From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Mon Nov 8 08:45:37 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 08:45:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Hummerdinger.com: Help Stop Global Warming! Message-ID: <20041108164537.14267.qmail@web13603.mail.yahoo.com> Tour the Site!!!! http://www.sierraclubplus.org/hummerdinger/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Mon Nov 8 13:22:46 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 13:22:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] BREAKING---KERRY TO UNCONCEDE IF THERE IS EVIDENCE OF FRAUD Message-ID: <20041108212246.49529.qmail@web13603.mail.yahoo.com> BREAKING---KERRY TO UNCONCEDE IF THERE IS EVIDENCE OF FRAUD FORWARD TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW EMAIL FROM DC LAWYER CYNTHIA BUTLER I am angry and getting emails and recrimination from people wondering why KERRY just caved and is not fighting this before the final count in Ohio, before any of the fraud was challenged, before New Mexico and Iowa even came in. There is widespread feeling that he did not lose the election and that it was taken from him. There is enough here to warrant investigation and enough to challenge the results. It's coming from all corners. I understand that he has until the official count certification in Ohio to Un Concede which is several days from now. Anyone who thinks that he should unconcede should give reasons why - whatever they noticed, particularly in Red Republican Governed States using electronic machines- and send them directly to Cameron KERRY, John Kerry's brother at his law firm at the address CKerry at Mintz.com They should inform us if they were not allowed to vote provisionally (for whatever reason- they lost forms, ran out of forms, etc.) I personally witnessed a number of things as I reported in Texas with the DCCC. (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) If you know anyone in particular in Ohio who tried to vote and was turned away at the polls please get their information and notify the campaign. They should be notified if they experienced lines longer than four hours -particularly elderly or infirm people (we call that torture when they do it to political prisoners) . They should be notified if people were told as has been reported that due to too many people showing up in African American precincts, particularly in Ohio where there were too few booths (some only had two or three for the entire precinct) and told because of heavy turn out they could vote on Wednesday. If the numbers of these sorts of incidents creates a percentage margin that exceeds the margin of victory- Un Concession has to be made to challenge the count. If people wanted to and tried to vote and were prevented or actively discouraged from doing so, that is a Civil Rights matter and must be dealt with in terms of the ultimate count. This is the last email that I am writing on this subject in this venue. I am taking it up in other venues. Please pass along this to your listservs so that we may make Democracy Work in America. We are not a country where he who cheats best wins. Cynthia L. Butler BUTLER LAW FIRM, P.C. 1717 K St. NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 http://www.johnkerry.com/index.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Mon Nov 8 13:36:38 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 13:36:38 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] An open letter to the Red-State victors: Message-ID: <20041108213639.21028.qmail@web13626.mail.yahoo.com> An open letter to the Red-State victors: With hard work and superb organization, you have triumphed over John Kerry and the forces of Blue-state paternalism. Congratulations. The multinational corporations that hold you in bondage remain free to profit off your sweat nearly tax free, while their overpaid senior execs continue to pay a pittance in personal income tax. Your primary and secondary schools will continue to turn out third-rate pupils with limited opportunities, while you enjoy the satisfaction of making it on your own without health care when a catastrophic illness bankrupts your family. Your agricultural universities will continue issuing Ph.D.s in football, and bogus Protestant Evangelical and Fundamentalist theology, and how to jerk off a bull safely. Your children will learn to borrow enough money to erect chicken houses so that they, like you, can take custody -- not possession, but custody -- of Tyson's chicks, feed them, rear them, assume losses from those that fail to thrive, and in the end earn just enough money to service their endless debt, and realize a profit of perhaps $12K a year. Your bank thanks you; Tyson thanks you; George W. Bush thanks you; and I thank you. You can continue sending your sons to die in Iraq on a fool's errand. When you bury them, you can console yourselves with Bush's platitudes about their heroic mission to defend America from weapons of mass destruction. You can savor the deficit spending that stimulates commerce today, but will cripple the US economy in ten or fifteen years' time when the bills come due with interest. Perhaps a Democrat will be in office at that time, who can be blamed for W's delayed economic fiasco. You can continue believing, as Republican Party brainwashing has persuaded you, that we, your neighbors, are your enemies. You can believe that we have no morals; that we pimp out our teenage daughters for Internet porn; that we eat babies; that we are all gay; that we are cowards on the battlefield; and that we want to run your lives and give you AIDS. Here's a clue: we are not your enemies; we are your countrymen. Your enemies are the greedy multinationals that the Republican Party bends over backwards to accommodate. Incidentally, most of them are based in Blue states, as are their Republican owners and major shareholders. Here in the Blue States, Democrats and Republicans alike generate the lion's share of America's wealth, although it is you Reds who provide the lion's share of the stoop labor. You are our Mexicans, so to speak. We could not have accomplished the economic miracle that is America without your willing capitulation to a system that lies to you and fucks you over at every turn. Look at economic output and educational achievement on a state-by-state basis: it's painfully evident that we Blues are immensely more productive and better educated than you Reds. We have lots more money. We live longer. We eat better. We work less. We fuck more. We do cocaine and smoke fine Canadian buds, not the homebrew crank and cheap Mexican headache reefer you guys are stuck with. We drink French wine and Stoli martinis, not Budweiser. Our children rarely bother us: we've got them on Ritalin and Prozac. Our teeth are straighter and whiter, our necks longer, and our fingernails cleaner. And many of us are the Republican elite who have just punked you. It's good to be a Blue, regardless of which party you join. Understandably, you resent us, so you've fabricated an imaginary measure of superiority: Christian "values." Yet you talk about values the way a pre-teen girl talks about "love" in fan letters to Ashton Kutcher. You recycle quasi-religious platitudes and received slogans. You know nothing of moral theology, a rigorous philosophical pursuit that hardly exists outside the Catholic Church and its elite universities. You make of the Bible what you will; you attend prayer meetings with other semi-literates, where you reinforce each other's sloppy understandings of the text, and combine them with half-digested bits of old-timey Hallmark-card "wisdom." And when you spout gibberish, you call it "speaking in tongues." You actually fancy that you're saints, you silly, narcissistic creatures. Nevertheless, you are fellow Americans. The Blue Republican elite encouraged you to vote for George W Bush, because they quite simply own him, and they know that his administration will make policies that help them, even if hurt you. We Blue Democrats voted for John Kerry because we believed he would minister to your needs better than Bush. A President Kerry would have shared some of our wealth with you, assured your health care, raised the minimum wage, and checked the rapacious greed of the multinationals that hold you in thrall. President Kerry would have helped us to help you, which is all that we ask. It pains us to see you in wage slavery. It pains us to see you so ignorant and uneducated, and so eager to place yourselves in bondage. Yes, we live better; but we wish you to live better too, even if it means sacrifice on our part. What we wanted for you would have been far better than that which you, in your ignorant pride, demanded for yourselves. Oh, you defeated us all right, but only to your detriment. We Blues will come out of the Bush era no worse for wear, although you Reds will come out very much diminished, deeper in debt, and less able to improve your circumstances by your own powers. But because you wish to be flattered more than helped, you will be grateful for your ass fucking from the Blue-state Republican elite that is laughing behind your backs today. We did not wish it so. We honestly did want to help. On 2 November, you thanked us by electing a shrewd, manipulative handmaiden to corporate America who panders to you while ruthlessly exploiting your ignorance and weakness for the benefit of his patrons in the national plutocracy. There is nothing we can do about that. You won fair and square. We should let you rot. We should secede and leave you to fend for yourselves. Then you will see firsthand just how dependent you are. We are sick of fighting for you by fighting against you. Perhaps, when you see how dreary your lives have become without us, you will finally develop the spine to fight for your basic, human rights. And then we will gladly confront the plutocracy alongside you. We need your help to defeat the Blue Republicans, who, I assure you, are just as decadent as we are, though often richer. But until you finally learn to respect yourselves, we can't respect you, and we therefore can't be bothered to give a rat's ass about you. So let us secede, Blue America and Red America. We can handle the Blue state Republicans, so long as we don't have a lot of ignorant Red state lemmings frustrating our efforts and screwing themselves in the bargain. Secession will enable us both to live as we have chosen without the other's interference. We will prosper, and you will get a clue. But do stay in touch after the borders slam shut. When you finally tire of living on the modern, corporate plantations of Cargill, Tyson, ConAgra and Smithfield; when you tire of shopping at Wal-Mart and sending your daughters to sling hash at Denny's in hopes that they'll meet the nicer sort of truck driver; when you tire of sneaking into Blue America as illegal white-trash wetbacks eager for casual work dusting our parlors; and when, like men, you finally rise up in rebellion against this immoral usury -- then, and only then, let us talk. We'll gladly get your backs. But first you must grow the brains and the balls needed to profit from our help. ? Author unknown ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Mon Nov 8 19:23:05 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 19:23:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Voices Of Iraq - New Documentary Message-ID: <20041109032305.66511.qmail@web13601.mail.yahoo.com> New Documentary just released on Iraq: http://www.voicesofiraq.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Mon Nov 8 23:28:28 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 23:28:28 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fwd: [Political_Sanity_Main] ACLU WANTS YOUR VOTING FRAUD STORIES..FINALLY!!!!!!! Message-ID: <20041109072828.89985.qmail@web13622.mail.yahoo.com> Good news..here's a toll free number.they want folks to call them..look they're admitting it now..the fraud..they weren't saying a thing earlier today and said they hadn't heard of any...c ACLU Continues the Fight for Voting Rights The ACLU monitored polls nationally and is responding to incidents of voter intimidation, vote suppression or election foul-ups, including in Minnesota, Ohio, Rhode Island and Virginia, and in Florida. Voters with complaints are encouraged to call our toll-free voter hotline 1-877-523-2792. http://www.johnkerry.com/index.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Tue Nov 9 10:52:31 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 10:52:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] StoptheWall.org in a Week... Message-ID: <20041109185232.57573.qmail@web13626.mail.yahoo.com> THE GRASSROOTS PALESTINIAN ANTI-APARTHEID WALL CAMPAIGN WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER StoptheWall.org in a Week from the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign November 08, 2004 The Struggle Continues in the Face of an Ever-Expanding Apartheid Wall Call for Mobilization for the 2nd International Week Against the Apartheid Wall Read the Statement Latest News Occupation Forces Continue Uprooting Olive Trees, Imprisoning Marda Occupation Forces entered the village of Marda, in the Salfit District, on October 26, imposing curfew on the village and preventing the residents from reaching their lands for olive picking during this harvest season as the Occupation Forces uprooted six fruit bearing olive trees in the southwest portion of the village. [MORE] In Qaffin: The Apartheid Gates and the Policy of ?Permits? Occupation Forces continue to refuse to issue its so-called ?permits? for the citizens of Qaffin village, located in the northern Tulkarm District. Only 650 people from Qaffin have ?permits?, while the number of people that have requested to access their lands which the Occupation Forces have now made inaccessible due to the building of the Apartheid Wall, is some 1600 people. At present, it is the olive harvest season, with people unable to access their groves. [MORE] Community Voices What Does The Wall Mean? Personal Testimony, Abdul-Latif Khaled Last Friday I went to visit my family land behind the Wall, and to pick some olives for eating. During the way I had to wait for the gate to open, then wait to be checked and to go ahead. Everything after one year of building the Wall becomes a routine, but nothing is normal. More than 15,000 trees died behind the Wall in this area. More than 200 farmers lost their land and work. [MORE] WorldWide Activism Massive Mobilization for the 2nd International Week against the Apartheid Wall Over 50 events, protests and demonstrations in 20 countries have already joined in the call of the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign for the 2nd International Week against the Apartheid Wall! If you haven?t done already, please send us information about your mobilization/activity to unite with the global resistance against the Apartheid Wall, Israeli Apartheid and Occupation! This year?s International Week against the Apartheid Wall shows once again that the people of the world are determined not to tolerate this additional Israeli crime, as it destroys Palestinian land and lives, imprisoning the residents in their villages, devastating farm lands, closing off farmers from their land, and preventing the population from access to water resources, work places, schools, hospitals and other basic services. [See the list of activities!] Activist Resources Campaign Poster ? 2nd International Week against the Apartheid Wall Download the Campaign poster for the 2nd International Week against the Apartheid Wall and use it for your mobilization! The poster summarizes the Campaign calls against the Apartheid Wall and against Racism, Colonialism and Occupation and for widespread popular boycott campaigns to pressure governments to impose sanctions on Israel and to Isolate Israeli Apartheid. [MORE] Campaign Poster: ?Apartheid out of History!? This poster against Israeli Apartheid and the Apartheid Wall shows the reality behind the 8 meter-high concrete blocks: the Palestinian people enclosed in open-air prisons, and the destruction of lives and a society. The image of Soweto recalls the struggle of the South African people against the white racist regime when their struggle, supported by effective international boycott and sanctions campaigns, brought to an end the Apartheid regime. Download the poster and make the reality of Israeli Apartheid in Palestine known in your streets! Support the Palestinian struggle to get ?Apartheid out of History!? [MORE] Sticker: ?Boycott & Sanctions on Israeli Apartheid!? Get the new sticker of the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign! The call for sanctions and boycott on Israeli Apartheid is stamped on the image of the Apartheid Wall. The strong colors of the Palestinian flag and the clear-cut design make sure that the sticker can be printed in all formats and has, as well, a strong impact in small size to be put everywhere. It is an ideal activist resource for your boycott campaigns! [MORE] ?No to Bantustans? ? Three Maps of Israel?s ongoing Colonization of Palestine The maps show the ongoing colonization of Palestine from before 1948 to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Apartheid Wall, which is Israel?s current attempt to force the Palestinian people into Bantustans. The impressive black and white design leaves no doubt about Israel?s Apartheid nature and its plans to dominate all of Palestine! The call against the Wall, the Bantustans and Israeli Apartheid is the clear message of the design. The design works well as posters, post cards, stickers and t-shirts. [MORE] 2nd International Week against the Apartheid Wall - Keeping in Contact with the Campaign! The success of the 2nd International Week against the Apartheid Wall, as last year, will again depend on the coordinated efforts of the Campaign and the many grassroots and local, regional and national organizations and networks supporting the Palestinian struggle against the Apartheid Wall, Israeli Apartheid and Occupation. In the following we are giving you some indications on how to work together to make the Wall fall! The Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign will send out a press release for the opening of the International Week against the Apartheid Wall. Please support us by disseminating it widely. For interviews with the Campaign and other participants during the week?s activities in Palestine, please contact the Campaign office: 00972-26565890 or the Campaign Coordinator, Jamal Juma? (00972-522285610). Please inform us, with brief reports and updated, on the outcome of your activities. We will make sure they will get featured on our website. Please forward us any media coverage in your country. StopTheWall.org Visit the Campaign website for the latest Apartheid Wall information. --------------------------------- Powered by List Builder ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Tue Nov 9 11:08:54 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 11:08:54 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] CNN Survey: Should Howard Dean be chairman of the national Democratic Party? Message-ID: <20041109190854.73021.qmail@web13605.mail.yahoo.com> Hello all, Dean would make a great chairman for the Democratic Party. We need a leader like Dean. Go to www.cnn.com and voice your vote. IBB ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Tue Nov 9 16:52:37 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 16:52:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] MUST READ: Why Muslims around world hate us, and what most Americans don't know about our policies Message-ID: <20041110005237.85361.qmail@web13604.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.citizen-times.com/cache/article/editorial/70397.shtml CITIZEN-TIMES.com Why Muslims around world hate us, and what most Americans don't know about our policies By SPECIAL TO CITIZEN-TIMES Nov. 6, 2004 2:14 p.m. I am surprised and disappointed that in the three years since Sept. 11, 2001, I have never heard or seen the media or our administration ask the question "why?" Why do they hate us so intensely that dozens of men (hijackers) would plan and carry out their own deaths along with nearly 3,000 innocent Americans? Why did Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, now number one on the U.S. wanted list, behead two U.S. civilian workers last month? When asked why he hated the U.S., he said "The occupation" ("Sixty Minutes," Sept. 26). For the past 50 years, the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the U.S. support of Israel in that occupation has been the main reason for that intense hatred. Recently what many Muslims consider "the occupation of Iraq" has added fuel to that hatred. Immediately after the infamous Sabra-Shatilla massacre in Beirut in 1982, Tom Friedman and I witnessed the horrors of that massacre where more than 2,000 women and children and old men had been murdered under the flares of Israeli Gen. Ariel Sharon's army. Friedman won the Pulitzer Prize for International Journalism for his report (New York Times, Sept. 26, 1982). Sharon was found personally responsible by the Israeli-appointed Kahane Commission for what happened in the camps, was forced to step down as defense minister and spent the next several years in internal exile on his farm, ostensibly never to serve in public office again. He has been indicted by a court in Brussels, and today cannot travel to Belgium, where he would be tried as a war criminal. For two months I worked in two bombed-out Palestinian hospitals. I saw blood on the walls of the nursery where newborns had been bashed against the wall, and I can tell you why they hate us. Palestinian hospitals had been bombed by the Israeli planes, in spite of red crosses on their roofs. Dr. James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute and former Batten Professor at Davidson College recently stated that, "Positive attitudes towards Americans are between 3 and 9 percent in all Arab countries that we polled. Our leadership has failed us. Since Vietnam ended we have spent more money, sent more troops and invested more political capital in the Middle East than anywhere else in the world, yet we find ourselves in a war that we cannot win. . Arabs hate American policies, and those policies have actually put Americans in more danger than they were before the invasion of Iraq" (The Davidsonian, Sept. 22). Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun, demands of the Israeli government, "Stop the beatings, stop the breaking of bones, stop the late night raids on people's homes, stop using food as a weapon of war, stop pretending that you can respond to an entire people's agony with guns and power" ("Beyond Occupation", Reuther and Ellis, Boston, Beacon Press, p. 100). Palestinian children who were caught throwing stones had their hands crushed and adults had their leg bones broken by Israeli soldiers. Harvard professor Sara Roy, whose parents were survivors of the Holocaust, can tell you why they hate us. She first went to the West Bank and Gaza in 1985 to conduct fieldwork for her doctoral dissertation. She says, "I was reminded of the Holocaust when Israeli soldiers painted identification numbers on Palestinian arms - and openly admit to shooting Palestinian children for sport" (Journal of Palestinian Studies, Vol. XXXII, No. 1, Autumn 2002, Issue 125). In 1999 B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, reported that - "Of more than 1000 Palestinians detained last year, at least 850 were tortured." The Sunday Times, London, June 19, 1977 reported - "Israeli interrogators routinely ill-treat and torture Arab prisoners. Prisoners are hooded or blindfolded and are hung by their wrists for long periods. Most are struck in the genitals or in other ways sexually assaulted. Others are administered electric shock." Does this sound like Abu Ghraib? Israel did sign the U.N. Convention Against Torture in 1991. I ask you, why do most Europeans and Muslims around the world know these facts and most people in the U.S. never heard them? Am I being anti-Semitic when I describe these horrors? No, I am being anti-terrorist and joining Rabbi Lerner, Sara Roy and thousands of other Jews, Muslims, Buddhist and Christians, YMCA executives, agriculturists and missionaries who have all witnessed these horrors and demand changes in our government's policies. All of these people can tell us "Why they hate us." Actually it is not us, the people, they hate. They love us and would love to come here. It is our policies that they hate. >From childhood I have been taught that when you have a problem, look for and remove the cause of that problem. A festering splinter or thorn will continue to fester until it is removed. If a small fraction of the billions spent on the war in Iraq had been spent feeding the hungry - demanding justice for the Palestinians - working with the United Nations to stop genocide in Sudan and other places - we might have more friends and fewer people hating us. When our government and the government of Israel asks the question "Why do they hate us?" and truly starts working to make friends around the world, maybe the ever deepening quagmire in Israel and Iraq will begin to improve. When the occupation of Iraq and Palestine ceases and when the destruction of homes and the killing of innocent civilians stops, maybe we will see a rainbow of hope on the horizon. There will be no peace in the Middle East - or in the world - until the occupations cease. Dr. John K. Wilson is formerly an associate clinical professor of pediatrics, University of Virginia Medical School. He served as a missionary in Korea, and has worked in refugee camps in Cambodia, Somalia and Beirut. He lives in Black Mountain and can be reached at jkwndw at aol.com . ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Tue Nov 9 17:14:55 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 17:14:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] (Reuters) Opposition to Iraq war at new high Message-ID: <20041110011455.10195.qmail@web13622.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=617523&src=rss/uk/topNews Opposition to Iraq war at new high Tue 9 November, 2004 04:12 LONDON (Reuters) - The public's opposition to the war in Iraq has reached a record high, according to an opinion poll in the Times. The survey published on Tuesday found 57 percent thought taking military action to oust former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was wrong, compared to 31 percent who supported it. The same poll in April, 2003, a month after the U.S.-led invasion, found nearly two-thirds of Britons supported the war, compared to 24 percent who thought it was wrong. Populus questioned 1,504 people over the weekend after three British soldiers died in a suicide bomb attack at a checkpoint near the Sunni Muslim rebel stronghold of Falluja. Despite opposition to the war in Iraq, the poll found Blair's Labour Party is on course for a third general election win. It put Labour on 34 percent, just ahead of the opposition Conservatives on 33 percent, a five point rise since early October. Blair, who swept to power in 1997 with a huge majority, has seen his once sky-high poll ratings eroded over his staunch support for the United States in Iraq. He faced renewed criticism in parliament last month after agreeing to dispatch 850 British troops from their relatively quiet sector in southern Iraq to volatile areas near the Iraqi capital. Analysts say Iraq is Blair and his party's most vulnerable link in their bid to win a third term at an election expected in May or June next year. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Wed Nov 10 00:08:33 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:08:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Nuclear-Power Industry Sees Signs of a U.S. Revival Message-ID: <20041110080834.44525.qmail@web13626.mail.yahoo.com> http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109996476958968447,00.html?mod=yahoo_hs Nuclear-Power Industry Sees Signs of a U.S. Revival Utilities Face Opposition Over Safety and Storage; A GE-Westinghouse Contest By KATHRYN KRANHOLD Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL November 9, 2004; Page A1 The nuclear-power industry is laying the groundwork to build new plants in the U.S. for the first time in more than two decades. Buoyed by the re-election of President Bush, whose administration has pushed to expand nuclear power as part of its national energy plan, the industry sees a window of two to three years in which the political environment could make it easier to win approval for new projects. Late last week, two separate consortiums consisting of power companies and reactor makers received word that the Department of Energy would share in the cost of obtaining regulatory approval for new nuclear reactors. The two groups expect the cost of winning that approval to be about $500 million apiece, due to the detailed engineering and testing required by regulators for new reactors. "There's lots of enthusiasm for what we're trying to accomplish here," said William D. Magwood IV, director of the Energy Department's office of nuclear energy, science and technology. "If both of these goes to fruition, we could see new nuclear plants by 2014." In part, the revived prospects for nuclear power stem from the volatile energy market and concerns about global warming, which are forcing utilities and their power-generation vendors to consider alternatives. Faced with skyrocketing natural-gas prices and uncertainty about the costs of containing carbon emissions from coal-fired plants, electric companies believe nuclear plants are becoming more economically competitive and safer. They are also being driven by manufacturers -- General Electric Co. and its longtime rival Westinghouse Electric Co., along with a new entrant, Canada's Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., or AECL -- who are looking to sell newly designed reactors into the long-dormant U.S. market, which dried up in the early 1980s amid public outcry over safety and investors' dismay over high costs. Since then, the companies have continued to build reactors overseas in Asia and Europe; GE currently is nearing completion of new reactors in Taiwan. But the U.S. remains the most coveted market because of its economic might and hunger for new sources of energy. While opposition to new plants is likely to be fierce, the companies and Energy Department hope to win approval for construction from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as early as 2009. The Energy Department also is pushing to overcome legal and regulatory hurdles to establish a depository for used nuclear fuel in Nevada. Power companies say they won't build new plants without a storage site. They currently store spent fuel at their plants. To be sure, the power companies and their reactor makers are being cautious not to commit formally to new plants. Longtime proponents of nuclear energy, fearful of being burned by policy changes, are seeking solid government guarantees before proceeding. The collapse of support for nuclear power in the 1980s cost the industry billions of dollars. So far, the proposed new plants would be built at existing facilities. One group, led by Virginia's Dominion Resources Inc., is proposing to build a new reactor, designed by AECL, on a site in Mineral, Va., where a nuclear plant has operated since 1980. A second, much larger consortium led by Exelon Corp. and Entergy Corp., plans to select in 2007 a newly designed reactor from either GE or Westinghouse for a potential new plant. The consortium, NuStart Energy Development LLC, hasn't selected a site but is considering existing locations in Clinton, Ill., and Port Gibson, Miss. GE and Westinghouse, longtime competitors since they built their first reactors in the 1950s, are marketing new reactors that they say are more economical to build and operate. GE says its design takes a new approach to safety, relying on an automated system triggered by gravity instead of human operators to release 360,000 gallons of water to flood a core containing radioactive fuel if it becomes necessary to prevent a meltdown. The design attempts to eliminate human error, which contributed to the 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg, Pa. Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse, which was acquired by the British government in 1999, recently received approval from the NRC for its own new reactor design, which has safety features similar to those of the GE reactor. The approval enables it to begin offering customers clearer cost estimates and construction schedules, and the company, which has invested close to half a billion dollars on its latest reactor, is hoping to land contracts to build new reactors for China in the next year. "This opens up possibilities for us," said Westinghouse Chief Executive Steve Tritch. By contrast, GE has so far invested about $100 million in its new design. But under Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt, it is aggressively pursuing regulatory approval for its new design. "The opportunity exists for the industry to come together around the right technology for a new nuclear plant," said John Rice, chief executive of GE Energy, one of the conglomerate's two biggest businesses. Electric companies also won't have to carry the entire financial burden this time around. GE, Westinghouse and government-owned AECL say they will share the financial risks of building new nuclear plants. That could include providing loans or equity to utilities that build new plants or construction budget guarantees. Such support was missing in the 1970s and 1980s when utilities got clobbered by billions of dollars in cost overruns, among other things. Nuclear power currently accounts for nearly 20% of all the electricity produced in the U.S., compared with 51% coal and 17% natural gas. To maintain that mix, the industry says new plants must be built in the U.S. as older ones are retired. One big challenge, however, is convincing the public that nuclear energy is safe. Opponents charge that utilities aren't adequately maintaining existing plants to prevent possible accidents. The nuclear industry points to a strong overall safety record since the Three Mile Island accident, in which no one was killed, though a small amount of radioactive material leaked into the atmosphere. But the 1986 explosion and deadly aftermath at the former Soviet Union's Chernobyl nuclear plant -- which was caused by major design flaws and by engineers who were conducting unauthorized tests -- continues to haunt the public's view of nuclear power. More recently, a deadly explosion in Japan this year, in which a steam pipe broke because of poor maintenance, caused five deaths. "Reactors aren't inherently safe," said David Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer with the Union for Concerned Scientists, a group that monitors the industry. Mr. Lochbaum, who has sat in on hearings on the new reactor designs, said he thinks they are safer because they have fewer pieces of equipment to operate and maintain. But "a lot of those new features haven't been tested yet except in cyberspace," he said. Nuclear opponents also worry that new plants could become targets of terrorist attacks. Said GE's Mr. Rice, "You've got all this hysteria. You still have in the rearview mirror Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, which people haven't forgotten about." Reactors made by Westinghouse and GE already dot the U.S. landscape. Of the 103 reactors currently operating, 49 use Westinghouse-owned designs and another 34 have GE-made models. For now, utility executives are hedging their bets on the new reactors, saying each has its pros and cons and they prefer to make a final judgment when they see pricing and final designs. Though Westinghouse is ahead with design approval, some executives expect that GE's new model could be cheaper because it will produce more electricity and spread capital costs across bigger plants. GE's new design has no large water pipes entering the lower portion of a reactor below the fuel core. The risk in older models is that if those pipes, which carry water in and out of the vessel, burst, water could flow rapidly out of the container's bottom and leave the core uncovered. GE's new design places the pipes above the core so water can't drain out as quickly in case of an accident. In case of accidents, both GE's and Westinghouse's designs use gravity rather than operator-run pumps to force water in and out of reactor vessels and flood the area surrounding the core containing fuel. GE's reactor also holds more water. The NuStart consortium says that cost as much as design will determine its choice of a reactor. A new GE reactor that can provide power to about 1.5 million households could cost roughly $1.8 billion, or 20% less than its current model. Westinghouse's reactor, which is smaller, could cost about $1.14 billion once the costs associated with doing detailed engineering plans are recovered. Building two of AECL's newest reactors, which would produce the same amount of power as one of GE's, would cost about $1.89 billion. But Canada stresses that unlike other reactors, its design doesn't require the plant to be shut down during regular, lengthy refuelings. They argue to utilities that that will increase their revenue during the several weeks such refueling typically takes. The Department of Energy cautions that these construction estimates are overly optimistic and new plants are likely to cost more. Still, proponents argue that nuclear power is efficient. Nuclear power, they note, costs about 1.71 cents a kilowatt-hour to operate over the life of a plant, compared to 1.85 cents for coal and 4.06 cents for gas, according to industry estimates. In addition, nuclear doesn't emit pollutants, while coal's carbon emissions contribute to global warming. "I cannot see any energy future ... without an expanded nuclear base," John Rowe, Exelon's chairman and chief executive, told a group of managers at a climate policy meeting this summer. Write to Kathryn Kranhold at kathryn.kranhold at wsj.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Wed Nov 10 13:01:37 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 13:01:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Mark Morford: We Are All Dubya's Doormat Message-ID: <20041110210137.10932.qmail@web13604.mail.yahoo.com> ===== Mark Morford's Notes & Errata ===== SFGate.com - November 10, 2004 --------------------------------- We Are All Dubya's Doormat Newsflash for ordinary Repubs and born-agains: Bush doesn't care about you, either By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist This just in: Millions of moderate Republicans and gay-terrified evangelical Christians and intellectually numbed conservative parents who thought they were doing some sort of good by blindly voting for Dubya and hence protecting their wee ones from swarthy Islamic evildoers who want to steal their kids' Kraft Lunchables and nuke Disneyland, all should be emerging from a deep fog of savage denial any minute now. Wake, they will, to the increasingly obvious fact that their beloved smirkin' president, the one who seemed to care about them so deeply just a couple weeks ago and who reached out to them and promised them the gun-happy gay-unfriendly moon in exchange for full access to their civil rights and a blank check to do whatever the hell he likes, he apparently doesn't give a damn about them. Not anymore. The truth will soon be hitting much of the conservative nation like a redneck smacks a dog: Now that the fear-saturated red states have handed this failed oilman four more unrestrained years to do his dirtiest deeds and a deeply contaminated, well-greased Congress to do it with, he no longer needs their support and he couldn't care less about their "moral values" or their positions on Social Security reform or the war in Iraq or just what the hell he meant about spending the "political capital" he claims he's earned by winning the election by the slimmest margin of any incumbent president in history .... (click here to read the rest) (Full URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2004/11/10/notes111004.DTL&nl=fix ) --------------------------------- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Wed Nov 10 21:29:12 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 21:29:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] (Sierra Club) Help Protect Wild Forests - Comment Period Ends Monday! Message-ID: <20041111052912.19193.qmail@web13606.mail.yahoo.com> Hello all, This is super easy to do and it will go a long ways in protecting our forests. If comments aren't sent, it will be assumed we don't care about our forests. All you have to do is create an account with the Sierra Club. Then you can send off a email/fax in a ready made letter. IBB Please help us protect our wild forests. Send a fax to the Forest Service about the proposed changes to the Roadless Rule! Our National Forests should be protected for Americans, not logged for the benefits of timber company executives. The wildly popular Roadless Rule helped protect our remaining wild forests and the clean water, wildlife habitat and outstanding backcountry recreation opportunities from more taxpayer-subsidized commercial logging. The most popular conservation policy in American history was dealt a crippling blow with the Bush administration's decision to re-write the landmark Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Send a clear message to the Forest Service to keep the Roadless Area Conservation Rule intact in the Lower 48 states and Alaska's Chugach National Forest and reinstate the rule in the Tongass National Forest. The comment period ends Monday, November 15. Please take action today. Click on the link below to quickly send a fax message. http://www.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=341&st=tact&rf=a00341b Just as the Bush administration would have you believe that more clearcuts equals "healthy forests" they now want us to believe that more taxpayer-subsidized logging roads will help protect our rare wild roadless forests. The proposed rule would replace the Roadless Rule, leaving all 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas in the United States open to road building, logging, and resource development. Until a state governor petitions for protection, management of inventoried roadless areas would be based on the individual forest management plans, which often require no special protections. Remember, the comment period ends Monday and the Forest Service will not accept comments after that time. Thank you for helping us protect the environment for future generations. Sincerely, Lillian Miller Outreach Systems Manager ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 12:07:14 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:07:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Biblical perspectives on moral values Message-ID: <20041111200714.15802.qmail@web13608.mail.yahoo.com> Dear President Bush, Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you and understand why you would propose and support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. As you said "in the eyes of God marriage is based between a man a woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them. 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians? 2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her? 3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. 4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them? 5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? 6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination? 7. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here? 8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die? 9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves? 10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14) I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 14:10:12 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 14:10:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] IQ and Politics Message-ID: <20041111221012.93859.qmail@web13605.mail.yahoo.com> IQ and PoliticsWow, what can I say, in the first 24 hours over 540,000+ people viewed this page! I originally posted this to a few friends on a forum, using information from a list just like this created after the 2000 election. The list was carried by the St. Petersburg Times and the Economist, amongst others. The IQ data was originally attributed to the book "IQ and the Wealth of Nations", though I checked and couldn't find them in the current edition, I had posted saying such at the bottom of the table. The tests and data were said to have been administered via the Raven's APT, and The Test Agency, one of the UK's leading publishers and distributors of psychometric tests. Continues.... http://chrisevans3d.com/files/iq.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:09:13 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:09:13 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] EMPIRE OF OIL -- FOREVER? by Mumia Abu-Jamal Message-ID: Mumia Abu-Jamal is a political prisoner on death row in the United States. For more information on Mumia's case please read: Yet Another Witness Comes Forward and Refutes The Frame-Up Of Mumia Abu-Jamal! http://www.freemumia.com/policecoercion.html EMPIRE OF OIL -- FOREVER? ========================= [Col. Writ. 10/17/04] Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal "He who owns oil will own the world... who has oil has empire." -- Henry Berenger, Commissioner General for Oil Products, France (WWI) No matter which way this god-forsaken 'election' goes, America's imperial hunger for oil will continue. While the Republicans present a more bellicose face, the Democrats will certainly do the same thing, but perhaps with a smile. That's what makes this advertising war, about who's tough, and who's not, so utterly ridiculous. Both candidates will push imperial wars for American "natural resources" (in other words, oil), because that's what their financial backers demand. The American economic machine began its industrial age with oil running those machines. Oil gave birth to the vast automotive industry, the resultant highway construction industry, the huge petrochemical industry, the explosion in plastics, and the fueling of America's menacing military machine, which is being used to spark wars abroad, to protect U.S. control of oil. One need not have been a history or political science major to see through the transparent justifications for the 2nd War on Iraq. It had nothing to do with 'weapons of mass destruction', nor to bring democracy -- it was, and is, to control Iraq's vast oilfields. And Iraqis, as well as millions of others in the region, know this with a certainty that can only be matched by their assurance that the sun rises tomorrow. In essence, the two corporate parties present a difference in degree; not in kind. But, thanks to the corporate media, this campaign will probably turn on the illusions of personality; on who smiles, who smirks, and who has a nice hairdo. If Rome taught us anything, it's that empire wears many faces. Many Democrats look back to the Clinton administration with longing; but it, too, is the longing for illusions. For it was during the Clinton years that the Defense Dept. touched base with the armed forces of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, and began providing them with U.S. arms and training. The temporary U.S. military bases (the payoff for the arms and the training) became semi-permanent in the wake of 9-11, and it all came to be because those states ring the vast oil deposits near the Caspian Sea. In the words of a U.S. State Dept. report* of 2002, U.S. aid is intended to "improve U.S.-Kazakh military cooperation while establishing a U.S.-interoperable base along the oil-rich Caspian." That's the backdoor reason for the invasion of Iraq. Until America decides to get off the oil-pipe, it doesn't matter who is, or isn't elected. If they are part of either corporate party, they will swear fealty, not to the Constitution, but to the bottom lines of the oil companies. That's what makes this nonsense about the 'war on terror', or the 'Iraqi liberation' so tragic. These are public relations sideshows, mounted by the political elite, projected by the media elite, on behalf of their economic elite, at the costs of billions of public dollars, and thousands of lives -- so that oil can rule. How can one 'spread democracy' by ignoring democracy? The largest anti-war demonstrations in American and world history did not deter this mad rush for black gold in Iraq. It did not stop this invasion erected on a bridge of lies. Indeed, the American presidency was built upon the judicial theft of the election, and use of state power to intimidate, disenfranchise, and betray the votes of tens of thousands in Florida alone. Yeah... the Bush Regime really wants to 'spread democracy!'. In oil's name, the United States is immersed in a new kind of colonialism, for the resources that lie under foreign feet. They could care less about the people. Therein lies an even greater tragedy. [Source; *U.S. Dept. of State, *Congressional Budget Justifications: Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2003* (Wash., D.C.: 2002), 309] Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal Mumia Abu-Jamal is a political prisoner on death row in the United States. For more information on Mumia's case please read: Yet Another Witness Comes Forward and Refutes The Frame-Up Of Mumia Abu-Jamal! http://www.freemumia.com/policecoercion.html For more writings by Mumia Abu-Jamal join Liberation News and check out the articles found in the "links" section: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Liberation_News/ For More on Iraq Read: What Is Socialism, and Why We Oppose The Invasion of Iraq http://projects.is.asu.edu/pipermail/hpn/2003-March/007283.html For another case of the racist injustice of the death penalty check out: Death Row Artist James P. Anderson A Case Of Reasonable Doubt. http://www.todesstrafe-usa.de/death_penalty/case_ca_anderson_argue_article.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:11:09 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:11:09 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] SNOW ANNOUNCE BULLETIN 11/10/04 Message-ID: > SNOW ANNOUNCE BULLETIN 11/10/04 > > To start with NSNPJ events: > > BANNERING, Sunday 12:30 to 1:30 pm, overpass at > 102nd and Aurora. > > THE END OF SUBURBIA - Tuesday, Nov. 16th at 7 pm, > 2100 N 128th Street at Abe's and Gunnel's. > For those of you who are not able to watch this > film this Friday. See details under Friday Night at > the Meaningful Movies below. > > Next Peace Potluck meeting: Saturday, 12/4, 4-7 at > Brenda's, 8717 Corliss Ave N (near NSCC). > > MoveOn is calling for an investigation into the > elections. Check it out at > http://www.moveon.org/investigatethevote/ > > Gunnel > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: snow staff > To: snow-announce at lists.riseup.net > Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 9:35 AM > Subject: [snow-announce] SNOW ANNOUNCE BULLETIN > 11/10/04 > > > SNOW ANNOUNCE BULLETIN -November 10, 2004 > > Dear Friends, > > We send you, with heavy hearts, news of some actions > planned for coming days in response to the attack on > Falluja. There will likely be more. This is what > we know about just now. (See details below.) We will > let you know of other actions, consistent with > SNOW's Points of Agreement, as we become aware of > them. > > A second Bulletin will be posted later in the week > with news of two new SNOW working groups. These are > referenced in the listing below for the SNOW General > Meeting. We'll include updates about Falluja actions > in this second posting. > > The SNOW Coordinating Committee has endorsed the > campaign to bring Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) to > Washington State. Initiative 318 allows voters to > rank candidates in order of preference. A candidate > that receives over 50% of the votes wins. If no > candidate achieves a majority, the candidate with > the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters whose first > choice lost then have their votes given to their > second-choice candidate. This continues until > someone receives a majority. The passage for this > initiative would reform our voting process into one > that would make progressive change much more likely > to occur. Petitions will be available at the next > General SNOW Meeting (see details below) but can > also be picked up at the SNOW office, 220 N 70th > Street. You can contact IRV for Washington (IRVWA), > www.irvwa.org to learn more about IRV. > > INDEX (details below) > > Event - Wednesday, 11/10 FALSE HEADLINES AND EMPTY > SOUNDBITES > > Event- Friday,11/12 FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MEANINGFUL > MOVIES - THE END OF SUBURBIA > > Event - Friday, 11/12 PRESS CONFERENCE AT CITY HALL > - FALLUJA > > Event - Saturday, 11/13 - MAP (MOVEMENT ACTION PLAN) > WORKSHOP > > Event - Saturday, 11/13 - STOP THE ASSAULT ON > FALLUJA > > Event - Sunday, 11/13 - WWFOR FUN AND FUNDRAISING > AUCTION > > Event - Sunday, 11/14 - CLOSE THE SCHOOL OF THE > AMERICAS > > Event - Monday, 11/15 - STREET ACTION IN RESPONSE TO > ATTACK ON FALLUJA > > Event - Thursday, 11/18 THE OCCUPATION IS THE REASON > > Event - Monday, 11/22 - GENERAL SNOW MEETING > > Event - Tuesday, 11/23 - A NIGHT OUT FOR HEALING > > Action - FUNDRAISING FOR SNOW - "Peace" T-shirt > > Ongoing - VIGILS IN SEVERAL NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND THE > SOUND - Details listed below. > > > > WEDNESDAY, 11/10 FALSE HEADLINES AND EMPTY > SOUNDBITES 7 PM Woodland Park Presbyterian Church, > 225 N 70th St. (70th & Greenwood) > > -Start Making Sense The third and last forum this > fall in our fourth series of community forums will > feature Bert Sacks, Founder, Citizens Committee for > Responsible Journalism > Susan Gleason, Co-founder, Reclaim the Media talking > about how the media is failing us and why! > (Doors open at 6:30 PM, Forum starts at 7 PM) > Sponsored by Phinney Neighbors for Peace & Justice > > FRIDAY, 11/12 FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MEANINGFUL MOVIES > 7 PM Keystone Church, 5019 Keystone Place N. 0.4 > miles west of the I-5 50th St. Exit - Metro Bus > Routes 16, 26 & 44 > > "THE END OF SUBURBIA" explores the American Way of > Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a > critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels > begins to outstrip supply. "Oil peak is the most > pivotal challenge ever to face human civilization. > To address it, we must join together in > acknowledgement of our collective vulnerability, and > work together on changes to the structure of our > culture and civilization never attempted before. We > do not underestimate the magnitude of the task, nor > the low likelihood of its being achieved without far > reaching consequences. The consequences of a failure > to act, however, are beyond comprehension." > (www.oilcrash.com) > > Discussion Follows, free, donations appreciated. > Presented by Wallingford Neighbors for Peace and > Justice > > FRIDAY, 11/12 PRESS CONFERENCE AT CITY HALL; PROTEST > US ATTACKS IN FALLUJA > > SNOW is proceeding with plans for a press conference > at City Hall at NOON on Friday. Nick Licata has > agreed to host the event. The focus will be the > attacks on medical facilities in Falluja. Details > are still being worked out and will be posted on > another SNOW BULLETIN late tomorrow or early Friday > morning. We are particularly interested in having > representatives of the medical community attend this > event. Information, as it develops, may also be > posted on snow at lists.riseup.net > > SATURDAY, 11/13 MAP (MOVEMENT ACTION PLAN) WORKSHOP > 9 AM- 4 PM, Anderson Hall(the basement) of Alki > Congregational Church, 6115 S.W. Hinds, a block off > Alki beach. > > -SNOW's Working Group on Nonviolence and West > Seattle Neighbors for Peace and Justice invite > interested people from the Seattle peace movement to > attend a MAP (movement action plan) workshop. > > MAP is a method of looking at nonviolent social > movements that helps them plan actions for their > long-term success. We will have trained MAP > facilitators with us to do the workshop. We think > this will be a good time (presuming the election > result is certain by then) to begin the conversation > about "where we go from here" to end the war in > Iraq. To read more about MAP, see: > http://nonviolencehelp.tripod.com/downloads/movement_action_plan.pdf > > We must limit the size of the workshop to about 40 > people. There is a $5 pre-registration fee. Please > notify Shannon Turner-Covell > shannonturnercovell at hotmail.com or 425-485-0145 if > you want to attend and please send the $5 (check > made out to Shannon Turner-Covell) to Shannon at > 10515 Woodinville Dr #85, Bothell, WA 98011. Tea, > coffee, juice and light snacks will be provided, but > participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunch > for the noon break. > > SATURDAY, 11/13 STOP THE ASSAULT ON FALLUJA Rally > and March 1:00 p.m., Westlake Park - 4th & Pine > Let's join together to: > Demand an immediate end to the assault and the war, > and show that Bush > has NO MANDATE from the American people for this > illegitimate war for > empire. > Give the war a human face by displaying images of > the citizens of > Falluja--images the American media aren't showing. > Show our solidarity with the Iraqi citizens who are > being killed, maimed > and psychologically devastated, and with American > soldiers who refuse to > fight. > Sponsored by the Not In Our Name Project > www.notinourname-seattle.net (local) > 206-322-3813 seattle at notinourname.net > > > SATURDAY, 11/13 WWFOR FUN AND FUNDRAISING AUCTION > 4:00 PM Trinity United Methodist Church, 6512 23rd > Ave. NW, Ballard, Seattle > > -This auction benefits Western Washington Fellowship > of Reconciliation, a founding member of SNOW and the > regional branch of the 90 year old faith-based > interfaith justice and peace organization. Help > support work to promote peace in the world, the > achieve racial equality, to end U.S. occupation of > Afghanistan and Iraq, to ride the world of nuclear > weapons, to formulate a just economic policy for > trading globally, to end the death penalty, and much > more. Lots of great goods and services, including > week-end getaways, theater tickets, art work, > excursions, etc. WWFOR organizer and one of SNOW's > founders, Mike Yarrow, will be the chief auctioneer. > Suggested donation $10, including dinner, no one > turned away for lack of funds. For more information, > call the WWFOR office (206-789-5565) or contact Jean > at 206-784-9988 or bb369 at scn.org > > SUNDAY, 11/14 CLOSE THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS 7 PM > Seattle University Campion Hall Ecumenical Chapel, > 914 East Jefferson St. > > -Help close the School of the Americas. Enough of > teaching counter insurgency and methods of torture > to foreign militaries, who have used their training > to suppress their own people. > The public is invited to a send-off ceremony for a > Seattle delegation who are going to join thousands > of protestors at the gates of Fort Benning to call > for the School's closing. > Music, slide presentation, memorial litany of > victims, words from a former prisoner of conscience; > closing by Fr. Bill Bichsel, SJ, nationally known > social activist, frequently arrested for speaking > out for justice. > Bring a flower to be taken to the memorial fence at > Fort Benning. For Information: Greg Speltz, (206) > 632 1523. > > SUNDAY, 11/14 "500 DUNAM ON THE MOON" PALESTINE, THE > PEOPLE: FILM SERIES > > 7 PM Ethnic Cultural Theater, 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE > in Seattle's University District > > Ayn Hawd is a Palestinian village that was captured > and depopulated by Israeli forces in the 1948 war. > In 1953 the village was transformed into a Jewish > artists' colony, and renamed Ein Hod. This > documentary tells the story of the village's > original inhabitants, who, after expulsion, settled > only 1.5 kilometers away in the outlying hills. > Rachel Leah Jones' filmmaking debut is a critical > look at the art of dispossession and the creativity > of the dispossessed. (Rachel Leah Jones , 2002. 48 > minutes) Recently returned from several months in > the West Bank, Redmond activist Aaron Kullers will > speak of his experiences working on the > International Solidarity Movement's 2004 Freedom > Summer campaign. > > MONDAY, 11/15 FALLUJA ACTION 4:30-6:00 PM beginning > near Benaroya Hall (exact location will be known > soon) > > This action, initiated by Palestine Solidarity > Committee will be a procession in which mased > mourners will accompany a coffin, draped in a red > cloth, in silence. (Masks provided by PSC.) > Occasionally we will stop for women to bathe the > coffin as if it is the bodies of those -- both > Iraqi, American, & others -- lost in this senseless > war. While doing this there will be recitations of > poetry pertinent to the tragedies constantly > unfolding. For more information call 788-0955, or > email palestinejustice at aol.com. > > THURSDAY, 11/18 THE OCCUPATION IS THE REASON 7PM > Friends Center Meeting Room, NE 40th St and 9th Ave. > NE, Seattle > > In September, 2004, 5 high school refusniks - > prisoners of conscience - were released from Israeli > prison. Noam Bahat and Shimri Zamaret will speak > about the occupation, the reason for their refusal > to be conscripted into the Israel Defence Forces and > their imprisonment. Sponsors include: American > Friends Service Committee, Tikkun Community, Jewish > Voices Against the Occupation, St. Mark's Cathedral > and Palestine Solidarity Committee. > > MONDAY, 11/22 SNOW GENERAL MEETING 7 PM Woodland > Park Presbyterian Church, 220 N 70th Street (70th & > Greenwood) > > Agenda items include: Election Responses, What's > Next? Jody Haug on I318 Reports from Working Groups. > There will be time for working groups to gather to > further efforts on their "campaigns". > > TUESDAY, 11/23 A NIGHT OUT FOR HEALING-Community > Benefit for Elizabeth Brant > > 6-9 PM at The Irish Emigrant 5260 University Ave NE, > Seattle > > Join us in our support of Elizabeth (Katy) Brant, > SNOW Coordinating Committee Member and active member > of South End Standing For Peace and Justice, as she > undergoes expensive and necessary rehab therapy > following an auto accident last year. Elizabeth has > given so much to the well-being of our community. We > are privileged to have this opportunity to give a > little back. Suggested Donation $20 > > Music by Ray Carney Video showing of The Man Who > Planted Trees Raffle, Snacks > > If you are unable to attend but would still like to > contribute, checks may be sent to: > > The EK Brant Rehab Fund > > c/o Karen Moore > > PO BOX 13229, Des Moines, WA 98198 > > For more information contact > > Karen Moore 206-261-1913 or Jack Smith 206-321-5514 > > PEACE SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE - Support the SNOW > Coalition and receive one of our beautiful shirts > based on a design by the local artist Tiffany > Larscheid. A $20.00 contribution will entitle you to > a long sleeved shirt in Black, Royal Blue, or Maroon > , sizes S, M, L, XL and XXL. For $15.00 contribution > you'll receive a T-shirt, same sizes and colors plus > Kelly Green. We would also like to offer your group > the opportunity to use the shirts as a fund raiser > for the group. We will provide you with ten long > sleeved shirts for $150.00, or ten T-shirts for > $100.00. The donation from individuals would still > be $20.00 and $15.00 respectively, with your group > pocketing the difference. Please order your shirts > at gunnel1 at w-link.net. Check the following website > for more information, order forms and a picture of > the shirt - > http://groups.snowcoalition.org/northseattlehttp://groups.snowcoalition.org/northseattle/shirts.html > > > ONGOING Events and Actions > > BALLARD VIGIL Wednesdays 5:30-6:30 in front of > Tully's on Market Street . Join us! We've vigiled in > this spot weekly for the past 22 months. > > GREENLAKE VIGIL Sundays from 2 - 3 PM, at Greenlake, > East Greenlake Way N near N 63rd St near the > crosswalk, Seattle. Join a PEACE VIGIL. Please come > out to show opposition to the war, in addition to > standing to demand an investigation of the > intelligence invoked to justify the Iraq War. All > peaceful people invited, bring signs, leaflets, and > your friends and dogs. Info > greenlakepeacevigil at hotmail.com or > http://www.greenlakepeacevigil.org or SNOW > 206-789-2684 > > LAKE FOREST PARK PEACE VIGIL Saturdays 11 AM-Noon > Lake Forest Park for Peace has held a peace vigil > every Saturday since December 14 2002! Come join us > from 11am - noon any Saturday at the corner of > Bothell & Ballinger (the "Lake Forest Park Peace > Park" in front of LFP mall). Bring a sign, a friend, > a smile and a wave. There is a community meeting at > 10:30am before the vigil inside the 3rd Place > Commons, next to the Japanese restaurant in the LFP > mall upper level. All are welcome to both meeting > and vigil. Find more info about our activities and > events at > http://groups.snowcoalition.org/lakeforestpark. > > REDMOND VIGIL Friday evenings at 6 PM at Anderson > Park(downtown Redmond across from Value Village.) > > SHORELINE VIGIL Shoreline SNOWflakes gather on > Tuesday afternoons from 4:30 to 6 PM, at N.E. 175th > Street and Meridian Ave. N. > > MADRONA VIGIL Thursdays, 4:30- 6 PM, at 23rd and > Union, Seattle; Madrona- Leschi Citizens against the > War . Bring signs, leaflets, candles, come for the > whole time or a bit of time > > POSTING CRITERIA: > To submit an event posting, send a BRIEF > announcement to > announce at snowcoalition.org. Do not send > announcements directly to this > list--they will not go through. All events posted > must be consistent with > the SNOW Points of agreement, see > http://snowcoalition.org/site/about/points. SNOW > office staff will give > preference to events that appeal to a broad > participation and are sponsored > by SNOW affiliates. > For information about our other listserves, go to > http://snowcoalition.org/site/about/listserves. > This is the moderated announcements list for SNOW > (Sound Nonviolent Opponents of War). Announcements > posted on this list much be consistent with the SNOW > Points of Agreement > (http://www.snowcoalition.org/site/about/points). > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:13:59 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:13:59 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Sistani: Iraq's Shadow Ruler Message-ID: Another interesting article from Time magazine that explains in greater detail how Sistani might control the Iraq government AFTER the elections... =================== Iraq's Shadow Ruler When Ayatullah Sistani speaks, millions obey. Can the conscience of the nation make it safe for democracy? By JOHANNA MCGEARY BAGHDAD Oct. 25, 2004 FROM: http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1101041025-725077,00.html The very name Sistani is shrouded in mystery. Few Westerners have ever met the most powerful man in Iraq. If they did, they would encounter a thin, bearded figure with little interest in the trappings of office. Grand Ayatullah Ali Husaini Sistani, the revered leader of the nation's 15 million Shi'ites, receives visitors, powerful and meek alike, in a plain, bare room in his modest home down a dusty alley in the holy city of Najaf. He sits on the floor with his back to the wall, dressed always in the same simple robe and turban. (An intimate says he hasn't refreshed his wardrobe in 10 years.) He is modest and respectful, and listens more than he talks. But his charisma is striking. His eyes "look into your psyche," says Mohammed Kamil al-Rudaie, a university professor in Baghdad who has met him often. "He has a kind of esp for understanding people and tailoring his answer to suit the person in front of him." And when Sistani speaks, Iraqis obey. At 74, the Shi'ite spiritual leader is widely acknowledged as the conscience of the nation, armed with a unique moral authority to arbitrate Iraq's future. Though he was quiet during the long, hard years of Shi'ite repression under Saddam Hussein, Sistani has emerged since the dictator's fall as the country's pivotal political figure. Iraq's Kurds and Sunnis, as well as Shi'ites, pay heed to his views. His reach extends as far as Washington, where he has repeatedly forced the Bush Administration to yield to his demands and issued decrees that have altered U.S. plans for postwar Iraq. The reclusive ayatullah inserts himself into the political fray whenever he feels it is necessary. Just last week he issued a statement encouraging all Iraqis to participate in the election scheduled for January, and he called on the Iraqi government to start registering voters. The powers that be in Iraq ignore him at their peril. Sistani proved his authority in August, when Najaf had sunk into chaos. As the fighting began, he abruptly quit the city to seek medical treatment abroad. The rumors started: Sistani was dying; Sistani was afraid; Sistani was losing influence to Muqtada al-Sadr, the brash young cleric whose militiamen were battling U.S. troops to a standstill. But on Aug. 26, as the Americans were on the verge of assaulting one of Iraq's most sacred Shi'ite shrines, Sistani showed he was still the Man. Straight from medical treatment for a heart condition in London, he was driven into Najaf at the head of thousands of unarmed loyalists who had answered his call to march on the city. Within hours, he had brought an end to postwar Iraq's bloodiest battle. Even the cocksure al-Sadr bowed his head when he came to sit on a threadbare carpet across from Sistani and acceded to the cleric's commands. In some Western minds, an elderly white-bearded figure in a black turban who is adored by the masses evokes the dark image of another Shi'ite mullah: Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, who turned Iran into a stern, inimical Islamic theocracy. Sistani is of a different breed. He has insisted on rapid elections to choose a government reflecting "the will of the people" and forswears any executive role for himself or fellow clerics. But Sistani is equally determined that after 300 years of domination by Iraq's minority Sunnis, the time has come for Shi'ites to take the reins of power. If he has opposed al-Sadr and others who seek control through violence, Sistani has been just as rigorous in refusing to align himself with the U.S. That may give many Americans pause as they contemplate the U.S. investment in the embattled country's future. But Sistani's moral stature and unyielding push for a new democratic order have made him America's best hope for preventing Iraq from spinning into anarchy. His intervention in Najaf paved the way for the deal cut last week, by which al-Sadr agreed to disarm his militia and enter the political arena. Here's the story of how Sistani became the country's supreme power and what he envisions for Iraq: means of ascent in the Shi'ite universe, the first requisite for leadership is erudition, measured by a lifetime's knowledge of Islamic principles and law. Sistani's learning is universally recognized. According to his official biography, the child born into a pious, scholarly family in rugged northeastern Iran began learning the Koran at age 5. He absorbed the conservative traditions of the Islamic seminaries in Qum, where he arrived as a 19-year-old prodigy. Three years later, he left to study in the Iraqi city of Najaf, the prestigious 1,000-year-old home to some of Shi'ism's most prominent teachers of jurisprudence; he has lived there ever since. Najaf's schools were filled with as many Persians as Arabs. Sistani never lost his thick native accent and remains an Iranian citizen, which has made him a target of Arab rivals like al-Sadr who disparage his ethnicity. Sistani excelled in Najaf and soon became a disciple of Grand Ayatullah Abul Qassim al-Khoei. At the unusually young age of 31, Sistani reached the senior level of accomplishment called ijtihad, which entitled him to pass his own judgments on religious questions. Sistani kept his distance from Khomeini, who was then in exile in Najaf and already honing his militant philosophy of temporal clerical rule. Al-Khoei, Sistani's mentor, preached the "quietist" approach, in which religious leaders address matters of spirituality and behavior but stay out of politics. Sistani embraced that philosophy. For 50 years, Sistani has devoted his waking hours to solitary prayer, reading and teaching. He has acquired legions of students, attracted by his charisma, sound logic, prodigious research and quick wit. On social issues Sistani has always been an Islamic conservative. But unlike many fellow clerics, he possesses a keen appetite for subjects ranging far beyond theology-modern science, history, political philosophy, biography, comparative religions, current events-and employs an unusual freedom of expression in reinterpreting religious questions. "He merges Islamic principles and modern life," says al-Rudaie, the Baghdad professor. "His rules are not frozen in time." Groomed by al-Khoei for supreme religious authority, Sistani took on the mantle of marja, or object of emulation, the highest rank among Shi'ite clerics, soon after al-Khoei's death in 1992. Sistani proved himself an assertive competitor among the jostling senior ayatullahs, including Muqtada al-Sadr's influential father, who was assassinated by Saddam in 1999. Perhaps even more important, Sistani inherited the treasure chest of religious tithes and pilgrim's donations that al-Khoei had amassed, a fortune soon augmented by his own popularity. That enabled Sistani to fund a vast and flourishing network of agents and allies. From his shabby Najaf office, he runs a formidable array of schools, libraries, hospitals, charities and even technology centers spread across Iraq and Iran, as well as outreach offices from the Middle East to Western Europe. Though the marja is akin to a Roman Catholic Pope in religious authority, no college of mullahs elects him. Every one of the faithful chooses a cleric as his spiritual guide, whose rulings he will follow. Clerics rise to the top on the basis of their popular following as well as the esteem of their colleagues. In a country given to flash and corruption, Sistani has earned widespread admiration for his ascetic lifestyle and upright reputation. For decades, he has lived out of public view with his wife, two sons and several daughters. They inhabit a humble rented house a few hundred yards from the golden-domed shrine of Imam Ali, the Shi'ites' most venerated martyr. His meals are the frugal fare of the poor: tea, bread, yogurt, a bit of cheese, vegetables. As a result of the meager diet, he suffers on and off from anemia as well as the blocked arteries treated in London. Tall but never robust, he now looks frail and old. Sistani's invisibility is in part cultivated, some aides and rivals say, to enhance the aura of mystery that contributes to his appeal. Says Sheik Haitham Nasrawi, a representative of al-Sadr's father: "When he sits behind closed doors, he is seen as a man who makes no mistakes." But during Saddam's reign of terror, Sistani's seclusion turned into house arrest imposed by the regime. He endured it as a "religious duty to defend the Shi'ites' sacred center," says Tawfiq al-Yassery, a secular Shi'ite politician with close ties to the ayatullah. After Saddam fell, Sistani faced new threats from al-Sadr's militia, and now armed guards tightly control access to his house. He is still most comfortable operating behind closed doors; he hasn't conducted Friday prayers for years and even discourages the dissemination of posters bearing his image. He has refused to meet with U.S. officials and says he will not talk to any Westerners as long as their armies occupy Iraq. The Americans complain that Sistani's reclusiveness has muddied lines of communication, as officials struggle to interpret his views secondhand. For all his seclusion, Sistani is worldly wise about Iraq's current realities. "He has his hands on the pulse of the nation," says Hussein Shahristani, a former nuclear scientist who returned from exile to advise Sistani. "It's at his fingertips." Sistani sees a steady stream of aides and agents based around the country as well as Iraqi leaders eager to court and consult him. Sheik Jameel al-Qurayshi, who represents Sistani in Baghdad's restive Sadr City district, visits the ayatullah at least once a week to discuss the fine points of Islamic practice and get political advice for handling his neighborhood. Sistani's declarations are succinct and to the point. "He makes no decision until he is totally clear he has come to the right conclusion," says Shahristani. "He says exactly what he means, and he sticks to it"-something the Bush Administration learned the hard way. "I'm very glad Washington conceded on early elections, or we'd have been in trouble," says a Western diplomat in Baghdad. Sistani "has a few gut core beliefs, and he doesn't change them." But Sistani tends to express principles that leave the details open to interpretation. He communicates them before and after sunset prayers, when he addresses his followers' 1,001 questions on proper religious observance, social behavior and personal conduct. He engages in a busy written dialogue with his followers by letter and via the Internet. Not long ago, Rifat al-Amin, a university student in Baghdad, wrote the ayatullah to ask whether protests by his followers should take place in narrow streets where they would block traffic. The marja replied that demonstrations should take place in wide squares instead. Al-Amin also asked if Sistani accepted "what was going on" in Iraq. He received back a simple no. What Kind Of Democrat? Sistani's personal history would be interesting but unimportant if the U.S. had not invaded Iraq. The fall of Saddam left the country in chaos, with a power vacuum at the top. The Shi'ite masses naturally looked to Sistani for direction, says Shahristani, and the ayatullah felt compelled by religious duty to step in. "He believes at a crisis time like this, the marja must guide the people," says al-Qurayshi. So the cleric who had shied away from politics all his life began to issue fatwas of profound political importance. Sistani quickly emerged as a voice of restraint, urging Iraqis to be patient and eschew violence. He told Shi'ites to neither help nor hinder the U.S. invaders, although he made his opposition to foreign occupation clear by counseling citizens to ask Americans, "When are you leaving Iraq?" He advised people against revenge killings of Baathists. Iraqi and U.S. officials agree that his calming influence was critical in tamping down Shi'ite resistance. "That was the only reason there was no bloodbath in those early days," says a secular Iraqi politician. When the orgy of looting after Saddam's departure ran unchecked, Sistani stood up to label it immoral and wrong. Overnight, thieves were piling up stolen air conditioners, computers, art and relics at the doors of Shi'ite mosques. At the same time, Sistani has forced the U.S. to abandon many of its designs for Iraq's future. When Washington laid out a lengthy timetable for returning Iraq to self-rule, Sistani's objections forced the Bush Administration to deliver a swift handover instead. He has been uncompromising in his call for prompt elections and in his determination that Iraqis write their own constitution. When the U.S. proposed a complex caucus system for voting, Sistani responded by putting 100,000 peaceful demonstrators into the streets to support his call for national one-man, one-vote elections by January 2005. With a word, he temporarily blocked the signing of the U.S.-designed interim constitution last spring because it gave too much power to minority Kurds and too little to Islamic law. When the elected assembly drafts a permanent constitution next year, he will insist it maintains Shi'ite dominance as well as strong national unity. The critical issue, of course, is how Islamic Sistani wants Iraq to be. He has made it clear that foreign powers cannot be allowed to dictate the country's form of government, nor does he want to replicate a Western model. He has said Islamic law should govern family and personal matters. "His vision of the good state," says a Western diplomat in Baghdad, "is not where my wife and daughter would want to live." But Sistani's aides say he considers the Khomeini and Taliban experiments in theocracy failures-too extreme and rigid for modern society, especially one as demographically diverse as Iraq. And he opposes al-Sadr in large measure because the upstart is pushing to make Iraq a carbon copy of Iran, with al-Sadr at the helm. Sistani aides like al-Qurayshi describe the cleric's vision as a "democratic Islamic state," a parliamentary system whose laws comport with Muslim principles. He would allow de facto separation of church and state, leaving the daily business of government to politicians and technocrats-under the umbrella of religious values. He sees his role, says a secular politician, "as the country's guardian wise man." So when Iraq's elected parliament takes up issues related to religion, says University of Michigan professor Juan Cole, an expert on modern Middle Eastern history, "he'll issue a ruling and expect the Shi'ite members to obey." Since a large minority in Iraq does not share the Shi'ite faith, Sistani recognizes his sect's brand of Shari'a cannot be imposed on the country. Iraq's system, he often says, is "up to the will of the people." But once Shi'ites attain majority power, his aides acknowledge, Sistani hopes they will democratically vote in Islamic laws. Despite Washington's unspoken dependence on Sistani to keep disaffected Shi'ites in check, U.S. officials read dark omens in his increasing activism. They don't want to set a precedent in which the grand ayatullah always has the final say. And the specter of Khomeini deeply colors the Bush Administration's view. Officials are wary that Sistani's long-term interests are not aligned with the U.S.'s. Some fear that he wants to become the political puppetmaster, running a religious regime behind the veil of a titular secular leader. Others distrust his Iranian background and connections and are worried that he would take instructions from the mullahs next door. Sistani and his supporters may not want a strict Islamic republic, but if they win, says Kenneth Katzman at Washington's Congressional Research Service, "they're going to have very, very close ties to Tehran." But Iranian authorities say Sistani has well-established financial and philosophical independence from Tehran. Those who know Sistani say fears of outside influence are misplaced. They describe a devout but independent cleric whose religious calling requires him to rise above both the intrigues of day-to-day politics and the pursuit of personal political power. "The Islamic view," says Dhafer al-Qaisey, a Sistani representative in southern Baghdad, "is that a religious leader must take responsibility to say what is right and what is not. Then it is up to you whether to follow that advice." Despite the stream of politicos knocking on his door to seek his blessing, Sistani has said he will not anoint any person or party. He even refuses to allow visitors to be photographed with him, for fear they might turn pictures into propaganda. His overriding motive, intimates say, is to seize this moment in history to ensure that Shi'ite hopes are not dashed yet again. For centuries, the sect has ended up on the wrong side of power, and Sistani wants to make sure it comes out on top this time. He has been adamant about elections because he believes Shi'ites can get what they want at the ballot box, and the rest of the world will have to accept it. Some Sistani aides say there is an implicit warning in that: if Shi'ite expectations of electoral victory are thwarted, Sistani could call his followers to rebel. "He does not think of jihad now," says Ali al-Mousawi al-Waath, Sistani's agent in the Baghdad shrine district of Khadimiya, "but that depends on what the Americans do." Iraq's Shi'ites, he says, "follow our marja. If he tells us to die, we die." No one thinks Sistani is close to giving such an order. He is too "humane," says Shahristani. When al-Sadr's soldiers disobeyed Sistani's directive not to spill blood in Najaf, Sistani "wept for hours" over the young Iraqi lives that were lost, says an intimate. A diplomat in Baghdad regards Sistani as a "cautious man who doesn't go out on a limb." Sistani's men say he has repeatedly doused al-Sadr's uprisings because he fears violence will only cost the Shi'ites their legitimate claim to power. But his aides say he is growing increasingly worried that the U.S. is manipulating the electoral process to limit Shi'ite influence. White House and State Department officials are concerned that in a completely open election, Shi'ites might emerge with an enormous majority that would dangerously shunt Sunnis and Kurds aside. The National Security Council's Iraq point man, Robert Blackwill, came up with the idea of uniting members of the former and current interim governments, made up largely of exiles chosen for their ethnic balance and pro-American attitudes, into a single slate. That would give Washington's favored candidates, who have well-organized political operations but are not individually popular, a way to stay in power. Blackwill, says a well-placed U.S. official, "created the idea to counter Sistani's power." Blackwill's office claims that while he was developing the plan, some Iraqis hit on the same idea "independently." But the ayatullah has indicated he disapproves of the unified slate. "He's afraid the way the voting is being set up, the Shi'ites might be cheated out of their majority," says Michigan's Cole. The system has also encouraged the curious alliance of the religious al-Sadr and the secular Ahmad Chalabi, former U.S. favorite, who see in each other a way to trump Sistani's power. The ayatullah is agitating for changes that would give Islamic parties aligned with him a higher profile. While the cleric has not tried to negotiate the specifics, observers say that is as far into the grit of politics as he has ventured. He has to show Shi'ites that the election can benefit them, says Katzman. If it doesn't, he risks a damaging loss of legitimacy among ordinary Shi'ites that demagogues like al-Sadr will try to exploit. The last thing Washington wants is to help someone like al-Sadr rise to power. "Sistani's the most moderate ayatullah in sight," says a Western diplomat in Baghdad, "and the U.S. needs to see eye to eye with him on basic political steps." That means the Bush Administration may have to accept that the version of democracy it went to war to create in Iraq may not be the one it gets. To achieve a stable, free Iraq, there's no going around the power-and preferences-of Grand Ayatullah Sistani. - With reporting by the Iraqi staff of TIME/Najaf, Massimo Calabresi/ Washington and Nahid Siamdoust/ Tehran -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:15:11 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:15:11 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: STUFF to do and get involved with - Global Justice Message-ID: STUFF TO DO AND GET INVOLVED WITH, FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE - Delegation to Haiti. - Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) seeks executive director. - PBI (Peace Brigades International) - Overseas human rights work with Peace Brigades. * Please re-distribute this info. If you want on-off this elist: info at rightsaction.org === "LET HAITI LIVE" WOMEN'S RIGHTS DELEGATION Dear Friends of Haiti, The crisis in Haiti only made headlines for a few short weeks, but Haitian women have suffered grueling repression for centuries. Their traditional burdens of grinding poverty, legal and social discrimination and chronic insecurity were exacerbated by February's coup d'etat: food prices rose, while government social programs were slashed, unaccountable paramilitary gangs control much of the countryside, and members of the brutal army have been integrated into the police ranks. Women's groups in Haiti report that the current political instability has resulted sharp increases of rape and other gender crimes, as well as massive internal displacement, economic vulnerability, and an increase in prostitution in some areas. Please join Let Haiti Live: Coalition for a Just U.S. Policy in a delegation to investigate the current situation of Haitian women. The ten-day delegation will meet with grassroots women's groups, human rights activists, community organizations and national and international agencies to document the problems facing women in Haiti in light of the current political instability. The delegation will issue a report that will then be used as a tool to advocate for the improvement of conditions for women in Haiti. The tentative dates of the delegation are January 11-20, 2005. It is growing clear that the events of February's regime change were only the beginning of a dramatic re-shifting of Haiti's political, social and economic life. Already former members of the disbanded Haitian Army have taken over cities in the North and the South of the country. Soldiers are joined by resurgent paramilitaries throughout Haiti's countryside. The unelected Latortue regime has called members of these paramilitary groups "freedom fighters" and has cut taxes for the rich in the poorest country in the western hemisphere. All of this is taking place in the midst of the worst humanitarian crisis in our hemisphere. The traditional female-headed households of Haiti's mostly rural population are bearing the brunt of Haiti's destroyed economy and internal displacement without the benefit of even the most basic social services. In order to gain a broad understanding of the true parameters of the Haitian crisis, the delegation will visit several geographical areas, interviewing women from a broad range of backgrounds. Topical focus will be on the challenges facing women and the status of their social, economic and political human rights. I am seeking participants who bring expertise in areas such as women's health, HIV/AIDS, violence against women (including rape), human rights, and labor rights. At the end of the trip, participants will spend time preparing a report of their findings. A sample itinerary is attached here and represents the scope and location of meetings the delegation may have. It is impossible to guarantee a final itinerary due to changing security conditions and other circumstances on the ground in Haiti. Please note that the delegation is planned for ten (10) days to allow travel to several destinations, and the cost per participant is $1,100. This fee includes: all-in country travel, lodging, breakfast and dinner, drivers, translators, and coordination. Participants are responsible for airfare to and from Haiti (check www.aa.com for fares), exit fee ($30) and lunch each day. I hope you will consider taking part in this important delegation. Contact me at Melinda at HaitiKONPAY.org for more information or to find about more about how to participate. For a more just world, Melinda Miles, Co-Director* Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY www.haitikonpay.org and Let Haiti Live www.lethaitilive.org *Most recently I was the Co-Director of Haiti Reborn at the Quixote Center in Washington, DC. I have planned and co-coordinated more than a dozen delegations to Haiti in the last six years. I am now in Haiti working full time with KONPAY. === NISGUA SEEKS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dear NISGUA Friends, Below is NISGUA's revised Executive Director Job announcement. Please send this out to your networks, post to your websites, and talk to people you think would be appropriate candidates. In addition, pasted below is information about the upcoming protest and vigil at the gates of the School of the Americas/WHISC and information to buy NISGUA's 2005 Arte Maya Calendars. FYI, the Former Civil Patrollers (Ex-Pac's) carried out major blockades of highways and airports last week to pressure the Guatemalan Congress to approve legislation that continues the FRG initiated payments for "Services" during the internal armed conflict. Congress, shortly after the protest, passed the law declaring the issue an urgent national issue. Orphans, widows, and other victims of the war are receiving reparations that amount to, on average, 1/6 the amount that former paramilitary members will receive. The struggle continues... Matthew Kennis NISGUA The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) seeks candidates for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Director oversees NISGUA's program and operations; raises funds and coordinates fundraising; and provides strategic leadership. In addition to the ED position, we have two full-time and one part-time staff members in Washington DC and two full-time and one part-time staff members in Guatemala. The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) is a 23-year old, U.S.-based grassroots organization working for social justice and human rights in Guatemala. We work to support civil society and democratic processes in Guatemala and to democratize and de-militarize U.S. foreign policy towards Guatemala and Central America as a whole. We work to educate and activate people in the US to work in solidarity with the people of Guatemala through programs such as annual speaker tours, publications, delegations, campaigns, etc. Through the Guatemala Accompaniment Project we recruit, train and manage a team of volunteer human rights monitors in Guatemala. Responsibilities include: Strategic leadership: Assure implementation of the program consistent with NISGUA's mission. Maintain ongoing communication with the board of directors to assure strategic focus. Implement strategic priorities and articulate them to NISGUA base, allies, U.S. policy-makers, funders and the public. Integrate program to maximize coordination of program areas and resources. Hire and supervise staff in our D.C. and Guatemala City office. Fundraising and fiscal management: Assure that NISGUA, with an annual budget of approximately $390,000, meets budget projections. Supervise staff involved in fundraising and assume primary responsibility for grant-based and direct mail fundraising. Monitor finances and assure NISGUA's financial stability, in close cooperation with the Board. Program development and policy work: Work closely with the board to determine program and policy. With staff, set priorities for NISGUA's program implementation. Lead the organization's advocacy efforts and participation in coalitions to influence U.S. foreign policy. The Director is not expected to perform all of the tasks in all of these work areas on her/his own but is, instead, expected to mobilize the enthusiasm and energy of different parts of NISGUA (Staff, Board, Volunteers, Donors, Allies, etc.) to achieve the organization's goals. Qualifications: Demonstrated strategic and leadership skills in a progressive non-profit organization. Minimum two years' supervisory experience. Demonstrated fundraising ability. Strong management and team-building skills. Hands-on experience with campaign and program development. Excellent communications and interpersonal skills. Excellent writing skills and fluency in English; Advanced reading comprehension and spoken Spanish Proven commitment to human rights and social justice. Latin American experience (Guatemala experience preferred). Understanding of international solidarity essential. This position is full-time and is located at our Washington D.C. office. NISGUA offers a competitive benefits package (health and dental, 3 weeks paid vacation). Salary competitive with similar organizations and depending on experience. Minimum 2 year commitment expected. Preferred start Date: January. Position Open Until Filled To apply: Please email, in one document, a cover letter, resume, two short writing samples, your salary requirements and a list of three professional references to: Executive Director Search, nisgua at igc.org. For further information, see http://www.nisgua.org === OVERSEAS HUMAN RIGHTS WORK WITH PEACE BRIGADES Have you ever wanted to do effective human rights work overseas? Have you ever imagined yourself as a Peace Brigades International volunteer? We invite you to our upcoming PBI Orientation Weekend, to be held in Washington, DC. For prospective applicants to PBI field projects, the Weekend offers insight into many aspects of PBI's work, including the overall organizational culture. You also get a feel for the training methodology used by PBI field projects (small group discussions, role-plays, etc). This event is also a great opportunity if you are thinking about interning in our office. For more information about internships, please see http://www.peacebrigades.org/usa/internship.html PBI ORIENTATION WEEKEND http://www.peacebrigades.org/usa/usaorientweekend.html A great introduction to PBI's work! Join us for two days of insightful presentations on the four countries where PBI currently operates, first-hand personal accounts of what it's like to be a volunteer there, group discussions, role-plays, and other interactive exercises. We also invite country specialist from ally organizations to present on the human rights situations in Mexico, Indonesia, Guatemala, and Colombia. The weekend is highly recommended for anyone considering an application to attend a PBI training. * Dates: 11 - 12 December 2004 * Registration deadline: Wednesday, 8 Dec. * Location: Eastern Market neighborhood of Washington, DC * Participation Fee: $10 - $50 sliding scale, based on ability to pay * For a registration form, please contact Nicky Parkes intern at pbiusa.org or 202-544-3765 NOTE: This weekend is NOT the actual training required of potential volunteers before they are chosen to join a PBI team, which last 7 - 10 days. Each Peace Brigades field project has it's own application, training, and selection process. This information is detailed further at the Orientation Weekend. We hope you will join us! Do not hesitate to be in touch with questions you might have. Peace Brigades Int'l / USA 428 8th St. SE 2nd Fl. Washington, DC 20003 202-544-3765 www.peacebrigades.org === -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:17:26 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:17:26 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Former California Congressman Gary Condit Message-ID: New York Post Online. November 8, 2004 -- Former California Congressman Gary Condit is fighting mightily to keep his sexual secrets and personal wealth from being aired in his defamation suit against crime author Dominick Dunne, according to explosive new court records obtained by The Post. Condit is trying to clear his name over the mysterious death of Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy. But the legal war pitting Condit against Dunne, the 79-year-old Vanity Fair writer, has gone nuclear. Condit, while wanting to keeping a lid on his sex life with Levy and others, wants to publicly air a potentially embarrassing videotape Dunne being grilled by his lawyer, Lin Wood. Wanting the right to dig up Condit's sexual escapades and finances, Dunne wants his video deposition sealed. "You are just making unnecessary aggravation," Judge Peter Leisure told both sides, according to a transcript of the Nov. 4 pretrial hearing in Manhattan federal court. Leisure hinted he's likely to rule to allow Dunne's lawyer to ask Condit about his sex life and finances, albeit with limitations. But he's also likely to allow the Dunne tape to be made public. Condit's lawyer argued that his sex life is irrelevant to the case. Wood suspected Dunne's lawyers would ask his client: "Did you have sexual intercourse with Chandra Levy? . . . Joleen McKay? . . . Anne Marie Smith? How often do you have sexual intercourse with your wife? Did you have sexual relations with a male Caribbean prostitute? Are you bisexual?" McKay and Smith have been identified as Condit's mistresses. Dunne lawyer Paul LiCalsi shot back: "The point here is that the only reason Mr. Condit was involved so extensively in the investigation into the disappearance of Ms. Levy was because he had an affair with her and he had reason to fear its exposure. Obviously, we should be entitled to ask that." At issue in the case are comments Dunne made during a Dec. 20, 2001, interview on Westwood One radio's "Laura Ingraham Show" and thereafter. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:19:13 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:19:13 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] A ray of hope & an invitation Message-ID: caseyh at well.com writes: << Monday, December 6, 2004 6:00 - 8:30 PM Dinner/Fundraiser at Cafe Flora for the NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE 2901 E. Madison St. Seattle >> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:20:41 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:20:41 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] link to UN/WHO sex worker toolkit Message-ID: this is very interesting. http://who.arvkit.net/sw/en/index.jsp Michael Foley Californians for Civil Liberties 1.877.776.2004 www.swop-usa.org "God bless the bad girls." David Letterman (1947-) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:27:13 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:27:13 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Jefferson Davis - Our Greatest Hero Message-ID: rense.com Jefferson Davis - Our Greatest Hero By Dr. Grady McWhiney League of the South National Director 11-9-4 During and after the War for Southern Independence, Jefferson Davis was accused of a wide variety of villainies. Not all of his accusers were Yankees, but Northerners made the most extensive and lasting attacks upon Davis. In one of these insults -- a letter embossed with an American eagle crushing "Secession" and holding proudly in its beak a U.S. banner announcing "Death to Traitors" -- a New Yorker wrote: "Jeff Davis you rebel traitor here is the beauty of America one of the greatest treasures that ever waved over your sinful head. Now I want you to look at this motto and think of me for -- say death to cession [sic] and death to all traitors to their country and these are my sentiments exactly. Yours not with respect for I can never respect a traitor to his Country a cursed traitor." The same view of Davis as being "among the archtraitors in our annals" was expressed just as emphatically years later by Theodore Roosevelt and Harvard University Professor Albert T. Perkins. Davis became, and remained to Northerners, the quintessential wrongdoer. Later generations of liberal progressives would consider him an American Hitler. Immediately after the War for Southern Independence Yankee authorities put Davis in jail and left him there for two years without a trial, while they tried to implicate him in the assassination of Lincoln, alleged cruelty to Federal prisoners, and treason itself. Though never brought to trial or convicted of any crime, Davis received abundant abuse in the Yankee press and on the podium. During and after the war the New York Times depicted him as a murderer, a cruel slaveowner whose servants ran away, a liar, a boaster, a fanatic, a confessed failure, a hater, a political adventurer, a supporter of outcasts and outlaws, a drunkard, an atrocious misrepresenter, an assassin, an incendiary, a criminal who was gratified by the assassination of Lincoln, a henpecked husband, a man so shameless that he would try to escape capture by disguising himself as a woman, a supporter of murder plots, an insubordinate soldier, an unwholesome sleeper, and a mean-spirited malingerer. Anti-Davis sentiment was more than mere newspaper talk. Following the war the citizens of Sacramento, California, true to their vigilante tradition, hanged Davis in effigy. A few months later the Kansas Senate passed a resolution to hang him in person. More than ten years after the war ended, widespread opposition prevented him from speaking anywhere in the North. In 1876 a Yankee newspaper editor answered the question, should Davis be given amnesty, with a resounding "no," and in 1880 a man who cheered for Jefferson Davis in Madison, Indiana, was shot. "Malice and slander have exhausted their power against you," a Southerner tried to assure the continually criticized Confederate President. At the end of the nineteenth century an observer noted: "I believe there never was a time when a whole people were more willing to punish one man than were the people of the North to punish Mr. Davis for his alleged crimes." Twenty years after Davis's death, handbills accusing him in Lincoln's assassination still circulated, and the New York Times published an editorial denouncing plans for a Southerner to donate for use on the new battleship Mississippi a silver service with the likeness of Jefferson Davis etched on each piece. More than a hundred years passed before the Congress of the United States officially forgave Davis for being President of the Confederacy. No other Confederate leader had to wait so long for either official or unofficial exoneration. By the early 1900s, Robert E. Lee, the greatest Yankee killer of all time, had become a national hero, absolved of his sins, and soon considered so harmless that the government allowed his picture to be hung on the walls of Southern public schools alongside those of Washington and Lincoln. When I was young a number of Southern schools were named in honor of Jefferson Davis, but since then most, if not all of those, have been forced to change their names to dishonor the Confederate President. Such efforts to disgrace him bothered even Southerners who were never his "particular friend." "I never believed he was a very great man, or even the best President the Confederate States might have had," wrote John S. Wise. "But he was our President. Whatever shortcomings he may have had, he was a brave, conscientious and loyal son of the South. He did his best, to the utmost of his ability, for the Southern cause. He, without being a whit worse than the rest of us, was made to suffer for us as was no other man in the Confederacy. And through it all he never, to the day of his death, failed to maintain the honor and the dignity of the trust confided to his keeping. It distresses me to this day," admitted Wise, "whenever I hear anybody speak disparagingly of this man, who was unquestionably devoted to the cause for which he lived and died, and who was infinitely greater than his traducers." Davis knew how much he was maligned. He rejected an invitation to visit the North in 1875, explaining "the tide of unreasoning prejudice against me, in your section, was too strong to be resisted." "Demagogues, who know better, have found it easier to inflame and keep alive the passions of the war by personifying the idea [that] I instigated and precipitated it." Yankees had even stronger reasons for damning Davis. He was, after all, a wholehearted supporter of those symbols of Southern wickedness that union military might had discredited -- slavery, states' rights, and secession. Davis had defended slavery; described the federal government as having "no inherent power, all it possesses was delegated by the States"; and he was equally emphatic on the legitimacy and necessity of secession. "The temper of the Black Republicans is not to give us our rights in the Union, or allow us to go peaceably out of it," he declared in January 1861. "If we had no other cause, this would be enough to justify secession, at whatever hazard." A few days later hereported to his old friend President Franklin Pierce: "Mississippi, not as a matter of choice but of necessity, has resolved to enter on the trial of secession. Those who have driven her to this alternative threaten to deprive her of the right to require that her government shall rest on the consent of the governed." The invidious comparisons made between Davis and Lincoln during and after the war by certain foreigners further embittered Northerners. For example, William Howard Russell's published diary contained this unflattering contrast: "[Davis] is certainly a very different looking man from Mr. Lincoln. He is like a gentleman." Or consider the remarks of Percy Greg whose "Tribute to Confederate Heroes" appeared in 1882. He praised Davis as having more "moral and intellectual powers" than any twenty Federal statesmen, and a man vastly superior in every way to "the 'rail-splitter'. . . whose term, had he died in his bed four or five years later, would have been remembered only as marking the nadir of American political decline; the culmination of vulgarity. Lincoln's uncleanness of language and thought," insisted Greg, "would hardly have been tolerated in a Southern 'bar.'" Perhaps even the contrast between the "gentlemanly" warfare advocated by Davis and the comprehensive destruction practiced by such terrorizers of civilians as Sherman and Sheridan embarrassed some Yankees. Davis believed that war should consist solely of combat between organized armies. He abhorred the killing of civilians and the destruction of private property during hostilities. Years after the war, when General Grant was dying of cancer, Davis wrote: "I have felt a human sympathy with him in his suffering, the more so because I think him so much better than the pillaging, house-burning, women persecuting Sherman and Sheridan." Judah P. Benjamin recalled that "when it was urged upon Jefferson Davis, not only by friends but by members of his Cabinet, that it was his duty to the people and to the army to repress outrages by retaliation, he was immovable in his resistance to such counsels, insisting that it was repugnant to every sentiment of justice and humanity that the innocent should be made victims for the crimes of such monsters." Davis proudly proclaimed after the war: "I am happy to remember that when our army invaded the enemy's country, their property was safe." What made Davis so distinct and so utterly intolerable to most Yankees was his refusal to admit any guilt or to apologize for his actions and the cause he led. He told veterans of the Army of Tennessee who came to Mississippi to honor him in 1878: "Your organization was appropriate to preserve the memories and cherished brotherhoods of your soldier life, and cannot be objectionable to any, unless it be to one who holds your services to have been in an unworthy cause and your conduct such as called for repentance and forgiveness." Davis reminded these old soldiers that they must maintain pride in their cause as well as in their soldierly conduct. "The veteran who shoulders his crutch to show how fields were won must notbe ashamed of the battle in which he was wounded," Davis affirmed. "To higher natures success is not the only test of merit; and you, my friends, though you were finally unsuccessful, have the least possible cause to regret the flag under which you marched or the manner in which you upheld it." Given this opportunity to explain his views to an understanding audience, Davis unburdened himself. "Every evil which has befallen our institutions is directly traceable to the perversion of the compact of union and the usurpation by the Federal Government of undelegated powers," he contended. "The events are too recent to require recapitulation, and the ruin they have wrought, the depravity they have developed, require no other memorial than the material and moral wreck which the country presents." Davis still believed in secession: My faith in that right as an inherent attribute of State sovereignty, was adopted early in life, was confirmed by study and observation of later years, and has passed, unchanged and unshaken, through the severe ordeal to which it has been subjected." He could express such views, he told his listeners, because he had no "desire for a political future." His only desire was to establish "the supremacy of the truths on which the union was founded." As for himself, he asserted, "I shall die, as I have lived, firm in the State rights faith." Throughout his remaining years, Davis reiterated these views in speeches, letters, and interviews. He told an appreciative audience of Southerners in 1882: "Our cause was so just, so sacred, that had I known all that has come to pass, had I known all that was to be inflicted upon me, all that my country was to suffer, all that our posterity was to endure, I would do it all over again. [Great applause.]" A year earlier Davis had written to a fellow Southerner: "Nothing fills me with deeper sadness than to see a Southern man apologizing for the defence we made of our inheritance & denying the great truths on which all our institutions were founded. To be crushed by superior force, to be robbed & insulted, were great misfortunes, but these could be borne while there still remained manhood to assert the truth, and a proud consciousness in the rectitude of our course. When I find myself reviled by Southern papers as one renewing 'dead issues,' the pain is not caused by the attack upon myself, but by its desecration of the memories of our Fathers & those of their descendants who staked in defence of their rights -- their lives, their property & their sacred honor. To deny the justice of their cause, to apologize for its defence, and denounce it as a dead issue, is to take the last of their stakes, that for which they were willing to surrender the other." A reporter who interviewed Davis a few years before he died discovered that the Confederate President's "heart [was] as warm as ever for the land he has loved so well," and that Davis "did not desert during the war and has not deserted since." His steadfastness, his refusal to desert his cause, made Davis particularly obnoxious to his enemies. He was so unlike those Southerners who after the war disassociated themselves from their past as quickly as did certain Germans after World War II and thus gained American forgiveness and patronage. Davis was just the opposite of his fellow Mississippian Confederate General James L. Alcorn, who announced shortly after the war: "You were right Yankee! We are and ever have been in the Union; secession was a nullity. We will now take the oath to support the Constitution and the laws of the United States." As proof of his sincerity, Alcorn became a Republican governor of Mississippi in 1869 and a Republican member of the U.S. Senate in 1871. He also recouped his wartime financial losses and increased his property holdings. Good Yankees approved of such "enlightened" new Southerners as Alcorn, who were "eager to keep step with the North in the onward march of the Solid Nation," as one man expressed it; they disapproved of Jefferson Davis and their newspapers castigated him as "unrepentant" and "the greatest enemy of the South." Davis still carries such encumbrances. Were he alive today, even the most skilled public relations firm would have difficulty packaging him for the market. He was too honest and too politically incorrect to be elected to public office, or even to have any future in higher education, that last refuge of scoundrels. Scarcely any university professor would want Davis as a colleague. He probably would be as unsuccessful today in business as he was after the war. I even doubt that he could have found employment as aradio talk-show host. He was too dignified and too proud to truckle. Yankees would have liked nothing better than to recast Jefferson Davis as a repentant sinner asking for forgiveness, but he refused to accommodate them. Instead, he assumed the burden of the lost cause, becoming the symbolic defender of not just the Confederacy and a proud Southern tradition, but of its people, their culture, and what Yankees judge to be their unforgivable past. Jefferson Davis is, and should be, our greatest hero. Like no other, he withstood criticism and denigration without kowtowing or wavering. Asking for no pardon, he refused to denounce his people or his cause. His image ought to be everywhere to remind us that for more than a hundred years he has symbolized our courage, our pride, and our unity. In 1882, a year after the publication of his two-volume defense of himself and the Confederate cause, Davis advocated what Yankees considered totally unforgivable -- a history of the South written by and for Southerners. "I would have our children's children to know not only that our cause was just," he told members of the Southern Historical Society, "but to have them know that the men who sustained it were worthy of the cause for which they fought." Davis, full of hope and passion, outlined in this remarkable address, just what he believed history ought to be and how it should be used. "It is our duty to keep the memory of our heroes green," he announced. "We want our side of the war so fully and exactly stated, that the men who come after us may compare and do [us] justice." Davis did not call for objectivity. "I will frankly acknowledge that I would distrust the man who served the Confederate cause and was capable of giving a disinterested account of it. [Applause.]" "I would not give twopence for a man whose heart was so cold that he could be quite impartial," admitted Davis. "You may ask the schoolboy in the lowest form, who commanded at the Pass of Thermopylae. He can tell you. But my friends there are few in this audience who, if I ask them, could tell me who commanded at Sabine Pass. And yet," said Davis, "that battle of Sabine Pass was more remarkable than the battle of Thermopylae, and when it has orators and poets to celebrate it, will be so esteemed by mankind. His appeal for orators and poets to preserve the deeds of heroic Southerners reveals that Davis understood the South's heritage. Southerners, like their Celtic ancestors, were oral and aural people who perpetuated much of their past in stories and songs. Davis compared the Confederacy's military heroes with their Scottish forebears: "May it not come to pass that in some hour of need, future generations, aware of the grandeur and the virtues of these men, will in a moment of disaster cry out like the ancient Scot: O for an hour of Wallace wight, Or well-trained Bruce To lead the fight, And cry St. Andrew and our right." History, Davis believed, must inspire those who learn it. "Let the rising generation learn what their fathers did," he implored, "and let them learn the still better lesson to emulate not only the deeds, but the motives which prompted them. May God grant that sons ever greater than their fathers may rise whenever their country needs them to defence her cause. [Applause.]" The kind of history that Davis advocated was unacceptable to Yankees. First, it was incompatible with the so-called scientific history taught in German seminars and in the later nineteenth century being popularized in the United States by Yankee professors. As adapted for Americans, this history stressed the evolution of New England institutions and how they contributed to the greatness of the United States. There was no place in such history for either the bard or the poet upon whom Davis relied to celebrate Southern values and heroes. Second, a history of the South that revered Southerners and their values rather than Northerners and their values would undermine all that the war had decided. To the victor went the power to write the history that justified the victory. It was that simple. British history is really English history imposed upon the non-English peoples of the British Isles by their English conquerors. The same may be said of the history of the United States. What passes for standard American history is Yankee history written by New Englanders or their puppets to glorify Yankee ideals and heroes. In the twentieth century, Yankees gained increasing control over the historical journals, the university presses, the commercial publishing houses, and the production and distribution of professional historians; consequently, the Yankee version of the American past became the history most often taught in the colleges and in the public schools. It is precisely this condition that Mississippian Dunbar Rowland first complained about eighty years ago. "It seems to be admitted on all sides that the people of the South are neglecting the teaching of Southern History in all our institutions," he informed the governor. "That we are neglecting this important field of instruction is made evident by the astonishing amount of ignorance of Southern and State history among the rising generation of college students. Something should be done to enlighten them." Part of the problem has been that the professors who taught the South's teachers adopted the "New South" doctrine of national unity as readily as Southern businessmen. North Carolina educator Robert Bingham announced in 1884 that "the greatest blessing that ever befell us was a failure to establish a [Southern] nationalism." Bingham boasted that "the past of the South is irrevocable, and we do not wish to recall it. The past of the South is irreparable, and we do not wish to repair it." Yet this teaching of Yankee ideas and biases in Southern public schools, which Francis Butler Simkins labeled "the education that does not educate," often has been offset "by the survival of overwhelming traditions." Robert Penn Warren testified that his sympathetic view of Confederate history was obtained not from the schoolroom, but rather "from the air around me." If today the South's air is still full of Confederate history, the bookshelves are not. Yankees now control the writing, publishing, and marketing of most books on the South's history and culture. Yankee professors and Southerners who think like Yankees have taken over most Southern colleges and universities. Southerners who believe in the traditions that Jefferson Davis appreciated are finding themselves unemployable, denied careers in higher education by national forces that systematically discriminate against them. Only Yankees and Scalawags who truckle to the enemies of Southern history and culture get important jobs where they have the opportunity to train college teachers. Most Southerners are relegated to academic Siberia where they receive low pay, scant research opportunities, and rarely see gifted students. Something not yet fully understood, but that could destroy our culture, has occurred during the more than forty years that I have been a college professor. Discrimination against Southerners has always existed, but today in education it is rampant. Trying to find jobs for young Southerners is difficult in a market that favors political correctness and disdains Southerners. No university, not even one in the South, wants to hire a native son, especially one who appreciates Southern traditions. Not only has Jefferson Davis remained unforgiven by his enemies; so have the Southerners who came after him. We are being reduced to the status once imposed on our Celtic relatives -- the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish -- by their English neighbors. God help us! ____ Dr. McWhiney holds an endowed chair in Southern history at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, and is the author of a number of books, including Attack & Die and Cracker Culture: Celtic Ways in the Old South. This address was given in conjunction with the national meeting in Nashville at the Jefferson Davis birthday celebration in Centennial Park, 3 June 1995. To unsubscribe to the MOM list send an email to mom-l-unsubscribe @mailman.montana.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.788 / Virus Database: 533 - Release Date: 11/1/04 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:29:03 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:29:03 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] A ray of hope & an invitation Message-ID: Oops!: A ray of hope & an invitation Hi Friends: I forgot to mention the time for the event. Here is the complete info: Monday, December 6, 2004 6:00 - 8:30 PM Dinner/Fundraiser at Cafe Flora for the NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE 2901 E. Madison St. Seattle Please RSVP by return e-mail to me, and to Shannon Turner-Covell at peaceshannon at earthlink.net. Or call Shannon at 425-485-0145. {:{)} David Foecke Dear Friends: Does it sometimes seem like the march towards global U.S. Empire, led by the violence of war, is now inevitable? Does it sometimes seem like there are no viable alternatives? If we REALLY said NO to war, what could we say YES to? I invite you on December 6 to an evening of hope, inspiration (and good food) at Cafe Flora to meet the EXTRAORDINARY folks from the GLOBAL NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE. The PEACEFORCE is truly global, with representatives from every continent. The PEACEFORCE governance is dominated by Third World peoples. The PEACEFORCE is built on decades of experience with nonviolent intervention all over the globe. The PEACEFORCE on the ground, NOW, having an impact in their first pilot project in Sri Lanka. I can't put into words my enthusiasm for this organization. Okay, here, I'll try: WHEN YOUR OR YOUR FRIENDS' GRANDCHILDREN ASK HOW THE WORLD TURNED AWAY FROM WAR, YOU WILL WANT TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT YOU WERE IN, FROM THE EARLY DAYS, AS A SUPPORTER OF THE NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE. So, here's your opportunity: Monday, December 6, 2004 Dinner/Fundraiser at Cafe Flora for the NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE 2901 E. Madison St. Seattle SPECIAL GUEST: Claudia Samayoa, Guatemalan human rights activist, Co-Chair of the International Governing Council of the Nonviolent Peaceforce. Every dollar raised at this event will generate two dollars of match, up to $50,000. Please RSVP by return e-mail to me, and to Shannon Turner-Covell at peaceshannon at earthlink.net. Or call Shannon at 425-485-0145. FEEL FREE TO FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO ANY OF YOUR FRIENDS. {:{)} David Foecke P.S. You can also check out the PEACEFORCE at www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:30:18 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:30:18 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Privacy Experts Shun Black Boxes Message-ID: Privacy Experts Shun Black Boxes Friday, September 10, 2004 By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos WASHINGTON - Some safety and privacy experts are reacting with apprehension, others with all out condemnation over a recent ruling by the National Transportation Safety Board (search) to require electronic data recorders or "black boxes" in all new cars manufactured in the United States. "I take offense that this personal property of individuals is now being designed by the federal government," said Jim Harper, privacy attorney and editor of Privacilla.org. Black boxes (search), or "EDRs" have been fitted into every General Motors car in its 2004 line and is in a number of Ford models - about 15 percent of all vehicles on the road today, according to road safety experts. EDRs are certainly not new. Information gathered on black boxes - typically everything from speed, brake pressure, seat belt use and air bag deployment - has already been used in determining guilt in criminal and civil cases across the country. Proponents, including the NTSB and road safety advocates, say the data collected on these black boxes is valuable for studying how accidents happen and how to make roads and cars safer. EDR data has been used for years to fine tune air bag efficiency. "We think for understanding the dynamics of crashes, the information here can be very, very helpful," said Lon Anderson, director of AAA Mid-Atlantic (search). On the other hand, Anderson said, "We think it would be very wrong if the data in these boxes was deemed to be public information, open to anybody and the owner had no say over it." The NTSB recommended in early August that black boxes be mandated, but critics say dealers are not now required to alert car owners that their car has the ability to collect the information. Currently only California has a law requiring car dealers to notify buyers when their cars are outfitted with an EDR. Owners also have no legal protections to keep them from being forced to hand over that information to another party if a court order demanded it. "I think (owners) have to be told of whatever data there is - and what is being retained longterm. What are the storage conditions? Will they keep it confidential or will they have to release information to anybody?" said professor John Soma, director of the Privacy Center (search) at Denver University. "Without all of these concerns written into it, then obviously the recommendation is completely unacceptable," he said. According to Joe Osterman, director of highway safety at the NTSB, the recommendation was inspired in part by a tragic auto accident involving a 86-year-old man who drove his car into a crowded Santa Monica farmers' market last summer, killing 10 and injuring 63. Osterman said a black box in the car might have not saved the people in the crash, but would have allowed investigators to find out how it happened and how cars could be better designed to reduce the likelihood of greater injury in the future. "We have a long history of using data recorders in other modes of transportation and found them extremely useful," Osterman told FOXNews.com, pointing to aircraft. "Unless we have all vehicles equipped, you will not have a true picture of what is happening on the highways, in a broader sense." Phil Haseline, president of the Automobile Coalition for Traffic Safety (search), which represents car manufacturers, said automakers are still debating the value of EDRs, and the idea of requiring them. Haseline said he is a proponent of black boxes but has certain reservations about the NTSB's recommendation. He, like others, said he would like to first see standardization of the type of data collected in the black boxes, much like a recommendation made in June by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (search). Right now, dueling technologies record different things. Then, Haseline said, he would prefer that laws address the issue of a car owner's knowledge of the EDRs in their vehicles, and that car owners have ownership of the data once its recorded. "I can understand [NTSB's desire] to have this information, but from a practical perspective, it is premature at this point to require it," he said. While privacy experts say jokes like "'big brother' is riding shotgun" aren't funny, the technology already is being used to monitor certain drivers. Global positioning systems are being used by car rental companies to track where renters are going and how fast they are driving. GPS also allows rental car companies to shut off the engine of a car and lock a renter out of it. It's the same technology used by OnStar, which promises to be a guardian angel for car owners who are locked out or report a vehicle stolen. Parents of teenagers have also begun to use black boxes marketed by Road Safety International (search) in Thousand Oaks, Calif. This item, which can be placed under the hood, is able to track the driver's use of a seatbelt, excessive speed, hard cornering, braking and even unsafe backing, and can store hours of information for review later. Privacy experts warn that once cars are outfitted for the most limited data recording, the government will find a way to argue it's for drivers' "own good" to collect more. They point to a push in recent years to install GPS in all cars so that emergency officials can easily find incapacitated accident victims. "When you are telling someone it is for their own good, then it should be their own choice, they should be able to say 'no,'" said professor Yale Kamisar of the University of Michigan Law School. "None of these things work out the way they are supposed to. Why should we believe all of these assurances when they haven't been honored in the past?" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: foxnews_story.gif Type: image/gif Size: 346 bytes Desc: not available URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Wed Nov 10 21:44:52 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 21:44:52 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] America's number one singing terrorist awarded peace prize Message-ID: <20041111054452.77935.qmail@web13607.mail.yahoo.com> Yusuf Islam awarded peace prize AP in Rome Thursday November 11, 2004 The Guardian www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1348085,00.html The singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, branded by the US as a potential terrorist risk, was awarded a peace prize in Rome yesterday for his humanitarian work. Mikhail Gorbachev presented Yusuf Islam with the "man for peace" award at a meeting of Nobel peace laureates. The former Soviet leader praised him for standing by his convictions. In September, the singer turned up on Washington's no-fly list for having suspected ties to terrorists, a claim he has called ludicrous. The singer, who largely gave up music after converting to Islam in the 1970s, said: "Perhaps it's part of the irony that sometimes you have to go through a test in order to achieve a prize." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 09:43:50 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:43:50 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] The Worst Environmental President in U.S. History Message-ID: <20041111174350.51249.qmail@web13626.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/103004G.shtml The Worst Environmental President in U.S. History By Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Orlando Sentinel Wednesday 27 October 2004 For 20 years as an environmental activist, I've been careful about being bipartisan; there's no such thing as Democratic or Republican children and it would be tragic if the environment becomes the province of one political party. But you can't speak honestly about the environment without speaking critically about this president. George W. Bush is the worst environmental president in American history. In three-and-a-half years, this White House has promoted more than 400 major environmental rollbacks intended to eviscerate 35 years of environmental law. The White House uses crafty stealth tactics to mask its radical agenda from the American people - including Orwellian rhetoric; when it turns our national forests over to the timber industry, the administration calls it the "Healthy Forests Act;" and when it dismantles our clean air laws, it is called "Clear Skies." Most insidiously, the administration put polluters in charge of the agencies that are supposed to protect Americans from pollution - a famously rapacious timber industry lobbyist now runs the forest service. Our public lands are administered by a mining-industry lobbyist who believes that public lands are unconstitutional. A utility lobbyist runs the EPA's air division. To run Superfund, President Bush appointed a woman whose last job was advising polluters how to evade Superfund, and he named a Monsanto lobbyist as second in command of the EPA. The pattern holds throughout the myriad regulatory agencies in the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Justice and the EPA, where industry lobbyists now run the very agencies charged with regulating their industries. These individuals have not entered public service for the public interest, but specifically to subvert the very laws they are now charged with enforcing. Under their management, Superfund has gone bankrupt, America's waterways have gotten more polluted for the first time since 1970, the Dead Zone in Lake Erie is growing again, and acid rain is increasing. Three weeks ago, the EPA announced that in 19 states, including Florida, all freshwater fish are now unsafe to eat regularly due to mercury contamination. In 48 states, at least some water bodies are similarly contaminated. The mercury comes mostly from 1,100 antiquated coal-burning power plants that could remove it cheaply and easily. One of every six American women carries so much mercury in her womb that her children are at risk for a grim inventory of diseases - autism, blindness, brain damage, heart, lung and liver disease. My own mercury levels, tested recently, are so high - just from eating fish - that I've been told by a national authority on mercury contamination that children born to a woman with similar concentrations would suffer permanent IQ losses of over five points. Today, 630,000 American children are born every year having been exposed to dangerous levels of mercury in their mothers' wombs. Recognizing its grave threat to our nation's health, president Bill Clinton reclassified mercury as a hazardous pollutant under the Clean Air Act, triggering a requirement that those plants remove 90 percent of their mercury discharges within three-and-a-half years - an effort that would have cleaned up America's water bodies and cost a miniscule 1 percent of plant revenues. But this industry donated more than $100 million to this President and the Republican Party since 2000; and to return the favor, eight weeks ago, the White House announced it would scrap the Clinton EPA regulations and substituted instead regulations, written by utility lobbyists, that include loopholes designed to allow the industry to never have to clean up its mercury. The White House has ordered the Justice Department and EPA to drop dozens of lawsuits against deadly pollution by coal-burning utilities and giant industrial hog farms. Similarly, the White House has revised the Clean Air Act to allow coal-burning plants to discharge asthma-causing ozone and particulates that were supposed to have been removed 15 years ago. That decision, according to the EPA, kills 24,000 Americans - up to eight times the number killed by the World Trade Center attacks - every year. It has opened millions of acres of public lands and national forests to destructive developers and smashed the Clean Water Act as a favor to mountaintop mining conglomerates who will now flatten an area of the Appalachians the size of Delaware. While waging an ineffective war against foreign terrorists, the administration has allowed its industry cronies to poison America's air and waterways and to plunder our public lands. If a foreign nation committed these crimes, we would consider it an act of war, yet the White House is allowing these assaults on our national security by its corporate contributors, which include the worst polluters in America. --------------------------------- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is senior attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council and author of 'Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy.' He wrote this commentary for the Orlando Sentinel. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 10:17:03 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 10:17:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] IMPORTANT: Ancient Forests, Salmon, Endangered Species Act Face Congressional Threat Next Week Message-ID: <20041111181703.95800.qmail@web13606.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/index.php BODY, P, TD, TD P, TD UL, TD BLOCKQUOTE, BLOCKQUOTE { color: black; font-family: Verdana, "Trebuchet MS" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt}A:link { color: #003366 }A:visited { color: #003366 }A:active { color: #0000FF }.bodybold { font-weight: bold} /* this is for making body text bold */.bodybold10px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 10px} /* this is for making body text bold at 10px */.bodybold11px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px} /* this is for making body text bold at 11px */.bodybold12px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px} /* this is for making body text bold at 12px */.bodybold13px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 13px}.bodybold14px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px}.bodybold15px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 15px}.body8px { font-size: 8px} /* this is for making body text smaller */.body9px { font-size: 9px} /* this is for making body text smaller */.body10px { font-size: 10px} /* this is for making body text smaller */.body11px { font-size: 11px} /* this is for making body text smaller *.body12px { font-size: 12px} /* this is for making body text smaller */.body14px { font-size: 14px} /* this is for making body text smaller */.body16px { font-size: 16px} /* this is for making body text smaller */.body18px { font-size: 18px} /* this is for making body text smaller */.bodyunderline { text-decoration: underline}.bodyitalic { font-style: italic}.none {list-style-type: none}.titleitalic { font-weight: bold; font-style: italic}.titlebold { font-weight: bold} /* this is for making title text bold */.titlebold10px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 10px}.titlebold11px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px}.titlebold12px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px}.titlebold13px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 13px}.titlebold14px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px}.titlebold15px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 15px}.titlebold16px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px}.titlebold17px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 17px}.titlebold18px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px}.titlebold19px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 19px}.titlebold20px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 20px}.titlebold21px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 21px}.titlebold22px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 22px}.titlebold23px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 23px}.titlebold24px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 24px}.titlebold25px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 25px}.titlebold26px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 26px}.titlebold27px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 27px}.titlebold28px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 28px}.titlebold29px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 29px}.titlebold30px { font-weight: bold; font-size: 30px}.flashtitle { font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px} /* Used for Advocacy Campaign titles */.monospace { font-family: Courier, monospace;}/* monospace fonts for input forms */.roll { text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; color: black }/* rolling links */a.roll:hover { text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; color: D10000 } --------------------------------- Tell a friend about BushGreenwatch .............................. Sign a Petition Help protect America's forests along with SaveOurEnvironment.org. .............................. Take Action Call and fax members of Congress. For contact numbers and information on what to say go to the American Lands Alliance. .............................. November 11, 2004 | Back Issues Ancient Forests, Salmon, Endangered Species Act Face Congressional Threat Next Week When Congress returns next Monday, there is a strong chance that the Interior Department appropriations bill will be rolled into a huge omnibus spending bill. There is an equally strong chance that an unprecedented logging provision will be included in that bill--a provision which will override a current judicial proceeding and give the green light to the largest timber sale on America's public lands in modern history. Senator Gordon Smith, an Oregon Republican, has announced plans to attach a rider to the omnibus bill that will override all environmental laws and prohibit any judicial review for a post-fire logging project on the Siskiyou National Forest in southern Oregon. [1] This would allow logging on ancient forest and roadless areas of up to 370,000,000 board feet of timber in a 20,000-acre area--enough trees to fill 74,000 log trucks. Citizens would have no right to appeal through the courts. Also known as the Biscuit Project, such logging would endanger roadless areas, ancient forest reserves, wild and scenic rivers and salmon runs in the Siskiyou Wild and Scenic Rivers Area. Federal agencies such as the EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as independent scientific experts, have said Sen. Smith's rider will likely increase fire risks in the area for up to 30 years. It would also retard the regeneration of old-growth forests. Sediment flowing into streams will choke fish spawning areas. As much as 40 percent of the units mapped for logging contain live trees. Independent analysts have found that the logging project would cost taxpayers over $40 million, mainly on roadbuilding for timber industry trucks. The Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area is one of the best remaining refuges for wild native salmon and steelhead left on the Pacific coast. The rivers and streams at risk support 27 runs for Coho salmon, spring and fall Chinook salmon, winter and summer steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, green sturgeon, white sturgeon and Pacific lamprey. The Smith rider, and the omnibus bill, appear likely to face Senate action next week. There are also reports that California developers are working to sneak in a rider that would seriously weaken the Endangered Species Act. [To our subscribers: this is the first of a periodic series of BushGreenwatch reports. We will be developing a formal schedule soon, and will keep you posted. Thank you.] ### TAKE ACTION Call and fax members of Congress. For contact numbers and information on what to say go to the American Lands Alliance. ### SOURCES: [1] BushGreenwatch, Jul. 7, 2004. --------------------------------- Spread the Word | Back Issues --------------------------------- BushGreenwatch | 1320 18th Street NW 5th Floor Washington, DC 20036 | (202) 463-6670 Web site comments: info at bushgreenwatch.org Copyright 2003 Environmental Media Services --------------------------------- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:33:17 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:33:17 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Afghan women offer to replace UN hostages Message-ID: Another interesting article from Al Jazeera and again interesting comments at the end from readers... =========== Afghan women offer to replace UN hostages 11/11/2004 4:45:00 PM GMT Afghan women, who are willing to replace the UN hostages, gathered in Kabul Nov. 11, 2004. FROM: http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=5406 A group of 20 Afghan women offered on Thursday to replace the three UN employees held hostage in Afghanistan for the past two weeks. The women -- among them housewives, journalists, government officials and an army general -- said that they are ready to give up their lives to secure the release of the hostages, two of whom are women. The three election workers, Annetta Flanigan from Northern Ireland, Shqipe Habibi from Kosovo, and Angelito Nayan, a diplomat from the Philippines, were seized from their vehicle in Kabul on October 28. Magazine editor Gulalai Habib said that she decided to take the decision after seeing a videotape of the frightened women hostages, Annetta Flanigan and Shqipe Hebibi, broadcasted on Arabic Al Jazeera TV. "We don't want our country to become a frightened country and a country of rebels which has a bad name in history," she said. "We hope that the hostage-takers behave like men and give us their address," she added. "We are ready to go to meet them to become their hostages and to let them cut off our heads if they want. We hope they release the hostages." Another woman, a former Kabul Television announcer who edits in a magazine, said that five Afghan women had initially offered to replace the hostages. "But when other women heard about the group, others came and said 'we are with you'," said Jamila Mujaheed. "I think the pride we have in our history about our hospitality has been proven by these women today." She added. The women are the latest Afghan citizens who offer to replace the hostages. Over the weekend, a group of four male journalists offered the same offer. Many educated Afghans have been shocked by the kidnapping of the hostages, who were helping in the country's first direct presidential election on Oct. 9. The captors have repeatedly extended a deadline after which they said they would decide whether to execute the hostages. Their initial demands included the withdrawal of British forces and UN agencies from Afghanistan and the release of all Taliban detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But now they just want the release of 26 Taliban detainees in exchange for the UN hostages. On Wednesday, the kidnappers said that the government agreed to release the detainees, but Afghan officials didn't confirm and a senior U.S. official said that a deal would encourage hostage taking. The kidnapping have raised fears among the 2,000-strong Western community in Afghanistan that the captors have started emulating the tactics of rebels in Iraq. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:36:47 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:36:47 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: We've Been Had Message-ID: We've Been Had by Edgar J. Steele November 8, 2004 "It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity and incumbency." --George W. Bush, June 14, 2001, speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Perrson, unaware that a live television camera was still rolling "You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays, everybody's crazy." -- Charles Manson, serial killer and one-time cult leader I'm glad that Kerry lost. However, I am horrified that Bush won. Or did he? We get the government we deserve, it is said. What, exactly, did I do to deserve this? And I'm a conservative, too. Imagine how the liberals must feel. For every person I know who voted for Bush, I know four who voted for Kerry or a third-party candidate, not to mention another six who didn't vote at all! But, then, I run in some unusual circles. Even so... The Zogby Polls, which usually are pretty accurate, had Kerry winning a clear majority, not just a plurality, and sweeping the Electoral College. Exit polls, which are even more accurate, had Kerry winning going away, especially in the key "Battleground States" of Ohio and Florida, both of which inexplicably ended up in Bush's column at the end. I noticed that, for once, none of the network anchors really discussed either type of poll, though CNN has been accused of jiggering its report of exit poll results. In an excuse switch reminiscent of Iraq being blamed for possessing weapons of mass destruction, suddenly the blame for the voting-booth conversion to Bush is being placed upon the desire of the common man to stamp out homosexual marriage. As comedienne Judy Tenuta likes to say: "It could happen!" Yeah...right. Dick Morris, ex Clinton political consultant, wrote an article for The Hill, read by a great many Washington insiders, in which he said, "This was no mere mistake. Exit polls cannot be as wrong across the board as they were on election night." Yes, I called for Bush's ouster well over a year ago (IMPEACH BUSH NOW and Bush Must Go!), but I'm still pretty much a conservative. Aside from the lunatic-fringe Christian fundamentalist/dispensationalists, many conservatives started talking about Bush that way at about the same time. That's just paleoconservatives, however; we who predate neoconservatives, those who are but old liberal whine in new battles. That's why you should listen to my ilk more closely than the liberals who just upped their intake of Prozac, alcohol and a variety of other reality-altering substances. They would be railing against anything Republican or conservative just now. People like myself are a different matter altogether. And there are a lot of us. Which is why Bush's victory quite simply does not pass the smell test. It seems clear to me that Bush didn't win fairly. I think Kerry actually won the election and allowed Bush to steal it. In retrospect, it appears to me that Al Gore did the same thing, albeit less abjectly than did Kerry. But, this time Bush got caught with his hand in the ballot box. I've just had a heel-of-the-hand-forehead-thumping "aha" experience. How could I, of all people, have missed something so obvious? Yes, I have noted rampant vote fraud in the past and expected it this time, as well. I have witnessed it first hand at the local level. I have read many credible reports from others at all levels, concerning past vote fraud. Yet, I did not believe it was so blatant...so massive as what obviously just occurred. How could I possibly expect others to see it now if I didn't see it coming? How could I be so...dumb? Now comes the hard part: How do we make clear that free elections in America were a thing of the past as long as four years ago? It's a good thing that Kerry won't be in the Oval Office; but, another four years like we just had? America won't make it. On the other hand, that could turn out to be the good news, I suppose, for survivors of what America is about to become. Bad as Kerry would have been, he would have been gridlocked by the Republican Congress. None of that for Bush, though, who has presided over the biggest runup in deficits and most criminal war that America has ever seen. Kerry could never have obtained the blank check for war that Congress handed to Bush - and will again. Expect the upcoming mid-term election in 2002 to produce more of the same miraculous Republican victories and give Bush the 60-Republican Senate edge that he needs to advance any legislation without danger of Democrat filibuster. The smell left over from Election Day is bad enough, all by itself, but there is evidence, lots of evidence, of vote fraud on a scale not seen since the heydays of Communist Russia. Next we will see ballots with only one name appearing in each slot (given our "choice" of candidates, we essentially got there years ago, however). How on earth did despicable Democrat Tom Daschle get beaten? Mind you, the only Senators I would be more pleased to see go are Hillary, Feinstein and the execrable Charles Schumer, but it seems extremely unlikely that Daschle's constituents would have voted him out of office in a fair election. Is it just coincidence that Daschle has been a particularly nettlesome thorn in George W. Bush's side for the past four years? The problems in Ohio on election day are starkly outlined by attorney Ray Beckerman in his Basic Report from Columbus: "Touch screen voting machines in Youngstown OH were registering "George W. Bush" when people pressed "John F. Kerry" ALL DAY LONG." One precinct in suburban Columbus reported that nearly 4,000 votes were "accidentally" credited to Bush. Mr. Beckerman also reports that lines in predominantly-Democratic precincts were 5-10 hours in length, versus near nonexistent in Republican strongholds, for the simple reason that precincts expected to line up in the Republican column had five times as many voting machines as others. Beckerman outlines a number of other irregularities in one of this election's two key "battleground" states, the one that gave the election to Bush, just as Florida did four years ago with a healthy assist from the US Supreme Court. Is all of this simply coincidental in an election where the disputed votes decided the outcome? The other key battleground state, Florida, reported similar problems: "(S)everal dozen voters in six states - particularly Democrats in Florida - who said the wrong candidates appeared on their touch-screen machine's checkout screen...In many cases, voters said they intended to select John Kerry but when the computer asked them to verify the choice it showed them instead opting for President Bush..." (Globe and Mail, 11/3/04). More coincidence? But, the machines don't have to be obviously in error to be rigged. Ronnie Dugger, in How They Could Steal the Election This Time, several months ago described the November 2004 election machinery: "36 million (votes) will be tabulated completely inside the new paperless, direct-recording-electronic (DRE) voting systems, on which you vote directly on a touch-screen...you get no paper record of your vote...you never know, despite what the touch-screen says, whether the computer is counting your vote as you think you are casting it or, either by error or fraud, it is giving it to another candidate. No one can tell what a computer does inside itself by looking at it; an election official 'can't watch the bits inside,' says Dr. Peter Neumann, the principal scientist at the Computer Science Laboratory of SRI International and a world authority on computer-based risks...The four major election corporations count votes with voting-system source codes (which) are kept strictly secret..." Even if they aren't obviously in error or secretly rigged, these new machines can still have their tabulations changed, with nobody the wiser. One of my favorite Internet columnists, Devvy Kidd, two weeks ago predicted "monstrous problems that will make Florida 2000 pale in comparison." Quoting from the December 1996 issue of Cincinnatus News Service, a vote fraud newsletter, Devvy went on to note, "The missing link in the vote fraud investigation has been found. The November 1996 issue of Relevance Magazine reveals that two-way hidden modems are being built into the ever growing number of computerized optical scanner/direct recording voting machines in use all across the country from New England to California...these hidden modems are accessible by remote cell phone technology...these voting machines can be accessed and manipulated from a central super computer without a phone line connected to the wall, and without the local precinct workers knowing that anything is happening at all." I wonder why Dan Rather didn't tell us about this? Just look at all the "user login" notations in this rare audit log from Washington State's King County, where a number of voting tabulation irregularities are now under investigation. No notation is made, of course, of what those anonymous users did, once logged into the database. Go here for an interesting report and speculation about how and by whom the voting machines are being hacked - particularly, note the Republican connection through an attorney. Diebold, Inc., is one of the country's biggest suppliers of paperless, touch-screen voting machines. Diebold's CEO, Walter O'Dell, wrote a letter four months ago soliciting major-league campaign contributions for Bush, in which he said, "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." Diebold is based in Canton, Ohio. Coincidence? Convinced yet? I am. This year apparently wasn't the first to see this new technology exploited, either. In "The Stolen Election of 2004: Welcome Back to Hell," Larry Chin reports on touch-screen "black-box" voting: "The technology had a trial run in the 2002 mid-term elections. In Georgia, serviced by new Diebold systems, a popular Democratic governor and senator were both unseated in what the media called 'amazing' upsets, with results showing vote swings of up to 16 percent from the last pre-ballot polls. In computerized Minnesota, former Vice President Walter Mondale - a replacement for popular incumbent Paul Wellstone, who died in a plane crash days before the vote - was also defeated in a large last-second vote swing. Convenient 'glitches' in Florida saw an untold number of votes intended for the Democratic candidate registering instead for Governor Jeb 'L'il Brother' Bush." More coincidence, do you suppose? Now pay particularly close attention to the very next sentence from Mr. Chin's article: "A Florida Democrat who lost a similarly 'glitched' local election went to court to have the computers examined - but the case was thrown out by a judge who ruled that the innards of America's voting machines are the 'trade secrets' of the private companies who make them." So, the legal system steps in and removes any chance of our being able to audit what these things do. Coincidence? And it's not just the touch-screen voting machines that are susceptible. CommonDreams.org's Thom Hartmann notes that "(I)n Florida's smaller counties the results from the optically scanned paper ballots - fed into a central tabulator PC and thus vulnerable to hacking - seem to have been reversed" (Evidence Mounts that the Vote was Hacked, Rense.com). Mr. Hartman's analysis shows that Florida would have gone to Kerry, had those small-county anomalies been more consistent with actual party affiliation registration by voters. Do you believe in coincidence? Did all those rural Floridian Democrats really vote for Bush, do you suppose? Florida, alone, would have changed the outcome of the election. Also in Florida, the other key "battleground" state that was widely expected to go Kerry, the official election results of Palm Beach's (of 2000's "butterfly ballot" fame) disclosed that, while 454,427 people voted, 542,835 votes were tallied, a discrepancy of 88,000 votes. Shortly after this oddity was picked up and reported by The Washington Dispatch, officials inexplicably "found" over 91,000 additional absentee ballots which had, somehow, already been counted, thus balancing its own tally. More coincidence, I suppose. Americans seem to believe that the world thinks as we do; that, somehow, Bush is viewed favorably. He is not, as vividly demonstrated by England's Danny Dayus in his article, Don't Be American: "According to recent opinion polls, a majority of people in the USA actually believe that most of the world favoured the re-election of George W Bush as president - this despite several surveys that suggest that support for Kerry over Bush in the wider world was something between a 2:1 and 10:1 ratio." At left: George W. Bush in an increasingly typical pose. Talk about character. Can you imagine George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy or, even, Richard Nixon ever doing this publicly? Why is this man's obvious mental imbalance, intemperance and lack of propriety not apparent to every American? This is precisely the image of America now held by the rest of the world. This election was a foregone conclusion, as some noted beforehand. Greg Palast, Harper's editor who investigated American vote fraud on behalf of the British Broadcasting System, reported on November 1 that upwards of one million votes, expected to be cast overwhelmingly for Kerry, would not be counted "(B)ecause, in important states like Ohio, Florida and New Mexico, voter names have been systematically removed from the rolls and absentee ballots have been overlooked-overwhelmingly in minority areas..." More coincidence, of course. Houston, we have a problem. Many have taken me to task recently for advocating voting - just not voting for Democrats or Republicans - rather than pointedly not voting. In view of the massive and unprecedented vote fraud that now is apparent, my attitude concerning this is undergoing revision...and I'm leaning toward not voting. Of course, I'm having some other leanings, too - leanings that might get me put in jail, were I to share them with you. Look - the people apparently disenfranchised this time around primarily are those with whom I generally disagree, but it is the fundamental unfairness of what has taken place that most offends me, not to mention the path down which America now treads. If I really believed this election showed the true color of conservatism, I would join the liberals in a heartbeat and replace my "Nuke the Whales" bumper sticker with one that says "Save the Baby Seals." If this is what it means to be conservative today, I want to be liberal. New America. An idea whose time has come. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:43:17 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:43:17 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] | South African leaders launch urgent peace talks on a crisis, which threatens to destabilise West Africa Message-ID: Chaos in Ivory Coast: Several women were raped 01:56 2004-11-12 FROM: http://newsfromrussia.com/accidents/2004/11/12/57089.html French, US and British airliners help hundreds of foreigners to leave the Ivory Coast while South African leaders launch urgent peace talks on a crisis, which threatens to destabilise West Africa. Residents in the commercial capital, meanwhile, stared hopelessly at the burned-out wreckage of their shops and offices as a measure of calm returned to Abidjan after five days of anti-foreigner mob violence. France and other nations launched the evacuations on Wednesday. Convoys sent out by the US Embassy and other nations gathered foreigners from their homes while French soldiers in boats plucked some trapped citizens from the banks of Abidjan's lagoons. A French official has said between 4,000 to 8,000 of its 14,000 citizens wanted to leave, a number that alone would make it one of the largest evacuations of Africa's post-independence era, informs The Age. According to Reuters, a number of European women were raped during days of chaotic mob violence in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan, the French forces organising the evacuation of hundreds of foreigners said on Thursday. "It is confirmed. The facts have been checked and we won't make any comment because it is so serious," French army spokesman Henry Aussavy said. Foreigners awaiting evacuation at United Nations and French military bases in Abidjan said they had heard reports that at least three women, including one eastern European and one French national, had been raped during the chaos. "We gave our clothes to two women (at a U.N. base) ... They told us they had been raped," Annick Marcellesi, a 49-year-old French woman, told Reuters. "After 23 years in Ivory Coast, I have 60 kilograms of luggage and a dog," said a Belgian businessman as he boarded a plane to leave. French President Jacques Chirac has demanded President Gbago rein in his supporters who are blamed for the anti-foreigner violence. The northern half of the former French colony has been without electricity and running water since last week. It's believed authorities have cut power to rebel-held areas of the north, says CBC News. Homepage (as of NOV-01-2002): http://www.SeattleActivist.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:51:24 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:51:24 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: CHINA MAKES A BIG MOVE INTO Message-ID: www.MiddleEast.org CHINA MAKES A BIG MOVE INTO THE MIDDLE EAST China Rocks the Geopolitical Middle East Boat "The quantum leap of China into the Middle East and Caspian energy markets has become a fait accompli, no matter how disturbed its biggest trade partner, the US, over its geopolitical ramifications." MIDDLEEAST.ORG - MER - Washington - 10 November: As the Americans expend their power, their money, their blood, and their credibility -- the miserable siege of Falluja and Iraq but the latest example -- both Europe and China are on the march. Europe is more often discussed, but the Chinese have been taking important steps into Africa in recent years, and now they are doing so into the Middle East in a bigger way than ever via Iran. The world stage is becoming far more complicated far more quickly than is generally appreciated. With an economy expanding at an amazing 9% yearly, and in fact with considerable and growing leverage over the Americans economically and financially that is not usually discussed, China is positioning itself for the future And Iran, seriously now threatened by the U.S.-Israeli alliance, is working with China, as well as with Europe, to outflank the Americans and in the short-term to buy itself more crucial time to strengthen and to have at least a credible deterrent. With the U.S. and Israel determined to keep all combinations of regional powers from threatening their imperial dominance in the Middle East, the new involvements of both China and the Europeans are major developments sure to greatly affect the years ahead. ASIA TIMES - 6 November 2004: TEHRAN - Speaking of business as unusual. A mere two months ago, the news of a China-Kazakhstan pipeline agreement, worth US$3.5 billion, raised some eyebrows in the world press, some hinting that China's economic foreign policy may be on the verge of a new leap forward. A clue to the fact that such anticipation may have totally understated the case was last week's signing of a mega-gas deal between Beijing and Tehran worth $100 billion. Billed as the "deal of century" by various commentators, this agreement is likely to increase by another $50 billion to $100 billion, bringing the total close to $200 billion, when a similar oil agreement, currently being negotiated, is inked not too far from now. The gas deal entails the annual export of some 10 million tons of Iranian liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a 25-year period, as well as the participation, by China's state oil company, in such projects as exploration and drilling, petrochemical and gas industries, pipelines, services and the like. The export of LNG requires special cargo ships, however, and Iran is currently investing several billion dollars adding to its small LNG-equipped fleet. Still, per the admission of the head of the Iranian Tanker Co, Mohammad Souri, Iran needed to purchase another 87 vessels by 2010, in addition to the 10 already purchased, in order to fulfill the needs of its growing LNG market. Iran has an estimated 26.6-trillion-cubic-meter gas reservoir, the second-largest in the world, about half of which is in offshore zones and the other half onshore. It is perhaps too early to digest fully the various economic, political and even geostrategic implications of this stunning development, widely considered a major blow to the Bush administration's economic sanctions on Iran and particularly on Iran's energy sector, notwithstanding the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) penalizing foreign companies daring to invest more than $20 million in Iran's oil and gas industry. While it is unclear what the scope of China's direct investment in Iran's energy sector will turn out to be, it is fairly certain that China's participation in the Yad Avaran field alone will exceed the ILSA's ceiling; this field's oil reservoir is estimated to be 17 billion barrels and is capable of producing 300 to 400 barrels per day. And this is besides the giant South Pars field, which Iran shares with Qatar, alone possessing close to 8% of the world's gas reserves. To open a parenthesis here, until now Tehran has been complaining that Qatar has been outpacing Iran in exploiting its resource 6-1. In fact, Iran's unhappiness over Qatar's unbalanced access to the South Pars led to a discrete warning by Iran's deputy oil minister and, soon thereafter, Qatar complied with Iran's request for a joint "technical committee" that has yet to yield any result. For a United States increasingly pointing at China as the next biggest challenge to its Pax Americana, the Iran-China energy cooperation cannot but be interpreted as an ominous sign of emerging new trends in an area considered vital to US national interests. But, then again, this cuts both ways, that is, the deal should, logically speaking, stimulate others who may still consider Iran untrustworthy or too radical to enter into big projects on a long term basis. Iran's biggest foreign agreement prior to this gas agreement with China was a long-term $25 billion gas deal with Turkey, which has encountered snags, principally over the price, recently, compared with Iran's various trade agreements with Spain, Italy and others, typically with a life-span of five to seven years. Thus some Iranian officials are hopeful that the China deal can lead to a fundamental rethinking of the risks of doing business with Iran on the part of European countries, India, Japan, and even Russia. Concerning India, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran initially in 1993 for a 2,670-kilometer pipeline, with more than 700km traversing Pakistani territory, the Iran-China deal will undoubtedly give a greater push to New Delhi to follow Beijing's lead and thus make sure that the "peace pipeline" is finally implemented. The same applies, mutatis mutandis, to Russia, which has as of late been dragging its feet somewhat on Iran's nuclear reactor, bandwagoning with the US and Group of Eight (G8) countries on the thorny issue of Iran's uranium-enrichment program. The Russians must now factor in the possibility of being supplanted by China if they lose the confidence of Tehran and appear willing to trade favors with Washington over Iran. Russia's Gazprom may now finally set aside its stubborn resistance to the idea of entering major joint ventures with Iran. Iran appears more and more interested to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and form a powerful axis with its twin pillars, China and Russia, as a counterweight to a US power "unchained". The SCO comprises China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. China, Russia and Iran share deep misgivings about the perception of the United States as a "benevolent hegemon" and tend to see a "rogue superpower" instead. Even short of joining forces formally, the main outlines of such an axis can be discerned from their convergence of threat perception due to, among other things, Russia's disquiet over the post-September 11, 2001, US incursions in its traditional Caucasus-Central Asian "turf", and China's continuing unease over the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan; this is not to mention China's fixed gaze at a "new Silk Road" allowing it unfettered access to the Middle East and Eurasia, this as part and parcel of what is often billed as "the new great game" in Eurasia. Indeed, what China's recent deals with both Kazakhstan (pertaining to Caspian energy) and Iran (pertaining to Persian Gulf resources) signifies is that the pundits had gotten it wrong until now: the purview of the new great game is not limited to the Central Asia-Caspian Sea basin, but rather has a broader, more integrated, purview increasingly enveloping even the Persian Gulf. Increasingly, the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a sort of frontline state in a post-Cold War global lineup against US hegemony is becoming prevalent among Chinese and Russian foreign-policy thinkers. For the moment, however, the Iran-Russia-China axis is more a tissue of think-tanks than full-fledged policy, and the mere trade interdependence of the US and China, as well as Russia's growing energy ties to the US alone, not to mention its weariness over any perceived Chinese "overstretch", militate against a grand alliance pitted against the Western superpower. In fact, the Cold War-type alliances are highly unlikely to be replicated in the current milieu of globalization and complex interdependence; instead, what is likely to emerge in the future are issue-focused or, for the lack of a better word, issue-area alliances whereby, to give an example, the above-said axis may be inspired into existence along geostrategic considerations somewhat apart from purely economic considerations. Hence what the SCO means on the security front and how significant it will be hinges on a complex, and complicated, set of factors that may eventually culminate in its expansion, from the current group of six, as well as greater, alliance-like, cooperation. It is noteworthy that in Central Asia-Caucasus, the trend is toward security diversification and even multipolarism, reflected in the US and Russian bases not too far from each other. In this multipolar sub-order, neither the US is capable of exerting hegemony, nor is Russia's semi-hegemonic sway without competition. In the Caspian Sea basin, for example, Kazakhstan has opted to take part in several distinct, and contrasting, security networks, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Partnership for Peace program, the Commonwealth of Independent States' Collective Security Organization, the SCO, and membership in OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). Kazakhstan is not, however, an exception, but seemingly indicative of an expanding new rule of the (security and strategic) game played out throughout Central Asia-Caucasus. Economically, both Kazakhstan and Russia are members of the Central Asia Economic Cooperation Organization, and all the Central Asian states are also members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), which was founded by the trio of Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. Certain economic alliances are, henceforth, taking shape, alongside the budding security arrangements, which have their own tempo, rationale and security potential. Concerning the latter, in 1998, the ECO embarked on low security cooperation among its members on drug trafficking and this may soon be expanded to information-sharing on terrorism. Also, Iran has also entered into low security agreements with some of its Persian Gulf neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The SCO initially was established to deal with border disputes and is now well on its way to focusing on (Islamist) terrorism, drug trafficking and regional insecurity. Meanwhile, the US, not to be outdone, has been sowing its own bilateral military and security arrangements with various regional countries such as Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as promoting the Guuam Group, which includes Azerbaijan and Georgia, formed alongside the BTC (Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan) pipeline as a counterweight to Russian influence. Consequently, the overall picture that emerges before us is, as stated above, a unique multi-trend of military and security multipolarism defying the logic of Pax Americana. In this picture, Iran represents one of the poles of attraction, seeking its own sphere of influence by, for instance, entering into a military agreement with Turkmenistan in 1994, and, simultaneously, exploring the larger option of how to coalesce with other powers in order to offset the debilitating consequences of (post-September 11) unbounded Americanization of regional politics. A glance at Chinese security narratives, and it becomes patently obvious that Beijing shares Iran's deep worries about US unipolarism culminating in, as in Afghanistan and Iraq, unilateral militarism. Various advocates of US preeminence, such as William Kristol, openly write that the US should "work for the fall of the Communist Party oligarchy in China". Unhinged from the containment of Soviet power, the roots of US unilateralism, and its military manifestation of "preemption", must be located in the logic of unipolarism, thinly disguised by the "coalition of the willing" in Iraq; the latter is, in fact, as aptly put by various critics of US foreign policy, more like a coalition of the coerced and bribed than anything else. But, realistically speaking, what are the prospects for any regional and or continental realignment leading to the erasure of US unipolarism, notwithstanding the US military and economic colossus bent on preventing, on a doctrinal level, the emergence of any challenger to its global domination now or in the future? The strategic debates in all three countries, Russia, China and Iran, feature similar concerns and question marks. For one thing, all three have to contend with the difficulty of sorting the disjunctions between the different sets of national interests, above all economic, ideological and strategic interests. This aside, a pertinent question is who will win over Russia, Washington, which pursues a coupling role with Moscow vis-a-vis Beijing, or Beijing, trying to wrest away Moscow from Washington? For now, Russia does not particularly feel compelled to choose between stark options, yet the situation may be altered in China's direction in case the present drift of US power incursions are heightened in the future. The answer to the above question should be delegated to the future. For now, however, the quantum leap of China into the Middle East and Caspian energy markets has become a fait accompli, no matter how disturbed its biggest trade partner, the US, over its geopolitical ramifications. Kaveh L Afrasiabi, PhD, is the author of After Khomeini: New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy (Westview Press) and "Iran's Foreign Policy Since 9/11", Brown's Journal of World Affairs, co-authored with former deputy foreign minister Abbas Maleki, No 2, 2003. He teaches political science at Tehran University. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:54:34 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:54:34 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Devolutionary Period Message-ID: Devolutionary Period From: Encyclopedia of Advanced American Civics, ? 2003, David R. Deschesne devolve " to transfer (duty, work, or responsibility) to someone else:...(those who, because they are too busy or too ignorant to discharge the higher duties of self-government, have been glad to devolve them upon their representatives) -Charles H. Pearson." - Thorndike/Barnhart World Book Dictionary, ? 1969. The period of time beginning loosely around 1900 and ending sometime around the early 1920s is known as the "Devolutionary Period." The Devolutionary Period is so-named, because of the huge transfers of power which were being set up at the state and federal level in order to turn control of our monetary system over to the soon to be established private Federal Reserve Bank. Because of the ultimate ability of the private, run-for-profit, Federal Reserve Bank to fund our government with fictionally-created, fiat money, our entire Congress, President and state governmental infrastructures have become beholden, via legislative fiat, to the private banks and corporations who fund all aspects of those governing bodies. The Congress, Senate, and President have, in effect, due to the greed of temporary monetary gain at the genesis of the period, and perpetuated by ignorance of all future lawmakers, as well as the quiet acquiescence of the court systems, all devolved their constitutionally-enumerated powers to the Federal Reserve bank and other affiliated agencies, clubs, and corporations. "To put the matter bluntly, there is under way in the United States at the present time a definite and determined movement to change our representative republic into a socialistic democracy." - Why Should we Change Our Form of Government?, ?1911 Nicholas Butler (Pres. Columbia University), p. 4. The beginning of the Devolutionary Period saw subtle but distinct changes in the way our educational system, via the public schools, teaches civics to the students. While it began in the 1900's, the slide has been steep and definite over the past 90+ years to the point that US History, Civics, Government, Economics and all of the machinery that is used to maintain and run a country is not taught to the people who, ultimately will be electing public officials to do just that. "There are many who feel that the rising generation of Americans is growing up without any proper knowledge of the fundamental principles of American institutions and American government. Because of this lack of knowledge, well-meaning men lend ear quite too readily to demagogues who propose to them all sorts of schemes without any relation, save one of antagonism, to established political principles... ..The Americans of an earlier day got their training in the fundamental principles of citizenship from the stern facts which faced them. This was the school in which the nation's fathers were educated... ..Today, however, one hears much less of these fundamental principles. There are those among us, some of them in places of responsibility and great influence, who call these principles out-worn, antiquated, obstacles to popular government, and who would substitute the passing desire of today for the carefully wrought design of all time." - Why Should we Change Our Form of Government?, ?1911 Nicholas Butler (Pres. Columbia University), pp. 99-100. Excerpts from an address before the National Education Association at Denver, Colorado, July 6, 1909) During the Devolutionary Period, many states slowly and quietly began adopting military, or "admiralty" law which is reflected by the change in their state flags to the gold-fringe border. Maine adopted military jurisdiction over their legislature and courts in 1909 with the "Act designating the official flag of the State of Maine and describing the same; providing for the carrying of such flag by the regiments of the National Guard of the State to provide and have deposited in the office of the Adjutant General a model of said flag and making an appropriation therefore;" The act describes the state flag as one with gold fringe and tassels and was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.- Maine House Journal, 1909, p. 63 On March 6, 1902 the Bureau of the Census was established as a permanent office (32 Stat. 51) within the Department of Commerce. Reporting alongside the Chief Economist to the Undersecretary for Economic Affairs, the Bureau of Census receives all birth and death certificates from the states in an effort to keep track of the "human resources." It is interesting to note that humans began to be kept track of by the Commerce Department - since they were soon to be utilized by the government as collateral against future loans from the yet to be formed Federal Reserve Bank. "Beginning in 1880, the Bureau of Census recognized a "registration area" within which death figures were collected suitable for the bureau's purposes. Birth figures were added in 1915. By 1933 all states were included in the registration area for both deaths and births." - Lincoln Library of essential information, Frontier Press, 1965, Vol. II p. 2116 The "National Guard" began replacing the state militias as early as 1907, which increased federal control over the states and began removing the citizenry from their proper role in government - as protectors of their own rights. (The "National Guard" was supposedly created by the National Defense Act of 1916, but is mentioned by name in the Maine House Journal, 1907, pp. 319, 681, 710, 730, and 806) Debtor prisons were also being eliminated during the Devolutionary Period. Debtors prisons imprisoned people who borrowed money and did not pay it back. With the money system of that time being one based primarily upon gold or silver, if one borrowed any money and did not repay it, it was, in fact, considered stealing. Since the upcoming Federal Reserve Bank's theory of money practice was based upon credit money, nothing of substantive value was actually going to be loaned out (the monetizing of signatures via ledger-entry accounting would become the new "money"). Debtors prisons had to be eliminated because this loophole would soon be exploited for the defense of alleged debtors because debt-based money is created from nothing and is impossible to steal in that respect because there is no value contained in it other than a ledger-entry at the bank. Since banks counterfeit money from nothing as a ledger-entry and exchange it for the promissory note, when they attempt to place "borrower" (actually, "exchanger") in a debtor prison for non-payment of the alleged "debt", he could bring up the defense that the bank did not loan any of their own money - that is money with intrinsic value - they simply created it from nothing the same way a counterfeiter does and exchanged it for his promissory note, which they accepted for equal value as an asset on their books. This would expose the Federal Reserve's fraudulent fiat debt money system for the absolute scam that it is and the whole "house of cards" would come tumbling down around their ankles. potentially millions of angry Americans finding out they've been stolen from wouldn't be a pretty picture, and there wouldn't be enough prisons to put them all in. After the "Panic of 1907", the National Monetary Commission was created and headed by New York Senator Nelson W. Aldrich. The NMC was set up to review the nation's entire financial structure and make recommendations to Congress regarding any changes which should be made. Senator Aldrich was also key in the formation of the Federal Reserve Act which privatized our nation's money system. In May of 1908, with the passage of the Aldrich-Vreeland Act, banks were free to issue notes backed by commercial paper (or promises to pay) and bonds of state and local governments The sixteenth amendment to the US Constitution was proposed on July 12, 1909 which would allow for the federal collection of an income tax that was not appropriated evenly among the states - contrary to the constitution. On August 31, 1910, President Theodore Roosevelt made a speech at Osawatomie, Kanasas where he advocated a graduated income tax and inheritance taxes. He also said, "I stand for the square deal; property shall be the servant and not the master of the commonwealth."- Almanac of American History, ?Brompton Books Corporation, p. 419 This appears to be setting the stage for property to be the "servant" by acting as collateral for the commonwealth's new loans of artificial money - an idea that was still being formed by Aldrich's National Monetary Commission. On May 11, 1911 in United States v. Grimaud, the U.S. Supreme Court finds that the Federal Government, by reason of "administrative discretion", has authority over forest reserves. The Court withholds outright delegation of legislative power, but in effect takes overall authority away from the states. This laid the groundwork for the establishment of the 10 federal regions during the "New Deal" era of the 1930's and federalization of all land in the US in order to be handed over to the banks as collateral against the loans which would be taken out by the government. In his first inaugural address in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated, "...accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources." On February 25, 1913 the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was fraudulently passed and accepted by a misinformed public, to be followed by the Federal Reserve Act in December of that year. On October 22, 1914 the Revenue Act passes Congress, imposing the first income tax on incomes over $3,000. The Devolutionary period also witnessed our Republican form of government phased out and replaced by a populist/democratic national government with the passage of the 17th amendment which took away the right of the State Legislatures to delegate Senators to Congress and, instead allowed Senators to be popularly elected by the people. In the beginning years of the 20th century, most of the younger Western States and many of the older ones had passed resolutions in favor of a change from the nomination of Senators by the legislature of the respective States to a popular election. (see Our National Government, Perry Mason Company, ? 1904, p. 121). Since the House of Representatives was already popularly elected by the people at large, and the Senate was beginning to be popularly elected as well, the States were finally excluded from the decision-making at the federal level. This effectively abolished the Federal side of our bi-cameral system by relinquishing the rights of the State Legislatures to nominate their own representative. Now both the House and the Senate are essentially popularly elected "representatives" of the people with the States having no representation at all. Because Senators are now accountable to the people, instead of the State legislatures, we now have a purely national/democratic government only, with the abolition of the States' representatives and the dissolution of the Republican form constructed by the Federal Constitution Some states began forming standing armies in the guise of "State police" at the beginning of the De volutionaryPeriod.SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-spacerun: yes"> This new system of law "enforcement" was put in place in order to enforce the future bankruptcies which were intended to happen under the planned debt-based monetary system. County Sheriffs were slowly being federalized, as well as County Coroners being phased out as elected officials who could serve writs on the Sheriff, stand in for the Sheriff upon removal or retirement, and summon juries for wrongful death investigations. Driver's licensing and vehicle registration was beginning to be implemented as a foundational idea in some states during the Devolutionary Period, but did not take off until after the bankruptcy of the United States in 1933. "In general, the revenues fall into the following...categories... (2) Fees, or highway-privilege dues, exacted from individuals or corporations enjoying a special privilege of using the streets and roads of the state in providing public services, such as those furnished by electric railway, lighting, telephone, and water companies" (Only five states reported receipts from this source in 1928. The receipts, aggregating $210,810, came principally from electric railways for paving between tracks and for the use of state bridges.)" - Introduction to American Government, Frederic A. Ogg, Ph D, LL.D. and P. Orman Ray, Ph D, ?1931, pp. 788-789. Another seriously destructive act which was taking place during the Devolutionary Period was that items of insignificant importance, which should have been merely legislation in the form of a statute were actually beginning to be encoded into the State constitutions across the country. Because a constitution should be the outline of how the government is to run and amendments should be few and of significant importance, adding acts of legislation to them only served to trivialize and weaken them in the public mind all the way to present day. We also, as a society, started treating our representatives as "delegates" and demanded they represent the "will of the people" from one moment to the next. Since the learned and educated scholar was unable to impress his knowledge and understanding of a matter over and above the powerful force of the will of the people, our legislation began to slip rapidly toward total democracy. Referendums also came into use during the Devolutionary Period slowly, but persistently, in order to reduce the power and effectiveness of representatives; thus transforming us into a Democracy, rather than Representative Republic. The office of representative deteriorated further with the creation of the recall vote. Despite the lessons learned from the history of Athens where generals were elected by popular vote and subject to recall every two months (and that system of government eventually destroying itself), we began subjecting representatives to the same brisk winds of change that always occur within a populous by threatening them at every turn with recall. This further subjected them to the "will of the people" and moved us even closer to a socialistic democracy. The widespread use of un-elected commissions and/or associations began to develop in the Devolutionary period. With so-called "model" legislation being drafted by lawyers, commissioners, or other un-elected persons, the State legislature assumed less and less control over the understanding of a law and delegated that authority of understanding those groups. Some sources of legislation come from such obscure groups as: The Council of State Governments, the American Law Institute, the American Bar Association, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, the Committee of Corporate Laws of the Corporations Section of the American Bar Association, the National Association of Secretaries of State, and the International Association of Commercial Administrators, to name a few. None of these entities are elected by the people and the bills they produce are lackadaisically treated in the various State Legislatures by being presented as "ought to pass" and "ought not to pass" on the House floor with little or no debate or understanding of the language presented. Acquiescence of our money supply and the control thereof was devolved to a private, for profit corporation known as the Federal Reserve bank in 1913. The Federal Reserve was authorized by Congress to legally counterfeit money from nothing and loan said 'credit' to the government and all of the citizenry. Those colorable letters of credit, back by nothing but a promise, were then to be paid in gold. Since no gold was loaned out and the loans required the principal plus interest to be paid in gold, our nation quickly found itself unable to pay its bills which culminated in the bankruptcy of the United States in 1933. Like the First Bank of the United States' and the Second Bank of the United States' charters, the Federal Reserve bank also enjoyed an initial 20 year charter - which, coincidentally was due to expire and up for renewal in 1933. Today, the Federal Reserve Bank effectively controls our military because: "Pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950 and Executive Order 10480 of August 14, 1953, as amended, the (Federal Reserve) board prescribes regulations under which the Federal Reserve banks act as fiscal agents of certain government departments and agencies in guaranteeing loans made by banks and other private financing institutions to finance contracts for the procurement of materials or services which the guaranteeing agencies consider necessary for the national defense." - Encyclopedia of Banking and Finance, Glen G. Munn, ?1983, pp. 350 - 351. Please note in the above excerpt from the Encyclopedia of Banking and Finance how the Federal Reserve banks act as agents and, as the guaranteeing agencies, they decide and approve loans for materials or services which they consider necessary for the national defense. This is just a brief illustration how events established during the Devolutionary Period have transpired over a short period of time and expanded the powers of the privately-owned Federal Reserve Bank. Because all money is created from nothing and collateralized by the labor and property contained within the United States, the events that have been listed above as transpiring during the Devolutionary Period must have taken place in order for a fiat, ledger-entry money system to be formed. Just prior to the Devolutionary Period was the formation of the Organization of American States (1890) which is a multi-lateral agreement between all nations in the Western Hemisphere for a form of regional government that would eventually operate under the auspices of a global dictating body. The OAS finally received its charter in 1948. The Inter-American Defense Board, the oldest permanently constituted, international military organization in the world (formed in 1942) acts as the technical military advisor for the OAS. - U.S. Government Manual, 2000-2001, pp. 585-589. In summary, the powers that set the Devolutionary Period into motion accomplished the following goals: 1.) National Guard replaces State Guard/a.k.a. Militia 2.) Military/Admiralty jurisdiction over the citizenry 3.) Unconstitutional income tax 4.) Foundation laid for Driver's licensing/vehicle registration 5.) Foundation laid for use of Birth/Marriage Certificates 6.) Federalization of the National Forests for use as collateral on future loans. 7.) Begin the elimination of the County Coroner's office 8.) Begin Federalizing Police and Sheriff offices 9.) Elimination of Debtor Prisons 10.) State Police begin forming 11.) Phasing out of Republican form of government at the national level. 12.) Privatization of the nation's monetary system and transferring the wealth (gold) to a privately-owned central bank. 13.) Consolidating the Bureau of Census under the Undersecretary for Economic Affairs within the Department of Commerce. 14.) State Constitutions began to be amended with mere acts of legislation, instead of true legitimate amendments. 15.) Representatives began to bend to the "will of the people" from one day to the next - moving us toward a total democracy (rule by the majority). 16.) The recall vote was instituted in order to threaten representatives with removal if they did not do the will of the people. 17.) Our public education system began to stop teaching civics and political science from the standpoint that the founders began with. 18.) Initiatives and referendums replace power of representatives. 19.) The widespread use of un-elected commissions and associations in writing legislation. 20.) Congress devolved power over the money to a private, for profit central bank - the Federal Reserve. 21.) National Sovereignty began eroding with the entertainment of the concept of the Organization of American States. The logical culmination of all of these new powers was to set the country up for domination by a world governing body headed up regionally by the Council on Foreign Relations (formed in 1921) and administered by the Federal Reserve Bank who controls the supply of all the (credit) money our country unfortunately adopted as a national currency. After World War I was created, it was hoped by the powers who functioned during the Devolutionary Period that the US would accept the League of Nations treaty for that purpose. The treaty was rejected, but all of the framework was finally in place to plunge the nation into unpayable debt, an ultimate bankruptcy and eventual receivership all under the perceived control of "official authorities" who are individually too compartmentalized to understand how their own job (i.e. state police, national guard, tax assessors, bankers, etc.), as established during the Devolutionary Period effects changes on a geopolitical scale. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:03:49 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:03:49 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Liberty survivors Message-ID: FYI http://www.ussliberty.org/photofraud.htm Mystery Solved For years, Liberty survivors and researchers have sought to learn why Israeli gun camera photography presented by Thames, Ltd., television and apologist Jay Cristol on the cover of his book is blurry with most details obscured. In fact, typical gun camera photos tend to be quite sharp. Why is this one so blurry, and what is the large white area near the starboard bow? The ship took no large hits in that area, so it cannot be explained as an explosion. Forensic analyst Ken Halliwell has answered the questions. The photo displayed by Cristol and others as "proof that the ship flew no flag" is in fact a doctored view of the ship just as she tied up at the pier at Little Creek, Virginia, in July, 1967, upon her return from repairs in Malta. A close look at the two photos, with matching points circled by Halliwell, reveals that they are in fact almost the same picture -- but the "gun camera" view has been doctored to hide the flag and other identifying marks. If a viewer will look carefully, the American flag is flying from the stern in both pictures. Flags fly from a Navy ship's stern only in port; the flag flies from the mainmast at sea. This is a picture taken in port in July, not taken during the attack as claimed by the Israelis. It cannot possibly be a gun camera photo taken during the attack as the Israelis claim. If you look carefully, identical groups of men can be seen standing in identical places on the ship in both images. The white "splash" on the starboard bow is a doctored image of the tug boat that help Liberty move to the pier at Little Creek. Upon close inspection, one can also see in the fake gun camera photo that the ship is floating high in the water. When the ship was attacked, it was heavily loaded and floating low in the water. The docking photo shows the ship lightly loaded and floating high after having just completed a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea -- the same height as shown in the fake gun camera photo. A close examination of the bow wave shows that this is also faked. Since the image used as "gun camera photograpy" was actually of the ship alongside the pier at Little Creek, it was necessary to create a fake bow wave to sustain the illusion of movement. This can be seen clearly if one compares the fake bow wave with a bow wave of a similar ship underway. Clearly the "gun camera" photo is a fake. Innocent people do not need to doctor evidence. Click here to see the comparison. APFN-1 YahooGroups: Subscribe: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apfn-1/join Unsubscribe: apfn-1-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com APFN MSG BOARD: `In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html APFN CONTENTS PAGE: http://www.apfn.org/old/apfncont.htm Without Justice, there is JUST_US! [LEAK-GATE] INVESTIGATING THE WHITE HOUSE http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LEAK-GATE/ Find elected officials, including the president, members of Congress, governors, state legislators, local officials, and more. http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/ APFN, PMB 107, 6630 W. CACTUS #B107, GLENDALE, AZ 85304 http://www.apfn.org/apfn/kenvardon.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:05:47 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:05:47 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Israeli jailed over $17m ecstasy haul Message-ID: news.com.au Israeli jailed over $17m ecstasy haul November 9, 2004 A JUDGE has jailed an Israeli man for his role in importing ecstasy worth up to $17.5 million, and has warned drug traders not to see Australian courts as a "soft touch". Alon Inbar, 23, was sentenced to five and a half years jail with a non-parole period of three years and three months. He was arrested on March 10, having been identified by federal police as the man whose job it was to arrange customs clearance and delivery of 33.93kg of ecstasy concealed in the cavities in two wooden crates containing antique chandeliers. The 250,000 tablets arrived in Port Melbourne from Rotterdam on February 16. Inbar, a former Israeli army parachutist, was under orders from his "handler" in Thailand, to get the drugs delivered to his address in Heatherbrae Road, Glenhuntly, a backpacker hostel for young Israeli tourists. In handing down the jail term, Victorian County Court judge Michael Strong said: "Much is written and said about what should or might be done to address the scourge of drug abuse in this country and indeed in many other countries. "But no-one ever suggests the penalties for trafficking, particularly international trafficking, should be eased." He added: "The message to those who are minded to bring drugs into this country must be made crystal clear. "It must not be thought that Australian courts are a soft touch. That would send altogether the wrong message to the international drugs community." Inbar pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the importation of ecstasy and possession of the drug. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:07:35 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:07:35 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: CHINA MAKES A BIG MOVE INTO Message-ID: www.MiddleEast.org CHINA MAKES A BIG MOVE INTO THE MIDDLE EAST China Rocks the Geopolitical Middle East Boat "The quantum leap of China into the Middle East and Caspian energy markets has become a fait accompli, no matter how disturbed its biggest trade partner, the US, over its geopolitical ramifications." MIDDLEEAST.ORG - MER - Washington - 10 November: As the Americans expend their power, their money, their blood, and their credibility -- the miserable siege of Falluja and Iraq but the latest example -- both Europe and China are on the march. Europe is more often discussed, but the Chinese have been taking important steps into Africa in recent years, and now they are doing so into the Middle East in a bigger way than ever via Iran. The world stage is becoming far more complicated far more quickly than is generally appreciated. With an economy expanding at an amazing 9% yearly, and in fact with considerable and growing leverage over the Americans economically and financially that is not usually discussed, China is positioning itself for the future And Iran, seriously now threatened by the U.S.-Israeli alliance, is working with China, as well as with Europe, to outflank the Americans and in the short-term to buy itself more crucial time to strengthen and to have at least a credible deterrent. With the U.S. and Israel determined to keep all combinations of regional powers from threatening their imperial dominance in the Middle East, the new involvements of both China and the Europeans are major developments sure to greatly affect the years ahead. ASIA TIMES - 6 November 2004: TEHRAN - Speaking of business as unusual. A mere two months ago, the news of a China-Kazakhstan pipeline agreement, worth US$3.5 billion, raised some eyebrows in the world press, some hinting that China's economic foreign policy may be on the verge of a new leap forward. A clue to the fact that such anticipation may have totally understated the case was last week's signing of a mega-gas deal between Beijing and Tehran worth $100 billion. Billed as the "deal of century" by various commentators, this agreement is likely to increase by another $50 billion to $100 billion, bringing the total close to $200 billion, when a similar oil agreement, currently being negotiated, is inked not too far from now. The gas deal entails the annual export of some 10 million tons of Iranian liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a 25-year period, as well as the participation, by China's state oil company, in such projects as exploration and drilling, petrochemical and gas industries, pipelines, services and the like. The export of LNG requires special cargo ships, however, and Iran is currently investing several billion dollars adding to its small LNG-equipped fleet. Still, per the admission of the head of the Iranian Tanker Co, Mohammad Souri, Iran needed to purchase another 87 vessels by 2010, in addition to the 10 already purchased, in order to fulfill the needs of its growing LNG market. Iran has an estimated 26.6-trillion-cubic-meter gas reservoir, the second-largest in the world, about half of which is in offshore zones and the other half onshore. It is perhaps too early to digest fully the various economic, political and even geostrategic implications of this stunning development, widely considered a major blow to the Bush administration's economic sanctions on Iran and particularly on Iran's energy sector, notwithstanding the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) penalizing foreign companies daring to invest more than $20 million in Iran's oil and gas industry. While it is unclear what the scope of China's direct investment in Iran's energy sector will turn out to be, it is fairly certain that China's participation in the Yad Avaran field alone will exceed the ILSA's ceiling; this field's oil reservoir is estimated to be 17 billion barrels and is capable of producing 300 to 400 barrels per day. And this is besides the giant South Pars field, which Iran shares with Qatar, alone possessing close to 8% of the world's gas reserves. To open a parenthesis here, until now Tehran has been complaining that Qatar has been outpacing Iran in exploiting its resource 6-1. In fact, Iran's unhappiness over Qatar's unbalanced access to the South Pars led to a discrete warning by Iran's deputy oil minister and, soon thereafter, Qatar complied with Iran's request for a joint "technical committee" that has yet to yield any result. For a United States increasingly pointing at China as the next biggest challenge to its Pax Americana, the Iran-China energy cooperation cannot but be interpreted as an ominous sign of emerging new trends in an area considered vital to US national interests. But, then again, this cuts both ways, that is, the deal should, logically speaking, stimulate others who may still consider Iran untrustworthy or too radical to enter into big projects on a long term basis. Iran's biggest foreign agreement prior to this gas agreement with China was a long-term $25 billion gas deal with Turkey, which has encountered snags, principally over the price, recently, compared with Iran's various trade agreements with Spain, Italy and others, typically with a life-span of five to seven years. Thus some Iranian officials are hopeful that the China deal can lead to a fundamental rethinking of the risks of doing business with Iran on the part of European countries, India, Japan, and even Russia. Concerning India, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran initially in 1993 for a 2,670-kilometer pipeline, with more than 700km traversing Pakistani territory, the Iran-China deal will undoubtedly give a greater push to New Delhi to follow Beijing's lead and thus make sure that the "peace pipeline" is finally implemented. The same applies, mutatis mutandis, to Russia, which has as of late been dragging its feet somewhat on Iran's nuclear reactor, bandwagoning with the US and Group of Eight (G8) countries on the thorny issue of Iran's uranium-enrichment program. The Russians must now factor in the possibility of being supplanted by China if they lose the confidence of Tehran and appear willing to trade favors with Washington over Iran. Russia's Gazprom may now finally set aside its stubborn resistance to the idea of entering major joint ventures with Iran. Iran appears more and more interested to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and form a powerful axis with its twin pillars, China and Russia, as a counterweight to a US power "unchained". The SCO comprises China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. China, Russia and Iran share deep misgivings about the perception of the United States as a "benevolent hegemon" and tend to see a "rogue superpower" instead. Even short of joining forces formally, the main outlines of such an axis can be discerned from their convergence of threat perception due to, among other things, Russia's disquiet over the post-September 11, 2001, US incursions in its traditional Caucasus-Central Asian "turf", and China's continuing unease over the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan; this is not to mention China's fixed gaze at a "new Silk Road" allowing it unfettered access to the Middle East and Eurasia, this as part and parcel of what is often billed as "the new great game" in Eurasia. Indeed, what China's recent deals with both Kazakhstan (pertaining to Caspian energy) and Iran (pertaining to Persian Gulf resources) signifies is that the pundits had gotten it wrong until now: the purview of the new great game is not limited to the Central Asia-Caspian Sea basin, but rather has a broader, more integrated, purview increasingly enveloping even the Persian Gulf. Increasingly, the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a sort of frontline state in a post-Cold War global lineup against US hegemony is becoming prevalent among Chinese and Russian foreign-policy thinkers. For the moment, however, the Iran-Russia-China axis is more a tissue of think-tanks than full-fledged policy, and the mere trade interdependence of the US and China, as well as Russia's growing energy ties to the US alone, not to mention its weariness over any perceived Chinese "overstretch", militate against a grand alliance pitted against the Western superpower. In fact, the Cold War-type alliances are highly unlikely to be replicated in the current milieu of globalization and complex interdependence; instead, what is likely to emerge in the future are issue-focused or, for the lack of a better word, issue-area alliances whereby, to give an example, the above-said axis may be inspired into existence along geostrategic considerations somewhat apart from purely economic considerations. Hence what the SCO means on the security front and how significant it will be hinges on a complex, and complicated, set of factors that may eventually culminate in its expansion, from the current group of six, as well as greater, alliance-like, cooperation. It is noteworthy that in Central Asia-Caucasus, the trend is toward security diversification and even multipolarism, reflected in the US and Russian bases not too far from each other. In this multipolar sub-order, neither the US is capable of exerting hegemony, nor is Russia's semi-hegemonic sway without competition. In the Caspian Sea basin, for example, Kazakhstan has opted to take part in several distinct, and contrasting, security networks, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Partnership for Peace program, the Commonwealth of Independent States' Collective Security Organization, the SCO, and membership in OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). Kazakhstan is not, however, an exception, but seemingly indicative of an expanding new rule of the (security and strategic) game played out throughout Central Asia-Caucasus. Economically, both Kazakhstan and Russia are members of the Central Asia Economic Cooperation Organization, and all the Central Asian states are also members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), which was founded by the trio of Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. Certain economic alliances are, henceforth, taking shape, alongside the budding security arrangements, which have their own tempo, rationale and security potential. Concerning the latter, in 1998, the ECO embarked on low security cooperation among its members on drug trafficking and this may soon be expanded to information-sharing on terrorism. Also, Iran has also entered into low security agreements with some of its Persian Gulf neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The SCO initially was established to deal with border disputes and is now well on its way to focusing on (Islamist) terrorism, drug trafficking and regional insecurity. Meanwhile, the US, not to be outdone, has been sowing its own bilateral military and security arrangements with various regional countries such as Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as promoting the Guuam Group, which includes Azerbaijan and Georgia, formed alongside the BTC (Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan) pipeline as a counterweight to Russian influence. Consequently, the overall picture that emerges before us is, as stated above, a unique multi-trend of military and security multipolarism defying the logic of Pax Americana. In this picture, Iran represents one of the poles of attraction, seeking its own sphere of influence by, for instance, entering into a military agreement with Turkmenistan in 1994, and, simultaneously, exploring the larger option of how to coalesce with other powers in order to offset the debilitating consequences of (post-September 11) unbounded Americanization of regional politics. A glance at Chinese security narratives, and it becomes patently obvious that Beijing shares Iran's deep worries about US unipolarism culminating in, as in Afghanistan and Iraq, unilateral militarism. Various advocates of US preeminence, such as William Kristol, openly write that the US should "work for the fall of the Communist Party oligarchy in China". Unhinged from the containment of Soviet power, the roots of US unilateralism, and its military manifestation of "preemption", must be located in the logic of unipolarism, thinly disguised by the "coalition of the willing" in Iraq; the latter is, in fact, as aptly put by various critics of US foreign policy, more like a coalition of the coerced and bribed than anything else. But, realistically speaking, what are the prospects for any regional and or continental realignment leading to the erasure of US unipolarism, notwithstanding the US military and economic colossus bent on preventing, on a doctrinal level, the emergence of any challenger to its global domination now or in the future? The strategic debates in all three countries, Russia, China and Iran, feature similar concerns and question marks. For one thing, all three have to contend with the difficulty of sorting the disjunctions between the different sets of national interests, above all economic, ideological and strategic interests. This aside, a pertinent question is who will win over Russia, Washington, which pursues a coupling role with Moscow vis-a-vis Beijing, or Beijing, trying to wrest away Moscow from Washington? For now, Russia does not particularly feel compelled to choose between stark options, yet the situation may be altered in China's direction in case the present drift of US power incursions are heightened in the future. The answer to the above question should be delegated to the future. For now, however, the quantum leap of China into the Middle East and Caspian energy markets has become a fait accompli, no matter how disturbed its biggest trade partner, the US, over its geopolitical ramifications. Kaveh L Afrasiabi, PhD, is the author of After Khomeini: New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy (Westview Press) and "Iran's Foreign Policy Since 9/11", Brown's Journal of World Affairs, co-authored with former deputy foreign minister Abbas Maleki, No 2, 2003. He teaches political science at Tehran University. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:15:26 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:15:26 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Israeli Movers in Sub Base Security Scare to be Freed. Message-ID: Mad Cow News - Daniel Hopsicker. Israeli Movers in Sub Base Security Scare to be Freed. from page one One problem with the new information released about the men by authorities is that some of it does not appear to jibe with what was said about the men when they were initially detained. For example, when the men made their attempt to enter the base last Friday morning, they said they??Td been hired to pick up some household goods in base housing. Base spokesman Ed Buczek was quoted saying the men acted "nervous and apprehensive" at the pass and identification office when they were asked to provide identification. The men were unable to provide security personnel with proper credentials. So base personnel and bomb-sniffing dogs inspected the van. When the bomb-sniffing dogs alerted on a briefcase in the front seat, the base perimeter was sealed. Traffic was re-routed by St. Marys police for nearly three hours until it was determined the vehicle and its contents did not contain explosives or other materials prohibited on base. "So far so good." Neither of the men had valid work permits and one of the men had an expired passport, Navy officials said, and were held at the base until being taken into custody by immigration officials in Savannah until deportation proceedings can be held. ??oWe determined that they were employees for an Atlanta moving company hired to move the personal belongings of a sailor living at base housing,??? explained a base spokesman. We asked for the name of the sailor. The base spokesman declined to reveal it. The spokesman explained that the firm the two men worked for, Advantage Moving & Storage in Atlanta, has a contract with the Department of Defense to provide moving services to the military. Company officials there had confirmed the two men were employees. There is no evidence to indicate the two men intended to get on base as part of a terrorist act, the base spokesman insisted. End of story? a message from our sponsor: A few loose-ish threads All visitors, vendors and contractors are required to get a pass at the office before they can get on base, base spokesmen said. But if the men indeed did work for a moving company with a DOD contract, they were presumably routinely required to provide identification. So why had they acted so "nervous and apprehensive," according to base personnel, when asked to provide identification at the pass and identification office? Navy officials couldn??Tt comment. Also, we persisted, if the men worked for a moving-and-storage company with a DOD contract, wouldn??Tt they have known not to show up with expired passports and without valid work permits? ??oWe require a show of proper identification with photo id at all times,??? the spokesman replied crisply. Presumably the two Israelis already knew that. Thankfully there was one subject on which the Navy spokesman was prepared to wax eloquent... The bomb-sniffing guard dogs at the base were filled with the right stuff, and possessed a high level of skill & accuracy. "The military dogs were alerted to a scent in the cab of the truck," a base spokesman had stated. "Guards immediately closed access to the base.??? ??oDo they often test false positives???? we inquired. Not at all. ??oThe idea that they would pick up a false positive is highly unlikely,??? sniffed the base spokesman. "Its a mystery. There's lots of 'em." Why did highly-trained military guard dogs alert to the presence of explosive residue in a briefcase in the moving van? Although it was little-publicized, in the Mars Hill incident law enforcement stated that 'their' Israeli moving van tested positive for drugs in the field. They were later told by the FBI it had been a false positive. Some remained skeptical. The Navy official's main talking point was that no questions were necessary because officials at the nuclear submarine base in St. Marys, Ga. believe there was no criminal intent on the part of the two Israelis when they tried to enter the tightly guarded facility. Obviously they're not worried. Why should we be? In an interview with the MadCowMorningNews a military spokesman divulged that the moving company the men work for, Advantage Moving & Storage, Inc., of Norcross, GA., has a contract with the Department of Defense. Advantage Moving, we learned in a check with the Georgia Secretary of State's office, was incorporated barely a year ago, on May 12, 2003, which hardly seems enough time to win a contract to move military personnel with the U.S. Department of Defense. Are they just really fast workers? What, then? The company is owned by an Israeli named Yair Knafo, we learned, and listed as active but in "non-compliance" in the Georgia Secretary of State??Ts Office. A switchboard operator said last Monday the company's spokesman was out of the office and unavailable for comment about how long the men worked for the company and how they got jobs without valid permits to work in the United States. When we called Friday afternoon the woman who answered the phone informed us the company's spokesman was still away from his desk. Maybe he just takes a really long lunch. He certainly had been successful brazening it out. And nobody said a word. Well, we did. But we got there late. But... wouldn't you expect local Atlanta reporters to hound his doorstep for comment, or to get an interview with one of the two young movers who'd caused a whole friggin' U.S. NAVY nuclear base to shut down? Apparently not. Enough already with the moving vans Based only on what's been reported, its hard not to conclude that something strange is going on. Since September 11th, 2001, when five "movers" from a Miami company called Urban Moving System's were arrested as they watched and allegedly celebrated as the Twin Towers crumbled, there have been numerous incidents involving Israelis in moving vans around the U.S. In fact, you can fill a virtual shoebox with news clippings just since 9/11 from places around the country where locals have been startled by "Israeli Movers Doing Inexplicable Things Before Being Deported.??? The Jerusalem Post reported on Oct. 26, 2001 that five Israeli men with box-cutters and multiple passports were detained in New Jersey on the day of the attack after being spotted laughing and posing for photographs with the smoking Twin Towers in the background. The men were held in FBI custody for 71 days before being quietly released, amid news accounts stating the men would be deported back to Israel for immigration violations. The moving firm they worked, Urban Moving Systems, was Israeli-owned. Its owner, Dominick Suter reportedly dropped the business and left the country. We're just taking pictures. Nice Tower. Then in October of 2001 two Israeli men in a moving van were arrested after being found with detailed video footage of the Sears Tower in Chicago. They were taken into custody by the FBI, and handed over, in what is beginning to seem like another pattern, to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for deportation. No word on whether they got flown home in coach. In May 2002 Fox News first reported that two Israelis with altered passports were apprehended in a rental truck containing traces of TNT and plastic explosives after local police became suspicious at the truck driver's insistence that they were moving furniture, a claim that did not seem to mesh with the late hour. They were on a state highway bordering Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, the home of the Navy??Ts fleet of electronic warfare Prowler jets. Perhaps Israeli movers have just developed a market niche, specializing in delivering furniture to customers near U.S. Navy facilities. It seems the only possible explanation, other than a federally-orchestrated cover-up of whatever is really going on. There is the New Mexico incident. And recently we learned of one near Detroit... The list, as they say, it do go on. We get letters Compounding the troublesome nature of the current incident is the place and time where it occurred: Kings Bay is very near Sea Island, which will host the G-8 Summit this month, which puts a more serious and slightly-sinister spin on the story. Today the "Israeli Moving Van" story has taken on a life of its own. With few hard facts available, its becoming a sort of uneasy urban legend, increasing the feeling of many Americans who no longer trust the motives and statements of federal authorities the way they did before 9/11. About our virtual gavel-to-gavel coverage of the ongoing mystery of Israeli movers loitering outside sensitive U.S. facilities, one reader wrote, fairly snorting, ??oIsraelis in moving vans? I'd have thought that they'd have sprouted a new cover by now after the bunch that got busted on 9/11 in New Jersey.??? Another reader had a slightly more droll take on the mystery. ??oDo you think its just that we can??Tt we meet our furniture moving requirements with domestic talent???? NEXT WEEK: "TOP TEN THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT MOHAMED ATTA" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:16:30 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:16:30 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Gunmen Kidnap Three Members of Allawi's Family Message-ID: Go to Original Gunmen Kidnap Three Members of Allawi's Family By Karl Vick, Jackie Spinner and Fred Barbash The Washington Post Thursday 11 November 2004 U.S. controls 70 percent of Fallujah, military says. BAGHDAD - Gunmen kidnapped a first cousin of interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and two other members of his extended family from their Baghdad home on Tuesday, an Allawi spokesman said Wednesday morning. A militant Islamist group said Wednesday it would execute Allawi's relatives unless U.S. and Iraqi forces withdraw from Fallujah. In Fallujah, meanwhile, the U.S. military claimed control of 70 percent of the rebellious city as fighting entered its third full day. Resistance was reported heavy in places and non-existent in others. Allawi spokesman Georges Sada said in a telephone interview that Allawi's "cousin, his [cousin's] wife and another relative were kidnapped Tuesday night from their home after a little shooting between their bodyguards and the terrorists." Another Allawi spokesman, Thaer Hasan Naqip identified the kidnapped cousin as Ghazi Allawi, 75. He said Allawi, his wife and his son were kidnapped in Baghdad's Yarmouk neighborhood. Sada said early in the day that no group had taken responsibility for the abduction, and neither the Allawi family nor the interim government had been contacted by the kidnappers. "Not until now," Sada said. "No communication." Later, however, the Reuters news service reported from Dubai that an Islamist group, Ansar al-Jihad, was claiming responsibility on an Internet site, threatening to kill the relatives in 48 hours unless the raid on Fallujah was halted and prisoners set free. The authenticity of the claim could not be verified. ''This action is another of the terrorists' crimes and will not weaken the will of the government to fight terrorism to achieve peace and stability in a free and democratic Iraq," said Naqip. Kidnapping for ransom has skyrocketed in the capital since the collapse of civil order that followed the April 2003 toppling of the government headed by Saddam Hussein. Some wealthier families have hired bodyguards to walk children to and from school. But the abduction of Allawi's kin was immediately assumed to be politically motivated. More than 170 foreigners have been taken in Iraq since April, when kidnapping emerged as a tool of insurgents looking for leverage against members of the military coalition led by the United States. Some three dozen of the captives have subsequently been executed or never found. In recent weeks, assassinations of members of Iraq's interim government have skyrocketed. The threat extends from ministers, who typically travel with security details, to office support personnel, who have been massacred in carpools on the way to work. Insurgent activity across Iraq appears to have intensified since the attack on Fallujah. U.S. and Iraqi forces launched the massive assault three days ago in an attempt to suppress Sunni Muslim insurgent activity, including kidnappings, orchestrated in the city. Fighting has been reported intense in some places and surprisingly light in others. In a statement Wednesday, the military said U.S. and Iraqi forces had "fought their way" into the "epicenter of insurgent activity in the city," the Jolan neighborhood, encountering light resistance from small pockets of fighters along the way. The statement said the "multinational" force had retaken key civic buildings, including Fallujah's mayoral office, which had been under the control of insurgents. Iraqi brigades and U.S. Marines, the statement said, have seized two important mosques, the Hydra Mosque and the Al Tawfiq Mosque, previously used for refuge by insurgents. "We have no information" about "civilians being hurt and we have no reports of anyone trying to get out of the city," the military statement added. Reports from field commanders, the military said, confirmed that U.S. forces suffered 11 casualties Wednesday while Iraqi forces suffered 11. It did not say whether the casualties were deaths or injuries. Tuesday, the military claimed at least 71 insurgents had been killed so far while 10 U.S. troops and two members of the Iraqi security force had been killed. Maj. Francis Piccoli, of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said fighting overnight was "light to moderate" and U.S. casualties were "extremely light." He told embedded reporters that U.S. forces had pushed south through Fallujah's central highway and control 70 percent of the city. "The heart of the city is what's in focus now," he said. Meanwhile, insurgents inside the city told reporters they launched a counterattack on U.S. forces at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. They said dozens of insurgents were killed in the ensuing battle, which lasted six hours. The insurgents fell back. Abdullah Janabi, president of the Shura Council, the committee of insurgent leaders and clerics that has governed Fallujah since April, told reporters that the insurgents realized they could not fight the U.S. forces "in the open. . . . The council's military adviser," he said, "put forward the plan to withdraw from the outskirts of the Jolan and other neighborhoods, and pull the US forces inside. "In the open area we will lose," Janabi said. "We cannot fight them in an open area. We dragged them to the narrow alleys. This afternoon is the final battle." At a news conference in Baghdad Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, the commander of foreign military operations in Iraq, said the assault on Fallujah had so far "achieved our objectives on or ahead of schedule." He added, "I think we're looking at several more days of tough urban fighting." The general said the battle plan as a whole was on course. "We felt like the enemy would form an outer crust in defense of Fallujah. We broke through that pretty quickly and easily," Metz said. "We also then anticipated him breaking up into small three- to six-person detachments or squads, which we've seen throughout the day, today especially." Metz said that because U.S. forces formed a "very tight" cordon around the city Sunday night, the enemy "doesn't have an escape route" and eventually would be cornered. In a combat death unrelated to Fallujah, a soldier from the Army's 1st Infantry Division was killed when a roadside bomb detonated beside a patrol outside Balad, site of a sprawling U.S. base north of Baghdad, the military announced Wednesday. ------- Jump to TO Features for Thursday November 11, 2004 Today's TO Features -------------- Steve Weissman | Who Counts in Ohio? Iraqi Rebels Seize Ramadi, Al-Zarqawi Likely Escaped Fallujah Go Kick Some Butt and Make History, Vietnam-Style Confusion and Ambushes As Marines Take Fallujah Mosque Bush Wants Line-Item Veto Ashcroft Wants Oregon Suicide Law Blocked Mike Davis | Apocalypse Denial in America Le Monde | Electoral Archaism Kerry Refuses to Go Quietly The Media Gives Bush a Mandate Jonathan Freedland | Death Will be His Witness Liberal Christians Challenge 'Values Vote' FOCUS: Oil Drilling in Alaska (ANWR) Could Pass in New Congress Michael Feingold | Our Vanished Values Gonzales to Succeed Ashcroft Gunmen Kidnap Allawi Family Members, Fallujah Battle Rages On t r u t h o u t Home ? Copyright 2004 by TruthOut.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:22:19 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:22:19 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Breaking News from Jerusalem - Vanunu is arrested Message-ID: AR Action Report Online. Thursday, November 11, 2004 Breaking News from Jerusalem - Vanunu is arrested THIS morning Thursday, November 11, 2004 at 9 am local time, a group of 30 armed security men stormed the Anglican church compound in Jerusalem and arrested Mordecai Vanunu, the nuclear whistleblower, who was released after 18 years of captivity just a few months ago. Bishop Riah told me that the Israeli security personnel disregarded sanctity of St George Cathedral, brandished their machine-guns, scared the pilgrims and the clergy. The bishop demanded from them to respect the church and remove armed men, but they refused. Vanunu was taken to Petach-Tikwa for detention, the Bishop was told. The arrest came when the attention is diverted to the death of President Arafat. Actually an Israeli member of Knesset Yuval Shteinitz demanded the re-arrest of Vanunu who continued his demand for opening Israeli nuclear arsenal for international inspection. Vanunu gave a few interview recently, one of them is available on www.israelshamir.net given to Johannes Wahlstrom, a Swedish journalist. He also gave interviews to British media, encluding a live one. Please intervene immediately, contact the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, your goverments and church leaders. This breach of sanctity of the Church comes two years after the siege of Bethlehem Nativity by Israeli troops. This is the time to express solidarity with Mordecai Vanunu, to demand his immediate release from captivity! Israel Adam Shamir Jerusalem -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:24:16 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:24:16 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Alex Jones' News Update Nov 11 2004 Message-ID: Find your soul mate! Take a relationship compatibility test. Click here! Visit the Infowars / Prisonplanet network of websites today! November 11, 2004Because there's a war on for your mind! Latest News - Anti-war protest in L.A. gets response with tanks Enraged, some of the people attempted to block the tanks, but police quickly cleared the street. The people continued to protest the presence of the tanks, but about ten minutes the tanks drove off. It is unclear as to why the tanks were deployed to this location. Full story AND VIDEO online at infowars.net Visit Prison Planet.tv - your portal for daily audio, video and text reports Further Headlines from Infowars / Prisonplanet Visit the site for the full articles: a.. Diebold buys its way out of fraud allegations b.. Who is Alberto Gonzales? c.. We seize servers, you can't complain - US gov d.. City loudspeaker system on the way e.. CNN Poll: 89% Believe US Government Covering Up 9/11 f.. Japan chasing mystery submarine g.. Former Russian Chess Champ Kasparov Tells West Not to Ignore Putin??Ts ??oMarch to Dictatorship??? h.. Mass evacuation plan for London Advertise with us! Infowars.net gets millions of hits a month. If you have something you want to advertise, please contact us. rates are very low. For more information Click Here Infowars Services Dial up service DSL service Webhosting PropagandaMatrix.com New Anti NWO t-shirts, bumper stickers and more in the re-designed Propaganda Matrix online shop. Now accepting payments via Worldpay and Paypal. We thank you for supporting our activities and helping us grow. Visit Propaganda Matrix today! http://www.infowars.net Free Newsletter Provided by Bravenet.com - Get one for Free ? Unsubscribe from this newsletter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: globe_header.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 37490 bytes Desc: not available URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:26:16 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:26:16 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fwd: Emergency Rally to STOP THE ASSAULT ON FALLUJAH--Saturday Nov 13 Message-ID: > Subject: Emergency Rally to STOP THE ASSAULT ON > FALLUJAH--Saturday Nov 13 > Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 18:39:25 -0800 > > Please post widely! (And please excuse any > cross-posts.) > > > > STOP THE ASSAULT ON FALLUJAH > Not In Our Name! > > Rally and March > Saturday, November 13, 2004 > 1:00 p.m., Westlake Park - 4th & Pine, Seattle > > Journalist Dahr Jamail reports: > It is estimated that between 30-100,000 civilians > remain in the city, people who have been referred to > in mainstream media as "refusing to leave." > > "So many people in Falluja are poor and cannot > leave," [my friend] Aziz said ., "The Americans are > doing what they did last time-taking control of the > main hospital and not letting the hospitals and > clinics and ambulances function. They are killing > civilians, just like before." > > > > Let's join together to: > Demand an immediate end to the assault and the > war, and show that Bush has NO MANDATE from the > American people for this illegitimate war for > empire. > Show our solidarity with the Iraqi citizens who > are being killed, maimed and psychologically > devastated, and with American soldiers who refuse to > fight. > > What you can do: > 1. Forward this email widely to family, friends, > co-workers, email lists, school/work/community > newsletters. Let people know that they can subscribe > themselves to NION's announcement list through our > local website. The Not In Our Name network is > expanding rapidly, but we need to grow even larger > and get in a position to respond at a moment's > notice. > 2. Come early on the day of the event to volunteer. > Come to the NION table between as early as 12 noon. > We will have a job for you. No experience necessary! > 3. Print, copy and put the poster up all around > town. You can find it soon at > www.notinourname-seattle.net. But if you can't wait, > send us an email with "poster request" in the > subject heading and we'll email it to you as an > attachment. > > Sponsored by the Not In Our Name Project > www.notinourname-seattle.net (local) > 206-322-3813 > seattle at notinourname.net > ______________________________________________________________________ > > > > EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION: HANDS OFF FALLUJAH! Bring > the troops home now!! Money for jobs and education, > not for war and occupation! > > Saturday, November 13, 1 pm, at Westlake Plaza in > Seattle (4th and Pine) > > Top U.S. Marine in Iraq Calls for Massacre in > Fallujah > > The U.S. has surrounded the sealed off Fallujah and > is preparing to launch the complete destruction of > the city. They have told the people that any traffic > on the street is now subject to attack and any males > between the ages of 15 and 55 who go outside will > automatically be killed by the U.S. soldiers. The > U.S. is terrorizing and bombing the citizens of > Fallujah ., recently targeting and fully destroying > its emergency hospital... > > This is no time for anti-war and progressive > people in the U.S. to "mourn," dwell and lament on > the failure of the Democratic Party candidate to > defeat the Republican Party candidate... If nothing > else, we all know that if Kerry was President-elect, > nothing would be different for the people of Iraq > right now. Kerry has not condemned the bombings of > Falluljah at any point, nor the attacks on the Iraqi > people, nor the use of U.S. soldiers as cannon > fodder in this war of aggression and conquest. > Now the people of Fallujah wait for the next > attack, and the U.S. soldiers wait for their orders > to carry out actions that they will have to > reconcile for the rest of their lives, if they > survive. > > Seattle: 206-568-1661 > Seattle ANSWER e-mail > seattle at internationalanswer.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:34:52 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:34:52 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: 'Body parts everywhere' in Fallujah Message-ID: iafrica.com 'Body parts everywhere' in Fallujah Posted Tue, 09 Nov 2004 "Body parts everywhere!" cries a US soldier as a shell crashes onto a group of suspected rebels in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, where a punishing torrent of firepower thundered down on Tuesday. More than 500 rounds of 155-millimetre Howitzer cannon shells have been fired on the besieged Sunni stronghold west of Baghdad since a US-Iraqi offensive to take control of the city started on Monday evening, said Sergeant Michael Hamby. Using a global positioning system, each shell is precision aimed and fired at insurgent spots, while unmanned reconnaisance aircraft check whether the target was hit and feed back the information, Hamby told AFP. Unconfirmed estimates suggest that as many as 100 000 residents of Fallujah could still be inside the city. In the northwestern Jolan neighbourhood alone - branded the hotbed of insurgent activity in Fallujah - US forces unleashed more than 20 air strikes and some 60 artillery rounds on Monday, said Major Todd Desgrosseilliers. "We probably had 20-to-30 air strikes in the Jolan and probably two-to-three times that in artillery missions," he said. Attack helicopters swooped overhead, dropping flares on buildings from where the muzzle of insurgent rocket heads jutted out. "Nothing is being indiscriminately fired at. These are spots where they (militants) are either getting ready to fight or already are," the major said. Further demonstrating its superior firepower, the military said it fired an air-to-surface missile on a suspected insurgent building in Fallujah on Monday. "The building was destroyed and enemy fire ceased," it said in a statement. Casualty figures were unavailable from Fallujah, where estimates for the number of its 300 000-strong population who fled ahead of the long-threatened assault vary widely from 20 to 90 percent. US warplanes pounded suspected rebel targets in the city over the past few weeks with air strikes on a daily basis in the build-up to the assault. An AFP reporter in the Jolan district said one building in every 10 had been flattened. As US-led troops closed in on the neighbourhood overnight, at least four 900-kilogram bombs were dropped in the city's northwest. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:37:24 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:37:24 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Sign an Open Letter in Support of America's Armed Forces Message-ID: (Please forward this invitation to friends, family members, and fellow American Patriots.) Please sign an An Open Letter in Support of America's Armed Forces. Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, they have been deployed around the world and have demonstrated that they can win both the war against global terrorism, and the peace in formerly inhospitable places like Iraq and Afghanistan. These Patriots -- American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen -- have plowed the ground for liberty while protecting their countrymen back home. We remain the proud and the free because they have stood bravely in harm's way, and remain on post today. For this, we, the American People, offer our heartfelt thanks. Please support our troops -- let your voice be heard! Join fellow Patriots on the front lines in defense of our liberty and national sovereignty. Link to -- http://PatriotPetitions.US/USMIL (If you don't have Web access, please send a blank e-mail to: > Each e-mail sent to this address will be counted as one signature for the petition.) Founder's Quote: "The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." --Patrick Henry (Circulation of this petition is being sponsored by The Federalist Patriot, the most widely read conservative e-journal on the Internet. If you have not already joined the ranks of Patriots receiving The Federalist, we encourage you to do so. This highly acclaimed conservative digest of news, policy and opinion will be delivered FREE by e-mail to your inbox each week. Simply link to -- http://FederalistPatriot.US/subscribe/ If you don't have Web access, send a blank e-mail to > and you will be subscribed automatically.) To be removed from the Patriot Petitions mailing list, Link to -- http://PatriotPetitions.US/unsub.asp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:38:36 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:38:36 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Seattle LPSG Reorganiztion Meeting Message-ID: PLEASE POST WIDELY From: TACOMA LEONARD PELTIER SUPPORT GROUP P.O. BOX 5464 TACOMA, WA 98415-0464 Tacoma-lpsg at ojibwe.us bayou at blarg.net SEATTLE LEONARD PELTIER SUPPORT GROUP REORGANIZATION MEETING Greetings All, Since the early days of Leonard Peltier?s case there has always been a Seattle Leonard Peltier Support Group. The contact and main organizer of the Seattle LPSG in recent years has moved to L.A. Because of this there is a need to reorganize the Seattle LPSG and hopefully draw in new people to begin a new era of Peltier support in Seattle. Leonard lived in Seattle and was active in many of the Native struggles of those times. That is why the Seattle LPSG has always been one of the key LPSGs in the Leonard Peltier support network. The Tacoma LPSG is helping the Seattle supporters reorganize the Seattle LPSG out of respect and common cause. We also respectfully acknowledge the work of our friends of the Native People?s Alliance With Friends and Allies. The work of any LPSG is to build support for Leonard Peltier out among the people in the area where it is located. Also, the Seattle LPSG would help organize Seattle people to come out for the Annual Regional Tacoma Leonard Peltier March and Rally (see information below). Seattle LPSG Reorganization Meeting All Seattle Leonard Peltier Supporters Welcomed .Saturday, Nov. 27th, 2 pm to 4 pm Capitol Hill Branch of the Seattle Library At Harvard and Republican 12TH ANNUAL NORTHWEST REGIONAL INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH LEONARD PELTIER MARCH AND RALLY FOR JUSTICE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2005. TACOMA, WA MARCH FOR JUSTICE: 12:00 NOON Portland Ave. Park (on Portland Ave. between E. 24th and E. Fairbanks Ave. Take Portland Ave. exit off I-5 and head east) RALLY FOR JUSTICE: 1:00 PM U.S. Federal Court House, 1717 Pacific Ave. Program (more to be added later) Harold Belmont: Elder, Native People?s Alliance With Friends and Allies Dorothy Ackerman: Lakota Elder, Portland, OR Aztec Dancers Matilaja: Yu?Pik/Yakama Pete Sanchez: Ktunaxa (Kutenai), Drummer Jim Page: Folk Singer/Activist Michael One Road: AIM, Portland, OR Jeanette Bushnell: Anishinaabe Kerwin Hemlock: Drummer Russell Redner: AIM. Juan Jose Bocanegra: Community organizer and long time Peltier supporter. Steve Hapy, Jr: Tacoma LPSG Arthur J. Miller: Tacoma LPSG NW AIM DRUM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 20:48:51 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:48:51 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] it is beginning!!!... the Westwood LA the new Warsaw Ghetto? Message-ID: TANKS APPEAR AT ANTI-WAR PROTEST IN WESTWOOD, CA video at http://www.la.indymedia.org/news/2004/11/118865.php TANKS APPEAR AT ANTI-WAR PROTEST IN WESTWOOD, CA posted by tick tick on Wednesday November 10 2004 @ 10:20AM PST TANKS APPEAR AT ANTI-WAR PROTEST IN WESTWOOD, CA LOS ANGELES, November 9, 2004 - At 7:50 PM armored tanks showed up at an anti-war protest in front of the federal building in Westwood. The tanks circled the block twice, the second time parking themselves in the street and directly in front of the area where most of the protesters were gathered. Enraged, some of the people attempted to block the tanks, but police quickly cleared the street. The people continued to protest the presence of the tanks, but after about ten minutes the tanks drove off. It is unclear as to why the tanks were deployed to this location. http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=04/11/10/0844742 ____ Anti-war protest in L.A. gets response with tanks ALSO IN ELECTION 2004 Back to Work Molly Ivins Going Down the Stolen Election Road? David Corn Imagining a Real Youth Movement Raj Jayadev Worse Than 2000? William Rivers Pitt Norquist Gets Candid Bill Moyers Posted by Jan on November 10, 2004 @ 12:03PM What the heck happened in L.A. last night? A peaceful antiwar protest in Westwood got a Robocop response. Two armored tanks came to dispel the protest. It's unknown at the moment whether the protesters had permits, or what the rationale for bringing an armored response was by officials, but what kind of rationale could possibly merit this approach? From Indymedia: LOS ANGELES, November 9, 2004 - At 7:50 PM two armored tanks showed up at an anti-war protest in front of the federal building in Westwood. The tanks circled the block twice, the second time parking themselves in the street and directly in front of the area where most of the protesters were gathered. Enraged, some of the people attempted to block the tanks, but police quickly cleared the street. The people continued to protest the presence of the tanks, but about ten minutes the tanks drove off. It is unclear as to why the tanks were deployed to this location. There's a video available of this happening. http://www.alternet.org/election04/2004/11/002663.html Poland during the Nazi occupation http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/kristallnacht.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 21:12:22 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:12:22 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] In my opinion.... Message-ID: if you want to give tax breaks to anyone, the first persons who should get them are those in the military and LE here in the U.S. We should up the taxes on those who make the top 10% of the wealth of this country to make up the diff, because when you think about it, they need LE and the military to protect their wealth more so than all the poor people combined. In my opinion, d -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 21:14:45 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:14:45 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: [Sea.SA] Socialism Day School, Sat. SCCC Message-ID: ***** SOCIALISM DAY SCHOOL ***** This Saturday, November 13 11:15 am - 5 pm Seattle Central Community College Student Activities Center 1718 Broadway (across Broadway from the main campus building) Driving directions below 11:30 am - 1:00 pm WHERE IS U.S. POLITICS HEADED AFTER THE ELECTION? Reading: Socialist Alternative Statement on 2004 elections: http://www.socialistalternative.org/election/results.html 1:00 - 2:00 Lunch Break (on Broadway) 2:00 - 3:25 IS A SOCIALIST REVOLUTION POSSIBLE IN THE U.S.? Readings: a. Parts 1, 2, and 4 of "Why We Need a Labor Party": http://socialistalternative.org/literature/laborparty/ b. 2001 U.S. Perspectives document, paragraphs 1 -94 (see below) 3:35 - 5:00 "THE BATTLE OF CHILE" (amazing documentary on the 1970s revolution in Chile) Reading: "Lessons of Chile" (pages 1-25): http://www.socialistalternative.org/literature/chile.html DRIVING DIRECTIONS: >From I-5 north, exit Madison Street a few miles before downtown Seattle. Right on Madison. Go about 6 lights. Left on Broadway. Pass 3 lights and the Student Activities Center is on your right at 1718 Broadway. >From I-5 south, exit Union Street. Turn right at the light when you get off ramp. Right at next street (Pine). Pass about 5 lights, and turn left on Broadway. The Student Activities Center is half a block down on your right at 1718 Broadway. For more info: Call Ramy Khalil at (206) 526-7864 2001 US PERSPECTIVES DOCUMENT Discussed and approved by August 2001 Socialist Alternative National Committee for distribution and further discussion in local branches. PART ONE: THE END OF THE AMERICAN CENTURY & THE CRISIS OF US CAPITALISM The Importance of Battle of Seattle 1. The 20th century ended with the explosive events in Seattle. For all the world to see, here was an explosion of anger at the role of the United States in the world. Because the U.S. is the main promoter of the process of globalization, it was natural that the protest against globalization should erupt so explosively on US soil. 2. The consequences of globalization - layoffs of US workers and workers overseas, pollution of the environment, the trampling of human rights and democratic rights, and the concentration of power in the hands of the few - all came to the surface in the explosion in Seattle. The whole premise of US imperialism is being rejected by a small but growing layer of society, with youth at the forefront of this process. 3. This was not just a struggle on single issues. This was a protest against the most central institution of capitalism. It was a coming together of activists from different movements. It was an identification of many of the most pressing problems of our society with the global policies of capitalism, and for some people capitalism itself. This was a profound and important break in the political situation, and it ushered in a new period. 4. The protest against the WTO and subsequent protests go to the heart of the growing crisis of US society. US capitalism can no longer effectively play the world's policeman, and also offer the American dream. This is due to a more than 30-year decline of the US as a world power. The 20th century, a century that seemed to offer such possibilities, has now ended with more poor on the streets, more corruption of the political system, tens of millions living in abject poverty both in inner cities and in poor rural neighborhoods, the highest level of child mortality in the western world, more children living in poverty than in any other major country, and 40 million with no health care. And this is the richest country in the world. The Post-World War II Period 5. At the end of World War II, in 1945 the US was the undisputed leader of the capitalist world. 80% of the world's gold was in its vaults. It had the most technologically advanced factories in the world. The economies of its rivals were in shambles after the destruction caused by the war. Europe and Japan were in ruins. The US, under Bretton Woods framework, used its power to install free trade as the economic paradigm internationally, while also allowing room for national economic development. Also, the US dollar was established as the benchmark of world currencies. Through the export of capital and goods from its technologically advanced and intact industries, the reach of US imperialism became global. These conditions, linked to the massive union organizing victories of the 1930s and continued militant strikes in the post-war period, allowed the American dream of continuously rising living standards for successive generations to become a reality for a wide section of the US population. 6. The 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s saw the US facing increasing struggles against its policies. The civil rights movement at home, the growing revolt of the peoples of the world against colonialism, and the mass revolt both at home and in the armed forces in Vietnam against the brutal intervention in Vietnam War forced the US to make retreat after retreat. 7. The defeat of the US armed forces in Vietnam was a huge shock to US imperialism. It was its first defeat. It marked a clear limit to the ability of the US to shape world events. This defeat, as well as the black revolt of the 1960s which resulted in the explosion of inner cities in flames, and the radicalization of students and workers during the Vietnam War protests, all shook US society. In the late 1960s and early 1970s wildcat strikes developed, as workers began to move around their union leaders in order to defend their living standards from the ravages of inflation. On top of this the political system was thrown into crisis with the impeachment of President Nixon. The absolute dominance of the US in the western world came to an end. The wings of the Imperial Eagle of US imperialism had been clipped. The Decline of US Capitalism 8. The world recession of 1973-1975 marked the end of the massive post-war boom internationally, and ushered in a period of systemic crisis and stagnation in the world capitalist economy. We are still in this period today. In this new period of global economic crisis, US imperialism has been losing ground and competitiveness to its other imperialist rivals, mainly Japan and Germany. 9. In the 1970s inflation exploded as the US continued its attempt to maintain Keynesian spending policies at a time of a contracting world economy. This marked a crucial turning point. US big business, along with their bourgeois counterparts around the world, realized that when the post-war economic upswing ended, the only way they could maintain their profits was to attack the working class. The time of crumbs falling from the table of the capitalists was over. Instead, big business demanded that workers give them back. The union leaders joined with the bosses in arguing that workers would have to pay for the crisis. 10. The central program of both parties in the US since the 1970s has been the same neo-liberal offensive - privatization, attacks on unions, tax cuts for corporations and the rich, and the slashing of social programs. On an international scale all ruling parties have been inevitably forced to carry out neo-liberal attacks, regardless of their wishes, intentions or election promises. In this period of capitalist crisis it is only possible to carry out reforms on the basis of a fundamental break with the logic of profit, and capitalism. 11. The recession of 1973-75 marked a fundamental and qualitative turning point in American history - the end of the "American Dream." Throughout the entire history of the USA, the majority of every generation have had a higher standard of living than their parents. The dynamic growth of the US economy had allowed the capitalists to provide key sectors of the US working class with enough concessions to maintain political stability and cut across the development of a mass workers party or socialist movement. It was upon this material basis that the two party system of big business maintained its grip. This was the basis for "American exceptionalism," which has now come to a definitive end. It is on the basis of this new situation that we have seen the slow, yet consistent breaking up and weakening of the two party system. What About the 1990s? 12. The combination of the collapse of Stalinism in the USSR and Eastern Europe, and the prolonged economic upswing of the US in the 1990s, has created a very complex objective situation in the 1990s. The 1990s witnessed a retreat in working class consciousness, an unprecedented collapse of the left, the retreat of the trade unions, an intensified neo-liberal offensive and a relatively low level of class struggle. How does this fit into our perspectives of the deep crisis of international capitalism, the end of the American Dream, and the breakup of the two party system? Do the events of the 1990s somehow disprove our perspectives? Have we entered a new period of sustained and organic economic growth and prosperity as the boom of 1990s seemed to indicate? 13. A closer examination reveals that the "economic boom" was not much of a boom, but in fact was a confirmation of our analysis that capitalism is passing through a phase of deep economic crisis. A period of economic crisis does not mean that the boom/bust cycle of capitalism is replaced with only busts. During a period of long-term crisis there are still cyclical upturns followed by cyclical downturns. The key is to see the overall trajectory of development. Which way does the cycle point, as a whole including both booms and busts - up or down? 14. The 1990s "boom" was in fact a hollow or shallow boom, which reflects the endemic crisis of capitalism in this period. Productivity rose a mere 1.9% per year from 1990-97, and 2.9% per year from 1997-2000, falling below the 3.3% per year average growth during the 1950-73 upswing (Socialism Today #56). The growth in GDP from 1990-1999 was only 2.6%. This is only half of the level during the post-war boom of 1950-1975 (Growth rates of the US economy for the following periods were: 1948-1953 5.38%, 1960-69 4.33%, 1980-1990 2.75%). The economic boom of the 1990s was not based on an organic expansion of the productive forces, but was of a parasitical nature. It was based on an increased rate of exploitation of the working class in the US and particularly in the colonial world, a speculative bubble on Wall Street, and unsustainable levels of debt (these points are explained further in the section on the US economy). 15. Unlike previous upswings, however, workers did not see any real gains in wages or living conditions during the 1990s boom. This is a confirmation of our analysis of the nature of the period since the mid-1970s. The driving force in the economy in this period is a parasitical drive by the capitalists to increase the rate of exploitation of labor in order to maintain their rates of profit. Until 1996 wages continued to stagnate or fall, and have barely increased since then. Clinton accelerated the neo-liberal offensive, delivering the last nails in the coffin of the welfare state. In fact during the 1990s there has been a massive social polarization of US society along class lines. Income inequality is at its highest since the 1930s. The Power of Working Class 16. Most of the left took to despair at these developments of the 1990s, and have drawn the incorrect conclusion that the balance of class forces has qualitatively shifted in favor of the capitalists. This is an entirely false conclusion. The neo-liberal program has been born out of the crisis of capitalist system and reflects the fundamental weakness of the system. If we take an historical perspective, the issues become a lot clearer. Over the past 25 years the ruling class has only been able to very slowly claw back some -not all - of the social reforms and concessions won by the working class during the exceptional post-war period. But the basic strength and fighting capacity of the working class is still intact. 17. The trade unions have been weakened, but they still remain strong by any other standard except the post-war boom period. Time and again in the last decade, in long and bitter strikes the working class has shown that is willing to fight. The main stumbling block for the working class remains the leaders of their organizations, the labor unions, who, by rejecting methods of class struggle, have failed to conduct a serious struggle to defend the living standards of the working class. Most importantly, big business has been unable to erase the expectations amongst the working class in the advanced capitalist nations for the post-war boom standards of living. This represents an enormous obstacle for capitalism in its drive to reduce living conditions to pre-WWII standards. The Collapse of Stalinism 18 Many in the left have said that the collapse of the Soviet Union and other Stalinist states shows that socialism cannot and does not work. We disagree with that analysis. Despite claims to the contrary, the Soviet Union had never been a socialist or communist country. Despite huge revolutionary waves in the immediate period after the Russian revolution, the Soviet Union became isolated and a bureaucratic caste came to power, which then brutally repressed the working class to ensure increased power and privileges for itself, resulting in a dictatorship. This monstrous caricature of a socialist society was used by capitalist rulers in the West to scare off young people and workers who were looking for a socialist alternative to capitalism. Mired in internal contradictions, the Stalinist countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union collapsed or were overthrown from 1989-1991. 19. The collapse of the Stalinist states also allowed US imperialism and other imperialism's to intensify their exploitation of workers, especially in the underdeveloped world. There was no buffer anymore to the naked power of the massive corporations, who whipsawed one country against the other in order to force down prices for goods and extract more favorable terms for their investment into these countries. The collapse of Stalinism removed an enormous material obstacle to the neo-liberal offensive, and allowed the capitalists to carry out an extreme neo-liberal program throughout the 1990s which produced the qualitative acceleration of the process of globalization. 20. Imperialism seized on the collapse of Stalinism as an opportunity to launch an ideological offensive, or propaganda war, against the ideas of socialism - claiming the impossibility of economic planning and the triumph of the capitalist market. This offensive succeeded in throwing back consciousness internationally and in the US. Socialist consciousness, class consciousness, and even the idea of struggle was pushed back. Crucially the majority of the activist layer in the unions, mass workers parties, and left organizations became disoriented and demoralized by these events, because they did not have a clear Marxist understanding of the nature of Stalinism. In most countries of the world, the collapse of this activist layer led to a process of "bourgeoisification" of the "bourgeois workers parties" (mass workers parties with pro-capitalist, reformist leaderships) around the world, as they became transformed into open bourgeois parties along the lines of the US Democratic Party. 21. In the US this process also had a big effect. The activist layer in the US, while smaller in comparison to Europe, was also disoriented and demoralized by events that it did not understand. This led to the emptying out and destruction of the old activist layers and the left in the US. The left-activist layer in the unions and opposition caucuses were thrown back. Almost all the traditional vehicles of struggle which articulated resistance - community, civil rights, women's, and left organizations - were totally or partially erased due to the demoralization of the old activist layer which held together these organizations. Some disappeared, and some transformed into appendages of the Democratic Party. This has complicated perspectives. So, although living conditions have fallen and there is growing anger, there is an acute lack of leadership for the new movement, or channels through which the struggles can flow through. This has meant the movement has had to build new organizations throughout its struggles, a seriously complicating factor for the new movement, and one that is creating subjective obstacles to the working class being able to effectively fight back. Conditions Created for New Struggles 22. The collapse of Stalinism, and Social-Democracy along with it, has had a contradictory effect. On the one hand it has created difficulties and obstacles for the struggles of the working class and the forces of Marxism in the 1990s. 23. But these complications can not indefinitely hold back mass struggles. Mass movements will - and are - emerging. With the emergence of a new cycle of revolt ushered in by Seattle in 1999, we are beginning to see the other side of this process. The collapse of Stalinism and Social-Democracy has cleared away the two main obstacles to revolutionary Marxism and the workers movement. Genuine Marxism will now be able to play a much more prominent and central role in the new post-Stalinist period, helping to rebuild the workers movement from the ground up. While creating short- term difficulties, the 1990s have prepared the ground for a new movement to develop, and for unprecedented opportunities for the ideas of genuine Marxism to re-build the workers and socialist movement on firm foundations. 24. The period of the 20th century, the American century, has ended. US capitalism has passed its prime, and is already wracked in crisis. During the next period, it will increasingly be forced to take back the gains won by workers in the last 50 years. This is preparing for a period of increased radicalization, and the re-emergence of a new workers movement in the next period. PART TWO: THE CURRENT CONJUNCTURE A) US Economy: The End of the Upturn and the Developing Recession 15. The decade of the 1990s was the longest period of cyclical growth in US history, though still far weaker than the post-war upswing of 1945-1973. During this period spokesman for US capitalism spoke rosily about the vitality of the US economy, and the great future it offered future generations. For many years, with the stock market still booming, and economic growth continuing these spokesman seemed to be proved right. Now with the developing recession, all their claims are being proved to be false. The basis of the growth of the stock market, which they so adored, was due not to the underlying strength in the US economy, but instead was due to its attractiveness to speculators looking for highest rate of return on their investment. The cumulative return enjoyed by speculators on the US stock market in the years 1995-1999 was 30% a year. This should be compared to an annual growth in Gross Domestic Product of only 2.6% between 1990 and 1999, less than a tenth of the amount. 26. This enormous flow of foreign capital into the US economy played a decisive key role in propping up living standards during the last decade and propping up the stock market bubble and the high value of the US dollar. The massive US trade deficit and foreign debt was financed only through the influx of foreign capital. This has been crucial in propping up the unprecedented levels of consumer debt. It was only because people could borrow money that they could afford to buy the new car. They could only get a second mortgage on an inflated house price because banks were willing to gamble that the stock market and economy would keep going up and up. Future stock options were considered almost the same as cash. Under pressure from banks, consumer spending grew at 5.3% annual rate over the last two years, more than two percentage points faster than after-tax income. This could only be achieved by workers going further into debt. Private borrowing now totals a record 130% of gross domestic product. Homeowners loaded up with debt during the 1990s through second mortgages etc to a record level of $5.4 trillion. The volume of second mortgages has tripled since 1993 (Business Week (BW) 4/30/01). One in four homeowners has a second mortgage. With easy credit supplied by banks, record numbers of these second mortgages were not spent on the home but to pay off bills, consolidate debt etc. This has created problems not only for homeowners but also for banks. Mark Zandi, Chief economist at economy.com, says: "A not insignificant portions of these loans are going to go delinquent." The ratio of total debt to disposable income increased from 77% in 1986 to over 100% today (Socialism Today (ST) 4/19/99). Consumer debt has dramatically risen over the past period, artificially offsetting declining real wages as workers desperately attempt to avoid a fall in their living standards, with all the resulting explosive political implications. This has left an economy mired in debt, and dependent on foreign capital as it now enters a new economic recession. 27. The developing recession, which began in the high tech industry, and manufacturing, has now spread into services and the housing market. It has now also begun to have a major impact on employment. The rate of unemployment has started to rise, affecting all job categories. At a time when the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates to stimulate spending, the banks are actually going in the opposite direction. Scared at the growing level of high-tech losses and bankruptcies, they are tightening their rules for lending. This action, which will make loans more difficult to get, will reduce economic activity and further slow the economy. 28. A key factor is that businesses are cutting back capital purchases and other economic activity. Total business investment in equipment fell at a 3.3% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2000 and at a 2.1% rate in the first quarter (BW 5/14/01). "Corporate CEOs are in a profound funk over eroding profit margins. And their reflexive reaction - deep cuts in capital investment, research and development, purchasing and payrolls - is acting like a whirlpool that sucks the economy down" (BW 4/30/01). Business investment was a key factor in boosting the economy, and is now in decline. 29. On top of that they are being hit by the big increase in energy costs - gas prices, natural gas prices, electricity price increases and coal price increases. Power expenditures zoomed 39% from 1998 to 2000, and are likely to rise a further 9% this year according to Standard and Poor's DRI (BW 5/14/01). In fact the increase in energy prices since 1998 - close to $200 billion - swamps the $100 billion that might be injected into the economy this year by the Bush Administration's proposed tax cut (BW 5/14/01). 30. The single most important factor in the economy is consumer spending which represent 2/3 of the economy. All hopes for averting a major recession lie in convincing consumers to keep going into debt to maintain their level of spending. But consumer confidence has fallen, and consumers have recently become particularly concerned about the threat of job losses. As a Wells Fargo Bank spokesman put it: "Mounting layoffs are starting to batter the consumer pocketbooks and confidence." Instead of going into debt as they do at present to sustain consumer spending, consumers (workers) will be retrenching and attempting to pay off the mountain of debt they accumulated in the 1990s. It should be noted that the banks decided to protect themselves from their own irresponsible short-term lending policies that created this increased debt by tightening bankruptcy laws in the bill just passed by both big business political parties. 31. Compared to the past, more people's savings and pensions have been invested in the stock market. The proportion of Mutual Funds deposits invested in Wall Street rather than more secure government bonds more than doubled from 25% in 1990 to 56% in 1998. Tens of millions of Americans' have invested important savings and pensions in the stock market, exactly at time when the crash is imminent. This will mean that unlike in 1929, when the crash hit mainly the rich, it will have a devastating effect on households trying to keep their heads above water. 32. Other than spending by businesses and consumers, the only other domestic stimulant for the economy is state spending. However, the federal government is projecting minimal increased spending, and most state governments are looking to cut back spending. During the 1990s state governments cut taxes in the expectation of ever lasting surpluses as far as the eye could see. The economic slowdown will hit state and local governments hard with rising growing budget deficits. Rising jobless rates will increase pressure on states to provide assistance to many poor working mothers and their children. States will have to reckon with the consequences of welfare reform, which sharply limits what Washington will pay for such aid. Local politicians will look to slash programs benefiting working people to balance their budgets Underlying Reason For Crisis 33. All of these structural problems in the economy show how utopian are the ideas of some economists that the Federal Reserve will be able to prevent a recession by cutting interest rates. The 1990s, far from strengthening the US economy, have further exacerbated the deeper structural problems of the US economy. A central feature of the last 40 years has been the process of de-industrialization of the US economy. >From being the manufacturing powerhouse of the world economy after World War II, US big business, in industry after industry, has failed to reinvest their profits back into modernizing their industries. (The exception has been the high investment during the late 1990s in the advanced, high tech sectors.) Low wages in services etc. encouraged bosses to rely on cheap labor rather than innovation. This resulted in US corporations losing market share in industry after industry, including clothing, TVs, steel, autos, shipbuilding etc. This is reflected in the following statistic. Considering goods only, excluding oil, foreign-made merchandize now accounts for 28 cents of every dollar spent on such goods, up from only 19 cents a decade ago. (BW 5/7/01) 34. While the neo-liberal offensive has been successful in restoring rates of profit to their historic highs, very little of this money has gone into investing in industry and productive capital. Instead, it has been attracted to the stock market and other forms of financial speculation. This is because in today's economy, capitalists can receive a much higher rate of return in speculative activity than by investing in the real economy. The capitalist economy is driven by profit. When the system was dynamic and growing, capital was invested in areas that developed the productive forces. Today under conditions of a declining, decaying US capitalism, the logic of profit does not act as an engine for economic growth, but instead wasteful speculative activity that only generates paper revenues. The high rates of growth on Wall Street are only the other side of the low rates of growth of the US economy. 35. This has been the fate of previous capitalist countries like Britain, which, under the influence of the laws of capitalism let their industrial bases decline, and declined as world powers. The production of goods is the basis of wealth. A nation cannot maintain a strong economy on services alone. All the self-congratulatory rhetoric about a rebirth during the 1990s has now collapsed in a pile of broken dot.com promises. As the Wall Street Journal said: "America has not been able to create a new golden age." (ST 4/19/99.) The growth in GDP in last period, 1990-1999, was only 2.6%. This is only half of the level during the post-war boom of 1950-1975. (Growth rates of US economy for the following periods was: 1948-1953 5.4%, 1960-69 4.3%, 1980-1990 2.8%.) 36. This collapse in manufacturing industry is reflected in the growing trade deficit (a comparison of the dollar value of goods the US exports to other countries compared to how much it imports). The trade deficit with developing nations alone was $170 billion last year. (BW 5/7/01). 37. In the 1980s the US was still a net creditor. By the end of 2000 the US current account deficit, was more than four times larger than it was at the end of 1995, and had grown to a record 4.6% of GDP. (BW 5/7/01) This is at a level that Business Week calls "unsustainable." Economists at Credit Suisse First Boston estimate that the US is already commanding more than 80% of the world's excess savings in order to finance that trade gap. (BW 5/7/01) This annual deficit has created a massive national debt to bankers in other countries. This year the net debt of the US is $3.2 trillion, or 29% of GDP (Associated Press 4/11/01). These statistics are indications of the weakening position of US imperialism relative to its economic competitors. It is a confirmation of our analysis that, in addition to the general economic crisis of world capitalism since 1975, there is an extra special crisis of US imperialism. 38. The US economy cannot overcome its internal contradictions, which are inherent to capitalism. Most notable is the crisis of over production, or what now mainly takes the form of overcapacity. This was one of the central contradictions of the capitalist system explained by Karl Marx. The April 9th, 2001 issue of Business Week spelled this out in an extensive article titled "US Economy: The hangover of excess capacity - Too much of everything." It said: "After years of frantically investing to build up the human and physical capacity to keep up with soaring growth, the US economy is struggling with overcapacity as far as the eye can see. From Intel's half-finished building in Austin, to the multitudes of identical retail stores that seem to dot every other corner, to the gaping, empty billboards that loom over New York's Times Square, every sector is struggling with the hangover caused by too many years of too much investment." The article then documented a situation where the auto industry is now selling only 74% of the 70.1 million cars it can build each year, and that during the last eight years square footage growth among retailers has grown five times as fast as the population. It expects plant closures in industry after industry, with a resulting loss of jobs for workers. It quotes Henry Kaufman, a veteran Wall Street analyst, as saying: "It's going to be a significant retarding force on the economy for some time." The article concludes with the following grim conclusion: "By a little or a lot, there's no getting away from the fact that a host of companies spent too much, built too much, and hired too many people during the boom times. It was a giddy ride while it lasted. Now the economy is having to deal with the inevitable hangover. And the headaches aren't likely to subside anytime soon." The Coming Recession 39. The recent gyrations of the stock market have begun to correct for the massive bubble in values created on the stock market during the 1990s. During the period 1995-99 the investors received a staggering 270% cumulative return from investment in the stock market. Clearly the real economy has not grown by such an amount, and these prices will have to come down. At the beginning of 1999, and they've gone up since then, the stocks of all US corporations were worth 26 times their collective profits! (twice the historic level) (Henwood, Left Business Observer, #87, December 1998). 40. Like in the great depression of the 1930s, this decline of the stock market will most likely come in a series of falls punctuated by brief recoveries. At present many investors still believe that magically the stock market will recover, which explains their continued, but reluctant, reinvestment in stocks. At a certain stage it will become clear that this is not the case, and that stocks are in for a prolonged period of depressed prices. 41. But as the bubble deflates, there is a strong possibility that the dollar will also collapse. The present overvalued dollar reflects the massive influx of capital into the US in the last few years. It was only because of that inflow that consumers and corporations in the US could have increased their spending by going into debt. At a certain point, the decline in the stock market, the dollar and the US economy will trigger a fundamental crisis of 'confidence' in the US economy, leading overseas investors to withdraw their funds from stocks, bonds and businesses etc. in the US. This has the potential then to trigger a serious a prolonged economic downturn in the US and internationally. 42. Business Week spelled this out in its April 2nd 2001 issue: "There is a risk that this downturn is different and that far steeper cuts in interest rates are needed to keep the New Economy from tumbling into a long and painful recession." It is this scenario that the Fed is desperate to prevent. However the laws of the capitalist economy are more powerful than Fed reserve chairman Greenspan. Any interest rate changes he puts through will take over six months to have any effect. Any minimal effect lowering interest rates will be too late to prevent the US and world economies falling into a serious recession. World Economic Downturn 43. The decline of the US economy will be the trigger for a simultaneous world recession. Business Week in its April 2nd issue put it this way: "The consequences of a US slowdown go far beyond American shores. For a decade, the US has been the main engine of world growth, sustaining other economies by sucking up their imports. Japan's economy is as weak as it has been since its asset bubble burst in 1990, and Europe is beginning to sputter. If the US economy goes cold, it could spell a severe global downturn and possibly even a financial crisis." 44. We do not have space to summarize all the implications the US economy will have on other countries. The fear of many US analysts is that the US economy could fall into a long-term period of stagnation such as Japan has suffered. Japan, the second most powerful economy in the world, has been in a period of almost zero growth for decade. Mired by high levels of debt, the Japanese economy has been unable to get above 0% growth. The Japanese economy is now dipping again into recession. If Japan went into freefall, which is very possible, the yen could fall even further, dealing a blow to world markets, and undermining the competitiveness of economies in the rest of Asia. The economies of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia could then fall into recession, a region that has still not recovered from economic meltdown of 1997-98. In this situation a further shattering of expectations could provoke even larger political movements in these countries than in 1997-98. 45. Europe is the other key economic region of the world economy. European stock markets are tumbling, with a 18% decline since the high point in September last year. The economies are slowing, consumer confidence has plummeted in Germany, economists are trimming estimates for growth in European economies, and forecasts for earnings are being slashed. Overall growth is at 2% level, but there is increasing concern about the effect the US economic slowdown will have on Europe. 46. Latin America is in a much more dire situation, with much of South America stagnant for the past two years. The two year old economic recession in Argentina is already creating political crisis and big movements, where the third economics minister in three weeks has just been appointed. The previous one had to resign in the face of a 24-hour general strike by unions due to his plans to slash government spending. 47. Never before in history have the world's economies been so interrelated. Events in Japan will have an immediate response in other countries, which will then trigger further events. Considering the rapid flight of capital during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, there is a strong possibility that the coming crisis could expose major flaws in the global financial system as investors struggle to find a safe haven for their money. 48. In the US the effect of the withdrawal of necessary lifeline of foreign capital will have a dramatic effect. The US will no longer be able to sustain consumption in excess of production, or finance the trade and payments deficit. This would mean a severe contraction of the US economy. It would also trigger huge pressure to shut out foreign goods out of the economy to prevent further job losses and closures of plants and bankruptcies in the US. 49. One aspect of this will be the partial reversal of the process of globalization and the extreme neo-liberalism of the 1990s. The global downturn will place enormous pressure on the US bourgeoisie to "protect" its own economy by limiting the access of competing powers to the US market. The massive US trade deficit will no longer be economically or politically sustainable in the new conditions of a recession. The ideas of protectionism will gain force in this new situation and neo-liberal free trade will be put on the defensive. US imperialism will look to defend its markets and interests by retreating to consolidating its regional trade blocks (the Americas) from penetration from goods and services from other major rival trades blocks of Europe and Asia. 50. The capitalist system also will not die on its own. However deep the upcoming crisis, and we will need to review the process as it develops, there is no final crisis of capitalism where capitalism will just collapse. This developing recession will be followed at some point by a new upturn. But the overall direction of capitalism is towards stagnation and crisis in this period. Unless it is overthrown by an organized and conscious movement of the working class, capitalism will always find a way to continue its political domination beyond its historical usefulness. Whether this is through a systematic lowering of wages and social programs, destroying the organizations of the working class, wars, or a turn to dictatorship. As the great revolutionary Marxist Rosa Luxemburg explained, humanity faces a basic choice: socialism or barbarism. B) The Challenges For US Imperialism 51. The 1990s was a decade when capitalist leaders in the West had enormous optimism. It began with the collapse of the Soviet Union. They then had a victory in the Gulf war, and they passed new trade agreements with GATT, NAFTA that further opened up underdeveloped countries to multi-national corporations. They had the longest period of economic expansion in history, and they saw a massive shift of wealth form the poor to the rich. This was a period almost unprecedented in history. 52. The new millennium will be a payback for all the excesses of the 1990s. Already, in the closing days of the 1990s, major protests in Seattle shocked the world, as protests in the belly of the imperialist beast of the US shut down the WTO for one day. These protests have taken on an international character, and have become increasingly anti-capitalist. Just when the imperialist countries thought they had established globalization as the new world consensus, major cracks have appeared which are now enlarging, as young people, working people and oppressed people around the world suffer under the indignities and brutal consequences of their results, and have moved into action to protest. This has provoked movements in Indonesia, the Philippines, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Brazil to name but a few countries. 53. Now, the collapsing of the US economy into recession will trigger a new world recession. This is at a time when during the last decade structural mass unemployment, poverty, hunger and homelessness have been enormously aggravated on a global scale. This will provoke an explosion of anger in the coming period 54. The major imperialist powers were enormously strengthened during the 1990s by the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the period of the Cold War (1950-1990) smaller countries were able to lean on the USSR as a big brother, to resist the demands of imperialism and in particular the US. This gave them bargaining strength. With the USSR gone, then the countries of the neo-colonial world are at the mercy of US and international capitalism. During the 1990s the major powers used this situation to ram home their advantage. Through the IMF, World Bank and WTO agreements were forced on these countries that condemned their countries to the ravages of free trade. Many of their essential services were privatized and bought up by multi-national countries. This gave super profits to multinational corporations, and opened up market to goods from the US and other major powers. In case any countries thought they could stand against this process, they had the devastating experience of Iraq - a country that invaded a neighbor, and has now been bombed and starved into a condition of abject poverty. New World Disorder 55. However, these successes of imperialism in this period were rooted in the conditions of the 1990s. The coming period will not be so favorable for imperialism. Repeated challenges to US interests and capitalism will show how limited the US is in immediately inflicting its power. Essentially there will be too many flashpoints for the US to intervene in all of them. We are entering a much more complex, disordered period in international relations. The end of the Cold War removed the central material factor which greatly stabilized and simplified international relations. The coming apart of this glue, and the deep downturn, is creating an extremely complex set of world relations. The massive social breakdown and economic crisis unleashed by globalization has also contributed to a greatly destabilized world of wars, civil wars, mass migration and the collapse of society in certain regions such as Africa and parts of Eastern Europe. 56. The end of the Cold War removed the main factor impeding inter-imperialist competition; the need to unite the capitalist world - around the US - against the common enemy of Stalinism cut across the fundamental tendency in the imperialist epoch for ever sharper inter-imperialist competition over the world market. This special period is now over. The US has already begun to face stiffer competition from its German and Japanese rivals over the past 25 years. The coming economic crisis will intensify struggle between the different capitalist powers as they struggle to defend their share of a dwindling world market, and defend their spheres of interest. 57. Imperialism is facing a growing tide of resistance and struggle around the world. The collapse of Stalinism created an abnormally low level of class struggle in the 1990s. As we have explained, that process has reached its limits and we are now seeing the birth of a new cycle of social movements and revolutions. US imperialism will be a central target of many mass struggles around the world and will be entangled in numerous attempts to crush revolutionary struggles. With the interruption and partial reversal of the processes of extreme neo-liberalism and globalization, we will see the re-emergence of a degree of independence by sections of the neo-colonial bourgeoisie. This will be expressed in growing nationalist, protectionist and populist movements in the neo-colonial world. Examples of this can been seen in Venezuela in Chavez and Marathi Mohamad in Malaysia. This too will throw obstacles and difficulties in the way of imperialism. The breakdown in the peace process in the Middle East threatens to further destabilize that region of the world, and is a further sign of the US losing control of events and is undermining US prestige on a world scale. 58. Already, the signs are there that a new situation is developing. The process of revolution has begun to re-emerge in the under-developed countries. Following the economic meltdown in South East Asia in 1997, we saw the development of the Indonesian revolution. Big movements have occurred in the Philippines. In South America in Venezuela we see Chavez sticking his nose up at US imperialism. Through his statements and policies he has attracted widespread support in Latin America as offering an alternative the free-trade economic model offered by US imperialism. In Ecuador a peasant movement nearly overthrew the government. Social and political movements are starting to develop once again, and the Latin American revolution has entered a new phase. An important fact in this is the collapse of the Communist Parties in these regions, which were always important vehicles to contain the revolutions, and to prevent them from challenging capitalism, due to the mistaken two-stage policy of the Stalinists (first their had to be a bourgeois revolution, and then only after capitalism had developed, would the socialist revolution be on the agenda). 59. This will be the backdrop to the coming decade. Far from being defeated, the working class on an international scale is still intact and strong. It has just been ideologically disarmed temporarily due to confusion caused by the collapse of Stalinism. In the coming period it will be forced to move once more into struggle. This struggle will shake country after country as the masses look for a way out of their hell, and to create a society that can provide for human need. US Military Interventions 60. The recent victories of the US military have not been against social movements, but against isolated dictators, or bombing raids against 'rogue states'. This has given the US overconfidence, as they have attempted to erase memories of the humiliating defeat in Vietnam. In the next period, the US will be forced to intervene again and again against mass movements and revolutionary struggles. 61. Already, the US is concerned at the development of opposition to its rule in Latin America. Not only has it seen Chavez gaining wide support for his anti-US rhetoric, but big movements have already occurred on the continent. It is in this context we should see the US increasing its military intervention in Colombia. Under the pretext of ending the drug war, which gives it a certain support at home, its policy is not aimed at eradicating cocaine. Its real aim is to put down the left-wing guerilla insurgency which is threatening to destabilize Columbia and the wider region, and to give a lesson to all those who might plan to stand up to US imperialism's policies in the region. However, the result will not be what the US expects. This policy, which has described as similar to Vietnam, is in fact more similar to El Salvador, where the US is fighting a proxy war, by sending advisors and arms so the Colombian armed forces to do its fighting for it. The end result will be to build more sympathy for the guerilla movement among young people, and more anger towards US imperialism in the region. 62. Imperialism will attempt to present these struggles to the public in terms of "democracy" and "terrorism." But without the "red menace" threat of recent decades, it won't be as easy to prevent big movements at home against US imperialist interventions against revolutionary movements. US imperialism is still enormously held back from direct military interventions by the "Vietnam Syndrome." It is still politically unfeasible for the US to go to war if it will cost American lives, unless there is a general perception that the US is directly threatened. Any military adventure which leads to US boys coming home in body bags will ignite a mass anti-war movement. This was witnessed in the 1991 Gulf War. Whereas it took over 10 years for the anti-war movement to emerge against US intervention in Vietnam, in 1991 even before the war started hundreds of thousands were protesting on the streets. This massive opposition was cut across by the overwhelming US victory, the low number of American causalities, and the effects of the collapse of Stalinism. 63. The struggle against imperialism will not only be initiated by youth and students and the most advanced workers, but also by people who migrated here from abroad. This was shown most recently with Serbian nationals and Palestinians being out on the streets against US bombing of their country. 64. A key development has been the increased integration of people of color into the US military. This is a factor that promises to greatly complicate future military interventions. The ruling class got a taste of this during Vietnam, when the black revolt spread into the army and led to widespread mutinies and unrest in the army. African Americans, with their long history of experiencing brutal racism in the USA, will tend to resist racist interventions by the US into the colonial world. 65. Since the 1960s there has been an explosive growth in the Latino population in the USA, where today it is the largest minority grouping, even bigger than African-Americans. This is a big gain, compared to the position in the 60s or 70s. Latinos will also tend to oppose US interventions in any part of the colonial world. Any attempt by imperialism to openly militarily intervene in Latin America would provoke major struggles by Latinos in the US, and most importantly amongst Latinos in the US military. 66. The last decade has also seen increased links between the labor movement and the environmental movement and youth movements. This started around the fight against NAFTA and continued over fast track authorization and WTO. Another important development was the AFL-CIO recent action to abandon its 100 year old anti-immigrant position, and finally take up the demand for amnesty. These struggles, and the end of the cold war, have forced the labor movement to focus more on the common interests of workers against international capital, rather than the narrow interests of US imperialism fighting communism, as in the past. The anti-NAFTA, WTO and GATT movements, and anti-sweatshop movements have posed the need to forge more links between workers in the US and other countries. This is a important gain for the coming period, which activists must fight to maintain in the next period. 67. Despite these gains, the failure of the labor movement to see capitalism as the problem means they see no solution based on the international working class. They will look for a solution under capitalism. The ideology of the labor leaders is still trapped in the idea that the only way to defend jobs is to attempt to make the system better here in the US. Thus, their support for protectionism - i.e. defending national capitalists against international capitalists. This will lead to an uneasy relationship between the developing youth movement and the labor leaders, with times of collaboration and times of separation and hostility. Some recent examples of moves taken by the AFL-CIO which has undermined their ability to link with a broader movement was their reactionary nationalist opposition to "Permanent Normalized Trading Relations" with China, opposition to Mexican truckers, and some unions support for Bush's energy plan. It is only by the development of socialist internationalism that these barriers can be overcome. An important role for our organization is to clarify that progress can only be made based on the common interests of workers against the common enemy - the capitalist class in each country. 68. All these issues will stay the hand of US imperialism, and will complicate its attempts to militarily put down the growing social movements against its influence in the coming period. US-China Relations 69. A central contradiction for the US has been that it wants to solicit the cooperation of other countries in signing onto the new trade agreements, which will then benefit multi-national corporations based in the west. At the same time, the US does not want these countries to challenge its own economic interests. 70. With the collapse of 'communism' in Russia, and the move of China to capitalist development, then US foreign policy shifted to a policy of capitalizing on the emerging market of China. One of the finishing pegs of this policy was to be China's entry into the WTO. This major prize, opening up the massive continent of China to US corporations, has been a goal that US capitalism has been seeking for the last century. China, is a far large prize compared to the size of Japan; Singapore and S. Korea pale in comparison. In anticipation of this event, in the last year US corporations have been signing favorable long-term investment deals, and pushed for China to be host of the Olympic Games. 71. Despite an over-exaggeration by the Republicans to justify their arms policy, over the last 20 years China has begun to develop as a major regional power. China is shaping up to be the major power in South-East Asia, and a major rival to Japan, which would be a major strategic power if its military power was commensurate with its economic power. US foreign policy dictates not allowing China to develop as the dominant power in the region to challenge the US and to prevent a deterioration in relations with Japan and other countries of South-East Asia. Bush's Foreign Policy 72. The inclusion by Bush of Rumsfeld and Cheney, Cold War warriors and ideologues of the right wing of the Republican Party; has created a certain shift in US foreign policy. This has led to statements on Star Wars, China, Korea, Taiwan, Kyoto and the Middle East which have inflamed relations between the US and long-term allies, not to mention the leaders of other countries. Particularly in relation to China, spokesmen of US big business are concerned that these policies will spoil their ability to make profits out of investments in China. 73. On foreign policy, the Bush administration has two different factions. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney are right wing hangovers from the cold war. Secretary of State Powell has a more moderate, or centrist position, which is quite similar to Clinton's foreign policy. Powell wants the US to continue working through strategic agreements with allies. Initially, Bush has leaned more in the direction of the Rumsfeld-Cheney wing, but there is much heated debate in the administration between the two different factions on what are the strategic, long-term interests of US imperialism and its immediate strategy and tactics. Bush's foreign policy is still in flux. While the Rumsfeld-Cheney camp currently has the advantage, there will be tremendous pressure on Bush to "moderate" his foreign policy in the direction of Powell. In the past few months there has been some indications of a move by Bush away from the more right-wing positions of Rumsfeld-Cheney and towards a more centrist bourgeois position. It's too early to say in which way Bush's foreign policy will develop. 74. A key feature of the debate in the Bush administration is whether US interests are best served by working through strategic agreements and international bodies which cloak the more predatory interests of US imperialism (Powell's position), or whether more can be gained by the US going it alone by directly furthering its own interests without respect for alliances, called unilateralism (the Rumsfeld-Cheney view). 75. The push of the Bush administration on a missile defense shield (Star Wars) is being driven by the more right wing and conservative hold-overs from the Reagan administration, and their co-thinkers. For them China is a threat to national security. The missile shield was a central idea of Reagan to give US absolute control of its security, rather than the present status quo of "mutually assured destruction" (MAD). Part of the new policy of the US is to get flexibility in deploying missile defenses and developing nuclear forces to suit its own interests. This is part of Rumsfeld and Cheney's unilateralist approach. 76. This insane policy, advocated by "nuclear use theorists" (NUTs!), is irrational even from the point of view of imperialism. Besides being technically infeasible, it will cost an exorbitant sum which will drain resources away from other much needed military projects, will greatly increase tensions between the US and China and Russia and alienate US allies in Europe and Japan, and would trigger a disastrous international arms race, all of which would further destabilize the world. Star Wars has suffered a possibly mortal blow with the Democrats recapturing the majority in the Senate. It also has serious opposition from major sections of big business and foreign powers internationally. 77. There are two aspects to the debate between the Rumsfeld-Cheney faction and the Powell faction. On the one hand, the Rumsfeld-Cheney position is driven by a right-wing ideological agenda, which is conflicting with a more balanced, sober strategy of imperialism represented by Powell. This is clearly illustrated by the Star Wars proposal, which objectively is not in the interests of US imperialism, and is only being advocated due to the ideological agenda of the right-wing of the Republicans. 78. On the other hand, the more assertive, aggressive, unilateralist approach of Rumsfeld-Cheeney reflects to some degree a deeper urge by US imperialism in this period to be more aggressive in following its own interests. With the Soviet Union now gone, the glue that bound the interests of the major imperialist powers together has also gone. The competing economic interests are now coming to the fore among nation-states. The existence of the nation state is one of the central contradictions of the global capitalist system, creating major crises that disrupt capitalist development through trade wars and military wars. In the new post-Stalinist international relations, the US will need to be more aggressive in asserting its position, against the background of increasing inter-imperialist rivalries and conflicts and a unstable, complex world that the US can no longer control. 79. In the coming period the Bush administration will not have an easy ride on foreign policy. The recent events in China show the contradictions the Bush administration will face dealing with short-term crises where the two wings of the administration will push for different agendas. The world economic crisis will increasingly lead to challenges to regional agreements and free trade agreements such as the FTAA, which will be threatened by nationalistic and protectionist demands. Revolutionary events will develop. If we consider that the events in Seattle helped derailed the WTO talks, then once the cold blast of the recession hits, we can see how the whole free trade hurricane of the last decade can be pushed aside. C) The Crisis of the Two Party System 80. We need to understand that there is a break from the previous period, and that we are entering a new period. We have already witnessed the development of a new youth movement. Now we are seeing the development of a new and sharp recession. These events would have important implication at any time. But this is not a normal time. Already the working class has suffered 25 years of attacks and cutbacks. The political system in the US is in a very fragile state, with the public seriously alienated from the two main big business parties, and the public disgusted with the political process in the US. 81. Over the past 25 years we have seen a slow, but continual process of the breaking up, decay and fragmentation of the two party system - big business's central tool to maintain its political domination over the US working class. The underlying force driving this process forward has been the economic crisis of US capitalism and the resulting assault on the standard of living of the working class. The past 25 years have seen a massive social and economic polarization in US society. The declining standard of living over the past 25 years has resulted in enormous anger on the part of the working class. It is upon this chasm that the two party system is breaking up. The crisis of US society means that there are continual difficulties for bourgeois politicians to maintain their political base. They must carry out a brutal neo-liberal offensive, but this very offensive attacks and outrages their very own voters. This has led to a crisis of legitimacy for bourgeois institutions and a growing crisis for big business's political system. 82. Large sections the public see the parties and political system beyond their control, and controlled by special interests and corporations. The political process has not been as discredited in recent memory. This voter anger has been expressed in numerous ways. Only half of voters even bother to vote - an historic low not seen since the 1920s. Through most of the 1990s over 50% of population have favored the creation of a new political party. 83. The 1992 presidential election saw the explosive emergence of the Reform Party and Ross Perot winning 19% of the vote. In 1996 Perot won 8.5% of the vote and Jesse Ventura of the Reform Party was elected Governor of Minnesota. We have also seen the emergence of the Christian right wing of the Republican Party since the 1980s. This is a distorted expression of the increased anger and polarization in society and the need for the Republicans to find an energetic grassroots activist base for elections. This has created tremendous tensions within the Republican Party between the dominant big business wing, and the new, right-wing petty bourgeois Christian fundamentalists. At a certain stage there is a strong possibility of a major right wing split from the Republicans, as the Buchanan split of 2000 indicated. 84. The powerful grassroots grip of the liberal Democratic Party machine in communities, among labor and people of color has been seriously eroded with the right-wing neo-liberal evolution of the Democrats and the collapse of their liberal wing. It is on this basis that a number of new political formations have emerged. A layer of environmentalists formerly loyal to liberal democrats formed the Green Party in the early 1990s, which has developed a certain electoral base on a local and regional level. In 1991 Labor Party Advocates was formed, which became the Labor Party in 1996 after Clinton rammed through NAFTA, with the endorsement of unions representing 9% of the AFL-CIO. This represented the first time since the 1940s that a serious wing of the labor movement publicly debated the idea of building an independent Labor Party. This reflected the growing anger and opposition to the Democrats amongst union workers and a wing of the union bureaucracy trying to come to grips with the destruction of the old liberal wing of the Democrats. 85. The 2000 presidential elections witnessed an important acceleration of these trends. In the Republican primaries John McCain, running as an "independent" and populist tapped into the massive voter anger, bringing into the system independents who wanted to defeat the "establishment" and "insider" candidate Bush. There was also Pat Buchanan's campaign, signifying an important right wing break from the Republican Party. Most important of all was the spectacular campaign of Ralph Nader, which was polling 8% three weeks before the election. 86. On to this must be added the judicial right-wing coup that masqueraded as a Presidential election last year. Under US laws there is the systematic exclusion of felons and immigrants. There is also disenfranchisement of African American and minority voters in the South. But this was taken to new heights in the 2000 election by the systematic removal of African American voters from the roles by the Republican Party in Florida, and the blocking of African Americans from reaching the voting booths, thus swinging the election to Bush. To top it off we saw the blatant partisan intervention of the supposedly non-political Supreme Court to hand the election to Bush. This seriously discredited the Supreme Court as an impartial legal force. Further, the undemocratic Electoral College system was clearly exposed. Millions of people, who believed in the myth of American democracy, discovered that the candidate winning the most votes lost the election! This led to overwhelming support for the throwing out the Electoral College. The crisis in Florida and the fact that Gore, despite winning the popular vote lost the election, has further weakened the faith of Americans, especially African Americans, that this is a fair electoral process. The collusion of both parties in maintaining this system was exposed by the fact that the Democrats failed to oppose such an abuse of power in the interest of protecting the present electoral system and thus also interests of ruling class of the country. D) Growing Popular Anger and Radicalization 87. The crisis of the political system reflects growing anger at developments in US society over the last few decades. There had been a 25 year erosion of wages, increase in taxes on working people, a deterioration in social services, schools, libraries etc, and quality of life. There has been a growth in anger and resentment from workers at having to pay for the crisis. 88. In the last few years there has been a shift in consciousness to the left on a mass scale, with workers taking on a more clearly anti-corporate consciousness, i.e. opposition to the dominating role of big-business, and its effect on society at home and abroad, but without as yet clear understanding of character of capitalism. There has also been the emergence of the radical anti-corporate, and among a minority a growing anti-capitalist, consciousness among an important but still small layer of youth. 89. A poll conducted by Business Week/Harris Poll in the summer of 2000 spells this out. In 2000 82% of people agreed "Business has gained too much power over too many aspects of American life." This is compared to 71% in 1996. When asked: "In general, what is good for business is good for most Americans," this declined from 71% in 1996 to 47% in 2000. 66% of the people in 2000 agreed with the statement "having large profits is more important to big business than developing safe, reliable, quality products for consumers". In the same poll 73% said that CEO's get paid too much, and 74% said that big corporations have too much political influence, with 82% saying "entertainment and popular culture are dominated by corporate money which seeks mass appeal over quality." 43% of workers at large corporations said they "find it very difficult to balance my work and personal responsibilities" compared to 36% who said so in 1997. Also 44% said they are "very much underpaid for the work I do", up from 38% just two yeas ago. Peter Hart, Research Associates, found that 40 million employees now say they would vote for a union today if they had a chance - double the number from a decade ago. 90. The basis for this anger can be seen in the huge accumulation of wealth in the 1990s by the rich. The wealthiest 1% of households now controls 40% of total wealth. The bottom 40% of household's control 0.2%. Deducting housing, a necessity, the bottom 40% has more debt than assets (New York Times, Jan 4, 1999.) Since 1979 the average income of the highest-earning 1% of Americans has increased roughly 80%, the income of the highest-earning 20% has increased by 18%, while the bottom 60% of the population has experienced a decrease in real income (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, ). 10% of wealthiest households own 89% of shares (Socialism Today 4/19/99). The average income (from all income sources) for each member of top 400 individual taxpayers has increased from $50 million in 1995 to $110 million in 1998, an increase of 117% (BW 5/14/01). On top of that the top 400 taxpayers paid only 22% of their income in taxes, compared to 30% in 1995 (BW 5/14/01). This came mainly through their ownership of millions of shares and the explosive increase in their prices during the second half of the 1990s. The income of these 400 individuals was more than all the residents in 15 states (BW 5/14/01). The richest 1% of Americans earned as much after taxes as the poorest 100 million people according to a 1999 study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. These statistics illustrate the enormous polarization of wealth that has accelerated in the US (and internationally) in the 1990s. There is a widespread anger that the boom of the 1990s has only benefited a handful at the top. 91. Big corporations are finding themselves increasingly under attack. Nike, Starbucks, Kmart and Wall-Mart have been dogged by local residents and protesters. Support for free trade agreements have fallen as the human, social and environmental consequences have become understood by millions of people. This has been reflected in thousands of local demonstrations, but more importantly in the explosive demonstrations against the WTO, increased student activism and then through the Nader campaign. Despite a mass media that portrayed all the protestors against the WTO in Seattle as intent on destroying property, a New York Times poll reported that 52% of Americans sympathized with the WTO protests. 92. There has also been increased opposition to the racist policies of racial profiling, police brutality, and discrimination of immigrants. Mass opposition on the issue of racial profiling and police brutality has forced police departments around the country to change its practices. The events in Cincinnati are the most recent example of public outrage, and angry protests and demonstrations. These have also included a 46,000- strong demonstration against the Confederate flag in South Carolina, and are also reflected in the demonstration against the death sentence hanging over the head of Mumia. It is also reflected in the growing awareness of the inequities of the present criminal justice system around the issue of the racist and anti-working class death penalty, with a temporary retreat announced by bourgeois politicians in the face of widespread exposure of innocent people on death row. There has also been an increase in struggle and support for amnesty for undocumented immigrants. 93. The most important development has been the explosion of the anti-globalization and anti-capitalist movement. The protest against the WTO in Seattle crystallized a new phase of radicalization in the US and internationally. This radicalization has been mainly among young people, often college students, but also among a layer of workers. Many youth and some workers have began to understand the accelerated devastation of the environment as a by-product of the unending search for profits. They see that youth are condemned to be pawns of a system of corporate greed. They see the unfair and super-exploitative policies of big capital against workers and peasants internationally. Youth also have joined struggles against the death penalty, the sweatshop, the SOA and other movements. All these elements came together in Seattle and impelled most of the movement to the next step. 94. In the U.S., the Seattle "syndrome" continues to express itself in the form of a movement which continues through a series of protests - the first, embryonic anticipation of mass radicalization, still in its infancy and limited to important, active, but relatively small layers of the youth and workers - that is already a cause of much concern for the US ruling class because the movement has the sympathy of millions more. This passive support, under certain circumstances, can be turned into active participation. END OF 2001 U.S. PERSPECTIVES DOCUMENT To subscribe to this email list, send an email (no text is necessary) to: socialistalternative-subscribe at lists.riseup.net To unsubscribe, send an email (no text is necessary) to: socialistalternative-unsubscribe at lists.riseup.net Visit www.SocialistAlternative.org to read the newest issue of "Justice" newspaper on-line, or visit www.socialistworld.net for great anti-war, socialist news, analysis, and campaigns. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: message-footer.txt URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 21:29:02 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:29:02 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Message-ID: Not really anything new, but perhaps some will find it interesting; I did. " We speak with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then take over their economies." http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/09/1526251 ============================================== List Rules: http://www.lefthook.org/Rules.html [Please clip all unnecessary text if you are replying to a previous e-mail.] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 21:34:14 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:34:14 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Ivory Coast's Violence Threatens Africa Message-ID: Maybe Bush can work some of his mideast magic to save Africa from itself? Maybe he won't because France is involved. Interesting situation. ========= Ivory Coast's Violence Threatens Africa November 9, 2004, 4:13 PM EST By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press Writer FROM: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-ivory-coast-why-it-matters,0,168288.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines DAKAR, Senegal -- On a continent that absorbs 75 percent of the world's U.N. peacekeeping forces and budget, Ivory Coast's violent downward spiral threatens hard-won gains against West Africa's devastating civil wars of the 1990s. If Ivory Coast -- West Africa's economic powerhouse and the world's top cocoa producer -- returns to war, everyone from its neighbors to the world's chocolate lovers will feel the pain. Many hold one man responsible: President Laurent Gbagbo. His fate after the week's violence stands to determine his country's fate as well. Tuesday saw South African President Thabo Mbeki arrive in Ivory Coast on a peace mission, amid deadly rampages that erupted when France destroyed the country's tiny air force in response to an airstrike that killed nine French peacekeepers and an American aid worker. The world's chocolate lovers will probably feel the effects of the chaos by Christmas. The violence has shut down Ivory Coast's cocoa exports since Saturday, closing ports that ship 40 percent of the world's raw material for chocolate. The likely result will be higher prices within a month, and then a shortage. Ivory Coast's neighbors felt the effect immediately -- 5,000 refugees fled into neighboring Liberia and Guinea massed troops at its border for fear of unrest. As Ivory Coast plunges into war, its neighbors are reveling in the quiet victories of peace. All but unnoticed by the world, the first 500 of 300,000 Liberians still living in camps for war-displaced people waved goodbye and boarded buses home this week after 14 years of vicious civil conflicts in their country. "When I get back home, I will start to make gardens to survive, and then make blocks to rebuild what once was my small but decent house," said one grateful refugee, 62-year-old Momo Perry. It took an unprecedented commitment by the international community, and the world's largest deployments of peacekeepers, to get Perry and the others home. In 2002, British, U.N. and West African armies crushed a vicious Liberia-backed insurgency in Sierra Leone. The next year, American, U.N. and West African forces and Liberian rebels routed the chief promulgator of West Africa's wars, Liberia's Charles Taylor. Taylor, a Cold War creation of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's guerrilla camps, had trafficked arms and insurgencies across West Africa's borders since 1989. Today, 75 percent of the world's 62,000 U.N. peacekeeping troops are trying to enforce peace deals across Africa, and $2.9 billion of the world body's $3.9 billion peacekeeping budgets are spent here. With up to 10 percent of the world's oil reserves in West Africa, the United States and other nations increasingly are saying they have a strategic interest in Africa -- and a stake in keeping it peaceful. More than half the world's total peacekeepers -- 32,402 -- are based in Taylor's old stomping grounds -- Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast itself, divided by civil war since 2002. With Taylor in exile in Nigeria, Gbagbo is looking like the biggest current challenge to peace. The Ivory Coast president has commanded the loyalty of his supporters by pitting them against anyone seen as an outsider -- declaring it a matter of their survival to fight the French, African immigrants and their own northern countrymen. The airstrike on the French was part of three days of government attacks that broke a more than year-old cease-fire. Street protests put Gbagbo in power in 2000, during an aborted vote count in elections meant to restore civilian rule after a 1999 coup shattered the nation's reputation for stability. Ivory Coast had been considered West Africa's most prosperous country since independence, and its commercial capital, Abidjan, was dubbed the "Paris of Africa" for its nightlife and its boutiques. The Hotel Ivoires even boasted an ice skating rink, one of only two in sub-Saharan Africa. France kept the country peaceful by backing Felix Houphouet-Boigny as the sole post-independence leader. Africa "wasn't ready for democracy," Jacques Chirac, now France's president, famously declared at the start of the 1990s. Houphouet-Boigny died in 1993. With no tradition of democracy and no clear successor, Ivory Coast slid into chaos by 1999. _ EDITORS: Ellen Knickmeyer, the AP's West Africa bureau chief, has covered Africa for four years. Copyright ? 2004, The Associated Press -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 21:38:26 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:38:26 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Solidarity with Indian Workers & NTUI Tour Message-ID: Solidarity with Indian Workers JwJ to Host Indian Trade Unionists December 3 actions to mark anniversary of Bhopal disaster National Jobs With Justice and local coalitions in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, WA State, Portland, and Atlanta will be hosting a tour in November and December of leaders of the New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI). This is part of a developing alliance between JwJ and NTUI, a new trade union federation in India, to build links between workers and communities in both countries. December 3 is also the 20th anniversary of the worst industrial accident in history at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. Groups around the country are marking the event with solidarity actions (details below). Both of these provide opportunities to deepen our solidarity with Indian workers who are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy. Please contact the JwJ national office if you would like any further information on these two initiatives. NTUI TOUR CITIES Check with your local JwJ coalition for details about public events in your area. a.. 11/27 New York, NY b.. 11/30 Boston, MA c.. 12/3 Chicago, IL d.. 12/7 Cleveland, OH e.. 12/8 Erie, PA f.. 12/9 Seattle, WA g.. 12/10 Portland, OR h.. 12/11 Washington, DC i.. 12/16 Atlanta, GA Take action against Dow Chemical 20 years after Bhopal Please Register any planned events at http://www.bhopal.net/gda2004.php International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal Contact: globalaction at studentsforbhopal.org GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION FOR BHOPAL December 3rd, 2004, will mark twenty years since the people of Bhopal awoke from their sleep, choking, near-blinded, to scenes of unimaginable horror and suffering. Overnight, a city of 800,000 people was turned into a gas chamber, with at least 8,000 dead. Union Carbide's gas cloud was just the beginning. The ongoing efforts of both Union Carbide and its new owner Dow Chemical to evade their pending liabilities in Bhopal represent a classic case of corporate crime gone unpunished. As in Bhopal, corporations around the world are today getting away with crimes against humanity and the environment, and dictating policies that affect all life on earth. Communities everywhere have learnt that the only way they will regain control of their lives and health is by fighting corporate crime directly. We will never forget "We never want to see another Bhopal." Bhopal's survivors have said this from the beginning. To ensure this, it is vital that Dow Chemical and other corporate offenders, are not allowed to get away with their crimes. On Dec 3rd, 2004 the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) invites you to help make sure that they don't. ICJB invites all groups fighting corporate crime to take action on December 3 against the human, environmental, consumer and labour rights violations by private or public corporations. A CALL TO ORGANIZE Take action against criminal corporations and against Dow Chemical facilities and offices worldwide. Organize teach-ins, vigils, phone-ins, petition drives, celebrations and media events. A list of Dow/Carbide facilities worldwide can be located at the Dow Company website. A CALL TO UNITE Thousands of people from around the world will be participating in the Global Day of Action. Cities in India, including Bhopal, will host protests, events and actions; trade unions and community organizations internationally will also be participating. RESOURCES Visit the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal to learn 20 Things You Can Do To Help Make Dow Responsible For Bhopal The website www.bhopal.net, now carries a special section on the GDA, including a registration page, resources, background information, and suggestions for action. The pages are at: a.. http://www.bhopal.net/gda/gda2004.html -- for information, background about the GDA b.. http://www.bhopal.net/gda/gda2004.php -- to register c.. http://www.bhopal.net/gda/posters.html -- for the posters d.. NEW FILMS ABOUT JUSTICE FOR BHOPAL SURVIVORS a.. Check out "Twenty Years Without Justice: The Bhopal Chemical Disaster " 17 min video about the Bhopal Campaign. http://homepage.mac.com/sanfordlewisvideo/20Yrs/Bhopal.htm b.. November 30, 2004 release of "US: Bhopal Still on Trial "broadcast in the United States on Link TV go to http://www.linktv.org/ for details. c.. December 1, 2004 release of "One Night in Bhopal " broadcast in the UK on BBC TV go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/ for details. d.. December 2, 2004 release of "Bhopal The Search For Justice "broadcast in Canada on Canadian Broadcast Corporation go to http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/ for more details. For a list of more films please and other campaign resources go to http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/resources.htm Please look these pages over when you have the chance and begin your preparations for the 20th anniversary! -------------------------------------------------------------- Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. Tell-a-friend! If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Jobs with Justice. This message was sent to deano700 at msn.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from Jobs with Justice, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove" in the subject line). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 22:05:57 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 22:05:57 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Kissinger may face extradition to Chile Message-ID: Guardian Unlimited Kissinger may face extradition to Chile Judge investigating US role in 1973 coup considers forcing former secretary of state to give evidence Jonathan Franklin in Santiago and Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles Wednesday June 12, 2002 The Guardian Henry Kissinger may face extradition proceedings in connection with the role of the United States in the 1973 military coup in Chile. The former US secretary of state is wanted for questioning as a witness in the investigation into the events surrounding the overthrow of the socialist president, Salvador Allende, by General Augusto Pinochet. It focuses on CIA involvement in the coup, whether US officials passed lists of leftwing Americans in Chile to the military and whether the US embassy failed to assist Americans deemed sympathetic to the deposed government. Chile's Judge Juan Guzman is so frustrated by the lack of cooperation by Mr Kissinger that he is now considering an extradition request to force him to come to Chile and testify in connection with the death of the American film-maker and journalist Charles Horman, who was killed by the military days after the coup. Horman's story was told in the 1982 Costa-Gavras film, Missing, starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. Judge Guzman is investigating whether US officials passed the names of suspected leftwing Americans to Chilean military authorities. Declassified documents have now revealed that such a list existed. Sergio Corvalan, a Chilean lawyer, said that he could not divulge the "dozens" of names on the list. At the time of his death, Horman was investigating the murder of Rene Schneider, the chief of staff in the Chilean army whose support for Allende and the constitution was seen as an obstacle to the coup. The CIA had been involved with groups plotting Schneider's murder, providing them with weapons and advice, according to a CIA internal inquiry in 2000. It found that the agency had withdrawn its support for the plotters before the murder but had paid them $35,000 afterwards "to maintain the goodwill of the group". At the time of his murder, Schneider had five young children, who filed suit in a Washington DC court last year against Mr Kissinger and other top officials in the Nixon administration. They are seeking$3m (?2.15m) in damages. Horman's wife, Joyce, suspects that he was targeted because he unwittingly stumbled upon a gathering of US military personnel in Chile in the days before the coup. The American journalist Marc Cooper and the British journalist Christopher Hitchens have been in Santiago during the past month to give evidence in the investigation of America's role. Cooper, who was Allende's translator at the time of the coup and now writes for the Nation and LA Weekly, knew Horman and gave sworn testimony last month. Cooper said: "Guzman says that if the US doesn't act soon on his request to gather testimony from Kissinger and other US officials, he'll have no choice but to file for their extradition to Chile." Cooper, who wrote the book Pinochet and Me about his time in Chile, said that the Nixon government had been more interested in supporting General Pinochet than in investigating the deaths of its citizens at the hands of the Chilean military. Advertiser links Caribbean On Sale - CheapCaribbean.com CheapCaribbean.com offers discounted vacation packages,... cheapcaribbean.com Cheap Holiday Gifts at JCPenney.com Get a jump on holiday shopping at JCPenney's Holiday Sale.... jcpenney.com SideStep - Cheap Holiday Download now. Find serious travel discounts with Sidestep,... sidestep.com This is not the first attempt to interview Mr Kissinger about the turbulent period in Latin America. During a visit to London in April, judges in Spain and France unsuccessfully tried to question him about America's role in Operation Condor, which has been described as a coordinated hit squad organised from Chile and including six South American nations aimed at dealing with leftwing opposition groups. Several declassified documents which have emerged over the past two years have shown an increasingly visible American hand in Operation Condor. Hitchens gave evidence on the Operation Condor case which he researched for his book, The Trial of Henry Kissinger, published last year. In Santiago, Hitchens said: "Today Henry Kissinger is a frightened man. He is very afraid of the exposure that awaits him." Mr Kissinger's lawyer William Rodgers, said that such questions should properly be directed to the US state department and not to Mr Kissinger. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 22:09:35 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 22:09:35 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - French troops clashed with soldiers and angry mobs Message-ID: FoxNews.com ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - French troops clashed with soldiers and angry mobs Saturday after Ivory Coast (search) warplanes killed at least nine French peacekeepers and an American civilian in an airstrike - mayhem that threatened to draw foreign troops deeper into the West African country's escalating civil war. France hit back, destroying what it said was the entire Ivory Coast air force - two Russian-made Sukhoi jets used in the bombing and five helicopter gunships. France scrambled three Mirage fighter jets to West Africa and ordered about 300 troops to ready for deployment in Ivory Coast. Mob violence erupted in Ivory Coast's national commercial capital, Abidjan (search), upon France's retaliation, sending thousands of angry loyalists armed with machetes, axes and clubs out into the streets in fiery rampages in search of French targets. "French go home!" loyalist mobs shouted, as thousands set fire to at least two French schools and tried to storm a French military base, seeking out French civilians as French and Ivory Coast forces briefly traded gunfire. "Everybody get your Frenchman!" young men screamed to each other, swinging machetes. French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo (search) would be "held personally responsible by the international community for (maintaining) the public order in Abidjan." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 22:25:51 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 22:25:51 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Hezbollah drone plane enters Israeli airspace - Lebanon Message-ID: Hezbollah drone plane enters Israeli airspace Last Updated Sun, 07 Nov 2004 16:55:25 EST FROM: http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/11/07/drone041107.html BEIRUT - For the first time, the militant group Hezbollah has violated Israeli airspace by sending an unmanned spy plane into northern Israel. INDEPTH: Lebanon http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/lebanon// In a statement Sunday, the militant Islamic group said the move was in response to Israel's own repeated violations of Lebanese airspace since it withdrew its forces from the south of the country four years ago. Hezbollah says the drone flew as far as the northern Israeli coastal city of Nahariya. It wasn't clear whether the spy plane was homemade or had been bought from a foreign supplier. Israel says it was made in Iran and confirmed that it had flown over western Galilee. The Israeli army says the flight proves that Lebanon does not have control over its own territory. Hezbollah says it will stage more drone flights over Israeli territory in the future. Written by CBC News Online staff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 22:27:18 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 22:27:18 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Machete-Waving Mobs Attack French Targets In Ivory Coast Message-ID: Machete-Waving Mobs Attack French Targets In Ivory Coast Red Cross: 150 Injured In Abidjan POSTED: 11:54 am EST November 7, 2004 UPDATED: 12:06 pm EST November 7, 2004 FROM: http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/news/3897888/detail.html ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- France is sending more reinforcements to Ivory Coast, where rioting mobs have been attacking French targets and vowing to kill French nationals. (PHOTO) French troops in armored vehicles pass through the town of Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast. A Red Cross official says about 150 people have been wounded in Abidjan (ah-bee-JAHN') -- the largest city in France's former colony in West Africa. An Associated Press reporter saw an armed mob enter an area near a French military base, demanding to know if any French lived nearby. One rioter shouted "it's better to kill the whites than steal their stuff." French military helicopters have been plucking trapped citizens from buildings, even as other helicopters and armored vehicles confront rioters with tear gas and percussion grenades. Travel Warning Issued For Americans The U.S. State Department is warning Americans to avoid traveling to Ivory Coast because of widespread violence in the West African nation. Mobs have been roaming the streets in the city of Abidjan after the country's warplanes attacked targets in rebel-held northern cities, including a French peacekeeping outpost. The State Department said many attacks have been aimed at foreigners. Individuals have been pulled from vehicles, and businesses and schools have been looted and burned. The government warning also said telephone communications are spotty, and many areas are without water. All flights remain canceled at Abidjan's airport. Previous Story: November 6, 2004: U.N. Demands End To Ivory Coast Fighting Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 22:39:43 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 22:39:43 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Environment California : Tell EPA that Californians Want Clean Air (simple steps) Message-ID: <20041112063944.927.qmail@web13621.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Environment California supporter, California has the dirtiest air in the country. A large cause of this problem is the burning of fossil fuels that emit tiny particles called 'particulate matter' into the air. These particles can lodge deep in the lungs and result in increased rates of asthma, respiratory disease and other health problems. Email U.S. EPA and ask the agency to issue strong rules that will clean up particulate matter in our skies and protect public health. Then, ask your friends and family to help by forwarding this email to them. To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://environmentcalifornia.org/envirocaliftoxics.asp?id=162&id4=ES BACKGROUND Particulate matter is one of the most dangerous pollutants in California's skies. Emitted from a variety of sources, including the burning of fossil fuels like diesel, gasoline and oil, the tiny specks of pollution that make up particulate matter can lodge deep in the lungs and lead to asthma attacks, respiratory disease and other health problems. The Clean Air Act requires the United States Environmental Protection Agency to issue strong rules that will require states like California to limit the amount of the most dangerous particulate matter released into the air. Unfortunately, however, EPA is in danger of issuing rules that will not fully protect the public health of Californians. Among the most glaring oversights - the EPA rules may not fully regulate the biggest contributors to particulate matter in the air. Furthermore, the agency may also delay the full implementation of pollution prevention measures. Please take a moment to ask Jeffrey R. Holmstead, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation at U.S. EPA to enact strong rules that will fully protect the public from dangerous particulate matter pollution in California's skies. To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://environmentcalifornia.org/envirocaliftoxics.asp?id=162&id4=ES Sincerely, Sujatha Jahagirdar Environment California Environmental Advocate SujathaJ at environmentcalifornia.org http://www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 23:02:08 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 23:02:08 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] New rebel tactics emerge in Fallujah - Iraq Message-ID: New rebel tactics emerge in Fallujah from the November 12, 2004 edition {IMAGE] HOUSE TO HOUSE: Corp. Christiopher DeBlanc of Spottsylvania, Va., tails up a staircase as marines of the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance company search residences in Fallujah for insurgents. Marines prepared for a counterattack by rebels Thursday night. SCOTT PETERSON/GETTY IMAGES New rebel tactics emerge in Fallujah Marines faced a tough fight Thursday as insurgents began a counterattack timed with an Islamic holy night. By SCOTT PETERSON | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor FROM: http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1112/p01s02-woiq.html FALLUJAH, IRAQ - After three days of measurable progress, American forces trying to take full control of Fallujah are confronting an insurgent force that has renewed energy. And as American and Iraqi forces spread their grip across the city, the constant skirmishes of close urban combat and burst-in searches door-to-door are revealing more about insurgent tactics, including sleeper cells. Thursday night, forces braced for a significant counteroffensive by Iraqi insurgents - an effort coinciding with the "Night of Power," an annual Islamic holy day marked by intense spiritual devotion, which is said to cleanse sins and determine destiny. Loudspeakers from at least one mosque began what US Marine officers said was a "revving up" of militants by chants that resembled the "martyr's last rites." "We expect an increase of suicide attacks, by cars, motorcycles, and people wearing explosive vests," said Lt. Col. Michael Ramos, commander of the 1st Battalion 3rd Marines, from Dallas. "It's going to get a lot worse tonight," Capt. Gil Juarez, commander of the Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) company told his platoon chiefs, as marines loaded their vehicles at dusk with extra ammunition. "I think there's going to be a big fight tonight, so get your heads ready to get back in the game," said Captain Juarez, from San Diego, Calif. "These [insurgents] are pushing the offensive right now. We've got to get ready." Despite a day of steady US tank and artillery fire that rumbled across Fallujah like a thunderstorm ready to pour, insurgents began their work. One armored unit was ambushed in the south center of the city by militants who struck with rocket-propelled grenades. Separately, another vehicle was hit with gunfire, wounding a marine. Those involved in the ambush said a trap had been laid, and that the area was marked with earth berms in defensive posture, and metal-box firing positions. Shortly after the firefight, US-fired artillery rounds crashed into the area. "They have been working on it, an L-shaped ambush," said one corporal, whose face was blackened by smoke from the attack. "It looks like something out of Mad Maxx." "We walked right into a hornet's nest today," said a sergeant with the worn look of a survivor. Their names and units involved could not be released, in line with military rules that prevent such details until the wounded's next of kin have been notified. "They were probing us and fired six RPGs before we went for it. They lassoed us right in." As American and Iraqi forces have spread their grip across Fallujah, the constant skirmishes of close urban combat and burst-in, door-to-door searches are revealing more and more about insurgent tactics. In the course of locating seven weapons caches in a single block around a mosque in northeast Fallujah, an Iraqi platoon Wednesday found a suitcase full of vials labeled "Sarin," a deadly nerve agent. While further analysis determined that the find was probably part of a Soviet test kit with samples, its discovery in a room with mortar shells appeared to indicate an intent to weaponize the material. On the eve of the US-Iraqi assault on Fallujah, insurgent leaders in the city promised a massive counterattack. Until late Thursday, resistance in Fallujah had been piecemeal, with individual rocket, mortar, and rifle teams making surprise attacks. US heavy artillery, tank guns, and airstrikes have waged steady barrages, paving the way for marine infantry advances. US military leaders have deemed the effort in Fallujah so far as a success. In three days of fighting, coalition units have swept across more than half the city, sustaining relatively few casualties. But Thursday night, casualties appeared to mount. Coalition forces have been targeted from mosques. They have uncovered unarmed sleeper cells that they believe have been seeded throughout the city and primed to strike after the initial assault. Insurgents continued a wave of violence elsewhere. A car bomb ripped through a crowded Baghdad commercial street, killing 17 people, police said. In the north, guerrillas overwhelmed several police stations in Mosul and battled US troops. Mosques were used by militants when marines first attempted to invade the city last April. They were sometimes targeted by US forces, adding to the international outcry that grew at the time about civilian casualties. This time, Iraqi nationalists and Islamic militants loyal to the network of Al Qaeda affiliate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may have been depending on mosques as staging areas, US officers say. "Almost every single mosque we've come through has been used for weapons storage and insurgent military training," says Lt. Col. Ramos. Marines have shot at the speakers of minarets, which are normally used for the Muslim call to prayer, though in recent days they've served as a literal call to arms. Before the assault began, US intelligence officers warned of unarmed Iraqis wearing dishdashas (traditional long gowns worn by men) moving to US lines and reporting back to guerrilla cells. Instead, marines have found that small groups of unarmed men, claiming to have stayed behind to prevent looting of their house, may in fact be sleeper cells, waiting for orders to link up with prepositioned weapons and attack. One example Wednesday was a group of four men, found in their house by the LAR Raider Platoon during a search. They said they had recently been caught by the mujahideen, or holy warriors of the resistance, and been tortured. Later that day and several blocks away, Raider Scouts searching other buildings found four more men. They also said they stayed behind to guards their houses, and that they had been tortured. But further questioning found that there were no signs of torture - militants in Fallujah typically kill suspected traitors - and that the men's claimed identities did not hold up to investigation. "It was well rehearsed," said Lt. Michael Aubry from Arlington Heights, Ill. "The first time didn't look suspicious, but the second time ... it did." "There are sleeper cells all over the place," says Juarez. "They are either going to start coming out of their holes and attack us, or [they] will leave." Material from wire service reports was used in this article. Help the Monitor. Donate now to support independent journalism. www.csmonitor.com | Copyright ? 2004 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 19:47:42 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 19:47:42 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Troops meet resistance as battle for Fallujah continues - Iraq Message-ID: Posted on Thu, Nov. 11, 2004 Troops meet resistance as battle for Fallujah continues BY ALEX RODRIGUEZ AND JAMES JANEGA Chicago Tribune FROM: http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/world/10158463.htm BAGHDAD - (KRT) - As U.S.-led troops pressed their offensive Thursday in Fallujah, insurgents stepped up their counterattacks elsewhere in Iraq, exploding a car bomb that killed 17 people and wounded 20 in Baghdad and storming six police stations in an audacious attack in the northern city of Mosul. The attacks came as the U.S. forces rumbled into the cramped streets of southern Fallujah, seeking to squeeze out hundreds of insurgents from their hiding places and forcing a climactic fight for control of the restive Sunni Muslim city. With the offensive in Fallujah in its fourth day, U.S. military leaders said as many as 600 insurgents have been killed or captured. But the all-out assault is also taking its toll on U.S. forces: 18 American soldiers have died and 178 have been wounded in the fighting since Monday, officials said. Five Iraqi soldiers have been killed, 34 wounded. Many of the injured were being flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany for treatment. U.S. military leaders say fierce fighting in northern sections of the city pushed insurgents southward into neighborhoods such the Shuhada District, a maze of alleyways and buildings that American troops pressed toward Thursday evening. In apparent response to the Fallujah offensive, insurgents have unleashed a wave of attacks across Iraq in recent days, aimed at sending a strong message that even if Fallujah is lost to U.S. and Iraqi security forces, the insurgency can resurface and inflict mayhem at will elsewhere. The violence in Mosul appeared to be part of a coordinated attack. Dozens of gunmen stormed six Iraqi police stations, looting them of weapons and ammunition and setting some of the buildings ablaze. A battle raged in the northern city for hours between the insurgents and U.S.-led forces, and officials suggested that the city would be dangerous for some time. A Kurdish official in the city suggested that some Iraqi police had been cooperating with the insurgents. Residents reported masked gunmen roaming the streets, setting cars on fire and waving rocket-propelled grenade launchers. A curfew had already been imposed on Mosul after violence there Tuesday killed five people, including three members of the police force. The U.S. military said it responded to Thursday's attacks by sending a Stryker Brigade Combat Team to help pacify the city. In Baghdad, the midday car bomb blast on bustling Sadoun Street destroyed two buildings and gutted at least 12 cars. Hadi Omer, a 33-year-old Iraqi police officer, said he believed the explosives, placed inside a Kia microbus, were intended for a police patrol in the vicinity. "I heard a huge blast and saw a fire behind us," said Omer, who suffered wounds to his head from broken glass. "It was a car bomb directed at our patrol, but it hit civilians. We're still trying to find people under the rubble." Recovering at Baghdad's Ibn al Nefis Hospital, Sami Hanon said he was in a currency exchange when the blast occurred. "I entered the shop, then suddenly there was a huge blast that brought down the roof. Then I don't know what happened next," said Hanon, 34, a laborer. "Right now, I can't feel my legs. I don't know if I can walk again." Also Thursday, a car bomb exploded near the headquarters of a leading Kurdish political party in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing one bystander and injuring four others, The Associated Press reported. The blast detonated some 100 yards from where the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, is housed, said Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin, head of the Iraqi National Guard in the city. The target was not immediately clear. Before the assault in Fallujah, Capt. David Gray, intelligence officer for the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division, laid out in color the challenges for the battalion's armored vehicles: Streets colored red on the map were 15 feet wide or less. Yellow routes were two-lane streets. Green roads were boulevards. Most of the Shuhada neighborhood was crisscrossed with red lines. "We're thinking there are still around 200 to 300 guys around there. That has not been addressed," Gray said. As the attack southward began, Marines followed a cluster of the Army's Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Marines were on the lookout for insurgents able to hide and escape during the first big push into Fallujah, which began Monday. "We kept going, and the enemy leaked around the sides. That's OK," said Lt. Col. Jim Rainey, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment. Rainey said he was also concerned about Marines getting attacked from the rear with bombs hidden in roadside garbage heaps, parked cars and buildings. "The Marines are having a tough fight; I don't want them to have a catastrophic fight," Rainey said. "Those roadside bombs, car bombs, (improvised explosive devices) in 55-gallon drums, those kids can't see that. So pound those roads." Addressing his soldiers before launching the attack, Rainey urged them to protect civilian lives but give no quarter to insurgents. "Given those constraints, kill everything that you can kill," he said. The U.S. military has said that as many as 3,000 insurgents may have been holed up in Fallujah before the start of the offensive. Some analysts caution that many of those insurgents, including Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, probably fled Fallujah well before the offensive began. Speaking on NBC's "Today" show, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that many insurgents may have slipped away and blended into Iraqi society, only to wreak havoc elsewhere in the country. "That's the nature of an insurgency," Myers said. "You know, where people can fight one minute and then blend into the surroundings the next minute... If anybody thinks that Fallujah is going to be the end of the insurgency in Iraq, that was never the objective, never our intention and even never our hope." Myers added that he believed the offensive in Fallujah is on track. "It's not working at all for the insurgents," Myers said. "We're exactly on plan. The insurgents are paying a heavy price for their resistance." --- Alex Rodriguez reported from Baghdad, with James Janega from Fallujah. Yasser Yasin in Baghdad contributed to this report. --- ? 2004, Chicago Tribune. Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Thu Nov 11 21:43:16 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 21:43:16 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Alex Jones' News Update Nov 9 2004 Message-ID: Get a FREE iPod Mini, any color, at freeiPods.com. Go here! Visit the Infowars / Prisonplanet network of websites today! November 9, 2004Because there's a war on for your mind! Latest News - Did Bush fix the elections? Why did Kerry throw in the towel so soon? The appearance of Osama bin Laden bang on cue was suspicious, to say the least, as is now the increasing evidence pointing toward election fraud in the United States of America on November 2nd. Exit polls in sensitive districts just don't add up to the official figures. Did Bush fix it? Full story online at infowars.net Visit Prison Planet.tv - your portal for daily audio, video and text reports Further Headlines from Infowars / Prisonplanet Visit the site for the full articles: a.. FREEMASONS USING POLICE TO DATABASE KIDS: Extra tools to help find missing kids b.. Beslan hostage-takers were able to flee, soldier says c.. Iran says will retaliate if nuclear plants hit d.. Would You Like Chips with Your Assignment? e.. Bus drivers on GPS plan: Get lost! f.. Odds of Bush gaining by 4 percent in all exit polling states 1 in 50,000; Evoting/paper variance not found to be significant g.. China denies plans for war with Japan h.. Fingerprint-protest worker fired Advertise with us! Infowars.net gets millions of hits a month. If you have something you want to advertise, please contact us. rates are very low. For more information Click Here Infowars Services Dial up service DSL service Webhosting PropagandaMatrix.com New Anti NWO t-shirts, bumper stickers and more in the re-designed Propaganda Matrix online shop. Now accepting payments via Worldpay and Paypal. We thank you for supporting our activities and helping us grow. Visit Propaganda Matrix today! http://www.infowars.net Free Newsletter Provided by Bravenet.com - Get one for Free ? Unsubscribe from this newsletter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: globe_header.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 37490 bytes Desc: not available URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Fri Nov 12 00:35:33 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 00:35:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Winning Hearts & Minds One Bengal Tiger at a Time Message-ID: <20041112083534.49169.qmail@web13622.mail.yahoo.com> http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/397/14569_tiger.html US soldier shoots Bengal tiger in Baghdad zoo11/11/2004 10:36 Drunken party leads to slaughter of rare animal After the acts of torture, of rape, of abuse of power, of war crimes, of mass murder, the fact that a rare tiger is shot in its cage in Baghdad zoo comes as no surprise. Yet another horrific incident in the nightmare called George Bush's personal war against anything that moves, or is a civilian infra-structure, in Iraq. This time it is not a hospital, nor a school, nor a cluster bomb dropped near a residential area, nor an artillery shell lobbed into the middle of a happy family gathering, nor a Mosque. It is Baghdad zoo. The "insurgent" in this case was a defenseless Bengal Tiger, locked up in its cage, shot dead by a drunken American soldier. What fun. What a brave soldier. In an event similar to that made famous by the great American heroine, Lynndie England, a group of drunken American soldiers entered Baghdad zoo last Thursday night, according to a report released by AFP. Adel Salman Musa told this agency that one of the group entered the tiger's cage and started teasing it, whereby the animal attacked him, injuring his hand and arm. One of the other soldiers opened fire on the animal, killing it. The Bengal Tiger is an endangered species, numbering between 3.000 and 4.500 in the wild. How it is possible that the US Armed Forces continue to run riot in such shocking acts of cruelty, after what happened at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, defies logic. Under international law, Washington is liable, accountable and responsible for the actions of this rabble and those in command have to pay reparations for any illegal acts committed. The slaughtering of a tiger, when compared to the long list of war crimes already perpetrated, is just one more incident to add to the epitaph of the Bush regime. After six-year-old children have their limbs blasted off them for being "insurgents", now a defenseless animal in a cage is shot. For being a terrorist? Freedom and democracy, winning hearts and minds by slaughtering children and civilians, raping women, torturing prisoners and now, massacring an animal of a species in danger of extinction locked up in a cage without any hope to protect itself. Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Fri Nov 12 00:56:18 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 00:56:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] AP Study Found Highest divorce rates are to be found in the Bible Belt Message-ID: <20041112085619.39011.qmail@web13625.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/10/31/walking_the_walk_on_family_values/ WILLIAM V. D'ANTONIO Walking the walk on family values By William V. D'Antonio | October 31, 2004 PRESIDENT Bush and Vice President Cheney make reference to "Massachusetts liberals" as if they were referring to people with some kind of disease. I decided it was time to do some research on these people, and here is what I found. The state with the lowest divorce rate in the nation is Massachusetts. At latest count it had a divorce rate of 2.4 per 1,000 population, while the rate for Texas was 4.1. But don't take the US government's word for it. Take a look at the findings from the George Barna Research Group. George Barna, a born-again Christian whose company is in Ventura, Calif., found that Massachusetts does indeed have the lowest divorce rate among all 50 states. More disturbing was the finding that born-again Christians have among the highest divorce rates. The Associated Press, using data supplied by the US Census Bureau, found that the highest divorce rates are to be found in the Bible Belt. The AP report stated that "the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average of 4.2 per thousand people." The 10 Southern states with some of the highest divorce rates were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. By comparison nine states in the Northeast were among those with the lowest divorce rates: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. How to explain these differences? The following factors provide a partial answer: More couples in the South enter their first marriage at a younger age. Average household incomes are lower in the South. Southern states have a lower percentage of Roman Catholics, "a denomination that does not recognize divorce." Barna's study showed that 21 percent of Catholics had been divorced, compared with 29 percent of Baptists. Education. Massachusetts has about the highest rate of education in the country, with 85 percent completing high school. For Texas the rate is 76 percent. One third of Massachusetts residents have completed college, compared with 23 percent of Texans, and the other Northeast states are right behind Massachusetts. The liberals from Massachusetts have long prided themselves on their emphasis on education, and it has paid off: People who stay in school longer get married at a later age, when they are more mature, are more likely to secure a better job, and job income increases with each level of formal education. As a result, Massachusetts also leads in per capita and family income while births by teenagers, as a percent of total births, was 7.4 for Massachusetts and 16.1 for Texas. The Northeast corridor, with Massachusetts as the hub, does have one of the highest levels of Catholics per state total. And it is also the case that these are among the states most strongly supportive of the Catholic Church's teaching on social justice issues such as minimum and living wages and universal healthcare. For all the Bible Belt talk about family values, it is the people from Kerry's home state, along with their neighbors in the Northeast corridor, who live these values. Indeed, it is the "blue" states, led led by Massachusetts and Connecticut, that have been willing to invest more money over time to foster the reality of what it means to leave no children behind. And they have been among the nation's leaders in promoting a living wage as their goal in public employment. The money they have invested in their future is known more popularly as taxes; these so-called liberal people see that money is their investment to help insure a compassionate, humane society. Family values are much more likely to be found in the states mistakenly called out-of-the-mainstream liberal. By their behavior you can know them as the true conservatives. They are showing how to conserve family life through the way they live their family values. William V. D'Antonio is professor emeritus at University of Connecticut and a visiting research professor at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Fri Nov 12 10:48:21 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 10:48:21 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Exploiting The Environment Message-ID: <20041112184822.94241.qmail@web13621.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.tompaine.com/articles/exploiting_the_environment.phpExploiting The EnvironmentDavid Helvarg October 29, 2004 Since the Bush administration took over four years ago, a sweeping anti-environmental agenda termed "Wise Use" has become law?though it was once considered a laughable industry wish list. Now Yellowstone is open to off-road vehicles, public lands are open for development and the Endangered Species act is foundering. Environmentalist David Helvarg says these environmental regressions were helped along by the lack of education and outcry?by both the public and the Kerry campaign. David Helvarg is the author of The War Against the Greens (updated and revised, Johnson Books, 2004). A hundred years from now, people may look back at this campaign season and wonder about health, education and security. What they?ll wonder is how the health of the planet failed to be a significant topic of debate, why people weren?t educated to the cascading disasters of climate change, mass extinction and burgeoning population, and how anyone could fail to see sustainable use of resources as essential to global security. Whether their reflections are made in a spirit of tolerant bemusement or bitter reproach may also hinge on the outcome of this election, now less than a week away. With Russian ratification about to bring the Kyoto Climate Change Treaty into force, John Kerry speaks of the need to reform it, rather than reject it. He talks of establishing a new energy regime based on non-carbon renewable technologies, while President Bush advocates expanding coal, oil and gas production, questions the established science on fossil-fuel driven climate change and argues that the cost of taking action now is too great. Their differences on the environment are not merely ones of approach, of how best to achieve common goals. They are, as George W. Bush is fond of saying, differences in basic philosophy. While John Kerry is considered an informed, if cautious, supporter of many environmental initiatives (he?s endorsed by the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters and other greens), George W. takes his cues from an industry-created backlash of the 1980s and ?90s. The anti-environmental ?Wise Use? movement came into being in 1988, combining timber, mining, oil and off-road-vehicle industries, some hunters and ranchers, veterans of the Reagan administration, and followers of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. What united them was the perceived threat that George Bush Sr. would follow through on his campaign pledge to be ?the environmental president.? Wise Use activists went on to confront the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club and local environmental activists, sometimes with vigilante-style tactics. By the 1990s, a number of Wise Use groups in Washington, Idaho, Montana and New Mexico had graduated from the ?timber wars? to ally with armed militias. Following the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City by militia associates Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, these ties lost Wise Use much of its industry backing, and it went into decline. Today Wise Use veterans, their lawyers and their lobbyists are back, setting environmental policy for the son of the president they reviled. Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton was lead litigator at the Mountain States Legal Foundation when it billed itself as the ?litigation arm of Wise Use.? As a lawyer, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman represented Wise Use activists opposed to federal conservation plans for the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Former timber lobbyist and Wise Use speaker Mark Rey today runs the U.S. Forest Service. And Vice President Dick Cheney, before becoming CEO of Halliburton, was the ?go-to? guy in Congress for Wise Use, as well as a board member of several Wise Use groups including the Center for Defense of Free Enterprise that issued the 25-point Wise Use Agenda. The Wise Use Agenda, when published more than 15 years ago, was dismissed as an extractive industry wish list. Today it is Bush administration policy. The Agenda called for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, logging Alaska?s Tongass National Forest, gutting the Endangered Species Act, opening public lands to motorized recreation, opening wilderness to energy development, and privatizing the National Parks, handing them over to people ?with expertise in people-moving such as Walt Disney.? Today the administration is fighting to open the Arctic to drilling, has approved logging in the Tongass, is allowing 1,000 snowmobiles a day in Yellowstone, has worked to undermine the Endangered Species Act, has ordered 250 million acres of public lands be opened to coal, oil and gas development, and claims the Wilderness Act no longer has legal standing. Secretary Norton has also promoted ?outsourcing? of thousands of National Park jobs to the private sector to provide, ?better delivery of services to the public.? In recent decades, environmental protection and stewardship has been a bipartisan presidential issue, something George W. Bush's father understood when he was in office, as did the Clinton administration, which condemned ?extremist anti-environmental groups financed by large polluters.? Unfortunately, the Wise Use veterans in this Bush administration have effectively advanced their clear-cutting agenda without being strongly challenged by the Kerry campaign. Still, the choice is ours. Between the backlash anger and despair that says, ?Take what you can get while you can get it,? and the faith that we can still leave future generations a good life in a good land lies only the understanding, the heart and the will of the American people. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Fri Nov 12 22:41:39 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 22:41:39 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Washington Post: Worst Voter Error Is Apathy Toward Irregularities Message-ID: <20041113064140.67154.qmail@web13625.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43630-2004Nov11.html?sub=AR Worst Voter Error Is Apathy Toward Irregularities By Donna Britt Friday, November 12, 2004; Page B01 Is anyone surprised that accusations of voter disenfranchisement and irregularities abound after the most passionately contested presidential campaign in memory? Is anybody stunned that the mainstream media appear largely unconcerned? To many people's thinking, too few citizens were discouraged from voting to matter. Those people would suggest that not nearly enough votes for John Kerry were missed or siphoned away to overturn President Bush's win. To which I'd respond: Excuse me -- I thought this was America. Informed that I was writing about voter disenfranchisement, a Democratic friend admitted, "I'm trying not to care about that." I understand. Less than two weeks after a bruising election in a nation in which it's unfashionable to overtly care about anything, it's annoying of me even to notice. But citizens who insist, election after election, that each vote is sacred and then shrug at hundreds of credible reports that honest-to-God votes were suppressed and discouraged aren't just being hypocritical. They're telling the millions who never vote because "it doesn't matter anyway" that they're the smart ones. Come on. If Republicans had lost the election, this column would be unnecessary because Karl Rove and company would be contesting every vote. I keep hearing from those who wonder whether Democrats are "too nice," and from others who wonder whether efforts by the mainstream media to be "fair and balanced" sometimes render them "neutered and less effective." Perhaps. But the much-publicized voting-machine error that gave Bush 4,258 votes in an Ohio precinct where only 638 people cast ballots preceded a flood of disturbing reports, ranging from the Florida voting machine that counted backward to the North Carolina computer that eliminated votes. In Ohio's Warren County, election officials citing "homeland security" concerns locked the doors to the county building where votes were being counted, refusing to allow members of the media and bipartisan observers to watch. Bush won the county overwhelmingly. Much of the media dismisses anxiety over such irregularities as grousing by poor-loser Democrats, rabid conspiracy theorists and pouters frustrated by Kerry's lightning-quick concession. Some of it surely is. But more people's concerns are elementary-school basic -- which isn't coincidental since that's where many of us learned about democracy. We feel that Americans mustn't concede the noble intentions upon which our nation was founded to the cynical or the indifferent. We believe in our nation's sacred assurance that every citizen's voice be heard through his or her vote. The point isn't just which candidate won or lost. It's that we all lose when we ignore that thousands of Americans might have been discouraged or prevented from voting, or not had their votes count. If it were us, we'd be screaming bloody murder. Yesterday, Lafayette Square was the scene of a lively rally at which dozens of upbeat, mostly older-than-25 protesters organized by ReDefeatBush.com heard democracy-praising singers, rappers and speakers. Protester Susan Ribe, 33, a Wheaton tax researcher, said that though she's "open-minded" to the possibility that election results might be correct, she believes that reports of irregularities suggest "there's the need for a serious investigation." CONTINUED 1 2 Next > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:07:33 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:07:33 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Dialogue/Action proposal from Green Bloc Message-ID: Greeting Allies, Last night the Green Bloc had its first mtg in months. Seven people were in attendance on short notice. We discussed organizing a large community forum that can get people of their couches in despair and into a containter where we can express our outrage and take action. Some of the goals we discussed were: 1) Reach out to all those Kerry and third party voters who aren't the usual people already working on these issues but are looking for ways to take action. 2) Keep a focus on taking action, creating working groups, plugging into existing campaigns, hearing solutions that the community comes up with OR whatever seems appropriate! 3) Maybe have some music, political theater, or headline speaker to attract more people and weave in diverse forms of media to keep it up beat. The proposed timing was either before the Electoral College votes mid Dec or in a build ip to the uninaugaration in Jan if there isn't enough time to organize this before the Electorate votes. There was some good energy for this at our mtg last night, but definetly not enough to actually make it happen. So, we are having a FORUM ORGANIZING MTG at my house this WED 17 at 7:30- 642 Petaluma ave. across from Palm Drive.You can call me at 332-8100. If anyone feels inspired to bring the community out so we can organize effectively to resist Empire and build local strength , sustainability and security come to the next mtg! We would like this to be organized by a diverse collective, and not just the Green Bloc. Any Ideas about how to make this diverse? Maybe this next step can build momentum. Love and Support in these times, Erik Ohlsen Please forward > >I heard from quite a few people who want to have a meeting to discuss the >election results and what we do now. Meddle (Adopt an Activist, Greenbloc) >and I >will find a date and location. In the meantime, I suggest we all get >together in small informal groups and start this discussion so that our >ideas will be >semi-formed by the time of the larger meeting. Mention this to everyone in >the progressive movement that you know and anyone else who might have a >receptive ear. - Peace, Susan > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: message-footer.txt URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:09:09 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:09:09 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Alex Jones' News Update Nov 12 2004 Message-ID: Cheap web hosting directory. Click Here Visit the Infowars / Prisonplanet network of websites today! November 12, 2004Because there's a war on for your mind! Latest News - Police used Taser gun to subdue 6-year-old student wielding piece of glass Miami-Dade police tasered a 6-year-old boy who was wielding a piece of glass in a school office and threatening to hurt himself, officials confirmed Thursday. Police say they followed their own guidelines and only tasered the child because they were afraid he would hurt himself. But the incident has raised calls for the department tighten its policies regarding the use of the stun guns, which shoot 50,000 volts of electric current through a subject. Full story online at prisonplanet.com Visit Prison Planet.tv - your portal for daily audio, video and text reports Further Headlines from Infowars / Prisonplanet Visit the site for the full articles: a.. Alex Jones' Weekly Report November 12 2004 FREE VIEWING FOR EVERYONE THIS WEEK! b.. Gonzales nomination angers abortion foes c.. World Net Daily Poll Shows Opposition to Gonzales d.. Debunker Attacks WTC 7 Evidence on MSNBC's Countdown e.. Student suspended for handstands, cartwheels f.. Capitol Checkpoints to Return in January g.. Saving Fallujah, And Other Movie Fantasies h.. NY TIMES: Vote Fraud Theories, Spread by Blogs, Are Quickly Buried i.. Falluja a 'Big Disaster,' Aid Needed - Red Crescent j.. UPDATE: LA AMOURED VEHICLES WERE "LOST" k.. They're Throwing Journalists Into Jail Right Here In The USA l.. Turkey warns of plan to invade Iraq m.. Drugs firms 'are scaring people for profit' Advertise with us! Infowars.net gets millions of hits a month. If you have something you want to advertise, please contact us. rates are very low. For more information Click Here Infowars Services Dial up service DSL service Webhosting PropagandaMatrix.com New Anti NWO t-shirts, Playing cards, bumper stickers and more in the re-designed Propaganda Matrix online shop. Now accepting payments via Worldpay and Paypal. We thank you for supporting our activities and helping us grow. http://www.infowars.net Free Newsletter Provided by Bravenet.com - Get one for Free ? Unsubscribe from this newsletter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: globe_header.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 37490 bytes Desc: not available URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:10:33 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:10:33 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Protest to Support the Urban Forest at City Hall Wed Nov 17 Noon (fwd) Message-ID: ) PRESS RELEASE: A PROTEST TO SUPPORT THE URBAN FOREST "We're at risk of becoming 'the city formerly known as emerald,'" Mayor Nickels said. When: Wed Nov. 17th Noon. Where: In front of City Hall (5th Ave between Cherry + James) Why: City Arborists Office Budget cuts, No Protection for Trees in Development, No Citizens on Tree Advisory Board, Stonewalled Street Tree Ordinance, + More! Who: Tree Costumes Galore and Pickets will be in attendance. Sponsored by: Plant Amnesty and Save Seattle's Trees! plantamnesty.org saveseattlestrees.org Contacts: Cass Turnbull, 206-783-9093, Founder of Plant Amnesty cassturnbull at comcast.net Richard Ellison, 206-632-3980, Founder of Save Seattle's Trees climbwall at msn.com If you can't make the protest please contact your favorite City Councilmember at: http://www.cityofseattle.net/council/councilcontact.htm Seattle and Trees * How can only 2 maintenance people for all of Seattle's 100,000 street trees safely protect the City from accidents and lawsuits? In the 1994 Seattle Street Tree Survey, 30,000 trees were dying or in poor condition. * There is no protection for trees on private property, and developers are cutting them down. Where are the incentives for developers to save trees? * There is not enough open space or park space for most neighborhoods. Street trees are all that people have left of nature in too many Seattle neighborhoods. * Invasive vines are killing our trees and the City does little to educate its citizens to stop it. * Native birds live in trees and cutting and letting trees die is not helping reverse their decline. The Budget The budget proposes to eliminate 2 of 3 "Arboriculturist" positions at the SDOT Arborist's Office. Last year, the City also gutted the Utility Line Clearance budget and axed the Tree Steward program. Currently City Arborist Rundquist has 3 arboriculturists, compared to Milwaukee with 50 arboriculturists. Legal Issues: Driver sues the City of Seattle. On Jan. 3, 2003 the City was sued when a truck driver was injured in an accident with a tree branch that did not meet clearance requirements. ".causing Plaintiff Obie Rouise to suffer permanent, severe and serious injuries as hereinafter alleged." This case has not been settled yet according to the City Attorney's Office. Who is responsible? How much will legal and settlement costs be? The City Attorney's Office says legal cases against the City are usually settled out of court. And the City does not sort their records by the type of cause, ie. Trees, so it is impossible to know how many similar cases there have been. Unpruned trees also drop branches during storms that threaten electric and cable wires, and perhaps a car parked underneath. How much does will delayed maintanance costs add up in the end? More than a few arborists. When we cut 1000's of trees for Light Rail and the Monorail, will restoration fail? Who will care for the trees planted when we are unable to manage current new plantings? How can you commit to a mitigation plan when you are failing to maintain the 30,000 newly planted street trees? You are destroying the infrastructure and expertise to deal with the restoration. What is the Arborist's Office responsibility? As part of the SDOT, it is "responsible for street trees and right of ways.(and) maintains trees that are planted by the City" for power lines, streets, sidewalks, and public safety. According to the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment, Seattle has almost 100,000 street trees. There is a backlog of over 100 jobs. At best this crew can chase emergencies, and maintenance pruning is severely delayed. Consider that in the 1994 Seattle Street Tree Survey, 42% were found either dying or in poor condition. The 19 year pruning cycle of street trees is already twice that of 14 comparable cities. While it is good news that Seattle planted over 30,000 new trees since 1999, newly planted street trees have a low survivorship, estimated at 22 years or less. Who will care for these 30,000 young trees, or the 70,000 others that in 1994 were already half dead? The arboriculturists also oversee all maintenance calls and the 2.5 year old collision damage program, which netted $80,000 last year for the Street Tree Fund. Mandated to respond to all calls within 24 hrs, they typically have 15 new calls/day. Two years ago the Street Tree Fund was cut, and the monies earned from insurance claims is the ONLY money available currently for new street trees. Trees don't take care of themselves. And a shrinking Arborist's Office cannot adequately watchdog street trees from those who seek to deliberately damage or illegally remove them. The City is failing its Comprehensive Plan goals for Environmental Stewardship, 1 of its 4 Core Values. It also calls for Seattle to be a "Leader in Environmental Stewardship." In times of a shrinking urban forest and growing population numbers, it is irresponsible for the City to abandon its stewardship. A survey of Seattle residents in 2000 found over 80% consider Seattle "a green city." It is a fragile green infrastructure. How many citizens want Seattle to invest in staying green? What else can you do? Stop Stonewalling the Street Tree Ordinance. It has been almost 10 years being "reworked." Find ways to save more trees in private development. The Director's Rule is failing its goal to save quality trees in development. One acre of trees absorbs as much carbon dioxide as a car in 26,000 miles. Trees also remove sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides from the air. Trees, especially mature trees, play crucial roles in stabilizing sleep slopes. And hey, many native birds call trees home. And both native bird numbers and species diversity are in decline. Is this budget the Mayor's new "Seattle Green Initiative"? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:12:48 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:12:48 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Greg Palast - SAT. NOV. 20th @ Eagles Hall Message-ID: What: FILM, FOOD, AND MUSIC When: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20th Doors open @ 6:30 7:00 Film- "The Bush Family Fortunes" by Greg Palast 8:30 Post- Movie Discussion 9:00 Music- *L?Aguafois Fluid Moment, and other special guests* Where: Eagles Ballroom- underground 805 4th Ave E. downtown olympia Cost: $5-10 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds Proceeds Benefit: KOWA 106.5 FM, MEDIA ISLAND INTERNATIONAL, & THE EAGLES HALL ENJOY WARM WINTER FOODS AND CHAI TEA, WATCH GREG PALAST'S TIMELY NEW DOCUMENTRY, INDULGE IN A POST-MOVIE DISCUSSION, AND DANCE OUT YOUR YA-YA?S! This 70 minute long documentary follows the award-winning reporter-sleuth Greg Palast on the trail of the Bush family, from Florida election finagling, to the Saudi connection, to the Bush team?s spiking the FBI investigation of the bin Laden family and the secret State Department plans for post-war Iraq. Questions? Contact Media Island 352-8526 visit us at: www.kowaradio.org > www.mediaisland.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:13:41 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:13:41 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: ARAFAT, THE KAPO Message-ID: THE HOFFMAN WIRE Dedicated to Freedom of the Press, Investigative Reporting and Revisionist History Subscribe: HoffmanWire-subscribe at topica.com Michael A. Hoffman II, Editor November 11, 2004 ARAFAT, THE KAPO by Michael A. Hoffman II http://www.revisionisthistory.org/wire10.html Kapo. Definition: 1. individuals who have been recruited by an enemy to police their own people; "Kameradenpolizei." The late Yasir Arafat was the Israelis' dream leader for the Palestinians: immensely corrupt and incompetent, he ran the Palestinian cause to ground with his naive faith in America as an "honest broker" in the Middle East. Arafat's first name seems to have derived from the fact that he went around the Israelis and Americans so often muttering, "Yassir, Boss," just as the next "Palestinian President" will be required to do if he wants to live past next month. The only meaningful, defiant stand Arafat ever took-- and even that was done mainly under pressure from militants-- was to refuse the Barak/Clinton "generous offer" at Camp David in 2000, which would have given the Palestinian seal of approval to the dreadful state of affairs that evolved under Sharon: the carving of the occupied territories into disconnected Bantustans and the repudiation of the "right of return" of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, now living miserable lives in camps in Jordan under the CIA-linked Jordanian monarchy. Any such deal cut with Ehud Barak would be particularly odious since Barak is one of the most despicable Israeli terrorists and assassins. In 1994, as military chief, Barak massacred Palestinian demonstrators in the course of disturbances in the wake of the now nearly-forgotten slaughter of 40 Palestinian civilians by an off-duty Israeli army officer from Brooklyn, Baruch Goldstein. Barak actually killed more Palestinians during the protests than Goldstein had at the mosque. The source of Arafat's rise to power is murky. As the perfect Palestinian foil to the Israelis, after the demise of the USSR Arafat was always looking to a US President or the United Nations to save him and his people. When George W. Bush proved to be as much of a Likud lunatic as Sharon, Arafat's mantra became, "the international community" (i.e. western Europe). Europe, the UN and the White House were foremost on Arafat's list of Palestinian allies. Strangely absent was the Arab League, the Saudis, Egypt, Jordan or any other Arab country. With the sole exception of the non-Arab Islamic Republic of Iran, the Muslim nations were absolutely impotent and stood by in disgrace as Peres, Shamir, Netanyahu, Barak and Sharon did whatever they liked to the Palestinians, machine-gunning, rocketing and bombing elderly grandmothers, infants and children, mothers and fathers with the insouciance of Saturday afternoon plinkers at a carnival shooting gallery. In the end, Arafat was no longer needed by the Israelis, and Sharon confined him to his quarters like a recalcitrant schoolboy, while figuring out a way to have him killed without risking the ire of Colin Powell, who regarded the assassination in broad daylight of a head-of-state, with American-financed weapons and munitions, a bit excessive. So dominant are the Israelis now that they don't need a "Palestinian peace partner," just a kapo to administer on their behalf the enormous concentration camp that is Gaza and the West Bank, behind a front of Palestinian nationalism. Any other successor to Arafat, any Palestinian patriot who truly represents the legitimate aspirations of his people for independence, will very likely be assassinated by Sharon as an "al-Qaeda connected terrorist" (the same risible charge that Likudniks, Fox TV and conservative talk radio hosts in the US have made in connection with Arafat, who was despised by radical Islamic militants everywhere--including Hamas-- who did not make war on him solely in order to avoid falling into the contrived trap of Palestinian civil war, which the Israeli chess players had so dearly sought to provoke). The bin Ladens of the world are no alternative of course. Their mime of US and Israeli terrorism plays directly into the hands of the Mossad and the CIA, if indeed they are not actually agents of those intelligence agencies, as seems likely. The dominant Judeo-Masonic system in the West today, which I style the Cryptocracy, loves terrorism, incites it and feeds upon it like a vampire at a blood bank. Conversely, what the Cryptocracy hates and fears is an enemy that would behave like the old Sicilian Mafia, confining its warfare to soldiers only, leaving all women and children unharmed. The resulting contrast between Israeli contempt for Arab civilians ("Amalek" in Talmudic theology, no matter what Uri Avnery continues to pretend in this regard), and the conduct of a new Saladin, who would exhibit the highest ideals of nobility in warfare, could shake the West off its foundations. Alas, this is not on the horizon, because al-Qaeda is too convenient a stage dummy for the Western ventriloquists, who can run this shadowy public relations operation by means of virtual reality videotapes seeded to al-Jazeera satellite television, even as the corrupt Arab states fall ever deeper in thrall to US cash and threats, and their own penchant for wallowing in oil riches in the midst of Palestinian and Iraqi misery. The Arab world desperately needs reform and revolution, but the idea that such positive change will come from US occupation is a neo-con horse-laugh. In spite of all the attention on the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who criticized alleged Islamic misogyny, no furious indignation anywhere in the West is observed in connection with the near fatal beating administered to Professor Robert Faurisson in France in 1989, because he wrote essays casting doubt on homicidal gas chambers in Auschwitz. Before him, Francois Duprat, also a professor, was killed in France for harboring similar doubts. Yet so amnesiac is Europe when it comes to the crimes of Judaic religious fanatics against critics of its sacred lore, that the assault on Van Gogh is being described as unprecedented. Dozens of other dissenters, like publisher Ernst Zundel, researcher Jean Plantin, schoolteacher Jurgen Graf, Max Planck chemist Germar Rudolf, film maker Vincent Reynouard and historian David Irving, have been banned or prosecuted in Canada, Australia, and Europe for anti-Zionist thought crimes, with virtually no outcry from the intelligentsia of the West, who mount an enormous hue-and-cry over the outrage in Holland, chiefly as a pretext for weakening the power of Zionism's Islamic nemesis. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz (Nov. 4, 2004), Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid supports legislation in the Knesset calling for any "Holocaust denier" anywhere in the world to be tried in Israel: "Lapid told Haaretz that he feels denying the Holocaust 'is a clearly neo-Nazi crime. Anyone involved in this belongs to the group of criminals whom our arm must reach anywhere in the world." This outrageous declaration of inquistion and religious fanaticism from a state possessing the atomic bomb -- threatening to kidnap scholars who doubt the religious axioms of Holocaustianity-- just doesn't strike a chord with those trendy liberals and crusading Conservatives who weep and wail over the "ravages of Islamic fanaticism" among the Dutch. This is because their real issue is not free speech. If it were, WWII revisionists would be protected, not prosecuted. The real issue is the continued stoking of western hatred for Islam in order to foment a World War III "clash of civilizations" for the salvation of the tiny bandit state of "Israel." To publish books and tapes that "deny the Nazi Holocaust" in Iraq, under US rule, is now a criminal offense ("incitement' as the Israelis term it). Hence, for anti-Zionists, there is less freedom of speech in Iraq under the US than under Saddam. Bush recently signed into law a heresy-hunting measure that empowers the US government to track intellectuals and publications throughout the world that are skeptical of the gas chamber stories, as a prelude to the arrest and prosecution of these doubters. In a growing number of cases, Islamic youth are becoming aware of this hypocritical double-standard and they are gaining a working knowledge of the fact that the advancement of "western democracy" is little more than a code-word for the imposition of supremacist standards of immunity and privilege for Zionist lies and hoaxes, and for the Judaic religion that holds one group of people superior to all others. While it is true that Arafat engaged in the requisite armed resistance ("terrorism" when Muslims do it, "heroic combat" when Judaic "partisans" perpetrated it during World War II); that was part of the game too. Sagacious, humane western counselors who have had any role in advising the Palestinians, such as Israel Shahak, have urged them to use only the tactics of Gandhi against the Israelis: boycotts, strikes, marches, protests, pickets. The tactic of kamikaze bombings and the Talmudic-like identification of Israeli civilians as legitimate targets, has been a disaster for Palestinians, in spite of the fact that Israeli terrorism has been far more widespread and deadly by a ratio of three-to-one. Perhaps the root of the problem is in Islam's emphasis on combat as an oppressed people's ultimate expression of self-defense and masculinity. If for every Kalashnikov, the Palestinians were given a relatively-inexpensive Canon GL1 digital mini camcorder, and if for an underground bomb-making factory, the Palestinians substituted a fortified iMac-Final Cut Pro-video production bunker, coordinating the videotape that had been filmed of Israeli atrocities throughout the occupied territories, the Zionists would be exposed today for perpetrating a slow-motion holocaust, as only an independent media in an Internet age can expose them. The Western Establishment media, no matter how "progressive," has not done it yet and is unlikely to do so at anytime in the near future. The Palestinians are foolish for waiting for Robert Fisk or the Manchester Guardian newspaper to perform this exposure for them. Most Leftist critics of Zionism--even the most radical among them-- refuse to call Israeli atrocities a holocaust, and they either approve of or are indifferent to the repression against revisionist doubters of the gas chambers, while believing that orthodox Judaism and the Talmud are noble in their essence when not "distorted" by Zionism. These delusions are fatal to any movement seeking to overcome the Judeo-masonic empire and its brilliant Hegelian chess play, with its covert manipulation of antagonists and protagonists who often bear a symbiotic relationship to one another, as Arafat did to the Israeli leadership, and as Osama bin Laden does to George W. Bush. Revolution is an all-or-nothing proposition. It cannot afford to incorporate the contradictions of a western petty bourgeoisie still enamored of Judaism, the Talmud and the myths of Allied benevolence in World War II. Such people carry a spiritual virus; all the while they are allying themselves to the Palestinian cause. The genocide against the Palestinians should have long-ago alerted the western intelligentsia to the exterminationist nature of Judaism and Zionism. The true "clash of civilizations" is between the remnant of actual followers of Jesus Christ, and the suzerainty of the Pharisee creed of Judaism, which the modern West, be it Left or Right, progressive or conservative, continues to appease, flatter and finance. When the new Saladin arrives on the scene, he will know these truths and act on them. Until then, Arabs and Muslims will have for their leaders ever more Kameradenpolizei, in the Arafat mold. This column is online at: http://www.revisionisthistory.org/wire10.html Books authored or co-authored by Michael Hoffman: "The Israeli Holocaust Against the Palestinians" http://www.revisionisthistory.org/cgi-bin/store/agora.cgi?p_id=125 "Judaism's Strange Gods" http://www.revisionisthistory.org/cgi-bin/store/agora.cgi?p_id=83 >>>>>>>>>> The HOFFMAN WIRE is a public service of Independent History and Research, Box 849, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83816 USA 24 Hour Revisionist News Bureau: http://www.revisionisthistory.org/news.html Subscribe: HoffmanWire-subscribe at topica.com Disclaimer: The Hoffman Wire is a controversial and politically incorrect e-mail letter intended only for those who have requested it. We have a strict anti-spamming policy. The views expressed in the Hoffman Wire are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of advertisers or the transmitter. Freedom of the Press: A hallowed right. Responsible Dissent: A contribution to understanding and dialogue. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:14:58 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:14:58 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Reply to Green Anarchy Message-ID: On Class Struggle: a Reply to Green Anarchy #18 The first problem with the Green Anarchy Issue #18 with its so-called "green" anarchist critique of class struggle is that it stereotypes working people and those that are active in class struggle and tries to squeeze us all into confined spaces even if they don't fit. Thus it is rather hard to discuss real issues if you cannot get past the misconceptions. The first good example of this is in the review of the IWW paper, the Industrial Worker. The reviewer states; "It is possible that the Industrial Worker (IW) folks have seldom met any industrial workers," Over the years I have written 35 articles for the IW And I have work nearly 25 years in shipyards, and though I do not claim to be anymore of a worker, or industrial worker, as any other worker, I am without any doubt an industrial worker. And as to your claim that the IW, "doesn't even question the various excesses of unions", it is clear you have never read any of my articles. I guess maybe a good place to start is with the idea that only folks like Green Anarchy care about the environmental condition of the world, speaks to the damaging effects of the industrial system we live under and wants to do something about it. I have no problem with folks that go out and try to stop the damaging effects of the industrial system, be it by protest or direct action, though some tactics I do not agree with. But these actions are only placing your fingers in the leaking dike of the industrial rampage. Though such actions are needed, in my view as I have written many times, the global industrial onslaught must also be fought within industry by the workers. Why do I say that? Because I do not believe we have the time to create fantasy worlds, we must change industry as soon as possible and those with the knowledge of the problems in industry and those that have the means to create change are working people. Some things are rather simple, I wrote an article for the IW called, "Environmentalism and the Maritime Industry", which was also printed in the CNT paper in Spain and the publication Lonnsslaven in Norway. In that article I outline what can be done now to prevent the plague of massive oil spills that have been taking place. Yes, it would be easy just to say there should no longer be any oil tankers, it would be easy to say there should be no more logging of old growth forests, but the fact is that we are forced to confront the immediacy of given situations, that is why people put their bodies on the line to keep old growth trees from being cut down now and why I have written and struggled to try to get ships more earth safe. Your answer to everything seems to be that we must just wait until we have destroyed civilization, whatever the hell that means in the real world. I like others do not give in to you the distinction of being the only ones actively resisting environmental industrial destruction, or as some call it being green anarchists. I have been a green anarchist, along with other types of anarchist for many years. Next, you folks wrote that class is a social relationship that is true; it is also an economic relationship. And that class is not the only form of oppression and that there are others such as racism, sexism and other such oppressions. Why do you seem to believe that class struggle anarchists do not believe there are other forms of oppression? Not only are there many other forms of oppression but also each form of oppression not only has its own dynamics, but also they all have there own manifestations within class struggle. Does that mean that I view class as the fundamental aspect of global oppression and exploitation? No, in my view, eurocenticism is because that is the process that pushed classism, racism, sexism, raping Mother Earth, imperialism, and so on, into an international curse upon this plant. You, and others like you, attack those of us who activists in the area of class struggle as if we were the enemies as are the capitalists. How often folks like you call us "workerists" and "reductionists" always claiming that we see nothing but class as an issue. But always with a double standard. Such publications as the IW deals with issues such as racism and sexism far more often than does such publications as the Earth First! Journal, where is the trash talking of them because they don't deal with every issue? The fact is people find areas of the struggle against oppression and exploitation and focus on those areas. Because Earth First! Journal focuses on environmental struggles does not mean it is racism and sexist because of that focus. And because the IW reports mostly on labor struggles does not mean it should be trashed for not being all things to all people. I believe that all oppressions and exploitations need to have struggles that are confronting their oppressors.. And that the people involved in those struggles have the social vision that, though each struggle is important and should have its own self-determination, that there is common ground among us all in that we are struggling against the same system and ruling class. But I understand why folks like you attack us with such venom. It is not the area of struggle that we are in but rather the fact that the overwhelming majority of people who, both today and in history, call themselves anarchists are on our side of these issues and your views only represent a tiny faction. We who believe in organized class struggle are not one big mass of single thoughts. There exist within our movements many different social visions. On that I can only speak of my social vision. I believe in that the people who are the victims of oppression and exploitation need to organize and resist those things and to organize their self-determination as oppressed and exploited people. I believe that when needed and asked that all other people in struggle should act in direct solidarity with other struggles. To point out that I do as I believe I have worked in solidarity with many different struggles including working for Leonard Peltier for 25 years. I believe that all people need to do that which the can to hold back the rape of Mother Earth. Being that I am a worker, I believe that working people should organize around day-to-day struggles with the bosses and to work for a classless society. I believe that all communities of people who are not the ruling class and their managers need to organize resistance against the oppressive state and to build the means of their own self-reliance. I believe people need to keep up the pressure on the ruling class by continuous confrontation to its polices such as war, globalization and repression.. I believe that all the forms of organization are not only a means of resistance but also they are a means in creating a revolutionary power greater than the power of the ruling class and at some point there needs to be a social general strike where all refuse to provide the ruling class with anything including the complete breaking away of dependence upon capitalism and the state and refusal all orders from the rulers of any kind. I believe that this organizing and revolutionary action needs to be horizontal without any centralize targets for the counterrevolutionaries. I believe that our revolution needs to be able to defend itself as we keep the pressure on the counterrevolutionaries in order that they use up what supplies they have that we will not let them resupply themselves because we refuse all goods and services to them. And then we begin to create our new anarchist world. Though it needs to be understood that anarchism is not a final point in history but rather a continuous evolving process. Now I wish to say a few words about the vision of primitivists. The idea that we are going to do away with all organized society and industry and all of us go out and become hunters and gatherers would do more harm to Mother Earth than what we have now because there is not enough left of the wild to support everyone and people would then strip the wild to the born and then those who have not died from folks killing each other over the little there is to take, would starve to death. This idea would not rid us of classes because the strong would rule over the weak. The fact is if some how there was a beginning of the primitivists idea as soon as people got hungry there would come about a new fascist state that would put down the rebellion. A successful revolution has to have the direct means of fulfilling the needs of the people because if it does not the people will turn against it. In other words, given the realities of the world we live in the primitivist vision is anti-environment and anti-people. That is not to say that we as a society cannot decentralize, live in close balance with the natural world, I believe that this must happen. But it is a direction gained through hard work and realistic collective planning. Now I may not in the same class as you high minded thinkers, I ain't nothing more that lowly shipyard worker, but I have seen the struggles of working folks for years first hand and I know what side I'm on. Arthur J. Miller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:15:20 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:15:20 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: "Coming Dictator Series Message-ID: The introduction to the new Backwoods Home magazine features a "Coming Dictator Series". In the introductory article It stressed how the Judicial system is by-passing the Constitution and used as a prime example the drug issue and the manner in which it is being handled. There was brief mention of the power of bureaucracies, which I consider of extreme concern in relation to the changes in the power structure of our government. It is my belief that we have lost both the Executive and the Judicial branches of government rendering the Congressional branch virtually powerless largely due, also, to their weaknesses from within. Through the Executive branch, almost complete authority is being given to the Agencies and their bureaucracies and through them to the Judiciary. It had been gradually happening, but was accomplished officially through Executive Order by Clinton released on Earth Day, April 22, 2000 which virtually put all agencies under the authority and guidance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The title of this long and sweeping Executive Order is, "Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management". After the 1992 Rio Conference, Henry Lamb received some correspondence dated June 1, 1994, from Tom McDonald of the American Sheep Industry Assn. in which just exactly this type of take-over was predicted. Quote, "Attached is a document that outlines how ecosystem management is being implemented within EPA, BLM, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and throughout all federal government. . . . The EPA document describes how the current administration plans to accumulate all powers - legislative, executive and judiciary - into a centralized government. . . . . Under ecosystem management, the administration does not consider itself a government of the people, by the people or for the people, but rather considers itself as having to manage people as biological resources similar to vegetation, minerals, water, wildlife or predators". Further quote, "As a result of this initiative, a collaborative cross-agency effort was initiated to implement ecosystem management. This management is now being implemented by the Interagency Ecosystem Management Coordination Group, which is made up of 20 federal agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Soil Conservation Service, National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Biological Survey, Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Defense, Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Reclamation and Mineral Management Service. This group is working under a Memorandum of Understanding. A task force is developing the overarching goals for all agencies, drafting an Executive Order making ecosystem protection a national priority, and examining and recommending improvements to the effectiveness of ecosystem management such as budget process, legal authorities and information management. The Executive Order is to be in place no later than Sept. 30, 1994. A budget model has already been developed for FY 1995 to facilitate the implementation of ecosystem management into ALL FEDERAL AGENCIES." I am of the belief that, unless there is one I am unaware of, it is the April 22, 2000 Executive Order that accomplished all of the above. We can certainly see what appears to be evidence of these objectives as we continue to attempt to deal with the many rules, regulations, edicts, incriminations, arrests, law suits, etc.evolving out of Agency proceedings. Awareness of the source and the ultimate objectives is the first step in doing something about it. To regain our rights and liberties we MUST re-establish the power and authority of our Constitution as it was envisioned and designed by our forefathers. Clarice -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:14:28 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:14:28 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Abidjan horrors revealed - Ivory Coast Message-ID: Some folks are calling this France's Iraq. ============== Abidjan horrors revealed 12/11/2004 20:58 - (SA) FROM: http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1620377,00.html A French citizen carrying his dog arrives by bus at the airport of Abidjan. (Schalk van Zuydam, AP) Abidjan - Details of rapes and other atrocities against foreigners in Ivory Coast began to emerge on Friday as thousands of expatriates continued to leave the west African state and African leaders moved to prevent the crisis from igniting the entire region. The region cannot afford a reprise of the conflict in Ivory Coast, a linchpin due to its robust, cocoa-based economy that has attracted hundreds of thousands of migrants over the four decades since independence from France. Those responsible for the recent escalation in violence that has claimed some 60 lives and left more than 1 000 injured according to government tolls are doing "incalculable damage not only to the future of their country but to the whole of west Africa," said UN special envoy for west Africa, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah. Injuries including blows from machetes were among incidents reported by the hundreds of French nationals who have returned to Paris since Wednesday, when evacuation flights began lifting off from the airport in the commercial capital. Xenophobic violence Military officials including General Henri Poncet, commander of the French Unicorn force in Ivory Coast, have confirmed that foreign women were raped in the xenophobic violence that swept through Abidjan. There were no murders reported among the 14 000 French nationals who resided in Ivory Coast, foreign ministry spokesperson Herve Ladsous said from Paris on Friday. The whereabouts of two French nationals remain unknown, he added. But the damage has been done to relations between France and its former star colony in west Africa following government air strikes on a French military base in the central town of Bouake that left nine French troops and a US aid worker dead. France riposted by wiping out virtually the entire Ivorian air force and seizing the airport, which in return provoked a violent and angry outburst by partisans of President Laurent Gbagbo, egged on by hate messages broadcast over state radio and television. 'Barriers have been breached' Ethnic clashes were also provoked in the southwestern town of Gagnoa, leaving six dead including five Burkinabe planters. "For the past five days, I have felt constantly ill," said Catherine Rechenmann, a representative of the French community in Abidjan. "When people start attacking women, when they are raped, it's over, the barriers have been breached." The exodus of foreign nationals gathered pace on Friday, with Britain beginning the evacuation of some 400 people "entitled to protection" by the British foreign office early on Friday morning, a spokesperson told AFP from London. Diplomatic sources in Abidjan said the number of flights would increase substantially to evacuate foreign nationals from Canada, the United States, Australia and Europe. More than 2 600 people have boarded planes from Abidjan since Wednesday. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:22:48 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:22:48 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Prosecutor arrested in prostitution sting Message-ID: Prosecutor arrested in prostitution sting By The Associated Press Assistant District Attorney Lou Keel, who was a prosecutor in Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols' murder trial, has been arrested in a police prostitution sting, officials said Friday. Keel was accused of trying to hire a woman for sex Thursday evening. The woman was an undercover police officer. He was booked on a charge of offering to engage in an act of lewdness with a prostitute, said police Capt. Jeffrey Becker. Keel posted a $500 bond and was released. Becker said he was still reviewing the police report and did not immediately have further details on the arrest. District Attorney Wes Lane said he has suspended Keel with pay pending a review of the police investigation. "We recognize the gravity of this allegation and I am deeply disturbed," Lane said. "The Oklahoma County District Attorney's office holds very seriously the public's trust that justice will be served whether it is a citizen or a public official and that obviously includes my prosecutors." Lane said his office would recuse itself from involvement in prosecuting the case and would notify the Oklahoma Attorney General's office of this, so other prosecutors could be selected. "A thorough investigation will be conducted of the incident and the results of that investigation will be turned over to another district attorney's office in the state," Lane said. "Over the three years that I have been the district attorney, my office has taken a strong stand against prostitution." Debra Forshee, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said Keel did not want to comment on his arrest. Keel had a high-profile position as one of the prosecutors in the state murder case against Nichols. A state jury convicted Nichols of 161 counts of first-degree murder last May for the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people. State prosecutors brought the case in hopes of winning a death sentence against Nichols, who was already serving a federal sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the bombing. The state jury deadlocked in the sentencing phase of the trial, and the judge sentenced him to 161 consecutive life sentences. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:22:23 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:22:23 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: vitamin E is safe Message-ID: November 12, 2004 You may have read the ridiculous headlines from the last day or so stating that vitamin E supplementation does more harm than good. A meta-analysis published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine reviewed the results of 19 clinical trials on vitamin E. Researchers reported that taking high doses of vitamin E (greater than 400 IU per day) increased risk of all-cause mortality and concluded that high dose vitamin E supplements should be avoided. Now, let's take a look at what you didn't read and why this recommendation is absurd. First, the participants in this review of studies were already suffering from a wide range of medical conditions from heart disease and cancer to kidney disease and Alzheimer's. As the researches themselves admitted, it's impossible to ascertain if results would be the same in a healthy population. Second, the statistical analysis is suspect. Only nine of the 19 studies focused solely on vitamin E, while 10 looked at vitamin E combined with other vitamins and minerals. Thus, any outcome can hardly be conclusive. Therefore, headlines screaming "Vitamin E may raise death rates" or "Vitamin E might make heart disease worse" are irresponsible, unfounded, and an unnecessary scare tactic. The benefits of vitamin E supplementation are well documented. I emphatically believe that not only is the use of vitamin E safe, but highly therapeutic. Thousands of studies support vitamin E's role in cardiovascular health, immune function, and a number of other conditions. The Institute of Medicine and the federal government agree that vitamin E is safe at levels as high as 1600 IU per day for natural vitamin E (the form I recommend you use) or 1000 IU of synthetic vitamin E, the form most likely used in this study. According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, "This meta-analysis provides no convincing evidence to the contrary." The publicity surrounding this story simply confirms the mainstream media's inherent bias against nutritional supplements. For the complete text of the Annals of Internal Medicine study, go to http://www.annals.org/. Sincerely, Julian Whitaker, M.D. To review our Privacy Policy, click here. ************ TO UNSUBSCRIBE ************ You are receiving this email at cln3226 at blackfoot.net because you indicated an interest in receiving special updates and offers from Dr. Whitaker. We hope that you find these updates helpful, but if you would rather not receive them, you can unsubscribe by clicking here. Customer Account Number: A: M: 0016425514 Health & Healing 7811 Montrose Road Potomac, MD 20854 Call: 800-219-8590 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:23:12 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:23:12 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: prophecy Message-ID: FYI Past Editorials A New Editorial Every Friday! October 19, 2002 Dear Newswatch Magazine Listeners/Readers: Bible prophecy is progressing as never before. Sometimes fulfillment seems so slow. However, Jesus said to "WATCH" world events to identify WHICH of these are leading to the final fulfillment. Obvious fulfillment is the Red Horse of the Apocalypse. International Communism has taken peace from the earth since it's beginning in 1917. They have killed millions since it's formation. Every country they overthrow becomes targets for unrest in the political, economic and religious arena. They immediately begin killing anyone they consider a threat to their new regime. Communism is still working at overthrowing governments in South America. This is part of the final phase for world conquest - surround the United States after taking Eastern Europe and the masses of Asia. The first two steps have been accomplished for some time. Meanwhile, Europe is completely socialized. They want the United States to wage their "war on terrorism" alone. The U.S. only has 150 missiles left is why President Bush has not forged ahead. He's taking a more soft line but sounding tough. The manufacturing of missiles must be produced rapidly if Iraq is to be attacked. Daniel 11:40-45 definitely shows movement into the Middle East. However, Zechariah 12 shows clearly that any nation coming into the Middle East and moving upon Jerusalem will be in trouble. The Illumniati, worshippers of Lucifer [Satan] and founders of International Communism, deliberately established Israel in the middle of Arab countries for the purpose of starting World War III. This confrontation between the United States and Muslim nations will bring Russia and China into the war. "Tidings from the east and the north [of Jerusalem and the Middle East]" will be very disturbing to the leadership of the United States who may not know the REAL reason for these actions. The third world war is to be fought between the Western world of Christianity and Atheistic Communist Russia and her allies - BOTH to be conquered and eliminated as world powers at the same time. The terrorist's attack upon the United States on September 11, 2001 sped up the process of striping Americans of basic Constitutional rights under the guise of "protecting" the country and the people. How is this attack upon our Constitutional rights being orchestrated and by whom? The Illuminati's drive for world government was slowed when the U.S. would not enter the League of Nations after World War I. The "enemies of freedom" met at a hotel in Paris, France in 1919. These were agents of the House of Rothschild of the International Banking fraternity. American and British delegates were there and decided to form organizations in each country to infiltrate the political, educational, scientific, religious, and communication fields and take them over. In America, the Council On Foreign Relations was incorporated in 1921. Personal adviser to former President Woodrow Wilson was the ringleader. His name was Col. Edward Mandell House of Austin, Texas. Unfortunately for America, he was a Marxist. He desired Communism in America as dreamed of by Karl Marx. He even authored a book entitled Phillip Dru: Administrator in 1912. On the title page was a quote from Illuminati revolutionary leader from the previous century Guiseppi Mazzini from Italy. Mazzini helped set up Young Communist Leagues in Germany, France, Britain, Italy and other European countries to change their form of government to socialism. Later he helped, from England, form the Young Communist League of America. When Socialist Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president, he began to invite Council On Foreign Relation members as advisers into government. They were nearly always appointed positions at first. As their power grew and consolidated, they selected their own presidential candidates - Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Bush, Clinton and now Skull & Bones member George W. Bush. They are marching relentlessly toward the prophesied world government of Revelation 13. The people of little tiny Israel and the United States are the targets for extermination by the Illuminati. WHY? They worship Lucifer [Satan]. They hate the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. Jacob's son Joseph had two sons - Ephraim and Manasseh. In Genesis 48 Jacob blessed the two boys and said "let MY NAME [Israel] be named on them." Many Bibles have maps in the front showing two separate kingdoms - House of Judah [nicknamed Jews] and House of Israel. The story is found in 1 Kings 11-12. The Northern Ten Tribed House of Israel was sifted through the nations and lost their national identity. Jesus told the original Apostles to "go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The U.S. and British Commonwealth ARE the descendants of Joseph today and are targeted for destruction. Will they turn back to the REAL God of Israel Who came into human form and died for our sins? Or will we be led into national captivity? Sincerely, David J. Smith Attention Newswatch Magazine Subscribers - Years subscription to Newswatch Magazine: $24________ Back issues still available of Newswatch: $31___________ Focus of the Great Tribulation: $12________ Your donations keep us coming - God bless! Past Editorials | Main Page APFN-1 YahooGroups: Subscribe: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apfn-1/join Unsubscribe: apfn-1-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com APFN MSG BOARD: `In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html APFN CONTENTS PAGE: http://www.apfn.org/old/apfncont.htm Without Justice, there is JUST_US! [LEAK-GATE] INVESTIGATING THE WHITE HOUSE http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LEAK-GATE/ Find elected officials, including the president, members of Congress, governors, state legislators, local officials, and more. http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/ APFN, PMB 107, 6630 W. CACTUS #B107, GLENDALE, AZ 85304 http://www.apfn.org/apfn/kenvardon.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:23:35 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:23:35 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: W.H.O. Panel Backs Gene Manipulation in Smallpox Virus Message-ID: Paranoid Times W.H.O. Panel Backs Gene Manipulation in Smallpox Virus By Lawrence K. Altman, New York Times November 12, 2004 An advisory committee to the World Health Organization for the first time has recommended that Russian and American scientists be allowed to manipulate a gene in the smallpox virus to speed the development of drugs that could treat the disease, the agency said yesterday. But the recommendation is just the first step in what officials said could be a lengthy process to approve the experimentation. Smallpox was a scourge until it was eradicated in 1980 by the W.H.O., a United Nations agency based in Geneva. Since then, stocks of the variola virus that causes the disease have been kept frozen in W.H.O.-approved laboratories in Russia and the United States. The Bush administration and some health officials have expressed fear that terrorists might have obtained smallpox virus from Russia, or that scientists in some countries might have kept the virus without telling the United Nations agency. Although a vaccine can prevent smallpox, no known drugs can cure the disease after it has developed. The proposed laboratory experiments would involve inserting a so-called marker gene into the smallpox virus that glows green under fluorescent light. The technique is a standard way to screen for potential antiviral drugs, and the manipulation would not change the virulence of the virus, said officials at the W.H.O. The agency's initial intent was to destroy the remaining stocks of smallpox virus after it had stopped person-to-person transmission of the disease. But its member states delayed destroying the virus, demanding additional research to find effective drugs, develop safer vaccines and improve diagnostic tests. Such research must be conducted in the laboratories at the highest biosecurity level. The idea of conducting any genetic research on the virus has been a subject of debate. Last week the W.H.O.'s 20-member international advisory committee voted unanimously to allow insertion of the gene, known as G.F.P. for green fluorescent marker protein, into variola virus at the two laboratories in Russia and the United States, said Dr. Daniel Lavanchy, a smallpox expert for the health organization. The American laboratory is at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. National Public Radio reported yesterday that W.H.O. had approved the research. Officials at the agency said the committee's recommendation must still go through a lengthy review process. It would need to obtain approval from the agency's director general, Dr. Jong Wook Lee; from an executive board that meets in January; and from a meeting of the agency's member countries, scheduled for May 2005. In addition, the matter could be referred to other committees at any step along the way, officials said. Last year, a W.H.O. advisory committee reportedly expressed significant reservations about experiments that would take single genes from the smallpox virus and insert them into other viruses, because it might accidentally create an even more potent version of smallpox that could be used in bioterrorism. But Dr. Lavanchy said the experiments the advisory committee rejected last year were "fundamentally different" than those recommended last week, and that the insertion of the marker gene in the experiments now being proposed would not alter the ability of variola virus to cause disease. The experiments do not involve inserting a gene or deleting one to observe what happens to the variola virus, Dr. Lavanchy said in a telephone interview. In the proposed screening test, the fluorescent marker inserted in the virus glows green only if the virus is not susceptible to a drug; the glow disappears if a drug destroys the altered virus. So far, only one drug - cidofovir has been identified as a candidate for treating smallpox. The proposed experiments aim to identify a number of additional candidate drugs, a process that may take "a few years," Dr. Lavanchy said. Using the gene-marker technique would also reduce the risk of a laboratory worker accidentally becoming infected with smallpox, according to W.H.O. The recommendation did not address how many candidate drugs must be identified or how long the experiments should continue. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/12/health/12smallpox.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:24:04 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:24:04 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Church raided Message-ID: E HOFFMAN WIRE Dedicated to Freedom of the Press, Investigative Reporting and Revisionist History Subscribe: HoffmanWire-subscribe at topica.com Michael A. Hoffman II, Editor November 11, 2004 CONTENTS 1. Editor's Note 2. Israeli Soldiers Raid Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem 3. Letter of Protest to the Archbishop of Canterbury Editor's Note: George "devout Christian" Bush is a great friend and bulwark of support for Israeli Prime minister Ariel Sharon, whose troops shot up the birthplace of Jesus --the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in 2002-- with not a peep of protest from the "devout" Catholics and Protestants who worked so diligently this month to re-elect Sharon's good buddy, Mr. Bush. Now comes news of an outrageous Israeli raid on a Christian church, the Anglican Cathedral in East Jerusalem, which was besieged by 30 Israeli shock troops early this morning, using publicity for Yasir Arafat's death as diversionary cover, to arrest, once again, Mordechai Vanunu, who spent 18 years in an Israeli prison for campaigning against Israeli weapons of mass destruction. No Christian shrine means a thing to Sharon and why should it? When your goons shoot up the birthplace of Christ and your staunch American presidential ally remains the toast of the Christian community in America in spite of your atrocity against one of the holiest sites on earth, who or what is there to fear? Those who, after ominous warnings from knowledgeable Christian researchers, voted for George W. Bush anyway, bear responsibility for the grave sins that both he and his agents and allies have been empowered to commit, be it an abortionist future chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee (Specter), a prospective abortionist Attorney General who denies parental rights in teen abortion cases (Gonzalez) or the Prime Minister of a crucifix-defiling, church-smashing nation (Sharon). ------------------------ Israelis seize Vanunu inside cathedral From David Sharrock in Jerusalem The Times (UK) November 12, 2004 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1354902,00.html MORDECHAI VANUNU, the former technician who exposed Israel's secret nuclear weapons program, was detained by Israeli police for several hours yesterday, seven months after completing an 18-year prison sentence for treason. The nuclear whistleblower was arrested on suspicion of leaking "national secrets" in a police operation during which armed officers stormed the walled compound of the Anglican Cathedral in East Jerusalem. His supporters said that the police had used the death of Yassir Arafat as cover to make the arrest, in the hope that it would be ignored. Mr Vanunu was seized by some 30 armed police officers inside St George's Cathedral in Jerusalem's Old City, where he had been staying since his release. An Israeli police spokesman said that he was under investigation for violating the terms of his release, which include bans on leaving Israel for one year, speaking to foreigners or journalists, discussing nuclear secrets and approaching foreign embassies and Israel's borders or exit points. Bishop Riah Abu al-Assal, the head of the Anglican Church in Jerusalem, said: "About 30 armed police stormed into the cathedral close, some of them climbing over the walls. "They terrified the guests, who were having their breakfast at the time. I told them that this was most unfortunate behaviour, but as usual they couldn't care less. "They led Mordechai off to his room, which they said they wanted to search, then they took him away. He was quiet and calm throughout." Rayna Moss, co-ordinator of the International Committee to Free Vanunu, said: "They want to set him up. They want to bury him along with Arafat they chose their timing to do this very well." Last night Mr Vanunu was released on bail, on condition that he spends the next seven days under "house arrest" at St George's Cathedral. "Mr Vanunu has agreed to abide by all the restrictions under which he was released in April, and the police investigation will continue," Gil Kleiman, a police spokesman, said. Mr Vanunu was convicted in 1988 after he was kidnapped by Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, in a "honey-trap" operation. He was lured from Britain to Italy by "Cindy", a Mossad agent posing as an American, from where he was shipped back to Israel, bound and gagged. His country was determined to bring him back to stand trial on spying and treason charges after he revealed details to The Sunday Times of its secret nuclear reactor in Dimona, in the southern Negev desert. His information and photographs led experts to conclude that Israel has the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, including hundreds of warheads. Mr Vanunu, 49, a Moroccan Jew who converted to Christianity, has given a series of interviews since his release. He told the BBC: "I have no regrets in spite of the fact that I have paid a heavy punishment; a large price. I think it was worth it." In September he told a Greek radio station that he did not feel safe in Israel and wanted to leave as soon as possible. "The United States is pushing Iran with respect to its nuclear weapons programme. It needs to do the same thing to Israel," he added. "You can't focus on Iran and forget about Israel." He also told the Associated Press news agency that he wanted to replace his Israeli citizenship with a foreign one, perhaps Palestinian. "In Israel I am regarded as a traitor . . . and since my release they are not respecting my human rights, my freedom of speech, my freedom of movement," he said. Mr Vanunu added that he planned to continue his anti-nuclear campaign, but that he had no more secrets to reveal. "All I knew was published 18 years ago," he said. (End quote) ------------------- To: Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury Lambeth Palace, London SE1 7JU England Dear Rowan This morning, at 9:00 am local time, 30 Israeli soldiers stormed St. George Cathedral and took away Mordechai Vanunu. Now is the time -- in the name of the Prince of Peace as well as the respect of our (Anglican) Communion, and the defense of our Faith as well as the sanctity of all houses of worship -- to put aside your studied neutrality and speak out. Otherwise you are no more than a toady. Sincerely, Nancy Horn Watsontown, Pennsylvania (Thanks to Israel Shamir for this copy of Nancy's letter). -------------------- Earlier Hoffman Wires Now Online for Easy Access: November 10: GONZALES --another Skull and Bones-style "Christian"--elevated to Top Post http://www.revisionisthistory.org/wire7.html November 11: ARAFAT, THE KAPO http://www.revisionisthistory.org/wire10.html >>>>>>>> The HOFFMAN WIRE is a public service of Independent History and Research, Box 849, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83816 USA 24 Hour Revisionist News Bureau: http://www.revisionisthistory.org/news.html Subscribe: HoffmanWire-subscribe at topica.com Disclaimer: The Hoffman Wire is a controversial and politically incorrect e-mail letter intended only for those who have requested it. We have a strict anti-spamming policy. The views expressed in the Hoffman Wire are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of advertisers or the transmitter. Freedom of the Press: A hallowed right. Responsible Dissent: A contribution to understanding and dialogue. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 01:24:29 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:24:29 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Arafat and Vanunu: Two Prisoners of War Message-ID: Paranoid Times. Arafat and Vanunu: Two Prisoners of War Israel's move against Mordechai Vanunu, the man who exposed their nuclear secrets, couldn't have been timed better by Justin Raimondo November 12, 2004 The death of Yasser Arafat overshadows the re-arrest of Mordechai Vanunu, and it was, as they say, no accident: Arafat had barely breathed his last gasp when 20 to 30 heavily armed Israeli police commandos stormed the Anglican cathedral of St. George in Jerusalem, seized Vanunu, and confiscated his computer, while their superiors absurdly yelped that he had "leaked classified information." Yes, the Israelis get really mad about the leaking of classified information - unless it's their own agents in the U.S. who are on the receiving end. But the funny part - if black humor suits your tastes - is that the "secrets" he is alleged to have "leaked" have been known for nearly 20 years. The thuggery of the Israeli "International Crimes Unit" that desecrated a Christian church will only serve to remind the world what Vanunu revealed all those years ago. This act underscores the brazen hypocrisy of Israeli whining about Iran's efforts to obtain nuclear weapons - when everyone knows Israel has as many as 200 to 400 nuclear-armed missiles aimed at Arab capitals, and - who knows? - perhaps at a few European ones as well. As a worker at Israel's Dimona nuclear weapons facility - supposedly devoted, like today's Iranian equivalents, to the pursuit of "peaceful" nuclear power - in the mid-1980s, Vanunu had first-hand knowledge of Israel's weapons of mass destruction - and his conscience would not permit silence. He gave an interview to British journalist Peter Hounam, and the story, complete with photos, was published in the Sunday Times of London: the truth about Israel's "nuclear ambiguity" was out. In retaliation, the Mossad, with the aid of one of their "American" female assets, Cheryl Bentov, lured him to Rome, kidnapped him, and dragged him off to Israel, where he was tried, convicted, and served out his 18-year sentence, much of it in solitary confinement. Released with the proviso that, like the Soviet Jews once held captive by the Kremlin, Vanunu is not allowed to leave the country, and may not speak to the media, or publish his own thoughts and opinions. So much for the myth of Israel's much-vaunted "freedoms," which are supposed to make it a part of the West. Like Iran, Israel is a religious theocracy dressed up in "democratic" trappings and afflicted with delusions of military grandeur. The extremists who control the Israeli government live in mortal fear that Vanunu, having once exposed their limitless hypocrisy, will continue to do so at the most inopportune time imaginable - when Israel is kvetching about Iran's alleged pursuit of nukes, while Tel Aviv sits atop the sixth largest stockpile of nuclear weapons on earth. America claims the right to launch a preemptive war against any Arab nation even suspected of trying to acquire nuclear arms, yet Israel is allowed weapons of mass destruction that would make the International Atomic Energy Agency's toes curl. So why not bring the inspectors into Israel? Why are they exempt from the "rules" that others must obey? These are questions the Israelis would much prefer nobody asked, and they are less likely to be raised if Vanunu is silenced or gotten out of the way, one way or another. Because the truth is that Israel, and not Iran, is far more likely to use nukes - in "self-defense," of course - and turn much of the Middle East into a radioactive wasteland. Contemplate the words of the influential Israeli Rabbi Zelman Melamed, who wrote: "It is not impossible that the Jewish people will have the ability to threaten and put pressure on the entire world to accept our way. But even if we acquire the power to seize control of the world, that is not the way to realize the vision of complete redemption." Yeah, but it'll do until the Messiah arrives. The rise of religious fanaticism in Israel parallels the development of the same phenomenon in the Arab world. While the Committee of Rabbis in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza protests the dismantling of any settlements, and declares that "Everyone who has faith in his heart ... will not countenance betrayal of the divine promise of the Jewish people," Professor Hillel Weiss, writing in Ma'ariv, interprets this fatwa as follows: "The purpose of the armed struggle is to establish a Jewish state in all the territory that will be captured, from the River Euphrates [in Iraq] to the Egyptian River [Nile]." The Committee of Rabbis, armed with nuclear weapons - is this really a good thing? With the Israeli ultra-nationalist right on the march, and threatening civil war, a nuclear-armed Israel is far more dangerous than nuclearized Pakistan, where fundamentalists of a different sort are held in check by Pervez Musharraf with U.S. assistance. But what sort of leverage does the international community, including the U.S., have over the Israelis? We don't even know what they have - because they won't sign on to the IAEA or submit to inspections. Yet Iran must submit - or face sanctions and a possible U.S. (or Israeli) military strike. The Israelis are in a position to blackmail both the Iranians and the Americans. They can threaten Tehran with nuclear annihilation - or threaten the U.S. with unilaterally taking out Iran's reactors and plunging the entire region into war. With U.S. troops, as it were, in the midst of it. If anything, the Iranian acquisition of a similar arsenal will deter their opposite numbers in Tel Aviv from ever using the nukes we know they have. Because, right now, there is nothing to stop Ariel Sharon - or some other even more extreme and excitable Israeli politician - from launching a nuclear attack on Tehran. The close proximity of some 150,000 American troops in Iraq may give them pause for a few seconds. However when it comes to ensuring their own survival, in the end they won't fail to put Israel first. That's all too understandable: what country doesn't put its own interests first? Answer: the United States of America, whose lopsided Middle Eastern policy is unfailingly Israeli-centric. The huge propaganda campaign launched by Israel even before Arafat stopped breathing is designed to demonize the Palestinians, and anyone who treats them as anything other than Israel's helots. The disgusting orgy of death-worship that has greeted his demise - from bloodcurdling weirdness over at a site deemed by Yahoo to be racist, to Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe dancing on the man's grave, to this circle jerk over at "Reason" magazine - is yet more provocation, much like the work of Theo van Gogh, the David Duke of Dutch film. Israel's amen corner wants Muslims worldwide to read and hear about this sort of nonsense: anything to stoke the fires of hate and create the enemy that extremists on both sides require. Central to the hateful festivities surrounding Arafat's death is the myth of the missed opportunity, the completely false conception that Arafat was offered a good deal by former Prime Minister Ehud Barack, and Bill Clinton, and, because of a psychological inability to make the transition from revolutionary leader to "statesman," failed to take it while the taking was good. This is utter balderdash, as a simple glance at a map of what the Palestinians were offered - here and here - graphically reveals. Alexander Cockburn put it well: "Bill Clinton has always been one for the phony reconciliation, the win-win solution, the photo-op deal. The defining moment of his diplomacy was the 'handshake' between Rabin and Arafat, offered to the world as the insignia of a decent settlement brokered by America." But it was nothing of the sort, as Cockburn notes. The Palestinian "nation" was to be a series of disconnected bantustans, surrounded entirely by Israeli military posts and "settlements" populated by ultra-Zionist fanatics. All water, roads, communications, and other vital command posts of this "independent" entity would be controlled by the Israelis. Some independence! As Michael C. Desch wrote in The American Conservative: "In the Palestinians' view, they had surrendered 78 percent of historic Palestine to Israel when they recognized Israel as a sovereign state at Oslo in 1993; in return, they expected that they would get the remaining 22 percent (the West Bank and Gaza) as part of the final agreement. Yet the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands continued to deepen and expand after Oslo and the Israeli government began to interfere ever more intrusively in the lives of ordinary Palestinians." If Palestinians were black, instead of a rich nut-brown, the UN would have imposed strict sanctions long ago, and in the U.S. the Israeli government would be as reviled as the white South African or Rhodesian regimes that lorded it over their native African majorities. As it is, Israeli propaganda seeks to depict any and all Arabs, and practically all Muslims, as terrorists, a definition that suits Osama bin Laden just fine. The Israelis have been particularly eager to smash all manifestations of secular Arab militance, in a perfect complement to bin Laden working the other side of the street. Arafat was no saint, but then the only saints in that part of the world are already buried in their graves. It's a rough neighborhood, and by local standards the PLO leader was no better or worse than most of his Israeli counterparts, whose crimes fall in the category of state terrorism as opposed to the more freelance variety practiced by the other side. After all, the Israeli state was founded by groups that employed terrorism as a tactic, who bombed hotels full of innocent civilians, massacred Arab villagers, and drove the remaining Palestinians off the land. These are the very same people, by the way, who claim that they are a bulwark against terrorism - even as they carry out a brutal policy of state terrorism in the sight of the whole world. This goes beyond mere arrogance, or ordinary hubris - there is a leering, jeering, positively sinister quality to this style of argument, and in the sneering tone affected by Israel's amen corner as they claim moral superiority over their Arab and Muslim enemies. We're a democracy!, they bray, as they step on the necks of their Palestinian prisoners, spit at Christians in the streets of Jerusalem, and threaten their neighbors on every side. All must disarm in the face of their nuclearized belligerence, and submit to Israeli expansionism - or face the wrath of the United States. Their terrorism is "self-defense," or, in the case of the U.S. in Iraq, "liberation" - while Arafat's, or Islamic Jihad's, or the Mahdi Army's is barbarism pure and simple. The Israelis should shut up about terrorism, look at their own bloody history, and change the name of their country to "Blowback." The worst error the Western powers ever made, even more than the colonization and conquest of the Middle East, was the Balfour Declaration. Since that time we have had nothing but trouble, and the conflict it created has increased exponentially with the passage of time until it threatens to engulf the whole world in a maelstrom of hate and retribution. When oh when will it ever end - and why must we in the United States be a part of it? It is time, high time, that we got out of it, because our alliance with Israel certainly does not serve our national interests. Israel is a tyranny, not the Athens but the Sparta of the Middle East: a militarist, socialist, ethno-nationalist monstrosity that represents the single greatest danger to the peace of the region. The Balfour Declaration has functioned as a kind of curse, an incantation that has cast a dark shadow over the Holy Land - and the world. Anyone who points this out - Arafat, Vanunu, whomever - is subjected to a merciless campaign of demonization, such as we now see unfolding over the corpse of the fallen Palestinian leader. No doubt Arafat would consider it a badge of honor. In any case, there is not much honor to be found in that part of the world, and no amount of American intervention is going to change that. As American politicians buy into the Israeli narrative of Arafat the Monster, the American people ought to realize that there are even worse monsters out there - and some of them are our allies. Both Arafat and Vanunu were prisoners of Israel's war on the Middle East, and much of the world: one is now dead, and the other is a target. The campaign to demonize them, no matter how well-financed (with American tax dollars) and ubiquitous, is too crude to succeed. Whatever else might be said about this unlikely pair, they certainly made all the right enemies. http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=3970 ============================================== IF YOU'RE NOT PARANOID, THEN YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION! ============================================== To Post: ParanoidTimes at yahoogroups.com Home Page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ParanoidTimes Subscribe: ParanoidTimes-subscribe at yahoogroups.com ================================================== NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 09:18:19 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 09:18:19 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Marines kill innocents in Iraq Message-ID: <20041113171820.48828.qmail@web13621.mail.yahoo.com> Have we no mercy? Have we no sense of history? Put these boys in a nazi uniform and we are simply repeating history with a different flag, a different uniform and a different set of "enemies". Was this father and his daughter our enemy? Why are we killing innocents in Iraq? Why are we in Iraq? Why are we not asking these questions? Have we gone mad? The United States invades and occupies a nation that has not attacked it, has no means to attack it, then when the population resists and fights back, they label them as terrorists. Who is the terrorist in this photo taken yesterday in Iraq? Unless you are totally insane, you must say it is the one that is doing the killing with the automatic weapon, in a foreign nation against innocent people protecting themsellves against a foreign invader. There is no way to peace...peace is the way. Stop the killing. Bring the troops home now. Dismantle the empire. We have much work to do. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 09:21:37 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 09:21:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] MEDICAL MARIJUANA in the NEWS Message-ID: <20041113172137.62713.qmail@web13603.mail.yahoo.com> UPCOMING: 11/29 - U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Raich Case The long-awaited Constitutional test case of California patients Angel Raich and Diane Monson (and Raich's two anonymous caregivers) will be heard by the US Supreme Court on November 29th. While some legal experts believe the conservative-leaning court will find a way to overturn the Ninth Circuit appellate ruling, that decision was an essentially conservative one, in keeping with several recent opinions limiting the power of Congress. And with public polling and voter initiatives consistently pulling 70-85% support, it is clear that legal access is not a partisan issue. The Court should not pass up this opportunity to harmonize the federal prohibition with state laws allowing it. _____________________________________________________________ MASSACHUSETTS: The Public is Convinced; Only Politicians Resist The recent votes in local elections in Massachusetts that overwhelmingly asked the state government to legalize medical marijuana has failed to convince some elected officials that they have a duty to act. This editorial points out their obligations to reflect the will of the people. Not to mention sound science. Politicians everywhere resist this issue at their peril. Ignoring the voters' will is a bad idea EDITORIAL, Dover-Sherborn Herald Unless you're the governor, a member of the Democratic leadership in the House or Senate, or the chairman of an important committee, it's hard to put an issue on the Legislature's agenda. In recent elections, activists have tried another way: They put an advisory question on the ballot in the district represented by the committee chairman. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=1547 _____________________________________________________________ VERMONT: Patients Applying for State Marijuana Program The program is restrictive and the qualifying ailments are few -- a compromise with a reluctant governor -- but Granite Staters are nonetheless applying by the dozens to the state medical marijuana program. Legislative leaders have said they will revisit broadening the program to more like it was originally proposed, once they establish a process and see how it goes. About 30 request applications for use of medical marijuana by Associated Press, WCAX-TV About 30 Vermonters have shown interest in using marijuana for medical conditions since the state starting taking applications late last month. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=1545 _____________________________________________________________ CALIFORNIA: Amador and Calaveras Work on Regulations One of the real stories in California has been the marked change in local government involvement with medical marijuana distribution. Prior to this year, only a few localities had really grappled with implementing Prop 215, the 1996 initiative that established a right of access to medical marijuana. But since the state legislature spelled out obligations for city and county governments and expressly legalized dispensary operations, local lawmakers have had to make decisions about issuing business licenses and establishing zoning. Council stands to adopt marijuana ordinance by Sean Rab??, Amador Ledger Dispatch Following the lead of several other Amador County municipalities, the Sutter Creek City Council recently took the first step in adopting an ordinance restricting the location of medical marijuana facilities in town. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=1546 Planners want to snuff pot clubs by Vanessa Turner, Calveras Enterprise An ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Calaveras County was denied by the Planning Commission Thursday. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=1548 _____________________________________________________________ MICHIGAN: Voter Action Invalidated, Lawsuit Ensues Democracy is not all it could be, or the will of the people on matters like medical marijuana would be respected everywhere, and no patients would ever have to worry. But even in a city like Ann Arbor, where 74% of voters approved a broadly written ordinance legalizing medical use, some officials will try to block implementation on legal technicalities. Fortunately, more patients are realizing they have recourse in the courts and are finding the wherewithal to pursue change there. City could face suit over pot proposal by Adrian Chen, Michigan Daily Ann Arbor resident and medicinal marijuana user Mark Rowland wants the Ann Arbor Police Department to follow the will of the city???s voters. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=1549 __________________________________ AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS A coalition of doctors, patients and advocates, ASA is the largest coalition working solely on medical marijuana. To find out more, visit SafeAccessNow.org. Previous weeks' news summaries can be seen at: http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?list=type&type=122 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stateyourcause/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StopNightmareDogIndustries/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 16:23:10 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 16:23:10 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: Alex Jones' News Update Message-ID: Get your free $25 Gift Card to a favorite restaurant of your choice! Click here! Visit the Infowars / Prisonplanet network of websites today! November 13, 2004Because there's a war on for your mind! Latest News - Major bugs found in Diebold vote systems The voting machine controversy likely will linger after a look at the systems source code software from Ohio-based Diebold yielded reports of numerous bugs. Full story online at infowars.net Visit Prison Planet.tv - your portal for daily audio, video and text reports Further Headlines from Infowars / Prisonplanet Visit the site for the full articles: a.. Alex Jones' Weekly Report November 12 2004 FREE VIEWING FOR EVERYONE THIS WEEK! b.. KERRY WON OHIO - JUST COUNT THE BALLOTS AT THE BACK OF THE BUS c.. 200 wounded arrive at US hospital in Germany in three days d.. US troops stretched to limit as insurgents fight back e.. Neurologist 'I think Arafat was poisoned' f.. Police Tasered truant girl, 12 g.. Police use of Taser on child riles Miami h.. Ashcroft Condemns Judges Who Question Bush i.. Ex Soviet Dissidents Warn of Police State j.. CUE ID CARDS - GAO: Social Security Numbers Vulnerable k.. Pentagon Envisioning a Costly Internet for War l.. ANOTHER REASON TO SWITCH TO INFOWARS.NET FOR YOUR INTERNET ACCESS: AOL Doesn't Want Your Business to invade Iraq m.. DUTY, HONOR, BETRAYAL: How U.S. turned its back on poisoned WWII vets Advertise with us! Infowars.net gets millions of hits a month. If you have something you want to advertise, please contact us. rates are very low. For more information Click Here Infowars Services Dial up service DSL service Webhosting PropagandaMatrix.com New Anti NWO t-shirts, Playing cards, bumper stickers and more in the re-designed Propaganda Matrix online shop. Now accepting payments via Worldpay and Paypal. We thank you for supporting our activities and helping us grow. http://www.infowars.net Free Newsletter Provided by Bravenet.com - Get one for Free ? Unsubscribe from this newsletter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: globe_header.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 37490 bytes Desc: not available URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 16:24:01 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 16:24:01 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Commitment to join forces to reconstruct Haiti Message-ID: (Hugo Chavez says that the soldiers should be pulled from Haiti and they should be replaced by doctors and teachers. These discussions should be understood as steps toward a deeper understanding of the need for Latin American integration. Quite interesting.) ==================================================== GRANMA INTERNATIONAL Havana. November 11, 2004 RIO SUMMIT Commitment to join forces to reconstruct Haiti BY MARIA VICTORIA VALDES-RODDA ?Granma International staff writer? AFTER underlining the need to promote multilateralism in international politics at the hour of confronting current global conflicts and issues, the final declaration of the 18th Rio Summit has committed itself to supporting the social and economic reconstruction of Haiti. Considering that pacification is an essential condition for genuine progress in this Caribbean nation?s present crisis, the 19 members of the Rio Group agreed to send more troops to Port-au-Prince. The initiative was presented by Brazil, as acting secretary of the Coordination and Political Concentration Mechanism, and chief of the UN troops stationed in Haiti after the overthrow of Jean Bertrand Aristide?s constitutional government. The UN military contingent, with 6,700 soldiers on the island, is made up of a group of Latin American countries. The document, signed in Rio de Janeiro on November 6, emphasizes the challenges lying ahead for Haitians who have the solidarity of Latin America. Some experts have pointed out that the most relevant approach expressed at the summit is the conviction that Haiti should be guaranteed the opportunity of defining its political future by its own means and in line with popular will. REPLACE TROOPS WITH DOCTORS AND TEACHERS, SAYS CHAVEZ According to the text, the principle of ?shared responsibility? specifies that this should be a cooperative effort in the military, economic, and political sectors. However, even if the decision to send in a peace force was approved by consensus as well as through the mediation of the Rio Group, Hugo Ch?vez has proposed replacing soldiers with doctors, teachers, technicians and other people who could bring assistance. In a speech at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the Venezuelan president affirmed that the Latin American organization should distance itself from the approaches taken by the UN and the OAS in Haiti, and characterize itself by a more humane position which, in the end, will bring the much desired and procrastinated progress to this sister nation. Venezuela is the only country within the Rio Group that does not recognize the present Haitian cabinet, as its position is to undertake an in-depth study of the circumstances that forced Aristide to leave the country, as well as the role of the invading US troops. CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, has adopted the same position. INTEGRAL REFORM OF THE UN The members of the Rio Group (established in December 18, 1986): Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, reviewed political and economic conditions worldwide. Considered as a venue for fostering communication and personal relationships between heads of state and government, as well as among foreign ministers in the hemisphere, the summit fully discussed the role of the important institution that is the UN. ?The new international circumstances urgently demand both the strengthening and integral reform of the UN, where it is essential to make effective, democratic, representative, and transparent changes that would restructure its General Assembly, Security Council and Social and Economic Council,? the plenary noted. The summit also demanded of the IMF a ?more flexible treatment,? with a commitment to achieve higher levels of ?austerity? in public expenses in order to provide more margin for welfare as well as projects and programs to combat hunger. It is well known that certain Latin American countries will be facing the demands of the IMF before the end of the year. Argentina and Brazil, for instance, are evaluating different ways of ?developing a joint approach.? Rafael Bielsa, the Argentine minister of foreign affairs, underlined that the international financial institutions ?must understand that investments destined to relieve the social debt cannot be accounted as expenses.? CRITICISMS AGAINST REGIONAL IMPOVERISHMENT Many of the speeches at the summit focused on the poverty and hunger that is lashing the region. Luis In?cio Lula da Silva once again recalled the millions of people living on the verge of starvation. Ch?vez supported Lula?s call to reach the ?zero poverty? goal by 2021. He urged those present to have recourse to ?genuinely popular democracies, participative and egalitarian, where everyone is equal in reality, and not only in word?we must replace the current models with one that is based on a social and humane economy that produces wealth but also distributes it equally among everybody.? In its concluding text, the summit also agreed to join forces in this battle to promote equality, social wellbeing and the development of each one of the Latin American and Caribbean nations. In a separate session, the 18th summit considered individual concerns: the Ecuadoran government?s ability to continue governing the country in the wake of petitions to impeach President Lucio Guti?rrez, the claims against President Enrique Bola?os for his poor management of Nicaragua, and Costa Rican corruption reaching the highest levels ever. The summit agreed to follow through these problems within a framework of respect for national decisions. SOUTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF NATIONS Prior to the next session on December 9 in Ayacucho, Peru, the Rio Group gave the green light to the initiative of the South American Community of Nations. Supporting the initiative, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim stated that this is ?a new association to reinforce negotiations in the region to improve our position in negotiations with other large economic blocs, including the FTAA and the European Union areas.? This community should join the two principal regional blocs: the Andean Community of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and the MERCOSUR, composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The new association will bring together approximately 361 million people. In essence, this association, to be constituted in early 2005, is expected to integrate the region politically, economically and commercially (including energy and communications projects) and to ?reinforce this integration by attaining South American unity, subsequently to be extended to Latin America as a whole.? -- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 16:24:49 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 16:24:49 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: update on Lori Berenson, artricle and report Message-ID: PERU: update information. Below, you will find - FREE LORI BERENSON CAMPAIGN Update on efforts to secure Lori's liberty. - Article: STANDING UP TO EXPLOITATION AND INJUSTICE: THE CAJAMARCA PROTEST, by Lori Berenson, Penal de Huacariz, Cajamarca, Peru, September 2004 (about the struggle of the local Cajamarca population against the destructive gold mining efforts of the U.S. Newmont company). - Summary report: "THE WAR ON TERRORISM: PERU'S PAST AND PRESENT, A LEGAL ANALYSIS", by Professor Ralph Ruebner and his International Human Rights Seminar, 7ruebner at jmls.edu. Full report: http://www.jmls.edu/pdf/perureport.pdf. If you want on-off this elist: info at rightsaction.org. === TO ALL FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS OF LORI BERENSON: INTER-AMERICAN COURT TO TAKE UP LORI'S CASE NOV. 24 AND 25 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights announced that Lori's case will be the sixth and final case to be reviewed during its three-week session in San Jose, Costa Rica, that commences on November 15th. Lori's case will be discussed on November 24th and 25th. A decision from the Court may be rendered at that time, a few days after (since the Court is in session until December 4th), or the Court may postpone a decision until its next session. A "NOVEMBER" WISH FOR LORI November 13th will mark Lori's 35th birthday and November 30th will mark the completion of nine years of wrongful incarceration. Thanksgiving Day, November 25th, is the day the Court will be finishing its two-day deliberations on Lori's case. We hope that this November will mark the Court decision that results in Lori's freedom. RHODA VISITS LORI IN CAJAMARCA PRISON Rhoda found Lori to be in good spirits as she awaits the decision of the San Jose Court. Except for her hands, which remain swollen owing to the chronic circulatory problem that evolved from her incarceration at frigid and high-altitude Yanamayo Prison from January 1996 through October 1998, Lori's was feeling fine. She continues to spend her days in the prison bakery, making breads and cakes for the inmates as well as for the Cajamarca community. Although she wears appropriate gloves, the continual washing of the pots and vats in cold water has not helped - but she is nevertheless happy to be baking and contributing to the community. She spends the rest of her time reading, writing, listening to the news on radio, making hand-stitched cards, and knitting. INDIANAPOLIS PEACE & JUSTICE JOURNAL ARTICLE CALLS FOR LORI'S FREEDOM Writing of his fifth trip to Peru to meet with Lori, the Rev. Dr. William J. Nottingham, president emeritus - Division of Overseas Ministries Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US and Canada, published an article, "Free Lori Berenson," in the October issue of the Indianapolis Peace & Justice Journal. To read this article, please visit http://www.freelori.org/news/04sep16_peaceandjusticejournal.html. We are most grateful to Rev. Dr. Nottingham for his continued support for Lori and for us over these many years. We know him to be an extraordinary individual whose love and compassion for those who have suffered oppression is boundless. Rhoda and Mark Berenson English Website: www.freelori.org Spanish Website: www.lorilibre.org === STANDING UP TO EXPLOITATION AND INJUSTICE: THE CAJAMARCA PROTEST By Lori Berenson, Penal de Huacariz, Cajamarca, Peru, September 2004 "The sleeping lion finally woke up," expressed a Cajamarcan lay worker who visited here in Huacariz Prison last Saturday, referring to the recent protests against the Yanacocha Mine Company. The mayor of one of Cajamarca's provinces explained that "this struggle is necessary and just." It's a struggle for life. The people of Cajamarca paralyzed the area for over two weeks this September. A protest that began with the peasant community that lives in the Cerro Quilish (Quilish Hill) days earlier gave the warning signal. The Yanacocha Mining Company, whose principle shareholder is the North American gold mining giant, Newmont, was authorized by the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines to carry out explorations in the Cerro Quilish, the water source for Cajamarca and nearby areas. Seemingly seeking fame as an environmental hazard wrapped up in a gold mining company, Newmont's Yanacocha mining efforts in others hills have already caused damage to Cajamarca over the last ten years. Locals complain of much more than just the death of trout and frogs, or the high chemical contamination of the water that is causing a series of health problems. The mercury spill in the Cajamarcan district of Choropampa a few years back was just one illustration of the carelessness with which the issue of environmental protection is dealt. This mine has also brought all of the ugliness of the developed world to the once quiet city, remembered for its dairy products, the Inca thermal baths, and for housing the memories of the beginning of the fall of the Inca Empire in the 1500s. Cajamarcans now complain of the increased crime rates, the proliferation of drugs on its once peaceful streets, and of the Yanacocha Mining Company's few direct befits to locals. Those who work in the mine are mostly brought in from other regions of Peru, and the indirect benefits of providing services to the mine workers are far outweighed by the skyrocketing cost of living in Cajamarca, today among the highest, if not the highest, in all of Peru. However, the clearest signal that "something is wrong" is the annual statistical report on poverty that shows how Cajamarca has moved from fourth to second place in the rankings by department (the equivalent of state), a poverty level which has increased during the years in which Latin America?s number one gold producer has been functioning here. The exploration of Cerro Quilish, especially when taking into account Newmont's record worldwide in causing terrible health problems to the populations near their mines, is very threatening to the well-being of hundreds of thousands of people and to the future of this part of the country. This isn't the first time that a foreign company has come in to take away Peru's wealth and give it, in turn, poverty and lifeless lands. Other mining companies have done the same in other regions of Peru, as well as elsewhere in the world. It is a problem for dependent countries and their impoverished citizens when faced with capitalist monsters that want to increase their fortunes at any cost. Even when the destruction of water sources is condemned by the United Nations, the general feeling is that power can buy off anyone or anything, and history has shown this to be true. Globalized capitalism continues to divide up the world into pockets of resources, natural or human, to be used and disposed of at the whim of those who have power. Struggling against a monster of that size is not an easy feat; however, there are many who are willing to give it a try. The peasant communities of the Cerro Quilish gave out the warning once again. The Peruvian Government's authorization brought about the initial protests among those closest to the hill. Peasants from other provinces of Cajamarca joined them in solidarity, as did local unions, students and Cajamarcans in general, producing the largest protest ever seen here. The result has been the temporary suspension of the exploration of the Cerro Quilish and the subsequent reduction of the work by the Yanacocha Mining Company as it awaits the "tests" that would somehow prove that the company is not affecting the environment. In itself, stopping the work at the mine, however temporarily it might be, is quite an achievement but, sadly, it seems as though the road to justice is quite a long one and this struggle will go on for the long haul. This is merely the beginning. As much as I truly admire the determination of those who started and later joined these protests throughout the entire department of Cajamarca, I believe it's not going to be enough. This is an issue that affects all of Peru, and the Third World in general. The cycle of regarding countries as resource warehouses began centuries ago, here and elsewhere, in colonies and dependent republics. But isn't it a good time to change that cycle? It's a difficult task for all people of good conscience, but a very necessary one. My solidarity is with the peasant communities and all of those who initiated this struggle. I am convinced that many more of us will continue to join hands to promote life and true justice and oppose the destruction of the livelihood of a people, their water sources, and their future, in Cajamarca and elsewhere. === THE WAR ON TERRORISM: PERU'S PAST AND PRESENT, A LEGAL ANALYSIS (By Professor Ralph Ruebner(c) and his International Human Rights Seminar, 7ruebner at jmls.edu) Full report: http://www.jmls.edu/pdf/perureport.pdf INTRODUCTION Due process of law embodies substantive rights and procedural guarantees that protect a person from the arbitrary and capricious acts of his or her government. These rights include life, liberty, and security of person; recognition before the law and equal protection of the law; freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention; freedom from torture and cruel inhumane, and degrading treatment or punishment; presumption of innocence; and fair trial. There are currently numerous international human rights instruments that afford every individual these rights, such as the American Convention on Human Rights, Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Peru's past is filled with horrific stories of violence involving terrorism and the violent reaction to terrorism by its government, especially after the April 5, 1992, coup-d-'etat. Peru is slowly coming out of its tragic past. Currently, in its war on terror, Peru is making substantial progress in improving its human rights record, but in some important respects she falls short of her obligations under international human rights norms. During the reign of President Alberto Fujimori, core due process rights, which were previously protected by the Constitution, were obliterated in the arrest, prosecution and sentencing of alleged terrorists. Under the anti-terrorism laws and numerous presidential decrees, persons arrested for alleged terrorist activities were tortured, interrogated, forced to confess, and then tried in closed military trials presided by hooded or faceless judges and prosecutors. Since Fujimori's removal from office, the Peruvian Constitutional Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, have directed Peru to alter its judicial system and reform its anti-terrorism laws. Some legislative changes were eventually made in 2003. This report analyzes the 1992 terrorism law which caused the detentions, arrests, interrogations, trials and the sentencing of many Peruvians and some foreigners and the disappearances and murder of many other individuals. This report also discusses the decision of the Peruvian Constitutional Court, which was prompted by the rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), and the subsequent legislative changes Peru made to its anti-terrorism law in 2003. The report will also evaluate Peru's anti-terrorism laws and procedures against international human rights standards that bind Peru outside the Inter-American human rights system. === -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 16:29:38 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 16:29:38 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Democrats to Confirm Gonzales! Message-ID: Democrats ready to confirm defender of torture as new US attorney general By Joseph Kay 12 November 2004 Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author President George Bush announced Wednesday his nomination of current White House Legal Counsel Alberto Gonzales to replace Attorney General John Ashcroft, who submitted his resignation on Tuesday. The nomination of Gonzales confirms that the Bush administration is preparing to escalate its attacks on democratic rights and its defiance of international law. Ashcroft became something of a symbol of the Bush administration's contempt for constitutional safeguards and its assertion of unprecedented police powers. His tenure saw an unrelenting attack on democratic rights, including the implementation of the Patriot Act, the mass arrests and deportations of Muslims and Arabs following September 11, and the detention without charge of US citizens Yasser Hamdi and Jose Padilla. Ashcroft will be remembered for his assertion to a congressional committee that critics of administration policy were giving "aid" to the terrorists. Gonzales is, if anything, more consistent in his hostility to constitutional principles and civil liberties. He is infamous for having authored a 2002 memo arguing that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to the war against Afghanistan. He is also implicated in discussions within the administration on legal justifications for the use of torture, military tribunals, and the claim that the president, as commander-in-chief in the "war on terror," has virtually unlimited powers. Demonstrating their utter prostration before Bush and the Republican right, and their indifference to democratic rights, leading Democrats have already announced that Gonzales will have little trouble being confirmed by the Senate. Although the Republicans wield a majority in the chamber, the Democrats have more than sufficient votes to mount a filibuster and thereby block a nomination. They have gone out of their way to make clear, however, that they will not exercise that option. Senator Charles Schumer of New York declared that "it's encouraging that the president has chosen someone less polarizing" than Ashcroft. Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware evaluated Gonzales to be "a pretty solid guy." Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Al Gore in 2000 and a possible replacement for Terry McAuliffe as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said on CNN that the Democrats would not seek to filibuster the nomination. The New York Times, the newspaper of the liberal establishment and supporter of the Kerry campaign, published an editorial on Thursday declaring, "Mr. Gonzales has shown that he can distinguish between a political agenda and the law." It continued, "We hope he brings that sort of reasoned approach to the Justice Department." The Democrats are well aware of Gonzales's role in the administration. In a speech he gave on May 26, 2004, Gore himself pointed to Gonzales as one of the advisors who had crafted the administration policy that led to the torture of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. In earlier speeches, Gore denounced as a " 'Big Brother' style of government" the very policies pushed by Gonzales. As for the New York Times, it has documented in a number of articles Gonzales's contempt for constitutional principles of law and government. An article by Times correspondent Tim Golden published on October 24, 2004 ("After Terror, a Secret Rewriting of Military Law"), details how a group of right-wing lawyers-including Gonzales, one of his deputies, Timothy Flanigan, and the vice president's counsel, David Addington-pushed for an agenda that would undermine legal protections for those detained in the "war on terror." Only a week after the September 11 attacks, Gonzales set up a group to examine options for prosecuting individuals captured by the American military and intelligence services. Gonzales himself favored the use of military commissions, where the most basic rights would be denied. When the original group failed to act quickly enough, Flanigan and Gonzales's Office of the White House Counsel moved to scuttle the discussion. According to Golden, with the White House and its Office of Legal Counsel in charge, the planning of military tribunals moved more quickly, culminating in a memo sent to Gonzales on November 6, 2001. Written by one of Gonzales's deputies, Patrick Philbin, the memo set out that the president had the "inherent authority" as commander-in-chief to establish military commissions without the permission of Congress. In the divisions that emerged within the administration over the handling of detainees, Gonzales was consistently among the most fervent opponents of granting democratic rights. Golden states that Gonzales, Flanigan and Addington "opposed allowing civilian lawyers to assist the tribunal defendants, as military courts-martial permit, or allowing civilians to serve on the appellate panel that would oversee the commission. They also opposed granting defendants a presumption of innocence." On the question of the prosecution of detainees, Gonzales even outflanked Attorney General Ashcroft, who worried that some of the rules being proposed would be seen as "draconian." The military commissions set up in accordance with the proposals of Gonzales and company were this week ruled illegal by a federal district judge. Gonzales was also the author of a memo dated January 25, 2002, arguing that no prisoners captured in the war against Afghanistan should be accorded the rights of the Geneva Conventions. His position was more extreme than that eventually taken by the administration. A presidential decision issued two weeks later declared that the Geneva Conventions applied to the war in Afghanistan, but members of the Taliban captured by American troops would be treated as "unlawful combatants," and not prisoners of war. All factions within the administration agreed that alleged members of Al Qaeda would not be given any rights under international law. Gonzales opposed what would become the administration's position because he thought it would limit the flexibility of the US government in its interrogation practices and its plans for further wars. His memo states, "The war against terrorism is a new kind of war.... The nature of the new war places a high premium on other factors, such as the ability to quickly obtain information from captured terrorists and their sponsors.... In my judgment, this new paradigm renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners." Gonzales also felt that by declaring that the Geneva Conventions did not apply at all to Afghanistan, the administration would more securely protect itself against future prosecution for war crimes. He noted that the US War Crimes Act makes war crimes-defined as grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions-punishable by death. Some provisions of the Conventions (such as the prohibition of 'outrages against personal dignity') apply whether or not the detainee is categorized as a POW. "A determination that the [Geneva Conventions] are not applicable to the Taliban would mean that [the War Crimes Act] would not apply to actions taken with respect to the Taliban," he wrote. It is no surprise, therefore, that Gonzales was closely involved in the memos produced within the administration that sought to create a legal rationale for the use of torture. The most important memos on the subject that have been leaked to the press were drafted at the request of Gonzales, including the August 1, 2002, memo written by Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee. The Bybee memo sought to define torture in such narrow terms as to allow a wide variety of methods expressly prohibited under international law. It further developed the argument that the president had unlimited powers as commander-in-chief, asserting that even if torture were prohibited by law, such laws would be unconstitutional if they unduly restricted the powers of the president. (See "Washington Post publishes memo implicating White House in torture of prisoners".) Gonzales's close ties to Bush-going back to Bush's governorship in Texas-no doubt played a role in his selection. There are a number of ongoing investigations at the Justice Department involving the White House. These include an inquiry into the leaking of the name of a CIA operative who is the wife of an administration critic, and an investigation of Cheney's former company, Halliburton. The Washington Post quotes one administration official as noting, "It could be the kiss of death [for these investigations] to have an attorney general so close to the White House." While the Democrats are lauding Gonzales as "a pretty solid guy," the Christian fundamentalist faction of the Republican Party is also applauding his nomination, mainly because it means he will not be given a seat on the Supreme Court. These layers are cool to Gonzalez because of his support for affirmative action and what they consider to be his "soft" position on abortion. His nomination as attorney general is a signal that the Bush administration is preparing to appease the Christian right with a suitable nominee to the Court in the likely event that Chief Justice William Rehnquist resigns -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 16:21:42 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 16:21:42 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] Fw: HAITI - repression, brutal and normal Message-ID: HAITI: Repression targeted at "Aristide supporters" continues. See Toronto Star article, below, about awful situation in Haiti. "Two days later, in a nearby slum area known for its pro-Aristide militancy, residents said armed men dressed in police uniforms and black hooded masks executed four young men. The next day, their rotting bodies lay face down in the street, covered in flies next to a pile of trash. Their wrists had been bound with shoelaces and at least two had charred fingers, suggesting they might have been tortured. ... Heavily armed former members of Haiti's now-defunct military, a notoriously corrupt and abusive force that was disbanded by Aristide in 1995, swagger through the capital and control large swaths of territory in the countryside with tacit U.N. and government approval." NEEDED: letter writing action / international human rights accompaniment / tax-charitable donations for humanitarian and emergency relief work in Haiti [see below]. If you want on/ off this elist: info at rightsaction.org === COMMENTARY by Rights Action: * The article below was published by a mainstream Canadian newspaper. It ignores the complicit role that Canada played - along with the USA and France - in openly supporting and legitimizing the February 2004 coup that overthrew the elected government of Haiti. Haiti's situation of repression and poverty - already precarious - has spiraled worse since the western-backed coup. * The article refers misleadingly to the "international community", as if there were some uniform "international community". There is no such thing. Three rich and powerful nations - USA, France, Canada - actively supported and/ or participated in the February coup, overthrowing the elected government of Haiti. Meanwhile, most Caribbean nations opposed the illegal coup and across the globe, human rights and solidarity groups are opposed to the installed regime in Haiti, and to the complicit role of the mentioned nations. This global opposition to the Haiti coup is not being covered up by the "international" media. * Make note of the intentional and malicious use of the word "terrorists" by the new Justice Minister Bernard Gousse, in this way labeling anyone the 'de facto' government (and related para-militaries) go after as "terrorists". * The United Nations has played a complicit role that legitimizes the February 2004 coup and legitimizes the present State repression and brutality. * In this context, it is a dire situation for Haiti's community-development and human rights leaders, political opposition, and - in general - the poor majority population that largely supports the deposed President Aristide. * Pressure is needed on the governments of the USA, France and Canada as well as the political leadership of the United Nations. These governments and institution, so much part of the problems in Haiti, must be pressured to act to restore the rule of law and functioning democracy in Haiti. === "MORE DIE IN HAITI'S STREETS. NEIGHBOURS BLAME MASKED POLICE FOR SPATE OF KILLINGS. BUT U.N. OFFICIALS DEFEND CRACKDOWN IN CAPITAL'S SLUMS", by Reed Lindsay, special to the Toronto Star [Canada], November 7, 2004. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti-The bodies had been whisked away, but the dried blood covering a dirt-floored dead end of a twisting alley remained as a chilling sign that a massacre might have taken place here on Oct. 26. Residents in the Fort National neighbourhood, which like most of Port-au-Prince's slums is a bastion of support for former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, gathered around the darkening blood the next day. Some of them who were afraid to give their names said police officers wearing black hooded masks shot and killed 12 people and dragged their bodies away. At least three families identified the bodies of relatives at the morgue. "The police officers will say that this was an operation against gangs. But we are all innocent," says Eliphete Joseph, a young resident who was a friend of several of the men believed massacred. "The worst thing is that Aristide is now in exile far from here in South Africa, but we are in Haiti, and they are persecuting us only because we live in a poor neighbourhood." Justice Minister Bernard Gousse confirmed that police were in the Fort National neighbourhood on the day of the killings there, although he said they were investigating reports of rooftop gunfire. A police official said at least eight people were killed. There have been no reports of police injuries or casualties. Two days later, in a nearby slum area known for its pro-Aristide militancy, residents said armed men dressed in police uniforms and black hooded masks executed four young men. The next day, their rotting bodies lay face down in the street, covered in flies next to a pile of trash. Their wrists had been bound with shoelaces and at least two had charred fingers, suggesting they might have been tortured. The killings appear to be the latest example of what rights groups describe as a campaign of repression against supporters of Aristide, a former priest who made enemies of the Haitian elite but maintained support among many of the poor. Aristide was escorted out of the country on Feb. 29 by U.S. Marines. Washington says he resigned, but Aristide insists he was forced out against his will in a coup d'?tat. Some Haitian and international rights observers are beginning to make comparisons with the darkest days of the 1991-94 military regime and with the 1957-86 dictatorships of Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc." One difference, they say, is that the current government has the blessing of the international community. Neither the United States nor the United Nations - which maintains a peacekeeping force of more than 3,000 troops in Haiti - have censured the abuses committed under the government of Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, who took power in March after Aristide was ousted. "When 20 to 30 people were getting killed a year (under Aristide), there was a cascade of condemnation pouring down on the Aristide government," says Brian Concannon, Jr., director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. "Now that as many as 20 to 30 are getting killed in a day, there is silence .... It is an obvious double standard." U.N. and government officials deny that government security forces are murdering opponents. "The government is not violating people's rights," says Gousse. "We've made it very clear to the police. We have to fight terrorists but also protect the civilian population. We will not accept human rights abuses." Rights observers in Haiti concede that it is difficult to document exactly how many people have been killed and by whom. There are a myriad of armed groups in the country, including some gangs that support Aristide and others that have shifting political allegiances. Meanwhile, heavily armed former members of Haiti's now-defunct military, a notoriously corrupt and abusive force that was disbanded by Aristide in 1995, swagger through the capital and control large swaths of territory in the countryside with tacit U.N. and government approval. What is clear is that the government has gone on the offensive against members of Aristide's Lavalas party in recent weeks, raiding poor neighbourhoods, searching homes and arresting people without warrants. Jails are holding many prisoners who have never been charged with a crime. "A lot of us were hoping the human rights situation would improve after Aristide left. Now, it is worse," says Renan Hedouville, head of the Lawyers' Committee for the Respect of Individual Liberties, an organization that was sharply critical of Aristide's government for rights abuses. "People are being arrested without warrants and for political reasons and being put in jail without seeing a judge. Women are being raped by police and ex-military, and Lavalas members in poor neighbourhoods are being killed. "The international community needs to condemn these abuses. If they don't make a clear statement, they will be complicit." The most publicized case has been that of Gerard Jean-Juste, a Catholic priest who was arrested in his parish without a warrant on Oct. 13 while at a soup kitchen he runs for some 600 children. Justice Minister Gousse says the priest - a friend of Aristide and fellow proponent of liberation theology who established a centre in Florida to help Haitian refugees - is suspected of hiding "organizers of violence." "That's completely false," says Jean-Juste, a prayer book under one arm as he stands in the shade of a towering concrete wall outside his cell in the national penitentiary. "People say I was arrested because I could be a potential (presidential) candidate. "Nobody is following the Constitution now. We need to return to democracy, to the rule of law. "I lived many years under Duvalier. He killed so many people, but he never kept a priest in jail." Less than two weeks earlier, Haitian police had burst into a Port-au-Prince radio station and without a warrant arrested three former Lavalas party legislators who had appeared on a program criticizing the government. Other prominent prisoners include folksinger and Lavalas activist Annette Auguste, prominent pro-Aristide university professor Pierre Reynold Charles, former prime minister Yvon Neptune and two other top officials under Aristide. According to Hedouville, most of the prisoners are young, poor men from Port-au-Prince's slums who are not politically active but have been targeted because they resemble armed pro-Aristide militants. Human rights observers say the former soldiers who control cities such as Petit-Goave in western Haiti - where they have chased out the police and appointed themselves governors - are arresting and persecuting Lavalas supporters in a similar fashion to what the government is doing in Port-au-Prince. "We fought to bring democracy to Haiti, but since this government took over, it's been a dictatorship," says Mario Joseph, a human rights lawyer who has worked to bring past human rights abusers to justice under Aristide and now represents 54 people he claims are political prisoners. Government and U.N. officials have defended the crackdown as an attempt to end the violence that has left dozens dead in the last month. They blame Aristide supporters, whom government officials habitually refer to as "terrorists" and "bandits," with killing police officers and trying to destabilize the Latortue administration. "What we have seen in this country during the last month or two has been a resurgence of brutal violence organized probably in order to provoke a process of political destabilization," says Brazilian Juan Gabriel Valdes, who heads the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti. "Any state has the right to defend itself. We were sent by the United Nations to help and to assist a government, and this task was given to us by the Security Council of the United Nations." === TAX-CHARITABLE DONATIONS To support humanitarian relief work in Haiti, make check payable to "Rights Action" (writing "Haiti Fund" on the memo-line) and mail to: UNITED STATES: 1830 Connecticut Av, NW, Washington DC, 20009. CANADA: 509 St. Clair Ave W, box73527, Toronto ON, M6C-1C0. DONATE BY INTERNET, in Canada and the USA: www.rightsaction.org. CFC # 9914. WIRE DONATIONS TO RIGHTS ACTION in the USA and Canada, contact: info at rightsaction.org, 416-654-2074. Thank-you. T: 416-654-2074 / info at rightsaction.org / www.rightsaction.org === -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sun Nov 14 23:15:58 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 23:15:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Shadow_Group] Howard Dean Disputes Media View that 'Values' Swung Election Message-ID: <20041115071558.40296.qmail@web13608.mail.yahoo.com> Howard Dean Disputes Media View that 'Values' Swung Election By Charles Geraci Editor & Publisher Friday 12 November 2004 Evanston, Ill. - Former presidential candidate Howard Dean wants the media to stuff its new conventional wisdom that "values" or "morals" drove the result of this month's election. Speaking Thursday night to 500 Northwestern University students, many of them journalism majors, Dean noted there was little "statistical difference" between the percentage of voters who deemed moral values the top issue (22 %) and those who ranked as their top concern Iraq or the economy/jobs, according to exit poll data. "How can you get to the conclusion morality was the most important issue in this campaign?" Dean asked. "It's beyond me, but that was what the media was riding. They're entitled to their opinion. It doesn't happen to be the opinion of thoughtful people who are looking." Though Dean, a Democrat, complimented President Bush, saying he "ran a great campaign" and was "very disciplined," he compared the president to former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, at least in one regard. "The truth is the president of the United States used the same device that Slobodan Milosevic used in Serbia. When you appeal to homophobia, when you appeal to sexism, when you appeal to racism, that is extraordinarily damaging to the country," Dean charged. "I know George Bush. I served with him for six years [as a fellow governor]. He's not a homophobe. He's not a racist. He's not a sexist. In some ways, what he did was worse ... because he knew better." Dean also criticized Bush for the ballot initiatives in 11 states calling for gay marriage to be outlawed, saying this "had only one effect, which is to appeal to homophobia and fear and gay-baiting in order to win a presidential election." And he took a shot at Rev. Jerry Falwell.: "Most Americans are decent people - not all. I mean, there are those hate-mongers. I wouldn't call Jerry Falwell a decent person." Scolding Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia for, in Dean's opinion, humiliating people from the bench, he said, "Justice Scalia ought not to be on the bench. Never pick anyone who's sarcastic and mean-spirited." But Dean's lighter side also was apparent throughout the evening. When a student asked what, if anything, Democrats could do regarding Bush's Supreme Court nominations, Dean joked: "We can do a lot. But senators have to have some chutzpah, as they say in Yiddish, or cajones, as they say in Spanish." The former Vermont governor also responded to an ad by the conservative Club for Growth in which two ordinary Americans said Dean should take his "tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left wing freak show back to Vermont where it belongs." He explained, "I don't drink coffee. I have three cars - all of which are American. No part of me is pierced that I'm willing to discuss publicly. And if you want to see a freak show, go look at the people who wrote that ad - you won't believe it." Dean talked about his vision for the Democratic Party, saying, "We need to stand up for what we believe in ... so that the people who vote against their economic interests will now consider voting for Democrats." Complimenting students for "voting in significantly higher numbers," Dean appealed for them to "run for office" quite a few times. Echoing the now infamous "Dean scream," he shouted, "You need to run for office - not just in Illinois and Ohio and South Carolina! ... You need to run for office in Mississippi, and Alabama, and Idaho, and Texas, and...." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++STOP THE WALL++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.stopthewall.org www.nad-plo.org www.hrw.org www.pal-arc.org www.endtheoccupation.org www.sustaincampaign.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca Sat Nov 13 16:25:27 2004 From: shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca (shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 16:25:27 -0800 Subject: [Shadow_Group] U.S. offensive expanded to include Mosul - Iraq Message-ID: U.S. offensive expanded to include Mosul 11/13/2004 1:27:00 PM GMT U.S.- expanded its major offensive in Fallujah to include Mosul FROM: http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=5689 The Iraqi government sent reinforcements to the Iraqi city of Mosul after police fled and Iraqi fighters managed to seize control of the city streets. U.S.- expanded its major offensive in Fallujah to include Mosul, Iraqi's third largest city, to curb the resistance there as scores of fighters opened a new front in the city. The violence outbreak in Mosul came as U.S. troops face fierce resistance in Fallujah while airstrikes and strafing runs continued. Mosul residents reported that police has disappeared from Mosul, 225 miles north of the Iraqi capital, as fighters launched several raids, including an attack on the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party. On Saturday, Iraqi troops pounded parts of Mosul, residents said. The U.S. military reported that at least 10 Iraqi soldiers have been killed since clashes erupted in the city two days ago. Capt. Angela Bowman, a spokeswoman at the U.S. Mosul headquarters, said "some of these attacks are in support of the resistance in Fallujah." Meanwhile Iraqi authorities dismissed Mosul's police chief after officials reported that officers were abandoning their stations to Iraqi fighters any resistance. In separate developments, Iraqi fighters shot down a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter north of Baghdad, wounding three crew members, the military said. It is the third U.S. helicopter to be downed this week. Four other U.S. helicopters were hit by ground fire in separate attacks near Fallujah but their crews weren't harmed and managed to return the plane to base. "With the start of operations in Fallujah a few days ago, we expected that there would be some reaction here in Mosul," Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. forces in the city, correspondent said. Ham said dismissed the possibility that resistance fighters in Mosul were those who fled the offensive in Fallujah over the past days and said most "were from the northern part of Iraq, in and around Mosul and the Tigris River valley that's south of the city." During a telephone interview with Al-Jazeera satellite channel Saif al-Deen al-Baghdadi, an official of the insurgents' political office, urged the Iraqis to continue fighting against the U.S. occupation forces outside Fallujah. "I call upon the scores or hundreds of the brothers from the mujahedeen ... to press the American forces outside" Fallujah, al-Baghdadi said. "We chose the path of armed jihad and say clearly that ridding Iraq of the occupation will not be done by ballots. Ayad Allawi's government ... represents the fundamentalist right-wing of the White House and not the Iraqi people," he continued - a reference to the Iraqi prime minister, who approved the U.S.-led Fallujah in Fallujah. U.S. forces and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi are seeking to wrest control of all Iraqi cities ahead of the country's elections due in January. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: