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The Big Bush Social Security Lie

Hecklers shout down journalist’s anti-war speech at college commencement May 23, 2003 By Bill Vann Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges was forced to cut short a commencement speech at a private Illinois college on May 17 after right-wing hecklers shouted him down and rushed the platform. The hooligan attack was directed against Hedges’ sharp condemnation of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Hedges, who works for the New York Times, is a veteran war correspondent who speaks Arabic and spent a number of years in the Middle East. He is the author of the book War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, which includes a trenchant critique of both the ways in which war is promoted to the public and how it is covered by the US media. He began his commencement address at the Rockford College graduation by announcing that he intended to speak about “war and empire,” and warned his audience that, while the major fighting was over in Iraq, “blood will continue to spill—theirs and ours.” wsws.org

The Nether-Nether World of G.W. Bush May 23, 2003 By BARRY LANDO What is truly astonishing in light of the newest wave of terrorist bombings, the shredding of the Road Map, and the mounting problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the fact that, so far at least, none of this seems to be impacting on the popularity of G.W.Bush. It's like Orwell's 1984 is here and gone; we're floating in some surreal Matrix Reloaded. Reality is either ignored or blatantly distorted; dialogue consists of eloquent non sequiturs. counterpunch.org

The real anti-Americans May 23, 2003 BY ABID ULLAH JAN Like the present day Germans, who hate even to talk about Hitler and his associates, the time is not far away when Americans will feel embarrassed to discuss today's most 'patriotic' Americans as their worst enemies, responsible for a disgraceful fall of the most successful nation ever...Americans with their simple hearts do not realize that those who make them seek anti-Americans among people of other faiths, are the real anti-Americans. The Americans watch and read them on daily basis. They are deified because they are not Al-Qaeda members. They do not bomb American interests and can never be "suicide bombers." Their words, ideas and influence, however, are so powerful that they have mesmerised most of the nation and have taken their fellows in policy-making circles to the unimaginable extreme. Knowingly or unknowingly, they are forcing America to use its might against itself. sianews.com

American Gestapo: A Primer May 23, 2003 by Carter Laren  People "want the government to be their friend," Aaron Zelman and L. Neil Smith once wrote, "and despite the evidence, they've tried to convince themselves it is."  Many rational defenders of capitalism view bureaucrats as little more than threats to "capitalist ideology."  But ideology matters, and bad ideology means that some innocent person faces the wrong end of a loaded firearm. capmag.com

French plan to aid Africa could be sunk by Bush May 23, 2003 Charlotte Denny and Larry Elliott President Bush is preparing to bury a radical French plan which would help some of the world's poorest farmers by ending the dumping of subsidised western food in Africa. guardian.co.uk

Senate passes resolution questioning federal Patriot Act May 23, 2003 By TOM MORAN JUNEAU--The state Senate passed a resolution late Tuesday expressing concern over the federal USA Patriot Act, an antiterrorism measure passed by Congress shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks that dramatically increased federal search, surveillance and arrest powers. Passage of the measure makes Alaska the second state, after Hawaii, to raise doubts about the act. news-miner.com

Cascadia Summer Begins May 23, 2003 While the U.S. military machine attempts to bring the oil reserves of the Middle East under its control, another war is being fought, this one in North America itself, against the forests. The timber industry, working through its Republican and Democratic lackeys, has its sights set on the last 4-6% of the old growth trees that survive. George Bush's Orwellian-named "Healthy Forests Initiative" is taking aim at what little citizen oversight and environmental standards exist to protect delicate ecosystems on public lands. In response, forest defenders in Cascadia (which stretches from Northern California to British Columbia) have declared their intent to fight. indymedia.org

Move Over, Right Wing Radio - the Liberals Are Coming May 22, 2003 by Thom Hartmann NEW YORK  - A political explosion happened this weekend in New York, and it may be the big one that gives Karl Rove nightmares. It could mean the end of George W. Bush's seemingly unending ability to tell overt lies to the American people and not get called on them by the American media. At a Saturday talk radio industry event put on by Talkers Magazine, Gabe Hobbs, Clear Channel Radio's vice president of News/Talk/Sports, announced that in the near future this corporate owner of over 1200 radio stations is considering programming some of their talk stations "in markets where there are already one or two stations doing conservative talk" with all-day back-to-back all-liberal talk show hosts. Using the analogy of how music radio stations wouldn't run different categories of music on a single programming day, Hobbs said talk radio was similarly "all about format." This, he said, is why liberal talkers haven't succeeded when sandwiched between conservatives - radio stations shouldn't mix formats but instead should market to specific listener niches. Understanding this, it's clear that only all-liberal/all-day programming can fill the demand for liberal talk radio, Hobbs' comments suggested. The timing of Clear Channel's bombshell is interesting. Why this particular week and month? thepeoplesvoice.org

"orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S. cities"

U.S. Military Drafted Plans to Terrorize U.S. Cities to Provoke War With Cuba May 22, 2003 By David Ruppe In the early 1960s, America's top military leaders reportedly drafted plans to kill innocent people and commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities to create public support for a war against Cuba. Code named Operation Northwoods, the plans reportedly included the possible assassination of Cuban émigrés, sinking boats of Cuban refugees on the high seas, hijacking planes, blowing up a U.S. ship, and even orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S. cities. The plans were developed as ways to trick the American public and the international community into supporting a war to oust Cuba's then new leader, communist Fidel Castro. America's top military brass even contemplated causing U.S. military casualties, writing: "We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba," and, "casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation." Details of the plans are described in Body of Secrets (Doubleday), a new book by investigative reporter James Bamford about the history of America's largest spy agency, the National Security Agency. abcnews.go.com

'But Then It Was Too Late' May 22, 2003 By Milton Mayer From his book 'They Thought They Were Free: "What no one seemed to notice," said a colleague of mine, a philologist, "was the ever widening gap, after 1933, between the government and the people. Just think how very wide this gap was to begin with, here in Germany. And it became always wider. You know it doesn't make people close to their government to be told that this is a people's government, a true democracy, or to be enrolled in civilian defense, or even to vote. All this has little, really nothing to do with knowing one is governing. What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it. rense.com

Congress watches its power ebb May 22, 2003 By Gail Russell Chaddock From controlling budgets to deciding when and why to go to war, Congress appears less relevant today than at any time in decades. Lawmakers haven't exactly abandoned their posts on Capitol Hill. The committee hearings, the finger-jabbing oratory, and backroom dealmaking all continue. But the center of gravity has shifted toward the White House, in a change that could be more than just the passing phase of Republican control on Capitol Hill. Consider: • Early next month, Senate Republicans are proposing a rule change that would lower the threshold for presidents to win approval of their judicial nominees, from 60 votes to a simple majority. • Congress is on the verge of passing a $400.5 billion defense bill this week - including what the Pentagon describes as a top-down transformation of the US military - with minimal discussion. In past years, defense bills have been grist for intense debate. • Lawmakers are quietly chafing about Bush administration limits on their freedom to visit Iraq to make independent assessments. Since the founding of the Republic, power has ebbed and flowed between presidents and the Congress. But now a confluence of factors could signal a more lasting change, some experts say. csmonitor.com

U.S. deficit running at triple ’02 pace Federal deficit was $201.6 billion in first seven months of ’03 May 22, 2003 The government ran up a deficit of $201.6 billion in the first seven months of the 2003 budget year, more than three times the total for the corresponding period a year earlier. THE LATEST FIGURES, released Tuesday by the Treasury Department, underscored the government’s worsening fiscal situation. Record deficits are forecast this year and next. msnbc.com

The real extremists Police surveillance of peaceful groups crossed the line May 22, 2003 Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, a Boulder-based group, gets slapped with lots of labels. But "criminal extremist" shouldn't be among them. Newly released documents from the Denver Police Department reveal that University of Colorado police officers gathered and forwarded to Denver information on local activists such as RMAD. These documents were released under the terms of a settlement between Denver and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. The documents reveal that a Boulder law-enforcement agency monitored lawful demonstrations and sent the results to Denver, for inclusion in its "spy files." Until recently, Denver kept files on more than 3,000 individuals and 200 groups whose only offense was exercising their right to speak. In some cases, individuals and groups were labeled as "criminal extremists" even though they had neither been accused nor reasonably suspected of violating any law. bouldernews.com

THE INCREDIBLE TEFLON BUSH May 21, 2003 by Dan Dvorak How does he do it? You name the law, he’s broken it. From insider trading, to AOL (maybe even desertion), drug and alcohol abuse, extortion, perjury and what’s worse, lying to the American people, bribery, corruption, falsifying documents, lying to Congress, lying to the world, manufacturing evidence, destruction of an entire country, the murder of thousands and the murder of American troops. Add to that the starvation of millions and the responsibility for the theft and destruction of priceless artifacts, and a gift for the future Iraqi generations, the extension of pops war policy, the dumping of thousands of metric tons of DU (depleted uranium) which will sicken and kill millions over the next 4.5 billion years. Bush is also willing to scrap 200 years of friendly relations with whole countries who oppose his maniacal militarism, punishing them with lies and innuendo, using his stooges in the media to deliver the strop. thepeoplesvoice.org

Dollar decline accelerates as US Treasury abandons “strong” currency policy May 21, 2003 By Nick Beams The potential for a major crisis in global financial markets has markedly increased over the past few days amid growing concerns that the Bush administration has adopted a policy of allowing the US dollar to fall. With the US balance of payments deficit running at around 5 percent of gross domestic product and the budget moving rapidly into deficit as a result of the administration’s tax cuts to the wealthy, the US dollar was destined to fall. Indeed, since January 2002, it has declined on a trade-weighted basis against all currencies by 22 percent, dropping by more than 8 percent over the past two months. wsws.org

RACE TO THE BOTTOM May 21, 2003 Derry Brownfield We were told that GATT and NAFTA were going to be the salvation of the world. Trade barriers were to be removed and farm prices would improve, not only in the United States but around the world. Our exports would increase, higher income would prevail and the entire world would be a much better place in which to live. I was listening to talk radio when a caller tried to explain to Rush Limbaugh how disastrous the "giant sucking sound" would be. Rush cut the caller short by saying that his advisers who were economists told him that NAFTA was a good thing for our country. Since that time jobs have left America and incomes have fallen. Farm prices have not improved and farmers continue to be forced off the land. Were our leaders really that stupid to believe globalization was going to be an asset to Americans? newswithviews.com

Next War Could Begin in December 2003 May 21, 2003 The Iraq war has so upset the Navy's carrier deployment schedule that admirals are shelving prewar plans and rethinking the strategy for dispatching naval power to faraway trouble spots. In the meantime, with nearly a third of the fleet deployed or returning from wartime service, it may take up to six months before the Navy could deploy a similar force to handle another large-scale contingency, such as operations against a hostile North Korea. "We'll be re-cocked and ready to go as early as December," said Vice Adm. Timothy LaFleur, who oversees the Navy's surface warships from his San Diego headquarters. iraqwar.ru

'Pre-Emptive' Arrests Of Citizens Planning Public Protest May 21, 2003 Mitchel Cohen & Brian Tokar At least 20-30 people have been arrested and we need your help. Police invaded two known movement homes this morning, apparently in "pre-emptive raids" to prevent their attendance at Sunday's demonstration against the World Agricultural Forum. Others were taken into custody while riding their bicycles to the BioDevastation gathering at Forest Park Community College, and the police have left the bicycles lying along the road. Sarah Bantz - organizer for MORAGE and a speaker at the BioDevastation conference - was arrested for having a container of Vitamin C capsules, which police are claiming to be an illegal drug. rense.com

Whitman resigns from EPA May 21, 2003 By JOHN HEILPRIN WASHINGTON (AP) -- Christie Whitman, often at odds with the Bush White House over environmental issues and a lightning rod for the administration's critics, resigned Wednesday as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Whitman said in a letter to President Bush that she was leaving to spend time with family. Whitman had a history of clashing with the White House, starting with the president's abrupt decision to withdraw from the Kyoto global warming treaty. nj.com

Howard Dean Warns of Depression From Bush Mismanagement May 20, 2003 by Ed Tibbetts The United States will go into an economic depression if President Bush is re-elected, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said in Davenport Iowa on Sunday. He said the president has divided the country along race, income and gender lines, that he’s botched the job of defending the country and lost millions of jobs, while giving away billions of tax dollars to wealthy friends. republicons.org

Stocks Dip on Weak Dollar; Dow Slides 158 May 20, 2003 By HOPE YEN Wall Street pulled back sharply Monday as investors grew nervous that a declining dollar would dampen foreign investment and lower corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrials slid more than 150 points. "The concern is that foreign investors could be selling U.S.-based holdings and going overseas with their investment capital," said Jim Russell, director of core equity strategy for Fifth-Third Bank in Cincinnati. fredericksburg.com

Worsening global economic problems see G8 divisions deepen May 20, 2003 By Nick Beams The meeting of finance ministers from the G8—the seven major industrial economies plus Russia—held in Deauville, France, over the weekend was illustrative of two significant trends: the deepening divisions among the major capitalist powers and, even if they could reach agreement, their growing impotence in the face of the problems besetting the world economy. The outcome of the meeting, which is to be followed by the G8 heads of government summit in two weeks time, was succinctly summed up in a report in the Australian Financial Review published on Monday: “The finance ministers made it clear there was no prospect of any coordinated monetary, fiscal or currency policy action, despite the extreme pressure being brought to bear on the European and Japanese economies by the steep slide in the US dollar against their currencies.” wsws.org

ACLU warns of dangers of USA Patriot Act Group worries about civil rights threats May 20, 2003 By Jason Williams American Civil Liberties Union organizer Shenna Bellows showed a Stockton audience Sunday evening how innocent support of nonprofit agencies could bring them unwanted federal scrutiny. At a forum at Unity Church on Rose Marie Lane, Bellows asked five dozen audience members the following questions: If you have made a contribution to a nonprofit agency, please stand up. If that agency has an international connection such as a missionary, please raise one hand. If the mission is in place of conflict, such as the Middle East, please raise a hand. If your hand was raised, you are suspect to the federal government for domestic terrorism, Bellows said. recordnet.com

Al-Qaeda threatens 'stunning blows' against US, Israel May 20, 2003 Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terror network has threatened to deliver devastating blows to the United States and Israel, a Saudi-owned weekly reports. "The next strikes will stun the Americans and Israelis," Abu Mohammad al-Ablaj, "coordinator of the al Qaeda-affiliated Mujahedeen Training Centre," said in an email published by London-based Al-Majallah on Friday. "The upcoming strikes will throw the enemy off balance. They will target the rear of the snake (the United States), which Abu Abdullah (bin Laden) said should be hit," he wrote. "These strikes will hearten the faithful and disconcert the infidels," he said. abc.net.au

Prescott Bush helped Hitler

"A Dream Only American Power Can Inspire" May 20, 2003 Bush family funded Adolf Hitler May 20, 2003 Have you ever wondered how Adolph Hitler – a mediocre painter of Austrian origin – transformed himself into Germany’s Fuhrer during the 1930s and 1940s? The Nazi phenomenon was no historical coincidence, and far less a philosophical whim made real by just one man. Nazism had its followers, many of them exceptionally wealthy, veritable alchemists of the financial world back then. According to research carried out over the last few years, Wall Street bankers (amongst others) financed Hitler’s rise to power whilst making large profits at the same time. What is yet still more deplorable is the fact that relatives of the current U.S. president were amongst this group of individuals. iraqwar.ru

The Project for the New American Century’s vision of global military dominance May 20, 2003 by Dru Oja Jay Critics of US foreign policy no longer need to make the argument that the US is trying to undermine the UN and international law, while making active use of global military dominance; the Project for the New American Century is doing it for them. Founded in 1997 on the premise that "too few political leaders today are making the case for [American] global leadership", the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) is a right wing, Washington-based think tank committed to "promoting the idea that American leadership is good both for America and for the world." dominionpaper.ca

Iraq 'first battle of a wider US war' May 20, 2003 Richard Norton-Taylor The invasion of Iraq was a "single campaign in a much larger war" against the Bush administration's "axis of evil", the conference was told. "Iraq was not a war, Iraq was a battle," said John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org, an American defence policy research group. He said now that Saddam was gone, Syria had been "elevated" up the axis of evil, with Iran also in the firing line - with Israel's support - due to its nuclear programme. North Korea and Libya were also in Washington's frame, he said. guardian.co.uk

Antiwar stance led to eviction May 20, 2003 By Dan Shingler Pop quiz: In which country can a tenant be evicted for protesting against the government? Answer: The United States of America. That's what the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees Union's District 1199, based in Albuquerque, found out last month when they were evicted from their offices on San Mateo Boulevard. According to the complaint filed by their landlord, Carroll Ventures Inc., the union "breached the terms of its lease by holding an anti-war demonstration. . . ." informationclearinghouse.info

Struggling to find any kind of work

Here we go again, an overextended military overseas, a depressed economy at home, and the darkening of the American Dream. May 19, 2003 By Stewart Nusbaumer On a New York subway train yesterday in the middle of the afternoon surrounded by the safe Upper West Side, my daughter’s wallet was stolen. Before she could arrive home and telephone the credit card company, numerous charges had been made: $135 for perfume, $263 for shoes, $59 for lunch, $210 for three subway passes, $88 for a railroad ticket to Long Island, $80 worth of wine. While her wallet was being lifted, I was reading that the U.S. military is imposing security on the other side of the world, wealthy New Yorkers are paying enormous sums of money for lavish Manhattan apartments, and workers in Brooklyn and the Bronx are struggling to find any kind of work. I didn’t read anything about New York crime, which is just as well. Statistics on crime in New York City are as trustworthy as statistics on SARS in Beijing. interventionmag.com

IRS Takes Property After Computer Error; Refuses Compensation, Declines to Apologize May 18, 2003 CNSNews.com Tax attorney Earl Epstein of Philadelphia testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee that one of his clients, whose name remained confidential, had had a lien placed on her small beauty shop by the Internal Revenue Service Collection Division. The lien was for unpaid taxes of approximately $175. To clear the lien, the IRS sold the client's shop equipment at auction, putting her out of business. At the auction, the client had produced the canceled check with which she had paid the tax to the IRS. The IRS agent refused to listen to her and proceeded with the sale. Subsequently, the woman hired a lawyer, who obtained copies of the computer records of her account from the IRS. He was able to show that the IRS had made an erroneous double entry of the tax on their computer system. In other words, an IRS error had led to the lien. Although the IRS acknowledged the error to the woman's lawyer, it refused to repay the money it collected on the sale of her property. Since the law at that time did not permit an award of damages for such a small amount, there was little that could be done, save alert her congressman to her plight. As a result of a letter to her congressman, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to permit her to bring an action against the federal government for damages. The bill died in committee, and she was never compensated. She also never received an apology from the IRS. cnsnews.com

BushCo Reams Nation Good, No WMDs after all, no excuse for war, too late for anyone to care anymore. Ha-ha, suckers May 17, 2003 By Mark Morford Ha-ha-ha oh man did we ever get smacked on that one. Conned big time. Punk'd like dogs. Just gotta shake your head, laugh it off. They reamed us but good, baby! Damn. Turns out it really was all a big joke after all. The war, that is. All a big fat nasty murderous oil-licking lie, a sneaky little power-mad game with you as the sucker and the world as the pawn and BushCo as the slithery war thug, the dungeon master, the prison daddy. You really have to laugh. Because it's just so wonderfully ridiculous. In a rather disgusting, soul-draining sort of way. sfgate.com

Bush Lies And Wins, You Lose May 17, 2003 The Senate...narrowly approved a $350 billion tax cut...The final bill passed 51 to 49, with three Democrats voting for it and three Republicans opposed... The Senate bill actually is more generous to corporations and investors than either the House-approved tax cut package or the president's original proposal...Investors who own shares in corporations that pay little or no federal taxes would pay no taxes at the corporate or individual level. "This kind of gives the lie to the argument that what this is all about is eliminating the double taxation of dividends," said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities....Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) said: "It's a starkly elitist tax break. The fortunate few will be able to shelter all their investment income, while working Americans will continue to pay taxes and shoulder the obligations of our nation."... bushwatch.net

TRUTH IS OFTEN HARD TO SWALLOW SO WE REST IN COMFORTABLE LIES AND DELUSIONS May 17, 2003 By: Dorothy Anne Seese Truth hurts.  When evil people come to power, a lot of people who are trying to fight the evil have to suffer.  That is true the world over and it is true in the United States.  What hurts even more is when people who are trying to restore our nation to some semblance of sanity and constitutionality are demonized, relegated to the dinosaur house, and mocked when they speak out about the direction our nation is headed. This dilemma is as old as mankind's civilizations.  The evil come to power and oppress those who want nothing more than peace and an opportunity to live amidst the ordinary struggles of life as best they can.  The sole purpose of nations, and national sovereignty, is for peoples who think alike, speak the same language and have common interests to have a common bond of government within a defined boundary.  They mark out their territory and draw imaginary lines on the globe, and within those lines they seek to just live their short lives (and all life is short) as free of trouble as possible. etherzone.com

FCC: Public Be Damned May 17, 2003 by John Nichols & Robert W. McChesney Cheered on by the Bush Administration and powerful media conglomerates, Federal Communications Commission chair Michael Powell is pushing ahead with a June 2 vote to gut longstanding rules designed to prevent the growth of media monopolies. If successful, Powell's push could, in the words of dissident commissioner Michael Copps, "dramatically [alter] our nation's media landscape without the kind of debate and analysis that these issues clearly merit." Copps and the other Democratic commissioner, Jonathan Adelstein, have asked for a thirty-day delay in the vote, but Powell has the upper hand--he and two other Republican commissioners form a majority on the five-member FCC. thenation.com

Coalition Troops Are Accused of Torture May 17, 2003 By ED JOHNSON Amnesty International is investigating claims that British and American troops tortured prisoners of war in Iraq with night-long beatings and, in at least one case, electric shocks, the group said Friday. The human rights organization gathered statements from 20 former detainees who said they had been kicked and beaten by soldiers while being interrogated, Amnesty researcher Said Boumedouha told a news conference in London. One Saudi Arabian national claimed he was tortured with electric shocks, Boumedouha said. When asked if his use of the word ``torture'' accurately described the alleged treatment, Boumedouha responded: ``If you keep beating somebody for the whole night and somebody is bleeding and you are breaking teeth, it is more than beating. I think that is torture.'' news-journal.com

Belgian war lawsuits "very serious": US defense chief May 17, 2003 BRUSSELS (AFP)  Lawsuits filed in Belgium against US officials for alleged war crimes are "very serious" and could impact on travel arrangements of US officials, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. Responding to a lawsit expected to be filed Wednesday against the US commander in Iraq, General Tommy Franks, General Richard Myers said it would be up to diplomats to work out the exact consequences. But he said: "It's looked upon by the US government as a very very serious situation... It is serious and it could clearly have an impact on where we gather." spacewar.com

U.S. manufacturing down in April Deflation concerns linger following unsettling picture of slow recovery May 17, 2003 By JOHN SCHMID The nation's manufacturing economy downshifted last month as factories lumbered at their lowest capacity in two decades and overall industrial output declined for the sixth time in nine months. A raft of dispiriting government data Thursday depicted a recovery crawling ahead in low gear, shedding jobs as it goes, even as fears tied to the Iraq war subside. Thursday's numbers were particularly unsettling for the Midwest, where manufacturing remains the backbone of the regional economy. "Manufacturing is in danger of a double dip," said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, D.C. jsonline.com

Computerized Voting: The Potential for Cheating and Fraud and Solutions For Prevention May 16, 2003 By Rob Kall  The use of computerized voting software has emerged so quickly. With some states and the federal government banning punch card ballots, the explosion of computerized voting will continue at a greater pace than ever. As an experienced software developer, it amazes me that there do not appear to be any laws that consider the ways voting software can be inappropriately manipulated. It is incredibly easy to cheat the system, for one bad apple or rogue programmer to literally steal an election, or a lot of elections. thepeoplesvoice.org

I loathe America, and what it has done to the rest of the world May 16, 2003 By Margaret Drabble I knew that the wave of anti-Americanism that would swell up after the Iraq war would make me feel ill. And it has. It has made me much, much more ill than I had expected. My anti-Americanism has become almost uncontrollable. It has possessed me, like a disease. It rises up in my throat like acid reflux, that fashionable American sickness. I now loathe the United States and what it has done to Iraq and the rest of the helpless world. I can hardly bear to see the faces of Bush and Rumsfeld, or to watch their posturing body language, or to hear their self-satisfied and incoherent platitudes. The liberal press here has done its best to make them appear ridiculous, but these two men are not funny. I was tipped into uncontainable rage by a report on Channel 4 News about "friendly fire", which included footage of what must have been one of the most horrific bombardments ever filmed. But what struck home hardest was the subsequent image, of a row of American warplanes, with grinning cartoon faces painted on their noses. Cartoon faces, with big sharp teeth. It is grotesque. It is hideous. This great and powerful nation bombs foreign cities and the people in those cities from Disneyland cartoon planes out of comic strips. This is simply not possible. And yet, there they were. telegraph.co.uk

Russia to Deliver Attack Against the USA  May 16, 2003 The Russian military command seems to have learned the lessons of the Iraq war and now plans to demonstrate the USA and its allies the whole of Russia's resolve to strike back against any potential threat from the West, the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports. The newspaper says that as soon as NATO Secretary General George Robertson leaves the Russian capital, Moscow will immediately launch the largest military exercises it has seen in years. During the exercises, the newspaper says, Russian strategic bombers and submarine missile-carriers will simulate nuclear attacks against several military targets on the territory of the USA and Great Britain. They will also work on searching for and liquidating US Navy aircraft carriers transporting attack squadrons. english.pravda.ru

Remains of toxic bullets litter Iraq May 16, 2003 By Scott Peterson The Monitor finds high levels of radiation left by US armor-piercing shells. BAGHDAD – At a roadside produce stand on the outskirts of Baghdad, business is brisk for Latifa Khalaf Hamid. Iraqi drivers pull up and snap up fresh bunches of parsley, mint leaves, dill, and onion stalks. But Ms. Hamid's stand is just four paces away from a burnt-out Iraqi tank, destroyed by - and contaminated with - controversial American depleted-uranium (DU) bullets. Local children play "throughout the day" on the tank, Hamid says, and on another one across the road. No one has warned the vendor in the faded, threadbare black gown to keep the toxic and radioactive dust off her produce. The children haven't been told not to play with the radioactive debris. csmonitor.com

The Perfect Enemy - Terrorists Who Can't Be Caught Because They Don't Exist Or Because They Are CIA Assets May 16, 2003 By John Kaminski "War is a sociological safety valve that cleverly diverts popular hatred for the ruling classes into a happy occasion to mutilate or kill foreign enemies." -- Ernest Becker War provides the perfect cover for those waging it to commit crimes against not only enemies but also friends. Amid the patriotic flag waving and somber ceremony, the populace is cowed into distraction and for the most part will not see the chicanery and manipulation that not only created the conditions FOR the war, but also will not perceive that the purpose OF it is not to defeat the enemy, but to financially castrate and sociologically neutralize those who are actually helping to wage the war. Such is the process by which those in power consolidate their advantage among their so-called friends. rense.com

GOODBYE, EUROPE ... HELLO, "EURUSSIA" ... and "hello Gold!" May 16, 2003 The international alliances most of us have grown up with and have learned to take for granted are now simply dead. They no longer exist, save in words only. Germany no longer is an ally of the United States. France probably never was, but now doesn't even feel the need to pretend anymore. Both countries now feel more sympathy and commonality with such benevolent regimes as Russia and China, with pre-war Iraq, Iran, Lybia, Saudi-Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority, rather than with their old buddies, the US and Israel. What changed them? gooff.com

90% of large fish in world's oceans gone, study says May 16, 2003 OTTAWA (CP) The collapse of Atlantic cod stocks, far from being an unusual disaster, is typical of what's happening to large fish around the world, a major study has found. Industrial fishing has cut populations of large fish in the oceans to a mere 10 per cent of 1950 levels, says the study, published today in Nature magazine. The devastating decline affects open ocean species such as tuna, swordfish and marlin, and groundfish such as cod, halibut and flounder. "Our analysis suggests that the global ocean has lost more than 90 per cent of large predatory fishes," study authors Ransom Myers and Boris Worm of Dalhousie University say. thestar.com

Republicans 'used anti-terror agency' to find political foes May 16, 2003 Oliver Burkeman Fifty-one Texan Democrats who skipped town in the dead of night to defeat a controversial piece of legislation were tracked down after Republicans reportedly used a federal anti-terrorism agency, it emerged yesterday. The group of state representatives were found holed up at a Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Oklahoma, on Tuesday by Texas Rangers with orders to arrest them. guardian.co.uk

“I’m the majority leader,” DeLay  said, “and I want more seats.”

A provocation against democratic rights: Texas Republicans order state police to seize Democratic legislators May 15, 2003 By Patrick Martin This week’s political events in Texas—Democratic legislators boycotting the state House of Representatives to block reactionary legislation, the Republican governor ordering state police to arrest them, the Democrats fleeing the state capital and taking refuge in neighboring Oklahoma, under the protection of that state’s Democratic administration—are an indication of the extraordinary buildup of political tensions within the United States. Democrats boycotted the state house to prevent passage of a redistricting bill which would gerrymander the state’s congressional delegation in Washington, shifting as many as seven seats from Democratic to Republican control. This could be decisive in maintaining control of the US House of Representatives by the Republicans in the 2004 election. They presently hold a narrow majority of 229 to 205. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who represents a wealthy Houston suburban district, played the key role in drawing up the new boundaries and deciding to push for them with legislation that would overturn district lines set only last year by a nonpartisan panel of federal judges. DeLay made no bones about his motive: “I’m the majority leader,” he said, “and I want more seats.” wsws.org

The truth about Jessica May 15, 2003 By John Kampfner Her Iraqi guards had long fled, she was being well cared for - and doctors had already tried to free her. The real story behind a modern American war myth. Jessica Lynch became an icon of the war. An all-American heroine, the story of her capture by the Iraqis and her rescue by US special forces became one of the great patriotic moments of the conflict. It couldn't have happened at a more crucial moment, when the talk was of coalition forces bogged down, of a victory too slow in coming. Her rescue will go down as one of the most stunning pieces of news management yet conceived. It provides a remarkable insight into the real influence of Hollywood producers on the Pentagon's media managers, and has produced a template from which America hopes to present its future wars. But the American media tactics, culminating in the Lynch episode, infuriated the British, who were supposed to be working alongside them in Doha, Qatar. This Sunday, the BBC's Correspondent programme reveals the inside story of the rescue that may not have been as heroic as portrayed, and of divisions at the heart of the allies' media operation. guardian.co.uk

Rumsfeld Wants 'Nazi-Like Emergency Powers' - Rumsfeld's 'Notverordnung' May 15, 2003 By Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. On the subject of the proposed "Defense Transformation Act of the 21st Century," which has been presented on behalf of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumseld. 1. Our U.S. Federal Constitution was crafted under the authority of that natural law stipulated by our 1776 Declaration of Independence and Preamble of that Constitution. The separation of powers is the principal functional distinction of that Constitution as a whole. In the matter of the proposed legislation, the authorities demanded for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would be a grave material breach of that Constitution, a leak in the dike which opens the way for the kinds of dictatorial powers assumed by the Adolf Hitler regime on February 28, 1933, powers from which all the principal crimes of the Hitler regime ensued. 2. In this matter, we can not be blind to the fact that leading members of the present Administration, such as Vice-President Cheney and Secretary Rumseld, have associated themselves with a philosophy of unconstitutional and other insurrectionary practices formerly identified as "Synarchist: Nazi-Communist." The stated premises of the most clearly objectionable features of the draft legislation are also peculiarly consistent with the Nazi legal doctrine of Carl Schmitt, a notorious confederate of the late Professor Leo Strauss and Alexandre Kojeve whose synarchist connections and style in philosophy are those of relevant high-ranking officers of Secretary Rumsfeld's Department of Defense. rense.com

9/11 Cover Up by the Bush's Administration May 14, 2003 by Abraham The White House has been the major force blocking release of the Final Report of the Congressional Joint Inquiry into the events of 9-11. On CBS News' Face the Nation on 4/11/03, Bob Graham has publicly accused the White House of trying to cover up such ongoing threats — and its own intelligence failures — by refusing to declassify information about them. Get Ready to Impeach Bush, Cheney, Richard Meyer & More! indymedia.org