Friday, February 20, 2004


HOWIE, WE HARDLY KNEW YE
An Elegy for Governor Dean
2/17/04


Q&A: Unrest in Haiti

The BBC's Nick Caistor explains some of the issues behind the growing unrest in the Caribbean state of Haiti, where after weeks of clashes between supporters and opponents of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, groups of armed rebels have taken control of 11 towns and cities.

How bad is the situation?
Click on the images...
    Du Daobin, China Du Daobin was arrested in Yingcheng in central Hubei province on 28 October 2003, as he was returning home from work. The 40-year-old dissident is accused of posting articles on the Internet advocating democracy. He particularly criticised draft reform of Article 23 of Hong Kong's constitution that threatened freedom of expression. After two months in prison, his file was sent to the prosecutor in December. Du could be charged with "incitement to subversion of state power". He is currently imprisoned in Xiao-Gan district.

Peace.
    Subject:Immanuel Kant: I support the Iraq war
    From: "openDemocracy"
    Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 22:23:04 -0000
    To: "achtungalmanac.blogspot.com"

    IMMANUEL KANT: "I SUPPORT THE IRAQ WAR"

    Kant, the great German philosopher of reason and author of "Perpetual Peace", developed his ideas amidst the global battles of the American and French Revolutions and the Napoleonic Wars. Two hundred years on, he would have assented to the war against Saddam's tyranny, says lauded English philosopher Roger Scruton, today on http://www.openDemocracy.net

    On Monday: Washington insider John Hulsman of the Heritage Foundation, on Rumsfeld, Powell, Europe and the real struggle over US foreign policy

    ---------------

    THE WEEK'S TOP FIVE

    IMMANUEL KANT AND THE IRAQ WAR
    Immanuel Kant, voice of reason and intellectual architect of international law, would have chosen sides in the "war on terror", says ROGER SCRUTON http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3405/Scruton_1749.jsp

    RETURN TO BAGHDAD
    After long exile from Iraq, RAEID JEWAD's second post-liberation visit to Baghdad is an extraordinary mixture of hope and tragedy http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3405/Jewad_1743.jsp

    ITALY'S MIGRATION CONTRADICTION
    Italy is confused about the strangers on its shores. By recalling its past as a crossroads of civilisations, it can find clarity, says FERRUCCIO PASTORE http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3405/Pastore_1744.jsp

    ABSINTHE: DEMON DRINK
    It's French, it's devilish, it's seductive, it's sexy, it drives you insane. But that's enough of Sophie Marceau. JAD ADAMS takes a draught of the legendary liqueur http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3405/Adams_1745.jsp

    WORLD DIARY: IMPULSIVENESS V CYNICISM
    Sex, Youth, Disillusion, Gaza, China, Chirac, Haiti. DOMINIC HILTON shaken and stirred http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3405/Hilton_1748.jsp

    ---------------

    WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
    Subscribe today for $3, €3 or £2 for access to global coverage and debate on the events that change our world. Click here to pay online or call Theo Edwards at +44 (0) 207 608 2000. http://www.openDemocracy.net/SUPPORT5.html

    ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?
    It's all in your mind. So put it in an email. Let us know what you think of openDemocracy - write to me, Sarah Lindon, at readerseditor@opendemocracy.net

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    COLUMNS

    OUR ELECTION YEAR: LYING ABOUT KERRY
    The race for the US presidency is heating up, and the smear-machine is in full swing. TODD GITLIN takes the temperature http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3405/Gitlin_1747.jsp

    GLOBAL SECURITY: TRIANGULATION
    A major assault in Fallujah and the narrow escape of the head of US Central Command may signal a new phase in the Iraqi insurgency, says PAUL ROGERS
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3405/Rogers_1746.jsp

    On Friday: Globolog's CASPAR HENDERSON asks can the US be persuaded to support the UN Millennium Development Goals http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3405/Henderson_globolog.jsp

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Thursday, February 19, 2004

FEBRUARY 20 - 26, 2004 Soldier for the Truth Exposing Bush’s talking-points war by Mark Cooper Busting the liars: Karen Kwiatkowski (Photo by Jack Gould)
Not Qualified, Not Truthful, Not Wise | George Bush, Make-Believe President | by Sydney H. Schanberg | The Village Voice, February 18 - 24, 2004
Hey! You!

    Fund-Raiser Still a Bit Short

    Thursday 19 February 2004

    Hi folks. The first two days of our February-March donations drive have produced only about half of what is needed for the next 30 day cycle. If you are not currently a donor try to pitch in. We are supported by you and we will be responsible to you. TIA.

    Please consider our monthly support plans. One low payment per month is easier on your pocket and provides us a budget we can plan around.

    Just use this link to our Secure Server: https://www.truthout.org/membership/membership.htm

    (t r u t h o u t is a non-profit independent news source. Your contributions are completely Tax Deductible.)

    FOR LOW INCOME READERS: Don't send cash just help by spreading the word!

    REMINDER: The TO service is FREE to all. Donations are strictly voluntary. If you stop receiving the TO Newsletter please notify us at once.

    Or if you prefer to donate by check :
    Make payable to : truthout
    P.O. Box 55871
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    To donate by Phone : (213) 489-1971

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    Executive Director | t r u t h o u t

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Just doing my bit.

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

thumb for Israel barrier violates humanitarian law-Red CrossIsrael barrier violates humanitarian law-Red CrossThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says Israel's controversial West Bank barrier violates international humanitarian law because it cuts across Palestinian land.Bullet point India, Pakistan agree roadmap for peace process Bullet point Indonesia's dengue fever death toll climbs to 161 Bullet point Bird flu claims more victims, U.N. sounds warning Bullet point Fund says world losing battle against AIDS Bullet point Old foes join forces against Haiti president

... reports AlertNet!...
Another urgent appeal:
    Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 09:25:01 -0800
    From: "Peter Schurman, MoveOn.org"
    To: "achtungalmanac"
    Subject: Join the Censure Walk-In in Los Angeles.

    Dear MoveOn member,

    This is a key week in our campaign for Censure. Our Senators are home from DC on recess, so it’s a great time to visit their local offices. But to make an impressive show of support for Censure, we need everyone to step forward. Can you help with a powerful new action we're organizing this Thursday, February 19th, in Los Angeles?

    We're doing something totally new -- a "Walk In". All day, a steady stream of individual MoveOn members will walk into Senate offices everywhere, speak briefly with the staff, call for censure, and deliver a section of our petition. Each visit will take less than 5 minutes, but as soon as one of us leaves the Senator's office, the next person will show up right behind them.

    It's a powerful, clear, and simple way to make sure our message is heard. Sign up to be part of it now, at:

    http://moveon.org/censurewalk/?id=2349-3261555-FKU7RqQMpnkw2nGmu9CuVw

    We've already put an ad in the Washington Post, and we're running radio ads, making phone calls, and writing to our newspaper editors. Now we've got to ask Congress, in person, to hold Bush accountable for deliberately hyping and distorting the facts about Iraq's supposed WMDs.

    Americans are outraged. A new poll says "a majority of Americans believe President Bush either lied or deliberately exaggerated evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction in order to justify war." [1] A recent Newsweek cover asks "Will Anyone Pay?" [2]

    Even Fox News' Bill O'Reilly is now admitting that Bush misled us, saying, "I was wrong. I am not pleased about it at all and I think all Americans should be concerned about this." [3]

    The fact is, President Bush was planning for war with Iraq from his first days in office. [4] Having made that decision, he ran a campaign of misinformation, hype and hysteria that led us into war.

    Before the war, Bush was repeatedly told there was no definitive evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. [5] He knew Iraq was not a nuclear threat. [6] He knew there was no Iraq connection to 9/11. [7] Iraq posed no imminent danger to the United States. There was no case for a pre-emptive war.

    Yet Bush relentlessly led us into a war that has cost 500 American lives, left 3,000 seriously injured, and wasted tens of billions of dollars. Thousands of Iraqis have been killed as well.

    President Bush has betrayed our trust, and there must be consequences.

    Sign up to call on your Senator to censure the president, at:

    http://moveon.org/censurewalk/?id=2349-3261555-FKU7RqQMpnkw2nGmu9CuVw

    Thank you, for all you do.

    Sincerely,

    --Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack
    The MoveOn.org Team
    February 17th, 2004

    P.S.: If you haven't already signed the petition for censure, please do, at:

    http://www.moveon.org/censure/


    Notes:

    [1] Washington Post, "Most Think Truth Was Stretched to Justify Iraq War", 2/13/04:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37340-2004Feb12.html

    [2] Newsweek, Cover, 2/9/04:
    http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040201/NYSU006

    [3] O'Reilly on Good Morning America, as quoted in Reuters, "Pundit O'Reilly Now Skeptical About Bush", 2/10/04:
    http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4325220

    [4] Former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill, 60 Minutes, 1/11/04:
    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/60minutes/main592330.shtml

    [5] "The Selling of the Iraq War: The First Casualty," The New Republic, 6/30/03:
    http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/unmovic/2003/0630selling.htm
    and Defense Intelligence Agency Report, 6/13/03:
    http://www.iraqwatch.org/government/US/Pentagon/us-dod-iraqchemreport-060703.htm

    [6] International Atomic Energy Agency Report, 10/8/98:
    http://www.nci.org/i/iaea10-8-98.htm
    and Washington Post, "Bush Aides Disclose Warnings from CIA", 7/23/03.

    [7] Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Bush: No Link to 9/11 Found", 9/18/03:
    http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/140133_bushiraq18.html
    __________
    This is a message from MoveOn.org. To unsubscribe yourself from this list, please visit our subscription management page at
    http://www.moveon.org/subscrip/i.html?id=2349-3261555-FKU7RqQMpnkw2nGmu9CuVw
    TO February-March Fund Drive!

    Tuesday 17 February 2004

    This is the start of our February-March fund-raising drive. These funds will be used to continue the work that we do, and expand into new areas challenging commercial information with hard fact at every turn.

    Please consider our monthly support plans. One low payment per month is easier on your pocket and provides us a budget we can plan around.

    Just use this link to our Secure Server: https://www.truthout.org/membership/membership.htm

    (t r u t h o u t is a non-profit independent news source. Your contributions are completely Tax Deductible.)

    FOR LOW INCOME READERS: Don't send cash just help by spreading the word!

    REMINDER: The TO service is FREE to all. Donations are strictly voluntary. If you stop receiving the TO Newsletter please notify us at once.

    Or if you prefer to donate by check :
    Make payable to : truthout
    P.O. Box 55871
    Sherman Oaks, CA 91413-0871

    To donate by Phone : (213) 489-1971

    Thank you!

    Marc Ash
    Executive Director | t r u t h o u t

    =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

I'll be here: March20NoWarMarch!! Will you? Click the poster image to find out more!
How nice to receive something like this in the email:

    Dear MoveOn member,

    MoveOn is now over two million people strong in the United States. That's a huge number: the organization we've built together is bigger than the Christian Coalition at its peak. To put it another way, one in every 146 Americans is now a MoveOn member. And we're still growing fast.

    And what we're doing together is even more exciting. For decades, parts of our political system have been sold to the highest bidder, with corporate donors winning out over the public interest. But on Friday, we finished our $10 million Voter Fund grassroots fundraising campaign without a dime from corporations or special interests. In the end, over 170,000 people opened their checkbooks and contributed an average of about $60 to put ads on the air that challenge Bush and his corporate backers. The impact of this campaign shouldn't be underestimated: it clearly demonstrates that real people still matter in American politics. And the folks in Washington know it.

    Political giving is almost always a quid-pro-quo business: corporate lobbyists trade money for policy, the wealthy trade money for access to politicians. MoveOn members aren't asking for anything but their democracy back, and that kind of generosity is pretty rare. When we hear about the families who saved up to make a $25 donation, or think of the thousands of folks who mailed in $5 checks, we know this is something amazing and new that we're a part of.

    And money's only part of the equation: our phone calls and emails helped win a real victory last week. After CBS rejected our Voter Fund's Super Bowl ad, we learned that the White House was being allowed to air an advocacy ad about Medicare. We told you about it, and in just a few days over 50,000 MoveOn members called and emailed to complain. On Friday, CBS pulled the ad, stating that it had violated their policy. It's a big win, and a powerful blow to the Bush Administration's campaign to cover up its Medicare sellout.

    This tidal wave of engagement and activism isn't exclusive to MoveOn, of course. Every leader of every organization we run into sees the same thing. Across the country, from labor unions like the SEIU to Greenpeace to the ACLU, people are standing up and getting active. President Bush told us he was a uniter, and he was right: he's uniting people across America to fight back for our country.

    As this movement gains momentum and visibility, many of these organizations will inevitably become targets for Republican attacks. We've already seen some of the smear tactics the right will use. When their situation becomes even more dire, we know they'll strike hard at MoveOn and the groups we stand with –- a campaign of intimidation fueled by President Bush's $150 million war chest.

    But this new democratic groundswell draws its strength from the hopes of millions of people, standing up and taking action for a better country and a better world. We simply refuse to let lobbyists, attack politics and fear-mongering destroy our democracy. And against the courage and conviction of real people, even Karl Rove and $150 million can't do much.

    Thank you for your hope, your generosity, and your willingness to speak out. Together, we're taking our country back.

    Sincerely,
    --Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack
      The MoveOn.org Team
      February 16th, 2004
    P.S. For more on the CBS Medicare retreat, check out this New York Times article:

    CBS PULLS ADVERTISEMENT ON MEDICARE PREPARED BY ADMINISTRATION
    By Robert Pear, 2/13/2004 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/14/politics/14MEDI.html

Monday, February 16, 2004

Testing yet again...



...concluded.
The Blame Game by DAVID CORN [from the March 1, 2004 issue of The Nation]
Testing...



... concluded.
This is from TheExperiment: Banking on Empire (News|International) 2004.02.04
Check out AlterNet's Election 2004 site/section.