It's Tornado Season Again!

As it is well into storm season this year in the United States, and as I have lived most of my life in "Tornado Alley", I thought that it might be appropriate for me to write something on tornadoes. There have already been several major storms this year producing casualties. I have spent most of my life looking to the south west.

I was recently introduced to a really neat new blog called "Slideshows for your website and Blogs" . From there I navigated to their site called Nachofoto . And there I found this slideshow there which emphasizes the need for awareness of the weather.


Make Your Own Slideshow | More Slideshows

Below are the specifics on the first major weather event that I ever experienced, and probably the worst.

Date: 5/26/1973 Time: 1030 pm
Arkansas Counties Affected: Craighead, Poinsett
Length of path (miles): 55 Width of Path (feet): 900
Beg Lat/Lon: 35°18' /-91°20' End Lat/Lon: 35°50' /-90°41' F-scale: F4
(range of winds from 207-260 mph)

Seven people were injured across Northwest Poinsett County. The tornado killed one person at Otwell, Craighead County, and then the tornado moved into Jonesboro, devastating much of the residential and business district, killing one person and doing $44,000,000 damage. Eyewitnesses report seeing two funnels in Jonesboro. Another person died at Weiner. Eyewitnesses report two tornadoes were visible at Jonesboro at the same time.


I slept through this tornado on the north side of Jonesboro as it ripped through the southwest side of town and destroyed the neighborhood that I had lived in two years prior. The wind was so strong at my house that it peeled the roof over my bedroom back like a sardine can. When the storm cleared I joined a group of kids from my junior high school band and with wheel barrow's, shovels and sledge hammers, we walked around town helping people to salvage what they could and finish knocking down unsafe structures and walls that were still teetering. It had completely destroyed Jonesboro High School, McCarthur Junior High, and two or three elementary schools. And hundreds of homes were simply wiped of the earth. It was amazing that there were not more fatalities. The area was designated a National Disaster Area and the National Guard and the Red Cross were deployed for security and assistance.

One of our favorite pass times as kids was to ride around together in our car during bad weather looking for funnel clouds. I have watched many funnels drop down out of the clouds and drift past me. While it was always exhilarating, I was never afraid of them as long as I could see them. If they came toward us we would simply move out of their path and continue watching them. We saw five funnels pass by in succession one afternoon passing over the south side of Jonesboro. It was one of the most fascinating sights I have ever seen. A thousand yards or so apart, one right behind the other they paraded by us.

I have a deep and abiding respect for the power of nature. But as devastating as nature can be, it always seems worse when it strikes under the cover of night. Every household, indeed every individual should have a battery powered NOAA Weather Radio. You can get them for $10 or more virtually anywhere. When a storm hits at night and the power goes out, a NOAA Weather Radio can be your eyes into the darkness.

I would prefer to be outside during a storm. And near a shallow ditch. I will not suggest that this is the best advice. But I have seen way too many houses, buildings and other structures literally exploded and/or ripped apart by a direct hit from a twister. I prefer to take my chances outside in a ditch! Of course, a storm cellar is best. Then a basement. Although, in a basement you might find yourself having some difficulty digging your way out after it passes. But a ditch will offer you some protection from flying debris and an easy exit.

But the most important thing to remember during any stormy weather or other natural phenomena is to be aware of your surroundings. Of course, one might suggest that this is good advice any time and under any circumstances.

Peace

Earth Hour US - Earth Hour 2008

Earth Hour US - Earth Hour 2008

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund. Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. View cities involved around the world. We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town. What will you do when the lights are off? We have lots of ideas. Join people all around the world in showing that you care about our planet and want to play a part in helping to fight climate change. Don’t forget to sign up and let us know you want to join Earth Hour. One hour, America. Earth Hour. Turn out for Earth Hour!

Misuse of grant money from USAID

USAID is responsible for much covert operations in destabilizing governments that the US President and right wing organizations find "troublesome". Like Cuba and Venezuela, for instance. If one of its chiefs is stepping down for some kind of wrongdoing (which is basically all that the organization does anyway) it must be bad. They sponsor radicals opposed to nations that the US government is opposed to under the blanket of "humanitarian aid". He must have done something baaaaaad! Or at least so in the eyes of the right. The official story is mismanagement of grant money. Perhaps he failed to pay some terrorist somewhere.

Bush Aide Resigns for Alleged Wrongdoing

The White House says an aide to President Bush has resigned because of the alleged misuse of grant money from U.S. Agency for International Development. Presidential spokesman Scott Stanzel says the former aide, Felipe Sixto, had been a special assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs. Stanzel said Sixto was promoted to that position on March 1 and that he came forward on March 20 to tell his superiors about the alleged wrongdoing. Stanzel said it involved improprieties involving the use of grant money and Sixto's former employer, the Center for a Free Cuba. Stanzel says the matter has been turned over to the Justice Department.

Turning it over to the Justice Department is like asking Congress to investigate their own pay raises. I feel better already!

Dead Remembered, Living Ignored

By John Perry

Please check out the links and pass it on. THIS INSANITY MUST END.

2006 Johns Hopkins Iraq mortality study, conducted in conjunction with Al Mustansiriya University in Baghadad
http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews...

Just Foreign Policy site - Numbers updated, approximate running total of Iraqi deaths
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org

ORB Study -- Updated January 2008
http://www.opinion.co.uk:80/Newsroom_...

Iraq Veterans Against the War -- Winter Soldier page http://www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier

The Real News -- Check out their Winter Soldier Coverage and get on their mailing list http://www.therealnews.com

Stand with the Tibetan people

I just signed an urgent petition calling on the Chinese government to respect human rights in Tibet and dialogue with the Dalai Lama. This is really important, and I thought you might want to take action:

www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence

After nearly 50 years of Chinese rule, the Tibetans are sending out a global cry for change. Violence is spreading across Tibet and neighbouring regions, and the Chinese regime is right now making a crucial choice between tougher crackdown or dialogue.

President Hu Jintao needs to hear that "Made in China" exports and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will have the support of the world's people only if he chooses dialogue. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention. Click below to sign the petition--in just 7 days, the campaign is over half way to the goal of 2 million signatures!

www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence

Avaaz.org - The World in Action

Bush Scolds Congress About Iraq

George Bush has shown us beyond all doubt that when we as a nation need to make any kind of decision, all we need do is hear his recommendation... and do the complete opposite! If he says that something, anything, "makes no sense" we can rest assured that it is the only thing that makes any sense at all.

What I have difficulty with is the fact that anyone at all is even listening to anything the clown says. And this aside from my complete bewilderment that he is not being tried and judged guilty of high crimes against the American Citizens and all humanity.

Bush Scolds Congress About Iraq

President Bush on Thursday defended the slow pace of progress in Iraq, asserting "it is not foot-dragging" as Iraqi politicians try to reach agreement on political, security and economic goals.

Bush derided calls from Congress for troop withdrawals or deadlines so that the military could focus more on the anti-terror battle elsewhere. "This argument makes no sense," he said.

Bush offered his assessment of the war in a speech before a military audience of more than 1,000 people at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton.

Within weeks, Bush is expected to endorse the recommendations of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. Petraeus has proposed a pause in troop cutbacks to assess the impact of having withdrawn five combat brigades since December. He has argued that it would be reckless to shrink the American force so rapidly that the gains achieved over the past year are compromised or lost entirely.

Comcast to Stop Hampering File-Sharing

When the Big Boys back down from an issue involving free versus pay, watch them closely. Nothing in a capitalist society is free (except the public beatings they dish out) and they will find another way to stifle any kind of communal sharing of anything.

Comcast to Stop Hampering File-Sharing

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), an Internet service provider under investigation for hampering online file-sharing by its subscribers, announced Thursday an about-face in its stance and said it will treat all types of Internet traffic equally.

Since user reports of interference with file-sharing traffic were confirmed by an Associated Press investigation in October, Comcast has been vigorously defending its practices, most recently at a hearing of the Federal Communications Commission in February.

Consumer and "Net Neutrality" advocates have been equally vigorous in their attacks on the company, saying that by secretly blocking some connections between file-sharing computers, Comcast made itself a judge and gatekeeper for the Internet.

Leave Us with Nothing

Tibet Monks Disrupt Tour by Journalists

"We never thought this kind of thing would happen and leave us with nothing," Li Kunjian said.

And while people in Western China lose everything they have to riots brought on by human rights and national sovereignty violations, back here in the States people lose everything that they have to the unscrupulous lending practices of mortgage brokers and bankers who then sold the debt to the American public in a bailout designed to save the banks but does nothing to help the marks that they victimized in their tireless pursuit of wealth and power for the wealthy.

The U.S. Government has no right to speak to the unsavory practices of the Chinese Government. But, I think, the people have a right to speak to both of these fascist, imperialist regimes and call them on their unbridled assault on the people desiring little more than freedom to live their lives sans oppression and discrimination.

McCain eyes U.S. free trade deal with EU

McCain eyes U.S. free trade deal with EU

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The United States should build on the North American Free Trade Agreement by negotiating a new free trade deal with the 27 nations of the European Union, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Wednesday.

And we all know how well NAFTA has worked out. Can we ship any more jobs out of the United States?

New York Police Beat Tibetan Protesters Outside UN

Kinda makes ya all warm and fuzzy inside. Proud to be Amerikun.

New York Police Beat Tibetan Protesters Outside UN: Posted 26/03/08 7 Minute Video

Obama's Ex-Pastor Cancels Speeches

So, if I'm reading this right, a presidential candidate has to rebuke his minister (which is apparently not enough), and the personal safety and welfare of that minister and his family is in jeopardy because he said something that many of us think every day. Yeah, the first amendment is alive and well.

Obama's Ex-Pastor Cancels Speeches

Wright cited three reasons for canceling (scheduled speaking engagements): "the safety of the institution to which he has been invited; the safety of his family, which has been placed in harm's way; and for his own safety."

Man Nabbed for Pot-Smelling Cash Deposit

If they would decriminalize pot, we may not have to hide it in the same place we hide our money. Another good reason NOT to use banks.

Man Nabbed for Pot-Smelling Cash Deposit

STURGEON BAY, Wis. (AP) - The musty smell of a man's money led to his arrest on possible drug charges. The 21-year-old Sturgeon Bay man tried to deposit money smelling of marijuana at a bank here last week, according to a Sturgeon Bay police report obtained by the Door County Advocate. The $4,000 in bundled bills did not smell like burned marijuana but had a musty odor of ground sweet leaves, the report said. The smell was so strong and distinct that a teller put the cash in a plastic bag. Sturgeon Bay police tested it for marijuana, and it came back positive, the report said. The man was arrested when he returned to the bank to make a withdrawal. Police later found bagged marijuana at the man's home. "All the pieces just came together," Police Chief Dan Trelka said. The man is being held in the county jail on a probation violation, while the Door County district attorney's office reviews his case. It will be up to the district attorney to file formal charges.

US moves towards engaging Iran

"Engaging"? Bush & Co. backs down from Iran? Must be planning a South American invasion. Can't stretch those troops too thin, you know.

US moves towards engaging Iran

Any number of reasons could be attributed to the Bush administration finally jettisoning a war strategy toward Iran. First and foremost comes the unbearable financial cost of waging a war with Iran, which would have to be underwritten by China, Saudi Arabia and Japan. As Nobel Laureate and US economist Joseph Stiglitz stated last week, the impact of the subprime crisis in the US will persist for two to three years, and only after that time could the US economy hope to recover. Stiglitz blamed the Iraq war for dragging down the US economy. "It has proven to be an enormous error," he said, stressing that the Iraq war has been "a disaster in every way".

Judge Sentences Man 10 Days Per Word

He will probably be evicted (paroled) well short of whatever his sentence eventually turns out to be.

Judge Sentences Man 10 Days Per Word

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A man has talked himself into nearly two years in jail after threatening to kill a Shelby County criminal court judge. Joshua Beadle has been held in contempt and sentenced to 10 days per word after a judge ordered him to stop the threatening comments. Judge Lee Coffee stopped counting at 70 words and sentenced Beadle to 700 days in jail. Beadle was shackled and outfitted in a special hooded spit mask during the hearing Monday after spitting at the judge at a hearing in January. Beadle missed the judge and instead hit a clerk's computer. Through his nylon-and-mesh spit mask, he apologized to the clerk on Monday and assured her that his intended target was the judge.

Sorry, people of Iraq. Our intended target was Iran. Our aim is just not that good when we are in a hurry.

Make oil a public utility

Now, why would the elite allow something that makes this much sense to happen when they have manipulated, bribed and conned our government to send our young men and women to die for the sake of privatizing oil that is already nationalized? When we are provoking war in the Middle East and South America over countries that have nationalized their oil industries. They make way too much profit for themselves to allow it to just slip away from them in the name of the public good.

Truth is that capitalism could care less about the public good. It's most vital defining element is greed.

Make oil a public utility

The furious moans and groans about gasoline and heating oil prices have been met with a public-be-damned attitude from the oil industry -- and nothing is being done to rectify the problem. Prices continue to sky-rocket.


Why not designate oil companies as public utilities?

A public utility has been defined as "a business that provides an everyday necessity to the public at large" -- such as water, electricity, natural gas, telephone service, transportation, cable TV and other essentials.

Because of the need for and dependence on these commodities and products, the business of supplying them is readily subject to abuse. Without regulation, price gouging can become rampant in a time of great demand and economic turmoil, such as this.

A public utility regulated by the state or federal government, or the two working together, is entitled to charge reasonable rates for its products and services. It also is entitled to earn a reasonable profit. But that's far less than what Big Oil is making. Public utilities are corporations that distribute dividends to their shareholders amounting to perhaps 5 percent a year of the stock's value.

Oil energy fits squarely into the criteria for a public utility. How can it be distinguished from electricity and natural gas? It can't be. But right now, it's a political "untouchable."

"Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head"

I decided to have a little fun with tragic current events by putting news reports together into a cheery song. The song tells the tale of construction cranes collapsing, victims of the global war, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, jobs being sent abroad, governmental social program failures, and police brutality in a jaunty little tune.

(Sung to the tune of "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" By B.J. Thomas)
Hear the tune here: http://wilstar.com/midi/raindropskeepfalling.htm and sing along.

Cranes keep a falling on my head
But that's not the reason that my
Friends all turn up dead
Dyin' overseas
Oh, cranes, they keep fallin' on my head
Keep on fallin'

Cause I just done me some talking to the bank
And I said I didn't like the way I just got yanked
Foreclosure's such a bite
Oh, cranes, they keep fallin' on my head
Keep on fallin'

But there's one thing I know
The cops that come to meet me won't just greet me
It won't be long till Freedom Cops come up to beat me
to beat me

Cranes keep a falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my family will e'er get fed
Jobs are shipped abroad
But, I'm never gonna stop the cranes, they keep fallin'
Because I'm free, I live in Democracy

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

This March marks the ninth annual National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. It's a time to focus on the prevention and early detection of colon cancer and rectal cancer.

Perhaps we should consider excising some of the cancerous ass holes running the United States, as a nation and a people, into the crapper.

Judges bought and paid for

Another example of the judiciary co-opted by capitalist concerns. Anything approaching fair treatment of the consumer is struck down by Judges who are bought and paid for by big business. Just another chip out of the foundation of the crumbling Christian social structure.

Court Overturns Air Passenger Rights Law

A federal appeals court has rejected a law requiring airlines to provide food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers trapped in a plane delayed on the ground. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that New York's new state law interferes with federal law governing the price, route or service of an air carrier. It was the first law in the nation of its kind. The appeals court said the new law was laudable but only the federal government has the authority to enact such a regulation. The law was challenged before the appeals court by the Air Transport Association of America, the industry trade group representing leading U.S. airlines.

HR 393 - Universal National Service Act of 2007

And who didn't see this coming? As the American Serviceman body count in Iraq slips past 4000, the Armed Forces are running out of bodies to fill the dead boys' boots. "Stop-Loss" can't cut it any more. The 6 day to 6 month and $60 billion incursion into Iraq has turned into a $600 billion operation with no end in sight. And the body count on both sides is soaring. And we know who will be sent to the front lines, too. Poor to middle class kids who might have a high school education. A fucking DRAFT! One that I am sure has loop holes for rich bitch kids to slip through!

HR 393 - Universal National Service Act of 2007 - U.S. House Bill

H. R. 393 To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the favorable treatment afforded combat pay under the earned income tax credit, and for other purposes.

Contact Your Representative

Contact Your Senators

Tell them what to do with this piece of paper!

I suppose 15 months makes this less of a story. But the bill was presented... by a democrat. And hardly a peep was heard anywhere, by anyone about it. Luckily, it died without so much as a whimper. But the idea that it was even presented, and by a democrat at that, and few heard a thing about it suggests to me that it could be presented and passed without public knowledge in the future. We need to be vigilant in making our positions clear on such matters before they attempt to act in our stead.

Breaking News: NORML Teams Up with Rep. Barney Frank To Introduce Federal Decriminalization Legislation

NORML is pleased to announce that it has partnered with our longtime ally, Democratic Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, to introduce legislation in the House of Representatives that would strip the federal government of its authority to arrest responsible cannabis consumers. The bill, referred to by Frank as the 'Make Room for Serious Criminals Act,' is the first federal cannabis decriminalization bill introduced in Congress in 24 years.

“It's time for the politicians to catch up with the public on this [issue],” Frank said Friday during an appearance on the nationally syndicated television program 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' in which he announced the imminent introduction of the measure.As drafted, Frank's proposal would eliminate all federal penalties prohibiting the personal use and possession of up to 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of marijuana. Under this measure (based on the recommendations of the 1972 National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, also known as the Shafer Commission), adults who consume cannabis would no longer face arrest, prison, or even the threat of a civil fine. In addition, this bill would eliminate all penalties prohibiting the not-for-profit transfers of up to one ounce of cannabis between adults. In short, for the first time since 1937, the possession, use, and non-profit transfer of marijuana by adults would be legal under federal law!Marijuana decriminalization currently enjoys support from the majority of Americans. According to a recent CNN/Time Magazine poll, 76% of US citizens favor a cannabis policy that does not place responsible adult cannabis consumers at risk of arrest and prosecution. Nonetheless, nearly 830,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges this year, 89% of which were for personal possession.


Currently, twelve states, representing over a third of Americans - Alaska,California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon, along with numerous major cities such as Seattle, Milwaukee, Madison, and Ann Arbor -- have enacted various forms of marijuana decriminalization, replacing criminal sanctions with the imposition of fine-only penalties for minor pot violators. Similar proposals have passed this year in the House in New Hampshire and the Senate in Vermont, and Massachusetts will be voting on a similar initiative this November.NORML is pleased to be leading the effort for sensible cannabis law reform at the federal level. With your support, we look forward to ending the obsolete and destructive practice of arresting responsible adult cannabis consumers.

Regards,

Allen St. Pierre

NORML
Executive
Director
director@norml.org

Clinton 'Misspoke'?

Clinton 'Misspoke' About '96 Bosnia Trip

During a speech last Monday on Iraq, she said of the Bosnia trip: "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

According to an Associated Press story at the time, Clinton was placed under no extraordinary risks on that trip. And one of her companions, comedian Sinbad, told The Washington Post he has no recollection either of the threat or reality of gunfire.

Shades of "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" and "it depends on what your definition of is is". Liar of the worst sort. Denial in the face of fact and witness. Typically Christian.

Another Front in the coming new World War

As the world presses forward ignorant of the aggressive tactics of Dominionists due in large part to suppression and manipulation of the press, this article connects the dots to reveal those methods with documented evidience.

George Ciccariello-Maher: The Coming War on Venezuela

Here again we have an inversion, in which the U.S. government has adopted the very strategies that had previously been deployed against it, and in this case the audience was international: the foreign press was so eager to show a violent repression of the students that it exaggerated the response of the largely unarmed police and, in an infamous incident, transformed an armed attack by opposition students against Chavistas at the Central University into just the opposite. The objective? To discredit and isolate the Chávez regime internationally, clearing the way for more directly offensive action.

Secondly, we have seen a concrete example of such offensive action in Colombia's recent illegal cross-border raid into Ecuador. The particular players involved should not distract our attention: this was a test-run, both militarily and diplomatically, for future U.S. interventions in the region. With Colombia standing in as proxy for the U.S. and the more recently-established Correa government standing in as proxy for the Chávez government, this was above all a test of the international response.

This article is a must read!

Tibetans Expect Little Help From World

What I see coming forth in the world in the area of support for Tibet is a case of 2L², too little too late. But I'm sure we appreciate the gesture.

Tibetans Expect Little Help From World

Nearly six decades of struggle against the might of China has taught the Tibetans one thing: Ask the world for little, expect less.

However, on Friday, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi lent her voice, calling China's crackdown "a challenge to the conscience of the world." Pelosi was the first major foreign official to meet the Dalai Lama since the start of the unrest, visiting him in Dharmsala, the hilltop town in northern India where he has his headquarters.

"If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world," Pelosi told thousands of cheering Tibetans, including monks and schoolchildren.

But it is difficult for most countries to do more than call on China to show restraint, finding themselves walking a tightrope between their sympathy for the Tibetans and their very real economic and strategic needs to maintain good relations with Beijing.

So, as we can see, economic concerns outweigh the concerns of human rights.

Bush: Iran announced desire for nuclear weapons

And the war drums start beating louder as Christianity (read capitalism) prepares for Jesus' rule here on earth... and the countdown to the end of time itself as suggested in the Mayan Calendar. The end of time reckoned there precisely at 4 years, 8 months, and 19 days from the time of this writing.

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 03/20/2008 | Bush erroneously says Iran announced desire for nuclear weapons

The president reiterated his view that Iran has a right to civilian nuclear power. But, he said, the low-enriched uranium fuel for its reactors should be supplied by Russia, a proposal that Tehran has repeatedly rejected. "The problem is the (Iranian) government cannot be trusted to enrich uranium because one, they've hidden programs in the past and they may be hiding one now. Who knows?" said Bush. "Secondly, they've declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people, some in the Middle East. And that is unacceptable to the United States and it's unacceptable to the world."

I'm not suggesting anything hokey here. I'm just sayin'...
If we can't change fate, we should at least stand together to TRY and stop those who would play to a dooms day mentality. We should TRY to stop the aggressors! Just as the argument that if there were no profit in the drug trade, drugs would be less of a problem, IF THERE WERE NO PROFIT IN WAR THERE WOULD BE LESS WAR!
Stop allowing your elected representatives to continue FUNDING war with YOUR MONEY!

Henry David Thoreau did something just like that... and he was really a pretty great guy. It is not unpatriotic to take a public and vocal stand when you are refusing to help fund something that you fundamentally don't support. And that goes for just about any of your beliefs toward public funding. But WAR?! Come on!

Click on the "Stupid" sign in the right hand side bar and send a message to the White House. Really! Why not? Tell them. And look up your senators and representatives and tell them to. I mean, after all, it doesn't take a lot just to tell them how you feel. Even if you approve of their performance (gag!), what does it hurt to tell them what you think? They need to know what their constituents think, too, even if they disagree with you. They need to know. And we need to tell them. And every day that killing at the hands of Americans goes on, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, we need to remind them of how we feel about it.

It doesn't take a lot of effort to bitch about something and sometimes it makes us feel better. And sometimes it helps.

Counter Protesting

The circular logic of supporting the troops: Young men died for our right to protest your protest.

War Protesters Halt Traffic, Recall Dead

Outside a military recruitment office in Washington, protesters were met by a handful of counterdemonstrators, one of several shows of support for the war and the troops.

Colby Dillard, who held a sign reading, "We support our brave military and their just mission," pointed to some red paint that one of the war protesters had splattered on the sidewalk.

"The same blood was spilled to give you the right to do what you're doing," said Dillard, who said he served in Iraq in 2003.

Missouri high court overturns ruling blocking eminent domain

And the march of fascism across the backs of the people continues on unimpeded. When the judiciary system is co-opted by the elite class, there is little option left the people. Do I smell revolt? I certainly smell something, and it ain't pretty.

Missouri high court overturns ruling blocking eminent domain

On Tuesday the state Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling that would have blocked many communities from using eminent domain for private development supported by tax breaks.

The ruling could affect cities and towns where as many as two-thirds of Missourians live. It also clears the way for the St. Louis suburb of Arnold to take the dentist office of Homer Tourkakis — if the city can prove the property is blighted.

Property rights groups condemned the ruling, warning that it could prompt more local governments to take private property. And Tim Sandefur, an attorney who represented Tourkakis, called the decision "a disaster."

"This is scary," said Ron Calzone, the chairman for Missouri Citizens for Property Rights. "This is a scary, scary decision."

The Cost of War

Five years ago today, President Bush declared war on Iraq. He went on TV and addressed the American people, saying, "The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder."

And while our troops overseas and their courageous families here at home have paid the highest price, every American has been impacted by the President's war.




http://www.americansunitedforchange.com/costofwar

China's Bin Laden

Demonize your avowed enemy of state to distract attention from your own shortcomings. Right out of the Republican playbook.

China: Dalai Lama Wants to Sour Olympics

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao accused supporters of the Dalai Lama on Tuesday of organizing violent clashes in Tibet in hopes of sabotaging the Beijing Olympics and bolstering their campaign for independence in the Himalayan territory.

The Dalai Lama urged his followers to remain peaceful, saying he would resign as head of the Tibetan government-in-exile if violence got out of control. But he also suggested China may have fomented unrest in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and nearby provinces to discredit him.

In striking an uncompromising line, Wen underscored the communist leadership's determination to restore order in Tibet and Tibetan areas of neighboring provinces.

"There is ample fact - and we also have plenty of evidence - proving that this incident was organized, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique," he told reporters at his annual news conference at the end of China's national legislative session.

Life's Little Instruction Book

CounterPunch: The Fed's Wall Street Dilemma

Americans learned two new truths last week from the Bush Administration's version of Life's Little Instruction Book: if you're a Wall Street miscreant you're thrown a lifeline; if you're a Wall Street crime fighter you're thrown a land mine.

And if you are a home owner who got suckered by these charlatans, pack what you can and get the hell out... before the Nazis break down your door and haul you off in stocks. Ain't capitalism grand?

My Lai massacre remembered

And we will collectively forget about the atrocities that continue in the name of Capitalism even to this day! We are surely doomed to repeat history time and again.

My Lai massacre remembered, but others forgotten - Asia-Pacific

Hanoi is staging a weekend-long ceremony to mark the massacres, in which a company of US Army soldiers, unable to find any of the Viet Cong guerrillas they had been ordered to clear from the village, instead killed up to 504 defenceless men, women and children.

But while the massacres at My Lai are recorded in Vietnamese history books, and at the My Lai Museum, most of the atrocities committed during the Vietnam War go largely unremembered.

US Draws Portrait of Iraq Bombers

The real irony here is that Sunni Muslims are historically the official allies to Western Governments. Iran is predominantly Shia, the faith of the majority of Islam. The Islamic Minority is the West's professed political ally and the supplier of the majority of jihadists and suicide bombers.

I would submit that the Capitalistic Imperialist Regimes have very strange bedfellows and are poor judges of companions. But that would imply that they do not recognize the character of the company they keep.

US Draws Portrait of Iraq Bombers

According to the summary, interrogators concluded that most foreign fighters are Sunni Muslim men from 18 to 30, with the mean age of 22. They are almost always single males with no children, and tend to be students or hold blue-collar jobs ranging from taxi drivers to construction and retail sales.

Chinese Security Forces Swarm Tibet

Unfortunately, the Tibetans will likely receive little or no outside support or assistance as is the case with Kosova for the simple reason that they have no natural resources such as oil to speak of and is not strategically located for the location of a pipeline. Hence, there is no profit benchmark set for assisting the indigenous people for any reason.

Come to think of it, that is probably the main reason no one really cares about the atrocities of the Gaza Strip. I guess that there is just no profit in free, happy and healthy people.

Chinese Security Forces Swarm Tibet

Soldiers on foot and in armored carriers swarmed Tibet's capital Saturday, enforcing a strict curfew a day after protesters burned shops and cars to vent their anger against Chinese rule. In another western city, police clashed with hundreds of Buddhist monks leading a sympathy demonstration.

The violence erupted just two weeks before China's Summer Olympic celebrations kick off with the start of the torch relay, which passes through Tibet. China is gambling that its crackdown will not draw an international outcry over human rights violations that could lead to boycotts of the Olympics.

The latest unrest began Monday on the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Tibet was effectively independent for decades before communist troops entered in 1950.

Beef Update: Venezuela Nationalized Major Slaughterhouse Chain -Chavez

CARACAS (Dow Jones)--Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez announced Friday that the
government nationalized a chain of slaughterhouses that makes up the bulk of the
meat-processing capacity in the country.

"We nationalized, through an acquisition, a great chain of
(slaughterhouses) that makes up 70% of the installed capacity in Venezuela,"
Chavez said in televised remarks. "We're also acquiring milk-products company
'Los Andes' that represents 30% of the milk-processing capacity in the country,"
he said.

The state's move to nationalize these businesses responds to Chavez's attempt
to bring key food-industry companies under closer state control. The president
has threatened in the past to nationalize, or forcefully acquire, any business
considered of national importance, particularly those involved in the
food-processing industry.

Chavez's threats come at a time when he denounces rising prices, a problem of
late for the Andean country, which saw inflation reach 22.5% in 2007. Venezuela has suffered from food
shortages for years now, a problem that has gotten worse, with staples such as
milk and certain cuts of meat disappearing from stores.

Government officials have made clear in the past their belief that
government-run businesses can better serve customers than the private sector
does. Chavez insists that privately owned companies respond to the needs of
their owners and neglect consumers.

"It's not just a matter of changing the ownership of this businesses,"
Chavez said during his speech. "It's a matter of changing the (economic)
model...(adopting) a socialist model."

-By Raul Gallegos; Dow Jones Newswires; +58-212-564- 1339; raul.gallegos@ dowjones. com

The Same Old Thing

AmericansUnitedforChange.com

'Nuff said?

Bear Stearns Bailed Out by Fed, JPMorgan

When multimillion dollar earners are threatened in any way, the Fed and Wall Street comes running to the rescue. But when millions of average citizens are threatened with losing everything that they have ever worked for, all they get is armed militia beating on their doors with weapons drawn to evict them. Since the bankruptcy laws were changed to the detriment of the borrowers, the next thing that we can look forward to is the return of "debtors prison".

Bear Stearns Bailed Out by Fed, JPMorgan

NEW YORK (AP) - Bear Stearns Cos. (BSC) (BSC), one of Wall Street's venerable investment banks, received a bailout Friday by the federal government and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) (JPM) in a surprise, last-ditch effort to save the 86-year old institution.

The Federal Reserve responded swiftly to pleas from Bear Stearns that its coffers had "significantly deteriorated" within a 24-hour period. Central bankers backed an arrangement to bolster the company, and stood ready to provide extra resources to combat a credit crisis that now threatens one of America's biggest financial institutions.

U.S. Government is “Terrorist Government Par Excellence”

We can only hope that the Rio Group continues to hold fast and strong against the imperialist onslaught against the people, freedom and democracy.

Venezuela: U.S. Government is “Terrorist Government Par Excellence”

"This is an aberration, an absolutely stupid thing to say from the government of Mr Bush, which is the terrorist government par excellence, that practices state terrorism, that has invaded Iraq and Afghanistan without respect for international law, that commits genocidal practices in various parts of the world, that has invaded Latin American and Caribbean countries, that aims to present itself as the moral conscience of the world," Valero said in an interview with state-owned television station VTV.

U.S. President George W. Bush today accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of backing "terrorists" in neighboring Colombia and using his country's oil wealth to fuel an anti-American campaign across Latin America.

Dan Hellinger, a political scientist and Venezuela expert at Webster University in St. Louis, said the Republicans are "trying to take advantage of the moment after this blowup with Colombia to try to see if they can cement into law a more hostile policy toward Venezuela."

Venezuelan Information Minister Andres Izarra, warned of a stepped up U.S. campaign against Venezuela after the Rio Group Summit thwarted Washington's efforts to isolate the oil rich country. "They are searching for new ways to attack ... and move forward with their plan to finish with the Bolivarian Revolution," as Chavez's socialist movement is known, Izarra said.

IVAW Winter Soldier hearings

You can now watch the IVAW Winter
Soldier hearings live via the CPUSA website.

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan features
testimony from U.S. veterans who have served in those occupations, giving an
accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the
ground.

This four-day event brings together veterans from across the
country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic
evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists,
and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover
everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for
veterans' health benefits and support.

You can also watch the Winter
Soldier hearings on Satellite
TV; you can see the entire schedule at the IVAW website here.

Indian Police Arrest Tibetan Exiles

We simply can not permit people to walk around chanting for peace and freedom. That is a threat to the "peace and tranquility" of the imperialist, corporate masters and a threat to their subjugation of the world for profit to their elite minority. Tibet has been a slave state to imperialism for almost 70 years. Get over it already! You are Buddhists. You are not suppose to care about the little things that go on in this plane of existence anyway.

Indian Police Arrest Tibetan Exiles

DEHRA, India (AP) - Police detained more than 100 Tibetan exiles as they marched to their homeland Thursday in protest of China's hosting of the Olympic Games, charging them with threatening the "peace and tranquility" of the region, officials said.

The protesters began a hunger strike within hours of being arrested, Tenzin Palkyi, a march coordinator, told The Associated Press.

The protesters shouted "Free Tibet!" and other slogans as they were being detained, but there was no violence, witnesses said. Senior police official Atul Fulzele said the protesters had been charged with threatening the region's "peace and tranquility."

Woman Sat on Toilet for 2 Years

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years - so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the boyfriend finally called police. Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital. "We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."

Woman Sat on Toilet for 2 Years

The myriad questions that this brings up about citizens of the Heartland is staggering. I get annoyed when someone stays in the bathroom for an hour. But two years!? How could anyone sit on a TOILET SEAT for that long? A statement of the motivation of MidAmerikans, I am sure.

Federal Tax Relief Vanishing at Pumps

Stewart A. Alexander
Socialist Party USA Nominee for Vice President, and
Candidate for nomination by the Peace and Freedom Party

March 4, 2008

The $168 billion economic stimulus package that was recently passed by Congress and signed by President Bush is already beginning to lose its momentum as gasoline prices continues to reach record highs nationwide; and the oil companies are continuing to ratchet up gasoline prices which will give them the lion share of the stimulus package.

In some areas of Southern California, gasoline prices have increased by 24 cents in the past two weeks and diesel has now topped $3.80. The average price of fuel, nationwide, is now at $3.18 per gallon. In some areas of Northern California, gasoline prices have already climbed above $4.00 per gallon.

The president and some members of Congress were saying the economic stimulus package would give Americans some quick cash to spend that would help boost the ailing U.S. economy; however, most Americans are having to spend whatever extra cash and savings to get to and from work. The oil companies are also raising prices at a time when all the major oil producers are earning record profits.

The price of crude oil has now been inflated above $100 a barrel and it is likely gasoline prices will continue to climb as the nation enters the vacation season. It is also likely many Americans will be altering their vacation plans as the price of fuel continues to reach record highs. Petroleum industry analysts are predicting oil prices will top $4.00 a gallon by the end of 2008; a prediction that caught President Bush by surprise.

Rising fuel prices has hit the trucking and transportation industry extremely hard; the high cost of diesel is forcing some smaller trucking companies out of business, and larger companies have to pass on the higher cost of diesel onto consumers. Subsequently, the price of all consumer goods is rising, including food, and inflation is further crippling the U.S. economy.

Socialists across the nation are rejecting the economic stimulus package because the package offers no long term benefits for working people, will not ease the nation’s economic woes, and will only create more debt for U.S. taxpayers and the economy. The economic package will provide working people with some spending cash; however, the stimulus package is no more than welfare for billionaires and the oil companies.

Americans will need to have bold leadership in Congress to control rising gasoline prices and to rescue the U.S. economy. The Democrats and Republicans have proven they are incapable of addressing the needs of working people and both parties are taking the nation further into debt to protect the interest of the billionaires and capitalists around the world.

Recently, I presented a plan that would address the need of working people and would prevent the oil companies from gouging working people at the pumps.

First, we must end the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars, whose tremendous cost is not offset by taxes, are the immediate cause of the weakness of the dollar, skyrocketing oil prices, and the widening trade deficit, as well as being a pointless waste of precious lives.

To break the stranglehold of the big energy corporations and associated financial institutions on our government and economy; the oil companies, natural resources, including oil must be brought under public ownership and democratically managed by the people, not controlled and owned by private corporations.

We must put an end to the present housing market crisis; action must be taken quickly, or the damage will spread quickly. The federal government needs to take action to protect the millions of Americans that could lose their homes in 2008 and 2009, and shift the cost of this disaster from working people to the financial operators who created the problem.

An immediate change in tax policy must reverse the trend of the last thirty years of shifting the tax burden to those least able to pay. Income taxes should end on individuals earning less than $30,000 annually and couples earning less than $60,000 annually, and increased federal taxes on those with incomes in the millions, who pay less proportionately than they have for a century, must replace this revenue.

A real national rebuilding program is needed. The federal government must invest $3 trillion within the next five years and a total of $5 trillion over the next decade to rebuild the nation’s utilities, communications, and rail infrastructure, refurbish public buildings, strengthen bridges, and repair low income housing across America.

The federal government must invest in constructing low income housing, providing jobs for low income families and providing good paying jobs for women and men.

The federal government must develop programs to relieve working people from the tremendous debt burden that modern capitalism constantly creates. We need universal health care, free education for college students, a universal basic income, and fully comprehensive assistance for the aging.

The laws that tilt the scales against union organizing needs to be repealed or changed; this will give freedom to millions of workers to fight effectively for better wages, hours and working conditions.

Public transportation and electric vehicles must be developed to meet the needs of our people in the 21st Century. This will not be fully accomplished without public ownership under democratic management, as only in this way can the drive for private profit at the expense of society and the environment must be defeated.

Senators Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and John McCain are rehashing the old political rhetoric that the Democrats and Republicans have coined to win elections every four years. However, in 2008, working people are searching for real solutions to complex issues; ending the Iraq War, solving the national mortgage lending crisis, creating jobs, the need for affordable health care, and dealing with a global industry that is beyond the control of the Democrats, Republicans or their candidates.

For more information search the Web for: Stewart A. Alexander; Independent Voters Rejecting Democrats and Republicans; Federal Tax Relief Package is Welfare for Billions.

http://www.banderasnews.com/0802/edop-stewartalexander04.htm
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=39173
http://miami.indymedia.org/news/2006/11/6839.php

Bush to Veto Bill Banning Waterboarding - Yes we can!

The White House says President Bush will veto legislation on Saturday that would have barred the CIA from using waterboarding - a technique that simulates drowning - and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects. Bush has said the bill would harm the government's ability to prevent future attacks. Supporters of the legislation argue that it preserves the United States' right to collect critical intelligence while boosting the country's moral standing abroad. "The bill would take away one of the most valuable tools on the war on terror, the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives," deputy White House press secretary Tony Fratto said Friday.

Bush to Veto Bill Banning Waterboarding

There you have it. Our National Policy regarding torture: Yes we can!

Christ on a Cracker

Affirming the rich spiritual and religious history of our Nation's founding and subsequent history and expressing support for designation of the first week in May as `American Religious History Week' for the appreciation of and education on America's history of religious faith.

GovTrack: H. Res. 888: Text of Legislation

Or IS Christ a Cracker? These freaks have absolutely nothing better to do with their time, I am sure... NOT!

The Chimp in Charge Speaks, lies, lies, and more lies

Employers slashed 63,000 jobs in February, the most in five years and the starkest sign yet that the country is heading dangerously toward recession or is in one already.

The Labor Department's report, released Friday, also indicated that the nation's unemployment rate dipped to 4.8 percent as hundreds of thousands of people - perhaps discouraged by their prospects - left the civilian labor force. The jobless rate was 4.9 percent in January.

Employers Slash Jobs by Most in 5 Years

President Bush said Friday that "it's clear our economy has slowed" and tried to reassure an anxious public that the long-term outlook is good.

"Losing a job is painful and I know Americans are concerned about our economy. So am I," Bush said during a hastily arranged White House appearance on the heels of a gloomy government economic report.

"I know this is a difficult time for our economy," he said. "But we recognized the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot."

Bush: 'It's Clear' Economy Has Slowed

So, the Chimp finally begins to hint at a reality that we all have known for quite some time. Yet, he holds to his assertion that his tax breaks for the rich will be the knight in shining armor to come galloping to the rescue. Even as the market continues to tumble below 12000. Yeah, right!

Can any one spell d-e-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n?

Socialist Presidential Candidate Files Ballot Access Lawsuit Against Ohio Today

Socialist Presidential Candidate Files Lawsuit Against State of Ohio Today to Be On Presidential Ballot in November

Attempts to Declare State Law Unconstitutional For Prohibiting Out-of-state and Unregistered Voters From Petitioning for Candidate to Be in November Election

Submits Motion for Preliminary Injunction to Force State to Refrain from Blocking Any Petitioners for Brian Moore, or for any other candidate for President

Spring Hill, Florida/Columbus, Ohio: Friday, March 7, 2008, - Attorney Mark Brown, a Professor of Law at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and a practicing private attorney, filed a lawsuit today in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio's Eastern Division on behalf of Socialist Party USA Presidential Nominee Brian Moore, who seeks to run for President as an Independent candidate in Ohio in 2008.

Moore has to collect at least 5,000 signatures from registered voters in the State of Ohio in order to qualify. The state requires that circulators of these pre-printed "part-petitions" must be both Ohio residents and properly registered to vote in Ohio. However, Moore seeks to use non-resident volunteers and resident volunteers who are not registered to vote in Ohio to circulate his part-petitions. He also seeks to use out-of-state volunteers as well as hire paid professionals who are not residents of Ohio and who are not registered to vote in Ohio to circulate his part-petitions.

Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, who is the defendant in this lawsuit, is obligated to enforce the existing state statutes. Attorney Brown, representing the presidential candidate, says that the state of Ohio prohibits such petitioning practices in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and will ask the courts to declare the state law unconstitutional. Additional plaintiffs in the lawsuit with Moore are Sherry Suter and Deron Mikal. Ms. Suter resides in Ohio but is not registered to vote. Mr. Mikal, resides in Florida and consequently is not (and cannot be) registered to vote in Ohio. Both Ms. Suter and Mr. Mikal seek to circulate part-petitions on Moore's behalf in order to have Moore's name placed on Ohio's presidential ballot.

Moore says that Ohio's restriction against using out-of-state petitioners is "particularly harmful to a party as small as the Socialist Party-USA," which, by necessity, would have to rely heavily on out-of-state petitioners from the neighboring states of Michigan and Pennsylvania if it ever hoped to succeed in a ballot access drive in the Buckeye State. Unlike Ohio, Michigan is one of the party's most active state organizations with quite a few younger members who might be willing to petition in neighboring Ohio, especially since the prospect of gaining ballot access in their own state of Michigan, requiring a minimum of 38,024 signatures, is all but impossible.

Attorney Brown attempted to file a similar lawsuit in 2004, on behalf of then presidential candidate Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate, but the 6th Circuit Court's dismissed Mr. Nader's lawsuit in November 2005 on the grounds that it was a moot case.

Moore has qualified on the state of Vermont ballot under the Liberty Union party, and just this week ran in the party's primary unopposed, thus being assured of presidential ballot access in November. The Socialist's campaign, as well as his party, are attempting to gain ballot access in 20 to 25 other states this election year. The Socialist Party only qualified on 10 states in 2004.

Moore said that not only does the state make efforts to enforce these horrendous undemocratic practices, but the Democratic Party has also filed complaints under this existing law to block minor parties and candidates from competing against their candidate. Moore says here is another example of how the two major parties are "hypocritical when it comes to practicing democracy."

Ohio imposes the most burdensome restrictions of both automatic qualification and petition qualification; as a result, it has seen the fewest number of minor parties.

______________________________

_________________
SocialistsUnmoderated mailing list
SocialistsUnmoderated@pinko.net
http://debs.pinko.net/mailman/listinfo/socialistsunmoderated

Interestingly, Ralph Nader appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart on March 4, 2008 announcing current bid for office based, seemingly, solely on the ballot access issue! He basically made a six minute stump speech about absurd ballot access laws and criticism of how the two parties keep third parties out. You can see the interview here.

While I am not particularly interested in Ralph Nader as a presidential candidate, I was particularly struck by his encapsulation of the argument: "speech, assembly, petition... all First Amendment rights". It is obvious that these ridiculous restrictions need redress to ensure true freedom and democracy. And it is further obvious that the right leaning judiciary will likely NOT come down on the side of true freedom and democracy.

Revolution anyone?

Campaign for a Third Term Begins

Life is just a Fantasy

The Colombian government has asserted with a distortion of logic befitting the Bush administration by acknowledging that its military did indeed launch an air strike and deploy troops across the border of Ecuador, but simultaneously claimed that “Colombia did not violate Ecuador’s sovereignty.” The Colombian government then declared that it “acted in line with the principle of legitimate self-defense.” However, at the time they were killed by the Colombian military, the victims were fast asleep in a foreign country.

The day after the assassination of Reyes, Colombia’s Vice-President Francisco Santos spoke at a United Nations conference on disarmament where he announced that evidence found on the FARC commander’s laptop showed that the rebel group was seeking to obtain uranium to manufacture “dirty bombs.” According to Santos, Reyes’s laptop contained “information from one commander to another indicating that FARC was apparently negotiating for radioactive material, the primary basis for generating dirty weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.”

But when the documents from Reyes’s laptop were released to the media, they did not corroborate the vice-president’s allegations. In fact, the document related to the so-called dirty bomb was simply a communication from a lower-ranking FARC guerrilla to Reyes raising the possibility of purchasing 50 kilos of uranium and then selling it for a profit. There was absolutely no mention of using uranium to build a dirty bomb or any other sort of weapon. Meanwhile, mainstream media outlets, including the New York Times, have dutifully performed their role as propagandists for the US government by continuing to report that the FARC intends to build a “dirty bomb” even after the documents were made public.

Three days after the attack, the Colombian government also claimed that it had retrieved documents from Reyes’s laptop proving Venezuela’s President Chávez had recently provided the FARC with $300 million in funding. Colombia’s President Uribe stated that, given this evidence, “Colombia proposes to denounce the President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez in the International Criminal Court for sponsoring and financing genocide.” The Colombian president’s pronouncement, in reality, had no legal basis and was little more than an irresponsible attempt to publicly discredit Chávez.

Firstly, the documents from Reyes’s laptop again fail to corroborate the Colombian government’s allegations. The only documents that mention Chávez or his government directly illustrate that Venezuela sought to: include the FARC in an international group to analyze Colombia’s conflict; request documentation from the rebel group of civilian casualties caused by Colombian military attacks in FARC-controlled regions; persuade Latin American governments to help get the FARC removed from international terror lists. None of the above constitutes an illegal activity.

And secondly, none of the documents on Reyes’ laptopname Chávez or any member of his government with regard toproviding funding to the rebel group. In fact, the only number that the documents refer to is the number “300,”which the Colombian government claims signifies $300 million. Whilethe documents do suggest that the FARC was negotiatingpotential deals with someone in Venezuela, they suggest that if the deals were to be consumated then the rebel group would receivesome sort of merchandise that it could sell for a profit rather than a delivery of cash. Most importantly, none of the documents related to the “300”—re-named the “dossier” at one point in the documents—mentioned Chávez or any other representative of the Venezuelan government. The documents, which were only discussions between FARC leaders, could have been referring to anybody in Venezuela. Ultimately, this amounts to very flimsy evidence upon which to publicly accuse a head of state of “sponsoring and financing genocide.”

When I first heard of "communications" or "documents" retrieved from the FARC leaders' laptop, I was at once skeptical. Any "evidence" that first goes through the hands of an accuser of wrong doing is immediately suspect, in my opinion. But one would think that if evidence were to be "planted", it would be more specific or clear. But none of this "evidence" supports the claims made by the accuser. It all appears to be more of the same double-speak that Uribe's mentors in Washington D.C. specialize in. For my part, they are not even very good at it, either.

While President Bush distorts reality by portraying the aggressor as the victim, many other countries in the region have responded with far greater levels of clarity and integrity. Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Cuba and Nicaragua, among others, have condemned Colombia for its act of aggression against Ecuador and have refused to criticize Venezuela for deploying troops to its border to ensure that it does not become a target of its US-backed neighbor. These nations represent the voice of reason in the midst of this crisis as they challenge the lies and exaggerations that constitute “reality” in the upside-down, fantasy world of the US and Colombian governments.

Few rational people argue the illegitimacy of kidnapping and ransom of victims for political gain. However, unmitigated violations on the sovereignty of nations, the assassinations of trade unionists, financial gain from illicit drug trade, and political corruption cannot be justified by any stretch of the imagination when peaceful, non-violent solutions are available, no matter who one is dealing with.

Obama, Clinton on Venezuela

On Saturday, Colombia launched an attack on a FARC camp in Ecuador, with, Ecuador plausibly alleges, U.S. support. Colombia's President Uribe -- a close Bush ally -- lied to Ecuador's President Correa about the attack, claiming it was in "hot pursuit." Ecuador's soldiers, when they reached the scene and recovered the bodies of FARC members who had been killed, reported to Correa that they had been asleep when attacked. They were in their underwear. Correa called it a "massacre." Both Ecuador and Venezuela have moved troops to their borders with Colombia, warned Colombia about violating their sovereignty, and cut diplomatic relations with Colombia.

Colombia's attack was a flagrant violation of Ecuador's sovereignty. "Hot pursuit" was Colombia's only possible defense. There is no right in international law to engage in military attacks into another country with which you are not at war if it is not an immediate continuation of an engagement that began within your borders (unless your action is explicitly authorized by the UN Security Council.) If you say that international law doesn't matter, you're essentially saying that Colombia has special rights to violate international law because it's a U.S. ally. That may sell well inside the Beltway, but it's going to sell very poorly, in general, from the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego.

Obama Glosses Colombian Attack in Ecuador; Clinton Calls for Escalation Against Venezuela

I'm getting fairly used to taking sides against prevailing U.S. positions on Foreign Policy. Time and again I find myself asking why the U.S. feels that it and its allies are bound by no rules. "Anything goes" is the mantra when it comes to our own actions. And anything that anyone else does is an act of terrorism or worse. It is clear to me who the "terrorist" is in nearly any world relation of the day. I just have difficulty understanding why it is so clear to me yet so ambiguous to others.

Is it so difficult to understand that our principals should be what sets us apart from common criminals? That when we behave criminally or exhibit criminal attitudes toward others that it simply exacerbates the problem. Is "two wrongs don't make a right" really that difficult of a concept to understand?

Chavez may well be a saber rattling thug. But his threats have not been followed by atrocities committed against other nations. That is an assertion that the Bush cronies cannot make.

There is a very real pattern of the Bush regime and its allies to meet the "threat" of successful diplomacy with military escalation. This is their self-defeating, self- destructive nature in virtually all of their policies and the outcome of virtually all of their decisions. Ecuador says it was in talks with rebels to release 12 hostages, including Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans, that the talks were in an advanced stage, and that the process was thwarted by the Colombian raid.

If Amerikans cannot get their leaders on the right side of the issue in World Affairs, then we should collectively and figuratively just stay at home and keep our mouths shut. The idea that Amerikans can even sleep at night given our leaders' records is simply beyond me!

“A Dirty War”

The Gaza Bombshell
After failing to anticipate Hamas’s victory over Fatah in the 2006
Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another
scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part
Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents,
corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, David Rose
reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy
National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under
Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in
Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever.

The Gaza Bombshell: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

This is a rather long article (8 pages) but it is well worth the read. It is a behind the scenes, in depth look at the power brokering conducted by the commander and chimp and his minions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These hacks will deal with anyone to achieve their own sinister goals. As I have said before, if Bush likes and/or endorses someone, something is terribly wrong with that person.

Incidentally, the Chimp is to endorse John McCain tonight. Given the Chimps proclivity to endorse cretins, this should be a clear indication of McCain and his character. In fact, Senator McCain is a carbon copy of President Bush. Lies come as easily as breathing. He will continue to attempt to push Bush plans down Americans' throats, even ones he says he won't such as the privatization of Social Security. Read about that here.

Colombian VP says FARC rebels were trying to make dirty bomb

Colombia's vice president has told the main world disarmament body in Geneva that police have found computer evidence indicating the FARC movement has been trying to get radioactive material to build dirty bombs.

Francisco Santos said Colombian police found the evidence in two computers discovered with slain rebel leader Raul Reyes.

Santos said the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia were apparently negotiating for radioactive material. He described the radioactive material as the primary basis for generating crude weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

Colombia has already disclosed that it found documents suggesting the rebels have bought and sold uranium.

This drivel could only be propagated in a rag like Jerusalem Post. Anyone who disagrees with the Imperialist War Machine is dubbed "Terrorist". Yet, the capitalist war mongers can do the same or worse anywhere they choose in the name of Democracy and Freedom. Yeah, right! I guess that is why they use bullets manufactured with depleted uranium! Just who is the purveyor of terrorism and dirty bombs? That is a no brainer! He who protests the loudest.

Chavez sends troops to Colombia border - Venezuela- msnbc.com

The leftist leader warned that Colombia’s slaying of rebel spokesman Raul Reyes could spark a war.

“It wasn’t any combat. It was a cowardly murder, all of it coldly calculated,” Chavez said.

Chavez sends troops to Colombia border
Here it is, folks! As Hugo Chavez aptly and correctly terms Columbia as the Latin American "Israel", Amerikan Imperialism uses Columbia as its base of operations for insurgency, counter revolutionary fueling and funding, and "black ops" which include media propaganda, artificial food shortages, arms trafficking, and likely biological and chemical warfare tactics designed to weaken and undermine the Socialist Revolution that is occurring among the people of Latin America.

Another Amerikan War in the 21st Century! Ain't Democracy grand?

Take a peek into the life of FARC here.
Read an interview with FARC leader Raúl Reyes here.