|
| Editorial The
Daily News in Review April 3, 2002 through May 9, 2002 |
|
Thursday, May 9,2 002: One Door Closes, Another Opens Ariel Sharon's trip to Washington D.C. was cut short by yet another Hamas suicide bombing, this time in a 3-level billiard hall and night club... killing 16 and injuring more than 50. Before Sahron had even emerged from his meeting with George Bush, Jr., the Jerusalem Post reported that "ARAFAT IS THROUGH", with a subtitle, "Bush Agrees That Arafat is finished as leader of the Palestinians", More on the debate about Arafat as Leader of the Palestinians: http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.10F.Debate.Arafat.htmSome good news in the standoff at the Church of the Nativity as I write this... 13 Palestinians were flown to Cypress for permanent deportation, most were released to go free, 39 are being returned to Gaza for possible trial... just as the Israeli tanks begin to move in to Gaza to retaliate for the Hamas attacks in Israel. So far, 16 Hamas members have been arrested. Palestinians in Gaza are digging in, sandbagging the perimeters of their refugee camps and declaring to the press that they will fight to the death to prevent Israel from invading. The FBI has joined the Pakistani investigation into the bombing of the bus that killed French submarine officers in Karachi. Speaking of the FBI, they informed Texas authorities of the probability of the mailbox bomber in their state. Texas, in turn, made a public statement about the suspect. The FBI had described the suspect as an older American man... truth was, as Texas reported... Luke Helder is the mailbox bomber who left a total of 18 bombs in mailboxes in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado and Texas. He says he fashioned the bombs to make them look like happy faces. And, he left letters to explain his actions The House of Reps has passed legislation by 306-117 in favor of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage proposal - strongly opposed by Nevada Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn. Which brings up constitutional issues arising from Constitutional prerogatives of the state in matters of Federal Land use for National Security, which can only be done with "the consent of the legislature of the state in which same shall be." 10's of thousands of tons of nuclear wastes will be buried at the Yucca Mountain site. California Republican AND Democratic parties have joined in the Constitutional fight to defeat recent campaign finance reforms on grounds of violating freedom of expression. The White House is in the process of reviewing its plan in case of catastrophic attack on Washington DC and the U.S. Government and is about to announce its plans... in case of such attack, the plan determines to whom presidential power is transferred, starting with the vice-president, working through the cabinet, and through the Congress, state officials... Guantanamo Bay is now full... no further reservations are being accepted. 384, apparently, are enough. Monday, May 6, 2002: The Era of Thumbing One's Nose at the World It is amazing to continually measure the effectiveness of the media campaign to minimize the Palestinian People to problems which must be exterminated and oppressed. The arrogance of the United States, and its sibling Israel, is unbelievable... that people who believe that their military power entitles them to decide the leadership of the Palestinians, to inform the world that it must provide the king, America, or face destruction and military and financial war. It is sad. And it has nothing to do with Democracy. It is about dis-information, propaganda and a foreign policy that looks to find ways to force first, ways to get along when required. Suffice it to say that the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination, just as we demand and are deluded into believing we have, and the Israelis demand. When did we come to the conclusion that America had the right to pass judgement and declare law upon the world? When did we decide as a people that military power gives us, or our sibling nations like Israel, the right to humiliate and demean an entire people to bring them to their knees and force them into submission? When did we decide that playground bully behavior like this is an appropriate way to conduct oneself in the world? That said... mailbox bombs in the Midwest... the heartland... the same heartland Osama Bin Laden referred to in his first post-911 statement as the next target of terrorism... The FBI is calling it domestic terrorism (if it happens inside the U.S. borders, it's domestic, after all)... but the letters from the bomber, found with the bombs say "I have lived in the U.S. for several years" and (paraphrasing) suggest that Americans should question whether they actually have the freedom they think they have, and whether they really want things to go the way they are going. Meanwhile, Gore Vidal appearing on MSNBC's Chris Matthews program, informed Matthews that "of course, as you know, the American media doesn't tell the American people anything..." and then proceeded to inform us that the United States had already formulated an attack on Afghanistan for October 5th, 2001 because the talks regarding the oil pipeline broke down, the Bush government wanted to take down the Taliban so it could install a new government willing to empower the U.S. in securing the single largest untapped reserve of oil in the world. One could say that 911 was a pre-emptive strike, not a provocation. Further, that the U.S. government knew about the 911 attacks and allowed them in order to justify an attack on Afghanistan. The three companies that had nearly $4 billion invested in the project already: Enron, General Electric & Unocal. Warren Buffet, 2nd wealthiest man in the United States issued his own statements today, saying that envy and hatred of the United States, because of U.S. policy and actions, has increased to the point that nuclear attack on the homeland is inevitable, and the most likely targets are Washington State, and Washington DC. More on this later. The Bush administration is seeking the power to promote specific U.S. business interests in other countries. That's the FAST TRACK bill. I can hear the banter... "If you won't give us the oil, we'll bomb you". What was the WTO and NAFTA that George SR liked so much? Why does the U.S. hold itself above the agreements it signs? Speaking of which... the Bush administration has withdrawn our agreement, though signed, to endorse a "world court", claiming that it would subject the U.S. and its citizens to a great deal of litigation and peril. Once again, the U.S. and its actions are apparently immune to the concepts of right and wrong. Sunday, April 28th, 2002: Israel's Disrespect for the World The Bush Administration has announced it is formulating a war plan in order to attack Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein. They say it will require up to 250,000 American troops, and the campaign would not begin until Early 2003. As expected, but none the less disappointing and suspicious, Ariel Sharon has disallowed the United Nations access to the Jenin refugee camp to evaluate what actually occurred. Sharon says "conditions are still not right" for such an inspection. Sharon claims the makeup of the inspectors is the problem; the world thinks it's the makeup of the evidence yet to be disposed of. Publicly, Israel claims it wants investigators to consist of military leaders and terrorist experts, instead of the politicians and experts and refugees. But the real issue is that Israel wants to provide investigators with chosen representatives to to testify on behalf of Israeli Defense Forces. The investigators wish to question whomever they choose. Imagine that. Meanwhile, the U.S. investigative team is on the ground, and presumably will issue their report before the U.N. team is allowed into the area. No report of them in the news since the original report The United States has forwarded an idea, accepted by the Israel, to place the 5 Palestinians convicted of involvement in the assassination of the Israeli Tourism Minister into the custody of UK or US authorities. This would pave the way for the siege in Ramallah of Arafat's compound to end. It is unclear if these men would be supervised by the CIA, military troops or others. Arafat accepted the agreement as of 11:30am PST. Hamas claims responsibility for the Palestinians who donned Israeli Army clothing and went on a drive-by style shooting spree in Jerusalem. 4 Israelis were killed in their settlement homes inside Palestinian territory. A Sergeant in the IDF says there was "no massacre in Jenin, but Israeli troops did fire randomly at civilian homes, strafing them as they went through the streets.. and God only knows how many Palestinians were killed or wounded". Reports this last week predicted a 100% probability that Al Qaeda will attack the United States again by the end of the year. More... More... Even More... Election 2000 returns are in from Florida... Florida has agreed to settle with some groups in Leon County... According to the Associated Press, the groups that sued agreed that the settlement "achieves some if not all of the relief" they could have obtained at trial. What it cannot change is the outcome of the election, which would most certainly would have been different if the State of Florida had not been guilty of election fraud. Apparently, crime does pay. The entire AP Story The State Supreme Court of Nevada has upheld the legality of police placing electronic surveillance devices on vehicles without a warrant. Senators concerned about campaign contributions and other pressures decided to introduce legislation for a declaration of support for Israel's incursion into Palestinian Territories. The Bush administration requested that legislation be delayed... guess they decided to find out if Israel will be cited for war crimes before giving whole-hearted endorsement. Tuesday, April 23th, 2002: Media Quiet on the Western Front Chris Matthews of MSNBC provided an accurate characterization of U.S. administration's foreign policy and personal attitudes when he described Native Americans, fighting to retain their freedom on their homelands against the white settlers taking over their land, as terrorists. It is clear that the U.S. posture in the world, which now has Arab and South American governments describe us as an aggressor nation, is that the most important priority to all nations of the world is to accommodate the greed and consumption of the United States, under threat of military and financial destruction. The United States, which used to call on the "Domino Theory" as its reason for infiltrating South American countries to install Democracy in order to protect Democracy in America and protect against communism, is now in the business of toppling democracies that do not acquiesce to United States interests, even at their own expense. There is more and more evidence daily that the Bush Administration is complicit in the failed coup against Argentina's Hugo Chavez. Read more. This, in a week where Jimmy Carter's integrity has been questioned because he had the audacity to make a public statement suggesting that George Bush, Jr. could use our 10 million dollar per day subsidy of Israel to apply pressure for the cessation of military activities. Read his statement. Carter's recommendations would only be useful, though, if the U.S. Administration was in disagreement with Israel's policies. The United States Supreme Court, meanwhile, is taking on a case regarding fines levied against anti-abortion protesters who physically blocked access to facilities, threatened clients and workers, destroyed equipment and caused physical harm. This is supposed to be a test, and provide clarification, on how far government prosecutors can go in applying racketeering charges to protesters involved in demonstrations that result in violence, and those who commit acts of civil disobedience. Like peace protesters. Speaking of Peace Protesters... nearly 100,000 people march in Washington DC, and the national media barely gave it more than a mention, if at all. You might notice there was never a mention of the general strike in Italy when that airplane hit the building that housed the government... They wouldn't want to give you any ideas... but, I do. The United States sent 1000 troops to an island in the Philippines in an amphibious assault on Abu Sayyaf... 1000 troops are being sent to Yemen to "train" their military in anti-terror operations. The U.S. needs the use of the refueling port where the U.S.S. Cole was bombed. Saudi Arabia officially raised $92 million for the Palestinians in their 3-day telethon. Inside the Church of the Nativity are about 200 Palestinians. Of them, 30-40 are considered gunmen. The rest merely sought refuge when the fighting broke out. 50 or more are children, who have been living on 1 cookie per day, and are now described by church workers as starving and out of food. Israel, having exercised it's refusal to allow particular U.N. inspectors to enter Jenin, has now announced it will no longer cooperate with the current group of U.N. Inspectors. The U.S., meanwhile, has sent its own team. Can't wait for THAT report. At the same time, Netanyahu and Barak are making the rounds to the financial centers of America, driving home the necessity of "getting rid of" Yasser Arafat. Finally, if you follow the money and look at who would gain financially from 911, the biggest trail leads back to George Bush Sr. No wonder Jr wants to do away with the "death tax". Dad's in his 70's, after all. Wednesday, April 17th, 2002: Back to Business As Usual 9:30pm Pacific Standard Time: CNN Reports that at approximately 2:30pm PST U.S. F-16's have dropped 2 JDAM Laser Guided bombs on a position occupied by Canadian Troops near Kandahar. 4 soldiers were killed, 6 injured in this latest friendly-fire disaster. Colin Powell met with Yasser Arafat to no tangible end. It appears however, that Arafat made one point stick: After the meeting, Powell said that the idea of a cease-fire was irrelevant so long as Israel still occupied Palestinian controlled (???) territories. According to Arafat, Sharon's campaign to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure was a euphemism for destroying the Palestinian Authority, which has been all but completed. Sharon claims Israel is in the process of a pullout, invading three more towns today, and declaring Powell's trip a success in securing a tangible timeline for Israel's withdrawal. Sharon says Israel will completely withdraw within the next few days, at most another week. It's back to business as usual in Congress... Legislation is being introduced to further subsidize Israel. The bill includes a little clause about opening up oil exploration and drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. Meanwhile, Dianne Feinstein and others are sponsoring the Amendment to the Constitution regarding victims rights. Editor's Note: On the surface this is a good idea, however great care should be taken not to supercede constitutional rights of citizens to demand payment of gold for claims and reparations from the government. More on this later. House passes abortion bill, Senate says they will block it. Bill supposedly protects the right of parents to protect minors' health and rights by making it a federal crime to transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of having an abortion. The AP story at the New York Times or Truthout.org Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) walked out of a briefing that was "not open to business" with Homeland Security Direct Tom Ridge. Kucinich said "In a democracy, secret government is not an acceptable substitute for self-government. A wink is not an acceptable substitute for an oath." More... Tim Hutchison should be proud... the recent catfish-farm subsidies now include the Department of Agriculture's announcement that they will purchase $6 million in catfish to be distributed through school lunch cafeteria's. George Bush (our Supreme Court appointed president) has now "waived" restrictions on giving to PLO charities for 6 months... It's not like I think it's a bad idea but, can he do that? Just waive a law? Oregon is giving the Federal Government fits again. Their Supreme Court has upheld recent elections legalizing euthanasia. In addition, the question of the use of medical marijuana has gotten a doctor arrested for prescribing it to patients he has never seen professionally.
Communicate With Your Government Contact President Bush -- <president@whitehouse.gov> White House switchboard: (202) 456-1414 Contact your Senator -- http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm Contact your Representative -- http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html House and Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Links to Central Government Agencies -- http://www.firstgov.gov/ Tuesday, April 16th, 2002: Time Will Tell Sometimes it's good to take a step back and allow events to unfold. Frustrations over political maneuvering and public dis-information and deceptive remarks over the last few days finally lead Colin Powell to visit Yasser Arafat after Arafat submitted a written statement in Arabic condemning terrorism by Palestinians and Israelis toward civilians, but fell short of condemning its use toward military targets. The wording of a similar statement to be delivered by Arafat seems to be the sticking point that lead to another day of delay in Powell's return to Ramallah. As this is being written, Colin Powell is meeting with Yasser Arafat for the second time in Arafat's luxury office suites in Ramallah.. Meanwhile, back in Venezuela... President Hugo Chavez is President again... or maybe, never wasn't.. that is the question. Interim appointed President Carmona resigned on Sunday after protests began in the streets in favor of Chavez. Apparently, Chavez never resigned, and in fact, a military coup nearly succeeded. A "particular faction of the military" impressed the importance of his reinstatement. What's significant about this event for Americans is to notice that Argentina is the 4th largest exporter of oil in the world. Part of the grievances the people of Argentina have about Chavez is his policy of keeping oil prices high by limiting production... which has led to profits, but contributes to a high unemployment rate for the people. Even more Chavez, as Venezuela's rep and policy maker to OPEC, has opposed increasing oil production in order to reduce costs and production shortfalls (or oil embargoes like Iraq's) for the United States, and thus has been viewed by the Bush Administration as an adversary, and contrary to U.S. interests. It is not a surprise, therefore, that (as reported Friday... see below) suspicions of White House involvement and encouragement for the coup are beginning to ring true. Ari Fleischer, in the White House Press Conference for today, was questioned vigorously by the press about our involvement in the Venezuelan coup. Fleischer denied any involvement OR encouragement. He did say that White House senior officials met with Carmona and others who were involved in the coup "over the last few months". The story originally broke in The New York Times. Also interesting about this: the White House's concern about whether Chavez signed a document or actually resigned... with or without a gun to his head... which would technically mean he's not the President after all... I guess a technicality is a technicality... worked in the 2000 elections.... More from Truthout Did a massacre occur in Jenin? Depends on which network you watch, and which side you're on. On CNN, reporters on the scene who were finally allowed into the city (delayed 2 days after Sharon said the areas were to be opened) reported that there were, indeed, massive numbers of casualties and corpses around the camp. On MSNBC, the Red Cross Spokesperson said it may take months to determine what actually occurred, but did describe that Israeli treatment of the Red Cross and other emergency medical personnel was inappropriate. It was also acknowledged that one ambulance was searched and bomb making materials were found. The source was unknown, although it's thought that it fell out of the clothing of a person who was transported. The ambulance personnel were not arrested. Also... Brian Williams on the Evening News prefaced their report with the message that Israel took them on a tour that the Israeli's wanted them to see... exposing massive destruction of buildings, but with no evidence of a massacre. Then, a Palestinian woman interrupted and took the press on a tour of her own. The report was over. Alas, one of those reports that was made by the IDF itself (the kind you hear once and magically disappear) said more than 300 Palestinians had been killed after the first 3 days... More bad news Ariel Sharon, on Monday, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that Israel will have withdrawn in a week. Sharon said, "We are already withdrawing". He also declared that only 40-50 Palestinians were killed in Jenin. Tonight, fighting began in the Church of the Nativity, and Israeli forces moved into 3 new territories. Millions of people in Italy and millions more in India have been staging general strikes against their government's legislative proposals that give more flexibility to corporations to lay off people at will... These countries should provide an example of what will be necessary to defend our own rights as corporate socialism becomes more commonplace in the U.S. Friday, April 11th, 2002: The World Responds Colin Powell visits Israel, discusses things with Ariel Sharon without productive results, and while flying over Jerusalem afterward, a bomb goes off. 6 people dead, 40 wounded. The bomber was a 20 year old woman from the Jenin refugee camp. Powell is now considering not meeting with Arafat. Israel says approximately 140 gunmen were killed in the Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestinians say it's as high as 500. Israel is demanding control over disposal of the bodies, giving the appearance of a true cover up. The U.N.'s Kofi Anon says the time has come for a peacekeeping force to halt what he calls appalling humanitarian conditions in Palestine. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia had a telethon in their country on Wednesday "for the benefit of Palestinian Martyrs". They raised $55 million. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, when pressed by MSNBC's David Gregory, would not comment on whether this indicates that Saudi Arabia is with us or against us in our war on terrorism. Saddam Hussein says he won't talk to U.N. representatives next week regarding arms inspections until the Palestinian issue is resolved. The message form the Arab world is clear: Deal with Arafat, and give the Palestinians an autonomous state. Stop taking the side of Israel on all matters and acknowledge that both sides have legitimate claims. Ignoring the oppression and suffering of the Palestinians, for the sole benefit of Israel, is in no way standing for truth and justice. The ultimate battle lines are being drawn. Arab states are saying "if you want our oil, start treating us like autonomous states worthy of consideration and respect, not just the owners of the oil, who are an inconvenience to be managed and pushed around" (sounds like the American Indians, doesn't it?) By the way,, the focus on this issue is not to be directly involved with the specific crisis: but to point out how the United States does business with other countries, and how it always back fires, and how we settle it with our almighty military. And how the world, as well as American Citizens, are close to saying enough is enough. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez resigned as President... although reports from his daughter are that it was a full blown coup. Frank Lutz, reporting on MSNBC as it happened, said he was in South America witnessing a coup, and that he was on the side of "freedom" in the matter. 150,000 protesters marched for his Chavez's resignation. A vocal crititc and leader of a large Business Group in Venezuela was named interim President. Chavez was noted for keeping Venezuelan oil prices high by limiting excessive production. Venezuela is an important country in the world of oil supply. A poignant interview One Israeli man talked about being on duty for 35 of the last 45 days in Nablus and Ramallah. He spent a great deal of time talking about how the Israelis don't want to do what they're having to do, but that his people, people like him in the military, they are willing to die for their country. Never once, when asked, did he allow for the possibility that the suicide bombers feel the same way. Wednesday, April 10, 2002: The Middle East Explodes Again This morning, another suicide bomber delivered a payload on a crowded Israeli bus. Hamas claimed responsibility. Witnesses say the bus flew 10-15 feet in the air as it disintegrated. 8 people dead, 14 injured. Meanwhile, Palestinian reports are that as many as 500 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin alone. Israel claims 125 Palestinians, 15 Israelis. Colin Powell, scheduled to arrive in Israel on Thursday, will now not be meeting with Ariel Sharon until Friday. Former Prime Minister Barak addressed the U.S. Senate, arguing that more time is needed to complete the current Israeli military action. Further, that it is essential to oust Saddam Hussein in order to secure Middle East Peace. Yesterday, on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Barak said "we" needed to take out the biggest threat in the Middle East, Saddam Hussein. Matthews replied, "Yeah, but Israel doesn't have the military power to take him out". Barak replied "Sure we do, well, you do." Don't you feel just a LITTLE bit used? An Armenian Monk was shot and wounded in the Church of the Nativity. Israeli and Palestinian spokespeople blame each for the shooting. This time, they're both right. Russia has thwarted a CIA operation to determine what information and technical assistance has been given to the former Soviet states. The U.S. is trying to determine the potential threat. George Bush stated today that cloning should be prohibited because it would cause a rush of people seeking to creating "parts" for themselves to lengthen their lives, and cause the need to use women's bodies in an inappropriate manner as a surrogate to the clone. There he goes, telling women how to use their bodies again, trying to make the choice for them. Few would argue that full human cloning is appropriate. Few have. But that particular aspect of the issue is not the primary reason to do the research, nor is it necessarily the goal. There are many benefits to this kind of research. The question is, can you trust people to not abuse the privilege? Probably not. (which is part of the why of Democratic Fundamentalism, btw). Besides, says Bush, the CDC is already doing stem cell research itself. (He didn't mention, though, that Eli Lilly, one of dad's companies, would just love to own the U.S. patent). Part of the argument about the separation of church and state is that legislators are supposed to legislate based on socially redeeming value... not on personal preference or religious values. That becomes the difference between a partisan and a patriot. Not new but notable: more than 400 Israeli reservists have refused to join the Israeli Army in its assault on the Palestinians because of humanitarian reasons. Ziad Jarrah, one of the September 11th hijackers, was on the FAA Newsletter mailing list. Had he been home, he would have received this month's issue as well. Officials say he has been removed from the list. Tuesday, April 9th, 2002: Powell Gets the Message Colin Powell met with Egypt's Mubarek today and declared his commitment to bringing peace to the region. Powell said "Time is of the essence" although he didn't say how much time Sharon indicated that would be. Powell said he will meet with Arafat. About time. He was originally scheduled to arrive in Israel on Wednesday, now postponed until Thursday. Meanwhile, reports of an Israeli withdrawal were mistaken or a subterfuge... troops continue to crusade from city to city, door to door. Now appearing in Dura. Sharon says the crusade will continue as long as it takes. MSNBC's Lester Holt and guest Dan Goure began making the government's case that all Arab countries were supporting terrorism by backing the Palestinians and Yasser Arafat. This, as a response to the current occupation of Palestine. They cited Egypt of an example of a country that used a strong hand to remove its internal dissidents and terrorists. At that time, the U.S. condemned the actions. Now, it is used as an example of what needs to be done. Of how well it works. Is the U.S. citizenry next? The actual "Arab" demand is... if Israel won't negotiate with Arafat and if they expect to get our support for the removal of Arafat, then the answer is... go talk to Arafat. If the U.S. and Israel can refuse to recognize the Palestinian Government and overthrow it at will, what would stop them from overthrowing any other Arab state? The Arab response is reasonable, because no autonomous state wants another country telling them what to do. It's a good reason why they would not support the U.S. in overthrowing Saddam Hussein. It's not about supporting the man, Hussein. It's about the principle of autonomy and their right to self-determination. Something the U.S. doesn't seem to respect. Mexico's President Vicente Fox will not be traveling to the United States. Mexico's Congress has voted to tell Fox that he is not allowed to travel to the United States for talks with Bush. This is the first time in the history of Mexico that their congress has exercised their right to restrict their President from travel and negotiation. Yesterday, officials said Iraqi oil was unimportant. Today, it's George Bush's reason for rising gas prices, and supporting his cases for war against Iraq AND oil drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge (ANWAR). As a nation, leaders are calling on the need for development of new sources of oil, but fail to consider that investment in solar and other alternative sources would reduce and finally abate foreign energy dependence, stimulate the economy, advance technology and give us a cleaner environment and more stable ozone ...and ...and ...and Shimon Peres says he is concerned that Palestinians will wrongly interpret the military actions on Jenin as a massacre... More special forces are being sent to Georgia to help train and protect against terrorists... the target there... an oil pipeline. Jordan's Queen Rania leads protesters in Amman in march against Israeli occupation of Palestine. One of 2 aircraft carriers is leaving the area of service to Afghanistan... this as 150 special forces arrive in Yemen to secure the harbor where the U.S.S. Cole was bombed... The real war George Bush is fighting is American cash flow, which was, in fact, greatly hampered by 911. If oil prices rise, money necessary for American corporations to continue to be fluid, not to mention the fluidity federal government itself, will be lost to artificial oil price increases made possible by propagandizing Iraq's oil embargo. Not a reduction in oil supplies. This is a real problem. Which is the real reason why war with Iraq is so important, as soon as possible. Congress may lift the debt ceiling, but the fact is, America is losing the economic war, and is in danger of going into default. That means bankrupt and depression. Monday, April 8th, 2002: The administration is vamping. George Bush made an appearance in Tennessee to promote the CITIZENCORPS program to enlist citizens to volunteer to aid their communities and to promote nationalism. He stated he thought it was appropriate to start the programs in the “Volunteer State”. Mr. Bush, the kind of volunteers they’re talking about would probably now be called terrorists. BTW, the people who were yelling and subsequently ejected while you made that speech? They’re called hecklers. Get used to them. The Pentagon delivered a “6-month report”, focusing on its “victories” in Afghanistan. They stammered when asked about attacks against the Afghani Defense Minister today, and the attempted coup last week… stating the details were unimportant. Turns out, the bomb in the Defense Minister’s car was intended for Karzai… again. They have asked the Guantanamo Bay detainees to be “patient while we are determining your fate.” It is unknown if the detainees were watching tv when the request was made. Afghan poppy field owners fired upon U.S. officials with automatic weapons when they were approached to discuss eradication of the poppies. Detainee Yasser Esam Handi, the dual citizen from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, may have become the answer to a question. The Justice Department announced today that they have "no interest in prosecuting" him, and are undecided as to what to do. Certainly, we would not want to offend the Saudi’s by prosecuting yet another of their country’s terrorists. It’s bad enough that 15 of their citizens had to die in the attacks on the trade center. George Bush re-states his case for the Israelis to withdraw from Palestine immediately (or else what, we wonder?), meanwhile, Ariel Sharon addresses the Knesset and tells them the action will continue until the job is done. Sharon says, “We are not at war with the Palestinian people, we do not want to control them.” And, he welcomes a summit to discuss the Saudi peace proposal. Palestinian spokesman Erakat says Ariel Sharon’s Knesset address marked the end of the peace process in the middle east. Behind Bush while making his statement was a banner for S.A.F.E. – Safer Attitudes for Everyone. What’s THAT about? Colin Powell arrived in Morocco to garner support for U.S./Israeli policy. Morocco’s representative informed Powell that the person he needs to talk to is Yasser Arafat, and that Powell should have gone and talked to Israel before coming to Morocco. Meanwhile, as of 11pm Tel Aviv time, Israeli radio claims the pullout has begun. Iraq has announced a 30-day oil embargo, Iran and Libya are expected to follow suit. U.S. news agencies downplay the importance of the embargo, but spin the situation to blame price increases at gas pumps that have already occurred, on Saddam Hussein, and are using the embargo talk to whip up further nationalistic support for a war on Iraq. Hezbollah continues to attack Israel from Lebanon, and the U.S. has made arrangements for refueling in Yemen. Israeli launched 30 retaliatory attacks with jet fighters and air-to-surface missiles. Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese citizens took to the streets today, calling on Osama Bin Laden to intervene in the middle east on behalf of the Palestinians. Current bounties: IRAQ: $100,000 alive, $50,000 dead… for Americans in Afghanistan $25,000 per family of suicide bombers Saudi Arabia now has a reward for families of martyrs on its web site as well. Israel is showing signs that they’re willing to destroy the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, throwing smoke grenades into the compound, and setting an adjacent church on fire. The Vatican announces it will launch its own investigations into Israeli conduct leading to the peril of the Church of the Nativity. According to one of the Friars “released last week”, the 60 priests inside the church are not being held against their will. A Catholic priest, held for 6 months by “terrorists” in the Philippines, has been freed. Sunday, April 7, 2002. Palestinian representative to the United States Rahman, on “Meet the Press”, tells Tim Russert that thousands of Palestinians have been rounded up and subjected to inhumane treatment. Summary executions are common. Colin Powell announces later this same day that 1200 “terrorists” have been arrested. Saddam Hussein delivers an address stating Iraq is ready and willing to fund and fully arm suicide bombers and other organizations willing to fight Israelis and Americans. Friday, April 5th, 2002 5pm PT: MSNBC Reports that about 1,000 people are gathering in New York’s Times Square. Characterized as a “Pro-Palestine Protest”, people with signs demanding that Israel withdraw from Palestine. Numerous banners displayed the Israeli flag bearing a swastika. Organizers of the protest are calling for protests and demonstrations throughout the United States on April 20. Protests are aimed at calling on Americans to take time to understand the issues of the middle east crisis. No other coverage of this event, except for a 5 second mention going into a commercial break on 4/6/2002 The ABRAMS REPORT and Steve Emerson on MSNBC characterize Adam Shapiro, aid worker in Palestine made famous by his accidental entrapment in Arafat’s compound, as a traitor for sympathizing with the plight of Palestinians. When did America go to war against the Palestinian people? When did it become treason to have a different opinion? Andersen Accounting is close to settling its case with the Justice Department on charges of obstructing justice. Wednesday, April 3rd, 2002: Hot topics on today’s news, instead of middle east coverage, included “Is rudeness a problem?” on CNN, on MSNBC, “Are cigarette smokers being treated unfairly?”
|
