Link Roundup
3.22.05 - From Zack
Greg
Palast releases his first groundbreaking report on the true reasons for war,
the battle between big oil and the neo-cons, and the cover up of a lifetime.
Get ready...listen to the interview on Democracy Now...I'll be on the phone
with him tomorrow night and report to you all Wednesday. This could be big...but
I've said that before, and the truth just disapears into the Matrix, never
to be seen again, and not able to puncture the pubilc conciousness to the
level we all hope. Nonetheless...this is unreal:
And, John Zogby,
arguably the most reliable pollster in the United States, who has freely admitted
he "blew" last November's elections and does not exclude the possibility that
foul play was one of the factors knocking his calculations off course. "We're
plowing into a brave new world here," he says, "where there are so many variables
aside from out-and-out corruption that can change elections, especially in situations
where the races are close. We have machines that break down, or are tampered
with, or are simply misunderstood. It's a cause for great concern."
"The bombs in
Vietnam," King said in 1967, "explode at home; they destroy the hopes
and possibilities for a decent America." He rejected the insistent
claims that it would be more prudent to avoid clear opposition to the war in
order to concentrate on domestic issues. "I speak for those whose land is being
laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted,"
he said. "I speak for the poor in America who are paying the double
price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam."
Huffington
also tries her best to shake people free from the current propaganda
barage. You've heard it, the whole "was Bush right"? garbage. The Matrix is
tightening, and many are falling prey, even after years of death, disaster,
and lies, a few staged "elections" erases all of that, and suddenly its a success?
Damn...people forget so fast, and the media so wants this to be a success story...don't
succumb!! here's arrianna:
"And can we really
blame the Arab world for its skepticism about the Unites States' sudden commitment
to freedom and democracy? After all, it wasn't that long ago that Dick
Cheney was opposing the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa;
Donald Rumsfeld was cutting deals with Saddam Hussein; and the CIA was
overthrowing Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically-elected leader of Iran,
and installing the Shah. And President Bush continues to make nice with
Mr. Putin, Gen. Musharraf and the House of Saud."
Our congresswoman
here in the East Bay Area Barbara Lee...a politician that actually I'm proud
to say represents me. This
column on the toll of the war, and the giant problems here at home that
require every dollar we have to solve. People need to keep connecting the draconian
cuts in services like healthcare and education to the $6 billion a month we're
spending destroying Iraq. Here's Barbara:
"There has been
virtually no accountability on the war spending. Despite Congress
requiring it, the administration has flatly refused to account for how
our tax dollars have been spent in Iraq, or what the future costs will be.
Given the failure to provide our troops with adequate equipment and the documented
cases of waste and fraud perpetrated by contractors like Halliburton, it
is the height of hypocrisy for members of Congress to say they support our troops
and to fail to insist on accountability on why these resources have
not been spent to protect our young men and women."
And, TWENTY-THREE
U.S. House Members Sent a Letter to E-Vote Companies!
Members convey 'moral and patriotic duty' to implement standards or face loss
of Government Funding! They also state that HAVA funding should only go to 'firms
that abide by these principles'.
Congressional
support for Velvet Revolution's "Divestiture for Democracy" campaign
(go to their site, they are fantastic) continues to build strength as TWENTY-THREE
U.S. House Members signed on to a letter sent late Friday to the nine
major American Voting Machine companies! The letter, authored
by Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. John Conyers, and signed by 23 colleagues,
demands transparency and accountability from the private companies which
now run the public function of America's electoral system. The Congressional
members outline -- in no uncertain terms -- their position that all government
funding should be withheld from companies that do not comply with the standards
originally set forth in VR's February 21 letter to the companies.
Oh my god...look
at this...mainstream
press covering Negroponte's real record...this is a nice change of pace,
and spells problems for his confirmation as he returns to face Democrats. No
doubt they will read this article, and no doubt it will give them more courage
to hold his feet to the fire. I can't wait until Barbara Boxer gets to go after
him! Here's a clip from the Washington Post:
"A 1997 report
by then-CIA Inspector General Frederick P. Hitz on CIA activities in Honduras
contains numerous references to Negroponte's concerns about the possible "political
ramifications" of negative human rights reporting. It cites several
instances when reports were "suppressed" or given very limited circulation
because of fears that they "would reflect negatively on Honduras." Hitz quoted
an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency as saying that "the Embassy
country team" wanted to keep human rights reporting "benign" in order "to avoid
Congress looking over its shoulders and to keep Congress satisfied
with the ongoing implementation of U.S. policy." The analyst's name was redacted.
"But this is
a time of small hopes and semi-desperate clinging. In a sea of nasty GOP agendas
and violent warmongering and quasi-religious nutjobs manning the guns, you grab
your dream fragments where you can and you ride them like golden bullets to
the end of their trajectories and pray you end up somewhere new, and positive,
and maybe even earth-shaking -- or, in this case, soaked in that most rare and
disrespected and heartbroken of American values: true love. Is it possible?
Let's hope.
You just
have to read this to believe it:
In his budget,
President Bush has proposed charging certain veterans a $250 annual
registration fee and raising from $7 to $15 the copayment those veterans
pay for a 30-day supply of prescription drugs. The budget
also would cut $293.5 million by limiting the veterans whose care in state-operated
veterans homes is reimbursed by the federal government.
Study
Links Mercury Emissions to Autism (remember, autism mysteriously has
been skyrocketing in recent years)
A new scientific
study has found a link between mercury released from coal-fired power
plants and the increasing number of cases of autism. The study tracked
how autism rates rose in certain counties in Texas where mercury emissions were
rising. About 48 tons of mercury are released into the air annually in the United
States from hundreds of coal-burning plants. Last month the U.S. blocked
attempts to launch formal talks on a global treaty to ban mercury which
has also been linked to other serious ailments in pregnant women and children.
Joseph
Stiglitz comments on the Wolfowitz appointment to lead the World Band
And no, you're
not dreaming, Bush really appointed Wolfowitz. Why? Because he's a
decent and caring man who wants to stop poverty! Uh oh...my head is
spinning again. Here's what Joseph had to say:
The former chief
economist of the World Bank and one of the world's most influential
economic thinkers, has launched a savage attack on US plans to appoint Paul
Wolfowitz as the World Bank's new president. In an exclusive interview,
the American Nobel laureate said: "The World Bank will once again become
a hate figure. This could bring street protests and violence across the developing
world." He described President Bush's determination to appoint his
deputy defense secretary to the important post as "either an act of
provocation or an act so insensitive as to look like provocation".
Wolfowitz is widely regarded as the creator of the policy that led to
the US war in Iraq. Stiglitz said Wolfowitz was unsuitable in part
because the US war in Iraq remains profoundly unpopular in many of the territories
where the World Bank works. But he also complained that Wolfowitz has the wrong
skills. "He has no training or experience in economic development or
financial markets," Stiglitz said. The Bank was the most important
institution addressing poverty, he said. "We need someone in
charge who knows. . . development."
The True
Costs Of War...Did you know you've spent $3000 on it already?
A few weeks ago,
the United States military casualty number topped 1,500. It was widely reported
in the news. But did you know that more than half of the troops who
do come home have low morale, and more than 100,000 of them
need mental health care? And what about the insurgents spurred to action
by the U.S. occupation—35,000 more of them now than two years ago?
What about the fact that the war is costing every house in
American upwards of $3,000? Then there's the things
we could have done with all that war money: hired 3 million
new elementary school teachers, provided health care for 27
million Americans. The Institute For Policy Studies ran the numbers
and found out exactly how much the war has cost us.
The Politicization
of Terri Schiavo...this is just too sick
Just like countless
other families, the family of Terri Schiavo has struggled for years with the
intensely difficult decision of how to match her course of treatment to her
wishes. Now President George W. Bush, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Sen.
Bill Frist (R-TN) are using the
tragic case of Schiavo a severely brain-damaged woman who has been
incapacitated for the past 15 years as an opportunity for political grandstanding.
A memo, which the AP reports was distributed
by Senate leadership to right-wing members, called Schiavo "a great
political issue" and urged senators to talk about her because "the pro-life
base will be excited." Over the weekend, DeLay and Frist held special sessions
of Congress to facilitate passage of a bill that would allow
a federal court to overturn years of Florida jurisprudence encompassing
seven courts and 19 judges and intervene in the Schiavo case. (Underscoring
that this was about the politics of the Schiavo case and not policy, the bill
was
written explicitly to apply only to Terri Schiavo.) President Bush
played his part in the spectacle, flying to Washington from his ranch in Crawford
to sign the bill, even though waiting a few hours for the bill to be flown
to him would likely "have made no difference in whether Ms. Schiavo lives."
BUSH SIGNED
LAW ALLOWING HOSPITALS TO DISCONTINUE LIFE SUPPORT: In a statement released
early this morning, President Bush said he will "continue to stand on
the side of those defending life for all Americans." But the facts
make it hard to believe that Bush is standing on principle. In 1999, then
Gov. Bush signed a law that "allows
hospitals [to] discontinue life sustaining care, even if patient family
members disagree." Just days ago the law permitted Texas Children's Hospital
to remove the breathing tube from a 6-month-old boy named Sun Hudson. The
law may soon be used to remove life support from Spiro Nikolouzos, a 68-year-old man. Bush
has not commented on either case.
DELAY VOTED
TO SLASH FUNDING THAT PAID FOR SCHIAVO'S CARE: At every opportunity, Tom
DeLay has sanctimoniously proclaimed his concern for the well-being of Terri
Schiavo, saying he is only trying to ensure she has the chance "we
all deserve." Schiavo's
medications are paid for by Medicaid. Just last week, DeLay marshaled
a budget resolution through the House of Representatives that would cut
funding for Medicaid by at least $15 billion, threatening the quality
of care for people like Terri Schiavo. Because the Senate voted to restore
the funding, DeLay is threatening
to hold up the entire budget process if he doesn't get his way.
FRIST FIGHTING
AGAINST FINANCIAL RECOVERY FOR PEOPLE LIKE SCHIAVO: Bill Frist has been
positioning himself in the media as a champion for Schiavo's interests. Yet,
much of Schiavo's medical care has been financed by $1,000,000
from two medical malpractice lawsuits Schiavo won after her heart
attack 15 years ago. Frist has been leading
the charge to limit recovery for people like Schiavo who are
severely debilitated. If Frist is successful, people like Schiavo would not
be able to recover any punitive damages no matter how severe their injuries.