Bribery, blackmail and Bush

AUSTIN, Texas -- OK, sign me up for the Bush program. I'm aboard. Who else can we insult, offend, bribe, blackmail, threaten, intimidate, wiretap or otherwise infuriate? Getting the Canadians, who are famous for their phlegm, seriously mad at us took real work. Our latest ploy in that direction was to contemptuously reject their compromise that had a few more days' delay in it than the British-U.S. version. Then, when our version didn't fly, we decided on a few more days' delay ourselves -- without, of course, the contempt.

Then, to add to the festivities of "Let's Tick Off the Next-Door Neighbors Week," we started leaning on Vicente Fox of Mexico. Our ambassador to Mexico, Tony Garza, said: "Will American attitudes be placated by half-steps or three-quarter steps? I kind of doubt it." An unnamed American "diplomat" was quoted as saying it could "stir up feelings" here if Mexico voted against us, and does Mexico "want to stir the fires of jingoism during a war?"

How Many Americans Said No to War?

[Editor's Note: due to the extreme length of this document, we have only included the beginning of it. Please email lessoilforlife@yahoo.com for the full article. ]

A detailed study of 284 demonstrations for peace in the United States on February 15, 2003

On February 15 more than 12 million people all over the world loudly and visibly said no to war in Iraq. A total of between 862,152 and 1,033,874 of these were Americans, accounting for six to nine percent of the demonstrators worldwide.

While the U.S. media focused on the two large protests that occurred in New York and San Francisco, between 222,152 and 333,874 Americans demonstrated for peace in at least 282 other communities of all sizes in all fifty states.

This study is the product of three weeks of research using national and local news sources and direct local organizer contacts. Following this introduction, you will find:

DATA -- a state-by-state breakdown of all anti-war events in the U.S. known to us, listing where each occurred, a low and high participation estimate, and

Investing in Ohio's Families, Ohio's Future

Ohio Call In Day to Senator Voinovich

On Wednesday, March 12th - Friday, March 14th, join a statewide call-in day to Senator Voinovich and demand that he invest in Ohio's Families, Ohio's Future.

The problem: Ohio is facing our worst fiscal crisis since World War II. Many of the social service programs that allow our families to make ends meet, keep our children healthy and put food on our tables are under attack. As the recession continues to take away jobs from families in Ohio, many are left with no where to turn. President's Bush's "answer" to this crisis is to continue to line the pockets of the wealthiest Americans.

The solution: For the most part, talk on the national level has been focused on tax breaks that will be unjustly skewed towards the richest Americans. Leaving the majority of families out in the cold. What families in Ohio need is a plan that restores and expands funding for programs that allow families to survive. We need a plan that puts resources to families that need it the most.

Call to action: My name is _______________ from __________________ I'm calling upon Senator

Code Pink: Women’s preemptive strike for peace

Are you outraged that our government is rushing into an unjust war without exhausting all diplomatic measures?

Are you tired of our voices being ignored?

It’s time for Columbus Women to get Outrageous for Peace and Go PINK!!

Thousands of women around the world are responding to the world of Code orange and red that engenders fear and hatred in our daily lives. Let our resistance be seen in a beautiful, strong and outrageous showing of PINK!!

Come to all the vigils and marches in our community dressed in bright pink, the more outrageous the better. Let our hope show!

For more info. on upcoming peace and women’s events, Columbus Code Pink or NOW contact Heather Shaid

madeintheshaid@insight.rr.com

www.codepink4peace.org and www.now.org

What will the U.S. find if it invades Iraq?

Does anyone seriously believe that in the event of U.S. invasion, "discovery" of Saddam's Weapons of Mass Destruction won't be long delayed? The stakes are simply too high. It won't take much: a blueprint or two, a few canisters noisily identified as chemical or biological agents, a "facility" for production of nuclear munitions.

Already there are vague, unconfirmed stories of preliminary manufacture of the necessary smoking guns that can be deployed by undercover teams as U.S. troops advance and then dramatically disclosed to the hungry press. For those who entertain doubts about the likelihood of the United States or its ally Britain manufacturing necessary "evidence," consider the recent explicit charge of forgery leveled by Mohammed ElBaradei, the chief UN inspector looking for evidence of nuclear capability in Iraq.

Here's the relevant passage, from his testimony on behalf of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A) before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) last week:

Right and Wrong

AUSTIN, Texas -- After every military engagement, the Pentagon conducts a review to discover what they did right, what they did wrong, what worked and what didn't. It is an admirable tradition and one that needs to be copied by the profession of journalism.

According to a poll conducted by The New York Times and CBS, 42 percent of Americans believe Saddam Hussein of Iraq was personally responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center, something that has never even been claimed by the Bush administration. According to a poll conducted by ABC, 55 percent believes Saddam Hussein gives direct support to Al Qaeda, a claim that has been made by the administration but for which no evidence has ever been presented. President Bush has lately modified the claim to "Al Qaeda-type" organizations. This is how well journalism has done its job in the months leading up to this war. A disgraceful performance.

Ambrose Bierce, the 19th century cynic, once observed that war is God's way of teaching Americans geography. Going to war with the people in such a state, not of ignorance but of misinformation, is truly terrifying.

U.S. Could Launch Attack Against North Korea While Troops Fight In Iraq, Rumsfeld Says

Is the United States headed for World War III?  

Last week, at a Pentagon “town hall” meeting between Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and members of the U.S. armed forces someone asked Rumsfeld if the U.S. decides to invade Iraq, what would the U.S. do if the situation in North Korea boils over while troops are fighting a war in Iraq?  

Rumsfeld responded by saying that the U.S., if need be, would wage a simultaneous war with North Korea. North Korea is part of the “axis of evil” President Bush referred to in his State of the Union address in 2002.   

  “That question was asked recently at a meeting that General Myers and I were having, and that was his answer, `yes,’” Rumsfeld said. The U.S. “would wage a major conflict in a theater and occupy a country, and near simultaneously swiftly defeat in another theater, and in addition be capable of conducting a variety of lesser contingencies such as things like Bosnia or Kosovo or what's currently going on in Afghanistan.  

What Can the World Do if the US Attacks Iraq?

If the US attacks Iraq without support of the UN Security Council, will the world be powerless to stop it? The answer is no. Under a procedure called "Uniting for Peace," the UN General Assembly can demand an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal. The global peace movement should consider demanding such an action.

When Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt and began advancing on the Suez Canal. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower demanded that the invasion stop. Resolutions in the UN Security Council called for a cease-fire - but Britain and France vetoed them. Then the United States appealed to the General Assembly and proposed a resolution calling for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of forces. The General Assembly held an emergency session and passed the resolution. Britain and France withdrew from Egypt within a week.

Beam us out of here, Mr. Scott!

With War Looming, Iraqi Oil Imports May Be Strained; Time To Open Up ANWR, GOP Says

In the coming weeks, the Senate will attempt to make a compelling argument for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. It turns out that tapping into ANWR’s resources would produce an immediate 600,000 barrels per day of oil—exactly the same amount of oil the U.S. currently purchases from Iraq under the United Nations oil for food program.

  The U.N. Security Council set up the oil-for-food program in August 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait and the U.N then imposed comprehensive sanctions on the country. The program was aimed at removing some of the hardships placed on Iraqi civilians as a result of the sanctions. Since then, the U.S. has resented the fact that it has had to purchase Iraqi oil, which is crucial to our country’s overall supply, from Saddam Hussein who Bush Administration officials claim uses the money to fund his military and uses very little to reduce the suffering of innocent Iraqi’s affected by the sanctions.

 

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