I engaged men that I believed to be the enemy with the intent of
killing them."

    Another soldier wrote: "I wish that I would have taken a half second to
positively identify the targets instead of following another SOP (shoot
where your team leader shoots). Maybe CPL Tillman would still be alive or
maybe the outcome would still have been the same, but at least I wouldn't
have to live with the guilt and reexperience that ambush while I sleep."

    After the shooting, Tillman's brother was not informed about what had
happened and was flown back to the United States with his brother's body.
Officers told the soldiers not to talk about the incident "to prevent
rumors" and news reports.

    "I mean, it's horrible that Pat was dead. Absolutely horrible. But it
hurts even more to know that it was one of our own guys that did it . . .,"
one soldier told Jones. "We just, we didn't want to get anything, you know,
bad said about the regiment or anything like that. That was my guess to what
the whole thing was about. We didn't want the world finding out what
actually happened."

    The first report about Tillman's death within Army channels -- sent at
4:40 p.m. April 22 -- said that Tillman died in a medical treatment facility
after his vehicle came under direct and indirect fire, attributing the
gunshot wounds he received to "enemy forces." An investigation was
immediately launched, and several documents show that the local chain of
command was largely convinced it was fratricide from the beginning.

    The next day, Tillman's Ranger body armor was burned because it was
covered in blood and was considered a "biohazard." His uniform was also
burned. Jones noted that this amounted to the destruction of evidence.

    Soldiers reported they burned the evidence because "we knew at the time,
based on taking the pictures and walking around it it was a fratricide. . .
. We knew in our hearts what had happened, and we weren't going to lie about
it. So we weren't thinking about proof or anything."

    An initial investigation found fratricide just days later. Top
commanders within the U.S. Central Command, including Abizaid, were notified
by April 29 -- four days before Tillman's memorial service in San Jose,
Calif., where he was given a posthumous Silver Star Award. Jones concluded
that Tillman, who was bravely leading his fire team into battle, was given
the award based on what he intended to do.

    The family learned about Tillman's fratricide over Memorial Day weekend,
several weeks later. Commanders felt they could not hold on to the old
version because the Rangers were returning home and "everybody knows the
story," the documents show.

    Seven soldiers were given administrative reprimands for their actions,
the most serious of which were for dereliction of duty and failing to
exercise sound judgment and fire discipline in combat operations. Jones did
not address the appropriateness of the punishments.

    One of the initial investigators, who issued a finding of "gross
negligence" by the soldiers who shot Tillman, told Jones he felt the
punishments did not fit with his finding. The investigator said he felt the
chain of command allowed the soldiers to change their stories to protect
individuals.

    "They didn't get their due just punishment," the investigator, whose
name is censored in the report, told Jones. "I guess that's why I was
frustrated at how it all unfolded."

 

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed May  4 11:01:47 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed May  4 11:06:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Alleged al-Qaida No. 3 arrested in Pakistan - Terrorism
	& Security - MSNBC.com
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV16E7E22DCF281880D9F667AB190@phx.gbl>

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

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7732035/


From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed May  4 11:14:47 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed May  4 11:19:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Report: Nichols accuses third man in 1995 bombing -
 Terrorism & Security - MSNBC.com
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV312EFE96FEA412221173C0AB190@phx.gbl>

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

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7729978/


From harperalexander at mail.com  Wed May  4 11:32:17 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Wed May  4 11:37:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The bogus case for an indefensible war - Mary Dejevsky.
Message-ID: <20050504183217.BE0B96F028@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com>

What she has to say (in the Independent)about our own Dear Little Leader's justification for going to war with Iraq applies equally, if not in spades, to your own Dear Leader. How proud we can feel of both of them. The strange thing is that although neither the British nor US electorates profess to have any time for liars, they still vote for them. Was my nanny wrong all the time? Why did she smack me for fibbing?
Al Baraka




  Mary Dejevsky: The bogus case for an indefensible war
It is hard to identify a single consequence of the Iraq war that has been in our national interest
04 May 2005


What a wondrously flexible concept is the "national interest". And haven't we heard a lot about it since the Iraq war landed belatedly in the middle of this campaign? Tony Blair hardly speaks of the war now, except in terms of the "national interest". Yesterday, with Mr Blair under attack from the widow of Britain's latest casualty, Gordon Brown rode to the rescue with - what else? - but a self-justifying reference to "the British national interest".

So let us be charitable for a moment and try to explain how Mr Blair might indeed have believed this at the time. He was confronted with intelligence which he believed - as I say, let us be charitable - proved that Iraq possessed lethal weapons and was in breach of a dozen UN Security Council resolutions. Some of this intelligence suggested that Saddam Hussein might be seeking a nuclear capability. Another equally discredited nugget suggested he might have missiles with a range that could reach Cyprus.

This was the closest that the intelligence came to indicating a direct security threat to Britain. Among the wider considerations that Mr Blair might have considered in the category "national interest", the first would be our military alliance and residual "special relationship" with the United States. A second might be Britain's diplomatic interest in bridging the US-Europe divide by trying to keep the United States within international rules. A third might be termed idealistic: the desire to help eliminate a regional threat, bring freedom to Iraq and perhaps further afield. And a fourth might have been the ambition to tap a new and secure source of oil.

These are all reasons which, with varying degrees of plausibility, Mr Blair might have used to justify the war. That he rarely cited the national interest at the time, or explained its components, suggests that this might not have been quite as paramount a consideration as he has made it with hindsight.

Even putting the best gloss on it, though, the "national interest" looks hazy as a contemporaneous justification for going to war. Two years on, however, it looks utterly indefensible. Only someone wilfully blind to the consequences could still describe the invasion of Iraq as being in the British interest. Yet this is what Mr Blair says he believes.

The intelligence has turned out to be, in the words of the latest US inquiry report, "dead wrong". We now know Iraq was not a threat.

If one consideration was to protect the "special relationship", it rebounded disastrously. Relations with the United States were severely damaged by the war and the incompetence of the planning for the aftermath. They have still not recovered. A generation of Britons is now predisposed to think of America and George Bush with hostility. The exchange of intelligence, regarded by the British as one benefit, if not the benefit, of the special relationship proved worse than useless. Each side talked up the - wrongly interpreted - intelligence of the other. We would have been better without it.

The effect of the failed pre-war diplomacy was that Britain was forced to choose between the US and Europe. As Mr Blair says, with regret, there was no "middle way". He chose the US, thus splitting Britain from its major European partners, setting back our European credentials at least a decade and poisoning the entente with France. The diplomatic concessions that Britain has since made in an effort to repair the damage outweigh any short-term favour Britain may have curried with Washington.

In Iraq itself, Britain has put its troops in danger, and continues to suffer casualties. The mission that was intended to bring peace and freedom created mayhem that was costly to both sides. The occupation not only placed Britain on the wrong side of international law, but will have stored up resentment among Iraqis for years to come. The same goes for Britain's reputation in much of the Arab world and in Britain, with our own Muslim community. The British and US governments are now united in many Muslim eyes as aggressors.

If Mr Blair believed the violent overthrow of the Iraqi leadership would cause democracy to spread across the region, he has misjudged things. The most promising countries for democracy are those where the transition has been nurtured from within. Iraq has a partial government that is not in control of the country and is riven along ethnic lines. It provides fertile ground for the very terrorist threat the war was supposed to thwart.

In sum, it is hard to identify a single consequence of the Iraq war that has been in our national interest. Yet in all the pre-election questioning, no one has challenged Mr Blair to explain himself. An appeal to patriotism, it seems, grants immunity. That is what makes the national interest such a damnably clever defence.

m.dejevsky@independent.co.uk 
   


-- 
___________________________________________________________
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From Harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May  4 17:15:25 2005
From: Harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Wed May  4 17:20:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] E-mail Story to a Friend
Message-ID: <200505050015.j450FPD11607@starscream.nandomedia.com>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May  4 17:34:26 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed May  4 17:39:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] I have no time for Ann Coulter
Message-ID: <000b01c5510a$348a2a40$5b27e440@Harold>

I have no time for Ann Coulter, as do these students (some should have keep their aggression down)

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash4act.htm

Just because she sells books does not mean she is right, "The Simpson's" sell more books and TV spots than she does!

There are 360 odd million Americans, if she sells 300,000 books does that make her thoughts/opinions the dominate thought?

Ann Coulter, like Dennis Murphy is in it for only the money, other wise she would be running for a political seat and would "do" what she thinks......

Later H
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Wed May  4 16:57:10 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Wed May  4 17:41:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - PENTAGON PROBES TALES OF FORCED PRAYER AT
	U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Message-ID: <20050504235710.B5D9169AFB@nmweb08.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
____________________________________________________
PENTAGON PROBES TALES OF FORCED PRAYER AT U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY
WebPosted Wed May  4 10:23:47 2005

Colorado Springs---The Pentagon will investigate the U.S. Air Force
Academy after cadets complained that they were ordered to pray and told
they'd go to hell if they didn't preach the word of God.

Michael L. Dominguez, acting secretary of the U.S. air force, announced
Tuesday that a task force will visit the Colorado Springs, Colo., campus
of the academy after 55 cases of religious intolerance were uncovered
through internal surveys.

Dominguez said senior commanders will be put under review to see if they
"enhance or detract from a climate that respects &#8230; the free
exercise of religion."

Among the complaints:

A professor who required cadets to pray before taking a test. A chaplain
who warned anyone not spreading the word of God would "burn in the fires
of hell." A coach who hung a banner in the locker room declaring: "I Am a
Member of Team Jesus Christ." The academy's second-in-command, Brig.-Gen.
Johnny Weida, sent an e-mail to cadets: "The Lord is in control. He has a
plan for &#8230; every one of us."

The academy was under scrutiny only two years ago after 150 women came
forward to say they had been assaulted by fellow cadets over the past
decade and that commanders ignored their complaints. The academy's top
commanders were replaced.

The task force will examine several areas:

The air force and academy policies on religious respect. The academy's
religious climate. The practices of the academy's leaders. The academy's
methods of dealing with complaints. How the academy's religious climate
affects the air force.

Many of the students said commanders showed favouritism towards
Christians. They also said they were pressured by students and staff to
attend religious services at the chapel.

Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State
said evangelical Christians exert too much power and applauded the
creation of the task force.

Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group, criticized the
investigation, saying, "The air force trains the cadets to make the
ultimate sacrifice if necessary, and even to imply that it is wrong to
talk about the ultimate meaning of life, which is religious, is absurd."

The task force is scheduled to release its preliminary report May 23.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Wed May  4 16:59:28 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Wed May  4 17:41:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - REPORT ACCUSES PERU'S PRESIDENT OF VOTE FRAUD
Message-ID: <20050504235928.7A0B069AFB@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
____________________________________________________
REPORT ACCUSES PERU'S PRESIDENT OF VOTE FRAUD
WebPosted Wed May  4 00:38:23 2005

LIMA---A congressional report has accused Peru's president of
participating in a plot to forge signatures to register his
political party.

But the report, released Tuesday, immediately drew fire because it was
approved by only three of the five congressmen who investigated the
allegations for months.

The report alleges that President Alejandro Toledo and his sister
supervised the systematic forging of hundreds of thousands of names to
make his Peru Possible party eligible in the 2000 election.

The report won't become official unless the 120-member Congress
accepts it.

Toledo has immunity from prosecution as president, but he would lose it
if Congress decided to fire him on constitutional grounds.

Toledo has denied that he had any involvement in alleged vote fraud.


He agreed to answer questions from the commission, but then refused to do
so under oath or to be recorded electronically.

Toledo has been dogged by allegations of corruption since he took
power in 2001.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Wed May  4 17:00:44 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Wed May  4 17:41:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - IBM AXING UP TO 13,000 JOBS  
Message-ID: <20050505000044.714951B679@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
____________________________________________________
IBM AXING UP TO 13,000 JOBS  
WebPosted Wed May  4 17:29:46 2005

New York---International Business Machines Corp. will cut between 10,000
and 13,000 jobs, with most of the reductions planned for Europe, the
company announced Wednesday.

IBM said the cuts, which are in line with analysts' estimates, will
result in a pre-tax charge of between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion US in
the second quarter.

Chief financial officer Mark Loughridge signalled last month that the
company would undertake a "sizeable restructuring" after announcing
disappointing first-quarter earnings that missed analysts' estimates by
five cents a share.

IBM began cutting jobs in Europe even before the quarterly results came
out. It said it plans to realign its European operations and
organizational structure to reduce bureaucracy in lower-growth countries.

The company currently has a worldwide workforce of 329,000. It has about
20,000 employees in Canada, with about 11,000 in the Toronto area. There
was no word on whether they'd be affected by the cuts.

Shares of IBM were up 60 cents at $77.07 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May  5 03:38:35 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May  5 03:43:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10177063.1115289515881.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Top Al Qaeda Figure Is Held in Pakistan
 
 By Kamran Khan  and John Lancaster
 
  KARACHI, Pakistan, May 4 -- An al Qaeda operative described by U.S. intelligence sources as the third-ranking figure in the terrorist organization has been captured in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, officials disclosed Wednesday. He is accused of having plotted two assassination attempts against Pakistan's president.
 
 Abu Faraj al-Libbi, a Libyan, was seized with three other men after a shootout Saturday in the town of Mardan, about 40 miles northeast of the city of Peshawar, Pakistani and U.S. officials said.
 
 The capture of al-Libbi, the most senior al Qaeda official after the group's leader, Osama bin Laden, and his deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, marked a major strike against its new generation of leaders, according to U.S. officials in Washington and terrorism analysts.
 
 Although al-Libbi was all but unknown at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the officials said, he took a principal role in al Qaeda operations in Pakistan after the March 2003 arrest of his mentor, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the Sept. 11 attacks.
 
 "If he's a big fish, it's because it's a much smaller pond," Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corp., a nonprofit research organization, said from Washington. "He has advanced through the ranks because of attrition in al Qaeda. It shows how this movement has a knack for replacing serious operatives -- a deep bench."
 
 Al-Libbi's association with bin Laden goes back to the al Qaeda chief's time in Sudan before he fled to Afghanistan in 1996, according to one senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
 
 More recently, al-Libbi not only ran military training for the terrorist group but worked on sending members to other countries, the official said. Al-Libbi was mentioned in connection with threatened terrorist plots in the United States before the 2004 presidential election, he added. A former senior CIA official who was aware of al-Libbi during that period described his capture as "a very big deal."
 
 A senior Pakistani intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the arrests were carried out after U.S. intelligence sources provided Pakistani authorities with communications intercepts and information gathered by American forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
 
 "Like many other significant al Qaeda captures here, our men made the crucial strike, while the lead came from the Americans," the senior official said.
 
 In Washington, President Bush hailed the capture as an important victory.
 
 "Al-Libbi is a top general for bin Laden," Bush said at the start of a previously scheduled speech on Social Security. "He was a major facilitator and a chief planner for the al Qaeda network. His arrest removes a dangerous enemy who was a direct threat to America and to those who love freedom."
 
 Al-Libbi, 42, has been identified by Pakistani officials as the principal financier and planner of the December 2003 assassination attempts against Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president. In an interview last summer, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said al-Libbi was directing terrorist operations in Pakistan and elsewhere from the remote tribal region of South Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan. Pakistani authorities had offered a reward of about $335,000 for his capture.
 
 Pakistan's interior minister, Aftab Sherpao, said in an interview Wednesday that al-Libbi took over as al Qaeda's chief operations planner after Mohammed's arrest. Al-Libbi has told interrogators during the last few days that "his dream was to make another 9/11-type terrorist strike in London or New York," Sherpao said.
 
 But al-Libbi was not on the FBI's list of most-wanted terrorists even though U.S. intelligence officials described him as high-ranking.
 
 The arrest was the most important in Pakistan since that of another top al Qaeda suspect, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, last July 25, Sherpao said. Ghailani was wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa.
 
 Like hundreds of other al Qaeda suspects captured in Pakistan since the fall of Afghanistan's fundamentalist Taliban government in late 2001, Mohammed and Ghailani were quickly turned over to the United States. But Pakistani officials said Wednesday that they had no plans to hand over al-Libbi and that he would be put on trial in Pakistan for trying to assassinate the president.
 
 "As KSM's successor, his first task was to kill President Musharraf," a Pakistani official said, using Mohammed's initials. "He organized a terrific network of Pakistani al Qaeda sympathizers and nearly got the president in December 2003."
 
 Al-Libbi allegedly planned the attacks with help from Amjad Hussain Farooqi, a 32-year-old Pakistani from the radical group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. Farooqi recruited Pakistani air force technicians and low-ranking army and police personnel to carry out the attacks.
 
 In the second one, on Dec. 25, 2003, two suicide bombers drove vehicles packed with explosives into Musharraf's motorcade in Rawalpindi, the Islamabad suburb where the president resides. Nineteen people were killed, but Musharraf was unscathed. Farooqi, who was also suspected of involvement in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of a Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl, was killed in a shootout with Pakistani intelligence agents in September.
 
 Last year, Pakistani newspapers published advertisements naming al-Libbi, Farooqi and three other men as the country's most-wanted terrorists. A photograph of al-Libbi, who sometimes went by the alias Dr. Taufeeq, showed a well-groomed man with a neatly trimmed beard in a Western-style sport coat and tie.
 
 A photograph taken after his capture and released by Pakistani authorities Wednesday suggested that life as a fugitive had taken its toll. It showed a haggard-looking man with blotchy skin. A Pakistani intelligence official said there were indications that al-Libbi was suffering from kidney trouble.
 
 Pakistani officials provided no details on the three men arrested with al-Libbi.
 
 The arrests came just before the arrival in Islamabad on Monday of Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, and Gen. Mike Jackson, the British chief of general staff. Both were briefed on the arrest before their separate meetings with Musharraf on Monday and Tuesday.
 
 Lancaster reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Staff writers Susan B. Glasser and Walter Pincus in Washington contributed to this report.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May  5 03:41:05 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May  5 03:46:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14132106.1115289665041.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Christian Complex
 
 By George F. Will
 
  The state of America's political discourse is such that the president has felt it necessary to declare that unbelievers can be good Americans. In last week's prime-time news conference, he said: "If you choose not to worship, you're equally as patriotic as somebody who does worship."
 
 So Mark Twain, Oliver Wendell Holmes and a long, luminous list of other skeptics can be spared the posthumous ignominy of being stricken from the rolls of exemplary Americans. And almost 30 million living Americans welcomed that presidential benediction.
 
 According to the American Religious Identification Survey, Americans who answer "none" when asked to identify their religion numbered 29.4 million in 2001, more than double the 14.3 million in 1990. If unbelievers had their own state -- the state of None -- its population would be more than twice that of New England's six states, and None would be the nation's second-largest state:
 
 California, 34.5 million.
 
 None, 29.4 million.
 
 Texas, 21.3 million.
 
 The president, whose political instincts, at least, are no longer so misunderestimated by his despisers, may have hoped his remarks about unbelievers would undo some of the damage done by the Terri Schiavo case. During that Florida controversy, he made a late-night flight from his Texas ranch to Washington to dramatize his signing of imprudent legislation that his party was primarily responsible for passing. He and his party seemed to have subcontracted governance to certain especially fervid religious supporters.
 
 And last Sunday Pat Robertson, who is fervid but also shrewd, seemed to understand that religious conservatives should be a bit more meek if they want to inherit the Earth. Robertson was asked on ABC's "This Week" whether religious conservatives would be seriously disaffected if in 2008 the Republicans' presidential nominee were to be someone like Rudy Giuliani.
 
 Although Giuliani's eight years as New York's mayor, measured by such achievements as reduction of crime and welfare rolls, constitute perhaps America's most transformative conservative governance in the past half-century, he supports abortion rights, gay rights and gun control. Still, Robertson's relaxed reply to the question was, essentially: What's a little heresy among friends? "Rudy's a very good friend of mine and he did a super job running the city of New York and I think he'd make a good president."
 
 Some Christians should practice the magnanimity of the strong rather than cultivate the grievances of the weak. But many Christians are joining today's scramble for the status of victims. There is much lamentation about various "assaults" on "people of faith." Christians are indeed experiencing some petty insults and indignities concerning things such as restrictions on school Christmas observances. But their persecution complex is unbecoming because it is unrealistic.
 
 In just 15 months, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" has become one of the 10 highest-grossing movies in history, and it almost certainly will become the most-seen movie in history. The television networks, which can read election returns and the sales figures of "The Da Vinci Code," are getting religion, of sorts. The Associated Press reports that NBC is developing a show called "The Book of Daniel" about a minister who abuses prescription drugs and is visited by a "cool, contemporary Jesus." Fox is working on a pilot about "a priest teaming with a neurologist to examine unexplained events."
 
 Christian book sales are booming. "The Rising" by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, the 13th in the astonishing 10-year sequence of Christian novels in the "Left Behind" series, was published two months ago and rocketed to the top of Amazon.com's bestseller list. Three years ago LaHaye and Jenkins, whose first dozen volumes have sold a combined 62 million copies, joined Tom Clancy, John Grisham and J.K. Rowling as the only authors whose novels have first printings of 2 million, partly because they are being sold in huge volumes in stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco. Today LaHaye and Jenkins are leaving Clancy, Grisham, et al. in the dust.
 
 Religion is today banished from the public square? John Kennedy finished his first report to the nation on the Soviet missiles in Cuba with these words: "Thank you and good night." It would be a rash president who today did not conclude a major address by saying, as President Ronald Reagan began the custom of doing, something very like "God bless America."
 
 Unbelievers should not cavil about this acknowledgment of majority sensibilities. But Republicans should not seem to require, de facto, what the Constitution forbids, de jure: "No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust."
 
 georgewill@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May  5 03:43:50 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May  5 03:48:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29363283.1115289830311.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Price of Polarization
 
 By Jim Hoagland
 
  Whenever politicians proclaim that it is time for a great national debate on Issue X, it usually means they have no idea what to do about X. Over to you, John Q.
 
 But deflection carries risk in an era when the international political zeitgeist  is dominated by paradox and backlash. At home and abroad, the tribalization of modern politics makes debate-mongering an unpredictable enterprise.
 
 Ask George W. Bush, who sees his approval ratings and the support for Social Security reform decline even as he spends his political capital spotlighting that issue. Or ask Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder how they fare in selling the French and other Europeans on their   duty to endorse a dense if worthy constitution for the European Union.
 
 Self-inflicted wounds are the most interesting of political mistakes. President Chirac could have had the French Parliament ratify the constitution -- which is in fact a diplomatic treaty -- and avoided the now apparent risks in a May 29 referendum. And Bush was not responding to public clamor on Social Security.
 
 In both cases, many citizens may resent being dragged into complicated problems that they elect and employ politicians to resolve for them. "The people" understand, at least on an instinctive level, that what is really at stake when they are called in is a breakdown of compromise and trust among the politicians themselves.
 
 The mood of popular backlash spans the Atlantic: Bush's curious initial 60-day tour to rally support for a big but essentially unexplained idea bore a striking resemblance to the obfuscatory political campaign that Chirac has mounted to get French voters to endorse a 70,000-word document that few of them will even try to read.
 
 That telltale measure of the trouble that Chirac faces came this week when I heard French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier express joy that "this is a rare moment when the French are debating [the concept of] Europe." The people, he explained, "have understood that we have to have the means if we want a strong Europe" and will thus vote yes.
 
 Interesting if true. Even more interesting for an American is how Chirac  initially sought  to get votes by framing the constitution as a bulwark against "ultra-liberal capitalism" and, by implication, against American power in the world. Chirac has since softened these references, but German Chancellor Schroeder echoed the sentiment last week by claiming that there was interest outside of Europe in seeing the constitution fail.
 
 The Bush administration has in fact publicly endorsed a stronger Europe and adopted a positive attitude toward the constitution, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated to Barnier this week. But those statements can go ignored if they conflict with the political needs of the moment.
 
 As Wolfgang Schaeuble, a senior Christian Democratic politician, told John Vinocur of the International Herald Tribune in Berlin: "People here don't like Bush, and Schroeder tries to run for election against him every day of the year."
 
 There is clear tribal appeal in such tactics. Unfortunately, their use is not limited to Schroeder or to the other side of the Atlantic. Just as allied leaders who once cooperated against Cold War threats now find political profit in emphasizing their disagreements -- the tactic is not unknown at the Bush White House or Tony Blair's Downing Street office -- the governing class in Washington today is riven by give-no-quarter political competition that denigrates compromise across party and ideological lines.
 
 The Bush White House bears a great deal of the responsibility for what the president correctly deplores as a "lack of civility" in polarized Washington. His decision to force a public debate on Social Security, rather than follow the Reagan-era model of empowering a bipartisan commission to make painful compromises behind closed doors, is a good example of the confrontational approach and its costs.
 
 The Democratic minority in Congress responds in kind, preferring political gain from opposing Bush (and his nominees) to compromises that would result in credit for the president. I once covered tribal politics in Kenya. The atmosphere in Washington today would be familiar to any Kikuyu or Luo politician I knew there.
 
 "We are not just opponents or rivals now. We are enemies, with every fight being zero-sum," says a senior Republican lawmaker  sorrowfully. Echoes a Democrat: "Compromise is seen as weakness by many of your constituents, and by all of your potential opponents in the next primary."
 
 Walter Lippmann wrote in 1925 that Americans would always favor a political system that created "not parties of principle, but governing majorities." The reverse would be disastrous, he suggested. Half-right, Mr. Lippmann.
 
 jimhoagland@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May  5 03:45:37 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May  5 03:50:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24518991.1115289937872.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War
 
 By Dan Eggen
 
  The focus of the drug war in the United States has shifted significantly over the past decade from hard drugs to marijuana, which now accounts for nearly half of all drug arrests nationwide, according to an analysis of federal crime statistics released yesterday.
 
 The study of FBI data by a Washington-based think tank, the Sentencing Project, found that the proportion of heroin and cocaine cases plummeted from 55 percent of all drug arrests in 1992 to less than 30 percent 10 years later. During the same period, marijuana arrests rose from 28 percent of the total to 45 percent.
 
 Coming in the wake of the focus on crack cocaine in the late 1980s, the increasing emphasis on marijuana enforcement was accompanied by a dramatic rise in overall drug arrests, from fewer than 1.1 million in 1990 to more than 1.5 million a decade later. Eighty percent of that increase came from marijuana arrests, the study found.
 
 The rapid increase has not had a significant impact on prisons, however, because just 6 percent of the arrests resulted in felony convictions, the study found. The most widely quoted household survey on the topic has shown relatively little change in the overall rate of marijuana use over the same time period, experts said.
 
 "In reality, the war on drugs as pursued in the 1990s was to a large degree a war on marijuana," said Ryan S. King, the study's co-author and a research associate at the Sentencing Project. "Marijuana is the most widely used illegal substance, but that doesn't explain this level of growth over time. . . . The question is, is this really where we want to be spending all our money?"
 
 The think tank is a left-leaning group that advocates alternatives to traditional imprisonment. Criminologists and government officials confirmed the trend, which in some ways marks a return to a previous era. In 1982, marijuana arrests accounted for 72 percent of all drug arrests, according to the study.
 
 Bush administration officials attribute the rise in marijuana arrests to a variety of factors: increased use among teenagers during parts of the 1990s; efforts by local police departments to focus more on street-level offenses; and growing concerns over the danger posed by modern, more potent versions of marijuana. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released a study yesterday showing that youth who use marijuana are more likely to develop serious mental health problems, including depression and schizophrenia.
 
 "This is not Cheech and Chong marijuana," said David Murray, a policy analyst for the anti-drug office. "It's a qualitatively different drug, and that's reflected in the numbers."
 
 The new statistics come amid signs of a renewed debate in political circles over the efficacy of U.S. drug policies, which have received less attention recently amid historically low crime rates and a focus on terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, for example, has formed a national committee to oversee prosecution of violent drug gangs and has vowed to focus more resources on the fight against methamphetamine manufacturers and other drug traffickers.
 
 But increasingly, some experts have begun to argue that the U.S. drug war, which costs an estimated $35 billion a year, has had a minimal impact on consumption of illicit substances. The conservative American Enterprise Institute published a report in March titled "Are We Losing the War on Drugs?" Its authors argue that, among other things, "criminal punishment of marijuana use does not appear to be justified."
 
 The study released yesterday by the Sentencing Project found that arrests for marijuana account for nearly all of the increase in drug arrests seen during the 1990s. The report also found that one in four people in state prisons for marijuana offenses can be classified as a "low-level offender," and it estimated that $4 billion a year is spent on arresting and prosecuting marijuana crimes.
 
 In addition, the study showed that although African Americans make up 14 percent of marijuana users generally, they account for nearly a third of all marijuana arrests.
 
 Among the most striking findings was the researchers' examination of arrest trends in New York City, which focused intently on "zero tolerance" policies during Rudolph W. Giuliani's mayoral administration. Marijuana arrests in the city increased tenfold from 1990 to 2002, from 5,100 to more than 50,000, the report said. Nine of 10 of arrests in 2002 were for possession rather than dealing.
 
 The study also found a wide disparity in the growth of marijuana arrests in some of the United States' largest counties, from a 20 percent increase in San Diego to a 418 percent spike in King County, Wash. (The only decrease in the sample came in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County, where marijuana arrests declined by 37 percent.)
 
 "There's been a major change in what's going on in drug enforcement, but it clearly isn't something that someone set out to do," said Jonathan Caulkins, a criminology professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. "It's not like anyone said, 'We don't care about cocaine and heroin anymore.' . . . The simple answer may be that police are now taking opportunities to make more marijuana arrests than they were when they were focused on crack cocaine in the 1980s."
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May  5 05:57:26 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Thu May  5 06:02:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Military hid the truth of friendly
	fire that killed US hero
Message-ID: <20050505125726.594D02110@herring.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

Will this ever be published in the US?
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Military hid the truth of friendly fire that killed US hero
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Thursday May 05 2005
The Guardian


Pat Tillman was an all-American hero even before he died: a football star who traded in his jersey and a multimillion-dollar contract for a US army uniform and a distant war in the mountains of Afghanistan. When he was killed, in a firefight at twilight in an Afghan ravine, the White House called him an "inspiration". 

But yesterday, more than a year after Tillman's death, it emerged that the US military hid the inglorious truth that he was killed by friendly fire in order not to detract from an image-burnishing nationally televised memorial service.  

Tillman's Army Rangers realised almost immediately after his death on April 22 2004 that he had been killed by friendly fire, an act of "gross negligence" in the words of a US army investigator. However, military officials, including the forces commander, General John Abizaid, decided to withhold that finding for several weeks, the Washington Post reported yesterday.  

As one of the soldiers at the scene told US army investigators: "It's horrible that Pat was dead. Absolutely horrible. But it hurts even more to know that it was one of our own guys that did it. We just didn't want to get anything, you know, bad said about the regiment or anything like that. That was my guess to what the whole thing was about. We didn't want the world finding out what actually happened."  

The military sat on the truth   until May 29 2004, when commanders realised that the official version of Tillman's death would not hold up against the eyewitness accounts emerging from homecoming troops, the newspaper said.  

By then, Tillman was already a hero, awarded a posthumous Silver Star and immortalised in half-time ceremonies at National Football League games. His former teammates on the Arizona Cardinals retired his number - 40 - and emblazoned it on their helmets.  

Tillman's legend began in the heated days following the September 11 2001 attacks, when he walked away from a lucrative career as a defensive back to enlist in the US army.  

"I play football, and it just seems so goddamn - it is - unimportant compared to everything that's taken place,"   he said at the time. "My grandfather was at Pearl Harbor and a lot of my family has gone and fought in wars, and I really haven't done a damn thing."  

His younger brother, Kevin, a minor league baseball player, also enlisted. But he never captured the public imagination in the way that Pat Tillman did - the legend growing further when it became known he had turned down an offer to leave the army to return to football in December 2003.  

Four months later he was dead, aged 27. His obituary in Newsweek said: "This is the cost of war in Afghanistan and Iraq: the loss of so much promise and potential."  

Yesterday's report, based on nearly 2,000 pages of documents obtained by the Washington Post, makes the loss even more painful.   

It describes scenes of utter confusion in which two groups of Army Rangers emptied their weapons against each other without first identifying where they were shooting. In the fading light, some troops resorted to firing at muzzle flashes. Others just followed the aim of their team leader.  

Tillman waved from behind the boulder where he had sought shelter, and set off a smoke grenade to show that he was a fellow American. Other accounts of his last moments, which surfaced last year, recall the former football player shouting desperately to his fellow soldiers: "Cease fire! Friendlies!"  

"Some soldiers lost situational awareness to the point where they had no idea where they were," the report's author, Brigadier General Gary Jones,   is quoted as saying. Seven soldiers were later reprimanded.  

There was no immediate reaction from Tillman's family yesterday. His parents have been scathing about the US military's attempts to manage their son's legacy, enlisting the support of the senator and Vietnam hero John McCain to press the Pentagon to produce the report.  

"I'm disgusted by things that have happened with the Pentagon since my son's death," his mother, Mary, told the Los Angeles Times last year. "I don't trust them one bit."    


Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May  5 06:06:32 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Thu May  5 06:11:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Pentagon analyst accused of spying
	for Israel lobby
Message-ID: <20050505130632.9EF9421FA@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

Pentagon analyst accused of spying for Israel lobby
Julian Borger
Thursday May 05 2005
The Guardian


A Pentagon analyst was arrested by the FBI yesterday on charges of passing classified information to the main pro-Israel lobby in Washington. 

Larry Franklin, a Farsi-speaking Iran specialist at the Defence Intelligence Agency, surrendered to the FBI yesterday and was expected to appear before a judge in Virginia.  

He is reported to have given secret documents to two senior officials from the American Israel public affairs committee, its policy director, Steven Rosen, and Iran specialist, Keith Weissman. Some of the information found its way to the Israeli government and the committee sacked the two officials last month.  

The nature of the classified documents is not clear. According to some reports it involved potential attacks against US forces in Iraq, possibly involving Iranian agents operating in that country.  

Mr Franklin's arrest is a serious blow to the group of neo-conservative ideologues who worked for the under-secretary of defence for policy, Douglas Feith. They played an important role in taking the US into the Iraq war, and have since then advocated regime change in Iran. Mr Feith, 58, is due to retire this summer and his adviser on the Middle East, Harold Rhode, is also reported to have left his job.  

"The true ideologues seem to be on the way out," Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA counter-terrorism chief, said yesterday. "And their ability to manipulate information flow to their advantage is reduced."  

According to US press reports, Mr Franklin came under suspicion when he turned up at a lunch in the Washington suburbs with officials from the public affairs committee who were already under FBI surveillance, and passed on the classified information.  

The FBI has carried out two searches of the committee's offices and taken away computer files. Agents have also searched Mr Franklin's home in Virginia. He is being held on charges that he illegally passed to employees of the pro-Israel group classified information about potential Iranian-backed attacks against US forces in Iraq.  

Mr Franklin and Mr Rhode were at the centre of another scandal, in 2003, when it emerged they had met Manucher Ghorbanifar, an Iranian businessman who served in the mid-1980s as a middleman organising deliveries of arms to Iran in return for the release of American hostages. Since then, Mr Ghorbanifar had been denounced as a fabricator by the CIA in an official "burn" notice circulated among US intelligence agencies.  

Lawyers for the two committee officials sacked over the scandal have insisted the pair were not involved in any wrongdoing. "Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman have not violated any US law or [committee] policy," the lawyers said. "Contrary to press reports, they have never solicited, received or passed on any classified documents."  

However, the committee, which raises millions of dollars in campaign contributions for pro-Israel US politicians, distanced itself from the statement, saying it had sacked the two men after hearing new information from investigators.  

Until his arrest, Mr Franklin was still working in the defence department but he had been transferred to a lower-level job. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Thu May  5 07:51:44 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Thu May  5 07:56:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] impeachable offense
Message-ID: <20050505145144.1830.qmail@web53002.mail.yahoo.com>

http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/05/05/ana05013.html

Impeachment Time: "Facts Were Fixed."


A BUZZFLASH GUEST NEWS ANALYSIS 
by Greg Palast


Here it is. The smoking gun. The memo that has,
"IMPEACH HIM" written  all over it.


The top-level government memo marked "SECRET AND
STRICTLY PERSONAL," dated eight months before
Bush sent us into Iraq, following a closed
meeting with the President, reads, "Military
action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to
remove Saddam through military action justified
by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the
intelligence and facts were being fixed around
the policy."


Read that again: "The intelligence and facts were
being fixed...."


For years, after each damning report on BBC TV,
"Isn't this grounds for impeachment?" Vote
rigging, a blind eye to terror and the bin Ladens
before 9-11, and so on. Evil, stupidity and
self-dealing are shameful  but not impeachable.
What's needed is a "high crime or misdemeanor."


And if this ain't it, nothing is.


The memo, uncovered this week by the Times, goes
on to describe an elaborate  plan by George Bush
and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to hoodwink
 the planet into supporting an attack on Iraq
knowing full well the evidence  for war was a
phony.


A conspiracy to commit serial fraud is, under
federal law, racketeering.  However, the Mob's
schemes never cost so many lives.


Here's more. "Bush had made up his mind to take
military action. But the case was thin. Saddam
was not threatening his neighbors, and  his WMD
capability was less than that of Libya, North
Korea or Iran."


Really? But Mr. Bush told us, "Intelligence
gathered by this and other governments leaves no
doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess 
and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever
devised."


A month ago, the Silberman-Robb Commission issued
its report on WMD  intelligence before the war,
dismissing claims that Bush fixed the facts  with
this snotty, condescending conclusion written
directly to the President, "After  a thorough
review, the Commission found no indication that
the Intelligence  Community distorted the
evidence regarding Iraq's weapons."


We now know the report was a bogus 618 pages of
thick whitewash aimed  to let Bush off the hook
for his murderous mendacity.


Read on: The invasion build-up was then set, says
the memo, "beginning  30 days before the US
Congressional elections." Mission accomplished.


You should parse the entire memo and see if you
can make it through  its three pages without
losing your lunch.


Now sharp readers may note they didn't see this
memo, in fact, printed  in the New York Times. It
wasn't. Rather, it was splashed across the  front
pages of the Times of LONDON on Monday.


It has effectively finished the last, sorry
remnants of Tony Blair's political career. (While
his Labor Party will most assuredly win the
elections today, Prime Minister Blair is
expected, possibly within months,  to be shoved
overboard in favor of his Chancellor of the
Exchequer, a  political execution which requires
only a vote of the Labour party's  members in
Parliament.)


But in the US, barely a word. The New York Times
covers this hard evidence  of Bush's fabrication
of a causus belli as some "British" elections 
story. Apparently, our President's fraud isn't
"news fit to print."


My colleagues in the UK press have skewered
Blair, digging out more  incriminating memos,
challenging the official government factoids and 
fibs. But in the US press ...nada, bubkiss,
zilch. Bush fixed the  facts and somehow that's a
story for "over there."


The Republicans impeached Bill Clinton over his
cigar and Monica's affections.  And the US media
could print nothing else.


Now, we have the stone, cold evidence of bending
intelligence to sell  us on death by the
thousands, and neither a Republican Congress nor
what  is laughably called US journalism thought
it not worth a second look.


My friend Daniel Ellsberg once said that what's
good about the American  people is that you have
to lie to them. What's bad about Americans is 
that it's so easy to do.


A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Greg Palast, former columnist for Britain's
Guardian papers, is the author of the New York
Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can
Buy. Subscribe to his columns at www.GregPalast.com.
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May  5 08:16:22 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May  5 08:21:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: The threat to India's main tiger centre
Message-ID: <20050505_151622_031520.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** The threat to India's main tiger centre **
KS Shaini reports on the threat to tigers in India's Madhya Pradesh state.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4497925.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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webmasters@bbc.co.uk making sure you include the following text: I do
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May  5 08:17:12 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May  5 08:22:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Sculpture breaks auction record
Message-ID: <20050505_151712_024491.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Sculpture breaks auction record **
A little-known sculpture by Romanian Constantin Brancusi fetches $27.4m (?14.4m) at auction.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/4516303.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 Harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May  5 08:22:00 2005
From: Harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Thu May  5 08:27:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. Officials Suspected of Embezzlement in Iraq
Message-ID: <26092559.1115306520685.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: Harry S

--------------------
U.S. Officials Suspected of Embezzlement in Iraq 
--------------------

Nearly $100 million in reconstruction funds is unaccounted for, investigators say.

By T. Christian Miller
Times Staff Writer

May 5 2005

WASHINGTON &#8212; The U.S. government has opened a criminal inquiry into suspected embezzlement by officials who failed to account for almost $100 million they disbursed for Iraqi reconstruction projects, federal investigators said Wednesday. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-fraud5may05,0,7432321.story?coll=la-home-headlines 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From harperalexander at mail.com  Thu May  5 08:25:57 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Thu May  5 08:31:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] America has better manners than UK (??) - Indie
Message-ID: <20050505152557.A72DA101D9@ws1-3.us4.outblaze.com>

I am not sure that I agree with her. One gets the feeling that in the US politics may well be better mannered but then it is pretty anodyne in its presentation. PR has taken the guts out of it. In the UK it is pretty rough and tumble but it seems more authentic. I don't know what you asll think.
Al baraka 

  Janet Street-Porter: Show a little more respect, please
America has turned out to possess in spades the one quality missing here - good manners
05 May 2005


Today sees the culmination of an election campaign characterised by resentment, accusations and counter-accusations, suspicion and apathy. Desperate for a break from the uninspiring battle between Blair, Howard and Kennedy, I spent Saturday night in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Washington, at the 91st annual White House correspondents' dinner. A raucous, dressy affair, it was preceded by drinks parties hosted by all the major news networks. I chatted to Helen Mirren as Condoleezza Rice made her way across the room. Richard Gere was sitting on the next table, Elle MacPherson a few feet away.

The guests were a mixture of journalists, government officials, broadcasters and celebrities - Lachlan Murdoch, Mary Tyler Moore, Robert Duvall, Jane Fonda, Dennis Hopper and LL Cool J. After the dinner, Democrats, Republicans, and lobbyists listened as the President made a mercifully brief speech and then handed over to his wife who stylishly delivered a well-written comedy monologue, claiming she was a "desperate housewife" whose husband was in bed each night by 9pm. The room rocked with appreciative laughter - no sneering and no fawning. Mrs Bush stole the show. The point of the story is, I just couldn't imagine it happening in Britain. America, the country we've spent so long mocking as a load of xenophobic, uncultured, obese simpletons, has turned out to possess in spades the one quality that has been missing at every level from our election campaign: good manners.

After a bitter and narrowly contested American presidential election campaign last year, the world hasn't ground to a halt, business is continuing as normal. On occasions like this, Americans are able to set aside their political differences and behave in a civilised manner.

It would be impossible to stage an event in Britain like the one I attended in Washington. Over here, the evening would be disrupted by hecklers, the flashing of bare bottoms, the waving of placards and uncontrollable ranting. And, if he were asked to speak, Mr Blair wouldn't have got a word in edgeways as pro-hunters or animal rights protesters would have stormed the stage. The icing on the cake would probably be a couple of chaps in superman gear from Fathers 4 Justice abseiling from the balcony. And as for Cherie Blair getting a laugh? No chance. Some might call this imagined scenario the exercising of freedom of speech - but, to me, our increasingly raucous and belligerent behaviour towards politicians has become symptomatic of something darker.

During this election campaign, millions of viewers who would never normally stay up for Newsnight have tuned in to see Jeremy Paxman savagely attack the party leaders on television, as if they were witnessing a legal blood sport. In discussion programmes on all channels over the past few weeks, large numbers of the public seem to have lost what little manners they ever had and regard it as their democratic right to bellow, heckle and snarl at Mr Blair, taking up where Mr Paxman left off. There is no sense of respect at all. The man must be punished and punished most publicly. Mr Howard is addressed as if he's a slightly slippery chap you've run into at the pub.

Not surprisingly, the two main party leaders have retaliated and turned walkabouts into photo opportunities with little opportunity for "free speech" and interaction with the mob. And to be fair, the public are only picking up on how they see politicians themselves behave.

When they are not being patronising and obtuse and refusing to answer anything directly, they are major league sulkers. Blair and Brown, like two pandas being prepared for the mating ritual, have temporarily buried the hatchet for the final countdown. But their body language is pathetic, more appropriate for Kevin the stroppy teenager than a couple of middle- aged married men. Two powerful women, whatever their differences, would never stoop to this pathetic level of whispers, innuendo and obvious distrust.

Then there's Mr Prescott, far more bellicose and charmless than the much-maligned Wayne Rooney. In 2001, Mr Prescott slogged a protester in front of the cameras - far from getting a red card, he was rewarded with the deputy premiership. This time around, he has told a Welsh reporter to bugger off and get off the campaign bus, slagged off John Birt to the press and been incensed by a few harmless Greenpeace protesters, not to mention anyone who dares to ask a question he can't inarticulately waffle his way out of.

Can you honestly go and tell young people to seek a career in politics with this lot of role models at the helm? Mr Howard signally fails to let anyone else in his party say anything and Mr Kennedy still seems best suited to a career as a television chat show host. I'm not surprised that the Electoral Commission rejected the idea of giving the vote to 16-year-olds last year - young people are far more idealistic than our elected representatives.

There are some exceptions - on the Today programme the other morning, good manners and civility prevailed as Freddie Forsyth, Brian Eno and David Hare discussed their voting intentions. For 10 wonderful minutes, no one interrupted each other, they all managed to articulate different positions without calling each other liars, they didn't trash each other's track record and sneering was totally absent.

It was situation normal next day as the professional politicians sounded increasingly desperate. Mind you, the rowdy behaviour shown by some of the public lately could stem from feeling ignored by the people they elected to run the country. A million people demonstrated against a war in Iraq - but no one in power seemed to notice. Millions will see the votes they cast today make little difference - because our politicians have denied us the undoubtedly fairer system of proportional representation.

The Tories have conducted a negative campaign focused on fear - fear of crime and asylum-seekers, fear of unnamed invaders of their vision of Little Britain. Ordinary people are asked to vote for a government that has increased bureaucracy tenfold and whose leader places healthpolicy at the top of his priorities but who has no idea of how to get an appointment to visit a doctor. We teach citizenship, but almost a quarter of all children leave primary school not being able to read and write properly. Joined-up government?

The turnout at the polls today will probably be the lowest since the Second World War, reflecting a serious breakdown in trust between politicians and their voters. Both sides have behaved badly, but bad-mouthing and trashing people you don't agree with is no way to run a classroom or a football match, let alone the country. 
   

-- 
___________________________________________________________
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May  5 10:32:44 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May  5 09:38:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Judge Rejects Abuse Plea After Ringleader
	Testifies
Message-ID: <20050505163302.0DA5F24AFAA@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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NATIONAL | May 5, 2005

Judge Rejects Abuse Plea After Ringleader Testifies
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

The court martial of Pfc. Lynndie R. England, accused of abusing naked Iraqi detainees, was declared a mistrial.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/05/national/05abuse.html?ex=1115956800&en=d706b15479a7de0a&ei=5070



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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May  5 10:33:48 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May  5 09:40:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pentagon Analyst Charged With Disclosing
	Military Secrets
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WASHINGTON | May 5, 2005

Pentagon Analyst Charged With Disclosing Military Secrets
By DAVID JOHNSTON and ERIC LICHTBLAU

The analyst is accused of giving data about possible attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq to workers of a pro-Israel lobbying group.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/05/politics/05spy.html?ex=1115956800&en=301d4fa36320408e&ei=5070



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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May  5 10:35:43 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May  5 09:41:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 2 on Ethics Panel Withdraw From Any DeLay
	Inquiry
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WASHINGTON | May 5, 2005

2 on Ethics Panel Withdraw From Any DeLay Inquiry
By CARL HULSE

Two Republicans in the House ethics committee who contributed to the legal defense fund of Tom DeLay recused themselves from any potential investigation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/05/politics/05ethics.html?ex=1115956800&en=7b255396564e69fc&ei=5070



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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May  5 10:37:34 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May  5 09:42:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Better Way to Fight Poverty
Message-ID: <20050505163735.810C613B7DC@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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

OPINION | May 5, 2005

Editorial: A Better Way to Fight Poverty


The United Nations program in Sauri, Nairobi, shows how aid can bypass governments and go straight into the hands of the people who need it the most.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/05/opinion/05thu1.html?ex=1115956800&en=ab6953c8abcd0660&ei=5070




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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May  5 10:38:15 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May  5 09:43:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Thrift Imperative
Message-ID: <20050505163825.CF13E11F994@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 5, 2005

Editorial: The Thrift Imperative


The United States' low rate of national savings is making the stock market skittish.

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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May  5 10:39:05 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May  5 09:44:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Lifting the Censor's Veil on the Shame of
	Iraq
Message-ID: <20050505163905.DB3611C226@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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

OPINION | May 5, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Lifting the Censor's Veil on the Shame of Iraq
By BOB HERBERT

Photographs from the Iraq war show the extreme horrors of warfare.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/05/opinion/05herbert.html?ex=1115956800&en=b39978d3179e4f26&ei=5070




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From goodhairdays at yahoo.com  Wed May  4 19:33:31 2005
From: goodhairdays at yahoo.com (Jonathon Johnson)
Date: Thu May  5 10:04:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] [Mb-hair] The Not-so-good Shepherd
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May  5 10:40:19 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May  5 10:10:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Stuck in Lincoln's Land
Message-ID: <20050505165540.459729FC4B@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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

OPINION | May 5, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Stuck in Lincoln's Land
By DAVID BROOKS

Finding worth between the sacred and secular.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/05/opinion/05brooks.html?ex=1115956800&en=9418c57f859f05fb&ei=5070




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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu May  5 10:10:41 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu May  5 10:16:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] New US Democrats deal blow to Cafta approval
Message-ID: <BE9FA1A1.1FF47%michael@michaelbutler.com>


 
FT.com     
 
Click Here to Print
      EMAIL THIS | Close
 
New US Democrats deal blow to Cafta approval
>By Christopher Swann and Edward Alden in Washington
>Published: May 4 2005 21:09 | Last updated: May 5 2005 01:06
>>

The Bush administration has suffered a setback in its efforts to win
congressional approval for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, after
an influential group of pro-free trade Democratic lawmakers came out against
the deal.

The House New Democrat Coalition, which has traditionally supported trade
deals, said the deal provided inadequate guarantees of workers' rights in
Central America and condemned the administration for cutting support for US
workers displaced by trade.

Three of the four Democrats opposing Cafta also voted against granting new
trade promotion authority to President George W. Bush in 2001. That bill
passed the House by a single vote, with the support of just 21 Democrats,
after Republican leaders pressed several recalcitrant Republicans to change
their votes.

But in 2001 Cal Dooley of California played a crucial role in rounding up
Democratic votes. Today Mr Dooley is no longer in Congress and the White
House lacks a Democratic free-trade champion: only three have said publicly
they would support Cafta.

?Free trade cannot simply mean reducing barriers,? said Ellen Tauscher of
California, chair of the New Democrat Coalition. ?We are ardent supporters
of free trade but this deal reduces our ability to enforce labour
standards.? The group also accused the US Trade Representative's office of
failing to bridge the political divide, which the USTR denied.

The main concern of the New Democrats is that Cafta puts insufficient
pressure on Central American countries to improve worker rights including
the right to set up unions.

Adam Smith, a Washington state congressman and one of the leading New
Democrats, said the Caribbean Basin Initiative the existing US trade deal
with Central America could be rescinded by Congress if countries were
failing to improve labour standards. ?Cafta would give us much less
leverage,? he said.

The administration says the International Labour Organisation considers
Central America's labour laws to be generally in line with core standards.
Under Cafta, countries failing to enforce their labour laws could be fined
up to $15m (?7.5m, ?8m) per violation. That money would then be sent to the
offending country's labour ministry to help improve standards.

?Previously the only leverage we have had was to revoke trade privileges
altogether, but this is a very crude instrument, and neither Democrats nor
Republicans have been willing to do this,? said Chris Padilla, assistant
USTR. ?Fines are much more effective.?
>
>
>
 
 
 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu May  5 10:46:47 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu May  5 10:51:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] US Launches Probe of Alleged Embezzling in Iraq
Message-ID: <BE9FAA17.1FF57%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    US Launches Probe of Alleged Embezzling in Iraq
    By T. Christian Miller
    The Los Angeles Times

    Wednesday, May 4, 2005

    Washington - The U.S. government has opened a criminal inquiry into
suspected embezzling by officials who failed to account for nearly $100
million they disbursed for Iraqi reconstruction projects, federal
investigators said Wednesday.

    Auditors have been unable to fully document how the money was doled out
to Iraqi workers by a small group of officials working from a U.S. outpost
in Hillah, according to an audit report released Wednesday by Stuart W.
Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

    The auditors found "significant" problems in the Hillah office,
including one case in which an official fired for mishandling funds was
allowed to continue disbursing money nearly a month after his termination.

    The case marks the first time that U.S. government officials have been
investigated for a major corruption scheme involving Iraq reconstruction
efforts, which have been marred by allegations against Iraqis and
contractors from the United States and elsewhere.

    The reconstruction funds that were examined came from seized assets of
Saddam Hussein's regime and from Iraqi oil revenue, not from U.S. taxpayer
funds.

    A few other U.S. officials in Iraq have drawn scrutiny by investigators
for smaller incidents, though none have been charged. In the cases now under
investigation, the report notes questionable accounting practices by several
officers involving millions of dollars over 16 months, ending last October.

    Investigators are looking at a "handful" of possible suspects, said Jim
Mitchell, a spokesman for the special inspector general's office. He
cautioned that the inquiry was in an early stage, saying that the
discrepancies uncovered by the auditors warranted referral to criminal
investigators.

    He also said it was unclear whether the U.S. officials were operating in
concert, since they served at different times.

    "We're not saying the money is lost. We're saying they can't account for
it," Mitchell said.

    In the inquiry, one U.S. official told auditors that he was given $6.75
million on June 21 and told that he had to spend the money by June 28, the
day that the U.S.-led occupation administration turned over sovereignty to
an interim Iraqi government.

    U.S. officials "were under the impression that it was more important to
quickly distribute the money to the region than to obtain all necessary
documentation," the audit said.

    Auditors were struck by a series of apparent accounting errors in the
Rapid Regional Response Program, an obscure rebuilding effort operated from
the Hillah office. The program was designed to jump-start reconstruction in
south-central Iraq by allowing local U.S. officials to quickly issue
contracts worth up to $200,000 each.

    To pay for work under the contracts in Iraq's cash-based economy, the
United States appointed military personnel and civilians to physically hand
out cash to Iraqis. The U.S. officials were then supposed to reconcile those
payments with receipts. But the auditors found that such receipts were
lacking or incomplete for $96.6 million of the $119.9 million in payments.

    In one case, two U.S. officials left Iraq after completing their tours
of duty without accounting for a total of $1.5 million. The manager of the
cash funds simply zeroed out the balance on a spreadsheet -- an apparent
attempt "to remove outstanding balances by simply washing accounts," the
audit said. The officials, like all others in the audit, were not named.

    In another case, the United States ordered the removal of the official
in charge of the overall cash program on May 30, but he remained in office
until June 20. When told he had failed to account for $1,878,870, the
official returned exactly that amount three days later -- leading to
suspicions that the official had "a reserve of cash and turned in only the
amount" need to complete the clearance process, the report said.

    In yet another case, one payment official had three errors in his
accounting books. In one example, he told superiors that he gave $311,100 to
another U.S. official when he had actually handed over $1,210,000 -- leaving
it unclear what happened to $898,900, the report said.

    Two other audits, also released Wednesday, criticized the overall U.S.
handling of Iraqi and U.S. funds. For contracts funded with Iraqi money,
contract officers could not show that services had been delivered for more
than half of 300 contracts valued at $332.9 million.

    For contracts funded with $18.4 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds, contract
officers could not even find about a quarter of 48 contracts that had been
selected for review. Other contracts were found stuffed in drawers or
misfiled with other contracts.

    U.S. officials responding to the audits acknowledged problems and vowed
to fix them. They blamed the discrepancies on the difficulty of operating in
a wartime environment.

    The officials cited difficulties such as high turnover, security
concerns and even a lack of basic office supplies, like file cabinets, for
causing the problems.

 

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May  5 12:37:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May  5 13:00:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: CO2 prolongs life of 'space junk'
Message-ID: <20050505_193702_051831.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** CO2 prolongs life of 'space junk' **
Increased carbon dioxide in the thermosphere decreases atmospheric density, which can prolong the life of space junk - threatening satellites.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4486049.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 nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Thu May  5 08:04:36 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Thu May  5 13:11:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - BLASTS SLIGHTLY DAMAGE BRITAIN'S N.Y.
	CONSULATE
Message-ID: <20050505150436.322441B690@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
____________________________________________________
BLASTS SLIGHTLY DAMAGE BRITAIN'S N.Y. CONSULATE
WebPosted Thu May  5 05:30:26 2005

NEW YORK---The building housing the British Consulate in New York
sustained a slight amount of damage Thursday morning when two explosions
went off in a nearby flower planter.

New York's bomb squad responded to calls reporting two loud noises near
the building in midtown Manhattan at about 3:50 a.m. local time.

Evidence gathered at the scene suggests two toy grenades to which black
gunpowder had been added caused the blasts, police told reporters.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the devices were planted
in the soil of one of 12 concrete planters in front of the building on
Third Avenue, between 51st Street and 52nd Street.

Nobody was injured, but glass panels at the front of the building were
damaged by a 30-cm chunk of concrete blasted from the planter.

"We do not at this point have any idea who did it or a motive," said
Mayor Michael Bloomberg during a morning news conference.

No one from nearby police and fire stations saw anyone running from the
scene, but did hear the blast, said Kelly.

No one has claimed responsibility.

Along with the consulate, which occupies the 9th and 10th floors,
a number of other foreign and domestic companies have offices in
the building.

The timing of the explosions may be significant, however.

                        FROM MAY 5, 2005: British
                        voters head to the polls

British voters are taking part in a general election Thursday.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's continued support for the war in Iraq was one
of the main issues on the campaign trail.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Thu May  5 13:47:38 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Thu May  5 13:52:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ray McGovern on Blair meeting
Message-ID: <20050505204738.43004.qmail@web53007.mail.yahoo.com>

Proof Bush Fixed The Facts
Ray McGovern
May 04, 2005

"Intelligence and facts are being fixed around
the policy."

Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would
see those words in black and white—and beneath a
SECRET stamp, no less.  For three years now, we
in Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
(VIPS) have been saying that the CIA and its
British counterpart, MI-6, were ordered by their
countries' leaders to "fix facts" to "justify" an
unprovoked war on Iraq.  More often than not, we
have been greeted with stares of incredulity...

more here
http://www.tompaine.com/20050505/articles/proof_bush_fixed_the_facts.php


From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Wed May  4 21:43:11 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Thu May  5 16:07:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Funny
Message-ID: <200505052307.j45N7tCi029490@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

The US Navy today announced that it has released a
senior Al Quaeda terrorist after questioning him
extensively for 27 days while being held prisoner
aboard a US aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.


In a humanitarian gesture, the terrorist was given $50
US and a white 1962 Ford Fairlane automobile upon
being released from custody. 


The attached photo shows the terrorist on his way home
just after being released by the Navy.

 See Below:
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From alerts at truemajority.org  Thu May  5 10:00:34 2005
From: alerts at truemajority.org (TrueMajority)
Date: Thu May  5 16:09:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A movie the government doesn't want you to see
Message-ID: <200505052309.j45N9COA029509@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Nuclear weapons, a mind boggling issue?

Doesn't need to be.  Check out this quick loading 90-second movie we made to explain what's going on and what's at stake.   

http://truemajority.kintera.org/bensbbs 

It's also an example of how we at TrueMajority try to make important issues understandable. So if you like it, share it with your friends too.

Thanks for all that you do,
The Gang at TrueMajority



To remove yourself from this mailing, please go to http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M68679934403096914358665
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed May  4 22:20:02 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu May  5 16:18:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TONY BLAIR CAN'T WIN
Message-ID: <200505052318.j45NIFKL029546@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

TONY BLAIR CAN'T WIN
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
By Greg Palast

Mark my words: Tony Blair won't be re-elected on Thursday. However, he
will remain in office.

That's because Brits don't vote for their Prime Minister. They've got a
"parliamentary" system there in the Mother Country. And the difference
between democracy and parliamentary rule makes all the difference. It is
the only reason why Blair will keep his job -- at least for a few months.

Let me explain. The British vote only for their local Member of
Parliament. The MPs, in turn, pick the PM. If a carpenter in Nottingham
doesn't like Prime Minister Blair (not all dislike him, some detest him),
the only darn thing they can do about it is vote against their local MP,
in this case, the lovely Alan Simpson, a Labour Party stalwart who himself
would rather kiss a toad than cuddle with Tony.

Therefore, the majority of the Queen's subjects -- deathly afraid of the
return of Margaret Thatcher's vampirical Tory spawn -- holds their noses,
vote for their local Labour MP and pray that an act of God will save their
happy isle. A recent poll showed the British evenly divided: forty percent
want Blair to encounter a speeding double-decker bus and forty percent
want him stretched, scalded and quartered in the Tower of London (within a
sampling margin of four percent).

Why? Well, to begin with, Blair lies. A secret memo from inside Blair's
coven discovered this week made clear that Britain's Prime Minister knew
damn well, eight months before we invaded Iraq, that George Bush was
cooking the intelligence info on "WDM," but Blair agreed to tag along with
his master. 

The Prime Minister's coterie sold his nation on the re-conquest of their
old colony, Iraq, by making up this cockamamie story about Saddam Hussein
having weapons of mass destruction that could take out London in 45
minutes. But Brits knew that was 'bollocks' (no translation available)
long before this week's shock-horror memo story. 

A greater blight on the Prime Minister's reputation: Blair likes American
presidents. While his habit of keeping his nose snug against Bill
Clinton's derriere was a bit off-putting, his application to George Bush's
behind makes Blair's countrymen retch. 

I watched the machinery called Tony Blair up close as a Yankee in King
Blair's court (first as an advisor on the inside, then as a journalist
also on the inside, but with a hidden tape recorder).

And it was eerie. Because what I saw was a man who, while Britain's
erstwhile leader, scorns his own country. That is, he scorns the union
workers that wanted to keep filthy coal mines open; he scorns the
nostalgic blue-haired ladies who wanted to keep the Queen's snout on their
nation's currency; he scorns his nation of maddeningly inefficient little
shops on the high street, of subjects snoozy with welfare state comforts
and fearful of the wonders of cheap labor available in far-off locales. 

Blair looks longingly at America, land of the hard-charging capitalist
cowboy, of entrepreneurs with big-box retail discount stores, Silicon
Valley start-ups and Asian out-sourcing. 

Blair doesn't want to be Prime Minister. He wants to be governor in London
of America's 51st state. 

Britons know this. They feel deeply that their main man doesn't like the
Britain he has. And that is why the average punter in the pub longs to be
led by that most English of British politicians -- who is not English at
all -- Gordon Brown, the Scotland-born Chancellor of the Exchequer.

And so they vote for their local Labour MP on that party's quietly
whispered promise that, shortly after the election, Gordon Brown, defender
of the old welfare state, union rights, and a gentleman unlikely to invade
forgotten remnants of the empire, will, on a vote of his parliamentary
confreres, take the reins of government in his benign and prudent hands. 

As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman says, Tony Blair is a man 
of
principle. So was the Ayatolla Khomeini. Both were willing to have others
pay any price for their beliefs. 

Luckily for Britain, Chancellor Brown won't let Blair put his fanatic
hands on the kingdom's cash or coinage. And herein is another difference
betwixt the US and UK. In America, the Treasury Secretary is little more
than the President's factotum. In Britain, the Chancellor holds the
nation's purse. Brown brilliantly controls Britain's spending, taxing and
currency. For example, despite Tony's pleas, Brown presciently nixed
England dumping the pound coin for the euro. 

And thus Brown, not Blair, has earned his nation's gratitude for the
island's steady recovery from Thatcherite punishments while, across The
Pond, real wages in Bush's America are falling.

Blair will hold onto office - for now - due only to a sly campaign that
relies on the public's accepting on faith that, sooner rather than later
after the vote on Thursday, Blair will do the honorable thing and end his
own political life, leaving the British-to-the-bone Brown to inherit the
parliamentary throne. 

Tony's political corpse can then be mailed to Texas - wrapped in an
American flag.



Greg Palast, former columnist for Britain's Guardian papers, is the author
of the New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.

Subscribe to his columns at www.GregPalast.com


-- 
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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   ---   George Orwell


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed May  4 22:20:02 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu May  5 16:19:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Proof Bush Fixed The Facts
Message-ID: <200505052319.j45NJqJx029563@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0504-34.htm

Published on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 by TomPaine.com
Proof Bush Fixed The Facts
by Ray McGovern
 
"Intelligence and facts are being fixed around the policy."

Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would see those words in 
black and white?and beneath a SECRET stamp, no less.  For three 
years now, we in Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) 
have been saying that the CIA and its British counterpart, MI-6, were 
ordered by their countries' leaders to "fix facts" to "justify" an 
unprovoked war on Iraq.  More often than not, we have been greeted 
with stares of incredulity.

It has been a hard learning?that folks tend to believe what they want 
to believe.  As long as our evidence, however abundant and 
persuasive, remained circumstantial, it could not compel belief.  It 
simply is much easier on the psyche to assent to the White House spin 
machine blaming the Iraq fiasco on bad intelligence than to entertain 
the notion that we were sold a bill of goods.

Well, you can forget circumstantial. Thanks to an unauthorized 
disclosure by a courageous whistleblower, the evidence now leaps 
from official documents?this time authentic, not forged.  Whether 
prompted by the open appeal of the international Truth-Telling 
Coalition or not, some brave soul has made the most explosive 
"patriotic leak" of the war by giving London's Sunday Times the official 
minutes of a briefing by Richard Dearlove, then head of Britain's CIA 
equivalent, MI-6. Fresh back in London from consultations in 
Washington, Dearlove briefed Prime Minister Blair and his top national 
security officials on July 23, 2002, on the Bush administration's plans 
to make war on Iraq.

Blair does not dispute the authenticity of the document, which 
immortalizes a discussion that is chillingly amoral.  Apparently no one 
felt free to ask the obvious questions.  Or, worse still, the obvious 
questions did not occur.

Juggernaut Before The Horse

In emotionless English, Dearlove tells Blair and the others that 
President Bush has decided to remove Saddam Hussein by launching 
a war that is to be "justified by the conjunction of terrorism and 
weapons of mass destruction."  Period.  What about the intelligence?  
Dearlove adds matter-of-factly, "The intelligence and facts are being 
fixed around the policy."

At this point, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw confirms that Bush has 
decided on war, but notes that stitching together justification would be 
a challenge, since "the case was thin."  Straw noted that Saddam was 
not threatening his neighbors and his WMD capability was less than 
that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.

In the following months, "the case" would be buttressed by a well-
honed U.S.-U.K. intelligence-turned-propaganda-machine.  The 
argument would be made "solid" enough to win endorsement from 
Congress and Parliament by conjuring up:

    *
      Aluminum artillery tubes misdiagnosed as nuclear related;
    *
      Forgeries alleging Iraqi attempts to obtain uranium in Africa;
    *
      Tall tales from a drunken defector about mobile biological weapons 
laboratories;
    *
      Bogus warnings that Iraqi forces could fire WMD-tipped missiles 
within 45 minutes of an order to do so;
    *
      Dodgy dossiers fabricated in London; and
    *
      A U.S. National Intelligence Estimate thrown in for good measure.

All this, as Dearlove notes dryly, despite the fact that "there was little 
discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action." 
Another nugget from Dearlove's briefing is his bloodless comment that 
one of the U.S. military options under discussion involved "a 
continuous air campaign, initiated by an Iraqi casus belli"?the clear 
implication being that planners of the air campaign would also see to it 
that an appropriate casus belli was orchestrated.

The discussion at 10 Downing St. on July 23, 2002 calls to mind the 
first meeting of George W. Bush's National Security Council (NSC) on 
Jan. 30, 2001, at which the president made it clear that toppling 
Saddam Hussein sat atop his to-do list, according to then-Treasury 
Secretary Paul O'Neil, who was there. O'Neil was taken aback that 
there was no discussion of why it was necessary to "take out" Saddam.  
Rather, after CIA Director George Tenet showed a grainy photo of a 
building in Iraq that he said might be involved in producing chemical or 
biological agents, the discussion proceeded immediately to which Iraqi 
targets might be best to bomb.  Again, neither O'Neil nor the other 
participants asked the obvious questions.  Another NSC meeting two 
days later included planning for dividing up Iraq's oil wealth.

Obedience School

As for the briefing of Blair, the minutes provide further grist for those 
who describe the U.K. prime minister as Bush's "poodle."  The tone of 
the conversation bespeaks a foregone conclusion that Blair will wag 
his tail cheerfully and obey the learned commands. At one point he 
ventures the thought that, "If the political context were right, people 
would support regime change."  This, after Attorney General Peter 
Goldsmith has already warned that the desire for regime change "was 
not a legal base for military action,"?a point Goldsmith made again 
just 12 days before the attack on Iraq until he was persuaded by a 
phalanx of Bush administration lawyers to change his mind 10 days 
later.

The meeting concludes with a directive to "work on the assumption 
that the UK would take part in any military action."

I cannot quite fathom why I find the account of this meeting so jarring.  
Surely it is what one might expect, given all else we know. Yet seeing it 
in bloodless black and white somehow gives it more impact.  And the 
implications are no less jarring.

One of Dearlove's primary interlocutors in Washington was his 
American counterpart, CIA director George Tenet.  (And there is no 
closer relationship between two intelligence services than the 
privileged one between the CIA and MI-6.)  Tenet, of course, knew at 
least as much as Dearlove, but nonetheless played the role of 
accomplice in serving up to Bush the kind of "slam-dunk intelligence" 
that he knew would be welcome.  If there is one unpardonable sin in 
intelligence work, it is that kind of politicization.  But Tenet decided to 
be a "team player" and set the tone.

Politicization:  Big Time

Actually, politicization is far too mild a word for what happened.  The 
intelligence was not simply mistaken; it was manufactured, with the 
president of the United States awarding foreman George Tenet the 
Medal of Freedom for his role in helping supervise the deceit.  The 
British documents make clear that this was not a mere case of 
"leaning forward" in analyzing the intelligence, but rather mass 
deception?an order of magnitude more serious.  No other conclusion 
is now possible.

Small wonder, then, to learn from CIA insiders like former case officer 
Lindsay Moran that Tenet's malleable managers told their minions, 
"Let's face it. The president wants us to go to war, and our job is to 
give him a reason to do it."

Small wonder that, when the only U.S. analyst who met with the 
alcoholic Iraqi defector appropriately codenamed "Curveball" raised 
strong doubt about Curveball's reliability before then-Secretary of State 
Colin Powell used the fabrication about "mobile biological weapons 
trailers" before the United Nations, the analyst got this e-mail reply 
from his CIA supervisor:

"Let's keep in mind the fact that this war's going to happen regardless 
of what Curveball said or didn't say, and the powers that be probably 
aren't terribly interested in whether Curveball knows what he's talking 
about."

When Tenet's successor, Porter Goss, took over as director late last 
year, he immediately wrote a memo to all employees explaining the 
"rules of the road"?first and foremost, "We support the administration 
and its policies."  So much for objective intelligence insulated from 
policy pressure.

Tenet and Goss, creatures of the intensely politicized environment of 
Congress, brought with them a radically new ethos?one much more 
akin to that of Blair's courtiers than to that of earlier CIA directors who 
had the courage to speak truth to power.

Seldom does one have documentary evidence that intelligence chiefs 
chose to cooperate in both fabricating and "sexing up" (as the British 
press puts it) intelligence to justify a prior decision for war.  There is no 
word to describe the reaction of honest intelligence professionals to 
the corruption of our profession on a matter of such consequence.  
"Outrage" does not come close.

Hope In Unauthorized Disclosures

Those of us who care about unprovoked wars owe the patriot who 
gave this latest British government document to The Sunday Times a 
debt of gratitude.  Unauthorized disclosures are gathering steam.  
They need to increase quickly on this side of the Atlantic as well?the 
more so, inasmuch as Congress-controlled by the president's party-
cannot be counted on to discharge its constitutional prerogative for 
oversight.

In its formal appeal of Sept. 9, 2004 to current U.S. government 
officials, the Truth-Telling Coalition said this:

    We know how misplaced loyalty to bosses, agencies, and careers 
can obscure the higher allegiance all government officials owe the 
Constitution, the sovereign public, and the young men and women put 
in harm's way.  We urge you to act on those higher loyalties...Truth-
telling is a patriotic and effective way to serve the nation.  The time for 
speaking out is now.

If persons with access to wrongly concealed facts and analyses bring 
them to light, the chances become less that a president could launch 
another unprovoked war?against, say, Iran.

Ray McGovern served 27 years as a CIA analyst and is now on the 
Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. He 
works for Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church 
of the Saviour.

? 2005 TomPaine.com

 

###

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May  5 16:27:34 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May  5 16:33:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Christian Right and the Rising Power of the
	Evangelical Political Movement
Message-ID: <20050505232734.6940.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

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




+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  The Christian Right and the Rising Power of the Evangelical Political Movement
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/05/1429230
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


We take a look at the rising power of the evangelical political movement in this country with journalist and author Chris Hedges and the Rev. Joseph Phelps, who led a counter-service to last month's "Justice Sunday: Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith." [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/05/1429230

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu May  5 16:30:46 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu May  5 16:35:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Jules sent this
Message-ID: <BE9FFAB6.1FF81%michael@michaelbutler.com>

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment
insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of
that party again in our political history.  There is a tiny splinter group,
of course, that believes that you can do these things.  Among them are a few
Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from
other areas.  Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
    
    ----President Dwight D. Eisenhower, l952-----
    

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Thu May  5 16:47:04 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Thu May  5 16:52:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Apocalypse Soon By Robert S. McNamara Foreign Policy 
Message-ID: <BE9FFE88.1FF85%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Apocalypse Soon
    By Robert S. McNamara
    Foreign Policy

    May/June 2005 Issue

    Robert McNamara is worried. He knows how close we've come. His counsel
helped the Kennedy administration avert nuclear catastrophe during the Cuban
Missile Crisis. Today, he believes the United States must no longer rely on
nuclear weapons as a foreign-policy tool. To do so is immoral, illegal and
dreadfully dangerous.

    
(Photo: foreignpolicy.com)
    
    It is time - well past time, in my view - for the United States to cease
its Cold War-style reliance on nuclear weapons as a foreign-policy tool. At
the risk of appearing simplistic and provocative, I would characterize
current US nuclear weapons policy as immoral, illegal, militarily
unnecessary, and dreadfully dangerous. The risk of an accidental or
inadvertent nuclear launch is unacceptably high. Far from reducing these
risks, the Bush administration has signaled that it is committed to keeping
the US nuclear arsenal as a mainstay of its military power - a commitment
that is simultaneously eroding the international norms that have limited the
spread of nuclear weapons and fissile materials for 50 years. Much of the
current US nuclear policy has been in place since before I was secretary of
defense, and it has only grown more dangerous and diplomatically destructive
in the intervening years.

    Today, the United States has deployed approximately 4,500 strategic,
offensive nuclear warheads. Russia has roughly 3,800. The strategic forces
of Britain, France, and China are considerably smaller, with 200?400 nuclear
weapons in each state's arsenal. The new nuclear states of Pakistan and
India have fewer than 100 weapons each. North Korea now claims to have
developed nuclear weapons, and US intelligence agencies estimate that
Pyongyang has enough fissile material for 2?8 bombs.

    How destructive are these weapons? The average US warhead has a
destructive power 20 times that of the Hiroshima bomb. Of the 8,000 active
or operational US warheads, 2,000 are on hair-trigger alert, ready to be
launched on 15 minutes' warning. How are these weapons to be used? The
United States has never endorsed the policy of "no first use," not during my
seven years as secretary or since. We have been and remain prepared to
initiate the use of nuclear weapons - by the decision of one person, the
president - against either a nuclear or nonnuclear enemy whenever we believe
it is in our interest to do so. For decades, US nuclear forces have been
sufficiently strong to absorb a first strike and then inflict "unacceptable"
damage on an opponent. This has been and (so long as we face a
nuclear-armed, potential adversary) must continue to be the foundation of
our nuclear deterrent.

    In my time as secretary of defense, the commander of the US Strategic
Air Command (SAC) carried with him a secure telephone, no matter where he
went, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The telephone of
the commander, whose headquarters were in Omaha, Nebraska, was linked to the
underground command post of the North American Defense Command, deep inside
Cheyenne Mountain, in Colorado, and to the US president, wherever he
happened to be. The president always had at hand nuclear release codes in
the so-called football, a briefcase carried for the president at all times
by a US military officer.

    The SAC commander's orders were to answer the telephone by no later than
the end of the third ring. If it rang, and he was informed that a nuclear
attack of enemy ballistic missiles appeared to be under way, he was allowed
2 to 3 minutes to decide whether the warning was valid (over the years, the
United States has received many false warnings), and if so, how the United
States should respond. He was then given approximately 10 minutes to
determine what to recommend, to locate and advise the president, permit the
president to discuss the situation with two or three close advisors
(presumably the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff), and to receive the president's decision and pass it immediately,
along with the codes, to the launch sites. The president essentially had two
options: He could decide to ride out the attack and defer until later any
decision to launch a retaliatory strike. Or, he could order an immediate
retaliatory strike, from a menu of options, thereby launching US weapons
that were targeted on the opponent's military-industrial assets. Our
opponents in Moscow presumably had and have similar arrangements.

    The whole situation seems so bizarre as to be beyond belief. On any
given day, as we go about our business, the president is prepared to make a
decision within 20 minutes that could launch one of the most devastating
weapons in the world. To declare war requires an act of congress, but to
launch a nuclear holocaust requires 20 minutes' deliberation by the
president and his advisors. But that is what we have lived with for 40
years. With very few changes, this system remains largely intact, including
the "football," the president's constant companion.

    I was able to change some of these dangerous policies and procedures. My
colleagues and I started arms control talks; we installed safeguards to
reduce the risk of unauthorized launches; we added options to the nuclear
war plans so that the president did not have to choose between an
all-or-nothing response, and we eliminated the vulnerable and provocative
nuclear missiles in Turkey. I wish I had done more, but we were in the midst
of the Cold War, and our options were limited.

    The United States and our NATO allies faced a strong Soviet and Warsaw
Pact conventional threat. Many of the allies (and some in Washington as
well) felt strongly that preserving the US option of launching a first
strike was necessary for the sake of keeping the Soviets at bay. What is
shocking is that today, more than a decade after the end of the Cold War,
the basic US nuclear policy is unchanged. It has not adapted to the collapse
of the Soviet Union. Plans and procedures have not been revised to make the
United States or other countries less likely to push the button. At a
minimum, we should remove all strategic nuclear weapons from "hair-trigger"
alert, as others have recommended, including Gen. George Lee Butler, the
last commander of SAC. That simple change would greatly reduce the risk of
an accidental nuclear launch. It would also signal to other states that the
United States is taking steps to end its reliance on nuclear weapons.

    We pledged to work in good faith toward the eventual elimination of
nuclear arsenals when we negotiated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) in 1968. In May, diplomats from more than 180 nations are meeting in
New York City to review the NPT and assess whether members are living up to
the agreement. The United States is focused, for understandable reasons, on
persuading North Korea to rejoin the treaty and on negotiating deeper
constraints on Iran's nuclear ambitions. Those states must be convinced to
keep the promises they made when they originally signed the NPT - that they
would not build nuclear weapons in return for access to peaceful uses of
nuclear energy. But the attention of many nations, including some potential
new nuclear weapons states, is also on the United States. Keeping such large
numbers of weapons, and maintaining them on hair-trigger alert, are potent
signs that the United States is not seriously working toward the elimination
of its arsenal and raises troubling questions as to why any other state
should restrain its nuclear ambitions.

    A Preview of the Apocalypse

    The destructive power of nuclear weapons is well known, but given the
United States' continued reliance on them, it's worth remembering the danger
they present. A 2000 report by the International Physicians for the
Prevention of Nuclear War describes the likely effects of a single 1 megaton
weapon - dozens of which are contained in the Russian and US inventories. At
ground zero, the explosion creates a crater 300 feet deep and 1,200 feet in
diameter. Within one second, the atmosphere itself ignites into a fireball
more than a half-mile in diameter. The surface of the fireball radiates
nearly three times the light and heat of a comparable area of the surface of
the sun, extinguishing in seconds all life below and radiating outward at
the speed of light, causing instantaneous severe burns to people within one
to three miles. A blast wave of compressed air reaches a distance of three
miles in about 12 seconds, flattening factories and commercial buildings.
Debris carried by winds of 250 mph inflicts lethal injuries throughout the
area. At least 50 percent of people in the area die immediately, prior to
any injuries from radiation or the developing firestorm.

    Of course, our knowledge of these effects is not entirely hypothetical.
Nuclear weapons, with roughly one seventieth of the power of the 1 megaton
bomb just described, were twice used by the United States in August 1945.
One atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Around 80,000 people died
immediately; approximately 200,000 died eventually. Later, a similar size
bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On Nov. 7, 1995, the mayor of Nagasaki
recalled his memory of the attack in testimony to the International Court of
Justice:

    Nagasaki became a city of death where not even the sound of insects
could be heard. After a while, countless men, women and children began to
gather for a drink of water at the banks of nearby Urakami River, their hair
and clothing scorched and their burnt skin hanging off in sheets like rags.
Begging for help they died one after another in the water or in heaps on the
banks.? Four months after the atomic bombing, 74,000 people were dead, and
75,000 had suffered injuries, that is, two-thirds of the city population had
fallen victim to this calamity that came upon Nagasaki like a preview of the
Apocalypse.

    Why did so many civilians have to die? Because the civilians, who made
up nearly 100 percent of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were
unfortunately "co-located" with Japanese military and industrial targets.
Their annihilation, though not the objective of those dropping the bombs,
was an inevitable result of the choice of those targets. It is worth noting
that during the Cold War, the United States reportedly had dozens of nuclear
warheads targeted on Moscow alone, because it contained so many military
targets and so much "industrial capacity."

    Presumably, the Soviets similarly targeted many US cities. The statement
that our nuclear weapons do not target populations per se was and remains
totally misleading in the sense that the so-called collateral damage of
large nuclear strikes would include tens of millions of innocent civilian
dead.

    This in a nutshell is what nuclear weapons do: They indiscriminately
blast, burn, and irradiate with a speed and finality that are almost
incomprehensible. This is exactly what countries like the United States and
Russia, with nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert, continue to threaten
every minute of every day in this new 21st century.

    No Way to Win

    I have worked on issues relating to US and NATO nuclear strategy and war
plans for more than 40 years. During that time, I have never seen a piece of
paper that outlined a plan for the United States or NATO to initiate the use
of nuclear weapons with any benefit for the United States or NATO. I have
made this statement in front of audiences, including NATO defense ministers
and senior military leaders, many times. No one has ever refuted it. To
launch weapons against a nuclear-equipped opponent would be suicidal. To do
so against a nonnuclear enemy would be militarily unnecessary, morally
repugnant, and politically indefensible.

    I reached these conclusions very soon after becoming secretary of
defense. Although I believe Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson
shared my view, it was impossible for any of us to make such statements
publicly because they were totally contrary to established NATO policy.
After leaving the Defense Department, I became president of the World Bank.
During my 13-year tenure, from 1968 to 1981, I was prohibited, as an
employee of an international institution, from commenting publicly on issues
of US national security. After my retirement from the bank, I began to
reflect on how I, with seven years' experience as secretary of defense,
might contribute to an understanding of the issues with which I began my
public service career.

    At that time, much was being said and written regarding how the United
States could, and why it should, be able to fight and win a nuclear war with
the Soviets. This view implied, of course, that nuclear weapons did have
military utility; that they could be used in battle with ultimate gain to
whoever had the largest force or used them with the greatest acumen. Having
studied these views, I decided to go public with some information that I
knew would be controversial, but that I felt was needed to inject reality
into these increasingly unreal discussions about the military utility of
nuclear weapons. In articles and speeches, I criticized the fundamentally
flawed assumption that nuclear weapons could be used in some limited way.
There is no way to effectively contain a nuclear strike - to keep it from
inflicting enormous destruction on civilian life and property, and there is
no guarantee against unlimited escalation once the first nuclear strike
occurs. We cannot avoid the serious and unacceptable risk of nuclear war
until we recognize these facts and base our military plans and policies upon
this recognition. I hold these views even more strongly today than I did
when I first spoke out against the nuclear dangers our policies were
creating. I know from direct experience that US nuclear policy today creates
unacceptable risks to other nations and to our own.

    What Castro Taught Us

    Among the costs of maintaining nuclear weapons is the risk - to me an
unacceptable risk - of use of the weapons either by accident or as a result
of misjudgment or miscalculation in times of crisis. The Cuban Missile
Crisis demonstrated that the United States and the Soviet Union - and indeed
the rest of the world - came within a hair's breadth of nuclear disaster in
October 1962.

    Indeed, according to former Soviet military leaders, at the height of
the crisis, Soviet forces in Cuba possessed 162 nuclear warheads, including
at least 90 tactical warheads. At about the same time, Cuban President Fidel
Castro asked the Soviet ambassador to Cuba to send a cable to Soviet Premier
Nikita Khrushchev stating that Castro urged him to counter a US attack with
a nuclear response. Clearly, there was a high risk that in the face of a US
attack, which many in the US government were prepared to recommend to
President Kennedy, the Soviet forces in Cuba would have decided to use their
nuclear weapons rather than lose them. Only a few years ago did we learn
that the four Soviet submarines trailing the US Naval vessels near Cuba each
carried torpedoes with nuclear warheads. Each of the sub commanders had the
authority to launch his torpedoes. The situation was even more frightening
because, as the lead commander recounted to me, the subs were out of
communication with their Soviet bases, and they continued their patrols for
four days after Khrushchev announced the withdrawal of the missiles from
Cuba.

    The lesson, if it had not been clear before, was made so at a conference
on the crisis held in Havana in 1992, when we first began to learn from
former Soviet officials about their preparations for nuclear war in the
event of a US invasion. Near the end of that meeting, I asked Castro whether
he would have recommended that Khrushchev use the weapons in the face of a
US invasion, and if so, how he thought the United States would respond. "We
started from the assumption that if there was an invasion of Cuba, nuclear
war would erupt," Castro replied. "We were certain of that?. [W]e would be
forced to pay the price that we would disappear." He continued, "Would I
have been ready to use nuclear weapons? Yes, I would have agreed to the use
of nuclear weapons." And he added, "If Mr. McNamara or Mr. Kennedy had been
in our place, and had their country been invaded, or their country was going
to be occupied ? I believe they would have used tactical nuclear weapons."

    I hope that President Kennedy and I would not have behaved as Castro
suggested we would have. His decision would have destroyed his country. Had
we responded in a similar way the damage to the United States would have
been unthinkable. But human beings are fallible. In conventional war,
mistakes cost lives, sometimes thousands of lives. However, if mistakes were
to affect decisions relating to the use of nuclear forces, there would be no
learning curve. They would result in the destruction of nations. The
indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons carries a
very high risk of nuclear catastrophe. There is no way to reduce the risk to
acceptable levels, other than to first eliminate the hair-trigger alert
policy and later to eliminate or nearly eliminate nuclear weapons. The
United States should move immediately to institute these actions, in
cooperation with Russia. That is the lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    A Dangerous Obsession

    On Nov. 13, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that he had told
Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States would reduce
"operationally deployed nuclear warheads" from approximately 5,300 to a
level between 1,700 and 2,200 over the next decade. This scaling back would
approach the 1,500 to 2,200 range that Putin had proposed for Russia.
However, the Bush administration's Nuclear Posture Review, mandated by the
US Congress and issued in January 2002, presents quite a different story. It
assumes that strategic offensive nuclear weapons in much larger numbers than
1,700 to 2,200 will be part of US military forces for the next several
decades. Although the number of deployed warheads will be reduced to 3,800
in 2007 and to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012, the warheads and many of the
launch vehicles taken off deployment will be maintained in a "responsive"
reserve from which they could be moved back to the operationally deployed
force. The Nuclear Posture Review received little attention from the media.
But its emphasis on strategic offensive nuclear weapons deserves vigorous
public scrutiny. Although any proposed reduction is welcome, it is doubtful
that survivors - if there were any - of an exchange of 3,200 warheads (the
US and Russian numbers projected for 2012), with a destructive power
approximately 65,000 times that of the Hiroshima bomb, could detect a
difference between the effects of such an exchange and one that would result
from the launch of the current US and Russian forces totaling about 12,000
warheads.

    In addition to projecting the deployment of large numbers of strategic
nuclear weapons far into the future, the Bush administration is planning an
extensive and expensive series of programs to sustain and modernize the
existing nuclear force and to begin studies for new launch vehicles, as well
as new warheads for all of the launch platforms. Some members of the
administration have called for new nuclear weapons that could be used as
bunker busters against underground shelters (such as the shelters Saddam
Hussein used in Baghdad). New production facilities for fissile materials
would need to be built to support the expanded force. The plans provide for
integrating a national ballistic missile defense into the new triad of
offensive weapons to enhance the nation's ability to use its "power
projection forces" by improving our ability to counterattack an enemy. The
Bush administration also announced that it has no intention to ask congress
to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and, though no decision
to test has been made, the administration has ordered the national
laboratories to begin research on new nuclear weapons designs and to prepare
the underground test sites in Nevada for nuclear tests if necessary in the
future. Clearly, the Bush administration assumes that nuclear weapons will
be part of US military forces for at least the next several decades.

    Good faith participation in international negotiation on nuclear
disarmament - including participation in the CTBT - is a legal and political
obligation of all parties to the NPT that entered into force in 1970 and was
extended indefinitely in 1995. The Bush administration's nuclear program,
alongside its refusal to ratify the CTBT, will be viewed, with reason, by
many nations as equivalent to a US break from the treaty. It says to the
nonnuclear weapons nations, "We, with the strongest conventional military
force in the world, require nuclear weapons in perpetuity, but you, facing
potentially well-armed opponents, are never to be allowed even one nuclear
weapon."

    If the United States continues its current nuclear stance, over time,
substantial proliferation of nuclear weapons will almost surely follow.
Some, or all, of such nations as Egypt, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and
Taiwan will very likely initiate nuclear weapons programs, increasing both
the risk of use of the weapons and the diversion of weapons and fissile
materials into the hands of rogue states or terrorists. Diplomats and
intelligence agencies believe Osama bin Laden has made several attempts to
acquire nuclear weapons or fissile materials. It has been widely reported
that Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, former director of Pakistan's nuclear
reactor complex, met with bin Laden several times. Were al Qaeda to acquire
fissile materials, especially enriched uranium, its ability to produce
nuclear weapons would be great. The knowledge of how to construct a simple
gun-type nuclear device, like the one we dropped on Hiroshima, is now
widespread. Experts have little doubt that terrorists could construct such a
primitive device if they acquired the requisite enriched uranium material.
Indeed, just last summer, at a meeting of the National Academy of Sciences,
former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry said, "I have never been more
fearful of a nuclear detonation than now.? There is a greater than 50
percent probability of a nuclear strike on US targets within a decade." I
share his fears.

    A Moment of Decision

    We are at a critical moment in human history - perhaps not as dramatic
as that of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but a moment no less crucial. Neither
the Bush administration, the congress, the American people, nor the people
of other nations have debated the merits of alternative, long-range nuclear
weapons policies for their countries or the world. They have not examined
the military utility of the weapons; the risk of inadvertent or accidental
use; the moral and legal considerations relating to the use or threat of use
of the weapons; or the impact of current policies on proliferation. Such
debates are long overdue. If they are held, I believe they will conclude, as
have I and an increasing number of senior military leaders, politicians, and
civilian security experts: We must move promptly toward the elimination - or
near elimination - of all nuclear weapons. For many, there is a strong
temptation to cling to the strategies of the past 40 years. But to do so
would be a serious mistake leading to unacceptable risks for all nations.

 

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May  5 17:41:53 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Thu May  5 17:46:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Yahoo! News Story - AP: Feds Tested AIDS Drugs on Foster
	Kids - Yahoo! News
Message-ID: <20050506004154.3DA8011F8C9@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

HS (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) has sent you a news article. (Email address has not been verified.)
------------------------------------------------------------
Personal message:

A concern !

AP: Feds Tested AIDS Drugs on Foster Kids - Yahoo! News
http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050505/ap_on_he_me/aids_foster_kids

============================================================
Yahoo! News 
http://news.yahoo.com/

From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Thu May  5 17:49:10 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Thu May  5 18:03:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - HEY, HEY! HO,
	HO! SEXY CHEERLEADING HAS GOT TO GO!
Message-ID: <20050506004910.AC07E1B690@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
____________________________________________________
HEY, HEY! HO, HO! SEXY CHEERLEADING HAS GOT TO GO!
WebPosted Thu May  5 14:02:11 2005

dallas---Legislators from the state that produced the scantily clad
Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders have passed a bill prohibiting sexually
suggestive cheering routines in schools.

The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill allowing
state education officials to order schools to ban "overtly sexually
suggestive" cheerleading routines.

The bill, sponsored by Al Edwards, a Democratic legislator and an
ordained minister, gives the Texas Education Agency, which monitors the
state's educational system, the authority to decide what routines are too
suggestive.

The legislation also originally contained a provision that would have cut
funding to schools that didn't put the kibosh on sexy routines.

Edwards says the bill is aimed at stopping the exploitation of young
girls and sexual behaviour that he says can lead to teenage pregnancies
and sexually transmitted diseases.

Democratic legislator Joe Deshotel called school cheerleading outfits
with exposed midriffs and short skirts "vulgar, something you would see
at an adult club."

Corbin Van Arsdale, Republican co-author of the bill, told news agency
Agence France-Presse when parents go to sports events, they want to see
players clashing on the field and not girls shaking their behinds on the
sidelines.

The bill still has to clear the state Senate and be approved by the
governor before it becomes law.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May  5 18:09:44 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu May  5 18:15:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] What I find offensive !!
Message-ID: <001601c551d8$4ca673d0$4f3fe440@Harold>

What I find offensive, is that you have a President and a First Lady "partying" while their Nation is at war!

Young American men and women are dying every day in Iraq and yet the Mrs's is telling desperate wives jokes, and the President is playing golf and relaxing in Crawford every other week.

Any other past President was 24/7 at their desk, including Johnson and Nixon. Bush is not, and he only does a press release when he has too!

I just do not understand, America is at war, yet it is not the primary concern of the Nation!

Iraq is no longer front page, even if 10 or 11 troops are killed in one day!

Michael Jackson and the new Star Wars movie are bigger events. 

The facts are there, yet the American people do nothing about it !!

God Forgive America !

Later H







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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May  5 18:21:18 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Thu May  5 18:25:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] What I find offensive !!
References: <001601c551d8$4ca673d0$4f3fe440@Harold>
Message-ID: <00b001c551d9$e8623330$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Harry:

As Shakespeare didn;t say, Methinks thou dost protest just a tad overmuch.  Although I agree about Bush "fiddling while Rome burns," in point of fact every bombing and death in Iraq continues to be front page news here, at least in the NY Times, as well as other major dailies.

Peace.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Harold Sifton 
  To: MB Civic 
  Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 9:09 PM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] What I find offensive !!


  What I find offensive, is that you have a President and a First Lady "partying" while their Nation is at war!

  Young American men and women are dying every day in Iraq and yet the Mrs's is telling desperate wives jokes, and the President is playing golf and relaxing in Crawford every other week.

  Any other past President was 24/7 at their desk, including Johnson and Nixon. Bush is not, and he only does a press release when he has too!

  I just do not understand, America is at war, yet it is not the primary concern of the Nation!

  Iraq is no longer front page, even if 10 or 11 troops are killed in one day!

  Michael Jackson and the new Star Wars movie are bigger events. 

  The facts are there, yet the American people do nothing about it !!

  God Forgive America !

  Later H










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


  _______________________________________________
  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  Thu May  5 18:57:34 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Thu May  5 19:04:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] What I find offensive !!
Message-ID: <20050505.185828.4146.115914@webmail13.nyc.untd.com>

HARRY,

SICKENING ISN'T IT! THE MEDIA DOESN'T SHOW THE REAL STUFF...STILL PANDERING TO BUSH'S ADMINISTRATION, YOU KNOW.

57+ NEWSMEDIA PEOPLE KILLED IN IRAQ-COMPARE THAT TO 15 DURING VIETNAM.
WHO'S KILLING THEM BESIDES INSURGENTS?

U.S FORCES, CONTRACTORS, AND "OTHERS" ARE KILLING THEM. THE ITALIAN "KILLING" WAS A COVERUP-DO YOU THINK?

IRAQ IS IN A MISERABLE WAY-WE HAVE A SOUND FASCIST AMERICA RIGHT NOW. IT IS DEFINETLY A MARRIAGE BETWEEN CORPORATE MULTINATIONALS AND THE US GOVERNMENT.

WE ARE NOT A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, THOUGH SOME ARE STILL TRYING.  

THERE'S SO MUCH TO TELL, ABOUT THREE YEARS WORTH.


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

Please note: message attached


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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May  5 18:19:00 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Thu May  5 19:08:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - HEY, HEY! HO,
	HO! SEXY CHEERLEADING HAS GOT TO GO!
References: <20050506004910.AC07E1B690@nmweb07.nm.cbc.ca>
Message-ID: <00a201c551d9$962aaf20$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Harry:

While I must say that I generally agree with this, it does remind me of the 
comment made by the judge in the Naked Lunch case, when asked if he could 
define "pornography": "No sir, but I know it when I see it."

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "CBC News Online" <nwonline@toronto.cbc.ca>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 8:49 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - HEY, HEY! HO,HO! SEXY CHEERLEADING HAS GOT TO 
GO!


> 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
> ____________________________________________________
> HEY, HEY! HO, HO! SEXY CHEERLEADING HAS GOT TO GO!
> WebPosted Thu May  5 14:02:11 2005
>
> dallas---Legislators from the state that produced the scantily clad
> Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders have passed a bill prohibiting sexually
> suggestive cheering routines in schools.
>
> The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill allowing
> state education officials to order schools to ban "overtly sexually
> suggestive" cheerleading routines.
>
> The bill, sponsored by Al Edwards, a Democratic legislator and an
> ordained minister, gives the Texas Education Agency, which monitors the
> state's educational system, the authority to decide what routines are too
> suggestive.
>
> The legislation also originally contained a provision that would have cut
> funding to schools that didn't put the kibosh on sexy routines.
>
> Edwards says the bill is aimed at stopping the exploitation of young
> girls and sexual behaviour that he says can lead to teenage pregnancies
> and sexually transmitted diseases.
>
> Democratic legislator Joe Deshotel called school cheerleading outfits
> with exposed midriffs and short skirts "vulgar, something you would see
> at an adult club."
>
> Corbin Van Arsdale, Republican co-author of the bill, told news agency
> Agence France-Presse when parents go to sports events, they want to see
> players clashing on the field and not girls shaking their behinds on the
> sidelines.
>
> The bill still has to clear the state Senate and be approved by the
> governor before it becomes law.
>
> Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From maxfury at granderiver.net  Thu May  5 20:32:37 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Thu May  5 20:35:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - HEY, HEY! HO,
	HO! SEXY CHEERLEADING HAS GOT TO GO!
Message-ID: <000901c551ec$40e4df00$a425b7d8@baby1>

Re:  CBC News - HEY, HEY! HO, HO! SEXY CHEERLEADING HAS GOT TO GO!



CheeseComment:


Another great example (out of little old Texas no less) of Government
legislating Morality from the hip pocket of Christianity.

They would rather see one of their kids come off the playing field with a
broken neck or paralyzed for the rest of their lives as they were cheering
for God, Country, School and Jesus rather than a girl in a cheerleading
costume that was designed to try to someday maintain some standard of
cheerleading dress that does not perpetually resemble the women's
full-length bathing suits of the 1920's.

Injury, Paralysis and Death on The Playing Field is acceptable.  A scantily
dressed girl cheering them on is not.

We don't really mind them that much coming off the playing field on
stretchers or in body bags, just as long as the girls don't emanate too much
sex while cheering on such a highly religious blood sport.  That is just too
much for any real Christian to handle.

There are over 300 High Schools in America now (so far) who have now added
something akin to a "Bible Study" elective class in their curriculum.

Another Corporate Christian Venture.

PowerPoint Jesus.  We've been waiting such a long time for him.

This, along with actual State Legislators now actually legislating the form
of dress of Cheerleaders, along with their never-ending desire to have
Prayer in school Mandatory, and The Ten Commandments posted at every
entrance and exit to every Educational and Governmental facility across the
entire nation, is only the very tiniest tip of the iceberg of Modern
Christian Desires.

You've already finished just reading about the Military Cadets and what the
ReligioNuts have been doing to them and that Institution, step back for a
second, take a deep breath, and try to even VAGUELY imagine what they've
been doing to just The Ordinary Kids of America for just about Forever now
as you loaf around on your sofa.

And All This, and All That, is just The Tiniest Beginning of The Plan.

If you don't like Modern Christianity and their motives which now tend to
Publicly Stink of the Roman guards poking Christ with a spear on the cross,
Harold, or their now endless and with-us-or-against-us God Ventures into
Modern American Education, Business, Society, Morality, and Politics and all
its Wrappings, stick around for the late show.

It's going to be simply marvelous.

During the half time of the game we will ceremonially put a few Gays and
Lesbians to death on the playing field to reaffirm our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ and re-establish our sovreign right to manifest God's Kingdom
on Earth as we, the Modern Christians, see fit.

Of course they will be naked as we kill them as we want The Children to
remember what a complete lack of Moral Structure they possessed and the
overall non-Christian filth they called their lives as they sleazily walked
among us in the shadows.

If you, or anyone else, gets in our way as we legislate School Dress, School
Curriculum, School and Government Prayers, Ten Commandment plaques
everywhere we can place them, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc, ad
nauseum, etc etc etc, we will squash you, and your families, and your loved
ones, like the insignificant non-team-players non-real-Christians worthless
worms like we already know you are but are systematically making sure the
entire world knows as well as we eliminate not only any power you might have
in society and any semblance of any choices you might once have claimed
rights to but every memory that any of you ever even existed.

We continue to place Our People in places of Authority throughout Society,
Education, Business, and Government, so, face it, you don't really have a
f*cking choice, and we don't really give a f*ck what you think anyway to
begin with.

Have a nice day, and remember, Jesus loves you but he's not here so he left
us, The New Modern Christians, in charge to make his and his Father's Word
and Will manifest upon this Earth.

So far we're screwing everyone up the wazoo as fast as we can on just about
every imaginable level we can get our sticky little hands on.

Don't bend over to pick the soap up in the shower.

We will be there watching.




Cheeseburger

.


=======____________________________________________________
HEY, HEY! HO, HO! SEXY CHEERLEADING HAS GOT TO GO!
WebPosted Thu May  5 14:02:11 2005

dallas---Legislators from the state that produced the scantily clad
Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders have passed a bill prohibiting sexually
suggestive cheering routines in schools.

The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill allowing
state education officials to order schools to ban "overtly sexually
suggestive" cheerleading routines.

The bill, sponsored by Al Edwards, a Democratic legislator and an
ordained minister, gives the Texas Education Agency, which monitors the
state's educational system, the authority to decide what routines are too
suggestive.

The legislation also originally contained a provision that would have cut
funding to schools that didn't put the kibosh on sexy routines.

Edwards says the bill is aimed at stopping the exploitation of young
girls and sexual behaviour that he says can lead to teenage pregnancies
and sexually transmitted diseases.

Democratic legislator Joe Deshotel called school cheerleading outfits
with exposed midriffs and short skirts "vulgar, something you would see
at an adult club."

Corbin Van Arsdale, Republican co-author of the bill, told news agency
Agence France-Presse when parents go to sports events, they want to see
players clashing on the field and not girls shaking their behinds on the
sidelines.

The bill still has to clear the state Senate and be approved by the
governor before it becomes law.
========

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May  6 04:01:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May  6 04:07:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <8918225.1115377301290.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Merck CEO Resigns as Drug Probe Continues
 
 By Marc Kaufman
 
  Merck & Co.'s longtime leader Raymond V. Gilmartin abruptly resigned yesterday on the same day congressional investigators released a slew of documents detailing how the company continued to aggressively promote its arthritis drug Vioxx after it knew of potentially serious safety concerns.
 
 The documents made public by the House Committee on Government Reform showed that Merck directed its 3,000-person Vioxx sales force to avoid discussions with doctors about the cardiovascular risks identified in a major clinical trial of the drug in 2000. Sales representatives were told instead to rely on a "Cardiovascular Card" that said Vioxx  was protecting the heart rather than potentially harming it.
 
 Vioxx was withdrawn from the market last September after another clinical trial found that people who had taken the drug for 18 months were five times more likely to have heart attacks and strokes than those on a placebo. The withdrawal tarnished Merck's reputation and cost the firm billions in sales, stock value and legal fees.
 
 The company, which had earlier said Gilmartin, 64, would stay in place until his scheduled retirement next year, said his sudden departure as chairman, president and chief executive officer had nothing to do with the Vioxx controversy. Merck named its president for manufacturing, Richard T. Clark, to replace Gilmartin as chief executive officer and president.
 
 The resignation of Gilmartin,  after he spent 11 years at the helm, came on a day when Merck was sharply criticized in a hearing into how the company and the Food and Drug Administration had handled the safety concerns surrounding Vioxx.
 
 Merck and other drug companies say their "detailers" act as neutral educators to guide physicians in prescribing drugs, but the more than 20,000 pages of documents released yesterday showed that Merck's representatives were coached to be aggressive salesmen.
 
 They were trained how to smile, speak and position themselves most effectively when talking with doctors, and were exhorted to sell Vioxx and other Merck drugs using the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
 
 Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) read from a Merck training manual that directed instructors to play a recording of the speech and then say to the sales force: "King was someone with goal-focus -- he kept getting shut down but kept going. . . . Just as with a physician, you must keep repeating the compelling message and at some point, the physician will be 'free at last' when he or she prescribes the Merck drug, if that is most appropriate for the patient."
 
 "Merck says the mission of its sales force is to educate doctors," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.), the panel's ranking Democrat. "This sales force is given extraordinary training so that it can capitalize on virtually every interaction with doctors. Yet when it comes to the one thing doctors most need to know about Vioxx -- its health risks -- Merck's answer seems to be disinformation and censorship."
 
 Dennis Erb, Merck's vice president for global regulatory development, said that company's actions were timely and appropriate, and that detailers were trained to be "accurate and balanced" in presenting information. He said Merck has conducted 70 clinical trials on Vioxx involving more than 40,000 patients, and the company is discussing with the FDA whether to apply for approval to resume marketing the drug.
 
 "We believe Merck acted appropriately and responsibly to extensively study Vioxx after it was approved for marketing to gain more clinical information about the medicine," he said. "And we promptly disclosed the results of these studies to the FDA, physicians, the scientific community and the media."
 
 Erb defended Merck's policy of instructing its representatives not to tell doctors about the troubling cardiovascular results from a large 2000 clinical trial called Vigor. Until it withdrew Vioxx, Merck had argued that naproxen -- the control drug in the 2000 trial -- lowered cardiovascular risks, not that Vioxx raised them.
 
 Erb said the FDA had not approved adding the trial results to the drug label and so they could not be discussed except by senior officials. But Erb acknowledged that the company did allow drug representatives to say that the 2000 trial had established that Vioxx helped reduce gastrointestinal bleeding. That policy led some congressmen to accuse Merck of disclosing the good news about Vioxx but hiding the bad.
 
 Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) joined Democrats on the committee in sharply questioning Merck and the FDA. "It seems to me there's a disconnect here," he said. "You're saying your policies are legal, but are they ethical? Isn't this the scandal?"
 
 A 2004 study by FDA safety officer David Graham and others estimated that Vioxx caused as many as 140,000 heart attacks and strokes and killed as many as 55,000 people. Vioxx, which was approved by the FDA in May 1999, reached $2 billion in sales in two years, faster than any drug in Merck's history.
 
 The FDA's Steven Galson, acting director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, also came under criticism for the agency's handling of the Vioxx case, especially for the substantial lag time before the worrisome cardiovascular data from the 2000 trial were added to the drug's label. Galson said the agency had learned through the Vioxx episode that it should give doctors and patients more information about drugs as the incomplete research results come in.
 
 "The most important lesson . . . is that the American public, practitioners and patients want to get clear and accurate information as early as possible so they can participate in their own health care decisions," Galson said.
 
 The hearing also explored previously reported efforts by Merck to "neutralize" doctors who had concerns about Vioxx's safety by paying them to take part in clinical trials and offering grants and consultancies. Merck officials said their efforts were designed to dispel misinformation about their product.
 
 Until the Vioxx debacle, Gilmartin and Merck were highly regarded in the pharmaceutical industry. Gilmartin was a pioneer in providing cheap or free AIDS drugs to Africa, and Merck was long considered one of the most ethical -- and profitable -- companies. Since Sept. 30, the company has lost one-third of its stock value.
 
 In a conference call yesterday, Lawrence A. Bossidy, the new chairman of the Merck board's executive committee, said of Gilmartin, "In no way did we push him out." He said the company decided it was "time for change."
 
 Gilmartin's successor, Clark, 59, has been president of Merck's manufacturing division, which operates plants in 25 countries. Clark also served as chief executive of Medco Health Solutions Inc., one of the country's biggest managers of prescription drug programs.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May  6 04:02:09 2005
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Date: Fri May  6 04:07:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Teachers, Scientists Vow to Fight Challenge to Evolution
 
 By Peter Slevin
 
  TOPEKA, Kan., May 4 -- Alarmed by proposals to change how evolution is taught, scientists and teachers are mobilizing to fight back, asserting that educational standards are being threatened by what they consider a stealth campaign to return creationism to public schools.
 
 This week's battle is focused on Kansas, where State Board of Education hearings begin Thursday on evolution and intelligent design, a carefully marketed theory that challenges accepted understandings of Earth's origins in favor of the idea that a creator played a guiding role.
 
 Scientists warn that introducing challenges to evolution in the public school curriculum would weaken education, harm the economy and, as one paleontologist put it, open Kansas to ridicule as "the hayseed state." Science organizations are boycotting the hearings but plan to offer daily critiques.
 
 Teachers and trade groups around the country are working to build e-mail lists, lobby lawmakers and educate the public about the perceived perils of intelligent design. Lawyers are examining prospects for court challenges. Evolution's defenders would love to repeat the success of nuclear physicist Marshall Berman, who led a counterattack after winning a seat on the New Mexico education board.
 
 The activism marks a tactical shift for scientists and educators who dismissed intelligent design as little more than a fad of the religious right, only to see the concept gain favor and media attention. Where experts previously treated the issue as a hyper-rational debate over evidence they consider beyond dispute, they are learning what their opponents long knew.
 
 "It's a political battle. Education and evolution are hot-button items," said Jack Krebs, vice president of Kansas Citizens for Science. "Some scientists are starting to understand that this is a serious threat."
 
 Krebs and like-minded people are looking for ways to mobilize adherents and persuade the public. "Partly because scientists like to talk to themselves and not the public, the word's not getting out," said Peter Folger, outreach director at the American Geophysical Union.
 
 One goal is to show how few scientists around the world doubt evolutionary theory.
 
 The Discovery Institute, the strongest voice behind intelligent design, at one point gathered the names of 356 scientists who questioned evolution. In response, the National Center for Science Education located 543 scientists named Steve -- including a few Stephanies -- who declared the evidence "overwhelmingly in favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry."
 
 The NCSE was created to fight the dilution of evolutionary theory. With an annual budget of about $700,000, the California-based operation serves as a clearinghouse for worried teachers and citizen groups. Its Web site is stocked with news bulletins and teaching guides. Executive director Eugenie C. Scott rides the circuit, debating intelligent design proponents and giving speeches in what has become a growth industry.
 
 "We know a phenomenal amount about evolution," Scott told hundreds of science teachers in Dallas last month. "The science in creationism is terrible."
 
 Scott's opponents, who tend to be better funded, include the Discovery Institute, a Seattle think tank that spends more than $1 million a year for research and multimedia efforts. Others are Liberty University in Virginia and Answers in Genesis, a Kentucky organization.
 
 The science organizations concede that the anti-evolution forces have a catchier message. "Teach the controversy" and "Evolution is a theory, not a fact," resonate with many Americans who tell pollsters that God -- working alone or with evolutionary theory -- shaped the world. Discovery Institute geophysicist Stephen C. Meyer calls efforts to change standards "an academic freedom proposal."
 
 "Intelligent design has no scientific credibility, but they very effectively market a controversy," said Steven B. Case, head of the Kansas science standards committee. "They speak well in sound bites. 'Intelligent design' is a good one. They never specify a designer."
 
 "They appeal to this very nice social science notion of things: 'Oh, just give the kids the information and they'll decide.' There isn't a scientific debate and there's nothing for the kids to weigh. They say there's a controversy. We say there's not. So they say, 'See, we told you there's a controversy.' You get into these ridiculous rhetorical games."
 
 Scientists have used tools including carbon dating and genomic maps to demonstrate how evolution works. Although pieces are missing, experts in such fields as paleontology, molecular biology and biochemistry consider the evidence undeniable. To critics who dismiss evolution as a "theory," scientists reply that a theory, in scientific parlance, is a unifying concept -- such as gravity or electricity -- repeatedly tested and affirmed.
 
 Evolution's foes are united in suspicion of evolution's explanatory power even if they differ about how the world developed. Some favor the biblical version that God made Earth several thousand years ago. Others assert that science and evolutionary theory are simply inadequate to explain life's complexity.
 
 "Allow criticism of Darwinian evolution. Definitely let kids know about biases and assumptions that can affect interpretations," said researcher and Kansas science standards committee member William Harris. He believes God "played a role at some defined point."
 
 The NCSE is tracking challenges in nearly 20 states. The debate is often over wording.
 
 At the national level, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) demonstrated political savvy envied by scientists when he proposed an addition to the No Child Left Behind education bill in 2001: "Where biological evolution is taught, the curriculum should help students to understand why this subject generates so much continuing controversy, and should prepare the students to be informed participants in public discussions."
 
 The measure seemed innocuous enough and a "sense of the Senate" action passed 91 to 8. Only later did science groups conclude that Santorum, working with the Discovery Institute, sought to create an opening in how evolution would be taught.
 
 "When it was first introduced, we didn't really understand it. He did it at the eleventh hour, and we didn't know it was coming," said Jodi L. Peterson, legislative director of the National Science Teachers Association. Her group and others mobilized to quash it, but the language remained in the bill's nonbinding conference report.
 
 In Albuquerque, Berman, a Sandia National Laboratories physicist, noted his opponents' determination in 1998 after the New Mexico education board removed evolution from its teaching standards. Appalled, he ran for office and helped reverse the decision, but the issue was soon back. Evolution's foes, he said, "interpreted any statement . . . as an opening to teach intelligent design."
 
 In one closely fought duel, the Minnesota House last year agreed to place a benchmark in the life science section of the state standards saying that students must understand how new evidence and technology "can challenge portions or entire accepted theories and models, including but not limited to cell theory, theory of evolution and germ theory of disease."
 
 Opponents forced a compromise in which the language was removed from life science and included in a section on the history of science. State officials and the NCSE's Scott said each side got enough to declare victory.
 
 Here in Kansas, where the fight has raged for six years, the evolution forces won a round this year when a 26-member science standards committee refused to open the teaching of evolution to contrary views, which the majority considered unscientific. Steve Abrams, leader of the state board's conservative majority, then said the board intended to change the standards anyway, as the law allows.
 
 He scheduled four days of courtroom-style hearings that will be boycotted by Kansas scientists, along with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general science organization and publisher of the journal Science. The AAAS said the hearings "will most likely serve to confuse the public."
 
 Scientists tested several arguments at an April 21 meeting in Lawrence, playing off the state decision to spend at least $500 million to develop the bioscience industry. They predicted that a change in the curriculum would cripple state firms in the exceedingly competitive bioscience field, holding back the Kansas economy.
 
 Paleontologist Leonard Krishtalka called intelligent design "nothing more than creationism in a cheap tuxedo." He said the adoption of new standards would hurt the University of Kansas's ability to recruit faculty and students.
 
 "There's a great deal of hesitancy. They don't see this as a nurturing academic environment for themselves or their kids," said Krishtalka, director of the university's Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center. "It is ridiculous to backtrack to the 1700s and subvert our education to superstition and religion."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May  6 04:02:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May  6 04:08:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 In Kansas, A Sharp Debate on Evolution
 
 By Peter Slevin
 
  TOPEKA, Kan., May 5 -- Debating a question that the scientific establishment considers settled, Kansas education authorities put evolutionary theory on trial Thursday in a hearing marked by sharp exchanges over Earth's origins and what students should be taught in science class.
 
 Scientists who support the idea of intelligent design, a set of assumptions that challenges established scientific thinking, told an approving Kansas State Board of Education subcommittee that modern Darwinian theory relies too much on unproven reasoning. Gaps in the science, they argued, leave open the possibility that a creator, or an unidentified "designing mind," is responsible for earthly development.
 
 It would not be far-fetched, said William S. Harris, a Kansas City researcher who favors intelligent design, to conclude that DNA itself is the work of an intelligent being. Students, he said, should be told that.
 
 Outside the auditorium, scientists and educators dismissed the arguments as claptrap.
 
 "It's clear from the beginning that this is not a real science discussion. This is a showcase for intelligent design," said Jack Krebs, vice president of Kansas Citizens for Science, which is boycotting the four days of hearings. "They have created a straw man. They are trying to make science stand for atheism so they can fight atheism."
 
 The debate is the highest-profile confrontation over evolutionary theory in years, pitting the impassioned corps of anti-Darwinists against a scientific establishment that considers the evidence of the chemical and biological origins of life to be beyond dispute. It was made possible by Republican gains in November elections that gave the Kansas board a 6-4 conservative majority.
 
 Local and national science organizations are so disturbed by the proceedings that they are boycotting them, apart from advising Pedro Irigonegaray, a civil rights and defense lawyer recruited to defend the existing Kansas science standards. On the eve of the hearings, he predicted a "whitewash" but said he would fight nonetheless.
 
 "I had a delicious fantasy," the Cuban-born Irigonegaray said with a smile, recalling the offer to defend evolutionary theory. "I saw myself in a large courtroom, the fan moving slowly over my head, perhaps a skull in my hand, while I'm cross-examining a key witness."
 
 Take away the television cameras and the PowerPoint presentations, and Thursday's scene bore a resemblance to the 1925 Scopes trial in Dayton, Tenn., where a high school science teacher was famously convicted of violating a state law forbidding the teaching of evolution. This time, said Bruce Chapman, a former Reagan administration Census Bureau director, "This is the Scopes trial turned on its head."
 
 Chapman heads the Discovery Institute, whose Seattle offices overlooking Puget Sound have become the headquarters of the intelligent design movement, which posits that modern Darwinian theory is limited and that life is too complex to be explained by evolutionary theory alone. An early witness was Jonathan Wells, a Discovery senior fellow who described himself as "an old Berkeley antiwar radical" who loves controversy.
 
 Wells confirmed during cross-examination that he was a member of the Unification Church when he earned doctorates in theology from Yale and in biology from the University of California at Berkeley. In an Internet posting distributed outside the meeting by Kansas Citizens for Science, Wells refers to church leader Sun Myung Moon, saying, "Father's words, my studies and my prayers convinced me that I should devote my life to destroying Darwinism."
 
 Testifying to the three-member education committee, Wells described himself as an embryologist and theologian, and said evolutionary theory "has left the realm of science" and instead has become a given, leaving many conclusions unproven. He described the common scientific conclusion that all living things come from a common ancestor as essentially an act of faith.
 
 Harris, a specialist in omega-3 fatty acids, delivered the opening statement and outline of the testimony ahead. He said an essential goal of the hearings is to prove there is a scientific controversy about evolutionary theory and hence criticism that should be added to the school curriculum. A 26-member science standards committee concluded in March that the curriculum should remain unchanged. Harris and seven other members disagreed.
 
 Harris disputed the accepted wisdom that ancient simple life forms became ever more complex, evolving over billions of years into human beings, beavers, tarpon and a multitude of other life forms. He also said it would not be an "irresponsible deduction from the data" to say the genetic code contained in DNA was produced by an intelligent "mind."
 
 "Who's the designer?" asked Harris, a co-founder of Intelligent Design Network Inc. "I don't know."
 
 Usually it is the evolution forces that accuse the intelligent design side of wanting to teach religion in science class. But Harris said educators who teach Darwinian evolution effectively introduce religion by rejecting the possibility that God created the universe and all living things.
 
 Asked where he saw atheism in the Kansas science standards, Harris replied, "I see it between the lines."
 
 Early in his remarks, Harris projected a strategy letter from a Kansas Citizens for Science member onto a large screen on stage. It said the way to defeat the anti-evolution forces was be to portray them as political opportunists, evangelical activists, unprincipled bullies and ignoramuses.
 
 "Are we ignoramuses?" Harris asked the committee members. "Well, you'll have to decide."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May  6 04:04:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May  6 04:12:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Can You Sell It in Spanish?
 
 By Eugene Robinson
 
  Our aspirations drive the American consumer economy, so any change in the sacred process -- we see, we want, we dream, we buy -- has to have major implications. Such a change is just beginning to sink in: In today's America, more and more of our aspiring is being done in Spanish.
 
 On 19 evenings so far this television season, the network that captured the biggest number of viewers between the ages of 18 and 34 -- the young consumers whom advertisers covet above all others, the pampered royalty of couch-potatodom -- was not NBC, CBS, ABC or Fox, as the Wall Street Journal noted earlier this week. The winner was Univision, which broadcasts in Spanish.
 
 Since Americans and people who want to sell them things take television so very seriously, I can't think of a surer sign that we live in a bilingual, bicultural society. Spanish has become established as a second language. Whether this is permanent or not, a lot of high-watt marketing brainpower is being applied to figuring out what makes Spanish-speaking consumers tick.
 
 People grouped under the malleable term "Hispanic" are now without doubt the biggest minority in the United States, making up an estimated 14 percent of the population and growing fast. I almost put the word "minority" in quotes, since there are Hispanics who belong to all the standard racial categories, but the general consensus is that there are enough overlapping affinities to define the Hispanic population as a distinct group.
 
 According to census data and numerous studies, a large majority of U.S. Hispanics -- between two-thirds and three-quarters -- live in a bilingual world. That helps explain why Univision and its smaller rival Telemundo are growing rapidly, though neither yet receives as full a share of advertising dollars as the nation's changing demography might advise.
 
 Marketing is basically the science of figuring out which of our buttons to push to make us feel, deep in our hearts and souls, that one brand of mayonnaise or disposable diaper will make our lives richer and more fulfilled than any other brand. A significant chunk of market share will go to companies that decode the Hispanic consumer, who controls buying power in the neighborhood of $400 billion a year.
 
 Felipe Korzenny, who heads the newly founded Center for the Study of Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University, says language is one of the keys. For previous generations of Hispanics, "the idea was to blend" in a progression that went from Spanish-dominant to bilingual to English-dominant assimilation. Now, he says, due in part to a reinforcement of Hispanic identity, both Spanish-dominant immigrants and assimilated English-speakers have come to see being bilingual as the ultimate goal.
 
 Hispanics who belong to that golden 18-34 demographic watch Spanish-language and English-language television about equally, most studies suggest. Thus advertisers have to hedge their bets. You might, for example, sell your soft drinks by buying ad time on Univision's "Sabado Gigante," the wacky Saturday-night variety show that has been hosted by the voluble Don Francisco for what seems like a century. You'd have done well to buy time on the recent finale of Univision's telenovela "Rubi," which beat all comers in the 18-34 group. But you'd probably also want to spend big bucks for time on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," where Hispanic viewers have been avidly tuning in -- maybe because the youngest and steamiest of the female leads is Eva Longoria, a Mexican American, and maybe because the show, with its continuing over-the-top plotlines, is a lot like a telenovela itself.
 
 Big stars such as Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek have been showing up in commercials on the English-language networks, and sometimes in the ads you can hear snippets of Spanish. And have you noticed that those commercials warning you to maintain a good credit rating so you can achieve the American dream of homeownership -- "We got the house!" the mother exclaims in delight -- now feature Hispanics too, instead of just us black people?
 
 But so far, Korzenny says, most of the marketing aimed at Hispanics has been relatively unsophisticated -- nostalgia, lots of dancing, grandmother in the kitchen serving up food for her big, close-knit family. Why is it important, he asks, for a Hispanic mother to buy, say, Pampers? What's her motivation? Is it to make the child more comfortable? Is it because she wants to give her child the right start in life? Is it to assuage guilt and anxiety, to make her feel that she's being a better mother?
 
 Figure that out, deliver your subtle message in Spanish, and you'll make some money.
 
 The writer will be available to answer questions at 3 p.m. today on www.washingtonpost.com. His e-mail address iseugenerobinson@washpost.com.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May  6 04:03:58 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May  6 04:12:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Pyongyang's Bomb
 
 By David Ignatius
 
  Here's a chilling scenario from the CIA's former top Asia hand: Within a year, North Korea is likely to test a nuclear weapon, probably in a cave or mine shaft somewhere in the barren northeast of the country.
 
 A small amount of radioactive fallout will leak from the test site and drift toward Japan. Financial markets in Tokyo and Seoul will be rocked by the news. Foreign companies in South Korea will weigh whether to pull out dependents or reduce their operations. And Washington will debate whether to impose a blockade or other tough measures to contain the North Korean nuclear breakout.
 
 That's the essence of a briefing being given to some major U.S. companies by Arthur Brown, who retired in December as chief of the East Asia division of the CIA's clandestine service. He's now a senior vice president for the consulting firm Control Risks Group. He says the briefing is based entirely on unclassified material. It mirrors concerns in intelligence circles.
 
 Brown argues that the North Korean test is the next step in a nuclear weapons program that has been underway for nearly 50 years. The country is already a "declared" nuclear state after announcing this year that it has weapons. It wants to become a "recognized" nuclear state, like China, India or Pakistan. But to achieve that status, it must first make itself a "demonstrated" power by conducting a nuclear test. Or so goes Brown's analysis.
 
 Pyongyang's nuclear efforts began in 1956, just three years after the end of the Korean War, when the country signed an agreement with the Soviet Union to train nuclear scientists; the Soviets helped build North Korea's first reactor in 1965. In 1974 the North Koreans added a nuclear training agreement with China. They built a second small reactor in 1986 at Yongbyon, and the United States detected a third, larger reactor there in 1989; these reactors could enrich plutonium fuel rods to the levels necessary to make a bomb. The North Koreans agreed to freeze their plutonium program in 1994, and they put 8,000 fuel rods at Yongbyon under seal. But they continued covertly along another bomb-making route, using highly enriched uranium created in special centrifuges apparently obtained from Pakistan.
 
 What convinces Brown that North Korea will soon test a weapon is that the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, has been increasingly open about his goal of joining the nuclear club. When the United States found evidence of the covert uranium enrichment program in 2002, the North made no effort to deny it -- and promptly resumed reprocessing the plutonium fuel rods as well. In October 2003 North Korea warned that it was "willing to physically display nuclear capability," its code phrase for testing. Last year a senior official said his country "needs nuclear weapons for self-defense." And in February the North Koreans announced that they "have manufactured nuclear weapons and will retain them under any circumstances."
 
 A model for the coming nuclear test, says Brown, was North Korea's 1998 test-firing of a three-stage Taepodong-1 missile over Japan and into the Pacific. That test was announced by the North Korean news agency, just as Brown expects the coming nuclear test will be. And North Korea hasn't made any effort to deny last week's statement by Vice Admiral Lowell E. Jacoby, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, that it now has the technology to produce an actual warhead that could fit atop missiles which, by U.S. intelligence estimates, could reach parts of the United States.
 
 Kim Jong Il is often seen as a reckless madman, as in President Bush's description of him last week as a "tyrant" and "dangerous person" who "starves his own people" and has "huge concentration camps." But Brown argues that however brutal Kim's policies are, he has pursued what in his context is a rational course. "Kim sees only two options -- Baghdad or Islamabad," says Brown. In other words, he can wait for an American attack or he can move quickly to show his nuclear cards -- hoping he can then bargain for a deal that ensures his regime's survival. In Brown's view, "the chance that Kim Jong Il will negotiate away his nuclear option is close to zero."
 
 The only perverse benefit of a North Korean nuclear test is that it would force neighboring states -- such as China and South Korea -- to end their denial and face reality. A nuclear North Korea poses a deadly and destabilizing threat for Asia. Dealing with that threat will require more active cooperation between the United States and its Asian friends. A nuclear test is one hell of a wake-up call, but in this case maybe it's a necessary one.
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May  6 04:06:31 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May  6 04:13:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14262859.1115377591490.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Victimizer and Victim
 
 By Richard Cohen
 
  Lynndie England, "the pointer,'' as some have called her, the one holding the leashed Iraqi prisoner, the soldier with the smirk, pointing at the genitals of the naked men -- that Lynndie England -- has admitted her wrongdoing and, before the military judge ruled otherwise, pleaded guilty to seven counts of mistreating prisoners. She said she was talked into it. For what it's worth, I believe her.
 
 For the moment, her fate is up in the air. The judge says he won't have it both ways -- England admitting she knew what she did was wrong, her more experienced superior at the time contradicting her by saying she thought she was abusing and humiliating prisoners for legitimate training purposes. The judge   threw out the conspiracy count to which England had already pleaded guilty. "You can't have a one-person conspiracy," the judge said. About that he is surely right.
 
 So England continues to be an odd, unlikely puppet on the strings of fate. For a while, there was no more famous face in all the world than this Army reservist's. She was some sort of anti-Statue of Liberty, the female personification of what some people insisted America had become. There she was holding the dog leash or posing with the pathetic nude men or climbing on them with her alleged lover and ringleader, then-Cpl. Charles Graner Jr., since busted to private and serving a 10-year sentence in a military jail. It was Graner who gave England the alibi she apparently did not want: She was, really and truly, only following orders.
 
 There is no end to the sadness of Lynndie England. There is no excusing what she did, but explaining is a different matter. She is that rare genuine article, the cliche, the stereotype that turns out upon investigation to be true. She lived with her family in a trailer in West Virginia. She's only a high school graduate. She married when she was 19 -- on a lark, she told her friends, and then for only two years.
 
 She joined the Army Reserve not, as the flag-wavers would like it, for patriotic reasons but for college money (she wanted to be a meteorologist and chase storms). She had an affair or something with Graner in Iraq and has a baby by him. He apparently encouraged her to abuse prisoners. He also married another woman.
 
 A psychologist from her home area testified that England had been a blue baby, born also with a malformation of the tongue that gave her a speech impediment. Apparently, she often chose not to talk at all. She had a learning disability as well. And you can see -- can't you? -- what no one will testify to: She's homely -- and that matters for a woman in America. She posed for pornographic pictures with Graner. The discipline of the Army apparently meant she no longer had to have any herself. This is why fascism can be so (sexually) exciting.
 
 In 1995 Bernhard Schlink, a German law professor and novelist, published "The Reader'' -- a powerful and erotic tale of a relationship between a teenage boy and the illiterate woman he reads to. The two have an affair, and it is only years later that the man discovers his former lover was a guard at Auschwitz. It was a job she fell into, something she could do and not have to reveal that she could not read. She was a victim, pathetic, but she was also a beast. To understand is not necessarily to forgive. In the end, she could not even forgive herself.
 
 It is the same with Lynndie England. She is the sort of woman who gets used by others, most often men. Powerless everywhere in life except on her end of the leash, she just had to come night after night to the section of Abu Ghraib where Graner held sway. She was admonished for this -- her real work was suffering -- but Graner drew her. She knew that what she was doing was wrong -- "I could have said no,'' she told the military court. "I knew it was wrong.'' But in all likelihood, only theoretically could she have said no. Some women always say yes.
 
 How sad, how ironic, that this wee woman should have become the personification of supposed American arrogance. Like all those convicted for the abuses of Abu Ghraib, she is one of America's little people -- not an officer, not even regular Army, but one of a collection of nobodies just trying to get somewhere better. Lynndie England was one of them, and she is suffering for that -- officially for abusing prisoners, actually for being a loser. Whatever the outcome of her trial, the sentence will be life.
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May  6 05:01:26 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri May  6 05:06:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] What I find offensive !!
References: <001601c551d8$4ca673d0$4f3fe440@Harold>
	<00b001c551d9$e8623330$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>
Message-ID: <002201c55233$57507eb0$1e27e440@Harold>

 Hi Ian, I did exaggerate a little 'Iraq no longer front page', it was in order to make a point ........ that the war is not the major concern of the American people that it once was ...... even though recent polls have stated that the majority think that the war was a mistake .......that people are starting to speak their mind/opinion of it without the fear being branded anti-American, anti-Christen ....... the mindless passion/obsession by the people for the war is not there anymore,  now that certain truths are coming out and the futility of the action in Iraq ...... now the concern is more about saving face and how to bring everyone still alive home .....  

How to protect their new found oil reserves in the middle east will be another issue.

I do not think Mr Bush really understands the full responsibility of being the President of these United States, especially to the young women and men that have been killed and or wounded in this/his irresponsible folly. He should be at his desk solving the problems and not playing with his campaign contributors and business associates.

Peace, H
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ian 
  To: Harold Sifton ; mb-civic@islandlists.com 
  Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 9:21 PM
  Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] What I find offensive !!


  Harry:

  As Shakespeare didn;t say, Methinks thou dost protest just a tad overmuch.  Although I agree about Bush "fiddling while Rome burns," in point of fact every bombing and death in Iraq continues to be front page news here, at least in the NY Times, as well as other major dailies.

  Peace.
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Harold Sifton 
    To: MB Civic 
    Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 9:09 PM
    Subject: [Mb-civic] What I find offensive !!


    What I find offensive, is that you have a President and a First Lady "partying" while their Nation is at war!

    Young American men and women are dying every day in Iraq and yet the Mrs's is telling desperate wives jokes, and the President is playing golf and relaxing in Crawford every other week.

    Any other past President was 24/7 at their desk, including Johnson and Nixon. Bush is not, and he only does a press release when he has too!

    I just do not understand, America is at war, yet it is not the primary concern of the Nation!

    Iraq is no longer front page, even if 10 or 11 troops are killed in one day!

    Michael Jackson and the new Star Wars movie are bigger events. 

    The facts are there, yet the American people do nothing about it !!

    God Forgive America !

    Later H










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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May  6 05:10:17 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May  6 05:15:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited Politics: Chastened Labour wins
	historic third term
Message-ID: <20050506121017.1B1EE1BA3@herring.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited Politics site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

I think you are going to see a different Mr Blair, one that will not be cow tailing Bush's administration.
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited Politics site, go to http://politics.guardian.co.uk

Chastened Labour wins historic third term
Latest results: seats by partyLive interactive results map
Simon Jeffery and Sarah Left
Friday May 06 2005
The Guardian


A chastened Labour party this morning entered an unprecedented third term with its majority slashed by around 100 seats.

With counts in 27 seats still outstanding, Labour looked likely to be returned with a majority of 66, down from its 165 majority in 2001. 

Seats were lost to the Conservatives in London and the south-east while Liberal Democrat candidates ousted sitting Labour MPs in big cities across the nation.

The incomplete results gave Labour 353 seats, the Conservatives 195 and the Liberal Democrats 59. The share of the vote looked much closer, with Labour winning a 36% share of the national vote against the Conservatives, on 33%, and the Liberal Democrats on 22%. That result puts Labour back in office with the lowest share of the vote in British electoral history.

Tony Blair acknowledged that the war in Iraq had been a "divisive issue" as he was re-elected to his Sedgefield constituency. Senior party figures including Gordon Brown and David Blunkett stressed that Labour had to listen to the public.

In a victory speech to party activists in central London early this morning, Mr Blair celebrated the party's historic third term win but acknowledged: "Good comrades have fallen. 

"Thank you all very much. How does it feel to be part of a third-term Labour government?" he asked as the crowd cheered and chanted "Four more years! Four more years!"      

"We have got a mandate to govern this country again. We have got to listen to the people and respond wisely and sensibly, but they have made it very clear they wanted to carry on with Labour and not go back to the Tory years."

However, Mr Blair's pledge to serve out a third term seemed likely to be undercut by the unexpectedly strong swing against Labour, sparking speculation that the chancellor, Gordon Brown, would take over as prime minister relatively soon. 

One of the most bitter failures for Labour last night was the loss of the Blairite Oona King's seat to the former Labour MP George Galloway. He took the seat in Bethnal Green and Bow, in east London, for his antiwar Respect party.  

Other ministerial casualties included the schools minister, Stephen Twigg, who lost the Enfield North seat he memorably won from the senior Conservative Michael Portillo in May 1997. The health minister Melanie Johnson and the constitutional affairs minister, Chris Leslie, also fell.

Another former Labour member, Peter Law, took Blaenau Gwent, seat of the former Labour leaders Nye Bevan and Michael Foot, from the Blairite Maggie Jones.

David Mellor's former seat of Putney, in south-west London, returned to the Tories on a 6% swing. Other Conservative gains in the capital and the south-east included Wimbledon, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hemel Hempstead and Ilford North. Elsewhere the Tories won Peterborough, Harwich, Shipley and Monmouth.

In an unusual concession speech, the Conservative leader, Michael Howard, said he would support Mr Blair in office if he delivered on the Tory campaign pledges of cleaner hospitals and reduced immigration.

He said the result was a good one for the Conservatives, who looked to have gained more than 30 seats. 

He told a crowd in his Folkestone constituency: "For the Conservative party it marks a real advance towards our recovery. The task which faces us in the next parliament is to complete that recovery, and it is a task I am sure everyone in the Conservative party will address with real relish." 

Mr Blair - who turns 52 today - said it was clear from the result that "the British people wanted the return of a Labour government with a reduced majority" and that the party had to respond.

Speaking in Kirkcaldy, Mr Brown marked his re-election to the constituency with a promise that Labour would "listen and learn" in its third term.

The Liberal Democrats increased their share of the vote from 18.3% in 2001 but fell short of the hoped-for breakthrough. The party's vaunted "decapitation strategy" to unseat high-ranking Tories failed, and positioning it to the left of Labour looked to have backfired in seats where the Tories were the main challengers.

Tim Collins, the shadow education secretary, fell to a Liberal Democrat challenge, but the Tory frontbenchers Oliver Letwin, David Davis and Theresa May withstood Charles Kennedy's campaign.

The Liberal Democrats took seats from Labour in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol and London. They also took Solihull and Taunton from the Tories but lost Newbury and Guildford. 

In a possible sign of future recriminations over Labour's campaign, Alan Milburn, Labour's election coordinator, told Mr Blair he no longer wanted to serve in the cabinet.

The result may also provoke soul-searching among the Tories, who were condemned to a third successive term in opposition. If the party had taken the 209 seats predicted in the exit polls, the total would have equalled only the number won by Labour in 1983 under Mr Foot, whose manifesto was criticised as "the longest suicide note in history".

Alastair Campbell, Mr Blair's former spokesman, said the result showed the Tories were "flatlining".

The Conservatives suffered from a strong gender gap in the exit poll. While 36% of male voters were prepared to back Michael Howard, only 27% of women said they were prepared to do so. This gave Labour an election-winning 12-point lead among women, 39% of whom voted for Tony Blair compared with 37% of men.

Labour had 410 MPs in the last parliament, with the Tories and Liberal Democrats on 164 and 54. Although neither opposition party believed it could deny Mr Blair a majority, they succeeded in their goal of cutting it down to double figures.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 07:22:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Fri May  6 07:27:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Forward from a Friend
Message-ID: <00e901c55247$16129780$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

A friend sent me this:

Bush vs. The Press

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 29, 2005; 8:06 AM

Why have Bush's numbers reached the lowest point of his presidency?

Everyone's got a theory, just as everyone is now floating a theory on
whether he helped himself at last night's rarity of a prime-time press
conference.

One thing is clear: the 47 percent president (according to ABC/WP) hasn't
gotten off to a rip-roaring start for someone who took his second oath of
office just 3-1/2 months ago.

A popular view, endorsed by David Broder , is overreaching. Bush used much
of his capital pushing a divisive Social Security plan that seems to be
going nowhere fast. He's still pushing big tax cuts despite a scary deficit.
He rammed through a bankruptcy bill and tort-law measure to pander to his
business base. And he went along with the GOP charge to intervene in the
Terri Schiavo case, which proved to be quite unpopular with the country. Oh,
and Iraq is still a mess.

Another theory is that Bush is being dragged down by Tom DeLay, who just got
a lift on Air Force One, and what's playing in the press as a constant flow
of ethics allegations against DeLay. And with Bill Frist speaking to
Christian conservatives about the blocking of judicial nominees deemed
"people of faith," the Democrats might be getting some traction by painting
the GOP as the party of religious extremists. Not to mention that about
two-thirds of the country is opposed to the Cheney/Frist plan to blow up the
filibuster.

All of the above may be true, but political prognosticators sometimes forget
that average folks don't follow every twist and turn of Beltway infighting.
So keep in mind: Gas prices have been rising. The stock market has been in a
swoon. The economy is not exactly inspiring confidence. All that has got to
be hurting Bush. When people feel economic anxiety-- and see that their
leaders appear more obsessed with one brain-damaged woman, parliamentary
procedures and fiddling with their retirement money--that's when you suffer
in the polls.

At first CBS and Fox were going to blow off the presser on the first night
of sweeps, but backed off when the White House agreed to move up the start
time from 8:30 to 8.

Let's start with the hard news, such as it was:

"President Bush, seeking support from Democrats and moderate Republicans for
an overhaul of Social Security, said tonight that he favored changing the
pension system to enable benefits for low-income workers to grow faster than
those for wealthy retirees," says the Los Angeles Times .

Now tell me if you see a pattern. The Boston Globe : "President Bush, in a
prime-time effort to reverse the perception that his Social Security plan is
faltering. . . . "

The Philadelphia Inquirer : "President Bush acted to jump-start his moribund
effort to overhaul Social Security last night. . . . "

The Wall Street Journal: "President Bush, struggling to give life to his
initiative to revamp Social Security. . . . "

Washington Post : "President Bush made a huge gamble last night in a bid to
restore momentum to his flagging proposal to restructure Social Security --
and to his presidency."

What did Bush accomplish? Not much, says the New York Times :

"With his presidency at best becalmed - and at worst beset - just 99 days
into his second term, President Bush seized the prime-time power of an East
Room news conference for only the fourth time in his tenure in an effort to
show that he could still do what he has always done in the face of storms
around him: make his own weather.

"But even after his hourlong encounter with reporters was over on Thursday
night, the atmosphere remained unsettled. The changes he suggested to help
keep Social Security solvent seemed unlikely to unfreeze the stalemate on
Capitol Hill over revising the system. He acknowledged that he had no easy
fix for high gasoline prices, nor any firm timetable for bringing American
troops home from Iraq.

"And his robust defense of John R. Bolton, his nominee to be ambassador to
the United Nations, did not remove the questions about Mr. Bolton's handling
of information or his treatment of subordinates."

The Baltimore Sun says this could be the beginning of the end:

"Last night may have been the moment his plan to add private retirement
accounts for younger workers finally started taking off. Or it may have
marked the beginning of his exit strategy. . . .

"While outlining, for the first time, a set of principles that addresses the
program's projected funding shortfall, Bush also signaled strongly that he's
prepared to blame Congress if nothing happens."

Ron Brownstein 's take in the LAT: "After devoting most of his energy this
year to his proposal to restructure Social Security, Bush opened the session
by expressing concern about rising gas prices. That responded to fears among
some congressional Republicans that the party appeared out of touch with the
kitchen-table concerns of most Americans while focusing in recent weeks on
such issues as judicial appointments, the legal struggle over Terri Schiavo
and even the long-term health of Social Security."

Salon's Farhad Manjoo contrasts Bush's standing with his reelection:

"Six months later, Bush is the dog that didn't bite. He approaches the end
of the first 100 days of his second term with approval ratings that fall
below those of all other reelected presidents in the modern era. Americans
aren't happy with the direction in which the country is heading. They don't
like the economy, and they don't like the war. They also don't like Bush's
plans for the nation. If it isn't already dead, Bush's signature
domestic-policy effort, the plan to privatize Social Security, is in a
persistent vegetative state; hated by Democrats, independents and even
Republicans, only divine intervention can save it."

Manjoo does give Bush this: "It's not entirely accurate to say that the
polls show the country as recently turning against Bush.

"What's truer is that the country never really liked him."

What's even truer is that the country (by a slight majority) liked him
better than Kerry.
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:23:35 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:28:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraq's Violence Sweeps Away All the Norms
Message-ID: <20050506142350.3C84713B7DD@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 6, 2005

Iraq's Violence Sweeps Away All the Norms
By SABRINA TAVERNISE

In the violence that has smashed so many lives, there are quieter stories of people coping with the car bombs and kidnappings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/international/middleeast/06bombs.html?ex=1116043200&en=3560b03f95668a4d&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:24:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:29:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Serious Drug Problem
Message-ID: <20050506142403.A2C4B11FA19@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 6, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: A Serious Drug Problem
By PAUL KRUGMAN

The 2003 Medicare bill is an object lesson in how special interests hold America's health care system hostage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/opinion/06krugman.html?ex=1116043200&en=9c1089d56b9a8123&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:24:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:29:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Faith,
	Politics and Lincoln's Example (6 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050506142455.4BFA83AE60E@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | May 6, 2005

Faith, Politics and Lincoln's Example (6 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/opinion/l06brooks.html?ex=1116043200&en=d2e458d11e9f3642&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:24:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:30:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Tuning in to Jon Stewart,
	and Britney Schmidt
Message-ID: <20050506142418.F3D1D11FA42@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 6, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Tuning in to Jon Stewart, and Britney Schmidt
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

I've always found book tours to be a useful way to be a foreign correspondent in America and take the pulse of the country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/opinion/06friedman.html?ex=1116043200&en=3554d4a69a70b671&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:25:32 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:30:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Abbas's Allies Win Palestinian Elections
Message-ID: <20050506142534.EA42024AFAA@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 6, 2005

Abbas's Allies Win Palestinian Elections
By GREG MYRE

The Fatah movement of the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas beat back a strong challenge by the Islamic movement Hamas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/international/middleeast/06mideast.html?ex=1116043200&en=0e99bddc53578e85&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:26:05 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:31:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Palestinians to Get Aid, With Strings,
	in House Plan
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WASHINGTON | May 6, 2005

Palestinians to Get Aid, With Strings, in House Plan
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

The House of Representatives approved $200 million in aid for Palestinians, and the White House welcomed the vote despite restrictions on how the money is to be spent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/politics/06aid.html?ex=1116043200&en=4c41ee8ba28ae80a&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:26:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:31:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Conservatives Fail in Bid to Topple
	Canada's Liberal Government
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INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | May 6, 2005

Conservatives Fail in Bid to Topple Canada's Liberal Government
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

The Conservative Party staged a surprise move to topple Prime Minister Paul Martin's government, but the maneuver was ruled out of order.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/international/americas/06canada.html?ex=1116043200&en=0656dac50d103214&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:25:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:31:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Insurgents Press Attacks on Iraq Security
	Forces, Killing 22
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 6, 2005

Insurgents Press Attacks on Iraq Security Forces, Killing 22
By SABRINA TAVERNISE

The attacks were the latest in a series of bombings that began a week ago with the announcement of Iraq's new cabinet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/international/middleeast/06iraq.html?ex=1116043200&en=b145aadec55edfc4&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:26:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:31:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Afghan Rebels Step Up Attacks,
	Killing 9 Near Pakistani Border
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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 6, 2005

Afghan Rebels Step Up Attacks, Killing 9 Near Pakistani Border
By CARLOTTA GALL

The ambush in southern Afghanistan was the worst single attack by insurgents against the newly trained Afghan National Army.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/international/asia/06afghanistan.html?ex=1116043200&en=9f64619e54e37413&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:27:55 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:32:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bush Administration Rolls Back Rule on
	Building Forest Roads
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WASHINGTON | May 6, 2005

Bush Administration Rolls Back Rule on Building Forest Roads
By FELICITY BARRINGER

The new rule gives governors a primary role in making recommendations on which national forest areas should retain protections.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/politics/06roadless.html?ex=1116043200&en=d8f9e2b84578f3af&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 08:28:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May  6 07:34:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Earth Has Become Brighter,
	but No One Is Sure Why
Message-ID: <20050506142844.E165D22F10E@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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SCIENCE | May 6, 2005

Earth Has Become Brighter, but No One Is Sure Why
By KENNETH CHANG

The brightening could partly explain the record-high global temperatures reported in the late 1990's, and it could accelerate the planet's warming trend.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/science/06bright.html?ex=1116043200&en=55dc3d36554f2c06&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri May  6 08:12:42 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri May  6 08:17:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US school battle over evolution
Message-ID: <20050506_151242_056112.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** US school battle over evolution **
The Kansas state school board in the US is holding four days of hearings challenging evolution.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4521157.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  Fri May  6 08:13:46 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri May  6 08:18:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Meningitis outbreak strikes India
Message-ID: <20050506_151346_096698.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Meningitis outbreak strikes India **
An outbreak of meningitis in the Indian capital Delhi kills 15 and infects over 100 others, officials say.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4520335.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri May  6 08:15:14 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri May  6 09:01:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Antioxidants a key to 'long life'
Message-ID: <20050506_151514_062810.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Antioxidants a key to 'long life' **
Scientists have prolonged the lives of mice by boosting the natural antioxidants of the body.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4520727.stm >


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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri May  6 09:20:54 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri May  6 09:26:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How the Democrats have been paralysed by Bush >By Anatol
	Lieven
Message-ID: <BEA0E776.20000%michael@michaelbutler.com>


 
FT.com     
 
Click Here to Print
      EMAIL THIS | Close
 
How the Democrats have been paralysed by Bush
>By Anatol Lieven
>Published: May 5 2005 19:51 | Last updated: May 5 2005 19:51
>>

The Democrats can still damage the Bush administration on foreign policy
when it does something really stupid - such as nominate John Bolton as
ambassador to the United Nations. They are able to do this because the kind
of wild unilateralist nationalism represented by Mr Bolton divides the
Republican party itself.

But for the Democrats, making foreign policy a foundation for the struggle
to win the presidency in 2008 comes up against two immense obstacles. The
first is that, by its messianic rhetoric of spreading "freedom" in the world
and confronting "evil", the administration has seized control of a national
myth that is common to the great majority of Americans, and has most often
been expressed in the past by Democrat leaders.

The second obstacle is that, despite this messianic rhetoric, in practice
the Bush administration in most parts of the world is pursuing a rather
cautious and realist strategy. It is not carrying out the kind of extreme
actions that would alarm many ordinary Americans and lead to repeated splits
in the Republican party.

Whatever it has done in the past and may do again in future, at the moment
the foreign policy sins of the Bush administration are of omission rather
than commission. Thus, dominant forces in the administration are not doing
nearly enough to push Israel towards peace with the Palestinians, but they
are doing far more than in their first term. They are not moving towards
detente with Iran, but equally they do not seem close to attacking that
country. They are not prepared to listen to the Europeans on many issues,
but they are working for the public appearance of harmony and co-operation.

Most of President George W. Bush's policy towards China has been
characterised by considerable pragmatism and restraint. His summit with
President Vladimir Putin in Bratislava, and the latest visit to Moscow of
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, demonstrate a generally pragmatic
approach to relations with Russia.

Intellectually and morally, this combination of messianism and pragmatism is
extremely contradictory. And in particular cases, the Democrats can
embarrass the administration by pointing out the contradictions. They
cannot, however, make such attacks the centrepiece of their own foreign
policy approach. For exactly this same contradiction has over time
characterised Democratic administrations too; it is no temporary phenomenon
but a deep and apparently permanent feature of American political culture.

Americans as a nation want to feel that they are very good people and, at
the same time, to serve their own interests - like most people, no doubt,
but more so and more obviously.

This is not without its dangers. It can increase international perceptions
of American hypocrisy and mendacity. It is in permanent danger of being
shown up by events - for example, an anti-American democratic movement in a
Muslim country leading to renewed US support for dictatorship and
repression.

It is also an unstable mixture that, if subjected to shocks, can contribute
to reckless international adventures, such as Vietnam and Iraq, partly
justified to the American people in terms of America's moral mission.

Within America, however, this mixture works very well indeed. By stealing
the Democrats' Wilsonian trousers while avoiding further international
adventures, the Republicans have almost paralysed their opponents. Except
when a Bolton comes along to concentrate their attention, internal
Democratic discussions on foreign policy at present are generally a mixture
of nitpicking, imitation and confusion.

There is, of course, one immensely powerful strain in the American
historical tradition that is almost absent from the national debate: namely
isolationism, and this will probably be the case for a long time. Leaving
aside America's stake in the world economy and interest in innumerable
international issues, a turn towards isolationism would have to mean
drastically reducing US dependence on imported oil, drastically reducing US
support for Israel, and drastically cutting employment in the US foreign and
security establishment.

The US establishment is therefore united in ruling out even a mild version
of isolationism. Whether this will be true forever remains an open question,
given the immense financial, human and moral costs to the US of the present
strategy of global domination.

The writer is author of America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American
Nationalism (Harper Collins/OUP)
>
>
>
 
 
 
Find this article at:
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May  6 09:21:54 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri May  6 09:27:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment - Deficits cannot simply be ignored 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May  6 09:23:06 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri May  6 09:28:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment - Public policy and the pursuit of
	happiness 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu May  5 18:55:31 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri May  6 09:31:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] about Mexico's possible future President..
Message-ID: <200505061631.j46GVfoQ000820@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

We've been hearing a lot lately about the "populist" or "leftist" 
Mexico City mayor who may be Mexico's next President.  Here 
on Cinco de Mayo is an article that illuminates him a bit...

With His Star Rising, Mexican Populist Faces New Tests
By GINGER THOMPSON , NY Times

May 4, 2005


MEXICO CITY, May 3 - He is mayor of the largest city in the hemisphere,
and this country's latest political phenomenon. He can summon tens of
thousands into the streets at will. In a whirlwind three weeks he staged
the biggest protest in Mexico's recent history and turned back a legal
challenge from the Mexican president and Congress that threatened to end
his political career.

Now Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador is considered the favorite to be elected
president next year. "What we saw last Sunday was proof that this is a new
society," the mayor said during an interview last week, referring to the
protest march, "that the traditional structures of power are not in
control, not even with all their money and media." Indeed, while Mr. L?pez
Obrador, a 51-year-old widower and father of three sons, has proven that
he can motivate this country's vast underclass, what remains unclear is
whether he will be able to keep pro-American businesspeople and the
fragile middle class on his side.

He is better known for picking political fights than building bridges. And
his left-leaning, hard-charging political style has many in the ruling
elite and analysts abroad worried that Mexico could go the way of
Venezuela, which is embroiled in a class war as President Hugo Ch?vez
rides a wave of anti-American sentiment.

It is a wave that has swept leftist politicians into power across Latin
America. And like Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva in Brazil and Tabar? V?squez
of Uruguay, Mr. L?pez Obrador personifies the angry disappointment with
Washington-backed promarket economic policies that have stabilized the
economy for the rich but failed to lift up the poor. His rise to power
would move that frustration to the United States' door.

In the interview, Mayor L?pez Obrador rejected comparisons to leftist
movements across the region. He said he considered himself a purely
Mexican phenomenon, shaped by a devout Catholic mother, a devastating
family tragedy and a poet who wrote about Mexico's beautiful landscapes
and introduced him to this country's grimmest struggles.

At his core, the mayor said, he remains an underdog activist from the
tropics, where politics can be a rough-and-tumble affair. But, he said, he
has been a player in national politics for nearly a decade, having served
as head of the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party before becoming
mayor in 2000.

He pointed to his record as mayor of this monster of a city, pulling out
financial statements that showed the lowest debt increases in the last 20
years as proof that he is qualified to run the national economy. He
pointed to the nearly one million people who marched on this city last
month as a sign that a growing number of Mexicans think so too. "The
mentality of the people has changed," he said. "They are willing to stand
up for democracy. That's what we were betting on. And we bet right."

Indeed, the embattled mayor, known in Mexico - J.F.K.-like - as AMLO,
defies easy labels. He holds daily news conferences at 6:30 a.m., but
brushes off most substantive questions and has blocked enforcement of
freedom of information laws.

He has been criticized by conservatives for spending lavishly on welfare
for the elderly, a shelter for prostitutes too old to work and
double-decker freeways to ease traffic. He rattled the left when he
blocked laws that would have legalized gay unions, forged agreements with
business tycoons to restore this city's historic center and brought former
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York to help design zero-tolerance crime
policies.

And in what even his closest aides considered a major blunder that
alienated the middle class, he said the organizers of a citizens' march
against crime were pawns in a right-wing conspiracy against him.

Like almost every other political leader in this country, Mr. L?pez
Obrador started out in the authoritarian Institutional Revolutionary
Party, or PRI, which dominated the government for more than seven decades.
His supporters point out that he agitated against corruption within that
party, then abandoned it to help lead a leftist opposition movement that
put Mexico on the road to greater democracy.

Political analysts said the mayor is an expression of the broad
disappointment with President Vicente Fox, who has failed to deliver on
his sweeping promises for reform; a nostalgia for the firm hand of the
PRI; and a reluctance among people to surrender their dreams of change.

"It has been said that L?pez Obrador writes his speeches with his left
hand and governs with his right," said H?ctor Zagal, co-author of a
biography of the mayor. "He's a product of the old PRI, with all its flaws
and virtues."

Manuel Camacho Sol?s, a federal legislator and the mayor's chief political
strategist, said: "He is comfortable as a social leader, and he does it
well, but he has had to work on learning to govern. To be president he
needs to win people's respect through dialogue, not in conflict with
them."

Mayor L?pez Obrador did not disagree. "There is the impression that I am
authoritarian," he said. "But social movements require strong leadership.
This fight is very hard. And at times it hardens the heart, but not
forever."

Clues about the mayor, named for his father, Andr?s, and his mother,
Manuela, are scattered across the southern state of Tabasco. He was born
in a tiny town, called Tepetitan, which feels nothing like the city he
governs today.

Children play ball in the middle of cornfields and scruffy fishermen like
Felipe L?pez Gonz?lez quote scripture from the New Testament as they
explain how the average family lives close to this country's richest oil
fields on less than $4 a day.

Poverty seemed a passing matter to the young Mr. L?pez Obrador,
something he heard about from the men and women who could not pay
their tabs at his family's general store. Then, in 1969, that idyllic life
was shattered when one of his younger brothers, Jos? Ram?n, was killed
playing with a pistol when it fired.

Andr?s Manuel, 15 at the time, watched it happen. Relatives said he had
tried to get his brother to put the gun away.

In the interview, the mayor declined to talk about it or the speculation
by some here that the trauma of that shooting gave his politics a
messianic zeal. "It affected me and still affects me," he said.

Perhaps the experience that changed him most came years later in the
Indian town of Tucta, which he helped raise from a swamp. He first laid
eyes on the village in 1976 in the company of Carlos Pellicer C?mara, one
of Mexico's most beloved poets.

It was a place that seemed lost in time. The Chontal Indians, descendants
of the Maya, had no electricity or clean water. There were no schools or
clinics. People lived in huts made from branches and leaves.

"Not only did they have the Chontales stuck out in the margins of
society," Mr. L?pez Obrador recalled, referring to government authorities,
"they denied that the Chontales existed, even though they are the most
intimate reality of Tabasco." The Indians quickly became an intimate
reality for Mr. L?pez Obrador. He moved his wife and baby son into a shack
in Tucta with dirt floors and a thatched roof, and - much as he has done
in Mexico City - began a combination of welfare and public works programs
to help meet people's basic needs and create jobs.

"He could have had a comfortable life with his family, but he brought them
here to be with us," said Pedro Bernardo, 58, one of the beneficiaries of
Mr. L?pez Obrador's work in Tucta. "There are few people who could endure
the blows of this life." There were even tougher blows to come.

"My dream was to become the governor of Tabasco," Mr. L?pez Obrador
said, "because I wanted to change it." It was a dream that would elude
him.

Mr. L?pez Obrador abandoned the PRI and then set out to topple it in 1988
when the party refused to run him for mayor of the municipality of
Macuspana.

Backed by a peasant political base that he commanded like a general, the
firebrand politician ran twice for governor on leftist tickets and lost
both times. The elections in 1994 were marred by allegations of
corruption. And for several months, Mr. L?pez Obrador and his civilian
troops protested every way they could to make the state ungovernable.

Two years later he was at it again, leading thousands of supporters
against more than 50 oil wells across the state to protest spills by the
government-owned oil company that had contaminated rivers and farmland.
The protests caused the company to lose some $8.5 million in revenues in
the first 12 days. Dozens of people were hurt and arrested as the police
tried to clear a way to the wells.

In the interview last week, Mr. L?pez Obrador took delight in his old war
stories. The principles of those battles still guide him, he said, but his
radical days are over.

"I'm a centrist now," he said, with a wry smile.

"When we started, the PRI dominated completely," he said. "Not even the
leaves of the trees moved unless the PRI said so.

"A lot of time had to pass before people began to live their freedom. It
was up to us to teach them not to be afraid.

"They are not afraid anymore."

***


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


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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May  6 12:13:23 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri May  6 12:18:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] @Times: Top 10 Articles From the Past 2 Weeks 
Message-ID: <000b01c5526f$af898540$1e27e440@Harold>

@Times - Inside NYTimes.com NewsletterInteresting compilation of the 10 most read articles in the NYTimes from the past 2 weeks.

Harry


     
     
      
           Friday, May 6, 2005 
           
           
           
            Here are the 10 Most Read Articles on NYTimes.com from the past two weeks (as of 11 a.m. ET, May 6). 

            1. 'Today' Seeks Yesterday's Glory
            By ALESSANDRA STANLEY, Published: April 25, 2005
            NBC executives seem to think that viewers have grown bored with "Today" and want more gimmicks and pizazz. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

            2. John Tierney: Laura Bush Talks Naughty
            Published: May 3, 2005
            The coverage of Laura Bush's racy comic debut may change some minds, but for devout Bush-bashers, it's much easier to stay the course. 

            3. Frank Rich: A High-Tech Lynching in Prime Time
            Published: April 24, 2005
            "Justice Sunday," the judge-bashing rally being disseminated nationwide by cable, satellite and Internet, has a gay agenda. 

            4. Paul Krugman: The Oblivious Right
            Published: April 25, 2005
            President Bush and other Republican leaders honestly think that we're living in the best of times. That's because everyone they talk to says so. 

            5. At Wal-Mart, Choosing Sides Over $9.68 an Hour
            By STEVEN GREENHOUSE, Published: May 4, 2005
            With most of Wal-Mart's workers earning less than $19,000 a year, several groups have teamed up to prod Wal-Mart into paying its employees higher wages. 

            6. Maureen Dowd: All That Glisters Is Gold
            Published: May 4, 2005
            The moral of the pretty duckling. 

            7. The Mystery of Hollywood's Dead Republican
            By DAVID M. HALBFINGER and DENNIS McDOUGAL, Published: April 26, 2005
            How did a life of adventure end in Carrie Fisher's bedroom? 

            8. Turbulence on Campus in 60's Hardened Views of Future Pope
            By RICHARD BERNSTEIN, DANIEL J. WAKIN and MARK LANDLER, Published: April 24, 2005
            The protests of student radicals at T?bingen University shaped the man who now leads the Roman Catholic Church. 

            9. Bloodied Marines Sound Off About Want of Armor and Men
            By MICHAEL MOSS, Published: April 25, 2005
            Marine leaders and infantrymen of a unit that sustained heavy losses say a lack of armor and manpower hampered their efforts. 

            10. Maureen Dowd: U.N.leash Woolly Bully Bolton
            Published: April 27, 2005
            John Bolton, who tried to stretch the truth on foreign weapons programs, deserves to be rewarded as other Bush officials have been.  
      


--------------------------------------------------------------------
            SPECIAL SECTION

            Wireless Living
            Want to get the most out of cellphones, laptops and P.D.A.'s? Don't miss this Circuits special. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------
            TRAVEL
            Top 5 Destinations
            Where were people dreaming about going in April? Here are the five most-visited destination guides from last month.
            1. New York City
            2. Paris
            3. Las Vegas
            4. Rome
            5. New Orleans 


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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May  6 04:33:53 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May  6 13:05:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - PARADE HONOURS LIBERATORS OF HOLLAND
Message-ID: <20050506113353.0F9371B679@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
____________________________________________________
PARADE HONOURS LIBERATORS OF HOLLAND
WebPosted Thu May  5 11:55:25 2005

wageningen, the netherlands---Tens of thousands of people cheered and
clapped Thursday as veterans marched through a small Dutch town where the
German army surrendered to a Canadian commander 60 years ago.

People stood rows deep, lined rooftops and leaned out of windows along
the route of the Liberation Day parade through Wageningen, marking the
60th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi Germany.

Dutch Prince Willem-Alexander and Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson watched the
parade, which included Canadian, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, British and
American veterans.

The veterans marched past the picturesque town's Hotel De Wereld, where
the German surrender took place on May 5, 1945.

                         FROM CBC ARCHIVES: The
                       Last Days of War in Europe

On that date at around 4 p.m. local time, in the battered hotel's lobby,
Col.-Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz formally surrendered the remaining 117,000
German troops in the Netherlands to Canadian Lt.-Gen. Charles Foulkes.

Two days later, on May 7, the formal German surrender of Europe took
place at Rheims in France.

Canadian veteran Charles Bouchard stood guard outside the hotel during
the surrender and helped distribute food to the starving Dutch people.

"The people were in very poor shape," said Bouchard. "I saw one
woman that couldn't get up from her bed because she was nearly
starved to death."

                       FROM CBC ARCHIVES: Reports
                       from Abroad: Matthew Halton

Bouchard said returning to the Netherlands brings him a mixture of "joy
and sadness."

"It's a joy to see the people, especially all the young people who
remember our sacrifices so well," he said.

Rita Schlick, who was five years old on VE-Day, remembers Canadian
soldiers dropping parachutes of food and sweets from planes to her
Dutch village.

"Still, sometimes when I smell something, it's just like the smells of
the sweets the soldiers dropped," said Schlick.

This year's events are expected to be one of the last large celebrations
of the end of the war, as the number of living veterans dwindles.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From CLARKE445566 at msn.com  Fri May  6 13:05:59 2005
From: CLARKE445566 at msn.com (ROBERT CLARKE)
Date: Fri May  6 14:40:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Long but informative
Message-ID: <200505062140.j46LeXFp001808@dune.islandtechnologies.net>



----- Original Message -----

Subject: Long but informative...and scary





http://www.pitch.com/issues/2005-05-05/news/feature.html
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May  6 15:33:45 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May  6 15:38:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] AIMS, re Canadian perscription drugs
Message-ID: <20050506-19334579-11fc-0@dagobah>

A friend (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) thought you might find this link interesting:

http://www.aims.ca/aimslibrary.asp?ft=1&id=1132

Point made, not good for Canadians !!
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May  6 15:43:37 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri May  6 15:55:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] AIMS re Canadian Pharmaceuticals
Message-ID: <000a01c5528d$0dad6160$643fe440@Harold>

Please go to the "full content" at the bottom of the AIMS article on Canadian Pharmaceuticals that I just sent.

The PDF file is tilted "Alice in Borderland", quite the read!

If you did not receive it and can not open the PDF, please tell me and I will try to forward it in a different format.

Harry

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From BRYAN.PETERSON at lw.com  Wed May  4 17:36:40 2005
From: BRYAN.PETERSON at lw.com (BRYAN.PETERSON@lw.com)
Date: Fri May  6 16:19:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Since we're talking about Iraq today, this is an
 interesting article from The Cape Times in South Africa
Message-ID: <200505062319.j46NJtQt002156@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May  6 16:42:40 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May  6 16:47:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] canada.com Story
Message-ID: <2900c69c497e47c7ab77be2ffc046d8c@sympatico.ca>

Dear mb-civic@islandlists.com,

Your friend harry.sifton@sympatico.ca thought you might be interested in this canada.com story:

"Bad air killing more"

http://www.canada.com/national/story.html?id=eadfa576-bed6-4766-b0df-76e2a70fc7d7

The US iss building 100 new coal plants !!  And the air will blow into Canada!!



_______________________________________
This is a free service courtesy of 
canada.com (http://www.canada.com)

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May  6 16:51:24 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May  6 16:56:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mother's call gets son in hot water
Message-ID: <11438568.1115423484379.JavaMail.webform@noreply.realcities.com>

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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May  6 16:27:19 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC Arts)
Date: Fri May  6 17:23:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC Arts - STONES TO ROLL INTO MONCTON FOR CONCERT
Message-ID: <20050506232719.D5DB669AFB@nmweb08.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC ARTS
at http://www.cbc.ca/arts
____________________________________________________
STONES TO ROLL INTO MONCTON FOR CONCERT
WebPosted Fri May  6 12:58:11 2005

MONCTON, N.B.---The Rolling Stones are set to rock Moncton, N.B., this
summer, in what is being touted as the largest concert ever held in
Atlantic Canada.

Ian Fowler, director of community development for the city of Moncton,
said Thursday that the Stones will appear at an early September outdoor
concert held at the Magnetic Hill concert site. The venue can
accommodate more than 60,000 people and is where Pope John Paul II gave
a papal mass in 1984.

The concert, likely to fall after the summer tourist season, will be a
boon for the city, Fowler told CBC News.

"There's no question that after Aug. 15, the traditional tourism season
slows down, so to be able to have an event of this magnitude on the
latter part of the tourism season is going to be wonderful for the
hospitality industry," he said.

"Certainly, if you look at 55,000 to 60,000 people congregating in
Moncton for a one-day event, it's going to make for hotels, restaurants,
gas bars, etc., an abundance of business."

Local hotels reported a recent and sudden surge in bookings for early
September weekends, possibly from fans taking a chance that the Stones
might be coming to town.

The concert is expected to be part of a longer event, with the Stones
joined by major Canadian performers.

However, the exact date and ticket price information are still unknown.
Earlier this week, the band announced it will hold a live, televised news
conference on Tuesday at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Fans
have come to expect spectacular tour announcements: in 2002, for example,
the band announced its Licks World Tour, which ended in 2003, while
aboard a yellow blimp circling a New York City park.

For weeks, rumours have circulated in anticipation of a possible summer
tour announcement from the band, with some speculating it may be the last
for the aging rock legends.

INDEPTH: SARS BENEFIT CONCERT

Other rumoured Canadian stops include Ottawa and Toronto, where the band
has often rehearsed in advance of world tours and has held impromptu
concerts. The Rolling Stones also headlined the 2003 SARS benefit
concert, which drew half a million music fans to a former airfield in the
northern part of the city.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May  6 16:28:49 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May  6 17:23:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - NEW COMPUTER VIRUS INFECTING E-MAILS
Message-ID: <20050506232849.48A3B69AFB@nmweb08.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
____________________________________________________
NEW COMPUTER VIRUS INFECTING E-MAILS
WebPosted Fri May  6 09:01:17 2005

Vancouver---Computers around the world are coming under attack from a new
virus that is striking one in every 22 e-mail messages.

"Sober-N" comes attached to an e-mail and is disguised to slip past
filters put up by internet service providers. It then uses the
recipient's e-mail address book to spread itself, flooding other
computers with waves of spam.

 INDEPTH: Computer Security

The virus can't attack Apple Macintosh computers because its operating
system is different.

Dominic Wild, a security analyst with an international anti-virus
company, says Sober-N has accounted for up to 80 per cent of the viruses
reported around the world this week.

"These worms can spread globally in a matter of hours," said Wild, who
added that Sober-N has infiltrated about 40 countries.

Ryan Kubryn of Techsquad in Calgary has been wrestling the Sober-N from
customers' hard drives.

Kubryn says it slows down the computer and disables security systems,
opening the gate for other viruses to enter.

Often Sober-N has shown up as an e-mail offering tickets to the 2006
soccer World Cup in Germany. In another version, it apologizes for its
poor English and claims to have received a bunch of e-mails from the
owner's computer, suggesting that there's a problem and asking that an
attachment be opened.

"'Oh, I need to see what this person is talking about,' and then
unfortunately, you've just been suckered and double click and boom,
you're done," said Kubryn.

The writers of this worm have trained it to differentiate between two
languages, English and German. Sober-N will send itself in either German
or English depending on what it determines the natural language of the
recipient to be.

Kubryn and Wild say people should secure their desktops and servers with
automatically updated anti-virus protection.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From Reeeees at aol.com  Fri May  6 08:15:26 2005
From: Reeeees at aol.com (Reeeees@aol.com)
Date: Fri May  6 18:37:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Both sides to blame at Kent State?
Message-ID: <200505070137.j471b95l002638@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

BOOK REVIEW
Both sides to blame at Kent State?
13 Seconds; Philip Caputo
Chamberlain Bros./Penguin: 200 pp., $21.95,  includes DVD
By Merle Rubin
Special to The Times

May 6,  2005  Los Angeles Times

13 Seconds  

A Look Back at the Kent  State Shootings

Philip Caputo

Chamberlain Bros./Penguin: 200  pp., $21.95, includes DVD

*

The sad and shocking photograph of the  Kent State student lying face down, 
shot dead by rifle fire from a National  Guard unit on May 4, 35 years ago, was 
especially shocking to me. For several  long moments, as I pored over it, I 
had to force myself to recognize that the  small, dark-haired young man lying 
on the ground was someone who'd been a  classmate of mine in high school and 
junior high school. 

Jeffrey Miller  had been the good-natured, cheerful, soft-spoken guy with a 
husky voice and shy,  chipmunk smile who'd been in many of my classes from the 
seventh grade on: "A  math whiz with a bright future," according to the 
yearbook. He wanted very much  to go to the University of Michigan and often wore a 
Michigan sweatshirt. As I  now learn from Philip Caputo's intelligent and 
admirably concise book about the  Kent State shootings, "13 Seconds," Jeff had 
indeed gone to Michigan, following  in the footsteps of his older brother. But in 
January 1970, he made what proved  to be a fatal transfer to Kent State in 
Ohio, where a few months later he and  three other students would be killed in a 
burst of fire. 

Jeff, Caputo  tells us, was an antiwar activist, along with his friend and 
fellow victim  Allison Krause; this, in contrast to the other two who died: 
William Schroeder,  who was just looking, and Sandy Scheuer, who was on her way to 
a class. But as  Caputo aptly remarks, Jeff (like Allison) advocated 
nonviolence and "was so far  from the Weather Underground end of the spectrum that 
he'd called home ? to ask  his mother if it was all right for him to attend 
Monday's rally." 

The  13-second barrage of bullets not only killed these four students but 
also  wounded nine others, leaving one young man paralyzed from the waist down 
for  life. 

A former Marine, Caputo was sent to cover the story back then, and  he found 
the National Guard's version of events exceedingly hard to believe:  "From my 
experience in Vietnam I knew something about real combat and what it  was like 
to fear for your life?. If the guardsmen had perceived themselves to be  in 
danger, then something was wrong with their perceptions, or more likely,  their 
training, discipline, and leadership." 

Taking us step by step  through the movements of the students and troops, 
Caputo thoughtfully sifts  through conflicting testimonies and reports to provide 
a clear and convincing  account of what actually happened. Next, he examines 
the serious question of  what went wrong with the guardsmen. 

Reviewing the alarming events of  that weekend, including a mysterious fire 
at the ROTC building, Caputo  re-creates a powerful sense of a poisonous 
atmosphere of anger and hate: "In the  name of protesting the actions of a remote 
federal government, vandals had  lashed out at shopkeepers who had nothing even 
remotely to do with making war  policy and had wrecked businesses that had 
taken a lifetime to build?. This is  not to say that the guardsmen were in any 
way justified in doing what they  eventually did. God knows, it is not to say 
that ? [the] victims 'deserved what  they got.' It is to say that the 
demonstrators who resorted to violence ? also  collaborated in the tragedy?.'' 

These reckless actions were more than  matched, in Caputo's considered 
opinion, by the equally if not more reckless  reactions of those in authority. 
Citing the incendiary statements of officials  such as Ohio's governor, James 
Rhodes, who likened the agitators to brownshirts  and communists, and vowed to 
"eradicate the problem," Caputo concludes: "Those  in power have an obligation to 
use their power wisely; the greater the power,  the greater the obligation." 

An award-winning journalist and author of  the novel "A Rumor of War," Caputo 
is a compellingly readable writer. Balanced  but far from bland, fair-minded 
but justly indignant, he offers a forthright,  insightful and ultimately 
sobering account of what happened. He shows clearly  how both sides of the conflict 
were to blame, but he also makes a more important  point: To blame everyone 
is tantamount to blaming no one. Rightly, he considers  it wrong to pretend 
that what happened was not the result of human agency but  merely some natural 
disaster like a flood or earthquake. 

What was the  effect of this tragedy? Although any number of academics, 
pundits and ordinary  observers have pointed to Kent State as a turning point, 
bringing the war home  to a nation, changing hearts and minds, Caputo believes the 
reverse is  true.

Recalling the harsh comments he heard after the killings, the cruel  letters 
received by Schroeder's parents and polls revealing more sympathy for  the 
guardsmen than for the victims, he sadly concludes that "the only change ?  [Kent 
State] wrought in hearts was to harden them." 

*
Merle Rubin  is a contributing writer to Book Review.
 
_http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-et-book6may06,1,4202610.story_ 
(http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-et-book6may06,1,4202610.story) 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri May  6 18:43:29 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri May  6 18:48:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Kansas Begins Hearings on Diluting Teaching of Evolution
	By Jodi Wilgoren     The New York Times
Message-ID: <BEA16B51.2006A%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Original

    Kansas Begins Hearings on Diluting Teaching of Evolution
    By Jodi Wilgoren
    The New York Times

    Thursday 05 May 2005

    Topeka -In the first of three daylong hearings characterized here as the
direct descendant of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, a parade of Ph.D.'s
testified today about the flaws they find in Darwin's theory of evolution,
transforming a small auditorium into a forum on one of the most
controversial questions in education and politics: How to teach about the
origin of life?

    The hearings by the Kansas State Board of Education- one part science
lesson, one part political theater - were set off by proposed changes to
Kansas's science standards intended to bring a more critical approach to the
teaching of Darwinism. The sessions provided perhaps the highest-profile
stage yet for the emerging movement known as intelligent design, which
asserts that life is so intricately complex that an architect must be behind
it. Critics argue that intelligent design has no basis in science and is
another iteration of creationism.

    Scientists who defend Darwinism are boycotting the hearings, called by
the state school board's conservative majority. Nonetheless, a lawyer
representing them peppered the other side's experts with queries both
profound and personal.

    "Can you tell us, sir, how old you believe the Earth is?" the lawyer,
Pedro Irigonegaray, asked William S. Harris, a chemist, who helped write the
proposed changes to the state standards.

    "I don't know," Dr. Harris replied. "I think it's probably really old."

    If the state board adopts the new standards, as expected, Kansas will
join Ohio, which took a similar step in 2002, in requiring that students be
taught that there is controversy about evolution. Legislators in Alabama and
Georgia have introduced bills this season to allow teachers to challenge
Darwin in class.

    The battle over evolution is also being fought school district to school
district. Parents in Dover, Penn., filed a lawsuit last year when theirs
became the first district to mandate the teaching of intelligent design. The
school board in Cobb County, Ga., is appealing a January ruling by a federal
judge ordering the removal of stickers placed on biology textbooks that
declared evolution theory, not fact.

    While the proposed new standards for Kansas do not specifically mention
intelligent design, critics contend that the proposed changes will open the
door not just for those teachings, but to creationism, which generally holds
to the Genesis account of creation.

    For Kansas, the debate is d?j? vu: the last time the state standards
were under review, in 1999, conservatives on the school board ignored their
expert panel and deleted virtually any reference to evolution. But they were
ousted in the next election and their changes were undone.

    Antievolution forces quietly regained the seats over the next few years,
attacking fellow Republicans as atheists.

    Now, though the eight proponents of intelligent design were outnumbered
on the 26-member committee writing the new standards, the state board's
6-to-4 conservative majority set up this week's showcase hearings to
highlight their own suggestions for the way to teach science.

    "There is no science without criticism," said Charles Thaxton, a chemist
and co-author of the 1984 book "The Mystery of Life's Origins," which
questions traditional scientific explanations. "Any science that weathers
the criticism and survives is a better theory for it."

    But the debate was as much about religion and politics as science and
education, with Mr. Irigonegaray pressing witnesses to find mentions of the
theories they were denouncing, like humanism and naturalism, in the state
standards, and asking whether they believe all scientists are atheists.

    "These people are going to obfuscate about these definitions,"
complained Jack Krebs, vice president of the pro-evolution Kansas Citizens
for Science, whose members, wearing "I support strong science education"
buttons, filled many of the 180 auditorium seats not taken by journalists
from as far away as France. "They have created a straw man. They are trying
to make science stand for atheism, so they can fight atheism."

 

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May  6 19:16:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Fri May  6 19:21:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 9/11 and Beyond
Message-ID: <012f01c552aa$c8a917d0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

All:

There are at least two dozen excellent books dealing with 9/11, its genesis, its aftermath, and the investigation (such as it was).  They deal with various aspects, primarily socio-political, and mostly re the political establishment.  Among the good ones are Paul O'Neill's (The Price of Loyalty), Richard Clarke (Against All Enemies) and David Ray Griffin's "The New Pearl Harbor."

However, there are two absolute must-reads - and they are also the "densest" of the bunch.  The first is Michael Ruppert's "Crossing the Rubicon," which not only deals with the oil-related issues, but goes deep - and I mean deep - into the transnational financial network (banks, oil companies, insurance companies, etc.) that keep everything "status quo" almost no matter how much we may protest, litigate, etc.

The other is a little known book by Karl Schwarz titled "One-Way Ticket to Crawford, Texas: A Conservative Republican Speaks Out," which "connects the dots" of oil, drug trafficking, money laundering, al Qaeda, high-level U.S. officials, and the events of 9/11 in ways that will, as the expression goes, blow you away.  Indeed, this is the only book on 9/11-related issues whose publication the U.S. Government actively sought to prevent - and they continue to actively prevent its manufacture, sale and dissemination.  It is only available via one place, and even they are not certain how much longer they will be able to sell it.  (http://www.rbnlive.com/books.html)

Taken together, these two books are a deep, deep lesson in truth vs. fiction; i.e., what we have been (and continue to be) told, and what is really going on.

As Mr. Schwarz said during a panel discussion on 9/11 last year, "Given how much we know now - even without conspiracy theories, some of which have more than a grain of truth - where is the outrage?"

Peace.
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May  7 05:08:53 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat May  7 05:14:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited Books: The high price of freedom
Message-ID: <20050507120853.CEBD91E12@herring.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited Books site and thought you should see it.

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited Books site, go to http://books.guardian.co.uk

The high price of freedom
Has Germany sold its post-war liberties for a mess of pottage? Sixty years after the end of hostilities in Europe, GÃ¼nter Grass argues, global capital has ensnared parliament, and democratic progress is in danger of becoming a commodity to be bought and sold on the markets
GÃ¼nter Grass
Saturday May 07 2005
The Guardian


It is 60 years since the German Reich's unconditional surrender. That is equivalent to a working life with a pension to look forward to. So far back that memory, that wide-meshed sieve, is in danger of forgetting it. Sixty years ago, after being wounded in the chaotic retreat in Lausitz, I lay in hospital with a flesh wound in my right thigh and a bean-sized shell splinter in my right shoulder. The hospital was in Marienbad, a military hospital town that had been occupied by American soldiers a few days earlier, at the same time as Soviet forces were occupying the neighbouring town of Karlsbad. In Marienbad, on May 8, I was a naive 17-year-old, who had believed in the ultimate victory right to the end. Those who had survived the mass murder in the German concentration camps could regard themselves as liberated, although they were in no physical condition to enjoy their freedom. But for me it was not the hour of liberation; rather, I was beset by the empty feeling of humiliati
 on following total defeat.When May 8 comes round again and is celebrated in complacent official speeches as liberation day, this can only be in hindsight, especially as we Germans did little if anything for our liberation. In the initial post-war years our lives were determined by hunger and cold, the misery of refugees, the displaced and bombed-out. In all four zones occupied by the wartime allies, Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union, the only way to manage the ever-increasing crush of the more than 12 million Germans who had fled from, or been driven out of, East and West Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia and the Sudentenland, was to force them into our own cramped living rooms. Whenever, and especially in a party-political sense, the question is posed, "What can we Germans be proud of?", the first thing we should mention is this essential achievement &mdash; even though it was forced on us. We had hardly got used to freedom when compulsion had to be applied.
  As a result, in both German states, huge long-term camps for refugees and displaced persons were avoided. The risk of building up feelings of hate was thereby diverted, as was the desire for revenge engendered by years of camp life which &mdash; as today's world shows &mdash; can result in terror and counter-terror.So, it was an achievement of a special kind. Especially since the compulsory settlement of refugees and displaced persons had more often than not to be carried out in the face of xenophobic resistance from the established local population. The realisation that all Germans, not only those bombed out and now homeless, had lost the war dawned only hesitantly. At this early stage, in their dealings with one another, the Germans were practising that virulent attitude towards foreigners which still exists today.Even then there were spokespersons for the rhetoric of liberation. They appeared individually and in groups. So many self-appointed anti-fascists suddenly set t
 he tone in which one was entitled to ask: how had Hitler been able to make headway against such strong resistance? Dirty linen was quickly washed clean, with people being absolved of all responsibility. Counterfeiters were subsequently busy coining new expressions and putting them into circulation. Unconditional surrender was changed to "collapse". Although in business, law and in the rapidly re-emerging schools and universities, even the diplomatic service, many former National Socialists maintained their hereditary wealth, stayed in office, continued to hold on to their university chairs and eventually continued their careers in politics, it was claimed that we were starting from "zero hour" or square one. A particularly infamous distortion of facts can be seen even today in speeches and publications, with the crimes perpetrated by Germans described as "misdeeds perpetrated in the name of the German people".In addition, language was used in two different ways to herald the
  future division of the country. In the Soviet occupied zone, the Red Army had liberated Germany from the fascist terror all by itself; in the Western occupied zones, the honour of having freed not only Germany but the whole of Europe from Nazi domination was shared exclusively by the Americans, the British and the French.In the Cold War that quickly followed, German states which had existed since 1949 consistently fell to one or other power bloc, whereupon the governments of both national entities sought to present themselves as model pupils of their respective dominating powers. Forty years later, during the Glasnost period it was ironically the Soviet Union that broke up the Democratic Republic, which had by that point become a burden. The Federal Republic's almost unconditional subservience to the US was broken for the first time when the SPD-Green ruling coalition decided to make use of the freedom given to us in sovereign terms 60 years ago, by refusing to allow German
  soldiers to participate in the Iraq war."Donated Freedom" was the title of a speech which I gave to the Berlin Academy of Arts on May 8 1985. At the time, the country was still divided, so I compared both states, their need for disassociation, their different dependencies, their own particular brand of dogmatic materialism, their fear of and their longing for unification. The "Donated Freedom" applied only to the West German state, the Eastern one went away empty-handed.Twenty years later, in view of the condition of the Federal Republic, now enlarged through reunification, we question how this gift was used. Have we dealt carefully with the freedom which we did not win, but was given to us? Have the citizens of West Germany properly compensated the citizens of the former Democratic republic who, after all, had to bear the main burden of the war begun and lost by all Germans? And a further question: is our parliamentary democracy as a guarantor of freedom of action, still s
 ufficiently sovereign to take action on the problems facing us in the 21st century?Fifteen years after signing the Treaty of Unity, we can no longer conceal or gloss over the fact that, despite the financial achievements, German unity has essentially been a failure. And was right from the start. Petty calculation prevented the government of the time from pursuing an objective grounded in the Constitutional Act by way of precaution, namely to submit to the citizens of both states a new constitution relevant to the endeavours of Germany as a whole. It is therefore hardly surprising that people in the former East Germany should regard themselves as second-class Germans. As far as the ownership of manufacturing establishments, the energy supply, newspapers and publishing are concerned, this formerly "nationally owned" fabric of the departed state has been wound up with the occasionally criminal collusion of the privatisation agency and ultimately expropriated. The jobless rate i
 s twice as high as in the former West Germany. West German arrogance had no respect for people with East German cv's. The formerly feared migration of the population &mdash; which led to the over-hasty introduction of the West German Deutschmark into East Germany &mdash; is happening now, daily. Whole areas of the country, its cities and its villages, are being emptied. After the privatisation agency had completed its bargain sales, West German industry and similarly the banks withheld the necessary investment and loans and, consequently, no jobs were created. Here, fine exhortations are of little use. In view of this skewed situation, only parliament, the lawmakers, can help. Which brings us back to the question of whether parliamentary democracy is able to act.Now, I believe that our freely elected members of parliament are no longer free to decide. The customary party pressures, for which there may well be reasons, are not critical here; it is, rather, the ring of lobbyis
 ts with their multifarious interests that constricts and influences the Federal parliament and its democratically elected members, placing them under pressure and forcing them into disharmony, even when framing and deciding the content of laws. Favours minor and major smooth the way. Reprehensible scams are dismissed as sorry misdemeanours. No one any longer takes serious exception to what is now a sophisticated system, operating on the basis of reciprocal backhanders.Consequently, parliament is no longer sovereign in its decisions. It depends on powerful pressure groups &mdash; the banks and multinationals &mdash; which are not subject to any democratic control. Parliament has thereby become an object of ridicule. It is degenerating into a subsidiary of the stock exchange. Democracy has become a pawn to the dictates of globally volatile capital. So can we really be surprised when more and more citizens turn away from such blatant scams, indignant, an&shy;tagonised and ultim
 ately resigned and regard elections as a simple farce and decline to vote? What is needed is a democratic desire to protect Parliament against the pressures of the lobbyists by making it inviolable. But are our parliamentarians still sufficiently free for a decision that would bring radical democratic constraint? Once again the question arises, what has become of the freedom presented to us sixty years ago? Is it now no more than a stock market profit? Our highest constitutional value no longer protects civil rights as a priority, and has rather been wasted at cut prices, so that it now only serves the so-called free-market economy in line with the neoliberal Zeitgeist. Yet this concept, which has become a fetish, barely conceals the asocial conduct of the banks, industrial associations and market speculators. We all are witnesses to the fact that production is being destroyed worldwide, that so-called hostile and friendly takeovers are destroying thousands of jobs, that the
  mere announcement of rationalisation measures, such as the dismissal of workers and employees, makes share prices rise, and this is regarded unthinkingly as the price to be paid for "living in freedom".The consequences of this development disguised as globalisation are clearly coming to light and can be read from the statistics. With the consistently high number of jobless, which in Germany has now reached five million, and the equally constant refusal of industry to create new jobs, despite demonstrably higher earnings, especially in the export area, the hope of full employment has evaporated. Older employees, who still had years of work left in them, are pushed into early retirement. Young people are denied the skills for entering the world of work. Even worse, with simultaneous complaints that an ageing population is a threat and the demand, repeated parrot-fashion, to do more for young people and education, the Federal Republic &mdash; still a rich country &mdash; is pe
 rmitting, to a shameful extent, the growth of what is called "child poverty".All this is now accepted as if divinely ordained, accompanied at most by the customary national grumbles. Questions as to responsibility are sent straight to the shunting department. Here, they are shunted first to one siding, then then to the other. Yet the future of more than a million children growing up in impoverished families remains in the balance. Those who point to this state of affairs and to the people forced into social oblivion are at best ridiculed by slick young journalists as "social romantics", but usually vilified as "Do-gooders". Questions asked as to the reasons for the growing gap between rich and poor are dismissed as "the politics of envy". The desire for justice is ridiculed as utopian. The concept of "solidarity" is relegated to the dictionary's list of "foreign words".Here the rich farmer and well-fed, there the nameless who seek refuge in the soup kitchen. Here the cool be
 tter-off - there the statistically-recorded social problem cases. In the Federal Republic of Germany the classless society, regarded by all as highly desirable, is changing into a class-based society that was long thought to be outdated. No longer a possibility but a hard fact: what is paraded as neo-liberal proves to be on close scrutiny a return to disparaging practices of early capitalism. And the social market economy - formerly a successful model of economic and cohesive action - has degenerated into the free market economy for which the constitutional obligation of employers to contribute to workers' pensions is an irritation and the striving for profit is sacrosanct.When we were given freedom 60 years ago and, defeated, initially did not know what to do with it, we gradually made use of this gift. We learned democracy and in doing so proved star pupils &mdash; because after all we were incontrovertibly German. With the benefit of hindsight, what was crammed into us th
 rough lectures was enough to get us a reasonable end-of-term report. We learned the interplay between government and opposition, whereupon lengthy periods of government ultimately proved arid. The much lauded and reviled generation of '68 produced new people and ultimately also tolerance. We had to acknowledge that our burdens could not be cast aside, they are passed by parents to children and our German past, however much we travel and export, comes back to haunt us. Neo-Nazis repeatedly brought us into disrepute. Even so, we felt that democracy was here to stay. It had to withstand several challenges. Another is upon us.After the debris had been cleared and disposed of in both German states, reconstruction in the East proceeded under the constraints of the Stalinist system; but in the Western state, it took place under favourable conditions. What retrospectively is called the "economic miracle" was not, however, due to any individual achievement, but was won by many. Inclu
 ded in that number are displaced persons and refugees, those who had in fact to start at square one in terms of material possessions. We must not forget the contribution of foreign workers, initially politely called "guest workers". In the rebuilding phase businessmen were exemplary in investing every penny of profit into job creation. The trades unions and businesses were clearly aware of the decay of the Weimar Republic, so they were forced to compromise and ensure social equality. However, with so much toil and profit-chasing, the past was in danger of being forgotten.Only in the sixties were questions asked, firstly by writers then by a youth movement, simply called "student protest", about everything that the older people, the war generation, would sooner forget. The protest movement strove verbally for revolution, but was paid off with reform, for which, often unintentionally, it had created the climate. But for it, we would still be living in the claustrophobic fog of
  the Adenauer years. Without the youth movement, the social-liberal coalition's new Germany policy, as a gradual convergence of the two states, could not have been achieved.The third challenge arose when the Wall had fallen and, on a larger scale, the division of Europe ended, at least in terms of power politics. The two German states had existed for four decades more against than beside each other. As there was no willingness on the Western side to offer the East equal rights, the unity of the country has so far existed only on paper. It was all done too hastily and without an understanding of what far-reaching consequences this haste would have.Since then, the expanded country has stagnated. Neither the Kohl government nor the Schr&ouml;der government has succeeded in correcting the initial errors. Lately, perhaps too late, we have come to recognise that the threat to the state &mdash; or what should be regarded as Public Enemy No 1 &mdash; comes not from right-wing radica
 lism but rather, from the impotence of politics, which leaves citizens exposed and unprotected from the dictates of the economy. Workers and employees are increasingly blackmailed by the corporate group. Not parliament but the pharmaceutical industry and the doctors' and chemists' associations dependent on it decide who must profit and reap the benefit of health reform. Instead of the social obligation which derives from owning property, maximising profits has become the basic principle. Freely elected MPs submit to both the domestic and global pressure of high finance. So what is being destroyed is not the state, which survives, but democracy.When the German Reich unconditionally surrendered 60 years ago, a system of power and terror was thereby defeated. This system, which had caused fear throughout Europe for 12 years, still leaves its shadow today. We Germans have repeatedly faced up to this inherited shame and have been forced to do so if we hesitated. The memory of the
  suffering that we caused others and ourselves has been kept alive through the generations. We often had to force ourselves to face this. Compared with other nations which have to live with shame acquired elsewhere &mdash; I'm thinking of Japan, Turkey, the former European colonial powers &mdash; we have not shaken off the burden of our past. It will remain part of our history as an ongoing challenge. We can only hope we will be able to cope with today's risk of a new totalitarianism, backed as it is by the world's last remaining ideology.As conscious democrats, we should freely resist the power of capital, which sees mankind as nothing more than something which consumes and produces. Those who treat their donated freedom as a stock market profit have failed to understand what May 8 teaches us every year.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May  7 06:18:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May  7 05:23:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Tony Blair's Third Term
Message-ID: <20050507121808.3E1CB24B059@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 7, 2005

Editorial: Tony Blair's Third Term


After a solid, though not resounding, third victory, Prime Minister Tony Blair has gained a new chance to win back the doubters and solidify his legacy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/opinion/07sat2.html?ex=1116129600&en=38604067032d8b3d&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May  7 06:18:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May  7 05:23:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: What Rough Beasts?
Message-ID: <20050507121847.D0F1811FB25@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 7, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: What Rough Beasts?
By MAUREEN DOWD

Even as scientists issue rules on chimeras in labs, a spine-tingling he-monster with the power to drag us back into the pre-Darwinian dark ages is slouching around Washington.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/opinion/07dowd.html?ex=1116129600&en=d4b5f8b8e95017d4&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May  7 06:19:05 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May  7 05:24:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Place Your Bets
Message-ID: <20050507121906.5152C83E9A@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 7, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Place Your Bets
By JOHN TIERNEY

The stock market slot machine vs. Washington's i.o.u.'s.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/opinion/07tierney.html?ex=1116129600&en=f01bf01214e15750&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May  7 06:20:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May  7 05:25:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Insurgents Kill 26 More Iraqis;
	Tentative Deal on Completing Cabinet Is Reported
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 7, 2005

Insurgents Kill 26 More Iraqis; Tentative Deal on Completing Cabinet Is Reported
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

More than 200 Iraqis have been killed in one of the most lethal stretches of violence since the invasion two years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/international/middleeast/07iraq.html?ex=1116129600&en=275f82ca491c0aea&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May  7 06:19:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May  7 05:25:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pictures From Iraq Send a Message (5
	Letters)
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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 7, 2005

Pictures From Iraq Send a Message (5 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/opinion/l07herbert.html?ex=1116129600&en=3a28f0b30229ed08&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May  7 06:21:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May  7 05:26:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Russia's Billionaires Club Now Totals 27
	Members
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BUSINESS / WORLD BUSINESS | May 7, 2005

Russia's Billionaires Club Now Totals 27 Members
By ERIN E. ARVEDLUND

The rich in Russia are getting richer, as record high prices for oil and metals helped to move Russia up in the billionaire tally last year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/business/worldbusiness/07billionaires.html?ex=1116129600&en=4d8f9238a76a6e3d&ei=5070



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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May  7 05:27:23 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat May  7 05:32:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: We must not forget how war was won
Message-ID: <20050507122723.976E945DA@mullet.gul3.gnl>

HS spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from HS:

History most Americans do not know.
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

We must not forget how war was won
Richard Overy: It was the Soviet and Chinese sacrifice that made victory possible
Richard Overy
Saturday May 07 2005
The Guardian


Imagine for a moment that around half the population of Great Britain - men, women and children - died in the second world war. What kind of extraordinary trauma would this represent? How would "victory" in 1945 now be viewed, or even celebrated? Yet 27 million is the estimate of Soviet deaths by the end of the war. Actual British losses represented around 0.6% of the population; American losses were smaller, around 0.3%. But Soviet losses, from war, starvation and repression, represented about 14% of the pre-war population. 

These losses were the brutal product of German invasion in 1941 and the Soviet determination to resist that aggression and expel the Germans from their territory. The scarcely credible level of sacrifice exposes just how vast and savage the war on the eastern front was. It was here that the great majority of German casualties occurred. It was here that the war was won or lost, for if the Red Army had not succeeded against all the odds in halting the Germans in 1941 and then inflicting the first major defeats at Stalingrad and Kursk in 1943, it is difficult to see how the western democracies, Britain and the US, could have expelled Germany from its new empire.  

By 1945 the material strength of the allies was, of course, overwhelming. The critical point came in the middle years of the war, with the Soviet Union teetering before Stalingrad, Rommel poised to take Egypt, the battle of the Atlantic not yet won and American rearmament in its early stages. Victory was not automatic. Soviet resistance meant the difference. Uncertainly, sometimes incompetently, the Soviet armed forces learned the lessons imposed on them by Germany's panzer armies in 1941. A hasty, improvised set of reforms and an economy geared almost exclusively to armaments turned the feeble efforts of 1941 into the vast setpiece battles from the summer of 1943, every one of which the Soviet side won.  

German forces were defeated not by the sheer numbers (by 1943 millions of Soviet soldiers were dead or captive and the Red Army was desperate for men), but by the inventive tactics and sturdy technology of their enemy. If this had not been the case, Hitler's armies would have gone on winning, and a huge German-dominated economic empire in Eurasia would have confronted the western allies with a strategic nightmare.  

Of course, it is now argued in the west that Soviet victory left a sour taste. Rather than the liberation brought by the western powers, Soviet liberation ushered in the trappings of the Stalinist state. The cold war after 1945 made it difficult to integrate the Soviet contribution into the collective western memory of the war, while it also allowed the Soviet Union to write the contribution of its allies out of the script.  

In reality they needed each other. Soviet efforts required the flow of resources under the "Lend Lease" programme. Weapons were few, and the Soviets regarded them as second-rate. But the supply of raw materials, food and communications equipment was essential. It allowed Soviet industry to concentrate on weapons to fight back with. Without Lend Lease the rail system and food supply might well have folded up as they had in the first world war.  

The sour taste has become more marked with the fall of communism 15 years ago. The opening up of Soviet archives has shown a system that for some critics makes it almost indistinguishable from the totalitarian enemy it was fighting. This makes it more difficult to embrace the Soviet contribution to victory. The ordinary Soviet people were not only numberless victims of war, but they failed to achieve any political reform as a result of their triumph. Yet it is their exceptional sacrifice that we should remember as we look back over 60 years. And in the end the peoples of eastern Europe were   unquestionably better off under the new communist regimes than under German imperial domination. German plans by the middle of the war foresaw the deliberate starvation of at least 35 million people in the east as "useless eaters", and the genocidal destruction of the Jewish and gypsy populations. The eastern peoples were described in German documents as the "helots" of the new empire. T
 his grotesque imperial fantasy was won or lost on the eastern front, and who can regret its defeat?  

The Soviet Union is not the only state to be written out of the victory story in the west. The Chinese people also lost an estimated 20 million as a result of Japanese aggression. Just as the Soviet armed forces held down the Germans, so the less effective but numerous Chinese armed forces kept the Japanese bogged down in Asia. This is a record that is still almost unknown in the west, yet if Japan had achieved quick victory in China, large resources would have been released for an assault on the rear of the Soviet Union, or a larger military presence in the Pacific. In this case, too, western allied casualties would have been much greater without the stubborn resistance of their Asian ally.  

In the end, the western freedom to plan and execute a global strategy depended on the ability of the Soviet and Chinese forces to hold the main enemies at bay while western air forces bombed the Axis motherlands flat. When victory is celebrated tomorrow, it is important that we pause to remember the almost 50 million Soviets   and Chinese who perished to contain the imperial aggression of Germany and Japan.  

Nor should we forget, when condemning Soviet repression in eastern Europe that allied airforces bombed German and Japanese cities up to the very end of the war, inflicting the deaths of more than 600,000 civilians and opening the nuclear age. After 1945 Britain and France re-imposed undemocratic imperial rule in Africa and south-east Asia. None of the victors has anything to feel smug about. The pursuit of victory made all the allies do things they might never have imagined themselves doing.  

One question that almost certainly will not be asked as the world indulges in what is probably the last great bout of victory nostalgia is why those states that viewed themselves as the bearers of progress and the modern age descended between 1914 and 1945 into a hideous orgy of war, civil conflict, repression and genocide. Mercifully, 1945 marked a real break with that 30-year crisis, but the nagging issues remain. If they could do it then, what are the restraints that prevent the developed world from once again plunging into the madness of mass war and state violence? Perhaps 1945 is a lesson learned, but those restraints need to be well understood. Next time the millions of dead may not be for our allies alone to bear.  

&#183; Richard Overy's book The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia appeared in paperback last month  

rjovery@ukonline  

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat May  7 04:40:55 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat May  7 06:28:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - TOP PROPONENT OF NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE
	DEFEATED
Message-ID: <20050507114055.79C6E1B690@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
____________________________________________________
TOP PROPONENT OF NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE DEFEATED
WebPosted Fri May  6 16:56:35 2005

Belfast---Northern Ireland's fitful peace process was dealt another blow
Friday in Britain's parliamentary elections when Ulster Unionist Party
leader David Trimble lost his Westminster seat.

Trimble, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, has been the
most prominent Unionist proponent of reconciliation and power sharing
with Irish Nationalists and Republicans, who favour self-government,
independence from the United Kingdom and Irish reunification.

Trimble, who supported the 1998 landmark Good Friday peace accord, was
first minister in the strife-torn province's power-sharing Unionist-
Nationalist executive until it collapsed in 2002.

 FROM OCT. 13, 2002: Britain reimposes direct rule over N. Ireland

He was defeated by the Democratic Unionist Party candidate, David
Simpson, by more than 5,000 votes. The DUP is led by the long-time
Unionist firebrand, the Presbyterian Rev. Ian Paisley, who strongly
opposes any accommodation with Irish Nationalists.



 RELATED STORY: Britain's Blair shuffles cabinet

Trimble's loss raised the likelihood that he would resign or be forced
out as Ulster Unionist leader, a position he's held since 1995. He's
represented the mostly Protestant riding of Upper Bann in the southwest
of Belfast since 1990.

The DUP took two seats from the UUP, cementing its lead as Northern
Ireland's strongest Unionist party.

Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, the political party most closely
associated with the Irish Republican Army, gained 70 per cent of the vote
in his Belfast West constituency.

But Mark Durkan, the leader of the moderate SDLP, and former partner in
Trimble's power-sharing administration, may yet lose his seat
representing the Foyle constituency. The count continues.

The eclipse of the moderate UUP and SDLP by the hard-line DUP and Sinn
Fein is expected to further slow any movement toward ending direct rule
from London and re-establishing Northern Ireland's Stormont assembly.

An attempt to form a DUP-Sinn Fein power-sharing executive foundered in
the winter after squabbles over the terms of IRA disarmament and a
massive Belfast bank robbery allegedly carried out by the IRA.

 FROM FEB. 17, 2005: 7 arrested in connection with Irish bank heist


Trimble shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize with former SDLP leader
John Hume.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May  7 07:47:42 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May  7 07:52:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <17914957.1115477263599.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Going to the Heart of the Holocaust
 
 By Craig Whitlock
 
  BERLIN, May 6 -- Thousands of bullet-gray concrete blocks rise crookedly from the earth like fresh gravestones along what was once barren no man's land surrounding the Berlin Wall. Deep underground is the wartime bunker built for Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister. The site of the razed Reich Chancellery, where Adolf Hitler plotted the extermination of the Jews, is about 100 yards away.
 
 On Tuesday, 60 years after the end of World War II in Europe, Berlin officials will unveil a Holocaust memorial in the center of the German capital to remember the 6 million European Jews who were killed.
 
 The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was built after years of wrenching argument in Germany over how far the nation must still go to acknowledge its responsibility for the crimes of the Third Reich.
 
 First proposed in 1988, a year before the collapse of East Germany and the dismantling of the wall, the memorial was delayed by bureaucratic hurdles, disagreements over its design and outright opposition from many Germans, including some Jews.
 
 Some critics complained that it was too stark, too visible and too painful a reminder for a people who had long confronted the Nazi past. Others said the monument should also commemorate the estimated 5 million other European victims of the Nazis, including Poles, political opponents, homosexuals and members of the Roma minority, also known as Gypsies.
 
 "This is a statement to the world. It is also a very late statement. It needs to be pointed out that, until now, no central point existed" in Berlin to commemorate the Holocaust, said Michael May, executive director of the Jewish Community of Berlin.
 
 "At the same time, this site has nothing to do with subtlety. Here you have a kind of crystallization of the enormity of the crime in a memorial, and that in and of itself is very significant," he said. "This cannot be overlooked."
 
 The memorial is a maze of 2,711 unadorned concrete rectangular slabs that cover a city block not far from the Brandenburg Gate and the construction site of the new U.S. Embassy. The slabs tilt slightly at varying angles, and the ground rises and falls. Visitors must find their way through the labyrinth, designed to disorient them at every step. Organizers said the number of slabs had no symbolic significance but was dictated by the size of the site.
 
 "The power of the field is that you can only experience it by going inside," said Guenter Schlusche, a consultant on the project, which was designed by the American architect Peter Eisenman. "At first, people just see a mass of concrete blocks," Schlusche said. "It's much, much more. Once you get inside, you feel alone. You lose your normal ways of orientation."
 
 While Berlin has been rebuilt and rapidly reshaped since 1989, most of the money and energy has been spent restoring historical landmarks or buildings that predate the Nazi era. The few physical vestiges of the Third Reich have largely been erased or covered up, a conscious decision by German authorities, who have said they wanted to avoid preserving any site that neo-Nazi groups could use as a shrine.
 
 Only a small fiberglass marker notes the location of the Reich Chancellery, which has been replaced by an expanse of apartment buildings and a Chinese restaurant. There is an exhibit at the site of the headquarters of the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police, but it has been undergoing renovations. Until recently, the main memorial to Holocaust victims in Berlin was a site near the suburb of Wannsee where the Nazis furthered their plan for the Final Solution.
 
 "For a lot of people, this is very uncomfortable," said Lea Rosh, a former TV journalist and co-founder of the nonprofit group that led the drive to build the monument. "This documents the largest crime in history. They'd rather have pleasant news to see and read about."
 
 The $35 million project was dogged by bitter disputes from the outset. In 1995, Chancellor Helmut Kohl rejected the original design, a sprawling tombstone inscribed with the names of millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust, and tried to persuade the architects to conceal the memorial behind a border of trees. In 1999, former Berlin mayor Eberhard Diepgen almost derailed the project by insisting on a radically different approach: a single pillar bearing the words "Thou Shalt Not Kill." He was overruled by the German Parliament, which voted by a 3-to-2 margin for the current version.
 
 Two years ago, construction was again delayed when it was disclosed that an anti-graffiti coating for the concrete blocks was manufactured by a German chemicals company, Degussa AG, with ties to the Holocaust. During World War II, Degussa held a 42 percent stake in a pesticides firm that made cyanide gas tablets for concentration camp gas chambers. After an emotional public debate, board members in charge of the project decided to use the chemical anyway, saying Degussa had taken major steps to face up to its past.
 
 Rosh said many opponents focused their criticism on tangential issues, such as minor aspects of the design, rather than arguing openly that they did not see the need for a memorial. She called this the underlying reason it took 17 years to complete the project. Many Germans are tired of being reminded of the evils of the Nazi regime, she said. "There are many people who say, 'Sixty years, enough!' "
 
 While public doubts have abated as the memorial's opening nears, some criticism lingers. In a column published this week in the newspaper Die Welt, the German author Hannes Stein called the project "monstrous kitsch" and said the underlying message could be interpreted as: "The German people give the Jews a graveyard."
 
 Some Jewish residents of Berlin have expressed mixed feelings about the memorial, said May, the Jewish community leader. "The process was tortuous and possibly, I should say, shameful," he said.
 
 But he held out hope that the memorial would serve its intended purpose: to ensure that people always remember the Holocaust and feel its evil. "The Jews in Berlin are slightly skeptical," May said. "Maybe if they take the time to wander through it, that skepticism will disappear."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May  7 07:49:01 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May  7 07:53:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <19696503.1115477342469.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Microsoft Backtracks, Supports Gay Rights Bill
 
 By David A. Vise
 
  Microsoft Corp. said yesterday that it would support a bill in Washington state to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing, employment and insurance in the next legislative session, shifting away from the neutral stand it took on legislation that failed by one vote to pass last month.
 
 In an e-mail to employees yesterday, Microsoft chief executive Steven A. Ballmer said he had heard from many workers who sent "passionate e-mails" conveying their unhappiness with the company's failure to throw its muscle behind the bill, as it had done with similar legislation several years ago.
 
 Ballmer said Microsoft not only would support the bill next year in Washington state but also would continue to work with other companies to support similar federal legislation.
 
 "After looking at the question from all sides, I've concluded that diversity in the workplace is such an important issue for our business that it should be included in our legislative agenda," Ballmer wrote to employees. "I'm proud of Microsoft's commitment to non-discrimination in our internal policies and benefits, but our policies can't cover the range of housing, education and financial and similar services that our people and their partners and families need."
 
 Previously, Ballmer had said he did not want Microsoft to take a position on an issue that would divide its employees. Although some support the decision, others are members of a Seattle church whose pastor had strongly urged the company to oppose the bill in Washington state. The pastor, Rev. Ken Hutcherson, had threatened to push for a national boycott of Microsoft products if the company supported the legislation. Hutcherson did not return a phone call seeking comment.
 
 Ballmer said that while he respects divergent viewpoints on the issue within the company, as chief executive he is "doing what I believe is right for our company as a whole."
 
 Microsoft's earlier decision to take no position on the bill was criticized by gay rights supporters. In late April, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, an advocacy group, called on the company to return a prize it had received from the group several years ago. The company's image was taking a beating from employees who criticized the firm's handling of the situation in numerous postings on the Internet.
 
 Yesterday, Joe Solomonese, president of the District-based Human Rights Campaign, a national advocacy group, heaped praise on Microsoft for shifting its position once again after meeting with him and listening to its own employees.
 
 "What I am most pleased about in Steve Ballmer's statement is that it is a real business imperative on Microsoft's part to value a diverse workforce and to support a public policy that reinforces that principle," Solomonese said in an interview.
 
 Washington state representative Edward Murray (D-Seattle), who sponsored last session's failed anti-discrimination bill, said he plans to reintroduce the measure. "Next year will bring a new session and I am ready to get to work in passing this overdue legislation," he said in a statement. "I am also looking forward to working with Microsoft and other corporate partners to make it happen."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May  7 07:50:31 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May  7 07:55:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14090958.1115477432390.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Court Tosses FCC Rules On Copying, Sharing TV
 
 By Jonathan Krim
 
  A federal appeals court yesterday threw out rules that would have forced some personal computers, DVD recorders and other devices to be built with technology to thwart piracy of television programming.
 
 The ruling means that people who make or watch digital recordings of TV shows will not have to decide this summer whether to upgrade their equipment.
 
 The decision deals a sharp blow to the Federal Communications Commission and the entertainment industry, which argued that the rules were necessary to protect digital and high-definition programs from being copied and shared on the Internet.
 
 A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the FCC brazenly overstepped its authority. Regardless of the potential for piracy, the judges ruled, the FCC could regulate only the design of devices that handle the transmission of programs, not ones that help consumers view or record them or play them back.
 
 The ruling highlights the ongoing struggle over how to protect copyrighted works in a world that is continuously inventing new and better ways to copy and distribute those works.
 
 Digital television, whose video and audio quality is superior to conventional broadcasting's, is a standard offering on for-pay cable and satellite TV systems, which scramble their signals. But Hollywood studios have balked at making high-definition digital movies widely available on free broadcast networks, for fear the signals could be easily copied and traded online.
 
 To address the problem, and to spur more high-definition digital programming available on free television networks, the FCC adopted the "broadcast flag" rule in late 2003.
 
 Under the system, programs would have been marked with a digital code that would be recognized by devices equipped with flag technology. While viewers could still see digital programs on existing televisions, they could not record or play them back on future DVD recorders unless those devices were equipped with the flag.
 
 Similarly, a recording could be made or viewed only on computers equipped with the flag technology, which would prevent the program from being distributed online. Recording to video cassette recorders would not have been affected by the rules, which were scheduled to take effect in July.
 
 From the beginning, the rules were attacked by consumer groups, digital-rights advocates, library associations and some technology companies. In addition to challenging the FCC's authority to impose design requirements on hardware, they said the rules would not work and would force consumers to buy new equipment if they wanted to enjoy the same level of freedom they currently have to copy programs in one location and to view them elsewhere.
 
 The appeals court did not address whether the rules would be effective. But it rejected the agency's attempt to impose the rules without specific authority from Congress.
 
 "We can find nothing . . . indicating that Congress meant to provide the sweeping authority the FCC now claims over receiver apparatus," the court ruled. "And the agency's strained and implausible interpretations . . . of the Communications Act of 1934 do not lend credence to its position."
 
 The FCC, under the leadership of Chairman Kevin J. Martin, declined to comment. Martin supported the rule, which was championed by former chairman Michael K. Powell.
 
 Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said in a written statement that "if the broadcast flag cannot be used, program providers will have to weigh whether the risk of theft is too great over free, off-air broadcasting and could limit such high quality programming to only cable, satellite and other more secure delivery systems."
 
 The MPAA has failed to get Congress to impose technical anti-piracy requirements, but yesterday's decision is likely to renew its efforts.
 
 Library associations, consumer organizations and digital-rights groups were jubilant.
 
 "This case is about what the limits of the FCC's power should be over the Internet and over new technologies," said Gigi B. Sohn, head of Public Knowledge, a digital rights advocacy group that funded the court challenge.
 
 Librarians were particularly gratified because the judges also ruled that they had legal rights to challenge the broadcast flag.
 
 Only parties that can show they are harmed by an action have such rights. Some universities put video clips of television programming onto the Internet for distance-learning classes.
 
 Representatives of consumer electronics makers, which stood to benefit from an upgrade cycle of equipment, said they were studying the ruling. But the Information Technology Association of America, which represents many large technology firms, praised the decision.
 
 "Congress never intended the FCC to be the Federal Technology Commission," the group said in a statement. "Just as video recorders and DVD players have created substantial new markets for motion picture producers, we believe that copyrighted digital broadcasts will build substantial new markets and new business opportunities for a wide range of copyright owners."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May  7 07:51:22 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May  7 07:56:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14232697.1115477483469.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 No Holiday From Tragedy
 
 By Colbert I. King
 
  Mother's Day and Kenneth B. Clark, the social psychologist and educator who died last Sunday at age 90, are two subjects not usually mentioned in the same sentence. But tomorrow's celebration is a reminder that for some mothers, the day will not be filled with gifts and kisses. For women captured in a social prison that Clark presciently warned us about 40 years ago, it will be yet another bittersweet event.
 
 Kenneth Clark, holder of bachelor's and master's degrees from Howard University, and the first African American awarded a PhD in psychology from Columbia University, was best known for his landmark research into the corrosive effects of segregation on black children -- work that had an impact on the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown decision. But Clark's legacy, at least for me, is contained in his book "Dark Ghetto," which documented the painful and disturbing social truths, as opposed to statistics, about life in urban America.
 
 Published in 1965, "Dark Ghetto" spoke courageously about the tragic, cruel and destructive forces at work in the black community. Through Clark's study of Harlem, which he considered to be a "symbol of Negro ghettos everywhere," the book exposed the reality of the torment, anguish and unpleasant facts of life in a world seen by the comfortable and powerful only through the safe media of newspapers, TV and the movies. Few heard or heeded Clark's voice at the time. Symptoms that Clark identified as afflicting America's dark ghettos in 1965 -- "low aspiration, poor education, family instability, illegitimacy, unemployment, crime, drug addiction and alcoholism, frequent illness and early death" -- remain with us in the nation's capital on Mother's Day 2005. In my line of work, every day seems to bring a reminder.
 
 A few weeks ago, a Post building guard sought my help in finding a back issue of News Dimensions, a local weekly newspaper that she said contained her son's photograph. At first I thought she was looking for a story about his scholastic or athletic accomplishments. She wasn't. Her son's picture, she said, was among dozens of other published photos of victims of unsolved murders in the city. A couple of days later, the guard told me she had received a copy of the publication from the newspaper's editor, Valencia Mohammed. Mohammed and I first met when she served on the D.C. school board several years ago. She has lost two sons to D.C. street violence.
 
 On April 25 a 16-year-old Ballou High School student riding in a car at 2 a.m. was shot to death. Another shooting victim, a 9-year-old boy, was buried this week. Each year, the number of murdered youths in the city rises, the victims get younger; many of the shooters are only kids themselves. The mothers of those victims don't get pampered on Mothers Day; they get to mourn.
 
 Tomorrow Valencia Mohammed is hosting a mothers-only luncheon at the Frank Reeves Center in Northwest Washington to discuss the thousands of unsolved murders in the nation's capital and what is to be done about them. No fathers, brothers, sisters, girlfriends, grandparents or children are invited to the afternoon event. The mothers have been asked to wear or bring something belonging to their deceased child or children.
 
 In a recent issue of News Dimensions newspaper, Mohammed wrote: "The Black community has become a self-cleaning oven. It rids itself of good people and bad people. It's kill or be killed or kill because you think that someone might get away with killing you."
 
 Kenneth Clark saw it all coming. Decades before we reached our present-day debasement, Clark recorded how lives were becoming corroded, marginalized and stigmatized. He told us about what can happen to boys without a strong father figure on which to model their behavior; how boys without stable family relationships go on to have unstable relationships with many girls, showing no responsibility toward any; how those boys identify their masculinity with the number of girls they can get; and how boys confuse masculinity with sexual prowess.
 
 Clark told us back then about the chronic, self-perpetuating institutional pathology in the dark ghetto, with its family and social instability and illegitimacy. He alerted us to the "pernicious drug and 'hustler' subcultures" that were beginning to flower in our community. He told us that crime will never be fully controlled by police vigilance alone; that if suicide is conceived of as aggression turned inward, homicide is the ultimate aggression turned outward.
 
 He described in excruciating detail how the contagious sickness of a community with its neglect, abuse and abandonment of children can produce today's youthful deviants with guns in their hands. He warned against the unstated acceptance of crime and violence as normal for a black inner-city community. He said that if we really want to curb inner-city crime, we should get on with the work of "changing the conditions which tend to breed widespread violence" rather than focusing all attention on reforming the individual lawbreaker.
 
 Forty years ago Clark put the spotlight on damaging behavior, behavior that shows up in teen pregnancies with, as he put it, "especially poignant and tragic clarity." He explained how the desperate yearning of young people for acceptance and identity and the need to be meaningful to someone, even for a moment, can lead to sex; how that yearning can lead a girl into a relationship in which she doesn't expect to hold the boy she's with; and can cause her to bear a child as a symbol of her womanhood and for the gain of having something of her own. We learned from Clark that for the girl in the ghetto, a child out of wedlock was no disgrace; that for her, given her status, it made little difference if she married the father, because in her eyes, his life wasn't leading him anywhere -- except toward the defiant, aggressive and self-destructive behavior we see today.
 
 Clark examined the inner city's power structure -- politicians, churches, black press -- and found them sources of both clout and weakness in the community. Clark did not, however, write a "blame the victim" book. America's ghettos, he noted, were the handiwork of people beyond the black communities who had "learned the words and ideals of democracy" but had also learned the language and behavior of prejudice. His prescriptions, sprinkled through the book, have gone largely ignored.
 
 The harsh consequences of what Kenneth Clark laid before us are now being realized. Which is why some women of Washington are gathering on Mother's Day under the slogan "Don't Let Your Child's Blood and Death Be for Nothing."
 
 kingc@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May  7 07:53:30 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May  7 07:58:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14437033.1115477611770.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Half-Measures
 
  GIVEN THE absence of a meaningful, overarching federal immigration policy, it is perhaps not surprising that members of Congress have created a host of narrower, poorly conceived immigration policies to fill the vacuum. They did so by adding what was originally known as the Real ID Act onto a supplemental budget bill, the main purpose of which is to appropriate about $82 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and to pay for tsunami relief. The House passed the bill, with the immigration provisions, yesterday. The Senate is expected to pass it next week.
 
 None of the bill's provisions involve major reform to immigration policy, and none will reduce the numbers of illegal immigrants in the country. They are instead targeted first at asylum-seekers, who account for a small proportion of immigrants. Although the language was modified in conference, the bill will still make it harder to prove claims of asylum, and easier for judges to issue deportation orders -- hardly the right message to send to the victims of religious and political persecution around the world.
 
 The bill targets those states that have decided, for their own reasons, to issue driver's licenses to undocumented residents. Most did so for reasons of traffic safety and at the request of local law enforcement. But after this legislation goes into effect, any states that want their driver's licenses to be acceptable as federal identification cards -- meaning that they can be used to board planes or enter government buildings -- will be required to ask drivers for proof of legal residency. This will turn motor vehicle departments across the country into de facto enforcers of immigration law, add a huge bureaucratic burden and force many states to set up dual systems -- in effect making states pay for federal policy failure.
 
 Finally, and just as odiously, the bill gives the secretary of homeland security the right to waive any law that might stand in the way of constructing a security fence along the southern border. No court can intervene, except on constitutional grounds. Although the measure is aimed primarily at environmental laws, it sweeps aside all other legislation as well, in a true sign of contempt for the rule of law. Yet even this measure is unlikely to have much impact on the number of illegal immigrants in this country. It would be far better for Congress to focus its energies on more permanent immigration solutions, and not waste time with such misdirected half-measures.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May  7 07:54:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May  7 07:59:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <25883895.1115477682569.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Rights and Remembrance
 
 By Vaira Vike-Freiberga
 
  RIGA, Latvia -- As the president of a country that suffered immensely under Soviet and Nazi rule, I recently faced a dilemma. I had to decide whether to accept an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a rally in Moscow on Monday. That is the date when Russia traditionally celebrates its military victory over Nazi Germany, and this year is particularly significant, as it marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
 
 Numerous heads of state and government, including George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schroeder and Silvio Berlusconi, had already said they would attend the Moscow celebrations. But unlike in France, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Austria, the collapse of the Nazi empire did not lead to my country's liberation.
 
 Instead, with the full acquiescence of the western Allied powers, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were reoccupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, while a dozen other countries in Central and Eastern Europe experienced renewed repression and decades of totalitarian rule as powerless satellite states of the Soviet empire.
 
 Latvia certainly rejoices with the rest of the world at the fall of Hitler's regime. Like numerous other European countries, my country suffered immensely under the German occupation, which lasted in Latvia from 1941 to 1945. During that time, the Germans and their local accomplices carried out the most heinous and large-scale crimes against humanity ever committed on Latvian soil. They murdered about 100,000 of Latvia's inhabitants, including more than 90 percent of the country's prewar Jewish community, as well as tens of thousands of other Jews whom they transported into Latvia from other parts of Europe.
 
 The Nazis also drafted some 115,000 Latvian men into various German military units. Thousands more people were shipped to Germany as forced labor. For a country with a population of less than 2 million, these figures represented a staggering loss.
 
 But Latvia's so-called liberation by Soviet troops in 1944-45 materialized in the form of another calamity, accompanied as it was by the customary rapes, lootings and wanton killings that the Red Army committed in a systematic manner throughout the territories it occupied, and that continued in Latvia well after the end of the war. These were followed by still more killings, repression and wave after wave of mass deportations, the last taking place in 1949.
 
 After the war, Germany made great efforts to atone for the unspeakable crimes committed under the Nazi regime. This process began with an honest evaluation of the country's Nazi-era history and continued with Germany's unequivocal renunciation of its totalitarian past. Russia would gain immensely by acting in a similar manner and by expressing its genuine regret for the crimes of the Soviet regime. Until Russia does so, it will continue to be haunted by the ghosts of its past, and its relations with its immediate neighbors will remain uneasy at best.
 
 In the end, though, I accepted President Putin's invitation, because I believe that the Allied victory over Nazi Germany should be seen as a victory of democratic values over totalitarianism and tyranny. These values form the very basis of our common social contract and lie at the foundations of our civil societies. We the democratic nations of the world value respect for human life and dignity. We value compassion for the suffering of others, tolerance of differences and diversity, and freedom of choice and action, so long as it does not result in harm to anybody else. We value the rule of law as a basis for justice.
 
 For decades after the war, Europe's former captive nations, including Latvia and Russia, were robbed of the opportunity to flourish and to prosper in the framework of these values. And it is on these core values that the perspectives of our long-term partnership with Russia will depend. That is why all democratic nations must urge Russia to condemn the crimes committed during the Soviet era in the name of communism. Russia must face up and come to honest terms with its history, just as Germany did after the end of World War II, and just as my own country is doing today.
 
 The writer is president of Latvia.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May  7 08:00:12 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May  7 08:05:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <31394231.1115478013120.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Personal Message:
 As a physician who cares for many People With AIDS, and as a scientist who has worked on AIDS research for 20 years, this outrages me.  Yes, quick and inexpensive tests accurately find even small numbers of HIV-1 viruses in sperm (donated or otherwise).  This smacks of eugenics and has the fingerprints of The Christian Taliban all over it.
UGH!
Dr. Bill
 
 Gay Groups Assail Sperm Bank Rule
 
 By Marc Kaufman
 
  A new Food and Drug Administration regulation scheduled to go into effect this month calls on sperm banks to reject anonymous donations from men who have been sexually active with other men within five years -- an effort to screen out potential carriers of the AIDS virus.
 
 With a May 25 implementation day approaching, the long-debated regulation is being attacked as unscientific and bigoted by some gay groups that say the new rule stigmatizes gay men.
 
 "This rule is based on bad science because the AIDS epidemic is an increasingly heterosexual epidemic," said Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which has asked the FDA to reconsider.
 
 "We also know that sperm banks can test for HIV very well now and so can screen out any infected donor," he said. "With that in place, why are gay men being rejected?"
 
 The new rule is part of a much broader regulation and industry guidance involving human tissue donations of all kinds. It was initially proposed in 1997 and was adopted a year ago.
 
 While the new regulation requires sperm banks to generally assure the safety of donations, the reference to gay men appears only in a guidance document to the industry that interprets the regulation. As a result, it does not carry the same legal weight.
 
 Representatives of the FDA and sperm banks said most facilities have already adopted the recommendations -- which not only identify gay men as at higher risk but also classify intravenous drug users, men who have paid for sex and some hemophiliacs in the same category.
 
 According to Alice Ruby of the Sperm Bank of California, which has long accepted donations from gay and bisexual men, most other banks have not done so for years. Her nonprofit sperm bank specializes in helping lesbians become pregnant, and she said her center intends to continue accepting donations from gay men after the new guidance goes into effect.
 
 "We take the safety of our clients very seriously and haven't had any problems since we began in 1982," Ruby said. "We have our own rigorous procedures and requirements, and we feel very confident that we can assure the safety of the sperm we offer, whether it's from a gay man or heterosexual."
 
 The new FDA rules pertain to donations of traditional tissues such as skin and eyes, and now also cover reproductive tissues including semen, ova and embryos, blood-forming stem cells from umbilical cords and the bloodstream, and other blood sources. It also expands the number of diseases that have to be screened for.
 
 When the rule was adopted, acting FDA Commissioner Lester M. Crawford said  it was developed with broad input and "in all cases, we carefully considered the comments we received in the proposed rule and made changes in the final rule when the science supported the change."
 
 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 850,000 to 950,000 Americans were infected with HIV in 2003 and that about 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year. About 70 percent of new cases were in men.
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May  7 08:49:38 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sat May  7 08:54:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mother gets son in hot water over phone call from Iraq
Message-ID: <000a01c5531c$6299bf40$1b3fe440@Harold>

A student was suspended from school for the rest of the year for talking to his Mom on his cell phone while he was at school. She was calling from Iraq. This school's administration pretty much has their head up their sphincters.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/11575912.htm

I posted this earlier but it was scrubbed!


Later H
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From lbirdie at hotmail.com  Sat May  7 09:08:47 2005
From: lbirdie at hotmail.com (Little Birdie)
Date: Sat May  7 09:13:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mother gets son in hot water over phone call from Iraq
In-Reply-To: <000a01c5531c$6299bf40$1b3fe440@Harold>
Message-ID: <BAY104-F17E0A34C2BEB78F44DCDDBB21C0@phx.gbl>



>From: "Harold Sifton" <harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>
>Reply-To: Harold Sifton <harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>, 
>mb-civic@islandlists.com
>To: "MB Civic" <MB-civic@islandlists.com>
>Subject: [Mb-civic] Mother gets son in hot water over phone call from Iraq
>Date: Sat, 7 May 2005 11:49:38 -0400
>
>A student was suspended from school for the rest of the year for talking to 
>his Mom on his cell phone while he was at school. She was calling from 
>Iraq. This school's administration pretty much has their head up their 
>sphincters.
>
>http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/11575912.htm
>
>I posted this earlier but it was scrubbed!
>
>
>Later H
>_______________________________________________
>Mb-civic mailing list
>Mb-civic@islandlists.com
>http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic


From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri May  6 20:59:18 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat May  7 10:16:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Lessons of Vietnam--a good concise analysis
Message-ID: <200505071716.j47HGXw9006003@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.counterpunch.org/kolko04292005.html

Counter Punch   April 30 / May 1, 2005

Lesson from a total defeat for the US

The End of the Vietnam War, 30 Years Ago

By Gabriel Kolko

Amsterdam ? The war in Vietnam that ended 30 years ago with a total
triumph for the Communists was the longest, most expensive and
divisive American war in its history, involving over a half-million U.S.
forces at one point-plus Australian, South Korean, and other troops.

If we use conventional military criteria, the Americans should have been
victorious. They used 15 million tons of munitions (as much as they
employed in World War Two), had a vast military superiority over their
enemies by any standard one employs, and still they were defeated.

The Saigon army commanded by Nguyen van Thieu also was far stronger
than their adversaries. At the beginning of 1975 they had over three times
as much artillery, twice as many tanks and armored cars, 1400 aircraft and
a virtual monopoly of the air. They had a two-to-one superiority of combat
troops ? roughly 700,000 to 320,000. The Communist leadership in early
1975 expected the war to last as much as a decade longer. I was in South
Vietnam at the end of 1973 and in Hanoi all of April 1975 until the last
days of the war, when I was in Hue and Danang in the south. I am certain
the Communists were almost as surprised as the Americans that victory was
to be theirs so quickly and easily; I told them from late 1973 onward to
expect an end to the war by the Saigon regime capsizing without a serious
fight ? much as the Kuomintang had in China after 1947. As a future
Politburo member later confessed, they regarded my prediction as "crazy."
They were completely unprepared to run the entire nation, and their
chaotic, inconsistent economic policies since 1975 have shown it.

The Americans and Communists alike shared a common myopia regarding
wars.  What happens in the political, social, and economic spheres are far
more decisive than military equations. That was true in China in the late
1940s, in Vietnam in 1975, and it is also the case in Iraq today.

South Vietnam was an artificially urbanized society whose only economic
basis was American aid. The value of that aid declined when the oil price
increases that began with the war in the Middle East in 1973 caused a
rampant inflation, at which point the motorized army and society the
Americans had created became an onerous liability.

South Vietnam had always been corrupt since the U.S. arbitrarily created
it in 1955 despite the Geneva Accords provision that there should be an
election to reunify what was historically and ethnically one nation.
Thieu, who was a Catholic in a dominantly Buddhist country, retained the
loyalty of his generals and bureaucracy by allowing them to enrich
themselves at the expense of the people. The average Vietnamese, whether
they were for or against the Communists, had no loyalty whatsoever to the
Thieu regime that was robbing them. After 1973, soldiers' salaries
declined with inflation and they began living off the land. The urban
middle class was increasingly alienated, the Thieu regime's popularity
fell with it. It admitted there were 32,000 political prisoners in its
jails, but other estimates were far higher.

By the beginning of 1975 the regime in South Vietnam was beginning to
disintegrate by every relevant criterion: economically and politically,
and therefore militarily. The Saigon army abandoned the battlefield well
before the final Communist offensive in March 1975. Moreover, with the
Watergate scandal, the Nixon Administration was on the defensive after
1973, both with the American public and Congress, and after Nixon's forced
resignation the new American President, Gerald Ford, was simply in no
position to help the economically and politically bankrupt Thieu regime.
The American army, at this point, was too demoralized to reenter the war.
Washington correctly assumed that its diplomatic strategy had won Moscow
and Peking to its side by threatening to swing its power to the enemy of
whatever nation would not support its Vietnam strategy ? triangular
diplomacy.

But it was irrelevant what Hanoi's former allies did--and essentially they
did what the Americans wanted by cutting military aid to the Vietnamese
Communists. The basic problem was in Saigon: the regime falling apart for
reasons having nothing to do with military equipment. The Communists were
stunned by their fast, total victory over the nominally superior Saigon
army, which refused to fight and immediately disintegrated.

Thus ended the most significant American foreign effort since 1945. There
are so many obvious parallels with their futile projects in Iraq and
Afghanistan today, and the lessons are so clear, that we have to conclude
that successive administrations in Washington have no capacity whatsoever
to learn from past errors. Total defeat in Vietnam 30 years ago should
have been a warning to the U.S.: wars are too complicated for any nation,
even the most powerful, to undertake without grave risk. They are not
simply military exercises in which equipment and firepower is decisive,
but political, ideological, and economic challenges also. The events of
South Vietnam 30 years ago should have proven that. It did not.


Gabriel Kolko is the leading historian of modern warfare. He is the author
of the classic Century of War: Politics, Conflicts and Society Since 1914
and Another Century of War?. He has also written the best history of the
Vietnam War, Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the US and the Modern Historical
Experience. He can be reached at: kolko@counterpunch.org.


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat May  7 10:17:27 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Sat May  7 10:22:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Jimmy Carter on the Nonproliferation Treaty
Message-ID: <QjRJMDZWMCNRNE4wNCosNTU2MjQ5@Dragon>

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sat May  7 10:18:28 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sat May  7 10:23:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Bomb blasts rock Burmese capital
Message-ID: <20050507_171828_073471.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Bomb blasts rock Burmese capital **
Three bomb attacks at shopping areas in the Burmese capital, Rangoon, kill at least 11 people and injure many.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4524815.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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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  Sat May  7 10:21:25 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sat May  7 10:26:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Geldof planning second Live Aid
Message-ID: <20050507_172125_056056.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Geldof planning second Live Aid **
Singer and campaigner Bob Geldof plans to stage a Live Aid-style concert to coincide with July's G8 summit.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/4525551.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  Sat May  7 10:44:34 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat May  7 11:01:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] MetroWestDailyNews.com > Local News Coverage News from
	harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
Message-ID: <200505071744.j47HiYFE008766@tol.heraldinteractive.com>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May  7 11:10:04 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sat May  7 11:15:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Snow fort Builders facing prison time ?
Message-ID: <000d01c55330$00de2020$9d27e440@Harold>

Kids building a snow fort last January get arrested and then get found guilty in court ??

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=97716

I find this amazing, that they actually were found guilty!!

That town has some serious issues, if kids/teenagers can not play on their school grounds on a snow day !!

I'd lip off at that police officer too !!


Later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May  7 14:33:07 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sat May  7 14:38:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Blair a 'Lame Duck' Prime Minister
Message-ID: <000f01c5534c$5fa3fe10$163fe440@Harold>

It pretty much looks like Blair is a 'Lame Duck Prime Minister".

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050507/D89U9KM02.html

Harry
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat May  7 15:13:26 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat May  7 17:55:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Palestinian Gandhi
Message-ID: <200505080055.j480tdDc007502@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

The Palestinian Gandhi
by Ran HaCohen | www.antiwar.com | May 2, 2005

"Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?" is a quite popular question, especially
abroad. You won't often hear it asked (with the inevitable self-righteous
shrug) here in Israel: after all, the Israeli culture itself worships
violence, with the semantic field of "war" being the richest in the modern
Hebrew language, with militarism as the state religion, and with popular
wisdom expressed in rules of thumb such as "where force won't do, try more
force."

But Americans love the Gandhi riddle. While their governments give Israel
gigantic military aid, private Americans with the best intentions - like
actor Ben Kingsley - translate the film Gandhi into Arabic and screen it
all over the occupied territories as an example for the Palestinians to
follow.

The intentions of "the Gandhi Project" must be noble. And though
international law and conventions unambiguously acknowledge the right of
occupied peoples to use violence against their oppressors - just like
guerrilla fighters did under Nazi occupation - the question whether
violence or nonviolence serves their cause better is for the Palestinians
to decide. There are, of course, several convincing arguments in favor of
abandoning the violent resistance, most notably the huge benefits that
Israel draws from portraying the Palestinians as "terrorists" to
legitimate the use of its overwhelming military superiority against them.

If "the Gandhi Project" wants to be truly helpful, however, I have a
better idea for it. Instead of screening Gandhi in the occupied
territories, let it screen throughout America the footage of the recent
demonstration in the Palestinian village of Bil'in (to be found on Gush
Shalom's Web site). This footage can help inform Americans about the
realities of the occupation largely equipped and financed by their taxes -
a much more urgent task than teaching Palestinians about the late Indian
leader. It also suggests an unusual solution to the puzzle of the
"Palestinian Gandhi."

The Bil'in Demo

Bil'in is a small village in the occupied West Bank. The apartheid wall,
advancing full speed ahead behind the effective smokescreen of the
"disengagement plan," is now being built there, almost touching the houses
of the village and separating it from most of its lands. These lands will
be given to the illegal settlement of Kiryat Sefer, which is built on
lands taken from the Palestinian villages all around it and inhabited by
ultra-orthodox Jews (the Zionist state managed to mobilize even parts of
this traditionally non-Zionist Jewish sector for its colonialist project).

On Thursday, April 28, about 1,000 Palestinians and some 200 Israeli
guests, invited by people of Bil'in, participated in a demonstration
against the wall. All the participants undertook in advance to avoid all
violence, no matter whether they had seen the Gandhi film or not. But even
before the demo could reach the site of the fence, it was savagely
attacked by the Israeli security forces, which bombarded it with tear-gas
bombs without the slightest provocation. Among the demonstrators were
Palestinian minister Fares Kadduri, presidential candidate Mustafa
Barghouti, Uri Avnery, and Israeli Knesset member Muhammad Barakeh, 
who
was wounded during the attack.  The peaceful demonstration was a welcome
occasion for Israeli special units to wound several demonstrators with the
latest innovation, introduced here for the first time: especially painful
plastic bullets covered with salt.  Indeed, the so-called Jewish Genius is
never exhausted.

Israeli Army Incriminates Itself

So far, you may say, there's nothing new. Gandhi never promised the
British wouldn't use violence: he propagated nonviolent uprising in spite
of British violence. Indeed, the army's provocation did not work and the
demonstration remained nonviolent. So here is what happened next, as
reported in Ha'aretz, April 29, 2005:

"During the clashes, undercover security forces mingled with the
demonstrators and began to throw stones at the soldiers and police,
demonstrators said. The undercover security forces had provoked the police
and soldiers into opening fire with rubber bullets and tear gas. The
demonstrators said they had not thrown stones at the soldiers and police."

The "undercover forces" mentioned are Israeli soldiers dressed as
Palestinians who mingle in the crowd. Such forces - well-trained in Arabic
language and customs - have been employed by Israel since the First
Intifada in the late 1980s, often used also as death squads for the
summary killing of "wanted" - i.e., unwanted - Palestinians. Now we hear
that these undercover Israeli soldiers threw stones.

Well, you may argue, "demonstrators said." Demonstrators always say
such things. Who said such undercover soldiers were present in Bil'in at
all? After all, they were dressed as Arabs, so how can you tell? Even if
the undercover soldiers were present, why should I trust the
demonstrators' accusations?

Okay, good points. But listen to what the officer in charge had to say to
Ha'aretz about the event: "Military sources . added that the undercover
forces had only started throwing stones after Palestinian youths had
adopted such tactics. 'Stone-throwing by the undercover forces is part of
the way in which they operate in such instances,' the sources said."

Oh, so undercover units definitely were present in Bil'in - the army
itself admits that (in fact, it's very easy to spot undercover soldiers
when they start making arrests). And not only did they throw stones on
this occasion: stone-throwing is part of their job as a rule - again, the
army itself says that! The only disputed point is whether they started
throwing stones before or after demonstrators did so. Now think for
yourself: why on earth should an undercover agent provocateur throw stones
after some demonstrators do so? Give me one reason. Obviously, the Israeli
officer (identified in Ha'aretz's Hebrew edition as "Lieutenant Colonel
Tzahi") is lying on this point.

We've now got a clear confirmation of what Palestinian and Israeli peace
activists have been saying all along: the Israeli army would not tolerate
a Gandhi-style resistance.

Someone up there in the occupation echelons must have studied Ben
Kingsley's film long before "the Gandhi Project" got started and reached
the conclusion that nonviolent resistance is not in Israel's interest. To
thwart this threat, Israel employs soldiers whose task is to turn a
peaceful demonstration into a violent one, by infiltrating it undercover
and throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. During the demonstration, the
army uses these stones as a pretext to break the demonstration by force,
using tear gas, salt, or rubber-coated bullets and live ammunition. In the
aftermath, this stone-throwing - pictured by army photographers who surely
don't miss the stones thrown by their own comrades - enters the world
media as propaganda, depicting peaceful demonstrators as dangerous
stone-throwers.

So the problem is the perpetrators, not the victims: it's Israel, not the
Palestinians. The Palestinians don't have to watch the Gandhi film. They
fought the First Intifada with stones (1987-1993) and were answered with
Israeli bullets. They fought the Second Intifada (2000-2004) with weapons
and were answered with Israeli tanks, Caterpillar bulldozers, and
airplanes. And they now start a Third Intifada, a popular, unarmed,
nonviolent struggle against the strangulating fence, which is answered
with Israeli undercover soldiers who throw stones and want us to believe
the Palestinians have done it.

There are thousands of Palestinian Gandhis out there, then: whole villages
that demonstrate daily and peacefully against the robbery of their land
and livelihood. Alas, their voices are unheard - because of the Israeli
undercover soldiers who throw stones from within these peaceful
demonstrations, and because of commentators and movie stars who then
wonder, "Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?"

***


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat May  7 15:07:16 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat May  7 17:56:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Melting pot of blood
Message-ID: <200505080056.j480uFbx007512@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Melting pot of blood

     With the insurgency boiling over and sectarian
     strife spreading, ethnic divisions threaten to
     derail the new Iraqi government.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Juan Cole
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/05/06/ethnic/print.html

May 6, 2005  |  Iraq's elected Parliament finally swore
in a new Cabinet on Tuesday -- yet another milestone
that the Bush administration hoped would represent a
decisive turning point in its campaign to remake Iraq.
But like the toppling of Saddam's statue, the dictator's
capture, the formation of an interim government, the
siege of Fallujah, the national elections, and the
formation of a new government, this latest development
offered little reason for hope that the bloody
insurrection would subside.

Years ago, George Bush the elder explained why he did
not push on to Baghdad at the end of the first Gulf War:
He feared the breakup of the Iraqi state. The most
dangerous fissure was and is between Iraq's majority
group, the Shiites, and the formerly ascendant Sunnis.
Those divisions have now exploded into a horrific
guerrilla war in which disaffected Sunnis increasingly
target Shiites and Kurds. In the week after the Cabinet
was presented to Parliament, Sunni Arab guerrillas went
on a bombing spree that left some 200 dead and hundreds
more wounded. The Bush administration had hoped that the
new, elected government would attract the loyalty of
alienated Iraqis, and that as a result the guerrilla war
would wind down. Instead, Sunnis are furious that their
representation on the Cabinet is still unclear and that
their suggestions for Cabinet members have been rejected
by Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.

The massive suicide bombing that killed 60 and wounded
150 at a police recruitment station in Irbil Wednesday
morning was only one of a string of deadly assaults
signaling the resolve of the Sunni Arab guerrillas to
keep fighting. While some of the attacks were carried
out by fundamentalist holy warriors ("jihadis"), the
bulk are probably the work of Baath military men. A Col.
Zajay, a Shiite police official in south Baghdad, told
the London Times last week, "We have lots of information
that the Baathists are regrouping ... They think they
can take power again."

President Bush, as usual, tried to put the best possible
light on the situation, saying in his April 28 news
conference that he believes "we're making really good
progress in Iraq" and praising the new government for
exemplifying "unity in diversity." Many Iraqis, shell-
shocked by the bloody attacks and the unraveling of the
Iraqi social fabric, begged to differ. In addition to
the massive bombing campaign that greeted the formation
of the new government, sectarian strife continued in the
mixed Sunni-Shiite areas south of Baghdad. In another
alarming development, major rioting broke out Tuesday
and Wednesday at Baghdad University between Shiite and
Sunni students and professors.

When the Cabinet was presented to Parliament on April
28, only 185 members (out of 274) showed up to vote it
into office, and Sunni Arab officials were clearly
frustrated and disappointed that so many key posts
reserved for Sunnis had not yet been filled. Eleven
small Sunni parties had formed a National Dialogue
Council to negotiate with Jaafari and to put forward
candidates for positions. The Sunnis had demanded seven
ministries, including the powerful post of minister of
defense. But only a few of the ministries allotted to
the Sunni Arabs were filled by Prime Minister Jaafari
before he took the Cabinet to Parliament. Sunni Arabs
expected to get defense, human rights, and industry and
minerals, but those posts were filled by acting
ministers.

Among the major Sunni Arab players, the rotund Vice
President Ghazi al-Yawer called the new Cabinet, with
its holes where Sunnis should be, "disappointing" and
"sectarian." An official of the Iraqi Islamic Party said
that the Cabinet did not represent Iraq and therefore
could not usher in national reconciliation. He
complained of its "racist" character. He said that all
of the candidates suggested by his party for Cabinet
posts had been rejected.

The Association of Muslim Scholars, a hard-line Sunni
group with extensive ties to the guerrillas, responded
to the Cabinet by saying that there is no hope of peace
in Iraq until the United States withdraws its forces. In
his Friday prayers sermon at the Umm al-Qura mosque in
west Baghdad, Shaikh Hareth al-Ubaidi criticized the new
government of Ibrahim Jaafari as having "marginalized
the Sunnis." He also ridiculed the talk that a Sunni
Arab would be appointed "minister of tourism."

Sunni Arabs constitute about 4 million of Iraq's
population of 25 million and predominate in Baghdad and
its western and northern hinterlands. They had been the
elite of the country in the 20th century, and they
dominated the upper reaches of the civilian bureaucracy
and the officer corps, as well as being large landlords
and entrepreneurs. Under Saddam Hussein, the Baath Party
became an important source of wealth and patronage for
Sunni Arabs, the top leadership of which kept Kurds and
the majority Shiites politically marginalized.

The new government was seen as a threat by the guerrilla
movement, which indulged in an orgy of bloodletting. On
Friday, as April ended, guerrillas detonated four bombs
in the relatively well-off and famously pious Sunni
quarter of Azamiyah in the capital, killing 20. They
also struck in Madaen, where they used the technique of
setting an explosion to attract police and Iraqi army
troops, and then detonating more bombs when the police
and military arrived, killing 13. Altogether, guerrillas
killed 50 and wounded 114. They struck again on
Saturday, setting off five bombs in Baghdad that killed
11 and wounded 40. They also targeted a building
belonging to the National Dialogue Council in a bid to
make it stop negotiating with others.

On Sunday, the guerrillas set off five bombs in Baghdad,
killing six and wounding 40. But they also attempted to
demonstrate their range, striking at a funeral for a
slain Kurdish official in the northern city of Telafar.
They killed 30 and wounded 50, mainly northern Kurds. On
Monday they were at it again, killing 29. Then after a
lighter day on Tuesday, they hit Irbil. The constant
violence, much of it targeting Shiites or Kurds, refuses
to subside.

Frantic negotiations between Jaafari and the Sunni Arabs
attempting to make a deal led to an expectation that
when the smoke cleared on Tuesday, Jaafari would have a
complete Cabinet and would have the Sunni Arabs aboard.
Negotiations appear to have broken down, however,
because the Sunnis presented as candidates persons who
were too close to the Baath Party. Vice President al-
Yawer sullenly boycotted the festivities, as did most
other Sunni Arab movers and shakers. The Associated
Press quoted Mishaan Juburi, a Sunni parliamentarian
that many Shiites see as having been too close to Saddam
in the old days. He said, "If al-Yawer [had] attended
the ceremony, it would have been the end of him
politically."

Iraq thus enters the new world of elected government
with a great deal of suspicion being expressed about
ethnicity. The new Shiite leadership was threatening to
purge ex-Baathists from the military and intelligence
fields. Sunni Arab leaders complained that the Shiites
had not kept their promise to give the Sunni Arabs a
position in the new government that was appropriate to
them. Political scientist Nabil Muhammad Salim of
Baghdad University told the Arabic press, "Jaafari
demonstrated great flexibility in the negotiations, but
his colleagues put enormous pressure on him." Likewise,
he said, the Sunnis insisted on some names at a time
when they should have shown more flexibility. (The Sunni
Arabs are said to have put forward ex-Baath officers for
several posts whom the Shiites found completely
unacceptable.) The Arabic press reported that Jaafari
called on those ex-Baathists whose hands were not
stained with blood to express their contrition (for
having been Baathists) and to begin a dialogue with the
new government.

The most dramatic instance of Sunni-Shiite conflict this
past week concerns the death of Baghdad University
student Masar Sarhan. He joyously threw a party when
Ibrahim Jaafari was sworn in as prime minister. A member
of the Shiite Dawa Party, Sarhan was expressing his
solidarity with his party, which had won the office of
prime minister for the first time ever. He was gunned
down by three assassins. In reaction, Shiite students
rioted on Tuesday, attacking Sunni Arab students and
professors, whom they blamed for Sarhan's death.

In the meantime, Sunni-Shiite violence continued in a
number of hot spots. In the mixed neighborhood of Doura
in southern Baghdad, guerrillas constantly target
Shiites for killings. They especially go after Sayyids,
or those who claim descent from the Prophet Muhammad. In
Suwaira near Madaen, police pulled 40 bodies out of a
river, most of them Shiite. Mourning family members
blamed Sunni guerrillas for the deaths. Rumors had
earlier circulated that Shiite hostages would be killed
in Madaen, and many Iraqis were convinced that the
bodies recovered were those of Shiite victims of Sunni
barbarity. The new, Shiite governor of Najaf, challenged
Sunni clerics to rein in their adherents and warned that
if the provocations continued, Shiites would take the
law into their own hands.

The entire Bush administration-driven political process
since last November has worked at odds with its own
goals. The U.S. military attack on Fallujah enraged most
Sunni Arabs and spread the guerrilla war to previously
quiet cities such as Mosul. As a result most Sunni Arabs
were not able to vote or were too angry to do so. Sunnis
ended up with only 17 seats in the 275-member
Parliament. Attempts to put them in the new Cabinet have
produced new wrangling and delays and bitterness. The
Sunni question in Iraq is now on the front burner. Given
all the explosives still missing in Iraq, that is a
dangerous place for it to be.

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

About the writer
Juan Cole is a professor of modern Middle Eastern and
South Asian history at the University of Michigan and
the author of "Sacred Space and Holy War" (IB Tauris,
2002).


To subscribe: http://lists.portside.org/mailman/listinfo/portside


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat May  7 16:20:52 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat May  7 18:25:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - SYRIA FREES CANADIAN
Message-ID: <20050507232052.274BC69AFB@nmweb08.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 FREES CANADIAN
WebPosted Sat May  7 14:47:14 2005

Ottawa---The Canadian government on Saturday hailed as a diplomatic coup
the release from a Syrian prison of a Canadian man.

Maher Ahmed Zaydan, who is now said to be reunited with his family, had
been in custody since arriving in Damascus on April 21.

                        FROM OCT. 28, 2004: Syria
                      holding British Columbian man

It remains unclear why he and his family went to Syria or why he was
arrested. But a parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs Pierre Pettigrew said Canadian diplomacy had helped win
Zaydan's release.

"It's another example of how diplomacy is working," Dan McTeague told
CBC Television. He added the government was relieved a Canadian had
been freed.

However, he could not say why Zaydan had been released or why the
Canadian of Syrian origin had been arrested in the first place. McTeague
said the government knew "very little" about the events.

"It'd be up to Mr. Zaydan to elaborate," he said.

Zaydan, who lived in Surrey, B.C., and is a dual Canadian-Syrian
national, had returned to Syria to care for his ailing father, The
Vancouver Sun reported Friday.

A human rights group based in London reportedly said Zaydan was a
political exile who might have been lured back to Syria with the promise
that it would be safe.

The paper reported that Zaydan had sold his Surrey home in March in order
to go to Syria.

Zaydan's case is reminiscent of the affair involving his namesake,
Maher Arar. Another Syrian-Canadian, Arar claims Canadian security
services suspecting him of extremist leanings conspired to have him
deported to Syria.

There, he claims he was tortured by Syrian police while being imprisoned
for 10 months in 2002.

The Arar case is being examined by in a public inquiry.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From jameshburns at webtv.net  Sun May  8 01:30:01 2005
From: jameshburns at webtv.net (Jim Burns)
Date: Sun May  8 01:35:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Mb-civic Digest, Vol 11, Issue 34
In-Reply-To: mb-civic-request@islandlists.com's message of Sat, 7 May 2005
	17:56:21 -0700
Message-ID: <28031-427DCE09-1658@storefull-3272.bay.webtv.net>


Save the Palestinian propaganda, please, for those stupid enough to be
fooled by it.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  8 06:34:26 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  8 06:39:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <19431930.1115559266670.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Ending the Senate Impasse
 
  WE BELIEVE THAT presidents are generally entitled to deference in judicial nominations and that their nominees are generally entitled to up-or-down votes. So we ought to support the Republicans' detonation of the "nuclear option" when the Senate returns from recess this week, right? Well, not exactly.
 
 The "nuclear option" involves a procedural trick by which the Senate, which normally changes its rules only when 67 or more senators agree, would rewrite a rule by majority vote. Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) would use this procedure to change the rules to prevent filibusters on judicial nominations. We oppose this in part because it presupposes that history began in 2001 -- that judicial nominations are a fraught subject only because Democrats have been blocking President Bush's appointments.
 
 In fact, civility in the confirmation process has been eroding for some time, and both parties are to blame. Republicans used their own procedural devices, different from filibusters but no less odious, to block and stall consideration of qualified nominees of President Clinton. For them now to fashion a one-sided solution to a two-sided problem is to extend the unfairness and partisanship and guarantee another round of recrimination.
 
 That is why the best outcome would be a compromise that leaves the rules intact but establishes procedures, accepted by both sides, that presume fair consideration for every nominee. It ought to be possible; it's pretty much how the system used to work. Democrats would have to recognize that presidents get to appoint qualified nominees -- an understanding that allowed both Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be elevated to the Supreme Court with near-unanimous Senate support. Mr. Bush, who bears a good share of culpability for the current impasse, would have to recognize in his appeals court nominations the injustices that preceded him. Senators of both parties would have to tune out the zealous interest groups that value purity over good government.
 
 But we oppose the nuclear option for another reason, too: It's rarely a good idea to fashion long-term institutional change for short-term tactical benefit. Nothing illustrates that more clearly than the positions of convenience both sides now take on what should be an issue
 
 of principle. For most of the past century, liberals viewed the filibuster as retrograde and antidemocratic. Only now that they are in the minority have they seen the virtue -- not to mention the Founders' handiwork -- in minority obstructionism.
 
 The Republicans have their own situational ethics, having come rather late to the purity of their belief in prompt up-or-down votes for every nominee. Moreover, they continue to defend the filibuster when it comes to legislation, citing principled justifications for minority empowerment: that it cools extremism, promotes bipartisan solutions and slows decisions taken in haste or passion. It's not so terrible, they say, to have to persuade 60 senators before imposing momentous change on the country, but they find offensive the same logic applied to a Supreme Court nominee.
 
 Is there more to either side's conversion than a lust for short-term political advantage? There is an honorable way to find out: If compromise proves impossible, the Republicans should propose a reform of Senate rules that would take effect in January 2009.
 
 The debate on the merits and evils of the filibuster could then take place where Republicans and Democrats both say it belongs -- on the level of principle. Democrats could explain why they have lost faith in majority rule. Republicans could explain why majority rule is good sometimes, but not all the time. And both sides would be arguing without knowing who might reap tactical benefit.
 
 
 Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/emailafriend?contentId=AR2005050700938&sent=no&referrer=emailarticle
 
 

Visit washingtonpost.com today for the latest in:

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  8 06:35:40 2005
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Date: Sun May  8 06:41:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 What Do the Insurgents Want?
 
 By Hiwa Osman
 
  IRBIL, Iraq
 
 The 60-wheel trailer was carrying a giant power generator on the highway to Musayyib, 30-odd miles south of Baghdad, last week. Guarded by six cars carrying police and the Iraqi National Guard, the convoy was passing along the notorious Baghdad road near Lutifiyah, a hotbed of insurgent activity where many kidnappings and attacks on military and civilian cars take place.
 
 A banner hung from the generator, like an amulet to ward off evil. Sprayed across it in big bold letters were the words: "To the Musayyib power plant. God is great. Long live the Mujaheddin."
 
 The sign was an appeal to Iraq's insurgents, urging them not to attack the convoy and deprive the people of Musayyib of electricity. Whether it was thanks to the banner, to luck, or to the absence of insurgents on the road that day, the generator and the 28 security personnel made it safely to their destination.
 
 Like the people in that convoy, Iraqis are wondering why the diverse people known by the shorthand phrase "insurgents" continue to attack and what they hope to achieve. In the week since a new cabinet was formed, about 250 Iraqis have been slaughtered in car bombings and other bloody attacks, a pace as relentless and heartless as any since the fall of Saddam Hussein more than two years ago. And while on the ground the attacks seem indiscriminate, there is a strategy behind them.
 
 In fact, there's more than one. That's because the insurgents are actually several groups of people who might share tactics, but possess different motivations and long-term objectives. Thus the appeal on the side of the generator in transit might have had an effect with one group of the insurgency: those who were fired from their jobs in the military and other government institutions for being members of the Baath party but who don't really believe in Saddam Hussein's doddering old brand of Arab socialism. But two other important factions of the insurgency -- the die-hard Baathists and the pro-al Qaeda Islamist militants -- would not hesitate to attack what they would see as a perfect target: a giant generator, 12 policemen and 16 Iraqi national guardsmen. Promoting instability by disrupting public services and crippling the security apparatus of the new Iraq is the heart of their strategy.
 
 Understanding the different strains of the insurgency is essential to fighting them. Two years after the war and three months after national elections that appeared to be a referendum in favor of peaceful politics, the violent insurgents remain an unyielding stumbling block in the path to a new Iraq. The country can never move ahead until this revolt is dealt with decisively.
 
 The backbone of the insurgency appears to be an alliance between the die-hard Baathists and the network of terrorists mostly under the command of Abu Musab Zarqawi. It is a partnership of convenience; both groups are fighting the same battle, but for different reasons and with different goals.
 
 The foot soldiers who make up the Baathist part of the alliance have a military background. They are former members of Saddam's army, where they served as low-ranking soldiers, or in the security and intelligence fields. They lost their jobs shortly after the war, when the coalition forces dissolved the army, security and intelligence apparatuses. They were also brainwashed by ideas of Arab nationalism and anti-Americanism during the Saddam years. Being sacked from their jobs only reinforced the conspiracy theories they had been led to believe and it strengthened their anti-Americanism.
 
 Many of them would gladly go back to their jobs in order to have a better standard of living and avoid risking their lives to lob a mortar or fire a missile at a military or civilian target in return for $200, the going rate for such deeds. A former Iraqi army officer, who now works as a translator and is hiding from insurgents, told me that when Saddam was in power, the army trained security, intelligence and Baath party members in conventional urban warfare methods. So with the high unemployment rate, there is no shortage of men able to use hand-held missiles and automatic weapons to mount simple raids.
 
 Directing these lower-level combatants are the former high-ranking army, security and intelligence officers of the Baathist regime, who lost all the privileges and power they enjoyed under Saddam. They have managed to reassemble some of their old spy networks, recruiting former employees to gather intelligence and paying those willing to carry out assassinations and attacks on military and civilian targets.
 
 Their ability to instill fear is evident. A Baghdad resident who visited Ghazi Yawar, then interim president, in the Green Zone told me that when Yawar's bodyguards picked him up they told him to put his head down as they were entering the U.S. and Iraqi government compound. "They said that I better not be noticed by the terrorists," he said. The bodyguards said the insurgents "would kill me on my way out if they recognized me."
 
 They have also infiltrated government institutions, facilitating assassination attempts in Baghdad and other cities of the Sunni triangle. Many government ministers and public officials have been stuck in their houses for weeks, even months. Some do not even visit their ministries.
 
 Their goal is simple: The return of Baathist rule through a military coup. E-mailing from his hideout last month, a former high-ranking member of the military put it simply: "Once we kick the occupation out, we will have enough power and a strong will to resume the leadership of Iraq." He added, "We were able to do it in 1963 and in 1968. We can do it again," referring to the dates of the party's two seizures of power.
 
 To do that, they are willing to make common cause with people who do not share their secular outlook. Asked how Baathists view the Islamist militants of al Qaeda, senior Baath party official Salah al-Mukhtar told a local Iraqi newspaper earlier this year that the Baathists will "support anyone who carries arms against the Americans."
 
 The Islamist militants have their own foot soldiers in this unholy alliance: supporters who have poured across the mostly open borders from neighboring countries. I believe it is these people who are particularly useful to the Baathists, because they provide a supply of willing suicide bombers.
 
 Suicide attacks are not, in all likelihood, Iraqi operations. "Thirty-five years of Saddam's brutal repression did not produce a single suicide bomber," says a former military officer who is now working as a driver.
 
 Syria has been an important base and way station for these foreign fighters. Interviews with arrested "jihadis" and transcripts of interrogations obtained from Iraqi security and intelligence show that a typical jihadi's journey from his city in Syria, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen or any other Arab country until the moment he blows himself up goes something like this: After deciding that he wants to fight the Americans in Iraq, he contacts mosques in Damascus known for recruiting mujaheddin for the holy war in Iraq. Often these recruitment campaigns are funded by senior Syrian officials.
 
 After deciding that a person is fit to conduct a "martyrdom operation," Syrian intelligence trains him on how to disguise his identity and how to handle explosives and ammunitions. Radical mullahs supplement this with heavy doses of hard-line religious teaching. The volunteer is then taken across the desert in eastern Syria, through the porous borders, into the Sunni triangle in Iraq, where he is housed by members of the former Baathist intelligence and security network. The second leg of the journey is to a safe house in Baghdad, where he is assigned a target to blow up or sent to certain areas to fight the Americans or the new Iraqi army and police forces.
 
 Last year, the Iraqi government published a list of foreign fighters caught in Iraq. The father of one of the fighters contacted one of the ministers and said that when his son left home he told his parents he was going to Syria for a holiday. A month later he called his parents and said that he was in Fallujah for jihad against the Americans.
 
 Before the American offensive in Fallujah, foreign militants used to go there to join the local insurgency in conducting conventional attacks on Iraqi police, national guards and the U.S. military. Iraqi journalists working for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) reported that Syrian militias were openly operating in various areas of the Sunni triangle. One Syrian combatant told a reporter, who was posing as a local resident, that he was in Iraq fighting the United States because "if we don't fight them here, we will have to fight them in Syria."
 
 Money also flows in from Syria. I spoke with an Iraqi journalist who recently visited Syria. He said being there felt like being back in Saddam's Iraq. "The place was heaving with sons of Baathists and former regime officials," he observed.
 
 Iran is also harboring and training members of other militant groups. IWPR revealed a few months ago that Iran is assisting the radical Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, a large, mostly Iraqi Kurdish affiliate group of al Qaeda, and the Ansar Al-Sunnah, which claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in Irbil that killed more than 50 people and injured 70 police recruits last week.
 
 Although the disparate insurgent allies are fighting different wars for different reasons, for now they are fighting the same battle -- destroying the current Iraqi government and driving out the Americans. One wants a return to rule by Saddam or some other Baathist; another wants a Taliban-style Iraq. But they're all waiting for the United States to leave.
 
 The relative hiatus in violence that took place after the January elections is over. It would be naive to think that these groups can be neutralized by inviting them to join the political process. Bringing a few Sunni faces into the cabinet with the hope that they would end the insurgency is like expecting plastic surgery to cure stomach cancer. The war against this insurgency may be unappetizing, but it's one that cannot be avoided. And its first aim must be to break the Baathist-al Qaeda alliance.
 
 To do that, the war has to be fought on two fronts. The international community must issue an ultimatum to Iraq's neighbors, Syria and Iran, to cut the insurgents' supply lines. Although Iraq has an elected government and president, the country is still on its knees and does not have the clout that others have over these states. The reluctant withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon provides a model of how the United States and the international community can exert their influence on Damascus. Iraqis are hoping for a similar show of strength on its behalf.
 
 In Iraq, the war can be fought by recognizing that the country is composed of three competing zones. Ultimately the people of the Sunni triangle will rise up against the insurgency so that they can catch up with the northern and southern regions of Iraq, which are safer than the center. Meanwhile, though, there is no alternative to a carrot-and-stick policy aimed at capturing or killing the most recalcitrant Baathists and offering lower-level, non-criminal Baathist party members jobs and bringing them into the political process.
 
 Only then will Iraqis be able to put away their submissive banners and drive into the government compound sitting upright, instead of cowering in the back seat of a heavily guarded car.
 
 Hiwa Osman, an Iraqi Kurd, is the training director for the London-based Institute for War & Peace Reporting in Iraq (http://www.iwpr.net/)
 
 Author's e-mail: hiwaosman@hotmail.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  8 06:37:09 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  8 06:42:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Filibuster Fray Lifts Profile of Minister
 
 By Shailagh Murray
 
  In his home town of Pearland, Tex., Baptist minister Rick Scarborough was tireless in promoting his conservative Christian way of thinking.
 
 He attacked high school sex education courses, experimental medical treatments and transsexuals trying to change their gender identification. He recruited like-minded candidates to run for the local school board and city council. He crisscrossed the country to protest the ousting of Roy S. Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, for installing a Ten Commandments tablet at his courthouse. And  Scarborough created a network of "Patriot Pastors" to lead evangelicals to the polls in 2004.
 
 Now  he has set his sights on bigger stakes: pushing Senate Republicans to change the rules so that Democrats  cannot block President Bush's judicial nominees. The fight over the judgeships was once a largely academic argument over the constitutionality of the filibuster. But now it provides a fiery new front in the culture war. And Scarborough is emblematic of the Christian right leaders who have been drawn to the fray.
 
 Scarborough and other grass-roots conservative religious leaders believe the federal courts are trouncing Christian values on marriage, abortion and other right-to-life issues raised in the Terri Schiavo case. While he lacks the name recognition of more prominent religious activists, such as James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and evangelist Pat Robertson, Scarborough is a potent force with close ties to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and influential Senate conservatives.
 
 In just the past two weeks, Scarborough has recruited 2,000 more Christian ministers for his Patriot Pastor network, boosting total membership of the three-year-old alliance to about 5,000 members. The Senate returns tomorrow from a one-week recess, and the showdown over judges could come sometime in the next few weeks.
 
 It is a key test of the Christian right's political clout since last year's election, when Bush won a second term and Republicans strengthened their hold on Congress -- thanks in part to a record turnout of so-called "values voters." Anytime Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) or other GOP leaders appear to be backing away from a showdown with the Democrats over the filibuster, Scarborough and his backers are there to give them a shove. This helps to explain the protracted nature of the dispute and the challenge to GOP leaders to work out a compromise.
 
 "One of my goals in life is to give the Republican Party courage," Scarborough said in a recent interview. "We have a lot of gutless wonders who wear the tag conservative Republican. Anytime there's any amount of fire, they crater."
 
 If Frist, as is expected, mounts a campaign for president in 2008, he will need the strong support of Christian conservatives to win his party's nomination. But for now, the verdict on Frist is still out, according to Scarborough.
 
 "I've admired him for his unwavering commitment" in confirming Bush's judges, Scarborough said. But the senators whose offices he calls most often are Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), both conservative Catholics who also may run for president in 2008.
 
 Scarborough for years was little known outside of Texas despite long-standing ties to DeLay, who calls the preacher "one of my closest friends," and his 2002 anointment by Jerry Falwell as one of the new leaders of the religious right in America. Now that he is in the thick of the filibuster controversy, Scarborough's op-ed pieces are being picked up by major newspapers, and copies of his nine-year-old book, "Enough is Enough," which discusses judicial overreach, are in big demand.
 
 While Christian right leaders  such as Scarborough employ the usual Washington special-interest tactics -- collaring lawmakers, issuing press releases, appearing on political talk shows -- their real power rests in their unique access to millions of voters "who happen to go to church," as Scarborough puts it. "It's straight to the heart of people from men and women they trust," he said.
 
 Scarborough is part of a constellation of Christian right and socially conservative groups that are spending millions to mobilize their followers to pressure the Senate to try to break a Democratic logjam blocking some of Bush's most conservative and controversial judicial nominees. Focus on the Family has run ads in favor of the filibuster rule change and co-sponsored with the Family Research Council a televised Sunday evening simulcast last month that featured a videotaped speech by Frist.
 
 Christian conservatives have turned their attention to the courts because they believe many judges reflect a secular, liberal elite and are making rulings affecting prayer in school, religious expressions in public life, the teaching of science and other matters that are contrary to the will of the majority of Americans.
 
 "Judges are law. We have to live under their laws," said Don Wildmon,  chairman of the American Family Association and a member of the advisory board of Vision America, Scarborough's organization. "We as any other American citizen ought to have some input in the kinds of people who are going to rule over us."
 
 The 2004 election  lighted the fire for change, said Wildmon, who is also founder of the Arlington Group, a coalition of social conservative groups. "I always thought to the winner goes the spoils."
 
 The goal of these groups is to remove the parliamentary impediments that Democrats have used to block 10  of Bush's federal appellate court nominees and that could be used to block future Supreme Court nominees. Of the 10, seven have been renominated by the president, and the Democrats have vowed to block them again. With a 55 to 45 majority, Republicans currently have enough votes to confirm Bush's nominees but not enough to shut off a Democratic filibuster to get to the final vote.
 
 Scarborough, 55, started preaching while a student at Stephen F. Austin State University. His other preoccupation was football; one teammate was future Redskins star kicker Mark Moseley. "I hiked every ball he kicked in college," Scarborough says.
 
 After receiving a master's of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and a doctorate in ministry from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary, Scarborough hit the national revival and crusade circuit for 14 years. He settled in Pearland in 1990 and became pastor of First Baptist Church.
 
 His first foray into politics came two years later, when he attended a local high school assembly on AIDS awareness, and was appalled at the frank talk about condoms and "various sex acts." He read the transcript from the pulpit one Sunday morning and took his complaints -- and at least 400 parishioners -- to the school board. Eventually, the high-school principal was replaced by a supporter of abstinence-based sex education.
 
 The experience taught Scarborough the power of the pulpit in stirring action, and he became a prominent force on the local political scene. Within a few years, members of his church had been elected to the Pearland city council and school board, and were hired for top local government jobs, including city manager and police chief.
 
 But Scarborough encountered some bumps in the road. Several  of his church members who won local school board and city council seats proved inept or uninspiring as public officials. In 1996, Scarborough tried to win control of the Texas Baptist General Convention to "take the state for Jesus," but lost to a moderate candidate by a 2-to-1 margin. In 2002, he resigned as pastor and founded Vision America to mobilize fellow church leaders "to promote active citizenship."
 
 Even some of Scarborough's adversaries say they were  impressed by  how swiftly  he has ascended in the filibuster debate. His biggest public relations coup was a conference he organized in Washington last month titled "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith." The event attracted considerable media attention and featured DeLay via video calling for Congress to "reassert our constitutional authority over the courts."
 
 "He [Scarborough] has made himself a major player," says Rob Boston, of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who has tracked Scarborough's career for years.
 
 Some GOP activists not affiliated with religious groups worry that their original intent of challenging the judicial filibuster on constitutional grounds is now being perceived as more of an effort by Christian groups to impose a religious test on judicial nominees.
 
 "We understand their frustration," says one Republican activist, who works closely with the religious groups. "But we'd rather keep the rhetoric constructive and not fire-breathing."
 
 During his news conference last week, Bush distanced himself from the views of some religious groups that Democrats were blocking his judicial nominees because of differences in faith.
 
 Scarborough insists that his broad goal is simply to put in place "constitutionally minded judges." It is an effort that could last months, even years, but he can't think of any cause more worthy. Along with the influx of new Patriot Pastors, his Web site, stopactivistjudges.org, received 850,000 hits last month.
 
 "I couldn't believe it," Scarborough said. "We've been chipping along and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of the flow."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  8 06:38:58 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  8 06:44:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24022422.1115559538550.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Personal Message:
 Yikes.  It will be pointed at us next.
Ugh,
Bill
 
 Mouse Click Brings Home Thrill of the Hunt
 
 By Sylvia Moreno
 
  BULVERDE, Tex. -- On a tranquil Central Texas landscape, three fallow deer wandered through live oak and cedar as a rifle barrel poked out of a small shack nearby. With a metallic click, the Remington, clutched in a motorized steel cradle without a hunter at the trigger, swiveled to track them.
 
 The gun's scope showed the cross hairs settle right behind a buck's shoulder and hold steady, a perfect aim that would kill the animal in one clean shot -- if the hunter wanted to fire the gun. More than 1,300 miles away in Indiana, looking at his computer screen, he decided to pass. This hunter wants to bag a blackbuck antelope, and he will wait to click the computer mouse that will send the electronic signal to shoot.
 
 It is called hunting by remote control, the brainchild of Texas entrepreneur John Lockwood, whose Internet business advertises a "real time on-line hunting and shooting experience."
 
 The business, Live-Shot, is open to everyone who registers and pays monthly $14.95 membership dues and a $1,000 deposit toward the cost of the animal. People using the service must have a valid Texas hunting license, which can be obtained online.
 
 The Remington .30-06 rifle is mounted atop a homemade contraption of welded metal and a piece of butcher block, and is attached to a small motor, three video cameras (two linked to the Internet, including the one embedded in the gun scope) and a door lock actuator, like that used in a car. The actuator is attached to a wire that pulls the trigger at the click of the mouse. From virtually anywhere, someone with an Internet connection can fire the rifle.
 
 If most hunters use blinds to conceal themselves from deer or other wildlife, "what is the difference in this and clicking a mouse?" asked Lockwood as he pulled the trigger of an unloaded Winchester Model 70 .30-06 that he uses for hunting. "Nothing. That is the same exact motion, and it takes the same amount of time."
 
 Although the business, which apparently is the only one of its kind, has yet to turn into a bonanza, opposition to it has. Bills to ban the cyberspace activity are moving through at least 14 state legislatures from Hawaii to Maine, including hunter-friendly Texas. Virginia lawmakers passed prohibitions that take effect July 1. The California Fish and Game Commission  ordered emergency regulations last week to bar hunters there from using the Internet to shoot animals, and last month, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department banned Internet hunting of native Texas game animals. A move to shut down the venture for good is percolating in Congress, where a bill to prohibit "computer-assisted remote hunting" was introduced recently.
 
 In a rare alliance, hunters and the National Rifle Association have joined forces with their traditional foes, the animal welfare and Humane Society activists. And some scholars, not surprised to see violent computer games elevated to another level, are questioning the propriety of an enterprise that blurs the line between the reality of man-stalks-beast in the great outdoors to the virtual anonymity of shooter-pulls-trigger from thousands of miles away.
 
 "The problem here is . . . the distance. It increases our sense that real killing is an anonymous activity," said Kirk O. Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in California. "You use something familiar, a mouse, to fire the weapon . . . much as computer games that involve shooting human or animal objects. Technically it's possible. But as a society, do we want to do this?"
 
 Absolutely not, says U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who introduced a bill last month to make Internet hunting a crime punishable by as long as five years in prison. "If ever there was an issue for Congress to speak with some moral and ethical clarity, this is it," Davis said. "If you let this go on in society, what's next?"
 
 For now, Lockwood's fledgling business continues to operate on a friend's ranch about 30 miles northwest of San Antonio. The Web site offers target shooting, but it is the exotic-game-hunting element of the business that has been condemned as a violent computer game gone awry or criticized as the equivalent of an online slaughter.
 
 Lockwood, 40, a body shop estimator in San Antonio, said the real problem is that he and his enterprise are misunderstood. He said the Web hunt is most likely to appeal to the disabled who cannot leave their homes or to hunters outside of the United States. He said he has been contacted by disabled hunters in the United States and Europe and by troops stationed overseas who are interested in online hunting.
 
 Lockwood said he began exploring the concept in 2003 after he showed a friend a videotape of wildlife he recorded while hunting. His friend wondered whether a camera could be attached to a gun for use in long-distance hunting. Lockwood said he also was inspired by a Web site that allows users to "hunt" by clicking a mouse that takes photos with a network of cameras set up at wildlife sites. Lockwood registered his Web domain early last year and with several software programmers created the site, which became available to the public in January.
 
 "Obviously, this does not appeal to most people who can get around," Lockwood said. "Most hunters would care less about hunting like this. I don't want to hunt like this."
 
 Regulators and lawmakers in many places are trying to make sure that even people who do want to hunt remotely cannot. Virginia's ban will be the first in the nation. It will outlaw the possession of the equipment, in combination with the software, to allow a gun to be fired from a remote location. To hunt, a hunter will have to be with the rifle on the site of the hunt, said bill sponsor  Del. G. Glenn Oder (R-Newport News).
 
 "I had the only bill the NRA and the ASPCA both supported this session," Oder said.
 
 In California, state Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach) introduced a bill that not only prohibits the establishment of Internet-hunting sites in the state but also forbids residents from using businesses such as Live-Shot, and from importing, exporting, owning or confining any bird or mammal taken by or used in remote hunting. The California Senate passed the bill, and it now moves to the state Assembly.
 
 "This is the kind of technology I associate with war -- like drones -- not with sport," Bowen said.
 
 "In fact I heard about this and I thought about the Texas book depository," she said, where Lee Harvey Oswald, reportedly aiming from a sixth-floor window, shot President John F. Kennedy in 1963 as his motorcade drove through downtown Dallas.
 
 "Is this going to become part of the to-do list on your desk? Update calendar, finish memo, kill deer, pay bills?" Bowen asked.
 
 Organizations representing hunters -- including the Arizona-based Safari Club International, the Texas Wildlife Association and Buckmasters, which arranges hunts for disabled people -- have called Live-Shot the antithesis of their sport.
 
 "Hunting is totally experiential. You immerse yourself in it: You're outdoors, the animal has a fair chance," said Kirby Brown of the Texas Wildlife Association. "This falls off of the ethical charts."
 
 But for Dale Hagberg, a quadriplegic in Ligonier, Ind., Live-Shot is the only way he can hunt after being paralyzed in a diving accident almost 18 years ago. The 38-year-old was an avid bear and deer hunter in his teens, but now is dependent on a ventilator and unable to sit up in a wheelchair for more than a few hours at a time once a week. He has used Lockwood's site about a dozen times to target shoot and four times to hunt but has yet to bag anything. He uses his mouth to manipulate a joystick that moves a remote camera to zoom in and out of the target area on the ranch in Texas and to aim.
 
 During a six-hour hunt last weekend, Hagberg used the joystick to swivel the Remington from afar.
 
 Several times, Hagberg focused the cross hairs on a group of deer that wandered into the camera's line of vision. But in telephone consultation with Lockwood, who serves as the hunt guide and who loads the rifle and disengages the safety when the hunter is ready to shoot, Hagberg decided not to fire.
 
 "I just want to wait for the blackbuck to come," Hagberg said later in a telephone interview. "It's not about killing them. I really enjoyed watching" the deer.
 
 Hagberg said he understands the opposition to Internet hunting, but this is what he has to say to critics: "I think if they walked in my shoes for a while or knew someone like me, they'd feel differently."
 
 He has paid $1,300 to bag a blackbuck -- the price that Lockwood paid to stock the animal on the ranch -- and he will keep trying to get the spiral-horned antelope from his bed in Indiana, Hagberg said. His best friend, a taxidermist, has promised to make a wall mount, and Lockwood will arrange for a processor to send the meat to him.
 
 "We'll do this until that happens," Lockwood said, "or this becomes illegal."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  8 06:40:56 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  8 06:46:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <17565006.1115559656909.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Daughter's Denunciation of Historian Roils Mormon Church
 
 By T.R. Reid
 
  SALT LAKE CITY -- Although the Mormon Church is one of the wealthiest and fastest-growing  Christian denominations, members of the faith often take a defensive stance toward the outside world. "Mormons of every stripe are obsessive about their image,"  historians Richard and Joan Ostling noted, "deeply concerned that their church appears to outsiders as a 'cult.' "
 
 In the ongoing effort to enhance the church's image, no Mormon played a bigger role than  Hugh Nibley, the multilingual teacher and scholar whose books, laden with footnotes and laced with quotations from ancient texts,  make a meticulous argument that Mormon scripture reflects historic truth.
 
 But this spring, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been rocked by a furious attack on the beloved historian -- an attack that comes from his daughter, Martha Nibley Beck.
 
 In an explosive memoir,  Beck, 42, says that Nibley was a pedophile who abused her as a child while chanting ancient Egyptian prayers. She also says that her father's history books were fictional and that the extensive footnotes for which he was famous were simply made up.
 
 Beck's mother and her seven siblings have angrily denounced the book, "Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found my Faith," saying she is either lying, deranged or both. Nibley's fellow historians in the field have rallied to his defense, arguing that his scholarly work is reliable.
 
 The family notes that the bitter controversy made for a sad conclusion to Nibley's life. He  died in February, at the age of 94, as his daughter's book went on sale. In his last months, his other children say, he forcefully denied Beck's charges of sexual abuse and of academic misconduct.
 
 The impact extends far beyond the Nibley family. Much of Utah -- with 73 percent of the population Mormon, it is the closest thing America has to a one-church state -- has been stunned by the attack on a revered defender of the common faith. Internet chat rooms, radio talk shows and letters-to-the-editor columns have been flooded with commentary.
 
 "It's just a terrible thing for a community to go through," said Andrew Ludlow, a church member and a senior at the church's premier school, Brigham Young University. "I don't think there's ever been a Mormon scholar more admired, or even loved, than Hugh Nibley. To see him attacked like this -- attacked by his own daughter -- is almost unbelievable."
 
 Dan Wotherspoon, editor of the independent Mormon magazine Sunstone, says the book has aggravated divisions within the Mormon world.
 
 "Martha's book clearly has energized those who want to justify their own struggles with the church," he said. "The buzz around this book is huge, and it's primarily negative. She says a lot of things in there that anyone who lives in Utah will just know is wrong. But it has struck a chord with folks moving in her direction, out of the faith."
 
 The Latter-day Saints church is an intensely American faith. Founded in the 1820s by a New York farm boy named Joseph Smith, it says the Garden of Eden was in Missouri. The church uses the Judeo-Christian Bible alongside scripture of its own, primarily the Book of Mormon. This text says that Jesus Christ came to America after his resurrection to preach to the Indians. Nonetheless, the Salt Lake City-based church has seen its fastest growth overseas. The church says it operates in 170 countries, and more than half its 12.3 million members live outside North America.
 
 Beck, a therapist and self-help columnist, said in an interview that she did not write the book "to punish my family or the church." The book was primarily designed, she said, to be "therapeutic for the author." She writes that "protecting the Mormon Church by keeping dark secrets . . . would isolate me in a life of smothered rage."
 
 In "Leaving the Saints," Beck says that she suffered for years from anorexia, anger and despair, and had frequent suicidal impulses. When she and her former husband, John C. Beck, were teaching at Brigham Young in the 1990s, she believed that church authorities stalked her, tapped her phone and threatened her.
 
 One day, in her late twenties, Beck writes, her brain "seemed to erupt like a volcano" and she suddenly had a memory of her father abusing her in her bed when she was 5. She subsequently remembered other abuse  that she said lasted until she was 8.  In an interview, she said these memories were the reason for her unhappiness and mental problems.
 
 Beck, a mother of three, says that an obstetrician who examined her as an adult found vaginal scarring, but concluded it came from giving birth. She says a therapist told her that if she was abused by her father, her three sisters would have been abused, as well. The sisters say this did not happen.
 
 Beck argues that such negative evidence makes her more convinced her memory is accurate.
 
 "The peculiar details of my memories had at first made me doubt myself -- they were so weird -- but in the end, reinforced my conviction that I hadn't unconsciously made something up," she writes in her book.
 
 Beck writes that she was in the frozen-foods aisle of a grocery store when a scholar in a tweed coat, whom she does not name, came up to her. He told her that Nibley's 15 history books were fictional, and that 90 percent of his footnotes were made up. On hearing this charge, she says, "I felt noticeably, physically stronger."
 
 In an interview, Beck said the charges against her father's scholarship came from the man in the grocery store, and "not as a result of my own investigation." She cited articles by historians, including other Mormons, criticizing one of Nibley's books.
 
 One of the historians Beck cited, Kent P. Jackson of Brigham Young, said he has studied Nibley's work and challenged some of his  conclusions. "But I never found the slightest hint of falsification or making things up," Jackson said.
 
 Jackson said that he does not believe any scholar actually made the charge cited in Beck's book. "In my opinion, the man in tweed in the grocery store is a fictional character that she made up," he said.
 
 Beck writes in the book that parental sexual abuse is more frequent in Mormon families than in the general population; she says this is so because, until the 1890s, the church endorsed the practice of polygamy. In an interview, she said it is "absolutely impossible" to find statistical data on comparative rates of abuse. She said that when she talks about her book on radio or television, she almost always hears from other Mormon daughters who say they, too, were abused.
 
 In the controversy here surrounding Beck's attack on her father, her critics have pointed out that parts of the book are clearly fictional.
 
 Beck writes, for example, that she was initially afraid to see a therapist named "Rachel Grant," because the name reminded her of a former Mormon president, Heber  J. Grant. At another point, she says she had a vision that a woman whose name contained the letters "D" "N" and "A" would help her through a crisis. Shortly afterward, she says, her cousins "Diana" and "Miranda" knocked on her door.
 
 Beck said in an interview that she made up the  names of the three women. She said the rest of the book is true.
 
 Her  siblings focus on various turns in Beck's life that she does not mention in the book. While "Leaving the Saints" repeatedly discusses Beck's sex life, the book does not mention that Martha Beck, now divorced, is a lesbian.
 
 In 1990, Beck and her husband co-wrote  a book, "Breaking the Cycle of Compulsive Behavior," which argues that homosexuality is a choice -- an "addiction" that can be "overcome" through will power. Martha Beck now lives with a woman in a relationship she calls "more than platonic." She said she no longer  believes that homosexuality is a choice that can be overcome.
 
 Beck said that her sexual  orientation would seem to be appropriate to mention "in a book about sex and sexual secrets." But she decided to leave it out, she said,  because "that will be another book."
 
 Church members are also angry that Beck jokes about aspects of the Mormon faith; for example, she refers to the religious garments that Mormons wear in their temples as "holy long johns."
 
 But the main complaint about "Leaving the Saints" is that Beck has targeted one of the most admired of all the Latter-day Saints.
 
 "Books by apostates from the church, they come along all the time," Wotherspoon, of Sunstone Magazine, said. "But an attack on Hugh Nibley -- to call Hugh Nibley a pedophile and a liar, with no evidence to back it up -- of course that is going to hit the Mormon community like an earthquake."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May  8 06:42:08 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May  8 06:47:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11584557.1115559729351.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 New Mexico Plays Home To Terror Town, U.S.A.
 
 By Ariana Eunjung Cha
 
  PLAYAS, N.M.-- With its pristine Spanish-style houses and flowering gardens, this remote town seems an unlikely place to be the most dangerous spot in the United States. But for the past six months it has been under siege by terrorists.
 
 First, a man took some hostages and holed up inside No. 1 Mesquite St., threatening to blow up the place. A SWAT team had to shoot its way inside and take him out. Then came the discovery of a pipe-bomb factory in a neighbor's kitchen, and an explosion on a bus in which eight were killed or wounded.
 
 The attacks are simulations, part of a national training program for emergency personnel such as police, paramedics and border patrol officers. For the roughly 20 families who live in this government-contracted town and the several dozen others who live on the outskirts, however, the events are sometimes almost too real.
 
 "It feels like I'm in war," said Trent Johnson, 17, who was born and raised here. Helicopters fly overhead in the middle of the night. Sometimes while he is going to school or running errands he and his parents must make their way past a maze of ambulances, fire engines and Humvees. "It's kind of freaky to see people in uniform walking down your street with M-4s."
 
 Mercifully, evidence of the attacks does not last long. After each crisis, a cleanup crew arrives, quietly sweeping up shattered glass, replacing smashed doors, patching cracked walls. Their job is to rewind the clock, returning the town to the way it was before the attack, as if nothing had happened.
 
 Next come a few quiet days, sometimes a few quiet weeks. Then the attacks begin all over again.
 
 Life has been this way since December, when the first trainees began arriving from across the country. Nicknamed "terror town" by locals, Playas is part of a multibillion-dollar initiative by the federal government to prepare for what some think is inevitable: another attack on U.S. soil.
 
 While the government's efforts to prevent terrorism -- extra security at airports and at the borders, the roundup of suspect combatants -- have been the most visible, it also has dedicated significant resources to trying to predict and respond to worst-case scenarios. The cornerstone of that effort involves simulations.
 
 "You'll never fight the scenario you train against but the fact that you've been exposed to similar conditions in a synthetic environment -- one where there's no penalty or harm for making a mistake -- is the best opportunity you're going to have to learn," said Corey Gruber, director of policy for the Office for Domestic Preparedness in the Homeland Security Department.
 
 The challenge for those who design the simulations is to create something that is more than a flashy Hollywood act. Some critics have questioned the cost and usefulness of simulations, saying that trying to get a handle on the infinite number of variables involved in any possible attack is pointless and the government might be better off putting its resources into other projects. Another worry is the danger that enemies of the United States may be able to use data from the exercises as a playbook for targets.
 
 Some simulations, like the ones in Playas, are narrowly focused on one problem and involve only several dozen participants. Others are elaborate multi-state, multi-agency efforts with professional actors, fake blood and props. Last month, for example, hospital emergency rooms in New Jersey were flooded with "patients" who were infected with pneumonic plague while a car bomb filled with toxic chemicals detonated at a waterfront festival in Connecticut. More than 23,000 trainees participated.
 
 The most complex, involving thousands or even millions of virtual deaths, can only be conducted inside the brain of a computer. In secured rooms at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Naval Postgraduate School, Virginia Tech and other research institutions, the machines are modeling disasters such as the contamination of the water supply, a smallpox release, and a hacker attack on our Internet infrastructure.
 
 Gruber said each simulation is followed by detailed assessments of what went right or wrong. The results, he said, have been helpful in pinpointing weaknesses in our response system. Gruber said, for instance, that after an exercise that involved a dirty bomb the government discovered that there were multiple agencies trying to predict the spread of radiation, yet no formal way for them to communicate. They have since fixed that.
 
 Daniel Hamilton, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, cautioned that the results of simulations should be seen as a tool to help in decision-making, not as a solution. Johns Hopkins recently co-hosted an exercise involving a biological attack that began in Europe and that featured Madeleine Albright playing the president.
 
 Simulations "simply draw out a range of choices and provide some perspective," Hamilton said.
 
 Built by the Phelps Dodge Corp. in the 1970s to house workers at its copper smelter plant nearby, Playas was once an idyllic piece of rural America. Nestled at the base of a small mountain range in the deserts of southwestern New Mexico, it housed more than 1,000 people in a complex that included about 260 pastel-painted houses, a bank, medical clinic, bowling alley, and diner. People who lived in Playas in its heyday remember how no one's door was ever locked and newcomers would be welcomed with fresh-baked pies. But when the factory closed in 1999, all but a handful of Playas's inhabitants left.
 
 It was not until last fall that Playas was reborn. The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (better known as New Mexico Tech) used a $5 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security to purchase the 640-acre township. It is now part of a network of academic institutions that specialize in training emergency workers to respond to various threats. In Alabama, the scenarios revolve mostly around chemical incidents. In Louisiana, biological threats. In Texas, a broad range incidents involving weapons of mass destruction, including derailed trains and people trapped in tunnels. In Nevada, radiological attacks.
 
 New Mexico specializes in explosives.
 
 Letter bombs, pipe bombs, car bombs and the improvised explosive devices placed on roadways are among the easiest of weapons for terrorist to create. That is why many believe they have been so difficult to control in Iraq and are the most likely to make their way to the United States first.
 
 "This is something that terrorists have been using for a long time and we believe they'll use here in the future," said Van Romero, vice president for research and economic development at New Mexico Tech.
 
 Playas resident Benjamin Davis recalled what it was like to play a bus passenger seated next to a bomber in one scenario.
 
 "It makes you realize how awful the world can be . . . It makes you think," said Davis, 23, a furniture store worker and volunteer firefighter who was paid $10 an hour for his role-playing.
 
 When New Mexico Tech moved in, it closed the town to newcomers. Existing families were relocated to three streets on the eastern side of town. They pay about $375 a month in rent, depending on their home's size, condition and location.
 
 Bill Cavaliere, 47, is one of those who decided to stay. He is the former sheriff of Hidalgo County which includes Playas and extends south to the Mexican border. He said is proud of his town's role in helping stop terrorism. When soldiers came to train recently, he said, "we said 'God bless you' and waved American flags."
 
 David and Kathy Johnson, Trent's parents, have mixed feelings about their decision to remain in Playas. They did it mostly because they did not want to uproot their son during his senior year of high school. They say that their new landlords have tried hard to minimize disruptions to their lives--for instance, building a special half-mile road for David, 50, so his commute to his job at the cattle ranch on the other side of town would not take him through training exercises in the center of town. And, as landlord, New Mexico Tech continues to make available a bank window, convenience store and diner. It also threw the residents a Christmas dinner and gave each family a bottle of champagne for New Year's.
 
 But despite the university's best efforts, Kathy, 47, a bookkeeper for a nearby school district who has lived in Playas for 17 years, said that lately she has been feeling as if she is living in an occupied town.
 
 One afternoon on her way back from work, she was stopped by a soldier standing next to a tank who asked to see her driver's license. Then New Mexico Tech barricaded half of the town, declaring it a restricted area and making her family sign forms saying they will not enter without an escort. Last month, the town's operators instituted a new visitor's policy, requiring outsiders to check in at the police station before entering town.
 
 John Jones, a New Mexico Tech official in charge of running the town, said that on days when homeland security exercises are taking place the residents cannot admit visitors--even family members or friends.
 
 "I don't know how long we will keep living here because of this," Kathy said. When residents first heard New Mexico Tech was buying the town, she said, "people assumed it would be like the old days. But that's not the way it is."
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 08:10:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 07:15:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. to Spend Billions More to Alter
	Security Systems
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NATIONAL | May 8, 2005

U.S. to Spend Billions More to Alter Security Systems
By ERIC LIPTON

After spending more than $4.5 billion, the federal government has concluded that much of the antiterrorism equipment is ineffective.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/national/08screen.html?ex=1116216000&en=8d58dc77d446588a&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 08:13:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 07:18:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraq Approves Final Cabinet Nominees,
	but One Rejects Post
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 8, 2005

Iraq Approves Final Cabinet Nominees, but One Rejects Post
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Four more posts went to the disaffected Sunni minority, but the Sunni chosen as human rights minister turned down the job.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?ex=1116216000&en=26704a294453a403&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 08:14:20 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 07:19:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Latest Rumbling in the Blogosphere:
	Questions About Ethics
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OPINION | May 8, 2005

Editorial Observer: The Latest Rumbling in the Blogosphere: Questions About Ethics
By ADAM COHEN

As blogs grow in readers and influence, bloggers should realize that if they want to reform the American media, that is going to have to include reforming themselves.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/opinion/08sun3.html?ex=1116216000&en=b87ca32cd9f17569&ei=5070




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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 07:19:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Laura Bush's Mission Accomplished
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OPINION | May 8, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Laura Bush's Mission Accomplished
By FRANK RICH

Just when you think things couldn't get any worse for American journalists, along comes the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/opinion/08rich.html?ex=1116216000&en=584900ac139636bb&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 08:15:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 07:20:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Calling Democrats' Bluff
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OPINION | May 8, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Calling Democrats' Bluff
By DAVID BROOKS

President Bush has now absorbed the old idea of progressive indexing of retirement benefits.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 08:15:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 07:20:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Briefers and Leakers and the Newspapers Who
	Enable Them
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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 8, 2005

The Public Editor: Briefers and Leakers and the Newspapers Who Enable Them
By DANIEL OKRENT

Since I've been in this job, use of anonymous sources has been the substantive issue raised most often by readers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/weekinreview/08okrent.html?ex=1116216000&en=fd55c381a08dd0d1&ei=5070



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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 07:22:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Col. David Hackworth, Hero of Vietnam War,
	Dies at 74
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NATIONAL | May 6, 2005

Col. David Hackworth, Hero of Vietnam War, Dies at 74
By DOUGLAS MARTIN

David H. Hackworth, a much-decorated and highly unconventional former career Army officer, later enraged his superiors by lambasting the war on national television.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/national/06hackworth.html?ex=1116216000&en=4653f012051dd488&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 08:21:07 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 07:26:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bush Tells Putin Not to Interfere With
	Democracy in Former Soviet Republics
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INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 8, 2005

Bush Tells Putin Not to Interfere With Democracy in Former Soviet Republics
By ELISABETH BUMILLER

President Bush used the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat to issue a warning to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/international/europe/08prexy.html?ex=1116216000&en=78839a4f3384cce6&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 09:10:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 08:16:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Exiled General Back in Beirut,
	Promising a New Era
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 8, 2005

Exiled General Back in Beirut, Promising a New Era
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

The return of Gen. Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian who opposed Syria's dominance, closes the chapter on that country's control of Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/international/middleeast/08beirut.html?ex=1116216000&en=1a3b5163330bda99&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 09:11:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 08:16:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.N. Picks Director for Mideast Peace Effort
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 8, 2005

U.N. Picks Director for Mideast Peace Effort
By REUTERS

Secretary General Kofi Annan has named a veteran Peruvian diplomat as his special coordinator to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/international/middleeast/08envoy.html?ex=1116216000&en=e56fb388cbd2566d&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 09:12:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 08:18:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Explosion at Kabul Internet Cafe Kills 3
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INTERNATIONAL | May 8, 2005

Explosion at Kabul Internet Cafe Kills 3
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A U.N. worker from Myanmar was among three people killed in a suicide attack at an Internet cafe in the Afghan capital, officials said Sunday, the latest in a string of attacks apparently targeting foreigners.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Afghan-Explosion.html?ex=1116216000&en=2cbc7e9aa576d553&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 09:13:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 08:18:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sharon Opposes Further Prisoner Releases
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INTERNATIONAL | May 8, 2005

Sharon Opposes Further Prisoner Releases
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his Cabinet on Sunday that Israel shouldn't release more Palestinian prisoners until the Palestinian government clamps down on militants, setting off Palestinian charges that Israel is acting in bad faith.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html?ex=1116216000&en=9e99126d9cce0818&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 09:14:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 08:20:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Perfect Storm That Could Drown the
	Economy
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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 8, 2005

The Perfect Storm That Could Drown the Economy
By DANIEL GROSS

The forces propelling and buffeting the economy are like a series of weather systems. Could they be setting the conditions for a perfect storm?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/weekinreview/08gross.html?ex=1116216000&en=0324f26415e3e147&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 09:15:34 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 08:20:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Who Scares the Rest? (See Bottom Left)
Message-ID: <20050508151535.664183880B9@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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If you can, make sure to click on the accompanying graph...


WEEK IN REVIEW | May 8, 2005

Who Scares the Rest? (See Bottom Left)
By DAVID E. SANGER

The political power of atomic weapons is linked to your ability to convince the world that you might just be crazy enough to use, or sell, whatever you've got.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/weekinreview/08marsh.html?ex=1116216000&en=7d9cafca2cc17ef8&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 09:19:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 08:33:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Whoops! We Seem to Have Misplaced Your
	Identity
Message-ID: <20050508152807.AA43E13B88A@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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BUSINESS | May 8, 2005

Digital Domain: Whoops! We Seem to Have Misplaced Your Identity
By RANDALL STROSS

Why was the Time Warner data that was stolen from a van not sent via a secure online connection instead?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/business/08digi.html?ex=1116216000&en=8731090e3200e2e4&ei=5070



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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May  8 11:41:42 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May  8 11:46:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Kingdom of Heaven
Message-ID: <000801c553fd$96933bf0$0d3fe440@Harold>

The American-Arab anti-discrimination committee has given a 'thumbs up' to Ridley Scott's Kingdom in Heaven.

http://entertainment.sympatico.msn.ca/movies/articles/1151865.armx

Peace HS
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From peterfleming at earthlink.net  Sat May  7 18:57:49 2005
From: peterfleming at earthlink.net (Peter Fleming)
Date: Sun May  8 11:56:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] left and right charade
Message-ID: <200505081856.j48IufZl011243@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Lunch follow up  I send this to you imploringly 
so that if it makes sense to you
    I can beg you to stop referring to left and right, 
  the absence of logic usage of which 
  is one of the biggest scams AGAINST THE PEOPLE


Michael,   This is long,  but when in doubt on original thought,
   drafting long is the lesser of two evils to get there.

         LEFT OR RIGHT          DECEPTIVE OR NOT ?
           Perhaps it?s the premiere propaganda weapon
                     
              by Peter Fleming        September  3   2003
                   polished up for Michael Butler May 7, 2005

Most politicians call themselves, and are media referred to, as either 
left or right.  Occasionally there is a centrist for added meaningless.

What do ANY of them mean?   left right liberal conservative??

The media thrives on it, but when reality speaks and anybody who?s
willing, 
looks at the record, here are the paralyzing FACTS:
All politicians WANT, BELIEVE IN AND PROMOTE 
THE SAME BASIC MAJOR THINGS, 
                       MORE CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT:  
                         
                            ever more taxes from the citizens 

                            an constantly  expanding Federal monopoly

                            ignore Patriot Act personal rights
intrusions

                            richer, privileged self perks and huge
retirements

                            ?illicit? substances to continue to be
illegal

                            special legalized privileges for major
campaign donors

                            unlimited printing of fake, ?fiat?, paper
money

                            continuous allowing-in of Latin alien
invasion

                            constant  expansion of federalized areas of
crime
                                               the swallowing up of
states rights                               

                            federalizing of ?health? WHO powers

                            trillion dollar drug prohibition crime
underground

                            uncontrollable bank dirty money laundering

                            more non violent users in federal prisons

                            federally supported prison growth industry
                                  (future concentration camps for
dissenters)

                            escalation of gun prohibition regulations
                                  (leading to next black market crime
underground)
                                 
                            more armed federal agencies DEA, BATF etc,

                                                 armed primarily against
our own citizens
                     
                            mostly government sympathetic faces appear
in media
          
                            to not give support, to AVOID helping
whistleblowers

                            starting with JFK, ignore investigative
research of 9-11, 
                           Okla, Waco, Vince Foster, etc,  and ongoing
discussions 
                           
But, what DO we hear and read where left and right CLAIM to differ?
Stuff like unemployment, abortion, the minimum wage, government day
care, 
socialized medicine, welfare, free pharmaceuticals, newly invented hate
crime
 (giving us two kinds of murder one).  Remember issues of the
environment, Michael?      
 I know in my heart that these relatively small differences are just
daily entertainment fodder, 
a blanket cover up for all who want more and bigger taxing government
controls over 
all of the little people

 you and me.

Using the easy clich? of calling it left or right just helps THEM.


Wrestlers are the perfect parallel.    It matters not who wins, or who
you root for.  
 The long term results will be the same!!!   It?s all pre-planned and
FIXED.   
The fix is in.   The ?fight? is well rehearsed and only those wrestlers
who are 
pre approved get to appear in this fixed event.   They do their BEST not
to hurt 
each other, as violent as they pretend to be.    And like the congress,
the pay is good,
  the obedient priests do exactly what they are told, and keep their
mouths SHUT. 
After work, they go out and drink together, lovingly slapping each other
on the back; 
later, they share the same hookers.      Next day, wrestlers rehearse,
and politicians 
go in the back room to pre-plan the next scam.

Maybe the most audacious L/R scam of them ALL, is the night of the big
presidential 
speech in Congress, and one ?side of the aisle? claps and the other does
not 
JUST TO PROVE TO THE MILLIONS OF DUMMIES WATCHING 
THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE !!
THAT, my friend, IS A CHARADE, the pinnacle of all charades.
THAT is THE BIG LIE!  the straight faced, BIG LIE.

Now, Michael, please don?t just send me a big time ?executive
one-liner?, please!!
Send nothing, or 
tell me this is a revelation to you, and you agree and
you are at least considering putting this on your site.

Remember that NONE of the really great truth seekers use this LEFTRIGHT
SHIT ANY more   It's gone...left in the dust of the elite media
                a last tool of deception against the willingly ignorant
mislead masses
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May  8 16:19:57 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May  8 16:25:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - BUSH, PUTIN MEETING APPEARS CORDIAL 
Message-ID: <20050508231957.96DAC69AFB@nmweb08.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
____________________________________________________
BUSH, PUTIN MEETING APPEARS CORDIAL 
WebPosted Sun May  8 17:11:15 2005

moscow---U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir
Putin held private talks in Moscow on Sunday.

There has been friction between the two countries as American officials
have pushed Russia over moves Putin has made that the United States sees
as anti-democratic.

And Bush criticized Russia on Saturday, calling the Soviet domination of
central and eastern Europe after the Second World War "one of the
greatest wrongs of history." Russia says its soldiers liberated parts of
Europe and has denied they were occupiers.

FROM MAY 7, 2005: Bush calls Belarus Europe's last dictatorship

But on Sunday, the short public exchange between the two leaders appeared
to be friendly.

"Russia's a great nation and I'm looking forward to working together on
big problems," Bush said.

Briefing reporters later, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the two men agreed to support
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

They also touched on other issues, including many of the international
hot spots &#8211; Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

Bush arrived in Moccow after attending a memorial in the Netherlands on
Sunday marking the end of the Second World War.

He is one of about 50 presidents and prime ministers, including
Jacques Chirac from France and Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, who are
expected in Russia for the celebration of "Great Patriotic War Victory
Day" on Monday.

Canada will be represented by Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson.

Security for the event is very tight, with more than 20,000 police and
thousands of soldiers on patrol.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May  8 16:23:14 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May  8 16:28:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - CANADIANS HONOURED WITH VE-DAY PARADE IN
	DUTCH TOWN
Message-ID: <20050508232314.3C5A669AFB@nmweb08.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
____________________________________________________
CANADIANS HONOURED WITH VE-DAY PARADE IN DUTCH TOWN
WebPosted Sun May  8 08:37:52 2005

apeldoorn, netherlands---Thousands of Dutch citizens turned out in the
rain for a parade to mark the 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

Sunday's parade in Apeldoorn was organized to honour Canadian soldiers
who liberated the town as the Second World War ended in Europe. The event
is the culmination of a week of ceremonies to mark the anniversary.

Hours before the festivities began, residents set up tents and lawn
chairs to get a good view. Several children in the crowd presented the
Canadians with flowers, while others waved Canadian flags.

"It's almost like Canada Day in Holland," said Brad Brown, a sailor from
Halifax who was taking a break from duties on HMCS Montreal in Germany.
"There are Canadian flags everywhere. The people are happy. People are
wearing Canadian flag pins."

Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson watched as about 1,500 veterans travelled
along the two-and-a-half-kilometre parade route. By her side was Princess
Margriet, who was born in Ottawa in 1943 during the five years Canada
offered the Dutch royal family a safe haven.

Elsewhere in the Netherlands, U.S. President George W. Bush observed VE-
Day in Margraten, near the German and Belgian border, where 8,000
American soldiers are buried.

He said the war taught the world's tyrants a lesson: "There is no power
like the power of freedom."

Accompanied by Dutch Queen Beatrix, Bush laid a wreath at the cemetery's
marble monument as Dutch buglers played The Last Post.

About 5,500 Canadians died trying to drive German forces out of the
Netherlands in the spring of 1945.

At the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, close to the German border, there
are rows and rows of white headstones bearing the names of Canadians who
died in action.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May  8 16:58:11 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May  8 17:03:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Can This Man Help Capture bin Laden?
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As IF he would really tell???

peace,
barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May  8 17:04:04 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May  8 17:09:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Midlife Crisis? Bring It On!
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Hmmn...

peace,
barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May  8 16:56:03 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May  8 17:21:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Once More, With Feeling
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I have wondered about this as well.

pace,
barbara



 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May  8 18:00:52 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun May  8 18:06:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Home UK - US tourism 018losing billions
 because of image019
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I can not comment on this, I would be called anti-American!

Peace on earth

H



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May  8 18:52:58 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May  8 18:58:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Once More, With Feeling
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I have wondered about this as well.

peace,
barbara



 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May  8 20:49:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May  8 20:54:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - U.S. deaths in Iraq surpass 1, 600 - May 8,
	2005
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You have received the following link from ialterman@nyc.rr.com

 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  9 03:39:08 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  9 03:44:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6876258.1115635148308.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 NASA Chief Speeds Plan For Spacecraft
 
 By Guy Gugliotta
 
  Less than a month after taking the job, NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin is pushing an ambitious but risky plan to shave four years off the timetable for building a next-generation spaceship to replace the space shuttle, and wants to launch it with a crew by the end of 2010.
 
 The shuttle has not flown since the Columbia tragedy in February 2003, and even after safety modifications are completed and flights resume, the orbiter will not be able to get beyond "low Earth orbit" and will become obsolete as soon as construction of the international space station  is completed in 2010.
 
 NASA has planned for more than a year to build a new workhorse spacecraft to carry out President Bush's long-term vision for space exploration,  aimed at returning humans to the moon by 2020 and eventually sending them to Mars, but the initial strategy called for completion of the new spaceship by 2014. That would leave the United States without its own access to space for four years.
 
 Meanwhile, a bilateral arrangement allowing the United States to use the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for transportation to the space station expires next year.  Russians and their guests will continue to operate the space station.
 
 Griffin has frequently criticized, as have many members of Congress, a strategy that would cede U.S. preeminence in human space travel, and at his confirmation hearing last month he advocated building the new spacecraft faster to shrink the four-year gap or eliminate it altogether.
 
 He has moved quickly since his April 13 confirmation. Internal NASA documents and interviews with a number of NASA officials, industry contractors and other space experts show that an alternative plan to build the crew exploration vehicle  is evolving rapidly.
 
 The new strategy has virtually halted the original program NASA put in place 16 months ago to develop the spaceship and could cause additional upheaval as the agency struggles to ready the shuttle for its scheduled return to flight in July.
 
 To execute the new strategy, sources said, Griffin intends to assemble a small, Apollo-style team of NASA experts and scrap the current plan to have two civilian contractors compete for several years for the right to direct development of the exploration vehicle.
 
 Several sources said Griffin's initiative has put him at odds with retired Navy Rear Adm. Craig E. Steidle, the principal architect of the original plan, but Steidle said in a telephone interview that he sees "no change in the way the program is going to be managed" and denied that disagreements with Griffin might prompt him to resign.
 
 "We're on the same path," said Steidle, NASA's associate administrator for exploration systems. "If there are rumors out there that we are differing on this, that is not true." He said he plans to leave NASA "some day," but "not in the short term."
 
 Many sources interviewed for this story declined to be identified, either because they were in sensitive positions as prospective NASA contractors, feared retribution as NASA employees or did not wish to take sides in an internal dispute.
 
 Griffin could not be reached for comment, but NASA spokesman Dean Acosta denied that the agency has any internal conflict. He said the agency leadership is working together to "find a way to close the gap."
 
 Steidle, a retired Navy fighter pilot and Defense Department procurement specialist, was hired by former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe in January 2004 to implement the Bush initiative, with development of the crew exploration vehicle  as the early centerpiece.
 
 On March 1, Steidle's office made a formal "request for proposals" to develop the spacecraft. NASA said it would select two proposals in August, fund their development for three years and have them compete in an unmanned "fly-off" in 2008, with the winning entry expected to be ready for human spaceflight by 2014.
 
 By spreading the costs over a number of years, NASA planned to bring the new spacecraft to the launch pad without ballooning the agency's slow-growth budgets. The president's $16.5 billion request for 2006 asks for $753 million for exploration vehicle development.
 
 The plan's clarity and Steidle's procurement expertise won plaudits from industry, but discontent has grown among some scientists and lawmakers who fret that storied NASA programs -- especially in earth science and aeronautics -- are being cut to fund the new initiative.
 
 Another key sticking point was the gap. When Bush outlined the moon-Mars initiative in a Jan. 14, 2004, speech, he said the shuttle would be retired by 2010 when the space station was finished, while the exploration vehicle would be ready only in 2014.
 
 "We can't allow that kind of hiatus," Senate science and space subcommittee Chairman Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) said at a recent hearing, in a sentiment echoed by several lawmakers. "It is a national security threat to our country, and I intend to pursue everything I can to shorten that time frame."
 
 Hutchison and her colleagues found a ready ally in Griffin, who told senators during his confirmation hearing that the gap "seems unacceptable to me. . . . I do not believe that we wish to see a situation where the United States is dependent on any partner" for access to space.
 
 Barely two weeks later, Griffin trumped the Steidle plan with a new formulation. Instead of allowing two contractors to compete until 2008 to win the final contract, an internal NASA memo on April 29 said the two finalists would be named by the end of July and the winner would be chosen early next year. Several sources described Griffin's meetings with Steidle during this period as "stormy," but Steidle characterized them simply as "very professional dialogues."
 
 Also on April 29, Griffin announced in his own memo a broad review of the work done to date on the moon-Mars initiative. This "Exploration System Architecture Study," now underway, was to be directed by a "small number of core team members," the memo said, and would produce a report in mid-July.
 
 Once planners have the report, NASA would issue a "call for improvements" to the two contractors, the first memo said, and the final contract would reflect the changes in the architecture study.
 
 Finally, NASA announced on its procurement Web sites that it was canceling a request for outside proposals to integrate the exploration vehicle into a comprehensive development plan for the moon-Mars project. Instead, the announcement said, this work would be performed in-house. One source said Griffin canceled the proposal because it abdicated NASA's own "core competencies" and obligations as the nation's engine of space policy.
 
 Another source said the moves offered Griffin the opportunity to gather a small, closely focused  team, like the one that put the Apollo astronauts on the moon more than 30 years ago, to  pick a plan for implementing the moon-Mars initiative and "get it done."
 
 Steidle acknowledged that the new plan represents a change but said his personnel were participating fully in the architecture study. Far from excluding him, the study teams have "spent a lot of time in my office," he said. The accelerated plan to select a final contractor by year's end was simply aimed at "saving some time and some dollars," Steidle added.
 
 Several sources agreed that paying one contractor instead of two might help NASA avoid the real danger of coming up short of funding for the project. "If you want to do it faster," one said, "generally you're going to have to throw more money at it."
 
 By a large margin, the shuttle and space station routinely consume the biggest chunk of NASA's budget (39 percent this year and next), and costs have risen as flights were delayed and modifications made to the orbiters. Shuttle Discovery was originally expected to fly last September.
 
 Several sources noted that Griffin enjoys a reservoir of goodwill to help him over the budget hump in Congress but that inevitably the luster will wear off. "He's got some challenges, and he's got to make the budget work," one source said. "In fairness to him, he's a smart guy."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  9 03:41:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  9 03:46:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9784631.1115635280371.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Increasingly Embattled, DeLay Scales Back Usual Power Plays
 
 By John F. Harris and Mike Allen
 
  In the euphemism favored on Capitol Hill, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is "not staff driven." Translation: He is used to doing what he wants.
 
 It happens all the time, DeLay friends and advisers say. An aide will suggest that the leader soften his tone, or back off just a bit from some inflammatory position. As often as not, the Texas Republican will respond with a snort, suggesting that the adviser is more worried about how a decision will play inside the Beltway than how it will be perceived -- if it is noticed at all -- by the rest of the country.
 
 For a full decade, the 58-year-old DeLay's career has prospered because he was usually right in this calculation, say legislators from both parties who have watched him in action. DeLay could be himself -- a partisan with a zeal for ideological combat, a taste for high living and intense religious conviction -- in ways that made him exceptionally powerful in Congress but not especially recognizable to the public beyond.
 
 Suddenly, the old Texas brio that carried him through years of smaller controversies is on the wane. The leader recognizes -- belatedly, some GOP colleagues say -- that the latest questions about his relationships with lobbyists are a problem threatening his career and the GOP majority he helped to build and sustain since coming to the House 20 years ago. Everywhere there are signs of a politician in retreat.
 
 DeLay's prowess in fundraising, for instance, was always a pillar of his power in the House. Lining up a corporate aircraft to ferry him to an event was usually arranged with a single phone call. These days, Republican officials report that they are  having trouble finding available aircraft -- as businesses fret that DeLay may be radioactive.
 
 DeLay, likewise, usually no longer attends joint news conferences of the GOP leadership. His presence, Republicans say, would distract from the party's message about gas prices or other topics of the day.
 
 And through numerous previous controversies, DeLay and his staff always made it a point of pride that once a week when Congress was in session, he would meet reporters in his conference room -- no holds barred. Now, these sessions begin with the leader reciting a preamble about "ground rules" -- all questions not relating to the party's House floor agenda are verboten.
 
 Even among loyalists, DeLay receives regular reminders of his troubles. Among House committee chairmen, an essential part of his power base, there are disagreements about what his strategy should be -- whether to continue to go on the offense against critics, or try to turn down the volume on DeLay's truculent defense in the hope that the controversy will  die down.
 
 There are few signs of that yet. To the contrary, the majority leader finds himself simultaneously a leading character on the evening news, in the "Doonesbury" comic strip and on "Saturday Night Live."
 
 "The demonization of Tom DeLay has been a sport in this town that has gone on for a long period of time, and clearly it is moving beyond the Beltway," said House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.), who spends much of his workweek in meetings with DeLay. "We acknowledge that. But that doesn't make it necessarily more successful. DeLay is a guy who, when people are attacking, he just puts his head down and charges right ahead."
 
 On the House floor, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said he sees a forlorn figure, a man with a drawn face and sad bearing. Coming from one of the House's more partisan Democrats, the observation was offered with no special sympathy. But it reflects the insight of someone who has been there -- Frank was embroiled in an ethics contretemps of his own in the 1980s.
 
 DeLay friends do not dispute these observations, agreeing that the personal toll is becoming increasingly obvious. "He's withdrawn, he's tired, he looks like he's not sleeping," said a Republican aide who has worked closely with DeLay, but who agreed to share his observations only on the condition of anonymity.
 
 House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) said that what DeLay is going through "is of course very stressful," but Hyde added that DeLay has not gone underground -- "his head is up -- he engages in small talk as well as big talk."
 
 Back home in the Houston district that DeLay calls "Texas 22," Eric Thode, chairman of the Fort Bend Republican Party, said events he has attended with DeLay in recent days have included rousing applause, a clear show of support for an embattled native. But, last November, DeLay won with only 55 percent of the vote against a little-known challenger, and is gearing up for a race next year against a former Democratic congressman who is counting on heavy logistical and financial backing from Democrats nationally.
 
 A coincidence of timing has compounded DeLay's political troubles -- vastly enhancing his national profile when the usual imperatives of scandal management called for lying low. DeLay dismissed cautionary advice from his staff about how vigorously to plunge into the case of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman who died March 31, 13 days after her feeding tube had been removed. Polls showed the unsuccessful congressional intervention in the Florida court case proved highly unpopular, even with many Republicans.
 
 Then, after comments suggesting possible retribution against federal judges who declined to intervene to keep Schiavo alive, DeLay said his choice of words had been "inartful."
 
 The Schiavo case came just as questions about DeLay's relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff were reaching full boil.
 
 The narrow question in the controversy is whether DeLay ran afoul of House rules in accepting lavish foreign travel apparently financed by Abramoff, who now is under federal investigation. DeLay described Abramoff during a speech in 1998 as "one of my closest and dearest friends," although the majority leader told conservative leaders at a closed-door meeting in March that he had backed away from the lobbyist because of Abramoff's focus on pro-gambling clients.
 
 The broader question is one that has haunted DeLay since 1995, when the GOP took control of Congress during former House speaker Newt Gingrich's Republican revolution. From the outset, there were regular allegations about DeLay's aggressive pursuit of campaign funds from corporate interests, and suggestions that he had given undue influence to business lobbyists in return. DeLay was the enforcer of the party's "K Street Project," designed to install Republicans in key lobbying jobs and squeeze out Democrats. Rather than demurring from his  House nickname, "The Hammer," he told colleagues years ago he enjoyed it because it made him more effective.
 
 If aggressive support of business was one side of the DeLay political package, a willingness to aggressively promote his conservative religious philosophy was another. Cumulatively, these made him an apt representative of the two main engines of the modern GOP.
 
 In a 2001 interview with The Washington Post, DeLay complained, "If you stand up today and acknowledge God, they will try to destroy you." His main mission in politics, he said, was "to bring us back to the Constitution and to Absolute Truth that has been manipulated and destroyed by a liberal worldview."
 
 He struck a similarly pious note -- but with a much less combative tone -- last week at a National Day of Prayer gathering on Capitol Hill. "Just think of what we could accomplish if we checked our pride at the door, if collectively we all spent less time taking credit and more time deserving it," DeLay told the group. "If we spent less time on our soapboxes and more time on our knees." He added that God makes all thing possible for "lowly sinners like you and me -- especially me."
 
 One irony of DeLay's predicament is that he is relying on some of the same techniques that his onetime foe, President Bill Clinton, used to weather his storms: Aides emphasize how DeLay's office is "compartmentalized" so that only a few aides work on scandal management, and they insist the majority leader is little distracted from his duties.
 
 Aides said DeLay spends 60 to 70 percent of his time in leadership meetings or sessions with members, with only an occasional visit from a lobbyist. He comes to the office promptly at 9 a.m. when Congress is in session, after working out at the House gym.
 
 Republican officials working with DeLay said it appears to be too late for him to try a more classic damage-control strategy, including a lengthy news conference or appearance on a television news show, an admission of minor mistakes and an expression of contrition.
 
 As explained by insiders, the DeLay survival strategy is to attack the critics, including questioning the motives of reporters and the funding sources of watchdog groups; leak data making it clear that Democrats engaged in many of the same practices; and relentlessly curry loyalty with his two bases outside the Capitol -- national conservative groups and Republicans in his district.
 
 A close adviser, who is involved in damage-control deliberations with DeLay but shared them only on the condition of anonymity, said recent weeks have brought a growing consensus in his inner circle that there is unlikely to be a clear triumph in the Abramoff controversy.
 
 Instead, with Democrats determined to press the controversy -- hypocritically, in the eyes of DeLay's supporters -- the realistic goal is less vindication than to limit the political damage, this adviser said. The widespread assumption within DeLay's office is that the travel allegations are headed for a House Ethics Committee inquiry, which could take months. DeLay allies in Congress acknowledge that there will be pressure from Democrats and Republicans to reprimand the majority leader -- at a minimum. That would be his fourth ethics admonishment, following three that were issued in rapid succession last fall.
 
 Former representative Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.) said DeLay "believes very strongly that if you're doing the right thing, you just proceed."
 
 "That's why people may say he doesn't have the patience for the more cautious souls in Washington," she said.
 
 Dreier said that when his close colleagues give DeLay advice, they mostly tell him they wish he would knock off the cigars.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  9 03:42:34 2005
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Date: Mon May  9 03:47:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 The Rice Touch
 
 By Jackson Diehl
 
  The election of Jose Miguel Insulza as secretary general of the Organization of American States last week was widely portrayed as a defeat for the United States, and in one obvious sense it was: Insulza, a Chilean socialist, won out after two successive U.S.-backed candidates failed to gain traction. But the deal that produced Insulza's uncontested selection was also a quiet victory for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice -- and a revealing chapter in what has emerged as an agenda to restore pragmatism to U.S. foreign policy.
 
 As Rice departed on her first tour of South America as secretary of state, the OAS faced an unprecedented deadlock over its leadership, which in the past decade has played a critical role in defusing political crises and shoring up democracies around the region. The disarray was symptomatic of the growing disconnect between the Bush administration and Latin American governments over the past four years. And it was caused, in large part, by an all-too-familiar display of American arrogance: At the impetus of Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega, Washington had backed a close ally, former Salvadoran president Francisco Flores. When his candidacy went nowhere, Noriega shifted to Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, largely because Insulza does not share Noriega's hard-line views on Cuba.
 
 The problem was that South America's big governments, democratic but left-leaning, were in no mood to yield to Noriega's highhanded tactics. Their determined support for Insulza, a skilled politician and former foreign minister, in turn provided a golden opportunity for Latin America's new anti-American demagogue, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Despite his own poor relations with the Chilean government, Chavez embarked on an aggressive campaign for Insulza in the hope of dealing an embarrassing defeat to President Bush.
 
 It was then that Rice stepped in, and employed a tool that the Bush administration frequently neglected in its first term: consensus-building diplomacy focused on the countries that the United States needs in order to be effective. In the case of Latin America, that means Brazil, Argentina and Colombia as well as Mexico and Chile. On the sidelines of a political conference in Santiago, Chile, Rice quietly struck a deal under which Derbez withdrew his candidacy and the United States threw its support to Insulza. Not coincidentally, Insulza then issued a statement recommitting the OAS to supporting democracy, and pointedly observing that "elected governments that do not govern democratically must answer to the OAS." That was a direct rebuff to the elected-but-authoritarian Chavez, who was instantly deprived of his opportunity to crow over Insulza's election.
 
 Close observers of Latin American affairs both in Washington and in the region say Rice's finesse made possible a turnaround in U.S.-Latin relations. "She saw the problem, acted well and wisely, and cleaned up the mess," says Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank. "It repairs relations with key countries like Brazil and puts the United States in a much better position to play a leadership role going forward."
 
 It's not the first mess Rice has tidied up in her opening months at the State Department. In her first visit to Europe she negotiated an end to a self-defeating American campaign against European negotiations with Iran, a problem largely created by another conservative hard-liner, John Bolton. Last month she terminated Bolton's policy of uncompromising U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court, making possible a deal with France on a U.N. Security Council resolution on the genocide underway in the Sudanese province of Darfur. Her nomination of Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations has been controversial in Congress, but it effectively removed a troublesome ideologue from the State Department's decision-making loop.
 
 The emerging picture is of a secretary of state focused on solving problems and cutting deals with key allies. That necessarily means toning down U.S. preeminence and occasionally compromising on the hot-button causes of U.S. conservatives, such as Cuba or the ICC. Colin Powell tried and failed to lead Bush's first-term foreign policy in that direction. If her first months are any indication, Condoleezza Rice will make pragmatism a stronger feature of the second term.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  9 03:45:15 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  9 03:50:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 No Shift to the Center
 
 By Peter Beinart
 
  Hillary Clinton has moved to the center in preparation for 2008. It's become a cliche -- so self-evidently true that it shows up not merely in editorials but in news articles as well.
 
 One of the reasons it's so uncontroversial is that it seems innocuous, even flattering. It shows how shrewd a politician Clinton is. She knows Democrats must do better among hawkish, culturally traditional voters -- so she's moving in that direction herself.
 
 But in fact the "Hillary shifts to the center" line isn't innocuous at all. It's crucial to the campaign that conservatives will wage against her in  years to come. That campaign  is likely to revolve around character.
 
 In the 1980s Republicans demonized Democrats as ultra-liberals. But once Bill Clinton moved the party to the center in the '90s, that argument became less effective. And so in the  past three presidential elections -- 1996, 2000 and 2004 -- Republicans have focused less on what Democratic candidates believe than on whether they believe anything at all. As the New Republic's Jonathan Chait has noted, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry were each called flip-floppers -- politicians willing to say anything to get elected. Those three GOP campaigns  were all variations on the same theme: The Democrat running for president has no moral core.
 
 Now the drumbeat is starting with Clinton. This fall a conservative imprint will publish "The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President," by Edward Klein. Its publisher boasts, "Just as the Swift Boat Veterans convinced millions of voters that John Kerry lacked the character to be president, Klein's book will influence everyone who is sizing up the character of Hillary Clinton."
 
 The "Hillary moves to the center" story line dovetails perfectly with this character attack. How far will Clinton "go to become president"? So far that she'll radically change what she believes. When Clinton recently said that religion played a central role in her life, New York Conservative Party leader Michael Long told the New York Times, "All of a sudden she is saying she has these deep convictions. . . . I don't believe that. It's clear to me that she is getting ready to launch her candidacy for  presidency, and she will become whatever she has to become to appeal to centrist voters." Implicitly endorsing that view, the Times headline read, "As Clinton Shifts Themes, Debate Arises On Her Motives."
 
 But she wasn't shifting themes at all. In May 1993, in a long profile in the same New York Times, Clinton spoke at length about her Christian youth group, about theologians such as Paul Tillich and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and about her guest sermons for the United Methodist Church. "She is moved," wrote  Michael Kelly, "by the impatient conviction that moderates and liberals have wanly surrendered the adjective 'religious' to the right." That was 12 years ago.
 
 In the same article, Clinton attacks "rights without responsibilities," endorses welfare reform and lavishes praise on an article by Daniel Patrick Moynihan called "Defining Deviancy Down," which argued that Americans were tolerating more and more antisocial behavior.
 
 In truth, Hillary Clinton was basically as "centrist" when she entered the national stage in the early 1990s as she is today. To be sure, Pat Buchanan savaged her at the 1992 Republican convention for supposedly comparing marriage to slavery and suggesting that 12-year-olds could sue their parents. But those were absurd distortions of her legal writing, as the press largely acknowledged.
 
 In fact, Clinton used the same formulation on abortion -- "safe, legal and rare" -- that her husband did. And she kept public funding for abortion out of her famed health care plan, recognizing that it was too controversial. Republicans savaged that plan, of course, but it relied on competition  among private insurers, eschewing the single-payer system that many liberals desired.
 
 On national security, where Clinton has been quite hawkish since entering the Senate, the public record from her days as first lady is slim. But if there's little evidence that she backed military intervention in places such as Bosnia, there's little evidence that she opposed it either.
 
 So why has the press been so quick to call her centrism a dramatic shift? Partly it's because, in the post-Bill Clinton years, many Democrats did move away from language such as "safe, legal and rare" on abortion. So when Clinton recently returned to it, she was breaking with others in her party, if not herself.
 
 But there is something deeper: the unstated assumption that high-profile women, especially feminists, must -- in their hearts -- be dovish, relativistic and secular. Republicans will exploit that stereotype in their effort to keep Clinton from the Oval Office. But before playing along, the press should first figure out whether it's actually true.
 
 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  Mon May  9 03:46:44 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May  9 03:51:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <28996564.1115635605018.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 In the Plame Case, Losers All Around
 
 By William Raspberry
 
  I want to get really exercised about what the government is doing to a pair of fellow journalists -- Judith Miller of the New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine. I do hope they can stay out of jail.
 
 But the more I look at it, the more it looks like a fight with nothing much in it for anyone, including the American public.
 
 The bare outline of the case is pretty clear: In his syndicated column, Robert D. Novak "outed" Valerie Plame as an undercover agent of the CIA. Deliberate disclosure of an agent's identity by certain federal officials is a federal offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison, so, not unreasonably,  authorities wanted to know who leaked the information on Plame.
 
 But no one's talking about threatening Novak with jail to make him talk. No, they've subpoenaed Miller, who never wrote about the case, and Cooper, who simply reported on the leak. No matter; U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald apparently has information that the two journalists talked to someone who offered to leak to them. Fitzgerald wants to know who that someone was.
 
 Now, I grant that identifying a CIA agent is a serious offense, and it seems reasonable that government prosecutors would want to know who did it. But surely they know already. Novak isn't talking about it, but it is inconceivable to me that they haven't talked to him and learned who tipped him; otherwise he'd be the one on the hot seat.
 
 In other words, there doesn't seem to be much in this fight for the prosecutor.
 
 But what's in it for Miller and Cooper? I am sympathetic to their claim that they have a right -- under the First Amendment and under established practice -- to protect their confidential sources. The problem is, every court that has heard the claim has rejected it. The latest setback came when the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington refused to overturn the ruling of a three-judge panel of that court. The U.S. Supreme Court is the journalists' last hope.
 
 The appeals court  didn't explain the reasoning behind its decision, but Judge David Tatel, a member of the  three-judge panel, wrote a  concurring opinion in which he said the case presented no issue of such "exceptional importance" as to warrant a review by the full court.
 
 Moreover, he wrote, the appellate court was barred from considering whether the First Amendment protects reporters from testifying because of similarities between this case and a 1972 case in which the Supreme Court said reporters have no such privilege.
 
 So why don't Cooper and Miller simply shrug and say to their sources: We tried. Actually, journalists have gone before grand juries in a variety of cases without shaking the foundations of liberty or of journalism.
 
 What makes this case so hard to kiss off that way is not the facts but the general circumstances. To start with, it is widely believed that the original leak was a way of punishing Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador later involved in the John Kerry campaign, for challenging President Bush's claim that Saddam Hussein had imported nuclear weapons materials from Niger. That's dangerously nasty stuff.
 
 More important, the case arises during a period when support for the First Amendment seems to be eroding -- partly because of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and partly because some conservatives in the administration seem to think the civil liberties folks have been too successful.
 
 One way out would be for  Congress to enact specific protections for journalistic confidentiality, and, in fact, several attempts are being developed. But their enactment would open the door for all manner of occasional bloggers and ether-pamphleteers to claim protection for presumably less reliable sources -- or force either the courts or Congress to decide who is a journalist. And who isn't.
 
 It looks like we've got a grand heavyweight prizefight -- with no prize worth  winning.
 
 willrasp@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May  9 03:49:10 2005
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Date: Mon May  9 03:54:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Animal Rights Activists Step Up Attacks in N.Y.
 
 By Michelle Garcia
 
  LAUREL HOLLOW, N.Y. -- Early one recent morning, the wife of a pharmaceutical executive was followed to her workplace, her car was broken into and her credit cards were stolen; later $20,000 in unauthorized charitable donations were billed on the cards.
 
 It was the latest in a series of attacks by the Animal Liberation Front on the Long Island family. The activists, who have asserted responsibility, once scrawled "Puppy Killer" in red paint on the executive's house and have posted the couple's phone, license plate and bank account numbers on the Internet, along with this threat: "If we find a dime of that money granted to those charities was taken back, we will strip you bare."
 
 The Animal Liberation Front has targeted the executive's employer, Forest Laboratories Inc., as part of a six-year campaign against one of the company's contractors, Huntingdon Life Sciences. Huntingdon, a British-based firm, uses animals to test household products and medications.
 
 "Anybody who does business with this company, they become a legitimate target for the campaign," Jerry Vlasak, an ALF spokesman and a physician in Los Angeles, said in a telephone interview.
 
 The campaign is not just against the Long Island family, authorities said. The FBI and at least two New York police departments have launched an investigation into attacks on about 30 Forest Laboratories employees in the New York metropolitan area. Investigators said that in the past six months the animal rights activists have escalated their attacks, moving from protests at the homes of their targets to vandalism to theft and threats.
 
 "You feel powerless against what's going on around you," said the executive's wife, who asked that her name not be printed while the investigation continues. "We are victims; we are innocent. These people have no clue what they do."
 
 In New Jersey, seven animal rights activists face trial on federal terrorism charges for allegedly inciting others to harass and threaten employees of other companies connected with Huntingdon Life Sciences. The trial is scheduled to start in June.
 
 "We've been seeing it steadily increase over a couple of years -- the number of incidents, the costs and the change in the rhetoric," said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino. "They see themselves in an asymmetrical war, that's what we're seeing on the hard left."
 
 FBI officials estimate that in the past decade, ALF supporters have committed 700 criminal acts and caused $112 million in damage. In the United States, the number of incidents attributed to ALF decreased slightly last year, but their attacks have grown in size and cost.
 
 Federal and New York officials acknowledge that they have made only a few arrests. The challenge, they say, is cracking an amorphous movement. The ALF has no leader or organizational chart, and the activists are methodical and careful, attacking only after conducting extensive surveillance.
 
 "They aren't street criminals," said Detective Lt. James T. Rooney with the Suffolk County police on Long Island. "A lot of them are college educated, and they are aware of the limits of what they can do. You're dealing with intelligent people."
 
 Vlasak, who is a former animal researcher, asserts that he does not know the identity of the animal rights activists, saying he receives information from anonymous communiques sent to the press office and Internet postings. He said the movement does not condone violence against people.
 
 "The above-ground campaign writes letters, and it's the underground actions that capture the interest," Vlasak said.
 
 Founded in England in the 1970s, the ALF took root in the American West a decade later, the FBI said. The organization gained notoriety for its "animal liberation" actions in which activists broke into university and biomedical labs to rescue rabbits and mice. In the past decade, ALF activists spread to the East Coast, with their activity growing against the biomedical industry, which often relies on testing animals.
 
 "They share philosophic and spiritual ethics and find each other in the American landscape, often in small numbers, and learn about activities of the so-called liberation front," said Bron Taylor, a professor at the University of Florida who has studied radical environmental movements.
 
 The FBI said U.S. animal rights activists have not committed violence against people. In England, however, three ALF activists used a pickax to beat the managing director of Huntingdon Life Sciences outside his home. A British court convicted David Blenkinsop in the attack.
 
 Huntingdon Life Sciences has lost investors, banking support and insurers in Europe, after it became the target of harassment, including death threats.
 
 In New Jersey, federal prosecutors say members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, a group affiliated with the Animal Liberation Front, used the Internet to incite 20 attacks, including threats, vandalism -- slashing car tires and breaking windows -- and detonating a smoke bomb in Seattle, according to the indictment against the seven animal rights activists in New Jersey.
 
 The New Jersey members, like ALF activists, post the personal information on "targets" along with suggested "direct actions." "We'll be at their offices, at their doorsteps, on their phones or in their computers," read one SHAC announcement, according to the indictment. "There will be no rest for the wicked."
 
 Defense attorneys say that employee information is publicly available and covered by the First Amendment. But in Pennsylvania, a state court granted a temporary injunction to another pharmaceutical company, ruling that the New Jersey activists had set up a Web site that incited and encouraged violence.
 
 On Long Island, the pharmaceutical executive and his wife live cautiously but refuse to change their lives after the attacks. Their nameplate still marks the entrance to the planned community where they live. Letters arrive at the black mail box planted on the main road, and they still rely on local police to patrol the area.
 
 "We all have things we believe in, but do we set bombs and light cars on fire?" the executive's wife asked. "We live in a country where people shouldn't live like that."
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  9 06:57:25 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  9 06:03:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Forces Mount Offensive Near Syrian
	Border With Iraq
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 9, 2005

U.S. Forces Mount Offensive Near Syrian Border With Iraq
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. br / and TERENCE NEILAN

A combination of U.S. forces are conducting combat operations in an area known as a haven for insurgents and smugglers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/international/middleeast/09cnd-iraq.html?ex=1116302400&en=14a385a8cf166a34&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  9 06:58:18 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  9 06:03:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Nature at Bay
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OPINION | May 9, 2005

Nature at Bay


President Bush's policies on the environment suggest that he not only has failed to learn from past mistakes, but is determined to repeat them on a more destructive scale.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/opinion/09mon1.html?ex=1116302400&en=4794eba65b728056&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  9 06:58:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  9 06:04:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A No-Confidence Vote for Mr. Abbas
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OPINION | May 9, 2005

A No-Confidence Vote for Mr. Abbas


So far, a quarter of Congress's Palestinian aid disbursement is actually going to Israel. We sincerely hope the rest goes to actual Palestinians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/opinion/09mon2.html?ex=1116302400&en=9c0b731bb99647a9&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  9 06:58:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  9 06:04:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: An Assertive Scientific Advisory Group
	Challenges Federal Policies
Message-ID: <20050509125850.E9F9513B714@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 9, 2005

Editorial Observer: An Assertive Scientific Advisory Group Challenges Federal Policies
By PHILIP M. BOFFEY

The National Academy of Sciences has recently shown a welcome independence streak by criticizing some policies of federal agencies and the White House.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/opinion/09mon4.html?ex=1116302400&en=a9e0a3d7a2d33d6a&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  9 06:59:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  9 06:04:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Stranger Than Fiction
Message-ID: <20050509125909.532373AE62A@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 9, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Stranger Than Fiction
By BOB HERBERT

If President Bush had consulted with his father before launching this disastrous war, it would have spared his country - and the families of the many thousands dead - a lot of grief.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/opinion/09herbert.html?ex=1116302400&en=bf63fc7dfd3ca7ae&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  9 07:00:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  9 06:06:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Exiled General Back in Beirut,
	Promising a New Era
Message-ID: <20050509130100.5651083D03@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 8, 2005

Exiled General Back in Beirut, Promising a New Era
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

The return of Gen. Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian who opposed Syria's dominance, closes the chapter on that country's control of Lebanon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/international/middleeast/08beirut.html?ex=1116302400&en=47555e65dca313d3&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May  9 07:03:00 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May  9 06:08:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: When It Comes to Replacing Oil Imports,
	Nuclear Is No Easy Option, Experts Say
Message-ID: <20050509130300.C813D24AFC8@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 9, 2005

When It Comes to Replacing Oil Imports, Nuclear Is No Easy Option, Experts Say
By MATTHEW L. WALD

President Bush has proposed reducing oil imports by increasing the use of nuclear power, but reactors make electricity, not oil.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/politics/09energy.html?ex=1116302400&en=4fa981371498f064&ei=5070



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





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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Mon May  9 06:24:18 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May  9 06:30:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - AFRICA RIPE FOR TERROR RECRUITS: CSIS
Message-ID: <20050509132418.EC6EE1B679@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
____________________________________________________
AFRICA RIPE FOR TERROR RECRUITS: CSIS
WebPosted Sun May  8 21:10:47 2005

ottawa---Osama bin Laden's terrorist network could cultivate new recruits
in "the permissive environment" of African countries, according to a
Canadian intelligence report.

Conflict and poverty in central and southern parts of the continent have
made some Muslim Africans receptive to the idea of global jihad, the
Canadian Security and Intelligence Service said in a newly released
document that had been marked "Secret/Canadian Eyes Only."

The Canadian Press said it obtained a heavily censored version of the
August 2004 document, entitled The Islamist Threat in Sub-Saharan Africa,
under the Access to Information Act.

Canada announced a new foreign policy blueprint last month that calls for
concentrating foreign aid in Africa.

CP said the report mentions Sudan, a sanctuary for bin Laden in the early
1990s, as well as Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania as possible
breeding grounds for violent extremism.

"The poor, young, disaffected and undereducated members of these
communities have provided terrorist organizations with intelligence and
logistical support for their activities," the report said.

West Africa "contains large ungoverned areas" along the southern edge of
the Sahara Desert, the report said.

Political instability has left people in that region susceptible to the
"proselytizing of extremist Islamic clergy" who want strict enforcement
of Muslim law.

The report said al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks against Western targets are
"seen as relatively minor when compared to the depredations perpetrated
by domestic terrorist groups operating in sub-Saharan Africa."

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From villasudjuan at free.fr  Mon May  9 01:15:46 2005
From: villasudjuan at free.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Mon May  9 09:06:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Globalization of Khomeini
	=?iso-8859-1?q?=92s_=93ism=94?= By 	Farhad Mafie 
In-Reply-To: <050920050025.26869.427EADF70001C5A2000068F521612436460A07000E03@att.net>
Message-ID: <200505091606.j49G6MoP015397@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun May  8 21:12:14 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon May  9 10:01:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] from Havana 1898 to Baghdad 2003
Message-ID: <200505091701.j49H1pFL015590@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0508-20.htm

Published on Sunday, May 8, 2005 by the Columbus Free Press 
(Columbus, Ohio)
Four Bloody Lies of War, from Havana 1898 to 
Baghdad 2003
by Harvey Wasserman
 

The Bush Administration's lies about its rationales for attacking Iraq fit 
a pattern of deceit that has dragged America into at least three other 
unjust and catastrophic wars.

The "smoking gun" documents that emerged in the recent British 
election confirm the administration had decided to go to war and then 
sought "intelligence" to sell it.

But conscious, manipulative lies were also at the root of American 
attacks on Cuba in 1898, US intervention into World War I in 1917 and 
in Vietnam. These lies are as proven and irrefutable as the 
unconscionable deception that dragged the US into Iraq in 2003.

In each case, these lies of war have caused horrific human slaughter, 
the destruction of human rights and liberties, and financial disaster.

In Cuba, the 1898 sinking of the battleship Maine brought the US into 
war with Spain. The people of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines 
were in revolt against the crumbling Spanish empire. Media baron 
William Randolph Hearst, the era's Rupert Murdoch, wanted a war to 
sell papers and promote "jingo" power. He portrayed the Spaniards 
barbaric rapists and worse. In the name of democracy and freedom, 
Hearst and pro-war fanatics like Theodore Roosevelt demanded US 
intervention.

Republican President William McKinley, personal hero of today's White 
House dirty trickster Karl Rove, dutifully sent the battleship Maine into 
Havana harbor. Suddenly, it blew up, killing some 250 American 
sailors.

Spain was blamed, and Hearst got his war. Having just conquered and 
annexed what had been the sovereign monarchy of Hawaii, the 
Americans now annexed Puerto Rico and installed colonial regimes in 
Cuba and the Philippines.

But Filipino guerillas waged a jungle resistance that dragged into the 
new century. Thousands died in the quagmire. An angry anti-imperial 
movement sprung up here amongst farmers, labor unions and 
intellectuals like Samuel Clemens, whose writings under the pen name 
Mark Twain remain among the fiercest critiques of the perils of empire.

And guess what! New underwater technology has shown that the 
Maine actually blew up from the inside. Definitive scientific analysis 
says the Spaniards could not have sunk it. The explosion that brought 
it down most likely came from a faulty boiler or a munitions misfire, but 
definitely not from a Spanish mine or torpedo.

The Spanish-American War, with all its bloody imperial slaughter, had 
been sold on a lie.

As was US intervention in World War I. In 1915, as part of a blockade 
against Great Britain, the Germans downed the passenger ship 
Lusitania, on its way from New York to London. More than a thousand 
people died, many of them Americans.

President Woodrow Wilson screamed that Germany had violated 
international law. As Hearst had done to the Spaniards, Wilson 
portrayed "the Huns" as merciless, bloodthirsty barbarians.

The Germans argued that the Lusitania had been carrying weapons, 
and that they were within their rights to sink her. A substantial majority 
of Americans angrily opposed US intervention, saying only bankers 
would profit and that war would divert us from the real issues of 
unionization, poverty and Robber Baron domination of American 
industry.

In the face of an anti-imperial majority, Wilson withdrew troops he had 
sent into Mexico, then ran as a "peace candidate" in 1916 on the 
slogan "He Kept Us Out of War".

But in April 1917, reviving bloody images of the Lusitania, Wilson 
dragged the US into the slaughter. More than 100,000 Americans died. 
Under cover of war, federal marshals burned and blew up offices of 
the Socialist Party and radical unions like the Industrial Workers of the 
World. Wilson shredded the Bill of Rights and jailed, deported or killed 
thousands of organizers. Eugene V. Debs, the beloved leader of the 
American labor movement, was thrown in federal prison. The 
ideological left was crushed.

Wilson did tip the military balance for Britain and France. But his high-
minded rhetoric about a League of Nations and a balanced peace fell 
into chaos. The Allies demanded reparations which helped feed the 
Nazi movement and an even greater slaughter in World War II. Wilson 
suffered a stroke and left the country in shambles.

And guess what! Deep sea divers recently found the Lusitania, its 
sunken hull laden with illegal armaments. As the Germans had 
claimed, the ship was violating international law. Like McKinley, Wilson 
had duped America into a catastrophic intervention based on a "faulty 
intelligence."

Likewise, Vietnam, which hysterical cold warriors portrayed as the key 
domino in a global struggle against communism. The US had canceled 
1956 elections which would have given to Ho Chi Minh control of a 
unified Vietnam. But nationalist guerillas were clearly on the brink of 
wresting South Vietnam from western control.

In 1964 North Vietnamese allegedly fired on two US ships in the Gulf 
of Tonkin. While campaigning as a peace candidate, Lyndon Johnson 
used the incident to win Congressional approval for unlimited 
intervention. By 1967 he'd sent some 550,000 US troops into 
Southeast Asia.

A mirror image of the earlier war in the Philippines, Vietnam may rank 
as the greatest of all modern American catastrophes. It split and 
alienated a generation, poisoned American politics, spawned a toxic 
cadre of dirty tricksters and marked the downturn of the American 
economy. The war destroyed Johnson's Great Society, and has 
rendered every American tangibly poorer in more ways than can be 
counted.

And guess what! The Gulf of Tonkin incident probably never 
happened. According to then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, 
the Vietnamese may never actually have fired shots that may or may 
not have put a few bullet holes in one or two US ships. Even if they did, 
any such attack had zero military significance.

Like the Maine and Lusitania, the guns of Tonkin were nothing more 
than lies of war.

Bitter debate still also rages over the origins of World War II and 
Korea. Many argue that Franklin Roosevelt knew the Japanese were 
going to attack Pearl Harbor, and that he let it happen. Some also say 
that South Korea attacked North Korea, not vice-versa.

At least in terms of public consensus, these two stories still lack 
definitive smoking guns. But the Maine, the Lusitania and the Tonkin 
Gulf are known, irrefutable quantities.

To which we now must add George W. Bush's lies of Iraq. The war 
was primarily sold as a way to destroy Saddam Hussein's Weapons of 
Mass Destruction. The world was also told Saddam was involved in the 
9/11 attacks on the US, and was trying to get nuclear bombs.

These were all lies. The British memos proving the Bush and Blair 
Administrations knew Saddam did not have WMDs, was not involved 
in 9/11 and had no way to make atomic weapons are now public 
monuments. Like the Maine, Lusitania and Tonkin, the proofs are 
tangible and irrefutable.

What happened to the perpetrators of those previous lies?

In 1901, William McKinley became the third sitting president (after 
Lincoln and Garfield) to be assassinated. Theodore Roosevelt then 
dragged the Philippine slaughter to its tragic conclusion. Only when his 
young son Quentin was killed in World War I did TR question the 
glories of imperial conquest.

Woodrow Wilson's debilitating stroke came as he imposed the most 
intense attack on civil liberties in US history destroying the Socialist 
Party and the ideological left. He was succeeded by the affable Warren 
G. Harding, who freed Eugene V. Debs from federal prison, then 
himself died in office (of apparent food poisoning) amidst the a sea of 
scandal.

After Tonkin, Lyndon Johnson's presidency descended into Wilsonian 
chaos. A ferocious anti-war movement forced him to duck out of 
running for re-election. Richard Nixon then took the lies of war to a 
whole new level, expanding the slaughter in Southeast Asia and 
becoming the first US president to resign in disgrace.

Nixon's "dirty trickster" disciples Karl Rove and Dick Cheney have now 
poisoned this nation with yet another ghastly lie of war. Their hopeless 
Iraqi slaughter has become the modern definition of cynical deceit, 
human butchery and economic ruin.

Exactly what will happen to us and to the liars that have dragged us 
into this latest bloody quagmire remains to be seen.

But history does not indicate a pretty outcome.

HARVEY WASSERMAN'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES is at 
www.harveywasserman.com.

? 2005 the Free Press

###


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From BRYAN.PETERSON at lw.com  Wed May  4 17:32:11 2005
From: BRYAN.PETERSON at lw.com (BRYAN.PETERSON@lw.com)
Date: Mon May  9 10:33:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 
 Michael, my today's repartee with my religious right-wing
 friend, Carlene
Message-ID: <200505091733.j49HXFnJ015667@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

My writings are in small light blue font, and large pink font.  Her's
are in the dark blue.  Firstly, scroll down to the bottom of the page
and see her comments to me which precipitated our lengthy back and
forth to each other.  I think you'll find this interesting, although,
you must remember, we're both writing very quickly while at our
offices.  Sometimes my writing misses a word....
 
 
 
From: BRYAN.PETERSON@lw.com [mailto:BRYAN.PETERSON@lw.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 2:18 PM
To: cpeterson@LUCE.com
Subject: I understand....
Importance: High


	I know you're not "happy" about war...no thoughtful person
would be.  But I feel Iraq was totally unjustified from the very
beginning because the reasons we were told we needed to invade were
all based on, and I'll be kind here...mistruths and mistakes--which is
what the progressive community kept saying from the outset.[Peterson,
Carlene]  I think Bush and the administration also believed our
intelligence about Iraq which was flawed.  But I also don't want to
put our head in the sand and think we don't have to defend our self
so we "defended" ourselves by invading Iraq?  Iraq was about to attack
the United States?  With what, some mysterious ray gun?  And you're
blatantly wrong about Hussein and Al Qaeda--The President's very own
WMD report could not find any link between 9/11 and Saddam being in
cahoots with Al Qaeda--the report stressed that there was no
connection.  I think you forget that Hussein ran a SECULAR gov't--not
one based on religious laws like Iran.  Ultimately, the Al Qaeda would
have gone after Hussein, just like they are now going after the Saudi
royals.  Although Hussein would banter about the word "Allah" when
railing against us...it was more of a cultural expression than his
holding any credence as being a religious leader.   
	 
	  until we are attacked again by whomever. I think we need to
be looking at some other countries and have our guard up.   When these
mistruths were finally proven, then (and only then) we changed the
story of our being in Iraq in order to "spread democracy"--we could
never have justified invading another country for the simple reason of
"spreading democracy," even if the country was being run by a tyrant.
How could we then justify all the tyrants we've "supported" in years
past--like those in Central and South America, or those that still
rule Saudi Arabia, or even our support of the Shah of Iran and his
dreaded secret police for years.  I don't think the American people
and Congress would ever have bought into the idea of the United States
invading a foreign country just to "spread democracy."  [Peterson,
Carlene] I still believe that Iraq (as well as other countries which
I've said before) are threats to us.   I think you'd be hard-pressed
to find that, ultimately, nearly every country in the world ISN'T a
threat to us in different ways--economically, militarily,
ideologically.  So what then, we should invade them all because they
are a threat?  Invade China, Southeast Asia,  North Korea, the Middle
East, Russia, Eastern European countries--the list goes on and on.  We
don't INVADE COUNTRIES because they are a threat.  And therefore the
huge argument Iraq has posed within the world community about
"preemptive war."  And just what threat was Iraq to us?  They could
barely lob missiles at Israel to great effect.  Israel would have
nuked them faster than you could say boo had they had the capability
of REALLY wreaking damage.  So how do you feel they were such a threat
to us here in the United States, unless it was by withholding oil from
us--but we had them under embargo which had totally stifled their
weapons program.        
	 
	  I think we are not just saying it is because of democracy
alone that we are in Iraq - I think Bush has also mentioned the threat
aspect.  I believe Iraq help to train some of the al queda and other
militant factions.    You can believe that all you want.  The
President's report to Congress doesn't agree with you.  In other
words, what you believe and what the Bush Administration finally
fessed up to are in conflict with each other.     
	 
	   But somehow the Bush administration had to keep justifying
the reasons for our being there, so the idea of "spreading democracy"
was bandied about and became the reason after the others were proven
nonexistent.  What I REALLY wish we could see is more tangible
democracy right here in our own "backyard"--that we supply health
insurance for our own people, for example.  [Peterson, Carlene]  I
agree with you on many of these issues (to some degree).  I think when
you mention health care issues - I look at that situation and many
others (jobs, schools, programs to help minority, etc.) that could be
better for Americans if we better controlled and changed some of our
laws governing illegal aliens.   Carlene, I think you need to put the
illegal alien problem into perspective.  We don't have 45,000,000
uninsured people in this country because of illegal aliens.  There are
45,000,000 American CITIZENS who don't have insurance.   Illegal
aliens aren't sucking the lifeblood out of the United States of
America.  It's a problem for some states:  mostly California, Arizona
and Texas.  Those that have borders directly with Mexico.  But it is a
very real problem for those states, I agree.  However, this country
can well afford to take care of each and every one of its citizens
regardless of whether there are 5,000,000 illegal aliens (a high
figure) crossing back and forth across the border with Mexico among
the 300,000,000 who live here.  Sometimes the way you talk about
illegal immigrants really makes you sound racist.  It's the "blame the
others for our problems mentality"--if it isn't the illegal
immigrants, then it's the Jews, or the liberal media, or the gays.
We've got the resources to more than care for all our people, even if
you INCLUDE the illegal aliens.  We just have differing priorities of
HOW MUCH we want to care for people, period.  Whether legal or not.
I just don't view the illegal immigrant problem as one of being hugely
disruptive on a national level.  
	 
	   Many of our systems are being soaked drive (especially here
in California) because of the illegal alien problem.  I think if we
fixed certain things - many other things would fall into place better,
but we seem to be wanting to get the cart before the horse - instead
of addressing the root of many of these problems.  My taxes and my
benefits should not be going to illegals (criminals).    I have quite
a few "illegal friends" who live here.   Again, you're talking about a
regional problem as opposed to a national problem.   Whether you like
it or not, California is being populated by more and more
Hispanics...the people who hold power in the State government are
reflecting that shift...many are Hispanics.  And we'll soon have a
Hispanic mayor of Los Angeles...Villaragosa.   But, if you think the
health and welfare system of the United States is in trouble because
of illegal immigrants, I think you're misguided.  I do, however,
believe there are big issues for the state of California.  The Nazis
would have exterminated them in concentration camps.  What gameplan do
you have?  Have you tried to come up with some great ideas and talked
to your state and federal officials about what you perceive to be the
problems?  Again, I'd rather see much more dialogue devoted to issues
like these rather than to the Christian right-wing preoccupation with
gays.  Criminy, you'd think the gays were destroying America. 
	 
	  The hundreds of billions of dollars being spent now in Iraq
could pay for the as yet unfunded "No Child Left Behind" act.
[Peterson, Carlene]  Again the children would not be so left behind if
the illegals were not getting in front of them  so then if an infant
and/or little children accompany their parents illegally into the
United States, they should be what, exactly?  Denied medical care,
education, the right of being treated like a decent human being of
value and worth?  How do you want to handle this?  Really doesn't gel
with your very Christian viewpoints on other matters, and smacks of
racism and intolerance--but then I find Christian morality to have
huge levels of intolerance towards groups "different" than they are.
I REALLY doubt the No Child Left Behind Act isn't being funded by Bush
because the illegal children in this country are somehow sucking up
all the money from the federal government.  Again, this is a regional
problem--mostly in the southwest.      
	 
	 . Bush makes these grandiose gestures of wanting better
things for our own people, passes them into law, then doesn't fund
them--because all the funds are being used to support this war.  Now
even his own state of Texas is suing the federal government about the
No Child Left Behind Act because it's a farce.  And yet Bush STILL
wants to give tax cuts to the richest class of the American
population.  [Peterson, Carlene] I think there needs to tax reform -
and I don't agree with all Bush's ideas in this arena - it NEEDS TO BE
FAIR FOR EVERYONE. It just doesn't make sense to me.  [Peterson,
Carlene]  I hear ya on some of this, bro.   Yippee!  Why wouldn't we
progressives think this smacks of nothing more than his kowtowing to
the big corporate powers interests at the expense of the poorer and
middle classes?  [Peterson, Carlene] I don't think he's doing that -
but I think he needs to have some better ideas.   You don't think that
by being a Republican President, he isn't espousing the Republican
ideals of big business over the ideals of the Democrats which are
based in more social equality?  He didn't give the poorest Americans
the biggest tax cuts.  He gave them to the richest Americans--probably
in that "hope" it'll somehow trickle back to do us lowly pee-ons.
Yeah, sure.    
	 
	You know, Carlene, I really wouldn't have such a problem with
this man if he'd only admit to certain mistakes--people, including me,
are usually always able to forgive others' mistakes when they admit to
them.  [Peterson, Carlene]  I think unfortunately in politics - you
rarely hear that from any side - because that would then just open up
the can of worms (and words from the other side) too much.  You're
probably right.   I'd just love to hear Bush say to the American
public something like, "Look, things haven't turned out the way we
were expecting them to in Iraq.  We based our original assumptions
about this war on inaccurate information, fed to us by our various
intelligence agencies and perhaps some over-zealous individuals.
[Peterson, Carlene]  I think your statement above is accurate.  I
think the feds need to be held harder to wall for their bumblings -
but that arena started way back - back to Clinton, Daddy Bush, Ford,
Carter - not just George W.  And this is EXACTLY what we progressives
always fight so hard for--more openness in government, more access to
public documents, less censorship so that we as citizens can ALWAYS
find out what's going on, i.e., Watergate, Iran/Contragate,
Lewinskygate, etc., less ability for the government to run roughshod
over personal rights and personal affairs--allowing people to make
choices and having the ability to receive all the information from
which to make informed decisions.  Republican administrations have
historically been those that are the most secretive and it is your
dreaded liberal press and institutions like the ACLU that FIGHT for
our rights as citizens to know the truth so that we don't become a
people who are like sheep blindly following what people (like those in
this Bush government) tell us TO BE THE TRUTH--the progressives fought
long and hard to know about these so-called "weapons of mass
destruction."  And the same holds true for how we're fighting to know
what's going on in these "internment camps" in Guantanamo (and the
Supreme Court ruled in our favor on that!) and what's been happening
to prisoners in Abu Gharaib.  Do you think for one minute that if it
hadn't been for your dreaded "liberal press" we would have ever even
heard about the TORTURE we were inflicting upon Iraqi prisoners? No
way, Jose--the information would have been buried--under the adage,
"heck, the prisoners deserve it anyway--nothing worse than a college
prank!'   Let's just show them happy pictures of soldiers holding
babies and adoring kids.  No bad stuff at all.  Everyone knows there's
good stuff, Carlene, but it's the "bad stuff" which helps us to
remember the REAL COSTS OF WAR.   Bush tells us "we don't keep records
on civilian deaths"--you bet your bippy they do, and the progressives
dig to get information like this.  Because it reminds the world the
WARS ARE TERRIBLE.  Bush didn't want the press to have pictures of
flag-covered coffins when they were coming back to the U.S.--not for,
as they would have us believe, "out of sensitivity" to the families,
but because it cast a bad light on our occupation of Iraq when
Americans start to realize how many soldiers are dying in order for us
to fight this war.  Bad press.  Keep it quiet.  Censorship. So we
fight fight fight for these right against conservatives who want to
maintain secrecy and take away the choices of the population on many
levels. And I and MY administration are sorry for that. We didn't find
any weapons of mass destruction like we thought we would.  We didn't
find evidence of Hussein working with Al Qaeda.  [Peterson, Carlene]
I've heard various reports that do run a line between Hussein and Al
Qaeda (we listen to very different reports it seems).   And what
reports might those be?  Laura Inghram's guesses?  Again, the
Presidential report to Congress gives you the facts on that.  From
your very own President.   But we're there now, and we can't just
allow the country to implode into civil war, which would affect the
whole reason.  So let's all work together to help them form a
democratic government, rebuild their security forces and try to
extricate ourselves as soon as we can."  Wow!  I'd feel so much better
about that.  [Peterson, Carlene] I think that what you've said is how
most of us feel.  Like your article you sent me on the Catch 22.  I do
believe that is somewhat right.  We can't leave them now.  Hopefully
we can reduce our troops (we have troops all over the world), and Iraq
can be self sufficient quickly. Your dreaded Clinton even made an
statement like that the other day--asking the progressive community to
start "getting behind" our efforts in Iraq.  [Peterson, Carlene] I
don't think Bill was dreaded.  I think he also made mistakes as
president just like George W.  I just REALLY don't like Hilary
Carlene, can you be more specific about this dislike of Hillary in a
thoughtful way for me...you expressed your huge dislike of her, but
I'd really like to know the reasons.  You've said the same thing about
Ariana Huffington.  I get the impression that you aren't a fan of
certain kinds of women, but I don't know why.  Does it relate to your
religious beliefs about a woman's place in society?  I don't get it.
Sometimes I feel like you are like those Christian men who believe a
woman's place is to be seen but not heard.    . Did that surprise you?
[Peterson, Carlene] No really didn't surprise me.  Various
"Progressives" are changing their tune a "bit."   And that goes right
to my comments about being able to change, say "I made a mistake," or
move on to solve problems in a new way.    But Bush, even when asked
directly by a reporter in a news conference whether he could possibly
have made any mistakes during his Presidency, responds with that
smirky smile, "I can't think of any."  Doesn't that bother you at all?
[Peterson, Carlene]  I think we all make mistakes.  It would probably
be better if W. said that we all make miscalculations, but I have to
stand behind my beliefs.  From your comments, you seem to like that
"air of superiority" about him.  That NEVER CHANGING HIS MIND is a
good thing--he's not "wishy-washy."  [Peterson, Carlene]  I think
people have to stand for something - the old saying "if you don't
stand for something, you'll fall for anything" mentality doesn't work
for me.  Even if a person makes mistakes, errors, whatever, I can
still trust that they are a man or woman of their word.  It's like the
people in every day life that say one thing to your face, oh, darling,
you're wonderful, etc., and then they go behind your back and say "who
the hell does she think she is?"  She's so ridiculous, etc. You can't
trust those types of people. So that's a GOOD THING, huh?  I beg to
differ with you.  I think that REAL human strength and generosity of
spirit comes from acknowledging our weaknesses, being able to change
our mind about things, [Peterson, Carlene]  If need be - yes - but
still be able to stand firm when necessary admit to mistakes
[Peterson, Carlene]  yes, I think being able to say your sorry for
offenses, etc. is right and then try to rectify them as best we can
and move forward.  [Peterson, Carlene]  I think we agree on most of
these fronts - but you have to stand for something and be willing to
go the distance even against adversity and ridicule.  That's what I
like cuz I'm the same way.  I'll stand up against anything and
everything if I believe it is the right thing.  I don't care to be
"politically correct" etc.  Humility is one of the greatest gifts.
[Peterson, Carlene]  Yes, it can be.  Bush could well learn something
about humility.[Peterson, Carlene]   I think he is humble in many ways
- but he's not a pushover. I think he just doesn't want to give any of
his political foes any leg to stand on - or ammunition to use against
him.
	 
	And the whole social security thing is just more of his
pig-headed "I won't change course NO MATTER WHAT"--even though 68% of
the American public now is against what he is trying to do.  Why can't
he just say, "Hey, listen, I believed in my idea of private accounts,
but if the American people don't think that's a good idea, then I'm
willing to give up that idea altogether in order to find a way that we
can REALLY make Social Security viable."  [Peterson, Carlene]  I think
we need to find some way to revamp it - I'm just not sure what that
should be - but I think we have to listen and try and see what the
proposals are.  Many people just shot it all down without even
listening.  But there has to be some change.  I see what my parents
get and what the little statements I get says I'll get.  It's chump
change - and I'd have to retire at like 72 to get anything at all
close to a living wage.  That's stupid.  I don't want to work til I'm
72!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But he doesn't say things like that.
And I'm sure the huge Wall Street Lobbyists are putting so much
pressure on him NOT TO GIVE IN on that...they'll make FORTUNES when
money has to flood into the stock market by government mandate.
Instead, Bush would rather allow the super rich pay social security
taxes on only the first $90,000 of their income.  [Peterson, Carlene]
I haven't researched enough about this - but $90,000 to someone like
Gates is absurd!   My sentiments exactly.  I say raise the social
security taxes on the really rich and make them pay more into the
system to support the poor.  But that isn't the Bush (or Republican)
way.  What would it hurt someone who is making, say, $2,000,000 a year
(and that's even chump change to the rich guys!) to be paying Social
Security taxes on that full amount, rather than only on the first
$90,000 of what they earn and no more social security taxes on the
remainder of that income.  You and I must pay social security taxes on
$90,000 worth of income, even though we make much less than that.  So
in effect, we pay social security taxes on 100% of our income, while
the rich pay taxes on only a MINISCULE amount of their income.  Now
why can't the Christian conservatives harangue their leaders like Bill
Frist and Tom DeLay to talk about issues like these?  HELP!!!!  This
is what I mean about about the difference with progressives vs.
conservatives--we think these issues are what REALLY affect the
well-being of Americans, rather than worrying what people are doing in
their bedrooms.  What someone is doing in their bedroom in Pacoima
doesn't interest me in the least--I can happily as an American citizen
without any of my rights being infringed no matter what someone is
doing in their bedroom in Pacoima.   Get my drift?   Under his plan,
it's YOU and I who would pay the price by huge cuts in the amount of
social security we'd be allowed to receive upon retiring.  From 29 to
48% cuts.  I just got my Social Security statement in the mail last
week that says under the current plan, at age 67 I will receive $1698
a month in Social Security.  Under Bush's plan, I'll receive only
about half of that amount, and can make up for it between now and then
(only 17 years) by having a private account to invest in the stock
market supplement the loss of those payments.  But who's to say that
things won't go BONKERS in the world (like the Holy Rollers portend!)
and the stock market will fall drastically and come time for my
retirement THERE WON'T BE ANYTHING TO TAKE OUT OF THOSE PRIVATE
ACCOUNTS.  And therein lies the rub.  [Peterson, Carlene]  There are
no easy answers.  I know my statements say about what yours do. I
think there needs to be more options in social security just like a
401K account.  We choose when and how much and where to invest.  If we
don't like the mix - we can change it - etc.  The middle class always
get the shaft - that's why we need to come up with and vote for better
systems, fair systems for all.   Exactly!!!  Help!   People need to be
more aware like you are of what's going on and then we need to stand
up and fight to change this stuff.  Get more of us (the little guys)
in politics fighting for our causes.  Why don't you run for office?
The Right Wing Christians would crucify me. 
	 
	The Medicare and Medicaid programs are REALLY what are what we
should be focusing on...they are the programs with dire problems RIGHT
NOW.  Not a word about that issue from the conservatives.  Missouri
will be completely phasing out their Medicaid program over the next
few years, putting 1,000,000 more people on the uninsured roster--no
health coverage of any kind for 1,000,000 more people--those are the
poorest of the poor.  Because the government can't afford to maintain
Medicaid in that State...yet it would cost less to maintain than
ONE-HALF the amount we've paid to Halliburton so far for "rebuilding
Iraq after we've destroyed it."
	 
	Your "faction"--the right-wing Christian community--would
rather rail on and on about Gays, Abortion, "Radical" Judges (funnily
enough, some of whom are REPUBLICANS, if you look at those who
presided over the Terry Schaive lawsuits, oh dear!), "Liberal" Media,
etc.,  rather than rail on about the millions of people living in
poverty, disappearing Medicaid coverage, 45,000,000 uninsured
Americans, prescription drug coverage for the elderly and needy AND
MIDDLE CLASS, etc.  Somehow, you're convinced that whether someone is
gay, or whether someone has an abortion is WAY MORE IMPORTANT AN ISSUE
TO ARGUE AND REGULATE AND FIGHT AGAINST than whether a person who
needs prescription medication to stay alive has to choose between
buying food or the medication.  That being Gay is more of a detriment
to society than killing thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq, or
helping an American child out of poverty.  That someone's being gay
PRECLUDES YOU from living a happy, productive, fulfilled life if you
so choose to.
	 
	I just don't understand the right-wing Christian ethics about
these issues.  The funny (I should say SAD!) part is, you'd all be
rah-rah-ing Bush from your breadlines because of all the tax cuts he'd
rather give to the wealthiest Americans.  His big-business policies
would leave even you, the Christian right-wing, behind to fend for
yourselves when it comes to figuring out how you'll pay for medical
bills for yourself and your uninsured child to keep you well enough to
attend church whenever you wanted to.
	 
	These are the big differences between us, I believe.
	 
	   

________________________________

	From: Peterson, Carlene [mailto:cpeterson@LUCE.com] 
	Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 12:08 PM
	To: Peterson, Bryan (LA)
	Subject: RE: Pictures From Iraq
	
	
	I'm not "happy" about any war - but I am encouraged to see
good benefits from the sacrifice our military men and women make every
day.  I think freedom and democracy are on the rise.  I thank the
military and pray for them for the job they do.  No one loves war.
Said all this before - any death in war is sad (whether it is on any
side), but I still believe that freedom is worth fighting for.  As for
the attacks in Iraq and the middle east as a whole - death would be
going on whether we are there or not - just look at Israel.  The
various factions kill one another.  The dictators kill their own
people.  But I still believe freedom is worth the fight.  I think this
will make the entire world a safer place when the civilized people of
the world come together to combat tyranny.
	 
	Also, we have made mistakes time and time again in our country
throughout history.  It is always hindsight that is 20/20.  And also -
as we look back men like Abraham Lincoln are viewed very different
than they were in their own life time.  I wonder how history (if we
are still around in 100 years) will view George W. Bush.  I happen to
think you might be surprised what history will say about him.  At the
very least - he stands his ground.  I don't agree with everything he
does - but I agree more with him than someone like Al Gore or John
Kerry - who stands for nothing.  He tosses to and fro with the wind.
	This email may contain material that is confidential,
privileged and/or attorney work product for the sole use of the
intended recipient. Any review, reliance or distribution by others or
forwarding without express permission is strictly prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete
all copies.
	
	Latham & Watkins LLP
	
	
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From BRYAN.PETERSON at lw.com  Wed May  4 17:33:36 2005
From: BRYAN.PETERSON at lw.com (BRYAN.PETERSON@lw.com)
Date: Mon May  9 10:34:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Read this portion after my previous email...
Message-ID: <200505091734.j49HY5SQ015690@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

she responds to more of my writings that were at the end of the
previous email.

________________________________

From: Peterson, Carlene [mailto:cpeterson@LUCE.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 3:35 PM
To: Peterson, Bryan (LA)
Subject: RE: I understand....



[Peterson, Carlene] Opps.  I missed this part last e-mail. The
Medicare and Medicaid programs are REALLY what are what we should be
focusing on...they are the programs with dire problems RIGHT NOW.  Not
a word about that issue from the conservatives.  Missouri will be
completely phasing out their Medicaid program over the next few years,
putting 1,000,000 more people on the uninsured roster--no health
coverage of any kind for 1,000,000 more people--those are the poorest
of the poor.  Because the government can't afford to maintain Medicaid
in that State...yet it would cost less to maintain than ONE-HALF the
amount we've paid to Halliburton so far for "rebuilding Iraq after
we've destroyed it."[Peterson, Carlene]  Again, I think we need to
address these problems - but one of the ways is to get rid of some of
millions of illegals in our country.  I heard a story about (I think
in Ohio - may have been Missouri) or one of those states back east
where most of their factory jobs have been taken over by illegals.
It's so Mr.. Big business man can get a little cheaper labor.  The
owners know full well that they have hired illegals.  None of them
speak English and the owners don't look too close at their papers.
Let's get rid of some of these problems and take our country back - I
believe a lot of things would get better.  Pay a fair wage and get
Americans working, get medical costs in line.  Not let the special
interest groups win.  We need to take back our country from all of
these factions.  I agree that the rich are getting richer why the
little man keeps losing.  We, the little man, need to fight against
that together.  Not just try and fight programs, etc.  We need to
fight to change laws and not take this stuff any more.  We need to get
rid of EVERY politician who does not follow the will of the people -
but is being bought off.
	Your "faction"--the right-wing Christian community--would
rather rail on and on about Gays, Abortion, "Radical" Judges (funnily
enough, some of whom are REPUBLICANS, if you look at those who
presided over the Terry Schaive lawsuits, oh dear!), "Liberal" Media,
etc.,  rather than rail on about the millions of people living in
poverty, disappearing Medicaid coverage, 45,000,000 uninsured
Americans, prescription drug coverage for the elderly and needy AND
MIDDLE CLASS, etc.  Somehow, you're convinced that whether someone is
gay, or whether someone has an abortion is WAY MORE IMPORTANT AN ISSUE
TO ARGUE AND REGULATE AND FIGHT AGAINST than whether a person who
needs prescription medication to stay alive has to choose between
buying food or the medication.  [Peterson, Carlene]  I think we need
to fight against all of these things - but we are also not going to
quit fighting for morality either.  Your "faction" as you put it
above, fights for what they believe in but somehow we right-wing
Christians, as you put it, are supposed to shut up.  NOT!!!!  We're
fighting just as hard as you guys are.  No different.  Just fighting
for different things.  That's what I don't get.  Somehow it's ok for
you to fight for what you believe in and be just as radical, and
judgmental, etc. as you say we are.  But somehow it's ok that you do
it.  But not us.  Hog wash!  That being Gay is more of a detriment to
society than killing thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq, or
helping an American child out of poverty.  [Peterson, Carlene]  I
think we also need to address all of these issues as well.  No one has
forgotten them.  We right wingers are also fighting these issues. That
someone's being gay PRECLUDES YOU from living a happy, productive,
fulfilled life if you so choose to.
	 
	I just don't understand the right-wing Christian ethics about
these issues.  The funny (I should say SAD!) part is, you'd all be
rah-rah-ing Bush from your breadlines because of all the tax cuts he'd
rather give to the wealthiest Americans.  [Peterson, Carlene]  Again,
I think many right-wingers are speaking out against things they don't
agree with Bush about. We're not rah-rah-ing him in everything.  I've
sent numerous e-mail to the White House about things I don't agree
with the Administration about.  His big-business policies would leave
even you, the Christian right-wing, behind to fend for yourselves when
it comes to figuring out how you'll pay for medical bills for yourself
and your uninsured child to keep you well enough to attend church
whenever you wanted to.[Peterson, Carlene]  Again, I've heard so many
news items about all of the medical facilities (especially in LA)
which have had to close because of all of the illegals getting free
healthcare.  Let's start at ground 1 - and get rid of the illegals and
see how much money would be saved when we don't have to pay for
millions of illegals.  Yes, let's have medical reform.  I would
welcome that.  We don't disagree on everything.  I just think the way
we see of getting there may be different.  
	 
	These are the big differences between us, I believe.[Peterson,
Carlene]   Again I agree that we have many problems in our country.
Our views as to how address them are different.  I still believe that
more of us little guys need to stand up and be counted - get our
politicians and law makers in line - get them out of office if they
will not represent our interests.  Change will only come if we force
change.  I think our world is now in the midst of those changes.
People are fed up with the status quo.  We've been pushed around far
too long.  We need to get some fresh blood in politics - not these old
geezers.  Programs that worked in the 20's, 30's, 40's, need to be
re-evaluated for the 21st century.  It should be fair for all of us.
As you said, there needs to be some clean up in River City!  On this
we agree.
	
	
	
________________________________

	From: Peterson, Carlene [mailto:cpeterson@LUCE.com] 
	Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 12:08 PM
	To: Peterson, Bryan (LA)
	Subject: RE: Pictures From Iraq
	
	
	I'm not "happy" about any war - but I am encouraged to see
good benefits from the sacrifice our military men and women make every
day.  I think freedom and democracy are on the rise.  I thank the
military and pray for them for the job they do.  No one loves war.
Said all this before - any death in war is sad (whether it is on any
side), but I still believe that freedom is worth fighting for.  As for
the attacks in Iraq and the middle east as a whole - death would be
going on whether we are there or not - just look at Israel.  The
various factions kill one another.  The dictators kill their own
people.  But I still believe freedom is worth the fight.  I think this
will make the entire world a safer place when the civilized people of
the world come together to combat tyranny.
	 
	Also, we have made mistakes time and time again in our country
throughout history.  It is always hindsight that is 20/20.  And also -
as we look back men like Abraham Lincoln are viewed very different
than they were in their own life time.  I wonder how history (if we
are still around in 100 years) will view George W. Bush.  I happen to
think you might be surprised what history will say about him.  At the
very least - he stands his ground.  I don't agree with everything he
does - but I agree more with him than someone like Al Gore or John
Kerry - who stands for nothing.  He tosses to and fro with the wind.
	This email may contain material that is confidential,
privileged and/or attorney work product for the sole use of the
intended recipient. Any review, reliance or distribution by others or
forwarding without express permission is strictly prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete
all copies.
	
	Latham & Watkins LLP
	
	
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May  9 10:34:13 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May  9 10:39:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Home UK - US tourism 018losing billions
 because of image019
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Mon May  9 16:30:54 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May  9 16:37:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - RUSSIA RECALLS 27M KILLED IN WWII
Message-ID: <20050509233054.4C9871B679@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
____________________________________________________
RUSSIA RECALLS 27M KILLED IN WWII
WebPosted Mon May  9 06:24:55 2005

MOSCOW---Russia marked the 60th anniversary of the end of the
Second World War with a major parade Monday, attended by more than
50 world leaders.

The 1939-45 war took the lives of 27 million civilians and soldiers from
the former Soviet Union, far more than the toll in all the other
participating countries combined.

Military marching bands and thousands of goose-stepping soldiers made
their way through Moscow's Red Square as U.S. President George W. Bush,
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and other dignitaries watched.



 RELATED STORY: Bush, Putin meeting appears cordial

The parade was the latest in a weeklong series of events in Europe
designed to celebrate the Allied victory over Nazi Germany.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also welcomed the leaders of Italy and
Japan, the first time the former enemy nations have been represented in
Moscow for the annual event.

Putin said May 9 is "a sacred day" in Russia, serving as a reminder of
"what monstrous consequences violence and moral intolerance, genocide and
persecution of others could lead to."

As vintage war-era trucks rumbled past the viewing platform, carrying
elderly veterans of what Russians call the Great Patriotic War, world
leaders gave them a standing ovation.

Canadian Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson was on hand for the parade on behalf
of Canada.

Prime Minister Paul Martin and the other three federal party leaders flew
to the Netherlands late Sunday to take part in wrap-up events for VE-Day
in that country.



 FROM MAY 3, 2005: PM, other leaders to attend VE-Day ceremonies in
 Netherlands

The prime minister had planned to attend more of the week's observances
of the 60th anniversary of the European victory, but politics at home got
in the way.

He cancelled his travel plans because his minority government was in
danger of falling.

Midway through the week, Martin managed to reach a deal with Conservative
Leader Stephen Harper, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP
Leader Jack Layton that all four would travel to Europe for the end of
VE-Day ceremonies.

On Monday morning, Martin laid a wreath at a cemetery in Amersfoort,
about 40 kilometres east of Amsterdam, as a memorial to Canadians who
died liberating Holland from the Nazis.

Later in the day, he was to attend a luncheon with Canadian veterans and
a farewell party in the evening before flying back to Canada.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Mon May  9 16:29:04 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May  9 16:39:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - VATICAN RADIO OFFICIALS CONVICTED
Message-ID: <20050509232904.C705969AFB@nmweb08.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
____________________________________________________
VATICAN RADIO OFFICIALS CONVICTED
WebPosted Mon May  9 15:16:37 2005

ROME---A court in Rome on Monday convicted a Vatican cardinal and the
head of the city-state's radio station for electromagnetic pollution.

They were given 10-day suspended sentences, which they have appealed.

Cardinal Roberto Tucci, former head of Vatican Radio's management
committee, and the Rev. Pasquale Borgomeo, the station's director
general, were charged with "dangerous launching of objects," referring to
the station's electromagnetic waves.

Residents of the Rome suburb Cessano near the station complained they
could hear Vatican Radio broadcasts through their lamps because of
electromagnetic disturbances.

"It is a great success and a great victory for those people who have been
suffering for years," said Lorenzo Parlati, head of the environmental
group Legambiente for the Lazio Region, which was part of the civil suit.
It claimed the waves were harming the health of those living nearby.

"A mother whose child died of leukemia shouted out of emotion when the
verdict was read out," Parlati said.

The station's program director said he was "stunned" by the ruling from
Judge Luisa Martoni.

"We contend that our transmission is in line with accords between Italy
and the Vatican," Rev. Federico Lombardi said.

The court acquitted another Vatican Radio official, the head of
technical services.

The matter has been to court before. A judge threw out the case in 2002,
saying Vatican officials had immunity under a 1929 treaty between the
Holy See and Italy that established the Vatican as an independent city-
state. But Italy's Supreme Court later ruled the case could proceed.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Mon May  9 16:33:13 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May  9 16:43:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - POPULAR AFGHAN SINGER KILLED IN VANCOUVER
Message-ID: <20050509233313.5F00B1B679@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
____________________________________________________
POPULAR AFGHAN SINGER KILLED IN VANCOUVER
WebPosted Mon May  9 15:41:52 2005

Vancouver---Police in Vancouver say popular Afghan singer Nasrat
Parsa is dead following an attack over the weekend outside his hotel
in East Vancouver
.

Const. Tim Fanning said three men approached Parsa after a concert on
Saturday night. He said witnesses saw one man punch Parsa, who then fell
backwards on some concrete stairs.

The 36-year-old Parsa was taken to Vancouver General Hospital, where he
died on Sunday night.

A 19-year-old man was arrested and initially charged with aggravated
assault. Police have recommended that the charge be upgraded to
manslaughter.

Parsa lived in Germany, and was popular among young Afghans around the
world after recording 10 albums.

He had performed a concert in Toronto last week before going to
Vancouver.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May  9 19:44:57 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon May  9 19:50:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Chicken gets ticket!
Message-ID: <000a01c5550a$445f7e30$a327e440@Harold>

America, I just had to forward this, sorry if it is embarrassing.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-chicken-ticketed,0,506375.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

I just found this too funny, seeing that what is really going on in the 'real world' today!

Later H



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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon May  9 21:05:01 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbara)
Date: Mon May  9 21:06:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Dog 'adopts' abandoned baby in rural Kenya
Message-ID: <200505100405.j4A451pO003607@scyther.iol.iol.co.za>

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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Mon May  9 22:01:06 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Mon May  9 22:04:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
	One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them...
Message-ID: <000901c5551d$47582a20$5225b7d8@baby1>

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them...

http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/




I recall the pain, death and madness of The Ring of Sauron all too
well.......


Remember that Darkness is not just a fairy tale, take care how you walk amid
the shadows, have some faith, surety, and courage as you find your way upon
the narrow path of Light suddenly set before you, even if you're an athiest
say your prayers, fear not, conquer, or if all else fails call Cheeseburger
and he'll kick their *ss for you.






Cheeseburger


-  And Rohan will answer.

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 10 03:47:26 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 10 03:52:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7184520.1115722046265.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 More Repellant
 
 By January W. Payne
 
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended two new ingredients as mosquito repellents, picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus, marking the first time the agency has suggested anything other than the chemical DEET for mosquito bite prevention.
 
 "We hope by giving people a wider range of options, that some nonusers might become interested in using repellents," said Emily Zielinski-Gutierrez, a behavioral scientist at the CDC's division of vector-borne infectious diseases.
 
 DEET, in use for more than 40 years, has long been the standard in mosquito protection, but many Americans have not been buying products that contain the chemical. This is due partly to lingering consumer fears -- largely unwarranted, the agency says -- about the safety of DEET. Only 40 percent of Americans report regularly using mosquito repellents, says the CDC -- even though West Nile Virus has been found in 47 of the 48 continental states and the District of Columbia.
 
 West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne infections can result in serious illness or death; those over age 50 are more vulnerable to the severe effects of West Nile. The virus can also cause milder illness, and many people show no effects when bitten by an infected mosquito.
 
 The CDC recorded 2,535 West Nile cases for last year, according to numbers that are not yet finalized, down from 9,862 in 2003. The number of deaths also dropped, from 264 in 2003 to 98 in 2004, according to the most updated reports. Locally, there were 22 reported cases and one death from West Nile in Maryland, Virginia and the District last year. That's down from 102 reported cases and nine deaths in 2003.
 
 CDC officials said they chose to act now because recent studies have reassured them of the safety and effectiveness of the two ingredients. Agency scientists reviewed existing literature and concluded there was sufficient evidence to safely recommend picaridin, a chemical used in other countries and sold in one U.S. product, and oil of lemon eucalyptus, a natural ingredient found in various lotions and sprays.
 
 Both ingredients had previously been registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which means that the EPA has evaluated them for safety and efficacy. The CDC recommends that people use repellents whenever they go outdoors during warm-weather months, particularly between dusk and dawn.
 
 The CDC also reaffirmed its recommendation for DEET, calling it a "highly effective repellent option" in a statement.
 
 "DEET is very safe and effective, but some people just can't use it" because of its powerful smell and, in some cases, skin irritation, said Noah Scheinfeld, assistant professor of dermatology at Columbia University. Scheinfeld wrote an article examining the research into picaridin that was published last year in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.
 
 Another repellent option is permethrin, which the CDC recommends only for use on clothing -- particularly clothes so thin that a mosquito might be able to bite through them, said Zielinski-Gutierrez. It is not to be sprayed directly onto skin, she said.
 
 CDC officials emphasized the need for consumers to read product labels when selecting mosquito repellents. Some work longer than others and many need to be reapplied every few hours. You may also need to reapply the repellent if you perspire or get wet. A general rule of thumb is to reapply the product if you start getting bitten, Zielinski-Gutierrez said.
 
 If you intend to use a repellent on children, be sure to confirm the product is okay for their age group. And infants under 2 months old shouldn't use any repellents, Zielinski-Gutierrez said. ·
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 10 03:49:03 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 10 03:55:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14400690.1115722143561.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Time for a Return to Yalta
 
 By Mikheil Saakashvili
 
  TBILISI, Georgia -- For 60 years the word "Yalta" has meant betrayal and abandonment. The diplomatic accord reached between Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States in that sleepy Black Sea resort relegated millions of people to a ruthless tyranny.
 
 As President Bush said last week in Latvia: "The agreement at Yalta followed in the unjust tradition of Munich and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Once again, when powerful governments negotiated, the freedom of small nations was somehow expendable."
 
 Thankfully, the division of Europe created at Yalta, and the Iron Curtain that marked its boundary, are ghosts in our past. The generation of 1989 succeeded in the streets of Gdansk, Prague and Riga, and much of the territory Yalta allotted to a dictator is now part of the community of democratic nations.
 
 Now it is our turn to contribute to the completion of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace. After recent discussions with presidents Traian Basescu of Romania and Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, I believe that it is time for a new Yalta Conference, a voluntary association of new European democracies with three central goals.
 
 First, we must work together to support the consolidation of democracy in our own countries. Georgia regained its freedom in the Rose Revolution only 18 months ago. Though we have made great strides, much remains to be done in building a lasting democracy. Two significant portions of our territory -- South Ossetia and Abkhazia -- remain untouched by the freedom the rest of Georgia enjoys. We can and must peacefully resolve these disputes to better the lives of Georgians.
 
 Ukraine's Orange Revolution succeeded only five months ago. My friend Viktor Yushchenko faces real challenges in rebuilding his country's economy and in ending the corruption and criminality that are the legacy of decades of repression and misrule.
 
 Second, we must extend the reach of liberty in the Black Sea region and throughout wider Europe. Moldova, like Georgia, faces a separatist region that maintains itself with cast-off Soviet weaponry and the profits from an illicit economy based on trafficking in weapons, drugs and women. These are the last razor-sharp splinters of the Soviet empire.
 
 In Belarus, 10 million people remain in a more regimented captivity. The regime of Aleksander Lukashenko rules by fear, yet fears its own people. The world can do much more to aid the Belarusan people in the quest for freedom. The new Yalta Conference will press for liberty in Belarus through increased travel restrictions on government officials, expanded financial and material support to the opposition, and enhanced training for civic society in the methods of peaceful protest that helped free the people of Georgia and Ukraine.
 
 Third, we seek to expand the frontiers of freedom far beyond the Black Sea. Our message to the oppressors and their subjects is unequivocal: Free peoples cannot rest while tyranny thrives. Just as we benefit from the blessings of liberty, we have a duty to those who remain beyond its reach. In Zimbabwe, Cuba, Burma and elsewhere, millions live under cruel tyrants. Too many governments and international organizations appear willing to sacrifice freedom for what they mistakenly believe will be stability. We know that only the consent of the governed brings stability. And we know that if the world's democracies make liberty the priority of their policy, the days of the dictators are numbered.
 
 Those on the wrong side of history in Tbilisi, Kiev and Bishkek -- like those before them in Warsaw, Bratislava and Belgrade -- lost touch with their people and did not see democratic change coming. Invariably they saw peaceful, popular protests as a "conspiracy" driven by mysterious forces. But the only mystery is why corrupt and despotic leaders thought they could retain power forever in defiance of their own people's will.
 
 Historically the Bla ck Sea has stood at the confluence of the Russian, Ottoman and Persian empires. Now the Black Sea is a new frontier -- a frontier of freedom, with vibrant new democracies. The values that drove our peaceful revolutions -- accountable government, open society, the rule of law -- are not exclusively European values; they are universal. The winds of freedom that swept across the Black Sea to Ukraine now rush across the central Asian steppes and stir the cedars of Lebanon.
 
 It is time to return to Yalta. This time we will not engage in a secret diplomacy in which our values are compromised and innocent peoples are enslaved. In this new association of democracies, our diplomacy will be open and our focus will be the possibilities of our future. And, we will begin to make Yalta a symbol of hope.
 
 The writer is president of the Republic of Georgia.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 10 03:51:01 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 10 03:56:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <15054997.1115722261141.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Intelligence:  We've Lost Our Edge
 
 By John Seely Brown and Jeffrey R. Cooper
 
  The U.S. intelligence community faces immense challenges that demand both a strong technology base and an effective research and development strategy. Unfortunately, the research and development path it is currently following will not allow it to meet those challenges.
 
 It's understandable that after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Iraq intelligence failures and a series of highly critical reports on its performance, the leadership of the intelligence community would direct its research and development resources to projects with sure-fire, tangible, short-term payoffs. By innovatively drawing on the "queue" of available technology, it is providing new capabilities to support important missions. But the intelligence community no longer seeks the kind of gigantic jumps in capability it once did: leaps forward that depend on fundamental scientific and technological breakthroughs.
 
 Such breakthroughs have, over the years, been created by farsighted U.S. policies that supported research that paid off not today or tomorrow but in the long term. Nowadays, by failing to stretch its technological reach or to adequately replenish the current technology queue, the nation's intelligence agencies are making a dangerous bet that they can meet tomorrow's challenges simply by producing modest enhancements to today's technologies -- by relying on incremental increases in the underlying knowledge base.
 
 In the past the United States developed an impressive capability to gather crucial intelligence by penetrating the closed-off "denied areas" of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. It did this by exploiting its deep and lavishly funded scientific and technical base to invent various sensors to observe key activities, and by supporting the operations of human spies. Those capabilities were radical in their time, but the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact and the collapse of the Soviet Union removed the key threats they were designed to address.
 
 Useful intelligence about the new threats we face requires something quite different. It is no longer a matter of assessing the technical capabilities of advanced weapons systems or determining the size of forces secretly deployed in denied areas by lumbering bureaucratic states. The new challenges are more complex, more subtle and harder to recognize -- and they cannot be addressed by simply refocusing old capabilities on new adversaries.
 
 Meeting the challenge demands more than improvements in episodic coverage of large fixed targets by remote collection systems. Nor can the threat from both state and non-state adversaries be met by incremental improvements in current capabilities, no matter how significant those improvements may seem to be. The objective must be to penetrate not only denied areas but "denied minds," in order to gain an understanding of the intentions and motivations of hostile individuals and small groups in cultures that are unfamiliar to us.
 
 The new intelligence capabilities must allow analysts to quickly recognize the dynamic activities and emerging behavior of loosely coupled networks. These may be networked terrorist groups or "flash mobs" of citizens seeking better political and economic conditions, as were recently seen in Ukraine, Lebanon and Kyrgyzstan. These new patterns of activity create intelligence challenges that could pose threats or opportunities. In either case, we need to know all we can about them. How much is known will determine whether U.S. officials are acting or simply reacting.
 
 The intelligence challenges posed by non-traditional forces (which may have access to the deadliest of weapons) demand a persistent approach to both collection and analysis. Better use of new cutting-edge research in the social, cognitive, nano and computational sciences will provide a better understanding of human, organizational, cultural and political relationships and behaviors. Better collection is not enough -- whether by human spies or sophisticated technical systems. Much more emphasis is need  ed on analysis and deep understanding, and that will in turn demand more attention to truly innovative tools for making sense of information. It will also demand more effort to come up with new ideas and hypotheses, more "visualization" of information and arguments in the interest of better comprehending them, and more cultivating of new information sources that are better matched to the new threats.
 
 In a time when research funding is constrained, we need to develop what we call a "use-inspired" research strategy, with the goal of producing breakthrough capabilities matching those we achieved in meeting the Soviet challenge. We not only need fundamentally new ideas and technologies but also fundamentally new ways to discover and invent them. Use-inspired research can achieve this goal. It can effectively support both short- and long-term programs by eliminating the distinctions between basic and applied research.
 
 Use-inspired research requires that researchers be deeply connected with solving real-world problems and then pursuing these problems to their roots. It balances the desire to exploit technology through applications development with an investment in research on deeper understanding to create true breakthroughs.
 
 The new leadership of the intelligence community can do better than to just continue with its increasingly self-constrained, short-term, applied focus. To meet the new intelligence needs, it must change course. It must craft a more radical use-inspired strategy, and stop eating its seed corn.
 
 John Seely Brown is former chief scientist of Xerox Corp. and co-author of "The Only Sustainable Edge." Jeffrey R. Cooper is chief scientist at a professional services company in Northern Virginia.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 10 03:52:24 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 10 03:57:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <1365969.1115722344530.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A GOP Plan to 'Fix' the Democrats
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
  The stakes in politics are about to get a lot higher.
 
 The partisan battles in the coming weeks -- on judges, Social Security and the future of Tom DeLay -- are part of a larger struggle in which Republicans are seeking to establish themselves as the dominant party in American politics. Essential to their quest is persuading Democrats, or at least a significant number in their ranks, to accept long-term minority status.
 
 The current acrimony in politics is incomprehensible unless it is understood as the inevitable next act of a long-term struggle. Its ferocity arises from the Democrats' refusal to accept the role assigned them by their opponents. They are taking a stand across a broad front not simply to "obstruct" current GOP designs but to reverse a Republican political offensive that began during Bill Clinton's presidency.
 
 In fact, every one of today's fights can be seen as a response to something that happened in the 1990s.
 
 Democrats in the Senate insist on their right to stop some of President Bush's judges because Republicans were so aggressive in stopping Clinton judges in the '90s.
 
 Privately, Senate Democrats are especially furious that Republicans have completely reversed their position on whether there is even a need for more federal judicial appointments. During the Clinton administration, many Republican senators insisted that there were too many federal judges and that it was therefore unnecessary for the president to fill all the vacancies that came up at the time. Republicans changed their story after President Bush's election, talking about a "vacancy crisis." Democrats are dug in on judges precisely because they do not want to reward Republican obstruction in the 1990s. The theory is that one wave of obstruction deserves -- even demands -- another.
 
 In refusing to deal with Bush on Social Security privatization, Democrats recall the battle over Clinton's health care plan. While a few moderate Republicans, notably the late Sen. John Chafee of Rhode Island, were willing to bargain with Clinton, the party as a whole put up a front of opposition. Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich made it a matter of party discipline to bar anyone in his caucus from negotiating with the Democrats.
 
 Now that Republicans are in control of the presidency and both houses, Democrats -- even moderates who might otherwise favor modest Social Security changes -- see no reason to help Republicans dismantle any aspect of a program that is central to the Democratic legacy. They note (sometimes with grudging admiration) that Republicans paid no price for obstructing health care reform in the 1990s and that Republicans have no right to demand Democratic complicity with Bush now.
 
 As for DeLay, there is singular Democratic satisfaction in seeing that the moralist who insisted that Clinton be impeached is now embroiled in a series of ethical scandals. DeLay, it should be recalled, pressured many House Republicans to vote, against their own instincts, for impeachment.
 
 Moreover, the DeLay scandals go to the heart of how Republicans have achieved power since 1994: the creation of an interlocking directorate of politicians, lobbyists, fundraisers and interest groups. For Democrats, the DeLay scandal is not simply a political gift but also an opportunity for public education on the nature of the Republicans' congressional machine.
 
 DeLay's fate will depend on how long his party stays loyal to him and whether there are new revelations. But even on the issues of Social Security and judges, there can be no easy compromise, because both sides understand the stakes in these battles in exactly the same way.
 
 DeLay himself drew the line sharply the day after the 2004 elections. "The Republican Party is a permanent majority for the future of this country," DeLay declared. "We're going to be able to lead this country in the direction we've been dreaming of for years."
 
 Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform and a leading figure in both the DeLay and Bush political operations, chose more colorful post-election language to describe the future. "Once the minority of House and Senate are comfortable in their minority status, they will have no problem socializing with the Republicans," he told Richard Leiby of The Post. "Any farmer will tell you that certain animals run around and are unpleasant. But when they've been 'fixed,' then they are happy and sedate. They are contented and cheerful."
 
 If you wonder in the coming weeks why Democrats are so reluctant to give ground, remember Norquist's jocular reference to neutering the opposition party. Democrats are neither contented nor cheerful over the prospect of being "fixed." Should that surprise anyone?
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 10 03:54:00 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 10 03:59:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <30610178.1115722440240.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Church of Oprah
 
 By Eugene Robinson
 
  There were a few men in line at the cavernous Washington Convention Center the other day, but they were corks bobbing in a sea of estrogen. It was basically a crowd of women, all colors and all ages. They all seemed to have a certain light in their eyes as they waited to see a woman who comes into their lives daily through her talk show and monthly through her eponymous magazine, whose every cover she glamorously graces.
 
 Oprah Winfrey's "Live Your Best Life" 2005 tour had touched down in the nation's capital, and at midmorning Saturday the line stretched around the block. Those in the well-behaved, beautifully dressed crowd had paid at least $185 apiece for the chance to bask in the lady's presence -- all 5,000 tickets had sold out within minutes of their offering, and in the days before the event, scalpers on the Internet were asking up to $715.
 
 The scene was the same when the Oprah show hit Denver a couple of weeks ago and doubtless will be the same when it hits Dallas later in May.
 
 A little voice in my head started murmuring, "Cult of Oprah, Cult of Oprah, Cult of Oprah. . . . " But the little voice had it wrong. Martha Stewart has a cult, with rituals and fetishes -- applying the sprinkles to a frosted cupcake one by one with tweezers, that sort of thing. Oprah presides over something grander and more significant. It's more like a church.
 
 "You really could put 'Reverend' in front of her name," said Brenda V. Johnson, a former librarian who had come with her friend, Marvel L. Smith, an elementary school principal. Both women were from suburban Prince George's County, one of the most affluent majority-black jurisdictions in the country.
 
 "She just has the ability to connect on so many levels -- your emotional needs, physical needs, psychological needs," Johnson said. Smith added: "It's her humanity. Everybody goes through the same things she goes through, but she has the willingness to share it."
 
 It's easy to make fun of what amounts to our great national quest for "empowerment" or "self-actualization" -- the terms themselves sound slightly ridiculous -- but that search is a great force in modern American life. We worry about our families, about paying the bills, about balancing work and home, but at the same time we all look for an inner balance that allows us to feel right about the many choices we make.
 
 Oprah's great gift, and the foundation of her lay ministry, is her understanding that even women who have enjoyed great success in their personal and professional lives can still struggle to find meaning and fulfillment, and that they can learn from Oprah's own search for the same things.
 
 Oprah gets fat, Oprah goes on a diet, Oprah loses the weight, Oprah gains it back, Oprah loses it again, maybe this time for good. Oprah fights an ongoing battle with her hair. Oprah's relationship with her significant other seems to lack something, since she and Steadman never get married, but she hangs in there with him anyway. Oprah has a best friend, Gayle, who sticks with her through everything. Oprah makes charitable gifts. Oprah promotes books, mostly by women writers or with strong female characters, many of them difficult books that offer not comfort but more questions.
 
 She is not only the most powerful woman in television but also the most powerful woman in American publishing. A recommendation from Oprah creates an instant bestseller, a subject for discussion at thousands of no-husbands-no-kids book clubs coast to coast.
 
 Oprah is far from a completely open book herself, but she reveals more than enough of her life to let her followers see a reflection of their own uncertainties, their own insecurities and, ultimately, their own strengths. She gives them resilience, a second or third or fourth chance at love, happiness, contentment, enlightenment.
 
 Inside at the "Live Your Best Life" extravaganza, attendees heard Oprah speak of her own life experience -- how everyone counted her out, how no one thought she could make it, how she believed in herself. They heard her talk about spirituality. They heard Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Woman." After the liturgy, the women in attendance went forth renewed.
 
 Thus went the services at the Church of Oprah, which is the church of possibility.
 
 eugenerobinson@washpost.com
 
 
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From Hawaiipolo at cs.com  Mon May  9 17:54:08 2005
From: Hawaiipolo at cs.com (Hawaiipolo@cs.com)
Date: Tue May 10 03:59:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] (no subject)
Message-ID: <200505100119.j4A1JMU7017131@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


America's Religious Right - Saints or Subversives? 
By Steve Weissman 
t r u t h o u t | Investigation 
Part IV: Pie in the Sky 


Tuesday 26 April 2005 
> Long-haired preachers come out every night,
> Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right;
> But when asked how 'bout something to eat
> They will answer with voices so sweet:
> You will eat, bye and bye,
> In that glorious land above the sky;
> Work and pray, live on hay,
> You'll get pie in the sky when you die. 
> 
> -Joe Hill, International Workers of the World (IWW), 1911
 






Rev. Tim LaHaye, arguably America's most influential evangelical. 
(Photo: www.mcleanbible.org) 


Rev. Tim LaHaye thinks deep thoughts. Co-author of the best-selling Left 
Behind and Babylon Risingnovels, the 78-year-old evangelical probes the mind of 
God as revealed in Holy Scriptures. 
Building on a theological twist that dates back to the 1830s, he deftly tells 
of the End Time, when the Lord raises born-again Christians bodily into the 
heavens. LaHaye and his fellow believers call this the Rapture, and find their 
biblical inspiration in Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica. 
> For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice 
> of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will 
> rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with 
> them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with 
> the Lord. ( I Thes. 4:16-17). 

Thanks largely to LaHaye and a dedicated cadre of like-minded prophecy 
preachers, the mainstream of America's 80 million evangelicals now read Paul's words 
to mean something radically different from most earlier interpretations. In 
growing numbers, these born-again Christians fervently expect the Rapture to 
come within their lifetimes. 
For believers, it doesn't get any better than this. They get their pie in the 
sky. They need not wait for the sweet bye and bye. And they never, ever have 
to die. 
The belief - premillennial dispensationalism, to use the theological mouthful 
- has obvious appeal, and has fueled a quintessentially American messianic 
movement, the latest and possibly most powerful of our country's recurrent 
Christian revivals. 
But the prophecy has a downside, which its adherents often fail to spell out 
fully. 
As LaHaye reads the Holy Writ, the Rapture leads to the Great Tribulation, 
with floods and earthquakes, pestilence and epidemics, anarchy in the streets, 
and demonic battles against the one world government of the anti-Christ, whom 
he portrays in his novels as the Secretary General of the United Nations, a 
suave Romanian named Nicholae Carpathia. The forces of good finally defeat this 
Emperor of Evil in a famous victory at Armageddon, after which Jesus Christ 
returns to rule the earth. 
Oh, and one other small point: According to the prophecy, most of the world's 
Jews - or perhaps most of those in Israel - will perish in a second 
Holocaust. "The Remnant," as LaHaye calls them, must then accept Jesus Christ as the 
true Messiah or face eternal damnation. 
"And the Jews?" he asks in one of his Left Behind novels. "Well two-thirds of 
them will be wiped out by now and the survivors will accept Jesus at last." 
Others - notably the Palestinians - have to pay in advance. For the prophecy 
to be fulfilled, for the Rapture to come, for Christ to return, the Jews must 
first rule all of Eretz Yisroel, the biblical Land of Israel. 
"Ever since Israel was recognized as a nation, we knew that such perilous 
times would come," wrote LaHaye. "That event, more than any other, started God's 
prophetic time clock of end-time events." 
No wonder zealous Christian Zionists give millions of dollars to help build 
and defend new Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. 
No wonder they oppose any serious effort to make peace in the Holy Land, even 
to the point of publicly threatening President Bush whenever he dares to 
sound even-handed. 
And no wonder so many American evangelicals support Mr. Bush's war in Babylon 
as a prelude to Armageddon. 
The Hand of God? 
With more than a dozen novels selling over 60 million copies at last count, 
plus twice as many non-fiction books, LaHaye has become the most successful 
Christian writer since the Bible. And, with no sense of irony, he has now helped 
turn the Bible's authorship from a question of religious belief and historical 
scholarship into an intense political dispute. 
Fundamentalists like LaHaye see the hand of God in both Old and New 
Testaments, treating the words as Gospel, unfailingly true and authoritative, though 
open to prophetic interpretation. Many other Christians, believing Muslims and 
Jews, Hindus and Buddhists, pagans and polytheists all hold their own differing 
views, while millions who heed the Enlightenment rather than Revelations 
reject any faith-based approach to old lore as lacking in hard evidence. 
As for probing ancient Biblical passages to predict the future, many 
Christians find that silly beyond belief. 
In a free country, such differences only make life more interesting. The same 
First Amendment that keeps government from meddling with our religious 
beliefs also permits us to express our opinions freely, no matter how much they may 
outrage our fellow Americans or even blaspheme their gods. At least, we now 
have those freedoms. We won't if LaHaye wins the war he has fought most of his 
life. 
Considered by many of his peers as the most influential evangelical of our 
time, even more so than Pat Robertson or Billy Graham, LaHaye inspired Jerry 
Falwell to create the Moral Majority. He also gave millions of dollars to 
Falwell's Liberty University to build the Tim &Beverly LaHaye Student Center and the 
Tim LaHaye School of Biblical Prophecy. 
LaHaye raised the money to create The Institute for Creation Research, which 
leads the fight against Darwin's theory of evolution. 
LaHaye served as the most visible founder and first president of the 
secretive Council for National Policy, which brings together leading evangelicals and 
other conservatives with right-wing billionaires willing to pay for a 
conservative religious revolution. 
Active in electoral politics as well, LaHaye used his Californians for 
Biblical Morality to help make Ronald Reagan governor. He created the American 
Coalition for Traditional Values to mobilize evangelical voters to put far-right 
candidates into office nationwide. And he personally joined the small group of 
religious conservatives who met with George W. Bush in 1999, grilled him on his 
presidential aspirations, and gave him their Christian seal of approval. 






Beverly LaHaye, founder and chairman of the far right Concerned Women for 
America. 
(Photo: Concerned Women for America) 


LaHaye's wife Beverly wields her own influence as founder and chairman of the 
Washington-based Concerned Women for America, a traditionalist, anti-choice, 
anti-gay group dedicated "to bring biblical principles into all levels of 
public policy." She has also written several highly successful books, hosted a 
radio talk show, and spoken out regularly in the mass media. Together, she and 
her husband are, as Time magazine called them, "the Christian Power Couple." 
Yet, for all of Tim LaHaye's enormous clout as a Christian leader, his 
political ideas have little in common with the love-thy-neighbor teachings of Jesus 
Christ, as proclaimed by so many other Christians, including evangelicals like 
the Rev. Jim Wallis, of Sojourners. 
A Christian Nationalist, he would use government coercion to enforce 
"Biblical morality." No more separation of church and state. And no free speech to say 
what God doesn't want to say. As for which Christians would govern the 
nation, he has frequently attacked the Catholic Church and accused mainline 
Protestants of not being Christians at all. He has also blamed Jews for the 
crucifixion of Christ and regularly lambastes Islam. 
Other of his political notions have an even less exalted pedigree, harking 
back to the far right strongholds of Southern California circa 1960, where the 
Reagan Revolution first took root. In the ideologically charged hothouse of the 
time, Dr. Fred Schwarz and his Christian Anti-Communism Crusade regularly 
convinced apparently sane people that Communist conspirators might soon take over 
the country. 
LaHaye, a young Baptist preacher from Bob Jones University, did his part by 
lecturing and running training seminars for the similarly-obsessed John Birch 
Society. 
The Birchers set the tone. Founded in 1958 by a leading Massachusetts 
Republican named Robert Welch, they took their name from Capt. John Morrison Birch, a 
Baptist missionary who became a behind-the-lines intelligence officer in 
China during World War II. Birch died in August 1945, executed by Chinese 
Communist revolutionaries. 
Welch portrayed the missionary spy as "the first victim of the Cold War," and 
blamed "the loss of China" on a Communist fifth column that included 
Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower. Picking up where the discredited Senator 
Joseph McCarthy left off, Welch publicly and repeatedly called Ike "a 
conscious agent of the Communist conspiracy." 
Welch also accused the president's brother Milton Eisenhower of being Ike's 
superior in the Communist apparatus and charged David Rockefeller and the 
Council of Foreign Relations with actively trying to impose a world tyranny. 
LaHaye never outgrew this paranoid world of devilish conspiracies. But 
instead of hysterically bashing Bolsheviks, he has increasingly targeted "secular 
humanists." As LaHaye throws the invective about, it embraces everyone from 
avowed atheists and Darwinians to wobbly Christians who've somehow fallen short. 
"Most of the evils in the world today," LaHaye wrote in The Battle for the 
Mind (1980), "can be traced to humanism, which has taken over our government, 
the UN, education, TV and most of the other influential things in life." 
"We must remove all humanists from public office and replace them with 
pro-moral political leaders," he urged. 
Twenty years later, in Mind Siege , LaHaye again rallied his brand of 
Bible-believers for an all-out crusade against a Satanic conspiracy of secular 
humanists, liberals (who are really socialists at heart), atheists and 
evolutionists, moral relativists and abortion providers, homosexuals and one-worlders. 






Tim LaHaye and David Noebel's "Mind Siege" Attacks what they see as an 
international conspiracy of secular humanists. 
(Photo: www.secularhumanism.org/) 


Mind Siege adamantly denies that the First Amendment requires the separation 
of church and state, and blames the humanist conspiracy for spreading "the big 
lie" that it does. No surprise, his co-author David Noebel now heads Fred 
Schwarz's Christian Anti-Communist Crusade. 
Repeal the New Deal 
>From its beginning, the John Birch Society put forward a comprehensive 
program that went far beyond the Cold War. The Birchers campaigned vigorously to 
"Get the US Out of the UN," which they saw as trying to build a one-world 
Socialist government. They also worked to impeach Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren, 
stop school bussing, end social security, and abolish the progressive income 
tax. 
Many of the leading Birchers were wealthy, and wanted to protect their wealth 
from reforms that helped the less fortunate members of society. 
LaHaye pushes the same approach, using religion to subvert the Constitution, 
repeal the New Deal, and turn America into a an undemocratic "Christian 
nation" that favors the rich. 
He and his fellow preachers systematically back "Christian" politicians who 
hurt the poor and middle classes, short-changing many, if not most, evangelical 
worshippers. But, don't despair. America's religious revivals historically 
wear thin, and should the Rapture fail to come, as it likely will, no one can 
say how long the believers will continue to buy the Rev. LaHaye's pie in the 
sky. 
A veteran of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and the New Left monthly 
Ramparts, Steve Weissman lived for many years in London, working as a magazine 
writer and television producer. He now lives and works in France, where he writes 
for t r u t h o u t. 
------- 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 10 03:56:58 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 10 04:02:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <31005336.1115722618200.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Virtual Secretary Puts New Face on Pakistan
 
 By S. Mitra Kalita
 
  In a chic downtown lobby across the street from the Old Executive Office Building, Saadia Musa answers phones, orders sandwiches and lets in the FedEx guy.
 
 And she does it all from Karachi, Pakistan.
 
 As receptionist for the Resource Group, Musa greets employees and visitors via a flat screen hanging on the lobby's wall. Although they are nine hours behind and nearly 7,500 miles away, her U.S.-based bosses rely on her to keep order during the traffic of calls and meetings.
 
 The Resource Group, a call-center company, represents a model that might sound familiar: U.S. companies save money by offshoring certain tasks to developing countries with cheaper workers who can telemarket, integrate data and program computer code. These "back-office" functions have created a booming, multibillion-dollar industry in countries such as India, Ireland and the Philippines.
 
 Now, companies such as the Resource Group hope to replicate that success in Pakistan. But because of regular State Department travel advisories, news footage of militants chanting in the streets and rumors that Osama bin Laden might be hiding in the western region's cavernous mountains, some American businesses remain skeptical.
 
 Zia Chishti, the Resource Group's founder, parrots clients' initial reaction: "Pakistan, are you crazy? No way."
 
 And that's how a virtual secretary (toiling in the front office, no less) became a concrete example of offshoring, an answer to skeptics' questions: How exactly does offshoring work? Is Pakistan safe? Do workers speak intelligible English?
 
 "We present Saadia, and the debate ends right there," said Hasnain Aslam, head of investments. "We're able to show that we practice what we preach."
 
 Chishti and Aslam are part of a small entrepreneurial group of Pakistan's expatriates who have returned -- at least for part of the year -- to their homeland, even as Western businesses plotted their exodus in a post-Sept. 11 world.
 
 "You have to look for other opportunities that people haven't seen," Chishti said.
 
 Born and educated in the United States, Chishti co-founded the Resource Group three years ago after selling his shares in a California dental-imaging company he had also founded. That company, Align Technology Inc., left its operations in Lahore, Pakistan, after the 2001 terrorist attacks, and Chishti took the abandoned office filled with laid-off workers and asked them to trust his vision for a call-center empire. "Pakistan was very late to this game," he said. "India had already been at it for a decade or more."
 
 Comparisons to India are inevitable yet somehow impossible. Pakistan remains just a blip in the offshoring industry, generating an estimated $150 million in revenue from software and related services last year, according to the Pakistan Software Houses Association. India, meanwhile, generated $12.8 billion. Most of the estimated 100 call centers in Pakistan were set up in the past two years, according to a report by the Pakistan Software Export Board.
 
 The Resource Group, which employs 4,000 people worldwide and reports $170 million in revenue, operates under the philosophy that catching up is possible.
 
 "It makes perfect sense. The basic structure of Pakistan is very similar to India," Chishti said. "The labor pool is totally untapped."
 
 The company's strategy is rooted in acquiring U.S. call centers and supporting them via operations in Karachi and Lahore, where workers perform the telemarketing services and tasks such as payroll, accounting and human resources work. Telephone operators are trained in American English and culture -- and the secrets of success in an industry where most calls are not welcome.
 
 "A smile can be heard," Musa recited in an interview via her flat screen. She worked as a call-center operator before being promoted to secretary. "Posture can make a difference. A dress code makes a difference."
 
 A recent job fair in Falls Church sponsored by the Pakistan American Business Association yielded a handful of companies in the Washington region that either outsource work to Pakistan or have an office there. They stressed the lower costs, but to their country brethren gathered at the event, they also articulated a loftier goal: to transform their homeland.
 
 "After 9/11, there are a lot of good people in government who are empowering business to change the image of Pakistan," said Shakeel Tufail, president of Alexandria's Insyte LLC, a computer-training and education company that operates a call center of about a dozen workers in Karachi. "Everyone needs some sort of sustenance, and business brings people together. If it's mutually beneficial, if you're increasing prosperity, there will be less sectarian violence, less crime."
 
 Pakistan, a country once married to India under the British Empire, still operates under a quasi-feudal system in which elite landlords profit mightily off the poor. Unemployment is high and wages are low; the per capita income is $2,200. As in many developing countries, corruption can be a problem.
 
 At the Resource Group, where the chief operating officer is a Rhodes scholar and Harvard degrees are commonplace, Chishti says he tries to "steer clear of the political stuff." Still, he wonders if his company can play a role in creating a new Pakistan. "If you've got a guy without a job, that's the prime candidate for radicalization," Chishti said. "By giving those people hope, you're taking the edge off the potential. We're stressing not separation but integration with developed markets."
 
 Last month, the information technology minister of Pakistan's Sindh province, where Karachi is located, embarked on a U.S. tour from Silicon Valley to Washington to drum up support for offshoring to Pakistan.
 
 But so far, the U.S. tech industry has not noticed Pakistan, said Harris Miller, president of Information Technology Association of America. "They haven't really shown up on the radar screen as being a major player," he said.
 
 And while the two countries demonstrated their nuclear prowess in a series of 1998 tests, Miller said India has been better able to reassure the global community of stability. He said the Indian tech sector has lobbied its government to keep the peace.
 
 In Pakistan, companies are more likely to lobby for the infrastructure they need to do business with the United States, said Jehan Ara, president of the Pakistan Association of Software Houses. "If you look at our government incentives, they are pretty good," Ara said in a phone interview from Karachi, where she runs a multimedia company.
 
 Indeed, there are trade-offs in doing business in a developing country. In August, Bob Beringer, chief executive of Rockville's Electronic On-Ramp Inc., traveled to Karachi with a delegation of American businesses. He had already hired one Pakistani firm to handle a contract for his information-technology and security company, and he wanted to check on other prospective partners.
 
 "The power grid's not stable, so once a month, workers might lose a day and a half," Beringer said. And having been escorted by armed guards, Beringer acknowledged he did not feel totally safe. Being a Westerner made him feel, at times, self-conscious. "There was a bomb threat while we were there," he said.
 
 Still, most entrepreneurs say even a cursory cost-benefit analysis can help clinch a decision.
 
 Mid-level programmers can be hired for as little as $6 an hour. Those low rates make it less costly to test new ideas. "There's no better way to reduce the risk of investing in something that doesn't exist yet," Beringer said.
 
 So despite his anxiety, Beringer signed contracts with two more companies in Karachi.
 
 His quandary, though, is one familiar to Pakistanis. Consider the cover of Newsline, a popular Pakistani magazine: three women, one clad in a burqa, another sporting a sequined, leather mini-skirt and the middle filled by a call-center worker donning a headset. The headline implores, "Will the real Pakistani woman please stand up?"
 
 For Musa, the Resource Group's secretary, the changes unfolding around her are refreshing. At 21, she says there's no pressure to get married and she wants to wait until she's a millionaire; "by the time I'm 30," she promises. She spells her name and chuckles that the last three letters -- u-s-a -- are no coincidence.
 
 She turns the camera -- which is usually focused on her face -- to offer a view of her surroundings in Karachi: a lounge, a cafeteria, a pool table. "You walk into this space and think, 'Am I still in Karachi?' " she said.
 
 Just then, a phone call interrupts her. It is 1:15 a.m. where Musa sits.
 
 "Good afternoon," Musa says brightly. "Thank you for calling the Resource Group."
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 10 07:18:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 10 06:25:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Behind Failed Abu Ghraib Plea,
	a Tale of Breakups and Betrayal
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NATIONAL | May 10, 2005

Behind Failed Abu Ghraib Plea, a Tale of Breakups and Betrayal
By KATE ZERNIKE

The reservists' treatment of Iraqi prisoners and their entanglements with one another have produced a dark soap opera.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/national/10graner.html?ex=1116388800&en=b3cc9e2871ee1a96&ei=5070



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Date: Tue May 10 06:29:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Study Shows Traffic Keeps Getting Worse
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Study Shows Traffic Keeps Getting Worse
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sitting in traffic, an annoying part of life in many big cities, is becoming a major headache in places not usually lumped in with New York, Washington and Los Angeles.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 10 07:19:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 10 06:40:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bombs Bursting on Air
Message-ID: <20050510132318.9937983F12@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 10, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Bombs Bursting on Air
By JOHN TIERNEY

There's no reason the news media can't reconsider their own fondness for covering suicide bombings. A little restraint would give the public a more realistic view of the world's dangers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/opinion/10tierney.html?ex=1116388800&en=acdee8bc517b1dca&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 10 07:20:15 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 10 06:45:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 100 Rebels Killed in U.S. Offensive in
	Western Iraq
Message-ID: <20050510132322.D944683F41@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 10, 2005

100 Rebels Killed in U.S. Offensive in Western Iraq
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

The attack appears to be the largest combat offensive in Iraq since the Marines invaded Falluja six months ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/international/middleeast/10iraq.html?ex=1116388800&en=f8863e50843f58e5&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 10 07:20:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 10 06:45:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: It's Official: Gaza Pullout Is Delayed
Message-ID: <20050510132340.1C60083DE8@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 10, 2005

It's Official: Gaza Pullout Is Delayed
By STEVEN ERLANGER

The prime minister announced that Israel would delay its plan to dismantle settlements in the Gaza Strip for three weeks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/international/middleeast/10mideast.html?ex=1116388800&en=15ae099e76b55bf7&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Tue May 10 07:27:52 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Tue May 10 07:33:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Donna Frye in San Diego
Message-ID: <20050510142752.10688.qmail@web53006.mail.yahoo.com>

This is inspiring - especially last quote at the
end.



Making Waves 
Surfer hero Donna Frye paddles into San Diego
politics

link 
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200505/profile.asp
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May 10 07:39:53 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 10 07:45:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: N Korea 'may test nuclear device'
Message-ID: <20050510_143953_010207.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** N Korea 'may test nuclear device' **
A North Korean official tells a Japanese academic a nuclear test is "unavoidable" and may  take place soon, reports say.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4532121.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 May 10 07:45:07 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 10 07:50:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: The view from Qingdao
Message-ID: <20050510_144507_048025.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
"what's your China price?" and a 5 fold increase in shipping rates since 2003

** The view from Qingdao **
Work in progress: a global guide to business in the twenty-first century from BBC presenter Peter Day.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4508287.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 May 10 07:48:00 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 10 07:54:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Python show tops stage shortlist
Message-ID: <20050510_144800_017058.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
Tony nominations

** Python show tops stage shortlist **
Monty Python stage musical Spamalot receives 14 nominations for Broadway's main awards, the Tonys.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/4533557.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 May 10 07:48:53 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 10 07:54:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China PC firm aiming for top spot
Message-ID: <20050510_144853_066938.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
china's new contender for the PC market

** China PC firm aiming for top spot **
Lenovo, the Chinese firm which owns IBM's personal computer business, hopes to double profits within three years.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4532115.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 michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 10 09:31:59 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 10 09:37:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Analysis - The battle to shape America's social
	agenda 
Message-ID: <16620427.1115742719835.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 ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon May  9 21:25:02 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 10 09:54:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bogus energy bill and hokum about nuclear energy
Message-ID: <200505101654.j4AGsVoa020340@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

REad to bottom of main article for online action alert....

LIKE APPLES AND RADIOACTIVE ORANGES
Claims that nuclear energy can reduce oil use are largely hokum

President Bush hearts nuclear -- or in the argot of the day, nucular --
claiming that a boost in nuclear energy could reduce oil imports and help
America reach the Shangri-la of "energy independence." But people who, um,
know stuff about nuclear energy are highly skeptical. There are some ways
that nuclear could make a small dent in oil use -- "indirectly, but very
indirectly," says Lawrence Goldstein of the Petroleum Industry Research
Foundation. Thing is, nuclear is primarily used to generate electricity,
and that's not what we're using most oil for. Fewer than 600,000 of the
roughly 20.5 million barrels of oil the U.S. uses every day go to
generating electricity, and replacing that amount wouldn't make much of a
dent in imports. Nuclear might free up some of the natural gas now used to
produce electricity, but other uses for natural gas are highly
underdeveloped. Nuclear could also help make heavy oil into more usable
light oil, but that application is speculative at best and extremely
expensive. Or we could conserve energy ... but what fun is that?

straight to the source: The New York Times, Matthew L. Wald, 09 May 2005
<http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4942>


***************************************
BUSHGREENWATCH
Tracking the Bush Administration's Environmental Misdeeds
http://www.bushgreenwatch.org
***************************************

May 9, 2005

FALSE CLAIMS FOR ENERGY BILL 

As the energy bill makes its way to the Senate floor, and the
Bush Administration promotes the legislation as a cure-all for
our dependence on foreign oil, opponents continue to point out
many of the bill's false claims. Among them:

Energy bill will not reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil 
In stark contrast to the Bush Administration's claims that the
energy bill will reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, the
Department of Energy itself found that by 2025 the energy bill
would actually increase oil imports by 82.9 percent, only
slightly lower than the 84.8 percent expected under current
energy policy. [1] Today the U.S. currently imports
approximately 56 percent of its oil. 

While the bill offers billions of dollars in tax breaks and
subsidies for the oil and gas industry to expand domestic energy
production, it will have virtually no impact on our dependence
on foreign oil (these estimates are based on a D.O.E. study of
the 2003 energy bill, which closely parallels the current bill--
the same conclusions apply). Meanwhile, with Exxon reporting
$7.8 billion worth of profits last quarter alone, the oil and
gas industry has made record profits this past year.

Of the $8 billion the bill allocates to the development of oil
and gas technology, only $500 million in tax incentives are
directed toward renewable energy and efficiency programs. The
bill avoids improving automobile fuel economy, which experts say
is the fastest way to reduce our dependency. [2]

Does not reduce gas prices 
Rising gas prices have become a prominent public concern. But
the proposed bill would not make a dent in prices. While the
Bush Administration has acknowledged this, the Department of
Energy concluded that the energy bill would not only fail to
reduce gas prices, it will likely increase them. [3]

By 2015, the energy bill would result in an 8.7 percent increase
in gas prices, whereas current policies would result in a 6.45
percent increase. In the longer term, by 2025, the energy bill
would increase gas prices by 10.3 percent-- while current
policies would result in an 8.2 percent increase. 

Exempts industry from water contamination clean-up 
A provision that halted the energy bill in the Senate last year
has again spurred controversy. Aggressively supported by Rep.
Tom DeLay (R-Tex), the provision exempts the oil and gas
industry from lawsuits over liability for water contamination
caused by the gasoline additive, methyl-tertiary butyl ether
(MTBE). 

The bill includes a liability waiver that protects producers,
distributors, and users of MTBE from cleaning up their own
contamination. Instead the burden is shifted onto the American
taxpayer. 

MTBE has been found in groundwater in 35 states; thousands of
families across the U.S. have been affected by MTBE pollution.
[4] 

The oil and gas industries claim it is unfair that they be
penalized for using the additive because the government mandated
that companies use it to comply with the Clean Air Act. But oil
companies knew that MTBE was a threat to water supplies years
before the government found out. [5]

The energy bill also exempts the oil and gas industries from
liability for water contamination caused by an extraction
technique called hydraulic fracturing. The procedure, invented
by Halliburton Co., eases natural gas extraction by injecting
highly pressurized chemical fluids beneath the ground, often
contaminating ground water in the process. Outraged by the
effect on their water, communities across the nation have sued
oil companies. The proposed energy bill however, will bar
communities from being able to sue. [6]

Invokes detrimental changes to the Clean Air Act 
Another provision allows certain states to delay cleaning up
their air when air pollution drifts in from other states. The
provision would allow "downwind" states a time-extension in
meeting clean air standards until "upwind" states contributing
to the problem met their standards. [7] Opponents of the
provision claim it would undermine the Clean Air Interstate
Rule, leaving millions of Americans who live "downwind" to
breathe unsafe amounts of smog, and causing 10-year delays in
emission cleanups across the country. [8]

A distraction from the Tom DeLay scandal 
According to The Hill, Congressional leaders developed a
conference-wide communications strategy to shift attention away
from ethical questions surrounding Tom DeLay and win headlines
with gas prices at all-time highs. [9]

The strategy will focus on specific regions-- using high gas
prices to gain support for the energy bill, even though most
Republicans, including the President, have conceded that the
bill will not reduce prices. 

Industry overwhelmed with drilling permits, but energy bill
offers more
The Bush Administration claims that lack of access to federal
land poses a major barrier to increasing domestic gas
production. But the oil and gas industries cannot keep up with
the permits they already have, particularly in Western States.
[10]

Even though many oil companies are straining to make use of
existing permits-- and the communities surrounding drill sites
complain of the environmental impact of drilling --the energy
bill contains a slew of provisions designed to ease access to
federal and public land. [11]

Johanna Wald, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense
Council, told Grist Magazine that "in 2004, 6,130 drilling
permits were issued, but only 2,702 [were] drilled due in part
to a shortage of rigs." [12] 

### 

TAKE ACTION
To take action on this issue please contact your Senator. You
can send an e-mail to your Senator's office through New Energy
Future: http://ga3.org/ct/Pp1g7oM1kRxG/. 

### 

SOURCES: 
[1] Summary Impacts of Modeled Provisions of the 2003 Conference
Energy Bill, Energy Information Administration, US Department of
Energy, Feb. 2003, http://ga3.org/ct/Rp1g7oM1kRxC/. The 2005
energy bill closely parallels the bill analyzed in this study so
the same conclusions apply.
[2] "House Set to Pass Cheaper Energy Bill,"Business Week, Apr.
21, 2005, http://ga3.org/ct/Qp1g7oM1kRxD/.
[3] "Bush Concedes Energy Bill Offers No Help on Gas Prices,"New
York Times, Apr. 21, 2005, http://ga3.org/ct/Yp1g7oM1kR3z/. 
[4] BushGreenwatch, Feb. 8, 2005,
http://ga3.org/ct/Qd1g7oM1kRx-/. 
[5] "MTBE: What the Oil Companies Knew and When They Knew It,"
Environmental Working Group, http://ga3.org/ct/Y11g7oM1kR31/. 
[6] BushGreenwatch, Apr. 28, 2005,
http://ga3.org/ct/Q71g7oM1kRxJ/. 
[7] "Clean Air Change is Built Into Bill," New York Times, Apr.
16, 2005, http://ga3.org/ct/Y71g7oM1kR3a/.
[8] "EPA Backs Energy Bill's Ozone Provision," Greenwire, Apr.
20, 2005, http://ga3.org/ct/R11g7oM1kRxK/.
[9] "Energy Bill Campaign Set to Roll Out Today,"The Hill, Apr.
22, 2005, http://ga3.org/ct/T11g7oM1kR3S/. 
[10] "Gas-Drilling Permits in Rockies Outstrip Ability to Tap
Resource," Washington Post, Apr. 28, 2005,
http://ga3.org/ct/Td1g7oM1kR3L/. 
[11] "Energy Bill Packed with Provisions Aimed at Expediting
Leasing, Permitting," Land Letter, Apr. 28, 2005,
http://ga3.org/ct/Rd1g7oM1kRxZ/. 
[12] "Jagged Little Drill," Grist, May 5, 2005,
http://ga3.org/ct/Yd1g7oM1kR3q/. 

***************************************
:: TELL A FRIEND ABOUT BUSHGREENWATCH
http://ga3.org/ct/Pd1g7oM1kRxT/


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Tue May 10 11:09:27 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Tue May 10 11:14:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A New Counterterrorism Strategy: Feminism
Message-ID: <20050510180927.74288.qmail@web53010.mail.yahoo.com>

A New Counterterrorism Strategy: Feminism

By Barbara Ehrenreich, AlterNet. Posted May 10,
2005.

Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from 'Stop the
Next War Now: Effective Responses to Violence and
Terrorism (Inner Ocean),' edited by Code Pink
co-founders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans.

I've been reading Bin Ladin--Carmen, that is, not
her brother-in-law Osama (she spells the last
name with an "i")--and I'd like to present a
brand-new approach to terrorism, one that turns
out to be more consistent with traditional
American values. First, let's stop calling the
enemy "terrorism," which is like saying we're
fighting "bombings." Terrorism is only a method;
the enemy is an extremist Islamic insurgency
whose appeal lies in its claim to represent the
Muslim masses against a bullying superpower.

But as Carmen Bin Ladin urgently reminds us in
her book Inside the Kingdom, one glaring moral
flaw of this insurgency, quite apart from its
methods, is that it aims to push one-half of
those masses down to a status only slightly above
that of domestic animals. While Osama was getting
pumped up for jihad, Carmen was getting up her
nerve to walk across the street in a residential
neighborhood in Jeddah--fully-veiled but
unescorted by a male, something that is an
illegal act for a woman in Saudi Arabia.
Eventually she left the kingdom and got a divorce
because she didn't want her daughters to grow up
in a place where women are kept "locked in and
breeding."

So here in one word is my new counterterrorism
strategy: feminism. Or, if that's too incendiary,
try the phrase "human rights for women." I don't
mean just a few opportunistic references to
women, like those that accompanied the war on the
Taliban and were quietly dropped by the Bush
administration when that war was abandoned and
Afghan women were locked back into their burqas.
I'm talking about a sustained and serious effort.

We should announce plans to pour U.S. tax dollars
into girls' education in places like Pakistan,
where the high-end estimate for female literacy
is 26 percent, and into scholarships for women
seeking higher education in nations that
typically discourage it. (Secular education for
the boys wouldn't hurt, either.) Expand the
grounds for asylum to all women fleeing gender
totalitarianism, wherever it springs up. Reverse
the Bush policies on global family planning,
which condemn seventy-eight thousand women to
death each year in makeshift abortions. Lead the
global battle against the trafficking of women.
I'm not expecting such measures alone to incite a
feminist insurgency within the Islamist one.
Carmen Bin Ladin found her rich Saudi
sisters-in-law sunk in bovine passivity, and some
of the more spirited young women in the Muslim
world have been adopting the head scarf as a
gesture of defiance toward American imperialism.
We're going to need a thorough foreign policy
makeover--from Afghanistan to Israel--before we
have the credibility to stand up for anyone's
human rights. You can't play the gender card with
dirty hands.

If this country were to embrace a feminist
strategy against the insurgency, we'd have to
start by addressing our own dismal record on
women's rights. We'd be pushing for the immediate
ratification of the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, which has been ratified by 169
countries but remains stalled in the U.S. Senate.
We'd be threatening to break off relations with
Saudi Arabia until it acknowledged the humanity
of women. And we'd be thundering about the
shortage of women in the U.S. Senate and House,
an internationally embarrassing 14 percent. We
should be aiming for a representation of at least
25 percent, the same target the Transitional
Administrative Law of Iraq has set for the
federal assembly there.

If we want to beat Osama, we've got to start by
listening to Carmen.


Barbara Ehrenreich has written more than ten
books, including Blood Rites and Nickel and
Dimed. She is a frequent contributor to Esquire,
Harper's Magazine, Mirabella, The Nation, the New
Republic, The New York Times, and Time.
Ehrenreich became involved in political activism
during the Vietnam War and has been an activist
and feminist ever since.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/21973/
From geomilman at milman.com  Tue May 10 16:09:59 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Tue May 10 16:15:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Your Identity,
	Open to All - by Xeni Jardin - Wired News May 6, 2005
Message-ID: <20050510231015.BE3C322F13A@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,67407,00.html

 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 10 16:34:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 10 16:40:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?CNN=2Ecom_-_Navy=A0investigates_carrie?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?r_security_breach_-_May_10=2C_2005?=
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You have received the following link from ialterman@nyc.rr.com

 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 10 16:48:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Tue May 10 16:53:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] "Evil" Imprint
Message-ID: <021401c555ba$c7748f30$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

All:

I came across this going through some old papers.  It is a few years old, and I don't know the origin of it, but I thought it was still relevant.  You may want to pass it along.

Peace.

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

EVIL IMPRINT

 

The nation agonizes over the crescendo of violence and mayhem committed by our young.  A young boy is garroted by another.  School shootings pass as the norm: one out of five children in high school packs a loaded gun; metal detectors are now used routinely.  A boy burns down a house with his little sister inside.  Why?

 

Many have lashed out at the TV industry, claiming that it is programming too much violence, on the theory that TV violence directly engenders actual violence.

 

But is that, in fact, so?  Perhaps.  However, the connection between violent programming and the real thing is at best tenuous.  In fact, it may not be the violent subject matter on TV but the TV set itself - by interposing itself between the young and the parents - that is the primary means by which TV exerts its extraordinary influence, and alters the psyche of the young to create violent attitudes.  Only by doing this can the imposition of violent themes on TV - or from other sources - educate them in various means to commit such violence.

 

In nature's order, the newborn is always smaller than the parents, relatively helpless and uneducated.  The infant is totally dependent in matters of survival.  Parents must first undertake functions for - and subsequently teach - the developing child to function independently.

 

Since the education of the young requires discipline and the instilling of awareness of life's dangers, the larger and wiser mother and/or father accomplishes this by physically and mentally "dominating" the developing child: the lioness not only cuffs her cub when it endangers itself, she carries it to safety by the scruff of its neck.  These acts imprint their message of loving concern and caution in the cub's mind for life.

 

Television has created an inverted situation, where the child's principal source of education is smaller than the child, and is dominated by it.  In addition, the TV set is passive.  This represents a total reversal of nature's order.  The child is larger than the entire screen, no less the people, things and events portrayed.  The set displays no parental emotion to the child; it remains unreactive even if the child harms it.  A hand-held controller turns it on and off, and alters various functions.

 

To the child's developing mind, this controller is an instrument for eliminating disliked things or getting things it wants.  The child can touch whatever is displayed - gunshots, fire, wild animals - without being harmed.  TV tigers are little and don't bite (the child); TV fires are cold and don't burn (the child).  The child's sense of fear and caution is thus diminished.

 

This ability to control - and thus never elicit anger or be hurt - imprints the child's mind with a false sense of security: the child believes that it can control real situations unharmed and, furthermore, is imprinted to believe such burning or shooting of others in actuality is harmless.



Nowhere else in nature can a child control its environment without danger, and nowhere else can a child be imprinted to believe that harmful acts are reversible.

 

Video games reinforce this.  Undesirables can be zapped away and brought back to begin the game anew.  The use of handguns is clearly related: they zap away people.  Subconscious motivation makes no distinction between hand controllers and handguns, or fictional display and reality. Unfortunately, handguns can't zap people back to life.

 

When the child - TV-imprinted - ventures into the real world of school, work or street, the child dominates little, must interact with others, and must obey authority.  The child can't readily turn anything off or on, and must exercise caution or be harmed.

 

Reactions of bewilderment may quickly turn to angry resentment and aggression, too often leading to violence which, with their on-off TV-imprinted psyches, is not viewed by them as criminal.  Humans can change their minds about many things by using logic, but these imprints don't relate to pre-TV logic.

 

And the anger may run deep.  The child, along with TV-imprinted companions (street gangs?), attacks the established systems to assuage their TV-imprinted frustrations, while drugs often fill their need to withdraw when confronted with reality.  Theirs is the logic of war.  This combination leads directly to those violent crimes reported daily in the news - murder, rape, arson, mugging, etc.

 

Simplistic bumper stickers like "Don't Do Drugs" are no cure, and likely have an inverse effect on TV-imprinted minds; as a representation of traditionally imprinted wisdom, they are scorned and rejected.

 

Where the parents abdicate their roles to TV in return for its painless relief from responsibility, children watch TV more than 50% of their waking hours.  Society is now reaping the harvest of this phenomenon.  The new young continue to be TV-imprinted, joining ever-increasing numbers of TV-imprinted people of various ages, many of whom are parents themselves.  The American Psychological Association has estimated that, on the average, by the time a child enters high school, they have already witnessed over 100,000 acts of violence - mostly murder, gunplay (an oxymoronic term if ever there was one), arson, beatings and rape.

 

Like a contagious disease, those adults and children not overexposed to TV-imprinting often absorb duplicate attitudes from their peers.  The imprint knows no boundaries, and cuts across all social lines, all races, rich, poor, literate and illiterate.

 

Television has largely replaced the influence of parents.  The tube has become the surrogate parents - and all tubes have identical "personalities."  To the already frustrated disadvantaged, the overlay of TV's imprint is disastrous, leading to crime and carnage in endless permutations.

 

Whether the set shows muppets or mayhem, the child controls.  Unchallenged dominance over its new-found world-in-a-box imprints the child in ways that do not mesh with actuality.  Interactive TV is now coming on the scene, as is the widespread use by the young of computers - with their controllable displays.  And video games have taken on violent qualities that are truly heinous, with graphic depictions of bloody beatings and killings, including spines being ripped out whole.

 

The nation must refocus its views about this all-pervasive force if we are to understand how to deal with it.  It is a no-fault situation - including the imprinted - and not a simple matter.  Nor will simple solutions be found.
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From villasudjuan at free.fr  Tue May 10 15:01:34 2005
From: villasudjuan at free.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Tue May 10 17:48:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: American Ayatollahs are rising
In-Reply-To: <BEA62F82.2AD6%maani@bluestone-entertainment.com>
Message-ID: <200505110048.j4B0mox3021800@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Maani <maani@bluestone-entertainment.com>
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 09:29:38 -0700
To: Elahe Golsorkhi <egolsorkhi@yahoo.com>, Golsorkhi
<grgolsorkhi@earthlink.net>
Subject: FW: American Ayatollahs are rising



------ Forwarded Message
From: " Ambrose V. Azadian" <vishy.azadian@verizon.net>
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 08:55:34 -0700
To: <vishy.azadian@verizon.net>
Subject: American Ayatollahs are rising

An orchestrated push to politicize religion.
We escaped this nonsense when it happened in Iran ?and it?s following us
here!!!
 
 
 
Click on the link bellow and then choose a stream to watch the video.
 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/05/1429230
<http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/05/1429230>


------ End of Forwarded Message


------ End of Forwarded Message

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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Tue May 10 18:56:49 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Tue May 10 19:02:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Snow fort Builders facing prison time 
Message-ID: <191.3f0e2c53.2fb2c061@aol.com>

Please remember the officer was only doing his job.  With the  terrorist 
alert at whatever level the administration sets it at, who knows what  tragedy the 
building of a snow fort on school grounds could have led  to.  Everyone knows 
just as marijuana is a gateway drug to heroin addiction  kids building a snow 
fort and having fun throwing snowballs is a gateway to  terrorism, within 
weeks they'll be strapping blocks of ice to their  bodies.
 
Richard Haerther 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 10 19:43:29 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 10 20:06:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Blix Blames U.S. for Nuke-weapons Stalemate
Message-ID: <200505110306.j4B36kSP022333@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0510-07.htm

Published on Tuesday, May 10, 2005 by the Associated Press

Blix Blames U.S. for Nuke-weapons Stalemate
Ex-U.N. inspector cites double standards on nonproliferation 
treaty
 

UNITED NATIONS -- Washington isn?t taking ?the common bargain? of 
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as seriously as it once did, and 
that?s dimming global support for the U.S. campaign to shut down the 
North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs, the former chief U.N. 
weapons inspector said.

Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, by questioning the value of 
treaties and international law, has also damaged the U.S. position, 
Hans Blix said.

?There is a feeling the common edifice of the international community 
is being dismantled,? the Swedish arms expert said.

Blix, now chairman of the Swedish government-sponsored Weapons 
of Mass Destruction Commission, spoke with reporters in the second 
week of a month-long conference to review the 1970 nonproliferation 
treaty.

Under the 188-nation pact, nations without nuclear weapons pledge 
not to pursue them, in exchange for a commitment by five nuclear-
weapons states ? the United States, Russia, Britain, France and 
China ? to negotiate toward nuclear disarmament.

Slow move toward disarmament

The review conference has been stalled, without an agenda, because 
of a dispute over agenda language dealing with the very dissatisfaction 
Blix spoke of: the complaints by some that the nuclear-weapons states 
are moving too slowly toward disarmament.

A last-minute objection by Egypt last Friday scuttled an apparent 
agreement on the agenda. The Egyptians wanted language that 
focused more on assessing how well the nuclear powers have done in 
taking specific steps toward disarmament, under commitments they 
made in 2000 at the last of these twice-a-decade conferences.

Nuclear ?have-nots? complain that the Bush administration, in 
particular, has acted contrary to those commitments, by rejecting the 
nuclear test-ban treaty, for example.

Washington, for its part, wants the conference to focus on what it 
alleges are Iran?s plans to build nuclear arms in violation of the treaty, 
and on North Korea?s withdrawal from the treaty and claim to have 
nuclear bombs.

Blix told reporters there is ?a great deal of concern? about North Korea 
and Iran among states without nuclear weapons.

But ?that feeling of concern is somewhat muted by the feeling that the 
United States in particular, and perhaps some other nuclear weapons 
states, are not taking the common bargain as seriously as they had 
committed themselves to do in the past,? he said.

'Why are you complaining?'

He cited Bush administration proposals to build new nuclear weapons 
and talk in Washington even of testing weapons, ending a 13-year-old 
U.S. moratorium on nuclear tests. He also referred to statements by 
Bolton, President Bush?s embattled nominee to be U.N. ambassador, 
devaluing treaties and the authority of international law.

?Why are you complaining about (North Korea) breaching the treaty if 
treaties are not binding?? Blix, an international lawyer, asked 
rhetorically.

In 2002-03, Blix led U.N. teams that found no evidence of weapons of 
mass destruction in Iraq in 700 inspections, undermining Bush 
administration claims that such weapons existed. Despite these 
findings, Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, and U.S. inspectors have 
since similarly found no such weapons programs.

At the treaty conference Monday, private consultations appeared to 
make progress toward agreement on an agenda, without which the 
sessions might be unable to address such pressing issues as North 
Korea and Iran.

The conference president, Sergio de Queiroz Duarte, met with key 
parties over the weekend to try to bridge the diplomatic gap. On 
Monday, without confirming that agreement was in hand, the Brazilian 
diplomat said, ?It seems we are continuing the consultations in a 
favorable mood.? He said he hoped an agenda could be adopted as 
early as Tuesday.

? 2005 The Associated Press

###


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 10 19:37:13 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 10 20:07:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Intervention Spin Cycle 
Message-ID: <200505110307.j4B378cG022345@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Another valuable history lesson  in the short article below....

(for another take on this story, try the Phil Ochs song with the romantic title 
"The Marines Have Landed on the Shores of Santo Domingo") (the lyrics are 
at http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics/marines-santo-domingo.html)


Today's commentary:
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-05/07solomon.cfm

==================================

ZNet Commentary
Intervention Spin Cycle May 08, 2005
By Norman Solomon 

FORTY YEARS AGO, on the morning of April 26, 1965, President Lyndon
Johnson spoke with a top State Department official about fast-moving
events in the Dominican Republic. A popular rebellion was on the verge of
toppling a military junta and restoring the country's democratically
elected president, Juan Bosch, to power. 

"This Bosch is no good," Mr. Johnson said. "He's no good at all," replied
Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Mann, who added: "If we don't get a
decent government in there, Mr. President, we get another Bosch. It's just
going to be another sinkhole." 

Two days after that phone conversation, thousands of U.S. Marines landed
on the beaches of Santo Domingo. By then, the White House spin machinery
was in high gear. When the president went on television to declare that
the military action was necessary to rescue U.S. citizens, he didn't
mention that nearly all of them had already been evacuated before the
Marines arrived. 

Mr. Johnson maintained that "99 percent of our reason for going in there
was to try to provide protection for these American lives and the lives of
other nationals." But the Dominican Republic's military rulers had not
cited any need for such protection in their written request for
U.S.intervention. 

More than two months later, at a closed session of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, Mr. Mann testified that Washington had asked its
ambassador in Santo Domingo to see if the Dominican regime would "be
willing to give us an additional message which places the request squarely
on the need to save American lives." 

While new waves of U.S. troops reached Santo Domingo, the public
explanations for the invasion gradually shifted. On April 30, during a
second televised speech, Mr. Johnson referred to "signs that people
trained outside the Dominican Republic are seeking to gain control." 

On May 2, LBJ pulled out the rhetorical stops, telling TV viewers that
"what began as a popular democratic revolution, committed to democracy and
social justice, very shortly moved and was taken over and really seized
and placed into the hands of a band of Communist conspirators." But the
evidence for Communist involvement was as flimsy as the claim about
needing to save American citizens. 

Most American politicians and media commentators readily accepted the
official line, along with the reported death toll of 31 U.S. troops and
3,000 Dominicans, many of them civilians. Four decades later, the invasion
is scarcely remembered in the United States. Yet there's a familiar ring
to its story line, featuring a disingenuous administration and a
deferential press corps selling the public on the dire need for an
invasion. Key facts were lost in the kind of exculpatory fog that often
prettifies the nation's view of its own military actions. 

In March 1999, Newsweek flatly reported that "America has not started a
war in this century." Many politicians - including avowed liberals -
eagerly falsify history in a similar spirit to juice up their rhetoric. 

When Howard Dean was a candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential
nomination, his campaign put out a broadside that denounced "a Bush-Cheney
policy where, for the first time in American history, we commit to war
before exhausting our efforts to commit to peace." Such statements pander
to nationalistic conceits at the expense of candor. They apply perfume to
the past and tacitly endorse a low threshold for war in the future. 

The invasion of the Dominican Republic turned out to be the first in a
modern series of U.S. military interventions that produced quick victories
overseas and evident satisfaction at home. The sudden and overwhelming
arrival of U.S. troops in Santo Domingo was a prototype for the
lightning-strike invasions of Grenada and Panama in the 1980s. 

Beyond the Western Hemisphere, larger-scale military actions ensued
against Iraq in 1991, Yugoslavia in 1999 and Afghanistan in 2001, all
followed by victorious celebrations back in the United States. Only defeat
(Vietnam) or stalemate (post-invasion Iraq) have seemed to give the
Washington establishment pause. The most tangible constraints appear to be
military rather than political or ethical. 

In their phone conversation two days before the Marines landed, Mr.
Johnson and Mr. Mann were already planning the post-invasion government 
of
the Dominican Republic. 

A tape recording of the discussion conveys large doses of imperial
arrogance. "We're going to have to really set up that government down
there," the president said, "and run it and stabilize it some way or
other." 

Forty years later, it's easy to imagine similar conversations in the
present-day Oval Office. 

___

Norman Solomon, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy,
is author of the forthcoming War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits
Keep Spinning Us to Death. 



-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 11 02:53:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 11 02:58:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <541999.1115805201025.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A New Look at King Tut
 
 By Guy Gugliotta
 
  King Tut had a pointy head, a prominent nose and a rounded forehead with large eyes. He was about 19 when he died, and apparently he was not murdered, as earlier research had suggested.
 
 "He was supposed to be an iconic individual, and it was probably important that he look the part," said New York University physical anthropologist Susan Anton yesterday. "It's interesting that he looks so striking."
 
 Anton led one of three forensic teams who used computerized tomography -- a "Cat scan" -- of Tut's mummified remains to reconstruct the head and face of the boy pharaoh. Two of the teams -- one Egyptian and one French -- knew Tut's identity, while Anton's American team did not.
 
 The three sets of results, however, were surprisingly similar, agreeing on Tut's unusual and arresting mix of male and female facial features. The study will be reported in the June edition of National Geographic magazine.
 
 Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and leader of the team that performed the CT scan in January, said in a news release that the team found no signs of childhood disease, malnutrition or prolonged illness in Tut, and no evidence of "foul play."
 
 A report by Hawass in March rejected a theory that Tut died from a blow to the head. Instead, he suffered a bad fracture just above the left knee a few days before he died, Hawass said, and "it is possible this injury became infected and killed the king."
 
 Tutankhamen, pharaoh of Egypt's 18th dynasty, died around 1323 B.C. after a short and not particularly noteworthy career. His body was buried in a small tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, near Luxor.
 
 Tut's fame arose principally because his inner tomb was left largely unpillaged. When British Egyptologist Howard Carter entered it in 1922, he found an array of jeweled objects and gold, a treasure now famous throughout the world.
 
 Hawass's CT scan gathered 1,700 images, from which three-dimensional plastic models of the skull were created. These were used by the three teams to reconstruct Tut's face and head.
 
 Hawass led the Egyptian team, and Jean-Noel Vignal, a forensic anthropologist with the National Gendarmerie in Paris, led the French team. Anton and medical artist Michael Anderson of Yale's Peabody Museum analyzed the "mystery individual."
 
 Anton, in a telephone interview, described the specimen as "somewhat equivocal." The decidedly masculine jaw was the giveaway, she said, although the rounded forehead, the sharp brow and the prominent eyes suggested a woman.
 
 Age was easy, she said. The third molars were in the process of coming in, something that happens between the ages of 18 and 20. Race, by contrast, was "the hardest call." The shape of the cranial cavity indicated an African, while the nose opening suggested narrow nostrils -- a European characteristic. The skull was a North African.
 
 With these guidelines, Anderson was able to build the shape of the face by attaching the muscles to ridges in the plastic skull and building the nose and ears from parameters developed by anatomists.
 
 The resulting plaster cast is perhaps midway between the square-jawed, high-cheekboned Egyptian Tut, and the strikingly androgynous French Tut. "My judgment of the skull at first was that it was female," Anderson said in a telephone interview. "It's amazing how feminine he looks."
 
 
 Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/emailafriend?contentId=AR2005051001522&sent=no&referrer=emailarticle
 
 

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 11 02:54:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 11 03:00:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29753568.1115805288105.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Cheney Wins Court Ruling  On Energy Panel Records
 
 By Carol D. Leonnig  and Jim VandeHei
 
  A federal appeals court in Washington dismissed a lawsuit yesterday that sought to force Vice President Cheney to turn over records of private meetings his office held in 2001 to shape the administration's energy policy.
 
 The unanimous ruling was a major legal and political victory for the White House, further solidifying the president's power to deliberate and seek advice behind closed doors without disclosing details. The court's eight judges supported the Bush administration's contention that forcing the executive branch to produce information about its internal policy deliberations is unnecessarily intrusive and violates the president's constitutional powers.
 
 "The president must be free to seek confidential information from many sources, both inside the government and outside," Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court, prompted by a 2004 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, stressed the necessity of protecting the separation of powers for the executive branch.
 
 In lawsuits filed four years ago, the advocacy groups Judicial Watch and Sierra Club contended there was evidence that members of large energy corporations and industry groups effectively became members of Cheney's energy task force and helped write the administration's energy policy, parts of which are now before Congress. Suing under the open meetings law, the two groups sought minutes of task force meetings and records showing who attended.
 
 But the court concluded that the groups failed to show that people other than federal officials were members of the energy task force under the court's admittedly narrow definition. Randolph noted that White House officials had testified that industry members offered opinions only at advisory meetings and did not have a vote or veto in writing the administration's recommendations. Therefore, he wrote, Cheney had no duty to disclose details of internal government meetings.
 
 "What this court decision does . . . is to preserve the confidentiality of internal deliberation among the president and his advisers that the Constitution protects as essential to wise and informed decision making," said Steve Schmidt, a senior Cheney adviser.
 
 But environmentalists and advocates of open government said the decision was a double blow.
 
 "As a policy matter, we see the Bush administration has succeeded in its efforts to keep secret how industry crafted the administration's energy policy," said David Bookbinder, the Sierra Club's lead attorney on the case. "As a legal matter, it's a defeat for efforts to have open government and for the public to know how their elected officials are conducting business."
 
 The case was one of the most politically charged suits against the government since President Bush took office. Some Democratic strategists said they had hoped that it would embarrass the administration and that the suit would produce revelations in 2004 that would hurt Bush's reelection chances.
 
 The court decision is unusual for two reasons, say law professors and lawyers involved in the case. First, it was unanimous, an atypical result for a court whose members hold a broad spectrum of views and are not hesitant to disagree. Some experts say unanimity is the judges' way of signaling that their court should not be used to settle political scores.
 
 "Rightly or wrongly, this is their view of the way to get good government: to have discussions in secret," said Richard J. Lazarus, a Georgetown University law professor. "At a time when the judiciary is under attack for being partisan, and in this very high-profile case, they made clear they were speaking with one voice."
 
 The decision also hinges on accepting, without question, assertions by two senior administration officials who said industry members were not task force members.
 
 Randolph wrote that Karen Knutson, who was one of Cheney's deputy assistants for energy policy, said in her affidavit that industry members participated in smaller stakeholder meetings but that these "were simply forums to collect individual views rather than to bring a collective judgment to bear."
 
 "The only individuals the President named to the [task force] were federal officials; only federal officials signed the final report," he wrote.
 
 Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University professor of constitutional and environmental law, said the court's ruling creates "an absurd standard" because it required the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch to prove their assertions but prohibited them from gathering records or information from the White House.
 
 "It's impossible to establish that industry substantially participated in these meetings, if you deny them basic discovery needed to show those facts," Turley said.
 
 In 2002, a U.S. District Court judge allowed the plaintiffs to seek a limited number of energy task force documents from Cheney's office as part of the discovery process. The government appealed, and the circuit court ruled that the White House could protect the materials from release, but only by citing executive privilege, a step it had not taken.
 
 The government appealed to the Supreme Court, which last year sent the case back to the appeals court with directions that it consider "the weighty separation-of-powers objections" of the government and reexamine whether to order the complaint's dismissal.
 
 "Bottom line: This is a significant win for those who believe the presidency needs more power and has lost power over the past 30 years," said American University's James A. Thurber, who is writing a book on presidential power.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 11 02:55:45 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 11 03:00:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29574265.1115805346414.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Party Leaders Seek Showdown Over Bush's Judicial Nominees
 
 By Charles Babington
 
  The Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders called yesterday for a prompt showdown in the impasse over judicial nominations, a move that would undercut moderates' efforts to find a compromise to the long-running dispute.
 
 Both parties' leaderships are wary of a bipartisan bid by a few centrists to find a middle ground that would force GOP and Democratic leaders to accept options they have called intolerable.
 
 Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has said the ability to filibuster judicial nominees, now or in the future, must end. Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), meanwhile, has said the right to filibuster must remain intact and President Bush must withdraw three of his most contentious appellate court nominees.
 
 Neither man could claim victory under compromises being promoted by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), among others. Nelson said that the details of his plan remain fluid, but that it would leave the filibuster rules intact while confirming more of Bush's nominees than Reid has said his party can accept. Nelson said senators would have to pledge to use filibusters only in "extreme or extraordinary cases." But Republicans said Democrats have a history of labeling mainstream conservatives as extremists.
 
 Reid and Frist said they remain open to a possible compromise. But both men rejected elements of Nelson's plan yesterday and signaled that they want a showdown vote on the filibuster issue -- often called "the nuclear option" -- as early as next week, if not Friday.
 
 Frist, noting that four of the controversial nominations could be called to the Senate floor anytime, told reporters "the suggestion has been made, let's go straight through the executive calendar and deal with them one by one. And I think it's time to do that."
 
 Reid said Democrats "are prepared for a vote on the nuclear option."
 
 Nelson said in an interview that his biggest challenge is to find a compromise "without undermining the leaders in both caucuses."
 
 If a handful of Democrats broke with Reid, Nelson said, they could confirm some or all of the seven appellate court nominees thwarted by filibusters in Bush's first term and still awaiting action. And if three more Republicans join the three who have vowed to oppose Frist's effort to ban filibusters of judicial nominees, the GOP leader would not have the 51 votes he needs to change the rule.
 
 But with party leaders and outside interest groups pressuring senators to stick with their caucuses, Nelson said, it may prove impossible to pass his proposal.
 
 If Republicans leave the right to filibuster judges intact, Reid has said, his caucus will let them pick one appellate court nominee for a non-filibustered confirmation from a group the Democrats have strongly criticized: Janice Rogers Brown of California, William G. Myers III of Idaho, Priscilla Richman Owen of Texas and William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama.
 
 Frist rejected the offer again yesterday, saying this "is a matter of principle, and the principle is this fairness of an up-or-down vote" for all nominees.
 
 Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) suggested that exploring compromises may help Frist gain the votes he will need to outlaw judicial filibusters. Moderate GOP senators, Lott told radio talk show host Tony Snow, "have to feel assured that every avenue has been explored. . . . If every effort has been made and fails, then they will be there" when Frist calls for the showdown vote.
 
 
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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 04:40:17 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Wed May 11 04:45:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Snow fort Builders facing prison time
References: <191.3f0e2c53.2fb2c061@aol.com>
Message-ID: <001801c5561e$34ac6c90$6e436c42@hotprojects>

first of all marijuana is wonderful
and i am pleased to say it does not lead to other drugs
after thirty years dilligent experimentation with cannaboid receptors and the direct effects of thc on the amygdala and the ventral tegmental area visa vi dopamine and opioid firing
i can safely say........what was i talking about man?
hey dont bogart that........

peace

rh in projectland
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Rhaerther@aol.com 
  To: mb-civic@islandlists.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 9:56 PM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Snow fort Builders facing prison time


  Please remember the officer was only doing his job.  With the terrorist alert at whatever level the administration sets it at, who knows what tragedy the building of a snow fort on school grounds could have led to.  Everyone knows just as marijuana is a gateway drug to heroin addiction kids building a snow fort and having fun throwing snowballs is a gateway to terrorism, within weeks they'll be strapping blocks of ice to their bodies.

  Richard Haerther 


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


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 11 07:26:24 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 11 07:32:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Suicide bombs cause Iraq carnage
Message-ID: <20050511_142624_090863.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Suicide bombs cause Iraq carnage **
Scores of people are killed and more than 100 injured in Iraq's bloodiest day of violence since Feburary.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4535323.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.

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  Wed May 11 08:47:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:53:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Brussels Sprouts
Message-ID: <20050511144759.7D36424AFCA@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 11, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Brussels Sprouts
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Unless China and Europe get serious about the problem of nuclear nonproliferation, it's not going to get fixed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/opinion/11friedman.html?ex=1116475200&en=4f4aedda47ba15b9&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:46:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:53:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: At Least 60 Are Killed in New Round of
	Attacks in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050511144758.C6C2A24AFE2@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 11, 2005

At Least 60 Are Killed in New Round of Attacks in Iraq
By JOHN F. BURNS br / and TERENCE NEILAN

Suicide bombers struck in Baghdad and in two northern towns as Marines continued their offensive near Syria.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/international/middleeast/11cnd-iraq.html?ex=1116475200&en=69090e5c7f3be48a&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:50:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:55:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Best Man for the Job
Message-ID: <20050511145013.664E113B805@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

>From the Managing Director of The Carlyle Group and a Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation...it figures...


OPINION | May 11, 2005

Op-Ed Contributors: The Best Man for the Job
By JAMES A. BAKER III and EDWIN MEESE III

The United Nations needs John Bolton.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/opinion/11bakermeese.html?ex=1116475200&en=6987be2e27e9122c&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:48:05 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:55:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Wanted: Responsible Demagoguery
Message-ID: <20050511145012.DE88713B7DC@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 11, 2005

Guest Columnist: Wanted: Responsible Demagoguery
By MATT MILLER

Democrats should quit carping about President Bush's evil "cuts" to Social Security and instead punish him with Responsible Demagoguery.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/opinion/11mill.html?ex=1116475200&en=595b877dd118d5c5&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:50:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:57:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraq Blasts: Do We Avert Our Eyes? (6
	Letters)
Message-ID: <20050511145203.59F023880A7@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | May 11, 2005

Iraq Blasts: Do We Avert Our Eyes? (6 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/opinion/l11tierney.html?ex=1116475200&en=cd28fc39a119484f&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:52:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:57:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraq Legislators Set Up Panel to Draft a
	Constitution
Message-ID: <20050511145203.CA9C53880AA@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 11, 2005

Iraq Legislators Set Up Panel to Draft a Constitution
By JOHN F. BURNS

Iraq's national assembly named a committee to draft the country's permanent constitution, setting the stage for a struggle over Iraq's future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/international/middleeast/11iraq.html?ex=1116475200&en=ebde643fc8218f82&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:53:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:59:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Afghan Police and U.S. Troops Clash With
	Protesters
Message-ID: <20050511145347.A284A13B838@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 11, 2005

Afghan Police and U.S. Troops Clash With Protesters
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Shouting ''Death to America,'' demonstrators angry over the alleged desecration of the Quran at Guantanamo Bay smashed car and shop windows and stoned a passing convoy of U.S. soldiers Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan. Police opened fire on the protesters, killing four and injuring at least 71.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Afghan-US-Protest.html?ex=1116475200&en=24aae72aac490302&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:53:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:59:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Afghan Police and U.S. Troops Clash With
	Protesters
Message-ID: <20050511145348.51E5513B7E7@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 11, 2005

Afghan Police and U.S. Troops Clash With Protesters
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Shouting ''Death to America,'' demonstrators angry over the alleged desecration of the Quran at Guantanamo Bay smashed car and shop windows and stoned a passing convoy of U.S. soldiers Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan. Police opened fire on the protesters, killing four and injuring at least 71.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Afghan-US-Protest.html?ex=1116475200&en=24aae72aac490302&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:52:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 07:59:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Little Common Ground at Arab-South American
	Summit Talks
Message-ID: <20050511145346.054F913B822@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / AMERICAS | May 11, 2005

Little Common Ground at Arab-South American Summit Talks
By LARRY ROHTER

Leaders of South America and the Arab world gathered in Brazil on Tuesday to meet for the first time and to air their list of grievances.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/international/americas/11brazil.html?ex=1116475200&en=0e3ba76abec50d6d&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 11 07:59:23 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 11 08:04:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Home UK - US real wages fall at fastest rate in
	14 years
Message-ID: <16126530.1115823563862.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  Wed May 11 08:01:30 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 11 08:06:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Will Globalisation
	survive? 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:59:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 08:07:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pentagon Is Asking Congress to Loosen
	Environmental Laws
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WASHINGTON | May 11, 2005

Pentagon Is Asking Congress to Loosen Environmental Laws
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

Military officials say the requested changes are essential to preserve the quality of training and to avoid lawsuits over possible violations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/politics/11enviro.html?ex=1116475200&en=23bc4bdd4279deac&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:56:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 08:07:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Halliburton Wins Bonuses
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BUSINESS | May 11, 2005

Halliburton Wins Bonuses
By REUTERS

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - The Army said Tuesday that it had awarded $72 million in bonuses to the Halliburton Company for logistics work in Iraq but had not decided whether to give the company bonuses for disputed dining services to troops.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/business/11halliburton.html?ex=1116475200&en=27f8b6c587f6abfe&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 09:00:07 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 08:07:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Appeals Court Backs Cheney in Secrecy Case
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WASHINGTON | May 11, 2005

Appeals Court Backs Cheney in Secrecy Case
By DAVID STOUT

The ruling upheld the administration's argument that it was not obligated to disclose whom it consulted on energy matters early in President Bush's first term.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/politics/11cheney.html?ex=1116475200&en=e3680bf9f2ed6484&ei=5070



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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 11 08:02:25 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 11 08:07:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - The end of dollar
	supremacy? 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 11 08:02:34 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 11 08:07:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Riots over US Koran 'desecration'
Message-ID: <20050511_150234_055404.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Riots over US Koran 'desecration' **
Four die in Afghanistan in protests sparked by reports the Koran was placed on toilets in a US military jail.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4535491.stm >


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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 09:02:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 11 08:08:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Who Needs Giacomo? Bet on the Fortune Cookie
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NEW YORK REGION | May 11, 2005

Who Needs Giacomo? Bet on the Fortune Cookie
By JENNIFER 8. LEE

Suspecting fraud, Powerball lottery officials discovered that the 110 players who were winners in the March 30 drawing had gotten their numbers from fortune cookies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/nyregion/11fortune.html?ex=1116475200&en=dc437ae889b212f7&ei=5070



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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed May 11 08:03:14 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed May 11 08:09:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] "Evil" Imprint
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV227FFE0A2885308F2395C0AB100@phx.gbl>

Excellent piece Ian..... So basic yet true, IF only parents could view the TV with their children...  While I was living on 88th St. in NYC there was a Psychiatrist living across the street with his wife and three children and the children were not allowed to watch TV except for an hour at a time WITH their parents, at the time (about 1970) I thought it was cruel... But thinking back on it now I realize how kind, thoughtful and gracious these children were, a couple of them used to baby sit for my son as a baby (born 1971).

At any rate this article is very meaningful and thank you for sending.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian
Sent: Tue, 10 May 2005 16:48:33 -0700
To: Civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] "Evil" Imprint

All:

I came across this going through some old papers.  It is a few years old, and I don't know the origin of it, but I thought it was still relevant.  You may want to pass it along.

Peace.

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

EVIL IMPRINT

 

The nation agonizes over the crescendo of violence and mayhem committed by our young.  A young boy is garroted by another.  School shootings pass as the norm: one out of five children in high school packs a loaded gun; metal detectors are now used routinely.  A boy burns down a house with his little sister inside.  Why?

 

Many have lashed out at the TV industry, claiming that it is programming too much violence, on the theory that TV violence directly engenders actual violence.

 

But is that, in fact, so?  Perhaps.  However, the connection between violent programming and the real thing is at best tenuous.  In fact, it may not be the violent subject matter on TV but the TV set itself - by interposing itself between the young and the parents - that is the primary means by which TV exerts its extraordinary influence, and alters the psyche of the young to create violent attitudes.  Only by doing this can the imposition of violent themes on TV - or from other sources - educate them in various means to commit such violence.

 

In nature's order, the newborn is always smaller than the parents, relatively helpless and uneducated.  The infant is totally dependent in matters of survival.  Parents must first undertake functions for - and subsequently teach - the developing child to function independently.

 

Since the education of the young requires discipline and the instilling of awareness of life's dangers, the larger and wiser mother and/or father accomplishes this by physically and mentally "dominating" the developing child: the lioness not only cuffs her cub when it endangers itself, she carries it to safety by the scruff of its neck.  These acts imprint their message of loving concern and caution in the cub's mind for life.

 

Television has created an inverted situation, where the child's principal source of education is smaller than the child, and is dominated by it.  In addition, the TV set is passive.  This represents a total reversal of nature's order.  The child is larger than the entire screen, no less the people, things and events portrayed.  The set displays no parental emotion to the child; it remains unreactive even if the child harms it.  A hand-held controller turns it on and off, and alters various functions.

 

To the child's developing mind, this controller is an instrument for eliminating disliked things or getting things it wants.  The child can touch whatever is displayed - gunshots, fire, wild animals - without being harmed.  TV tigers are little and don't bite (the child); TV fires are cold and don't burn (the child).  The child's sense of fear and caution is thus diminished.

 

This ability to control - and thus never elicit anger or be hurt - imprints the child's mind with a false sense of security: the child believes that it can control real situations unharmed and, furthermore, is imprinted to believe such burning or shooting of others in actuality is harmless.



Nowhere else in nature can a child control its environment without danger, and nowhere else can a child be imprinted to believe that harmful acts are reversible.

 

Video games reinforce this.  Undesirables can be zapped away and brought back to begin the game anew.  The use of handguns is clearly related: they zap away people.  Subconscious motivation makes no distinction between hand controllers and handguns, or fictional display and reality. Unfortunately, handguns can't zap people back to life.

 

When the child - TV-imprinted - ventures into the real world of school, work or street, the child dominates little, must interact with others, and must obey authority.  The child can't readily turn anything off or on, and must exercise caution or be harmed.

 

Reactions of bewilderment may quickly turn to angry resentment and aggression, too often leading to violence which, with their on-off TV-imprinted psyches, is not viewed by them as criminal.  Humans can change their minds about many things by using logic, but these imprints don't relate to pre-TV logic.

 

And the anger may run deep.  The child, along with TV-imprinted companions (street gangs?), attacks the established systems to assuage their TV-imprinted frustrations, while drugs often fill their need to withdraw when confronted with reality.  Theirs is the logic of war.  This combination leads directly to those violent crimes reported daily in the news - murder, rape, arson, mugging, etc.

 

Simplistic bumper stickers like "Don't Do Drugs" are no cure, and likely have an inverse effect on TV-imprinted minds; as a representation of traditionally imprinted wisdom, they are scorned and rejected.

 

Where the parents abdicate their roles to TV in return for its painless relief from responsibility, children watch TV more than 50% of their waking hours.  Society is now reaping the harvest of this phenomenon.  The new young continue to be TV-imprinted, joining ever-increasing numbers of TV-imprinted people of various ages, many of whom are parents themselves.  The American Psychological Association has estimated that, on the average, by the time a child enters high school, they have already witnessed over 100,000 acts of violence - mostly murder, gunplay (an oxymoronic term if ever there was one), arson, beatings and rape.

 

Like a contagious disease, those adults and children not overexposed to TV-imprinting often absorb duplicate attitudes from their peers.  The imprint knows no boundaries, and cuts across all social lines, all races, rich, poor, literate and illiterate.

 

Television has largely replaced the influence of parents.  The tube has become the surrogate parents - and all tubes have identical "personalities"  To the already frustrated disadvantaged, the overlay of TV's imprint is disastrous, leading to crime and carnage in endless permutations.

 

Whether the set shows muppets or mayhem, the child controls.  Unchallenged dominance over its new-found world-in-a-box imprints the child in ways that do not mesh with actuality.  Interactive TV is now coming on the scene, as is the widespread use by the young of computers - with their controllable displays.  And video games have taken on violent qualities that are truly heinous, with graphic depictions of bloody beatings and killings, including spines being ripped out whole.

 

The nation must refocus its views about this all-pervasive force if we are to understand how to deal with it.  It is a no-fault situation - including the imprinted - and not a simple matter.  Nor will simple solutions be found.

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 11 08:04:54 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 11 08:10:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: What we don't know about the world
Message-ID: <20050511_150454_059757.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** What we don't know about the world **
While no corner of earth remains uncharted, there are still millions of species that have yet to be discovered and documented. The quest to complete a comprehensive directory of all life on earth goes on.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4534871.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 intrafi.com  Wed May 11 08:05:14 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 11 08:10:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Columnists - Martin Wolf: Russia needs help to
	be 'normal' 
Message-ID: <13010117.1115823914552.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 08:08:42 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Wed May 11 08:14:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] "Evil" Imprint
References: <BAY5-DAV227FFE0A2885308F2395C0AB100@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <005601c5563b$51f224d0$6e436c42@hotprojects>

it sounds cruel to me
its a normal part of american childhood to let kids watch tv

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: "Ian" <ialterman@nyc.rr.com>; "Civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 11:03 AM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] "Evil" Imprint


Excellent piece Ian..... So basic yet true, IF only parents could view the
TV with their children...  While I was living on 88th St. in NYC there was a
Psychiatrist living across the street with his wife and three children and
the children were not allowed to watch TV except for an hour at a time WITH
their parents, at the time (about 1970) I thought it was cruel... But
thinking back on it now I realize how kind, thoughtful and gracious these
children were, a couple of them used to baby sit for my son as a baby (born
1971).

At any rate this article is very meaningful and thank you for sending.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian
Sent: Tue, 10 May 2005 16:48:33 -0700
To: Civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] "Evil" Imprint

All:

I came across this going through some old papers.  It is a few years old,
and I don't know the origin of it, but I thought it was still relevant.  You
may want to pass it along.

Peace.

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

EVIL IMPRINT



The nation agonizes over the crescendo of violence and mayhem committed by
our young.  A young boy is garroted by another.  School shootings pass as
the norm: one out of five children in high school packs a loaded gun; metal
detectors are now used routinely.  A boy burns down a house with his little
sister inside.  Why?



Many have lashed out at the TV industry, claiming that it is programming too
much violence, on the theory that TV violence directly engenders actual
violence.



But is that, in fact, so?  Perhaps.  However, the connection between violent
programming and the real thing is at best tenuous.  In fact, it may not be
the violent subject matter on TV but the TV set itself - by interposing
itself between the young and the parents - that is the primary means by
which TV exerts its extraordinary influence, and alters the psyche of the
young to create violent attitudes.  Only by doing this can the imposition of
violent themes on TV - or from other sources - educate them in various means
to commit such violence.



In nature's order, the newborn is always smaller than the parents,
relatively helpless and uneducated.  The infant is totally dependent in
matters of survival.  Parents must first undertake functions for - and
subsequently teach - the developing child to function independently.



Since the education of the young requires discipline and the instilling of
awareness of life's dangers, the larger and wiser mother and/or father
accomplishes this by physically and mentally "dominating" the developing
child: the lioness not only cuffs her cub when it endangers itself, she
carries it to safety by the scruff of its neck.  These acts imprint their
message of loving concern and caution in the cub's mind for life.



Television has created an inverted situation, where the child's principal
source of education is smaller than the child, and is dominated by it.  In
addition, the TV set is passive.  This represents a total reversal of
nature's order.  The child is larger than the entire screen, no less the
people, things and events portrayed.  The set displays no parental emotion
to the child; it remains unreactive even if the child harms it.  A hand-held
controller turns it on and off, and alters various functions.



To the child's developing mind, this controller is an instrument for
eliminating disliked things or getting things it wants.  The child can touch
whatever is displayed - gunshots, fire, wild animals - without being harmed.
TV tigers are little and don't bite (the child); TV fires are cold and don't
burn (the child).  The child's sense of fear and caution is thus diminished.



This ability to control - and thus never elicit anger or be hurt - imprints
the child's mind with a false sense of security: the child believes that it
can control real situations unharmed and, furthermore, is imprinted to
believe such burning or shooting of others in actuality is harmless.



Nowhere else in nature can a child control its environment without danger,
and nowhere else can a child be imprinted to believe that harmful acts are
reversible.



Video games reinforce this.  Undesirables can be zapped away and brought
back to begin the game anew.  The use of handguns is clearly related: they
zap away people.  Subconscious motivation makes no distinction between hand
controllers and handguns, or fictional display and reality. Unfortunately,
handguns can't zap people back to life.



When the child - TV-imprinted - ventures into the real world of school, work
or street, the child dominates little, must interact with others, and must
obey authority.  The child can't readily turn anything off or on, and must
exercise caution or be harmed.



Reactions of bewilderment may quickly turn to angry resentment and
aggression, too often leading to violence which, with their on-off
TV-imprinted psyches, is not viewed by them as criminal.  Humans can change
their minds about many things by using logic, but these imprints don't
relate to pre-TV logic.



And the anger may run deep.  The child, along with TV-imprinted companions
(street gangs?), attacks the established systems to assuage their
TV-imprinted frustrations, while drugs often fill their need to withdraw
when confronted with reality.  Theirs is the logic of war.  This combination
leads directly to those violent crimes reported daily in the news - murder,
rape, arson, mugging, etc.



Simplistic bumper stickers like "Don't Do Drugs" are no cure, and likely
have an inverse effect on TV-imprinted minds; as a representation of
traditionally imprinted wisdom, they are scorned and rejected.



Where the parents abdicate their roles to TV in return for its painless
relief from responsibility, children watch TV more than 50% of their waking
hours.  Society is now reaping the harvest of this phenomenon.  The new
young continue to be TV-imprinted, joining ever-increasing numbers of
TV-imprinted people of various ages, many of whom are parents themselves.
The American Psychological Association has estimated that, on the average,
by the time a child enters high school, they have already witnessed over
100,000 acts of violence - mostly murder, gunplay (an oxymoronic term if
ever there was one), arson, beatings and rape.



Like a contagious disease, those adults and children not overexposed to
TV-imprinting often absorb duplicate attitudes from their peers.  The
imprint knows no boundaries, and cuts across all social lines, all races,
rich, poor, literate and illiterate.



Television has largely replaced the influence of parents.  The tube has
become the surrogate parents - and all tubes have identical "personalities"
To the already frustrated disadvantaged, the overlay of TV's imprint is
disastrous, leading to crime and carnage in endless permutations.



Whether the set shows muppets or mayhem, the child controls.  Unchallenged
dominance over its new-found world-in-a-box imprints the child in ways that
do not mesh with actuality.  Interactive TV is now coming on the scene, as
is the widespread use by the young of computers - with their controllable
displays.  And video games have taken on violent qualities that are truly
heinous, with graphic depictions of bloody beatings and killings, including
spines being ripped out whole.



The nation must refocus its views about this all-pervasive force if we are
to understand how to deal with it.  It is a no-fault situation - including
the imprinted - and not a simple matter.  Nor will simple solutions be
found.

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

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 11 08:52:19 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Wed May 11 08:58:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Cuba 'plane bomber' was CIA agent
Message-ID: <20050511_155219_002724.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
this is a bit of a pickle for Bush!

** Cuba 'plane bomber' was CIA agent **
Declassified US documents show that a man suspected in the bombing of a Cuban plane worked for the CIA.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4535661.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 barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed May 11 09:44:07 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed May 11 09:49:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Cuba 'plane bomber' was CIA agent
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV27CE045EC7681B90C595ECAB100@phx.gbl>

Finally the press is acknowledging this what a joke.... Castro has been saying this for almost 30 years and nobody paid any attention... This guy Posada is a terrorist in the biggest sense.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Harry
Sent: Wed, 11 May 2005 08:52:19 -0700
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Cuba 'plane bomber' was CIA agent

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

** Message **
this is a bit of a pickle for Bush!

** Cuba 'plane bomber' was CIA agent **
Declassified US documents show that a man suspected in the bombing of a Cuban plane worked for the CIA.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4535661.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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Mb-civic@islandlists.com
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Wed May 11 18:14:16 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Wed May 11 18:20:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - FORCED LABOUR A 'SOCIAL EVIL' THAT IS
	SPREADING: UN REPORT
Message-ID: <20050512011416.BB1D21B690@nmweb07.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
FORCED LABOUR A 'SOCIAL EVIL' THAT IS SPREADING: UN REPORT
WebPosted Wed May 11 10:43:47 2005

Geneva---More than 12 million people in the world work like slaves,
generating $40 billion in profits for those who exploit them, according
to a new report by the International Labour Organization.

"Forced labour represents the underside of globalization and denies
people their basic rights and dignity," said ILO director-general Juan
Somavia, who called it a "social evil."

The United Nations agency on Wednesday called for a world alliance to
improve laws. It says the demand for cheap labour has driven millions of
people into forced labour.

"There are practically no investigations or prosecutions of this in the
world," said Roger Plant, who headed the survey, called A Global Alliance
Against Forced Labour.

An international convention 75 years ago defined forced labour as all
involuntary work extracted from a person under threat of punishment
or penalty.

"[We have found evidence] forced labour is penetrating the supply chain
of private companies, including quite major companies," said Plant.

The 87-page report says:

56 per cent of the total are women and girls. 9.8 million are poor
people, most of whom become "bonded workers" &#8211; they fall into debt
and must work to pay back loans. Children of parents in debt are also
forced to work. 2.5 million people are forced to work by states or rebel
military groups.

The study said forced labour exists on all continents and "in every kind
of economy."

It identified 270,000 people exploited by smuggling rings and pressed
into prostitution, domestic, farm or construction work.

Asia had the greatest number of victims at 9.5 million, followed by Latin
America and the Caribbean at 1.3 million and 660,000 in Africa.

The ILO recommends wealthy countries examine their labour and
immigration policies.

"With political will and global commitment over the next decade, we
believe forced labour can be relegated to history," said Samovia.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Wed May 11 18:15:46 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Wed May 11 18:21:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - TROOPS KILL 4 AT QUR'AN DESECRATION PROTEST
Message-ID: <20050512011546.E414C69AFB@nmweb08.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
____________________________________________________
TROOPS KILL 4 AT QUR'AN DESECRATION PROTEST
WebPosted Wed May 11 06:39:50 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan---An angry student protest over how U.S. military
officials at Guantanamo Bay are treating Islam's holiest book turned
tragic Wednesday when four people were shot to death in Afghanistan.

U.S. troops and local police officers opened fire on a crowd of thousands
of students rioting through the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan,
near the border with Pakistan.

As well as the four people who were killed, about 70 were wounded,
officials said.

The crowd had been streaming through city streets, breaking shop windows
and hurling stones at U.S. military vehicles as they chanted "Death to
America" and "Death to Bush."

Break-ins and acts of vandalism were also reported at two United Nations
compounds in the area, as well as Pakistan's consulate and the offices of
a Swedish aid group.

Protests on the same issue taking place in other cities in Afghanistan
were peaceful, with no injuries reported.

The students were angry over an article published last week in the
internationally distributed American magazine Newsweek.

The piece said soldiers interrogating suspected terrorists at the U.S.
military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were placing copies of the Qur'an
on toilets to fluster Muslim prisoners, and had in one case "flushed a
holy book down the toilet."

The U.S. State Department has promised to investigate the allegations in
the article, saying such treatment of a holy book would be against U.S.
policies and practices.

The demonstrators were also demanding that all 520 prisoners be freed
from Guantanamo Bay, where some have been held since the fall of 2001.

Many of those imprisoned in Cuba were captured in Afghanistan as a U.S.-
led military operation ousted the country's Taliban leadership in the
wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed May 11 18:23:56 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed May 11 18:29:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Nuclear Blunder?
Message-ID: <BEA7FE3C.2032D%michael@michaelbutler.com>

    Go to Orginal

    A Nuclear Blunder?
    By Michael Hirsh and Eve Conant
    Newsweek

    Wednesday 11 May 2005

    Critics say UN Ambassador-designate John Bolton didn?t properly prepare
for a key nonproliferation conference, which could be a serious setback in
US efforts to isolate Iran.

    George W. Bush has said it often enough. The No. 1 security challenge
for America post-9/11 is to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the
hands of terrorists or rogue regimes. In a landmark speech at the National
Defense University in February 2004, the president called for a toughened
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and other new initiatives. "There is a
consensus among nations that proliferation cannot be tolerated," Bush said.
"Yet this consensus means little unless it is translated into action."

    By action Bush meant the hard work of diplomacy, John Bolton, the
president?s point man on nuclear arms control, told Congress a month later.
For one thing, America needed to lead an effort at "closing a loophole" in
the 35-year-old NPT, Bolton testified back then. The treaty?s provisions had
to be updated to prevent countries like Iran from enriching uranium under
cover of a peaceful civilian program?which is technically permitted under
the NPT?when what Tehran really sought was a bomb, according to the
administration.

    But if the NPT needed so much fixing under US leadership, why was the
United States so shockingly unprepared when the treaty came up for its
five-year review at a major conference in New York this month, in the view
of many delegates? And why has the United States been losing control of the
conference?s agenda this week to Iran and other countries?a potentially
serious setback to US efforts to isolate Tehran?

    Part of the answer, several sources close to the negotiations tell
NEWSWEEK, lies with Bolton, the undersecretary of State for arms control.
Since last fall Bolton, Bush?s embattled nominee to be America?s ambassador
to the United Nations, has aggressively lobbied for a senior job in the
second Bush administration. During that time, Bolton did almost no
diplomatic groundwork for the NPT conference, these officials say.

    "John was absent without leave" when it came to implementing the agenda
that the president laid out in his February 2004 speech, a former senior
Bush official declares flatly. Another former government official with
experience in nonproliferation agrees. "Everyone knew the conference was
coming and that it would be contentious. But Bolton stopped all diplomacy on
this six months ago," this official said. "The White House and the National
Security Council started worrying, wondering what was going on. So a few
months ago the NSC had to step in and get things going themselves. The NPT
regime is full of holes?it's very hard for the US to meet our objectives?it
takes diplomacy."

    Diplomacy is just a fancy word for salesmanship?making phone calls,
working the corridors, listening to and poking holes in opposing arguments,
lobbying others to back one?s position. But "delegates didn?t hear a peep
from the US until a week before the conference," says Joseph Cirincione of
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There?s no sign of any
coordinated US effort to develop a positive program." One diplomat involved
with the conference agrees. "There were a number of the issues Bush raised
in his February 2004 speech that needed to be taken up here, like the
establishment of a special committee at the IAEA [the International Atomic
Energy Agency] to go after [treaty] noncompliers. But painfully little has
been done on that a year later."

    A spokesperson for the NSC referred all questions about Bolton and its
own role to the State Department. Asked to respond to the criticism, a State
Department official denied that the United States had been unprepared for
the conference or was underplaying it. He said that Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice couldn?t attend because she was caught in between
back-to-back foreign trips to Latin America and to Russia. Bolton himself
was preoccupied with his Senate confirmation, and Robert Joseph has yet to
be confirmed as Bolton?s replacement as undersecretary, the State official
said, adding, "We had several prep conferences for the NPT."

    Bolton, who faces a scheduled confirmation vote in the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee on Thursday, has been savaged by critics in recent weeks
over his alleged manipulation of intelligence, his sometimes tempestuous
efforts to sideline officials who disagreed with him, his statements under
oath and other complaints. Throughout the Bolton controversy, his backers in
the Bush administration have argued that though he may need better people
skills, he has been very effective as a public official. Yet some critics of
Bolton say that his alleged mishandling of the NPT conference and other
initiatives show that he has sometimes botched the administration?s business
as well.

    Bolton, for instance, often takes and is given credit for the
administration?s Proliferation Security Initiative?an agreement to interdict
suspected WMD shipments on the high seas?and the deal to dismantle Libya?s
nuclear program (a deal that Bolton had sought to block). But the former
senior Bush official who criticized Bolton?s performance on the NPT
conference says that in fact Bolton?s successor, Robert Joseph, deserves
most of the credit for those achievements. This official adds that it was
Joseph, who was in charge of counterproliferation at the NSC, who had to
pitch in when Bolton fumbled preparations for the NPT conference, as well.
Bush, in his February 2004 speech, also sought to give new powers to the
International Atomic Energy Agency, which enforces the treaty. But Bolton,
says the former Bush official, "focused much more time and attention trying
to deny Mohammed elBaradei a third term" as head of the IAEA. The effort
failed, and it was considered another international humiliation for the
United States. (Ironically, elBaradei has been one of Washington?s chief
allies at the NPT conference, pushing for parts of the Bush agenda.)

    Critics of Bolton acknowledge that even in the best of times the ongoing
NPT review conference?which lasts for a month?is a "painful mess" at which
little of substance is achieved, as one international diplomat involved puts
it. And today the negative sentiment against the United States is so strong,
one Bush official said, that "not even Metternich could win an agreement
here." Mitchell Reiss, the former policy-planning chief at State, says that
"one of the real challenges is trying to persuade the non-aligned movement
[a caucus of non-nuclear developing countries] that nonproliferation is not
a gift to the United States, but that it?s fundamentally in their
national-security interests."

    Still, in past decades Washington has signaled its seriousness about the
NPT by sending heavy hitters?Vice President Al Gore went in 1995, Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright in 2000. At the ?95 conference in particular,
Washington won kudos for leading the fight to extend the NPT?s life.

    The NPT, perhaps the most successful arms-control treaty in history, has
been in effect since 1970. It permits the already declared nuclear
states?the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China?to keep their
nuclear arsenals while forbidding such weapons to everyone else?as long as
all parties strive "in good faith" to achieve nuclear disarmament and the
non-nuclear states get access to civilian nuclear power. The treaty has 188
signatories and only a few detractors, among them North Korea and
potentially Iran (Israel, Pakistan and India also refuse to sign.) But in
recent years the "loophole" in this grand bargain has become more apparent:
the treaty contains worrisome ambiguities that may allow states like Iran to
legally pursue a nuclear arms capability disguised as a civilian program.

    All signs are that by the end of the month, that loophole will remain.
The Bush administration has achieved, for the moment, a united front with
France, Germany and Britain in seeking to pressure the Iranians to open up
and cease uranium enrichment. But now the administration finds itself
outflanked at the conference as it seeks to win a wider international
consensus in favor of a hard line against Iran. Bush officials have said
that if they must eventually confront Tehran, they want to correct the
unilateralist mistakes made in the run-up to the war in Iraq. Yet in the
last week, as the conference began, the United States found it had to
concede a key point on the agenda. It had to drop its demands for a veiled
reference to the threats from rogue states and terrorism since 2000,
including the covert development of an Iranian nuclear program. Talks have
been all but paralyzed since, to the point where the delegates can?t even
agree on a basic agenda for the conference.

    Iranian officials at the conference say they are happily signing onto
the agenda of the "nuclear have-nots" led by the non-aligned movement, which
insists the United States and other nuclear states hold to their side of the
NPT bargain. This includes supplying civilian nuclear technology and
committing to an eventual dismantling of their nuclear arsenals. It is this
agenda, one Iranian official involved in the discussions told NEWSWEEK, that
is likely to dominate the meeting "despite the US attempt to divert
attention by focusing on Iran."

 

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 11 18:39:36 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Wed May 11 18:45:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The secret 'life' of Betty Crocker
Message-ID: <21703055.1115861976575.JavaMail.coldfusion@web2>

Harry [harry.sifton@sympatico.ca] has sent you the following:

Message: What ! I'm so .......

--------

The secret 'life' of Betty Crocker

SHE was the culinary guru who taught generations of American housewives how to cook, instructing wartime women how to make do and mend and showing the baby-boomers how to get the best from their new, cheap consumer cookware.

Full article: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=508082005

[64.228.63.176]

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 11 19:02:28 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed May 11 19:07:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Pat Buchanan just does not get it!
Message-ID: <001501c55696$a969bf10$b03fe440@Harold>

I wish Pat Buchanan would get his American Christen Right ego out of the way and look at the real world !

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44210

I could really get into this, but I will not waste my time and thought with this mans stupid opinions and self centred ideas.

He should study real history, not John Wayne history. 

Later H
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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 11 19:30:25 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Wed May 11 19:35:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Pat Buchanan just does not get it!
References: <001501c55696$a969bf10$b03fe440@Harold>
Message-ID: <006901c5569a$8eefce00$6e436c42@hotprojects>

not as badly as i do harry
im in the same country with him
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Harold Sifton 
  To: MB Civic 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 10:02 PM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] Pat Buchanan just does not get it!


  I wish Pat Buchanan would get his American Christen Right ego out of the way and look at the real world !

  http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44210

  I could really get into this, but I will not waste my time and thought with this mans stupid opinions and self centred ideas.

  He should study real history, not John Wayne history. 

  Later H


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


  _______________________________________________
  Mb-civic mailing list
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From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 10 13:17:38 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Wed May 11 19:38:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Burma Shave - Classic
Message-ID: <200505120238.j4C2cNp2027077@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Some of you won't know what Burma Shave signs mean, we
older folks can remember them. It was one of the
things I remember when us kids would stop fighting in
the back seat. Mom would just have to say " Burma
shave", and we'd all try to be the first to read them
out loud. Our sister Sandi usually won because she got
to sit in front and we three boys had to sit in the
backseat. Not fair, she can see them first".  WAH Wah.
That was our quick fix for another few miles till the
next one. Poor older brother Calvin, my twin brother
and I about drove him wild. He made it though, he is
now 64, a little crazy maybe, but he is still with us.
Enjoy Jerry
Subject: Fw: Burma Shave

Thought you might enjoy these. 

Those Grand Old Burma   Shave Road Signs

TRAINS DON'T WANDER
ALL OVER  THE MAP
'CAUSE NOBODY SITS
IN THE ENGINEER'S LAP
Burma Shave

SHE  KISSED THE HAIRBRUSH
BY MISTAKE
SHE THOUGHT IT WAS
HER HUSBAND  JAKE
Burma Shave

Remember these? For those who never saw any of the  
Burma Shave signs, here is a quick lesson in our
history 
of the 1930's and  '40's. Before there were
interstates, 
when everyone drove the old 2 lane roads,  Burma Shave

signs would be posted all over the countryside in
farmers'
fields. They were small red signs with white letters.
Five 
signs,  about 100 feet apart, each containing 1 line
of a 
4 line couplet......and the  obligatory 5th sign
advertising 
Burma Shave, a popular shaving cream. Here  are more 
of the actual signs:

DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD
TO GAIN A  MINUTE
YOU NEED YOUR HEAD
YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT
Burma  Shave

DROVE TOO LONG
DRIVER SNOOZING
WHAT HAPPENED
NEXT IS NOT  AMUSING
Burma Shave

BROTHER SPEEDER
LET'S REHEARSE
ALL  TOGETHER
GOOD MORNING, NURSE
Burma Shave

CAUTIOUS RIDER
TO HER  RECKLESS DEAR
LET'S HAVE LESS BULL
AND MORE STEER
Burma Shave

SPEED WAS HIGH
WEATHER WAS NOT
TIRES WERE THIN
X MARKS THE  SPOT
Burma Shave

THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
OF PAUL FOR BEER
LED TO A  WARMER
HEMISPHERE
Burma Shave

AROUND THE  CURVE
LICKETY-SPLIT
BEAUTIFUL CAR
WASN'T IT?
Burma Shave

NO  MATTER THE PRICE
NO MATTER HOW NEW
THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE
IN THE CAR IS  YOU
Burma Shave

A GUY WHO DRIVES
A CAR WIDE OPEN
IS NOT  THINKIN'
HE'S JUST HOPIN'
Burma Shave

AT INTERSECTIONS
LOOK EACH  WAY
A HARP SOUNDS NICE
BUT IT'S HARD TO PLAY
Burma Shave

BOTH  HANDS ON THE WHEEL
EYES ON THE ROAD
THAT'S THE SKILLFUL
DRIVER'S  CODE
Burma Shave

THE ONE WHO DRIVES
WHEN HE'S BEEN  DRINKING
DEPENDS ON YOU
TO DO HIS THINKING
Burma Shave

CAR IN  DITCH
DRIVER IN TREE
THE MOON WAS FULL
AND SO WAS HE.
Burma  Shave

And my all time favorite:
PASSING SCHOOL ZONE
TAKE IT  SLOW
LET OUR LITTLE
SHAVERS GROW
Burma Shave

Do these bring back any old memories? If not, you're 
merely a child. If they do - then you're old as
dirt...

LIKE ME!   


From reute at austin.rr.com  Tue May 10 17:58:33 2005
From: reute at austin.rr.com (reute)
Date: Wed May 11 19:39:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fwd: MBDC News - May 2005
Message-ID: <200505120239.j4C2dLGg027096@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 11 20:09:16 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Wed May 11 20:15:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Tom Dispatch
Message-ID: <200505120309.j4C39GAa007846@thor.thenation.com>

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 03:19:24 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 03:24:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <446560.1115893164003.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 A Bad Option to Take
 
 By Charles McC. Mathias
 
  It's not difficult to understand the feeling of frustration that seizes a majority in the United States Senate when it cannot instantly work its will. I know, because I felt that way during the years when filibusters blocked progress in the great fight for civil rights. A two-thirds vote of the Senate was needed to invoke cloture and force an up-or-down vote. We who backed civil rights legislation wanted action, which would have meant abolishing the filibuster entirely.
 
 At that point Sen. James Pearson of Kansas, a civil rights advocate, blew the whistle and asked for a timeout. He had been giving some thought to the fact that there was a positive side to deliberative debate, even at the cost of some delay. He proposed a compromise that set the necessary votes for cloture at 60 instead of 67. Pearson's wisdom prevailed, and the rule was changed in 1975 to allow cloture with only 60 senators agreeing.
 
 Ever since then, this arrangement has served to restrain impetuous actions and to promote progress. It should be allowed to continue to do so.
 
 Republican senators in the 109th Congress are contemplating a parliamentary maneuver that would in effect abolish the filibuster and make Senate procedures more like those of the House of Representatives. Not without reason, it is called the "nuclear option."
 
 But Senate Republicans might do well to ponder for a moment the fate of Democrats in the 96th Congress (1979-80), the last time the congressional leadership seriously tried to tamper with Senate rules.
 
 The Senate majority of the time had developed a fondness for "majority rule" and "up-or-down votes." It had little use for minority opinion. It was preparing to use political muscle to curtail the legislative filibuster by fiat, an action comparable in many ways to what the Republican leadership now contemplates with respect to the filibuster of nominations.
 
 At the time, there were 58 Democrats, three more senators than the Republicans currently have. Furthermore, as is the case with the current Senate leadership, it was unimaginable to the Democrats that their party would ever lose control. After all, a brilliant incumbent Democratic president was being challenged by a "grade-  B movie actor."
 
 A few months later, however, the Democrats were out of power both in the White House and the Senate.
 
 The lesson? In the end, Democrats were glad they had not destroyed the historical nature of the Senate  to accommodate the legislative exigencies of the moment.
 
 The Senate is not a parliamentary speedway. Nor should it be. It is an institution where any senator can demand to be heard . . . and can require a vote on his or her ideas.
 
 Make no mistake about it: If the Senate ever creates the precedent that, at any time, its rules are what 51 senators say they are -- without debate -- then the value of a senator's voice, vote and views, and the clout of his state, will be diminished.
 
 The writer is a former Republican senator from Maryland.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 03:23:35 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 03:28:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <12661931.1115893415713.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 N.C. Church Kicks Out Members Who Do Not Support Bush
 
  WAYNESVILLE, N.C., May 7 -- Some in Pastor Chan Chandler's flock wish he had a little less zeal for the GOP.
 
 Members of the small East Waynesville Baptist Church say Chandler led an effort to kick out congregants who did not support President Bush. Nine members were voted out at a Monday church meeting in this mountain town about 120 miles west of Charlotte. Forty others in the 400-member congregation resigned in protest.
 
 "He's the kind of pastor who says  'Do it my way or get out,' " said Selma Morris, the former church treasurer. "He's real negative all the time."
 
 Chandler told WLOS-TV in Asheville on Friday that the actions were not politically motivated, but on Saturday he refused to comment, citing the advice of his attorney.
 
 During the presidential election last year, Chandler told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for the Democratic nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), should either leave the church or repent,  former member Lorene Sutton said.
 
 Some church members left after Chandler made his ultimatum in October, Morris said.
 
 George Bullard, associate executive director-treasurer for Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, told the Asheville Citizen-Times that a pastor may disallow memberships if a church's bylaws allow the pastor to establish criteria for membership.
 
 "Membership is a local church issue," he said. "It is not something the state convention would enter into."
 
 He added that the nine members were not legally terminated, because Monday's meeting was supposed to be a deacons meeting, not a business meeting. They have a lawyer looking into the situation, he said.
 
 The head of the North Carolina Democratic Party sharply criticized the pastor Friday, saying Chandler jeopardized his church's tax-free status by openly supporting a candidate for president.
 
 "If these reports are true, this minister is not only acting extremely inappropriately by injecting partisan politics into a house of worship, but he is also potentially breaking the law," Chairman Jerry Meek said.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 03:28:53 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 03:34:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5695605.1115893733741.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Confused Fliers Trigger Capital Scare
 
 By Michael E. Ruane and Spencer S. Hsu
 
  Two lost aviators flying with outdated maps from a rural Pennsylvania airstrip triggered a red alert at the White House yesterday, along with the frantic evacuation of the Capitol and the Supreme Court, before they were intercepted by Air Force jets lobbing warning flares.
 
 The 15-minute aerial encounter, watched by rapt workers in downtown Washington office buildings, turned out to be a blunder by confused fliers in a small plane, but it illustrated how easily potential danger can trip the capital's tightly wired alert systems.
 
 As the aircraft bore down on Washington from the north and officials could not contact the pilot, the White House's internal threat level went from yellow to orange and then to red within four minutes, fighters were scrambled and occupants and visitors to the Capitol, the Supreme Court and the White House were sent scurrying for safety.
 
 The aircraft flew over the vice president's residence, a senior federal security official said, came within moments of reaching the White House and was close to being shot down.
 
 Alarms sounded and emergency lights went on in congressional office buildings about noon, as police shouted warnings and people hurried for exits and walked, or ran, down marble staircases and north toward Union Station, witnesses said.
 
 Outside, sirens wailed and the sound of the jets could be heard overhead. "It was relatively orderly," said one Senate worker who fled the Capitol. "But there's still panic, there's always panic. You start to run faster than you think you can run."
 
 Officials said 35,000 people were evacuated from the Capitol and adjacent office complexes. An additional 200 were eva  cuated from the White House.
 
 First lady Laura Bush and former first lady Nancy Reagan, who was visiting, were ushered to a bunker beneath the White House for safety, and Vice President Cheney was taken to a secure location, officials said. The president, who was riding his bicycle at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in suburban Maryland, was alerted by his security detail after the drama was over.
 
 The two aviators were identified as Hayden L. "Jim" Sheaffer, 69, a truck driver from Lititz, Pa., north of Lancaster, and Troy Martin, 36, a vacuum cleaner system salesman from Akron, seven miles away. They were released without charges after authorities determined that they posed no security threat.
 
 White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the government has very specific rules on when an intruding civilian aircraft can be shot down. Pentagon officials said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was contacted and available to execute a shoot-down order if necessary.
 
 Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said: "This guy probably came as close as he could come without getting shot out of the air."
 
 Authorities said the plane's occupants were so clueless that when officials finally made radio contact and ordered the plane to divert, the fliers refused, asserting their right to proceed on their way.
 
 It was only when the F-16s fired four bright flares across the plane's nose that the two men realized the gravity of their situation, officials said. The plane then veered northwest, out of town, escorted by the interceptors, security helicopters and a U.S. customs jet.
 
 The aircraft, an old-fashioned white Cessna 150 that weighs about 1,000 pounds and has a top speed of 160 mph, was directed to the Frederick airport, where the men were detained for questioning.
 
 In Pennsylvania, relatives and neighbors expressed shock that Martin and Sheaffer had wound up in so much trouble while on a flight to an air show in Lumberton, N.C. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what took place and could order sanctions.
 
 Martin, who neighbors said was learning to fly, was at the controls, according to investigators. He had less than 30 hours of flying instruction, officials said.
 
 Sheaffer, who according to his sister is a seasoned pilot, was in the passenger seat. He has been flying since his late twenties, said his sister, Jan Gall.
 
 Authorities said the men probably erred because they were using old maps that did not show the latest restricted airspace around Washington, including new limits set after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
 
 "They were lost and had no idea where the hell they were," said one federal law enforcement official. "They were confused and scared."
 
 But Phil Boyer, of the Frederick-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association -- of which, Boyer said, Martin is a member -- said there "was no excuse" for the mistake.
 
 "We send hundreds of e-mails and messages a year giving pilots instructions on how to fly here," said Boyer, who is president of the 400,000-member pilot education and lobbying group. The likely penalty for a pilot who strays into restricted airspace is license suspension for 30 to 120 days, though in this case, he predicted, it would be "likely more."
 
 For the most part, federal officials said the response was appropriate. But D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) was upset that he was not notified until the incident was almost over. He said that city officials need to be immediately told of such intrusions.
 
 The men departed at 10:58 a.m. from the small airport at Smoketown, about 12 miles from their homes in the middle of Lancaster County farm country.
 
 Twenty-five minutes later, an FAA air traffic controller monitoring airspace around Baltimore noticed a small aircraft 45 miles north of the Capitol heading for Washington's restricted airspace. The pilot was not in contact with controllers as required for private fliers. FAA controllers immediately alerted agencies on the Domestic Events Network, a special communications system used to notify all agencies that protect the capital's airspace.
 
 At 11:28 a.m., trackers spotted the  plane entering the Air Defense Identification Zone, the 2,000-square-mile area around Washington that requires private planes to remain in radio contact with controllers. The plane entered the zone from an area 30 miles north of Reagan National Airport, but its radio was not tuned to the right frequency.
 
 Shortly after 11:30, the Cessna turned east toward Baltimore, then moments later turned south. At 11:47, the Customs and Border Protection agency scrambled a Black Hawk helicopter and Citation jet from Reagan National Airport to intercept the plane. Authorities said the Black Hawk reached the Cessna first, at 11:56, followed by the Citation minutes later. Neither could get the Cessna's attention.
 
 As the Cessna closed in, flying at 2,500 feet, alert levels started to jump across the city. At 12:03 p.m., the White House went to code red, with the aircraft within three miles.
 
 The customs aircraft, meanwhile, had been urgently trying to get the Cessna's attention. The crews of one or both aircraft held up a sign in their cockpits bearing the radio frequency the Cessna should tune to, officials said. Those on the small plane apparently saw the sign, made radio contact, but refused at first to turn back, officials said.
 
 "No," the federal pilots ordered, "this is federal law enforcement. You will land that aircraft." Finally, at 12:06 p.m., flying over Northwest Washington, the Air Force fighters arrived, fired warning flares, and the Cessna fliers realized that they were in trouble.
 
 Five minutes later, the White House alert dropped to yellow, and a 12:14 p.m. the "all-clear" was issued there. The Cessna landed at the Frederick airport at 12:37 p.m.
 
 
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From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Wed May 11 21:47:51 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Thu May 12 03:55:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Hot for Teacher
Message-ID: <20050512044751.59601.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050512/e28ba5f6/attachment.htm
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 12 05:20:36 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Thu May 12 05:26:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Americans seek bodily salvation
	through Jesus diet
Message-ID: <20050512122036.AE09442D0@mullet.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

The Jesus diet !!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Americans seek bodily salvation through Jesus diet
Julian Borger in Washington
Thursday May 12 2005
The Guardian


Man does not live on bread alone, but Americans have become increasingly reliant on doughy carbohydrates in their diet. Now many in a rapidly expanding country are asking: "What Would Jesus Eat?" 

That is the title of one of a growing number of Christian diet plans crowding the lifestyle shelves of mainstream bookshops. Other bestsellers include The Maker's Diet, The Hallelujah Diet and Body by God. For the persistently overweight, they hold the promise of spiritual and bodily redemption.  

The selling strategies vary. Stephen Arterburn, the host of a Christian radio show and author of Lose it For Life, says: "If you want the world to notice Jesus, it helps to look and live like Jesus. We don't do this so we can look in the mirror and be more attractive. We do it so people can look at us and see Jesus."  

Don Colbert, a Florida doctor and author of What Would Jesus Eat?, portrays his book as a way of putting some backbone into weak-willed believers.  

"They're letting the flesh rule them and they're eating anything they want," he told the Guardian. "We're making them accountable. Many people will not eat the right kinds of food unless they're held accountable and before they put something in their mouths ask: 'Would Jesus eat this?'"  

Dr Colbert said Jesus ate "whole grains, fresh fruits, seeds and nuts, rather than processed food". His book has recipes for Middle Eastern dishes such as hummus.  

In a country where 65% of adults are overweight or obese, few dieticians would argue with the Mediterranean-style diet these books advocate. But Marie Griffith, a professor of religion at Princeton University, said: "The negative part is that people feel they have failed God if they don't lose weight."    

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 12 06:11:38 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Thu May 12 06:17:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article from globeandmail.com
Message-ID: <25198126.1115903103681.JavaMail.news@chicodeb2>

Harry (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) thought you would be interested in the following article from globeandmail.com, Canada's leading source for online news: 

"Inspired by a forgotten hero" 
Boyden's novel about Canadian Cree snipers in the First World War wasn't intended as a revisionist history 
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050512.wxboyden12/EmailBNStory/Entertainment/> 

Note from  Harry: i'm going to put this on my summer reading list. 
 
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
Get the news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our daily News Update: 
<http://www.globeandmail.com/newsletter/> 
From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 06:41:05 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 06:46:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26039168.1115905266040.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Memo May Have Swayed Plan B Ruling
 
 By Marc Kaufman
 
  Soon after the Food and Drug Administration overruled its advisory panel last year and rejected an application to make an emergency contraceptive more easily available, critics of the agency said it had ignored scientific evidence and yielded to pressure from social conservatives.
 
 The agency denied the charge, but an outspoken evangelical conservative doctor on the panel subsequently acknowledged in a previously unreported public sermon that he was asked to write a memo to the FDA commissioner soon after the panel voted 23 to 4 in favor of over-the-counter sales of the contraceptive, called Plan B. He said he believes his memo played a central role in the rejection of that recommendation.
 
 The new information comes from a videotaped sermon in October by W. David Hager. On the tape, he said he was asked to write a "minority report" that would outline why over-the-counter sales should be rejected.
 
 Speaking at the Asbury College chapel in Wilmore, Ky., Hager said, "I was asked to write a minority opinion that was sent to the commissioner of the FDA. For only the second time in five decades, the FDA did not abide by its advisory committee opinion, and the measure was rejected."
 
 Hager told the group that he had not written his report from an "evangelical Christian perspective," but from a scientific one -- arguing that the panel had too little information on how easier availability of Plan B would affect girls younger than 16. The FDA later cited that lack of information as the reason it rejected the application.
 
 "I argued from a scientific perspective, and God took that information, and he used it through this minority report to influence the decision," Hager said. "Once again, what Satan meant for evil, God turned into good."
 
 The videotape of Hager's sermon was first obtained by the magazine the Nation, which published a story about the doctor today.
 
 In an e-mail to The Washington Post, Hager said the request for the report came from "outside the agency," but he had previously told two other journalists -- in one case in an e-mail that the recipient saved -- that the request came from an FDA staff member.
 
 An FDA spokeswoman said yesterday that the agency did not ask Hager to write a report and that Hager sent what she called a "private citizen letter" to Commissioner Mark McClellan. "We don't ask for minority reports and opinions," she said. "I've been advised that nobody from the FDA asked him to write the letter."
 
 Hager has been a highly controversial figure because of his strong views against abortion and emergency contraception and in favor of abstinence education. In his October sermon, he said that Christians such as himself were at "war" with people who would take faith and values out of medical care.
 
 Hager was appointed by the FDA to the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee in 2002 and reappointed last year. A prominent Kentucky obstetrician and gynecologist, he has written numerous books on women's health -- generally from an evangelical Christian perspective.
 
 In his October sermon, Hager said that White House officials called him in June 2001 and asked him to serve in some capacity -- initially as a candidate for surgeon general and later as a member of two advisory boards. After one month, Hager said, he was called by the White House and asked to resign from those committees and join the FDA's reproductive drugs panel instead because "there are some issues coming up we feel are very critical, and we want you to be on that advisory board."
 
 While the FDA sometimes rejects the recommendations of its expert panels, the Plan B case was highly unusual in that the vote was so lopsided in favor of over-the-counter sales and its own science staff had also strongly favored approval.
 
 Plan B has been available with a prescription since 1999. Barr Laboratories, its manufacturer, applied for permission to sell it without a prescription in 2003, arguing that it could reduce the number of abortions from unintended pregnancies. Emergency contraception generally works if it is used within 72 hours of unprotected sex.
 
 Social conservatives in Congress, and many others opposed to abortion, have spoken out against the Plan B application, saying it would encourage unsafe sexual behavior.
 
 Barr submitted a modified application in July 2004, and the agency was supposed to announce its decision in January. Instead, it said it needed more time.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 06:43:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 06:49:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <1519467.1115905401468.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Art of Nothing
 
 By Lonnae O'Neal Parker
 
  There is a woman silently sitting on a platform in front of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. She's wearing thin white drawstring pants and a white sports bra, and she's barefoot. She looks exposed. She looks vulnerable. She looks like she might be making a statement about one of those causes that typically cause you to look away.
 
 Next to her platform is a row of clear glass jars, some empty, some filled with urine, that she has been using as a bathroom since 6 o'clock yesterday morning. It all makes her a bit suspect to the lunchtime crowd in downtown Washington. But it turns out she's neither a crackpot nor an extremist in a town that can sometimes bend toward both.
 
 She's just a performance artist in the final 36 hours of "Stripped," her performance piece (or "non-performance" piece, as she calls it). It is the last leg of a month-long journey toward little and less, and, in these final hours, public privation.
 
 Curious passersby don't know what to make of Melissa Ichiuji's silence and serenity on a downtown corner. And, although she is discreet, pulling the ends of her white blanket fully around her form, they are quite thrown by the public urination.
 
 The whole spectacle is arresting. "I came to see the tourist sights but this is the most compelling thing I've seen," says Ray Wollaston, a Seattle graphic designer.
 
 The piece began in January when Ichiuji -- a married third-year Corcoran student in her late thirties from Front Royal, Va. -- started giving up things: coffee, television, soda and medication, followed in February by fast food and alcohol. As the seasons changed, she gave up cosmetics and chocolate, meat and magazines. Since the beginning of May, she's had: no newspapers, no music, no mirrors, no cell phone, no e-mail, no driving, no sex, no books, no family or friends or running water. No appliances, no speech, no clocks, no shoes, no food, no shelter. The idea is to let go of things that matter to the woman as a meditation on what matters most to the artist and, by extension, the audience.
 
 "How much would you have to lose to appreciate what you have?" ask the postcards in front of her display.
 
 "I decided that for 16 weeks I would try to do something that I thought I couldn't. I wanted to stop being so dependent on external things for comfort and security," reads a statement given out by Corcoran staff. "I wanted to break patterns of behavior, attachment and consumption that, over the years, had become automatic responses to anxiety and boredom."
 
 Anthony Cervino, the Corcoran's director of college exhibition, says Ichiuji approached him last year about doing the piece. She was questioning her nice house and nice swimming pool and relative comfort. "She was interested as an artist in where comfort becomes discomfort," Cervino says. "She wanted to find her point of personal sacrifice. . . . How far beyond our needs do we need to go before it's egregious or wasteful?"
 
 "As the project progressed, I decided that I would see how far I could simplify," Ichiuji wrote. "I wanted to face my biggest fears concerning isolation and poverty."
 
 Shaun English, a graphic designer for the nearby Red Cross, heard co-workers talking about the silent woman on the corner and he came to check it out. He's intrigued: "She's not exposing herself; it's more like sacrifice," he says.
 
 A jogger runs by. Then stops. She stares at Ichiuji. Her T-shirt says "Run Against Bush."
 
 "Can I come do this with you?" she asks Ichiuji.
 
 No response.
 
 "Maybe this will bring peace," she says. "I just lost my nephew in Iraq," she adds to no one in particular, one of the nearly dozen people watching Ichiuji. Then she turns and runs off because, after all, art isn't supposed to talk back.
 
 A trio of staffers at the nearby Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Genevieve Ellerbee, Melanie Sklarz and Travis Childers, read about Ichiuji on an art blog and now are considering her performance. They talk about the hours she's been there and the hours she has to go. About the power of sitting without interruption.
 
 Childers is reminded of the strictures of Eastern religions and the spirituality in giving up earthly things. "To fail here" -- to leave, to go home, to grab a burger -- "is worse than making a bad painting," Childers says. "It's like you weren't able to overcome your physical self. It's more personal."
 
 And "more public," agrees Ellerbee.
 
 A moment later, Ichiuji suddenly gets down from the platform and walks into the museum. Cervino hurries after her, and the crowd starts speculating about art without an artist, about the vacuum of meaning and the loss of center.
 
 Now what ?
 
 Sklarz finds her absence intriguing. "How long before she comes back? Will she come back? It's a mystery," she says. The trio wonder if the performance is over. They wonder if she had to use the bathroom again or if she's gone to get something to eat.
 
 Childers and Ellerbee are disappointed. For a performance to engage, Childers says, it needs to be "beyond what someone would normally do. To behave the way we normally do and leave at lunchtime makes it a non-event. Everyone breaks for lunch."
 
 "She's leaving an empty stage behind," says Ellerbee. "It's like if I went to see a painting and it wasn't hung."
 
 Suddenly, Ichiuji returns. Resumes her sitting and sipping and silence.
 
 Cervino has no explanation. He says only: "She was laying in the bathroom with her face pressed against the floor." Hard to know if that was within the parameter of her art or a departure brought on by the pressures of public isolation.
 
 Ichiuji's performance is scheduled to end this evening at 6, when presumably she will drive off with her husband. Perhaps later she'll talk about what she found when she went without, and went deep, and went in search of the there that's there when everything else is gone. Or, perhaps, as with any piece of art, it's for viewers to say what they took away.
 
 "I think many times a day about the suffering and grief being experienced by millions of people while I enjoy myself eating expensive food, buying lavish clothes," Ichiuji wrote in a journal in front of the platform.
 
 And as she sits in silence, her audience, the lunchtime crowd in downtown Washington, stop briefly to contemplate the curiosity and strange poignancy of a woman who has nothing. A thing, after all, not so very rare.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 06:45:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 06:51:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <600347.1115905520620.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 'They Came Here to Die'
 
 By Ellen Knickmeyer
 
  JARAMI, Iraq, May 10 -- Screaming "Allahu Akbar'' to the end, the foreign fighters lay on their backs in a narrow crawl space under a house and blasted their machine guns up through the concrete floor with bullets designed to penetrate tanks. They fired at U.S. Marines, driving back wave after wave as the Americans tried to retrieve a fallen comrade.
 
 Through Sunday night and into Monday morning, the foreign fighters battled on, their screaming voices gradually fading to just one. In the end, it took five Marine assaults, grenades, a tank firing bunker-busting artillery rounds, 500-pound bombs unleashed by an F/A-18 attack plane and a point-blank attack by a rocket launcher to quell them.
 
 The Marines got their fallen man, suffering one more dead and at least five wounded in the process. And according to survivors of the battle, the foreign fighters near the Syrian border proved to be everything their reputation had suggested: fierce, determined and lethal to the last.
 
 "They came here to die," said Gunnery Sgt. Chuck Hurley, commander of the team from the 1st Platoon, Lima Company, of the Marines' 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, that battled the insurgents in the one-story house in Ubaydi, about 15 miles east of the Syrian border.
 
 "They were willing to stay in place and die with no hope," Hurley said Tuesday. "All they wanted was to take us with them.''
 
 The fighting that began Sunday in Ubaydi was an unplanned opening phase of a massive Marine offensive in Iraq's far northwest against the foreign fighters who U.S. and Iraqi commanders say are crossing the Syrian border to join the Iraqi insurgency. By Monday, more than 1,000 Marines backed by Cobra helicopters and Hornet warplanes were pouring into an area north of the Euphrates River where few American troops and no Iraqi forces have been for at least a year.
 
 U.S. commanders say they believe that foreigner leaders of the insurgency have established a refuge north of the Euphrates they use to channel incoming fighters, arms and support to insurgents in the rest of Iraq.
 
 "We're taking down an enemy safe haven," said Lt. Col. Tim Mundy, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, which along with the 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, did the bulk of the fighting at Ubaydi.
 
 U.S. officers say the most-wanted insurgent leader in Iraq, the Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi, is being sheltered among tribal leaders in Haditha and Hit, two towns 80 and 110 miles downriver. The Americans say Zarqawi was almost caught in February at a checkpoint between the towns. Other sightings since have placed him in other towns on the south side of the Euphrates. In Haqlaniyah, Zarqawi felt bold enough to preach a sermon at a mosque, according to at least one report to U.S. forces.
 
 U.S. and Iraqi officials blame Zarqawi and other foreign fighters for many of the insurgency's bloodiest attacks, including suicide bombings that are claiming dozens of lives almost daily in Iraq.
 
 Fighting continued Tuesday north of the Euphrates, where the Marines' heavy-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery could be heard booming across the green river at dusk.
 
 At least three Marines have been killed in the offensive. Marine Col. Stephen Davis, commander of Marine Regimental Combat Team 2, said he believed at least 75 foreign fighters were killed Sunday, after the offensive opened prematurely with the clash at Ubaydi.
 
 At noon Sunday, Marines were waiting on the bank of the Euphrates for U.S. Army engineers to finish erecting a temporary bridge when insurgents opened fire from Ubaydi, less than a mile away. They fired AK-47 assault rifles at helicopter gunships overhead and pounded the waiting Marines with mortar rounds -- including one that landed yards from a Humvee carrying the operation's commanding officers.
 
 The Marines pressed against the walls of a ruined home for protection and waited for the mortars to stop. When they did, one officer said: "Let's go to Ubaydi."
 
 Lima Company and a company from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, entered the town. Insurgents -- dozens of them, Marines said later -- met them with AK-47 fire and rocket-propelled grenades. In the first hours, one Marine was killed and at least seven were wounded.
 
 Lima Company battled its way through town, at one point exchanging fire with fighters on the roof of a mosque and forcing them down. The mosque's loudspeakers screamed Arabic that the Marines could not understand, but they said that since it was past time for prayers, they assumed the loudspeakers were rallying forces for attack.
 
 According to Hurley and others who recounted the fighting that followed, Lima Company's Marines searched each house they passed. They turned up weapons cache after weapons cache: bombs made to be dropped from airplanes, a bicycle with a seat made of explosives and an antenna for remote-control triggering, a vest rigged with explosives, a car rigged with bombs, mortar tubes, rocket launchers with new backpacks full of rockets, artillery shells.
 
 The costly equipment, as well as body armor later recovered from the bodies of dead insurgents, suggested that the fighters were foreigners, the military said. Though the level of foreigners' involvement in the insurgency has been disputed for nearly two years, Muslim men have come to Iraq from neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and from as far away as Chechnya and Indonesia to fight the United States and its allies.
 
 The Marines also found Soviet-designed PKM machine guns and belts of armor-piercing ammunition. In contrast, Lima Company was armed with M-16 assault rifles and carried nothing comparable -- nothing that could penetrate walls and floors and still pack enough force to kill.
 
 That was what awaited the Marines on the last block they cleared, at the last house. The first Marine there found the gate in the high walls around the house open; the front door was locked.
 
 "As soon as he kicks the door, the machine-gun fire cuts him down," said Hurley, a Dayton, Ohio, police officer serving in the Marine Reserves. The Marine survived, but a second fell as well, fatally wounded. From inside, a foreign fighter fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the door.
 
 At some point, the screamed prayers began: "Allahu Akbar" -- "God is great."
 
 Marines fell, unable to tell the source of the screams or the shots. They fired blindly, as machine-gun rounds cratered the walls and floors around them.
 
 "Our rounds couldn't get through the walls," Hurley said.
 
 Survivors crawled out of the house under fire, unable to take the fatally wounded Marine with them. In the back of the house, Marines spotted two men running out. They fired. The two -- whose thick curly hair, olive skin and delicate features indicated they were not Iraqis, Marines said -- died at the back door, still holding their weapons.
 
 Thinking the barrage had come from the two men they had just killed, the Marines reentered the walled compound. Sgt. Dennis Woullard, a Marine reservist on the Biloxi, Miss., police force, dragged out the first fallen Marine.
 
 Farther inside, other Marines searched the house. One reached for the door of a storage closet under a stairwell. "As soon as he touches the door, the machine gun fires and cuts him down," Hurley said.
 
 The Marines retreated, unable to bring their wounded colleague with them. Another wave went in to try to retrieve him, not realizing he was already beyond help. Machine-gun fire drove them out.
 
 The Marines began to suspect that the insurgents were firing from a bunker somewhere in the house, Hurley said. They called in a tank, as other armored vehicles ferried the wounded away for evacuation by helicopter.
 
 The tank fired, one round hitting a propane tank inside the compound and engulfing part of the house in a ball of orange flame. Tank cannon fired seven rounds in all, some of them meant to destroy bunkers.
 
 The Marines went in a fourth time. Bullets, and one chanting voice, met them.
 
 "Nobody should have survived" the tank assault, Hurley later said in amazement.
 
 "The whole scene, it was just pure evil inside the house," said Woullard, who came out of the first foray into the house with a frayed helmet and bruised temple from one machine-gun round and a pierced water bag on his back from another.
 
 "I've never seen anything like this in my life," said Woullard, who fought at Nasiriyah in the first days of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. "It was an all-out ambush."
 
 The insurgents' armor-piercing bullets were penetrating the house's interior and external walls and the outer walls of the compound, some smacking into walls across the street.
 
 Hurley and other Marines, still under fire, were able to get to the body of the second fallen Marine through the holes that the tank had blown in the house but could not pull it past steel reinforcing bars that jutted from the collapsed walls.
 
 "Not a way I'd want to treat a Marine's body. But I know [the second fallen Marine] well enough to know no way he'd want a Marine to die to get his body," Hurley said.
 
 Reluctantly, Marines called in an F/A-18 attack plane, which dropped two bombs at midnight. One failed to explode. The second missed the house.
 
 Still under fire, the Marines holed up for the night in Ubaydi.
 
 At daylight Monday, a staff sergeant skilled in rocketry set up a launcher in the street across from the house. Fired from a dozen or so yards, the rockets collapsed the walls over the fighters' hiding place -- a crawl space behind the door under the stairwell.
 
 When the Marines entered a final time, the daylight finally showed them where the bullets had come from: the floor beneath their feet. The insurgents had lain faceup on the ground below, with barely enough room to point their weapons upward, Marines said. They simply blasted through the floor.
 
 The Marines found the last foreign fighters there, dead. There were at least two, and it was unclear whether they had bled to death overnight or been killed in the morning's rocket volley, Hurley and other Marines said.
 
 Suspecting explosives might be in the crawl space, the Marines didn't try to count the bodies closely or retrieve them, they said. But they dropped a grenade into the crawl space, just to make sure.
 
 The ambush at Ubaydi was a new tactic, carried out lethally, Marines said.
 
 "No one's ever seen or heard of guys getting attacked from under a house," Hurley said Tuesday, as the exhausted young men under his command slept in other rooms of a house in Jarami. "And just the idea of a machine gun being able to fire through concrete, to get to us," Hurley said, without finishing his sentence.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 06:48:11 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 06:54:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <4315874.1115905691809.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Gingrich, Clinton Collaborate on Health Care Bill
 
  Longtime political foes Newt Gingrich and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) cheerfully joined forces yesterday to promote legislation on health care changes, joking that some might view it as a sign of a soon-to-come doomsday.
 
 Clinton and Gingrich, the Republican former House speaker, appeared outside the Capitol to promote a bill that would modernize medical record-keeping.
 
 The senator joked that their joint effort has raised plenty of eyebrows since they began working together behind closed doors on a panel examining ways to improve military effectiveness.
 
 "At our first meeting, when we were agreeing so much with each other, I think people thought 'the end is near,' " she said.
 
 As first lady, Clinton spearheaded a White House health care reform effort that failed in Congress. The resistance to her initiative helped fuel Gingrich's "Contract With America" and his rise to the position of speaker in 1995.
 
 A decade later, they sound downright chummy.
 
 "I find he and I have a lot in common in the way we see the problems that we're going to have to deal with in order to have a 21st-century health care system," Clinton said.
 
 Gingrich was equally effusive, saying he was "thrilled" to be part of the bipartisan effort to reduce the paperwork the health care industry creates. "I'm confident there are things like votes in the Senate and judges where there would be dramatic differences, but I think we're both mature enough as adults that we can separate this argument," he said.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 06:46:00 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 06:57:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27041413.1115905561229.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Poll Cites GOP Gains Since 9/11
 
 By Dan Balz
 
  The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, helped redraw the political landscape in America, giving President Bush and the Republicans an advantage over the Democrats, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. But Republicans may have difficulty consolidating the gains because of divisions within their expanded coalition.
 
 The survey underscored how important the issues of terrorism and national security and Bush's personal appeal were in helping the GOP put together a winning coalition of voters in 2004. The findings suggest that Bush's reelection depended not just on motivating the Republican base but also on his success in attracting swing voters and even some Democrats.
 
 Both parties enjoy strong support among their core voters, but the Pew study concluded that Republicans have done a more effective job in attracting support among voters with less allegiance to either party. Bush's campaign attracted support in the middle from well-educated, upbeat voters as well as those who are more down-scale and pessimistic about their own situation.
 
 "In effect, Republicans have succeeded in attracting two types of swing voters who could not be more different," the study reports. "The common threads are a highly favorable opinion of President Bush personally and support for an aggressive military stance against potential enemies of the U.S."
 
 Foreign policy issues now provide the clearest distinction between Republican- and Democratic-leaning voters, with Republicans favoring assertive policies and military action and Democrats calling for diplomacy and multilateral strategies. Before the Sept. 11 attacks, foreign policy differences played a minimal role in distinguishing the party coalitions.
 
 One other important difference defines the Democratic- and Republican-leaning voters. Those who tilt to the GOP are more personally optimistic and believe in the power of the individual, regardless of income, while those inclined toward the Democrats are more negative or even fatalistic in their attitudes about the future.
 
 The study concluded that while the landscape tilts toward the Republicans, the GOP has not yet posted significant gains in party identification. Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Center, also said internal fissures could cause the Republicans problems in the future. GOP-leaning voters split over such issues as whether the government should do more to help the needy, over whether power is too concentrated in the hands of a few corporations, over whether government regulation of business protects the public interest, and over the environment and immigration.
 
 But Democrats are also divided, particularly on cultural issues such as homosexuality and whether the government should be involved in moral issues. Like Republicans, they are split over immigration.
 
 The Pew study was the fourth in a series that began in 1984 and is designed to provide a political typology of the country. The study was based on two polls, one in December of 2,000 people and a follow-up in March with 1,090 people from the original sample. From those surveys, the Pew Center divided the country into nine groups -- three mostly Republican, three mostly Democratic, two in the political middle and one on the political sidelines.
 
 Three groups make up the core of the GOP coalition. One is called Enterprisers, generally affluent, mostly male, patriotic, pro-business and very conservative. A second is called Social Conservatives. This group is mostly female, strongly religious, financially secure and skeptical toward business. The third is Pro-Government Conservatives, a group of largely younger, female and religious people who are struggling financially.
 
 The Democratic groups include Liberals, the largest bloc in the study. They are well-educated, affluent, secular, strongly opposed to the Iraq war and to an assertive foreign policy, and strongly in favor of gay rights. The Liberal group has expanded since the last study, in 1999, while a once-distinguishable bloc of New Democrats has largely disappeared.
 
 A second group, Disadvantaged Democrats, are less educated, more female, worried about their financial situation and more concerned about immigration but not the environment. Conservative Democrats are the most religious of the Democratic groups -- generally middle-class and older and somewhat more hawkish that other Democrats. Minorities are heavily represented in the second two groups.
 
 In the middle are two disparate groups: Upbeats are moderate, relatively young, well-educated, positive about their futures and strongly pro-Bush. Disaffecteds are less educated, less financially secure and cynical about government. They backed Bush last fall, but in smaller numbers than the Upbeats.
 
 "People we're describing as Upbeats and people we're describing as Disaffected had a positive view of Bush's security policies," Kohut said. "The September 11 attacks and the war on terrorism redefined Bush, and that's what carried him" to reelection, he added.
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:00:07 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:06:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: How Hip-Hop Music Lost Its Way and Betrayed
	Its Fans
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OPINION | May 12, 2005

Editorial Observer: How Hip-Hop Music Lost Its Way and Betrayed Its Fans
By BRENT STAPLES

Rap music, which started out with a broad palette of themes, has increasingly evolved into a medium for worshiping misogyny, materialism and murder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/opinion/12thu4.html?ex=1116561600&en=849e52551a8561e5&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:00:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:06:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Young and the Jobless
Message-ID: <20050512140041.5976611FA33@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 12, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Young and the Jobless
By BOB HERBERT

American workers, especially younger workers, are stuck in a gloomy employment landscape.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/opinion/12herbert.html?ex=1116561600&en=527e9e9ae17dda32&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:01:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:07:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Church and AIDS: Ways to Respond (5 Letters)
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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 12, 2005

Church and AIDS: Ways to Respond (5 Letters)


To the Editor:.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:02:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:08:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 14 Are Killed in Baghdad as Insurgents
	Press Their Offensive
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 12, 2005

14 Are Killed in Baghdad as Insurgents Press Their Offensive
By JOHN F. BURNS and TERENCE NEILAN

Sunni Arab insurgents continued their bloody attacks today, assassinating two high-ranking Iraqi security officers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/international/middleeast/12cnd-iraq.html?ex=1116561600&en=303282ccf3b50d42&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:03:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:08:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel Defense Chief Opposes Razing Settler
	Homes After Evacuation
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 12, 2005

Israel Defense Chief Opposes Razing Settler Homes After Evacuation
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Shaul Mofaz said he opposed razing the homes of Gaza settlers because of the extra risk to the military and the police.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/international/middleeast/12mideast.html?ex=1116561600&en=09361f8b0d7cde23&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:03:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:09:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 79 Die in Attacks as Rebels in Iraq
	Intensify Fight
Message-ID: <20050512140313.4D6C822F16E@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 12, 2005

79 Die in Attacks as Rebels in Iraq Intensify Fight
By JOHN F. BURNS

The attacks were a further intensification of an onslaught by insurgents who appear intent on destabilizing Iraq's government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/international/middleeast/12iraq.html?ex=1116561600&en=528900075a2056c1&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:02:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:09:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Afghan Protest Against the U.S. Becomes
	Violent
Message-ID: <20050512140254.7D32D24B074@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 12, 2005

Afghan Protest Against the U.S. Becomes Violent
By CARLOTTA GALL

Four protesters were killed and more than 60 injured as the police struggled to contain anti-American demonstrations in Afghanistan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/international/asia/12afghan.html?ex=1116561600&en=4d2a7f9beacb0620&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:03:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:15:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 
	NYTimes.com: Terror Suspects Sent to Egypt by the Dozens,
	Panel Reports
Message-ID: <20050512140916.91DDF13B828@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 12, 2005

Terror Suspects Sent to Egypt by the Dozens, Panel Reports
By DAVID JOHNSTON

The U.S. and other countries have forcibly sent dozens of terror suspects to Egypt, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/politics/12detain.html?ex=1116561600&en=19ddb303372d8bb9&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 07:25:51 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 07:31:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Embattled Bolton faces key vote
Message-ID: <20050512_142551_098044.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
vote today !

** Embattled Bolton faces key vote **
A US senate panel is set to vote on John Bolton's controversial nomination as the country's envoy to the UN.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4539623.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  Thu May 12 07:27:19 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 07:33:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Anti-US protests spread to Kabul
Message-ID: <20050512_142719_058634.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Anti-US protests spread to Kabul **
Protests in Afghanistan over reports that US personnel in  Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Koran spread to Kabul.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4539477.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  Thu May 12 07:29:10 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 07:34:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US robot builds copies of itself
Message-ID: <20050512_142910_068228.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
remember all those scary SF movies and the "replicators" ??

** US robot builds copies of itself **
US researchers have devised a simple robot that can make copies of itself  from spare parts.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4538547.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
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 07:32:00 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:38:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Right-Wing Coup at PBS & the CPB? A Roundtable
	Discussion on the Future of Public Broadcasting
Message-ID: <20050512143200.17821.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org


at PBS !!!

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  A ‘Right-Wing Coup’ at PBS & the CPB? A Roundtable Discussion on the Future of Public Broadcasting
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/12/1426203
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


On Wednesday, Reps. David Obey (D-WI) and John Dingell (D-MI) called for an investigation of the Corporation Public Broadcasting. This comes following accusations that the CPB has been largely taken over by conservatives who are influencing programming and hiring decisions. Obey requested that the Inspector General for the CPB, investigate whether the CPB is violating the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 that prohibits interference by federal officials over the content and distribution of public programming, and forbids "political or other tests" from being used in CPB hiring decisions. 

We speak with Obey as well as PBS host Tavis Smiley, PBS board member Norman Ornstein, Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy and media analyst Robert McChesney, who is organizing this weekend’s National Conference on Media Reform.
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/12/1426203

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 07:32:49 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:38:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Seymour Hersh: Iraq "Moving Towards Open Civil War"
Message-ID: <20050512143249.17863.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org


very interesting interview w/ Seymour Hersh

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Seymour Hersh: Iraq "Moving Towards Open Civil War"
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/11/142250
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


We spend the hour with Pulitzer prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. Hersh won the Pulitzer prize for exposing the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Last year, he broke the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. He is author of the book "Chain of Command: From 9/11 to Abu Ghraib." We hear an address he delivered at an event sponsored by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign entitled "Can Freedom of the Press Survive Media Consolidation?" And he joins us in the studio to talk about the resistance in Iraq, Ahmad Chalabi, the state of the media and much more. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/11/142250

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 08:51:42 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 12 07:57:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Forced Labor Said to Bind 12.3 Million
	People Around the World
Message-ID: <20050512145159.6EC253AE725@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL | May 12, 2005

Forced Labor Said to Bind 12.3 Million People Around the World
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

A U.N. report said that 2.5 million people were in forced labor as a result of cross-border trafficking, with 1.2 million of them in the sex trade.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/international/12labor.html?ex=1116561600&en=27b4e5e2c10b0c3f&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/melindaandmelinda/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 ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed May 11 22:13:45 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu May 12 09:12:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] major report: U.S. Budget Focus Should Be Security,
	Not Weapons
Message-ID: <200505121612.j4CGCl5q029953@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0511-04.htm

Published on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 by OneWorld.net
U.S. Budget Focus Should Be Security, Not Weapons - 
Report
by Abid Aslam
 

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon should cut billions of dollars from 
major weapons programs and plow the money into homeland security 
initiatives, said a new report with far-reaching implications not only for 
the federal budget but also for dozens of private defense contractors.

Washington-based think tanks the Center for Defense Information and 
the Foreign Policy in Focus project recommended major investments 
to protect public transit and prepare health systems to cope with 
potential biological or chemical attacks on U.S. soil.

''Despite promises of a comprehensive approach to fighting terrorism, 
the Bush administration has concentrated its resources 
overwhelmingly on its military forces, at the expense of other security 
tools,'' said the report, released Tuesday.

''The Bush military budget is being spent on a force structure that does 
not match today's security challenges, because it is designed for Cold 
War-style large-scale conventional challenges that we no longer face,'' 
it added.

The report recommended major cuts for high-profile Pentagon 
programs including the Army's Future Combat Systems modernization 
program, the DD(X) naval destroyer, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and 
the F/A-22 Raptor.

If implemented, the report's recommendations would have a major 
impact on business for leading defense contractors including Boeing 
Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., General Dynamics Corp., and Northrop 
Grumman Corp.

Increased homeland security spending also would affect the same 
firms but also dozens of other large and small companies specializing 
in intelligence, counter-terrorism, and emergency-response goods and 
services.

In all, the report recommended cutting $53.1 billion from military 
spending and spending $40.5 billion more on international affairs and 
homeland security operations. It called for a four-to-one ratio of 
spending on military programs to all other security spending, down 
from the seven-to-one proposed in President George W. Bush's 
budget for fiscal year 2006, which begins Oct. 1, 2005.

The report, which was funded by private philanthropies and endorsed 
by a task force made up of retired military officers and veteran defense 
analysts, also called for an additional $10 billion for foreign aid and 
recommended specific changes in U.S. development policy.

Report co-author Miriam Pemberton of the Washington-based Institute 
for Policy Studies, said she expected the report to resonate with 
business leaders as well as policymakers.

''Policymakers, experts, and business leaders from across the political 
spectrum have called for a more balanced approach to terrorism and 
global security,'' Pemberton said in a statement. ''The Unified Security 
Budget provides the road map and budget specifics on how we make 
that happen.''

The report said ballooning budget deficits ''have finally begun to make 
security budget priorities a permissible topic of conversation among 
lawmakers'' nearly four years after debate was stifled by the Sept. 11, 
2001 terrorist attacks.

The recommendations also evoked a recent poll in which members of 
the U.S. public said that, given the chance, they would significantly 
change next year's federal budget, reversing key Bush administration 
proposals.

Provided with details of the major areas of Bush's discretionary budget 
for fiscal 2006, around two-thirds of those surveyed said they would cut 
spending on large-scale Cold War-style capabilities and use the 
money to reduce the budget deficit, said the poll released in March by 
the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes.

Republicans and Democrats alike would take the budget axe to 
spending on defense and on Iraq and Afghanistan, channeling the 
money into domestic priorities including education, job training, 
veterans, and reducing U.S. reliance on oil, the poll said.

Respondents also would increase spending on the means by which the 
United States projects ''soft power'' overseas. These include foreign 
aid, U.N. peacekeeping, and diplomacy.

Defense would sustain the deepest cuts. Of nearly 1,200 U.S. adults 
surveyed, 65 percent said they would reduce spending by an average 
of 31 percent or the equivalent of around 134 billion dollars.

Homeland security, however, would receive a robust average boost of 
10.5 billion dollars or 38 percent, although only 41 percent of 
respondents favored increases.

As respondents had proposed large defense cuts, they were asked 
what areas they would want to axe. Majorities said they would trim the 
U.S. capability for large-scale nuclear wars, the number of nuclear 
weapons, and spending on developing new nuclear weapons.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents also proposed reducing U.S. 
capabilities to fight large-scale naval and land wars and said they 
would cut spending on new types of naval destroyers, submarines, and 
bombers.

Respondents preserved spending for troops including on salaries, 
maintaining the overall number of military personnel, and developing 
new equipment for infantry and Marines.

Tuesdays' report also urged action to plug gaps in protective 
equipment issued to U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

Copyright ? 2005 OneWorld.net

###
-- 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed May 11 22:13:00 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu May 12 09:13:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Members of Congress Call on Bush for Answers on Secret
	Iraq Plan
Message-ID: <200505121612.j4CGCw6A029957@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Eighty-Eight Members of Congress Call on Bush for 
Answers on Secret Iraq Plan
    Raw Story  http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/051005F.shtml

    Thursday 05 May 2005

    Eighty-eight members of Congress have signed a letter authored by 
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) calling on President Bush to answer 
questions about a secret U.S.-UK agreement to attack Iraq, RAW 
STORY has learned.

    In a letter, Conyers and other members say they are disappointed 
the mainstream media has not touched the revelations.

    "Unfortunately, the mainstream media in the United States was too 
busy with wall-to-wall coverage of a "runaway bride" to cover a 
bombshell report out of the British newspapers," Conyers writes. "The 
London Times reports that the British government and the United 
States government had secretly agreed to attack Iraq in 2002, before 
authorization was sought for such an attack in Congress, and had 
discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so."

    "The Times reports, based on a newly discovered document, that in 
2002 British Prime Minister Tony Blair chaired a meeting in which he 
expressed his support for "regime change" through the use of force in 
Iraq and was warned by the nation's top lawyer that such an action 
would be illegal," he adds. "Blair also discussed the need for America 
to "create" conditions to justify the war."

    The members say they are seeking an inquiry.

    "This should not be allowed to fall down the memory hole during 
wall-to-wall coverage of the Michael Jackson trial and a runaway 
bride," he remarks. "To prevent that from occuring, I am circulating the 
following letter among my House colleagues and asking them to sign 
on to it."

    The letter follows.

    May 5, 2005

    The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States of 
America The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 
Washington, D.C. 20500

    Dear Mr. President:

    We write because of troubling revelations in the Sunday London 
Times apparently confirming that the United States and Great Britain 
had secretly agreed to attack Iraq in the summer of 2002, well before 
the invasion and before you even sought Congressional authority to 
engage in military action. While various individuals have asserted this 
to be the case before, including Paul O'Neill, former U.S. Treasury 
Secretary, and Richard Clarke, a former National Security Council 
official, they have been previously dismissed by your Administration. 
However, when this story was divulged last weekend, Prime Minister 
Blair's representative claimed the document contained "nothing new." 
If the disclosure is accurate, it raises troubling new questions regarding 
the legal justifications for the war as well as the integrity of your own 
Administration.

    The Sunday Times obtained a leaked document with the minutes of 
a secret meeting from highly placed sources inside the British 
Government. Among other things, the document revealed:

    * Prime Minister Tony Blair chaired a July 2002 meeting, at which he 
discussed military options, having already committed himself to 
supporting President Bush's plans for invading Iraq.

    * British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw acknowledged that the case 
for war was "thin" as "Saddam was not threatening his neighbours and 
his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea, or Iran."

    * A separate secret briefing for the meeting said that Britain and 
America had to "create" conditions to justify a war.

    * A British official "reported on his recent talks in Washington. There 
was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as 
inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, 
justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence 
and facts were being fixed around the policy."

    As a result of this recent disclosure, we would like to know the 
following:

    1) Do you or anyone in your Administration dispute the accuracy of 
the leaked document?

    2) Were arrangements being made, including the recruitment of 
allies, before you sought Congressional authorization go to war? Did 
you or anyone in your Administration obtain Britain's commitment to 
invade prior to this time?

    3) Was there an effort to create an ultimatum about weapons 
inspectors in order to help with the justification for the war as the 
minutes indicate?

    4) At what point in time did you and Prime Minister Blair first agree it 
was necessary to invade Iraq?

    5) Was there a coordinated effort with the U.S. intelligence 
community and/or British officials to "fix" the intelligence and facts 
around the policy as the leaked document states?

    We have of course known for some time that subsequent to the 
invasion there have been a variety of varying reasons proffered to 
justify the invasion, particularly since the time it became evident that 
weapons of mass destruction would not be found. This leaked 
document - essentially acknowledged by the Blair government - is the 
first confirmation that the rationales were shifting well before the 
invasion as well.

    Given the importance of this matter, we would ask that you respond 
to this inquiry as promptly as possible. Thank you.

    Sincerely,

    Members who have already signed letter:
    Neil Abercrombie
    Brian Baird
    Tammy Baldwin
    Xavier Becerra
    Shelley Berkley
    Eddie Bernice Johnson
    Sanford Bishop
    Earl Blumenauer
    Corrine Brown
    Sherrod Brown
    G.K. Butterfield
    Emanuel Cleaver
    James Clyburn
    John Conyers
    Jim Cooper
    Elijah Cummings
    Danny Davis
    Peter DeFazio
    Diana DeGette
    Bill Delahunt
    Rosa DeLauro
    Lloyd Doggett
    Sam Farr
    Bob Filner
    Harold Ford, Jr.
    Barney Frank
    Al Green
    Raul Grijalva
    Louis Gutierrez
    Alcee Hastings
    Maurice Hinchey
    Rush Holt
    Jay Inslee
    Sheila Jackson Lee
    Jessie Jackson Jr.
    Marcy Kaptur
    Patrick Kennedy
    Dale Kildee
    Carolyn Kilpatrick
    Dennis Kucinich
    William Lacy Clay
    Barbara Lee
    John Lewis
    Zoe Lofgren
    Donna M. Christensen
    Carolyn Maloney
    Ed Markey
    Carolyn McCarthy
    Jim McDermott
    James McGovern
    Cynthia McKinney
    Martin Meehan
    Kendrick Meek
    Gregory Meeks
    Michael Michaud
    George Miller
    Gwen S. Moore
    James Moran
    Jerrold Nadler
    Grace Napolitano
    James Oberstar
    John Olver
    Major Owens
    Frank Pallone
    Donald Payne
    Charles Rangel
    Bobby Rush
    Bernie Sanders
    Linda Sanchez
    Jan Schakowsky
    Jose Serrano
    Ike Skelton
    Louise Slaughter
    Hilda Solis
    Pete Stark
    Ellen Tauscher
    Bennie Thompson
    Edolphus Towns
    Stephanie Tubbs Jones
    Chris Van Hollen
    Nydia Velazquez
    Debbie Wasserman Schultz
    Maxine Waters
    Diane Watson
    Melvin Watt
    Robert Wexler
    Lynn Woolsey
    David Wu
    Albert R. Wynn
-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 09:29:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 09:35:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <16289609.1115915387201.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 N.C. Judge Has Spent 15 Years as A Nominee
 
 By Charles Lane
 
  The Senate Judiciary Committee's schedule says today  is the day for a vote on President Bush's nomination of Terrence W. Boyle to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
 
 Then again, the Republican-controlled committee may put it off to deal with other judicial nominees and unrelated business; it has done so twice this year already.
 
 And so it goes in Boyle's bid for a seat on the federal appellate bench -- a nearly 15-year saga whose end is nowhere in sight.
 
 Boyle, a favorite of former senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), has been a controversial candidate ever since President George H.W. Bush tried and failed in 1991 to put him on the Richmond-based 4th Circuit.
 
 Democrats say he is an ultra-conservative who is hostile to civil rights and has been frequently overruled on appeal; they have not ruled out a filibuster against him if he is approved by the Judiciary Committee. Republicans call him a fair-minded judge and tout his "well-qualified" rating from the American Bar Association.
 
 But the debate has gone far beyond his qualifications or philosophy. Over the years, it has become an argument over race, politics and plain old partisan payback.
 
 As such, it illustrates the tangled, rancorous history of the current Senate impasse over Bush's judicial nominations -- a deadlock that could turn into a political crisis if Republicans eliminate the filibuster to speed confirmation of Bush's picks, and Democrats respond by blocking other Senate business. Boyle is one of 12 circuit court nominees pending before the Senate.
 
 "It's like the Hatfields and McCoys," said Ronald A. Klain, a former top aide to Vice President Al Gore who also headed the Senate Judiciary Committee's Democratic staff in the early 1990s. "Trying to figure out who shot first is completely incomprehensible at this point in time."
 
 Boyle, 59, graduated from Brown in 1967 and from American University's law school in 1970. A transplanted New Jerseyite, he owes his prominence in North Carolina in part to his connection to Helms.
 
 A staunch advocate of states' rights, Boyle worked briefly for Helms in 1973. He is the son-in-law of Tom Ellis, the adviser who helped build Helms's political machine.
 
 At Helms's urging, President Ronald Reagan nominated Boyle, then a lawyer in private practice, to be a federal district judge in 1984. The Senate confirmed him on a unanimous vote.
 
 It was not until October 1991, when Bush tapped him for the 4th Circuit -- at Helms's behest -- that Boyle became the object of partisan wrangling.
 
 The issue then was not Boyle's record. Rather, he got caught up in the ill will generated by the Senate's just-concluded battle over Bush's nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
 
 The White House, angry that Anita Hill's allegations against Thomas had leaked, withheld FBI background reports on its judicial nominees from the Judiciary Committee, which was then under Democratic control.
 
 The chairman, Sen. Joseph R. Biden (D-Del.) responded by refusing to move Bush's judicial nominees forward. The dispute was not ironed out until early 1992. Biden and then-Attorney General William P. Barr made a deal for Senate confirmation of some Bush nominees.
 
 But Boyle's turn never came; he did not get a hearing, and his nomination died after Bush's defeat.
 
 The new president, Bill Clinton, set out to put the first black judge on the 4th Circuit, the court of last resort for federal cases in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the Carolinas, except for the handful that make it to the Supreme Court.
 
 But Helms blamed Biden for Boyle's defeat. Under Senate procedures, he had the power to block any nominee from his home state. Publicly declaring his intention to respond to what he called the "mistreatment of our nominee by the Democrats," Helms prevented four Clinton nominees from North Carolina -- James A. Beaty Jr., Rich Leonard, James A. Wynn Jr. and Elizabeth Gibson -- from receiving hearings. Beaty and Wynn are black.
 
 Later, Helms objected to Clinton's black nominee from Virginia, Roger Gregory, saying that the 4th Circuit, which was down to 10 of its allotted 15 judgeships at the time, did not need any new judges.
 
 In the meantime, Boyle continued to serve on the district court for eastern North Carolina.
 
 During the 1990s, he angered Democrats and civil rights activists by ruling, as a member of a three-judge panel, that the formation of the heavily black 12th Congressional District in North Carolina was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The district was eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on a 5 to 4 vote.
 
 Those rulings earned Boyle the undying disapproval of the 12th District's Rep. Melvin Watt (D), now a leading opponent of his nomination. Watt said in a recent letter to the Judiciary Committee: "His rulings show this judge to be especially determined to defy both the civil rights statutes enacted by the Congress and the court rulings on which they are based."
 
 In 1996, Boyle refused to ratify a settlement worked out between North Carolina and the Clinton Justice Department that would have resulted in the hiring of more women as state prison guards.
 
 "It is most emphatically not the purpose of federal law to impose a uniformity of cultural outcome upon the individual states," he wrote.
 
 The liberal advocacy organization People for the American Way has called that a "deeply troubling" suggestion that "states can discriminate . . . because of the state's 'culture.' "
 
 The 4th Circuit reversed Boyle's decision, saying he had abused his discretion as a judge.
 
 Boyle was renominated to the 4th Circuit by President Bush in 2001. But Helms had retired, and North Carolina had a new senator, Democrat John Edwards. One of the four Clinton nominees who had been blocked by Helms, Leonard, is Edwards's close friend.
 
 Edwards turned the tables on the Republicans, refusing to permit consideration of a North Carolinian he considered unqualified for the job -- namely, Boyle.
 
 By this time, the 4th Circuit did have its first black judge, Gregory, who had been given a recess appointment by Clinton in 2000. In a rare moment of comity between the parties, Gregory was renominated by Bush at the urging of Virginia's Republican senators, John W. Warner and George Allen -- and confirmed easily by the Senate in 2001.
 
 But Edwards thought the 4th Circuit, which has the largest black population of any of the 12 federal circuits, needed another black nominee from his home state instead of Boyle.
 
 Edwards's objection was enough to prevent Boyle from receiving a hearing during Bush's first term.
 
 In the interim, Boyle has made some rulings that defied his categorization as a hard-line conservative. He pleased environmental organizations this year by halting construction of a Navy jet practice runway near a bird refuge that is the winter home of thousands of Canadian snow geese and tundra swans. Boyle said the Navy had done a flawed study of the project's environmental impact.
 
 "I've been impressed with Judge Boyle's willingness to understand the underlying law in often-complex cases," said Derb Carter, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represented conservation groups opposed to the project.
 
 Edwards gave up his Senate seat to run for the vice presidency alongside Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) in 2004. North Carolina's Senate seats are now held by Republicans, Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr.
 
 This helped Boyle receive a hearing before the Judiciary Committee on March 3 -- the closest he has come to a Senate vote.
 
 The session consisted mainly of hostile questioning from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and from Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) , who asked Boyle, "I just wonder, are you so out of the mainstream that you shouldn't be on an important appellate court?"
 
 Boyle, still interested in the job after nearly 15 years, and despite what observers said seemed to be a bad cold that day, replied: "I hope that I'm clearly in the mainstream and have done my best to apply the law and hear cases on an individual basis, have no agenda or predisposition about cases."
 
 If Boyle is confirmed, he would have a strong incentive to serve full time for only a few years.
 
 He is eligible to retire and continue to receive his full salary (currently $171,800 for a circuit judge) for life when he turns 65 in 2010. Or he could become a senior judge that year, earning a full salary while handling a quarter of an active judge's caseload.
 
 In either scenario, the president would have to name a replacement, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 10:18:28 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 10:24:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7458321.1115918308441.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 On a Bicycle in Beltsville, Blissfully Unaware
 
 By Dana Milbank
 
  When the state of red alert was declared yesterday, the vice president was evacuated from the White House and the first lady was whisked to a secure location. But no precautions were needed for President Bush.
 
 He was out at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Beltsville, riding his bicycle -- at noon on a Wednesday -- blissfully unaware. "The decision was made to inform the president upon conclusion of his bike ride," Bush press secretary Scott McClellan said later.
 
 It was not the first time a crisis has focused uninvited attention on the Bush fitness routine. On a weekday morning in February 2001, when a gun-wielding man was shot outside the White House, it quickly emerged that Vice President Cheney was working in his office, while Bush was exercising in his residence.
 
 Bush opponents have tried -- to no avail -- to profit politically from the president's leisure activities. Anti-Bush filmmaker Michael Moore poked fun at Bush's long vacation in Texas before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and his admonition on the golf course to "watch this drive" after commenting on Middle East violence.
 
 But the president, while scaling back the golf outings, has made little effort to conceal his more cardiovascular activities -- inviting reporters on occasion to go running with him and, after his knees worsened, to go mountain biking.
 
 Bush told Runner's World magazine in 2002 that his running times "have become faster right after the war began." He added: "For me, the psychological benefit is enormous. You tend to forget everything that's going on in your mind and just concentrate on the time, distance or the sweat."
 
 Still, McClellan couched his explanation of Bush's activity yesterday carefully, reminding listeners of Bush's trip to Europe.
 
 "First of all, as you all are aware, the president was off-site, getting in a bike ride after returning from a four-day trip overseas," he said.
 
 The small group of reporters who escorted Bush to Beltsville reported that they heard nothing of the plane scare until after it was over.
 
 In follow-up answers e-mailed to reporters late in the day, McClellan said that Bush's Secret Service detail was informed soon after the incident began but that they chose not to disturb the perspiring president. After an hour and 24 minutes on the trails, Bush went back to work.
 
 
 Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 12:10:35 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 12:16:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: 'Memory pill' for the forgetful
Message-ID: <20050512_191035_096189.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** 'Memory pill' for the forgetful **
US scientists say they have invented a smart pill that can boost memory.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4539551.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 May 12 12:11:12 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 12:17:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Jet diverted over US terror fear
Message-ID: <20050512_191112_042615.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Jet diverted over US terror fear **
An Air France flight from Paris to Boston is diverted because authorities wanted to check a passenger on board.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4542117.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From marylouiseparis at hotmail.com  Thu May 12 12:40:51 2005
From: marylouiseparis at hotmail.com (Mary Louise smn)
Date: Thu May 12 12:46:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Burma Shave - Classic
In-Reply-To: <200505120238.j4C2cNp2027077@dune.islandtechnologies.net>
Message-ID: <BAY107-F17BFD9BA96AF34AF2516F7B8110@phx.gbl>

Thank you!    The messages are so much FUN!  Its a relief to have some 
lightness  among all of the other serious messages!   Merci!               
Marylouise

>From: Gerald Gerald <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
>Reply-To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
>To: Gerald Cooper <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
>Subject: [Mb-civic] Burma Shave - Classic
>Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 13:17:38 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Some of you won't know what Burma Shave signs mean, we
>older folks can remember them. It was one of the
>things I remember when us kids would stop fighting in
>the back seat. Mom would just have to say " Burma
>shave", and we'd all try to be the first to read them
>out loud. Our sister Sandi usually won because she got
>to sit in front and we three boys had to sit in the
>backseat. Not fair, she can see them first".  WAH Wah.
>That was our quick fix for another few miles till the
>next one. Poor older brother Calvin, my twin brother
>and I about drove him wild. He made it though, he is
>now 64, a little crazy maybe, but he is still with us.
>Enjoy Jerry
>Subject: Fw: Burma Shave
>
>Thought you might enjoy these.
>
>Those Grand Old Burma   Shave Road Signs
>
>TRAINS DON'T WANDER
>ALL OVER  THE MAP
>'CAUSE NOBODY SITS
>IN THE ENGINEER'S LAP
>Burma Shave
>
>SHE  KISSED THE HAIRBRUSH
>BY MISTAKE
>SHE THOUGHT IT WAS
>HER HUSBAND  JAKE
>Burma Shave
>
>Remember these? For those who never saw any of the
>Burma Shave signs, here is a quick lesson in our
>history
>of the 1930's and  '40's. Before there were
>interstates,
>when everyone drove the old 2 lane roads,  Burma Shave
>
>signs would be posted all over the countryside in
>farmers'
>fields. They were small red signs with white letters.
>Five
>signs,  about 100 feet apart, each containing 1 line
>of a
>4 line couplet......and the  obligatory 5th sign
>advertising
>Burma Shave, a popular shaving cream. Here  are more
>of the actual signs:
>
>DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD
>TO GAIN A  MINUTE
>YOU NEED YOUR HEAD
>YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT
>Burma  Shave
>
>DROVE TOO LONG
>DRIVER SNOOZING
>WHAT HAPPENED
>NEXT IS NOT  AMUSING
>Burma Shave
>
>BROTHER SPEEDER
>LET'S REHEARSE
>ALL  TOGETHER
>GOOD MORNING, NURSE
>Burma Shave
>
>CAUTIOUS RIDER
>TO HER  RECKLESS DEAR
>LET'S HAVE LESS BULL
>AND MORE STEER
>Burma Shave
>
>SPEED WAS HIGH
>WEATHER WAS NOT
>TIRES WERE THIN
>X MARKS THE  SPOT
>Burma Shave
>
>THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
>OF PAUL FOR BEER
>LED TO A  WARMER
>HEMISPHERE
>Burma Shave
>
>AROUND THE  CURVE
>LICKETY-SPLIT
>BEAUTIFUL CAR
>WASN'T IT?
>Burma Shave
>
>NO  MATTER THE PRICE
>NO MATTER HOW NEW
>THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE
>IN THE CAR IS  YOU
>Burma Shave
>
>A GUY WHO DRIVES
>A CAR WIDE OPEN
>IS NOT  THINKIN'
>HE'S JUST HOPIN'
>Burma Shave
>
>AT INTERSECTIONS
>LOOK EACH  WAY
>A HARP SOUNDS NICE
>BUT IT'S HARD TO PLAY
>Burma Shave
>
>BOTH  HANDS ON THE WHEEL
>EYES ON THE ROAD
>THAT'S THE SKILLFUL
>DRIVER'S  CODE
>Burma Shave
>
>THE ONE WHO DRIVES
>WHEN HE'S BEEN  DRINKING
>DEPENDS ON YOU
>TO DO HIS THINKING
>Burma Shave
>
>CAR IN  DITCH
>DRIVER IN TREE
>THE MOON WAS FULL
>AND SO WAS HE.
>Burma  Shave
>
>And my all time favorite:
>PASSING SCHOOL ZONE
>TAKE IT  SLOW
>LET OUR LITTLE
>SHAVERS GROW
>Burma Shave
>
>Do these bring back any old memories? If not, you're
>merely a child. If they do - then you're old as
>dirt...
>
>LIKE ME!
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>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 barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Thu May 12 13:08:04 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbara)
Date: Thu May 12 13:14:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ventura County Star: barbara suggests you read this.
Message-ID: <200505122008.j4CK84Xj029534@kwsn74.scripps.com>

barbara thought you would be interested in this link to "World ignores plight of Tibetan Buddhism" on the Ventura County Star Web site:

http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/opinion/article/0,1375,VCS_125_3767463,00.html

This is tragic and true.... Tibetans are losing their religion becuase of the Chinese. The R-E-A-L Panchen Lama (2nd after Dalai Lama) and family are missing taken and hidden maybe killed by the Chinese. 

This is a true and excellent article.


Stay on top of Ventura County news throughout the day with www.VenturaCountyStar.com and its family of products: 
www.VenturaCountyStar.com/jobs
www.VenturaCountyStar.com/realestate
www.VenturaCountyStar.com/autos

From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 12 16:13:33 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 12 16:19:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <1949652.1115939614302.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 FINDINGS
 
  A study of one the most agonizing decisions faced by men with early prostate cancer -- whether to have surgery or wait and see whether it spreads -- found that for those younger than 65, operating clearly saves lives, cutting the death rate by more than half.
 
 For men older than 65, however, the jury is still out, and these men account for the vast majority of prostate cancer patients.
 
 Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer in American men, after skin cancer.
 
 Often, doctors recommend "watchful waiting," because the tumor grows so slowly in many men that they die of something else before the cancer kills them. Also, surgery to remove the diseased prostate carries risks: impotence and incontinence.
 
 The study, led by Anna Bill-Axelson of Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden, is in today's New England Journal of Medicine. It followed Scandinavian men younger than 75 for a decade after surgery and found that surgery reduced deaths from any cause by nearly half.
 
 About 9.5 percent of those who underwent surgery and 15 percent of those in the watchful waiting group died within 10 years of the diagnosis.
 
 Scientists in France have found that people whose hearts beat too fast during rest and too sluggishly during exercise have a higher chance of sudden cardiac death.
 
 The research, believed to be the first on sudden death in healthy people, relied on simple stress tests.
 
 The study, in today's New England Journal of Medicine, found the risk of sudden death was about four times the norm in men whose hearts beat fast while resting or didn't speed up as much as they should during exercise. Sudden death was twice as likely in men whose heart rates didn't slow down enough in the minute after exercise ended.
 
 -- From News Services
 
 Scientists in France have found that people whose hearts beat too fast during rest and too sluggishly during exercise have a higher chance of sudden cardiac death.
 
 The research, believed to be the first on sudden death in healthy people, relied on simple stress tests.
 
 The study, in today's New England Journal of Medicine, found the risk of sudden death was about four times the norm in men whose hearts beat fast while resting or didn't speed up as much as they should during exercise. Sudden death was twice as likely in men whose heart rates didn't slow down enough in the minute after exercise ended.
 
 -- From News Services
 
 
 Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 12 17:46:41 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Thu May 12 17:52:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Lawless Iraq is 'key drug route'
Message-ID: <20050513_004641_031591.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
This war has gotten so wrong, that I think Bush is now hiding under his bed, because of the monsters in his closet, either that or he is just brain dead!

** Lawless Iraq is 'key drug route' **
Internal chaos in Iraq has turned it into a new link in the supply route for Afghan heroin, a drug control agency says.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4541387.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 17:49:09 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 17:54:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Bush suffers blow on UN choice
Message-ID: <20050513_004909_013095.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
hope?

** Bush suffers blow on UN choice **
In a rare move, a key Senate committee refuses to endorse John Bolton - President Bush's choice of UN envoy.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4539623.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 17:49:39 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 17:54:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Gunmen 'release' Uzbek prisoners
Message-ID: <20050513_004939_010265.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Gunmen 'release' Uzbek prisoners **
Gunmen storm a prison in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan, possibly releasing thousands of inmates, reports say.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4542783.stm >


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If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 17:50:24 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 17:55:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Lawless Iraq is 'key drug route'
Message-ID: <20050513_005024_070020.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
surprise ? 

** Lawless Iraq is 'key drug route' **
Internal chaos in Iraq has turned it into a new link in the supply route for Afghan heroin, a drug control agency says.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4541387.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 17:55:56 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 12 18:01:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Canada MPs shut down parliament
Message-ID: <20050513_005556_022540.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Canada MPs shut down parliament **
Two Canadian opposition parties shut down the country's parliament as the crisis over a corruption scandal continues.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4542623.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 12 17:58:37 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu May 12 18:04:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Nice Army, drug dealers !
Message-ID: <000801c55756$e7d50af0$503fe440@Harold>

This one will upset the Pentagon and law enforcement officials, FBI stings 16 !

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050512/D8A1S6UO2.html

Later H
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From Rhaerther at aol.com  Thu May 12 18:56:11 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Thu May 12 19:01:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Pat Buchanan just does not get it! 
Message-ID: <ce.68778c6d.2fb5633b@aol.com>

 
 
Is this gentleman a product of the Florida school systems?  His lack  of 
history is appalling, but then again, as far as the Christian Reich is  concerned, 
accuracy don't count.  Why are these suddenly "Christian  Countries?  Where 
was the Christian Reich during the Holocaust?   During the Soviet occupation of 
Eastern Europe?  And can someone  rationalize what Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot 
and Castro have to do with  Yalta?  I keep hearing more and more of my 
Republican friends. (yes they do  socialize with liberal commie bastards like myself, 
but only if their  friends can't see them. Kinda like that date you take out 
because you like  them but don't want to be seen with) They wonder where 
America is headed, and  no longer trust or believe in strongly in the Republican 
Christian Reich  that is trying to complete their takeover of democracy.
 
As far as WII being worth it, I have 2 uncles, one landed in Sicily, the  
other at Normandy, who would say yes it was.  Picture the world today  without 
the Allied forces defeating the Axis.  It seems now the Christian  Reich will 
stoop to any low to discredit any accomplishment that doesn't fit  their agenda 
for domination of the US so they can take on the world.  If  they succeed in 
their US domination, guess who looses the war at the greatest  price?
 
Richard Haerther



 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 12 19:20:24 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Thu May 12 19:25:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] new fiore cartoon
Message-ID: <QjRWVTJCUik4WV9JNCosMTA3NDQzNA@Dragon>

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 12 21:00:23 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Thu May 12 21:05:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Try this!
Message-ID: <00bd01c55770$4a531640$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

I invite all to undertake this short, simple test.  If nothing else, it is very interesting...When you are finished, make sure to scroll down to the graph that plots your point....

www.politicalcompass.org

Have fun!
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 13 04:19:35 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 13 04:25:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9819112.1115983175221.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Therapies Shown to Cure Breast Cancer
 
 By Rob Stein
 
  Chemotherapy and hormone treatment have dramatically reduced the death rate from early breast cancer, according to a major international analysis that indicates the often arduous regimens do cure many women.
 
 The latest data from an extensive ongoing project involving 145,000 women with early breast cancer found that chemotherapy and hormone treatment continue to protect many women from dying from the disease for at least 15 years. The protection often gets stronger over time, increasing the likelihood that the therapy is truly eradicating cancer from their bodies.
 
 The findings provide the most convincing support yet for using aggressive strategies against the most common malignancy to strike women, and they help explain why the death rate from breast cancer has been dropping in many countries, including the United States and Britain, experts said.
 
 "This is really good news," said Sarah Darby of the University of Oxford in England, who led the analysis being reported in tomorrow's issue of the journal the Lancet. "It means that the standard therapies we're giving women really are working. It's really quite exciting."
 
 The analysis showed, for example, that a middle-aged woman with a diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer cuts her risk of dying by about half by undergoing six months of chemotherapy and taking hormone treatment for five years, if she is medically eligible for both.
 
 Every year, breast cancer is diagnosed in about 211,240 women in the United States and about 40,410 die from the disease, making it the most common cancer among women and second-leading cancer killer, after lung cancer.
 
 For most women, it is now standard practice to treat early breast cancer with surgery and radiation, followed by chemotherapy to reduce the risk of a recurrence by attempting to wipe out any cancer cells lurking elsewhere in the body. If their tumors are sensitive to the hormone estrogen, many women also take the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen for about five years to further reduce the risk of recurrence. (A new generation of hormone therapy has begun to replace tamoxifen.) Although earlier studies have shown that the approach reduced the chances of a relapse and increased the odds of survival, there have been haunting concerns about how long those benefits last inasmuch as breast cancer can hide in the body for years or even decades before reemerging.
 
 The new findings should alleviate lingering doubts, reassuring women who went through the sometimes grueling regimens that they were worthwhile and encouraging women who are not receiving such treatment to do so, Darby and others said.
 
 "There are a lot of women out there who are not getting these treatments and could benefit from them," Darby said. "They are not a magic bullet, but as these data show, they clearly do offer substantial benefit."
 
 The study also offers long-sought confirmation that follow-up therapies really are enabling more women to survive the disease and not just holding the cancer at bay, Darby and other experts said.
 
 "One of the big concerns people have had was whether these treatments really were curing you or just putting off the disease for a little while," said Susan Love, a breast cancer expert at the University of California at Los Angeles. "Now with these data you can say, 'No, it really is curing some people.' "
 
 Because breast cancer therapies have evolved since the studies in the analysis were conducted, survival rates may be even better now, the researchers said. But they noted that much more work is needed to prevent breast cancer, to develop targeted treatments tailored to women's cancers and to find better ways to predict an individual's prognosis.
 
 "While these numbers clearly translate into more women living longer, which is good news, it doesn't translate into an individual prediction," said Barbara Brenner of Breast Cancer Action, a patient advocacy group. "People always want to know, 'What is going to happen to me?' This study can't answer that."
 
 The Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group, based at Oxford, has been conducting comprehensive assessments of existing data on the effectiveness of this approach every five years. Previous analyses showed benefits after five and 10 years. In the latest analysis, the researchers extended the analysis to 15 years -- the longest follow-up ever -- using data from 194 studies begun around the world from 1985 to 1995.
 
 Overall, the women receiving treatment were significantly more likely to survive than those who did not, with the benefits varying based on a variety of factors, including age and whether their tumors were sensitive to estrogen.
 
 The analysis found, for example, that if a 50-year-old woman had a 1-in-5 risk of dying from her breast cancer, that risk could be reduced by about half -- to about 1 in 10 -- by six months of chemotherapy and five years of tamoxifen.
 
 The payoff increased with time. In women younger than 50, for example, the benefit of chemotherapy was twice as great at 15 years as at five years -- 10 percent survival benefit vs. 4.7 percent. The benefit of five years of tamoxifen was almost three times as great at 15 years as at five years -- 9.2 percent vs. 3.6 percent.
 
 The benefit probably increases over time because the proportion of surviving women who are cured by the treatment grows, experts said.
 
 "The most impressive finding is the divergence of the survival curves for breast cancer over time," wrote Karen Gelmon of the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, British Columbia, and colleagues in an editorial accompanying the findings. "The survival curves suggest that adjuvant systemic therapies do cure a proportion of women with early-stage breast cancer."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 13 04:20:08 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 13 04:25:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <30851218.1115983208581.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Leak's Wider Ripples
 
 By David Ignatius
 
  It's hard to fathom the continuing legal squeeze on Time magazine's Matthew Cooper and the New York Times's Judith Miller to reveal their sources in a White House leak investigation. Unless, that is, the real concern of special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald isn't just the leak but possible perjury by a senior Bush administration official.
 
 If Fitzgerald's investigation has now expanded to include perjury, as some close followers of the case suspect, that sharpens the dilemma for the journalists involved. It's one thing to protect the identity of a confidential source, even if that person may have violated the law by disclosing the identity of a covert intelligence agent. But it is arguably quite a different matter if the reporter has reason to believe a source lied to a grand jury. Does a reporter's confidentiality agreement extend to protecting a cover-up?
 
 Though the perjury issue hasn't surfaced in most discussions of the case, it's buried between the lines of the hundreds of pages of memos, briefs and other legal documents. Unless perjury is one of Fitzgerald's concerns, his tireless pursuit of Cooper and Miller is difficult to understand. As was said of Melville's "Moby-Dick," this is more than a story about a fish.
 
 The case is rooted in President Bush's January 2003 claim that Iraq had tried to acquire uranium from Africa for its alleged nuclear weapons program. On July 6, 2003, a former ambassador named Joseph Wilson, who had been sent by the CIA to Niger in 2002 to investigate the uranium claim, published an op-ed piece in the New York Times saying that he hadn't found any credible evidence to support the charge.
 
 Administration officials responded with a pointed leak. On July 14 syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak published an article outing Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, as "an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction" and citing "two senior administration officials" who believed she had suggested sending her husband to Niger. Three days later, Cooper published a similar report about Plame in Time's online edition, attributing it to "some government officials." Miller of the Times, meanwhile, met on July 8 with a government official with whom she may have discussed the Plame matter, according to a subpoena filed in the case, but she never published a story.
 
 Because Plame had served as a deep-cover CIA operative, the disclosure may have violated what's known as the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. But a prosecutor would have to prove that the leaker had "authorized access" to classified information revealing the agent's identity and "intentionally" disclosed it. And the prosecutor would also have to show the CIA had been "taking affirmative measures to conceal such agent's intelligence relationship."
 
 Fitzgerald was appointed special counsel in December 2003 and began pursuing the case aggressively. The White House had turned over telephone logs, e-mails and memos to the FBI in October 2003, so Fitzgerald presumably had records of who had called whom. The prosecutor then demanded sworn testimony from a number of senior aides. According to the New York Times, the FBI interviewed Karl Rove and top vice presidential adviser Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and a grand jury heard testimony from press secretary Scott McClellan, Cheney aide Mary Matalin and others. Fitzgerald even conducted interviews with President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
 
 Fitzgerald subpoenaed journalists to testify about their conversations with the possible leakers. Three reporters agreed to answer limited questions, and they disappeared from the case. Novak, the instigator, also vanished from any public record of the investigation, although there's much speculation that he cooperated with Fitzgerald. Cooper agreed to talk about one source who had waived confidentiality, but he refused to discuss others. Miller refused to provide any testimony. A federal judge has ordered Cooper and Miller to jail, and the reporters are asking the Supreme Court to take the case.
 
 Here's where it gets complicated: Fitzgerald's legal quest makes little sense to me as a leak investigation. The law is fuzzy, the evidence is ambiguous, and the case would be hard to prove. But every good prosecutor hates perjury above all. And on its face, this case raises the possibility that one of the senior administration officials who talked with Cooper or Miller has denied doing so, under oath. Otherwise, Fitzgerald would have been finished months ago.
 
 For journalists, the case raises agonizing issues: Where is the dividing line between journalistic ethics, which demand that reporters protect their sources, and ordinary ethics, which say people should cooperate with law enforcement if they know about possible criminal activity? Do journalists have a special status that exempts them, in certain cases, from the normal responsibilities of citizenship? But this case should worry most of all any White House insider who may have talked with reporters about Valerie Plame and then lied about it under oath.
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 13 04:20:50 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 13 04:26:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <29910139.1115983250601.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Toll of a Terrorist
 
 By Eugene Robinson
 
  It's been more than a month since a man portrayed in FBI files as a veteran terrorist entered the United States illegally, according to his lawyer. Yet the Bush administration -- which took about two nanoseconds to scramble fighter jets and evacuate half of official Washington the other day over a wayward Cessna -- still hasn't summoned the curiosity to even look for the guy.
 
 So much for our post-Sept. 11 policy of zero tolerance of terrorism.
 
 So much for a family in New York whose shining star this man allegedly blew out of the heavens.
 
 The man in question is Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban exile who has spent most of his life vainly trying to topple or terminate Fidel Castro. Declassified FBI and CIA documents released by the National Security Archive, a nonprofit research organization at George Washington University, make clear that U.S. authorities have suspected Posada of an act of mass murder -- the 1976 in-flight bombing of a civilian Cuban airliner that killed 73 people -- since day one, or at least day two.
 
 Barely 24 hours after the disaster, the FBI was told by a well-connected source that Posada and a confederate "had engineered the bombing." There's no tone of surprise in the cable, because by then the FBI was quite familiar with "Bambi" Posada. The documents offer a retrospective of his long career in the shadows.
 
 In 1964, three years after the Bay of Pigs fiasco supposedly ended talk of invading Cuba, Posada spent three months in Polk City, Fla., training with other exiles for a stillborn invasion that he believed "had U.S. government tolerance," according to an FBI memo. In 1965, sources told the FBI, Posada spent part of the year plotting to blow up a Cuban ship in Mexico and the rest scheming to overthrow the Guatemalan government.
 
 For much of this time he worked for the CIA, at one point being paid $300 a month; one CIA document says he became "of operational interest" in April 1965. His last contact with Langley was in June 1976, four months before the airliner bombing. Later he turned up requisitioning uniforms for the Nicaraguan contras, part of Oliver North's illegal supply line.
 
 From other sources we know that he is accused of mounting  a string of hotel bombings in Havana -- one Italian tourist was killed -- and at least one serious plot to assassinate Castro.
 
 Now he's hiding somewhere in the United States, perhaps in the Miami area. His attorney says Posada, who does not lack chutzpah, is applying for political asylum here on the grounds that the people he has tried so hard to kill might now turn around and try to kill him.
 
 Before ruling on Bambi's application, the Bush administration ought to send someone to Long Island to talk to Roseanne Nenninger. Her brother was on that Cuban air  liner.
 
 The flight was a milk run from Guyana to Cuba, with stops at various Caribbean islands along the way. Its passengers were mostly Cubans but included 11 Guyanese, among them a young man named Raymond Persaud.
 
 He was just 19, and in a family that valued education -- the father, Charles Persaud, was headmaster at a school -- his promise was unlimited. There wasn't enough money to send him to universities in the United States, so when he won a scholarship to study medicine in Cuba, the Persaud family was thrilled.
 
 "I was 11 years old, and I remember the day we took him to the airport," Roseanne Nenninger told me. "It was a big event for the family, and we all took the day off from school. I remember watching him walk across the tarmac to get on the plane." Then came the awful news a few hours later. The president of Guyana came to the Persaud house to offer condolences.
 
 Charles Persaud moved the family to Queens in 1979, supporting his wife and five surviving children by teaching in the New York City public schools. He never recovered from losing Raymond, though, thinking and writing obsessively about the bombing. He died of a heart attack two years ago.
 
 When family members read about Luis Posada last month, it was as if Raymond, once again, were just turning to wave from the steps of the plane.
 
 "It all came back," Nenninger said. "I found myself crying, just crying. . . . It made me think about all those people who lost loved ones on 9/11."
 
 According to an FBI cable, when one of the underlings sent to place the explosives on the plane telephoned to report success, he spoke in code: "A bus with 73 dogs went off a cliff and all got killed."
 
 eugenerobinson@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 13 04:22:03 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 13 04:27:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26194031.1115983323772.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Nuclear? No, Restoration
 
 By Charles Krauthammer
 
  Four years ago this week, President Bush nominated Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla  Owen to the federal bench. Four years later, she and six other appeals court nominees remain unconfirmed and unvoted upon because of Democratic filibusters.
 
 This technique is defended by Democrats as traditional and rooted in history. What a fraud. The only example that comes close is Lyndon Johnson's nomination in 1968 of (sitting) Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas to be chief justice. But this case is muddied by the fact that (a) Fortas was subject to allegations involving conflictsof interest and financial impropriety, (b) he did not appear to have the votes anyway, and (c) the case involved elevation on the court, not appointment to the court.
 
 Even if we concede Fortas, that is one successful filibuster, 37 years ago, in two centuries of American history. In 2000, a small number of Republicans tried to filibuster two Clinton judicial nominees but were defeated in that attempt not only by Democrats but also b  y Republicans voting roughly 3 to 1 for cloture.
 
 There has certainly never been a successful filibuster in the case of a judicial nominee who clearly had the approval of a majority of the Senate. And there has surely never been a campaign like the one undertaken by the Democrats since 2001 to systematically deny judicial appointment by means of the filibuster.
 
 Two hundred years of tradition has been radically and unilaterally changed by the minority. Why? The reason is obvious. Democrats have not had a very good run recently in the popularly elected branches. Since choosing the wrong side of the culture wars of the 1960s, they have won only three of the past  10 presidential elections. A decade ago they lost control of the House for the first time in 40 years, and now have lost all the elected branches. They are in a panic that they will lose their one remaining ability to legislate -- through the courts.
 
 And this they have done with great success, legislating by judicial fiat everything from abortion to gay marriage to religion in the public square. They want to maintain that commanding height of the culture and are not about to let something like presidential prerogative and two centuries of Senate history stand in their way.
 
 Hence the filibuster strategy. Feeling they have a weak hand, however, they have been offering deals. In the latest, as reported in Roll Call, Democrats would allow some appellate  court nominees to go through, deny at least three others, and promise not to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee as long as there are no "extreme circumstances."
 
 But of course Democrats believe that anybody who, say, opposes affirmative action on principle is extreme. As is anyone who believes (as, for example, I and many others do) that abortion should remain legal but that Roe v. Wade is a travesty -- an extreme case of judicial arrogance and constitutional invention -- worthy of repeal.
 
 If Republicans accept this kind of deal, they are fools. They have a perfectly constitutional, perfectly reasonable case for demanding an up-or-down vote on judicial nominees, and they should not be throwing it away for a mess of potage and fuzzy promises.
 
 Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist seems intent on passing a procedural ruling to prevent judicial filibusters. Democrats have won the semantic war by getting this branded "the nuclear option," a colorful and deliberately inflammatory term (although Republican Trent Lott, ever helpful, appears to have originated the term). The semantic device reminds me of the slogan of the nuclear freeze campaign of the early 1980s: "Because nobody wants a nuclear war." (Except Ronald Reagan, of course.)
 
 Democrats are calling Frist's maneuver an assault on the very essence of the Senate, a body distinguished by its insistence on tradition, custom and unwritten rules.
 
 This claim is a comical inversion of the facts. One of the great traditions, customs and unwritten rules of the Senate is that you do not filibuster judicial nominees. You certainly do not filibuster judicial nominees who would otherwise win an up-or-down vote. And you surely do not filibuster judicial nominees in a systematic campaign to deny a president and a majority of the Senate their choice of judges. That is historically unprecedented.
 
 The Democrats have unilaterally shattered one of the longest-running traditions in parliamentary history worldwide. They are not to be rewarded with a deal. They must either stop or be stopped by a simple change of Senate procedure that would do nothing more than take a 200-year-old unwritten rule and make it written.
 
 What the Democrats have done is radical. What Frist is proposing is a restoration.
 
 letters@charleskrauthammer.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May 13 06:14:29 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May 13 06:20:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Rebuff for Bush on UN envoy
Message-ID: <20050513131429.7021646CF@mullet.gul3.gnl>

harry 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

Rebuff for Bush on UN envoy
Republican senator attacks outspoken hawk's track record and warns US has to improve image abroad
Julian Borger in Washington
Friday May 13 2005
The Guardian


President George Bush yesterday suffered a significant rebuff over his choice of John Bolton, an outspoken hawk, as America's envoy to the UN, when a Republican senator broke ranks and opposed the nomination. 

George Voinovich said the appointment of a gruff unilateralist would do nothing to improve America's battered image abroad. His strongly-worded opposition denied Mr Bolton the endorsement of the Senate's powerful foreign relations committee and threw his future into doubt.  

Without a recommendation from the committee, the nomination was yesterday sent to the whole Senate for a decision. The Republicans hold a 10-vote majority there, but victory is not guaranteed.  

Other Republican moderates could join Senator Voinovich, or the Democrats could wield a filibuster, making speeches until the allotted time for debate expires. In either case, the administration could ultimately be forced to withdraw the candidate and nominate an alternative.  

Even if Mr Bolton wins the vote on the Senate floor, Mr Bush's failure to win a clear endorsement for his nominee from the Republican-controlled foreign relations committee - despite a campaign of sustained pressure on waverers - has demonstrated the limits on his power, even after his election victory in November.   

Yesterday's committee vote, after unusually prolonged hearings, also reflected a sense of unease among moderate Republicans about Washington's shortage of friends in the world.  

In explaining his opposition to Mr Bolton, Mr Voinovich repeatedly returned to America's image abroad and the nominee's reputation for browbeating those who disagreed with his hawkish views.  

"Today, the United States is criticised for what the world calls arrogance, unilateralism and for failing to listen and to seek the support of its friends and allies," the Ohio Republican said. "There has been a drastic change in the attitude of our friends and allies ... I discovered this last November   when I was in London with people in the parliament there."  

Acknowledging that the administration had promised to repair the diplomatic damage of the past four years, Mr Voinovich added: "But what message are we sending to the world community when ... we have sought to appoint an ambassador to the UN who himself has been accused of being arrogant, of not listening to his friends, of acting unilaterally, of bullying those who do not have the ability to properly defend themselves?  

The senator's mention of his London visit was not the only time British views entered into yesterday's debate. The committee's chairman, Richard Lugar, read out a letter of support for Mr Bolton from Lady Thatcher. "A capacity for straight talking rather than peddling half-truths is a strength and not a disadvantage in diplomacy, particularly in the case of a great power like America," she wrote.  

The committee vote on Mr Bolton's nomination had been postponed for a month to hear testimony from various officials who had clashed with the former assistant secretary of state.  

Republicans outnumber Democrats on the committee by 10 to eight, but Mr Voinovich's defection created a deadlock. That could have sunk the nomination, but he said he was not "so arrogant" to impose his views on his colleagues.  

He said the nomination   should go forward, but without a recommendation from the committee.  

A Democratic official said yesterday his party's strategy would now be to encourage other Republicans to defect and join Mr Voinovich. "The challenge for Democrats is not to lose any of the 45 votes on our side," the official said.  

The senate official mentioned senators Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson as possible Democratic defectors.  

He predicted that there would be disagreement inside the party over whether to use a filibuster, a controversial weapon that some Democrats want to reserve for use against conservative nominees for appointments to the country's highest courts. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May 13 06:18:34 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May 13 06:24:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: US hawks put Annan's job on the line
Message-ID: <20050513131834.AB3E244E9@mullet.gul3.gnl>

harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from harry:

The US Administration wants to punish those that are not supportive of their PAX Americana
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

US hawks put Annan's job on the line
Ewen MacAskill, diplomatic editor
Friday May 13 2005
The Guardian


The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, is fighting for his job in the face of an increasing campaign by Republican congressmen who have launched a series of investigations into the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. 

Mr Annan is facing three separate congressional investigations into oil-for-food and a UN security council source said a further four are pending.  

George Bush's Republican party is hostile towards the UN in general but Mr Annan in particular, especially after he last year declared that the war in Iraq was illegal.  

Senator Norm Coleman, the Republican senator whose committee yesterday published a report naming George Galloway, the MP for the anti-war Respect party, and Charles Pasqua, the former French minister, in connection with oil-for-food, has called on Mr Annan to resign.  

Mr Coleman also hinted that the US could withhold its funding, which he said amounted to about 22% of the UN's total budget.  

Mr Annan, who was badly undermined by revelations that his son Kojo was paid by a company that secured a lucrative UN contract for Iraq, is refusing to resign. He is due to retire in December 2006.  

If Mr Annan does not resign before then, the US will try to ensure that the next appointment, who is due to be chosen from Asia, will be in the American camp.  

Mr Coleman's inquiry is being conducted by the Senate permanent sub-committee on investigations. Separate inquiries are being carried out by the House of Representatives international relations committee, led by the Republican Henry Hyde, and the house sub-commitee on national security, emerging threats and international relations, headed by Christopher Shays, another Republican.  

These come on top of an internal UN inquiry ordered last year by Mr Annan and headed by Paul Volcker, who has already issued two interim reports and is due to publish his final report in the summer. A spokeswoman for Mr Volker said yesterday the timetable could slip and that a decision on a publication date was "not yet on the horizon".  

The two interim reports by Mr Volcker have been extremely damaging to Mr Annan, criticising his officials as well as Kojo.  

The inquiry is into the programme in which Saddam Hussein was allowed to sell   limited quantities of oil in return for food between 1996 and 2003. Various companies and individuals are alleged to have benefited from illegal payments.  

As long as only Mr Volcker was involved, Mr Annan could contain the row, and UN officials hope that publication of his report would mark an end to the affair.  

But, with Republican congressmen piling in, Mr Annan will face month after month of rows and allegations.  

UN officials admitted yesterday that a clash between the world organisation and the US Congress has put in jeopardy a programme of reforms on which Mr Annan has   staked his reputation.  

Heads of government are due in New York in September to ratify the reform package, including expansion of the security council, which would amount to the biggest overhaul of the UN since its founding in 1945.  

But relations between the UN and Congress have deteriorated sharply in the last week over oil-for-food to the extent that a US federal judge has been called upon to intervene.  

One UN official admitted Mr Annan, who wanted the reforms to be his legacy, is being "distracted" by oil-for-food. The official admitted it is now possible that Mr Annan will not achieve in September anything other than minimal changes, and the grandiose plan for increasing the security council from 15 members to 25 will be shelved.  

A UN official close to Mr Annan acknowleged that the publication of Mr Volcker's report will not end the controversy. "Yes, that is true. It ain't over with Volcker," the official said.  

He added that Mr Annan had said the disclosures about the oil-for-food programme had been embarrassing but that he was determined to press ahead. Asked at a recent press conference if he was considering resigning, Mr Annan said: "Hell, no."  

The UN official said that if relations between the US and the UN continue to deteriorate at the present speed, he feared Congress will once again impose a freeze on funding, as it did 15 years ago.  

The official said: "We are doing all we can to give them information they need. We hope it will have a sensible ending. There were mistakes [in the oil-for-food programme] but not gross corruption - just minor."    



Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 13 09:01:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:07:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 
	NYTimes.com: Oddly, Hillary and, Yes, Newt Agree to Agree
Message-ID: <20050513150159.C1C0383E93@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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NEW YORK REGION | May 13, 2005

Oddly, Hillary and, Yes, Newt Agree to Agree
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ

Newt Gingrich has been talking up Hillary Clinton's presidential prospects in 2008, to the chagrin of conservative loyalists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/nyregion/13hillary.html?ex=1116648000&en=7755f190cc61e0ba&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 13 09:02:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:07:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Always Low Wages. Always.
Message-ID: <20050513150213.BF4BA3880C9@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 13, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Always Low Wages. Always.
By PAUL KRUGMAN

In the time since General Motors was America's largest corporation, America has grown much richer, but American workers have become far less secure.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/opinion/13krugman.html?ex=1116648000&en=fb922d070c27de48&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 13 09:02:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:07:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?
Message-ID: <20050513150227.30ABF1C2AA@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 13, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

The United States is cocky, and falling behind.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/opinion/13friedman.html?ex=1116648000&en=9f6a0a5e8bb80511&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 13 09:04:03 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:09:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bombs Kill 21 and Hurt 70 in Baghdad
Message-ID: <20050513150404.C48C511F9EC@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 13, 2005

Bombs Kill 21 and Hurt 70 in Baghdad
By SABRINA TAVERNISE

In the aftermath of the attack, an angry crowd gathered, and a policeman at the scene said the crowd turned on American troops who responded to the bombing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/international/middleeast/13iraq.html?ex=1116648000&en=8b8466476a276b5b&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 13 09:04:16 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:09:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Presses Iraqi Government to Broaden
	the Role of Sunnis
Message-ID: <20050513150416.C99571C2A3@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 13, 2005

U.S. Presses Iraqi Government to Broaden the Role of Sunnis
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

The Bush administration is stepping up its appeals to broaden their role in the government or risk driving moderate Sunnis into the arms of insurgents.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/politics/13diplo.html?ex=1116648000&en=e17f6ecdc2edbd3a&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 13 09:04:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:09:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Protests Against U.S. Spread Across
	Afghanistan
Message-ID: <20050513150437.EC8C3388130@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 13, 2005

Protests Against U.S. Spread Across Afghanistan
By CARLOTTA GALL

Violence spread to 10 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces as four more protesters died in a third day of anti-American demonstrations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/international/asia/13afghan.html?ex=1116648000&en=c68a3714caa9c970&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 13 09:05:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:10:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Troops Open Fire on Protesters in Uzbekistan
Message-ID: <20050513150520.537261C2A6@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 13, 2005

Troops Open Fire on Protesters in Uzbekistan
By REUTERS

Protesters spilled into the streets of the eastern town of Andizhan and nine people were killed when rebels broke comrades out of jail and seized a key government building.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-uzbekistan-town.html?ex=1116648000&en=0bc909be3036062e&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 13 09:07:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:13:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Who's in Charge of Determining U.S.
	Interest Rates? It May Be Beijing
Message-ID: <20050513150752.0D80422EFC7@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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Michael: Remember what Hayden said at dinner?! Peace.


BUSINESS / WORLD BUSINESS | May 13, 2005

Who's in Charge of Determining U.S. Interest Rates? It May Be Beijing
By FLOYD NORRIS

Instead of searching for hints as to when China will allow its currency to rise, perhaps it would be better for Americans to ponder the impact of China's current policies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/business/worldbusiness/13norris.html?ex=1116648000&en=6b2d15cb9dc4d74d&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri May 13 08:39:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri May 13 08:44:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Nine die in new anti-US violence
Message-ID: <20050513_153902_040277.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Nine die in new anti-US violence **
At least nine more people  - including  civilians and police - are killed in a fourth day of  anti-US protests in Afghanistan.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4544833.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri May 13 08:39:17 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Fri May 13 08:44:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Hecate wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200505131539.j4DFdHOJ019572@server1.truthout.org>



Hecate thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/051305Z.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May 13 09:37:10 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC Arts)
Date: Fri May 13 09:43:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC Arts - DENNIS MILLER GETS THE AXE
Message-ID: <20050513163710.0EA191B691@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 ARTS
at http://www.cbc.ca/arts
____________________________________________________
DENNIS MILLER GETS THE AXE
WebPosted Thu May 12 14:25:59 2005

NEW YORK---The cable business network CNBC is cancelling Dennis Miller's
nightly talk show, barely 16 months after it launched.

In a memo to staff, CNBC head Mark Hoffman said that when Miller was
informed that his show was being axed, he "let me know that his strong
preference is to leave the program immediately."

The last instalment of Dennis Miller will air Friday.

At the time of his debut, the channel announced that Miller would bring
his "take-no-prisoners, suffer-no-fools style" to prime time.

The audience, however, did not warm to that style. According to Nielsen
Media Research, the show had an average of 168,000 viewers. That number
dropped to 114,000 after last year's presidential election.

Although those who know him say he has always had a conservative
streak, many viewers were surprised by Miller's outspoken right-wing
political stance.

When the show premiered, for instance, Miller told the Associated Press
that he would not be making jokes about U.S. President George W. Bush.

"I like him. I'm going to give him a pass. I take care of my
friends," he said.

Some guests on the show who did not share Miller's views were
uncomfortable on air, making for interviews that were painful to watch.

Miller has had a checkered history on television. He first came to the
attention of the public as the host of Saturday Night Live 's Weekend
Update faux newscast.

He carved out a niche with his brand of intelligent and sarcastic comedy,
popularizing the phrase "I am outta here."

After leaving Saturday Night Live in 1991, he hosted the short-lived
Dennis Miller Show the following year. This was in an era when seemingly
everyone was getting a nightly talk show.

A successful run as host of Dennis Miller Live on HBO followed, earning
him five Emmy Awards. He was also a commentator on Monday Night
Football .

CNBC has had a time carving out a niche in prime time. It cancelled
McEnroe , a nightly chatfest hosted by former tennis star John McEnroe,
last year.

McEnroe twice registed a 0.0 rating, meaning that, statistically
speaking, it had no viewers.

Miller has been rumoured to be a possible candidate to run for the U.S.
Senate as a Republican from California.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May 13 09:40:58 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May 13 09:46:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - 7 DIE IN AFGHAN PROTESTS OVER QUR'AN
	ALLEGATIONS
Message-ID: <20050513164058.96AE21B691@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
____________________________________________________
7 DIE IN AFGHAN PROTESTS OVER QUR'AN ALLEGATIONS
WebPosted Fri May 13 10:59:23 2005

kabul---At least seven people died in clashes with police Friday during
anti-American demonstrations over allegations that Islam's holy book was
desecrated at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay.

In the latest violence, two civilians and a police officer were fatally
shot in the southeastern city of Ghazni. Witnesses said demonstrators
swarmed a police station, chanting anti-U.S. slogans and throwing rocks
at the building.

Earlier in the day, Afghan police opened fire on hundreds of
demonstrators in the Baharak district of northeastern Badakhshan
province, killing three men, said Associated Press. At least 20
others were injured on the third day of violence that has killed
seven other people.

 FROM MAY 12, 2005: 3 killed in 2nd day of clashes in Afghanistan

At another demonstration on Friday in Qala-e-Naw, in Badghis province,
one man was killed by police fire, the province's police chief told AP.

Friday's shootings raise the number of people killed in anti-American
demonstrations this week to 14.

The demonstrations were sparked by a report in the May 9 edition of
Newsweek magazine that said interrogators at the military base in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, placed copies of the Qur'an on toilets to upset
prisoners. One report said they flushed the holy book down the toilet.

Desecration of the book is punishable by death in Afghanistan and
Pakistan, where many of the Guantanamo prisoners are from. Most were
captured following the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Pentagon has promised to investigate the report.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu May 12 18:55:00 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri May 13 10:05:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Robert Fisk: The Occupation, Year Two
Message-ID: <200505131705.j4DH5aoV002398@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Not a pretty picture but we really need to know...


CounterPunch - May 9, 2005
http://www.counterpunch.org/fisk05092005.html

The Occupation, Year Two:

"Mission Accomplished"

By ROBERT FISK
The Independent

Two years after "Mission Accomplished", whatever moral stature the 
United States could claim at the end of its invasion of Iraq has long ago
been squandered in the torture and abuse and deaths at Abu Ghraib. That
the symbol of Saddam Hussein's brutality should have been turned by his
own enemies into the symbol of their own brutality is a singularly ironic
epitaph for the whole Iraq adventure. We have all been contaminated by the
cruelty of the interrogators and the guards and prison commanders.

But this is not only about Abu Ghraib. There are clear and proven 
connections now between the abuses at Abu Ghraib and the cruelty at the
Americans' Bagram prison in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Curiously,
General Janis Karpinski, the only senior US officer facing charges over
Abu Ghraib, admitted to me a year earlier when I visited the prison that
she had been at Guantanamo Bay, but that at Abu Ghraib she was not
permitted to attend interrogations - which seems very odd.

A vast quantity of evidence has now been built up on the system which the
Americans have created for mistreating and torturing prisoners. I have
interviewed a Palestinian who gave me compelling evidence of anal rape
with wooden poles at Bagram - by Americans, not by Afghans.

Many of the stories now coming out of Guantanamo - the sexual 
humiliation of Muslim prisoners, their shackling to seats in which they
defecate and urinate, the use of pornography to make Muslim prisoners feel
impure, the female interrogators who wear little clothing (or, in one
case, pretended to smear menstrual blood on a prisoner's face) - are
increasingly proved true. Iraqis whom I have questioned at great length
over many hours, speak with candour of terrifying beatings from military
and civilian interrogators, not just in Abu Ghraib but in US bases
elsewhere in Iraq.

At the American camp outside Fallujah, prisoners are beaten with full
plastic water bottles which break, cutting the skin. At Abu Ghraib, prison
dogs have been used to frighten and to bite prisoners.

How did this culture of filth start in America's "war on terror"? The
institutionalised injustice which we have witnessed across the world, the
vile American "renditions" in which prisoners are freighted to countries
where they can be roasted, electrified or, in Uzbekistan, cooked alive in
fat? As Bob Herbert wrote in The New York Times, what seemed mind-
boggling
when the first pictures emerged from Abu Ghraib is now routine, typical of
the abuse that has "permeated the Bush administration's operations".

Amnesty, in a chilling 200-page document in October, traced the 
permeation of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's memos into the 
prisoner interrogation system and the weasel-worded authorisation of
torture. In August 2002, for example, only a few months after Bush spoke
under the "Mission Accomplished" banner, a Pentagon report stated that "in
order to respect the President's inherent constitutional authority to
manage a military campaign, [the US law prohibiting torture] must be
construed as inapplicable to interrogations undertaken pursuant to his
Commander-in-Chief authority." What does that mean other than permission
from Bush to torture?

A 2004 Pentagon report uses words designed to allow interrogators to use
cruelty without fear of court actions: "Even if the defendant knows that
severe pain will result from his actions, if causing such harm is not his
objective, he lacks the requisite specific intent [to be guilty of
torture] even though the defendant did not act in good faith."

The man who directly institutionalised cruel sessions of interrogation in
Abu Ghraib was Major-General Geoffrey Miller, the Guantanamo commander 
who
flew to Abu Ghraib to "Gitmo-ize the confinement operation" there. There
followed the increased use of painful shackling and the frequent forcible
stripping of prisoners. Maj-Gen Miller's report following his visit in
2003 spoke of the need for a detention guard force at Abu Ghraib that
"sets the conditions for the successful interrogation and exploitation of
the internees/detainees". According to Gen Karpinski, Maj-Gen Miller said
the prisoners "are like dogs, and if you allow them to believe they're
more than a dog, then you've lost control of them".

The trail of prisons that now lies across Iraq is a shameful symbol not
only of our cruelty but of our failure to create the circumstances in
which a new Iraq might take shape. You may hold elections and create a
government, but when this military sickness is allowed to spread, the
whole purpose of democracy is overturned. The "new" Iraq will learn from
these interrogation centres how they should treat prisoners and,
inevitably, the "new" Iraqis will take over Abu Ghraib and return it to
the status it had under Saddam and the whole purpose of the invasion (or
at least the official version) will be lost.

With an insurgency growing ever more vicious and uncontrollable, the
emptiness of Mr Bush's silly boast is plain. The real mission, it seems,
was to institutionalise the cruelty of Western armies, staining us forever
with the depravity of Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and Bagram - not to mention
the secret prisons which even the Red Cross cannot visit and wherein who
knows what vileness is conducted. What, I wonder, is our next "mission"?

[Robert Fisk is a reporter for The Independent and author of Pity the
Nation. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch's collection, The
Politics of Anti-Semitism. Fisk's new book, The Conquest of the Middle
East, will be released this fall.]


-- 
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 
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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  Fri May 13 10:15:03 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri May 13 10:20:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Carlyle abandons $300m Russian fund plan >By Peter Smith
	in London
Message-ID: <BEAA2EA7.203E6%michael@michaelbutler.com>


 
FT.com     
 
Click Here to Print
      EMAIL THIS | Close
 
Carlyle abandons $300m Russian fund plan
>By Peter Smith in London
>Published: May 12 2005 22:03 | Last updated: May 12 2005 22:03
>>

Carlyle on Thursday abandoned its efforts to raise a $300m fund dedicated to
Russian investments, the second such failure for the US buy-out group.

It declined to comment on fundraising last night but the group said the
investment climate in Russia did not warrant a dedicated team.

The failure to attract investors is a blow to Russia's fledgling
private-equity industry, especially as Carlyle is regarded as one of the
private-equity world's most sophisticated fund-raising groups.

An investor who initially expressed interest in the Russia fund said: "For
western investors, Russia's risk profile currently lacks the predictability
to give us confidence in returns. The investment market [in Russia] is very
volatile at the moment."

Carlyle said it had not given up on the region and might make investments in
Russia out of its European and US buy-out funds.

The group last month closed the world's biggest buy-out fund at $7.85bn. It
has a portfolio of 28 funds, ranging from venture capital and distressed
debt to geographic and sector-specific buy-out funds, with $25bn under
management. Peers regard it as a "fund-raising machine".

Carlyle had a team of four investment professionals working on Russian
deals. Three of those have left the group, and the future of the fourth is
not known.

Carlyle had a brief relationship with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, formerly chief
executive of Yukos oil company, which ended in May 2003. Mr Khodorkovsky was
a special adviser to the group and sat on Carlyle's energy-advisory board
but was not involved in any of its fund-raising efforts.

It is the second time Carlyle has had to rethink its strategy for Russia.

The group first set up an office in Moscow in 1998 but closed it in 2000.
>
>
>
 
 
 
 

From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May 13 11:51:29 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Fri May 13 11:57:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Tom Dispatch
Message-ID: <200505131851.j4DIpTQp024315@thor.thenation.com>

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URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050513/aaa8f33c/attachment.html
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Fri May 13 12:27:13 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Fri May 13 12:32:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Try this!
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV1591B365A5FF628729027EAB120@phx.gbl>

Ian....

Thank you for sending this it was interesting to take and I am pleased with myself where I came out on the scale after truthfully answering questions on the 6  pages. After finishing and reviewing the others mentioned who were at the same spot on the scale 1) Gandhi, 2)Dalai Lama 3) Nelson Mandela  I like being in their company :-)....

Thanks again.
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian
Sent: Thu, 12 May 2005 21:00:23 -0700
To: Civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] Try this!

I invite all to undertake this short, simple test.  If nothing else, it is very interesting...When you are finished, make sure to scroll down to the graph that plots your point....

www.politicalcompass.org

Have fun!

From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Fri May 13 12:59:37 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Fri May 13 13:05:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ray McGovern: Bolton's Yellowcake
Message-ID: <20050513195937.2420.qmail@web53004.mail.yahoo.com>

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050511/boltons_yellowcake.php

Bolton's Yellowcake
Ray McGovern

May 11, 2005

Ray McGovern spent 27 years as a CIA analyst and
is a founding member of Veteran Intelligence
Professionals for Sanity, a group of 50 former
intelligence community members formed in January
2003.  He now works at Tell the Word, the
publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the
Saviour in Washington, DC.

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

What role did John Bolton play in the Bush
administration's efforts to manufacture the
intelligence needed to justify the invasion
of Iraq? As it turns out, a hidden but important
role. Remember the "yellowcake from Niger?"


Briefly reported last week in Steve Clemons' The
Washington Note was that a Congressional
subcommittee, citing a State Department inspector
general's report, found that Bolton ordered and
received updates on the notorious "Fact Sheet" of
Dec. 19, 2002 that claimed Iraq had been trying
to procure uranium "yellowcake" from Niger. In
other words, John Bolton played a key role in
ordering that discredited intelligence be used to
support the president's case for war, three
months before the attack on Iraq.
 
A Plan To Fix The Facts
 
TomPaine.com readers, unlike those malnourished
by "mainstream media," were among the first to
learn of the leaked document published by the
London Sunday Times on May 1, in which the head
of British intelligence told Prime Minister Tony
Blair that President George W. Bush had decided
to make war on Iraq.  The date, you will
remember, was July 23, 2002—long before the
president consulted Congress, and long before any
intelligence was cooked up to "justify" such a
decision.


The official minutes of that meeting show that
the U.K. intelligence chief, Richard Dearlove,
just back from consultations in Washington with
then-CIA director George Tenet and other
officials, announced matter-of-factly that the
attack on Iraq is to be "justified by the
conjunction of terrorism and weapons of mass
destruction."  British Foreign Secretary Jack
Straw is quoted as confirming that Bush has
decided on war, but interjects ruefully that the
case for WMD was "thin."  Not a problem, says
Dearlove, "Intelligence and facts were being
fixed around the policy."


Boltonization


But how does this kind of "fixing" play out? 
Insights leap out of recently declassified email
messages from the office of Undersecretary of
State John Bolton, archdeacon of politicization. 
I was particularly struck today to learn from the
Washington Post that Bolton's principal aide and
chief enforcer, Frederick Fleitz, is actually a
CIA analyst on loan to Bolton.  In this light,
his behavior in trying to cook intelligence to
the recipe of high policy is even more
inexcusable.  CIA analysts, particularly those on
detail to policy departments, have no business
playing the enforcer of policy judgments, have no
business conjuring up "intelligence around the
policy."


Fleitz must have flunked Ethics and Intelligence
Analysis 101.  Or perhaps the CIA does not offer
the course any more.  This is the same Fleitz who
"explained" to State Department's intelligence
analyst Christian Westermann that it was "a
political judgment as to how to interpret this
data [on Cuba's biological weapons program] and
the I.C. [intelligence community] should do as we
asked."


Emails released more recently show Fleitz acting
as stalking horse for Bolton to make sure the
intelligence fit the policies Bolton was
pushing.  Fleitz is furious that State Department
intelligence experts feel it their duty to demur
on Bolton/Fleitz judgments regarding the efficacy
of missile export controls against China. 
Fleitz, whose home office at CIA is the one which
gave us "high confidence" judgments on the
presence of WMD in Iraq, apparently ordered up
analysis from CIA to suit his boss' strongly held
judgment that the controls on exports to China
were deficient.


Not surprisingly, Bolton liked the analysis that
was served up by Fleitz' CIA colleagues and told
him to pass it to Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage.  But State's intelligence
analysts had the temerity to do their job, and
attached a cover memo taking the opposite
position, viewing the export controls
positively. Questioned on this by Senate staffers
last week, Fleitz admitted that his experience in
his CIA home office gave him a personal stake in
how the analysis was treated.  This is doubly
inappropriate.


The idea of seconding intelligence analysts to
policy departments dates back almost three
decades to a time when many analysts found
themselves working in a vacuum, blissfully
unaware of policymakers' interests and needs. 
The analysts' (otherwise laudable) search for
relevance has now swung the pendulum too far in
the other direction, with folks like Fleitz
"cherry-picked" by folks like Bolton to "support"
policy in wholly inappropriate ways.  That top
CIA officials allow the Boltons of this
administration to get away with that shows CIA
managers to be weak, witting and
willing accomplices in this corruption of the
intelligence process.


Enter The Yellowcake


The Fleitz technique is one way to Boltonize
intelligence, but there are other ways to counter
attempts by intelligence analysts to "tell it
like it is," when "like it is" needs to be
"fixed" around a policy.  Just go around the
analysts. 


An instructive example of this can be seen by
harkening back to a key juncture in the saga on
Iraqi "weapons of mass destruction," in which
Bolton achieved his aims by simply cutting State
Department intelligence analysts out of the flow.


Painful as it is to bring up the embarrassing
canard about Iraq seeking uranium in Niger, that
sad chapter illustrates how Bolton operates when
he knows he cannot bully intelligence community
analysts to come up with the desired "analysis." 
Before President Bush's key speech on Oct. 7,
2002 setting the stage for Congress' vote on the
war three days later, then-CIA director Tenet
personally intervened to prevent the president
from using spurious "intelligence" on the alleged
attempts to acquire "yellowcake" (the ore from
which unenriched uranium is extracted) from
Africa.


Just two months later, however, this canard
reappeared in an official State Department "Fact
Sheet" dated Dec. 19, debunking Baghdad's
submission to the U.N. Security Council
accounting for Iraqi weapons programs.  The "Fact
Sheet" directly cited the "yellowcake" deal as
proof that Saddam Hussein was lying to the United
States about his nuclear program (which had been
"reconstituted" only in the rhetoric of Bolton's
patron, Dick Cheney).


Small problem: State's intelligence analysts had
long shared CIA's skepticism about that report. 
Indeed, in the National Intelligence Estimate of
Oct. 1, 2002 they had branded it "dubious."


What accounts for new life being injected into
this canard?  We learned some time ago from a
former senior Bush State Department official that
the impetus came from Bolton's office.  And now
we have documentary proof, thanks to a State
Department Inspector General investigation, the
results of which were shared with a congressional
subcommittee.  In sum, when Bolton realized that
the Iraq-Niger report itself left most analysts
holding their noses (even before it was
established that it was based on crude
forgeries), his office inserted the bogus story
into the official State Department "Fact Sheet"
without clearing it with the department's own
intelligence analysts.  Easy.


This strongly suggests that it was also no
accident that a month later the yellowcake fable
found its way into the president's
state-of-the-union address. Bolton's rogue
operation ensured the subsequent embarrassment of
one and all when the head of the U.N.'s
International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed El
Baradei declared the reports "not authentic,"
forcing both White House officials and George
Tenet to apologize.


Bolton kept his head down during all this, doing
all he could to disguise his involvement in the
"Fact Sheet" misadventure.  Indeed, the House
Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on
National Security found that "the State
Department deliberately concealed unclassified
information about the role of John Bolton, Under
Secretary of State for Arms Control, in the
creation of a fact sheet that falsely claimed
that Iraq sought uranium from Niger."


In a letter of Sept. 25, 2003, State told the
subcommittee that "Bolton did not play a role in
the creation of this document."  However,
subcommittee investigators subsequently obtained
access to a State Department Inspector General
report that showed that Bolton not only ordered
that the Fact Sheet be created, but also received
updates on its development.


Later, Bolton fell back on his default modus
operandi-the by-now-familiar attempts to fire for
their insolence analysts, managers, senior U.N.
officials—it doesn't matter.  Late last year,
Bolton led a one-man, one-country vendetta aimed
at preventing the well-respected El Baradei from
getting another term as Director of the U.N.'s
International Atomic Energy Agency.  That
quixotic campaign was unprecedented in its
vindictiveness and won the U.S. no friends. 


And this is the president's nominee for
ambassador to the United Nations. Remarkable.
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri May 13 10:41:22 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri May 13 13:07:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] POVERTY AND THE BALLOT BOX
Message-ID: <BEAA34D2.203ED%michael@michaelbutler.com>

POVERTY AND THE BALLOT BOX
May 12th 2005  

Why are poor democracies not better at ending poverty?

ONE of many ways in which the Chinese economy outperformed India's in
the last two decades of the 20th century was in reducing poverty. In
China, the number of people living on less than $1 a day, adjusted to
reflect purchasing power, fell by about 400m, according to the World
Bank. In India, the figure dropped by just 70m. There are many
explanations for this, such as India's higher birth-rate. But it is
nonetheless, for democrats, a puzzle, and something of an embarrassment.

India, unlike China, is a vibrant democracy with a proudly robust habit
of turfing lousy governments out of office. The poor not only represent
a big chunk of the electorate; they also, proportionately, vote more
than the rich do. As Larry Diamond, of the Hoover Institution at
Stanford University, puts it in a recent essay in a collection*[1]
published by the World Bank, one would logically expect such a
democracy to choose "leaders, parties and policies that favour poverty
reduction". Yet, in this respect, at least, China's unelected heavies
have done better.


This is a dismal conclusion for democrats, though most, like Mr
Diamond, argue that the fault lies not with democracy itself so much as
its partial implementation or hijacking by elites. Another new
book&#8224;[2], by Bimal Jalan, a leading Indian economist and former
governor of the central bank, lists some of the woes afflicting Indian
politics, such as the rise of small parties, the dwindling of
inner-party democracy and the shrinking role of Parliament in ensuring
accountability. "For the poor in India," he concludes, the political
system "does not have much to offer--except the periodic satisfaction
of casting their votes."

In another chapter of the World Bank book, Ashutosh Varshney, a
political scientist at the University of Michigan, writes that India's
record in eradicating poverty is "neither extraordinary nor abysmal".
However, he makes the disturbing suggestion that some of the reasons
India and other democracies have not done better are related to the
structure of democratic politics itself.

As with "tigerish" rates of economic growth, the "miracles" in reducing
poverty have occurred almost exclusively in dictatorships. But so have
the disasters--sometimes in the very same dictatorship. Amartya Sen, an
Indian-born Nobel-prize-winning economist, has noted that democratic
India, unlike its colonised predecessor, has avoided famine. China, on
the other hand, suffered in 1959-61 probably the worst man-made famine
in history, in which 30m may have died.

In poverty-reduction, as in growth, India is typical of other
developing-country democracies, having achieved steady but not
spectacular success. It is a small group: precious few poor countries
have been democracies for very long--Botswana, Costa Rica, Jamaica, the
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Trinidad & Tobago, and a few others. Mr
Varshney excludes Malaysia, which has eradicated poverty, as "at best
half a democracy". Other countries have democratised after becoming
quite rich.

VOTING ONE'S CASTE
Why might democracy militate against poverty reduction in poor
countries? Mr Varshney has two suggestions. First, democracies have a
bias towards "direct" methods of tackling poverty, such as subsidies
and hand-outs, which, in the long run, are less effective than
"indirect" methods--ie, those that generate faster economic growth. In
India, this seems undeniably true. Governments have built up whopping
budget deficits, thanks largely to subsidies. Many farmers, for
example, receive subsidised or free fuel, fertiliser, electricity and
water. But little public money is spent on improvements that would do
most to lift the growth rate: in infrastructure, primary education and
basic health care. Everybody wants better roads, and nobody votes
against them. But every politician promises to build them and hardly
any do. Cutting subsidies, on the other hand, is a sure vote-loser.

Second, the poor are not necessarily a homogenous group. In a
democratic system, they may organise themselves along lines other than
economic class and "the shared identities of caste, ethnicity and
religion are more likely to form historically enduring bonds". If you
are born poor, you may die rich. But your ethnic group is fixed. In
India, with its myriad linguistic and caste-based groups, the upshot is
a dispiriting beggar-thy-neighbour politics. Just as subsidies are
easier to deliver than are roads and schools, so are affirmative-action
schemes, giving jobs to members of specified castes.

The relationship between caste and class helps explain the wide
regional discrepancies in India. Mr Sen has noted that in one Indian
state, Kerala, infant mortality has fallen from 37 per 1,000 in 1979,
the same as in China, to ten now, compared with 30 in China. He
suggests that the improvement relates directly to India's democratic
strengths. The collapse of the public health system in China in the
reform era was possible because there was little political resistance,
whereas the deficiencies of Indian primary health care are subject to
constant public scrutiny. Mr Varshney points to another explanation for
Kerala's good performance in reducing poverty: the "remarkable merging
of caste and class". This made the poor better-organised and more
cohesive. Such a coincidence, he says, is rare. In most places,
ethnicity and class cut across each other.

Even where they do, however, democracy, still young in the poor world,
may yet prove better at reducing poverty than despotism has been. One
of its many unquantifiable advantages is a capacity for
self-improvement. In dictatorships, if the people are lucky, rulers may
learn from their mistakes. In democracies, so can the people. In time,
they may even get it right.

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri May 13 11:21:00 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Fri May 13 13:44:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Gunfire 'breaks up Uzbek protest'
Message-ID: <20050513_182100_080483.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Gunfire 'breaks up Uzbek protest' **
Troops storm a rebel-held building in the Uzbek city of Andijan, as a day of violent protests draws to a close.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4544599.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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in one daily e-mail
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May 13 10:07:53 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri May 13 14:16:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Companies / US - Carlyle closes US fund at
	record $7.85bn
Message-ID: <11371375.1116004073777.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May 13 14:22:03 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May 13 14:27:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] I thought you would be interested to read this article
	from The Times
Message-ID: <200505132122.j4DLM3t24537@php-web3.wpng.newsint.co.uk.>



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1610537,00.html
                 Angry fans fight &#163;790m US takeover of Man Utd Manchester United, the world&#146;s richest football club, has become the property of a US billionaire
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 05:56:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 14 05:02:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Start a War, No Money Down!
Message-ID: <20050514115624.DF4D113B74A@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 14, 2005

Guest Columnist: Start a War, No Money Down!
By MATT MILLER

Thanks to the Republicans, countless Americans are becoming "war profiteers" in their spare time - and you can, too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/opinion/14miller.html?ex=1116734400&en=cc8963696797bffe&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 05:57:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 14 05:02:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Muslims' Anti-American Protests Spread From
	Afghanistan
Message-ID: <20050514115711.755B09FCE2@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 14, 2005

Muslims' Anti-American Protests Spread From Afghanistan
By CARLOTTA GALL

Thousands of Muslims, from Gaza to Pakistan to Indonesia, joined Afghans in protests over the reported desecration of a Koran by interrogators at Guantánamo Bay.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/international/asia/14afghan.html?ex=1116734400&en=4714dbef5c747dc3&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 05:57:33 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 14 05:02:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Vroom-Vroom, She Said to the Doubters
Message-ID: <20050514115733.C812C24AEBE@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 14, 2005

The Saturday Profile: Vroom-Vroom, She Said to the Doubters
By OTTO POHL

Laleh Seddigh, an auto racer, became the first woman in Iran since the Islamic Revolution to compete against men in any sport. What's more, she beat them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/international/middleeast/14seddigh.html?ex=1116734400&en=0965be31d6ba522b&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 05:57:49 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 14 05:03:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Jets Said to Destroy Rebel Hide-Out in
	Marine Push in Iraq
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 14, 2005

Jets Said to Destroy Rebel Hide-Out in Marine Push in Iraq
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Fighter jets flattened what the U.S. military said was an insurgent hide-out on the fifth day of the Marines' offensive near the Syrian border.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/international/middleeast/14iraq.html?ex=1116734400&en=f2fdef08b35feb52&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 05:59:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 14 05:04:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: French Economist to Lead World Trade
	Organization
Message-ID: <20050514115914.A5B7A22F0FC@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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BUSINESS / WORLD BUSINESS | May 14, 2005

French Economist to Lead World Trade Organization
By ELIZABETH BECKER

Pascal Lamy, a French economist and former European trade commissioner, was set on Friday to become the next head of the World Trade Organization.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/business/worldbusiness/14trade.html?ex=1116734400&en=3d0e056eb63b8c2e&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 05:59:55 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 14 05:05:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rebuffing Bush,
	132 Mayors Embrace Kyoto Rules
Message-ID: <20050514115956.3EE2F24AF1A@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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NATIONAL | May 14, 2005

Rebuffing Bush, 132 Mayors Embrace Kyoto Rules
By ELI SANDERS

Greg Nickels of Seattle and 131 other likeminded mayors have joined a bipartisan coalition to fight global warming on the local level.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/national/14kyoto.html?ex=1116734400&en=8e11a5303f34b70b&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 14 05:29:35 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 14 05:35:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <1858508.1116073776320.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Frist to Begin Floor Debate on Judges Next Week
 
 By Shailagh Murray and Dana Milbank
 
  Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) served notice yesterday that he will move next week to bring President Bush's judicial nominees to the full Senate for an up-or-down vote as lawmakers closed in on a last-minute compromise to end the conflict over judges.
 
 An aide to Frist said Senate Republicans would bring the fight over judges to the Senate floor on Wednesday and have a showdown vote between Friday and May 25 on one of two women Bush has nominated to appellate courts, Priscilla R. Owen and Janice Rogers Brown. Republicans have said they plan to abolish the filibusters that Democrats have used to block confirmation of several judges, inviting retaliation from a minority party that has threatened to disrupt Senate proceedings for months. The proposed change in Senate rules has been called the "nuclear option" by members of both parties.
 
 Despite the brinkmanship, Frist and Senate Democratic leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada are considering different ways to resolve the fate of all seven of the current nominees who had previously been blocked by filibuster. One potential agreement would guarantee that two of the nominees would be confirmed and the other five would be granted votes with no assurance of the outcome. The handling of the other five nominees remains the main sticking point between the GOP and Democratic leaders.
 
 Democrats are insisting that in exchange for clearing the way for two of the judges to be confirmed, Frist would have to promise not to seek to change the filibuster rule on judicial nominees through 2006. Under the negotiations, Republicans could choose which two nominees would be cleared.
 
 In a related negotiation, both leaders are monitoring an effort led by two moderate senators, Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), to amass five other Democrats and five other Republicans who would assure that the two nominees are approved. Nelson, McCain and the 10 other senators are participating in ongoing talks, people on both sides of the negotiations said.
 
 Though nothing is fixed, negotiators believe they may have the seed of a real solution that allows Frist to bring all the nominees to floor, while leaving the filibuster rule intact -- a crucial demand of the Democrats, who want the option of using the filibuster on future Supreme Court nominees. Democrats are increasingly optimistic that they may be able to attract enough Republican support to kill the rule-change effort outright.
 
 The two leaders have set a tentative deadline of the end of the day Monday to conclude their negotiations. Frist and Reid have a previously arranged dinner date Sunday at Frist's home.
 
 People familiar with the talks cautioned that nothing is fixed. "It's not soup yet," said one senior Senate aide. But there is a growing belief on both sides that if a credible alternative with a guaranteed outcome is presented, it would change the dynamic of the debate, by exposing a substantial bloc of bipartisan support for a compromise. Although the most vociferous Democratic and Republican factions appear to be itching for a showdown, many rank-and-file senators are loath to tamper with Senate rules and are weary of the judicial battle, a massive distraction that threatens to grind business to a halt for months to come.
 
 The backroom negotiations were accompanied yesterday by sharp partisan exchanges in public. "It is time for 100 Senators to decide the issue of fair up-or-down votes for judicial nominees after over two years of unprecedented obstructionism," Frist said in a statement. Reid issued a statement accusing Frist of an "abuse of power" and predicted that "Democrats and responsible Republicans will vote to preserve the checks and balances that the founders of our country so wisely established."
 
 If a compromise is not reached, Frist will try to impose the "nuclear option," reducing the threshold for confirmation to 50 votes from 60. The majority, in that vote, would seek to outlaw the minority's ability to filibuster Supreme Court and circuit court nominees, by establishing a precedent under which such nominees would receive an up-or-down vote after a debate of as many as 100 hours. Democrats have said they will retaliate by using parliamentary tactics to thwart Republican priorities.
 
 Both sides claim that history and precedent support their position, but it is clear that the action proposed by Frist would bring the Senate into uncharted territory. The chamber operates on the basis of "unanimous consent," meaning that an objection from even a single senator can disrupt the Senate's activities. And Democrats have said that they would retaliate against the anti-filibuster rule change by revoking their consent for routine activities -- a move that analysts said could bring the chamber to a standstill.
 
 Personnel appointments would be particularly vulnerable to delay tactics, and the first casualty could be Bush's pick to be United Nations ambassador, John R. Bolton. Frist plans to bring Bolton's nomination to the Senate floor after the rule change but before the Memorial Day recess.
 
 The Frist aide, who briefed reporters on the condition that he not be identified, said the majority leader would keep the Senate in session "until the ambassador's nomination is resolved." The aide said the judge dispute and the Bolton fight "will all be resolved before Memorial Day."
 
 The Republicans left their options open about which candidate -- Owen or Brown -- would come to a vote first. The precise mechanism for the confrontation is complex: first, a "test vote" to demonstrate there is majority support for the nominee but not the 60 needed to break a filibuster; second, a vote on a non-debatable motion to table the objections Democrats would raise to a ruling by the presiding officer -- Vice President Cheney -- that a simple majority vote is sufficient for confirmation; and, if the first two hurdles are cleared, a vote on the nominee herself.
 
 Frist's aide said the rules change would not block filibusters of lower-court nominees because those have never been attempted. But the change would also cover prospective Supreme Court nominees.
 
 Several Republicans criticized Reid yesterday for his comments Thursday regarding Henry Saad of Michigan, nominated by Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. In a Senate floor speech, Reid said Saad "would have been filibustered" if Frist had brought the nomination to the full Senate. "All you need to do is have a member go upstairs and look at his confidential report from the FBI, and I think we would all agree that there is a problem there," Reid said.
 
 Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) told reporters yesterday that Reid "is hitting below the belt to make such an assertion and innuendo that there is something criminally wrong with an individual nominee. It is lacking in civility and fairness." Reid spokesman Jim Manley said: "The fact that there are questions about this nominee's suitability to be a federal judge has been discussed in public for over a year. Senator Reid simply referred his colleagues to the source of those questions. That is Senator Reid's right and responsibility."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 14 05:30:38 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 14 05:36:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24369446.1116073838458.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Setbacks On Hill  For Bunker Buster
 
 By Walter Pincus
 
  The Bush administration's program to complete a study of the viability of an earth-penetrating nuclear warhead designed to go after deeply buried targets was set back this week as House and Senate committees marked up the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill.
 
 Funding was approved for another controversial nuclear weapons program, to research ways to produce what is called the reliable replacement warhead (RRW) for currently stockpiled weapons. But the approval came with limitations to ease fears that any product that emerged would require resumption of nuclear testing.
 
 At the same time, legislators indicated they will continue pushing the Bush administration to come up with a comprehensive nuclear weapons policy for the future, something Congress asked for in legislation passed last year.
 
 The Bush administration has requested $4 million next year to permit the Energy Department to restart the feasibility study of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP), which Congress refused to fund last year. On Thursday, the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, which in the past had supported the RNEP program, refused to approve the money for the Energy Department.
 
 Instead, the panel voted to transfer the $4 million to the Defense Department for the Pentagon to study the potential for a conventional rather than a nuclear bunker buster.
 
 In a compromise to get full committee support, the subcommittee approved $4.5 million requested by the Air Force to develop modifications on the B-2 strategic bomber. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a leader in the effort to eliminate the nuclear bunker buster, on Thursday called including those funds "a waste" of taxpayer dollars.
 
 Yesterday, however, the Senate Armed Services Committee complicated the RNEP situation by approving the $4 million for Energy to continue the study but eliminating the $4.5 million for B-2 modifications.
 
 This week, House Armed Services and House Appropriations subcommittees also dealt with Energy's replacement warhead program, which aims to upgrade the aging U.S. stockpile by developing new components.
 
 Last month, Linton Brooks, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, told a Senate subcommittee that the administration wants to "explore whether there is a better way to sustain existing military capabilities in our stockpile, absent nuclear testing."
 
 The House Armed Services subcommittee was concerned that such a program could lead to building a new warhead, which could in turn require nuclear testing. This week, the panel included legislative language requiring that the warhead program support existing capabilities and focus on parts of the warheads that have been tested and are well understood. The panel also required a follow-up report in a year on the results of the $8.9 million research program.
 
 Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala.), chairman of the Armed Services subcommittee, said, "This [RRW] program will develop reliable replacement components that are producible and certifiable for the existing nuclear weapons stockpile."
 
 Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), a panel member concerned about the program, said yesterday that "the jury is still out" on whether the program can avoid testing. "I remain skeptical, but the parameters established today mark a critical step toward helping us determine if the RRW has value in reducing America's nuclear stockpile," she said.
 
 Yesterday, the Senate Armed Services Committee also authorized the RRW funding and included its own language that would focus the research on current warheads.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 14 05:31:32 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 14 05:37:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <30578319.1116073892718.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 It Is  About Religious Belief
 
 By Tony Perkins
 
  During his nationally televised press conference April 28, President Bush was asked about the Family Research Council's allegation that some of his judicial nominees have been filibustered because of their faith. After considerable probing by MSNBC's David Gregory, the president said he believed that in fact his nominees were being subjected to these stalling tactics not because of their religious beliefs but because of their "judicial philosophy."
 
 Well, I agree with the president that some Democratic senators have targeted the judicial philosophy of the nominees. But that judicial philosophy has been scrutinized and scorned in several cases precisely because of the nominee's belief system or faith -- not because of his or her record. After all, it was Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) -- not the Family Research Council -- who launched an inquiry into one key nominee's "deeply held personal beliefs." Schumer didn't challenge the nominee's "deeply held judicial philosophy," but rather his beliefs.
 
 And what were those personal beliefs? In the case of former Alabama attorney general William Pryor, as with other filibustered nominees, it appears that it was the nominee's personal views on abortion, homosexuality and other matters on which Catholic and evangelical churches have clear positions that are contrary to those of liberal Democrats and their allies. Pryor failed the Democrats' test because he had spoken out, as a Catholic, saying that abortion is an abomination. He was also questioned about postponing a family vacation with his young children to Disney World because he found out it coincided with "Gay Days" at the park.
 
 Leon Holmes  and his wife were put to the test because he wrote an article for a church newsletter about the relationship between husbands and wives based upon Ephesians 5:22-25. Judge Charles Pickering  was questioned about a statement he made as the head of the Mississippi Southern Baptist Convention, in which he said that the Bible is an "absolute authority" for human conduct -- a standard that just about any religious person would hold. A group called American Atheists blasted Pickering for these statements, even though they were made outside the scope of any government duties or judicial office. The National Organization for Women also attacked Pickering on religious grounds, citing his advice to convicted criminals to consult prison ministries (they have a marked impact on reducing the recidivism rate among convicts, and participation is voluntary) and his occasional use of biblical quotations in his opinions. (By the way, a judge who writes that "the love of money is the root of all evil" or mentions the "lilies of the field" is quoting from the Bible.)
 
 Having "deeply held personal beliefs" such as these was enough to set the liberal pressure groups on edge and trigger filibusters. The pattern that has emerged is that any nominees who hold to the traditional tenets of their faith as a guide for life, whether they be Catholic, Protestant or Jewish, fail the litmus test, the liberal loyalty oath, that is being employed by some Senate Democrats. Faith is acceptable as long as it remains unknown, or is applied only to personal beliefs about such matters as poverty and capital punishment. Call this standard a litmus test on abortion, a de facto screening for religious conviction, or a demand for fealty to the Democratic Party platform -- whatever it's called, the results are the same.
 
 The sometimes subtle, too often open, campaign against orthodox religious views is too important an issue for us to simply turn our heads and ignore the truth. Left unchecked, the climate of intimidation against religious voices will empty the public square of many of its most-needed voices. Our children, and our children's children, must never be asked to choose between publicly acknowledging their faith by teaching a Sunday school or catechism class and serving in high public office. We must never reward those whose methods of inquiry involve carrying tape recorders into private meetings, Bible study, church services and the chambers of conscience.
 
 In their zeal to preserve an imperial judiciary, liberals have taken abuse of the confirmation process to a new low. The way out is to vote on each nominee on his or her   merits.
 
 The writer is president of the Family Research Council.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 14 05:33:26 2005
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Date: Sat May 14 05:38:49 2005
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 Who's Afraid of the Hyperpower?
 
 By Alexander Moens
 
  You can find numerous books, newspaper articles and academic conferences dedicated to the theme of American primacy, hegemony or even imperialism.
 
 In many of these you are led to believe that the "neocons," having conquered Washington, are making the world ready for American primacy. In almost all of these accounts this development is painted with the brushes of fear and woe. A terrible future scenario is unfolding in which the world as we know it will succumb to a frightful new order.
 
 Since we Canadians live so close to the United States, this business about American primacy should worry us more than most. In fact we have experience with the phenomenon and should reveal its ugly face to the rest of the world. It is fair to say that since the end of British-American rivalry in North America around the late 1860s, Canada has been firmly entrenched in a sphere of American primacy. Few people will challenge the premise that in the past 100 years or so, American power has risen steadily, with Canada on the immediate receiving end. So what does American primacy really look like?
 
 First of all, with such enormous military, economic and demographic power, the United States surely must have found it irresistible to conquer and occupy pieces of the vast Canadian territory, seeing that we have so many valuable mineral and renewable resources. But oddly enough, it never did. The border between the weakest and strongest has been respected all those decades.
 
 Then surely this hungry power must have played "divide and rule" with Canada's internal factions to maximize its interests -- say, by reaching out and assuring the province of Quebec that it would have U.S. security guarantees and trade privileges if the separatist Parti Quebecois  won a referendum. And yet, amazingly enough, the hegemon kept its nose out of this business.
 
 But I am not subtle enough. U.S. power must have forced Canada to adopt similar fiscal, welfare, health and social policies. Well, no. Anybody who has ever compared these policies in the two countries will find them astonishingly different. Canada has taken its domestic policies from Europe and largely ignored the U.S. model. The Americans in turn have hardly noticed, let alone cared.
 
 Well, then, the hyperpower must have imposed an unequal trade system on its vassal state. But in fact the North American Free Trade Agreement is remarkably fair across the table. Canada's problems with its imperial southern neighbor involve trade disputes and protectionist surges -- just as if we were equal partners.
 
 I must be looking in all the wrong places. Perhaps America lets us have our domestic policies and trading relationship because it really has swallowed us up, made us just another state in the union, and thus holds our foreign and defense policies firmly in its grip. Except that in the U.N. General Assembly we vote against the U.S. position more than do most Western nations. We have spearheaded a long list of international treaties and ideas such as those concerning anti-personnel land mines, the International Criminal Court, the Kyoto Protocol and a try at a small-arms accord, all of which were squarely opposed by the United States.
 
 But then maybe foreign policy is, when you get right down to it, mostly talk and paper. The real crunch comes in defense policy, and here, surely, American primacy demands a close alliance. Not really. Washington allowed Canada a free ride for the last three decades of the Cold War. Since then we have been coasting our military into oblivion on a 1-percent-of-GDP defense budget. We can now send about six CF-18 fighter jets into a foreign operation. When the hegemon staked its national security on getting rid of Saddam Hussein, we turned it down. When America sets out to defend North America from rogue-state missiles and Canada says, "Count us out," the dire result for our nation's leader seems to be another lunch at the ranch with President Bush.
 
 If this is primacy, what a frightful future we face.
 
 The writer, a professor of political science   at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, is the author of "The Foreign Policy of George W. Bush."
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 14 05:35:22 2005
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 Someone to Protect Besides the VIPs
 
 By Colbert I. King
 
  Sometimes words lack meaning until you draw close to the situation they are meant to describe. Take, for instance, the term "collateral damage." Wednesday's red alert in the nation's capital, caused by an unidentified aircraft bearing down on the city, brought home that expression to an extent not heretofore   imagined.
 
 Living due south of Walter Reed Army Medical Center  and near the flight path of helicopters  traveling to and from the facility, I've grown accustomed to the sound of rotors and engines overhead. That's not what I heard as I left home just before noon on Wednesday. What I heard was the roar of a low-flying jet. A quick flip of the radio dial to WTOP  let me know something was up, and within minutes most of the story was in: A small plane had accidentally ventured into restricted airspace  over Washington, triggering the scrambling of Air Force jets and an evacuation of the White House, the Capitol and the Supreme Court.
 
 It was reassuring to watch TV replays of the emergency response: Vice President Cheney's motorcade speeding away from the White House; members of Congress, their staff and visitors walking and running to safety from the Capitol and nearby buildings. And guns. Not just side arms, but rifles defiantly on display.
 
 It was nice to know that President Bush was out of danger, bike-riding in suburban Maryland, with the Secret Service and a "Do Not Disturb" sign in tow. And I was pleased that at the first sign of trouble, first lady Laura Bush and her visitor, former first lady Nancy Reagan, were rushed to a safe location in the White House.
 
 Most of all, it was a relief to learn that the whole thing was a mistake: Two lost pilots with old maps and terrible judgment flew where they weren't supposed to fly.
 
 But suppose that old-fashioned white Cessna  up in the air over Washington had contained aviators bent on wreaking havoc in the federal enclave?
 
 It may be too early to start drawing  firm conclusions. But all accounts suggest that the F-16 interceptors were in a position to take out the plane before it could have crashed into the White House or the Capitol. If so, a legitimate military target would have been destroyed before it could inflict harm on U.S. leaders and the national shrines they occupy.
 
 Which gets us to the term "collateral damage," or the rest of us living and working beneath  the Washington airspace. Let's engage in a little "What if . . . ?"
 
 Suppose a plane had been flown by suicide attackers intent on using the aircraft's fuel payload as a weapon. Suppose the plane had been loaded with explosives, say a "dirty bomb" containing dynamite and radioactive material. What if the pilots had been intent on scoring a psychological victory by striking a Washington target not tied into the White House alert system -- for example, the Washington Aqueduct, a power plant, Union Station or a university campus?
 
 Suppose, too, the F-16 fighters had shot down the intruding plane over a residential area?
 
 If our worst fears had been realized and this had proved to be a plane with suicide pilots aboard, it might well have caused -- even if it was destroyed before it reached the White House and the Capitol -- inadvertent casualties and the destruction of private office buildings and homes. I suppose these effects on civilians would go down in the books as "collateral damage," or the human consequences of protecting our nation's leaders.
 
 You don't really have to reach that level of speculation to conclude that Wednesday's scare raises some serious questions that people living in the Washington area's high-density communities are now left to ponder. Immediately after the event, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams complained that "nearly four years after Sept. 11, 2001, we are still fighting the same fight." Williams wanted to know why he and other local key decision makers had to wait until several minutes after the fact to learn that a possibly dangerous aircraft had violated restricted  airspace. It turns out that some of the delay may have been caused by a muddle at the city's end. Nonetheless, precious time elapsed before the rest of the town learned what authorities in the White House and Capitol knew and were acting on.
 
 Time out in this screed for a declaration: I'm not on the list of folks who need early notification in the event of an attack, nor should I be. As my Post colleague Robert Kaiser once observed, people our age are now on the "back nine" of life. I can't complain; life's been good and full. I'll gladly take my place at the end of the line.
 
 The same cannot be said of the children at play on Wednesday in the schoolyard behind my house. Or the kids attending the elementary school a block away . . . or the hundreds of other children enrolled at three schools located within a four-block radius of our home. Or kids on playgrounds near Capitol Hill and in schools throughout the region.
 
 What about them? Don't they also deserve a chance to be evacuated along with the likes of Rep. Tom DeLay, or Sens. Harry Reid, Bill Frist and Ted Kennedy? Shouldn't a plan be in place to protect them -- maybe a system that sounds a horn or siren to let them and their teachers know of possible danger so they can take cover?
 
 If "fair warning is fair play," as the dudes used to say in my old neighborhood, did the protectors of the White House and Capitol play fair with the rest of Washington? Or are innocent kids, their parents, workers and visitors in the Washington region simply accidents of war -- or collateral damage -- just waiting to happen?
 
 kingc@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 14 05:36:34 2005
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Date: Sat May 14 05:42:10 2005
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 'Protocols' Left Bush Out of the Loop
 
 By Jim VandeHei
 
  The nation was put on red alert. The first lady was rushed to a super-secure location. Thousands of people ran for their lives. Yet government protocols apparently didn't call for the commander in chief to be interrupted from a noontime bike ride on Wednesday when an errant plane entered Washington's restricted airspace.
 
 That is the message put out by the White House the past two days. "The protocols that we put in place after September 11 were being followed," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday. "They did not require presidential authority for this situation."
 
 So Bush kept on biking through the trails of rural Maryland, oblivious to the chaos miles away until 36 minutes after the all-clear was sounded.
 
 McClellan said there have been similar (false) scares that did not require Bush's immediate attention.
 
 "This was a situation where the president was in an off-site location," McClellan said. "He was not in danger, a situation where protocols have been put in place to address the situation. The protocols were followed." Just to make sure the point was clear, McClellan used the word "protocols" 34 times in Thursday's briefing alone.
 
 While he did not say "protocols" that many times at yesterday's briefing, the message was the same. In an interview later, McClellan added that Bush was fine with how the situation was handled.
 
 The protocols, which detail how to handle possible terrorist situations, such as when to shoot down an incoming plane, are secret. But this much is clear: The president does not necessarily have to be notified and does not have to give the green light to take out a plane.
 
 The president also tried to deflect concern about being out of the loop, telling an audience yesterday, with a grin, "I strongly urge you to exercise on a regular basis." Eric Dezenhall, a Washington-based crisis-management consultant, said the president's role reinforces the scariest aspect of the episode. "The question becomes 'Do we know what we're doing when this stuff happens? The answer is that it's a crisis. Nobody does know what they're doing."
 
 Do the Democrats need another think tank to help them figure out their future? A coalition of liberals and centrists believes so, but with a twist: It will be a think tank for politics, not for policy.
 
 The New Politics Institute (NPI) will leave it to others to develop a future policy agenda for the party. Simon Rosenberg, founder of the New Democrat Network and the inspiration behind the new institute, said the new group will study what the rise of the conservative movement, anticipated demographic changes in the country and the "post-broadcasting" world of new media mean for Democrats' hopes of winning elections.
 
 "Until we can really get our act together and win elections, all the policy white papers aren't going to do us a lot of good," said Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, whose Daily Kos is one of the most popular political blogs on the Internet and who is an adviser to the institute.
 
 The NPI will have a budget of $1.5 million to $2 million, and funding will come primarily from Andy and Deborah Rappaport, California philanthropists. Other advisers include a cross section of centrists and liberals, among them Joe Trippi, who was for a time Howard Dean's presidential campaign manager; Gina Glantz of the Service Employees International Union; pollster Mark Penn; organizer Cecile Richards, president of America Votes; and pollster Sergio Bendixen, an expert on Hispanic trends.
 
 "Occupation: queen."
 
 -- From a White House briefing-book biography of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands prepared for President Bush's European trip.
 
 Staff writer Dan Balz contributed to this report.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 14 05:37:12 2005
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 For Female GIs, Combat Is a Fact
 
 By Ann Scott Tyson
 
  MOSUL, Iraq -- Jennifer Guay went to war to be a grunt. And the 170-pound former bartender from Leeds, Maine, with cropped red hair and a penchant for the bench press, has come pretty close.
 
 It was mid-February and Guay, 26, an Army specialist who was the first woman to be assigned as an infantry combat medic, was spending 10 hours a day on missions with the 82nd Airborne Division, dodging rockets and grenades in the crowded streets of Mosul.
 
 "Break-break-break: U.S. soldier down!" a hard-edged voice came over the radio. A gun battle had just broken out.
 
 In less than five minutes, Guay was at the scene. She dashed to Sgt. Christopher Pusateri, 21, who was lying on the ground, a bullet through his jaw. "I was in charge of this man's life," she recalled. Pusateri had "a massive trauma injury, and I had to get him off the middle of the street."
 
 Day after day, Guay has faced situations that would test the steel of any soldier. And female soldiers like her -- as well as Army officers who support them -- are seizing opportunities amid Iraq's indiscriminate violence to push back the barriers against women in combat. As American women in uniform patrol bomb-ridden highways, stand duty at checkpoints shouldering M-16s and raid houses in insurgent-contested towns, many have come to believe this 360-degree war has rendered obsolete a decade-old Pentagon policy barring them from serving with ground combat battalions.
 
 "The Army has to understand the regulation that says women can't be placed in direct fire situations is archaic and not attainable," said Lt. Col. Cheri Provancha, commander of a Stryker Brigade support battalion in Mosul, who decided to bend Army rules and allow Guay to serve as a medic for an infantry company of the 82nd Airborne. Under a 1994 policy, women are excluded from units at the level of battalion and below that engage in direct ground combat.
 
 "This war has proven that we need to revisit the policy, because they are out there doing it," Provancha, a 21-year Army veteran from San Diego, said from her base in what soldiers call Mosul's "mortar alley." "We are embedded with the enemy."
 
 Dozens of soldiers interviewed across Iraq -- male and female, from lower enlisted ranks to senior officers -- voiced frustration over restrictions on women mandated in Washington that they say make no sense in the war they are fighting. All said the policy should be changed to allow, at a minimum, mixed-sex support units to be assigned to combat battalions. Many favored a far more radical step: letting qualified women join the infantry.
 
 But Congress is moving in the opposite direction. A House subcommittee, seeking to keep women out of combat, passed a measure this week that would bar women from thousands of Army positions now open to them. In Iraq, female soldiers immediately denounced the vote.
 
 "I refuse to have my right as a soldier taken from me because of my gender," Guay wrote in an e-mail. "It is my right to defend my country. . . . I am well aware of the danger. . . . Let me (us) do our job."
 
 For many inside Army camps, the disconnect between Washington officialdom and the reality that female troops confront in Iraq was epitomized by President Bush's Jan. 11 declaration of "No women in combat."
 
 "That's an oxymoron!" said Sgt. Neva D. Trice, who leads a female Army search team that guards the gates of Baghdad's Green Zone, where many U.S. and Iraqi government facilities are located. "If he said no women in combat, then why are there women here in Iraq?"
 
 Several male Army officers also dismissed Bush's statement as woefully uninformed. "The president got blindsided. The president didn't understand what the policy really was," said one officer, who requested anonymity because he was questioning the commander-in-chief. He and others urged Army leaders to push for new policies that reflect women's expanded role.
 
 "I'm ashamed," he said, "that the Army has not taken this on."
 
 In sheer numbers, women are essential to the American military effort in Iraq -- where tens of thousands have served -- and are playing a bigger role than in any previous U.S. conflict. Historically, women's involvement in the military has surged in wartime. Today, that pattern is amplified by the all-volunteer U.S. military's growing share of women, which has steadily expanded in recent years to 15 percent of the active duty force.
 
 Moreover, in contrast to their roles in past wars, women are serving in a widening variety of Army ground units -- from logistics to military police, military intelligence and civil affairs -- where they routinely face the same risks as soldiers in all-male combat units such as infantry and armor.
 
 "We live and work with the infantry," said Maj. Mary Prophit, 42, who heads a four-person civil affairs team with a Stryker battalion in Mosul. An Army reservist and librarian from Glenoma, Wash., Prophit handles security duties from the hatch of a Stryker armored vehicle, watching houses during searches and returning fire when shot at. "Civil affairs teams have to be prepared to perform infantry functions, because at any time we could be diverted," she said.
 
 In January, Prophit was delivering kerosene heaters to a Mosul school when insurgents detonated a roadside bomb as her convoy passed, fatally wounding three Iraqi soldiers. Prophit moved to shield the medic treating the wounded, firing at insurgents who were shooting at them from a mosque across the street. "Women in combat is no longer an argument," she said matter-of-factly at her camp near the Mosul air field. "There is no rear area."
 
 At least as often as insurgents attack all-male infantry forces, they strike targets such as military supply convoys, checkpoints and camps where U.S. servicewomen are often present. As a result, hostile fire in Iraq has taken a proportionally larger toll on servicewomen than in any prior U.S. conflict, killing 35 and wounding 279.
 
 "You can't tell me I'm not being shot at. You can't tell me I can't handle combat," said Provancha, who has nearly been hit by road bombs, rockets and the chow hall suicide bombing that killed 22 in December. "That was pretty frickin' direct fire if you ask me," she said, holding up a piece of shrapnel.
 
 Far from shrinking from the fight, women in Iraq are winning medals for valor under fire.
 
 Spec. Shavodsha Hodges, 29, of San Antonio, says she joined the Army because her GI husband encouraged her to. She is a veteran of the 2003 Iraq invasion and well into her second year in a war zone. She and about 100 other women make up 20 percent of Provancha's logistics battalion in Mosul. They serve as truck and Stryker drivers, medics, mechanics and supply soldiers like Hodges who conduct between 50 and 70 convoy missions a month. Ferrying critical goods from Mosul to outlying bases on the precarious roads of northern Iraq, Hodges has developed keen instincts.
 
 On Oct. 29, she was in a supply convoy heading out of the hostile town of Tall Afar, near the Syrian border. "We were told to watch out for an Iraqi national in black," she recalled. "Within seconds we were hit with an IED," or improvised explosive device, the military's term for a roadside bomb.
 
 As her Humvee began to roll over, Hodges reached over and grabbed the legs of Pfc. Gregory Burchett, who was manning a .50-caliber machine gun. She pulled him down from the hatch and into the vehicle just before it flipped, saving him from being crushed.
 
 Burchett was disoriented and moaning in pain. His face was bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds and he couldn't move his arm. Hodges helped him out of the vehicle, but almost as soon they climbed out they came under small-arms fire from insurgents 200 yards away.
 
 "Stay down!" Hodges yelled. Cradling Burchett's head in her lap, she lay forward over his upper body to shield him from the bullets. "Don't get up!" she said, twice sheltering the gunner from enemy rounds.
 
 Meanwhile, the Humvee's commander, Staff Sgt. Armando Mejia, had his hand trapped under the vehicle. After the shooting stopped, Hodges and other soldiers pushed it up enough to free him. Only later did she realize that she, too, was injured.
 
 For her quick thinking and bravery in the ambush, Hodges became the first woman in her brigade to be awarded the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device, for "valorous conduct" that "saved the lives of her fellow soldiers."
 
 Between missions at her camp in Mosul, Hodges said she had no doubts about women's abilities in the war zone. "I think a woman is just as capable of dealing with this as a man," she said. "You think fast, and you react fast," she said, her tone confident but sober. "You have to be prepared at any moment, for anything."
 
 Many commanders in Iraq say they see a widening gap between war-zone realities and policies designed to limit women's exposure to combat.
 
 Although the Army is barred from assigning women to ground combat battalions, in Iraq it skirts the ban with a twist in terminology. Instead of being "assigned," women are "attached in direct support of" the battalions, according to Army officers familiar with the policy. As a result, the Army avoids having to seek Pentagon and congressional approval to change the policy, officers said.
 
 "What has changed? Nothing," said Lt. Col. Bob Roth of the 3rd Infantry Division. "You just want someone to feel better by saying we don't allow women in dangerous situations."
 
 A debate over the policy erupted in Washington last year. As the Army began reorganizing its combat brigades, the 3rd Infantry attempted to assign mixed-sex forward support companies to combat battalions. Capt. Christine Roney was on the verge of taking command of one of those companies when a soldier in her unit e-mailed Congress and opponents of women in combat. The Army reversed itself.
 
 Eventually, the Army sidestepped the problem by making the forward support companies "attached" instead of "assigned," officers said. But Roney was nonetheless denied the job.
 
 "A week before I was supposed to take command, they pulled me into the office and told me I couldn't be assigned," said Roney, of Loudonville, Ohio, now in Baghdad. "It was very disappointing." Instead, she was given a company in a noncombat battalion.
 
 Roney and other Army officers interviewed in Iraq agreed overwhelmingly that the Army's ban on locating female support soldiers with combat battalions was meaningless and should be lifted. The bigger question raised by the Iraq conflict, they said, is whether women should be allowed into combat units such as infantry and armor.
 
 "I'm for it, because I think we can do it," said Pfc. Laura Springer, 20, of Odessa, Tex., one of only three women in her brigade licensed to drive the Army's Stryker vehicle. "At first all the infantry guys were staring at me. But I'm a good driver -- I haven't hit anything -- the same or even better."
 
 Male and female soldiers said many women in Iraq were performing well in risky jobs that require infantry skills -- from military police and civil affairs troops to female search teams that go on raids with Army and Marine infantry units. On raids, a woman is "as much infantry soldier on the ground doing the duties as anyone else," Roth said. "She may not have been the person who knocked the door in, but she's with the next stack getting ready to come in."
 
 Most soldiers and officers interviewed also agreed that women need tougher physical fitness standards to perform well in infantry jobs, but that many could meet those standards. For some, the impact of pregnancy on readiness was a concern. Commanders of mixed-sex units in Iraq said that from 5 percent to 15 percent of their women became pregnant and did not deploy to Iraq, but one said health and family issues kept a similar percentage of men home.
 
 From Mosul to Ramadi to Baghdad, women such as Guay, who spent three months with the 82nd Airborne, have shown that they can be valuable players in combat units.
 
 Guay was a student, engrossed by the moral dilemmas of war, when she decided to enlist in the Army in September 2002 to test her beliefs. "I called an Army recruiter. I wanted to be as grunt as possible," she said.
 
 She lifted weights and studied combat medical skills. Once in Iraq, she actively sought missions "outside the wire" of the Mosul camp. When the 82nd Airborne arrived and needed a medic, Guay wanted to go. Provancha, whose team of medics is 40 percent female, assigned her.
 
 "She wanted to be part of breaking the barrier down," Provancha said. Provancha took full responsibility for her decision, informing superiors rather than asking permission.
 
 "Think of the fallout if she had gotten wounded or killed," Provancha said. "I probably would have been brought up on charges for defying Army policy." But that didn't happen. Instead, she said, Guay "did magnificently."
 
 Initially, the 82nd questioned the move. At first, the grunts watched Guay. Then, in a casual sign of acceptance, they began calling her "Doc." A few firefights later, she became their "kick-ass medic." She was one of them.
 
 "I was always working out and being strong and proficient," said Guay, proud of the fact that she could "out-bench some of the guys." She lived, ate and went on daily missions with the paratroops, bonding with the men whose lives could at any moment be placed in her hands.
 
 When the soldiers fell, as Pusateri did in the firefight that gray day in February, Guay gave them her all, even when hope was slim. Recalling how she knelt at the mortally wounded sergeant's side, she said she would never forget being the last person with him, and the profound respect it engendered.
 
 She quickly inserted an IV and ran a tube into his throat, pumping a bag every five seconds to put precious air into his lungs.
 
 "Squeeze my hand," she told him. He did. She pumped the bag again. Pusateri was stable, but slowly losing consciousness. "You're so brave," she said, rubbing his head as everything around them faded into a blur. "You're amazing."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 14 05:39:57 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 14 05:45:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <8318138.1116074398167.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Personal Message:
 I was born at Walter Reed in 1952...
 
 Community Fears Loss Of a D.C. Institution
 
 By Susan Levine  and Debbi Wilgoren
 
  For almost a century, wounded combatants have arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the campus of rose-brick buildings serving as a haven from the horrors of war. It has been the hospital for those who lead and those who follow and, most recently, nearly 1,200 troops from the front lines in Iraq.
 
 Yesterday, the hospital where President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen. Douglas MacArthur spent their final days was declared expendable by the Pentagon and targeted for closure. Despite its iconic status, it could not measure up in location, accessibility and research and expansion potential. If the recommendation is accepted, 5,630 positions will be redeployed, with the future of the 113-acre Northwest campus, bounded by Rock Creek Park and Georgia Avenue, still to be determined.
 
 The prime beneficiaries of Walter Reed's demise would be Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, where a large community hospital focusing on primary and specialty care would be built, and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, which would become the military's new "world-class flagship facility," a joint research, training and teaching locus.
 
 Walter Reed's revered namesake, an Army physician who tackled typhoid and yellow fever during the late 1800s, would remain prominent. The Pentagon proposes renaming the Bethesda complex the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
 
 "It will bring together the very best for all military medicine," said William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.
 
 The announcement stunned many of the hospital's neighbors, who talked of how Walter Reed's presence is woven into the fabric of their lives. It is the landmark they use when giving visitors directions to their homes, the place that draws the presidential motorcade when the commander-in-chief pays a visit.
 
 "I just can't imagine Walter Reed not being on Georgia Avenue," said Tonya Taylor, who lives and works a few blocks away. "It's just part of D.C."
 
 In the last two years, residents have grown accustomed to the sight of recuperating troops, in wheelchairs or on crutches, being escorted by loved ones around the grounds. Arletha McPherson, who will turn 60 next week, knows when an injured soldier is being flown in or out because the helicopter roars right over her roof. Evenings, she likes to sit on her front porch to hear taps as the American flag is hoisted down.
 
 "We would be lost without it," said McPherson, whose rowhouse sits directly across from the hospital's front door. "I wouldn't want them to put anything else there."
 
 In a broader sense, Walter Reed is also woven into the fabric of the country. Founded in 1909, it expanded quickly from 80 beds to 2,500 when World War I began. Through the 20th century, it welcomed hundreds of thousands of troops, its reputation growing along with its size and ultimately drawing patients and dignitaries from around the world.
 
 "The clinical center of gravity of American military medicine," the center billed itself.
 
 But as the Base Realignment and Closure Commission looked at current medical needs in the Washington region, Walter Reed did not measure up. Its proximity to the National Naval Medical Center and its age -- the last capital update was 1977 -- were factors.
 
 "It is very expensive to run a hospital. It just did not make sense to have two tertiary facilities within seven miles of each other," Winkenwerder said in an interview yesterday afternoon.
 
 Over 20 years, the Pentagon projects savings of $301 million. Construction at Fort Belvoir and Bethesda probably would not begin until about 2009, Winkenwerder said, and the last medical programs would have to move from Walter Reed by 2011.
 
 Any decision about what would happen to the Georgia Avenue property is years off, too. D.C. Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4) said the tract should revert to the city, "so we can have some control over what happens."
 
 Lt. Gen. George P. Taylor, surgeon general of the Air Force and, with Winkenwerder, integrally involved in the closure recommendation, noted the "deliberative process the [defense] department goes through in disposing of or returning facilities and land. . . . The plan is there's not going to be a military requirement for the main post."
 
 The announcement was the talk of the complex yesterday. Hundreds packed a gymnasium for a town hall-style meeting led by Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Farmer, Walter Reed's commanding general. They emerged an hour later clutching information sheets titled "BRAC 2005."
 
 In the hospital cafeteria, Master Sgt. Osvaldo Ponzo pondered the summary details as he ate lunch. Ponzo, who works in preventive medicine, said the realignment plan seemed innovative and more efficient. "I think it's important to take a look at how to better utilize our assets," he said.
 
 Staff writers Theola S. Labbe and Chris L. Jenkins and news researchers Bobbye Pratt, Meg Smith, Madonna Lebling and Robert Lyford contributed to this report.
 
 
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 14 05:50:50 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat May 14 05:56:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: The true purpose of torture
Message-ID: <20050514125050.A5DC741EE@mullet.gul3.gnl>

Harry 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

The true purpose of torture
GuantÃ¡namo is there to terrorise - both inmates and the wider world
Naomi Klein
Saturday May 14 2005
The Guardian


I recently caught a glimpse of the effects of torture in action at an event honouring Maher Arar. The Syrian-born Canadian is the world's most famous victim of "rendition", the process by which US officials outsource torture to foreign countries. Arar was switching planes in New York when US interrogators detained him and "rendered" him to Syria, where he was held for 10 months in a cell slightly larger than a grave and taken out periodically for beatings. 

Arar was being honoured for his courage by the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, a mainstream advocacy organisation. The audience gave him a heartfelt standing ovation, but there was fear mixed in with the celebration. Many of the prominent community leaders kept their distance from Arar, responding to him only tentatively. Some speakers were unable even to mention the honoured guest by name, as if he had something they could catch. And perhaps they were right: the tenuous "evidence" - later discredited - that landed Arar in a rat-infested cell was guilt by association. And if that could happen to Arar, a successful software engineer and family man, who is safe?  

In a rare public speech, Arar addressed this fear directly. He told the audience that an independent commissioner has been trying to gather evidence of law-enforcement officials breaking the rules when investigating Muslim Canadians. The commissioner has heard dozens of stories of threats, harassment and inappropriate home visits. But, Arar said, "not a single person made a public complaint. Fear prevented them from doing so." Fear of being the next Maher Arar.  

The fear is even thicker among Muslims in the United States, where the Patriot Act gives police the power to seize the records of any mosque, school, library or community group on mere suspicion of terrorist links. When this intense surveillance is paired with the ever-present threat of torture, the message is clear: you are being watched, your neighbour may be a spy, the government can find out anything about you. If you misstep, you could disappear on to a plane bound for Syria, or into "the deep dark hole that is Guant&#225;namo Bay", to borrow a phrase from Michael Ratner, president of the Centre for Constitutional Rights.  

But this fear has to be finely calibrated. The people being intimidated need to know enough to be afraid but not so much that they demand justice. This helps explain why the defence department will release certain kinds of seemingly incriminating information about Guant&#225;namo - pictures of men in cages, for instance - at the same time that it acts to suppress photographs on a par with what escaped from Abu Ghraib. And it might also explain why the Pentagon approved a new book by a former military translator, including the passages about prisoners being sexually humiliated, but prevented him from writing about the widespread use of attack dogs. This strategic leaking of information, combined with official denials, induces a state of mind that Argentinians describe as "knowing/not knowing", a vestige of their "dirty war".  

'Obviously, intelligence agents have an incentive to hide the use of unlawful methods," says Jameel Jaffer of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "On the other hand, when they use rendition and torture as a threat, it's undeniable that they benefit, in some sense, from the fact that people know that intelligence agents are willing to act unlawfully. They benefit from the fact that people understand the threat and believe it to be credible."  

And the threats have been received. In an affidavit filed with an ACLU court challenge to section 215 of the Patriot Act, Nazih Hassan, president of the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor in Michigan, describes this new climate. Membership and attendance are down, donations are way down, board members have resigned - Hassan says his members avoid doing anything that could get their names on lists. One member testified anonymously that he has "stopped speaking out on political and social issues" because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself.  

This is torture's true purpose: to terrorise - not only the people in Guant&#225;namo's cages and Syria's isolation cells but also, and more importantly, the broader community that hears about these abuses. Torture is a machine designed to break the will to resist - the individual prisoner's will and the collective will.  

This is not a controversial claim. In 2001 the US NGO Physicians for Human Rights published a manual on treating torture survivors that noted: "Perpetrators often attempt to justify their acts of torture and ill-treatment by the need to gather information. Such conceptualisations obscure the purpose of torture ... The aim of torture is to dehumanise the victim, break his/her will, and at the same time set horrific examples for those who come in contact with the victim. In this way, torture can break or damage the will and coherence of entire communities."  

Yet despite this body of knowledge, torture continues to be debated in the United States as if it were merely a morally questionable way to extract information, not an instrument of state terror. But there's a problem: no one claims that torture is an effective interrogation tool -least of all the people who practise it. Torture "doesn't work. There are better ways to deal with captives," CIA director Porter Goss told the Senate intelligence committee on February 16. And a recently declassified memo written by an FBI official in Guant&#225;namo states that extreme coercion produced "nothing more than what FBI got using simple investigative techniques". The army's own interrogation field manual states that force "can induce the source to say whatever he thinks the interrogator wants to hear".  

And yet the abuses keep on coming - Uzbekistan as the new hotspot for renditions; the "El Salvador model" imported to Iraq. And the only sensible explanation for torture's persistent popularity comes from a most unlikely source. Lynndie England, the fall girl for Abu Ghraib, was asked during her botched trial why she and her colleagues had forced naked prisoners into a human pyramid. "As a way to control them," she replied.  

Exactly. As an interrogation tool, torture is a bust. But when it comes to social control, nothing works quite like torture.  

&#183; A version of this article is published in The Nation  

www.thenation.com  

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 05:57:49 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Sat May 14 06:03:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: The true purpose of torture
References: <20050514125050.A5DC741EE@mullet.gul3.gnl>
Message-ID: <00ec01c55884$8881c320$6e436c42@hotprojects>

i thought the true purpose of torture was for use on the actors
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 8:50 AM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: The true purpose of torture


> Harry 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
>
> The true purpose of torture
> Guant??namo is there to terrorise - both inmates and the wider world
> Naomi Klein
> Saturday May 14 2005
> The Guardian
>
>
> I recently caught a glimpse of the effects of torture in action at an
event honouring Maher Arar. The Syrian-born Canadian is the world's most
famous victim of "rendition", the process by which US officials outsource
torture to foreign countries. Arar was switching planes in New York when US
interrogators detained him and "rendered" him to Syria, where he was held
for 10 months in a cell slightly larger than a grave and taken out
periodically for beatings.
>
> Arar was being honoured for his courage by the Canadian Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a mainstream advocacy organisation. The audience
gave him a heartfelt standing ovation, but there was fear mixed in with the
celebration. Many of the prominent community leaders kept their distance
from Arar, responding to him only tentatively. Some speakers were unable
even to mention the honoured guest by name, as if he had something they
could catch. And perhaps they were right: the tenuous "evidence" - later
discredited - that landed Arar in a rat-infested cell was guilt by
association. And if that could happen to Arar, a successful software
engineer and family man, who is safe?
>
> In a rare public speech, Arar addressed this fear directly. He told the
audience that an independent commissioner has been trying to gather evidence
of law-enforcement officials breaking the rules when investigating Muslim
Canadians. The commissioner has heard dozens of stories of threats,
harassment and inappropriate home visits. But, Arar said, "not a single
person made a public complaint. Fear prevented them from doing so." Fear of
being the next Maher Arar.
>
> The fear is even thicker among Muslims in the United States, where the
Patriot Act gives police the power to seize the records of any mosque,
school, library or community group on mere suspicion of terrorist links.
When this intense surveillance is paired with the ever-present threat of
torture, the message is clear: you are being watched, your neighbour may be
a spy, the government can find out anything about you. If you misstep, you
could disappear on to a plane bound for Syria, or into "the deep dark hole
that is Guant&#225;namo Bay", to borrow a phrase from Michael Ratner,
president of the Centre for Constitutional Rights.
>
> But this fear has to be finely calibrated. The people being intimidated
need to know enough to be afraid but not so much that they demand justice.
This helps explain why the defence department will release certain kinds of
seemingly incriminating information about Guant&#225;namo - pictures of men
in cages, for instance - at the same time that it acts to suppress
photographs on a par with what escaped from Abu Ghraib. And it might also
explain why the Pentagon approved a new book by a former military
translator, including the passages about prisoners being sexually
humiliated, but prevented him from writing about the widespread use of
attack dogs. This strategic leaking of information, combined with official
denials, induces a state of mind that Argentinians describe as "knowing/not
knowing", a vestige of their "dirty war".
>
> 'Obviously, intelligence agents have an incentive to hide the use of
unlawful methods," says Jameel Jaffer of the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU). "On the other hand, when they use rendition and torture as a threat,
it's undeniable that they benefit, in some sense, from the fact that people
know that intelligence agents are willing to act unlawfully. They benefit
from the fact that people understand the threat and believe it to be
credible."
>
> And the threats have been received. In an affidavit filed with an ACLU
court challenge to section 215 of the Patriot Act, Nazih Hassan, president
of the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor in Michigan, describes this
new climate. Membership and attendance are down, donations are way down,
board members have resigned - Hassan says his members avoid doing anything
that could get their names on lists. One member testified anonymously that
he has "stopped speaking out on political and social issues" because he
doesn't want to draw attention to himself.
>
> This is torture's true purpose: to terrorise - not only the people in
Guant&#225;namo's cages and Syria's isolation cells but also, and more
importantly, the broader community that hears about these abuses. Torture is
a machine designed to break the will to resist - the individual prisoner's
will and the collective will.
>
> This is not a controversial claim. In 2001 the US NGO Physicians for Human
Rights published a manual on treating torture survivors that noted:
"Perpetrators often attempt to justify their acts of torture and
ill-treatment by the need to gather information. Such conceptualisations
obscure the purpose of torture ... The aim of torture is to dehumanise the
victim, break his/her will, and at the same time set horrific examples for
those who come in contact with the victim. In this way, torture can break or
damage the will and coherence of entire communities."
>
> Yet despite this body of knowledge, torture continues to be debated in the
United States as if it were merely a morally questionable way to extract
information, not an instrument of state terror. But there's a problem: no
one claims that torture is an effective interrogation tool -least of all the
people who practise it. Torture "doesn't work. There are better ways to deal
with captives," CIA director Porter Goss told the Senate intelligence
committee on February 16. And a recently declassified memo written by an FBI
official in Guant&#225;namo states that extreme coercion produced "nothing
more than what FBI got using simple investigative techniques". The army's
own interrogation field manual states that force "can induce the source to
say whatever he thinks the interrogator wants to hear".
>
> And yet the abuses keep on coming - Uzbekistan as the new hotspot for
renditions; the "El Salvador model" imported to Iraq. And the only sensible
explanation for torture's persistent popularity comes from a most unlikely
source. Lynndie England, the fall girl for Abu Ghraib, was asked during her
botched trial why she and her colleagues had forced naked prisoners into a
human pyramid. "As a way to control them," she replied.
>
> Exactly. As an interrogation tool, torture is a bust. But when it comes to
social control, nothing works quite like torture.
>
> &#183; A version of this article is published in The Nation
>
> www.thenation.com
>
> Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From Rhaerther at aol.com  Sat May 14 06:45:40 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Sat May 14 06:51:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bombing suspect shouldn't stay
Message-ID: <196.3f0eaa5c.2fb75b04@aol.com>

If the Cuban issue wasn't involved, how quickly do you think Mr.  Carriles 
would have been deported?
 
Richard Haerther
 
Bombing suspect shouldn't stay
A Times Editorial
Published May 14, 2005
 
____________________________________
Luis Posada Carriles poses a sticky wicket for the Bush administration. He is 
 the prime suspect in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger plane in which 73 
 people died and is now reportedly hiding in South Florida hoping to be 
granted  political asylum. But it would be the height of hypocrisy if the 
administration  entertained the possibility of sheltering Posada.  
It shouldn't matter that the fierce anti-Castro feelings of South Florida's  
Cuban exile community could make deporting Posada politically risky for  
Republicans. The message the administration needs to send to the world is that  
anyone who would commit violence against innocent civilians to further a  
political cause is a terrorist and should be treated as one. 
Posada has spent 45 years jumping borders in Latin America to fight a losing  
battle against Fidel Castro. In addition to being a prime suspect in the 
plane  bombing, he has admitted participating in the planning of a 1997 attack in  
Havana that killed an Italian visitor. His attorney said recently that Posada 
is  now in Florida hoping for sanctuary in light of his work with the CIA in 
the  1960s. 
But the government of Venezuela wants to bring Posada to justice for the  
airplane bombing and is seeking extradition. Posada allegedly helped plot the  
attack while in the Venezuelan intelligence service. 
The State Department has avoided dealing with the issue by unconvincingly  
claiming it has no evidence of Posada's presence in the country. Federal  
authorities should open their eyes a little wider. After spending nearly the  last 
four years fighting a global war against terrorism, making an exception for  
Posada would do serious damage to our moral authority in the world. 
It doesn't matter how many big political donors might be offended or how many 
 Cuban-American votes might be lost. Posada should not be allowed to stay. He 
 should be turned over to Venezuela or deported to a country where he will 
face  fair hearing.[Last modified May 14, 2005,  01:24:07]

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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat May 14 08:08:41 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat May 14 08:14:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - EGYPTIAN JUDGES THREATEN TO BOYCOTT ELECTION
	DUTIES
Message-ID: <20050514150841.1F00669AFB@nmweb08.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
____________________________________________________
EGYPTIAN JUDGES THREATEN TO BOYCOTT ELECTION DUTIES
WebPosted Fri May 13 23:07:16 2005

CAIRO, Egypt---Egyptian judges have refused to supervise September's
presidential election unless the government passes laws that give them
sole authority to oversee the poll.

The decision was passed almost unanimously by 2,500 of the country's
8,000 judges, who met in Cairo on Friday for the Judges' Club
General Assembly.

The judges also demanded a separate law be passed to guarantee the
independence of the judiciary, which has long been under the thumb of
President Hosni Mubarak's government.

If the judges persist in a boycott, they would strike a real blow to the
credibility of an election.

The government has been touting it as a democratic reform, because
multiple candidates will be able to run against Mubarak for the
first time.

                       FROM FEB. 26, 2005: Mubarak
                        calls for election reform



Judicial supervision of elections is also required under the
constitution.

And Mubarak's government has faced increasing pressure, both at home and
abroad, to move faster on democratic reforms.

Previous elections have been marred by widespread accusations of vote
rigging and intimidation.

The judges complained Friday that the government had used them to paint
those votes as legitimate, while rendering their participation
ineffective.

Under a new law, the election was to be supervised by a commission
consistently half of judges and half of political appointees.

The judiciary insisted Friday that it consist solely of judges.

They also demanded that their salaries no longer be paid through the
Justice Ministry &#8211; a situation they say curbs their independence.

Mubarak has been the Egyptian president for 24 years.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From villasudjuan at free.fr  Fri May 13 09:00:58 2005
From: villasudjuan at free.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Sat May 14 09:58:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran
In-Reply-To: <000901c5575c$1617e680$6401a8c0@2r6cx01>
Message-ID: <200505141657.j4EGvvDL007039@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri May 13 23:01:25 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat May 14 10:10:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Stop the Crime of the Century
Message-ID: <200505141710.j4EHA8OE007102@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0513-20.htm

Published on Friday, May 13, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
Stop the Crime of the Century
by David Michael Green
 
In Iraq, there is a crime of breathtaking proportions taking place. 
Breathtaking, but necessarily surprising. We know from the historical 
record that governments will lie and deceive, and we've rarely seen 
one as immoral and venal as the Bush administration.

What has turned this crime into an astonishing demonstration of the 
depth of American democracy's decay is the complicity of the media 
establishment in hiding the original crime, and in thus doing so, ripping 
a gaping hole in the fabric of our political system.

Did you know that there now exists in the public domain a 'smoking 
gun' memo, which proves that everything the Bush administration said 
about the Iraq invasion was a lie? If you live in Britain you probably do, 
but if you live in the United States, chances are minuscule that you 
would be aware of this.

Think about that for a second. Apart from 9/11, has there been a more 
important story in the last decade than that the president lied to the 
American people about the reasons for invading Iraq, and then 
proceeded to plunge the country into an illegal war which has alienated 
the rest of the world, lit a fire under the war's victims and the Islamic 
world generally, turning them into enemy combatants, locked up 
virtually all American land forces in a war without end in sight, cost 
$300 billion and counting, taken over 1600 American lives on top of 
more than 15,000 gravely wounded, and killed perhaps 100,000 
Iraqis?

Could there be a bigger story? "How Do Japanese Dump Trash?", 
perhaps, which ran on page one of today's (May 12) Times?

Of course not. But then how is it that this is not being reported in the 
American mainstream media? How is it that the two organs most 
responsible for coverage of political developments in this country - the 
New York Times and the Washington Post - have failed to splash this 
across their front pages in bold headlines, despite the fact that they 
clearly know of the story? How, especially, could these two papers sit 
on a story like this after both recently issued mea culpas for their 
respective failures to critically cover administration claims of bogus 
Iraqi threats during the period leading up to the war, thereby 
contributing to the war themselves?

>From the Bush administration and the current generation of 
Republicans, I expect nothing but the most debased and vile politics. 
And, of course, ditto for Fox News and the rest of the overtly right-wing 
media. But I have been naive enough, until now, to believe that at least 
some of the American mainstream media has not climbed completely 
into bed with those destroyers of all that is decent about American 
democracy. Apparently I've been a fool.

Here is the story we are not being told.

Several days before their election last week (May 5), a patriot within 
the highest circle of British government leaked to the Times of London 
a memo, which proves the degree of deceit to which both the 
Americans and British publics have been subjected on the subject of 
the Iraq war. You were never supposed to see this document 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html). It is 
headlined in bold with this warning: "This record is extremely sensitive. 
No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those 
with a genuine need to know its contents."

The memo provides minutes from a meeting of Tony Blair's most 
exclusive war cabinet, held in July of 2002. In the meeting, two of 
Blair's top officials report on discussions they had just held in 
Washington with officials at the top levels of the Bush administration.

Before describing the contents of the memo, it is important to note that 
nobody in the British government has denied to even the slightest 
degree the authenticity of this document. A highly placed American 
source has verified, off the record, that it is completely accurate in its 
recounting of the events described. And Tony Blair's only comment 
has been that there is 'nothing new' contained in the memo. This could 
not be more false. The memo proves beyond doubt the following: * 
The Bush administration had decided by July 2002, at the latest, to 
invade Iraq. The memo says that "Military action was now seen as 
inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action..." 
Later in the memo it notes that "It seemed clear that Bush had made 
up his mind to take military action". This means the claims that the 
president did not have a war plan on his desk at that time are now 
proven lies. It means that the whole kabuki dance of going to 
Congress, going to the UN, sending over weapons inspectors, pulling 
them out before they could finish their work, requiring Iraq to report to 
the Security Council on its weapons of mass destruction, then 
immediately rejecting their report as incomplete and deceitful - all of 
this - was a completely counterfeit exercise conducting for public 
relations purposes only. It also means that when former Treasury 
Secretary Paul O'Neill and former terrorism czar Richard Clarke 
reported that Bush had planned to attack Iraq from the beginning, they 
- rather than the administration which was personally savaging them as 
loonies - were telling the truth.

* The Bush and Blair administrations knew that the argument for war 
against Iraq was weak. As Foreign Secretary Jack Straw notes in the 
meeting, "But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his 
neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North 
Korea or Iran". This is proof that Iraq was never anything like the 
serious threat it was portrayed to be before the war, and that both 
administrations knew that it was no threat, but knowingly and 
completely oversold the necessity for the war with their massive 
phalanx of lies and distortions.

* Because the case was thin, the war would have to be "...justified by 
the conjunction of terrorism and WMD". This proves that former 
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz wasn't kidding when he let 
slip that the weapons of mass destruction argument was decided on by 
the administration for "bureaucratic reasons", meaning a rationale that 
all the leading actors within the administration could agree on as the 
most effective public relations device for marketing the war.

* Both the Bush and Blair administrations manipulated intelligence to 
get what they wanted in order to justify the war, and knew that they 
were doing precisely that. As the memo states, "...the intelligence and 
facts were being fixed around the policy". This is the most \ remarkable 
statement of all, as it makes clear that the decision to invade had 
nothing to do with facts or any sort of real threat. Rather, it was simply 
a preference of the Bush administration (and probably just a personal 
one for Bush), which then became its policy, for which they then 
twisted and fabricated information and disinformation in order to sell 
the war to a rightly skeptical public.

* The war was illegal. Kofi Annan and the international community 
clearly believed that the war was a violation of international law. But we 
now also know that the British Attorney-General, who has to rule on 
this point (the question of the legality of launching a war is traditionally 
far less significant, unfortunately, in the American political tradition), 
"said that the desire for regime change was not a legal base for military 
action. There were three possible legal bases: self-defence, 
humanitarian intervention, or UNSC authorisation [which was never 
ultimately obtained from the Security Council]. The first and second 
could not be the base in this case. Relying on UNSCR 1205 of three 
years ago would be difficult. The situation might change of course." 
Yes, of course. Then, again, if it didn't, one could always just lie about 
it.

* Knowing that the war was neither legal nor morally justifiable, the 
American and British governments therefore sought to find a way to 
make the war politically acceptable by baiting Saddam. As the memo 
notes, "We should work up a plan for an ultimatum to Saddam to allow 
back in the UN weapons inspectors. This would also help with the legal 
justification for the use of force". And, "The Prime Minister said that it 
would make a big difference politically and legally if Saddam refused to 
allow in the UN inspectors". And, "If the political context were right, 
people would support regime change".

* Well before the war was 'justified', even in the bogus sense of 
Washington's and London's inspections and UN resolutions game, it 
had lready begun. The memo states that the "US had already begun 
'spikes of activity' to put pressure on the regime".

* Finally, it is worth noting that, even putting legal and moral questions 
aside, the memo also substantiates the sheer strategic incompetence 
of the administration, a failure which has, of course, produced 
excessive loss of life. It states that "There was little discussion in 
Washington of the aftermath after military action".

Let's review the bidding here.

We now have definitive, verified and undenied evidence documenting 
a panoply of lies told to the American and world publics about the 
invasion of Iraq, a bloody war which was neither legally nor morally 
justified, despite overt attempts to make it so by those who wished to 
launch it.

On top of that crime, we can now also add that of America's fourth 
estate, which has completely abdicated its role and responsibility to 
present this crucial bombshell of information to the public.

It gets worse, however. Eighty-nine members of Congress have taken 
note of the items described above, as well as a separate secret 
briefing for Blair's meeting, in which it was agreed that "Britain and 
America had to 'create' conditions to justify a war", and have sent a 
letter to the president 
(http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/letters/bushsecretmemoltr5
505.pdf), demanding a response.

And, yet, still there is no coverage from our press. It appears that 
demanding that the government respect the will of the people is no 
longer enough in American democracy. We must now also carry the 
burden of demanding that the media do its job and cover 
developments which are unfavorable to the national kleptocracy of 
which these giant media corporations have become a part.

That noise you hear? It's the sound of America's Founders spinning in 
their graves. And well they should, for this scenario is precisely the 
massive concentration of power they most feared. All branches of the 
government are now in the hands of the same party (meaning, 
effectively, there virtually are no branches any longer). The so-called 
opposition party facilitates Republican rule through the flattery of 
imitation, when it hasn't gone into hiding instead. The public is 
frightened and ill-informed. And now this. To this hall of shame list 
must be added a mainstream press which a week ago seemed only 
biased and intimidated, but now appears entirely complicit. We are 
now living precisely the nightmare of Washington, Jefferson, Madison 
and the rest. It must stop. We cannot have a prayer of an informed 
public curbing the worst excesses of American government if, in fact, 
that public is not informed. Sad as it is, if we ever hope to reclaim 
American democracy, it appears we must now fight for outrageous 
news to be aired, if we ever expect that news to outrage.

Notwithstanding our worst horrors and fears these last four years, 
American democracy is in deeper trouble than we knew. Now is the 
time for patriots to act.

We must begin by demanding coverage of this explosive evidence by 
the leading organs of American journalism. If the American people 
remain too jaded or frightened to demand the heads of those who 
deceived them so thoroughly, they're entitled to inherit the 
consequences of their own failures. However, they cannot make that 
choice until they know the facts.

Please therefore, for the sake of innocent Iraqis, for the sake of 
American soldiers, and for the sake of American democracy, do two 
things 'write now':

* First, send a message to the New York Times and the Washington 
Post, demanding that they cover this most significant of stories. Top 
brass at the New York Times can be emailed at the following 
addresses: Executive Editor Bill Keller at executive-
editor@nytimes.com, and Managing Editor Jill Abramson at managing-
editor@nytimes.com. For the Washington Post, try National Editor 
Michael Abramowitz at abramowitz@washpost.com, and Associate 
Editor Robert Kaiser at robertgkaiser@yahoo.com.

* Next, forward this article on to everybody you know, and ask them to 
write the Times and the Post as well, and then to forward this article in 
turn to everyone they know. With some luck, perhaps we can achieve 
a critical mass which can no longer be ignored by these papers, with 
the electronic media then to follow.

In any case, we are evidently going have to take this country back 
ourselves, without even the benefit of a competent media to report the 
news.

Fortunately, we possess the greatest weapon of all, the truth.

David Michael Green (pscdmg@hofstra.edu) is a professor of political 
science at Hofstra University in New York.

###


-- 
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  Fri May 13 22:37:52 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sat May 14 10:18:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Dennis J. Kucinich  to Howard Dean
Message-ID: <200505141718.j4EHIl7K007145@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Published on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 by The Nation www.thenation.com/
An Open Letter to Howard Dean
by Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0504-21.htm

Dear Chairman Dean,

Speaking before an ACLU crowd last week in Minnesota, the state of Paul
Wellstone, you were quoted as saying, "Now that we're there [in Iraq],
we're there and we can't get out.... I hope the President is incredibly
successful with his policy now." Did these words really come from the same
man who claimed to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party,
and who had recently campaigned on the antiwar theme? What's changed?

Perhaps you now believe that an electoral victory for Democrats in 2006
and beyond requires sweeping this war under the rug. If so, you are only
the latest in a long line of recent Democratic leaders who chose a
strategy of letting "no light show" between Democrats and the President on
the war. Emphasize the economy, instead, they advised, in 2002 and again
in 2004.

Following this advice has kept us in the minority. During the 2002
election cycle, when Democrats felt they had historical precedent on their
side (the President's party always loses seats in the midterm election),
the Democratic leadership in Congress cut a deal with the President to
bring the war resolution to a vote, and appeared with him in a Rose Garden
ceremony. The "no light" strategy yielded a historic result: For the first
time since Franklin Roosevelt, a President increased his majorities in
both houses of Congress during a recession.

The President went into the 2004 election with tremendous vulnerability on
the war, which the Democratic Party again sacrificed: by avoiding the
issue of withdrawal from Iraq in the party platform, omitting it from
campaign speeches and deleting it from the national convention.

Why does failure surely follow from sweeping the war and occupation under
the rug? Because the war is one of the most potent political scandals of
all time, and it has energized grassroots activity like few others.

President Bush led the country into war based on false information,
falsified threats and a fictitious estimate of the consequences. His war
and the continuing occupation transformed Iraq into a training ground for
jihadists who want to hunt Americans, and a cause c?l?bre for stoking
resentment in the Muslim world. His war and occupation squandered the
abundant good will felt by the world for America after our losses of
September 11. He enriched his cronies at Halliburton and other private
interests through the occupation. And he diverted our attention and
abilities away from apprehending the masterminds of the September 11
attack; instead, we are mired in occupation. The President's war and
occupation in Iraq has already cost $125 billion, nearly 1,600 American
lives, more than 11,000 American casualties and the lives of tens of
thousands of Iraqis. The occupation has been more costly in this regard
than the war.

There is no end in sight for the occupation of Iraq. The President says we
will stay until we're finished. A recent report by the Congressional
Research Service concluded that the United States is probably building
permanent military bases in Iraq. The President refuses to consider an
exit strategy. The Republican Congress gives the President whatever he
asks for.

We can draw no clearer distinction with the President than over this war.
He cannot right a wrong (unjustified war) by perpetuating a military
occupation. Military victory there is not possible. General Tommy Franks
concedes that. The war will end when we say it's over. The Democratic
leadership should be pressing for quick withdrawal of all troops from
Iraq.

That's what most Democrats want, too. Your performance in the early
stages of the primary, and your recent chairmanship of the party, were
made possible by many, many progressive and liberal Democrats. It was
their hope and expectation that you would prevent the party from repeating
its past drift to the Republican-lite center. They hoped that this time
the party would not abandon them or its core beliefs again.

Yet you say that you hope the President succeeds. With no pressure
exerted from the leadership of the Democratic Party, the past threatens to
repeat itself in 2006. We may not leave Iraq or our minority status in
Washington for a long time to come.

Dennis J. Kucinich

----


-- 
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 
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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  Sat May 14 11:00:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 14 11:06:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] I thought you would be interested to read this article
	from The Times
Message-ID: <200505141800.j4EI0lR12370@php-web3.wpng.newsint.co.uk.>



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html
                 The secret Downing Street memo 
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sat May 14 10:40:52 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sat May 14 11:51:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] New Drug
Message-ID: <BEAB8635.20473%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Tom sent this 
with thanks
M

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From villasudjuan at free.fr  Sat May 14 04:26:53 2005
From: villasudjuan at free.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Sat May 14 11:51:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Picture of International Islamic Unity
In-Reply-To: <BEA84E8A.5857%kzii@swbell.net>
Message-ID: <200505141753.j4EHrDEp007276@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 14 14:38:18 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sat May 14 14:44:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Sticky Wicket
Message-ID: <002401c558cd$40acbed0$4d3fe440@Harold>

Richard Haerther, it is a 'sticky wicket' (love that phase), too bad it did not come to the attention of the American people before the last election.
It would/may have had an interesting reaction in Florida and the rest of America as to the present administrations conduct/decisions and election.

Luis Posada Carriles poses a sticky wicket for the Bush administration. He is 
 the prime suspect in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger plane in which 73 
 people died and is now reportedly hiding in South Florida hoping to be 
granted  political asylum. But it would be the height of hypocrisy if the 
administration  entertained the possibility of sheltering Posada.  
It shouldn't matter that the fierce anti-Castro feelings of South Florida's  
Cuban exile community could make deporting Posada politically risky for  
Republicans. The message the administration needs to send to the world is that  
anyone who would commit violence against innocent civilians to further a  
political cause is a terrorist and should be treated as one. 
Posada has spent 45 years jumping borders in Latin America to fight a losing  
battle against Fidel Castro. In addition to being a prime suspect in the 
plane  bombing, he has admitted participating in the planning of a 1997 attack in  
Havana that killed an Italian visitor. His attorney said recently that Posada 
is  now in Florida hoping for sanctuary in light of his work with the CIA in 
the  1960s. 
But the government of Venezuela wants to bring Posada to justice for the  
airplane bombing and is seeking extradition. Posada allegedly helped plot the  
attack while in the Venezuelan intelligence service. 
The State Department has avoided dealing with the issue by unconvincingly  
claiming it has no evidence of Posada's presence in the country. Federal  
authorities should open their eyes a little wider. After spending nearly the  last 
four years fighting a global war against terrorism, making an exception for  
Posada would do serious damage to our moral authority in the world. 
It doesn't matter how many big political donors might be offended or how many 
 Cuban-American votes might be lost. Posada should not be allowed to stay. He 
 should be turned over to Venezuela or deported to a country where he will 
face  fair hearing.[Last modified May 14, 2005,  01:24:07]



The US of A is known to have sponsored many, many terrorist activities in the name of National Interest over the past 60 years, so call the kettle black.
But actual proof has always been buried/denied under what ever National Security legalese, Act, to protect mischief/intervention gone array or right !!

http://www.afrocubaweb.com/posada.htm  Bio on Carriles  


The Carriles issue is one to follow. My question is how many other Carriles's are there out there that have been sanctioned by the CIA or which ever American Military/Security/Police Department and have screwed up, done a 'bad' thing and killed people (innocent or not) in the name of National Security/Interest, have not been prosecuted for their actions and are being protected. I would think that the list is very long and very high up. 

Power and ignorance corrupts! 

Later H


PS I/We all question the real meaning behind words "National Interest and National Security" 

When one does something wrong in the cultural norm they are prosecuted under the laws of the land and if found guilty sentenced to something that will protect the community from any further wrong doing. But when someone does something wrong and the cultural norm accepts it, then that gets interesting as to the state of the cultural norm!
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 14 15:10:52 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sat May 14 15:16:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] sticky wicket add on.
Message-ID: <004401c558d1$ccfc40a0$4d3fe440@Harold>

After re-reading/thinking, I want to change "power and ignorance corrupts" to ..

Power, ignorance and saving one's ass corrupts !!

Later H
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 14 15:17:43 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Sat May 14 15:23:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: 'High death toll' in Uzbekistan
Message-ID: <20050514_221743_046340.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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



** 'High death toll' in Uzbekistan **
Thousands of protesters return to the streets of Andijan in Uzbekistan despite heavy bloodshed overnight.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4546673.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 16:25:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 14 15:32:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Not the Top of the Safety Priorities
Message-ID: <20050514222610.1E31A13B950@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Unbelievable!! Ford wants to make a perfectly safe - indeed, extraordinarily safe - vehivle LESS safe!!


AUTOMOBILES | May 14, 2005

Not the Top of the Safety Priorities
By DANNY HAKIM

A dispute between Volvo and its new corporate parent, Ford, centers on the role that crushed vehicle roofs play in the more than 10,000 deaths from rollovers each year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/automobiles/14roof.html?ex=1116734400&en=bab99c9ed4e115a3&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 14 16:46:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 14 16:51:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - UK film: terror fears exaggerated - May 14,
	2005
Message-ID: <27126486.1116114368735.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat May 14 22:59:43 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat May 14 23:03:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] bam pop smack bam tap tap crash pow bam whap boom slap
	whoosh boom crash boom bam whack whack pow
Message-ID: <000701c55913$4ae06dc0$1925b7d8@baby1>

bam pop smack bam tap tap crash pow bam whap boom slap whoosh boom crash
boom bam whack whack pow





"bam pop smack bam tap tap crash pow bam whap boom slap whoosh boom crash
boom bam whack whack pow"




Baker practicing.

:|







Cheeseburger

.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat May 14 23:22:52 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sat May 14 23:26:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Stop the Crime of the Century
Message-ID: <000d01c55916$8759f7a0$1925b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Stop the Crime of the Century



"But I have been naive enough, until now, to believe that at least some of
the American mainstream media has not climbed completely into bed with those
destroyers of all that is decent about American democracy. Apparently I've
been a fool."

"First, send a message to the New York Times and the Washington Post,
demanding that they cover this most significant of stories."



1.  If people, Americans (the ones not yet totally zombiefied), actually
have to write to those publications "insisting" they cover one of the actual
most important stories in a while, which they are actually refusing to cover
(that's like nobody reporting someone named Paul Revere ever rode a horse),
then they might as well just throw their computers in their bathtubs, the
results will most likely wind up being the same.

2.  Yes, you've been a fool, however you're in great company of millions and
millions of other fools.  "Not being a fool now" isn't going to change much,
although I'm "behind you 100 percent" in your "let's no longer be fools and
ignorant trusting pawns" drive in the face of a System of Governments,
Corporations, and Crooks (including The Media) to whom A Lie these days is
nothing more than just one more scoop of tasty ice cream.  Let's try to
remember all this was not simply hatched overnight, but meticulously planned
over several decades if not longer.  "Conspiracy" is no longer a strong
enough word to describe the actual willful Takeover of a country like the
USA and the purposeful destruction of "All Things Democratic" for personal,
business and Other reasons.  We can have "Fools Forever" tattooed on our
butts as a memento.  That's about the only positive thing that is going to
come out of this.

3.  Just about everything within and outside this Government at this time is
just about the equivalent of a "Warren Commission" after several decades of
training within some kind of facility equal to "The School Of The Americas".
These are the same people who shot and eliminated King, Jack Kennedy, Robert
Kennedy, Etc Etc ETC, and the same people who had the power to report about
it and stop it back then and in the future, but sat by and watched it happen
and allowed it to continue to happen.  Nothing, whatsoever, has changed,
except the adeptness of their propaganda machines and the expediency with
which their propaganda can be distributed due to such interesting advances
in Technology.

4.  They control the entire United States Of America at this time, among
other people, places and things.  Come on, try to be a team player, stop
whining so much, it's only The American Dream going down to Hell for the
rest of eternity.  If you think you're "A Fool" now, that's nothing, wait
until the end of this decade and get back to us on how you feel.

5.  Welcome back to The American Revolution.






Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 15 02:54:49 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 15 03:00:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32224699.1116150891130.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 'Martyrs' In Iraq Mostly Saudis
 
 By Susan B. Glasser
 
  Before Hadi bin Mubarak Qahtani exploded himself into an anonymous fireball, he was young and interested only in "fooling around."
 
 Like many Saudis, he was said to have experienced a religious awakening after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and dedicated himself to Allah, inspired by "the holy attack that demolished the foolish infidel Americans and caused many young men to awaken from their deep sleep," according to a posting on a jihadist Web site.
 
 On April 11, he died as a suicide bomber, part of a coordinated insurgent attack on a U.S. Marine base in the western Iraq city of Qaim. Just two days later, "the Martyrdom" of Hadi bin Mubarak Qahtani was announced on the Internet, the latest requiem for a young Saudi man who had clamored to follow "those 19 heroes" of Sept. 11 and had found in Iraq an accessible way to die.
 
 Hundreds of similar accounts of suicide bombers are featured on the rapidly proliferating array of Web sites run by radical Islamists, online celebrations of death that offer a wealth of information about an otherwise shadowy foe at a time when U.S. military officials say that foreign fighters constitute a growing and particularly deadly percentage of the Iraqi insurgency.
 
 The account of Qahtani's death, like many other individual entries on the Web sites, cannot be verified. But independent experts and former government terrorism analysts who monitor the sites believe they are genuine mouthpieces for the al Qaeda-affiliated radicals who have made Iraq "a melting pot for jihadists from around the world, a training group and an indoctrination center," as a recent State Department report put it. The sites hail death in Iraq as the inspiration for a new generation of terrorists in much the same way that Afghanistan attracted Muslims eager to fight against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
 
 Who are the suicide bombers of Iraq? By the radicals' account, they are an internationalist brigade of Arabs, with the largest share in the online lists from Saudi Arabia and a significant minority from other countries on Iraq's borders, such as Syria and Kuwait. The roster of the dead on just one extremist Web site reviewed by The Washington Post runs to nearly 250 names, ranging from a 13-year-old Syrian boy said to have died fighting the Americans in Fallujah to the reigning kung fu champion of Jordan, who sneaked off to wage war by telling his family he was going to a tournament.
 
 Among the dead are students of engineering and English, the son of a Moroccan restaurateur and a smattering of Europeanized Arabs. There are also long lists of names about whom nothing more is recorded than a country of origin and the word "martyr."
 
 Some counterterrorism officials are skeptical about relying on information from publicly available Web sites, which they say may be used for disinformation. But other observers of the jihadist Web sites view the lists of the dead "for internal purposes" more than for propaganda, as British researcher Paul Eedle put it. "These are efforts on the part of jihadis to collate deaths. It's like footballers on the Net getting a buzz out of knowing somebody's transferred from Chelsea to Liverpool." Or, as Col. Thomas X. Hammes, an expert on insurgency with the National Defense University, said, "they are targeted marketing. They are not aimed at the West."
 
 Many of the Arabs, according to the postings, were drawn to fight in Iraq under the banner of al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the group run by Jordanian militant Abu Musab Zarqawi that has taken credit for a gruesome series of beheadings, kidnappings and suicide attacks -- many of them filmed and then disseminated on the Internet in a convergence between the electronic jihad and the real-life war.
 
 In recent days, the U.S. military in Iraq has stepped up its campaign against the Zarqawi network, launching an offensive in western Iraq in an area where foreigners are believed to be smuggled across the Syrian border and claiming to have arrested or killed nearly two dozen key Zarqawi lieutenants. At the same time, Iraq has been hit by a wave of suicide attacks causing about 400 deaths over the last two weeks, one of the deadliest periods since the U.S. invasion in 2003.
 
 As the military has blamed much of the escalating violence on foreign fighters coming to Iraq, Zarqawi's group responded this week. "The infidels once again are claiming that foreign fighters are responsible for initiating the attacks and an increase [in foreign fighters] is the true danger," the Zarqawi media wing said in a May 10 Internet posting. But "the real danger," the posting said, is Zarqawi's overall following. And besides, it added, "who is the foreigner . . .? You are the ones who came to the land of the Muslims from your distant corrupt land."
 
 U.S. military estimates cited by security analysts put the number of active jihadists at about 1,000, or less than 10 percent of the number of fighters in a mostly Iraqi-dominated insurgency. But military officials now say the foreigners are responsible for a higher percentage of the suicide bombings, and the online postings include few names of dead Iraqis affiliated with Zarqawi's group.
 
 Many of the suicide bombers appear to have been novices in warfare, attracted by the relative ease of access to Iraq and the lure of quick martyrdom. "This is not al Qaeda's first team," said Hammes of the National Defense University. "These are the scrubs who could never get us in the States."
 
 In a paper published in March, Reuven Paz, an Israeli expert on terrorism, analyzed the lists of jihadi dead. He found 154 Arabs killed over the previous six months in Iraq, 61 percent of them from Saudi Arabia, with Syrians, Iraqis and Kuwaitis together accounting for another 25 percent. He also found that 70 percent of the suicide bombers named by the Web sites were Saudi. In three cases, Paz found two brothers who carried out suicide attacks. Many of the bombers were married, well educated and in their late twenties, according to postings.
 
 "While incomplete," Paz wrote, the data suggest "the intensive involvement of Saudi volunteers for jihad in Iraq."
 
 In a telephone interview, Paz said his list -- assembled from monitoring a dozen Islamic extremist Web forums -- now had more than 200 names. "Many are students or from wealthy families -- the same sociological characteristics as the Sept. 11 hijackers," he said.
 
 The apparent predominance of Saudi fighters on the Internet lists has caused an alarmed reaction by Saudi officials, who fear a backlash from the Americans at the same time they are trying to convince the United States that they are working as allies against terrorism. While Saudi officials do not deny that Saudi citizens have taken up arms against the United States in Iraq, they argue that the long lists of Saudi dead could be a disinformation tactic or simply a recruiting tool used to lure Arab youth to Iraq by convincing them of how many others have already won a place in Paradise.
 
 "Are there Saudis in Iraq? Yes, we know that. Absolutely. But are there the numbers being bandied about? We really don't believe so," said a Saudi official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the subject.
 
 "The Internet sites try to recruit people -- it's the best recruitment tool," said Saudi security analyst Nawaf Obaid. Obaid, who has worked closely with the government, said he found 47 cases of Saudis who were dead or injured reported in the kingdom's newspapers, far lower than Internet totals, and had concluded the overall number of Saudi jihadis in Iraq was in the hundreds. "But young guys, they read [on the Internet] we have thousands of Saudis there and think, 'I have to go, too.' "
 
 Evan F. Kohlmann, a researcher who monitors Islamic extremist Web sites, has compiled a list of more than 235 names of Iraqi dead gleaned from the Internet since last summer, with more than 50 percent on his tally from Saudi Arabia as well. In some cases, he found photos or videos of dead foreign fighters posted online. One Kuwaiti policeman who died was featured in a Zarqawi propaganda video called "Winds of Change," while the bloodied corpse of a Turkish al Qaeda disciple, Habib Aktas, was shown on another video celebrating his "martyrdom."
 
 Some of the Web postings also include phone numbers so fellow Islamists can call a dead fighter's family and congratulate them. Kohlmann called several of the numbers. "I have lists and lists of foreign fighters, and it's no joke. Their sons went and blew themselves up in Iraq," he said.
 
 Zarqawi's group has also regularly posted biographical sketches of its suicide bombers, such as that of Abu Anas Tuhami, said to have died in a suicide attack on Iraq's Election Day in January. Tuhami, a Saudi orphan raised by his grandfather, was unusually saintly, as reported in the February online communique.
 
 "O' brother, I love to sleep on the floor and I need no mattress," Tuhami was quoted as telling one fellow foreign fighter. He was to have been married in February. "Instead, he chose to be with the virgins of paradise," the announcement said. "He used to talk frequently about the virgins of paradise and their beauty, and he wished to drink a sip from the sustenance of paradise while a virgin beauty wiped his mouth."
 
 One Web forum examined by The Post, a site first registered to an Abu Dhabi individual on Sept. 18, 2001, and believed to attract postings from al Qaeda, presents a regularly updated list of the "Arab martyrs in Iraq." The forum, at http://www.qal3ah.net/ , was used by both Paz and Kohlmann in compiling their lists; other researchers also said they regularly consulted the site, which bills itself as a sort of town hall for the jihad-inclined.
 
 Saudis were also the leading group on this list, representing 44 percent, followed by Syrians and Iraqis at less than 15 percent each. Many of the dead appeared to be young newcomers to jihad with stories like Qahtani's, though other listings detailed the deaths of veteran fighters who came through the al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan before Sept. 11, including the father of Ammar Souri, the 13-year-old said to have died during last year's fighting in Fallujah.
 
 Often the entries bragged about the number of Americans killed by the "lions from the martyrs' brigade," as in the case of Ahmed Said Ghamdi, a 20-year-old Saudi who was said to have given up his medical studies in Sudan to go to Iraq and was hailed as the "hero" of a Mosul suicide bombing of a mess tent that killed 22 people.
 
 Another list, posted in February on the forum called Masada at http://www.alm2sda.net/ , listed a couple dozen senior Zarqawi lieutenants who had died -- most of whose names appear on the other Web lists. Among them was Abu Mohammed Lubnani, a Lebanese who had lived in Denmark before going to fight in Iraq and whose son was also killed, and Abu Ahmad Tabuki, who had been a key figure in the Afghan jihad against the Soviets.
 
 Biographical details are often sketchy in the online obituaries, as is the case with Qahtani, the young Saudi said to have died April 11 while attacking a U.S. Marine base in the western Iraqi city of Qaim. The account of his death located by Kohlmann on the Internet does not say whether Qahtani was driving the commandeered dump truck that barreled onto the base, wreaking havoc before exploding, or whether he was in one of two other vehicles that blew up while another group of fighters opened fire on Marines.
 
 It gives no more identifying details than his name -- indicating he was part of a well-known Saudi tribe that also produced the al Qaeda member known as the so-called 20th hijacker, Mohamed Qahtani, who was turned away from entering the country by suspicious U.S. airport officials in August 2001.
 
 Five other Qahtanis have been reported killed in Iraq, including Muhammed bin Aedh Ghadif Qahtani, a captain in the Saudi National Guard who allegedly used his guard identification badge to help gain entry into Iraq when he was stopped for questioning.
 
 Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 15 02:55:34 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 15 03:01:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Former Secret Police Chief Blames Pinochet for Abuses
 
 By Jonathan Franklin and Monte Reel
 
  SANTIAGO, Chile, May 14 -- The former chief of Chile's secret police has submitted a court document that claims to detail what happened to hundreds of people who disappeared during Gen. Augusto Pinochet's 17-year military dictatorship, casting blame on the former military ruler.
 
 Lawyers for retired Gen. Manuel Contreras submitted a 32-page document to Chile's Supreme Court on Friday that purportedly reveals what was done with the bodies of about 580 people -- almost half of those still considered missing. Human rights groups immediately questioned the information and its source, citing Contreras's years of deception and denials.
 
 Many of the details Contreras provided -- such as the assertion that many of the bodies were dumped into the Pacific Ocean -- were previously known; others contradicted the findings of commissions that have investigated the disappearances.
 
 In an 11-page letter accompanying a spreadsheet with information about victims, Contreras, 75, wrote that Pinochet personally ordered human rights violations and that the ex-dictator's claims that his subordinates were responsible for any abuses was "an intolerable injustice."
 
 Contreras alleged that Pinochet personally ordered the killing of Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean foreign and defense minister who was killed in a car bombing in Washington in 1976 with his American assistant, Ronni Moffitt. Contreras wrote that Pinochet also ordered the 1974 killing of a former general, Carlos Prats, in Argentina. Contreras was previously jailed for his role in Letelier's death and is currently serving a sentence for the 1975 disappearance of activist Miguel Angel Sandoval.
 
 Contreras served as the head of the intelligence agency, known as DINA, which carried out many of the human rights abuses of the Pinochet era. The Chilean government estimates that 3,190 people were killed for opposing Pinochet and that about 1,200 of those remain missing.
 
 Pinochet, who led the coup that overthrew President Salvador Allende in 1973, has been indicted twice, but the courts have ruled that the 89-year-old is too ill to stand trial.
 
 Many of the disappearances that Pinochet has attributed to DINA were listed by Contreras as "killed in combat," a designation that human rights groups and relatives of the victims said they considered offensive. The secret detention centers where the government kept many of those who disappeared were not mentioned.
 
 Other investigations have determined that some victims were killed after being forced to return to Chile from other countries; Contreras's list indicates that those victims died abroad.
 
 "Contreras's list is just another coverup," said Sebastian Brett, a researcher in Santiago for Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based advocacy group. "This is intended to help his former subordinates who committed horrific abuses, not the families of the victims."
 
 For years, relatives have pressed for more details about the fates of those who disappeared. After reading Contreras's list, some groups representing victims' families said their long search for more information was not any closer to being over.
 
 "There are plenty of lies that a judge will have to determine and Contreras will have to answer, because he has lied one more time to the country," Mireya Garcia, vice president of an association of family members of the disappeared, said at a news conference in Santiago.
 
 Peter Kornbluh, director of the Chile project at the private National Security Archive in Washington, said that although the information could be viewed as a "small step forward" in the continuing investigations into Pinochet's government, Contreras's motives seemed questionable.
 
 "He's in jail and he's learned that abject denial doesn't keep him free," Kornbluh said.
 
 Reel reported from Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 15 02:56:38 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 15 03:02:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Carnage in Iraq
 
  FOR THOSE WHO hoped that the formation of an Iraqi government last month would lead to something resembling peace, the past several weeks have brought sharp disappointment. Almost every day seems to bring reports of one or more suicide bombers or other terrorists killing dozens of Iraqi civilians, and with every bombing come more heartbreaking photographs and stories from grieving survivors. U.S. Marines sustain casualties in gritty combat against well-trained foes along the Syrian border, and U.S. fighters and contractors continue to fall victim to roadside bombs in other parts of the country.
 
 The letdown is similar to that which followed the exhilaration of the Jan. 30 elections, the transfer of sovereignty to the interim government and the capture of Saddam Hussein. With each landmark event came predictions that the back of the insurgency would be broken, but each seems to have been followed, perhaps after a lull, by more ferocity. As in those previous periods, there are worrying questions about whether decisions in Washington have spread U.S. forces in Iraq too thin.
 
 Senior officials deny any such deficiency and insist that overall trends remain positive. As evidence, they point to increasing numbers of useful tips coming from Iraqis that lead to arrests of insurgents; to progress in training Iraqi forces, which in some cases are successfully patrolling on their own or in combination with U.S. troops; and to the political process leading toward a new constitution.
 
 Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was not among those who forecast a waning of the insurgency in the aftermath of the election, though he was pressed by journalists to do so. "I don't expect that it will end the violence," he said on Feb. 1. But Mr. Rumsfeld said more recently that he does believe the Iraqis will defeat the insurgency eventually. He said it would be weakened by divisions between Baathists and al Qaeda sympathizers, by Iraq's political and economic progress, and most of all by Iraqis' realization that the insurgents have nothing to offer. "The Iraqis will prevail in the insurgency also because over time, it will become clearer and clearer that the insurgents have no plan; they have nothing other than killing people," Mr. Rumsfeld said. The nation's senior military adviser, Gen. Richard B. Myers, went further in a press briefing April 26. "I think we are winning," said Gen. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Okay? I think we're definitely winning. I think we've been winning for some time."
 
 Given the record, it's fair to treat such claims with caution. The military failed to anticipate or prepare for any insurgency after Saddam Hussein fell. Previous measures of claimed progress -- the number of Iraqi troops trained, for example -- have proved unreliable. Intelligence about the insurgency remains disturbingly patchy; senior officers say they still have little understanding of the relative strengths of Iraqis and foreigners among enemy fighters or of connections between the two.
 
 Yet, as the insurgents increasingly go after Iraqi civilians, one thing has become clear: Theirs is not, as many people maintained before the Jan. 30 elections, a struggle against American "occupation." It is a fight against a legitimate government trying to operate under the principle of self-rule -- and trying for the most part, notwithstanding terrible provocations, to include every ethnic group. As Mr. Rumsfeld said, their only strategy is butchery. That doesn't mean they are sure to lose; their barbarism can go a long way toward slowing the economic and political progress that Mr. Rumsfeld said is necessary. It does mean that the United States is right to help the Iraqis battle back.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 15 02:57:42 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 15 03:03:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Gleams Amid the Gloom
 
 By David S. Broder
 
  SEATTLE -- Sometimes you find hope in unexpected places. Just when I thought I was going to gag on the rancid partisanship of so much of our politics these days, I found reason for optimism on opposite sides of the country -- at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., and in the Rainier Club here in Seattle.
 
 Earlier this month, Madeleine Albright, the Democratic former secretary of state, came to breakfast at the club to encourage a largely Republican group of business and civic leaders to support expansion of the Bush administration's effort to spur economic development in the world's poorest countries.
 
 She was preaching to the choir. A year ago philanthropist Bill Clapp, former governor and senator Dan Evans, former Environmental Protection Agency head Bill Ruckelshaus, prominent attorney William Gates Sr. and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman John Shalikashvili formed the Seattle Initiative for Global Development with the ambitious agenda of eliminating extreme poverty worldwide.
 
 Encouraged by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar and others, they have organized similar groups in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Portland, Ore., and San Francisco, with Los Angeles, New York City and Tampa due to be next. Their goal, Evans said, is to have a national network ready by next spring to advocate a large increase by the United States and other nations in development assistance for the billion people who live on less than $1 a day.
 
 Bill Center,  president of the Washington Council on International Trade, said that humanitarian considerations aside, no other investment is more likely to reduce the threat of terrorism and improve the future marketplace for American goods than eliminating extreme poverty.
 
 Albright, though critical of some aspects of President Bush's foreign policy, urged the group to support the "hard-headed approach" embodied in Bush's Millennium Challenge Corp., a new, publicly financed agency that will channel economic development funds to countries with rigorous plans for market-tested reforms. Madagascar is the first recipient, with Honduras up for a vote next week and three more countries in the pipeline.
 
 So far the president has asked for just a tiny fraction of the $20 billion a year the Seattle executives think the United States should be spending. Evans said, "We just have to get the president to move it up on his priority list."
 
 That same largeness of spirit was visible a few days later, in Washington, D.C., when Interior Secretary Gale Norton opened her department's auditorium and its penthouse, with its stunning views of the federal city, for a celebration of the legacy of her Democratic predecessor of the 1960s, Stewart Udall, and his brother, the former Arizona congressman and Democratic presidential contender, Morris "Mo" Udall.
 
 On display at the department was a collection of Udall memorabilia assembled by the University of Arizona, and the tributes that followed Norton's warm welcome to the Udall clan were genuine and unforced. John McCain, who was taken in hand by Mo Udall when he first came to Congress, recalled their joint efforts to secure passage of the Arizona Wilderness Act, which, he said, "has kept pristine 3 million acres of our beautiful state."
 
 Another Republican senator, Gordon Smith of Oregon, a Udall cousin on his mother's side, talked about the four generations of Udalls who were public servants in Arizona and the ethic of "being stewards of the land" that was a central tenet of their Mormon faith and a motivation for all of them.
 
 The tradition continues, not just through the educational foundation bearing Mo Udall's name but with Udall cousins Mark and Tom, the sons of Morris and Stewart Udall, respectively, now serving in the House from Colorado and New Mexico.
 
 Stewart Udall, now 85, who despite failing vision has just completed the screenplay for a possible Hollywood Western, devoted most of his remarks to the memory of his brother. Mo Udall   died in 1998 after a long hospitalization with Parkinson's disease -- an ordeal throughout which he was regularly visited and comforted by McCain.
 
 In an implicit commentary on today's legislative climate, Stewart Udall recalled that when a bill was reported out of the Interior Committee during his brother's chairmanship, "it wasn't a Democratic bill or a Republican bill. It was a committee bill, shaped by every member who chose to participate in writing it."
 
 Udall also recalled that when their fellow Arizonan Barry Goldwater was the Republican candidate for president in 1964, he, as a member of Lyndon Johnson's Cabinet, avoided any personal criticism of Goldwater except in one speech -- "and I've regretted that speech ever since."
 
 On both sides of the continent, good people saying good things and doing good works.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 15 02:59:33 2005
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 Bush, Yalta and the Blur of Hindsight
 
 By Jon Meacham
 
  The setting was convivial, the sentiments warm. On the morning of Sunday, Feb. 11, 1945, in the billiards room once used by Czar Nicholas II in the Livadia Palace at Yalta, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill were putting the final touches on a communique after a weeklong conference at the Crimean seaside resort. The war in Europe was drawing to a close (Hitler had barely 11 weeks to live), and the Big Three were contemplating the future of the European continent and the daunting task of finishing the fight against Japan.
 
 The language in the agreement they signed that day was eloquent and high-minded. Order in Europe, it said, "must be achieved by processes which will enable the liberated peoples to destroy the last vestiges of Nazism and Fascism and to create democratic institutions of their own choice." The Allies, including Stalin, pledged to defend "the right of all peoples to choose the form of Government under which they will live" in order that "all the men in all the lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want." Churchill was so pleased with Yalta, a British diplomat noted, that he was "drinking buckets of Caucasian champagne which would undermine the health of any ordinary man."
 
 As we now know, and as President Bush pointed out a week ago on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, Churchill was drinking to a deal that would soon fall apart with dark and long-lasting consequences for a continent divided between freedom and fear. At the time, though, Roosevelt, too, thought that, all in all, it had been a good week. Stalin had agreed to become part of the prospective United Nations organization, a long-cherished dream of the president's, and to join the Pacific war -- a clash that FDR and Churchill expected to last until 1947. (The Manhattan Project would not prove successful at making an atomic bomb for another five months; to ensure Soviet help in the anticipated Asian land war, FDR made territorial concessions in the Far East.) And while the Soviets occupied Poland and much of Eastern and Central Europe, Roosevelt and Churchill believed that Stalin had shown a willingness to live up to the spirit of the communique. "We have wound up the conference -- successfully, I think," Roosevelt wrote to his wife, Eleanor.
 
 Such hope was illusory but understandable. After all, hadn't Stalin signed the document promising democracy, toasted Churchill as "the bravest governmental figure in the world" for inspiring England's lonely stand against Hitler in 1940, and said he was "confident" that "our relations in peacetime should be as strong as they had been in war"?
 
 He had, but as Bush has reminded us, Stalin's word was worthless. Once a bright, fleeting hope for an orderly, democratic peace, the Yalta pact is now seen as a crucial opening phase of the Cold War, the moment when the Anglo-American allies, but especially the more influential Roosevelt, failed to protect Eastern and Central Europe from Soviet domination.
 
 "V-E Day marked the end of fascism, but it did not end oppression," Bush said in Latvia on May 7. "The agreement at Yalta followed in the unjust tradition of Munich and the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact," he added, referring to two treaties that cleared the way for World War II. "Once again, when powerful governments negotiated, the freedom of small nations was somehow expendable."
 
 Harsh words -- overly harsh, in my view, and not because great leaders of the past deserve automatic absolution at the altar of history. "To do justice to a great man, discriminating criticism is always necessary," Churchill once wrote. "Gush, however quenching, is always insipid." But Bush's criticism is more damning than discriminating. In its sweep, the president's characterization of Yalta essentially indicts Roosevelt and Churchill as knowing actors in the manufacture and hanging of the Iron Curtain. For generations of post-World War II conservatives, "Yalta" was code for the left-wing "sellout" to the communists, and Bush was probably playing on deep-seated right-wing passions to set his own campaign for democracy apart from the liberal failures of the past.
 
 But such code rarely does justice to the world's complexities, and Bush could one day come to regret his dismissive allusion. (How would he like a future president to use "Iraq" as shorthand for a war fought on the basis of incorrect intelligence and carried out with poor planning for the aftermath?) By swerving to hit FDR and Churchill, Bush has committed the same sin that presidents so often rightly deplore in others: He has second-guessed well-meaning leaders who were in the arena dealing with the world as it was, making the most difficult of decisions at the most tumultuous of times.
 
 And Bush's historical juxtaposition leaves much to be desired. Linking Yalta to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's concessions to Hitler at Munich in 1938, which cleared the way for Germany's annexation of Czechoslovakia before the war, is tenuous enough. At Yalta in 1945, driven by the need to keep the Soviets in the fight against Fascism, FDR and Churchill did nothing about the Soviet takeover of the Baltic states, tacitly accepting what Stalin had done six years earlier.
 
 But to put Yalta in the same sentence with the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact unfairly casts Roosevelt and Churchill in the same light as Hitler and Stalin. Struck in August 1939, that bargain between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union satisfied Stalin's territorial ambitions and enabled Hitler to invade Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, without fear of a hostile Soviet reaction in the east. It was, in other words, the agreement that most directly triggered the beginning of World War II, a conflict that claimed nearly 60 million lives.
 
 Bush was not wrong to evoke Yalta and its lessons, but his judgment that the conference was, as he put it, an "attempt to sacrifice freedom for the sake of stability" reflects a misunderstanding of what Roosevelt and Churchill hoped the communique would deliver as well as a failure to take the realities of the time into account. It's true that Yalta was not the Anglo-American allies' finest diplomatic hour and, as things turned out, may indeed have been one of their worst. The other Big Three conference, held at Tehran in late 1943, led to agreement about Operation Overlord, the cross-Channel invasion of France. Without that session it is conceivable that D-Day and the ensuing liberation of Western Europe could have been delayed indefinitely. Tehran, then, created something; the legacy of Yalta, on the other hand, was more about ratifying facts on the ground than it was about pressing ahead in new directions.
 
 In hindsight, we can see that as one great conflict ended, another was beginning. The battle against Hitler gave way to what President John F. Kennedy -- at the time a young Navy lieutenant -- would later call the "long twilight struggle" against Soviet tyranny. It was with just such hindsight that Churchill, writing in the early 1950s, entitled the final volume of his war memoirs "Triumph and Tragedy."
 
 Yalta and the final months of World War II were tragic in the purest sense of the term: a drama whose outcome was determined by fate and inherent flaws in the central characters. Given world enough   and time, Roosevelt and Churchill both thought that they could have persuaded anyone of just about anything. "Poor Neville Chamberlain believed he could trust Hitler," Churchill said on his return to London. "He was wrong. But I don't think I'm wrong about Stalin." Yet he was wrong, and the reason why sheds light on both the promise and peril of personal diplomacy.
 
 Human connections between leaders can be essential -- contemporaries believed that the pleasure FDR and Churchill took in each other's company helped win the war -- but such emotional bonds are often tenuous and easily broken. Bush could learn a useful lesson from the evaporation of affection and unity in Yalta's aftermath. The U.S. president who once looked into Vladimir Putin's soul and who this month took a well-photographed spin in the Russian leader's Soviet-era car suggests that, like FDR, he may believe that his personal connection with a Kremlin chief will lead to influence over Moscow's ever more authoritarian ways. Such was not the case for Roosevelt; perhaps Bush will fare better.
 
 If FDR and Churchill were guilty of being too trusting and overly self-assured -- not the worst of flaws -- Stalin was guilty of crimes of a vastly different and deadly magnitude. A brutal killer who joined the war against Hitler only after the Fuehrer double-crossed him, Stalin was, as Churchill once said, "an unnatural man." He did not value liberty or life; his chief end was power, his main means of attaining and keeping it murder.
 
 In the cold light of history, then, counting on Stalin's good faith was a terrible mistake, but what would Roosevelt and Churchill's retrospective critics -- including President Bush -- have had them do? "Whoever occupies a territory also imposes on it his social system," Stalin said in 1945. "Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army can reach. It cannot be otherwise."
 
 Going to war with the Soviets in 1945 was hardly a reasonable option, and in fact never proved reasonable in the ensuing 40 years. Had FDR lived, would things have turned out differently with the Soviets? It seems unlikely.
 
 The trouble was not in Washington or London but in Moscow. Just before he left the capital for what would be his last trip to his cottage at Warm Springs, Ga., Roosevelt told an aide: "We've taken a great risk here, an enormous risk, and it involves the Russian intentions. I'm worried. I think Stalin will be out of his mind if he doesn't cooperate, but maybe he's not going to; in which case, we're going to have to take a different view." Roosevelt knew that politics, like life, is an ever-unfolding story. Reflecting on Yalta, Roosevelt told a friend: "I didn't say it was good . . . . I said it was the best I could do."
 
 Governing always looks easier from the visitors' side of the desk in the Oval Office, and history suggests that America would do well to be more forbearing and magnanimous in how we view past, present and, in campaigns, future leaders. "People are constantly evaluating somebody's standing in history, a president's standing in history, based upon events that took place during the presidency, based upon things that happened after the presidency," Bush has said. "And so I just don't worry about vindication or standing." Bush can only hope that his successors will be more generous in their verdicts about him than he has been in judging those who came before.
 
 Jon Meacham, the managing editor of Newsweek, is the author of "Franklin and Winston" (Random House). He is working on a book about Andrew Jackson's presidency.
 
 
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:18:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:24:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Some Sunnis Hint at Peace Terms in Iraq,
	U.S. Says
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 15, 2005

Some Sunnis Hint at Peace Terms in Iraq, U.S. Says
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN and JOHN F. BURNS

Some radical Sunni leaders have given signals that they would abandon fighting if the new Shiite government gave Sunnis more power.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/international/middleeast/15strategy.html?ex=1116820800&en=adfac3a62b1eb99f&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:19:14 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:24:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Dick Cheney's Right to Conceal
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OPINION | May 15, 2005

Editorial: Dick Cheney's Right to Conceal


The Bush administration hardly needs encouragement to deny public access to vital government information.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:19:36 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:25:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Just How Gay Is the Right?
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OPINION | May 15, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Just How Gay Is the Right?
By FRANK RICH

Homosexuality is the ticking time bomb within the conservative movement that no one can defuse.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/opinion/15rich.html?ex=1116820800&en=c09794b3ea98bc0e&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:19:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:25:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Liberal Bible-Thumping
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OPINION | May 15, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Liberal Bible-Thumping
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Liberals can confront conservative Christians on their own terms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/opinion/15kristof.html?ex=1116820800&en=55ea18c9561934f3&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:19:57 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:25:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Meet the Poor Republicans
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OPINION | May 15, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Meet the Poor Republicans
By DAVID BROOKS

The Republican Party succeeds among the poor because it is seen as the party of optimistic individualism.

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:26:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. Says 125 Dead in West;
	Official Is Killed in Baghdad
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 15, 2005

U.S. Says 125 Dead in West; Official Is Killed in Baghdad
By REUTERS

The United States military said Saturday that nine service members had been killed in an offensive against insurgents and foreign fighters in western Iraq.

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:26:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Jets Said to Destroy Rebel Hide-Out in
	Marine Push in Iraq
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 14, 2005

Jets Said to Destroy Rebel Hide-Out in Marine Push in Iraq
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Fighter jets flattened what the U.S. military said was an insurgent hide-out on the fifth day of the Marines' offensive near the Syrian border.

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:27:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Palestinian Leader to Meet Bush in
	Washington Next Week
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 15, 2005

Palestinian Leader to Meet Bush in Washington Next Week
By STEVEN ERLANGER

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, is now scheduled to meet President Bush in Washington on May 26, after trips to China and Japan, Palestinian officials said Saturday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/international/middleeast/15mideast.html?ex=1116820800&en=93e18e6dd87062a6&ei=5070



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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:27:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Karzai Says Afghan Progress Is Protests'
	Real Target
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 15, 2005

Karzai Says Afghan Progress Is Protests' Real Target
By CARLOTTA GALL

President Hamid Karzai on Saturday blamed opponents of his plans to develop long-term ties with the United States for four days of protests that left 15 people dead.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/international/middleeast/15afghan.html?ex=1116820800&en=b1300edde90536e9&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:23:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:29:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Class of 2005, Shaped by Sept. 11
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EDUCATION | May 15, 2005

The Class of 2005, Shaped by Sept. 11
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

For many students graduating this month from college, the attacks were a defining experience, the moment when the identity of the class of 2005 was shaped.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/education/15graduates.html?ex=1116820800&en=cba2392120239e2b&ei=5070



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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:29:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Court Rules in Suit on 'In God We Trust'
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NATIONAL | May 15, 2005

Court Rules in Suit on 'In God We Trust'
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RICHMOND, Va., May 14 (AP) - The inscription "In God We Trust" on the facade of a government building in North Carolina does not violate the Constitution's guidelines on the separation of church and state, a federal appeals court here ruled on Friday.

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:31:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Day After Peace: Designing Palestine
Message-ID: <20050515142544.51DF31C327@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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ARTS / ART & DESIGN | May 15, 2005

The Day After Peace: Designing Palestine
By JAMES BENNET

A California architect and political naif has proposed an elegant plan for a new state. Against all odds, people are listening.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/arts/design/15benn.html?ex=1116820800&en=a372fa6e49fe2d34&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:26:51 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:32:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A New York Detective's Tricky Beat in Israel
Message-ID: <20050515142701.D49241C327@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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NEW YORK REGION | May 15, 2005

A New York Detective's Tricky Beat in Israel
By JUDITH MILLER

The presence of New York detectives overseas has strained the department's often tense relations with the F.B.I.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/nyregion/15nypd.html?ex=1116820800&en=ff71fa9525c6838c&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:27:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:33:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Mystery of the Insurgency
Message-ID: <20050515142739.0D7231C376@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 15, 2005

The Mystery of the Insurgency
By JAMES BENNET

Iraqi rebels' seeming indifference to past patterns of insurgency is not necessarily good news for anyone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/weekinreview/15bennet.html?ex=1116820800&en=12fb7c7940af4c27&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:27:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:33:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: For This President,
	Power Is There for the Taking
Message-ID: <20050515142758.02A5E3881C4@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 15, 2005

For This President, Power Is There for the Taking
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON

President Bush has tried to restore authority to the executive branch. But will his success last beyond his tenure?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/weekinreview/15stev.html?ex=1116820800&en=e2ec722b3c15b08f&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 08:28:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 15 07:34:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A General Talks to Bush: 'Yes,
	Sir! But . . .'
Message-ID: <20050515142911.44A653881A6@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 15, 2005

A General Talks to Bush: 'Yes, Sir! But . . .'
By ERIC SCHMITT and THOM SHANKER

A top general can find himself in a complicated relationship with truth and power, as he tries to meet his obligations to both.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/weekinreview/15schmitt.html?ex=1116820800&en=8bacc44f997ffc2f&ei=5070



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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat May 14 19:00:58 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun May 15 09:17:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The True Pupose of Torture
Message-ID: <200505151617.j4FGHixk011875@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

"As an interrogation tool, torture is a bust. But when it comes to
social control, nothing works quite like torture.'

The Nation - May 30, 2005 issue
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050530&s=klein

Torture's Dirty Secret: It Works

by Naomi Klein

I recently caught a glimpse of the effects of torture in action at an
event honoring Maher Arar. The Syrian-born Canadian is the world's most
famous victim of "rendition," the process by which US officials outsource
torture to foreign countries. Arar was switching planes in New York when
US interrogators detained him and "rendered" him to Syria, where he was
held for ten months in a cell slightly larger than a grave and taken out
periodically for beatings.

Arar was being honored for his courage by the Canadian Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a mainstream advocacy organization. The
audience gave him a heartfelt standing ovation, but there was fear mixed
in with the celebration. Many of the prominent community leaders kept
their distance from Arar, responding to him only tentatively. Some
speakers were unable even to mention the honored guest by name, as if he
had something they could catch. And perhaps they were right: The tenuous
"evidence"--later discredited--that landed Arar in a rat-infested cell was
guilt by association. And if that could happen to Arar, a successful
software engineer and family man, who is safe?

In a rare public speech, Arar addressed this fear directly. He told the
audience that an independent commissioner has been trying to gather
evidence of law-enforcement officials breaking the rules when
investigating Muslim Canadians. The commissioner has heard dozens of
stories of threats, harassment and inappropriate home visits. But, Arar
said, "not a single person made a public complaint. Fear prevented them
from doing so." Fear of being the next Maher Arar.

The fear is even thicker among Muslims in the United States, where the
Patriot Act gives police the power to seize the records of any mosque,
school, library or community group on mere suspicion of terrorist links.
When this intense surveillance is paired with the ever-present threat of
torture, the message is clear: You are being watched, your neighbor may be
a spy, the government can find out anything about you. If you misstep, you
could disappear onto a plane bound for Syria, or into "the deep dark hole
that is Guant?namo Bay," to borrow a phrase from Michael Ratner, president
of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

But this fear has to be finely calibrated. The people being intimidated
need to know enough to be afraid but not so much that they demand justice.
This helps explain why the Defense Department will release certain kinds
of seemingly incriminating information about Guant?namo--pictures of men
in cages, for instance--at the same time that it acts to suppress
photographs on a par with what escaped from Abu Ghraib. And it might also
explain why the Pentagon approved the new book by a former military
translator, including the passages about prisoners being sexually
humiliated, but prevented him from writing about the widespread use of
attack dogs. This strategic leaking of information, combined with official
denials, induces a state of mind that Argentines describe as "knowing/not
knowing," a vestige of their "dirty war."

"Obviously, intelligence agents have an incentive to hide the use of
unlawful methods," says the ACLU's Jameel Jaffer. "On the other hand, when
they use rendition and torture as a threat, it's undeniable that they
benefit, in some sense, from the fact that people know that intelligence
agents are willing to act unlawfully. They benefit from the fact that
people understand the threat and believe it to be credible."

And the threats have been received. In an affidavit filed with an ACLU
court challenge to Section 215 of the Patriot Act, Nazih Hassan, president
of the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor, Michigan, describes 
this
new climate. Membership and attendance are down, donations are way down,
board members have resigned--Hassan says his members fear doing anything
that could get their names on lists. One member testified anonymously that
he has "stopped speaking out on political and social issues" because he
doesn't want to draw attention to himself.

This is torture's true purpose: to terrorize--not only the people in
Guant?namo's cages and Syria's isolation cells but also, and more
important, the broader community that hears about these abuses. Torture is
a machine designed to break the will to resist--the individual prisoner's
will and the collective will.

This is not a controversial claim. In 2001 the US NGO Physicians for Human
Rights published a manual on treating torture survivors that noted:
"perpetrators often attempt to justify their acts of torture and ill
treatment by the need to gather information. Such conceptualizations
obscure the purpose of torture....The aim of torture is to dehumanize the
victim, break his/her will, and at the same time, set horrific examples
for those who come in contact with the victim. In this way, torture can
break or damage the will and coherence of entire communities."

Yet despite this body of knowledge, torture continues to be debated in the
United States as if it were merely a morally questionable way to extract
information, not an instrument of state terror. But there's a problem: No
one claims that torture is an effective interrogation tool--least of all
the people who practice it. Torture "doesn't work. There are better ways
to deal with captives," CIA director Porter Goss told the Senate
Intelligence Committee on February 16. And a recently declassified memo
written by an FBI official in Guant?namo states that extreme coercion
produced "nothing more than what FBI got using simple investigative
techniques." The Army's own interrogation field manual states that force
"can induce the source to say whatever he thinks the interrogator wants to
hear."

And yet the abuses keep on coming--Uzbekistan as the new hot spot for
renditions; the "El Salvador model" imported to Iraq. And the only
sensible explanation for torture's persistent popularity comes from a most
unlikely source. Lynndie England, the fall girl for Abu Ghraib, was asked
during her botched trial why she and her colleagues had forced naked
prisoners into a human pyramid. "As a way to control them," she replied.

Exactly. As an interrogation tool, torture is a bust. But when it comes to
social control, nothing works quite like torture.


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


-- 
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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   ---   George Orwell


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From villasudjuan at free.fr  Sun May 15 05:57:40 2005
From: villasudjuan at free.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Sun May 15 09:27:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: the iran problem
In-Reply-To: <003801c55977$c8024760$1acd3542@net>
Message-ID: <200505151627.j4FGRhCV011961@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: "Sohrab Mahvi" <sohrab@centralhouse.net>
Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 10:58:39 -0700
To: "villasudjuan" <villasudjuan@free.fr>
Subject: Fw: the iran problem


----- Original Message -----
From: <shirin123@aol.com>
To: <undisclosed-recipients:;>
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 10:38 PM
Subject: the iran problem


>
http://www.hofstrachronicle.com/media/paper222/news/2005/05/12/EditorialopEd
/The-Iran.Problem-951961.shtml
>
> The Chronicle - Editorial/Op-Ed
> Issue: 5/12/05
>
> The Iran Problem
> By Nathan Yadgar
>
> In the most recent issue of The Chronicle, Brian Bohl had an article
> about the recent act that passed through congress known as the Iran
> Freedom and Support Act. While Bohl did make some good points, the
> basis of his argument was predicated on an idealistic falsity that must
> be realized sooner rather than later. As stated, the act would fund
> groups of Iranian dissidents the amount of $10 million. In addition,
> Iranian government officials would not be able to enter American
> governmental buildings. Yet, what he fails to realize is that this is
> not merely a way for the alleged "neoconservatives" to rush to war.
> Rather, tougher stances like this are part of an ongoing American
> foreign policy shift, which looks to secure the world through the
> advancement of freedoms in the very countries that produce the exact
> dangers we are trying to fight.
>
> Bohl points to diplomacy as the best solution to the Iranian problem.
> What needs to be understood is that western style diplomacy is not a
> tool that can be used when working with totalitarian regimes such as
> Iran. The only way to use diplomacy as a possible tool is with the
> encouragement of Democracy and expanded rights as a bargaining chip.
> Looking back to the fall of the Soviet Union, diplomacy was a lost
> cause until we started linking foreign aid to internal freedoms.
> Gorbachev was not in favor of a failing Soviet Union, but it almost
> appears that he was because he had no choice. By linking external aid
> to the Soviet Union with internal reform we essentially ended the
> totalitarian regime by forcing them to choose between reform or
> internal economic failure which would obliterate the totalitarian
> regime. This model is very applicable to the situation with Iran. The
> three party talks that have been held with Iran have been an utter
> failure as the regime has continued to work towards its atomic desires.
>
> Rather than diplomacy we must slowly move to a policy of regime change
> in Iran. A democratic Iran would possibly be the single most important
> development in the Middle-East since the Iranian revolution of 1979
> launched the region into chaos. With a strong policy towards the
> democratization of Iran, as well as the budding democracies in Iraq and
> Afghanistan, and a hopeful continuation of the trend in Lebanon, we
> have a new Middle-East. In addition, a situation like this would
> severely limit the lifespan of the Allawite regime still in Syria.
>
> I realize that an invasion of Iran at the moment may not be feasible as
> we still have a large presence in Iraq. Also, a war with Iran would be
> nothing like what we have experienced in Iraq. Iran is a larger country
> with a stronger army, but most importantly, we would be facing an
> element of nationalism that we have not seen since World War II.
> Iranians are proud of their ancient Persian identities, and would fight
> to the death. Iraqis have no Iraqi identity, as the country of Iraq is
> a British creation, and they are not nearly as homogeneous as Iran is.
>
> That said; let us hope that an invasion is not necessary. In Iran there
> is a lot of unrest facing the regime that rules them. Fifty percent of
> the population of Iran is under the age of thirty, and have no real
> memory of what life was like before this regime took hold. They want
> change. Change from within would be tricky, and we would have to be
> very smart as well as careful on how we can bring it about. We can use
> the model of the Soviet Union, and it may conceivably work, but there
> are no guarantees.
>
> In addition, we would have to be careful about who we support regarding
> external Iranian organizations. I agree with Mr. Bohl that the
> Mujahhideen-e-Khalk is not the route we should be taking. They are an
> extremist organization whose only distinction from the Iranian Regime
> is that they are not in power; however, in anticipation of possible
> changes in the country, many dissidents have stepped up as possible
> leaders of a new government, one of them being Reza Pahlavi, the son of
> the former Shah.
>
> If you are still not convinced of the importance of regime change in
> Iran, and how it is universally wanted by everyone other than the
> regime itself, this may affect your viewpoint. Recently at an event
> hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, a distinguished speaker of
> Iranian descent spoke. He declared, "freedom is the most important
> thing, and that all people share a belief in freedom and have a common
> need for freedom. The Iranian people have become tired, fatigued, after
> twenty-five years of deprivation and suppression . . . They have been
> deprived of the basic means of life, or living. We cannot remain silent
> and watch the destruction, further destruction, of Iran and Iranian
> People." This speaker received a standing ovation. He was none other
> than Hussein Khomeini, the grandson of the Ayatollah Khomeini.
>
> The Idealistic nature of a college campus like ours would love to see
> diplomacy work in a country like Iran. But I submit to you, diplomacy
> will not work. Even if we see short term benefits, we can always rest
> upon the fact that the true long term benefits rest with a democratic
> Iran.



------ End of Forwarded Message

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May 15 09:52:21 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun May 15 09:58:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: Millions to link up for world's poor
Message-ID: <20050515165221.28E6574E0@mussel.gul3.gnl>

harry spotted this on the The Observer site and thought you should see it.

To see this story with its related links on the The Observer site, go to http://www.observer.co.uk

Millions to link up for world's poor
Mark Townsend, Nick Mathiason and Heather Stewart
Sunday May 15 2005
The Observer


Up to 20 million Britons are expected to protest against world poverty as part of the biggest mobilisation against global inequality ever seen.In addition, 250,000 campaigners are planning to attend a rally in Edinburgh to coincide with July's G8 summit at Gleneagles where key talks among world leaders could witness Tony Blair securing a historic deal to help Africa's poor.Oxfam yesterday ordered five million more white Make Poverty History wristbands. The charity has already sold three million.Adrian Lovett, a campaign spokesman, said: 'At this rate we would expect between 10 million and 20 million will join the campaign.'Meanwhile, the BBC is understood to have cleared its schedules on the same day as the Edinburgh march in anticipation of a huge global event.Although the show of public support will bolster Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown's efforts to secure a breakthrough on debt, aid and trade, concern is rising in Whitehall that the key measures are failing to win US s
 upport.This week Blair will embark on a charm offensive with President Bush and European leaders. However, there are fears within government that progress on reaching international consensus on increasing aid and writing off poor countries' debt is stalling.Although officials maintain that plans to double international aid to around &#163;60 billion a year and eradicate much of the debt of poor countries remain intact, privately they warn that agreement may not be reached during the talks.Among attempts to build an international consensus, Blair will suggest to the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schr&#246;der, that supporting Britain's moves to tackle Africa's problems will help Germany in its attempt to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.'A real commitment to Africa can only help them,' a Downing Street official said last night.The government said that campaigners should wait until the end of 2005 before judging whether there has been any real prog
 ress on its international poverty agenda.A series of protest marches in Paris, New York and Berlin among others will culminate in the Edinburgh rally when tens of thousands will encircle Edinburgh to create a 'human wristband'.What you can do&#183; Go to the website and join the campaign at makepovertyhistory.org.&#183; Write to Tony Blair and describe why it is important that the Prime Minister maximises his influence at the G8 Summit. Contact details are on the website.&#183; Get a white wristband. The campaign website lists shops and groups stocking the item.&#183; Travel to Edinburgh on 2 July and join tens of thousands on a Make Poverty History rally.&#183; Persuade local shops, restaurants, bars and newsagents to back the campaign.&#183; Organise a landmark or building to be smothered in a giant Make Poverty History wrapper on 1 July, White Band Day.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May 15 09:56:04 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May 15 10:01:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] makepovertyhistory.org
Message-ID: <000a01c5596e$fe46e1e0$b227e440@Harold>

Please visit this site !

http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/


 Harry
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From geomilman at milman.com  Sun May 15 10:17:42 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun May 15 10:23:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Socialized medicine?  From Republicans?
Message-ID: <20050515171749.63DF71C2D8@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

You bet, if the GOP wants to help CEOs solve their biggest problem.

 

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/articles/0,15114,1050964,00.html

 

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From geomilman at milman.com  Sun May 15 13:48:00 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun May 15 13:53:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] GATES VS. GOOGLE - Search and Destroy
Message-ID: <20050515204803.8AF8122F1C0@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,1050065,00.html

 

 

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From geomilman at milman.com  Sun May 15 13:49:39 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun May 15 13:55:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Great State Health-Care Giveaway. Taxpayers get the
	bill, and it's easily hundreds of billions of dollars.
Message-ID: <20050515204942.67685120952@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/articles/0,15114,1050835,00.html

 

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From lyve at netzero.com  Sun May 15 14:44:33 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Sun May 15 14:51:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Words of Leonard Peltier in a Spoken-Word
Message-ID: <20050515.144529.14471.17286@webmail21.nyc.untd.com>


A must Listen...
http://cdbaby.com/cd/harveyarden
Words of Leonard Peltier in a Spoken-Word Performance by Harvey Arden with haunting original music by Rev. Goat Carson, George Ingmire, Harry Lenz and Michael Voelker--'New Orleans Light'

Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May 15 16:19:26 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May 15 16:25:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Dean vs DeLay
Message-ID: <000a01c559a4$8c3acea0$6f27e440@Harold>

Dean says Delay should go home to jail!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/05/15/dean_rips_delay_at_convention?mode=PF

Later H
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May 15 16:20:46 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May 15 16:26:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - 500 DIED IN UZBEKISTAN FIGHTING, DOCTOR SAYS
Message-ID: <20050515232046.D16EE1B691@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
____________________________________________________
500 DIED IN UZBEKISTAN FIGHTING, DOCTOR SAYS
WebPosted Sun May 15 14:39:57 2005

Andijan, Uzbekistan---As many as 500 people died in Friday's fighting in
the central Asian country of Uzbekistan, an unconfirmed report says.

A doctor on Sunday told the Associated Press that about 500 bodies had
been taken to a school in the city of Andijan, where the fighting had
broken out between protesters and government soldiers.

The doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said as many as 2,000
people were wounded.

Some people were trying to escape arrest by fleeing to nearby Kyrgyzstan
on Sunday. Reports from Andijan said gunfire broke out several times
during the day and soldiers with armoured vehicles were occupying the
main streets.

On Saturday, authorities said the army had ousted the armed men who took
over a government building after freeing about 600 prisoners from a jail.

 FROM MAY 14, 2005: Unrest continues in Uzbekistan The unrest began
 with protests about the trials of 23 businessmen accused of religious
 extremism through membership in a group that wants to create an
 Islamic state.

On Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told BBC Radio that
"there has been a clear abuse of human rights, a lack of democracy and a
lack of openness."

The U.S. has a base in Uzbekistan used to fight terrorists in
Afghanistan.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sun May 15 16:22:41 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May 15 16:28:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - GM FOODS PROBLEM FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Message-ID: <20050515232241.EC4E31B691@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
____________________________________________________
GM FOODS PROBLEM FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
WebPosted Sun May 15 12:54:31 2005

geneva---Genetically modified (GM) crops pose a difficult choice for some
of the world's poorest countries, a United Nations study says.

Differing views on GM crops in the United States and the European Union
may force the countries to choose between higher productivity from such
crops, and the loss of scarce export opportunities.

That's because the U.S., the leader in growing GM crops, believes they
are safe, while the crops have been banned in some European countries
because of health concerns.

 CBC ARCHIVES: Genetically Modified Food The ban means poor countries
 with limited exports could find their crops rejected.

But if they allow GM crops to be grown at home, they may be able to
better feed their own population.

Both sides are trying to impose their views on poorer countries, said
Simonetta Zarrilli, who wrote the study for the UN Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD).

So serious is the issue that "some African countries have refused food
aid containing GM materials," said Zarrilli.

Developing countries often depend heavily on agricultural exports and may
bend their domestic priorities to meet the demands of their main trading
partners. Angola, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe are among the countries which
have imposed import bans on GM products mainly because of possible trade
losses, she said.

GM farming is growing rapidly, with the area under cultivation increasing
47-fold since 1996 to 81 million hectares, UNCTAD said.

The U.S. accounted for 59 per cent of the total, Argentina was second
with 20 per cent and Canada and Brazil were next with six per cent each.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Sun May 15 13:21:13 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Sun May 15 16:35:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Now, that's a lot of Croc
Message-ID: <200505152126.j4FLQ6HK012892@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

 
This crocodile was on the beach in front of the
Petroleum club, Plage Sportive

In Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo.  21 FT long,
4,500 lbs, around 80 years old minimum.

Specialists said that he was looking to eat humans
because he was too old to catch animals.  For the past
few months in some villages close to Pointe Noire
people were complaining that some people in their
villages have been disappearing, and it could well be
this crocodile that's responsible. This crocodile was
killed by the army last Sunday at 3:00 pm, currently
he is in the freezer at the Azur hotel. The contents
of it's stomach will be analyzed this Friday at
2:30pm.

Monster in Pointe Noire - WOW!
 
 
 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun May 15 17:39:35 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Sun May 15 17:45:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Tom Dispatch
Message-ID: <200505160039.j4G0dZsQ029442@thor.thenation.com>

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 18:11:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun May 15 18:17:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] !
Message-ID: <002301c559b4$401ee8c0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

All:

The link below will take you to C-Span's coverage of David Ray Griffin's hour-long presentation, "9/11 and the American Empire," at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in mid-April of this year.  David Ray Griffin is the author of "The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11" and "The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions."

For those with the time and patience, this is a must-see presentation.

Go to the following site and click on: "25mb WMV - Full Length (direct download)."  Make sure to turn your speakers on.

http://www.911blogger.com/2005/04/proper-release-of-griffin-in-madison.html

Peace.
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun May 15 17:11:58 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun May 15 18:42:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How to End Poverty---shattering the myths
Message-ID: <200505160142.j4G1gTwu013705@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

The following article, by the brilliant Indian woman scientist and activist 
Vandana Shiva, needs to be read carefully (maybe twice) to help us 
understand the simple and horrible truths behind they twisted myth of the 
benefits of corproate globalization, the "free market" and "free trade."  We 
need to understand the reality behind these myths to survive. --mha atma

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

--> If you pass this comment along to others -- periodically but not
repeatedly -- please explain that Commentaries are a premium sent to
Sustainer Donors of Z/ZNet and that to learn more folks can consult ZNet
at http://www.zmag.org 

Today's commentary:
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-05/11shiva.cfm

==================================

ZNet Commentary
How To End Poverty: Making Poverty History And The 
History Of Poverty 
May 15, 2005 By Vandana Shiva 

The cover story of the Time Magazine of March 14, 2005 was dedicated to
the theme, "How to End Poverty". It was based on an essay by Jeffrey Sacks
"The End of Poverty", from his book with the same title. The photos
accompanying the essay are homeless children, scavengers in garbage dumps,
heroin addicts. These are images of disposable people, people whose lives,
resources, livelihoods have been snatched from them by a brutal, unjust,
excluding process which generates poverty for the majority and prosperity
for a few.

Garbage is the waste of a throwaway society - ecological societies have
never had garbage. Homeless children are the consequences of
impoverishment of communities and families who have lost their resources
and livelihoods. These are images of the perversion and externalities of a
non-sustainable, unjust, inequitable economic growth model. 

In "Staying Alive, I had referred to book entitled "Poverty: the Wealth of
the People" in which an African writer draws a distinction between poverty
as subsistence, and misery as deprivation. It is useful to separate a
cultural conception of simple, sustainable living as poverty from the
material experience of poverty that is a result of dispossession and
deprivation. 

Culturally perceived poverty need not be real material poverty: sustenance
economies, which satisfy basic needs through self-provisioning, are not
poor in the sense of being deprived. Yet the ideology of development
declares them so because they do not participate overwhelmingly in the
market economy, and do not consume commodities produced for and
distributed through the market even though they might be satisfying those
needs through self-provisioning mechanisms. 

People are perceived as poor if they eat millets (grown by women) rather
than commercially produced and distributed processed junk foods sold by
global agri-business. They are seen as poor if they live in self-built
housing made form ecologically adapted natural material like bamboo and
mud rather than in cement houses. They are seen as poor if they wear
handmade garments of natural fibre rather than synthetics. 

Sustenance, as culturally perceived poverty, does not necessarily imply a
low physical quality of life. On the contrary, because sustenance
economies contribute to the growth of nature's economy and the social
economy, they ensure a high quality of life measure in terms of right to
food and water, sustainability of livelihoods, and robust social and
cultural identity and meaning. 

On the other hand, the poverty of the 1 billion hungry and the 1 billion
malnutritioned people who are victims of obesity suffer from both cultural
and material poverty. A system that creates denial and disease, while
accumulating trillions of dollars of super profits for agribusiness, is a
system for creating poverty for people. Poverty is a final state, not an
initial state of an economic paradigm, which destroys ecological and
social systems for maintaining life, health and sustenance of the planet
and people. 

And economic poverty is only one form of poverty. Cultural poverty, social
poverty, ethical poverty, ecological poverty, spiritual poverty are other
forms of poverty more prevalent in the so called rich North than in the so
called poor South. And those other poverties cannot be overcome by
dollars. They need compassion and justice, caring and sharing.

Ending poverty requires knowing how poverty is created. However, Jeffrey
Sachs views poverty as the original sin. As he declares:

A few generations ago, almost everybody was poor. The Industrial
Revolution led to new riches, but much of the world was left far behind.

This is totally false history of poverty, and cannot be the basis of
making poverty history. Jeffrey Sachs has got it wrong. The poor are not
those who were left behind, they are the ones who were pushed out and
excluded from access to their own wealth and resources.

The "poor are not poor because they are lazy or their governments are
corrupt". They are poor because their wealth has been appropriated and
wealth creating capacity destroyed. The riches accumulated by Europe were
based on riches appropriated from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Without
the destruction of India's rich textile industry, without the take over of
the spice trade, without the genocide of the native American tribes,
without the Africa's slavery, the industrial revolution would not have led
to new riches for Europe or the U.S. It was the violent take over of Third
World resources and Third World markets that created wealth in the North -
but it simultaneously created poverty in the South.

Two economic myths facilitate a separation between two intimately linked
processes: the growth of affluence and the growth of poverty. Firstly,
growth is viewed only as growth of capital. What goes unperceived is the
destruction in nature and in people's sustenance economy that this growth
creates. The two simultaneously created 'externalities' of growth -
environmental destruction and poverty creation - are then casually linked,
not to the processes of growth, but to each other. Poverty, it is stated,
causes environmental destruction. The disease is then offered as a cure:
growth will solve the problems of poverty and environmental crisis it has
given rise to in the first place. This is the message of Jeffrey Sachs
analysis. 

The second myth that separates affluence from poverty, is the assumption
that if you produce what you consume, you do not produce. This is the
basis on which the production boundary is drawn for national accounting
that measures economic growth. Both myths contribute to the mystification
of growth and consumerism, but they also hide the real processes that
create poverty. 

First, the market economy dominated by capital is not the only economy,
development has, however, been based on the growth of the market economy.
The invisible costs of development have been the destruction of two other
economies: nature's processes and people's survival. The ignorance or
neglect of these two vital economies is the reason why development has
posed a threat of ecological destruction and a threat to human survival,
both of which, however, have remained 'hidden negative externalities' of
the development process. 

Instead of being seen as results of exclusion, they are presented as
"those left behind". Instead of being viewed as those who suffer the worst
burden of unjust growth in the form of poverty, they are false presented
as those not touched by growth. This false separation of processes that
create affluence from those that create poverty is at the core of Jeffrey
Sachs analysis. His recipes will therefore aggravated and deepen poverty
instead of ending it. 

Trade and exchange of goods and services have always existed in human
societies, but these were subjected to nature's and people's economies.
The elevation of the domain of the market and man-made capital to the
position of the highest organizing principle for societies has led to the
neglect and destruction of the other two organizing principles - ecology
and survival - which maintain and sustain life in nature and society.

Modern economies and concepts of development cover only a negligible part
of the history of human interaction with nature. For centuries, principles
of sustenance have given human societies the material basis of survival by
deriving livelihoods directly from nature through self-provisioning
mechanisms. Limits in nature have been respected and have guided the
limits of human consumption. In most countries of the South large numbers
of people continue to derive their sustenance in the survival economy
which remains invisible to market-oriented development. 

All people in all societies depend on nature's economy for survival. When
the organizing principle for society's relationship with nature is
sustenance, nature exists as a commons. . It becomes a resource when profits 
and accumulation become the organizing principles and create an imperative 
for the exploitation of resources for the  market. 

Without clean water, fertile soils and crop and plant genetic diversity,
human survival is not possible. These commons have been destroyed by
economic development, resulting in the creation of a new contradiction
between the economy of natural processes and the survival economy, because
those people deprived of their traditional land and means of survival by
development are forced to survive on an increasingly eroded nature.  

People do not die for lack of incomes. They die for lack of access to
resources. Here too Jeffrey Sacks is wrong when he says, "In a world of
plenty, 1 billion people are so poor, their lives are in danger". The
indigenous people in the Amazon, the mountain communities in the Himalaya,
peasants whose land has not been appropriated and whose water and
biodiversity has not been destroyed by debt creating industrial
agriculture are ecologically rich, even though they do not earn a dollar a
day. 

On the other hand, even at five dollars a day, people are poor if they
have to buy their basic needs at high prices. Indian peasants who have
been made poor and pushed into debt over the past decade to create markets
for costly seeds and agrichemicals through economic globalisation are
ending their lives in thousands. 

When seeds are patented and peasants will pay $1 trillion in royalties,
they will be $1 trillion poorer. Patents on medicines increase costs of
AIDS drugs from $200 to $20,000, and Cancer drugs from $2,400 to $36,000
for a year's treatment. When water is privatized, and global corporations
make $1 trillion from commodification of water, the poor are poorer by $1
trillion. 

The movements against economic globalisation and maldevelopment are
movements to end poverty by ending the exclusions, injustices and
ecological non-sustainability that are the root causes of poverty.

The $50 billion of "aid" North to South is a tenth of $500 billion flow
South to North as interest payments and other unjust mechanisms in the
global economy imposed by World Bank, IMF. With privatization of essential
services and an unfair globalisation imposed through W.T.O, the poor are
being made poorer. 

Indian peasants are losing  $26 billion annually just in falling farm
prices because of dumping and trade liberalization. As a result of unfair,
unjust globalisation, which is leading to corporate takeover of food and
water. More than $5 trillion will be transferred from poor people to rich
countries just for food and water. The poor are financing the rich. If we
are serious about ending poverty, we have to be serious about ending the
unjust and violent systems for wealth creation which create poverty by
robbing the poor of their resources, livelihoods and incomes.

Jeffrey Sachs deliberately ignores this "taking", and only addresses
"giving", which is a mere 0.1% of the "taking" by the North. Ending
poverty is more a matter of taking less than giving an insignificant
amount more. Making poverty history needs getting the history of poverty
right And Sachs has got it completely wrong. 






-- 
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 geomilman at milman.com  Sun May 15 18:39:04 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Sun May 15 18:44:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Does God Take a Position on Filibusters?
Message-ID: <20050516013907.4243813B906@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039
<http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&refer=columnist_woolner&s
id=acCVov5Thr84> &refer=columnist_woolner&sid=acCVov5Thr84

 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 15 18:53:50 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun May 15 18:59:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Does God Take a Position on Filibusters?
References: <20050516013907.4243813B906@lax-gw04.mroute.net>
Message-ID: <005201c559ba$1bcfa7b0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 15 20:19:12 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 15 20:25:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Gamble Of a Lifetime
Message-ID: <8005959.1116213552050.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  Sun May 15 20:23:03 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 15 20:28:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME.com: Bush Charlotte Simmons Mystery Solved!
Message-ID: <31688365.1116213783860.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 15 20:21:15 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 15 20:33:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME.com: The Inevitability of Def
Message-ID: <27092800.1116213675550.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 15 20:30:39 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 15 20:36:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Why Bush's Ban Could Be Reversed
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I hope this is true...

peace,
barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 15 20:33:51 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sun May 15 20:39:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Words of Leonard Peltier in a Spoken-Word
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV148A21EFC13F610BC4D08BAB150@phx.gbl>

Lyle....

Thank you for sending this... it is so beautiful and I felt while listening as if I were in the cell with Leonard. Harvey did a great job of speaking Leonard's words and the music is haunting.

Thanks again.
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Lyle K'ang
Sent: Sun, 15 May 2005 14:44:33 -0700
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Words of Leonard Peltier in a Spoken-Word


A must Listen...
http://cdbaby.com/cd/harveyarden
Words of Leonard Peltier in a Spoken-Word Performance by Harvey Arden with haunting original music by Rev. Goat Carson, George Ingmire, Harry Lenz and Michael Voelker--'New Orleans Light'

Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/
_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 16 03:58:35 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 16 04:04:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <20408022.1116241115307.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Newsweek Apologizes
 
 By Howard Kurtz
 
  Newsweek apologized yesterday for an inaccurate report on the treatment of detainees that triggered several days of rioting in Afghanistan and other countries in which at least 15 people died.
 
 Editor Mark Whitaker expressed regret over the item in the magazine's "Periscope" section, saying it was based on a confidential source -- a "senior U.S. government official" -- who now says he is not sure whether the story is true.
 
 The deadly consequences of the May 1 report, and its reliance on the unnamed source, have sparked considerable anger at the Pentagon. Spokesman Bryan Whitman called Newsweek's report "irresponsible" and "demonstrably false," saying the magazine "hid behind anonymous sources which by their own admission do not withstand scrutiny. Unfortunately, they cannot retract the damage that they have done to this nation or those who were viciously attacked by those false allegations."
 
 Whitaker said last night that "whatever facts we got wrong, we apologize for. I've expressed regret for the loss of life and the violence that put American troops in harm's way. I'm getting a lot of angry e-mail about that, and I understand it."
 
 The report, in the issue dated May 9, said U.S. military investigators had found that American interrogators at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had flushed a copy of the Koran, the sacred Muslim text, down a toilet. A week later, when newspapers in Afghanistan and Pakistan picked up the item, it sparked anti-American demonstrations in the Afghan city of Jalalabad in which four protesters were killed and more than 60 injured. About a dozen more protesters were killed in the following days when the demonstrations spread across Afghanistan and to Pakistan and other countries.
 
 "There had been previous reports about the Koran being defiled, but they always seemed to be rumors or allegations made by sources without evidence," Whitaker said, referring to reporting by British and Russian news agencies and by the Qatar-based satellite network al-Jazeera. The Washington Post, whose parent company owns Newsweek, reported a similar account in March 2003, attributing it to a group of former detainees. "The fact that a knowledgeable source within the U.S. government was telling us the government itself had knowledge of this was newsworthy," Whitaker said in an interview.
 
 He said that a senior Pentagon official, for reasons that "are still a little mysterious to us," had declined to comment after Newsweek correspondent John Barry showed him a draft before the item was published and asked, "Is this accurate or not?" Whitaker added that the magazine would have held off had military spokesmen made such a request. That official "lacked detailed knowledge" of the investigative report, Newsweek now says. Whitaker said Pentagon officials raised no objection to the story for 11 days after it was published, until it was translated by some Arab media outlets and led to the rioting.
 
 The item was principally reported by Michael Isikoff, Newsweek's veteran investigative reporter. "Obviously we all feel horrible about what flowed from this, but it's important to remember there was absolutely no lapse in journalistic standards here," he said. "We relied on sources we had every reason to trust and gave the Pentagon ample opportunity to comment. . . . We're going to continue to investigate what remains a very murky situation."
 
 Isikoff, a former Post reporter, gained national attention in 1998 when the magazine held his report on an independent counsel's investigation of Monica S. Lewinsky's relationship with President Bill Clinton. More recently, Isikoff and Barry won an Overseas Press Club award for their reporting on Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
 
 The 10-sentence item said an upcoming report by the U.S. Southern Command in Miami was "expected" to include the alleged Koran incident -- the subject of only one sentence -- among various abusive techniques used "to rattle suspects" at Guantanamo. Since then, Pentagon officials and Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have said investigators found "no credible allegations of willful Koran desecration," as Whitman put it.
 
 On Saturday, when Isikoff reached his original source, the magazine said, the official "could no longer be sure" that the Koran allegation "had surfaced" in the SouthCom investigation.
 
 "Just as citizens," Whitaker said, "we feel badly about the fact that there's been a rash of violence. . . . Clearly, that was not our intent in publishing what we thought was a solid news item."
 
 But critics are already pouncing on the story as the latest in a high-profile series of media blunders at such respected news organizations as the New York Times, USA Today and CBS News. In this case, the consequences -- deadly riots -- were far more serious than a breach of journalistic ethics.
 
 But while the Pentagon is disputing the Koran incident, U.S. officials have confirmed numerous reports by detainees, especially at Abu Ghraib, about guards attempting to humiliate them with tactics that violate religious taboos of the Muslim faith. A senior Pentagon official has confirmed reports that female interrogators rubbed their bodies against the men, wore skimpy clothes, touched them provocatively and pretended to spread menstrual blood on them. The Newsweek item that triggered the violence also said the forthcoming report would describe "one woman who took off her top, rubbed her finger through a detainee's hair and sat on the detainee's lap."
 
 The intensity of the anti-American riots, fueled in part by outraged Muslim clerics and radio broadcasts by elements of the ousted Taliban regime, took many Western analysts by surprise. Desecrating the Koran is punishable by death in some Muslim countries. Newsweek reported yesterday that agitators opposed to the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai had seized on the report to foment violence.
 
 About 500 Islamic scholars meeting in the northern Afghan province of Badakshan, where protests were held last week, passed a resolution yesterday urging a U.S. investigation of the Newsweek report, according to wire service accounts.
 
 Interviews with several people in the province yielded differing views of the controversy. Javed Ahmed, 23, a sandal salesman who participated in the demonstration, said he was unaware of the Newsweek story until the radio program of Iranian, Afghan and Indian songs that he normally listens to was interrupted with news of the violent protests in Jalalabad. He was initially "doubtful" about the allegation, he said, "but when I saw it on television later that day, I became more sure it was true."
 
 Ghulam Dastagir, 28, a bird seller who refused to join the demonstration, said: "I don't think the report is true, but these crises work for those who want to make fights between people."
 
 Del Agha, 47, a dry-goods salesman who joined the protest, said, "Even now, I'm not sure if this was true." He said he participated because "we just wanted to tell the world that the people who did this should be brought to justice" for "disrespecting the holy Koran. . . . We wanted to have a peaceful demonstration but the demonstration was like a car and some people who are the enemies of Afghanistan took the steering wheel and turned it in the wrong direction."
 
 The fallout here is starting to build, and Dan Klaidman, Newsweek's Washington bureau chief, was doing cable news interviews yesterday, describing the story as "an honest mistake."
 
 Said Whitaker: "I suppose you could say we should have foreseen the consequences of the report, but we didn't."
 
 Staff writers N.C. Aizenmann in Kabul and Ann Scott Tyson in Washington contributed to this report.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 16 03:59:24 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 16 04:04:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <18493721.1116241165041.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Doubting Rationalist
 
 By Michael Powell
 
  BERKELEY, Calif. "The Washington Post is not one of my biggest fans, you know that."
 
 Hello?
 
 The Washington Post reporter has just walked out of a spray of Pacific-borne rain into the living room of a modest bungalow west of downtown. There's a shag rug, an inspirational painting or two and Phillip Johnson, dressed in tan slacks and a sweater and sitting on a couch. He pulls a dog-eared copy of a Post editorial out of his shirt pocket and reads aloud:
 
 "With their slick Web sites, pseudo-academic conferences and savvy public relations, the proponents of 'intelligent design' -- a 'theory' that challenges the validity of Darwinian evolution -- are far more sophisticated than the creationists of yore. . . . They succeed by casting doubt on evolution."
 
 The 65-year-old Johnson swivels his formidable and balding head -- with that even more formidable brain inside -- and gazes over his reading glasses at the reporter (who doesn't labor for the people who write the editorials).
 
 "I suppose you think creation is all about unguided material processes, don't you? Well, I don't have the slightest trouble accepting microevolution as the cause behind the adaptation of the peppered moth and the growth of finches' beaks. But I don't see that evolutionists have any cause for jubilation there.
 
 "It doesn't tell you how the moths and birds and trees got there in the first place. The human body is packed with marvels, eyes and lungs and cells, and evolutionary gradualism can't account for that."
 
 He's not big on small talk, this professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley's law school.
 
 For centuries, scriptural literalists have insisted that God created Heaven and Earth in seven days, that the world is about 6,000 years old and fossils are figments of the paleontological imagination. Their grasp on popular opinion was strong, but they have suffered a half-century's worth of defeats in the courts and lampooning by the intelligentsia.
 
 Now comes Johnson, a devout Presbyterian and accomplished legal theorist, and he doesn't dance on the head of biblical pins. He agrees the world is billions of years old and that dinosaurs walked the earth. Evolution is the bridge he won't cross. This man, whose life has touched every station of the rationalist cross from Harvard to the University of Chicago to clerk at the Supreme Court, is the founding father of the "intelligent design" movement.
 
 Intelligent design holds that the machinery of life is so complex as to require the hand -- perhaps subtle, perhaps not -- of an intelligent creator.
 
 "Evolution is the most plausible explanation for life if you're using naturalistic terms, I'll agree with that." Johnson folds his hands over his belly, a professorial Buddha, as his words fly rat-a-tat-tat.
 
 "That's only," he continues, "because science puts forward evolution and says any other logical explanation is outside of reality."
 
 Johnson and his followers, microbiologists and geologists and philosophers, debate in the language of science rather than Scripture. They point to the complexity of the human cell, with its natural motors and miles of coding. They document the scant physical evidence for the large-scale mutations needed to make the long journey from primitive prokaryote to modern man.
 
 They've inspired a political movement -- at least 19 states are considering challenges to the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution.
 
 None of which amuses evolutionary biologists, for whom intelligent-design theory inhabits the remotest exurb of polite scientific discourse. Darwin's theory is a durable handiwork. It explains the proliferation of species and the interaction of DNA and RNA, not to mention the evolution of humankind.
 
 The evidence, they insist, is all around:
 
 Fruit flies branch into new species; bacteria mutate and develop resistance to antibiotics; studies of the mouse genome reveal that 99 percent of its 30,000 genes have counterparts in humans. There are fossilized remains of a dinosaur "bird," and DNA tests suggest that whales descended from ancient hippos and antelopes.
 
 Does it make any more sense to challenge Darwin than to contest Newton's theory of gravity? You haven't seen Phillip Johnson floating into the stratosphere recently, have you?
 
 William Provine, a prominent evolutionary biology professor at Cornell University, enjoys the law professor's company and has invited Johnson to his classroom. The men love the rhetorical thrust and parry and often share beers afterward. Provine, an atheist, also dismisses his friend as a Christian creationist and intelligent design as discredited science.
 
 As for the aspects of evolution that baffle scientists?
 
 "Phillip is absolutely right that the evidence for the big transformations in evolution are not there in the fossil record -- it's always good to point this out," Provine says. "It's difficult to explore a billion-year-old fossil record. Be patient!"
 
 Provine's faith, if one may call it that, rests on Darwinism, which he describes as the greatest engine of atheism devised by man. The English scientist's insights registered as a powerful blow -- perhaps the decisive one -- in the long run of battles, from Copernicus to Descartes, that removed God from the center of the Western world.
 
 At which point a cautionary flag should be waved.
 
 Scientists tend to be a secular lot. But science and religion are not invariable antagonists. More than a few theoretical physicists and astronomers note that their research into the cosmos deposits them at God's doorstep. And evolution's path remains littered with mysteries.
 
 Is it irrational to inquire if intelligent life is seeded with inevitabilities?
 
 "Give Johnson and the intelligent-design movement their due -- they are asking terribly important questions," says Stuart A. Kauffman, director of the Institute for Biocomplexity at the University of Calgary. "To question whether patterns and complexity, at the level of the cell or the universe, bespeak intelligent design is not stupid in the least.
 
 "I simply believe they've come up with the wrong answers."
 
 Johnson's early life was, by his own accounting, a rationalist lad's progress. He grew up in Aurora, Ill., a cocky kid so razor sharp that after his junior year in high school he packed off to Harvard. "I attended church in high school, but it was just part of the culture, like the Boy Scouts," he says. "We'd drop my father off at the golf course on the way to church."
 
 He finished Harvard and then law school at the University of Chicago, where he graduated first in his class. He dabbled in Christian philosophy, read some C.S. Lewis. "I found it mind-stretching but I remember thinking: It's a real shame it's not true." Johnson became a clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren at the Supreme Court. In 1967, with a wife and two young children, he went west to Berkeley, where he would gain international renown as a teacher of criminal law and legal theory.
 
 His life was marching to an up-tempo beat.
 
 "I wasn't working very hard intellectually. My motives were shallow," Johnson says. "I was a typical half-educated careerist intellectual with conventional liberal politics."
 
 Johnson possesses a tenured professor's inability to hold his tongue, whether assaying a reporter's dumb question or his own life's arc. In the 1970s, Berkeley was roiling. Johnson opposed the Vietnam War but grew disillusioned and turned right. His wife, an artist, found feminism and wandered another way. Their marriage swept away like flotsam.
 
 "I had been very happy for a long time," he says. "I was shaken to my core."
 
 Johnson's daughter, Emily, remains close with each parent. She recalls a time of upendings. "Men of my father's generation really expected that if they did their job, and provided, how could their marriage fall apart?" she says. "They didn't know what to make of the new questions and new demands."
 
 The night his wife decided to leave in 1977, Johnson attended a church supper with Emily, who was 11. The pastor spoke passionately of Christ and the Gospels. The professor doesn't remember a Lord-sundered-the-heavens moment; he wasn't rending his tweed jacket.
 
 He just heard the words, perhaps for the first time in his life. "I wasn't convinced," Johnson says, "but I said to myself: 'The minister's presenting me with a real option.' "
 
 Johnson drove home that night and pulled out his books of law and philosophy. If this was to be his epiphany, he would experience it with his rationalist lights on.
 
 "I was concerned that I could be just throwing my brain away," he says. "I needed to know if I was adopting a myth to satisfy my personal hunger."
 
 He was nudged along by his interest in "critical legal studies," a left-wing movement that holds that the law is prejudice masquerading as objective truth. Asked to contribute a conservative critique for the Stanford Law Review, Johnson embraced the movement -- sort of.
 
 "I disliked intensely their infantile politics," he says. "But their critique of liberal rationalism and the sham neutrality of rationalism helped me become a Christian. I became the entire right wing of critical legal studies."
 
 In time, he converted and married his present wife, Kathie -- who also was an adult convert. They met at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, which was, like most everything in that town, a very liberal institution. "We have never felt," Johnson says, "a need to be around only people who agree with us."
 
 All of which laid the groundwork for Johnson's sabbatical in 1987. He traveled to London nagged by the sense that his intellectual gifts had been put to mediocre ends. One day while browsing in a bookstore, Johnson picked up a copy of "The Blind Watchmaker" by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Dawkins argued that life was governed by blind physics, that free will was illusion, that religion was a virus.
 
 Johnson devoured dozens more evolutionary texts. He found extraordinary minds and polemics, but the evidence didn't much impress him.
 
 "I was struck by the breadth of Darwin's claims as opposed to how scanty were the observable changes." He peers at you with that unwavering gaze. "I said to my wife that I shouldn't take this up. I will be ridiculed and it will consume my life.
 
 "Of course, it was irresistible."
 
 This was more than a middle-age exercise in mental gymnastics. Johnson discerned in Darwinism a profound challenge to the faith he had embraced so passionately.
 
 "I realized," he says, "that if the pure Darwinist account was accurate and life is all about an undirected material process, then Christian metaphysics and religious belief are fantasy. Here was a chance to make a great contribution."
 
 The image remains a tad incongruous, this tweedy law professor from Berkeley with the hair combed carefully to the side of his pink forehead, making the rounds of London's scientific conferences, ambling up to prominent biologists and paleontologists and peppering them with questions. He was not impolite, just persistent. "Sometimes they pinned my ears back," Johnson recalls. "Sometimes I made friends."
 
 Stephen C. Meyer, then a young graduate student studying the philosophy of science at Cambridge, got word of this "law professor who was getting some odd ideas about evolution." Meyer, who harbored his own doubts, walked to a tavern with Johnson and they talked for hours.
 
 "Phillip understood that the language of science cut off choices: Evolution had to be an undirected process or it wasn't science," says Meyer, who today directs an intelligent-design think tank affiliated with the Seattle-based Discovery Institute. "He knew the rhetorical tricks.
 
 "By the end of that day I knew we could challenge Darwin."
 
 So what does that mean, "to challenge Charles Darwin"?
 
 Darwin wrote "The Origin of Species" in 1859. In the broadest terms, Darwin had three insights: Evolution is responsible for the vast profusion of life, as all living organisms descend from common ancestors. Species are not immutable -- new species appear gradually through micro-mutations known as speciation. Natural selection guides all of this, acting as nature's drill sergeant, culling the flawed genes.
 
 It sounds so tidy. But evolutionary theory -- like most scientific theories -- trails behind it no small number of unanswered questions, lacunae and mysteries.
 
 Darwin, for instance, noted that different species tend to have similar body features, and attributed this "convergence" to a common ancestor. But that often isn't the case. The complex eye of a squid and a human are nearly identical yet lack a common genetic inheritance. The renowned biologist Simon Conway Morris has found many such examples in nature and proposed that it's "near inevitable" that species converge toward an intelligent "solution" to life.
 
 Morris's theory treads a touch too close to Heaven for many biologists.
 
 Then there's the inconvenient fact that most species evolve little during the span of their existence, which leaves the mystery of how to account for evolutionary leaps. The late biologist Stephen Jay Gould speculated that species become isolated and mutate in revolutionary transitions of a few thousand years. That remains a controversial explanation.
 
 "Some biologists still argue that you can get to high evolutionary forms purely through natural selection," says Theodore Roszak, a noted historian of science. "That involves more faith in chance than religious people have in the Bible."
 
 Darwinian theory also presupposes an "inconceivably great" number of links between living and extinct species. But paleontologists have discovered only a relative handful of such fossils. And scientists still puzzle at the great explosion of life known as the "Cambrian explosion," when thousands of multicellular animals appeared over 10 or 20 million years (a blink of the eye in evolutionary terms).
 
 Johnson composed a sort of prosecutor's brief. Natural selection? It strengthens existing species, but there's "no persuasive reason for believing that natural selection can produce new species and organs." Mutations as a driver of new species? Much too slow to account for grand changes.
 
 By the end of his 1991 book, "Darwin on Trial," Johnson was convinced that he had peppered Darwinian theory with intellectual buckshot. So he posed the question: Why won't science consider that an intelligent hand operates alongside chance and physical law?
 
 Let it be said that Johnson's book did not change the world. The scientific reviews weren't so hot and a few law school colleagues looked at him as if he had lost half a brain lobe. But Meyer, director of the Center for Science & Culture, remembers reading it and feeling a sense of relief.
 
 "A lot of creationists are unctuous and earnest and begging for a place at the scientific table," says Meyer. "Not Phil. He was a star academic, he conceded nothing, and he's got rhino hide for skin."
 
 The building blocks of the intelligent-design movement slowly took form. A few like-minded souls in academia e-mailed Johnson. He called back, connected one with the other, and often traveled to meet them.
 
 "I found a lot of people ready to challenge the culturally dominant orthodoxy, but they didn't know how," Johnson recalls. "They thought if they just dutifully presented evidence, the Darwinists might listen. I said we have to think more strategically.
 
 "I evolved -- if I may use that word -- as a leader of that group."
 
 After all those years in Berkeley lecture halls, he had a thespian's feel for a crowd. Once he debated the famed biologist Gould. Gould was learned and merciless, but most critics say Johnson held his own. "It was like playing Jack Nicklaus and losing in a playoff," Johnson says.
 
 As Johnson explained to Touchstone magazine, a Christian journal: "I do not want my audience to go away thinking: 'That's one clever lawyer who can make you look like a fool. . . . I want them to go home saying . . . 'There's more to intelligent design than I thought.' "
 
 You want to talk Cambrian explosion? Fine. But how about a little perspective?
 
 "We have to acknowledge the reality that it took place more than 500 million years ago," says Kenneth Miller, a Brown University microbiologist and author of "Finding Darwin's God," arguing that theism is not at odds with evolutionary theory. "It's not as if there was some sort of instantaneous injection of complexity into an ordered world."
 
 Miller pauses a moment.
 
 "Look, I can admit that fossils might be the result of a super-intelligent or supernatural form -- I'm a Red Sox fan. But it's surely not very likely."
 
 Johnson finds precious few fans in the scientific establishment, particularly among biologists. They see conservative money spent on academic conferences and publicity and public debates. Johnson thrives, they say, by the law professor's tactic of attacking soft targets and then raising his hands in victory.
 
 The best scientific theories, scientists say, offer overarching explanations for natural phenomena even while acknowledging that many details remain to be worked out. If Einstein supplants Newton, that's the joy of science.
 
 "Anytime the intelligent-designers find a mystery that scientists can't yet explain, they shout: 'See!? See!?' " says Provine, the Cornell biologist. "I like having Phil come to Cornell to debate. He turns a lot of my students into evolutionists."
 
 Maybe mysteries aren't so mysterious. Intelligent life, Provine says, is understandable as adaptations accrued over hundreds of millions of years. And the cell falls short of miraculous.
 
 "A lot of the DNA in there is not needed -- it's junk," says Phillip Kitcher, the Columbia University philosopher of science. "If it's intelligently designed, then God needs to go back to school."
 
 Harvard professor Owen Gingerich has studied the cosmos as senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and is a devout Christian. He enjoys talking to Johnson and doesn't care for the insistent secularism of many Darwinists. But he doesn't buy intelligent design's utility as a scientific theory, not least because he sees no way to test its ideas.
 
 "Johnson tends to avoid questions he doesn't want to answer -- such as what accounts for mankind if not evolution?" Gingerich says. "If he says that the first man literally came out of the mud like Minerva from the brow of Zeus, he knows he would be ridiculed.
 
 "Looking for God's direct hand is a very fuzzy business."
 
 So what of God?
 
 Isn't there, Johnson is asked, a risk inherent in trying to toss out Darwin and discern God's footprints? Why would He use his hand to create the tyrannosaurus and the Cro-Magnon only to discard them in great extinctions? What of gamma blasts and dead stars, and the cold maw of the universe?
 
 If science proves that the wonders of the cell and the machinery of the eye are the result of a material process, what becomes of faith?
 
 Johnson listens and folds his hands in his lap and remains silent. He's had two strokes, the latter a few months back. His mind remains a fine instrument, the levers and wheels spinning sure as ever. But putting thoughts into words can be laborious. He shakes his head and dislodges a stream.
 
 "One answer is that it's hard to evaluate unless you know what the Designer was trying to create," he says. "I suppose the Creator could have made it so that we would live forever and be bulletproof. Flawless design may not be his point."
 
 Many in the intelligent-design movement shy from overt talk of religion, wary of handing a rhetorical gun to their critics. God, Gaea or super-intelligent alien: They do not presume to pierce the veil of the Designer.
 
 Johnson pays no heed to these worries. Darwinists and Christians alike, he says, "start from faith, just as every house has a foundation." His friend Provine, Johnson says, has found faith in materialistic atheism. Johnson has found Christ.
 
 Johnson, who is already back on the lecture trail, is not content with a Creator so deferential to natural processes as to fade into the cosmic woodwork. Johnson is convinced, intellectually and emotionally, that His hands have shaped human life -- and the evidence likely is there if only science will look for it.
 
 Johnson works his way to his feet and walks slowly to his living room window. The lemon trees are in bloom. Mist rises off the sidewalk. "I think it's very possible that God left some fingerprints on the evidence," Johnson says, his words rattling out now. "Once you open science to that possibility, we're poised for a metaphysical reversal."
 
 He smiles and catches himself. "I'm content just to open science up to an intellectual world that's been closed to it for two centuries."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 16 04:00:05 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 16 04:05:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <17208809.1116241205461.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Illusion of 'Managing' China
 
 By Robert Kagan
 
  There has been much disc ussion recently about how to "manage the rise of China." The phrase itself is soothing, implying gradualism, predictability and time. Time enough to think and prepare, to take measurements of China's trajectory and adjust as necessary. If China eventually emerges as a clear threat, there will be time to react. But meanwhile there is time enough not to overreact, to be watchful but patient and not to create self-fulfilling prophecies. If we prematurely treat China as an enemy, it is said, it will become an enemy.
 
 The idea that we can manage China's rise is comforting because it gives us a sense of control and mastery, and of paternalistic superiority. With proper piloting and steady nerves on our part, the massive Chinese ship can be brought safely into harbor and put at anchor. It can be "integrated" into the international system and thereby tamed and made safe for civilized existence in the postmodern world. Wisely "managed," China can be a friend. Badly managed, it can become a very dangerous power indeed. But at least the choice seems to be ours.
 
 The history of rising powers, however, and their attempted "management" by established powers provides little reason for confidence or comfort. Rarely have rising powers risen without sparking a major war that reshaped the international system to reflect new realities of power. The most successful "management" of a rising power in the modern era was Britain's appeasement of the United States in the late 19th century, when the British effectively ceded the entire Western Hemisphere (except Canada) to the expansive Americans. The fact that both powers shared a common liberal, democratic ideology, and thus roughly consonant ideas of international order, greatly lessened the risk of accommodation from the British point of view.
 
 Other examples are less encouraging. Germany's rise after 1870, and Europe's reaction to it, eventually produced World War I. Even the masterly Bismarck, after a decade of successful German self-management, had a difficult time steering Europe away from collision. The British tried containment, appeasement and even offers of alliance, but never fully comprehended Kaiser Wilhelm's need to challenge the British supremacy he both admired and envied. Right up until the eve of war, highly regarded observers of the European scene believed commercial ties among the leading powers made war between them unlikely, if not impossible.
 
 Japan's rise after 1868 produced two rounds of warfare -- first with China and Russia at the turn of the century, and later with the United States and Britain in World War II. The initial Anglo-American response to Japan's growing power was actually quite accommodating. Meiji Japan had chosen the path of modernization and even Westernization, or so it seemed, and Americans welcomed its ascendancy over backward China and despotic Russia. Then, too, there was the paternalistic hope of assisting Japan's entry into the international system, which was to say the Western system. "The Japs have played our game," Theodore Roosevelt believed, and only occasionally did he wonder whether "the Japanese down at bottom did not lump Russians, English, Americans, Germans, all of us, simply as white devils inferior to themselves . . . and to be treated politely only so long as would enable the Japanese to take advantage of our national jealousies, and beat us in turn."
 
 Today we look back at those failures and ruminate on the mistakes made with the usual condescension that the present has for the past. But there is no reason to believe we are any smarter today than the policymakers who "mismanaged" the rise of Germany and Japan. The majority of today's policymakers and thinkers hold much the same general view of global affairs as their forebears: namely, that commercial ties between China and the other powers, especially with Japan and the United States, and also with Taiwan, will act as a buffer against aggressive impulses and ultimately ease China's "integration" into the international system without war. Once again we see an Asian power modernizing and believe this should be a force for peace. And we add to this the conviction, also common throughout history, that if we do nothing to provoke China, then it will be peaceful, without realizing that it may be the existing international system that the Chinese find provocative.
 
 The security structures of East Asia, the Western liberal values that so dominate our thinking, the "liberal world order" we favor -- this is the "international system" into which we would "integrate" China. But isn't it possible that China does not want to be integrated into a political and security system that it had no part in shaping and that conforms neither to its ambitions nor to its own autocratic and hierarchical principles of rule? Might not China, like all rising powers of the past, including the United States, want to reshape the international system to suit its own purposes, commensurate with its new power, and to make the world safe for its autocracy? Yes, the Chinese want the prosperity that comes from integration in the global economy, but might they believe, as the Japanese did a century ago, that the purpose of getting rich is not to join the international system but to change it?
 
 We may not know the answers to these questions. But we need to understand that the nature of China's rise will be determined largely by the Chinese and not by us. The Chinese leadership may already believe the United States is its enemy, for instance, and there is nothing we can do to change that. Partly this is due to our actions -- such as the strengthening of the U.S.-Japanese military alliance, which began during the Clinton administration, and our recent efforts to enhance strategic ties with India. Partly it is due to our different forms of government, since autocratic rulers naturally feel threatened by a democratic superpower and its democratic allies around their periphery. Partly it is due to the nature of the situation in East Asia. It used to be an article of faith among Sinologists that the Chinese did not want to drive the United States out of the region. Today many are not so sure. It would not be unusual if an increasingly powerful China wanted to become the dominant power in its own region, and dominant not just economically but in all other respects, as well.
 
 When one contemplates how to "manage" that, however, comforting notions of gradualness, predictability and time begin to fade. The obvious choices would seem to lie between ceding American predominance in the region and taking steps to contain China's understandable ambitions. Not many Americans favor the former course, and for sound political, moral and strategic reasons. But let's not kid ourselves. It will be hard to pursue the latter course without treating China as at least a prospective enemy, and not just 20 years from now, but now. Nor, if that is the choice, can Chinese leaders be expected to wait patiently while the web of containment is strengthened around them. More likely, they will periodically want to challenge both the United States and its allies in the region to back off. Crises could come sooner than expected, and without much warning, requiring difficult judgments about the risks and rewards of both action and inaction.
 
 That is likely what the future holds. The United States may not be able to avoid a policy of containing China; we are, in fact, already doing so. This is a sufficiently unsettling prospect, however, that we are doing all we can to avoid thinking about it. We conjure hopeful images of a modernizing China that seeks only economic growth and would do nothing to threaten commercial ties with us -- unless provoked -- even as we watch nervously the small but steady Chinese military buildup, the periodic eruptions of popular nationalism, the signs of Chinese confidence intermingled with feelings of historical injustice and the desire to right old wrongs.
 
 Which China is it? A 21st-century power that wants to be integrated into a liberal international order, which would mean both a transformation of its own polity and a limitation of its strategic ambitions? Or a 19th-century power that wants to preserve its rule at home and expand its reach abroad? It is a worthy subject for debate, because the answer will determine the future as much as or more than anything we do. But it is unlikely we will have a definitive answer in time to adjust, to "manage" China's "rise," any more than our predecessors did. As in the past, we will have to peer into the fog and make prudent judgments, informed by the many tragic lessons of history.
 
 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  Mon May 16 04:01:00 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 16 04:06:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Let's Not Get Carried Away by a Sweep
 
 By Tony Kornheiser
 
  While everyone else in town gets carried away about how the Wizards are going to be a championship contender next year and for the next 20 years, here's the only thing that might worry me -- and notice I say might worry me: The 1997-98 Capitals.
 
 You remember them. After years of being a good, solid team that couldn't break all the way through in the playoffs, they finally made the big leap to the Stanley Cup finals -- and got broomed out in embarrassing fashion by the Detroit Red Wings. Everyone in town shrugged that off and predicted the Caps would be Stanley Cup contenders for years to come.
 
 You remember what happened to the Caps after that?
 
 Collapse.
 
 The Caps failed to make the playoffs three of the next six seasons, and, when they did get in, they never got out of the first round. They acquired the biggest name in all of hockey, Jaromir Jagr, and quickly slid straight into the toilet. So much for years of contending. The way the Caps have played lately, there's no discernible difference between them playing their 82-game schedule or being locked out like they were this season: Either way, they're missing the playoffs.
 
 I don't want to sound like the voice of doom where the Wizards are concerned. And in fact I remain quite optimistic that this particular collection can move onward and upward -- providing they get, as they say, a big to depend on for 16 to 18 points and eight to 10 rebounds a night; every night, not just some nights. But being the old Brian Wilson fan that I am, I am reminded of these lyrics from a song off the "Pet Sounds" album of long ago: "Right now you think that she's perfection/ This time is really an exception/ Well, you know I hate to be a downer/But I'm the guy she left before you found her./Now I'm not saying you won't have a good love with her/But I keep on remembering things as they were."
 
 I keep on remembering The Curse O' Les Boulez. Why would I think it's been lifted now? Am I missing something here? Did the Wizards actually win a game against Miami? No, they didn't. In fact, they are 0-12 against Miami in the last two seasons. (And it's not like Dwyane Wade is going to quit basketball and become a carnival barker, is it? No, he'll be in Miami for a while.) Did Kwame Brown miraculously reappear and show the world why the Wizards made him the No. 1 overall pick in the draft just four seasons ago? No. While the Wizards would seem to be better off without Kwame, they now have absolutely nothing to show for the highest draft pick they've ever made.
 
 The Wizards had a great season. They won 45 games, gobs more than they've won in a bushel of years. They won a playoff game for the first time in 17 years and a playoff series for the first time in 23 years -- and did it by winning four straight games and overcoming Chicago's home-court advantage. And normally we'd all agree there's no shame in being swept by the No. 1 team in the conference, which Miami is.
 
 But.
 
 Excuse me, Tony, but there's always a "but," right?
 
 Yep. Thanks for playing the game. Drive home safely.
 
 But the Wizards weren't swept by the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. That team had Shaq. This team had half a Shaq for two games, and no Shaq at all for two games. I'm sorry, but the Wizards' performance in those last two games -- when Shaq sat on the bench modeling suits -- was a clinker.
 
 You're home, where you've gone 3-0 in the playoffs so far, and for the first time since the invention of $6.50 beers you've got a home crowd that's really supportive. You've got to win one of these two games to give yourself any kind of chance to compete in the series. Then you get the break of the century when Shaq can't go. And you lose both games? Both? I guess that makes the Heat "The Original Wizzinator."
 
 You lose to a substitute center, long past his prime, with a kidney transplant? A center who scored, hello, no points in Game 4? None. You make Dwyane Wade, who's a really nice young guard, look like Michael Jordan -- not the Michael Jordan who played here, the Michael Jordan who won six rings in Chicago, the Real Michael Jordan. You lose to a team forced to give critical minutes to people like Keyon Dooling, Rasual Butler and Michael Doleac? When you've got Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Larry Hughes? That's not something to build on. That's sand.
 
 To a man, the Wizards will say that they learned something valuable from the meek way they went out against Miami. Here's one thing the Wizards ought to be learning about: the 1997-98 Capitals.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 16 04:01:34 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 16 04:07:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Getting Beyond Racism
 
 By William Raspberry
 
  The plight of have-not blacks in America's urban ghettos, says economist Thomas Sowell, can be laid at the feet of white people.
 
 And not just any white folks. The culprits are that particular breed of white people known as "rednecks."
 
 If you've followed the writings of Sowell for as long as I have, you'll know that he's not saying anything as simple as racism accounts for today's black poverty. He's saying something much more complex and, to my mind, far more intriguing.
 
 Immigration from the British Isles to the New World was not so random as many of us imagine. Most of the settlers of Massachusetts, for instance, came from near Haverhill in East Anglia. Virginia aristocrats came from the south and west of England. And the Deep South was populated largely by immigrants from the northern borderlands, Ulster and the Scottish Highlands -- from "among people who were called 'rednecks' and 'crackers' in Britain before they ever saw America." And these are the people who formed the culture -- the speech patterns, preaching styles, social behaviors, propensity for violence and attitudes toward schooling -- that became the culture of Southern blacks, Sowell claims in his new book, "Black Rednecks and White Liberals."
 
 And it is this cultural heritage, he argues, "more so than survival of African cultures," that has produced the urban black culture of today.
 
 So what?
 
 So this, says Sowell: The redneck culture has been a developmental millstone for both blacks and whites imbued with it -- witness the lower academic achievement in the Deep South. But he says it has been preserved most faithfully in the black ghettos -- just as the French spoken in Quebec retains formulations now considered archaic in France. Indeed, in a fascinating switcheroo, the redneck culture has become, to many of its defenders, the authentic black culture and, on that account, sacrosanct.
 
 And it continues to be a millstone, though many of the penalties it extracts are blamed on racism.
 
 But as Sowell argues -- and has been arguing for decades -- the racism explanation cannot account for differential outcomes among blacks from within and without the redneck culture. For instance, a recent study found that most of Harvard's black alumni were either from the Caribbean or Africa or were children of Caribbean or African immigrants.
 
 It is interesting to read the Sowell analysis alongside University of Pennsylvania professor Michael Eric Dyson's new book, "Is Bill Cosby Right? (Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?)."
 
 I hope it won't give away too much of the plot to reveal that his answers to his own questions are: no and yes.
 
 Dyson, who can coin a phrase with the best of them, spends a large part of this work defending the "knuckleheads" of Cosby's inelegant description against those who (like Cosby) believe their refusal to adopt the manners and language of the middle class is holding them back.
 
 Or as Dyson puts it, defending the Ghettocracy from the Afristocracy.
 
 The point, as he is at great pains to make, is that there's nothing wrong in the ghetto that an end to racism wouldn't fix. For Cosby to suggest that slovenly language and dress have anything to do with the trouble that black youth are in is to blame the victim and "let white people off the hook."
 
 And Cosby, whom Dyson "deeply respects," etc., has been letting white people off the hook for years -- with his universal (rather than an authentically black) approach to humor and even with his toweringly successful Huxtable family (which reassured white TV viewers that the nightmare of racism had ended and that it was safe to lay their guilt aside).
 
 The danger is that in our zeal to score points off one another, we'll forget what the game is about in the first place. Dyson, for example, roundly defends the black youngsters whose circumstances sparked the Cosby campaign; but he has no practical advice for them. It is up to the rest of us, he suggests, to keep alive the faith that racism is the only explanation we need.
 
 Is Sowell's redneck culture a better one? Perhaps more to the point, is it salable?
 
 One thing seems beyond dispute: Maybe we haven't laid racism to rest, but we have reached the point where what we do matters more than what is done to us. That's great, good news. Would somebody write a book about it?
 
 willrasp@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 16 04:02:16 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 16 04:08:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Immigration Reform and Red Herrings
 
 By Sebastian Mallaby
 
  Last week, in a triumph of hope over experience, Sens. John McCain and Teddy Kennedy introduced an immigration bill. This will now be engulfed by all the usual rhetoric. "America is a Land of Immigrants" vs. "the English language is at risk." "Immigrants are criminals" vs. "forcing immigrants to remain illegal is the real source of crime." But consider the economic question. Will letting in those foreigners harm American workers?
 
 Start by knocking down the dumb arguments on both sides. It's implausible to claim that poor immigrants generally do jobs that Americans won't do. Mexicans mow all the lawns in Southern California, but it doesn't follow that largely immigrant-free suburbs in Pennsylvania are choked with waist-high grass. According to the 2000 Census, 82 percent of New York taxi drivers are foreign-born. But there are still cabs to be hailed in Detroit and Cincinnati, where more than 90 percent of taxi drivers are U.S.-born.
 
 Then there's the opposite dumb argument: that immigrants push unemployment up. Setting aside swings in the business cycle, the level of unemployment in an economy is determined by the flexibility of the labor force, not by how many people are in it and certainly not by what passports they hold. Every economy has something called the NAIRU -- the non-accelerating-inflation rate of unemployment -- and the central bank's job is to keep the monetary taps open until the jobless rate falls to that level. If the rate falls below the NAIRU, the shortage of workers will push wages up faster than output. The resulting inflation will force the central bank to jack up interest rates, slowing the economy and halting job growth.
 
 So if you're worried about unemployment, you have to worry about the NAIRU -- about how you create a workforce that's flexible and motivated, so companies can find people to hire at sustainable wages even when unemployment is quite low. A willingness to relocate, retrain and reinvent oneself makes for a lower NAIRU; the growth of temp agencies, which give firms an efficient way of finding workers, has reduced the NAIRU, too. Immigrants, who tend to be extremely motivated, probably drive down the overall sustainable unemployment rate. In theory, if their presence somehow renders native-born workers less motivated, immigrants could simultaneously increase unemployment in the native-born section of the workforce. But attempts to measure this demoralization suggest that it is minimal.
 
 The serious economic question is not what immigration does to unemployment but what it does to wages, particularly for poor workers. According to the census of 1970, 63 percent of immigrants in the United States had been born in Europe or Canada and were generally well educated. By 2000, however, 48 percent had been born in Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean, and more than one-third of all immigrants had less than a high school education. While immigrants counted for only 13 percent of the working-age population in 2000, they made up over half of those with less than eight years of schooling.
 
 Logic suggests that if you increase the supply of certain workers, their wages will go down. Harvard's George Borjas, one of the nation's top immigration economists, has found that this logic holds in practice. By grouping workers according to education and experience and measuring rates of immigration and wage trends in each category, he concludes that between 1980 and 2000 immigration reduced the average annual earnings of U.S.-born college graduates by 3.6 percent and high school graduates by 2 percent. But natives without high school education were hit harder: Their wages were reduced 7.4 percent compared to what they would have been without immigration.
 
 That's not the end of the story, however. Berkeley's David Card, another top authority, employs a different statistical technique and gets the opposite result. He starts from the fact that different cities experience different rates of immigration, and then he looks to see whether cities with lots of low-skilled immigrants have lower wages for laborers. He finds no wage effect whatsoever. This could be because demand for these workers increases with the supply of them: A gardening company with five Mexican workers armed with fancy electric hedge-trimmers would just as soon hire eight workers and give them manual shears if eight workers were available.
 
 This academic debate is not conclusive. Borjas argues that Card's method is flawed because an influx of immigrants into one city drives U.S.-born workers to move elsewhere, so the downward pressure on wages can be captured only in nationwide numbers. This may be right for college graduates, who operate in a national labor market. But Card may have the upper hand when it comes to understanding low-wage workers. His latest paper shows that cities with high rates of unskilled immigration have reported no offsetting shrinkage in the number of native-born laborers.
 
 What to conclude from this? Immigration does not cause unemployment; the wage effects may well be small. And if anyone can make a conclusive argument about some other consequence of immigration, Congress might as well listen. The debate over wages is not a slam-dunk for either side. It should not determine this issue.
 
 mallabys@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 16 04:03:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 16 04:09:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Implementing Bush's Vision
 
 By Henry A. Kissinger
 
  Extraordinary advances of democracy have occurred in recent months: elections in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine and Palestine; local elections in Saudi Arabia; Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon; the opening up of the presidential election in Egypt; and upheavals against entrenched authoritarians in Kyrgyzstan. This welcome trend was partly triggered by President Bush's Middle East policy and accelerated by his second inaugural address, which elevated the progress of freedom in the world to the defining objective of U.S. foreign policy.
 
 Pundits have interpreted these events as a victory of "idealists" over "realists" in the debate over conduct of American foreign policy. In fact, the United States is probably the only country in which "realist" can be used as a pejorative epithet. No serious realist should claim that power is its own justification. No idealist should imply that power is irrelevant to the spread of ideals. The real issue is to establish a sense of proportion between these two essential elements of policy. Overemphasis of either leads to stagnation or overextension.
 
 Values are essential for defining objectives; strategy is what implements them by establishing priorities and defining timing.
 
 Strategy must begin with the recognition that the freedom agenda does not make geopolitical analysis irrelevant. There are issues for which crusading strategies tend to be off the mark. The rise of China is, in essence, a geopolitical challenge, not a primarily ideological one.
 
 U.S. relations with India are another case in point. During the Cold War, India saw no imperative to support the cause of democracy against communism. Its national interest was not involved in issues such as the freedom of Berlin. Now India is, in effect, a strategic partner, not because of compatible domestic structures but because of parallel security interests in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, and vis-a-vis radical Islam.
 
 In its own terms, a clear-eyed commitment to the freedom agenda should keep these principles in mind:
 
 · The process of democratization does not depend on a single decision and will not be completed in a single stroke. Elections, however desirable, are only the beginning of a long enterprise. The willingness to accept their outcomes is a more serious hurdle. The establishment of a system that enables the minority to become a majority is even more complex.
 
 · Americans need to understand that successes do not end their engagement but most probably deepen it. For as we involve ourselves, we bear the responsibility even for results we did not anticipate. We must deal with those consequences regardless of our original intentions and not act as if our commitments are as changeable as opinion polls.
 
 · Elections are not an inevitable guarantee of a democratic outcome. Radicals such as Hezbollah and Hamas seem to have learned the mechanics of democracy in order to undermine it and establish total control.
 
 As the world's dominating democratic power, we must relate values to power, institutional political change to geopolitical necessities. In countries where a vacuum must be filled and U.S. forces are present, the American capacity to affect events is considerable. Even then, however, it is not possible to automatically apply models created over centuries in the homogeneous societies of Europe and the United States to ethnically diverse and religiously divided societies in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. In multiethnic societies, majority rule implies permanent subjugation of the minority unless it is part of a strong federal structure and a system of checks and balances. To achieve this by negotiation between parties that consider dominance by the other groups a threat to their very survival is an extraordinarily elusive undertaking. It will, however, determine the degree to which democratic goals in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, in Afghanistan can be achieved.
 
 Lebanon illustrates another aspect of these considerations. The upheaval that expelled Syrian forces is a testimony to the growth of popular consciousness but also to the changed strategic environment. Syria, too weak to resist international pressures, may calculate that withdrawal eventually will return the situation to the chaos that triggered Syrian intervention in the first place.
 
 Three times since 1958 -- the United States that year, Syria in 1976 and Israel in 1981 -- foreign intervention held the ring in Lebanon to prevent collapse into violence and to arbitrate among the Christian, Sunni, Shiite and Druze groups that constitute the Lebanese body politic. The internal conflict is made all the sharper because the established constitutional arrangement no longer reflects the actual demographic balance.
 
 At this point, the driving force in Lebanon is less democratic than populist; it is a contest by which the factions organize competitive demonstrations partially designed to overawe their opponents. The test will be whether the United States and the international community are able to bring about an agreed political framework and whether they can mobilize an international presence to guarantee that the conflicting passions do not once again erupt into violence, and that outside adventures are discouraged.
 
 In Egypt and Saudi Arabia the vacuum is potential, not actual. A wise policy will navigate between efforts to overcome stagnation and pressures that will dissolve the existing political framework into a contest of radical factions or the victory of one of them. The fundamentalist victory in the local elections in Saudi Arabia illustrates this danger. Policies erring in either direction could turn these countries into the Achilles' heel of the entire Middle East policy. The United States has made clear its conviction that a democratic evolution reflecting popular aspirations is a long-term necessity. But it has not yet defined what it means either by that phrase or an appropriate evolutionary process.
 
 The revolution in Iran teaches the lesson of the risks of procrastination in the 1960s and 1970s before the fundamentalist upheaval, but also of the perils of pressures in the Carter administration that resulted in a system far more autocratic than the shah's. Major strategic issues are at stake in a sensitive handling of these concerns, including the viability of Palestinian negotiation.
 
 Finally, there is the challenge of how to deal with societies such as China and Russia, which so far have relied on the Western political tradition only to a small degree, if at all, in their transition to the globalized world. They have used their own histories or national senses of identity as guides. To what extent and by what means can the United States influence this process? And in what direction? What level of understanding of domestic context, influenced by centuries of history, is necessary to produce confidence in desired outcomes? What price in medium-term strategic interests are we prepared to pay?
 
 No single nation is strong enough or wise enough to involve itself in every political evolution around the world simultaneously. Priorities based on the national interest are imperative. Otherwise, psychological exhaustion and physical overextension are a real possibility, along with a global coalition of the resentful and nationalistic resisting perceived American hegemony.
 
 President Bush has put forward a dramatic vision. The national debate now needs to focus on the concrete circumstances to which it must be applied. The nongovernmental groups should participate in this process.
 
 Having made their point about the importance of the subject, they should now contribute to the development of a responsible substance. A strategy to implement the vision of the freedom agenda needs consensus-building, both domestically and internationally. That will be the test as to whether we are seizing the opportunity for systemic change or participating in an episode.
 
 The writer, a former secretary of state, is chairman of Kissinger Associates.
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:34:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:40:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Insurgents Leave 15 Dead in a Series of
	Attacks in Iraq
Message-ID: <20050516163520.5CF5E3AE954@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 16, 2005

Insurgents Leave 15 Dead in a Series of Attacks in Iraq
By TERENCE NEILAN br / and SABRINA TAVERNISE

Sunni-led insurgents renewed their bloody attacks across Baghdad and outside the capital today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/international/middleeast/16cnd-iraq.html?ex=1116907200&en=3ff73c09eb1f36c8&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:35:25 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:41:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Letting Nukes Happen
Message-ID: <20050516163525.CA18983E6D@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 16, 2005

Editorial: Letting Nukes Happen


Step by step North Korea and Iran are advancing their capability to build nuclear weapons, and Washington appears to have no clear strategy for stopping them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/opinion/16mon1.html?ex=1116907200&en=c576cfd694008733&ei=5070




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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon May 16 09:36:44 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Mon May 16 09:43:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Mixed Reviews - Spring, Summer, Fall,
 Winter...and Spring - reviewed by Gabriel Shanks
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV9030D99B7C6EFFFFBB9A6AB150@phx.gbl>

I would like to turn you on to a really good film.... :-)  "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring" Awesome... it was on cable a couple of days ago but can be ordered on DVD as well.

peace,
barbara

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

http://www.mixedreviews.net/maindishes/2004/springsummer/springsummer.shtml


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:38:18 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:46:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Rice, in Baghdad,
	Urges Sunni Role in Constitution
Message-ID: <20050516164112.DD50B24B0D8@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 16, 2005

Rice, in Baghdad, Urges Sunni Role in Constitution
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

The secretary of state urged Shiites to respond to any sign that elements of the insurgency might be ready to turn to peace.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/international/middleeast/16rice.html?ex=1116907200&en=0a0218da2de6999f&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:40:45 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:47:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Battle Over Programming at National
	Public Radio
Message-ID: <20050516164113.DA1F224B0DA@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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BUSINESS / MEDIA & ADVERTISING | May 16, 2005

A Battle Over Programming at National Public Radio
By STEPHEN LABATON

Executives at NPR are increasingly at odds with Bush appointees at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, who are considering monitoring NPR's coverage for bias.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/business/media/16radio.html?ex=1116907200&en=aec93e00d8b08159&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:35:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:47:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Staying What Course?
Message-ID: <20050516164114.49DCE24B0DB@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 16, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Staying What Course?
By PAUL KRUGMAN

The American military isn't just bogged down in Iraq; it's deteriorating under the strain.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/opinion/16krugman.html?ex=1116907200&en=60ee2f8ebc40c95f&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:37:42 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:47:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Supporters of the War
Message-ID: <20050516164112.DD40524B0C6@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | May 16, 2005

Supporters of the War


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/opinion/l16herbert.html?ex=1116907200&en=baf8d5e9f96bdee4&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:39:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:47:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Uzbekistan Shaken by Unrest,
	Violence and Uncertainty
Message-ID: <20050516164113.5ABF324B03A@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 16, 2005

Uzbekistan Shaken by Unrest, Violence and Uncertainty
By C. J. CHIVERS

Reports of the number of deaths since the violence began continued to vary widely, from dozens to hundreds of civilians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/international/asia/16uzbek.html?ex=1116907200&en=b6c51a8294932119&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:39:36 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:47:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel Lets Palestinian Police Carry Guns
	in Most West Bank Cities
Message-ID: <20050516164113.6C5F924B0AB@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 16, 2005

Israel Lets Palestinian Police Carry Guns in Most West Bank Cities
By GREG MYRE

The move by the Israeli military is one of the few signs of coordination between the sides in recent weeks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/international/middleeast/16mideast.html?ex=1116907200&en=787683425ab4bdfa&ei=5070



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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 10:39:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 09:47:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraqis Say Russians Got Millions in Oil
Message-ID: <20050516164113.CFBE124B0AF@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

WASHINGTON | May 16, 2005

Iraqis Say Russians Got Millions in Oil
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former top officials in Saddam Hussein's government said they provided millions of dollars worth of oil allocations to Russian leaders in hopes of ending U.N. penalties against Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/politics/16russia.html?ex=1116907200&en=a46c65af0e678da9&ei=5070



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





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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May 16 10:40:59 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 16 10:47:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Asia-Pacific - Al-Qaeda's back has been broken,
	says Musharraf
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 16 10:45:15 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 16 10:50:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Russia scorns Senate oil claims
Message-ID: <20050516_174515_010222.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Russia scorns Senate oil claims **
Moscow says it has seen no proof of US claims Russian politicians took oil illicitly from Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4552531.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 16 10:44:46 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 16 10:50:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Uzbek troops shut off second town
Message-ID: <20050516_174446_009340.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Uzbek troops shut off second town **
Uzbek troops shut off the town of Korasuv after unrest spreads in the wake of Friday's bloody protests.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4549873.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 16 10:45:40 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 16 10:52:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Kuwaiti women win right to vote
Message-ID: <20050516_174540_070041.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Kuwaiti women win right to vote **
The Kuwaiti parliament gives women the right to vote and stand in parliamentary and local elections.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4552749.stm >


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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May 16 10:54:45 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 16 11:00:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Columnists - Amity Shlaes: Cafta vote is about
	more than trade 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May 16 10:56:27 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 16 11:04:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment - A threat to impartiality in the
	Senate 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May 16 11:00:38 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 16 11:06:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Asia-Pacific - South Korea begins talks with
	Pyongyang
Message-ID: <1050451.1116266438838.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.
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May 16 11:08:00 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Mon May 16 11:14:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Saudis lobby to limit liability on additive
Message-ID: <200505161808.OAA13438@mailhost.boston.com>

A story to follow. 

____________________________________________________________

The following appeared on Boston.com:
Headline: Saudis lobby to limit liability on additive 
Date:     May 16, 2005

"WASHINGTON -- A company largely owned by the Saudi government has
spent more than $1.5 million since 1998 lobbying Congress to shield the
chemical industry from liability for damages caused by MTBE, a
potentially cancer-causing gasoline additive that has seeped into water
supplies across New England, according to federal documents."
____________________________________________________________

To see this recommendation, click on the link below or cut and paste it
into a Web browser:

http://www.boston.com:80/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/05/16/saudis_lobby_to_limit_liability_on_additive

____________________________________________________________

This message was sent by Harry [mailto:harry.sifton@sympatico.ca]
through Boston.com's email recommendation service. If you have questions
or comments about this free service, please email us at feedback@boston.com.

From villasudjuan at free.fr  Mon May 16 09:09:24 2005
From: villasudjuan at free.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Mon May 16 11:20:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Morocco Slum Producing Suicide Bombers - Yahoo! News
In-Reply-To: <004401c55a40$868cac20$aacd3542@net>
Message-ID: <200505161820.j4GIKLIg017241@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From villasudjuan at free.fr  Mon May 16 09:11:48 2005
From: villasudjuan at free.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Mon May 16 11:20:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: BBC NEWS Middle East Iranians condemn election
	vetting
In-Reply-To: <000901c55a21$23fc8720$aacd3542@net>
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon May 16 12:07:06 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon May 16 12:13:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: New Poll finds most Americans "Scared To Death" of
	Activist Judges. Oh dear!
In-Reply-To: <C25AE4059581774EB4C69B67E5890C900130D9@laex01.lw.com>
Message-ID: <BEAE3D6B.20586%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
From: BRYAN.PETERSON@lw.com
Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 11:53:46 -0700

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 14:49:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 13:55:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Life at the Top in America Isn't Just
	Better, It's Longer
Message-ID: <20050516204930.EB05B22F0AA@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

NATIONAL / CLASS | May 16, 2005

Life at the Top in America Isn't Just Better, It's Longer
By JANNY SCOTT

Architect, utility worker, maid: three New Yorkers with little in common faced a single, common threat. But in the months that followed their heart attacks, their experiences diverged.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/national/class/HEALTH-FINAL.html?ex=1116907200&en=3d3511e6003273ac&ei=5070



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

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

WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/melindaandmelinda/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 May 16 14:49:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 16 13:55:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Studies Find Disparity in U.S. Cancer Care
Message-ID: <20050516204959.731D524AF77@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

HEALTH | May 16, 2005

Studies Find Disparity in U.S. Cancer Care
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN

New studies show that Americans generally receive high-quality cancer care but that closer monitoring is needed to explain significant geographic variations in practices.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/health/16cancer.html?ex=1116907200&en=9db10a7586337ef6&ei=5070



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

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

WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/melindaandmelinda/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 EAN at sbcglobal.net  Mon May 16 15:08:39 2005
From: EAN at sbcglobal.net (EAN@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon May 16 14:14:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Kissinger article
Message-ID: <AA-DDBFD50C692B896364245B198A566472-ZZ@enroll02.prodigy.net>

The writer is a famous internationally-known war 
criminal who is personally responsible for the deaths 
of millions of innocent people in Vietnam, Laos, 
Cambodia and East Timor (among other places).  
Although I do NOT believe in the death penalty, I 
will point out that maany have been hanged for much 
lesser crimes....

>Message: 1
>Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 07:03:20 -0400 (EDT)
>From: swiggard@comcast.net
>Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article 
from:
>
> Implementing Bush's Vision
>=20
> By Henry A. Kissinger
>=20
>  The writer, a former secretary of state, is 
chairman of Kissinger Associ

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon May 16 17:14:16 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon May 16 17:20:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: For All You Religious Folk.....
In-Reply-To: <C25AE4059581774EB4C69B67E5890C900130F4@laex01.lw.com>
Message-ID: <BEAE856A.205AD%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Is this for real? I guess it is.
MB

------ Forwarded Message
From: BRYAN.PETERSON@lw.com
Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 15:37:13 -0700





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From referralsvr2 at referralblast.com  Mon May 16 16:14:03 2005
From: referralsvr2 at referralblast.com (Bryan)
Date: Mon May 16 18:00:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Common Dreams NewsCenter
Message-ID: <200505170100.j4H107Vo018538@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Hello,

Bryan wanted to share this article with you:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-34.htm


Message: Very important article to read from Bill Moyers


Thanks!
______________________________________
Common Dreams
Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
www.commondreams.org


________________________________________________________
Referral powered by ReferralBlast.com

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon May 16 17:58:47 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon May 16 18:05:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: I just couldn't resist...scroll down to see the
	right way and wrong way of hotdogs
In-Reply-To: <C25AE4059581774EB4C69B67E5890C900130FB@laex01.lw.com>
Message-ID: <BEAE8FD9.205B6%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
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Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 17:29:52 -0700





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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May 16 18:08:31 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon May 16 18:14:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] american way of life attacked at Cannes
Message-ID: <000a01c55a7c$f35d4df0$2027e440@Harold>

The American way of life is attacked in films at the Cannes film festival

http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/05/16/cupeomers-050516.html

Points are being made.........


later H
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From lyve at netzero.com  Mon May 16 19:29:16 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon May 16 19:36:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: For All You Religious Folk.....
Message-ID: <20050516.193003.16774.36119@webmail18.nyc.untd.com>


HI THERE!

There's always a danger in diving into anything without regard for your environment and how your actions affect the community and its tolerance level.

This my friend, is no different than greed, glutony, plain getting snoockered, and people in your face.

At least when the PEACE movement got in your face-you know they were real; you felt compassion for them, their cause, the war and their objectivity, because they were after all, right!

We told the President, that going into Iraq was a bad idea, something was not right-it was concocted-it would create chaos, didn't we. 

So...what do they have today. Not success. Bad judgement, greed and us-getting snoockered, or at least they tried and won the election, through unethical methods; lies, cheating and more.

How do we point out to people that are overindulging; even in religion?
It's no different than junkies, alchoholism, crack, ice, tar-it's all the same when you inhale the spirit of bad junk!

Now if it were more organic...more grounded in Natural Nature; Nature has a way of communicating to your senses that you're heading for the big bad downer. But....... 

THEY KNOW BEST!!!

WELL-MY FRIENDS; UNTIL THE NEXT BIG TRAIN COMES ROARING THROUGH TOWN AND WHACKS THE FANATICS OFF THE TRACK-we all just have to wait it out and LAUGH!
 


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- Michael Butler <michael@michaelbutler.com> wrote:
Is this for real? I guess it is.
MB

------ Forwarded Message
From: BRYAN.PETERSON@lw.com
Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 15:37:13 -0700





------ End of Forwarded Message

From Rhaerther at aol.com  Mon May 16 19:49:22 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Mon May 16 19:55:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Broadcast animation link
Message-ID: <1a2.33c8564e.2fbab5b2@aol.com>

Mark Fiore's newest animation, wait until you see Bush as a  beloved PBS 
children's character.  Hysterical.
Richard Haerther
 
_http://www.markfiore.com/animation/broadcast.html_ 
(http://www.markfiore.com/animation/broadcast.html) 
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From lyve at netzero.com  Mon May 16 20:15:01 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon May 16 20:21:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Does God Take a Position on Filibusters?
Message-ID: <20050516.201508.16774.36712@webmail18.nyc.untd.com>

Welcome Old Fellows and Ladies,

There was a crowd of people listening to a man preaching about a God, then about a Jesus and nothing more. The preacher had no experience about other worlds, or other "places". He only spoke of learned truths, passed to him from minister to minister, church to church, friend to friend.

He was amazed at the numbers of people that were joining the ranks, not focusing on a small group of people meeting behind a rock.

These people behind the rock, were reincarnated and walk amongst us. They know of thruths so very powerful that they cannot tell us about what they know yet.

"The above is a true belief and historical record about the American Indian and the Hawaiian people just before the "white man" dessiminated them or practically, almost all of them before they were gone. What remains today, are troubled people, with more than self-esteem issues. They are growing religiously, and do not forget what they have been through."

1. The Indian saw his history, future and present day through visions that came to all (children, women, and men).
2. The Hawaiians, through sadly, held out for a larger belief system, that all men are righteous through ALOHA and consequently, their kingdom was overthrown by the U.S. (invasion of a soverign nation); history repeats itself, over and over again.

So, who were these men behind the large stone-they were the TRUTH and LIGHT. In Masters of the Far East, a series of books, we know that Jesus was not heard of for many years up into his thirties. He was in Nepal, Far East, Hawaii, and in Indian country. How did he manage this? Through transendental transferrence.

Again, who are these 'old people' that walk the earth today?

Lesson: The Bible is Not a Holy of Holies. Their are other more rightious works. There are other peoples of this earth that have stories about what they have been told.

Tribes of Israel throughout the planet-why does the "white man" think he again, can manage through the deceitful eyes of lies, forked tongue, armed with another modern-day machine gun, atomic smart bomb, killer of anything relating to his hatred.

He does owe a blood debt; for the thousands and millons he has ended.

Lesson: Be not afraid of who you are-be afraid of your works for they shall be examined. (Akashick Records).

Lesson: Love is more powerful than greed, hate and misalignment. (one of those old men behind the stone).

Peace? Do YOU know what it entails to increase the vibratory level for peace to overcome hatred?

Peace,

Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

Please note: message attached


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From lyve at netzero.com  Mon May 16 20:19:34 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon May 16 20:26:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] !
Message-ID: <20050516.201935.16774.36783@webmail18.nyc.untd.com>

Thanks-
Our intellegence knew about the coming invasion of Pearl Harbor. Our administration did not do anything about it.

Our own Indians, specialists and 'old timers', broke the code-

Our administration knew about the coming disaster before 9/11.
See their faces lie-my god, pitiful.

Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Mon May 16 20:33:56 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Mon May 16 20:37:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Armageddon: The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All The
	Really Stupid People In The Audience
Message-ID: <000701c55a91$42d76fa0$5125b7d8@baby1>

Armageddon:  The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All The Really Stupid
People In The Audience




Before I present this, I would briefly like to state that in the last few
weeks here at least about one-third of all posts have absolutely nothing in
them (I access this list from The Internet) but "Attachments" this or that,
and I am not going to start opening "Attachments".  If people could somehow
figure out how to put up posts here that actually have information in them,
or at least a website that shows where the information is they wish to
convey, other than just "Attachment Scrubbed", that sure would be nice.  Of
course, this conversation has been here before, and apparently people still
cannot figure out how to send a simple post in any form other than as an
"Attachment".  Such is life.  I skip over all those posts.  The least people
could do, if they are interested, is after they send a post here, go on to
the Internet and access this List from there, and at the very least, see
what form your post arrived.  Most of you probably have no idea that your
posts are winding up as "Attachments" and nothing else.  I thought I would
just remind you.  Gee, personal Cheeseburger gripe night apparently...  It
would also be nice if there was some way that the Posts here actually had A
Title, other than "Here is an article from such and such a newspaper", which
would allow at least people who access this list from The Internet the
availability to view A Title, and then choose to either open it or not open
it, depending upon their desire or the fact of whether they have already
read that article at another location or not, thus saving them a TON of time
in wasted repetitiveness.  The end.


Now on to Jesus Christ and some of his fibs.....

Personally I liked Jesus.  He was a cool guy.  He had the best smoke in all
of the Middle East and he could just blow on a mosquito bite and it would be
cured.  An all around good person.  Too bad he didn't take my advice and
start a revolution though and instead let them hang him on a tree.  Those
Essenes, heh, they always were really big on practical jokes.  (For the
really really ignorant, look them up on Google gaga or somewhere).

The particular "fib" I would like to examine here coming out of Jesus' mouth
way back when, is the one in the book of "Mark" in the New Testament.  I'm
sure it's in some other books, but this particular passage will suffice for
the moment.  It starts in Mark chapter 13 and rambles on a while.  I'll just
put up verse 24 to 27 and verse 30 from that chapter though for our purposes
and make it brief.  This is Jesus himself talking:

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and
the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens wil be shaken.  And then they will see the Son
of man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  And then he will send
out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of
the earth to the ends of heaven."

Then in verse 30 he states:

"Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these
things take place."


Ok, now, face it, either Jesus was severely challenged as to his perspective
of Time itself and how long "One Generation" of people is, or he just flat
out lied.

Regardless, every Generation before and after he said those words has used
"The Armageddon Is Just About Upon Us Now" to frighten and control every
thing, place and person that exists on this planet Earth.  And they're still
doing it to this very day, except this time they're making millions and
billions of dollars from doing it, and duping millions and billions of
people while cashing in on their fear, faith, and expectations.  (It's a
wonderful thing to have something called Faith.  It's a desecration to have
Faith in a bunch of Lies, whether one believes and lives by "Ignorance Is
Bliss" or not.)


The *only* loophole in all that above is that "maybe" Armageddon actually
happened "before that generation" Jesus was speaking to "passed away", and
what we now perceive here as our "Reality" is nothing short of something
like either "Purgatory" or "Hell" itself.

Although I doubt, somewhat, the validity of that last sentence being our
Ultimate Reality at this current time, who knows, stranger things have
happened.

It would be very funny if we were just living in a Zoetrope after all, and
viewing it all from the outside, while living it all from the inside, and
not having a miserable clue about any of it.

Oh well, none of it is "funny".  Just thought I'd pass the words of Jesus
himself describing how "Armageddon" was to take place before even the people
he was talking to at the time passed away.

More trivia from The Cheeseburger Vaults.

Have a nice day.    :|




Cheeseburger

.

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 16 21:02:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Mon May 16 21:08:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Armageddon: The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All
	TheReally Stupid People In The Audience
References: <000701c55a91$42d76fa0$5125b7d8@baby1>
Message-ID: <00ba01c55a95$3d329800$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Chesseburger:

Actually...you fall into the same trap that so many others do in 
interpreting this passage.  Yet it is really very simple.

The disciples ask "What will be the signs of your return?"  He then tells 
them what the signs will be - but does not infer, in any way, that the 
disciples themselves will see those signs.  Rather, he describes a future 
time when he talks about the sun darkerning, etc.

After describing the signs which will precede His return in a future time, 
he says "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all 
these things take place."

"This generation" does not imply the generation He was speaking to, but 
rather the generation that will see the signs.

Peace.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net>
To: "mb-civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 11:33 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Armageddon: The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All 
TheReally Stupid People In The Audience


> Armageddon:  The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All The Really Stupid
> People In The Audience
>
>
>
>
> Before I present this, I would briefly like to state that in the last few
> weeks here at least about one-third of all posts have absolutely nothing 
> in
> them (I access this list from The Internet) but "Attachments" this or 
> that,
> and I am not going to start opening "Attachments".  If people could 
> somehow
> figure out how to put up posts here that actually have information in 
> them,
> or at least a website that shows where the information is they wish to
> convey, other than just "Attachment Scrubbed", that sure would be nice. 
> Of
> course, this conversation has been here before, and apparently people 
> still
> cannot figure out how to send a simple post in any form other than as an
> "Attachment".  Such is life.  I skip over all those posts.  The least 
> people
> could do, if they are interested, is after they send a post here, go on to
> the Internet and access this List from there, and at the very least, see
> what form your post arrived.  Most of you probably have no idea that your
> posts are winding up as "Attachments" and nothing else.  I thought I would
> just remind you.  Gee, personal Cheeseburger gripe night apparently...  It
> would also be nice if there was some way that the Posts here actually had 
> A
> Title, other than "Here is an article from such and such a newspaper", 
> which
> would allow at least people who access this list from The Internet the
> availability to view A Title, and then choose to either open it or not 
> open
> it, depending upon their desire or the fact of whether they have already
> read that article at another location or not, thus saving them a TON of 
> time
> in wasted repetitiveness.  The end.
>
>
> Now on to Jesus Christ and some of his fibs.....
>
> Personally I liked Jesus.  He was a cool guy.  He had the best smoke in 
> all
> of the Middle East and he could just blow on a mosquito bite and it would 
> be
> cured.  An all around good person.  Too bad he didn't take my advice and
> start a revolution though and instead let them hang him on a tree.  Those
> Essenes, heh, they always were really big on practical jokes.  (For the
> really really ignorant, look them up on Google gaga or somewhere).
>
> The particular "fib" I would like to examine here coming out of Jesus' 
> mouth
> way back when, is the one in the book of "Mark" in the New Testament.  I'm
> sure it's in some other books, but this particular passage will suffice 
> for
> the moment.  It starts in Mark chapter 13 and rambles on a while.  I'll 
> just
> put up verse 24 to 27 and verse 30 from that chapter though for our 
> purposes
> and make it brief.  This is Jesus himself talking:
>
> "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and
> the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from 
> heaven,
> and the powers in the heavens wil be shaken.  And then they will see the 
> Son
> of man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  And then he will send
> out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of
> the earth to the ends of heaven."
>
> Then in verse 30 he states:
>
> "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these
> things take place."
>
>
> Ok, now, face it, either Jesus was severely challenged as to his 
> perspective
> of Time itself and how long "One Generation" of people is, or he just flat
> out lied.
>
> Regardless, every Generation before and after he said those words has used
> "The Armageddon Is Just About Upon Us Now" to frighten and control every
> thing, place and person that exists on this planet Earth.  And they're 
> still
> doing it to this very day, except this time they're making millions and
> billions of dollars from doing it, and duping millions and billions of
> people while cashing in on their fear, faith, and expectations.  (It's a
> wonderful thing to have something called Faith.  It's a desecration to 
> have
> Faith in a bunch of Lies, whether one believes and lives by "Ignorance Is
> Bliss" or not.)
>
>
> The *only* loophole in all that above is that "maybe" Armageddon actually
> happened "before that generation" Jesus was speaking to "passed away", and
> what we now perceive here as our "Reality" is nothing short of something
> like either "Purgatory" or "Hell" itself.
>
> Although I doubt, somewhat, the validity of that last sentence being our
> Ultimate Reality at this current time, who knows, stranger things have
> happened.
>
> It would be very funny if we were just living in a Zoetrope after all, and
> viewing it all from the outside, while living it all from the inside, and
> not having a miserable clue about any of it.
>
> Oh well, none of it is "funny".  Just thought I'd pass the words of Jesus
> himself describing how "Armageddon" was to take place before even the 
> people
> he was talking to at the time passed away.
>
> More trivia from The Cheeseburger Vaults.
>
> Have a nice day.    :|
>
>
>
>
> Cheeseburger
>
> .
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From lyve at netzero.com  Mon May 16 21:11:36 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon May 16 21:18:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Armageddon: The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All Th
	e Really Stupid People In The Audience
Message-ID: <20050516.211141.16774.37325@webmail18.nyc.untd.com>


yes, cheesburger;

I have to agree with your annoyance of posts here on our most beloved MBCIVIC.

I too waste no time and delete 5/6th of it. Why -yes, it is plain wasting my time because of the way it is formatted, or the way authors imagine their posts to be when in reality it doesn't come out that way.

Yes; about the subject line-with a message from 'you know who'...can't read it all-it's truncated folks.

Now my part-I admire the works most of you are doing to fill our hearts with joy...but come on, are you guys trying to fulfill a magic number of say, ten or something? Ten articles, a day-do you my friendly authors, researchers, do any reading of what you're sending?

*******
Cheesburger, I also agree that faith is blessed and ignorance is not somebody else's fault. Most of all the world's religions speak of Jesus with respect, a noble man, a prophetic person, looking out for the poor-a righteous man by these works.

But here is where I disagree with you-the scriptorial writings are not lies, they are figments of imagination generated from a "church" that had to, has to survive. Monks doing scripture writing...how rude!

Yes, the ignorant will follow anything and any body. When there is chaos, a "Hitler" and a totalitarian regime is forth coming, such as in Iraq today.

Be not afraid, you are one of the enlightened ones. At least, I think so...

Garbage is all around us...beware my friend.
About your hell. Some proclaim earth to be a station of hell. Hell is not a true word or belief except, by certain religious groups. Hell is neither upon us, under us or waiting to en-gulf us.

Hell is your heart and what you turn to it. Your thoughts, your complete falling and consummation; poverty and receiving no acts of kindness or charity hardens a heart-turning it to stone (likened to a hell). There are no fires, excepting what we make (atomic bombs-Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Iran?)

I do know this for truth...there is a designer, a world designer that designed you and I and the world we walk on. There are many species of man, animals, microscopic specks; all having two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. How splendid is this!

I do know, that our strengths, only come from each other and how tight we hold on to each others sensitivities, judgments, interpretations and willingness to interpret.

I do know, that amongst us are very bad people that lack in judgment skills, visionary blessedness, and people compassion. These people die off-some are attracted by their own fire, hell, torture, and screams. Let them be-they are the 'others', a more ignorant, more denigrating than man can stand.

Hold on to you LIGHT, your still small voice that guides you and I,; hold on to forgiveness, and the day in which we proclaim the everlasting trumpet of song-"Be Here NOW"! 



Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net> wrote:
Armageddon:  The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All The Really Stupid
People In The Audience




Before I present this, I would briefly like to state that in the last few
weeks here at least about one-third of all posts have absolutely nothing in
them (I access this list from The Internet) but "Attachments" this or that,
and I am not going to start opening "Attachments".  If people could somehow
figure out how to put up posts here that actually have information in them,
or at least a website that shows where the information is they wish to
convey, other than just "Attachment Scrubbed", that sure would be nice.  Of
course, this conversation has been here before, and apparently people still
cannot figure out how to send a simple post in any form other than as an
"Attachment".  Such is life.  I skip over all those posts.  The least people
could do, if they are interested, is after they send a post here, go on to
the Internet and access this List from there, and at the very least, see
what form your post arrived.  Most of you probably have no idea that your
posts are winding up as "Attachments" and nothing else.  I thought I would
just remind you.  Gee, personal Cheeseburger gripe night apparently...  It
would also be nice if there was some way that the Posts here actually had A
Title, other than "Here is an article from such and such a newspaper", which
would allow at least people who access this list from The Internet the
availability to view A Title, and then choose to either open it or not open
it, depending upon their desire or the fact of whether they have already
read that article at another location or not, thus saving them a TON of time
in wasted repetitiveness.  The end.


Now on to Jesus Christ and some of his fibs.....

Personally I liked Jesus.  He was a cool guy.  He had the best smoke in all
of the Middle East and he could just blow on a mosquito bite and it would be
cured.  An all around good person.  Too bad he didn't take my advice and
start a revolution though and instead let them hang him on a tree.  Those
Essenes, heh, they always were really big on practical jokes.  (For the
really really ignorant, look them up on Google gaga or somewhere).

The particular "fib" I would like to examine here coming out of Jesus' mouth
way back when, is the one in the book of "Mark" in the New Testament.  I'm
sure it's in some other books, but this particular passage will suffice for
the moment.  It starts in Mark chapter 13 and rambles on a while.  I'll just
put up verse 24 to 27 and verse 30 from that chapter though for our purposes
and make it brief.  This is Jesus himself talking:

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and
the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens wil be shaken.  And then they will see the Son
of man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  And then he will send
out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of
the earth to the ends of heaven."

Then in verse 30 he states:

"Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these
things take place."


Ok, now, face it, either Jesus was severely challenged as to his perspective
of Time itself and how long "One Generation" of people is, or he just flat
out lied.

Regardless, every Generation before and after he said those words has used
"The Armageddon Is Just About Upon Us Now" to frighten and control every
thing, place and person that exists on this planet Earth.  And they're still
doing it to this very day, except this time they're making millions and
billions of dollars from doing it, and duping millions and billions of
people while cashing in on their fear, faith, and expectations.  (It's a
wonderful thing to have something called Faith.  It's a desecration to have
Faith in a bunch of Lies, whether one believes and lives by "Ignorance Is
Bliss" or not.)


The *only* loophole in all that above is that "maybe" Armageddon actually
happened "before that generation" Jesus was speaking to "passed away", and
what we now perceive here as our "Reality" is nothing short of something
like either "Purgatory" or "Hell" itself.

Although I doubt, somewhat, the validity of that last sentence being our
Ultimate Reality at this current time, who knows, stranger things have
happened.

It would be very funny if we were just living in a Zoetrope after all, and
viewing it all from the outside, while living it all from the inside, and
not having a miserable clue about any of it.

Oh well, none of it is "funny".  Just thought I'd pass the words of Jesus
himself describing how "Armageddon" was to take place before even the people
he was talking to at the time passed away.

More trivia from The Cheeseburger Vaults.

Have a nice day.    :|




Cheeseburger

.

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

From lyve at netzero.com  Mon May 16 21:41:38 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon May 16 22:15:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Armageddon: The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All Th
	eReally Stupid People In The Audience
Message-ID: <20050516.214238.16774.37558@webmail18.nyc.untd.com>


You goofball,

He is not asking, he's telling you-moron. What he is interpreting-he did not ask you to jump in with insensitivity to his discussion-what an egotist.  Your interpretations just bring people down because you continue to perpetuate the 'wrong's' of a church. For a long time, the scriptures have been misaligned and aligned for the churches benefit.

There are no signs-only man's inability to deal with facts that scientists and environmentalists can actually tell you that the earth's warming is real.

The killing off of the Jews is in no way-the last days...it is man's arrogance and hatred again. Religion is concocted by man-man that is so  short-sighted. The man that I have yet to see that actually can stand on a mountain and make men fall to their knees.

This man is few in numbers and he walks amongst us already. I know of some by name, and he is a good friend. I know that except for a very few of you, who belong to this board-most are products of drugs, follow-the- leader, and sometimes speak your mind, trying to open your hearts. Other times, I have met children more wiser, more articulate than many.

Forget the interpretations-it's a no win battle...I live on the other side of the mountain,; a place few have visted because of high cliffs and mystery, but I have lived in your town for almost my whole life. You have yet to visit me.

Where their is arrogance there is opportunity-where have we heard that before-why from Toyota San himself.

Traps? Levers? What are you about? Empty shell hanging on to a religion that has died a long-time ago, with those of us excercising critical thought-but hold truth and true to those that have not yet experienced God's true voice and freedom. God is me-God is you. God is not out there-No such thing. He should be in your own truth-your heart.

Why is there always something outside of us that will save us? Why can't we save ourselves from ourselves?

Lesson: Even ministers are fools...like it or not! 
Presidents can be false and can spead falsehoods so why not other men; isn't the President a man?

Religion is not dead for those that seek wisdom and comfort for their own tortured souls. It is only dead for those that have experienced all that God's kingdom can bring and now look for justice by being released to move on upon this earth searching for those that have Peace in their hearts.

Even I have Peace in my heart-though we are at war, children are dying, and again you refuse to let go of your ignorance, arrogance and teachings. I guess you'll be proud of yourseld as you walk into those mystic fires...why don't you journey and test your faith out there, away from common hangouts-go ahead...journey to area of your county were their is more hunger than you ever imagined-oh! yes, different colored skin tints wouldn't really turn you away-would it!

Let's end it here with the familiar sign: Y PEACE
Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- "Ian" <ialterman@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
Chesseburger:

Actually...you fall into the same trap that so many others do in 
interpreting this passage.  Yet it is really very simple.

The disciples ask "What will be the signs of your return?"  He then tells 
them what the signs will be - but does not infer, in any way, that the 
disciples themselves will see those signs.  Rather, he describes a future 
time when he talks about the sun darkerning, etc.

After describing the signs which will precede His return in a future time, 
he says "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all 
these things take place."

"This generation" does not imply the generation He was speaking to, but 
rather the generation that will see the signs.

Peace.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net>
To: "mb-civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 11:33 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Armageddon: The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All 
TheReally Stupid People In The Audience


> Armageddon:  The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All The Really Stupid
> People In The Audience
>
>
>
>
> Before I present this, I would briefly like to state that in the last few
> weeks here at least about one-third of all posts have absolutely nothing 
> in
> them (I access this list from The Internet) but "Attachments" this or 
> that,
> and I am not going to start opening "Attachments".  If people could 
> somehow
> figure out how to put up posts here that actually have information in 
> them,
> or at least a website that shows where the information is they wish to
> convey, other than just "Attachment Scrubbed", that sure would be nice. 
> Of
> course, this conversation has been here before, and apparently people 
> still
> cannot figure out how to send a simple post in any form other than as an
> "Attachment".  Such is life.  I skip over all those posts.  The least 
> people
> could do, if they are interested, is after they send a post here, go on to
> the Internet and access this List from there, and at the very least, see
> what form your post arrived.  Most of you probably have no idea that your
> posts are winding up as "Attachments" and nothing else.  I thought I would
> just remind you.  Gee, personal Cheeseburger gripe night apparently...  It
> would also be nice if there was some way that the Posts here actually had 
> A
> Title, other than "Here is an article from such and such a newspaper", 
> which
> would allow at least people who access this list from The Internet the
> availability to view A Title, and then choose to either open it or not 
> open
> it, depending upon their desire or the fact of whether they have already
> read that article at another location or not, thus saving them a TON of 
> time
> in wasted repetitiveness.  The end.
>
>
> Now on to Jesus Christ and some of his fibs.....
>
> Personally I liked Jesus.  He was a cool guy.  He had the best smoke in 
> all
> of the Middle East and he could just blow on a mosquito bite and it would 
> be
> cured.  An all around good person.  Too bad he didn't take my advice and
> start a revolution though and instead let them hang him on a tree.  Those
> Essenes, heh, they always were really big on practical jokes.  (For the
> really really ignorant, look them up on Google gaga or somewhere).
>
> The particular "fib" I would like to examine here coming out of Jesus' 
> mouth
> way back when, is the one in the book of "Mark" in the New Testament.  I'm
> sure it's in some other books, but this particular passage will suffice 
> for
> the moment.  It starts in Mark chapter 13 and rambles on a while.  I'll 
> just
> put up verse 24 to 27 and verse 30 from that chapter though for our 
> purposes
> and make it brief.  This is Jesus himself talking:
>
> "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and
> the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from 
> heaven,
> and the powers in the heavens wil be shaken.  And then they will see the 
> Son
> of man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  And then he will send
> out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of
> the earth to the ends of heaven."
>
> Then in verse 30 he states:
>
> "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these
> things take place."
>
>
> Ok, now, face it, either Jesus was severely challenged as to his 
> perspective
> of Time itself and how long "One Generation" of people is, or he just flat
> out lied.
>
> Regardless, every Generation before and after he said those words has used
> "The Armageddon Is Just About Upon Us Now" to frighten and control every
> thing, place and person that exists on this planet Earth.  And they're 
> still
> doing it to this very day, except this time they're making millions and
> billions of dollars from doing it, and duping millions and billions of
> people while cashing in on their fear, faith, and expectations.  (It's a
> wonderful thing to have something called Faith.  It's a desecration to 
> have
> Faith in a bunch of Lies, whether one believes and lives by "Ignorance Is
> Bliss" or not.)
>
>
> The *only* loophole in all that above is that "maybe" Armageddon actually
> happened "before that generation" Jesus was speaking to "passed away", and
> what we now perceive here as our "Reality" is nothing short of something
> like either "Purgatory" or "Hell" itself.
>
> Although I doubt, somewhat, the validity of that last sentence being our
> Ultimate Reality at this current time, who knows, stranger things have
> happened.
>
> It would be very funny if we were just living in a Zoetrope after all, and
> viewing it all from the outside, while living it all from the inside, and
> not having a miserable clue about any of it.
>
> Oh well, none of it is "funny".  Just thought I'd pass the words of Jesus
> himself describing how "Armageddon" was to take place before even the 
> people
> he was talking to at the time passed away.
>
> More trivia from The Cheeseburger Vaults.
>
> Have a nice day.    :|
>
>
>
>
> Cheeseburger
>
> .
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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  Mon May 16 23:19:58 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Mon May 16 23:24:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Armageddon: The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All The
	Really Stupid People In The Audience
Message-ID: <000901c55aa8$8a5d40e0$1025b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Armageddon: The Great Lie Of Jesus Christ -- For All The Really Stupid
People In The Audience




Cheeseburger clicks off his computer.  He got lost.  He smiles and wonders
if he's really a billion-dollar-fingers guitarist or just some guy with a
baseball cap that makes wooden bowls and lives with cats.  Either way, he
figures, he will never be lacking for a personal manager when he hits LA.
:)  It's like he's turned into one of those little old ladies in those old
movies who call the police up and has them rush over just because she wants
someone to talk to.  Cheeseburger strums his guitar softly.  There is a hush
upon the lands.  He wonders if it is just another temptation to climb to the
top of the mountain again and command all to kneel.  To what end, he
wonders.  For what purpose.  Armageddon.  Such a subject.  The end of the
world, with someone named Jesus coming at the head of fiery angels from
heaven to kill everyone but the true believers etc etc etc...  Are there
signs..?  Aren't there signs..?  Don't try to get elected, cuz if you do,
you know you'll have to cut your hair...  And there's a signpost up ahead,
the twilight zone...  Oh well, anyway, about Armageddon, other than it's
forever-been-used use as a social, religious, political, etc weapon of mass
delusion, someone will have to show me hebrew/aramaic/etc? interpretations
or something they base the statement that Jesus meant "the generation of the
time of the arrival of Armageddon" rather than "the generation he was
speaking to at the time he said it, meaning Armageddon will come during
their time), as I can't just take your word for it with nothing for my own
eyes in "the bible" to substantiate it on that level.  On the other hand, if
it IS how he meant it, oh well, nevermind, hehe...  However, I still don't
get it why he let them nail him to a cross instead of starting a revolution
and overthrowing the tyrants like the Americans did to the British in 17
hundred whatever.  I think it was a mistake...  And then further on it says
he was in the garden of itreallygetstome or whatever, and he started bawling
asking "Father, if it be thy will, take this cup from me...", meaning "Hey,
yo, Pop, if I don't have to let them nail me to a tree, swoop down with a
might pillar of fire or something and save me and turn my oppressors into
pillars of salt or something like you did to Lot's wife...", even though he
himself continuously reminded his apostles that it was his destiny to
therein drink and to stay out of his way on the entire matter.  I know
that's been explained, in some circles, as "the human side" of Jesus (as he
was born of both human and God), but it just kind of pisses me off.  He was
obviously set up by the Essenes or someone.  True, he might HAVE been the
actual "true son of God", but for the oddest reasons, I can't really see
"The Son Of God" crying in a Garden somewhere asking God his Father to come
down and strike down the Philistines or someone upon him and then he
wouldn't have to be nailed to a cross and die, even though that was at the
core message of many of his sermons and teachings that he came specifically
for that purpose as the sacrifice for the entirety of humanity.  To me it
just, sometimes, sounds like the Essenes weren't too pleased with the
Pharisees and Sadducees and Etccees, and brainwashed Jesus into believing he
WAS the "son of God", and at the very end, he actually found himself praying
for God his Father to come down and deliver him from the very plight he came
for, to teach, be ridiculed etc, and hung on a cross, for various reasons.

And then I wake up, and I don't care either way.

I forget to even speculate about the time of "Armageddon", only that there
continue to be those who will exploit the full force of its power of terror
and hold on faithful to the extremes and beyond of any imagination ever
invented almost.

I don't really know where we are.  It might be like that old old episode of
The Twilight Zone when it was in black and white on television, that we are
all just little ragdoll puppets thrown into some Salvation Army 50 gallon
can to be sold to those passing by making contributions, living in the
bottom of the can an actual Separate Reality, doing our best to figure out
who we are, how we got here in the bottom of the can, how we can get out,
and what is over the edge.  The way that story ended was that they all got
on top of each other's shoulders finally at the bottom of the can, and one
finally climbed to the top of the edge, he was so astounded by what he saw,
that they all fell back in the bottom of the can, and lay there, like the
ragdolls they were.  And the people on the outside of the can just kept
smiling and passing as the lady rang the bell.

The machinery made by Man ongoing at this moment is rather obviously
purposely steering the world toward an engineered Armageddon, at great
expense to The World, and at great profit to these certain "Men".  That is
one actual undeniable Truth I have observed.

And, again, that and a nickel will get you the greased up pig behind the
whorehouse in Guadalajara.

All the words, in all the languages, all get in the way.

There are such simplicities it seems sometimes.  Such wonderful
alternatives...  to words.

The last words my mother spoke before she "passed on" were, again, "Make the
world a better place to live".

Any words beyond that, from anyone about anything, in any language, seem
obsolete by comparison of both motive and outcome, individually, locally,
and universally.

Sometimes I'm glad I only have a high school education.  Not for the fact of
my many ignorances, shortcomings, misperceptions, personal "evils", whatever
etc etc etc, but for the fact that if there are too many words coming from
any and all directions, there are such Simplicities that they break down to,
regardless of any and all perspectives.

Make the world a better place to live.  Now to do that oneself, and to
entice? people globally to also do that, is certainly a tricky feat,
especially since certain "Men" continously run around usurping any thrones
of purity hanging around Earth making Armageddon as quickly and as often as
they can.  It's like sex to them, only it pays better.

Help those who need help.

Take all the rest of the words and throw them in the garbage.

They're basically useless against such Simplicities, and they're also part
of the reason we're in all these fixes to begin with.

There are no words.

If there IS a true God of goodness, healing, etc etc etc, may he redeem us
from this Madness and Death.

If there is NOT, then that just leaves me and you.


And I don't know about you, but I'm walking on sunshine.......







Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 17 03:41:13 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 17 03:46:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9667635.1116326473778.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Democrats, GOP End Talks on Filibusters
 
 By Shailagh Murray and Dan Balz
 
  Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) announced yesterday that he and Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) had broken off negotiations aimed at averting a showdown over President Bush's judicial nominees, moving the Senate to the brink of a constitutional confrontation and a battle that holds peril for both political parties and the White House.
 
 Reid, emerging from an afternoon meeting with Frist, declared that the two leaders had reached an impasse after weeks of talks. "Negotiations are over," he said. "It'll have to be decided on the Senate floor."
 
 Frist did not speak with reporters but issued a statement. "Republicans believe in the regular order of fair up and down votes and letting the Senate decide yes or no on judicial confirmations free from procedural gimmicks like the filibuster," he said, "and I hope Senator Reid and others know our door is always open to reasonable proposals for fair up or down votes for judicial nominees."
 
 There is still a chance that a confrontation can be avoided, if a bipartisan group of senators finds support for a compromise. The group, led by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), had deferred to Frist and Reid. But now it plans to intensify discussions in hopes of attracting half a dozen colleagues from each party to agree to a deal that would block any change in the Senate rules while allowing for filibusters only in extraordinary circumstances. The White House has been encouraging key Republican senators to support a change in the rules.
 
 The confrontation has been brewing for weeks and could begin tomorrow, when Frist puts forward two judicial nominees, Janice Rogers Brown of California and Priscilla Owen of Texas. Democrats have vowed to filibuster both to prevent their confirmation.
 
 At some point this week or next, Frist is expected to seek a change in Senate rules that would bar the use of the filibuster for judicial nominations. That change has been dubbed the "nuclear option," because of its potential to disrupt the Senate and shatter what little comity remains between Republicans and Democrats .
 
 It usually takes 60 votes to shut off debate in the Senate, but the change contemplated by the Republicans would allow a simple majority to stop a filibuster on judicial nominations. Republicans say Democrats have abused the filibuster to block judges who enjoy majority support; Democrats argue that changing the rules represents a drastic curtailment of the rights of the minority in the Senate.
 
 Speaking with reporters yesterday afternoon, Reid said Frist wanted "all or nothing" in negotiations. He said the Senate GOP leader wanted guaranteed votes on all of Bush's pending judicial nominees without promising to shelve the nuclear option. Democrats are determined to preserve the filibuster in case they want to use it to thwart Supreme Court nominees.
 
 As talks broke down, Democrats were cautiously optimistic that they might beat the rule change outright by attracting at least six Republicans to vote against it. Three Republicans have signaled they will vote against the rule change: McCain, Lincoln D. Chafee (R.I.) and Olympia J. Snowe (Maine).
 
 Many Democrats think Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will join Snowe in voting against a change in the rules, but she has not stated her position. Other Republicans the Democrats see as possible allies include Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (Pa.), Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (Va.) and Chuck Hagel (Neb.).
 
 Republicans express confidence that they will have the votes when they need them. But a senior White House official said over the weekend that vote counts have been inconsistent and that neither side will know the status of things until there is a vote.
 
 The Democrats' challenge is to win over one or two rock-ribbed Republicans, as opposed to GOP moderates who more regularly cross party lines on big votes. One of the Democrats' best hopes appears to be Warner, the veteran conservative.
 
 Warner remained officially undecided yesterday. "Senator Warner has not indicated which way he will vote on the nuclear or constitutional option," said his spokesman, John Ullyot. "He is a traditionalist, and recognizes the historical importance of the filibuster to the Senate, but also feels that it has been misused in recent years with respect to judicial nominations."
 
 On Sunday, another senior Republican senator, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard G. Lugar (Ind.), said he opposes getting rid of the filibuster but stopped short of saying he would vote with the Democrats. Democrats said yesterday they doubt he will side with them, but they still think Specter might.
 
 Twice yesterday, Reid openly appealed to Republican senators to join Democrats to defeat any effort to bar filibusters on judicial nominations -- once at an outdoor rally with labor leaders and a second time on the Senate floor. "I am confident and hopeful that there will be six Republican senators who will be profiles in courage," he said.
 
 Nelson said he and others are prepared to find a compromise in the absence of a deal between Frist and Reid. The group, which also includes Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), has been discussing a deal in which a handful of Republicans would agree not to vote to bar filibusters on judicial nominations and Democrats would agree to avoid filibusters except in the most extraordinary cases. In no case would Republicans change the rules during the current 109th Congress.
 
 As part of the compromise, the group would propose that two of the four most controversial nominees be guaranteed up-or-down votes on the Senate floor, as well as votes on several nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. That would leave possible filibusters against the other two nominees.
 
 But Nelson said there is no consensus on which two of the four should be put on a fast track to a vote. "That's been one of the most difficult parts of the negotiation -- trying to get agreement as to which should be on the fast track and those who should not be," he said.
 
 Pryor said he and others are motivated to find a compromise "to demonstrate to the American people that we can work together." He added: "I think people all over the country are sick and tired of the bickering."
 
 But he said he senses that Republicans are under great pressure not to compromise and said it will take more intensive talks to get an agreement. "At the moment, we're not there yet," he said.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 17 03:42:58 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 17 03:48:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24519393.1116326578628.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Two Fronts in the War on Poverty
 
 By Michael A. Fletcher
 
  BALTIMORE -- Jacquelyn D. Cornish keeps several postcards on her desk at the Druid Heights Community Development Corp., which has marshaled millions in government money in a decades-long effort to renovate houses and rebuild a proud community ravaged by drug addiction, crime and poverty. The cards are from agents looking to buy homes, a small but promising sign that the organization's work is making a difference in this tough corner of west Baltimore.
 
 Just a mile away at Sacred Zion Full Gospel Baptist Church, federal money is spent on, as President Bush might say, changing hearts. Here, the drug-addicted and the HIV-infected come in for quiet counseling sessions in a corner of the fluorescent-lighted sanctuary, or to let counselors know they have established some shred of normalcy in their chaotic lives by reconnecting with family, finding an apartment or joining a church.
 
 Both Sacred Zion and the Druid Heights corporation are engaged in the type of "social entrepreneurship" encouraged by Bush, who says both faith-based and secular groups play a vital role in the difficult task of bringing relief to the distressed and impoverished. But the president's budget proposals say something else when it comes to the nation's fight against poverty.
 
 Bush has pushed for increased funding for religion-based groups while proposing deep cuts for many traditional anti-poverty programs. The result is that many small church- and community-based social service programs are slowly assuming the lead role in the war on poverty once held by long-established community development organizations. Administration officials say that faith-based groups are often less expensive and more effective in helping the needy, a contention that traditional service providers challenge.
 
 "By any account, the administration's initiative has made it easier for a broader range of faith-based programs to apply for federal funds, and we appreciate that," said Douglas Rice, director of housing and community development policy for Catholic Charities USA, whose local affiliates have benefited from the shift. "But if you don't substantially increase the resources that are available, this is going to increase the competition for available funds."
 
 Bush's 2006 budget proposed slashing public housing subsidies, food stamps, energy assistance, community development, social services and community services block grants -- programs that for decades have constituted the federal anti-poverty fight. While congressional budget makers have promised to restore some of the funding, they also have agreed to the president's tax cuts and overall spending targets, meaning there will be stiff competition for a shrinking pot of money.
 
 At the same time, Bush's budget proposal for next year contemplates adding $385 million in new religion-based programs to this year's eventual total. The federal government awarded more than $2 billion in such grants in 2004 -- nearly double the amount awarded in 2003. Funding under the president's faith- and community-based initiative has gone up despite Congress's refusal to enact legislation that would allow faith-based groups to discriminate by religion when hiring staff, something Bush says should be allowed as long as they offer their services to people of all faiths and do not use federal money to proselytize.
 
 "That doesn't make any sense, to tell a faith-based provider that they cannot practice the religion that inspires them in the work of compassion," said Bush, a Methodist who credits his religious faith for helping him stop drinking and handle the demands of his job. "There's all kinds of ways to quit drinking," he added in remarks to a March conference of faith-based social service providers, "but one of the most effective ways to quit drinking is for a person to make a choice to go to a place that changes your heart."
 
 Here in Baltimore, a city notable for its unpretentious charm but also its deep social problems, the federal shift away from traditional community development programs has generated widespread uncertainty. While the anti-poverty groups are confronted with an uncertain future, church-based organizations that often provide similar services but often have less experience are flourishing.
 
 "It is almost as if we're being replaced," said Cornish, who started out with the Druid Heights organization as a volunteer when it was formed 31 years ago. She became director in 1989. "Potential cuts or talk of it wakes up everyone. It takes you off course. And it leaves you wondering, 'Why?' "
 
 It certainly is not because Druid Heights does not need the help. In another era, the community was home to Baltimore's black elite. Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court justice, grew up nearby, as did Clarence M. Mitchell Jr., the legendary NAACP lobbyist, and his brother, Parren J. Mitchell, the first African American elected to Congress from Maryland. But the neighborhood has fallen on hard times. Along some of its narrow "alley streets," drug users line up to buy their hits as if heroin and cocaine were legal. Some liquor stores open at 6 a.m., and the addicted queue up there, too.
 
 At the beginning of the month, haphazard piles of furniture dot the curbs, evidence of an eviction rate that is 50 percent higher than the citywide average, even though the median housing price -- which included many shells and vacant lots -- was $21,000 in 2004, according to a city-run database.
 
 Amid the problems, there are flickering signs of hope, many of which are being fanned by the community development corporation. The organization runs a transition program for newly released inmates, financial literacy programs for first-time home buyers, an after-school homework program, a program to foster understanding between black residents and Korean merchants, and even a Boy Scout troop. It also rents some of its space to a day-care center.
 
 But its stock in trade is using government money to leverage other financing to renovate buildings for low- and moderate-income housing. Recently, the corporation bought an entire block of run-down alley homes, demolished them and built more than 50 townhouses with garages. They sold for $37,000 to $57,000, although the construction cost more than double that. "It is a short-term loss, but a long-term investment," Cornish said.
 
 For years, those kinds of projects were not enough to hold back the tide of decline. But with housing prices spiraling across the region and crime slowly headed down in Druid Heights, there are signs of interest in the community. Recently, a two-family home in the neighborhood sold for $212,000 -- a once unheard-of sum.
 
 Just as things are looking up, the federal money that is the lifeblood of the development corporation's work is in jeopardy. This year, $278,000 -- close to half of its already shrinking budget -- came from the imperiled community block grant program. Bush administration officials have said they targeted for cuts programs deemed ineffective. With Republicans controlling Congress and the White House, it also does not help that in many urban areas, community development corporations such as Druid Heights are identified with Democratic politics. Cornish is a former member of the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee. But she said her political affiliation is irrelevant to her work.
 
 All she knows is that without federal money, the corporation would have to lay off some of its 10 staff members and stop much of its work. "You tell me," she said, "what is their measuring stick for effectiveness?"
 
 Not far from Druid Heights, in a woebegone commercial strip, Sacred Zion does what it can to defeat some of the demons set loose by the city's enormous drug problem. An estimated 40,000 Baltimoreans -- nearly one in 15 residents -- are drug addicts, and the Rev. Bertha Greene has seen the fallout firsthand. Her son, Phillip L. Solomon, who was gay and a heroin addict, found out he was HIV-positive in 1989. He died in 2000 at age 40, but not before he had become a minister and Greene started her church, carving out a niche working with those with HIV or at high risk of getting the disease.
 
 "I got to know some of my son's friends, and I became a person they could call on," Greene said. "They helped me realize that there are some great needs going unaddressed by the body of Christ." That insight led Greene to start Project ARISE -- Abstinence, Remembering, Instilling Pride, Self-worth and Education -- in 1999.
 
 The program has received a big boost with the expansion of federal religion-based funding. This year, its budget includes a $249,000 federal grant, up from $105,000 last year. Outreach workers scour the streets to tell drug users about the project's HIV testing program and its counseling services that connect addicts with transitional housing, needle exchange and other resources. The program also teaches clients about safe sex, which leaves Greene conflicted because it requires her to sanction behavior she preaches against from the pulpit.
 
 "Being a faith-based organization, it was an awkward place for us to be. We believe in abstinence," she said, explaining that the program has to meet clients "where they are."
 
 Still, religious faith comes into play at Project ARISE. Staff members do not hesitate to pray for clients who request it. "I will say to my clients if they are feeling despair, 'God loves you, God made you special,' " said Edna Reynolds, the program's director.
 
 Reynolds said she is hard pressed to say just how effective the program is. "I don't often get to see their success," she said of the clients. "But I feel we have to be here for them. When they leave here, I have to feel that we planted a seed with them."
 
 The clients, who are saddled with AIDS, drug addiction, and their accompanying guilt and shame, describe the program as a godsend. Wanda A. Floyd, 38, fell victim to heroin in her early twenties. Her smooth, dark skin and straight, white teeth are still striking, despite the years of drug abuse and a decade of living with HIV.
 
 She first stumbled into Sacred Zion with her husband more than a year ago in search of food. Since then, her husband has been murdered, leaving her alone to cope with the sad reality of her life: four children, HIV, no job and no friends outside the drug world. Now, she is looking to Sacred Zion for a residential drug treatment program.
 
 "I only come here when I really, really need the assistance," she said. "They've been there for me spiritually. They are always telling me God loves me."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 17 03:44:13 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 17 03:49:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11628844.1116326653238.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 In Real Life, a Power We Shouldn't Have
 
 By Richard Cohen
 
  BOSTON -- At one point last Friday at least nine Connecticut state troopers blocked the road leading to what amounted to a state-assisted suicide. The victim, if he could be called that, was Michael Bruce Ross, a serial killer, guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt of raping and murdering eight young women and girls. He is what is known as a "volunteer." He had chosen to be executed.
 
 The state complied. And somehow, maybe because Connecticut Yankees never lose their touch or maybe because executions are like riding a bike -- you never forget how -- the state easily picked up where it had long ago left off. Ross was the first person to be executed there in 45 years. New Hampshire, the only other New England state with the death penalty, has not had an execution since 1939.
 
 I do not mourn Ross, who went to his death adorned with several psychiatric diagnoses (malignant narcissist, sexual sadist, etc.) but was, in plain truth, a beast who needed to be caged or "put down." I would have preferred the former, not -- mind you -- out of any concern for Ross but for all "the others" who might follow, one or two of them undoubtedly innocent.
 
 Because Ross was a murderer and a rapist whose crimes were gruesome, a word must be said about his victims and their families. The horror of what was done to them has to be acknowledged. Most of us belong to the community of parents. It is both insufficient and trite to say we feel their pain. We know enough to know we can never feel their pain.
 
 But "closure," the shoe that supposedly drops when a killer is executed, is a chimera. It is the glib creation of TV shrinks, and it gussies up the word "revenge." Revenge, though, is real and something we can all understand. It may not be pretty, but it is basic, initially immensely satisfying (at least in the movies) -- and if that is what you want out of capital punishment, then I cannot tell you otherwise. I can only tell you that its compensations are fleeting. When revenge has been exacted, when closure is supposedly upon us, memory still will not fade and the hole in one's life will not be filled. The past is immutable. The present will not change it.
 
 Whatever the case, no execution is a private act. Every time the state executes someone, it threatens the rest of us. The power to take life is too awesome to be given to government. It's not just that it has been abused throughout history, it's also that governments are incompetent at it. After all, the same government that assured us that Iraq bristled with weapons of mass destruction also guarantees that there is nary a slip between the cup and the lip when it comes to executions. Lately DNA testing has given the lie to that. Mistakes are still being made. Sorry.
 
 On television, which is where most Americans spend their lives, mistakes rarely happen. On the crime shows, some doll wearing latex gloves finds a microscopic speck and sends it to a lab that looks like Martha Stewart's kitchen. Then a technician wearing an Armani T-shirt puts it into a high-tech Vegematic and gets the results back right after the commercial break. In real life, though, consider the case of Christa Worthington. She was murdered on Cape Cod in 2002. Her alleged killer was recently arrested based on DNA evidence. It took the cops two years to collect the sample. It took the state more than a year to analyze it.
 
 Or consider Virginia. Gov. Mark Warner, a prudent man, has ordered an audit of 150 cases in which DNA was a factor in conviction. He did this after the state's crime lab -- one of the best in the nation -- apparently botched the results in a case that led to a murder conviction. That's not TV. That's life.
 
 It would be wrong to say mistakes happen frequently. It would be just as wrong to say they never happen. They happen because lab technicians are sometimes distracted, sometimes rushing to take an early lunch and sometimes just plain inept. They happen, in other words, because human beings are central to the process and we are, I am here to tell you, a bit shy of perfect.
 
 Good riddance to Michael Bruce Ross. He killed and he was killed in return -- a facile symmetry that seems both satisfying and self-contained but merely continues the tragedy. Ross killed innocent people. Sooner or later, we will discover, so have we.
 
 cohenr@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 17 03:46:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 17 03:52:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27522549.1116326800364.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Empire Strikes Bush
 
 By Dan Froomkin
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 17 03:48:01 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 17 03:53:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10156677.1116326881164.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Once Again
 
 By Paul F. Diehl
 
  Just over a year ago, on the 10th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced a five-point plan with only one concrete element: the appointment of a special adviser on the prevention of genocide. That adviser, he said, would serve as an "early warning mechanism" and would recommend "actions" to prevent genocide.
 
 But just as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin once asked how many divisions the pope had, today's dictators in places such as Sudan must be asking themselves: How many divisions does Kofi Annan have?
 
 The answer, of course, is none. Thus it is unlikely that any dictator is quaking in his boots at the mention of the special adviser's name, or that anyone even knows his name. (It's Juan Mendez, and he's an Argentine human rights activist.) These facts point to the failure of the international community -- whether in the guise of the U.N., NATO or the African Union -- to come up with a credible deterrent to leaders contemplating or engaging in acts of mass murder.
 
 Increasingly, advocates of humanitarian intervention are discussing not only the need for political will to take such action, but the need to have a way to act. Without effective mechanisms, any number of resolutions will be rendered meaningless. And the absence of practical means also makes it harder to marshal the political will.
 
 "The problem with most discussions of political will is that we spend more time lamenting its absence than organizing its presence," Mark Schneider, senior vice president of the International Crisis Group, said last year. Political will needs to be linked to "having an institutional focal point for prevention," he said, and that "focal point" should be able to deploy force.  Advocates of humanitarian intervention can afford to focus on logistics because they have made progress on the politics of intervention. The 1994 Rwandan genocide was chilling because it reminded many people of the Holocaust -- the international community stood by as the slaughter occurred. In the aftermath of Rwanda, much of the reluctance Americans had felt about humanitarian intervention since the U.S. debacle a year earlier in Somalia, where 18 U.S. soldiers were killed, has dissipated. A consensus has emerged that the world has a moral obligation to halt genocide; a 2003 survey found that a clear majority of Americans (and more than two-thirds under some scenarios) favored hmanitarian intervention to stop genocide.
 
 Translating that sentiment into action is another matter. It's been 15 months since a top U.N. official called Sudan "the killing fields of our generation" and labeled the situation in Darfur "ethnic cleansing." It's been 10 months since the U.S. Congress passed a resolution branding Darfur a genocide. Yet by the time the African Union increases the number of its troops in Darfur to 12,300 next spring, nearly three years will have passed since violence broke out. For now, only 2,372 troops are monitoring an area bigger than California.
 
 In his recent book, Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian lieutenant general who commanded the U.N. peacekeeping contingent in Rwanda at the time of the massacres, recalls that "while most nations seemed to agree that something had to be done, every nation seemed to have a reason why some other nation should do it. So there we sat, waiting for a promise to be kept, reduced to the role of accountants keeping track of how many were being killed."
 
 Even equipping his tiny force was difficult. Dallaire describes how various African countries willing to contribute troops lacked any logistical capacity, while Britain offered early Cold War vintage trucks and the Pentagon supplied armored personnel carriers stripped of guns, radios, spare parts and training manuals.
 
 Proposals for a standing international force have been around for a long time. The U.N. Charter itself includes provisions for military forces provided by member states, but these arrangements have not been adequate.
 
 In the revised edition of his 1995 book "An Agenda for Peace," then-U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali suggested the creation of a "rapid reaction force," comprised of battalion-size units stationed in their own countries but with common training, procedures and equipment, along with integrated communication. Shortly thereafter, the Netherlands government, whose peacekeeping troops failed to prevent the Serb massacre of 7,000 Muslim men and boys in the small town of Srebrenica, proposed a U.N. Rapid Deployment Brigade that would be a small all-volunteer force.
 
 These forces -- which could carry out an array of different duties -- would speed the U.N.'s response time and allow the organization to get rid of the ad hoc way in which it pulls together peacekeeping operations.
 
 An ambitious proposal in 2005 by the Working Group for a United Nations Emergency Peace Service envisioned a permanent U.N. force of volunteers stationed at designated sites and ready to act in an emergency. Made up of 10,000 to 15,000 personnel, the force would include not only soldiers but police, judges and relief experts. Unlike forces that require approval by its member nations, a U.N. Emergency Peace Service could be deployed by the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Secretary General or regional organizations.
 
 The financial costs of such forces (approximately $1 billion per year after start-up costs) are modest relative to the military expenditures of most major nations. Still, the United States and several other countries have consistently opposed any autonomous U.N. capacity for military action. Alternatives do exist. Canada and several other states have created a multinational brigade for rapid deployment, but each participating state retains, on a case-by-case basis, the right to refuse to go.
 
 An alternative to a U.N. standing force would be for regional security organizations to take on the task of humanitarian intervention. Yet this is hardly an encouraging prospect. Most regional organizations lack the finances, professional military expertise and mandate to carry out actions to prevent genocide. The African Union force sent to the Sudan, for example, is of token size, ill-equipped and too poorly deployed to have any effect on events in Darfur.
 
 The only exception may be the European Union, which has a newly functional Rapid Reaction Force of about 60,000 soldiers. Still, this is not a standing army and EU member states can restrict the deployment of their own soldiers. Furthermore, it is not clear to what extent European states would be willing to deploy such a force "out of area." The recent international parallel is France's military intervention in the Ivory Coast. France acted only after its own nationals were killed, and it acted alone; no other nation had any direct interest there.
 
 Ideally, an international force to stop genocide would intervene prior to the large-scale outbreak of killing, rather than later. This presumes some type of "early warning" system. Yet states committing genocide have great incentives to conceal their deeds, which sometimes are apparent only years later when mass graves are unearthed.
 
 One of the functions of Annan's special adviser is to provide early warning of genocide to the Security Council or Secretary General. Non-governmental organizations, such as International Alert, also play that role. But in the case of Rwanda, Dallaire sent many early warnings to the United Nations without result.
 
 In some ways, the international community has made little progress since Japan's invasion of Manchuria in the 1930s. The League of Nations sent a fact-finding mission to investigate alleged atrocities, but by the time the mission arrived six months later, Japanese control over the area was a fait accompli. In a strikingly similar fashion, the United Nations sent a commission of inquiry to Darfur well after the onset of violence there. The final report, released in January, concluded that genocide had not occurred even though a variety of international crimes had. Would that have been enough to trigger intervention by a standing international force?
 
 International legal authority for action is also ambiguous. Although there is now consensus that nations have a moral obligation to stop genocide, international law isn't so clear. The 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, despite its name, is largely concerned with defining genocide and creating rules for prosecuting perpetrators rather than preventing or stopping genocide before or as it occurs. Article 8 grants states the right to appeal to the U.N. for help, but it gives states no right to take military steps outside the U.N. framework unless it is in self-defense.
 
 It is still not widely accepted that states can intervene in the domestic affairs of other states, even though international courts and other bodies may hold those responsible for any crimes in the aftermath. The United Nations can act when "international peace and security" are threatened, and this could provide a legal basis for action in cases of genocide. But the U.N. has been reluctant to exercise that prerogative, notably failing to bless NATO efforts to protect ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. And when it comes to Sudan, both China and Russia have opposed military intervention because of the precedents it might set for their conflicts in Tibet and Chechnya, respectively. Even neighboring African states have opposed military intervention in Sudan.
 
 Even if a multinational force existed, the U.N. or some other body would have to authorize action. And action comes with risks that no nation was willing to take in Rwanda or Srebrenica. Dallaire believes that a modest number of troops could have stopped the Rwanda killings. "Would we have risked more U.N. casualties?" he asks in his memoir. "Yes, but surely soldiers and peacekeeping nations should be prepared to pay the price of safeguarding human life and human rights."
 
 Given all the obstacles, talk of an international humanitarian intervention force may be nothing more than an academic exercise. But for the people destined to be the victims of the next genocide, the question of how to assure intervention is anything but academic.
 
 Author's e-mail:  pdiehl@uiuc.edu
 
 Paul F. Diehl is Henning Larsen Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois and director of the Correlates of War project, which collects data on international conflicts.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 17 04:00:04 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 17 04:05:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11662073.1116327604704.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 UK Lawmaker to Testify in Oil-For-Food Probe
 
  LONDON -- Maverick British lawmaker George Galloway began his journey to the United States on Monday to testify over allegations that he received millions of barrels of Iraqi oil for backing Saddam Hussein's regime.
 
 Galloway vigorously denies the claims made by a U.S. Senate committee.
 
 "The truth is I have never bought or sold a drop of oil from Iraq, or sold or bought a drop of oil from anybody," he told the British Broadcasting Corp. before boarding his flight at Heathrow Airport. "If I had I would be a very rich man and the person who made me rich would already be in the public domain."
 
 Galloway won election to Parliament earlier this month on an anti-Iraq war platform, representing the east London seat of Bethnal Green and Bow on behalf of his own Respect party.
 
 Galloway, who represented a district in Scotland before the election, was kicked out of Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party after urging British soldiers not to fight in Iraq.
 
 He is famed for telling Saddam during a 1994 visit to Iraq: "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability." Galloway later said he had been referring to the Iraqi people, not their leader.
 
 Galloway has vowed to clear his name at a Senate hearing on Tuesday on Saddam's use of oil vouchers to reward supporters. The vouchers allowed the bearer to buy Iraqi oil at cut-rate prices and could be sold for a profit. Saddam also demanded kickbacks from the oil transactions.
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 05:20:25 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 17 04:30:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Getting Into Iraq,
	and Getting Out (5 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050517112437.3DDA8388064@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 17, 2005

Getting Into Iraq, and Getting Out (5 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/opinion/l17iraq.html?ex=1116993600&en=d72f043c5e0eaedc&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 05:20:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 17 04:30:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Left,
	the Right and the Bible (3 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050517112437.649091C27D@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 17, 2005

The Left, the Right and the Bible (3 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/opinion/l17kristof.html?ex=1116993600&en=70def64b115da593&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 05:19:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 17 04:30:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 'No Nukes,' No More
Message-ID: <20050517112436.C3B9B3880D7@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 17, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: 'No Nukes,' No More
By JOHN TIERNEY

The great taboo against nuclear power seems to be over in Washington. This is a mixed blessing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/opinion/17tierny.html?ex=1116993600&en=72b61e6c3aedfeee&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 05:20:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 17 04:30:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The 50-Year Shadow
Message-ID: <20050517112436.DFAA21C22E@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 17, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: The 50-Year Shadow
By JOSEPH ROTBLAT

Two generations after the cold war, we confront the possibilities of nuclear terrorism and of the development of yet more new nuclear warheads in the United States.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/opinion/17Rotblat.html?ex=1116993600&en=1929528db09c443d&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 05:21:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 17 04:30:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Senate Democrats Fault U.S. in Iraq Oil
	Scandal
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WASHINGTON | May 17, 2005

Senate Democrats Fault U.S. in Iraq Oil Scandal
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

A report indicates that American imports of Iraqi oil helped finance about 52 percent of clandestine deals carried out illegally under the United Nations oil-for-food program.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/politics/17food.html?ex=1116993600&en=e72aa02b870d3c8d&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 05:22:53 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 17 04:30:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Uzbeks Say Troops Shot Recklessly at
	Civilians
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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 17, 2005

Uzbeks Say Troops Shot Recklessly at Civilians
By C. J. CHIVERS and ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD

In interviews at the Suzak regional hospital in Kyrgyzstan, survivors with gunshot wounds excoriated the government of President Islam A. Karimov.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/international/asia/17uzbek.html?ex=1116993600&en=5d45c01fe3ac9a2d&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 05:18:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 17 04:30:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraq Government Calls for an End to Mosque
	Raids
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 17, 2005

Iraq Government Calls for an End to Mosque Raids
By JOHN F. BURNS

The order by the Shiite majority government was calculated to ease tensions with Iraq's dispossessed Sunni Arab minority.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/international/middleeast/17iraq.html?ex=1116993600&en=2d0541ab32f56a33&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 05:22:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 17 04:31:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: French Senator Rebuts Report by U.S. Panel
	in Oil Inquiry
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INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 17, 2005

French Senator Rebuts Report by U.S. Panel in Oil Inquiry
By CRAIG S. SMITH

Charles Pasqua accused investigators of an attempt to link France's political decisions to reports of bribes paid by Saddam Hussein.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/international/europe/17pasqua.html?ex=1116993600&en=1b61cdb0a3bd4146&ei=5070



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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 17 06:32:47 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 17 06:38:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: US 'backed illegal Iraqi oil deals'
Message-ID: <20050517133247.E37291BCF@herring.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

52% of Oil Kickbacks involved US Companies!!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

US 'backed illegal Iraqi oil deals'
Report claims blind eye was turned to sanctions busting by American firms
Julian Borger and Jamie Wilson in Washington
Tuesday May 17 2005
The Guardian


The United States administration turned a blind eye to extensive sanctions-busting in the prewar sale of Iraqi oil, according to a new Senate investigation. 

A report released last night by Democratic staff on a Senate investigations committee presents documentary evidence that the Bush administration was made aware of illegal oil sales and kickbacks paid to the Saddam Hussein regime but did nothing to stop them.  

The scale of the shipments involved dwarfs those previously alleged by the Senate committee against UN staff and European politicians like the British MP, George Galloway, and the former French minister, Charles Pasqua.  

In fact, the Senate report found that US oil purchases accounted for 52% of the kickbacks paid to the regime in return for sales of cheap oil - more than the rest of the world put together.  

"The United States was not only aware of Iraqi oil sales which violated UN sanctions and provided the bulk of the illicit money Saddam Hussein obtained from circumventing UN sanctions," the report said. "On occasion, the United States actually facilitated the illicit oil sales.  

The report is likely to ease pressure from conservative Republicans on Kofi Annan to resign from his post as UN secretary general.  

The new findings are also likely to be raised when Mr Galloway appears before the Senate subcommittee on investigations today.  

The Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow arrived yesterday in Washington demanding an apology from the Senate for what he called the "schoolboy dossier" passed off as an investigation against him.  

"It was full of holes, full of falsehoods and full of value judgments that are apparently only shared here in Washington," he said at Washington Dulles airport.  

He told Reuters: "I have no expectation of justice ... I come not as the accused but as the accuser. I am [going] to show just how absurd this report is."  

Mr Galloway has denied allegations that he profited from Iraqi oil sales and will come face to face with the committee in what promises to be one of the most highly charged pieces of political theatre seen in Washington for some time.  

Yesterday's report makes two principal allegations against the Bush administration. Firstly, it found the US treasury failed to take action against a Texas oil company, Bayoil, which facilitated payment of "at least $37m in illegal surcharges to the Hussein regime".  

The surcharges were a violation of the UN Oil For Food programme, by which Iraq was allowed to sell heavily discounted oil to raise money for food and humanitarian supplies. However, Saddam was allowed to choose which companies were given the highly lucrative oil contracts. Between September 2000 and September 2002 (when the practice was stopped) the regime demanded kickbacks of 10 to 30 US cents a barrel in return for oil allocations.  

In its second main finding, the report said the US military and the state department gave a tacit green light for shipments of nearly 8m barrels of oil bought by Jordan, a vital American ally, entirely outside the UN-monitored Oil For Food system. Jordan was permitted to buy some oil directly under strict conditions but these purchases appeared to be under the counter.  

The report details a series of efforts by UN monitors to obtain information about Bayoil's oil shipments in 2001 and 2002, and the lack of help provided by the US treasury.  

After repeated requests over eight months from the UN and the US state department, the treasury's office of foreign as sets control wrote to Bayoil in May 2002, requesting a report on its transactions but did not "request specific information by UN or direct Bayoil to answer the UN's questions".  

Bayoil's owner, David Chalmers, has been charged over the company's activities. His lawyer Catherine Recker told the Washington Post: "Bayoil and David Chalmers &#91;said&#93; they have done nothing illegal and will vigorously defend these reckless accusations."  

The Jordanian oil purchases were shipped in the weeks before the war, out of the Iraqi port of Khor al-Amaya, which was operating without UN approval or surveillance.  

Investigators found correspondence showing that Odin Marine Inc, the US company chartering the seven huge tankers which picked up the oil at Khor al-Amaya, repeatedly sought and received approval from US military and civilian officials that the ships would not be confiscated by US Navy vessels in the Maritime Interdiction Force (MIF) enforcing the embargo.  

Odin was reassured by a state department official that the US "was aware of the shipments and has determined not to take action".  

The company's vice president, David Young, told investigators that a US naval officer at MIF told him that he "had no objections" to the shipments. "He said that he was sorry he could not say anything more. I told him I completely understood and did not expect him to say anything more," Mr Young said.  

An executive at Odin Maritime confirmed the senate account of the oil shipments as "correct" but declined to comment further.  

It was not clear last night whether the Democratic report would be accepted by Republicans on the Senate investigations committee.  

The Pentagon declined to comment. The US representative's office at the UN referred inquiries to the state department, which fail to return calls. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon May 16 21:57:33 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 17 09:30:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Uzbekistan: Latest example of amazing US hypocisy
Message-ID: <200505171630.j4HGUFea021693@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

The Bush Administration is warm and fuzzy with the ruthless leader of 
Uzbekistan, renowned for human rights abuses and no shred of democracy, 
for torture and repression, but our important "partner in the war on terror." 
The latest news from there puts the hypocrisy front and center....
--mha atma


http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1484251,00.html

The Observer Sunday May 15, 2005

Anger as US backs brutal regime

Human rights concerns as troops put down uprising in Uzbekistan

By Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow and Paul Harris in New York

Heated criticism was growing last night over 'double standards' by
Washington over human rights, democracy and 'freedom' as fresh evidence
emerged of just how brutally Uzbekistan, a US ally in the 'war on terror',
put down Friday's unrest in the east of the country.

Outrage among human rights groups followed claims by the White House
on Friday that appeared designed to justify the violence of the regime of
President Islam Karimov, claiming - as Karimov has - that 'terrorist
groups' may have been involved in the uprising.

Critics said the US was prepared to support pro-democracy unrest in some
states, but condemn it in others where such policies were inconvenient.

Witnesses and analysts familiar with the region said most protesters were
complaining about government corruption and poverty, not espousing Islamic
extremism.

The US comments were seized on by Karimov, who said yesterday that the
protests were organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic group often accused
by Tashkent of seditious extremism. Yet Washington, which has expressed
concern over the group's often hardline message, has yet to designate it a
terrorist group.

Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, tried to deflect accusations
of the contradictory stance when he said it was clear the 'people of
Uzbekistan want to see a more representative and democratic government.
But that should come through peaceful means, not through violence.'

Washington has often been accused of being involved in a conspiracy of
silence over Uzbekistan's human rights record since that country was
declared an ally in the 'war on terror' in 2001.

Uzbekistan is believed to be one of the destination countries for the
highly secretive 'renditions programme', whereby the CIA ships terrorist
suspects to third-party countries where torture is used that cannot be
employed in the US. Newspaper reports in America say dozens of suspects
have been transferred to Uzbek jails.

The CIA has never officially commented on the programme. But flight logs
obtained by the New York Times earlier this month show CIA-linked planes
landing in Tashkent with the same serial numbers as jets used to transfer
prisoners around the world. The logs show at least seven flights from 2002
to late 2003, originating from destinations in the Middle East and Europe.

Other countries used in the programme include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan,
Syria and Morocco. A handful of prisoners' accounts - including that of
Canadian Maher Arar - that emerged after release show they were tortured
and abused in custody.

Critics say the US double standards are evident on the State Department
website, which accuses Uzbek police and security services of using
'torture as a routine investigation technique' while giving the same law
enforcement services $79 million in aid in 2002. The department says
officers who receive training are vetted to ensure they have not tortured
anyone.

The aid paradox was highlighted by the former British Ambassador to
Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, who criticised coalition support for Uzbekistan
when they were planning invading Iraq, using similar abuses as
justification.

Murray said yesterday: 'The US will claim that they are teaching the
Uzbeks less repressive interrogation techniques, but that is basically not
true. They help fund the budget of the Uzbek security services and give
tens of millions of dollars in military support. It is a sweetener in the
agreement over which they get their air base.'

Murray said that during a series of suicide bombings in Tashkent in March
2004, before he was sacked as UK ambassador, he was shown transcripts of
telephone intercepts in which known al-Qaeda representatives were asking
each other 'what the hell was going on. But then Colin Powell came out and
said that al-Qaeda were behind the blasts. I don't think the US even
believe their own propaganda.'

The support continues, seen by many as a 'pay-off' for the Khanabad base.
The US Embassy website says Uzbekistan got $10m for 'security and law
enforcement support' in 2004.

Last year Human Rights Watch released a 319-page report detailing the use
of torture by Uzbekistan's security services. It said the government was
carrying out a campaign of torture and intimidation against Muslims that
had seen 7,000 people imprisoned, and documented at least 10 deaths,
including Muzafar Avozov, who was boiled to death in 2002.

'Torture is rampant,' the reported concluded. Human Rights Watch called
for the US and its allies to condemn Uzbekistan's tactics.




-- 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon May 16 21:58:39 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 17 09:31:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] All Fall Down
Message-ID: <200505171631.j4HGVAfG021703@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

All Fall Down
By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman

If you are wondering why Americans are losing the wars on cancer, heart
disease and diabetes, you might look at the funding sources of the major
public health groups.

Big corporations dump big money into these groups.

And pretty soon, the groups start taking the line of the big corporations.

Case in point: the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Earlier this month, the ADA cut a deal with candy and soda pop maker
Cadbury Schweppes.

Here's the deal -- Cadbury Schweppes kicks in a couple million dollars to
the ADA.

In return, the company gets to use the ADA label on its diet drinks --
plus the positive publicity generated by the deal.

Cadbury makes Dr. Pepper and such nutritious treats as Cadbury's Cream
Egg.

You would have to have your head buried deeply in the sand to deny that
sugar-filled soda is fueling childhood obesity -- which in turn in is
fueling type 2 diabetes.

Just this week, the Journal of Pediatrics published a study placing a good
part of the blame for childhood diabetes on soda pop and sugared drinks.

The study found that an average can of soda contains 165 calories and that
the typical teen consumes approximately two 12-ounce cans of soft drinks
per day -- that's 20 teaspoons of sugar.

Anyone who knows teenagers knows that this is true -- they drink a ton of
soda.

The Cadbury/ADA deal came under immediate fire from Gary Ruskin at the
Portland, Oregon-based Commercial Alert.

Ruskin wants the ADA to return what he considers to be a "corrupt
contribution" back to Cadbury Schweppes.

"Maybe the American Diabetes Association should rename itself the
American Junk Food Association," Ruskin said. "What will it do for an
encore? Start selling candy bars for M&M/Mars?"

"If Cadbury Schweppes really wanted to reduce the incidence of obesity and
diabetes, it would stop advertising its high-sugar products, and remove
them from our nation's schools. This is just another attempt by a major
junk food corporation to obfuscate its responsibility in the epidemic of
obesity and diabetes in the United States."

We called Richard Kahn, the ADA's chief medical and scientific officer to
ask about this.

It was a long conversation, and Kahn warned us a number of times not to
take his comments "out of context" or he would never speak with us again.
(The entire transcript of the interview is posted at
www.corporatecrimereporter.com. You be the judge.)

But on the whole, Kahn sounded like an industry apologist, rather than a
public health official.

Kahn says the type 2 diabetes problem in the United States is being
driven by obesity.

And weight is simply a function of the calories in and calories out.

It doesn't matter whether the calories are sugar, or protein or
carbohydrates.

We asked Kahn whether he thought it was appropriate to do as some states
have done and impose a tax on soda.

Kahn said he didn't think it was fair to single out soda. Why not tax
donuts? Or candy? Or just tax overweight people?

Kahn said that there was no evidence that sugar or sugared sodas were
driving the obesity problem. (The interview was conducted just before the
Journal of Pediatrics released its findings, but according to the Center
for Science in the Public Interest, several previous studies have linked
drinking sodas to weight gain. Duh.)

We asked Kahn whether he thought it was appropriate to restrict access to
junk food.

He said that restricting access to junk food wouldn't work.

We asked him why then the ADA was supporting legislation introduced by
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) that would restrict access to
junk food via vending machines to school children.

"Because there is little to be lost and potentially some to be gained by
limiting the foods sold in vending machines," Kahn said.

And what is to be lost by taxing soda?

He defended taking money from Cadbury -- he had to be reminded that it was
a candy company -- saying that Cadbury was only allowed to use the ADA
label on its diet drinks. And that the money would be used for educational
programs to encourage people to exercise more.

And it's not just Cadbury Schweppes.

The ADA takes big money from a wide range of drug and food companies.

The food companies include Cadbury, Kraft Foods, J.M. Smucker Company,
General Mills, Inc., and H.J. Heinz Company.

Of course, the ADA is not alone.

A doctor friend of ours, Dr. Matt Hahn, who runs a community health
center in Hancock, Maryland, recently received a carton of 100 samples of
Kellogg's Smart Start cereal.

The carton was accompanied by a letter from Michael McBurney, who was
identified as senior director of nutrition and regulatory affairs.

But since his name and signature were placed directly over the name
"American Heart Association" -- Dr. Hahn thought that McBurney was with
the Heart Association.

McBurney is actually with Kellogg's.

The thing that surprised Dr. Hahn was that Kellogg's or the Heart
Association expected him to give out the cereal, which contains trans
fats, to his patients.

Dr. Hahn told us he wouldn't, since his patients can get cereals without
trans fats.

The American Heart Association says that it agrees with Dr. Hahn that
people should limit their intake of trans fats.

But it said that it certified Kellogg's Smart Start because it meets the
AHA guidelines, including containing less than three grams of fat per
serving.

"When it comes to Kellogg's Smart Start cereal, the nutritional label
states that it contains zero grams of trans fat, which means that it
contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat," said AHA's Carrie Thacker.

Wow -- zero is the same as less than .5.

(Thacker says that Kellogg's gives no money to the AHA, although we
later learned from the Center for Science in the Public Interest that the
AHA charges companies $7,500 per certified product, and $4,500 per year
thereafter -- plus certain other fees. And like the ADA, the AHA gets big
money donations from a long list of drug and food companies.)

And then of course is the American Cancer Society.

Don't get us started, except to say that we agree with Dr. Samuel
Epstein when he points out that the Cancer Society has for years
misguidedly taken millions from big corporations.

The problem is that contributors have an interest in diverting attention
away from environmental causes of cancer and focusing attention on
pharmaceutical and other treatments.

As Dr. Epstein puts it:

"There's a fixation on damage control -- screening, diagnosis and
treatment -- with indifference to prevention -- which is compounded by
longstanding conflicts of interest with a wide range of industries,
coupled with a systematic discrediting of evidence of avoidable causes of
cancer."

Same for diabetes.

Same for heart disease.

All fall down.


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/2005/000204.html>

_______________________________________________

Focus on the Corporation is a weekly column written by Russell Mokhiber
and Robert Weissman. Please feel free to forward the column to friends or
repost the column on other lists. If you would like to post the column on
a web site or publish it in print format, we ask that you first contact us
(russell@nationalpress.com or rob@essential.org).

Focus on the Corporation is distributed to individuals on the listserve
corp-focus@lists.essential.org. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your
address to corp-focus, go to:
<http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/corp-focus> or send an e-mail
message to corp-focus-admin@lists.essential.org with your request.

Focus on the Corporation columns are posted at
<http://www.corporatepredators.org>.

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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 17 09:26:46 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 17 09:32:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Europe / Yukos - Court signals guilty verdict
	on Khodorkovsky
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 17 09:27:40 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 17 09:33:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Currencies - Fears for dollar as central banks
	sell US assets
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 17 09:33:56 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 17 09:39:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Analysis - US's Latin lessons 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 17 09:34:50 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 17 10:07:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment - Jews could live in a Palestinian
	state 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May 17 12:37:17 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 17 12:42:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Amazon tribe faces 'annihilation'
Message-ID: <20050517_193717_038901.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Amazon tribe faces 'annihilation' **
Loggers clearing Brazil's rainforests could wipe out one of the world's most isolated tribes, campaigners warn.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4554221.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Tue May 17 12:45:33 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Tue May 17 12:51:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Amazon tribe faces 'annihilation'
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV17EFD71157AE8ED6C63CB9AB160@phx.gbl>

This is enough to make me want to take up arms myself and go there to help defend these people.... 

Have you ever seen the documentaries about them? They live simple off the land and have no place to go. Those that have left have turned up in villages as paupers dressed in clothing found and wondering the streets, it is sickening. They do not know how to live in OUR society. They should be left alone to continue living in the forest where they know how to feed, house and wear what they create and have some sense of dignity.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Hecate
Sent: Tue, 17 May 2005 12:37:17 -0700
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Amazon tribe faces 'annihilation'

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



** Amazon tribe faces 'annihilation' **
Loggers clearing Brazil's rainforests could wipe out one of the world's most isolated tribes, campaigners warn.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4554221.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May 17 12:54:39 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 17 13:17:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Ape hunters pick up new viruses
Message-ID: <20050517_195439_020703.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Ape hunters pick up new viruses **
Two viruses from the same family as HIV are found in central Africans who hunt nonhuman primates.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4551085.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May 17 13:17:42 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 17 13:46:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US diverts flight in terror alert
Message-ID: <20050517_201742_042478.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** US diverts flight in terror alert **
An Italian flight is diverted as US officials want to check a passenger after an Air France jet was rerouted last week.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4556667.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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< http://www.bbc.co.uk/dailyemail/ >


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From bryan.peterson at LW.com  Tue May 17 10:01:38 2005
From: bryan.peterson at LW.com (bryan.peterson@LW.com)
Date: Tue May 17 14:46:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Alternet: Secret Way to War
Message-ID: <200505172146.j4HLkKrh000796@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


This story has been forwarded to you from
http://www.alternet.org by bryan.peterson@LW.com

Excellent article that sums up the whole sorry mess, in my view.

-------------------------------------
Secret Way to War
http://www.alternet.org/story/22009

The 'smoking gun' memo makes it crystal clear that George Bush was hell-bent on attacking Iraq at least eight months before the invasion.
-------------------------------------

From Rhaerther at aol.com  Tue May 17 14:48:11 2005
From: Rhaerther at aol.com (Rhaerther@aol.com)
Date: Tue May 17 14:53:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Lone protester still takes a stand for Terri Schiavo
Message-ID: <129.5d33f8a6.2fbbc09b@aol.com>

Lone protester still takes a stand for Terri Schiavo
 
Many politicians and religious reich leaders took advantage of the media  
controversy, but once the spotlight was gone, took their donations and brownie  
points home and left their "cause" behind (While  leaving Hospice, Pinellas 
County School Board, and the City of  Pinellas Park with huge bills for security, 
clean-up, and transporting children  to another school).  Where are the 
glamour boys now?  Where is Terry  Randall collapsing in prayer on the sidewalk?  
Jeb Bush, what no more  statements?  And Rev. Jackson, where have you gone?  
You were  in Pinellas County last week regarding the child who was handcuffed, 
did  you bother to reaffirm your commitment to Terri's parents?
 
While I completely disagree with the politics and trampling of  rights that 
occurred and disagree with this woman I truly admire and  respect her for 
having the courage to continue to protest when the stars have  all gone home.
 
_http://www.sptimes.com/2005/05/17/Tampabay/Lone_protester_still_.shtml_ 
(http://www.sptimes.com/2005/05/17/Tampabay/Lone_protester_still_.shtml) 
 
Richard Haerther
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From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Tue May 17 15:00:17 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Tue May 17 15:06:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Galloway tesimony - ouch!
Message-ID: <20050517220017.93921.qmail@web53008.mail.yahoo.com>

"Senator, I am not now, nor have I ever been, an
oil trader. and neither has anyone on my behalf.
I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one,
bought one, sold one - and neither has anyone on
my behalf.

"Now I know that standards have slipped in the
last few years in Washington, but for a lawyer
you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of
justice. I am here today but last week you
already found me guilty. You traduced my name
around the world without ever having asked me a
single question, without ever having contacted
me, without ever written to me or telephoned me,
without any attempt to contact me whatsoever. And
you call that justice.

I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your
claims did not have weapons of mass destruction.

I told the world, contrary to your claims, that
Iraq had no connection to al-Qaeda.

I told the world, contrary to your claims, that
Iraq had no connection to the atrocity on 9/11
2001.

I told the world, contrary to your claims, that
the Iraqi people would resist a British and
American invasion of their country and that the
fall of Baghdad would not be the beginning of the
end, but merely the end of the beginning.

Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I
turned out to be right and you turned out to be
wrong and 100,000 people paid with their lives;
1600 of them American soldiers sent to their
deaths on a pack of lies; 15,000 of them wounded,
many of them disabled forever on a pack of lies.

"Now I want to deal with the pages that relate to
me in this dossier and I want to point out areas
where there are - let's be charitable and say
errors. Then I want to put this in the context
where I believe it ought to be. On the very first
page of your document about me you assert that I
have had 'many meetings' with Saddam Hussein.
This is false.

"I have had two meetings with Saddam Hussein,
once in 1994 and once in August of 2002. By no
stretch of the English language can that be
described as "many meetings" with Saddam Hussein.

"As a matter of fact, I have met Saddam Hussein
exactly the same number of times as Donald
Rumsfeld met him. The difference is Donald
Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him
maps the better to target those guns. I met him
to try and bring about an end to sanctions,
suffering and war, and on the second of the two
occasions, I met him to try and persuade him to
let Dr Hans Blix and the United Nations weapons
inspectors back into the country - a rather
better use of two meetings with Saddam Hussein
than your own Secretary of State for Defense made
of his.

"I was an opponent of Saddam Hussein when British
and Americans governments and businessmen were
selling him guns and gas. I used to demonstrate
outside the Iraqi embassy when British and
American officials were going in and doing
commerce.

"You will see from the official parliamentary
record, Hansard, from the 15th March 1990
onwards, voluminous evidence that I have a rather
better record of opposition to Saddam Hussein
than you do and than any other member of the
British or American governments do.

"Now you say in this document, you quote a
source, you have the gall to quote a source,
without ever having asked me whether the
allegation from the source is true, that I am
'the owner of a company which has made
substantial profits from trading in Iraqi oil'.

"Senator, I do not own any companies, beyond a
small company whose entire purpose, whose sole
purpose, is to receive the income from my
journalistic earnings from my employer,
Associated Newspapers, in London. I do not own a
company that's been trading in Iraqi oil. And you
have no business to carry a quotation, utterly
unsubstantiated and false, implying otherwise.

"Now you have nothing on me, Senator, except my
name on lists of names from Iraq, many of which
have been drawn up after the installation of your
puppet government in Baghdad. If you had any of
the letters against me that you had against
Zhirinovsky, and even Pasqua, they would have
been up there in your slideshow for the members
of your committee today.

"You have my name on lists provided to you by the
Duelfer inquiry, provided to him by the convicted
bank robber, and fraudster and conman Ahmed
Chalabi who many people to their credit in your
country now realize played a decisive role in
leading your country into the disaster in Iraq.

"There were 270 names on that list originally.
That's somehow been filleted down to the names
you chose to deal with in this committee. Some of
the names on that committee included the former
secretary to his Holiness Pope John Paul II, the
former head of the African National Congress
Presidential office and many others who had one
defining characteristic in common: they all stood
against the policy of sanctions and war which you
vociferously prosecuted and which has led us to
this disaster.

"You quote Mr Dahar Yassein Ramadan. Well, you
have something on me, I've never met Mr Dahar
Yassein Ramadan. Your sub-committee apparently
has. But I do know that he's your prisoner, I
believe he's in Abu Ghraib prison. I believe he
is facing war crimes charges, punishable by
death. In these circumstances, knowing what the
world knows about how you treat prisoners in Abu
Ghraib prison, in Bagram Airbase, in Guantanamo
Bay, including I may say, British citizens being
held in those places.

"I'm not sure how much credibility anyone would
put on anything you manage to get from a prisoner
in those circumstances. But you quote 13 words
from Dahar Yassein Ramadan whom I have never met.
If he said what he said, then he is wrong.

 "And if you had any evidence that I had ever
engaged in any actual oil transaction, if you had
any evidence that anybody ever gave me any money,
it would be before the public and before this
committee today because I agreed with your Mr
Greenblatt [Mark Greenblatt, legal counsel on the
committee].

"Your Mr Greenblatt was absolutely correct. What
counts is not the names on the paper, what counts
is where's the money. Senator? Who paid me
hundreds of thousands of dollars of money? The
answer to that is nobody. And if you had anybody
who ever paid me a penny, you would have produced
them today.

"Now you refer at length to a company names in
these documents as Aredio Petroleum. I say to you
under oath here today: I have never heard of this
company, I have never met anyone from this
company. This company has never paid a penny to
me and I'll tell you something else: I can assure
you that Aredio Petroleum has never paid a single
penny to the Mariam Appeal Campaign. Not a thin
dime. I don't know who Aredio Petroleum are, but
I daresay if you were to ask them they would
confirm that they have never met me or ever paid
me a penny.

"Whilst I'm on that subject, who is this senior
former regime official that you spoke to
yesterday? Don't you think I have a right to
know? Don't you think the Committee and the
public have a right to know who this senior
former regime official you were quoting against
me interviewed yesterday actually is?

"Now, one of the most serious of the mistakes you
have made in this set of documents is, to be
frank, such a schoolboy howler as to make a fool
of the efforts that you have made. You assert on
page 19, not once but twice, that the documents
that you are referring to cover a different
period in time from the documents covered by The
Daily Telegraph which were a subject of a libel
action won by me in the High Court in England
late last year.

"You state that The Daily Telegraph article cited
documents from 1992 and 1993 whilst you are
dealing with documents dating from 2001. Senator,
The Daily Telegraph's documents date identically
to the documents that you were dealing with in
your report here. None of The Daily Telegraph's
documents dealt with a period of 1992, 1993. I
had never set foot in Iraq until late in 1993 -
never in my life. There could possibly be no
documents relating to Oil-for-Food matters in
1992, 1993, for the Oil-for-Food scheme did not
exist at that time.

"And yet you've allocated a full section of this
document to claiming that your documents are from
a different era to the Daily Telegraph documents
when the opposite is true. Your documents and the
Daily Telegraph documents deal with exactly the
same period.

"But perhaps you were confusing the Daily
Telegraph action with the Christian Science
Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor did indeed
publish on its front pages a set of allegations
against me very similar to the ones that your
committee have made. They did indeed rely on
documents which started in 1992, 1993. These
documents were unmasked by the Christian Science
Monitor themselves as forgeries.

"Now, the neo-con websites and newspapers in
which you're such a hero, senator, were all
absolutely cock-a-hoop at the publication of the
Christian Science Monitor documents, they were
all absolutely convinced of their authenticity.
They were all absolutely convinced that these
documents showed me receiving $10 million from
the Saddam regime. And they were all lies.

"In the same week as the Daily Telegraph
published their documents against me, the
Christian Science Monitor published theirs which
turned out to be forgeries and the British
newspaper, Mail on Sunday, purchased a third set
of documents which also upon forensic examination
turned out to be forgeries. So there's nothing
fanciful about this. Nothing at all fanciful
about it.

"The existence of forged documents implicating me
in commercial activities with the Iraqi regime is
a proven fact. It's a proven fact that these
forged documents existed and were being
circulated amongst right-wing newspapers in
Baghdad and around the world in the immediate
aftermath of the fall of the Iraqi regime.

"Now, Senator, I gave my heart and soul to oppose
the policy that you promoted. I gave my political
life's blood to try to stop the mass killing of
Iraqis by the sanctions on Iraq which killed one
million Iraqis, most of them children, most of
them died before they even knew that they were
Iraqis, but they died for no other reason other
than that they were Iraqis with the misfortune to
born at that time. I gave my heart and soul to
stop you committing the disaster that you did
commit in invading Iraq. And I told the world
that your case for the war was a pack of lies.

"I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your
claims did not have weapons of mass destruction.
I told the world, contrary to your claims, that
Iraq had no connection to al-Qaeda. I told the
world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no
connection to the atrocity on 9/11 2001. I told
the world, contrary to your claims, that the
Iraqi people would resist a British and American
invasion of their country and that the fall of
Baghdad would not be the beginning of the end,
but merely the end of the beginning.

"Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I
turned out to be right and you turned out to be
wrong and 100,000 people paid with their lives;
1600 of them American soldiers sent to their
deaths on a pack of lies; 15,000 of them wounded,
many of them disabled forever on a pack of lies.

If the world had listened to Kofi Annan, whose
dismissal you demanded, if the world had listened
to President Chirac who you want to paint as some
kind of corrupt traitor, if the world had
listened to me and the anti-war movement in
Britain, we would not be in the disaster that we
are in today. Senator, this is the mother of all
smokescreens. You are trying to divert attention
from the crimes that you supported, from the
theft of billions of dollars of Iraq's wealth.

"Have a look at the real Oil-for-Food scandal.
Have a look at the 14 months you were in charge
of Baghdad, the first 14 months when $8.8 billion
of Iraq's wealth went missing on your watch. Have
a look at Halliburton and other American
corporations that stole not only Iraq's money,
but the money of the American taxpayer.

"Have a look at the oil that you didn't even
meter, that you were shipping out of the country
and selling, the proceeds of which went who knows
where? Have a look at the $800 million you gave
to American military commanders to hand out
around the country without even counting it or
weighing it.

"Have a look at the real scandal breaking in the
newspapers today, revealed in the earlier
testimony in this committee. That the biggest
sanctions busters were not me or Russian
politicians or French politicians. The real
sanctions busters were your own companies with
the connivance of your own Government."
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 17 15:58:03 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 17 16:03:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Selective Outrage
Message-ID: <22671319.1116370683258.JavaMail.turbine@s80>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Selective Outrage 
--------------------


May 17 2005

According to chaos theory, the flapping of a single butterfly's wings can trigger a hurricane halfway across the globe, a phenomenon known as the "butterfly effect." Now the Bush administration thinks it has detected something that might be called the "Newsweek effect." It says the magazine's publication of an item in its May 9 issue, alleging that U.S. guards flushed the Koran down a toilet in order to humiliate prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, was a cause of riots in Afghanistan and Pakistan last week that left at least 14 people dead. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-newsweek17may17,0,6304448.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 17 15:59:14 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 17 16:04:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] U.S. Is Its Own Worst Enemy in Iraq
Message-ID: <7604796.1116370754419.JavaMail.turbine@s80>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
U.S. Is Its Own Worst Enemy in Iraq 
--------------------

Robert Scheer

May 17 2005

So far this month, more than 450 Iraqis and dozens of U.S. troops have been killed by an Iraqi insurgency that, even after two years, shows signs of intensifying. Yet the Bush administration, which originally expected U.S. troops to be greeted as liberators and then promised that elections would fatally undermine the rebel cause, remains clueless as to the composition of this virulent enemy. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-scheer17may17,0,525496.column 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Tue May 17 17:12:24 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Tue May 17 17:18:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - UZBEK VICTIMS SHOT IN BACK OF HEAD: OPPOSITION
Message-ID: <20050518001224.15E921B679@nmweb06.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
UZBEK VICTIMS SHOT IN BACK OF HEAD: OPPOSITION
WebPosted Tue May 17 08:40:37 2005

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan---The death toll from weekend violence in Uzbekistan
is 745 and rising, an opposition leader in the former Soviet republic
said Tuesday.

Nigara Khidoyatova also said many of those reportedly killed by troops
during anti-government protests were shot in the back of the head,
possibly as they tried to flee.

Khidoyatova's Free Peasants party came up with the list of casualties
after hearing from relatives of those killed, she said.

A total of 542 people died in the city of Andijan, where the violence
began with a mass jail break early Friday morning, and another 203 were
killed in the town of Pakhtabad, a short distance away, said Khidoyatova.

The human rights group Appeal had earlier estimated that about 700 Uzbeks
died in the violence, and another 2,000 were injured.

 FROM MAY 16, 2005: Uzbek protest toll now 700: rights group

Prosecutor-General Rashid Kadyrov disputed those numbers Tuesday, saying
he can confirm the deaths of 169 people, 32 of whom were government
troops and the rest of whom were extremists.

"Only terrorists were liquidated by government forces," he insisted at a
news conference as President Islam Karimov stood nearby.

Two days earlier, Uzbekistan's authoritarian government had said only
about a dozen people were killed, calling the casualties "Muslim
extremists."

The United States considers the president of Uzbekistan an ally, so its
reaction to the alleged massacre was carefully worded.

The State Department deplored the prison break that kicked off the riots
in Andijan, saying some extremists who have been linked to terrorism were
released in the confusion, and criticized demonstrators for using weapons
in their protest.

However, the statement also said the department was "deeply disturbed" by
reports that troops had fired on the protesters.

In another development Tuesday, a small demonstration took place in front
of the U.S. Embassy in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

The protesters called on Uzbek authorities to provide people with the
truth about what is happening in Andijan.

The city has been sealed off since the violence began.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Tue May 17 17:13:39 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Tue May 17 17:19:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - U.S. WARNS CHINA ON CURRENCY 
Message-ID: <20050518001339.6667D1B679@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. WARNS CHINA ON CURRENCY 
WebPosted Tue May 17 14:59:00 2005

Washington---The U.S. government warned China Tuesday to stop linking its
currency to the U.S. dollar or it could face economic sanctions.

The Bush administration has urged Beijing for years to stop linking the
yuan to the greenback. The White House says that linkage has increasingly
hurt U.S. manufacturers by putting them at a huge disadvantage.

In its semi-annual report to Congress, the U.S. Treasury Department
stopped just short of accusing China of engaging in an unfair currency
practice. But it said China could face such a finding in its next report,
six months from now.

"If current trends continue without substantial alteration, China's
policies will likely meet the statute's technical requirements for
designation" of currency manipulation, the Treasury report said.

The U.S. examines the exchange rate policies of all of its trading
partners to determine if they are trying to manipulate the exchange rate
to get an unfair advantage. Violators can face sanctions.

China has pegged the yuan to the greenback for more than 10 years. U.S.
manufacturers say if the yuan had been allowed to float, it would be
worth as much as 65 per cent more.

China's refusal to increase the value of its currency over the last
decade led to China running a record $162 billion US trade surplus with
the U.S. in 2004, as Chinese imports became cheaper in the U.S. and U.S.
exports to China became more expensive.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From earth_email_list at venusproject.com  Mon May 16 12:24:50 2005
From: earth_email_list at venusproject.com (Bahram Maskanian)
Date: Tue May 17 17:27:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] American's Right to Know War News
Message-ID: <200505180027.j4I0RsVe001124@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

  Published on Sunday, May 15, 2005 by CommonDreams.org

American's Right to Know War News

An astonishing message came forth on May 12, 2005 from ABC News 
political unit's The Note. I shall quote verbatim from Mark Halperin and 
his associate editors: "We say with all the genuine apolitical and 
non-partisan human concern that we can muster that the death and carnage 
in Iraq is truly staggering. And/but we are sort of resigned to the 
Notion that it simply isn't going to break through to American news 
organizations, or, for the most part, Americans."

"Democrats are so thoroughly spooked by John Kerry's loss - and 
Republicans so inspired by their stay-the-course Commander in Chief - 
that what is hands down the biggest story every day in the world will 
get almost no coverage. No conflict at home = no coverage."

How to respond? There are several ways. First, ABC is right in saying 
there is no opposition Party on the Iraq war - as a Party. From the 
Democratic National Committee to the Democratic leadership in the House 
and Senate, the party line is "wish Bush success, support the troops to 
die and destroy in Iraq, and keep voting $80 billion or more a year for 
that illegal quagmire which is breeding more terrorists and is turning 
the world against Washington." That is not exactly the way the Democrats 
are verbalizing their position, but that is what they are doing and what 
they are thinking in private conversations, whatever the semantic gloss 
they are applying.

The Democrats are taking this prolonged dive in spite of a growing 
majority of Americans wanting out of Iraq, now believing it was a 
mistake to invade Iraq (since there are no WMDs or al-Qaeda 
connections), and even larger majorities do not think the war-occupation 
is worth the price in human casualties and taxpayer dollars needed here 
at home. Moreover, most of the retired Generals, Admirals, diplomatic 
and intelligence officials were against this war of choice from the 
beginning as being against our national security interests.

What more do the Democrats need to take a stand, to demand a responsible 
exit strategy with a timetable so as to give Iraq back to the Iraqis and 
pull the bottom out of the resistance? Well, what about massive 
corruption and waste by the Halliburtons and other corporations ripping 
off Uncle Sam and you the taxpayers. Maybe the Democratic leadership 
should pause in their incessant fundraising from corporate interests and 
read the daily documentation of this corruption and waste by their own 
Cong. Henry Waxman (D-CA) (see 
www.democrats.reform.house.gov/investigations.asp?Issue=Iraq=Reconstruction).

And what about Bush not supporting the troops - first by putting them in 
harm's way with an illegal war, then not providing them with adequate 
body armor and vehicle armor (outraging military families in their 
grief), then cutting their health benefits and other services when they 
come back home?

And what about the first President in U.S. history deliberately 
lowballing U.S. casualties so as not to further arouse public opposition 
to his war crimes. American men and women injured, sickened or severely 
mentally traumatized in Iraq, but not in actual combat, are not counted 
in the casualty toll. Tens of thousands not counted disrespecting them 
and their parents.

What else do the Democrats need to jettison their chronic cowardliness? 
Well they can sign on to Cong. House Congressional Resolution 35, urging 
Bush "to develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal 
of U.S. armed forces from Iraq. Led by Rep. Lynn Woolsey and about 30 
other Democrats, the Party can at least take this modest step.

Or they can hold Senator John W. Warner (R-VA), Senator John McCain 
(R-AZ) and Senator Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC) to their strong 
determination last year to hold anyone culpable for torture at Abu 
Ghraib and other prisons accountable, no matter how senior. Torture 
policies, lack of proper supervision from the top of the Bush regime, 
ignoring information brought to their attention by human rights groups 
have ranged from Guantanemo to Iraq to Afghanistan, repeated 
documentation demonstrates. This is a no-fault, out of control Bush 
government. Yet the Democratic Party sleeps.

Still, is ABC's excuse wholly understandable? Can't this and other 
networks do much more to investigate what has been going on and then ask 
the Democrats when they interview them about their findings? Can't the 
networks provide more coverage to the conflict represented by the 
dissenting military families, by the coalitions of labor, religious, 
civic, veterans and other groups (see Veteransforpeace.org and 
DemocracyRising.US).

These same networks certainly did not show such inhibitions when they 
went out of their way day after day to hoopla the coming invasion of 
Iraq and not question the unsupported claims for going to war by Bush, 
Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld and Powell. The networks in varying decrees were 
either cheerleaders or ditto machines.

Passing the buck can be very costly to the American people's right to 
know - in time.
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 17 18:18:49 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Tue May 17 18:24:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Cuban 'bomber' arrested in US
Message-ID: <20050518_011849_077421.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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



** Cuban 'bomber' arrested in US **
The US detains an anti-communist militant accused of bombing a Cuban airliner in 1976.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4557333.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 17 18:10:47 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 17 18:27:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Last Straw
Message-ID: <200505180127.j4I1RLkr001228@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-32.htm
Published on Monday, May 16, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
The Last Straw: The Press's Failure 
to Cover the Rycroft Memo
by John Atcheson
 
The press?s wholesale failure to cover the Rycroft memo should be the 
last straw for anyone concerned about the integrity of journalism. With 
this latest outrage, it?s time for all of us to play Howard Beall ? it?s time 
to go to our collective national window, raise it, and shout, at the top of 
our lungs, "We?re mad as hell and we?re not going to take it any more."

There?s no longer room for any debate about whether the press is 
liberal or conservative. In the end, it doesn?t matter. A media that fails 
to report the biggest story in half a century is either hopelessly 
conservative or incompetent, but either way it is irrelevant. It?s time to 
fire them.

Note to the mainstream media: it does no good to issue periodic mea 
culpas if you continue to commit the same acts of malfeasance. It 
does no good to have your public editor or your ombudsman dutifully 
record your reader?s outrage over your failure to cover the news in your 
editorial pages, if you do not respond to your reader?s legitimate 
concerns in the news sections of your newspaper.

Note to editors and publishers who are all atwitter over the latest 
circulation figures: Here?s an idea for you ? if you want to reverse the 
free-fall in circulation, try reporting the news.

Circulation aside, the press has completely failed to fulfill their 
responsibility to inform the electorate ? the basis for their First 
Amendment Rights, and a prerequisite for a functioning democracy.

There?s ample proof of this. We all know about the poll by the Program 
on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) which found that some 72% of 
Bush supporters went to their precincts and voted, believing that Iraq 
either had WMDs, or a had a major program for developing them, and 
that 75% of them believed that Iraq provided "substantial support" to al 
Qaeda, and a large majority believed that?s exactly what the 911 
Commission Report found.

The reason Bush supporters didn?t know the facts is because Messrs. 
Bush and Cheney were allowed by the he-said, she-said press to use 
verbal sleights of hand, legerdemain and innuendo to mislead voters. 
Phrases such as "WMD-related programs" and "WMD-related program 
activities" were tossed around by the administration without being 
challenged by the press, despite the fact that the 911 Commission and 
the Duefler Report flatly contradicted the administration?s claims, and 
despite the fact that both the broadcast media and newspapers had 
issued mea culpas for failing to be sufficiently skeptical about 
administration claims in the run up to Iraq.

But a lesser known PIPA poll conducted on September 29th of 2004 
showed that this was no isolated failure. Here again, Bush supporters 
didn?t know that the President held a different position from theirs on a 
wide variety of key issues that define our role in the global community.

According to the poll, 93% of Bush supporters favored environmental 
and labor standards in trade agreements, and 84% believed the 
President shared that view, although he does not. They were similarly 
misinformed about a number of other treaties the President opposes, 
including the comprehensive test ban treaty (68% supported it, and 
69% believed the President did, too); the International Criminal Court 
(75% supported it, and 66% believed the President did): the Land Mine 
Treaty (66% supported it, and 72% thought the President did); and the 
Kyoto global warming treaty (54% supported it, and 51% believed the 
President also supported it).

This is prima-facie evidence of failure on the part of the press, if not 
bias. And while it?s true that Bush supporters were more likely to get 
their information from the Fox faux-news network, it?s also true that the 
mainstream media?s spineless he-said, she-said reporting made it 
easier for Fox?s lies and misrepresentations to stick.

For three years now, the press ? with the exception of the Knight 
Ridder papers and a few others ? ignored or gave short shrift to readily 
available and credible evidence that the Bush administration lied to us 
about their reasons for going to war. Now, we have a memo which 
resolves whatever doubt there could be about the administration?s 
honesty.

Seldom, if ever, has such concrete proof of such vile perfidy been 
dumped in the laps of the press, and seldom in our history has the 
press reacted so cravenly.

The news media is unwilling to hold the President accountable, but we 
can and must hold the press accountable.

Deception is costly. What we don't know can hurt us. Iraq has broken 
the back of the all-volunteer army. It has kept us from securing the 
homeland and safeguarding lose nuclear material abroad. It has 
multiplied the number of Muslims who hate America -- the recruiting 
base for al Qaeda -- by several orders of magnitude. It has 
squandered America's prestige and credibility. It has left us helpless to 
deal with real problems like Iran and North Korea.

It?s time for a national boycott against newspapers who are content to 
ignore outrageous lies, and seem to believe an occasional mea culpa 
will make up for it. It?s time to write those who advertise and underwrite 
the likes of O?Reilly, Scarborough, Limbaugh, the Washington Times 
and the rest of the later day Pravda imitators and tell them, "It?s your 
right to advertise where you want, but as long as you underwrite lies 
and the lying liars who tell them, we?re not buying your stuff."

After all, as President Bush himself once said, "Fool me once, shame 
on you ... fool me twice ...uhhh... you can?t get fooled again."

Let?s do our part to make him right for once.

John Atcheson has written extensively on politics and policy and his 
writing has appeared in the Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The 
San Jose Mercury News, The Memphis Commercial Appeal and 
several other papers, as well as various wonk journals. He has over 30 
years experience in government and with the nation's premier think 
tanks.

###
-- 
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  Tue May 17 18:10:48 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 17 18:28:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] War against NPR and PBS--action!
Message-ID: <200505180128.j4I1SKOc001251@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

(from Common Cause)

I choose my words carefully when I tell you there's a war on, a war for 
the soul and integrity of National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public 
Broadcasting System (PBS).
At stake is our right to know the truth from sources who don't have to 
pay homage to the bottom line, and whom we've trusted for years. 
Just yesterday, we learned in the New York Times1that the board of 
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), along with its 
chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, told its staff that it should redirect 
money for NPR away from national newscasts and public affairs 
programming towards music programs. Tomlinson is also considering 
a plan to monitor Middle East coverage on NPR programs for evidence 
of bias, an issue particularly sensitive for the Administration.
Without citing any evidence, Tomlinson has decided that "Big Bird" 
leans left, despite evidence from two CPB-funded polls2 that suggest 
that an overwhelming number of Americans are happy with NPR and 
PBS programming.
http://www.commoncause.org/protectpublicbroadcasting

We are committed to fighting back and we need your help. 
Pleasesign our petition to protect NPR and PBS from partisan 
meddling and preserve what many Common Cause members consider 
to be a highly valued source of news and public affairs coverage:
http://www.commoncause.org/protectpublicbroadcasting
The CPB board of directors is meeting June 2 in Washington and we 
want to demonstrate to Chairman Tomlinson and the rest of the CPB 
Boardthat we will not allow their attacks on NPR and PBS to go 
unchallenged. We have set a goal of 100,000 signatures to present at 
the board meeting. That is more signatures than we have ever 
collected on any issue, but with your help we know we can do it. 
Soplease sign our petition today to stop Tomlinson and rest of the 
CPB Board from playing politics with public broadcasting:
http://www.commoncause.org/protectpublicbroadcasting
It's ironic that the threat to the editorial independence of public 
broadcasting is coming from the very people entrusted to protect it 
from political influence. After all, shielding public broadcasting from 
political influence is what the CPB was designed to do when it was 
created almost 40 years ago.
But over the past several months, Tomlinson and his Republican 
colleagues on the CPB have betrayed their duty to protect public 
broadcasting by:
*   Hiring Partisans. Tomlinson is pushing the CPB board to 
    replace outgoing CPB President Katherine Cox with Patricia 
    Harrison, a former co-chairwoman of the Republican National 
    Committee.3
*   Directly Seeking to Influence Programming Decisions. 
    Tomlinson hired two "ombudsmen," reportedly representing 
    conservative and liberal points of view to work for CPB, and 
    helped them hunt down "bias" in public radio and television 
    shows. The dueling-ombudsmen format is "unprecedented in 
    mainstream journalism."4
*   Working with the White House to sabotage efforts at 
    reform. Tomlinson used his relationship with Karl Rove to 
    sabotage a proposal that would have made the CPB board 
    more professional and less partisan.5
*   Targeting Journalists. Tomlinson hired a consultant to track 
    the political ideology of guests on the PBS program NOW with 
    Bill Moyers. The Moyers program was singled out without 
    informing the public, members of the CPB Board, or Mr. 
    Moyers.6

Moreover, Bill Moyers has been one of Tomlinson's major targets. 
This past Sunday he and I both spoke at the Media Reform 
Conference in St. Louis. Mr. Moyers told the crowd why this fight was 
so important to him and us. He said the following:
    [O]ne reason I'm in hot water is because my colleagues and I at 
    NOW didn't play by the conventional rules of Beltway 
    journalism.[?]
Those rules permit Washington officials to set the agenda ? leaving 
the press to simply recount what officials say instead of subjecting their 
words and deeds to critical scrutiny. Instead of acting as filters for 
readers and viewers and sifting the truth from the propaganda, 
reporters and anchors attentively transcribe both sides of spin 
invariably failing to provide context, background, or any sense of which 
claims hold up and which are misleading.7
This is the journalism Tomlinson wants to destroy at public radio and 
public television. Mr. Tomlinson has said he is willing to speak to 
Common Cause, and we will meet with him.8 But words are not 
enough. We need the pressure ofyour help, your voices, and your 
views. You represent the core audience of public broadcasting and 
we need you to send Tomlinson's CPB a very strong message: 
Hands off NPR and PBS.
http://www.commoncause.org/protectpublicbroadcasting
Thank you again for all you do for Common Cause.
Sincerely,
Chellie Pingree
President & CEO
Common Cause

-- 
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 
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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  Tue May 17 18:24:24 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Tue May 17 18:30:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Canada defection boosts coalition
Message-ID: <20050518_012424_086414.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
This is a good thing, Belinda is a smart person, ex chair of Manga. The problems at hand are in the civil service not the Liberal Party as the opposition says. 

** Canada defection boosts coalition **
A political defection boosts Canada's ruling Liberal Party just days before a crucial parliamentary vote.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4556349.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Tue May 17 18:29:19 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Tue May 17 18:35:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - CONSERVATIVE STRONACH JOINS LIBERALS
Message-ID: <20050518012919.E27E41B679@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
____________________________________________________
CONSERVATIVE STRONACH JOINS LIBERALS
WebPosted Tue May 17 10:50:21 2005

OTTAWA---Belinda Stronach, who ran for the leadership of the Conservative
party in early 2004, has crossed the floor to the Liberal party and will
sit in Paul Martin's cabinet.

The millionaire businesswoman becomes minister of human resources and
skills development, the prime minister said Tuesday morning. She will
also help the Liberals implement the recommendations in the Gomery report
on the scandal-plagued sponsorship program when it is delivered later
this year.

Stronach's defection could keep Martin's minority government in power as
it faces two key votes on its 2005 budget Thursday.

"After difficult reflection, I reached a conclusion," Stronach told
reporters in Ottawa. "I cannot exaggerate how hard this was for me, but
the political crisis affecting Canada is too risky and dangerous for
blind partisanship."

She also said Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is not sensitive to the
needs of all parts of the country, and is jeopardizing national unity by
allying himself with the Bloc Québécois.

"The country must come first," she said.

Send us your thoughts

Stronach said that someday, the Conservatives will grow and strengthen to
become a worthy challenger to the Liberals. In the meantime, she thinks
her place is with a party that is more responsive to the needs of cities,
women and young people.

She also said she is looking forward to tackling the Gomery
recommendations when they are presented.

"Only when the people of Canada have renewed confidence and faith in the
systems of government can we return to economic prosperity."

 Small-l liberal in Conservative ranks

Stronach, 39, is a small-l liberal who has not always been
comfortable within the Conservative ranks, especially on the issue of
same-sex marriage.

Last week, she said it would be unfortunate if the Liberal government
fell before the 2005 budget was passed because it contained measures on
municipal funding that were of great importance to her constituents in
the Toronto-area riding of Newmarket-Aurora.

 FROM MARCH 10, 2004: Belinda Stronach secures nomination in riding

The former president and CEO of auto parts maker Magna International Inc.
lost the Conservative leadership race to Harper in March 2004.

Stronach's father, Magna founder Frank Stronach, ran unsuccessfully for
the federal Liberals in 1988 when John Turner was leader of the party.

Stronach said she broached the matter with former Ontario premier David
Peterson, who is a family friend, after running into him and his wife at
an event in Toronto last week.

Peterson, a Liberal who led a minority government in Ontario in the
1980s before winning his first majority, spoke to her at some length
before arranging conversations with federal Liberals and eventually the
prime minister.

 'I can count,' Martin says of budget vote


The alliance with Stronach could keep Martin's minority government alive
in two key budget votes expected Thursday.

Her defection from the Conservatives gives the Liberal-NDP coalition on
the budget a total of 151 votes, not including Speaker Peter Milliken, a
Liberal MP who votes only in the case of a tie.

The Conservatives and Bloc have a total of 152 votes.

There are three Independent MPs, one of whom, Carolyn Parrish, has said
she will vote with the Liberals. The other two, Chuck Cadman and David
Kilgour, have not said which way they will vote.

"We still don't know whether the budget will pass or not, [but] I've got
to tell you, I can count," said a visibly pleased Martin, calling
Stronach a "gutsy" new part of his team.

In the June 2004 election, Stronach beat Liberal Martha Hall-Findlay in
her riding by 689 votes.

Martin said Hall-Findlay, who has already earned the Liberal nomination
for Newmarket-Aurora for the next election, has agreed to step aside in
favour of Stronach's candidacy.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Lucienne Robillard had been leading
the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development since mid-
January, when cabinet was shuffled.

Robillard will now be intergovernmental affairs minister only.

Pressed on how her decision will affect her romantic relationship with
Central Nova MP Peter MacKay, the deputy leader of the Conservatives,
Stronach called that a "personal matter" that she did not intend to
comment upon.

She also said she had the "greatest respect" for MacKay.

In an interview with CBC Newsworld, Stronach repeated that she was
uncomfortable with lining up with the Bloc to bring down the government.

When asked why she had earlier voted with her party and the Bloc on a
motion calling on the government to resign, she characterized the vote as
only "procedural."

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 17 18:56:41 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 17 19:02:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Galloway and the mother of all
	invective
Message-ID: <20050518015641.54E4E429E@mullet.gul3.gnl>

harry 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

Galloway and the mother of all invective
Oliver Burkeman on the Respect MP's Washington performance
Wednesday May 18 2005
The Guardian


Whatever else you made of him, when it came to delivering sustained barrages of political invective, you had to salute his indefatigability.

George Galloway stormed up to Capitol Hill yesterday morning for the confrontation of his career, firing scatter-shot insults at the senators who had accused him of profiting illegally from Iraqi oil sales.

They were "neo-cons" and "Zionists" and a "pro-war lynch mob", he raged, who belonged to a "lickspittle Republican committee" that was engaged in creating "the mother of all smokescreens".

Before the hearing began, the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow even had some scorn left over to bestow generously upon the pro-war writer Christopher Hitchens. "You're a drink-soaked former-Trotskyist popinjay," Mr Galloway informed him. "Your hands are shaking. You badly need another drink," he added later, ignoring Mr Hitchens's questions and staring intently ahead.

"And you're a drink-soaked..." Eventually Mr Hitchens gave up. "You're a real thug, aren't you?" he hissed, stalking away.

It was a hint of what was to come: not so much political theatre as political bloodsports - and with the senators, at least, it was Mr Galloway who emerged with the flesh between his teeth.

"I know that standards have slipped in Washington in recent years, but for a lawyer, you're remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice," he told Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican who chairs the senate investigations committee, after taking his seat at the front of the high-ceilinged hearing room, and swearing an oath to tell the truth.

"I'm here today, but last week you already found me guilty. You traduced my name around the world without ever having asked me a single question."

The culture clash between Mr Galloway's bruising style and the soporific gentility of senate proceedings could hardly have been more pronounced, and drew audible gasps and laughs of disbelief from the audience. "I met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him," Mr Galloway went on. "The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns, and to give him maps the better to target those guns."

American reporters seemed as fascinated as the British media: at one point yesterday, before it was his turn to speak, Mr Galloway strode from the room, sending journalists of all nationalities rushing after him - only to discover that he was going to the lavatory.

By condemning him in their report without interviewing him, the senators had already given Mr Galloway the upper hand. But not everything was in his favour. For a start, only two senators were present, sabotaging Mr Galloway's efforts to attack the whole lickspittle lot of them - and one of the two, the Democrat Carl Levin, had spent much of his opening statement attacking the hypocrisy of the US government in allegedly allowing American firms to benefit from Iraqi oil corruption.

Even so, Mr Galloway was in his element, playing the role he relishes the most: the little guy squaring up for a fight with the establishment.

For these purposes, Senator Coleman served symbolically to represent all the evil in the world - the entire Republican party, the conscience of George Bush, the US government and the British government, too: no wonder his weak smile looked so nauseous.

"I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq," Mr Galloway told him. "Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong."

And yet for all his anti-establishment credentials, Mr Galloway is as practised as any of his New Labour enemies at squirming away from awkward questions. Under scrutiny by Senator Levin, he deployed a classic example of the bait-and-switch technique that is the government minister's best defence in difficult questioning.

But Mr Galloway Goes To Washington had never really been an exercise in clarifying the facts. It was an exercise in giving Norm Coleman, and, by extension, the Bush administration, a black eye - mere days after the bloody nose that the Respect MP took credit for having given Tony Blair. And it went as well as Mr Galloway could have wished.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 17 18:42:22 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Tue May 17 19:03:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Tom Dispatch
Message-ID: <200505180142.j4I1gMDB030070@thor.thenation.com>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 17 18:58:55 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 17 19:04:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: 'I am not, nor have I ever been,
	an oil trader'
Message-ID: <20050518015855.6A4357571@mussel.gul3.gnl>

Harry 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

'I am not, nor have I ever been, an oil trader'
Surrounded by journalists and politics students, Respect MP turns Washington hearing into an indictment of the invasion of Iraq
Julian Borger in Washington
Wednesday May 18 2005
The Guardian


George Galloway confronted his accusers in the US senate yesterday, denying any involvement in Iraqi oil trades and using the occasion to unleash an indictment of the war with a stunning ferocity.Mr Galloway, the newly elected MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, was appearing before the senate investigations sub-committee examining sanctions-busting oil deals in Iraq before the war.In a lengthy preamble before his appearance, senate staff presented a series of documents, enlarged and printed on huge white boards, which they said were Iraqi government memoranda naming Mr Galloway as the recipient of highly lucrative allocations of cheap Iraqi oil under the UN-administered Oil For Food programme.Senator Norm Coleman, the Republican committee chairman who has taken the lead in making allegations against Mr Galloway, repeatedly insisted that the hearing was "not a court of law". But the early stages were nothing if not lawyerly, with Mr Coleman very much in the role of chief prosecutor
 .In a low businesslike voice, the senator from Minnesota read out an indictment of Mr Galloway running through the evidence against him."Senior Iraqi officials have confirmed that you, in fact, received oil allocations and that the documents that identify you as an allocation recipient are valid," Mr Coleman said. "If you can provide any evidence that challenges the veracity of these documents or the statements of former Iraqi officials, we'd welcome that input."Then it was the Respect party leader's turn and any sense of judicial propriety was instantly shattered. The courtroom became a vaudeville theatre, as the MP lampooned his interrogators, accusing them of making "schoolboy howler" mistakes.Mr Galloway insisted that he was entirely innocent."Senator, I am not now nor have I ever been an oil trader and neither has anyone on my behalf," he declared, in language that deliberately echoed that of Joe McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunt conducted half a century ago just met
 res from the chamber used for yesterday's hearing."I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one, and neither has anybody on my behalf," he said.The wide, wood-panelled room was packed with journalists and spectators. A group of politics students stood at the back. The turnout among senators was less spectacular, however. Only four appeared for the start of the hearing. By the time Mr Galloway took the microphone, there were only two left, Mr Coleman and Carl Levin, the leading Democrat on the panel.Witnesses in this august setting, a little below and surrounded by the horseshoe bench of powerful senators, are usually awed and almost always on the defensive. Mr Galloway was on the attack from the first moment.He entered the hearing room with guns blazing, telling journalists his inquisi tors were "crazed", "pro-war", "lickspittles" of the president, and predicting he would turn the tables on them. "I want to put these people on trial. This group of neo-c
 ons is involved in the mother of smokescreens," he said.That was the common theme in a feat of bare-knuckled rhetoric not often witnessed by the senators, who are accustomed to considerably more reverence for their positions.CNN called it a "blistering attack on senators rarely heard or seen on Capitol Hill".Mr Galloway deflected every charge against him and flung it back at the Bush administration and the US congress.For example, he denied the committee's claim that he had met Saddam many times, claiming there had only been two such meetings - and that the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, had met the then Iraqi president the same number of times, to sell arms, Mr Galloway said."Now, you have nothing on me, senator, except my name on lists of names from Iraq, many of which have been drawn up after the installation of your puppet government in Baghdad."The senators mostly soaked up the punches, reserving judgment until a press conference later, when Mr Coleman claimed M
 r Galloway's credibility was "very, very suspect".In the hearing, however, the senators struggled to pin Mr Galloway down with Iraqi oil sales documents with his name on them."What counts is not the names on the paper; what counts is where is the money, senator?" Mr Galloway said. "Who paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars of money?"The answer to that is nobody. And if you had anybody who ever paid me a penny, you would have produced them here today."A jubilant Mr Galloway later told an American television interviewer that it marked a victory for the "British parliamentary style" over the more sedate senate.Mr Galloway used anti-war rhetoric far more raw than most politicians are accustomed to in America, where shared patriotism normally trumps outrage.He said that 100,000 people had paid with their lives for false assumptions on Iraq, "1,600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies; 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever on a pack o
 f lies".In their cross-examination, the senators focused on Mr Galloway's relationship with Fawaz Zureikat, a Jordanian businessmen with extensive dealings in pre-war Iraq who served as chairman of and as principal contributor to Mr Galloway's charity, the Mariam Appeal. They suggested Mr Zureikat had been oil trading in his name, and the MP must have known about it.Once more, the accused sought to turn the tables on his accusers. When Mr Coleman asked how he could have failed to be aware of Mr Zureikat's oil deals, Mr Galloway turned the attention to Mr Coleman's campaign fundraising.He said: "Well, there's a lot of contributors, I've just been checking your website...""Not many at that level, Mr Galloway," the senator interjected."No, let me assure you there are," Mr Galloway went on. "I've checked your website. There are lots of contributors to your political campaign funds, I don't suppose you ask any of them how they made the money they give you."Mr Coleman stuck to his
  task. "If I can get back to Mr Zureikat one more time, do you recall a time when you specifically had a conversation with him about oil dealings in Iraq?""I've already answered that question," Mr Galloway replied. "I can assure you, Mr Zureikat never gave me a penny from an oil deal, from a cake deal, from a bread deal or from any deal."He danced around many of the questions, frequently responding, "I can do better than that" and answering a slightly different question. His biggest stumble came when he mistakenly assumed Mr Levin had backed the war.Mr Levin's investigation of the US government's own failure to police sanctions provided Mr Galloway ammunition for his counter-attack. But he made no more headway than his Republican counterpart in his cross-examination of the witness.When Mr Levin invited Mr Galloway to say whether he was alleging the documentary evidence was forged, the British MP replied: "Well, I have no way of knowing, sir.""That's fine. So you're not alleg
 ing," Mr Levin persisted."I have no way of knowing.""Is it fair to say, since you don't know, you're not alleging? ""Well, it would have been nice to have seen it before today," Mr Galloway said.The minuet of exchanges played on for another few minutes before the senators gave up frustrated.They had come equipped for a trial and found themselves in the role of stooges for a man accustomed to playing to the gallery.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 17 19:01:58 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 17 19:07:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Slaughter 'signals end of Karimov
	regime'
Message-ID: <20050518020158.172B444DB@mullet.gul3.gnl>

Harry 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

Slaughter 'signals end of Karimov regime'
Battle for minds as Tashkent denies death toll of 745, claiming troops killed only terrorists
Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow, and Jalil Saparov near Suzak, Kyrgyzstan
Wednesday May 18 2005
The Guardian


Uzbekistan's opposition unveiled a list of 745 people yesterday said to have been killed by state troops in the east of the country, and raised the prospect of unrest in the capital over the apparent massacre. 

Nigara Khidoyatova, the leader of the Free Peasants party, which forms part of a broader opposition coalition, said her party had the names of 542 people killed on Friday in Andijan. The list included 203 residents of the nearby town Pakhtabad, where there have been unsubstantiated claims of troops firing on civilians. Previous claims put the recent death toll at 500.  

She said the events in Andijan were well known in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, and "everybody felt indignation". She told the Guardian: "The beginning of the end of the [Karimov] regime has already started."  

Her claims of the death toll were denied by Uzbekistan's general prosecutor, Rashid Kadyrov, who said 169 people had been killed in Andijan, of whom 32 were troops and none was a civilian.  

"Only terrorists were liquidated by government forces," he told the Associated Press, as Uzbekistan's president, Islam Karimov, stood by his side.  

Mr Karimov attacked the condemnation of the massacre by the UK foreign secretary, Jack Straw, decrying his "false information". Journalists had been barred from the city for their own protection, he said.  

Yet Ms Khidoyatova said her colleagues had visited each of the  makhala (the tight communities making up Uzbek society) in Andijan and asked after their dead, many having "four or five names for the list". "It's still not completed," she said. "If there is no access to information - if our government is misinforming us - we are obliged to mobilise society to know what happened. The Uzbek people have the right to know the truth in the end."  

She added that many of the dead were students drawn from the big cities in the impoverished Ferghana valley to Andijan's university. She said those shot in Pakhtabad had been mainly women and children who were fleeing Andijan.   

Late on Monday, Washington gave its first public criticism of the apparent massacre in Andijan by one of its most awkward allies in the war on terror. The state department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington was "deeply disturbed" by reports of Uzbek troops firing on civilians.  

But in a joint press conference with Mr Straw in Washington last night, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said American policy on Uzbekistan had been consistent. "I think you would find that we have ... a record of going to the Karimov government and telling them in no uncertain terms it's time to open up their political system and reform."  

A protest of up to 50 people formed outside the US embassy in Tashkent yesterday. Demonstrators denounced US support for the government.  

Akhtam Shaimardanov, a member of a small opposition party, told Reuters: "We want the United States to see Uzbekistan not only as a giant military base in their war on terror, but also as a country where people want freedom and human rights."  

Uzbekistan's political opposition has limited reach after years of repression, making mass street protests similar to those that fomented regime change in Ukraine and Georgia unlikely.  

Andijan remained quiet yesterday despite gunfire in the morning.  

In neighbouring Kyrgyzstan refugees spoke of their flight from Andijan. One woman said she ran overnight in the rain to Teshektosh and there Uzbek guards had opened fire on her group, killing two men and two women.  

"While Karimov is sitting there, we cannot come back as death awaits us. We know he calls us terrorists, but we are not - just simple people who only want to defend our rights."  

&#183; A protest at Uzbekistan's embassy in London yesterday led to the arrest of 37 people on suspicion of criminal damage after red paint was daubed on the building. Embassy spokesman Ibrahim Namirov branded the demonstration, organised by the UK-based Uzbek Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, "barbaric".    

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 17 19:04:52 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 17 19:10:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: Anger as US backs brutal regime
Message-ID: <20050518020452.8ED211A48@herring.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the The Observer site and thought you should see it.

To see this story with its related links on the The Observer site, go to http://www.observer.co.uk

Anger as US backs brutal regime
Human rights concerns as troops put down uprising in Uzbekistan
Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow and Paul Harris in New York
Sunday May 15 2005
The Observer


Heated criticism was growing last night over 'double standards' by Washington over human rights, democracy and 'freedom' as fresh evidence emerged of just how brutally Uzbekistan, a US ally in the 'war on terror', put down Friday's unrest in the east of the country.Outrage among human rights groups followed claims by the White House on Friday that appeared designed to justify the violence of the regime of President Islam Karimov, claiming - as Karimov has - that 'terrorist groups' may have been involved in the uprising.Critics said the US was prepared to support pro-democracy unrest in some states, but condemn it in others where such policies were inconvenient.Witnesses and analysts familiar with the region said most protesters were complaining about government corruption and poverty, not espousing Islamic extremism.The US comments were seized on by Karimov, who said yesterday that the protests were organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic group often accused by Tashkent of se
 ditious extremism. Yet Washington, which has expressed concern over the group's often hardline message, has yet to designate it a terrorist group.Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, tried to deflect accusations of the contradictory stance when he said it was clear the 'people of Uzbekistan want to see a more representative and democratic government. But that should come through peaceful means, not through violence.'Washington has often been accused of being involved in a conspiracy of silence over Uzbekistan's human rights record since that country was declared an ally in the 'war on terror' in 2001.Uzbekistan is believed to be one of the destination countries for the highly secretive 'renditions programme', whereby the CIA ships terrorist suspects to third-party countries where torture is used that cannot be employed in the US. Newspaper reports in America say dozens of suspects have been transferred to Uzbek jails.The CIA has never officially commented on the progr
 amme. But flight logs obtained by the New York Times earlier this month show CIA-linked planes landing in Tashkent with the same serial numbers as jets used to transfer prisoners around the world. The logs show at least seven flights from 2002 to late 2003, originating from destinations in the Middle East and Europe.Other countries used in the programme include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Morocco. A handful of prisoners' accounts - including that of Canadian Maher Arar - that emerged after release show they were tortured and abused in custody.Critics say the US double standards are evident on the State Department website, which accuses Uzbek police and security services of using 'torture as a routine investigation technique' while giving the same law enforcement services $79 million in aid in 2002. The department says officers who receive training are vetted to ensure they have not tortured anyone.The aid paradox was highlighted by the former British Ambassador to
  Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, who criticised coalition support for Uzbekistan when they were planning invading Iraq, using similar abuses as justification.Murray said yesterday: 'The US will claim that they are teaching the Uzbeks less repressive interrogation techniques, but that is basically not true. They help fund the budget of the Uzbek security services and give tens of millions of dollars in military support. It is a sweetener in the agreement over which they get their air base.'Murray said that during a series of suicide bombings in Tashkent in March 2004, before he was sacked as UK ambassador, he was shown transcripts of telephone intercepts in which known al-Qaeda representatives were asking each other 'what the hell was going on. But then Colin Powell came out and said that al-Qaeda were behind the blasts. I don't think the US even believe their own propaganda.'The support continues, seen by many as a 'pay-off' for the Khanabad base. The US Embassy website says Uzbek
 istan got $10m for 'security and law enforcement support' in 2004.Last year Human Rights Watch released a 319-page report detailing the use of torture by Uzbekistan's security services. It said the government was carrying out a campaign of torture and intimidation against Muslims that had seen 7,000 people imprisoned, and documented at least 10 deaths, including Muzafar Avozov, who was boiled to death in 2002.'Torture is rampant,' the reported concluded. Human Rights Watch called for the US and its allies to condemn Uzbekistan's tactics.&#183; Observer blog: What they said on Uzbekistan, and why

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 17 20:10:54 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Tue May 17 20:16:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] To Cheeseburger and Lyle
Message-ID: <011201c55b57$34d23180$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Dearest Cheeseburger and Lyle:

I am, of course, humbly honored that my simple comment caused you both to wax so wonderfully philosophical.  You are both dearer to my heart than you probably know.

That said, you have misinterpreted my intention.  It would not matter if we were discussing Scripture or "See Spot Run" or a pornographic novel.  My comment was meant entirely from an editorial - i.e., grammatical - point of view.  If the passages in question are read/parsed in that context - setting aside all notions of spirit, religion, Armageddon and who may or may not be a goofball - it is as plain as the noses on both of your faces (since I must assume you both have noses - though I suppose I could be wrong) that Jesus was referring to a generation to come, and not the one that He was speaking to.

That is all.  No hidden motives, ulterior agendas, or even ministerial tomfoolery or divinely-inspired interpretation. Just plain english (or, more accurately, Aramaic) vis-a-vis grammar, punctuation and syntax.

Peace.
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 18 03:33:03 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard)
Date: Wed May 18 03:38:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CITGO, THE ANTI-BUSH GAS
Message-ID: <428B19DF.5030106@comcast.net>

CITGO, THE ANTI-BUSH GAS

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-25.htm

JEFF COHEN - Looking for an easy way to protest Bush foreign policy week
after week? And an easy way to help alleviate global poverty? Buy your
gasoline at Citgo stations. And tell your friends. Of the top oil producing
countries in the world, only one is a democracy with a president who was
elected on a platform of using his nation's oil revenue to benefit the
poor. The country is Venezuela. The President is Hugo Chavez. Call him "the
Anti-Bush."

Citgo is a U.S. refining and marketing firm that is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. Money you pay to Citgo
goes primarily to Venezuela -- not Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. There
are 14,000 Citgo gas stations in the US.  By buying your gasoline at Citgo,
you are contributing to the billions of dollars that Venezuela's democratic
government is using to provide health care, literacy and education, and
subsidized food for the majority of Venezuelans.

http://www.jeffcohen.org

NEAREST CITGO STATION
http://www.citgo.com/CITGOLocator/StoreLocator.jsp

From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 18 03:34:12 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard)
Date: Wed May 18 03:40:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Galloway's ferocious statement to the Senate
Message-ID: <428B1A24.5050003@comcast.net>

This site has video of the Galloway's ferocious statement to the Senate 
yesterday.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/05/17.html#a2978

From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 18 03:38:53 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 18 03:44:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <17768202.1116412733166.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Briton Denies Having Rights to Buy Iraqi Oil
 
 By Colum Lynch
 
  A British lawmaker forcefully denied allegations in a Senate hearing yesterday that he received rights to purchase millions of barrels of Iraqi oil at a discount from Saddam Hussein's government, and he delivered a fiery attack on three decades of U.S. policy toward Iraq.
 
 George Galloway, a formidable debater recently ousted from the British Labor Party after attacking Prime Minister Tony Blair for supporting the war in Iraq, used his appearance before the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations as a forum to challenge the veracity of the Bush administration's case for going to war.
 
 He also unleashed a personal attack against panel Chairman Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), calling his investigation the "mother of all smoke screens" designed to "divert attention from the crimes that you supported" by endorsing President Bush's decision to invade Iraq.
 
 "Senator, I am not now nor have I ever been an oil trader and neither has anyone on my behalf," said Galloway, dispensing with the deference traditionally reserved for Senate leaders. "I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one, and neither has anybody on my behalf."
 
 Galloway's testimony under oath came less than a week after Coleman's subcommittee published a report including Iraqi documents that allegedly detailed the former government's approval to allow the member of Parliament to purchase about 20 million barrels of oil from 2000 to 2002. Former Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan, who is in U.S. custody, told Senate investigators in April that Galloway had been awarded rights to buy oil "because of his opinions about Iraq."
 
 The subcommittee yesterday also discussed its investigation of allegations that the former Iraqi government used its oil wealth to curry favor with senior government officials, politicians and businessmen in Russia and France. The panel alleged that a senior adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin and a former French interior minister, Charles Pasqua, also received rights to buy millions of barrels of discounted oil.
 
 "Saddam used oil to his geopolitical and strategic advantage," Coleman said. "Over the past week, the subcommittee has released a number of bipartisan reports detailing how the Hussein regime quickly manipulated the use of oil allocations to garner political influence around the globe."
 
 The Senate subcommittee has not presented any bank records or other documentation showing that Galloway traded in Iraqi oil or paid kickbacks to the government. But Coleman, a former prosecutor, engaged in a feisty exchange with Galloway as he sought to prove the subcommittee's claim that the British politician had used Mariam Appeals, a charity established to care for a 4-year-old Iraqi girl with leukemia, to launder Iraqi money.
 
 Coleman questioned Galloway about the appearance of his name on Iraqi oil ministry documents approving his right to purchase large quantities of oil. He also sought to demonstrate that a wealthy Jordanian businessman who participated in the Iraqi oil trade, and who served as a major donor and chairman of Galloway's charity, was buying Iraqi oil on Galloway's behalf.
 
 Galloway, who repeatedly evaded questions concerning his views of his Jordanian associate's involvement in the Iraqi oil trade to make broader political points, presented the committee with a hefty dossier that he said expressed his opposition to Hussein's government over the past 15 years "in the most withering terms." However, he also described himself as a "friend" of former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, and said that he met twice with Hussein.
 
 Galloway acknowledged that he was aware that the Jordanian chairman of his charity was a commercial partner of the Iraqi government but said that Galloway never personally profited from any business dealings in Iraq.
 
 He also noted that previous Iraqi documents used in newspaper reports, including one in the Christian Science Monitor, to link him to the Iraqi government have proven to be forgeries.
 
 "What counts is not the names on the paper; what counts is where is the money, Senator?" he said. "Who paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars of money? The answer to that is nobody. And if you had anybody who ever paid me a penny, you would have produced them here today."
 
 Coleman said he did not believe Galloway came across as a "credible witness" and warned that his staff would examine his testimony to determine whether he perjured himself. "If in fact he lied to this committee, there will have to be consequences," Coleman told reporters after the hearing.
 
 Galloway repeatedly cited a report this week by the committee's minority staff members that alleged that a Texas-based oil company paid $37 million in kickbacks to Hussein's government and criticized the Treasury Department for not monitoring sanctions violations by U.S. companies. But he also took a jab at Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.), the committee's ranking Democrat, incorrectly charging him with supporting the "illegal attack on Iraq."
 
 Levin, an outspoken critic of the invasion, said, "Sorry about that, I didn't.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 18 03:40:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 18 03:46:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27802519.1116412852056.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Likely Script for The 'Nuclear Option'
 
 By Mike Allen and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
 
  The "nuclear option" will have a long fuse.
 
 If all goes as planned, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) will rise after several days of debate beginning today over one of President Bush's judicial nominees and call for an end to Democrats' delaying tactics. The presiding officer will then rule in his favor.
 
 Democrats will protest the ruling and ask for a vote to overturn it. The Republican leader will seek to table that appeal. If Frist and the GOP majority prevail, a long tradition of filibustering will be narrowed and a new precedent will be set allowing the Republicans to force a vote on a nomination with a simple majority instead of three-fifths of the Senate.
 
 Republicans hold 55 of the seats in the chamber, and until now they have needed 60 votes to end debate and force a vote. But Republicans believe they have figured out how to use the chamber's rules so that only a simple majority -- 51 votes -- is required to force an up-or-down vote.
 
 To get there, Republicans will have to evade a requirement that they have a two-thirds vote -- 67 of 100 senators -- to change the chamber's rules. Republicans will argue that they are attempting to set a precedent, not change the Senate rules, to disallow the use of filibusters as a delaying tactic on judicial nominations. And by doing so, they say, they are returning to a more traditional concept of majority rule.
 
 " 'Advise and consent' does not say, 'A supermajority is required,' " Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) said at a news conference yesterday in front of a backdrop that had a logo repeating "Fair Up or Down Vote" 72 times.
 
 But Democrats contend that the Republicans are essentially breaking the rules to change the rules. "If there were ever an example of an abuse of power, this is it," said Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). "The filibuster is the last check we have against the abuse of power in Washington."
 
 The rule change Frist is seeking to bar the use of the filibuster for judicial nominations has been dubbed the "nuclear option" because of its potential to disrupt the Senate and shatter what little comity remains between Republicans and Democrats.
 
 Historically, Senate rules were designed to protect the interests of the minority and to slow the deliberative process. In fashioning those rules, the Senate set a much higher threshold for changes than a simple majority vote.
 
 Democratic complaints that in this case Republicans are trying to circumvent the rules have been buttressed by some of the independent bureaucracy of Congress.
 
 A report last month by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service asserted that "the point of a 'nuclear' or 'constitutional' option is to achieve changes in Senate procedure by using means that lie outside the Senate's normal rules of procedure."
 
 Also, some Democrats have advanced evidence that the GOP gambit lacks support from the Senate parliamentarian, the official who typically rules on what is allowable under the chamber's rules and precedents.
 
 Reid told reporters last month that the parliamentarian, Alan S. Frumin, had told him that he opposed the Republicans' plan and that "if they do this, they will have to overrule him."
 
 Frumin, who was appointed by Republican leaders in 2001, has not been granting interviews. But a senior Republican Senate aide confirmed that Frist does not plan to consult Frumin at the time the nuclear option is deployed. "He has nothing to do with this," the aide said. "He's a staffer, and we don't have to ask his opinion."
 
 Here's what Republican aides and officials say is most likely to happen:
 
 At 9:30 a.m. today, the Senate will begin debating Bush's nomination of Priscilla Richman Owen, an abortion opponent on the Texas Supreme Court who was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, based in New Orleans.
 
 Tomorrow or Friday, Frist and other Republican senators are likely to file a motion seeking cloture, or an end to debate. One session day must pass before a vote to end debate, so a vote would be held and Republicans would expect to get fewer than 60 votes to confirm Owen.
 
 Frist aides say he has not decided exactly what would occur next. But the scenario most widely expected among senators in both parties is that he would seek a ruling from the chair -- Vice President Cheney, if it looked as if the vote was going to be close -- that filibustering judicial nominations is out of order. Assuming the chair agreed, Reid would then object and ask that the ruling of the chair be tabled. Most Republicans would then vote against the Democratic motion, upholding the ruling. Then the Senate would move to a vote on Owen, and a precedent will have been set that it takes 51 votes, not 60, to cut off debate on a judicial nomination.
 
 A virtual script for what could happen next is included in an article published last fall in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy by Martin B. Gold, a partner at Covington & Burling who is a former floor adviser to Frist, and Dimple Gupta, a former Justice Department lawyer who was hired in March by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).
 
 In making their case, the authors pointed to the ways that Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) used similar tactics to lower requirements for certain legislative actions from a supermajority to a simple majority when he served twice as majority leader, in the 1970s and 1980s.
 
 "The reason for calling it 'the constitutional option' is that it's an exercise of the Senate's constitutional power of self-governance," Gold said. "The Senate sets precedents all the time, and it sets them by majority vote."
 
 Fred Graham, who was chief counsel of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee during a classic filibuster during the 1960s and now is chief anchor and managing editor of the Court TV cable channel, said existing rules allow Republicans to accomplish what they have promised.
 
 "If Bill Frist asks for a ruling from the chair from Dick Cheney, of course Cheney will rule in his favor," Graham said. "What are the Democrats going to do, appeal to the Supreme Court? There's no place for them to go. That's the power of the majority."
 
 Staff writer Charles Babington contributed to this report.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 18 03:41:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 18 03:47:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26815812.1116412911636.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Quiet Transformation
 
 By David Ignatius
 
  As the United States was struggling with the postwar reconstruction of Iraq, the historian Niall Ferguson published a book arguing that America needed the modern equivalent of the old British Colonial Office to build political stability in far-flung places. The U.S. military was good at breaking things, he suggested in "Colossus," but not so good at putting them back together.
 
 Nobody in the Bush administration would endorse the neo-imperial language of Ferguson's argument. But behind the scenes, the administration is debating a range of major policy changes that would move in that direction -- transforming the military services, the State Department and other agencies in ways that would help the United States do better what it botched so badly in Iraq. Don't call it the "Colonial Office," but in many ways, that's a model for the kind of far-flung stabilization force that officials are discussing.
 
 The driver for these  changes, as with so much else in Washington, is the administration's equivalent of the Energizer Bunny, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The debate is mostly taking place out of view among a small group of defense and foreign policy experts. But it involves issues that are crucial for the future of the country. So here's a primer, based on unclassified reports that are mostly available on the Internet.
 
 The most creative analysis is a study that Rumsfeld requested last year from the elite Defense Science Board. Released in December and titled "Transition to and from Hostilities," the study is a blueprint for changes across the government that would give the United States the nation-building capability it has too often lacked in Iraq.
 
 The Pentagon study starts with the premise that Afghanistan and Iraq are not isolated problems. Since the end of the Cold War, the study notes, the United States has embarked on stabilization and reconstruction operations every 18 to 24 months. And these are hardly quick-hit deployments; in fact, they typically last five to eight years. The problem is that America   has conducted these slow reconstruction efforts with military forces that are trained and equipped for rapid, devastating assault. That mismatch is at the heart of U.S. problems in Iraq.
 
 The first recommendation by the Defense Science Board was that the military apply its genius for logistics and management to peacemaking as well as war-fighting. The study urged a new contingency planning process to identify countries where U.S. intervention might be necessary -- and to make sure U.S. forces have the necessary language skills, area knowledge and civil affairs expertise. Again, these were precisely the reconstruction tools U.S. forces lacked as they raced to Baghdad in March 2003. The study noted pointedly that in 2004 the Defense Department had 6,723 French speakers, 6,931 German speakers, 4,194 Russian speakers -- and only 2,864 Arabic speakers.
 
 In a recommendation that surely gave heartburn to Army generals who hold tight to their traditional war-fighting mission, the study stressed: "Stabilization and reconstruction missions must become a core competency of both the Departments of Defense and State. The military services need to reshape and rebalance their forces to provide a stabilization and reconstruction capability."
 
 The Defense Science Board study tracks arguments made by the most influential defense intellectual writing these days, Thomas P.M. Barnett. He argued last year in "The Pentagon's New Map" that the U.S. military should be divided into two forces that reflect its differing missions: a "Leviathan" force, centered around the Air Force and Navy, that could apply overwhelming power quickly anywhere in the world; and what he called a "System Administrator" force, based in the Army and Marines, that could win the decisive battle to stabilize and rebuild nations in the aftermath of conflict.
 
 These radical post-Iraq ideas are beginning to take root. At the State Department, there's a new Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization under director Carlos Pascual. It has just 40 people at this stage, but it's beginning to coordinate activities of the Pentagon, the State Department, the CIA and the Agency for International Development, so that the chaotic mismanagement of the initial Iraq reconstruction effort isn't repeated. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Richard Lugar and Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden have joined  to sponsor a bill that would put many of the recommendations of the Defense Science Board study into law.
 
 Ferguson wondered in "Colossus" whether the United States had the aptitude, patience or financial resources to operate what would amount to a 21st-century imperial system. That remains the crucial question. It would be a mistake for America to transform its military services for a mission the public doesn't understand or support. Rumsfeld is asking the right questions about what America should learn from its setbacks in Iraq, but the country as a whole must join in the debate.
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 18 03:42:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 18 03:48:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <15908748.1116412967866.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Betraying a Revolution
 
 By Anders Aslund
 
  Ukraine's Orange Revolution was an exhilarating and joyful event. It was a classical liberal revolution for democracy and freedom and against corruption. Viktor Yushchenko became the democratically elected president, promising freedom from fear and corruption.
 
 Alas, the new Ukrainian government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, another revolutionary hero, has surprisingly opted for an economic policy that appears to be socialist and populist in nature. The results have been immediate: Last year Ukraine enjoyed economic growth of 12 percent; in the first four months of this year, the growth rate plunged to 5 percent, while inflation has surged to 15 percent. How could things turn so sour so fast?
 
 The biggest blow to the economy has been the new government's foggy plans for re-privatization. During the election campaign, Yushchenko advocated the renationalization of Ukraine's biggest steel mill, Kryvorizhstal, to be followed by a new privatization deal. The goal was  to undo the sale of the mill to Ukraine's two biggest oligarchs in a sweetheart deal last year. The new government quickly acted to recover Kryvorizhstal, but the owners have taken the case to the European Court of Justice, where the proceedings are expected to be prolonged.
 
 For months top Ukrainian officials have discussed publicly how many flawed privatization deals should be reversed -- the possibilities  range from 29 to 3,000 -- and how this would  be done. The government is trying to recover many enterprises through the courts, and it has drafted a broad law that could undo much of Ukraine's privatization. The dispute can be settled only by the fractious parliament, which will need months to come to a decision -- if, indeed, it ever decides anything.
 
 Meanwhile, the property rights of thousands of enterprises are  in limbo. In Kiev,  rumors abound that oligarchs connected to the old regime are trying to sell their enterprises to Russian business executives  and are preparing to escape the country. Naturally, executives  are cutting off investment, and economic growth is screeching to a halt.
 
 To make matters worse, a new socialist minister of privatization has been appointed who opposes privatization in principle. She asked recently: "What is so bad about re-nationalization?"  Tymoshenko concurred  in a recent newspaper interview: "The biggest enterprises, which can easily be efficiently managed, must not be privatized, and they can give the state as an owner wonderful profits." This sounds like state capitalism.
 
 The old regime doubled pensions, saddling  Ukraine with the highest pension costs in the world as a share of national income. The new Ukrainian government has added to this excessive burden by raising state wages no less than 57 percent.
 
 To finance these and other huge social expenditures, the government is scrambling to find more revenue. A lot of discretionary tax exemptions have, sensibly, been abolished, but the overall tax pressure has risen dramatically. Meanwhile,  Yushchenko continues to talk about his plans for sharp tax cuts.
 
 Incredibly, this new regime brought to power by the middle class and small entrepreneurs has abolished the simplified taxation that served those segments of society so well. The result has been that tens of thousands of small entrepreneurs have been forced to close their businesses, while others have fled into the underground economy.
 
 Reformers have long demanded that the lawless tax police be abolished and that the tax administration be forced to obey the law. But Tymoshenko is cheering  the tax police on and has declared that the performance of the regional governors will be judged by their ability to collect taxes.
 
 Inflation is skyrocketing with increasing public expenditures. The predominantly Russian oil companies have increased their prices as world market prices have risen.  Tymoshenko has imposed strict price controls on gasoline and forced the remaining state oil companies to deliver it at prices below market levels. Not surprisingly, oil supplies have declined, and gasoline shortages  have erupted. She has also started controlling the price of meat, which has  begun to disappear from markets. The price controls are accompanied by abuse of  private producers and praise of state companies.
 
 Tymoshenko does not talk about reform of state monopolies but instead  about their reinforcement. In an additional effort to squeeze business profits and boost state re  venue, she wanted to boost railway tariffs for metals by 100 percent, but settled magnanimously for a hike of only 50 percent.
 
 The contrast between the declarations of the Orange Revolution and current government policy could hardly be greater. Curiously, this discrepancy continues. In an editorial on Yushchenko's first 100 days, the Kiev  Post points out that "while Yushchenko is making grand statements abroad, the rest of the government does not seem to follow his lead."
 
 The official justification for these populist policies is that they are meant to boost Tymoshenko's popularity for the parliamentary elections next March. Both Ukrainians and Ukraine's foreign friends need an explanation of what is going on.
 
 The author is director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 18 03:43:35 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 18 03:49:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23773869.1116413015476.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Retirement at 70
 
 By Robert J. Samuelson
 
  Our Social Security problem is just one aspect of a larger retirement revolution -- an upheaval in medicine, life expectancy, work and lifestyles. Since Social Security's creation in 1935, life spans have increased dramatically. Someone who now reaches 65 can expect to live almost  20 more years. Meanwhile, government has constantly made Social Security and Medicare more generous. The result is "middle-aged retirement," as Eugene Steuerle of the Urban Institute calls it. If people retired for the same number of years now as in Social Security's early years, he says, they'd work until 74. In fact, half of Social Security recipients start getting benefits at age 62.
 
 We can no longer afford this system: It will overburden future generations and could weaken the economy.  Congress  ought to design a broad makeover of retirement. Americans should work longer. We're healthier (thanks to medical advances and the decline of physical labor) and -- as the number of new workers shrinks -- society will need older workers. Social Security and Medicare were intended to protect the neediest among the elderly; they should not subsidize ever-longer retirements.
 
 Unfortunately, the odds of such a makeover are slim. The Social Security debate has predictably degenerated into a bitterly partisan exercise. The focus on President Bush's proposed investment accounts and on Social Security's "solvency" has produced much techno-babble ("trust fund balances," "rates of return" and the like) while obscuring basic realities. As I've noted in previous  columns, these are daunting.
 
 Let's review them. By 2030 spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (which provides nursing home care) is projected to almost  double as a share of national income (gross domestic product). Holding  federal spending constant -- again as a share of GDP -- would mean eliminating almost 50 percent of the remaining spending on non-retirement programs. If we paid for higher retirement spending with taxes, we'd have to raise taxes at least 30 percent and, including today's deficits, as much as 50 percent. To me, neither outcome is desirable. If you agree, then the only alternative is to cut retirement benefits. Baby boomers can't be excluded, because they're the people getting older. We need to prod them to work longer -- and to mix work and retirement -- by reducing the subsidies that encourage earlier retirement. For those who truly can't work longer, there's a disability program. Let me sketch what's needed. My aim is to trim the increases in federal retirement spending by half in 2030. Because the projected increases are between 6  and 7 percent of GDP, the required savings is about 3.5 percent of GDP. Here's what I suggest:
 
 A¡ise Social Security's n  ormal retirement age to 70. Under present law, it reaches 67 in 2027. That's too slow. Increasing it gradually to 70 by 2030 would require annual increases of about two months a year. The eligibility age for early (and discounted) Social Security benefits should also be raised from today's 62 to 66. The savings in 2030: about 0.8 percent of GDP.
 
 @õt Social Security benefits by 20 percent. Spare retirees whose wages were average or less than average. Above that, cuts would be steeper as retirees got wealthier. Reductions would be (again) phased in slowly. The 2030 savings: about 0.9 percent of GDP.
 
 A¡ise Medicare's eligibility age slowly to age 70 by 2030. People from 65 to 70 could get the choice of buying Medicare protection. The 2030 savings: about 1 percent of GDP.
 
 A¥quire Medicare recipients to pay 20 percent of the program's costs through premiums. Beneficiaries now pay about 12 percent. Premium increases should be introduced gradually, and wealthier retirees should pay more. The 2030 savings: 0.5 percent of GDP.
 
 A!x Social Security as ordinary income. A lot is now exempt from the income tax. The 2030 savings: 0.2 percent of GDP.
 
 My estimates are admittedly crude, possibly wrong. Without official projections of my proposals, I've made educated guesses using many sources. Assuming the figures are roughly correct, future retirement spending -- and taxes -- will still increase because there will be more retirees living longer and using more medical services. My figures also suggest that tiny changes won't accomplish much. We should take big steps now to give people ample warning.
 
 These proposals will be seen as harsh, even cruel. They aren't. People who reach 62 or 65 or 70 have no automatic claim on their juniors. Why should  a couple in their thirties with two children, car payments and a mortgage subsidize the retirement of a couple in their mid-sixties with no mortgage, whose children are long gone, who could still work and who have had a lifetime to save for retirement? The only answer is that older couples expect to be subsidized (in part because they've spent their lives subsidizing their elders) and will be furious if they aren't. But that is a political explanation and not a moral or social justification.
 
 If Americans have to work longer, the economy will create needed part-time and part-year jobs. The real obstacle is the politics and psychology of the retirement revolution: the expectation that people in their early sixties are entitled to stop working. Undoubtedly many Americans prefer having someone else support their leisure. But that was not the original purpose of Social Security or Medicare. The unvarnished truth is that these programs should move back toward their origins, and it's too bad you're not hearing more of it.
 
 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 18 05:56:25 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 18 06:02:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Meeting an Afghan drugs smuggler
Message-ID: <20050518_125625_053494.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Meeting an Afghan drugs smuggler **
Tom Coghlan meets a drugs smuggler in Afghanistan.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4522957.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 18 05:58:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 18 06:03:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Desert campaign to save humanity
Message-ID: <20050518_125802_091650.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Desert campaign to save humanity **
The Dalai Lama, a host of Nobel laureates and Richard Gere meet for a conference in Petra in southern Jordan.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4558669.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  Wed May 18 06:01:50 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Wed May 18 06:07:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S. Uses
	Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions
Message-ID: <20050518130150.24608.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org




+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/17/1420232
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


We play an interview with, John Perkins - author of "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" - who says he says he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then taking over their economies. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/17/1420232

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 18 06:03:03 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Wed May 18 06:08:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Natural Gas Issues Ignite Mass Antigovernment Protests
	in Bolivia
Message-ID: <20050518130303.24619.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org




+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Natural Gas Issues Ignite Mass Antigovernment Protests in Bolivia
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/17/1420227
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


Tens of thousands of protesters in Bolivia marched on the capital La Paz after President Carlos Mesa's attempt to push through a law giving large corporations and investors greater control of the country's significant natural gas resources. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/17/1420227

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 18 06:07:28 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 18 06:13:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Louisiana's frozen ark
Message-ID: <20050518_130728_091312.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Louisiana's frozen ark **
Matt Wells visits a US laboratory where scientists are cloning endangered species to try to prevent them becoming extinct.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4547533.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 mblaxill at yahoo.com  Wed May 18 07:19:07 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Wed May 18 07:24:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Galloway testimony
In-Reply-To: 6667
Message-ID: <20050518141907.23893.qmail@web53002.mail.yahoo.com>

Mha
Here's BBC page w/link for video

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4556113.stm

Peace
- M

--- ean@sbcglobal.net wrote:
> Mike--thanks for that--really powerful!  Do you
> have the link to this on
> the web?  Please send if you do--thanks.
> 
> Mha Atma Khalsa
> 
From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 18 10:30:57 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 18 10:36:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / US - US sets currency deadline for China 
Message-ID: <31982948.1116437457056.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 18 10:32:30 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 18 10:38:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / UK - British MP denies link to oil-for-food
	scheme
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 18 10:33:28 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 18 10:39:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Asia-Pacific - India prepares its privatisation
	plan 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 18 10:34:30 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 18 10:40:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Companies / Energy Utilities Mining - Moscow
	scraps Gazprom-Rosneft merger
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 18 10:40:19 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 18 10:46:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article for you from an Economist.com reader.
Message-ID: <200505181717.NAA20436@stage-web-app.economist.com>

  
- AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - 

Dear civic,

Michael Butler (michael@intrafi.com) wants you to see this article on Economist.com.



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A NEW CONUNDRUM
May 17th 2005  

The upsurge in new financial instruments may be changing the
relationship between debt and equity markets in ways that are still
hard to fathom 

BUTTONWOOD has been wrestling with a financial Sudoku of her own this
week. It started at a City lunch, when Jacob de Tusch-Lec, an equity
strategist at Merrill Lynch, produced a great chart showing the
different reactions of certain European corporate bonds and shares in
the market turmoil sparked by concerns over the creditworthiness of
Ford and General Motors. Credit markets screamed trouble, with spreads
widening dramatically, while share prices barely flinched. Are the
corporate-bond and equity markets decoupling in their appetite for
risk? If so, why?

This turns out to be about ten $64,000 questions rolled into one (OK,
two). First of all, it is not clear that the corporate-bond and equity
markets were ever really "coupled"--ie, linked in a predictable way.
There are plenty of reasons why it seems that they should be. They are
both, to some extent, priced off the yield available on allegedly
risk-free bonds (Treasuries). Furthermore, both stocks and bonds
represent claims on the cashflow and assets of a given enterprise, so
the holders of both should react similarly to at least some sorts of
news affecting the health of that enterprise.

There is a ton of academic research on the interaction between stock
and bond markets going back several decades. The broad picture is that
depending on inflation, mainly, and other factors, returns on shares
and returns on bonds move together at some times, are opposed at other
times, and occasionally are simply mutually irrelevant. 

For the past five years or so, however, bonds and shares have had a
fairly consistent relationship. As spreads on corporate bonds have
widened, share prices have fallen; and as spreads have narrowed, shares
have risen. This has given rise to a popular trading and hedging
strategy: going long on credit and shorting stocks in various ways. But
this strategy is coming unglued as credit spreads widen and share
prices fail to fall.

Last week's turmoil in structured-finance products and credit
derivatives has focused minds wonderfully on how some of the more
obscure financial products and operators actually work. There has been
gall galore about the Danger of Derivatives and the Horror that is
Hedge Funds. It may all be true, and there is certainly more pain to
come as the latter continue trying to unwind unprofitable positions in
the former. But is there a more general pattern about changing market
behaviour here?

Some people argue that the current decoupling of equity and bond
markets is circumstantial. The heavily advertised woes of GM and Ford
are a special situation, they say, one that does not reflect on the
health of the corporate sector in general. Many investors in equities
are looking through what they see as a temporary economic "soft patch"
to growth and profits ahead. 

Another explanation for the relative buoyancy of share prices is that
they are supported by the continued prospect of leveraged buy-outs
(LBOs), and by mergers and acquisitions generally. Some deals are
proving harder to finance than their originators thought but there is
still a wall of money out there looking for something to loom over.
LBOs are famously good for shareholders and bad for bondholders: they
are usually done at a premium to the existing share price, they
maximise returns to new shareholders too, and by loading the company
with new debt they push it a step closer to bankruptcy, to the chagrin
of old bondholders. So it is easy to see that equity and bond markets
would respond differently to them. 

THE ODD COUPLE
Buttonwood's hunch, though, is that stock and bond markets are not so
much delinking as linking in a new way. There has been explosive growth
in new financial products bridging the old gap between debt and equity.
Ten years ago, an investor eager to play the two side by side had
essentially one instrument: the convertible bond (debt switchable into
equity). Today, convertible bonds exist mainly as arbitrage
opportunities--unprofitable ones, for the moment--for hedge funds, who
own more than 80% of the $290 billion market. 

Instead, that investor has a new, equity-like instrument in the shape
of credit-default swaps, which permit him to insure against the risk of
corporate default in a liquid market now worth more than $5 trillion.
Or there are newer and less liquid collateralised debt obligations, or
CDOs, in which referenced company debt is bundled together, divided
into tranches of varying degrees of riskiness and sold to investors. As
James Bianco of Bianco Research in America puts it: "They have stripped
out the essential 'bondness' of bonds--market risk, duration,
yield-curve--and ended up with a pure credit instrument that they think
should walk and talk more like a stock than anything else in bond land."

The trouble is that credit derivatives and structured-finance products
are not equities, and when events arise that divide the sheep from the
goats--ie, the interests of shareholders from the interests of
bondholders--investors who think they are the same thing get caught
out--as they are now.

And there is no reason for this to change soon. Company bosses made
their bondholders happy by paying down debt in the early 2000s; now
they have switched to stroke-the-shareholder mode with big share
buybacks and special dividends. This--plus a wave of LBOs and corporate
raiders like Kirk Kerkorian--looks likely to continue to drive a wedge
between bonds and equities, which will cause yet more pain to hedge
funds that are already believed to have lost billions on positions that
required stocks and bonds to behave similarly. Wall Street firms and
big banks that deal with the funds will also suffer. And that is before
investors head for the exit.

This is not yet a crisis. But these are early days, and it seems that
relatively few positions have been successfully unwound yet. It is
possible that some time next autumn a couple of big banks will announce
big losses in their prime-brokerage and proprietary-trading
businesses--and if this were to raise their cost of funding
substantially, it could begin to be a crisis.

On a less cataclysmic note, however, all markets overshoot, and new
instruments and risk-control techniques, plus new participants, make it
more likely. So another possibility, suggests Mark Kiesel of PIMCO, an
American bond-investment firm, is that hedge funds and dealers will
have their wrists badly smacked, learn a lesson and dedicate themselves
henceforth to fundamental credit analysis and due diligence. PIMCO is
looking to make profits by picking up and holding debt whose spread has
widened further than it should have in the general conflagration.
Others will follow suit. As you see, Buttonwood strives always for
cheer.

- - - - - 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[2]

-----
[1] http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=2428735
[2]
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/display.cfm?id=2512631
 

See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3982368&fsrc=nwl

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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 18 10:57:58 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 18 11:03:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - CBS cancels 60
	Minutes Wednesday
Message-ID: <32015896.1116439078697.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  Wed May 18 12:00:20 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 18 12:06:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Alternet: The Evolution of Jeffrey Sachs
Message-ID: <20050518190020.9BCD8B807D@alternet.org>


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



-------------------------------------
The Evolution of Jeffrey Sachs
http://www.alternet.org/story/22032

Despite a checkered record as a high-profile guru of global development, the Harvard economist offers an innovative and powerful strategy to end the worst of global poverty.
-------------------------------------

From TSawyer456 at aol.com  Wed May 18 11:54:00 2005
From: TSawyer456 at aol.com (TSawyer456@aol.com)
Date: Wed May 18 12:18:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The (Arianna) Huffington Post | Front Page - By Norman
	mailer
Message-ID: <200505181918.j4IJIGBX003417@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

This is extraordinary! And you know he's right!
 
Tom
_www.ThomasBSawyer.com_ (http://www.ThomasBSawyer.com) 
 
 
May 17, 2005
 
 
 
 
_05.17.2005 Norman Mailer _ 
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/norman-mailer/intelligence-101a_1142.html)  
_Intelligence  101A_ 
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/norman-mailer/intelligence-101a_1142.html) 
I'm beginning to see why one would want to write a blog. At present, I have a 
 few thoughts I can certainly not prove, but the gaffe over the _Michael 
Isikoff story_ (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7857407/site/newsweek/)   in Newsweek 
concerning the Koran and the toilet is redolent with bad odor. Who,  indeed, was 
Isikoff's supposedly reliable Pentagon source? One's  counter-espionage hackles 
rise. If you want to _discredit a Dan Rather_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathergate)  or a  Newsweek crew, just feed them false information from a 
hitherto reliable source.  You learn that in Intelligence 101A. 
Counter-espionage often depends on building "reliable sources." You construct 
 such reliability item by secret item, all accurate. That is seen by the  
intelligence artists as a necessary expenditure. It gains the source his  
credibility. Then, you spring the trap. 
As for the riots at the other end, on this occasion, they, too, could have  
been orchestrated. We do have agents in Pakistan, after all, not to mention  
Afghanistan. 
Obviously, I can offer no proof of any of the above. There still resides,  
however, under my aging novelist's pate a volunteer intelligence agent, sadly  
manque. He does suggest that the outcome was too neat. It came out too  
effectively for one side, one special side. At the age of eighty-two I do not  wish 
to revive old paranoia, but Lenin did leave us one valuable notion, one, at  
any rate. It was "Whom?" When you cannot understand a curious matter, ask  
yourself, "Whom? Whom does this benefit?" Dare I suggest that our Right has just  
gained a good deal by way of this matter? In every covert Department of Dirty  
Tricks, whether official, semi-official, or off-the-wall, great pride is best  
obtained by going real deep into down-and-dirty-land?Yeah! Expedite the  
consequences. 
Posted at 09:25 PM 




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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 18 12:15:08 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 18 12:20:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Alternet: Don't Blame Newsweek
Message-ID: <20050518191508.6A065B807D@alternet.org>


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



-------------------------------------
Don't Blame Newsweek
http://www.alternet.org/story/22026

The story about Americans abusing the Koran in order to enrage prisoners has been out there for quite some time. 
-------------------------------------

From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Wed May 18 12:49:00 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Wed May 18 12:55:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - U.S. ACTIONS IN ARAR CASE CALLED 'EXTREMELY
	TROUBLING'
Message-ID: <20050518194900.378341B690@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
____________________________________________________
U.S. ACTIONS IN ARAR CASE CALLED 'EXTREMELY TROUBLING'
WebPosted Wed May 18 09:53:23 2005

OTTAWA---A senior foreign affairs official has told the Maher Arar
inquiry he was troubled by the way the United States handled the
Ottawa engineer's deportation case, though he defended Canada's role
in the affair.

Dan Livermore, the director general of the department's security and
intelligence bureau, said the Syrian-born man was deported to Syria while
returning to Canada through the U.S. in 2002 because of a controversial
American process called extraordinary rendition.

That's a secret system that was allegedly set up to send terrorist
suspects to another country for questioning in the wake of the Sept. 11,
2001 attacks against the United States.

"I find troubling the entire course of activity the American government
has embarked upon since about 2001 with respect to what they call
extraordinary rendition, a practice which we knew absolutely nothing
about," said Livermore.

Livermore added that he was also disturbed by the way the U.S. suddenly
decided to deport Arar one early October morning in 2002.

"I find it extremely troubling that the Americans would hold an
administrative tribunal in the middle of the night and deport someone
back to his native country, where they must have known it was difficult,
to say the least, for him."

Arar claims Syrian officials tortured him before he was released more
than a year later and returned to Canada.



                        FROM OCT. 30, 2003: Arar
                      says he was tortured in Syria

Yet Livermore defended how Canadian officials acted in the case, saying
the practice of sharing consular information with the RCMP and the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service was necessary, given the
heightened global terrorist threat.

Arar's lawyer, Marlys Edwardh, said much of that information was provided
to Canadian security forces by the same Syrian authorities that Arar says
later tortured him.

She pointed to information the RCMP leaked to Canadian media, alleging
Arar had links to Muslim extremists.

"This is a very destructive thing to have done in respect of Mr. Arar in
circumstances where information is neither confirmed or proven, given its
alleged source," she said.

Livermore agreed that the media leak was devastating to Arar, and said he
found it "personally distasteful."

The public inquiry looking into the Canadian government's role in Arar's
deportation continues in Ottawa.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:00:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:05:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Senator Frist Approaches the Brink
Message-ID: <20050518200010.DE0AB11F951@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 18, 2005

Editorial: Senator Frist Approaches the Brink


Senate Republicans are ignoring history in their attempt to scrap the opposition's right to have a say on President Bush's judicial nominees.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/opinion/18wed1.html?ex=1117080000&en=e34705e9658c00d2&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:00:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:05:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Sudden Taste for Openness
Message-ID: <20050518200013.DDFD383CEE@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 18, 2005

Editorial: A Sudden Taste for Openness


It is offensive to see the Bush administration use the criticism directed at Newsweek for its report on Guantánamo Bay for political purposes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/opinion/18wed2.html?ex=1117080000&en=3f32086c89ca74ce&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:00:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:06:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Outrage and Silence
Message-ID: <20050518200027.248583880C3@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 18, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Outrage and Silence
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

If you want to stop a wave of suicide bombings, the likes of which we are seeing in Iraq, it takes a village.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/opinion/18friedman.html?ex=1117080000&en=de73f4f804e1ea46&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:00:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:06:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Blowing Up an Assumption
Message-ID: <20050518200040.89D911EB13D@lax-gw10.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 18, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Blowing Up an Assumption
By ROBERT A. PAPE

Suicide terrorism is mainly a response to foreign occupation rather than a product of Islamic fundamentalism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/opinion/18pape.html?ex=1117080000&en=291b7de493be6a91&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:00:55 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:06:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Newsweek and the Koran Report (5 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050518200056.989499FBF6@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | May 18, 2005

Newsweek and the Koran Report (5 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/opinion/l18newsweek.html?ex=1117080000&en=3cd920a93ac0aa50&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:01:24 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:07:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel Launches Air Strike Against
	Palestinian Cell in Gaza
Message-ID: <20050518200133.C615911F87D@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 18, 2005

Israel Launches Air Strike Against Palestinian Cell in Gaza
By GREG MYRE

The air force fired today on a Palestinian cell launching mortars at Jewish settlements in the southern Gaza Strip.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/international/middleeast/18cnd-mideast.html?ex=1117080000&en=51d824374e76113d&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:01:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:07:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: 2 Officers Punished in 2003 for Abusing
	Iraqi Detainees
Message-ID: <20050518200147.AF4651C272@gw02-bur.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 18, 2005

2 Officers Punished in 2003 for Abusing Iraqi Detainees
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Two Army officers staged mock executions of Iraqi prisoners in 2003 and were given career-ending punishments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/international/middleeast/18abuse.html?ex=1117080000&en=19240d326b5dfd06&ei=5070



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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:07:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Reservist Gets Six-Month Sentence for
	Abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib
Message-ID: <20050518200158.1BAB013B735@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 18, 2005

Reservist Gets Six-Month Sentence for Abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib
By REUTERS

An Army reservist convicted of attaching wires to an Iraqi prisoner in a photographed scene that brought waves of public outrage was sentenced to six months in prison.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/international/middleeast/18harman.html?ex=1117080000&en=68b8a7fc940ae526&ei=5070



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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:02:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:08:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: British Lawmaker Scolds Senators on Iraq
Message-ID: <20050518200232.5ED539FBB3@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 18, 2005

British Lawmaker Scolds Senators on Iraq
By JUDITH MILLER

A British member of Parliament denied charges that Saddam Hussein's government gave him the rights to buy 20 million barrels of oil to sell at a profit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/international/middleeast/18food.html?ex=1117080000&en=bde16dac4860b36e&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:02:49 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:08:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Registering New Influence,
	Iran Sends a Top Aide to Iraq
Message-ID: <20050518200250.8A8F738809E@gw01-bur.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 18, 2005

Registering New Influence, Iran Sends a Top Aide to Iraq
By JOHN F. BURNS

The visit of Iran's foreign minister to Baghdad underscored changes in the political landscape that many Iraqis find dizzying.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/international/middleeast/18iraq.html?ex=1117080000&en=f20855265991174f&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:03:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:09:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Air Force Seeks Bush's Approval for Space
	Weapons Programs
Message-ID: <20050518200340.078C49FB39@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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BUSINESS | May 18, 2005

Air Force Seeks Bush's Approval for Space Weapons Programs
By TIM WEINER

The proposed national-security directive could move the U.S. closer to fielding offensive and defensive space weapons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/business/18space.html?ex=1117080000&en=fd87443532b860e0&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 18 14:04:45 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 18 13:10:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: White House Presses Newsweek in Wake of
	Koran Report
Message-ID: <20050518200446.96F2B13B73A@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 18, 2005

White House Presses Newsweek in Wake of Koran Report
By ELISABETH BUMILLER

The White House said that Newsweek should "help repair the damage" to the image of the United States in the Muslim world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/politics/18koran.html?ex=1117080000&en=226045c173795d07&ei=5070



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





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From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Wed May 18 14:57:06 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Wed May 18 15:02:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Air America live in nyc - friday night may 20
Message-ID: <20050518215706.95709.qmail@web53005.mail.yahoo.com>

Friday, May 20
THE MAJORITY REPORT - LIVE!
With Janeane Garofalo & Sam Seder
Special Guests: Tim Robbins
& Paul Rieckhoff of Operation Truth.
@ The Tank - 432 W 42nd St
Broadcast: 7-10pm
Doors open: 6pm
Tix: $10
thetanknyc.org
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed May 18 18:04:31 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Wed May 18 18:10:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Article from The Nation about Galloway at the US
	senate
In-Reply-To: <200505190026.j4J0QodL019649@thor.thenation.com>
Message-ID: <BEB1342F.20722%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Bryan Peterson <Bryan.Peterson@LW.com>
Reply-To: Bryan.Peterson@LW.com
Date: Wed, 18 May 2005 20:26:50 -0400
To: michael@michaelbutler.com
Subject: Article from The Nation

 

Wow!  Read British Parlimentarian George Galloways arguments against Norm
Coleman!  

Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington
by John Nichols

   Norm Coleman is a fool.

   Not an ideological nut case, not a partisan whack, not even a useful
   idiot -- just a plain old-fashioned, drool-on-his-tie fool.

   The Minnesota Republican senator who took Paul Wellstone's seat after
   one of the most disreputable campaigns in American political history
   has been trying over the past year to make a name for himself by
   blowing the controversy surrounding the United Nations Oil-for-Food
   program into something more than the chronicle of corporate abuse
   that it is. The US media, which thrives on official sound bites, was
   more than willing to lend credence to Coleman's overblown claims
   about wrongdoing in the UN program set up in 1996 to permit Iraq --
   which was then under strict international sanctions -- to buy food,
   medicine and humanitarian supplies with the revenues from regulated
   oil sales. Even as Coleman's claims became more and more fantastic,
   he faced few challenges from the cowering Democrats in Congress.

   But when Coleman started slandering foreign politicians, he exposed
   the dramatic vulnerability of his claims that the supposed scandal
   was much more than a blatant example of US corporations taking
   advantage of their powerful connections in Washington to undermine
   official US policy, harm the national interest and profit off the
   suffering of the poor.

   The Senate investigation that Coleman sought regarding the Oil for
   Food program has already revealed that the Bush Administration
   failed to crack down on widespread abuse of the Oil for Food
   program by US energy companies, and that US oil purchases accounted
   for the majority of the kickbacks paid to Saddam Hussein's regime
   in return for sales of inexpensive oil. Indeed, the report
   concludes, "The United States (government) was not only aware of
   Iraqi oil sales which violated UN sanctions and provided the bulk
   of the illicit money Saddam Hussein obtained from circumventing UN
   sanctions. On occasion, the United States actually facilitated the
   illicit oil sales."

   Instead of forcing the President, his aides and the executives of
   Bayoil, the Texas oil company that the report shows paid "at least
   $37 million in illegal surcharges to the Hussein regime" -- money
   that helped the Iraqi dictator solidify his grip on power -- Coleman
   started to make wild charges about European officials such as British
   parliamentarian George Galloway.

   The problem for Coleman is that Galloway is not a standard-issue
   American politician -- the kind who has nothing to say and says it
   poorly. He is a veteran of the rough-and-tumble politics of Glasgow
   and the equally rough-and-tumble politics of the British Parliament.
   In other words, Galloway comes from places where voters and
   politicians do not suffer fools. And anyone who has ever followed
   British politics knows that George Galloway has beaten every
   political challenge he has faced -- even those posed by British Prime
   Minister Tony Blair.

   Galloway called Coleman's bluff and flew to Washington for a
   remarkable appearance before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
   Investigations. "I am determined now that I am here, to be not the
   accused but the accuser," Galloway announced as he stood outside the
   Capitol Tuesday. "These people are involved in the mother of all
   smokescreens."

   The member of Parliament tore through Coleman's flimsy "evidence,"
   issuing an unequivocal denial that began, "Mr. Chairman, I am not
   now, nor have I ever been an oil trader, and neither has anyone been
   on my behalf. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought
   one, sold one, and neither has anybody on my behalf." He accused
   Coleman of being "remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice" and
   pointed out error after error in the report the senator had
   brandished against him.

   For instance, Galloway noted that he had met Saddam twice -- not the
   "many" times alleged by the report. "As a matter of fact I have met
   Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times that [Secretary of
   Defense] Donald Rumsfeld met him," said the recently re-elected
   British parliamentarian. "The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met
   him to sell him guns."

   For good measure, Galloway used the forum Coleman had foolishly
   provided to deliver a blistering condemnation of Coleman's war.

   "Now, Senator, I gave my heart and soul to oppose the policy that
   you promoted. I gave my political life's blood to try to stop the
   mass killing of Iraqis by the sanctions on Iraq which killed one
   million Iraqis, most of them children, most of them died before they
   even knew that they were Iraqis, but they died for no other reason
   other than that they were Iraqis with the misfortune to born at that
   time. I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster
   that you did commit in invading Iraq. And I told the world that your
   case for the war was a pack of lies," Galloway informed the fool on
   Capitol Hill.

   ?I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your claims, did not have
   weapons of mass destruction. I told the world, contrary to your
   claims, that Iraq had no connection to Al Qaeda. I told the world,
   contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to the atrocity
   on 9/11, 2001. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that the
   Iraqi people would resist a British and American invasion of their
   country and that the fall of Baghdad would not be the beginning of
   the end but merely the end of the beginning.

   "Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right
   and you turned out to be wrong, and 100,000 people paid with their
   lives; 1,600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack
   of lies; 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever on a
   pack of lies.

   "If the world had listened to [UN Secretary General] Kofi Annan,
   whose dismissal you demanded, if the world had listened to [French]
   President Chirac, who you want to paint as some kind of corrupt
   traitor, if the world had listened to me and the antiwar movement in
   Britain, we would not be in the disaster that we are in today.
   Senator, this is the mother of all smokescreens. You are trying to
   divert attention from the crimes that you supported, from the theft
   of billions of dollars of Iraq's wealth," argued Galloway.

   Then the Brit turned the tables on Coleman and steered the
   committee's attention toward "the real Oil for Food scandal."

   "Have a look at the fourteen months you were in charge of Baghdad,
   the first fourteen months when $8.8 billion of Iraq's wealth went
   missing on your watch. Have a look at Halliburton and other American
   corporations that stole not only Iraq's money but the money of the
   American taxpayer," Galloway said.

   "Have a look at the oil that you didn't even meter, that you were
   shipping out of the country and selling, the proceeds of which went
   who knows where. Have a look at the $800 million you gave to American
   military commanders to hand out around the country without even
   counting it or weighing it. Have a look at the real scandal breaking
   in the newspapers today, revealed in the earlier testimony in this
   committee. That the biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian
   politicians or French politicians. The real sanctions busters were
   your own companies with the connivance of your own Government."

   (John Nichols's new book, Against the Beast: A Documentary History of
   American Opposition to Empire (Nation Books), was published January
   30. Howard Zinn says, "At exactly the time when we need it most, John
   Nichols gives us a special gift -- a collection of writings,
   speeches, poems and songs from throughout American history -- that
   reminds us that our revulsion to war and empire has a long and noble
   tradition in this country." Frances Moore Lapp? calls Against the
   Beast "brilliant! A perfect book for an empire in denial." Against
   the Beast can be found at independent bookstores nationwide and can
   be obtained online by tapping the above reference or at
   www.amazon.com.)


------ End of Forwarded Message

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed May 18 22:26:34 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed May 18 22:41:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Don't Blame Newsweek
Message-ID: <200505190541.j4J5f77d004522@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0517-34.htm
Published on Tuesday, May 17, 2005 by Working for Change
Don't Blame Newsweek
Despite sloppiness, Newsweek didn't fabricate Koran story
by Molly Ivins
 
As Riley used to say on an ancient television sitcom, "This is a revoltin' 
development." There seems to be a bit of a campaign on the right to 
blame Newsweek for the anti-American riots in Afghanistan, Pakistan 
and other Islamic countries.

Uh, people, I hate to tell you this, but the story about Americans 
abusing the Koran in order to enrage prisoners has been out there for 
quite some time. The first mention I found of it is March 17, 2004, 
when the Independent of London interviewed the first British citizen 
released from Guantanamo Bay. The prisoner said he had been 
physically beaten but did not consider that as bad as the psychological 
torture, which he described extensively. Jamal al-Harith, a computer 
programmer from Manchester, said 70 percent of the inmates had 
gone on a hunger strike after a guard kicked a copy of the Koran. The 
strike was ended by force-feeding.

Then came the report, widely covered in American media last 
December, by the International Red Cross concerning torture at Gitmo. 
I wrote at the time: "In the name of Jesus Christ Almighty, why are 
people representing our government, paid by us, writing filth on the 
Korans of helpless prisoners? Is this American? Is this Christian? 
What are our moral values? Where are the clergymen on this? Speak 
up, speak out."

The reports kept coming: Dec. 30, 2004, "Released Moroccan 
Guantanamo Detainee Tells Islamist Paper of His Ordeal," reported 
the Financial Times. "They watched you each time you went to the 
toilet; the American soldiers used to tear up copies of Koran and throw 
them in the toilet. ..." said the released prisoner.

On Jan. 9, 2005, Andrew Sullivan, writing in The Sunday Times of 
London, said: "We now know a great deal about what has gone on in 
U.S. detention facilities under the Bush administration. Several 
government and Red Cross reports detail the way many detainees 
have been treated. We know for certain that the United States has 
tortured five inmates to death. We know that 23 others have died in 
U.S. custody under suspicious circumstances. We know that torture 
has been practiced by almost every branch of the U.S. military in sites 
all over the world -- from Abu Ghraib to Tikrit, Mosul, Basra, 
Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

"We know that no incidents of abuse have been reported in regular 
internment facilities and that hundreds have occurred in prisons 
geared to getting intelligence. We know that thousands of men, 
women and children were grabbed almost at random from their homes 
in Baghdad, taken to Saddam's former torture palace and subjected to 
abuse, murder, beatings, semi-crucifixions and rape.

"All of this is detailed in the official reports. What has been perpetrated 
in secret prisons to 'ghost detainees' hidden from Red Cross 
inspection, we do not know. We may never know.

"This is America? While White House lawyers were arguing about 
what separates torture from legitimate 'coercive interrogation 
techniques,' the following was taking place: Prisoners were hanged for 
hours or days from bars or doors in semi-crucifixions; they were 
repeatedly beaten unconscious, woken and then beaten again for days 
on end; they were sodomized; they were urinated on, kicked in the 
head, had their ribs broken, and were subjected to electric shocks.

"Some Muslims had pork or alcohol forced down their throats; they had 
tape placed over their mouths for reciting the Koran; many Muslims 
were forced to be naked in front of each other, members of the 
opposite sex and sometimes their own families. It was routine for the 
abuses to be photographed in order to threaten the showing of the 
humiliating footage to family members."

The New York Times reported on May 1 on the same investigation 
Newsweek was writing about and interviewed a released Kuwaiti, who 
spoke of three major hunger strikes, one of them touched off by 
"guards' handling copies of the Koran, which had been tossed into a 
pile and stomped on. A senior officer delivered an apology over the 
camp's loudspeaker system, pledging that such abuses would stop. 
Interpreters, standing outside each prison block, translated the officer's 
apology. A former interrogator at Guantanamo, in an interview with the 
Times, confirmed the accounts of the hunger strikes, including the 
public expression of regret over the treatment of the Korans."

So where does all this leave us? With a story that is not only true, but 
previously reported numerous times. So let's drop the "Lynch 
Newsweek" bull. Seventeen people have died in these riots. They 
didn't die because of anything Newsweek did -- the riots were caused 
by what our government has done.

Get your minds around it. Our country is guilty of torture. To quote 
myself once more: "What are you going to do about this? It's your 
country, your money, your government. You own this country, you run 
it, you are the board of directors. They are doing this in your name. 
The people we elected to public office do what you want them to. 
Perhaps you should get in touch with them."

? 2005 Working for Change



-- 
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 maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed May 18 22:56:03 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed May 18 22:59:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Air Force Seeks Bush's Approval for Space Weapons
	Programs
Message-ID: <000c01c55c37$7275b300$7525b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Air Force Seeks Bush's Approval for Space Weapons Programs


at, that you put up here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/business/18space.html?ex=1117080000&en=fd87443532b860e0&ei=5070

"The Air Force, saying it must secure space to protect the nation from
attack, is seeking President Bush's approval of a national-security
directive that could move the United States closer to fielding offensive and
defensive space weapons, according to White House and Air Force officials."



Look, admit it, a lot of people from both our own Government, Military, Etc
have been and are now insisting that we allow them to literally begin ruling
the world from outer space by us letting them put big rockets, lasers, guns,
whatevers up there.

If you don't realize you live in "Fascist Land" here in the USA by now, you
are have either been misinformed, haven't put 2 and 2 together yet, or are
just still sitting out there saying it could never happen in The Land Of The
Perpetually Free, America, your Homeland, what shambles is left that they
have molded it to their tyranny and treason against all we stand for
together on Earth, dim "Shining Last Hope Of Earth's Freedom" with one of
the AA batteries misfunctioning or not.

These people wish to rule the world, including all of us, and now have the
Technology to easily accomplish that, one baby step at a time or one giant
leap against all Mankind.

And if YOU don't stop them NOW in ALL their endeavors EVERYWHERE, then
kicking yourself in the ass with all your coulda woulda shoulda's sometime
in the Future is going to be just as smart as your current inaction and
inability (which the latter surely you are intelligent enough to overcome),
and a TON of people are going to suffer and die for the rest of Earth's days
due to your individual and collective current role as LOSER against the
people who ate America and Earth all in one big gulp.

And when you go to heaven or hell if there is one, they will ask you at the
gate "Weren't you one of those who could have found a way to STOP those
warmongering profiteer traitors to America and all we believe in at this
time from putting WEAPONS IN OUTER SPACE, but DIDN'T...?".

And you will look at either the angel or the demon at whichever gate, and
you will stare, and be speechless, then you will shit in your pants without
hesitation, and there will be no bathroom available to go to to freshen up,
and it will be an ETERNITY.

Or if you believe in neither a god or a devil but that you just die and the
worms eat you, then the worms will crawl in and out of your corpse
whispering "Weren't you one of those who could have found a way to STOP
those warmongering profiteer traitors to America and all we believe in at
this time from putting WEAPONS IN OUTER SPACE, but DIDN'T...?", and it will
be an ETERNITY.  And there will be no bathroom to go freshen in up anywhere,
and there won't be a disco, a museum, or a beach or something to go back to
when you're through not freshening up.

And that is how important this "NO WEAPONS IN SPACE" thing is against these
psychotics currently pulling the strings of, yes, kids, even The United
States Of America, is.  Yes, Virginia, there is an insanity clause, and
we're living through their psychosi this very moment.

Among all the other things they have on the stove on the front side back and
even unseen burners, this kind of "Highly Technological Warfare To Protect
American Interests ADVANCE" (actually it's just a tiny leap up to outer
space with weapons), this remains one of the most redundantly insane thing I
can ever imagine ANYONE approving of in their entire lifetimes, much less
designing, implementing, and using, after of course they convince all
Americans it is not only in all of their own best interests (and The
World's), but to finance it for them also.

I'm just sorry, but holding up babies and families, spouting religion,
saluting the flag, invoking patriotism, whatever it takes to sell whatever
these people keep selling to us at the expense of our own deteriment time
after time, if you let these fuckers put weapons of any kind in outerspace
for any reason, you deserve whatever you get in this life, and the next one.

Somewhere, a true American, must draw a line.

I'm sure all different kind of Americans have all kinds of different pens
and pencils and brushes and inks and paints and canvasses and ideas of what
a line is and etc etc etc.

But you MUST draw a line, and TAKE THIS STAND.  On ALL these issues.

How you're going to do that when you STILL are completely unable to reach a
Majority of even just Americans on a steady basis (if even just one singular
time) with some kind of Media, I have no idea.

My only useless suggestion remains investigate, report, talk, communicate,
and sue sue sue, find the lawyers, pay the money for whatever it takes for
litigation of everything on every level, and come out guns a blazing, it's
our country, we want it back.

These are simple little words on your simple little computer screen.

You and all you love, desire or want in this USA of a country, are now in
the hands of mass murdering criminals.

Armed with that knowledge, and whether accepting it as your current Ultimate
Reality or not, you can at least investigate the matter for yourself to come
to a rational and sane and TRUE conclusion one way or the other, rather than
just taking someone else's word for it All and just completely dismissing it
as a trivial matter not worth pursuing further than the words you are
reading this very instant.

If you choose to act on this knowledge of who controls what and what they
want, desire, and are creating this very instant on so many levels to your
own destruction, then you don't have very much time left.  Do anything.
Don't wind up just being a hero just for one day like David Bowie sang, but
the alarm arrow on the wind up clock has definitely hit midnight and hell
itself is on the move.

If you choose NOT to act on this knowledge, whether I am a madman or not, I
can just about guarantee the prophecy of someone standing at some gate at
some time in your future asking that question above is certainly going to
come true.

Whether I, you, or the tooth fairy likes it or not.

Oh well, heh, hooboy, heh, anyway, I just find it a little funny that people
don't think even our own Military at this time are "Out Of Control" when
even the NYTimes prints our Air Force shouting "Ve Must Have De Space
Veapons Immediately...!!" in old familiar German dialect I heard once long
ago in stories my father brought back to my bedside from WWII.

These people are no different, they just hold up babies, wave our flag at
us, and invoke God.

Think of it like this, if the NAZIS from World War II were to begin putting
weapons up in outerspace, you would probably sit up and listen.

But because it is YOUR OWN PEOPLE you still sit their with your head up your
ass thinking they are actually stupid enough to consider the welfare of you,
your loved ones, and your country as they plop both defensive and offensive
weapons up in outer space, (oh yeah, and while you pay for it all with your
own taxes, again), cementing their hold on a global control system (from
Star Trek Land no less that will continue to bring them success, power,
money, influence and glory.

Well, sorry, they're just not that stupid.

And they have all the weapons.  And they have all the technology.  And they
have all your money.

Ok, now everyone but the chimpanzee in the corner leave the room.  Great,
now if they have all the weapons, are mass murdering tyrants and traitors
who really don't give a flying crap in all reality about you, your loved
ones, or your country, and they have all the technology, and they can only
do it with your own taxes you give them to do it, Cheetah, what would be a
good move to try to find out if you could do while continuing to investigate
all the legal proceedings for removal from various government and military
and etc positions, that would prevent them from putting weapons into
outerspace...?

"Uh, don't let them have the money...?"

Very good, here, have a banana.

Any republican or democrat that authorizes this money will go down in the
annals of infamy in American history, to paraphrase or something Winston
Churchill.  If the money is given to them, you will at least be able to
foretell the future that will be in history books as to the names of those
who let it happen and just gave them our money to do it with.

That probably doesn't comfort you, but it's the best I got.  Ok, I'm
through.  This "Perfect System" some of these, our very own, "Men" have
created and continue to create, remains nothing short of astounding as to
the horror that my personal gut feeling (attached to a few actual facts here
and there) sees them planning, creating, and utilizing, again, with us
insane SUCKERS paying for it all.

Phenomenal.

Adolph Hitler eat your heart out.

The America Super-Man has finally arrived.

Amazing crap, springtime for Bush and America.

Here we go, into the wild blue yonder............

Fasten your seat belt.

Later, when the full New Regime is finally in place, it will be fastened for
you.

Then, finally, America will be free to pursue more creative goals.

Utopia at last.



CheeseNote:  I want my money back.  I didn't sign up as an American to pay
for this kind of crap.  I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this
anymore.  Please copy this email and send it to everyone in Zaire, as
sending to anyone in America is going to do just about as good as a flea
trying to mate with an elephant will.






Cheeseburger


- Who needs Filibusters, we have British PM's.   c|:0-=||=<   It's sad
really to realize that the art of telling the Truth, or even just hinting at
it, is almost virtually dead in the actual Congress of America.  What a
collection of supreme betrayals.        Et tu, Brute..............  :|


.

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Thu May 19 00:09:30 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Thu May 19 00:13:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Jesus' words on Armageddon
Message-ID: <001201c55c41$b3dd94c0$7525b7d8@baby1>

Re:  Jesus' words on Armageddon



Ian wrote:

"Jesus was referring to a generation to come, and not the one that He was
speaking to."

"That is all.  No hidden motives, ulterior agendas, or even ministerial
tomfoolery or divinely-inspired interpretation. Just plain english (or, more
accurately, Aramaic) vis-a-vis grammar, punctuation and syntax."




CheeseComment:   I still think that the possibility exists that he was
either drunk or a dupe of a group of people called the Essenes if when he
said that he was referring to some "future generation" not yet born that
were to be the ones to "expect Armageddon" in their lifetimes.

Regardless, the concept of Armageddon has been used to dominate various
innumerable circles of reality on this planet for almost forever by ruthless
people.

And perhaps, as Lyle stated, as some people believe this Earthly existence
might actually be "A station of Hell", if that winds up being the case, then
all the "legends" of "Earth being ruled by The Devil" etc "until God comes
back to throw him down finally" (or whatever it takes to break outta dis
joint) would follow along those lines, and that would mean we are living on
a prison planet ruled by invisible beings with vast powers from The Dark
Side.

I thought it was Hell enough having to deal with just people like the
Republicans and Democrats, but now you tell me all THAT is hanging around in
"The Air" as well...?

Give me a break.  It's not enough I have to crack my butt to battle
psychotic humans who create Hell themselves here on Earth, but there is some
kind of Dark Ruler running around in dimensions, darkness and invisibilities
with vast powers that I must also battle, overcome, and vanquish..........?


Not a problem.      I'll send you guys a postcard....    :|


The incessant global Constant cleverly promulgated by The Dark Ones' human
servants at the top of our various pecking orders of our respective
countries etc of "My god is the only true and right one, My politics are the
only true and right ones, My realities are the only true and right ones, My
race is the only true and right one, Etc Etc Etc", which keeps all you
miserable suckers at each others' throats endlessly, are starting to get in
my way and annoy me.


Ya'll...   everyone everywhere...    try to tone down on some of that pure
unadulterated bullshit, I'm workin' here.......





Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 19 04:54:35 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 19 05:00:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6417313.1116503675142.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Gloves Off As Senators Start Debate On Judges
 
 By Shailagh Murray and Charles Babington
 
  The Senate opened a long-awaited debate on whether to ban filibusters of judicial nominees with vividly partisan attacks yesterday, as a small group of moderates worked behind the scenes for a compromise to avert the showdown.
 
 Senators from both parties filled the chamber all day with impassioned speeches about their constitutional duty to give the president "advice and consent" on judicial nominees. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) set the tone with an opening speech that said Democrats want to "kill, to defeat, to assassinate these nominees." Democrats denounced his remarks.
 
 Even more intense action took place in small groups and closed meetings, as half a dozen GOP centrists, and an equal number of Democrats, tried to close a deal that would defuse the controversy. Aides familiar with the negotiations said they focused on two issues: the fate of seven pending appellate court nominees who were blocked from an up-or-down vote in Bush's first term and the more difficult issue of agreeing on how Democrats would treat the right to filibuster judicial nominees in coming months, when a Supreme Court vacancy might occur.
 
 The "six and six" proposal, as it is called, would obligate Democratic signatories to forswear backing a filibuster against future judicial nominees except in extraordinary circumstances. In return, the six GOP signers would agree to vote against efforts to ban judicial filibusters, the aides said.
 
 Such an arrangement would effectively end the crisis because Democrats would not have the votes they need to prevent votes on the nominees in question. At the same time, Frist would not have the 51 votes he needs to disallow filibusters of judicial nominations.
 
 It was unclear how the proposed accord would handle the seven pending Bush nominees. Under one scenario, all would receive confirmation votes -- and presumably be seated on various appeals courts -- except Henry W. Saad of Michigan and William G. Myers III of Idaho. Sources said Saad had made too many Democratic enemies, in part by accidentally sending a senator an e-mail that criticized the lawmaker. Myers, aides said, is a lower priority to Republican conservatives determined to secure confirmations for Priscilla Richman Owen of Texas, Janice Rogers Brown of California and William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama.
 
 Senators participating in the negotiations included Democrats Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Robert C. Byrd (W.Va.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.). Republican negotiators included Olympia J. Snowe (Maine), John McCain (Ariz.), Mike DeWine (Ohio), John W. Warner (Va.), Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Warner hosted at least one meeting. "It's 200 years of tradition and precedent -- there are a lot of issues to consider," Snowe told reporters.
 
 The White House is taking the position that it wants no compromise and is insisting on an up-or-down vote on each of its nominees.
 
 Activist groups on the left and right have grown increasingly intent on helping to shape the judiciary in recent years, as rulings on abortion, school prayer and other topics have stirred controversy. Stakes are especially high this year, senators say, as many expect the first Supreme Court vacancy in more than a decade.
 
 The filibuster rarely figured in judicial fights until Bush's first term, when Democrats used it to keep 10 appellate court nominees from having confirmation votes. Under a filibuster, a determined minority can keep a measure or a nomination from being approved if it can muster 41 votes against. The Republicans want to eliminate the filibuster for judicial nominees, making it possible to approve judges with 51 votes -- an approach known as the "nuclear option" because of the potential impact on Senate comity.
 
 On the Senate floor yesterday, GOP leaders charged that Democrats have abused the filibuster by using it on several judicial nominations, which they said was not a part of Senate tradition. Democrats responded by saying the filibuster is a hallowed tool that protects minority rights.
 
 "I do not rise for party. I rise for principle," Frist said moments after calling up Owen's nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. When he spoke of killing nominees, however, Democratic Whip Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) hurried to the floor and admonished Frist to "choose words carefully." He cited the appearance yesterday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee of U.S. District Judge Joan H. Lefkow, whose husband and mother were recently slain.
 
 Some Republicans are trying to convince Democrats that, even if every pending judge were given an up-or-down vote, it is not a foregone conclusion all seven would be confirmed. "Some of them wouldn't make it," Graham said. If all Democrats and independent James Jeffords (Vt.) vote against a nominee, six Republicans would have to join them -- or 11 Republicans would have to be absent -- for the nomination to fail in the Senate, where Republicans hold 55 seats.
 
 Other Republican senators simply want to vote on changing the rules on filibustering judicial nominations, because win or lose, the matter would be put to rest. "We need to clear it up," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said. Hatch, along with other conservative GOP senators, does not want to compromise if it means choosing which nominees would be approved and which would be rejected. "I think there will be an uproar on our side if we throw anybody overboard," Hatch said.
 
 In a floor speech, Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) traced the politicization of the confirmation process to 1987, when Democrats took over the Senate and the confirmation rate for Circuit Court nominees fell to 65 percent, from 89 percent earlier in the Reagan administration. President George H.W. Bush's lower-court nominees took an average of 100 days to confirm, twice the average duration in the Carter administration.
 
 But when Republicans took control of the Senate during the Clinton presidency, "we exacerbated the pattern of delay and blocking nominations," Specter said, by pushing the average duration to 192 days for district court nominees and 262 days for circuit court nominees. Seventy of Clinton's nominees were blocked through holds or other procedural maneuvers. Then Democrats filibustered 10 of Bush's nominees, seven of whom have been renominated.
 
 "Against this background of bitter and angry recriminations, with each party serially trumpeting the other party to get even or really to dominate, the Senate now faces dual threats" -- the filibuster and the nuclear option, Specter said. It is a confrontation of "mutually assured destruction," he added.
 
 Staff writers Dan Balz and Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 19 04:56:18 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 19 05:02:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <16746253.1116503778312.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Nuclear Cloud Over The Senate
 
 By David S. Broder
 
  The personal stakes in the Senate fight over confirmation of judges could not be higher. President Bush has staked his prestige on a direct challenge to Senate Democrats by renominating for the appeals courts seven judges whose confirmations were blocked in the last Congress by the threat of Democratic filibusters.
 
 The White House has pressed Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to outlaw a repetition of such tactics by lining up 50 votes to sustain a ruling by Vice President Cheney that judicial filibusters are not protected by Senate rules. Were more than five of the 55 Republican senators to desert the president on that issue, it would be a heavy blow to his influence.
 
 Frist, who has made the issue his personal cause, also has much riding on the outcome -- including his claim on support from staunch conservatives when, as expected, he seeks the presidential nomination in three years.
 
 And Minority Leader Harry Reid also has high stakes. In his first months as leader, the Nevadan has compiled a spotty record of verbal gaffes and parliamentary gambles. But if he is able to turn back Bush and Frist on this giant issue, his stature among his fellow Democrats will be vastly enhanced.
 
 But dwarfing all these individual dramas is the question of what the vote means for the Senate as an institution. Two of the main props of the Senate's identity are at stake. The tradition of unlimited debate, going back to the Senate's earliest years, has been maintained through the centuries, with the only ceiling being the one set by its cloture rule -- the ability of a supermajority (now 60 votes) to bring debate to a close.
 
 The second prop is the continuity of Senate rules, which carry over automatically from one Congress to the next, unless changed by the prescribed procedure -- which requires 67 votes.
 
 For traditionalists, the Frist effort -- the "nuclear option" -- is an assault on both of these institutional props. That explains why some Republicans with long memories and years of service, such as Indiana's Richard Lugar, a 28-year veteran, have expressed deep misgivings about the prospect of the nuclear option.
 
 However, they are part of a distinct minority on the Republican side. Only 20 of the 55 GOP senators began their service before the Republicans secured a majority in January 1995. Except for the 18-month hiatus in 2001-02, when a party switch by Vermont's Jim Jeffords allowed Democrat Tom Daschle to become the majority leader, the other 35 Republicans have never experienced the frustrations of minority status. Nor do they know how important Senate rules have been in protecting the rights of individual senators.
 
 Many of the newer Republican senators moved from the House of Representatives, where there are no permanent rules and where the majority party needs to give minimal consideration to the views of the minority.
 
 That is why you find a sharp generational split among Senate Republicans on the nuclear option. John McCain, class of 1987, and Trent Lott, class of 1989, have been at the center of negotiations with Democrats about a possible compromise. Lugar, who is enough of a party loyalist that in the end he may well vote with Frist, nonetheless has said that he is "opposed to trying to eliminate filibusters, simply because I think they protect minority rights, whether they're Republicans, Democrats or other people."
 
 In the end, the outcome may rest in the hands of veterans such as Arlen Specter, class of 1981, and John Warner, class of 1979, who have both been trying desperately to avert the showdown.
 
 Not all the "old bulls" agree. Although their Democratic predecessors often filibustered civil rights bills, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran and Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby both told me they are comfortable ending that tactic when it comes to judgeships.
 
 But I was struck by the comment of Utah's Robert Bennett, class of 1993, a second-generation senator who learned his love of the institution at his father's knee. Bennett puts much of the blame for the current crisis on the Democrats, for blocking people such as Miguel Estrada, who served with distinction in the Clinton administration Justice Department but nonetheless was filibustered so long that he withdrew as a Bush appeals court nominee.
 
 But Bennett said that, whatever the outcome of this vote, he fears that a sword has been unsheathed that will forever change the way the Senate operates. "Once we [Republicans] try to change the rules with 51 votes, the precedent is on the table," he said. "If Hillary Clinton becomes president with a Democratic Senate and wants to appoint Lani Guinier to the Supreme Court, Harry Reid could make that happen with 51 votes."
 
 That is a thought for Republicans to ponder.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 19 04:58:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 19 05:04:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26479617.1116503920922.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Global Power Plays
 
 By Jim Hoagland
 
  President Bush and Vice President Cheney fight an inexorable tide that pushes their goal of restoring presidential and national power farther away even as they accelerate their efforts to reach it.
 
 They swim against a tide of the global fragmentation of power in all its forms -- economic, political and military. More nations today possess the ability to make and sell inexpensive, good-quality shirt buttons than ever before. The same is true for costly but workable nuclear weapons.
 
 Located at the opposite ends of any spectrum of importance, the spread of consumer goods and of history's deadliest weapons underlines the need to update our notions of power, whether we are ordinary shoppers or strategists working in the White House.
 
 Thirty years ago Americans fantasized (in horror or delight) about U.S. troops occupying oil fields in the Middle East to guarantee low-cost energy. Today U.S. troops fight in Iraq -- but China and India determine the record levels of world oil prices more than the White House does. The galloping consumption and fierce competition for supplies and future contracts by the two Asian giants make supply and demand dance on a knife's edge.
 
 Whether or not you believe that Bush and Cheney went into Iraq in a bid for direct control of oil supplies -- and I do not -- it is now unlikely that what they accomplish there before leaving office will much affect global petroleum markets. The legal framework, physical security and infrastructure repair that oil companies will need to function in Iraq take much longer to put into place.
 
 In any event, any freely elected government of Iraq would fall into line with other OPEC members to maximize oil revenue. The spread of democracy Bush champions in that region is also a spread of popular pressure on rulers to manage resources purely for local, not foreign, benefit.
 
 Oil-producing countries detonated the dispersal of political and economic power by seizing control of ownership or production of their petroleum reserves in the 1970s. Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda -- an indirect creation of the oil revenue harvested by Saudi Arabia's royal family -- then showed on Sept. 11, 2001, that governments no longer possessed a monopoly on mass destruction.
 
 Bush had come to office impressed by Cheney's oft-voiced concern that they needed urgently to restore power and prestige drained from the White House since Watergate. The horrors of Sept. 11 made the restoration of American power in the world a parallel defining theme for the Bush presidency.
 
 This reflex is understandable, even commendable, to a point. But over time it creates its own obstacles. Every conflict, whether with Senate Democrats over judges or Jacques Chirac over Iraq, gradually becomes a contest of wills that has to be won in power terms. The abstraction of power swiftly overwhelms the specifics and merits of the problem.
 
 The Democrats, Chirac and many others obliged by responding in kind, offering vague theories on "soft power" or "multi polarity" that missed the point of the rapidly changing international environment as much as the drive for restoration of a chimerical American dominance did.
 
 The withering of the powers of nation-states, and virtually every national leader, under the pressures of globalization is more of a mixed blessing than the proponents of soft power or multipolarity acknowledge. And the consequences of fragmentation are also far more difficult to resolve than the restoration effort assumes.
 
 Nuclear proliferation has been pushed significantly forward by a privatized, for-profit international network ostensibly (and implausibly) run by a single Pakistani scientist, A.Q. Khan. Yet the Bush administration, while proclaiming that proliferation is the greatest danger in the world, lets other concerns take priority.
 
 The White House fails to put effective pressure on Pakistan to let American investigators question Khan. Nor will Islamabad punish him for what by Pakistan's own account should be classed as crimes against humanity. Washington has also made an overly generous plea bargain arrangement with a Khan client, Libya's Moammar Gaddafi.
 
 China and South Korea similarly cannot be convinced that Kim Jong Il's possession of nuclear weapons is a greater threat to them than a collapse of the North Korean regime would be. They rationalize their fears by claiming that Kim has no nuclear weapons, or that he won't use them if he does.
 
 Much of the conflict and confusion apparent in international and American politics today comes from fearful, at times almost panicky, reactions to the migration of power away from national leaders and its fragmentation at national levels. (This is true in Beijing and Moscow as well as in Washington and Paris.) What our leaders have to fear is fear itself. Fear will inhibit the vision and judgment needed to adjust and rebalance power on a global and equitable basis.
 
 jimhoagland@washpost.com
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 19 05:18:17 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Thu May 19 05:24:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Recommended: "Rift over recruiting at public high
	schools"
Message-ID: <200505191218.j4JCIHr31563@csm-web02-nbr.emcweb.com>

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca recommends this article from The Christian Science Monitor

This debate will grow!

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and critically endangered species like gorillas and pandas are in
peril. The longer we wait, the more grave the consequences become.
Urge the Senate to address global warming by pasing the Climate
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==================================================================== 

Click here to read this story online:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0518/p02s01-ussc.html

Headline:  Rift over recruiting at public high schools
Byline:  Dean Paton Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Date: 05/18/2005

(SEATTLE)While most Parent Teacher Student Association meetings might center on 
finding funding for better math books or the best way to chaperon a 
school dance, a recent meeting here at Garfield High School grappled 
with something much larger - the war in Iraq.

The school is perhaps one of the first in the nation to debate and vote 
against military recruiting on high school campuses - a topic already 
simmering at the college level. In fact, the Supreme Court recently 
agreed to decide whether the federal government can withhold funds from 
colleges that bar military recruiters.

High schools are struggling with a similar issue as the No Child Left 
Behind Act requires that schools receiving federal funding must release 
the names of its students to recruiters. Some feel that's an invasion 
of privacy prompted by a war effort that has largely divided the 
American public. Others say barring recruiters is an infringement of 
free speech - and a snub to the military, particularly in a time of war.

Garfield High School took a decisive step last week with a vote of 25 
to 5 to adopt a resolution that says "public schools are not a place 
for military recruiters."

All this comes as recruiters struggle to meet enlistment goals.

Although PTA chapters are supposed to be "nonsectarian and nonpartisan, 
which means nonpolitical," according to Jenny Sopko, a spokeswoman for 
the national PTA in Chicago, Garfield's PTSA cochair maintains that its 
action is "wholly consistent with our mission."

"The mission of the PTA is to protect and defend kids," says Amy 
Hagopian, a mother of three whose son is a Garfield senior. "It's not 
just limited to education issues - which explains why the PTA takes 
positions on kids' health, violence, and other serious issues."

Garfield, with 1,600 students, is one of Seattle's top high schools, 
routinely producing bumper crops of National Merit Scholars, plus 
internationally acclaimed student orchestras and jazz bands. It's also 
racially diverse, with African-American students making up 31 percent 
of its student population.

Like so many schools today, Garfield grapples with painful budget cuts, 
loss of teachers, and dwindling resources. The school's opposition to 
military recruitment seems, in part, a result of parents' growing 
realization that tax money spent for the Iraq war is money not spent on 
children's educations or other domestic needs.

"They're spending $4 billion a month in Iraq, but we have to cut our 
race relations class, which costs $12,500," Ms. Hagopian pointed out. 
"That's an important class for our kids."

During discussion at the PTSA's meeting last week, Ted Inkley argued 
against the resolution because he thought it dangerous to deny free 
speech to organizations simply because their philosophies or intentions 
disagreed with the PTSA.

Mr. Inkley, an attorney whose daughter is a senior, told the crowded 
library he could "easily" see a resolution by some other PTA that 
banned Planned Parenthood representatives from campus because of their 
views on contraception and abortion.

Steve Ludwig, whose son is a senior and whose daughter will enter as a 
freshman next fall, made a point shared by many in attendance: Garfield 
does not allow organizations that promote illegal activities to recruit 
students to perform those activities, nor does it allow organizations 
that discriminate on the basis of race, gender, national origin, or 
sexual orientation to recruit on campus.

"Planned Parenthood, as far as I know, does not advocate or perform 
illegal acts. The US military does," Mr. Ludwig continued. The 
soft-spoken carpenter said he would not object if Army representatives 
came to Garfield to debate their ideas on torture or aggressive war. 
"What I object to is their coming here to recruit students to perform 
those acts," he said. "It's not about free speech."

Nationally, there's a growing sense that recruiters desperate to 
bolster falling enlistment numbers are misrepresenting sign-up 
agreements to entice recruits. In response to 480 allegations of 
improprieties by recruiters since Oct. 1, the Army announced it will 
suspend its recruiting for one day on May 20, so commanders can remind 
its 7,500 recruiters of proper conduct.

Douglas Smith, a US Army spokesman, said the job of recruiters is not 
to make promises but to show applicants possibilities and career 
options.

"As for a recruiter making promises and not following through, the 
recruiter's not in any position to promise anything. We hope that all 
our recruiters are communicating honestly with our applicants," Mr. 
Smith said. But he added, "In the contract [between the new soldier and 
the Army] it says, 'Anything the recruiter may have promised me is 
moot.' "

Smith also pointed out the legality of military recruitment activity on 
campuses. "The No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to let us have 
access to these students," he says.

Indeed, the resolution by Garfield's PTSA is more symbol than policy, 
for Seattle, like virtually all school districts, requires high schools 
to give recruiters access to students - or risk losing federal funding 
under Section 9528 of the act. School districts also are required to 
notify parents and students that they may "opt out" by signing a letter 
preventing recruiters from getting their names.

In response to Garfield's resolution, Seattle's district issued a 
statement reinforcing its policy of allowing recruiters to work on high 
school campuses, but also said it would increase efforts next fall to 
make it easier for parents and students to opt out.

"Nothing in this resolution prevents students desirous of joining the 
military from doing so," said Sasha Riser-Kositsky, a Garfield 
sophomore from a written statement during last week's meeting. "Indeed, 
there is a recruiting center within a five-minute walking distance of 
Garfield."





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From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Wed May 18 20:53:27 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Thu May 19 07:11:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Star Wars: Episode III. May the Force Be Over.
Message-ID: <20050519035327.18715.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:27:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Generals Offer a Sober Outlook on Iraqi War
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 19, 2005

Generals Offer a Sober Outlook on Iraqi War
By JOHN F. BURNS and ERIC SCHMITT

The generals pulled back from suggestions that positive trends in Iraq could allow a drawdown of U.S. troops late this year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/international/middleeast/19cnd-iraq.html?ex=1117166400&en=ebf179e5f03b7e31&ei=5070



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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:27:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Plan Would Broaden F.B.I.'s Terror Role
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WASHINGTON | May 19, 2005

Plan Would Broaden F.B.I.'s Terror Role
By ERIC LICHTBLAU

The Bush administration is pushing to expand the F.B.I.'s power to demand business records in terror investigations without a judge's approval.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/politics/19terror.html?ex=1117166400&en=6c97c9934b7e4d41&ei=5070



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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:28:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Quickly
	Politicized
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MOVIES | May 19, 2005

Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Quickly Politicized
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER

The forces of good and evil in George Lucas's "Star Wars" movies can't hold a candle to the blogging, advertising and boycotting forces of the right and left.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/movies/19star.html?ex=1117166400&en=d15b276216e5b425&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 19 08:23:05 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:28:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Climate Signals
Message-ID: <20050519142306.A61E911F8D0@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 19, 2005

Editorial: Climate Signals


Hardly a week goes by without somebody telling President Bush that his passive approach to global warming is hopelessly behind the times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/opinion/19thu1.html?ex=1117166400&en=418906b19e4bc9aa&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 19 08:23:35 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:29:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bashing Newsweek
Message-ID: <20050519142339.D814983C55@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 19, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Bashing Newsweek
By DAVID BROOKS

And forgetting the real enemy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/opinion/19brooks.html?ex=1117166400&en=679c05627877481c&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 19 08:24:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:30:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Portrait of Class in America (7 Letters)
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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 19, 2005

A Portrait of Class in America (7 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/opinion/l19class.html?ex=1117166400&en=376610b954161c0f&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 19 08:25:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:30:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: NPR as a Bulwark: The Long View (2 Letters)
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OPINION | May 19, 2005

NPR as a Bulwark: The Long View (2 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/opinion/l19npr.html?ex=1117166400&en=6af699e22b8a1b0a&ei=5070




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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:31:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 
	NYTimes.com: Israel Carries Out First Airstrike, in Gaza,
	in 3 Months of Truce
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 19, 2005

Israel Carries Out First Airstrike, in Gaza, in 3 Months of Truce
By GREG MYRE

The airstrike came during one of two exchanges of gunfire in southern Gaza that left one Palestinian militant dead and several wounded.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/international/middleeast/19mideast.html?ex=1117166400&en=6200faa77fae880e&ei=5070



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From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 19 07:35:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: On One Side, Women and Blacks;
	on the Other, the Same
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WASHINGTON | May 19, 2005

On One Side, Women and Blacks; on the Other, the Same
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

It was a day of fraught meetings and public theatrics as the Senate formally opened a confrontation both sides say is at its heart about filling any vacancies on the Supreme Court.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/politics/19hill.html?ex=1117166400&en=df592e06c5558ad4&ei=5070



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From harperalexander at mail.com  Thu May 19 08:31:25 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Thu May 19 08:37:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] George Galloway 1
Message-ID: <20050519153126.3076D4BEB5@ws1-1.us4.outblaze.com>

Michael asked me to send you more information about this fellow, which I will do by letting you have some articles followed, if I have time with a summing up + my own FWIW opinion.
AL Baraka

Galloway: The man who took on America
How did one maverick MP manage to outgun a committee of senior US politicians so successfully? And did he make any lasting impact? Rupert Cornwell reports from Washington
19 May 2005
The man who took on America



It may not have been the "mother of all smokescreens" - as George Galloway memorably described the congressional investigation into the Iraq oil-for-food scandal - but his appearance certainly underlined the mother of all culture gaps between the parliamentary traditions of Britain and America.

We tend to see politics as a public bloodsport. In the US politics is as brutal as anywhere. But the violence usually takes place off-stage, in the lobbying process, in the money game, in the ruthless manipulation of scandal. True, every four years there are presidential election candidates' "debates". But - with the exception of Bill Clinton - every recent American president would have been slaughtered weekly if he had to face Prime Minister's Questions. On the public stage, US politicians are not accustomed to serious challenge.

Take Norm Coleman. He is a smooth, upwardly mobile Republican senator who is making a name for himself at the helm of the Permanent Sub-Committee for Investigations, not least because of his call for Kofi Annan to step down as United Nations secretary general over the scandal. As Mr Coleman knows, no American politician ever lost a vote by bashing the UN.

A telegenic former big city mayor, he looks younger than his 55 years. Every senator, it is said, looks in the mirror and sees a future president. And who knows, maybe a White House run is in Mr Coleman's future. But on Tuesday, to UK and US observers alike, he looked way out of his depth, manifestly unprepared for what was coming when Mr Galloway began to testify.

Perhaps he believed that a smooth ride would be ensured by the traditional deference accorded the Senate (which is fond of referring to itself, with barely a trace of irony, as "the world's greatest deliberative body"). In fact, proceedings only served to underline the average senator or congressman's ignorance of the world beyond America, be it the underlying realities of the Middle East, or the polemical ways of British public life.

"If in fact he lied to this committee, there will have to be consequences," said Mr Coleman after the encounter, in the manner of a petulant schoolboy outgunned in an argument, but who gamely insists on having the last word, however feeble, in an attempt to retrieve his dignity.

And like the hapless junior senator from Minnesota, the US media too did not know quite what had hit it. For all its imperfections, Congress - in particular the Senate part of it - commands a rigid respect. Coverage of it tends to be strait-laced and humourless. Into this primly arranged china shop crashed George Galloway, to deliver a public broadside against US policy in Iraq, and the US system, unmatched since Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.

In Britain, the prospect of such a confrontation would have sketch-writers and columnists salivating days in advance. But that is not the American way. Honourable exception should be made for the New York Post, Murdoch-owned and the nearest thing in the US to a Fleet Street tabloid. "Brit Fries Senators in Oil" was the headline on a news story that noted the "stunning audacity" of Mr Galloway's performance, how he had caught Mr Coleman and his colleagues "flatfooted" (only one of whom was left when the chairman brought the embarrassment to an end).

A brief perusal of the US press suggests that the Post's Andrea Peyser was also the only columnist to weigh in. As might be expected, she excoriated Mr Galloway as a thug and a bully, "a lefty lackey for butchers". Mr Coleman and his subcommittee had let the side down, she wrote. "Our Senators did not pipe up. Rather, they assumed the look of frightened little boys, caught with their pants around their ankles, nervously awaiting punishment." She concluded: "It's time to take the gloves off, senators. Kick this viper where it hurts."

But anyone expecting such colour in the more august broadsheets will have been severely disappointed. The Washington Post and The New York Times devoted only inside-page coverage. The Times noted that Mr Coleman, despite being a former prosecutor, seemed "flummoxed" by Mr Galloway's "aggressive posture and tone". Both singled out the MP's debating skill. It is a skill on which, alas, American politics place little premium.

Much the same went for television coverage. CNN's presenters smiled gamely as they ran clips of the juiciest Galloway invective. Plainly though, they too were bemused. This sort of thing does not occur in the US Congress - and that of course was his achievement, to turn the usual rules of such hearings on their head.

Normally, the committee members dominate proceedings, armed with investigative material furnished by their handsomely financed staff, and expect respect bordering on veneration from those they summon. When the matter at hand is as contentious as the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal, most witnesses appear with a phalanx of lawyers, advising them when to "take the Fifth" and thus avoid potentially incriminating testimony.

Not so George Galloway. Not a lawyer was in sight, and even if one had been whispering in his ear, he almost certainly would not have listened. Instead, he took the battle to his accusers. Mr Coleman looked as if he had not been spoken to like that since his father caught him cheating on high school homework.

Yesterday, 12 hours after Mr Galloway left town, the legislative cultural gap was again in evidence as normal business resumed on the Senate floor. The topic could not have been more important or more venomous - a row over judicial filibusters that threatens to overturn 200 years of tradition, and bring the chamber's business to a virtual halt.

But Bill Frist and Harry Reid, the Senate majority and minority leaders, droned on as if they were introducing an amendment on the Highway Financing Bill. As usual, the cameras remained fixed on the speaker. By convention, panning shots are banned, for the simple reason that these important gentlemen would be seen delivering their Philippics to rows of empty benches. But then again, that is how America likes its formal politics; sedate, dignified, eschewing the sort of personal attack delivered by Mr Galloway.

Long, long ago, in the 1950 World Cup in Uruguay, the unfancied US scored a 1-0 victory over an all-conquering England football team. The performance on Capitol Hill of Mr Galloway (although he is anything but a Sassenach) might be seen as some belated revenge for that humiliation.

But, if truth be told, the political shock was little more noticed here - and is likely to have as little enduring impact - than that never-to-be forgotten sporting upset half a century ago. 



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From harperalexander at mail.com  Thu May 19 08:40:45 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Thu May 19 08:46:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] George Galloway 2
Message-ID: <20050519154045.E3E734BEAE@ws1-1.us4.outblaze.com>

This is by Christopher Hitchens, who is a bit of a wacko, who if I am not wrong spent years of his lfe devoted to  Clinton baiting. If it is not the same Hitchens then I apologise.
AL Baraka
Christopher Hitchens: Just what we need - a Baathist fused with a sectarian Muslim
19 May 2005


It's always impressive to see someone perform who is unembarrassable. George Galloway's testimony was disgraceful, but - in a way that some disgraceful and shameless performers are - it was impressive. Like Oliver North, who put on his uniform and his medals and came to the Hill, he faced down the inquiry through sheer bluff and presence.

Galloway has the nerve to say that he's never publicly defended the Saddam Hussein regime - and the senators were either too sluggish or too polite to challenge him on it. But we've got the quotes, and he's been there on numerous occasions, shaking the hands of Tariq Aziz and Saddam.

His claims about the Charity Commission are false; it has issued a statement which only a millionth of the people who saw himwill read. The question he was asked was: your name keeps appearing on this man, Fawaz Zureikat's, documents; do you know where he made his money? His answer was to deny buying or selling oil - but that wasn't what he was asked.

He has the advantage the media give to a lot of bare-faced charlatans with personality. They get away with it. That's how televangelists and mutual funds operators work.

I enjoyed our exchanges more than he did. I asked him if he had a copy of the letter or e-mail he claims to have sent to the committee, asking to appear before them. He hosed me with vulgar abuse, saying I was a terminal alcoholic, a "Trotskyist popinjay".

His claim to have sent a letter was obviously false but it bought him a little time. He can't show us the letter - so he must have been lying.

His appearance demonstrated the superiority of parliamentary training and the soapbox speaking style - rather than that of the overly polite, dull and deferential senate hearings. Americans enjoyed it because it broke the tedium.

But he looks so much like what he is: a thug and a demagogue, the type of working-class-wideboy-and-proud-of-it who is too used to the expenses account, the cars and the hotels - all cigars and back-slapping. He is a very cheap character and a short-arse like a lot of them are, puffed up like a turkey. He has managed to fuse being a Baathist with being a Muslim sectarian and a carpet-bagger in the East End - as well as a front for a creepy sub-Leninist sect, the Socialist Workers' Party. He's got the venomous riff-raff at one end and your one-God fanatics on the other. Wonderful. Just what we need.

This is pretty sordid. The media are there to ask the difficult questions, not to act as an echo chamber for frauds like Galloway.

Christopher Hitchens was talking to Oliver Duff 
   



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From harperalexander at mail.com  Thu May 19 08:43:43 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Thu May 19 08:49:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] George Galloway 3
Message-ID: <20050519154343.B51C54BEAD@ws1-1.us4.outblaze.com>

A satirical take by Mark Steel.

Al Baraka

  Mark Steel: Trial by parish council would be more convincing
Couldn't they produce a forged loyalty card with G Galloway printed across it?
19 May 2005



What I don't understand about Senator Norm Coleman is, if you're going to accuse someone of illegally dealing in millions of barrels of oil, you should at least have some evidence, even if it's made up. They'd be more convincing if they'd forged a complaint from George Galloway's neighbours about noise levels from his garden, that upon investigation turned out to be produced by a 50-foot high beam engine pumping 10,000 gallons of crude oil a day. And local residents had become alarmed at the amount of wildlife covered in tar, so they contacted Greenpeace, who discovered a 2,000-mile pipeline running from Basra to Galloway's shed.

For a moment I wondered whether the hearing was a trick. And the plan was to ask, "Mr Galloway, have you ever used your contacts within oil-producing regimes to illegally profit from sales of oil, with no regard to the regime's record on human rights?" Then when Galloway said "No," they'd go, "Aha, then you must be a communist," and have him arrested.

The evidence they did come up with was so poor even Galloway must have been disappointed. The document with his name on it was "discovered" by the group who include Ahmed Chalabi, a man who has been convicted of corruption. It would have been more substantial if the Senator had yelled, "Furthermore, Mister Galloway, we have a statement signed by a Mister Jeffrey Archer, backed up by photographic evidence produced by a Mister Piers Morgan. And an affidavit from a man of no fixed abode, dictated on a bench outside Safeway's in Camden, who not only says you sold him oil, but also demanded, 'Who you looking at? Ay? Ay?'"

The main evidence revolves around the Duelfer report, which lists "Known Oil Voucher Recipients" paid by Saddam. And there is indeed the name of George Galloway. But the typeface is entirely different and much smaller than everything else, and written at an angle to the rest of the page. If a village f?te committee produced anything so amateurish, there'd be mass resignations on the parish council.

But Senator Norm persisted. Perhaps he has inside information that, as the committee was about to write "George Galloway", the typewriter was blown up by a suicide bomber protesting against decadent Western fonts. Then, as they started with the new typeface, an earthquake jogged the typist and made the letters go squiggly.

Even then, the end of "Galloway" rolls into the next word. Surely the CIA should train their forgers to practise on colouring-by-numbers books. And only when trainees have shown they can do a whole page without going over the lines should they be allowed to move on to forging cases of illegal international oil dealing.

An insight into the methods of those who create these documents comes from Sajad Ahmad Ali, who described in the paper Al-Watan how "We forged this list of names and titles of people who got money from the Ministry of Information, the palace and the oil-for-food programme ... We steamed the papers, then dried them out so they would look old." It's almost quaint, the sort of thing they used to show you how to do on Magpie.

Surely with modern technology they could fit someone up more convincingly than this. Instead of steaming documents, couldn't they produce a forged loyalty card with G Galloway printed across the bottom, and a computerised monthly statement showing 15 million barrels of oil as the standard reward for regular customers, with an added 5 million as an "indefatigability bonus".

The bumbling nature of the set-up could be linked to the arrogance of the regime behind it. For example, Senator Norm has said, "God Bless America is a prayer, and George Bush is God's answer to that prayer." And he may be right, because for Bush to get elected twice certainly required some sort of miracle.

But following Galloway's performance before the senators, a common reaction has been, "Whatever you say about him, he was bloody good." So an unexpected consequence of the accusation may be he'll now be sought after as a contestant on reality shows.

And it would boost ratings, if there was a chance of seeing him in the diary room growling: "Let me tell you Big Brother, you stated categorically that two packets of biscuits would be forthcoming for today's luncheon. Now your spineless lickspittle nonentity of a disembodied voice informs us that it is to be withheld, in an action that, were it to be categorised as stinginess, would insult the stingy. We may be the ones deprived of our confectionary treat, but rest assured, Big Brother, when the housemates let their feelings on this issue be known, yours is the cookie that is destined to crumble." 
   



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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 09:06:33 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 09:12:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Troops vanish in 'snow tsunami'
Message-ID: <20050519_160633_091059.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Troops vanish in 'snow tsunami' **
At least five Chilean soldiers have died and 95 more are missing after a violent snowstorm in the Andes mountains.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4563117.stm >


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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May 19 09:14:27 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May 19 09:20:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / US - Senate moves closer to filibuster showdown
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May 19 09:15:31 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May 19 09:21:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / US - US sets currency deadline for China 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 10:39:46 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 10:45:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Aristide backers march in Haiti
Message-ID: <20050519_173946_024675.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Aristide backers march in Haiti **
Thousands march through the streets of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, calling for exiled President Aristide to return.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4561811.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 11:43:09 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 11:48:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Patient-specific stem cell first
Message-ID: <20050519_184309_091610.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Patient-specific stem cell first **
The South Korean scientists who successfully cloned human embryos last year have claimed another medical first.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4555023.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 11:43:51 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 11:49:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Uzbek crackdown set to fuel unrest
Message-ID: <20050519_184351_005226.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Uzbek crackdown set to fuel unrest **
Uzbekistan's current uprising may be over, says the BBC's Malcolm Haslett, but the government's brutal suppression of it is likely to fuel discontent.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4562899.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 11:44:41 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 11:50:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: New African monkey discovered
Message-ID: <20050519_184441_009027.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** New African monkey discovered **
A new monkey is found living in the remote forests of southern Tanzania.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4562589.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 13:33:27 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 13:39:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: March to free Niger's slave pair
Message-ID: <20050519_203327_043040.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** March to free Niger's slave pair **
Some 2,000 people march through the Niger capital, Niamey, to demand the release of two anti-slave campaigners.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4562219.stm >


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From harperalexander at mail.com  Thu May 19 13:40:34 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Thu May 19 13:46:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] George Galloway 4 - my thoughts
Message-ID: <20050519204034.909056F027@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com>

I think that we can assume that George Galloway (GG) was receiving money one way or another from the Baathist regime, as their leading UK apologist and at the same time he was briefing the British security services. A some point in the late 1990s I remember having lunch in London with a friend, who had spook connections and because GG was in the news at the time I asked my friend what he thought of him. ? Ah, George? he said ?George is a money man. We like them; we know where we are with them.? So what? GG has at least been  consistent in his support of Iraq whereas for our governments Saadam suddenly, in the space of a few months in 1990-1(invasion of Q8 and who put him up to that?) went from being our trusty ally in the struggle against the ravening mullahs to the epitomy of evil, Hitler and Stalin, Judas Iscariot etc. Those may well all be fair comparisons but it plumbs the depths of hypocrisy to saddle some one with them, who only a year before was an alright guy, a bit robust in his treatment of dissidents perhaps, to whom one could sell guns and gas.

GG in common with other people (more disinterested than him) who went to Iraq just prior to the 2003 invasion was quite clear that there was negligible evidence of any WMD (what had Hans Blix et al been doing for the previous 12 years?) and that the weakest members of Iraqi society were suffering atrociously as a result of the sanctions, radioactive dust (Gulf War Syndrome) from the all the depleted uranium ordinance, malnutrition and that the excuses for going to war simply did not hold water. He was quite right, whatever his motivation, and ? for whatever motivation - continues to be right. Just because the messenger may be flawed does not necessarily make the message false. In a similar fashion Oskar Schindler, who was a shady businessman, a drunk and a serial adulterer found himself in a position where starting out from a position of self-interest he ended up doing something of the greatest good and nobility. Good took him over for a season. What GG is doing is no way comparable  either in relative or in absolute terms to what Schindler did so please spare me your outrage at the implied comparison but I sort of see a bit of an analogy there. ?God moves in a mysterious way
?

GG is an old style, heavy, Tammany Hall (Glaswegian style) politician, great on a soapbox or in a rowdy debate, none too fastidious, only too happy to kick a man when he?s down and we have to admit it was fun to see him beating the crap out of those suits on Capitol Hill. I don't suppose it will have any lasting effect though. America doesn't want to hear what he is saying.

Al Baraka


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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Thu May 19 13:49:24 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Thu May 19 13:55:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Danger of melting Everest glaciers
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV31E117151376332ABB5708AB080@phx.gbl>


BEIJING, China, May 17, (Reuters) -- Global warming is shrinking glaciers on the Tibet side of Mount Everest faster than ever, putting world water supplies at risk, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

Chinese scientists researching the world's tallest peak, which China refers to by its 
Tibetan name, "Qomolangma", had found
clear evidence of increasing glacial melting,
Xinhua said.

"Global warming has resulted in glaciers melting fast in the Mount Qomolangma area ... threatening the balance of global
water resources," it said.

Around 75 percent of the world's fresh water is stored in glacial ice, much of it in mountain areas, allowing for heavy winter
rain and snowfall to be released gradually
into river networks throughout the
summer or dry months.

"The growing melting area means less fresh water reserves for the world in the future," Xinhua said.

The Chinese scientists had found the melting point of one Everest glacier had risen around 50 meters (165 feet) in just
two years, more than twice as fast as
normal, while a huge, high-altitude ice cliff
seen in 2002 had apparently disappeared,
it said.

Similar melting has been reported on Nepal's side of the mountain. The United Nations warned in 2002 that more than 40
Himalayan glacial lakes were dangerously
close to bursting, endangering thousands
of people, because of global warming.

Scientists say global warming could drive the average global temperature up by 1.4-5.8 Celsius (2.5-10.5 Fahrenheit) over the
next 100 years, which would cause glaciers
to retreat and oceans to rise and swamp
low-lying areas around the world.


From harperalexander at mail.com  Thu May 19 13:52:08 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Thu May 19 13:57:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Danger of melting Everest glaciers
Message-ID: <20050519205208.550391CE303@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com>

You should see the glaciers in Patagonia. They are shrinking too.
Al  Baraka
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Danger of melting Everest glaciers
Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 20:49:24 GMT

> 
> 
> BEIJING, China, May 17, (Reuters) -- Global warming is shrinking 
> glaciers on the Tibet side of Mount Everest faster than ever, 
> putting world water supplies at risk, Xinhua news agency said on 
> Tuesday.
> 
> Chinese scientists researching the world's tallest peak, which 
> China refers to by its
> Tibetan name, "Qomolangma", had found
> clear evidence of increasing glacial melting,
> Xinhua said.
> 
> "Global warming has resulted in glaciers melting fast in the Mount 
> Qomolangma area ... threatening the balance of global
> water resources," it said.
> 
> Around 75 percent of the world's fresh water is stored in glacial 
> ice, much of it in mountain areas, allowing for heavy winter
> rain and snowfall to be released gradually
> into river networks throughout the
> summer or dry months.
> 
> "The growing melting area means less fresh water reserves for the 
> world in the future," Xinhua said.
> 
> The Chinese scientists had found the melting point of one Everest 
> glacier had risen around 50 meters (165 feet) in just
> two years, more than twice as fast as
> normal, while a huge, high-altitude ice cliff
> seen in 2002 had apparently disappeared,
> it said.
> 
> Similar melting has been reported on Nepal's side of the mountain. 
> The United Nations warned in 2002 that more than 40
> Himalayan glacial lakes were dangerously
> close to bursting, endangering thousands
> of people, because of global warming.
> 
> Scientists say global warming could drive the average global 
> temperature up by 1.4-5.8 Celsius (2.5-10.5 Fahrenheit) over the
> next 100 years, which would cause glaciers
> to retreat and oceans to rise and swamp
> low-lying areas around the world.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 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  Thu May 19 14:00:31 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Thu May 19 14:06:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Danger of melting Everest glaciers
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV211682F17E779411753F5BAB080@phx.gbl>

This is so sad... In 2000 I was on line and in contact with a film maker and have a video they did while climbing Everest and the beauty of it is astonishing.... So so beautiful, it would be tragic for any of these beautiful  glaciers in Patagonia, Tibet or any other place to be melting because of global warming. Being up in the clouds and looking down from the mountains is breath taking. 

I have one picture taken from Everest of the sun just rising over Tibet... and some others from Everest looking out over the clouds and seeing the other mountains which of course are not as high as Everest.... :-)

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Alexander Harper
Sent: Thu, 19 May 2005 13:52:08 -0700
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Danger of melting Everest glaciers

You should see the glaciers in Patagonia. They are shrinking too.
Al  Baraka
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Danger of melting Everest glaciers
Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 20:49:24 GMT

> 
> 
> BEIJING, China, May 17, (Reuters) -- Global warming is shrinking 
> glaciers on the Tibet side of Mount Everest faster than ever, 
> putting world water supplies at risk, Xinhua news agency said on 
> Tuesday.
> 
> Chinese scientists researching the world's tallest peak, which 
> China refers to by its
> Tibetan name, "Qomolangma", had found
> clear evidence of increasing glacial melting,
> Xinhua said.
> 
> "Global warming has resulted in glaciers melting fast in the Mount 
> Qomolangma area ... threatening the balance of global
> water resources," it said.
> 
> Around 75 percent of the world's fresh water is stored in glacial 
> ice, much of it in mountain areas, allowing for heavy winter
> rain and snowfall to be released gradually
> into river networks throughout the
> summer or dry months.
> 
> "The growing melting area means less fresh water reserves for the 
> world in the future," Xinhua said.
> 
> The Chinese scientists had found the melting point of one Everest 
> glacier had risen around 50 meters (165 feet) in just
> two years, more than twice as fast as
> normal, while a huge, high-altitude ice cliff
> seen in 2002 had apparently disappeared,
> it said.
> 
> Similar melting has been reported on Nepal's side of the mountain. 
> The United Nations warned in 2002 that more than 40
> Himalayan glacial lakes were dangerously
> close to bursting, endangering thousands
> of people, because of global warming.
> 
> Scientists say global warming could drive the average global 
> temperature up by 1.4-5.8 Celsius (2.5-10.5 Fahrenheit) over the
> next 100 years, which would cause glaciers
> to retreat and oceans to rise and swamp
> low-lying areas around the world.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 15:31:41 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 15:37:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Red Cross 'raised Koran concerns'
Message-ID: <20050519_223141_078092.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Red Cross 'raised Koran concerns' **
The ICRC says it told the US 'multiple times' that officials in detention centres were being disrespectful to the Koran.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4564405.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 bodhababe at hotmail.com  Thu May 19 15:29:22 2005
From: bodhababe at hotmail.com (Ann Howard Gould)
Date: Thu May 19 17:21:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Save the Republic
Message-ID: <66.C4.12395.2431D824@snarky.asimov.net>

seen this?

Here's a note from MoveOn about the ad:

Dear MoveOn member, 

We've written tens of thousands of letters, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls (20,000 Tuesday alone), and raised a whopping $1.2 million to run ads. Now, as the vote on the nuclear option looms, it's time to break out our secret weapon. We've got to, as the movie says, "use the force."

Today, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith opens at theaters nation-wide. And weirdly enough, the plot of what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest films in movie history revolves around a scheming senator who, seduced by visions of absolute power, transforms a democratic republic into an empire.

We've put together a new TV ad, based on the same theme, that we're launching today. It's our first (and only) political ad to feature both a space battle and an army of judge robots. You can check it out at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/savetherepublic/

The movie's opening buzz and its parallel theme to our current fight for the filibuster present a great opportunity to educate the public -- and have some fun. So we've put together a flyer that draws on the Revenge of the Sith story to explain the very real threat to democracy posed by the nuclear option. Any chance you can take half an hour tonight or tomorrow to pass out some of these flyers at your local theater?

You can download the flyer, sign up to hand 'em out, and get some more instructions on exactly what to do at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/savetherepublic/

The reporters we've talked to love the idea of combining the two biggest stories in the country today. So even if you're not a big Star Wars fan, you should consider joining in. Together, we can harness the energy around the movie to reach a much broader audience with our message about the dangers of absolute power.

In Washington, the battle to save the filibuster and appoint fair judges rages on. Today, debate continues on the four most egregious nominees -- judges who were filibustered by Democrats because they represent the most ideologically extreme end of American jurisprudence. At any point from today on, Bill Frist could rise and set into motion the "nuclear" process, which will culminate in a vote.

Republicans are betting that the American public will get lost in the procedural details of this complicated issue. If we can help this issue break out into pop culture, we'll shine a spotlight on this power-grab and illustrate how much Americans really do care about democracy and the system of checks and balances that preserves it.

It's incredibly easy: just download the flyer and make some copies and head over to your local multiplex to hand them to Star Wars fans. And you can multiply your impact by sending a quick note to the press, based on our sample.

You can get started right now, at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/savetherepublic/

Sincerely,

--Eli, Tom, James, Carrie and the MoveOn PAC Team
  Thursday, May 19th, 2005

P.S. For a pretty good walk-through of how the nuclear process is likely to play out, check out this article from the Washington Post:
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 21:29:22 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 21:35:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Tsunami a boon for endangered turtles
Message-ID: <20050520_042922_037887.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
Mother Nature protecting her own ?

** Tsunami a boon for endangered turtles **
An endangered species of turtle benefits from reduced fishing activity in the wake of the tsunami on India's east coast.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4563907.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 21:30:20 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 21:36:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: TV 'increases child obesity risk'
Message-ID: <20050520_043020_026879.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
Kill your TV..??

** TV 'increases child obesity risk' **
Three-year-old children who watch more than eight hours of TV a week are at a higher risk of obesity, a study says.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4562879.stm >


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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 19 21:31:12 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 19 21:36:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Canada PM wins no-confidence vote
Message-ID: <20050520_043112_001813.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Canada PM wins no-confidence vote **
Canadian PM Paul Martin's government narrowly wins a confidence vote in parliament over a financial scandal.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4561799.stm >


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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 20 04:04:25 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 20 04:10:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10743083.1116587065203.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Personal Message:
 If the Bush Administration were not so vehemently anti-science, this would have been done in the US rather than Korea.  And done years ago.  It is really about a more efficient way to make a stem cell line out of eggs harvested from just one woman, rather than pooling 10-20 such donations.  A major advance in technique, would have been done in US years ago if stem cell research were not hobbled by the Christian Taliban.  Get ready for more migration of major scientific initiatives overseas - particularly to Asia.  So-called "cutting edge" science has always been a global undertaking, most of it performed since WWII in this country.  But science is in terrible trouble here these days, in part due to post-9/11 restrictions on the foreign students who are the main worker bees (I say this as someone who recently left research) -
UGH!
Bill
 
 Koreans Say They Cloned Embryos for Stem Cells
 
 By Rick Weiss
 
  Scientists in South Korea reported making nearly a dozen cloned human embryos that are genetic twins of patients with various medical problems and have isolated from those embryos batches of stem cells with the potential to replace failing tissues in those patients.
 
 The experiments mark a significant advance in therapeutic cloning, the fast-paced but controversial field that aims to make customized heart tissues for heart attack patients, nerves for patients with spinal cord injuries, and a host of other laboratory-grown spare parts genetically tailored to the patients who need them.
 
 The single previous claim that stem cells had been derived from a cloned human embryo, reported last year by the same team at Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine, left some scientists doubting the results. Moreover, the process appeared to be hopelessly inefficient, requiring almost 250 human eggs extracted from female donors to get just one cloned embryo with its precious cache of stem cells.
 
 In the new experiments, described in yesterday's online version of the journal Science, the team needed only 17 eggs on average to make each batch of stem cells, which have the capacity to develop into any type of tissue. That means a single egg-retrieval procedure of the sort used routinely in fertility clinics is now adequate to produce a colony of personalized cells with the potential to treat a wide spectrum of diseases.
 
 If therapeutic cloning can indeed be achieved with the same efficiency as such a widely accepted medical procedure, it would deeply undercut one of the major ethics arguments against it: that it would require egg donations by countless women -- at some risk -- to make enough embryos and stem cells to be medically useful.
 
 "I think this paper will have enormous impact on the political discussion," said Rudolf Jaenisch, a stem cell researcher at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass.
 
 The report comes at a delicate time in the escalating U.S. battle over funding of embryonic stem cell research. Within the next week, a closely divided House is expected to vote on legislation that would, for the first time, loosen the restrictions that President Bush imposed on federal funding for the field in 2001.
 
 That legislation would not allow funding of cloning research like that done in South Korea -- a kind of research the House has twice voted to ban and which the Senate has deadlocked over for years. Rather, it would facilitate the less contentious use of frozen embryos about to be discarded by fertility clinics.
 
 Unknown at this point is whether the Korean advance will bolster the bill's opponents -- who have painted the legislation as a step down a slippery slope that could lead to cloned babies -- or strengthen the bill's supporters by making the pending bill look relatively modest by comparison and by heightening concerns that the United States is falling behind in one of the hottest arenas of biomedical research.
 
 Several countries, including South Korea, Singapore and Britain, not only support research on unused fertility clinic embryos but also have given their blessings to research on cloned human embryos and promulgated ethics rules for such work.
 
 The new research was led by Woo Suk Hwang, a cow-cloning expert whose recent rise to international fame for his stem cell work has made him somewhat of a folk hero in Korea.
 
 A cloned embryo is made from a single cell -- often a skin cell -- taken from the person or animal to be cloned, which is then fused to an egg from a donor. In the latest experiments, the team started with 185 eggs donated by 18 women. The women underwent a month-long series of hormone shots followed by the extraction of about a dozen ripened eggs from their ovaries. None of the women was paid.
 
 Each egg had its own DNA removed and then was fused to a single skin cell taken from one of 11 patients. The patients, ages 2 to 56, had either a spinal cord injury, diabetes or an inborn disease of the immune system.
 
 Of those 185  treated eggs, 31 grew into early embryos in laboratory dishes. The team was able to extract stem cells from 11 of them. Each of the resulting colonies of stem cells is a genetic and immunological match to the patient who supplied the original skin cell.
 
 The overall efficiency was 11 self-perpetuating colonies -- or cell lines -- from 185 eggs, or about one cell line for every 17 eggs. But the procedure was even more efficient with eggs from the youngest donors. For eggs retrieved from women under age 30, one cell line was obtained for every 14 eggs.
 
 In another major advance, the Koreans said they are cultivating the stem cell lines in dishes without any animal cells. Virtually all other human embryonic stem cell lines to date have been grown for at least a while on mouse cells, which secrete a cocktail of hormones that support the growth of finicky stem cells.
 
 By growing the stem cells on a bed of human support cells instead of mouse cells, the team does not have to worry that animal viruses or other contaminants may prevent  transplantation of the stem cells, or tissue grown from them, into patients -- the ultimate goal.
 
 "We want to find a way to cure devastating diseases, and one of the big points of our research is patients [now] have immune-matched, cloned, embryonic stem cells," Hwang said in a telephone interview.
 
 The team is now working to transform the cells into various kinds of tissues -- a process at which scientists are becoming increasingly adept  -- but has no current plans to put them into patients, Hwang said.
 
 Several experts said they were extremely impressed and predicted that the first therapeutic cloning treatment would come more quickly than they had imagined.
 
 "They have increased the efficiency tenfold over what their paper was a year ago, and this is very important," said John Gearhart, a stem cell researcher at Johns Hopkins University. "It's kind of remarkable. It tells you how quickly things are moving."
 
 Judy Norsigian of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, who supports stem cell research but has warned against therapeutic cloning's potential to exploit egg donors, said she was relieved that the process would need fewer eggs but still had concerns because the ovarian stimulation used to mass-produce the eggs can lead to complications.
 
 "Young women would still be providing eggs to treat men, children and older women. We need to make sure that those women aren't put at unnecessary risk," she said.
 
 Others voiced greater concerns.
 
 "You're placing the woman at risk to create an embryo that has a 100 percent risk of death, to attempt to treat patients who themselves will face significant risks," said Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of  the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
 
 "To say something was initially impossible but is now possible is not enough," Doerflinger said. "We have to make moral decisions about whether we should do this."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 20 04:05:36 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 20 04:11:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <16213362.1116587136983.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Older Machines to Get Retooled Windows
 
 By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE
 
  SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. is working on a new Windows-based operating system designed to help companies make older machines run better.
 
 The software, code-named Eiger, will look and feel like much like Windows XP and will be equipped with Service Pack 2, a major security upgrade released last summer, said Barry Goffe, a group product manager for Microsoft's Windows client unit.
 
 The idea behind Eiger came from businesses and school systems that said they couldn't afford to replace an old fleet of computers but wanted machines running Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT to be more secure and easier to manage.
 
 "Those operating systems we no longer service, so if there's a security vulnerability, we usually don't send out security patches," Goffe said.
 
 Still in the early stages of development, Eiger will run a bare-bones set of programs directly from the desktop. The list will include the Internet Explorer browser, Windows Media Center, a firewall and antivirus software.
 
 Most other programs, however, will run off a central server.
 
 The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant has distributed preview copies of Eiger to about two dozen customers, but has not said when the software will be released or how much it will cost.
 
 Goffe said Microsoft will continue to recommend that the best way to get more out of any operating system is to replace computers when they get old.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 20 04:07:09 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 20 04:12:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <22046961.1116587229282.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Years After 9/11 . . .
 
 By Randall J. Larsen
 
  Wasting money with good intentions does not make America more secure. A rapid, somewhat uncoordinated and even wasteful response in the days immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, was understandable. But I find it difficult to understand why, 1,347 days after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States remains inadequately prepared for the two most dangerous threats facing it: biological and nuclear terrorism.
 
 Why 1,347 days? That was the number of days between Pearl Harbor and V-J Day -- a reasonable measurement of progress. Starting from an abysmally unprepared posture, the United States required only 1,347 days to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. I do not expect a World War II-style victory in the war on terrorism, but after 1,347 days it is reasonable to ask: Who is in charge of defending this nation against what most experts agree are the only two existential threats we face -- biological and nuclear terrorism? The disturbing answer: no one.
 
 According to a recent report from the Center for Biosecurity, we have 26 presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed individuals working in a dozen different agencies to manage an annual biodefense budget of $5.5 billion. But no one is in charge. Defense against nuclear terrorism is equally disjointed, and the White House has recently recommended two new organizations, yet no one will be in charge.
 
 Not all national security programs have this problem. One person, appointed by the defense secretary, leads the missile defense program, and an undersecretary, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, controls the $7.7 billion annual budget. But the most likely delivery system for biological and nuclear weapons is not intercontinental ballistic missiles. The last time the United States suffered a biological attack, the U.S. Postal Service provided the delivery vehicles, and we still don't have a return address for the sender. A small truck, boat or private jet will most likely serve to smuggle a nuclear weapon across our 7,500 miles of borders or 95,000 miles of shoreline.
 
 Reliable means for preventing this do not exist today and will not exist in the near future. While some funds must be spent on response and recovery capabilities, that is clearly a secondary priority. Preventing terrorists from getting their hands on highly enriched uranium or weapons-grade plutonium must be the No. 1 nuclear defense priority. But funding and political support for such programs are lacking. The only new initiative in the president's budget calls for creation of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. Two problems with that name and focus: domestic and detection. If you're detecting a nuclear weapon in the Port of Los Angeles, you're too late.
 
 We need a single person in charge of defending America against nuclear ter rorism, and the focus of this effort must be overseas, in the form of Nunn-Lugar-type programs meant to keep terrorists from obtaining weapons-grade nuclear materials.
 
 Defense against bioterrorism presents a completely different challenge. The biotechnology revolution has made it virtually impossible to prevent terrorists from producing biological weapons and bringing them into the United States. The top priority for biodefense must be early detection, rapid response and recovery.
 
 Unfortunately, our public health infrastructure is incapable of such actions. In some states, such as Maryland, the county public health offices are all under the centralized control of the state public health officer. In others, such as New Jersey and Massachusetts, city and county public health offices march to their own drummers, with minimal guidance from above. In South Carolina, no state official has primary responsibility for public health. There are no nationally recognized standards for credentialing state and local public health officers, and funding for these offices comes from a hodgepodge of uncoordinated sources. Furthermore, federal bioterrorism funds are frequently diverted to programs with no connection to bioresponse efforts.
 
 America needs one person in charge of biodefense. The focus must be on rapid detection, response and recovery. The good news: Much of the research, development and operational capabilities will provide a dual benefit that will also provide great value in response to SARS, a flu pandemic or other infectious diseases. If we do it right, all Americans will profit with a good return on investment -- increased security for their families.
 
 This country is not substantially better prepared today for nuclear and biological terrorism than it was 1,347 days ago. We must have someone in charge of these efforts.
 
 The writer, a former chairman of the Department of Military Strategy and Operations at the National War College, is director of the Institute for Homeland Security (http://www.tihls.org), a public service research organization. He will be available to answer questions today at noon onhttp://www.washingtonpost.com.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 20 04:08:32 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 20 04:14:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <25126885.1116587312342.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Big Day for Bush Foes
 
 By Jefferson Morley
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 20 04:09:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 20 04:15:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 . . . We're Unprepared
 
 By David Ignatius
 
  Suppose the single-engine Cessna that flew through restricted airspace toward the White House on May 11 had been piloted by a terrorist, rather than a retired farmer. And suppose the plane had been carrying a deadly payload of anthrax spores or some other biological weapon. That was one of the terrifying possibilities that triggered the rushed evacuation of the Capitol, the White House and other buildings that day.
 
 Now suppose we are conducting a postmortem investigation of how well the nation was prepared for such a biological attack. Think of the exercise as a "May 11 Commission," a mini-version of the exhaustive report that was prepared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The likely conclusion of our imaginary panel can be summed up in one sentence: America is shockingly unprepared for bioterrorism.
 
 There's no way to know how many people would be affected by such an attack. One simulation done by a major defense contractor estimated that an airborne bioterrorist assault on Washington would bring tens of thousands of potential casualties within the first 10 minutes and hundreds of thousands within the first five hours.
 
 Certainly, as with Sept. 11, the warning signs are flashing red. The recent report by the commission on weapons of mass destruction noted that al Qaeda conducted "extensive, well-organized" research and planning for a biological attack, starting in 1999. Past studies have described anthrax laboratories in Afghanistan, but the commission report mentions an especially deadly toxin it describes only as "Agent X." The report notes that the terrorist group " 'probably' acquired at least a small quantity of this virulent strain and had plans to assemble devices to disperse the agent." How much more warning do we need?
 
 For help in my imaginary postmortem, I turned to a leading expert in the field, Tara O'Toole, who is director of the Center for Biosecurity sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She says a key problem in the event of an attack would be the lack of preparedness at hospitals. They need better systems for triage after a biological attack, better protection for health care workers and, most important, the ability to immunize large numbers of people quickly. What's more, there's no rapid clinical diagnostic test available today for anthrax, according to O'Toole, even though one could be produced with current technology.
 
 The most surprising vulnerability to biological attack is the lack of electronic connectivity among hospitals. O'Toole estimates that only 10 percent of the country's hospitals have electronic record systems that allow rapid sharing of medical information. Without them, epidemiologists would have trouble seeing patterns of exposure to an attack -- or even being certain that it had occurred. For the first 24 hours, physicians might simply be guessing. "Medical surveillance is the single most important component of a biodetection architecture," noted a 2003 study by a scientific panel known as JASON. But this is now a weak link.
 
 The Washington area is believed to have an extensive network of sensors that, in theory, should warn of a biological attack. But it's not clear that these sensors would actually pick up the presence of anthrax or other toxins. And since it often takes 24 hours to collect and analyze the specimens, the sensors might not pick up a stealth attack any more quickly than would doctors, diagnosing the symptoms of individual patients.
 
 O'Toole fears that much of the roughly $27 billion the federal government has spent on civilian biodefense since 2001 has produced only modest results. The main achievement, she says, has been development of a stockpile of smallpox vaccine. Billions of dollars have been doled out to state governments for public health preparedness, but this money has often gone to supplant other health care spending.
 
 Nearly four years after Sept. 11 and the anthrax mail attacks, the United States still lacks a coherent overall strategy for dealing with bioterrorism. The Department of Homeland Security is supposed to be developing a threat assessment, which in turn would drive planning by the Department of Health and Human Services. But O'Toole says this strategic plan hasn't yet been completed. Without it, there can be little progress on the drug countermeasures that, in theory, would be funded through the Bioshield program that became law last year.
 
 The Cessna that approached the capital on May 11 was flown by a couple of off-track amateur pilots. But it's useful to imagine a real attack -- and to realize how ill-prepared the country is. Nearly four years after what should have been the wake-up call, says O'Toole, "We're not much better off than we were. There's no strategy for setting national priorities, and no one in charge of creating a robust biodefense."
 
 We can see this one coming at us, as clear as that little single-engine plane. It's intolerable that the nation isn't better prepared.
 
 davidignatius@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 20 04:10:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 20 04:16:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <1704935.1116587440853.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Getting Democrats From No to Yes
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
  How do liberals and Democrats move from the Politics of No to the Politics of Yes? Is that even the right question?
 
 One of the great political parlor games pits two arguments against each other. On one side is the view that because Republicans control both Congress and the White House, Democrats have no possibility of passing legislation that would be to their liking. Therefore, any Democrat who seriously negotiates with the Republicans, especially on Social Security, is voluntarily placing his or her head in a guillotine. Nothing good can come of that. Nor, by the way, can anything good come from giving up the right to filibuster right-wing judges.
 
 Moreover, as Robert Borosage of the liberal Campaign for America's Future notes, getting a diverse party to agree on the idea of No is far easier than brokering an agreement on what the party might say Yes to. No is clear. Yes raises the question:  yes to what, exactly? What would the messy details look like?
 
 On the other side is the assertion that Democrats will never regain power unless they offer -- the phrase just rolls out of the word processor -- a compelling alternative vision. Where are the new ideas? What do Democrats really stand for? Do they stand for anything? Are they gutless?
 
 The problem is that this argument confuses short-term tactical imperatives with long-term strategy. Borosage is right that Democrats have no interest in bailing out the president on his Social Security privatization ideas -- because they have no interest in furthering those ideas in the first place.
 
 Indeed, the Social Security debate so far has been a rare triumph for liberals: For the first time in a long while, core liberal principles are actually winning in a public debate. The idea that Social Security is an insurance program and not an investment plan is gaining traction. So is the view, advanced powerfully by Yale University political scientist Jacob Hacker, that more and more financial risk is being thrown onto individual Americans and that collective safety nets (notably for pensions and for health care) are being shredded. Secure, guaranteed private pensions are increasingly a thing of the past. Employer-provided health insurance is in trouble. This is encouraging many Americans to give liberalism another look.
 
 One clear indicator of the transformation of the national discussion was the cover line on the May 16 issue of BusinessWeek, "Safety Net Nation." The article it referred to, by Lee Walczak and Richard S. Dunham, ran under the phrase: "Why so many Americans aren't buying into Bush's Ownership Society." The writers noted that even Republicans who love Bush and revere capitalism are seeking a certain degree of security and safety. When a leading business magazine highlights the importance of government safety nets to a successful capitalist economy, the times are definitely changing.
 
 And that is why it is inescapable that for the long term, those who think of themselves as progressive do need to offer that compelling alternative vision. What's required are not some small-bore tweaks to Bushism, but a set of proposals that change the very nature of what is being debated nationally. What question should frame the national debate?
 
 Eric Wanner, president of the Russell Sage Foundation, suggests that if the  U.S. economy remains broadly open and trade broadly free, the result will be "more inequality because there are more winners and more losers."
 
 The challenge, he argues, is to indemnify those who may find themselves on the losing end of the transaction. This points to a number of big policy ideas: wage insurance, to ease the transition from one job to another; broader earned-income tax credits, to push up the wages of the lower paid; pension portability and incentives to help lower- and middle-income Americans put away money. Above all, it means guaranteed health insurance in some form, an idea increasingly appealing to companies in a competitive world market  that   want to take health care costs out of the prices of their goods.
 
 And in this climate, higher minimum wages and broader unionization are looking more attractive than ever.
 
 The large debate the nation needs, in other words, is how to create enough security so that Americans can embrace a dynamic economy without fear. Paradoxically, throwing more risk onto  individuals leads to risk-avoidance. Risk-taking requires a certain amount of risk-sharing.
 
 To everything there is a season. There is a time for the Politics of No. When the time for Yes comes around, it ought to be about affirming bigger ideas and larger purposes.
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 20 04:11:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 20 04:17:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <21977972.1116587501732.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Nuclear Cloud Over The Senate
 
 By David S. Broder
 
  The personal stakes in the Senate fight over confirmation of judges could not be higher. President Bush has staked his prestige on a direct challenge to Senate Democrats by renominating for the appeals courts seven judges whose confirmations were blocked in the last Congress by the threat of Democratic filibusters.
 
 The White House has pressed Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to outlaw a repetition of such tactics by lining up 50 votes to sustain a ruling by Vice President Cheney that judicial filibusters are not protected by Senate rules. Were more than five of the 55 Republican senators to desert the president on that issue, it would be a heavy blow to his influence.
 
 Frist, who has made the issue his personal cause, also has much riding on the outcome -- including his claim on support from staunch conservatives when, as expected, he seeks the presidential nomination in three years.
 
 And Minority Leader Harry Reid also has high stakes. In his first months as leader, the Nevadan has compiled a spotty record of verbal gaffes and parliamentary gambles. But if he is able to turn back Bush and Frist on this giant issue, his stature among his fellow Democrats will be vastly enhanced.
 
 But dwarfing all these individual dramas is the question of what the vote means for the Senate as an institution. Two of the main props of the Senate's identity are at stake. The tradition of unlimited debate, going back to the Senate's earliest years, has been maintained through the centuries, with the only ceiling being the one set by its cloture rule -- the ability of a supermajority (now 60 votes) to bring debate to a close.
 
 The second prop is the continuity of Senate rules, which carry over automatically from one Congress to the next, unless changed by the prescribed procedure -- which requires 67 votes.
 
 For traditionalists, the Frist effort -- the "nuclear option" -- is an assault on both of these institutional props. That explains why some Republicans with long memories and years of service, such as Indiana's Richard Lugar, a 28-year veteran, have expressed deep misgivings about the prospect of the nuclear option.
 
 However, they are part of a distinct minority on the Republican side. Only 20 of the 55 GOP senators began their service before the Republicans secured a majority in January 1995. Except for the 18-month hiatus in 2001-02, when a party switch by Vermont's Jim Jeffords allowed Democrat Tom Daschle to become the majority leader, the other 35 Republicans have never experienced the frustrations of minority status. Nor do they know how important Senate rules have been in protecting the rights of individual senators.
 
 Many of the newer Republican senators moved from the House of Representatives, where there are no permanent rules and where the majority party needs to give minimal consideration to the views of the minority.
 
 That is why you find a sharp generational split among Senate Republicans on the nuclear option. John McCain, class of 1987, and Trent Lott, class of 1989, have been at the center of negotiations with Democrats about a possible compromise. Lugar, who is enough of a party loyalist that in the end he may well vote with Frist, nonetheless has said that he is "opposed to trying to eliminate filibusters, simply because I think they protect minority rights, whether they're Republicans, Democrats or other people."
 
 In the end, the outcome may rest in the hands of veterans such as Arlen Specter, class of 1981, and John Warner, class of 1979, who have both been trying desperately to avert the showdown.
 
 Not all the "old bulls" agree. Although their Democratic predecessors often filibustered civil rights bills, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran and Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby both told me they are comfortable ending that tactic when it comes to judgeships.
 
 But I was struck by the comment of Utah's Robert Bennett, class of 1993, a second-generation senator who learned his love of the institution at his father's knee. Bennett puts much of the blame for the current crisis on the Democrats, for blocking people such as Miguel Estrada, who served with distinction in the Clinton administration Justice Department but nonetheless was filibustered so long that he withdrew as a Bush appeals court nominee.
 
 But Bennett said that, whatever the outcome of this vote, he fears that a sword has been unsheathed that will forever change the way the Senate operates. "Once we [Republicans] try to change the rules with 51 votes, the precedent is on the table," he said. "If Hillary Clinton becomes president with a Democratic Senate and wants to appoint Lani Guinier to the Supreme Court, Harry Reid could make that happen with 51 votes."
 
 That is a thought for Republicans to ponder.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:13:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:19:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Divided Iraq
Message-ID: <20050520151329.BF75611F778@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 20, 2005

Editorial: A Divided Iraq


The dream of a new Iraq will ebb away unless leaders of the ruling Shiite and Kurdish coalition reach out to their Sunni neighbors.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/opinion/20fri1.html?ex=1117252800&en=2146f2d16e5bc4bd&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:13:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:19:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Chinese Connection
Message-ID: <20050520151344.CC8CD83D53@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 20, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Chinese Connection
By PAUL KRUGMAN

The United States is addicted to cheap foreign loans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/opinion/20krugman.html?ex=1117252800&en=7d04df8cc16bfa28&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:13:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:19:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Best P.R.: Straight Talk
Message-ID: <20050520151356.ECFF411F884@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 20, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The Best P.R.: Straight Talk
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

The greatest respect we can show to Arabs and Muslims is to take them seriously and stop gazing at our own navels.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/opinion/20friedman.html?ex=1117252800&en=34fae4955de9ff15&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:14:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:19:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: At War With Themselves
Message-ID: <20050520151412.907CE24AEC6@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 20, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: At War With Themselves
By HAIM WATZMAN

Israeli soldiers who oppose the occupation, or the disengagement, have the right to fight for change - but only when they are out of uniform.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/opinion/20watzman.html?ex=1117252800&en=5b3154adaf64504a&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:14:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:20:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: America's Nurse
Message-ID: <20050520151438.D3BA224AE97@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 20, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: America's Nurse
By TERI MILLS

It's time to dethrone the surgeon general and appoint a National Nurse.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/opinion/20mills.html?ex=1117252800&en=95aaa3f1beb42f71&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:15:24 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:21:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Nuclear Power: Solution or Problem? (5
	Letters)
Message-ID: <20050520151524.AC9A213B73A@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 20, 2005

Nuclear Power: Solution or Problem? (5 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/opinion/l20nuke.html?ex=1117252800&en=46d725a68f116f09&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:17:20 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:23:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: British Memo on U.S. Plans for Iraq War
	Fuels Critics
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WASHINGTON | May 20, 2005

British Memo on U.S. Plans for Iraq War Fuels Critics
By DOUGLAS JEHL

Critics of the Bush administration are portraying a British government memo as evidence that the president was intent on war with Iraq earlier than acknowledged.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/politics/20weapons.html?ex=1117252800&en=e0786468dc1b73b4&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:17:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:23:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Soon to Be Uprooted,
	Gaza Settlers Plant for Final Season
Message-ID: <20050520151749.6FA0824AE52@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 20, 2005

Rafiah Yam Journal: Soon to Be Uprooted, Gaza Settlers Plant for Final Season
By STEVEN ERLANGER

A farming community of 26 Israeli families do not know where they will go.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/international/middleeast/20gaza.html?ex=1117252800&en=1013e70d8db77c9e&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:18:06 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:23:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel Vows Tough Stance, With Restraint,
	in Gaza
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 20, 2005

Israel Vows Tough Stance, With Restraint, in Gaza
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Israel will use "all necessary means" to stop mortars and rockets fired from Gaza at Israeli towns and settlements, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/international/middleeast/20mideast.html?ex=1117252800&en=b59d8299d845ba0f&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 09:18:28 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 08:24:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraqi Government, in Statement With Iran,
	Admits Fault for 1980's War
Message-ID: <20050520151841.C06F822EEFB@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 20, 2005

Iraqi Government, in Statement With Iran, Admits Fault for 1980's War
By SABRINA TAVERNISE

The Iraqi government publicly acknowledged for the first time that Iraq was the aggressor in 1980 when it touched off war with Iran.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/international/middleeast/20iraq.html?ex=1117252800&en=c3c24145803ce988&ei=5070



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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri May 20 11:19:03 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri May 20 08:25:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Water effects aging
In-Reply-To: <20050519200624.17540.qmail@web81706.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <BEB37827.20828%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Thanks to
------ Forwarded Message
From: Gerald Gerald <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 13:06:23 -0700 (PDT)
To: Gerald Cooper <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Water effects aging

Subject: WATER, AND HOW IT AFFECTS AGING

How many times have your heard "drink eight to ten
glasses of water 
everyday?" How often do we actually drink that much
pure water? Would you believe that as you are reading
this page you are dehydrating?

We were all born as grapes, but now we are turning
into raisins. Your 
body 
was once more than 70% water and now, if you're like
most Americans 
past the age of 40, you are lucky to have a hydration
level above 60%. The bodies of most hospitalized
elderly are less than 50% water.

Today, Americans consume more coffee and soft drinks
than water. These beverages, along with tea and
alcohol, are diuretics and dehydrate the body.

All the moisturizer in the world will not restore a
youthful 
appearance. By dehydrating your body you are actually
pulling a hundred times as much water out of your skin
through the urinary tract. Much worse than the skin
dehydrating, is the dehydration of the internal
organs, connective tissue and the brain.

Inadequate fluid intake and excess water loss can
disrupt critical cell function. Most people experience
this level of hydration all day, nearly everyday.
Water is essential for all anabolic repair functions,
and conversely, dehydration accelerates the aging
process.

A study at Fred Hutchinson Research Center in Seattle
found that women who drank two glasses of water a day
had nearly twice the risk of colon cancer than women
who drank four glasses a day. The few women who did
drink eight or more glasses of water a day had less
than half the risk of those who drank only four
glasses. The association of increased water intake may
also reduce the risk for other types of cancer. In one
study, the women who drank the most water were 80%
less likely to develop bladder cancer than women who
drank the least.

Other conditions that often respond to increased water
intake include 
the reduction of headaches, muscle aches, hangovers,
fatigue, constipation, and heartburn. Drinking enough
water will also reduce fluid retention and edema.

Sometimes it is difficult for people to understand
that drinking lots 
of water actually decreases water retention. If you
provide your body with ample amounts of pure water, it
will not have to retain water in the tissues

The body can become significantly dehydrated before we
actually feel 
thirsty.

In the morning, you have a true need for water, but
you may not feel 
it. For most people, the first liquid they consume is
coffee, a beverage that sucks the water out of our
cells. Try this test: Before you eat or drink anything
in the morning, sip about four ounces of water-no
more. You will be surprised to see that in two to
three minutes your mouth will feel parched.

Drink another four ounces and in two to three minutes
you will be 
thirsty again. You may have to repeat this six or more
times before you are no longer thirsty. Add up all the
four-ounce servings that you consumed, and you will
discover your body's true metabolic need for water.

------ End of Forwarded Message

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu May 19 16:18:18 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri May 20 08:51:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Watch Out World: Al-jazeera Is Going Global 
Message-ID: <200505201551.j4KFpOC2008483@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Today's commentary:
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-05/15schechter.cfm

==================================

ZNet Commentary
Watch Out World: Al-jazeera Is Going Global May 18, 2005
By Danny Schechter 

Doha, Qatar: If Doha Is the capital of the state of Qatar (pronounced
Cut-ter) known for its 900 trillion standard cubic feet of proven gas
reserves (and more than 15.2 BILLION barrels of oil) Al-Jazeera is known
here as" the Capitol of Doha," In a few short years this satellite TV
station has become the electronic capitol of the Arab world and the fifth
best known brand in the world. 

Jazeera means island, but in many ways this emerging global broadcaster
functions more like an oasis in the dessert country where it has based, as
well as in the international TV news industry in which its dedication to
hard charging news makes it an anomaly. 

Before its emergence Doha had a sleepy if less than stellar international
profile. 

"In l991," sneers former Terror czar Richard Clarke in his book "Against
All Enemies, "Qatari police cars that were escorting my motorcade managed
to crash into each other in a city with almost no traffic." 

Today the city is bursting with rush hour traffic, and a construction boom
thanks to the vision and guile of its ruler and Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin
Khalifa Al Thani, who not only hosts the largest US regional US military
base outside of Iraq (which spawned the Coalition Media Center during the
invasion of Iraq) but earlier founded Al-Jazeera in l996, 

To many, that seems like to contradiction, but, ironically, for many years
Arabs who disliked its interviews with Israelis and US officials denounced
Al-Jazeera as too-pro US. Before the Iraq War, 60 Minutes featured a
profile of the station as an example of atilt towards pro-American
democracy and modernism. 

Within months, the Bush Administration pronounced it the anti-Christ for
its airing interviews with Bin Laden and other "evildoers." Donald
Rumsfeld fulminates against Al-Jazeera for "manipulating world opinion."
Yet all the might. so far, of the US imperium has not squelched its voice
even though an Administration that claims to support a free press has
tried to suppress. 

While in Qatar as a guest of Al-Jazeera's first TV production festival to
show my film WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception) to a very receptive audience,
I was invited to visit the newsroom and do an on-air interview in the
studio shown in the film Control Room. 

In network TV terms, Al-Jazeera is tiny, crowded with reporters and
producers squeezed around pod-like tables churning out packed newscasts on
a 24/7 basis. The whole operation would fit into a corner of the spanking
new CNN news operation I toured recently in the opulent Time Warner Center
in New York's Columbus Circle. A visiting Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak
likened it to a "matchbox" saying "All this trouble from a matchbox like
this." 

There was literally no place for a visitor to sit so I shared space in the
Chief Editor's tiny office which has three desks and as many cell phones
ringing off the hook as he heatedly defends a decision to his boss, or
barks orders to the director to add pictures or sharpen up the questioning
of correspondents whose stand-ups from various hot spots flash across the
screen. 

There was an aura of no-nonsense earnest professionalism in the building.
On the wall, the Al-Jazeera Code of Ethics in English and Arabic mandates
a strict separation of news and opinion. It was developed in response to
constant criticisms, some fair, many not, of on-air bias. 

I told the chief editor of being interviewed live on Fox News when it
aired a story deriding the code. I called it "a good idea" and suggest
that that Fox should should try it. 

The reaction was nothing short of horror. 

"Are you suggesting that Fox is like Al-Jazeera," was the dismissive come
back. 

"I am not the first one," was my rejoinder. 

The two networks are news leaders but clearly inhabit different worlds
with far different worldviews. What does connect them is an aggressive
attitude and love of controversy. 

Al-Jazeera talk shows are outspoken but open to all points of view in the
spirit of "the opinion and the other opinion." 

Fox prefers more predictable opinions and its own "message points." One of
those messages is to constantly target and caricature Al-Jazeera even as
it spent as much as $10,000 monthly to buy its feed according to Hugh
Miles excellent new book on Al-Jazeera, "The Inside Story of the Arab News
Channel that Is Challenging the West." 

That challenge will soon no longer just be with its approach to news. Its
one satellite news channel is already spawning a larger media company with
websites, wireless news, a sports channel, a children's channel and
documentary channel. 

But the big news--and the buried lead in this article-- is that Al Jazeera
is going global, launching an international channel in English that plans
to be on the air in 2006. Its goal is nothing less than to "revolutionize
viewer choice." It is a bold challenge to western TV hegemony. 

This is good news for the vast audiences defecting from network and cable
news for its tepid and celebrified and sanitized coverage. It promises a
fresh approach with news features and analysis that they insist will be
"accurate, impartial and objective." They will show hard-hitting
documentaries, air live debates from bases in Doha. Washington, London and
Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. 

It has assembled a team of TV pros from BBC, APTN, ITV, CNN, and CNBC
among others and will have 40 bureaus worldwide. 

"Al Jazeera International Is a World Channel for the 21st Century and it
is the channel the world is waiting for" is its idealistic proclamation.
Its programmers are already buying up documentaries and seem to relish
having a go at the news companies they have left, at least according to a
spirited conversation I had with programming Director Paul Gibbs who
worked with BBC and the Discovery Channel. I was very impressed with the
multinational members of the corporate strategy team that are gearing up a
sophisticated approach to build a new more 

The conservative news world will be waiting and watching and so will
alternative media channels like Link Television or the new International
World Television channel which hope to do something similar. 

Unlike the alternative media groups, Al-Jazeera does not seem to be
lacking in money, 

But challenges remain: can they get carriage for their channel on cable
and satellite systems controlled by western media cartels? Getting their
signal up is far easier than bringing it down into people's homes. 

More importantly, can the Al-Jazeera approach, which has been associated
with controversy and terrorism, find a receptive audience among viewers
who have never really seen its news product (and couldn't understand it if
they did) but have been prejudiced against it all the same? Will they/we
tune it in and give it a chance, 

Its always hard to be the last kid on the block but these kids are (a) not
such kids; (b) have a lot to say and c) know how to say it, 

As the demoralized, compromises and dumbed down news system in the west
implodes with mounting scandals and erosion of both viewers and
credibility, is there a new savior, a genie in the bottle arising in the
East? 

Twenty five years ago. I worked in the basement of what was once the
Progressive Jewish Country Club in Atlanta on another news venture that
wanted to change the world. It was dismissed by the TV industry as the
Chicken Noodle Network. Its founder Ted Turner had a grand vision that was
co-opted by parochialism, greed and market logic. Years later he would be
bemoaning the big media outlets he sold out to, 

A quarter of a century later, its time for someone else to give it a try. 

Years ago, a critic wrote of "hearing the future of rock and roll, and his
name is Bruce Springsteen." 

I may have just seen the future of global television and its name is
Al-Jazeera. 

(Don't be suprised if Al-Jazeera morphs into Al Jaz in the way that
Federal Express became Fed Ex.) 

Who knows, BUT: we all know, inshallah, that we need something new in TV
news and badly. Don't we? 

News Dissector Danny Schechter, a former CNN and ABC News producer, is the
"blogger-in chief" of Mediachannel.org and director of WMD (Weapons of
Mass Deception) www.wmdthefilm.com 

 While he was in Doha, Danny was interviewed by the Friends of Al-Jazeera
 website 

-- 
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 
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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  Thu May 19 16:18:19 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri May 20 08:53:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Boiling butcher's bill is paid for by Bush
Message-ID: <200505201553.j4KFr8V2008502@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

"Karimov's Uzbekistan is the absolute market leader in torture right now.
The CIA would not shop anywhere else, which is why a mysterious 
Gulfstream 5 executive jet routinely delivers terrorist subjects from 
Afghanistan there for interrogation and, perhaps, percolation."


The Irish Independent - May 18, 2005
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=36&amp;si=139742
3&amp;issue_id=12482&amp;eid=123501

Boiling butcher's bill is paid for by Bush

by Martin Samuel

ISLAM KARIMOV, President of Uzbekistan, boils people alive. Why? For 
the
same reason Saddam Hussein put his enemies in a shredder: because, at the
time, he could.

When the West is your pal you are able, quite literally, to get away with
murder. And what murder!

It is a surprise Karimov has time for governing at all, once he has spent
the morning formulating new ways to poach, grill, tenderise, smoke and
flambe his citizens to death.  Boiling water, electrocution,
chlorine-filled gas masks, drowning, rape, shooting, savage beatings,
Karimov's Uzbekistan is the absolute market leader in torture right now.

The CIA would not shop anywhere else, which is why a mysterious 
Gulfstream
5 executive jet routinely delivers terrorist subjects from Afghanistan
there for interrogation and, perhaps, percolation.

Craig Murray, the former British Ambassador, drew attention to this last
year, and the noted socialist Tony Blair acted immediately. He sacked him.

Mr Murray's warnings echo louder than ever now, on the back of hundreds of
corpses in the streets of Andijan. Uzbek troops opened fire on an unarmed
crowd of protesters on Friday in an act of such brutality that the world
finally woke up to the wickedness of the war on terror's new best friend.

Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, called it a "clear abuse of
human rights" - no kidding, Sherlock - but struggled to make his voice
heard among Britain's American allies.  Little surprise. If they had
wanted his opinion, they would surely have given it to him.

Live and don't learn would appear to be the moral to this story. Karimov
may be a vicious, murdering, malevolent despot, but he is our vicious,
murdering, malevolent despot so, like Saddam, he can boil, shred and gas
away until we tire of uses for him. Saddam was in the right place, sharing
our hostility towards Iran at the right time, and so the West armed him to
the teeth in the name of a cause.

Karimov, a nasty member of the regional Soviet hierarchy even before
independence in 1991, stands beneath another flag of convenience. He is
frightened of Islam, rich in gas and oil, and within striking distance of
Afghanistan. An American airbase, which Karimov allowed to be built at
Khanabad, now protects the American-owned pipeline carrying Central Asia's
black treasure through Afghanistan to the sea. Is it not strange that all
the West's pals have the same thing in common? Just as celebrities end up
latching on to other celebrities, so the West always finds itself hanging
out with guys who are knee-deep in four-star.

The only reason the West could set the Iraqi people free was because the
military and financial support for Saddam Hussein's corrupt Government had
made it impossible for his citizens to rise up alone. So it is in
Uzbekistan. When Kabuljon Parpiyev, one of the leaders of the doomed
Andijan protestors, spoke to Zakir Almatov, the Uzbek Interior Minister,
at the weekend, he claims that he was told: "We don't care if 200, 300 or
400 people die - we have the force." It is the backing of the coalition
that makes Karimov cocksure and invincible. There are countries around the
world that would choose true freedom overnight: if only the coalition's
freedom-junkies would let them.

In 2002, the United States gave Uzbekistan $500m (?396m) in aid (as
opposed to $36m (?28.5m) four years earlier) of which $120m (?95.1) went
to the army and $79m (?62.5m) to the notorious SNB, Karimov's secret
police. It was the SNB who boiled Muzafar Avazov, an Islamist activist, to
death, having already beaten him severely and ripped his fingernails out.

The fate of his fellow prisoner Husnidin Alimov does not bear thinking
about, considering the Government restricted viewing of his lifeless body.

It was also the SNB who came to collect Avazov's 63-year-old mother,
Fatima Mukhadirova, sentenced to six years' hard labour for the crime of
telling the world about the murder of her son. (She was released the day
before Donald Rumsfeld was due to visit, during which he praised "the
wonderful co-operation we have received from the Government of 
Uzbekistan"
over the War on Terror.)

So the freedom the precious coalition claims to be exporting around the
world is not true freedom at all.

Rather, it is freedom being giving back, having conspired with sadists to
take away. What the Iraqi people enjoyed at the polling booths in January
was freedom on the allies terms, not theirs. Considering the dreadful
human toll, one would think Bush and Blair would then acknowledge that
mistake by not repeating it, but no: there were no opposition parties in
Uzbekistan's last election and there are no arms restrictions imposed by
these Government, either.

The West mould these little monsters such as Saddam, Karimov and General
Manuel Noriega and they do the dirty work until such a time when it is no
longer expedient, at which point the West extract revenge and dress it up
as a moral crusade; or enduring freedom.  There are those who believe
that, whatever its motives, the war in Iraq can be justified by free
elections and the removal of Saddam.

Yes, but only if that policy is consistent. If the coalition agenda is to
spread democracy worldwide, then it cannot be in bed with a tyrant like
Karimov. And if it is, then any good in Iraq is overpowered by the stench
of death and hypocrisy wafting across from central Asia.

As it stands, the War on Terror finds an exalted place in its ranks for a
man whose idea of government is a dissident casserole.

--


-- 
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 May 20 08:53:33 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Fri May 20 08:59:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Tom Dispatch
Message-ID: <200505201553.j4KFrXQf014670@thor.thenation.com>

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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May 20 09:02:10 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri May 20 09:08:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / US - Frist resolute on moving to Senate vote 
Message-ID: <3792354.1116604930133.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  Fri May 20 09:02:48 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri May 20 09:08:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / US - Russia urges US to avoid space arms race
Message-ID: <22121352.1116604968204.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



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From marylouiseparis at hotmail.com  Fri May 20 09:29:23 2005
From: marylouiseparis at hotmail.com (Mary Louise smn)
Date: Fri May 20 09:35:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Water effects aging
In-Reply-To: <BEB37827.20828%michael@michaelbutler.com>
Message-ID: <BAY107-F15925FFC9BEF81F456F403B8090@phx.gbl>

Bravo!!!  Gerald and Michael!!!!!!   Water is such a simple solution to 
keeping a body fit and looking great!  Here in Paris, most people  drink an 
AVERAGE of one liter water per day....many drink 2 liters,  csrrying the 
liter bottles with them on the streets, public transportation, work places.  
Wine has its traditional place but water is another top priority.   BRAVO 
again!!   Marylouise

>From: Michael Butler <michael@michaelbutler.com>
>Reply-To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
>To: Civic <mb-civic@islandlists.com>, HAIR List <mb-hair@islandlists.com>
>Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Water effects aging
>Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 11:19:03 -0700
>
>Thanks to
>------ Forwarded Message
>From: Gerald Gerald <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
>Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 13:06:23 -0700 (PDT)
>To: Gerald Cooper <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
>Subject: Water effects aging
>
>Subject: WATER, AND HOW IT AFFECTS AGING
>
>How many times have your heard "drink eight to ten
>glasses of water
>everyday?" How often do we actually drink that much
>pure water? Would you believe that as you are reading
>this page you are dehydrating?
>
>We were all born as grapes, but now we are turning
>into raisins. Your
>body
>was once more than 70% water and now, if you're like
>most Americans
>past the age of 40, you are lucky to have a hydration
>level above 60%. The bodies of most hospitalized
>elderly are less than 50% water.
>
>Today, Americans consume more coffee and soft drinks
>than water. These beverages, along with tea and
>alcohol, are diuretics and dehydrate the body.
>
>All the moisturizer in the world will not restore a
>youthful
>appearance. By dehydrating your body you are actually
>pulling a hundred times as much water out of your skin
>through the urinary tract. Much worse than the skin
>dehydrating, is the dehydration of the internal
>organs, connective tissue and the brain.
>
>Inadequate fluid intake and excess water loss can
>disrupt critical cell function. Most people experience
>this level of hydration all day, nearly everyday.
>Water is essential for all anabolic repair functions,
>and conversely, dehydration accelerates the aging
>process.
>
>A study at Fred Hutchinson Research Center in Seattle
>found that women who drank two glasses of water a day
>had nearly twice the risk of colon cancer than women
>who drank four glasses a day. The few women who did
>drink eight or more glasses of water a day had less
>than half the risk of those who drank only four
>glasses. The association of increased water intake may
>also reduce the risk for other types of cancer. In one
>study, the women who drank the most water were 80%
>less likely to develop bladder cancer than women who
>drank the least.
>
>Other conditions that often respond to increased water
>intake include
>the reduction of headaches, muscle aches, hangovers,
>fatigue, constipation, and heartburn. Drinking enough
>water will also reduce fluid retention and edema.
>
>Sometimes it is difficult for people to understand
>that drinking lots
>of water actually decreases water retention. If you
>provide your body with ample amounts of pure water, it
>will not have to retain water in the tissues
>
>The body can become significantly dehydrated before we
>actually feel
>thirsty.
>
>In the morning, you have a true need for water, but
>you may not feel
>it. For most people, the first liquid they consume is
>coffee, a beverage that sucks the water out of our
>cells. Try this test: Before you eat or drink anything
>in the morning, sip about four ounces of water-no
>more. You will be surprised to see that in two to
>three minutes your mouth will feel parched.
>
>Drink another four ounces and in two to three minutes
>you will be
>thirsty again. You may have to repeat this six or more
>times before you are no longer thirsty. Add up all the
>four-ounce servings that you consumed, and you will
>discover your body's true metabolic need for water.
>
>------ End of Forwarded Message
>
>_______________________________________________
>Mb-civic mailing list
>Mb-civic@islandlists.com
>http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

_________________________________________________________________
Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! 
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From harperalexander at mail.com  Fri May 20 10:05:55 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Fri May 20 10:11:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Sanctions could empower Syria's hardliners
Message-ID: <20050520170555.75B99164039@ws1-4.us4.outblaze.com>

Spot on-
Al Baraka

Sanctions could empower Syria's hardliners 
>By Stephen Glain
>Published: May 19 2005 20:45 | Last updated: May 19 2005 20:45
>>
Dictators love embargoes. Just look at North Korea - if you can gain entry. The secretive Stalinist state hosts few foreigners, either as visitors or residents. When I visited Pyongyang in 1995 to report on a Hong Kong-based investor's bid to operate there, the negotiations were plagued by a shortage of English speakers with enough knowledge of financial matters to translate properly. North Korea's language deficit is symptomatic of the isolation that is key to the power of Kim Jong Il, its leader. Though embargoes deprived Pyongyang of modern weaponry - its non-conventional arms, which may soon include nuclear weapons, are another matter - they have also shut North Koreans off from the world, along with the toxic ideas and technologies that could undermine Mr Kim's authority. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group recently called on the international community to assist Pyongyang by training North Koreans in business and finance. But Pyongyang is unlikely to expose its people to ideas it cannot control. Far from subverting the regime, sanctions have provided North Korea's leaders the antiseptic curtain they need to cut their people off from the world.

Now consider Syria, currently preparing for the ruling Ba'ath party congress on June 6. Analysts say there are signs that Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, will unveil political reforms consistent with George W. Bush's campaign to democratise the Middle East. Nonetheless, the White House is proceeding with plans that would empower hardliners in Damascus in the same way they have strengthened those in Pyongyang: shrouding Syria in a comprehensive trade embargo.

The Bush administration's intensifying pressure on Damascus is part of a move to uproot the Assad regime through external pressure. Little matter that Damascus has been for the last 16 months or so managing a tentative political and economic opening. Foreign-controlled, private banks have been operating in Syria for a year and Syrians have for the first time been permitted to hold foreign exchange. Dissidents are increasingly vocal and several groups have launched independent non-governmental organisations, fertile ground for civic institutions that could offer compelling opposition to the regime. And while activists differ on how best to challenge Mr Assad, their message to Washington is broadly similar: back off. Most Syrians dread the Syrian Accountability Act, passed overwhelmingly by the US Congress two years ago in response to Syrian support of Lebanon's Hizbollah and other anti-Israel groups. If fully enforced - some provisions were implemented last May - the act would limit the country's interaction with the outside world and allow the regime, in the manner of Pyongyang, to control what comes in and what goes out. This would undermine activists, who need to project their message, and would also create a siege mentality that Mr Assad and his lieutenants could manipulate to stifle dissent.

Resonant in Damascus but lost on Washington is how the United Nations-led embargo on Iraq and the accompanying smuggling trade so enriched Saddam Hussein he could buy the loyalty of tribal and religious leaders. They dramatically thinned Iraq's population of diplomats, businessmen and aid workers, to say nothing of spies, which allowed Mr Hussein to commit his most egregious acts free of international scrutiny. They also eviscerated Iraq's once-robust middle class, historically an antechamber for reform and revolution. While Syrians might applaud the White House for standing up to Arab autocracy, they fear the collapse of the political air-pocket Mr Bush helped create unless he rigorously engages the Middle East and its problems, rather than simply isolating and neglecting them.

The Ba'ath party congress will reveal much about the nature and motives of both Syrian and US leaders. If Mr Assad unfurls an agenda for substantial reform - expectations have been raised for the release of jailed dissidents and a green light for a multi-party political system - it will prove he is strong enough to do what is right and smart enough to call Mr Bush's bluff. A commitment to real change would be enough for the European Union, led by France, to rally behind Damascus, leaving the White House with a choice: abandon the sanctions threat along with ambitions for another Middle East intervention, or stay faithful to unilateral instincts and defy international currents - including the majority of Syrian opinion. 
>
>The writer, author of Mullahs, Merchants, and Militants: the Economic Collapse of the Arab World, covered the Middle East and Asia for The Wall Street Journal 1991-2001
 
> 


-- 
___________________________________________________________
Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May 20 10:07:01 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri May 20 10:12:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Brand Hillary
Message-ID: <000801c55d5e$59417c20$0827e440@Harold>

Hillary Clinton speaks, "this present administration is seeking absolute power" 

http://thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20050606&s=sargent

She's right .

Harry
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May 20 10:47:04 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri May 20 10:52:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Clear cutting in Brazil staggering !!
Message-ID: <000801c55d63$f1b0abc0$0827e440@Harold>

Many political officials, governors are major shareholders in the new Soya fields !!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,8542,1488779,00.html

Thousands and thousands of hectares are being cleared for agriculture.

$oya beans for Asian markets !!

Over 1/5 of the Amazon is gone !!

Later, Harry
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Fri May 20 11:06:24 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Fri May 20 11:12:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Clear cutting in Brazil staggering !!
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV528F378E1628380AD1FB9AB090@phx.gbl>

For some reason this brings out a feeling of violence in me.... I believe it must be this is the only way these a__ h____ will understand... Time for a revolution. These poor people who are losing their homes after generations of living in the forests.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Harold Sifton
Sent: Fri, 20 May 2005 10:47:04 -0700
To: MB Civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] Clear cutting in Brazil staggering !!

Many political officials, governors are major shareholders in the new Soya fields !!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,8542,1488779,00.html

Thousands and thousands of hectares are being cleared for agriculture.

$oya beans for Asian markets !!

Over 1/5 of the Amazon is gone !!

Later, Harry

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 12:22:51 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 20 11:29:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Personal Data for the Taking
Message-ID: <20050520182313.2BC883AFD1E@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

TECHNOLOGY | May 18, 2005

Personal Data for the Taking
By TOM ZELLER Jr.

Students have proven that all it takes to obtain reams of personal data is Internet access, a few dollars and some spare time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/technology/18data.html?ex=1117252800&en=f13d31284d7f373d&ei=5070



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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Fri May 20 15:19:03 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Fri May 20 12:26:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Great Article to Read Again
Message-ID: <BEB3B067.2086C%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 07:10:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: swiggard@comcast.net
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from:
    swiggard@comcast.net
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Message-ID: <1704935.1116587440853.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>
Content-Type: text/plain

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of
washingtonpost.com 
 
 Getting Democrats From No to Yes
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
  How do liberals and Democrats move from the Politics of No to the Politics
of Yes? Is that even the right question?
 
 One of the great political parlor games pits two arguments against each
other. On one side is the view that because Republicans control both
Congress and the White House, Democrats have no possibility of passing
legislation that would be to their liking. Therefore, any Democrat who
seriously negotiates with the Republicans, especially on Social Security, is
voluntarily placing his or her head in a guillotine. Nothing good can come
of that. Nor, by the way, can anything good come from giving up the right to
filibuster right-wing judges.
 
 Moreover, as Robert Borosage of the liberal Campaign for America's Future
notes, getting a diverse party to agree on the idea of No is far easier than
brokering an agreement on what the party might say Yes to. No is clear. Yes
raises the question:  yes to what, exactly? What would the messy details
look like?
 
 On the other side is the assertion that Democrats will never regain power
unless they offer -- the phrase just rolls out of the word processor -- a
compelling alternative vision. Where are the new ideas? What do Democrats
really stand for? Do they stand for anything? Are they gutless?
 
 The problem is that this argument confuses short-term tactical imperatives
with long-term strategy. Borosage is right that Democrats have no interest
in bailing out the president on his Social Security privatization ideas --
because they have no interest in furthering those ideas in the first place.
 
 Indeed, the Social Security debate so far has been a rare triumph for
liberals: For the first time in a long while, core liberal principles are
actually winning in a public debate. The idea that Social Security is an
insurance program and not an investment plan is gaining traction. So is the
view, advanced powerfully by Yale University political scientist Jacob
Hacker, that more and more financial risk is being thrown onto individual
Americans and that collective safety nets (notably for pensions and for
health care) are being shredded. Secure, guaranteed private pensions are
increasingly a thing of the past. Employer-provided health insurance is in
trouble. This is encouraging many Americans to give liberalism another look.
 
 One clear indicator of the transformation of the national discussion was
the cover line on the May 16 issue of BusinessWeek, "Safety Net Nation." The
article it referred to, by Lee Walczak and Richard S. Dunham, ran under the
phrase: "Why so many Americans aren't buying into Bush's Ownership Society."
The writers noted that even Republicans who love Bush and revere capitalism
are seeking a certain degree of security and safety. When a leading business
magazine highlights the importance of government safety nets to a successful
capitalist economy, the times are definitely changing.
 
 And that is why it is inescapable that for the long term, those who think
of themselves as progressive do need to offer that compelling alternative
vision. What's required are not some small-bore tweaks to Bushism, but a set
of proposals that change the very nature of what is being debated
nationally. What question should frame the national debate?
 
 Eric Wanner, president of the Russell Sage Foundation, suggests that if the
U.S. economy remains broadly open and trade broadly free, the result will be
"more inequality because there are more winners and more losers."
 
 The challenge, he argues, is to indemnify those who may find themselves on
the losing end of the transaction. This points to a number of big policy
ideas: wage insurance, to ease the transition from one job to another;
broader earned-income tax credits, to push up the wages of the lower paid;
pension portability and incentives to help lower- and middle-income
Americans put away money. Above all, it means guaranteed health insurance in
some form, an idea increasingly appealing to companies in a competitive
world market  that   want to take health care costs out of the prices of
their goods.
 
 And in this climate, higher minimum wages and broader unionization are
looking more attractive than ever.
 
 The large debate the nation needs, in other words, is how to create enough
security so that Americans can embrace a dynamic economy without fear.
Paradoxically, throwing more risk onto  individuals leads to risk-avoidance.
Risk-taking requires a certain amount of risk-sharing.
 
 To everything there is a season. There is a time for the Politics of No.
When the time for Yes comes around, it ought to be about affirming bigger
ideas and larger purposes.
 
 postchat@aol.com
 
 

From moveon-help at list.moveon.org  Fri May 20 12:27:26 2005
From: moveon-help at list.moveon.org (Eli Pariser, MoveOn PAC)
Date: Fri May 20 12:40:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Michael, this is it.
Message-ID: <200505201940.j4KJea0D008994@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Dear active MoveOn member,

I know we've sent you lots of emails asking you to act in the last few
weeks, as we've geared up to prevent the impending Republican judicial
takeover.  Now we're pretty much down to the wire, with the vote on the
"nuclear option" to pack the courts with radical judges coming in the next
few days, and thought to be too close call.  So we really are pulling out
all the stops, and I have one big request: as a final attempt to sound the
alarm about Republicans' plans, we're organizing 24-hour "Citizen
Filibusters" in front of courthouses from coast to coast.  Will you post a
location, and call the media, so other MoveOn members in your area can
join you for this critical action?

http://www.moveonpac.org/event/citizenfilibusters/?id=5548-615480-H32yZ.DrPHvGS20EsKMzzA&t=3

If Republicans succeed, they'll have complete power to reshape the Supreme
Court, appointing justices who oppose worker protections, women's rights,
and environmental laws.  This could be the most important decision the
Senate makes this decade, because the impact of these lifetime
appointments will be felt for a generation.

The round-the-clock citizen filibusters begin nationwide on Tuesday, May
24 starting at 12 Noon. Will you help? Please click below to get started.
If you can't sign up as a host look for an event in your community that
you could attend. All we really need is for you to select a location if
there isn't one setup in your community.

http://www.moveonpac.org/event/citizenfilibusters/?id=5548-615480-H32yZ.DrPHvGS20EsKMzzA&t=4

We'll provide a detailed guide to help you organize and invite other
MoveOn members to participate as citizen filibusterers. The citizen
filibusters will simulate the Senate filibuster that has been a critical
part of our democratic system of checks and balances for more than 200
years.

We're following an inspiring example. At 11:00 a.m. on April 26, a group
of students at Princeton University in New Jersey started a
round-the-clock mock filibuster outside a campus building named for the
family of Senator Frist. Through rain, exams and the dead of night their
speeches continued for more than two weeks non-stop with visits by
distinguished professors including a Nobel Prize-winning physicist,
congressmen, senators and lots of students -- Democrats, Republicans and
Independents.

The citizen filibusters are an important way to demonstrate broad
opposition to the Republican drive for absolute power. Organizing a
citizen filibuster might sound like a lot of work but we've got all the
information you need. All you really need to do is post a location.  We'll
invite other MoveOn members in your area to join in. Then, if possible,
you alert the media or ask one of your attendees to do it.

We know you might have to take off work, school or find child care but
this is one of those moments when we really need your help. Please make a
commitment to organize a 24-hour citizen filibuster now.

http://www.moveonpac.org/event/citizenfilibusters/?id=5548-615480-H32yZ.DrPHvGS20EsKMzzA&t=5

The Senate is currently debating the nominations of two judges -- Janice
Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen. Here is a summary of how bad they are and
why it is important that they don't become federal judges.

Janice Rogers Brown, a Justice on the California Supreme Court, would
threaten the most basic protections for workers and the environment that
have kept our country strong since the Great Depression. She follows a
radical judicial philosophy, (often called "Constitution in Exile") that
says courts have a duty to block Congress from interfering with a
corporation's "right" to profitably pollute, or an employer's "right" to
demand unlimited hours at any wage from their employees. On the state
Supreme Court she has attacked California's anti-discrimination statute,
affordable housing laws, fees levied against major urban polluters, and
laws that protects whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers and
consumers from corporate fraud.

Pricilla Owen, a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court, has been repeatedly
admonished by her own conservative colleagues for what Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales described as her "unconscionable judicial activism." As a
candidate for the Supreme Court job Owen defied ethics standards by
accepting substantial campaign contributions from giant corporations
including Enron and Halliburton and then later issuing rulings in their
favor. In case after case where individual rights came into conflict with
corporate profit, Owen has sided with the latter  -- including cases
where a liquor vendors' negligence left a nine-year-old with permanent
brain damage and where major companies have argued their right to
unfettered profit should exempt them from all local environmental laws.

Thanks for all you do.

--Eli Pariser
  MoveOn PAC
  Friday, May 20th, 2005

P.S. Check out the Filibuster for Democracy website started by the
students at Princeton who organized the mock filibuster outside the Frist
building on their campus.

http://www.FilibusterFrist.com/

Here are some key points to talk about if somebody asks you what is going
on.

  * Constituents urge our senators to protect our system of checks and
    balances by voting against the so-called "nuclear option"  -- which
    would break a two hundred year old senate rule.

  * The "nuclear option" is an attempt to stack the courts with extremist
    judges. It's a power grab for one-party rule.

  * We know that absolute power corrupts and so we have to resist this
    attempt by some Senate Republicans to pander to their right-wing
    religious base and big corporate special interests.

  * The extremist judges some Republicans want to appoint would threaten
    bedrock protections that make America great  -- the minimum wage and
    40-hour week, women's rights and environmental laws like the Clean Air
    Act. They would also intervene in life and death family decisions (as
    in the Terri Schiavo case).



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=5548-615480-H32yZ.DrPHvGS20EsKMzzA
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 20 13:11:34 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Fri May 20 13:17:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The True Definition of Globalization
Message-ID: <010201c55d78$1f5fadf0$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Received this from a friend:


Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?

Answer: Princess Diana's death.

Question: Why?

Answer: She waw an English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend, who crashed in a French tunnel, in a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky, followed closely by Italian paparazzi on Japanese motorcycles; she was treated by an American doctor using Brazilian medicines.

And this information was sent to you by an American using American technology, and you're probably reading it on a computer that uses Taiwanese chips and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian lorry-drivers, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexican illegals...

THAT, my friends, is Globalization!!!
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From bodhababe at hotmail.com  Thu May 19 22:11:36 2005
From: bodhababe at hotmail.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Fri May 20 13:33:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: A warm thank-you from Peru
Message-ID: <BAY103-F42C7E6DB8684242BB05A18AB090@phx.gbl>

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From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Thu May 19 22:39:29 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Fri May 20 13:33:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CORRECT VERSION - Star Wars: Episode III. May the Force
	Be Over.
Message-ID: <20050520053929.36717.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

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From dragoncastle at cox.net  Thu May 19 22:39:55 2005
From: dragoncastle at cox.net (Hecate)
Date: Fri May 20 13:34:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] MSN Movies: 58th Annual Cannes Film Festival
Message-ID: <000501c55cfe$5bb45280$0200a8c0@Dragon>


I found this on MSN Entertainment and thought you might be interested in it.

Click this link:
http://movies.msn.com/beacon/hubarticle.aspx?ptid=ffa72c21-328f-49ac-b2b6-3f25e0d76f0f&GT1=6462
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From lbirdie at hotmail.com  Fri May 20 13:55:39 2005
From: lbirdie at hotmail.com (Little Birdie)
Date: Fri May 20 14:06:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A request from the Moderator
Message-ID: <BAY104-F22E9D1D27639C4A7E872F0B2090@phx.gbl>

Hi folks -

Just a quick reminder that you can only post to the list from the email 
address where you are subscribed. This is the address where you receive the 
posts from the list. When a post comes in from an address that is not 
subscribed it gets stopped by the spam filters and I get a notification to 
go to the Admin pages and Ok it or reject it if it's spam. While I don't 
mind doing this several times during the day it has been happening much more 
lately, so thought it worth mentioning. This also results in delays before 
your posts come through to the list.

One possible solution is to subscribe the other addresses you want to post 
from, but stop mail delivery to them (so as to not receive several copies of 
each post at different addresses).

Thanks for giving this your attention. Below my sig file I have copied the 
relevant section of the FAQ.
Nina

The Hair Archives
http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/Hair.html


Here is the relevant section from the FAQ:

Posting to the list
To post to the Mb-Civic List send your email to mb-civic@islandlists.com It 
will be sent out to all of the subscribers of the list.

Please note the following:

You can only post from the email address you are subscribed at.

The email address mb-civic@islandlists.com must be visible in the “To” or 
the “CC” fields of your email. Emails where the list address is a Blind 
Carbon Copy, or as part of a larger mailing list which does not show the 
addresses, get stopped by the filters and must be OK’ed by the moderator 
before they go out to the list. Please make sure the list address is 
visible.

Posts larger than 100K in size must be checked and authorized by the 
moderator.

All posts to the list must be sent in plain text, and not in html.  The 
software we use to archive the posts does not accept any html, nor do some 
email programs, therefore we ask that all post be in plain text only.


From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May 20 17:31:38 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May 20 19:23:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - SADDAM TO SUE OVER PICS OF HIM IN UNDERWEAR:
	LAWYER
Message-ID: <20050521003138.D01BF1B67A@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
____________________________________________________
SADDAM TO SUE OVER PICS OF HIM IN UNDERWEAR: LAWYER
WebPosted Fri May 20 08:53:16 2005

LONDON---Saddam Hussein's lawyer says the former Iraqi dictator plans to
take legal action after a British and an American newspaper published
front page photos of him in his underwear.

"We will sue the newspaper and everyone who helped in showing these
pictures," Saddam's chief lawyer Ziad Al-Khasawneh told the BBC Friday.

Britain's Sun newspaper said it would fight the suit, calling Saddam a
"modern-day Hitler."

A photo showing Saddam in his prison cell, wearing only his underwear,
drew the ire of the U.S. military when it was splashed across the front
pages of both the Sun and the New York Post newspapers Friday.

The colour picture shows the former Iraqi dictator standing in his white
underwear while he folds a pair of brown pants.

Inside Britain's Sun newspaper, another photo shows him wearing a
traditional white Arab robe, or dishdasha. He is sitting on a plastic
chair, hand- washing some clothing.

The photos are likely to be viewed negatively in Arab countries,
especially by those who still laud Saddam for fighting the Americans.

"He was once the world's most feared despot with the blood of innocent
thousands on his murderous hands," the Sun newspaper says in its
typically sensational style.

"Now Saddam Hussein is reduced to shuffling around his prison compound in
his underpants and washing his OWN dirty socks in a simple bowl."

Bush plays down impact of photos

On Friday, U.S. President George Bush said he did not believe the photos
would incite further anti-American feelings in Iraq.

"I don't think a photo inspires murderers," Bush told the press at the
White House. "These people are motivated by a vision of the world that is
backward and barbaric &#8230; I think the insurgency is inspired by their
desire to stop the march of freedom."

U.S. officials have launched an investigation into who took the
photos of the former Iraqi dictator and provided them to the mass-
circulation tabloid. Both papers say they got the photos from "U.S.
military sources."

In Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement that the photos
violated military guidelines "and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines
for the humane treatment of detained individuals."

"The specific issue here is that these images are against DoD [Department
of Defence] policy. It's not the content of the photo that is the issue
at hand, but it is the existence or release of the photos," U.S. military
spokesman Staff Sgt. Don Dees told the Associated Press.



Photos not recent He said the photos were likely taken more than a year
ago.

The U.S. military captured Saddam in December 2003. He was hiding in a
concealed hole in the ground near his home of Tikrit, 130 kilometres
north of the capital.

He is being held at an undisclosed location, likely somewhere in Baghdad.

Saddam's London-based legal adviser questioned the publication of
the photos.

"It can't be right, can it, that you put a man in his underpants in the
paper," Giovanni di Stefano told the Associated Press.

The American military is sensitive to the release of prisoner photos
since the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, which involved photographs
showing Iraqi prisoners being abused by U.S. soldiers guarding the
Baghdad prison.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May 20 17:35:45 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May 20 19:27:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - QUR'AN ABUSE ALLEGATIONS DATE BACK YEARS: RED
	CROSS
Message-ID: <20050521003545.1E1A81B691@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
____________________________________________________
QUR'AN ABUSE ALLEGATIONS DATE BACK YEARS: RED CROSS
WebPosted Fri May 20 10:45:37 2005

geneva---The international Red Cross says it raised the issue of alleged
Qur'an abuse at Guantanamo Bay with American officials on numerous
occasions and as early as 2002.

Delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) didn't
witness any mistreatment of Islam's holy book, but heard reports from a
number of detainees, said spokesman Simon Schorno on Friday.



 FROM MAY 13, 2005: 8 die in Afghan protests over Qur'an allegations

At least 15 people died in violent protests in Afghanistan last week
after a Newsweek article reported American interrogators at the U.S.
military base flushed a Qur'an down a toilet. The magazine later
retracted the story, saying it had doubts about the source.

ICRC members have visited the base on the eastern tip of Cuba since the
detainees arrived in January 2002.

Schorno told the Chicago Tribune newspaper on Thursday that Red Cross
delegates compiled the complaints they received from various detainees
and reported them to Guantanamo commanders and Pentagon officials on
several occasions.

The Red Cross spokesperson said he believes the U.S. has taken corrective
measures and has heard no more complaints from detainees.

In January 2003, after the ICRC reports, the Pentagon released guidelines
on how to handle the Qur'an. The three-page document advised handling the
book like a "fragile piece of delicate art" that shouldn't be placed near
toilets, sinks, feet or dirty or wet areas.

The Pentagon didn't specify what the ICRC complaints were, except to say
they matched previously acknowledged complaints such as the Qur'an
accidentally falling to the floor.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May 20 14:47:48 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Fri May 20 21:08:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Foreign Companies Pay to Influence U.S. Policy: More
	than $620 million spent lobbying federal government
Message-ID: <001401c55d85$933c6710$2227e440@Harold>


Pay to Influence U.S. Policy: More than $620 million spent lobbying federal 
government


> Foreign Companies Pay to Influence U.S. Policy
> More than $620 million spent lobbying federal government
>
> WASHINGTON, May 20, 2005 - The army of lobbyists working behind the
> scenes to affect federal legislation and agency regulations now count
> some 650 foreign companies among their clients, which are seeking to
> influence everything from America's defense contracting and
> pharmaceutical policies to the sort of environmental matters that
> literally affect U.S.
> soil, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.
>
> To read the full report log on to http://www.publicintegrity.org.
>
>
> Nathan Kommers
> Center for Public Integrity
> 910 17th St. NW
> Washington, DC  20006
> ph: 202-481-1221


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 21 05:39:58 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Sat May 21 05:45:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Vanishing lake baffles Russians
Message-ID: <20050521_123958_087751.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
Laughing, a villager says she thought it was the Americans!

** Vanishing lake baffles Russians **
The overnight disappearance of a lake in Russia leaves local villagers bewildered.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4566355.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 21 05:43:55 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Sat May 21 05:49:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Karzai shock at US Afghan 'abuse'
Message-ID: <20050521_124355_059708.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
How many more abuses do we still do not know about and will never know about?

** Karzai shock at US Afghan 'abuse' **
Afghan President Hamid Karzai demands action after reports of US prisoner abuse, as he leaves for Washington.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4568031.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 21 05:47:42 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat May 21 05:53:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Report implicates top brass in
	Bagram scandal
Message-ID: <20050521124742.A70DF459B@mullet.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

Why did this happen in the first place?
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Report implicates top brass in Bagram scandal
Julian Borger  in Washington
Saturday May 21 2005
The Guardian


A leaked report on a military investigation into two killings of detainees at a US prison in Afghanistan has produced new evidence of connivance of senior officers in systematic prisoner abuse. 

The investigation shows the military intelligence officers in charge of the detention centre at Bagram airport were redeployed to Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003, while still under investigation for the deaths of two detainees months earlier. Despite military prosecutors' recommendations, the officers involved have yet to be charged.  

The Bagram case also suggests that some of the prison guards were given little if any training in handling detainees, and were influenced by a White House directive that "terrorist" suspects did not deserve the rights given to prisoners of war under the Geneva convention.  

The prosecution dossier from the army's investigation into Bagram, leaked to the New York Times, deals with the deaths of detainees Dilawar and Habibullah (both, as is common for Afghans, taking a single name).  

Dilawar was a taxi driver who appears to have driven past a US military base soon after a rocket attack. Habibullah was handed over to the US by an Afghan warlord, and was identified as the brother of a Taliban commander. Both men were seized in late 2002, interrogated, beaten and killed in a hangar used for holding detainees who were being vetted for dispatch to Guant&#225;namo Bay.  

The two were chained to the ceilings of their cells for days at a time and beaten on the legs. They had been subjected to a blow known as the "common peroneal strike", aimed at a point just below the knee and intended to disable. Coroners in the Habibullah case said his legs "had basically been pulpified" and looked as though they had been run over by a bus.  

Last October, the army's criminal investigation com mand found probable cause to charge 27 officers and enlisted soldiers with offences ranging from dereliction of duty to maiming and involuntary manslaughter in the Dilawar case. Charges were also recommended against 15 of them for the Habibullah case.  

Only seven soldiers have been charged, all junior ranks.  

John Galligan, a Texas lawyer defending one of them - Private First Class Willie Brand - told the Guardian: "It happened over a period of time and involved a large number of individuals. To turn around and charge PFC Brand fails to take account of the environment and standard operating procedures.  

"What is particularly offensive to me is that senior officials have gone unscathed."  

Asked about the latest revelations, President George Bush said yesterday: "I think about over 20% of the people thus far that have been held to account as a result of the Abu Ghraib issue have been officers. I'm comfortable that we're getting to the bottom of the situation. And I know we're doing so in a transparent way."  

Sergeant James Leahy told investigators that after February 2002 directive from Mr Bush that the Geneva convention did not apply to al-Qaida or Taliban fighters, interrogators believed they "could deviate slightly from the rules".  

The Pentagon denied that the Abu Ghraib scandal could have been prevented if the Bagram abuses had been investigated faster. Carrying out an inquiry in Afghanistan was bound to take longer. But John Sifton, an Afghanistan expert at Human Rights Watch, said this was "a convenient excuse".  

"The White House always put forward, that Abu Ghraib was an exception, just some rotten apples," he said. "But US personnel in Afghanistan were involved in killings and torture of prisoners well before the Iraq war even started.  

"The story begins in Afghanistan." 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 21 05:50:52 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat May 21 05:56:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Chained,
	tortured and left to die in cell
Message-ID: <20050521125052.19EB27509@mussel.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

How long was this story/crime buried?

-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Chained, tortured and left to die in cell
Tim Golden
Saturday May 21 2005
The Guardian


Even as the young Afghan man was dying before them, his American jailers continued to torment him. The prisoner, a slight, 22-year-old taxi driver known only as Dilawar, was hauled from his cell at the detention centre in Bagram, Afghanistan, at around 2am to answer questions about a rocket attack on an American base. 

When he arrived in the interrogation room, an interpreter who was present said, his legs were bouncing uncontrollably in the plastic chair and his hands were numb. He had been chained by the wrists to the top of his cell for much of the previous four days.  

At the interrogators' behest, a guard tried to force the young man to his knees. But his legs, which had been pummelled by guards for several days, could no longer bend. An interrogator told Dilawar that he could see a doctor after they had finished with him. When he was finally sent back to his cell, though, the guards were instructed to chain the prisoner back to the ceiling.  

Several hours later an emergency room doctor saw Dilawar. By then he was dead. It would be months before army investigators learned a final horrific detail: most of the interrogators had believed Dilawar was an innocent man who drove his taxi past the American base at the wrong time.  

The story of Dilawar's death - and that of another detainee, Habibullah, who died there six days earlier in December 2002 - emerge from a 2,000-page confidential file of the army's criminal investigation into the case, a copy of which has been obtained by the New York Times.  

The Bagram file depicts young, poorly trained soldiers in repeated incidents of abuse. The harsh treatment, which has resulted in criminal charges against seven soldiers, went well beyond the two deaths.  

In some instances, testimony shows, it was directed or carried out by interrogators to extract information. In others, it was punishment meted out by military police guards.  

Sometimes, the torment seems to have been driven by little more than boredom or cruelty, or both.  

In sworn statements to army investigators, soldiers describe one female interrogator stepping on the neck of one prostrate detainee and kicking another in the genitals. They tell of a shackled prisoner being forced to roll back and forth on the floor of a cell, kissing the boots of his two interrogators as he went. Yet another prisoner is made to pick plastic bottle caps out of a drum mixed with excrement and water as part of a strategy to soften him up for questioning.   

Some of the mistreatment was quite obvious, the file suggests. Senior officers frequently toured the detention centre, and several of them acknowledged seeing prisoners chained up for punishment or to deprive them of sleep.  

In late August of 2002, the Bagram interrogators were joined by a new military police unit. The soldiers, mostly reservists from the 377th Military Police Company based in Cincinnati and Bloomington, Indiana, were unprepared for their mission, members of the unit said.  

Once in Afghanistan, members of the 377th found the usual rules did not seem to apply. The peroneal strike - a potentially disabling blow to the side of the leg, just above the knee - quickly became a basic weapon of their arsenal. They said they were never told it was not part of army doctrine.  

The detainee known as Person Under Control No. 412 was a portly, well-groomed Afghan named Habibullah. Some American officials identified him as "Mullah" Habibullah, a brother of a former Taliban commander from the southern Afghan province of Oruzgan.  

Documents from the investigation suggest that Habibullah was captured by an Afghan warlord on November 28 2002, and delivered to Bagram by CIA operatives two days later  

Habibullah was identified as an important prisoner and an unusually sharp-tongued and insubordinate one. He was shackled by the wrists to the wire ceiling over his cell, soldiers said.  

On his second day, December 1, the prisoner was "uncooperative" again, this time with Specialist Willie V Brand. The guard, who has since been charged with assault and other crimes, told investigators he had delivered three peroneal strikes in response. The next day, Specialist Brand said, he had to knee the prisoner again. Other blows followed.  

By December 3, Habibullah's reputation for defiance seemed to make him an open target. One MP said he had given him five peroneal strikes for being "noncompliant and combative." Another gave him three or four more for being "combative and noncompliant." Some guards later asserted that he had been hurt trying to escape.  

When Sgt. James P Boland saw Habibullah on December 3, he was in one of the isolation cells, tethered to the ceiling by two sets of handcuffs and a chain around his waist. His body was slumped forward, held up by the chains.  

His death was attributed to a blood clot, probably caused by the severe injuries to his legs, which travelled to his heart and blocked the blood flow to his lungs.  

&#183; This is an edited version of a report that appeared in yesterday's New York Times  

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 21 05:56:45 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat May 21 06:02:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Abuses of power
Message-ID: <20050521125645.D557042A8@mullet.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

Abuse of power - ignornace, imaturity, fear and poor training!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Abuses of power
Leader
Saturday May 21 2005
The Guardian


Pictures of Saddam Hussein in his underpants - splashed all over yesterday's Sun and New York Post - may have breached his right to privacy, according to US military spokesmen. It is not clear if the images reached the tabloids by unauthorised initiative or were leaked by officials to humiliate the former Iraqi dictator, perhaps to help draw the sting from the insurgency. Even "high-value" prisoners have rights, before and after they stand trial, and the principle should not be ignored to score propaganda points, wage psychological warfare - or sell Rupert Murdoch's newspapers. 

Wrongs, though come in different shapes and sizes, and by coincidence some far more serious and apparently systemic outrages by US servicemen were also reported yesterday. The New York Times' account of the mistreatment and killing of two Afghan prisoners at the Bagram airbase near Kabul is a shocking addition to a grim catalogue that includes well-documented abuses at Abu Ghraib jail and Guant&#225;namo Bay.  

Some of the facts were already known and have been called "isolated cases". But the New York Times article, citing a 2,000-page military investigation file, names interrogators and victims and graphically describes the routine actions of young, poorly trained soldiers that   resulted in criminal charges against seven. Methods included chaining prisoners in painful positions (ignoring warnings from the Red Cross), as well as beatings and verbal and sexual abuse. Many Bagram personnel, led by the same officer, were redeployed to Baghdad and used similar interrogation techniques at Abu Ghraib. Crucially, the soldiers believed - following a determination by President Bush in early 2002 - that the Geneva conventions on prisoners of war did not apply to al-Qaida and Taliban fighters. Detainees were to be considered "terrorists" until proved otherwise.  

These findings are a reminder of the need for combative media in wartime - and an antidote to high-minded outrage from the administration over Newsweek magazine's story, later retracted, about the desecration of a Qur'an at Guant&#225;namo. Universal justice and American values require that the perpetrators - and those who authorised their acts - are held to account. As so often with Iraq and the "war on terror", some will retort that however regrettable, such abuses are overshadowed by the mass, random brutality of terrorists and the murderous Ba'athist regime. That is utterly irrelevant to these cases - though not of course to the old man in underpants washing his socks in a small prison cell. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 21 07:07:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard)
Date: Sat May 21 07:13:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] New Swedish Documents Illuminate CIA Action
Message-ID: <428F4098.4090201@comcast.net>


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/20/AR2005052001605.html?nav=hcmodule
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 21 07:07:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard)
Date: Sat May 21 07:13:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Sunnis Close Mosques to Protest Killings
Message-ID: <428F40B3.8070602@comcast.net>


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/20/AR2005052001568.html?nav=hcmodule
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 21 07:09:59 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard)
Date: Sat May 21 07:16:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Courage to Develop Clean Energy
Message-ID: <428F4137.7060001@comcast.net>


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/20/AR2005052001332.html
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 21 07:10:52 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard)
Date: Sat May 21 07:16:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Next Step on Stem Cells
Message-ID: <428F416C.3050903@comcast.net>


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/20/AR2005052001381.html
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 21 08:34:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 21 07:40:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_Guant=E1namo_Comes_to?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?_Define_U=2ES=2E_to_Muslims?=
Message-ID: <20050521143435.3503B9FC6E@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 21, 2005

Guantánamo Comes to Define U.S. to Muslims
By SOMINI SENGUPTA and SALMAN MASOOD

For many Muslims, accusations of abuses at Guantánamo Bay confirm the low regard in which they believe the U.S. holds them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/international/asia/21gitmo.html?ex=1117339200&en=27a1a140fcee7243&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 21 08:35:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 21 07:40:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Taking Luck Seriously
Message-ID: <20050521143505.2F3B93AE301@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 21, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Taking Luck Seriously
By MATT MILLER

With a little luck, Democrats may find they can make America more just while grounding their agenda in values that can win.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/opinion/21miller.html?ex=1117339200&en=6a1f77e5d7986fa3&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 21 08:36:28 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 21 07:42:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Darth Vader's Family Values
Message-ID: <20050521143629.4A0A9249C52@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 21, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Darth Vader's Family Values
By JOHN TIERNEY

Darth Vader recognizes the limits of altruism, just as Adam Smith did in the 18th century.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/opinion/21tierney.html?ex=1117339200&en=6e61516845018542&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 21 08:36:45 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 21 07:42:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Islam Can Vote, if We Let It
Message-ID: <20050521143645.981739FC7F@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 21, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Islam Can Vote, if We Let It
By SAAD EDDIN IBRAHIM

Westerners should not be dismayed at the thought of allowing religious parties a role in the emerging political structures of the Arab world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/opinion/21ibrahim.html?ex=1117339200&en=d7600ff5e2610170&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 21 08:38:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 21 07:44:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: W.H.O. Moves Toward Allowing Smallpox Gene
	Experiment
Message-ID: <20050521143811.6C5659FCD9@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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SCIENCE | May 21, 2005

W.H.O. Moves Toward Allowing Smallpox Gene Experiment
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN

The World Health Organization moved closer to approving an experiment to manipulate the genes of the smallpox virus for the first time since the disease was eradicated 25 years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/science/21smallpox.html?ex=1117339200&en=afb0f39da197f17d&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 21 08:38:24 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 21 07:44:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Palestinian Attack Hardens Israeli
	Settlers' Resistance
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 21, 2005

Palestinian Attack Hardens Israeli Settlers' Resistance
By STEVEN ERLANGER

The attack on Friday was a breach of the cease-fire that Palestinian militants had negotiated with their new president, Mahmoud Abbas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/international/middleeast/21mideast.html?ex=1117339200&en=b81e967e37a9e5bc&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 21 08:42:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 21 07:48:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Plan to Let F.B.I. Track Mail in Terrorism
	Inquiries
Message-ID: <20050521144232.ED70513B72E@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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!!


WASHINGTON | May 21, 2005

Plan to Let F.B.I. Track Mail in Terrorism Inquiries
By ERIC LICHTBLAU

The proposal would give the bureau access to the names, addresses and all other material appearing on the outside of letters to or from people in terror investigations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/politics/21terror.html?ex=1117339200&en=5415a53463909748&ei=5070



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From marylouiseparis at hotmail.com  Sat May 21 11:12:08 2005
From: marylouiseparis at hotmail.com (Mary Louise smn)
Date: Sat May 21 11:17:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: A warm thank-you from Peru
In-Reply-To: <BAY103-F42C7E6DB8684242BB05A18AB090@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <BAY107-F12B0FDDD597EF8C6E5D5FCB80A0@phx.gbl>

Hello  Hecate      How may I be of help with this vital project?   
Marylouise

>From: "Hecate Gould" <bodhababe@hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
>To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
>CC: michael@michaelbutler.com
>Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: A warm thank-you from Peru
>Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 22:11:36 -0700
>
>_______________________________________________
>Mb-civic mailing list
>Mb-civic@islandlists.com
>http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! 
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
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From sierrapecheur at verizon.net  Sat May 21 14:25:08 2005
From: sierrapecheur at verizon.net (Sierra Pecheur)
Date: Sat May 21 14:30:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: You might be on this list!
Message-ID: <002901c55e4b$9068e9c0$b3cc6a47@xplcp>




Got this today and thought you might want to know about it.
Sierra


        I am sending this to everyone in my address book, and I urge all of you to do the same.  Check to see if your name is in this Zabasearch database, which also includes addresses, phone numbers and birth dates.  If it's there and you want it removed, send them an e-mail at info@zabasearch.com to request it. 

        They will be launching this site in May for EVERYONE to see!!!  I don't know how our names are appearing there, but I checked my own and a few other random ones, and they are all in this database!  Please send this on to all your friends and family ASAP!

        To check, log on to www.zabasearch.com. 

        After opting out at info@zabasearch.com by email I guess the only way to know for sure you have been removed is to check back a few days later.


          


       
               
       

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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sun May 22 03:09:31 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sun May 22 03:13:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Rape Of Existence
Message-ID: <000901c55eb6$59962c80$2925b7d8@baby1>

The Rape Of Existence





You asked something like "Why do things like this happen...?", Harold,
referring to just another of a long list of atrocities by us, them, or the
guys down the road.

They're all mad, Harold.

Mad as hatters.  For one reason or another, their humanity was stripped from
them and replaced with ruthlessness.  That ruthlessness drove them quite
insane so very very very long ago.

Nothing is sacred.  Except money, power, greed, glory, you know the list.
You've even heard this speech before, they've been speaking it for
centuries.

Life, of any kind, becomes irrelevant, expendable, and only a pawn at your
command to decide like the Roman emperors of old in the coliseum with a
thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Only the completely ruthless insane decide who will die, who will live, who
will suffer, who will not suffer, etc etc etc, with just the flick of a
wrist, a gentle word, or a seasoned nod.

It trickles down to all the lower rungs of the pecking order ladder from The
Top, no matter who tries what.

When the criminally insane lead those who are duty bound to "respect the
higher offices of leadership of America", it is bound to wash up on the
shores of us bottom-feeder suckers each and every time.  Life after life
after life, here, there, and down the street, flushed down the toilet like
they were just another commodity being traded on Wall Street.

Suffering.  Pain.  Misery.  Poverty.  Hunger.  Affliction.  Fear.  Death.

All wonderful tools of The Top which they have been using century after
century in all four corners of the world.  It is nothing to them.  It has
gone on forever, it will go on forever.  It might very well even just begin
to get worse.  When you can't even get enough people and power to throw out
over-obvious fascist-leaning regimes such as the current Bush people and the
surrounding cottage industries, and even elect him for a 2nd term, you can
probably predict that in the next 20 years nobody is going to be able to
make all of this better, most likely because they have already created such
travesties, atrocities and destructions, and nobody even in The Land Of The
Free has been able to stay their hands from creating such pure Horror, to
this very date.

That, if nothing else, is highly indicative.

Various people at The Top, in the four corners of the earth, have always
enjoyed making others suffer, and benefitting from their suffering in one
way or another, and they always manage to pass on their delight in such
things on down the various pecking orders to those who pass it on to us, in
the four corners of the earth.

Ah, this kind of subject is so interesting sometimes.  I don't really mind
dallying with being "The Top's Analyst".  After all, so many of them are
just simply put, quite mad, and it again beats old reruns of Lucy, well, at
least some times.

Why do things like that happen....?  Well, it could have been a Thursday,
but it was probably just a Tuesday, and it didn't really matter what day it
was, as it has happened in the four corners of the earth for centuries, it's
going on today, and it will most likely very well be going on ad infinitum
in the future.

Insane criminals and murderers at The Top, leading the lambs to slaughter
eternally.

And nobody to step up to the plate and brush it clean.

Since the populations of the four corners of the earth just can not get it
together to reclaim their individual countries and the earth as a collective
property (the only place all of us have to live right now apparently), the
only word that comes to mind is Global Strike.

Just another thought on a Sunday.

It stands now as the Rape Of Existence, in all its full glory, as the
Ultimate Reality of all creations on earth at this time.

Whether they are laughing or crying through it all at this moment, I don't
seem to be concerned with as I am with the thought that it seems the
humanity itself is being systematically stripped from the beings who have
collectively referred to themselves as Human for a while now, and if there
is some "Perfect Good Order", then this Rape Of Existence that is currently
occuring, and that has occured for so many centuries now, is surely the
exact opposite of it.

The abhorrence of Chaos.

In retrospect, the mad at The Top worship it, rather than attempt to avoid
it and uncreate it.  It is the love of their life.  It is their power.

Divide and conquer.  Where once there was a candle in the middle of the
ocean with everyone on earth sitting around it in a circle looking at it
through a telescope, and each seeing just the one candle but all from just a
slightly different angle, and arguments etc surely ensued, but we retained
our humanity, there now squats the desecrators of the pure, the rapists of
Existence itself on this tiny beautiful planet, taking us all to a living
hell one baby step at a time.

Perhaps, some day, far far in the future, the humans will stand up.

Until then, again, my best recommendation remains "Global Strike" (since
"Global Postcard", although it costs much much less than "Global Strike", is
kind of a silly poopoo idea, "getting real information to the citizens of
the world collectively"), at least twice a year, take 2 twice a year, drink
plenty of fluids and juices, get plenty of bedrest, and avoid all the days
of the week if possible.

The Rape Of Existence, brought to you by The Mad at The Top.

Enjoy the ride.  There's a party goin' on.......








Cheeseburger

.



From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 05:45:20 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 04:51:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sunni Arabs Are Uniting to Compete With
	Shiites
Message-ID: <20050522114524.09FC83AE377@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL | May 22, 2005

Sunni Arabs Are Uniting to Compete With Shiites
By SABRINA TAVERNISE and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Sunni Arab leaders pledged Saturday to come together in a broad political alliance to compete with the dominant Shiites in the next Iraqi election.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/international/22iraq.html?ex=1117425600&en=d9253169280cdf90&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 05:45:07 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 04:51:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Army Faltered in Investigating Detainee
	Abuse
Message-ID: <20050522114524.908DA3AE3D9@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 22, 2005

Army Faltered in Investigating Detainee Abuse
By TIM GOLDEN

Investigators initially advised closing the case of two deaths at Bagram, Afghanistan, without bringing any criminal charges.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/international/asia/22abuse.html?ex=1117425600&en=3e13ad3ed40d1985&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 05:45:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 04:51:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: It's All Newsweek's Fault
Message-ID: <20050522114559.7AF9383D02@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 22, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: It's All Newsweek's Fault
By FRANK RICH

In its war on the press, this hubristic administration may finally have crossed a bridge too far.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/opinion/22rich.html?ex=1117425600&en=467fa427eacab190&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 05:46:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 04:52:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Palestinian Militants Agree to Restore
	Truce in Gaza
Message-ID: <20050522114646.C7CAE236F76@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 22, 2005

Palestinian Militants Agree to Restore Truce in Gaza
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Palestinian militants of Hamas have agreed in talks with the Palestinian Authority to stop mortar and rocket attacks on Israeli settlements and towns near the Gaza Strip.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/international/middleeast/22mideast-web.html?ex=1117425600&en=42b787b666301da7&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 05:46:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 04:52:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Whistle-Blower Suit May Set Course on Iraq
	Fraud Cases
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 22, 2005

Whistle-Blower Suit May Set Course on Iraq Fraud Cases
By ERIK ECKHOLM

A lawsuit against a security company accused of bilking the American-led coalition out of millions will set a precedent for fraud cases in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/international/middleeast/22reconstruct.html?ex=1117425600&en=d85b17dbb0a0e919&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 05:48:19 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 04:54:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Believe It: The Media's Credibility
	Headache Gets Worse
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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 22, 2005

Believe It: The Media's Credibility Headache Gets Worse
By PATRICK D. HEALY

Reassuring the public that print and television news are dependable has proved frustratingly elusive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/weekinreview/22healy.html?ex=1117425600&en=75ef066725b57107&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 05:50:42 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 04:58:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Believer
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MAGAZINE | May 22, 2005

The Believer
By MICHAEL SOKOLOVE

Has Senator Rick Santorum found a way to turn blue states red?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/magazine/22SANTORUM.html?ex=1117425600&en=b592bba860931a79&ei=5070



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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May 22 05:10:50 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun May 22 05:35:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Observer: Fake Parmesan grates with Italian farmers
Message-ID: <20050522121050.2D996450B@mullet.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the The Observer site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

Check your labels !!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the The Observer site, go to http://www.observer.co.uk

Fake Parmesan grates with Italian farmers
Barbara McMahon in Rome
Sunday May 22 2005
The Observer


The next time you grate Parmesan cheese over spaghetti, check the label to see if it is the real thing. According to the Italian farming association CIA, increasing amounts of fake Parmesan are being sold in Britain. 

The problem is not only confined to the UK - inferior versions of Italy's famously crumbly cheese are also being sold in Germany, South America and Japan. In Brazil the pirated version is called 'Parmes&#227;o' while Argentina calls it 'Reggianito'. In the UK, one version is called 'Parmeggiano' - the real Parmesan cheese should have 'parmigiano reggiano' on the label.  

In a bid to protect its culinary heritage, Italy is trying to clamp down on the number of bogus cheeses, hams and wines being sold around the world. Bologna's famous mortadella is the latest example of agro-piracy - a version of the pistacchio and peppercorn-flavoured cold cut is sold in American delicatessens under the name 'murtadella'.  

Other Italian cheeses are being pirated. Bogus Gorgonzola is sold as 'cambozola' in Germany, Britain, Austria and Belgium, while the Australians call their version of the blue-veined cheese made with cows' milk and originally produced in a village outside Milan, 'tinboonzola'. Canada manufactures fake asiago and robiola cheeses and US distributors cure their own so-called Parma and San Daniele hams.  

More fake food products identified by the Italian farming experts include Californian-grown San Marzano tomatoes and a chianti produced in Australia and the United States.  

CIA says that pirated food products now generate a global turnover of &euro;52.6 billion (&#163;36bn), the equivalent of just under half of Italy's food business. The association says there was a threefold increase in the amount of bogus Italian products seized last year by European Union customs officers.  

Italy is now mounting a campaign to win more EU quality labels for its food and wine products to make sure customers can tell a fake food product from the real thing.  

This involves giving products a PDO label, standing for Protected Designation of Origin. There is also a more prestigious label, PGI, short for Protected Geographical Indication. Both certify the unique quality of the foodstuff.  

The Italian government scored another success last week when ricotta cheese from Rome gained a PDO label. Saffron from Abruzzo, honey from Lunigiana in Tuscany, basil from Genoa, bergamot flavouring, goose salame from Pavia, fatty bacon called lardo from Colonnata near Florence, prickly pears grown on Mount Etna, and Pachino tomatoes from Sicily have also been protected.  

'With 140 PDO products against France's 141, we are the absolute leaders in Europe,' said Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno. He said Italy would continue to push for the EU to take action at the World Trade Organisation to clamp down on all forms of food piracy.  

According to the Italian news agency Ansa, more Italian products are lined up for EU approval, including artichokes from the ancient Greek site at Paestum, south of Naples. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 22 07:03:10 2005
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 Study of Breast Cancer Pill Raises Hopes and Concerns
 
 By Rob Stein
 
  Neva Hart's mother, grandmother and aunt all battled breast cancer. So when Hart heard about an experiment testing a pill that might protect women like her from the malignancy, she jumped at the chance to volunteer.
 
 "I wish science could find something aside from chopping off parts of the body to fight this disease," said Hart, 57, of Wirtz, Va. "I decided to donate my body so people might not have to go through that kind of torture."
 
 The study that Hart joined and a similar one based in Europe are raising hopes that a new class of drugs may offer women at high risk of breast cancer a safe way to protect themselves. But the experiments also raise thorny questions about whether the potential benefits outweigh the possible risks.
 
 "Studies like this raise serious ethical issues," said Michael A. Grodin, a bioethicist at the Boston University School of Public Health. "What you're comparing here is the risk of getting cancer, which is unknown, against the potential risk of side effects from the prevention, which also is unknown. You're not treating people who are sick. These are healthy women."
 
 These kinds of questions are becoming increasingly common as researchers focus more and more on trying to prevent, rather than treat, disease -- often testing powerful drugs on people who have theoretical risks based on nebulous attributes such as age and family history rather than more concrete risk factors such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
 
 "It's not like someone has the disease. In this case you're treating a statistic -- the chance of getting the disease," Grodin said. "If you knew this drug had no side effects, then it wouldn't be as concerning. But you don't know that."
 
 Breast cancer is diagnosed in about 211,000 U.S. women each year, and about 40,000 die of the disease, making it the most common cancer  and the  second most  deadly cancer, after lung cancer, among women.
 
 Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and estrogen-blocking drugs have cut the breast cancer death rate. But with the incidence still rising, researchers, patient advocates and women at risk for the disease desperately want ways to prevent the cancer in the first place. Last week, new research suggested that low-fat diets may minimize the likelihood that breast cancer will recur after treatment, a strategy also being tested to prevent first tumors. But that approach remains far from proven.
 
 The study that Hart joined, dubbed the ExCel trial, is testing a drug known as exemestane, or Aromasin, one of a class of new drugs called aromatase inhibitors. Aromatase inhibitors block formation of estrogen, which can fuel the growth of breast cancer cells. The drugs have been shown to cut the relapse rate for breast cancer at least as effectively as the only other estrogen-blocking drug available, tamoxifen. Tamoxifen reduces the risk of breast cancer, but it also raises the risk of blood clots and uterine cancer, which has discouraged many women from taking it.
 
 Seeking an alternative, researchers launched the ExCel trial and a similar study testing another aromatase inhibitor called anastrozole, or Arimidex, to see whether the drugs can prevent first cancers. Anastrozole is being tested in Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world.
 
 "There is abundant evidence that inhibiting estrogen can prevent new primary breast cancers. We estimate that we may be able to reduce the risk by 60 to 80 percent," said Paul Goss, director of breast cancer research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who is leading the ExCel study. "We're very optimistic."
 
 Researchers have started recruiting what they hope will be about 4,500 postmenopausal women in the United States, Canada and Spain who are considered at high risk for breast cancer because of age, family history or other factors. For five years, half the women will take the drug while the other half take a placebo. The study is being sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society, the  National Cancer Institute of Canada and the drug's maker, Pfizer Inc.;  the company is not directly involved in the study.
 
 Aside from sometimes causing symptoms similar to those experienced during menopause, exemestane so far appears very safe. Nevertheless, some advocates in the field  are worried about giving healthy women a powerful hormone-blocking drug for years before long-term studies have been conducted to ensure its safety.
 
 "I understand the excitement about these drugs. I hope they prove to be everything everyone hopes them to be. But the lack of long-term use and side-effect data are a big problem," said Barbara Brenner of Breast Cancer Action, a patient advocacy group based in San Francisco. "Without long-term side-effect data on this drug, you can't really get informed consent from people you are trying to enroll in the study."
 
 Some evidence suggests that aromatase inhibitors may, for example, increase the risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, which makes women prone to potentially serious fractures.
 
 "Any drug that is powerful enough to reduce your risk for breast cancer is almost inevitably going to have side effects," Brenner said. "What we could end up having is disease substitution instead of disease prevention."
 
 The ExCel trial originally planned to test whether the painkiller Celebrex also prevents breast cancer, but that part of the study was discontinued after evidence surfaced that drugs of its  class may cause heart problems. Skeptics also point to once-popular hormone replacement therapy as an example of a drug treatment designed to prevent disease that initially appeared to be safe.
 
 "I would like to know more about the long-term side effects of these drugs before I would take them into the preventive setting," said  Carolina Hinestrosa of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, a Washington-based advocacy group. "Before you expose a vast group of healthy women to a drug, you need to be extremely careful."
 
 Even though the researchers are explaining the potential risks to volunteers, some worry that it is particularly difficult to get true informed consent in a breast cancer prevention study because women tend to be so afraid of the disease.
 
 "Women have an increased fear of getting breast cancer over and above what the true likelihood is," said Heidi Malm, associate professor of bioethics at Loyola University Chicago. "That could lead people to enroll in studies with probably a bigger hope of benefit than is actually realistic."
 
 While endorsing the concept of testing aromatase inhibitors for breast cancer prevention, Suzanne Fletcher, professor of ambulatory care and prevention at Harvard Medical School, said she was concerned that the study may be too small to detect side effects.
 
 "What you desperately need in a prevention trial is a good handle on the adverse effects," Fletcher said. "Adverse events are much more important in a prevention trial than in a treatment trial. That's got to be part of the objectives the researchers have."
 
 Goss, his colleagues and other researchers say the drugs have been tested in thousands of women who have taken them for as many as seven years, and no signs of serious side effects have surfaced.
 
 "It isn't as if the drug has never been used. It's been used relatively extensively in thousands of women for a reasonably long period of time," said Joe Pater, director of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group in Ontario. "On the basis of what we know today, there are no frightening risks."
 
 In fact, some preliminary evidence suggests that the drugs may offer additional benefits. Exemestane in particular may turn out to protect bone, Goss said.
 
 "People who are expressing concern about this really have to wait for the data rather than have a kind of knee-jerk response that this is all going to be bad," Goss said.
 
 The project will be monitored by an independent panel of experts who will evaluate the data every six months for any signs of unexpected side effects, Goss and others said.
 
 "We don't know whether there's more risks than benefits. Anything can happen. That's why you do research," Pater said. "But I think everyone would be incredibly surprised if there was no overall benefit."
 
 In addition, the researchers hope the data will identify which women are most likely to be protected by the drugs, enabling them to target therapy more specifically.
 
 "Our honest belief is that overall the drug will tip in favor of the participants in the trial," Goss said. "There's no denying that many women in this study would never have gotten cancer. But the evidence for efficacy is highly established, and the likelihood of a positive result is very high."
 
 For her part, Hart is willing to participate in the hopes of sparing other women from the fate that befell those in her family.
 
 "I'm going into this with my eyes wide open," Hart said. "I'm donating myself to research. I see that as a great way to be able to contribute to medical research. I'm willing to take the risks."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 22 07:03:47 2005
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Date: Sun May 22 07:09:41 2005
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 The Wreck of the U.S. Senate
 
 By Dick Meyer
 
  The Senate has managed to conduct the business of confirming or rejecting federal judges with relative efficiency and only occasional controversy for some 200 years. That the Senate is now going nuclear (to use its own vocabulary) over this legislative chore is a symptom of a rather serious illness in the upper body. Face it: Giving or withholding consent for judicial appointments is not akin to reversing global warming or ending world hunger. As overheated as the current standoff may be, it is a solvable problem and, worse, a problem of the Senate's own making. What has created the conditions -- and prevents a solution -- for this uber-partisan debacle is a degradation in the culture of the Senate that has grown acute since 1989.
 
 The change has left the Senate less able to produce legislation on major issues, less able to compromise, less reflective of public opinion (ironically, since these people are obsessed with polls), and less able to produce leaders for both the institution itself and the whole nation. The current filibuster fiasco displays a Senate preoccupied -- no, paralyzed -- with issues that are simply not high priorities for voters but that are important to interests on the left and right. Meanwhile, the issues the majority of voters care most about -- such as securing the future of Medicare and Social Security, fixing the tax code, protecting private pensions and repairing health insurance -- are being punted.
 
 One casualty of the Senate's post-1989 cantankerous culture was Republican Sen. Trent Lott, who was ousted from his job as majority leader in 2002 for making a crack that implied sympathy for the segregation in the old South. "The club is dead," Lott said, a year after his fall. "I'm not sure when it died, but the club is dead."
 
 There are plenty of reasons not to mourn the passing of that club. A white male bastion, it tolerated segregation for far too long, was enamored of its pork barrel, and let its entrenched members linger well into undignified dotage. But the club had its merits. It facilitated compromise, character, competence and the occasional act of conscience, thus presenting a serious counterweight to White House power.
 
 If I had to etch a date on the tombstone of The Senate Club it would be March 9, 1989, the day the Senate rejected, with a 53-47 vote, former four-term Texas senator John Tower to be secretary of defense under the first President Bush. This was only the ninth time in history that a Cabinet-level nominee had been rejected.
 
 The Senate's clubby comity had already been strained by the bitter battle over Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court and by the Iran-contra affair. But the long debate over Tower's misadventures with women and defense contractors and, most of all, his drinking was, if you will, a tippling point. Camaraderie became cat-fighting. That they did it to one of their own only made it worse.
 
 Congressional cannibalism moved to the House. Two months after the Tower vote, the House Democratic whip, Tony Coelho, resigned under pressure over an inappropriate loan deal. Two weeks after that, House Speaker Jim Wright threw in the gavel because of ethics charges.
 
 In 1991, the Senate confirmation struggle over Clarence Thomas made the Battle of Bork seem like a "Mork and Mindy" rerun, though he was eventually, and bitterly, confirmed. Also that year, the Senate Ethics Committee held extraordinary, trial-like public hearings for five senators -- the Keating Five -- accused of violating ethics rules. Later came the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. Then last year, Majority Leader Bill Frist broke long tradition by going to South Dakota to campaign against Minority Leader Tom Daschle.
 
 Is this all, in the grand sweep of history, merely a phase? Last summer, after Vice President Cheney told Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont what to do with himself in language unsuitable for a family newspaper, a slew of stories decried the end of civility in politics. But just about every generation thinks it is witnessing a decline in civility and good manners. Certainly, the indignity Leahy suffered paled in comparison to the crippling caning Massachusetts Sen. Charles Sumner endured on the Senate floor in 1856 at the hands of an irate Southern congressman. Certainly, today's incivilities seem silly compared with the poisonous antics that got Joseph McCarthy condemned for "conduct unbecoming a senator."
 
 The filibuster flap is emblematic of deeper and, sadly, more enduring and consequential cultural changes. Several trends both illustrate and explain this conduct unbecoming of the Senate.
 
 Legislative Paralysis . Last May, when the Senate was tied up in its usual election-year inertia, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia said to The Post's longtime Senate correspondent, Helen Dewar, "Have we lost the will to legislate?" Well, yes, sir, it seems that way.
 
 Quick: Name a bill that has passed since 1989 that you have a prayer of remembering 10 years from now? The Family and Medical Leave Act? Welfare reform? Bush tax cuts? Yes, the votes on the Iraq wars were important, but they were merely permission slips for executive action.
 
 The inability to produce landmark legislation on major issues is not just a symptom of an unhealthy legislative body. It becomes a cause. As they say about the politics of academia, the tempers are so high because the stakes are so low. Not doing creates more ill will than doing.
 
 Missing Moderates . When Lowell Weicker, once a Republican senator and governor from Connecticut, quit the GOP in 1990, he said the party's moderate wing had become just a feather. Now it's just a mangy tuft.
 
 The Rockefeller wing of the Republican Party almost got the nomination in 1968 and expanded in the Senate of the 1970s and '80s with names such as Mark Hatfield, Bob Packwood, Charles Mathias, Arlen Specter, John Heinz, Bill Cohen, Warren Rudman, John Chafee, John Danforth, Richard Lugar, Nancy Kassebaum and Weicker. Only Lugar and Specter are left, joined occasionally by Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and sometimes Arizona maverick John McCain.
 
 Last year, the Democrats lost two key figures who could work with Republicans -- John Breaux of Louisiana and Zell Miller of Georgia. Other conservative Democrats, such as Howell Heflin, are long gone.
 
 In legislatures, moderates orchestrate the compromises that get things done. They are an endangered species.
 
 The Permanent Campaign . When Breaux retired, he wrote a farewell piece in which he said: "Today, unfortunately, outside groups, public relations firms, and the political consultants who are dedicated to one thing -- a perpetual campaign to make one party a winner and the other party a loser -- have snatched the political process."
 
 Senators must now weigh every comment they make against its potential for being taken out of context and used in a 30-second attack ad. Leaders force kabuki votes on controversial bills that have no chance of passing, or withstanding Supreme Court judgment, simply to force the opposition to cast unpopular votes. To do this, they invent pseudo-issues such as the Terry Schiavo decision, flag-burning and funding for groups that may support the offbeat art of Robert Mapplethorpe, to name a few.
 
 Interest groups don't just write editorials and buttonhole senators in the hall anymore; they bankroll massive media campaigns and "astroturf" (as in fake grass-roots) lobbying blitzes, as they are doing now over the filibuster. Campaigns are entirely financed by private money, mostly from special interests, both ideological or commercial. With open primaries and private funding, parties have no control over who runs and no way to enforce party discipline when it's time for unpopular but important decisions.
 
 Politicians respond to this by running for office constantly; governing is a side dish to the entree of campaigns.
 
 Senator as a Vocation . All this has made being a senator less fun. Few senators actually enjoy fundraising; most consider it humiliating, but they all spend enormous amounts of time on it, and not just in election years. Powerful senators such as Breaux and Don Nickles left the Senate last year to become lobbyists. Veteran senators such as Lawton Chiles of Florida and Frank Murkowski of Alaska left to become governors, as did a young Idaho Republican, Dirk Kempthorne. Rising Democratic star Jon Corzine of New Jersey plans to do the same.
 
 The Senate has been less able to produce veteran members whose clout and stature come from their expertise and seniority. This used to be how Congress was run: Senators would pile up the years of seniority and institutional wisdom on committees they someday would dominate. They became like shadow ministers. The Richard Russells, Everett Dirksens, Sam Ervins and Henry Jacksons would be anachronisms today. The last senator to gain national stature and real Washington clout this way was probably Sam Nunn, who nonetheless left the Senate at a relatively young age of 59.
 
 Now the ability to raise campaign funds and provide sound bites is the path to power.
 
 24/7 News . Our final culprit is the proliferation of news outlets. During the Tower struggle, there were three networks and CNN. The information superhighway wasn't even a glimmer on Al Gore's windshield. Now we have two more all-news cable stations, scores of news Web sites and the explosion of political talk radio.
 
 Senators have direct access to national media, which would rather cover food fights than policy debates. Politicians oblige. And senators are human beings. (Really. My source: the Senate physician.) They like to be on TV. It offers a path to national name recognition that was once available only to the most senior and accomplished legislators.
 
 Add all this up and it's no great shocker that the Senate is cramping over issues of only mild concern to voters and is far more polarized than the electorate as a whole. A Pew Research Center poll published last week shows that only 14 percent of Americans are following the filibuster flap closely and that most see the merits of arguments both for and against the use of filibusters on judicial nominations. So it's no surprise that 64 percent think the parties are "bickering more than usual."
 
 If renegade senators from both parties buck their leaders and pull off a compromise that averts things nuclear, it will at least slow the metastasis of the Senate's cancerous culture. And why shouldn't they succeed? There's no shortage of motives. After all, it shouldn't be terrifically hard for Republicans to figure out that if Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes president, she'll be able to put Barbra Streisand on the Supreme Court (you don't have to be a lawyer, you know). And the Democrats shouldn't find it that hard to imagine that they would want her to have that right.
 
 If ever the Senate were going to restore the virtuous aspects of the old club, it would have done so amid the nation's post-9/11 sense of unity. That didn't happen.
 
 Author's e-mail: grain@cbsnews.com
 
 Dick Meyer covered the Senate from 1987 to 1993 for CBS News. He is editorial director of CBSNews.com, where he writes the "Against the Grain" column.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 22 07:07:42 2005
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Date: Sun May 22 07:14:20 2005
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 A Court That Can't Be Labeled
 
 By George F. Will
 
  Last week, on the eve of the Senate fight over filibusters of judicial nominations, the Supreme Court handed down a timely ruling. It illuminated the ambiguities of the vocabulary used in discussions of judges and the craft of construing the Constitution.
 
 The case concerned Michigan and New York laws that forbid the interstate sale of wines directly from wineries to consumers. Each state grants its in-state wineries direct access to the state's consumers, but requires out-of-state wines to be sold through wholesalers. They, and in-state winemakers, profit from the laws, which are examples of what economists call rent-seeking -- the use of public power to disadvantage competitors.
 
 The states say the laws serve legitimate local interests by simplifying tax collection and reducing underage drinking. But during last December's oral arguments, the two states' solicitors general could not convincingly say how, and Michigan's said that the Constitution's 21st Amendment permits "mere protectionism" by states concerning alcoholic beverages.
 
 Article I, Section 8 supposedly defines the federal government as one whose powers are limited because they are enumerated. But among the enumerated things "Congress shall have Power" to do is "regulate Commerce . . . among the several States." As a result of capacious and sometimes meretricious definitions of what constitutes interstate commerce, this enumerated power has become an almost boundless grant of power to Congress because almost anything can be said to have some pertinence to commerce.
 
 But the commerce clause is clearly pertinent to the interstate sales of wines. So this clause looks like a scythe sharp enough to cut down laws interfering with Internet and other direct wine sales to individuals. What defense could New York and Michigan offer?
 
 This one: The 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th, thereby ending prohibition, says: "The transportation or importation into any State . . . for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited."
 
 Last week the court held 5 to 4 that the commerce clause trumps the 21st Amendment. The amendment, the court held, empowers each state to regulate the distribution of alcohol within its borders but not to discriminate between in-state and out-of-state businesses for the financial benefit of the former. However, the dissenting minority said that even if Michigan's and New York's policies are unwise or unseemly, the 21st Amendment took such policy choices away from judges and gave them to the states.
 
 Last week's ruling divided the justices into unlikely cohorts, thereby providing a timely reminder that concepts such as "judicial activism," "strict construction" and "original intent" have limited value in explaining or predicting the court's behavior.
 
 Writing for the majority was Anthony Kennedy, joined by Antonin Scalia, perhaps the most conservative justice, and two of the most liberal -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer -- and David Souter. Clarence Thomas, writing for the dissenters, is the most conservative if Scalia isn't. He was joined by the three oldest justices -- John Paul Stevens, 85, perhaps the most liberal; William Rehnquist, 80; and Sandra Day O'Connor, 75. Those three are old enough to remember the importance voters once attached to states' widely varying approaches to regulating alcohol.
 
 In a separate dissent joined by O'Connor, the liberal Stevens argued for respecting the intent of the authors of the 21st Amendment's clear text. Today, he said, Americans regard alcohol as just another consumer product. But that was not the view of the generation of Americans who took alcohol so seriously that twice in 14 years they put amendments in the Constitution -- the 18th in 1919 and the 21st in 1933 -- pertaining to alcohol.
 
 "Indeed," Stevens said, "the fact that the Twenty-first Amendment was the only amendment in our history to have been ratified by the people in state conventions, rather than by state legislatures, provides further reason to give its terms their ordinary meaning." Stevens noted that former justice Hugo Black, who as a U.S. senator from Alabama participated in sending the 21st Amendment to the states for approval, said it was intended to return " 'absolute control' of liquor traffic to the states, free of all restrictions which the commerce clause might before that time have imposed."
 
 So, when the court overturned the policies regarding wine traffic set by representatives of the people of Michigan and New York, was it practicing "judicial activism"? Was it strictly construing the Constitution's text as illuminating by the discernible intent of the authors of the text? During this week's argument about judicial nominees, remember last week's division on the court.
 
 georgewill@washpost.com
 
 
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 22 07:08:42 2005
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 . . . And Fear of the Unknown
 
 By Michael Kinsley
 
  Imagine what it's like to open the newspaper (as I did Friday morning) and read that scientists in faraway South Korea have made a huge breakthrough toward curing a disease that is slowly wrecking your life. But closer to home, your own government is trying to prevent that cure.
 
 Other nations are racing for the leadership role in stem cell research that the United States has abandoned. And individual states are defying the federal near-ban. So it seems unlikely that U.S. government policy will actually prevent a cure for Parkinson's and other diseases. And it's not too likely that a cure will come in time for most current sufferers in any event. But it might, it might. So if my government merely manages to slow the process down -- as it already has done for years -- that is disheartening.
 
 The South Korean scientists apparently have developed a reliable method for cloning from an adult human being. The theory is that stem cells extracted from a clone of yourself are likely to be safer and more effective than cells from leftover embryos in fertility clinics or from animal embryos or from adult bone marrow.
 
 Leon Kass, chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics, greeted this thrilling news with his usual fatuous call for a "moratorium" on the research that produced it while we think through the morality and all that. Kass seems to imagine bioethics researchers beavering away toward a moral breakthrough even as scientists beaver away at a medical one. All he asks is for the scientists to take a break and let the bioethicists catch up.
 
 But no crash research program is going to produce some dazzling bioethical principle we never thought of before. We know all that we're going to know about the moral issues, and we just have to decide. There are three issues:
 
 First, do the embryos used for stem cell research and therapy have rights? They are clumps of a few dozen cells, biologically more primitive than a mosquito. They have no consciousness, are not aware that they exist, and never have been. Nature itself creates and destroys millions of these every year. No one objects. No one mourns. In most cases no one even knows. If my life is worth no more than the survival of one of these clumps, then it is terribly unfair that I can plead my case on the op-ed page, and they can't. But I have no trouble feeling that the government should value my life more than the lives of these clumps. God may disagree. But the government reports to me and to other adult Americans, not to God.
 
 Second, is human cloning such a horrific concept that it crosses a line into the territory of Frankenstein and "Brave New World"? Well, they said the same thing 27 years ago about in-vitro fertilization (test-tube babies), and that is now virtually uncontroversial. It has brought joy to millions. And it is politically unassailable, even though the in-vitro process produces and destroys far more "surplus" embryos than will ever be needed for stem cell therapy. The arguments against "therapeutic" cloning (cloning for medical purposes) tend to be abstract and poetical, concerned with the nature of humanity and stuff. But on the subject of stem cells, I am not in the mood for poetry.
 
 Third, there's the slippery slope. If we're willing to destroy microscopic embryos for their stem cells, why will we stop before harvesting body parts from advanced fetuses, or breeding babies for their organs? Once we allow human cloning for embryos, how can we be sure no one will bring a cloned embryo to term and produce an actual cloned human being?
 
 The answer is that we can't be sure. In fact, it seems inevitable that someone is going to go all the way with human cloning. But here's an invitation: Can anyone point to a technological breakthrough that was actually prevented, wisely? Maybe biological warfare, for a few decades, or electric toothpaste dispensers. I dunno. But it's surely rare, compared with all the episodes where blocking progress because of fear of the unknown turned out to be either futile or mistaken.
 
 Scientists look for solutions. Although there are no guarantees, when you put more scientists onto a problem, you increase your chance of solving it. By contrast professional ethicists tend to look for problems. When you put more ethicists onto a problem, you can end up with more problems. Cad that I am, for example, it never occurred to me to worry that cloning embryos for stem cells "exploits women as egg donors not for their benefit." But it occurred to Leon Kass, as quoted in Friday's New York Times.
 
 If the secretary of ethics is worried that evil scientists might strap women down and extract eggs from them against their will, I agree with him that this would be a bad approach. But there may be alternatives. Women give up eggs as part of high-tech methods for getting pregnant, and some of these go unused. I guess it's not cricket to use a woman's unwanted eggs to cure dreadful diseases without her permission. But if this is what alarms Kass, the solution is a simple release form. Or does Kass think that using someone's eggs to cure someone else's disease is unethical with or without her permission? Or is he ineptly trying to get feminists on his side? Or just emptying his entire spice drawer into the stew? Or simply thinking too hard?
 
 It's amusing in a way to think of major scientific breakthroughs sitting on hold while someone noodles his way through arcane ethical mazes of his own devising. Or it would be amusing if it weren't my money. And my time.
 
 The writer is editorial and opinion editor of the Los Angeles Times.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 22 07:10:25 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 22 07:16:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <1306580.1116771025872.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Stem Cell Hope . . .
 
 By David S. Broder
 
  At a time of bitter conflict in Washington, it is remarkable that this week the House of Representatives may witness a rare victory by a bipartisan moderate coalition on a major social issue.
 
 Backers of a bill to ease some of the restrictions that President Bush has placed on government-financed embryonic stem cell research say they have been promised a vote on Wednesday or Thursday. Speculation favors passage, but opponents are mounting a last-ditch effort to derail the measure. On Friday, Bush threatened to veto it if it reaches his desk.
 
 It is rare that any bill that originates on the Democratic side of the House ever comes to a vote. The Republican leadership sets the agenda and has the power, under House rules, to exclude measures it has not endorsed.
 
 But Rep. Diana DeGette, a fifth-term Democrat from Denver, fought doggedly against the odds and lobbied every member on her side of the aisle to support the cause. More important, she found an ally in Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware, who in his seventh term has emerged as the shrewdest politician among the small band of Republican moderates.
 
 Together they mobilized nearly a majority of the House to sign letters last year urging Bush to allow federally financed research on more than the few "lines" of stem cells that were available to scientists when Bush issued his executive order on the subject back in 2001. Bush said that any embryonic cells that became available after his order came out could not be used for government-financed research.
 
 Scientists and such prominent advocates as Nancy Reagan argue that embryonic stem cells offer the greatest promise of providing clues -- and perhaps eventually cures -- for such debilitating diseases as Alzheimer's, diabetes and Lou Gehrig's disease. Right-to-life groups, however, regard the destruction of embryos to harvest the cells as akin to taking life.
 
 DeGette and Castle deliberately framed their bill so as to minimize opposition. It would permit research only on the estimated 8,000 embryos that already are discarded each year as unneeded surplus by in vitro fertilization clinics around the country.
 
 It would require informed consent by the donors and ban any buying or selling of the embryos. And, the sponsors say, it includes clear ethical guidelines for all such research -- something that the government does not now provide.
 
 But the merits of the bill would have been irrelevant had not Castle and his fellow Republican moderate, Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois, figured out how to maneuver the measure onto the House calendar.
 
 Along with a half-dozen like-minded Republicans, they made their case at an opportune moment last month to House Speaker Denny Hastert. The leadership was about to bring the budget resolution to the floor, and, with hard-core conservatives vowing to vote against it because of the spending levels it endorsed, Hastert needed the moderates to stay in line.
 
 The very next day, the speaker -- specifying that it was not a quid pro quo for budget votes -- told Castle and Kirk that the stem cell bill would soon be on the House calendar. Further, he let them know that the leadership would not "whip" on the issue but would tell Republicans to vote as they pleased. Castle said that Hastert asked only that if the bill failed on a straight up-or-down test, the sponsors not try to revive it this year as an amendment to other legislation.
 
 The measure still faces strong conservative opposition. Anti-abortion groups have announced they will count it on their scorecards for the session. Rep. Mike Pence, the Indiana Republican who heads a caucus of conservatives, has declared he will try to defeat the bill, and he has the backing of Majority Leader Tom DeLay. But Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio, another member of the leadership, is supporting the bill.
 
 Castle told me that he thinks as many as 40 Republicans will join the great majority of Democrats backing the measure. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center on the People and the Press found growing public support for such research. Democrats polled were solidly in support, while Republicans were split -- just as they are in Congress.
 
 Even before Bush's veto threat, Castle said, "We still have a succession of mountains to climb." But it is rare that initiatives with such parentage make it even this far.
 
 davidbroder@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 22 07:04:44 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 22 07:16:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <2822598.1116770685081.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Nuclear Brinkmanship
 
  WITH THE Republican motion filed Friday to force a vote on the nomination of judicial nominee Priscilla R. Owen, the Senate walked to the edge of a cliff. Senators spent the past few days hypocritically staking out grandiose positions of principle that they would probably denounce were roles reversed and a Democrat nominating judges. After a brief respite, they will return this week and may dive off the cliff; Democrats would block a vote on Justice Owen, a member of the Texas Supreme Court and a nominee for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Republicans would respond by trying to change the rules concerning the filibuster using a simple majority vote. If there is hope to avoid this train wreck, it now lies with neither party's leadership but with a handful of senators of both parties.
 
 The posturing of both sides is transparent. Republicans wax indignant about the abuse of qualified nominees, as if they did not abuse President Bill Clinton's selections. Their transgressions -- forcing qualified nominees to languish for years, for example -- were part of an all-but-open strategy of delay and obstruction. Then-Majority Leader Trent Lott actually said on the Senate floor in 1999 that "getting more federal judges is not what I came here to do." Now Republicans reduce President Bush's nominees to stereotypes designed to score points: Janice Rogers Brown, a member of the California Supreme Court and a nominee for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, is a sharecropper's daughter; Justice Owen teaches Sunday school.
 
 The Democrats, after having proclaimed throughout the Clinton years the need for a fair process for nominees, showed no compunction about shifting gears and escalating the conflict -- using not only the procedural tricks that they once denounced but making the filibuster a routine tool in an already degraded process. What's more, they have shown no ability to distinguish between nominees genuinely worth opposing -- such as Justice Brown, whose philosophy really is outside the mainstream -- and conservatives, such as Justice Owen, whose records should not preclude service.
 
 So we root essentially for both sides to lose and the Senate to win -- which is what the nascent compromise would provide for. The nuclear option would effectively circumvent accepted Senate procedures for changing Senate rules and is therefore unacceptable. But the nuclear option's defeat could be seen as legitimizing Democratic filibusters and encouraging future obstruction.
 
 The alternative -- at least in the draft we've seen -- would avoid both traps. It would obligate its Democratic signatories to allow for votes on all but two of the currently stalled nominees -- William G. Myers III and Henry W. Saad -- and refrain from future filibusters except in "extraordinary circumstances." This would rightly reject the filibuster as a day-to-day weapon in judicial confirmation battles. And it would obligate its Republican signatories to oppose the nuclear option as long as Democrats are in "good faith" concerning any future filibusters. The deal is not final and could easily still fall apart. It is, however, the best hope to avert a crisis.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 22 07:05:32 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 22 07:21:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14383405.1116770732891.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Prewar Findings Worried Analysts
 
 By Walter Pincus
 
  On Jan. 24, 2003, four days before President Bush delivered his State of the Union address presenting the case for war against Iraq, the National Security Council staff put out a call for new intelligence to bolster claims that Saddam Hussein possessed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons or programs.
 
 The person receiving the request, Robert Walpole, then the national intelligence officer for strategic and nuclear programs, would later tell investigators that "the NSC believed the nuclear case was weak," according to a 500-page report released last year by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
 
 It has been clear since the September report of the Iraq Survey Group -- a CIA-sponsored weapons search in Iraq -- that the United States would not find the weapons of mass destruction cited by Bush as the rationale for going to war against Iraq. But as the Walpole episode suggests, it appears that even before the war many senior intelligence officials in the government had doubts about the case being trumpeted in public by the president and his senior advisers.
 
 The question of prewar intelligence has been thrust back into the public eye with the disclosure of a secret British memo showing that, eight months before the March 2003 start of the war, a senior British intelligence official reported to Prime Minister Tony Blair that U.S. intelligence was being shaped to support a policy of invading Iraq.
 
 Moreover, a close reading of the recent 600-page report by the president's commission on intelligence, and the previous report by the Senate panel, shows that as war approached, many U.S. intelligence analysts were internally questioning almost every major piece of prewar intelligence about Hussein's alleged weapons programs.
 
 These included claims that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium in Africa for its nuclear program, had mobile labs for producing biological weapons, ran an active chemical weapons program and possessed unmanned aircraft that could deliver weapons of mass destruction. All these claims were made by Bush or then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in public addresses even though, the reports made clear, they had yet to be verified by U.S. intelligence agencies.
 
 For instance, Bush said in his Jan. 28, 2003, State of the Union address that Hussein was working to obtain "significant quantities" of uranium from Africa, a conclusion the president attributed to British intelligence and made a key part of his assertion that Iraq had an active nuclear weapons program.
 
 More than a year later, the White House retracted the statement after its veracity was questioned. But the Senate report makes it clear that even in January 2003, just before the president's speech, analysts at the CIA's Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation and Arms Control Center were still investigating the reliability of the uranium information.
 
 Similarly, the president's intelligence commission, chaired by former appellate judge Laurence H. Silberman and former senator Charles S. Robb (D-Va.), disclosed that senior intelligence officials had serious questions about "Curveball," the code name for an Iraqi informant who provided the key information on Hussein's alleged mobile biological facilities.
 
 The CIA clandestine service's European division chief had met in 2002 with a German intelligence officer whose service was handling Curveball. The German said his service "was not sure whether Curveball was actually telling the truth," according to the commission report. When it appeared that Curveball's material would be in Bush's State of the Union speech, the CIA Berlin station chief was asked to get the Germans to allow him to question Curveball directly.
 
 On the day before the president's speech, the Berlin station chief warned about using Curveball's information on the mobile biological units in Bush's speech. The station chief warned that the German intelligence service considered Curveball "problematical" and said its officers had been unable to confirm his assertions. The station chief recommended that CIA headquarters give "serious consideration" before using that unverified information, according to the commission report.
 
 The next day, Bush told the world: "We know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile weapons labs . . . designed to produce germ warfare agents and can be moved from place to a place to evade inspectors." He attributed that information to "three Iraqi defectors."
 
 A week later, Powell said in an address to the United Nations that the information on mobile labs came from four defectors, and he described one as "an eyewitness . . . who supervised one of these facilities" and was at the site when an accident killed 12 technicians.
 
 Within a year, doubts emerged about the truthfulness of all four, and the "eyewitness" turned out to be Curveball, the informant the CIA station chief had red-flagged as unreliable. Curveball was subsequently determined to be a fabricator who had been fired from the Iraqi facility years before the alleged accident, according to the commission and Senate reports.
 
 As Bush speeches were being drafted in the prewar period, serious questions were also being raised within the intelligence community about purported threats from biologically armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
 
 In an Oct. 7, 2002, speech, Bush mentioned a potential threat to the U.S. mainland being explored by Iraq through unmanned aircraft "that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons." The basis for that analysis was a single report that an Iraqi general in late 2000 or early 2001 indicated interest in buying autopilots and gyroscopes for Hussein's UAV program. The manufacturer automatically included topographic mapping software of the United States in the package.
 
 When the list was submitted in early 2002, the manufacturer's distributor determined that the U.S. mapping software would not be included in the autopilot package, and told the procurement agent in March 2002. By then, however, U.S. intelligence, which closely followed Iraqi procurement of such material, had already concluded as early as the summer of 2001 that this was the "first indication that the UAVs might be used to target the U.S."
 
 When a foreign intelligence service questioned the procurement agent, he originally said he had never intended to purchase the U.S. mapping software, but he refused to submit to a thorough examination, according to the president's commission. "By fall 2002, the CIA was still uncertain whether the procurement agent was lying," the commission said. Nonetheless, a National Intelligence Estimate in October 2002 said the attempted procurement "strongly suggested" Iraq was interested in targeting UAVs on the United States. Senior members of Congress were told in September 2002 that this was the "smoking gun" in a special briefing by Vice President Cheney and then-CIA Director George J. Tenet.
 
 By January 2003, however, it became publicly known that the director of Air Force intelligence dissented from the view that UAVs were to be used for biological or chemical delivery, saying instead they were for reconnaissance. In addition, according to the president's commission, the CIA "increasingly believed that the attempted purchase of the mapping software . . . may have been inadvertent."
 
 In an intelligence estimate on threats to the U.S. homeland published in January 2003, Air Force, Defense Intelligence Agency and Army analysts agreed that the proposed purchase was "not necessarily indicative of an intent to target the U.S. homeland."
 
 By late January 2003, the number of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf area was approaching 150,000, and the invasion of Iraq was all but guaranteed. Neither Bush nor Powell reflected in their speeches the many doubts that had surfaced at that time about Iraq's weapons programs.
 
 Instead, Bush said, "With nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in that region." He added: "Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own."
 
 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sat May 21 15:52:29 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun May 22 08:54:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Conditions worse than under Saddam & "Catastrophe" in
	Iraq
Message-ID: <200505221554.j4MFsLxS017536@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Iraqis Endure Worse Conditions Than Under 
Saddam, UN Survey Finds

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/1816

by Chris Shumway 
A major study by the UN and Iraqi officials found that life in Iraq has 
decayed significantly since foreign forces invaded, following a general 
trend seen in most sectors since the imposition of a global embargo in 
1990.

May 18 - Responses to a detailed survey conducted by a United 
Nations agency and the Iraqi government indicate that everyday 
conditions for Iraqis in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion have 
deteriorated at an alarming rate, with huge numbers of people lacking 
adequate access to basic services and resources such as clean water, 
food, health care, electricity, jobs and sanitation.

"This survey shows a rather tragic situation of the quality of life in Iraq," 
Barham Salih, Iraq's minister of planning, said in statement, adding: "If 
you compare this to the situation in the 1980s, you will see a major 
deterioration."

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) conducted the far 
ranging survey, titled "Iraq Living Conditions Survey 2004," in 
cooperation with Iraq's Ministry of Planning.

Researchers determined that some 24,000 Iraqis died as a result of 
the US-led invasion in 2003 and the first year of occupation. Children 
below the age of 18 comprised 12 percent of those deaths, according 
to survey data.

The study also indicates that the invasion and its immediate aftermath 
forced more than 140,000 Iraqis to flee their homes.

The 370-page report evaluating the survey, which was in turn based on 
interviews conducted with more than 21,000 Iraqi households during 
the spring and summer of 2004, might not end the controversy over 
civilian casualty figures, but the study's authors drew a narrower range 
of estimated deaths. They report that the total number of war dead is 
between 18,000 and 29,000.

But they also acknowledge that their numbers are derived from a 
question -- posed to household members concerning dead and 
missing relatives -- that "underestimates deaths, because households 
in which all members were lost are omitted."

Other sources have reported widely varying figures for civilian deaths. 
Iraq Body Count, a website that tracks reported civilian deaths in Iraq, 
put the total number of civilians killed by military intervention at 
somewhere between 14,619 and 16,804 during the time covered by 
the UN survey.

A survey published last fall in The Lancet, a renowned British medical 
journal, extrapolated that 98,000 "excess civilian deaths" had occurred 
in Iraq during roughly the same period covered by the UN study, 
compared to the number of deaths to be expected in relative peace 
time. The authors of that study, who based their findings on interviews 
with fewer than 1,000 Iraqi households in various regions, were also 
careful to note that based on the same confidence level as the UN 
report, the possible range ran from 8,000 to 194,000 deaths.
Child Malnutrition Worsens

In addition to deaths attributed to warfare, Iraqi children have suffered 
from a lack of adequate nutrition since 2003, the survey reports.

Data from the survey indicates that 23 percent of children between six 
months and five years suffer from chronic malnutrition, while 12 
percent suffer from general malnutrition, and 8 percent experience 
acute malnutrition.

The malnutrition figures are consistent with statistics from previous, 
smaller surveys cited earlier this year by Jean Ziegler, the UN's expert 
on malnutrition.

Ziegler drew harsh criticism from US officials in March when he told 
the UN Commission on Human Rights that child malnutrition rates in 
Iraq had nearly doubled since 2003. Ziegler said the rise was "a result 
of the war led by coalition forces."

In addition to war, the new UN report suggests that more than a 
decade of harsh economic sanctions against Iraq, enthusiastically 
supported by the US and British governments, has had a major impact 
on the health of Iraqi children.

"Most Iraqi children today have lived their whole lives under sanctions 
and war," the study says, noting that "the suffering of children due to 
war and conflict in Iraq is not limited to those directly wounded or killed 
by military activities."

The survey notes that children under the age of 15 make up 39 
percent of the country's total population.
Health Care Facilities Dilapidated, Doctors Frustrated

Years of sanctions and war have also had a major negative impact on 
Iraq's health care system, once considered among the best in the 
Middle East, authors of the survey observe.

The list of "current major problems" includes "lack of health personnel, 
lack of medicines, non-functioning medical equipment and destroyed 
hospitals and health centers."

Iraqi health officials express a great deal of frustration at their limited 
capacity to provide services to those who are chronically ill and to the 
increasingly high number of people wounded in attacks by rebels, 
foreign occupation troops and Iraqi security forces.

In interviews with the Christian Science Monitor, doctors at Baghdad's 
Yarmouk Hospital, said the main problem at is funding for basic 
medical services. In fact, they say the money needed to run the facility, 
which has the biggest patient load in Baghdad, has run just out.

"The health ministry does not have money to spend until July," Tala Al-
Awqati, a pediatrician at Yarmouk, told CSM. "A lot of things have 
stopped," she said, "People are not getting what they need from the 
health services. Money for disinfectant is not there anymore; 
sometimes we must buy it ourselves."

Iraq's Health Ministry had requested $2 billion for health care services 
in 2004 from US controlled funding sources, but reportedly received 
less than half that amount - only $950 million. Doctors told CSM that 
due to poor funding and the slow pace of the US-led reconstruction 
effort, projects to repair hospital water pipes and sewage systems are 
left undone.

In addition to poor facilities and the lack of medicine and personnel, Al-
Awqati suggested that poor security is one reason the infant mortality 
rate in Iraq remains high under the US-led occupation. "Women can't 
reach the hospital at night," she said, referring to the lack of safety 
near her own facility.

The UN survey reports 32 deaths per 1,000 births during infants' first 
year. The report further indicates that "infant and child mortality rates 
appear to have been steadily increasing" during the last 15 years of 
war and sanctions. The number of mothers who die during labor was 
93 for every 100,000 births, far worse than the rates of maternal 
mortality in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Iraqis Lack Safe Water, Sewage Treatment, Electricity

The condition of Iraq's health care infrastructure is mirrored by that of 
the country's larger civilian infrastructure, which the UN report says is 
marked by "degraded or disrupted electricity supply, sanitation, and 
communications."

In comparison with earlier statistics from Iraq on key measures of daily 
living conditions - such as reliability of electrical service, access to safe 
drinking water and sanitation systems and access to health care -- the 
report concludes that "an alarming deterioration in the indicators is 
apparent."

Of the households surveyed, 51 percent of those in urban areas of 
southern Iraq live in neighborhoods "where sewage could be seen in 
the streets." Nationwide, 40 percent of families in urban areas and 30 
percent in rural areas reported living in neighborhoods where they can 
see sewage in the streets.

Iraqis are not fairing much better with respect to clean sources of 
water. The survey indicates that only 54 percent of households 
nationwide have access to a "safe and stable" supply of drinking water. 
An estimated 722,000 Iraqis, the report also notes, rely on sources that 
are both unreliable and unsafe.

Conditions are worse in rural areas, with 80 percent of families drinking 
unsafe water, the report says. According to researchers, "the situation 
is alarming" in the southern governorates of Basra, Dhi Qar, Qadisiya, 
Wasit, and Babil, located near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. A large 
percentage of the population in this region relies on water from 
polluted rivers and local streams, the report says.

Although 98 percent of Iraqi households are connected to the electrical 
grid, 78 percent of them report "severe instability" and low quality in the 
service, according to the survey. As a result, about one in three Iraqi 
families now relies on alternative sources of electricity such as 
generators, most of which are shared between households.
Literacy in Decline

The past two decades of war and sanctions have also taken a heavy 
toll on Iraq's education system, the report states.

The literacy rate among those between the ages of 15 and 24 is just 
74 percent, the survey reveals - a rate researchers note is only "slightly 
higher than the literacy rate for the population at large." But this figure 
is lower than literacy rates for those 25-34, "indicating that the younger 
generation lags behind its predecessors on educational performance."

The survey also indicated that the literacy rate for women in Iraq has 
stagnated in the past two years. In some governorates, however, the 
level of female illiteracy is very high.

Overall, the gender gap in literacy is diminishing in Iraq, according to 
the report - but this appears due more to a drop in the literacy levels of 
men rather than gains made by women.

? 2005 The NewStandard. See our reprint policy.


--------------
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8882.htm

"Catastrophe" in Iraq

Dahr Jamail

05/18/05 "Iraq Dispatches" - - I neither read nor listen to corporate 
media drivel concerning Iraq...but today I wonder what they could 
possibly be saying to justify the failed occupation of Iraq on this horrible 
day. I also wonder how people in America have yet to take the 
appropriate action necessary in order to force their government to 
impeach Bush and bring him and his regime to justice for the countless 
war crimes they have committed in Iraq.

Yesterday Hassan Nuaimi, high ranking member of the Association of 
Muslim Scholars (AMS) was found dead in Baghdad. One of his arms 
was broken and a hole was drilled into the side of his head.

This coming the day after the AMS had accused the Shia led 
government of state sponsored terrorism by using the Shia Badr 
Brigades to murder Sunnis.

In response to the murdering of Nuaimi, two Shia clerics were gunned 
down in Baghdad yesterday.

Harith al-Dhari, head of the AMS, blamed the Shia Badr Brigades for 
the recent spate of killings of Sunni clerics in the country.

Dhari, making a statement that could be interpreted as an 
announcement of civil war, said Sunnis would not keep silent over the 
killings.

"We are heading towards a catastrophe, only God knows when it will 
end, this is a warning from us," he said angrily.

The Badr Brigades were in exile in Iran during much of Saddam's rule, 
and returned to Iraq after the invasion and have been a fully 
operational militia in Iraq ever since. I have seen their members in full 
uniform and with heavy weapons in Baghdad during a Shia 
demonstration last summer. The Badr Brigades was headed for years 
by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance 
who won the largest percentage of votes in the January 30 "election."

There has been a low-grade civil war going on for quite some time-but 
now the veil has been ripped off by the statements made by Dhari.

All Sunni mosques in Iraq will be closed for three days...an ominous 
symbol of things to come.

Thus, any argument that the US military should remain in Iraq to 
prevent a civil war can be flushed. Besides, anyone arguing that the 
US military was there to protect the Iraqi people is either blind, in 
denial, or knows absolutely nothing about the reality on the ground in 
occupied Iraq. The US military in Iraq are unable even to protect 
themselves, let alone civilians.

I conducted an informal interview two days ago with a UN official here 
in Amman...thus I'll leave his name out of this...for now. He told me 
that 95% of the reconstruction funds for rebuilding Iraq have been 
spent outside of Iraq.

So the argument of staying in Iraq to help rebuild the country-that too 
could have been flushed long ago. Want to find someone accountable-
look to some of the larger contributors to the Bush Administration. We 
all know their names by now. Check their profit margins as of late while 
you're at it.

I watched the news about the aforementioned statements by al-Dahri 
on Al-Jazeera with one of my close Iraqi friends here. As we watched 
the large funeral procession with the body of the murdered cleric while 
al-Dahri made his ferocious statements, I watched her head drop into 
her hands as she said softly, "This is so horrible what has happened to 
my country since the Americans came."

And she couldn't be more correct. For the Bush Administration is guilty 
under international law for the catastrophe Iraq has become. Under 
international law it is the primary responsibility of the occupier to 
safeguard the citizens of the country they occupy.

For the Bush Administration, that means over 100,000 dead Iraqis and 
counting.

Other news most likely omitted by most corporate television outlets in 
the US today?

In Baquba a car bomb detonated near a police convoy which injured 
18 people, most of them policemen. 

In Kirkuk 7 bodies of Iraqis who worked for a security company were 
found.

In Baghdad a roadside bomb aimed at a US convoy injured 7 Iraqis.

A Transport Ministry driver was shot dead in Sadr City.

In Beji 2 Iraqi police were killed by a car bomb.

In Mosul mortar attacks killed 2 Iraqis and injured 7 school kids.

So that's nearly 500 dead Iraqis in a little over two weeks to add to the 
list of crimes for the Bush Administration, which grows longer with 
each passing day.

Visit Dahr Jamail's web site http://dahrjamailiraq.com

?2004, 2005 Dahr Jamail. 


-- 
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 dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Sat May 21 12:09:31 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Sun May 22 09:03:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Morfe Redneck Stuff
Message-ID: <200505221534.j4MFYXgI017460@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Redneck car lock 




Redneck Cat Carrier 




Redneck Doorbell 




Redneck faucet 





Redneck PalmPilot 






Redneck Lottery Winner 



 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 22 09:35:22 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 22 09:41:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: UN joins row over US Afghan abuse
Message-ID: <20050522_163522_015067.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** UN joins row over US Afghan abuse **
The UN calls on the US to open up its  controversial Bagram air base to Afghan human rights investigators.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4570631.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 22 09:36:00 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 22 09:41:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China in national bird flu alert
Message-ID: <20050522_163600_038595.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** China in national bird flu alert **
China introduces emergency measures amid fears that wild geese have brought virulent bird flu to the country.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4570197.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 22 09:37:11 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 22 09:43:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Opposition protests around Nepal
Message-ID: <20050522_163711_001682.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Opposition protests around Nepal **
Thousands of Nepalese opposition activists demonstrate against King Gyanendra's royal takeover.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4570987.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 22 09:37:57 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 22 09:43:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Earth's species feel the squeeze
Message-ID: <20050522_163757_042517.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Earth's species feel the squeeze **
Current rates of species extinction will make it more difficult to roll back poverty, a major report says.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4563499.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May 22 12:58:59 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry)
Date: Sun May 22 10:06:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Interesting news report from The NewStandard - U.S.
	Offensive Causes Humanitarian Crisis, Nets Few Rebels
Message-ID: <14141592.1116791939364.JavaMail.SYSTEM@neptune>

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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun May 22 14:20:32 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun May 22 14:26:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Beacon for Arab Women
Message-ID: <11444562.1116796832557.JavaMail.turbine@s78>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
A Beacon for Arab Women 
--------------------


May 22 2005

The Kuwaiti parliament's vote last week to give full political rights to women is a milestone in the Arab world. Countries such as Saudi Arabia don't even let their women drive, let alone vote &#8212; or still less hold elected office. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-women22may22,0,1463986.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From michael at michaelbutler.com  Sun May 22 17:24:09 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun May 22 14:30:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tell your friends: Please sign emergency petition to
	save our courts
Message-ID: <BEB670B9.20937%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Hi!

I just signed MoveOn PAC's emergency petition to stop the "nuclear
option" the far right wing's plan to seize absolute power to stack our
courts - and I hope you will sign too.

Starting Monday, the petition will
be delivered straight to Congress every three hours until the final vote,
and many of our comments will be read aloud on the Senate floor.

Please
find out more and sign right now
at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/nuclear

Thanks!


From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 22 14:25:52 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 22 14:31:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME Magazine: The Class of 9/11
Message-ID: <15973310.1116797152871.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



Very interesting... at least to me.

peace,
barbara



 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May 22 14:26:31 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun May 22 14:32:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article from ctv.ca
Message-ID: <187273.1116797188504.JavaMail.www@kenny2.theglobeandmail.com>

HS (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) thought you would be interested in this article.

Message From HS: 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laura Bush Heckled at Jerusalem sacred sites!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!
http://www.ctv.ca/newsletter


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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 22 14:28:48 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 22 14:34:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Complete List - ALL-TIME 100 Movies - TIME Magazine
Message-ID: <4747992.1116797328674.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



Top 100 Movies... WOW!!!

peace,
barbara



 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 22 14:36:49 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 22 14:42:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Freshmen vs. the Varsity
Message-ID: <19822673.1116797809500.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



I hope the Freshmen Senators wise up or are otherwise "Wise"...

peace,
barbara



 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May 22 14:51:54 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sun May 22 14:57:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] ABCNEWS.com: Protesters Heckle Laura Bush in Jerusalem
Message-ID: <18079270.1116798714868.JavaMail._WDIGSvc0406@abctvbar06>

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

harry.sifton@sympatico.ca

Mrs Bush was not welcomed at Jerusalem's sacred sites! This is ABC's report, I will forward other international reports.

HS

Protesters Heckle Laura Bush in Jerusalem
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=780696
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sun May 22 15:13:19 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May 22 15:19:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Laura Bush Heckled at sacred sites
Message-ID: <001301c55f1b$785be050$973fe440@Harold>

As she should be, Laura was heckled while visiting Jerusalem's scared sites!

When she entered the Dome of the Rock, the women inside were clearly irritated and waved their fingers!

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1116764389523_4/?hub=TopStories

Her visit with her smile did not work, who ever in PR in the White House just does not get it, this trip just shows how ignorant the administration is.

Later, Harry

PS I'm sure Laura is quite pissed off and some one in the White House will get her wrath!! She has been international embarrassed and portrayed as an idiot, as she is!
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 22 15:17:26 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sun May 22 15:23:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] West Point 9/11 story
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV125208A5BA258CA9B5507AB0B0@phx.gbl>

This has the info to read the stoy  IF  you are not a subscriber of time.

peace,
barbara

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From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
Subject: Fw: [Mb-civic] TIME Magazine: The Class of 9/11
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 22:02:20 GMT
Size: 13632
Url: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050522/806b4c80/attachment-0001.mht
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 22 15:02:20 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Sun May 22 15:39:09 2005
Subject: Fw: [Mb-civic] TIME Magazine: The Class of 9/11
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV784A51F46D94588DF6398AB0B0@phx.gbl>

IF anyone wants to read about 'The West Point" story "The class of 9/11" and is not a member or receive Time Magazine you can use my account number to log In...

Account number:
10530106980

MY e-mail address:
barbarasiomos38@msn.com

I was going to cut, copy and paste but the article is long (about 10 or 11 pages). But if you want to check it out or just read part of it help yourself. :-)

perace,
barbara



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Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME Magazine: The Class of 9/11
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 14:25:52 -0700 (PDT)
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sun May 22 14:38:56 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 22 15:39:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Inside the Korean Cloning Lab
Message-ID: <488999.1116797936642.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



Cloning can be some scarry stuff.

peace,
barbara



 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 16:42:03 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 16:48:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?CNN=2Ecom_-_Protesters=A0surround=A0La?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?ura_Bush=A0at=A0Jerusalem_mosque_-_May_22=2C_2005?=
Message-ID: <25924332.1116805323602.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



Apparently, people are getting wise, and things are heating up against the Bush Agenda...



 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 22 16:10:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Sun May 22 17:56:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Arrogance, Ignorance, Oil and the Word of God
References: <BEB63807.2090D%michael@michaelbutler.com>
Message-ID: <200505230056.j4N0uomM000903@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Michael:

Yes, war for oil.  But Iraq is only a smokescreen - albeit a legitimate 
piece of the puzzle.  The real action is Afghanistan and, more importantly, 
Ukbekistan.  Keep in mind that the Caspian Sea Basin holds the world's 
largest untapped oil supply (~220 BILLION barrels), and the area around it 
holds the world's largest untapped natural gass supply (~1 TRILLION cubic 
feet).  The only way to get the oil and natural gas out is by pipeline.  And 
that pipeline has to run through Afghanistan.  Uzbekistan is a crucial piece 
here due not only to its strategic location near the Caspian Sea Basin, but 
because it is the "strongest" of the countries surrounding that basin.  It 
is not a coincidence that fighting has broken out in Uzbekistan of late, or 
that things are heating up again in Afghanistan.

Take a look at a map of the countries and wider area surrounding the Caspian 
Sea Basin.  You can almost predict world affairs - and especially U.S. 
actions - based on that map.

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Butler" <michael@michaelbutler.com>
To: "SPECIAL from Michael Butler" <michael@michaelbutler.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 4:22 PM
Subject: Arrogance, Ignorance, Oil and the Word of God


>
> Michael Butler's Blog
>
> http://www.michaelbutler.com/mbblog.html
>
>
> 


From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun May 22 12:31:47 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun May 22 18:09:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Current rates of species extinction will make it more
	difficult to roll back poverty
Message-ID: <200505230109.j4N195cZ000947@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4563499.stm 

 BBC NEWS
Earth's species feel the squeeze
By Jonathan Amos
BBC News science reporter

If we continue with current rates of species extinction, we will have no 
chance of rolling back poverty and the lives of all humans will be 
diminished.

That is the stark warning to come out of the Millennium Ecosystem 
Assessment (MA), the most comprehensive audit of the health of our 
planet to date.

Organisms are disappearing at something like 100 to 1,000 times the 
"background levels" seen in the fossil record.

Scientists warn that removing so many species puts our own existence 
at risk.

It will certainly make it much harder to lift the world's poor out of 
hardship given that these people are often the most vulnerable to 
ecosystem degradation, the researchers say.

The message is written large in Ecosystems and Human Well-being: 
the Biodiversity Synthesis Report.

Biodiversity and human well-being just cannot be separated
It is the latest in a series of detailed documents to come out of the MA, 
a remarkable tome drawn up by 1,300 researchers from 95 nations 
over four years.

The MA pulls together the current state of knowledge and in its latest 
release this week focuses specifically on biodiversity and the likely 
impacts its continued loss will have on human society.

Even faster

In one sense, and precisely because it is a synthesis, the new 
document contains few surprises. It is, nonetheless, a startling - and 
depressing - read.

	
MA BIODIVERSITY SYNTHESIS
The last 50 years have seen the biggest biodiversity upheaval in 
human history
Over half the world's biomes (vegetation types) have experienced 
about 20-50% conversion to human use
The rates of change have been greatest in tropical and sub-tropical dry 
forests

Some 35% of mangroves and about 20% of corals have gone
Across a range of taxonomic groups, species are in decline
A third of all amphibians, a fifth of mammals and an eighth of all birds 
are now threatened with extinction. It is thought 90% of the large 
predatory fish in the oceans have gone since the beginning of 
industrial trawling.

And these are just the vertebrates - the species we know most about. 
Ninety percent of species, maybe more, have not even been 
catalogued by science yet.

"Changes in biodiversity were more rapid in the last 50 years than at 
any time in human history," said Dr Georgina Mace, the director of 
science at the Institute of Zoology, in London, UK, and an MA 
synthesis team member.

"And when you look to the future, to various projections and scenarios, 
we expect those changes to continue and in some circumstances to 
accelerate.

"Future models are very uncertain but all of them tell us that as we 
move into the next 100 years, we'll be seeing extinction rates that are a 
thousand to 10,000 times those in the fossil record."

'Invisible services'

One feature that sets the MA apart from previous projects of its kind is 
the way it defines ecosystems in terms of the "services", or benefits, 
that people get from them.

Some of these services are obvious - they are "provisional": timber for 
building; fish for food; fibres to make clothes.

At another level, these services are largely unseen - the recycling of 
nutrients, pollination and seed dispersal, climate control, the 
purification of water and air - but without these "support" and 
"regulating" systems, life on Earth would soon collapse.

And although we may be some distance away from an "end scenario", 
there is no doubt the rapid expansion of the human population and its 
high consumption of natural resources have taken a heavy toll on 
ecosystems and the organisms that inhabit them.

"Biodiversity and human well-being just cannot be separated," said Dr 
Kaveh Zahedi, the officer in charge of the Unep World Conservation 
Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK.

"We are befitting from a whole range of services that up until now have 
almost been invisible; we haven't considered them. And then they 
suddenly pop up on our radar screens - we have a tragedy in Asia with 
a tsunami and we realise that those mangroves that were cut down 
had a value; they provided a service in terms of coastal protection."

Similar picture

Land-use (habitat) changes, climate change, pollution and over-
exploitation - they are all pushing down on biodiversity and the 
pressure shows little sign of easing.

"The magnitude of the challenge of slowing the rate of biodiversity loss 
is demonstrated by the fact that most of the direct drivers of 
biodiversity loss are projected to either remain constant or increase in 
the near future," the MA biodiversity synthesis report says.

	If you do things the right way, if you chose the right options for 
poverty alleviation, you can also maximise biodiversity and 
sustainability

Removing huge swathes of forest has a blunt and clear impact on 
biodiversity by taking out the habitat formerly occupied by plants and 
animals. But there are subtle changes taking place, too.

The distribution of species around the globe is becoming more 
homogenous, as invasive creatures hitch a ride on fast human 
transport and trade routes.

Genetic diversity, also, is declining rapidly.

This is most obvious in domesticated plants and animals where the 
pursuit of high yields and the pressures of global markets have pushed 
farmers towards a limited range of cultivars and breeds.

And so it is not simply that species are fewer in number, their changed 
circumstances may also have reduced their resilience and their ability 
to cope with future change.

Possible tensions

In 2002, world governments, through the Convention on Biological 
Diversity, set themselves the target of making a "substantial reduction 
in the rate of loss of biological diversity" by 2010.

The MA illustrates just how tough it will be to meet that target. What is 
more, there may even be occasions when progress towards that target 
conflicts with the even loftier 2015 Millennium Development Goals of 
cutting into world hunger and poverty, and improving healthcare.

	
BIODIVERSITY AND POVERTY
Biodiversity and human well-being are inextricably linked
Humans benefit from ecosystem services, but unsustainable use 
drives biodiversity loss

People living in rural areas in developing nations are often most 
dependent on biodiversity.  And they are usually most vulnerable to 
ecosystem service degradation. They cannot afford to move out or 
import new services

A classic example is the development of rural road networks - a 
common feature of hunger reduction strategies - which are likely also 
to accelerate rates of biodiversity loss by fragmenting habitats and by 
opening up new areas to unsustainable harvests.

This sort of thing has been well documented in Africa where the 
bushmeat trade that endangers many species follows the development 
of transport infrastructure.

"This is a very important issue," said Dr Mace. "It's clear there are 
going to have to be trade-offs and compromises but it's not a simple 
relationship. It's not a case that you can have 20% poverty and 80% 
biodiversity.

"If you do things the right way, if you chose the right options for poverty 
alleviation, you can also maximise biodiversity and sustainability."

And Dr Neville Ash, another MA synthesis team member, added: "The 
bottom line is that you cannot achieve long-term poverty alleviation 
without sustainability.

"In order to reduce hunger and poverty and increase access to clean 
water and sanitation, we need to have a strong base of environmental 
sustainability which is providing these services on which people rely for 
their well-being."

Little time

It is very evident, too, that we need to get a move on.

The wheels of global governance turn slowly, as was seen with the 
Kyoto Protocol on climate change which finally entered into force in 
February after many years of negotiation.

The MA has identified possible solutions - from significant shifts in 
consumption patterns and better education, to the adoption of new 
technologies and a large increase in the areas enjoying protection.

And if some of the ideas sound "old hat", such as the abolition of 
farming subsidies that drive crop production to the detriment of field 
biodiversity - that is because they are.

"Most of the approaches to achieving more sympathetic management 
of the natural environment and the conservation of biodiversity - I think 
we and governments know them already," commented Graham 
Wynne, the chief executive of the UK bird conservation group, the 
RSPB.

"The real challenge is to deploy them more extensively and more 
intelligently.

"And you can't get away from the fact that we simply need more 
money.

"The sums of money we throw at the environment in the West are 
relatively modest; and the sums of money the West is prepared to 
devote to developing countries is pitiful."

THE LIVING PLANET INDEX
The Living Planet Index is a measure of the state of the world's 
biodiversity. It measures trends of vertebrate populations in terrestrial, 
freshwater and marine environments

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4563499.stm

Published: 2005/05/21 23:16:39 GMT

? BBC MMV


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You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 23 04:02:54 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 22 14:08:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11371811.1116846174578.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Painted With Horns That Won't Retract
 
 By Howard Kurtz
 
  The bashing of Newsweek over its horribly handled item on Koran desecration has mushroomed into a sweeping indictment of the media, which some conservatives now accuse of deliberately slandering the military.
 
 Newsweek "wanted the story to be true," says Rush Limbaugh, because the media "have an adversarial relationship with America" and "end up siding with the bad guys."
 
 Some news outlets "magnify every mistake the military makes in order to hammer the Bush administration," says Bill O'Reilly.
 
 The Wall Street Journal editorial page blames "a basic media mistrust of the military that goes back to Vietnam." Columnist Jonah Goldberg decries "the media's unreflective willingness to undermine the war on terror."
 
 Is any of this true? Or has Newsweek's retracted story simply handed the right a new club with which to beat journalists?
 
 Torie Clarke, who was the Pentagon's top spokeswoman during the Iraq war, says: "My gut tells me it's just another element in the general dislike of the mainstream news media that some conservatives have. I don't think the theory that there's an anti-military bias holds up on the whole." If anything, Clarke says, "there is a greater appreciation and respect for what the military does than 10 or 15 years ago" -- thanks in part to the embedding program she pushed in Iraq.
 
 National Review Editor Rich Lowry strongly disagrees, saying there is a "media culture, set during Vietnam," aimed at "exposing wrongdoing and failures of the U.S. military. Instead of tending to give the military the benefit of the doubt, there's a tendency to believe the worst."
 
 Michael Isikoff, the primary author of the Newsweek item, "reflected that culture," Lowry says. "That doesn't mean Mike has anything personal against the military, and it doesn't mean he's not in most circumstances a great reporter. But especially after Abu Ghraib, everyone in the media is panting after every possible prison abuse."
 
 Isikoff was a hero to many on the right when he was breaking stories about Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. But when he reported that military investigators had confirmed that a U.S. interrogator at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a copy of the Koran down a toilet -- based on an unnamed source who later backed off the account -- he became a piñata for conservative critics. (Some, including Pat Buchanan, say Newsweek shouldn't have run the item, even if true, because it is too "inflammatory.")
 
 There is little dispute that Newsweek (which is owned by The Washington Post Co.) tarnished its reputation by basing such an explosive story on a single source who, as it turns out, wasn't sure he had seen the allegation in a forthcoming military report. The magazine's two top editors, who never saw the final version of the brief "Periscope" item, clearly failed to consider the possible consequences and were stunned by the rioting in Afghanistan and elsewhere, which claimed 16 lives.
 
 Some analysts see parallels between the Newsweek debacle and Dan Rather's "60 Minutes Wednesday" story on President Bush's National Guard service, in that both took on the administration, both should have been held for further checking and both relied on unnamed sources. But while CBS's source turned out to be an anti-Bush zealot, Newsweek says Isikoff spoke to a senior government official who had been reliable in the past. And while CBS defended the Guard report for 12 days, Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker apologized and said the story was wrong in just over a day.
 
 That hasn't stopped White House, Pentagon and State Department officials from denouncing Newsweek. But presidential spokesman Scott McClellan's insistence that the magazine "help repair the damage" in the Muslim world has triggered a backlash on the left.
 
 "Now it's Newsweek's job to repair the image of the U.S.?" scoffs liberal radio host Stephanie Miller. "It's amazing they want Newsweek to take accountability when no one in the administration has taken accountability for either the unnecessary war or Abu Ghraib.
 
 "This is part of the chilling effect the administration wants to have on the media, an attempt to shut down any further investigative reporting. Most of the media is so scared they'll do anything not to appear liberal."
 
 One other parallel: Some people believe that the Koran desecration, as alleged by a number of detainees, is "likely true," as Miller put it, just as former CBS producer Mary Mapes says the botched National Guard story is still true. The appalling abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib certainly makes the Koran incident seem plausible. But as CBS and now Newsweek have learned, believing something could well be true is a long way from journalistically proving it.
 
 The good news for Mitch Albom is that a Detroit Free Press investigation found no evidence that its star sports columnist had any other episode similar to his April blunder of writing about a basketball game before it happened.
 
 But there were a number of instances, in more than 600 columns reviewed, of Albom lifting quotes from other publications without attribution -- and in some cases making them livelier. Albom told the paper they were "essentially accurate."
 
 In one case, ironically, he lifted a comment by Jayson Blair, who fabricated stories at the New York Times, from the New York Observer. In another, Albom wrote about a Detroit Lions game, complete with postgame comments that his editor now admits made it sound like he was there.
 
 Albom had watched it at home, taking the quotes from TV interviews and Lions releases. Overall, Albom lifted quotes from USA Today, the Detroit News, Rolling Stone, the "Today" show and other outlets -- all in violation of Free Press policy. Albom told the paper his editors approved the practice, which they acknowledged.
 
 Albom, who has privately complained that he was singled out because of his fame as a best-selling author, says by e-mail that he's been "vindicated" and is proud that "no factual inaccuracies" were found. He says the quote attribution policy was "apparently not clear for many writers there" but that now that it is being tightened, he will abide by it.
 
 David Zeman, part of the in-house team that investigated Albom, says the headline -- "Albom Probe Shows No Pattern of Deception" -- was "too soft. The headline led with what he was cleared of rather than what we found in terms of problems." But he credits the editors with publishing the entire article, "including passages that were painful to them."
 
 Women have made progress in journalism, but when it comes to being cited as news sources, not so much. On the cable news networks, a new study says, just 19 percent cited at least one female source, compared to 53 percent citing at least one man. (On three editions of MSNBC's "Hardball," every guest was a man.)
 
 On the network evening news, says the Project for Excellence in Journalism, 27 percent of stories cited women, while 63 percent cited men. On PBS's "NewsHour," women were cited in 17 percent of reports, men in 59 percent. The best television showing for women was on the network morning shows.
 
 The 16 newspapers studied, in both large and small markets, were the most diverse, with 41 percent of stories citing at least one woman (compared to 88 percent featuring men), and 19 percent citing two or more women. The record on Web stories examined: 36 percent mentioning women, and 89 percent men.
 
 Across the media, the only area where women crossed the 50 percent threshold was in lifestyle stories. They were most likely to be ignored in foreign affairs.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 23 04:04:07 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 22 14:10:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23639741.1116846247687.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Outsourcing at Home
 
 By William Raspberry
 
  First my Palm Pilot, then my Internet connection, went bad. And as a result, I spent a depressing number of hours on the telephone, talking to "technical assistance." The overwhelming portion of that time was with technical workers in places such as India, Pakistan and the Philippines, who (let it be said) were no better or worse than the tech-help people at the places that sold me the equipment in the first place.
 
 Naturally I started to grouch about the "outsourcing" of all those jobs that might have gone to Americans.
 
 Then someone said something to me that has me rethinking the whole subject of outsourcing. "We're outsourcing a lot of jobs right here in America -- right here in Washington, D.C.," he said. "All our low-skill jobs -- from driving taxicabs to housecleaning to construction labor -- are increasingly being done by immigrants."
 
 Before I could protest that he was suggesting that jobless Americans ought to be content with poorly paid stoop labor and other work scarcely above the good old days of sharecropping, he noted that it isn't only the dreadful jobs that are subject to domestic outsourcing.
 
 A pair of recent statistics makes the point:
 
 At the end of 1998 the District of Columbia had 613,500 civilian jobs, excluding self-employment. At the end of last year, the number was up to 672,000, putting the District among the top job-creating jurisdictions in the United States. But the unemployment rate for D.C. residents was 7.2 percent for 2003, 8.2 percent for 2004 -- and appears to be climbing still.
 
 It's clear that a lot of jobs created in the city are being outsourced to commuters from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania -- with under a third of the jobs created in the city held by people who live here. And because Congress won't allow the District to have a commuter tax, revenue is being outsourced along with jobs.
 
 Both kinds of outsourcing hurt Americans and, at least in the nation's capital, arguably hurt black residents worst. But it doesn't follow that hurting black people is the motivation of those who outsource work -- internally or abroad. Indeed, focusing on race may make solutions harder to find.
 
 Overseas outsourcing generally has two explanations. The first is that competent and reliable overseas employees are willing to work for far less than Americans would demand for the same job -- less than the minimum wage Americans would have to be paid. The second, which applies to domestic outsourcing as well, is the increasing difficulty of finding competent and reliable workers at home.
 
 I don't know if there is a non-legislative way to deal with the cost-driven side. If manufacturers, telecommunicators, or providers and servicers of technical equipment can save a serious buck by exporting work, they'll do it until they are made to stop. (It's worth noting that you don't always have to look abroad to find cheap labor, as the Wal-Mart example makes clear.) But to the extent that the local unavailability of competent and reliable workers is the problem, there is something we can do about it. Indeed, that something is being done by thousands upon thousands of immigrants, who are taking every advantage to gain the skills and experience they need to get a toehold in the U.S. economy.
 
 The largely immigrant-driven scramble for technical skills has made Northern Virginia Community College the biggest institution of higher education in Virginia and, with 62,000 enrollees, the second-largest multi-campus community college in the nation. As one young man put it, "This country is heaven for immigrants with a skill."
 
 Meanwhile, the District's Washington Technical Institute, which used to provide the same sort of technical skills, is now a stepchild of the University of the District of Columbia.
 
 But it begins even before that. Shameful numbers of young people in Washington and elsewhere leave high school with neither diplomas nor marketable skills. They want work, but they offer little to make themselves attractive to employers. And after a few years of joblessness and criminal activity into which the jobless are often tempted, they have even less.
 
 Even legitimate self-employment is either unavailable or not considered available, which amounts to the same thing. The mom-and-pop convenience stores that were run by Jews a generation ago, then sold in turn to Chinese, Korean and other Asian entrepreneurs, are now increasingly likely to be run by Ethiopians.
 
 We've outsourced that one, too.
 
 willrasp@washpost.com
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 23 04:05:06 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 22 14:11:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7179011.1116846306487.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Senate Leaders Prepare for Crucial Filibuster Vote
 
 By Shailagh Murray and Charles Babington
 
  A dozen Senate negotiators hope to avert a showdown today over judicial filibusters, but the chamber's Democratic and Republican leaders signaled yesterday that they are ready for a long-awaited vote that could deeply affect the federal judiciary and the operations of Congress.
 
 Senators in both parties said tomorrow's scheduled vote on whether to ban filibusters of judicial nominees remains too close to predict because a handful of crucial GOP members have declined to divulge their intentions. Some of those Republicans exchanged phone calls over the weekend with a few Democrats seeking an agreement that would retain the right to filibuster but make its use highly unlikely this year or next -- provided that both sides act in good faith. The negotiators plan to huddle this afternoon in hopes of striking a deal that would deny Republican leaders the votes they need to ban the filibuster, and deny Democratic leaders the support they need to continue thwarting several of President Bush's appellate court nominees.
 
 Because they drew lines deep into the sand months ago, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) have little to offer their colleagues, and even less room to maneuver, as they head into the biggest vote of their leadership careers. Warily eyeing the closed-door negotiations that could wrest the issue from their control, the leadership teams say they are ready for the debate's final hours.
 
 For Frist and Reid, the filibuster debate presents special challenges. It involves no crop supports, high-tech tax credits or other perks they typically can bestow or withhold at crunch time to persuade vacillating colleagues. With a hallowed Senate tradition at stake, lawmakers are threatening to vote their consciences, making them poor candidates for logrolling.
 
 As Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) points out, filibustering legislation is one thing -- the contents can be tweaked and moved around until enough senators are satisfied. In this case, the filibuster's target is a person nominated to the federal bench, and "you can't cut off a left arm and put on a new left arm," he said.
 
 Barring a last-minute compromise, Democrats tomorrow will again try to block the confirmation of Priscilla R. Owen, one of the 10 appellate court nominees they thwarted in Bush's first term. If they succeed, Frist says he will seek a change in Senate precedents to bar the filibustering of judicial nominees. Vice President Cheney is ready to occupy the presiding officer's chair in case he is needed to break a 50-50 tie in Frist's favor.
 
 It takes 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to overcome a filibuster. Republicans, holding 55 seats, have been unable to force confirmation votes for 10 of Bush's nominees, seven of whom were renominated this year.
 
 Publicly, Frist and Reid have stuck to their partisan scripts. "As everyone knows, I have advocated fair up-or-down votes for judicial nominees again and again and again and will continue to do so," Frist said as he began the Senate debate Thursday. Reid, speaking next, responded, "The Senate is the last place where the president and Republicans can't have it all."
 
 Privately, Frist and Reid are focused on more practical matters: monitoring arduous negotiations involving a dozen Republican and Democratic senators who want to avoid a vote; trying to keep their unruly caucuses unified; and -- barring a deal -- winning over the three Republicans believed by many to hold the rule-change outcome in their hands.
 
 Outwardly, the two men have little in common. Frist, a patrician surgeon from Nashville, came to the Senate seeking only two terms, and is openly weighing a presidential bid in 2008. Reid, a miner's son from a tiny Nevada town and a former boxer and Capitol Police officer, has reached the pinnacle of his political hopes.
 
 In the filibuster fight, their predicament is similar. Both men are determined to adhere to their principles, but are under considerable pressure from colleagues to find a solution that avoids a painful vote and possible chaos and political recrimination for months to come.
 
 The two leaders have maintained a collegial relationship. Many Democratic senators and senior aides describe Reid as somewhat sympathetic to Frist, believing the Republican leader has backed himself into a corner by demanding confirmation votes for all nominees, and will face widespread backlash from conservative religious groups if he backs away. Reid, in turn, would catch heat from liberal groups if he compromised, but he has less to lose than Frist, who needs conservative support if he pursues the White House.
 
 One of the big obstacles to deal-making is that there is not much political wiggle room. Frist has demanded an up-or-down vote on all court nominees, but Reid refuses to relinquish the right to filibuster because Democrats may want to use it against Bush's Supreme Court picks. An inability to reconcile the demands shut down bilateral talks between the two leaders a week ago, and the same problem confronts the 12 freelance negotiators.
 
 All last week, the negotiators passed proposals back and forth in an attempt to find middle ground. But the two leaders weighed in between meetings to remind the negotiators of the bottom line. On a conference call after a Thursday afternoon meeting, as rumors swirled that a deal was near, Reid repeated his mantra, "No nuclear option." He called a second meeting Thursday of all his Democratic troops, where negotiators reported to their colleagues that Republicans could not take the nuclear option off the table, because Frist would not let them.
 
 Frist, for his part, talks to his GOP colleagues in every forum possible -- on the phone, on the floor, in small meetings, one-on-one in his office. Eric Ueland, his chief of staff, said the leader "has not made this a test of party loyalty," nor has he offered legislative or campaign favors to keep wavering Republicans in line. "There are times and places where those tools might be appropriate," Ueland said. "But on an issue that so directly goes to the core responsibilities of the United States Senate, none of those tools are appropriately applicable."
 
 Every morning last week, Reid stopped by Frist's office or at least called the GOP leader, just to check in. Aides say the Nevada Democrat deals regularly with two other Republicans: Whip Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the chief Republican negotiator in the compromise talks.
 
 Reid also has named key Democrats as emissaries to the three Republicans that both sides consider the swing voters. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, is working on Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the panel and a co-sponsor with Leahy of a complicated asbestos bill working its way through the Senate. Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) is assigned to Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) has been teamed with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Warner chairs the Armed Services Committee, and Collins chairs the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee; Levin and Lieberman are the ranking Democrats on those panels.
 
 Democrats have fretted that, despite Specter's and Warner's seniority, Republicans could threaten them with the loss of their chairmanships if they abandon Frist on the rule-change vote. Just in case, Reid's office has consulted with the Senate parliamentarian, aides said, and determined that the act of removing the senators from their posts would be subject to a Democratic filibuster. Warner, Collins and Specter said they have not been threatened, and Ueland said of the idea, "Not only has it not happened, it's a completely silly idea hatched by the same conspiracists" who believe in UFOs.
 
 Beyond their regular appearances on the Senate floor, the two leaders have relied on their colleagues and outside groups to stir up drama. That is a tall order when the subject is an arcane constitutional question, and with little room for creativity, the events at times seemed weirdly synchronized.
 
 For instance, Wednesday's theme was women. Several female Democratic House members accompanied Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in a march to the Senate floor to protest the nominations of Owen and Janice Rogers Brown. They sat on a staff bench at the back of the chamber and chatted for a few minutes, then left. Later, female Republicans held their own news conference, with Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) saying: "Mr. Reid, tear down that glass ceiling for these very highly qualified women!"
 
 On Thursday, Reid met with Congressional Black Caucus members who endorsed the filibusters even though one of the targets -- Brown of California -- is black. "The filibuster was systematically used when Senate minority rights meant the denial of the rights of African Americans," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) told reporters. Hours later, Frist joined black ministers who support the proposed rule change. "Why are they afraid to put a black woman on the court?" asked Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Lanham.
 
 Whether a showdown will come rests with the dozen negotiators -- six from each party -- struggling for a compromise. And no one seems certain how it will play out.
 
 If no compromise is reached, "I believe we'll have the votes" to ban judicial filibusters, McConnell told CBS's "Face the Nation" yesterday.
 
 Others were less certain. "I don't know" if Frist can muster the 51 needed votes, said McCain, a key negotiator who opposes the rule change. He told "Fox News Sunday" that several senators have not signaled "exactly how they're going to vote," and that a bipartisan deal remains "entirely possible." But he warned that tonight will mark the "last opportunity."
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 23 04:06:35 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 22 14:12:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27611649.1116846395867.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Tillman's Parents Are Critical Of Army
 
 By Josh White
 
  Former NFL player Pat Tillman's family is lashing out against the Army, saying that the military's investigations into Tillman's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan last year were a sham and that Army efforts to cover up the truth have made it harder for them to deal with their loss.
 
 More than a year after their son was shot several times by his fellow Army Rangers on a craggy hillside near the Pakistani border, Tillman's mother and father said in interviews that they believe the military and the government created a heroic tale about how their son died to foster a patriotic response across the country. They say the Army's "lies" about what happened have made them suspicious, and that they are certain they will never get the full story.
 
 "Pat had high ideals about the country; that's why he did what he did," Mary Tillman said in her first lengthy interview since her son's death. "The military let him down. The administration let him down. It was a sign of disrespect. The fact that he was the ultimate team player and he watched his own men kill him is absolutely heartbreaking and tragic. The fact that they lied about it afterward is disgusting."
 
 Tillman, a popular player for the Arizona Cardinals, gave up stardom in the National Football League after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to join the Army Rangers with his brother. After a tour in Iraq, their unit was sent to Afghanistan in spring 2004, where they were to hunt for the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. Shortly after arriving in the mountains to fight, Tillman was killed in a barrage of gunfire from his own men, mistaken for the enemy as he got into position to defend them.
 
 Immediately, the Army kept the soldiers on the ground quiet and told Tillman's family and the public that he was killed by enemy fire while storming a hill, barking orders to his fellow Rangers. After a public memorial service, at which Tillman received the Silver Star, the Army told Tillman's family what had really happened, that he had been killed by his own men.
 
 In separate interviews in their home town of San Jose and by telephone, Tillman's parents, who are divorced, spoke about their ordeal with the Army with simmering frustration and anger. A series of military investigations have offered differing accounts of Tillman's death. The most recent report revealed more deeply the confusion and disarray surrounding the mission he was on, and more clearly showed that the family had been kept in the dark about details of his death.
 
 The latest investigation, written about by The Washington Post earlier this month, showed that soldiers in Afghanistan knew almost immediately that they had killed Tillman by mistake in what they believed was a firefight with enemies on a tight canyon road. The investigation also revealed that soldiers later burned Tillman's uniform and body armor.
 
 That information was slow to make it back to the United States, the report said, and Army officials here were unaware that his death on April 22, 2004, was fratricide when they notified the family that Tillman had been shot.
 
 Over the next 10 days, however, top-ranking Army officials -- including the theater commander, Army Gen. John P. Abizaid -- were told of the reports that Tillman had been killed by his own men, the investigation said. But the Army waited until a formal investigation was finished before telling the family -- which was weeks after a nationally televised memorial service that honored Tillman on May 3, 2004.
 
 Patrick Tillman Sr., a San Jose lawyer, said he is furious about what he found in the volumes of witness statements and investigative documents the Army has given to the family. He decried what he calls a "botched homicide investigation" and blames high-ranking Army officers for presenting "outright lies" to the family and to the public.
 
 "After it happened, all the people in positions of authority went out of their way to script this," Patrick Tillman said. "They purposely interfered with the investigation, they covered it up. I think they thought they could control it, and they realized that their recruiting efforts were going to go to hell in a handbasket if the truth about his death got out. They blew up their poster boy."
 
 Army spokesmen maintain that the Army has done everything it can to keep the family informed about the investigation, offering to answer relatives' questions and going back to them as investigators gathered more information.
 
 Army officials said Friday that the Army "reaffirms its heartfelt sorrow to the Tillman family and all families who have lost loved ones during this war." Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, an Army spokesman, said the Army acts with compassion and heartfelt commitment when informing grieving families, often a painful duty.
 
 "In the case of the death of Corporal Patrick Tillman, the Army made mistakes in reporting the circumstances of his death to the family," Brooks said. "For these, we apologize. We cannot undo those early mistakes."
 
 Brooks said the Army has "actively and directly" informed the Tillman family regarding investigations into his death and has dedicated a team of soldiers and civilians to answering the family's questions through phone calls and personal meetings while ensuring the family "was as well informed as they could be."
 
 Mary Tillman keeps her son's wedding album in the living room of the house where he grew up, and his Arizona State University football jersey, still dirty from the 1997 Rose Bowl game, hangs in a nearby closet. With each new version of events, her mind swirls with new theories about what really happened and why. She questions how an elite Army unit could gun down its most recognizable member at such close range. She dwells on distances and boulders and piles of documents and the words of frenzied men.
 
 "It makes you feel like you're losing your mind in a way," she said. "You imagine things. When you don't know the truth, certain details can be blown out of proportion. The truth may be painful, but it's the truth. You start to contrive all these scenarios that could have taken place because they just kept lying. If you feel you're being lied to, you can never put it to rest."
 
 Patrick Tillman Sr. believes he will never get the truth, and he says he is resigned to that now. But he wants everyone in the chain of command, from Tillman's direct supervisors to the one-star general who conducted the latest investigation, to face discipline for "dishonorable acts." He also said the soldiers who killed his son have not been adequately punished.
 
 "Maybe lying's not a big deal anymore," he said. "Pat's dead, and this isn't going to bring him back. But these guys should have been held up to scrutiny, right up the chain of command, and no one has."
 
 That their son was famous opened up the situation to problems, the Tillmans say, in part because of the devastating public relations loss his death represented for the military. Mary Tillman says the government used her son for weeks after his death, perpetuating an untrue story to capitalize on his altruism -- just as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal was erupting publicly. She said she was particularly offended when President Bush offered a taped memorial message to Tillman at a Cardinals football game shortly before the presidential election last fall. She again felt as though her son was being used, something he never would have wanted.
 
 "Every day is sort of emotional," Mary Tillman said. "It just keeps slapping me in the face. To find that he was killed in this debacle -- everything that could have gone wrong did -- it's so much harder to take. We should not have been subjected to all of this. This lie was to cover their image. I think there's a lot more yet that we don't even know, or they wouldn't still be covering their tails.
 
 "If this is what happens when someone high profile dies, I can only imagine what happens with everyone else."
 
 
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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Mon May 23 05:39:40 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sun May 22 15:46:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - AFGHAN PRESIDENT WANTS MORE CONTROL OVER U.S.
	FORCES
Message-ID: <20050523123940.DAC5169AE5@nmweb08.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
____________________________________________________
AFGHAN PRESIDENT WANTS MORE CONTROL OVER U.S.  FORCES
WebPosted Sat May 21 10:01:45 2005

Kabul---Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to push for more
control over U.S. forces in his country when he meets U.S. President
George W. Bush.

Karzai took off for Washington late Saturday after telling reporters he
was upset by a report Friday in the New York Times that prisoners had
been abused while in U.S. military custody in Afghanistan.

"It has shocked me thoroughly and we condemn it," he said.

Karzai said he wants: The U.S. to hand over Afghan prisoners. More
influence over nearly 17,000 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. The U.S. to
stop searches of Afghan homes without his government's permission. Karzai
has described the torture allegations as an offence against humanity, and
demanded "very, very strong" action by the United States against any
military personnel who abuse prisoners.

"It has shocked me thoroughly and we condemn it," he said.

Last week, violent anti-U.S. protests followed reports &#8211; later
retracted &#8211; that American guards at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated
the Qur'an.

Now a 2,000-page confidential report detailing extensive abuse of
Afghan prisoners kept at the Bagram airbase near Kabul has been cited
in the Times.

The investigation into the deaths of two inmates in 2002 revealed other
sustained cruelties such as prolonged beatings and chainings of
prisoners to walls.

The U.S. military, responding to the allegations, defended its treatment
of detainees, saying it would not tolerate maltreatment.

In his weekly radio address, U.S. President George W. Bush hailed
the progress he says is being made in Iraq and Afghanistan to
establish democracy in those countries. Bush did not address the
allegations of abuse.

The United States leads a foreign force in Afghanistan of about 18,300,
most of them American, fighting Taliban insurgents and looking for
militant leaders, including al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May 23 06:34:07 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May 22 16:40:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Tillman death from friendly fire still a cloud.
Message-ID: <000801c55f9c$1b40dde0$3627e440@Harold>

Tillman's parents lash out at Army!!

"they Killed their own poster boy"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7946201/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Shouldn't the Sr Army officials be prosecuted for they behaviour?


Later H


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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 23 07:41:28 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 16:47:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Insurgent Attacks in Iraq Kill at Least 11
	and Wound Over 100
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 23, 2005

Insurgent Attacks in Iraq Kill at Least 11 and Wound Over 100
By CHRISTINE HAUSER

A popular Baghdad restaurant was the scene of most of today's casualties, while at least seven others, including an adviser to the prime minister, were killed elsewhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/international/middleeast/23cnd-iraq.html?ex=1117512000&en=47f51e7b39101e79&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 23 07:42:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 16:48:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Protesters, Both Jewish and Arab,
	Rail at the First Lady
Message-ID: <20050523134209.1E828216616@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 23, 2005

Protesters, Both Jewish and Arab, Rail at the First Lady
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Laura Bush attracted small numbers of vocal protesters on her carefully devised trip to places holy to both Muslims and Jews.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/international/middleeast/23mideast.html?ex=1117512000&en=7c09e79435509611&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 23 07:42:47 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 16:48:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Toe Tags Offer Clues to Uzbeks' Uprising
Message-ID: <20050523134247.BEC143B06C7@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 23, 2005

Toe Tags Offer Clues to Uzbeks' Uprising
By C. J. CHIVERS

Interviews with survivors of violence in Uzbekistan indicate that what happened was not as the official version would have it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/international/asia/23uzbek.html?ex=1117512000&en=ceb0340d8b4a6b8f&ei=5070



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MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 23 08:00:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 17:07:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Toe Tags Offer Clues to Uzbeks' Uprising
Message-ID: <20050523140106.4E838A24A8@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 23, 2005

Toe Tags Offer Clues to Uzbeks' Uprising
By C. J. CHIVERS

Interviews with survivors of violence in Uzbekistan indicate that what happened was not as the official version would have it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/international/asia/23uzbek.html?ex=1117512000&en=ceb0340d8b4a6b8f&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 23 08:07:26 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 17:13:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: An Iraqi Police Officer's Death,
	a Soldier's Varying Accounts
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NATIONAL | May 23, 2005

An Iraqi Police Officer's Death, a Soldier's Varying Accounts
By MONICA DAVEY

Cpl. Dustin M. Berg is one of a handful of soldiers and marines who have been accused in connection with the deaths of Iraqis and who say they were acting in self-defense.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/national/23soldier.html?ex=1117512000&en=4a5d97993e7d9a20&ei=5070



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WILL FERRELL stars in MELINDA & MELINDA - IN THEATERS NOW 

MELINDA AND MELINDA combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that WOODY ALLEN, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. Set in beautiful Manhattan, the film chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloë Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. Watch the trailer now at: 

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 23 08:08:21 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 17:14:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Trial for Governor's Seat Set to Start in
	Washington
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NATIONAL | May 23, 2005

Trial for Governor's Seat Set to Start in Washington
By TIMOTHY EGAN

Starting Monday, Dino Rossi gets his shot in court at unseating Christine Gregoire, who beat him by 129 votes last November.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/national/23governor.html?ex=1117512000&en=a217b4a37c4b3781&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 23 08:09:05 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 17:15:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Dean, Feisty and Unbowed,
	Stands By Words on DeLay
Message-ID: <20050523140905.CA14AA08F9@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

WASHINGTON | May 23, 2005

Dean, Feisty and Unbowed, Stands By Words on DeLay
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman, said Sunday that Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, was likely to go to jail over ethical transgressions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/politics/23dean.html?ex=1117512000&en=8cc96b937cf74454&ei=5070



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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon May 23 07:54:05 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun May 22 18:01:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Long View: Caught in a credit bubble
Message-ID: <BEB766CD.209A8%michael@michaelbutler.com>


 
FT.com     
 
 
 
The Long View: Caught in a credit bubble
>By Philip Coggan, Investment Editor
>Published: May 20 2005 16:47 | Last updated: May 20 2005 16:47
>>

Confusion reigns. The global economic climate is marked by a staggering boom
in China, apparent stagnation in Europe, a massive US trade deficit, booming
corporate profits, soaring (until recently at least) commodity prices and
government bond yields at their lowest level for a generation.

It is hard to knit all these themes together but those who have assembled
the most convincing stories tend to focus on the role of credit.

George Cooper is a strategist at Deutsche Bank in London. In his latest
note*, he argues that the US Federal Reserve may have learnt the wrong
lesson from the Japanese experience of the 1990s.

Cooper looks at the relationship between risk premia (the excess return that
investors demand for risking their capital) and asset prices. If confidence
improves, risk premia will fall. In other words, investors will apply a
lower discount rate to future cashflows. This will encourage them to invest
in more marginal projects, ones that would not be profitable if they applied
a higher discount rate.

Indeed investors will be willing to borrow money to invest in these risky
projects, provided the expected returns are higher than the cost of
borrowing. Their leverage will increase.

But a lower risk premium means the value of their existing assets will rise.
That will bring down the investors? leverage, making them even more
confident and encouraging them to borrow even more. A virtuous circle sets
in.

Consider the housing market. Traditionally, consumers are confident when
house prices are rising. That confidence persuades them to take on more debt
in order to buy houses. The extra capital they borrow pushes up house prices
even further, increasing confidence and so on.

At any given point, those who look at consumers? balance sheets are not
worried. Yes, consumers have a lot of debt but those debts are more than
covered by their assets (the houses).

But a rise in credit does more than this. Improved confidence increases
investment (backed by credit) and thus incomes in the form of higher wages
or profits. As incomes rise, confidence improves further and so on.

These cycles have existed for centuries. What normally brings them to an end
is some outside event (a shock such as a war). At that point, confidence
falls, investors opt to save rather than borrow, asset prices turn down,
reducing confidence further and so on.

Here is where the US Federal Reserve comes in. Alan Greenspan, the Fed
chairman, has made it clear it is very hard to identify a bubble and
therefore it is not a central bank?s job to pop it.

However, Greenspan has been more than willing to intervene in cases of
crisis (such as the LTCM hedge fund crisis or September 11) by slashing
interest rates. Cooper dubs this an ?asymmetric intervention policy?.
Investors have noticed this behaviour. Rationally, therefore, if the risk
premium they demand should fall since the Fed will always ride to the
rescue.

But here is the dilemma. Prices are being kept artificially high because of
Fed policy. But if they start to fall from those levels, the Fed is forced
to intervene again to avoid a crisis. This drives prices even higher, making
them even more vulnerable to a shock. The market becomes a junkie, needing
an ever greater fix to get high.

The problem in Japan, Cooper argues, was not that the central bank did too
little, too late; it did too much, too soon. It did not prevent the late
1980s bubble but when the crash came it did slash rates. The corporate
sector had over-invested during the bubble and, by avoiding an outright
slump, this excess investment was never scrapped. The economy became locked
into a period of abnormally low interest rates.

The Fed is trapped in a similar cycle, says Cooper. Like Sisyphus, it is
?attempting the futile task of eternally pushing asset prices up an ever
steepening valuation slope?.

Richard Duncan is an American who works for a Dutch bank in Hong Kong. His
analysis, in a revised version of his book**, also focuses on Japan and the
US.

He sees the key to recent events as the period of dollar decline in 2003. At
that stage, investors suddenly became alarmed at the size of the US current
account deficit. They sold dollars and switched the proceeds into euros and
yen. But the Japanese did not want the yen to rise against the dollar. They
intervened heavily in the foreign exchange markets to prevent this from
happening, acquiring the equivalent of $320bn.

This intervention could have been ?sterilised? by the process of selling
government securities to Japanese investors. But the Bank of Japan did not
do this. Instead, it effectively created the money. This was a monetary
stimulus equal to around 1 per cent of global gross domestic product. It is
small wonder global growth was so strong in 2004, as this liquidity sloshed
around the system.

Indeed, if you add all the Asian countries? foreign exchange reserves
together, Duncan argues, there has been a massive increase in global
liquidity. This helps explain why bond yields are so low; a mass of Asian
savings has been chasing relatively little in the way of new bond issuance.

Low bond yields in turn stimulate the US economy, which sucks in more
imports from Asia. That builds up more Asian foreign exchange reserves. We
have another virtuous circle.

Either thesis helps explain quite a lot of what is going on in the world.
They can even explain low inflation. Normally, surges in credit push up
inflation, but this time around most of the credit has gone to support asset
prices while goods prices have been kept low by the emergence of Chinese
competition.

What the authors cannot tell us, of course, is when these processes will
stop. That they will is inevitable. But it will probably need some external
shock for the credit bubble to pop.

*The Burden of Sisyphus, george.cooper@db.com
>**The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures, published by John Wiley,
?12.99

philip.coggan@ft.com
>
>
>
 
 
 
 


From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May 23 07:58:50 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun May 22 18:04:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Analysis - Why nuclear containment is breaking
	down
Message-ID: <31496601.1116860330008.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 harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May 23 10:07:44 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Sun May 22 21:06:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Bush rejects Karzai army demand
Message-ID: <20050523_170744_013192.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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



** Bush rejects Karzai army demand **
President George W Bush rules out handing over command of US troops in Afghanistan to the government there.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/4572657.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 23 12:09:24 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 22 21:16:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Preaching to the Choir? Not This Time
Message-ID: <20050523180959.BD00611FB85@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

WASHINGTON | May 23, 2005

White House Letter: Preaching to the Choir? Not This Time
By ELISABETH BUMILLER

The protests at Calvin College showed that President Bush's evangelical base was not monolithic and underscored the small but growing voice of the Christian left.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/politics/23letter.html?ex=1117512000&en=55e424a111812656&ei=5070



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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 23 11:40:08 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 22 21:46:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: SOS call for ancient blue iguana
Message-ID: <20050523_184008_085519.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** SOS call for ancient blue iguana **
Conservationists are working to bring a unique species of blue iguana back from the brink of extinction.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4566275.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Mon May 23 12:37:07 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Sun May 22 22:43:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Nuclear Option eve - phone #'s
Message-ID: <20050523193707.43618.qmail@web53007.mail.yahoo.com>

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/5/23/15942/3653

Roll Call:
With 44 Democrats and the lone Independent, Sen.
Jim Jeffords (Vt.), in Reid's corner, he needs to
peel away six Republicans to preserve the
minority's right to filibuster judicial
nominations. So far, just three GOP Senators --
Lincoln Chafee (R.I.), John McCain (Ariz.) and
Olympia Snowe (Maine) -- have publicly opposed
the maneuver.

That leaves a handful of potential `no' votes for
Reid to go after. He will need three of the five
to prevail over Frist.

And most prominent among the undecided Senators
are Armed Services Chairman Warner, who has taken
a lead role in trying to derail Frist's effort
and craft a compromise among centrists, and
Judiciary Chairman Specter, who has been the most
outspoken Senator pleading with Frist and Reid to
stand back from the brink of the nuclear showdown
[...]

In an interview with regional reporters from
targeted states Friday, Reid said he had a
private commitment from a fourth Republican to
oppose the nuclear option but declined to name
who that person was. He told the reporters that
he had four GOP targets remaining, of which two
will be needed to outflank Frist.

But Republicans have privately suspected that
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a moderate who has
been actively engaged in the centrist talks,
would join her home-state colleague Snowe in
opposing the move.

The remaining GOP targets are Warner, Specter,
DeWine and Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.), according to
aides and liberal activists [...]

A few other Republicans remain outside prospects
for `no' votes, including Sens. Lindsey Graham
(S.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Both have
participated in the centrist talks.

Murkowski's office said Friday she remains
undecided.

Graham, who is usually one of the most
media-friendly Senators, has literally ducked and
ran out of most centrist meetings. At one point
he took the time to give a one-word answer to how
the talks were going -- "Better" -- and then sped
away without taking any questions.

Reid has bought a 90-second ad this evening to
present the Democratic position to the American
people. It will air tonight as follows:

WRC (DC) 7:58 P.M.
WJLA (DC) 7:57 P.M.
WTTG (C) 7:57 P.M.
CNN 8:00 P.M.
CNNHN 8:00 P.M.
FoxNews 7:50-7:55 P.M.

Part of his message in the ad:
Unfortunately, some Senate Republicans are trying
to give President Bush power no president has
ever had -- the ability to personally hand out
lifetime jobs to judges -- including the Supreme
Court, without consensus from the other party.
This abuse of power is not what our founders
intended. It's wrong for one political party --
be it Republicans today or Democrats tomorrow --
to have total control over who sits on our high
courts and rules on our most basic rights.

As for the key undecideds:
Arlen Specter: (Pennsylvania)
DC Office: 
202-224-4254

Philadelphia Office:
215-597-7200

Pittsburgh Office:
412-644-3400

John Warner: (Virginia)
DC Office:
(202) 224-2023

Richmond Office: 
(804) 739-0247

Norfolk Office: 
(757) 441-3079

Mike Dewine: (Ohio)
DC Office:
(202) 224-2315

Cleveland office:
(216) 522-7272

Columbus office:
(614) 469-5186

Chuck Hagel: (Nebraska)
DC Office:
(202) 224-4224

Omaha Office:
(402) 758-8981
Remember, be courteous. And ideally, calls should
come from constituents.


From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 23 12:48:42 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 22 22:54:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China rushes in bird flu vaccine
Message-ID: <20050523_194842_060125.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** China rushes in bird flu vaccine **
China sends bird flu vaccine to the western province where migrating wild geese have been killed by the virus.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4570197.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 23 13:11:56 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 22 23:17:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Major Zimbabwe police crackdown
Message-ID: <20050523_201156_066927.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Major Zimbabwe police crackdown **
Police arrest almost 10,000 people in five days in an operation against street traders in Zimbabwe's capital.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4572673.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Mon May 23 13:34:40 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Sun May 22 23:40:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 24 Drinking Game
Message-ID: <20050523203440.22171.qmail@web53005.mail.yahoo.com>

On a lighter note...


To mark the season finale and toast Jack Bauer's
efforts to
keep the U.S. safe from the terrorist scourge,
try the "24" drinking game. The rules are simple:
Down a drink every time Bauer says one of the
following things:

"You're going to have to trust me."

"Who are you working for?"

"We're running out of time!"

"Secure the perimeter."

"I'm going in!"

"I'm going off comstat."

"I need blueprints and a floor plan uploaded,
ASAP."

From lyve at netzero.com  Mon May 23 15:22:13 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon May 23 01:30:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Arrogance provides Opportunity
Message-ID: <20050523.152243.11417.127451@webmail22.nyc.untd.com>


This summarizes what my wife and I and perhaps others here on MBCIVIC were able to see forthcoming over 6 months ago.  Ah yes..how true :  "Arrogance provides
opportunity"  (saying borrowed from Ota San, from Toyota) as well as Who me?  Whadda I know about other
cultures....who cares I have the biggest bomb!Unfortunately
arrogance and ignorance is a virtue with this administration
much to the peril of us all.

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

How U.S.-China economic relationship really works
Over the past few years China, for its own reasons, has acted as
an enabler both of U.S. fiscal irresponsibility and of a return
to Nasdaq-style speculative mania, this time in the housing
market. Now the U.S. government is finally admitting that
there's a problem -- but it's asserting that the problem is
China's, not ours.

* Read the full article at:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/225167_krugman22.html


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Mon May 23 16:05:58 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May 23 02:12:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - KARZAI STRIKES OUT WITH BUSH  
Message-ID: <20050523230558.2B2741B691@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
____________________________________________________
KARZAI STRIKES OUT WITH BUSH  
WebPosted Mon May 23 11:59:25 2005

washington---There was little movement on a series of issues between the
United States and Afghanistan during a meeting in Washington, comments by
the leaders of the two countries indicated on Monday.

Before his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, Afghan
President Hamid Karzai said he wanted more say in the relationship,
including control over U.S. forces and improvements for Afghan
prisoners in U.S. custody.

FROM MAY 21, 2005: Afghan president wants more control over U.S. forces

On the U.S. side, a leaked diplomatic cable said the government was
concerned about Karzai's failure to cut back the poppy crops used to
make opium.

FROM MAY 22, 2005: Afghan president denies he's soft on opium fight

At a media briefing after the private meeting, Bush rejected two key
Karzai demands, while the Afghan leader said he hoped the poppy crop
could be wiped out, but it would take six years.

Bush said "of course" U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan will remain under U.S.
command, and Afghan prisoners it holds will be released "over time."

Karzai, who had earlier condemned the treatment of Afghan prisoners and
demanded "very, very strong" action by the United States, on Monday said
"we are of course sad about [the treatment of prisoners]."

Bush said, "we will consult with Afghanistan if it perceives its
territorial integrity, independence or security is at risk."

Bush also said he made it "very clear" to Karzai that the poppy crop must
be eradicated.

The president praised Karzai, who was democratically elected and has
backed the fight against the Taliban and insurgents.

The two countries signed a "strategic partnership" that entails exchanges
on common issues.

"It's important for the Afghan people to understand we have a strategic
vision for Afghanistan," Bush said.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Mon May 23 16:08:31 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May 23 02:14:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - WAR LEADING CAUSE OF HUNGER, SAYS AGENCY
Message-ID: <20050523230831.540F069AFA@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
____________________________________________________
WAR LEADING CAUSE OF HUNGER, SAYS AGENCY
WebPosted Mon May 23 11:32:39 2005

Rome---War is now the leading cause of world hunger, outstripping
weather and natural disasters, according to a United Nations report
released Monday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says more than 35 per cent of
food emergencies between 1992 and 2003 were the result of conflict and
economic problems.

That compares to 15 per cent from 1986 to 1991.

Hunger hot spots

The report was presented in Rome Monday at a meeting of the Committee on
World Food Security.

It says there are now 36 hunger hot spots in the world, 23 of them
in Africa.

Angola was the worst-hit. It has had an almost permanent food emergency
since 1986, most of it caused by war.

"Armed conflicts are now the leading cause of world hunger with the
effects of HIV/AIDS and climate change not far behind," the FAO says.

The report warned that the UN goal of reducing the world's hungry by
half by the year 2015, is almost certain to be missed if current
trends continue.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May 23 18:43:45 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 23 04:50:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Alternet: Apollo in Action
Message-ID: <20050524014345.3AF12B8081@alternet.org>


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



-------------------------------------
Apollo in Action
http://www.alternet.org/story/22058

There's no magic silver bullet to solve America's energy crisis. But if it's enacted, the New Apollo Energy bill could come pretty darn close.
-------------------------------------

From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon May 23 18:53:47 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon May 23 05:00:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] When Neo-Cons and Theo-Cons Meet at Armageddon
Message-ID: <BEB8016B.20A23%michael@michaelbutler.com>

For background information see:
Steve Weissman | The Religious Right - Saints or Subversives?    .

    When Neo-Cons and Theo-Cons Meet at Armageddon
    By Steve Weissman
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Monday 23 May 2005

    Will future historians portray George W. Bush as the heroic leader of a
new world empire and reborn Christian nation? Or, will they treat him as one
of America's worst presidents ever ?

    It all depends on who wins and who loses.

    As Winston Churchill cautioned, history is written by the victors, and
the current battles have only just begun, whether in Iraq, Iran, or at home.
But, even in the early rounds, it would be shortsighted and self-defeating
to give Mr. Bush too much credit - or blame - for the direction our country
is taking.

    With or without his hand at the helm, two areas of concern - religion
and oil - now drive our nation's destiny, and how Americans resolve them
will determine who writes the history of our times.

    Terrorism falls somewhere down the list, though Mr. Bush, the
Congressional GOP, and too many Democrats have handled faith-based and
oil-related issues in ways that greatly help Osama bin Laden and his allies.

    According to published intelligence leaks, in 2001 we faced only a few
thousand terrorists. Today, no one knows how many thousands more suicidal
bombers the war in Iraq has helped to recruit. Far worse, terrorists are
winning the political support of several hundred million Muslims who do not
want "Crusader Christians" to dominate their countries, disrespect their
cultures, or control their oil.

    Now in TO's feature column, "The Religious Right - Saints or
Subversives?" shows how America is going through a massive Christian
revival, and how right-wing religious activists now dominate the GOP.

    Former Republican Senator John Danforth, an Episcopalian Minister,
eloquently protested the takeover of his party by these theological
conservatives, even as current Senate Republicans pack our federal courts
with reactionary, "pro-Christian" judges.

    Nor will the theo-cons stop with a few judicial victories. Long before
Mr. Bush first spoke of his "higher father," they began their campaign to
turn America into what they called "a Christian nation." Long after Mr. Bush
steps down, they will remain a continuing threat to the
Constitutionally-mandated separation of church and state - and to the
religious freedom of us all.

    Self-righteous and self-serving, the theo-cons have told us where they
are heading and how they plan to get there. Whether fighting to force
biblical Creationism into public schools or to stop gay marriage and
"partial-birth abortions," they will use every supposedly single-issue
struggle to subvert the Constitution and impose whatever they think their
Bible tells them - and the rest of us - to do.

    Islam has its politicized Ayatollahs and Taliban. As Americans, we face
their evil twin - our own Christian Nationalists, who threaten our freedom
at home while moving heaven and earth to turn a fight against terrorists
into Armageddon.

    Stopping these hell-bent Christian Nationalists will not be easy. But
for freedom-loving Americans to win, the Democratic Party needs to join with
Republican moderates to make a clear, uncompromising defense of
Constitutional principles.

    "Congress shall make no law with respect to the establishment of
religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof" means precisely what the
authors of the First Amendment meant it to say. No state church. A clear
separation of God and government. And - as the Constitution's chief author
James Madison insisted in his native Virginia ? no taxpayer funding for
faith-based programs.

    Pandering to voters with unprincipled half-measures will only diminish
American freedom, including the religious and political freedom of those
faith-based groups whose unwary leaders are now jumping onto the government
gravy train. As true conservatives know better than many of my liberal
friends, no government anywhere offers free rides or free gravy.

    Beating the Christian Nationalists on the domestic front is also the
surest way to weaken their impact on foreign policy and stop them from
pushing the United States into an all-out religious Crusade against Islam.

    Controlling the World's Energy

    In his indispensable study Blood and Oil, Professor Michael Klare shows
how the desire to control petroleum reserves in Saudi Arabia and the Persian
Gulf has shaped American policy ever since the presidency of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt.

    Klare also shows how the thirst for oil and natural gas now motivates
our global misadventures from Central Asia and the Caspian Sea to Sudan and
Venezuela.

    Decades before Mr. Bush showed the slightest interest in the wider
world, neo-conservatives like Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz were honing
this imperial energy policy, which goes far beyond securing enough oil for
Americans to burn.

    Control of global reserves - and the ability to reward or punish rivals
who need the oil and natural gas - is for the neo-cons a primary lever to
enhance American power over other nations.

    To be fair, they did not invent the idea, parts of which reach back at
least as far as earlier empire-builders like Teddy Roosevelt, Admiral Alfred
Mahan, and their British counterpart, Lord Curzon. The idea of using oil as
a lever later shaped America's conflict with Japan in the run-up to World
War II. Even more, it shaped the way Washington kept the Japanese in check
after the war.

    Perle learned the geo-political uses of oil as a top staff aide to
Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, one of the country's leading
energy strategists. The eager young aide worked with Jackson all during the
1970s, when American policy-makers were considering a wide range of
responses to OPEC's new power and the oil crisis it created.

    Wolfowitz got his education as as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
during the creation of the Carter Doctrine, which President Jimmy Carter
announced in his 1980 State of the Union message. Opening the door to much
that has followed, this unilateral edict declared Persian Gulf oil reserves
off-limits to domination by any of America's current or potential rivals.

    In their many years of pushing Washington to invade Iraq, the neo-cons
consistently emphasized the strategic importance of controlling as much of
the world's energy supplies as possible. Nowhere did they make this clearer
than in the 18 February 1992 draft of the Defense Planning Guidance. Its
principal authors were Wolfowitz and Lewis "Scooter" Libby, now Vice
President Cheney's chief of staff.

    Leaked to the press at the time, the classified draft was widely quoted
in the New York Times and other newspapers. What Wolfowitz and Libby wrote
back then directly addresses two of today's most pressing questions: Why did
the Bush administration invade Iraq? And, why do so few of our foreign
policy leaders - Democrats as well as Republicans - now refuse even to
consider pulling out our troops and military bases.

    Wolfowitz and Libby explained how America would use its political and
military muscle to prevent the emergence of any rival super-power, whether
Russia, China, or our Western European allies. The United States, said the
authors, "must maintain the mechanisms for deterring potential competitors
from even aspiring to a larger regional or global role."

    To do this, they said, the US "must sufficiently account for the
interests of the advanced industrial nations to discourage them from
challenging our leadership or seeking to overturn the established political
and economic order."

    The key mechanism was to provide a steady supply of oil and natural gas,
but a supply with America's hand on the stopcock. "In the Middle East and
Southwest Asia, our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside
power in the region and preserve U.S. and Western access to the region's
oil."

    Wolfowitz and Libby wrote the draft just after the first Gulf War, and
horrified the elder Bush with their candor. He was especially embarrassed
since the leak came before the Pentagon could "scrub" the language and wrap
its meaning in euphemism for wider dissemination. The younger Bush and his
administration seem to prefer the blunter language.

    In their 1992 draft, Wolfowitz and Libby signal the geo-political
thinking that led the neo-cons to urge invading Iraq long before 9/11. They
explain why Washington is now building as many as 14 permanent military
bases there. And they suggest why so few of our foreign policy leaders -
whether neo-cons or tough-talking, "muscular" Democrats - will ever give up
the Iraqi bases without a fight.

    The military infrastructure now in Iraq is there to help protect and
expand American control of oil and natural gas throughout the Middle East,
Southwest Asia, and now Central Asia as well. And, as most Democratic or
Republican policy-makers see it, this expanding control deters other
countries from challenging America's status as "the world's only remaining
super-power."

    What, then, of the terrorists?

    Osama bin Laden has to be laughing all the way to his latest hidey-hole.
When he started his current jihad, he talked mostly of driving the Americans
out of his native Saudi Arabia and overthrowing the Saudi royal family. Now,
in the eyes of growing numbers of Muslims in a widening arc from the
Southern Philippines to Africa, he is defending both radical Islam and most
of the world's oil and natural gas. He has become a modern-day Sala el-Din
and an Islamist Leon Trotsky. For a revolutionary, even one as reactionary
as bin Laden, it doesn't get any better than this.

    Not so for the United States. Spurred on by super-power addicts seeking
to control the world through energy reserves and Christian fanatics eager to
please their God, Mr. Bush and the GOP rushed us headlong into a bear-trap.
To whatever degree bin Laden meant to provoke such a massive over-reaction,
his terror tactics worked. He and his allies now use America's heavy-handed
military presence in Iraq and beyond to move us toward a "Clash of
Civilizations" that could tear the world apart.

    And how does America's loyal opposition respond?

    Seeing us stuck in Iraq, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean felt
forced to urge us to get stuck in even deeper. "Now that we're there, we're
there and we can't get out," he said in a recent speech. "I hope the
President is incredibly successful with his policy now."

    Given his independence from foreign policy-makers in both parties, Dr.
Dean might have no idea of the blank check he has written to those who see
control of oil as the key to world power. But, as he will learn, Iraq is
only the beginning of an oil-soaked Armageddon that now threatens Iran, and
has shown growing disruptions from Saudi Arabia to Uzbekistan, Afghanistan,
and nuclear-armed Pakistan, our supposed ally.

    To get us out of this morass will not be easy. Take that as given. But
we have no chance at all unless grassroots activists organize to turn Dr.
Dean and the Democratic Party against keeping any American troops or bases
in Iraq.

 


From lyve at netzero.com  Mon May 23 19:55:29 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon May 23 07:08:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Courage to Develop Clean Energy
Message-ID: <20050523.195623.14312.130174@webmail13.nyc.untd.com>


Bill,

This is a very good article...with vision one can reach the brokers for funding. Sustainable products and processes are the real future.

What-ever technology is used to make a process cleaner is good but for the short term, especially in fossil fuels, whether or not they are on the brink of exhaustion, may or may not be the issue. It is the harmful by-products that produce the unintentional consequences called fallout. This we know.

Technology using renewable resources; wind, solar, geothermal, bio-diesel, bio-mass is futuristic, yet presently profitable. Choose any for that matter-all have volumes of research-seed money is plentiful, but operational fees are not.

However, profits and cash flow(s) are end-products of these primary product resources. I have a project (started 30 years or so ago) and presently in the works (http://capital.vulcan.com/), which relies on sustainable earthly resources and an environment which continues to produce its own organic products for self-sufficiency and sustainability for 4 to 5 star clientele. It is not a small effort which utilizes 700-995 acres. It depends on a global customer base.

What I am finding is that 'one' has to stand in line; mediating, chakra meditating, by practicing patience, in hopes that out of the hundreds, your project is the stand-out. Somewhat similar to standing in an audition line, (some 30+ years ago) holding on to just a sliver of a chance, knowing full well, all you propose and contain, is within your vibratory, still-small voice.

So, for some of us, to be visionary is one thing. The other, is to be bold and courageous, to take that chance, evn so, still others have to believe, that the earth's treasures can save us from our own destructive natures-while waiting in line, hopefully, to be called for that presentation.

Thank you-

Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- William Swiggard <swiggard@comcast.net> wrote:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/20/AR2005052001332.html

From lyve at netzero.com  Mon May 23 21:08:23 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Mon May 23 07:15:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] When Neo-Cons and Theo-Cons Meet at Armageddon
Message-ID: <20050523.210845.669.56587@webmail21.nyc.untd.com>


The American Loyalists would suspend living on this planet if and when Dr. Dean would cave-in to the notion that we are there, so-we'll see-what comes-of-it.

I really cannot comprehend 'us' as having this type of operational ineffectiveness and non-caring, neither do I believe, condone, or imagine Howard to be ineffective.

We have known about these bases for quite a time now; so to spring-it on us, in this manner, is not the case for 'us' or Howard Dean-the real case, is first to stop the 14 bases, expose it, somehow, close shop, exit, and build great incentives for alternative fuels.

Politics; ladies and gentlemen, real people are dying for who? Not the Theo-cons. But for their percieved and sacred gratitude for the act of protecting their continued dance of patriotism. These our Armed Forces, no matter how deep, how righteous their cause, must come to grips, that we are in Vietnam again, for all its lies, and mass inhumanity, period.

I cannot, yet find the powerful significance, that we continue to stay in Iraq, except for the bases, oil, greed and riches-period!

To say or to imply that 'our' Howard is double-speaking, caving-in, what-have-you, is only for sensationalism-direct from the author himself. 

Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- Michael Butler <michael@michaelbutler.com> wrote:
For background information see:
Steve Weissman | The Religious Right - Saints or Subversives?    .

    When Neo-Cons and Theo-Cons Meet at Armageddon
    By Steve Weissman
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Monday 23 May 2005

    Will future historians portray George W. Bush as the heroic leader of a
new world empire and reborn Christian nation? Or, will they treat him as one
of America's worst presidents ever ?

    It all depends on who wins and who loses.

    As Winston Churchill cautioned, history is written by the victors, and
the current battles have only just begun, whether in Iraq, Iran, or at home.
But, even in the early rounds, it would be shortsighted and self-defeating
to give Mr. Bush too much credit - or blame - for the direction our country
is taking.

    With or without his hand at the helm, two areas of concern - religion
and oil - now drive our nation's destiny, and how Americans resolve them
will determine who writes the history of our times.

    Terrorism falls somewhere down the list, though Mr. Bush, the
Congressional GOP, and too many Democrats have handled faith-based and
oil-related issues in ways that greatly help Osama bin Laden and his allies.

    According to published intelligence leaks, in 2001 we faced only a few
thousand terrorists. Today, no one knows how many thousands more suicidal
bombers the war in Iraq has helped to recruit. Far worse, terrorists are
winning the political support of several hundred million Muslims who do not
want "Crusader Christians" to dominate their countries, disrespect their
cultures, or control their oil.

    Now in TO's feature column, "The Religious Right - Saints or
Subversives?" shows how America is going through a massive Christian
revival, and how right-wing religious activists now dominate the GOP.

    Former Republican Senator John Danforth, an Episcopalian Minister,
eloquently protested the takeover of his party by these theological
conservatives, even as current Senate Republicans pack our federal courts
with reactionary, "pro-Christian" judges.

    Nor will the theo-cons stop with a few judicial victories. Long before
Mr. Bush first spoke of his "higher father," they began their campaign to
turn America into what they called "a Christian nation." Long after Mr. Bush
steps down, they will remain a continuing threat to the
Constitutionally-mandated separation of church and state - and to the
religious freedom of us all.

    Self-righteous and self-serving, the theo-cons have told us where they
are heading and how they plan to get there. Whether fighting to force
biblical Creationism into public schools or to stop gay marriage and
"partial-birth abortions," they will use every supposedly single-issue
struggle to subvert the Constitution and impose whatever they think their
Bible tells them - and the rest of us - to do.

    Islam has its politicized Ayatollahs and Taliban. As Americans, we face
their evil twin - our own Christian Nationalists, who threaten our freedom
at home while moving heaven and earth to turn a fight against terrorists
into Armageddon.

    Stopping these hell-bent Christian Nationalists will not be easy. But
for freedom-loving Americans to win, the Democratic Party needs to join with
Republican moderates to make a clear, uncompromising defense of
Constitutional principles.

    "Congress shall make no law with respect to the establishment of
religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof" means precisely what the
authors of the First Amendment meant it to say. No state church. A clear
separation of God and government. And - as the Constitution's chief author
James Madison insisted in his native Virginia ­ no taxpayer funding for
faith-based programs.

    Pandering to voters with unprincipled half-measures will only diminish
American freedom, including the religious and political freedom of those
faith-based groups whose unwary leaders are now jumping onto the government
gravy train. As true conservatives know better than many of my liberal
friends, no government anywhere offers free rides or free gravy.

    Beating the Christian Nationalists on the domestic front is also the
surest way to weaken their impact on foreign policy and stop them from
pushing the United States into an all-out religious Crusade against Islam.

    Controlling the World's Energy

    In his indispensable study Blood and Oil, Professor Michael Klare shows
how the desire to control petroleum reserves in Saudi Arabia and the Persian
Gulf has shaped American policy ever since the presidency of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt.

    Klare also shows how the thirst for oil and natural gas now motivates
our global misadventures from Central Asia and the Caspian Sea to Sudan and
Venezuela.

    Decades before Mr. Bush showed the slightest interest in the wider
world, neo-conservatives like Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz were honing
this imperial energy policy, which goes far beyond securing enough oil for
Americans to burn.

    Control of global reserves - and the ability to reward or punish rivals
who need the oil and natural gas - is for the neo-cons a primary lever to
enhance American power over other nations.

    To be fair, they did not invent the idea, parts of which reach back at
least as far as earlier empire-builders like Teddy Roosevelt, Admiral Alfred
Mahan, and their British counterpart, Lord Curzon. The idea of using oil as
a lever later shaped America's conflict with Japan in the run-up to World
War II. Even more, it shaped the way Washington kept the Japanese in check
after the war.

    Perle learned the geo-political uses of oil as a top staff aide to
Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, one of the country's leading
energy strategists. The eager young aide worked with Jackson all during the
1970s, when American policy-makers were considering a wide range of
responses to OPEC's new power and the oil crisis it created.

    Wolfowitz got his education as as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
during the creation of the Carter Doctrine, which President Jimmy Carter
announced in his 1980 State of the Union message. Opening the door to much
that has followed, this unilateral edict declared Persian Gulf oil reserves
off-limits to domination by any of America's current or potential rivals.

    In their many years of pushing Washington to invade Iraq, the neo-cons
consistently emphasized the strategic importance of controlling as much of
the world's energy supplies as possible. Nowhere did they make this clearer
than in the 18 February 1992 draft of the Defense Planning Guidance. Its
principal authors were Wolfowitz and Lewis "Scooter" Libby, now Vice
President Cheney's chief of staff.

    Leaked to the press at the time, the classified draft was widely quoted
in the New York Times and other newspapers. What Wolfowitz and Libby wrote
back then directly addresses two of today's most pressing questions: Why did
the Bush administration invade Iraq? And, why do so few of our foreign
policy leaders - Democrats as well as Republicans - now refuse even to
consider pulling out our troops and military bases.

    Wolfowitz and Libby explained how America would use its political and
military muscle to prevent the emergence of any rival super-power, whether
Russia, China, or our Western European allies. The United States, said the
authors, "must maintain the mechanisms for deterring potential competitors
from even aspiring to a larger regional or global role."

    To do this, they said, the US "must sufficiently account for the
interests of the advanced industrial nations to discourage them from
challenging our leadership or seeking to overturn the established political
and economic order."

    The key mechanism was to provide a steady supply of oil and natural gas,
but a supply with America's hand on the stopcock. "In the Middle East and
Southwest Asia, our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside
power in the region and preserve U.S. and Western access to the region's
oil."

    Wolfowitz and Libby wrote the draft just after the first Gulf War, and
horrified the elder Bush with their candor. He was especially embarrassed
since the leak came before the Pentagon could "scrub" the language and wrap
its meaning in euphemism for wider dissemination. The younger Bush and his
administration seem to prefer the blunter language.

    In their 1992 draft, Wolfowitz and Libby signal the geo-political
thinking that led the neo-cons to urge invading Iraq long before 9/11. They
explain why Washington is now building as many as 14 permanent military
bases there. And they suggest why so few of our foreign policy leaders -
whether neo-cons or tough-talking, "muscular" Democrats - will ever give up
the Iraqi bases without a fight.

    The military infrastructure now in Iraq is there to help protect and
expand American control of oil and natural gas throughout the Middle East,
Southwest Asia, and now Central Asia as well. And, as most Democratic or
Republican policy-makers see it, this expanding control deters other
countries from challenging America's status as "the world's only remaining
super-power."

    What, then, of the terrorists?

    Osama bin Laden has to be laughing all the way to his latest hidey-hole.
When he started his current jihad, he talked mostly of driving the Americans
out of his native Saudi Arabia and overthrowing the Saudi royal family. Now,
in the eyes of growing numbers of Muslims in a widening arc from the
Southern Philippines to Africa, he is defending both radical Islam and most
of the world's oil and natural gas. He has become a modern-day Sala el-Din
and an Islamist Leon Trotsky. For a revolutionary, even one as reactionary
as bin Laden, it doesn't get any better than this.

    Not so for the United States. Spurred on by super-power addicts seeking
to control the world through energy reserves and Christian fanatics eager to
please their God, Mr. Bush and the GOP rushed us headlong into a bear-trap.
To whatever degree bin Laden meant to provoke such a massive over-reaction,
his terror tactics worked. He and his allies now use America's heavy-handed
military presence in Iraq and beyond to move us toward a "Clash of
Civilizations" that could tear the world apart.

    And how does America's loyal opposition respond?

    Seeing us stuck in Iraq, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean felt
forced to urge us to get stuck in even deeper. "Now that we're there, we're
there and we can't get out," he said in a recent speech. "I hope the
President is incredibly successful with his policy now."

    Given his independence from foreign policy-makers in both parties, Dr.
Dean might have no idea of the blank check he has written to those who see
control of oil as the key to world power. But, as he will learn, Iraq is
only the beginning of an oil-soaked Armageddon that now threatens Iran, and
has shown growing disruptions from Saudi Arabia to Uzbekistan, Afghanistan,
and nuclear-armed Pakistan, our supposed ally.

    To get us out of this morass will not be easy. Take that as given. But
we have no chance at all unless grassroots activists organize to turn Dr.
Dean and the Democratic Party against keeping any American troops or bases
in Iraq.

 


_______________________________________________
Mb-civic mailing list
Mb-civic@islandlists.com
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 23 21:22:25 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Mon May 23 07:28:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Urban Legends Reference Pages: Computers (Zabasearch)
Message-ID: <QjVPQ0ZHUiRSPlMtNCosOTE3MTg4@Dragon>

An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050523/e35321de/attachment.htm
From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 23 22:12:09 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 23 08:18:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Stem cell hope for liver disease
Message-ID: <20050524_051209_037705.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Stem cell hope for liver disease **
Researchers begin a pioneering trial using patients' own stem cells to treat their chronic liver disease.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4573453.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 23 22:12:56 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 23 08:18:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China's dangerous sexual ignorance
Message-ID: <20050524_051256_076617.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
Hair might help there

** China's dangerous sexual ignorance **
Three quarters of young Chinese learn about sex through pornography, writes the BBC's Louisa Lim.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4572859.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 23 22:13:31 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 23 08:19:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Old tigers in India to get home
Message-ID: <20050524_051331_061664.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Old tigers in India to get home **
A special reserve for old tigers that are not able to hunt anymore is being set up in eastern India in the Sunderbans delta.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4573387.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 23 22:14:16 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 23 08:20:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Wormhole 'no use' for time travel
Message-ID: <20050524_051416_081039.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
sigh..

** Wormhole 'no use' for time travel **
Physicists deal a blow to the theory that wormholes could be used for time travel.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4564477.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From maxfury at granderiver.net  Tue May 24 00:56:35 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Mon May 23 11:00:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] When Neo-Cons and Theo-Cons Meet at Armageddon
Message-ID: <000d01c56036$1da6d360$3925b7d8@baby1>

Re:  When Neo-Cons and Theo-Cons Meet at Armageddon



Lyle wrote:


========
The American Loyalists would suspend living on this planet if and when Dr.
Dean would cave-in to the notion that we are there, so-we'll see-what
comes-of-it.

I really cannot comprehend 'us' as having this type of operational
ineffectiveness and non-caring, neither do I believe, condone, or imagine
Howard to be ineffective.

We have known about these bases for quite a time now; so to spring-it on us,
in this manner, is not the case for 'us' or Howard Dean-the real case, is
first to stop the 14 bases, expose it, somehow, close shop, exit, and build
great incentives for alternative fuels.

Politics; ladies and gentlemen, real people are dying for who? Not the
Theo-cons. But for their percieved and sacred gratitude for the act of
protecting their continued dance of patriotism. These our Armed Forces, no
matter how deep, how righteous their cause, must come to grips, that we are
in Vietnam again, for all its lies, and mass inhumanity, period.

I cannot, yet find the powerful significance, that we continue to stay in
Iraq, except for the bases, oil, greed and riches-period!

To say or to imply that 'our' Howard is double-speaking, caving-in,
what-have-you, is only for sensationalism-direct from the author himself.
=========



CheeseComment:

By now people have figured out that I'm not a political genius, whatever
that is.  Yet, when even a lower-rung bottom-feeder as myself can easily put
all the pieces of the puzzle together with just a mere handful of actual
Facts, and it turns out being pure slop, then it has definitely reached the
point beyond all hope of redemption of the situation.  Here's to everyone's
efforts on "the playing field" nevertheless.

I don't know Dean, or hardly of or about him, nor Karzei the new prez of
Afghanistan, nor lots of them, on down the line ad infinitum, but I do know
that I've never met neither a Republican nor a Democrat at The *Very* Top
that I would trust to babysit my cats without well-borne mortal fear of
coming home from my date and finding them in the blender.  It almost
irrevokably always seems to be that no matter how good and great people are,
once they reach The Top, there seems to be some strange thing that takes
them over, and 9 times out of 10, whatever they're working on, The People
Etc wind up losing, no matter who has said or done what up to that very
point.

There was an article posted here recently outlining the need for various
countries around the Middle East Area to be secured by the USA to be able to
both protect huge sources of both oil and natural gas and eventually
conveniently exploit them.

Neither Dean, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, or SuperMouse are going to face
up to these people who have set their hearts on making Global Conquest a
discreet matter of mere American Policy.

If they do, however, they will be knocked back every time (as so far it
seems to be par for the course), and, again, not knowing Dean, such power
and destruction are now at work in all levels of our government, military,
corporate world, etc, that it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if
someone whispered in his ear "Shut the f*ck up and become a team player or
else...", and he did.

I'm also, as you stated, interested to see how and why such amazing
statements would come from "The Democrats", if indeed they did, or if they
were just "a figment of the imagination of the author" of that article.

This is fixing to make "VietNam" look like a 5 year old's birthday party by
comparison.  The new colonization by boasting politicians, soldiers,
corporations, flag wavers, and theo-cons of vast oil reserves sitting in the
middle of Allah Land.  There is so much money, among other things, at stake
here, that, again, if Dean said it, I certainly would like to hear the
reason.  But then again, I've rarely met a politician that didn't wind up
stabbing The People Etc in the back one way or the other, sooner or later.
If this Mr. Dean person is somehow exempt from such enormous influences and
power fluxations at The *Very* Top, I will probably wind up being most
surprised and pleased.  So far, I've never seen someone struggle to the very
top without falling on one knee in the end to the powers that be.

And since we are now currently under the control of the closest thing to
World Dominators that we have ever seen, at least in my lifetime (other than
Hitler etc who at least made a stab at it, unlike our guys who are already
almost finished with their Opening Game and moving smoothly on into their
Middle Game), it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see any or even
Many of the "Democrats" falling to their knees in relatively silent
obesience and agreement with "New World Policy".

Oh well, despite my ramblings, VietNam...?  I shudder at the almost pale
comparison of "VietNam" to what is coming.

Bin-Laden etc only hit us one time.  One time in what?...4? years.....?

Can you imagine the future when they *really* decide to do more than just
"get our attention"....?    Devastating.   These are not stupid nor inept
people.  And the further our new American Fuhrers push into the Middle East
and cement themselves and their interests there, the more often Bin-Laden
etc will wind up finding reason and opportunity to attack Mainland America.
Just the way it will go.  And most likely they won't bother holding up
convenience stores to show their power over all of America and the new
"crusaders/occupiers".

It all, no matter what I think though, continues to play into World
Domination (especially as so many people know by now, the gas and oil caches
sitting in The Middle East), and there is no way they can conquer The World
without completely and forever finally dominating America itself.

Which is one reason all the "Patriot Acts" that are here and keep coming,
remain one of the key integers to the entire stage play.

You build enough weapons, someone is going to use them eventually.

You build A System that even mildly objecting to The New American Policy
wreaks havoc on your house, people like Dean, eventually, wind up like
Karzei in Afghanistan, standing there not fully realizing yet how much of a
pawn he is in the entire Game, and either get down on one knee, or their
career is over, they are finished.

You simply can't beat The System.  People try.  People die.  Or People
retire and fade away.  Normally.  In many instances.

And this New System is being built very very well, having, as some know now,
been in the planning stages for quite some time.

It's so Perfect that if I was a Republican (gag me with a spoon...), I would
be creaming in my jeans right about now with euphoria.

The Propaganda is flawless.   In all arenas.

The terrorist threat allows them to secure full control over all aspects of
America, rebuild any Systems to their exact streamlined specifications, and
with no further ability with any real effectiveness to object from even the
peanut gallery, the world, and America, finally, is their oyster, forever.

Which, on top of all that, all the "rumors" that "Our Top Guys" might have
not just known about all this pre-911, but engineered it specifically for
this purpose, continues to fascinate me as I watch Fact after Fact after
miserable Fact unfurl before my eyes, indicating that all the fairy tales in
the world cannot now match this unspeakable act of Treason Against Democracy
they have committed all the rest of us to, by simply being who we are, in
their flight toward their New Reality.

Jim Morrison once wrote something like "Nobody Gets Out Of Here Alive".

My current opinion amidst my travels with the rest of the catfish skimming
the bottom is that there is no longer a way out of this without another
actual American Revolution.

Nothing but shaking the very pillars of the Tyranny which now occupies our
higher offices of our land, is going to be able to do anything paltry like
"remove 14 American military bases from Iraq" or "Some day give Afghanistan
back to the Afghanis" or "Anything else for that matter".

How that is going to be accomplished, I'm not completely sure at this
present time, but I do know that as I continue to see various "Democrats"
fighting for something called a "Filibuster", the current Traitors to
America continue to shake the very pillars of Democracy itself, among just
about every other thing we once believed and hoped America stood for.

Whether Dean said that or didn't, I don't presently know.

I do know that no matter what he said, in face of the current System now in
place, his words, either way, basically have little if no effect at all.

Just like everyone elses, for the most part.

If such a basic reality winds up being true, rather than just another
figment of my imagination, then, again, nothing short of throwing them out
of The Entire System is going to "fix anything" anymore, within or without
the borders of the good old USA.

And these days, at least the last I looked, it's still illegal to overthrow
your own Government in America to save the country, even from the hands of
people like the Traitors who currently control The Entire System.

Now THAT would be a great Law to repeal, thus allowing Americans to retake
their own country periodically from Tyrants who come to power through one
device or another here, but since we, THE ACTUAL PEOPLE OF AMERICA, no
longer control most of the Government, I guess we'll just have to wait for
them all to fall over from heart attacks.

By that late date, people will have forgotten the term "VietNam", and the
millions of "patriotic muslims" around the world who are not sitting around
on their sofas programming their vcrs, eating haagen-daaz, and trying to
tune in Oprah, will have decimated what is left of our sanity here in
Mainland America after having had plenty of time to plan their ***2nd***
assault on the USA.

Which will, of course, give them "good sound just reason" to then implement
"Patriot Act 50".

It's now down to about who will destroy us first now, the "Terrorists" or
"Our Own Top People".

I'm still voting for "Our Own Top People", they're still holding all the
cards, and there isn't one "outspoken British MP" among all the "Democrats"
left it seems, and The System doesn't recognize them to begin with anymore.

If Dean is one, keep me informed, I'd like to see him in action.







Cheeseburger


- Mother Superior jumped the gun.....  Mother Superior, John's a gone....


.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 24 03:28:15 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 23 13:34:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14336666.1116930495853.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 A Last-Minute Deal on Judicial Nominees
 
 By Charles Babington  and Shailagh Murray
 
 Bipartisan group of Senaators agree to votes on some of Bush's nominees while preserving the right to filibuster others in "extraordinary circumstances." 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 24 03:29:26 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 23 13:35:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <15572858.1116930566713.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 The Center Holds
 
 THERE IS NO guarantee that the cease-fire in the judicial nominating wars negotiated by 14 U.S. senators and announced last night will stick. How could there be? But the agreement by seven Republicans and seven Democrats, with Virginia's John W. Warner (R) playing a leading role, nonetheless is a...
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 24 03:30:30 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 23 13:36:33 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <16450905.1116930630933.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Breakthrough Pact Unlikely To End Battle
 
 By Dan Balz
 
  In a dramatic break with the ideological warfare that has defined the politics of Washington for much of the past decade, the center held firm in the Senate last night, as a bipartisan group of senators unexpectedly signed a compromise that yanked the institution back from a historic clash over judicial nominations.
 
 The negotiators had spent a week laboring to find the language to define their agreement. But with the Senate just hours away from pulling the trigger on the "nuclear option," the seven Republicans and seven Democrats managed to defy predictions. They found both the language to make a deal possible and the courage to risk the wrath of partisans on both sides who were pushing for an all-or-nothing outcome.
 
 "Everybody in the room wanted to get it done," Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) said in a telephone interview last night. "Everybody felt it was in the country's best interest to get this agreement made. We were very close all the way through, but we just couldn't quite get it done. It was having the looming deadline of [today] that got it done."
 
 The deal brings mixed results for President Bush. It means that at least three of the nominees who have been blocked for years will make it to the appellate courts, while at least two will not. Beyond that, without a total ban on judicial filibusters, as the nuclear option would have guaranteed, the president will not have such a free hand in selecting a Supreme Court nominee. He also will be under pressure from the moderates to work more cooperatively with the Senate on judicial nominations or face rebellion from at least some of them.
 
 For that reason, the fragile compromise, stitched together in the office of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) just as the Senate began an all-night session, will not necessarily end the battle over the future shape of the judiciary. At best, the group produced a cease-fire in the judicial wars that will deal with nominees who long have been in the confirmation pipeline.
 
 After that, no one can say with certainty whether the deal will stick, particularly if there is a Supreme Court nomination in the near future, as many anticipate. The 14 senators who joined hands last night said theirs is an agreement based on faith and goodwill, but there is no certainty or even commitment that they will continue to operate as a group once past the current nominees in question.
 
 "I think they did what the Senate very often does," said Ross K. Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University and a longtime student of the Senate. "They kicked the can down the road. They basically postponed a crisis and set up the predicate for another one in the future on the Supreme Court nomination."
 
 Still, it was an extraordinary moment for the moderates in Congress, who have talked gamely about working across party lines but have often fallen short in delivering on their promises. For that they have been ridiculed, held up as examples of weakness and vacillation. But for the time being, they have demonstrated that there is an alternative to the partisan polarization that has been so much in favor in both parties.
 
 "We came together and we did the unexpected," Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) told reporters when the agreement was announced. "In a Senate that is increasingly polarized, the bipartisan center held." Saying that all of them had swallowed things in the agreement they felt were less than perfect, he added, "We did it for a larger purpose: to save the right of unlimited debate, to take the Senate back from the precipice."
 
 Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) said the agreement was in the Senate's best traditions. "We believed as well that the American people didn't deserve the option of just blanket filibusters or historic parliamentary maneuvers that overturned 200 years of tradition and precedent," she said.
 
 The 14 members of the group said they were motivated by their desire to protect the institution of the Senate from what they believed would be a terribly disruptive act. But that motivation alone could not bridge partisan differences and grievances that both sides brought to the negotiating table.
 
 Republicans wanted assurances that Democrats would not make filibusters the routine on judicial nominations. Democrats wanted the nuclear option taken off the table. Both sides wanted to see more consultation with the White House before submitting judicial nominees, a demand promoted most strongly by the two most senior members of the group, Sens. John W. Warner (R-Va.) and Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.).
 
 But there is wiggle room on both sides that leaves open the question of what will happen in the future. Democrats who signed the agreement have the right, as individuals, to filibuster future judicial nominees "under extraordinary circumstances."
 
 Republicans reserve the right, individually, to support the nuclear option if they believe Democrats are abusing the agreement. Democrats said the final language on that point is closer to what they had wanted. But at the news conference, DeWine explicitly said that if the agreement breaks down, Republicans in the group feel free to support the use of the nuclear option.
 
 Senate Democrats not in the group quickly embraced the deal. Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) hailed it for taking the nuclear option "off the table." Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) was more cautious, noting that he still believes that all judicial nominees deserve up-or-down votes and that the agreement "falls short" of that principle and "will require careful monitoring."
 
 Among the outside groups, those on the left sounded far happier with the agreement than those on the right, who had pushed Frist to guarantee up-or-down votes on all of Bush's nominees. But if the deal heads off a filibuster on a Supreme Court nominee with a record as conservative as those of the three appellate court judges given a green light last night, organizations on the left may be disappointed later.
 
 Given the stakes ahead, the negotiators know that partisanship will continue to threaten the agreement and that its success will depend both on the kind of judges Bush sends up and on whether the goodwill and good faith exhibited during the long negotiations prevail when the going gets tough again.
 
 Byrd invoked Benjamin Franklin last night and said the group of 14 had helped preserve the republic. "We have lifted ourselves above politics," he said. "And we have signed this document in the interest of the United States Senate, in the interest of freedom of speech, freedom of debate and freedom to dissent in the United States Senate."
 
 For a night at least, politics did seem to take a back seat to comity and cooperation. Whether the center can continue to hold is far less clear.
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 24 03:31:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 23 13:37:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <12328700.1116930701383.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 'Watch Those Guys'
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
 No one was more relieved last night by the deal that avoided the end of Senate's right to filibuster judicial nominees than Arlen Specter.
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 24 03:32:47 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 23 13:38:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27022709.1116930767473.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

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 Using the Media For a Magic Trick
 
 By Eugene Robinson
 
 I propose that the media spend less of their finite, precious resources doing what I'm doing right now: covering the media.
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 24 03:34:39 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 23 13:40:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
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 Supply of Oil-Based Paint Thins as New Rule Takes Effect
 
 By Margaret Webb Pressler
 
 Measure aims at reducing ground-level ozone pollution, but it's one that many were unaware of until the product started disappearing.
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:55:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:01:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Supreme Court to Tackle Abortion Again
	After 5 Years
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WASHINGTON | May 24, 2005

Supreme Court to Tackle Abortion Again After 5 Years
By LINDA GREENHOUSE

Despite technical questions, the case is likely to add more heat to the already superheated atmosphere surrounding the court.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/politics/24abort.html?ex=1117598400&en=c54c4da8755ac5c6&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:55:27 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:01:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Weapons in Space
Message-ID: <20050524105528.3CD3B24B003@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 24, 2005

Today's Editorials: Weapons in Space


Congress and the Bush administration must decide whether a multilateral treaty to ban space weapons will make the nation safer than a unilateral drive to put the first weapons in space.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/opinion/24tue1.html?ex=1117598400&en=bfb3edbac79f882f&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:55:42 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:01:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Facing Up to the Tragedy of War
Message-ID: <20050524105543.EAD823AE38F@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 24, 2005

Facing Up to the Tragedy of War


The Army succumbed to the temptation of propaganda instead of telling the truth about Cpl. Pat Tillman's death.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/opinion/24tue2.html?ex=1117598400&en=e03fe3b32b6b7dea&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:56:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:02:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Death by a Thousand Blogs
Message-ID: <20050524105605.AA5B983CD9@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 24, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Death by a Thousand Blogs
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

The Chinese Communist Party may finally have met its match in bloggers who report on official wrongdoings and write scathing essays.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/opinion/24kristoff.html?ex=1117598400&en=7d2c4ffc4ad65b53&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:56:21 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:02:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Cowboys and Indians
Message-ID: <20050524105622.A2A8024AEBD@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 24, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Cowboys and Indians
By NIALL FERGUSON

Instead of giving up and withdrawing from Iraq, we need to learn not just from past disasters but also from historical victories over insurgencies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/opinion/24ferguson.html?ex=1117598400&en=70d4b8462fdd2d21&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:56:48 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:02:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Syria Ending Cooperation With U.S.,
	Envoy Says
Message-ID: <20050524105649.CDB54237027@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 24, 2005

Syria Ending Cooperation With U.S., Envoy Says
By DOUGLAS JEHL and THOM SHANKER

Syria's ambassador to the United States said Damascus had "severed all links" because of what he called unjust allegations over the insurgency in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/politics/24syria.html?ex=1117598400&en=998a4ab5b5ab2207&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:57:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:03:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Dispute on Law May Delay Palestinian Vote
Message-ID: <20050524105713.7BD14236FA0@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 24, 2005

Dispute on Law May Delay Palestinian Vote
By STEVEN ERLANGER

The Palestinian election commission said that legislative elections scheduled for July 17 might have to be delayed because of a dispute over a new election law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/international/middleeast/24mideast.html?ex=1117598400&en=eed3e212ef655031&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:58:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:04:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Trial Begins in Washington Over Election
	for Governor
Message-ID: <20050524105838.00EAB11F734@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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NATIONAL | May 24, 2005

Trial Begins in Washington Over Election for Governor
By SARAH KERSHAW

Republican lawyers insisted that the election that put Christine Gregoire in the governor's office was stolen from the Republican candidate and riddled with error and fraud.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/national/24gov.html?ex=1117598400&en=59b8176bcfb008ef&ei=5070



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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:58:49 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:04:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: New Rule on Endangered Species in the
	Southwest
Message-ID: <20050524105850.617CF3AE3A0@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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NATIONAL | May 24, 2005

New Rule on Endangered Species in the Southwest
By FELICITY BARRINGER

The decision limits the use of the latest scientific studies on the genetics of endangered plants and animals when deciding how best to preserve and recover them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/national/24species.html?ex=1117598400&en=2914f881f4878ee5&ei=5070



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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 24 04:59:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 23 14:05:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Supreme Court Drops Case Ruled on by World
	Court
Message-ID: <20050524105932.F071083C15@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 24, 2005

Supreme Court Drops Case Ruled on by World Court
By LINDA GREENHOUSE

The underlying issue is whether the federal government can permit the execution of any of 51 Mexicans who were tried and convicted without notification to Mexican officials.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/politics/24treaty.html?ex=1117598400&en=278974a12d9f4ac5&ei=5070



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





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From CLARKE445566 at msn.com  Mon May 23 03:30:45 2005
From: CLARKE445566 at msn.com (ROBERT CLARKE)
Date: Mon May 23 15:54:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: OpinionJournal Article: Bush Country
Message-ID: <200505231154.j4NBsvjw002863@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Whatever your mindset, this is worth reading in it's entirety.

----- Original Message -----
From: fritz via OpinionJournal.com
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 1:31 PM
To: CLARKE445566@msn.com
Subject: OpinionJournal Article: Bush Country



Your friend fritz thought you might be interested in this article from OpinionJournal and forwarded it to you.  

ARAB SPRING

Bush Country

The Middle East embraces democracy--and the American president.

BY FOUAD AJAMI

"George W. Bush has unleashed a tsunami on this region," a shrewd Kuwaiti merchant who knows the way of his world said to me. The man had no patience with the standard refrain that Arab reform had to come from within, that a foreign power cannot alter the age-old ways of the Arabs. "Everything here--the borders of these states, the oil explorations that remade the life of this world, the political outcomes that favored the elites now in the saddle--came from the outside. This moment of possibility for the Arabs is no exception." A Jordanian of deep political experience at the highest reaches of Arab political life had no doubt as to why history suddenly broke in Lebanon, and could conceivably change in Syria itself before long. "The people in the streets of Beirut knew that no second Hama is possible; they knew that the rulers were under the gaze of American power, and knew that Bush would not permit a massive crackdown by the men in Damascus."
My informant's reference to Hama was telling: It had been there in 1982, in that city of the Syrian interior, that the Baathist-Alawite regime had broken and overwhelmed Syrian society. Hama had been a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood, a fortress of the Sunni middle class. It had rebelled, and the regime unleashed on it a merciless terror. There were estimates that 25,000 of its people perished in that fight. Thenceforth, the memory of Hama hung over the life of Syria--and Lebanon. But the people in the plazas of Beirut, and the Syrian intellectuals who have stepped forth to challenge the Baathist regime, have behind them the warrant, and the green light, of American power and protection.

To venture into the Arab world, as I did recently over four weeks in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, is to travel into Bush Country. I was to encounter people from practically all Arab lands, to listen in on a great debate about the possibility of freedom and liberty. I met Lebanese giddy with the Cedar Revolution that liberated their country from the Syrian prison that had seemed an unalterable curse. They were under no illusions about the change that had come their way. They knew that this new history was the gift of an American president who had put the Syrian rulers on notice. The speed with which Syria quit Lebanon was astonishing, a race to the border to forestall an American strike that the regime could not discount. I met Syrians in the know who admitted that the fear of American power, and the example of American forces flushing Saddam Hussein out of his spider hole, now drive Syrian policy. They hang on George Bush's words in Damascus, I was told: the rulers wondering if Iraq was a crystal ball in which they could glimpse their future.
The weight of American power, historically on the side of the dominant order, now drives this new quest among the Arabs. For decades, the intellectual classes in the Arab world bemoaned the indifference of American power to the cause of their liberty. Now a conservative American president had come bearing the gift of Wilsonian redemption. For a quarter century the Pax Americana had sustained the autocracy of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak: He had posed as America's man on the Nile, a bulwark against the Islamists. He was sly and cunning, running afoul of our purposes in Iraq and over Israeli-Palestinian matters. He had nurtured a culture of antimodernism and anti-Americanism, and had gotten away with it. Now the wind from Washington brought tidings: America had wearied of Mr. Mubarak, and was willing to bet on an open political process, with all its attendant risks and possibilities. The brave oppositional movement in Cairo that stepped forth under the banner of Kifaya ("Enough!") wanted the end of his reign: It had had enough of his mediocrity, enough of the despotism of an aging officer who had risen out of the military bureaucracy to entertain dynastic dreams of succession for his son. Egyptians challenging the quiescence of an old land may have had no kind words to say about America in the past. But they were sure that the play between them and the regime was unfolding under Mr. Bush's eyes.
Unmistakably, there is in the air of the Arab world a new contest about the possibility and the meaning of freedom. This world had been given over to a dark nationalism, and to the atavisms of a terrible history. For decades, it was divided between rulers who monopolized political power and intellectual classes shut out of genuine power, forever prey to the temptations of radicalism. Americans may not have cared for those rulers, but we judged them as better than the alternative. We feared the "Shia bogeyman" in Iraq and the Islamists in Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia; we bought the legend that Syria's dominion in Lebanon kept the lid on anarchy. We feared tinkering with the Saudi realm; it was terra incognita to us, and the House of Saud seemed a surer bet than the "wrath and virtue" of the zealots. Even Yasser Arafat, a retailer of terror, made it into our good graces as a man who would tame the furies of the masked men of Hamas. That bargain with authoritarianism did not work, and begot us the terrors of 9/11.
The children of Islam, and of the Arabs in particular, had taken to the road, and to terror. There were many liberal, secular Arabs now clamoring for American intervention. The claims of sovereignty were no longer adequate; a malignant political culture had to be "rehabilitated and placed in receivership," a wise Jordanian observer conceded. Mr. Bush may not be given to excessive philosophical sophistication, but his break with "the soft bigotry of low expectations" in the Arab-Islamic world has found eager converts among Muslims and Arabs keen to repair their world, to wean it from a culture of scapegoating and self-pity. Pick up the Arabic papers today: They are curiously, and suddenly, readable. They describe the objective world; they give voice to recognition that the world has bypassed the Arabs. The doors have been thrown wide open, and the truth of that world laid bare. Grant Mr. Bush his due: The revolutionary message he brought forth was the simple belief that there was no Arab and Muslim "exceptionalism" to the appeal of liberty. For a people mired in historical pessimism, the message of this outsider was a powerful antidote to the culture of tyranny. Hitherto, no one had bothered to tell the Palestinians that they can't have terror and statehood at the same time, that the patronage of the world is contingent on a renunciation of old ways. This was the condition Mr. Bush attached to his support for the Palestinians. It is too early to tell whether the new restraint in the Palestinian world will hold. But it was proper that Mr. Bush put Arafat beyond the pale.

It was Iraq of course that gave impetus to this new Arab history. And it is in Iraq that the nobility of this American quest comes into focus. This was my fourth trip to Iraq since the fall of the despotism, and my most hopeful yet. I traveled to Baghdad, Kirkuk, Erbil and Suleimaniyah. A close colleague--Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations--and I were there to lecture and to "show the flag." We met with parliamentarians and journalists, provincial legislators, clerics and secularists alike, Sunni and Shia Arabs and Kurds. One memory I shall treasure: a visit to the National Assembly. From afar, there are reports of the "acrimony" of Iraq, of the long interlude between Iraq's elections, on Jan. 30, and the formation of a cabinet. But that day, in the assembly, these concerns seemed like a quibble with history. There was the spectacle of democracy: men and women doing democracy's work, women cloaked in Islamic attire right alongside more emancipated women, the technocrats and the tribal sheikhs, and the infectious awareness among these people of the precious tradition bequeathed them after a terrible history. One of the principal leaders of the Supreme Islamic Council for Revolution in Iraq, Sheikh Hamam Hammoudi, an elegant, thoughtful cleric in his early 50s, brushed aside the talk of a Shia theocracy. This Shia man, who knew a smattering of English, offered his own assurance that the example and the power of Iran shall be kept at bay: "My English is better than my Farsi, even though I spent 20 years in Iran." He was proud of his Iraqi identity, proud of being "an Arab." He was sure that the Najaf school of Shia jurisprudence would offer its own alternative to the world view of Qom, across the border. He wanted no theocratic state in Iraq: Islam, he said, would be "a source" of legislation, but the content of politics would be largely secular. The model, he added, with a touch of irony, would be closer to the American mix of religion and politics than to the uncompromising secularism of France.
The insurgents were busy with their bombs and their plots of mayhem: Georgian troops guarded the National Assembly and controlled access to it. But a people were taking to a new political way. A woman garbed in black, a daughter of a distinguished clerical Shia family, made the rounds among her fellow legislators. Religious scruples decreed that she could not shake the hand of a male stranger. But she was proud and wily, a free woman in a newly emancipated polity. She let me know how much she knew about the ways and the literature of the West. American power may have turned on its erstwhile ally, Ahmed Chalabi. But his appearance in the assembly's gallery drew to him parliamentarians of every stripe. He, too, had about him the excitement of this new politics.
A lively press has sprouted in Iraq: There is an astonishing number of newspapers and weeklies, more than 250 in all. There are dozens of private TV channels and radio stations. Journalists and editors speak of a press free of censorship. Admittedly, the work is hard and dangerous, the logistics a veritable nightmare. But no single truth claimed this country, no "big man" sucked the air out of its public life. The insurgents will do what they are good at. But no one really believes that those dispensers of death can turn back the clock. Among the Sunni Arabs, there is growing recognition that the past cannot be retrieved, that it had been a big error to choose truculence and political maximalism. By a twist of fate, the one Arab country that had seemed ever marked for brutality and sorrow now stands poised on the frontier of a new political world. No Iraqis I met look to neighboring Arab lands for political inspiration: They are scorched by the terror and the insurgency, but a better political culture is tantalizingly close.

Women are getting the vote in Kuwait, the Lebanese clamor for the truth about the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, and about the dark Syrian interlude in their history. Egyptians don't seem frightened of the scarecrows with which the Mubarak regime secured their submission. Everywhere, the order is under attack, and men and women are willing to question the prevailing truths. There is to this moment of Arab history the feel of a re-enactment of Europe's Revolution of 1848--the springtime of peoples: That revolution broke out in France, then spread to the Italian states, to the German principalities, to the remotest corners of the Austrian empire. There must have been 50 of these revolts--rebellions of despair and of contempt. History was swift: The revolutions spread with velocity and were turned back with equal speed. The fear of chaos dampened these rebellions.
As I made my way on this Arab journey, I picked up a meditation that Massimo d'Azeglio, a Piedmontese aristocrat who embraced that "springtime" in Europe, offered about his time, which speaks so directly to this Arab time: "The gift of liberty is like that of a horse, handsome, strong, and high-spirited. In some it arouses a wish to ride; in many others, on the contrary, it increases the desire to walk." It would be fair to say that there are many Arabs today keen to walk--frightened as they are by the prospect of the Islamists coming to power and curtailing personal liberties, snuffing out freedoms gained at such great effort and pain. But more Arabs, I hazard to guess, now have the wish to ride. It is a powerful temptation that George W. Bush has brought to their doorstep.
Mr. Ajami teaches at Johns Hopkins. This is adapted from a recent lecture at the Hoover Institution.  
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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue May 24 06:45:50 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon May 23 16:53:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: My kind of pilot ...
In-Reply-To: <20050524030358.77413.qmail@web81703.mail.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <BEB8A84E.20A6A%michael@michaelbutler.com>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Gerald Gerald <dekuyper@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 20:03:58 -0700 (PDT)
To: dekuyper@sbcglobal.net
Subject: My kind of pilot ...

Like some of us have always known, knowing your
traveling companions is very important.  Click here:

http://www.barry.fireflyinternet.co.uk/fun/files/pilot.htm

------ End of Forwarded Message

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 24 07:10:44 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Mon May 23 17:16:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article from globeandmail.com
Message-ID: <17051682.1116943844169.JavaMail.news@chicodeb3>

Harry (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) thought you would be interested in the following article from globeandmail.com, Canada's leading source for online news: 

"Red Delicious most nutritious" 
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but new research shows that when it comes to healthy eating, not all apples are created equal.A study by scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to be published this week indicates that of the eight main varieties of apple grown in Ontario, the Red Delicious is the most nutritious. 
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050524/APPLES24/TPFront/Email> 

Note from  Harry: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. New study shows which apples are healthiest.

Harry 
 
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
Get the news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our daily News Update: 
<http://www.globeandmail.com/newsletter/> 
From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 24 07:11:12 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 23 17:17:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Asia-Pacific - China told by US to revalue
	renminbi by 10%
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 24 07:12:03 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 23 17:18:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / US - US senators strike deal on judicial
	nominees
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 24 07:12:39 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 23 17:18:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Home UK - Syria stops cooperating with US
	forces and CIA
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 24 07:13:18 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 23 17:19:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Asia-Pacific - Karzai denies article prompted
	riots
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 24 07:15:13 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 23 17:21:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment & analysis - Washington and the Chavez
	question
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon May 23 21:53:44 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon May 23 17:27:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Revealed: Health Fears Over Secret Study into GM Food
Message-ID: <200505240027.j4O0Rpqv006544@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Published on Sunday, May 22, 2005 by the lndependent/UK
Revealed: Health Fears Over Secret Study into 
GM Food
Rats fed GM corn due for sale in Britain developed abnormalities 
in blood and kidneys
by Geoffrey Lean
 

Rats fed on a diet rich in genetically modified corn developed 
abnormalities to internal organs and changes to their blood, raising 
fears that human health could be affected by eating GM food.

The Independent on Sunday can today reveal details of secret 
research carried out by Monsanto, the GM food giant, which shows 
that rats fed the modified corn had smaller kidneys and variations in 
the composition of their blood.

According to the confidential 1,139-page report, these health problems 
were absent from another batch of rodents fed non-GM food as part of 
the research project.

The disclosures come as European countries, including Britain, 
prepare to vote on whether the GM-modified corn should go on sale to 
the public. A vote last week by the European Union failed to secure 
agreement over whether the product should be sold here, after Britain 
and nine other countries voted in favor.

However, the disclosure of the health effects on the Monsanto rats has 
intensified the row over whether the corn is safe to eat without further 
research. Doctors said the changes in the blood of the rodents could 
indicate that the rat's immune system had been damaged or that a 
disorder such as a tumor had grown and the system was mobilizing to 
fight it.

Dr Vyvyan Howard, a senior lecturer on human anatomy and cell 
biology at Liverpool University, called for the publication of the full 
study, saying the summary gave "prima facie cause for concern".

Dr Michael Antoniu, an expert in molecular genetics at Guy's Hospital 
Medical School, described the findings as "very worrying from a 
medical point of view", adding: "I have been amazed at the number of 
significant differences they found [in the rat experiment]."

Although Monsanto last night dismissed the abnormalities in rats as 
meaningless and due to chance, reflecting normal variations between 
rats, a senior British government source said ministers were so 
worried by the findings that they had called for further information.

Environmentalists will see the findings as vindication of British 
research seven years ago, which suggested that rats that ate GM 
potatoes suffered damage to their health. That research, which was 
roundly denounced by ministers and the British scientific 
establishment, was halted and Dr Arpad Pusztai, the scientist behind 
the controversial findings, was forced into retirement amid a huge row 
over the claim.

Dr Pusztai reported a "huge list of significant differences" between rats 
fed GM and conventional corn, saying the results strongly indicate that 
eating significant amounts of it can damage health. The new study is 
into a corn, codenamed MON 863, which has been modified by 
Monsanto to protect itself against corn rootworm, which the company 
describes as "one of the most pernicious pests affecting maize crops 
around the world".

Now, however, any decision to allow the corn to be marketed in the UK 
will cause widespread alarm. The full details of the rat research are 
included in the main report, which Monsanto refuses to release on the 
grounds that "it contains confidential business information which could 
be of commercial use to our competitors".

A Monsanto spokesman said yesterday: "If any such well-known anti-
biotech critics had doubts about the credibility of these studies they 
should have raised them with the regulators. After all, MON 863 isn't 
new, having been approved to be as safe as conventional maize by 
nine other global authorities since 2003."

? Copyright 2005 Independent News & Media (UK) Ltd.

###


-- 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May 24 09:02:32 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 23 19:08:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Iran backs down on reformist ban
Message-ID: <20050524_160232_094268.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Iran backs down on reformist ban **
Iran reverses its ban on two leading reformists from taking part in the upcoming presidential election.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4575205.stm >


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From geomilman at milman.com  Tue May 24 09:48:43 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Mon May 23 19:54:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: [Politech] Ross Anderson: Crypto wars are over,
	and we've won! [priv]
Message-ID: <20050524164844.CB89583D03@lax-gw03.mroute.net>


Press release - Foundation for Information Policy research <www.fipr.org>

		Release time: 00.01, 25th May 2005


		   The Crypto Wars Are Over!


The "crypto wars" are finally over - and we've won!

On 25th May 2005, Part I of the Electronic Communications Act 2000
will be torn out of the statute book and shredded, finally removing
the risk of the UK Government taking powers to seize encryption keys.

The crypto wars started in the 1970s when the US government started
treating cryptographic algorithms and software as munitions and
interfering with university research in cryptography. In the early
1990s, the Clinton administration tried to get industry to adopt the
Clipper chip - an encryption chip for which the government had a
back-door key.  When this failed, they tried to introduce key escrow -
a policy that all encryption systems should leave a spare key with a
`trusted third party' that would hand the key over to the FBI on
demand. They tried to crack down on encryption products that did not
contain key escrow. When software developer Phil Zimmermann developed
PGP, a free mass-market encryption product for emails and files, the
US government even started to prosecute him, because someone had
exported his software from the USA without government permission.

In its dying days, John Major's Conservative Government proposed
draconian controls in the UK too. Any provider of encryption services
would have to be licensed and encryption keys would have to be placed
in escrow just in case the Government wanted to read your email. New
Labour opposed crypto controls in opposition, which got them a lot of
support from the IT and civil liberties communities. They changed
their minds, though, after they came to power in May 1997 and the US
government lobbied them.

However, encryption was rapidly becoming an important technology for
commercial use of the Internet - and the new industry was deeply
opposed to any bureaucracy which prevented them from innovating and
imposed unnecessary costs. So was the banking industry, which worried
about threats to payment systems from corrupt officials. In 1998, the
Foundation for Information Policy Research was established by
cryptographers, lawyers, academics and civil liberty groups, with
industry support, and helped campaign for digital freedoms.

In the autumn of 1999, Tony Blair finally conceded that controls would
be counterproductive. But the intelligence agencies remained nervous
about his decision, and in the May 2000 Electronic Communications Act
the Home Office left in a vestigial power to create a registration
regime for encryption services.  That power was subject to a five year
"sunset clause", whose clock finally runs out on 25th May 2005.

Ross Anderson, chair of the Foundation of Information Policy Research
(FIPR) and a key campaigner against government control of encryption
commented, "We told government at the time that there was no real
conflict between privacy and security. On the encryption issue, time
has proved us right. The same applies to many other issues too - so
long as lawmakers take the trouble to understand a technology before
they regulate it."

Phil Zimmermann, a FIPR Advisory Council member and the man whose role
in developing PGP was crucial to winning the crypto wars in the USA
commented, "It's nice to see the last remnant of the crypto wars
in Great Britain finally laid to rest, and I feel good about our win.
Now we must focus on the other erosions of privacy in the post-9/11
world."

Notes to Editors:

1.      The Foundation for Information Policy Research
<http://www.fipr.org> is an independent body that studies the
interaction between information technology and society. Its goal is to
identify technical developments with significant social impact,
commission and undertaken research into public policy alternatives, and
promote public understanding and dialogue between technologists and
policy-makers in the UK and Europe.

2.  The late Professor Roger Needham, who was a founder and trustee of
FIPR, as well as being Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, a
lifelong Labour party member and, for the last five years of his life,
Managing Director of Microsoft Research Europe, once said: `Our enemy
is not the government of the day - our enemy is ignorance. If
ignorance and government happen to be co-located, then we'd better do
something about it.' <http://research.microsoft.com/users/needham/>

3.	The Electronic Communications Act 2000 received Royal Assent on
the 25th May 2000. Part I provides for the Secretary of State to create
a Register of Cryptography Support Services. s16(4) reads: "If no order
for bringing Part I of this Act into force has been made under
subsection (2) by the end of the period of five years beginning with the
day on which this Act is passed, that Part shall, by virtue of this
subsection, be repealed at the end of that period."
<http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000007.htm>

4. 	The crypto wars ended in the USA when Al Gore, the most outspoken
advocate of key escrow, was found by the US Supreme Court to have lost
the presidential election of 2000.

5.	The last battle in the crypto wars to be fought on UK soil was
in the House of Lords over the Export Control Act 2002. In this bill,
Tony Blair's government took powers to license the export of intangibles
such as software, where previously the law had only enabled them to
criminalise the unlicensed export of physical goods such as guns. This
caused resistance from the IT industry, and also raised the prospect
that scientific communications would become subject to licensing. FIPR
organised a coalition of Conservative, Liberal and crossbench peers to
insert a research exemption (section 8) into the Act, and an Open
General Export License was created for developers of crypto software.

6.	Phil Zimmermann is arriving in London on the 25th May to take part
in PGP Corporation activities until Thursday. Journalists wishing to
interview him can send email to prz at mit dot edu, or make contact
via the St Martin's Lane Hotel, tel 44 207 3005500, fax 44 207 3005501

[ends]

	* * *		* * *		* * * 		* * *
_______________________________________________
Politech mailing list
Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)


From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May 24 10:49:28 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 23 20:55:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: FBI 'ignored Pakistan US torture'
Message-ID: <20050524_174928_094384.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** FBI 'ignored Pakistan US torture' **
FBI agents are accused of "turning a blind eye" to the alleged torture of US citizens in Pakistan.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4576767.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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The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From villasudjuan at wanadoo.fr  Tue May 24 09:46:12 2005
From: villasudjuan at wanadoo.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Mon May 23 22:16:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Hearing Iran Weapons Proliferation,
	Terrorism and Democracy -- U.S. Senate Comm
In-Reply-To: <001301c55d9a$51875ea0$6401a8c0@2r6cx01>
Message-ID: <200505240516.j4O5GENE007012@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue May 24 15:17:18 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue May 24 01:24:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: An Independent Institute Recommendation
In-Reply-To: <20050524-14574001-d04@webserver13.siteserver.net>
Message-ID: <BEB9202E.20AE9%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Great piece,
Thanks

> Very interesting article mirroring your latest blog.
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1514
> 
> -Bryan Peterson

From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 24 15:57:06 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 24 02:03:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Alas, a Nuclear Freeze
Message-ID: <22156856.1116975426890.JavaMail.turbine@s74>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Alas, a Nuclear Freeze 
--------------------


May 24 2005

Even more so than usual, the halls of the Capitol were filled with self-congratulation Monday. With their compromise preserving the filibuster, Republicans and Democrats alike were able to stand before the microphones and declare victory for the republic, the Constitution, the Senate and, indeed, democracy itself. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-filibuster24may24,0,3348461.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 24 16:06:15 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 24 02:12:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re:  A Last-Minute Deal on Judicial Nominees
In-Reply-To: <200505232102.j4NL2YHx006103@dune.islandtechnologies.net>
Message-ID: <429350F7.7490.42607E2@localhost>

Can someone explain to me how this "compromise" benefits the 
Democrats---allowing at least 3 extreme radical-right judges onto the 
Appeals court in exchange for saving the right to filibuster by promising 
not to use the filibuster except for under "extreme circumstances" 
which will be defined by who??  (and if these nominees aren't extreme 
circumstances what is??)

On 23 May 2005 at 14:02, mb-civic-request@islandlists.com wrote:

> 
> You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of
> washingtonpost.com 
> 
>  A Last-Minute Deal on Judicial Nominees
> 
>  By Charles Babington  and Shailagh Murray
> 
>  Bipartisan group of Senaators agree to votes on some of Bush's nominees
>  while preserving the right to filibuster others in "extraordinary
>  circumstances." 
> 
>  To view the entire article, go to
>  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/23/AR2005052
>  301970.html?referrer=emailarticle


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 24 16:12:37 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Tue May 24 02:18:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China's dangerous sexual ignorance
Message-ID: <20050524_231237_049186.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
Education is paramount, no matter what culture.

** China's dangerous sexual ignorance **
Three quarters of young Chinese learn about sex through pornography, writes the BBC's Louisa Lim.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4572859.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 harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 24 16:47:34 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue May 24 02:53:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fake penis shuts down interstate 75
Message-ID: <000801c560ba$f7e39d40$0827e440@Harold>


Fake foot long penis shuts down interstate 75 !!

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050524/NEWS01/50524006/1075

Point being, everything that someone looks at is a potential bomb, why?

Later, H



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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 24 17:27:50 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue May 24 03:34:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Google issues
Message-ID: <001101c560c0$98cfa6e0$0827e440@Harold>

This is important, Google wants to make access to libraries, but in doing so circumvents copyrights.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1820047,00.asp

Copyrighters must be honoured
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 25 03:55:14 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 24 14:01:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26315349.1117018514339.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Bold Ally
 
 SINCE 2001, many governments in the Islamic world have quietly staked their future on close relations with the United States, from Morocco to Pakistan. But no Muslim leader has been as willing to openly and boldly embrace an alliance as Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai. Mr. Karzai was in Washington this...
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 25 03:55:49 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 24 14:01:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6798638.1117018549559.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Military Was Set To Down Cessna
 
 By Spencer S. Hsu  and John Mintz
 
 Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld gave military officials the authority to shoot down, if necessary, a small plane that wandered into restricted airspace over the nation's capital May 11, according to two senior federal officials.
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 25 03:56:34 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 24 14:02:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <14983694.1117018594889.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Senate's Real Leader
 
 By David S. Broder
 
 The Monday night agreement to avert a showdown vote over judicial filibusters not only spared the Senate from a potentially ruinous clash, but also certified John McCain as the real leader of that body.
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 25 04:58:09 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 24 14:04:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: China, New Land of Shoppers,
	Builds Malls on Gigantic Scale
Message-ID: <20050525105827.7580D237058@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

BUSINESS / WORLD BUSINESS | May 25, 2005

China, New Land of Shoppers, Builds Malls on Gigantic Scale
By DAVID BARBOZA

China is embracing America's "shop till you drop" ethos, as a string of giant new malls, one of them the world's largest, opens there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/business/worldbusiness/25mall.html?ex=1117684800&en=9a2413508c24458c&ei=5070



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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 25 03:58:34 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 24 14:04:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6291273.1117018714700.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Race Against Time in The Mideast
 
 By Dennis Ross
 
 Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is in Washington for a meeting this week with President Bush. As president of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas has pursued a strategy that depends on his being able to show that his way -- the way of nonviolence -- will deliver for the Palestinian people. Exit polls...
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 25 04:58:45 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 24 14:04:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: C.E.O.'s, M.I.A.
Message-ID: <20050525105847.8C9D53AE49E@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 25, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: C.E.O.'s, M.I.A.
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

America's business leaders have an interest in seeing the nation remain globally competitive - but they seem to be missing in action.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/opinion/25friedman.html?ex=1117684800&en=a4e311e7ee01944a&ei=5070




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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 25 03:59:25 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 24 14:05:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7399189.1117018766019.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Democracy Under The Veil
 
 By Anne Applebaum
 
 She looked nice, Laura Bush, in her black veil and modest dress, touring the Dome of the Rock, smiling sweetly at the protesters outside. She sounded nice, too, in her keynote speech at the Dead Sea in Jordan. She talked about education, called this a "springtime of hope," spoke of translating books...
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 25 05:00:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 24 14:06:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: China Backs Uzbek,
	Splitting With U.S. on Crackdown
Message-ID: <20050525110002.A40BA11F966@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 25, 2005

China Backs Uzbek, Splitting With U.S. on Crackdown
By C. J. CHIVERS

China offered support for President Islam A. Karimov of Uzbekistan, who is facing criticism for the crackdown against an antigovernment rally.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/international/europe/25uzbekistan.html?ex=1117684800&en=f7588fd65a4f997f&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 25 04:00:07 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 24 14:06:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <6611604.1117018807999.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A New Beginning?
 
 By David Ignatius
 
 This week's Great Compromise over judicial nominations emerged thanks in part to a meeting that sounds a bit as if it took place in a wax museum. It was an atavistic scene that evoked the musty traditions of the Senate, but it also embodied the spirit of sweet reason the country needs now to solve...
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 25 05:00:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 24 14:06:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Sharon Says Pullout Is Still On,
	but Presses the Palestinians
Message-ID: <20050525110014.B92AE9FD0E@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 25, 2005

Sharon Says Pullout Is Still On, but Presses the Palestinians
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that plans to pull military forces out of the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank would proceed on schedule.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/international/middleeast/25diplo.html?ex=1117684800&en=df67a42371b74b3c&ei=5070



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

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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 25 05:00:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 24 14:06:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Anti-Syrian Christians in Lebanon Split
	From Their Muslim Allies
Message-ID: <20050525110041.5C75C9FD41@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 25, 2005

Anti-Syrian Christians in Lebanon Split From Their Muslim Allies
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Signaling the breakup of the anti-Syrian coalition in Lebanon, the Christian leader Michel Aoun said that he would field his own candidates in parliamentary elections.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/international/middleeast/25lebanon.html?ex=1117684800&en=117e5b582d1d1cb1&ei=5070



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

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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From swiggard at comcast.net  Wed May 25 04:01:23 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 24 14:07:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <4198817.1117018883559.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 For GOP, Deeper Fissures and a Looming Power Struggle
 
 By Dan Balz
 
 The fallout from the Senate compromise that averted a showdown over judicial filibusters fell most heavily on the Republican Party yesterday, signaling intraparty warfare that is likely to shape the battle for the party's 2008 presidential nomination and further strain the unity the GOP has enjoyed...
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/24/AR2005052401475.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 25 05:01:52 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 24 14:07:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Study Sees Worrisome Gaps in Growth Rates
	Worldwide
Message-ID: <20050525110153.CF75713B81F@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

BUSINESS / WORLD BUSINESS | May 25, 2005

Study Sees Worrisome Gaps in Growth Rates Worldwide
By BRIAN CHILDSInternational Herald Tribune

Differences in economic performance are widening among Europe, Asia and the U.S., with possible long-term consequences for global growth.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/business/worldbusiness/25oecd.html?ex=1117684800&en=6c9bac96c8ca16aa&ei=5070



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

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

Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 25 05:30:06 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Tue May 24 15:36:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Amnesty accuses US over 'torture'
Message-ID: <20050525_123006_087005.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
"When the most powerfull country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants othes to commit abuse with impunity.".... quote from article

** Amnesty accuses US over 'torture' **
Amnesty accuses governments, notably that of the US, of betraying commitments to human rights in 2004.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4578627.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 24 20:04:09 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 24 17:28:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Rumsfeld moves to destabilize Venezuela
Message-ID: <200505250028.j4P0SX6u009319@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://www.peoplesvoice.ca/Pv16ma05.html#destabilize 

Rumsfeld moves to destabilize Venezuela

(The following article is from the May 16-31/2005 issue of People's Voice,
Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if
the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low
income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers -
$25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive,
Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Phone: 604-255-2041 Fax:604-254-9803 
email:
pvoice@telus.net web www.peoplesvoice.ca

By Garry Leech

"Why would Venezuela's 32,000-strong Army need 100,000 new rifles?" U.S.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld asked recently, suggesting that such
a weapons acquisition by the Chavez government could lead to an arms race
in the region.

Rumsfeld's reaction to the recent announcement that Russia had agreed to
sell 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles to Venezuela reeked of hypocrisy, given
the almost $3 billion in U.S. military aid provided to Colombia over the
past six years. The hypocrisy did not end there, however. The Bush
administration recently declared that it would sell F-16 fighter jets to
Pakistan, a move many claim will likely destabilize one of the world's
most volatile regions.

The U.S. defense secretary erroneously claimed that the Venezuelan Army
consists of 32,000 fighters, when it actually has 100,000 regular soldiers
and 30,000 reservists. Rumsfeld hinted at the motivation behind his
distortion of facts when he stated: "I can't imagine what's going to
happen to 100,000 AK-47s." He was clearly suggesting that the Chavez
government would supply these weapons to Colombia's leftist guerrillas.
Rumsfeld not only misrepresented the actual size of the Venezuelan
military, he also failed to note that Venezuelan troops are currently
armed with aging Belgian FAL rifles.

In sharp contrast, the Colombian military is armed with modern
Israeli-made Galil and U.S.-manufactured M-16 assault rifles, while also
being the recipient of more U.S.  military aid than any country besides
Israel and Egypt over the past five years. During this time, the Colombian
military has received more than 65 Blackhawk and Huey helicopter gunships,
established new battalions of elite troops trained and armed by U.S. Army
Special Forces soldiers, and has benefited from access to modern and
high-tech U.S. intelligence gathering methods.

If there is an arms race brewing in South America, it is clearly rooted in
the massive increase in U.S. military aid to Colombia under the "war on
drugs" and the "war on terror." The massive Colombian military build-up is
surely disturbing to the Venezuelan government, since Washington and
Bogota were among the first and only governments to recognize the coup
regime that briefly overthrew President Chavez in April 2002.

Rumsfeld's comments are just the most recent in a long line of anti-Chavez
rhetoric from the Bush administration intended to destablilize the
Venezuelan government. The U.S. State Department's recently released
annual human rights report severely criticized Venezuela for violations of
human rights. In sharp contrast, it ludicrously praised the human rights
performance of Colombia, which is among the world's leaders in massacres,
kidnappings, and killings of labour leaders, teachers and human rights
defenders. The Uribe administration also far surpasses the Chavez
government with regard to the number of arbitrary detentions and the
degree of impunity that exists in the country's judicial system.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently announced that it is
investigating war crimes in Colombia, many committed by the country's
military and right-wing paramilitary death squads. According to Luis
Moreno, the ICC's chief prosecutor, "The information received so far
indicates thousands of people have been killed, disappeared, kidnapped and
forcibly displaced since 1 November 2002." There is no evidence of such
gross human rights abuses being committed in Venezuela under President
Chavez's rule.

Rumsfeld's suggestion that Venezuela's arms purchases could lead to a
regional arms race seems hypocritical and irresponsible in light of the
recent U.S. decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. Such a
decision, clearly a reward for Pakistan's support in the "war on terror,"
can only aggravate tensions between Pakistan and India.  Both countries
currently possess 744 combat aircraft, but the U.S. sale threatens to
disrupt this military balance between nations which have already fought
several wars against each other, and which both possess nuclear weapons.

Bush administration officials have hinted that they might offset the new
imbalance in combat aircraft by also selling F-16s to India. Such a
cynical approach in South Asia will allow the U.S. military industrial
complex to pocket hundreds of millions of dollars that could have been
spent to alleviate the high levels of poverty in both India and Pakistan.
But this is nothing new. After all, most of the almost $3 billion in U.S. 
military aid for Colombia over the past six years never left the United
States - it went directly to the U.S.  companies that built the
helicopters and weapons sent to Colombia. In the post-Cold War era, it is
still business as usual for the world's leading weapons exporter. And
logically, global instability is an essential requirement for ensuring the
continued growth of the arms industry.

------


-- 
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 
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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  Tue May 24 20:05:03 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 24 17:29:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Inspiration....and alert to oppose Patriot Act
Message-ID: <200505250029.j4P0T5KF009329@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Here are: 1) For inspiration--A short expert from the Not in Our Name 
statement issued after last Nov. election; and  2) Online action alert 
demanding no secret renewal and worsening of the "Patriot" Act

>From the Not In Our Name Statement of Conscience  (NION SOC):
   "The Bush government seeks to impose a narrow, intolerant, and
   political form of Christian fundamentalism as government policy. No
   longer on the margins of power, this extremist movement aims to strip
   women of their reproductive rights, to stoke hatred of gays and
   lesbians, and to drive a wedge between spiritual experience and
   scientific truth. We will not surrender to extremists our right to
   think. ... "Millions of us worked, talked, marched, poll watched,
   contributed, voted, and did everything we could to defeat the Bush
   regime in the last election. ... It would be a terrible mistake to let
   our failure to stop Bush in these ways lead to despair and inaction. On
   the contrary, this broad mobilization of people committed to a fairer,
   freer, more peaceful world must move forward. We cannot, we will not,
   wait until 2008. The fight against the second Bush regime has to start
   now. ... "The movement against the war in Vietnam never won a
   presidential election. But it blocked troop trains, closed induction
   centers, marched, spoke to people door to door -- and it helped to stop
   a war. ... "We must change the political reality of this country by
   mobilizing the tens of millions who know in their heads and hearts that
   the Bush regime's 'reality' is nothing but a nightmare for humanity."

--------------
Dear EFF supporter,

It's not often that we send out a special action alert,
but in this case, time is of the essence.  This Thursday,
May 26, your senator will consider a bill that puts our
most basic civil liberties in grave danger.  Read below
to learn more and take action today - your voice matters!    

: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :

* Action Alert: Say No to New PATRIOT Spying Powers!

The Senate Intelligence Committee is about to consider, 
behind closed doors, a bill that would not only renew 
the USA PATRIOT Act's most dangerous provisions, but 
would also expand the government's power to secretly 
demand the private records of people who aren't 
suspected of any crime - without a judge's approval.

The Justice Department already has dangerously broad 
subpoena powers under the USA PATRIOT Act.  PATRIOT 
Section 215 allows intelligence investigators to demand 
all kinds of private records about citizens who 
aren't suspected of spying or terrorism.  PATRIOT 
Section 505, meanwhile, expanded the government's 
ability to use "National Security Letters" to secretly 
obtain data on private online and financial 
activities without court oversight or probable cause.

The new bill not only makes these highly controversial 
provisions permanent, it marries the worst aspects of 
the two, allowing new "administrative subpoenas" in 
national security cases that would let the government 
secretly demand all types of records without a 
judge's permission.

The Justice Department tried to get this super-charged 
subpoena power inserted into PATRIOT back in 2001. 
But even in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Congress 
refused to allow this kind of unchecked surveillance 
power.

The closed-door mark-up session for this bill will take 
place this Thursday, May 26.  The time to act is now.

Make your voice heard!
<http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=133>

-- 
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 michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 25 07:28:41 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 24 17:34:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Home UK - China rejects US demand for
	revaluation 
Message-ID: <16165349.1117031321354.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 / Home UK - China rejects US demand for revaluation 
 
  
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Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to SAVE THIS link:
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Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser:
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*********************



Instructions:
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2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 25 07:29:38 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 24 17:35:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / US - US homes change hands at blistering pace
Message-ID: <7998233.1117031378923.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 / US - US homes change hands at blistering pace
 
  
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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********************


Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser:
http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=browserButtons&pt=Y"


*********************



Instructions:
-----------------------------------------
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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. 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 25 07:43:05 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 24 17:49:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Comment - World should not pin its hopes on
	Rafsanjani
Message-ID: <5740771.1117032185935.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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Title: FT.com / Comment - World should not pin its hopes on Rafsanjani
 
  
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 25 07:58:29 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Tue May 24 18:04:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article from globeandmail.com
Message-ID: <2631044.1117033109064.JavaMail.news@chicodeb4.theglobeandmail.com>

Harry (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca) thought you would be interested in the following article from globeandmail.com, Canada's leading source for online news: 

"Oil's global choke points" 
More than 35 million barrels of oil is transported by ship and pipeline very day, and much of it passes through bottlenecks that are narrow and risky - some even known to be targeted by pirates or terrorists. It takes only one such incident to upset the balance of global oil trade, resulting in a domino effect that hits shipping routes, travel times, and delivery schedules. 
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050525/ROILTRANS25/TPBusiness/Email> 

Note from  Harry: 
This is a concern, any disruption causes $$ issues. 
 
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
Get the news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our daily News Update: 
<http://www.globeandmail.com/newsletter/> 
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 25 08:20:17 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 24 18:26:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Heroes and villains: Duddingston Angel and GW Bush
Message-ID: <23220608.1117034417527.JavaMail.coldfusion@web1>

Harry [harry.sifton@sympatico.ca] has sent you the following:

Message: Why does Bush need an Aircraft carrier to protect him in Scotland for the G8 meeting. Is he that scared, and what does this cost the taxpayers?

--------

Heroes and villains: Duddingston Angel and GW Bush

Edinburgh's mystery benefactor strikes again, and the President of the USA doesn't trust the British military.

Full article: http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=554202005

[64.228.39.59]

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 25 08:24:15 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 24 18:30:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Aircraft carrier will guard Bush at G8
Message-ID: <6847581.1117034655414.JavaMail.coldfusion@web1>

Harry [harry.sifton@sympatico.ca] has sent you the following:

Message: This must be so embarassing for an American to read!

--------

Aircraft carrier will guard Bush at G8

AN aircraft carrier packed with hundreds of US marines will be anchored off the west coast of Scotland during the G8 summit, according to security sources.

Full article: http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=545682005

[64.228.39.59]

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 25 10:24:22 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 24 20:30:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Renewed warning over flu pandemic
Message-ID: <20050525_172422_007340.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Renewed warning over flu pandemic **
Scientists have renewed their warnings about the potential global effect of a flu pandemic on health and economy.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4579777.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 25 10:25:30 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 24 20:31:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Rumsfeld sued over veterans' home
Message-ID: <20050525_172530_013325.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Rumsfeld sued over veterans' home **
Veterans at a Washington retirement home sue Pentagon officials over budget cuts they say endanger their health.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4580267.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 25 10:27:32 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 24 20:33:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Amnesty accuses US over 'torture'
Message-ID: <20050525_172732_097653.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Amnesty accuses US over 'torture' **
Amnesty International says governments, notably that of the US, betrayed human rights commitments in 2004.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4578627.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 25 11:02:02 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 24 21:08:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Amnesty condemns US example on human
	rights
Message-ID: <20050525180202.D20F81D9D@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

Amnesty condemns US example on human rights
Sarah Left
Wednesday May 25 2005
The Guardian


The US abdicated its responsibility to set a global example in upholding human rights in 2004 and, with the UK, led a "dangerous new agenda" by sanctioning torture in a failed attempt to combat terrorism, Amnesty International warned today.      

Speaking at the launch of Amnesty's annual report into human rights abuses, the group's secretary general, Irene Khan, said governments worldwide had betrayed their promises on human rights last year. 

She singled out as bleak examples international inaction on the killings in Darfur, the UN's failure to deal with abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the torture of prisoners by the US military in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. 

The US came in for particular criticism over its pronouncements on torture and for "usurping the language of justice and freedom to pursue policies of fear and insecurity", she told a London press conference. 

"The USA, as the unrivalled political, military and economic hyperpower, sets the tone for governmental behaviour worldwide," she said. "When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity." 

She said practices such as the detention without trial of more than 500 men at GuantÃ¡namo  Bay in Cuba undermined US moral authority and had damaged the Bush administration's ability to put pressure on other countries for progress on human rights. 

"The detention facility at GuantÃ¡namo Bay has become the gulag of our times, entrenching the practice of arbitrary and indefinite detention in violation of international law," she said. " GuantÃ¡namo  evokes memories of Soviet repression."

Ms Khan likened the Bush administration's practice of holding unregistered prisoners, or "ghost detainees", at secret locations to tactics deployed in some Latin American countries.

The US government's use of dubious terms such as environmental manipulations, stress positions and sensory manipulation to describe the treatment of prisoners amounted to "cynical attempts to redefine and sanitise torture", she said. She also criticised what she said was the UK's acceptance of intelligence derived by torture in certain circumstances.

"To say in a 21st-century democracy that torture is acceptable is to push us back to medieval ages," she warned. 

Against this backdrop, armed groups had continued to make shocking attacks on civilians, Amnesty reported. These included the murder of hundreds of parents and children in Beslan, the massacre of commuters in Madrid and the beheadings and bombings in Iraq. Yet governments had persisted with failed, but politically convenient, strategies on tacking terrorism, Ms Khan said. "Four years after 9/11, the promise to make the world a safer place remains hollow." 

With tens of thousands of people killed and more than 2 million displaced by the violence in Darfur in western Sudan, Ms Khan called on African leaders to stand firm on human rights, accusing the African Union of failing the people of Zimbabwe. 

"African leaders do a disservice to their own people when they use African solidarity as a cover for impunity rather than a call for accountability," Ms Khan said. 

The director of Amnesty's Africa programme, Kolawole Olaniyan, added that the failure to protect women and children in Congo, as well as sham elections in Togo, had highlighted weaknesses in the African Union. Apathy, indifference and the international community's failure to keep its promises had only added to Africa's human rights problems, he said.

Ms Khan defended Amnesty against accusations that the report had focused unduly on human rights abuses by the US, saying the accusations were backed up by facts.

"We are not doing this to pursue an anti-American agenda," she said. "We are pointing out to the US the role it can play to create a positive role model." 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 25 11:03:53 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 24 21:10:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Peace in Iraq 'will take at least
	five years to impose'
Message-ID: <20050525180353.2AF0175E9@mussel.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

Peace in Iraq 'will take at least five years to impose'
Richard Norton-Taylor and Michael Howard in Iraq 
Wednesday May 25 2005
The Guardian


It could take at least five years before Iraqi forces are strong enough to impose law and order on the country, the International Institute of Strategic Studies warned yesterday. 

The thinktank's report said that Iraq had become a valuable recruiting ground for al-Qaida, and Iraqi forces were nowhere near close to matching the insurgency.  

John Chipman, IISS director, said the Iraqi security forces faced a "huge task" and the continuing ability of the insurgents to inflict mass casualties "must cast doubt on US plans to redeploy American troops and eventually reduce their numbers".  

Insurgents have killed 600 Iraqis since the new government was formed. The IISS report said: "Best estimates suggest that it will take up to five years to create anything close to an effective indigenous force able to impose and guarantee order across the country."  

The report said that, on bal ance, US policy over the past year had been effective in emboldening regional players in the Middle East and the Gulf to rally against rogue states.  

But it warned that the inspirational effect of the intervention in Iraq on Islamist terrorism was "the proverbial elephant in the living room. From al-Qaida's point of view, [President] Bush's Iraq policies have arguably produced a confluence of propitious circumstances: a strategically bogged down America, hated by much of the Islamic world, and regarded warily even by its allies".  

Iraq "could serve as a valuable proving ground for 'blooding' foreign jihadists, and could conceivably form the basis of a second generation of capable al-Qaida leaders ... and middle-management players", the report said.  

Yesterday, a statement was placed on the al-Qaida in Iraq website claiming that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born Islamist who has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks, kidnappings and beheadings of foreign hostages, had been injured.  

The statement, whose authenticity could not be verified, asked Muslims to pray for his recovery but did not say how or when he was injured. It said: "Let the near and far know that the injury of our leader is an honour, and a cause to close in on the enemies of God, and a reason to increase the attacks against them."  

There were reports this month that the US military was investigating whether al-Zarqawi was at a Ramadi hospital and whether he was ill or wounded.  

The thinktank report points to US estimates that there are between 12,000 and 20,000 hardcore insurgents in Iraq. It says that Iraqi politicians have been keen to blame the rise in sectarian violence on foreign jihadists. "But they may have overstated their case."  

Insurgents demonstrated their ability to hit US forces in the heart of the Iraqi capital yesterday when a military convoy was targeted by a car bomb, killing three US troops.   

A fourth US soldier was killed in a drive-by shooting as he sat atop a Bradley fighting vehicle at an observation post in central Baghdad.  

The US military also announced yesterday that four soldiers had been killed by a roadside bomb on Monday in Haswa, 30 miles south of the capital, bringing the total number of US fatalities since Sunday to 13.  

Yesterday, Iraq's new interior minister, Bayan al-Jabr, who is also a member of the ruling Shia-led alliance, met two prominent Sunni Muslim figures in an effort to reduce sectarian tensions. Officials said the meeting was designed to "curb all hateful attempts aiming to plan sectarian sedition among the Iraqi people".  

Toby Dodge, senior fellow at the IISS and expert on Iraq, estimated yesterday that there were about 1,000 foreign fighters in Iraq "perfecting the use of car bombs" and causing more problems across the region, including Saudi Arabia. There seemed to be no "viable exit strategy" for foreign troops. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed May 25 11:08:16 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Tue May 24 21:14:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Aircraft carrier will guard Bush at G8
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV4FC0F56D9A62141460455AB0E0@phx.gbl>

Harry...

This is no way a cop out for Bush... BUT... he needs the aircraft carrier with the Marines... :-)   There are enough protestors at those meetings without HIM stirring up the beehive.

peace,
barbara



-----Original Message-----
From: harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
Sent: Wed, 25 May 2005 08:24:15 -0700
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Aircraft carrier will guard Bush at G8

Harry [harry.sifton@sympatico.ca] has sent you the following:

Message: This must be so embarassing for an American to read!

--------

Aircraft carrier will guard Bush at G8

AN aircraft carrier packed with hundreds of US marines will be anchored off the west coast of Scotland during the G8 summit, according to security sources.

Full article: http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=545682005

[64.228.39.59]

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


From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 25 11:11:04 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Tue May 24 21:17:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Huge US raid on western Iraq town
Message-ID: <20050525_181104_066595.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Huge US raid on western Iraq town **
Hundreds of US troops sweep through the Iraqi town of Haditha, searching homes and seizing suspected insurgents.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4578755.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Wed May 25 13:06:30 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Tue May 24 23:13:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Alternet: Duck and Cover Time
In-Reply-To: <20050525175141.30C67B8086@alternet.org>
Message-ID: <BEBA5306.20B83%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Thanks
Sending on

> 
> This story has been forwarded to you from
> http://www.alternet.org by Bryan.Peterson@LW.com
> 
> Michael, a very interesting artivle by Molly Ivens...
> 
> -------------------------------------
> Duck and Cover Time
> http://www.alternet.org/story/22083
> 
> Here in Texas, the Can't-Shake-Your-Booty bill passed the House, saving us all
> from the scourge of sexy cheerleaders. But nothing else is getting done.
> -------------------------------------
> 

From dekuyper at sbcglobal.net  Wed May 25 10:45:12 2005
From: dekuyper at sbcglobal.net (Gerald Gerald)
Date: Tue May 24 23:16:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Go figure ...
Message-ID: <200505250616.j4P6GKur009991@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

BIZZARE STORY!!

Strange...this is one you gotta read bizzare twist of
fate Not even "Law and Order" would attempt to capture
this mess...This is an unbelievable twist of fate!!!

At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic
Science, AAFS President Dr. Don Harper Mills astounded
his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre
death. Here is the story:

On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body
of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a
shotgun wound to the head. Mr. Opus had jumped from
the top of a ten-story building intending to commit
suicide. He left a note to the effect indicating his
despondency. As he fell past the ninth floor his life
was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a
window, which killed him instantly.

Neither the shooter nor the deceased was aware that a
safety net had been installed just below the eighth
floor level to protect some building workers and that
Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his
suicide the way he had planned.

"Ordinarily," Dr Mills continued, "Someone who sets
out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even
though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is
still defined as committing suicide." That Mr. Opus
was shot on the way to certain death, but probably
would not have been successful because of the safety
net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he had a
homicide on his hands. In the room on the ninth floor,
where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an
elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously
and he was threatening her with a shotgun. The man was
so upset that when he pulled the trigger he completely
missed his wife and the pellets went through the
window striking Mr. Opus.

When one intends to kill subject "A" but kills subject
"B"in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of
subject "B." When confronted with the murder charge
the old man and his wife were both adamant and both
said that they thought the shotgun was not loaded.

The old man said it was a long-standing habit to
threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no
intention to murder her. Therefore the killing of Mr.
Opus appeared to be an accident; that is, assuming the
gun had been accidentally loaded.

The continuing investigation turned up a witness who
saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about six
weeks prior to the fatal accident. It transpired that
the old lady had cut off her son's financial support
and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to
use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the
expectation that his father would shoot his mother.

Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was
guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually
pull the trigger. The case now becomes one of murder
on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.

Now comes the exquisite twist.

Further investigation revealed that the son was, in
fact, Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly
despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer
his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the
ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by
a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story
window. The son had actually murdered himself so the
medical examiner closed the case as a suicide.

A true story from Associated Press, Reported by Kurt
Westervelt Mark C. Anderson Director, Materials
Handling Room 101A, Park Avenue Warehouse Bowling
Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio.
From michael at intrafi.com  Wed May 25 13:51:43 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Tue May 24 23:59:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article for you from an Economist.com reader.
Message-ID: <200505252029.QAA11199@stage-web-app.economist.com>

  
- AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - 

Dear civic,

Michael Butler (michael@intrafi.com) wants you to see this article on Economist.com.



(Note: the sender's e-mail address above has not been verified.)

Subscribe to The Economist print edition, get great savings and FREE full access to Economist.com.  Click here to subscribe:  http://www.economist.com/subscriptions/email.cfm 

Alternatively subscribe to online only version by clicking on the link below and save 25%:
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FINGERS OFF THE NUCLEAR BUTTON, FOR NOW
May 24th 2005  

Democrats and Republicans have backed away from a potentially
catastrophic clash over judges in America's Senate. A vote to confirm
some conservative judges while protecting the liberal minority's rights
will keep the peace for a time. But fighting may break out again before
long

WAS it disaster avoided, or postponed? For weeks, a showdown over
George Bush's judicial nominees had threatened to devastate America's
Senate. Mr Bush had proposed several judges that Senate Democrats found
unacceptable. The Democrats threatened a filibuster, a parliamentary
procedure for delaying votes that can only be overcome with 60 of the
Senate's 100 votes. The Republicans, controlling just 55 votes,
counter-threatened to change the rules governing the filibuster--a
so-called "nuclear option" that could have brought co-operation between
the parties to a standstill.  

But late on Monday May 23rd, the two sides struck a deal. Several of
the most controversial judges will go to a Senate vote, which they will
almost certainly win. In exchange, the Republicans will not push the
nuclear option, and both sides promise in future only to filibuster
judicial nominees in "extraordinary circumstances", with that term left
undefined. The moderates who struck the deal emerged relieved and
smiling from their conclave. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat,
said: "Armageddon has been avoided. Thank God."  

For now, at least. The nuclear option, which had been scheduled for a
vote on Tuesday, would have, in the eyes of Democrats, overturned two
centuries of tradition in which the Senate has been the more careful
and deliberative of the two houses of Congress. The House of
Representatives, sniff senators, is for raucous party-line hacks.
Senators serve long, six-year terms, and are usually more independent
of their party leaderships. Senators are proud of their traditions of
comity and compromise, habitually boasting that theirs is the "world's
greatest deliberative body".

The nuclear option certainly would have changed that. Republicans
sought not to eliminate the filibuster entirely--merely the filibuster
on judicial nominees. But Democrats nonetheless threatened to bring the
work of the Senate to a grinding halt, using all the niggling
parliamentary tactics available to make sure that getting anything done
would be nigh-impossible. This was a dangerous strategy: whether or not
Americans agreed with ending the filibuster, the Democrats risked
appearing petulant and selfish at a time when the economy and national
security continue to cry for attention. (The shutdown of government by
Newt Gingrich's congressional Republicans in 1995 had ended up hurting
Mr Gingrich's party.) So it was a strategy that Harry Reid, the Senate
Democrats' leader, was keen to avoid.  

But both Mr Reid and Bill Frist, his Republican counterpart, were under
heavy pressure from the uncompromising wings of their party to hold
their ground. Among the central issues, as ever, were the nominees'
opinions on emotive issues like abortion and religion. For example,
William Pryor, one of Mr Bush's nominees, has called ROE V WADE, the
Supreme Court decision that guaranteed access to abortion, "the worst
abomination of constitutional law in our history". This kind of talk
thrills religious conservatives (whom Mr Frist is courting, in
anticipation of running for president in 2008) and appals secular
liberals. Well-funded and well-organised groups were pushing both
Senate leaders not to back down. Someone seemed bound to suffer
humiliation. That nobody did redounds to the credit of a handful of
centrists, especially those serving in states that tend to favour the
opposing party. Notable among the compromisers were Republicans from
the northeast and Democrats from the Midwest and South.  

APOCALYPSE LATER?
Just because there was no nuclear war does not mean that there will be
no fallout. Mr Frist, in particular, may feel the wrath of religious
conservatives, for whom a vote on every judge in question (two will now
be put aside indefinitely) was the only acceptable outcome. Meanwhile,
Democrats will take some flak for letting through judges like Mr Pryor
who will pull the judiciary further to the right. The federal bench
being the only branch of government not already dominated by the
Republicans, this could demoralise a party already adrift and spending
more of its time trying to stop Mr Bush's policies than proposing
alternatives.

Moreover, the fight may not yet be over. The agreement, and the wording
of "extraordinary circumstances", included enough ambiguity to let both
sides claim victory. But the real battle, everyone agrees, is still
ahead, when a vacancy opens up on the Supreme Court. The chief justice,
William Rehnquist, is suffering from cancer and seems certain to retire
during Mr Bush's term. He is conservative, but often considered a
pragmatic one whom Mr Bush could replace with a more ideological
figure. And John Paul Stevens, one of the court's liberal stalwarts, is
85. His replacement with a conservative would shift a 5-4 conservative
majority to 6-3. Liberals are desperate to prevent this.

Replacing Mr Rehnquist with another conservative might not trigger a
showdown. But if an abortion-rights supporter retires or dies and Mr
Bush nominates a ROE V WADE opponent to fill the vacancy--as his
conservative base and his own beliefs are almost certain to make him
do--Democrats are likely to consider this an "extreme circumstance".
Then the fight could begin anew, with Democrats threatening a
filibuster and Mr Frist, carried by his presidential ambitions, once
again threatening the nuclear option. 

Both parties have an interest in forestalling this. The Democrats risk
being seen as a hapless minority capable only of obstruction, which
could make voters unwilling to give them a chance at power in
congressional elections next year and the presidential poll in 2008.
Republicans, for their part, risk being portrayed as extremists. The
Terri Schiavo affair, in which Congress intervened to try to save a
brain-damaged woman from having her feeding tube removed, was a
public-relations embarrassment. The party that once stood for small
government is seen as liking big government just fine when it is in
control.  

But voters remain sceptical of giving either side too much power--as
Bill Clinton learned after two years of undivided power early in his
first term. His overambitious efforts to push a nationalising
health-care bill and other leftish goals led to a surprise trouncing in
the 1994 congressional elections. Some Republicans are now bearing this
precedent in mind. Compromise forestalled nuclear war this week, and
both sides have an interest in keeping their fingers off the button in
the future. But they may not be able to.

 

See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4006031&fsrc=nwl

Go to http://www.economist.com for more global news, views and analysis from the Economist Group.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 25 15:20:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 01:27:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Record number of millionaires - May. 25, 2005
Message-ID: <2680506.1117059641666.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



You have received the following link from ialterman@nyc.rr.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: Record number of millionaires - May. 25, 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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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Wed May 25 16:13:55 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Wed May 25 02:20:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - AMNESTY LIKENS GUANTANAMO BAY TO 'GULAG' 
Message-ID: <20050525231355.D50A569AFB@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
____________________________________________________
AMNESTY LIKENS GUANTANAMO BAY TO 'GULAG' 
WebPosted Wed May 25 08:10:20 2005

London---Human rights organization Amnesty International says the United
States should shut down its prison camp in Guantanamo Bay.

INDEPTH: Guantanamo Bay

Since the Sept. 11 attacks on America, the U.S. has used the
controversial jail, located at its naval base in Cuba, to hold people it
considers extremists. In most cases, no formal charges have been laid
against the prisoners.

In its annual human rights report, published Wednesday in London, Amnesty
said Guantanamo was a human rights failure.

"Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time," Amnesty Secretary General
Irene Khan said as she called for the closure of the camp.

Governments betraying human rights

About 540 prisoners from some 40 countries are being held at Guantanamo's
Camp Delta. Some 200 others have been released, with some of those now
jailed in their own countries.

                        FROM JAN. 11, 2005: U.S.
                      to free 5 from Guantanamo Bay

Khan said Guantanamo was exemplary of the U.S., and other governments
around the world, failing to uphold human rights despite paying lip
service to ideas of justice and democracy.

"Governments are betraying their promises on human rights. A new agenda
is in the making with the language of freedom and justice being used to
pursue policies of fear and insecurity. This includes cynical attempts to
redefine and sanitize torture," said Khan.

Darfur human rights catastrophe

Darfur in Sudan was a "human rights catastrophe," where the international
community's inactivity "betrayed" hundred of thousands of people, the
report said.

But it singled out the U.S. for failing to take "principled leadership"
on human rights.

According to Amnesty, the U.S. administration's failure to fully
investigate torture of Iraqi prisoners in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail
illustrated the "huge gap between rhetoric and reality" concerning
human rights.

INDEPTH: The Road to Abu Ghraib

"The U.S. administration's attempts to dilute the absolute ban on torture
through new policies and quasi-management speak such as 'environmental
manipulation,' 'stress positions' and, 'sensory manipulation,' was one of
the most damaging assaults on global values," Amnesty said.

Amnesty on Canada

The report also criticized Canada over a number of issues and
alleged abuses.

Amnesty said indigenous women and girls in Canada suffered a
disproportionately high incidence of violence.

 FROM OCT. 4, 2004: Canada accused of ignoring violence against
 aboriginal women


The report also mentioned "continuing concerns" about Canadian police
using Taser guns. Six men have died in incidents involving the
controversial devices, but their use has not been suspended despite the
government promising a review, Amnesty said.

                         FROM MAY 6, 2005: N.B.
                        police probe Taser death

Amnesty also criticized Canada for alleged police abuses such as the
killings of Dudley George and Neil Stonechild.

The organization listed Maher Arar as one of four Canadians who allege
Canada was complicit in their being tortured abroad by foreign
security services.

And the report highlighted controversial Canadian practices such as the
security certificates, used to detain six suspected extremists without
laying charges.

Amnesty's report covers 149 countries.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Wed May 25 16:28:44 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed May 25 02:35:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] The Spanish Inquisition
Message-ID: <001701c56181$80e25840$1627e440@Harold>

Just a thought, the ideals/fanaticism of Spanish Inquisition now exist in the American Christen Right.

Power corrupts, power and fanaticism corrupt absolutely!!

Thinking out loud, food for thought and discussion.

Later H
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Wed May 25 16:40:02 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Wed May 25 02:46:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Against Discouragement
Message-ID: <QjVTWkdHNSk/OTE+NCosNTY2NjQ0@Dragon>

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Wed May 25 16:42:46 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Wed May 25 02:49:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] !
Message-ID: <001901c56183$74ca6b40$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

All:

I just discovered (though some of you probably knew this already) that John Bolton was a founder of Project for a New American Century - the organization which created the Bush foreign policy re pre-emptive war.

Yikes!

Peace.
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From sierrapecheur at verizon.net  Wed May 25 17:54:42 2005
From: sierrapecheur at verizon.net (Sierra Pecheur)
Date: Wed May 25 04:01:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: Senfronia Thompson
Message-ID: <003f01c5618d$80c5d920$bbb26a47@xplcp>

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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Wed May 25 22:32:11 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Wed May 25 08:38:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] !
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV104F1CB69E6B783426D46DAB0F0@phx.gbl>

Yaaagh!!!   I did not.

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian
Sent: Wed, 25 May 2005 16:42:46 -0700
To: Civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] !

All:

I just discovered (though some of you probably knew this already) that John Bolton was a founder of Project for a New American Century - the organization which created the Bush foreign policy re pre-emptive war.

Yikes!

Peace.


From maxfury at granderiver.net  Wed May 25 22:52:02 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Wed May 25 08:56:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Re: Alternet: Duck and Cover Time
Message-ID: <000701c561b7$0ae1b240$4e25b7d8@baby1>

Re: Alternet: Duck and Cover Time




CheeseComment:

1.  Good article.  Good for her.  Although her speech did absolutely nothing
for Humanity except getting read into the official Texas Crap Legislature
record.  Like the article said, she spoke, then they ignored her as quickly
and as completely possible and passed the Bill and went to lunch.

2.  I'm surprised they even let people who are not White even vote in Texas,
much less hold political offices.  It's so unlike them.

3.  Today, unfortunately, I just found out that there have not been
Twirlers? (the little girls with the batons twirling them) in our School
Band thingy outfit whatever, since 1985.  There *always* were before.  I
have 8mm film of my aunt twirling in the Christmas parade here in my little
town in the 1950's or so.  Those girls were always THE highlight of the
halftime show, not the Band trying to march in the mud.  The current Band
leader outlawed them for some reason 20 years ago.  Not yet having gotten to
the bottom of it yet as I just learned this today, one can only presume they
were a "distraction" of one kind or another.  What a travesty to actually
just plain get rid of little girls who have worked for anywhere from 5 to 10
years of their young lives perfecting a talent most humans on Earth will
never achieve, only to come face to face someday with a Band Director who
has his head up his ass and an axe to grind with little girls with batons in
their hands.  Fuck him, and people like him all over the world.

Texas is a strange place.  By now you've figured that some of the weirdness
that evolves here, spreads to the nation and the world eventually.  They
don't like gays, they don't like people who aren't White if the truth be
known, but they tolerate them, and utilize them, as there's "just so darn
many of them now", they don't like sex unless it's in their own bedroom with
the lights off or with the 12 year old girl from next door, they don't like
Democrats, they don't like people on welfare, people on food stamps, or
women who are stupid enough to get raped and need an abortion, they don't
like people who are not Team Players nor those who will not play along with
all the bribes, cronyism, payoffs, kickbacks, political and physical
assassinations, industrial and corporate rapings of society, etc etc etc
that they concoct and consider the only way of life at The Top, they
definitely don't like anyone that is not A Christian, and now they don't
like little girls with batons in their hands or cheerleaders unless the move
act and mime according to Public Education and State Legislature rules, and
if you're anything other than A Republican, you can start practicing kissing
their asses before you are born because that's where you're going to wind up
eventually anyway, on your knees, kissing their butts.

You will eventually learn to be EXACTLY like one of them, or they will
literally spend the entire rest of their lives making sure that every day
you live is as miserable as they can possibly create it thusly for you.  I'm
sorry, I don't have time for fairy tales, all this stuff is just what I see
every day walking around on some little planet called Earth, in Real Life.

This is the New Freedom people such as Some Texans have unleashed upon our
State, our Nation, and The World now.  It is refreshing if you are a member
of the legions of Hell itself.  You no longer now have to masturbate in
Hell, you can just come to America and watch our Top Folks here hard at work
for full and lasting satisfaction.

Pity people such as The Children.  Between them and The Meek, who the fuck
would ever wish to Inherit such a crappy world.  Yet, there it is, this once
shiny jewel now reduced to Pure Slop, theirs now until The End Of Time when
all these brilliant, strictarianist, slave-driving, control-freaking,
psychotic Adults finally hit the cemetery.  What a Legacy.  Enjoy it, kids,
America really came through for you.  All our sacrifices finally enable you
now and in The Future to find that the pinnacle of all of Existence for your
lives is to be able to lick the scum around the inside ring of the toilet
here in America that your demented Forefathers so carefully molded and
created for your lasting freedom and pleasure.

4.  As every red-blooded hard-working American knows, only women and gay
people wear skirts, and THAT is the reason there is a warship off the coast
of Scotland with all those men wearing those skirts there, it is there to
protect our beloved (vomit) President from being overrun by all those nancy
boys just in case God Himself is on a lunch break and does not intervene in
the event that one of them makes a pass at our Great Leader over dinner.

5.  100,000 dead Iraqi Civilians killed by our Military, 1,000,000 Iraqi
Children murdered by American Sanctions, and Americans Do Not Blink An Eye.
The real threat is sexually suggestive cheerleaders and twirlers in short
skirts on the playing field.

Let's try to keep that small FACT in mind when assessing the actual Sanity
of Those In Charge currently of some tiny place called America.

And just remember, no matter what your political persuasion, your Christian
upbringing, or your blue-blood roots, smoking pot is sure to turn you into a
treehugging, long-haired, hippy, liberal, commie, democrat, gay, lesbian no
matter how much you feel you are in control of your life.

Try to keep that in mind as you are stepping over all the little
cheerleaders' and twirlers' shattered dreams on the playing field before the
2nd half of the Modern Christians' favorite bloodsport resumes.



Hey....   Smile...   Be happy...   It's what's for dinner.







Cheeseburger

.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 26 03:42:27 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 25 13:48:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5685116.1117104147094.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Inmates Alleged Koran Abuse
 
 By Dan Eggen and Josh White
 
 Newly released documents highlight detainee accounts of mistreatment of the Koran, physical abuse at Guantanamo Bay prison.
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 26 03:43:46 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 25 13:49:55 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <13898040.1117104226192.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Sputnik Scare, Updated
 
 By Robert J. Samuelson
 
 Americans are having another Sputnik moment: one of those periodic alarms about some foreign technological and economic menace. It was the Soviets in the 1950s and early 1960s, the Germans and the Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, and now it's the Chinese and the Indians. To anyone old enough,...
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 26 03:45:04 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 25 13:51:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <22919082.1117104304264.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 It's More Than Us They Hate
 
 By Jim Hoagland
 
 Angst swirls unobstructed through most of the global village. Yet a modern Diogenes would not need to go far if he were to set out to find a happy man.
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Thu May 26 03:47:15 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Wed May 25 13:53:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <20960196.1117104435294.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 GOP Tilting Balance Of Power to the Right
 
 By Jim VandeHei
 
 The campaign to prevent the Senate filibuster of the president's judicial nominations was the latest, most public example of Republican efforts to marginalize dissenting voices that would impede a conservative agenda.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/25/AR2005052501997.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From newsletter at villagevoice.com  Wed May 25 19:30:30 2005
From: newsletter at villagevoice.com (Village Voice Newsletter)
Date: Wed May 25 14:08:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Cheated at Cannes
Message-ID: <20050526023030.79904.qmail@www3.villagevoice.com>

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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Thu May 26 05:57:41 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbara)
Date: Wed May 25 16:03:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] barbara has sent you a story from villagevoice.com
Message-ID: <38c84cadaa1bcb86c5bf063749996a9f@www.villagevoice.com>

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 26 08:56:41 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Wed May 25 16:04:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Interesting news brief from The NewStandard - California
	Water Privatization Plan Criticized
Message-ID: <20800809.1117123001486.JavaMail.SYSTEM@neptune>

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:12:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:19:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Documents Say Detainees Cited Abuse of
	Koran by Guards
Message-ID: <20050526131300.0A6D2236FFC@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 26, 2005

Documents Say Detainees Cited Abuse of Koran by Guards
By NEIL A. LEWIS

Newly released documents show that detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, complained repeatedly about disrespectful handling of the Koran by guards.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/politics/26koran.html?ex=1117771200&en=745809ea44297846&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:13:22 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:19:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Mr. Abbas Goes to Washington
Message-ID: <20050526131327.7C82E23700C@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 26, 2005

Editorial: Mr. Abbas Goes to Washington


President Bush's challenge is to lean hard on the new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. But he would do well to send a message to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel also.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/opinion/26thu2.html?ex=1117771200&en=56ac337418fe3cbd&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:13:42 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:19:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Natural Alliance
Message-ID: <20050526131345.7A209A0FFA@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 26, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: A Natural Alliance
By DAVID BROOKS

Liberals and evangelical Christians can work together to fight poverty at home and abroad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/opinion/26brooks.html?ex=1117771200&en=74df7fbe21c8e9a9&ei=5070




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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 26 06:14:43 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Wed May 25 16:21:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Helen Thomas grills White House
Message-ID: <000701c561f4$e4e5b120$173fe440@Harold>

God bless Helen Thomas for keeping her eye on the ball.

She grills McClellan.

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1.htm


Later H
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:16:35 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:22:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: With the Gloves Off
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OPINION | May 26, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: With the Gloves Off
By BOB HERBERT

Torturing prisoners, rather than making the U.S. safer, puts us all in greater danger.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/opinion/26herbert.html?ex=1117771200&en=f2275b40bc2363e1&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:16:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:23:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Mess in Iraq: Which Way Out? (7 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050526131702.4B683A100F@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

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What we're saying...


OPINION | May 26, 2005

The Mess in Iraq: Which Way Out? (7 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/opinion/l26iraq.html?ex=1117771200&en=88585a20390f0a2b&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:17:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:23:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Shiites Offer to Give Sunnis Larger Role on
	Broader Panel Writing a Constitution
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 26, 2005

Shiites Offer to Give Sunnis Larger Role on Broader Panel Writing a Constitution
By JOHN F. BURNS

Iraq's dominant Shiite religious parties agreed to establish a constitutional commission with as many as 15 of the 101 seats reserved for Sunni Arabs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/international/middleeast/26politics.html?ex=1117771200&en=04288c3c6dbceadb&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:17:44 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:24:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Shiites Offer to Give Sunnis Larger Role on
	Broader Panel Writing a Constitution
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 26, 2005

Shiites Offer to Give Sunnis Larger Role on Broader Panel Writing a Constitution
By JOHN F. BURNS

Iraq's dominant Shiite religious parties agreed to establish a constitutional commission with as many as 15 of the 101 seats reserved for Sunni Arabs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/international/middleeast/26politics.html?ex=1117771200&en=04288c3c6dbceadb&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:17:59 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:24:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: U.S. 'Thumbs Its Nose' at Rights,
	Amnesty Says
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INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 26, 2005

U.S. 'Thumbs Its Nose' at Rights, Amnesty Says
By ALAN COWELL

Amnesty International accused the U.S. of condoning human rights violations, thereby diminishing its moral authority.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/international/europe/26amnesty.html?ex=1117771200&en=5f313483c378812e&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:18:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:24:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Abbas's Gamble: Pulling a Foe Into
	Palestinian Politics
Message-ID: <20050526131834.A40F33AE3EF@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 26, 2005

Abbas's Gamble: Pulling a Foe Into Palestinian Politics
By STEVEN ERLANGER

When the Palestinian leader meets with President Bush, one of the main issues will be whether Hamas can be brought into the political mainstream.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/international/middleeast/26hamas.html?ex=1117771200&en=81746c2e4ffaa5e5&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:19:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:25:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Violence Mars Egyptian Referendum About
	Presidential Vote
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INTERNATIONAL | May 26, 2005

Violence Mars Egyptian Referendum About Presidential Vote
By NOHA EL HENNAWY and HASSAN M. FATTAH

Egyptians voted on an amendment to open the way for presidential elections with more than one candidate for the first time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/international/26egypt.html?ex=1117771200&en=d6162a9db28d651f&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 07:23:07 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 16:29:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pipeline Done,
	Oil From Azerbaijan Begins Flowing to Turkey
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Phase I. Phase II is the pipeline that will go through Afghanistan et al - the one we went to war for... Peace.


BUSINESS / WORLD BUSINESS | May 26, 2005

Pipeline Done, Oil From Azerbaijan Begins Flowing to Turkey
By ERIN E. ARVEDLUND

A long-awaited $3.6 billion oil pipeline linking the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean took its first flow of crude from Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/business/worldbusiness/26pipeline.html?ex=1117771200&en=7c7cac3ee94aec74&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 26 07:59:50 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 25 18:06:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Algarve United and the Iberian lynx
Message-ID: <20050526_145950_044187.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Algarve United and the Iberian lynx **
A football club owner in Portugal has decided to spend money on a big cat in danger of extinction, writes Julian Pettifer.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4579015.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 26 08:00:28 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 25 18:06:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Iraq to launch huge Baghdad raids
Message-ID: <20050526_150028_029100.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Iraq to launch huge Baghdad raids **
A 40,000-strong force is to battle insurgents in Baghdad, Iraq's defence minister announces.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4582615.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Thu May 26 08:01:43 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Wed May 25 18:07:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: FBI records detail Koran claims
Message-ID: <20050526_150143_007967.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** FBI records detail Koran claims **
US documents show Guantanamo Bay detainees alleged in 2002 that guards desecrated the Koran.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4581383.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Thu May 26 08:33:27 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Wed May 25 18:40:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?Confirmation_of_Bolton_Would_Shatter_I?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?ntelligence_Analysts=27_Morale=A0=A0By_Ray_McGovern?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?_?=
Message-ID: <20050526153327.96100.qmail@web53004.mail.yahoo.com>

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052505A.shtml   

 Confirmation of Bolton Would Shatter
Intelligence Analysts' Morale 
    By Ray McGovern 
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Wednesday 25 May 2005

    Few have more at stake in the expected Senate
approval of John Bolton to be US representative
at the U.N. than the remnant group of demoralized
intelligence analysts trained and still willing
to speak truth to power. What would be the point
in continuing, they ask, when - like so many
other policymakers - Bolton reserves the right to
"state his own reading of the intelligence" (as
he wrote to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee)?

    Given his well-earned reputation for
stretching intelligence beyond the breaking point
to "justify" his own policy preferences, Bolton’s
confirmation would loose a hemorrhage of honest
analysts, while the kind of malleable careerists
who cooked intelligence to "justify" the
administration’s prior decision for war on Iraq
will prosper. I refer to those who saluted
obediently when former CIA director George Tenet
told them, as he told his British counterpart in
July 2002, that the facts needed to be "fixed
around the policy" of regime change in Iraq.

    It Has All Happened Before

    Bolton’s confirmation hearings provide an
eerie flashback to the challenge that Robert
Gates encountered in 1991 during his Senate
hearings in late 1991, after President George H.
W. Bush nominated him to be CIA director. The
parallels are striking. The nomination of Gates,
who as head of CIA analysis had earned a
reputation among the analysts for cooking
intelligence to the recipe of high policy and
promoting those who cooperated, brought a revolt
among the most experienced intelligence
professionals.

    Playing the role discharged so well last
month by former state department intelligence
director Carl Ford in exposing Bolton’s
heavy-handed attempts to politicize intelligence,
former senior Soviet analyst and CIA division
chief Mel Goodman stepped forward and gave the
Senate intelligence committee chapter and verse
on how Gates had shaped intelligence analysis to
satisfy his masters and advance his career.
Goodman was joined at once by other CIA analysts
who put their own careers at risk by testifying
against Gates’ nomination. They were so many and
so persuasive that, for a time, it appeared they
had won the day. But the fix was in.

    With a powerful assist from former CIA chief
George Tenet, then staff director of the senate
intelligence committee, members approved the
nomination. Even so, 31 Senators found the
evidence against Gates so persuasive that, in an
unprecedented move, they voted No when the
nomination came to the floor.

    The First Exodus and Those Who Stayed

    After Gates was confirmed, many bright
analysts who scored high on integrity quit rather
than take part in cooking "intelligence-to-go."
In contrast, those inspired by Gates’ example and
his meteoric career followed suit and saw their
careers flourish. This explains why, in Sept.
2002 when the White House asked Tenet and his
senior managers to prepare a National
Intelligence Estimate (NIE) parroting what Vice
President Dick Cheney had been saying about the
weapons-of-mass-destruction threat from Iraq,
these malleable careerists caved in and did the
administration’s bidding. Most of the key players
in 2002 had been protégés of Gates.

    These include Tenet’s deputy, John
McLaughlin, who became acting director when Tenet
left in July 2004 to spend more time with his
family. Like his former boss, McLaughlin cannot
now recall being told that one of the key sources
of information highlighted in Colin Powell’s
unfortunate speech at the U.N. on Feb. 5, 2003
was an alcoholic, who had been championed by
advocates of war on Iraq for his peddling of
"intelligence" on phantom "mobile biological
warfare laboratories." Also included among the
players in 2002 are the obedient National
Intelligence Officer who blessed the insertion of
the biological warfare drivel and other nonsense
into the NIE, and the manager who supervised
misbegotten analytical efforts regarding the
non-nuclear-related aluminum tubes headed for
Iraq, as well as the reports on Iraqi efforts to
acquire uranium from Niger - reports based on
crude forgeries.

    Also included: folks like the CIA Inspector
General, who bowed to pressure from the White
House and from McLaughlin last summer to suppress
the exhaustive IG report on 9/11. (Release of
that report before the election would have been
an extreme embarrassment, since it is a goldmine
of names - of both intelligence officials and
policymakers - who bungled the many warnings that
such attacks were coming.) And folks like the
intelligence manager of more recent vintage who
recently tried to explain it all to me: "We were
not politicized; we just thought it appropriate
to ‘lean forward,’ given White House concern over
Iraq."

    Politicization Prospers

    The cancer of politicization spreads quickly,
runs deep, and - as we have seen on Iraq - can
help bring catastrophe.

    Thanks to an official British government
document leaked to the Sunday Times of London, we
now know that - well before the infamous NIE of
Oct. 1, 2002 on Iraqi "weapons of mass
destruction" - the White House told senior
British officials that the US had decided to
remove Saddam Hussein by military force. On July
23, 2002 the head of the UK's foreign
intelligence service, fresh back from talks in
Washington with CIA counterpart George Tenet,
told Prime Minister Tony Blair, "Intelligence and
facts were being fixed around the policy." It is
quite rare to have documentary proof of this kind
of intelligence-fixing-and-disinformation
campaign.

    Barring the unexpected, and despite
continuing efforts by Senator George Voinovich
(R-Ohio) to prevent Bolton from being confirmed,
the Republican-dominated Senate seems sure to
confirm him, even though the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee after looking so carefully
into his qualifications could not endorse him.

    This, too, has happened before. In 1983, the
committee voted 14 to 3 to reject the nomination
of Kenneth Adelman to be director of the Arms
Control and Disarmament Agency. He was
nonetheless confirmed in the full
Republican-controlled Senate by a vote of 57 to
42. Still an influential adviser to Cheney and
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Adelman was among
those arguing most strongly three years ago for
attacking Iraq. Like Bolton, he never hesitated
to "state his own reading of the intelligence."
It was Adelman who achieved dubious fame by
assuring all who would listen that the invasion
would be a "cakewalk."

-------------------------------------------
    Ray McGovern spent 27 years as a CIA analyst,
during which he chaired National Intelligence
Estimates and prepared and briefed to senior
White House officials the President's Daily
Brief. He is a founding member of Veteran
Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and now
works at Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the
ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC
From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Thu May 26 08:36:58 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Wed May 25 18:43:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Against Discouragement By Howard Zinn 
Message-ID: <20050526153658.17536.qmail@web53010.mail.yahoo.com>

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052505M.shtml

Against Discouragement 
    By Howard Zinn 
    Tom Dispatch

    Wednesday 25 May 2005
In 1963, historian Howard Zinn was fired from
Spelman College, where he was chair of the
History Department, because of his civil rights
activities. This year, he was invited back to
give the commencement address. Here is the text
of that speech, given on May 15, 2005.


    I am deeply honored to be invited back to
Spelman after forty-two years. I would like to
thank the faculty and trustees who voted to
invite me, and especially your president, Dr.
Beverly Tatum. And it is a special privilege to
be here with Diahann Carroll and Virginia Davis
Floyd.

    But this is your day - the students
graduating today. It's a happy day for you and
your families. I know you have your own hopes for
the future, so it may be a little presumptuous
for me to tell you what hopes I have for you, but
they are exactly the same ones that I have for my
grandchildren.

    My first hope is that you will not be too
discouraged by the way the world looks at this
moment. It is easy to be discouraged, because our
nation is at war - still another war, war after
war - and our government seems determined to
expand its empire even if it costs the lives of
tens of thousands of human beings. There is
poverty in this country, and homelessness, and
people without health care, and crowded
classrooms, but our government, which has
trillions of dollars to spend, is spending its
wealth on war. There are a billion people in
Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East
who need clean water and medicine to deal with
malaria and tuberculosis and AIDS, but our
government, which has thousands of nuclear
weapons, is experimenting with even more deadly
nuclear weapons. Yes, it is easy to be
discouraged by all that.

    But let me tell you why, in spite of what I
have just described, you must not be discouraged.

    I want to remind you that, fifty years ago,
racial segregation here in the South was
entrenched as tightly as was apartheid in South
Africa. The national government, even with
liberal presidents like Kennedy and Johnson in
office, was looking the other way while black
people were beaten and killed and denied the
opportunity to vote. So black people in the South
decided they had to do something by themselves.
They boycotted and sat in and picketed and
demonstrated, and were beaten and jailed, and
some were killed, but their cries for freedom
were soon heard all over the nation and around
the world, and the President and Congress finally
did what they had previously failed to do -
enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments to the
Constitution. Many people had said: The South
will never change. But it did change. It changed
because ordinary people organized and took risks
and challenged the system and would not give up.
That's when democracy came alive.

    I want to remind you also that when the war
in Vietnam was going on, and young Americans were
dying and coming home paralyzed, and our
government was bombing the villages of Vietnam -
bombing schools and hospitals and killing
ordinary people in huge numbers - it looked
hopeless to try to stop the war. But just as in
the Southern movement, people began to protest
and soon it caught on. It was a national
movement. Soldiers were coming back and
denouncing the war, and young people were
refusing to join the military, and the war had to
end.

    The lesson of that history is that you must
not despair, that if you are right, and you
persist, things will change. The government may
try to deceive the people, and the newspapers and
television may do the same, but the truth has a
way of coming out. The truth has a power greater
than a hundred lies. I know you have practical
things to do - to get jobs and get married and
have children. You may become prosperous and be
considered a success in the way our society
defines success, by wealth and standing and
prestige. But that is not enough for a good life.

    Remember Tolstoy's story, "The Death of Ivan
Illych." A man on his deathbed reflects on his
life, how he has done everything right, obeyed
the rules, become a judge, married, had children,
and is looked upon as a success. Yet, in his last
hours, he wonders why he feels a failure. After
becoming a famous novelist, Tolstoy himself had
decided that this was not enough, that he must
speak out against the treatment of the Russian
peasants, that he must write against war and
militarism.

    My hope is that whatever you do to make a
good life for yourself - whether you become a
teacher, or social worker, or business person, or
lawyer, or poet, or scientist - you will devote
part of your life to making this a better world
for your children, for all children. My hope is
that your generation will demand an end to war,
that your generation will do something that has
not yet been done in history and wipe out the
national boundaries that separate us from other
human beings on this earth.

    Recently I saw a photo on the front page of
the New York Times which I cannot get out of my
mind. It showed ordinary Americans sitting on
chairs on the southern border of Arizona, facing
Mexico. They were holding guns and they were
looking for Mexicans who might be trying to cross
the border into the United States. This was
horrifying to me - the realization that, in this
twenty-first century of what we call
"civilization," we have carved up what we claim
is one world into two hundred artificially
created entities we call "nations" and are ready
to kill anyone who crosses a boundary.

    Is not nationalism - that devotion to a flag,
an anthem, a boundary, so fierce it leads to
murder - one of the great evils of our time,
along with racism, along with religious hatred?
These ways of thinking, cultivated, nurtured,
indoctrinated from childhood on, have been useful
to those in power, deadly for those out of power.

    Here in the United States, we are brought up
to believe that our nation is different from
others, an exception in the world, uniquely
moral; that we expand into other lands in order
to bring civilization, liberty, democracy. But if
you know some history you know that's not true.
If you know some history, you know we massacred
Indians on this continent, invaded Mexico, sent
armies into Cuba, and the Philippines. We killed
huge numbers of people, and we did not bring them
democracy or liberty. We did not go into Vietnam
to bring democracy; we did not invade Panama to
stop the drug trade; we did not invade
Afghanistan and Iraq to stop terrorism. Our aims
were the aims of all the other empires of world
history - more profit for corporations, more
power for politicians.

    The poets and artists among us seem to have a
clearer understanding of the disease of
nationalism. Perhaps the black poets especially
are less enthralled with the virtues of American
"liberty" and "democracy," their people having
enjoyed so little of it. The great
African-American poet Langston Hughes addressed
his country as follows:

    You really haven't been a virgin for so long.

    It's ludicrous to keep up the pretext...

    You've slept with all the big powers 
    In military uniforms, 
    And you've taken the sweet life 
    Of all the little brown fellows...

    Being one of the world's big vampires, 
    Why don't you come on out and say so 
    Like Japan, and England, and France, 
    And all the other nymphomaniacs of power.

    I am a veteran of the Second World War. That
was considered a "good war," but I have come to
the conclusion that war solves no fundamental
problems and only leads to more wars. War poisons
the minds of soldiers, leads them to kill and
torture, and poisons the soul of the nation.

    My hope is that your generation will demand
that your children be brought up in a world
without war. It we want a world in which the
people of all countries are brothers and sisters,
if the children all over the world are considered
as our children, then war - in which children are
always the greatest casualties - cannot be
accepted as a way of solving problems.

    I was on the faculty of Spelman College for
seven years, from 1956 to 1963. It was a
heartwarming time, because the friends we made in
those years have remained our friends all these
years. My wife Roslyn and I and our two children
lived on campus. Sometimes when we went into
town, white people would ask: How is it to be
living in the black community? It was hard to
explain. But we knew this - that in downtown
Atlanta, we felt as if we were in alien
territory, and when we came back to the Spelman
campus, we felt that we were at home.

    Those years at Spelman were the most exciting
of my life, the most educational certainly. I
learned more from my students than they learned
from me. Those were the years of the great
movement in the South against racial segregation,
and I became involved in that in Atlanta, in
Albany, Georgia, in Selma, Alabama, in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Greenwood and Itta
Bena and Jackson. I learned something about
democracy: that it does not come from the
government, from on high, it comes from people
getting together and struggling for justice. I
learned about race. I learned something that any
intelligent person realizes at a certain point -
that race is a manufactured thing, an artificial
thing, and while race does matter (as Cornel West
has written), it only matters because certain
people want it to matter, just as nationalism is
something artificial. I learned that what really
matters is that all of us - of whatever so-called
race and so-called nationality - are human beings
and should cherish one another.

    I was lucky to be at Spelman at a time when I
could watch a marvelous transformation in my
students, who were so polite, so quiet, and then
suddenly they were leaving the campus and going
into town, and sitting in, and being arrested,
and then coming out of jail full of fire and
rebellion. You can read all about that in Harry
Lefever's book Undaunted by the Fight. One day
Marian Wright (now Marian Wright Edelman), who
was my student at Spelman, and was one of the
first arrested in the Atlanta sit-ins, came to
our house on campus to show us a petition she was
about to put on the bulletin board of her
dormitory. The heading on the petition epitomized
the transformation taking place at Spelman
College. Marian had written on top of the
petition: "Young Ladies Who Can Picket, Please
Sign Below."

    My hope is that you will not be content just
to be successful in the way that our society
measures success; that you will not obey the
rules, when the rules are unjust; that you will
act out the courage that I know is in you. There
are wonderful people, black and white, who are
models. I don't mean African- Americans like
Condoleezza Rice, or Colin Powell, or Clarence
Thomas, who have become servants of the rich and
powerful. I mean W.E.B. DuBois and Martin Luther
King and Malcolm X and Marian Wright Edelman, and
James Baldwin and Josephine Baker and good white
folk, too, who defied the Establishment to work
for peace and justice.

    Another of my students at Spelman, Alice
Walker, who, like Marian, has remained our friend
all these years, came from a tenant farmer's
family in Eatonton, Georgia, and became a famous
writer. In one of her first published poems, she
wrote:

    It is true -- 
    I've always loved 
    the daring 
    ones 
    Like the black young 
    man 
    Who tried 
    to crash 
    All barriers 
    at once, 
    wanted to 
    swim 
    At a white 
    beach (in Alabama) 
    Nude.

    I am not suggesting you go that far, but you
can help to break down barriers, of race
certainly, but also of nationalism; that you do
what you can - you don't have to do something
heroic, just something, to join with millions of
others who will just do something, because all of
those somethings, at certain points in history,
come together, and make the world better.

    That marvelous African-American writer Zora
Neale Hurston, who wouldn't do what white people
wanted her to do, who wouldn't do what black
people wanted her to do, who insisted on being
herself, said that her mother advised her: Leap
for the sun - you may not reach it, but at least
you will get off the ground.

    By being here today, you are already standing
on your toes, ready to leap. My hope for you is a
good life.

------------------------------------
    Howard Zinn is the author with Anthony Arnove
of the just published Voices of a People's
History of the United States (Seven Stories
Press) and of the international best-selling A
People's History of the United States.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 26 09:31:04 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harry)
Date: Wed May 25 19:37:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Appetite for Amazon destruction
Message-ID: <20050526_163104_009466.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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

** Message **
Brazil's maddness !!

** Appetite for Amazon destruction **
In Brazil, Sue Branford returns to a small community in the Brazilian rainforest and makes a surprising discovery.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4578357.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 e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 13:13:01 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 22:19:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Why Exactly Do We Want to Hold the Saudis'
	Hand?
Message-ID: <20050526191309.2263B9FC56@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

BOOKS / SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW | May 21, 2005

Books of the Times | Secrets of the Kingdom: Why Exactly Do We Want to Hold the Saudis' Hand?
By WILLIAM GRIMES

Gerald Posner argues that the thirst for oil and the greed of American companies have driven the U.S. into an unseemly alliance with Saudi Arabia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/books/review/21grim.html?ex=1117771200&en=7b8b16c430c34765&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 13:13:57 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 22:20:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: W.H.O. Moves Toward Allowing Smallpox Gene
	Experiment
Message-ID: <20050526191400.54D313AE37A@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Who else thinks this is a bad idea?


SCIENCE | May 21, 2005

W.H.O. Moves Toward Allowing Smallpox Gene Experiment
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN

The World Health Organization moved closer to approving an experiment to manipulate the genes of the smallpox virus for the first time since the disease was eradicated 25 years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/science/21smallpox.html?ex=1117771200&en=1d82be9cad21c77b&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Thu May 26 13:15:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Wed May 25 22:22:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Plan to Let F.B.I. Track Mail in Terrorism
	Inquiries
Message-ID: <20050526191548.EC6E9A100B@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

an EXTREMELY bad precedent!!


WASHINGTON | May 21, 2005

Plan to Let F.B.I. Track Mail in Terrorism Inquiries
By ERIC LICHTBLAU

The proposal would give the bureau access to the names, addresses and all other material appearing on the outside of letters to or from people in terror investigations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/21/politics/21terror.html?ex=1117771200&en=caf0024e7699776f&ei=5070



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From arianna at ariannaonline.com  Wed May 25 16:13:12 2005
From: arianna at ariannaonline.com (Arianna Huffington)
Date: Wed May 25 22:27:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Next Dem Battlefront: Iraq  5-25-05
Message-ID: <200505260527.j4Q5RPQE012824@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Here is my latest column.  For those wanting more, I -- and dozens of others -- are blogging 24/7 at www.huffingtonpost.com.  Check it out.


--


NEXT DEM BATTLEFRONT: IRAQ 

By Arianna Huffington

Now that the Democrats have won the battle over the nuclear option (or, atleast, come away with a tie), they need to turn their attention to what it's going to take to become more than a minority party that wins a battle every now and then. They have been surprisingly successful at battling Bush's domestic agenda, but if they're going to broaden their appeal they firsthave to broaden their battlefronts to include Iraq.  

After John Kerry lost in November, the conventional wisdom was that hehadn't been "me-too" enough about Iraq. Actually, the truth is the exact opposite.

This war is a quagmire, and if the Democrats don't know it, the American people do - 57 percent don't believe the Iraq war was worth it.

Tuesday (May 24) the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a British think tank, released its "2004/2005 Strategic Survey." The report, a well-respected annual assessment of the security situation worldwide, cites a number of positive developments in the Middle East. 

But it's important to remember that they're hardly the product of Bush's policies. After all, Bush wasn't responsible for the death of Yasser Arafat, nor did he order the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the anti-Syrian former Prime Minister of Lebanon, which touched off the pro-democracy demonstrations there.

What is most stunning about the report is the bleak picture it paints of the situation in Iraq. Some lowlights:

"From al Qaeda's point of view, Bush's Iraq policies have arguably produced a confluence of propitious circumstances"..."(The U.S. is] hated by much of the Islamic world and regarded warily even by its allies"..."The upsurge in violence in April and May indicates that neither the U.S. military nor the nascent Iraq security forces have managed to increase their capacity to control the country"..."Such illegal practices (detainee abuses) made the achievement of any broad international coalition in Iraq even more difficult than it already was, and strengthened the cause of the insurgents."

No mention of Newsweek anywhere, by the way.

The report was published on Tuesday - another day of murder and mayhem in Iraq, with "more than 100 Iraqis...killed or injured in a wave of bombings since Monday morning." Fifty-eight Americans and over 500 Iraqis have been killed since April 28, when the new Iraqi government was installed.

Yes, it's great that the Democrats staved off the nuclear option. But the reason the nuclear option was even a possibility in the first place is because they have ceded the foreign policy battlefront to a majority party that doesn't represent the majority on the crucial foreign policy issue of Iraq. When will Democrats realize that they will remain a minority party so long as they only dare to take on Bush and the Republicans on domestic issues?

They certainly cannot count on the media to put Iraq on the front burner. As Mark Halperin, Political Director of ABC News, admitted earlier this month,Iraq "simply isn't going to break through to American news organizations." Indeed, it's worse than that - as was illustrated on "Meet the Press" last Sunday, when Howard Dean raised the specter of Iraq, and Tim Russert quickly took him back to his hot-headed rhetoric and style:

DEAN: Because of the president's actions, I would argue that we are in greater danger now because of what's going on in Iraq than we were before.  Now there are terrorists in Iraq. They have migrated there since our troops
were there.

RUSSERT: Let me stay on your rhetoric... 

Nice pivot, Tim. Yes, by all means, let's stay on Dean's rhetoric rather than on the insignificant fact that our country is less safe as a result of our invasion of Iraq.

Now that Social Security is not going private and the Senate is not going nuclear, it's time for Democrats and the media to get their priorities in order.


? 2005 Arianna Huffington.
Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.


 





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From anonymous at trinity.democracynow.org  Thu May 26 11:51:10 2005
From: anonymous at trinity.democracynow.org (anonymous@trinity.democracynow.org)
Date: Wed May 25 22:30:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FBI Files Show Guantanamo Detainees Reported Desecration
	of Koran Beginning in 2002
Message-ID: <20050526185110.18008.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

michael  (  )
sent you this story from democracynow.org




+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  FBI Files Show Guantanamo Detainees Reported Desecration of Koran Beginning in 2002
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/26/1427219
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


One prisoner interviewed in August 2002, said that guards had flushed the Koran in the toilet. Others reported the Koran being kicked, withheld as punishment and thrown on the floor.  On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union released these newly declassified documents. [includes rush transcript]
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/26/1427219

From ean at sbcglobal.net  Wed May 25 22:17:10 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed May 25 22:39:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] (sorry about this but....) Bush and Frist Got What They
	Wanted
Message-ID: <200505260539.j4Q5dSOn012868@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

I have received emails from MoveOn, envirogroups, Barbara Boxer 
and others about how great it was that the Senate compromised to 
avoid the Nuclear Option.  Sorry to rain on the parade, but it seems to 
me the following take is more accurate.  I always think its better to 
acknowledge the brutal facts and then move on than to pretend....(and 
if me and R Kuttner are wrong that's a bonus!)

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0525-20.htm

Published on Wednesday, May 25, 2005 by the Boston Globe
Bush and Frist Got What They Wanted
by Robert Kuttner
 

The Wasington press corps loves the conceit that polarization is what 
ails American politics and that bipartisan moderation will save the day. 
The high drama of the ''nuclear option" averted by brave moderates 
from both parties fits the script perfectly.

In the conventional account, Republican leader Bill Frist, tired of court 
nominees being denied a floor vote by obstructionist Democrats, 
threatened to scrap the filibuster rule. Just hours before this nuclear 
option was to be exercised, 14 moderates of both parties, after 
marathon negotiations, heroically fashioned a compromise in which 
just three controversial nominees get a floor vote, and the filibuster is 
preserved.

Several press accounts had Frist isolated and humiliated, and right-
wing groups furious. The only problem is that this happy spin is almost 
totally wrong. Consider what actually happened.

By threatening what amounted to a parliamentary coup d'etat, Frist got 
nearly everything he wanted. A rules change requires a two-thirds vote. 
Frist's ''nuclear option" would have had the leadership rule from the 
chair that the filibuster can be scrapped for judicial nominees; then a 
simple majority of 51 senators would have upheld the parliamentary 
ruling. End of filibuster.

Faced with bad publicity for this show of crude force, several 
Republicans looked for a face-saver that would still preserve the 
substantive result -- confirmation of extremist nominees. They and 
Frist won. This was no mutiny against the Senate leader; it was merely 
a change of tactic.

What does the vaunted compromise actually do? First, it guarantees 
an up-or-down floor vote on three of the most reactionary judges ever 
to come before the Senate: Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor, and 
Priscilla Owen. It was Democratic resistance to these appellate 
nominees that caused Frist to go nuclear in the first place. He and 
George W. Bush won. The three judges are now likely to be confirmed, 
and other extremist nominees will keep coming.

Second, the deal commits the GOP to relent on the plan to scrap the 
filibuster, but only for now. Frist is free to revive the nuclear option any 
time he likes, say, when the first Bush nominee to the Supreme Court 
comes before the Senate. Frist can hold this threat over the heads of 
Democrats, who are committed to minimize the use of filibusters.

Frist, Bush, and the Republican propaganda machine have been 
expressing outrage that Bush has been denied a handful of court 
nominees. The fact is that Republicans denied Bill Clinton far more 
court nominees, not by filibustering, but by refusing to let nominations 
out of committee. And Clinton tended to appoint moderates in an effort 
to appease Republicans, while Bush's nominees are mostly far-right 
conservatives.

Frist needed 50 votes plus Vice President Cheney as tie-breaker to 
sustain his threatened parliamentary coup.

In the end, seven of the 55 Senate Republicans decided to pursue this 
''compromise," leaving him two votes short. But if these Republicans 
were genuinely moderates, they would not just be providing this 
parliamentary fig leaf; they would be voting against confirmation of 
these extremist nominees when they come up for a floor vote.

If you want to look for profiles in courage, see whether ''moderate" 
Republicans like Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, John 
McCain of Arizona, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island actually 
oppose any of these nominees. For the most part, these people 
posture moderate and then do Bush's bidding.

The nuclear option is a very fitting analogy. Throughout the Cold War, 
the two super powers never used nuclear weapons. It was the threat to 
use them that produced the power. This is what Frist has done. He did 
not have to blow up a Senate norm, and he got his way just the same.

This week's nuclear compromise was no victory for moderation. It was 
just the latest in a series of salami tactics, where the right takes some 
now and comes back for more later.

In addition to the myth of bipartisan moderation, another myth is that 
the country wants moderate policies but that both parties are at fault 
for moving to the extremes. In fact, the Democrats have moved 
steadily to the center on issues of social outlay, progressive taxation, 
and deregulation, while Bush has worked to energize his party's most 
extremist interest groups.

If the country is not getting moderate policies, it's because the Bush 
administration has shown that if you play real hardball, you can enact 
policies far to the right of what most voters want.

Robert Kuttner is co-editor of The American Prospect.

? 2005 Boston Globe

###

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You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May 26 12:34:30 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 25 22:40:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Middle East & Africa - Crackdown as Egypt votes
	on constitution 
Message-ID: <24317409.1117136070975.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May 26 12:35:54 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 25 22:42:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Analysis - Left turn, Mexico? 
Message-ID: <19500126.1117136154286.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May 26 12:54:45 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 25 23:01:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article for you from an Economist.com reader.
Message-ID: <200505261932.PAA16725@stage-web-app.economist.com>

  
- AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - 

Dear civic,

Michael Butler (michael@intrafi.com) wants you to see this article on Economist.com.



(Note: the sender's e-mail address above has not been verified.)

Subscribe to The Economist print edition, get great savings and FREE full access to Economist.com.  Click here to subscribe:  http://www.economist.com/subscriptions/email.cfm 

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FINGERS OFF THE NUCLEAR BUTTON, FOR NOW
May 24th 2005  

Democrats and Republicans have backed away from a potentially
catastrophic clash over judges in America's Senate. A vote to confirm
some conservative judges while protecting the liberal minority's rights
will keep the peace for a time. But fighting may break out again before
long

WAS it disaster avoided, or postponed? For weeks, a showdown over
George Bush's judicial nominees had threatened to devastate America's
Senate. Mr Bush had proposed several judges that Senate Democrats found
unacceptable. The Democrats threatened a filibuster, a parliamentary
procedure for delaying votes that can only be overcome with 60 of the
Senate's 100 votes. The Republicans, controlling just 55 votes,
counter-threatened to change the rules governing the filibuster--a
so-called "nuclear option" that could have brought co-operation between
the parties to a standstill.  

But late on Monday May 23rd, the two sides struck a deal. Several of
the most controversial judges will go to a Senate vote, which they will
almost certainly win. In exchange, the Republicans will not push the
nuclear option, and both sides promise in future only to filibuster
judicial nominees in "extraordinary circumstances", with that term left
undefined. The moderates who struck the deal emerged relieved and
smiling from their conclave. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat,
said: "Armageddon has been avoided. Thank God."  

For now, at least. The nuclear option, which had been scheduled for a
vote on Tuesday, would have, in the eyes of Democrats, overturned two
centuries of tradition in which the Senate has been the more careful
and deliberative of the two houses of Congress. The House of
Representatives, sniff senators, is for raucous party-line hacks.
Senators serve long, six-year terms, and are usually more independent
of their party leaderships. Senators are proud of their traditions of
comity and compromise, habitually boasting that theirs is the "world's
greatest deliberative body".

The nuclear option certainly would have changed that. Republicans
sought not to eliminate the filibuster entirely--merely the filibuster
on judicial nominees. But Democrats nonetheless threatened to bring the
work of the Senate to a grinding halt, using all the niggling
parliamentary tactics available to make sure that getting anything done
would be nigh-impossible. This was a dangerous strategy: whether or not
Americans agreed with ending the filibuster, the Democrats risked
appearing petulant and selfish at a time when the economy and national
security continue to cry for attention. (The shutdown of government by
Newt Gingrich's congressional Republicans in 1995 had ended up hurting
Mr Gingrich's party.) So it was a strategy that Harry Reid, the Senate
Democrats' leader, was keen to avoid.  

But both Mr Reid and Bill Frist, his Republican counterpart, were under
heavy pressure from the uncompromising wings of their party to hold
their ground. Among the central issues, as ever, were the nominees'
opinions on emotive issues like abortion and religion. For example,
William Pryor, one of Mr Bush's nominees, has called ROE V WADE, the
Supreme Court decision that guaranteed access to abortion, "the worst
abomination of constitutional law in our history". This kind of talk
thrills religious conservatives (whom Mr Frist is courting, in
anticipation of running for president in 2008) and appals secular
liberals. Well-funded and well-organised groups were pushing both
Senate leaders not to back down. Someone seemed bound to suffer
humiliation. That nobody did redounds to the credit of a handful of
centrists, especially those serving in states that tend to favour the
opposing party. Notable among the compromisers were Republicans from
the northeast and Democrats from the Midwest and South.  

APOCALYPSE LATER?
Just because there was no nuclear war does not mean that there will be
no fallout. Mr Frist, in particular, may feel the wrath of religious
conservatives, for whom a vote on every judge in question (two will now
be put aside indefinitely) was the only acceptable outcome. Meanwhile,
Democrats will take some flak for letting through judges like Mr Pryor
who will pull the judiciary further to the right. The federal bench
being the only branch of government not already dominated by the
Republicans, this could demoralise a party already adrift and spending
more of its time trying to stop Mr Bush's policies than proposing
alternatives.

Moreover, the fight may not yet be over. The agreement, and the wording
of "extraordinary circumstances", included enough ambiguity to let both
sides claim victory. But the real battle, everyone agrees, is still
ahead, when a vacancy opens up on the Supreme Court. The chief justice,
William Rehnquist, is suffering from cancer and seems certain to retire
during Mr Bush's term. He is conservative, but often considered a
pragmatic one whom Mr Bush could replace with a more ideological
figure. And John Paul Stevens, one of the court's liberal stalwarts, is
85. His replacement with a conservative would shift a 5-4 conservative
majority to 6-3. Liberals are desperate to prevent this.

Replacing Mr Rehnquist with another conservative might not trigger a
showdown. But if an abortion-rights supporter retires or dies and Mr
Bush nominates a ROE V WADE opponent to fill the vacancy--as his
conservative base and his own beliefs are almost certain to make him
do--Democrats are likely to consider this an "extreme circumstance".
Then the fight could begin anew, with Democrats threatening a
filibuster and Mr Frist, carried by his presidential ambitions, once
again threatening the nuclear option. 

Both parties have an interest in forestalling this. The Democrats risk
being seen as a hapless minority capable only of obstruction, which
could make voters unwilling to give them a chance at power in
congressional elections next year and the presidential poll in 2008.
Republicans, for their part, risk being portrayed as extremists. The
Terri Schiavo affair, in which Congress intervened to try to save a
brain-damaged woman from having her feeding tube removed, was a
public-relations embarrassment. The party that once stood for small
government is seen as liking big government just fine when it is in
control.  

But voters remain sceptical of giving either side too much power--as
Bill Clinton learned after two years of undivided power early in his
first term. His overambitious efforts to push a nationalising
health-care bill and other leftish goals led to a surprise trouncing in
the 1994 congressional elections. Some Republicans are now bearing this
precedent in mind. Compromise forestalled nuclear war this week, and
both sides have an interest in keeping their fingers off the button in
the future. But they may not be able to.

 

See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4006031&fsrc=nwl

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From michael at intrafi.com  Thu May 26 13:08:11 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Wed May 25 23:14:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200505262008.j4QK8BVl013437@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052605X.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From sierrapecheur at verizon.net  Thu May 26 13:33:34 2005
From: sierrapecheur at verizon.net (Sierra Pecheur)
Date: Wed May 25 23:39:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] (sorry about this but....) Bush and Frist Got What
	TheyWanted
References: <200505260539.j4Q5dSOn012868@dune.islandtechnologies.net>
Message-ID: <001b01c56232$30a936d0$816a6947@xplcp>

Absolutely agree they got what they wanted and left the sword of damocles hanging. s
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: ean@sbcglobal.net 
  To: ean@sbcglobal.net 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 10:17 PM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] (sorry about this but....) Bush and Frist Got What TheyWanted


  I have received emails from MoveOn, envirogroups, Barbara Boxer and others about how great it was that the Senate compromised to avoid the Nuclear Option.  Sorry to rain on the parade, but it seems to me the following take is more accurate.  I always think its better to acknowledge the brutal facts and then move on than to pretend....(and if me and R Kuttner are wrong that's a bonus!)


  http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0525-20.htm


  Published on Wednesday, May 25, 2005 by the Boston Globe
  Bush and Frist Got What They Wanted
  by Robert Kuttner


  The Wasington press corps loves the conceit that polarization is what ails American politics and that bipartisan moderation will save the day. The high drama of the ''nuclear option" averted by brave moderates from both parties fits the script perfectly.


  In the conventional account, Republican leader Bill Frist, tired of court nominees being denied a floor vote by obstructionist Democrats, threatened to scrap the filibuster rule. Just hours before this nuclear option was to be exercised, 14 moderates of both parties, after marathon negotiations, heroically fashioned a compromise in which just three controversial nominees get a floor vote, and the filibuster is preserved.


  Several press accounts had Frist isolated and humiliated, and right- wing groups furious. The only problem is that this happy spin is almost totally wrong. Consider what actually happened.


  By threatening what amounted to a parliamentary coup d'etat, Frist got nearly everything he wanted. A rules change requires a two-thirds vote. Frist's ''nuclear option" would have had the leadership rule from the chair that the filibuster can be scrapped for judicial nominees; then a simple majority of 51 senators would have upheld the parliamentary ruling. End of filibuster.


  Faced with bad publicity for this show of crude force, several Republicans looked for a face-saver that would still preserve the substantive result -- confirmation of extremist nominees. They and Frist won. This was no mutiny against the Senate leader; it was merely a change of tactic.


  What does the vaunted compromise actually do? First, it guarantees an up-or-down floor vote on three of the most reactionary judges ever to come before the Senate: Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor, and Priscilla Owen. It was Democratic resistance to these appellate nominees that caused Frist to go nuclear in the first place. He and George W. Bush won. The three judges are now likely to be confirmed, and other extremist nominees will keep coming.


  Second, the deal commits the GOP to relent on the plan to scrap the filibuster, but only for now. Frist is free to revive the nuclear option any time he likes, say, when the first Bush nominee to the Supreme Court comes before the Senate. Frist can hold this threat over the heads of Democrats, who are committed to minimize the use of filibusters.


  Frist, Bush, and the Republican propaganda machine have been expressing outrage that Bush has been denied a handful of court nominees. The fact is that Republicans denied Bill Clinton far more court nominees, not by filibustering, but by refusing to let nominations out of committee. And Clinton tended to appoint moderates in an effort to appease Republicans, while Bush's nominees are mostly far-right conservatives.


  Frist needed 50 votes plus Vice President Cheney as tie-breaker to sustain his threatened parliamentary coup.


  In the end, seven of the 55 Senate Republicans decided to pursue this ''compromise," leaving him two votes short. But if these Republicans were genuinely moderates, they would not just be providing this parliamentary fig leaf; they would be voting against confirmation of these extremist nominees when they come up for a floor vote.


  If you want to look for profiles in courage, see whether ''moderate" Republicans like Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, John McCain of Arizona, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island actually oppose any of these nominees. For the most part, these people posture moderate and then do Bush's bidding.


  The nuclear option is a very fitting analogy. Throughout the Cold War, the two super powers never used nuclear weapons. It was the threat to use them that produced the power. This is what Frist has done. He did not have to blow up a Senate norm, and he got his way just the same.


  This week's nuclear compromise was no victory for moderation. It was just the latest in a series of salami tactics, where the right takes some now and comes back for more later.


  In addition to the myth of bipartisan moderation, another myth is that the country wants moderate policies but that both parties are at fault for moving to the extremes. In fact, the Democrats have moved steadily to the center on issues of social outlay, progressive taxation, and deregulation, while Bush has worked to energize his party's most extremist interest groups.


  If the country is not getting moderate policies, it's because the Bush administration has shown that if you play real hardball, you can enact policies far to the right of what most voters want.


  Robert Kuttner is co-editor of The American Prospect.


  ? 2005 Boston Globe


  ###


  -- 
  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.




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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 26 15:54:49 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Thu May 26 02:01:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: China welcomes Uzbek president
Message-ID: <20050526225449.1110B4404@mullet.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

If America was not so dependant on China for manufactured goods (Wal-mart, Nike etc..) then proper sactions could be put into place. The American consumer does not care about terrorism only the price of goods. 
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

China welcomes Uzbek president
Agencies
Thursday May 26 2005
The Guardian


China welcomed the Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, to a summit meeting yesterday, saying the two countries stood united against terrorism. 

With western countries calling for an independent inquiry into the reported killing of hundreds of civilian protesters earlier this month, Mr Karimov received support and gestures of friendship from China. 

The Chinese premier, Hu Jintao, called Mr Karimov "an old friend of the Chinese people" during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, China's parliament. 

"For a long time, you've made efforts toward friendship with China. For this, we express high praise," Mr Hu told Mr Karimov yesterday. 

Mr Karimov responded: "China is of course one of the world's most important countries. We see this visit as a  new important stage in bilateral relations." 

Reuters reported that 14 agreements were signed by the two parties, including a deal for a $600m oil joint venture and a treaty of friendship and cooperation.

The welcome highlighted China's focus on strategic stability in the former Soviet states of central Asia, a region that Beijing considers a hotbed of Islamic militancy that could spread to its own territory. 

Chinese state television showed the two leaders smiling and shaking hands. Earlier, Chinese officials had met Mr Karimov at the Beijing airport with a red-carpet ceremony and bouquets of flowers. 

"The peace and stability of the area is important to the environment of the border areas in China," said Professor Zhan Yao, a central Asia specialist at the Shanghai institute of foreign studies. 

The May 13 protests in the eastern city of Andijan were triggered by the trial of Muslim businessmen charged with supporting extremists. Troops moved in and shooting broke out. 

Uzbek opposition groups and human rights activists claim more than 700 people, mostly unarmed civilians, were killed. If true, that would make it one of the deadliest crackdowns on protesters since the massacre of demonstrators in China's Tiananmen Square in 1989. 

Mr Karimov's government put the death toll at 169 and said most were militants. 

Tashkent has resisted calls by Nato and the EU for an independent investigation of the events. The US, which relies on an Uzbek airbase as part of its "war on terror", has also criticised the crackdown and said it hopes for more democracy in Uzbekistan. 

The unrest occurred about 120 miles from China's western region of Xinjiang, which shares Uzbekistan's Muslim religion and Turkic language roots. Chinese authorities claim Uighur separatists in the area are fighting for an independent theocratic state and are part of an international terrorist network. 

"East Turkestan separatists have carried out a lot of terrorist incidents in China. The Uzbekistan side fully understands and supports the Chinese government's stance on this issue," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Kong Quan.

He said that China's leaders "firmly support the efforts by the authorities of Uzbekistan to strike down the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism".

While the three-day visit was a courtesy trip scheduled after Mr Hu visited Tashkent last year, it gave Mr Karimov a way to underline that China is on his side. 

"This is a good opportunity for President Karimov," said Joshua Lung, an assistant research fellow at the institute of international relations in Taiwan's National Chengchi University. "He's facing international pressure, but in China or Russia, he will get the support he needs." 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Thu May 26 16:00:58 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu May 26 02:07:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] America the pathetic !
Message-ID: <000901c56246$ca2aea10$2b27e440@Harold>

I guess this next Halloween no one can wear a mask!

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050526/D8AAUV9G0.html

Man is arrested for wearing Grinch mask in public .............  life in America just gets more pathetic!!

Later H
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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Fri May 27 03:31:01 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Thu May 26 13:35:19 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Homeland Security Prison Opens In Cheeseburgerland
Message-ID: <000501c562a7$2ea2aa40$1925b7d8@baby1>

Homeland Security Prison Opens In Cheeseburgerland



It's not every day we get one of these, so I decided to copy this from our
local paper, the Frio-Nueces Current, my comments are strewn within,
showing, of course, somewhat how I wish Real News was actually written :)
........  The article:



"I.C.E. Complex Opens With Ceremony, May 17":

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Immigration Customs Enforcement
(ICE) held ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new South Texas Detention Complex
in Pearsall on Tuesday, May 17.

The $49.5 million detention complex, which will be managefd by Correction
Services Corporation, CSC (these were the people I believe which cost Frio
County, where Pearsall is, about $1 million in taxpayers money after they
used our $ to open a prison facility in another place not far away, and the
inmates rioted and ripped it to pieces, we never got that $ back, but what
the heck, it's turn the other butt cheek millenium I guess), will soon begin
housing 1,020 immigration detainess for the Federal Government. (It's not
enough we have to hear our politicians crow how 5,000 acre landfills to take
San Antonio's garbage for the next 200 years, giant medical waste
incinerators, or golf courses built on pristine natural land is all being
done for "The Children", but this one is hard to explain turning their town
into an immigration prison place a mile out of town as a lasting legacy all
children here will cherish forever).

"This is a great day for Frio County," said Frio County Judge Carlos Garcia.
(Carlos' secretary was caught one night around 3 a.m. in the cemetery here
with various vials of colored liquids etc doing something like Mexican
voodoo or something on the grave of a daughter of someone she didn't like or
something, or something like that, anyway they printed it on the front page
of our little paper here when the cops arrested her for it in the middle of
night in the middle of the cemetery, so all I know is that she must have
been doing something other than curling her hair), "We're sincerely grateful
for the hard work that went into securing this detention facility".
(Translation:  Prison *Corporations* in America, and especially in Texas,
simply have to bark, and all kinds of people spread their legs under the
table and in back rooms, they can't get any kind of "worthwhile industry"
down here to save their butts for the most part, so Frio County is now
littered with Prisons, of all kinds, including a small one right in the
middle of town among all the little quaint houses from which there have
already been about 20 escapes over the years, I think Texas is called
something like "The land of 1,000 springs", I really feel however that it
should be renamed "The land of a million unseen bulging envelopes", oh well,
regardless, still a great new thing to leave all the children here, adults
become more thoughtful with age and power it seems.)

The 238,000 square-foot facility will employ more than 300 and will have a
yearly payroll of $6.2 million.

"This facility will be at the forefront of securing the border (with Mexico)
and protecting our country." (which is now run by idiots), said Timothy
Perry, ICE Deputy Assistant Diretion, Detention Management Division (people
like Timothy will say anything as long as you let them put their financial
penis up your community, and keep it there, this [censored] and co. make out
like bandits, you will never find them trying to find socks for their
children like so many other adults here in our area.  Also, the "border",
with Mexico, is 100 miles away, great location to take a stand here to
"Protect America and Secure The Border", oh well, at least we here will now
forever rest easier knowing cutthroat prison corporations are setting up
shop 100's of miles from the Mexican border, making out like bandits, and
permanently securing the Border and Protecting America, as about 3 million
aliens from Mexico, at least, stream over the borders here unchecked since I
can remember, we use them for everything from house maids, ranch workers,
teenage prostitute rings, and to work all the jobs in the fields that most
Americans are too busy being millionaires relaxing in their hot tubs on
their yachts to be bothered with wanting to do, it's easier to stand in
welfare lines I guess, if you want to get into the USA from Mexico, there
are so many places you can just walk across the riverbed, stop to cook lunch
and smoke a joint in the middle, and continue on your journey that I forgot
most of them already, anyways, as long as it's for The Children and to keep
America free and protected and is permanently keeping all the illegal aliens
out of our beloved country, I guess it's ok....).

The complex will serve the San Antonio ICE district, which covers 53
counties in Central and South Texas.

"This quarter-mile long facility employed 400 construction workers and will
have 300 permanent employees," said Frio County Commissioner Commissioner
Jesus "Chuy" Salinas.  "It will be a great economic development for the
county.  We look forward to a long relationship with them."  (Chuy, I ran
against him once for County Commissioner, the guy is unbeatable, heh, I
think he's been a re-elected commisioner here for a zillion years now or
something, I don't know if he still owns it, but we once had a great bowling
alley here, everyone would go, it got turned into just another beer joint,
oh well, at least we have several nice big prisons here now, maybe the kids
can play stickball outside it on Saturdays, Economic Development in places
like this supercede all other issues, people, and considerations, little by
little, as the prisons keep growing, we are starting to understand this, at
least a couple of handfuls of us that aren't out drinking at parties getting
their votes bought for some beer and other stuff so higher officials,
elsewhere, can periodically be handed large block votes on a silver platter,
I love Higher Officials Elsewhere, you never see their butts here unless
they're stumping for votes, re-election, or payoffs and graft, oh well,
regardless, yes, it's going to be a very very "long relationship with them",
you couldn't dislodge these vipers if you were the queen of sheba with a 12
teet heifer, all in all, though, still great fun for the kids...)

The South Texas Detention Complex has a medical clinic, dental equipment and
laboratory that will be supervised by the United States Public Health
Services.  Twenty-two beds will be available for patients.  (I love having
Guantanamo On The Frio [the name of our river here], now I don't have to
visit Cuba anymore for a photo-op).

The facility also has four courtrooms where immigration detainees will be
processed by a federal judge.  The detainees will typically be held at the
detention complex for less than 20 days.  (The key word, among others,
above, is "typically".  Who knows.  As long as it's for the kids, and to
secure the Mexican border from 100 miles away, and is Protecting America,
hey, who can object, kind of like Iraq, eh..?  With the 4 courtrooms
on-premises, I can only suggest that WalMart watch out, these guys might
just be giving them a run for their money, if we can only attach a building
with a gas chamber to this thing, we'll be swimmin in wimmin....).

"This is a big big magnet that will attract more things to Pearsall," said
Pearsall Mayor George Cabasos.


Well, that's the end of the article here in our little paper, Cabasos, I
don't know much about him, he's a coach at the school here, he just got
elected, the same school that got rid of the Twirlers, won't make use of
cable channels for the most part available in contracts for educational and
beneficial use by both the school and the community, and where they wanted
to stop kids from doing drugs and having sex at the schools here, so they
mandated that all the kids have to wear green outfits, our school colors, an
extra added expense to some people who, again, can't even buy their kids
enough socks, the kids still do drugs and have sex at school, if there is
any more Pure Genius at play in America, I might lose my lunch, oh yeah,
there is also a School Uniform array of Corporations that stalk the
educational system of America from coast to coast, funny how they show up
just when they decide to dress everyone exactly alike in our schools and
make a killing, if they could get together with the prison goons, they might
have something worthwhile for the kids to really look forward to some day,
who knows...

Anyway, I'm glad we got this neat Protecting America prison here in our town
now, it kind of makes up for the 5,000 acre landfill San Antonio wanted to
put here until the end of time to take all of their garbage which our
County, City, Etc begged for with open arms (for the kids, of course), but
which we lost by default when Nelson Wolfe, former mayor of San Antonio, cut
a last minute deal with BFI, whom he hated, and let them expand the east
side landfill in San Antonio instead, we missed out on the giant medical
waste burning incinerator also, those 2 previous things being some things
that I researched thoroughly and explained and protested in our local paper
here which is one reason I'm so popular with mindless Industrialist Goon
Squads who only make moves in the interests of All The Children Of America
first in mind, and we lost the golf course here, which I also protested,
they got a half million $ grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife, who are
supposed to protect pristine land and species, and bought 160 acres right
here on the edge of town and were going to build a golf course, but the
County ran out of money, and the word is that all that protesting was for
nothing as the County is inept brainwise and financiallywise, now a
developer is going to build some houses or something there instead, I fought
that very hard, they fought back in the papers explaining how "This golf
course if for the Children Of Pearsall", and with letters from their
children explaining things like "My daddy isn't a bad person, I don't know
why people say bad things about him, he loves us, and gives us gifts on
Christmas, and tucks us in bed, and kisses us, etc....", at least they kept
the little bitty edge of the 160 acres functioning which they turned into a
little pavilion and children's playground, right inbetween the IH35
expressway overpass and the sewer plant, always thinking about The Children,
that's what I like so much about America sometimes.

Oh well, I'll stop bitching, just another of a million zillion disasters in
the making stories spread from sea to shining sea.  At least I can sleep
better knowing that the psychotics who run this place, this once shining
America, have finally found their niche in society by looking out for All
The Children while Protecting America and Securing Our Borders from 100's of
miles away by putting up more prisons.

What else could anyone really ever ask for........






Cheeseburger


-  Hey, fuck 'em, they'll never pause from fucking us.......


.

From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 27 03:53:50 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 26 15:06:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <7598715.1117191230184.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Profiles in Flinching
 
 By Charles Krauthammer
 
 On Monday Republicans were within hours of passing a procedural rule that would have eliminated the Democrats' unprecedented use of the judicial filibuster. It would not only have freed from filibuster limbo seven Bush nominees to the  appeals courts, but it would also have ensured future nominees,...
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 27 03:52:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 26 15:08:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <23410118.1117191140083.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 China Makes Its Move
 
 By Richard Holbrooke
 
 "The storm center of the world has shifted . . . to China," Secretary of State John Hay said in 1899. "Whoever understands that mighty Empire . . . has a key to world politics for the next five hundred years."
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052601540.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 27 03:50:56 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 26 15:16:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <27257974.1117191056403.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Democrats Extend Debate On Bolton
 
 By Charles Babington
 
 Republicans fall four votes short of ending debate, in yet another setback for the nominee and a renewal of intense partisanship in the Senate only days after the judicial compromise.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052601910.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 27 03:50:11 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 26 15:36:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24002015.1117191011843.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Pentagon Confirms Koran Incidents
 
 By Josh White and Dan Eggen
 
 The Pentagon has substantiated five cases in which the Muslim holy book was mishandled at the U.S. military prison, but characterized the cases as minor, with most occurring before specific rules on the treatment of Muslim holy items were issued.
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Fri May 27 03:51:50 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 26 15:39:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <26595686.1117191110362.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Assault On the Media
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
 So it turns out that the FBI has documents showing that detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, complained about the mistreatment of the Koran and that many said they were severely beaten.
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May 27 05:39:51 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Thu May 26 15:46:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] soldier aquited of murder
Message-ID: <000801c562b9$2fca5c30$5227e440@Harold>

Still looks like murder to me, why the cover up and planting of evidence.............

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050527/D8ABF6TO1.html

Pretty much have to have a photo or get caught on camera to get charged!!

I feel great saddness and sorrow for the families of the slain Iraqi civilians caught in this tragic mess by the American forces in Iraq.
They will never see justice for their loved ones..........

Later H
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:13:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:19:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Many Iraqis See Sectarian Roots in New
	Killings
Message-ID: <20050527131329.D4DA8237043@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 27, 2005

Many Iraqis See Sectarian Roots in New Killings
By SABRINA TAVERNISE

The violent deaths of a number of Sunnis is raising concerns that the bloodshed in Iraq may be shifting toward sectarian killings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/international/middleeast/27sectarian.html?ex=1117857600&en=47f2b37235d33b72&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:13:55 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:20:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Running Out of Bubbles
Message-ID: <20050527131358.12BD724AEB9@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 27, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Running Out of Bubbles
By PAUL KRUGMAN

What happens when housing goes flat?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/opinion/27krugman.html?ex=1117857600&en=cfa86c77c58ac247&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:14:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:20:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Just Shut It Down
Message-ID: <20050527131412.5393F83DBA@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 27, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Just Shut It Down
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

I am convinced that more Americans are dying and will die if we keep the P.O.W. camp at Guantánamo Bay open than if we shut it down.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/opinion/27friedman.html?ex=1117857600&en=223315b65ba82791&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:15:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:21:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Where's the Boeuf?
Message-ID: <20050527131515.840C7249C09@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 27, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Where's the Boeuf?
By VINCENT TOURNIER

The European Constitution enshrines a plethora of rules and regulations while ignoring the fundamental needs of democracy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/opinion/27tournier.html?ex=1117857600&en=a9f222d5f31a41e6&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:15:23 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:21:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Just Say Non
Message-ID: <20050527131527.77DA024AEB5@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 27, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Just Say Non
By STEPHEN CLARKE

The French are being asked to vote on something that they cannot possibly understand.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/opinion/27clarke.html?ex=1117857600&en=504279a710948812&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:16:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:23:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Iraqis Plan a Major Sweep Against Rebels in
	Baghdad
Message-ID: <20050527131659.8C6BF23704D@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL | May 27, 2005

Iraqis Plan a Major Sweep Against Rebels in Baghdad
By SABRINA TAVERNISE

The offensive, called Operation Lightning, will involve more than 40,000 soldiers and police officers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/international/27iraq.html?ex=1117857600&en=dd4f59fbb48844fb&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:17:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:24:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Bush Praises Palestinian;
	Tells Israel of Its Duties
Message-ID: <20050527131759.0640583D4B@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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WASHINGTON | May 27, 2005

Bush Praises Palestinian; Tells Israel of Its Duties
By ELISABETH BUMILLER

President Bush warmly praised the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, for what he called Mr. Abbas's commitment to democracy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/politics/27prexy.html?ex=1117857600&en=6d051bf641ac23e5&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:18:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:24:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Crescent of Water Is Slowly Sinking Into
	the Desert
Message-ID: <20050527131811.D65CB24AEB0@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 27, 2005

Dunhuang Journal: A Crescent of Water Is Slowly Sinking Into the Desert
By JIM YARDLEY

The shortage of water in western China's Gobi Desert is creating what one expert calls an ecological crisis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/international/asia/27lake.html?ex=1117857600&en=40c8979755e2fc11&ei=5070



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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:21:16 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:27:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: You're #@&#38;$% Fired!
Message-ID: <20050527132124.15B94A102C@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

NEW YORK REGION | May 27, 2005

NYC: You're #@&#38;$% Fired!
By CLYDE HABERMAN

Reporter Arthur Chi'en did a foolish thing one morning last week. He acted human. Where he went wrong was to do it in front of a television camera.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/nyregion/27nyc.html?ex=1117857600&en=c88b4c9a7bcbfce9&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:22:20 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:28:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Little Progress in Bid to Extend Patriot Act
Message-ID: <20050527132223.C93E423705F@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

WASHINGTON | May 27, 2005

Little Progress in Bid to Extend Patriot Act
By ERIC LICHTBLAU

Officials said they were confident that the Senate Intelligence Committee would come to a consensus on a proposal that would expand the F.B.I.'s powers in terror investigations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/politics/27patriot.html?ex=1117857600&en=20cdf0291e386dc9&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 07:23:31 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Thu May 26 16:29:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Plan to Gather Student Data Draws Fire
Message-ID: <20050527132339.4A51D236FBB@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

WASHINGTON | May 27, 2005

Plan to Gather Student Data Draws Fire
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

The Department of Education plan would require colleges and universities to place student information into a national database maintained by the government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/politics/27privacy.html?ex=1117857600&en=b55ef89f85cae646&ei=5070



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From jefbek at mindspring.com  Thu May 26 18:27:54 2005
From: jefbek at mindspring.com (Jef Bek)
Date: Thu May 26 18:23:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bush admits it's propaganda
Message-ID: <200505270123.j4R1NirM015189@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

W actually said this 2 days ago:

"If you've retired, you don't have anything to worry about -- third time
I've said that. I'll probably say it three more times. See, in my line of
work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the
truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."

Here's the audio:
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/georgebushpropaganda.mp3

If you don't believe it, here is the entire speech: (the quote is about half
way down)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050524-3.html

Pretty amazing!

J


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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May 27 09:29:02 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May 26 19:35:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Middle East & Africa - US agrees to Iran WTO
	membership talks 
Message-ID: <33022184.1117211342901.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May 27 10:03:00 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May 26 20:23:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article for you from an Economist.com reader.
Message-ID: <200505271640.MAA11043@stage-web-app.economist.com>

  
- AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - 

Dear civic,

Michael Butler (michael@intrafi.com) wants you to see this article on Economist.com.



(Note: the sender's e-mail address above has not been verified.)

Subscribe to The Economist print edition, get great savings and FREE full access to Economist.com.  Click here to subscribe:  http://www.economist.com/subscriptions/email.cfm 

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CHINA'S ECONOMY
May 26th 2005  

Restricting Chinese textile exports will only rebound on America and
Europe 

IT TAKES a lot of chutzpah to plead lack of preparation when a
development has been ten years in the making. That, however, is
precisely what western clothing manufacturers are doing. This January
saw the end of the decade-long phase-out of a quota system that had
protected the world's biggest textile markets--America and the European
Union (EU)--from cheap imports, largely from Asia, for 40 years. 

Predictably, exports from Asia, particularly China, have soared. In the
first quarter of 2005, for example, the number of Chinese cotton
trousers imported by America rose by 1,573%, cotton T-shirts and
blouses were up by 1,277% and cotton underwear by 318%, according to
America's Commerce Department. Total Chinese textile and clothing
exports to America were over 60% higher in the first quarter of this
year than in the same period in 2004.

In Europe, imports of Chinese pullovers more than quintupled, as did
imports of men's trousers. Imports of T-shirts and blouses nearly
doubled as prices fell by as much as one-quarter. "We simply don't
understand how they can produce at these prices," says Thierry Noblot
of the Union des Industries Textiles, the French textile industry's
main lobby group. 

Such howls of anguish have had their effect on both sides of the
Atlantic. Earlier this month, America said it would impose "safeguard"
quotas on seven categories of Chinese textiles, including cotton
underwear, shirts and trousers. These quotas, which restrict their
year-on-year growth to 7.5%, can be renewed annually until 2008 and
could be expanded to encompass other goods. Textile firms are also
vigorously backing proposed legislation that would slap a tax on
Chinese imports unless China revalues its currency, the yuan.

THEM OL' COTTON FIELDS BACK HOME
The EU's trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, who was this week
negotiating fruitlessly with Chinese officials, has been more
circumspect--so far. Although the European textile and clothing
industry has been shrinking, the EU remains the world's leading
exporter of textiles and the second-largest exporter of clothing.

Mr Mandelson says he opposes quotas, but has conceded that there needs
to be a more gradual transition to the new regime. Last month he
launched an investigation into nine categories of Chinese products, and
is now discussing emergency limits on imports of T-shirts and flax
yarn. During this week's talks between Mr Mandelson and Gao Hucheng,
China's textile negotiator, the EU gave China until May 31st to
convince it that it will scale back exports significantly. If China
fails to be convincing by the end of this month, the European
Commission will begin the process of reintroducing import quotas for
those two categories of Chinese products.

To forestall further retaliation, on May 20th China said that it would
voluntarily raise export taxes on 74 clothing products by up to 400%
from the start of June. This was an astute move. China has already used
the new bargaining power it offers by threatening to withdraw the new
taxes from any items subjected to quotas. The economic cost should be
minimal, since it covers barely one-fifth of China's apparel exports.
Only 3% of the mainland's total exports will be hit, reckons Ma Jun, an
analyst at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. Nor will America's revived
quotas dent China's growth much, he says.


Joshua Lu at Morgan Stanley points out that, since China's exports had
been restricted for so long, they are still small in absolute terms,
and there is relatively little business to lose from renewed
protectionism. Thus in T-shirts, trousers and underwear, China had just
a 1-2% market share in America before January 1st. Although it is now
7-15%, that is still not very much. 

The effect on mainland China's upstream textile industry will be more
severe. The tariffs are small in absolute terms, with an average rise
from 0.2 to 1 yuan (2.5 to 12.5 American cents) per item. But the new
level represents about 6% of the overall cost of a piece of
clothing--enough to massacre already thin operating margins. These
range from 2% to 10%, with fabric producers, such as Fountain Set, and
end-of-the-line distributors, such as Li & Fung and VF Asia, tending to
be more profitable than contract garment-makers. 

Still, Vincent Cheung of VF Asia says that the new tax will affect
future shipments. "We can't raise our prices this year because they are
set. In the future we have to charge our buyers more but it is not
easy--we may have to go halfway and cut cost." Bruce Rockowitz,
president of Li & Fung, says that many textile factories in southern
China "built up tremendous capacity in preparation for the lifting of
quotas and that now has to be run down."

The added pressure on profits may spur consolidation in what is still a
fragmented sector with a large number of single-workshop manufacturers.
So it could result before long in a more competitive industry with
greater economies of scale. Meanwhile, most of the bigger firms are
protected by two factors. The first is geographical
diversification--the distortions of the old quota system forced
Chinese-owned textile companies to finish clothes in other Asian
countries to avoid the "made in China" tag. Luen Thai, for example, has
factories in four foreign countries, accounting for three-quarters of
its production. Second, the big Chinese manufacturers do not compete on
price alone--their rivals elsewhere in Asia are cheaper--but on
quality, scale, reliability, speed and sophistication that rivals
struggle to match.

The quotas and tariffs will not save the American textile industry or
restore the 1m jobs it has lost since the 1980s. "China isn't their
problem," says Laura Jones of the US Association of Importers of
Textiles and Apparel. "It's the whole rest of the world." In Europe,
the textile lobby's Mr Noblot thinks that the Chinese tariff rises will
hardly alter his members' prospects. The price of a Chinese T-shirt for
European importers will increase from EURO2 to EURO2.10 ($2.50 to
$2.60) according to Mr Noblot. For shirts the difference will be one
cent.

At most, the restrictions will slow Chinese export growth to the West.
But any slack is likely to be taken up by other poor countries. The
"safeguard" measures--a product of the tortuous negotiations on China's
admission to the World Trade Organisation--cannot be used against other
countries. One of the protectionist arguments used last year for
prolonging quotas was that their abolition would wipe out export-based
industries in poor countries that allegedly relied on quota protection
from Chinese competition.

SPINNING A YARN
Bangladesh was an often-cited example. Clothing makes up over
two-thirds of its exports. It relies on imported fabric. Yet its
clothing exports to America rose by 21% in the first quarter of the new
regime. China's rivals continue to complain about unfair methods--such
as an undervalued currency and hidden subsidies. But so far they have
mostly withstood the deluge. 

The true losers from any return of quotas will be American and European
consumers and the retailers that cater to them. It will mean higher
prices now, and hinder lower future prices by slowing the emergence of
Chinese "supply-chain cities"--as UBS, an investment bank, calls
them--that will handle the entire process of making a piece of clothing
from sheep to shelf. 

Chinese textile factories have tended to specialise in one process and
finish goods overseas to avoid quotas. But unlike its main rivals,
China has the advantage of huge domestic fibre and fabric production.
Without quotas, it could build vertically integrated firms, lowering
costs, raising quality and cutting time to market--great for western
customers. That will surely happen, sooner or later. China's emergence
as the ultimate one-stop textiles shop can be delayed--but not stopped.
 

See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4010991&fsrc=nwl

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri May 27 10:18:55 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 26 20:25:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Muslims denounce 'US Koran abuse'
Message-ID: <20050527_171855_058133.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Muslims denounce 'US Koran abuse' **
People across the Muslim world protest against the alleged abuse of the Koran by US military personnel.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4587679.stm >


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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May 27 09:37:28 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May 26 20:26:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / US - Hidden taxes behind US housing boom 
Message-ID: <12840931.1117211848063.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu May 26 18:22:29 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu May 26 20:36:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A snippet of life this week in Iraq to counteract the
	propoganda....
Message-ID: <200505270336.j4R3acqr015436@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Electronic Iraq - May 23, 2005
http://electroniciraq.net/news/1974.shtml

Daily Life in Baghdad, from Afar

by Dahr Jamail
Amman, Jordan

It's coming apart at the seams now in Iraq. We saw on the news today
that members of the Mehdi Army in the south, the militia of Shia
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, exchanged gunfire with members of the ING
(Iraqi National Guard) who in the south are primarily, if not entirely
composed of members of the Badr Army, also a Shia group. So now we have
Shia fighting Shia.

Meanwhile in Baghdad, things are just as bad. Abu Talat, my friend and
interpreter, was speaking with his family who live in the al-Adhamiya
district of the capital city. Just across the Tigris River from Adhamiya,
which is predominantly Sunni, is the predominantly Shia Khadamiyah
neighborhood.

A car bomb detonated inside Khadamiyah which killed at least one ING, so
people in that area began firing guns across the Tigris into Adhamiyah.
According to two sources in Adhamiyah, they confirmed there was heavy
damage to several houses-broken windows, bullet pockmarked walls, etc.
When people inside Adhamiyah began returning fire, a US warplane bombed 
a
small mosque on the Adhamiyah side of the Tigris, for yet unknown reasons.

Abu Talat was talking via IM with his wife as she nearly fainted
because bombs and gunfire were so near their home.

"What can I do," Abu Talat asked me from a nearby computer at an
internet caf?, "My family is in great danger and what can I do to help
them?"

I stared at him dumbly--there was no response.

I helped find phone numbers of friends and other family members of his
around Baghdad to try to go check on his family. He called them five
times, constantly monitoring their situation while he was crying. Between
calls he set the phone down to hold his head in his hands. Abu Talat later
spoke with his sister, who informed him that Iraqi soldiers were raiding
houses in her neighborhood and detaining men of "fighting age," which if
we go by the US military definition of such when they do home raids, means
men roughly between the ages of 15-50 years.

"They almost took my nephew," Abu Talat told me in frustration, "But
thanks to his father telling them that his son is a doctor and never
leaves the home nowadays, they let him be."

Abu Talat had his two young sons go with his wife over to a relatives home
so they would not be detained. Although one of his sons, Ahmed, is merely
14 years old. Ahmed is a soft-spoken, gentle boy who wouldn't hurt a fly.

When I was in Baghdad in February, one day we were taking tea in the
home of Abu Talat. Ahmed came out and began shining the shoes of his
father.

"You don't need to do this in front of Dahr," said Abu Talat to his
youngest son.

"You are my father, and I am your son," replied Ahmed, "I wish to
shine your shoes. Dahr understands that this is what a son does for
his father."

Abu Talat beamed and held up his hands with a huge smile on his face. My
friend Aisha who is here, also an Iraqi, has a friend who lives in
Adhamiyah.

"He just left the day before this all happened to bring his sick son
to Amman for cancer treatment," she tells me while we sit under palm
trees and a nearly full moon later that evening while having dinner
with her mother.

Her friend believes his son has DU poisoning.

"He learned that one of the rooms of his home was destroyed by a
missile shot from an American helicopter," she added while shaking her
head.

Things quieted down in Baghdad after the events of the 20th, as well
as the next day, relatively.

However, today Abu Talat came over to me in a panic and asked for
Ahmed's mobile number.

"He's just been shot at," he tells me as I feel the panic with my
friend and begin finding the number of his son.

Ahmed was walking down the street when two men demanded his ring and
his mobile. When Ahmed started yelling "Thieves, Thieves," they kicked him
to the ground and shot their pistols over his head. At gunpoint, the two
men commenced to loot him.

Abu Talat received the information from his oldest son, then called
home to find that his youngest son was home crying, but alright.
"He has his exams tomorrow and now he is sleeping," Abu Talat explains
with tears in his eyes, "He is alright but terribly shaken."

This is the life in Baghdad today. This is the life of having a dear
friend whose family is living in peril and his attempts to remain in
contact with them from Amman. This is one family in a city of 5.5
million Iraqis, struggling to survive the brutal, chaotic, lawlessness
caused by the Anglo-American occupation that has destroyed their country.


(c)2004, 2005 Dahr Jamail. More writing, photos and commentary at
dahrjamailiraq.com. All images and text are protected by United States and
international copyright law. If you would like to reprint Dahr's
Dispatches on the web, you need to include this copyright notice and a
prominent link to the DahrJamailIraq.com website. Any other use of images
and text including, but not limited to, reproduction, use on another
website, copying and printing requires the permission of Dahr Jamail.

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Thu May 26 18:22:28 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Thu May 26 20:47:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How U.S.-China economic relationship really works
Message-ID: <200505270347.j4R3l0sA015466@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/225167_krugman22.html

How U.S.-China economic relationship really works

Sunday, May 22, 2005

By PAUL KRUGMAN
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

Stories about the new U.S. Treasury report condemning China's 
currency policy probably had most readers going, "Huh?" Frankly, this 
is an issue that confuses professional economists, too. But let me try 
to explain what's going on.

Over the past few years China, for its own reasons, has acted as an 
enabler both of U.S. fiscal irresponsibility and of a return to Nasdaq-
style speculative mania, this time in the housing market. Now the U.S. 
government is finally admitting that there's a problem -- but it's 
asserting that the problem is China's, not ours.

And there's no sign that anyone in the administration has faced up to 
an unpleasant reality: The U.S. economy has become dependent on 
low-interest loans from China and other foreign governments, and it's 
likely to have major problems when those loans are no longer 
forthcoming.

Here's how the U.S.-China economic relationship currently works:

Money is pouring into China, both because of its rapidly rising trade 
surplus and because of investments by Western and Japanese 
companies. Normally, this inflow of funds would be self-correcting: 
Both China's trade surplus and the foreign investment pouring in would 
push up the value of the yuan, China's currency, making China's 
exports less competitive and shrinking its trade surplus.

But the Chinese government, unwilling to let that happen, has kept the 
yuan down by shipping the incoming funds right back out again, buying 
huge quantities of dollar assets -- about $200 billion worth in 2004, and 
possibly as much as $300 billion worth this year. This is economically 
perverse: China, a poor country where capital is still scarce by 
Western standards, is lending vast sums at low interest rates to the 
United States.

Yet the United States has become dependent on this perverse 
behavior. Dollar purchases by China and other foreign governments 
have temporarily insulated the U.S. economy from the effects of huge 
budget deficits. This money flowing in from abroad has kept U.S. 
interest rates low despite the enormous government borrowing 
required to cover the budget deficit.

Low interest rates, in turn, have been crucial to the U.S. housing 
boom. And soaring house prices don't just create construction jobs; 
they also support consumer spending, because many homeowners 
have converted rising house values into cash by refinancing their 
mortgages.

So why is the U.S. government complaining? The Treasury report says 
nothing at all about how China's currency policy affects the United 
States -- all it offers on the domestic side is the usual sycophantic 
praise for administration policy. Instead, it focuses on the 
disadvantages of Chinese policy for the Chinese themselves. Since 
when is that a major U.S. concern?

In reality, of course, the administration doesn't care about the Chinese 
economy. It's complaining about the yuan because of political pressure 
from U.S. manufacturers, who are angry about those Chinese trade 
surpluses. So it's all politics. And that's the problem: When policy 
decisions are made on purely political grounds, nobody thinks through 
their real-world consequences.

Here's what I think will happen if and when China changes its currency 
policy, and those cheap loans are no longer available. U.S. interest 
rates will rise; the housing bubble will probably burst; construction 
employment and consumer spending will both fall; falling home prices 
may lead to a wave of bankruptcies. And we'll suddenly wonder why 
anyone thought financing the budget deficit was easy.

In other words, we've developed an addiction to Chinese dollar 
purchases, and will suffer painful withdrawal symptoms when they 
come to an end.

I'm not saying we should try to maintain the status quo. Addictions 
must be broken, and the sooner the better. After all, one of these days 
China will stop buying dollars of its own accord. And the housing 
bubble will eventually burst whatever we do. Besides, in the long run 
ending our dependence on foreign dollar purchases will give us a 
healthier economy. In particular, a rise in the yuan and other Asian 
currencies will eventually make U.S. manufacturing, which has lost 3 
million jobs since 2000, more competitive.

But the negative effects of a change in Chinese currency policy will 
probably be immediate, while the positive effects may take years to 
materialize. And as far as I can tell, nobody in a position of power is 
thinking about how we'll deal with the consequences if China actually 
gives in to U.S. demands and lets the yuan rise.

Paul Krugman is a columnist for The New York Times. Copyright 2005 
New York Times News Service. E-mail: krugman@nytimes.com

? 1998-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

------


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Fri May 27 10:45:04 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Thu May 26 20:51:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Industry chiefs' environment plea
Message-ID: <20050527_174504_036719.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Industry chiefs' environment plea **
Britain's leading industrialists write to the prime minister demanding long-term policies to combat climate change.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/4585229.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From michael at intrafi.com  Fri May 27 09:33:08 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Thu May 26 21:07:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?FT=2Ecom_/_International_Economy_/_Oil?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?_-_Ch=E1vez_faces_claims_of_oil_revenue_cover-up?=
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Title: FT.com / International Economy / Oil - Ch?vez faces claims of oil revenue cover-up
 
  
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Fri May 27 11:11:48 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Thu May 26 21:18:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Scandal of 'phantom' aid money
Message-ID: <20050527181148.5A20A3FC8@mussel.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

When it comes to International aid/charity, the rich get richer !! In the US only .14 cents of every $ is real aid the rest is phantom, goes to aministrative etc...
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Scandal of 'phantom' aid money
Larry Elliott, economics editor 
Friday May 27 2005
The Guardian


Well-heeled consultants and companies in the west are the beneficiaries of a global aid system which results in less than 40p in every pound helping to eradicate poverty in the developing world, according to a report out today. 

Just over a month before Britain will make a doubling of aid a centrepiece of the Gleneagles summit, the charity ActionAid said the bulk of the money currently allocated was wasted, misdirected or recycled within rich countries.  

It found that 61% of aid flows were "phantom" rather than "real" - rising to almost 90% in the case of France and the United States.   

The report accused rich countries of "political grandstanding" and highlighted the ways in which they were disguising how real aid flows were even lower than they appeared to be.  

"Failure to target aid at the poorest countries, runaway spending on overpriced technical assistance from international consultants, tying aid to purchases from donor   countries' own firms, cumbersome and ill-coordinated planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting requirements, excessive administrative costs, late and partial disbursements, double counting of debt relief, and aid spending on immigration services all deflate the value of aid," the charity said.   

Compared with a UN target of spending 0.7%, rich countries were ostensibly spending 0.25% of their national income on aid each year. The figure came down to 0.1% when "phantom" aid was stripped out.  

The G7 countries - Britain, the US, Germany, Italy, France, Canada and Japan - spent only 0.07% of national income on real aid and would need a tenfold increase to hit the UN target, ActionAid said.  

Britain, according to the research, is one of the better performing countries, but still allows 29% of the money spent by the Department for International Development (DfID) to be squandered on "phantom" aid. The UK was spending 0.24% of gross domestic   product on "real" aid in 2003.  

The report quotes a DfID official as saying that foreign experts giving technical advice in Vietnam, for example, are paid $18,000-$27,000 (about &#163;9,900 -&#163;14,800) a month, compared with $1,500-$3,000 for local experts.  

DfID rejected the report's findings. "It's simply nonsense to suggest that a third of UK aid is 'phantom'," said Hilary Benn, the international development secretary. "ActionAid's figures just don't stack up. It's absurd to argue that debt relief, or practical advice from technical experts, isn't real aid."  

He did, however, accept that there was a need for more and better aid and said the UK was working with other   donors to avoid duplication and waste.  

ActionAid said the report did not invalidate the need for more financial assistance, saying that where aid was deliv-ered it was helping to tackle poverty.  

It called for a new international agreement that would see money spent where it was needed rather than on business class flights for western consultants. It said three quarters of the money spent on technical assistance was wasted on inflated salaries for consultants flown in to advise poor countries.  

The authors of the report, Romilly Greenhill and Patrick Watt, said their figures were not precise because of the paucity of data. They added, however, that they had tended to be over-generous to donors and that the true scale of the challenge might be even greater than that highlighted.  

In order to arrive at their figures, they deflated the value of official aid to take account of donor practices that reduced its effectiveness.  

The charity said its proposal for an international aid agreement, run by the United Nations, would make aid more accountable. An agreement should involve clear policies on criteria for accepting aid, mutual commitments in place of one-sided conditionality, national and international forums where donors and recipients would review progress on an equal footing, and new mechanisms to increase substantially the volume and predictability of aid.  

The report adds: "Donors have signed up to numerous international agreements to improve the quality of their aid. Yet this agenda has made little headway. At the heart of this failure there lies a lack of accountability on the part of donors for either the amount of aid they commit, or the quality of that aid."  

Donors, it said, continued to restrict the ability of developing countries "to plot their own development paths".    

And the rich get richer...

&#183; Just 11% of French aid is genuine, says Action Aid. France spends nearly $2bn on technical assistance and $0.5bn on refugee costs in France. Debt relief, an accounting exercise, is 40% 

&#183; Of US aid, 86 cents in the dollar is phantom, largely because it is tied to the purchase of American goods and services. George Bush's Aids drugs plan excludes cheaper, generic drugs, so   giving lucrative contracts to US pharmaceutical companies but treating fewer patients  

&#183; Of Japanese aid to Vietnam, 86% is spent on infrastructure projects because Vietnam is a key market for Japanese exports. These projects tend to be found in areas where Japanese firms operate  

&#183; In Cambodia, donors spent between $50m and $70m on 700 international consultants   in 2002 - equivalent to the wage bill for 160,000 Cambodian civil servants  

&#183; UK DfID officials posted overseas get allowances for business class flights, which can be transferred towards holiday flights. DfID administrative costs, at 11.5%, are well above the 8% ceiling allowed by DfID in its funding agreements with NGOs  

Ashley Seager

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Fri May 27 13:37:44 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Thu May 26 23:44:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] MoveOn wants us to call media re Downing Memo!
Message-ID: <20050527203744.4521.qmail@web53007.mail.yahoo.com>

Dear MoveOn member,

A London newspaper rocked British elections when
it leaked a top intelligence official's report
that President Bush was intent on invading Iraq
long before he sought Congress' approval. Bush
called Iraq an urgent threat, but the memo says
"the intelligence and facts were being fixed
around the policy."1 British officials are not
denying the memo's accuracy, and a former senior
American official called it "an absolutely
accurate description of what transpired."2


This revelation nearly cost Prime Minister Tony
Blair his re-election, and it was all over the
British press. But American newspapers barely
mentioned this new evidence that Bush twisted the
facts to justify war. The major newspapers ran
one or two stories rehashing the British reports.
Worse, TV network news shows haven't covered the
memo at all.3


Readers of the New York Times recently demanded
coverage of the British memo, and the newspaper
finally wrote a full story last week.4 We can do
the same for network news.


Please call or email the nightly news programs
you watch, at:


ABC World News Tonight
Phone: 212-456-4040
PeterJennings@abcnews.com


CBS Evening News
Phone: 212-975-3691
evening@cbsnews.com


NBC Nightly News
Phone: 212-664-4971
nightly@nbc.com


PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Phone: 703-739-5000
newshour@pbs.org


Identify yourself as a viewer, then say something
like:


"Please investigate and report on the British
memo suggesting the Bush administration
manipulated intelligence to support its plans to
invade Iraq. We need to know what really
happened. Thank you for your time."



It's important to track our impact. Please let us
know you're calling at:


http://www.moveon.org/mediacorps/britishmemo.html?id=5582-3313316-bcjtGH4cwexkdLxo9yr_NA&t=1


The American media's failure to question the Bush
administration led to an unnecessary war. Now the
media's failure to cover the war is making it
impossible for Americans to unite behind an exit
plan. This won't get better until we demand more
coverage of the war.


Thank you for all that you do,


–Noah, Wes, Micayla, Matt and the MoveOn.org Team
  Friday, May 27th, 2005


Sources:
1. The Downing Street Memo website
http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/


2. "'Downing St. Memo' fizzling in U.S.," Seattle
Times, May 18, 2005
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002278761_memo18.html


3. "Network Viewers Still in the Dark on 'Smoking
Gun Memo,'" FAIR, May 20, 2005
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2520


4. "British Memo on U.S. Plans for Iraq War Fuels
Critics," New York Times, May 20, 2005
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0520-01.htm
From referralsvr2 at referralblast.com  Fri May 27 14:21:01 2005
From: referralsvr2 at referralblast.com (Bryan)
Date: Fri May 27 00:33:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Common Dreams NewsCenter
Message-ID: <200505270733.j4R7XQHA015854@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Hello,

Bryan wanted to share this article with you:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0527-25.htm


Message: A short, sweet and very succinct essay!


Thanks!
______________________________________
Common Dreams
Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
www.commondreams.org


________________________________________________________
Referral powered by ReferralBlast.com

From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 14:40:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Fri May 27 00:46:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ourageous Guilty Verdict and 20-Year Sentence!
Message-ID: <006e01c56304$aac1e520$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Dear Friends:
Please read the article below.  It may not be the most important issue in the world, but it is nevertheless an outrage.  Even were this woman guilty - and I'm betting she isn't, given that even the Australian government doesn't think so (not only have they been investigating a drug smuggling ring that uses unknowing "mules" to smuggle drugs, but they helped pay her legal fees) - a 20-year sentence is outrageously harsh, even in Indonesia.

If you are as outraged as I am by this, I urge you to call and/or write to the Indonesian Consulate in New York: clog their phones, overfill their mailbox.  Let them know this type of overly harsh treatment is unacceptable in a civilized society.

The Indonesian Consulate is at:

Indonesian Consulate General
5 East 68th Street
New York, NY  10021
212.879.0600

Peace.

--------
Fury at Bali drugs verdict
(CNN) -- Many Australians reacted with anger and shock after a Queensland woman they believe is innocent was found guilty of smuggling drugs into Bali and sentenced to 20 years' jail. 

On Friday Indonesian judges found Schapelle Corby "legally and convincingly" guilty of smuggling marijuana into Bali in a case that has generated unprecedented interest among Australians and a diplomatic balancing act for the nation's leader.

The 27-year-old beauty therapist, who has been held in a Bali jail since her arrest on 8 October last year, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah ($10,700) on Friday.

She was arrested at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar after 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) of marijuana were found concealed in her boogie board bag. 

The case has galvanized public opinion in Australia, with a recent survey showing 90 percent thought Corby was innocent, believing her defense argument that the drugs found in her possession were planted by baggage handlers in Australia. 

Corby's defense team was buoyed by news Australian Federal Police and Qantas Airways were investigating the role of baggage handlers in a cocaine smuggling operation. 

But on Friday chaotic scenes broke out as the guilty verdict was read, with Corby's family and supporters yelling out from the back of the court that "Schapelle is innocent."

Corby, who had largely maintained her composure during the two hour proceedings, pleaded with her family to calm down before turning to her mother, mouthing the words: "It's OK mum. I'm alright."

With tears streaming down her face Corby then slapped her head with her hands before being allowed to embrace her visibly distressed parents and sister.

Corby was led from the court room surrounded by a wall of security as they struggled to move her through a massive press contingent that had converged on the Denpasar court house to cover the verdict.

Outside the court Corby's sister Mercedes said the family would appeal the verdict.

"This is not fair. We will get Schapelle home."

Her financial backer Australian businessman Ron Bakir described the verdict as "a massive injustice," and said he would do whatever it took to get her home.

Many callers to radio talk shows in Australia were incensed, and some said they regretted making donations to Indonesian tsunami victims, The Associated Press reported. Others called for Australians to boycott Bali.

Even before the sentence, there were calls for Australians to boycott the popular holiday destination of Bali and to ban Indonesian products.

Prime Minister John Howard said he understood why Australians felt so deeply about the Corby case. 

"The fact that we are a nation whose young travel so much, it is an issue that has touched this country very directly," he said. 

Trying to keep a fragile relationship with Jakarta intact, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said any criticism of Indonesia or its justice system would be counterproductive and reflect very badly on Australia.

The Australian government had already provided substantial financial support to Corby's cause, he said, and additional legal support had been offered for any appeal.

Dismissed key evidence
The panel of three judges dismissed key evidence prepared by her defense team, including that of Australia prisoner John Ford who backed Corby's claim that she was an unwitting "drug mule."

The judges found Corby's defense team could not prove if there was another person responsible for the drugs.

"The defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty" a translator quoted the judges as saying on Sky News.

"We've found that drugs were imported into Indonesia. Importation is illegal in Indonesia and it occurred at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar. This occurred without a licence or any permit to do so. It may not be done by anyone."

"She has been unrepentant to this. It is found the defendant is responsible for the narcotics and this should be considered when handing down the judgment." 

Security was stepped up around the Bali courthouse Friday morning with more than 100 officers guarding the building amid concerns of a terror threat. 

Already the case has triggered a series of threats against Indonesian diplomatic missions in Australia and Indonesia.

A team of Australian officials will head to Indonesia within the next ten days to discuss a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries that would see Corby serve her sentence in Australia.

Corby has always maintained her innocence.

During her trial Corby maintained that she was the victim of a drug trafficking operation involving baggage handlers at Australian airports.
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Fri May 27 14:41:20 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Fri May 27 00:47:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Could this really happen?
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV239D13DBAF92BF67968C8EAB000@phx.gbl>

Check this out.... Is Big Brother watching?

http://www.adcritic.com/interactive/view.php?id=5927


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 14:43:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 00:49:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - Muslims protest U.S. from Asia to Mideast -
	May 27, 2005
Message-ID: <15513484.1117230192194.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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Title: CNN.com - Muslims protest U.S. from Asia to Mideast - May 27, 2005
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 14:45:08 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 00:51:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - Study: 20M licensed drivers may lack basic
	safety knowledge - May 27, 2005
Message-ID: <23312273.1117230308100.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



I've been saying this for years - though I suspect that the "1 in 10" number is actually much higher...



 
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Title: CNN.com - Study: 20M licensed drivers may lack basic safety knowledge - May 27, 2005
 
  
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 14:52:45 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 00:59:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CNN.com - Bush-as-Groucho posters spark debate - May 27,
	2005
Message-ID: <5114205.1117230765293.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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You have received the following link from ialterman@nyc.rr.com

 
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Title: CNN.com - Bush-as-Groucho posters spark debate - May 27, 2005
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Fri May 27 14:58:31 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Fri May 27 01:04:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ourageous Guilty Verdict and 20-Year Sentence!
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV1254B93B081E66782C5DF2AB000@phx.gbl>

Done Ian...

peace,
barbara

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian
Sent: Fri, 27 May 2005 14:40:13 -0700
To: Civic
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ourageous Guilty Verdict and 20-Year Sentence!

Dear Friends:
Please read the article below.  It may not be the most important issue in the world, but it is nevertheless an outrage.  Even were this woman guilty - and I'm betting she isn't, given that even the Australian government doesn't think so (not only have they been investigating a drug smuggling ring that uses unknowing "mules" to smuggle drugs, but they helped pay her legal fees) - a 20-year sentence is outrageously harsh, even in Indonesia.

If you are as outraged as I am by this, I urge you to call and/or write to the Indonesian Consulate in New York: clog their phones, overfill their mailbox.  Let them know this type of overly harsh treatment is unacceptable in a civilized society.

The Indonesian Consulate is at:

Indonesian Consulate General
5 East 68th Street
New York, NY  10021
212.879.0600

Peace.

--------
Fury at Bali drugs verdict
(CNN) -- Many Australians reacted with anger and shock after a Queensland woman they believe is innocent was found guilty of smuggling drugs into Bali and sentenced to 20 years' jail. 

On Friday Indonesian judges found Schapelle Corby "legally and convincingly" guilty of smuggling marijuana into Bali in a case that has generated unprecedented interest among Australians and a diplomatic balancing act for the nation's leader.

The 27-year-old beauty therapist, who has been held in a Bali jail since her arrest on 8 October last year, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah ($10,700) on Friday.

She was arrested at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar after 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) of marijuana were found concealed in her boogie board bag. 

The case has galvanized public opinion in Australia, with a recent survey showing 90 percent thought Corby was innocent, believing her defense argument that the drugs found in her possession were planted by baggage handlers in Australia. 

Corby's defense team was buoyed by news Australian Federal Police and Qantas Airways were investigating the role of baggage handlers in a cocaine smuggling operation. 

But on Friday chaotic scenes broke out as the guilty verdict was read, with Corby's family and supporters yelling out from the back of the court that "Schapelle is innocent."

Corby, who had largely maintained her composure during the two hour proceedings, pleaded with her family to calm down before turning to her mother, mouthing the words: "It's OK mum. I'm alright."

With tears streaming down her face Corby then slapped her head with her hands before being allowed to embrace her visibly distressed parents and sister.

Corby was led from the court room surrounded by a wall of security as they struggled to move her through a massive press contingent that had converged on the Denpasar court house to cover the verdict.

Outside the court Corby's sister Mercedes said the family would appeal the verdict.

"This is not fair. We will get Schapelle home."

Her financial backer Australian businessman Ron Bakir described the verdict as "a massive injustice," and said he would do whatever it took to get her home.

Many callers to radio talk shows in Australia were incensed, and some said they regretted making donations to Indonesian tsunami victims, The Associated Press reported. Others called for Australians to boycott Bali.

Even before the sentence, there were calls for Australians to boycott the popular holiday destination of Bali and to ban Indonesian products.

Prime Minister John Howard said he understood why Australians felt so deeply about the Corby case. 

"The fact that we are a nation whose young travel so much, it is an issue that has touched this country very directly," he said. 

Trying to keep a fragile relationship with Jakarta intact, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said any criticism of Indonesia or its justice system would be counterproductive and reflect very badly on Australia.

The Australian government had already provided substantial financial support to Corby's cause, he said, and additional legal support had been offered for any appeal.

Dismissed key evidence
The panel of three judges dismissed key evidence prepared by her defense team, including that of Australia prisoner John Ford who backed Corby's claim that she was an unwitting "drug mule."

The judges found Corby's defense team could not prove if there was another person responsible for the drugs.

"The defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty" a translator quoted the judges as saying on Sky News.

"We've found that drugs were imported into Indonesia. Importation is illegal in Indonesia and it occurred at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar. This occurred without a licence or any permit to do so. It may not be done by anyone."

"She has been unrepentant to this. It is found the defendant is responsible for the narcotics and this should be considered when handing down the judgment." 

Security was stepped up around the Bali courthouse Friday morning with more than 100 officers guarding the building amid concerns of a terror threat. 

Already the case has triggered a series of threats against Indonesian diplomatic missions in Australia and Indonesia.

A team of Australian officials will head to Indonesia within the next ten days to discuss a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries that would see Corby serve her sentence in Australia.

Corby has always maintained her innocence.

During her trial Corby maintained that she was the victim of a drug trafficking operation involving baggage handlers at Australian airports.


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 14:59:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Fri May 27 01:06:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Could this really happen?
References: <BAY5-DAV239D13DBAF92BF67968C8EAB000@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <007d01c56307$6c02a240$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Barbara:

This should be required watching for anyone who thinks that "you need not be 
concerned about privacy issues if you have nothing to hide."

Scary!!!!

Peace.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Cc: <mb-hair@islandlists.com>
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 5:41 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Could this really happen?


> Check this out.... Is Big Brother watching?
>
> http://www.adcritic.com/interactive/view.php?id=5927
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Fri May 27 15:40:00 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Fri May 27 01:46:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Could this really happen?
References: <BAY5-DAV239D13DBAF92BF67968C8EAB000@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <019501c5630d$0445dfe0$6e436c42@hotprojects>

bank on it barbara
but we have michael butler
and he knows big brothers ways and manners
so i feel safe
lol
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Cc: <mb-hair@islandlists.com>
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 5:41 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] Could this really happen?


> Check this out.... Is Big Brother watching?
> 
> http://www.adcritic.com/interactive/view.php?id=5927
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
From maxfury at granderiver.net  Fri May 27 16:20:57 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Fri May 27 02:25:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Muslims denounce 'US Koran abuse'
Message-ID: <000701c56312$be86e5c0$0725b7d8@baby1>

BBC E-mail: Muslims denounce 'US Koran abuse'



CheeseComment:

Nobody in America cares about "The Koran" for the most part, nor what any of
"Our People" have done with it or to it.

 Here, America, still remains, for a huge portion, a "Christian Nation" that
is still brainwashed that people like Saddam Hussein himself was driving one
of the jets that slammed into the WTC but parachuted out at the last minute,
swam back across the Atlantic, and the muslim underground secreted him over
a period of weeks back into his stronghold in Iraq where he sat formulating
new ideas of how to strike America from within until we invaded Iraq and
finally put his evil plans to rest.

We care about "The Bible", after all we are a Christian Nation founded by
Christian Forefathers who wrote a Christian Constitution, or so so many
people who just got through re-electing Bush swear to up to a point of
socially beheading anyone who objects to such bizarre notions.

I read all these bizarre notions on the Internet, then I walk the streets
and talk to people here there and yonder, and lo and behold, it's as if they
and The Words Of Bullshit are one and the same.  And they all find time and
reason to include such crap even into each of their Prayers at night before
they go to sleep.

A chain letter of Propaganda.  Works perfectly.  Layer upon layer upon layer
upon layer of bullshit.  By the time anyone wants to try to even mildly
enlighten someone as to the huge mountain of bullshit, it is already too
late, you couldn't pull even just half the layers of bs from this giant
mountain in even a century even if you had every enlightened person in the
world trying at the same time.

The Koran is crap.  The Bible is King here.  We aren't going to have any
hindus, or muslims, or africans, or whomevers, or even any American Indian
prayers before our football games.  There will only be Christian prayers
before our football games.  Anyone else praying in any other language to any
other Gods is silly and blasphemy to both God and the Constitution of The
United States of America, as everyone already knows.

We use the Koran here in America for toilet paper when we run out of the
normal stuff.  We could care less about Muslims, the Middle East, the Koran,
or any of that other crap Over There, just as long as we blow the shit out
of them, teach them a lesson for killing 3,000 people in the WTC, and
re-establish ours and Jesus Christ's dominance over the entire planet and
all its people.

None of this, ever, has anything whatsoever to do with Oil, Billionaires,
Out Of Control American Militaries and Pentagons, or anything else
suggestive like that.

Anyone who tells you anything like that is a bullshit liar, liberal, commie,
gay lesbian, athiest non-Christian, and probably on food stamps, welfare,
and standing in a line waiting to have an abortion.

We want more open Christian prayers in our schools here, we want our
Government to turn away from its evil liberal ways and embrace Christ and
Christianity, and do away with those people who continue to insist that we
are not first and foremost A Christian Nation, bound to Destiny, Conquest,
and Glory by our simple Faith and Historical Documents.

We want to get rid of that filthy Darwin person's teachings in our schools,
and begin to teach ALL the young children of America the TRUE stories of how
we got here, starting with Jonah, who as everyone knows hid the pre-American
Constitution beneath his tunic, and the belly of the whale story.

We want ALL THAT, and LOTS MORE, but we will be satisfied to start with just
that.

And if it has to cost thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or millions of
lives, both here and abroad, especially of those filthy non-Christian
people, American or otherwise, then so be it, Christ is coming back, get the
fuck out of our way, you are dirt, just like the filth that believe in such
toilet paper as the Koran are.

We will win in the end, you will not, this is something you should try to
understand and begin to reject your false gods, ideas, and concepts, and
turn from your wicked ways and accept Christ as your one and only saviour of
yourself and the whole of mankind, and the new leader of America.

Little by little, we are electing, and re-electing, the politicians, judges,
etc that we know are on Our Side.  Once these people are in place in various
offices, courts, etc's across this great land, whether you are a godless
liberal lesbian whatever or not, you will then have no choice whatsoever but
to bow when we enter a room and nod Yes each time your child comes back from
school and repeats some dismal bullshit that they have now repeated verbatim
from The New American Educational System's new curriculum, establish by
American Law of course.

If you join us now, it will wind up being less painful in both the long and
short run for both you, your wife and children, your career, your standing
in the community, your place in American society, and your soul, well,
actually you don't really have a soul yet, you are lost in soulless abandon,
the mirky darkness of non-belief, however once you join us, our Christian
ladies' sewing club will sew you a new bright shining one just like they did
for Peter Pan.

If you do not join us, well, what can we say, you are doomed to hellfire and
brimstone for an Eternity, suffering with the rest of the non-believers in
the Hells of their own making, which of course we have never had anything to
do with whatsoever, and your wife and little children are, of course, also
doomed to Hell with you.

The choice is yours.

Join us and be one with the Great New Christian Oz here in America, or don't
join us, be destroyed and watch you and your family suffer endlessly, and
lay down so we can wrap you in the pages of that filth called The Koran,
take a crap on you, and send you back to the Middle East with the rest of
those godless heathens where you belong.

You are with us or against us.  There is no middle ground.  There is no
compromise.  There are no alternatives.

You have 3.2 seconds to make up your mind.

p.s.:  If we catch you muttering any American Indian prayers under your
breath at one of our football games to anyone other than Jesus Christ or
Jehovah, we will chop off your eagle feathers and send you back to your
wampum happy hunting ground reservations to die like dogs, just like John
Wayne taught us.

Don't screw with us.  We're finalizing all our political, social,
governmental, appointees, officials, judges, etc's, and when we are through,
we will own not only America completely, but your sorry asses as well.

There IS justice truly in America, and WE are it.

So what if we killed 100,000 CIVILIAN Iraqi men women and children in cold
blood, so what if we killed 1,000,000 Little Iraqi Children through American
Sanctions...

So what.....   It was all to the greater glory of Jesus Christ, Jehovah, the
one and only true God himself.

There is bound to be Collateral Damage when spreading The Word Of God and
Our New Way Of Life which was bred and streamlined here in thisi
Constitutionally Christian Country, that's just the cost of doing business
and redeeming the faithless and Completing the Work Of The Lord here in
America and abroad.  If you don't believe us, just ask people like Dick
Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, two of the greatest Christians we have ever
known.

And if you don't subscribe nor believe any of all that, then you belong in
prison with that jerkoff Saddam Hussein who attacked the World Trade Centers
on 911, wiping your ass with the Koran just like any other heathen should be
forced to do.

If anyone tells you The Great Lie that any or all of this was about OIL,
ignore them, they are faithless fools who have not yet been enlightened as
to the ways of this the New Great Christian Nation.

Face it, things like the Koran are worthless pieces of paper, good only to
use for starting your fires for your weekend barbecues in your back yards.

And if anyone ever accuses you of being part and parcel to the outright
slaughter and murder of millions of people in the name of such things as
OIL, don't try to argue with them and explain the necessities of collateral
damage as we are spreading the word of The Lord among The Nations and The
Heathens.  Just remind them that even Christians must drive cars, and walk
away, they will surely reap what they sow, just like we will.

Jesus loves you, try to remember that as you are stepping over the millions
of dead bodies it takes to bring The Good News to the faithless.

p.s.s.:  Keep listening to Fox News, it's about one of the last real
Christian news stations left on the air in America.

See you in church on Sunday.







Cheeseburger


- Condoleeza:  The other white meat.

.

From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May 27 16:58:49 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May 27 03:05:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CALLS ON KYRGYZSTAN TO
	PROTECT UZBEK REFUGEES
Message-ID: <20050527235849.3ABA71B6A2@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
____________________________________________________
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CALLS ON KYRGYZSTAN TO PROTECT UZBEK REFUGEES
WebPosted Fri May 27 18:07:35 2005

NEW YORK--- A human rights group says those Uzbeks who fled to Kyrgyzstan
following a crackdown on protesters in their homeland could be killed or
tortured if forced to return.

"Kyrgyzstan did the right thing by allowing the first wave of Uzbek
citizens to enter its territory," said Holly Cartner, Europe and
Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement on the
group's website.

         "But it must ensure respect for the right to seek asylum. If
         people are pushed back at the border or forcibly returned to
         Uzbekistan, they could be killed or tortured."

        Human Rights Watch is seeking better protection for the
        asylum seekers.

        About 500 people fled to southern Kyrgyzstan and settled into a
        tent camp after government troops fired on protesters in the city
        of Andijan. The government says about 200 protesters and law
        enforcement workers died in the crackdown.

        Activists claim the number is closer to 750.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May 27 17:02:02 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May 27 03:08:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - AUSTRALIAN WOMAN GETS 20 YEARS FOR SMUGGLING
	POT INTO BALI
Message-ID: <20050528000202.521DB1B6A2@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
____________________________________________________
AUSTRALIAN WOMAN GETS 20 YEARS FOR SMUGGLING POT INTO BALI
WebPosted Fri May 27 09:44:12 2005

Bali, Indonesia---Prosecutors will appeal the 20-year prison sentence of
an Australian woman who was convicted of smuggling 4.1 kilograms of
marijuana onto Indonesia's Bali island last October.

Schapelle Corby, 27, who was facing the death penalty, wept as she
received her prison sentence Friday, along with a $10,500 US fine.

But prosecutors, who had requested a life sentence, said they will
appeal, arguing the sentence is too lenient.

Corby's mother had to be restrained as the sentence was read "Liar!
Liar," she yelled out.

Other relatives shouted: "We are going to get you home! We love you!"

Corby turned to her parents and mouthed, "Just relax. It's OK."

The case has captured the attention of Australia. The country's prime
minister expressed sympathy for Corby but urged Australians to remain
calm following the decision.

"Guilty or innocent, I feel for this young woman," Prime Minister John
Howard said. "I ask that we all pause and understand the situation and
recognize and respect that when we visit other countries we are subject
to the laws and rules of those countries."

"We have neither the power nor the right to intervene."

Corby, a beauty school student, was arrested in October after airport
authorities found marijuana in her surfboard bag as she arrived on Bali
for a family holiday.

Her lawyers allege the drugs were planted in her bag by airport baggage
handlers in Australia as part of a drug-smuggling operation.

Judge Wayan Suastrawan noted that customs officers testified that Corby
looked "nervous" and "tried not to open the bag" when asked to by customs
officials.



With files from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May 27 17:08:54 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May 27 03:15:42 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - COURT DENIES WOMAN RIGHT TO USE DEAD
	HUSBAND'S SPERM
Message-ID: <20050528000854.BCC0D1B6A2@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
____________________________________________________
COURT DENIES WOMAN RIGHT TO USE DEAD HUSBAND'S SPERM
WebPosted Fri May 27 08:18:15 2005

Canberra---An Australian woman has lost a Supreme Court battle to have
her dead husband's baby.

The 36-year-old woman's husband died in a car accident in 1998.

At that time, she successfully applied to the court to have sperm removed
from his body. Her plan was to try to get pregnant by in vitro
fertilization.

But the courts changed tack on Friday ruling the law did not allow for
the procedure.

Justice Kim Hargrave said the procedure could not go ahead because the
husband did not give his written consent before he died.

"It should not be assumed that such consent would necessarily have been
forthcoming if the matter had been considered by the late husband," the
judge said.

Hargrave said despite the ethical considerations raised by the case, the
court was bound to apply the law as it stood, with any changes to the law
to be made by Parliament.

With files from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Fri May 27 17:10:37 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Fri May 27 03:16:51 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - IS U.S. HOUSING MARKET A 'BUBBLE' WAITING TO
	BURST? 
Message-ID: <20050528001037.4C6D81B6A2@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
____________________________________________________
IS U.S. HOUSING MARKET A 'BUBBLE' WAITING TO BURST? 
WebPosted Fri May 27 15:19:42 2005

Washington---U.S. network newscasts all featured cautionary stories this
week on the white hot U.S. housing market, raising warning flags that
house prices may be ripe for a correction that consumers are not
expecting.

The stories were prompted by figures from the U.S. National Association
of Realtors that showed the median price of a resale home had risen 15.1
per cent in the last year &#8211; its biggest gain in almost 25 years.

Last week, U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan made reference to
what he called "a little froth" in the U.S. housing market. "We don't
perceive that there is a national bubble, but it's hard not to see that
there are a lot of local bubbles," he said.

Greenspan said he didn't see signs of a worrisome bubble, noting that
most Americans still have a lot of equity in their homes. Still, the Fed
recently urged lenders to tighten their mortgage lending practices.

In Canada, resale home price increases have been solid, but more subdued.
The average residential home in Canada was $243,779 in March, according
to national MLS data. That's up 9.1 per cent year-over-year.

As in Canada, rising U.S. home prices have been driven by low mortgage
rates. Even though the Fed has raised its key interest rate by 2
percentage points over the last year, "monetary conditions remain far too
accommodative," in the view of TD Bank economist Carl Gomez.

In a report Friday, Gomez predicted that in the absence of significant
rate increases, "U.S. consumers will continue to believe that housing
will remain a one-way bet to riches."

U.S.consumers believe because they see that their homes have appreciated
much more steadily and rapidly than other investments. While home prices
were going up up better than 15 per cent (and much more in some markets),
the stock market has been stagnant. As of the end of March, for instance,
the one-year increase in the Dow Jones Industrial Average was a miserly
1.4 per cent.

Whether the U.S. housing scene amounts to a national bubble or a bunch of
local bubbles, there's no doubt that American consumers are increasingly
tapping into their rapidly-rising home equity. "Many Americans no longer
think of their home as just a place to live," a story in the Wall Street
Journal said this week. "Instead, it's a cash machine that can be used to
rapidly build wealth."

Some consumers are using their home equity to renovate, pay down higher
interest debt, or invest in the stock market. Some are leveraging the
equity in their principal residences to buy income properties.

Some U.S. lenders will finance up to 125 per cent of a property's
appraised value, far more than what Canadian lenders will finance.

Some observers say the heat in the U.S. market is now driving many other
economic trends.

"Housing wealth, with even the Fed acknowledges is more important than
stock market wealth to consumers, continues to escalate, pumping
spending, inflation pressures and the trade deficit," BMO Nesbitt Burns
chief economist Sherry Cooper wrote in a commentary this week.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 28 05:15:15 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 27 15:21:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <18109223.1117282515564.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Analysts Behind Iraq Intelligence Were Rewarded
 
 By Walter Pincus
 
 Pentagon says awards were given to recognize analysts' overall contributions on the job. But some officials say episode shows how the administration has failed to hold people accountable for mistakes on prewar intelligence.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/27/AR2005052701618.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 28 05:16:04 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 27 15:22:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <11587034.1117282564923.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Assault On the Media
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
 So it turns out that the FBI has documents showing that detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, complained about the mistreatment of the Koran and that many said they were severely beaten.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052601538.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 28 05:16:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 27 15:22:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <13483673.1117282602244.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Senator's Guide To Safe Sex
 
 By Hanna Rosin
 
 It's not every day that a U.S. senator gives a lecture and slide show about risky sexual activities -- complete with gross pictures of the naughty bits.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052601747.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 28 05:19:13 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 27 15:25:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <19663409.1117282754184.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Our Sad Neglect of Mexico
 
 By Marcela Sanchez
 
 Whether you believe Mexican immigrants help or hurt the United States, there is one truth you have to accept: Work here pays much, much better. A low-skill Mexican worker earns five to six times as much in this country as back home, assuming he or she could find a comparable job there.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/27/AR2005052701194.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 28 05:21:41 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 27 15:27:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <15951914.1117282901940.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Good Guilt in Germany
 
 By Marian Marzynski
 
 This month, 60 years after Germans awoke to see the Third Reich in ashes, the German government unveiled a massive Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, in the heart of Berlin. I was 8 years old at war's end, a Jewish boy who had been smuggled out of the ghetto and hidden on the Christian side of...
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/27/AR2005052701193.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 28 06:32:41 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May 27 16:39:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: 20-year sentence for tourist in drug
	case that gripped Australia
Message-ID: <20050528133241.53ED81D9B@herring.gul3.gnl>

Harry 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

20-year sentence for tourist in drug case that gripped Australia
John Aglionby in Jakarta
Saturday May 28 2005
The Guardian


An Australian tourist was sentenced to 20 years in jail yesterday for attempting to smuggle more than 4kg (9lb) of marijuana into the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, concluding a trial that has gripped her country. 

Schapelle Corby, 27, a trainee beautician from Brisbane, was also fined 100m rupiah (&#163;5,800), although the end of the verdict was barely heard as the sweltering courtroom, crowded with family, friends, holidaymakers and an army of Australian journalists, descended into pandemonium.  

Loud boos drowned out the cheers of a few anti-drug campaigners. Corby's mother, Rosleigh, stood up and shouted at the three judges: "Liar, liar. Honey, we are going to take you home."  

Corby, who fainted once during the trial and has had to be treated for stress, cried briefly but remained relatively calm, although clearly stunned by the verdict. She mouthed the number "20" in Indonesian several times and then turned and told her mother: "Mum, it's OK, it's OK."  

Her plight has galvanised Australia into an unprecedented outpouring of public sympathy for an alleged drug smuggler after defence lawyers claimed she was an unwitting victim of gangs who employ airport baggage handlers to stuff drugs into luggage.  

It had been maintained that the drugs found in her unlocked surfboard bag were planted. The claim appeared to gain weight when it emerged that baggage handlers at Sydney airport had been involved in a drug smuggling ring that had been operating the day Corby flew to Indonesia.  

Scores of people flocked to her defence after learning she faced the death penalty.  

A former mobile phone businessman, Ron Bakir, agreed to finance her defence, several websites were set up to campaign for her freedom, a lawyer regularly flew to Bali to help and the case has dominated radio chat shows.   

The vast majority of callers have been Corby supporters. One newspaper survey said 90% of Australians thought she was innocent. They included the film star Russell Crowe, who said the government should be doing more to secure Corby's release.  

Corby was arrested last October when customs officers at Bali airport discovered the marijuana in her bag as she arrived to visit her sister, Mercedes Blake. The officials testified that Corby had refused to open the bag and then had tried to prevent them doing so.  

The former student, who gave up her studies to help care for her sick father, vehemently pleaded her innocence.  

Australia's media soon latched on to the case, with analysts pointing out that the clear plastic bag the drugs were in had not been fingerprinted and that her surfboard bag had not been weighed after being seized.  

The country's government also intervened. It provided Corby with legal aid and allowed a prisoner, John Ford, to go to Bali to tell the court he had overheard two people in jail talking about the case and admitting they knew who put the drugs in the bag. Legal experts dismissed his evidence as hearsay upon hearsay, particularly as he could not name any of the people involved.  

Canberra is now lobbying for a one-off deal to allow Corby to serve her sentence in Australia. Authorities in Indonesia, where the case has generated little interest, have reacted coolly to the suggestion.  

Both Corby's lawyers and the prosecution said they would appeal. The state had demanded a life sentence; the defence has already prepared its appeal against the conviction.  

Two QCs from Perth have volunteered to help with the appeal.  

Some commentators have remarked that it is curious that Corby has won so much sympathy, while three other Australians who are on death row for drug offences in Singapore and Vietnam have won so little. The three are male and of Vietnamese origin.  

During the trial, Jakarta requested additional security at its diplomatic missions after two bullets were sent to its Perth consulate with a note that there would be shooting if Corby was convicted.  

Yesterday, anger boiled over after the hearing outside the courtroom as relatives and friends read out statements.  

"I can't believe they didn't take any of our witnesses into account," Ms Blake screamed. "There's been no justice."  

A family friend, Glen Jeffers, linked the case to the Boxing Day tsunami and the deaths of nine Australian servicemen in the relief operation.  

An Australian boycott of Bali as a tourist destination has been called for.  

Corby won support from Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, whose conviction in 1982 for murdering her baby daughter was quashed in 1986, after her claim that a dingo had taken the infant was vindicated.  

"I know what it feels like and how hard it is to keep your courage up under the circumstances," she said.  

Australian consular staff visited Corby in jail yesterday afternoon. The Australian embassy said that she was "holding up well and remarkably positive given the emotional circumstances". 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 28 06:37:05 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Fri May 27 16:43:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Israeli army squad in cup final
	invasion
Message-ID: <20050528133705.2FBB6760A@mussel.gul3.gnl>

Harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

-------
Note from Harry:

Thi kind of conduct is just wrong!!
-------

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Israeli army squad in cup final invasion
Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
Saturday May 28 2005
The Guardian


The commander of an Israeli army squad has been suspended after his patrol took over a Palestinian home and confined the family to a spare room so the soldiers could watch Liverpool's victory in the Champions League final. 

A Palestinian youth, Anan al-Zrayer, told Israeli television that he was stopped in the West Bank town of Hebron by soldiers who asked if his family had satellite television.  

After he confirmed that it did, he said the soldiers barged into the house, forced the family out of the living room and settled down to watch Wednesday's final between Liverpool and AC Milan. "I gave them the remote control and they carried out a search. We were kicked into another room," said Mr Zrayer.  

Yesterday, an Israeli TV channel showed broken furniture and windows in the Zrayer home that the family said were damaged by troops.  

The military confirmed that the five soldiers and the commander took over the house to watch the match but said they only stayed for a few minutes, and did not break anything. The only Palestinian at the house was the youth who let them in.  

However, the army said such behaviour was unacceptable and was being investigated. "The commander in charge has been suspended from duty and further disciplinary measures will be taken against the soldiers." 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 28 06:46:58 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (William Swiggard, MD, PhD)
Date: Fri May 27 16:53:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ask CPB Chairman Tomlinson to Stop Playing Politics with
	Public Broadcasting
Message-ID: <89740239030a415bb5a8fea250843ab6@comcast.net>

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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 28 07:03:06 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Fri May 27 17:09:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Ask CPB Chairman Tomlinson to Stop Playing Politics
	withPublic Broadcasting
References: <89740239030a415bb5a8fea250843ab6@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <00b801c5638d$f90f5f80$6e436c42@hotprojects>

wow bill using titles whats the occassion?
lol
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: William Swiggard, MD, PhD 
  To: Hey there, CIVIC friends 
  Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2005 9:46 AM
  Subject: [Mb-civic] Ask CPB Chairman Tomlinson to Stop Playing Politics withPublic Broadcasting


  Hey there, CIVIC friends,

  As a member of Common Cause, we are deeply concerned about the current direction of the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and its chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson. 

  We expect the CPB and its chairman to defend critical, fact-based reporting and respect the editorial independence of public broadcasting. Clearly, your actions have demonstrated a lack of respect or even understanding of public broadcasting's mission in a democracy. As concerned citizens we ask that you change course immediately and: 

  - Stop efforts to influence programming decisions at National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). 

  - Eliminate the two ombudsman positions recently created to evaluate and critique public broadcasting programs for bias. This is an inappropriate role for the CPB and is contrary to its mission of serving as a "heat shield" to protect public broadcasting from political influence. 

  - Support the appointment of board members to the CPB who have demonstrated expertise and commitment to public broadcasting as opposed to the current system, which favors the appointment of partisans. 

  - Publicly assure journalists working for public broadcasting that they can conduct fact based investigative reporting critical of government without fear of reprisals. 

  We the undersigned ask you and the CPB board to stop playing politics that undermine the integrity of public broadcasting. 

  Ask CPB Chairman Tomlinson to Stop Playing Politics with Public Broadcasting. 

  go to: 
  http://www.commoncause.org/ProtectPublicBroadcasting 

  Follow This Link to visit the website.
  ****************************************************************************
  Some email systems do not support the use of links and therefore this link may not appear to work.
  If so, copy and paste the following into your browser:
  http://www.commoncause.org/site/lookup.asp?link=4229
  ****************************************************************************

  William Swiggard, MD, PhD 


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


  _______________________________________________
  Mb-civic mailing list
  Mb-civic@islandlists.com
  http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sat May 28 07:58:54 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Fri May 27 18:05:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Titles
Message-ID: <39330-220055628145854308@M2W027.mail2web.com>

ARRRGGGHHH....
That's what I get for filling out forms on line...ah well...

No particular occasion, just another outrage by the Bush Junta against one
of the last bastions of balanced reporting in the USA...that's all...

Peace, Love, and Stick it to those friggin bastids...

Be well...LOL
Dr. Bill
PS - How was the neuro exam?

Original Message:
-----------------
From: richard haase hotprojects@nyc.rr.com
Date: Sat, 28 May 2005 10:03:06 -0400
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Ask CPB Chairman Tomlinson to Stop Playing
PoliticswithPublic Broadcasting


wow bill using titles whats the occassion?
lol
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .



From michael at intrafi.com  Sat May 28 08:51:47 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Fri May 27 18:58:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Nuclear Talks End in Discord
Message-ID: <26526307.1117295507275.JavaMail.turbine@s73>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Nuclear Talks End in Discord 
--------------------

The U.N. conference stumbles over priorities. The U.S., focused on North Korea and Iran, is criticized over its own weapons stockpile.

By Maggie Farley
Times Staff Writer

May 28 2005

UNITED NATIONS &#8212; A monthlong conference aimed at curtailing the spread of nuclear weapons ended in failure Friday after being scuttled by arguments among the United States, Iran and Egypt. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-nukes28may28,0,5159297.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From ean at sbcglobal.net  Fri May 27 20:19:13 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri May 27 19:01:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A sane energy bill:  Apollo in Action
Message-ID: <200505280201.j4S21Bmg017937@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Apollo in Action
By Jay Inslee, Grist Magazine
Posted on May 23, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/22058/

On April 21, Congress stepped back in geologic time when the House 
of Representatives passed an energy policy of the dinosaurs, by the 
dinosaurs, and for the dinosaurs. This energy bill is truly a "Jurassic" 
piece of legislation that relies on a limited energy source derived from 
creatures and plants that died millions of years ago. In fact, 93 percent 
of the $8 billion in tax incentives in the bill go to oil, gas, and other 
traditional energy industries.

Shortly before the House debate, one national leader said, "I will tell 
you with $55 oil we don't need incentives to oil and gas companies to 
explore. ... What we need is to put a strategy in place that will help this 
country over time become less dependent." Incredibly, that leader was 
President George W. Bush. Even the president with the worst 
environmental record since Warren G. Harding cannot conceal that 
this energy bill is more technologically suited for the 19th century than 
the 21st century.

Instead of this petroleum-soaked energy policy, some of my 
colleagues and I have been promoting a new vision for our energy 
future, one that would avoid drilling in our pristine areas, while creating 
jobs, enhancing our national security, and protecting the environment. 
This clean-energy vision, called the New Apollo Energy Act, is based 
on optimism rather than self-doubt, on new technologies rather than 
archaic methods, and on faith in Americans' innovative talent rather 
than capitulation to narrow special interests. New Apollo will commit 
our nation to clean energy to increase domestic high-tech employment, 
reduce the effects of climate change, and advance our country toward 
independence from foreign oil. Though the Republican leadership 
refused to allow us to offer a version of New Apollo as an amendment 
to the energy bill, I will soon be introducing it as a separate bill in 
Congress.

New Apollo draws its inspiration from President Kennedy's original 
"Apollo" plan, which in 1961 challenged the nation to put a man on the 
moon within the decade and return him safely to Earth. Kennedy 
recognized that Americans love a good challenge and are the most 
creative people in human history. In a similar way, New Apollo 
challenges Americans to harness their legendary ingenuity and 
technological prowess to build a clean, economically beneficial energy 
system on our own planet -- a planet we want to keep comfortably fit 
for human habitation and free from global warming and conflicts 
arising over the control of petroleum.

Our New Apollo Energy Act will provide $49 billion in government loan 
guarantees for the construction of clean-energy generation facilities 
that will produce power from wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, 
oceans, coal with carbon-sequestration technology, and other sources. 
The legislation will also commit $10.5 billion to research-and-
development investment tax credits for clean energy-producing 
operations. In addition, it includes a 10-year extension of the current 
credit for electricity generated from clean sources. Making these clean 
energy sources cost-effective for citizens will require this type of bold 
infrastructure investment by the federal government.

There is no one silver bullet that will solve the nation's energy crisis, so 
New Apollo pursues a number of other strategies as well. It creates 
national net-metering and interconnection standards that allow 
homeowners who generate clean energy to reduce their energy bills by 
feeding surplus electricity back into the grid. It also contains a 
renewable portfolio standard that will require all utilities to produce 10 
percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2021.

Of course, the best way to generate energy is to not waste it, so New 
Apollo includes incentives for American consumers to drive fuel-
efficient vehicles, including tax credits for the purchase of hybrid, 
alternative-fuel, low-emission advanced diesel, and fuel-cell vehicles. It 
also provides an incentive program to encourage domestic automotive 
and aerospace manufacturers to develop new fuel-efficient 
automobiles and planes.

These boosts for clean energy and efficiency will make it possible to 
meet our bill's call for notable reductions in daily domestic oil 
consumption -- cuts of 600,000 barrels a day by 2010, 1,700,000 
barrels by 2015, and 3,000,000 barrels by 2020. These numbers are 
approximate estimates of the amount of oil the United States would 
soon be importing daily from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the entire Middle 
East, respectively, without a change in current policy. Lessening our 
dependence on foreign oil will greatly strengthen our national security.

That is in sharp contrast to what we would see under the Republicans' 
Jurassic energy bill -- an 80 percent increase in petroleum imports 
between 2002 and 2025, according to the president's own Energy 
Department. That bill fails to recognize that the United States has only 
3 percent of the world's petroleum reserves but consumes 25 percent 
of the world's oil -- simply put, we cannot drill our way to energy 
independence. Even with the most generous estimates, opening up 
the Arctic Refuge and other treasures for exploration would not have 
any significant impact on oil supply or prices.

A smart energy policy must also address the threats posed by global 
warming. Scientists have found overwhelming evidence that climate 
change is caused by rising greenhouse-gas levels in the atmosphere, 
driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels. The argument is over -- 
debating global warming is as sensible as debating gravity. New Apollo 
would enact a proposal similar to the McCain-Lieberman Climate 
Stewardship Act by capping our emissions of greenhouse gases while 
allowing companies to purchase and trade credits amongst 
themselves to ensure the most cost-effective reductions, and funding 
research to help industries make the shift to cleaner operations. The 
bill targets one of the biggest greenhouse-gas offenders -- coal -- by 
providing $7 billion for the development of energy-efficient coal-fired 
power plants that sequester 90 percent of their carbon-dioxide 
emissions.

Allowing America's clean-energy industries to stagnate is economically 
dangerous. While the U.S. has remained fixated on oil and gas, 
Denmark, Germany, and Japan have surpassed our country in reaping 
the economic benefits of renewable-energy technologies. Non-U.S. 
companies now produce about 90 percent of solar photovoltaic panels, 
with Japanese firms alone controlling about 49 percent of the solar-
technology market -- technology that Americans originally developed. 
European companies control 85 percent of wind-turbine 
manufacturing, and the U.S. currently imports fuel cells from Canada. 
New Apollo will close this technology gap with foreign competitors by 
investing billions of dollars in new federal research into advanced clean 
technologies, and creating a government-funded risk pool to help 
struggling start-up clean-energy companies commercialize their 
products.

America's high-tech hubs like the Puget Sound area, which includes 
my home district, will significantly benefit from investment in clean 
energy. One study by the Apollo Alliance has found that a substantial 
federal commitment to clean energy could yield up to 3.3 million jobs 
nationally.

There is a sad irony in the fact that humans are now relying on energy 
from fossilized dinosaurs and vegetation, which died most likely as a 
result of climate change, to such a great extent that we are altering the 
nature of our own atmosphere. But we can change our path through 
optimism and ingenuity -- our country has a history of taking on tough 
challenges and triumphing. It is now time to roll up our sleeves, get 
down to work, and lead the world in developing new energy 
technologies through a New Apollo Energy Act.

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D) represents Washington state's First 
Congressional District.
? 2005 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/22058/
-- 
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 
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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  Fri May 27 20:17:45 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Fri May 27 19:01:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Poll shows Americans want progressive leadership
Message-ID: <200505280201.j4S21bxp017947@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 28 10:30:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 19:37:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Violence Surges Across Iraq With 30 New
	Deaths Reported in Attacks
Message-ID: <20050528163049.0D95C3AE414@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 29, 2005

Violence Surges Across Iraq With 30 New Deaths Reported in Attacks
By JOHN F. BURNS

The surge of violence that has swept Iraq since its first elected government took office nearly a month ago continued on Saturday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/international/middleeast/29iraq.html?ex=1117944000&en=3bf42f593ce21e19&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 28 10:32:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 19:38:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Honor Thy Teacher
Message-ID: <20050528163217.4200413B7DC@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 28, 2005

Guest Columnist: Honor Thy Teacher
By MATT MILLER

The best way to soothe teachers' unions is to commit to making the best teachers of poor children millionaires by the time they retire.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/opinion/28miller.html?ex=1117944000&en=dd012c5db111276a&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 28 10:32:36 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 19:38:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Give Peace a Chance
Message-ID: <20050528163239.1443A23716D@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Really?!


OPINION | May 28, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Give Peace a Chance
By JOHN TIERNEY

You would never guess it from the news, but we're living in a peculiarly tranquil world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/opinion/28tierney.html?ex=1117944000&en=786461cd5e17ce53&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 28 10:33:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 19:39:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Reports of Mishandling Koran Bring Protest
	Worldwide
Message-ID: <20050528163313.C56D7A1031@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | May 28, 2005

Reports of Mishandling Koran Bring Protest Worldwide
By SALMAN MASOOD

Thousands of Muslims protested the alleged desecration of the Koran by military personnel at the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/international/asia/28koran.html?ex=1117944000&en=32e276a4ba920886&ei=5070



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In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 28 10:35:12 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 19:41:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Saudi King Hospitalized;
	Condition Is Called Serious
Message-ID: <20050528163515.DD89483DEB@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 28, 2005

Saudi King Hospitalized; Condition Is Called Serious
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

King Fahd, the ailing ruler of Saudi Arabia, was hospitalized in the Saudi capital of Riyadh and said to be in stable but serious condition.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/international/middleeast/28saudi.html?ex=1117944000&en=d78be906fe615e18&ei=5070



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

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

Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 28 10:36:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Fri May 27 19:43:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Oh,
	No! My Identity's Gone! Call the Insurer.
Message-ID: <20050528163709.4AC59A0FDE@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

BUSINESS | May 28, 2005

Short Cuts: Oh, No! My Identity's Gone! Call the Insurer.
By ALINA TUGEND

The insurance industry has found an eager market for a timely product: identity theft insurance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/business/28shortcuts.html?ex=1117944000&en=9d48c8b94e8a4cea&ei=5070



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

Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Sat May 28 10:20:45 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (Barbara Siomos)
Date: Fri May 27 20:27:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Titles
Message-ID: <BAY5-DAV585B0473952BCB3084BD5AB010@phx.gbl>

If Bill uses his titles for ANY reason it is HIS business Richard, they are well earned... it is uncomfortable for ME your asking about it...... No one asked you WHY you were chatting about your Neuro stuff..... :-)

PEACE and please do not be offended as you get sometime.

barbara


-----Original Message-----
From: swiggard@comcast.net
Sent: Sat, 28 May 2005 07:58:54 -0700
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: [Mb-civic] Titles

ARRRGGGHHH....
That's what I get for filling out forms on line...ah well...

No particular occasion, just another outrage by the Bush Junta against one
of the last bastions of balanced reporting in the USA...that's all...

Peace, Love, and Stick it to those friggin bastids...

Be well...LOL
Dr. Bill
PS - How was the neuro exam?

Original Message:
-----------------
From: richard haase hotprojects@nyc.rr.com
Date: Sat, 28 May 2005 10:03:06 -0400
To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Ask CPB Chairman Tomlinson to Stop Playing
PoliticswithPublic Broadcasting


wow bill using titles whats the occassion?
lol
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------
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http://mail2web.com/ .



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Mb-civic@islandlists.com
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From hotprojects at nyc.rr.com  Sat May 28 11:15:56 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Fri May 27 21:22:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Titles
References: <BAY5-DAV585B0473952BCB3084BD5AB010@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <00d901c563b1$4b219360$6e436c42@hotprojects>

barbara you need to stop
i was making a good natured joke
i am sick to death of you taking me to task
i said nothing
stop this instant
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: "swiggard@" <comcast.netswiggard@comcast.net>;
<mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2005 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Titles


> If Bill uses his titles for ANY reason it is HIS business Richard, they
are well earned... it is uncomfortable for ME your asking about it...... No
one asked you WHY you were chatting about your Neuro stuff..... :-)
>
> PEACE and please do not be offended as you get sometime.
>
> barbara
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: swiggard@comcast.net
> Sent: Sat, 28 May 2005 07:58:54 -0700
> To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
> Subject: [Mb-civic] Titles
>
> ARRRGGGHHH....
> That's what I get for filling out forms on line...ah well...
>
> No particular occasion, just another outrage by the Bush Junta against one
> of the last bastions of balanced reporting in the USA...that's all...
>
> Peace, Love, and Stick it to those friggin bastids...
>
> Be well...LOL
> Dr. Bill
> PS - How was the neuro exam?
>
> Original Message:
> -----------------
> From: richard haase hotprojects@nyc.rr.com
> Date: Sat, 28 May 2005 10:03:06 -0400
> To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
> Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Ask CPB Chairman Tomlinson to Stop Playing
> PoliticswithPublic Broadcasting
>
>
> wow bill using titles whats the occassion?
> lol
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> mail2web - Check your email from the web at
> http://mail2web.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  Sat May 28 11:20:32 2005
From: hotprojects at nyc.rr.com (richard haase)
Date: Fri May 27 21:26:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] dont you think its bills place to say if hes offended
	barbara?
Message-ID: <012501c563b1$efa3d560$6e436c42@hotprojects>


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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Sat May 28 12:37:52 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Fri May 27 22:42:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Is There A Doctor In The House.......?
Message-ID: <000501c563bc$bd582880$4f25b7d8@baby1>

Is There A Doctor In The House.......?



Yeah, I dunno, I heard there was a Doctor in the house or something...

I have a wacked out Republican administration, wacked out Pentagon, out of
control Military, wacked out Religious Nuts, wacked out anti-human
Corporations, wacked out Judges who should have been fry cooks at Denny's,
and some really wacked out Neo-Cons who keep selling our military secrets to
Israel, up my butt.

Is there some way you could remove them...?  With all of them up there, I
seem to be having discomfort with some of my bowel movements.

I did not invite them there, they just invited themselves, set up camp, and
heck if I can figure out how to remove them.

I figured since there is a Doctor here, I might be able to get some free
advice.

Please don't suggest lighting an M-80 and shoving it up there, I already
tried that.

Needless to say, it didn't work, however it did cure my hemorroids.

Laura Bush stopped by and tried to fix it by sucking them all out of my
butt, but that didn't work either, and when she then broke into a stand-up
comedy routine, I had to put her back on the street where I found here
working the streetcorners in a tight red dress.

Pity the next fool that kisses her.

Oh well, nevertheless, all these wackos are still up there, I'm experiencing
discomfort with stool ejection as a result, and would appreciate any
professional advice on the matter.





Cheeseburger

.

From villasudjuan at wanadoo.fr  Sat May 28 09:12:54 2005
From: villasudjuan at wanadoo.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Sat May 28 01:00:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: Why Europe Is Wrong on Iran
In-Reply-To: <EA2DFF82-1508-4B89-95FE-5CC51D038031@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200505280800.j4S80RHo018558@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Sat, 28 May 2005 11:24:43 -0400
Subject: Why Europe Is Wrong on Iran

Arab News
The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily


Saturday, 28, May, 2005 (19, Rabi` al-Thani, 1426)


Why Europe Is Wrong on Iran
Amir Taheri ?

During his visit to Washington last week, Britain?s Foreign Secretary Jack
Straw told his American interlocutors that the European Union?s initiative
on Iran, of which his government is a part, was heading for an impasse. But
when asked what the next move should be, all that Straw had to say was: Keep
talking until after the Iranian presidential election.

The Europeans said a similar thing last year when talks on Iran?s alleged
nuclear ambitions had hit another brick-wall. At that time the advice was to
keep talking until after the Iranian parliamentary election. Well, that
election took place without producing any evolution in the Iranian position
except that the Islamic Republic may now be a year closer to the ?surge
capacity? it needs to become a nuclear power.

The latest round of talks, slated to continue until after the Iranian
presidential election, is equally likely to produce no change in Tehran?s
position. Tehran will continue to use the talks as a diplomatic smokescreen
while driving a wedge between Europe and the United States.

Nevertheless, it would be wrong to blame Iran for this state of affairs. The
leadership in Tehran is acting in accordance with its own agenda that is
aimed at securing the technological and industrial base that would enable
Iran to develop a nuclear arsenal if and when it so decides. The creation of
that ?surge capacity? is a key element in the Islamic Defense Doctrine as
approved by Khamenehi in the mid-1990s.

The Europeans are victims of their own delusions. Their policy on Iran is
based on a logical contradiction and a number of illusions.

The contradiction is this: They assume that Iran has been lying about its
nuclear program for two decades, and invite the Iranians to stop lying. But
to do that, they would first have to admit that they had been lying. The
Europeans are asking Iran to stop doing what Iran insists it is not doing at
all. Thus to satisfy the Europeans Iran must first do what it says it is not
doing and then stop doing it in a verifiable way. Remember the conundrum
about the liar who says that, all his life, he had told nothing but lies?

What about the European illusions?

One such is Straw?s belief that the results of the Iranian presidential
election will have an impact on Tehran?s position. ?We have to wait and see
who wins,? he told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

What Straw ignores is that we already know who the winner is. He is a
mid-ranking mulla named Ali Hussein-Khamenehi whose position as ?The Supreme
Guide? in the system created by the late Ayatollah Khomeini, gives him
unlimited constitutional powers. Whoever wins the Iranian presidency next
month will be little more than a member of Khamenehi?s vast entourage. Like
all his predecessors, the future president will be part of a fa?ade that
hides the true decision-making mechanisms of the system. Any suggestion that
a president of the Islamic Republic could overrule ?The Supreme Guide? is
too absurd to merit refutation.

The second illusion stems from the first. For over a year, Straw and his
German and French colleagues have been talking to a certain Hassan Rouhani,
a junior mulla with the title of secretary of The High Council of Islamic
National Defense. By all accounts Rouhani is a bonviveur with a sense of
humor. His friends say that, in his lighter moments, he makes a good
imitation of the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

But anyone with the slightest knowledge of how things work in Tehran would
know that Rouhani has no decision-making powers even on procedural matters.

The Europeans have never been able to see any of the real decision-makers
(known as tasmimgiran) in Tehran let alone engage them in negotiation.
Rouhani and other facade officials who talk to the Europeans may honestly
believe that Iran is not up to mischief if only because they do not know
what is going on. Only those in the camarilla around ?The Supreme Guide?
have the full picture. The doors of that camarilla, however, remain shut to
the Europeans.

The Europeans also ignore the messianic nature of the ideology that sustains
the Islamic Republic. That ideology sees itself in a global competition with
Western liberalism of which the European Union is one manifestation.
Khomeinism?s ambition is to win that competition one day, and remold the
global system on the basis of its vision. That ambition may seem laughable
to outsiders who know that the Islamic Republic counts for little in the
global balance of power. Some in the Tehran establishment also regard such
ambitions as absurd. The truth, however, is that the system cannot act
against its own nature.

The problem that the Europeans, among others, have with the Islamic Republic
is not one of behavior, as Straw and his colleagues assume. The problem is
with the nature of the Iranian regime.

Put in terms of practical power politics the problem is simple: The present
global system is almost exclusively a Western creation. Francis Fukuyama?s
theory of ?the end of history? is true in the sense that there no longer is
a major ideological challenge to the Western world, which is now opposed
only by a few oddballs such as North Korea, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, and Cuba. The
Khomeinist regime sees itself as the successor of the late Soviet Union as
the principal challenger of the West?s global domination.

Talleyrand once said that there are powers that will not stop because they
do not know how; they stop only when they are stopped. The experience of the
past three decades shows that this is true of the Islamic Republic.

Hamid-Reza Asefi, the Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tehran, has already
dismissed the package of concessions that the Europeans and, to a lesser
extent, the Bush administration, have offered Iran, as ?a joke.? He is not
being frivolous. Almost half a century of Cold War with the USSR teaches at
least one lesson: Your adversary will stop doing whatever it is that you
don?t like only if you stop him. If you cannot, he won?t stop. Why should
he?

If Iran has decided to get the bomb, it is not going to stop because Straw
talks to a junior mulla. Nor would the promise of investment and trade
persuade them to change course. As for the threat of ?referring? them to the
United Nations, then above-mentioned Asefi has already described it as
?laughable?.

The European initiative is not only useless but could also be dangerous. By
fostering Tehran?s illusion that the Islamic Republic could take the major
powers for a ride, the European initiative strengthens the hands of those in
the camarilla who believe, or pretend to believe, that their war of
attrition against a ?corrupt, cowardly and moribund West? is winnable. There
are many ways of dealing with the Khomeinist challenge. The European
imitative, now heading for another failure, is the worst.

---

Copyright: Arab News ? 2003 All rights reserved.

URL:?http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=64482&d=28&m=5&y=2005


------ End of Forwarded Message

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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat May 28 17:03:10 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat May 28 03:09:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - HARIRI'S SON POISED FOR WIN IN BEIRUT POLL  
Message-ID: <20050529000310.085471B691@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
____________________________________________________
HARIRI'S SON POISED FOR WIN IN BEIRUT POLL  
WebPosted Sat May 28 12:09:51 2005

beirut---People in Lebanon will begin voting this weekend in the first
parliamentary elections since Syria ended its 29-year troop presence.

The voting will take place in four regions over the next four consecutive
Sundays, beginning in Beirut.

Saad al-Hariri, the son of Lebanon's assassinated former prime minister,
is seen as a favourite to win in the Lebanese capital.

The last Syrian soldier left in April in a withdrawal that began after
weeks of public protest rallies, triggered by the bombing that killed
Rafik Hariri last February.

The United Nations and European Union have sent monitoring teams to
observe the elections.

Polls will open on June 12 in the Bekaa Valley and Mount Lebanon, and on
June 19 in northern Lebanon.

In a New York Times interview, the man who is leading an independent
campaign against the Hariri list of candidates is calling the
election a farce.

Adnan Arakji says a 20-day campaign is not enough time to talk
about issues.

He said candidates have only been concerned about forming alliances and
not taking the time to talk to voters.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat May 28 17:13:06 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat May 28 03:19:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - SUICIDE BOMBING IN ISLAMABAD
Message-ID: <20050529001306.5A10669AFB@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
____________________________________________________
SUICIDE BOMBING IN ISLAMABAD
WebPosted Fri May 27 04:59:37 2005

ISLAMABAD ---At least 20 people have been killed and more than 150
wounded when an apparent suicide bomb exploded in a crowd of Shiite
Muslims at a shrine in Islamabad.

The blast occurred at the Bari Imam shrine, which is close to Pakistan's
main government buildings and the diplomatic enclave, where many
embassies and diplomatic residences are located.

Witnesses reported that thousands of devotees from the majority Sunni
Muslim and minority Shiite Muslim sects were attending festivals in the
area at the time of the explosion.

Both groups claim ownership of the shrine but it has been controlled by
Sunnis for the last two decades.

Pakistani leader Gen Pervez Musharraf, said "the incident which happened
in Bari Imam was a suicide attack. It is a great tragedy and the whole
country is very sad. I myself am very sad." Shiites make up a 20 per cent
minority of Pakistan's predominantly Muslim population of 150 million.

        The country's Religious Affairs Minister Ajiz-ul-Haq condemned
        the attack.

        "The government is going in full force against the terrorist
        activities, and that is why there are sometimes third parties
        which get involved, to create a rift between various sects in
        Pakistan. No Muslim can do this, and this place where this
        happened is sacred to all sects of Islam."

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Sat May 28 17:14:31 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Sat May 28 03:21:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - BUSH SAYS CLOSING MILITARY BASES LINKED TO
	FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
Message-ID: <20050529001431.3483B1B6A3@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
____________________________________________________
BUSH SAYS CLOSING MILITARY BASES LINKED TO FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
WebPosted Fri May 27 18:14:49 2005

ANNAPOLIS, MD. --- President George W. Bush says downsizing U.S. military
bases is necessary to transform the military into fighting the war on
terrorism.

        Speaking to graduates of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.,
        Bush said closing the bases will save billions of dollars, which
        can be directed towards the war on terrorism.

        "We have more bases than we need. Supporting these facilities
        wastes billions of taxpayer dollars, money that can be better
        spent on giving you the tools to fight terrorists and confront
        21st century threats," he said.

        "The lesson of Sept.11 is clear: new dangers can arrive on our
        shores without warning. In this era of surprise, we cannot
        know for certain who might attack us or where or when. But we
        can anticipate how we might be attacked and we can transform
        our capabilities to defend our citizens and deliver justice to
        our enemies."

        Technology, a massive redeployment plan and next-generation
        weapons are key to the transformation, acccording to Bush.



Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Sat May 28 17:21:10 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Sat May 28 03:27:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Oliver Stone arrested on drug,
	DUI charges in Beverly Hills
Message-ID: <8504757.1117326070366.JavaMail.webform@noreply.realcities.com>

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 29 05:02:40 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 28 15:09:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32805159.1117368160401.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Review May Shift Terror Policies
 
 By Susan B. Glasser
 
 Change is meant to recognize the transformation of al Qaeda over the past three years from the group that struck the U.S. in 2001.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/28/AR2005052801171.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
 Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/emailafriend?contentId=AR2005052801171&sent=no&referrer=emailarticle
 
 

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Entertainment - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artsandliving/entertainmentguide/?referrer=emailarticle

Travel - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artsandliving/travel/?referrer=emailarticle

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Want the latest news in your inbox? Check out washingtonpost.com's e-mail newsletters:

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© 2004 The Washington Post Company


From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 29 05:04:05 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 28 15:10:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <17836543.1117368246081.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 A Thunderous Show of Pride and Friendship
 
 By Paul Schwartzman
 
 By mid-afternoon yesterday, the familiar clatter of motorcycle engines could be heard caroming off the monuments and memorials across the Mall. They were back, veterans of the Vietnam War, in black leather, streaming into town on their Harleys to gather at the memorial devoted to more than 58,000...
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/27/AR2005052701328.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
 Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 29 05:05:19 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 28 15:11:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <17571320.1117368319251.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 The Military You Don't See
 
 By Frank Schaeffer
 
 I never served in the military, and before my son unexpectedly volunteered, I was too busy writing novels to give much thought to the men and women who guard us. To me the military was the "other." After my son joined the Marines, however, casualty reports from Afghanistan and Iraq were no longer...
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 29 05:06:52 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 28 15:13:11 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <9418416.1117368412422.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 An Urgent Case For Fixing Health Care
 
 By David S. Broder
 
 Nothing is more likely to be overlooked than news that breaks on a day when something totally unexpected occurs. That is exactly what happened last week when Senate negotiators struck the last-minute deal that averted a showdown vote over the "nuclear option" on judicial filibusters.
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Sun May 29 05:08:28 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sat May 28 15:14:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <5380808.1117368509081.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

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 Europe At the Precipice
 
 By George F. Will
 
 The European Union, which has a flag no one salutes and an anthem no one knows, now seeks ratification of a constitution few have read. Surely only its authors have read its turgid earnestness without laughing, which is one reason why the European project is foundering. Today in France, and...
 
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:16:36 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:23:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The Death Spiral of the Volunteer Army
Message-ID: <20050529131700.F331E24AE94@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 29, 2005

Editorial: The Death Spiral of the Volunteer Army


The main transformation Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may leave the military is a catastrophic falloff in recruitment for the country's ground forces.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/opinion/29sun1.html?ex=1118030400&en=8b657594f5f4da70&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:16:58 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:23:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Short History of Class Antagonism in the
	Black Community
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OPINION | May 29, 2005

Editorial Observer: A Short History of Class Antagonism in the Black Community
By BRENT STAPLES

Bill Cosby has brought the black community’s class antagonism into public view.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/opinion/29sun3.html?ex=1118030400&en=8b657590f614da70&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:17:11 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:23:45 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: The China Scapegoat
Message-ID: <20050529131715.BB41783D13@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 29, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: The China Scapegoat
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

The most important diplomatic relationship in the world is between the U.S. and China. It's souring and could get much worse.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/opinion/29kristof.html?ex=1118030400&en=cf19b5a05d44bc64&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:17:29 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:23:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Ground Zero Is So Over
Message-ID: <20050529131733.195B09FC5D@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 29, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Ground Zero Is So Over
By FRANK RICH

The stagnation at ground zero may accurately reflect most of America's view about the war on terror.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/opinion/29rich.html?ex=1118030400&en=534dff2a7c63503c&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:17:40 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:24:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Karl's New Manifesto
Message-ID: <20050529131744.87D8CA0FF7@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 29, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Karl's New Manifesto
By DAVID BROOKS

Undereducated workers of the world, unite!

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/opinion/29brooks.html?ex=1118030400&en=2cbf4fdeac85bcc4&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:18:20 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:24:46 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Chirac and Socialists Reel After a Debate
	on Europe
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INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 29, 2005

Chirac and Socialists Reel After a Debate on Europe
By KATRIN BENNHOLD

Whatever the outcome of the French referendum on the European constitution, the debate leading up to it has profoundly changed France's political landscape.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/international/europe/29france.html?ex=1118030400&en=82ca3ab276504ef4&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:18:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:25:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Lebanon Starts Voting for a New Parliament
Message-ID: <20050529131841.C674924AE98@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 29, 2005

Lebanon Starts Voting for a New Parliament
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

The election will continue over four successive Sundays in various parts of the country to select a 128-member legislature.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/international/middleeast/29lebanon.html?ex=1118030400&en=8b25b278dcf67f42&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:19:17 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:25:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israeli Cabinet Approves Release of 400
	Palestinian Prisoners
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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 29, 2005

Israeli Cabinet Approves Release of 400 Palestinian Prisoners
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's Cabinet on Sunday approved the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners, a long-overdue gesture Israel had agreed to as part of a Mideast truce package. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Cabinet that the prisoner release would strengthen Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and ''the moderate forces in the Palestinian Authority.'' Sharon's appeal meshed with recent U.S. efforts to shore up Abbas in the face of severe challenges from Palestinian militants.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html?ex=1118030400&en=dee324c4f5292d95&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:20:30 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:26:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: State Attorneys General Ask Supreme Court
	to Hear 2 Reporters' Case
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NATIONAL | May 28, 2005

State Attorneys General Ask Supreme Court to Hear 2 Reporters' Case
By ADAM LIPTAK

The attorneys general argued that the absence of federal protection for journalists and their sources undermined the laws of the 49 states that do offer protection.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/national/28leak.html?ex=1118030400&en=7bcede8096b008b8&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:21:15 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:27:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] 
	NYTimes.com: Goals Reached, Donor on Right Closes Up Shop
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WASHINGTON | May 29, 2005

Goals Reached, Donor on Right Closes Up Shop
By JASON DePARLE

The John M. Olin Foundation has spent three decades financing the intellectual rise of the right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/politics/29olin.html?ex=1118030400&en=fe5e7c259333ab6a&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:22:37 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:29:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: A Mothers' War
Message-ID: <20050529132252.81CCF249BED@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

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MAGAZINE | May 29, 2005

A Mothers' War
By CYNTHIA GORNEY

Mothers who have children fighting in Iraq are connected by Tracy Della Vecchia and her Web site — a clearinghouse of pride and fear and anger and grief.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/magazine/29MOTHERS.html?ex=1118030400&en=0672768c76bd6db3&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:23:34 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:30:00 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Hello Kitty, Hello Clone
Message-ID: <20050529132339.86FA9A0FE8@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

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Did anyone see the film "The Sixth Day"? If so, you will know that this is truly a case of life imitating art...


BUSINESS | May 28, 2005

Hello Kitty, Hello Clone
By ANNE EISENBERG

For $32,000, your next cat can be an exact copy of your last cat. And where cloned cats roam, cloned dogs are soon to follow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/business/28clone.html?ex=1118030400&en=2a659a10eb78e4f0&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:25:10 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:31:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: What Happened to Compromise?
Message-ID: <20050529132515.D51B5A0FE0@lax-gw09.mroute.net>

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WEEK IN REVIEW | May 29, 2005

The Elusive Middle Ground: What Happened to Compromise?
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to compromise in modern politics is the absence of a leader with the determination to make it happen.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/weekinreview/29stol.html?ex=1118030400&en=6d5382876d2044b3&ei=5070



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In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Sun May 29 07:26:09 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sat May 28 16:32:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: There's Democracy,
	and There's an Oil Pipeline
Message-ID: <20050529132614.0BE6C3AE3BF@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

Karl Schwarz predicted this in his book, "One-Way Ticket to Crawford, Texas: A Conservative Republican Speaks Out."


WEEK IN REVIEW | May 29, 2005

There's Democracy, and There's an Oil Pipeline
By DAVID E. SANGER

The White House finds itself in a balancing act between promoting democracy and supporting friends in combustible but strategically important parts of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/weekinreview/29sanger.html?ex=1118030400&en=388a569224f2e2a0&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun May 29 07:33:33 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sat May 28 17:39:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200505291433.j4TEXXHZ026376@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052805A.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From villasudjuan at wanadoo.fr  Sun May 29 04:02:47 2005
From: villasudjuan at wanadoo.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Sat May 28 17:44:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: U.S. Expands Aid to Iran's Democracy Advocates Abroad
In-Reply-To: <6AA4D632-5F1F-4688-ABCC-9609EAFC251E@thesamiis.com>
Message-ID: <200505290044.j4T0iMjO020369@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla@thesamiis.com>
Date: Sun, 29 May 2005 01:19:52 -0400
Subject: U.S. Expands Aid to Iran's Democracy Advocates Abroad

NY Times
May 29, 2005

U.S. Expands Aid to Iran's Democracy Advocates Abroad

By STEVEN R. WEISMAN

WASHINGTON, May 28 - The Bush administration is expanding efforts to
influence Iran's internal politics with aid for opposition and pro-democracy
groups abroad and longer broadcasts criticizing the Iranian government,
administration officials say.

The efforts are being carried out quietly to avoid provoking Iranian
leaders, officials say, adding that they reflect the administration's
frustration over stalled diplomatic efforts to get Iran to dismantle what
the West suspects is a nuclear weapons program and to end its support for
Islamic militant groups.

So far the resources directed toward these efforts are small, including $1.5
million late last year and $3 million this year, some of which is to going
to exile groups with contacts inside Iran. No money has gone directly inside
Iran, the officials say, but they say that could change and note that the
sums could grow.

Conservatives in Congress, in parts of the administration and at some
research centers have long advocated a policy of trying to change the
government in Iran, but only recently have they secured financing. Their
discussions have been increasingly public, but only in the last few weeks
have top administration officials begun answering questions on the policy.

Earlier this month, the Voice of America increased the time it broadcasts
its government-financed satellite programs into Iran, now repeating its
one-hour news program four times a day. Voice of America said a recent
telephone survey in Iran, where satellite dishes are widespread though
banned, showed that 10 percent of respondents said they watched the program.

Broadcasts this month included interviews with a student leader and a
well-known poet and political activist who criticized Iranian clerics for
barring hundreds of candidates from the presidential election next month.

R. Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, called
the expanded efforts a "second track" paralleling diplomatic initiatives on
Iran's support for terrorism and its nuclear program. He said the
administration was "taking a page from the playbook" on Ukraine and Georgia.
In those countries, the United States gave money to opposition and
pro-democracy groups, some of which later supported the peaceful overthrow
of the governments in power.

Asked whether American funds may soon go to groups inside Iran, Mr. Burns
said: "We're certainly not there yet, because we don't have a platform to do
it, and the country isn't free enough to do it. It's a much more oppressive
environment than Ukraine was last autumn, during the Orange Revolution."

Administration officials, acknowledging the broad support for nuclear rights
in Iran, said they did not necessarily expect a more democratic government
in Iran would be amenable to giving up nuclear activity, but said they hoped
to change Iranian behavior by pushing for democracy.

The officials acknowledge that distributing funds to groups with contacts
inside Iran could be tricky. Various groups have conflicting agendas, from
those allied with the family of the shah of Iran, who want a restoration of
the monarchy, to others once allied with Saddam Hussein of Iraq, whose
government waged a war with Iran in the 1980's.

Iranian officials have been quoted in the country's official news media as
criticizing the United States' new efforts as an attempt to interfere in its
internal affairs, but administration officials maintain that supporting
independent groups does not constitute such a step.

And some Iran experts say the financial assistance would tend to publicly
discredit the recipients. "Anyone who wants American money in Iran is going
to be tainted in the eyes of the Iranians," said Abbas Milani, director of
the Iranian Studies program at Stanford University, who has held informal
discussions with the administration.

But others say the Iranian groups should decide for themselves.

"Many Iranians have shown they are not embarrassed to take American
assistance," said Michael Rubin, a former Iran adviser in the office of the
secretary of defense, who advocated aiding Iranian groups before leaving
office last year. "We just have to make sure they're not just pocketing the
cash and doing nothing in return."

When he was at the Pentagon, Mr. Rubin was part of a group of conservatives
there and in Vice President Dick Cheney's office who favored strong American
support for dissidents and others who might one day overthrow the government
in Tehran. The State Department tended to resist their proposals, fearing
they would disrupt diplomatic efforts to improve relations with Tehran.

The exile groups have their own focus. A grant of $1 million has gone to the
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, a United States-based organization
that says it has connections with dissidents inside Iran. The grant is
intended to gather information on rights abuses since the Iranian Revolution
of 1979, the center says, but also to support pro-democracy groups inside
Iran.

"We have many contacts in Iran, and we have even engaged in human rights
training of people in Iran," said Payam Akhavan, a director of the project.
"We are not interested in regime change or overthrowing the government. But
we hope to build grass-roots civil society and democratic consciousness
among the Iranians."

So far, meanwhile, the State Department has channeled $500,000 through the
National Endowment for Democracy, a semi-independent group set up by
Congress, to create databases and publications on human rights, business
enterprise and women's rights. But none of that money, the officials say, is
going to groups inside Iran.

An administration official said the State Department was also studying
dozens of proposals for spending $3 million in the coming year "for the
benefit of Iranians living inside Iran." He said these included broadcast
activities, Internet programs and "working with people inside Iran" on
advancing political activities there.

"We've got some fantastic proposals," said the official, explaining that he
was authorized to speak about this subject only on the condition that he not
be identified. "We will have no problem spending the $3 million. We could
probably even spend more."

He said it might be possible to transfer funds directly into Iran, but said
the Treasury Department would have to waive federal laws barring financial
transactions with Iranians. "Treasury is fully in tune with the
administration's goals and they're working to find the best ways to do it,"
he added.


Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
---

URL:?http://query.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2005/05/29/interna
tional/middleeast/29iran.html&tntemail0


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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun May 29 12:45:42 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sat May 28 22:52:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] michael wants you to see this. 
Message-ID: <200505291945.j4TJjg07032652@server1.truthout.org>



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052905X.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3



From michael at intrafi.com  Sun May 29 13:14:19 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Sat May 28 23:20:58 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: France 'rejects EU constitution'
Message-ID: <20050529_201419_019138.michael@intrafi.com>

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



** France 'rejects EU constitution' **
An exit poll suggests that France has said "No" to the EU constitution in a nationwide referendum.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4592243.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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** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From michael at intrafi.com  Sun May 29 15:05:10 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun May 29 01:11:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Europe - French No vote leaves EU treaty in
	chaos
Message-ID: <29486333.1117404310728.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 / Europe - French No vote leaves EU treaty in chaos
 
  
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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From lyve at netzero.com  Sun May 29 19:49:32 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Sun May 29 05:57:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Titles
Message-ID: <20050529.194945.11509.203738@webmail30.nyc.untd.com>


hey, dick-head-lighten up will you...smile...you're on candid camera.
Besides, we get it-


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- "richard haase" <hotprojects@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
barbara you need to stop
i was making a good natured joke
i am sick to death of you taking me to task
i said nothing
stop this instant
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara Siomos" <barbarasiomos38@msn.com>
To: "swiggard@" <comcast.netswiggard@comcast.net>;
<mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2005 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Titles


> If Bill uses his titles for ANY reason it is HIS business Richard, they
are well earned... it is uncomfortable for ME your asking about it...... No
one asked you WHY you were chatting about your Neuro stuff..... :-)
>
> PEACE and please do not be offended as you get sometime.
>
> barbara
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: swiggard@comcast.net
> Sent: Sat, 28 May 2005 07:58:54 -0700
> To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
> Subject: [Mb-civic] Titles
>
> ARRRGGGHHH....
> That's what I get for filling out forms on line...ah well...
>
> No particular occasion, just another outrage by the Bush Junta against one
> of the last bastions of balanced reporting in the USA...that's all...
>
> Peace, Love, and Stick it to those friggin bastids...
>
> Be well...LOL
> Dr. Bill
> PS - How was the neuro exam?
>
> Original Message:
> -----------------
> From: richard haase hotprojects@nyc.rr.com
> Date: Sat, 28 May 2005 10:03:06 -0400
> To: mb-civic@islandlists.com
> Subject: Re: [Mb-civic] Ask CPB Chairman Tomlinson to Stop Playing
> PoliticswithPublic Broadcasting
>
>
> wow bill using titles whats the occassion?
> lol
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> mail2web - Check your email from the web at
> http://mail2web.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  Sun May 29 19:55:35 2005
From: lyve at netzero.com (Lyle K'ang)
Date: Sun May 29 06:02:57 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Is There A Doctor In The House.......?
Message-ID: <20050529.195556.11509.203780@webmail30.nyc.untd.com>


LOL, eat a lot of vegetables, especially brocolie for roughage. It worked for me-now I'm free...

Yea...


Lyle Kekahi K'ang, MBA/IM 
http://silomanagement.blogspot.com/

-- "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net> wrote:
Is There A Doctor In The House.......?



Yeah, I dunno, I heard there was a Doctor in the house or something...

I have a wacked out Republican administration, wacked out Pentagon, out of
control Military, wacked out Religious Nuts, wacked out anti-human
Corporations, wacked out Judges who should have been fry cooks at Denny's,
and some really wacked out Neo-Cons who keep selling our military secrets to
Israel, up my butt.

Is there some way you could remove them...?  With all of them up there, I
seem to be having discomfort with some of my bowel movements.

I did not invite them there, they just invited themselves, set up camp, and
heck if I can figure out how to remove them.

I figured since there is a Doctor here, I might be able to get some free
advice.

Please don't suggest lighting an M-80 and shoving it up there, I already
tried that.

Needless to say, it didn't work, however it did cure my hemorroids.

Laura Bush stopped by and tried to fix it by sucking them all out of my
butt, but that didn't work either, and when she then broke into a stand-up
comedy routine, I had to put her back on the street where I found here
working the streetcorners in a tight red dress.

Pity the next fool that kisses her.

Oh well, nevertheless, all these wackos are still up there, I'm experiencing
discomfort with stool ejection as a result, and would appreciate any
professional advice on the matter.





Cheeseburger

.

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

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 29 20:49:08 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate Gould)
Date: Sun May 29 06:55:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] nevertheless
Message-ID: <QjYzUFVESyhWQF0pNCosNTc4MTMx@Dragon>

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 29 20:50:04 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 29 06:56:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: French voters reject EU charter
Message-ID: <20050530_035004_067589.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** French voters reject EU charter **
France deals a blow to the EU constitution by overwhelmingly voting "No" in Sunday's referendum
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4592243.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 29 20:51:18 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 29 06:57:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Huge send-off for Taiwan mobster
Message-ID: <20050530_035118_077077.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Huge send-off for Taiwan mobster **
Thousands of mourners attend the funeral procession of a veteran Taiwanese crime boss.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4592285.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 29 20:52:13 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 29 06:58:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: US general rejects Amnesty report
Message-ID: <20050530_035213_073668.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** US general rejects Amnesty report **
Top US general Richard Myers criticises as "irresponsible" an Amnesty International report on Guantanamo Bay.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4592517.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 29 20:54:14 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 29 07:00:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Llamas 'offer path to new drugs'
Message-ID: <20050530_035414_061056.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Llamas 'offer path to new drugs' **
Llamas could lead the way to new treatments for human diseases, according to researchers.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/health/4584409.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 29 20:55:56 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 29 07:02:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Leading Afghan cleric shot dead
Message-ID: <20050530_035556_060560.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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

** Message **
usa backed? 

** Leading Afghan cleric shot dead **
Gunmen kill a leading cleric and opponent of the Taleban in southern Afghanistan, police say.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4591147.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 29 20:57:12 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 29 07:03:36 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Brazil hosts huge Gay Pride march
Message-ID: <20050530_035712_034084.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Brazil hosts huge Gay Pride march **
Hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets of the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo for a  Gay Pride parade.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4592541.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Sun May 29 21:04:32 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Sun May 29 07:10:56 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Lobbyists square up over whaling
Message-ID: <20050530_040432_072865.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Lobbyists square up over whaling **
The annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission is in South Korea this year - and already the arguments are starting to flare.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4582495.stm >


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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun May 29 22:33:22 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun May 29 16:46:10 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Give Rumsfeld the Pinochet Treatment,
	Says US Amnesty Chief
Message-ID: <200505292346.j4TNk7FR022772@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Inter Press Service via Common Dreams - May 26, 2005
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0526-03.htm

Give Rumsfeld the Pinochet Treatment, Says US Amnesty Chief

by Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON - If the administration of President George W. Bush fails to
conduct a truly independent investigation of U.S. abuses against detainees
in Iraq and elsewhere, foreign governments should investigate and
prosecute those senior officials who bear responsibility for them, the
head of the U.S. chapter of Amnesty International said here Wednesday.

Speaking at the release of Amnesty's annual report, William Schulz 
charged that Washington has become "a leading purveyor and 
practitioner" of torture and ill-treatment and that senior officials
should face prosecution by other governments for violations of the Geneva
Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

"If the U.S. government continues to shirk its responsibility, Amnesty
International calls on foreign governments to uphold their obligations
under international law by investigating all senior U.S. officials
involved in the torture scandal." -William Schulz, Amnesty Intl USA

Among those officials, Schulz named Bush, Defense Secretary Donald 
Rumsfeld, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith, Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
director George Tenet, and senior officers at U.S. detention facilities at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib, Iraq.

"If the U.S. government continues to shirk its responsibility, Amnesty
International calls on foreign governments to uphold their obligations
under international law by investigating all senior U.S. officials
involved in the torture scandal," said Schulz, who added that violations
of the torture convention, which has been ratified by the United States
and some 138 other countries, can be prosecuted in any jurisdiction.

"If those investigations support prosecution, the governments should
arrest any official who enters their territory and begin legal proceedings
against them," he added. "The apparent high-level architects of torture
should think twice before planning their next vacation to places like
Acapulco or the French Riviera because they may find themselves under
arrest as (former Chilean dictator) Augusto Pinochet famously did in
London in 1998."

Schulz also called on state bar associations to investigate 
administration lawyers who helped prepare legal opinions that sought to
justify or defend the use of abusive interrogation methods for breach of
their professional and ethical responsibilities.

He cited, in particular, Vice President Dick Cheney's general counsel,
David Addington; Pentagon General Counsel William Haynes; and top
officials in the Justice Department's Office of General Counsel, one of
whom, Jay Bybee, has since been confirmed as a federal appeals court
judge.

"A wall of secrecy is protecting those who masterminded and developed the
U.S. torture policy," Schulz said. "Unless those who drew the blueprint
for torture, approved it, and ordered it implemented are held accountable,
the United States' once-proud reputation as an exemplar of human rights
will remain in tatters."

Schulz's appeal for foreign governments to take the initiative coincided
with the launch of a bipartisan drive endorsed by some 350 attorneys and
legal scholars urging the administration to establish an independent
commission to address the allegations of abuse and torture, including an
assessment of the responsibility of senior administration officials and
military officers.

"By establishing an independent bipartisan commission to fully 
investigate the issue of abuse of terrorist suspects," said John 
Whitehead, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Ronald Reagan
administration, "Congress and the president have a unique opportunity to
send a message to the rest of the world that the United States is
committed to respecting the inherent worth and dignity of all human
beings, whether they are U.S. citizens or prisoners of war.?

Whitehead said a high-level, independent investigation was necessary
because the Pentagon's ongoing or recently completed investigations were
too narrowly focused and not designed to produce recommendations to
prevent future abuses.

Among the signers of the initiative, which was sponsored by the 
bipartisan Constitution Project at Georgetown University, were prominent
right-wing activists including David Keene, chairman of the American
Conservative Union, two former Republican congressmen, as well as former
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering, and former Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director William Sessions. The National
Institute of Military Justice (NIMJ) also endorsed the statement, as did
more than a dozen military law specialists and retired high-ranking
military officers.

Since the abuses first came to light with the publication of photos of
prisoners at Abu Ghraib 13 months ago, the Pentagon has carried out dozens
of reviews, courts-martial, and disciplinary proceedings. But virtually
all of them have dealt only with the responsibility of the soldiers who
carried out the abuses or their immediate superiors.

The failure to address the responsibility of officials and officers at the
top of the command chain, particularly in light of the disclosure of memos
which appeared to authorize at least some of the tactics carried out
against detainees, has provoked repeated demands by human rights groups to
appoint an independent commission to conduct a thorough examination. Last
summer, the 400,000-lawyer American Bar Association joined Amnesty, 
Human
rights Watch, Human Rights First, and the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) in those demands.

But the Bush administration has rejected them, arguing that the 
Pentagon's own efforts to investigate and prosecute abuses were 
adequate. The Republican leadership in Congress has also paralyzed 
efforts by Democratic and some Republican lawmakers to create a
commission.

The refusal to investigate translates into effective "tolerance" for
torture and mistreatment, Schulz said, resulting not only in the spread of
such practices but also in the destruction of U.S. credibility when it
assails other countries, such as Syria or Egypt, for human rights
violations.

"It is the height of hypocrisy for the U.S. government itself to use the
very torture techniques that it routinely condemns in other countries," he
said. "When the U.S. government then calls upon foreign leaders to bring
to justice those who commit or authorize human rights violations in their
own countries, why should those foreign leaders listen?"

As he spoke, the ACLU released new documents it had obtained from the FBI
under court order that disclosed that prisoners held at Guantanamo
complained that guards there had repeatedly mistreated the Koran. In one
2002 summary, an FBI interrogator noted a prisoner's allegation that
guards had flushed a Koran down a toilet.

The disclosure comes on the heels of controversy over a Newsweek report
saying that government investigators had corroborated an almost identical
incident. Newsweek ultimately retracted its story because a confidential
government source could not be confirmed.

Other documents released Wednesday by the ACLU provided accounts of 
beatings, planned suicide attempts, hunger strikes to protest 
mistreatment and sexual assaults, including an incident in which a 
female guard fondled a detainee's genitals while he was held down by male
guards.

"The United States government continues to turn a blind eye to mounting
evidence of widespread abuse of detainees held in its custody," said ACLU
director Anthony Romero. "If we are to truly repair America's standing in
the world, the Bush administration must hold accountable high-ranking
officials who allow the continuing abuse and torture of detainees."

? 2005 IPS - Inter Press Service


-- 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Sun May 29 22:33:23 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun May 29 16:46:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Bush Opts for Civil War in Iraq and latest "riverbend"
	post
Message-ID: <200505292346.j4TNkoKK022782@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Here are 2 different but both mind-expanding takes on the current Iraq 
unfolding disaster (which we american taxpayers are funding...)  (the second 
article by "riverbend", young iraqi woman blogger living in Baghdad)


http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts05282005.html

 From Cakewalk to Bloodbath:

Bush Opts for Civil War in Iraq

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

What are we to make of the news reports that Baghdad is to be encircled
and divided into smaller and smaller sections by 40,000 Iraqi and 10,000
US troops backed by US air power and armor in order to conduct house to
house searches throughout the city to destroy combatants?

Is this generous notice of a massive offensive a ploy to encourage 
insurgents to leave the city in advance, thus securing a few days 
respite from bombings?

Is the offensive a desperate attempt by the Bush regime and the Iraqi
government to achieve a victory in hopes of reviving their flagging
support?

Or is it an act of revenge?

The insurgency has eroded American support for Bush's war. A majority of
Americans now believe Bush's invasion of Iraq was a mistake and that
Bush's war is not worth the cost. The insurgency has proved the new Iraqi
government to be impotent both as a unifying agent and source of order.

US frustration with a few hundred insurgents in Fallujah resulted in the
destruction of two-thirds of the former city of 300,000 and in the deaths
of many civilians. Are we now going to witness Baghdad reduced to rubble?

Considering reports that 80% of Sunnis support the insurgency passively if
not actively, it looks as if extermination of Sunnis will be required if
the US is to achieve "victory" in Iraq.

If this Baghdad offensive is launched, it will result in an escalation of
US war crimes and outrage against the US and the new Iraqi "government."

Obviously, the Americans are unwilling to take the casualties of house to
house searches. That job falls to the Iraqi troops who are being set
against their own people.

If insurgents remain and fight, US air power will be used to pulverize the
buildings and "collateral damage" will be high.

If insurgents leave and cause mayhem elsewhere, large numbers of 
innocent Iraqis will be detained as suspected insurgents. After all, you
can't conduct such a large operation without results.

As most households have guns, which are required for protection as there
is no law and order, "males of military age" will be detained from these
armed households as suspected insurgents.

The detentions of thousands more Iraqis will result in more torture and
abuses.

Consequently, the ranks of the active insurgency will grow.

Neocon court historians of empire, such as Niall Ferguson, claim that the
US cannot withdraw from Iraq because the result would be a civil war and
bloodbath.

However, a bloodbath is what has been going on since the ill-fated 
"cakewalk" invasion.

Moreover, the planned Baghdad Offensive is itself the beginning of a civil
war. The 50,000 troops represent a Shi'ite government. These troops will
be hunting Sunnis. There is no better way to start a civil war.

As George W. Bush has made clear many times, he is incapable of 
admitting a mistake. The inability to admit a mistake makes rational
behavior impossible. In place of thought, the Bush administration relies
on coercion and violence.

Nevertheless, Congress does not have to be a doormat for a war criminal.
It can put a halt to Bush's madness.

The solution is not to reduce Iraq to rubble. The US can end the 
bloodshed by exiting Iraq.

A solution is for Iraq to organize as a republic of three largely 
autonomous states or provinces-Shi'ite, Sunni, and Kurd-- along the 
lines of the original American republic. The politicians within each
province will be too busy fighting one another for power to become
militarily involved with those in other provinces.

The problem is that Bush wants "victory," not a workable solution, and he
is prepared to pay any price for victory. The neocons, who are in effect
Israeli agents, want to spread their war against Islam to Syria and Iran.
For neocons, this is a single-minded pursuit. Their commitment to war is
not shaken by reality or rationality.

The Bush administration has proven beyond all doubt that it is 
duplicitous and has delusions that are immune to reality. America's 
reputation is being destroyed. We are becoming the premier war criminal
nation of the 21st century. We are all complicit.

How much more evil will we tolerate?

[Paul Craig Roberts has held a number of academic appointments and has
contributed to numerous scholarly publications. He served as Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. His graduate
economics education was at the University of Virginia, the University of
California at Berkeley, and Oxford University. He is coauthor of The
Tyranny of Good Intentions.]

------

RiverBend/Baghdad Burning - May 29, 2005
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

"Shia Leaders..."

In Baghdad there's talk of the latest "Operation Lightning". It hasn't yet
been implemented in our area but we've been hearing about it. So far all
we've seen are a few additional checkpoints and a disappearing mobile
network. Baghdad is actually split into two large regions- Karkh (west
Baghdad) and Rasafa (east Baghdad) with the Tigris River separating them.
Karkh, according to this plan, is going to be split into 15 smaller areas
or sub-districts and Rasafa into 7 sub-districts. There are also going to
be 675 checkpoints and all of the entrances to Baghdad are going to be
guarded.

We are a little puzzled why Karkh should be split into 15 sub-districts
and Rasafa only seven. Karkh is actually smaller in area than Rasafa and
less populated. On the other hand, Karkh contains the Green Zone- so that
could be a reason. People are also anxious about the 675 check points.
It's difficult enough right now getting around Baghdad, more check points
are going to make things trickier. The plan includes 40,000 Iraqi security
forces and that is making people a little bit uneasy. Iraqi National Guard
are not pleasant or upstanding citizens- to have thousands of them
scattered about Baghdad stopping cars and possibly harassing civilians is
worrying. We're also very worried about the possibility of raids on homes.

Someone (thank you N.C.) emailed me Thomas L. Friedman's article in the
New York Times 10 days ago about Quran desecration titled "Outrage and
Silence".

In the article he talks about how people in the Muslim world went out and
demonstrated against Quran desecration but are silent about the deaths of
hundreds of Iraqis in the last few weeks due to bombings and suicide
attacks.

In one paragraph he says,

"Yet these mass murders - this desecration and dismemberment of real
Muslims by other Muslims - have not prompted a single protest march
anywhere in the Muslim world. And I have not read of a single fatwa issued
by any Muslim cleric outside Iraq condemning these indiscriminate mass
murders of Iraqi Shiites and Kurds by these jihadist suicide bombers, many
of whom, according to a Washington Post report, are coming from Saudi
Arabia."

First of all- it's not only Kurds or Shia who are dying due to car 
bombs. When a car detonates in the middle of a soug or near a mosque, it
does not seek out only Shia or Kurdish people amongst the multitude. Bombs
do not discriminate between the young and the old, male and female or
ethnicities and religious sects- no matter what your government tells you
about how smart they are. Furthermore, they are going off everywhere- not
just in Shia or Kurdish provinces. They seem to be everywhere lately.

One thing I found particularly amusing about the article- and 
outrageous all at once-was in the following paragraph:

"Religiously, if you want to know how the Sunni Arab world views a 
Shiite's being elected leader of Iraq, for the first time ever, think
about how whites in Alabama would have felt about a black governor's being
installed there in 1920. Some Sunnis do not think Shiites are authentic
Muslims, and they are indifferent to their brutalization."

Now, it is always amusing to see a Jewish American journalist speak in the
name of Sunni Arabs. When Sunni Arabs, at this point, hesitate to speak in
a representative way about other Sunni Arabs, it is nice to know Thomas L.
Friedman feels he can sum up the feelings of the "Sunni Arab world" in so
many words. His arrogance is exceptional.

It is outrageous because for many people, this isn't about Sunnis and Shia
or Arabs and Kurds. It's about an occupation and about people feeling that
they do not have real representation. We have a government that needs to
hide behind kilometers of barbed wire and meters and meters of concrete-
and it's not because they are Shia or Kurdish or Sunni Arab- it's because
they blatantly supported, and continue to support, an occupation that has
led to death and chaos.

The paragraph is contemptible because the idea of a "Shia leader" is not
an utterly foreign one to Iraqis or other Arabs, no matter how novel
Friedman tries to make it seem. How dare he compare it to having a black
governor in Alabama in the 1920s? In 1958, after the July 14 Revolution
which ended the Iraqi monarchy, the head of the Iraqi Sovereignty Council
(which was equivalent to the position of president) was Mohammed Najib
Al-Rubayi- a Shia from Kut. From 1958 - 1963, Abdul Karim Qassim, a Shia
also from Kut in the south, was the Prime Minister of Iraq (i.e. the same
position Jaffari is filling now). After Abdul Karim Qassim, in 1963, came
yet another Shia by the namministerji Talib as prime minster. Even during
the last regime, there were two Shia prime ministers filling the position
for several years- Sadoun Humadi and Mohammed Al-Zubaidi.

In other words, Sunni Arabs are not horrified at having a Shia leader
(though we are very worried about the current Puppets' pro-Iran
tendencies). Friedman seems to conveniently forget that while the New
Iraq's president was a polygamous Arab Sunni -- Ghazi Al-Yawir -- the
attacks were just as violent. Were it simply a matter of Sunnis vs. Shia
or Arabs vs. Kurds, then Sunni Arabs would have turned out in droves to
elect "Al Baqara al dhahika" ("the cow that laughs" or La Vache Qui Rit-
it's an Iraqi joke) as Al-Yawir is known amongst Iraqis.

This sentence,

"Some Sunnis do not think Shiites are authentic Muslims, and they are
indifferent to their brutalization."

...Is just stupid. Friedman is referring to Sunni extremists without
actually saying that. But he doesn't add that some Shia extremists also
feel the same way about Sunnis. I'm sure in the "Christian World" there
are certain Catholics who feel that way about Protestants, etc. Iraqis
have intermarried and mixed as Sunnis and Shia for centuries. Many of the
larger Iraqi tribes are a complex and intricate weave of Sunnis and Shia.
We don?t sit around pointing fingers at each other and trying to prove who
is a Muslim and who isn't and who deserves compassion and who deserves
brutalization.

Friedman says,

"If the Arab world, its media and its spiritual leaders, came out and
forcefully and repeatedly condemned those who mount these suicide attacks,
and if credible Sunnis are given their fair share in the Iraqi government,
I am certain a lot of this suicide bombing would stop."

The Arab world's spiritual and media leaders have their hands tied 
right now. Friedman better hope Islamic spiritual leaders don't get 
involved in this mess because the first thing they'd have to do is 
remind the Islamic world that according to the Quran, the Islamic world
may not be under the guardianship or command of non-Muslims- and that
wouldn't reflect nicely on an American occupation of Iraq.

Friedman wonders why thousands upon thousands protested against the 
desecration of the Quran and why they do not demonstrate against 
terrorism in Iraq. The civilian bombings in Iraq are being done by 
certain extremists, fanatics or militias. What happened in Guantanamo with
the Quran and what happens in places like Abu Ghraib is being done
systematically by an army- an army that is fighting a war- a war being
funded by the American people. That is what makes it outrageous to the
Muslim world.

In other words, what happens in Iraq is terrorism, while what happens to
Iraqis and Afghanis and people of other nationalities under American or
British custody is simply "counter-insurgency" and "policy". It makes me
nauseous to think of how outraged the whole world was when those American
POW were shown on Iraqi television at the beginning of the war- clean,
safe and respectfully spoken to. Even we were upset with the incident and
wondered why they had to be paraded in front of the world like that. We
actually had the decency to feel sorry for them.

Friedman focuses on the Sunni Arab world in his article but he fails to
mention that the biggest demonstrations were not in the Arab world- they
happened in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also fails to mention
that in Iraq, the largest demonstration against the desecration of the
Quran was actually organized, and attended, by Shia.

Luckily for Iraqis, and in spite of Thomas Friedman, the majority of
Sunnis and Shia just want to live in peace as Muslims- not as Sunnis and
Shia.

---
-- 
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 France Rejects European Constitution
 
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 Unhappy French voters on Sunday derailed plans to further erase political and economic barriers in Europe, decisively rejecting the proposed European constitution and thumbing their noses at the country's governing elite.
 
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From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun May 29 16:48:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Europe - French No vote leaves EU treaty in
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Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to forward this link:
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Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser:
http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=browserButtons&pt=Y"


*********************



Instructions:
-----------------------------------------
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 swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 30 06:43:45 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 29 16:50:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <4290303.1117460625904.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Chirac's Failure To Lead
 
 By David Ignatius
 
 BRUSSELS -- France's stunning rejection Sunday of a new European constitution was, most of all, a noisy protest against the disruptive, leveling force of economic globalization. You could see that in television images of the "no" voters as the result was announced -- burly arms raised in the air,...
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/29/AR2005052900910.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 30 06:46:01 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 29 16:52:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <2668412.1117460762255.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Personal Message:
 Something positive amid all the lies and death and misery - something I marvel at historically and scientifically - Enjoy...
Peace, Love, Happiness -
Bill
 
 Imaging Technology Makes Ancient Text Readable
 
 By Guy Gugliotta
 
 Two thousand years ago, Oxyrhynchus, "city of the sharp-nosed fish," was a provincial capital in central Egypt populated by the well-educated descendants of Greek settlers. It had an 11,000-seat theater, a religious cult dedicated to the city's namesake -- and a municipal dump on the outskirts of...
 
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May 30 06:46:45 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun May 29 16:54:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An article for you from an Economist.com reader.
Message-ID: <200505301324.JAA01700@stage-web-app.economist.com>

  
- AN ARTICLE FOR YOU, FROM ECONOMIST.COM - 

Dear civic,

Michael Butler (michael@intrafi.com) wants you to see this article on Economist.com.



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GETTING GREYER--AND POORER TOO?
May 30th 2005  

Populations are ageing, in rich and poor countries alike. This means
big trouble for governments, who need to find some way to keep their
retirees out of poverty without breaking the budget

JUST this morning your correspondent plucked out a grey hair, a
development that worries not just her, but her government. As
plummeting birth rates and increasing lifespans rapidly raise the
percentage of oldsters in countries around the world, ageing is
becoming one of the most crucial policy issues of the 21st century.
Those who spent their youth in the 1970s fretting that overpopulation
would drive humanity to extinction may now spend their old age worrying
whether the world has enough young people to support them.

But though the writing has been on the demographic wall for some time,
retirement systems have been slow to adjust. In the rich world,
particularly, pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pension schemes are in dire fiscal
straits as the ratio of workers to pensioners narrows. In America, for
example, the Social Security system has gone from a worker-to-retiree
ratio of 16-to-1 in 1950 to 3-to-1 today, and is expected to fall to
2-to-1 by 2030--by which point spending on old-age entitlements would
account for two-thirds of the federal budget. The problems in Europe
are even worse, thanks to more generous benefits and birth rates well
below the rate of replacement. By 2030, for instance, Italy is expected
to have a mere 0.7 workers for each retiree--ie, more people collecting
benefit than paying taxes. Other European nations, along with Canada
and Japan, are not far behind.

Perversely, some economists believe that falling birth rates may be a
consequence of government PAYGO schemes. In countries with government
pensions, people can free-ride on the childbearing of others, getting
support in their old age without the wearisome business of changing
nappies and attending school sports days. PAYGO systems also, by
setting a one-size-fits-all retirement age, encourage capable workers
to leave the workforce when they reach that age rather than lose
benefit. And politics makes it hard to raise the retirement age, even
though people are staying healthy longer than ever.

THE PUSH FOR PRIVATE SAVINGS
Britain and America, where much more of the burden of retirement saving
falls on the private sector, seemed to be in better shape than
continental Europe until the collapse of the stockmarket bubble. But
this revealed billion-dollar holes in pension plans on both sides of
the Atlantic, created by a combination of poor management, poor
accounting oversight and the poor incentives of profit-minded managers
who strive to keep company pension funds as lightly funded as possible. 

Corporate pensions also violate a basic rule of good portfolio
management--that your pay cheque and your retirement savings should not
depend on the same company. In America, the Enron employees who
ploughed their savings into company stock learned this lesson
painfully. So, too, have workers at United Airlines: a bankruptcy judge
recently ruled that the firm could hand its pension plan over to the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a government-linked pension
insurer that pays only partial benefits to high-earners. This has left
angry workers facing a substantial loss of retirement income.

As caring for retirees becomes more burdensome--General Motors now has
2.5 pensioners for every employee--companies in Britain and America are
increasingly shifting new workers into defined contribution plans, in
which workers can invest a portion of their salary and receive benefits
based on how well those investments perform. Because the contributions
come from the people who will enjoy the benefits in retirement, these
plans are not prone to the same bad incentives that lead politicians to
make their pension plans too generous, or corporations to leave theirs
too spare. They also funnel money into investment, rather than
consumption, as PAYGO plans do, which, by making the economy more
productive, can help ease the burden of paying for retired workers.

But there are downsides too. Individuals can be hit even harder than
companies by bear markets and poor investment choices. And some
workers, particularly in poorer countries, do not make enough to live
comfortably and save for retirement; a defined contribution system will
leave them impecunious in old age. This is what has happened with
mandatory savings schemes in Latin America, which have been a boon to
secure workers but have left the poor, and those in the informal
sector, without an adequate safety net.

Worse, even relatively affluent workers often do not save enough. Over
the past two decades, both household and national savings rates have
declined sharply in the rich world, even as lengthening lifespans have
added new risks to retirement (see chart).

THE FIVE PILLARS OF RETIREMENT INCOME
How, then, to get countries, companies and individuals to save
properly? A 1994 World Bank report, "Averting the Old Age Crisis",
considered that question for the developing world, where retirement
programmes are still largely embryonic. It outlined three "pillars"
underlying an adequate system: a government PAYGO system for basic
income support; a mandatory savings scheme to force workers to invest
some portion of their income; and voluntary savings to augment the
required contributions. Last week, the Bank released a new report that
expands that model to take into account the problems pension reformers
have run into. To the three original pillars, it adds two more: a basic
government pension, not tied to contributions, targeted at the poor and
informal workers; and other sources of support, such as family.

Easier said than done, governments may respond. Even in America, where
incomes are high, taxes low and the pension system spartan, the
administration has run into trouble over its relatively modest scheme
to move part of Social Security from PAYGO to a mandatory savings plan.
Europe, where the fiscal problems are more urgent, has succeeded in
pushing some reforms through, but far more are needed. And for poor
countries with limited resources, early death may still be a bigger
worry than extended life. 

The easiest place to reform, says the World Bank, will be middle-income
countries, where lavish government schemes are less entrenched, but
personal and government income is high enough to fund retirement
savings. It is to be hoped that successful reforms in those countries
could show the way to their richer and poorer brethren--as they already
have in America, where the president's Social Security reforms have
applied lessons learned from personal accounts in countries like Chile. 

But while these reforms will help, they will not solve the problem
unless they attack its root: the increasingly unfavourable ratio of
workers to retirees. If there are too many pensioners and not enough
workers, there will not be enough to go around, no matter how ably it
is distributed. Mandatory savings schemes can help with this problem,
by making it more attractive to stay in work. But governments, too,
will have to start pushing people to stay in the workforce longer. This
means not merely raising the statutory retirement age, possibly to 70
or beyond, but nudging companies to keep older workers in their jobs.
This will not be popular. But every minute they wait, the group of
potentially irate pensioners just grows larger.

 

See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4028271&fsrc=nwl

Go to http://www.economist.com for more global news, views and analysis from the Economist Group.

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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 30 06:48:28 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 29 16:54:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <3995834.1117460909155.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Personal Message:
 At our marvelous reunion in Bridgeport, the Mighty Tioga Joe said it best:  "hate the war, love the soldier". Amen, my friend...Enjoy -
Peace, Love, Happiness -
Bill
 
 Remember the Wounded
 
 By John Wheeler
 
 Eleven years ago Lewis B. Puller Jr., winner of a Pulitzer Prize for the book "Fortunate Son"  on his experiences as a Marine platoon commander who was severely wounded in Vietnam, took his own life. Puller had lost both legs and the use of his hands in the war. On May 11, 1994, he finally succumbed...
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 30 06:48:59 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Sun May 29 16:55:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <25413290.1117460939945.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 High Stakes at the U.N.
 
 By Fred Hiatt
 
 Democrats are devoting their energies to delaying the confirmation of John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. Republicans are delving into U.N. scandals of the 1990s.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/29/AR2005052900912.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May 30 07:10:14 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (HS)
Date: Sun May 29 17:16:39 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Who's who in Lebanon's election
Message-ID: <20050530_141014_049767.harry.sifton@sympatico.ca>

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



** Who's who in Lebanon's election **
Lebanon's main political forces are fighting the parliamentary election by forming "joint lists".
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/4580075.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:36:13 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:43:08 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: French Voters Soundly Reject European Union
	Constitution
Message-ID: <20050530153640.985D013B72B@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 30, 2005

French Voters Soundly Reject European Union Constitution
By ELAINE SCIOLINO

The victory for the no vote plunged the country into political disarray and jeopardized the cause of European unity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/international/europe/30france.html?ex=1118116800&en=63d521fb8f2f2601&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:36:45 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:43:20 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Ending the Gerrymander Wars
Message-ID: <20050530153651.5767C11F859@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 30, 2005

Editorial: Ending the Gerrymander Wars


A new bill in Congress calling for national standards for drawing Congressional districts would vastly improve the functioning of our ailing democracy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/opinion/30mon1.html?ex=1118116800&en=d2ea9461bc84dd55&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:37:04 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:43:31 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Class and the American Dream
Message-ID: <20050530153708.989DF3AE3F4@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 30, 2005

Editorial: Class and the American Dream


Is the American dream that people can rise from rags to riches with a little grit and imagination mostly a myth?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/opinion/30mon3.html?ex=1118116800&en=f266a03c9060180a&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:37:22 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:43:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Too Few, Yet Too Many
Message-ID: <20050530153727.7853E249C3A@lax-gw08.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 30, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: Too Few, Yet Too Many
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Our all-volunteer military is based on an implicit promise to those who serve their country. But the Bush administration has simply thrown out the rulebook.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/opinion/30krugman.html?ex=1118116800&en=25725759dd464a21&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:37:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:44:06 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: America, a Symbol of . . .
Message-ID: <20050530153742.B336A3AE4F1@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 30, 2005

Op-Ed Columnist: America, a Symbol of . . .
By BOB HERBERT

This Memorial Day is not a good one for the country that was once the world's most brilliant beacon of freedom and justice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/opinion/30herbert.html?ex=1118116800&en=f934f0b34f50a31f&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:38:20 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:44:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: America's Image,
	Sullied by Torture (6 Letters)
Message-ID: <20050530153824.88ACF24AE54@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

What we're saying...


OPINION | May 30, 2005

America's Image, Sullied by Torture (6 Letters)


To the Editor:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/opinion/l30abuse.html?ex=1118116800&en=b530b3f9e71ed8c3&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  Mon May 30 09:39:24 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:45:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel to Free 400 Prisoners;
	Palestinians Say 'Not Enough'
Message-ID: <20050530153929.16ABC24AE98@lax-gw02.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 30, 2005

Israel to Free 400 Prisoners; Palestinians Say 'Not Enough'
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Palestinians were disappointed that some of the 360 longer-term prisoners who were jailed before the 1993 Oslo accords were not released.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/international/middleeast/30mideast.html?ex=1118116800&en=bff30a5646f99b73&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:43:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:50:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Channel in a Stealth Promotional
	Campaign
Message-ID: <20050530154348.5BB0483CD6@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

BUSINESS / MEDIA & ADVERTISING | May 30, 2005

Clear Channel in a Stealth Promotional Campaign
By ROBERT LEVINE

What appeared to be a consumer campaign taking potshots stations owned by Clear Channel Communications turned out to be a campaign by the company itself to promote a change in format at one of its stations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/business/media/30clear.html?ex=1118116800&en=98c0f1bf82fca95f&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

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





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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:43:41 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:50:24 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Clear Channel in a Stealth Promotional
	Campaign
Message-ID: <20050530154348.64A0A9FC18@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

BUSINESS / MEDIA & ADVERTISING | May 30, 2005

Clear Channel in a Stealth Promotional Campaign
By ROBERT LEVINE

What appeared to be a consumer campaign taking potshots stations owned by Clear Channel Communications turned out to be a campaign by the company itself to promote a change in format at one of its stations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/business/media/30clear.html?ex=1118116800&en=98c0f1bf82fca95f&ei=5070



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

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

Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:45:06 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:51:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_In_Rising_Numbers=2C_?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?Lawyers_Head_for_Guant=E1namo_Bay?=
Message-ID: <20050530154513.4BF0E11F859@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

WASHINGTON | May 30, 2005

In Rising Numbers, Lawyers Head for Guantánamo Bay
By NEIL A. LEWIS

Lawyers are lining up to challenge the government's detention of people the military has called enemy combatants and possible terrorists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/politics/30detain.html?ex=1118116800&en=671a5b6b96a1c0b8&ei=5070



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

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

Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/rollbounce/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  Mon May 30 09:45:06 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:51:48 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_In_Rising_Numbers=2C_?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?Lawyers_Head_for_Guant=E1namo_Bay?=
Message-ID: <20050530154513.49CE43AE4DB@lax-gw06.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

WASHINGTON | May 30, 2005

In Rising Numbers, Lawyers Head for Guantánamo Bay
By NEIL A. LEWIS

Lawyers are lining up to challenge the government's detention of people the military has called enemy combatants and possible terrorists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/politics/30detain.html?ex=1118116800&en=671a5b6b96a1c0b8&ei=5070



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

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

Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

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





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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.

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 09:45:57 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Sun May 29 18:52:28 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Pressure on North Korea: U.S. Stealth Jets
	Sent to South
Message-ID: <20050530154603.AB9E783DB1@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

WASHINGTON | May 30, 2005

News Analysis: Pressure on North Korea: U.S. Stealth Jets Sent to South
By JOEL BRINKLEY

The deployment of 15 stealth fighters to South Korea appears to be part of a new push by the Bush administration to further isolate North Korea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/politics/30diplo.html?ex=1118116800&en=0fa85719c4aa3ded&ei=5070



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

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

Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

In the late 70s when roller skating was a way of life, X (Bow Wow) and his pals ruled supreme. But when the doors of their local skating rink close, it marks the end of an era and the beginning of another that sees the boys venture into foreign territory - uptown’s Sweetwater Roller Rink, complete with its over-the-top skaters and beautiful girls.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/rollbounce/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

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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon May 30 09:04:43 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun May 29 19:12:14 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Thank you Bill for a fascinating Article 
Message-ID: <BEC0B1DB.20E7C%michael@michaelbutler.com>

 Imaging Technology Makes Ancient Text Readable
 
 By Guy Gugliotta
 
 Two thousand years ago, Oxyrhynchus, "city of the sharp-nosed fish," was a
provincial capital in central Egypt populated by the well-educated
descendants of Greek settlers. It had an 11,000-seat theater, a religious
cult dedicated to the city's namesake -- and a municipal dump on the
outskirts of...
 
 To view the entire article, go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/29/AR2005052900
811.html?referrer=emailarticle

From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon May 30 09:10:41 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 29 19:17:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How  To Age Gracefully
Message-ID: <33458198.1117469441191.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



Hey we could all use this one... :-)

peace,
arbara



 
********************
 
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: How  To Age Gracefully
 
  
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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********************


Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser:
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*********************



Instructions:
-----------------------------------------
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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. 
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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 barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon May 30 09:12:19 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 29 19:18:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Get Moving!
Message-ID: <1718249.1117469539620.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



A bit more...





 
********************
 
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: Get Moving!
 
  
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 forward this link:
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********************


Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser:
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*********************



Instructions:
-----------------------------------------
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2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 
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5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. 
 
********************
 
 
 
 
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From barbarasiomos38 at msn.com  Mon May 30 09:14:18 2005
From: barbarasiomos38 at msn.com (barbarasiomos38@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 29 19:20:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] TIME.com -- Tony Karon: No Early Return from Iraq for
	U.S. Troops
Message-ID: <15027246.1117469658240.JavaMail.tomcat@localhost>



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



It is sad these troops have to stay sooo long.

peace,
b.



 
********************
 
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: TIME.com -- Tony Karon: No Early Return from Iraq for U.S. Troops
 
  
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Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser:
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Instructions:
-----------------------------------------
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. 
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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 michael at michaelbutler.com  Mon May 30 11:06:43 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Sun May 29 21:14:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An Important Article
In-Reply-To: <200505291433.j4TEXYZb026381@server1.truthout.org>
Message-ID: <BEC0CE73.20E89%michael@michaelbutler.com>

Hi, sent this before but I don't want you to miss it.
Quite revealing and really worth the read.
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



------ Forwarded Message
From: michael@intrafi.com
Date: Sun, 29 May 2005 10:33:34 -0400
To: michael@intrafi.com
Subject: michael wants you to see this.



michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052805A.shtml

ApplyRefer v2.3




------ End of Forwarded Message

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May 30 11:07:57 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May 29 21:14:35 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] More GMO madness
Message-ID: <000f01c56542$846f22d0$9627e440@Harold>

More GMO madness, Canada still not doing anything about it. 

As a Canadian I am not happy.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2005/30/c4955.html

Anti GMO conference in Montr?al.

Later, H
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From villasudjuan at wanadoo.fr  Mon May 30 10:24:25 2005
From: villasudjuan at wanadoo.fr (villasudjuan)
Date: Sun May 29 21:16:01 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FW: New Rules
In-Reply-To: <BEC0B09A.5EA0%kzii@swbell.net>
Message-ID: <200505300415.j4U4FwZc023462@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Kay Zafar <kzii@swbell.net>
Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 11:59:22 -0500
To: G-1 <kzii@swbell.net>, Keu Zafar <keuzafar@yahoo.com>
Subject: FW: New Rules


>> 
>> Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the
>> head with this! 
>> To anyone with kids of any age, here's some advice.
>> 
>> 
>> Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School
>> about 11 things 
>> they did not and will not  learn in school.  He
>> talks about how feel-
>> good, politically correct teachings created a
>> generation of kids with
>> no concept of reality and how this concept set them
>> up for failure in
>> the real world.
>> 
>> 
>> Rule 1:  Life is not fair - get used to it!
>> 
>> Rule 2:  The world won't care about your
>> self-esteem. The  world will
>> expect you to  accomplish something BEFORE you feel
>> good about   
>> yourself.
>> 
>> Rule 3:  You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out
>> of high school. 
>> You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until
>> you earn both.
>> 
>> Rule 4:  If you think your teacher is tough, wait
>> till you get a boss.
>> 
>> Rule 5:  Flipping burgers is not beneath your
>> dignity.  Your
>> Grandparents had a different word for burger
>> flipping:   they called
>> it opportunity.
>> 
>> Rule 6:  If you mess up, it's not your parents'
>> fault, so don't 
>> whine  about your mistakes, learn from them.
>> 
>> Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't
>> as boring as they
>> are now.  They got that way from paying your bills,
>> cleaning your  
>> clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you
>> thought you  
>> were.  So before you save the rain forest from the
>> parasites of your
>> parent's  generation, try delousing the closet in
>> your own room.
>> 
>> Rule 8:  Your school may have done away with winners
>> and losers, but 
>> life HAS NOT.  In some schools, they have abolished
>> failing grades  
>> and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to
>> get the right  
>> answer.  This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance
>> to ANYTHING in  
>> real life.
>> 
>> Rule 9:  Life is not divided into semesters. You
>> don't get summers
>> off and very few employers are interested in helping
>> you FIND  
>> YOURSELF.   Do that on your own time.
>> 
>> Rule 10:  Television is NOT real life.  In real life
>> people actually
>> have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
>> 
>> Rule 11: Be nice to nerds.  Chances are you'll end
>> up working for one.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com

------ End of Forwarded Message


------ End of Forwarded Message

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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May 30 11:17:12 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Sun May 29 21:23:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Montreal, Biosafety protocol info ....
Message-ID: <000801c56543$cf53ff90$9627e440@Harold>

Cartagena Biosafety Protocol, Montr?al conference.

http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety/default.aspx

Cheers

Harry
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From michael at intrafi.com  Mon May 30 11:17:15 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Sun May 29 21:23:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Hypocritical Church's Sex Lessons
Message-ID: <8039366.1117477035557.JavaMail.turbine@s75>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
A Hypocritical Church's Sex Lessons 
--------------------

The pope has minimized priests' crimes while wagging a finger at gays.

Robert Scheer

May 24 2005

One of the most sexually repressed institutions in human history has been caught with its pants down yet again but still insists on wagging its disapproving finger at the rest of us. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-scheer24may24,1,4862416.column?coll=la-util-op-ed 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon May 30 12:30:45 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun May 29 22:45:44 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Villaraigosa's Challenge
Message-ID: <200505300545.j4U5jfx9023661@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


Villaraigosa's Challenge: Governing Los Angeles in the Bush 
and Schwarzenegger Era
by Peter Dreier

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/weblog/breakingnews/archives/2005/05/d
reier_villarai.html

Antonio Villaraigosa's landslide victory (59 - 41 %) May 17 over Los
Angeles Mayor James Hahn has raised hopes about moving the city in a new
direction. It was a personal victory for Villaraigosa -- a high school
drop-out who later graduated from UCLA, became an organizer with the
teachers union and president of the local ACLU chapter, and served as
Speaker of the state Assembly and City Council member -- whose election
immediately makes him a national figure, including his photo on the cover
of Newsweek, headlined, "Latino Power."

It was also a victory for LA's progressive movement, which since the 1992
riots has forged an increasingly powerful grassroots organizing and
political coalition of unions, community organizations, religious
institutions, and ethnic civic groups. For example, the city has adopted a
living wage law, an ordinance that effectively stops low-wage big-box
stores like Wal-Mart from setting up shop, an anti-sweatshop policy, and a
municipal housing trust fund. At the end of his victory speech on election
night, Villaraigosa asked for a moment of silence to honor Miguel
Contreras, his close friend, political ally, and leader of the LA County
Federation of Labor, who died May 6. In many ways, Villaraigosa's victory
was built on the political foundation that Contreras had built over the
past decade.

In 1973, Los Angeles was the first major U.S. city with a white majority
to elect an African-America mayor -- Tom Bradley, who served for 20 years.
This sprawling city of four million people is now 48 percent Latino, 31
percent white, 11 percent Asian and 10 percent black. The demographic
changes have triggered racial tensions, but the past decade's groundswell
of grassroots labor and community organizing has helped refocus much of
the frustration in positive directions. As a result, LA is a much more
progressive city than it was three decades ago. According to exit polls,
47% of voters identified themselves as liberals, compared with 27%
moderate and 26% conservative.

Villaraigosa's wide victory margin was spread across all key demographic,
racial, ethnic, economic, and geographic groups. He won majorities among
all income groups, from 54% among those earning over $100,000 to 67% 
among
voters below $20,000. Villaraigosa's progressive politics and charisma
helped him carry a whopping 77% of voters between 18 and 29 and 70% of
those between 30 and 44.

Four years ago, Villaraigosa lost a close run-off against Hahn, a moderate
Democratic, but the incumbent's lackluster record - including ongoing
pay-to-play corruption scandals -- gave Villaraigosa another chance.
Compared with 2001, he strengthened his base of Latinos (he won 84% of
their vote), union members (60%), and Jews (55%). Four years ago,
Villaraigosa won only 20% of the African-American vote, due in large
measure to their loyalty to Hahn's late father, Ken Hahn, a long-time
County Supervisor who represented black neighborhoods and had been a civil
rights ally. But this year Villaraigosa won 48% of the black vote,
including 59% among blacks under 44 years old. He also expanded his
support among white voters in the suburban middle-class San Fernando
Valley, garnering 48% of their votes compared with 34% in 2001.

How can Villaraigosa possibly live up to such high expectations,
especially when, in formal terms, LA's mayor has very little power and the
city has very limited authority to raise revenues to address the
day-to-day problems confronting LA's residents?

In some ways, this is a terrible time to be mayor of a major American
city. The Bush administration and the Republican Congress have turned
their backs on cities and inner-ring suburbs -- and working class and poor
people who live there. Federal funds for affordable housing, schools,
public transit, public safety, and health care are woefully inadequate.
The Bush administration's priorities -- cutting taxes for the rich,
weakening regulations on business that protect consumers, workers, and the
environment, and reducing spending for domestic programs while increasing
military spending -- come at the expense of cities and inner-ring suburbs.
Bush has imposed many new mandates on cities - such as increased homeland
security and No Child Left Beyond requirements for schools - without
providing the funds necessary to comply. Let's call it fend-for-yourself
federalism.

Washington was once a partner with America's cities in addressing urban
problems. No longer. Since 1977, federal aid as a share of total city
revenues has declined from 15 percent to 5 percent. State aid has not even
come close to filling the gap. As a result, most big-city mayors are
trapped in a fiscal straitjacket. Demands for public services and
expenditures are inexorable and often beyond municipal control (as in the
case of the local share of Medicaid expenditures). As a result, even
economically successful cities like LA face chronic difficulty balancing
their budgets. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has exacerbated this
situation. He has all but declared war on poor and working class people by
cutting funds for schools, seeking to put a limit on spending for social
programs, attacking unions (especially teachers, nurses and state
employees) as "special interests", while taking huge donations from
corporations and giving business a freer hand on environmental and
workplace safety issues.

Although both the national media have emphasized Villaraigosa's stature as
LA's first 20th century Latino mayor, he has more in common with recent
progressive big-city mayors like Chicago's Harold Washington (an
African-American) and Boston's Ray Flynn (Irish Catholic) than with other
Latino mayors, most of whom have been moderates.

Villaraigosa will be judged by his ability not only to take care of the
municipal housekeeping chores (such as fixing potholes, reducing traffic
congestion) but also whether he can address the plight of the poor and the
struggling lower middle class -- to promote what activists call a
"growth-with-justice" agenda. The city's economy is booming, but the
divide between the rich and everyone else is widening. LA has more
millionaires than any other city but it is also the nation's capital of
the working poor. It confronts a shortage of decent jobs that pay a living
wage and access to health care. Housing prices are skyrocketing. Rents now
average over $1,200 per month and the median sales price exceeds $350,000.
Traffic congestion and inadequate public transit make LA the most polluted
(and unhealthy) metro area in the country. Overcrowded and underfunded
schools, including a severe shortage of pre-school programs, threaten the
city's economic future. Despite a decline in the crime rate, LA is still
one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

Villaraigosa needs to educate LA that there are many problems that cannot
be solved by the city government alone. The new mayor will need to reach
out to the suburbs within the region to forge a sense of common purpose --
for example, to avoid bidding-wars for jobs and investment -- to improve
the region's business climate. He will need to be a voice for LA in
Sacramento by working closely with the Democratic legislature to challenge
Schwarzenegger's agenda, raise taxes on the state's wealthy residents and
corporations, and expand funding for public schools, health insurance,
urban parks, and public transit. When he served as Speaker of the state
Assembly, Villaraigosa surprised many skeptics by his effective
coalition-building skills that enabled him to pass progressive legislation
to expand funding for urban parks, health insurance, and school
construction. Given the limited powers granted LA's mayor, Villaraigosa's
personality and leadership skills will be critical. He needs to be a new
kind of pro-business mayor -- by redefining a "healthy business climate"
to mean prosperity that is shared by working people.

This includes using the power of the mayor's office to leverage the city's
diverse and strong economy. In contrast to Bush and Schwarzenegger, who
want to loosen regulations on business and promote voluntary compliance
with environmental, consumer and workplace protections, Villaraigosa can
promote a more enlightened view of business' responsibility to the broader
community. He can encourage employers to support workers' rights to
unionize - whether its janitors and security guards in office buildings,
or nurses at hospitals. He can support ordinances that require developers
to share in the city's strong housing market by setting aside 20% of units
for low-income and moderate income families. He can champion a
linked-deposit policy that uses the city's deposits to encourage banks to
end redlining and predatory practices and, instead, make loans to small
businesses, would-be homebuyers, and developers of affordable housing.

As a long-time organizer and activist, he understands the importance of
mobilizing people to help-themselves. He can encourage people who live and
work in the city to participate in more volunteer activities -- in the
city's schools, neighborhoods, churches and synagogues, and workplaces. He
can encourage tenant groups to help the city enforce housing codes in slum
housing. He can encourage parents to spend more time reading to their kids
and working with parents to mobilize for school reform.

As mayor of the nation's second largest city (and with the largest city
headed by a Republican mayor, Michael Bloomberg), Villaraigosa will have a
forum to challenge the misguided priorities of the Bush administration and
the GOP-controlled Congress that have ignored urban areas and the poor.
But Villaraigosa also understands that while its nice to see your picture
of the cover of Newsweek, voters expect him to get their potholes fixed ,
hire more cops, and make Los Angeles a more livable city.

Peter Dreier, who teaches Politics and directs the Urban & Environmental
Policy program at Occidental College, is coauthor of The Next Los Angeles:
The Struggle for a Livable City (University of California Press, 2005) and
Place Matters: Metropolitics for the 21st Century (University Press of
Kansas, 2005)

***

-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Mon May 30 12:30:44 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Sun May 29 22:46:30 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CEO Pay Still On Steroids
Message-ID: <200505300546.j4U5kQFW023671@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

"CEO pay averaged $10.2 million in 2004, counting salary, bonus and other
compensation such as exercised stock options and vested stock grants.

"Full-time worker pay averaged just $32,594. That's 11 percent less than
1973's average worker pay of $36,629, adjusting for inflation, although
worker productivity rose 78 percent between 1973 and 2004.

In 1973, CEOs made 45 times as much as workers, according to pay expert
Graef Crystal. In 1991, when Crystal said the imperial CEO "is paid so
much more than ordinary workers that he hasn't got the slightest clue as
to how the rest of the country lives," CEOs made 140 times as much as
workers. Last year, CEOs made more than 300 times as much."



--> If you pass this comment along to others -- periodically but not
repeatedly -- please explain that Commentaries are a premium sent to
Sustainer Donors of Z/ZNet and that to learn more folks can consult ZNet
at http://www.zmag.org 


Today's commentary:
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-05/23sklar.cfm

==================================

ZNet Commentary
CEO Pay Still On Steroids May 24, 2005
By Holly Sklar 

How would you like a 54 percent pay raise? That's how much pay jumped last
year for the chief executives of the 500 largest U.S. companies, reports
Forbes magazine.

Worker pay is shrinking, the economy is stalling, the trade deficit is
growing and the stock market is below 1999 levels, but CEO pay is still on
steroids.

The highest paid CEO in 2004 was Yahoo's Terry Semel, who hauled in 
$230.6
million. That's more than $4 million a week.

Yahoo is on the "Lou Dobbs Tonight" list of companies "sending American
jobs overseas, or choosing to employ cheap overseas labor, instead of
American workers." It would take the pay of 7,075 average American workers
to match the pay of Yahoo's CEO.

William McGuire of UnitedHealth Group, the nation's leading insurer, was
the third-highest paid CEO on the Forbes list. His pay of $124.8 million
could cover the average health insurance premiums of nearly 34,000 people.

"While executives are richly compensated, patients are tightening their
belts," Dr. Isaac Wornom, chairman of the Richmond Academy of Medicine,
wrote last year. "Premiums, deductibles and co-pays are up, while benefits
continue to shrink. One million Virginians -- that's one out of seven --
have no health insurance at all, and this number is increasing... Half of
the uninsured work full-time for small businesses that simply can't afford
the inflated rates."

CEOs can win big even when the company loses. Merck, for example, had to
pull its Vioxx pain medication off the market because it increases stroke
and heart attack risk, and Merck stock was down 28 percent last year, but
then-CEO Ray Gilmartin got a supposedly performance-based bonus. His 
total
2004 compensation was $37.8 million, he received new grants of 90,000
shares of stock and 250,000 stock options, and he'll make more annually in
retirement than average workers earn in their lifetimes.

CEO pay averaged $10.2 million in 2004, counting salary, bonus and other
compensation such as exercised stock options and vested stock grants.

Full-time worker pay averaged just $32,594. That's 11 percent less than
1973's average worker pay of $36,629, adjusting for inflation, although
worker productivity rose 78 percent between 1973 and 2004.

In 1973, CEOs made 45 times as much as workers, according to pay expert
Graef Crystal. In 1991, when Crystal said the imperial CEO "is paid so
much more than ordinary workers that he hasn't got the slightest clue as
to how the rest of the country lives," CEOs made 140 times as much as
workers. Last year, CEOs made more than 300 times as much.

Executive pay now takes more than double the bite out of company earnings
it did a decade ago, report Lucian Bebchuk, Harvard Professor of Law,
Economics and Finance, and Yaniv Grinstein of Cornell University's School
of Management in a recent study. Looking at data for thousands of publicly
traded companies, Bebchuk and Grinstein found that pay for the top five
company executives rose from 4.8 percent of aggregate net company income
during 1993-1995 to 10.3 percent of aggregate net income during
2001-2003..

While workers are having a tougher time making ends meet, CEOs are getting
perks worth more than worker paychecks. CEO freeloaders expect perks such
as lifetime use of company jets, chauffeured cars, company apartments,
club memberships, sports tickets, financial planning, personal assistants
and more.

In CEO World, the more money you make, the less you should have to pay
for.

While worker pensions are increasingly unavailable or unreliable, CEO
retirement gives new meaning to "the golden years."

CEO robber barons are increasingly stashing their loot in guaranteed
pensions, deferred compensation, guaranteed consulting fees -- no actual
consulting necessary -- and other postretirement perks and compensation to
avoid shareholder scrutiny and sidestep the new rule for companies to
treat stock options as expenses.

As Lucian Bebchuk and Jesse Fried, co-authors of "Pay Without
Performance," explained in a 2004 report, "camouflaged compensation"
generates less outrage, is less tied to performance and "allows executives
to reap benefits at the expense of shareholders."

Making matters worse, CEOs earning more than their fair share are being
rewarded with huge tax cuts.

Workers and their families are paying the biggest price as CEOs milk their
companies and our country like cash cows.

Holly Sklar is co-author of "Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies That Work
for All Of Us" (www.raisethefloor.org). She can be reached at
hsklar@aol.com.



-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From maxfury at granderiver.net  Mon May 30 13:36:51 2005
From: maxfury at granderiver.net (Cheeseburger)
Date: Sun May 29 23:41:17 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An Important Article
Message-ID: <000701c56557$50d4a340$c525b7d8@baby1>

An Important Article



Michael wrote:


==========
Hi, sent this before but I don't want you to miss it.
Quite revealing and really worth the read.
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

michael thought you would like this site.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052805A.shtml
=========




CheeseComment:



Great article.  Great reporter.  As you stated, great insight into the
matter.

Insanity at work in America.

Madness.

One quick note, Pastor Ted perhaps didn't "pick Colorado" for his
mega-church insanity because "it smelled good", he most likely picked it
because it has one of the most interesting concentrations of American
Military whatever in the entire country.  Without the complete
"sanctification" and "ability to brainwash and utilize" the actual Military
of America, his "mega-Jesus-cult" will only go so far to "sweep all the
nations clean of the non-believers and faithless scum".  He needs the people
with all the guns, and the license to use them, to go further than he has
ever gone before and be more than he can be.  I'm rather sure that angle of
that subject matter has crossed his mind more than once while he was f*cking
his obedient subservient wife.

Again, as you, I, others, continuously refer to, this is a "movement"
spreading across America (already here) and the World, that neither America
nor The World are prepared to deal with properly.

A perversion of True "Christianity" (the actual saner teachings of someone
named Jesus Christ) into mega-churches, market-based organizational
Christianity?, and basically as I perceive it, nothing less than a
well-oiled Christian Voodoo Cult that prides itself on destroying anything
and everything they do not themselves profess to be or accept as their
particular reality.

Religious nuts of America, unite.  We got a place for you right here next to
the giant big screen tv's.  We'll teach you how to deter, destroy and delete
anyone off of earth that doesn't join us.

Again, America is just not ready for these people, especially since they
have now entered "politics", market-based whatever, and "the game of earth"
coming out at everyone with their crucifixes a blazing.

There is a verse in the bible somewhere that states something about "the
devil" like "The devil hath the power to assume a pleasing face".

Pastor Ted, and all the rest of the religious nuts of America, and the
World, have certainly accomplished that, bells, videos, light shows, bands,
whistles, dancing, frenzies, all in one giant Religious Christian Voodoo
Cult, that dismisses and condemns anything and everyone who is not "just
like them" as blasphemy incarnate and ripe for decimation by the brainwashed
flocks of this mega-cult.

The only drawback to the entire matter, other than the complete destruction
that rolls along with their various mega-movements throughout society,
government, schools, and your backyard, is that they had to literally
sacrifice the core principles of someone named Jesus Christ to be able to
achieve such Power On Earth in such a dismal display of, again, a complete
perversion of the actual workings of the mind of The Man who they dare claim
to base their ideology on at this time.

Inbetween all the giant video screens, the bands, the lavish cermonies, etc,
though, they probably just no longer have time to consider such paltry
inconsequential thoughts about some scraggly lowly humble man in a robe
walking around choosing lowly fishermen as his humble messengers.

Other than all the people, places, things, institutions, etc's that they
have, are, and will completely destroy in the future and re-mold In Their
Own Image, is that, like me, one will, again, never find anyone named Jesus
Christ in one of their mega-churches, home meetings, or simple gatherings,
he, like myself, surely avoid them at every crossroads we pass, except
perhaps to briefly enter to exorcise the demons of bullshit they have called
up from Hell itself as a desecration to The Man himself.

These are the same people that danced around the golden calf when Moses was
up on the mountain "receiving the 10 Commandments from God".

They actually Lost Their Faith, got bored, and followed the first asshole
that shouted the loudest.  Just like now.

I kind of feel sorry for them that they do not realize who they actually are
at this time, nor what kind of non-Christ cult they are actually
participating in, but then I remember all the Pure Destruction they are
training to bring upon any and all that will not comply with being remade
into someone Exactly Like Themselves, and then my pity for them completely
disappears amid the strobe lights and fog machines.


More power to the both of us than all these demented desecrators all put
together, in both this world and the next.




Cheeseburger

.

From harperalexander at mail.com  Mon May 30 14:00:06 2005
From: harperalexander at mail.com (Alexander Harper)
Date: Mon May 30 00:06:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Uzbekistan - by the ex-British Ambassador
Message-ID: <20050530210006.B9B8F6EEF6@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com>

A brutal reminder
>By Craig Murray
>Published: May 27 2005 15:47 | Last updated: May 27 2005 15:47
>>
I have lost count of the number of journalists who have asked me ?Do you feel vindicated about what has been happening in Uzbekistan?? My replies to that one have been unprintable. How can you feel vindicated by several hundred dead people? Mostly I just feel miserable. I think we are in a real sense culpable. It is western support for Karimov that gives him such arrogant assurance in gunning down his opponents.

Ever since I heard by e-mail that street protests were taking off in Andizhan, I had been longing to be there. I would never get a visa, but was speculating about getting over from Kyrgyzstan on a smuggler?s route. Once the massacre, happened sections of the border were out of control for a few days. I desperately wanted to go but, annoyingly, I was scheduled to go into hospital for a heart operation soon afterwards. I have been trying to convince myself that I have done more good by media work here.

That desire to be there did not entail a longing to be British ambassador again. At least, not until I saw reports of the pathetic trip by diplomats to inspect the scene. I had predicted on ITN that this would be ?a nauseating propaganda charade?. It was. They travelled in a tightly controlled convoy on a sealed-off route. The blood had been hosed away. The government dictated who they could meet. The only civilian was the father of a dead soldier. This charabanc trip ended an hour and a half before they expected - Karimov doesn?t just get the buses to run on time, they even run early. The bulk of the time was taken in a formal banquet.

My successor, David Moran, bleated ?Can we not meet some people?? Of course you can. You don?t have to sit on your arse. At that moment I wished I was back in his shoes. You just walk out, pushing past the soldiers, down to the bazaar, and talk to people. One of my more delightful memories was of Clare Short doing exactly that in May 2003, to the huge consternation of the regime. You, David, are one of the tiny number of people in Uzbekistan they can?t shoot.

I have been keeping up with events both by phone and e-mail contacts to Uzbekistan, and via the internet. I see The Australian has reported I had a habit of manhandling obstructive Uzbek officials (how did they know?). I wouldn?t call it a habit, but you do sometimes have to show in a totalitarian state that you are not going to be obstructed in your work. To be fair to David Moran, his semi-protest showed at least some backbone; it was more than most of my senior former colleagues would have done.

The next day, we had the Uzbek procurator general announcing that 170 people had, after all, been killed but that they were all armed rebels. I did feel vindicated by the sheer disbelief that greeted this. Here is why.

In March 2004 there was a series of explosions and shootings in Tashkent, in which at least 30 people died. I dashed round to the scene of each incident, arriving within hours or even minutes, accompanied by Giles Whittell of The Times who had just walked into the embassy to interview me.

Suicide bombers from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, linked to al-Qaeda, had carried out a series of attacks on security forces. That remains the internationally accepted version of events. But it isn?t true.

I attended the briefings the procurator general (the same man) gave to journalists and diplomats. His claims were completely incompatible with the facts I had observed. He said suicide belts had been used each with the force of two kilos of TNT. But at the sites there just wasn?t the physical damage. Not so much as a cracked paving stone, let alone a crater. The first ?bomb? had been in a roughly triangular courtyard a maximum of 30m wide. Allegedly six soldiers and a suicide bomber had been killed. Not a pane of glass was broken in the buildings overlooking the courtyard, not a branch or sprig torn from the tree in the centre.

My reports that the procurator general was lying through his teeth brought me startled reproof from my management in London. You see, the attacks by Islamic terrorists fitted our narrative. So I feel a personal relief that the lies are at last being exposed.

(Craig Murray was the British ambassador to Uzbekistan until last October when he was recalled after protesting against the brutality of President Islam Karimov?s regime. He left the Foreign Office in February and ran against his former boss, foreign secretary Jack Straw, in the general election. He is now writing a memoir).
 
> 
>
> 

-- 
___________________________________________________________
Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm


From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Mon May 30 14:19:30 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Mon May 30 00:26:02 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Look what I just found on myway.com!
Message-ID: <8221305.1117487970095.JavaMail.root@mprdresin3.nwk.myway.com>

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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Mon May 30 16:19:42 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (Ian)
Date: Mon May 30 02:26:05 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] An Important Article
References: <000701c56557$50d4a340$c525b7d8@baby1>
Message-ID: <015701c5656e$0fa61e00$99ca6c42@iancn2ccrvzt0j>

Cheeseburger:

Although one would almost think so, Shakespeare did not write the 
Bible...(LOL).  The line you are thinking of - "The devil hath power to 
assume a pleasing shape" - is from Hamlet, Act II.  Still, it is an apropos 
quote for you to use in the present regard.

In this regard, you may want to consider a passage that is from Scripture as 
further support for your position:

"For there will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but 
according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will 
heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the 
truth, and be turned aside by fables."  2 Tim. 4:3-4

Likewise:

"That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about 
with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning 
craftiness of deceiptful plotting."  Eph. 4:14

While it is true that one could read a "negative" fundamentalism into these 
passages, they are actually in full support of your contention that so many 
faith leaders who "claim" the mantle of "Christianity" and claim to follow 
Christ are doing no such thing.  And that those who follow them are "heaping 
up for themselves teachers" who are "turning their ears away from the truth" 
of what Jesus actually did, said and was about, and that they are being 
"carried away" by the "trickery of men" and their "deceitful plotting."

Ultimately, I could not agree more with your entire contention here.  Bravo!

Peace.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheeseburger" <maxfury@granderiver.net>
To: "mb-civic" <mb-civic@islandlists.com>
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 4:36 PM
Subject: [Mb-civic] An Important Article


> An Important Article
>
>
>
> Michael wrote:
>
>
> ==========
> Hi, sent this before but I don't want you to miss it.
> Quite revealing and really worth the read.
> 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
>
> michael thought you would like this site.
>
> http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052805A.shtml
> =========
>
>
>
>
> CheeseComment:
>
>
>
> Great article.  Great reporter.  As you stated, great insight into the
> matter.
>
> Insanity at work in America.
>
> Madness.
>
> One quick note, Pastor Ted perhaps didn't "pick Colorado" for his
> mega-church insanity because "it smelled good", he most likely picked it
> because it has one of the most interesting concentrations of American
> Military whatever in the entire country.  Without the complete
> "sanctification" and "ability to brainwash and utilize" the actual 
> Military
> of America, his "mega-Jesus-cult" will only go so far to "sweep all the
> nations clean of the non-believers and faithless scum".  He needs the 
> people
> with all the guns, and the license to use them, to go further than he has
> ever gone before and be more than he can be.  I'm rather sure that angle 
> of
> that subject matter has crossed his mind more than once while he was 
> f*cking
> his obedient subservient wife.
>
> Again, as you, I, others, continuously refer to, this is a "movement"
> spreading across America (already here) and the World, that neither 
> America
> nor The World are prepared to deal with properly.
>
> A perversion of True "Christianity" (the actual saner teachings of someone
> named Jesus Christ) into mega-churches, market-based organizational
> Christianity?, and basically as I perceive it, nothing less than a
> well-oiled Christian Voodoo Cult that prides itself on destroying anything
> and everything they do not themselves profess to be or accept as their
> particular reality.
>
> Religious nuts of America, unite.  We got a place for you right here next 
> to
> the giant big screen tv's.  We'll teach you how to deter, destroy and 
> delete
> anyone off of earth that doesn't join us.
>
> Again, America is just not ready for these people, especially since they
> have now entered "politics", market-based whatever, and "the game of 
> earth"
> coming out at everyone with their crucifixes a blazing.
>
> There is a verse in the bible somewhere that states something about "the
> devil" like "The devil hath the power to assume a pleasing face".
>
> Pastor Ted, and all the rest of the religious nuts of America, and the
> World, have certainly accomplished that, bells, videos, light shows, 
> bands,
> whistles, dancing, frenzies, all in one giant Religious Christian Voodoo
> Cult, that dismisses and condemns anything and everyone who is not "just
> like them" as blasphemy incarnate and ripe for decimation by the 
> brainwashed
> flocks of this mega-cult.
>
> The only drawback to the entire matter, other than the complete 
> destruction
> that rolls along with their various mega-movements throughout society,
> government, schools, and your backyard, is that they had to literally
> sacrifice the core principles of someone named Jesus Christ to be able to
> achieve such Power On Earth in such a dismal display of, again, a complete
> perversion of the actual workings of the mind of The Man who they dare 
> claim
> to base their ideology on at this time.
>
> Inbetween all the giant video screens, the bands, the lavish cermonies, 
> etc,
> though, they probably just no longer have time to consider such paltry
> inconsequential thoughts about some scraggly lowly humble man in a robe
> walking around choosing lowly fishermen as his humble messengers.
>
> Other than all the people, places, things, institutions, etc's that they
> have, are, and will completely destroy in the future and re-mold In Their
> Own Image, is that, like me, one will, again, never find anyone named 
> Jesus
> Christ in one of their mega-churches, home meetings, or simple gatherings,
> he, like myself, surely avoid them at every crossroads we pass, except
> perhaps to briefly enter to exorcise the demons of bullshit they have 
> called
> up from Hell itself as a desecration to The Man himself.
>
> These are the same people that danced around the golden calf when Moses 
> was
> up on the mountain "receiving the 10 Commandments from God".
>
> They actually Lost Their Faith, got bored, and followed the first asshole
> that shouted the loudest.  Just like now.
>
> I kind of feel sorry for them that they do not realize who they actually 
> are
> at this time, nor what kind of non-Christ cult they are actually
> participating in, but then I remember all the Pure Destruction they are
> training to bring upon any and all that will not comply with being remade
> into someone Exactly Like Themselves, and then my pity for them completely
> disappears amid the strobe lights and fog machines.
>
>
> More power to the both of us than all these demented desecrators all put
> together, in both this world and the next.
>
>
>
>
> Cheeseburger
>
> .
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-civic mailing list
> Mb-civic@islandlists.com
> http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-civic
> 


From swiggard at comcast.net  Mon May 30 16:44:18 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 30 02:50:54 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <30185028.1117496659941.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Caught in a Web of Spies
 
 By Glenn Frankel
 
 JERUSALEM, May 30 -- Israel's business community has been rocked by a major computer espionage scandal that was uncovered when a husband-and-wife book-writing team complained to police that someone had hacked into their computer system and stolen files.
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/30/AR2005053000486.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 30 17:36:39 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (hecate@diamonddragon.com)
Date: Mon May 30 03:43:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Memorial Day Special: Preventive Warriors
Message-ID: <20050531003639.21253.qmail@trinity.democracynow.org>

Hecate  ( hecate@diamonddragon.com )
sent you this story from democracynow.org

very good special..recommend


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Memorial Day Special: Preventive Warriors
|  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/30/1333210
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+


Today on Memorial Day, the traditional day to honor all US military veterans, we bring you the full documentary about the Bush administration’s national security strategy: “Preventive Warriors,” produced by Michael Burns and Greg Ansin.

The film features many of the leading thinkers and intellectuals of our time including Noam Chomsky, Chalmers Johnson, Tariq Ali and more.
This story continues at: 
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/30/1333210

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 30 17:44:42 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 30 03:51:13 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Bolivians stage huge gas protest
Message-ID: <20050531_004442_085770.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Bolivians stage huge gas protest **
Thousands converge on the Bolivian capital La Paz in an angry demonstration over gas reserves.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4594615.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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The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Mon May 30 17:48:37 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 30 03:55:03 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: China hails legacy of great adventurer
Message-ID: <20050531_004837_048025.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** China hails legacy of great adventurer **
China is hailing its greatest adventurer as the inspiration for its current success, writes Tim Luard.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4593717.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 e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

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From geomilman at milman.com  Mon May 30 20:19:01 2005
From: geomilman at milman.com (George R. Milman)
Date: Mon May 30 06:25:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] If Muslims Called Allah 'God,
	' Would the U.S. Be More Respectful?
Message-ID: <20050531031903.5E4099FBF5@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mcgough30may30,0,701726
6.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

 

 

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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Mon May 30 20:48:52 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Mon May 30 06:55:59 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - U.S. LIVING BEYOND MEANS, DODGE WARNS
Message-ID: <20050531034852.2EA511B691@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
____________________________________________________
U.S. LIVING BEYOND MEANS, DODGE WARNS
WebPosted Mon May 30 11:55:07 2005

OTTAWA---Bank of Canada governor David Dodge offered a bankerly rebuke to
the United States on Monday for its borrow-and-spendthrift ways, which he
suggested are a threat to world economic stability.

Less directly, he chided nations such as China for rigging their
currencies to boost exports while building up larger and larger foreign-
exchange reserves, creating a lopsided world in which Asian savings
finance U.S. spending.

In the text of a speech to be given at a Montreal conference, the central
bank chief warned of "large, global economic imbalances that have become
the subject of increasing concern" to policy-makers.

"I am referring, of course, to the persistent and growing current account
deficit in the United States that is mirrored by large current account
surpluses elsewhere, especially in Asia."

 Trade imbalance problems highlighted

His comments echo those of many economists who have watched the United
States evolve from the world's greatest creditor nation to the greatest
debtor as Americans saved less, consumed more and imported more. China,
meanwhile, took over much of the world's consumer-goods manufacturing and
used its export earnings to soak up vast amounts of U.S. debt.

Supporters of the Bush administration have tended to argue that the three
U.S. deficits &#8212; in international trade, current account and federal
budget &#8212; do not matter to a superpower that prints the world's most
widely used money.

Dodge said the imbalances won't go on forever.

"At some point, they will have to be resolved. Why? For one thing, a
country's external indebtedness cannot keep growing indefinitely as a
share of its GDP. Eventually, investors will begin to balk at increasing
their exposure to that country, even if it is a reserve-currency country,
such as the United States.

"For another thing, the buildup of foreign exchange reserves by Asian
countries will, eventually, feed into domestic monetary expansion and
lead to higher inflation. These imbalances will ultimately be resolved,
either in an orderly, or in an abrupt, disorderly way."

A basic problem is the mismatch in national rates of saving, Dodge said.

"Specifically, over the past decade or so, we have seen many countries
outside the United States increase their saving by a very large amount,
while at the same time, the United States has reduced its saving and has
become increasingly reliant on foreign borrowing."

He said Asian countries built up foreign-exchange reserves partly as a
cushion against a recurrence of the region's 1997-98 economic crisis.

"But more importantly, policies to encourage export-led growth in many
Asian economies have exacerbated the situation. Some countries have
actively tried to prevent an appreciation of their currencies by
intervening in the foreign exchange market. In doing so, not only are
they increasing the imbalances, they are also seen by some to be securing
an unfair trade advantage and shifting the burden of global adjustment
onto others."

Reports from China last week said there was no sign Beijing would speed
up plans to revalue the country's currency, which is widely considered
artificially cheap. Such a move would make Chinese goods less competitive
in international markets and shrink the value of China's huge official
holdings of U.S. government securities.

On Monday, Beijing reacted sharply to U.S. and European moves to restrict
imports of Chinese clothing and textiles, which have flooded into western
markets since a quota system expired in January. China cancelled plans to
increase export taxes on many garments as a voluntary move to handicap
its own producers, the Associated Press reported.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 31 04:08:27 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 30 14:15:04 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <4900543.1117537707259.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Circumspect E.U. Turns To Dutch on Constitution
 
 By Craig Whitlock
 
 Leaders hold out hope that they can unify Europe under a single economic and political banner, but brace for a potentially fatal setback as Dutch voters threaten to reject a proposed European constitution.
 
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© 2004 The Washington Post Company


From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 31 04:09:21 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 30 14:15:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <21654898.1117537762000.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 No Room  For Dissent?
 
 By E. J. Dionne Jr.
 
 On the Sunday after Pope Benedict XVI was elected, I attended Mass at a parish whose pastor I like and respect, even if we have rather different political views. Since it was not my regular parish, I hadn't seen him for a while. So we greeted each other warmly and, in light of our new pope's...
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 31 04:10:20 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 30 14:16:47 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32960109.1117537821039.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Hilton the Huckster
 
 By Richard Cohen
 
 Arthur Aufderheide is something relatively new under the sun -- a paleopatholgist. His specialty, a recent issue of the New Yorker tells us, is the dissection of mummies to study ancient diseases. I, too, have an odd specialty. It is the study of contemporary culture by carefully noting the number...
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 31 04:11:51 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 30 14:18:22 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <32721470.1117537911319.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Filling the Racial Gap in Academia
 
 By William Raspberry
 
 One definition of insanity, someone once said, is to keep doing the same thing in the same way and expect different results. Here's another: Believing that a diagnosis and treatment that worked for a patient in one set of circumstances will work in all circumstances.
 
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From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 31 04:12:26 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Mon May 30 14:18:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <10445502.1117537947050.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Heeding the Past As She Looks To the Future
 
 By John F. Harris
 
 This article includes material adapted from a new history of the Clinton presidency, "The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House."
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 31 05:03:47 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Mon May 30 15:10:26 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] US living beyond it's means
Message-ID: <001a01c565d8$cf22e8c0$4327e440@Harold>

Here is the full text of the speech David Dodge gave on trade imbalance.

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/speeches/2005/sp05-7.htm


The US had better get it's ducks in order !!

Harold
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 31 05:43:13 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 30 15:49:41 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Asia-Pacific - Japan jobless rate lowest since
	1998
Message-ID: <25082738.1117543393459.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 May 31 05:44:12 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 30 15:50:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / World - Britain poised to shelve EU referendum
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 31 05:50:05 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 30 15:56:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] FT.com / Europe / Yukos - Khodorkovsky sentenced to nine
	years
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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 31 05:55:16 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael)
Date: Mon May 30 16:02:09 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Tom Dispatch
Message-ID: <200505311255.j4VCtG07029851@thor.thenation.com>

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From Bryan.Peterson at LW.com  Mon May 30 17:41:00 2005
From: Bryan.Peterson at LW.com (Bryan Peterson)
Date: Mon May 30 16:03:38 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] SFGate: Why I'm joining the GOP/Leaving the left for fun
	and profit
Message-ID: <200505302303.j4UN3arA025522@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


 Yep, it's true. I think I'll become a Republican just like the writer of
this article! : )
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate.
The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/05/29/INGJPCU3GL11.DTL 
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, May 29, 2005 (SF Chronicle)
Why I'm joining the GOP/Leaving the left for fun and profit
Jeff Gillenkirk


   After a lifetime voting for and working for Democratic candidates and
independents, I'm finally going to make the switch and become a
Republican.

   The reasons are many, not the least of which is age. I turned 55 recently
and, having lived more than half my life, I can't afford to worry anymore
about the other guy. It's time for me.
   As a Republican, I can now proudly -- indeed, defiantly -- pledge to never
again vote for anyone who raises taxes for any reason. To hell with roads,
bridges, schools, police and fire protection, Medicare, Social Security
and regulation of the airwaves.
   President Bush has promised to give me more tax cuts even though our
federal government owes trillions of dollars to its creditors. But that's
someone else's problem, not mine. Republicans are about the here and now,
and I'm here now.
   As a Republican, I can favor exploiting the environment for everything
she's got. No need to worry about quaint notions like posterity and
natural legacy. There are plenty of resources left for everyone, and if we
don't use them, someone else will.
   I want a party that doesn't worry about things before we have to.
Republicans refuse to get hog-tied by theories such as global warming,
ozone depletion, fished-out oceans and disappearing wetlands. The real
problems -- if there are any -- aren't forecast to take hold for at least
50 years. So what do I care? I'll be dead.
   As a Republican, I can swagger and clamor for war -- in Iraq, Afghanistan,
Colombia, wherever -- even though I've never fought in one or even been in
the military. I can claim that we're fighting for Democracy, ignoring
reports of torture at Abu Ghraib, Bagram Air Base and Guantanamo Bay, and
a spreading gulag of secret detention centers around the world.
   Freedom, as every American should know after spending $300 billion for
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, isn't free.
   As a Republican, I can insist on strict moral values when it comes to sex
and ignore the growing moral chasms in business, politics, sports,
journalism and the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.
   A society that loses control of its sexual urges faces unwanted
pregnancies, socially transmitted disease, broken families. Those
overzealous about wealth, however, produce only a higher GDP, lifelong
security for their family and more minimum wage jobs for the lower
classes. What's wrong with that?
   As a Republican, I can favor strict punishment of criminals, except for
those who happen to be my friends or neighbors. Isn't that the very
definition of community -- looking out for friends and family?
   I will be pro-death penalty and anti-abortion, pro-child but anti-child
care, for education but against funding of public schools. As a
Republican, I'll have a better chance of getting to spout my opinions in
the media, which for some reason seems convinced that since Bush was
re-elected with the smallest electoral margin of any sitting president in
history, liberals are passe.
   As a Republican, I'll say goodbye to "old Jesus" and hello to "new Jesus.
" Sure Christ started out as a liberal Jew, and look where that got him.
Compassion, love and diatribes against the rich only encourage the weak
and punish the most successful among us. The Jesus that Republicans
worship is a muscular, decisive, pro-war crusader hard at work cleansing
the world of evildoers, not, God forbid, turning the other cheek.
   My decision to become a Republican didn't come easily. For years I clung
to the idea that the foundation of a democratic society was our implied
social contract, each of us committing some level of personal sacrifice to
the common good of all.
   I regarded taxes as dues we pay for better roads and schools, safe
inspection of meat and dairy products, maintenance of parks and protection
of wilderness areas. I see now that looking out for the common good
resulted in shortchanging the most important element in this formula --
me.
   Let Democrats continue promising the "greatest good for the greatest
number." Republicans clearly have my number -- No. 1.
   I'm sure a lot of my friends reading this will ask me, "How can you
sleep?" My answer will be, "Who's got time? I'm busy earning money." While
they're bellyaching about rising deficits, the outsourcing of jobs and
casualties in Iraq, I'll be marveling at the march of freedom in the
Middle East, upticks in the GDP and the president's plan to link Social
Security to the magic of the marketplace.
   As a Republican, I simply won't listen to bad news anymore. Bad news
doesn't get me or my family anywhere. If you don't have anything good to
say about somebody, don't say anything at all -- unless it happens to be
about a Democrat, of course.
   Jeff Gillenkirk was a speechwriter for former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.
He lives in San Francisco. Contact us at insight@sfchronicle.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005 SF Chronicle


From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 31 07:42:05 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 30 16:48:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: C.I.A. Expanding Terror Battle Under Guise
	of Charter Flights
Message-ID: <20050531134221.50C3211F796@lax-gw07.mroute.net>

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NATIONAL | May 31, 2005

C.I.A. Expanding Terror Battle Under Guise of Charter Flights
By SCOTT SHANE, STEPHEN GREY and MARGOT WILLIAMS

Behind a cover of front companies and shell corporations, the C.I.A. has rapidly expanded its air operations as it has pursued and questioned terrorist suspects.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/national/31planes.html?ex=1118203200&en=ba55cd837e6ccc92&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 31 07:42:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 30 16:49:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Repairing the Alternative Tax
Message-ID: <20050531134254.3BBC983DE3@lax-gw03.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

OPINION | May 31, 2005

Repairing the Alternative Tax


Congress needs to curb aggressive tax sheltering while preserving legitimate tax breaks for middle-income taxpayers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/opinion/31tue1.html?ex=1118203200&en=5487d9b0cd4970eb&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 31 07:43:02 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 30 16:49:37 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Devoid of Content
Message-ID: <20050531134309.EC5579FBF1@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

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OPINION | May 31, 2005

Op-Ed Contributor: Devoid of Content
By STANLEY FISH

Students can't write clean English sentences because most composition courses teach content over form.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/opinion/31fish.html?ex=1118203200&en=bd5d960dada6b6d9&ei=5070




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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 31 07:44:36 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 30 16:51:12 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Another Anxious Journey for Chalabi: Across
	the Iraq Insurgency's Heartland
Message-ID: <20050531134443.8439C23700B@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 31, 2005

Another Anxious Journey for Chalabi: Across the Iraq Insurgency's Heartland
By SABRINA TAVERNISE

A month into a new job as a deputy prime minister in the new Shiite-led government, Ahmed Chalabi has set out on a road trip across the Sunni Arab heartland.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/international/middleeast/31chalabi.html?ex=1118203200&en=cabfc815f5aafd4a&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 31 07:45:39 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 30 16:52:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] =?iso-8859-1?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_Christian_Democrats_N?=
	=?iso-8859-1?q?ame_Challenger_to_Schr=F6der_in_Elections?=
Message-ID: <20050531134546.B51DE237072@lax-gw01.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | May 31, 2005

Christian Democrats Name Challenger to Schröder in Elections
By JUDY DEMPSEY

Angela Merkel was confirmed by the Christian Democrats as their candidate to challenge Gerhard Schröder for chancellor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/international/europe/31germany.html?ex=1118203200&en=379c1449a73df4ed&ei=5070



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From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 31 07:45:56 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 30 16:52:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Ballot in Beirut Is Swept by Son of Slain
	Leader
Message-ID: <20050531134603.863EF13B7D4@lax-gw04.mroute.net>

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INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 31, 2005

Ballot in Beirut Is Swept by Son of Slain Leader
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

A heavily favored slate led by Saad Hariri, the son of the assassinated Lebanese former prime minister Rafik Hariri, clinched all 19 of the capital's parliamentary seats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/international/middleeast/31lebanon.html?ex=1118203200&en=a1428712043a5bf2&ei=5070



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Watch the teaser trailer now for ROLL BOUNCE - in theaters September 23

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From michael at intrafi.com  Tue May 31 07:46:02 2005
From: michael at intrafi.com (michael@intrafi.com)
Date: Mon May 30 17:52:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Gulf Between Top, Bottom Gets Wider
Message-ID: <14244602.1117550762736.JavaMail.turbine@s77>

This story was sent to you by: michael butler

--------------------
Gulf Between Top, Bottom Gets Wider 
--------------------

A Times survey of the state's largest companies shows that CEOs' pay is growing at a much faster pace than that of rank-and-file employees.

By Kathy M. Kristof
Times Staff Writer

May 31 2005

Everyone knows that the top dog makes a lot more than the rest of the pack. But the big pay hikes awarded to chief executives are leaving the pack even further behind each year, The Times' annual executive compensation survey shows. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-execpay31may31,0,2920420.story 

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Tue May 31 09:01:47 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Mon May 30 19:08:16 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] W. Mark Felt is Deep Throat
Message-ID: <20050531160148.61095.qmail@web53003.mail.yahoo.com>

Ex-FBI official says he's 'Deep Throat' 
Magazine quotes him as saying he was 'doing his
duty'
MSNBC

W. Mark Felt, who retired from the FBI after
rising to its second most senior position, has
identified himself as the "Deep Throat" source
quoted by The Washington Post to break the
Watergate scandal that led to President Nixon's
resignation, Vanity Fair magazine said Tuesday.

"I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat," he
told John D. O'Connor, the author of Vanity
Fair's exclusive that appears in its July issue.

Felt, now 91 and living in Santa Rosa, Calif.
reportedly gave O'Connor permission to disclose
his identity.

"The Felt family cooperated fully, providing old
photographs for the story and agreeing to sit for
portraits," Vanity Fair stated in a press
release.

Felt said he was "only doing his duty" and did
not seek to bring down Nixon over the cover-up of
a break-in at Democratic Party offices in the
Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8047258/print/1/displaymode/1098/
From mblaxill at yahoo.com  Tue May 31 09:14:58 2005
From: mblaxill at yahoo.com (Mike Blaxill)
Date: Mon May 30 19:21:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] link to Vanity Fair Deep Throat pdf
Message-ID: <20050531161458.96099.qmail@web53002.mail.yahoo.com>

enjoy!

http://www.vanityfair.com/pdf/pressroom/advance1.pdf
From ialterman at nyc.rr.com  Tue May 31 10:49:38 2005
From: ialterman at nyc.rr.com (ialterman@nyc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 30 19:57:07 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] NYTimes.com: Israel's 'Mr. TV' Faults Settlements in
	Documentary
Message-ID: <20050531165004.561779FD00@lax-gw05.mroute.net>

This page was sent to you by: ialterman@nyc.rr.com.

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | May 31, 2005

Israel's 'Mr. TV' Faults Settlements in Documentary
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Haim Yavin's documentary is pessimistic, angry and intensely personal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/international/middleeast/31mideast.html?ex=1118203200&en=4ae4144dfa7396b4&ei=5070



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From michael at michaelbutler.com  Tue May 31 11:14:51 2005
From: michael at michaelbutler.com (Michael Butler)
Date: Mon May 30 21:22:27 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] US court overturns Arthur Andersen conviction
Message-ID: <BEC221DB.20F47%michael@michaelbutler.com>

US court overturns Arthur Andersen conviction
>By Patti Waldmeir in Washington
>Published: May 31 2005 15:55 | Last updated: May 31 2005 17:53
>>

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the Enron-related conviction of
Arthur Andersen, the former accounting giant, dealing a blow to the US
government's aggressive corporate fraud crackdown.

In a ruling that was immediately welcomed by the US business community and
white collar defendant groups, the court said Andersen's conviction - in the
biggest corporate trial of the post-Enron period - was based on faulty jury
instructions.

Andersen was convicted in 2002 on a charge of witness tampering, after
Andersen officials urged employees to comply with the firm's document
retention policy, which led to the shredding of some documents connected to
the firm's audits of Enron.

The instructions indicated that the jury "need not find any consciousness of
wrongdoing in order to convict," Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote for a
unanimous court, adding that it was "striking how little culpability the
instructions required".

The ruling stressed that withholding information from the government was not
itself a crime. "Under ordinary circumstances, it is not wrongful for a
manager to instruct his employees to comply with a valid document retention
policy, even though the policy, in part, is created to keep certain
information from others, including the government," he wrote.

The decision comes too late to help Andersen, which now has only 200
employees, mostly lawyers and administrators.

But Stephanie Martz of the white collar crime project of the National
Association of Criminal Defence Laywers said it could help other white
collar defendants: "The point this opinion makes is that is perfectly legal
under the adversarial system to withhold information under many
circumstances."

Robin Conrad of the US Chamber of Commerce said the case highlighted the
consequences of overly aggressive fraud prosecutions "This is an instance
where the collateral damage of over-aggressive enforcement takes its toll on
the average citizen," she said, noting that thousands of people lost their
jobs after Andersen's conviction.

The ruling does not preclude the possibility of a new trial. The US justice
department said on Tuesday that it would "carefully examine today's decision
and determine whether to re-try the case".

"We remain convinced that even the most powerful corporations have the
responsibility of adhering to the rule of law," acting assistant attorney
general John Richter said.

A ruling against Andersen could have had enormous consequences for
businesses, which regularly discard files both for practical reasons and to
avoid litigation.

>
>
>
 
 
 
Find this article at:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/653d145c-d1e0-11d9-8c82-00000e2511c8,ft_acl=_ftaler
t_ftarc_ftcol_ftfre_ftindsum_ftmywap_ftprem_ftspecial_ftsurvey_ftworldsub_ft
ym_ftymarc_ic_ipadmintool_nbe_poapp_printedn_psapp_reg,s01=1.html
 

From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May 31 11:55:16 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 30 22:01:50 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Geldof unveils Live 8 show plans
Message-ID: <20050531_185516_037325.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Geldof unveils Live 8 show plans **
Bob Geldof announces the line-up for a series of worldwide concerts aimed at highlighting global poverty.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/4594865.stm >


** BBC Daily E-mail **
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From hecate at diamonddragon.com  Tue May 31 11:56:20 2005
From: hecate at diamonddragon.com (Hecate)
Date: Mon May 30 22:02:49 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] BBC E-mail: Call for release of HK journalist
Message-ID: <20050531_185620_036670.hecate@diamonddragon.com>

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



** Call for release of HK journalist **
The International Federation of Journalists is "gravely concerned" by China's arrest of a Hong Kong journalist.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4596117.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 written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have?been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 31 14:47:40 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (Harold Sifton)
Date: Tue May 31 00:54:15 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Fw: News Alert: Woodward Confirms Identity of 'Deep
	Throat'
Message-ID: <002701c5662a$5ec05610$4d3fe440@Harold>


----- Original Message ----- 
From: washingtonpost.com 
To: harry.sifton@sympatico.ca 
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 5:46 PM
Subject: News Alert: Woodward Confirms Identity of 'Deep Throat'


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     News Alert  5:12 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 31, 2005
      Woodward Confirms Identity of 'Deep Throat' 
      Former FBI official W. Mark Felt was the source for leaked secrets about Nixon's Watergate coverup, The Washington Post confirms after Felt's admission. 

     
           
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 31 14:51:15 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 31 00:57:43 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from:
	harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
Message-ID: <26219084.1117576276086.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent this message from harry.sifton@sympatico.ca as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Personal Message:
 Lawyers win, Justice looses...... so do the people!!
 
 Court Overturns Arthur Andersen Conviction
 
 By Fred Barbash
 
 The Supreme Court today threw out the June 2002 conviction of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm for destroying Enron Corp.-related documents, ruling unanimously that the jury instructions at the trial for the now-defunct company were improper.
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 31 14:49:08 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 31 00:58:23 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] washingtonpost.com
	NewsAlert:WoodwardConfirmsIdentityofDeepThroat newsletter
	from: harry.sifton@sympatico.ca
Message-ID: <5226665.1117576149407.JavaMail.wlogic@sane6>

You have been sent the NewsAlert:WoodwardConfirmsIdentityofDeepThroat newsletter from harry.sifton@sympatico.ca as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com <br><br>Personal Message:<br>Now we know !!<br><br>[-$p->{'#From'} = 'washingtonpost.com <NewsAlert@letters.washingtonpost.com>';-]  [-$p->{'#Subject'} = "News Alert: Woodward Confirms Identity of Deep Throat";-]
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/31/AR2005053100655.html?referrer=email" target="">Woodward Confirms Identity of Deep Throat</a><br/><!-- BREAK -->The Washington Post today confirmed that W. Mark Felt, a former number-two official at the FBI, was "Deep Throat," the secretive source who provided information that helped unravel the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s and contributed to the resignation of president Richard M. Nixon.<br/><!-- BREAK --><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:11px;color:#000000;font-weight:bold">


































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From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Tue May 31 17:22:36 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC News Online)
Date: Tue May 31 03:29:40 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC News - WASHINGTON POST CONFIRMS FORMER FBI OFFICIAL
	WAS 'DEEP THROAT'
Message-ID: <20050601002236.834511B691@nmweb07.nm.cbc.ca>

This email has been sent to you by harry.sympatico.ca
The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS ONLINE
at http://www.cbc.ca/news
____________________________________________________
WASHINGTON POST CONFIRMS FORMER FBI OFFICIAL WAS 'DEEP THROAT'
WebPosted Tue May 31 12:04:20 2005

---The Washington Post confirmed on Tuesday that W. Mark Felt, a former
deputy associate director of the FBI, was "Deep Throat," the source that
provided the newspaper with some of its biggest scoops during the
Watergate scandal.

Felt, who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., had long been suspected of being
the anonymous source used by the Post. Watergate eventually led to the
resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Vanity Fair magazine unveiled his claim on Tuesday, promoting an upcoming
article. It was confirmed by his family shortly after.

"The family believes my grandfather, Mark Felt Sr., is a great American
hero who went well above and beyond the call of duty at much risk to
himself to save his country from a horrible injustice," said grandson
Nick Jones, reading from a statement. "We all sincerely hope the country
will see him this way as well."

"As he recently told my mother, 'I guess people used to think Deep Throat
was a criminal, but now they think he was a hero.'"

The Vanity Fair article, to appear in the magazine's July issue, says
the 91-year-old's two children persuaded their father to come forward.
Felt gave the article's author, John D. O'Connor, permission to reveal
his identity.

"I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat," Felt told O'Connor, the
magazine said in a press release issued on Tuesday.

Felt told O'Connor he felt he was "doing his duty" and wasn't trying to
topple Nixon, says the article.

It has been reported that Nixon believed Felt was the source of
the leaks.

Carl Bernstein, who along with Bob Woodward, broke many of the Watergate
stories in the Post, confirmed Felt's claims.

In a statement the two reporters said, "W. Mark Felt was 'Deep Throat'
and helped us immeasurably in our Watergate coverage. However, as the
record shows, many other sources and officials assisted us and other
reporters for the hundreds of stories that were written in the Washington
Post about Watergate."

Woodward and Bernstein had previously said they would only identify their
source when he died.

        Former Post editor Ben Bradlee, the third and final person to
        know the identity, also confirmed that Felt was the source.

Felt was first identified as Deep Throat in 1992 by author Ronald Kessler
in an Atlantic Monthly article.

Nicknamed after a porn movie popular at the time, Deep Throat's role in
Watergate was divulged in Woodward and Bernstein's book All the
President's Men . A 1976 film of the same name won an Academy Award for
its screenplay.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca  Tue May 31 17:23:55 2005
From: nwonline at toronto.cbc.ca (CBC Arts)
Date: Tue May 31 03:30:25 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] CBC Arts - ORIGINALS RETURN,
	NEW ACTS CONFIRMED FOR LIVE 8 
Message-ID: <20050601002355.9D5C01B691@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 ARTS
at http://www.cbc.ca/arts
____________________________________________________
ORIGINALS RETURN, NEW ACTS CONFIRMED FOR LIVE 8 
WebPosted Tue May 31 09:02:15 2005

---Paul McCartney, U2 and other top international musical acts will be on
the lineup at July's Live 8 concerts, organizer Bob Geldof said Tuesday.

The July 2 concerts are aimed at raising awareness of poverty in
developing countries but will be free and are not intended to
raise money.

"We don't want people's money. We want them," Geldof told a news
conference Tuesday.

The concerts, set for five venues in the U.S. and Europe, will be held
just days before the leaders of the Group of Eight industrial countries
meet in Scotland. The meeting will be a "unique opportunity for Britain
to do something unparalleled in the world &#8230; to tilt the world a
little bit on its axis in favor of the poor," Geldof said.

RELATED STORY: Don't call it Live Aid II: Geldof, Ure confirm concert

The concerts will take place at five venues: London's Hyde Park, the
Museum of Art in Philadelphia, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the
Circus Maximus in Rome. Negotiations for the Paris venue, possibly near
the Eiffel Tower, continue, Geldof said.

Performers participating in Live 8 include: Original Live Aid performers
McCartney, U2, the Rolling Stones and Madonna, as well as Elton John,
Coldplay, Prince, the Scissor Sisters and Joss Stone in London. Stevie
Wonder, Sarah McLachlan, Will Smith, Bon Jovi, the Dave Matthews Band and
P. Diddy in Philadelphia. Crosby, Stills and Nash, Lauryn Hill and Brian
Wilson in Berlin. Youssou N'Dour, Andrea Bocelli, Jamiroquai and Placebo
in Paris. Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Duran Duran in Rome.

Last week, Sting, another original Live Aid participant, confirmed his
attendance.

"Bob called me up and said I was doing it," Sting said at a songwriting
awards ceremony. "He doesn't ask you, he tells you."

There are plans for concerts in cities in the remaining G-8 countries
&#8211; Japan, Canada and Russia &#8211; but organizers didn't give
further details.

The original Live Aid took place simultaneously in London and
Philadelphia on July 13, 1985, and included legendary performances by
McCartney, U2, the Rolling Stones, the reunions of rock icons Led
Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, as well as such top acts as David Bowie,
Queen, Duran Duran and Run DMC. Phil Collins played both locations on
the same day.

FROM CBC ARCHIVES: Banding Together: Singing Out for Disaster Relief

The event was seen by 1.5 billion people around the world, and raised the
equivalent of $167 million to fight famine in Ethiopia.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.
From swiggard at comcast.net  Tue May 31 17:52:42 2005
From: swiggard at comcast.net (swiggard@comcast.net)
Date: Tue May 31 03:59:18 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A washingtonpost.com article from: swiggard@comcast.net
Message-ID: <24785620.1117587163682.JavaMail.wlogic@sane5>

You have been sent this message from swiggard@comcast.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com 
 
 Bush's Political Capital Spent, Voices in Both Parties Suggest
 
 By Peter Baker and Jim VandeHei
 
  Two days after winning reelection last fall, President Bush declared that he had earned plenty of "political capital, and now I intend to spend it." Six months later, according to Republicans and Democrats alike, his bank account has been significantly drained.
 
 In the past week alone, the Republican-led House defied his veto threat and passed legislation promoting stem cell research; Senate Democrats blocked confirmation, at least temporarily, of his choice for U.N. ambassador; and a rump group of GOP senators abandoned the president in his battle to win floor votes for all of his judicial nominees.
 
 With his approval ratings in public opinion polls at the lowest level of his presidency, Bush has been stymied so far in his campaign to restructure Social Security. On the international front, violence has surged again in Iraq in recent weeks, dispelling much of the optimism generated by the purple-stained-finger elections back in January, while allies such as Egypt and Uzbekistan have complicated his campaign to spread democracy.
 
 The series of setbacks on the domestic front could signal that the president has weakened leverage over his party, a situation that could embolden the opposition, according to analysts and politicians from both sides. Bush faces the potential of a summer of discontent when his capacity to muscle political Washington into following his lead seems to have diminished and few easy victories appear on the horizon.
 
 "He has really burned up whatever mandate he had from that last election," said Leon E. Panetta, who served as White House chief of staff during President Bill Clinton's second term. "You can't slam-dunk issues in Washington. You can't just say, 'This is what I want done' and by mandate get it done. It's a lesson everybody has to learn, and sometimes you learn it the hard way."
 
 Through more than four years in the White House, the signature of Bush's leadership has been that he does not panic in the face of bad poll numbers. Yet many Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the lobbyist corridor of K Street worry about a season of drift and complain that the White House has not listened to their concerns. In recent meetings, House Republicans have discussed putting more pressure on the White House to move beyond Social Security and talk up different issues, such as health care and tax reform, according to Republican officials who asked not to be named to avoid angering Bush's team.
 
 "There is a growing sense of frustration with the president and the White House, quite frankly," said an influential Republican member of Congress. "The term I hear most often is 'tin ear,' " especially when it comes to pushing Social Security so aggressively at a time when the public is worried more about jobs and gasoline prices. "We could not have a worse message at a worse time."
 
 Many experienced Washington hands believe that Bush has the opportunity to reestablish his clout if he focuses his efforts. "Every president goes through patches like this," Newt Gingrich, the Republican former House speaker, said in an interview. "[President Ronald] Reagan had a difficult patch in August '81, but he came back and was strongly successful. Clinton, if you'll remember, in June or July of '95 looked like he couldn't get anything done and then won reelection. These things come and go."
 
 To get back on track, Gingrich said, Bush should pare down his Social Security plan to its central element, personal investment accounts funded by payroll taxes. "I don't think he can get complex reform through," Gingrich said. "It's too hard with the AARP opposing you and all of the Democrats lined up against it."
 
 Bush has had a hard time persuading Congress to go along with his agenda, in part because surveys show that much of the public has soured on him and his priorities. In the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, taken last month, 47 percent of Americans approved of Bush's performance, tying the lowest marks he ever received in that survey, back in mid-2004, when Democrats were airing tens of millions of dollars' worth of campaign attack ads.
 
 Similarly, just 31 percent approved of his handling of Social Security, an all-time low in the Post-ABC poll, while only 40 percent gave him good marks for his stewardship of the economy and 42 percent for his management of Iraq, both ratings close to the lowest ever recorded in those areas. Other surveys have recorded similar findings, with Bush's approval rating as low as 43 percent.
 
 Such weakness has unleashed the first mutterings of those dreaded second-term words, "lame duck," however premature it might be with 3 1/2 years left in his tenure. "The Democrats are doing everything they can to make this president a lame duck," Republican consultant Ed Rollins complained on Fox News on Friday. William Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard, wrote recently about "the impression -- and the reality -- of disarray" in urging Bush to wage a strong fight for the nomination of John R. Bolton as U.N. ambassador.
 
 "He's not a lame duck yet, but there are rumblings," said Robert Dallek, a presidential historian. Dallek said Bush's recent travails remind him of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who overreached in his second term by trying to pack the Supreme Court, a move that backfired. "Second terms are treacherous, and presidents enter into a minefield where they really must shepherd their credibility and political capital," he said.
 
 Bush started off his second term with a string of important victories, pushing through measures to make it harder to file class-action lawsuits against big corporations and to wipe out debts by filing for personal bankruptcy. Congress passed its first budget resolution in years, largely along the lines of Bush's proposals, and gave him nearly everything he asked for in an $82 billion supplemental appropriations bill to pay for war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
 The White House rejects talk of drift by pointing to such victories. Asked at a briefing last week about the possible "onset of lame-duck status around here," White House press secretary Scott McClellan ticked off a list of accomplishments.
 
 "This Congress has been in place for just over four months now, and we have made significant progress," he said. Addressing the troubled Social Security plan, he added: "Sometimes the legislative process isn't going to move as fast as we would all like, particularly on an issue that was this difficult."
 
 Another senior White House official, who asked to remain anonymous to offer a franker assessment, acknowledged the perception problem. "I will admit it's a challenge to shine the light on the progress," the official said. "The victories have been overshadowed by partisan drama."
 
 Nowhere was there more drama than in the Senate last week, when 14 senators from both parties forged a deal without White House approval that would allow some, but not all, of Bush's stalled judicial nominees to receive floor votes. The deal on judges was followed quickly by a vote to shut down a filibuster on Bolton's nomination, a vote that Bush and the GOP lost.
 
 The House also rejected Bush by passing a measure easing his restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, with 50 Republicans joining most Democrats despite the threat of a presidential veto. The Senate has also advanced a more expensive highway bill than Bush has deemed acceptable, while his efforts to win passage for a Central American trade pact and an immigration guest worker program are stalled.
 
 Overseas, violence in Iraq has killed about 700 civilians and at least 63 U.S. troops this month, frustrating efforts to stabilize the situation after January's successful parliamentary elections. The governments of two U.S. allies resorted to crackdowns on opponents. In Uzbekistan, government forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing hundreds, while in Egypt, pro-government gangs beat up protesters after a visit by Laura Bush.
 
 In some ways, allies said, Bush has run into resistance because he swings for the fences, taking on especially hard issues. By making Social Security the centerpiece of his domestic blueprint, he guaranteed a tough legislative campaign. But it has begun to take its toll on the rest of his agenda as well. The White House had hoped to be far enough along with Social Security by summer to launch his second top priority, overhaul of the tax code. That is likely to be delayed until next year.
 
 Bush's chief strategist, Karl Rove, is said by colleagues to remain optimistic that Congress will deliver Social Security legislation that includes personal accounts. But other aides privately are beginning to talk about whether they could accept a deal that does not include the accounts.
 
 John D. Podesta, a top Clinton aide who runs the Center for American Progress, a research institute that promotes ideas that counter conservative policies, said Bush made the mistake of trying to turn a successful election strategy of catering to his base into a governing philosophy that excludes Democrats.
 
 "What surprises me is that they seem to be unable to adjust particularly to the circumstances," Podesta said. "They promoted their Social Security case. It bombed. I would have thought they would have tried to change the subject or tried a different strategy. 'You're with us or against us' works well when you're fighting al Qaeda, but it doesn't with Social Security, and they don't seem to have another play in the book."
 
 Kenneth M. Duberstein, who was White House chief of staff during Reagan's second term, said after the congressional recess Bush needs "to seize the momentum" on energy legislation, the Central American free trade pact, spending bills and a Social Security solvency plan.
 
 "After all, the president is always in the driver's seat, as all presidents are, and he cannot be distracted by speed bumps and detours along the way," Duberstein said. "The president needs to define victories in ways that he can achieve them."
 
 
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From harry.sifton at sympatico.ca  Tue May 31 19:08:58 2005
From: harry.sifton at sympatico.ca (harry.sifton@sympatico.ca)
Date: Tue May 31 05:15:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] A Message from harry
Message-ID: <048601c5664e$df0b2920$ba08a8c0@sympatico.msn.clr>

harry has visited Sympatico / MSN Sports at
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 31 18:30:00 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 31 16:58:32 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Amnesty International Urges Nations to Probe U.S.
	Officials Over Torture
Message-ID: <200505312358.j4VNwUrm028329@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/1851

Group Urges Nations to Probe U.S. Officials Over 
Torture

May 26 - Amnesty International called Wednesday on all countries that 
are signatories to the Geneva Conventions and the Convention against 
Torture to investigate top US officials suspected of developing or 
implementing interrogation techniques involving torture or cruel 
treatment of detainees.

The human rights group argued that the international community has 
an obligation to hold accountable those who allegedly formulated the 
US policies, including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney 
General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA Director George Tenet and 
President George W. Bush.

Amnesty International asserted that more than 125 countries currently 
have laws allowing them to investigate and possibly arrest any foreign 
official traveling within their borders who has been implicated in such 
crimes. As an example, the organization pointed to the 1998 arrest in 
London of former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet, who was 
charged with human rights violations in connection with the torture and 
"disappearances" of thousands in his country between 1973 and 1990.

Irene Khan, Amnesty International's secretary general, said in the 
organization's 2005 Annual Report, that the fact that the US has 
punished more than 100 members of its armed forces while leaving 
alone those higher in the chain of command "grants a license to others 
to commit abuse with impunity and audacity."

In a related story, on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch, another 
international organization, accused FBI agents of threatening to 
transfer two US citizens being held in Pakistan to Guant?namo if they 
did not confess to being terrorists. The group further accused the FBI 
of failing to stop Pakistani authorities from torturing the men or provide 
the men with consular facilities while they were held for eight months 
without charges.
--Dave Reynolds

? 2005 The NewStandard. See our reprint policy.


-- 
You are currently on Mha Atma's Earth Action Network email list, 
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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 31 18:02:21 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue May 31 16:58:53 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] How advertisers squelch truth in corporate media
Message-ID: <200505312358.j4VNwooS028339@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Today's commentary:
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-05/26solomon.cfm

==================================
We hear the least about the most pervasive media filtration - when
thoughts go nowhere because journalists have been made to understand the
limits of their profession in the present day. Advertising is part of the
corporatized atmosphere that sucks the oxygen out of the newsrooms. The
sound of an idea being smothered in its crib doesn't rise to the decibels
of a bark or even a whimper. And media consumers don't know what they're
missing. 

ZNet Commentary
When Media Dogs Don't Bark May 26, 2005
By Norman Solomon 

The recent decision by General Motors to pull its advertising from the Los
Angeles Times has not gone over very well. 

"Blame the press," Daily Variety scoffed in mid-April, after several days
of publicity about the automaker's move. "That's the latest coping
mechanism for General Motors, whose slumping share price and falling
profits have generated a wave of negative media coverage. ... GM isn't the
first Fortune 500 company to retaliate against a newspaper's editorial
coverage by taking a punch at its ad division. But most companies
understand the tactic just doesn't work; it only generates more bad
coverage." 

In the Motor City, the Detroit News business writer Daniel Howes told
readers that the monetary slap at the L.A. Times exposes "GM's thinning
corporate skin." Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam had this to say: "On the
one hand, the decision, which may affect up to $20 million in ad spending,
sends a powerful message to the Times. On the other hand, it sends a
powerful message to the country about the idiots who are running GM." 

Drawing more attention to GM's financial woes, the ad-yanking gambit is
likely to backfire. But news outlets are far from immune to advertiser
pressure. 

By coincidence, the conflict between General Motors and the L.A. Times
went public just as a new report highlighted the media clout of
advertisers and other powerful interests in business and government. The
media watch group FAIR (where I'm an associate) released the results of
its fifth annual "Fear & Favor" report on "how power shapes the news." 

The FAIR report, by Peter Hart and Julie Hollar, provides context with
sobering information: "A survey of media workers by four industry labor
unions found respondents concerned about 'pressure from advertisers trying
to shape coverage' as well as 'outside control of editorial policy.' In
May [2004], the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released a
survey of media professionals that found reporters concerned about how
bottom-line pressures were affecting news quality and integrity. In their
summary ... Bill Kovach, Tom Rosensteil and Amy Mitchell wrote that
journalists 'report more cases of advertisers and owners breaching the
independence of the newsroom."

Among the examples in the new "Fear & Favor" report are these gems: 

* Last July, "when furniture giant Ikea opened a new store in New Haven,
Conn., the New Haven Register cranked out 12 Ikea stories in eight
straight days - accompanied by at least 17 photographs and a sidebar on
product information - with headlines such as 'Ikea's Focus on Child Labor
Issues Reflects Ethic of Social Responsibility' and 'Ikea Employees Take
Pride in Level of Responsibility Company Affords Them.' The
back-scratching reached its apex the day of the grand opening, when the
Register heralded the arrival of Ikea and fellow super-store Wal-Mart and
remarked upon Ikea's 'astonishingly low prices - a coffee table for $99, a
flowing watering can for $1.99, a woven rocking chair, $59.' Sound like an
ad' It was the Register's lead editorial." 

* In January 2004, Boston Herald readers "could easily have mistaken the
paper's front-page ad for news. When discount airline JetBlue launched
several new flight services out of Boston's Logan Airport, Bostonians who
picked up a free promotional Herald that day found that every item on the
front page was devoted exclusively to the airline, including the lead
headline, 'JetBlue Arrives, Promises a Free TV to All Who Fly,' and
teasers like 'Flight Attendant Gives Passenger Entire Can of Soda.' After
the front page, the paper resumed its actual news content - but nowhere
did the Herald indicate that its front page was in fact a paid
advertisement, and the 20,000 recipients of the promo paper missed out on
the actual front-page news of the day." 

* When a TV station in Kirksville, Mo., "ran a news report that quoted a
company that didn't advertise on the station rather than a competitor that
did, the angry advertiser pulled its ads from the station. KTVO vice
president and general manager Crystal Amini-Rad quickly apologized to the
sales staff in a memo that also required news reporters to 'have access to
an active advertiser list of sources which you can tap into' for expert
opinion and industry comment - and told reporters that they 'should always
go' to station advertisers first on any story." 

* In Silver City, N.M., when KNFT Radio "brought on progressive host Kyle
Johnson as an alternative to the seven hours of Rush Limbaugh, Michael
Savage and Bill O'Reilly the station aired every weekday, KNFT's
advertisers boycotted the show. The station made Johnson raise the cash to
pay for his airtime, and his listeners anted up. But the advertisers
threatened to boycott the entire station if Johnson stayed on; faced with
the prospect of a nearly $10,000-a-month loss, the station manager
reluctantly gave the progressive host the boot." 

Such incidents are low profile, in contrast to the recent General Motors
move against the Los Angeles Times. But the most insidious instances of
advertiser pressure are the ones we never hear about - implemented with
winks and nods or the simple tacit understanding that the media business
is, after all, a business. In the mysterious case of why mainstream news
outlets aren't more aggressive in challenging corporate power large and
small, Sherlock Holmes would probably conclude that the most profound
clues are to be found when the media dogs don't bark. 

We hear the least about the most pervasive media filtration - when
thoughts go nowhere because journalists have been made to understand the
limits of their profession in the present day. Advertising is part of the
corporatized atmosphere that sucks the oxygen out of the newsrooms. The
sound of an idea being smothered in its crib doesn't rise to the decibels
of a bark or even a whimper. And media consumers don't know what they're
missing. 

________________________________ 

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, 
option D (up to 3 emails/day).  To be removed, or to switch options 
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From Hawaiipolo at cs.com  Tue May 31 20:10:21 2005
From: Hawaiipolo at cs.com (Hawaiipolo@cs.com)
Date: Tue May 31 22:04:29 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] (no subject)
Message-ID: <200505312355.j4VNt5WK028317@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

 Here's something to make your hair stand on end....MD> 
> America's Religious Right - Saints or Subversives? 
> By Steve Weissman 
> t r u t h o u t | Investigation 
> Part V: "The Ayatollah of Holy Rollers" 
> 
> 
> Tuesday 31 May 2005 
> Death by stoning for atheists, adulterers, and practicing male homosexuals. 
> Stoning - or possibly burning at the stake - for atheists, heretics, 
> religious apostates, followers of other religions who proselytize, unmarried females 
> who are unchaste, incorrigible juvenile delinquents, and children who curse 
> or strike their parents. 
> And, oh yes, death to witches, Satanists, and those who commit blasphemy. 
> Does this sound like a radical Islamist nightmare, a replay of Afghanistan 
> under the Taliban? 
> Welcome to the United States of America as Christian Reconstructionists hope 
> to run it. Not as a democracy, which they see as secular heresy. But as a 
> reconstructed Christian nation, complete with biblically sanctioned flogging 
> and slavery. 
> The Bible rules, OK? And, in its name, a small elect of true believers are 
> now seeking capital-D Dominion over every aspects of our government, laws, 
> education, and personal lives. 
> An Unlikely Prophet 
> Reconstructionists have become the extremists to watch, and the key to 
> understanding the current political zing of everyone on the religious right from 
> Sunday-go-to-church Southern Baptists to neo-Nazis in Christian identity 
> militias. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rev. Rousas J. Rushdoony, founder of the Christian Reconstuctions, who would 
> replace the US Constitution with "Biblical Law." 
> (Photo: NNDB.com) 
> 
> 
> The movement and its "Dominion Theology" are relatively new, dating from the 
> publication in 1973 of The Institutes of Biblical Law by the late Rousas 
> John Rushdoony. A man of widely acclaimed brilliance and near-encyclopedic 
> knowledge, Rushdoony claimed to descend from a long line of aristocratic Armenian 
> clerics reaching back to the year 315. He himself was an ordained minister in 
> the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, not be confused with the generally liberal 
> Presbyterian Church (USA). 
> Rev. Rushdoony was no liberal. Though gentle in his personal demeanor, he 
> and his Chalcedon Foundation preached nothing less than a holy war "to demolish 
> every kind of theory, humanistic, evolutionary, idolatrous, or otherwise, 
> and every kind of rampart or opposition to the dominion of God in Christ." 
> As early as 1963, Rushdoony wrote a "Christian revisionist" historical 
> account called The Nature of the American System , in which he rejected the 
> separation of church and state. The authors of the Constitution, he wrote, intended 
> "to perpetuate a Christian order." 
> He similarly opposed the secular bent of American public schools, becoming 
> an early proponent of Christian home-schooling, which he defended as a First 
> Amendment right of their parents. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dr. Gary North, Rushdoony's son-in-law and a major figure among Christian 
> Reconstructionists. 
> (Photo: NNDB.com) 
> 
> 
> "We must use the doctrine of religious liberty ... until we train up a 
> generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral 
> law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government," explained his 
> son-in-law Gary North. "Then they will get busy constructing a Bible-based 
> social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of 
> the enemies of God." 
> Rushdoony opposed labor unions, women's equality, and civil rights laws. He 
> favored racial segregation and slavery, which he felt had benefited black 
> people because it introduced them to Christianity. He largely denied the 
> Holocaust. And he made it kosher for Christian leaders like Pat Robertson and Jerry 
> Falwell openly to despise democracy. 
> "Supernatural Christianity and democracy are inevitably enemies," wrote 
> Rushdoony, "Democracy is the great love of the failures and cowards of life." 
> In the highly divided world of Christian denominations, Rushdoony was - in 
> journalist Marghe Covino's exquisite phrase - the most unlikely "Ayatollah of 
> Holy Rollers." Few members of the Assembly of God or other evangelical, 
> Pentecostal, or charismatic churches even know his name, and they are only now 
> becoming comfortable with some of his ideas. 
> Evangelicals, who provide most of the foot soldiers for the religious right, 
> have long stressed a personal relationship with God and the importance of 
> having a born-again religious experience. Rushdoony, as an Orthodox 
> Presbyterian, focused less on how they felt their inner faith than on how they lived 
> their lives and obeyed "God's law." 
> Evangelicals immerse themselves in the New Testament and some of their 
> mega-churches at times seem almost New Age. Rushdoony was an Old Testament 
> patriarch, following in the more austere tradition of Puritan rule in the 
> Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Calvin's theocratic governance of early 16th Century 
> Geneva, and the Mosaic law of the ancient Israelites. 
> Evangelicals - or at least most of them at present - believe that Christ 
> will return to establish a Millennium of biblical rule, and many take as gospel 
> the End Time stories of the Rapture that the Rev. Tim LaHaye has popularized 
> in his "Left Behind" novels. Rushdoony saw LaHaye's dispensational prophecies 
> as "cheap grace" and "escapist theology," preaching instead that Christ 
> would return only after virtuous Christians created "a world order under God's 
> law." 
> Nor are Evangelical leaders rushing to proclaim their adherence to the 
> terrifying Christian theocracy that Rushdoony's Reconstructionists now seek. Few 
> Americans want to live like Puritans or die at the stake for committing a sin. 
> "Dominion Theology" is not an easy revolution to sell, at least not yet. 
> In the November 1998 issue of Reason , Walter Olson told of two of 
> televangelist Jerry Falwell's associates who wrote an article in which they criticized 
> the Reconstructionists for advocating ideas that even they, as biblical 
> fundamentalists, found "scary." As an example, the authors mentioned "mandating 
> the death penalty for homosexuals and drunkards." 
> Rushdoony dashed off a letter to the editor complaining. Reconstructionists, 
> he wrote, had no intention of putting drunkards to death. 
> With denials like this, the Reconstuctions "allow everyone else to feel 
> moderate," Olson concluded. "Almost any anti-abortion stance seems nuanced when 
> compared with Gary North's advocacy of public execution not just for women who 
> undergo abortions but for those who advised them to do so. And with the 
> Rushdoony faction proposing the actual judicial murder of gays, fewer blink at 
> the position of a Gary Bauer or a Janet Folger, who support laws exposing them 
> to mere imprisonment." 
> But the gap between the Biblical "moderates" and Reconstructions is getting 
> shorter every day. As an Evangelical Southern Baptist, Falwell still 
> distances himself from Rushdoony over questions of theology. But, he increasingly 
> talks of Christians exercising dominion over America's secular institutions. 
> So does the charismatic Pat Robertson. ""There is no way that government can 
> operate successfully unless led by godly men and women operating under the 
> laws of the God of Jacob," he wrote in The New World Order. 
> So do evangelical preachers like James Dobson, Don Wildmon, D. James 
> Kennedy, and Tim LaHaye. Whatever they might believe about the End Times, and no 
> matter how often they deny that they've become Reconstructionists, today's 
> evangelical leaders no longer leave the future to the power of prayer while 
> waiting passively for Christ to return. 
> "Christian Reconstructionism is a stealth theology, spreading its influence 
> throughout the Religious Right," explains journalist Frederick Clarkson, who 
> closely follows the field. As he sees it, the Reconstructionists gave 
> evangelicals a new set of ideological tools. These included Rushdoony's apocalyptic 
> vision of rule by biblical law, his analysis of America as a Christian 
> nation, the prospect of complete control, intellectual self-confidence, and a 
> positive program for political involvement. 
> All of these the evangelicals had historically lacked, while the 
> Reconstructionists wanted the one thing the evangelicals had - a huge army of followers 
> they could mobilize with their churches, Bible colleges, publishing houses, 
> and broadcasting stations. 
> "As recently as the early 1990s, most evangelicals viewed Reconstructionists 
> as a band of theological misfits without a following," says Clarkson. "All 
> that has changed, along with the numbers and character of the Christian Right. 
> The world of evangelicalism and, arguably, American politics generally will 
> not be the same." 
> If Clarkson is right, and the evidence suggests that he is, Rushdoony has 
> inspired a major revolution in American religious thought, one that now 
> threatens to provoke a political revolution as well. But before taking to the 
> barricades with Bible in hand, his troops would do well to realize that Rushdoony 
> has smuggled into their kit some very un-Christlike politics. 
> Witch Hunting 
> No surprise to those who track the religious right, Rushdoony enjoyed a long 
> friendship with Robert Welch, the founder of the John Birch Society and the 
> man who accused President Dwight Eisenhower of being a knowing Communist 
> agent. Rushdoony took great interest in how the Birchers worked and even 
> mentioned them admiringly in his epic Institutes of Biblical Law. "The key to the 
> John Birch Society's effectiveness has been a plan of operation which has a 
> strong resemblance to the early church," he wrote. Rushdoony denied ever becoming 
> a Bircher himself, but not because of any political disagreement. As he told 
> Marghe Covino of the Sacramento News &Review, "Welch always saw things in 
> terms of conspiracy and I always see things in terms of sin." A witty bon mot , 
> Rushdoony's response overstated the divergence. He, too, found conspiracies 
> everywhere. But where his friend Welch saw Reds, Rushdoony saw Satan and his 
> modern-day hellhounds, the followers not only of Karl Marx, but also of 
> Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, John Dewey, and - of course - the Unitarians. 
> "All sides of the humanistic spectrum are now, in principle, demonic; 
> communists and conservatives, anarchists and socialists, fascists and republicans," 
> he explained. 
> Pushing his rightwing politics, Rushdoony was one of the first members of 
> the secretive Council for National Policy, which the Rev. Tim LaHaye and others 
> started to bring right-wing Christians, other conservative activists, and 
> John Birchers together with wealthy patrons willing to fund them. He also 
> served on the board of Dr. Jay Grimstead's Coalition on Revival (COR), an umbrella 
> group that attempted to bridge the theological differences of competing 
> sects within an increasing emphasis on dominating secular institutions. 
> Characteristically, Rushdoony soon found fault with both the Council and 
> Coalition, as he did with most religious and political organizations. But both 
> succeeded in selling his far right politics and theocratic religious ideas to 
> millions of unsuspecting evangelicals, who had once led America's fight to 
> keep church and state forever separate. 
> They should have known better, and so should we all. "The purpose of 
> regeneration is that man reconstruct all things in conformity to God's order, not in 
> terms of man's desire for peace," Rushdoony warned in his Institutes of 
> Biblical Law. "This purpose and mission involves law and coercion." 
> A veteran of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and the New Left monthly 
> Ramparts, Steve Weissman lived for many years in London, working as a magazine 
> writer and television producer. He now lives and works in France, where he 
> writes for t r u t h o u t. 
> ------- 
> Jump to today's TO Features:                                                 
>                                                                              
>             Print This Story E-mail This Story
> 
    
    
        
    
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From referralsvr2 at referralblast.com  Tue May 31 16:42:45 2005
From: referralsvr2 at referralblast.com (Bryan Peterson)
Date: Wed Jun  1 02:01:52 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Article from Common Dreams NewsCenter
Message-ID: <200506010901.j5191mMi029364@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

Hello,

Bryan Peterson wanted to share this article with you:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0531-21.htm


Message: a BRILLIANT speech given by Mark Danner at UC Berkeley...please read!


Thanks!
______________________________________
Common Dreams
Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
www.commondreams.org


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From earth_email_list at venusproject.com  Tue May 31 12:47:07 2005
From: earth_email_list at venusproject.com (Bahram Maskanian)
Date: Wed Jun  1 02:12:21 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Halftime Report On Jimmy Walter 9/11 Eurotour
Message-ID: <200506010912.j519CFw2029376@dune.islandtechnologies.net>


HALFTIME REPORT ON JIMMY WALTER 9/11 EUROTOUR

- By Webster G. Tarpley - Madrid 29 May 2005

The Re-Open 9/11 European Tour organized and publicized by American 
philanthropist Jimmy Walter - now approaching its halfway mark - has 
already scored a significant success in moving world public opinion on 
this issue. The tour, which kicked off in Amsterdam on May 18 and will 
end in Rome on June 9, takes two international teams of speakers, plus a 
documentary film program, to eight European cities in seven countries. 
Among the participants are Canadian television producer and media critic 
Barrie Zwicker, French activist Thierry Meyssan, the president of the 
R?seau Voltaire, and leading Dutch 9/11 researcher Daan DeWit, who 
maintains the daanspeak.com website.

Joining them from the US are Twin Towers hero William Rodriguez, 
filmmaker Penny Little, lawyer Philip Berg (who is suing the Bush 
administration under the RICO statute), Kennedy assassination author 
Lisa Pease, 9/11 victim Rachel Hughes, and writers Chris Bollyn, Eric 
Hufschmidt, and Webster Tarpley.

In the kickoff press conference in Amsterdam on May 18, Jimmy Walter 
forecast that, because of the increasing political crisis of the Bush 
administration, as well as of the looming bankruptcy of the US 
government as well as of leading US companies like General Motors and 
Ford, we must reckon with new terrorist actions, prepared with the 
connivance of US government circles, before the end of this year. 
Dismissing the official 9/11 commission report as misleading and 
worthless, Walter called for the 9/11 investigation to be re-opened, 
with Europe playing a leading role in the creation of an International 
Truth Commission on the Events of September 11, 2001. Walter urged that 
every effort be made to get the International Truth Commission up and 
running this year.

Two evenings of intensive discussion in Amsterdam turned out a total of 
about 800 people. Dutch national radio and one of the main commercial 
television networks broadcast interviews with Jimmy Walter, with many 
press articles also being generated, in addition to the paid advertising 
which is going out in every city on the tour schedule. Daniel DeWit, the 
most prominent Dutch 9/11 critic, endorsed the International Commission 
and urged the Dutch public to join this effort.

The Berlin events drew about 200, with a strong presence of leading 
journalists like Juergen Elsaesser, along with 9/11 activists, many of 
whom committed to the organizing process for the International Truth 
Commission. The Berlin events were held at the Urania, the world's 
oldest institution for popular scientific education. After the meetings, 
a group of veteran German activists set up an ad hoc Berlin committee to 
help organize the International Truth Commission.

The two Paris events drew about 550 people. The master of ceremonies for 
these events was Thierry Meyssan, who shortly after 9/11 published his 
landmark analysis that no commercial airliner had hit then Pentagon. 
Meyssan pointed out that as of now, the only countries in where the 
official Bush regime account of 9/11 is untouchable by the mass media 
are the US, UK, Israel, and France. He compared French intellectuals who 
refuse to challenge Bush's 9/11 lies to the members of a French 
anti-fascist committee of 1936 who refused to accept clear evidence that 
the burning of the Berlin Reichstag in 1933 had been a provocation 
organized by the Nazis themselves. It was only around 1960 that 
academics accepted the truth about the Reichstag fire. Meyssan paid 
tribute to Jimmy Walter for helping to "free the world" from the likes 
of 9/11 with his worldwide public education campaigns.

Thierry Meyssan announced a conference to be sponsored by the R?seau 
Voltaire in Paris on November 4-5 of this year for the purpose of 
defending the concepts of international law and national sovereignty 
against the neocon unilateralist campaign, spearheaded by such figures 
as John Bolton, to destroy the United Nations. Meyssan expressed the 
hope that this conference would be attended by a broad range of 
intellectuals from 40 countries, for all of whom the real history of 
9/11 remains an open question. "R?sistons aux mensonges - n'acceptons 
pas les mensonges," said Meyssan in concluding - "Let us fight the lies, 
don't accept the lies." The 9/11 story is false, Bush was never elected, 
the invasion of Afghanistan was a crime, there never were any weapons of 
mass destruction in Iraq, he stressed.

The attendance at the Paris events was all the more remarkable because 
it coincided with the final phase of the binding French referendum on 
the draft European Union constitution, a repugnant document which would 
make oligarchy, free trade, and globalization the basic law of 25 
countries. Mass mobilization in Paris is on the side of rejecting this 
document, while big money and big media are attempting to secure its 
approval in today's vote. A June 1 advisory referendum in the 
Netherlands, also intersected by the tour, is also likely to reject the 
constitution.

In Madrid, Jimmy Walter is scheduled to meet on Tuesday May 31 with 
families of the victims of the March 11, 2004 train bombings in this 
city, which led to a mass mobilization of the Spanish people and against 
the politicians who sought to profit from these tragic events. Then the 
tour will move on the Vienna, a nodal point for European relations with 
the Middle East.

In London and Manchester, the events are being built with the help of 
the main UK 9/11 activist groups, including Simon Aronowitz of Thought 
Crime News. The Rome meetings will be addressed by Maurizio Blondet, the 
Milan journalist who is the author of the main critical study 9/11 in 
Italian.

During 2004, Jimmy Walter spent $4.5 million on advertising critical of 
the official US 9/11 story, including over 2,000 TV spots in New York 
City. He commissioned the famous Zogby International poll of August 2004 
which showed about half of New York City residents rejecting the 
official story. Walter's DVD of the Manhattan Center 9/11 truth rally of 
September 11, 2004 is being offered free of charge through the HYPERLINK 
"http://www.reopen911.org " www.reopen911.org website. A quarter million 
of these DVDs are being distributed. Walter has announced another 
100,000 DVDs in the form of subtitled versions in French, German, 
Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese.


Gabriel Day -  Wireless: 831-325-3135 9-11 Truth movement links and 
resources for awareness building, education and fundraising at 
www.911sharethetruth.com "...it does not require a majority to prevail, 
but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in 
people's minds.." - Samuel Adams

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From ean at sbcglobal.net  Tue May 31 08:13:41 2005
From: ean at sbcglobal.net (ean@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Wed Jun  1 02:43:34 2005
Subject: [Mb-civic] Stand and Be Heard: Support House Res to withdraw from
	Iraq
Message-ID: <200506010943.j519hUX2029444@dune.islandtechnologies.net>

http://pdamerica.org/articles/news/stand-be-heard.php

Stand and Be Heard
By William Rivers Pitt
Progressive Democrats of America

Friday 27 May 2005

Next week, Progressive Democrats of America, in partnership with 
United for Peace and Justice and Code Pink, will initiate a nationwide 
campaign to demand that Congress and George W. Bush immediately 
and without delay implement and execute a plan to withdraw all U.S. 
forces from Iraq. This campaign will involve calls, letters, faxes and 
direct lobbying of members of Congress. This National Call-In Week 
will begin on May 31st and continue through June 3rd.

Take action on this now: 
http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7071606

At the center of this campaign is House Continuing Resolution 35, 
authored by Representative Lynn Woolsey. H. Con. Resolution 35 calls 
for Bush and Congress to: (1) Develop and implement a plan to begin 
the immediate withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from Iraq; (2) Develop 
and implement a plan for reconstructing Iraq's civil and economic 
infrastructure; (3) Convene an emergency meeting of Iraq's leadership, 
Iraq's neighbors, the United Nations, and the Arab League to create an 
international peacekeeping force in Iraq and to replace U.S. armed 
forces, and (4) Provide the Iraqi people the opportunity to completely 
control their internal affairs.

Read the text of Rep. Woolsey's H. Con. Res. 35:  
http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/bills/?bill=6987171

The occupation of Iraq has lasted some 800 days. In that time, 1,653 
American soldiers have been killed, along with 180 soldiers from other 
nations of the ?Coalition of the Willing,' putting the butcher's bill at 
1,833 in total. Ten times that number have been wounded, many of 
them permanently. The most common injuries are to the brain; when a 
roadside bomb goes off in Iraq next to an American armored personnel 
carrier, the soldiers inside get their brains jarred within their Kevlar 
helmets. They come away without a scratch, but are never, ever the 
same again.

More than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed during this invasion 
and occupation. There is no accurate numbering of the dead, because 
we don't do body counts. At least as many have been wounded. They 
are shot by snipers, strafed by helicopters, buried under the rubble of 
their houses by bombs, incinerated by fire, and left to rot in the streets 
of cities like Falluja to be gnawed on by dogs. The only crime these 
people committed against America, in the words of MP George 
Galloway, was to be born Iraqi.

Hospitals in Iraq are without trained medical personnel and without 
doctors. Ambulances are targeted for attack by American forces 
because they are suspected of transporting ?insurgents.' Hospital 
bathrooms are filled to the walls with urine and feces because the 
plumbing does not work. Buildings that were blasted two years ago 
remain piles of shattered cement. Electrical power in the best 
neighborhoods is sporadic at best, and almost nonexistent everywhere 
else. Citizens of this oil-rich nation sit in endless lines for two days to 
receive their rationed 7.5 liters of gasoline, because the American 
corporations that have taken control of the petroleum infrastructure are 
not pumping any oil. They are sitting on it, hoarding it, keeping it for 
themselves like some kind of noxious nest egg. Unemployment stands 
at 70%.

And the rage there builds. Every day it builds, festering in the streets 
like the corpses left unburied after the echoes from bombs and bullets 
fade. The keepers of the cleansed consensus in the media tell us 
those who attack our troops are Ba'athist holdouts and foreign fighters 
who have come to Iraq for the pleasure of killing American soldiers, 
but this is only a small part of the story. Everyday Iraqi citizens who 
would never have dreamed of doing violence to anyone have taken up 
arms and now fight to rid their nation of its occupiers. Iraqi citizens who 
have seen their wives, husbands, children, parents, brothers, sisters 
and friends turned into red smears across what used to be the family 
dinner table now drink deep the bitter dregs of vengeance, because 
that is all they have left to them.

There is in the Bible a verse to describe what has been done to Iraq by 
the Bush administration, what has been done to our soldiers and their 
citizens, what has been done to us all. "For they have sown the wind," 
reads Hosea 8:7, "and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: 
the bud shall yield no meal." There is no freedom to be found in Iraq. 
There is no democracy. For sure and certain, there are no weapons of 
mass destruction, nor was there ever a threat posed by that nation 
against ours. There is only the whirlwind, and if we do not put an end to 
the crime that was this invasion and is this occupation, that whirlwind 
will consume us in fire and blood and tears.

It is enough. By all that we hold true and dear, it is more than enough. 
This must be ended.

Rep. Woolsey's efforts to bring national attention to the need for an 
end to this occupation of Iraq made it to the floor of the House of 
Representatives on May 25th. Rep. Woolsey offered an amendment to 
the Defense Authorization Bill which asked Bush to develop a plan for 
the withdrawal of American troops. Though the amendment was 
defeated, it garnered the support of a large majority of House 
Democrats. Perhaps more encouraging was the fact that five 
Republicans ? Harold Coble (NC), Walter Jones (NC), John Duncan 
(TN), Jim Leach (IA) and Ron Paul (TX) ? likewise voted in favor of the 
amendment. This happened with little advance warning and little time 
to get the grassroots mobilized, yet PDA joined with several groups 
and was able to successfully organize activists to urge 
Representatives to support the amendment.

There is daylight here. Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son Casey to this 
invasion and occupation, who lost her son after Bush proclaimed 
"Mission Accomplished," believes in her heart that there is daylight 
here. "Members of Congress know that Iraq is a mistake," says 
Sheehan. "I know, because I have spoken to many members of the 
House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans alike, who all 
acknowledge that Iraq is a catastrophe. It has been encouraging to me 
to see that conscientious Republicans have begun to split with their 
party line on such things as the Bolton nomination and the so-called 
'nuclear option.' It is time that Republican members of Congress break 
with their party and their President on the issue of Iraq, and work with 
like-minded Democratic members of Congress to get our troops out of 
the quagmire as soon as safely possible."

In the name of all that you hold dear and true, in the name of the 
soldiers who have fallen and the soldiers who still stand waiting to 
come home, in the name of the men, women and children of Iraq, both 
the living and the dead, in the name of a justice that has been all too 
absent of late, I urge you to join us in our campaign next week. Call, 
write, stomp and shout to demand this catastrophe be brought to an 
end. It can be done, and it must be done. In your hands lies a better 
future for us, for them, for the world entire.

Ask your Representatives to support Rep. Lynn Woolsey's resolution 
to end the occupation. In the name of all that you hold dear and true, 
stand and be heard.

http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7071606

Read PDA's offered plan for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and 
sign our petition: 
http://pdamerica.org/articles/news/iraq-exit-action.php

-- 
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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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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