Samstag, 9. Dezember 2006

It's Still About Oil in Iraq

Page 1, Chapter 1 of the Iraq Study Group report lays out Iraq's importance to its region, the US and the world with this reminder: "It has the world's second-largest known oil reserves."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906Y.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+Study+Group

Smith says Iraq war may be "criminal"

By MATTHEW DALY

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, who voted in favor of the Iraq war and has supported it ever since, now says the current U.S. war effort is "absurd" and "may even be criminal."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003468687_websmith08.html


Informant: David Diggins



Sen. Smith urges changes in U.S. strategy
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/12/09/a1.smithspeech.1209.p1.php?section=cityregion


Informant: ranger116



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Gordon+Smith

GOP Senator Criticizes Iraq War in Emotional Speech

In an emotional speech on the Senate floor Thursday night, Senator Gordon Smith, a moderate Republican from Oregon who has been a supporter of the war in Iraq, said the US military's "tactics have failed" and he "cannot support that anymore."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906G.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP

New Orleans to Raze Public Housing

Public housing officials decided Thursday to proceed with the demolition of more than 4,500 government apartments here, brushing aside an outcry from residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina who said the move was intended to reduce the ability of poor black people to repopulate the city. Residents and their advocates made emotional, legal and what they called common-sense arguments against demolition at the housing authority meeting. "The day you decide to destroy our homes, you will break a lot of hearts," said Sharon Pierce Jackson, who lived in one of the now-closed projects slated to be razed. "We are people. We are not animals."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906F.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=New+Orleans

House, Senate Push Through Massive Tax Cut, Energy Bills

Nearing the end of an era of Republican rule, Congress early today sent to President Bush energy, tax and trade legislation as it prepared to hand over the reins of power to Democrats. In a final burst of activity, lawmakers approved $38 billion in tax breaks and a Vietnam trade measure and voted to open a large section of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906E.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=drilling

Impeachment Is Not a Partisan Issue; It's a Democracy Issue

"As we look toward January 3, 2007, the day that the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, one of the issues that must be addressed is whether or not the impeachment of President George W. Bush and others in the Bush administration should take place. Regarding the invasion of Iraq and the manner in which information was presented to the American people, did the president and/or members of his administration commit treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors? Many see this as a partisan issue. Most if not all Republicans are against the idea. Some Democrats support impeachment. All Americans who believe in democracy should support it. Impeachment, in this instance, is not a partisan issue; it's a democracy issue," says Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906C.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach

Halliburton Violated Multibillion Dollar Iraq Contract

Halliburton Corp., the oil field services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, breached the terms of its multibillion dollar contract to provide US soldiers logistical support in Iraq when one of its subcontractors outsourced security work to Blackwater USA, according to new documents released Friday by Congressman Henry Waxman.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906B.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Halliburton
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Cheney
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Waxman

Save Net Neutrality!

A message from Kim

Original Message

Please take the action below and forward this to protect our internet. If you are one of our friends living outside the USA please forward this to all your American friends so they can help. Thank you so much.

Bless You All

Catman P.


The FCC is at it again, ignoring the public interest to give handouts to massive corporations. This move could undermine basic freedoms for all Internet users.

Sign On To the Letter Below to urge your members of Congress to step in and save Internet freedom.

http://action.freepress.net/campaign/stop_att_merger

‘No blame’ for mast blunder

By Tom Stirling

IT'S NOT their fault - that's the verdict of a top lawyer, who has defended Ryedale District Council's handling of a controversial mobile phone mast.

Residents at Sheriff Hutton have threatened legal action after the council said there was nothing it could do to move the Orange mast.

Nigel Giffin QC was called in to look at the council's options.

He concluded the council was not to blame - even though it was its error that prompted the furore.

As revealed in The Press at the time, council bosses failed to submit their written objections to the company within the formal deadline.

Mr Giffin's advice said: "This error has in fact made no difference whatever to the outcome, because there was ultimately no proper basis for refusing prior approval consent in any event.

"Accordingly, whilst it may well be that there are people in Sheriff Hutton who think that the erection of the mast is the result of the council's error, that is not in truth an objectively tenable view of what has happened.

"Rather, the erection of the mast results from the current state of the scientific evidence coupled with the nature of current planning powers and guidance."

Mr Giffin also ruled out spending public money to move the mast.

He said: "It is hard to see that it can be right to expend a substantial sum of public money in order to restore public confidence in the council, when the council is not in fact the author of the problem."

He added: "If the mast remains where it is, the council is entitled to say that it is because it had no power to bring about a different result, and not because it did not use some power which it did have."

John Botting, a prominent anti-mast campaigner at Sheriff Hutton, said: "I can understand where Mr Giffin is coming from, but this means we are totally disenfranchised. If we accept this advice, whenever a phone company wants to put a mast up, there is nothing anyone can do to stop them.

"Are we going to have Sheriff Hutton repeated across North Yorkshire?"

Senior councillor Robert Wainwright said: "The council has left no stone unturned to try to resolve this long-running issue.

"The views of local people have been listened to and we will continue to work with Ryedale residents to ensure that such a situation does not happen again by amended internal procedures and systems."

© Copyright 2001-2006 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/yorknews/display.var.1066229.0.no_blame_for_mast_blunder.php

EPA Shortens Science Reviews, Angering Some

The US Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday streamlined the way it updates regulations for the nation's worst air pollutants, a move that drew immediate charges that officials are trying to quash scientific review to benefit industry at the expense of public health.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120806HA.shtml

Revolt Over New Federal Mercury Law

Facing a mandate to slash toxic mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, 23 states are thumbing their noses at a federal cleanup plan and are instead developing their own far tougher plans to deal with mercury.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/120806EB.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=mercury

Time for Bush to Go!

"George W. Bush had a point when he disparaged the Baker-Hamilton commission's plan for gradual troop withdrawals from Iraq by saying 'this business about graceful exit just simply has no realism to it whatsoever.' It's now obvious that there can be no exit from Iraq - graceful or otherwise - as long as Bush remains president," writes Robert Parry.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120806S.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=James+Baker
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Robert+Parry

Foley Panel Says GOP Negligent of Teens

The House ethics committee has concluded that Republican leaders were negligent in protecting male pages from ex-Representative Mark Foley.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120806R.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Foley
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=GOP

Das Handy, das Fremdgeher enttarnt

http://www.welt.de/data/2006/12/08/1139144.html

Phone mast site ‘too close to homes’

Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 8 December 2006

HUNDREDS of residents are being urged to oppose plans for a 50-foot mobile phone mast in Archway on the grounds that it is “unsightly” and a potential health hazard.

Hutchison 3G is planning to site the mast on Network Rail land at the corner of Station Road and Junction Road, less than 50 feet from the nearest homes and 120 feet from a proposed new Circle Anglia housing development.

The residents, backed by Labour councillor Janet Burgess, are calling on Islington Council to reject plans for the mast.

IT manager Roger O’Kelly, who lives near the mast site, said: “It will look out of place between two trees in an area that has already lost greenery and it’s too close to homes where there are families with children.

“We want to know if the firm has looked at more suitable areas or was this site the only one available?”

Cllr Burgess said: “There’s an awful lot of concern about this planned mast. There’s a new block of social housing going up very near to the site.

“What these residents want is for this scheme to go to planning committee so they can have a fair hearing.”

A spokesman for the firm said: “A planning application has been submitted for the 15-metre mast with a base station. We’ve been looking for a site in this area for 18 months.

“We examined seven options and this was the most suitable in terms of minimising environmental and visual impact. As regards concerns about emissions, we apply government-instigated World Health Organisation guidelines.”

Omega read "Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk?" under: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/

• Experts have warned that plans to site 32 mobile phone masts at Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium would make it a high-density area for the devices.

Powerwatch, an independent group which monitors masts, claims there are already almost 100 masts within a two-square-mile radius of the Asburton Grove stadium.

All content © New Journal Enterprises, 2006

http://www.thecnj.co.uk/islington/120806/news120806_09.html

U.S. Criminal Probe Rattles $2 Trillion Municipal Bond Market

U.S. Justice Department prosecutors subpoenaed more than a dozen banks and insurers three weeks ago, seizing documents from three brokers in a search for evidence of bid rigging. Lawyers say it's the biggest criminal investigation of the almost 200- year-old market, where municipalities have more than $2 trillion of debt outstanding.

http://tinyurl.com/yhsmb9



US subprime loans face trouble:

The failure of a small Californian mortgage lender on Thursrday increased nervousness in the credit derivatives market about the large number of US "subprime" mortgages extended this year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20061208/bs_ft/fto120720062004177556



Top-Level Insiders Selling Their Stock:

America's corporate chiefs are unloading their own stocks at one of the boldest paces in 20 years.

http://tinyurl.com/yz686h


From Information Clearing House

New Guantanamo prison condemned

Human Rights Watch has renewed its calls for the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to be shut down as inmates were being moved to a new maximum-security jail there.

http://tinyurl.com/ynxdpq


From Information Clearing House



Guantanamo Detainees Going to New Prison

The US military transferred the first group of detainees on Thursday to a new maximum-security prison at Guantanamo Bay. About 430 men are currently held at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, including about 100 who have been cleared for release and are awaiting transfer to another country. Fewer than a dozen inmates have been charged with crimes.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120806T.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Guantanamo
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture

Was Jose Padilla Tortured?

A video of the accused "terrorist" shows he was subjected to unduly harsh treatment, his lawyers claim, leaving him psychologically damaged and unfit to stand trial.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1565798,00.html



U.S. asks judge to bar testimony about Padilla military custody:

Federal prosecutors asked a judge Thursday to prevent terror suspect Jose Padilla's defense lawyers from questioning Defense Department officials or obtaining documents about Padilla's treatment during 3 1/2 years in military custody as an "enemy combatant."

http://tinyurl.com/y5eshn


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Padilla
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=torture

The neocons have finished what the Vietcong started

Vietnam traumatised the US but left its power intact; Iraq, however, will be far more serious for the superpower.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1967420,00.html


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=neocon
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Vietnam

650,000 Iraqi Deaths Given Voice In U.S. Congress

In a bipartisan Congressional briefing hosted by Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) and Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) the authors of the Lancet Study, which found that as many as 650,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed during the war, will present their full findings to Congress.

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1208-03.htm

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650,000 Iraqi Deaths Given Voice In U.S. Congress

Video

Congressional briefing on the Lancet Iraqi casualty study: Speaking were Gilbert Burnham, Les Roberts, and Juan Cole. The briefing was organized by Rep. Kucinich, with the support of Rep. Ron Paul.

http://tinyurl.com/y7jdtj



655,000 Excess Deaths In Iraq Since U.S. Invasion

Francesco Checchi, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, looks at the lambasting a new report on Iraq deaths has got from hostile governments. He has worked on mortality surveys in Angola, Darfur, Thailand and Uganda, and written a publication "Interpreting and using mortality data in humanitarian emergencies" for the Humanitarian Practice Network.

http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/reliefresources/116066724942.htm



Full Report

A publication "Interpreting and using mortality data in humanitarian emergencies" [PDF]

http://tinyurl.com/v87fr


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=650,000
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=655,000

Annan: Iraq violence could lead to regional war

"The prospects of all-out civil war and even a regional conflict have become much more real" since the secretary-general's last report, issued three months ago, Annan said. "Therefore, the challenge is not only to contain and defuse the current violence but also to prevent escalation."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22210409.htm


From Information Clearing House

Bush 'must adopt all Iraq plan'

The main authors of the report that aims to change US strategy in Iraq have urged President George Bush to follow all of their recommendations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6220022.stm



A Turning Point for a Panel: 4 Harrowing Days in Iraq

For some members of the Iraq Study Group, the turning point came during four days in Baghdad in September. They found the trip so harrowing, they said, that they wondered if they could afford to wait to speak out about the disaster in Iraq.

http://tinyurl.com/y6v3d2


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+Study+Group

Generals say plans won't work in field

Pentagon generals believe that the Iraq Study Group's military recommendations are unrealistic.

http://tinyurl.com/yc8kvg


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+Study+Group

U.S. troops suffer heavy losses this month in Iraq

At least 32 U.S. troops have died in Iraq this month, according to the Defense Department. Eleven died Wednesdayt. Another soldier wounded Wednesday died Thursday, the military said.

http://tinyurl.com/y37x85


From Information Clearing House

Honesty in Iraq

By David Swanson

How often do we hear the voices of Iraqis in American journalism? How many of us know their stories? We've killed 650,000 of them, measured as excess deaths above the level of deaths our sanctions were causing each year before the war. Since the Spring of 2004 most Iraqis have viewed America as their primary enemy. But what do we know about their lives?

http://tinyurl.com/y3hvaq


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Swanson

Dictatorship USA: on unchained executive power

http://www.lewrockwell.com/engelhardt/engelhardt247.html



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=com%2Fengelhardt
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tom+Engelhardt

Conscription and the First Amendment

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/post1.html

Native Americans Gather To Discuss Climate Change

CONFERENCE STUDIES GLOBAL WARMING

By Sarah Moses
indiancountry.com
December 8, 2006

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414127

SOMERTON, Ariz. - As the sun rose over the mountains of Yuma, the clouds broke and light peered through the pale blue sky.

''Us Native Americans take everything, such as the land, the air and the waters, as sacred,'' said Edmund Domingues, a councilman of the Cocopah Indian Tribe.

''But maybe one of these days we won't be able to see the sunrise,'' he said as he welcomed tribal leaders and climate scientists from across the country to the first-ever Tribal Lands Climate Conference.

The conference, which was co-sponsored by the tribe and the National Wildlife Federation, was held on Dec. 5 and 6 at the Cocopah Casino. Over two days, tribal leaders from 55 nations and representatives from various environmental organizations met to discuss the effects of global warming on tribal lands.

''Our goal here is to begin a dialogue and establish lines of communication within and among tribes on the issue of climate change,'' said Steve Torbit, tribal lands conservation program director for the NWF. ''What we hope to do here is learn from each other.''

Torbit said the conference was for tribes and about tribes.

''The goal of the National Wildlife Federation Tribal Lands Conservation Program is to ensure the well-being of wildlife and habitat on and near tribal lands by working in partnership with tribal and nontribal governments and tribal organizations, environmental staff and members, while respecting tribal culture and sovereignty,'' Torbit said.

At the conference, Robert Corell, chair of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, gave an overview of the effects of global warming.

''Climate change and global warming are no longer simply an environmental issue, it's an economic and human well-being issue,'' Corell said.

He said science is now showing evidence of the effects of global warming that indigenous villages around the world have noticed for decades.

''As salmon people we see what's changing in the landscape; we see what's changing with the resources that are important to us like the salmon,'' said Terry Williams, Tulalip. ''Looking at that, we've drawn upon our traditional knowledge and we've also drawn upon science.''

Williams said his tribe has seen the loss of animals and fish, which can no longer survive in the changing environment.

''The federal government has put limits on us with reservations and boundaries,'' he said. ''And as the species migrate off our land we don't have the legal rights to follow them. And that's going to affect our culture and it's going to affect our health.''

The NWF has relationships with more than 100 tribes, including the Cocopah Tribe. In 2002, the foundation partnered with the tribe to preserve the 22 miles of the limitrophe section of the Lower Colorado River. The area, which is culturally significant to the tribe, is home to several species of wetland birds and plants. The Colorado River holds great cultural significance to many other Indian nations and has faced many climate threats to its river system.

The NWF's programs promote environmental and economic justice for American Indians and seek empowerment for tribes at the local, state and national levels. Programs geared towards education help empower tribal educators and students.

Wahleah Johns, Navajo, said programs that educate the youth are important because it gives them the ability to take the information back to their elders in their community.

''I can't leave here with the knowledge that I have gained and not tell anyone,'' said Johns, who works with the Black Mesa Water Coalition. ''I need to go to the elders in my community and explain to them what is going on.''

The conference gave tribes the ability to share the problems that they were facing. Many of the tribes realized the impact that global warming was having in their community was also affecting communities thousands of miles away.

''Mother Earth nourishes all of our relatives; whatever happens to the bears, whatever happens to the fish, will eventually happen to us,'' said Caleen Sisk-Franco, leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe.

Sisk-Franco called for traditional Natives to remember what they were taught about the Earth and to remember the lessons they were taught about sacred places.

''As a Hopi woman, my environment is very important to me,'' said Cynthia Naha. ''And as a people, we need to come together and bring forth a powerful statement of change.''


Informant: NHNE



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Black+Mesa

Americans Believe U.S. International Strategy Has Backfired, Undermining U.S. Security

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1208-01.htm

Calling the tragedy in Iraq a "civil war" is inaccurate, morally indefensible, laying the blame the destruction of a country upon the victims of an illegal, aggressive war

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1208-32.htm

The Baker Agenda: Troops Out, Oil Companies in?

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1208-31.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Tom+Hayden
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Big+Oil
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=James+Baker

World Bank Losing War on Poverty

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1208-06.htm

CROSS AT MAST BID

9 December 2006

A VICAR has sparked fury with a plan to ditch the cross on top of his church - for one holding a mobile phone mast.

Rev Todd Gile said the deal with phone giant 3 would bring in vital cash.

He said: "The church is in the business of worshipping God. This is a legitimate fundraiser to support the ministry.

"It won't be an eyesore and will look just like the existing cross."

But some locals in Peterlee, Co Durham, are outraged. Cllr Ted Hall said: "It's totally repugnant. The cross should remind people to speak to the Lord rather than phone their mother."

http://tinyurl.com/y4ry5z

The pressure is building: add your voice NOW

This week US President George Bush became almost the last man on earth to support a failed Middle East strategy. The conservative-leaning “Iraq Study Group” - including top figures from Bush's own Republican Party - has just released its long awaited recommendations and condemned virtually every aspect of America’s current approach to the Middle East.

The report is not perfect, but it echoes almost every call to action the Ceasefire Campaign has made since we began in August: it calls for Bush and other leaders to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, to talk to Iran, and switch to a diplomatic strategy for stabilizing Iraq that includes the withdrawal of US troops.

The global pressure on Bush to change course is now intense, but he is still holding out. Click below to add your voice to the chorus calling for Bush to adopt the report's key recommendations for change:

http://www.CeasefireCampaign.org

Our last petition on Iraq, signed by almost 80,000 Ceasefire Campaigners, was covered by US media in key outlets, and our ad was published in papers in London and Washington. A major response from people around the world at this critical moment is likely to get press attention in the US, and up the pressure on President Bush.

With the release of Iraq Study Group report, every sensible voice from across the political spectrum is now pleading with Bush to change course.

Please add your voice here:
http://www.CeasefireCampaign.org

There are enormous dangers and challenges in Middle East, but there is also great opportunity. A strong diplomatic effort can reverse the cycle of conflict, and Bush is the last man on earth left to convince.

With hope,

Ricken, Galit, Rachel, Tom, Amparo and the rest of the Ceasefire Campaign Team.



Thanks for adding your voice to the global wave of pressure on President Bush to finally change course in the Middle East. You can make a greater impact by making sure that your friends, family, co-workers, fellow activists, and anyone else who might like to hear from you know about your effort. The only way we will reach the kind of numbers that can increase the pressure on President Bush is through spreading the word. Just forward the email below with a short personal message from you above it.

Best to you,
The Ceasefire Campaign Team


This week US President George Bush became almost the last man on earth to support a failed Middle East strategy. The conservative-leaning Iraq Study Grou - including top figures from Bush's own Republican Party - has just released its long awaited recommendations and condemned virtually every aspect of America's current approach to the Middle East. The report is not perfect, but it echoes almost every call to action the Ceasefire Campaign has made since we began in August: it calls for Bush and other leaders to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, to talk to Iran, and switch to a diplomatic strategy for stabilizing Iraq that includes the withdrawal of US troops. The global pressure on Bush to change course is now intense, but he is still holding out. Click below to add your voice to the chorus calling for Bush to adopt the report's key recommendations for change: www.CeasefireCampaign.org Our last petition on Iraq, signed by almost 80,000 Ceasefire Campaigners, was covered by US media in key outlets, and our ad was published in papers in London and Washington. A major response from people around the world at this critical moment is likely to get press attention in the US, and up the pressure on President Bush. With the release of Iraq Study Group report, every sensible voice from across the political spectrum is now pleading with Bush to change course.

Please add your voice here: http://www.CeasefireCampaign.org

There are enormous dangers and challenges in Middle East, but there is also great opportunity. A strong diplomatic effort can reverse the cycle of conflict, and Bush is the last man on earth left to convince.


Informant: Dances Alone



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+Study+Group

McKinney Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush

In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia representative Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120806Z.shtml



A Closing Call for Impeachment

"President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that senior members of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed the trust of the American people," Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney explained in remarks prepared to accompany her submission on Friday of articles of impeachment against Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. McKinney, in her last legislative act before leaving the House at the end of her current term, represented not merely a final thrust by the Georgia Democrat against the Bush administration that she has so consistently opposed but a challenge to the new House Democratic leadership to pay more than lip service to its Constitutionally-mandated duty to check and balance the executive branch. Read the full text of McKinney's remarks.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906A.shtml

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McKinney, Smith, Bush, and Impeachment

By David Swanson.

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has introduced articles of impeachment [ http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/mckinneyarticles.pdf ]against George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Condoleezza Rice. In doing so, she alone has spoken for the 51 percent of Americans who Newsweek says want Bush impeached. A considerably higher percentage of Americans would, if asked, almost certainly acknowledge that the abuses with which McKinney charges Bush et al. have, in fact, been committed by them and are impeachable offenses. That is to say, there are those who recognize the grounds for impeachment but don't want to see them pursued. There are even those who want impeachment pursued but wish it were not being pursued by McKinney

McKinney charges that Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld manipulated intelligence and lied to justify war, and that Bush has engaged in illegal domestic spying. The former charge has been extremely well documented, [ http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/keydocuments ] and the latter proudly confessed to. The former charge was central to the concern of those who included impeachment in the U.S. Constitution. The latter charge is one of openly violating a law that was established in response to President Richard Nixon's impeachable offenses.

So, why aren't all impeachment advocates thrilled? Because McKinney's courage and leadership are overpowered, in their minds, by their own fears. They're afraid that impeachment will be painted as radical and that other people less insightful than themselves will, as a result, oppose it. They fail to recognize that silence is more damaging to the cause of justice than are attacks by its opponents, and that other Americans are just as smart (although just as scared) as they are. McKinney has put impeachment where Speaker-Designate Nancy Pelosi said it could not go: on the table. This can only benefit the cause of impeachment.

The media attacks on McKinney have begun, and rather than joining in them by condemning her for bravely doing what we know needed to be done, we should be defending her with a barrage of letters to editors and phone calls to radio shows. [ http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=9196431&type=ME ] And we should be urging every member of Congress to join her. [ http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/petition ] Associated Press reporter Ben Evans has published a vicious attack on McKinney in which he alleges that

"The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot."

But in which Evans does not comment on public support for the action or the merits of the case. Instead, he suggests that McKinney has launched an attack directed as much at Pelosi as at Bush. But McKinney said nothing about Pelosi and accused Bush of the highest possible crime.

Where are Evans' priorities?

Evans does not even say what the charges against Bush are. Rather he launches into an attack on McKinney:

"McKinney, a Democrat who drew national headlines in March when she struck a Capitol police officer, has long insisted that Bush was never legitimately elected. In introducing her legislation in the final hours of the current Congress, she said Bush had violated his oath of office to defend the Constitution and the nation's laws."

And she said nothing of the legitimacy of his election. McKinney was tried and convicted in the press, and was never indicted.

Evans later writes:

"McKinney … has increasingly embraced her image as a controversial figure."

How has she done that? By acting on behalf of a majority of Americans using a tool that appears centrally and in six places in our Constitution, a tool that has been vital to U.S. and British democracy for 700 years?

Evans isn't done yet:

"She has hosted numerous panels on Sept. 11 conspiracy theories…"

McKinney hosted a day-long briefing that included academics, authors, and former government and intelligence professionals, some of whom questioned the work of the 9-11 Commission, but none of whom presented theories.

"…and suggested that Bush had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks but kept quiet about it to allow friends to profit from the aftermath."

McKinney asked about the reports that over a dozen foreign intelligence agencies had provided early warnings. She did not say that Bush kept it quiet to allow friends to profit. She asked whether his associates were making a profit, as of course many of them are through the "war on terror." Greg Palast has produced a film called "American Blackout," which addresses the media's misquoting and misrepresenting of Congresswoman McKinney on this issue.

Evans keeps going:

"She introduced legislation to establish a permanent collection of rapper Tupac Shakur's recordings at the National Archives and calling for a federal investigation into his killing."

The Tupac Amaru Shakur Records Act did not establish a permanent collection of his music at the Archives or create an investigation, but required the release of all government records relating to his life and death at federal, state, and local levels.

Evans persists:

"But it was her scuffle with a Capitol police officer that drew the most attention. McKinney struck the officer when he tried to stop her from entering a congressional office building. The officer did not recognize McKinney, who was not wearing her member lapel pin."

A Grand Jury heard these charges and dismissed them.

Evans says as much, but twists this fact with the words that follow:

"A grand jury in Washington declined to indict McKinney over the clash, but she eventually apologized before the House."

Now, what does any of that have to do with whether our President used fraud to take us into the current war? Nothing, of course. But in the U.S. corporate media it is only those who supported the war who have the right to speak against it. If you opposed the war from the start, if you saw through the lies while it still mattered, you are disqualified now from commenting further.

Matthew Daly, another Associated Press reporter, wrote an article on Friday that contrasted with the one by Evans. The headline was "Smith says Iraq war may be 'criminal'". And the article began:

"Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, who voted in favor of the Iraq war and has supported it ever since, now says the current U.S. war effort is 'absurd' and 'may even be 'criminal.'"

Of course, it is. But Smith called it such in the vaguest of terms. McKinney laid out the evidence in an Article of Impeachment. Look at the treatment the AP gave Smith:

"In a major speech on the Senate floor, the Oregon senator called for rapid pullouts of U.S. troops from Iraq and said he would have never voted for the conflict if he had known the intelligence that President Bush gave the American people was inaccurate."

Why was his speech "major"? Because he supported a criminal war on the basis of evidence that millions of us and half the Democrats in Congress saw through at the time.

The article went on to quote Smith on his reasons for charging that the war is criminal, but added nothing about his embracing controversy, splitting with the Republican party, or having done anything unpopular in the past:

"Citing the hundreds of billions of dollars spent and the nearly 3,000 American deaths, Smith said, 'I for one am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal. So either we clear and hold and build or let's go home.'"

This treatment continued for seven more paragraphs.

Congresswoman McKinney is not only a more intelligent and responsible public servant than Senator Smith, but she is also someone who foresaw the current attacks on her record and forged ahead anyway. She understands her role as public servant to involve serving the public. And, in the long run, she is serving the interests of the Democratic Party, whether everyone in that party grasps the point or not. She's stuck her neck out for us, for our democracy, for the rule of law under our Constitution. Now, we need to support her.

Sunday, December 10th, is Human Rights Day, the 58th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that lays out, in 30 short articles, rights that every human should have protected. Eleven out of the 30 have clearly been violated in the United States by President Bush and his administration, rights including:

Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 12: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence….

This Human Rights Day, many of us have worked to organize rallies for impeachment all over the country. They will now also be rallies to honor and thank Cynthia McKinney. Find an event near you:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/december10

--------

Impeachment Day: Sunday December 10

Wow! We asked you to organize Impeachment Forums around the country, and boy did you come through - over 60 events are scheduled!

Don't miss the event nearest you. (New York City leads the way on Saturday.)

If you can't make it, please join your Congressional District Impeachment Committee: http://democrats.com/cdic-find

Be sure to sign our petition: http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/88?ad=d1

And call your favorite talk shows and urge everyone to help us impeach Bush and Cheney at: http://impeachforchange.org

Contact the Media About Impeachment Coverage

The Bush Administration has ignored the Constitution. Impeachable offenses need to be investigated. These are two statements that are true, yet are rarely heard via the mainstream American media. We have all seen what complacency in the media can bring. The Iraq War could not have been executed without it. Impeachment is being framed as a distraction or as revenge. It is time for the media to discuss the real evidence that supports Impeachment and leave the opining to the citizens of this country. http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=9196431&type=ME


Public Petition Signature Gathering Next Weekend
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/petition


Forward this message to everyone you know!

--------

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney Introduces Articles of Impeachment
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/cynthia


Informant: Jennifer Van Bergen

From ufpj-news

--------

No American Is Above The Law
http://www.rense.com/general74/above.htm

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney Introduces Articles of Impeachment, Faces Vicious Attacks by Media
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/16234

--------

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney Makes the Case for Impeachment

Here is McKinney's case for impeachment and for the history books, a case that says to historians, "Look, I knew what needed to be done, and I failed for years but I admitted it on my last day." A case that says to us: "Here is your mission: awaken currently serving Congress members to this case or kiss your democracy goodbye."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010607D.shtml


Cynthia McKinney Speech

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McKinney Grills Rumsfeld

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Informant: ranger116



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McKinney
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Swanson

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