~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

how to make your mom change her mind about that nice thomas friedman

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/18/opinion/18FRIE.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fThomas%20L%20Friedman&pagewanted=print&position=

Our War With France, By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

It's time we Americans came to terms with something: France is not just our annoying ally. It is not just our jealous rival. France is becoming our enemy.

...France wants America to sink in a quagmire there in the crazy hope that a weakened U.S. will pave the way for France to assume its "rightful" place as America's equal, if not superior, in shaping world affairs. [yadda,yadda --mrs.h]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.judicialwatch.org/091203_PR.shtml

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has refused to produce records, under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), pertaining to the decision to grant “sole source” contracts to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (“KBR”). Sole source contracts are awarded to a company without having to go through a competitive bidding process. Vice President Richard B. Cheney was Halliburton’s chief executive and chairman from 1995 to 2000, when he stepped down to be President George W. Bush’s running mate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

up is down, black is white, and so on.

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=3455650

Vice President Dick Cheney, a former CEO of Halliburton Co., has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company since taking office while asserting he has no financial interest in the company, Senate Democrats said on Tuesday.

...On NBC's "Meet the Press" program last Sunday, Cheney, who was Halliburton's CEO from 1995 to 2000, said... "I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had now for over three years," he said.

Cathie Martin, a Cheney spokeswoman, confirmed that the vice president has been receiving the deferred compensation payments from Halliburton, but she disputed that his statements on "Meet the Press" had been misleading.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

love me, love my quasigovernmental multinational corporation.

http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?cat=TOPBIZ&src=201&feed=reu§ion=news&news_id=reu-n12187327-u1&date=20030912&alias=/alias/money/cm/nw

Costs incurred by U.S. oil services contractor Halliburton Co. (HAL) in Iraq have climbed to about $2,000,000,000.00 and are rising, Army spokesmen said Friday... As U.S. involvement in Iraq grows longer and more expensive, Halliburton stands to reap bigger profits... In March, Halliburton was granted, without competition, a contract by the Army Corps of Engineers to repair and restore Iraq's oil fields. As of Sept. 8, the total cost of that contract to taxpayers was just under $948,000,000.00, Corps spokesman Scott Saunders said.

...The U.S. has been forced to import oil and fuels into Iraq, which has the world's second-largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. Importing oil, gasoline, diesel and propane costs the United States about $6,000,000.00 per day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/politics/14DEFI.html?ex=1064489500&ei=1&en=f498303cb92d2c39

When President Bush informed the nation last Sunday night that remaining in Iraq next year will cost another $87,000,000,000.00, many of those who will actually pay that bill were unable to watch. They had already been put to bed by their parents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-09-15-reserves-chief_x.htm

The chief of the U.S. Army Reserve is taking the unusual step of warning all 205,000 soldiers under his command that the Army Reserve is "on a war footing" and will need to take tough measures to meet commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a memo describing the actions he is taking to address growing concerns about unusually long tours, Lt. Gen. James Helmly... has ordered Army Reserve commanders to cut out training not related to the war on terrorism. He also instructed Army Reserve commanders to enforce fitness standards to make sure all reservists can be deployed overseas

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030917/pl_afp/us_politics_nuclear_030917003631

The US Senate rejected a measure that would have halted the development of "bunker buster" bombs -- small nuclear weapons created for battlefield use -- while also allowing the resumption of underground nuclear tests.

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start writing those grant proposals TODAY.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/18/1063625153977.html

The Bush Administration has decided to commit $100,000,000.00 to the first phase of developing an anti-missile system that could be installed in passenger aircraft... "This program is not intended to develop new technologies, but rather migrate existing technologies from the military environment to the commercial airline industry," the department said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mrs.henry missed this last week.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=442886

A showdown over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons ambitions moved closer yesterday when the United Nations' atomic watchdog agency handed Tehran a seven-week deadline to co-operate. The Iranian delegation staged an angry walkout in response.

...Ali Akbar Salehi, the chief Iranian representative to the board... said the pressure was part of Washington's grand design to remake the Middle East. Nothing would satisfy the US's "appetite for vengeance", short of confrontation and war. He said: "It is no secret that the [Bush administration] entertains the idea of invasion of yet another territory, as they aim to re-engineer and reshape the entire Middle East region." Mr Salehi said that Iran would review its co-operation with the UN agency in light of the resolution... Washington has pressed for UN sanctions since 2002, when George Bush included Iran alongside Iraq and North Korea in an "axis of evil".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a clear pattern of secret actions to develop capability obviously for evil. what is this, madlibs?

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=3446296

Tehran, accused by Washington of secretly seeking to develop atomic weapons, said it would go ahead with talks with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog on a protocol permitting snap, short-notice inspections of its facilities. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said his country had no intention of building nuclear bombs, but it was determined to continue its policy of developing nuclear energy.

...The United States kept up the pressure. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said there had been "a clear pattern of actions taken in secret to develop capabilities that obviously can be used for evil purposes."

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blame canada, i mean iran.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$ELJIDB2UXLSNVQFIQMGCFF4AVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2003/09/19/wirq19.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/09/19/ixnewstop.html

At least three American soldiers died in attacks in Iraq yesterday as the US pro-consul in Baghdad gave warning that Iran should halt its plots to destabilise the country. Ambassador Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority and effectively Iraq's civilian ruler, said that Iran, which has been watching the American occupation of its neighbour with mounting alarm, "continues to meddle in various ways in Iraq's internal affairs".

...In an interview with The Telegraph he claimed that Iranian intelligence agents were working to destabilise the reconstruction process... Mr Bremer's remarks will cause considerable anxiety in Iran, whose rulers fear that they may be the next objective in President George W Bush's war on terror.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

furthermore

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1504&ncid=1504&e=15&u=/afp/20030916/ts_afp/us_iran_israel_bombing_030916080811

A US court has ruled that Iran must pay more than $420,000,000.00 to 12 US victims of a 1997 suicide bombing in Jerusalem carried out by the Iran-supported Palestinian militant group Hamas... Three suicide bombers -- each carrying bombs "with nails, screws, pieces of glass and chemical poisons," -- were involved in the blast. Two Hamas operatives were arrested and convicted in the attack. The court, based on past court rulings in similar cases, concluded that Hamas "has a close relationship with Iran."

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and another thing

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030915-103808-7562r.htm

The State Department has imposed economic sanctions on a Russian government-owned company for selling advanced weapons to Iran... As part of the sanctions, the administration waived provisions of U.S. law that would have blocked all U.S. aid to Russia, noting that the assistance is "important to the national interests of the United States."

U.S. law prohibits providing any assistance to nations that sell lethal military goods to terrorist sponsors. The law also allows the ban to be waived.

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http://jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2003-daily/15-09-2003/world/w7.htm

VIENNA: Arab countries will almost certainly attack Israel for allegedly possessing nuclear weapons when the 136 nations of the UN’s nuclear watchdog meet in Vienna Monday (today), diplomats said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/340953.html

The United States last night vetoed an Arab-backed United Nations resolution demanding that Israel halt threats to expel Yasser

Arafat from the West Bank.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOW blame canada.

http://www.unknownnews.net/030917cleric.html

Toronto Star, Sept. 13, 2003 - One of Canada's most moderate and respected Muslim clerics was pulled off a plane Thursday and thrown in jail by U.S. immigration officials in Fort Lauderdale without any charges being laid... Ahamad Kutty, who has preached tolerance and peace throughout North America for more than two decades, was ordered off his Orlando-bound flight from Toronto and interrogated in an airport holding cell and a local jail for 16 hours... He has been declared a risk to national security.

Kutty, an imam and scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto and at the city's west-end Jami Mosque, was detained with fellow Toronto cleric Abdool Hamid. The pair had travelled to Florida to attend seminars and give a series of lectures and sermons on, among other things, the dangers of fanaticism in the Islamic world. [travelling together? sounds a little... well,read on. --mrs.h]

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http://www.unknownnews.net/030919familyvalues.html

Two gay Canadian men who are legally wed in Ontario say they were refused entry into the United States today after a U.S. customs official at the airport wouldn't accept their customs clearance form declaring themselves a family... The couple was told that they wouldn't be allowed into the United States as a family because the country doesn't recognize same-sex marriages.

...The couple's lawyer, Doug Elliott, said although the U.S. customs official was enforcing American law by not allowing Bourassa and Varnell into the United States, "he was doing it on Canadian soil." "We can't force the U.S. to change its laws on same-sex marriage, but we can insist that Canadian citizens be treated with respect, that the Canadian law regarding family recognition gets respected."

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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/13/international/asia/13KORE.html?ex=1064479125&ei=1&en=7e991929743297e2

American intelligence agencies are puzzling over evidence that North Korea has halted operations at its nuclear complex in Yongbyon, according to senior United States officials... The shutdown, which some described as fairly recent, reflects a technical problem, a goodwill gesture by the North, or a shift to another site.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

life in liberated afghanistan

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_13-9-2003_pg7_49

US-led forces hunting for Taliban militants called in bombers to foil an ambush in southern Afghanistan, but there were no reports of casualties on either side, the US army said on Friday... “About two to four anti-coalition militia directed small-arms fire at the coalition soldiers,” Colonel Rodney Davis told reporters at Bagram air base, headquarters of US-led forces in Afghanistan. “The coalition soldiers were reinforced by B-1 bombers and A-10s.” Davis said two laser-guided bombs were dropped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

land of the... well, home of the brave

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/politics/ap20030913_325.html

The Bush administration wants to bring to the war on terror a subpoena power that does not require federal investigators to seek approval from a judge or grand jury. Justice Department officials say use of "administrative subpoenas" would enable the FBI to obtain information that might prevent a terror strike more quickly.

...Bush also wants lawmakers to expand the federal death penalty to cover more terror-related offenses and make terror suspects ineligible for release on bond.

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http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20030915_2121.html

Attorney General John Ashcroft denounced as "hysteria" the contention by some librarians and civil liberties groups that the FBI can use a new anti-terror law to snoop into Americans' reading habits... "Now, you may have thought with all this hysteria and hyperbole, something had to be wrong," Ashcroft said... "The hysteria is ridiculous. Our job is not," Ashcroft said.

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archived

http://www.unknownnews.net/030919ashcroft.html

The FBI is visiting libraries nationwide and checking the reading records of people it suspects of having ties to terrorists or plotting an attack, library officials say... The University of Illinois conducted a survey of 1,020 public libraries in January and February and found that 85 libraries had been asked by federal or local law enforcement officers for information about patrons.

...In Florida, Broward County library director Sam Morrison said the FBI had recently contacted his office. He declined to elaborate on the request or how many branch libraries were involved. "We've heard from them and that's all I can tell you," Morrison said. He said the FBI specifically instructed him not to reveal any information about the request. [and so on.]

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an in-depth look behind the curtain.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=264863&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=264863

"I don't know another Web site that has a privacy policy as flexible as eBay's," says Joseph Sullivan... Sullivan is director of the "law enforcement and compliance" department at eBay.com, the largest retailer in the world.

Sullivan was speaking to senior representatives of numerous law-enforcement agencies in the United States on the occasion of "Cyber Crime 2003," a conference that was held last week in Connecticut. His lecture was closed to reporters, and for good reason. Haaretz has obtained a recording of the lecture, in which Sullivan tells the audience that eBay is willing to hand over everything it knows about visitors to its Web site that might be of interest to an investigator. All they have to do is ask. "There's no need for a court order," Sullivan said.

..."We don't make you show a subpoena, except in exceptional cases," Sullivan told his listeners. "When someone uses our site and clicks on the `I Agree' button, it is as if he agrees to let us submit all of his data to the legal authorities. Which means that if you are a law-enforcement officer, all you have to do is send us a fax with a request for information, and ask about the person behind the seller's identity number, and we will provide you with his name, address, sales history and other details - all without having to produce a court order. We want law enforcement people to spend time on our site," he adds. He says he receives about 200 such requests a month, most of them unofficial requests in the form of an email or fax.

...The meaning is clear. One fax to eBay from a lawman - police investigator, NSA, FBI or CIA employee, National Park ranger - and eBay sends back the user's full name, email address, home address, mailing address, home telephone number, name of company where seller is employed and user nickname. What's more, eBay will send the history of items he has browsed, feedbacks received, bids he has made, prices he has paid, and even messages sent in the site's various discussion groups.

...A brief visit to the company's Web site reveals that the "user contract" that visitors are supposed to read before agreeing to the conditions is 4,023 words long. One paragraph makes reference to the site's "privacy policy." The user has to click on a link and is diverted to another document that is some 3,750 words long. It then takes another 2,390 words to reach the section about which Sullivan told the legal authorities: The user's privacy is solely up to eBay.

"The users are asked to read and agree to the site policy before they can make use of it," eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove told Haaretz. "We provide a link to our privacy policy on every single page of our site, and provide summaries of this policy, all so that users will be familiar with our policy."

...In July 2002, eBay bought PayPal, Inc. for $1.45 billion. PayPal, which offers the most popular means of payment on eBay, provides clearing services for the execution of online transactions... [And] two years earlier, eBay bought Half.com, a site that specializes in sales of CDs and books. Sullivan explained that these acquisitions help eBay to provide lawmen with a full picture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/17/politics/17TERR.html?ex=1064770335&ei=1&en=03a236f6c7175eda

The Bush administration announced the creation of a new counterterrorism center today intended to develop a master "watch list" of more than 100,000 terrorism suspects... The plan announced today would create a new screening center, to be led by the F.B.I. in conjunction with the C.I.A., the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. Officials said they expected the center to be operating by December.

...The center, Attorney General John Ashcroft said, "will provide one-stop shopping."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3448005

A top cyber sleuth has been hired to help protect the United States against Internet viruses, worms and other instruments of online attacks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Monday. The new chief of cybersecurity is Amit Yoran, who helped oversee computer security at the Defense Department before starting his own security firm Riptech Inc. He sold Riptech in 2002 to Symantec Corp.

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lest we forget

http://www.unknownnews.net/0715-1.html

July 15, 2003 - The Homeland Security Department has chosen Microsoft Corp. as its preferred supplier of desktop computer and server software... The deal is worth $90,000,000.00.

Homeland Security employees’ computers now will be outfitted with Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system, as well as the Microsoft Office Professional version of software products. And perhaps most important to Homeland Security’s mission to get agencies communicating more easily, Microsoft will provide the standard e-mail software for the entire department.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

things that make you go hm

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3471074

Anti-virus companies warned on Thursday of a new computer worm circulating through e-mail that purports to be security software from Microsoft Corp. but actually tries to disable security programs that are already running. The worm, dubbed "Swen" or "Gibe," takes advantage of a two-year-old hole in Internet Explorer.

...When it infects a computer it alerts a Web site that appears to be counting the infections, according to Symantec Corp., another Internet security outfit. The number of the counter was near 760,000 by Thursday afternoon.

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http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/68099/1/

"The U.S. government can no longer promise that individuals under its authority will be subject to a system bound by the rule of law," according to the report by the New York-based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR). "In a growing number of cases, legal safeguards are now observed only so far as they are consistent with the chosen ends of power." The report, "Assessing the New Normal: Liberty and Security for the Post-September 11 United States," comes amid growing opposition--including in the U.S. Congress--to a number of the provisions in the USA Patriot Act.

...The phrase, "new normal, is taken from a speech by Vice President Dick Cheney shortly after the attacks, which predicted that security measures recommended by the administration would become "permanent in American life," creating a "new normalcy," as he put it at the time.

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http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news1/monitor1.html

Critics had hinted that US President George Bush would try to use it as his "September surprise"; a report by the Iraq Survey Group which would prove that Saddam Hussein really did have weapons of mass destruction. But now the Sunday Times of London, and other publications, say that the report has been delayed "indefinitely" because the group was unable to get any evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... Senior UN weapons inspectors now think that Mr. Hussein may have been telling the truth when he said he had no weapons of mass destruction.

...Bush administration officials continued to defend their WMD claims. During the weekend Vice President Dick Cheney said WMD would be found in Iraq.

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http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/6803510.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Top American scientists assigned to the weapons hunt in Iraq found no evidence Saddam Hussein's regime was making or stockpiling smallpox, The Associated Press has learned from senior military officers involved in the search. Smallpox fears were part of the case the Bush administration used to build support for invading Iraq - and they were raised again as recently as last weekend by Vice President Dick Cheney.

But a three-month search by "Team Pox" turned up only signs to the contrary: disabled equipment that had been rendered harmless by U.N. inspectors, Iraqi scientists deemed credible who gave no indication they had worked with smallpox and a laboratory thought to be back in use that was covered in cobwebs.

Fears that smallpox could be used as a weapon led the Bush administration to launch a vaccination campaign for some 500,000 U.S. military personnel after the Sept. 11 attacks, and to order enough vaccine to inoculate the entire U.S. population if necessary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030916_1592.htm

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday he had no reason to believe that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had a hand in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

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you might recall

http://www.dailykos.com/archives/004211.html#004211

The Congressional resolution authorizing Bush's War required the president to certify to Congress that war was necessary. Part of that letter [says]:

"(2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-243 is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."

In other words, Bush is certifying that Iraq had a role in the 9-11 attacks, thus justifying the subsequent invasion. But [on wednesday sept 17th], Bush said: "...We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th."

...Notice his use of the past tense.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/18/international/middleeast/18SAUD.html?ex=1064906532&ei=1&en=28db2a20f1d799fd

JIDDA, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 17 — Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, who met here today with Crown Prince Abdullah, praised Saudi efforts to fight terrorism. Mr. Snow, here as part of a tour through the Middle East and Southwest Asia, said that the crown prince and Saudi Arabia have chosen to be "firm and merciless" in the pursuit of terrorists

...Mr. Snow also said he felt that there "can't be any doubt about the Saudi commitment" to combating terrorism.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1044380,00.html

Saudi Arabia, in response to the current upheaval in the Middle East, has embarked on a strategic review that includes acquiring nuclear weapons, the Guardian has learned... Until now, the assumption in Washington was that Saudi Arabia was content to remain under the US nuclear umbrella. But the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US has steadily worsened... David Albright, director of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington thinktank, said he doubted whether the Saudis would try to build a nuclear bomb, preferring instead to try to buy a nuclear warhead. They would be the first of the world's eight or nine nuclear powers to have bought rather than built the bomb.

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speaking of nukes, or rather, misspeaking of nukes

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/16/1063625038558.html

[Vice-Dick] Cheney conceded in a TV interview that he had mistakenly claimed three days before the March 19 invasion of Iraq that Saddam had "reconstituted nuclear weapons". "I misspoke," Mr Cheney said. " We never had evidence that [Saddam] had acquired a nuclear weapon."

...He believed evidence would emerge to show at least that Saddam "had aspirations to acquire a nuclear weapon".

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http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0912-12.htm

Carolina teacher Elizabeth Ito has appealed her firing from Forsyth Technical Community College, which came after she made remarks critical of the conduct of the war in Iraq.

...On Friday, March 28, 2003 Elizabeth, a first-year English teacher at Forsyth Tech, spent ten minutes at the beginning of her business writing class voicing her concerns about the war in Iraq... The previous night's news had reported that 30,000 more troops were being called up, a figure that by the next morning had risen to 120,000. Elizabeth wrote these numbers on the board and asked the students what they would do if the government had to start drafting. After class had ended two students complained to Elizabeth's supervisor... On May 15 [Ito] received a certified letter at her home informing her that Forsyth Tech no longer needed her services.

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repent, harlequin, said the ticktockman!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-09-14-media-mix_x.htm

CNN's top war correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, says that the press muzzled itself during the Iraq war. And, she says CNN "was intimidated" by the Bush administration and Fox News, which "put a climate of fear and self-censorship."

...Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti said of Amanpour's comments: "Given the choice, it's better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than a spokeswoman for al-Qaeda." CNN had no comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mrmee, mrmee, mrmee

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10677-2003Sep14.html

"There's a vibrancy to this effort, a vibrancy I attribute to the winds of freedom blowing through this land," [Colin Powell] said at a news conference with the top U.S. civil administrator here [in Baghdad], L. Paul Bremer... [Also,] Powell said on CNN's "Late Edition" [that] "Those who are so critical of the administration might want to hold their fire a bit."

...As Powell conducted his meetings, U.S. military officials announced that one soldier from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division was killed and three were wounded by a roadside bomb near the restive city of Fallujah, where U.S. troops mistakenly killed 10 Iraqi security officers on Friday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3444948

A member of Iraq's Governing Council Monday accused U.S. troops of regularly mistreating Iraqi civilians... "There is widespread discontent with the coalition forces, the majority of whom treat the Iraqi people with violence and contempt," Rajaa Habib Khuzai told a joint news conference with Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio. "The opinion of the Iraqi people about the coalition forces is that they are forces of occupation," said Khuzai the head of a maternity hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniya and one of 13 Shi'ite Muslims on the 25-member council.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

terrorism, the other white meat

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=8&u=/ap/20030914/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/anti_terror_laws_2

The Justice Department said it has used authority given to it by the USA Patriot Act to crack down on currency smugglers and seize money hidden overseas by alleged bookies, con artists and drug dealers. Federal prosecutors used the act in June to file a charge of "terrorism using a weapon of mass destruction" against a California man after a pipe bomb exploded in his lap, wounding him as he sat in his car. A North Carolina county prosecutor charged a man accused of running a methamphetamine lab with breaking a new state law barring the manufacture of chemical weapons.

...In one case prosecuted this year, investigators used a provision of the Patriot Act to recover $4.5 million from a group of telemarketers accused of tricking elderly U.S. citizens into thinking they had won the Canadian lottery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

colin powell has snapped

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/14/sprj.irq.main/index.html

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday said U.S. forces are not occupiers but liberators... Powell told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" on Sunday that Iraq remains "a little unstable in the central part of the country, but we knew it would be difficult."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hand picked

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters09-15-100329.asp?reg=MIDEAST

Iraqis handpicked by the U.S. forces chose an interim council for ousted President Saddam Hussein's home town region on Monday... Critics reviled it as a piece of theatre because its participants and results were vetted by U.S. officers and a U.S.-appointed governor retains ultimate decision-making power.

Before the voting in a palace on the banks of the Tigris, Apache helicopters fired onto a river island at men suspected of mounting mortar sites that may have been targeting the delegates and their U.S. supervisors, Major Josslyn Aberle said.

...The American occupiers have supervised the creation of a national council and similar votes in two other provinces. But they say Iraqis are not ready for a popular national election.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hand picked and gittin busy

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/16/international1614EDT0698.DTL

An Iraqi delegation will attend next week's meeting of OPEC members... Iraq's return to the U-shaped table at the OPEC Secretariat will be an important step in its rehabilitation as an oil producer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0915/p07s01-wome.html

Baghdad's bustling sidewalks are piled high with merchandise - local produce such as peaches, plums, okra, and dates, or imports like freezers and TV sets that have flooded the country since the new US authorities suspended customs duties. (You can even buy balsamic vinegar.) But, in some unsafe districts of the capital, shopkeepers and stall holders lock up and go home by mid-afternoon, fearful of the thieves who still run rampant. About 70 carjackings a day are reported in Baghdad. Kidnapping for ransom is on the rise. And below the surface hustle of city life lies a menacing lawlessness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/16/opinion/16SAND.html?ex=1064730779&ei=1&en=7bc53c3b8b64a9de

A single word is on the tight, pencil-lined lips of women here... The word is "himaya," or security... "Under Saddam we could drive, we could walk down the street until two in the morning," a young designer told me as she bounced her 4-year-old daughter on her lap. "Who would have thought the Americans could have made it worse for women?" ...When one mentions the fears of the majority of Iraq's population, one can hear a representative of the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the police, say, "We don't do women."

...A young Iraqi woman I met represents the reality of these rumors, sitting in her darkened living room surrounded by female relatives. She leans forward to show the sutures running the length of her scalp. She and her fiancé were carjacked by a gang of thieves in July, and when one tried to rape her she threw herself out of the speeding car. She says that was the last time she left the house.

...Two sisters, 13 and 18, weren't as lucky. A neighbor... led a gang of heavily armed friends to their home one night a few weeks ago. The girls were beaten and raped. When the police finally arrived, the attackers fled with the 13-year-old. She was taken to an abandoned house and left there, blindfolded, for a couple of weeks before she was dropped at her door upon threat of death if anyone learned of what had happened. Now she hides out with her sister, young brother and mother in an abandoned office building in a seedy neighborhood. "What do you expect?" said the 18-year-old. "They let out the criminals. They got rid of the law. Here we are."

Even these brutalized sisters are luckier than many women in Iraq. They have no adult male relatives, and thus are not at risk for the honor killings that claim the lives of many Muslim women here. Tribal custom demands that a designated male kill a female relative who has been raped... "We never investigate these cases anyway — someone has to come and confess the killing, which they almost never do," said an investigator who looked into the case and then dismissed it because the sisters "knew one of the men, so it must not be kidnapping."

...Baghdadi women were used to a cosmopolitan city in which doctorates, debating and dancing into the wee hours were ordinary parts of life. That Baghdad now seems as ancient as this country's Mesopotamian history... A formerly first-world capital has become a city where the women have largely vanished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4723.htm

The number of reported gun-related killings in Baghdad has increased 25-fold since President Bush declared an end to major combat May 1. Before the war began, the morgue investigated an average of 20 deaths a month caused by firearms. In June, that number rose to 389 and in August it reached 518. Moreover, the overall number of suspicious deaths jumped from about 250 a month last year to 872 in August.

The Baghdad morgue is beyond full. Refrigeration boxes that usually hold six bodies are crammed with 18. An unidentified corpse is dragged across the floor beneath the blue glow of an insect-repelling light. Five others — two pocked with gunshot wounds — lie on steel tables. With quiet determination, pathologists lift their scalpels, chart their findings and fill the waiting coffins.

...Bodies are fished out of the muddy-green Tigris. They are pulled from alleys, gathered from rooftops and lifted from garbage piles. Some are left on the roadside, like that of Bashar Khammas Mohammed, a 26-year-old taxi driver who was strangled with his own headdress. They are then brought to the morgue, where a meticulous man wearing rubber gloves ties strings around their wrists and assigns each of them a number.

...[Pathologist Abdul Razzaq Ubaidi], seeing patients at a nearby clinic... says he collects bullets and traces the path of death. He takes X-rays, draws diagrams... Science, he says, is where he prefers to dwell. On this day, he was delayed, swarmed by his patients with their sick babies, stiff legs and fevers. One woman had an eye injury. Ubaidi put down his pale blue folders and set about examining her. "I should be in the autopsy room," he said, "but as you can see, the living are interfering with my work on the dead."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news1/london-times1.html

The Times (London) September 15, 2003 - Iraqi policemen declared themselves holy warriors yesterday and vowed to take revenge for the deaths of their comrades in the town where ten police and a security guard were killed on Friday in the worst "friendly fire" incident of the Iraq conflict... The response was swift. An American soldier was killed and three others injured yesterday morning when a Humvee armoured vehicle ran over a homemade bomb. Passers-by laughed as the carcass of the Humvee was dragged back to the US base on the outskirts of Fallujah a few hours later.

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the cruel war is raging

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1041722,00.html

New figures obtained by The Observer... show that more than 6,000 American servicemen have been evacuated for medical reasons since the beginning of the war... 1,178 American soldiers have been wounded in combat operations since the war began on 20 March. It is believed many of the American casualties evacuated from Iraq are seriously injured. Modern body armour, worn by almost all American troops, means wounds that would normally kill a man are avoided. However vulnerable arms and legs are affected badly. This has boosted the proportion of maimed among the injured. There are also concerns that many men serving in Iraq will suffer psychological trauma.

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our boys have snapped

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=ILA2WDQGPWXVOCRBAEKSFEY?type=reutersEdge&storyID=3439357

The infantrymen out on night patrol in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit have only one wish -- to get shot at.

The soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiment swear they have divine protection and say the easiest place to be attacked is in what they call "RPG alley"... [They] sit tall or stand up in their open Humvee vehicles along what has become Tikrit's front line, daring the anti-American guerrillas who have killed or wounded U.S. soldiers almost daily throughout Iraq to try their luck with them.

...After several passes on one moonlit night this month, Sergeant Gilbert Nail, 31, grumbled that his enemy had stayed indoors. "Only the cats are fighting," he said... The soldiers often explain they overcome their fear on patrol by reciting their officer's refrain: "We are immortal until God decides otherwise."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0917-03.htm

Mysterious pneumonia-like illnesses and breathing problems appear to be striking U.S. troops in greater numbers than the military has identified in an investigation -- including more deaths, according to soldiers and their families. Some of the soldiers were deployed to Iraq and died but are not part of the Pentagon's investigation. Others who got ill told United Press International they suffered a pneumonia-like illness after being given vaccines, particularly the anthrax shot.

The Pentagon said it is committed to the health of military personnel and that some dead or ill soldiers do not meet criteria for the investigation.

...[For example,] Army Spc. Cory A. Hubbell, 20, of Urbana, Ill. Hubbel died June 26 from what has been reported as "breathing difficulties," and listed by the Pentagon as a "non-combat related cause." ...Hubbel's mother, Connie Bickers, told the Champaign News-Gazette that the Army is not giving her many answers on the death.

...Army Pvt. Matthew D. Bush, 20, of East Alton, Ill. Bush died Aug. 8 in Camp Caldwell, Iraq... Pentagon officials have indicated that his death might have been heat-related.

...Army Spc. William A. Jeffries, 39, of Evansville, Ind. Jeffries died March 31... after becoming sick in Kuwait. A military official reportedly told Jeffries' family that he suffered a blood clot in his lung and acute pancreatitis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

acute pancreatitis?

http://www.medicinenet.com/Pancreatitis/article.htm

Pancreatitis is a rare disease in which the pancreas becomes inflamed. Damage to the gland occurs when digestive enzymes are activated and begin attacking the pancreas. In severe cases, there may be bleeding into the gland, serious tissue damage, infection, and cysts. Enzymes and toxins may enter the bloodstream and seriously injure organs, such as the heart, lungs, and kidney. [now you know --mrs. h]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

do your duty

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0916/p13s02-lecl.html

John Grant and Frank Corcoran have both been restless this summer, eagerly awaiting the reopening of school.

Yet the two men are not teachers and they are not students. Nor are they parents of school-age children. Rather, they are Vietnam vets with a message... The essence of that message: Don't be sucked into believing in notions of war as glorious and patriotic. War is an evil to be avoided at all costs.

... Their main concern: Military recruiters have become more active in schools and may be filling students' heads with false notions of war as a patriotic duty. They say they know how vulnerable teens may be to such a message because they themselves were once seduced by it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dum de dum dum

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s948108.htm

American soldiers in Iraq have killed a teenager and wounded four other people... when their convoy drove near a house where a wedding was underway and shots were being fired in the air in celebration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

da dah de da dah dah

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/18/international/middleeast/18IRAQ.html?ex=1064852416&ei=1&en=bc67da513db48bdb

The United States military today played down the possibility that eight prisoners held here [in Baghdad] on suspicion of taking part in such attacks might be American or British. "The suspicion is that they made these claims in order to avoid detention in the first place," Lt. Col. George Krivo, a military spokesman, told reporters here today.

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going on: the beat

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3161180,00.html

An explosion along the main oil pipeline from Iraq to Turkey triggered a large fire early Thursday near the northern Iraqi town of Bayji, witnesses said.

...Witnesses said vehicles of the Iraqi oil ministry had rushed to the scene. [well, that certainly clears thing right up. mrs. henry is unbecomingly cynical at this point...]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

an astonishing turn of events!!!

http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news1/latimes2.html

For centuries, Iraqi Kurds — now numbering about 5 million — have wanted to control their fate. In the years since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, they came close to that goal, living in autonomous zones within Iraq and shielded by U.S. might from Saddam Hussein... Before the recent Iraq war, the U.S. needed the Kurds because they occupied a strategic area from which to operate against Hussein's power base in Baghdad. Now that the U.S. no longer needs such a base, all bets are off.

...The U.S. is unlikely to give the Kurds in northern Iraq the kind of autonomy they crave... [because] such an action could both contribute to the dismemberment of the country and anger Turkey, one of the West's major allies in the Middle East. If Iraq is to remain a single state, the Kurds must cede to a central Iraqi government some of the independence they have enjoyed for more than a decade... The U.S., long the Kurds' staunchest defender, now has other priorities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11974-2003Sep15.html

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell asserted today that a 1988 poison gas attack that killed an estimated 5,000 Kurds in this farming town nestled in Iraq's barren northern mountains was ample evidence that former president Saddam Hussein's government possessed weapons of mass destruction and justified the U.S. decision to go to war. In an emotional defense of the invasion of Iraq, Powell visited a mass grave site [and so on.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

his master's voice

http://www.news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1024842003

Jalal Talabani, of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, speaking to relatives of the victims at the mass grave, offered public words of praise for the United States, rare of late both in Iraq and on the international scene. "I’m proud that now, after so many years of loneliness in our struggle, we have friends in you," he told Mr Powell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

colin powell: pod person?

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/340560.html

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell accused Syria on Monday of not doing enough to end what he said was its support of "terrorist

activity." ..."I made it clear to the Syrians that to have good relations with the United States and with a liberated Iraq, they should do everything they could to make sure that the wrong sorts of people are not crossing the border to cause trouble in Iraq," he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

it never stops

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wosyri173458149sep17,0,565801.story?coll=ny-worldnews-headlines

The Bush administration named Syria and Libya yesterday as "rogue states" whose weapons of mass destruction must not just be controlled but must be eliminated by whatever means necessary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

george bush pisses on shrubbery at camp david

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=703&e=1&u=/ap/20030918/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush

CAMP DAVID, Md. - President Bush accused Yasser Arafat of undercutting chances for peace in the Middle East and told Palestinians they need a new leader.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

more about camp david

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/international/july-dec03/carter_09-17.html

JIM LEHRER: Former President Jimmy Carter. Twenty-five years ago today... Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel signed the accords that led to the first formal peace treaty between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors. That signing followed 13 days of intense negotiations at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.

...You are not suggesting that President Bush replicate, try to replicate what you did-- take Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat up to Camp David and hammer it out, the way you did, stay 12 days, 13 days, 18 days, whatever it takes?

PRESIDENT CARTER: No, I wouldn't advocate that... I don't think it is possible at this point to abandon other international affairs in order to elevate the Mideast peace process to that level of importance. Also, as you know, although Arafat was elected fairly and squarely in January of 1996 in an election as the president of the Palestinians, he has not been accepted by the Bush administration... So I don't really think at this point that President Bush would have an interlocutor to represent the Palestinians that would be acceptable to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

division of labor

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/15/1063624982288.html

Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers were attempting to gain control of opium-producing areas and the cash flow they generate while stepping up attacks over the past several weeks, the head of US forces there said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

cocaine, the other white powder

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030913-112102-8762r.htm

The United States and Peru plan to resume drug-interdiction flights over Peru by the end of the year, but Peruvian forces initially will not shoot down suspect airplanes... The flights were stopped in 2001 after an American missionary and her daughter were killed when Peruvian forces mistakenly shot down their plane. U.S. aircraft spotted and tracked the plane and the Peruvians shot it down... With the new program, the Peruvian military is expected to begin to use live fire again only after both countries reach an agreement to set procedures... Congress is expected to authorize $13,000,000.00 within the next month for personnel training and other preparations to resume the drug interdiction effort.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

speaking of being on crack

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3462422

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Wednesday the United States must not let the world think it will retreat from a fight "every time we got our nose bloodied."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

speaking of - oh, never mind

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31788-2003Sep18.html

For several months after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld fired him as secretary of the Army, Thomas E. White kept a low profile... But in recent weeks White has started speaking out... [In his new book he says,] "Clearly the view that the war to 'liberate' Iraq would instantly produce a pro-United States citizenry ready for economic and political rebirth ignored the harsh realities on the ground."

...White is picking up where he left off with Rumsfeld. In a very public dispute several weeks before the war, White [said]... that several hundred thousand troops would be needed to stabilize Iraq after hostilities ended. Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz rejected that estimate as grossly exaggerated, insisting stability could be quickly established and U.S. forces rapidly reduced.

Wolfowitz chided White in private afterward. Wolfowitz "was not happy that we had taken a position that was opposed to what his thinking on the subject was," White recalled in an interview. [poor li'l guy. --mrs.h]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

adventures in diplomacy

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/340017.html

Prime Minister Tony Blair's government on Monday urged Middle East leaders to "exercise restraint" and said the Israeli government's

suggestion that it was considering killing [democratically-elected palestianian president] Arafat could damage the peace process.

...Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council was set to vote on Monday on a resolution to forbid Israel from deporting Arafat from the territories. The United States is expected to abstain from the vote.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"spy chief breaks cover" - clearly the wind is up.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=PZP4AXZSJTAXGCRBAELCFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=3447918

Breaking with precedent, MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove testified via audio-link to the judicial inquiry into the suicide of a weapons expert... Dearlove said he stood by the intelligence in the September 2002 dossier but added that a contentious assertion that Iraq could deploy chemical or biological weapons at 45 minutes' notice was only meant to refer to short-range arms. "Given the misinterpretation placed on the 45-minutes intelligence, with the benefit of hindsight you could say that was valid criticism," said Dearlove, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), better known as MI6.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ja, shoor, ya betcha

http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/the_news_editorials/article/0,1651,TCP_1033_2280463,00.html

EU member Sweden voted earlier this week against replacing its krona with the euro... The krona-over-euro setback came as the dollar's dominance was being called into question by the huge U.S. deficits in trade and the federal budget, and our [sic] costly entanglement in Iraq.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

campaign news

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/18/1757243

AMY GOODMAN: Well, John Hlinko, we have just reached Robert Fisk in Baghdad... We'll get your comment at the beginning, hearing that Wesley Clark is now running for president as the antiwar warrior.

...ROBERT FISK: I have to say first of all about General Clark, that I was on the ground in Serbia in Kosovo when he ran the war there. He didn't seem to be very antiwar at the time. I had as one of my tasks to go out over and over again to look at the civilian casualties of that have war. At one point NATO bombed the hospital in which Yugoslav soldiers, against the rules of war, were hiding along with the patients and almost all the patients were killed. This was the war, remember, where the first attack was made on a radio station... This was a general who I remember bombed series of bridges, in one of which an aircraft bombed the train and after, he'd seen the train and had come to a stop, the pilot bombed the bridge again. I saw one occasion when a plane came in, bombed a bridge over a river in Serbia proper, as we like to call it, and after about 12 minutes when rescuers arrived, a bridge too narrow even for tanks, bombed the rescuers.

...This was not a man, frankly whom, if I were an American, would vote for, but not being an American, I don't have to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32450-2003Sep18.html

Retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark said today that he "probably" would have voted for the congressional resolution last fall authorizing war.

...Clark said he wants more troops in Iraq, but was unsure who best can provide them -- the United States, Iraqis or other countries. . He would consider cutting defense spending if elected, he said. Clark, relaxed and chatty, portrayed himself as a different kind of Democrat, one without strong partisan impulses. He said he "probably" voted for Richard M. Nixon in 1972 and backed Ronald Reagan. [bla de bla bla bla --mrs.h]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.tribnet.com/24hour/politics/story/1000677p-7027201c.html

Dick Gephardt... has launched a Web site - Deanfacts.com - that details the former Vermont governor's eight-year-old comments about raising the Social Security retirement age and overhauling the Medicare program as well as his recent remarks about the issues. "Gephardt and Dean have a substantive policy difference, on Medicare and Social Security," Gephardt campaign spokesman Erik Smith said. "This gives every voter the tools to understand the difference."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the passion of tony blair

http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1953356

Labour today suffered its first by-election defeat since storming to power in 1997. Tony Blair’s party lost one of its safest seats to the Liberal Democrats in a upset which sent shockwaves through the New Labour Government... Labour chairman Ian McCartney acknowledged that defeat in a formerly rock-solid seat was “very disappointing”. But he said the backdrop of the Iraq war had made it the most difficult by-election the party had fought for 20 years. [what difficult? seems pretty simple to me --mrs.h]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

kennedy on the attack!!!

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/261/nation/BOSTON_AP_The_case_for_going_t%3A.shtml

The case for going to war against Iraq was a fraud ''made up in Texas'' to give Republicans a political boost, Sen. Edward Kennedy said Thursday.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Kennedy also said the Bush administration has failed to account for nearly half of the $4 billion the war is costing each month. He said he believes much of the unaccounted-for money is being used to bribe foreign leaders to send in troops. He called the Bush administration's current Iraq policy ''adrift.''

The White House declined to comment

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

queer eye on the state department

http://truthout.org/docs_03/091803H.shtml

State Department types were taken aback last week to find that a longtime diplomatic photo exhibit along a busy corridor to the cafeteria had been taken down. The two dozen mostly grainy black and white shots were a historic progression of great diplomatic moments, sources recalled.

There was an original political cartoon from the Jefferson era showing Britain and France pick-pocketing the Americans; there were pictures of negotiations with Indian tribes over land; President Woodrow Wilson at Versailles; former secretary of state Elihu Root somewhere; Roosevelt and Churchill signing the Atlantic Charter [and so on].

Then they were gone. And what was put up in their place? What else? A George W. Bush family album montage of 21 large photos of the president as diplomat. He's speaking at the United Nations and meeting with foreign leaders. There are several shots of Bush with first lady Laura Bush... There's a fine shot of him yucking it up in Beijing with former Chicom boss Jiang Zemin, aka the Robin Williams of the Middle Kingdom.

The new exhibit... was sent over from the White House at the request of State's administration folks. It's part of an effort to "spruce up the building [and] liven up the halls," one official said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

it's romeo and juliet, not romeo and julio.

http://www.unknownnews.net/030919endofcivilization.html

Associated Press, Sept. 16, 2003 - Kansas Atty. Gen. Phill Kline said Monday if the state lost a sodomy case currently before a state appeals court, Kansas marriage laws and laws against sex with children would be nullified. Kline said the American Civil Liberties Union was attacking the state's prohibition of same-sex marriages as well as laws against polygamy, incest, bestiality and sex between adults and children.

...The ACLU is representing Matthew Limon, convicted in 2000 of having sex at age 18 with a 14-year-old boy when both were residents of a Paola group home for the developmentally disabled. Limon was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for violating the state's anti-sodomy law... However, had he or the other teen been female, a prosecutor would have had the option of filing the lesser charge of unlawful sexual relations, for which his maximum sentence would have been one year and three months in prison... The state has a "Romeo and Juliet" statute that lessens the penalties if one partner is under 19 and the other is within four years of that age. But that law specifically applies only to heterosexual couples.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

life gets weirder

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21341-2003Sep16.html

The Irish rock singer Bono confronted President Bush in the Oval Office yesterday with what AIDS activists say is a vast gap between funding he promised in the State of the Union address and the actual money headed for Africa. The U2 singer said afterward that he felt "depressed"... Bush had promised $15 billion over five years for vaccines and treatment, but the administration wants to send only $2 billion next year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

one bitsy satire.

http://borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=684

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the famed twins who first burst onto the entertainment scene in the TV sitcom “Full House,” will portray Saddam Hussein’s sons Uday and Qusay in an upcoming miniseries for the Disney Channel, network officials confirmed today.

...In the miniseries, entitled “Uday and Qusay: Take Two,” the Olsen twins play matchmaker to their dad, Saddam Hussein (Steve Guttenberg), a lonely bachelor who spends his days wandering his ninety-three Presidential palaces.

...In a related story, CIA experts today were busy studying a new exercise tape believed to have been made by Saddam Hussein and broadcast on al-Jazeera yesterday. On the tape, Saddam is introduced as “fitness celebrity Saddam Hussein” and warns the viewer against using pills or miracle diets, arguing, “Those things have never worked for me or anyone else.”

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oh, all right, one more then.

http://ridiculopathy.com/news_detail.php?id=632&repost=1

PBS announced Wednesday that its hit morning show Teletubbies will undergo an upgrade beginning in early 2003. With its surreal landscapes, absurdist polts and singsongy voices, the show has become the entertainment choice for stoners the world over. The ten minute expansion to the show will feature simple counting and alphabet exercises designed to educate the show's droopy-eyed viewers.

...Although the producers claim the show has no intended appeal for casual drug abusers, Ragdoll representatives are loathe to explain why Tinky Winky is always hungry, and the Tubbies are giggling almost constantly. "Well, the show reflects its audience," says Ragdoll representative Jane Hazell. "They eat and laugh, laugh and eat."

...Indeed, Comedy Central has mounted a serious threat to PBS' virtual lock on the demographic. Every weekday in August, Comedy Central plans to air classics like Half Baked, How High, and several films from the Cheech & Chong catalog in the same time slot as the PBS powerhouse.

Breaking with the show's usual mid-morning time slot, PBS says they will air the show at the rather odd time of 4:20pm on weekdays beginning in January.

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grand finale!

http://www.bbspot.com/News/2003/07/babylon_5.html