civil disobedience arrests in los angeles:
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by symbolman

a (dilated) eyewitness account - skippy the bush kangaroo

skippy was driving home after a visit to the eye doctor this afternoon, and he noticed that there was more traffic than usual backed up on the 405 freeway. (it's rather difficult driving with dialated eyes, but don't worry; to be truthful, skippy, in his youth, has driven under the influence of much stronger agents).

it turned out that the freeway exits to wilshire blvds were closed in both north and south directions. after getting off the freeway at the next exit, and driving to the skippy worldwide headquarters office complex through even more backed up traffic (plus noticing several helicopters hovering in the sky over his neighborhood), skippy assumed there was some kind of action at the federal building on veterans blvd, traditional site for protests.

"oh that's right! today's the deadline for awol to play gary cooper!" skippy thought, and once parked, he, along with several of his interns, marched up to the west los angeles federal building to see what was going on.

[snip]

one officer made an announcement on a bullhorn: sitting in the street was an unlawful assembly, the protestors had had their demonstration, now, please, get out of the street, otherwise, there would be arrests. the officer stressed that the police did not want to arrest anyone, but would be forced to if people did not comply.

well, people did not comply.>> More

[Wonderful, witty writing by skippy the bush kangaroo (great blog!) who attended and writes firsthand about it. Way to go People! Wish I'd gone now.]

An Open Letter to Bill O'Reilly: "No Spin" or "No Integrity"? - You Decide
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by symbolman

Bill Hartung - World Policy Institute - Arms Trade Resource Center

I'm not writing to gloat, but I am writing to say that if you EVER pull the kind of sleazy stunt you pulled on me last Friday again, I will make it my business to make sure you pay for it, big time - not through lawsuits or boycotts, but in the court of last resort - the court of public opinion.

Your claim to fame is that you're supposed to be a straight shooter. Your program is a self-proclaimed "no-spin zone." How does that square with what you did to me last Friday? After five or ten minutes of heated debate, during which I gave as good as I got - and then some -- you cut off my microphone and proceeded to spend the next five minutes attacking me, attacking my family, and engaging in the kind of slanderous back-biting that frankly I thought was a thing of the past in America.

Don't get me wrong. I expected to get cut off once I started winning the debate. It's your show, and if you want to cut off the microphone, so be it. But what I was AMAZED to learn was that you cut off my microphone without informing me OR YOUR LISTENING AUDIENCE that you had done so. The only reason I was able to figure this out was that one of your listeners sent me an e-mail congratulating me on "opening up a big can of whupass on Bill O'Reilly" (this is a technical debating term which you may or may not be familiar with). The e-mailer mentioned in passing how sleazy it was that you had cut off my microphone while giving the audience the impression that I was still on the line.>> More

[MUST READ Letter by Bill Hartung to O'Reilly - the "No Spin" guy, who likes to cut off the mike, then rant like he's a real big man - a trick he learned from Limbaugh no doubt. We have an interactive Limbaugh animation in our Flash Media section where you can control the flow of the caller - who tears Limbaugh a new one. Go thank the right Bill now.]

Stop the War on Iraq: The Uniting for Peace Resolution
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by vgdesign

Urgent Action

The Center for Constitutional Rights is asking for your help in a very important action. We hope to create a movement in support of the adoption of a Uniting for Peace Resolution by the United Nations General Assembly to prevent an attack on Iraq by the United States, the United Kingdom and other nations.

If even one country requests such a meeting, that alone can trigger this procedure.

While in the U.N. system the Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security throughout the world, another procedure exists to ensure peace when the Council fails to do so. That procedure, the Uniting for Peace resolution, allows the General Assembly to meet to consider the threat to international peace and it can then recommend collective measures to U.N. Members to maintain or restore peace.

If one U.N. Member State requests that a meeting be convened to consider adoption of such a resolution and either seven Members of the Security Council or a majority of the Members of the General Assembly agree, an emergency special session will be called and the General Assembly will come together to discuss the threat to international peace.

We are hoping to find the requisite support for the convening of such a session. >>More

BBC: 15 Coalition Members are ANONYMOUS
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by symbolman

The US has named 30 countries which are prepared to be publicly associated with the US action against Iraq.

And it says that there are an additional 15 countries which are providing assistance, such as over-flight rights, but which do not want to declare support.

Arab absence

And the list is most extraordinary for the countries that are left off - which include all of the Arab states, including those countries where US troops are massing for an invasion, like Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

With feelings running high in the Arab world against the possible invasion, presumably these countries felt it wise not to be publicly identified with the US action.

Nor is the main US ally in the Middle East, Israel, mentioned, although it is expected to provide at least air rights for US aircraft to strike Iraq.

And traditional US Arab allies, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, clearly did not want to associate themselves with military action against Saddam Hussein.

Range of support

State department spokesman Richard Boucher explained that the list included some countries, like Japan, which are only prepared to provide post-conflict financial support for the reconstruction of Iraq.

US image plummets

Meanwhile, a new poll by the Washington-based Pew Research Center indicates that the number of Europeans with a favourable image of the US has plummeted, even among the coalition of the willing.

No-show neighbours

Notable for their absence from the state department list were a number of members of the Nato alliance, including Canada, Belgium, and Norway, as well as France and Germany.

Full list of coalition countries:

Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.>> More

["Coalition of the Billing" and ANONYMOUS to boot. So the Naked Emperor Bush can't even BRIBE some of these countries for his BIG LIE WAR? Look at the Major Countries on the list - one of these countries offered a "Corvette" - yep, a CAR. They don't want to be associated with a War Criminal and Mass Murderer like BUSH and his cohorts. Understandable.]

Red alert? Stay home, await word (Police State)
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by symbolman

By TOM BALDWIN - Gannett State Bureau

If the nation escalates to "red alert," which is the highest in the color-coded readiness against terror, you will be assumed by authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home, the state's anti-terror czar says.

Caspersen, a former FBI agent, was briefing reporters, alongside Gov. James E. McGreevey, on Thursday, when for the first time he disclosed the realities of how a red alert would shut the state down.

A red alert would also tear away virtually all personal freedoms to move about and associate.

"Red means all noncritical functions cease,"Caspersen said. "Noncritical would be almost all businesses, except health-related."

"The state will restrict transportation and access to critical locations," says the state's new brochure on dealing with terrorism.>> More

[Considering that this criminal misadministration has admitted that they use Terror Alerts for Political gain it would seem that they are creating a Police State on demand, while offering no PROOF of Terrorism at the same time. Just like the lies and forgeries BUSH/POWELL/BLAIR used to get the 1441 Resolution for the "BIG LIE WAR".]

New Flash: 'This Is Not America'
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by stranger

As this country waits to become The Largest Aggressor Nation In History once the invasion of Iraq starts, we present 'This Is Not America.' It's a reminder of what we once were as a country, what we're about to become, and who is responsible.

View 'This Is Not America'

Crystal Channel Goes to War
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by mediababe

Marilyn Allen Frith, Democratic Underground

Satire - "I am a stringer for a large Eastern daily working on a story at a Midwestern radio station, getting a perspective on their view of the coming Iraqi War - which is on the horizon. Here is my story of two interviews with the "stars" of prime daytime talk: follow closely, through the looking glass - darkly.">>More

Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by symbolman

Bush is about to make Osama bin Laden's day
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by vgdesign

By PAUL WATSON, New Zealand Herald

Somewhere in the mountains bordering Afghanistan, in a deep cave, heated and illuminated by generators, comfortably furnished with carpets and a few luxury goods, there most likely sits a very happy man.

By now, word has reached him about President George W. Bush's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein.

The "Sheriff from Texas" has given the bully-boy dictator of Iraq 48 hours to get out of town – or else.

Finally, a year and a half after Osama bin Laden planted his horrific, fiery seeds in New York City, his plans are coming to fruition.

What he has so long wanted, planned for, worked towards, and dreamed of, is coming to pass.

The very idea of his enemy Bush striking down his enemy Hussein makes his day. >>More

CLEAR CHANNEL BANKROLLED PRO-WAR RALLIES!
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by stranger

By Tim Jones, Tribune national correspondent

Some of the biggest rallies this month have endorsed President Bush's strategy against Saddam Hussein, and the common thread linking most of them is Clear Channel Worldwide Inc., the nation's largest owner of radio stations.

In a move that has raised eyebrows in some legal and journalistic circles, Clear Channel radio stations in Atlanta, Cleveland, San Antonio, Cincinnati and other cities have sponsored rallies attended by up to 20,000 people. The events have served as a loud rebuttal to the more numerous but generally smaller anti-war rallies.

The sponsorship of large rallies by Clear Channel stations is unique among major media companies, which have confined their activities in the war debate to reporting and occasionally commenting on the news. The San Antonio-based broadcaster owns more than 1,200 stations in 50 states and the District of Columbia. >> More

What is a media company - the biggest media company in radio - doing advancing the White House agenda?

A different view of Gulf conflict
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by vgdesign

By Mark Jurkowitz, Boston Globe Staff

The Free Speech TV satellite network has pre-empted its regular programming to focus on what a spokeswoman, Linda Mamoun, calls ''the crimes against humanity the United States will perpetuate, and the opposition to it.''

With the advent of war, WorldLink TV plans to expand its show ''Mosaic,'' which features broadcasts from 16 Middle East networks.

In response to President Bush's speech on Monday night, TomPaine.com, a website that calls itself ''a public interest journal,'' commissioned a scathing piece headlined ''Credibility Bomb.'' And the liberal media watchdog group FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) has just issued a report accusing the major networks of silencing voices of dissent.

While most Americans will follow news from Iraq through the lens of the mainstream news outlets, some alternative media organizations are gearing up to provide a very different view of the conflict. >>More

[Learn more about >>Free Speech TV ]

Whacking Iraq: Is it the Bush White House - or Tony Soprano's house?
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by vgdesign

By Knute Berger, Seattle Weekly

I’ve compared him to a suicide bomber and likened him to Middle Earth’s evil Lord Sauron. I’ve called for regime change and made the case for impeachment. I’ve nearly emptied the rhetorical cupboard at George W. Bush. What is left to say?

Perhaps, one happy day in future times, we can look forward to him sitting in the dock, on trial for treason, smirking like Hermann Goering at Nuremberg.

He would be called to account for stealing an election; he would be tried for war crimes; he would be judged for turning America into an international pariah; he would be sentenced for gutting the Constitution and lining the pockets of his friends; he would stand accused of selling the nation’s prosperity for the dream of empire.

He would be charged with betraying his oath in the name of fulfilling it: the man who destroyed his country in the name of saving it. >>More

[Cast your vote for IMPEACHMENT >>Here ]

Powell warns Belgium over rights law
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by vgdesign

BBC News

Families of those who died in the US attack on the Amiriyah air raid shelter in Baghdad, which took place in the 1991 Gulf War, are to file a case against the former president under a law enabling Belgian courts to hear human rights cases.

Belgium's "universal competence" legislation allows proceedings against people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, regardless of their nationality or location.

"We have cautioned our Belgian colleagues that they need to be very careful about this kind of effort, this kind of legislation, because it makes it hard for us to go places that put you at such easy risk," said US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"If you show up, next thing you know you're being... Who knows?" >>More

Republicans Seek To Slash VA Budget!
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by vgdesign

By Kate McLaughlin, Veterans Against The Iraq War

Today the House of Representatives will vote on a resolution that if passed will devastate the Veterans Administration's budget and severely reduce its medical, disability, and benefit programs.

On the verge of war in Iraq, the Republican Paty has placed in its cross-hairs American veterans from earlier wars.

The Republican majority of the House Budget Committee is reducing President Bush's proposed budget by about $844 million in health care and an additional $463 million in benefit programs including disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education survivor's benefits, and pension programs from next year's budget.

In addition to these cuts, the GOP is planning to cut $15 billion from the veteran programs over the next 10 years. The soldiers and sailors that are currently in harms way in the the Middle East, are about to have their future veterans' benefits and health care slashed. If, that is, the Republicans get their way. >>More

Let him without sin cast the first stone.
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by symbolman

NYPD on lookout for terrorist takeover of TV outlets
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by symbolman

By TOM HAYS - Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK -- The New York Police Department has stepped up security outside major television news outlets in Manhattan to prevent possible takeovers by terrorists who may want to broadcast anti-American messages.

"It's a concern, especially with international television companies," police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday at a news conference announcing wartime security measures for the city.

Under a sweeping plan called Operation Atlas, police officials will deploy special patrols to guard television stations clustered in midtown Manhattan and elsewhere.

The step was not prompted by a specific threat or intelligence, police said. But counterterrorism experts and broadcast executives have viewed television news studios as potential targets since the Sept. 11 attack.>> More

[We thought the TRUTH didn't require ARMED GUARDS. What kind of bizarro world has BUSH plunged us into? There's only one Answer: IMPEACHMENT.]

Lies, Damned Lies, and Ultimatums
Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2003 by symbolman

I’ve decided to go through Bush’s Monday address and count all the lies in it. I lost count, you see, during the broadcast. This is from the text the White House put out.

It is said that the best lies are mostly truth, so I’m just going to go through every paragraph and say true or false. If false, I’ll explain.

[snip]

The Iraqi regime has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage. It has uniformly defied Security Council resolutions demanding full disarmament. Over the years, U.N. weapon inspectors have been threatened by Iraqi officials, electronically bugged, and systematically deceived. Peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime have failed again and again -- because we are not dealing with peaceful men.

True.

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised. This regime has already used weapons of mass destruction against Iraq's neighbors and against Iraq's people.

False. The most lethal weapons ever devised are hydrogen bombs, which we possess, not Iraq. As America and the U.N. has failed to locate a single WMD in Iraq, ‘no doubt’ is a lie.

The regime has a history of reckless aggression in the Middle East. It has a deep hatred of America and our friends. And it has aided, trained and harbored terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda.

False. There is no evidence of an al-Qaida alliance with Saddam.

The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country, or any other.

False. This builds on the last lie. As Al-Qaida is not allied with Saddam in any way, I can hardly see Saddam handing them a nuke. Especially since he doesn’t have one.

The United States and other nations did nothing to deserve or invite this threat.

False. Bin Laden has been yelling for years that the U.S. has stationed troops in and meddled with the affairs of Arabic countries. So, yes, the threat is not deserved, but it was certainly invited.>> More

Cable talk television shuts out liberal voices
Posted Tuesday, March 18, 2003 by vgdesign

By Bruce Kluger, Baltimore Sun

Earlier this month, executives at the MSNBC cable news network canceled Phil Donahue's 6-month-old talk show, a level-headed panel program that the pacifist host had hoped would "break through the noisy drums of war on cable."

In its place, the network simply tacked an extra hour onto its popular Countdown: Iraq, a nightly report that breathlessly awaits the first Baghdad bombings.

Once again, the lucrative business of war trumped the boring business of peace.

MSNBC's cancellation of Mr. Donahue - and the simultaneous ascendancy of the man he was hired to beat, Fox News Channel's dyspeptic, conservative talk show host Bill O'Reilly - points to a fever that has finally spiked on the cable news dial.

Hard facts and incisive commentary have ceded ground to partisan punditry and rancorous roundtables, and suddenly the once-sacred institution of broadcast news is looking like an episode of Survivor. A bad one. >>More

Endgame - A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL
Posted Tuesday, March 18, 2003 by symbolman

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

In the end, Bush is going to war for two reasons. First of all, the Iraq war offers him and his Vietnam service evading administration many political positives from their perspective, including (but not limited to):

1. The permanent war public relations strategy is, in large part, aimed at keeping any of the numerous Bush domestic disasters off of the political table. War supersedes even an economy down the tubes.

2. Keeping the threat of terror simmering on the burner through ginned up and meaningless terror alerts scares Americans into supporting Bush, because they seemingly have no option, since they believe they are under a constant terrorist threat. This leads to a sort of "Stockholm Syndrome" for the nation as a whole. Most Americans look to their psychological tormentor for protection from an outside threat perceived as the more serious of two evils.

3. A war in Iraq offers almost bottomless billion-dollar profiteering opportunities for Bush Cartel campaign contributors and Bush administration officials. Halliburton, the Carlyle Group, etc. are all set to reap big financial benefits from the destruction of the Iraq infrastructure. Blow the country up with bombs paid for by taxpayers -- and then use taxpayer dollars to pay campaign contributors and companies with connections to administration officials to rebuild it. A nice scam if you got a railroad car on the gravy train.>> More

[Buzzflash Rules. They are pointing out the biggest scam ever foisted on the American Public in the History of the Country. A Must Read!]