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January 21, 2003

BRITISH troops will seize control of Iraq's oilfields under a secret invasion plan already agreed with America. Yesterday the government ordered another 26,000 soldiers to the Gulf, taking the total towards 40,000. - a battleground blueprint has already been drawn up, the Daily Mirror has learned, with Britain earmarked to secure Saddam's fuel supplies and squash suggestions of a US "oil grab". - Labour MP and Father of the Commons Tam Dalyell - echoing growing anti-war anger - said of the task-force order: "I think this means war is inevitable now but that should not stop us doing everything, day and night, to oppose it. "Because the Americans are concerned not to take body bags back home, there will be tremendous bombing. God knows how many casualties that will lead to. The Arab world will explode." Details learned from defence s show President Bush is determined to avoid accusations that deposing Saddam is about oil, not weapons of mass destruction. Pentagon chiefs have told the Ministry of Defence: "You take the the oilfields. We're not going to take the flak for taking the oil." - The editor of Jane's World Armies, Major Charles Heyman, said: "This is an enormous deployment." The US has massed 100,000 troops in the Gulf. British strategists have been told that a full-scale invasion force must be in place by February 15. - Mr Hoon told MPs yesterday that the deployment was "no ordinary measure". But he added: "A decision to employ force has not been taken, nor is such a decision imminent or inevitable." Ex-minister Glenda Jackson said pledges that war was avoidable now rang hollow. She added: "In principle the decision has been taken."

Regardless of the outcome of weapons inspections, UN condemnation, worldwide outrage, or last-minute diplomacy, Jan. 26 is the day long range weather forecasts predict the "weather window" will open for a round-the-clock bombing sequel against a shattered country the size of California. The bombers' "window of death" will remain open until the end of February. - Secretary of State George Shultz earlier confirmed this timetable, telling the Financial Times last November 21 that "there will be military action. I would be surprised if we have not acted by the end of January." The day before, top Bush security advisor Richard Perle told British Labour Party MPs that President Bush intends to go to war "even if inspectors find nothing." Perle stunned the Parliamentarians by insisting that even a "clean bill of health" from UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix would not stop America's war machine. [Daily Mirror Nov. 21, 22/02] -

WHY BUSH CAN'T WAIT Referring to mounting pressure on an unelected President, a Republican Party aide adds that with anti-war opposition growing in the United States and Britain, "The longer he leaves it, the greater the political risk." [The Observer Dec. 8/02] -

US forces might be better advised to raid US corporate headquarters. Three Congressional investigations earlier documented extensive chemical and biological weapons and production facilities shipped to Baghdad with White House approval prior to - and after - the last Gulf "war". [Bringing The War Home by William Thomas]

Despite White House removal of more than 8,000 embarrassing pages from Iraq's 11,800-page weapons dossier, Geneva-based reporter Andreas Zumach has published pages documenting how 24 US corporations and several US government agencies "illegally helped Iraq to build its biological, chemical and nuclear weapons programs." Hewlett Packard, Dupont, Honeywell, Bechtel, Rockwell, Tectronics, Unisys and Sperry were among more than two-dozen US sponsors "who gave very substantial support especially to the biological weapons program but also to the missile and nuclear weapons program," Zumach said. Records also show that US government nuclear weapons laboratories Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia trained Iraqi nuclear scientists, and provided non-fissile material for construction of a nuclear bomb. [Financial Times Dec. 19/02]

Just who is this fearsome "enemy" who must be crushed by a country that spends more money on weapons than the next 14 countries combined? As veteran British war correspondent John Pilger points out, "More than half the population of Iraq are children, and many of the rest are widows, the elderly and the poor."

A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER "The true danger is not Iraq, or Iran, or North Korea, or China," writes Pilger. "It is the United States, and the cabal of fanatics now in charge, led by a man who on television the other night failed to make sense in his native tongue."

Why would the US risk becoming a pariah nation, while destroying the world's oldest cities - birthplace of the mathematics, the alphabet, calendar, laws and 60 units of time taught in American schools?

"They know we own their country. We own their airspace. We dictate the way they live and talk," explained aptly-named Air Force Brig. General William Looney, describing the last carpet-bombing of Basra by B-52s. "It's a good thing, especially when there's a lot of oil out there we need." [Washington Post, August 30, 1999]

The last time the US went to war against a supposedly ragtag army defending their homeland was in a place called Vietnam.

A first wave of mainly Western volunteers will leave London this weekend on a convoy bound for Iraq to act as "human shields" at key sites and populous areas in case of a U.S.-led war on Baghdad. "The potential for white Western body parts flying around with the Iraqi ones should make them think again about this imperialist oil war," organizer Ken Nichols, a former U.S. marine in the 1991 Gulf War, told Reuters. His "We the People" organization will be sending off a first group of 50 human shields from the London mayor's City Hall building Saturday, part of a series of departures organizers say will involve hundreds, possibly thousands, of volunteers. Nichols' planned human shield convoys are one of several such efforts around the world to mobilize activists in Iraq as a deterrent against military strikes on Baghdad. -

"People know this is wrong. It is just so blatantly transparent how the U.S. is trying to impose its hegemony."

"We the People" organizers said the self-financing human shield volunteers had come forward from a range of Western nations including the United States, Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Denmark. There were also some volunteers from Muslim nation Turkey.

It's laughable to say that we are working for Saddam when it was the UK and the U.S. who gave him his biological and other weapons in the first place," Nichols said. "The hypocrisy is mind-blowing. The biggest threat to world security at this moment is (U.S. President) George W. Bush."

The True Face of the Warmongers? - Soldiers from one of Britain’s most illustrious regiments added a splash of colour to their uniforms by adopting Snake-eye goggles as they started war training yesterday.

When doctors at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals here announced in December that they would not participate in the Bush administration's program to vaccinate 11 million Americans against smallpox, they were criticized for making a deplorable decision that could undermine the president's plan. - t turns out they were just the first.

More than 80 hospitals from every region in the USA, including leading teaching hospitals and large, urban public hospitals, are forgoing the vaccinations. The dissenters are a fraction of the 3,000 hospitals recruited by state health officials to vaccinate doctors, nurses and other hospital staff members who are most likely to care for smallpox patients. But their numbers are growing as doctors and administrators at hospitals around the USA are concluding that the known health risks from the vaccine, which can cause illness and even death, outweigh the unquantifiable risks of smallpox being used as a terrorist weapon. The refusal to vaccinate raises questions about the president's plan just as the first phase is expected to begin this week. Some health care experts and government officials fear that any reluctance to participate in the first phase could lessen the willingness of others to participate in the second phase - ''The thing that stops you from doing this is the complexity of the smallpox vaccine, which is not a safe vaccine,'' says William Schaffner, head of the preventive medicine department at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, one of the hospitals that is opting out.

A majority of Americans, 54 percent, say they fear the Bush administration will move too quickly to take military action against Iraq, according to a poll taken at a time administration officials are giving strong signals that war will be necessary to disarm Iraq. - The growing cautiousness about Iraq comes at the same time that people now disapprove of Bush's performance with the economy, with 43 percent approving and 53 percent disapproving — the first time in this poll that a majority disapproved of his economic leadership.

The idea that a democratic government derives its power from the consent of the people it governs is rooted in the belief that this grant of authority comes from an informed people. The support Americans now give Bush appears to be, in far too many cases, a patriotic response to his march toward war.

As Lyndon Johnson discovered during the Vietnam War, when the soldiers he sent off to war started coming home in body bags -- and the nation belatedly discovered there was no compelling reason to put our young men and women in harm's way -- blind patriotism isn't enough to keep anti-war protesters from clogging the streets of this nation.

There is still time for Bush to avoid the traps that ensnared Johnson, still time for him to take full measure of the war he contemplates and to honestly explain to the American people his reasons for doing so.

But time is running out.

'Oldest star chart' found - The oldest image of a star pattern, that of the famous constellation of Orion, has been recognised on an ivory tablet some 32,500 years old. The tiny sliver of mammoth tusk contains a carving of a man-like figure with arms and legs outstretched in the same pose as the stars of Orion. - It was found in 1979 in a cave in the Ach Valley in the Alb-Danube region of Germany. Carbon dating of bone ash deposits found next to the tablet suggest it is between 32,500 and 38,000 years old, making it one of the oldest representations of a man ever found. It was left behind by the mysterious Aurignacian people about whom we know next to nothing save that they moved into Europe from the east supplanting the indigenous Neanderthals. - The tablet may also be a pregnancy calendar. There are 86 notches on the tablet, a number that has two special meanings. First, it is the number of days that must be subtracted from a year to equal the average number of days of a human gestation. This is no coincidence, says Dr Rappenglueck. It is also the number of days that one of Orion's two prominent stars, Betelguese, is visible. To ancient man, this might have linked human fertility with the gods in the sky.

A Russian envoy on Tuesday expressed hopes of a solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis after a rare meeting with reclusive leader Kim Jong-il, although more talks were needed. Raising the stakes for Pyongyang, however, were U.S. suggestions that it was time the U.N. Security Council put pressure on Kim to abandon the nuclear ambitions whose scope became clear earlier this month when he withdrew from a global treaty to prevent the spread of atomic weapons.

President Bush, describing U.N. arms inspections of Iraq as "a re-run of a bad movie," says President Saddam Hussein has failed to disarm and his time is running out. With U.S. and British forces being deployed to the Gulf region in increasing strength, a senior U.S. diplomat issued a blunt warning to Baghdad on Tuesday that alternatives to war were nearly exhausted. Bush made no secret of his impatience with nations that want to give U.N. weapons inspectors looking for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction more time.

"It's clear to me now that he is not disarming ... He's been given ample time to disarm," Bush said of Saddam. "Time is running out." For their part, the inspectors said they needed several more months to check Iraq's denials that it was developing chemical, biological or nuclear arms. Security Council powers France, Russia and China called for more time for diplomacy. But Bush responded: "This business about more time -- how much more time do we need to be sure he is not disarming? "This looks to me like a re-run of a bad movie and I'm not interested in watching it," he added, saying Saddam had been defying U.N. resolutions since his Gulf War defeat in 1991.

Comment: Somebody really oughta stuff a sock in Bush's mouth. He's already got this country in more hot water than we'll ever get out of.

As Rumsfeld and President Bush himself have made clear, the inability of the inspectors thus far to find a "smoking gun" in Iraq is further proof of perfidious deception of the Baghdad regime. "So far, I haven't seen any evidence that he is disarming," Bush said of Saddam Hussein. So far, the weapons inspectors haven't found evidence that Hussein has the kind of weapons he would have to get rid of in order to be "disarming." No matter. The way Rumsfeld explained it, it is the very absence of such evidence that proves Iraqi guilt.

"The fact that the inspectors have not yet come up with new evidence of Iraq's WMD program could be evidence, in and of itself, of Iraq's noncooperation," Rumsfeld explained. "We do know that Iraq has designed its programs in a way that they can proceed in an environment of inspections and that they are skilled at denial and deception."

Well, now, there you have it, proof of Iraq's guilt either way. As loathsome and despicable as the Baghdad regime is, you have to admit the Bush administration has set up this game in a way that Iraq can't win no matter what the weapons inspectors find or do not find. If they find weapons of mass destruction, it is proof, of course, of the regime's aggressive designs. If no evidence is found, it is evidence of Iraq's "denial and deception" and its "non-cooperation" with the inspectors. It's a perfect "Catch 22."

So why bother with inspections in the first place? Why not just go to war now? To appease our allies and the United Nations, no doubt. [...]

The Bush administration's attitude toward evidence — or the lack of same — of nuclear arms in Iraq is of a piece with its insistence on the right to imprison U.S. citizens — labeled "enemy combatants" — indefinitely, without the need for charges, much less evidence of guilt.

Evidence? What evidence? "We don't need no stinkin' evidence!"

Strong Earthquake Shakes Mexico City - A strong earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale rocked Mexico City at 8:09 p.m. on Tuesday (9:09 p.m. EST), cutting power in parts of the city and sending panicked residents out of their homes and buildings in tears, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but sirens of emergency vehicles could be heard in the streets of the huge capital. The Seismological Service at Mexico City's UNAM University told Reuters the quake measured 7.6 on the Richter scale and was centered in the Pacific state of Colima. A 7.6 earthquake is capable of causing widespread damage.

The mystery of the two-acre hole in the ice on North Long Lake is getting deeper and pulling more people in. On Jan. 8, divers from the Minnesota School of Diving studied every aspect of the water from the lake bottom to the thin sheet of ice on top under the watchful gaze of at least four TV stations, three newspapers, two news helicopters and one small plane. All for a hole in the ice. To date, the Thirty Lakes Watershed District has spent approximately $6,000 studying the hole, with no conclusions. [...]

“People love a mystery,” Finé said. “We all recognize that we’re very blessed to have what we have and we want to take care of it. Obviously something that we don’t understand is going on.” Unlike some who believe the hole appeared randomly, Finé has talked to local residents who began noticing a “squishy” spot on the ice in the 1980’s. “Whatever’s going on has been going on for awhile,” Finé said. “It may have accelerated, though.” [...]

While no definitive cause of the “black hole” on North Long Lake has been determined, there are some popular scientific theories. Mike Finé believes the cause may be friction between tectonic plates below the lake. “I think there’s a fault line that follows the Mississippi River from in Minnesota down to the triangle area of Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee where it’s called the New Madrid Fault,” Finé said. “I think there’s plate activity that generates friction and causes the temperature here to really spike in relation to water at the same depth in other places.” [...]

Local Ojibwe legend holds that after the natural resources of the Earth had been used up and society was nearing the last days, a hole would open near Hole-In-The-Day Lake. Could the “black hole” be part of this prophecy? There is no scientific data to back this theory up; however, there are some strange and eerie coincidences. First of all, North Long Lake is within a few miles of Hole-In-The-Day Lake. Second, the road to get to the public access nearest the “black hole” is Ojibwe Road. Third, and perhaps most eerie, as the prophecy pertains to the depletion of natural resources, is that the only fatality of the dozen people to accidentally go into the hole was a bid estimator for a lumber company.

FLASH! The Bush Propaganda Machine In Action! Check out the links below. We have updates on this propaganda activity that will follow the links.

From the Press Democrat: EDITOR: When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] TREVOR CARLSON Santa Rosa

From the Star Press, East Central Indiana: EDITOR: When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] JOHN PINCKNEY - 400 Aspen Lane

From the Boston Globe: 1/12/2003 - When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] STEPHANIE JOHNSON, Milton

From the Wausau Daily Herald - Tue, Jan 14, 2003 - When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] David Bednarski, Wausau

From the Daily Mining Gazette, Houghton, Michigan: To the editor: When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] ROBERT FROESE, Moscow, Idaho

From Channel 10, NBC news, Rochester, N.Y.: January 8, 2003 - Dear WHEC, When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] Kyle Klink,32 Medallion Drive Rochester, NY 14626-3206

From the Chicago News Sun - When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] Sarah Kocal, Grayslake

From the Rutland Herald, Vermont: When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] DAVID O’GRADY Jericho

From the Lynchburg Ledger, Virginia: When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] Derick Mfoafo, Lynchburg, VA

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel: When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] SANDRA RAUSCHHUBER, BOULDER CREEK

From the Green Bay Press Gazette - APPLETON - When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] Edward T. Kranick

From the Merced (CA) Sun Star: When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] Michael Snyder, Merced

From the Manhatten Mercury: When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. [...] Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, especially the middle class. [...] [signed] Scott L. Herrin, Jan 8, 2003

Other publishers of the letter are:

The Daily News, La Marque Tx.

Voice of the People, South Bend Tribune, South Bend, IN

Santa Barbara News-Press, Santa Barbara, CA

The Examiner, San Francisco, CA

Richmond Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA - and others...

Comment: Now, I wonder if this is because the news organs were ordered to publish the letter and make up a "sender," or are they innocent of complicity? I also wonder how many other "letters to the editor" are made up exactly like this and sent to newspapers all over the place to make readers think that Bush has support that simply does not exist?

The fact is, a number of other "identical letters" dated last October and November can be found by searching on google for the phrase "taking a courageous stand against Saddam." You will find copies at: The Albany Herald ~ The Bremerton Sun ~ Hispanic Vista ~ The Progressive ~ Pakistan Link ~ Indiana Times Union

Again, the question is, how many such letters are being published and how long has this been going on?

The Perseus Foundation decided to assign a researcher to the above in order to attempt to discover if it is willing complicity of the news organs involved, or if they are just being used. The researcher, H.M., wrote the following letter and sent it to the contact addresses found on the sites listed above:

Editor:

The concept of the free unbiased press turns out to be just that- a concept. However, it is no longer amusing to find certain coincidences occurring throughout our vaunted free press.

According to an email being forwarded around the Internet, your publication has been found to be a participant in a current "scam," if it can be so called. A Google search on the phrase "demonstrating genuine leadership" returns a number of nearly identical letters sent to the editors of various newspapers and publications - including yours - this month, each one with the name of a different individual attached.

A number of other "identical letters" dated last October and November can be found by searching for "taking a courageous stand against Saddam."

Doesn't this seem suspicious? Isn't it a policy of your newspaper to check out each and every writer to your letters page? Such orchestrations are deliberate attempts to manufacture support for unpopular wars and policies of a sitting government. The question is and remains are you ashamed of printing such letters or ashamed of being caught?

So far, the following responses have been received:

From the San Francisco Examiner:

Hello, HM --
I'd prefer to think of it as being the victim of an internet scam, rather than a participant. We are well aware of the duplicate letters, and we catch and delete as many of them as possible. But it's difficult to know when we get the first in a series of them whether the letter is a *real* letter, or the precursor to a flood of identically-worded letters. And to date I have been unable to ascertain the sources of these mail bombs.

I'm sure that if you yourself have had experience as a letters-to-the-editor editor, you know the problem I'm speaking of.

If you know of any way of ascertaining which letter is the first in a flood of identical letters, then I'd appreciate being tipped to it.
[signed]

From: the Wausau Daily Herald

Sir:
Please identify yourself. I am the opinion page editor of the Waysay (sic) Daily Herald and am aware that we have been deluged with these letters. We only printed the first that arrived, and I'm trying to determine how wide-reaching this matter is and who is tracking it. Please respond. [signed]

From: The Lynchburg Ledger

Thank you for your email. We did become aware of the fact that the Bush letter stating his' genuine leadership' was some type of form letter. It is often difficult to check the veracity of the letters we receive.

We usually try to publish letters on local issues. The practice of mass submitting letters is old. We have been receiving these types of letters for some time. We have our 'regular ' submitters. I believe there to be a distribution list circulating among certain groups that contain the email addresses of various second tier media vehicles that are more likely to publish the letter. We will occasionally publish these letters although we have a good idea that is a not the work of a single individual. We happen to live in a red state and a majority of our readership are GOP members. We view it as an occasional courtesy.

I believe you will see this trend continue as it is relatively inexpensive and lacks labor intensity, while it is able to reach broad market segments. I'm just shocked that it has taken so long for others to expose it. This fad begun (sic) over three years ago.

Thank you for your diligence and concern for fair media. [signed]

Our researcher responded to the Lynchburg Ledger (Lynchburg is the home of Jerry Falwell, by the way) as follows:

Hello:

Thank you for your reply.

You call the publication of such letters a "courtesy." What concerns me the most is that so many of the - as you call it - second tier media - are willing to publish such propaganda, even while knowing that it IS propaganda.

You also say: "I believe you will see this trend continue as it is relatively inexpensive and lacks labor intensity, while it is able to reach broad market segments." That suggests a willing complicity in the dissemination of propaganda.

There have been many "second tier" media organs in the past that have stood against the sychophantic media giants, bringing truth to issues of great significance. That tradition seems to have all but died, and it is a shame.

There has to be a time when people, and that includes the press, start waking up to the fact that not only are we being scammed by letters such as these, but are being scammed by insidious and, frankly, evil men who want nothing more than power and to send our men and women to fight unjust wars while making obscene amounts of money in the process.

Is there no David in our era who can stand against the Goliath of the blatant Fascism of Bush and the Religious Right?

Again, thank you for your comments. We will include them in the research article on this matter that will be published sometime later today by Perseus Foundation, Inc., my affiliate. [signed]

Comment: The most interesting revelation from the above is the freely admitted participation in propaganda stated by the spokesperson for the Lynchburg Ledger. He says they KNOW it is propaganda, and they publish it as a "courtesy." In fact, he not only admits it, he thinks it is simply "marketing!" We will keep you updated on this matter as it develops.

The Perseus Foundation research/writer investigating this matter has also found the following which details more clearly what has been going on. Or at least, now that it has come to the attention of the public, provides the "cover story." Interestingly, it is published in a UK rag rather than in the U.S.

Republican Party blanket-emailed newspaper editors - IT SEEMS WE'VE OPENED something of a can of worms with our story yesterday, which suggested the US Republican Party blanket emailed different newspaper editors with the same letter praising George Bush. Dozens of editors of US newspapers published the letter, apparently in good faith. And on the face of it, the letters were signed by different individuals. - We now have proof that the letters were auto-organised from a Republican Party website. - Now we learn the practice has already some history, although the US news media - perhaps out of embarrassment – does not yet seem to have picked it up. - That site says the letters are part of an orchestrated campaign and are word for word identical. Worse - a whole heap of newspapers took the letter as genuine and published it.

Here is where the letters are generated - where you learn about the benefits of being a propagandist - GOPTeamLeader.com is an online toolbox for Republican activists. It is personalized and local. GOPTeamLeader gives you the power to quickly voice your opinions and influence your Representatives. Once you become a Leader, you can use GOPTeamLeader.com to: * Learn about and help fellow Republicans running for office in your state, as well as on a federal level; * Track and research federal issues and bills of interest to you; * Write your local and federal representatives, while accessing official RNC talking points from GOPTeamLeader.com; * Collect GOPoints by completing Action Items and redeem them for collateral of your choice, ranging from coolers to mouse pads. * Encourage participation in the political process by building your own Team of activists who you can share information with. Join Now - In addition to being given a "political edge" over the competition, you earn GOPoints for each Action Item completed. Action Items range from writing a letter to your editor to calling local voters and gauging public opinion. - There is no limit to what you can accomplish, or what you can earn.

Comment: Any of you tekkie gurus out there up to organizing such a site for anti-war and anti-Bush letters????

And now for a little Satire - THE INQUIRER WISHES TO UNRESERVEDLY apologise for suggesting that the American Republican Party, or any other US political party for that matter, is engaged in spamster like behaviour. We now understand that when a political party -- of whichever hue -- provides a template for a standard letter that can be sent out by individuals from a political party's web site and which reads exactly the same, this is not spam, as the individual has to add her or his own address to the so-called "standard" letter, and also has to "opt in". Such letters can therefore be in no way confused with the letters we get from Kala Umbeki, attorney in Nigeria, which looks exactly the same as the letters we get from Mr Sodindo Malinga in Zimbabwe, apart from the name, email address, and African country, of course. [...]

We also wish to wholeheartedly apologise to various editors of august and prestigious newspapers in the United States and its Commonwealth who were quite happy to publish the same letter under different names and from different email addresses. This, we now understand and have been instructed by our corporate lawyers Bander, Snatch and Snark, is called, in English Law, quietus periodicus, when such editors need to fill "white spaces" on letters pages to give the impression their newspapers are being read.

Bush Job Approval Rating High Among Dumb Americans - Just what is it that keeps the "Dumb Vote" solidly in Bush's corner? Simple: "He's one of us!"

War journalists should not be cosying up to the military - It looks like a rerun of the 1991 Gulf War. Already American journalists are fighting like tigers to join "the pool", to be "embedded" in the US military so that they can see the war at first hand – and, of course, be censored. Eleven years ago, they turned up at Dhahran in Saudi Arabia, already kitted out with helmets, gas capes, chocolate rations and eyes that narrowed when they looked into the sun, just like General Montgomery. Half the reporters wanted to wear military costume and one young television man from the American mid-west turned up, I recall well, with a pair of camouflaged boots. Each boot was camouflaged with painted leaves. Those of us who had been in a desert -- even those who had only seen a picture of a desert – did wonder what this meant. Well, of course, it symbolised fantasy, the very quality upon which most viewers now rely when watching "live" war – or watching death "live" on TV.

Thus, over the past four weeks, the massed ranks of American television networks have been pouring into Kuwait to cosy up to the US military, to seek those coveted "pool" positions, to try on their army or marine costumes and make sure that – if or when the day comes – they will have the kind of coverage that every reporter and every general wants: a few facts, good pictures and nothing dirty to make the viewers throw up on the breakfast table. I remember how, back in 1991, only those Iraqi soldiers obliging enough to die in romantic poses – arm thrown back to conceal the decomposing features or face down and anonymous in the sand – made it on to live-time. Those soldiers turned into a crematorium nightmare or whose corpses were being torn to pieces by wild dogs – I actually saw an ITV crew film this horrific scene – were not honoured on screen. ITV's film, of course, couldn't be shown – lest it persuade the entire world that no one should go to war, ever, again.

So here's a thumbnail list of how to watch out for mendacity and propaganda on your screen once Gulf War Two (or Three if you include the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq conflict) begins. You should suspect the following: Reporters who wear items of American or British military costume – helmets, camouflage jackets, weapons, etc. Reporters who say "we" when they are referring to the US or British military unit in which they are "embedded". Those who use the words "collateral damage" instead of "dead civilians". Those who commence answering questions with the words: "Well, of course, because of military security I can't divulge..." Those who, reporting from the Iraqi side, insist on referring to the Iraqi population as "his" (ie Saddam's) people. Journalists in Baghdad who refer to "what the Americans describe as Saddam Hussein's human rights abuses" – rather than the plain and simple torture we all know Saddam practices. Journalists reporting from either side who use the god-awful and creepy phrase "officials say" without naming, quite specifically, who these often lying "officials" are. Stay tuned.

France Vows to Block Resolution on Iraq War - France suggested today it would wage a major diplomatic fight, including possible use of its veto power, to prevent the U.N. Security Council from passing a resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. France's opposition to a war, emphatically delivered here by Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, is a major blow for the Bush administration, which has begun pouring tens of thousands of troops into the Persian Gulf in preparation for a military conflict this spring. The administration had hoped to mark the final phase in its confrontation with Iraq when U.N. weapons inspectors deliver a progress report Monday. But in a diplomatic version of an ambush, France and other countries used a high-level Security Council meeting on terrorism to lay down their markers for the debate that will commence next week on the inspectors' report. Russia and China, which have veto power, and Germany, which will chair the Security Council in February, also signaled today they were willing to let the inspections continue for months. Only Britain appeared to openly support the U.S. position that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has thwarted effective inspections. "If war is the only way to resolve this problem, we are going down a dead end," de Villepin told reporters. "Already we know for a fact that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs are being largely blocked, even frozen. We must do everything possible to strengthen this process." The United Nations, he said, should stay "on the path of cooperation. The other choice is to move forward out of impatience over a situation in Iraq to move towards military intervention. We believe that today nothing justifies envisaging military action."

Turkey has decided to allow the United States to use its bases for an attack on Iraq, but public opinion will force the Turkish government to drastically scale back the American plans, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Comment: What I think we are learning from all of this is just who is "dirty" in the CIA games. Those who are subject to blackmail, or who rely on the U.S. for survival, agree with Bush and the Warmongers, and those who are not, don't. Looks like Turkey is dirty and dependent since they will go along with Bush even against the wishes of the Turkish people.

Blair sez: 'Saddam is trying to rebuild nuclear weapons programme' - Tony Blair told MPs today that he believed Saddam retained a chemical and biological weapons capability and was trying to rebuild his nuclear weapons programme. The Prime Minister predicted the public would eventually back a war against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq if other means of disarming him fail. He told MPs that he understood people's concerns but said if he did have to order military action, the public would find it "acceptable and satisfactory because there is no other route available to us". The Prime Minister was speaking during his second lengthy evidence session to the Commons Liaison Committee. Mr Blair said the policy of containing Saddam had worked only "up to a point and was beginning to fracture very badly". The Prime Minister was asked about any link between al–Qa'ida and Iraq, and whether an al–Qa'ida attack on Britain was inevitable. He replied: "I think it's inevitable that they will try in some form or other and I think we can see evidence from the recent arrests that the terrorist network is here, as it is around the rest of the world.

Britain's Blair Forecasts Terror Attack Attempt - Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a doom-laden warning Tuesday -- terror groups like al Qaeda will attempt an attack on Britain. "I believe it is inevitable that they will try in some form or other," Blair told senior parliamentarians in a lengthy evidence session that focused on terror and on possible military action against Iraq. "I think we can see evidence from the recent arrests that the terrorist network is here as it is around the rest of Europe, around the rest of the world," he said.

Comment: Why is it that Bush and Blair and their lackeys always "forecast terror attempts" at the exact moments when they are not getting their way? It's the old "Osama is Under the Bed" routine. Of course, we realize that, at some point, they will very likely have to come through with a faked "terrorist attack" just so they won't look stupid. And that is, of course, worrisome. When we realize that they will endanger, and/or kill, their own citizens to push their agenda - as the Israelis do with their faked "Palestinian Suicide Bombers" - then we know that as long as these evil men are in power, none of us are safe. In fact, the way things are going for Bush and Blair, I think we ought to expect some kind of really bodacious "terrorist attack" in the not too distant future. It will be a humdinger, and will be designed for the most emotional impact, and to drive everyone into the corral of the Bush/Blair agenda.

Russian intelligence secretly helped the US Central Intelligence Agency monitor nuclear activities in North Korea by placing US radiation detection equipment inside the hermit nation in the 1990s. Citing unnamed intelligence officials, The New York Times said Russian agents had placed sophisticated nuclear monitors provided by the CIA inside the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang to try to detect telltale signs of activity from the North Korean nuclear weapons program. The CIA also taught officers from the SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence service, how to operate the American equipment, while the Russians shared their findings with the US spy agency, the report said. The joint operation has since ended, but it is unclear whether the Russians placed detection equipment in other locations in North Korea besides their embassy in Pyongyang, The Times pointed out. Comment: Looks like propaganda designed to drive a wedge between Russia and North Korea who seem to be buddying up a bit...

The head of Russia's external intelligence services dismissed a US media report stating that Russian agents secretly helped the Central Intelligence Agency monitor North Korea's nuclear activities by installing radiation detection equipment. A report in The New York Times Monday regarding "purported cooperation between the SVR (Russia's foreign intelligence) and the CIA against North Korea is false," SVR chief Boris Labusov said Tuesday. The US daily, citing unnamed intelligence officials, said Russian agents had placed sophisticated nuclear monitors provided by the CIA inside the Russian embassy in Pyongyang to try to detect telltale signs of activity from the North Korean nuclear weapons program. The CIA also taught officers from the SVR how to operate the US equipment, while the Russians shared their findings with the FBI, the report said. According to the report, the secret agreement between the CIA and Russian intelligence came sometime in the early 1990s, at about the same time that the North Korean nuclear weapons program first emerged as a major international issue.

If you really want war, you don't need 'evidence' - THANK GOD for Donald Rumsfeld, America's Secretary of Defense. Without old "Rummy," we might never fully understand why we are about to go to war with Iraq. You may recall that last fall, when the administration was seeking authorization from Congress for military action against Iraq, the big issue was Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction." Under the Bush doctrine, evil regimes like the one in Baghdad are not allowed to have such weapons. The mere possession of them, or even the effort to obtain them, gives the United States the right to launch a pre-emptive strike and impose "regime change" on the offending nation.

And there was the frequently repeated but false charge that Iraq had "kicked out" United Nations weapons inspectors in 1998. In fact, the United Nations had withdrawn its weapons inspectors for their own safety just before U.S. and British planes began bombing Iraq on what was, perhaps by coincidence, the eve of the U.S. House vote on Bill Clinton's impeachment.

The resolution passed by the U.N. Security Council late last year demanded the readmission of weapons inspectors and the full cooperation of the Iraqi government in the inspections. Well, the U.N. inspectors have been back in the country for some time now and you might have thought that the absence thus far of evidence of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction would be cautiously regarded as good news by an administration that had declared that such weapons in the hands of Saddam Hussein posed a "grave and gathering" danger to the peace and security of the United States and to Iraq's neighbors in the Middle East. But as Rumsfeld and President Bush himself have made clear, the inability of the inspectors thus far to find a "smoking gun" in Iraq is further proof of perfidious deception of the Baghdad regime. "So far, I haven't seen any evidence that he is disarming," Bush said of Saddam Hussein. So far, the weapons inspectors haven't found evidence that Hussein has the kind of weapons he would have to get rid of in order to be "disarming." No matter. The way Rumsfeld explained it, it is the very absence of such evidence that proves Iraqi guilt.

"The fact that the inspectors have not yet come up with new evidence of Iraq's WMD program could be evidence, in and of itself, of Iraq's noncooperation," Rumsfeld explained. "We do know that Iraq has designed its programs in a way that they can proceed in an environment of inspections and that they are skilled at denial and deception."

Well, now, there you have it, proof of Iraq's guilt either way. As loathsome and despicable as the Baghdad regime is, you have to admit the Bush administration has set up this game in a way that Iraq can't win no matter what the weapons inspectors find or do not find. If they find weapons of mass destruction, it is proof, of course, of the regime's aggressive designs. If no evidence is found, it is evidence of Iraq's "denial and deception" and its "non-cooperation" with the inspectors. It's a perfect "Catch 22."

So why bother with inspections in the first place? Why not just go to war now? To appease our allies and the United Nations, no doubt. [...]

The Bush administration's attitude toward evidence — or the lack of same — of nuclear arms in Iraq is of a piece with its insistence on the right to imprison U.S. citizens — labeled "enemy combatants" — indefinitely, without the need for charges, much less evidence of guilt.

Evidence? What evidence? "We don't need no stinkin' evidence!"

President Bush said Tuesday it is clear that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is not disarming his nation and again warned that "time is running out." Bush repeated his threat to disarm Iraq with a "coalition of the willing" and compared Iraqi claims it has abandoned its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction to "a rerun of a bad movie." "He is delaying. He's deceiving. He's asking for time. He's playing hide-and-seek with inspectors," Bush said. "One thing is for certain, he's not disarming. And so the United States of America, in the name of peace, will continue to insist he does disarm, and we will keep the pressure on Saddam Hussein."

In a stinging rebuke of the Bush administration's foreign policy, Sen. Edward Kennedy predicted Tuesday that a military strike against Iraq would "undermine" the war against terrorism, "feed a rising tide of anti-Americanism overseas" and strain diplomatic ties. "Surely, we can have effective relationships with other nations without adopting a chip-on-the-shoulder foreign policy, a my-way-or-the-highway policy that makes all our goals in the world more difficult to achieve," Kennedy said a speech delivered to the National Press Club.

While Kennedy's opposition to the administration's Iraqi policy is not surprising, his comments were particularly strong and come at a time when the president is struggling to build an international coalition to support a U.N. resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. Kennedy said U.N. weapons inspectors need more time to discover what kind of weapons Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein may be amassing in Iraq.

"I continue to be convinced that this is the wrong war at the wrong time," Kennedy, the Senate's leading liberal said. "The threat from Iraq is not imminent and it will distract America from the two more immediate threats to our security: the clear and present danger of terrorism and the crisis with North Korea."

Bush, however, said Tuesday that Saddam was not disarming his nation and was giving the world community "the runaround."

Bush's Ugly America - Up until November of 2000, an American citizen could have arguably maintained that the United States had become a more tolerable society having, in some respects, tamed much of its monstrous behavior and murderous history, and that there would be no return to the wretched mentality thatt allowed some of the greatest atrocities in American hisotry. And there's no question about the human rights abuses that have become part and parcel of that history.

President Thomas Jefferson made it the policy of the US to wipe out Native Americans leading to what would become America's Final Solution by stating in 1807, "And if ever we are constrained to lift the hatchet against any tribe, we will never lay it down till that tribe is exterminated...".

Slavery and segregation of African Americans began in 1619 in the North American continent, Virginia to be precise, and lasted well into the 1970's in the USA. Open minded American's like Princeton's Woodrow Wilson would declare that "universal sufferage was the foundation of every evil in the US" and that African American's were an "ignorant and inferior race".

As reported by John Gray in Straw Dogs, in 1899 thousands of other open minded Americans--men, women and children--in the US state of Georgia would assemble in the town of Newman to watch the hanging of African American Sam Hose. When eight-months-pregnant African American Mary Turner learned that her husband met his end in similar circumstances, she protested to the authorities. Her reward? She was hung upside down from a tree and while still alive, members of the crowd cut open her abdomen and the tiny infant fell to the ground. As hundreds of bullets were fired into her body, someone from the crowd stepped forward and crushed the infant's head as the onlookers cheered.

Add to that chilling tale, the grotesque treatment of American women who suffered disenfranchised for 72 years until 1920, the deadly anti-union policies that would result in events like the Ludlow Massacre of mine workers in 1914, the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940's, the debasement of Chinese Americans in the 1850's, the destruction of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the 1960s and 1970's, US eugenics laws and practices of the 1920's and 1930's that Adolf Hitler would later use in his Final Solution, and the insidious US support of the former aparthied regime in South Africa that would mercifully end in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela. These are but a few instances of America's sordid past that don't find their way into popular accounts of mythic America.

And contrary to popular belief, Globalisation and wars to ensure US market dominance were set in motion as far back as 1898. On the Senate floor in that year Senator Albert Beveridge of Indiana would maintain that: "Where shall we turn for consumers of our surplus?... It is elemental. It is racial. God has not been preparing the English-speaking and Teutonic peoples for a thousand years for nothing but vain and idle self-contemplation and self-admiration. No! He has made us the master organizers of the world to establish a system where chaos reigns. He has given us the spirit of progress to overwhelm the forces of reaction throughout the earth. He has made us adept in government that we may administer government among savage and senile peoples. Were it not for such a force as this the world would relapse into barbarism and night. And of all our race He has marked the American people as His chosen nation to finally lead in the regeneration of the world. This is the divine mission of America, and it holds for us all the profit, all the glory, all the happiness possible to man. We are trustees of the world's progress, guardians of its righteous peace. The judgment of the Master is upon us: "Ye have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things." [...]

On January 18, 2003, as 100,000 plus Americans rallied and marched in the "capitol of the free world", Washington, DC, their weasily President and Vice President and their 534 Representatives and Senators were nowhere to be found. Only Michagan's John Conyers braved the elements to energize the crowd. And while anti-Iraq war sentiments received top billing, more was afoot than what was generally reported by media outlets around the globe. All the speakers who took to the podium, and the 100,000 plus individuals that made up the crowd, were decrying the mentality and an environment that led to some of the most sinister acts ever undertaken by the US government. "Jobs Not War! and No Tax for the Rich!" was a constant refrain. The "No racism, Stop Hate!" theme could be found on thousands of posters and placards, as could "No Death Penalty" and "Money for the Poor, Not the Pentagon!" "No One Should Die for Bush". Podium speakers and and the crowd were fearful of a return to a US government and society that had, in its history, encouraged some of the worst aspects of humanity. In short, this was arguably more about anti-Bush II than anti-Iraq. [...]

They know very well that if Bush II and his government, and the US Congress, remain unchecked, an environment in which greed and corruption and racism and fear will flourish. An there's plenty to fear from this King of Pain who represents the most callous elements of America. Few have commented on the fact that every single business venture that Bush II has meddled with--from failed oil companies to the now suffering State of Texas--has ended up as either a public and commercial embarassment, or in shambles with taxpayers, wealthy cronies and political appointees having to spring for bail and create spin for the alphabet-challenged President. Texas is now billions of dollars of debt and battles horrid air pollution. The residents of Arlington, Texas are still paying for Bush's stint as owner of the Rangers. The US Air Force shamelessly puts the best face on Bush's Air National Guard debacle--actions for which any other reservist would have been swiftly court martialed. So now, it's the United States' turn to suffer a similar fate. [...]

If ever there was a practitioner for ruthlessness, it's Bush and crew. Ruining people's lives seems to be something in which this regime prides itself. Eliminating billions of dollars for birth control programs, food disbursements, benefits for the unemployed (10 percent out-of-work in the US), environmental protections, and promoting what amounts to $2 trillion in tax cuts primarily for the rich is hardly the way to maintain a somewhat egalitarian society. Standing idly by while knowing California's energy crisis was caused primarily by Enron, and while many states-of-the-union approach bankruptcy is to court further disaster. Giving the wacky Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department budget which approaches close to $500 billion while holding spending on infrastructure, education and health care to a ludicrous $350 billion is close to criminal. Inserting church into state through untidy faith-based programs, inserting state into the home through the efforts of convicted criminals like Admiral John Poindexter seems the work of madmen.

Attempting to criminalize affirmative action by challenging the University of Michigan's affirmative action program on the eve of Martin Luther King's birthday and turning a blind eye to those great 20th century racists Trent Lott and Strom Thrumond says much about Bush's and Beveridge's God. Now American Muslims must suffer while their kin in the US and the world over are fingerprinting and registered as if they are cows to be branded. There's watch lists for American citizens who are Greens or antiwar protestors. High school students are suspended for criticizing Bush and his government. First amendment zones are created for anti-Bush demonstrators and while in them, police camera's record the process. Donnie Rumsfeld's extraordinary statement that draftees lend little to the US military must have come as a surprise to many veterans. [...]

What it all adds up to is that Bush II has led the way in tearing the fabric of America apart. He has eased the ability of 15 percent of the US population to accumulate further wealth, while leaving to the remaining 85 percent to fight over what amounts to a pittance. He has mindlessly opened the doors to racism and greed while at the same time he has closed and locked the doors of accountability, openness and peace. 30 million people are out of work in the US and his government has no solution but war and tax cuts.

From the jungles of Columbia and Indonesia to the streets of Washington, DC and Portland, Oregon, America is now at war with the world and itself. It seems that it hasn't come all that far since 1970 when other ruthless human beings--Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger--were doing all that they could to destroy America and Southeast Asia. But, perhaps, this time 'round there may be a difference. [...]

Americans and the world can only hope that there will be more rallies and marches as occured on January 18th. If not, the US government, as it stands now, will destroy or imprison its people and those of any other nation who dare challenge the Bush and Beveridge God-given right to rule the world. The Monster is, indeed, on the loose and no single individual can fight against him.

A RESOLUTION - Impeaching George Walker Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Resolved, That George Walker Bush, President of the United States is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the Senate:

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of all of the people of the United States of America, against George Walker Bush, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE I In the conduct of the office of President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has attempted to impose a police state and a military dictatorship upon the people and Republic of the United States of America by means of "a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations" against the Constitution since September 11, 2001.

This subversive conduct includes but is not limited to trying to suspend the constitutional Writ of Habeas Corpus; ramming the totalitarian U.S.A. Patriot Act through Congress; the mass-round-up and incarceration of foreigners; kangaroo courts; depriving at least two United States citizens of their constitutional rights by means of military incarceration; interference with the constitutional right of defendants in criminal cases to lawyers; violating and subverting the Posse Comitatus Act; unlawful and unreasonable searches and seizures; violating the First Amendments rights of the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, peaceable assembly, and to petition the government for redress of grievances; packing the federal judiciary with hand-picked judges belonging to the totalitarian Federalist Society and undermining the judicial independence of the Constitution's Article III federal court system; violating the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions and the U.S. War Crimes Act; violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; reinstitution of the infamous "Cointelpro" Program; violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Convention against Torture, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; instituting the totalitarian Total Information Awareness Program; and establishing a totalitarian Northern Military Command for the United States of America itself. In all of this George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

ARTICLE II In the conduct of the office of President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. U.S. soldiers in the Middle East are overwhelmingly poor White, Black, and Latino and their military service is based on the coercion of a system that has denied viable economic opportunities to these classes of citizens. Under the Constitution, all classes of citizens are guaranteed equal protection of the laws, and calling on the poor and minorities to fight a war for oil to preserve the lifestyles of the wealthy power elite of this country is a denial of the rights of these soldiers. In all of this George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

ARTICLE III In the conduct of the office of President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has violated the U.S. Constitution, federal law, and the United Nations Charter by bribing, intimidating and threatening others, including the members of the United Nations Security Council, to support belligerent acts against Iraq. In all of this George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

ARTICLE IV In the conduct of the office of President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has prepared, planned, and conspired to engage in a massive war and catastrophic aggression against Iraq by employing methods of mass destruction that will result in the killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of whom will be children. This planning includes the threatened use of nuclear weapons, and the use of such indiscriminate weapons and massive killings by aerial bombardment, or otherwise, of civilians, violates the Hague Regulations on land warfare, the rules of customary international law set forth in the Hague Rules of Air Warfare, the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Protocol I thereto, the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment, and Principles, the Genocide Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10 (1956). In all of this George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

ARTICLE V In the conduct of the office of President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has committed the United States to acts of war without congressional consent and contrary to the United Nations Charter and international law. From September, 2001 through January, 2003, the President embarked on a course of action that systematically eliminated every option for peaceful resolution of the Persian Gulf crisis. Once the President approached Congress for consent to war, tens of thousands of American soldiers' lives were in jeopardy - rendering any substantive debate by Congress meaningless. The President has not received a Declaration of War by Congress, and in contravention of the written word, the spirit, and the intent of the U.S. Constitution has declared that he will go to war regardless of the views of the American people. In failing to seek and obtain a Declaration of War, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

ARTICLE VI In the conduct of the office of President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has planned, prepared, and conspired to commit crimes against the peace by leading the United States into aggressive war against Iraq in violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment, and Principles, the Kellogg-Brand Pact, U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10 (1956), numerous other international treaties and agreements, and the Constitution of the United States. In all of this George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

Articles of Impeachment drawn up by Francis A. Boyle, Professor of Law, University of Illinois, is author of Foundations of World Order, Duke University Press, The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence, and Palestine, Palestinians and International Law, by Clarity Press. He can be reached at: FBOYLE@LAW.UIUC.EDU

Comment: I have been "ranting" about impeaching the whole darn government for some time now here, so it is, of course, refreshing that others - including legal experts - are of the same opinion. But what I have been struggling to wrap my mind around or find a way through, is how to really move such an idea forward.

It's clear that the U.S. is presently under the control of a gang of psychopaths - clinical or otherwise - and that psychopaths are really good at game theory because they have no emotional investment in outcomes. So there is no way to "frighten" them or intimidate them. They are also extremely good at engaging the "belief" of people who are easily duped...

Several members of our global Quantum Future School attended some of the anti-war demonstrations near their homes. The reports were a bit disturbing. It seems that the demonstrations had the "feel" of an attempt to emotionally "drive" them into an oppositional corral - oppositional to the "pro-war folks," of course, their neighbors and friends, rather than focusing on the real issue: that Bush and Co. are the problem. Of course, I thought back to the old COINTELPRO activities of the 60s and 70s that included ramping up anti-war sentiment for the purpose of identifying dissidents, and possibly even for the simple expedient of creating adversarial attitudes among the citizens which resulted in chaos.

I have been thinking about this for a few months now. What occurs to me is this: the "anti-war movement" - while it is a proper sentiment - is a distraction away from the real issue: the criminality of our present sitting president and government.

I am convinced that the Bush administration are complicit in the 9-11 "terrorist" attacks and that the only way to really expose the "man behind the curtain" is to focus on this event as the fraud it is. The strike on the Pentagon was "smoke and mirrors." After investigating it at some length, I am convinced that this is the weak link where pressure can be applied to break the stranglehold Bush and Co have on America.

I have written to several "anti-war movement" sites suggesting that, instead of marching against the war, per se, people ought to march for an investigation into 9-11 which would, I am convinced, result in the evidence that would engender popular support for impeachment. In that case, war would be a non- issue. Unfortunately, most of these people are caught up in the emotion of "no war!" and it seems that this is deliberate.

In the above Articles of Impeachment, we find many issues that might or might not "fly." As it is written, it is too iffy. What WOULD fly would be clear evidence of complicity of the government in the 9-11 events. That would get Bush impeached in a jiffy.

As I have written before, the strike on the Pentagon is the smoking gun and the weak link. This is where all pressure needs to be applied. Now, in the examples of the Bush Propaganda matrix given at the beginning of this page, we see how thousands of letters are being sent out to news sources, and they are publishing them either through complicity or ignorance. In the article about Information Warfare, further down the page here, we see reference to a mode called "swarming."

"The authors define swarming as a structured, coordinated, strategic way to strike from all directions at a particular point or points by means with sustainable pulsing of force or fire.15 In reality, swarming is not much different from the old concept of massing. In fact, in one of their examples, the authors cite critical mass strategies employed by a group of protestors."

It is obvious that this form of "information warfare" is being used AGAINST Americans by the Bush Propaganda Machine. And since it is a traditional, non-violent form of protest, I see nothing wrong with using the same approach. The only key is, again, that the weak link must be what is targeted: the attack on the Pentagon and related 9-11 events. Of course, the Bush Administration has taken the 9-11 investigation out of the hands of those who might truly discover and reveal the truth, so this helps us to refine the point of the weak link: a demand for a people's commission to investigate 9-11, utilizing special strategies to insure impartiality.

In short, I think that the most important element of the entire situation that the world finds itself in today has been lost in the anti-war protest movements and other distractions from the criminal activity of the Bush Administration. What's more, I think it is deliberate. It is a "red herring." It is this domino that, once it is pushed over, will cause the entire structure of the Consortium and its agenda to collapse. And it is there that we ought to put our attention, keep our attention, and focus our energy in this shell game of reality and information warfare that is being waged against humanity.

Perhaps thousands of letters demanding an impartial "people's investigation" into 9-11 - and pointing out that letting the Bush Administration oversee said investigation - when the events occurred on their watch - is like putting the Fox in charge of guarding the henhouse would get the ball rolling? As the spokesperson for the Lynchburg Ledger said: "I believe you will see this trend continue as it is relatively inexpensive and lacks labor intensity, while it is able to reach broad market segments." If any readers have any ideas about how to make such a strategy more concrete, I will appreciate hearing from you.

Two Americans were ambushed near a US military camp in Kuwait today, when a gunman riddled their car with bullets killing one person in what the American Embassy called a terrorist attack. Both victims were civilian contractors working for the American military based in Kuwait, and the statement said the second man was critically wounded.

Scott Ritter Arrested in Sex Sting! - More details are emerging on the arrest of former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter. The Delmar resident was arrested by Colonie police in June of 2001 on a misdemeanor charge. And Channel 6 News has learned that Ritter had been issued a warning after being caught by police once before. Colonie police will not confirm any of this, but Channel 6 News learned that Ritter was caught in a sex sting early in 2001. He was issued a warning then, but eventually arrested for the same thing three months later. Ritter, who has made national headlines for speaking out against going to war with Iraq is keeping silent on this issue. He has been unavailable for comment since details of his arrest were made public. - CNN tells Channel 6 News, Ritter is on his way to Baghdad, but will be in New York City tomorrow to shoot an anti war message.

Scott Ritter of Delmar is well known internationally as an outspoken, former U.N. weapons inspector. Now more information is coming to light about Ritter's past and a disturbing arrest. His attorney confirms he was arrested in 2001, but neither she nor police will discuss the details. - The Daily Gazette first reported over the weekend that Ritter -- whose full name is William Scott Ritter Jr. -- was arrested in June 2001. The New York Daily News further reported that Ritter's arrest was part of an Internet sting. The report said he was arrested for having sexual discussions over the Internet with a person he thought was an underage girl. This individual turned out to be an undercover police officer.

Comment: The moral of the story is: if you live in a glass house, don't throw stones. If you want to stand against evil men, you have to clean up your own life first. And if you take a stand against Fascists, be prepared to be "set-up" - if that is what has happened here. They will find your weakness, and they will hook you through them. So, best not to have weaknesses.

Frozen Sheep's Head Left In Indiana Candidate's Car - Northern Indiana police are investigating a bizarre incident in which a frozen sheep's head was left in a Democratic precinct committeewoman's car. The frozen head was thrown through a window in Sue Pelfy's car last week. Lake Station police say it isn't clear if the incident was politically motivated. Pelfy found the sheep's skull in her car, which had a window smashed out, after she left a Democratic Central Committee meeting on Jan. 13. Her husband, who usually drives the car, believes the sheep's head may have been intended for him because of his plans to run for a town council seat.

Firestorms destroy Australian observatory - At the observatory, all 80 staff and their families survived. But all six telescopes, a major equipment workshop, several houses and an administration building were completely gutted. The main office buildings, containing computer databases, escaped the blaze. Stromlo accounts for a third of Australia's astronomy research. "The speed of the fire was unbelievable," says Ian Chubb, vice chancellor of the Australian National University that runs Stromlo. "The aluminum domes on top of the telescopes have all melted" "It's devastating," says Brian Boyle, director of the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Siding Spring in New South Wales. "It will mean the termination of a number of major projects, including a digital survey of the southern hemisphere sky." Key equipment There are relatively few observatories in the southern hemisphere. But surveys of the southern sky are important, in part because they give a better view of the centre of our galaxy. The survey was in its second week of data collection when the fire struck. The fires also incinerated a key piece of equipment that Stromlo had built for the Gemini Observatory telescope in Hawaii. The Gemini Observatory is a pair of eight metre telescopes, one in Hawaii, the other in Chile. The AUS$5 million "imaging spectrograph" would have provided data on how galaxies form in the early Universe.

Comment from Reader: Another trend that's been happening since at least March 2002 is the closing, refurbishing, relocation, or malfunctioning of public observatories, especially web-based robotic telescopes that anyone may request pictures from. The ones that do work are either commercial observatories demanding 50-100 dollars per half hour of observation time, or else ones used by professional astronomers...ones who are unlikely to ask questionable questions. This is a very suspicious trend, one that isn't accidental in my opinion. Lately, the greater number of disturbing reports of suppression have been coming from Australia. Perhaps there's something in the southern skies that the Consortium doesn't want seen?

Bush plan favors buying costliest SUVs - The Bush administration's economic plan would increase by 50 percent or more the deductions that small-business owners can take right away on the biggest sport utility vehicles and pickups. The plan would mean small businesses could immediately deduct the entire price of SUVs like the Hummer H2, the Lincoln Navigator and the Toyota Land Cruiser, even if the vehicles were loaded with every available option. Or a business owner, taking full advantage, could buy a BMW X5 sport utility vehicle for a few hundred dollars more than a Pontiac Bonneville sedan after the immediate tax deductions were factored in. Tax experts and environmentalists say the plan would provide enormous incentives for businesses to choose the biggest gas-guzzling trucks because it takes several years to depreciate the cost of passenger cars and smaller sport utility vehicles. The ramifications of the Bush plan on SUV buyers were reported Monday in The Detroit News.

Foreign Military Studies Office - "This page contains one or more hyperlinks to resources external to the Department of Defense (DoD). The appearance of these hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Foreign Military Studies Office of these web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the U.S. Army does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD web site." Comment: "Endorsed" or not, a lot of interesting stuff can be found here by the careful "weeder." See the following for an example.

The Mind Has No Firewalls - An entirely new arsenal of weapons, based on devices designed to introduce subliminal messages or to alter the body's psychological and data-processing capabilities, might be used to incapacitate individuals. These weapons aim to control or alter the psyche, or to attack the various sensory and data-processing systems of the human organism. In both cases, the goal is to confuse or destroy the signals that normally keep the body in equilibrium. This article examines energy-based weapons, psychotronic weapons, and other developments designed to alter the ability of the human body to process stimuli. One consequence of this assessment is that the way we commonly use the term "information warfare" falls short when the individual soldier, not his equipment, becomes the target of attack. Another interesting article by the same author follows.

Information-Age "De-Terror-ence" - Traditionally, terrorism focuses on using violence—threats or outright acts—to cause fear or alarm, usually for some political goal. Terrorists exploit the formal structure of the civilized world to accomplish these goals. Among other things this exploitation includes a nation-states' legal and intelligence constraints to act; its objectivity in news telecasts; and its infrastructure and operating principles. Nearly everything in the nation-state is open for its citizens to examine and use, and hence the terrorist as well. The terrorist can live in almost total anonymity until an act of violence or crime is perpetrated. He usually trains on the very systems he will use in an attack. This enables the weak to confront and combat the strong.

A terrorist lives in the opposite world, one of near total secrecy. [Laura's note: We would like to point out that the Bush Gang have instituted this policy of acting in total secrecy. Is that a clue?] Usually only sketchy information is available about a terrorist's operating principles and infrastructure, if they are known at all, and the terrorist has no constraints on collecting intelligence or conducting illegal activities. [Again, sounds like Bush and Co.] Terrorists are criminals who can use indiscriminate force against populations. [Bush and Co.] They realize that police or military responses may be limited because of civil liberty and security concerns. Terrorists have access to everything the average citizen does and thus are leeches who live off others to support their anger. [Bush and Co.] Their methods may be deemed asymmetric because their system of operation and that of the civilized world are not comparable. [Bush and Co.] Destroying the World Trade Center with a flying fuel cell, terrorizing America with anthrax-laced mail, planning to exploit the trucking industry and crop dusters to transport or spread biological or chemical agents, and killing the leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan with an explosive device hidden in a camera during an interview are good examples of asymmetric tools available to terrorists. [Like Bush and Co.]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segments thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." [Bush and Co.]

In the information age, terrorism has expanded its scope and has found a ready ally in instruments such as the Internet to facilitate these efforts. Some have even coined the process of exploiting the Internet for terrorist purposes as "information terrorism," defining it as the nexus between criminal information system fraud or abuse and the physical violence of terrorism; and intentionally abusing a digital information system, network, or component toward an end that supports or facilitates a terrorist campaign or action.[...] FBI special agent Mark Pollitt defines cyberter-rorism as "the premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs, and data which results in violence against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents."4 Cyber-terrorism uses soft violence, which is as much psychological as it is actual, to achieve its goals. [Sounds exactly like what we have discovered Bush and Co doing in the reports of fraudulent "Bush supporter letters" cited at the beginning of this page.]

[Here the author is giving clues about how to use information "warfare."]

Ronfeldt and Arquilla appear overly reliant, however, on their description of "swarming" to explain what must be done to counteract terrorist netwar activities. In fact, they ignore their own advice. The authors define swarming as a structured, coordinated, strategic way to strike from all directions at a particular point or points by means with sustainable pulsing of force or fire.15 In reality, swarming is not much different from the old concept of massing. In fact, in one of their examples, the authors cite critical mass strategies employed by a group of protestors. Even more important, the authors' reliance on swarming ignores their doctrinal functional level that recommends strategies and methods. Swarming is the only one offered when a myriad of other options should be considered. Theories such as China's 36 stratagems of war, and U.S. and Russian principles of war are only a few of those available. The latter would offer much more food for thought, such as blockade, deception, and reconnaissance, than simple swarming. Networks are not defeated by "keeping them on the run," as the authors conclude, but by conducting precision strikes on functioning nodes. The Chinese, for example, would recommend using acupuncture war, that is, strikes against selected nodes to paralyze an enemy. If effective enough, a massed blow may never be needed.

What can be done to thwart terrorists' use of Internet and Netwar techniques? Dr. John Chipman notes that "let us hope it [referring to yesterday's sense of emotional solidarity and today's shared political burden in the fight against terrorism] is handled with economic finesse, political savvy, military firmness and moral resolve in careful balance."16 Chipman makes several excellent points that offer an initial look at a de-terror-ence plan:

* A diplomatic effort is needed to convince states supporting terrorism to desist from such activities or face the consequences, such as the Taliban is experiencing now.
* Commercial sanctions could be imposed on such states that "sup with the devil."
* The fight against terrorism must be combined with non- and counter-proliferation strategic campaigns, to keep sensitive weapons out of the hands of such groups. This will immediately bring to the table the debate over the role of export controls and direct action instead of arms control instruments, as some prefer.
* Major terrorist groups must be targeted, not just local groups.
* Creative approaches to information sharing must be developed, paying particular attention to countries outside of the Group of Eight—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, Canada, and Germany—NATO, and the European Union. This includes sharing intelligence for the protection of critical infrastructure.
* Challenges to civil liberties should be expected since heretofore restricted investigative tools associated with the Internet are required.
* Homeland defense commands will assert new authority over the de-terror-ence quest.
* Regional groups, such as NATO, must consider eliminating out-of-area distinctions since cyberattacks can come from anywhere.
* The world's leading banks must maintain coordinated action to shore up confidence and stabilize nervous markets. One cannot fight terrorism if one's house is crumbling.
* Muslim elements must help organize the current coalition's political elements, while the United States and Europe must expect to provide unprecedented economic, physical, and technical assistance. More parts of the developing world must be brought into the modern and post modern world.17

While terrorism in the information age is far from being resolved, it is encouraging to witness the rapid development of methods and procedures to counter it. This effort must be further developed and refined over the coming months as many de-terror-ence options need to be discussed. On the other hand, it is important to watch the pulse of public opinion in the coming months. Cooperation and compromise among all leaders may hold the key to whether the fight against terrorism is successful.

Read the entire article...

Conversational Terrorism - These tactics also are used as techniques of debunkery.

As the Bush administration heads toward a crucial United Nations Security Council meeting at the end of this month, a strong council majority appears less willing than ever to agree that early military action against Iraq is justified.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said last week that U.S. intelligence information "we'll be providing to the world," along with U.N. reports and gaps in an Iraqi arms declaration, would make a "persuasive case" at the Jan. 27 council meeting that Baghdad has failed to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspections. Once that case is made, Powell said, there will be "a judgment as to what the council should do."

But to the administration's rising frustration, many council members have already declared themselves not persuaded. In the 10 weeks since it agreed that Iraqi failure would bring "serious consequences," the likelihood that the council will authorize a U.N.-backed invasion anytime soon has steadily receded.

As a result, the United States may soon find itself faced with deciding whether to go to war with minimal international support in order to take advantage of what it sees as an optimum military and political timetable. Although administration officials have said that a number of countries have indicated they would participate, with or without a U.N. mandate, only a handful have said so publicly. Many, including some considered important to the effort, have publicly declared they would not.

According to a number of senior council diplomats from a range of countries interviewed over the past week, the case for using force has become less, rather than more, compelling. "It is much murkier and less clear-cut than it was in November," one diplomat said.

A war in Iraq, pursued in the unilateralist fashion the Bush administration is slowly being relegated to disinterest and hostility from former coalition members, would leave us isolated in a time of unprecedented danger. A pre-emptive strike would set a precedent for other nations around the world, further destabilizing an already rocky global situation. Thousands of American troops could be killed, and tens of thousands more face the permanent disability from exposure to chemicals, ill-tested vaccines and petroleum smoke that some 28% of veterans from the last Gulf War currently endure.

A unilateral attack without international support would assuredly bring more terrorism to our shores. When those fires go out, they will have done more than extinguish more innocent American lives. Those fires will burn to ash, finally and irrevocably, the Constitution and Bill of Rights. We have seen the Bush administration's rights-restricting reaction to the first attack. Further attacks will motivate them to finish the job once and for all. [...]

When a nation sends 150,000 troops into a region, along with all of the weapons of war, the situation develops an inertia of its own. The administration may once have seen this as a bluff. Now, they are faced with the reality that backing down will be an embarrassing and expensive defeat. [...]

Saturday, January 18th was a day when a good portion of America and the world stood in solidarity against a very bad idea being promulgated by an American administration whose priorities are badly out of joint. It bears notice, again, to point out that the war has not even started yet. There is something happening here, and it is getting clearer by the day.

By 60 percent to 35 percent, people in the Newsweek poll released Saturday they would prefer that the Bush administration allow more time to find an alternative to war. Support for a military option would be strong, 81 percent, if the United States were to act with full allied support and the backing of the U.N. Security Council. A majority would be opposed should this country act without the support of the United Nations and had no more than one or two allies. [...] The president's job approval was at 56 percent in the Newsweek poll and 53 percent in a CNN-Time poll released over the weekend. His approval rate was in the 60s in both polls in November. According to the CNN-Time poll, the decline comes as a result of slightly higher disapproval among Republicans, independents and Democrats.

In a rare public comment carried by KCNA on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il warned international pressure would not break his resolve. "The further the imperialists intensify their moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK, the more dynamically its army and people turn out to successfully build a powerful nation," Kim said, according to KCNA. "No force on earth can break the inexhaustible strength and indomitable will of this great army and people who have brought about only victories pulling through all difficulties and ordeals." As Pyongyang's verbal barrages continued, the US ambassador to South Korea, Thomas Hubbard, said the United States would offer North Korea economic co-operation if it abandonded its nuclear ambitions.

ABC NEWS WARNS: DON'T LET DRUDGE BECOME OUR ASSIGNMENT EDITOR - A new warning has been issued by a credentialed corporate journalist! Beware the DRUDGE REPORT! [...] "Can't we all agree that we will check stuff out before we let Drudge become our assignment editor this cycle? Sometimes he is right, but sometimes…" He does not wait for ABC to approve and certify the news!!!

A toddler eating lunch with his mother at a Burger King was shot to death by a man who was later killed by police outside the restaurant. Police said the gunman was eating lunch Monday in Pomona, a suburb about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, when he suddenly stood up and opened fire. He was fatally shot a block away from the restaurant when he allegedly pointed his gun at officers. Three others later were taken into custody for investigation of murder. "It appeared to be unmotivated," Sgt. Joann Crabb said of the boy's killing. "Apparently it was totally unprovoked, from what witnesses were saying."

A British Web designer has been sentenced to two years in prison for writing one of the world's most destructive viruses which wiped out computers worldwide. Simon Vallor, 22, was trapped after an FBI tip-off to Scotland Yard.

Scorpions don't bother to waste venom killing a victim if they don't have to. Instead they use a prevenom that causes extreme pain, resorting to the deadlier version only when necessary, researchers have discovered.

A cold front was expected to continue to hold its grip on much of the East on Tuesday, dipping south into the Carolinas and Southeast, while fair weather was on tap for the Central states, and rain and snow for some spots in the West.

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