Earths.net

The ongoing revelations of scandals in the Catholic church are appalling. That one child was ever hurt, much less thousands or even tens of thousands, is unconscionable. That they were hurt by priests who were supposed to be serving them, and that the church has continued to cover up these abuses, are a grave injustice.

Like everyone, I am deeply saddened by the hurt that has been done by church people, and with everyone in the church, apologize to anyone who was hurt. I hope that the church indeed makes sure this violence never happens again, and that our church finally learns to reject its love of power, domination, secrecy and sexism to become the community of peace and nonviolence that Jesus calls us to be.

If the church is finally to become a community of peace and nonviolence, following in the footsteps of its nonviolent founder, then it must of course ordain women and married people and include everyone in its embrace. It must always side with the poor and the oppressed in the struggle for justice.

But the acid test of the church’s transformation will be its final rejection of the so-called just war theory and its complete embrace of Gospel nonviolence. Until the church absolutely rejects its support of war and nuclear deterrence, it will not reflect the nonviolence of Jesus, and will continue to support the ultimate child abuse, the murder of children through warfare.

Today, the church reflects the culture’s false spirituality of violence, the belief that war is necessary, that war is justified, that war is even blessed by God. Over the centuries, the church modeled itself on the empire, created a similar leadership based on domination and “lording it over others,” rejected the Sermon on the Mount as impractical, invented the just war theory, and lived off the comforts of the culture of violence instead of risking the challenge of Gospel nonviolence, the cross and the resurrection.

Last November, nearly all the U.S. Catholic bishops voted to bless and support the bombing and mass murder of the people of Afghanistan. We know that some 4000 civilians were killed during the first two months of that U.S. war. Hundreds of children were killed by the United States, and the Catholic bishops condoned their murder.

Talk about child abuse!

The church cannot condemn child abuse by pedophiles and yet bless the government’s murder of children in its wars, if it wants to be consistent and faithful to Christ. Until the church rejects war once and for all, and adopts the consistency of Gospel nonviolence, it will continue to lose any moral credibility, and children around the world will continue to suffer and die.

The heart of Christianity is the nonviolent Jesus who commanded that we not only love one another, but that we put away the sword and love even our enemies. His teaching is too radical for any of us to handle. Yet if Christians would sincerely follow Christ, they must renounce killing and violence in whatever form they take.

Gandhi said Jesus was the most active practitioner of nonviolence in history, and the only people who don’t know that Jesus was nonviolent are Christians.

There is no way around the difficult, radical nonviolence of Christ. It is the center of all his teachings, and until we fully embrace his nonviolence, we will continue to fall far short of his vision.

But if the church and all Christians adopt Christ’s nonviolence, love our enemies, and resist our country’s wars, we will not only learn integrity and fidelity, we may even help stop the killings and destruction of the planet.

In the end, all communities of faith, including the churches, synagogues and mosques, will play a critical role in saving us from the brink of global destruction. The religious communities can dare to stand with our country’s enemies, see the humanity in their eyes, love them and defend them.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement showed, the churches can play a key role in practicing active nonviolent resistance to systemic injustice and war, and build the grassroots movement for social change. They can become prophetic communities that denounce war and injustice, and announce the vision of a more just, peaceful society where war, poverty and nuclear weapons no longer exist.

The church must renounce its complicity in the ultimate child abuse of war, beginning with our government’s mass murder of children in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and Colombia. When the church gives itself in the prophetic defense of all victims of war, and confronts the Pentagon and Bush’s war, then it will discover true integrity and authenticity, and resemble the radical vision of its founder.

John Dear is a Jesuit priest, peace activist and author of 17 books on peace and justice, including LIVING PEACE (Doubleday) and JESUS THE REBEL (Sheed and Ward).

Source: http://www.fatherjohndear.org

4/28/02
1:23:08 PM

`In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.'

Why?

TO THE WTC SURVIVORS OF 911

Why did 40,000 or more of you NOT show up for work at the WTC that morning? It's very bizarre. Were there any directives given out in advance - something about work on elevators, for instance or other possible unusual interruptions - something that would lead your businesses to innocently suggest a late start that morning? Most of you worked for international finance related companies. That's not 9 to 5 - it's round the clock. See, the fact is, it took over 7 hours to evacuate PART of one of the WTC buildings in '93 when there was much less havoc in the stairwells. It was simply not possible to evacuate thousands of people down multiple narrow flights of stairs in under one hour - but that did not happen. You survived because most of you were not there in the first place. How come? PART 6 - Why?

Why? a 6 part series posted APFN message board 4/27/02 by Anonymous

http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html

Why - part 1

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24767

Why - part 2

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24768

Why - part 3

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24769

Why - part 4

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24770

Why - part 5

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24771

Why - part 6

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24772

This Message was Posted on APFN Message Board 04/27/02 why....?

http://www.apfn.org/apfn/wtc_why.htm

Why? Bush Seeks To Restrict Hill Probes Of Sept. 11 Intelligence Panels' Secrecy Is Favored

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24621

-- This SHOCKING interview will not be shocking to some of us, as it only confirms what we have known since September 11th. That such a highly connected, professional GOVERNMENT-LINKED SOURCE makes this CONFESSION of the HOAX OF 9-11 is what makes it newsworthy.

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24708

911 picture site (Don't miss this one)

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24760

I have also done a page exclusively about the Pentagon

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24763

More details on our future - gordie shoholm

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24757

'Id Rather Die then Be Your Slave'

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24748

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do."

Edward Everett Hale

http://www.apfn.org/old/apfncont.htm

4/27/02
1:45:36 PM

How Wal-Mart Is Remaking Our World

by Jim Hightower, April 26, 2002

Bullying people from your town to China

Corporations rule. No other institution comes close to matching the power that the 500 biggest corporations have amassed over us. The clout of all 535 members of Congress is nothing compared to the individual and collective power of these predatory behemoths that now roam the globe, working their will over all competing interests.

The aloof and pampered executives who run today’s autocratic and secretive corporate states have effectively become our sovereigns. From who gets health care to who pays taxes, from what’s on the news to what’s in our food, they have usurped the people’s democratic authority and now make these broad social decisions in private, based solely on the interests of their corporations. Their attitude was forged back in 1882, when the villainous old robber baron William Henry Vanderbilt spat out: "The public be damned! I’m working for my stockholders."

The media and politicians won’t discuss this, for obvious reasons, but we must if we’re actually to be a self-governing people. That’s why the Lowdown is launching this occasional series of corporate profiles. And why not start with the biggest and one of the worst actors?

The beast from Bentonville

Wal-Mart is now the world’s biggest corporation, having passed ExxonMobil for the top slot. It hauls off a stunning $220 billion a year from We the People (more in revenues than the entire GDP of Israel and Ireland combined).

Wal-Mart cultivates an aw-shucks, we’re-just-folks-from-Arkansas image of neighborly small-town shopkeepers trying to sell stuff cheaply to you and yours. Behind its soft homespun ads, however, is what one union leader calls "this devouring beast" of a corporation that ruthlessly stomps on workers, neighborhoods, competitors, and suppliers.

Despite its claim that it slashes profits to the bone in order to deliver "Always Low Prices," Wal-Mart banks about $7 billion a year in profits, ranking it among the most profitable entities on the planet.

Of the 10 richest people in the world, five are Waltons—the ruling family of the Wal-Mart empire. S. Robson Walton is ranked by London’s "Rich List 2001" as the wealthiest human on the planet, having sacked up more than $65 billion (£45.3 billion) in personal wealth and topping Bill Gates as No. 1.

Wal-Mart and the Waltons got to the top the old-fashioned way—by roughing people up. The corporate ethos emanating from the Bentonville headquarters dictates two guiding principles for all managers: extract the very last penny possible from human toil, and squeeze the last dime from every supplier.

With more than one million employees (three times more than General Motors), this far-flung retailer is the country’s largest private employer, and it intends to remake the image of the American workplace in its image—which is not pretty.

Yes, there is the happy-faced "greeter" who welcomes shoppers into every store, and employees (or "associates," as the company grandiosely calls them) gather just before opening each morning for a pep rally, where they are all required to join in the Wal-Mart cheer: "Gimme a ‘W!’" shouts the cheerleader; "W!" the dutiful employees respond. "Gimme an A!’" And so on.

Behind this manufactured cheerfulness, however, is the fact that the average employee makes only $15,000 a year for full-time work. Most are denied even this poverty income, for they’re held to part-time work. While the company brags that 70% of its workers are full-time, at Wal-Mart "full time" is 28 hours a week, meaning they gross less than $11,000 a year.

Health-care benefits? Only if you’ve been there two years; then the plan hits you with such huge premiums that few can afford it—only 38% of Wal-Marters are covered.

Thinking union? Get outta here! "Wal-Mart is opposed to unionization," reads a company guidebook for supervisors. "You, as a manager, are expected to support the company’s position. . . . This may mean walking a tightrope between legitimate campaigning and improper conduct."

Wal-Mart is in fact rabidly anti-union, deploying teams of union-busters from Bentonville to any spot where there’s a whisper of organizing activity. "While unions might be appropriate for other companies, they have no place at Wal-Mart," a spokeswoman told a Texas Observer reporter who was covering an NLRB hearing on the company’s manhandling of 11 meat-cutters who worked at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Jacksonville, Texas.

These derring-do employees were sick of working harder and longer for the same low pay. "We signed [union] cards, and all hell broke loose," says Sidney Smith, one of the Jacksonville meat-cutters who established the first-ever Wal-Mart union in the U.S., voting in February 2000 to join the United Food and Commercial Workers. Eleven days later, Wal-Mart announced that it was closing the meat-cutting departments in all of its stores and would henceforth buy prepackaged meat elsewhere.

But the repressive company didn’t stop there. As the Observer reports: "Smith was fired for theft—after a manger agreed to let him buy a box of overripe bananas for 50 cents, Smith ate one banana before paying for the box, and was judged to have stolen that banana."

Wal-Mart is an unrepentant and recidivist violator of employee rights, drawing repeated convictions, fines, and the ire of judges from coast to coast. For example, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has had to file more suits against the Bentonville billionaires club for cases of disability discrimination than any other corporation. A top EEOC lawyer told Business Week, "I have never seen this kind of blatant disregard for the law."

Likewise, a national class-action suit reveals an astonishing pattern of sexual discrimination at Wal-Mart (where 72% of the salespeople are women), charging that there is "a harsh, anti-woman culture in which complaints go unanswered and the women who make them are targeted for retaliation."

Workers’ compensation laws, child-labor laws (1,400 violations in Maine alone), surveillance of employees—you name it, this corporation is a repeat offender. No wonder, then, that turnover in the stores is above 50% a year, with many stores having to replace 100% of their employees each year, and some reaching as high as a 300% turnover!

Worldwide wage-depressor

Then there’s China. For years, Wal-Mart saturated the airwaves with a "We Buy American" advertising campaign, but it was nothing more than a red-white-and-blue sham. All along, the vast majority of the products it sold were from cheap-labor hell-holes, especially China. In 1998, after several exposes of this sham, the company finally dropped its "patriotism" posture and by 2001 had even moved its worldwide purchasing headquarters to China. Today, it is the largest importer of Chinese-made products in the world, buying $10 billion worth of merchandise from several thousand Chinese factories.

As Charlie Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee reports, "In country after country, factories that produce for Wal-Mart are the worst," adding that the bottom-feeding labor policy of this one corporation "is actually lowering standards in China, slashing wages and benefits, imposing long mandatory-overtime shifts, while tolerating the arbitrary firing of workers who even dare to discuss factory conditions."

Wal-Mart does not want the U.S. buying public to know that its famous low prices are the product of human misery, so while it loudly proclaims that its global suppliers must comply with a corporate "code of conduct" to treat workers decently, it strictly prohibits the disclosure of any factory names and addresses, hoping to keep independent sources from witnessing the "code" in operation.

Kernaghan’s NLC, acclaimed for its fact-packed reports on global working conditions, found several Chinese factories that make the toys Americans buy for their children at Wal-Mart. Seventy-one percent of the toys sold in the U.S. come from China, and Wal-Mart now sells one out of five of the toys we buy.

NLC interviewed workers in China’s Guangdong Province who toil in factories making popular action figures, dolls, and other toys sold at Wal-Mart. In "Toys of Misery," a shocking 58-page report that the establishment media ignored, NLC describes:

13- to 16-hour days molding, assembling, and spray-painting toys—8 a.m. to 9 p.m. or even midnight, seven days a week, with 20-hour shifts in peak season.

Even though China’s minimum wage is 31 cents an hour—which doesn’t begin to cover a person’s basic subsistence-level needs—these production workers are paid 13 cents an hour.

Workers typically live in squatter shacks, seven feet by seven feet, or jammed in company dorms, with more than a dozen sharing a cubicle costing $1.95 a week for rent. They pay about $5.50 a week for lousy food. They also must pay for their own medical treatment and are fired if they are too ill to work.

The work is literally sickening, since there’s no health and safety enforcement. Workers have constant headaches and nausea from paint-dust hanging in the air; the indoor temperature tops 100 degrees; protective clothing is a joke; repetitive stress disorders are rampant; and there’s no training on the health hazards of handling the plastics, glue, paint thinners, and other solvents in which these workers are immersed every day.

As for Wal-Mart’s highly vaunted "code of conduct," NLC could not find a single worker who had ever seen or heard of it.

These factories employ mostly young women and teenage girls. Wal-Mart, renowned for knowing every detail of its global business operations and for calculating every penny of a product’s cost, knows what goes on inside these places. Yet, when confronted with these facts, corporate honchos claim ignorance and wash their hands of the exploitation: "There will always be people who break the law," says CEO Lee Scott. "It is an issue of human greed among a few people."

Those "few people" include him, other top managers, and the Walton billionaires. Each of them not only knows about their company’s exploitation, but willingly prospers from a corporate culture that demands it. "Get costs down" is Wal-Mart’s mantra and modus operandi, and that translates into a crusade to stamp down the folks who produce its goods and services, shamelessly building its low-price strategy and profits on their backs.

The Wal-Mart gospel

Worse, Wal-Mart is on a messianic mission to extend its exploitative ethos to the entire business world. More than 65,000 companies supply the retailer with the stuff on its shelves, and it constantly hammers each supplier about cutting their production costs deeper and deeper in order to get cheaper wholesale prices. Some companies have to open their books so Bentonville executives can red-pencil what CEO Scott terms "unnecessary costs."

Of course, among the unnecessaries to him are the use of union labor and producing goods in America, and Scott is unabashed about pointing in the direction of China or other places for abysmally low production costs. He doesn’t even have to say "Move to China"—his purchasing executives demand such an impossible lowball price from suppliers that they can only meet it if they follow Wal-Mart’s labor example. With its dominance over its own 1.2 million workers and 65,000 suppliers, plus its alliances with ruthless labor abusers abroad, this one company is the world’s most powerful private force for lowering labor standards and stifling the middle-class aspirations of workers everywhere.

Using its sheer size, market clout, access to capital, and massive advertising budget, the company also is squeezing out competitors and forcing its remaining rivals to adopt its price-is-everything approach.

Even the big boys like Toys R Us and Kroger are daunted by the company’s brutish power, saying they’re compelled to slash wages and search the globe for sweatshop suppliers in order to compete in the downward race to match Wal-Mart’s prices.

How high of a price are we willing to pay for Wal-Mart’s "low-price" model? This outfit operates with an avarice, arrogance, and ambition that would make Enron blush. It hits a town or city neighborhood like a retailing neutron bomb, sucking out the economic vitality and all of the local character. And Wal-Mart’s stores now have more kill-power than ever, with its Supercenters averaging 200,000 square feet—the size of more than four football fields under one roof! These things land splat on top of any community’s sense of itself and devour local business.

By slashing its retail prices way below cost when it enters a community, Wal-Mart can crush our groceries, pharmacies, hardware stores, and other retailers, then raise its prices once it has mono-poly control over the market.

But, say apologists for these Big-Box megastores, at least they’re creating jobs. Wrong. By crushing local businesses, this giant eliminates three decent jobs for every two Wal-Mart jobs that it creates—and a store full of part-time, poorly paid employees hardly builds the family wealth necessary to sustain a community’s middle-class living standard.

Indeed, Wal-Mart operates as a massive wealth extractor. Instead of profits staying in town to be reinvested locally, the money is hauled off to Bentonville, either to be used as capital for conquering yet another town or simply to be stashed in the family vaults (the Waltons, by the way, just bought the biggest bank in Arkansas).

It’s our world

Why should we accept this? Is it our country, our communities, our economic destinies—or theirs? Wal-Mart’s radical remaking of our labor standards and our local economies is occurring mostly without our knowledge or consent. Poof—there goes another local business. Poof—there goes our middle-class wages. Poof—there goes another factory to China. No one voted for this . . . but there it is. While corporate ideologues might huffily assert that customers vote with their dollars, it’s an election without a campaign, conveniently ignoring that the public’s "vote" might change if we knew the real cost of Wal-Mart’s "cheap" goods—and if we actually had a chance to vote.

Much to the corporation’s consternation, more and more communities are learning about this voracious powerhouse, and there’s a rising civic rebellion against it. Tremendous victories have already been won as citizens from Maine to Arizona, from the Puget Sound to the Gulf of Mexico, have organized locally and even statewide to thwart the expansionist march of the Wal-Mart juggernaut.

Wal-Mart is huge, but it can be brought to heel by an aroused and organized citizenry willing to confront it in their communities, the workplace, the marketplace, the classrooms, the pulpits, the legislatures, and the voting booths. Just as the Founders rose up against the mighty British trading companies, so we can reassert our people’s sovereignty and our democratic principles over the autocratic ambitions of mighty Wal-Mart.

More of Jim Hightower's writing can be found in his monthly newletter, The Hightower Lowdown.

Source: http://www.JimHightower.com

4/27/02
1:19:44 PM

September 11th Environmental Hypocrisy

by Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.

"Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest." -- Benjamin Franklin

Two key figures have resigned from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the last month. Both officials, the chief investigator for the EPA's Ombudsman Office and the Ombudsman himself, stated in their resignation letters that the EPA has covered up the existence of deadly pollution in the area of the destroyed World Trade Center towers in New York.

While this issue is debated, emergency workers who were sent to the scene and residents of Lower Manhattan are developing serious, and in some cases, life threatening health problems.

We don’t even hear much about the area around the World Trade Center towers – or Ground Zero as it was dubbed by the news media - on the TV news or in the newspapers any longer. From the point of view of the corporate controlled mainstream media, the story is old. But for some firefighters and other personnel who worked or are still working at the scene, the trauma of the terrorist attacks has now become very personal as their own health is threatened.

At a New York public hearing in February, Hugh Kaufman, then chief investigator for the EPA's Ombudsman Office, told a group of scientists, residents, and small business owners that he believed the EPA was deliberately not testing the air quality in the World Trade Center area properly and covering up the reasons why.

"I believe EPA did not do that because they knew it would come up not safe and so they are involved in providing knowingly false information to the public about safety," Kaufman said at the hearing.

While the EPA continues to claim that the air around the site is safe, scores of rescue workers, cleanup crews, and residents are reporting respiratory problems. Many believe something in the air from the collapse of the towers is making them sick.

U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes the site, said at a public meeting he called at the Federal Courthouse in Lower Manhattan, "It's remarkable. Either they have something to hide or they don't give a damn."

In November, 2001, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman issued an order to dissolve the ombudsman's position, an office created to give the public a forum for complaints about the agency’s actions. The Congressional order that established the office expired last fall, and she decided not to ask for renewal. In light of what we are now learning of the effects of the Bush administration on the EPA, it is no surprise that the public oversight function would be eliminated.

Many workers from FEMA, New York Fire Fighters and Urban Search and Rescue teams wore no protective masks.

The risks have been greatly magnified for many residents, rescue workers, and cleanup crews, because many did not wear any breathing protection sufficient to protect their lungs at ground zero and in the surrounding community. In fact, many day laborers, including large numbers of immigrants who spoke little or no English, were hired to clean up buildings covered with toxic dust.

We won’t hear about their ailments on the TV evening news.

Not widely reported in the news media is the fact that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gathered data early on about the pollution levels at the site. The Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS), a scientific instrument designed to view the site in many different wavelengths, was flown on an aircraft by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA over the World Trade Center area on September 16, 18, 22, and 23, 2001.

A two person crew from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected samples of dusts and debris from more than 35 localities within a distance of one kilometer from the World Trade Center site on the evenings of September 17 and 18, 2001.

While not by any means a complete study, the data showed elevated levels of asbestos and many other pollutants, including the heavy metals, aluminum, chromium, antimony, molybdenum, and barium.

Government officials have tried to downplay the asbestos threat by claiming that mostly chrysotile asbestos, a form of the mineral considered to be less carcinogenic than other forms, was found. The USGS document describing the results of their tests points out that such a claim, “has not been universally accepted by the scientific community.” But it is convenient politically.

What studies done to date will not show are the localized toxic clouds of multiple substances that have been formed as millions of pounds of chemical compounds from the debris combine in unexpected ways. Many rescue and cleanup workers feel they have become ill from these invisible toxic clouds.

A reader of my weekly commentaries contacted me about her friend and colleague, a rescue worker from a fire department in another state who was ordered to the World Trade Center right after the disaster. She became progressively sicker soon after this work and has been shuttled from doctor to doctor.

A bone marrow aspiration revealed a huge level of toxic mercury in her system that could only have gotten there from an intense outside exposure. The only place she could have gotten such an exposure was at the World Trade Center.

Increased pressure inside her skull has developed, and she is having severe headaches, nausea, and nosebleeds. Her friend reported to me that, “She has a horrible rash all over her body. She has horrible cramps in her legs and back. Her lung capacity is greatly diminished and she has had major changes in her vision, and was told she is going blind. The government doctor who was sent to treat her told her to take a six month leave of absence and get her life in order because in six months she would no longer be able to perform her duties as a firefighter.”

The supervisor of this 12 year veteran rescue worker told her "all of this medical testing is fine, as long as it does not get in the way of you doing your job." With the EPA downplaying any toxic effects, she is getting little sympathy from agencies and insurance companies.

In EPA Ombudsman Robert Martin's Earth Day resignation letter, he accused EPA Administrator Whitman of withholding data about the toxic air at the World Trade Center for personal gain. He discovered that Whitman is married to a man who served for years as an officer of Citigroup and who now manages about $800 million of the firm's investments.

Martin said he later discovered that Citigroup owns Traveler's Insurance, the insurance company of many buildings in World Trade Center area. He feels that because Whitman issued a statement assuring people that everything was fine, Traveler's saved a lot of money by not having to pay claims.

These accusations are now being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department.

While studies and investigations continue, people suffer from an environmental catastrophe. I challenge a group of attorneys to come forward, find the rescue and cleanup workers who have been poisoned by working at the World Trade Center site, and force the government to accept responsibility for their health care.

We will never end terrorism in the world if we can’t eradicate injustice and greed from our own government agencies, political leaders, and industries.

RESOURCES

1. The complete USGS report on NASA’s flight over the World Trade Center at:

http://greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/pub/open-file-reports/ofr-01-0429/

2. A collection of links related to health effects from the World Trade Center cleanup by the New York Committee on Occupational Health & Safety at:

http://www.qc.edu/CBNS/WTChealthinfo.html

3. Read the full story about the EPA ombudsman’s resignation at:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/67576_ombudsman24.shtml

4. Find out who your Congressional representatives are and e-mail them. Demand that they reveal the true nature of the danger at the World Trade Center site and compensate all injured workers, emergency personnel, and residents."

http://www.emailcongress.net

5. See a fact sheet on pollutants at the World Trade Center site from the NY Committee on Occupational Health & Safety at:

http://www.nycosh.org/wtc-catastrophe-factsheet.pdf

6. Visit the website of the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project. They want the area to be declared a Superfund site. See their activities at:

http://www.nyenvirolaw.org/WTC/WTC-index.htm

7. A “USA Today” story about the anxiety over toxic substances at the WTC site at:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/02/07/usat-wtc-acov.htm

8. Visit a collection of news reports on this issue on Immune Web, a website for people who suffer from environmental diseases, at:

http://www.immuneweb.org/911/news/

8. Read a critique of the EPA studies by “Worker’s World” at:

http://www.workers.org/ww/2002/pollute0307.php

Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. is a writer and teacher in Seattle and the author of “Healing Our World, A Journey from the Darkness Into the Light,” available at: http://www.xlibris.com/HealingOurWorld.html.

Please send your thoughts, comments, and visions to him at:

mailto:jackie@healingourworld.com and visit his website at:

http://www.healingourworld.com

4/27/02
1:06:08 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE

http://ens-news.com

MOSCOW POLICE BEAT ANTI-NUCLEAR DEMONSTRATORS ON CHERNOBYL DAY

MOSCOW, Russia, April 26, 2002 (ENS) - Anti-nuclear activists and journalists documenting their protest were roughed up by police Thursday on Red Square in front of the Kremlin. More than 20 activists from Moscow, Kaliningrad, Voronezh, Vladimir, Yekaterinburg, Ryazan, Orel, and Ozersk were arrested.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-26-03.html

MORATORIUM ON PACIFIC LONGLINING COULD SAVE LEATHERBACKS

PACIFIC GROVE, California, April 26, 2002 (ENS) - A moratorium on longline fishing in the Pacific Ocean is urgently needed to keep the world's largest living marine turtle from extinction, a conference of sea turtle experts declared Thursday.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-26-01.html

ARMY CORPS SUSPENDS DELAWARE RIVER DREDGING PROJECT

WASHINGTON, DC, April 26, 2002 (ENS) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has suspended a dredging project on the Delaware River after a Congressional review raised questions regarding whether the project is financially justified. Conservation groups, who have opposed the project for almost a decade, called the decision a "victory for common sense conservation."

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-26-06.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN

Carnival Cruise Company Fined $18 Million

House Committee Votes to Override Yucca Veto

Energy Department Itemizes Withheld Documents

Western Air Pollution Plan Wins Initial Approval

Suit Seeks Protection for Beluga Sturgeon

Conservation Groups Seek Special Status for Wild Fish Expedition Plumbs Depths of Pacific Sanctuaries

Algae Blooms Fuel Ocean Food Web

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-26-09.html

HEALING OUR WORLD: WEEKLY COMMENT

By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.

September 11th Environmental Hypocrisy

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-26g.html

4/27/02
1:00:48 PM

Justice Department Uses Drug Law To Target Low Income Students

When Congress passed a law four years ago taking federal financial aid away from college students who had been convicted of drug crimes, it was hailed as a miracle cure. "The best thing we can do for education is to get somebody clean and then get them back into school," said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., the law's chief sponsor.

Not a bad goal. But the supposed benefits haven't materialized.

Instead, the law has sparked countermeasures at several universities and protests on more than 80 campuses by students who are seeing other results.

Among the most problematic:

* While the most trivial drug offenses can cost students their chance for a college education, students who commit rape, robbery and murder face no such outcome. So the sponsors' stated goal of showing that actions have consequences is scoffed at.

* By withholding federal financial aid, the program hurts low-income students with drug convictions who can't afford to attend college without aid. Wealthier students with similar convictions are not penalized if they don't depend on federal financial aid.

* By refusing aid to students who have already been punished for drug crimes, the law "undermines the process" in which colleges offer students a fresh start, says Hampshire College President Gregory Prince Jr.

After the Bush administration began aggressively enforcing the law, which had been largely ignored, more than 15,000 students with drug records lost financial aid for all or part of this year. Another 10,000 who failed to answer a question on government loan applications about whether they had a drug conviction also were denied aid. The vast majority of the students penalized have family incomes of $30,000 or less.

To counteract the lost aid, Yale decided this month to make up the dollars while a student undergoes a rehabilitation program that can reopen the door to federal aid. A handful of other schools have set up similar scholarship or loan programs. Hampshire, for example, has a loan fund of $10,000 available to students hurt by the drug law. Meanwhile, student governments, from George Washington University in the nation's capital to the Berkeley in the West, have passed resolutions denouncing the law.

But such efforts don't touch the vast majority of students at the nation's 7,000 colleges. Students who attend schools that can't or won't compensate for this faulty federal statute miss out on the college education the federal aid programs were designed to provide to the neediest students.

The law's supporters argue that if aid goes to a student with a drug record, less money is left for law-abiding students. Their reasoning is a stretch. The aid is from an "entitlement program," and no student eligible based on family income is turned away.

Even Souder recognizes its problems and favors amending it so that it applies only to students already in college when they commit a drug offense.

Better to get rid of the law altogether. Otherwise, college students are taught a damaging lesson: that low-income students must pay twice for their crimes.

4/27/02
12:55:41 PM

It's an Angry, Violent, Warmongering World Out There Right Now.

You Just Live In It

by Mark Morford, April 26, 2002

And all you really have to do is step away for just a short period of time, break away from the daily news grind and the everyday wars and the talking-head alarmism and the commonplace unrests and the wagging fingers of hissing foreign leaders and then come back, and you can see it clearly.

It dawns on you rather suddenly, especially if you've just taken a relatively lengthy hiatus/vacation where the pressures of the world all deliciously fell away and then you calmly return and peel your suntan and open the paper and scan the wires like you always have and suddenly it hits you, smacks your anima like a brick: There are no peacemakers in the world right now.

Crusty macho hawks run the planet like never before in our generation. Violent money-addled males with far too much power and far too little perspective are in charge of far too many corporations and lobbies and governments.

You are appalled. You are saddened. You are blackened at the karmic level. You realize you don't have nearly enough wine or painkillers or warm socks for the imminent nuclear winter.

But you are not naive. You are not stupid. You realize this is essentially the same as it ever was. It's a tragic cliche: Wars and violence and hatred and injustice and cruelty and angry old men ordering their tribes to kill each other in the name of oil and money and land and dogma. Film at 11.

Yet not all is bleak and bitter and Bush, of course. Plenty of good remains, you tell yourself. It's just your average, bitter, ultraconservative, anti-everything leadership right now and while it certainly feels more sinister and savage than usual that's just the way the cultural pendulum swings, you tell yourself, hopefully, trying to shrug it off.

But then again, not. Then again, it all seems much worse than it ever has in your lifetime. You don't want to believe it but you look and look and cringe and wince and it's all renewed nuclear strategy this and bloody Israeli conflict that, heightened tensions with Iraq here and brutal civil war there and far too much hey get your holy hands off me, Father, just about everywhere.

You can feel it. We're aching to annihilate Iraq. Craving some nuclear explosions in any of seven newly minted enemies. Actively avoiding the Middle East conflict like the plague, terrified our alliances could be imperiled, our oil interests compromised, Bush family friendships endangered.

World War III will not be two egomaniacal superpowers battling for supremacy and bragging rights. It will be scattershot and bewildering, a hundred different battles fought on a hundred different fronts for a thousand ever-shifting reasons, each and every one twisted and distorted by regulation GOP spin doctors who somehow convince the bulk of the populace that it's somehow patriotic to be cavity searched and fingerprinted and beaten with a stick when you buy groceries.

We are so close. We are on the verge of something very dangerous and irreversible. You can hear Dick Cheney breathing hard, just aching to press The Button. The human animal is capable of staggering atrocities and deadly choices and the thick-necked frat boys in charge right now are the most darkly capable we've suffered in decades.

No one is preaching peace. No one striving for genuine camaraderie or balance or compromise. And too few of us seem willing to believe that 9/11 has mutated into a brutish hollow excuse for the Bush administration to perpetuate a war for oil and to proclaim new enemies and to chip away at the Constitution and your civil liberties in the name of increased federal control and fewer dissenting voices.

And you have two choices, given your rather privileged American status allowing such choices at all: You can either quickly close the paper and turn off the TV and thank goddess that the world is variegated and colorful enough that you can live in relative happiness without having your soul pummeled on a daily basis by people who seemingly have zero connection to any sort of healthy spiritual reality or perspective. You can detach. Spin down. Avoid.

Or you can carefully dive back in, try to make sense of it all, get informed and slog through the macho muck and try to keep your soul from getting overly tainted, make a valiant attempt to make it though the day without slapping both hands to your head and screaming and jumping in front of a speeding ideology.

All the while realizing that if there's one thing the world needs right now, it's positivism and laughter and good sex and connective energy and an enlightened populace to counteract the forces that would drag us down to cesspools of thin-lipped white-knuckle rage. Too simplistic? Too naive? Hardly. Peace is always much braver and more difficult than war. Just try it.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/

4/27/02
12:41:13 PM

t r u t h o u t | 04.27

Did Bush Lie About Policy on Plant Emissions?

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27A.Bush.Lies.htm

FEMA Snubs NY Victims of WTC Attacks

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27B.FEMA.Snubs.htm

Senator Murray/Sierra Club | Energy Bill Fails America

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27C.Energy.Fails.htm

Bush Will Allow Coal Mining to Fill Waterways

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27D.Pollution.htm

Mark Morford | Frat Boys Rule The Earth

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27E.MM.Rules.htm

Naomi Klein | Old Hates Fuelled by Fear

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27F.NK.Fear.htm

Justice Department Uses Drug Law to Target Low Income Students

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27G.Drug.Target.htm

The Graying of the Black Panthers

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27H.Black.htm

Parks Under Siege

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.27I.Under.Siege.htm

t r u t h o u t, is a non-profit independent news source

http://www.truthout.org

4/26/02
6:19:11 PM

LOVEARTH NETWORK

Connecting Through 1000+ EcoHumanePolitical Websites

http://www.Lovearth.net

4/26/02
6:10:54 PM

The Nation

In recent weeks, "moral clarity" has become the buzz-phrase for conservatives upset with President Bush's attempts to revive Middle East peace talks and unforgiving of his failure to formally sanction anything that Ariel Sharon decides to do in the Occupied Territories.

But this attractive-sounding concept is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to turn the Middle East conflict into a comic-book face-off with only one policy option: all-out war.

For a thorough deconstruction of "moral clarity," see the latest installment of "Capital Games" -- David Corn's exclusive Nation web feature -- currently available at:

http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/

Meanwhile, in Palestine, the stand-off between Israeli troops and Palestinians taking refuge in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem continues. Two Palestinians were wounded in a gun battle outside the Church this morning. The exchange of fire took place after four other Palestinians - some of whom are thought to be policemen - had given themselves up. Meanwhile an Israeli army spokesman said Israel was prepared to use force to end the siege, which has been going on since April 2.

At the same time, the United Nations is resisting Israeli demands for a delay in its investigation of the Israeli army's devastating military operation in the Palestinian refugee camp at Jenin.

The Nation has created a special page of resources on the Middle East. You can find links offering news and background, a recommended-reading list, Nation archival articles, and a complete collection of recent relevant Nation commentary, including essays, reports and editorials from Edward Said, Richard Falk, Jerome Segal, Robert Fisk, Russell Banks, Wole Soyinka, Breyten Breytenbach, Robert Friedman, Meredith Tax, Mouin Rabbani, Neve Gordon, Amos Oz and Charmaine Seitz.

All available at:

http://www.thenation.com/special/2002middleeast.mhtml

LE PEN'S SUCCESS

Fresh on the heels of his stunning electoral success, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right National Front candidate for the French presidency, used a news conference in Paris this morning to rail at immigrants, saying they were an EU-wide problem.

Popular protest at his success in reaching the run-off in the May 5 general election shows no sign of abating with French students preparing for a weekend of mass demonstrations nationwide.

Few doubt that Le Pen will lose heavily to President Jacques Chirac in the final contest but, in a sign of uncertainty, one leading French polling group has abandoned attempts to predict the outcome.

For an analysis of Le Pen's shocking success, check out Doug Ireland's editorial from the May 13, 2002 issue of The Nation:

DOUG IRELAND: The Center Folds (May 13,2002)

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020513&s=ireland

And for historical insight, we've made available a 1991 essay by The Nation's late Europe Correspondent Daniel Singer:

DANIEL SINGER: Le Pen's Pals -- Blood and Soil (Dec. 23, 1991)

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=archive&s=19911223singer

RALLY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY IN NEW YORK CITY SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2:30

The New York Civil Liberties Union, The New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty and The Nation Institute are co-sponsoring a rally this weekend in Union Square Park at 14th Street in Manhattan to show support for a moratorium against the death penalty. So please join other New Yorkers on the eve of the first New York City Council hearings calling for a resolution on a state moratorium on capital punishment.

For more information go to http://www.nyclu.org, call 212-344-3005 x248, or email to: jwnyclu@aol.com.

And, don't miss Robert Sherrill's National Magazine Award-nominated essay, "Death Trip," which makes a comprehensive and compelling case for the complete abolition of the death penalty.

ROBERT SHERRILL: Death Trip: The American Way of Execution (Jan. 8, 2001)

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010108&s=sherrill

NEW NATION ARTICLES

You can also find numerous new articles and editorials currently available from the May 13, 2002 issue of The Nation:

MICHAEL MASSING: Losing The Peace?

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020513&s=massing

WILLIAM GREIDER: The Enron Nine

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020513&s=massing

JASON LEOPOLD: Bill Simon's Enron Ties

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020513&s=leopold

LIZA FEATHERSTONE: Strange Marchfellows

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020513&s=featherstone

WILLIAM F. SCHULZ: Shouting Fire (Review)

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020513&s=schulz

4/26/02
5:58:21 PM

CHAVEZ COMEBACK EXPOSES U.S. GOVERNMENT & MEDIA LIES

To paraphrase an old proverb: "Celebrate in haste; repent at leisure."

On April 13th the New York Times rushed to gloat that one more opponent of the US Empire had been crushed.

Never you mind that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had been elected by overwhelming popular vote. (In contrast, might we note, to George Walker Bush.)

An editorial in the Times described the Venezuelan military/big business coup d'Etat as an effort to reassert democracy:

"Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator...[because] the military intervened and handed power to a respected business leader." - N Y Times (1)

And the Times added:

"But democracy has not yet been restored, and won't be until a new president is elected." (1)

In the bad old Cold War days, the US Establishment used to attack its opponents for not holding multiparty elections.

Well, Venezuela did hold multiparty elections and Chavez won by a landslide. But this was not sufficient.

In the New World Order, democracy is not defined any longer as holding elections. Democracy is defined as supporting US polices. No matter how many elections Chavez won by how many landslides, his resistance to US Diktat made him by definition antidemocratic, that is, "a would-be dictator."

Thus when the military took over Venezuela three days ago and installed a pro-Washington big business leader as President, the Times did not describe this military coup d'Etat as a threat to democracy. Rather, they described it as *ending* a threat to democracy.

Similarly, in the past, NY Times editorials have immediately applauded coup d'Etats in Yugoslavia (overthrowing elected President Slobodan Milosevic) and the Philippines (overthrowing elected President Joseph Estrada).

But this time the Times gloated a bit too soon.

EVERYBODY IS IN SUCH A HURRY

Since the New World Order has re-defined democracy as subservience to US diktat, it is only fair that the democratic content of every event should be given a rating by the US government.

Thus it is by no means surprising that the US State Department issued a Press Statement rating the democratic content of the Venezuelan coup d'Etat.

The only problem is, the State Department, like the New York Times, published a bit too soon.

Within hours of the coup, a State Department Press Statement declared unqualified support for the coup. This document praised the military, which had just seized power, for acting with "restraint" and blamed Hugo Chavez for the coup d'Etat because under his government:

"essential elements of democracy...have been weakened in recent months." - State Dep't Statement (2)

To what "essential elements of democracy" might State be referring? They didn't say, but all the newspapers have pointed out that the big dispute in Venezuela has been over the State-owned oil company.

Venezuelan President Chavez had weakened "essential elements of democracy" by appointing as leaders of the state-owned oil company people that were (horrors!) loyal to his administration rather than to Chevron Oil and, perhaps even worse, by selling oil to Cuba at an affordable price.

Chavez must not have been aware that that willingness to strangle Cuba is a crucial component of the New World Order's definition of "democracy."

The State Department declaration repeated the common media line, without introducing a shred of evidence, that:

"Chavez supporters, on orders, fired on unarmed, peaceful protestors, resulting in more than 100 wounded or killed." (2)

And:

"The results of these provocations are: Chavez resigned the presidency. Before resigning, he dismissed the Vice President and the Cabinet. A transition civilian government has promised early elections." (2)

So let's get this right.

First, Chavez ordered his supporters to kill a few opponents. This could hardly have been expected to disperse a large demonstration which had been called by leading TV stations and part of the military. But it could certainly have been expected to assist military leaders who were openly looking for - or trying to manufacture - an excuse to stage a coup d'Etat.

Having provided this excuse by murdering said opponents Chavez then switched character and acted with remorse by firing himself and everyone else who was (we are told) involved. This Chavez is very mercurial, no?

We can now state with certainty that a) Chavez never resigned; b) he never dismissed his vice president and cabinet. In other words, the State Department, confident that Chavez had been silenced for good, was lying.

But why?

Because they wanted the military takeover to appear as a "Change of Government" (which, by the way is the title of the State Department declaration) rather than what it was: a US instigated military coup d'Etat.

To allow this, it was necessary that before departing the scene Chavez should dismiss every single top government official, and then himself.

Mind you, it would have been entirely unacceptable for Chavez to begin by firing himself. Once he dismissed himself he would no longer have had the authority to dismiss the vice president and all cabinet members. This would have violated prescribed State Department procedures, making it undemocratic.

Since we know for sure that the State Department was lying through its teeth when it claimed Chavez had resigned and fired everyone, isn't it reasonable to believe they were also lying through their teeth when they claimed he ordered supporters to shootsome opponents?

Keep in mind that shooting opponents was an act which (like dismissing his government) could only have helped his opponents by giving them a seeming justification for the coup d'Etat which had been openly called for by some military officers, appearing on "opposition" TV stations.

Even as the Mighty and their Media congratulated themselves on the "democratic" coup and admired this reassertion of their invincibility, another voice was heard.

The wretched of this earth, residents of the slums of Caracas, whose suffering is the ugly secret of the glossy US Empire, came in their thousands, in from the countryside, down from the hills around Caracas, and with loyalist soldiers they took Venezuela back from the hands of what the CIA boys like to call "Civil society," and all we can say is this is how the current worldwide empire of lies will end: by just such actions of the ordinary, wonderful, decent people of this world, God bless them.

FOOTNOTES

1) The New York Times April 13, 2002, Saturday, Late Edition - Final Section A; Page 16; Column 1; Editorial Desk "Hugo Chavez Departs"

2) Press Statement Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman Washington, DC April 12, 2002 "Venezuela: Change of Government"

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2002/9316.htm

See also:

IRISH FILMMAKER'S EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF VENEZUELAN COUP D'ETAT (16 April)

http://emperors-clothes.com/news/witness.htm

BUSH'S MASTER OIL PLAN The aborted coup in Venezuela is just one piece of a broader plan to secure a global oil empire, stretching from Colombia to Uzbekistan.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12946

Venezuela: Not a Banana-Oil Republic after All

http://vancouver.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=11560&group=webcast

Bush Officials Met With Venezuelans Who Ousted Leader

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.17B.Bush.Ousted.htm

Pentagon to Investigate Its Own Role in Venezuela

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25D.Pentagon.htm

HOW THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) GUTTED ITS VENEZUELAN COUP D'ETAT SCOOP (A MUST READ!)

http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/jared/distort.htm

4/26/02
5:49:15 PM

Israel Begins Expansion of West Bank Settlements

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25E.West.Bank.htm

Israel must not be allowed to upset the Jenin investigation

http://argument.independent.co.uk/leading_articles/story.jsp?story=288614

What a difference 20 years make The time is now to speak out for justice and peace in the Middle East

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemId=13203

Saudi to Warn Bush of Rupture Over Israel Policy

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26B.Warn.Bush.htm

STRIKING BACK AT THE EMPIRE A perspective on the ongoing saga called the War on Terror

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12893

Congressman Dennis Kucinich on Stopping Open Ended Permanent War

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25A.Kucinich.htm

If you want a free vote, ask nicely

http://www.observer.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4398412,00.html

Did you know that...

SOURCES OF U.S. OIL

1. U.S. - 41%

2. Canada - 9%

3. Saudi Arabia - 8.5%

4. Venezuela - 8%

5. Mexico - 7%

6. Iraq - 4 %

7. Nigeria - 4%

4/26/02
5:46:26 PM

DAILY GRIST

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

THE AGENCY FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE EPA

Perhaps belying its name, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing revisions to some of its own rules in order to allow mining companies to dump dirt and rock waste from mountaintop-removal coal operations into rivers and streams. In mountaintop-removal mining, companies raze mountains to access coal veins and then dump the leftover debris into nearby valleys. Environmentalists say the practice causes unacceptable damage, particularly to rivers and streams, and they have challenged these mining operations in court. The new rules are designed to make winning such lawsuits more difficult for enviros and to erase other impediments to mountaintop-removal mining. Because changing the rules entails redefining what constitutes "fill material" that can be legally dumped in waterways, certain kinds of trash -- such as old cars and refrigerators -- could also legally be dumped to serve as artificial reefs or berms.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Eric Pianin, 26 Apr 2002 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51114-2002Apr25.html>

straight to the source: Charleston Gazette, Ken Ward, Jr., 26 Apr 2002 <http://wvgazette.com/news/News/2002042547/>

CHERIGNOBLE

Sixteen years ago today, a nuclear reactor in Chernobyl exploded, resulting in the worst atomic accident in the history of the world. The explosion affected 3.3 million Ukrainians as well as untold numbers of other people, and sent a radioactive cloud drifting over much of Europe. All of the area within 18 miles of the plant has been a no-man's-land since the accident, but last year, under urging from the U.N. to focus on redevelopment, the Ukrainian government began contemplating building in the area. That move provoked an outcry from victims groups, who point to ongoing ill effects from the explosion. The number of thyroid cancer cases, for example, has risen from 119 in 1986 (prior to the explosion) to 3,022 last year.

straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Tim Vickery, 25 Apr 2002 <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/04/25/international1456EDT0663.DTL>

only in Grist: Insane in the Ukraine -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha030501.stm?source=daily>

DON'T YOU HATE YOUR ENERGY BILL?

After some two months of debate, the Senate energy bill passed by a vote of 88 to 11 yesterday, but no one's very excited about it. Environmentalists and many Democrats say the bill would do little to encourage energy conservation or the use of renewable resources, while most Republicans and energy industry reps say it would not promote enough oil and gas exploration in the U.S. What would have been two of the most significant features of the bill -- drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and tougher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks -- were voted down earlier. The version approved yesterday contains only modest pro-environment measures, such as a requirement that utilities produce 10 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2020, and another banning the use of the gasoline additive MTBE. The bill will now go to a conference committee to be reconciled with the House version, which passed last year and is backed by the Bush administration.

straight to the source: New York Times, David E. Rosenbaum, 26 Apr 2002 <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/26/politics/26ENER.html>

VOLUNTEARS

Thanks to strong leadership, a new day is dawning in the U.S. A new civic spirit is rising. It's ... volunteerism! And President Bush is looking to Corporate America to lead the way, with voluntary caps on emissions, voluntary cleanups of waste sites, and voluntary improvements in worker safety. We wish we were joking, but since we're not, at least we've found a way to laugh about it. Check out a short (we promise) animated cartoon on volunteerism in action, complements of editorial cartoonist Mark Fiore, on the Grist Magazine website.

only in Grist: Catch the spirit of the Bush administration -- satire by Mark Fiore in our Soapbox section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/soapbox/fiore042602.asp?source=daily>

TROUT KILLING IN AMERICA

Dam operators could flood part of the Colorado River next year in an effort to save an endangered fish species, rebuild beaches, and kill part of an excessively large trout population. The flood plans were approved yesterday 17 to 1 by a federally appointed panel composed of every major group with an interest in the river. Wildlife officials, archaeologists, and rafting company operators all favor creating beaches along the river, which would be accomplished by allowing floods to deposit sediment along the water's edge. After the flooding, river managers would alternate high and low flows every day to dry out the spawning grounds of the rainbow trout and destroy its eggs. As the final part of the plan, scientists would kill thousands of trout in a five-mile stretch of the river where the endangered humpback chub spawns. If approved by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the experiment would be the fourth attempt to alter river conditions by dam manipulation. Some scientists feel that prior attempts to create beaches along the river resulted in short-lived successes at best.

straight to the source: Arizona Republic, Shaun McKinnon, 26 Apr 2002 <http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0426river26.html>

straight to the source: New York Times, Sandra Blakeslee, 26 Apr 2002 <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/26/national/26RIVE.html>

BAD AIR DAY

As if California didn't have enough of a smog problem all by itself, now it and other parts of the nation are suffering from air pollution blown in from China. Toxic pollutants from power plants, factories, and farms travel on wind currents across the ocean and mingle with our own less-than-perfect air to create an international smog blanket that is particularly acute on the West Coast. The smog is associated with a wide range of health problems, including heart attacks, respiratory difficulties, and premature death. U.S. air quality officials fear that the foreign smog will complicate attempts to regulate pollution and meet clean air standards in California and elsewhere. This week, a team of scientists is launching the Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation 2002 Project, which will collect and analyze air pollution samples through late May to try to trace the path of pollutants across the Pacific.

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Gary Polakovic, 26 Apr 2002 <http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-000029703apr26.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dscience>

only in Grist: Another one bites the dust -- China's dust bowl is growing at an alarming rate -- by Lester R. Brown <http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/brown052901.stm?source=daily>

4/26/02
5:42:13 PM

East Timor, The World's Newest Democracy

I wanted to let you know about an important event occurring in our world on May 19 and 20, and give you the opportunity to celebrate with us.

After 24 years of occupation by one of the most brutal regimes in history, East Timor is getting ready to stand on its feet as the world's newest democracy. East Timor is a small island, just North of Australia, with a population of only 800,000 people. But internationally, it holds an important message for the rest of the world.

Through the occupation, the people of East Timor lost 20% of their population to the Indonesian military occupying their country - through execution, starvation, "disappearances", and more. They continued a largely non-violent struggle. Two of their leaders were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Right through 1999, when the Indonesian military and their militia ravaged the country, burning 85% of their buildings, slaughtering hundreds more civilians, these people kept faith in their cause. And their leaders continued to work with the international community toward a resolution.

In September, 1999, UN peacekeeping forces arrived and stopped the near genocide that was in progress. For the last two and a half years since, the UN and Timorese leaders have been working together to put a democracy in place in the country. And they have succeeded. Last August, they held their first ever Parliamentary election. They are on the verge on the first Presidential election in the country's history.

Now, on May 19 and 20, the United Nations will formally turn over power in East Timor to the new government. The flag of the United Nations administration will come down in front of the government building, and the newly adopted flag of the nation of East Timor will go up.

It's an exciting time. It's a celebration of a human rights victory, and a strong statement of how the international community can work together to resolve conflict and war. But as important, this is the launch of the next phase for the country, the stage of nation building. A strong government structure has been put in place by both the Timorese leaders and the United Nations for this, with accountability and transparency. Their constitution guarantees basic human rights and non-discrimination. 31% of the newly elected Parliament members are women.

Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, one of the two Nobel Peace Prize winners from East Timor, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation in the new administration, has lent support to TheCommunity.com for more than a year. One of the more Internet-savvy Nobel Laureates, he was integral in starting The Peacemakers Speak, our section on September 11 with the other Nobel Laureates.

This is a time when we can stand with him, and with the Timorese people, and welcome them into the international community as our newest nation.

TheCommunity.com will be involved in the production of the webcast of the events. We will let you know when and how to access the events via our site. The webcast is also going to be used to launch an international online fund raising campaign for malaria control, health and technology training, small enterprise, and other vital projects in the rebuilding of the country. We are working with World View Rights, a non- profit in Norway, the United Nations Foundation, and others to make this happen.

We also host and develop http://www.easttimor.com which will give you ongoing information on events in the country, and

http://www.fundforeasttimor.com

which is building projects to meet vital needs in the country.

I'd like to invite you to help make the events happen.... For more information, please see the events page on easttimor.com, and the get involved page.

Please feel free to distribute this to your friends and if appropriate, your mailing list. And continue to follow events on

http://www.easttimor.com

to watch the birth of a new democracy in progress.

4/26/02
5:37:49 PM

"I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men."

Leonardo Da Vinci

4/26/02
2:37:51 PM

TomPaine.com

http://www.TomPaine.com

PARACHUTE JOURNALISTS

Jumping In To Cover A Story, Then Getting Out

by Jennifer Bauduy

Journalists know their profession is risky, but they can leave a dangerous place when the story is done. Not so the translators, drivers and other local people who help reporters get the story.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5488

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY?

And Other Musings From Our Roving Critic

by Publicus

One depressing clue of the limits of Gore's and the Democrats' imagination -- a wholesale embrace of Bush's "war on terror." If Democrats can't figure out how to dissent responsibly from the GOP's Grand Old War, there may not be much of a domestic agenda left to argue over.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5519

ONLY CHRISTIANS KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR AMERICA

So Says Tom Delay, The Most Powerful Republican In The U.S. House

by Michael Ryan

If Rep. Delay is right, our commentator wants to spend his Earthly hours in the company of those who aren't guaranteed a place in Heaven.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5518

TOTALLY RADICAL DECONSTRUCTION

Meet Eco-Architecture's Less-Sexy Cousin, Eco-Demolition

by Bill McKibben

There is no dynamite or wrecking ball on this demolition site, even though it's the tallest building ever demolished in Vermont. Instead, T-Rex Demolition is taking the building down slowly and softly -- and recycling every single bit.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5514

And from our CHECK IT OUT! department:

WHERE YOU SMELL SMOKE...

Philip Morris is trying to change its name to "Altria," from the Latin root for "altruism." It overcame one hurdle on April 22, when it settled with a health-care company that had already laid claim to the tobacco giant's preferred new moniker, and shareholders will have their say over the name change in a meeting this Thursday.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, for one, doesn't think Philip Morris has earned such a self-congratulatory new name. They point out that, despite an expensive public-relations campaign by the company in the United States -- including the much-hyped name change -- Phillip Morris still markets cigarettes to kids and plays unethical games with the public's health.

CHECK IT OUT!

http://www.tompaine.com/check_it_out/

4/26/02
2:23:24 PM

Congressman Too Truthful

By: Congressman Ron Paul - House of Representatives

203 Cannon - Washington D.C. 20515

The other day, I made a huge "gaffe" on national TV: I told the truth about the crimes of the U.S. government.

As you can imagine, the ceiling fell in, and a couple of walls too. Congressman are supposed to support the government, I was told. Oh, it's okay to criticize around the edges, but there are certain subjects a member of the House of Representatives is not supposed to bring up. But I touched the real "third-rail" of American politics, and the sparks sure flew.

I was interviewed on C-SPAN's morning "Washington Journal," and I used the opportunity, as I do all such media appearances, to point out how many of our liberties have been stolen by the federal government. We must take them back. The Constitution, after all, has a very limited role for Washington, D.C.

If we stuck to the Constitution as written, we would have: no federal meddling in our schools; no Federal Reserve; no U.S. membership in the UN; no gun control; and no foreign aid. We would have no welfare for big corporations, or the "poor"; no American troops in 100 foreign countries; no Nafta, Gatt, or "fast-track"; no arrogant federal judges usurping states rights; no attacks on private property; and no income tax. We could get rid of most of the cabinet departments, most of the agencies, and most of the budget. The government would be small, frugal, and limited.

That system is called liberty. It's what the Founding Fathers gave us. Under liberty, we built the greatest, freest, most prosperous, most decent country on earth. It's no coincidence that the monstrous growth of the federal government has been accompanied by a sickening decline in living standards and moral standards. The feds want us to be hamsters on a treadmill--working hard, all day long, to pay high taxes, but otherwise entirely docile and controlled. The huge, expensive, and out-of-control leviathan that we call the federal government wants to run every single aspect of our lives.

Well, I'm sorry, but that's not America. It's not what the Founders gave us. It's not the country you believe in. It's not the country I believe in. So, on that TV interview, I emphasized not only the attacks on our property, but also the decline of our civil liberties, at the hands of the federal police. There are not supposed to be any federal police, according to the Constitution.

Then I really went over the line. I talked about the Waco massacre. Bill Clinton and Janet Reno claim those 81 church members, including 19 children, burned down their own church and killed themselves, and good riddance. So they put few survivors on trial, and threw them in prison for 40 years.

We're not supposed to remember that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms--talk about an unconstitutional agency--rather than arrest David Koresh on his regular morning jog, called in the TV stations for big publicity bonanza, and sent a swat team in black masks and black uniforms to break down his front door, guns blazing. They also sent in a helicopter gunship, to shoot at the roof of a church full of innocents.

The Branch Davidians resisted, and after a heartless siege of almost two months, and after cutting off food, water, and electricity, and playing horrible rock and roll through huge speakers 24 hours a day, the feds sent in the tanks to crush the walls of the church, and inject poisonous CS gas.

Now, CS gas is banned under the Paris Convention on Chemical Warfare. The U.S. could not use it in a war. But it could and did use it against American civilians.

After the tanks did their work on the church, the place burst into flame, and all 81 people--men, women, children, and babies -were incinerated in a screaming horror. Did some feds set the fire? Did the flammable CS gas ignite, since without electricity, the parishioners were using lanterns? Did a tank knock over a lantern, striking one of the bales of hay being used against the thin walls as a "defense" against bullets? Or did the Davidians, as Clinton and Reno claim, kill themselves?

A new documentary- -Waco: The Rules of Engagement- may show, through FLIR infrared photography, FBI snipers killing the Davidians by shooting through the back of the church, where no media cameras were allowed. This film won a prize at the famed Sundance Film Festival. It was made by people who took the government's side, until they investigated.

Whatever the truth, there's no question that an irresponsible federal government has innocent blood on its hands, and not only from Waco. And the refusal of corrupt and perverse liberals to admit it means nothing.

In my r~interview, in answer to a caller's question, I pointed out that Waco, and the federal murders at Ruby Ridge- especially the FBI sniper's shot that blasted apart the head of a young mother holding her baby- caused many Americans to live in fear of federal power. Then I uttered the sentiment that caused the media hysteria: I said that a lot of Americans fear that they too might be attacked by federal swat teams for exercising their constitutional rights, or merely for wanting to be left alone.

Whoa! You've never seen anything like it. For days, in an all-out assault, I was attacked by Democrats, unions, big business, establishment Republicans, and- of course- the media, in Washington and my home state of Texas. Newspapers foamed at the mouth, calling me a "right-wing extremist." (Say, isn't that what George III called Thomas Jefferson?)

I was even blamed for the Oklahoma City bombing! And by the way, I don't believe we've gotten the full truth on that either. All my many opponents were outraged that a Congressman would criticize big government. "If you don't like Washington, resign!" said a typical big-city newspaper editorial.

But the media, as usual, were all wet. (Do they ever get anything right?) The average Congressman may go to Washington to wallow in power, and line his pockets with a big lobbying job for a special interest (so he can keep ripping-off the taxpayers). But that's not why I'm in Congress. It's not why I left my medical practice as a physician. It's not why I put up with all the abuse. It's not why I refuse a plush Congressional pension.

I'm in this fight for a reason. I want to hand on to my children and grandchildren, and to you and your family, a great and free America, an America true to her Constitution, an America worthy of her history. I will not let the crooks and clowns and criminals have their way. I'm in Congress to represent the ideas of liberty, the ideas that you and I share, for the people of my district, for the people of Texas, for the people of America. That's why I'm working to stop federal abuses, and to cut the government: its taxes, its bureaucrats, its paramilitary police, its spending, its meddling overseas, and every single unconstitutional action it takes. And not with a pair of nail scissors, but with a hammer and chisel. Won't you help me do this work?

Not much of the federal leviathan would be left, if I had my way. But you'd be able to keep the money you earn, your privacy would be secure, your dollar would be sound, your local school would be tops, and your kids wouldn't be sent off to some useless or vicious foreign war to fight for the UN. But Jefferson and the other Founders would recognize our government, and our descendants would bless us. By the way, when I say cut taxes, I don't mean fiddle with the code. I mean abolish the income tax and the IRS, and replace them with nothing.

Recently, I asked a famous Republican committee chairman-who's always talking about getting rid of IRS- why he engineered a secret $580 million raise for the tax collectors. "They need it for their computers," this guy told me. So the IRS can't extract enough from us as it is! The National Taxpayers Union says I have the highest pro-taxpayer rating in Congressional history, that I am the top "Taxpayer's Best Friend." You know I won't play the Capitol Hill games with the Capitol Hill gang, denouncing the IRS while giving the Gestapo more of your money. Or figuring out some other federal tax for them to squeeze out of you. I also want to abolish the Federal Reserve, and send Alan Greenspan out to get a job.

The value of our dollar and the level of our interest rates are not supposed to be manipulated by a few members of the power elite meeting secretly in a marble palace. The Federal Reserve is unconstitutional, pure and simple. The only Constitutional money is gold and silver, not notes redeemable in them. Not fed funny money. Without the Federal Reserve, our money could not be inflated at the behest of big government or big banks. Your income and savings would not lose their value. Just as important, we wouldn't have this endless string of booms and busts, recessions and depressions, with each bust getting worse. They aren't natural to the free market; they're caused by the schemers at the Fed. President Andrew Jackson called the 19th-century Fed "The Monster" because it was a vehicle for inflation and all sorts of special-interest corruption. Let me tell you, things haven't changed a bit. I also work to save our schools from D.C. interference. Thanks to the feds, new curriculums not only smear the Founders as "racist, slave-owning elitists," they seek to dumb down our students so they will all be equal. "Look-say" reading and the abolition of phonics has the same purpose, and so does the new "fuzzy" math, in which there are no right and no wrong answers. That must be what they use in the U.S. Treasury! It's certainly what they use in the U.S. Congress.

But ever since the beginning of federal aid to education and accelerating with the establishment of the rotten Department of Education, SAT scores have been dropping. Schools, with few exceptions, are getting worse every year. To save our kids, we must get the sticky fingers of the feds off our local schools, and let parents rule. That's what the Constitution says, and the Bible too.

And then there's my least favorite topic, the UN. World government is obviously unconstitutional. It undermines our country's sovereignty in the worst way possible. That's why I want us out of the UN, and the UN itself taking a hike. After all, the UN is socialist and corrupt (many votes can be bought with a "blonde and a case of scotch," one UN ambassador once said). It costs many billions, and it puts our soldiers in UN uniforms under foreign commanders, and sends them off to unconstitutional, undeclared wars. When Michael New, one of the finest young men I've ever met, objected to wearing UN blue, he was kicked out of the American Army. What an outrage! Not one dime for the UN, and not one American soldier! Not in Haiti, not in Bosnia, not in Somalia, not in Rwanda. I know its radical, but how about devoting American military efforts to defending America, and only America?

Such ideas, said one newspaper reporter, make me a maverick who will never go far because he won't go along to get along. Darn right! What does "go far" mean? Get a big government job? To heck with that. And I won't sell my vote for pork either. When I walked through the U.S. Capitol this morning, I got angry. The building is filled with statues and painting of Jefferson, Madison, and the other Founders. Those great men sacrificed everything to give us a free country, and a Constitution to keep it that way. When I was first elected, I placed my hand on the Bible and swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. That's exactly what I'm fighting for. But such ideas drive the liberals crazy. That's why I badly need your help. I've been targeted nationally for defeat. The Democrats, the AFL-CIO, the teachers union, big business PACs, the trial lawyers, the big bankers, the foreign-aid lobbyists, the big media, and the establishment Republicans want to dance on my political grave. The Fed, the Education Department, and the UN are anxious to join in. They can't stand even one person telling the truth. And they're terrified when that truth gains the people's support.

Right now, four well-funded Democrats are competing to try to beat me, and a Republican is rumored to have been offered money at a secret meeting in Mexico(!) if he would try to knock me off in a primary. Won't you help me stay up here to fight? Frankly, I am in trouble if you don't. My Texas district has 22,000 square miles (not a misprint). I've got to travel all over it, set up small offices to be manned by volunteers, advertise, pay phone bills, and distribute video and audio tapes to the people to get around the big-media lies. As I know from my last election, which I won by the skin of my teeth, the media will carry any smear, repeat any libel, throw any piece of mud, no matter how untrue. In fact, the less true, the more they like it. They are determined to silence me. But you can help me overcome all this. Together, we can beat the bad guys arrayed against our country and our freedom. We can support the Constitution. We can win. Your generous contribution of $25 or $50 would be great... $100, $250, or even $500 or $1,000 would be magnificent. Of course, any amount would help, and in return, I will keep you up-to-date on this fight as a member of my "kitchen cabinet." What great men founded this country! What great people have carried on their fight! That fight is not lost, not if you will join it.

Washington, D.C. is a loser, but among the people, our ideas are gaining every single day.

Keep the tide turning in our direction. Please make your most generous contribution. Join this fight for the Constitution, and stop those who want to rip it up, and throw it in the Potomac. Together, we can join the Founders' fight. Together, we can make history.

Sincerely, Ron Paul U. S. Congressman 203 Cannon, Washington D.C. 20515

Committee to Re-elect Ron Paul - 837 W. Plantation - Clute, Texas 77531

Source: http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=24626

4/26/02
2:14:18 PM

UTNE WEB WATCH

The Best of the Alternative Web

HOW THE GOP HARVESTS ITS ACTIVISTS AND REWARDS THEM WITH NIFTY PRIZES

by George Sanchez, Mother Jones

-- Republicans are taking the first step toward revolutionizing grassroots Internet campaigns through a reward system based on member recruits.

TV IS A TURN ON

by Andy Dehnart, Reality Blurred

-- As TV Turnoff Week is coming to a close, maybe it's time to evaluate its success.

EDIBLE HIV VACCINE BREAKTHROUGH

by Emma Young, NewScientist.com

-- A U.S. company may have found in an ancient food the source of a more effective, safer, and more easily-administered HIV vaccine.

Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch

4/26/02
2:08:54 PM

U.S. Military Seeks Broad Exemptions From Environmental Laws

by Cat Lazaroff

WASHINGTON, DC, April 25, 2002 (ENS) - In a hearing today before a House subcommittee, Defense department officials argued that the U.S. military needs blanket exemptions from environmental laws for almost all military activities in order to protect national security. Conservation groups lashed back in a press conference this afternoon, calling the proposal "unacceptable" and warning that the military is asking for carte blanche to pollute.

More than 20 of the nation's leading conservation groups sent a letter to Congress today urging lawmakers to oppose proposed legislation that would allow the Department of Defense (DoD) to ignore certain environmental laws. The groups oppose amendments to the defense funding bill, which they say contains "broad sweeping exemptions ... [that] would likely result in irreparable harm to public health and the environment."

The DoD is seeking exemptions from some of the nation's most important environmental statutes, including the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Superfund law, among others.

"The American people have long supported these important environmental and public health laws," the groups wrote in their letter to Congress. "While we support U.S. military efforts to prepare for military action, such as efforts to protect national security, additional exemptions are not necessary to accomplish this goal."

"Many of these laws already have specific provisions that allow requests by the Department of Defense for waivers in the interest of national security," the groups continue. "We firmly believe no government should be above the law including the laws that protect the air and water in and around our military facilities, the health of the people who live on bases and nearby, and America's wildlife and public lands," the groups state in their letter.

The amendments offered by the DoD could prevent the enforcement of most environmental statutes on military bases. The exemptions from hazardous waste statutes, for example, would change the definition of hazardous waste to exclude munitions and their exploded parts.

In addition, the military would not be required to clean up contamination on a base, or stop its migration, until someone documented that the pollution had moved beyond the boundaries of a military site. That could allow extensive pollution of underground drinking water aquifers, environmental groups warn.

Even then, the proposed exemptions are "so broad that it is hard to predict how it could be interpreted," said Aimee Houghton, associate director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight.

According to the groups, changes allowing military exemptions were proposed by the Department of Defense just last Friday, allow little time for the House Subcommittee on Military Readiness to consider the proposed amendments.

"Because the language only came in on Friday, it left little room for an open and inclusive dialogue on these proposals," said Houghton. "And even today, the Defense Department couldn't make a good case for the amendments."

On March 14, the subcommittee held a hearing to solicit input from the DoD and various federal regulatory agencies regarding the environmental restrictions facing the military. Many public interest groups, including the National Governors' Association, the National Association of Attorneys General, and the National Conference of State Legislatures requested and were denied the opportunity to testify at the March hearing.

Conservation groups say they support a process in which military representatives and other parties can work together to develop creative and collaborative solutions to potential environmental problems at military installations, or from military training.

The groups charge that the legislation reviewed today could result in toxic contamination of air and water, destruction of endangered species critical habitat, threats to migratory birds and their nests, and harm to marine mammals. The groups claim that this laundry list of exemptions is both damaging and entirely unnecessary.

"Our existing laws already provide the proper balance between military readiness and environmental protection," today's letter to Congress concludes. "Issues need to be addressed under our current laws."

Military officials and their supporters argue that the exemptions are needed in order for the military to properly protect the nation.

"From my first day as chairman of the Military Readiness Subcommittee, I have heard one consistent theme from both the top officials at the Pentagon as well as the men and women in uniform whom I have met from military installations throughout the country," said Joel Hefley, the Colorado Republican who heads the subcommittee, in prepared remarks before the hearing. "The ability of the Department of Defense to fulfill its primary mission to safeguard national security has been dramatically challenged - and in some instances diminished - due to its obligations to satisfy several important federal environmental laws."

"The land, waters and air space in which the Department can train its soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines have been restricted or lost due to the presence of endangered species, complaints about noise, urban encroachment and so forth," Hefley added.

Environmental experts at today's press conference noted that there has never been a case where the Clean Air Act, the Superfund law, or any of a myriad of other environmental statutes have kept the military from training.

At a press conference this afternoon, Brock Evans, executive director of Endangered Species Coalition and a former Marine, said that while conservation groups are sympathetic to the military's concerns, and eager to help solve specific problems, "blanket exemptions are very wrong."

"At a point in time when the military services have the highest standing in the public mind since World War II, it is unfortunate that the military is choosing now to seek exemptions from the nation's most important environmental laws," Evans said.

Today, the subcommittee considered giving the military exemptions from the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In a statement released Tuesday, the Pentagon said that lawsuits brought under the Endangered Species Act could potentially restrict military training on several bases, including California's Camp Pendleton and Washington's Fort Lewis.

A lawsuit filed under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act recently halted live fire bombing exercises on Farallon de Medinilla, a Pacific island where thousands of sea birds nest.

Sandra Schubert, legislative counsel at Earthjustice, said the Defense Department "is not able to come up with a single example where the Clean Air Act has hindered, either as a practical matter or in theory," military training activities. But the Pentagon warns that strict new emissions limits under the Clean Air Act could put many military jets in violation of air pollution regulations.

The subcommittee declined today to consider the other exemptions that the DoD is seeking, noting that the DoD has not made a strong enough case to include those exemptions.

"Given the time that the Department has given the Subcommittee to consider these significant adjustments to existing environmental statues, it would not be responsible for this Subcommittee to address these changes, at this time," Helfey said.

Additional exemptions could be added during the markup by the full Armed Services committee, or on the House floor.

Source: http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-25-07.html

4/26/02
2:03:11 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)

http://ens-news.com

U.S. MILITARY SEEKS BROAD EXEMPTIONS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

By Cat Lazaroff

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-25-07.html

CONGRESS HEARS "SHOCKING" EVIDENCE AGAINST YUCCA MOUNTAIN

WASHINGTON, DC, April 25, 2002 (ENS) - Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn today testified at a Congressional hearing that a repository for disposal of high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada is "the product of extremely bad science, extremely bad law, and extremely bad public policy.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-25-04.html

POTATOES, GRAINS ON HIGH FRY CAN CAUSE CANCER

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 25, 2002 (ENS) - Potato chips, french fries, baked potatoes and bread may contain high levels of a probable human carcinogen known as acrylamide, Swedish researchers said yesterday. No acrylamide has been found in boiled foods.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-25-01.html

INVASIVE BUFFELGRASS THREATENS GIANT SAGUAROS

TUCSON, Arizona, April 25, 2002 (ENS) - The saguaro cactus, a symbol of the American West, may be losing a battle against invasive plants. Exotic grasses like buffelgrass, an African native, fuel frequent wildfires that kill the centuries old giant cacti and many other native desert plants and animals, and disrupt the fragile ecosystem of this arid region.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-25-06.html

NASA'S AQUA SPACECRAFT TO STUDY EARTH'S WATER CYCLE

PASADENA, California, April 25, 2002 (ENS) - Exactly what takes place as water circulates from the oceans through the atmosphere onto the land and back to the oceans again is the subject of a multi-million dollar, three country research project in space.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-25-02.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: APRIL 25, 2002

Sierra Club Lawsuit Seeks Regulation of Air Pollutants

Senate Passes Renewable Energy Tax Incentives

Marshall Center Cleanup Attracts NATO Attention

Ecosystems Depend on Wide Diversity of Species

Energy Department Makes Record Renewables Purchase

Fire Altered Ecosystems in Prehistoric Times

Wood Chip Trenches Filter Nitrate Runoff

Wet Wastes Could Become Fuels

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-25-09.html

4/26/02
1:55:22 PM

Perspective On 9-11

by John Rappoport

As I and many others pointed out after 9/11, the OP against the Trade Towers and the Pentagon provided a hyped-up justification for Sharon to make war against the Palestinians. Since then, at least a few of the suicide bombings carried out against Israel have been add-ons to this OP. The bombings were carried out by people whose handlers were Israelis. Israel then proceeded to launch its war against the Palestinians. It's called provocation.

But of course there is more. Certain Israelis who ARE part of this overall OP are not leading the way. They are not the bosses. Much heavier players on the power ladder are in charge.And it must be inferred that THEY, the ones in charge, are willing to risk EVERYTHING. Including a massive war which will take place in the Middle East, drawing in a number of nations. Part of the fallout will be a choking off of oil supplies to the West. But these high-level planners are not, in their own eyes, risking anything more than they want to. The kind of chaos and destruction that may occur is right up their alley. This is not an OP which has gone off the rails. Understand this.

At the level of Bush and Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell and Dick Cheney, there is massive anxiety, there is terrible risk. Because they are down the ladder of power from the real planners, the real bosses.

For several years, I have been writing about what I call the PLAN B people. These are high-level ice-cold fascists who have always thought that chaos was the proper end-game, which in turn would become a prelude to a world run by a de facto government bent on erasing freedom on every front. Swiftly. I have spelled this out in as much detail as possible in my newsletter. And we are now seeing the results of their handiwork spread out before us. Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat are strategic pawns on the chessboard. Nothing more.

Among the cartels which run this planet, the PLAN A people, who have the same goal of a slave world--but want it to happen gradually, by the drip-method--are attempting to wrest control of the current OP away from their PLAN B brethren.

The key here is this. If 9/11 and its aftermath were planned from a very high position (and they were), it is silly to assume that the current spreading chaos in the Middle East was an unforeseen consequence. These PLAN B men may be crazy, but they aren't stupid. They knew and know exactly what kind of blood-drenched carpet is unrolling on the world stage.

For those citizens of many countries who have preferred to take their news from the trough of major media--well, that is now completely untenable. On that corrupted level, nothing makes sense. Nothing adds up. You have to go higher. You have to comprehend major segments of history as a series of rigged provocations, designed to create what appears to be the necessity of "the stronger ones" stepping in to take charge. To stop the chaos. This has always been the way. Put such fantastic pressure on the citizenry that it finally sits up and cries uncle. "Do what you want to. Give us any excuses, we don't care. Just stop the madness. We give you our souls, our lives, our futures. Take over. Run the whole show. Kill the scapegoats. Bring in the peace with chains, and we will wear them." This is the real OP. Which only adds to the urgency of decentralizing the power of the cartels which envelop this world.

SUNDAY, APRIL 7

Very little media coverage accompanies the opening of a major conference today in Washington. I'm talking about the annual meeting of the Trilateral Commission, that group founded in 1973 by David Rockefeller. Terrorism is at the top of the agenda. Globalism will be emphasized as the solution.

This "modest organization" will number among its conference attendees Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, and Paul Volcker. Quite a list for a private non-governmental meeting. If you happen to be part of a private group, try to get these men to show up at the same time and place.

The Trilateral Commission had two dozen people in top posts in the Carter administration. Carter was a creation of the Commission, which, in effect, ran his foreign policy. That is, America's foreign policy. Hamilton Jordan, Carter's top aide, said just after Carter's victory in the 1976 presidential election, "If after the inauguration you find Cy Vance as Secretary of State and Zbigniew Brzezinski as head of national security, then I would say we failed. And I'd quit." Jordan's prediction about Carter's appointment of these Trilateralists came true. And he didn't quit.

Jordan was saying that turning over the major functions of the federal government to a private group was imminent. David Rockefeller is fond of making modest statements about Trilateral power. He says these men just sit around and try to come up with good ideas, like the Kiwanis Club. Well, men like Cheney and Powell and Rumsfeld--and movers and shakers from industry, media, the military, and the great banks of the world--aren't used to vapid speculation. They intend to get the job done, and the job is forming up the planet under the control of a few people--who happen to include themselves.

The meeting in Washington will be closed to the public. A few reporters have been invited to sit in. Members of the Club will be expected to read between the lines when chosen speakers make their reports. And, of course, more private conversations will take place.

We won't be hearing about any of these.

Source: http://www.nomorefakenews.com

4/26/02
1:45:35 PM

Kucinich Walks Out on Ridge Secret Meeting with House Committee

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.17G.Walks.Out.htm

Kucinich Is the One

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.21D.The.One.htm

WHICH AMERICA WILL WE BE NOW?

(...) Even now the media elite, with occasional exceptions, remain indifferent to the hypocrisy of Washington's mercenary class as it goes about the dirty work of its paymasters.

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20011119&s=moyers

The 9-11 bombings Are Crimes Against Humanity

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/

The September 11 "Grand Coup" - Serious allegations by French author I'll network this excellent one next week

http://www.whatmatters.nu/wmemails/wmemails15.html#WM-80

Venezuela Coup Linked to Bush Team

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.22A.Bush.Coup.htm

America is Not United Behind Bush's War on Terrorism

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.22C.SG.America.htm

4/26/02
1:41:53 PM

t r u t h o u t | 04.26

t r u t h o u t Petition / Poll | Should a 911 Probe Include the White House? Two More Members of Congress Respond Yes to "The Question"

http://www.truthout.org/poll/911Probe.htm

Senators Weaken Energy Requirements

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26A.Energy.htm

Saudi to Warn Bush of Rupture Over Israel Policy

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26B.Warn.Bush.htm

Bernard Weiner | Time Out! A Pause for Longer-Range Thinking

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26C.BW.Thinking.htm

Scott Galindez | Dear George, Did You Ever Learn How to Play Fair?

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26D.SG.George.htm

ACLU Action Alert

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26E.Action.Alert.htm

Ashcroft Wants INS Abolished

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26F.Ashcroft.INS.htm

Federal Government VS The Last American Wild Buffalo Herd | Update | 04.25.2002

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26G.BFC.Update.htm

White House Stonewall: Day 62

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26H.Stonewall.htm

The Afghan Warnings That Went Unheeded at Tora Bora

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26I.Tora.Bora.htm

House Panel Backs Bush Plan for Nevada Nuclear Waste Site

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.26J.Waste.Site.htm

t r u t h o u t, is a non-profit independent news source.

http://www.truthout.org

4/26/02
1:13:16 PM

The Alternative Press Directory

Other viewpoints on the news. Links to over 425 alternative news publications and online resources. The Alternative Press Center (APC) is a non-profit collective dedicated to providing access to and increasing public awareness of the alternative press. Founded in 1969, it remains one of the oldest self-sustaining alternative media institutions in the United States.

http://www.altpress.org/direct.html

4/26/02
12:47:21 PM

Half of all Americans use Internet for News

Chronicle of higher Education

Bruce Williams and Michael delli S AND MICHAEL DELLI CARPINI

According to an ABC News poll almost half of all Americans now get some of their news over the Internet, and over a third of them increased their use of on-line sources after September 11. While seeking out information on-line, people looked beyond traditional sources. For example the Drudge Report was the 20th-most popular destination for a week following the terrorist attacks.

A special episode of the NBC television drama 'The West Wing' devoted to the issue of terrorism attracted more than 25 million viewers, its largest audience ever and roughly three times the viewership for the network's evening news.

A 2000 Pew Charitable Trusts poll found that more than one-third of Americans under 30 now get their news primarily from late-night comedians and 79 percent of this age group say they sometimes or regularly get political information from comedy programs such as 'Saturday Night Live.'

4/26/02
12:45:54 PM

Planet Ark World Environment News

US cites hazards of metalworking fluids - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15680/story.htm

Derelict ship threatens wildlife, dog still loose - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15667/story.htm

Lactic acid bacteria in feed reduces E.coli-study - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15668/story.htm

Senate near vote on US energy policy overhaul - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15669/story.htm

US House to vote on Yucca waste site resolution - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15670/story.htm

FEATURE - Ghost towns, geiger counters-Chernobyl welcomes you - UKRAINE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15673/story.htm

Ukraine fears a new generation of Chernobyl victims - UKRAINE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15671/story.htm

Nuclear strike on UK "beyond imagination" - files - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15672/story.htm

Spanish mine spill site may be unsafe - green lobby - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15665/story.htm

UK wind farms threatened by defence concern - report - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15674/story.htm

INTERVIEW - Southern Africa food disaster only months away - WFP - SOUTH AFRICA

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15678/story.htm

FEATURE - Mexico's fledgling ecotourism struggles to survive - MEXICO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15676/story.htm

Japan pushes for restart of commercial whaling - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15677/story.htm

>From Japan, a new taste treat - the whaleburger - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15679/story.htm

Rail no greener than road, truckers' study finds - EU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15666/story.htm

Brazil sets voluntary aluminum recycling record - BRAZIL http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15682/story.htm

Bangladesh factory blast kills one, injures seven - BANGLADESH http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15681/story.htm

4/26/02
12:30:58 PM

AlterNet Headlines

http://www.alternet.org

YOUTH SPEAK: WIRETAP'S 1ST ANNUAL ART & WRITING CONTEST

WireTap, AlterNet's youth partner, asked young people across the country what Free Speech meant to them. The winners weighed in on topics from underground school newspapers and graffiti artists, to abortion rights and American culture post-9/11, proving that youth are exercising their right to speak out.

http://www.wiretapmag.org

New on AlterNet:

HEAL ME, FATHER

Mary Spicuzza, AlterNet

While American bishops meeting with the Pope hammered out a policy for priests who prey on kids, a psychologist who counsels clergy claims it's not so hard to screen potential abusers.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12952

FLEXING THE POWER OF THE PRESS

Michelle Goldberg, AlterNet

Kristina Borjesson talks about "Into the Buzzsaw" and her excommunication from mainstream journalism after she began challenging government assertions about TWA Flight 800.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12941

MANUFACTURING TRUTH ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST

Michael Albert, Z Magazine

Noam Chomsky offers the cold, hard facts about the Middle East peace process, the future of Palestine, and U.S. Mideast policy.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12956

CRIMES OF BIG TOBACCO

Mark Schapiro, The Nation

Big Tobacco's multibillion-dollar profits rest on a global underground network of smugglers and money launderers. A six-month investigation follows the paper trail of this illegal trade.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12938

THE ETHANOL ENIGMA

David Morris, AlterNet

From an antebellum industrial solvent to today's octane-enhancing additive, ethanol is the fuel conservatives and liberals love to hate.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12957

Crusades, Jihads and Modernity

On Working Assets Radio, Laura Flanders talks with Tariq Ali about the 'Clash of Fundamentalisms.' Listen online from 10-11amPT/1-2pmET, or call in: 866-798-TALK.

http://www.workingassetsradio.com

IS TAKING PSYCHEDELICS AN ACT OF SEDITION?

Charles Hayes, Tikkun Magazine

The idea of taking psychedelics in this time of national crisis might be seen as self-indulgent folly. But some of those drugs could have a profound and healthful effect.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12940

BUSH'S MASTER OIL PLAN

Michael T. Klare, Pacific News Service

The aborted coup in Venezuela is just one piece of a broader plan to secure a global oil empire, stretching from Colombia to Uzbekistan.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12946

RISE OF THE "NOBODY" MEMOIR

Lorraine Adams, Washington Monthly Nearly everyone has a story to tell ... and to publish. But oddly enough, their life histories seem to fall into three neat little categories.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12914

CAN YOU RIVERDANCE FOR ME, HONEY?

Meera Atkinson, Salon

At New York's fetish salons, it's all about fantasy -- some guys want to sniff you and others want to watch your feet move in clogs.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12953

SO, YOU WANT TO BUY A GREEN CAR ... OR DO YOU?

Allie Gottlieb, Metro Silicon Valley

Envirocars are cute, smart and full of good, clean fun. But do consumers really think about the environment when they're purchasing a vehicle?

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12917

ATTACK OF THE PORK BARREL POSSE

Jonathan Reingold, AlterNet

The Pentagon is not solely to blame for our $400 billion military budget. A lot of it is just plain old congressional pork.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12947

HUFFINGTON: BINGEING ON BLAKE

Arianna Huffington, AlterNet

The media is once again overdosing on its overwrought, over-the-top, overkill coverage of the arrest of D-grade celebrity Robert Blake.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12954

4/25/02
7:37:34 PM

A Precious Human Life

"Every day, think as you wake up,

Today I am fortunate to have waken up,

I am alive, I have a precious human life.

I am not going to waste it.

I am going to use all my energies to develop myself,

to expand my heart out to others,

to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

I am going to have kind thoughts toward others.

I am not going to get angry, or think badly about others.

I am going to benefit others as much as I can."

-- H. H. The Dalai Lama

4/25/02
7:34:53 PM

Public Citizen

NHTSA's Proposal on Child Restraints Represents a Step Forward but Agency Should Require Built-In Child Restraints

Statement by Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's announcement today that it will begin rulemaking to upgrade the safety of child restraint systems in motor vehicles represents a significant step forward. Currently, booster seats for children over 50 pounds are not regulated at all. These proposed rules will improve safety for millions of children up to age 8, who are now at serious risk of injury and death.

However, for the future what is really needed are child safety systems built into all new cars. As NHTSA develops this rule, it should test the few integrated systems offered as optional equipment versus booster seats so the public knows which is safest. The best systems have a five-point belt, which children need. Car manufacturers acknowledge that this is the safest system of all, and there is no reason why our children should continue to be left vulnerable to tragic injuries.

Joan Claybrook was the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 1977 to 1981. Public Citizen released a study of child restraint systems earlier this week.

To read the report, please visit http://www.citizen.org

4/25/02
7:31:58 PM

Military Exemption Language on the Move

As I write this, the Military Readiness Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee is in the process of "marking up" the Defense appropriations legislation ("marking up" means the Subcommittee members go through the language and offer amendments to the bill, before voting on the whole thing), including language (so far) to exempt the military from environmental laws involving endangered species. An amendment to essentially eliminate the Navy's responsibilities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) is expected to be offered today by Utah Representative James Hansen (I guess all those marine mammal problems in Utah are really weighing on him!).

Mark-up for the bill in the full House Armed Services Committee is expected next week, at the earliest, and then the bill will likely go to the House floor, where we stand the best chance of stripping out the anti-environmental riders.

Again, best defense is a good offense. Get those faxes and e-mails going into your Representatives!

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has set up an action alert page where you can e-mail an immediate message to your Representative on this issue. Take advantage of it by going to: >NRDC Actio Alert:

http://www.nrdcaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=1194

Thanks for your support and efforts! And thanks to NRDC for setting up the action page!

-- Mark J. Palmer

Mark J. Palmer

Assistant Director International Marine Mammal Project

Director Wildlife Alive

Earth Island Institute

300 Broadway, Suite 28

San Francisco, CA 94133

(415) 788-3666 x139

(415) 788-7324 (fax)

mailto:mpalmer@mother.com

http://www.earthisland.org

4/25/02
7:30:06 PM

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."

Albert Einstein

4/25/02
7:28:44 PM

A Very Dear and Beloved Elder Has Left This Earth

Dear Friends of Indigenous Peoples Project,

A very dear and beloved elder has left this Earth. Roberta Blackgoat crossed over on the evening of April 23rd, from a heart attack and stroke. Roberta was 84 years old, a courageous, brilliant, and devoted woman who worked hard with all that she had, to protect her Big Mountain ancestral homeland, and to raise awareness of the issues that threaten the land and the people who have lived there for centuries. As was said in our most recent newsletter, the work of the Indigenous Peoples Project encompasses health and healing for indigenous people. However, in honor of Roberta, and in support of truth and liberty for all people, we send you the following most recent statement, from Roberta Blackgoat and Kee Watchman, made to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. It will enlighten those who are not familiar with the situation there, and will hopefully inspire some powerful solutions, blessings of lasting peace, and a return to harmony.

May each and every one enjoy their birthright of health, happiness, peace, and freedom,

Karen and Antonio Ferreira

Indigenous Peoples Project

mailto:gaiasophia@gaiasophia.com

4/25/02
7:26:51 PM

Jewish movement for peace

The Tikkun Community is seeking to build a national organization of Jews and non-Jews to offer a counter-voice to Ariel Sharon and George Bush (who most recently, after the carnage in the West Bank, has decided to call Sharon "a man of peace"). The goal is to create a group of people in every community who will do two things:

A. Meet with elected public officials to let them know that many Christians and Jews deplore Ariel Sharon's policies and know that Israel will only achieve safety and security when it ends the occupation.

B. Challenge the biased coverage in the media by constantly calling and writing about their coverage.

A founding meeting of the local Tikkun Community in Los Angeles will be held this Sunday, April 28, from 1:30-5:30 p.m. at the University Synagogue (11960 Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles.) The meeting includes a mini teach-in on the Middle East (1:30-3 p.m.) followed by an organizational meeting (3-5 p.m.).

A similar event will take place on the last day of Memorial Day weekend in San Francisco, at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 27. For more information, call: (415) 575-1200, or go to:

http://www.tikkun.org

4/25/02
7:25:51 PM

Six common Israeli justifications...myth or fact?

Myth 1: There is no moral equivalence between suicide bombings on the one hand, and Israel's killing of Palestinians on the other.

Myth 2: Israel's invasion of Palestinian cities and refugee camps is self-defense against suicide bombings.

Myth 3: Arafat refuses to condemn suicide bombings in Arabic.

Myth 4: Arafat has not done enough to stop terrorism.

Myth 5: Arafat spurned Barak's generous offer at Camp David and broke off negotiations with Israel.

Myth 6: Arafat started the intifada.

Link here to read the debunking...and see if you agree:

http://electronicintifada.net/coveragetrends/6myths.shtml

4/25/02
7:21:43 PM

Study Finds DDT May Spur Disease

By Martin Mittelstaedt, Environmental Repoter, April 24, 2002 – Page A1

Frogs given trace amounts of DDT and other pesticides experience a near-total collapse in their immune systems, a finding that could help explain the rise in human autoimmune diseases such as asthma and allergies, Canadian researchers say.

The scientific team also says the work could shed light on the global decline in amphibians, animals that may no longer have strong enough immune systems to survive exposures to viruses and parasites.

The pesticides had an effect on frogs identical to cyclophosphamide, a drug used on human transplant recipients to suppress their immune systems so they don't reject their new organs.

Frogs and mammals essentially have the same type of immune system, so the finding could have implications for humans, who also have elevated pesticide exposures.

In other areas they have been suffering from horrific physical defects, such as growing extra limbs.

The findings on immune-system impairment have received peer review and will be published in a research journal later this year.

In laboratory experiments, the team injected northern leopard frogs -- shiny, brown-green amphibians common in Canada's swamps and forests -- with tiny, sublethal doses of DDT, dieldrin or malathion. For comparison purposes, some other frogs were given the immune-suppressing drug cyclophosphamide.

DDT and dieldrin, two deadly insecticides on the United Nations' list of the most toxic substances ever produced on Earth, have been banned in Canada, but they resist decay and continue to be found throughout wildlife in Canada and in human tissues decades after they were in widespread use.

Malathion is still widely used on crops in Canada and for mosquito control. It is often sprayed from planes in large-scale efforts to control mosquitoes, such as recent programs to control the West Nile virus in New York City and to knock down populations of the insect in Winnipeg.

Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency is reviewing its registration for malathion, while regulators in the United States have recently given it a clean bill of health for mosquito control.

The pesticide research project was funded by Health Canada and Environment Canada.

The experiments found that frogs injected with DDT, malathion or cyclophosphamide had only 1 per cent to 2 cent of normal antibody production, while dieldrin led to 30 per cent of normal production, two weeks after exposure. It took frogs 20 weeks of living in a pesticide-free environment to have their immune systems return to normal.

In human terms, impaired immune systems could lead to people dying of common colds or other infections that a healthy person would be able to resist easily. Frogs live in bacteria- and parasite-infested environments, and consequently may not be able to shake illnesses because of their weakened immune systems, according to the research.

In their experiments, the researchers also tested wild leopard frogs from a number of locations in Ontario and found major differences in their immune systems, depending on their exposure to pesticides.

Specimens collected near Point Pelee National Park in Southwestern Ontario had weaker immune systems, compared with those from regions of the province, such as around Collingwood, less polluted by agricultural chemicals.

Point Pelee is a DDT hot spot because a children's camp in the park was once heavily sprayed to kill mosquitoes and it lies near one of Canada's largest concentrations of farms. The research project was prompted partly to investigate the mysterious disappearance of leopard frogs in Point Pelee, to see if it was linked to DDT.

Many experiments use exceptionally high chemical doses -- hundreds of times normal environmental exposures -- to cause deleterious effects, but the frog tests were conducted with doses of less than one part per million.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

4/25/02
7:18:03 PM

DAILY GRIST

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

HAVE TRASH, WILL TRAVEL

Like a cross between hitchhikers and shipwrecked sailors, marine animals are straying from their normal habitats by catching rides on sea-borne trash, according to an article appearing in the current issue of the journal Nature. Marine organisms have always traveled from place to place via natural debris such as floating wood and pumice, but now the vehicle of choice seems to be plastic. In the old method, species couldn't get very far before the natural debris disintegrated -- but traveling by nigh-indestructible plastic, marine organisms can colonize ecosystems thousands of miles from home. Nomadic organisms pose a threat to native plants and animals, especially in Antarctica, where species are already being compromised by warmer temperatures.

straight to the source: BBC News, 24 Apr 2002 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1948000/1948714.stm>

only in Grist: Alien invasion! -- a review of "Tinkering with Eden" and "Nature Out of Place" -- in our Books Unbound section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books011002.asp?source=daily>

SIM NATURE

If art imitates life, so too does technology. That's the premise of Peter Bentley's new book, "Digital Biology," which recounts the quest of engineers, computer programmers, and other scientists to hone their craft at Mother Nature's feet. Some scientists have made electrons behave like ants, anti-virus programs behave like immune systems, and fraud-detection schemes behave like our brains' neural networks. Reviewer Nicholas Thompson finds fascinating science and food for thought for environmentalists in Bentley's book, only on the Grist Magazine website.

only in Grist: A review of "Digital Biology" -- in our Books Unbound section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books042502.asp?source=daily>

QUICK DRAW, MCGRAW

A tiff has broken out between the Department of Interior and the U.S. EPA over proposed gas drilling in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. The energy industry would like to drill more than 39,000 new wells in the area, a plan enthusiastically backed by the Bush administration, especially in the wake of its defeat over oil and gas drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. But not everyone likes the look of the proposal: Earlier this month, EPA Acting Regional Administrator Jack McGraw gave the project's Environmental Impact Statement the worst rating possible ("environmentally unsatisfactory"), saying that it ignored increases in air pollution and groundwater salinity that would result from drilling. In response, Interior Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles, who once ran a consulting firm whose clients included oil and gas companies with an interest in the Powder River Basin, has told McGraw's boss at the EPA that his rating cannot be allowed to stand, according to several sources. The DOI denies trying to silence the EPA.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Ellen Nakashima and Dan Morgan, 25 Apr 2002 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44334-2002Apr24.html>

only in Grist: Methane to their madness -- coal bed methane extraction threatens Wyoming's Red Desert -- in our Main Dish section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/clifford010902.asp?source=daily>

do good: Take action to protect the Powder River Basin <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/mining.asp?source=daily#powder>

PHIL ANTHROPIST

Phil Anschutz is an unlikely hero for Native Americans and environmentalists. One of the richest people in the country and a mega-donor to the Republican Party, Anschutz made his fortune in oil before launching Qwest Communications. Last year, his oil company, Anschutz Exploration, won permission from the Bureau of Land Management to drill in Montana's Weatherman Draw southwest of Billings. The area, which may contain 10 million barrels of oil, is sacred to the Crow and other neighboring tribes and home to some of the most renowned Native American rock paintings in the West. On Tuesday, Anschutz, who said he was unaware of the site's significance when he first bought the drilling rights, handed over his hard-won oil leases to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The trust will hold the leases to prevent drilling and work with the BLM to permanently protect the land.

straight to the source: Denver Post, Mike Soraghan, 24 Apr 2002 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E567857%257E,00.html>

4/25/02
7:14:35 PM

Public Citizen issued the following two press releases today, April 25, 2002:

1) Senate Energy Bill Leaves Consumers in Dark, Sends Country in Wrong Direction

2) Rep. Tom Davis Dodges Campaign Finance Disclosure Law

Senate Energy Bill Leaves Consumers in Dark, Sends Country in Wrong Direction

Statement of Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook

Later today, the U.S. Senate will vote on what is arguably one of the worst pieces of legislation to hit the Senate floor in a long time - the energy bill.

This country is at a critical juncture on energy matters, and we can ill afford to pass this backwards-looking measure. We guzzle nearly three times more oil than we produce - an amazing statistic, considering that the United States is the third highest oil producing country in the world. Despite the energy crisis in the 1970s, we are making larger vehicles that drink up more gas than ever, and are doing nothing to conserve. Recently we have seen unprecedented heat waves, and deregulation has caused turmoil in energy markets. There is no solution for our nuclear waste, except to leave it as a deadly legacy for future generations.

So what does the Senate energy bill propose? Measures that would take us back decades and do nothing to help us now. This bill stymies efforts to boost fuel economy - something that polls show Americans strongly favor. It spends billions to promote fossil fuels by subsidizing the coal industry, as well as on- and off-shore oil and gas production, ultimately contributing to harmful global warming.

The bill is larded with tax breaks and subsidies. It hands over more than a billion dollars to the nuclear energy industry, encouraging it to expand and create even more deadly waste. And in what is one of the most foolhardy provisions, the bill would repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act, which restricts the ability of companies to make investments that divert resources away from their primary responsibility of serving electricity customers. Enron may be damaged goods and unable to take advantage of this, but this is exactly the kind of deregulation that such energy traders want. And just yesterday, the Senate made this horrible measure even worse by weakening a requirement intended to get power companies to use more renewable fuels.

How can the U.S. Senate can be so short-sighted? The public expects lawmakers to look to the future and help prepare for it. Instead, too many senators are catering to the industries that bankrolled their campaigns - or might in the future. It is shameful, disappointing and, frankly, disgusting. We strongly urge the Senate to defeat this measure. Go back to the table and start again, and this time, keep the people in mind.

xoxox

Rep. Tom Davis Dodges Campaign Finance Disclosure Law

Evasion Spotlights Compliance Problems with "527" System; IRS Urged to Assess Strong Penalty Against Top House Republican Fundraiser

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A political committee created by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) has unlawfully evaded federal campaign finance disclosure rules for 18 months, Public Citizen has found. The committee is quite productive; in 2001 alone, it raised $638,000.

The "Congressman Tom Davis Virginia Victory Fund" was established in 1997 to help steer donations to state and local elections, according to records kept in Richmond, Virginia's state capitol. But following enactment of the 527 Organization Disclosure law on July 1, 2000, Davis's political committee was supposed to file disclosure reports with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In fact, Davis personally voted for this legislation. But his political committee has yet to file a financial disclosure report with the IRS even though the first such reports were due 18 months ago.

"It was an innocent oversight and we are looking to correct it," David Marin, Davis's press secretary, told Public Citizen. "The Congressman is certainly aware what is going on with his account * he wants them to get into compliance as soon as possible."

Public Citizen first notified the political committee's custodian of records on March 19, 2002 of the failure-to-disclose problem. More than a month later, the problem has not been rectified.

"It was my fault," said Mary Jane Sargent, custodian of the account, when first asked on March 19, 2002, why the political committee had not registered with the IRS. "I thought it was not supposed to be registered * It may have been that I didn't pay attention to it when they gave me all this junk to read."

When contacted a month later on April 22, 2002, Sargent said she was "in the process of filing the reports now to get into compliance." (After prodding by Public Citizen, Davis's political committee electronically submitted a "statement of organization" to the IRS on the night of April 22, 2002. But it still had not disclosed any financial records as of the afternoon of April 24, 2002. In all, the organization should have submitted seven different disclosure reports by that date.)

Sargent maintains that Davis' political committee intended to obey the laws regarding disclosure, noting that although Davis' political committee did not file with the IRS, it did file with the Virginia Board of Elections. However, failure to disclose to the IRS permitted Davis to hide from the media and watchdog groups the identity of donors who may have interests before Congress. This is because the IRS is the only national clearinghouse for this information; otherwise, the public would not necessarily know the committees exist -- nor could the IRS follow its charge to regulate these groups. Further, the IRS files are online while Virginia's files are not.

"Claiming ignorance and innocence 18 months late is no excuse in this case," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. "When there is a law requiring disclosure it is not satisfactory to say 'we are trying.' It is not something complicated to do."

The evasion appears particularly troubling because Davis is chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC), the fundraising operation for House Republicans. "It is disturbing to see any member of Congress evading disclosure, especially one with his position," said Claybrook. "It's not like you have a rookie here in campaign finance making these mistakes."

Although the political committee is called the "Congressman Tom Davis Virginia Victory Fund," the organization's expenditures show no money going to Davis's congressional campaign. Instead, the political committee has played a role in Virginia politics during recent elections, with most of the money collected by Davis going to state and local candidates and consultants.

In 2001, the political committee contributed $222,895 (36 percent of expenditures) to state and local candidates and paid consultants $187,746 (30 percent of expenditures), according to records filed with the Virginia Board of Elections.

In 2001, Davis's political committee collected $637,996. Corporate donors (not PACs, individuals or unions) accounted for most of that ($413,550 or 65 percent of the total).

The top contributors last year were Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio & Associates, a Washington D.C. accounting firm ($50,000); Milton Peterson, a Northern Virginia land developer ($20,000); Virginia Auto and Truck Dealers PAC ($20,000); ManTech International ($15,000); Sallie Mae ($15,000); and Telcom Ventures LLC ($15,000).

These large contributions highlight one of the reasons why federal officeholders like Davis create such 527 political organizations: 527 groups are allowed to receive unlimited soft money contributions, which Davis's own re-election campaign committee cannot.

State records reveal that while Sargent was the custodian of the account, Davis personally authorized 45 percent of the political committee's expenditures in 2001. Failure to disclose these records during these years could result in financial penalties amounting to 35 percent of all expenditures and contributions raised during this time. In other words, if the IRS were to proceed with a compliance case, it could charge the political committee at least $483,023 in penalties.

"Goodnight - I don't have that much money," exclaimed Sargent when hearing how much the political committee could be fined for its non-disclosure.

"The IRS needs to send a signal that this brazen defiance of the law will not be tolerated," said Frank Clemente, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch. "In accordance with the regulations, the IRS should fine the Congressman Tom Davis Virginia Victory Fund for its egregious failure to disclose. Shadowy 527 groups represent a large and growing loophole that many political actors will use to influence elections. Disclosure is imperative to discourage deceit."

The IRS division that oversees non-profit organizations apparently never caught Davis' missing disclosure reports, partly because it is still creating a compliance and enforcement program for 527 groups - nearly two years after the IRS was charged with the task. Without a compliance program in place, it is possible that the IRS will not levy any penalties against the Congressman Tom Davis Virginia Victory Fund.

Public Citizen found more than 60 members of Congress who have similar 527 political committees that have been filing with the IRS in regular, timely and lawful fashion.

That's not to say, however, that all members of Congress have been following the law. As Public Citizen first reported on Feb. 26, 2002, the 527 committee of House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) - called the Keep Our Majority Political Action Committee, or KOMPAC - failed to file a prescribed disclosure report for the crucial "pre-election" period of October 1-October 18, 2000. KOMPAC also failed to file a required report for the period of Oct. 19-Nov. 7, 2000.

After Public Citizen brought the problem to the attention of Lisa Lisker, KOMPAC's official custodian of records, the 527 group filed the required disclosure reports with the IRS on March 27, 2002 - more than 16 months late. Hastert's KOMPAC disclosed that during the five-week period which it had omitted from reports, it collected $139,960 and spent $865,864, with most of the expenditures in the form of campaign contributions to Illinois candidates.

In a similar case, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) was required to begin filing 527 disclosure reports in October 2000. The CBC did not file any report until May 4, 2001, and this report arrived with serious flaws. This first filing, the "post-election" report due Dec. 7, 2000, listed $1,092,658 in contributions - but these were actually expenditures. The group listed only $6,000 in contributions, again mislabeled, that account for less than one percent of the CBC's actual receipts during the period covered by the report.

Public Citizen has released two studies that detail the nature of so-called "527" groups (named after a section of the Internal Revenue Code they are governed by), the flaws in the IRS disclosure system and the failure of the IRS to enforce the law. They can be accessed at:

http://www.citizen.org/congress/campaign/legislation/section527/articles.cfm?ID=7188

http://www.citizen.org/congress/campaign/legislation/section527/articles.cfm?ID=7372.

On April 20, Rep. Davis helped win a Harvard University rock 'n roll trivia contest by naming the Blues Magoos as the band behind the 1966 song "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet." Today, Public Citizen asks: Which Republican representative's soft money political committee has violated federal law by disclosing "nothing yet?"

Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.

For more information, please visit http://www.citizen.org

4/25/02
7:12:40 PM

Israel Issues "Code 8" -- Reservist Call-Up Worldwide

Israeli reservists have been called up world wide to return to Israel. Bill Handel's guest DR. Steve Pieczenik discussing the Middle East situation provided a scoop. Israel has announced a CODE 8 call-up for Israelis world-wide. This means that all Israelis world-wide must return and report for service. Implication is things are ready to GET HOT

http://www.kfi640.com/billhandel.html

If Israel believes that all-out war is imminent, despite all the talk about a peace conference and a Palestinian State, it would make a lot of sense that they would issue a Code 8 global reservist call-up before the war actually begins, to get their reservists flowing to Israel while they can still clear customs in their respective countries.

Operation Protective Wall is Israel's largest military mission in 20 years. The government has called up 30,000 reservists to back up the regular army of 185,000 in a massive assault intended to root out militants.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/733053.asp

4/25/02
7:10:48 PM

MOJOURNAL

http://www.motherjones.com/

From the Editor:

The May/June issue of Mother Jones, available on newsstands now, features a cover story that is both timely and compelling. Investigative reporter Barry Yeoman, who spent two weeks attending classes and living in the dorms at a missionary training college in South Carolina, tells how the school's evangelical Christians are planning to eliminate the Muslim world -- one convert at a time.

Will Tacy Editor, MotherJones.com

NEW ON MOTHERJONES.COM

* From Enron to Activism * - News: When the Houston energy giant began its spectacular implosion last year, a few former employees found themselves unexpectedly pushed into high-profile activism.

http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/enron_act.html

* A Beltway Fable * - Cartoon: The fairy-tale logic behind the Republican push for a permanent tax cut.

http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/commentary/humor/taxcut.html

* News Beat * - Fact-Finding Feud; Argentina in Crisis, Again; Kissinger in Court; more...

http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/news_beat.html

* Capitol Beat * - Smoking Out Rich Debtors; Of Energy and Ethanol; Washington Ignores Nevada's Ire

http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/capitol_beat.html

* Updates * - Pension Extension for NBA Elders?; A Glimmer of Hope in Libby; Spared From Stoning

http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/features/news/updates.html

4/25/02
6:43:43 PM

Attack on Refugee Camp Shows How Israel Fights

by Victoria Mares-Hershey, Portland Press Herald (Maine), April 23, 2002

Politics being made on the heads of people is what we have seen in Jenin, a refugee camp of 13,000 people in a space about 500 yards by 600 yards, churned into rubble by a thousand well-equipped Israeli soldiers in pursuit of about 200 Palestinian gunmen.

As the world debated and discussed whether Sharon was a predator or "man of peace," and just after Secretary of State Colin Powell had returned home empty-handed, Jenin's reality jumped into American faces from front pages around the world.

We must give up choosing sides and examine this destruction, as the American public examined its stand on the Vietnam War after seeing a young girl in an Associated Press photo stripped naked by napalm and running in terror over 30 years ago.

If we do not turn a critical eye on all players in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including ourselves, we might as well be playing a war game on a pinball machine, with human pinballs.

The total destruction of the two-story cinderblock homes that belonged to thousands of refugees who can now be counted as "homeless" was accomplished with what a New York Times report called a "stark mismatch of arms." The media account of this episode is like reading about a modern army testing its billions of dollars of high-tech weaponry and equipment on a football field.

Cobra helicopters, able to fire TOW missiles designed to destroy tanks, fired through the walls of houses. The media counted scores of tanks mounted with machine guns, and bulldozers to raze civilian homes. Airborne cameras hovered over battles while officers used more technology to translate what they saw into combat strategy. The resistance they met from Palestinians armed with rifles, homemade explosives and tin-can warning systems was, the Israelis say, unexpected.

The determination, the deep anger, the fear, the generations of mental conditioning to hate, that must go into launching all of that fury into a complex of human families is unimaginable. The determination to survive an attempted decimation of so many people, to fight it by hand, to hate the people who wage it, must have to be measured in mega-units.

What is Yasser Arafat, besieged in Ramallah, going to tell the families pulling children, siblings, grandparents, men and women who were really only unarmed civilians, and human parts from under stone or actually scraping them up off the roads. That they have not been terrorized beyond belief? That they should not think about fighting back?

Source: http://www.portland.com/viewpoints/mvoice/020423victoria.shtml

4/25/02
6:41:37 PM

ISRAEL ISSUES "CODE 8" RESERVIST CALL-UP WORLDWIDE

Israeli reservists have been called up world wide to return to Israel.

Bill Handel's guest DR. Steve Pieczenik discussing the Middle East situation provided a scoop. Israel has announced a CODE 8 callup for Israelis world-wide. This means that all Israelis world-wide must return and report for service. Implication is things are ready to GET HOT

http://www.kfi640.com/billhandel.html

CUTTING EDGE NOTES:

http://www.cuttingedge.org/

http://www.msnbc.com/news/733053.asp

4/25/02
6:40:12 PM

SHARON'S PHILOSOPHY

"What you don't understand is that the dirty work of Zionism is not finished yet, far from it."

- Ariel Sharon, December 1982

"Sharon was a killer obsessed with hatred of Palestinians. I had promised Arafat that his people would not get any harm. Sharon, however, ignored this commitment entirely. Sharon's word is worth nil."

- Ambassador Philip Habib - President Ronald Reagan's Special Middle East Envoy in 1982

Just a few months after the terrible massacres of Palestinians in the refugee camps near Beirut in 1982 Ariel Sharon gave an interview to a famous Israeli journalist; and pressed by the tensions of the moment and the condemnation of much of the world Sharon revealed his true self. The U.S. was complicitous and responsible for what happened then, just as it is now. Back then the U.S. was also fronting for the Israelis and giving false promises to the Palestinians just as it is doing today. Back then it was ambassador Philip Habib representing President Ronald Reagan; now it is Colin Powell representing President George W. Bush.

SHARON'S BRUTAL PHILOSOPHY

Holger Jensen*

(Minneapolis Star-Tribune, April 12) - Nicknamed "The Bulldozer," Israel's prime minister is a soldier-politician whose career has been dogged by persistent accusations of war crimes.

But what kind of man is Secretary of State Colin Powell trying to persuade to make peace with the Palestinians?

At 74, Sharon may be the last Israeli leader who fought for the Haganah, politely described as part of the "underground" that helped create the Jewish state in 1948.

Often overlooked is that the Haganah and its offshoots, Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern Gang, once were considered terrorist organizations that bombed Arab bus stops, attacked Arab villages and killed quite a few Britons in fighting to end the British Mandate of Palestine.

It also should be noted that two other former prime ministers of Israel, Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, were leaders of the Irgun and the Stern Gang respectively. Among the atrocities these groups were responsible for was bombing the King David Hotel and massacring 250 Arab villagers in Deir Yassin.

So it can safely be said that some of Israel's earliest patriots were no different from the Palestinians they call terrorists today. The Haganah, which Sharon joined at age 14, formed the nucleus of Israel's new army when the Jewish state came into being, and the Israeli Defense orce, as it is called, is now the world's fourth-strongest military machine.

Besides an awesome array of American-supplied weapons, it has the largest and most sophisticated nuclear arsenal outside the five declared nuclear powers - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain - estimated at up to 2,000 warheads. These include nuclear artillery shells and nuclear-tipped medium-range ballistic missiles (the Jericho 1 and 2).

The man who now controls those nukes has devoted his entire life to Israel's security - and ruthlessly so.

Sharon earned a bloody reputation in the 1950s when he led retaliatory attacks against Jordanian villages accused of harboring Palestinians who mounted cross-border raids on Israel. After the 1967 war, when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Sharon pursued a ruthless hunt for guerrillas that destroyed hundreds of Palestinian homes.

When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, Sharon was held indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinian refugees by Israel's Christian Phalange allies. Eyewitness accounts by journalists and relief workers in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps, including a Dutch doctor and a Jewish American nurse, said Israeli army bulldozers helped dig mass graves for more than 800 dead.

That cost Sharon his job as Israel's defense minister and is the basis of war crimes charges filed by 29 survivors in a Belgian court.

During the Lebanese invasion, Sharon gave a revealing interview to Amos Oz, a leading Israeli author, in which he bluntly explained his military doctrine and railed against pacifist Jews who thought he was being too tough. It was published in the daily Davar on Dec. 17, 1982. Excerpts:

"You can call me anything you like. Call me a monster or a murderer. ... Better a live Judeo-Nazi than a dead saint.

"Even if you prove to me that the present war in Lebanon is a dirty immoral war, I don't care. Even if Galilee is shelled again by Katyushas in a year's time, I don't really care. We shall start another war, kill and destroy more and more, until they will have had enough.

"Let them tremble, let them call us a mad state. Let them understand that we are a wild country, dangerous to our surroundings, not normal, that we might go crazy if one of our children is murdered, just one! If anyone even raises his hand against us we'll take away half his land and burn the other half, including the oil. We might use nuclear arms.

"Even today I am willing to volunteer to do the dirty work for Israel, to kill as many Arabs as necessary, to deport them, to expel and burn them, to have everyone hate us. ... And I don't mind if after the job is done you put me in front of a Nuremberg Trial and then jail me for life. Hang me if you want, as a war criminal.

"What you don't understand is that the dirty work of Zionism is not finished yet, far from it."

Twenty years later, Sharon is still applying that brutal philosophy to a captive West Bank. And he is so obsessed with destroying Israel's enemies he won't listen to friends, including the President of the United States.

4/25/02
6:38:47 PM

First the Carrot, Then the Stick: Behind the Carnage in Palestine

by Norman G. Finkelstein

During the June 1967 war, Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza, completing the Zionist conquest of British-mandated Palestine. In the war's aftermath,the United Nations debated the modalities for settling the Arab-Israeli conflict. At the Fifth Emergency Session of the General Assembly convening in the war's immediate aftermath, there was "near unanimity" on "the withdrawal of the armed for ces from the territory of neighboring Arab states occupied during the recent war" since "everyone agrees that there should be no territorial gains by military conquest." (Secretary-General U Thant, summarizing the G.A. debate) In subsequent Security Council deliberations, the same demand for a full Israeli withdrawal in accordance with the principle of "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war" was inscribed in United Nations Resolution 242, alongside the right of "every state in the region" to have its sovereignty respected. A still-classified State Department study concludes that the US supported the "inadmissibility" clause of 242, making allowance for only "minor " and "mutual" border adjustments. (Nina J. Noring and Walter B. Smith II, "The Withdrawal Clause in UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967") Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan later warned Cabinet ministers not to endorse 242 because "it means withdrawal to the 4 June boundaries, and because we are in conflict with the Security Council on that resolution."

Beginning in the mid-1970s a modification of UN Resolution 242 to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict provided for the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza once Israel withdrew to its pre-June 1967 borders. Except for the United States and Israel (and occasionally a US client state), an international consensus has backed, for the past quarter century, the full-withdrawal/full recognition formula or what is called the "two-state" settlement. The United States cast the lone veto of Security Council resolutions in 1976 and 1980 calling for a two-state settlement that was endorsed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and front-line Arab states. A December 1989 General Assembly resolution along similar lines passed 151-3 (no abstentions), the three negative votes cast by Israel, the United States, and Dominica.

>From early on, Israel consistently opposed full withdrawal from the Occupied Territories, offering the Palestinians instead a South African-style Bantustan. The PLO., having endorsed the international consensus, couldn't be dismissed, however, as "rejectionist" and pressure mounted on Israel to accept the two-state settlement. Accordingly, in June 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon, where the PLO was headquartered, to fend off what an Israeli strategic analyst called the PLO's "peace offensive." (Avner Yaniv, Dilemmas of Security)

In December 1987 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza rose up in a basically non-violent civil revolt (intifada) against the Israeli occupation. Israel's brutal repression (extra-judicial killings, mass detentions, house demolitions, indiscriminate torture, deportations, and so on ) eventually crushed the uprising. Compounding the defeat of the intifada, the PLO suffered yet a further decline in its fortunes with the destruction of Iraq, the implosion of the Soviet Union, and the suspension of funding from the Gulf states. The US and Israel seized this occasion to recruit the already venal and now desperate PLO leadership as surrogates of Israeli power. This is the real meaning of the "peace process" inaugurated at Oslo in September 1993: to create a Palestinian Bantustan by dangling before the PLO the perquisites of power and privilege.

"The occupation continued" after Oslo, a seasoned Israeli commentator observed, "albeit by remote control, and with the consent of the Palestinian people, represented by their `sole representative,' the PLO." And again: "It goes without saying that `cooperation' based on the current power relationship is no more than permanent Israeli domination in disguise, and that Palestinian self-rule is merely a euphemism for Bantustanization." (Meron Benvenisti, Intimate Enemies)

After seven years of on-again, off-again negotiations and a succession of new agreements that managed to rob the Palestinians of the few crumbs thrown from the master's table at Oslo (the population of Jewish settlers in the Occupied Territories had fully doubled in the meanwhile), the moment of truth arrived at Camp David in July 2000. President Clinton and Prime Minister Barak delivered Arafat the ultimatum of formally acquiescing in a Bantustan or bearing full responsibility for the collapse of the "peace process." As it happened, Arafat refused. Contrary to the myth spun by Barak-Clinton as well as a compliant media, in fact "Barak offered the trappings of Palestinian sovereignty," a special adviser at the British Foreign Office reports, "while perpetuating the subjugation of the Palestinians." (The Guardian, 10 April l 2002; for details and the critical background, see Roane Carey, ed., The New Intifada)

Consider in this regard Israel's response to the recent Saudi peace plan. An Israeli commentator writing in Haaretz observes that the Saudi plan is "surprisingly similar to what Barak claims to have proposed two years ago." Were Israel really intent on a full withdrawal in exchange for normalization with the Arab world, the Saudi plan and its unanimous endorsement by the Arab League summit should have been met with euphoria. In fact, it elicited a deafening silence in Israel. (Aviv Lavie, 5 April 2002) Nonetheless, Barak's - and Clinton's - fraud that Palestinians at Camp David rejected a maximally generous Israeli offer provided crucial moral cover for the horrors that ensued.

Having failed in its carrot policy, Israel now reached for the big stick. Two preconditions had to be met, however, before Israel could bring to bear its overwhelming military superiority: a "green light" from the U.S. and a sufficient pretext. Already in summer 2000, the authoritative Jane's Information Group reported that Israel had completed planning for a massive and bloody invasion of the Occupied Territories. But the US vetoed the plan and Europe made equally plain its opposition. After 11 September, however, the US came on board. Indeed, Sharon's goal of crushing the Palestinians basically fit in with the US administration's goal of exploiting the World Trade Center atrocity to eliminate the last remnants of Arab resistance to total US domination. Through sheer exertion of will and despite a monumentally corrupt leadership, Palestinians have proven to be the most resilient and recalcitrant popular force in the Arab world. Bringing them to their knees would deal a devastating psychological blow throughout the region.

With a green light from the US, all Israel now needed was the pretext. Predictably it escalated the assassinations of Palestinian leaders following each lull in Palestinian terrorist attacks. "After the destruction of the houses in Rafah and Jerusalem, the Palestinians continued to act with restraint," Shulamith Aloni of Israel's Meretz party observed. "Sharon and his army minister, apparently fearing that they would have to return to the negotiating table, decided to do something and they liquidated Raad Karmi. They knew that there would be a response, and that we would pay the price in the blood of our citizens." (Yediot Aharonot, 18 January 2002) Indeed, Israel desperately sought this sanguinary response. Once the Palestinian terrorist attacks crossed the desired threshold, Sharon was able to declare war and proceed to annihilate the basically defenseless civilian Palestinian population.

Only the willfully blind can miss noticing that Israel's current invasion of the West Bank is an exact replay of the June 1982 invasion of Lebanon. To crush the Palestinians' goal of an independent state alongside Israel - the PLO's "peace offensive" - Israel laid plans in August 1981 to invade Lebanon. In order to launch the invasion, however, it needed the green light from the Reagan administration and a pretext. Much to its chagrin and despite multiple provocations, Israel was unable to elicit a Palestinian attack on its northern border. It accordingly escalated the air assaults on southern Lebanon and after a particularly murderous attack that left two hundred civilians dead (including 60 occupants of a Palestinian children's hospital), the PLO finally retaliated killing one Israeli. With the pretext in hand and a green light now forthcoming from the Reagan administration, Israel invaded. Using the same slogan of "rooting out Palestinian terror," Israel proceeded to massacre a defenseless population, killing some 20,000 Palestinians and Lebanese, almost all civilians.

The problem with the Bush administration, we are repeatedly told, is that it has been insufficiently engaged with the Middle East, a diplomatic void Colin Powell's mission is supposed to fill. But who gave the green light for Israel to commit the massacres? Who supplied the F-16s and Apache helicopters to Israel? Who vetoed the Security Council resolutions calling for international monitors to supervise the reduction of violence? And who ust blocked the proposal of the United Nation's top human rights official, Mary Robinson, to merely send a fact-finding team to the Palestinian territories? (IPS, 3 April 2002)

Consider this scenario. A and B stand accused of murder. The evidence shows that A provided B with the murder weapon, A gave B the "all-clear" signal, and A prevented onlookers from answering the victim's screams. Would the verdict be that A was insufficiently engaged or that A was every bit as guilty as B of murder?

To repress Palestinian resistance, a senior Israeli officer earlier this year urged the army to "analyze and internalize the lessons of how the German army fought in the Warsaw ghetto." (Haaretz, 25 January 2002, 1 February 2002) Judging by the recent Israeli carnage in the West Bank - the targeting of Palestinian ambulances and medical personnel, the targeting of journalists, the killing of Palestinian children "for sport" (Chris Hedges, New York Times former Cairo bureau chief), the rounding up, handcuffing and blindfolding of all Palestinian males between the ages 15 and 50, and affixing of numbers on their wrists, the indiscriminate torture of Palestinian detainees, the denial of food, water, electricity, and medical assistance to the Palestinian civilian population, the indiscriminate air assaults on Palestinian neighborhoods, the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, the bulldozing of Palestinian homes with the occupants huddled inside - it appears that the Israeli army is following the officer's advice. Dismissing all criticism as motivated by anti-Semitism, Elie Wiesel - chief spokesman for the Holocaust Industry - lent unconditional support to Israel, stressing the "great pain and anguish" endured by its rampaging army. (Reuters, 11 April; CNN, 14 April)

Meanwhile, the Portuguese Nobel laureate in literature, Jose Saramago, invoked the "spirit of Auschwitz" in depicting the horrors inflicted by Israel, while a Belgian parliamentarian avowed that Israel was "making a concentration camp out of the West Bank." (The Observer, 7 April 2002) Israelis across the political spectrum recoil in outrage at such comparisons. Yet, if Israelis don't want to stand accused of being Nazis they should simply stop acting like Nazis.

---

Norman Finkelstein was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1953. He is the son of Maryla Husyt Finkelstein, survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, Maidanek concentration camp, and Zacharias Finkelstein, survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, Auschwitz concentration camp. He dedicated his first book to his parents in which he wrote: "May I never forgive or forget what was done to them." His brothers Richard and Henry Finkelstein would like all visitors to this web site to know that the surviving family fully supports Norman's efforts to maintain the integrity of the history of the Nazi holocaust. May we never forgive or forget what was done.

Norman G. Finkelstein is the author of four books: Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Verso, 1995), The Rise and Fall of Palestine (University of Minnesota, 996), with Ruth Bettina Birn, A Nation on Trial: The Goldhagen Thesis and Historical Truth (Henry Holt,1998) and The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering (Verso, 2000).

4/25/02
6:37:41 PM

Jenin: Something Stinks

by Uri Avnery

There is fill agreement between all those who were in the Jenin refugee camp on only one thing. A week after the end of the fighting, foreign journalists and IDF soldiers, UN representatives and hired hacks in the Israeli media, members of the welfare organizations and government propagandists all report that a terrible stench of decomposing bodies lingers everywhere.

Apart from that there is no agreement on anything. The Palestinians speak about a massacre amounting to a second Sabra and Shatila. The IDF speak about hard fighting, in which "the most humane army in the world" did not intentionally hurt even one single civilian. The Palestinians speak about hundreds of dead, the Minister of Defense asserts categorically that exactly 43 were killed.

So what is the truth? The simple answer is: nobody knows. Nobody can possibly know. The truth lies buried under the debris, and it smells atrociously.

But some facts are uncontestable. They are sufficient for drawing conclusions . First: During two weeks of fighting, the IDF did not allow any journalist, Israeli or foreign, into the camp. Even after the fighting had died down, no journalist was let in. The pretext was that the life of the journalists would be endangered. But they did not ask the army to save them. They were quite ready to risk their lives, as journalists and photographers do in every war.

Simple common sense would hold that if one forcibly denies access to journalists, one has something to hide.

Second: During the fighting and afterwards, ambulances and rescue teams were not allowed to get close. Those that tried to approach were shot at. The result was that the wounded bled to death in the streets, even if they had relatively light injuries. This is a war crime, a "manifestly illegal order", over which "the black flag of illegality" flies. Under Israeli law, and even more so under international law and conventions to which Israel is a party, soldiers are forbidden to obey such an order. It makes no difference whether civilians or "armed men", one person or a hundred, died in these circumstances. As a method of warfare it is inhuman.

Some journalists justified this method in advance when they alleged that they had seen "with their own eyes" Palestinian ambulances carrying arms. Even if there was such an incident, it would not justify the use of such methods in any circumstances. (Until now, only one instance has been proven: this week Israeli journalists reported proudly that undercover soldiers used an ambulance in order to approach a house in which a "wanted person" was hiding).

Third: Even after the end of the fighting, and until now, heavy equipment and rescue teams have not been allowed in to remove the debris and corpses, or, perhaps, save people still alive under the ruins.

The pretext was again that the corpses could be mined. So what? If foreign and local teams want to risk their lives for this noble purpose, why should the army prevent them from doing so?

Fourth: During all the days of fighting, no one was allowed to bring in medications, water and food. I myself took part in a mass march of Israeli peace activists who tried, after the fighting was over, to accompany a convoy of trucks carrying such supplies to the camp. The trucks were allowed, so it seemed, to pass the road-block which stopped us - but it later became apparent that the supplies were unloaded in an army camp and only four could reach their destination.

What does all this indicate? An objective person could only draw the conclusion that the army wanted to prevent the entrance of eye-witnesses into the camp at any price. The army knew that this would give rise to rumors about a terrible massacre, but preferred this to the disclosure of the truth. If one takes such extreme measures to hide something, one cannot complain about the rumors.

What is the height of cynicism? When one blocks free access to a place, and then argues that no one has the right to say what happened there, because he has not seen it with his own eyes.

The most damning evidence about what happened is the fact that immediately after the end of the fighting, top government and army officials started to discuss ways of preventing a shock reaction in Israel and abroad once the facts became known. This was no secret discussion, it was held in public, in the media talk shows. All of us heard.

The decisions made were extremely effective in Israel, and extremely ineffective abroad. I happened to be in England when the news finally broke. They filled the first page of every important British newspaper. The front-page headline in the Times was "Inside the Camp of Death". Underneath was a giant photo and a report by a star war correspondent, who wrote that in all the wars she had covered, such as Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya and others, she had never seen such a terrible sight as this. In almost all European countries the reaction was the same.

In Israel, however, the government propaganda machine, in which all the media are now voluntarily integrated, did everything possible to prepare the public in advance. It was said beforehand that the Palestinians were about to spread a horrible lie, that they were ready to heap dead bodies (from where?) in the streets. It got almost to the point of saying that the Palestinians had blown up their houses over their families in order to create a blood libel.

The IDF did "clean" part of the camp, removing the bodies and ordering the ruins somewhat, and that is where compliant journalists and innocent foreign visitors were brought. There they met humane officers who assured them that there had not been any massacre. After all, only a tiny part of the camp had been destroyed, so-and-so many yards by so-and-so many yards, nothing really. It all reminds one of the methods of certain regimes.

The result is that again a huge gap was created between Israelis and the rest of the world. Around the world, many were horrified that Jews, of all people, were capable of doing such things. Jews were again confirmed in their belief that all Goyim are anti-Semites.

I hope that there will be a serious international inquiry, and that the truth - whatever it may be - will emerge. But if even a part of the rumored atrocity is confirmed, a question will be asked: What was the intention? Why did the civilian and military leadership decide to deal with the Jenin camp like this?

The only answer I can come up with is: in Jenin the Palestinians decided to stand up and fight. The rape of Jenin was intended to send a message to the Palestinians: This will be the lot of everyone who resists the IDF. Also, it could cause a Deir Yassin-style mass flight. Only a fool would believe that this will end the resistance to the occupation.

CLIP

Also included in another Gush Shalom post:

Yesterday morning, G.R. from Jenin refugee camp heard cries for help from the rubble of the Abu Zeineh home in Al-Hawashin neighborhood. Ten of the camp's residents arrived at the place and began to clear the rubble in an attempt to reach those trapped. IDF soldiers who were near the hospital, about 150 meters from the Abu Zeineh house, shot at the rescuers and drove in their direction accompanied by a tank. The rescuers fled the area. HaMoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual contacted the IDE and gave the exact location of the survivors. However, despite the military's pledge to rescue people about whom it received exact information, no military representative arrived at the place. In the evening, under the cover of darkness, residents of the camp returned to the Abu Zeineh home and rescued nine people alive. (Source: HaMoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual)

---

Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc) also began an email campaign on 19 April 2002 to denounce Microsoft's support of the Israeli army atrocities. Here is a relevant quote: "Two days ago, Israelis traveling on the main highways in the Tel-Aviv area were treated to enormous billboards bearing the Microsoft logo under the text "From the depth of our heart - thanks to The Israeli Defence Forces" on the background of the Israeli national flag."

See also:

"The Wounded Lion" (The Other Israel's editorial overview by Adam Keller evaluating one year of Sharon rule) at

http://otherisrael.tripod.com/ed.html

Full transcript of the war crimes panel available on the Gush site

http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/forumcng.html

To receive Gush Shalom's emails send a blank message at

Gush-Shalom-subscribe@topica.com

http://www.gush-shalom.org

4/25/02
6:35:06 PM

Israelis to Delay U.N. Fact-Finders

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/24/international/middleeast/24MIDE.html

A Massacre by Degrees

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.22G.Genocide.htm

Jimmy Carter | America Can Persuade Israel to Make a Just Peace

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.22B.Jimmy.Carter.htm

4/25/02
6:30:13 PM

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE

http://ens-news.com

BUSH MANAGEMENT PLANS MAY PUT NEW MONUMENTS AT RISK

WASHINGTON, DC, April 24, 2002 (ENS) - The Bush administration today announced plans to develop formal management plans for 15 of the 19 national monuments created by President Bill Clinton.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-24-01.html

SUPREME COURT NARROWS DEFINITION OF PROPERTY TAKINGS

By Cat Lazaroff

WASHINGTON, DC, April 24, 2002 (ENS) - The Supreme Court has ruled that federal restrictions on property development do not always amount to a taking of private property, for which the government must compensate landowners. The ruling will make it harder for property owners to seek compensation for environmental regulations that restrict land use.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-24-06.html

SEA SHEPHERD CAPTAIN RELEASES POACHERS UPON ARREST THREAT

SANTA MONICA, California, April 24, 2002 (ENS) - Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society at the helm of the conservation patrol ship Ocean Warrior expects to arrive in Costa Rica tonight, after escaping the clutches of Guatemalan officials who yesterday threatened him with arrest.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-24-04.html

UK CREATES NEW POLICE UNIT TO HUNT WILDLIFE CRIMINALS

LONDON, United Kingdom, April 24, 2002 (ENS) - Criminals who trade in wildlife and animal parts will have a tougher time of it in Britain from now on. A new unit of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) was created on Monday to concentrate on combating serious wildlife crime at both national and international levels.

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-24-02.html

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: APRIL 24, 2002

Wildfire Forces Evacuation of Colorado Town

Lawsuit Seeks Water for Klamath Basin Salmon

Senate Wrapping Up Energy Bill

House Begins Process of Overriding Yucca Mountain Veto

Bush Administration Asked to Protect Fish in South Dakota

Colorado Releases Rare, Captive Raised Fish

Lake Tahoe Clarity Shows Five Year High

Colorado's Most Wanted Poacher Arrested in Michigan

National Park Week Offers Special Events

http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2002/2002L-04-24-09.html

4/25/02
6:27:55 PM

We the People delivers to Congress: Truth-In-Taxation Hearing Record

WTP HAND-DELIVERS LETTERS TO 524 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

April 21, 2002

We The People Website: http://www.givemeliberty.org

Congress Has Been Put on Formal Notice.

Its Members Now Have the Demand Letter and a Copy of the Record of the Citizens' Truth-In-Taxation Hearing.

It Took a Team Effort.

On Sunday and Monday, April 14-15, 2002, citizens from sea to shining sea gathered in Washington DC.

Liberty was their passion and formally notifying Congress was the mission. The team accomplished the mission with flying colors. Their success was the result of an extraordinary amount of "esprit de corps" -- an uncommon spirit that unified the members of the group. The delegation embodied enthusiasm, devotion and a strong regard for professionalism, workmanship and the honor of the group.

The group assembled the packages and checked and rechecked them to minimize errors and to expedite the distribution. Many did not quit until 3 am, only after they were sure the hundreds of packages were ready for delivery Monday morning.

All this after making the personal sacrifices in time and money required to be in DC for the event.

On Monday morning, the group marched to Capitol Hill and served all but eleven of the 535 members of Congress with a copy of the record of the Citizens' Truth-In-Taxation Hearing. The packages contain the sworn video testimony and conclusive legal documentation that the IRS lacks the lawful authority to force employers to withhold the income tax from the paychecks of their employees or to force Americans to file a tax return and to pay the tax. Each delivery was formally witnessed via an affidavit of process service.

Congress has now been officially put on Notice by the People:

1. The IRS lacks the legal jurisdiction to enforce the federal income tax within the borders of the 50 states; 2. The federal income tax system is unlawfully applied and; 3. The IRS routinely violates the Peoples' 4th Amendment and due process rights.

Along with the record of the Hearing, the Congressmen received thousands of letters demanding that they move, no later than June 1, 2002, to direct IRS and DOJ to either stop forcing employers to withhold and to stop forcing the People to file and pay, OR schedule a full-blown congressional hearing requiring IRS and DOJ to appear and to address the evidence from the Truth-In-Taxation Hearing record.

In scores of cases, congressmen received a multitude of letters, each from a different constituent.

In all but a few cases, the letters addressed to each of the 535 congressmen came directly from constituents.

While delivering the packages some citizens were able to actually meet and speak briefly with their congressman.

In all but six cases congressional aides in every office willingly and graciously accepted and signed for the package. This was not the case in the offices of Senators Jim Bunning (KY), Lincoln Chafee (RI) and Pete Domenici (NM), and in the offices of Representatives Howard Berman (CA), Hilda Solis (CA), Jerry Weller (IL). In those cases, the aides refused to accept the packages, saying they wanted the packages delivered through the mail. Those six packages that were refused have now been mailed.

Editor's note: This is obviously not a formal Senate or House policy. Each congressman appears to have the discretion to require all letters be sent through the mail. Regardless, it is a sad commentary on America if citizens are now to be restricted from personally delivering letters to congressional offices. This, coupled with the concrete barriers and fences that now ring the Capitol, the White House and most major federal buildings, and the installation of metal detectors and electronic sensors at all public entrances of all government buildings causes us to wonder why our government feels it must protect itself from the People.

There were no constituent letters for Representatives Ed. Whitfield (KY), Wayne Gilchrest (MD), Karen McCarthy (MO), Mark Udall (CO) and John Thune (SD).

Anyone who lives in these five congressional districts and would like to have a demand letter and record of the hearing sent from him/her to their congressman, is asked to contact the offices of We The People. E-mail to:

maiiilto:Bob@givemeliberty.org

EARLIER NHNE NEWS LIST POSTS:

WTP NEW YORK TIMES FULL PAGE AD (2/11/2002):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/2696

WTP RESPONDS TO CONGRESSMAN BARTLETT (1/22/2002):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/2593

REP. BARTLETT CANCELS TRUTH-IN-TAXATION HEARING (1/20/2002):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/2578

WAIT TO FILE - THE INCOME TAX IS ON TRIAL (1/13/2002):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/2531

WTP TAX HEARING UPDATE (8/27/2001):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1792

SCHULZ ENDS FAST; GOV. AGREES TO ANSWER TAX QUESTIONS (7/21/2001):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1697

IRS & DOJ TALK TERMS & CONDITIONS WITH REP. BARTLETT (7/19/2001):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1689

UPDATE ON BOB SCHULZ HUNGER STRIKE (7/13/2001):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1667

HUNGER FAST USED TO FORCE IRS TO DEBATE (6/11/2001):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1557

'WE THE PEOPLE' CHALLENGES IRS & U.S. TAX CODE (3/3/2001):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1211

4/25/02
6:23:48 PM

Planet Ark World Environment News

UPDATE - Lawmaker - ADM, others may have rigged ethanol bids - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15655/story.htm

US corn growers applaud "huge win" in ethanol vote - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15657/story.htm

Drought points to fire danger in American West - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15659/story.htm

Britain misses EU deadline on vehicle recycling - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15650/story.htm

UK wind farms threatened by defence concern - report - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15652/story.htm

Chemicals used on salmon may hurt food chain - report - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15660/story.htm

INTERVIEW - Marine organisms ride plastic, threaten ecosystems - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15661/story.htm

UPDATE - Crisps, french fries, bread may cause cancer - study - SWEDEN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15656/story.htm

Indonesia to promote green power plants by decree - SINGAPORE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15653/story.htm

INTERVIEW - Toyota to supply hybrids to other automakers - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15654/story.htm

ANALYSIS - Car makers face scrap costs under EU waste law - EU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15658/story.htm

4/25/02
6:22:27 PM

t r u t h o u t | 04.25

Congressman Dennis Kucinich on Stopping Open Ended Permanent War

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25A.Kucinich.htm

Israel Confronts U.N. Fact-Finders on Jenin Probe

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25B.Jenin.Probe.htm

US Diplomatic Might Irks Nations

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25C.US.Irks.htm

Pentagon to Investigate Its Own Role in Venezuela

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25D.Pentagon.htm

Israel Begins Expansion of West Bank Settlements

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25E.West.Bank.htm

For the Ordinary People Of Gaza City, Death Is a Way of Life

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25F.Life.Death.htm

Le Pen Booed by EU Parliament

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25G.Booed.htm

Major Polluters Given Carte Blanche in Washington

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25H.Carte.Blanche.htm

Asian Slush-Fund Scandal May Push U.S. Off East Asian Stage

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.25I.Slush.Fund.htm

t r u t h o u t, is a non-profit independent news source.

http://www.truthout.org

4/25/02
5:59:02 PM

NEWS FROM THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE

April 24, 2002

CONTENTS:

1. Live Web Chat on Energy Policy with Amory Lovins and Christopher Flavin

2. Check out The Path to Johannesburg, a new online interactive timeline and resource guide to major events in world environmental history over the last forty years.

Live Web Chat: Amory Lovins and Christopher Flavin on Energy Policy

Please join us on Friday, April 26 for a live chat with two of the world's leading authorities on sustainable energy, Worldwatch President Christopher Flavin and Amory Lovins, a founder and currently Chief Executive Officer (Research) for the Rocky Mountain Institute

http://www.rmi.org

They will be online live on Friday, April 26 from 12:00-13:00 EDT (16:00-17:00 GMT). Point your browser to

http://www.worldwatch.org/live

and follow the "Discussion with" link to this energy chat.

Lovins and Flavin will be taking your questions about U.S. energy policy, and a new "National Energy Policy Initiative"

http://www.nepinitiative.org

growing out of a bipartisan study convened by RMI. This study found that that the U.S. would be both more secure and more prosperous if energy policy focused more on energy efficiency, diverse energy sources, and investment in lower-pollution autos and electrical generation.

To join the chat, go to http://www.worldwatch.org/live

and follow the "Discussion with" link to the chat.

The Path to Johannesburg

To build momentum for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which will open in Johannesburg, South Africa in a little over four months, the Worldwatch Institute has produced an interactive web-based timeline and resource guide--The Path To Johannesburg.

You can find The Path to Johannesburg at

http://www.worldwatch.org/worldsummit

The timeline begins in 1962 with the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, the book that launched the modern environmental movement, and ends with this year's World Summit. The timeline provides a snapshot of some of the last four decade's most significant environmental moments. And the associated links for each event give you immediate access to relevant Worldwatch publications, as well as other key web sites.

We hope that The Path to Johannesburg is a useful tool for you, and invite you to pass it to your colleagues and friends.

ABOUT THE WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:

>From August 26 to September 4, 2002, the United Nations will host the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The WSSD will bring together world leaders, concerned citizens, international agencies, multilateral financial institutions, and other major actors to assess global change since the historic United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (also known as the Rio "Earth Summit"). The WSSD offers a rare opportunity for all countries to come together and find practical ways to set the world onto a path of sustainability. Visit Worldwatch's special World Summit web page for more information at

http://www.worldwatch.org/worldsummit

4/24/02
8:08:37 PM

Kissinger: Mistakes May Have Been Made

Staff and agencies Wednesday April 24, 2002

As human rights campaigners demonstrated outside the Royal Albert Hall in London, the target of their protest, Henry Kissinger, today admitted inside it was possible that "mistakes were made" by the US administrations he served in.

But the former secretary of state questioned whether a court was the right place to examine them, saying it would be impossible to recall every one of thousands of cases.

The protesters, human rights activists joined by anti-globalisation demonstrators, accuse him of war crimes for his role in US actions in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Some banged drums while others chanted "war criminal" and "this is what democracy looks like".

"No one can say that he served in an administration that did not make mistakes," Mr Kissinger told the annual Institute of Directors conference.

"The decisions made in high office are usually 51-49 decisions so it is quite possible that mistakes were made.

"The issue is whether 30 years after the event courts are the appropriate means by which determination is made."

The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell this morning lost a court battle to have Henry Kissinger arrested for the "killing, injuring and displacement" of 3 million Vietnamese and Cambodian people.

During the 10-minute hearing Mr Tatchell was told that an arrest warrant could only be issued by the director of public prosecutions, and that, without his consent, no arrest could be made.

His bid was the second request concerning the former US secretary of state to be turned down this week.

Baltasar Garzon, the Spanish judge who tried to prosecute General Pinochet for crimes against humanity, was told by the Home Office on Monday that he could not question Mr Kissinger as a witness in connection with the Condor Plan, under which Latin America's military regimes agreed to eradicate their opponents in the late 1970s.

Both attempts had hoped to catch Mr Kissinger at the Royal Albert Hall.

Despite today's decision, Mr Tatchell insisted that he would fight on to bring the allegations against Mr Kissinger to court.

"This is not the end of the line. I will continue to seek Mr Kissinger's arrest on charges that, while he was US national security adviser to President Richard Nixon, he was the chief architect of a US war policy which resulted in the killing, injuring and displacement of 3 million Vietnamese and Cambodian people," he said.

"The victims of his crimes demand justice."

Mr Kissinger was Richard Nixon's national security adviser from 1969 to 1973 and secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 under Mr Nixon and Gerald Ford.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,689870,00.html

xoxox

Henry Kissinger

Derek Brown profiles the man who invented shuttle diplomacy and defines power as the ultimate aphrodisiac

Wednesday April 24, 2002

A generation ago, the Monty Python team recorded a feeble little ditty lampooning one of the most famous statesmen of their day.

"Henry Kissinger," they warbled, "How I'm missing yer You're the doctor of my dreams With your crinkly hair and your glassy stare And your Machiavellian schemes I know they say that you are very vain And short and fat and pushy But at least you're not insane ..."

The song came out on the Contractual Obligations album in 1980, when Henry Kissinger had already retreated from the centre stage of world politics. Twenty-two years on he remains immensely influential, through his public appearances, broadcasting, writing and consultancy to the rich and powerful.

He is also still hugely controversial, as the fuss over his appearance today at the Albert Hall testifies. He may be a hard man to ridicule, but for many he is a very easy man to hate.

Heinz Alfred Kissinger - he adopted the more Anglo-Saxon Henry after moving to the USA - was born in the German town of Fuerth on May 27 1923. In 1938 his family fled the Nazi persecution of the Jews, settling in New York.

The young Henry became a naturalised American citizen in 1943, and immediately enlisted in the US army, serving in Europe as an interpreter and intelligence analyst.

After the war he quickly made his mark as a scholar, winning the equivalent of first-class honours at Harvard, and following up with MA and PhD degrees from the same university. He went on to achieve distinction as a teacher, in Harvard's department of government, and as a member of its prestigious centre for international affairs.

Academic achievement was quickly accompanied by public recognition. In the early 1960s, Kissinger served as a consultant to the department of state, the US arms control and disarmament agency, the national security council, and other defence and diplomatic agencies.

He vaulted from backroom influence to household name in 1969, when President Richard Nixon made him his national security adviser. It was an improbable but potent combination, in which the formidable intellect of Kissinger complemented the compulsive populism of Nixon.

In 1973 Kissinger became the 56th US secretary of state. He was the most powerful diplomat and the world - and the busiest. He invented the concept of "shuttle diplomacy", forever jetting round the globe to mediate in some disputes and - some would say - meddle in others.

Kissinger's greatest achievement, according to his admirers, was in negotiating the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam and securing a stunning though illusory peace agreement. He was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1973 jointly with his Vietnamese counterpart Le Duc Tho.

His critics, who tend to be more vociferous than his admirers, say that securing the peace was rather less significant than promoting the war in the first place. They accuse him of doing more than most men to unleash a storm of destruction and bloodshed in south-east Asia in the 1960s, extending the Vietnam war into Cambodia and Laos and then cynically abandoning the region to dictatorship and even more misery.

The great diplomatic thinker is also charged at the bar of liberal-left opinion with masterminding the destruction of Salvador Allende's elected government in Chile in 1970, and installing the bloody-handed Pinochet junta in its place.

Christopher Hitchens, the US-based British journalist who has made something of a speciality of attacking Kissinger, accused him in a public debate organised by Harper's magazine last year of direct complicity in the pre-coup assassination of General Rene Schneider, the head of the Chilean armed forces.

He said of the murder: "We know who commissioned it, who paid for it, who organised it, who shipped the illegal money, who shipped the dirty weapons to Chile to have this done, and who paid the murderers after the crime had been committed. And the same name and the same face recurs throughout. We charge Henry Kissinger with murder for that, and we say that the society that tolerates it is tolerating murder, too."

Now approaching his 80th year, Kissinger has lost some of his zest for travel, but little of his intellectual drive or acerbity. Twice married, very private, he generally deals with criticism by ignoring it. Peter Tatchell's latest publicity stunt would not have troubled in the slightest the man who has hobnobbed for half a century with the most powerful people in the world.

Indeed, he once came close to defining power, in just two words. It was, he said (and he should know) the "ultimate aphrodisiac".

Christopher Hitchens: The trial of Henry Kissinger

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Kissinger/Trial_Kissinger_Hitchins.html

The Harper's magazine debate

http://www.harpers.org/online/kissinger_forum/

Henry Kissinger: a brief biography

http://www.nobel.se/peace/laureates/1973/kissinger-bio.html

Kissinger's diplomatic shuffling, 1973-77

http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/history/sectravels/kissinger.html

An academic analysis of Kissinger's diplomacy

http://www.ashland.edu/~ashbrook/publicat/onprin/v5n3/garrity.html

Kissinger and China

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/china/peopleevents/pande02.html

Henry Kissinger: the Monty Python lyrics

http://www.wilken.freeserve.co.uk/Montypython/Songs/song19.htm

4/24/02
7:41:24 PM

DAILY GRIST

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

WE LAKE IT

In a blow to the property-rights movement, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday against Lake Tahoe property owners who had argued that they were entitled to monetary compensation from the government for restrictions placed on use of their land. The origins of the legal battle stretch back two decades, to when the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency placed a three-year moratorium on development in the Lake Tahoe Basin to study possible environmental impacts. Property owners who bought land before the restrictions were enacted but were largely unable to develop it filed suit against the planning agency in 1984. The plaintiffs had been hoping for a blanket decision in favor of property owners, but the court ruled 6-3 that a temporary building moratorium is a necessary tool of government and does not automatically amount to a "takings" of private property. That's good news for environmentalists and planners, who had been suffering from a string of unfavorable Supreme Court rulings.

straight to the source: New York Times, Linda Greenhouse, 24 Apr 2002 <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/24/national/24PROP.html?source=daily>

straight to the source: Reno Gazette-Journal, Jeff DeLong and Doug Abrahms, 24 Apr 2002 <http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2002/04/23/12840.php>

HELLO, I'M NOT IN DELAWARE

In the latest blow to its image, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has suspended a planned $311 million deepening of the Delaware River after learning that the General Accounting Office was preparing to question the project's economic justification. Sources said GAO investigators believed the Corps had overstated the potential economic benefits of the project to the ports of Philadelphia and Camden. For similar reasons, the agency has been forced to suspend studies of lock expansions on the Mississippi River and a deepening of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal; in addition, the White House Office of Management and Budget has challenged the economics behind a flood-control project in Dallas, and an internal Pentagon investigation has questioned the overall credibility of Corps economic analyses. The Corps has been studying the Delaware River deepening since the 1980s and has already spent more than $40 million on the project. Environmentalists and politicians, who had expressed concern about the 33 million cubic yards of dredge spoil and other ecological harm that could stem from the project, were happy to learn of the suspension.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Michael Grunwald, 24 Apr 2002 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37340-2002Apr23.html>

do good: Take action to reform the Army Corps <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/rivers.asp?source=daily#corps>

CORN HUSKERS MOTION

By a vote of 68 to 31, the Senate yesterday killed an attempt to remove a measure in the Democratic energy bill requiring U.S. refiners to triple their use of ethanol by 2012. The measure would increase nationwide use of the corn-based fuel additive from about 1.7 billion gallons this year to 5 billion gallons by 2012. That's good news for corn-growing farmers; many environmentalists also back the measure because ethanol is a greener fuel additive than its most common counterpart, MBTE, which reduces smog but also pollutes groundwater. One clear beneficiary of the measure is agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, which controls 40 percent of ethanol production in the U.S.

straight to the source: MSNBC.com, 23 Apr 2002 <http://www.msnbc.com/news/742544.asp>

straight to the source: Sacramento Bee, David Whitney, 24 Apr 2002 <http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/2346328p-2793013c.html>

MONUMENTAL PAINS

It might not reach Arctic Refuge-proportions in its intensity, but a battle being joined today by the Bush administration over national monuments promises to be a doozy. It will encompass debates about everything from oil drilling to dirt bike-riding, and will pit Western lawmakers, landowners, and the recreational-vehicle industry -- all of whom generally want as few restrictions as possible on monument lands -- against environmentalists, who hope to protect the areas with strict management plans. Over the objections of many Republicans, former President Clinton created 19 national monuments covering more than 5 million acres of federal land in the West. The Bush administration initially considered scaling back the monuments, but met with public resistance and opted to revise management plans instead. This week, Interior Secretary Gale Norton is formally soliciting input from state and local officials and residents in drafting the plans; environmentalists fear the process will grant too loud a voice to anti-monument property owners, businesses, and developers.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Eric Pianin, 24 Apr 2002 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37482-2002Apr23.html>

only in Grist: The art of monument making with Julia Child -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha063000.stm?source=daily>

RODENTS OF USUAL SIZE

It's a grand time to be a San Bernardino kangaroo rat -- or as grand as they come for the endangered nine-inch rodent. Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated 33,295 acres of California's San Bernardino and Riverside counties as critical habitat for the rats, meaning that it will be more difficult to win approval for development projects on the affected lands. The Center for Biological Diversity, which pursued the designation, had hoped for an additional 22,000 protected acres. All nine scientists that reviewed the habitat plan before it was finalized called for more land to be included, but the federal agency begged to differ. The kangaroo rat was once common throughout the two counties, but its numbers have dwindled as its habitat has been reduced and fragmented by development.

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Douglas Haberman, 24 Apr 2002 <http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-000029145apr24.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dscience>

4/24/02
7:39:01 PM

Dear Fellow Activist,

Please excuse me for writing this way, but I would like to bring to your attention a book that you might find of interest. The book is called Inciting Democracy: A Practical Proposal for Creating a Good Society and is described below. Note that you can download the entire book from here for free:

<http://www.vernalproject.org/IcDDownload.shtml>

You may also find of interest the 30 papers that I have prepared on nonviolent action, consensus decision-making, and strategy for change that are saved here:

<http://www.vernalproject.org/RPapers.shtml>

In mid May, I will be on a book tour from Cleveland, OH to New England via car. Please contact me if your group would be interested in a 30 minute presentation on the book.

Thanks.

--Randy

4/24/02
7:37:53 PM

AlterNet readers:

Looking for an antidote to Rush Limbaugh? Want talk radio that's smart, sassy and shares your politics?

AlterNet does. That's why we're joining forces with Working Assets Radio, a daily talk show for people who care about progressive politics and culture. No matter where you live, you can tune in to the show -- right from your computer -- at:

http://www.workingassetsradio.com

Hosted by veteran muckraker Laura Flanders, Working Assets Radio features the personalities you know -- commentator Jim Hightower, editor Katrina vanden Heuval, social entrepreneur Ben Cohen, hip-hop journalist Davey D -- talking directly with callers about today's hottest issues. Anyone can call in to participate, toll free, at 866-798-TALK.

Sign up for free daily e-mails from Laura Flanders and you'll receive daily update on our daily broadcasts and what's going on in the world around you (just send a blank e-mail to

radio@workingassetsradio.com).

Want to do something? Check out each show's companion online "Tool Kit" for actions, links, books, organizations and other resources related to the topic of the day. Don't just talk and stop -- you can always take action and go deeper at

http://www.workingassetsradio.com

Once you've read your online news and commentary at AlterNet, raise your voice on the national public radio show that speaks to issues that matters to people who care about politics. Call in to Working Assets Radio with Laura Flanders and tell them that AlterNet sent you.

Who is Laura Flanders? You've read her reporting and commentary on AlterNet and in our 911 Reader. She's the founder of the Women's Desk at FAIR and former host of the media affairs program "Counterspin." Laura Flanders is also the author of the book "Real Majority, Media Minority: The Cost of Sidelining Women in Reporting" which inspired Susan Faludi to remark, "If only there were a hundred of her."

--> The 411 on listening online <--

WORKING ASSETS RADIO with Laura Flanders airs live from

10-11 am PT / 1-2 pm ET on

KALW 91.7 in San Francisco.

Or listen live online at http://www.workingassetsradio.com

Call toll free at 866-798-TALK

4/24/02
7:33:06 PM

TomPaine.com

http://www.TomPaine.com

Independent and Commercial-free -- the way you like it!

STEALING WORDS FROM BUSH'S MOUTH

Musharaff and Sharon's Shrewd Exploitation Of The Bush Doctrine

by Ehsan Ahrari

The White House has been outsmarted by foreign leaders who use Bush-style rhetoric -- like "with us or with the terrorists" and "battle of good versus evil" -- to justify and deflect criticism of their own policies and agendas.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5496

WORSE THAN NO DEAL AT ALL

Reviewing The Clinton-Barak Peace Proposal

by Ahmad Faruqui

Conventional wisdom says Yasir Arafat set the stage for the current Israeli-Palestinian violence by rejecting the Camp David peace plan of 2000. But it was a raw deal from the start.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5495

THE PRICE OF PORN IN THE MORN

E-Mail 'Spam' Is More Than Just A Nuisance

by Laura Iiyama

All that junk e-mail landing in your inbox isn't just annoying. It actually costs Internet subscribers some $8.8 billion a year, according to a new study. What's the federal government doing about it? Not much.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5487

A TOTALLY TRASHY IMPORT FROM CANADA

Will EPA Kick Foreign Garbage To The Curb?

by Karen Kelly

In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that state governments could not prevent the import of garbage across state lines. So residents in states like Michigan see hundreds of trucks hauling garbage into their state every day.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5512

BOTOX: BEAUTY IS NOT SKIN DEEP...

...It's Injected Just Below The Skin

by Jill Rachel Jacobs

Why the FDA thinks putting poison in your face is a great idea. (NOTE: This story has been linked to by a Britney Spears fan Web site:

http://britneyspears.ac/newsfeed.html.

Britney and Botox? Say it ain't so...)

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5494

ON NAZIS, PEDOPHILES AND DEMOCRACY

Who Said Freedom Of Speech Would Be Pretty?

by M. W. Guzy

The Supreme Court recently defended free speech rights for Nazi sympathizers and pedophiles. Given the beneficiaries, it's a painful reminder that freedom is sometimes paid for by tolerating the despicable.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5513

4/24/02
7:30:04 PM

UTNE WEB WATCH

The Best of the Alternative Web

THE TROUBLE WITH TOMATOES

by Mica Rosenberg, Tolerance.org

-- A Florida farmworker's national boycott against Taco Bell may win a long-awaited victory for exploited workers.

THE SOCIETY OF THE SPECTACLE: (NEW TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK BY GUY DEBORD)

by Ken Knabb, Bureau of Public Secrets

-- Knabb's translation of the book concisely portrays the notorious French cultural revolutionist's thoughts.

AWARDING OUR LEADERS: AND THE DICK GOES TO...

by Heather Wokusch, CommonDreams.org

-- Because of all the scandals and public indiscretions last year, writer Heather Wokusch felt compelled to award the "outstanding achievements in the art of duping the masses and using public resources for personal gain."

Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch

4/24/02
7:28:11 PM

EARTH DAY 2002: 7 Excellent Things YOU Can Do for the Earth:

1. Take Action! On the Web, learn much more: http://care2.com/takeaction You can take action online, sign up for a FREE email account at WildMail, And support wildlife and the environment every time you log on!

2. JOIN Greenpeace! Go to Greenpeace.org to find out more about campaigns you can get involved with, and to learn much more about environmental issues

3. Reduce your use of Petroleum! Ride a bike instead of driving, slow down your lifestyle, smell the flowers! Every gallon of gas contains toxins which will be poisoning your children's water, and fills our atmosphere with chemicals.

4. Convert your energy use to sustainable technologies, such as solar and wind. All of the tools you need to power your home are now available, and will make your family less reliant on "the grid"! Save money and use CLEAN energy! Learn much more at: http://Homepower.com, get a cool Guerrilla Solar shirt.

5. Reduce your consumption of animal products, and improve your health! Animals used for meat suffer cruel lives and are filled with toxins and parasites. Plenty of excellent protein, such as nuts and beans, are available, and you can make sprouts at home! Eat like Buddha did, and become enlightened! Learn much more at: http://Vegan.org, and join the Vegan DormFood Campaign!

6. Stop the use of Herbicides and Pesticides, in your community and home. Big corporations continue to push the use of their chemicals, which are dumped on our lawns, farms, and roadsides by the TON, even though scientific evidence shows persistent genetic damage in our bodies! Learn much more at : Pesticide Action Network : http://www.panna.org

7. Plant a garden, plant more trees! Growing your own healthy vegetables, herbs, and flowers will make you more attuned with the Earth. Planting more trees, especially replanting native trees, will allow our children to breathe easier and help reclaim our forests and soils. Thank you!

To learn more about our relationship with the Earth, and to find radical resources on the web, access World Wire 2002:

http://geocities.com/worldripple

The planet has a kind of intelligence, it can actually open a channel of communication with an individual human being. The message that nature sends is, transform your language through a synergy between electronic culture and the psychedelic imagination, a synergy between dance and idea, a synergy between understanding and intuition, and dissolve the boundaries that your culture has sanctioned between you, to become part of this Gaian supermind.

The planet is some kind of organized intelligence. It's very different from us. It's had 5- or 6-billion years to create a slow moving mind which is made of oceans and rivers and rain forests and glaciers. It's becoming aware of us, as we are becoming aware of it, strangely enough. Two less likely members of a relationship can hardly be imagined - the technological apes and the dreaming planet. And yet, because the life of each depends on the other, there's a feeling towards this immense, strange, wise, old, neutral, weird thing, and it is trying to figure out why its dreams are so tormented and why everything is out of balance.

- Terence McKenna

Learn More About the Gaian Mind: http://geocities.com/worldripple

4/24/02
7:26:45 PM

Published on April 18, 2002 in the Los Angeles Times

Dispel the Myth That Cheap Food Comes Without High Costs

by Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe

Earth Day is a perfect time to celebrate the first, true gift of the Earth to us: food. Before we toss our hats into the air, though, we might want to start with an admission. While we in the United States like to think we're blessed with the world's best and cheapest food, we've actually let market prices lie to us. They don't register all the hidden costs of our "factory farming" model, costs that undermine the very sustainability of nature's gifts. Food prices don't count the fact that soil is eroding on prime farmland many times faster than nature rebuilds it, or the marine life we're losing because of nitrogen runoff from overusing fertilizers. The latter has created a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico as big as Massachusetts and still growing.

The prices don't include the loss of plant diversity that occurs when our seed is supplied by just a few companies aggressively marketing a limited selection or the wells in Midwest states poisoned by farm chemicals. They don't consider the over-exploited oceans, where extinction threatens one-third of fish species, or the farm families and entire rural communities wiped out by rising farm costs and lower returns. These are merely the uncounted costs of producing our increasingly unhealthy diet.

Eating it adds a host of additional costs, including more than 5,000 deaths each year from food-borne illnesses, even as agribusiness--especially the meat industry--has fought against adding the cost of stricter food safety procedures to the bottom line. We've boasted that ours is the world's most efficient food system, but no business could stay afloat for long while ignoring its real costs. Efficiency and sustainability--the maintenance of Earth's gifts to us and our health over time--can no longer be seen as contradictory aims. Looked at this way, solving our food-related environmental and health crisis doesn't require a change in values.

No one wants to destroy our Earth or get sick from what he or she eats. It requires a change in perception. We have to see differently. We have to see, then measure and count, the real costs of producing food and of our sudden (in historical terms) shift to a meat-based, processed, high-fat and sugar diet. Just as important, we have to see that we can have the healthy food we need within a more honest framework of cost-counting. During the last 30 years, agriculturists around the world have been learning to align with nature's genius to create sustainable efficiency--getting the most from nature without destroying it.

With true sustainability we do not have to blanket the planet with pesticides or turn to untried technologies such as genetically engineered seeds that threaten ecological disruption. Last year, in the first worldwide study of sustainable farming practices, covering 70 million acres in more than 50 countries, researchers noted that applying ecology-protecting methods increased yields substantially. They recorded increases of 150% in root crops. True, in some cases sustainable practices can mean lower yields but, because production costs drop even more, farmers reap better livelihoods. Besides, overproduction, not underproduction, has been the bane of U.S. agriculture. Once we dispel the myth of efficiency hiding costs, we discover that sustainable is synonymous with real efficiency--getting the most of our resources over time.

To eat well, we don't have to acquiesce to a degrading environment, a tragic loss of species, a heart-rending erosion of family farming. We can redirect tax subsidies to further nonchemical practices and support independent, ecologically committed farmers, without fearing that we'll risk inefficiency-induced scarcity. We must let go of the false trade-off between protecting the planet and feeding ourselves.

Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe are co-authors of "Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet" (J.P. Tarcher/Putnam 2002).

4/24/02
7:24:38 PM

Earth Day Founder Dennis Hayes 32 years later

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.22I.Earth.Day.htm

Al Gore | Changing Course -- Earthday 2002

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23A.Gore.Earthday.htm

Bush, Exxon/Mobil Oust Leading Advocate Against Global Warming

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24C.Oust.Bush.htm

Supreme Court: Development Can Be Blocked to Protect Environment

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24F.SC.Blocked.htm

Senate Says No to ANWR; Are the Rockies Next?

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.19A.Senate.Says.htm

BioGems News, April 2002

Despite intense pressure from the White House and a flurry of last-minute maneuvering by drilling proponents, the Senate on April 18 rebuffed an effort to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. In two procedural votes, Democrats and several Republicans defeated a pro-drilling amendment to a broader energy bill -- delivering a huge victory to environmentalists, including BioGems Defenders who've sent more than 930,000 messages protesting plans to drill in the refuge, a rugged wilderness that teems with caribou, polar bears, Arctic wolves, and millions of migratory birds each summer. CLIP BioGems News is also available at

http://www.savebiogems.org/newsletter/index.asp

A modifiable letter to The Usurper demanding that he NOT gut the Clean Air Act

http://www.savethecleanairact.org/public/default_sent.asp

Belize activist Sharon Matola describes the wildlife and "sacred land" threatened by a proposed dam in the Macal River Valley.

Read the interview http://www.savebiogems.org/macal/fromthefield.asp

MATRIOTISM: WOMEN AND THE FATE OF THE EARTH

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12918

4/24/02
7:19:18 PM

We Come For Peace

by Rep. Cynthia McKinney [Remarks to April 20, peace rally in Washington, DC]

We come here today from the four corners of this nation.

We are blacks and whites, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans; Christians, Muslims, and Jews; gay, lesbian, and straight; immigrants and native-born Americans; rich and poor.

Here today are representatives of all sections of society: students, union members . . .

union members on strike . . .

homeless veterans . . .

and everyday warriors on the battlefield for justice.

But despite all our differences, we are here today . . . one community with one thing in common: a desire to see the restoration of the true ideals of America.

America -- where fundamental rights to vote, speak, and practice religion mean something.

A country that has a democratic form of government, a democratic way of life and a nation in which all can participate freely in political activity and share in the abundance of its harvest.

But America today is still a far cry from the noble Republic founded upon those words: "All men are created equal."

We have not dealt well with our diversity and too many of our citizens suffer needlessly.

Each day millions of Americans suffer poverty, hunger, the sting of discrimination . . .

arbitrary arrest, racial profiling, and brutality from rogue police . . .

inadequate health care, drug abuse, and unemployment.

For the millions of poor Americans, ours is not a just society.

More than 31 million Americans live in poverty. One in every six of our children live in poverty.

Some of our nation's poor even sleep each night on the steps of the buildings just visible from the bedrooms of the White House.

And sadly, many of those who sleep on America's streets are our veterans from US wars . . .

Sadly, nor is ours a democratic society.

In November 2000, the Republicans stole from America our most precious right of all: the right to free and fair elections.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his Secretary of State Katherine Harris, created a phony list of convicted felons--57,700 to be exact--to "scrub" thousands of innocent people from the state's voter rolls. Of the thousands who ultimately lost their vote through this scrub of voters, 80% were African-American, mostly Democratic Party voters. Had they voted, the course of history would have changed. Instead, however, Harris declared Bush the victor by only 537 votes.

Now President Bush occupies the White House, but with questionable legitimacy.

But however he got there, his Administration is now free to spend one to four billion dollars a month on the war in Afghanistan . . .

free to cut the high deployment overtime pay of our young service men and women fighting in that war . . .

free to propose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve National Park . . .

free to stonewall on the Enron and Energy Task Force investigations . . .

free to revoke the rules that keep our drinking water free of arsenic . . .

free to get caught in Venezuela . . .

and free to propose laws that deny our citizens sacred freedoms cherished under the Constitution.

We must dare to remember all of this.

We must dare to debate and challenge all of this.

And that is why we are here today.

We come here today to chart a new course for our communities and for America.

To fight against bigotry, we stand together as one and we must.

To fight against injustice, we stand together as one and we must.

To fight against poverty, we stand together as one and we must.

To fight against the destruction of our environment, we stand together as one and we must.

To wage peace instead of war, we stand together as one and we must.

Because, through our efforts, I believe we can once again, make America a force for good in the world.

We, as the world's most powerful nation have a responsibility to act in defense of the weak and to protect them from harm.

We failed in Rwanda. We failed in Srebrenica. We failed in East Timor. And now, as we speak, we fail in Jenin. Let us dedicate ourselves here today, to join together as one. When one person stands up and speaks out for the suffering of the weak, a tiny ripple of hope is created. When numerous people stand and demand justice for the multitude who have been forgotten, a strong current of possibilities is created. When an entire community stands up and demands change a mighty wave of freedom and justice is created. We gather here today and we speak with one voice . . . And let us remember, that one person can make a ripple. One ripple can make a movement. One movement can make a voice. And one voice can make mighty change. Let us leave here today and make the change this country needs to be loved and respected around the world once again. And remember one thing: Register and Vote!

Cynthia McKinney represents Georgia's Fourth Congressional District.

She can be reached at: mailto:cymck@mail.house.gov

4/24/02
7:14:12 PM

t r u t h o u t | 04.24

NEW t r u t h o u t Petition / Poll | Should a 911 Probe Include the White House? Results -- YES: 1173 -- NO: 2 | We are taking this to congress, Cast Your Vote!

http://www.truthout.com/poll/911Probe.htm

Rep. Cynthia McKinney | We Come For Peace

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24A.McKinney.Peace.htm

William Rivers Pitt | Karen Hughes Hits the Road

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24B.WRP.Hughes.htm

Bush, Exxon/Mobil Oust Leading Advocate Against Global Warming

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24C.Oust.Bush.htm

EPA Ombudsman Resigns In Protest Over Transfer

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24D.EPA.Resigns.htm

Henry A. Waxmen: Yucca Mtn Policy Puts Politics Before Science

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24E.MTN.Policy.htm

Supreme Court: Development Can Be Blocked to Protect Environment

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24F.SC.Blocked.htm

White House Stonewall: Day 60

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24G.Stonewall.htm

Phillip Morris Changes Name | Still Targets Kids

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.24H.Name.Change.htm

t r u t h o u t | Zogby Bush-O-Meter; Bush Down -- Gore Up

http://www.truthout.org/zogby.htm

t r u t h o u t, is a non-profit independent news source.

http://www.truthout.org

4/24/02
7:03:11 PM

Planet Ark World Environment News

Whooping cranes return on their own to Wisconsin - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15641/story.htm

Senate's Reid backs compromise on greenhouse gases - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15621/story.htm

US farmland, forests can absorb greenhouse gases - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15625/story.htm

Business groups lobby to save SUVs in California - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15626/story.htm

US Senate to consider $14 bln in energy tax breaks - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15627/story.htm

US, EU at odds on global warming despite meeting - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15618/story.htm

Britain must invest in nuclear power - govt adviser - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15619/story.htm

Ethics can be profitable, says UK's Co-Op Bank - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15634/story.htm

Shipping CO2 could help Norway hit Kyoto targets - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15643/story.htm

South Africa says Earth Summit 2 preparations on track - SOUTH AFRICA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15631/story.htm

INTERVIEW - Thailand to swap farm surplus for clean air - SINGAPORE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15637/story.htm

Irish Sellafield protesters in postal blitz on UK - REPUBLIC OF IRELAND http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15623/story.htm

Whaling, trade talks to dominate Koizumi's NZ visit - NEW ZEALAND http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15638/story.htm

Greenpeace plans protests against ExxonMobil - NETHERLANDS http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15642/story.htm

FEATURE - Japan clings to whaling past, hopes to lift ban - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15639/story.htm

No comment on Japan nuclear fuel return date - BNFL - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15620/story.htm

Indonesia says China ponders investment in mining - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15632/story.htm

Climate body chief sees declining use of oil, coal - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15624/story.htm

INTERVIEW - Small islands could drown, warns climate body chief - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15630/story.htm

Alcoa in talks on Iceland aluminium smelter - DENMARK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15628/story.htm

China to clean up southern waters affecting HK - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15635/story.htm

Jack Wells owns an electronics store in a small coastal Canadian town - CANADA

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15636/story.htm

Canada creates new drought-tolerant canola species - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15640/story.htm

UPDATE - EU moots Europe-wide nuclear safety standard - BELGIUM http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15622/story.htm

Australia govt berates Rio unit over uranium leak - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15633/story.htm

4/24/02
7:01:22 PM

"When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty.

I only think about how to solve the problem.

But when I have finished,if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong."

Buckminster Fuller, 1895-1983

4/24/02
6:34:18 PM

Public Citizen testified before an FDA advisory committee today about the drug Lotronex.

To read the testimony, go to

http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7170

* Public Citizen also issued the following press releases today:

April 23, 2002

The "Forgotten Child" - Ages 4 to 8 - at Risk of Death, Serious Injury in Crashes Because of "Safety Gap"

Safety Advocates Urge Swift Government Action, Including Mandatory, Built-In Child Safety Systems

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Children between the ages of 4 and 8 face an unconscionably high risk of death, paralysis or other serious injury in automobile crashes because they are either unrestrained or they are strapped into adult safety belts that are not designed to fit them, according to a study released at a press conference today by Public Citizen.

Public Citizen, joined by other safety advocates, called on Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the automobile industry to take immediate steps - including the mandatory installation of integrated child and booster seat restraints with five-point harnesses - to close the safety gap that leaves these small children unprotected.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional, injury-related death in the United States for children ages 4 to 14. During the 1990s, more than 90,000 children were killed and 9 million injured. Yet many children who are too large for child seats and too small for adult belts are strapped into adult belts or are unrestrained. A small percentage use booster seats that can slide or tip in a collision; are often installed incorrectly or simply incompatible with the family vehicle; are not regulated for children over 50 pounds; and are not crash-tested in vehicles, even though compatibility is a crucial issue for safety.

The report - The Forgotten Child: The Failure of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers to Protect 4- to 8-Year-Olds in Crashes - notes that in one recent year (1999), 13 percent of the children who died in vehicle crashes were wearing adult seat belts. "In crashes, both children in booster seats and children in adult belts are at risk from the poor fit of belts, from the flimsy or non-existent safety design of vehicle and booster seats, and from the complexity of fit created by mis-matches between aftermarket seats and particular vehicles," the report says.

"The automobile manufacturers have known for many years that booster seats held in place by adult belts do not provide the margin of safety that our children deserve," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook, who headed NHTSA from 1977 to 1981. "Cars have never been designed for children. It's time to put the safety of children first. We need a strong government standard requiring built-in child safety seats to replace the weak, antiquated add-on seats that largely relieve automakers of any responsibility for designing vehicles that are safe for children."

Claybrook was joined at the press conference by Jamaal Walker, 12, of Riviera Beach, Fla., who was rendered a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic in a 1996 crash; Walker's mother, Palmella Rainford; attorneys C. Tab Turner and Susan Lister, who handled Walker's lawsuit; Kathy Lakey of Boca Raton, Fla., a jury member in the Walker case; and Autumn Alexander Skeen of Washington state, who has crusaded for child safety after her 4-year-old son Anton died in a rollover crash in 1996.

"What we need is a solution that works for children of Jamaal's age and size," Rainford said. "Cars should have built-in restraint systems so that when a crash happens, children are given at least as much of a chance to survive as adults get. Our children are too precious to give them anything but the strongest safety measures we can."

Lakey said she was disturbed by evidence at the trial of the Jamaal Walker lawsuit that Ford knew for years that there was a safety problem and that federal regulations were too weak to prevent Jamaal's injury. "When the trial ended, I couldn't be silent," Lakey said. "I am here today because I believe something must be done. Any car manufacturer should be held accountable for negligence."

The current federal safety standard for child restraints was put in place in the early 1970s. It applies only to children who weigh less than 50 pounds, meaning that booster seats for larger children are completely unregulated and not required to meet safety tests. It is based on adult injury criteria never designed for children, and only frontal, not all, crash types.

Due to conflicting and complex messages put out by the auto industry and NHTSA, parents too often don't know how to protect their child, the report says. Although it is dangerous to place children under age 9 in an adult safety belt, 29 states require parents to place children in either a safety seat or an adult belt when a child reaches age 4.

"The industry has not warned parents of the illusion of safety with adult belts into which parents are conscientiously buckling their precious children," Skeen said.

Child restraint devices that address the "safety gap" were pioneered by researchers outside of the auto industry as far back as 1974. But instead of designing effective safety belts or child seats integrated into rear seats to accommodate children in the 4 to 8 age group, auto companies promoted aftermarket booster seats as the gap filler, despite their knowledge that the seats could be hazardous in collisions.

"This is another example of the auto industry ducking responsibility instead of doing the right thing," Turner said. "The Forgotten Child is more appropriately labeled the 'Forsaken Child,' because the industry knows the problem, but for cost and liability reasons has not designed cars to protect kids. Kids are our most precious assets. The Congress must demand that cars be redesigned for children."

The safety advocates urged the following actions:

· The mandatory installation of integrated child and booster seat restraints with five-point harnesses in all domestically sold vehicles;

· Stronger federal equipment standards, including: a) dynamic test standards for all child booster seats, covering the range of crashes for children up to 80 pounds; b) testing by automakers for compatibility of child restraints and booster seats in all makes and models of vehicles; and c) application of child - not adult - injury criteria for all forms of child safety seats in all types of crashes;

· Mandatory performance requirements for rear seat occupant restraints to safely accommodate small children, including the inclusion of adjustable shoulder harnesses; and,

· Mandatory performance requirements for the installation of three-point restraints in all front and rear middle seating positions.

xox

April 23, 2002

Water Privatization Controversy in Ghana Garners International Attention

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representatives of the United Nations, human rights groups and the British parliament will be in Ghana from April 28 to May 9 to study water privatization and cost recovery policies promoted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The controversy in Ghana follows similar confrontations in Argentina, Bolivia, the Philippines and South Africa. It centers on whether water, a substance essential to life, should be viewed as a market commodity or a human right.

The 12-member delegation is sponsored by Public Citizen, Christian Aid-UK, Cordaid and Oxfam, Netherlands, in response to requests from local and international civil society organizations. Its objective is to conduct research and issue a report on the findings.

Before the trip, four members of the international delegation will meet with officials from the IMF, World Bank and United States government in Washington, D.C., from April 23-26. Activists in Ghana, many of whom are organized under the Ghana National Coalition Against the Privatisation of Water (National CAP of Water), are concerned that the privatization of water would place profit-making concerns above the serious need to expand access to clean and affordable water. Currently about 35 percent of the population lacks access to water services.

"It's a growing trend to privatize public services like water, and Ghanaians have already seen huge rate increases," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program, who will be a member of the delegation. "We are concerned about the growing trend toward privatization in the United States and want to see its impacts elsewhere." Several recent Public Citizen reports have concluded that the end results of privatization contracts in the U.S. have been less than positive for consumers and local governments.

Water fees in Ghana increased by 95 percent in May 2001 due to IMF and World Bank policies, and new loan conditions could mean even more increases to bring prices up to a "market rate."

"The current water tariff rates are already beyond the means of most of the population in Ghana," says Rudolf Amenga-Etego of the National CAP of Water. "How will the population possibly be able to absorb a so-called 'market price' in the context of privatization?"

Proposals for automatic tariff adjustment formulas for water and electricity, pushed in IMF loan documents dated March 5, 2002, would mandate higher fees every time the domestic currency depreciates. Such formulas are often implemented to protect multinational corporations from changes in currency exchange rates.

Patrick Apoya, representative of the Community Pact for Health and Development, called the formulas "a deadly poison and a prescription for death for the poor."

The IMF and the World Bank also have implemented cost recovery policies that remove public subsidies for water and increase consumer fees or tariffs until they cover the full cost of operation and maintenance of the water utility. Such policies commonly precede privatization to improve the financial standing of a public utility company prior to signing contracts with private sector operators. International donors, creditors and consultants have dominated the privatization decision-making process.

The delegates to Ghana are:

· Dr. Dyna Arhin-Tenkorang, senior economist for the World Health Organization's Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. Part of the Center for International Development at Harvard University; · Joseph Brenner, Program Director of Working Partnerships. Former assistant executive director of the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council in San Mateo County, United States; · Josephine Elow, Community Outreach Coordinator, Seniors with Power United for Rights, New Orleans, United States; · Dr. Yassine Fall, West Africa region program director, United Nation's Development Fund for Women, and executive director of the African Association of Women for Research and Development (AAWORD). Leading advocate of women's participation in economic development in Africa; · Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program, anthropologist and expert on energy and regulatory issues; · Mr. John Kidd, water engineer for Yorkshire Water, UK and chair of UNISON's Water and Environment Service Group. UNISION is the largest union in the British water industry; · Mr. Bert Roebert, former managing director of Amsterdam Water Company and board member of the SIMAVI World Water Fund; · Dr. Ellen R. Shaffer, University of California, San Francisco. Member of the Governing Council of the American Public Health Association; · Dr. Jenny Tong, British member of Parliament and International Development spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats. Participant in British delegations to Rwanda and the East African Great Lakes region; · Robert Weissman, attorney and editor of U.S. magazine, Multinational Monitor. Expert on international corporate governance issues; · Professor Alicia Yamin, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, United States; and · Bertram Zagema Environmental expert from the Netherlands.

xoxox

April 23, 2002

Consumer Groups File Documentation Referencing New Evidence on Toxicity of Irradiated Foods

Groups Urge Congress to Drop Farm Bill's Controversial Pro-Irradiation Provisions

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Public Citizen and the Center for Food Safety (CFS) are urging Congress to avoid further delays in the Farm Bill by dropping two highly controversial provisions slipped into the Senate version in a 396-page, last-minute "technical amendment" by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), in what they have called an abuse of his power as chair of the Agriculture Committee.

"In this election year, Senator Harkin is looking out for the agribusiness industry in his home state, not his constituents," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. "He's essentially saying, 'The heck with consumers.' His actions affect consumers nationwide, and we disagree with him."

Last week, the consumer groups filed records in the dockets of five pending petitions to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that seek to irradiate a much greater portion of the U.S. food supply. The filings cite recent decisions by the global food safety body, the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, and the European Union's Scientific Committee on Food, the EU's counterpart to FDA, to delay any further irradiation approvals. The decisions were based on new evidence that certain chemicals formed in irradiated food could cause DNA damage.

"This is Congress at its worst," said Andrew Kimbrell, CFS director. "Senator Harkin knows he would lose in an open debate. Congress needs to consider the critical new evidence on the toxicity of irradiated foods before pushing them onto shoppers, and especially to our children. Senator Harkin's actions are wildly irresponsible. Using the massive $73 billion farm bill as his leverage to push this not only threatens consumers, it may delay farm payments."

The provisions, if adopted, would expand the consumption of irradiated food by American consumers. One section (Sec. 1079E) redefines the term "pasteurization" so it can include irradiation, allowing irradiated foods to be labeled and sold as "pasteurized." The second (Sec. 442) would enable the Secretary of Agriculture to allow irradiated foods into the USDA nutrition programs, including the school lunch program.

Neither section was in the House bill, so the conference committee must resolve these disputed sections.

The groups also announced today that the public has submitted to lawmakers about 15,000 e-mails, 10,000 faxes and 1,500 postcards strongly against the two provisions. The comments are continuing.

Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.

For more information, please visit http://www.citizen.org

4/24/02
6:25:41 PM

DAILY GRIST

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

Is it better to throw non-compost food waste into the trash or the garbage disposal? What are the ecological impacts of the Chai tea industry? How do Fidel Castro's environmental policies stack up in a capitalist world? Some days, it seems the world is full of environmental stumpers. Grist is proud to provide the solution: Umbra Fisk, guru of everything green, unearths the answers to your eco-questions. In her debut column, she takes on the conspiracy theory about Chemtrails, the politics of corporate recycling, and the tricky business of eating fish; next month, if you're really good, maybe she'll answer your pet puzzler. Check out the new Ask Umbra column, only on the Grist Magazine website.

only in Grist: The writing's on the sky -- astute answers to all things environmental -- in Ask Umbra <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ask/ask042302.asp?source=daily>

MY FAVORITE MARTIN

Robert Martin marked Earth Day by resigning yesterday from his position as ombudsperson for the U.S. EPA. Martin, who has held the post since 1992, was well-regarded by environmentalists for his handling of complaints about cleanups conducted under the EPA's Superfund program, but less beloved by higher-ups at the agency. In November, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman announced plans to transfer Martin to the Office of Inspector General, a move she said would grant him greater independence. Martin begged to differ; he chalked up his resignation to the "untenable situation" with Whitman, but could return to his job if his legal maneuverings to block the transfer are successful.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Edward Walsh, 23 Apr 2002 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31135-2002Apr22.html>

only in Grist: Read the resignation letter of U.S. EPA Ombudsperson Robert Martin -- in our Muckracker section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/muck/muck042302.asp?source=daily>

LETTING THE GENE OUT OF THE BOTTLE

Delegates from almost 200 countries are meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, this week to discuss the future of genetically modified organisms. Their challenge is to strike a balance between the fondest hopes of the multi-billion dollar biotech industry and the deepest fears of environmentalists, who worry that GMOs could adversely affect ecosystems and human health. During the conference, environmentalists plan to call for a moratorium on planting genetically modified crops near native species, to prevent contamination of the natural gene pool. The last major international meeting on GMOs, held in Colombia in 1999, resulted in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which was designed to ensure the safe transfer, handling, and use of transgenic organisms. The protocol has been signed by more than 100 countries (not including the United States, unsurprisingly) but must be ratified by at least 50 to take effect. Those ratifications are expected to occur during the World Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, later this year.

straight to the source: BBC News, Geraldine Coughlan, 22 Apr 2002 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1943000/1943129.stm>

do good: Take action to fight against Frankenfoods <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/food.asp?source=daily#frankenfood>

LET IT RIDE

In true gambler style, Las Vegas has upped the ante on us: In our April Fools' edition, we joked that the city was going green by requiring energy-efficient lighting on its famous Strip. Now it seems that life imitates Grist, sort of: Although Las Vegas isn't planning a mass purchase of compact fluorescent light bulbs, it is about to build the nation's largest monorail system to boost public transportation and solve the city's infamous traffic problems. The state-of-the-art elevated trains will reach speeds of 50 miles per hour and stop at the hottest spots along the Strip and elsewhere. (The trains will also be equipped with safety features specifically designed to prevent accidents among riders who've celebrated their winnings or mourned their losses with a few too many gin and tonics.) The $650 million-project is a sign of the nascent public transit revolution in the West -- the fastest-growing region of the country -- with other cities like Phoenix, Denver, and Seattle also planning rail projects.

straight to the source: Washington Post, Rene Sanchez, 23 Apr 2002 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31297-2002Apr22.html>

only in Grist: Our April Fools' edition <http://www.gristmagazine.com/daily/daily040102.asp?source=daily>

do good: Take action to stop sprawl by supporting rail <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/autos.asp?source=daily#amtrak>

I BELIEVE IN YESTERDAY!

While President Bush and former Vice President Al Gore spent Earth Day talking up the environment and taking jabs at each other, how was the rest of the world celebrating the occasion? In Indonesia, environmentalists blocked traffic and planted trees; in Thailand, some 15,000 Buddhists prayed for the Earth; in the Philippines, cyclists filled streets in the capital city; and back in the U.S. of A., Susan Sarandon, Kevin Bacon, Patrick Stewart, and others took part in an Earth Day Network event held at the U.N. in New York City to encourage world leaders to attend the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa later this year. Yesterday marked the 32nd anniversary of Earth Day, pioneered by Gaylord Nelson and Denis Hayes. Earth Day Network (Grist's sponsor organization, it should be noted) now works with some 5,000 organizations in 184 countries.

straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, Arshad Mohammed, 23 Apr 2002 <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15609/story.htm>

only in Grist: Balancing the book -- Al Gore's 1992 opus on the environment -- a review in our Books Unbound section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/books/books102500.stm?source=daily>

do good: Take action to send your leader to the World Summit <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/politics.asp?source=daily#summit>

4/24/02
6:21:54 PM

TomPaine.com

http://www.TomPaine.com

"Independent, commercial-free, public affairs reporting."

VETERANS MEMORIES AND TODAY'S WARS

An Israeli Soldier Has Questions; A Vietnam Vet Has Wounds

by Shepherd Bliss

Some Israeli soldiers are questioning killing for their country. What they don't know is those regrets will last a lifetime.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5484

THE LOYAL OPPOSITION: INHOFE'S PRO-APOCALYPSE FOREIGN POLICY

Why Conservative Christians Back A Genesis-Inspired Mid-East Map

by David Corn

Ariel Sharon better watch out for his Christian fundamentalist supporters, including Sen. James Inhofe, for they may be looking for him to send his tanks all the way to Persian Gulf.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5489

MAKING A DIFFERENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Bush-Bashing, Wendell Berry And Economic Change

by Ann Hancock

It's one thing to bash Bush. Another to live more self-consciously. But real change won't come until the economy prices goods accurately.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5481

WANTED -- ALIVE OR ALIVE

Europe Is Horrified By America's Romance With The Death Penalty

by Patricia Zengerle

Is the American lust for blood revenge for the September 11 attacks worth alienating Europe, where there is a deep wariness of capital punishment?

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5479

TRADING UNDERSHIRTS FOR PIXELS

Cowboys on the Internet Frontier

by Debra Cash

If we can't own our ideas, who can? And if we can't profit from those ideas what else will we have to sell? And why do the multinational media bullies think that they get to make that decision unilaterally?

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5469

UNDER THE RADAR: SHELVING WORKPLACE CHEMICAL SAFETY RULES

The Administration Kills A Decade-Old Effort To Regulate 'Reactive' Toxics

by Steven Rosenfeld

A proposal to regulate some of the most dangerous workplace chemicals floundered under the Clinton administration and dies under Bush.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5466

PIANO TEACHER IN THE CHURCH BASEMENT

A Poem

by Gary Margolis

"...In Mr. Reissen's studio, God's basement, he made every sound soundproof."

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5476

SPOILING FOR A FIGHT:

NUTS, NUISANCES AND NONPERSONS

When The Media Dismisses Third-Party Candidates, The Public Looses

By Micah L. Sifry

News sources from The New York Times to The Weekly Standard barely restrain their snickering about third-pary candidates and their everyday American supporters -- when they cover third parties at all.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5485

A DREAM DENIED

Israeli Offensive A Turning Point For Progressive Jews

by Laura Flanders

Not since Sept. 11 has there been such turmoil and soul-searching.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5472

ECCLESIASTICAL TRAGEDIES, MEDIA PREOCCUPATIONS, UGLY EXCESS

Why Bernard Cardinal Law Should Be Wearing An Orange Jumpsuit

by Michael Ryan

Newspapers and networks are devoting far too much time and space to an ecclesiastical scandal that could be solved if the predators and their patrons were simply dismissed, defrocked, and, where appropriate imprisoned.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5475

4/24/02
6:15:26 PM

Winners of Washington Post's 2001 Style Invitational

Each year the Washington Post's Style Invitational asks readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter and supply a new definition. Here are the 2001 winners:

Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

Inoculatte : To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (this one got extra credit)

Karmageddon : It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

Glibido: All talk and no action.

Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

And, the pick of the literature:

Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an a**h*le.

4/24/02
6:11:03 PM

Four Generals Die In Crash Of Helicopter In Venezuela

by Juan Forero, April 21, 2002

CARACAS, Venezuela, April 20 — Four Venezuelan generals, including the newly appointed commander of the air force, died Friday evening when the military helicopter they were traveling in crashed in fog-shrouded mountains just north of here, military officials said today.

The military said the crash, which killed 10 members of the military, appeared to be an accident caused by bad weather. But it is certain to serve as a setback in the government's efforts to reorganize a splintered armed forces, whose military high commanders withdrew support for President Hugo Chávez during antigovernment protests a little more than a week ago.

Mr. Chávez was temporarily deposed but returned to power two days later with the help of officers loyal to him. Since he regained his post, he has been reorganizing the armed forces to ensure that he is surrounded by officers he can trust.

Four of those commanders died, though, when the Super Puma helicopter ferrying them from a ceremony at the naval academy on the Caribbean coast crashed on Friday.

Among the 10 members of the military who died were Gen. Luis Acevedo, who became the new air force chief on Wednesday, and three air force generals — Pedro Torres, chief of operations; Rafael Quintana, chief of personnel, and Julio Ochoa, a member of the air force's high command.

"It is a blow because he has to find Chavista officers like them and perhaps now he does not find them very easily," said Mario Ivan Carratu, a retired vice admiral and former director of the Institute for National Defense Studies in Caracas.

The crash, in the heavily forested Ávila mountain range, comes at a time when the military is under heavy scrutiny for its role in Mr. Chávez's ouster. The government has said that it considers the president's removal a military-backed coup, and the secretary general of the Organization of American States said on Wednesday that military officers should stay away from politics.

"This is very difficult and painful for all of us," said Gen. Gustavo Romero, commander of aerial defense.

On Friday, five high-ranking officers brought to court for their role in the ouster insisted that their withdrawal of support for Mr. Chávez was aimed at weakening a government that was on the verge of massacring anti-Chávez protesters. The officers, who are under house arrest, denied that their actions constituted an organized coup.

Gen. Lucas Rincón, commander of the armed forces, said the military would carefully investigate the circumstances of the crash. General Rincón had been returning to Caracas from the ceremony in a separate helicopter about the same time as General Acevedo's helicopter crashed.

He said that his helicopter also encountered difficult conditions and poor visibility, and that the pilot made an emergency landing to avoid an accident.

General Rincón said the pilot carrying General Acevedo may have been attempting maneuvers to find a clearing on which to land, and "in one of those maneuvers, with visibility blocked, he crashed against the mountain."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/international/americas/21MILI.html

4/24/02
6:03:12 PM

Endorse The National Peace Rally

MacDill Air Force Base (U.S. Central Command), Tampa, FL

Sunday, May 26th, 2002

http://www.macdillpeacerally.org

4/24/02
5:54:26 PM

The Case For Bush Administration Advance Knowledge Of 911 Attacks

by Michael C. Ruppert, April 22, 2002

April 22, 2002, 1200 PDT (FTW) -- A dispassionate examination of existing reliable, open-source evidence on advance warnings of the Sept. 11 attacks provides strong and sustainable grounds to conclude the Bush Administration was in possession of sufficient advance intelligence to have prevented the attacks, had it wished to do so. With a known intelligence budget of approximately $30 billion, it must be assumed there are classified files that only add to the weight of the available data presented here. Is it reasonable to assume that what is presented here is the only intelligence the U.S. possessed?

This article will focus on four primary areas where the U.S. had information that forewarned of the attacks in sufficient detail to have prompted their prevention. Those areas are: Documented warnings received by the United States Government (USG) from foreign intelligence services; Obvious and large scale insider stock trading in the days before the attacks; Known intelligence successes achieved by the USG in its penetrations of Al Qaeda; and, the case of Delmart Mike Vreeland, a U.S. Naval intelligence officer jailed in Canada at the request of U.S. authorities, who -- with his attorneys -- spent months attempting to warn USG and Canadian intelligence officials of the pending attacks, only to be rebuffed and ignored.

This article will not focus on a number of well-known and documented instances where the Bush Administration actively interfered with or curtailed investigations into Al Qaeda-linked groups that could have provided even more intelligence. Included in this category are reports by the BBC s Gregg Palast, the French book The Forbidden Truth, and a lawsuit/OPR complaint filed by an active FBI agent alleging investigations that could have prevented the attacks were derailed by superiors, in some cases on orders from the White House.

WARNINGS FROM FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

This section focuses on known advance warnings received by the U.S. government from foreign intelligence services that proved to be specific enough to have identified the date (within one week), method, targets, and perpetrators of the attacks. It will not include warnings issued to the USG that could be considered vague or non-specific. The latter includes documented warnings sent by the governments of Egypt and Israel. However, in light of the specific warnings, these additional warnings add greater weight to the argument that the Administration was in possession of sufficient information to have prevented the attacks.

As reported in the respected German daily Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on Sept. 14, 2001 the German intelligence service, the BND, warned both the CIA and Israel that Middle Eastern terrorists were planning to hijack commercial aircraft to use as weapons to attack important symbols of American and Israeli culture. The story specifically referred to an electronic eavesdropping system known as Echelon, wherein a number of countries tap cell phone and electronic communications in partner countries and then pool the information. The BND warnings were also passed to the United Kingdom.

No known denial by the BND of the accuracy of this story exists, and the FAZ story indicates that the information was received directly from BND sources.

According to a Sept. 14 report in the Internet newswire online.de, German police, monitoring the phone calls of a jailed Iranian man, learned the man was telephoning USG intelligence agencies in summer 2001 to warn of an imminent attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in the week of Sept. 9. German officials confirmed the calls to the USG for the story but refused to discuss additional details.

In August 2000 French intelligence sources confirmed a man recently arrested in Boston by the FBI was an Islamic militant and a key member of Osama bin Laden s Al Qaeda network. The FBI knew the man had been taking flying lessons at the time of his arrest and was in possession of technical information on Boeing aircraft and flight manuals, as reported by Reuters on Sept. 13.

According to a story in Izveztia on Sept. 12, Russian intelligence warned the USG that as many as 25 suicide pilots were training for missions involving the crashing of airliners into important targets.

In an MSNBC interview on Sept. 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he had ordered Russian intelligence to warn the USG in the strongest possible terms of imminent assaults on airports and government buildings before the attacks on Sept. 11.

As reported by CNN s Daniel Seberg on Sept. 28, Newsbytes Brian McWilliams on Sept. 27 and the Israeli newspaper Ha aretz, Odigo, the Israeli instant messaging company located in Herzliyya, Israel, received telephone calls stating that attacks on the WTC were imminent. The calls came less than two hours before the first plane hit the WTC. This information was immediately forwarded to Israeli and U.S. intelligence.

Conclusion: From just these six press stories, then, the USG had received credible advance warnings, some from heads of state, that commercial aircraft would be hijacked by as many as 25 suicide pilots at airports, with Boston a strong candidate, during the week of Sept. 9. The call to Odigo would have signaled the exact day.

No known preventive measures were taken.

INSIDER TRADING

The documented pre-Sept. 11 insider trading that occurred before the attacks involved only companies hit hard by the attacks. They include United Airlines, American Airlines, Morgan Stanley, Merrill-Lynch, Axa Reinsurance, Marsh & McLennan, Munich Reinsurance, Swiss Reinsurance, and Citigroup.

In order to argue that the massive and well-documented insider trading that occurred in at least seven countries immediately before the attacks of Sept. 11 did not serve as a warning to intelligence agencies, then it is necessary to argue that no one was aware of the trades as they were occurring, and that intelligence and law enforcement agencies of most industrialized nations do not monitor stock trades in real time to warn of impending attacks. Both assertions are false. Both assertions would also ignore the fact that the current executive vice president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for enforcement is David Doherty, a retired CIA general counsel. And also ignored is the fact that the trading in United Airlines stock -- one of the most glaring clues -- was placed through the firm Deutschebank/Alex Brown, which was headed until 1998 by the man who is now the executive director of the CIA, A.B. Buzzy Krongard.

One wonders if it was a coincidence then, that Mayo Shattuck III, the head of the Alex Brown unit of Deutschebank -- which had its offices in the WTC -- suddenly resigned from a $30 million, three-year contract on Sept. 12, as reported by the New York Times and other papers.

The American exchanges that handle these trades, primarily the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) and the NYSE, know on a daily basis what levels of put options are purchased. Put options are highly leveraged bets, tying up blocks of stock, that a given stock s share price will fall dramatically. To quote 60 Minutes >from Sept. 19, Sources tell CBS News that the afternoon before the attack, alarm bells were sounding over unusual trading in the U.S. stock options market.

It is hard to believe that they missed:

- A jump in UAL put options 90 times (not 90 percent) above normal between Sept. 6 and Sept.10, and 285 times higher than average on the Thursday before the attack [CBS News, Sept. 26]

- A jump in American Airlines put options 60 times (not 60 percent) above normal on the day before the attacks. [CBS News, Sept. 26]

- No similar trading occurred on any other airlines. [Bloomberg Business Report, the Institute for Counterterrorism (ICT), Herzliyya, Israel citing data from the CBOE]

- Morgan Stanley saw, between Sept. 7 and Sept.10, an increase of 27 times (not 27 percent) in the purchase of put options on its shares. [ICT Report, Mechanics of Possible Bin-Laden Insider Trading Scam, Sept. 21, citing data >from the CBOE].

- Merrill-Lynch saw a jump of more than 12 times the normal level of put options in the four trading days before the attacks. [Ibid]

These trades were certainly noticed after the attacks.

This could very well be insider trading at the worst, most horrific, most evil use you ve ever seen in your entire life &This would be one of the most extraordinary coincidences in the history of mankind if it was a coincidence, said Dylan Ratigan of Bloomberg Business News, interviewed on Good Morning Texas on Sept. 20.

I saw put-call numbers higher than I ve ever seen in 10 years of following the markets, particularly the options markets, said John Kinnucan, principal of Broadband Research, as quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, reported the Montreal Gazette on Sept. 19. The paper also wrote, Agence France Presse, on Sept. 22, reported, And Germany s Bundesbank chief, Ernst Weltke, said on the sidelines of the meeting that a report of the investigation showed bizarre fiscal transactions prior to the attacks that could not have been chalked up to coincidence.

Weltke said the transactions, could not have been planned and carried out without a certain knowledge, particularly heavy trading in oil and gold futures.

ABC World News reported on Sept. 20, Jonathan Winer, an ABC News consultant said, it s absolutely unprecedented to see cases of insider trading covering the entire world from Japan, to the U.S., to North America, to Europe.

How much money was involved? Andreas von Bulow, a former member of the German Parliament responsible for oversight of Germany s intelligence services estimated the worldwide amount at $15 billion, according to Tagesspiegel on Jan. 13. Other experts have estimated the amount at $12 billion. CBS News gave a conservative estimate of $100 million.

Not a single U.S. or foreign investigative agency has announced any arrests or developments in the investigation of these trades, the most telling evidence of foreknowledge of the attacks. This, in spite of the fact that former Security and Exchange Commission enforcement chief William McLucas told Bloomberg News that regulators would certainly be able to track down every trade.

What is striking is that a National Public Radio report on Oct. 16 reported Britain s Financial Services Authority had cleared bin Laden and his henchmen of insider trading. If not bin Laden, then who else had advance knowledge? Who else had certainty that the attacks would succeed to give them confidence to make millions of dollars in stock purchases?

It has been standard and established USG policy to be alert and responsive to anything even remotely resembling an attack on U.S. companies and/or the economy. The word remote does not apply here. The possible claim by the Bush Administration that, Gee, we just happened to miss this, becomes even more implausible when considering the lengths intelligence agencies go to in order to track stock trades.

Note that the Israeli Institute for Counter-Terrorism was the first entity to release a detailed report on the insider trading. That alone is prima facie evidence of a direct relationship between the financial markets and terrorist investigations.

CIA and the Markets

We can thank Fox News on Oct. 16 for breaking post 9-11 stories disclosing the use of sophisticated PROMIS software by the FBI and the Justice Department. A multitude of court records and investigative reports have established not only the reality, but the versatility of a program initially designed to incorporate data from a variety of data bases in different languages into one readable format. PROMIS has since been refined to include artificial intelligence and back doors inserted by intelligence agencies to allow for surreptitious retrieval and/or removal and alteration of data.

The Fox stories clearly confirmed, especially when added to stories from last summer by the Washington Times which were based on interviews with Justice Department officials, that PROMIS was used to monitor banking and financial transactions in a virtual real-time environment.

This writer has written extensively on the software. More information can be found on the Web site at

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/index.html

4/24/02
5:53:35 PM

However, one point is critical to this report. In the Autumn of 2000 I was visited in Los Angeles by two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) national security staff. They were conducting a major investigation inside the U.S. to determine whether or not the RCMP s version of the software had been compromised. During discussions with the Mounties, I confirmed several times that the software was used to monitor stock trades in real time. A subsequent investigation led me to contact several people in Canada who had been interviewed in the same investigation. They were stockbrokers.

In a taped panel discussion, which aired March 14 on Canada s Vision-TV, I faced a panel of three Canadian experts on the issue of U.S. foreknowledge of, and possible complicity in, the 9-11 attacks. Among them was Ron Atkey, former Canadian Solicitor-General and the former parliamentary head of the committee charged with oversight of Canada s military and intelligence operations. Over the course of the program I made specific statements, relying not only on the RCMP interactions but also on previous investigations, in which it was documented that intelligence services track stock trades in real time. On camera, I produced the business cards of the two RCMP agents. Atkey, who had not hesitated to challenge me on other points during the show, went silent.

INTELLIGENCE SUCCESSES

Four basic intelligence successes need to be acknowledged here. These admitted successes, while not addressing any other still secret penetrations of the Al Qaeda network, further diminish any Bush Administration assertion that it did not know of the attacks.

On Feb. 13 United Press International terrorism correspondent Richard Sale, while covering a Manhattan trial of one of Osama bin Laden s followers, reported that the National Security Agency had broken bin Laden s encrypted communications. Even if that prompted an immediate change in bin Laden s methods of communication, just six months before the attacks, the administration has consistently maintained -- and military and covert experience dictates -- that the attacks were planned for at least several years.

The FAZ story indicates that the secret eavesdropping program Echelon had been successful in securing details of the pending attacks. Echelon employs highly sophisticated computer programs capable of both voice and word recognition to filter billions of telephone conversations and locate specific targets. Assuming, as some sources indicate, Al Qaeda stopped using encrypted communications after it was known that their system was compromised, why was the NSA not able to pick up any cell phone calls or e-mails? Mohammed Atta and other alleged hijackers were known to have used cell phones. The FAZ story establishes that as late as June, Al Qaeda operatives were being tracked in this manner.

In the trial of a former Deutschebank executive Kevin Ingram, who pled guilty to laundering drug money to finance terrorist operations linked to Al Qaeda just two weeks before the 9-11 attacks, indications surfaced that the Justice Department had penetrated the terrorists financial networks. A Nov. 16 Associated Press story by Catherine Wilson stated, Numerous promised wire transfers never arrived, but there were discussions of foreign bankers taking payoffs to move the money to purchase weapons into the United States, said prosecutor Rolando Garcia.

Two questions are begged but unanswered. How were the wire transfers blocked and how was the Justice Department able to monitor the money flows without alerting either the bankers or the suspects?

Finally, as reported by the German paper Die Welt on Dec. 6 and by Agence France Presse on Dec. 7, Western intelligence services, including the CIA, learned after arrests in the Philippines, that Al Qaeda operatives had planned to crash commercial airliners into the WTC. Details of the plan, as reported by a number of American press outlets, were found on a computer seized during the arrests. The plan was called operation Bojinka.

Details of the plot were disclosed publicly in 1997 in the New York trial of Ramsi Youssef for his involvement in the 1993 WTC bombing.

DELMART MIKE VREELAND

I believe that, from the information I have seen, Mike Vreeland tried to pass information to the Canadian government that should have been passed to the U.S. government. That information had to do with the attacks of Sept. 11. Whatever other attempts were made by Vreeland and his attorneys to alert U.S. and Canadian officials of the attacks, it is clear that he did pass information about the pending attacks to his guards in August. I am willing to go to the Secretary of the Navy to determine whether or not he was actually a Navy officer.

I know that there have been other U.S. citizens with a similar background used on missions similar to what has been alleged by Vreeland. This man fits a pattern. I would like for the Secret Service to put him on a polygraph. -- Mike Osborne, a veteran former CIA case officer with 26 years of experience in counter-terrorism.

With a court record now estimated to approach 10,000 pages, the case of Delmart Mike Vreeland is starting to attract worldwide attention. Vreeland, with a growing amount of evidence admitted into court record in Toronto, Canada, claims to be a former U.S. Naval lieutenant assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence. He was jailed in Canada -- at the request of U.S. authorities -- in December 2000 after returning from Moscow.

Although Canadian authorities initially alleged vague fraud charges against him and also held him on an extradition warrant alleging credit card fraud in Michigan, the actual motive for his arrest now seems to be something quite different. All Canadian charges against Vreeland were dropped this March and he has been granted political refugee status in Canada until the extradition issues are resolved.

Vreeland s position is that he returned from Russia to meet with a Canadian and a Russian intelligence operative, and had intended to hand over a sealed pouch containing intelligence documents. When the handoff was compromised and the Canadian did not show for the Toronto meet, Vreeland opened the pouch and looked at some of the documents. Those documents, which he later had translated, gave specific warnings of the pending WTC attacks that were to take place nine months later. Again, on its face, since these documents were in a sealed intelligence pouch, this indicates that intelligence operatives were aware of the contents because they had placed them there originally.

According to both Vreeland and his lawyers, as reported in numerous interviews with this writer and other members of the FTW staff, immediately after his arrest Vreeland began making urgent attempts to alert both Canadian and U.S. intelligence officials of the coming danger.

After eight months of unsuccessful attempts to have either Canadian or U.S. intelligence services debrief him, Vreeland wrote a desperate, last-ditch warning in August. Through means he will not disclose, he acquired two high-tech Pilot water-based pens with light blue ink and used them to write the letter. The only pens permitted by Canadian jail authorities were oil-based, dark blue Bic pens.

Immediately after writing the letter, Vreeland notified his jailers that he had pens which might be considered contraband. A Sept. 17 letter from the Ministry of Correctional Services was entered as Exhibit M into court records on Oct. 7, along with Vreeland s warning letter which had been opened on Sept. 14 and entered as Exhibit N. The letter states, On August 13, 2001 inmate Vreeland s corridor #2 was searched and as far as we know 2 blue ink pens were removed from his cell because they were considered contraband. There is no written record of them being placed in his personal property. He did submit a request to have them returned to him on August 14, 2001, but was denied.

Since the ink on the warning letter, if tested, will match the ink in the confiscated pens, there can be no doubt that the letter was written a month before the attacks.

In an interview with this writer published on April 4, Vreeland clearly stated his belief that Al Qaeda operations had been completely penetrated by U.S. intelligence services. That belief is supported by a statement in his warning letter.

The statement, following a list of potential targets that included the WTC, the Pentagon and the White House said, Let one happen, stop the rest. Such a statement could only imply complete penetration or compromise of the terrorist cells perpetrating the attacks.

Compelling evidence continues to grow that Vreeland was, in fact, a U.S. Navy officer. On Jan. 10 from open court with a court reporter recording the conversation, his attorneys placed a speaker-phone call to the Pentagon. A Pentagon operator, after checking a back-up military database, confirmed Vreeland was a U.S. Navy officer and provided an office listing and a telephone number for his office. The primary database had been disabled, according to Vreeland, on 9-11. In addition, redacted and incomplete military records provided by the Pentagon to the Canadian courts indicate Vreeland had a service record of more than 1,200 pages.

This is difficult to reconcile with the U.S. Navy s assertion that Vreeland was discharged as a Seaman Recruit after four months of unsatisfactory service in 1986.

No press entity has covered the Vreeland case more than FTW. This writer has traveled twice to Toronto, sat in on court proceedings, and retained the services of a Canadian correspondent to cover the case. I have interviewed Vreeland personally and conducted numerous interviews with his attorneys. Greta Knutzen, FTW s Canadian correspondent, has also interviewed Vreeland and his attorneys, as well as Vreeland s mother. Knutzen has attended every court proceeding since January, 2002. All of our previous reporting on the case can be located on the Internet at <http://www.copvcia.com/>www.copvcia.com.

Mike Vreeland believes that if he is successfully extradited to the U.S., he will be assassinated. Previous press stories concerning Vreeland s criminal past and a criminal arrest record fail to account for the fact that, as an undercover operative who targeted organized crime and terrorist organizations, a criminal record would have been necessary to give him credibility with organizations that have previously demonstrated capabilities to retrieve law enforcement records. They also fail to account for an Oct. 2, 1986 Los Angeles Times story that lists Vreeland as a non-criminal witness to a major cocaine bust carried out by LAPD investigators known to have contacts with USG intelligence services.

There is much about Vreeland s past that is objectionable, questionable, or both. But even in a worst-case scenario, nothing in his past explains how he was able to write a detailed warning of the attacks before they occurred, and why the intelligence services of both Canada and the U.S. ignored attempts to warn them while both Vreeland and his attorneys were banging down their doors.

CONCLUSION

There is clear and substantial evidence to suggest that the Bush Administration had sufficient foreknowledge of the attacks of Sept. 11 to have prevented them. Rather than viewing each of the four listed areas as a separate piece of evidence, they should be considered as a body, in the exact same way exhibits presented to a jury in a criminal trial are viewed as a body. By viewing the evidence in this manner, an unavoidable conclusion is reached -- the USG knew 25 suicide hijackers during the week of Sept. 9 were going to use United and American airlines commercial planes, some of them likely originating in Boston, to attack the WTC and the Pentagon. A multitude of press stories and intelligence reports indicate the WTC would have been the primary target.

Given the financial commitments made during insider trading activity that occurred immediately before the attacks involving businesses that were directly damaged by the attacks, the threats had clearly moved from the realm of speculation to reality. Why else would mysterious investors have risked millions of dollars to purchase the put options? There is compelling evidence to suggest these trades were noted by the CIA and other USG entities.

Recently, Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., has been widely criticized in the mainstream press for raising the need for a Congressional investigation to answer some of these obvious questions. This, in spite of the fact that popular reaction indicates a different sentiment. An opinion poll, conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution just a day after McKinney s remarks received wide public attention in a Washington Post story dated April 12, was pulled after poll numbers showed that 51 percent of the respondents agreed with McKinney.

The people seem to recognize and agree with the opinion of former CIA officer Mike Osborne who says, I think that the U.S. government needs to get behind McKinney s questions because her agenda is truth and justice, and nothing else.

Source: http://www.copvcia.com

4/24/02
5:47:33 PM

ARBOR DAY PLANTING OF WYE OAK CLONE

LAUNCHES EFFORT TO SAVE GEORGE WASHINGTON’S FOREST FROM DESTRUCTION

MOUNT VERNON, Va. – As the nation observes Arbor Day on Friday, April 26, expert horticulturalists embark on a 10-year project to save our first President’s beloved forest at his Mount Vernon home. The reforestation of George Washington’s land commences at 8:00 a.m. with the planting of a sapling clone of the famous Wye Oak along with three dozen trees similar to those planted in the 18th century. The clone is an exact genetic duplicate of the National Champion White Oak, a magnificent tree growing on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the town of Wye Mills that is believed to be more than 460 years old.

The National Tree Trust and the Champion Tree Project will contribute 1,000 trees to the effort over the next ten years. Two hundred or more of these trees will be clones of Champion Trees, the largest and often the oldest trees of a species. These trees will be planted throughout the 300-acre forest site and will be protected, maintained and preserved to provide replacements for trees lost in the future.

The types of trees provided by the National Tree Trust and the Champion Tree Project are either mentioned in Washington's correspondence and diaries, or native to the forest surrounding the Mount Vernon Estate. Areas already barren from tree loss will be prepared for new trees by a certified arborist who's services will be paid by generous support from the Neighborhood Friends of Mount Vernon.

The devastating decline of Mount Vernon’s forest is attributed to sprawling suburbia and the shortage of natural forest areas to provide food and shelter for deer. The large deer population, with a small supply of food, eats saplings or destroys them when they rub the felt off of their horns. During his lifetime, Washington feared loosing his forest to the over-harvesting of trees for fuel, shelter and fencing. A true conservationist, he used live fencing to save trees, planting trees (preferably with thorns) close enough together to form an impenetrable barrier, rather than cut trees for fencing.

George Washington's woods are in trouble. This one-of-a-kind reforestation within a mixed species and mixed aged forest will not only assure the success of the woods that surround Mount Vernon, but will also provide a valuable, living outdoor laboratory. The legacy of George Washington continues to shape and influence our country today. The restoration of the forest at the home of the Father of Our Country will be studied for years, sustaining the land and providing new scientific knowledge for future generations.

For more information about Mount Vernon’s reforestation efforts, including the cloning of George Washington’s trees, call director of horticulture Dean Norton at 703-799-8661.

George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens communicates the character and leadership of Washington to more than one million visitors each year, making it the most visited historic home in America. Mount Vernon is located at the southern end of the George Washington Memorial Parkway; just 16 miles south of Washington, D.C. For more information, please call 703-780-2000 or visit us online at

http://www.mountvernon.org

4/24/02
3:52:11 PM

Planet Ark World Environment News

Eight "eco-heroes" win global environment prize - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15604/story.htm

Long Island wind power seen for 5 mln homes - LIPA - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15606/story.htm

TXU leads Texas with 390 MW of wind power in 2001 - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15607/story.htm

WRAPUP - Gore blasts Bush environment record on Earth Day - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15609/story.htm

UK company pays for cut in US greenhouse gases - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15600/story.htm

Emissions cut will hit UK industry hard - economists - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15601/story.htm

Mining sector starts countdown to earth summit - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15602/story.htm

Britain cracks down on wildlife crime - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15612/story.htm

Singapore may tighten auto emissions standard - SINGAPORE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15603/story.htm

Singapore's first gas-powered bus hits the road - SINGAPORE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15605/story.htm

Japanese to sue to shut down some nuclear reactors - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15608/story.htm

UPDATE - New climate body chief denies US lobbied for him - INDIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15610/story.htm

4/24/02
3:51:10 PM

The Middle East According To Robert Fisk

by Marc Cooper, LA Weekly, April 22, 2002

In the age of Geraldo, it seems almost an anomaly that a rumpled, 56-year-old professorial British-newspaper foreign correspondent could draw a string of standing-room-only throngs to American university auditoriums. But that's exactly what the London Independent's Middle Eastern correspondent Robert Fisk has been doing from Chicago to Los Angeles, generating an often rock star–like reception (a crowd of 900 saw him last week in Cedar Falls, Iowa!). Though he's rarely published in the United States (except for occasional short pieces in The Nation), Fisk has built a loyal following that pores over his every word via the Internet with almost cultlike devotion. Fisk, who has covered the region for 26 years, is considered by many to be simply the best and most knowledgeable correspondent currently working in the Middle East.

But Fisk also has his detractors: critics who allege that he is knee-jerk anti-American and anti-Israeli, a patsy for Yasser Arafat.

But any in-depth discussion with Fisk reveals a thoughtful man, immersed in Middle Eastern history, tempered by decades of reporting and ready to argue in ways guaranteed to rankle true believers on any side of the conflict. The L.A. Weekly's Marc Cooper interviewed Fisk on Sunday at the home of the Independent's Los Angeles correspondent.

COOPER: In your public speeches, you have been suggesting that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might turn into something as apocalyptic as the French-Algerian war of four decades ago -- a horrendous war that took well over a million lives. Are things that dark?

ROBERT FISK: I think we already have reached those depths. If you go back and read the narrative history of the Algerian war, you'll see it began with isolated acts of sabotage, a few killings of French settlers, followed invariably by large-scale retaliation by the French authorities at which point, starting in the '60s, the Algerians began a campaign against French citizens in Algiers and Oran with bombs in cinemas and discotheques, which today translates into pizzerias and nightclubs in Israel. The French government kept saying it was fighting a war on terrorism, and the French army went in and erased whole Algerian villages. Torture became institutionalized, as it has by the Israeli authorities. Collaborators were killed by Algerian fighters, just as Arafat does so brazenly now. At the end of the day, life became insupportable for both sides.

At Christmas, Ariel Sharon called French President Chirac and actually said, We are like you in Algeria, but "we will stay."

And it's quite revealing that Arafat himself keeps referring to "the peace of the brave." Whether he knows it or not, that's the phrase De Gaulle used when he found it necessary to give up Algeria.

COOPER: For those who have watched this conflict over the years, it sometimes seems confounding what Ariel Sharon is thinking strategically. If one accepts the common view that Arafat has been a reliable and often compliant partner with the Israelis, what does Sharon think he has to gain by undermining him and opening the door to the more radical groups like Hamas?

FISK: Remember that when Arafat was still regarded as a superterrorist, before he became a superstatesman -- of course he's reverting back now to superterrorist -- remember that the Israelis encouraged the Hamas to build mosques and social institutions in Gaza. Hamas and the Israelis had very close relations when the PLO was still in exile in Tunisia. I can remember being in southern Lebanon in 1993 reporting on the Hamas, and one of their militants offered me Shimon Peres' home phone number. That's how close the relations were! So let's remember that the Israelis do have direct contact with those they label even more terrorist than Arafat.

In the cowboy version of events, they both hate each other. In the real world, they maintain contact when they want to.

As to Sharon, I was speaking with [former Palestinian official] Hanan Ashrawi last week, and she made the very good point that Sharon never thinks through the ramifications of what he's going to do, beyond next week or the week after. That's what we are seeing now.

In that regard, Sharon has many parallels with Arafat. When I had the miserable task of living under Arafat's awful regime in Beirut for six years, you could see that Arafat also would get up in the morning and not have a clue as to what he would be doing three hours later.

But back to Sharon. One thing he knows is that he is opposed to the Oslo [peace] accords; he doesn't want it. He's systematically destroying the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority. It's interesting to note that the European Union is now pointing out to the Israelis that $17 million of our taxpayers' money, investment in the West Bank infrastructure as part of the American peace plan, has been bombed and smashed to pieces by the Israeli military.

COOPER: Your critics accuse you of being a mouthpiece for Arafat. But in your public talks you openly disdain Arafat, calling him -- among many other things -- a preposterous old man.

FISK: I'm more than disdainful! More than disdainful. I always regarded him during his time in Lebanon as being a very cynical and a very despotic man. Even before he got a chance to run his own state, he was running 13 different secret police forces. Torture was employed in his police stations. And so it was easy to see why the Israelis wanted to use him. He was not brought into the Oslo process, and he was not encouraged by the Americans, and his forces were not trained by the CIA so that he could lead a wonderful, new Arab state. He was brought in as a colonial governor to do what the Israelis could no longer do: to control the West Bank and Gaza.

His task was always to control his people. Not to lead his people. Not to lead a friendly state that would live next to Israel. His job was to control his people, just like all the other Arab dictators do -- usually on our behalf. Remember that the Arab states we support -- the Mubaraks of Egypt, the Gulf kingdoms, the king of Jordan -- when they do have elections, their leaders are elected by 98.7 percent of the vote. In Mubarak's case, 0.2 percent more than Saddam!

So Arafat fits perfectly into this lexicon of rule. He's confronted with the choice of either leading the Palestinian people or being the point man for the Israelis.

COOPER: So does Arafat now, for his own cynical reasons, encourage or support the suicide bombings inside Israel as the Israelis insist he does?

FISK: Arafat is a very immoral person, or maybe very amoral. A very cynical man. I remember when the Tal-al-Zaatar refugee camp in Beirut had to surrender to Christian forces in the very brutal Lebanese civil war. They were given permission to surrender with a cease-fire. But at the last moment, Arafat told his men to open fire on the Christian forces who were coming to accept the surrender. I think Arafat wanted more Palestinian "martyrs" in order to publicize the Palestinian position in the war. That was in 1976. Believe me that Arafat is not a changed man.

I think that if he ever actually sees a wounded child, he feels compassion like any other human being. But he's also a very cynical politician. And he knows that Sharon was elected to offer security to the Israelis. And Arafat knows that every suicide bombing, every killing, every death of a young Israeli, especially inside Israel, is proof that Sharon's promises are discredited.

On the one hand, he can condemn violence. He can be full of contrition. And in the basic human sense, he probably means it. But he also knows very well that every suicide bombing hits at the Sharon policy, and realizes how that helps him.

COOPER: Is this current phase the endgame for Arafat? Or his 10th life?

FISK: Actually, both Arafat and Sharon are in danger. Throughout Arafat's life, the more militarily weak he becomes, the stronger he becomes politically. Equally, you might say Mr. Sharon has thrown his entire military at the West Bank, but he is not achieving the security he promised. Further, one day we will have to find out what has happened in the Jenin refugee camp, with the hundreds of corpses -- some of which disappeared, some of which appear to have been secretly buried. That will further damage Sharon. So as he becomes stronger militarily, he weakens politically. Way back in 1982, Sharon said he was going to root out terror when 17,500 Arabs were slaughtered during three months in Lebanon. And here we are again.

COOPER: I heard some contradictory notions in your talks regarding the U.S. I can't tell if you are just plain sarcastic about the American role in the Middle East, or if you are merely disappointed.

FISK: I'm way past being disappointed. I am very sarcastic. And deliberately so. A week ago, I wrote in my newspaper that when Colin Powell goes to Israel and the West Bank, we shall find out who runs U.S. policy in the Middle East: The White House? Congress? Or Israel?

On an ostensibly urgent mission, Secretary of State Powell -- our favorite ex-general -- wandered and dawdled around the Mediterranean, popping off to Morocco, then off to see the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, then he went to Spain, then he went to Egypt, then he went to Jordan, and after eight days he finally washed up in Israel. On an urgent mission!

If Washington firefighters turned up that late, the city would already be in ashes. As Jenin was. It was generally hinted at on the networks, in the usual coy, cowardly sort of way, that Powell wanted to give Sharon time to finish the job, just as he got to finish the job in '82 in such a bloody way.

And now Powell arrives and we see the two sides of the glass. On the one hand, he quite rightly goes to inspect by helicopter the revolting suicide bombing in Jerusalem where six Israelis were killed and 80 wounded.

But faced with the Israelis hiding their own activities, where hundreds [of Palestinians] have been killed, Powell does not ask to go to Jenin. Why? Because the dead are Palestinians? Because they are Arabs? Because they are Muslim? Why on earth doesn't he go to Jenin?

Powell is not being evenhanded. American policy never has been. It's a totally bankrupt policy. No wonder the Europeans are saying, "For God's sake, we have to play a role in the Mideast now."

COOPER: But till now the Europeans have not acquitted themselves much more honorably in the Middle East. And their role in the Balkans was abominable.

FISK: Well, they haven't had a chance yet to make a mess of the Middle East in the way you Americans have. But yes, if you look at European foreign policy within Europe, we totally screwed up in Bosnia. We didn't have the courage of our convictions over the breakup of Yugoslavia -- that's if we had any convictions. We allowed the horror and the tragedy and the most horrible atrocities to take place in Srebenica.

We needed the Americans in Bosnia. We needed the Americans in Kosovo. We still need American support with their influence over the Republican movement in Northern Ireland to keep that peace process together.

But Europe has a much clearer understanding of the Middle East. Owing partly to much more forthright press and television coverage of the region, of what's going on. We do not hide from our readers and viewers what's happening there. Unlike the American press, we do not hide the brutality of the Israelis. And we certainly do not hide the brutality of the Palestinians.

The peoples of the Middle East -- Jews, Muslims, Christians -- are our neighbors in Europe. Not only do we have large numbers of Muslims living in Europe, but the fault line between the Muslim world and Europe runs down the Mediterranean -- in many cases through Europe itself, like in Bosnia.

And we have got to have a proper, grown-up, modern relationship with our neighbors in the Middle East. You Americans don't have to. You can play Wild West out there because they are 9,000 miles away from you, and you will never have to be neighbors. But for us, there are new priorities. America doesn't even have a real policy in the region. You say, "Well, it's up to the parties." That's what we Europeans said in Bosnia, and look what happened.

How odd. Here's a superpower with enormous leverage, if you care to use it, over the Israelis. Yet you don't do so.

Source: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12919

4/24/02
3:45:53 PM

Israeli Spies Exposed

by John F Sugg, Weekly Planet, April 22, 2002

A major international espionage saga is unfolding across the United States. It's been pretty hush-hush so far, largely because the implications could be a major embarrassment for the government. The spy story is even more touchy because it isn't Saddam, Fidel, Osama or even what passes nowadays for the KGB spying on America -- but our "friend" in the war against "evil," Israel.

The basis of the spy allegations is a 60-page document -- a compilation of field reports by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other U.S. law enforcement officials.

A copy of the report was obtained from intelligence sources with long-term contacts among both Israeli and American agencies. The government has attempted to deflect attention from earlier leaks about the spy scandal. However, while declining to confirm or deny the authenticity of the document, a spokesman for the DEA, William Glaspy, did acknowledge that the agency had received many reports of the nature described in the 60 pages. Jack Wall, DEA's supervisor in Montgomery, AL said the portions of the document pertaining to his office were "definitely" accurate.

DEA agents say that the 60-page document was a draft intended as the base for a 250-page report. The larger report has not been produced because of the volatile nature of suggesting that Israel spies on America's deepest secrets.

Another DEA spokesperson, Rogene Waite, told Associated Press the draft document had been compiled and forwarded to other agencies.

The validity of the scenarios described in the document is attested to in at least one official mention. The Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, in a March 2001 summary, reported on "suspicious visitors to federal facilities" and noted the type of "aggressive" activity recounted in the document.

The nation's most prominent Jewish newspaper, the New York-based Forward, also has confirmed portions of the vast spying network -- although stating that the Israelis were monitoring Arabs in the United States, not trying to access U.S. secrets. Referring to the arrest of five Israeli employees of a New Jersey moving company who were arrested and held for two months after the Sept. 11 attack, Forward on March 15 stated: "According to one former high-ranking American intelligence official, who asked not to be named, the FBI came to the conclusion at the end of its investigation that the five Israelis ... were conducting a Mossad surveillance mission and that their employer, Urban Moving Systems of Weehawken, N.J., served as a front."

Forward also reported that a counterintelligence probe concluded two of the men were operatives of Mossad, Israel's spy service.

Reports of the spying were first made public in December broadcasts by Fox News reporter Carl Cameron. It isn't clear whether he had the 60-page document or was only told its contents. A French online news service has obtained the report, and Le Monde in Paris has advanced the story. However, in the United States, the media ignored the original Fox broadcast, and only a handful of publications have aggressively pursued the story in recent weeks.

The absence of reporting hasn't gone unnoticed. The authoritative British intelligence and military analysis service, Jane's Information Group, on March 13 chided: "It is rather strange that the U.S. media with one notable exception seem to be ignoring what may well prove to be the most explosive story since the 11 September attack, the alleged breakup of a major Israeli espionage operation in the United States which aimed to infiltrate both the Justice and Defense departments and which may also have been tracking al-Qaida terrorists before the aircraft hijackings took place." In flat language and sometimes excruciating bureaucratic detail, the document relates scores of encounters between federal agents and Israelis describing themselves as art students. The implication is that the seemingly innocuous cover was used to gain access to sensitive U.S. offices and military installations. For example, Paragraph 82 of the document states that MacDill Air Force Base intelligence officers were warned in March 2001 of the art students' efforts. A month later, a special alert was issued about a "possible intelligence collection effort" at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City - among other activities, the base houses AWACS surveillance planes and repairs B-1 bombers.

The author of the document is not identified. However, many DEA and other law enforcement agents are named. Three federal employees have confirmed the incidents described in the report. None disputed the authenticity of the report. One senior DEA official, when read paragraphs that mentioned him, said: "Absolutely, that's my report," adding, however, that he didn't think the incidents were sufficient to prove an ongoing spy operation. All of the federal employees said they could not be quoted by name. The specific incidents are richly chronicled, down to names, drivers' license numbers, addresses and phone numbers of the Israelis.

Perhaps most intriguing, the Israelis' military and intelligence specialties are listed: "special forces," "intelligence officer," "demolition/explosive ordnance specialist," "bodyguard to head of Israeli army," "electronic intercept operator" -- even "son of a two-star (Israeli) army general."

"The activities of these Israeli art students raised the suspicion of (the DEA's Office of Security Programs) and other field offices when attempts were made to circumvent the access control systems at DEA offices, and when these individuals began to solicit their paintings at the homes of DEA employees," the document states. "The nature of the individuals' conduct, combined with intelligence information and historical information regarding past incidents (involving Israelis leads the DEA) to believe the incidents may well be an organized intelligence gathering activity."

The document also links the Israelis to possible drug investigations. The report states: "DEA Orlando has developed the first drug nexus to this group. Telephone numbers obtained from an Israeli Art Student encountered at the Orlando (district office) have been linked to several ongoing DEA MDMA (Ecstasy) investigations in Florida, California, Texas, and New York."

Much of the Israeli activity, according to the report, centered on Florida. In addition to attempting to gain access to government installations, the document states that the Israelis approached many intelligence agents, prosecutors and federal marshals at their homes -- including one incident on Davis Islands.

Further research revealed other encounters not included in the 60-page report. For example, a member of Congress from Georgia recounted of being targeted by the art students. A Hillsborough County judge was also approached. Neither the member of Congress nor the judge wanted to be named.

In an era where CNN CEO Walter Issacson says it would be "perverse" to televise Afghan babies killed by U.S. bombs, it's not surprising some stories go unnoticed by a press that embraces "patriotism" by ignoring sacred cows.

One such sacred cow is what's happening in Israel and Palestine. Reporters know that to criticize Israel -- to point out, for example, that wanton killing of innocents is equally devilish, whether committed by Ariel Sharon's soldiers flying U.S.-made helicopters, or by a Hamas suicide bomber who pushes the button -- is to risk being called an anti-Semite. It's a tired canard meant to bludgeon debate into silence, but it's often effective.

Even with that background, however, it's a little hard to understand the media's avoidance of the spy story. In 1999, word began spreading among intelligence agencies about bands of Israeli "students" doing very strange things, such as popping up around federal buildings and military establishments marketing artwork.

According to intelligence sources, low-level alerts began being flashed around to offices of the FBI, DEA, federal prosecutors and others. By March 23, 2001, counterintelligence officials had issued a bulletin to be on the watch for Israelis masquerading as "art students." The alert stated that there was an "ongoing "security threat' in the form of individuals who are purportedly "Israeli National Art Students' that are targeting government offices selling "artwork.'"

At the same time, American intelligence services were increasingly worried by the dominance of many highly sensitive areas of telecommunications by Israeli companies. Comverse Infosys (now called Verint) provides U.S. lawmen with computer equipment for wiretapping. Speculation is that "catch gates" in the system allowed listeners to be listened to. Software made by another Israeli outfit, Amdocs, provided extensive records of virtually all calls placed by the 25 largest U.S. telephone companies. The relationship of those companies to the detained Israelis is detailed in the 60-page document. The DEA's intense interest in the case stems from its 1997 purchase of $25-million in interception equipment from Israeli companies, according to a March 14 report by Intelligence Online, a French Web-based service that first revealed the existence of the 60-page document.

"In assigning so many resources to the inquiry (all DEA offices were asked to contribute)," Intelligence Online stated, "the agency was clearly worried that its own systems might have been compromised." Often the Israeli "students" sold their artwork on street locations near federal buildings. In Tampa on March 1, 2001, a DEA agent heard a knock on his office door. According to the government report: "At the door was a young female who immediately identified herself as an Israeli art student who had beautiful art to sell." Knowing about the security alert, the agent began questioning the "student." After several contradictory statements, the agent concluded "her responses were evasive at best."

A few days earlier, on Feb. 27, law enforcement officials had become suspicious when another Israeli showed up at the Davis Islands home of a U.S. Marshal selling artwork. The reported noted that the Israelis were "persistent in trying to get inside" intelligence agents' homes, often asking to use the telephone.

Altogether, the list of Florida incidents accounts for about eight pages of the 60-page report.

One of the first encounters to raise suspicions was in December 2000 in Atlanta. A DEA agent was approached at his home by two Israelis who wanted to sell him artwork. The agent became suspicious when the "students" wouldn't provide him with contact information -- and his angst was heightened when he later saw the same artwork for sale at the suburban Mall of Georgia.

Many of the apparent operatives had set up shop at addresses only stones' throws from Arabs in San Diego, Little Rock, Irving, Texas, and in South Florida. Also obtained was a watch list of mostly Arabs under scrutiny by the U.S. government. The addresses of many correspond to the specific areas where the Israelis set up operations.

For example, an address for the Sept. 11 hijacking leader, Mohammad Atta, is 3389 Sheridan St. in Hollywood, Fla., only a few blocks and a few hundred feet from the address of some of the Israelis, at 4220 Sheridan.

A dozen Israelis, including the alleged surveillance leader, had been based in Hollywood, Fla., between January and June last year -- quite possibly watching Arabs living nearby who are suspected of providing logistical support to Osama bin Laden's network. Especially in Florida, where 10 of the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists lived, the revelations about the Israeli activities bolster speculation, reported by a Fox news reporter, that the students-cum-spies might have gained advance knowledge of aspects of the Sept. 11 terrorists --and not passed on that critical intelligence to the United States. Planet sources with Israeli connections suggest that the information might have been relayed to U.S. agencies, but might have been ignored or overlooked.

Despite the highly suspect behavior of the Israelis, the media hadn't picked up on the story.

Then came Sept. 11. While America was mesmerized by the "War on Terrorism," the media went out to a four-martini lunch when it came to skeptical reporting.

With a few commendable exceptions. One of those is Carl Cameron, a gutsy reporter for Fox News. On Dec. 12, Cameron broke the blockbuster spy story. He said at the time: "Since Sept. 11, more than 60 Israelis have been arrested or detained, either under the new PATRIOT anti-terrorism law, or for immigration violations. A handful of active Israeli military were among those detained, according to investigators, who say some of the detainees also failed polygraph questions when asked about alleged surveillance activities against and in the United States."

Fox also reported the Israeli "students" "targeted" U.S. military bases -- which is bolstered by the report.

In the rest of the world -- Europe, Arab countries and Israel, especially -- the story made headlines. Even the official Chinese news agency perked up. Not in our well-defended (against disturbing news) homeland, however.

Cameron, in an interview, said he doesn't believe the conspiracy theories about why the story was ignored here. An honest scribe, he points to a shortcoming in his own work -- one hammered on by Israeli critics at the time -- conceding "there were no (on the record) interviews. I didn't tell other reporters where to find the documents. They couldn't do instant journalism."

Others at Fox confirm there was intense pressure on the network by pro-Israeli lobbying groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League and the misnamed Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA).

"These charges are arrant nonsense unworthy of the usually reliable Fox News," CAMERA huffed in a Dec. 12 release.

Cameron reported Dec. 13 that federal agents were afraid to criticize Israel. "Investigators within the DEA, INS and FBI have all told Fox News that to pursue or even suggest Israeli spying ... is considered career suicide."

Cameron told me in similar language that's what journalists also can face. And, what's clear is that Fox quickly removed the story from its Web site. (It was reposted this month by Fox after other media began showing interest in the story.)

After Cameron's initial reports, the story pretty much evaporated in the United States before Christmas. Then, all hell broke loose in the last few weeks. Intelligence Online in France obtained the same 60-page June 2001 federal report. The French Web site reported that 120 Israelis had by now been detained or deported by U.S. authorities.

Let's repeat that: 120 potential spies. This isn't worth press curiosity?

Few papers have given the story significant space. Many haven't uttered a peep.

Some of what has seeped out is disturbing. The Oklahoman, prompted by the French articles, reported last week that 10 months ago four Israelis peddling artwork (but carrying military IDs) were detained near sensitive Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Le Monde in Paris recounted that six intercepted "students" had cell phones purchased by an Israeli vice consul in the United States. Sources told me that many of the phones had a walkie-talkie feature that was virtually impossible to intercept.

Bush administration shills were quick to try to spin the story -- perhaps to minimize damage, should it turn out the government did have information in advance about the people or activities that led to the Sept. 11 attack. A Justice Department spokesperson, Susan Dryden, called the spy report an "urban myth," and other federal flacks trumpeted that no Israeli had been charged with or deported for spying. Of course, in the Great Game, "friendly" spies are seldom embarrassed by being called by their true colors.

The Washington Post, which apparently doesn't have the 60-page document, nonetheless reported March 6 that unnamed law enforcement officials had told the paper that a "disgruntled" DEA agent had compiled the report after other federal agencies didn't react to the Israelis' suspicious behavior. The Post, however, also quoted a DEA spokesman who acknowledged that the large number of incident reports had been combined into a draft memo. As with the Planet's inquiry, the DEA spokesman wouldn't confirm for the Post whether the memo was the 60-page document. The validity of the document is attested to in at least one official mention. The Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, in a March 2001 summary, reported on "suspicious visitors to federal facilities," citing the curious behavior of the Israeli art students. Predictably, Israeli Embassy spokesman Mark Reguev derided the Intelligence Online report as "nonsense."

And, pro-Israeli apologists such as anti-Arab ideologue Daniel Pipes quickly took the field with strident polemics. Pipes, who makes no claim of having seen the 60-page document, nonetheless claimed in a March 11 column that the story was a "dangerous falsehood" and that "U.S. journalists found not a shred of evidence to support" it.

The fact that reporters were beginning to piece together real shreds was blithely ignored by Pipes.

Israel in the past has belligerently denied wrongdoing until long after the truth was obvious. Israel claimed Jonathan Pollard -- a super spy who did horrendous, deadly damage to the United States until arrested in 1985 --wasn't an agent. And, Israel has stubbornly contended its 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, in which 35 American sailors were slaughtered, was an accident -- a lie exposed in recent reports including one last fall on the History Channel. A recent authoritative book, Body of Secrets, by James Bamford, concludes that National Security Agency officials "were virtually unanimous in their belief that the attack was deliberate."

With the purported art students, it's likely that denial will reach screeching levels. The Bush administration would find it difficult to explain why it either ignored or discounted such a large espionage operation.

John F. Sugg, former editor of the Weekly Planet, is now senior editor of the Planet's sister paper in Atlanta, Creative Loafing.

He can be reached at 404-614-1241 or at mailto:john.sugg@cln.com.

This article was originally published by the Tampa Bay Weekly Planet.

Viwe excerpts from the 60-page field reports document at:

http://www.weeklyplanet.com/2002-03-20/news_feature.html

4/24/02
3:40:14 PM

One Hundred Innocent Men

by Gabrielle Banks, AlterNet, April 22, 2002

Last week, Ray Milton Krone -- pegged for the 1991 stabbing death of a Phoenix waitress -- was finally let off death row. New DNA evidence proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Krone had not committed the crime. After three years on death row and a total of 10 years in prison, Krone became the 100th innocent death row inmate to be exonerated since 1973.

Compared to many others, Krone was lucky he survived long enough to prove his innocence. While Krone waited out the appeals process, more than 600 death row prisoners were put to death in the United States. He might owe his life to the arbitrary fact that Arizona doesn't kill its death row inmates at the breakneck pace of, say, Texas.

While many Americans still support the death penalty in principle, they also worry about innocent people paying the ultimate price for crimes they didn't commit. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in 2000 found that 80 percent of Americans believe an innocent person has been executed in the United States in the past five years. It is impossible to know if they're right, but with 100 innocents released in the last 29 years, it seems quite likely.

With this rate of execution, more world leaders have voiced mounting concerns about the finality of capital punishment. UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, articulated his ambivalence when accepting the "Moratorium 2000" petition for a stop to executions worldwide. "The forfeiture of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict it on another, even when backed by legal process," Annan said. "And I believe that future generations throughout the world will come to agree."

A closer look at a few of the 100 innocent people who have been released from death row gives sobering weight to Annan's statement:

- Charles Ray Giddens, an 18-year-old black man in Oklahoma, was sentenced to death for the murder of a grocery store cashier after an all white jury deliberated for only 15 minutes. Three years later, the state dropped all the charges against Giddens.

- Anthony Porter of Illinois was one of the lucky death row defendants taken on by Professor David Protess and a handful of journalism students from Northwestern University. Porter came within two days of execution in 1998 and was only granted a stay because the court wanted to examine his mental competency. Porter had an IQ of 51. One year later, his conviction was overturned.

- Timothy Hennis spent three years incarcerated in North Carolina because he resembled the actual murderer.

- Joseph Green Brown of Florida waited 13 years to be exonerated and came within 13 hours of execution before a new trial was ordered. Brown walked out -- a free man -- a year later when the state decided not to retry the case.

- The former prosecutor for Delbert Tibbs, whose conviction was overturned in Florida, said that the original investigation was tainted from the beginning. If there were ever a retrial, the prosecutor said, he would gladly appear as a witness for Tibbs.

- Peter Limone of Massachusetts was sentenced to the electric chair in 1968. Although Massachusetts abolished the death penalty in 1974, Limone spent an unimaginable 33 years behind bars before he was proven innocent of the charges against him.

These, of course, are the stories of the fortunate ones, saved by tireless efforts of pro-bono lawyers, new evidence or the built-in checks and balances of the justice system. Untold numbers of innocent inmates don't get those breaks.

Upon Ray Krone's release last week, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) reflected on the unavoidable margin of error in capital cases. "There should be no shame in errors made by well-meaning jurors, because human error is inevitable. But what is deeply shameful is a political and legal establishment that lives in denial. What shocks me most about this case is not that yet another innocent man's life was ruined; it is that the prosecutor then called the system that did this 'the best in the world.'"

Along with Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon), Leahy is leading the effort to pass the Innocence Protection Act (S.486), a bill that would provide new safeguards in capital cases, including DNA testing and highly competent lawyers. The Act currently has 25 cosponsors in the Senate, and the House already has the support of half its members for the counterpart bipartisan bill (H.R. 912).

And according to the New York Times, Illinois's Republican governor, George Ryan, boldly appointed a commission to study capital punishment in his state. Ryan's commission, which issued its report this week, "proposes a menu of reforms, among them videotaping interrogations to prevent dubious confessions, expanded use of DNA testing and diminishing reliance on single-witness or stool-pigeon accounts."

The growing support for such measures is encouraging. Most politicians want to impress their constituents as being tough on crime, so popularity often gets in the way of mercy -- especially around election time. But the more death row inmates are found innocent, the more the tide will turn among elected officials toward protecting the innocent at the risk of letting the guilty live on behind bars.

Even the most adamant supporters of capital punishment do not want the blood of innocents on their hands. We could all learn a lesson from retired Judge James McDougall, who presided over Ray Krone's 1996 re-trial. "I'm still very shaken about the whole thing," McDougall told the Associated Press. "I keep going over it in my mind, and it still bothers me ... It's not easy to tell a jury you think they're wrong."

Gabrielle Banks is Activism Editor of AlterNet.

Source:http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12923

4/24/02
3:35:13 PM

April 20 Anti-War Protests Overwhelm Expectations

by Don Hazen, AlterNet, April 22, 2002

Huge anti-war demonstrations on Saturday in Washington, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Salt Lake City and Houston turned out considerably more people than organizers and police authorities expected. District of Columbia Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey estimated that 75,000 marched in Washington, while estimates in San Francisco varied between 30,000 and 50,000.

The size, energy and peacefulness of the marches was a big boost to progressive forces across the country who have been very much on the defensive in the post-9/11 period. "Saturday was inspiring evidence that there is enormous grassroots opposition to the Bush agenda of endless war at home and abroad," said Terra Lawson-Remer, one of the D.C. organizers.

The gatherings, by far the biggest in the U.S. since the Sept. 11 attacks, focused on an array of progressive grievances -- the undermining of civil liberties, questions about U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and Colombia, as well as the effects of corporate globalization around the world.

But the protesters' most powerful message was their anger about Israel's repression in the West bank. Chants of "Stop the occupation now" and "We are all Palestinians today" emanated from the marchers, and the black, red, white and green flag of Palestine dominated the visual landscape.

Saturday's demonstrations in Washington were in contrast to the memorable April 2000 actions in Washington, when protests against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund led to a virtual shutdown of the downtown area. At that time there were pitched clashes between police and demonstrators, and many hundreds were arrested. In this weekend's protests, separate events with differing goals were held on Saturday morning, but in the afternoon, everyone -- despite some differences in strategy and tactics --came together to create a huge and peaceful crowd. According to the Washington Post, Chief Ramsey praised the decorum of Saturday's demonstrations.

"The organizers did an outstanding job," said Ramsey, baton in hand as he watched thousands file past the Justice Department building. "This is really what protests ought to be."

The San Francisco four-hour protest caused widespread gridlock. "It's one of the biggest protests in the past five years," San Francisco Police Commander Greg Suhr told Jim Herron Zamora of the San Francisco Chronicle. "It's not often that you see one where a crowd has formed in the Civic Center but there are still people in Dolores Park who haven't started marching."

The San Francisco demonstration was billed as a march against "the real axis of evil: war, racism, poverty." But clearly, support for the Palestinian cause transcended the other issues. The march included many Americans of Palestinian descent, as well as immigrants from other Arab countries who became politically active after the Sept. 11 attacks. One protester, Riad Morrar, immigrated from Egypt 27 years ago, and now owns a technology company in the Sacramento area. "There is nothing else I can do but tell President Bush: 'You are wrong. Stop killing my people,'" Morrar told the San Francisco Chronicle, as he marched with his wife and four children.

"I spent 20 years avoiding the news, avoiding conflict. It is too depressing," said Kais Menoufy, another Egyptian immigrant at the march. "I love America. But I'm embarrassed and angry that my country is supporting genocide."

According to Herron Zamora, the oldest marcher in San Francisco was probably Dave Smith, an 89-year-old member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, an American group opposing nationalists in the Spanish Civil War from 1936-39. "I am proud to fight fascism and oppression, whether it's in Spain, Nazi Germany or Israel," said Smith.

The youngest demonstrator might have been Hanif Amanullah, a four-month-old from Oakland who slept in his father's arms. "I'm marching for this little guy," said Shahed Amanullah. "I want him to grow up in a world without this kind of violence."

Not everyone agreed with how the rallies turned out. Robert Elan, an inner-city school teacher in San Francisco, felt that Saturday's actions were supposed to be about war, racism and poverty. "Instead of focusing on U.S. corporate corruption, the attack on civil liberties ... and celebrating the environmental victories just before Earth Day, the multi-issue demonstration was dominated by solidarity with the Palestinian people," he explained. "Palestinian Independence took the front seat and relegated many other important issues to the back seat. By doing so, the rally de-emphasized domestic issues and the problems associated with globalization. I believe this was a missed opportunity. Some people are calling this a huge success for its large numbers. I think it was rather a failure for its impact."

Nevertheless, as John Nichols wrote for TheNation.com, "The size of the protests is notable because they come at a time when most political leaders and media commentators remain cautious about criticizing U.S. policies. Organizers across the country argued that the turnout was evidence that there is far more opposition to U.S. policy among the American people than the relative silence of official Washington would indicate."

The success of the organizing and the peaceful nature of the protests will no doubt open up some political space for larger numbers of people to more aggressively pursue a range of issues -- and perhaps give some elected officials a little more spine. Furthermore, the presence of large numbers of Arab Americans and immigrants represents a breakthrough in the American protest movement.

"Clearly the significance of Saturday was that Americans do not support the way Bush is handling the war on terrorism, either domestically or internationally," said Terra Lawson-Remer. "People came out to say that supporting freedom and democracy and opposing terrorism does not mean expanding war and cracking down on civil liberties."

Behind the scenes, organizers were congratulating themselves. The fact that 75,000 people came out in the streets of D.C. without the backing of organized labor suggests that the left has expanded its base. And perhaps for the first time, a clear message of common ground was established between the anti-war and anti-corporate globalization campaigns -- that they are both about promoting justice by challenging the U.S. might, whether military or economic, that reinforces U.S. dominance at the expense of many countries around the world.

Don Hazen is the executive editor of AlterNet.org.

Source: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12932

4/24/02
3:32:42 PM

AlterNet Headlines

http://www.alternet.org

APRIL 20 ANTI-WAR PROTESTS OVERWHELM EXPECTATIONS

Don Hazen, AlterNet

With 75,000 marchers in D.C., up to 50,000 in San Francisco and thousands more across the country, this weekend's anti-war rallies surprised organizers and authorities alike.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12932

ONE HUNDRED INNOCENT MEN

Gabrielle Banks, AlterNet

With the exoneration of the 100th innocent death-row inmate, critics -- and even some supporters -- of the death penalty are pushing for changes in a flawed system.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12923

ISRAELI SPIES EXPOSED

John F Sugg, Weekly Planet (Tampa)

A 60-page DEA field report is the basis for allegations that an Israeli spy network is operating within the United States.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12928

THE MIDDLE EAST ACCORDING TO ROBERT FISK

Marc Cooper, LA Weekly

Controversial British journalist Robert Fisk believes that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might turn into something as apocalyptic as the French-Algerian war.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12919

THERE SHE GOES, MISS AMERICA

Lara Riscol, AlterNet

The 81-year-old Miss America pageant doesn't look that firm standing next to selections offered by the likes of Victoria's Secret uberwomen.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12929

MEN OF MONOGRAMMED LETTERS

Dennis Loy Johnson, MobyLives

Forget about unshaven starving writers. Literary greats these days are more likely to be wearing a $2000 Prada suit -- at least when they show up in the New York Times.

*In MediaCulture: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=19

NANNIES GET YOUR GUNS

Chisun Lee, Village Voice

Domestic labor performed by nannies and housekeepers is creating a climate for exploitation and enabling indignities not found in other, more public kinds of work.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12898

THE VIBRATOR-LIGHT-O'-TRUTH: EROTICA, PORN AND SELLING A SEX POSITIVE AMERICA

Michael Stephens, PopMatters

Written by nice, intelligent, middle-class women, erotica and its companions, sex and porn, could be welcomed back into good homes and bookstores everywhere.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12912

NOT ON OUR SIDE: THE RIGHT BLAMES GOD AND BUSH FOR SEPT. 11?

David Corn, AlterNet

In a speech to the Senate, Sen. James Inhofe said that Israel is "entitled" to the West Bank and chastised those within the U.S. who have urged Israeli restraint.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12909

HUFFINGTON: MY BIG FAT GREEK COLUMN

Arianna Huffington, AlterNet

We are most able to achieve the heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul connections we long for by letting our ethnic idiosyncrasies flourish.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12930

TECHSPLOITATION: ARE YOU BEING LOGGED?

Annalee Newitz, AlterNet

A number of companies have gotten screwed when their 'net logs' reveal patterns of sexually abusive emails or porn surfing. So why do they keep those logs? To screw employees in return.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12925

4/24/02
3:28:57 PM

t r u t h o u t

*NEW t r u t h o u t Petition / Poll | Should a 911 Probe Include the White House?

http://www.truthout.com/poll/911Probe.htm

Al Gore | Changing Course -- Earthday 2002

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23A.Gore.Earthday.htm

Protests Over Le Pen's Success Grow Across a Shocked France http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23B.Protest.LePen.htm

McKinney Draws Fire and Support With Call for Probe

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23C.Draws.Fire.htm

Supreme Court to Hear Abortion Protest and Death Penalty Case

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23D.Supreme.Court.htm

Rangel | Weekly Radio Address Democratic Response

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23E.Rangel.Address.htm

White House Stonewall: Day 59

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23F.Stonewall.htm

White House Hasn't Sought Money to Guard Atomic Plants, Energy Official Says

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23G.Atomic.Plants.htm

Marchers Protest Aid to Columbia

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23H.Protest.Aid.htm

Ban on Nicotine Lollipops Underscores Need for Regulation

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.23I.Nicotine.Ban.htm

t r u t h o u t, is a non-profit independent news source.

http://www.truthout.org

4/24/02
3:24:58 PM

Climate Scientist Ousted

Sceptics claimed the IPCC had become too political One of the most outspoken scientists on the issue of global warming has been ousted from his job.

Dr Robert Watson was voted out of the chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Friday and will be replaced by one of the current vice-chairs, Dr Rajendra Pachauri.

Dr Watson's removal will spark a huge political row - environmentalists accuse the US Government of orchestrating a campaign to have the scientist sidelined.

They say Washington disliked Dr Watson's willingness to tell governments what he believes to be the unvarnished truth - that human activities are now contributing dangerously to climate change.

Government representatives attending an IPCC meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, voted 76 to 49 for the engineer and economist Dr Rajendra Pachauri to take the chair.

Dr Pachauri, the director of the Tata Energy Research Institute in New Delhi, was the US administration's favoured candidate.

Climate facts

President Bush repudiated the international climate agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, which is the only political instrument so far to result from the IPCC's work.

The president took the view that the protocol would do enormous damage to the US economy.

Green groups believe Mr Bush is unduly influenced by the energy lobby in America, and point to a memo forwarded to the White House by ExxonMobil last year.

The document raised the question of whether Dr Watson could be replaced as the US representative on the IPCC. Environmentalists claimed the outcome of Friday's vote was proof of ExxonMobil's power behind the scenes in Washington.

"It's just extraordinary that Exxon can tell the US what to do and then they go and do it," said Cindy Baxter of the StopEsso campaign. She claimed the company did not like the science coming out of the IPCC, "so they changed the scientist".

"Luckily, the science of the IPCC is very strong," she added. "No matter what Exxon and the US tries to do - they cannot change that."

Natural factors

What the environmentalists do fear, however, is that documents produced for politicians may now be less forceful in their presentation -they are not convinced that Dr Rajendra Pachauri will be so strong an advocate for change in global energy policies as Dr Watson.

Many critics of the IPCC believe this should not be a role the panel assumes anyway. They think it should stick simply to assessing the facts of climate science.

Many sceptics were deeply critical at what they saw as the politicisation of the UN group under the chairmanship of Dr Watson.

They claim humanity's influence on the climate has been overstated - that the changes we see around us today are the products of natural variability.

ExxonMobil has told BBC News Online that the White House memo was not written by one of its employees and that it merely passed the document on. The company said it had no official position on the post of IPCC chair.

'Time for a change'

Dr Watson spoke to the BBC after the vote.

"I'm obviously extremely disappointed, but my job now is to maintain the integrity of the IPCC," he said.

"I believe Dr Pachauri does have integrity - I hope he has the integrity. He is an economist; he is a technologist. I thought co-chairing with Dr Pachauri was an appropriate solution but we have a democratic process and a majority of the countries in the world thought it was time for a change."

He continued: "We have to continue to press the case that climate change is a serious environmental issue, both for developed and developing countries.

"I'm willing to stay in there, working as hard as possible, making sure the findings of the very best scientists in the world are taken seriously by government, industry and by society as a whole."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1940000/1940117.stm

4/24/02
3:23:04 PM

DAILY GRIST

<http://www.gristmagazine.com>

ANDES MINCED

Most studies of global climate change focus on the Arctic and the Antarctic, for the good reason that slight temperature fluctuations cause obvious and measurable changes in their vast ice fields. But some scientists are looking for evidence of global warming in an entirely different part of the world: the tropics. Reporting for Grist, Ross Wehner follows a team of scientists to a retreating glacier high in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. As at the poles, ice in the tropics is melting, and fast. That's bad news for nearby cities, which generally rely on glacial melt for much of their water supply. And it's bad news for the environment: If the glaciers change, so will ecosystems as diverse (but interconnected) as the high-altitude paramo and the Amazon Basin. Read Wehner's account of tracking a disappearing glacier, only on the Grist Magazine website.

only in Grist: Now you see them, now you don't -- in the Andes Mountains, the pace of climate change is far from glacial -- in our Main Dish section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/wehner042202.asp?source=daily>

EARTH, WIND, AND SNOW

It may be akin to a Protestant celebrating Chanukah, but President Bush is observing Earth Day today, with a speech in New York state's Adirondack Mountains. (The forecast was for snow -- acid snow, mind you -- perhaps a fitting backdrop.) The president is using the occasion to promote his "Clear Skies" initiative, a market-based alternative to the current framework of the Clean Air Act. Critics argue that the Clear Skies initiative would make air quality worse. Meanwhile, Bush's once (and future?) rival, former Vice President Al Gore, is celebrating Earth Day in Nashville, Tenn., with a speech blasting the president's environmental policies. Gore also attacked Bush's enviro record in a New York Times op-ed yesterday. Although Gore has not indicated whether he will run against Bush again, many see the environment as a crucial wedge issue between Democrats and Republicans in the 2004 presidential elections.

straight to the source: New York Times, Katharine Q. Seelye, 22 Apr 2002 <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/22/politics/22ENVI.html>

straight to the source: New York Times, Al Gore, 21 Apr 2002 <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/opinion/21GORE.html>

only in Grist: Earth Day comes but once a year -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha042202.asp?source=daily>

SHARRI BABY

After years of mistrust and fear, Albanians and Serbs are coming together over a common interest: protecting the environment. In a project funded by the Norwegian and Dutch governments, environmental groups in Kosovo are setting up an electronic network to enable the former enemies to share resources and information on protecting the environment. The network, known as Sharri.Net, was created in February, and a website dedicated to the cause should be up and running by June. "It's sort of a success for a multi-ethnic Kosovo," said Blerim Vela of Kosovo's Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, which is coordinating the program. Ethnic conflict in the region exacerbated environmental problems, including water pollution, deforestation, and heavy urban smog.

straight to the source: BBC News, Alfred Hermida, 22 Apr 2002 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1939000/1939121.stm>

GOOD AS GOLDMAN

Three Gwich'in Native Americans who battled oil development in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have been doubly rewarded for their efforts: Last week, the Senate voted to block oil drilling in the refuge, and today, the activists are being honored with this year's Goldman Prize, the world's biggest and most prestigious award for environmentalists. Other recipients of the prize include a Somali fighting deforestation, an ecologist restoring mangroves on the Thai coast, a Guyanese-Amerindian trying to stop mining in native territories, a Polish organic-agriculture advocate, and an entrepreneur opposing open-pit mining projects in Puerto Rico. The brainchild of San Francisco philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman, the $125,000 prizes have been awarded since 1990 to individuals who are acting to protect the environment at "great personal risk" on each of the planet's six inhabited continental regions.

straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Glen Martin, 22 Apr 2002 <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/22/MN179164.DTL>

MR. WATSON, COME HERE, I DON'T WANT YOU

Robert Watson, one of the most outspoken and respected voices in the debate over global warming, was voted out of his position as chair of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on Friday. IPCC member nations rejected Watson in favor of India's Rajendra Pachauri, an engineer and economist as well as one of the panel's current vice-chairs, by a vote of 76 to 49. Environmentalists accuse the U.S. government of engineering the replacement as a favor to the energy industry, which took issue with Watson's conviction that human activity is fueling global climate change. (Under Watson, the IPCC began advocating more openly for global climate change policy, rather than just assessing the science.) Last year, lobbyists for ExxonMobil specifically asked the Bush administration to work to replace Watson; green groups see Friday's vote as a sign that the U.S. heeded the call. As Cindy Baxter of the U.K.-based StopEsso campaign put it, ExxonMobil did not like the science coming out the IPCC, "so they changed the scientist."

straight to the source: BBC News, 19 Apr 2002 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1940000/1940117.stm>

only in Grist: Changing the world from a desk chair -- a week in the life of Peter Altman, Campaign ExxonMobil <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dearme/altman040802.asp?source=daily>

4/24/02
3:13:16 PM

The New War On Freedom

Give me liberty, or give me, what? Security?

by Gore Vidal, San Francisco Chronicle, April 21, 2002

Last week marked the anniversaries of three landmark events that paved the way for the further erosion of our personal freedoms we face today. Nine years ago, the FBI ended a stand-off that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had begun 51 days earlier, resulting in the deaths of 82 Branch Davidians, including 30 women and 25 children -- guilty only of being members of a religious commune. Seven years ago last week, on the second anniversary of the killings at Waco, 168 men, women, and children were killed in Oklahoma City when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed -- many believed in protest of those horrific events for which no federal employee had ever been held accountable. Timothy McVeigh, convicted and executed for the bombing, made no comment during his trial until his sentencing, when he quoted Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis: "Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or ill, it teaches the whole people by its example."

Six years ago last week, in response to the Oklahoma City bombing (which, if indeed perpetrated by a lone nut armed only with a rental van and fertilizer, begs the question of why sweeping new legislation was necessary), Congress passed the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, "antiterrorism" legislation which not only gives the attorney general the power to use the armed services against the civilian population, neatly nullifying the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (which prohibited the use of federal troops for civilian law enforcement), but also selectively suspends habeas corpus, the heart of Anglo-American liberty. As he signed it into law, Clinton attacked critics of the bill as "unpatriotic": "There is nothing patriotic about pretending that you can love your country but despise your government." This is breathtaking since it includes, at one time or another, most of us. Put another way, was a German in 1939 who said that he detested the Nazi dictatorship unpatriotic?

Thus began the latest chapter in the death struggle between the American republic, whose plainly ineffective defender I am, and the American Global Empire, our old republic's enemy. Since V-J Day 1945 ("Victory over Japan" and the end of World War II), we have been engaged in what the historian Charles A.

Beard called "perpetual war for perpetual peace." I have occasionally referred to our "enemy of the month club": Each month we are confronted by a new horrendous enemy at whom we must strike before he destroys us. The Federation of American Scientists has catalogued nearly 200 such military incursions since 1945 initiated by the United States.

According to the Koran, it was on a Tuesday that Allah created darkness. Last Sept. 11, when suicide pilots were crashing commercial airliners into crowded American buildings, I did not have to look to the calendar to see what day it was: Dark Tuesday was casting its long shadow across Manhattan and along the Potomac River. I was also not surprised that despite the seven or so trillion dollars that we have spent since 1950 on what is euphemistically called "Defense," there would have been no advance warning from the FBI or CIA or Defense Intelligence Agency. While the Bushites have been eagerly preparing for the last war but two -- missiles from North Korea, clearly marked with flags, would rain down on Portland, Ore., only to be intercepted by our missile-shield balloons -- the foxy Osama bin Laden knew that all he needed for his holy war on the infidel were fliers willing to kill themselves along with those random passengers who happened to be aboard hijacked jetliners.

The awesome physical damage Osama and company did to us on Dark Tuesday is as nothing compared to the knockout blow to our vanishing liberties: The Anti- Terrorist Act of 1996 and the recent USA PATRIOT Act (still being written after it was passed, and thus unread by the Congress which passed it), which among other things grants additional special powers to wiretap without judicial order and to deport lawful permanent residents, visitors and undocumented immigrants without due process. Even before signing the Anti- Terrorist Act, President Clinton revealed his disregard for the Bill of Rights:

"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans." A year later: "A lot of people say there's too much personal freedom. When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it."

According to a November 1995 CNN-Time poll, 55 percent of the people believed that "the federal government has become so powerful that it poses a threat to the rights of ordinary citizens." Three days after Dark Tuesday, 74 percent said they thought, "It would be necessary for Americans to give up some of their personal freedoms." Eighty-six percent favored guards and metal detectors at public buildings and events.

Bush himself, in an address to a joint session of Congress, offered up his interpretation of Osama bin Laden and disciples' motives: "They hate what they see right here in this chamber." I suspect a million Americans nodded sadly in front of their TV sets. "Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms, our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other." If this is indeed the terrorists' motivation, they are succeeding beyond even their dreams, as each day, with each extension of "emergency powers," our Bill of Rights is shredded more and more. Once alienated, an "unalienable right" is apt to be forever lost, in which case we are no longer even remotely the last best hope of Earth but merely a seedy imperial state whose citizens are kept in line by SWAT teams and whose way of death, not life, is universally imitated.

Gore Vidal's new book is "Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated" (Thunder's Mouth Press), from which this article is adapted. He spoke in San Francisco on Thursday at a program sponsored by The Independent Institute on the Web: http://www.independent.org

Source: http://www.SFGate.com

4/24/02
2:16:08 PM

Post-9/11, Opposition to Indian Point Plant Grows

by Winnie Hu, The New York Times, April 24, 2002

BUCHANAN, N.Y., April 23 — It would have been a moment for the cameras, if only enough had shown up. As a flotilla of boats lined up here on the Hudson River in September 1997, the demonstrators aboard unfurled a bright yellow cloth emblazoned with "Crime Scene" in black marker in front of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

But the world was mourning the death of Diana, princess of Wales, and almost no one other than the most committed of opponents gave much thought to the hulking nuclear plant on the Hudson. So the publicity effort organized by environmental and antinuclear groups went largely unnoticed.

How things have changed. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, growing anxiety over the safety of nuclear power plants has transformed Indian Point from a fringe issue that only antinuclear crusaders care about to a mainstream concern, and not just for Westchester suburbanites, but for New York City and New Jersey residents, who had, until now, barely registered the plant's existence 40 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.

This month alone, a headline in The New York Observer asked, "Chernobyl-on-Hudson?" In Bergen County, N.J., The Record published an article with the headline "Generating Fear: Indian Point Casts Nuclear Shadow Over North Jersey."

The news media scrutiny reflects probably the biggest groundswell of opposition to Indian Point since its two working reactors started generating nuclear power in the 1970's, and one that has a growing number of residents calling for the plant's closing. Some 20 million people live within 50 miles of the plant, putting it near more people than any other nuclear plant in the country.

The evacuation plan for the plant covers a 10-mile radius from the plant, but the federal government also has emergency readiness plans for a 50-mile "ingestion plume pathway" that includes New York City.

"On Sept. 11, my whole sense of safety and security went down with the World Trade Center," said Maureen Ritter, 44, who lives in Suffern, N.Y., exactly 12.3 miles on the other side of the Hudson from the plant. She knows because she recently calculated the distance on a map.

"Once you open your eyes, you can't shut them," Ms. Ritter said. "Believe me, I want to go back to finding matching socks for my children to wear in the morning, but I can't turn back."

So Ms. Ritter and many others have taken a stand against Indian Point. More than a dozen grass roots groups in Westchester, Rockland and New York City are opposing the plant.

A Web site for the New York City Campaign to Close Indian Point (nyccloseindianpoint.org) lists forums in churches in Greenwich Village, the South Bronx, and Park Slope in Brooklyn, and asks visitors to fill out an online petition.

These community groups have banded together with environmental and civic organizations as the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition to work toward the goal of decommissioning the plant. Riverkeeper, an environmental group best known for protecting the Hudson, has led the fight by raising $100,000 in donations, including about $25,000 from Rockefeller family members and foundations.

It has also released a Marist Institute poll that showed that the majority of respondents who live within 50 miles of the plant want it shut down.

Alex Matthiessen, executive director of Riverkeeper, said that since Sept. 11, his staff had received dozens of calls and letters from people who were concerned about the vulnerability of Indian Point's nuclear operations. Riverkeeper decided to respond. In the past, the group had mainly criticized Indian Point for killing fish in the Hudson. "This has not been a movement driven by antinuclear groups," he said.

A growing number of local and state politicians have also joined the movement to close Indian Point, including Representative Nita M. Lowey and the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Andrew M. Cuomo and State Comptroller H. Carl McCall. Many others have voiced concerns about the plant. Gov. George E. Pataki, who grew up in Peekskill, just north of the plant, has not called for Indian Point to be closed, but has asked the federal government to reassess emergency guidelines for the plant.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is sponsoring a bill that would tighten security at Indian Point and other plants, expand the evacuation area, and stockpile potassium iodide tablets to protect residents from radiation-induced thyroid cancer. She visited Indian Point for the first time after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I think it certainly makes it very clear to me that building a plant in such a highly populated area raises serious issues," she said.

Indian Point's owner, the Entergy Corporation, has countered with a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign in newspapers and radio that is intended to reassure the public. It has dropped the word "nuclear" from its name. Entergy made that change on Sept. 6, after buying the reactors from separate owners and uniting the work forces. Now the message is: "Indian Point Energy Center. Safe. Secure. Vital."

Indian Point workers themselves have rallied against what they call the "campaign of misinformation" and "fear-mongering" by nuclear opponents. Mark Williams, a union coordinator for 600 workers at the plant, said they should know better than anyone if the plant is safe.

"It's very frustrating, because we work there," he said. "They tend to make us out as ignorant canaries going into the mines. In reality, we're a well-educated, highly trained, professional work force."

For years, antinuclear groups and others have railed against Indian Point's safety lapses, including a February 2000 radioactive leak that forced the Indian Point 2 reactor to shut down for nearly a year. As a result, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission heightened its scrutiny of Indian Point 2, and assigned it the worst performance rating of any reactor in the nation. (By contrast, the Indian Point 3 reactor is one of 73 plants that have the top performance rating.)

But it was only after Sept. 11, when one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center flew along the Hudson almost directly above the plant, that the potential dangers of Indian Point became real for most people.

The specter of a plane crashing into Indian Point sent shivers through sleepy enclaves up and down the Hudson, and gave anxious New York City residents and others something else to worry about. Even those who had never given much thought to Indian Point became openly fearful after diagrams of American nuclear plants were discovered in Qaeda strongholds in Afghanistan.

Allegra Dengler, a Dobbs Ferry trustee, said that once she started learning about Indian Point, she became concerned about not only terrorism, but also the effects of low-level radiation and other problems. Now her aim is closing Indian Point, even if that increases the price of electricity.

"People always care when their bills go up," she said. "But you have to weigh that against the risks."

Ellen Wang, 27, who lives on the Upper West Side, said she downloaded a flier from the New York City Campaign to Close Indian Point Web site that listed the top 10 reasons. No. 1 was "It's too close!"

She posted the flier on her bedroom door. "I don't worry about it all the time," she said. "But when I do, I get scared. It could be worse than Sept. 11."

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/24/nyregion/24NUKE.html?todaysheadlines

4/23/02
6:49:20 PM

Middle East Takes Center Stage At D.C. Rallies

Bicyclists Arrested Yesterday Are Released

by Neely Tucker Washington Post Staff Writer, April 20, 2002

Thousands of activists rallying for a host of causes mingled easily with tourists along the mall this afternoon as chants of "Free, Free Palestine," "Stop the Occupation Now" and "We are all Palestinians Today" filled the Ellipse and the black, red, white and green flag of Palestine waved through the streets of the District.

District police officials said the crowds were larger than they had anticipated, and put their numbers at about 75,000. Organizers of a Palestinian-rights rally at the Ellipse south of the White House said the gathering was the largest demonstration for Palestine in U.S. history.

Walking down the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Justice Department as thousands filled the street, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey praised the decorum of the demonstrations. "The organizers did an outstanding job," said Ramsey, baton in hand. "This is really what protests ought to be."

By about 4 p.m., no arrests were reported, and no major clashes broke out between police and protesters. The events were a stark contrast to April 2000 demonstrations in Washington, when protests against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund led to a virtual shutdown of the downtown area and sparked clashes between police and demonstrators that ended in mass arrests.

Protesters adopted many of the tactics of their counterparts from the 1960s, with hundreds of homemade signs denouncing Israeli leaders and variations of anti-Vietnam war chants including "One, Two, Three, Four—We Don't Want No Mideast War." Some placards and protesters compared Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Adolf Hitler.

"Sharon and Hitler are the same. The only difference is their name," protesters chanted through megaphones.

Thousands of activists began arriving in the early hours of Saturday. They came from across the East Coast, disembarking from a caravan of buses this morning, groggy from the overnight bus ride but already chanting "Stop the U.S./Israeli War!"

"We would have brought more people, but it seemed every bus on East Coast was already reserved," said Steve Gillis, 43, a steelworker from Boston. "We saw hundreds of buses on the road. The rest stops were jammed all the way down."

A group of about a dozen students marched toward the IMF carrying a sign that read "Nerds against the War." They had driven through the night from MIT.

On the Washington Monument grounds, there were touches of the 1960s with tie-dyed T-shirts, granny skirts and peace symbols on hats, shirts and faces. Most signs were hand-made with messages such as "Stop Killing In My Name with My $" and "Has America Gone Bad?"

Also reminiscent of the earlier protests, several American flags were flown upside down – the traditional signal of distress – and worn as capes or shawls.

Among the veterans of earlier peace demonstrations was Sister Claire Surmik, 67, of Erie, Pa. Her well worn sign said "Benedictines for Peace."

"It looks like things have gone full circle back to the '60s," she said. "We seniors must tell the truth, we must give our wisdom. It's our obligation. We are old nuns and the younger ones will come behind us."

The day was not without its tense moments. About 1 p.m. at H and 16th streets NW, a small scuffle broke out on the streets between about members of the New Black Panther Party--wearing black, military-style uniforms--and a man intent on disrupting their march down H Street. There was some pushing and shoving amid chants of "Death to Israel" before members of the crowd broke up the altercation and the march continued.

Earlier in the day, tensions were high as several pro-Israeli protesters confronted Palestinian supports at Florida and Connecticut Avenues NW.

Outside the offices of Citibank at 18th and H Streets, a group of about 100 chanted "Drop Debt not Bombs." At the same time, another group danced and shouted slogans across the street from the World Bank headquarters while speeches were made by the Mobilization for Global Justice group in the center of the park declaring their demands for economic equality.

Meanwhile this morning, about three dozen protesters, who were arrested after a swirling bike ride through the District's rush hour traffic last night, were released from jail. Six protesters remained in jail, apparently unwilling to provide police with identification, said Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer.

The arrests came about 6:30 p.m. Friday during a raucous bike ride downtown during evening rush hour. The group's trek, which snaked from Capitol Hill through downtown, Georgetown and Dupont Circle, started off peacefully. But when protesters began zig-zagging through traffic, chanting "Whose Streets? Our Streets!" police moved in.

Other demonstrations are planned for Sunday and Monday near the Washington Monument grounds and outside of the Washington Hilton, the site of a pro-Israel lobby group's annual conference.

Washington Post staff writers Arthur Santana, Avram Goldstein, Sylvia Moreno, Tom Jackman, Linda Wheeler, Graeme Zielinksi, Manny Fernandez and Monte Reel contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19891-2002Apr20.html

4/23/02
6:42:04 PM

At Least 20,000 March In San Francisco Protest

To Decry Bush's Mideast Policy, Israeli Actions

by Jim Herron Zamora, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer, April 21, 2002

In one of the largest Bay Area protests in recent years, at least 20, 000 people marched through San Francisco yesterday in opposition to U.S. policy in the Mideast, transforming 2 miles of city streets into a sea of red, green, black and white Palestinian flags.

The demonstration was billed as a march against "the real axis of evil: war,

racism, poverty," but one cause overwhelmed all others: support for the Palestinian cause.

The four-hour protest, which began at noon in the Mission District and ended at City Hall, caused widespread gridlock and prompted the Highway Patrol to close the Fell Street Central Freeway off-ramp for 45 minutes.

"It's one of the biggest protests in the past five years," San Francisco police Cmdr. Greg Suhr said. "It's not often that you see one where a crowd has formed in Civic Center but there are still people in Dolores Park who haven't started marching."

Busloads of marchers came from as far away as Los Angeles, Fresno and Yuba City in Sutter County. Organizers said demonstrators might have numbered 50, 000, but police estimated closer to 20,000. A similar march in Washington, D.C. , yesterday drew 35,000 to 50,000.

The San Francisco march included many Americans of Palestinian descent and immigrants from other Arab countries who became politically active after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Kais Menoufy said he arrived from Egypt 18 years ago, while Riad Morrar said he came from 27 years ago. Both are now citizens and own technology companies in the Sacramento area.

"There is nothing else I can do but tell President Bush: 'You are wrong. Stop killing my people,' " said Morrar, as he marched with his wife and four children.

"I spent 20 years avoiding the news, avoiding conflict. It is too depressing," Menoufy said. "I love America. But I'm embarrassed and angry that my country is supporting genocide."

A handful of counter-demonstrators carrying Israeli flags confronted the first arrivals at Civic Center Plaza. Marchers nearly surrounded the group until police intervened and took the pro-Israel group inside City Hall before dispersing them.

"It was for their own safety," police Capt. Alex Fagan said. "There are thousands of people here on the other side, and I couldn't guarantee their safety. So they made their point and then I asked them to leave."

MANY GENERATIONS IN MARCH

Perhaps the oldest marcher was Dave Smith, an 89-year-old member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, an American group opposing nationalists in the Spanish Civil War from 1936-39.

"I am proud to fight fascism and oppression, whether it's in Spain, Nazi Germany or Israel," said Smith.

The youngest demonstrator might have been Hanif Amanullah, a 4-month-old from Oakland who slept in his father's arms.

"I'm marching for this little guy," said Shahed Amanullah. "I want him to grow up in a world without this kind of violence."

Osha Neumann, a longtime peace activist from Berkeley and veteran of protests since the 1960s, said that for decades the Palestinian cause divided many Bay Area Jewish liberals and leftists who did not want to oppose Israel.

"Twenty years ago I was with a group of Jews protesting at the Israeli Embassy, and it was lonely," said Neumann. "I am happy that Jews especially and the other progressives are no longer blind to oppression by the Israelis."

Many participants had T-shirts, buttons or signs saying, "Another Jew against the oppression of the Palestinian people."

That theme also hit home for Julie Lehman, whose boyfriend is a Moroccan immigrant.

"I feel that as someone Jewish, I need to speak out against the Israeli government when I see what they are doing is so wrong," said Lehman, of San Francisco. "I'm proud to be around so many other Jews today who agree with me. We have to be honest."

Many other causes were represented. Protesters denounced the World Bank, globalization and corporations that included the Gap, Enron and Microsoft. Signs advocated saving the Earth, saving the Arctic caribou and saving the redwoods -- as well as ending the U.S. embargo of Cuba. Placards called for U. S. troops to leave Colombia, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Marchers urged Americans to "stop killing" people from Afghans to Canadians to African Americans.

COLORFUL STREET THEATER

Street theater was everywhere, with mammoth puppets of Uncle Sam, Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. There were other creative demonstrators, too, including a Rottweiler festooned with the colors of the Palestinian flag and a pit bull with a sandwich board saying "Sharon: Stop Mauling Palestinians. "

Police generally kept a low profile and reported no arrests. At one point, a police captain confiscated lighter fluid from several demonstrators about to burn an Israeli flag.

"It's not a free speech issue -- it's a safety thing. I don't want you lighting this on fire with a crowd around here," said Fagan.

Minutes after Fagan stepped away, protesters still managed to burn an Israeli flag.

Most backers of Israel stayed away yesterday and did not stage a counter protest, although the conflict was not far from their minds.

Protests have their place, said Cantor David Bentley, religious-school director of Congregation B'nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek, who attended one in San Francisco last week. Overall, though, marching in the streets tends to polarize people rather than unite them, he said.

"We should be reaching out with humanitarian efforts toward people on both sides of the conflict," said Bentley, whose students have been sending postcards to keep up the morale of Israelis.

"We're Jews," he said. "Israel is our homeland. . . . Every sovereign nation has a right to defend itself. That's all Israel is doing."

Chronicle staff writers Tyche Hendricks and Jason B. Johnson contributed to this report. E-mail Jim Herron Zamora jzamora@sfchronicle.com

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/04/21/MN137395.DTL

4/23/02
6:35:55 PM

9-11 Was Excuse To Go To 'War'

by Dick Bernard, April 20, 2002

There is the old truism, "Children learn what they live."

Children become adults and model learned behavior.

So . . . half a year into the cult-of-fear-based "war on terrorism," it takes only a cursory look at some recent Star Tribune stories to see where we're at: "Deadliest day in 17 months" (in Israel); "U.S. plans for nuclear scenarios -- 7 nations named in secret report"; "India: Fanaticism claims another triumph"; "Maj. Gen Frank Hagenbeck, commander of the [Afghan mountain] operation near Gardes, said of Taliban and Al-Qaida, 'We body slammed them today and killed hundreds of these guys.' " The list goes on and on.

Seven months after Sept. 11 Osama bin Laden and Mullah Muhammad Omar have not been caught and brought to justice. Though it no longer seems to be the case, for a while I thought that the official story would be that they were presumed dead in some bombed cave, like Hitler in his bunker in 1945. And were their families to be killed, I wouldn't expect that fact to get much attention -- it might give too human a "spin" to the story of war.

The entire brunt of this "war," so far, has been on Afghanistan and its people, though not a single Afghani was among the 19 perpetrators Sept. 11. We forget that this campaign against Afghanistan was not a war of liberation of Afghan women; nor is it a war for "freedom"; rather it was a campaign for other motives, some of the most important motives likely unacknowledged.

Until Sept. 11, we couldn't have cared less about Afghanistan. Sept. 11 was an excuse to go to war.

Not a single high-level mention has ever been made of possible action against Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which were home to the perpetrators.

While the administration will not acknowledge officially any innocent civilian death toll in Afghanistan, credible sources monitoring the war make it clear that the civilian death toll, just from the bombing, far exceeds the Sept. 11 death toll -- and this in a country about the size of Texas with only 8 percent of the U.S. population.

No one mentions that Al-Qaida, like all terrorist groups, will never be eradicated -- that the policy to bomb violence out of existence wll achieve only the objective of making certain that violence will continue to be a way of life far into the future.

Some of us seem to harbor the naive notion that Al-Qaida, and others like it, are incapable of continuation-of-government initiatives. Likely they are masters of it, and we simply imitators. They are masters of stealth, and in this era of the Internet and a shrunken world, will always be several steps ahead of the law. Stamp out one cell, and another will spring up . . . or two or three.

A once-popular song again needs to become the anthem of this nation. "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" asks, "When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?"

Until we learn to truly wage peace and justice, all is lost. So long as two-thirds of the Muslim world has serious issues against us -- issues that are not contrived, and by and large not constructively addressed -- we will continue to have problems. And our children and their children and grandchildren will inherit from us a truly dismal future.

Wage peace and justice.

Who was it who said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself"?

Dick Bernard, Woodbury. Retired teachers' representative.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/2243801.html

4/23/02
6:30:54 PM

Venezuela Coup Linked To Bush Team

Specialists in the 'dirty wars' of the Eighties encouraged the plotters who tried to topple President Chavez

by Ed Vulliamy in New York, The Observer, April 21, 2002

The failed coup in Venezuela was closely tied to senior officials in the US government, The Observer has established. They have long histories in the 'dirty wars' of the 1980s, and links to death squads working in Central America at that time. Washington's involvement in the turbulent events that briefly removed left-wing leader Hugo Chavez from power last weekend resurrects fears about US ambitions in the hemisphere.

It also also deepens doubts about policy in the region being made by appointees to the Bush administration, all of whom owe their careers to serving in the dirty wars under President Reagan.

One of them, Elliot Abrams, who gave a nod to the attempted Venezuelan coup, has a conviction for misleading Congress over the infamous Iran-Contra affair.

The Bush administration has tried to distance itself from the coup. It immediately endorsed the new government under businessman Pedro Carmona. But the coup was sent dramatically into reverse after 48 hours.

Now officials at the Organisation of American States and other diplomatic sources, talking to The Observer, assert that the US administration was not only aware the coup was about to take place, but had sanctioned it, presuming it to be destined for success.

The visits by Venezuelans plotting a coup, including Carmona himself, began, say sources, 'several months ago', and continued until weeks before the putsch last weekend. The visitors were received at the White House by the man President George Bush tasked to be his key policy-maker for Latin America, Otto Reich.

Reich is a right-wing Cuban-American who, under Reagan, ran the Office for Public Diplomacy. It reported in theory to the State Department, but Reich was shown by congressional investigations to report directly to Reagan's National Security Aide, Colonel Oliver North, in the White House.

North was convicted and shamed for his role in Iran-Contra, whereby arms bought by busting US sanctions on Iran were sold to the Contra guerrillas and death squads, in revolt against the Marxist government in Nicaragua.

Reich also has close ties to Venezuela, having been made ambassador to Caracas in 1986. His appointment was contested both by Democrats in Washington and political leaders in the Latin American country. The objections were overridden as Venezuela sought access to the US oil market.

Reich is said by OAS sources to have had 'a number of meetings with Carmona and other leaders of the coup' over several months. The coup was discussed in some detail, right down to its timing and chances of success, which were deemed to be excellent.

On the day Carmona claimed power, Reich summoned ambassadors from Latin America and the Caribbean to his office. He said the removal of Chavez was not a rupture of democra tic rule, as he had resigned and was 'responsible for his fate'. He said the US would support the Carmona government.

But the crucial figure around the coup was Abrams, who operates in the White House as senior director of the National Security Council for 'democracy, human rights and international opera tions'. He was a leading theoretician of the school known as 'Hemispherism', which put a priority on combating Marxism in the Americas.

It led to the coup in Chile in 1973, and the sponsorship of regimes and death squads that followed it in Argentina, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and elsewhere. During the Contras' rampage in Nicaragua, he worked directly to North.

Congressional investigations found Abrams had harvested illegal funding for the rebellion. Convicted for withholding information from the inquiry, he was pardoned by George Bush senior.

A third member of the Latin American triangle in US policy-making is John Negroponte, now ambassador to the United Nations. He was Reagan's ambassador to Honduras from 1981 to 1985 when a US-trained death squad, Battalion 3-16, tortured and murdered scores of activists. A diplomatic source said Negroponte had been 'informed that there might be some movement in Venezuela on Chavez' at the beginning of the year.

More than 100 people died in events before and after the coup. In Caracas on Friday a military judge confined five high-ranking officers to indefinite house arrest pending formal charges of rebellion.

Chavez's chief ideologue - Guillermo Garcia Ponce, director of the Revolutionary Political Command - said dissident generals, local media and anti-Chavez groups in the US had plotted the president's removal.

'The most reactionary sectors in the United States were also implicated in the conspiracy,' he said.

Source: http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,688071,00.html

4/22/02
7:04:46 PM

The Nation

The size of weekend demonstrations -- 75,000 in Washington, 25,000 in San Francisco and thousands more in other cities -- represented a major step forward for the peace movement in the US. The numbers and diversity of the rally in Washington is notable because it came at a time when most political leaders remain overwhelmingly cautious about criticizing US policies.

For more on the marches and the politics underlying their organizing, see exclusive eyewitness web reports by Liza Featherstone and John Nichols:

LIZA FEATHERSTONE: Breaking The "Consensus"

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s=featherstone20020421

JOHN NICHOLS: Tens of Thousands Protest Bush Administration Policies

http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/

DANIEL SINGER ON JEAN MARIE LE PEN

The success of far-right National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in beating the Socialists' Lionel Jospin into third place yesterday shocked many in France and abroad. Le Pen now looks to a May 5 runoff for the French presidency against the incumbent Jacques Chirac.

Now making his fourth -- and already most successful -- run for France's highest office, Le Pen has been on the fringes of European politics for many years. No one expects Le Pen to win the run-off but in some respects his battle is already won - he has put the far-right at the heart of mainstream politics in this his latest challenge for the presidency.

For insight into both Le Pen and his current rival for office, the conservative Chirac, we've reposted an essay by The Nation's late Europe Correspondent Daniel Singer from the December 23, 1991 issue of The Nation.

Currently available at:

DANIEL SINGER: Le Pen's Pals -- Blood and Soil (Dec. 23, 1991)

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=archive&s=19911223singer

MIDDLE EAST RESOURCES

Israeli tanks and armor yesterday redeployed around the cities of Nablus and Ramallah as Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said the first stage of Israel's offensive had ended. At the same time, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed Finland's former President Martti Ahtisaari to head a probe of events at the refugee camp in Jenin, where Palestinians say the Israeli army "massacred" civilians, a charge the Israeli government vehemently denies.

The Nation has created a special page of resources on the Middle East. You can find links offering news and background, a recommended-reading list, Nation archival articles, and a complete collection of recent relevant Nation commentary, including essays, reports and editorials from Edward Said, Richard Falk, Jerome Segal, Robert Fisk, Russell Banks, Wole Soyinka, Breyten Breytenbach, Robert Friedman, Meredith Tax, Neve Gordon, Amos Oz and Charmaine Seitz, among many others.

All available at:

http://www.thenation.com/special/2002middleeast.mhtml

You can also read numerous new articles currently at The Nation's website, including features by Studs Terkle (on Dennis Kucinich), Eric Alterman (on Robert Caro), Marc Cooper (on Hugo Chavez) and Cynthia Cooper (on the appalling state of medical treatment in US women's prisons.)

All this and much more currently available at:

http://www.thenation.com

4/22/02
6:55:43 PM

Native Arctic Defenders, Somali Woman Among Winners Of 2002 Goldman Environmental Prize

World's Largest Award For Grassroots Environmentalists

April 22, 2002

Three North American tribal leaders who have defended the Arctic Refuge from oil drilling, a Muslim woman who saved war-torn Somalia from the devastation of logging by charcoal exporters, and a Polish conservationist who is fighting to save Poland's family farms are among the eight recipients of the 13th annual Goldman Environmental Prize being presented in San Francisco on April 22, 2002.

The Goldman Environmental Prize is given annually to grassroots environmental heroes from six geographical areas: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. (Three winners will share the North American prize this year.) The Prize includes a no-strings-attached award of $125,000. As the largest award of its kind, the Goldman Environmental Prize has been called the "Nobel Prize for the Environment."

This year's winners are:

Africa: Fatima Jibrell, Somalia - A Somali woman who faces wars, harassment, and the current severe drought while working to build peace and promote careful use of fragile environmental resources in her country. Jibrell saved the northeast region of Somalia from the massive logging of old-growth acacia trees by persuading the regional government to create and enforce a ban on exports of charcoal to the Gulf States.

Asia: Pisit Charnsnoh, Thailand - An ecologist who works with fishers to protect and restore Thailand's coastal ecosystems devastated by industrial fishing and increased logging. Charnsnoh, who is a Buddhist, overcame cultural and religious differences to work with disadvantaged Muslim fishers. His work has brought government acceptance to local management of environmental resources.

Europe: Jadwiga Lopata, Poland - A conservationist who has used eco-tourism to preserve and promote Poland's traditional family farms. In a country with almost no protected open space, small farms are the only habitat for a rich variety of species. Lopata created an eco-tourism program to spread the word about the environmental, economic and health advantages of sustainable farming. As Poland prepares to join the European Union, she is lobbying the government to reject the EU's system of expensive subsidies that foster large-scale factory farms.

Islands & Island Nations: Alexis Massol-González, Puerto Rico -An entrepreneur who led his community in a successful fight to convert a mining zone into Puerto Rico's first community-managed forest reserve. To protect the land from future attempts to mine, Massol-González convinced the Puerto Rican government to create the highly successful Bosque del Pueblo (People's Forest), the island's first community-managed forest reserve.

North America: Jonathon Solomon, Sarah James and Norma Kassi, United States and Canada - Gwich'in tribal leaders who have successfully defended the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. The Bush administration is pushing to open the refuge for drilling despite estimates that it will only supply six months of oil and devastate the Porcupine Caribou that have sustained Gwich'in culture for 20,000 years.

South & Central America: Jean La Rose, Guyana -An indigenous Guyanese woman who has overcome harassment to protect Amerindian lands from mining. La Rose and the Amerindian Peoples Association have filed Guyana's first-ever indigenous land rights lawsuit, hoping to annul all mining concessions in their tribal region. Despite the harassment, La Rose continues her fight for Amerindian rights and to end the destructive mining practices that have devastated Guyana's rainforests and the health of its many indigenous communities.

"This year's winners exemplify how much can be accomplished by visionary leaders who have the courage to struggle for sustainable development for their communities and for the health of the planet," said Richard N. Goldman, founder of the Goldman Environmental Prize. "They are an inspiration to the thousands of everyday environmental heroes across the globe who are working with -- not fighting -- nature."

Seventy-nine previous winners have overcome long odds to successfully protect the health and safety of their countries and communities from destructive government projects, multinational corporations, corrupt leaders, international financial institutions and even the destruction of war. The Goldman Environmental Prize allows these extraordinary individuals to continue winning environmental victories and inspire ordinary people to take extraordinary actions to protect the world.

Goldman Environmental Prize winners have also joined together to build a global community of grassroots leaders. In November 2001, 41 Prize winners signed a New York Times advertisement addressed to Mexican President Vicente Fox asking for the release of imprisoned fellow Prize winner Rodolfo Montiel. One week later, the President honored their request. In August 2002, a delegation of Prize winners will attend the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.

The Goldman Environmental Prize was created in 1990 by civic leaders and philanthropists Richard N. Goldman and his late wife, Rhoda H. Goldman. Richard Goldman founded Goldman Insurance Services in San Francisco. Rhoda Goldman was a descendant of Levi Strauss, the founder of the worldwide clothing company.

The Goldman Environmental Prize winners are selected by an international jury from confidential nominations submitted by a worldwide network of environmental organizations and individuals representing 55 nations. Prize winners participate in a 10-day tour of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony and presentation, news conferences, media briefings, and meetings with political, public policy, financial and environmental leaders.

ATTENTION EDITORS: Broadcast-quality video of the winners in their home countries is available. Use contacts above for more information and to schedule an interview.

Contact: Daniel Silverman, Fenton Communications

415 901.0111 ( office ) 415 378.4001 ( cell ) mailto:pr@goldmanprize.org

Source: http://www.goldmanprize.org

4/22/02
6:49:11 PM

AlterNet's Special Earth Day Headlines

http://www.alternet.org

In honor of the 32nd annual Earth Day celebration, AlterNet brings you a range of pressing and under-reported environmental stories:

VICTORY FOR THE ARCTIC

Genevieve Roja, AlterNet

Thanks to dogged activism by environmental groups, President George W. Bush's dreams of drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will go unfulfilled.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12916

'CORK WARS' ARE STOPPING UP THE WINE INDUSTRY Brooke Shelby Biggs, AlterNet

Hate those new plastic wine corks? So do many environmentalists, who say that eco-friendly cork farming is under attack from the plastic industry, supermarket chains and even the likes of Bill Gates.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12915

INDUSTRY ATTACKS ON DISSENT: FROM RACHEL CARSON TO OPRAH

Laura Orlando, Dollars and Sense

Forty years after the publication of 'Silent Spring,' corporations are still producing poisons -- and still trying to keep critics from fighting back.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12910

SO, YOU WANT TO BUY A GREEN CAR ... OR DO YOU?

Allie Gottlieb, Metro Silicon Valley

Envirocars are cute, smart and full of good, clean fun. But do consumers really think about the environment when they're purchasing a vehicle?

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12917

MATRIOTISM: WOMEN AND THE FATE OF THE EARTH

Elouise Bell, Earth Island Journal

'Matriotism' is yin to patriotism's yang. It's about loyalty to Mother Earth, not just to individual countries.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12918

THE ENVIRONMENT'S 'NOBEL PRIZE': 2002 GOLDMAN PRIZE WINNERS

Three North American tribal leaders, a Muslim woman from war-torn Somalia and a Polish conservationist are among the eight recipients of the 13th annual Goldman Environmental Prize.

http://www.goldmanprize.org/

BROWER YOUTH AWARDS: HONORING SIX YOUNG ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS from TomPaine.com

The Brower Youth Awards honor young people who have demonstrated outstanding environmental leadership in their communities.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5467

4/22/02
6:45:22 PM

ScienceDaily.com

MEDIEVAL BLACK DEATH WAS PROBABLY NOT BUBONIC PLAGUE

The Black Death of the 1300s was probably not the modern disease known as bubonic plague, according to a team of anthropologists studying on these 14th century epidemics.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020415073417.htm

IMAGINE NO RESTRICTIONS ON FOSSIL-FUEL USAGE AND NO GLOBAL WARMING

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are studying a simple, cost effective method for extracting carbon dioxide directly from the air - which could allow sustained use of fossil fuels while avoiding potential global climate change.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020412080812.htm

MEN REGAIN EVOLUTIONARY DRIVER'S SEAT -- MUTATION STUDY CONFIRMS STRONG MALE-DRIVEN EVOLUTION AMONG HUMANS AND APES

Researchers from the University of Chicago have estimated that genetic mutations the raw material for evolution occur 5.25 times more often in males than in females. This discovery should lay to rest any doubts raised by recent studies questioning the dominant role males play in producing mutations for molecular evolution.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020412080629.htm

NATURE'S OWN ANTIDOTE TO COCAINE -- BRAIN OPIATE MAY EXPLAIN WHY SOME PEOPLE ARE LESS SUSCEPTIBLE TO ADDICTION

Some people's brains may harbor their own built-in defense system against the addictive powers of cocaine. According to new research at The Rockefeller University, a naturally occurring brain opiate called dynorphin may, in certain individuals, serve as an antidote to counter the pleasurable, yet dangerous, effects of cocaine.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020416073621.htm

POPULAR WEED KILLER DEMASCULINIZES FROGS, DISRUPTS THEIR SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

The nation's top-selling weed killer, atrazine, disrupts the sexual development of frogs at concentrations 30 times lower than levels allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), raising concerns about heavy use of the herbicide on corn, soybeans and other crops in the Midwest and around the world.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020416073811.htm

DORMANT VOLCANOES SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE

Previously dormant volcanoes in two widely separated areas of the Pacific "ring of fire" are showing signs of life, as documented by new images taken by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (Aster) on NASA's Terra satellite.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020416074351.htm

CHANGES IN AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES HELP CLEAN UP LAKE ERIE

Changes in agricultural practices on farms around the Lake Erie basin have reduced the amount of pollutants in runoff into rivers that feed the lake, according to a landmark study by Case Western Reserve University geologists.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020416073251.htm

NANOTUBE-LACED EPOXY: THREE TIMES HARDER, FAR BETTER AT CONDUCTING HEAT

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020416073536.htm

Ever since carbon nanotubes debuted a decade ago, scientists have touted the strength attainable by ordinary materials reinforced with these strands of pure carbon. Subsequent studies have added superior heat-conducting properties to the futuristic fibers portfolio of benefits.

KALEIDESCOPE EYES: THE SECRETS OF A NOVEL GIFT

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020416073730.htm

They are a phenomenon. Tuesday may be yellow, the middle C note on a piano could have an earthy, musky smell and the word grass might elicit the color purple. This is not a disorder; these people do not suffer. Australian PhD student, Anina Rich considers these people to have an unusual gift. As part of a small University of Melbourne team, Rich is one of the few people in the world studying the phenomenon of Synaethesia, a condition that raises more questions than answers and generally has researchers baffled.

COSMIC X-RAYS REVEAL EVIDENCE FOR NEW FORM OF MATTER

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found two stars one too small, one too cold that reveal cracks in our understanding of the structure of matter. These discoveries open a new window on nuclear physics, offering a link between the vast cosmos and its tiniest constituents.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020417071400.htm

EXTENSIVE RESEARCH SURVEY CONFIRMS LIFE ON EARTH NOW BEING AFFECTED BY GLOBAL WARMING

A comprehensive summary has revealed, for the first time, the dramatic extent of disruptions now being experienced by Earth's species as a result of global warming. The extensive report compiles the results of over 100 research studies on the effects that recent climate changes have had on animals and plants throughout the world.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020417065726.htm

KEEPING AUTOIMMUNITY IN CHECK MAY DEPEND ON BALANCE IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Scientists know that the potential to generate dangerous antibodies that attack our own cells and tissues - one of the defining characteristics of autoimmune disorders like lupus - exists in everyone. That potential is unrealized in healthy individuals, but spins out of control in those who develop disease. So, what are the factors that push the potential for producing these antibodies into action and cause autoimmunity in some individuals? A new study from researchers at The Wistar Institute suggests that health depends on maintaining a balance of normal, but countervailing processes in the immune system.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020417070517.htm

RESEARCHER TRACES GENE DEVELOPMENT IN "LAST COMMON LINK"; TWO GENES DIVERGE FROM ONE

A researcher studying the last common link between invertebrate and vertebrate animals has found a key genetic change that separates the spineless from the backboned.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020417070035.htm

IMPROVED OZONE MONITORING TECHNOLOGY EXPECTED TO IMPROVE SMOG FORECASTING

A team of engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is designing the next generation of ozone-monitoring technology. Based on light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the new version will make ozone monitoring continuous and affordable, and results will be available via the Internet in real time.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020417065937.htm

GETTING POWER FROM THE MOON

If a physicist in Houston has his way youll be able to say good-bye to pollution-causing energy production from fossil fuels. In the April/May issue of The Industrial Physicist Dr. David Criswell suggests that the Earth could be getting all of the electricity it needs using solar cells on the moon.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020416073334.htm

SCIENTISTS PUSH BACK PRIMATE ORIGINS FROM 65 MILLION TO 85 MILLION YEARS AGO

New research that accounts for gaps in the fossil record challenges traditional methods of interpreting fossils and constructing evolutionary trees. Applying a new statistical approach to primates demonstrates that this group-from which humans developed-originated 85 million years ago (Mya) rather than 65 Mya, as is widely accepted.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020418073440.htm

SANDIA JOINS REVOLUTION IN SOLID-STATE LIGHTING; QUIET REVOLUTION MAY CHANGE WAY WE LIGHT OUR WORLD

A revolution is quietly occurring that promises to change the way we light our homes, offices, and world. Sandia National Laboratories is among the research entities around the country at the forefront of the revolution.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020417070346.htm

NEW REPORT EXPLAINS ICE-AGE MYSTERY

University of California researchers have solved a longstanding mystery for scientists trying to understand how Earth's climate can quickly shift between cold and warm modes. The mystery revolves around the source of a rapid change in the geochemistry of oceanic carbon that occurred just as the last ice age ended, between 16,000 and 20,000 years ago.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020419065604.htm

NEW STUDY LINKS PARASITE TO AMPHIBIAN MALFORMATIONS IN WESTERN UNITED STATES

In recent years, the frequency of malformed frogs, toads, salamanders and other amphibians found with missing limbs, extra limbs, and skin webbings has increased. The shrinking populations of many North American amphibian populations underscore the need to understand the causes and implications of this phenomenon. Now a new study suggests that a parasite may be to blame for many of the abnormalities found in amphibians of the western United States.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020419064712.htm

MICROBIOLOGY TEAM PROBES BACTERIUM'S SURPRISING SURVIVAL TACTICS

A team of microbiologists affiliated with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) has uncovered the unusual survival strategies used by a common bacterium. The finding could have implications in cleaning up contaminants ranging from petroleum to uranium.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020418073221.htm

RESEARCHERS FIND SYNTHETIC MOLECULES THAT MAY LITERALLY BE THE KEY TO "LOCKING AWAY" UNWANTED DNA

Research chemists have a found a class of synthetic molecules that could quite literally act as a key which could lock away sections of DNA into a closely wound coil preventing proteins from interacting with particular sections of DNA code. By locking up the DNA in this way scientists could stop particular sequences of DNA from activating biological changes that doctors or scientists would rather avoid, or wish to regulate closely.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020418074809.htm

MALE STARLINGS SING A SONG OF REPRODUCTIVE FITNESS

For at least one of North Americas most common birds, mating songs are more than just empty amorous enticement, according to a new study from The Johns Hopkins University. Scientists have found that male starlings singing ability is strong evidence of the health of their immune systems and, thus, their suitability as breeding partners.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020419065041.htm

DISCOVER A COMET WHILE ON THE INTERNET WITH SOHO

A new comet was discovered over the Internet by a Chinese amateur astronomer visiting the website for the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. The comet "C/2002 G3 (SOHO)" was first reported on Friday, April 12, by XingMing Zhou of BoLe city, in the XinJiang province of China, who discovered the comet while watching SOHO real-time images of the Sun on the Internet. The comet is a new comet, not belonging to any known group.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020419065747.htm

4/22/02
6:10:29 PM

(Here is yet another mainstream media piece slamming Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney -- Hey Chris try reading: http://www.MyCountryRightOrWrong.net )

Cynthia McKinney - The Rep Who Cries Racism

by Chris Suellentrop, April 19, 2002

All of us have voices in our heads, whispering insanities. Rep. Cynthia McKinney's problem is that she lets hers speak. She's the Christopher Walken character in Annie Hall, except when she's tempted to swerve into a car's oncoming headlights, she actually does it.

After all, she's not the first liberal to spin the fantasy that President Bush had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks, which McKinney insinuated last month during a radio interview with a Berkeley, Calif., station. The New Yorker's drama critic John Lahr admitted in Slate to a similar notion. And McKinney's colleague, Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C., told the Washington Post that "a number of people say it."

But McKinney, a Georgia Democrat, appears to be the first to take it seriously. After confessing his suspicion, Lahr attributed it to "paranoia." Watt hastily followed up his comment by saying, "I can't say that it would be a widely held view." McKinney, weeks after her statement, would say only, "A complete investigation might reveal" that "President Bush or members of his administration have personally profited from the attacks of 9-11."

It's not the first time McKinney's mouth has gotten her in trouble. In her 10 years in Congress, hardly a year has gone by when she didn't make news for an outlandish accusation or a wild conspiracy theory (ideally, as in this case, a combination of both). During a nasty 1996 congressional campaign with racial tension on both sides, she called supporters of her Republican opponent "holdovers from the Civil War days" and "a ragtag group of neo-Confederates." Never mind that her opponent was Jewish. And during the 2000 presidential campaign, she wrote that "Gore's Negro tolerance level has never been too high. I've never known him to have more than one black person around him at any given time." Never mind that Gore's campaign manager was black. (McKinney is not a particularly partisan finger-pointer—there are enough delusions for both sides.)

Around every corner, McKinney sees a secret cabal plotting her demise. After the majority-black district that first elected her to Congress was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutionally gerrymandered, she lashed out at the court as racist. She compared the verdict to Dred Scott, the decision that declared slaves were nothing more than chattel, and Plessy v. Ferguson, which legitimized separate-but-equal American apartheid. (Never mind that she was re-elected in a white majority district two years later.) During her next election, she declared that Georgia's kaolin industry engineered the case that eliminated her district, as payback for her fights against the industry in Congress. (Kaolin is a white clay that is used in a number of products, including porcelain.) And last fall, she tried to solicit money for black Americans from a Saudi prince who said U.S. policy in the Middle East was partly to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks, then she wrote in a Washington Post op-ed, "Why such a negative reaction to my letter? I believe that when it comes to major foreign policy issues, many prefer to have black people seen and not heard." (To which the National Review's Jonah Goldberg retorted that "she needs to explain why I keep finding these quotes in my morning paper by Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell.")

But being the Girl Who Cried Racism means that people will also roll their eyes at the legitimate slights that the first black Congresswoman from Georgia has faced. In August 1993, during her first term in office, a Capitol Hill police officer tried to prevent her from bypassing a metal detector, as members of Congress are allowed to do. For years afterward, The Hill reports, the Capitol Police pinned a picture of McKinney to an office wall, warning officers to learn her face because she refuses to wear her member's pin. (And because officers are innately suspicious of a black woman with braided hair and gold shoes.) Five years later, she blasted White House security after guards thought her 23-year-old white aide was the congresswoman.

Incidents like these ground her wilder scenarios in a reality with which many of her constituents are familiar. As McKinney put it in a 1996 interview with the Progressive, "African Americans have always known that a little bit of paranoia was healthy for us." Like most conspiracy-mongers, McKinney taps that paranoia to weave facts into a web of fiction.

She knows that a portion of her constituency is receptive to the allegations she makes, and she deliberately plays on their fears. Her comments aren't flippant ad-libs. The Oliver Stone-style plot she relayed to Berkeley's radio listeners was part of a prepared statement, "Thoughts on Our War Against Terrorism," that McKinney later published in the left-wing newsletter Counterpunch. (Click here to hear her read it on the March 25 edition of KPFA's Flashpoints. Her statement begins at the 30-minute mark.) What many people see as outrageous demagoguery, others see as courageous truth-telling.

And by disseminating her more fanciful messages in obscure media outlets, McKinney insulates herself somewhat from the chunk of her constituents who would be outraged by her antics. She backs down slightly when the mainstream media come calling. After her comments about Gore's "Negro tolerance level" were posted on her House Web site, she disclaimed them and canceled four scheduled interviews with the Associated Press to discuss the incident. She employed a similar strategy in '96 when her father repeatedly called her opponent a "racist Jew." (When asked about his comments by the New York Times, he replied, "He is a racist Jew, that's what he is, isn't he?") After ignoring his comments for a week, she distanced herself from them and "fired" him from her campaign, though he had no formal role.

Despite her controversial reputation, McKinney hasn't had a close race in her five congressional elections, winning with at least 58 percent of the vote each time. This year she faces a primary opponent, Denise Majette, who says she will exploit her 9/11 comments. But if history is any guide, Majette will discover that voters don't elect McKinney in spite of her mouth. They elect her because of it.

Source: http://www.Slate.com

4/22/02
6:05:31 PM

Deathbed Confession Implicates United States Government Withholding Of Key Evidence In OKC Bombing Case

by Kenneth R. Timmerman

The retirement of career FBI Special Agent Danny Defenbaugh, accused by defense attorneys and plaintiffs in the Oklahoma City bombing case of withholding key evidence, wasn't the only dramatic development in the continuing controversies surrounding the April 19, 1995, attack that killed 168 people.

Insight has learned that the widow of Philippine-government intelligence agent Edwin Angeles has provided audiotaped testimony to an investigator working for the American victims' families that directly ties Iraqi intelligence agents to Terry Nichols, the man sentenced in 1998 to life in prison for his role in bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Building seven years ago.

Elmina Abdul is the 27-year-old widow of Angeles, one of the cofounders of the Abu Sayyaf group, a Muslim separatist terrorist organization in the Philippines whose members trained in Osama bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan. Her astonishing story, revealed in this exclusive story for the first time, could blow the lid off what a growing number of people believe is a U.S. government cover-up of vital evidence in the Oklahoma City bombing case. It also exposes an alleged plot ginned up by former Philippine president Fidel Ramos to manipulate Abu Sayyaf as a means of enhancing his personal political power.

With the knowledge that she was dying of liver disease, Elmina agreed to meet with Dorian Zumel Sicat, a Manila Times correspondent serving as an investigative liaison in the Philippines and the Pacific Rim for Oklahoma City lawyer Mike Johnston, who represents the victims' families. "I want to tell the truth of what I know of my late husband," she said in a taped audio statement.

Angeles was "what they call a 'deep-penetration agent'" who was working for "some very powerful men in the DND," the Philippine national defense-intelligence agency, Elmina said. Angeles was arrested in 1995 after he had negotiated a deal to turn himself in to the Philippine authorities. By that point, the Abu Sayyaf he had helped create in 1991 with bin Laden protégé Abdurajjak Abu Bakr Janjalani had carried out a series of terrorist attacks. These included a failed assault on a U.S. Information Agency library in Manila in January 1991 that was part of a worldwide terrorist campaign against U.S. interests orchestrated by Iraq during the Persian Gulf War.

"Does the name 'Ramzi Yousef' mean something to you, Mr. Sicat?" Elmina asked. Angeles had extensive meetings with Yousef and two Americans, including one whom he called "Terry" or "The Farmer," she said.

Angeles ultimately was cleared of terrorism charges at trial, when documents proving he was working as a government agent were produced. He was released from prison in 1996 - but not before he provided astonishing details during a videotaped interrogation by Philippine police authorities of his activities with Abu Sayyaf, including the secret meetings with Iraqi intelligence agent Yousef, Nichols and the second American identified in the document as John Lepney.

The earliest meetings took place at a Del Monte canning plant in Davao in late 1992 and early 1993 - just prior to the first World Trade Center bombing. Later meetings with Nichols, Yousef and the second American - whose name has never been revealed until now - took place at Angeles' house in late 1994, according to a report on that interrogation which has been obtained by investigators working for attorney Johnston, who has been joined by Judicial Watch in representing families of those murdered in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Angeles also revealed the meetings to Elmina, who became his third wife in 1997, "because he knew that he would soon be killed," she said in her audiotaped statement with Sicat, which was witnessed by a Philippine-go