The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism May 13, 2003 Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each: 1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. 2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. 3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. 4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. thepeoplesvoice.org

Cheney firm paid millions in bribes to Nigerian official May 13, 2003 Oliver Burkeman The reputation of Halliburton, the oil industry giant once run by Vice-President Dick Cheney, took a new blow yesterday when it admitted one of its subsidiaries had paid millions of dollars to a Nigerian official in return for tax breaks. guardian.co.uk

Cheney's old company continues to break laws while profiting from terror May 12, 2003 By Jason Leopold Halliburton Corp., the second largest oil services company in world, is the poster child for corporate greed and terror. And it seems that nothing will stop Vice President Dick Cheney's old company from repeatedly breaking the law to save and earn mountains of cash. onlinejournal.com

Proposal to nominate Bush for Nobel questioned May 12, 2003 Malaysia has said that it is questionable for a Norwegian Member of Parliament to nominate US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the world would question the conferment of such an award on a leader like Bush, who had ignored international rules and the United Nations in his actions. thestar.com

US tables a transparent plan for plundering Iraqi oil May 12, 2003 By Peter Symonds The US, with the support of Britain, has brazenly presented the UN Security Council with a draft resolution on Iraq that legitimises its illegal invasion of the country, sanctions an indefinite US-led military occupation and gives Washington unfettered power over Iraq’s huge oil reserves. Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the US attack on Iraq, White House officials repeatedly insisted that oil was not the motive for war. In March, US Secretary of State Colin Powell testified in Congress: “The oil of Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq. It’s the source of revenue to run the country.” However, the draft resolution circulated to UN Security Council on Friday assigns all-encompassing political and economic powers, including effective control of the revenues from Iraq’s oil exports, to the US and its military allies, which are simply designated “the Authority”. wsws.org

Drunk on Power May 11, 2003 by SAM HAMOD and ELAINE CASSEL The president he got his wars folks don't know just what it's for; No one gives us a rhyme or reason have one doubt they call it treason. - Eugene McDaniels | An addicted brain is a changed brain. When you ingest a substance like alcohol, cocaine, or nicotine, your brain recognizes those substances as dopamine. These substances "bind" to dopamine receptors in the brain. Dopamine is also released every time you do something pleasurable. But you get your dopamine kicks, so to speak, in a different way from your friend. Your friend may get a jolt from winning a tennis match; you might get it from accomplishing some task at the office. counterpunch.com

Deliberate shooting at children May 11, 2003 Within a few minutes, a group of about 10 soldiers advanced in the direction of the children and began shooting at them. Stunned by what we were seeing - soldiers armed with rifles, wearing helmets and flak jackets shooting at a small group of schoolchildren - we immediately called the Benjamin Brigade commander, who told us that the orders to the soldiers that we had seen were to shoot rubber bullets in the air. I told him that I could see with my own eyes that they were not shooting in the air, but that they were shooting right at the children. haaretz.com

South Carolina Democratic debate: a spectacle of political prostration May 11, 2003 By Patrick Martin The first major public event of the 2004 presidential campaign, a debate among nine candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination at the University of South Carolina, displayed the decay and demoralization of what passes for the opposition party in the United States. Far from presenting themselves as a credible alternative to George W. Bush and his cabal of right-wing zealots and militarists, the Democratic candidates seemed to accept and endorse the media presentation of Bush as politically invincible. wsws.org

FCC Democrats Frustrated on Media Review May 11, 2003 WASHINGTON (AP) The Federal Communications Commission's two Democrats said Friday they are frustrated by lack of information on the agency's review of media ownership rules and their chairman's refusal to make proposed changes public. Many large media companies are seeking broad changes to a rules regime that they contend hurts business. Commissioner Michael Copps, one of the FCC's two Democrats, said that with only a few weeks until the vote, ``We don't know what we're going to be working on. It's like a state secret.'' Copps spoke on Capitol Hill alongside Democrats from the Senate Commerce Committee at a panel discussion of experts opposed to media consolidation. Sens. Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said eased ownership restrictions will leave a few giant media companies in control of what people see, read and hear. ``The country is really standing on a cliff when it comes to media concentration,'' Wyden said. ``When you go over that cliff you are going to be fundamentally changing what this country is about, and not for the better.'' nytimes.com

U.S. Diplomats Decry `Military Coup' May 10, 2003 Diplomats are paid to have cool minds and even cooler temperaments, but inside the beleaguered State Department, plenty of America's elite diplomats are privately seething. They are up in arms over what they see as the hijacking of foreign policy-making by the Pentagon and efforts to undercut their boss, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. "I just wake up in the morning and tell myself, `There's been a military coup,' and then it all makes sense," said one veteran foreign service officer. ctnow.com

The rape of Iraq May 9, 2003 By the Editorial Board During the buildup to the last world war, it was common to speak of Nazi Germany’s “rape of Czechoslovakia,” or “rape of Poland.” What characterized Germany’s modus operandi in these countries was the use of overwhelming military force, the complete elimination of their governments and all civic institutions followed by the takeover of their economies for the benefit of German capitalism. It is high time that what the US is doing is called by its real name. A criminal regime in Washington is carrying out the rape of Iraq. wsws.org

Bush will back ban on assault rifles May 9, 2003 By David Rennie President George W Bush is poised for a rare confrontation with American gun-owners after signalling his intention to support a continued ban on military-style assault rifles. The White House said Mr Bush would back a measure tabled in the Senate yesterday, renewing a decade-old ban on the rifles despite protests from gun rights activists. The dispute comes at a time of almost unprecedented power for the country's largest gun lobby group, the National Rifle Association. The group, whose grassroots network helped Mr Bush to victory during the 2000 election, enjoys huge support in the Republican-controlled Congress and the White House. telegraph.co.uk

Can we handle the truth? May 9, 2003 Brent Flynn We need to stop kidding ourselves. The neoconservatives in the Bush administration and millions of rank and file Republicans don't care how the Arab street feels about the invasion and occupation of Iraq. They don't care if 50 years of foreign diplomacy and treaties with western allies go down the drain as a result. And they aren't particularly concerned about the Middle East or any other part of the world being destabilized by their militant foreign policy. Quite frankly, they're pissed off that they ever had to pretend to care in the first place. Sure, they talk a good game about their desire for world peace, democracy and universal human rights, but when you get past the conservatively correct talking points their real agenda of American hegemony sustained by military force rears its ugly head. How do I know? Because they are constantly telling me so. brentflynn.com

Bush’s new tax rules target the working poor May 9, 2003 By Joanne Laurier As the Bush administration and Congress debate proposals to slash taxes for the rich by hundreds of billions of dollars, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has unveiled plans to crack down on the working poor who file claims for an existing tax credit. By imposing onerous documentation requirements on taxpayers claiming the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the new IRS policy will demand the most exhaustive proof of eligibility ever required from any of class of taxpayers. wsws.org

Bush seeks censure of Iran over atom plant May 9, 2003 By David Rennie The United States is to ask the international community to declare Iran in breach of a key nuclear weapons treaty, after deciding that new evidence of Iranian misconduct is so blatant that even the United Nations cannot ignore it, it was reported yesterday. Bush administration officials told The New York Times that they hoped to extract an official condemnation of Iran from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - the same global nuclear watchdog that clashed repeatedly with Washington over claims that Saddam Hussein was trying to develop atomic weapons. Such a condemnation would pave the way for punitive sanctions by the United Nations. telegraph.co.uk

ACLU Releases Report on Suppression of Dissent in a Post 9/11 America May 9, 2003 NEW YORK Taking their cue from the Bush Administration, law enforcement officials across the country have interrogated, detained and prosecuted hundreds of people for exercising their First Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union on the suppression of dissent since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. "This report clearly illustrates how dangerous it has become since the terrorist attacks of September 11 to criticize the President of the United States or his policies," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. Police have beaten and maced protestors in Missouri, charged on horseback into crowds of demonstrators in New York, fired on demonstrators in California, and helped FBI agents to spy on professors and students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, the ACLU report said. Attorney General Ashcroft’s Justice Department has further asserted the right to seize protesters’ assets and deport immigrants under anti-terrorism statutes rushed through Congress after the attacks, and debated whether to revoke U.S. citizenship in some cases. aclu.org

A Brief Memo to a Nation of Cattle May 9, 2003 From Rhesus Monkey Magazine In his philosophical polemics, the oft-misunderstood Nietzsche often warned of the dangers of a 'herd mentality' in a technologically advanced society. It seems America has yet to heed the warning. Since 11-Sept., pollsters around the nation have documented a dramatic shift in public opinion regarding big brother and individual privacy. For example, in a national survey (28 March 2002), J. Zogby found some 55% of those polled actually favored legislation which would allow police to search purses, handbags, backpacks, etc. at random, anywhere; 48% said they would allow their cars to be searched without probable cause, 36% favored having their mail arbitrarily searched, while 26% said they wouldn't mind having their telephone conversations monitored by authorities. (source: Newhouse News Service) sumeria.net

The two faces of Rumsfeld 2000: director of a company which wins $200m contract to sell nuclear reactors to North Korea 2002: declares North Korea a terrorist state, part of the axis of evil and a target for regime change guardian.co.uk

Mary A. Wright's Resignation Letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell May 9, 2003 "This is the only time in my many years serving America that I have felt I cannot represent the policies of an Administration of the United States. I disagree with the Administration's policies on Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, North Korea and curtailment of civil liberties in the U.S. itself. I believe the Administration's policies are making the world a more dangerous, not a safer, place. I feel obligated morally and professionally to set out my very deep and firm concerns on these policies and to resign from government service as I cannot defend or implement them." sumeria.net

Bush was like Hitler, says weapons man May 8, 2003 By Hannah Cleaver in Berlin Scott Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector, has compared the invasion of Iraq to Hitler's invasion of Poland. He told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper that 130 Americans had died "for a lie", adding: "I see no difference between the invasion of Iraq and the invasion of Poland in 1939." Both invasions were based on what he said was an artificial argument of self defence. President George W Bush had used the September 11 attacks as Hitler used the 1933 burning of the Reichstag to repress domestic dissidents. gooff.com

A Nazi in the (pocket) is worth four in the Bush (family) May 8, 2003 William Bowles Part One Prescott Bush, granpa of Dubya The Nazi’s American Banker What is interesting about the history of the Bush family are the connections; Avril Harriman, Allen Dulles, the Rockefellers (the start of the oil connection), James Baker III, Gulf Oil, Pennzoil, Osama bin Laden…on and on it goes. (Information Clearing House) In the case of the Bush gang, they have a ‘pedigree’ in perfidy which extends back almost a century and four generations that makes Saddam look positively angelic by comparison. informationclearinghouse.info

Inverted Totalitarianism May 8, 2003 by Sheldon Wolin The war on Iraq has so monopolized public attention as to obscure the regime change taking place in the Homeland. We may have invaded Iraq to bring in democracy and bring down a totalitarian regime, but in the process our own system may be moving closer to the latter and further weakening the former. The change has been intimated by the sudden popularity of two political terms rarely applied earlier to the American political system. "Empire" and "superpower" both suggest that a new system of power, concentrated and expansive, has come into existence and supplanted the old terms. "Empire" and "superpower" accurately symbolize the projection of American power abroad, but for that reason they obscure the internal consequences. Consider how odd it would sound if we were to refer to "the Constitution of the American Empire" or "superpower democracy." The reason they ring false is that "constitution" signifies limitations on power, while "democracy" commonly refers to the active involvement of citizens with their government and the responsiveness of government to its citizens. For their part, "empire" and "superpower" stand for the surpassing of limits and the dwarfing of the citizenry. thenation.com

The virus that has infected the American mind May 8, 2003 By Ken Hillman America, this society, its people have been exposed to a particularly deadly virus, one that has rapidly escalated and has infected the American mind with a debilitating disease. This formerly unknown virus has infected the majority of Americans with an insidious disease that does not attack the body, but instead, attacks the mind with an intensity that, thus far, cannot be rejected or even impeded. It has proven to be very deadly indeed. After more than two years of study, from the elections of the year 2000 to the present, it has been determined that this virus was formed when the currently imbedded administration came into power—when it quickly initiated an agenda intended to eliminate important treaties with other nations, cancel many environmental regulations, reject global warming as useless thinking, condone corporate misdeeds, and then to decide that the world community of nations must simply cower and accede to its doctrine of preemptive military interventions. Every virus must have a carrier or the virus cannot spread. In this instance, the carrier has clearly been identified as the corporate-controlled media, the majority of which have totally lost their credibility, integrity and journalistic soul. They have poisoned the American mind by their efforts to not only cloud America's vision and understanding of what is going on, but they have undertaken massive efforts to infect the American mind with misinformation. In effect, this virus takes seemingly intelligent minds, paralyzes them and tunes them into only one frequency that gives them just one message...onlinejournal.com

Politically-Correct Censorship Rampant In US Schools May 8, 2003 Mickey Mouse is a scary rodent. Harry Potter is anti-family. Christmas should be avoided. Dinosaurs are banned. In the wacky world of US education, the language police are out of control. After 25 years of creeping censorship of school textbooks, the full scale of political correctness has been exposed in a startling new survey of official meddling in education. In a book acclaimed as the first comprehensive expose of a national scandal, former US government official Diane Ravitch argues that a laudable attempt to rid US schools of racial bias and sexual discrimination has been taken to ridiculous extremes. "Some of this censorship is trivial, some is ludicrous and some is breathtaking in its power to dumb down what children learn in school," said Ravitch, an educational historian who has worked with both Republican and Democrat administrations. Her astounding glossary of words and topics that have been banned by individual state agencies or voluntarily suppressed by educational publishers has sparked a national row over an epidemic of what The New York Times described as "bowdlerising texts, whitewashing history and eviscerating prose". rense.com

Jobs and the Jobless May 8, 2003 pRESIDENT BUSH used the latest unemployment figures to pitch his tax cut in California last week, but the grim new numbers must have caused palpitations back at the White House. The unemployment rate ticked up two-tenths of a percentage point, to 6 percent. April was the third straight month the economy had shed jobs -- although the rate of loss has thankfully slowed somewhat. As disturbing as the overall total of 8.8 million unemployed is, the more worrying fact is that almost 2 million have been without work for 27 weeks or more and that the average length of unemployment is almost 20 weeks, the highest since 1984. An additional 4.4 million Americans have dropped out of the labor force because they haven't found work (and therefore aren't counted among the unemployed), and 4.8 million are employed part time, not by choice but because they can't find full-time work. The number of jobs is at its lowest point in 41 months. washingtonpost.com

Israelis Murder Cinematographer May 8, 2003 Michael A. Hoffman II Israelis Murder Cinematographer Filming Documentary about Plight of Palestinians Observing the Mechanisms of Judaic Supremacy in Action: "The Laws of Israel and the Laws of the Heathens" Here's what it's all about in its most raw and naked form: the cold-blooded murder by Israelis of reporters and film-makers who dare to compile evidence of war crimes committed by the "Chosen" against the people of Palestine. rense.com

Israel: US “road map” offers nothing to the Palestinians but continued repression May 8, 2003 By Chris Marsden The publication of the so-called US “road map” for the Middle East on April 30, officially titled “A Performance-Based Road Map to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”, should dispel the illusions of even the most naive that Washington intends to act as an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians. wsws.org

Is Bush a War Criminal? May 7, 2003 By Dave Chandler If American citizens who were opposed to the invasion of Iraq had been wrong, if the French, German, and Russian governments had been wrong, if the United Nations Security Council had been wrong -- this is what FOX News would have eagerly reported during the first few hours and days of the attack: "Special operations teams of the U.S. military have secured a secret Iraqi base where thousands of liters of liquid anthrax were being loaded into artillery shells for use against British forces attacking Um Qasar." thepeoplesvoice.org

White House refuses to release Sept. 11 info May 7, 2003 By FRANK DAVIES The Bush administration and the nation's intelligence agencies are blocking the release of sensitive information about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, delaying publication of a 900-page congressional report on how the terrorist assault happened. Intelligence officials insist the information must be kept secret for national security reasons. miami.com

Aliens in our own land May 7, 2003 By Bev Conover The United States of America that we thought we knew is gone, finished, kaput and we only have ourselves to blame. Most of our fellow citizens, who continue to mouth platitudes to freedom and democracy, have not yet been bitten by the police state that grows more powerful by the day with the blessings of Republicans and Democrats alike. (See Bush administration expands the infrastructure of a police state) We no longer have a country that operates on the consent of the governed, if, indeed, we ever did. But we did have the illusion, perhaps foolishly so in the face of the reality that has come to pass. onlinejournal.com

War, oligarchy and the political lie May 7, 2003 By David North Less than one month has passed since the end of the US war against Iraq—or, perhaps it is more accurate to say, the end of the most recent stage of the war; for it should not be forgotten that the United States has been engaged in military operations against Iraq, in one form or another, for 12 years. Iraq has the tragic distinction of being the country that has been subjected to the longest military operation ever undertaken by the United States. wsws.org

Bush's War on Jesus Christ May 7, 2003 by JOHN STANTON George Bush II fed the American public the most atrocious of lies when, during a presidential debate with Al Gore back in 2000, he indicated that Jesus Christ was his favorite philosopher. Quite the contrary as the world now knows. Bush's vengeful persona and his penchant for the spectacle in public office have been in contradistinction to all the teachings and actions of the Son of Man. Were Christ to replay the last minutes of his life on the Cross in 2003 say, for example, on Capitol Hill, there's no doubt that George Bush II would be the first to take a lance and plunge it into Christ's body just as the Roman soldier did so long ago atop Golgotha. www.counterpunch.org

Byrd criticizes Bush's carrier visit  May 7, 2003 By Stephen Dinan Sen. Robert C. Byrd yesterday criticized the "flamboyant showmanship" he said President Bush showed by declaring victory in Iraq from aboard USS Abraham Lincoln last week. "It is an affront to the Americans killed or injured in Iraq for the president to exploit the trappings of war for the momentary spectacle of a speech," said Mr. Byrd, West Virginia Democrat. He said he also was "disturbed" by the content of the president's speech, criticizing Mr. Bush for linking Iraq to the effort to capture Osama bin Laden and hunt down al Qaeda operatives. washtimes.com

Don't  Mess With Texas May 6, 2003 By Daniel Patrick Welch Teach them a lesson they'll never forget. So goes the thinking in Texas-on-the-Potomac. And what a lesson it has been! They'll never mess with us again, nosirree Bob! As this childish thinking worms its way around the neocon braintrust, now giddy with "success" of their own definition (like toppling the Taliban?), it is instructive what lessons might be drawn by more rational--albeit scared to death--observers around the world. These are some of the conclusions I've drawn, doing my humble little part to follow Bush's sage advice. First, if you don't already have nukes, you'd better get some--and that right soon. Uncle Sam don't play. While you're in the catalog, get a whole bunch of night goggles, and tons more air support. Spend more on the military, and less on feeding, housing and educating your people, if you care about your own sovereignty. thepeoplesvoice.org

US invasion produces human catastrophe in Iraq May 6, 2003 By Jerry Isaacs An unprecedented social calamity is confronting the Iraqi people as a result of the US invasion and the widespread looting that followed the removal of the Baghdad government. Virtually every element of the civilian infrastructure—electrical and water supply, telecommunications, health care, schools, transportation, even the financial system—has broken down, threatening the country’s 24 million people with the spread of infectious diseases, hunger and more death. At least 3,500 civilians were killed and another 6,000 injured by American bombs, missiles and ground attacks during the three-week war. Tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers—the bulk of them young conscripts—were also killed, although the number may never be known because the US refuses to present even an estimate of Iraqi casualties, civilian or military. wsws.org

Protesters Greet Bush May 6, 2003 Though most of the discussions were civil, one San Francisco resident, Lisa Becker, with an anti-Bush sign in hand, was accosted when she was expressing her condolences to Mark Bingham’s family (Mark died on Flight 93). "I was standing there next to them and telling them how sorry I was for their loss and then somebody started yelling at me ‘You make me sick to my stomach. You bleeding heart liberal,’" said Becker. Becker pointed out to the family that she too lost family in the World Trade Towers (two cousins) which got responses that she was lying. "I couldn’t believe it but then a woman in red spat on me and then took a flag with an eagle on top and jabbed me with it." Fremont resident Mona (last name withheld for privacy ) hadn’t been to a protest since the war started and was shocked to see the force used by the police. "I could not imagine that I would see this in America. This is the kind of stuff I would expect to see in a communist country, like in Tiananmen Square in China." indymedia.org

'I am shooting two journalists every day' May 6, 2003 Omran Risheq “I am shooting two journalists every day” an Israeli soldier said to me, after he saw my press card at the Hwara checkpoint, outside Nablus, one of the major cities in the West Bank. Other Palestinians also stuck at the checkpoint later described this soldier to me as one of the worst soldiers they had ever encountered. He was scary enough that his mere presence would force everyone to form a straight queue as soon as possible in order to be checked and then hopefully allowed permission to cross through. palestinemonitor.org

Director's face slashed for anti-Bush play May 6, 2003 PARIS: A Paris director has been beaten and had his face slashed, apparently because a play he staged poked fun at US President George W Bush. The attack on Sunday came four days after the opening of "George Bush or God's Sad Cowboy" at the Comedie Italienne. Director Attilio Maggiulli confirmed reports of the attack and said he did not believe his two male assailants were common thieves. "If they had come to steal the cash register, they would have done so," he told Reuters on Monday.  A man had held him down, while another had slashed his face ... They mentioned George Bush. The aggressors splashed paint across the theatre walls and also proffered insults against French President Jacques Chirac, a staunch opponent of the US-led war in Iraq. stuff.co.nz

James Madison

The  Crime Of The Century: A Never-Ending "War Against Terrorism" May 5, 2003 by Thom Hartmann During this lull in the fighting between the 2002 election cycle Iraq conflict and the soon-to-come 2004 election cycle conflict, it's a good time to (anonymously) sit in a library or bookstore and browse "The Turner Diaries" and Gore Vidal's "Perpetual War For Perpetual Peace." The former was the inspiration for Timothy McVeigh; the latter includes his self-written eulogy. Together, they show how terrorist McVeigh choose the wrong administration - and terrorist Osama bin Laden, by luck of the draw, chose the right one - to harm American democracy. thepeoplesvoice.org

WHILE AMERICANS ARE "SLEEPING" Bush administration expands the infrastructure of a police state May 5, 2003 By Patrick Martin While claiming democracy and freedom as the goal of its invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Bush administration is moving step by step to restrict freedom and undermine democracy at home, building up the infrastructure of a police state with essentially unlimited powers to spy on, interrogate and arrest American citizens. These measures have repeatedly received enthusiastic support from the Democratic and Republican politicians in Congress and from the federal courts: all three branches of the government joining in a concerted assault on the democratic rights of the American people. gooff.com

Bombs in the Building: World Trade Center 'Conspiracy Theory' is a Conspiracy Fact  May 5, 2003 By Randy Lavello By now the misinformation and ignored findings surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks have evaporated the official version into the land of fiction. Didn’t it seem strange that we learned everything of the government version by the next day? Much has been learned about the attacks, yet the official version has never changed; it seems as though our government thinks the point moot since it used this excuse to pass unconstitutional laws and wage wars resulting in oil profits. The time has come to admit the sorry truth as a nation, so that we can move on - as a nation. The planes did not bring those towers down; bombs did. So why use planes? It seems they were a diversionary tactic- a grand spectacle. Who would want to divert our attention from the real cause of the collapse of those towers? It must be those who benefited most from these attacks. Let’s recount some facts of that dreadful day. prisonplanet.com

300 N Korea Nukes Locked On US Cities May 5, 2003 Spokesman North Korea has up to 300 nuclear warheads, all locked onto American cities, the unofficial spokesman for North Korea has said. Kim Myong Chol, a Japanese-born Korean, said he was delivering a message on behalf of the North Korean government. "North Korea has a nuclear capability. It's quite obvious. North Korea may have minimum 100 nuclear warheads, maximum 300. They all lock onto American cities," he told the Nine Network's Sunday program. gooff.com

A mean-spirited America May 4, 2003 By Jill Nelson Today, I fear my own government more than I do terrorists. These days, a sense of apprehension and foreboding lurks in the back of my head and the pit of my stomach. It’s a gut-wrenching reminder that something very bad has happened and is about to happen anew. It is an anticipation of the next insult and injury in an America that has been defined under the Bush administration by a profound meanness of spirit. msnbc.com

House G.O.P. Tax Cuts Outdo Bush Plan in Favoring Wealthy May 4, 2003 By DAVID E. ROSENBAUM The tax-cut plan offered this week by Republican leaders in the House would be even more favorable to the wealthiest taxpayers than the larger plan proposed by President Bush, and those with incomes of less than $50,000 would have smaller tax reductions than under the Bush plan, a computer analysis showed today. nytimes.com

Bush's "Christian" Blood Cult Concerns Raised by the Vatican May 4, 2003 by WAYNE MADSEN George W. Bush proclaims himself a born-again Christian. However, Bush and fellow self-anointed neo-Christians like House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, John Ashcroft, and sports arena Book of Revelations carnival hawker Franklin Graham appear to wallow in a "Christian" blood lust cult when it comes to practicing the teachings of the founder of Christianity. This cultist form of Christianity, with its emphasis on death rather than life, is also worrying the leaders of mainstream Christian religions, particularly the Pope. libertyforum.org

Israeli troops kill British cameraman in Gaza Strip May 4, 2003 By Justin Huggler A British cameraman was shot dead by Israeli troops last night after a group of journalists came under fire in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Witnesses said that the Israeli soldiers, who were demolishing a home in the area, shot at the journalists even though they were waving white flags and torches, and shouting in Hebrew and English that they were journalists. independent.co.uk

Blank-Check Aid To Israel Costs U.S. Tax Payers $10 Billion May 4, 2003 By James P. Tucker Jr. Congress skillfully gives Israel $10 billion a year to expand its brutal occupation of Palestinian lands in a manner that hides the amount from taxpayers. “U.S. aid to Israel has some unique aspects, such as loans with repayment waived, or a pledge to provide Israel with economic assistance equal to the amount Israel owes the United States for previous loans,” says a Library of Congress “briefing paper.” This paper, Israel: U.S. Foreign Assistance, was prepared by the library’s Congressional Research Service in April and is available to all congressmen. It confirms assessments made previously by American Free Press that blank-check aid to Israel costs taxpayers $10 billion a year. americanfreepress.net

U.S. Hires Christian Extremists to Produce Arabic News May 4, 2003 By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman The U.S. government this week launched its Arabic language satellite TV news station for mostly Muslim Iraq. It is being produced in a studio – Grace Digital Media – controlled by fundamentalist Christians who are rabidly pro-Israel. That's grace as in "by the grace of God." Grace Digital Media is controlled by a fundamentalist Christian millionaire, Cheryl Reagan, who last year wrested control of Federal News Service, a transcription news service, from its former owner, Cortes Randell. Randell says he met Reagan at a prayer meeting, brought her in as an investor in Federal News Service, and then she forced him out of his own company. alternet.org

Powell Rebuffs Syrian U.N. Move for WMD-Free Mideast DAMASCUS, May 3 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Coming with clear-cut and strict "demands" that permit no room for compromise, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed Saturday, May 3, a Syrian U.N. proposal to make the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Speaking to reporters before talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Powell signaled that Washington regarded the proposal as "political" and would not support it. islamonline.net

Is Hidden True Cause Of Alzheimer's Your Toothpaste? May 4, 2003 From Paul Kuhlman "Toothpaste?" I enquired. He then went on to explain that common white toothpaste is made largely from Aluminum Dioxide, which is a mildly abrasive, brilliantly white powder. They'll simply add a sudsing agent to make the bubbles, a flavoring agent to make it palatable, perhaps a food coloring agent, some water, and presto - toothpaste. Go read the ingredients on your tube of toothpaste. It'll list one or two 'active ingredients'...notice the combined total amounts of 'active ingredients' is usually less than 1%. What about the other 99%? Were you aware that every day of your life, you are filling your mouth with a gob of nearly pure aluminum dioxide? Can you imagine the possible health effects? Do you see how this is the number one entry point for aluminum to enter the body? Can you guess why the inactive ingredients aren't listed? Imagine the outcry from all the millions of health conscious Americans who suddenly discovered that they are being poisoned! rense.com

'If fish can feel pain, then maybe Iraqi children can, too' May 4, 2003 Terry Jones The recent report by the Royal Society suggesting that fish can feel pain will come as a severe blow to all those anglers who have hitherto operated on the principle that fish are incapable of feeling anything. It comes as an even bigger shock to those of us who have for so long applied the same principle to human beings. If fish can feel pain, does this mean that a 13-year-old child, picked up in Afghanistan, hooded, flown several thousand miles to Cuba and kept in a chicken coop, may also experience physical sensations bordering on the uncomfortable? Like Tony Blair, I thought the Guantanamo Bay camp was 'an unsatisfactory situation', but it never occurred to me that the human beings in there would be capable of feeling discomfort. guardian.co.uk

Sheriff Shrub Addresses The Community May 3, 2003 by Keetjie Ramo Joe Shrub, Sheriff of Gulch County, Colorado, addressed a crowd of cheering deputies and county residents today in a speech that local insiders speculate will launch his campaign for re-election in 2004. Sheriff Shrub gained nationwide attention last month after he ordered an assault by deputies on River Rock High School that killed two students and left several others with permanent injuries. Huey Maddas, the student whose suspicious activities triggered the incident, escaped the deputies and is still at large, although he is believed to have been wounded in the incident. Since the tragic Columbine High School shootings in nearby Littleton in 1999, Shrub has waged a war on juvenile delinquency in the county. An affable man with close allies on the River Rock City Council and School Board, Shrub declared a zero tolerance policy against crimes and misdemeanors by minors. In the county, any youth who arouses suspicion at school or in the community now may be detained by deputies or police officers and held without a hearing in a special juvenile detention center in River Rock City, the Gulch County Seat. thepeoplesvoice.org

War crimes probe focuses on U.S. May 3, 2003 By IPS War leaders may face war crimes charges (Al Jazeera) The Crimes of War Project Online A multinational coalition of jurists and civil society groups is launching an investigation of alleged war crimes in Iraq for potential prosecution by the young International Criminal Court (ICC). The move is motivated in part by Washington’s plans to set up its own tribunal to try Iraqis for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. There have been widespread calls for an examination of U.S. conduct during the invasion, which The Wall Street Journal estimates cost some 5,000 Iraqi lives, both civilian and military, and countless wounded and missing. finalcall.com

Bush promises unending war in Iraq and internationally May 3, 2003 By Bill Vann The speech that George Bush delivered on the USS Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln Thursday night constituted a warning to the world that the carnage unleashed in Iraq is the only the beginning of worldwide eruption of US militarism. Bush used the flight deck of the massive US warship to issue a threat to “friend and foe alike that our nation has a mission. We will answer threats to our security and we will defend the peace.” Having elaborated a doctrine of “preemptive war” and carried it out in an illegal attack on Iraq, the US president left no doubt that his administration intends to continue using the American military power to assert US financial, corporate and geopolitical interests around the globe. wsws.org

U.S. warns Canada against easing pot laws May 3, 2003 VANCOUVER A top White House drug policy official is threatening retaliation from the U.S. if Canada relaxes its laws against marijuana possession. INDEPTH: Marijuana Laws David Murray, right-hand man to U.S. "drug czar" John Walters, says he doesn't want to tread on another country's sovereignty, but warned there would be consequences if Canada proceeds with a plan to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. "We would have to respond. We would be forced to respond," said Murray. FROM APRIL 29, 2003: PM says pot soon to be decriminalized / cbc.ca

Dollar continues to slide May 3, 2003 Heather Stewart The dollar slid to a fresh four-year low against the euro yesterday after a downbeat US jobs report raised fears about the health of the labour market. Closely watched non-farm payroll figures showed that a further 48,000 workers were laid off last month, while the jobless rate rose to 6%, from 5.8% in March. guardian.co.uk

TWO KILLED IN NEW IRAQ DEMO SHOOTING May 2, 2003 Chris Hughes In Al-Fallujah Pictures by Julian Andrews IT started when a young boy hurled a sandal at a US jeep - it ended with two Iraqis dead and 16 seriously injured. I watched in horror as American troops opened fire on a crowd of 1,000 unarmed people here yesterday. Many, including children, were cut down by a 20-second burst of automatic gunfire during a demonstration against the killing of 13 protesters at the Al-Kaahd school on Monday mirror.co.uk

The Pope thinks 9-11 was an inside job May 2, 2003 by Wayne Madsen "...According to journalists close to the Vatican, the Pope and his closest advisers are also concerned that the ultimate acts of evil - the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon - were known in advance by senior Bush administration officials.By permitting the attacks to take their course, there is a perception within the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy that a coup d'etat was implemented, one that gave Bush and his leadership near-dictatorial powers to carry out their agenda." guerrillanews.com

U.S. says Canada cares too much about liberties May 02, 2003 Jim Bronskill Terrorism report also says too little spent on police. The United States says the lack of funding for police and restrictive privacy legislation in Canada are frustrating probes of political extremists. The comments in an annual report on international terrorism were the latest critical remarks from the U.S. apparently aimed at prodding Canada to bring its security measures in line. The State Department report on global terrorism for 2002 suggests that while Canada has been helpful in the fight against terrorism, it doesn't spend enough on policing and places too much emphasis on civil liberties. "Also, Canadian laws and regulations intended to protect Canadian citizens and immigrants from government intrusion sometimes limit the depth of investigations." canada.com Sounds like a free country and a pretty good place to live.

Annan says Israel 'undermining peace' So these are God's chosen people May 02, 2003 Kofi Annan has accused Israel of undermining a new Middle East peace drive by attacking a Gaza City neighbourhood. and killing at least 12 Palestinians. Six Palestinians were killed, including and a 13-year-old boy and a toddler, who was shot in the head. The UN Secretary-General said he believes Israeli military incursions "contradict the international community's efforts to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process," according to his spokesman. He continued: "He stresses that such actions, including the reported house demolitions, are contrary to international humanitarian law." itv.com

Public Confused, Conflicted, Poll Finds; Major Polls Alleged to Distort Poll Results, Says Retro Poll May 2, 2003 U.S. Newswire Using a unique methodology that investigates peoples' background knowledge on subjects before asking their opinions, Retro Poll compares each person's answers to different but related questions. This allows an assessment of the extent to which background knowledge, or its absence, contributes to particular political views. When Americans hear specific provisions of the USA Patriot act, Retro Poll finds, they oppose the intrusions of this law into their civil rights by wide margin (average 77 percent). Yet when asked what impact the War on Terrorism is having upon civil rights, many of the same people say its "strengthening" or having "no impact" upon their rights (57 percent). usnewswire.com

Franks

US war crimes case 'going ahead' May 1, 2003 A Belgian lawyer is planning to press ahead with a war crimes lawsuit against US General Tommy Franks, despite American anger and threats. The suit, brought by 19 Iraqis, accuses General Franks of war crimes committed during the Iraq conflict. Lawyer Jan Fermon, who is acting on behalf of the Iraqis, described the plaintiffs as victims of cluster bombs and of US attacks on ambulances and civilians. There are 19 victims of the war so far that have come forward.  We have a very specific case, with specific evidence," Mr Fermon said. "I do not see how they can reject it." The case would be presented in court on 13 May, he said, including evidence which had been gathered by Belgian doctors working in Baghdad. Mr Fermon said there were 17 "specific incidents" in which US soldiers and commanders had violated the law. news.bbc.co.uk

Shadow of the gunman Shots in Falluja echo round the world May 1, 2003 Convincing Iraqis that US soldiers are there to help them will be all the more difficult after the shocking events in Falluja, west of Baghdad. Preventing already widespread popular opposition to the American military presence turning into concerted armed resistance will also be increasingly problematic unless the US army can explain why it was justified in opening fire on a crowd comprising a large number of children and teenagers, killing at least 13 and wounding 75. Local residents said that the children were protesting at the occupation of their school by the US soldiers and that the Americans started firing when a rock was thrown. The shooting reportedly went on for half an hour. People were hit by bullets, shrapnel and possibly by heavy machinegun rounds. Ambulance crews said they were also fired on. guardian.co.uk

The Secrets of September 11 May 1, 2003 The White House is battling to keep a report on the terror attacks secret. Does the 2004 election have anything to do with it? Even as White House political aides plot a 2004 campaign plan designed to capitalize on the emotions and issues raised by the September 11 terror attacks, administration officials are waging a behind-the-scenes battle to restrict public disclosure of key events relating to the attacks. msnbc.com

Fleecing The Family May 1, 2003 By Molly Ivins Boy, there is no shortage of creatively terrible ideas from the Republican Party these days. Those folks are just full of notions about how to make people's lives worse -- one horrible idea after another bursting out like popcorn -- and all of them with these sickeningly cute names attached to them. Consider the Family Time and Workplace Flexibility Act (Senate version) and the Family Time Flexibility Act (House version). The Bush administration is leading the charge with proposed new rules that will erode the 40-hour workweek and affect more than 80 million workers now protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act.  tompaine.com

April 11 coup d'etat linked to US President George W. Bush 'dirty wars' team May 1, 2003 London's Observer newspaper says the April 11 coup d'etat against the democratically-elected government of President Hugo Chavez Frias has been linked to US President George W. Bush's team: "Specialists in the 'dirty wars' of the 80s encouraged the plotters who tried to topple President Chavez,: writes Observer WorldView correspondent Ed Vulliamy from New York. "The Observer has established that the failed coup in Venezuela was closely tied to senior officials in the US government ... they have long histories in the 'dirty wars' of the 1980s, and links to death squads working in Central America at that time." vheadline.com

Putin

We are not with you and we don't believe you May 1, 2003 Patrick Wintour in Moscow The public dressing down for Mr Blair came during a 63-minute press conference staged by the two men at Mr Putin's private residence outside Moscow. The two men had a fabled special relationship and Mr Blair had high hopes he would be able to wean Mr Putin away from his new anti-war alliance with France and Germany. Mr Blair started with the full diplomatic niceties but became increasingly animated until he issued a dire warning of a new world order in which two different poles of power act as rivals to one another. The world faced a choice between a partnership between the US and the main countries of the world or a continued "diplomatic stand off", he said. guardian.co.uk