3.15.2003
I find this article disturbing, why would American troops harass peace activists in Great Britain? First seen at Genfoods.
Take a look at where America has used its power of the Veto. Food for thought.
3/15/2003
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I find this article disturbing, why would American troops harass peace activists in Great Britain? First seen at Genfoods.
Take a look at where America has used its power of the Veto. Food for thought.
3/15/2003
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I find this article disturbing, why would American troops harass peace activists in Great Britain? First seen at Genfoods.
Take a look at where America has used its power of the Veto. Food for thought.
3/15/2003
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"Rockefeller expressed concern that the forgeries "may be part of a larger deception campaign aimed at manipulating public opinion and foreign policy regarding Iraq."" ( a smiling thanks to Seeing the Forest) We have been pointing out inconsistencies with the Bush story right along out here in the "blogosphere". The Bush/Powell use of 'evidence' stolen from a 12 year old doctoral thesis before the Security Council. The 'aluminum tubes' that Mr Bush said where for nuclear purposes- but were NOT. The way Iraq is spoken of by Mr Bush in the same breath as he mentions 9-11, juxtaposing the two in the minds of listeners even though he had to take back his claim of a connection. Plus all the times earlier he got away with flat out stating there was a connection (thanks to fellow blogger uggabugga via fellow blogger Democratic Veteran) Remember when he and Blair tried to play it off though?
The Iraqi drone project has been known to US intelligence for years, but it makes better press if it sounds like a treacherous new example of Saddam Husseins evil.
3/15/2003
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Well...
Would the Bush regime attempt to bait Saddam Hussein into striking first, or at least giving that
appearance to add some small veneer of legitimacy to a US attack?
You do remember that US Marines cut the electric fence that separates Iraq and Kuwait in the demilitarized zone.
That US is stepping up bombing in the "no fly zones" we spoke about in yesterdays posting.
Here is a link to audio (Cspan radio feed) from Indymedia DC For info on the San Francisco rally listen here. the As I write some nice Pete Seeger has been playing... Chieftans into Seeger into some John Trudell, eclectic tunes and conversation...
Here is the March 15 03 "Department of Defense Press Briefing on Depleted Uranium (DU)"
A quotation of an answer given concerning why the people of Iraq do not want DU ammunition used again. Perhaps if a child suffering from mutation asked the answer would be less "gung ho":
" COL. NAUGHTON: Well, you need to look at the environment of the context where people are asking us questions -- who's asking the question? The Iraqis tell us terrible things happened to our people because you used it last time. Why do they want it to go away? They want it to go away because we kicked the crap out of them -- okay? I mean, there's no doubt that DU gave us a huge advantage over their tanks. They lost a lot of tanks. Their soldiers can't be really amused at the idea of going out in basically the same tanks with some slight improvements and taking on Abrams again. That has got to be a huge morale -- so wouldn't it be great if we could convince the world to make the U.S. give up DU?
Q: So it's basically you're saying the Iraqis are behind any sort of effort --
COL. NAUGHTON: And other countries that are not friendly to the United States.
Please read this official US military release. Compare what is said therein to what you have read. Or a Google-wide search to get more background. Why would we be mislead so blatantly. I imagine Col. Naughton accepts the company line and hasn't read what non-military people have to say about DU.
Notice when asked about DU in drinking water:
"Our studies in the United States over 15 years have not shown depleted uranium going from the soil into groundwater. It just does not move from the round that is in the soil. And the bottom line is there is going to be no impact on the health of the people in the environment, or people who were there at the time it was shot."
Hmmm...
Read. You be the judge. Iraqi folks, by their experiance link DU to a higher incidence of cancers. Let the Uranium Medical Research Centre fill you in on the realities of DU.
"Back The Troops, Not The War"
3/15/2003
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3.14.2003
Richard Perl is a jerk. Read here how he mixes the politics of death and personal profit. He threatens to sue Seymour Hersh for this expose. Hersh exposed the My Lai Massacre as well as an eye opening article concerning Barry McCaffrey and the collective psychosis of combat: Gulf War 1.
"Overriding a warning from the division operations officer, McCaffrey ordered an assault in force -- an all-out attack. His decision stunned some officers in the Allied command structure in Saudi Arabia, and provoked unease in Washington. Apache attack helicopters, Bradley fighting vehicles, and artillery units from the 24th Division pummelled the five-mile-long Iraqi column for hours, destroying some seven hundred Iraqi tanks, armored cars, and trucks, and killing not only Iraqi soldiers but civilians and children as well. Many of the dead were buried soon after the engagement, and no accurate count of the victims could be made. McCaffrey later described the carnage as "one of the most astounding scenes of destruction I have ever participated in." There were no serious American combat casualties. "
"McCaffrey's assault was one of the biggest and most one-sided-of the Gulf War, but no journalists appear to have been in the area at the time, and, unlike the "highway of death," it did not produce pictures and descriptions that immediately appeared on international television and in the world press. Under Defense Department rules that had been accepted, under protest, by the major media, reporters were not permitted on the Gulf War battlefields without military escorts. The day after the assault, a few journalists were flown by helicopter to McCaffrey's headquarters. When McCaffrey met with them, he speculated that the retreating Iraqi units that had mounted the seemingly suicidal attack were unaware of the ceasefire, then in its second day. "Some might not even know we are here," McCaffrey told a reporter for United Press International. "
Quotes from Seymour Hersh's "Overwhelming Force" added 3.15.03
Betraying the Kurdish people? Well, you remember that the "no-fly zones" that ostensibly were to protect the Kurdish people from the murderous Saddam Hussein. Then why would US and British pilots have to land and let the murderous Turkish Air Force rain bombs on them? From American made airplanes? The linked John Pilger article also touches on the 1991 rebbelion George Bush asked the people of Iraq to undertake to oust Hussein:
" In 1991, when President Bush Sr called for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, he was really inviting Saddam's generals to stage a military coup and install a more malleable dictator. The last thing he wanted was the ensuing popular uprising by the Shi'a in March of that year - which Saddam crushed with helicopter gunships that the US allowed him to fly, and while American commanders denied weapons and equipment to the rebels. An estimated 30,000 people were slaughtered. "We clearly would have preferred a coup. There's no question about that," said Bush's national security adviser Brent Scowcroft in 1997. The British commander in the Gulf war, General Sir Peter de la Billi?re, said, apparently with a straight face: "The Iraqis were responsible for establishing law and order.""
What is the administration thinking?
Business comes before the good of "We the People". The White house opposes lists that would notify us of which supermarkets were selling tainted meat.
Iraq is another excuse to drill for oil in pristine ANWR, due to national security issues- like gas prices-
High gas prices seen as a result of White House oil policies.
Go figure...
3/14/2003
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Follow the money: Would you believe that the five firms that are bidding to get lucrative contracts to rebuild Iraq (but, the UN hasn't given us the the "Go ahead" to attack Iraq yet, have they...?) contributed nearly 3 million dollars dollars all togerther to politicians in the last 2 electoral cycles- 68% to Republicans? Read the links offered in that article...
O.K, to break a trend of doom and gloom and head shaking while you read this (gotta be honest, as I write it too) here is the Beastie Boys site where you can download their song "In a World Gone Mad" or just give the lyrics a quick scan. I listened to them in years past... It is nice knowing that there people promoting consciousness and peace to younger folks; I wonder if in this age of video games and Hollywood films that portray problem solving as something best done with weapons, a gun as the most effective way to vent ones frustration if their humanity gets a bit blunted. Subservance and groupthink are taught really well in the school system; the lemming-like way we want to fit in is betrayed by the fashion industry. Look how intelligent people tend to be portrayed- geeks, misfits, while the 'bad" characters are portrayed as romantic, interesting, fun. The whole power thing as expressed in popular media appeals to us at a non-thinking level, as a less experianced younger person I'm sure it is harder to see through the hype. Bush as the stereotyped "Good Guy",a good ol' boy (from a rich Connecticut family and elite Prep school... oops, wrong film- but he did get crap grades) talking all folksy about God and country and kickin' ass, not that bright but firm and sincere; Hussein as the "guy in the black hat" murderous and foreign and evil; lying, treacherous and, well, foreign and evil. A slippery character that has pulled the wool over everyones eyes but the hero... Standard B movie fare.
3/14/2003
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3.13.2003
A tax cut seems ludicrous to me while planning an expensive military attack and occupation. The fact is that it will primarily benefit the the top percentage of Americans while externalizing its costs onto the backs of the majority of citizens through cuts in programs and services.
It seems that the Bush administration doesn't know where the money will come from for the attack and resultant war or the reconstruction of Iraq- especially if US aggression is not UN sanctioned.. They sure aren't letting on how much it will cost before the bombs fly, it seems.
"The 300 billion dollar deficit does not include any of the costs incurred by deploying U.S. forces to the Gulf, nor the costs of an actual war. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that simply sending troops and equipment to and from the Gulf will cost nearly 25 billion dollars, and that a month's combat could cost an additional 10 billion dollars or more."
"After a war, the CBO staff said, a U.S. occupation could cost anywhere from one billion dollars to four billion dollars a month, a range that clearly discomfits Congress, including Republicans, who see their hopes for enacting a major tax cut this year sink with every new estimate about the war's cost."
A gallon of gas is pretty expensive if you factor in externalized costs. And I'm just talking about lurking financial costs, not about the cost in blood and pollution.
3/13/2003
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A tax cut seems ludicrous to me while planning an expensive military attack and occupation. The fact is that it will primarily benefit the the top percentage of Americans while externalizing its costs onto the backs of the majority of citizens through cuts in programs and services.
It seems that the Bush administration doesn't know where the money will come from for the attack and resultant war or the reconstruction of Iraq- especially if US aggression is not UN sanctioned.. They sure aren't letting on how much it will cost before the bombs fly, it seems.
"The 300 billion dollar deficit does not include any of the costs incurred by deploying U.S. forces to the Gulf, nor the costs of an actual war. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that simply sending troops and equipment to and from the Gulf will cost nearly 25 billion dollars, and that a month's combat could cost an additional 10 billion dollars or more."
"After a war, the CBO staff said, a U.S. occupation could cost anywhere from one billion dollars to four billion dollars a month, a range that clearly discomfits Congress, including Republicans, who see their hopes for enacting a major tax cut this year sink with every new estimate about the war's cost."
A gallon of gas is pretty expensive if you factor in externalized costs. And I'm just talking about lurking financial costs, not about the cost in blood and pollution.
3/13/2003
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A tax cut seems ludicrous to me while planning an expensive military attack and occupation. The fact is that it will primarily benefit the the top percentage of Americans while externalizing its costs onto the backs of the majority of citizens through cuts in programs and services.
It seems that the Bush administration doesn't know where the money will come from for the attack and resultant war or the reconstruction of Iraq- especially if US aggression is not UN sanctioned.. They sure aren't letting on how much it will cost before the bombs fly, it seems.
"The 300 billion dollar deficit does not include any of the costs incurred by deploying U.S. forces to the Gulf, nor the costs of an actual war. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that simply sending troops and equipment to and from the Gulf will cost nearly 25 billion dollars, and that a month's combat could cost an additional 10 billion dollars or more."
"After a war, the CBO staff said, a U.S. occupation could cost anywhere from one billion dollars to four billion dollars a month, a range that clearly discomfits Congress, including Republicans, who see their hopes for enacting a major tax cut this year sink with every new estimate about the war's cost."
A gallon of gas is pretty expensive if you factor in externalized costs. And I'm just talking about lurking financial costs, not about the cost in blood and pollution.
3/13/2003
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"Few of us," Arthur Miller once wrote, "can easily surrender our belief that society must somehow make sense. The thought that the State has lost its mind and is punishing so many innocent people is intolerable. And so the evidence has to be internally denied."
Quotation taken from an excellent article by John Pilger from Z Net
Go to Counterpunch today and read 'A Glossary of Warmongering' by Paul de Roouij. There is no permalink today as it is posted on the homepage. Mr de Rooij also brought us 'Glossary of Occupation' last year. Words are the containers and materials of our thoughts; this two artcles bring the fact forward admirably.
3/13/2003
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3.12.2003
Senator Robert Byrd, I shake your hand.
On the other hand, we have Dick Cheney.
Read this Investigative Report from The Center for Public Integrity.
Power Corrupts: Why would the highest office in the land try to keep the people of America in the dark? "Court Rules Against Cheney, Bush - In Favor Of Judicial Watch" The Judicial Watch site seems to be down, but the link offered gives background.
Sounds like something from a TV show: "In 1992, in the last year of the Bush administration, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney ordered all copies of the most objectionable sections of Project X destroyed. The ostensible reason was to prevent them ever being copied and taught again. But a more plausible explanation was to keep the details out of the hands of historians."
British soldiers are afraid of persecution for War Crimes In the International Criminal Court. America refused to sign, and so are immune from prosecution. Iraq is not a signatory either. Go figure...
The Pope says: "A war would be a defeat for humanity and would be neither morally nor legally justified,” the Pope told Bush in a papal message delivered last week by a special envoy. “It is an unjust war.”
Morally wrong. Unsanctioned by the UN. Sounds like a war crime. Can public opinion stave off Bush's mistake in judgement?
Speaking of crimes "10 million Iraqi's will starve if war goes ahead"
An Oscar blacklist to keep antiwar folks out of the public consciousness?
3/12/2003
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(If you are short on time go straight to the RealAudio clip below)
Did you know that US forces will be packin' radioactive armaments much more poisonous to the world; not merely the 30mm to 120mm antitank rounds that left Iraq with a cancerous DU heritage- we are talking BOMBS, I mean big, 2000 pound cruise missiles. "Bunker Busters". Depleted Uranium, the gift of death that keeps on giving.... Our soldiers will be over there breathing the air, should we persist in our pursuit of atrocity... Think of the generations that will live there, will drink the water, grow food in the soil, raise livestock to eat and for milk to drink. That will go to school, get married, raise kids; all in a toxic post Saddam world we have created. You can do a search at this site for the wealth of DU links I have posted.
Will we ever learn? We poisoned Viet Nam, leaving the country legacy of birth defects and cancers across enerations- and have done the same to our soldiers that served there. The same folks that Rumsfeld said contributed "no value, no advantage, really" to the military. Rather than Dioxin laden 'Agent Orange' our Service men and women will be exposed to more radioactive Depleted Uranium than their predecessors in Gulf War 1. And the US has hardly 'fessed up to Gulf War Syndrome.
A strong UN Security council sanctioned weapons inspection program should do the trick in keeping Mr Hussein's development of weapons on mass destruction at a standstill.
"Movie men add add special effects to media war" Now that's an honest headline!
But the Bush administration must be sure about attacking Iraq; did you know that George Allison has been hired to "spiff up" the appearance of Pentagon news briefings:
"His work in Qatar reflects the Pentagon’s realisation that it needs to look good on prime-time television, especially given public disquiet about the war, which is being led by some Hollywood personalities such as Martin Sheen, Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon."
I'm sure that Allison's having worked with illusionist David Blaine can only help his efforts. Poll results show the American public is tired of "ignoring the man behind the curtain"
I've heard it said that in a totalitarian culture one has to read between the lines when taking in the 'news'. But in America we have 'freedom of the Press';and with the new Pentagon media complex we should be getting the straight news about what is occuring on the ground in Iraq, right?
Veteran BBC reporter Kate Adie had this to say in an interview with Tom Mcgurk:
Kate Adie:" I was told by a senior officer in the Pentagon, that if uplinks --that is the television signals out of... Bhagdad, for example-- were detected by any planes ...electronic media... mediums, of the military above Bhagdad... they'd be fired down on. Even if they were journalists ..' Who cares! ' said.. [inaudible] .."
Tom McGurk: "...Kate ...sorry Kate ..just to underline that. Sorry to interrupt you. Just to explain for our listeners. Uplinks is where you have your own satellite telephone method of distributing information."
Kate Adie: " The telephones and the television signals."
Tom McGurk: " And they would be fired on? "
Kate Adie: " Yes. They would be 'targeted down,' said the officer."
Tom McGurk: " Extraordinary ! "
Kate Adie: " Shameless! "
You owe yourself a listen to this 27 minute RealAudio piece. It includes the excerpt above as well as a moment with Chris Hedges, whos' book 'War is a force that gives us meaning' gives a thought provoking analysis of war as a tool of social control, institutionalized violence as an outlet for inner angst and an organizing principle in uncertain times. A truly powerful book. In the interview he speaks of media as shaping our cognitive container concerning how we look at and discuss this attack- something I am very concrned with.
We speak of removing Saddam Hussein from power. We do not speak of the "Awe and Shock" bombing campaign that will enable this. The Pentagon says there will be no safe place in Baghdad. Remember Russell Mokhiber questioning AriFleisher? 2/19/03: Ari, you said last week that, "Every step will be taken to protect civilian and innocent life in Iraq." But Pentagon officials have said that under a battle plan called 'shock and awe,' "there will not be a safe place in Baghdad when we attack."
Knowledge is power. Why would the Bush administration stop publishing budgetary information? Remember when the Mass Layoff Statics report was discontinued? It has been reinstated.
'After War, jobs and pay for soldiers and citizens' the International Herald Tribune headline reads. Iraqi soldiers and citizens. While our economy here suffers from partisan tax cuts and an immoral and probably illegal act of aggresion- and all that entails. I don't know about you but I say "Lets cut the war crap and invest money in America's infrastructure". Americans need jobs. US soldiers should get a pay raise. America's schools and roadways and bridges need repair... Federal monies spent on jobs created to do necessary repairs and maintenance pump money into the economy; giving it an immediate boost while helping the populace. Money earned is spent in the community. The stimulus of money going from just paid consumer into the till at the market and on through the the economy is what President Roosevelt saw as the best way to spur economic revival and people's pride in being American. As Mr Reagan showed and as Mr Bush has shown once and is hoping "We the People" forget as he shows us again; tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans have no real short term effects, a limited long term positive effect on the job growth, while bleeding the economy. But wealthy campaign donors loyalty is assured. The question is "is this Patriotic?".
Mr Bush signed a bill that would create a national do-not-call list to impede telemarketers from wasting our precious time. Perhaps, being president he was privy to this invention before it was publicly released.
3/12/2003
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HELEN THOMAS: "How do you know what the Iraqis think - do you think they'd rather be dead? What is this "liberty"? You're going to send 3000 missiles over in 48 hours? How many people are going to survive that?"
Thank you to media whores online for the quotation and image- go there to buy the sticker.
3/12/2003
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3.11.2003
“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of today.” - President Theodore Roosevelt
Will the US attack Iraq on its own?
"President Bush has made it clear he feels free to order an invasion of Iraq with or without U.N. backing."
The thought of the US commiting a war crime by the megabombing of Iraqi civilians is pretty sickening, and an affront to what America as I know it stands for.
Are you aware that Israel is holding an American as a political prisoner,Susan Barclay, a nonviolent peace activist associated with the International Solidarity Movement?
If you have time read a bit : "Deforming Consent: The Public Relations Industry's Secret War on Activists"
3/11/2003
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When the US blitzkriegs Baghdad with 3000 cruise missiles over 48 hours we will be guilty of War Crimes. Read "When Bombs Fall, U.S. Will Join Ranks of War Criminals"
Download this tool: The IRAQ BODY COUNT Database
"This is a human security project to establish an independent and comprehensive public database of civilian deaths in Iraq resulting directly from military actions by the USA and its allies in 2003."
Think about it. Ordinary folks bombed just because they had the unfortunate luck to be born in Iraq in these times. People like you and me called upon by our leader, corrupt and anti-democratic as he is, to defend our homeland against a threatening aggressor- a country that has bombed us for years and choked the life out of us through sanctions. What would you do? Would you regard these soldiers as liberators? After the "shock and awe" attack? Refresh your thoughts on sanctions with this interview with Denis Halliday. Do a search on Depleted Uranium (you have noticed the new site search box, haven't you?).
I'm not comfortable with what seems to be an agenda for endless war:
"U.S. official says Syria, Iran will be dealt with after Iraq war. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said in meetings with Israeli officials on Monday that he has no doubt America will attack Iraq, and that it will be necessary to deal with threats from Syria, Iran and North Korea afterwards."
Soooo, we'll add them to the Columbia and Phillipines.
Another US career diplomat, a person of conscience like John Brady Kiesling has resigned, John H. Brown. Here is a quick quotation:
Throughout the globe the United States is becoming associated with the unjustified use of force. The president's disregard for views in other nations, borne out by his neglect of public diplomacy, is giving birth to an anti-American century," the diplomat added.
Is this how you envision America, "land of the free"?
3/11/2003
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3.10.2003
Here are the Win Without War TV spots...
3/10/2003
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The reality of 5 million people being bombed for 48 hours with 3000 US Cruise missiles is never mentioned on the mainstream corporate news I'm exposed to. Our mental environment is shaped not to deduce the murderous reality of attacking Iraq. Ben Cohen writes that he cannot get an advertisement aired that links war and death, even though the ad is less graphic than standard tv fare. The article is entitled "Wake America from its Bloodless Trance" and includes a link so you can see the advertisement mainstream media is trying to ignore.
In the Terry Allen article linked here you will see that people are people; as well as be reminded that Depleted Uranium continues to wreak death and deformation on the Iraqi populace.
3/10/2003
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I'm really happy to have come across an article in the Washington Post about Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, a hero of mine. I have listened to her efforts for years. Go to the Democracy Now! archives and search out the election day 2000 show that had Bill Clinton call in to get the vote out for Al Gore. You hear Amy asking real questions, with the authority of a person who is grounded in our American political reality. You hear disembling and then just plain anger from the interviewee. The Democracy Now! server seems to be down; if I could I would post a link... (Here is the Clinton Interview link. Democracy in action with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! {added 3.13.03})
So what is the benchmark? Something I don't hear spoken about is just when will Iraq have met the Bush regimes standards of 'disarming'. What exactly does the word entail when being used in relation to Iraq? My reading has shown nothing fast and true, no positive indicator. If you know of anything concrete having been spoken of, e-mail me your link info. The Chilean envoy Gabriel Valdes had this to say:
" At a closed session of the Security Council on Friday afternoon, the Chilean envoy, Gabriel Valdes, pushed for adding some benchmarks to the resolution to measure Iraqi compliance, according to two people present.
Without them, he asked in frustration, how could anyone know if Iraq had complied, the two observers said. They said Mr. Valdes had questioned how anyone could recognize a change of heart by Mr. Hussein. "Is it like a religious conversion?" he asked."
Above quotation taken from the Times article "Urgent Diplomacy Fails to Gain U.S. 9 Votes in the U.N."
3/10/2003
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3.09.2003
I'm proud of the Pope. Politics has not silenced him:
"Pope John Paul II has described the current debate about war and peace as a choice between good and evil and called on believers to personally reject evil during what Christians observe as the penitential season of Lent."
"The Pope has maintained that there is no moral or legal justification for war and has urged continuation of efforts pressing Iraq to get rid of its weapons of mass destruction without the use of military force."
By now you know I have no room for hate spewers and bigots in my mental environment. Read this report from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting about MSNBC and their hiring of hate spewer Mike (Weiner) Savage "a legitimate attempt to expand the marketplace of ideas" . You'll find MSNBC exec contact info in this article too. I documented some of this sad human's utterences in this earlier post.
History shows us that acceptance of narrow minded, bigoted, hate speech in concert with thoughtless nationalism and a religiousity that denies the reality and very goodness of 'the enemy' in public discourse is a sign of a society's turning to Fascism. Look to the historical examples of the model of governance employed in Hitlers Nazi Germany, or Mussollini's Fascist Italy. The latest example of this hate and fear driven form of leadership was that of Slobodan Milosevic...
3/09/2003
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