...................................................

http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.diplomacy04mar04,0,7132889.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

President Bush explicitly raised yesterday for the first time the possibility of using military force against North Korea, calling it "our last choice" if diplomatic moves fail to halt Pyongyang's nuclear-weapons program. Speaking of efforts to prevent North Korea from building a nuclear arsenal, Bush said, "If they don't work diplomatically, they'll have to work militarily."

..........................................................

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/05/1046826442271.html

United States long-range bombers will arrive in the Pacific soon to deter North Korean aggression as President George Bush warns of a military strike if diplomacy fails over Pyongyang's nuclear arms program... The immediate focus remained on the dispatch of 24 B-52 and B-1 bombers to the US Pacific base on Guam, designed to prevent aggression by North Korea while the US is preoccupied with Iraq.

"These movements are not aggressive in nature," said a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis. The deployment follows last Sunday's interception by four North Korean jet fighters of a US spy plane in international airspace over the Sea of Japan - an act described by the White House yesterday as "reckless".

...................................................

http://www.satiresearch.com/go.asp?sid=13605

In its latest attempt to line up enough United Nations Security Council votes for a new tough resolution on Iraq, the United States has offered the Republic of Cameroon a cherry-red 2003 Mazda Miata, sources close to the negotiations revealed today.

With several nations on the Security Council continuing to voice opposition to a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, tiny Cameroon’s vote has grown increasingly important in recent days, justifying the U.S.’s concerted effort to buy it.

But the United States may have made a strategic misstep early in the negotiations when it offered Cameroon a Bose Wave Radio in exchange for its “yes” vote. “Cameroon cannot and will not be bought off with a little radio,” President Paul Biya told his nation late Thursday in a nationally televised address. “We demand a Miata.”

A State Department source familiar with the Bose Wave Radio offer expressed chagrin that it had been so dismissively rebuffed. “Cameroon didn’t even try the radio out," the source said. "It may look small, but it really fills the room with glorious sound.”

The source acknowledged that the U.S., having spent $30 billion to secure Turkey’s cooperation in an Iraqi campaign, had only enough left in its budget to offer Cameroon a radio, and that the latest offer of a Miata would throw its balance sheet “way out of whack.” “At the end of the day, it may be cheaper just to attack Cameroon after we’re through with Iraq,” the source said.

..............................................

http://www.timesreporter.com/left.php?ID=17179

In an interview in the White House with Copley News Service and several other news organizations, the president [of the US]... sent an unmistakable signal to the Mexican government that he expects them to support the U.S. position on Iraq in an upcoming key vote in the United Nations, speaking of possible “discipline” if they don’t... If Mexico – or other countries – oppose the United States, he said that “there will be a certain sense of discipline.” But he quickly added, “I expect Mexico to be with us.”

.....................................

http://www.satiresearch.com/go.asp?sid=13722

U.S. President George W. Bush stunned the world today when he described the United Nations as "gay". The impromptu address, at an army training camp in California, began when Bush remarked "United Nations? More like Gay Nations if you ask me." ...He concluded his controversial speech by saying: "The free nations of this world must defy the gay nations, and bomb the rogue nations!"

...European reaction to the President's speech was largely unsympathetic. French President Jacques Chirac said that he had "no response" to allegations about his country's sexuality, while German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder went further, calling Bush "a turd".

...White House spokesman Ari Fleischer read a prepared statement. "I can confirm that the President is quite probably a lunatic," said Fleisher. "However, I am confident that his condition does not affect his judgement. Scientific evidence shows that lunatics actually have a keener appreciation of the dangers of terrorism than ordinary people, and as such should be encouraged to start wars. The Administration's decision to go to war without the support of the Gay Nations is entirely logistical, and not an attempt to damage international relations."

............................................................

http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/69950.htm

A CIA team will use "all appropriate measures" to convince the just-captured mastermind of the 9/11 attacks to talk - including dangling freedom for his two young sons, who are in U.S. custody. Law-enforcement sources told The Post that the CIA has had the 7- and 9-year- old sons of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in custody since September, and plans to use them as leverage to get the No. 3 man in al Qaeda to disclose Osama bin Laden's whereabouts and details of future terror operations.

...Sources said the English-speaking Mohammed has refused to cooperate with interrogators - and instead has spent hours in a trance-like state, chanting passages from the Koran. Authorities also fear Mohammed will try to kill himself, and have put him on a 24-hour suicide watch... But law-enforcement officials are convinced that he will eventually talk - just as diehard al Qaeda kingpins Abu Zubaydah and Ramzi Binalshibh did under interrogation. The United States has made it a practice to take some high-profile terror detainees from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Arab countries like Jordan, Egypt and Morocco for interrogation.

...........................................................

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/03/05/wirq305.xml/

America has ordered an additional 60,000 troops to the Gulf, including all 17,000 soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division, officials announced yesterday. The deployments bring the total number of allied forces either in or heading towards the region to more than 275,000. The "magic number" of a quarter of a million troops is often cited by officials as their target for an invasion force... Defence officials called the latest deployment a first wave of "follow-on forces".

...America has quietly set up a joint command centre attached to the US embassy in Tel Aviv, at which Israeli officials will be able to see the same electronic overview of the skies over Iraq as US commanders, officials said.

...........................................

http://www.satiresearch.com/go.asp?sid=13796

In a stunning development, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein today offered to attack himself in exchange for $30 billion from the U.S. government.

The surprising offer came in a day when President George W. Bush exhorted America’s allies to join what he called “a coalition of the willing to be bought.” Speaking to a group called the Veterans of Foreign Investments, the President said, “It is time for each of our allies to look deep within and ask this question: Who wants to be a billionaire?”

Moments after the President’s speech, French President Jacques Chirac made a surprise announcement of his own, saying that France would be willing to attack Turkey for $30 billion. “France has no argument with the people of Turkey,” Mr. Chirac said. “But $30 billion is a lot of cake.” But Mr. Chirac was soon upstaged by Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, appearing on Iraqi national television to say, “For $30 billion, I will attack myself, and I will prevail.”

While some in NATO expressed optimism that Saddam’s proposal could avert a war with Iraq, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer was openly dismissive of Saddam’s offer to attack himself, calling it “a charade.” “He’s telling the world that he’ll attack himself and he’ll prevail, but once he gets our money, he’ll attack himself and lose,” Mr. Fleischer said. “It’s just more of his double-talk.”

.........................................................................

not a satire.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&ncid=757&e=2&u=/nm/20030305/od_nm/odd_newzealand_crucifixion_dc

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand woman said on Wednesday she was willing to be crucified by President Bush if he pledges not to attack Iraq. Mary Grierson said she had emailed the challenge to the White House and as an open letter to leading U.S. newspapers. "Send your troops home and take me instead, on behalf of everyone in the world who does not want war and oppression," she wrote.

But the deal has a catch -- Bush would have to personally hammer in the nails. "I don't think he would have the courage to do it quite frankly, but that is the measure of a man," she told Radio New Zealand. "Can he follow through with this aim of creating more chaos in the world if he had to do it just to one person himself?"

...............................................................

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=519&ncid=716&e=9&u=/ap/20030305/ap_on_re_us/mall_activists

About 100 anti-war demonstrators marched through a mall Wednesday to protest the arrest of a shopper who wore a T-shirt that read "Peace on Earth" and "Give Peace a Chance." "We just want to know what the policy is and why it's being randomly enforced," said Erin O'Brien, an organizer of the noontime rally at the Crossgates Mall.

...On Monday, Stephen Downs, 61, and his son were asked by mall security guards to remove their peace-slogan shirts or leave. Downs' 31-year-old son, Roger, took off his shirt. But Downs refused. The guards called police, and he was charged with trespassing and pleaded innocent.

.................................................... http://www.albany.edu/~mg2300/doc/news/Crossgates_Protest.html

Wednesday January 1, 2003

A group of people who walked around Crossgates Mall at the height of the Christmas season with antiwar statements displayed on their shirts said they want to know why mall security forced them to leave the premises... They were not creating a disturbance or demonstrating, but simply wearing shirts that expressed messages of peace, such as "Don't invade Iraq" and "Peace on Earth." ...Security escorted them out of the mall, and drove them to their cars in security vehicles, said Pat Beetle, a coordinator for the group.

...The letter written by Upper Hudson Peace Action asks Crossgates manager Mark Wagner for a response to several questions. Members want more information about the mall's criteria for acceptable and unacceptable messages that appear on clothing worn at the mall, whether other shoppers have been asked to leave because of messages on their clothing, and the mall's policy regarding political protest.

...............................................................

http://www.theschmews.com/article.asp?id=784&type=2

President Bush today passed an emergency decree to force Americans opposed to the impending war with Iraq to wear yellow stars. The new law [was] passed in response to the arrests of Roger and Stephen Downs.

"The President has been considering a move to highlight those citizens with anti-patriotic views for some time." Spokesman Ari Fleischer told us. "You see these yellow-backs going to work every day. They are construction workers, teachers, managers, they could be anybody and yet they harbour dangerous anti-American views. It is time we showed them for who they really are. There is no hiding place for this scum now. Who do these men think they are strolling through a shopping mall with offensive statements on their t-shirts?"

The new law, effective from tomorrow in parallel with a similar move in the UK will be implemented following a simple door-to-door question poll. Each American will be asked to respond with a "Yes" or "No" to one simple, balanced question... Although refusing to confirm or deny the contents of the question, the President reiterated the importance of all Americans adopting a common stance. "We need to find those who are abusing our freedom of speech laws to further their own agenda... Now we will all now where they stand," the President said, spitting on the ground. “...Freedom of speech was never intended to become a tool to undermine the government."

Civil Liberties groups refused to comment on the new law but promised to share their full anger once they had finished dealing with the arson attacks on their offices across the U.S.

.................................................

not a satire.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2821455.stm

A website designed to give a voice to poets who favour a war with Iraq has been set up in the US. Poets for the War has been launched by a Michigan businessman in direct opposition to the Poets Against the War organisation. Poets for the War founder Charles Weatherford said its aim was to support President Bush and Mr Blair in their stance against Saddam Hussein. The site was also designed to show backing for the troops who would have to fight any war, and to "oppose dictators and terrorism". Nearly all of the listed poems - which totalled 69 on Wednesday morning - were contributed by US citizens.

Published verse includes this contribution from Emily Zola entitled Support our Troops, Not Hollywood: "As men march off to war/so bravely for our freedom/the students smoke their dope/and liberals whine like women." Ms Zola added: "Whine all you want, you liberal/you can't drive without oil."

One of many poems attacking the French Government's opposition to war in Iraq at this stage of the crisis states: "There is a place called France/where the men wear no pants."

.............................................................

http://www.sag.org/pr/pressreleases/pr-la030303.html

Los Angeles–Screen Actors Guild released the following statement today:

As our country again considers the possibility of war, it is the fundamental right of citizens to express their support or their fears and concerns. While passionate disagreement is to be expected in such a debate, a disturbing trend has arisen in the dialogue. Some have recently suggested that well-known individuals who express 'unacceptable' views should be punished by losing their right to work. This shocking development suggests that the lessons of history have, for some, fallen on deaf ears.

Over 50 years ago, this nation was faced with a monumental challenge: whether the world's greatest democracy was strong enough to truly allow its citizens the exercise of their rights of free speech and assembly during a time of international tension known as the "Cold War." Most of America failed that test, averting its eyes as the House Committee on Un-American Activities persecuted citizens, destroyed careers, ruined lives and gave rise to the notorious "blacklist". During this shameful period, our own industry prostrated itself before smear campaigns and witch hunters rather than standing on the principles articulated in the nation's fundamental documents.

Today, having come to grips with its past, having repudiated the insult of loyalty oaths and examined its own failings, our industry, perhaps more than any other, understands the necessity of guarding and cherishing those rights for which Americans have fought and died. In that spirit, the Screen Actors Guild Board of Directors, appreciating the value of full and open debate... deplore the idea that those in the public eye should suffer professionally for having the courage to give voice to their views. Even a hint of the blacklist must never again be tolerated in this nation.

..........................................................................

not a satire.

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0310/baard2.php

While Pentagon war planners may be gunning for an attack on Iraq by mid March, heavily armed soldiers have already quietly seized a strategic position: your Easter basket. National retailers like Kmart and Walgreens have stocked their shelves with baskets in which the traditional chocolate rabbit centerpiece has been displaced by plastic military action figures and their make-believe lethal paraphernalia. Tri-state Rite Aid, Genovese, and Wal-Mart stores promise their martial Easter baskets will arrive soon.

At the Astor Place Kmart, the encampment is on display just inside the main entrance. A camouflaged sandy-haired soldier with an American-flag arm patch stands alert in a teal, pink, and yellow basket beneath a pretty green-and-purple bow. Within a doll-arm's reach are a machine gun, rifle, hand grenade, large knife, pistol, and round of ammunition. In the next basket a buzz-cut blond with a snazzy dress uniform hawks over homeland security, an American eagle shield on his arm, and a machine gun, pistol, Bowie knife, two grenades, truncheon, and handcuffs at the ready.

One must hunt a little harder to find the Easter sniper at Walgreens, but what lies in wait among the bunnies and chicks there is perhaps even more surreal. The Super Wrriors (sic) Battle Set and Placekeepers (sic) Military Men Play Set bristle with toy assault rifles and machine guns, tanks, troop transports, bomber planes, commanded by armored men with shaved heads and sunglasses. The assortment also includes a space-age ray gun and other imaginary hardware for orbital combat. Packets of jellybeans are tossed in as if an afterthought, nestled in the cellophane underbrush like anti-personnel mines.

...Retailers went on the defensive. "There was no intention on our part to offer up a violent Easter basket. We're very conscious of what will and what will not offend our customers. It was meant to be a lighthearted and fun gift," says Kmart spokesperson Abigail Jacobs. "It's in my opinion a harmless toy included in an Easter basket." ...”The thinking on these Easter baskets was more toy-related and we didn't really think about it otherwise," says Walgreens spokesperson Carol Hively. "We apologize to anybody who is offended or felt that this was inappropriate."

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http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1045511331140&p=1012571727166

Russia yesterday warned the US and UK against planning regime change in Iraq and repeating the bitter experiences of the former Soviet Union in trying to force a new political order on the world. "We are concerned about plans to impose democratic values upon entire peoples by force. The Soviet Union had its own deplorable record of imposing regimes of its liking and we all know the results," said Igor Ivanov, the Russian foreign minister, in exclusive comments to the Financial Times. "The forced 'export of democracy' is likely to meet the same fate as the 'export of revolution'," he said. "Unfortunately, experiments of this kind bear very high costs, especially for those peoples on which they are conducted."

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http://www.satiresearch.com/go.asp?sid=13627

UN weapon inspectors are able to “bounce their way out of the path of bombs” using “highly elaborate Lara Croft type moves” - this according to a military source we met down the pub last night.

A leftie-liberal movie star disagreed: “Weapons inspectors will be dangerously exposed in the event of war and they should be allowed to get out of Iraq before conflict begins. They are only human, and do not exhibit any cartoon-like characteristics whatsoever.”

But senior war cabinet sources couldn't disagree more back again, suggesting that weapons inspectors had been “hired [in the first place] for their superhuman characteristics” and “could easily dodge bullets, back-flip out the way of kidnapping attempts, and strangle evil axis members with their own legs,” “just like in the cartoons.”

..............................................................

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C80205%2C00.html

Sen. Lindsey Graham asked Attorney General John Ashcroft Monday to provide him with a legal assessment of those Americans headed to or already in Iraq to offer themselves as "human shields." Graham... said he believes the "full force of the law should be applied to those American citizens who give aid or comfort to our enemies."

"...Any American who voluntarily engages in conduct to impede a potential American military operation, and who thereby endangers the lives of our nation's men and women in uniform, is participating in a program designed to weaken the power of the United States to wage war successfully... I am seeking your assistance in this matter," Graham, R-S.C., wrote in a letter to Ashcroft on Monday. "Our constitution and federal legal structure do not allow Americans to actively aid nations or groups engaged in hostilities with the United States."

.....................................................

http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/030304teachers.shtml

A few days after a flap over some educators in Maine schools allegedly making inappropriate, negative comments to members of military families, the head of the Maine Army National Guard says it has been blown out of proportion... National Guard Maj. Gen. Joseph Tinkham is saying that national media figures, including conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and television commentator Bill O'Reilly, exaggerated the extent and nature of the problem.

National Guard spokesman Maj. Peter Rogers said Monday that one Washington paper reported that teachers were taunting and harassing kids. "We never said that," Rogers said... At the same time, some educators are concerned that the National Guard is releasing very little information about the complaints. Rob Walker, president of the Maine Education Association, whose 25,000 members include teachers and other school staff, said that "at this point, there are accusations out there and there is nothing specific." Walker said the complaints could be handled as private personnel matters at the local level. "How do you solve the problem unless you can get at the whole truth?" he asked.

But Rogers said Monday that the Guard doesn't want to reopen the issue. He said there have been no more complaints since Education Commissioner J. Duke Albanese - after being informed about the National Guard's concerns - issued a memo last week to schools around the state reminding educators to use a balanced teaching approach and to be sensitive to all students.

"In our eyes the problem is solved," Rogers said... Rogers said the complaints were gathered by Maj. Andrew Gibson, a Guard chaplain, at meetings where relatives of deployed soldiers get information and support. Rogers said Gibson did not investigate the complaints but "feels very strongly that they are correct."

..................................................................

and now a few words from rush Limbaugh:

http://rushtranscript.blogspot.com/2003_03_02_rushtranscript_archive.html#90062125

Thursday, February 27, 2003. 01:05:00

I hear details on this story out of Maine. Members of the Maine National Guard, called up to prepare for an attack on Iraq, are asserting that their children, are being harassed, at school, by teachers, who oppose the war. Guard members say their children, are coming home upset, depressed and crying, said Major Pete Rogers, a spokesman for the Maine National Guard... National Guard officials said they had over 30 complaints, that named schools, and individual principals, teachers and guidance counselors... Anyway, um, the state commissioner of education has urged school officials to be more sensitive to military children... What is this psychobabble?... These are seven year old kids, for crying out loud, who are, no doubt, proud of their parents, and love them very much, and here you have a bunch of whacked out, no doubt, left wing teachers and principles telling them their parents are immoral or unethical for their obeying orders. "Your daddy is a warmonger, your mommy's a baby killer. Get out of my classroom." Man, I don't know what they are saying, but you can imagine how these little kids are going to interpret this.

... To the phones we go, Steve in St. Louis. Hi, welcome to the program, nice to have you with us.

Steve: How you doing Rush?

Rush: Just fine.

Steve: Um, I'm really infuriated by it. That the teachers up there, Maine harassing children. The state police of Maine should go in there and start putting them in cuffs, right in front of the children, so that the children who are probably on the side of the teachers that are also harassing children will realize this is a problem.

Rush: Did you say, did you say put them in handcuffs out there?

Steve: Yeah, right there in front of the children. Let them know what wrong has been done. I mean, how dare these teachers harass children. This is mental abuse. And not only that, its causing other children to pick on them too. And how dare these teachers think they have a right to do this. Once they --

Rush: No, no, no... Lookit, why would the teachers do this? What would make them do it? There's one answer, to me anyway, I mean you may have your own. To me it's utter arrogance...These teachers think, these liberals think they've got all the answers... These are the people who do every freaking thing they do, for the children. But look at what happens when you cross 'em. If you say something they don't like, well here comes political correctness, here comes censorship.

If these kid's parents and the National Guard, for cryin' out loud, if the Reserves get sent over to Iraq, why these arrogant little snob elites think it's perfectly all right to deride these kids and their parents, in front of everybody else... They are intolerant brutes and it, obviously threatened by the presence of seven year old kids and members of the military.

It is outrageous. I don't know whether you arrest them and handcuff them and take them out of the school in the process, but you clearly do more than sending them a note demanding they be a little more ...

[and so on.]

......................................................

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0310/smith.php

Littering southern Iraq with hundreds of thousands—even millions—of postcards and missives, the American military machine is warning everyone in the region that the air force is going to blow their heads clean off. [see them at http://www.centcom.mil/galleries/leaflets/showleaflets.asp --mrs.h]

...In a gripping action series, a young soldier is first shown standing sternly by a cannon going into action against U.S. forces. In the next photo-realistic frame, his head is seen flying through a fireball and debris cloud. "Think about your family. Do what you must to survive," it warns... The postcards' obvious intent is to scare people into surrender, but they may also create the impression that Iraqis are about to be hit by an implacable force that will kill them no matter what.

If similar articles were dropped over the American heartland, it would be viewed as an act of war.

....................................................................

http://www.satiresearch.com/go.asp?sid=13862

The Bush administration stepped up its pressure on Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein today with plans to send an extra 120 million Americans to the Persian Gulf by July... “We will literally have him surrounded,” said a determined President Bush. “He will have no way out.”

The announcement came as a surprise to Tom and Mary Barnes, of Topeka, Kansas, who had arranged to visit their grandchildren in Portland, Oregon over the summer. “We were hoping to drive out and maybe see the Grand Canyon along the way when got our call-up from the Army yesterday afternoon,” recalls Tom.

The deployment will be the largest ever of its kind and will be made up of all segments of the population: from stockbrokers to elementary school teachers, retirees to recent college graduates. The president hopes to shift several key aspects of American life to the region as well. For example, 7,000 Krispy Kreme outlets are in the process of being built throughout the area. In addition, according to the White House, the New York Stock Exchange will be repositioned to Riyadh, a Disneyland will be constructed in Ankara, Turkey and the Cleveland Indians will now play their home games in Amman, Jordan.

.................................................

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2820933.stm

Israeli-imposed closures in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are continuing to cause severe economic problems for Palestinians, according to a new report from the World Bank. It says more than half the Palestinian population is now living on less than two dollars a day and that only massive foreign aid is preventing full economic collapse... The report indicates that the main cause has been Israel's closure of routes from Palestinian areas into Israel and the imposition of curfews and closures in Palestinian towns and villages.

..."They are missing the mark," Danny Seaman, a government spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, told BBC News Online. "Closure is not the problem, it is the result of the problem," he added.

.......................................................

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6083806%255E401,00.html

THE Palestinian Authority has condemned a suicide bombing that killed at least 15 people in the Israeli town of Haifa, saying Israel's army would exploit the attack to carry out new deadly raids. A statement carried by the official news agency WAFA said the Palestinian leadership "strongly condemns the attack which killed Israeli and Palestinian civilians". The Authority rejected "the logic of vengeance against civilians ... which sullies the reputation of our people with the accusation of terrorism".

...The Palestinian Authority called on the UN Security Council and international community to "intervene immediately to guarantee peace and the security of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples". It also pledged "to exert every effort to enforce the necessary security arrangements" to prevent such anti-Israeli attacks.

...A legal advisor for Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), meanwhile, drew a distinction between Israeli and Palestinian attacks. "Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians are carried out by Palestinian opposition groups whereas Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians are carried out by the Israeli government as a matter of state policy," said Diana Buttu, in the same statement. The statement noted that while the Palestinian leadership routinely condemned attacks by Palestinian hardline factions, "Israel has never condemned Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians".

............................................

http://www.satiresearch.com/go.asp?sid=13876

President Bush dramatically escaped with minor injuries to his hand today as at least 10 White House staff were killed and about 50 injured following a suicide bombing attack in the Oval Office. The bomb exploded as the President entered the Oval Office to meet Cardinal Pio Laghi, a nuncio from the Pope, John Paul II.

"It was carnage in there." One White House survivor told us. "Just as the President entered the room, this Cardinal just raised his gown to reveal that he was packing a whole load of explosive. Then there was just a lightening flash. I don't remember any more."

...An official Vatican spokesman denied the Cardinal was strapped with explosive on the direct orders of the Pope and speculated that the Cardinal was working alone. "This was a desperate man." The Vatican spokesman told us. "He had tried reason, he had tried international law and he had even tried to use the word of God. It seems in the end he thought the only way he would be heard was to speak the same language as President Bush."

Vice-President Cheney who was away from the Oval Office at the time, instantly redirected the B1 bombers heading for Guam to turn and aim for the Vatican.

....................................................

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/march0301.html#030303123am

This story is getting a lot of attention, as well it should. The recently-installed senior director for Near East and North African affairs on the National Security Council, Elliott Abrams, has just canned three government Middle East experts who staffed that desk at the NSC... The same thing has been happening throughout the national security bureaucracy for two years, particularly at the Pentagon. It's not a secret. Any other reporter who covers foreign or military affairs knows this.

There's a dynamic -- and hopefully fruitful -- tension which exists between political appointees and civil servants in these cases. The civil servants have to execute the policy decisions of their appointive superiors... [and] are also supposed to give candid advice and raise the obvious questions... Getting that kind of feedback can be uncomfortable and troublesome. And there's always the temptation to shoot the messenger.

I've never discussed this in any of the articles I've written on national security or defense issues because in any given article discussing it can mean fingering people who are already trying to keep their heads down and avoid retribution. But on the key issues that matter to this administration, particularly the Middle East, there's been an exodus of government experts out of the executive branch into exile on the Hill, at National Defense University, and various other outta-the-way parts of the national security bureaucracy. A lot of these folks got canned... Others just got the message when they were instructed not to pen any reports or tender any advice which conflicted with the administration's favored policies.

....................................................

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20030225-083116-7747r.htm

A staff shake-up at the National Security Council is likely to mean the United States will take a harder pro-Israel stance in the Middle East, several serving and former intelligence officials tell United Press International.

...Ben Miller, who was on loan from the CIA and who had the Iraqi file at the NSC, was "abruptly let go," according to former long-time CIA Middle East analyst Judith Yaphe... Two other officials, Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann, have also been removed... Yaphe added, "The clean sweep would indicate Abrams is going to bring in his own people."

...In 1991, Abrams was indicted by the Iran-Contra special prosecutor for giving false testimony before Congress in 1987 about his role in illicitly raising money for the Nicaraguan Contras. He pleaded guilty to two lesser offenses of withholding information to Congress in order to avoid a trial and a possible jail term. He was pardoned by President George H. W. Bush... on Christmas night 1992.

...Tony Cordesman, Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was critical of the changes, saying that Miller, Mann and Leverett "were among the saner minds discussing the Arab-Israeli issue." Abrams, he said, "is remarkably unqualified for his job."

.....................................................

http://www.thefileroom.org/weblog/dannylog.cfm

The Media Guardian reports that: "Charlotte Beers, the former advertising high-flyer in charge of the US government's global campaign to improve the country's image in the Muslim world, has resigned. Secretary of state Colin Powell praised Ms Beers... adding that her goal of "reaching younger, broader and deeper audiences", particularly in the Muslim world, would continue." Beers cited poor health for stepping down.”

............................................................

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,907139,00.html

Aid charity Oxfam will refuse to accept government funds to finance its humanitarian work in Iraq if the UK goes to war. Oxfam says it wants to avoid being used as "an instrument of foreign policy" in the event of military action in Iraq, and has agreed an internal statement that commits it to preserving its impartiality... The director of Oxfam GB, Barbara Stocking, said: "We won't work directly under military control."

The charity is funding its own preparations in case of conflict, using £200,000 from reserves. Ms Stocking said she had no idea whether refusing government funding would punish Oxfam financially, or whether it would on the contrary encourage donations from those people opposed to war.

.....................................................

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-990728.html

The U.S. Justice Department is experimenting with an Internet crime-fighting technique that raises novel legal, technical and privacy concerns. The tactic: domain name forfeiture. In two separate cases last week, the Justice Department seized domains for Web sites that it claimed were engaging in illegal activity.

The first set of domains were allegedly used to sell drug paraphernalia such as bongs and marijuana cigarette holders. Now visitors to PipesForYou.com, 420now.com, OmniLounge.com and ColorChangingGlass.com are greeted by this hair-raising alert: "By application of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Web site you are attempting to visit has been restrained by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania."

The second case involved David Rocci's iSoNews.com, which he handed to the Feds as part of a plea bargain in which he admitted to selling illegal "mod" chips for Xbox and PlayStation game consoles... iSoNews.com now says: "The domain and Web site were surrendered to U.S. law enforcement pursuant to a federal prosecution and felony plea agreement for conspiracy to violate criminal copyright laws."

...We should think twice before applauding this trend in police power. One reason is that the Justice Department's privacy policy allows it to hand over information it collects from people visiting seized Web sites to "appropriate law enforcement officials" for criminal prosecution. It's possible to imagine a scenario where an innocent Web visitor becomes unfairly targeted by the Feds. It's legal to browse the Web for information about illegal drugs and even legal to read about bypassing copy-protection technology (though under the DMCA, researchers writing such papers may have cause for concern). But in a newly security-conscious climate, the Justice Department may not be terribly sensitive to Americans' First Amendment rights and may assume the worst about visitors to its collection of seized domains.

What's more, the Justice Department is able to review the search terms that people type in before connecting to the seized site from search engines such as Google or AltaVista. That's because Web protocols pass the search terms to the destination site in the Referer: header.

A third problem with the Justice Department's tactic is that criminal defendants are innocent until proven guilty. While Rocci pleaded guilty to DMCA crimes, the people raided last week for selling "drug paraphernalia" online did not. But even if they're eventually acquitted by a jury, what value will their domain name have if it's been tarred by Justice Department ownership for the past few years? A better solution: Simply yank the domain name. Do what frequently happens in civil lawsuits, which is to take the Web site offline temporarily and place the domain name in the custody of the court system.

...The disturbing thing is that it would be legal for the Justice Department to seize control of a purportedly illegal site and set up a sting operation tomorrow. In a landmark 1992 Supreme Court case, Jacobson v. U.S., the justices ruled that police may set traps for people who are already "independently predisposed to commit the crime." ...The Justice Department) could take over an Islamic foundation, keep the content the same, transfer the domain name to itself and keep on communicating with people without telling them they're talking with the government. It would be able to monitor communications on the site because it now owns it."

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http://www.satiresearch.com/go.asp?sid=13785

PHILADELPHIA—Rick Bastone, 31, an officer with Philadelphia's 23rd Precinct, has gained newfound respect for America's hard-working drug dealers ever since going undercover to sell narcotics. "I had no idea how tough this was," said Bastone, standing on a dilapidated corner in 20-degree weather while awaiting a cocaine drop-off Monday. "I guess I imagined it being like in the movies: drinking champagne, hot-tubbing with honeys... But here I am, freezing my ass off. I've got to say, these drug-dealing scumbags really earn their pay."

...Unlike law enforcement, Bastone said drug-dealing is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job. "My best customer knocks on my door at all hours whenever he's in need of a heroin fix," Bastone said. "I'd love to tell him to get lost, but he'd probably just go to someone else's corner and take his contacts with him. Then there's the constant pressure to sell: I've got to keep upping my purchases from my distributor, or else they'll give my corner to someone else. Christ, I need a vacation."

Dealing drugs, Bastone said, also demands a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise. "First, I had to have the metric system down cold," Bastone said. "Then, I spent almost two weeks learning the weight of a gram of coke by feel. Plus, you have to always stay on top of the current street lingo, which is constantly changing—and not just the drug slang, but slang for everything from currency to getting a drink. Cops don't have to know any of that... Man, all this, and you don't even get health insurance."

Heidi Bastone, the officer's wife, has noticed the change in her husband's view toward those on the other side of the drug war. "Rick always used to talk about 'the lazy drug dealers,'" Heidi said. "Not anymore. He's always talking about how amazed he is that guys like [local cocaine kingpin] Dean 'Powder' Edwards have been doing this for 20 years. I really don't think Rick can last another six months, so hopefully he'll have a solid case built by then. I sure hope so. I don't think I can stand much more of his bitching about how he spent all day hauling around kilos of uncut Colombian."

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,892438,00.html

The father of a British man detained without trial by the Americans in Afghanistan said yesterday he fears that his son may commit suicide, amid allegations he is being held in a windowless cell at a base where "torture" is used. In a letter to his family, Moazzam Begg told how conditions were so severe he had "not seen the sun" in almost a year of captivity. He said he was increasingly depressed and hopeless, and in previous letters has said he is kept hungry and subjected to bright artificial lights.

Mr Begg, 35, who is originally from Birmingham, was grabbed in Pakistan in February 2002, bundled into a car boot and taken to Afghanistan. He is being held at Bagram airbase outside Kabul where the CIA allegedly uses sleep deprivation to break resistance. Some captives are placed in metal containers and the US has banned any independent inspection of the base.

...Mr Begg, the son of a bank manager, does not know why he is being held... Mr Begg, married with two daughters and two sons, including one he has not seen since his birth, adds... "I don't know what crime I am supposed to have committed for which not only I, but my wife and children should continually suffer." In the last line of his letter addressed to his father, he wrote: "I hate so much to place this burden upon you, and do so as a last resort to alleviate this injustice."

...Last week, the US admitted there have been five suicide attempts in the past three weeks by prisoners at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

...A spokesman for the Foreign Office in London said the government was unhappy that its officials had been denied access: "We've been continuing to press the US for welfare access to Mr Begg and information about his detention ever since the ICRC confirmed his detention in Bagram. We have not got access.”

...So far, two detainees held at Bagram have died. Mr Begg had been running a school in Afghanistan, which his family says was trying to boost literacy rates. Intelligence agents may have targeted him believing he was the same Moazzam Begg whose name appeared on a photocopy of a money transfer found in an al-Qaida camp. Neither the CIA nor the Pentagon could be reached for comment.

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http://www.satiresearch.com/go.asp?sid=13640

In a surprise announcement today the Bush administration revealed that the reason for their unyielding position on Iraq is due to the fact that they have all been subject to demonic possession. Ari Fleischer, announcing himself by his demon name Agog Flesheater appeared at the podium gnashing his teeth and with red eyes glowing. "Be it known that the season of mortal weakness has passed! Now is the great day when the lords of the dark underworld have come to usher in the everlasting darkness! We shall no longer [something unintelligible]. Arghhh, aarghhh, rar-aarrghh!"

...At the Justice Department a press briefing was also scheduled, but it appeared to have turned into a brief melee, followed by a screaming mass of reporters fleeing from a crazed John Ashcroft. It was ascertained by a Junior Correspondent that Ashcroft was now to be known by his demonic possessor's name, Asmodeus.... Ashcroft/Asmodeus was last seen projectile vomiting a hideous bile on a CNN cameraman.

The only member of Bush's, or rather Beelzebub's cabinet who was not overtaken by Satanic powers appeared to be Tom Ridge, the new head of the Department of Homeland Security. However, he announced that he had received a letter from Beelzebub expelling him from that office. "Apparently I'm being replaced by Ozzie Osbourne. I'm not sure how legal that is since he isn't even an American citizen, but it's doubtful that the president is anymore either. The whole cabinet stood at our meeting this morning and recited a pledge of allegiance I've never heard."

...Donald Rumsfeld, who will now be known by his demon persona, Pith, announced plans to expand the defense department and add new construction to the Pentagon to turn it into a Pentagram. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Russian President Putin and French President Chirac revealed that they are actually angels of light and mercy who will stand ready to oppose all the evil actions of this new administration.