Thursday, June 29, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
"The Twisted Rants of Anne Coulter"
To read the entire item and check out the video clip, go to: http://mediamatters.org/items/200606280001
You can find other news and actions at www.mediamatters.org
"Demand House Republicans Denounce Ann Coulter's Hate-Speech"
I have just read and signed the petition:
"Demand House Republicans Denounce Ann Coulter's Hate-Speech"
Please read and sign the petition by clicking on the above link.
Thanks!
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Tuesday, June 27, 2006
"Chronic Moderate Republican Denial Syndrome (CMRDS)"
Speaking as a layperson, I believe that when the American Psychiatric Association finally gets around to publishing the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, they need to seriously consider adding a new disorder — Chronic Moderate Republican Denial Syndrome (CMRDS).Diagnostic Criteria:
The Axis I diagnostic criteria for CMRDS will be as follows:
A. A person holding relatively moderate views on political and social issues;
B. Who is a long term member of the Republican Party;
C. Who has cognitive recognition that the so-called moderate wing of the party no longer exists and that today’s Republican leaders are almost exclusively far-right extremists;
D. But who, nevertheless (and this one clinches the diagnosis), ignores this information and continues to wholeheartedly support the Republican Party.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Terror Alert...
Oxnard California Terror Alert...
This is an unconfirmed report... breaking news as of 6PM EDT. [Hat tip: LGF]
lgf: Breaking: Port Hueneme Closed:
Fox News is reporting that a terror threat has caused the closure of Port Hueneme in California’s Ventura County. A message was found in the cargo hold of a Guatemalan ship:This nitro is for you, Mr. George W. Bush and your Jewish cronies.
Arming the Left: Is the time now?
Arming the Left: Is the time now? --by Charles Southwell*
I hope you didn't open this page to read what we already know: that this is the most rightwing government we have ever had in the US, even far right of Bush I, that our rights are being eroded daily, and that our democratic process is all but gone, if it isn't already gone.
I hope you came here to read about tactics for action that will finally have some consequence. I hope you agree that our protests, petitions, letters, and on and on, have been utterly ignored. The fascistas that run our country laugh at us. They believe they can do anything and that we haven't got the guts to revolt, but only to wage a war of words. I have seen the Bush cavalcades, as they drive away, his aids sneering and jeering and laughing and mocking our protests. They think we are a JOKE. Tens of millions of Americans protested the war, but because we posed no REAL THREAT to their power, we were UTTERLY IGNORED.
As long as we pose no REAL threat to the powers-that-be, to what is shaping up into a dictatorship, we will continue to be ignored. Right now, we are ignored because we present no organized power to fight this onslaught of anti-democratic, totalitarian government that we are up against.
It will take time, but it's time to get more left-leaning liberals and outright leftists to at least POSE a threat, by getting organized and getting ARMED. It's time to get well past this liberal phobia and taboo about weapons and force. After all, our liberalism was won with a REVOLUTIONARY WAR! they used real guns in that war. The French Revolution was also a WAR and they used real weapons there too.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
AlterNet: Stossel's Sins of Omission
Considering his disdain for injury lawsuits, '20/20' anchor John Stossel should give away a free whiplash collar with every purchase of his new book.
Bloglines - CIA may have lied to Congress about torture
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Wednesday, June 21, 2006
"Opposing War in Iraq My Duty as American"
MichaelMoore.com
Wednesday, June 21st, 2006
Opposing War in Iraq My Duty as American
By 1st Lt. Ehren Watada
My name is Ehren Watada. I am a U.S. Army commissioned officer. Currently, I am awaiting charges for refusal to participate in the illegal war and occupation in Iraq.
I was born and raised in Hawai'i. As a child, my family instilled in me a moral sense of right, wrong and giving of one's self. As a young man, I worked my way through college, appreciating the value of earning my own education. I haven't always lived a perfect life, but I have tried to live it to the best of my ability.
When I decided to be military officer, I chose to lead by example and put the needs of others before myself. Joining the Army is a choice I will never regret: My decision to reject unlawful and immoral orders in spite of the danger, has taught me the true meaning of sacrifice. I hope that my example shows other soldiers that they, too, have the freedom and the duty to choose right over wrong.
In March 2003, I joined the military because I felt the pull of duty, service and patriotism. This was coming off of the tragic terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Upon enlisting, I did not believe an invasion of Iraq was fully justified but I believed the president's claims should be given the benefit of the doubt. I was willing to fight terrorism — but always within the extent of the law. At that time, I never imagined that our leader could betray the trust of the people over something as serious as war.
Since I learned of my coming deployment last year, I wanted to know everything about war — its history, its effects, and of course, this particular one.
The books and articles I read would change my views forever. They exposed in detail the president's deliberate manipulation to initiate this war. Recent reports show us that this war is a debacle of enormous proportions and that there never was any just cause. I felt as though our lives were being wasted for nothing.
My mind and my moral compass were in turmoil. For me, the turning point came in January 2006. It was not the startling revelations of U.S. Rep. Jack Murtha that swayed me. Nor was it the countless articles written by veterans, former officials, nongovernment agencies and journalists exposing the criminality of the war. Instead, I as a leader could no longer stand the pain and suffering of so many soldiers, families, and Iraqis on the basis of a lie.
I wanted to be there for my fellow troops. But the best way is not to add to the death and destruction. It is to help oppose this unlawful war and end it so that all soldiers can come home.
Never in my life did I ever imagine I would have to disobey my president. But I have come to the conclusion that participation in this war is not only immoral but a breach of American and international law. Article VI of the U.S. Constitution makes all international treaties the law of the land. Therefore, the invasion and the continued fight against an indigenous insurgency are unlawful because they violate Article 2 of the U.N. Charter, U.N. General Assembly Resolution 3314, and the Nuremburg Tribunal Charter prohibiting wars of aggression.
The Congressional Authorization of Force against Iraq has no bearing because its basic premises are untrue. Furthermore, there is vast evidence of numerous violations of international conventions by occupation forces and occupier-trained forces. Though I may never be punished for these crimes, I must as an officer of honor and integrity refuse to take part in them.
1st Lt. Ehren Watada was born and raised in Honolulu. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.
"Where's the Outrage Over Bush's Election Fraud?"
The mainstream press has ignored vote fraud and vote manipulation for too long.
Op Ed News,
a tough progressive news and opinion site that publishes over 200 original articles
a month and links to close to 1000 artices on the web each month.
Op Ed News brings Progressive news, original articles and OpEds
from all over the world.
Sign the Voters' Pledge for Peace!
I just signed the Voters' Pledge at www.VotersForPeace.US. In order to end the occupation of Iraq and stop future wars of aggression we need to let politicians know that we will not vote for them if they vote for war. VotersForPeace.US is an effort to organize and make visible the Peace Vote as a powerful new voting bloc. The Peace Vote is now large enough to speak with a united voice of conviction which candidates and incumbent politicians CANNOT AFFFORD TO IGNORE!
VotersForPeace is trying to get 2 million voters to sign its Peace Pledge in time for the 2006 elections. The Pledge is a statement of support for peace candidates: "who publicly oppose wars of aggression."
Please visit the Voters' Pledge to sign on and help spread the word!
Peace & Bright Blessings,
soul
RIAA 'sues' Youtube users
It seems our friends over at the RIAA just cannot get enough.read more digg story
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- In the realm of copyright conflicts, only the skirmishes change; the core issues remain the same.
Several years after its heightened battle against music-file swapping over peer-to-peer sharing networks, the Recording Industry Association of America has turned its attention towards another side of its market.
The RIAA, founded in 1952, functions as the music industry`s lobbying arm and helps administer in the collection, administration and distribution of music licenses and royalties for the vast majority of its industry.
Unauthorized music videos, according to the group, have become prevalent over popular Internet viral video sites such as YouTube, Google Video and iFilm. The result has been a series of cease-and-desist warnings on the part of the RIAA to users of these sites, who have been importing the videos through digital recorder devices such as TiVos and then uploading them to the sites, which base their content on user submissions.
(continued)
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Wikipedia won't let just anyone edit anymore...
continued...
Pentagon Study on Abuse in Iraq
NYC subway terror plot revealed in new book...
Ali revealed that Ayeri had visited Ayman Zawahiri in January
2003, to inform him of a plot to attack the New York City subway system using
cyanide gas. Several mubtakkars were to be placed in subway cars and other
strategic locations. This was not simply a proposal; the plot was well under
way. In fact, zero-hour was only 45 days away. But then, for reasons still
debated by U.S. intelligence officials, Zawahiri called off the attack. "Ali did
not know the precise explanation why. He just knew that Zawahiri had called them
off."
The news left administration officials gathered in the White House
with more questions than answers. Why was Ali cooperating? Why had Zawahiri
called off the strike? Were the operatives planning to carry out the attack
still in New York? "The CIA analysts attempted answers. Many of the questions
were simply unanswerable."
The Corruptibles: EFF's two minute guide to incoming bad laws
read more | digg story
Mass. school punishes students with electric shocks
read more | digg story
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Update: No Carlin/Coulter fireworks
When Coulter's segment ended, George Carlin blew into his hands and rubbed them together as the camera panned and zoomed out, with an expression on his face that suggested he got a chill sitting next to a cold bitch.
Musical guest KT Tunstall had the message, "THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS" taped to her guitar and she pounded the words several times before beginning her song.
Carlin did an awesome modern hipster rap worthy of beatnik spoken word artist Lord Buckley. It was seriously beautiful and Carlin delivered it flawlessly. That alone made it worth my time.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
George Carlin and Anne Coulter battle?
A must see tonight is George Carlin & Anne Coulter appearing on the "Tonight" show, with Jay Leno. If Jay has any problems coming up with questions for Ms. Coulter, he might like to refer to this Media Matters list of suggestions.GOP's Confidential Message to Sell Iraq War
Confidential Messaging Memo - Floor Debate on Iraq and the Global War on Terror
To: House Republican Members
From: House Majority Leader John A. Boehner
Date: June 13, 2006
Re: Confidential Messaging Memo – Floor Debate on Iraq and the Global War on Terror
This week, the House of Representatives will engage in a debate about the war in Iraq, the Global War on Terror and our efforts to strengthen our national security in a post-9/11 world.
The past week has brought news of several important, positive developments in Iraq and the Global War on Terror:
*U.S. military forces eliminated the terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda’s top commander in Iraq and a cold-blooded killer.
*The Iraqi government named new interior, defense and security ministers as part of the new government’s continued progress.
*Just this morning, President George W. Bush traveled to Baghdad to meet the newly appointed Prime Minster of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki and to discuss our growing partnership with the new democratic ally.
Clearly, these positive developments are the result of steadfast support of both our military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq and across the globe. We should not refrain from touting such progress
World is worried about US in Iraq
Results also show that confidence in President Bush has plummeted. He received the lowest marks for international leadership when compared to British, French, Russian and German heads of state. Pervasive concerns about the treatment of detainees in Iraq and prisons like Guantanamo has further fueled international discontent.
Click here to read the whole story.
Click here to discuss it on HuffPost.
America is Dangerous to World Peace - Pew Survey
America's place and respect in the world is slipping yet again. Our educational system is pitiful and getting worse compared to other developed nations ...
Read the rest at HuffingtonPost.com
Thursday, June 8, 2006
Zarqawi killed in Iraq air raid
** Zarqawi killed in Iraq air raid**
Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed in an air raid involving US and Iraqi air and ground forces.
** US military releases bombing video **
The US military has released video footage of the bombing raid which killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
** Analysis: Will Zarqawi's death ease woes? **
It remains to be seen if one man's death will bring a breakthrough in Iraq, the BBC's Paul Reynolds says.
** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified.
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Air America Radio: Unfiltered
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
"The George Bush Approval Map"
Click on the map above and you should be able to see the animation as Bush's approval ratings turn blue...
Gay marriage ban defeated in Senate vote
"Gay marriage ban defeated in Senate vote" A constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage went down to Senate defeat Wednesday, but supporters said that several new votes for the measure represent progress that gives the GOP's base reason to vote on Election Day. | |||
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Google.com blocked in China!
read more | digg story
From the same story;
Reporters Without Borders also said the Chinese authorities had largely managed to neutralize software designed to sidestep censorship since late May.Software such as Dynapass, Ultrasurf, Freegate and Garden Networks is normally used to gain access to news and information that is blocked by the firewall isolating China from the rest of the worldwide web.
Bill Xia, the US-based exile who created Dynapass, said the jamming of these programs had reached "an unprecedented level" and he was convinced the authorities were deploying considerable resources to achieve it.
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Army Manual to Skip Geneva Detainee Rule
'The Pentagon's move to omit a ban on prisoner humiliation from the basic guide to soldier conduct faces strong State Dept. opposition.'
by Julian E. Barnes
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has decided to omit from new detainee policies a key tenet of the Geneva Convention that explicitly bans "humiliating and degrading treatment," according to knowledgeable military officials, a step that would mark a further, potentially permanent, shift away from strict adherence to international human rights standards.
The decision could culminate a lengthy debate within the Defense Department but will not become final until the Pentagon makes new guidelines public, a step that has been delayed. However, the State Department fiercely opposes the military's decision to exclude Geneva Convention protections and has been pushing for the Pentagon and White House to reconsider, the Defense Department officials acknowledged.
For more than a year, the Pentagon has been redrawing its policies on detainees, and intends to issue a new Army Field Manual on interrogation, which, along with accompanying directives, represents core instructions to U.S. soldiers worldwide.
The process has been beset by debate and controversy, and the decision to omit Geneva protections from a principal directive comes at a time of growing worldwide criticism of U.S. detention practices and the conduct of American forces in Iraq.
The directive on interrogation, a senior defense official said, is being rewritten to create safeguards so that all detainees are treated humanely but can still be questioned effectively.
President Bush's critics and supporters have debated whether it is possible to prove a direct link between administration declarations that it will not be bound by Geneva and events such as the abuses at Abu Ghraib or the killings of Iraqi civilians last year in Haditha, allegedly by Marines.
But the exclusion of the Geneva provisions may make it more difficult for the administration to portray such incidents as aberrations. And it undercuts contentions that U.S. forces follow the strictest, most broadly accepted standards when fighting wars.
"The rest of the world is completely convinced that we are busy torturing people," said Oona A. Hathaway, an expert in international law at Yale Law School. "Whether that is true or not, the fact we keep refusing to provide these protections in our formal directives puts a lot of fuel on the fire."
The detainee directive was due to be released in late April along with the Army Field Manual on interrogation. But objections from several senators on other Field Manual issues forced a delay. The senators objected to provisions allowing harsher interrogation techniques for those considered unlawful combatants, such as suspected terrorists, as opposed to traditional prisoners of war.
The lawmakers say that differing standards of treatment allowed by the Field Manual would violate a broadly supported anti-torture measure advanced by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). McCain last year pushed Congress to ban torture and cruel treatment and to establish the Army Field Manual as the standard for treatment of all detainees. Despite administration opposition, the measure passed and became law.
For decades, it had been the official policy of the U.S. military to follow the minimum standards for treating all detainees as laid out in the Geneva Convention. But, in 2002, Bush suspended portions of the Geneva Convention for captured Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. Bush's order superseded military policy at the time, touching off a wide debate over U.S. obligations under the Geneva accord, a debate that intensified after reports of detainee abuses at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
Among the directives being rewritten following Bush's 2002 order is one governing U.S. detention operations. Military lawyers and other defense officials wanted the redrawn version of the document known as DoD Directive 2310, to again embrace Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.
That provision — known as a "common" article because it is part of each of the four Geneva pacts approved in 1949 — bans torture and cruel treatment. Unlike other Geneva provisions, Article 3 covers all detainees — whether they are held as unlawful combatants or traditional prisoners of war. The protections for detainees in Article 3 go beyond the McCain amendment by specifically prohibiting humiliation, treatment that falls short of cruelty or torture.
The move to restore U.S. adherence to Article 3 was opposed by officials from Vice President Dick Cheney's office and by the Pentagon's intelligence arm, government sources said. David S. Addington, Cheney's chief of staff, and Stephen A. Cambone, Defense undersecretary for intelligence, said it would restrict the United States' ability to question detainees.
The Pentagon tried to satisfy some of the military lawyers' concerns by including some protections of Article 3 in the new policy, most notably a ban on inhumane treatment, but refused to embrace the actual Geneva standard in the directive it planned to issue.
The military lawyers, known as judge advocates general, or JAGs, have concluded that they will have to wait for a new administration before mounting another push to link Pentagon policy to the standards of Geneva.
"The JAGs came to the conclusion that this was the best they can get," said one participant familiar with the Defense Department debate who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the protracted controversy. "But it was a massive mistake to have withdrawn from Geneva. By backing away, you weaken the proposition that this is the baseline provision that is binding to all nations."
Derek P. Jinks, an assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Law and the author of a forthcoming book on Geneva called "The Rules of War," said the decision to remove the Geneva reference from the directive showed the administration still intended to push the envelope on interrogation.
"We are walking the line on the prohibition on cruel treatment," Jinks said. "But are we really in search of the boundary between the cruel and the acceptable?"
The military has long applied Article 3 to conflicts — including civil wars — using it as a minimum standard of conduct, even during peacekeeping operations. The old version of the U.S. directive on detainees says the military will "comply with the principles, spirit and intent" of the Geneva Convention.
But top Pentagon officials now believe common Article 3 creates an "unintentional sanctuary" that could allow Al Qaeda members to keep information from interrogators.
"As much as possible, the foundation is Common Article 3. That is the foundation," the senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the new policies had not been made public. "But there are certain things unlawful combatants are not entitled to."
Another defense official said that Article 3 prohibitions against "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment" could be interpreted as banning well-honed interrogation techniques.
Many intelligence soldiers consider questioning the manhood of male prisoners to be an effective and humane technique. Suggesting to a suspected insurgent that he is "not man enough" to have set an improvised explosive device sometimes elicits a full description of how they emplaced the bomb, soldiers say.
The Pentagon worries that if Article 3 were incorporated in the directive, detainees could use it to argue in U.S. courts that such techniques violate their personal dignity.
"Who is to say what is humiliating for Sheikh Abdullah or Sheikh Muhammad?" the second official asked. "If you punch the buttons of a Muslim male, are you at odds with the Geneva Convention?"
Military officials also worry that following Article 3 could force them to end the practice of segregating prisoners. The military says that there is nothing inhumane about putting detainees in solitary confinement, and that it allows inmates to be questioned without coordinating their stories with others.
Human rights groups have their doubts, saying that isolating people for months at a time leads to mental breakdowns.
"Sometimes these things sound benign, but there is a reason they have been prohibited," said Jumana Musa, an advocacy director for Amnesty International. "When you talk about putting people in isolation for eight months, 14 months, it leads to mental degradation."
Jinks, of the University of Texas, contends that Article 3 does not prohibit some of the things the military says it wants to do. "If the practice is humane, there is nothing to worry about," he said.
Defense officials said the State Department and other agencies had argued that adopting Article 3 would put the U.S. government on more solid "moral footing," and make U.S. policies easier to defend abroad.
Some State Department officials have told the Pentagon that incorporating Geneva into the new directive would show American allies that the American military is following "common standards" rather than making up its own rules. Department officials declined to comment for this article about the directive or their discussions with the Pentagon.
Common Article 3 was originally written to cover civil wars, when one side of the conflict was not a state and therefore could not have signed the Geneva Convention.
In his February 2002 order, Bush wrote that he determined that "Common Article 3 of Geneva does not apply to either Al Qaeda or Taliban detainees, because, among other reasons, the relevant conflicts are international in scope and Common Article 3 applies only to 'armed conflict not of an international character.' "
Some legal scholars say Bush's interpretation is far too narrow. Article 3 was intended to apply to all wars as a sort of minimum set of standards, and that is how Geneva is customarily interpreted, they say.
But top administration officials contend that after the Sept. 11 attacks, old customs do not apply, especially to a fight against terrorists or insurgents who never play by the rules.
"The overall thinking," said the participant familiar with the defense debate, "is that they need the flexibility to apply cruel techniques if military necessity requires it."
Copyright © 2006 Los Angeles Times
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Marine's Wife Paints Portrait of US Troops Out of Control in Haditha
by Julian Borger in Washington
The marine unit involved in the killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha last November had suffered a "total breakdown" in discipline and had drug and alcohol problems, according to the wife of one of the battalion's staff sergeants.
The allegations in Newsweek magazine contribute to an ever more disturbing portrait of embattled marines under high stress, some on their third tour of duty after ferocious door-to-door fighting in the Sunni insurgent strongholds of Falluja and Haditha.
The wife of the unnamed staff sergeant claimed there had been a "total breakdown" in the unit's discipline after it was pulled out of Falluja in early 2005.
"There were problems in Kilo company with drugs, alcohol, hazing [violent initiation games], you name it," she said. "I think it's more than possible that these guys were totally tweaked out on speed or something when they shot those civilians in Haditha."
The troops in Iraq have been ordered to take refresher courses on battlefield ethics, but a growing body of evidence from Haditha suggests the strain of repeated deployments in Iraq is beginning to unravel the cohesion and discipline of the combat troops.
"We are in trouble in Iraq," Barry McCaffrey, a retired army general who played a leading role in the Iraq war, told Time magazine. "Our forces can't sustain this pace, and I'm afraid the American people are walking away from this war."
The Newsweek account described a gung-ho battalion that had staged a chariot race, complete with captured horses, togas and heavy metal music, before the battle for Falluja in late 2004. The marines were given loose rules of engagement in the vicious urban warfare that followed.
"If you see someone with a cellphone," said one of the commanders was quoted as saying, half-jokingly, "put a bullet in their fucking head".
At one point in the battle, a marine from the 3rd battalion was caught on camera shooting a wounded, unarmed man as he lay on the ground. However, the marine involved was later exonerated.
The third battalion lost 17 men in 10 days in Falluja and by the time the troops arrived in Haditha, in autumn last year, it was clear morale had plummeted. A Daily Telegraph reporter who visited its headquarters early this year at Haditha Dam, on the outskirts of the town, described it as a "feral place" where discipline was "approaching breakdown". He reported that some marines had left the official living quarters and had set up separate encampments with signs ordering outsiders to keep out.
Other observers, however, have come away from time spent with the marines with different impressions. Lucian Read, a photographer who spent five months with Kilo company, said it was generally well led, although sometimes squads had to go on patrol without an officer because there were not enough to go around.
Mr Read told Time magazine that Kilo company was the "most human" of the many units he had accompanied in Iraq. "They were never abusive," he said. "There was a certain amount of antagonism and frustration when people didn't cooperate. But it's not like they had 'kill 'em all' spray-painted on the walls."
Three senior officers in the Haditha-based 3rd battalion of the first marine regiment, known as the Thundering Third, have been relieved of duty because of a "lack of confidence" in their leadership.
The officers include Captain Lucas McConnell, the head of Kilo company, which was directly involved in the deaths of 24 unarmed Iraqis there on November 19.
Another captain from the battalion, James Kimber, was relieved of duty for a separate incident, according to his lawyer, who said his subordinates in India company had sworn and derided Iraqi security forces in an interview with Sky News.
The commander of the third battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, has also been made to step down pending the outcome of the Haditha investigation.
A criminal investigation conducted by navy investigators into the Haditha killings is still under way, but a parallel army inquiry into the wider issues has been completed. However, a military official said some findings might be withheld pending the principle inquiry findings.
On Saturday the Iraqi government rejected the findings of a US inquiry into the death of nine civilians in a US raid in the town of Ishaqi and said it would conduct its own investigation.
Copyright © 2006 Guardian Newspapers Limited
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Impeach Him
Impeach Him, originally uploaded by soul1383.
Lyrics to
"Let's Impeach the President"
by
Neil Young
Let's impeach the president for lying
And leading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door
He’s the man who hired all the criminals
The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors
And bend the facts to fit with their new stories
Of why we have to send our men to war
Let’s impeach the president for spying
On citizens inside their own homes
Breaking every law in the country
By tapping our computers and telephones
What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees
Would New Orleans have been safer that way
Sheltered by our government’s protection
Or was someone just not home that day?
Let's impeach the president
For hijacking our religion and using it to get elected
Dividing our country into colors
And still leaving black people neglected
Thank god he’s racking down on steroids
Since he sold his old baseball team
There’s lot of people looking at big trouble
But of course the president is clean
Thank God
Monday, June 5, 2006
'An open debate on Iraq is overdue!'
National Call-In Day, Wednesday, June 7
Call your Congressional Representative
Call (888) 355-3588 (toll-free) or 202-224-3121
An open debate on Iraq is OVERDUE!
The people of Iraq want their nation back; they understand that the departure of U.S. troops will be the first step toward quelling the violence that has overtaken their country. People in the U.S. want their sons and daughters home. Children want their mothers and fathers home. Most of the U.S. troops think they should leave in the next 6 months, if not sooner. Facing this is a moral and non-partisan challenge.
But, after more than three years, over $300 billion spent and the death of more than 100,000 Iraqis and nearly 2,500 American soldiers, Congress still refuses to debate real alternatives to the President's stay-the-course policy. It is a policy that over 80% of Iraqis, more than 70% of U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq and a majority of the people in the U.S. say is not only a failure but fails to stop terrorism and creates more hatred towards our troops in Iraq. Even reports of civilian massacres by U.S. soldiers in Haditha and Ishaqi has not moved Congress to act.
We have a unique opportunity to demand that Congress stop passing the buck. So far, 122 members of the House of Representatives have signed a 'discharge petition' calling for immediate debate and consideration of ALL alternatives to the policy of open-ended occupation of Iraq (including an immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops). All we need is 96 more members of Congress to sign the petition for debate to begin.
We need your help.
Call your U.S. Representative on Wednesday, June 7th. Ask your Representative to sign H.Res. 543 OR thank them if they have already signed and ask them to ask a colleague to sign H.Res. 543.
Here are lists of those who have and have not signed:http://www.openiraqdebate.com/inner/roll-call.html
The pressure we are applying is already having an impact. There have been news reports that some members of Congress, hoping to dodge a real discussion about Iraq, will offer a tightly-controlled debate framed by supporters of the war. This alternative is clearly an election-year effort, rather than a serious commitment to address the failed policy and the need to bring all the troops home now. This alternative won't allow members who oppose the war to offer plans to bring the occupation to an end.
Tell your Congressmember that you demand a debate with an "open rule," meaning that any proposals to bring the troops home can be introduced, debated and voted on. The surest route to that debate is for them to sign the discharge petition and ask their colleagues to do the same.
Call 202-224-3121, give the operator your Representative's name or go to power search on Congress Merge to find the local district office.
Sunday, June 4, 2006
IMPEACH HIM!
"Most ignorance is evincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know."
-Aldous Huxley-
'the universal declaration of human rights' & 'a bush wanted poster'
International links - The 50th Anniversary UN Declaration
On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following page. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27.
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Pledge of Resistance
The Pledge of Resistance is a commitment to support or actively take part in a protest in the event of federal harassment, closure, or arrests of medical marijuana patients, dispensaries, or caregivers.
This Pledge is a tool to create a network of resistance against DEA actions that would deprive patients of their rights to medical marijuana. By signing and pledging our resistance, we can help support patients' rights and defend our democratic will to legalize medical marijuana.
You can also download a printable version of the Pledge (in .PDF format) to build up your local network.
Please click here to sign
Saturday, June 3, 2006
A state of emergency
Recently, my blog has been undergoing many changes in design & appearance. Everything took alot longer to setup than I thought. But, I think it was worth it!
Even though, I have been on and off line alot because of these changes...I haven't stopped watching the news, experiencing the joy and hardships life has to offer, or caring. I have noticed lately that the Bush administration seems to be blatantly breaking the law, and lying to us, the people of the United States of America. At the same time, it doesn't seem like anyone is doing anything about this administration.
When do we impeach him everyone? When will someone make him explain himself and his crimes in front of a court with a jury of US citizens and see how well he fares. Better yet, form a world court from representing from every country that wishes to be represented as plaintiff against the defendant, President George Walker Bush...
please, read this article from The Guardian;
A state of emergency
Bush is a danger to the constitution in his wartime capacity as commander in chief
Sidney Blumenthal
Thursday June 1, 2006
The Guardian
Within the Bush administration something that senior officials call the "war paradigm" is the central organizing principle. They do not use the phrase publicly, but they bend policy to serve it. After September 11 the war paradigm was instantly adopted. George Bush, who proclaimed "I'm a war president", assumed the paradigm as his natural state and right. According to its imperatives, the president in his wartime capacity as commander in chief makes and enforces laws as he sees fit, overriding the constitutional system of checks and balances. Some of the paradigm's expressions include Bush's fiats on the treatment of detainees, domestic surveillance and international law, and his more than 750 "signing statements" - interpretations of laws that he claims he can implement as he chooses.
In the beginning, the elements of the war paradigm appeared to be expediencies, conceived as emergency measures in the struggle against al-Qaida. But their precepts were developed before September 11 by John Yoo, promoted to deputy assistant attorney general in the office of legal counsel at the department of justice, where he was tasked to write secret memos on torture, surveillance and executive power.
Once Bush approved them, the clerisy of neoconservative lawyers put them into effect. They believe fervently that the constitution is fatally flawed and must be circumscribed. The Bush administration's holy grail is to remove suspects' rights to due process, speedy trial and exculpatory evidence. The war paradigm is to be strengthened to conduct permanent war against terror that can never be finally defeated. There is no exit strategy from emergency.
In the short run, Bush's defence of his war paradigm may precipitate three constitutional crises. In the first, freedom of the press is at issue. On May 21 Alberto Gonzales, the attorney general, announced the possibility that the New York Times would be prosecuted for publishing its Pulitzer prize-winning article on the administration's domestic surveillance. "It can't be the case," he said, that the first amendment trumps the right of the government "to go after criminal activity".
In the second case, a wartime executive above the law may be asserted. Last week the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who charged the vice-president's former chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby with perjury and obstruction of justice, made plain his intention to summon Cheney to the witness stand to impeach Libby's credibility or else commit perjury himself. But will the administration fight the subpoena as an infringement on a unitary executive that should be immune from such distractions in wartime?
In the third case, if either house of Congress should fall to the Democrats in the November midterm elections, the oversight suppressed during one-party rule would be restored. Would the administration refuse congressional requests for documents as it did when the Democratic Senate in Bush's first year asked for those pertaining to Cheney's energy taskforce, which reportedly included Enron's CEO Ken Lay, last week convicted on numerous counts of fraud?
Bush does not contemplate retreat from the war paradigm, which he embraces as his reason for being. After his 2004 victory he claimed he had had his accountability moment. But the constitution is an intricate mechanism of checks and balances that creates constant accountability. The question at the heart of Bush's politics is whether that can be indefinitely suspended and the constitution radically revised.
· Sidney Blumenthal, a former senior adviser to President Clinton, is the author of The Clinton Wars sidney_blumenthal@yahoo.com
The End of Humanity
WorldNews.com
Guest Writer
René Delavy.
We all live in a world of PERPETRATORS and are identifying us with the powerful, the rich and the influential persons in this World. The other truth is, that we all are living our reality in a VICTIMS-World - have always been and always will be. We live in a perpetrators world but in fact 99 percent of human beings have in all times been victims of the eternally same horrible creatures.
Friday, June 2, 2006
'Iraqi Assails U.S. for Strikes on Civilians'
"Victims of the Haditha Massacre"
House #1 -- 7 killed, 2 injured (but survived), 2 escapedKilled:
- Abdul Hamid Hassan Ali, 76 -- grandfather, father and husband, who used a wheelchair, due to a leg amputation following complications with diabetes. Died with nine rounds in the chest and abdomen.
- Khamisa Tuma Ali, 66 -- wife of Abdul Hamid Hassan Ali
- Rashid Abdul Hamid, 30
- Walid Abdul Hamid Hassan, 35
- Jahid Abdul Hamid Hassan, middle-aged man
- Asma Salman Rasif, 32
- Abdullah Walid, 4
Injured:
- Iman, 8
- Abdul Rahman, 5
Escaped:
Daughter-in-law, Hibbah, escaped with 2-month-old Asia
- Younis Salim Khafif, 43 -- husband of Aeda Yasin Ahmed, father
- Aeda Yasin Ahmed, 41 -- wife of Younis Salim Khafif, killed trying to shield her youngest daughter Aisha
- Muhammad Younis Salim, 8 -- son
- Noor Younis Salim, 14 -- daughter
- Sabaa Younis Salim, 10 -- daughter
- Zainab Younis Salim, 5 -- daughter
- Aisha Younis Salim, 3 -- daughter
- A 1-year-old girl staying with the family
Survived:
Safa Younis Salim, 13
Marwan Ahmed, 28
Qahtan Ahmed, 24
Chasib Ahmed, 27
Jamal Ahmed, 41
Four male university students:
Khalid Ayada al-Zawi
Wajdi Ayada al-Zawi
Mohammed Battal Mahmoud
Akram Hamid Flayeh
The four young men had left the Technical Institute in Saqlawiyah for the weekend to stay with one of their families, who lived on the street.
'We Have a Haditha Every Day'
From United for Peace:
TAKE ACTION
While the details of that incident remain murky, the story of Haditha has now been told in chilling detail by numerous respected sources. In a several-hour-long rampage, a group of U.S. Marines shot 24 Iraqi civilians execution-style, at close range -- among them a 77-year-old amputee confined to a wheelchair and seven children ranging in age from 1 to 15. A 41-year-old woman was killed while trying to shield the youngest baby with her body.
U.S. soldiers shot these innocent people. But ultimately, it was U.S. policy that killed them. We need to be sure that all of those responsible for these deaths are held accountable -- not just the individual Marines who snapped and committed terrible atrocities, but every politician from Congress to the White House who has supported this indefensible war.
TAKE ACTION
We need to keep the public dialogue going about Haditha, the war, and political accountability. We encourage you to call into the talk shows on your local radio stations and to write letters to the editors of your local newspapers. (Click here to find contact information for your local media outlets.) See our talking points for more detailed ideas about how to frame the issue.
We must also bring the truth of this tragedy home to our communities. The Iraqi victims of this war have too often been faceless, nameless, invisible. With the Haditha massacre, we know the names and ages of the 24 victims, and we know how they died: Presenting this publicly is a powerful way to dramatize the horrors of this war.
We have posted a list of the names, ages, and genders of the Haditha victims, as well as individual posters you can download representing each of the 24, on our website. We encourage you to hold public events in your community using this information.
Thursday, June 1, 2006
HIGH: The true tale of American Marijuana
Click on the pot leaf below...
Here's the trailer for:HIGH: The true tale of American Marijuana