The Guerrilla Campaign

http://www.sfbayview.com/012605/headsroll012605.shtml Heads roll at Veterans Administration Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandal blamed by Bob Nichols 2/23/05 Project Censored Award Winner Considering the tons of depleted uranium used by the U.S., the Iraq war can truly be called a nuclear war. Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter charged Monday that the reason Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier this month was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War. Writing in Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter No. 169, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York, stated, “The real reason for Mr. Principi’s departure was really never given, however a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret naming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the ‘Gulf War Syndrome’ has fed a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US Military.” Bernklau continued,...

The New York Times 2/27/05 …The story was much the same throughout the country, as Republicans - some already skittish over Mr. Bush's plan - spent the week trying to assuage nervous constituents. Instead of building support for Mr. Bush's proposal to allow younger workers to divert payroll taxes into private retirement accounts, some of the events turned into fractious gripe sessions and others did not go nearly as well as their hosts had hoped. Those listening sessions also forced Republicans to confront another reality: opposition to the spending cuts outlined in Mr. Bush's 2006 budget. The $2.57 trillion budget will dominate the Congressional agenda for the next three weeks. But instead of fighting Democrats, Republicans - many of whom campaigned on slashing spending and cutting the federal deficit - are at odds with themselves over which programs to cut and which to spare…. …The story was much the same throughout the country, as Republicans - some already skittish over...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Bush.html? … Bush is making the trips in hopes of persuading voters to pressure Congress to tackle the future solvency problems of the politically sensitive Social Security system. His message is twofold: reassure those born before 1950 that their Social Security benefits will not change in any way and tell younger workers that ``Social Security is heading toward bankruptcy.'' ``Massive numbers of baby boomers, like me, will soon begin to retire,'' Bush said in his radio remarks. ``People are living longer and benefits are scheduled to increase dramatically, and fewer workers will be paying into the system to support each retiree.'' … … Before leaving Washington for an extended recess, Republican lawmakers were coached on how to reassure older Americans that Social Security will remain unchanged for retirees as well as workers age 55 and up. Suggested talking points also focused extensively on the demographic difficult...

http://www.amsterdamnews.org/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=54103&sID=4 By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Amsterdam News Wednesday 23 February 2005 The military spends about $3 billion each year to convince young people that enlistment will give them college money, job training and an alternative to working at McDonald's. In the wake of the growing conflict in Iraq, which has resulted in over a thousand U.S. casualties, the military has become more aggressive in scouting out high school students willing and able to serve. In many New York City public schools that are predominantly Black and Latino, military recruiters are a heavy presence, promising young people financial security and a fulfilling career. Recruiters roam the halls, set up tables and even pull students out of class. But in recent months, a group of teenagers and anti-war veterans have been canvassing the neighborhoods where the recruiters frequent, hoping to convince students to consider ...

TomPaine.com Ellen Miller February 24, 2005 The business of Capitol Hill has become a feeding frenzy for corporate campaign contributors, to the tune of $600 million in the last election cycle. Case in point: Rep. Jim McCrery, Bush's right-hand man for Social Security, who has accepted hundreds of thousands from Wall Street securities firms. But corruption only thrives when Congress is allowed to operate beyond the reach of the public eye. Ellen Miller—with the Project For An Accountable Congress—explains why constituents must be the checks and balances on corruption. Ellen Miller is deputy director of the Campaign For America's Future and co-director of Project For An Accountable Congress Americans know all too well the corrupting influence of money on the political process. But combine rigidly ideological politicians with a party that has an iron lock on power in Washington and you’ve got the most corrupt Congress in recent memory. The right wing has control of the White H...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/05/02/24_ordinary.html February 24, 2005 By Pamela Troy ...I reject the notion that as an outsider, a member of the vast "bewildered herd" that makes up the mainstream media's audience, I should just meekly take this player's word for it when he utters such nonsense. At my age that old punch line, "who do you believe, me or your own lyin' eyes?" no longer works. Now the Guckert/Gannon scandal has broken, and we've all seen yet another version of that conversation writ large, the spectacle of presumably intelligent, well-read insiders like Howard Kurtz, Wolf Blitzer and Aaron Brown gazing politely off into space and indicating that they really just don't see why those peasants in the blogosphere are making such a fuss about a right-wing shill with nonexistent journalistic credentials being given a pass to White House press conferences while using an alias. There's no arguing with deliberate obtusen...

the New York Times By PAUL KRUGMAN February 22, 2005 OP-ED COLUMNIST The campaign against Social Security is going so badly that longtime critics of President Bush, accustomed to seeing their efforts to point out flaws in administration initiatives brushed aside, are pinching themselves. But they shouldn't relax: if the past is any guide, the Bush administration will soon change the subject back to national security. The political landscape today reminds me of the spring of 2002, after the big revelations of corporate fraud. Then as now, the administration was on the defensive, and Democrats expected to do well in midterm elections. Then, suddenly, it was all Iraq, all the time, and Harken Energy and Halliburton vanished from the headlines. I don't know which foreign threat the administration will start playing up this time, but Bush critics should be prepared for the shift. They must curb their natural inclination to focus almost exclusively on domestic issues, and challenge t...

washingtonpost.com Monday, February 21, 2005; Page A26 Attorneys for the Justice Department appeared before a federal judge in Washington this month and asked him to dismiss a lawsuit over the detention of a U.S. citizen, basing their request not merely on secret evidence but also on secret legal arguments. The government contends that the legal theory by which it would defend its behavior should be immune from debate in court… …It should have been unthinkable for the government to propose such a step. Wow, do we live in a great country or what? Can you imagine being in that situation? What is wrong with the people of this country that they can allow things like this to remain unchallenged. Have we all forgotten that if we allow this to one person, know matter who, we have given our permission for OUR government to do the same to us. Of course, after the morally twisted opinions and justifications by Gonzalez, et al, to allow torture, and unbridled power to the president bush, it shoul...

http://www.juancole.com/2005/02/at-least-55-dead-over-100-wounded-in.html … Al-Hayat reports that a decision on the new prime minister [Iraq] will not be announced until at least Wednesday. The decision was postponed in part because of Ashura, and in part because of the difficulty in getting a "green light" from Washington in the wake of Ambassador John Negroponte's appointment as intelligence czar. (US news sources have not spoken as openly of the need for a green light from Washington, but al-Hayat's sources are frank about it. This frankness agrees with the comment made by one embassy official that Iraq cannot select a prime minister who is unacceptable to Washington. well, well. So much for the Bush administration’s claim to be bringing democracy to Iraq, or anywhere else for that matter. So, let’s recap. WMD’s and “imminent threat” – nope The liberation of the Iraqi people – nope Bring democracy to Iraq – nope Hey, George, let’s cut the crap. I know the real rea...

Kitty Genovese murder New York Times Martin Gansberg March 27, 1964 For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens. Twice their chatter and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out, and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead. … The brutal murder on March 14, 1964 of Kitty Genovese and the disturbing lack of action by her neighbors became emblematic in what many perceived as an evolving culture of violence and apathy in the United States. In fact, social scientists still debate the causes of what is now known as "the Genovese Syndrome." So, you ask, what does a 41 year-old murder have to do with today? Well, America, I’ll tell you. Right now, today, Kitty’s right outside your fucking window. Get off your ass, and do...

Daily Times - Pakistan * Study says nuclear warheads will be transferred to US non-nuclear allies * Experts view it as an attempt to skirt international law WASHINGTON: US nuclear strategy calls for outsourcing nuclear strikes, in case of a major conflict in Europe, to NATO allies that do not have such weapons, in what experts view as an attempt to skirt international law, according to an authoritative report made public here. The study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national security and environmental think-tank, is based mainly on declassified official documents and provides a detailed analysis of the US nuclear arsenal in Europe as well as of doctrines justifying its presence there more than a decade after the end of the Cold War. But for the first time, the document revealed on Wednesday a specific number of nuclear warheads which, under US and NATO war plans, will be transferred to US non-nuclear allies to be delivered to targets by their warplanes. If war were to bre...

World Socialist Web Site A veteran of US subversion and dirty wars By Bill Van Auken 18 February 2005 World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org President Bush’s nomination Thursday of John Negroponte as US director of national intelligence serves as another warning that his second term will be marked by an escalation of military aggression abroad and attacks on democratic rights at home. The new post is supposed to centralize and coordinate the work of 15 separate civilian and military intelligence agencies in the “war on terrorism.” Its creation marks the most sweeping change in the laws governing national intelligence since the onset of the Cold War more than half a century ago. Negroponte’s qualifications for this position include his involvement in the covert operations of the CIA when, as US ambassador to Honduras, he was a central organizer of the “contra” war that claimed tens of thousands of lives in neighboring Nicaragua. He was implicated as well in the operations of death squads...

The Furious Spinner both posts of 2-17-05

The Hill By Patrick O'Connor February 8, 2005 During a Sunday morning interview on ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) repeatedly declined to discuss specific Democratic alternatives to the Bush plan, focusing instead on the party’s broad goals for reform and the need to give Democrats a seat at the negotiating table. This strategy is only partially voluntary, said one senior Democratic aide who did not want to be named, and is partly forced on the opposition by circumstances. As the minority in both houses of Congress, and with a Republican in the White House, the Democrats have no say in reform discussions unless Republicans invite them in. Thus, the Democrats are biding their time and leaving it to the press and a handful of Republicans on the Hill to scrutinize the administration’s plan as details trickle out, the aide said. Democrats, meanwhile, are not forced to show their own cards. “When you’re in the minority, you don...

Democratic Underground By Carolyn Winter and Roger Bybee Posted at Democratic Underground February 9, 2005 As the authors point out, our response to the Bush Social Security plans must be unified, and focused. If we get distracted by debating rates of return, etc. we will easily lose sight of the fact that Mr Bush’s true purpose of this proposal is the disappearance of Social Security. Just a cursory glance of his plan shows that this would be the only possible outcome. Additionally, any debate over any of his points lends a bi-partisan legitimacy to them. It will give the bushistas the cover they need to say “See, everyone is talking about major reform, but quibbling over the details.” I’ve read that by raising the limit of income subject to the payroll tax to $200,000 from the current $90,000, the system will be sustainable for decades into the future. And why shouldn’t the more well off pay more to guarantee a dignified and secure retirement for this country’s workers, w...

American Progress Report 2005 = 1984: In an Orwellian touch, the REAL ID Act contains a provision that authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to "waive any and all laws in the course of securing the borders from illegal immigration." The bill also contains "exemption from judicial review that not only shields the waiver decisions from court scrutiny but also strips courts of any power to order remedies for anyone harmed by the consequences of such decisions." The provision "would empower the DHS Secretary to give no-bid contracts for border construction to private companies and then shield those contractors from all employment discrimination and workplace safety laws." Another big concern: the provision gives DHS free reign to waive environmental laws across thousands of acres of federal lands. The corrupt Bush administration is really pushing this country further and further from its ideals, and the moral values of its peoples. I would hope ...

Birth of a Salesman: Pitching Social Security An interesting article about Mr Bush’s honing of his con man skills. But the telling part of the article is about 3/4’s of the way through: In Omaha on Friday, a divorced single mother named Mary Mornin tells the president, "I have one child, Robbie, who is mentally challenged, and I have two daughters." "Fantastic," the president exclaims, and he tells her she has "the hardest job in America, being a single mom." Later, the 57-year old Mornin tells Bush that she works three jobs, which the president deems "uniquely American" and "fantastic." He asks her if she gets any sleep. Mr Bush just doesn’t give a shit. And he is the President of the United States. It really is a scary thought.

The Guerrilla campaign Oh yes. The bushistas talk about the January elections in Iraq, and turning it all over to a retrained Iraqi security force, as if that will make it all ok, and our national media has made it their mantra. Well. There are TONS of radioactive depleted uranium dust lying around the countryside and cities. Ever wonder what that will do to the people living there, and the children? The Iraqi infrastructure is destroyed; the water system, the sewage system, the electric system, the roads, the cities, the hospitals, the mosques and churches, the schools. Destroyed. Gone. Boy, I'll bet that's going to cause some inconveniance. What do you think? There are tens of thousands of maimed and crippled Iraqi people trying to survive in a ruined country with an economy that has been sold off from underneath them by the Coalition Provisional Authority, and so can't take care of even it's healthy citizens. Makes you kind of thankful to be living here, instea...