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NOVEMBER
18-13, 03
Archives |
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Omertà Is In Firm Control Of White House
November 18, 2003 by Kevin According
to Merriam-Webster, Omertà is the code for a way of life employed chiefly among
members of the criminal underworld that enjoins private vengeance and the
refusal to give information to outsiders. It seems that the Sopranos are not
even in the same league as this Administration. Whenever there is a problem such
as the truth about this Administration's high crimes and misdemeanors about to
break, Consigliore Rove whispers into the ear of "Don" (Little Dick)
Cheney who growls "bring me their head" to his personal Hit Men:
(Knife) Novak, (Baby Face) Brit Hume, or (Fats) Limbaugh. These accomplished
character assassins are then unleashed upon the squealer as in the case of the
true patriot Ambassador Joseph Wilson. buzzflash.com
Bush Is 'Greatest Threat To Life On The
Planet' Says The Mayor Of London November 18,
2003 By Nigel Morris Home Affairs Correspondent The Independent - UK Ken
Livingstone, the Mayor of London, launched a stinging attack on President George
Bush last night, denouncing him as the "greatest threat to life on this
planet that we've most probably ever seen". rense.com
Washington’s practice of torture by
proxy November 18, 2003 By Keith Jones
Maher Arar’s poignant account of his treatment by US, Jordanian and Syrian
authorities constitutes a devastating exposure of the illegal, arbitrary and
barbaric methods Washington is employing in the name of combating terrorism. It
also raises vital questions as to the role that the Canadian government and its
police and intelligence agencies played in delivering Arar into the hands of his
torturers. wsws.org
THE NEOCONS ARE LOSING Bush exit strategy
enrages War Party – ha, ha, ha! November 18,
2003 Raimondo As George W. Bush gets ready to hightail it out of Iraq –
or at least tries to convince the American people that's what he's doing with
his "Iraqification"
policy – the neocons are up
in arms and poor little Billy
Kristol is in a veritable tizzy. In a
piece co-authored with Robert Kagan in the Weekly Standard, he wails that
the front page of the November 7 Washington Post "says it all: "The
first headline, in large type: 'Bush
Urges Commitment to Transform Mideast.' Below, in slightly smaller type: 'Pentagon
to Shrink Iraq Force.' And below that: 'Iraqi
Security Crews Getting Less Training.' It's a jarring juxtaposition. The
president eloquently makes the case for a necessarily and admirably ambitious
foreign policy. Yet his own administration's deeds threaten the achievement of
his goals. " Yes, it does seem that way, now doesn't it? And thank God for
that. No
more wars in '04 is how Karl Rove would prefer it, but the neocons never let
an election get in the way of their favorite blood sport – especially if it's
Arab blood being spilled. antiwar.com
BUSH PULLS OUT
OF SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT November 18, 2003
By Bob Roberts, Political Correspondent GEORGE Bush was last night
branded chicken for scrapping his speech to Parliament because he feared being
heckled by anti-war MPs. The US president planned to give a joint address to the
Commons and Lords during his state visit to Britain. But senior White House
adviser Dr Harlan Ullman said: "They would have loved to do it because it
would have been a great photo-opportunity. "But they were fearful it would
to turn into a spectacle with Labour backbenchers walking out." The
decision to abandon the speech came as extraordinary security measures costing
£19million placed London under a state of virtual siege ahead of Mr Bush's
arrival tomorrow. mirror.co.uk
Italian Member of Coalition in Iraq Quits
November 18, 2003 By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD,
Iraq - An Italian official in the U.S.-led coalition has resigned, accusing L.
Paul Bremer's administration of inefficiency and failing to understand Iraq
sharp criticisms that raise questions about the authority's ability to carry out
the delicate task of transferring power to Iraqis. The allegations by Marco
Calamai, a special counselor of the Coalition Provisional Authority in the
southern province of Dhi Qar, came as Russia and France criticized the U.S.
timetable for handing over power to the Iraqis by July 1. news.yahoo.com
Activist/Author Announces 10 Preliminary
Actions to Defeat President Bush in 2004.
November 18, 2003 (Worcester, MA, Michael Dobbins, author of the book ‘Stop
Bush in 2004: How Every Citizen Can Help’, today announced a list of ’10
Preliminary Actions’ every American can take now to ensure Bush is defeated
next fall. Available for free through Dobbins’ website www.StopBushin2004.com,
‘10 Preliminary Actions’ provides a head start for Americans with the desire
to defeat Bush in ‘04. prweb.com
Huge rock-ice body circles Sun By
Dr David Whitehouse November
18, 2003 BBC News Astronomers have found a large
object orbiting the Sun near Neptune's orbit. It was discovered on Friday by an
automated sky survey project designed to search for threatening asteroids that
may be on an Earth impact course. The object is about 570 km across, making it
one of the largest bodies of its kind found in modern times. bbc.co.uk
The world must stop this madman November 17, 2003
By Maureen Dowd
No, not Saddam. That other gun-toting, tough-talking cowboy in the Oval
Office. The trap is sprung. The name of the game is containment. Contain
the wild man, the leader with the messianic and relentless glint who is scaring
the world. Surround him, throw Lilliputian nets on him, tie him up with a lot of
United Nations inspection demands, humour him long enough to stop him from using
his weapons and blowing up the Middle East. But this time, the object of the
containment strategy is not Saddam Hussein, but George Bush, the president with
real bombs, not the predator with plans to make them. smh.com.au
My husband died in vain November
17, 2003 By Severin Carrell and Andrew Buncombe What one British
widow will tell Mr Bush this week. President George Bush will be accused this
week of lying about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in a face-to-face meeting
with the families of British soldiers killed in the war, The Independent on
Sunday can reveal. independent.co.uk
Washington’s unpopular war: Americans
turn against Bush November
17, 2003 BY DOUG LORIMER For the first time since the US began its
war to conquer Iraq and turn its oil resources over to US corporations, a
majority of US voters disapprove of the way US President George Bush is handling
the situation in Iraq according to the latest USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll. greenleft.org
Why are retirement pensions under attack?
November
17, 2003 By Jean Shaoul Under the guise of reform, pensions are
under attack in virtually every industrialised country in the world. As a
result, millions of workers face appalling poverty and isolation in their last
years and pensions are fast becoming one of the most bitterly contested
political issues around. wsws.org
The Trojan Horse
By PAUL KRUGMAN What are we
going to do about Medicare? That should be the subject of an open national
debate. But right now Congressional leaders are trying to settle the question by
stealth, with legislation that purports to be doing something else. Meanwhile,
another proposal — to force Medicare to compete with private insurers —
seems intended to undermine the whole system. nytimes.com
Gold Nears $400 as Bombs Weaken Dollar
November
17, 2003 SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold rose on Monday to just a
fraction below the $400-an-ounce level last breached in March 1996, lifted by a
weakening dollar and a spate of bombings. Spot gold rose as high as $399.50 an
ounce in early Asian trade. "There are lot of bulls out there," said
one bullion dealer in Sydney. "Japan is probably where the buying will come
from. I imagine there will be a lot of profit-taking before we touch $400.
Certainly, within the next we few days we are going to break $400." news.yahoo.com
Former soldier says sexual assault in the military changed her life November
17, 2003 by: Amy Herdy Denver Post Staff Writer ST.
PETERSBURG, FL - She studied at the Air Force Academy and served in the Colorado
National Guard. Sharon Mixon is one of dozens of women who’ve spoken to the
Denver Post about being sexually assaulted in the military. As part of the
Guard, Mixon served as a combat medic during Operation Desert Storm. Dealing
with blood and death was part of her job, she says, but nothing prepared her for
the nightmare of being gang raped by fellow American soldiers. (VIDEO)
“Apparently there was something in my drink because the next thing I know is
that I'm face down on the cot and I cannot breathe,” says Mixon. The rape left
her unable, at times, to speak clearly. She also says she is unable to have
children. 9news.com
US media sanctions campaign of atrocities
in Iraq November 17, 2003 By
Patrick Martin The visible disarray of the Bush administration’s Iraq
policy, in the wake of a series of military-political disasters—the shooting
down of helicopters, suicide bombings, the mortar attacks on US occupation
headquarters in the “Green Zone” in central Baghdad—is a turning point in
the war in Iraq. wsws.org
Bush, Britons' Unwanted Guest November
17, 2003 By Matthew McAllester STAFF
CORRESPONDENT London - When American soldiers pulled down a statue of
Saddam Hussein from a plinth in Baghdad on April 9, it was perhaps George W.
Bush's sweetest moment as president. When British anti-war protesters pull down
a statue of Bush from a plinth in London on Thursday during Bush's full state
visit to this country, they hope it will be one of his bitterest moments.
"This is the least-welcome guest these shores have seen since William the
Conqueror," said George Galloway, a left-wing member of the British
parliament who was recently expelled from the ruling Labor Party and is a
leading anti-war and anti-Bush campaigner. "This is the most dangerous man
in world politics today. This is a giant with the mind of a child." newsday.com
Amnesty International calls on Israel's
High Court to respect international law by rejecting torture November 17, 2003 As
Israel's High Court of Justice embarks on a review of the use of certain
interrogation methods by the General Security Service (GSS), Amnesty
International calls on the court to reject continued use of these techniques, as
they constitute torture and are in flagrant breach of Israel's commitments under
international law. "Israel is the only
country in the world known to have effectively legalized torture by officially
allowing such methods," Amnesty International said. "We are hoping for
a clear ruling by the High Court that the use of such interrogation techniques
is unacceptable." amnesty.org
Blame Israel, says Red Cross as it ends
food aid for West Bank November 17, 2003
By Justin Huggler in Jerusalem The International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) is ending its emergency food programme in the West Bank, saying
the economic collapse there is the direct result of Israeli military closures
and that Israel must live up to its responsibility as the occupying power for
the economic needs of the Palestinians. news.independent.co.uk
U.S.
casualties from Iraq war top 9,000
November
16, 2003
By Mark Benjamin WASHINGTON
(UPI) -- The number of U.S. casualties from Operation Iraqi Freedom -- troops
killed, wounded or evacuated due to injury or illness -- has passed 9,000,
according to new Pentagon data. In addition to the
397 service members who have died and the 1,967 wounded, 6,861 troops were
medically evacuated for non-combat conditions between March 19 and Oct. 30, the
Army Surgeon General's office said. That brings
total casualties among all services to more than 9,200, and represents an
increase of nearly 3,000 non-combat medical evacuations reported since the first
week of October. The Army offered no immediate explanation for the increase. upi.com
US choppers downed in Iraq
November
16, 2003 Seventeen soldiers have been killed and five others wounded when
two US military helicopters crashed in the northern Iraqi city of
Mosul. The casualty toll makes this the deadliest
single strike on US forces since the war began. One soldier remains unaccounted
for, the US military said. An occupation force spokesman
has confirmed that two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters had come down. There
was no word on possible Iraqi casualties on the ground. english.aljazeera.net
60% say Bush
a threat to world peace
November 16, 2003 The full extent of the low regard Britons have for
George Bush has been revealed in a poll. The US President was branded a threat
to world peace by a clear majority, 60%, of those questioned by YouGov. More
than one in three, 37%, said Mr Bush was "stupid" while 33% called him
"incoherent". Only a minority saw positive characteristics in Mr Bush,
with just 7% regarding him as a good world leader, 6% as articulate and 10% as
intelligent. icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk
School of Assassins, USA
November 16, 2003 Founded by the United States in 1946, the SOA was initially
located in Panama, but in 1984 it was kicked out under the terms of the Panama
Canal Treaty and moved to the army base at Fort Benning, Georgia. Then-President
of Panama Jorge Illueca called it "the biggest base for de-stabilization in
Latin America," and a major Panamanian newspaper dubbed it " The
School of Assassins." bolivia.indymedia.org
You
won't believe what happens next November
16, 2003 BY MICHAEL VENTURA (Austin Chronicle ) James Baldwin said that
Nazism thrived not because most Germans were evil but because most were
spineless. One cowardly compromise after another, succumbing to the bluster of
bullies, quickly created a climate in which the rare act of courage, however
splendid, became futile. Cowardice proved infectious, contagious. Taking a stand
against the dark storm, individuals might have redeemed themselves, but their
nobility disappeared with barely a trace; the Nazi anti-culture created a kind
of collective immunity to anything redemptive. Only rampant destruction and
total collapse would finally cleanse that corrosive atmosphere, so that new
beginnings could be made and genuine values could again take root. Is that
what is happening to us? Perhaps. informationclearinghouse.info
All of a sudden the
Patriot Act isn't just about terrorists anymore
November 16, 2003 By Clarence Page Chicago
Tribune WASHINGTON -- In our latest episode of
continuing adventures with the USA Patriot Act, FBI agents say they have used
the new anti-terrorism law to prosecute a political bribery case centered on the
owner of some Las Vegas strip clubs. What do topless dancers in Vegas have to do
with terrorism, you may ask? Nothing...sltrib.com
For Middle Class, Health Insurance
Becomes a Luxury By STEPHANIE STROM DALLAS -- The last time Kevin Thornton
had health insurance was three years ago, which was not much of a problem until
he began having trouble swallowing. The majority of the uninsured are neither
poor by official standards nor unemployed. They are accountants like Mr.
Thornton, employees of small businesses, civil servants, single working mothers
and those working part time or on contract. "Now it's hitting people who
look like you and me, dress like you and me, drive nice cars and live in nice
houses but can't afford $1,000 a month for health insurance for their
families," said R. King Hillier, director of legislative relations for
Harris County, which includes Houston. nytimes.com
Russia
Ready to Vaporize the Jewish State Part 2: Vladimir Putin hammers the final nail
into Israel’s coffin November 16, 2003 Joe
Vialls When Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested in Russia and his Yukos oil
assets seized, the process represented far more than simple payback against the
most powerful Zionist Jew in Moscow. At a single stroke, President Vladimir
Putin ensured future Russian national security, consolidated several former
republics of the old Soviet Union, and most important of all, eternally blocked
Israel’s attempts to use “free” Yukos oil to drive its engines of war
across the entire Middle East. Part
1 / Part
2
Sharon's Top Aide 'Sure World War III Is
Coming' November 16, 2003 From MER -
Mid-East Realities MiddleEast.Org "Where the CIA goes, the Mossad goes as
well. Israeli and American interests have come together in the dominance of the
Central Asian region and therefore, so have liberal ideology, the Beltway set,
neo-conservatism, Ivy League eggheads, Christian Zionism, the Rothschilds and
the American media. Afghanistan through the Caspian Sea through to Georgia,
Azerbaijan and into the Balkans (not to mention pipelines leading to oil-hungry
China), have become one single theater of war over trillions of dollars in oil
and gas wealth, incorporating every single power center in global politics. The
battle against the New World Order is being decided in Moscow." rense.com
CIA Finds No Evidence Hussein Sought to
Arm Terrorists
November 16, 2003 By Walter Pincus Washington Post The CIA's search for
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has found no evidence that former president
Saddam Hussein tried to transfer chemical or biological technology or weapons to
terrorists, according to a military and intelligence expert. washingtonpost.com
Looting the Treasury
November 16, 2003 Again How's this for offensive and non-democratic?
Republicans, working in
private -- while Democrats, frustrated, tried to figure out what they were
up to by reading the newspapers -- have unveiled
their Frankenstein
Monster, the so-called energy bill. Its 1,700
pages would give away $16
billion, or maybe
$20 billion, or perhaps
$80 billion -- incredibly, intelligent observers are still trying to
determine that. "In fact, nobody but a few insiders even know all that is
in the bill," observes
Ralph Nader. thenation.com
CLEAR
LIES - The Dirty, Deadly Truth About Bush’s
“Clear Skies Initiative” and Catastrophic Energy Bill November
15, 2003 by Cheryl Seal At this moment, Bush's Congressional goons are
trying to ram through the White House's Energy Bill, refusing to allow Democrats
- or the US public - to know what is
going on! In short, a handful of self-interested creeps on the corporate take
are deciding the long-term future for ALL of us.
It appears that the big side show staged this week over the judicial nominations
(with the aid of FOX and CNN) was just a smokescreen to hide the REAL and
immediate objective : Ramming through billions of dollars in giveaways to the
fossil fuel and nuke barons while pushing America's air, water, and natural
lands to the brink of no return. SPEAK UP NOW – or let your children and
grandchildren suffer the consequences. The Clean Air Act was one of—if not the
most—important pieces of U.S. legislation of the 20th century. In 2002, Bush
proposed replacing the Clean Air Act with the grotesquely named (as in very,
very sick joke) Clear Skies Initiative. If enacted, it will be one of the most
destructive steps taken in the 21st century. Not only will it reverse much of
the environmental progress made in the past several decades in the U.S., it is
likely to reverse progress in other nations, and thus become a global disaster. baltimore.indymedia.org
9-11 Questions Still
Circling Where Was
the FAA? Where Was NORAD? November
15, 2003 by James Ridgeway
Last week the 9-11 Commission
subpoenaed some Pentagon papers and is still arguing with the White House about
the release of other documents, complaining that panelists have
"encountered some serious delays in obtaining needed documents from the
Department of Defense. We are especially dismayed by problems in the production
of the records of activities of NORAD and certain air force commands on
September 11, 2001." villagevoice.com
Wolfowitz on Reinstating Draft: "We need
this and we are going to get it"
November 15, 2003 TBR News The White House advisors have been making
discreet inquiries on the Hill about the Bush plan to reinstitute a universal
draft in America…this in spite of the potentially deadly reactions that could
blast the President out of the White House. Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld are pushing
this in spite of repeated warnings, even from inside the Pentagon, that this
would be political suicide. “We need this and we are going to get it”
Wolfowitz said to one of our senior editors on Monday. propagandamatrix.com
Dollar Heads for
Biggest Weekly Loss Against Euro in Six Months
November 15, 2003 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell
against the euro, headed for its biggest weekly loss in six months, after
Europe's economy returned to growth and the Federal Reserve signaled it won't
raise interest rates in coming months. quote.bloomberg.com
Mother of US soldier: “Bush
killed my son” November 15, 2003 By Kate
Randall The mother of one of the US soldiers who died when a Chinook
helicopter was shot down in Iraq earlier this month has sharply condemned the
Bush administration, and blames George W. Bush for her son’s death. First Lt.
Brian Slavenas, 30, an Illinois National Guardsman, was the pilot of the
helicopter that crashed November 2, resulting in 16 soldiers’ deaths and 20
injuries. wsws.org
Bush's 'stunt' angers families
November 15, 2003 George Bush's plans to meet families of British soldiers
killed in Iraq were dismissed last night as a selfish stunt by two angry
fathers. The US President wants to meet relatives during his visit to the UK
next week to tell them their loved ones died in a ''noble cause''. During his
three-day trip, he will be calling in on Tony Blair's County Durham
constituency. But grieving fathers Robert Kelly and Reg Keys said the meeting
would only benefit Mr Bush. Mr Kelly's 18-year-old son, Private Andrew Kelly, of
3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, died in a shooting accident in Basra on
May 6. The 53-year-old father said: ''For these people to meet families, it is
only for their own gain. thisisthenortheast.co.uk
The Real Jobs Numbers
November 15, 2003 A number of factors must be
considered in order to understand the severity of the current labor slump: The
record length of time that jobs have failed to recover—Prior to the current
slump, jobs had never fallen over a two and a half year period since monthly job
numbers began in 1939. As of October 2003, payroll jobs had fallen by 2.4
million below the level of March 2001. The growth in the working age population
since the recession began in March 2001—Even as jobs were shrinking by 1.8
percent, the working age population (i.e., the number of people of working age)
was growing by 3.4 percent. Had job growth kept up with working age population
growth over that period, 6.9 million more payroll jobs would have been filled in
October 2003. tompaine.com
Virus synthesised in a fortnight November
15, 2003 NewScientist.com news service Genome maverick Craig
Venter has taken a significant step towards his ambitious goal of building a
living organism from scratch. His team has developed a new technique to assemble
large pieces of DNA with relative ease and unprecedented speed. The method
equally makes it much simpler to manufacture a deadly virus for use as a
bioweapon. The simple precursors needed would be impossible for governments to
keep out of the hands of would-be biowarriors. The new results are published in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences newscientist.com
Dirty business November
15, 2003 By Phillip Babich How Bush and his coal industry cronies are
covering up one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. INEZ, Ky.
-- The EPA called the Inez spill the worst environmental catastrophe in the
history of the Eastern United States. Far more extensive in damage than the
widely known 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska, the Martin
County Coal slurry spill dumped an estimated 306 million gallons of toxic sludge
down 100 miles of waterways. salon.com
GCHQ whistleblower charged
November 15, 2003 Richard Norton-Taylor A sacked GCHQ employee charged
yesterday under the Official Secrets Act said last night that her alleged
disclosures exposed serious wrongdoing by the US and could have helped to
prevent the deaths of Iraqis and British forces in an "illegal war."
In a statement last night, Ms Gun said: "Any disclosures that may have been
made were justified because they exposed serious illegality and wrongdoing on
the part of the US government which attempted to subvert our own security
services. Secondly, they could have helped prevent widescale death and
casualties amongst ordinary Iraqi people and UK forces in the course of an
illegal war." She said no money was involved in any disclosure. "I
have only ever followed my conscience." guardian.co.uk
US toll in Iraq starts to make mark on
history November 15, 2003 The American death
toll in Iraq has surpassed the number of US soldiers killed during the first
three years of the Vietnam War. A Reuters analysis of US Defence Department
statistics showed that the Vietnam War, which the army says officially began on
December 11, 1961, produced 392 fatal casualties from 1962 to the end of 1964. capeargus.co.za
GEORGE BUSH - "The Worlds Biggest Fuck
Up - Ever" The Destruction of America Continues
November 15, 2003 by voxfux Undoubtedly George W. Bush is the worst
fuck-up in the entire history of fuck-ups. Never in US history has there been a
politician who has so completely, devastated the economy of the United States
and imperiled so many future generations of American citizens as this war
profiteering scum, George W. Bush. voxfux.com
US “turning point” in Iraq—deeper into
the abyss November 15, 2003 By Bill Vann
Seven months after Baghdad fell to US troops, Washington is unveiling a crisis
strategy that combines the attempt to consolidate an Iraqi puppet regime with
the unleashing of a redoubled military onslaught against the Iraqi people. wsws.org
Iraq: The Crumbling Coalition
November 15, 2003 by Rupert Cornwell As Italy mourns and Japan abandons
plans to send troops, Bush desperately scrambles for new approach in
Washington and Phil Reeves in Baghdad The American-led coalition's failure to
secure additional outside help in policing Iraq during a worsening security
crisis was exposed yesterday when Japan backed away from sending troops. The
death toll in Wednesday's suicide bombing at an Italian base in Nasiriyah rose
to 31, adding impetus to the efforts of George Bush and his administration to
extract the United States from the worsening conflict. independent.co.uk
November
15, 2003 GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel on Thursday stepped up its attack on a
U.N. special envoy who blamed it for causing hunger amongst Palestinians,
warning that it might not cooperate with future U.N. human rights probes. The
envoy's report, released last month, warned the Palestinian territories were on
the verge of a "humanitarian catastrophe" as a result of
"extremely harsh" military measures being adopted by Israeli forces. alertnet.org
"We Didn't Know" Will be No
Excuse November 15, 2003 James Brooks -
Counterpunch.org Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Territories passed
through a profound transformation during the last several months. Through a
series of policy changes and military orders, the West Bank "security
fence" has gradually revealed itself to be the backbone of a comprehensive
new system of land theft, imprisonment, collective punishment...and worse. The
question is not whether it is a "political fence" or a "security
fence", but whether it is an engine of ethnic cleansing. thetruthseeker.co.uk
30 Media Outlets Protest Treatment in
Iraq Claim: Reporters Harassed, Tapes Confiscated November
15, 2003 By E&P Staff NEW YORK --
In two separate letters to the Pentagon, the press claims that U.S. troops are
harassing journalists in Iraq and sometimes confiscating equipment, digital
camera disks and videotapes. The Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) wrote a
letter of protest to Larry Di Rita, acting assistant secretary of defense
for public affairs. Some soldiers' actions "appear intended to discourage
journalists from covering the continued military action in Iraq," wrote
APME President Stuart Wilk, also vice president/managing editor at The Dallas
Morning News. "These actions are unacceptable and contrary to the
Pentagon's own guidelines distributed to troops in the field," Wilk wrote.
The harassment has deprived "the American public of crucial images from
Iraq in newspapers, broadcast stations and online news operations." editorandpublisher.com
THE
ROACH HOTEL November 14, 2003 By Dan
Dvorak When Saddam said he will DESTROY the Americans if they invaded
Iraq
everyone laughed at him out loud thinking those were the ramblings of a mad
man. Certainly we pictured a tiny group of his fabled Republican guard armed
only with AK-47s and a few SAMs attempting to repel the greatest and finest
fighting machine in the history of the world. The laugh was on us.
What has actually occurred resembles an advertisement of a few years ago for
the ROACH HOTEL. You remember it, plenty of arrivals, no departures! They let us
in easy enough but they won’t let us out. Soldiers hid their conventional
weapons (because they had no WMD) stripped off their uniforms and dressed like
everyone else while they blended in to the crowds. thepeoplesvoice.org
Al
Qaida commander 'anticipates' 100,000 Americans dead in attack
November 14, 2003 Al-Qal'a (The Fortress) In regard to rumors about a
large-scale attack against the U.S. during the month of Ramadan, Al-Hijazi said
that "a huge and very courageous strike" will take place and that the
number of infidels expected to be killed in this attack, according to primary
estimates, exceeds 100,000. He added that he "anticipates, but will not
swear, that the attack will happen during Ramadan." He further stated that
the attack will be carried out in a way that will "amaze the world and turn
Al Qaida into [an organization that] horrifies the world until the law of Allah
is implemented, actually implemented, and not just in words, on His land... You
wait and see that the balance of power between Al Qaida and its rivals will
change, all of a sudden, Allah willing." worldtribune.com
Bush To Veterans: Drop Dead
November 14, 2003 By Harvey Wasserman www.freepress.org
As another Veteran's Day passes by, George W. Bush has sent a clear and present
message to the men and women of America's armed forces: Drop Dead. In an
astonishing series of cynical attacks on veterans rights, benefits and sanctity,
the administration has shortchanged our military personnel on their medical
care, pensions, compensation for having been tortured, access to vital
information about health dangers suffered in service, and even their body armor.
After promising that the Iraqi people would be "dancing in the
streets" upon their arrival, US troops are being attacked up to three dozen
times a day. In response, Bush has imposed an unprecedented media blackout on
coverage of their corpses coming home. scoop.co.nz
Trade Deficit Widens, Jobless Claims Rise
November 14, 2003 By Tim Ahmann (Reuters)
- The U.S. trade deficit widened 4.4 percent to $41.3 billion as imports from
China and the rest of the world rose to record levels, the Commerce Department
said. Separately, initial claims for jobless aid rose 13,000 to 366,000 in the
week ended Nov. 8 from a revised 353,000 the prior week, the Labor Department
said. abcnews.go.com
National Guard pay delayed, denied
November 14, 2003 GAO report: 94 percent of those in six units had pay
problems WHILE NATIONAL Guard soldiers fulfill their duty, risking their lives
around the world, the Pentagon apparently is not living up to its obligation to
pay them the right amount or on time. That’s according to a new congressional
report obtained by NBC News, which finds the Pentagon’s pay process is such a
mess it’s having “a profound financial impact on individual soldiers and
their families.” msnbc.com
Bush's Middle Eastern Quagmire and
Apocalypse Future November 14, 2003 Mark
Dankof for Al Bawaba One trusts that an American electorate mesmerized by
Reality TV and the NFL/NBA regular season schedules will stop long enough to
contemplate the apocalyptic implications of Gordon Thomas's October 27th
exclusive for the American Free Press: that George Bush's neo-conservative
regime has secretly flown 100 Harpoon cruise missiles tipped with nuclear
warheads to the joint American-UK military base stationed on the remote Indian
Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Thomas informs us that it is now known where 72 of
these Harpoons have been subsequently assigned--to three Israeli Dolphin-class
submarines (24 apiece) that have subsequently left Diego for the Gulf of Oman.
The purpose? To target Iranian nuclear facilities well within the range of the
Dolphins and their collective nuclear-tipped payload supplied by the United
States. Most ominously, these instruments of mass death and destruction are
under the command-and-launch decision making authority of one Ariel Sharon. albawaba.com
In a Police State Atmosphere, Fascists
Will Rise to the Top November 14, 2003 By
Jay Shaft Coalition For Free Thought In Media In a nation where a police
state atmosphere is permitted, the fascists will rise to the top. This may sound
like a crazy, radical statement, but it is going on in America right now with
the current Ashcroft led Justice Department. With the top leader of the nations
law enforcement structure permitting and enacting more and more assaults on
civil rights and invasions of privacy it is only natural that many closet
fascists will come out into the open. informationclearinghouse.info
The Sun Goes Haywire
November 14, 2003 Solar maximum is years past, yet the sun has been remarkably
active lately. Is the sunspot cycle broken? Imagine you're in California.
It's July, the middle of summer. The sun rises early; bright rays warm the
ground. It's a great day to be outside. Then, suddenly, it begins to snow--not
just a little flurry, but a swirling blizzard that doesn't stop for two weeks.
That's what forecasters call unseasonal weather. It sounds incredible, but
"something like that just happened on the sun," says David Hathaway, a
solar physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Listen to this story via
streaming
audio, a downloadable
file, or get
help. science.nasa.gov
To Hell and back By Bob Zimmerman
November 14, 2003 —Thanks to millions of real American patriots (peace,
freedom, and environmental activists from every walk of life) the truth about
the ugly goals of the murderous Bush regime are being widely recognized. In the
face of the raucous and near-constant barrage of Republican neocon lies and
deceptions, as broadcast to us by the handful of fanatical right-wing
billionaires that control our mass media, learning the truth about Bush is
perhaps the greatest demonstration that our evolving democracy is still
functioning. onlinejournal.com
'Our Democracy is in Danger of Being
Paralyzed' November 14, 2003 By Bill
Moyers "I saw Oliver North reporting on Fox from Iraq, pressing our
embattled troops to respond to his repetitive and belittling question, “Does
Fox Rock? Does Fox Rock?” Oliver North and I may be in the same “media”
but we are not part of the same message. truthout.org
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for November
14, 2003 A speech by Bruce Mulkey Sometimes I’m certain that the
Apocalypse is upon us. My chicken hawk president and our compliant Congress are
shipping other folks’ kids (but certainly not their own) to Iraq to kill for
peace. The airwaves are awash with politicians who claim they care about you and
me, but most only seem interested in advancing their political careers. Elected
officials dole out billions in corporate welfare while company officers make out
like bandits and ship jobs overseas. The Patriot Act, passed after 9/11, is
supposed to protect us from terrorists, yet many fear it leads us down the
slippery slope toward fascism. williambowles.info
Criticizing the U.S. empire is not enough November
14, 2003 Amitai Etzioni WASHINGTON Now that the American empire is
collapsing around our ears, it is the turn of those who favored a multipolar
world - and one in which the United Nations plays a key role - to show that they
can do better. Although no one in Washington has noticed it yet, the days of the
American empire are numbered. The notion that one can govern the world by
military might has found its limit. informationclearinghouse.info
What's
At Stake! November 14, 2003 Tell Congress:
"Don't come home without protecting overtime pay." Even though both
houses of Congress responded to your appeals by voting to block President George
W. Bush's overtime pay cuts, the president is refusing to withdraw his pay cuts
and says he will veto final legislation protecting overtime pay. Back-room
maneuvering by the Bush administration and House Republican leaders has made it
increasingly likely that the overtime pay protections we won will not make it
out of Congress this year. Bush's Labor Department could put the overtime pay
cuts into effect as soon as January. We still have a final chance to stop
President Bush from taking away overtime pay from some 8 million workers if we
make our voices heard. As many people as possible need to contact their senators
and U.S. representative and tell them not to come home for the holidays without
acting to protect overtime pay. unionvoice.org
Bush's Royal Visit Will Be an Anglo-Nazi
Family Reunion
November 14, 2003 Bush's royal visit to England will be a disaster for Tony
Blair. So if Blair didn't invite Bush, who did? "Getting the first ever
state visit for a US president was a big request, but Team Bush had just the man
to make it. William Farish III, the US ambassador to London, has been the
invisible man of the diplomatic circuit since he arrived here. But he has one
asset: he is a genuinely close friend of the Windsors." What is this
"genuinely close" friendship based on? Farish is the grandson of
William Farish, who was chairman of Standard Oil of New Jersey and sold
tetra-ethyl lead to the Nazis, the essential ingredient for their bombers to
reach London. Prescott Bush, GWB's grandfather, financed that sale to the Nazis.
The Royal Windsors had more than a few Nazi sympathizers, not just King Edward
VIII, whose Nazis ties (not his American divorcee) forced his abdication in
1936. It seems that blood, oil - and tetra-ethyl lead - are infinitely thicker
than water. http://democrats.com/
The crisis of American democracy: its
social and political roots November 14, 2003 By
Barry Grey Last week’s decision by the CBS television network to withdraw
its mini-series on the Reagans was another milestone in the dissolution of
American democracy. wsws.org
GOP will trumpet preemption doctrine
November 14, 2003 By Anne E. Kornblut, Globe Staff WASHINGTON -- Faced
with growing public uneasiness over Iraq, Republican Party officials intend to
change the terms of the political debate heading into next year's election by
focusing on the "doctrine of preemption," portraying President Bush as
a visionary acting to prevent future terrorist attacks on US soil despite the
costs and casualties involved overseas. boston.com
Pentagon Limits Funeral Coverage,
Arlington to Keep Away Reporters November 14,
2003 By Steve Vogel
The Army tightened rules yesterday on press coverage of funerals at
Arlington National Cemetery, directing that reporters be kept far enough away
from the graveside that they would likely be unable to hear a chaplain's eulogy.
"It concerns me, because you can't understand the true cost of war if you
can't see the amputees and the people who have been killed," said Steve
Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center, a
veterans group. "The results of war have to be witnessed at graveside,
whether you like it or not."
washingtonpost.com
'We
could lose this situation' · CIA says insurgents now 50,000 strong
November 13, 2003 Julian Borger in Washington and Rory McCarthy in
Baghdad - The White House yesterday drew up emergency plans to accelerate the
transfer of power in Iraq after being shown a devastating CIA report warning
that the guerrilla war was in danger of escalating out of US control. The
report, an "appraisal of situation" commissioned by the CIA director,
George Tenet, and written by the CIA station chief in Baghdad, said that the
insurgency was gaining ground among the population, and already numbers in the
tens of thousands. One military intelligence assessment now estimates the
insurgents' strength at 50,000, it does indicate a deep-rooted revolt on a far
greater scale than the Pentagon had led the administration to believe. An
intelligence source in Washington familiar with the CIA report described it as a
"bleak assessment that the resistance is broad, strong and getting
stronger". guardian.co.uk
Congress strips profiteering penalties
from $87.5 billion Iraqi occupation bill
November 13, 2003 By Jamie Chapman The United States Senate’s
“stealth vote” giving final approval to the $87.5 billion emergency
appropriation bill for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan—with only six
senators present, and by voice vote rather than roll call—provides an object
lesson in the degenerate state of the US political system. The final measure
enacted into law was approved only after being stripped of measures aimed at
curtailing profiteering by politically connected corporations. Such firms,
including Halliburton and Bechtel, have already reaped windfall profits off
taxpayer money used to finance the Iraqi occupation. wsws.org
Bush foreign policy 'creates risks for US
companies' November 13, 2003 By Stephen
Fidler and Mark Huband in London US multinational companies are
"acutely worried" about the business consequences of Bush
administration foreign policy, according to a new report from Control Risks, a
UK-based international security consultancy. "The consequences of Bush's
foreign policy have created new risks - and exacerbated existing risks - for US
companies around the world," the report says. The company's RiskMap 2004
report describes US foreign policy as "the most important single factor
driving the development of global risk". It says many in the private sector
"believe that US unilateralism is creating a security paradox: by using US
power unilaterally and aggressively in pursuit of global stability, the Bush
administration is in fact creating precisely the opposite effect." ft.com
Economy now benefits
corporate investors at the expense of workers
November 13, 2003 CHUCK
KELLY Workers have the same status as machinery and are steadily
losing whatever human rights they once had. It's a ruthlessly one-sided
arrangement. No matter how much workers improve equipment or work procedures,
they don't share in the benefits. It gets worse. As a work group becomes more
effective, it increases the likelihood that some of their members will be fired,
and those who remain will have to work harder than they did before, with incomes
that don't keep pace with inflation. Workers are told that "competition
demands it" -- despite record corporate profits and skyrocketing incomes
for executives and investors. Of course, executives and stockholders exempt
themselves from participating in the cost-cutting competition and get fabulously
rich in the process. opednews.com
Why US Rifles Jam So Often - With Fatal
Results November 13, 2003 By George
Belanus On a quick reading of the
story, I noticed that Miller said that he had grabbed his rifle when they
got stuck in a shoot-it-out type situation. This means to me that Miller grabbed
the standard-issue M-16 that has been Army and other American military branch
issue since the Vietnam War. And that answered the question in just a couple
minutes' time, since the M-16 has always had this reputation of crapping out
through jams just when you need it to work in the very worst way. The stories of
our guys being found dead in Vietnam after firefights with a hopelessly jammed
M-16 are legion, and apparently the so-called fixes the military put in place
early on have not remedied the basic problem -- what we have in the M-16 is a
basically inferior design as far as inherent ability to function under adverse
conditions. rense.com
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