6/7/02
8:42:06 PM
RECYCLING PLUTONIUM IS NOT THE SOLUTION
Concerned Citizens,
Moving plutonium from Colorado to South Carolina to be reprocessed into MOX fuel is another very dangerous way to keep the nuke industry rolling.
Nuclear power was pushed on the utility companies, heavily subsidized and with limited liability under the Price Anderson Act, as a way to make electric rate payers, pay for the high cost of plutonium production. It was sold to the public as free electric power "too cheap to meter".
We now have more than enough plutonium for our nuclear arsenal. We don't need nuclear power plants for making atom bomb elements which has become an international security risk.
The late Dr. Roy foresaw this looming problem and released his Roy Process to the press in 1979. http://members.cox.net/theroyprocess
Instead of recycling plutonium into MOX fuel which still produces high level nuclear waste. Why not transmute it, on site, into non-radioactive lead via the Roy Process? Nuclear power plants can be retooled to use transmutation as a heat source via the Roy Process instead of the typical nuclear rod pile design. Dr. Roy estimated cost at $80 million dollars for the pilot facilities in 1979 and should take about three years to complete. There remains about a years work calculating engineering parameters.
Nevertheless, geologic isolation remains federal policy as per the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Surprisingly the so-called envrio groups would not even interview Dr. Roy about his important discovery to eliminate nuclear waste. They want to "say" {there is no solution for nuclear waste... therefore stop making it} as if Three Mile Island and Chernobyl melted down because of waste storage problems!
Dr. Roy was outspokenly 'against' nuclear power for health and scientific reasons....and he suffered for that. Those who criticize the Roy Process, photon transmutation method as power & cost prohibitive have no knowledge of it.
Last month 60 Minutes did a segment about high level nuclear waste leaking out of 'accessible' temporary storage into 100 square miles of precious ground water at Hanford, Washington. It will end up contaminating the U.S. western coast line. And Yucca Mt is supposed to contain nuclear waste for 10,000 years! They could not do it for 50 years!
Dennis F. Nester
6/7/02
7:03:07 PM
t r u t h o u t | 06.08
Marc Ash | Will Bush Build an East German Stasi?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.08A.ash.stasi.htm
Conyers Criticizes President's Homeland Security Proposal
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.08B.Conyers.home.htm
Leahy Opens Hearing on Events Leading to 9-11
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.08C.leahy.open.911.htm
75 Members of Congress in a Letter to Hastert Demand end to Enron Coverup
http://www.truthout.org/mm_01/4.Hastert_Energy.pdf
Full Text of Lt. Col. Steve Butlers Comments About Bush
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.08D.butler.txt.htm
Judge Fines Tobacco Firm $20 Million
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.08E.rj.20M.htm
Both Israelis and Palestinians Oppose Saudi Peace Plan
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.08F.Il.pa.Opp.htm
White House Stonewall: Day 105
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.08G.stone.105.htm
Paul Krugman | Evils of Access
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.08H.krug.evils.htm
6/7/02
7:01:26 PM
Greenpeace's Positive Energy
Inside this edition:
- Taking Action! California On the Verge of Making History in an Effort to Stop Global Warming
- Clean Energy Saves Lives
AB 1058: California's Chance to Make History in an Effort to Stop Global Warming
California is on the verge of passing the first bill in the country to regulate global warming pollution from one of the largest and least addressed sources-passenger cars and trucks. Once passed, this bill would set a precedent for other states to follow. In addition to reducing our contribution to global warming, AB 1058 will also clean up our air making it easier for children and senior citizens to breathe, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and save consumers money in fuel-savings. We are only a few votes away from making environmental history!
Some assembly members are still undecided, and need to hear from members of their district before they cast their vote. A list of these "swing" voters can be found at:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/features/ab_1058.html
and on the online action at:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/bin/takeaction.fpl?action_id=131
If your Representative is not listed, we still encourage you to call or fax your representative and urge them to support Assembly Bill 1058.
To send your assembly member a fax, just go to:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/bin/takeaction.fpl?action_id=132
You will need to enter in your zip code
Clean Energy Saves Lives!
Researchers have conclusively linked exposure to air pollution released by coal-fired power plants to an increased risk of dying from lung cancer. According to a study published in the March 6, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, exposure to tiny particles of industrial emissions in the most heavily polluted U.S. cities is comparable to inhaling second-hand smoke. The most recent findings further the case for the need to begin a transition to a clean energy economy that is based primarily on renewable energy and energy efficient technologies.
To learn more about clean energy technologies, go to:
http://www.cleanenergynow.org/cleanenergy/
The "Positive Energy" newsletter and our website,
will give you good news about ways to achieve clean air, climate justice, and renewable energy solutions to our ongoing energy crisis.
The "Positive Energy" newsletter and our web site,
will give you good news about ways to achieve clean air, climate justice, and renewable energy solutions to our ongoing energy crisis.
Want to do more? Become a Greenpeace member!
https://www.greenpeaceusa.org/join2/cen.htm
6/7/02
6:59:16 PM
Public Citizen
June 7, 2002
Allowing Lotronex Back on the Market Will Endanger Patients
Drug Reintroduction Program Weak; Offers Little Protection or Oversight
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Reintroducing Lotronex onto the market as announced today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will endanger patients, Public Citizen said today. Not only is the new marketing program too lax to prevent harm, but it is to be overseen by the company that makes the drug - a poor idea because the company has a financial incentive to downplay problems with the drug. Also, the recommended dose has not been shown to be effective.
Lotronex, approved in February 2000 to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for women with diarrhea as the predominant symptom, was withdrawn from the market in November 2000 because of dangerous adverse effects experienced by some patients taking it. Public Citizen in August 2000 petitioned the FDA to remove the drug because of evidence that it caused ischemic colitis, a life-threatening condition in which bowel tissue dies as a result of a lack of blood flow to the colon. Many patients were hospitalized and suffered permanent injuries.
Today, the FDA announced plans to reintroduce Lotronex at a recommended dose of 1 milligram (mg) per day. However, studies conducted prior to the original approval showed no evidence that the 1 mg daily dose is significantly better than a placebo. Further, the trials showed an increased risk of adverse effects at the 1 mg dose - a four-fold increase in constipation severe enough to cause the patients to withdraw from the study - compared with placebo. Thus, the newly approved starting dose of 1 mg per day lacks the proper evidence of efficacy required by the 1962 FDA Drug Efficacy Amendments but causes a significantly greater incidence of severe constipation. In addition, in 12 percent of the first 70 cases of ischemic colitis reported to the FDA, the patient was using the 1 mg per day dose approved for the new marketing plan.
Under the guidelines announced today, physicians who want to prescribe the drug must state that they are qualified to diagnose IBS and manage ischemic colitis and that they understand the risks associated with Lotronex. The doctors also must promise to educate patients about the risks and obtain their signatures on a patient-physician agreement.
However, no one is required to verify the doctors' qualifications or check to ensure patients have been informed of the drug's risks. Further, there will be no mandatory tracking of patients to see if they develop adverse effects. Finally, the entity administering the program will be GlaxoSmithKline, the drug's manufacturer.
"This is a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house," said Larry Sasich, a pharmacist and research analyst with Public Citizen's Health Research Group. "GlaxoSmithKline has a huge stake in this drug and wants it to succeed. The company should not be overseeing the patient safety program."
Instead, the FDA should have limited the drug to research status, which requires tight controls on who receives a drug and documentation of the effectiveness and safety of a drug. Under that status, the FDA should have limited the drug to women who had previously used it and experienced no adverse effects, Sasich said.
Also, at a minimum, the risk management program should be restricted to registered gastroenterologists, Sasich said. There should be a patient registry, and the pharmacies that dispense the drug also should be registered with the FDA.
"We are quite fearful for patients," Sasich said. "Unfortunately, the FDA's action will almost surely lead to more injuries and possibly deaths associated with this drug."
For more information about Lotronex, see
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=614
(a press release about Public Citizen's recent letter to the FDA regarding Lotronex) and
http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=6734
(Public Citizen's petition to have Lotronex removed from the market).
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
For more information, please visit http://www.citizen.org
6/7/02
6:57:22 PM
The Nation
Nearly twenty years after one million people gathered in Central Park in New York City on June 12 to demand a freeze of the nuclear arms race, many believe that the time has come again for the public to make its voice heard in protest against the direction of nuclear policies, and are therefore issuing an Urgent Call for Ending Threats of Mass Destruction.
The Nation is proud to feature the full text of this Urgent Call in the most recent issue of the magazine. You can also read the Call in its entirety at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020624&s=schell2
There are numerous ways you can help pull the world back from the brink of nuclear insanity: Sign the Call, make a tax-deductible donation to help disseminate the Call, present the Call in your local community, email this note to everyone you know, and join up with one of the many terrific groups working toward the goal of complete nuclear abolition.
To sign the Call, and for much more info, go to:
And check out The Nation's compilation of some of the major and not-so-major groups working in the field, including who they are, what they're doing, and how you can help. All available at:
http://www.thenation.com/special/20020606call.mhtml
As one of its chief signatories and author of the seminal antinuclear text The Fate of the Earth, Nation Institute Fellow Jonathan Schell explains the Call's necessity in an accompanying Nation essay detailing the growing nuclear perils of our age. Read this essay now at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020624&s=schell2
As Schell explains, the cloud of nuclear danger is blacker at this moment than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis. Along the Line of Control in Kashmir, one million soldiers confront one another across the Indian/Pakistan border in the world's greatest military mobilization since World War II.
Writing from New Delhi, author Praful Bidwai offers possible ways out of this potential conflgration in a new Nation editorial, available now at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020624&s=pbidwai
And in a special web report, famed Indian writer Arundhati Roy issues a rare statement of the most basic sanity and humanity in a world in which mad has come to mean not individual anger or craziness but mutually assured destruction.
Read this powerful essay now at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s=roy20020604
And after reading that, get involved in one of the upcoming nationwide antinuclear marches, protests and events.
One of the largest is expected in NYC next Wednesday. On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the historic June 12, 1982 demonstration in Central Park, long-time disarmament activists Randall Forsberg, David Cortright and Cora Weiss join other former SANE/Freeze organizers to spark a new movement to abolish nuclear weapons. Speakers include Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Grace Paley, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee and Jonathan Schell, among many others.
Society for Ethical Culture 64th Street and Central Park West June 12, 7:00pm FREE For info, call 212-870-2304, or go to: http://www.urgentcall.org/php/new_june12pr.php
And for info on other related events, check out The Nation's special antinuclear events calendar at:
http://www.thenation.com/special/2002june12.mhtml
Finally, please check out The Nation's special antinuclear archive of articles, essays, editorials and columns featuring material all originally published in the pages of The Nation.
Featured pieces include Albert Einstein's 1931 plea for disarmament at a time when the destructive power of the atom had yet to be unleashed, then-Nation editor Freda Kirchwey's 1945 meditation on the bomb and the Cold War, The Nation editors' comments on the 1982 peace march, E.L. Doctorow's 1995 essay on mythologizing the bomb and Schell's classic 1998 call The Gift of Time, among many other selections.
All this and much more currently available at:
http://www.thenation.com/special/nukearchive.mhtml
The goal of nuclear abolition is ambitious. Many say that it's unrealistic. But a nuclear revival is clearly under way. And without a revival of nuclear protest in turn, all of our days may literally be numbered. So, please try to get involved today.
6/7/02
6:54:35 PM
DAILY GRIST
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
YOU'VE GOT TO HAND IT TO US
Ah, Friday: You're nearly done with your work, the weekend is looming, and there's just one thing left on your list of things to do -- helping to keep your favorite online environmental magazine alive and thriving. With a shoestring budget and a staff of just four people, we bring you breaking international environmental news five days a week, 48 weeks per year -- plus investigative and feature stories by some of the world's best enviro writers, as well as books reviews, cartoons, and the world's finest environmental advice column. We can't do it without your support, but this is the last time we'll nag you for it; that's right, today is the very last day of our first-ever fundraising campaign. Don't go into the weekend with a guilty conscience; if you haven't yet given it up for Grist, please do so right away. If you have given already, have a great weekend. You deserve it.
support Grist: Give it up for a good cause by making a tax-deductible donation to your favorite online magazine <http://www.gristmagazine.com/about/support.asp?source=daily>
A QUEST CALLED TRIBE
U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman acknowledged this week that it was "all too apparent that EPA needs to do more" to help tackle environmental problems on tribal lands. Whitman's announcement came during the Sixth National Tribal Conference on Environmental Management, held this week in Sparks, Nev. The conference focuses on mining, water and air quality, and environmental justice issues, and attracts as many as 1,000 Native American leaders from around the country. Both Whitman and tribal leaders agreed that progress is being made on Native American environmental issues, but the consensus was that there is still a long way to go. Only about one in 10 tribes have solid waste management programs, and 83 tribes live in areas plagued by air pollution. Also during the conference, Whitman presented Washington state's Swinomish Indian Tribal Community with a $1.2 million research grant -- the biggest one ever given to a tribe -- for studying the effects of exposure to toxins in shellfish. Overall, the EPA has earmarked $232 million for tribal programs.
straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Scott Sonner, 05 June 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=182>
SUNBATHING WITH THE ENEMY
Not only is the Grist fundraising campaign ending today -- so is a two-week conference on the resort island of Bali, where delegates are hammering out the agenda for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in August in Johannesburg, South Africa. Although thousands of people are in attendance, some of them -- namely many representatives from public interest groups -- are wondering if they should be participating at all. As big environmental summits become increasingly indistinguishable from, say, World Trade Organization meetings, nonprofit organizations wonder if they're sleeping with the enemy -- and if their presence makes any difference. Our correspondent David Case investigates the situation, only on the Grist Magazine website.
only in Grist: Much Bali-hoo about nothing -- public interest groups fight for elbow room in Indonesia, by David Case -- in our Main Dish section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/case060702.asp?source=daily>
FORESIGHT IS 20/20
California state regulators unanimously approved a measure yesterday that will allow Golden State residents to save up to 20 percent on their electric bills by conserving power. Beginning in July, households that use 15 to 20 percent less electricity than they used in 2000 (before the energy crisis) will receive an additional, proportional deduction from their electricity bill, under the state's "20/20" rebate program. The program is expensive, but regulators hope it will prevent rolling blackouts, which disrupt service and ultimately cost the state far more money. After the state's massive energy crisis, regulators approved a more expansive version of the program that included business customers and doled out about $290 million in 20/20 rebates. Noting that the energy crisis is not over, Gov. Gray Davis (D) urged regulators to revive the program this year. Advocates say it encourages consumers to conserve energy, but some California municipalities prefer to support longer-term conservation measures, such as investing in efficient appliances.
straight to the source: Sacramento Bee, Carrie Peyton Dahlberg, 07 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=183>
do good: Take action to do a home energy audit <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp?source=daily#audit>
AUTO-AH!
The Canadian government has proposed levying a tax on motorists to help pay for implementing the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. The Canadian Automobile Association, which represents some 4 million vehicle owners, calculated that the tax would be roughly $1,200 per year, based on 15 cents per mile of urban driving and three cents per mile of out-of-city driving. The CAA excoriated the proposed fee, as well as other possibilities on the table that would directly affect drivers, including higher parking fees and levies on less-efficient vehicles. CAA Vice President Elly Meister said the $1,200 fee was "aimed at reducing travel, but there are no linking studies showing it will influence people's behavior." The various vehicle fees being considered are part of four broad options for implementing Kyoto, which has been the subject of significant and persistent tension between Ottawa and the provincial governments. The federal government expects to settle on one national plan by the fall.
straight to the source: Toronto National Post, Alan Toulin, 07 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=184>
do good: Take action to call for clean energy in Canada <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp?source=daily#canada>
6/7/02
3:12:29 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
AUSTRALIA BACKS OUT OF CLIMATE PROTOCOL
CANBERRA, Australia, June 6, 2002 (ENS) - "It is not in Australia's interests to ratify the Kyoto Protocol." With those words to Parliament Wednesday, on World Environment Day, Australian Prime Minister John Howard put the world on notice that Australia will not join other industrialized countries in the international treaty to limit global warming.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-06-02.asp
ACTIVISTS ATTACK INDUSTRY FRIENDLY FOREST POLICIES
WASHINGTON, DC, June 6, 2002 (ENS) - Environmental groups launched protests in Washington DC and Montana today to draw attention to the impacts of President George W. Bush's energy and environmental policies on national forest lands. The groups have targeted former timber industry lobbyist Mark Rey, the Department of Agriculture's under secretary for natural resources and environment.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-06-07.asp
OIL SPILL DECIMATES GLAPAGOS IGUANAS
PRINCETON, New Jersey, June 6, 2002 (ENS) - Thousands of marine iguanas died within a year after a grounded tanker spilled almost 800,000 gallons of oil near their island home in the Galapagos. A new study shows that the iguanas, representing about 62 percent of the island's population, may have starved after the oil killed beneficial bacteria in their guts.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-06-06.asp
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JUNE 6, 2002
Studies of Soot Pollution Were Flawed
Greenpeace Maps Potential Chemical Catastrophes
Gulf Sturgeon Could Get Huge Critical Habitat
Diverse Plant Communities Resist Invasion
Exotic Insect Prefers Native Plants
Turtles Could Move From Threatened to Endangered
Snowmobiles Stress Out Elk, Wolves
Oceana Nets Comments Favoring Ocean Protection
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-06-09.asp
6/7/02
3:05:19 PM
First Comprehensive "real-time" Way To Observe State Of World's Oceans
UN Oceans Atlas launched on World Environment Day
Paris/Nairobi, 5 June 2002 - Amid mounting concern over continuing deterioration of marine and coastal ecosystems, several of the world's foremost ocean agencies, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), have created an Internet-based Oceans Atlas with the goal to help reverse the decline and promote the sustainable development of oceans.
The pioneering Atlas, that provides users with continuously updated strategic data on the state of the world's oceans, maps, development trends and threats to human health from the deteriorating marine environment is being launched here in Paris on 5 June, World Environment Day. The Atlas can be accessed online at www.oceansatlas.org
"The Atlas is the first comprehensive real-time way to observe the state of the world's oceans," said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP's Executive Director. Paying tribute to the other partners in the Atlas project and in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that led the initiative, Toepfer said, "The atlas is the result of extensive cooperation in the UN and with leading scientific agencies. It is state of the art and an important source of information that will make a significant contribution to events like the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa."
The need for the Oceans Atlas was identified during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit in response to a call to identify and address the greatest environmental challenges facing the planet. The launch of the Atlas at a meeting of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in Paris on
5 June, comes less than 12 weeks before the Johannesburg Summit.
Making reference to UNEP's recently published third Global Environment Outlook report
(GEO-3), Mr. Toepfer said GEO-3 clearly shows the worsening state of the coastal and marine environment, and the urgent need to take necessary actions.
Highlighting the impact on fisheries, Toepfer said, "Just under a third of the world's fish stocks are now ranked as depleted, overexploited or recovering as a result of over-fishing that is fueled by subsidies estimated at up to US$20 billion annually. GEO-3 shows that marine harvests have risen to over 80 million tonnes a year, but many fisheries are in a state of collapse," he said.
GEO-3, online at http://www.unep.org/GEO/index.htm, also highlights marine pollution as a major concern, one that seriously threatens human health. And, it says the oxygen depletion of coastal waters due to excess nitrogen is becoming more frequent and widespread with major impacts on fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.
"Ocean-related issues will almost certainly dominate the international agenda later this century, if, as predicted, the Earth's continued warming accelerates sea level rise and adds up to 1 metre to the height of our oceans," Toepfer continued.
Low-lying regions of the world are frequently fertile, densely populated and invested with expensive infrastructure. The human and material costs of a 1 metre sea-level rise would be huge, affecting over 70 million people in coastal China, 10% of the population of Egypt and 60% of the people in Bangladesh. Among wealthier nations, over 60% of The Netherlands' population could be affected and 15% of the people and 50% of the industry of Japan would be threatened. In the US, 17,000 square kilometres of wetlands, and the same amount of dry land, could be lost - an area the size of Connecticut and New Jersey combined. In low-lying countries like the Maldives or the Marshall Islands, the entire population is at risk.
More than 2½ years in development after a decade of planning, the UN Oceans Atlas represents the most ambitious global scientific information collaboration ever online and an international consensus-building tool expected to assist negotiations of future marine-related agreements.
UNEP has been a founding UN agency partner of the Atlas project and one of the largest contributors to the uses of the oceans section, covering topics such as disposal of waste from land, human settlements on the coast, recreation and tourism. The organization's input has been coordinated by the Hague-based UNEP secretariat of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (UNEP/GPA) with Kenneth Korporal acting as the UNEP focal point and representative to the inter-agency UN Atlas Technical Committee.
"The compilation and development of appropriate content for the UN Oceans Atlas has been a large undertaking involving a number of experts in various UNEP offices and divisions scattered throughout the world," said Veerle Vandeweerd, Coordinator of UNEP/GPA. "The resulting information will ultimately feed into other UNEP initiatives," she said.
Salif Diop, Senior Environmental Affairs Officer with UNEP's Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA) said the Atlas will serve as an important resource for a possible future global assessment of the state of the marine environment. A team from the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre helped write a large part of the UNEP input. According to Mark Collins, UNEP-WCMC's director, the Atlas should be the "first port of call for someone who wants to get an overview of oceans issues."
The Oceans Atlas is designed to be an encyclopedic resource but also the world's foremost information clearinghouse and online forum for experts in ocean issues.
To reach broader audiences and regions where Internet access is difficult the website will be supplemented by a CD-ROM and other media. More than 900 topics are currently covered with 17 founding editors. Further issues and several hundred designated topic editors will be added over time.
The Atlas contains an initial 14 global maps and links to hundreds of others, including 264 maps showing the distribution of fishery resources. A further 100 maps showing global ice cover, navigation routes, earthquake and volcanic activity, temperature gradients, bottom contours, salinity and other ocean characteristics are being contributed by the Russian Head Department of Navigation and Oceanography.
The National Geographic Society will likewise make a major contribution to the Atlas, including access to its map machine and marine-related information from its extensive portfolio of books and magazines. The Census of Marine Life, a global Washington-based organization working to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine organisms, will also make its resources fully available through the Atlas.
The UN Atlas of the Oceans is funded by the United Nations Foundation. In addition, six UN agencies (the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Maritime Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, UNEP and UNESCO/IOC) have committed financial resources to the project. Other partners in the project include the UN's Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biodiversity and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Background
The UN Atlas of the Oceans organizes information according to general subject areas:
· Uses - disposal of waste from land, energy, fisheries and aquaculture, human coastal settlements, marine biotechnology, non-consumptive uses, ocean dumping and ship wastes, offshore oil, gas and mining, recreation and tourism, and transportation and telecommunications.
· Issues - climate variability and climate change, economics, emergencies, food security, governance, human health, pollution and degradation, safety and sustainable development.
· Background - including biology and ecology, how oceans were formed and how they are changing, monitoring and observing systems, and maps, statistics and online databases
· Geographical - categorizes information according to geographic region.
Among the issues addressed:
· Fishing: all 17 of the world's major fishing areas have either reached or exceeded their natural limits and nine are in serious decline, according to the FAO.
· Piracy: the number of reported piracy attacks worldwide for 1999 rose nearly 40 percent compared with the previous year and almost tripled compared with 1991 according to the International Maritime Bureau of the International Chamber of Commerce.
· Algal blooms: The number of poisonous algal species identified by scientists has nearly tripled since 1984, increasing fish kills, beach closures, and economic losses. Large parts of the Gulf of Mexico are now considered biological dead zones due to algal blooms.
· Coral reefs: Although distributed in 101 countries and territories, where they are vital for fisheries, coastal protection, tourism and wildlife, they occupy less than one tenth of one percent of the oceans, according to the UNEP-WCMC World Atlas of Coral Reefs
· Invasive species: Marine bio-invasions have been identified as a major global environmental and economic problem with several thousand species estimated to be in the ballast tanks of the world's shipping at any one time. The Atlantic box jelly, believed to have been released in a ship's ballast water, helped wipe out life in the Black Sea. In San Francisco Bay, a new foreign species takes hold every 14 weeks, scientists warn.
For more information please contact: Robert Bisset, UNEP Press Officer and Europe Spokesperson on mobile +33-6-2272-5842, email: robert.bisset@unep.fr,
Kenneth Korporal, (UNEP focal point and representative to the inter-agency UN Atlas Technical Committee), UNEP/GPA, The Hague, tel +31-170-3114467, email: k.korporal@unep.nl, www.gpa.unep.org
Note to Editors: World Environment Day is an annual event celebrated on and around 5 June. This year's host city is Shenzhen in China. It will be celebrated in over 100 countries this year.
http://www.unep.org/wed/2002/WED2002/Default.asp
http://www.unep.org/Documents/Default.asp?DocumentID=253&ArticleID=3081
6/7/02
2:59:23 PM
It's Not So Slick When Oil Ends Up In The Sea
About 29 million gallons of petroleum enters the oceans off North America each year, shows a new study by the National Research Council. The report finds that about 85 percent of that pollution can be blamed not on massive oil spills, but on the lesser amounts released by airplanes, swept into polluted rivers and from the largest culprits: recreational boats and runoff from the land.
The amount of petroleum released into North American and global waters is less than previously thought, the committee found. At the same time, however, new studies show that the environmental effects of a major oil spill are longer lasting than once thought and that even small amounts of petroleum can seriously damage marine life and ecosystems.
"Oil spills can have long lasting and devastating effects on the ocean environment, but we need to know more about damage caused by petroleum from land based sources and small watercraft since they represent most of the oil leaked by human activities," said James Coleman, chair of the committee that wrote the report.
"This doesn't mean we can ignore hazards from drilling and shipping, however," Coleman cautioned. "Although new safety standards and advances in technology reduced the amount of oil that spilled during extraction and transport in the last two decades, the potential is still there for a large spill, especially in regions with lax safety controls."
About 47 million gallons seep naturally from the seafloor into the North American oceans, more than all human sources of petroleum pollution combined. That puts North America in a better position than the world as a whole: worldwide, about 210 million gallons of petroleum enter the sea each year from human caused petroleum sources, with an additional 180 million gallons coming from natural seepage, the report says.
Of the human caused petroleum pollution entering the oceans around North America, less than eight percent comes from oil tanker or pipeline spills, says the report by the National Academies' National Research Council (NRC), titled "Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects."
The report, which relies on data from a variety of sources, is said to be far more accurate than the NRC's last such assessment in 1985.
Oily Waters
Oil slicks visible from the air and birds painted black by oil get the most public attention, but it is consumers of oil -- not the ships that transport it -- who are responsible for most of what finds its way into the ocean, the NRC says.
Oil exploration and extraction are responsible for only three percent of the petroleum that enters the sea, with their effects concentrated where oil drilling rigs are at work in the Gulf of Mexico and in waters off southern California, northern Alaska, and eastern Canada.
The bulk of the 29 million gallons from humanmade sources comes from individually small source that, combined, account for about 25 million gallons of ocean petroleum pollution.
For example, oil runoff from cars and trucks is increasing in coastal areas where the population is growing and roads and parking lots are expanding. More than one half of the land based oil contamination along the North American coastline occurs between Maine and Virginia, where there are dense seaside populations, many cities, several refineries, and high energy use, the report notes.
Rivers polluted by oil in wastewater or the improper disposal of petroleum products are also a major source of oil entering the sea.
Older two stroke engines still found on many recreational boats and jet skis were purposely designed to discharge gasoline and oil. Land runoff and recreational boating account for nearly three-quarters of the petroleum released into the sea each year through human consumption.
Other sources of oil from human activities include military and commercial jets that occasionally jettison excess fuel over the ocean and ships that release oil from their engines while in port or at sea.
The impact of an oil spill on marine life is not directly related to the size of the spill, since even a small spill in an ecologically sensitive area can have long term impacts, the NRC found. A spill's influence also depends on the type and amount of toxics present in the petroleum product being released.
The riskiest toxics are a class of organic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Growing evidence suggests that PAHs and other toxic compounds can have adverse effects on marine species even at very low concentrations. This means chronic releases from runoff and recreational boating may inflict more damage than previously thought, and that the effects of large spills may last as long as residual oil persists in the area.
Gulf of Mexico Impacted
The Gulf of Mexico is the most heavily impacted of North America's ocean waters, the NRC learned. About 20 percent of the land based petroleum entering North American coastal waters ends up in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Gulf also receives most of the oil and gas that is emitted by recreational boats and jet skis, and oil drilling rigs concentrated in the Gulf spill thousands of gallons each year.
The amount of petroleum released during oil drilling has dropped in recent years, but the threat of a spill cannot be ignored, the NRC warns. The report recommends that the U.S. Minerals Management Service promote extraction techniques that minimize accidental or intentional releases of petroleum.
Other federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should also continue to work with state environmental agencies and industry to minimize the potential for spills from pipelines and other coastal petroleum facilities.
While new shipping standards have helped reduce oil spills and deliberate discharges from tankers and other ocean going vessels, about 2.7 million gallons of petroleum still spill into North American waters while being transported to market. The report cautions that large tanker spills are still possible, particularly in areas without stringent safety procedures and inspections.
To better monitor how much oil consumers and industry are depositing in the ocean, the NRC recommends that federal agencies work with state and local environmental bureaus to develop a system for documenting sources of runoff. The report also calls on the EPA to continue efforts to phase out older, inefficient two stroke engines, which power many jet skis and other small watercraft.
The report also says federal ocean management agencies should try to develop more accurate techniques for estimating the amount of oil that seeps into the ocean from geologic formations beneath the seafloor. This would help researchers distinguish the effects of petroleum released by natural processes versus human activities, and study how marine life responds to the introduction of oil.
Altered Ecosystems
Where oil seeps naturally into the ocean, local marine ecosystems have been altered, the report says. For example, in seepage areas in the Santa Barbara Channel off California, there is little biodiversity, with just bacteria and a few invertebrate species surviving in the petroleum slurry.
Research conducted in the wake of the EXXON Valdez spill in 1989 shows that large oil spills can be devastating to the marine environment. They kill fish, mammals, birds and their offspring, destroy plant life, and reduce the food supply for organisms that survive.
Spills also disrupt the structure and function of marine communities and ecosystems, although more research is needed to better understand how spills affect overall populations, the NRC says.
Less is known about how chronic releases from sources such as land runoff and inefficient two stroke engines on boats and jet skis affect marine ecology. The report calls for the federal government, in cooperation with academia and industry, to launch a major research effort aimed at better understanding how chronic releases of petroleum affect the marine environment, particularly when organisms in already polluted waters are exposed to the multiple toxics found in oil.
Source: http://www.nap.edu
6/7/02
2:56:16 PM
The following items which match your interests have just been posted to SciTech Daily Review
Regions devastated by natural disasters still have one thing in abundance: dirt. And dirt domes could provide emergency housing for millions of people worldwide http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0403_020403_TVdirtdomes.html
A new drug appears to stop diabetes in its tracks, allowing some diabetics to live shot-free without any serious side effects
http://www.scientificamerican.com/news/053002/2.html
A key hypothetical benefit of therapeutic cloning has been shown in practice for the first time: the technology can prevent immune rejection of transplanted tissue
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992356
Oil pollutants from airplanes, recreational boating and runoff from the land are doing just as much damage to North American oceans as massive oil spills, says a new study
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13228
Gunslinger science: Fifty years ago, it took a Nobel Prize to get the press to pay attention to crank theories. Now all it takes is a degree in some field related to science and an idea off-the-wall enough to make a good headline
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0222/news-downey.shtml
Dreaming is not that different from other altered states of consciousness, claims J Allan Hobson in The Dream Drugstore. If we understand the neurochemistry of one, the others will follow
http://mentalhelp.net/books/books.php?type=de&id=926
Even NASA thinks there may well be intelligent life in space -- but just how smart will it be?
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/shostak_intelligent_020530.html
What a difference a few house calls can make. Sometimes even the doctors feel better (registration required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/04/health/policy/04HOUS.html
6/7/02
2:48:47 PM
UTNE WEB WATCH
The Best of the Alternative Web
SMOKE A JOINT AND YOUR FUTURE IS MCDONALD'S
by Janelle Brown, Salon.com
-- Students seeking financial aid have just begun to feel the negative impact of the Drug-Free Student Aid Provision.
BIG FUN COOL THINGS
by Steven Heller, Metropolis
-- Design radical Edwin Schlossberg's creations demand more than just admiration--they require your interaction.
WILDERNESS AND THE HYPERREAL
by Peter Warshall, Whole Earth magazine
-- "Faking nature? So what? Isn't human intervention the best path to the sacred and preservation?"
Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch
6/7/02
2:46:31 PM
TomPaine.com...
Independent, Commercial-free
MOMS AND KIDS VS. CREDIT CARD COMPANIES
An Interview With Elizabeth Warren
by Sharon Basco
"Congress now stands ready to dismantle protection for families under the nation's bankruptcy code."
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5742
PUBLIC OPINION WATCH:
May 27 - May 31, 2002 An Ongoing Look At The State Of Public Opinion
by Ruy Teixeira
Confidence in Government Declines, but Still above Pre-September 11 Levels ... Could Education Decide the 2002 Elections ... Optimism on the Economy
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5749
Dispatch: Mount Mitchell, N.C.
DEATH HANGS IN THE AIR
The Mountains -- And Our Health -- Hang In The Balance
by Michael Gordon
The N.C. mountains are sick; poisoned by polluted air and water. A growing chorus of scientists and physicians say that the destruction visible in the high woods is happening in people's lungs, too.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5726
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS HAS EARNED HIS STRIPES
The Sniping About His New Talk Show Is About Style, Not Substance
by Richard Blow
Ignore the jealousies of Stephanopoulos' media rivals, who instinctively resent a newcomer from outside the profession. He's a logical choice to host "This Week."
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5746
LAISSEZ FAIRE AND THE LEFT
The Case For Dialogue Between Libertarians And Progressives
by David Kirby
"What's keeping libertarians and progressives from prancing hand-in-hand across the political meadow, violins serenading, to embrace our commonalities?"
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5728
UNIONS SHOW WALL STREET HOW IT'S DONE
Pension Fund Managers Spotted Auditing Conflicts Early On
by Carter Dougherty
"Unions have been accused of being communists, socialists or worse, but give them their due: this time, they understood capitalism better than most capitalists."
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5732
And from out CHECK IT OUT! department...
RANK AIR IN HOUSTON
Self-policing and voluntary compliance by industry are the cornerstones of George W. Bush's approach to environmental policy. He used them in Texas when he was governor and has now applied the concepts to national policy.
But it looks like self-policing is failing to protect public health -- Bill Dawson of the Center for Public Integrity reports that a $20 million study of Houston's air quality has found the petrochemical industry there has been "significantly underestimating emissions of key air pollutants in required reports to regulators."
http://www.tompaine.com/check_it_out/
6/7/02
2:36:31 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
Democrat seeks to limit US mountaintop coal mining - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16316/story.htm
Democrats ask Bush to clarify global warming views - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16319/story.htm
US lawmakers want Mexico power plants to cut pollution - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16317/story.htm
Lawmakers offer bipartisan bill to protect US forests - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16311/story.htm
Low-level oil spill kills Galapagos iguanas - study - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16312/story.htm
Scottish Power says Scotland windfarm gets go-ahead - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16313/story.htm
Global warming blamed for melting Everest glacier - SWITZERLAND http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16308/story.htm
Donors, aid groups in talks on Africa food crisis - SOUTH AFRICA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16321/story.htm
Canada firm says disputed Peru mine could help poor - PERU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16324/story.htm
Mexico must crack down on diesel trucks - scientist - MEXICO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16325/story.htm
US to seek reversal of IWC whale hunt decision - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16326/story.htm
EU signs treaty to save crop variety - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16318/story.htm
US, poor nations face off at Earth Summit talks - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16309/story.htm
FACTBOX - What's on table at talks for "Earth Summit 2" - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16322/story.htm
Global water "crisis" high on Earth Summit agenda - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16323/story.htm
Germany signals dramatic widening in food scare - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16307/story.htm
Costa Rica bans open pit mining - COSTA RICA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16310/story.htm
Antofagasta's Chile copper mine shut by rains - CHILE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16315/story.htm
Wind power set for greater Australian role - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16314/story.htm
6/7/02
2:34:06 PM
THE FUTURE IS NOW! WEATHER WARS!
BY JIM WILSON
It is 2025. An enemy unknown to 20th-century Americans has massed its army at the border of a friendly country in a remote part of the world. High above them flies a single, unmanned stealth aircraft. A faint wisp of black dust sprays from its tail, spurring the creation of the only weapon capable of stopping the threatening horde.
The weapon the dust engenders is mud--old-fashioned, sink-up-to-your-knees, spin-your-tires mud. There's nothing unusual about this slippery mixture of soil and water. It's the same sloppy goo that forced the Roman legions to build Britain's first real roads. What is different, in this futuristic scenario, is the way it's delivered. Like a meal at a fancy Japanese restaurant, it is being created on the spot and to order. The "chef" is an isolated downpour that swirls only above the heads of the aggressors.
In much the same way that infrared and low-light viewing equipment has made it possible for 20th-century soldiers to own the night, U.S. Air Force planners hope to give 21st-century warriors advanced technologies that will enable them to own the weather. A declassified version of a 2-year study prepared by the Air War College and obtained by PM reveals that this is no dreamland scenario. The Pentagon's top meteorologists believe the United States will be ready to fight--and win--a weather war early in the next century.
The study, titled "Weather As A Force Multiplier: Owning The Weather In 2025," envisions future generals having at their disposal an impressive weather-control arsenal for tactical operations. These weapons would include unmanned stealth aircraft that could seed clouds above massing troops with fine particles of heat-absorbing carbon. This next-generation cloud-seeding technique would, in turn, produce localized flooding and create mud, which has been the bane of all of history's armies. Airborne lasers would cause lightning to discharge over the airframes of attack and surveillance aircraft. Other lasers would fire at fog banks, clearing a temporary flight path to high-value targets, such as command posts. In addition, still more powerful microwave transmitters would heat the ionosphere, altering its reflective properties in ways that would disrupt communications among enemy field commanders.
To reach this future battlefield, the military is planning to piggyback on weather-prediction and weather-modification technologies being developed by the private sector. They estimate that by 2015 supercomputer and atmosphere-monitoring technologies will have advanced to the point where military planners will know exactly what sort of weather to expect over an operations area throughout the course of a campaign lasting several weeks.
The great leap forward, however, is expected to occur between 2015 and 2025, spurred on largely by a growing global population that will put increasing pressure on the worldwide food and drinkable water supplies. "These pressures [will] prompt governments and/or other organizations who are able to capitalize on the technological advances of the previous 20 years to pursue a highly accurate and reasonably precise weather-modification capability," the report states. "Our vision is that by 2025 the military could influence the weather on a mesoscale [theater-wide] or microscale [immediate local area] to achieve operational capabilities."
The report makes the limitations of the military's current weather-predicting abilities disturbingly clear: "During Operation Desert Storm, Gen. Buster C. Glosson asked his weather officer to tell him which targets would be clear in 48 hours for inclusion in the air tasking order (ATO). But current forecasting capability is only 85% accurate for no more than 24 hours, which doesn't adequately meet the needs of the ATO planning cycle. Over 50% of the F-117 sorties weather aborted over their targets and A-10s only flew 75 of 200 scheduled close air support missions due to low cloud cover during the first two days of the campaign."
If weather modification can actually turn the tide of battle remains an open question. The American military's only acknowledged recent experience in using weather as a weapon occurred with Project Popeye, which began in 1966. The experiment's objective was to extend the monsoon season, thereby increasing the amount of mud that formed on the Ho Chi Minh trail, a supply route that wound from what was then North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam. To produce the rain, a silver iodide rainmaking agent--dubbed "Olive Oil"--was dispersed from WC-130, F4 and A-1E aircraft into the clouds over the trail.
Positive results during the initial program led to its continued operation until 1972. But to this day, analysts remain divided over whether the rain created enough extra mud to significantly reduce the delivery of supplies. When you're slogging through ankle-deep mud, another inch of it probably doesn't make that much of a difference. Some storms release the energy equivalent of several nuclear weapons. The Air Force believes it will eventually have the ability to create sudden localized storms that can thwart military operations.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/military/1997/2/weather_wars/
Chemtrails & Weather Mod - 7-17-00 >From Mitch Robinson - techstuff@webcombo.net
http://www.rense.com/general2/chemmod.htm
Contrails or Chemtrails? It is said that we are being "sprayed" from above, by what appear to be contrails from jets. Ordinary contrails though, have disappearing tails which fade away, they don't spread out, linger, and form clouds around them like these do, nor are they associated with reports of respiratory problems. We have included relevant links, and presented divergent thoughts on the subject, to assist the reader in forming their own conclusions.
http://www.navarrone.com/contrails/chemtrails.html
Contrails (Chemtrails) - APFN INFO AND LINKS:
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/contrails.htm
REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE ON APFN MESSAGE BOARD AT:
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=28203
6/7/02
2:29:57 PM
AlterNet Headlines
SPYING AND LYING: THE FBI'S DIRTY SECRETS
Mark Weisbrot, AlterNet
There has never been an accounting of how much of the FBI's resources are devoted to policing the constitutionally protected activities of our citizens. The time is now.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13316
UNDER THE NUCLEAR CLOUD
Arundhati Roy, AlterNet
People on both sides of the Indo-Pak border live on hairtrigger alert as their leaders callously play a radioactive game of chicken.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13304
-- Also on our Global Affairs page: The Thinkable Nuclear War Lighting the Nuclear Fire
http://www.alternet.org/issues/index.html?IssueAreaID=31
FROM SWEATSHOP TO HIP-HOP
Ryan Pintado-Vertner, ColorLines
Once ignored by the fashion industry, youth of color may be the last hope for struggling clothing companies like Gap and Levi's.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13284
WALL STREET GIVES INVESTORS THE FINGER
Arianna Huffington, AlterNet
It turns out that the Merrill Lynch financial scandal was just the appetizer to a smorgasbord of greed, corruption and insider dealing.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13307
WHY ARE SO MANY BLACK STUDENTS EXPELLED?
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Pacific News Service
The latest report from the U.S. Dept. of Education reveals that nearly one out of three students kicked out of the nation's public schools are African American.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13317
ANARCHY.COM
Ted Rall, AlterNet
Spam and online identity theft are all too common on the wild, wild Web. And upcoming legislation won't do much to stop the madness.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13300
THE MAN SHOW
John Powers, LA Weekly
The recent "Is Mike Piazza Gay?" debacle threatened fans and sportswriters' attitudes toward masculinity and their sense of sports as a refuge from the messy emotional stuff of life.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13315
BABY PANIC? Liz Langley, Orlando Weekly
You always hear people urging childless women to have kids, but you will never find anyone asking a mother of three, "Was that last one necessary?"
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13301
POWER TO THE PEER
Judith Lewis, LA Weekly
Peer-to-peer file sharing has proved to be a lawsuit-resistant Hydra. You can lead consumers to music, but can you make them pay?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13242
ORIENTALIST KITSCH
Mimi Nguyen, AlterNet
The offensive caricatures on Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts are part of a broader marketing trend that repackages decades-old racist images as trendy kitsch.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13294
SNOBBY SUMMER BOOK ROUND-UP
Dennis Loy Johnson, MobyLives
Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on the part of your faithful book snob, but it does seem as if there are some books of quality more visible in the mix this year.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13295
6/7/02
2:20:18 PM
t r u t h o u t | 06.07
Gephardt to GOP Leadership: 'End the Enron Coverup'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.07A.gephardt.70.htm
Chart of Bush Crony Profits From Estate Tax Revamp
http://www.truthout.org/mm_01/4.estatetax.pdf
Conyers Blasts Ashcroft's Registration Regulations For Middle Easterners
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.07B.conyers.ashcroft.htm
100,000 Foreign Visitors to Face Fingerprinting
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.07C.fingerprint.100K.htm
BBC | Israeli Driver Survives Fourth Attack
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.07D.mickey.harel.htm
Anita F. Hill | Insider Women With Outsider Values
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.07E.a.hill.rowley.htm
Arianna Huffington | Analyze This: Wall Street Gives Investors the Finger
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.07F.arianna.analyze.htm
Bob Herbert | Ignoring a Growing Peril
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.07G.herbert.peril.htm
6/7/02
2:18:25 PM
Greenpeace True Food Network Newsletter
June 2002
This Saturday, June 8th, consumers and activists will gather in front of supermarkets in over 100 communities in the U.S. to demand our right to foods free of genetically engineered ingredients!
This is an exciting time in the U.S. Never before have so many people gathered at the place where we have the power to change the U.S. food supply-the supermarket.
Read on for how you can let your voice be heard this Saturday, June 8th.
Inside this Edition:
- National Day of Action: Find out more about events in your area!
- Labeling Legislation Introduced: If the biotech foes have their way you won't have your right-to-know.
- International Round-up: EU Report Finds GE Agriculture is a Bad Deal for Farmers.
National Day of Action Saturday, June 8th
In over 100 communities, consumers and activists will gather in front of supermarkets to spread the word to other customers and store managers letting them know we do not want genetically engineered ingredients in our food.
What can you do:
1. Find out if there is an event planned in your area. Go to our new online Community Center:
http://www.truefoodnow.org/communitycenter/
Scroll down to find your region, click on it and you will see a listing of events. The towns are not listed alphabetically, so be sure to read through the entire regional listing.
2. If there isn't an event planned in your area, call your local supermarket. It's important that supermarkets hear from you.
Safeway's toll-free number: 1-877-723-3929 Shaw's/Star Market's toll-free number: 1-888-431-7429 (Monday-Friday only)
Don't have a Safeway or Shaw's/Star Market in your area? Get local information at:
http://www.truefoodnow.org/take_action/supermarket2002.html
3. GET YOUR EVENT PHOTOS ON TRUE FOOD NOW!
We will post photos from events all over the country. Please take pictures of your event and send them via e-mail to:
denise.mcdermott@wdc.greenpeace.org
Please include your name, the name of the supermarket, what town you were in and any comments you have about the day.
Labeling Legislation Introduced to Congress!
Dennis Kucinich, a Representative from Ohio, introduced legislation last month that would require labeling of food products which contain genetically engineered ingredients.
In over 30 countries, consumers have the right to know if their foods contain genetically engineered ingredients . . . but the U.S. isn't one of those countries!
It will be an uphill fight to get this labeling legislation passed. The biotech industry, including Monsanto, is lobbying hard against your right-to-know.
You can send an e-mail and fax a letter to your Representative from our web site. Just click or cut and paste this URL into your web browser:
http://www.truefoodnow.org/bin/takeaction.fpl?action_id=128
Or you can send your Representative a personal note. These letters are particularly effective because you took the time to write.
You can find your Representative's name and address in the front section of the Yellow Pages or from:
http://www.thecampaign.org/congressletters.htm
Please let us know what kind of response you get from your representatives. You can send us an e-mail at:
truefood.webmaster@wdc.greenpeace.org
European Union Publishes Study Showing Genetically Engineered Crops Add High Costs for Farmers and Threatens Organic
An EU study states that all farmers would face high, and in some cases unsustainable, costs of production if genetically engineered (GE) crops were commercially grown in a large scale in Europe.
Read the complete story:
http://www.truefoodnow.org/inside_scoop/international/index.html
Want to do more? Become a Greenpeace Member today!
https://www.greenpeaceusa.org/join/tfn.htm
6/6/02
5:32:58 PM
Public Citizen issued the following two press releases today:
1) No Divine Intervention Here; Falwell Loses Bid to Shut Down Parody Web Site World Intellectual Property Organization Rules in Favor of Illinois Resident
2) Arizona High School Student Visits Washington, D.C. to Urge Opposition to Yucca Mountain Nuclear Dump
June 6, 2002
No Divine Intervention Here; Falwell Loses Bid to Shut Down Parody Web Site
World Intellectual Property Organization Rules in Favor of Illinois Resident
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell today lost his bid to silence a critic who created a Web site that uses Falwell's name in its address and parodies the reverend's statements.
At issue is a noncommercial Web site established by Illinois resident Gary Cohn that mocks Falwell for blaming the September 11 attacks on the supposed moral decline of America and parodies the way Falwell cites Bible verses to make moral judgments. The site can be found under the domain names jerryfalwell.com and jerryfallwell.com.
Falwell had claimed to hold a trademark on his name because of his fame and argued that the site wasn't parody. He had asked the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to strip the site of its domain names.
However, in a 2-1 vote, a WIPO mediation panel today ruled against Falwell, saying that Falwell had failed to show that his name - even though well-known - has been used as a trademark to label particular goods or services. Without trademark status, the use of a name in a Web site is considered a legitimate, noncommercial fair use. In fact, the panel noted, Falwell has been careful to avoid the suggestion that he has exploited his name for commercial reasons and had told the WIPO that he has used his name principally to advance his religious views.
Further, "[w]hether regarded as a parody, satire, or critical commentary, the majority [of the panel] believes that legitimate noncommercial fair use commentary is involved," the panel wrote. "Whether the commentary is in good taste, whether it is funny, whether it is effective, all is beside the point." A copy of the ruling is available at
http://www.citizen.org/documents/FalwellDecision.pdf.
"This is a victory for First Amendment rights on the Internet," said Paul Alan Levy, the Public Citizen attorney who represented Cohn in the case. "Without the domain name, the Web site would likely be much harder to find. We are pleased that the panel agreed that Mr. Cohn has a right to use Falwell's name when criticizing him, and has every right to do so on the Internet. Also, Public Citizen thanks Philadelphia lawyer John Berryhill for his assistance in defending this case."
- - - -
June 6, 2002
Arizona High School Student Visits Washington, D.C. to Urge Opposition to Yucca Mountain Nuclear Dump
School Project on Nuclear Waste Transport Alerts Ninth-Grade Class to Dangers of Yucca Mountain Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Fifteen-year-old Arizona resident Alex Ozuna visited Washington, D.C., today to explain to senators and public interest and environmental organizations that an accident involving nuclear waste being trucked to Yucca Mountain could devastate the Colorado River, near his hometown.
The conclusion was the result of a school project by Ozuna's ninth-grade class at Mohave Accelerated Learning Center Public Charter School in Bullhead City, Ariz. Ozuna, who traveled to Washington on behalf of his class, delivered a letter to the office of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) urging him to oppose a proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
Ozuna also met with McCain's staff members to express his concerns over the risks involved in shipping high-level nuclear waste across the country to Nevada. Proposed transportation routes to Yucca Mountain would pass through his hometown.
"I think it's really dangerous to have trucks carrying this waste passing through our towns and cities because it affects so many people," Ozuna said. "I really hope Senator McCain considers all of us when he makes his decision on Yucca Mountain. People in my town are really scared about the Yucca Mountain dump. At first they didn't think about the transportation risks involved, but once we explained it them, they realized how dangerous it was for them, their children and the environment."
The students in Ozuna's class built a model depicting theoretical results of a tractor-trailer carrying nuclear waste crashing on the Laughlin Bridge over the Colorado River. The bridge links Ozuna's hometown of Bullhead City to Laughlin, Nev., a city through which waste also would pass en route to Yucca Mountain. The class concluded that if four tons of waste leaked into the river, it would contaminate a 42-mile radius of the river and surrounding land. The students also found that the town was ill-equipped to deal with such a disaster.
"We only have a small hazardous waste team in our town, so if a big disaster like this were to happen, we'd have to wait for crews from Las Vegas or Phoenix to arrive," Ozuna said.
Also on Thursday, Ozuna joined Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) for a breakfast meeting to share the findings of his project.
The controversial Yucca Mountain proposal calls for 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste from nuclear facilities throughout the country to be shipped through 44 states and the District of Columbia to Nevada. In addition to concerns about the dangers of transporting waste, problems exist with the site. For instance, it sits above a drinking water aquifer and lies in a zone prone to earthquakes.
On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved by a 13-10 vote a resolution in favor of the Yucca Mountain plan. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) voted in favor of the dump. The full Senate is expected to take up the issue in the coming weeks.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
For more information, please visit http://www.citizen.org
6/6/02
5:28:32 PM
DAILY GRIST
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
GIVE US A HAND
Pop Quiz For Daily Grist Readers: What's important about today? That's right -- it's the second-to-last day of the first-ever Grist fundraising drive. So far, it's been a resounding success, and we're hoping that those who haven't yet given will dig deep and help us sprint to the finish. We know, we know; you were thinking about it but forgot to grab your wallet, or the email got drowned in your inbox, or you got tied up in that conference call and it slipped your mind. So take this chance to give to Grist right away by clicking on the link below. We swear it takes less time than walking to the water cooler to chat about climate change -- and the universe will reward your generosity. Plus we'll be eternally grateful and able to keep providing you with the daily environment dish you know you love.
support Grist: Give it up for a good cause by making a tax-deductible donation to help keep your favorite online magazine alive and kicking <http://www.gristmagazine.com/about/support.asp?source=daily>
HAIDA HO
In an unusual move, unhappy employees of paper giant Weyerhaeuser are siding with native inhabitants of British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands, the Haida, in their legal battle against the company. Earlier this year, the Haida sued the company for control of the islands and their forests; on Monday, a reported 135 of 155 Weyerhaeuser employees on the island allied themselves with the Haida. The workers are fearful of losing their jobs because of poor economic conditions, and worry that the company's unsustainable logging practices will leave the islands denuded and financially ruined. To some extent, the alliance might also be a strategic move on the part of the workers, some of whom see an impending legal victory for the Haida: "We said heck, they're going to be our landlords, anyway. Let's do this thing right and start working with them right away," said Bernie Lepage, a Weyerhaeuser employee.
straight to the source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Paul Shukovsky, 06 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=178>
DENTIST THE MENACE
Here's one more reason to dread your dentist: Many dental offices flush old fillings down the drain, washing the mercury inside them into the nation's waterways. That makes dentists the single largest discharger of the toxic metal, according to a national study entitled "Dentist the Menace?" and published by a collection of health and environmental groups. All told, dentists use about 40 tons of mercury per year to make silver fillings, a practice they've been engaged in for some 150 years. While the mercury might not do damage in people's mouths, it spends many more years in the natural environment, where it eventually breaks down and can cause nerve and brain damage if ingested. It is possible to use white plastic composites instead of mercury, but until recently, the dangers of washed-away mercury fillings had gone unremarked.
straight to the source: Boston Globe, Beth Daley, 05 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=179>
only in Grist: Mercury falling -- fun with stats in our Counter Culture column <http://www.gristmagazine.com/counter/counter021600.stm?source=daily>
only in Grist: Mercury rising -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha091399.stm?source=daily>
IGUANA BE ALONE!
Eighteen months ago, a grounded tanker spilled 150,000 gallons of diesel and bunker fuel into the waters around the famed Galapagos Islands. Luckily, shifting winds sent most of the fuel out to sea rather than into shore, so sea lion and bird deaths numbered in the dozens rather than the hundreds. At the time, biologists and conservationists breathed a sigh of relief, believing the islands and their inhabitants had been largely spared. Now, though, a long-term study of the unique Galapagos marine iguana has found that the small amount of oil that did reach the islands wrought a disproportionately large amount of havoc. On the island of Santa Fe, where the spill left about a quart of oil per each yard of the windward shore, the iguana population declined from 25,000 to 10,000. Scientists theorize that the oil killed the bacteria naturally present in iguanas' guts that allows them to digest seaweed; in the absence of the bacteria, the animals starved to death. The findings provide new evidence that even small spills can have subtle yet far-reaching environmental effects.
straight to the source: New York Times, Andrew C. Revkin, 06 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=180>
only in Grist: A week in the life of Roslyn Cameron, Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos <http://www.gristmagazine.com/week/cameron043001.stm?source=daily>
BOXER REBELLION
President Bush scored a victory yesterday when the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved his plan to store highly radioactive nuclear waste beneath Nevada's Yucca Mountain, but he was challenged by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on other environmental issues. Reps. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) introduced legislation supported by 172 other House members to bar logging and road construction on much of the country's national forest lands, backing the roadless rule that was drafted under Clinton but is opposed by the current administration. And today, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) will introduce legislation to reinstate an expired corporate tax that funneled more than $1 billion a year into the Superfund for environmental cleanups. Industry opposes the tax, and President Bush has so far declined to seek its reauthorization.
straight to the source: Washington Post, 06 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=181>
only in Grist: Yucky Mountain -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha030402.asp?source=daily>
6/6/02
5:20:16 PM
MoJournal
Free thinking, non-conforming investigative reporting, June 5, 2002
THE RENEWABLE ENERGY & SUSTAINABLE LIVING FAIR
June 21-23, 2002, Central Wisconsin.
Hosted by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. Including hundreds of workshops, exhibits, family entertainment, and a fun-festival atmosphere.
For info: http://www.the-mrea.org or call (715) 592-6595.
Mother Jones is gearing up to represent in Chicago at the second stop of the Rolling Thunder Down-Home Democracy Tour! It's a county fair, music festival and grassroots political rally rolled into one, with good food, good folks, and good beer.
Come to see Jim Hightower, Michael Moore, Dolores Huerta, Erykah Badu, and dozens of your favorite political and musical firecrackers. Who says the fight for social justice can't be fun?
Join Mother Jones and Rock the Vote for free magazines, discount subscriptions, stickers, posters, t-Shirts and more! Plus, get a free scoop of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
** The Rolling Thunder Down-Home Democracy Tour!
** Saturday, June 15, 10AM - 8:30PM
** Union Park, Chicago, Illinois
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door
http://www.rollingthundertour.org
WEB EXCLUSIVES
News - Breaking Up the Bakassi Boys - Two human rights groups are calling on Nigeria to crack down on a vigilante group known both for its brutality and its close ties to powerful politicians.
http://click.topica.com/maaaofHaaSqdza4pkFbb/
Humor - Arms Control, Then and Now - Presidents Bush and Putin are painting an exciting new path for the modern arms reduction treaty -- particularly the 'reduction' part.
http://click.topica.com/maaaofHaaSqdAa4pkFbb/
Updates - Easing Access to Bush's Texas Records; 7-Up Bubbles Over Prison Rape
http://click.topica.com/maaaofHaaSqdza4pkFbb/
Daily Briefing - When Words Stifle Reform; No Big Melt?; Le Pen the Torturer; Blaming Church; Green Endangerment?; A Bolton Scarier Than Michael?
http://click.topica.com/maaaofHaaSqdBa4pkFbb/
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Class Activist - It's not easy being an activist when you're only 16, but Selemawit Tewelde isn't about to let her Philadelphia high school be privatized without a fight.
http://click.topica.com/maaaofHaaSqdCa4pkFbb/
6/6/02
5:16:14 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
PRESIDENT BUSH REJECTS CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT
By Cat Lazaroff
WASHINGTON, DC, June 5, 2002 (ENS) - The White House is distancing itself from the Bush administration's first report to admit that humans are causing climate changes. The report from the Environmental Protection Agency, while acknowledging that human activities lead to global warming, argues that it is better to adapt to the changes than to try and stop them.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-05-06.asp
SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE APPROVES YUCCA MOUNTAIN
WASHINGTON, DC, June 5, 2002 (ENS) - The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today narrowly approved the site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada for the development of a repository to entomb the nation's high-level nuclear radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-05-02.asp
WHITE RIVER FOREST PLAN A DELICATE BALANCING ACT
By Bob Berwyn
SILVERTHORNE, Colorado, June 5, 2002 (ENS) - A new White River National Forest management plan was presented by U.S. Forest Service officials in Colorado Tuesday as a compromise that enables the agency to protect ecosystems while meeting recreational demand from Colorado's exploding population. Judging by initial reactions from various sides, they have achieved that goal. Nobody seems completely happy, but no one feels shut out.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-05-03.asp
HOUSE BILL WOULD ENACT ROADLESS RULE
WASHINGTON, DC, June 5, 2002 (ENS) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill today that would enact the Clinton era Roadless Area Conservation Rule and protect almost 60 million acres of national forest lands from roadbuilding, logging and mining. The legislation would make an end run around Bush administration efforts to delay, weaken or eliminate the now suspended rule.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-05-07.asp
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JUNE 5, 2002
Brownfields Legislation Passes the House
Olympic, Shell Fined for Pipeline Explosion
Climate Change Depletes Ozone Layer
Environmental Problems Linked to Political Instability
Coalition Aids Imperiled Butterflies
African Energy Training Gets U.S. Support
Texas Opens New Coastal Research Center
U.S. Sites Featured as Whale Watching Hotspots
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-05-09.asp
6/6/02
5:13:47 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
Florida gov signs $50 bln budget after $110 mln vetoes - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16293/story.htm
Global warming to hit California water supply - study - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16292/story.htm
North Dakota steps up plans to block deer disease - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16297/story.htm
Alaska fines BP $300,000 over pipeline leak systems - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16284/story.htm
NRC assessing US nuclear plants' airstrike risk - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16285/story.htm
US Senate panel approves Yucca nuclear waste site - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16286/story.htm
Residents near NY nuke plant to get iodide pills - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16290/story.htm
Ecotourism could be harming wildlife - scientists - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16279/story.htm
FEATURE - Spain fights to save world's most endangered cat - SPAIN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16280/story.htm
IEA praises South Korea's reform of energy market- SOUTH KOREA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16287/story.htm
FEATURE - Project to save rare bear in land of Paddington - PERU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16283/story.htm
UN urges govts to finish Earth Summit plan - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16282/story.htm
Big cities a headache UN summit wants to address - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16295/story.htm
Swiss impound German feed wheat for tests - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16300/story.htm
German carmakers plan joint hydrogen car tests - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16291/story.htm
Galapagos dolphins die tangled in fishing nets - ECUADOR http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16296/story.htm
Guangdong governor says pollution plan in place - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16281/story.htm
World's biggest coal exporter Australia dumps Kyoto - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16298/story.htm
Green air traffic system saves fuel, Australia says - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16299/story.htm
Australia joins ethanol rush with new plant - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16294/story.htm
Wind power set for greater Australian role - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16288/story.htm
Australian state to spend A$100 mln on greenhouse - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16289/story.htm
6/6/02
5:08:09 PM
Airlines Report Hearing Only Vague Caution
by Matthew L. Wald, NY Times
WASHINGTON, May 16 -- The two airlines whose planes were hijacked on Sept. 11 said today that they had received only general, vague warnings of terrorism last summer and nothing that would have prompted them to make major changes in their operations.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the information in the August briefing for President Bush was not new and would not have prompted it to make specific recommendations to the airlines.
"American Airlines received no specific information from the U.S. government advising the carrier of a potential terrorist hijacking in the United States in the months prior to Sept. 11, 2001," the company said. "American receives F.A.A. security information bulletins periodically, but the bulletins were extremely general in nature and did not identify a specific threat or recommend any specific security enhancements." [...snip...]
At United Airlines, ... Joe Hopkins, a spokesman, said: "Carriers like United receive security alerts and cautions from time to time in our daily interaction with government agencies, but they're typically very general in nature. Last year, in 2001, there were no alerts or cautions that indicated a Sept. 11 scenario was credible or possible."
The chief spokesman for the aviation agency, Scott Brenner, said today that the agency had issued several alerts last summer but that they were general in nature and urged the airlines to take precautions. Mr. Brenner said the agency did not take any action immediately after the president's August briefing because that session was based on "information that we were aware of already."
Another circular was then distributed on Aug. 16 warning of breakthroughs made in disguising weapons, Mr. Brenner said.
Norman Y. Mineta, the secretary of transportation, said today that there was "no specificity to the information" his agency passed on to airlines and airports last summer.
"There was no way we could have, let's say, connected the dots to point to what happened on the 11th of September," Mr. Mineta said.
The general idea that Osama bin Laden might attack American airlines had been public for months. The aviation agency publishes an annual report called Criminal Acts Against Aviation, and the 2000 edition, published on the agency's Web site in 2001, said that although Mr. bin Laden "is not known to have attacked civil aviation, he has both the motivation and the wherewithal to do so."
"Bin Laden's anti-Western and anti-American attitudes make him and his followers a significant threat to civil aviation, particularly to U.S. civil aviation," it said.
Delta, Southwest, Northwest, Continental and US Airways said they would not publicly discuss security. Several airports took the same position.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/17/politics/17AIRL.html?todaysheadlines
6/6/02
4:42:27 PM
Cryptic Tapes From 2000 Hinted At Air Attack in US
by John Tagliabue
PARIS, May 29 -- Italian and German investigators have disclosed fresh information suggesting that hints of an attack involving aircraft and the United States were more widespread among European law enforcement agencies before Sept. 11 than previously suspected.
The disclosures come after weeks in which the Bush administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which announced a shake-up today, have come under sharp criticism that they did not pay sufficient heed to signs of Al Qaeda plots in the United States that may have alerted them to the Sept. 11 attacks.
A Central Intelligence Agency spokesman said today that before Sept. 11 the F.B.I. had been given only a rough summary of the intercepts by Italian officials and that neither the C.I.A. nor the F.B.I. had been warned of specific threats mentioning the United States. Only after Sept. 11, he said, did Italian investigators listen to their tapes more carefully and realize the significance of the very cryptic conversations.
The intercepts, from the summer of 2000, nevertheless raise the question of whether Al Qaeda suspects in Italy knew in advance of plans for the Sept. 11 attacks and whether Al Qaeda cells elsewhere might also have known. They may also help investigators to draw links between Al Qaeda cells throughout Europe and elsewhere that remain active even today.
This week, senior German investigators said communications among Al Qaeda cells, which one official estimated as containing "several thousand" members worldwide, had recently picked up. Citing evidence that Al Qaeda is continuing to recruit in Europe and elsewhere, they said that attacks by the group were possible almost anywhere.
A senior Italian intelligence official, commenting on the intercepts, cautioned that the time of the conversations -- over a year before the attacks in New York and Washington -- and a tendency of Al Qaeda cells to communicate in wild imagery made interpretation difficult.
Nevertheless, he said, the intercepts demonstrate "clearly that they were organizing something," but that the exchanges gained intelligibility only after Sept. 11.
In the Italian police intercepts, a suspected Al Qaeda member from Yemen tells an Egyptian living in Italy that he is "studying airplanes," and adds: "God willing, I hope that I can bring you a window or piece of airplane the next time we meet."
According to the Italian translation of the Arabic, he goes on: "We must only strike them, and hold our heads on high. Remember well: the danger in the airports." Referring to the United States, he says, "We intermarry with Americans, and thus they study the Koran. They have the feeling they are lions, a world power; but we will do them this service, and then the fear will be seen."
These intercepted conversations and others similar to them are part of the court record of trials in Milan of Al Qaeda suspects arrested in a series of raids in northern Italy. Italian newspapers have quoted them at length in recent days. The prosecutor in the trials, Stefano Dambruoso, reached by phone, would not comment on them except to confirm their authenticity.
The conversations were recorded in August 2000 in a Citroen car that the police had bugged. The car was driven by Mahmoud es-Sayed Abdelkader, then 39, an Egyptian who was named in a Treasury Department order earlier this year blocking the assets of suspected terrorists.
In 1997, Mr. Sayed was convicted in absentia by an Egyptian court in connection with the massacre that year of foreign tourists at Luxor. Italian investigators suspect Mr. Sayed of being Al Qaeda's leading operative in Italy. The conversation was recorded after Mr. Sayed picked up the Yemeni, Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman, at Bologna airport.
The Italian official said that the intercepts showed "clearly that they were organizing something." But he added that, "to conclude at a distance of one year and one month before" Sept. 11 that the men were referring to the attacks in the United States "would be a bit strong."
Moreover, he said, interpretation is rendered difficult by a propensity in Al Qaeda to use flowery images. In one passage, for instance, Mr. Abdulrahman says, "There are big clouds in the sky, there in that country the fire has been lit, and awaits only the wind." The official said that such images can often mean the opposite of what they appear to mean, and "require translation."
In an intercept from January 2001, a Tunisian later convicted in Milan of terrorism, asks Mr. Sayed, apparently referring to false passports, "Will these work for the brothers who are going to the United States?" Mr. Sayed responded harshly, "Don't ever say those words again, not even joking." He added that, "this plan is very, very secret."
The Italian official said the intercepts offered evidence of ties between extremists in Italy and cells in Germany and the United States. The main figures in the Sept. 11 attacks, including Mohamed Atta, considered the coordinator of the suicide hijackers, lived in Hamburg, Germany, and trained at flight schools in the United States.
While the official said that "we have not found direct links with Hamburg," German officials said they are intensifying an investigation to flesh out the network of Al Qaeda cells in Europe before Sept. 11.
A spokeswoman for the federal police said the investigation focused on two apartments in Berlin that are believed to have been used by an Algerian extremist, Muhammad Bensakhria, who was later arrested in the northern Spanish city of Alicante and extradited to France. Searches in the apartments turned up equipment for making false passports and credit cards.
The spokeswoman, Birgit Heib, said the investigation "stemmed from an old lead that has taken on greater significance." She did not elaborate.
But the Berlin daily Tagespiegel says in an article to appear Thursday that the federal prosecutor, Kay Nehm, has ordered an investigation of Islamic fundamentalists who trained at Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and later operated out of Berlin.
Mr. Bensakhria, the Algerian, was the leader of an Al Qaeda cell in Frankfurt called the Meliani Group, for his nom de guerre. Five members of the group are now on trial there accused of planning attacks on targets in the French city of Strasbourg. The group's breakup led to further arrests, including six in Britain, where the police found plans to produce Sarin nerve gas.
At a meeting Tuesday of European security officials in Bonn, Hans J. Beth, the director of international terrorism at Germany's domestic intelligence service, said his agency operates on the assumption that Mr. bin Laden and other leading Al Qaeda figures had not been killed or captured in Afghanistan and were still in a position to order or approve attacks.
Manfred Klink, the director of Germany's Federal Criminal Police, which has spearheaded the investigation of the Hamburg cell, told the meeting that a "network of several thousand fanatical Muslims" remains in place in Western Europe, North America, and the Arab countries. He added that the majority had been trained in camps in Afghanistan to carry out attacks and that a "significant number" remained in Germany awaiting orders.
German officials said they had also received threats in early January against German interests in the Middle East because of the trial that began on April 16 of the five Islamic radicals in Frankfurt.
In April, 14 German tourists were among 19 people left dead when a truck filled with gas exploded at a Jewish synagogue in Tunisia. German officials have said they have identified links between the suspected attacker, Nizar Ben Mohamed Nasr Nawar, a Tunisian, and a ring of militants linked to Mr. bin Laden's Al Qaeda network who worked out of Montreal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/international/europe/30ITAL.html?todayshe adlines
6/6/02
4:36:35 PM
'Scams Away: The Boom Is Falling'
Topic: The Bush Administration
by Al Martin
In an incredible display of arrogance, George Bush said that HE (not the White House, but HE) will no longer tolerate second-guessing on the subject of the growing questions of what did the Bush Administration know and when did it know it regarding threatened terrorist attacks against the United States prior to 9-11.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld then came out with a press release from the Department of Defense, stating that "those who ask questions could face government charges."
The Bush Administration publicly stated that there is one congressional investigation ongoing into this matter, and they will not allow any further congressional investigations to be formed. Nor will they answer any further questions by the media on this subject.
This all happened when Fox News and MSNBC began to leak out some FBI documents, which our inside source had told us about a long time ago. This source actually knew the people who had been dealing with the major media outlets. They were FBI documents including a memorandum, which indicated that the warnings the White House had prior to 9-11 were in fact more substantial than what the White House let on.
The White House has admitted that it did have vague and nebulous warnings of a potential terrorist attack, led by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group. But it had numerous such warnings, and as presidential press spokesman Ari Fleischer said, how many times can you cry wolf before people won't listen to you anymore? The White House also claimed that none of the information they had gotten from the FBI and the CIA was in substantive enough detail to put together any defensive plan of action.
As it turns out, there was a key FBI memorandum, which never went up the chain of command. It was written by an agent in Phoenix, in which he specifically mentioned that Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda group may use hijacked aircraft in a terrorist attack against a CIA building or other principal federal offices in Washington. The FBI also believed that potential commercial targets included the World Trade Center and the Sears Tower in Chicago. This document, for some reason, never went up the chain of command.
The Bush Administration is trying to claim that they weren't aware of it.
Their attitude is that they didn't know that terrorists were going to hijack aircraft and use them as missiles, and there is no real way to defend against that.
However, what has since come out of the Department of Defense is that they took the threats more seriously and did upgrade White House, Pentagon, CIA and Capital building anti-aircraft security capability.
But they did nothing to attempt to protect any commercial assets.
The FBI documents in question weren't actually leaked. Originally they were simply sold -- for cash money to a major news outlet.
This news outlet then simply sat on the documents apparently waiting until they believed the time was right. They tried to get other media outlets interested in it, and they couldn't. This goes back to August of 2001.
The problem was that they couldn't get the other networks interested in it, and the other networks were frankly frightened. They couldn't get any Democrats in Congress interested in it either because the Democrats were also frightened of raising the subject.
Fox then had to wait for others to catch up to them, a common game in the media. (I played it the same way before.) Sometimes one media outlet or one newspaper has to wait for the rest of the world to catch up to where it is. This is very common in the media particularly when it comes to exposing government misdeeds.
All the newspapers played this game after Iran-Contra. They'd get a hold of something hot. They'd spread it around a little bit. But other media outlets, investigative organization, and congressional committees were still too far behind the eight ball to want to get up to speed that quickly. There would be still too many missing gaps.
It's not uncommon in the media business to sit on documents for months or even, in some cases, years. It's often done by individual investigative reporters themselves. They'll sit on information they have -- just waiting because they don't want to stick their necks out too far.
John Crudele, a political investigative reporter for the NY Post, and Rodney Bowers, a political reporter for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, were probably the two best players of this game. They used to call it "Texas Hold-'em"-- like the poker game. They would talk to everyone they knew, all the other political investigative reporters. They would tell them this is what we've got, then everyone else would start looking into it, and gradually they would get caught up to the lead guy. Then they would actually collaborate on the story.
(By the way, John Crudele recently wrote a great story on the missing half a trillion dollars from the US Treasury called "$1/2 Trillion Federal Deficit for Fiscal 2000,")
The Bush Administration is now circling the wagons. Imagine the arrogance of Rumsfeld to say that those who ask any further questions may face government charges.
Rumsfeld said -- Look at the homeland security act, the so-called USA Patriot Act, which very few people have read all the way through to the fine print.
Bush further said that anyone who continues to ask questions is acting "unpatriotically," and that is a hell of a club to wield, particularly over congressional Democrats -- especially when you have 90% of the people supporting the "war on terrorism."
Rumsfeld said that anyone asking questions (referring specifically to congressional committees and the media) could be charged with giving aid and comfort to the enemy -- if they attempt to question the motives of the administration with regards to its war on terrorism.
Senator Lieberman and Senator Daschle are up in arms about it. The Senate Democrat Caucus released a statement saying that they had warned the American people about this problem before -- regarding the USA Patriot Act and all the ensuing legislation that has since been passed. We tried to warn the American people before, they said, that the White House gave us the bum's rush in signing it.
In other words, no one who had voted on the US Patriot Act had actually read it.
The only thing they got was a two or three page compendium from the White House press office, but nobody was actually given the time to read this thing.
The White House was able to give them the bum's rush by going to all members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, and saying, "You'll sign it, you'll sign it now, you won't take the time to read it, and if you refuse to sign it, we'll label you as being unpatriotic" -- something which all members of Congress were frightened of. [...snip...]
Senator Lieberman had a constitutional law expert from Columbia University, who actually read through every word of it, including all the compendium of legislation that had since been passed.
Lieberman, Daschle and Gephardt wrote in a memorandum just released that Congress has effectively given the Bush Administration "near dictatorial powers."
Lieberman then made a wise crack saying that, "You know, given a Bush, near dictatorial power is a recipe for disaster." And I doubt there would be many who would disagree with that.
The Administration is using a two-pronged attack.
One of the prongs is that if you continue to ask questions you'll be labeled as "unpatriotic."
Anybody in the media who continues to ask questions will lose their White House access.
And if anybody wants to press it, they can potentially be charged with a criminal act, for giving aid and comfort to the enemy and questioning the motives and the president's decisions and his tactics in the war on terrorism.
It is possible to prosecute someone who continues to ask questions in the tremendous expansion of the War Powers Act of 1947 that the USA Patriot Act has facilitated.
This is where the new concentration of dictatorial presidential power now lies -- in the newly expanded War Powers Act of 1947.
That's why, in the USA Patriot Act, they did not specifically strengthen the Sedition Acts (S. 792, US Title Code 18) because they were afraid that it would cause too much publicity.
The Administration got it in through the back door by dramatically expanding the War Powers Act, which by definition strengthens the Government's ability to prosecute somebody for sedition.
The accounting mess in the United States also continues to grow. The next targets are IBM, Baxter International and Lehman Brothers. We are also hearing about a whole new scheme -- not only fudging the numbers, but IBM, Baxter and many other large publicly traded corporations are committing scams against their own pension accounts.
They are creating fictitious trading profits, which they then scalp off the top of the pension plan and add to their bottom line to make their earnings look better. This is not just marginal.
This is an out- and-out fraud -- creating fictitious trades through employee pension accounts. These are trades, which weren't even actually executed, thus creating fictitious paper profits, then transferring those fictitious paper profits to the corporate treasury.
Nothing is skimmed because no money was actually created. These are just numbers for public consumption to bolster the price of the stock.
This is money, which the corporation claims it earned -- which it didn't. And who would sign off on this? Their in-house auditors and in-house pension actuaries.
This also illustrates the growing problem of pension fraud in this country. The Bush Administration tries to hide behind the US Government's Pension Guarantee Corp.
They try to present this illusion to the American people -- "don't worry about your pensions because we have the Pension Guarantee Corp." And a lot of people swallow it.
What they don't know is that the Pension Guarantee Corp. has not been funded since 1986.
Currently the contingent liability of the Pension Guarantee Corp. exceeds its current assets by $3.5 trillion. As I've been trying to point out (Fox News and CNBC have also been reporting on this issue), our nation's public and private pension system is now shakier than it has ever been before -- since the tactic was developed during the Reagan/ Bush years of leveraged buyouts using pension money. This has caused a massive drain in the nation's public and private pension systems.
We are not [just] talking about individual companies' pension schemes, but governmental pension schemes as well, like Social Security, where there is no money. There isn't any money anywhere in these pension schemes.
Steve Forbes, who probably understands that his political days are over, was also synopsizing the situation the way I did.
If George Bush serves a second term, we will have a nation with a debt to GDP ratio of 236% and a debt service to budget ratio of 37%.
We will also have an aggregate [debt] of $10 trillion, which the Reagan Bush Regime and the Bush II Regime cannot account for.
This is ten trillion missing dollars, which the Reagan/Bush people and the Bush Junior People (which are all the same people) cannot account for.
It's money that's "missing" from the Department of Defense, the Treasury Department, the Education Department, Social Security, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, etc. The list just goes on and on.
This is ten trillion dollars, which the Reagan Bush/Bush Jr. people cannot account for. This is money, which will never be accounted for.
It should also be mentioned that the Federal Reserve reports (it's hard to find this information since you have to go to the Comptroller of the Currency) describes record outflows of money from the United States.
It's money leaving the country from the so-called "Smart Republican Money Set," money that's leaving at record levels. Not only are the "Smart Republican Money Set" transferring their money out of the country into numbered offshore accounts, they are now beginning to expatriate themselves.
In the last six months, a record number of American citizens with a net worth of over $100 million have become expatriates.
They can't use the tax loophole act anymore to avoid capital gains, but what people don't understand is that when the Clinton Administration, over bitter Republican opposition, closed the expatriate tax loophole act of 1995, which said you could flee the United States and become a "tax exile" to avoid paying current capital gains taxes, this included only personal accounts.
It didn't relate to built in capital gains in pension accounts, trust accounts and corporate accounts -- which is where anyone who has any real money is going to keep their money anyway. In other words, this tax loophole act that the Democrats like to point to as one of their few successes is really a very hollow victory.
The Bank of International Settlement (BIS) indicates continued record conversion of US dollars by US citizens into gold in offshore accounts.
What does the Smart Republican Money know?
They know that it's all going to fall apart and that the Bush Administration has essentially given up any pretense of prudent fiscal management.
It doesn't care how much deficit it creates.
The Bush Administration will make no effort to pay down the national debt and will make no effort to refund Social Security despite its pledges to do so, and it will make no effort to explain $10 trillion of missing money.
The only thing the Bush Administration will do from now until the time it leaves office (whether it has one term or two terms) is continuously seek to expand defense spending with all of its rich revenues going to Republican interests, through contract skimming and offshore shadowy research groups controlled by Republican interests.
In other words, the Bush Administration will act with reckless abandon to complete the final phase of their agenda, which, according to George Bush Sr., is "the continuous consolidation of money and power into higher, tighter and righter hands."
As of right now, the top 1% of the population controls 63% of the nation's wealth.
That top 1% is 78.3% Republican.
If Bush serves two terms in office, the top 1% will control two-thirds of the nation's wealth and the Bushonian Agenda would have been effectively completed in terms of creating a New Ruling Elite.
It should be noted that the majority of the money that the 1% controls has been earned by some fraudulent activity.
Most of the expatriates (those with a $100 million or more) know the law and they know where to domicile.
A lot of them are going to their luxurious resort mansions in Guiana. Not as many are going to the Cayman Islands because the Caymans [aren't] as tight a domiciliary as [they once were]. It used to be that everyone would simply go to their Caribbean retreats, but now that those retreats are not as tight (either protecting them from extradition or protecting their money) many now are simply going to their Swiss chalets.
Their money is disbursed in hidden accounts throughout the world, but Switzerland is still the Haven of Last Resort for Republican Cabalists.
And then there's the recent pullout of the Crusader weapons system scam. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wanted the contract canceled because frankly the Crusader, the 40-ton self-propelled 335 mm. howitzer system, is ancient technology. None of our armed forces want it, and it's not easy to get it in theater or to move it around. There are also no foreign governments that want it.
Carlucci, the Carlyle Group and their subsidiary, the United Defense Group were simply trying to suck $11 billion out of the US Treasury.
This was Carlucci's personal last-ditch effort to pull off a big scam -- an antiquated weapons system that would defraud the US taxpayers.
After all, they don't call the Carlyle Group, "Scam R Us," for nothing. Their entire balance sheet has been built gratis of the US taxpayer.
When will the American taxpayers wake up?
It is almost too late, if Bush is allowed another term in office.
The economic damage to our nation's public purse will be so severe that not even a fiscally prudent government coming in after Bush will be able to correct the problem because of the declining economy in the rest of the world.
Bush understands that it's too late.
He's just operating with reckless abandon to suck every penny he can out of the US taxpayer and to consolidate within that one percent through a variety of scams, artifices, cross holdings, trust, limited partnerships, etc., the money and power they've accumulated.
It'll just be Scams Away for them until the end. In our new "War on Terrorism," it's no longer Bombs Away. It's Scams Away.
And whose fault is this? It is the fault of the American People who have supported Reagan, Bush and Bush II.
Those who support him should receive their comeuppance.
When you keep scamscateers in power as long as US voters have (aka Reagan/Bush/Bush Jr. ), eventually the bill becomes due.
Coincidentally Pfizer announced that there is a record number of depressed people in the United States.
The number of depressed people in the United Sates since George Bush Jr. has come to office has increased by 11%. And that is the reaction to the Bushonian form of government.
In other words, the American people have given up.
As always, the American people, not knowing what to do, being confused, not understanding what's happening, but understand-ing that the nation is slowly being bled dry, simply don't know what to do.
They're fearful of their pensions. They're fearful for their 401K accounts. They don't know who to vote for. They've heard so many stories, so they simply take Prozac. The people don't know what else to do.
You know it's bad when not only the people take Prozac, but now those who cause the people to take Prozac, the scamscateers themselves, are taking Prozac.
Washington, DC is now the Number One metropolitan area for sales of Prozac.
There's nothing like a good fresh scam.
People I know from Washington (my old chums I knew from the time I was still in government) call me up and rub it in my face.
People call me up and say, "Al, haven't you beat yourself up enough? You know there's no money in telling the American people the truth. Come back inside. We've got a great real estate scam here going against HUD.
Everyone's going to make three or four hundred grand. You just move it into your offshore account.
Your name will never even be used."
You don't think that gets tempting?
I get my old pals in government calling me up and saying, "You know your offshore account has had a zero balance for fifteen years.
And that's what you get for trying to tell the truth.
Those who tell the truth must be punished."
And then I'm reminded of the words of George Bush who said, "The truth will get you broke."
Or I am reminded of the words of Oliver North who said, "The truth is useless. You can't deposit it in the bank. You can't eat it. It's absolutely useless."
And anyone who is interested in the truth doesn't have any money.
In Washington, there are no limits now. The covers have been blown off. There are no restraints anymore. There's not even a pretense. It's just naked, raw scams against the public purse. Nobody cares in Washington anymore. It's just grab what you can before it all comes to an end!
AL MARTIN is America's foremost whistleblower on government fraud and corruption. A retired US Navy Lt. Commander and former officer in the Office of Naval Intelligence, he has testified before Congress (the Kerry Committee and the Alexander Committee) regarding Iran-Contra. Al Martin is the author of "The Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran Contra Insider" (2001, National Liberty Press, $19.95; Toll FREE order line: 1-866-317-1390)
He lives at an undisclosed location, since the criminals named in his book have been returned to national power and prominence.
His column "Behind the Scenes in the Beltway" is published regularly on Al Martin Raw: Criminal Govt Conspiracy
Source: http://www.almartinraw.com/column58.html
6/6/02
4:27:37 PM
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain
6/6/02
4:24:09 PM
Public Citizen issued the following three press releases today:
1) Public Citizen Releases Database With Names of 6,700 "Questionable Doctors" in 12 States - Most Still Practicing Consumers Can Search Online for Their Doctor
2) $10.8 Million in Soft Money Flows to Top 527 Groups Gearing Up For Congressional Elections Amount May Be More, But Reports Are Missing in Flawed Disclosure System - Including Those of Katherine Harris' Group
3) Public Citizen Demands Disclosure of Pro-Yucca Campaign's Ties to the Nuclear Industry Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy a "Front Group" for NEI
June 5, 2002
Public Citizen Releases Database With Names of 6,700 "Questionable Doctors" in 12 States - Most Still Practicing
Consumers Can Search Online for Their Doctor
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen today released new information on approximately 6,700 physicians who have been disciplined by medical and osteopathic boards in 12 states and by other agencies for incompetence, misprescribing drugs, sexual misconduct, criminal convictions, ethical lapses and other offenses. Most of the doctors were not required to stop practicing, even temporarily.
The states are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Public Citizen has been publishing national and regional editions of the Questionable Doctors database in book form for more than a decade. But today marks the database's debut on the World Wide Web. The web site is www.questionabledoctors.org. Consumers will be able to search the list of disciplined doctors for free. For $10, they can view and print detailed disciplinary reports on up to 10 physicians within a three-month period in any of the states listed.
As part of the launch, Public Citizen is also publishing a California/Hawaii edition of Questionable Doctors in book form. Public Citizen will add other states to the online database and possibly publish more books throughout the year.
Examples of doctors who were disciplined but are currently allowed to continue practicing include:
· A California doctor who was convicted of battery after attacking his billing clerk and office partner;
· A New Hampshire doctor who delayed a Caesarean section, causing a baby to be born in a vegetative state and eventually die;
· A Massachusetts doctor who allowed a drug company representative to be present at a patient examination, telling the patient the observer was a "preceptor";
· An Indiana doctor who engaged in sexual misconduct with students ranging in age from 14 to 17; and,
· An Illinois doctor who twice perforated a uterus during two separate elective abortions.
"For many of the most serious offenses by doctors, the disciplinary actions imposed by state medical boards have been dangerously lenient," said Sidney Wolfe, M.D., director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group. "Choosing a doctor is one of the most critical decisions a consumer will make, but unfortunately, finding good, reliable information about physicians has been exceedingly difficult. We believe that to make the right choices about health care, consumers need to know whether their doctor has been disciplined for any offense and the details of the offense."
The majority of doctors disciplined for the five most serious offenses - sexual abuse or sexual misconduct; substandard care, incompetence or negligence; criminal conviction; misprescribing or overprescribing drugs; and substance abuse - were not required to stop practicing even temporarily. Therefore it is likely they are still practicing and that their patients are unaware of their offenses.
"All too often, state medical boards are more concerned about protecting the reputations of doctors than doing their job, which is to protect unsuspecting patients from doctors who may be incompetent or negligent," Wolfe said.
The Public Citizen online database lists doctors disciplined from 1992 through 2001. Information comes from all 50 state medical boards, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Food and Drug Administration. Previously listed physicians sanctioned in 1990 and 1991 were removed.
Using the information from the state and federal agencies, Public Citizen created a database containing the doctor's name, degree, license number, date of birth, location, the disciplinary state or agency, the date of the disciplinary action, the nature of the discipline and available information about the case. Public Citizen asked all the state medical boards to provide information about court actions that may have overruled or changed previous disciplinary actions. Any disciplinary actions that were overturned by courts or for which litigation ended in the doctor's favor were deleted from the database.
Public Citizen has long sought greater consumer access to information about doctors, and there have been recent improvements in making that information available. Most state medical boards now provide some physician discipline information on the Internet, but the information about disciplinary actions varies greatly, is often inadequate and can be difficult for people to access.
Information about doctor discipline, including state sanctions, hospital disciplinary actions and medical malpractice awards is now contained in the National Practitioner Data Bank, but that database is kept secret from the public.
"HMOs, hospitals and medical boards can look at the National Practitioner Data Bank, but consumers cannot," Wolfe said. "It is time we lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding doctors and allowed the people who have the most to lose from questionable doctors to get the information they need to protect themselves and their families. But until Congress finds the will to open up this information, Public Citizen will provide the public with as much of the data as we can obtain."
Public Citizen also has published a ranking of state medical boards, based on the number of serious disciplinary actions (license revocations, surrenders, suspensions and probation/restrictions) per 1,000 doctors in each state. In 2001, nationally there were 3.36 serious actions taken for every 1,000 physicians. The state rankings are available in the web at:
http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7166
"Nationwide, an extremely tiny fraction of doctors face disciplinary action," Wolfe said. "States need to start doing a better job of protecting the public."
Public Citizen recommends that states promptly make public all of their board disciplinary actions, malpractice payouts and hospital disciplinary actions; strengthen medical practice statutes; restructure their medical boards to sever any links with state medical societies; and increase funding and staffing for medical boards.
CONSUMER INFORMATION: Consumers will be able to search for names of disciplined doctors in the online database for free. For a $10 subscription, they can obtain detailed disciplinary reports on up to 10 physicians in any of the states listed over a three-month period. States available as of June 5 are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. Additional states will be added as the information becomes available. To order on the Internet, go to
http://www.questionabledoctors.org.
###
June 5, 2002
$10.8 Million in Soft Money Flows to Top 527 Groups Gearing Up For Congressional Elections
Amount May Be More, But Reports Are Missing in Flawed Disclosure System - Including Those of Katherine Harris' Group
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Shadowy "527" political organizations scrambled to collect nearly $11 million in soft money during the first three months of 2002 as they prepared for the November congressional elections, according to a report released today by Public Citizen. But lingering problems in the 527 financial disclosure system, which has been poorly administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), leave an incomplete picture of activities by these groups, which can accept unlimited contributions from unions, corporations and wealthy individuals.
Public Citizen analyzed the first quarter disclosure reports for 2002 and found - among other trends - that Jane Fonda continued to be the largest soft money donor in federal politics. During the first quarter of 2002, Fonda gave $400,000 to Pro-Choice Vote, bringing her total donations to the abortion rights group to $12.7 million since July 1, 2000, when 527 groups were first required to disclose their finances to the IRS.
The Public Citizen report, Off to the Races, follows up on two earlier reports Public Citizen issued on 527 groups. First quarter disclosure reports showed that 527s controlled by members of Congress ("politician 527s") were busy snaring soft money - mainly from corporations - before such contributions are banned by the McCain-Feingold reform law, which takes effect after the November election.
Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) had the most success, as his New American Optimists 527 collected $471,000, including $100,000 contributions each from trial lawyers Wade Byrd and John Williams. ARMPAC, the 527 of House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), collected $397,517, with most of the receipts coming from corporate donors such as Philip Morris ($50,000), U.S. Tobacco ($25,000) and BellSouth ($25,000). DeLay's chief deputy whip, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), garnered $275,309, mostly from corporations such as Verizon ($50,000) and BellSouth ($25,000). During that quarter these two telecommunications companies and others worked with Blunt and other Republican leaders to push key telecommunications legislation through the House.
Highly partisan "non-politician 527s" - those not formally controlled by federal officeholders - were even more successful at garnering soft money in early 2002. These groups, which will still be able to receive soft money after the November elections, were led by Impac 2000 ($1.4 million in receipts), a 527 group that fights for Democrats in congressional redistricting battles. Other top non-politician 527s were the New Democrat Network ($595,300), EMILY's List ($525,355) and the Republican Leadership Council ($510,750).
First quarter receipts showed some 527 groups increasing their efforts to collect soft money as they moved from 2001 into an election year. The top 50 527 groups collected $14.1 million in the second half of 2001 (groups report just twice in odd-numbered years, but quarterly in even-numbered years). They were on a more aggressive pace in the first three months of 2002, nabbing $10.8 million - a pace that projects to $21.6 million over six months.
"Because 527 groups were not required to disclose their finances during the comparable period in the last election cycle, there is no way to know if 527s are more active this cycle," said Frank Clemente, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch. "But we expect a surge in spending by these special interest groups as the November election nears."
In all, after their first-quarter 2002 hauls, the 100 527 groups believed to be most active in federal politics have collected $129 million in soft money since July 1, 2000.
First quarter disclosure reports - or the lack of them - showed how difficult it may be to track 527 groups as they try to influence the 2002 elections. Public Citizen continued to find glitches and mistakes in the IRS system. For example, financial reports for 10 of the 50 groups known to be most active in federal politics could not be found in the IRS Web-based disclosure system one month after the first quarter 2002 reporting deadline. It's not clear if the groups failed to file or whether the IRS lost their reports; the IRS can't say with certainty.
In other cases, reports on the IRS Web site appear and then mysteriously disappear without explanation. For instance, as of May 31, 2002, the most recent disclosure report for "American Values in Democracy Project, Inc.," a group chaired by Katherine Harris, Florida's secretary of state, showed nothing but four entirely blank pages.
"These partisan groups are likely to become major conduits for soft money banned by the McCain-Feingold reform law," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. "Yet the IRS disclosure system is riddled with flaws, lax in oversight and seemingly indifferent to 527 groups that appear to evade the law. This leaves the public in the dark about the influence of these groups as the 2002 election unfolds."
In a May 2 press release, the IRS announced an amnesty program allowing delinquent 527s to submit late filings without paying any penalties. An IRS spokesman told Public Citizen that the agency will start enforcing 527 regulations after July 15, 2002.
A copy of Public Citizen's report is available at:
http://www.citizen.org/congress/campaign/legislation/section527/articles.cfm?ID=7787
###
June 5, 2002
Public Citizen Demands Disclosure of Pro-Yucca Campaign's Ties to the Nuclear Industry
Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy a "Front Group" for NEI
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Public Citizen today sent a letter to Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy to request full disclosure of the group's funding sources and membership. The Alliance has launched an aggressive television and newspaper advertising campaign in support of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump.
The Alliance surfaced following Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's Feb. 14 recommendation in favor of the nuclear dump, which is widely opposed by environmental and public interest organizations. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee narrowly approved the Yucca Mountain proposal 13-10 today. The full Senate is expected to vote on the controversial issue in the coming weeks.
In statements made to the media, the Alliance has claimed to represent "more than 26 million consumers, seniors, environmentalists, business leaders and union members," but the group does not have a Web site and is not registered as a lobbyist organization. However, Public Citizen has learned that the Alliance is housed at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the nuclear industry's lobbying organization. Alliance director Sherry Reilly has worked for NEI in public relations for several years.
"This group appears to be intentionally obscuring information about its membership and funding," said Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen president. "This Alliance is nothing more than a front group for NEI. Its pro-Yucca Mountain advertising campaign, which claims to represent the views of consumers, is misleading and disingenuous absent full disclosure of the Alliance's close ties to the commercial nuclear industry."
The nuclear industry has heavily lobbied in support of the Yucca Mountain proposal because it is desperate for a "solution" to the nuclear waste problem to help pave the way for an expansion in nuclear power generation. According to Public Citizen research, current U.S. senators and 2002 senatorial candidates have taken more than $5 million from the nuclear power industry in political action committee "hard money" contributions since 1997.
The nuclear industry contributed more than $82,000 to Abraham's failed bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate prior to his controversial Yucca Mountain site recommendation, and Abraham's top nuclear contributors in 2000 spent $25 million lobbying Congress in that year alone.
"Lawmakers should not fooled by the Alliance's efforts to put a friendly face on the industry that continues to generate 2,200 tons of high-level radioactive waste each year," Claybrook said. "When the Senate votes on the repository proposal, the agenda of the well-financed nuclear industry should not be allowed to dominate concerns for public health, safety and the environment. This is just one more example of industry maneuvering and manipulating to cover their tracks and pretend they represent the public interest."
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
For more information, please visit http://www.citizen.org
6/6/02
4:20:18 PM
Some Common Truths
- Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
- People who want to share their religious or political views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
- Nobody really cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
- You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
- You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
- The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.
- The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.
- Never argue with an idiot - people watching can't tell which is which.
6/6/02
4:16:04 PM
There Is A Firestorm Coming, And It Is Being Provoked By Mr Bush
More and more, President Bush's rhetoric sounds like the crazed videotapes of Osama bin Laden
by Robert Fisk
So now Osama bin Laden is Hitler. And Saddam Hussein is Hitler. And George Bush is fighting the Nazis. Not since Menachem Begin fantasized to President Reagan that he felt he was attacking Hitler in Berlin - his Israeli army was actually besieging Beirut, killing thousands of civilians, "Hitler" being the pathetic Arafat - have we had to listen to claptrap like this. But the fact that we Europeans had to do so in the Bundestag on Thursday - and, for the most part, in respectful silence - was extraordinary.
I'm reminded of the Israeli columnist who, tired of the wearying invocation of the Second World War to justify yet more Israeli brutality, began an article with the words: "Mr Prime Minister, Hitler is dead." Must we, forever, live under the shadow of a war that was fought and won before most of us were born? Do we have to live forever with living, diminutive politicians playing Churchill (Thatcher and, of course, Blair) or Roosevelt? "He's a dictator who gassed his own people," Mr Bush reminded us for the two thousandth time, omitting as always to mention that the Kurds whom Saddam viciously gassed were fighting for Iran and that the United States, at the time, was on Saddam's side.
But there is a much more serious side to this. Mr Bush is hoping to corner the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, into a new policy of threatening Iran. He wants the Russians to lean on the northern bit of the "axis of evil", the infantile phrase which he still trots out to the masses. More and more, indeed, Mr Bush's rhetoric sounds like the crazed videotapes of Mr bin Laden. And still he tries to lie about the motives for the crimes against humanity of 11 September. Yet again, in the Bundestag, he insisted that the West's enemies hated "justice and democracy", even though most of America's Muslim enemies wouldn't know what democracy was.
In the United States, the Bush administration is busy terrorizing Americans. There will be nuclear attacks, bombs in high-rise apartment blocks, on the Brooklyn bridge, men with exploding belts - note how carefully the ruthless Palestinian war against Israeli colonization of the West Bank is being strapped to America's ever weirder "war on terror" - and yet more aircraft suiciders. If you read the words of President Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and the ridiculous national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, over the past three days, you'll find they've issued more threats against Americans than Mr bin Laden.
But let's get back to the point. The growing evidence that Israel's policies are America's policies in the Middle East - or, more accurately, vice versa - is now being played out for real in statements from Congress and on American television. First, we have the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee announcing that Hizbollah - the Lebanese guerrilla force that drove Israel's demoralized army out of Lebanon in the year 2000 - is planning attacks in the US. After that, we had an American television network "revealing" that Hizbollah, Hamas and al- Qa'ida - Mr bin Laden's organization- have held a secret meeting in Lebanon to plot attacks on the US.
American journalists insist on quoting "sources" but there was, of course, no sourcing for this balderdash, which is now repeated ad nauseam in the American media. Then take the "Syrian Accountability Act" that was introduced into the US Senate by Israel's friends on 18 April. This includes the falsity uttered earlier by Israel's Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, that Iranian Revolutionary Guards "operate freely" on the southern Lebanese border. Now there haven't been Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon - let alone the south of the country - for 18 years. So why is this lie repeated yet again?
Iran is under threat. Lebanon is under threat. Syria is under threat - its "terrorism" status has been heightened by the State Department - and so is Iraq. But Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister held personally responsible by Israel's own inquiry for the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1,700 Palestinians in Beirut in 1982, is - according to Mr Bush - "a man of peace". How much further can this go? A long way, I fear.
The anti-American feeling throughout the Middle East is palpable. Arab newspaper editorials don't come near to expressing public opinion. In Damascus, Majida Tabbaa has become famous as the lady who threw the US Consul Roberto Powers out of her husband's downtown restaurant on 7 April . "I went over to him," she said, "and told him, 'Mr Roberto, tell your George Bush that all of you are not welcome - please get out'." Across the Arab world, boycotts of American goods have begun in earnest.
How much longer can this go on? America praises Pakistani President Musharraf for his support in the "war on terror", but remains silent when he arranges a dictatorial "referendum" to keep him in power. America's enemies, remember, hate the US for its "democracy". So is General Musharraf going to feel the heat? Forget it. My guess is that Pakistan's importance in the famous "war on terror" - or "war for civilization" as, we should remember, it was originally called - is far more important. If Pakistan and India go to war, I'll wager a lot that Washington will come down for undemocratic Pakistan against democratic India.
Across the former Soviet southern Muslim republics, America is building air bases, helping to pursue the "war on terror" against any violent Muslim Islamist groups that dare to challenge the local dictators. Please do not believe that this is about oil. Do not for a moment think that these oil and gas-rich lands have any economic importance for the oil-fueled Bush administration. Nor the pipelines that could run from northern Afghanistan to the Pakistani coast if only that pesky Afghan loya jirga could elect a government that would give concessions to Unocal, the oddly named concession whose former boss just happens to be a chief Bush "adviser" to Afghanistan.
Now here's pause for thought. Abdelrahman al-Rashed writes in the international Arabic daily Asharq al-Awsat that if anyone had said prior to 11 September that Arabs were plotting a vast scheme to murder thousands of Americans in the US, no one would have believed them. "We would have charged that this was an attempt to incite the American people against Arabs and Muslims," he wrote. And rightly so.
But Arabs did commit the crimes against humanity of 11 September. And many Arabs greatly fear that we have yet to see the encore from the same organization. In the meantime, Mr Bush goes on to do exactly what his enemies want; to provoke Muslims and Arabs, to praise their enemies and demonize their countries, to bomb and starve Iraq and give uncritical support to Israel and maintain his support for the dictators of the Middle East.
Each morning now, I awake beside the Mediterranean in Beirut with a feeling of great foreboding. There is a firestorm coming. And we are blissfully ignoring its arrival; indeed, we are provoking it.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk
6/6/02
4:11:16 PM
Kokomo Indiana Hum Still A Mystery
It started as a low hum, barely noticeable. But within months, the endless throbbing was like a corkscrew driving into Diane Anton's temple.
Some in Kokomo (population 46,113) claim the city government knows the noise comes from an industrial source but believes officials are in cahoots with local industry and refuse to make companies fix the problem.
The walls of her (Ms. Anton's) house vibrated. Her bed shook. Bouts of nausea, short-term memory loss and hand tremors followed.
"The noise was so penetrating and invasive," she said, "It was just not getting better."
So Ms. Anton quit her job, abandoned her $180,000 house and fled. She was the first person driven out of the city by what's come to be known as "the Kokomo Hum." But she may not be the last.
As many as 90 people in this industrial, central Indiana city have complained about a low-frequency hum for the past three years, City Attorney Ken Ferries said.
"While most residents don't hear a thing beyond the typical sounds of the city's factories and busy roads, the City Council approved a $100,000 study of the mysterious noise, often described as the constant idling of a tractor trailer's diesel engine."
"We decided, rather than sit on our duffs and talk about it, let's try to do something," Ferries said. "The city intends to request proposals for the study by the end of the month."
Those who suffer the hum, and have had years to educate themselves about the sound, say it's about time. They point to evidence, grounded in science, that the exposure to consistent, low-frequency noise can cause vibracoustic disease. It has symptoms that mirror the ailments those in Kokomo are complaining about--nausea, headaches and dizziness, to name a few.
Unidentified sounds that bother a handful of people have popped up in communities around the world, but because so few are affected, the issue hasn't received much attention.
In Taos, New Mexico, a small town in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, some residents were bothered by a mystery noise in the early 1990s.
They too described the sound as a diesel truck idling in the distance and said it caused sleeplessness, dizziness and a host of other symptoms.
On the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, people have long complained of health problems caused by low-frequency sound coming from a U.S. Navy bombing range. The Navy has discounted these claims and continues bombing in the area.
Kathie Sickles, who lives near Kokomo, spends most of her free time trying to educate people about the hum. She packages research papers and other studies in bright- colored plastic folders and hands them out to City Council members. She makes flyers for the public (entitled) Sound pollution can hurt you! filled with Internet addresses and lists of symptoms associated with exposure to low- frequency sound.
"People need to know this is going on," said Sickles, who founded a group called Our Environment. "People are getting sick and nothing's being done."
Angelo Campanella, an acoustical engineer hired by (Diane) Anton, detected low-frequency sound in her neighborhood, but said further research would be needed to clearly determine a source. Campanella said he was not able to hear the sound Anton described but believed others may be more sensitive to it.
Most Kokomo residents aren't, however. Jeff Smith, owner of Jeff's Barber Shop, said aside from news coverage of the issue in the Kokomo Tribune , which urged an investigation in a front- page editorial, he doesn't hear much about the hum.
"As far as I know, I don't think it exists," Smith said. "I can't say I've ever heard it."
Complaints Surround Mysterious 'Kokomo Hum' (Hums Reported from New Mexico to Scotland)
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/kokomohum020213.html
Source: http://www.conspiracyjournal.com
6/6/02
4:05:58 PM
Climate Change May Become Major Player In Ozone Loss
While industrial products like chlorofluorocarbons are largely responsible for current ozone depletion, a NASA study finds that by the 2030s climate change may surpass chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as the main driver of overall ozone loss.
Drew Shindell, an atmospheric scientist from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and Columbia University, N.Y., finds that greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide are changing the climate in many ways. Some of those effects include water vapor increases and temperature changes in the upper atmosphere, which may delay future ozone recovery over heavily populated areas.
Scientists have expected the ozone layer to recover as a result of international agreements to ban CFCs that destroy ozone. CFCs, once used in cooling systems and aerosols, can last for decades in the upper atmosphere, where they break down, react with ozone, and destroy it. They remain the major cause of present-day ozone depletion.
"It's hard to tell if those great international agreements [to ban CFCs] work if we don't understand the other big things that are going on in the stratosphere, such as increases in greenhouse gases and water vapor," Shindell said. The stratosphere is a dry atmospheric layer between 6 and 30 miles (9.7 and 48.3 kilometers) up where most ozone exists.
Ozone shields the planet's surface from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation and makes life on Earth possible. The study examined the ozone layer over heavily populated areas around the equator and mid-latitudes where ozone thinning occurs, excluding the Polar regions, where 'ozone holes' form.
Ozone thinning can occur when increased emissions of methane get transformed into water in the stratosphere. At high altitudes, water vapor can be broken down into molecules that destroy ozone.
Also, methane and carbon dioxide change our climate by trapping heat in the atmosphere before it can escape out to space. This greenhouse effect, much like the inside of a car with all the windows closed, heats the air within the lowest layer of the atmosphere, called the troposphere. Warming in the troposphere can alter atmospheric circulation and make the air wetter, since warmer air holds more water. Though complex and not well understood, there is evidence that water vapor can get wafted from the troposphere into the stratosphere by shifting air currents caused by climate change.
Climate change from greenhouse gases can also affect ozone by heating the lower stratosphere where most of the ozone exists. When the lower stratosphere heats, chemical reactions speed up, and ozone gets depleted.
The chemical and atmospheric processes in the lower stratosphere are complex, quite variable, and not well understood. Shindell focused his study largely on the upper stratosphere where processes are simpler and better understood, and then used those findings to make inferences about ozone in the lower stratosphere.
Computer model simulations were used to separate the different factors that contribute to ozone changes. According to the models, which contain some uncertainty, ozone levels are expected to reach their lowest point in recorded history by around 2006. Scientists hope that by banning CFCs, ozone will eventually return to healthier levels, like those that existed prior to 1979.
One simulation isolated the impacts of CFCs on ozone, and showed that as CFCs decline, by the year 2040 overall ozone makes close to a full recovery from current low levels. When CFCs, water vapor and temperature changes were all combined in a computer model, by 2040, overall ozone levels recovered only slightly from their current low point.
These computer simulations suggest that climate change from greenhouse gases may greatly slow any anticipated ozone recovery. Shindell said the effects of climate change need to be better accounted for as scientists and others try to track the success of international agreements, like the 1987 Montreal Protocol that banned CFCs.
The paper appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres.
The study was supported by NASA's Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and a NASA Earth Observing System postdoctoral Fellowship.
Source; http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020422greengas.html
6/6/02
4:00:51 PM
Rainforest Wildlife Surprisingly Sensitive To Landscape Changes
Long-term study reveals dramatic impact of fragmentation
The slightest clearing in the vast rainforests of the Amazon can wreak havoc with the inhabitants, impeding the movement of species and disrupting their communities, according to the results of a 22-year investigation published in the June issue of Conservation Biology.
A team of researchers led by William F. Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute reviewed more than 340 articles and papers generated by the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), the world's largest and longest-running study of habitat fragmentation, since its inception in 1979.
They found that the effect of habitat fragmentation on the structure, composition and function of rainforests is far-reaching and widely felt. It increases local extinction rates for many plant and animal species; drastically alters species richness and abundance; and disrupts ecological processes, as well as creating opportunities for non-native species invasions, altering forest carbon storage and increasing vulnerability to fire.
"A surprising number of wildlife species are extremely sensitive to very small clearings, said Laurance. "Even a 30-meter-wide road alters the community composition of understory birds and other wildlife, and creates a complete barrier to the movements of some species.
Laurance believes the results of the analysis indicate clearly that Amazonian nature reserves will have to be very large in order to maintain their diversity and dynamics, and to withstand external threats from such human disturbances as burning, logging and hunting.
The Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragment Project, a joint effort of the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) in Brazil and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, seeks to answer questions about plant and animal relations, the biology of extinction, the process of forest regeneration, and the effects of forest edge and fragmentation on the genetic structure of tropical species.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, headquartered in Panama City, Republic of Panama, is one of the world's leading centers for research on the ecology, evolution and conservation of tropical organisms.
Source: http://www.stri.org
6/6/02
3:57:06 PM
India Mulls Joint Patrol of Kashmir
India would consider jointly monitoring the disputed Kashmir border with Pakistan.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-India-Pakistan-Vajpayee.html
Why Is Washington Ignoring The Warning Signs Of Economic Devastation?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.01F.arianna.ignoring.htm
Ashcroft Permits F.B.I. to Monitor Internet and Public Activities
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.01B.fbi.internet.htm
Unleashing the FBI - 'There Would Be No Place to Hide' DANGEROUS DEVELOPMENT
http://villagevoice.com/issues/0223/hentoff2.php
F.B.I. Faces No Legal Obstacles to Domestic Spying
The Supreme Court refused to forbid the Army to monitor public political activities.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.01C.fbi.ok.2.spy.htm
Trust in Government Declines
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.01D.no.trust.htm
C.I.A. Was Tracking Hijacker Months Earlier Than It Had Said
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04B.ciaearlier.htm
The Bush 9/11 Scandal for Dummies (Long but Excellent)
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03D.bw.911.dum.htm
Air Force Officer Suspended for Criticizing Bush
MONTEREY, Calif. (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force officer has been suspended from duty after he wrote a letter to a California newspaper accusing President Bush of allowing the Sept. 11 attacks to happen ``because he needed this war on terrorism,'' a military official said on Tuesday. (...) Butler's letter accused Bush -- the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces -- of allowing the Sept. 11 attacks to occur for his own political ends. ``Of course Bush knew about the impending attacks on America. He did nothing to warn the American people because he needed this war on terrorism. His daddy had Saddam and he needed Osama,'' Butler's letter said. ``His presidency was going nowhere. He wasn't elected by the American people, but placed into the Oval Office by the conservative Supreme Court...the economy was sliding into the usual Republican pits and he needed something to hang his presidency on.''
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06E.butler.bush.htm
TOP-SECRET PRISONERS IN THE USA
Nine months ago the Justice Department rounded up hundreds of Muslims suspected of involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Only one is charged with terrorism. Why do 325 remain in custody?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13285
THE ARMS CONTROL SHELL GAME
The Bush-Putin nuclear arms agreement is part of an elaborate charade put on by a White House intent on jeopardizing global security.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13257
6/5/02
4:42:30 PM
When Kids Count
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released the 2002 "Kids Count Data Book." This year's book specifically looks at low-income working families, their difficulties in making ends meet and caring for their kids, and what it takes to help them gain financial and family success. It includes state-by-state profiles with data on child well-being, education, the economic condition of families, child health, and children in low-income working families.
This annual resource of state-specific and national data on children's well-being can be useful for work on TANF reauthorization.
To access the Kids Count database, go to:
http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/kc2002
6/5/02
4:39:28 PM
What's at stake in the welfare bill
by Nathan Wilson
On August 22, 1996, then-President Bill Clinton signed a revolutionary welfare reform bill, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. While the legislation had its critics within and outside Congress, in the end it passed with a larger bipartisan majority than that which enacted Medicare in 1965. By October 1, 2002, Congress must pass and the president must sign legislation renewing many of the major provisions in the law.
The 1996 welfare reform law and its reauthorization this year is the most substantial change in social policy in well over 30 years. It will instantly impact the lives of millions of poor children, women, and men and will shape the long-term possibilities for low-wage workers to make work pay. As well, any social policy communicates a message about the commitments of our country.
The Senate soon will be voting on its bill. After it passes, a conference committee consisting of a few members of the Senate and the House will be formed to work out the differences between the Senate bill and the more regressive bill passed by the House in May. (You can find out which members of the House and Senate are on the conference committee by visiting www.calltorenewal.com. Of course, even if neither of your senators nor representative are on the committee, they still should hear your values and perspectives about our nation's obligations to all people, including the poor).
With the impending elections in November, the conference committee likely will seek as much agreement as possible before the August recess and then have staff fight out the remaining differences while their bosses are back home campaigning. Then Congress will vote in early September.
What this means for us is that while time is short, your senators and representatives and their staffs should be ready to talk and ready to listen. Now is the time to remind them that successful welfare legislation should provide sufficient child-care funding so parents don't have to choose between being good workers and being good parents, enough flexibility and funding for families to get the education and training they need to advance in the workplace, and benefits for all taxpayers, including legal immigrants.
Specifically, ask your legislator to support four simple and winnable ideas:
1. Define acceptable "work" in the law to include efforts to improve employment skills through education or vocational training for at least 24 months.
2. Invest in the quality and availability of child care for low-wage workers by substantially increasing the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
3. Base the amount of the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) block grants to states on the number of poor children per state.
4. Enable legal immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, and their children to receive TANF, Medicaid, and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) when in need so they can contribute to society.
In short, if the goal of the 1996 law was to get people off welfare, then the goal of reauthorization must be to help people stay off of welfare and achieve long-term independence.
Many of the families left on welfare are working hard to make it on their own. Our officeholders should give those families the support and tools they need to keep a decent job and work their way off the system permanently.
Rev. Nathan Wilson is the director of public policy for
Call to Renewal http://www.calltorenewal.com
6/5/02
4:22:30 PM
It is worth remembering the motto of the Mossad is,
"By way of deception, thou shalt do war."
6/5/02
4:17:05 PM
DAILY GRIST
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREE HUGGERS
Dang, Grist readers, y'all had such an amazingly generous response to yesterday's fundraising plea that we thought we'd better do it again. So here goes: For those of you who were away from your email accounts Tuesday, the skinny is that there are just three days left to dig deep into your hearts and wallets to keep your favorite environmental magazine off the endangered species list. So far, you haven't let us down -- in fact, we've been incredibly touched by our readers' responses. (For once, we're being serious. Who knew fundraising could be moving?) If you've already given, may Momma Earth heap blessings on your head; if not, please do what you can. Every little bit counts; that's what grassroots activism is all about, right?
support Grist: Give it up for a good cause by making a tax-deductible donation to your favorite online magazine <http://www.gristmagazine.com/about/support.asp?source=daily>
BAREFOOT BUT NOT IN PARK
With gasoline selling for less than the price of a bottle of Evian and SUVs all the rage, fuel economy seems to have fallen off most Americans' radar screens. But this is the U.S. of A., land of a million subcultures, and one of them is obsessed with the quest for ultra-fuel efficiency. While most of us would be psyched about the hybrid Honda Insight's 64 miles per gallon, members of the fuel-economy elite scoff at such small potatoes. They talk about much higher figures -- try 103 mpg -- and swap insider secrets for achieving them: feather the gas pedal, coast downhill, drive barefoot. Cars like the Insight have a feature on the dashboard indicating average mpg, and fanatics play the little green lines like a video game. But the mpg obsession could become all but obsolete when and if hydrogen fuel-cell cars hit the market. That's still a long way off, but yesterday, DaimlerChrylser's fuel-cell NECAR 5 completed a 3,000+ mile journey from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., which engineers said was proof that the technology is practical for real-world driving.
straight to the source: Wall Street Journal, Jeffrey Ball, 05 Jun 2002 (access ain't free) <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=173>
straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Nedra Pickler, 04 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=174>
only in Grist: Drive the friendly skies -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha120800.stm?source=daily>
do good: Take action to pledge to buy an eco-friendly car <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/autos.asp?source=daily#pledge>
CLASSLESS DISMISSAL
Seeking a comfortable position between environmentalists on the one hand and industry buddies on the other, President Bush let his administration release a report last week acknowledging for the first time that human-caused climate change would substantially change the U.S. environment -- but then distanced himself from the report's conclusions during a press conference yesterday. "I read the report put out by the bureaucracy," Bush said dismissively. His spokesperson, Ari Fleischer, emphasized persisting scientific uncertainty about some aspects of global warming -- long the Bush administration's standard line -- even though last week's report was by far the most categorical assessment of climate change to come out of this administration.
straight to the source: New York Times, Katharine Q. Seelye, 05 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=175>
do good: Take action to tell Bush to tackle global warming <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp?source=daily#kyoto>
THUMBS DOWN UNDER
Elsewhere in depressing but predictable climate change news, Australia rejected the Kyoto Protocol today, saying it would not ratify unless the U.S. did so as well, and unless developing nations were required to begin cutting their emissions. Taking a page from President Bush's book, Prime Minister John Howard said that ratifying the protocol "would cost us jobs and damage our industry." And Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said he could not support the protocol as long as major developing-world polluters such as India and China were exempted from immediate emissions cuts. Despite pressure from Japan and the European Union, Australia has been cool toward Kyoto from the beginning, even though concessions won during treaty negotiations would have allowed the country -- a big coal exporter -- to actually increase its greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent above 1990 levels. (Overall, the treaty commits industrialized nations to reduce emissions 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.)
straight to the source: BBC News, 05 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=176>
only in Grist: This just in -- the latest climate change news -- in our Heat Beat section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/heatbeat/thisjustin052302.asp?source=daily>
WHO'S THE UNFAIREST OF THEM ALL?
A major gas field development in the Arctic Circle's Barents Sea has won official approval from the European Free Trade Area, much to the dismay of environmentalists. Norway's state-owned energy group Statoil is running the $5.8 billion project, which will be the first commercial exploration of fossil fuel in the region and Europe's first offshore liquefied natural gas project. Known as Snow White, the project is being warmly welcomed by residents of the far northern town of Hammerfest, which will host the main on-land power production and benefit from a surge in job opportunities and economic investment. But environmentalists fear the energy project will damage the fragile northern marine ecosystem and open the floodgates for further development in the region.
straight to the source: BBC News, Lars Bevanger, 03 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=177>
6/5/02
4:13:09 PM
t r u t h o u t | 06.06
Hill Again Poised to Limit Constitution
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06A.poised.limit.htm
Suicide Car Bomb Kills at Least 16 in Israel
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06B.Megiddo.htm
Leahy-Grassley a Letter to Ashcroft in Support of Special Agent Coleen Rowley
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06C.Leahy.Grassley.htm
Nat Hentoff | Unleashing the FBI 'There Would Be No Place to Hide'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06D.hentoff.fbi.htm
Air Force Officer Suspended for Criticizing Bush
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06E.butler.bush.htm
White House Begins Handing Over Enron Documents
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06F.docs.2.senate.htm
William Safire | J. Edgar Mueller
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06G.safire.mueller.htm
87 Orphans Will Be Told of the Killers Next Door
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.06H.87orphans.htm
6/5/02
4:11:03 PM
Millions 'Forced Into Slavery'
Children are victims of slave traffickers The number of people forced into slavery around the world has risen to 27 million, according to a report published by an international human rights group.
The study - released to coincide with a special UN session on slavery - says millions of girls working as domestic servants are forced into sexual slavery.
The trafficking of child camel jockeys to the United Arab Emirates, bonded labour in Pakistan and forced labour in Sudan are also highlighted.
Slavery is fuelled by "poverty, vulnerability and lack of political will", Anti-Slavery International says.
Forced labour
Last week, the US endorsed a report drawn up by an international group of "eminent persons" which concluded that slavery existed in Sudan.
The report recommended that the Sudanese President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, take the lead by launching an anti-slavery campaign and calling for the release of all slaves.
The Sudanese Government comes in for criticism from Anti-Slavery International, which accuses it of "failing to take adequate steps to end raiding and slavery".
Between 5,000 and 14,000 people are said by the group to have been abducted into forced labour in Sudan since 1983.
There are also problems of forced labour in Mauritania where, the London-based rights group says, little has been done to secure the release of slaves or punish those who use them despite the abolition of slavery in 1981.
In Brazil, the report says, more than 1,000 people were rescued from forced labour last year, but many more remain enslaved on Amazonian estates.
The report says that in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh province, many women, children and men are forced to accept landlords' cash advances and work all day long for no wages.
Sex work
Many of those who are forcibly employed across the world are children.
Anti-slavery activists say millions of girls working as domestic servants are denied freedom and education and are vulnerable to abuse. Many are forced into sex work.
Boys are also victims. The report estimates that every year hundreds of boys, aged between four and 10, are trafficked from South Asia to the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states to race camels, a dangerous sport.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/newsid_2010000/2010401.stm
6/5/02
3:54:19 PM
Hydrogen-powered car completes cross-country journey
WASHINGTON (AP) _ DaimlerChrysler engineer Wolfgang Weiss was driving a new car that cost more than $1 million to build, but he was still worried it would break down on his cross-country drive.
The NECAR 5 runs on a hydrogen-powered fuel cell, a developing technology designed to replace traditional gasoline engines. DaimlerChrysler says the car had never before been driven so far.
On Tuesday, Weiss and his team of 15 other engineers completed the 3,262-mile trip from San Francisco to Washington, which they say proves the technology is practical for real-world driving conditions. Even under optimistic predictions, fuel cell vehicles won't be mass-produced until 2010.
``It runs much, much better than we believed,'' Ferdinand Panik, head of DaimlerChrysler's fuel cell group, said after the car pulled up at the Capitol at the end of its journey. ``It's a big, big step for a new idea, trying to look beyond the capability of fossil fuels.''
Fuel cells can run on hydrogen or other fuels that can be converted into hydrogen, such as ethanol, methanol and gasoline. Hydrogen is combined with oxygen from the air in a chemical reaction that produces electricity that powers the vehicle.
Pure hydrogen-fed fuel cells produce only water as a byproduct _ no harmful emissions _ but hydrogen is a flammable gas that poses safety questions, especially when crashes occur, and engineers continue work on safe onboard storage systems. Cells using other fuels pollute less than gasoline engines, but they have some emissions and produce less power than pure hydrogen.
The NECAR 5 _ ``New Electric Car, Fifth Generation'' _ is a subcompact Mercedes-Benz A-Class that ran on methanol converted to hydrogen. Since methanol is not available at the corner gas station, it had to be delivered to points along the route for refueling every 300 miles.
Traveling time was 85 hours over a span of 16 days, an average of about 38 mph, but DaimlerChrysler says the car reached speeds of more than 90 mph.
Changing the nation's automobile refueling system to hydrogen or other convertible fuels is among the largest hurdles for fuel cell technology. The Bush administration launched a partnership with domestic automakers in January to develop a system of hydrogen refueling stations and spur the growth of hydrogen fuel cells.
Other problems will keep the technology from reaching the mass market for at least a decade, experts say, including onboard storage of flammable hydrogen, reliability, durability and cost. The NECAR 5 is a concept car worth more than $1 million. Although costs are declining, the technology is far too expensive to sell for a profit.
``Obviously there is more work to be done before the vehicle is in the mass market, but this trip shows it can clear some of the customer-needs hurdles,'' said David Friedman, senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists' clean vehicles program. ``Now all they need to do is do it with a hydrogen version.''
Most major automakers plan to begin making some fuel cell vehicles available within a year for limited fleet sales, perhaps to government buyers who can carefully monitor performance.
DaimlerChrysler plans to have 30 fuel cell buses working in 10 European cities next year. Ford Motor Co. has a fuel cell Focus, aided by a battery for acceleration, that it plans to lease for fleet customers in early 2004. General Motors Corp. demonstrated a Chevrolet S-10 pickup last month that converts gasoline to hydrogen.
Increasing numbers of manufacturers are offering the public hybrid cars. A hybrid has an electric motor that helps the gasoline engine power the vehicle.
The NECAR 5 was guided on its voyage by a global positioning satellite system and accompanied by two SUVs and a van carrying replacement parts and tools.
The car broke down once, as the team approached the Nevada border on the first day. Water got into a connector that had to be replaced, which cost the team about a day of traveling time. The team also replaced two belts, four fuel filters and a plastic bottle that contains cooling water.
Weiss said the repairs could have been needed on a similar trip with any other car. He said the NECAR 5 performed better than expected, and the fuel cell remains in great shape.
``We can turn around and drive back, but I don't want the fear that we won't make it,'' he said.
Source: http://www.AP.orgHydrogen-powered car completes cross-country journey 6/5/02
WASHINGTON (AP) _ DaimlerChrysler engineer Wolfgang Weiss was driving a new car that cost more than $1 million to build, but he was still worried it would break down on his cross-country drive.
The NECAR 5 runs on a hydrogen-powered fuel cell, a developing technology designed to replace traditional gasoline engines. DaimlerChrysler says the car had never before been driven so far.
On Tuesday, Weiss and his team of 15 other engineers completed the 3,262-mile trip from San Francisco to Washington, which they say proves the technology is practical for real-world driving conditions. Even under optimistic predictions, fuel cell vehicles won't be mass-produced until 2010.
``It runs much, much better than we believed,'' Ferdinand Panik, head of DaimlerChrysler's fuel cell group, said after the car pulled up at the Capitol at the end of its journey. ``It's a big, big step for a new idea, trying to look beyond the capability of fossil fuels.''
Fuel cells can run on hydrogen or other fuels that can be converted into hydrogen, such as ethanol, methanol and gasoline. Hydrogen is combined with oxygen from the air in a chemical reaction that produces electricity that powers the vehicle.
Pure hydrogen-fed fuel cells produce only water as a byproduct _ no harmful emissions _ but hydrogen is a flammable gas that poses safety questions, especially when crashes occur, and engineers continue work on safe onboard storage systems. Cells using other fuels pollute less than gasoline engines, but they have some emissions and produce less power than pure hydrogen.
The NECAR 5 _ ``New Electric Car, Fifth Generation'' _ is a subcompact Mercedes-Benz A-Class that ran on methanol converted to hydrogen. Since methanol is not available at the corner gas station, it had to be delivered to points along the route for refueling every 300 miles.
Traveling time was 85 hours over a span of 16 days, an average of about 38 mph, but DaimlerChrysler says the car reached speeds of more than 90 mph.
Changing the nation's automobile refueling system to hydrogen or other convertible fuels is among the largest hurdles for fuel cell technology. The Bush administration launched a partnership with domestic automakers in January to develop a system of hydrogen refueling stations and spur the growth of hydrogen fuel cells.
Other problems will keep the technology from reaching the mass market for at least a decade, experts say, including onboard storage of flammable hydrogen, reliability, durability and cost. The NECAR 5 is a concept car worth more than $1 million. Although costs are declining, the technology is far too expensive to sell for a profit.
``Obviously there is more work to be done before the vehicle is in the mass market, but this trip shows it can clear some of the customer-needs hurdles,'' said David Friedman, senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists' clean vehicles program. ``Now all they need to do is do it with a hydrogen version.''
Most major automakers plan to begin making some fuel cell vehicles available within a year for limited fleet sales, perhaps to government buyers who can carefully monitor performance.
DaimlerChrysler plans to have 30 fuel cell buses working in 10 European cities next year. Ford Motor Co. has a fuel cell Focus, aided by a battery for acceleration, that it plans to lease for fleet customers in early 2004. General Motors Corp. demonstrated a Chevrolet S-10 pickup last month that converts gasoline to hydrogen.
Increasing numbers of manufacturers are offering the public hybrid cars. A hybrid has an electric motor that helps the gasoline engine power the vehicle.
The NECAR 5 was guided on its voyage by a global positioning satellite system and accompanied by two SUVs and a van carrying replacement parts and tools.
The car broke down once, as the team approached the Nevada border on the first day. Water got into a connector that had to be replaced, which cost the team about a day of traveling time. The team also replaced two belts, four fuel filters and a plastic bottle that contains cooling water.
Weiss said the repairs could have been needed on a similar trip with any other car. He said the NECAR 5 performed better than expected, and the fuel cell remains in great shape.
``We can turn around and drive back, but I don't want the fear that we won't make it,'' he said.
Source: http://www.AP.org
6/5/02
3:45:32 PM
Lurking Behind The 911 Smokescreen
by Victor Thorn, June 3, 2002
"How could there be a conspiracy of silence in regard to the 9-11 terrorist attacks?" some people may say. "Look at the news every day. There are endless reports about what President Bush did or didn't know. The mainstream media is really on this story. There's no denying it! They'll get to the bottom of it."
On the surface, most people would be satisfied with this analysis. The 9-11 foreknowledge story is on the cover of Newsweek, while the Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh, and the CBS Evening News give updates every day. Plus, the media is supposedly sniffing out new clues from every angle - ignored FBI reports, terrorist visas, flight schools, who knew what in the Bush cabinet, and the lack of shared knowledge between the various intelligence agencies. The Sunday morning pundits argue endlessly about it, Dick Cheney makes his rounds, while Congressmen grandstand and rattle off sound-bytes. With all this information coming our way, the mainstream media MUST be giving us the whole story, right?
I hate to break it to you, but if you rely solely on all of the above sources for your information, no, you're not getting the whole story. Why? Well, the answer lies in the SCOPE of what is being presented to you. Stated differently, the media is continuing a long-standing practice of conditioning the masses by only giving them half-truths, and half the picture. More specifically, via the use of "psychic driving" (a certain message being repeated over and over again), they constantly refer to George Bush (or any other President) as the head of the decision-making process in this country, with no one above or beyond them. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Here's why. I hear plenty of well-intentioned people talking about what's wrong with America, and some even provide ways to make things better. But before we do anything, one fundamental change must be made. It's imperative that the very way we view the world's control system must be altered. Let me clarify. If the vast majority of Americans don't break free of the multi-faceted conditioning that begins as soon as we make contact with the external world (school, news, prevailing myths, etc.), then NOTHING will ever improve. Nothing!
As our situation stands now, the majority of us have believed from an early age that the President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief, and with him lies the ultimate authority in regard to our country's direction. This notion is continually reinforced by our public education (indoctrination) system, the media, and a type of cultural mythology. But if anyone has read my previous Babel articles, they know that there are hidden powers - specifically international bankers, heads of multinational corporations, secret societies, and elite families - that actually call all the shots. By controlling the world's purse-strings through the Federal Reserve, World Bank, IMF, and socialistic taxation, these veiled figures lurk out of public view, yet determine virtually every vital decision made in our world.
This concept is the key to understanding not only our political system, but also the first step necessary to change our destiny. As things stand now in relation to the 9-11 terrorist attacks, EVERY major media source has reinforced the lie that George Bush is at the top of the American decision-making pyramid.
But before we continue, let's examine what happened on 9-11, and what we know for sure. First, the World Trade Center Towers in New York City were destroyed, while the Pentagon was also severely damaged in a similar fashion. Secondly, the airliners that caused this destruction were hijacked, although we can't be certain by whom, as FBI Director Robert Mueller admitted in a speech to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on April 19, 2002: "In our investigation, we have not uncovered a single piece of paper - either here in the United States or in the treasure trove of information that has turned up in Afghanistan and elsewhere - that mentioned any suspect of the September 11 plot." Lastly, there is a preponderance of evidence pointing out that numerous individuals knew exactly when, how, and where these attacks were going to take place.
With the above information laying a foundation, we next have to make a few well-conceived assumptions. First of all, America spends billions upon billions of dollars on our intelligence agencies (CIA, NSA, FBI, etc.), and it's not stepping out too far on a ledge to say that considering the advanced nature of our computer systems, black budget technology, tracking devices, and infiltration of foreign governments, that we have a pretty good idea of what's going on in the world. The second assumption which is well-founded in documented fact is that certain groups on this planet have an immense hatred of America. Let's assume one of those is the Osama bin Laden/Al Queda/Taliban connection.
Now, without delving into the mountains of evidence that has been compiled since 9-11 suggesting that scores of people in a variety of different of walks of life had foreknowledge of these attacks, and considering how our Intelligence agencies pride themselves on being aware of this data, then we need to start drawing some conclusions. First, the men who rule this planet are able to protect their positions of power for one very important reason - they have an obsessive hunger or demand for knowledge and information. In other words, when one studies the world control pyramid, they'll notice that directly below the ultimate Controllers are the intelligence agencies. Secret, beyond the law, and largely unaccountable to Congress or anyone else - these agencies are an integral part of the very framework that allows the Controllers to survive. Let's not fool ourselves. To perpetuate themselves, the ultra-elite are heavily dependant upon their spies and spooks to keep them abreast of what's going on in this very complicated world. Without them, their house of cards would crumble.
Anyway, considering how vital information-gathering is, and in light of the volumes of evidence that a variety of people had at least an inkling of foreknowledge that an attack was going to occur on September 11th (and that's just what we know - I assure you that the NSA & CIA know MUCH more than we do), then I propose this question: why is the media and Congress so fixated on whether George Bush knew about the attacks beforehand?
The answers may surprise you. First of all, considering how divisive the 2000 Presidential election was, there are still huge chasms in the American populace between the Bush lovers and Bush haters. Thus, if the media can further exploit this rift, then the Controllers can yet again use their favorite tactic: Divide and Conquer. By keeping everyone fighting among themselves, we won't focus our attention on who the real enemy is - THEM! Can't you see? It's the oldest trick in the book. By directing our attention away from the source of this conflict, we'll never get to the bottom of it. The Controllers are masters of this Wizard of Oz type misdirection ("There's nobody behind the curtain!"); they'd rather we worry about symptoms, but not the real CAUSE!
But there's more to the story. Every entity that I mentioned in the first paragraph - network news, influential daily papers, Congress, national magazines, and syndicated talk show hosts - refuse to recognize or acknowledge that the hidden power-elite Controllers even exist. To them - and this point is crucial - the American President, currently George Bush - is at the head of the decision-making process. The buck stops with him, and that's it! But as we know, especially after reading "Who Controls the American Presidency?" in Babel # 47, nothing could be more ludicrous. In fact, Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, etc. were, and are, nothing more than IMPLEMENTERS - i.e. decisions are made FOR them, then they implement them. The same can be said for Congress, but to an even greater degree. This is the reality of our worldwide political control system.
So, when I ask, "What does it really matter if George Bush had foreknowledge of the 9-11 terrorist attacks (except for ethical reasons, of course (but then again, by the time anyone has "risen" to that level, ethics have almost entirely been thrown away anyway)), can you see where I'm coming from?" Let's cut through all the rhetoric and lay it on the line. George Bush and Bill Clinton and Tom Daschle don't make decisions. They carry them out for others who prefer to remain hidden.
Thus, the important question we should be directing our attention toward is this - considering the wealth of evidence - who DID have foreknowledge of the 9-11 attacks? I'll answer this question by asking a few more questions:
1) Who was in a better position than anybody to gain access to not only United States Intelligence, but also intelligence information from around the world, especially the Mossad? Answer: the Controllers.
2) Who had the resources to obtain this information via surveillance, Carnivore (e-mail spying), wiretaps, undercover spies, and a wealth of other cloak and dagger techniques? Answer: the Controllers.
3) Who, more than anyone else, could have known about a sect of America-haters that wanted to enact a form of revenge on us? Answer: the Controllers.
4) Who needed a dramatic excuse (similar to sinking the Lusitania, Pearl Harbor, or the Gulf of Tonkin) as an excuse to draw America into another war so that they could extract oil and resume opium exportation in Afghanistan, punish those who don't fall into line with their New World Order goals, and set into action a Big Brother like dismissal of our civil rights? Answer: the Controllers.
5) Finally, who NEEDED to know this information more than anyone else, and who benefited from it more than anyone else? Answer: The victims? No, they're all dead. The American people? No. The United States of America? No - war is going to plunge us so much further into debt that we'll never crawl back out. The country of Afghanistan? No. The terrorists themselves? No - they're all dead. How about the Controllers? Yes!
Yes, somebody knew, but all the while, what is everybody obsessing over? Whether George Bush knew! Well, maybe he did, and maybe he didn't. But to me, if for nothing other than ethical reasons, it doesn't really impact our situation because he's not calling the shots. Bush, similar to his predecessors, is a figurehead - furniture - window-dressing. I want to know the names of those people who REALLY make the decisions and intentionally allowed this disaster to occur. Then we'll round 'em all up, toss them into the seven-story pit where the World Trade Center Towers used to stand, then douse them with gasoline and burn 'em worse than any fires of hell could do. Is this solution too extreme for you? Well then, read the literature documenting this event. There is no longer any question that powerful people had foreknowledge of the terrorist attacks. Look at the stock market irregularities, the Fortune 500 CEO's being whisked away before tragedy struck, or the military and political figures being told not to board planes that fateful morning.
The Controllers allowed a group of dirtballs to hijack our airliners and crash them into the WTC, killing over 2,800 people. Can't you see what happened? They fucking INVADED America; traumatized us horribly, and to top it off, they're getting away with it by having their State-run media piss around with whether George Bush knew or not. But the picture is so much bigger and serious. We're setting the stage for World War III, and the 9-11 CRIME was step one. But Dan Rather continues to snow us, as does the New York Times and Newsweek.
Here's the way the news should be reported:
Dan Rather: Today the Rothschild banking family decided that steps will be taken to implement a U.N. sanctioned World Tax. Here's John Roberts with the details.
John Roberts: That's right, Dan. Upon orders from N. M. Rothschild in London, David Rockefeller telephoned President Bush and let him know that at some point next year, he'll agree to start a smokescreen in unison with Congress to vote in favor of the U.N.'s World Tax. Zbigniew Brzezinski and Henry Kissinger also entered the picture, with Kissinger writing your script for you, Dan, while Brzezinski briefed Bush on everything he would tell the American people at his next State of the Union Address. Back to you, Dan.
Dan Rather: In other news, Frankfurt's Warburg financial family sent an edict to American's Alan Greenspan, director of the privately-owned monopolistic Federal Reserve CORPORATION, telling him to raise the prime lending rate, thus creating billions of dollars in profits for all the leading stockholders.
But no, we still keep getting the same old tried-and-true psychic driving conditioning. And I'm telling you, folks; some heavy shit is coming down, and what are we doing? The Controllers, those with no ties or allegiance to any nation, are getting ready to start having people killed again on a large scale in their next WAR. It's death-time in the theater of destruction, and the same pricks that allowed the WTC to be destroyed are the same ones calling the shots to send our boys into battle. American lives and American blood are going to be sacrificed at the altar of the greedy, evil, globalist money interests. Every major war and revolution of the 20th century did not originate from the people. No, they were planned, orchestrated, financed, and dictated from the very top of the Control Pyramid. So, as Black Sabbath sang many years ago, "Generals gathered in their masses, just like witches at black masses," the evil-doers are plotting to eliminate more American lives (among many others).
I've written letters expressing my feelings on this weekend's Bilderberg meeting to the National Editor of Knight-Ridder's Washington bureau, to nationally syndicated talk show host Mike Gallagher, and to the Executive Editor of our local newspaper. But in all honesty, it's not enough. Considering how tens of thousands of people (or many more) will be slaughtered in our next war-bloodbath, why aren't we out in the streets with torches demanding some truth and answers and accountability? What's it going to take to propel us into action? Why don't we force the fucking Controllers to flee from their shadows and come into plain view for a change? Rather than letting them call the shots like rats under the cloak of darkness, let's shine a light on them and expose their motives. Then we'll actually see what's going on instead of this ludicrous media game that they keep using on us.
Folks, before we can change our circumstances, we need to change the way we view the world. Our lifetime of conditioning needs to be erased; then replaced with a world-view that is more accurate. We can no longer tolerate being fed buckets-full of media deceit. Instead, we need to make everyone aware of who really calls the shots; then run those evil, bloodthirsty bastards out of their elitist towers of control. If we don't, then get ready because the blood is going to start flowing in rivers across the land. India - Pakistan - Iraq - Iran - Palestine - Israel - Afghanistan - Turkey --- and the United States. Do we have the guts to stand up to these greedy monsters, or are we going to allow them to roll over us and kill our sons? We better act now before it's too late (and God forbid if that time arrives).
Source: http://www.Rense.com
6/5/02
3:39:07 PM
TomPaine.com
Independent, Commercial-free
Read our latest Op Ad on the op-ed page of today's New York Times or check it out on line...
F.B.I.P.R.
Top Cops Deploy Public Relations
Talk about putting the cart before the horse -- we haven't had a full accounting of the problems at FBI headquarters and yet, on May 29, F.B.I. Director Mueller tried to change the subject. He wants to talk about F.B.I. reforms, not problems -- case closed before it's even opened.
http://www.tompaine.com/op_ads/opad.cfm/ID/5727
And read these Op-Ad Features...
TERRORISM'S PROGNOSIS
Real Causes, Real Responses And The White House
by Jill Rachel Jacobs
Everything we've read about the government's failure to detect the 9/11 bombers points to Information Age problems. But the administration's response is a return to tactics from the heyday of the Cold War.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5721
DRUG WAR ÜBER ALLES
At The FBI, The Drug War Trumped The Terror War
by Arianna Huffington
It's now painfully clear that there were terror warning signs aplenty but that they were disregarded by distracted FBI officials who had their eyes on a very different prize.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5723
THE FBI'S NEW STYLE IS '80s RETRO CHIC
An Interview With Ross Gelbspan
by John Rieger
Many people have said the new FBI domestic spying rules are reminscent of the Cold War and Vietman War eras. But a more accurate analogy may be the FBI tactics during the Central American wars of the 1980s.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5730
The Loyal Opposition:
PLAYING THE 9/11 BLAME GAME
Mueller May Lose In This High-Stakes Spin Contest
by David Corn
Robert Mueller is drawing all the FBI fire, to the appreciation of other agents who ignored hints of a potential 9/11.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5714
CASE CLOSED BEFORE IT'S OPENED
Mueller Puts The Cart Before The Horse
by Jane Hall
F.B.I. Director Robert Mueller has told Americans his bureau is reforming itself -- before we've had a full airing of its problems. Will the media get suckered by this PR tactic?
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5720
WORKING FOR A LIVING; LIVING IN A SHELTER
Why An Honest Day's Work Won't Keep A Roof Over Your Head
by Michael Ryan
After a day of caring for cardinals or war heroes, this health worker goes 'home' to a cot in a public flophouse.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5724
THE TRIAL OF JOHN ASHCROFT
A Year Of Right-Wing Ideology And Rollbacks On Civil Liberties
by People for the American Way Foundation
The controversial Attorney General has rushed in a series of reforms before and after 9/11 designed to limit civil rights and liberties.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5716
6/5/02
3:31:46 PM
UTNE WEB WATCH
The Best of the Alternative Web
NEWS BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE
by Paul Andrews, Online Journalism Review
-- Do bloggers deserve the same respect as journalists?
CORPORATE AMERICA'S TROJAN HORSE
by the Defenders of Wildlife and the National Resource Defense Council,
ALECWatch.org
-- It's billed as a bipartisan organization working for the public good, but The American Legislative Exchange Council is really a corporate front for the likes of Phillip Morris, R. J. Reynolds and the infamous Enron.
PERSUASION
from The Economist
-- Resistance is futile. At least that's what Dr. Eric Knowles is trying to prove. And with politicians and salesmen using persuasive tricks already, "Who can afford not to read on?"
Links to the above articles: http://www.utne.com/webwatch
6/5/02
3:29:28 PM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE
RESPONSIBILITY, RENEWABLES KEYS TO SUMMIT SUCCESS
BALI, Indonesia, June 4, 2002 (ENS) - Government ministers worked in informal groups today on a political statement and plan of action for sustainable development at the last preparatory conference in advance of the World Summit on Sustainable Development coming up at the end of August.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-04-01.asp
NORTH CAROLINA SUED OVER REJECTED WASTE DUMP
RALEIGH, North Carolina, June 4, 2002 (ENS) - Four southern states and a regional waste commission are suing the state of North Carolina for its opposition to a planned low level radioactive waste dump within North Carolina's borders. The suit accuses North Carolina of failing to meet its obligations as a member of the Southeast Compact Commission, a group charged with building the regional radioactive waste repository.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-04-06.asp
IN LANDSLIDE VOTE, TAMBOGRANDE, PERU REJECTS MINE
By Mary Powers
TAMBOGRANDE, Peru, June 4, 2002 (ENS) - Residents in this northern farming district voted to overwhelmingly reject a Canadian company's plans to develop a rich mineral deposit that lies beneath the town.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-04-02.asp
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: June 4, 2002
Appeals Court Upholds TMDL Rule
California Asks Bush to Buyback Offshore Leases
Global Warming Threatens California Water Supplies
High Protein Corn Produced Without Engineering
Wildfire Season Strikes Across the Nation
Fuel Cell Will Power Yellowstone Ticket Booths
Fine Levied in Waterfowl Hit and Run
New Award Honors Renewable Energy Research
: http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-04-09.asp
6/5/02
2:54:41 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
Bush - Global climate report is bureaucratic hot air - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16267/story.htm
TotalFinaElf big spender in Alaska oil lease sale - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16275/story.htm
Segway scooter set for new US Post Office tests - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16274/story.htm
EPA in first steps on ethanol emissions - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16273/story.htm
Man admits draining New York toilet rebate program - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16268/story.htm
INTERVIEW - Wind energy future hinges on upgraded grid - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16265/story.htm
NRC officials give nod to Ohio nuke repair plan - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16262/story.htm
Sexually frustrated dolphin sparks alert in UK - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16276/story.htm
INTERVIEW - Business says states not living up to Rio promise - SWEDEN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16263/story.htm
US - African energy ministers meet in Morocco - MOROCCO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16266/story.htm
Critics slam Japan's lethargy on gas emission cuts - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16264/story.htm
Japan ratifies Kyoto pact, urges others to follow - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16261/story.htm
UN launches online atlas of the oceans - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16259/story.htm
United Nations urges $24 billion war on hunger - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16271/story.htm
EU warns Earth Summit agenda unrealistic - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16270/story.htm
Ministers set to add clout to Earth Summit talks - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16272/story.htm
Euro MPs vote for tougher rules on GM food labels - EU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16269/story.htm
Government to review Rio Australia uranium mine - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16260/story.htm
6/5/02
2:47:51 PM
Enron and 9/11 from John Loftus former US Justice Dept. Investigator
What Congress does not know about Enron and 9/11 For extensive material on how both the Clinton and Bush administrations, and most specifically Dick Cheney, blocked intelligence agencies from investigating Al Queda, the Taliban and the Saudis in order to protect Enron.
As a Justice Department prosecutor, John Loftus once held some of the highest security clearances in the world, with special access to NATO Cosmic, CIA codeword, and Top Secret Nuclear files. As a private attorney, he works without charge to help hundreds of intelligence agents obtain lawful permission to declassify and publish the hidden secrets of our times. He is the author of four history books, three of which have been made into films, two were international best sellers, and one was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
Full story at: http://www.john-loftus.com/enron1.htm#know
FINANCIAL REPORTS: - Lt. Vreeland - Doc's (Just posted 6/3/02)
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/WTC_LTVreeland.htm
EXAMPLE HOT PAGE: (PDF FILE) FOLLOW THE MONEY - Re: 9/11 - Enron - Money Laudering - Proof!
http://www.apfn.org/LTVreeland/FIN%20page70.PDF
The Continuing Saga of Leo Wanta Wanta was buying rubles from Russia at the request of the President, Ronald Reagan. Wanta had worked at the White House, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and six other Govenment agencies during his career. WHERE DID THIS COVERT OPERATION MONEY GO AND WHY WAS IT STOPPED BEING USED FOR SUCH PURPOSES.
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/wanta.htm
APFN 9/11 - FOLLOW THE MONEY
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=28038
Michael Ruppert & Delmart 'Mike' Vreeland:
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=27961
Sen. Leahy Letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller - SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=27963
SEN. LEAHY LETTER TO ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: 5/29/02
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=27964
Congress To Study 9-11 Warnings
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=28015
9/11 - ENRON - BUSH - OIL - CONNECTION:
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/enron_bush.htm
Former Naval Intelligence Officer Delmart Edward "Mike" Vreeland warned of impending terrorist attacks a month before 9-11.
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/WTC_whistleblower.htm
`In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.'
http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html
TAKE ACTION: Click: Find elected officials, including the president, members of Congress, governors, state legislators, local officials, and more.
http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/
6/5/02
2:18:40 PM
DAILY GRIST
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
TRUTH WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES
For the first time, the Bush administration has acknowledged, in a report to the U.N., that climate change is most likely caused by human activity and will have far-reaching effects on the American environment. Although the report marks a significant shift in the administration's rhetoric -- Bushies had heretofore maintained the need for more research before drawing conclusions about climate change -- it is unlikely to precipitate a corresponding change in policy. Rather than recommending reductions in greenhouse gases to control global warming, the report suggests adapting to the inevitable, including heat waves, the disruption of snow-fed water supplies, and the permanent loss of Rocky Mountain meadows and some coastal marshes. The conclusions aren't pleasing anyone; industries that produce or depend on fossil fuels feel somewhat betrayed by President Bush, while environmentalists are excoriating the administration for acknowledging a problem while refusing to help solve it.
straight to the source: New York Times, Andrew C. Revkin, 03 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=164>
do good: Take action to tell Bush to tackle global warming <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp?source=daily#kyoto>
THE ANSWER, MY FRIENDS
The biggest wind-energy meeting ever held in the U.S. opened today in Portland, Ore. Industry-watchers say the large turnout -- more than 1,500 people have registered for the three-day conference -- is a good sign for wind energy in general and for the role of the Pacific Northwest in the wind market in particular. Oregon doesn't have the best wind resources in the country, but it does have a strong base of environmentally minded consumers who are willing to pay a little more for clean energy and are driving a slow but steady local energy revolution. Just under 2 percent of Portland General Electric's residential customers opt for renewable energy, as do 1.7 percent of Pacific Power's residential customers. Although those numbers sound small, they are far larger than most states' renewable-energy customer base. Since 1998, new Northwest wind projects have added enough power to the grid to serve 100,000 homes.
straight to the source: Portland Oregonian, Michelle Cole, 03 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=165>
do good: Take action to plead for a world run on renewable energy <http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp?source=daily#positive>
only in Grist: There's something in the wind -- farmers are reaping rewards from wind energy -- by Lester Brown <http://www.gristmagazine.com/imho/imho082100.stm?source=daily>
QUITTING TIME
Back in March, Eric Schaeffer made a big media splash by resigning after years as head of enforcement at the U.S. EPA over differences with the Bush administration's environmental policies. But the truth is that Schaeffer was just the tip of the iceberg. From senior career administrators to lawyers to leading scientists, a number of longtime, highly respected officials have left environmental jobs in the administration in protest. Take James Furnish, a politically conservative deputy chief of the U.S. Forest Service with more than 30 years of experience, who left over the administration's pro-development philosophy and unwillingness to listen to other perspectives. Or Martha Hahn, Idaho state director for the Bureau of Land Management, who quit after she was told that she would be transferred to a previously nonexistent job in New York. Or former EPA staff attorney Michele Merkel, who submitted her resignation papers because of EPA Administrator Christie Whitman's decisions to play down enforcement in favor of voluntary compliance. White House officials chalk up the resignations to the usual staff tensions when a new administration takes over, but environmentalists see a more telling trend.
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Elizabeth Shogren, 03 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=166>
only in Grist: Read Eric Schaeffer's resignation letter castigating the Bush administration -- in our Muckraker section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/muck/muck030102.asp?source=daily>
DRY UPHEAVAL
As if Colombia needs any more bad news: The war-torn nation's water supply could be reduced by as much as 40 percent over the next 50 years due to deforestation and other degradation of fragile high mountain ecosystems, according to Carlos Castano, director of the country's Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies. The paramo, or Andean mountain moorland, has been damaged by over-farming, which reduces the ability of soil to maintain water that later drains into lowland rivers. Fifty-eight percent of the Colombian paramo has already disappeared, Castano said, and 75 percent of what remains could be gone in 15 years, taking a serious toll on water resources. Meanwhile, some 27 percent of high Andean forests have been cut down, and guerrilla warfare and the illegal drug industry have led to oil spills from bombed pipelines and water pollution from highly toxic cocaine byproducts. Ironically, Columbia is one of the five nations with the greatest biodiversity, and it is home to more bird and amphibian species than any other country on Earth.
straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, 03 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=167>
only Grist: Rare good news from Colombia -- the improbable story of how Bogota became somewhere you might actually want to live -- in our Main Dish section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/jones040402.asp?source=daily>
GOLDEN STATE WORRIERS
A large portion of the American are at risk of developing cancer from exposure to any of 32 common toxic chemicals, according to the first nationwide study of the toxins, released Friday by the U.S. EPA. About 200 million face roughly a 1 in 100,000 lifetime risk, while about 20 million people -- many of them in the Los Angeles or San Francisco areas -- face a risk as high as 1 in 5,000, more than 100 times greater than what the EPA typically finds acceptable. The study looked at such contaminants as benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehide, and butadiene, coming from sources ranging from cars to forests fires to industrial polluters. The EPA said it would use the data to help decide which sources of air pollution should be targeted for stricter control, but downplayed the dangers suggested by the report. Environmentalists, however, said the data should be taken as a call to action.
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Elizabeth Shogren, 01 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=168>
6/5/02
2:10:16 PM
C.I.A. Was Tracking Hijacker Months Earlier Than It Had Said
by David Johnston And Elizabeth Becker | New York Times; June 3, 2002
WASHINGTON, June 2 — The Central Intelligence Agency says in a classified chronology submitted to Congress recently that it picked up the trail of a Qaeda operative who turned out to be a Sept. 11 hijacker months earlier than was previously known, government officials said today.
The officials said the C.I.A. learned in early 2001 that Khalid al-Midhar, who died in the attack on the Pentagon, was linked to a suspect in the bombing of the Navy destroyer Cole in October 2000. The agency had said previously that it did not learn of Mr. Midhar's connections to Al Qaeda or his multiple visits to the United States until the month before the hijackings, when an increase in "chatter" about terrorist threats prompted a review of the C.I.A.'s terrorism files. Advertisement
C.I.A. officials also neglected to advise the F.B.I. and other agencies when it learned of Mr. Midhar's connections to the terrorist group, the officials said. As a result, he was not put on any government watch list until after the August review, enabling him to enter the country unhindered. The State Department routinely renewed his expired visa in June 2001.
The performance of agencies like the F.B.I. and C.I.A. is under intense scrutiny as the House and Senate intelligence committees prepare for hearings, starting Tuesday, into the lapses that became known only after the Sept. 11 attacks. Much of the criticism to date has focused on the F.B.I.; today's disclosures about the C.I.A.'s knowledge, reported in this week's issue of Newsweek, are the first to draw questions about the C.I.A.'s actions.
In separate appearances on television news programs today, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, defended their handling of their own investigations and said they were cooperating fully with Congress, passing tens of thousands of documents to the committees.
But Mr. Mueller acknowledged on the CBS program "Face the Nation" that "we have to do a better job pulling these pieces together, analyzing them and disseminating them."
The C.I.A.'s finding that Mr. Midhar could be tied to Al Qaeda terrorism was an important one, the government officials said. If other agencies had known it, the information might have led to the discovery that Mr. Midhar and an associate he lived with in California, Nawaq Alhazmi, another hijacker, had attended flight schools in the United States.
As a result, when an F.B.I. agent in Phoenix warned his headquarters in July 2001 that Osama bin Laden's followers might be studying at flight schools in this country in preparation for terrorist attacks, the agency did not realize that Mr. Midhar and Mr. Alhazmi had taken such flight training.
One intelligence official said the C.I.A.'s sharing its information would most likely not have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The notion that this would have changed history or rolled up the hijacking plot is highly speculative," the official said.
But such communications breakdowns in the months before the Sept. 11 attacks have led some officials, including Mr. Mueller, to say that a better sharing of information might have led the authorities to thwart the attacks.
The C.I.A. first learned of Mr. Midhar and Mr. Alhazmi in 2000, after the men were identified as participants in a January meeting of terrorist suspects in Malaysia. Sometime in 2000 the agency also learned that both men had visited the United States, Mr. Midhar on several occasions. But it did not understand the men's significance until after the Cole bombing in October 2000. By late that year or early the next, it had connected Mr. Midhar with a Qaeda suspect in that attack. The C.I.A. then learned that Mr. Midhar had entered the country multiple times before the Cole incident.
Yet it was not until Aug. 23, 2001, after the C.I.A.'s review of its terrorism files, that the names of the two men were passed on to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. By then, the immigration agency found, they had already entered the country. The F.B.I. began an investigation and was still searching for the two men when the hijackings occurred.
With Congressional hearings beginning this week, the intelligence agencies are preparing their cases to show why they failed to detect the Sept. 11 plot.
Mr. Ashcroft said that officials who missed or discounted clues would be held accountable.
"Yes, I believe they will be, if in fact it's merited and appropriate," Mr. Ashcroft said on the CNN program "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer."
Members of Congress have criticized the F.B.I. for failing to understand or follow up on warnings from the Phoenix agent about Middle Eastern men taking flying lessons and for blocking an investigation by its Minneapolis office of Zacarias Moussaoui, who was later indicted on charges that he conspired in the Sept. 11 attacks.
"They don't have any excuse because the information was in their lap and they didn't do anything to prevent it," Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on the NBC program "Meet the Press."
In their hearings, which are expected to last through the summer, Congressional leaders said they would press for a full documentation of intelligence failures and for finding out who was responsible for those failures.
Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, discounted recent calls for the resignation of Mr. Mueller, who took office only a week before Sept. 11. Instead, Mr. Grassley said on the ABC program "This Week," the actions of the senior members of the F.B.I. should be examined, and if those senior members had failed to warn Mr. Mueller properly of the threat, then "their heads should roll."
Congressional leaders also warned today that there should be no retaliation against Coleen Rowley, the Minneapolis agent who wrote Mr. Mueller complaining that F.B.I. officials in Washington had rebuffed agents in Minneapolis who sought greater authority to investigate Mr. Moussaoui before Sept. 11. She also wrote that Mr. Mueller had misrepresented the Minneapolis complaints.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said on "Face the Nation," "I will watch very carefully to make sure she is given all the whistle-blower protection."
"I don't want, because she raised problems, that she then be made a scapegoat herself," Mr. Leahy said.
While Mr. Mueller said last week that Ms. Rowley would suffer no reprisals for her criticism, the attorney general promised only that she would not lose her job.
When pressed to give his personal assurance that there would be no retaliation against Ms. Rowley, Mr. Ashcroft said: "She will not be fired for doing this. It's just that simple."
Later, Mr. Ashcroft's spokeswoman said that his answer had been incomplete.
"The attorney general has made it clear that there will be no retaliation against Ms. Rowley," said Barbara Comstock, the spokeswoman. "Both he and Mr. Mueller welcomed Ms. Rowley's letter."
Mr. Leahy said his committee would call Ms. Rowley to testify this week.
Mr. Mueller also said that since Sept. 11 the F.B.I. has prevented terrorist attacks overseas and in the United States, but he only discussed those foiled attacks that have already been made public.
For his part, Mr. Ashcroft defended himself against charges by Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Republican of Wisconsin, that he had gone too far in changing rules on domestic spying.
Last week the Justice Department and the F.B.I. announced an expansion of the agency's authority to track potential terrorists by monitoring the Internet, political groups, libraries and religious organizations, including places of worship like mosques. The attorney general said he was only giving the F.B.I. permission to visit places and attend events open to the public and to use the Internet.
"A 12-year-old, 13-year-old kid can go anywhere he wants to on the Internet looking for things like bomb-making sites," Mr. Ashcroft said. "Shouldn't the F.B.I. be able to go to those public places in the same way?"
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/03/national/03TERR.html
xoxox
CIA Failed To Share Intelligence On Hijacker Data Could Have Been Used to Deny Visa
by Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer, June 3, 2002; Page A01
The CIA possessed disturbing information about one of the Sept. 11 hijackers months before it was previously disclosed and could have used that knowledge to prevent him from renewing his visa to enter the United States prior to the attack on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, a senior administration official said yesterday.
Khalid Almihdhar, who was on Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, could have been put on a watch list earlier, a government official said. The list is used by the government to hold up visa applications or prevent individuals from entering the United States.
The CIA in late 2000 or early 2001 received information from another intelligence service that would have deepened their suspicions about Almihdhar and likely caused them to decline his visa extension.
It has been previously reported that the CIA knew Almihdhar had attended a January 2000 meeting of suspected terrorists in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At that time there was not enough information to put him on the watch list, used by the State Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service to screen visa applications.
The CIA now acknowledges that Almihdhar went from Kuala Lumpur to the United States in January 2000, left in June 2000, and was outside the United States when the CIA counterterrorism center learned that in addition to associating with possible terrorists in Kuala Lumpur, Almihdhar had more than once entered the United States.
Frequent reentry into the United States is a factor that causes authorities to take a second look at a visa applicant. When combined with his attendance at the Kuala Lumpur meeting, his reentries would have put him on the watch list and prevented him from getting a new visa in June 2001. There are hundreds of people on this list.
"At best, we could have prevented his return," the senior official said.
Instead, the senior official said, the CIA did not tell other agencies, and it was not until Aug. 23, 2001, that Almihdhar was put on the watch list. By then, the State Department had granted Almihdhar another visa and he reentered the country on July 4.
Yesterday, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft said that better coordination of such intelligence would not likely have halted last year's attacks. "The information we now have does not indicate that there was a substantial likelihood of detecting this," he said on ABC's "This Week."
Nonetheless, there are increasing signs that leaks emanating from the CIA, FBI and other government agencies and Congress raise questions about how much the government knew before the Sept. 11 attacks killed more than 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
This week, congressional hearings will try to determine what failures or shortcomings took place before Sept. 11 and what reforms may be needed to prevent another tragedy.
Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, yesterday warned that such leaks could lead investigators and public opinion "down the wrong path." Goss, a former CIA intelligence officer, said, "This is serious business, and we want to go on the basis of fact, not on opinion or spin."
Newsweek reported yesterday that the CIA identified two of the eventual hijackers, Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, immediately after they attended the Kuala Lumpur meeting. The magazine also reported that the CIA did not inform the INS or the FBI of the two alleged terrorists, who flew to the United States after the Malaysia meeting. It quoted unnamed "U.S. counterterrorism officials" saying that the agency's failure "may be the most puzzling and devastating intelligence failure in the critical months before September 11."
Last week, the FBI drew heavy criticism for its failure to respond to two memos from its own agents in Phoenix and Minneapolis. They were seeking permission to investigate Islamic fundamentalists who were trying to take pilot training, one of whom was Zacarias Moussaoui, since indicted as a conspirator in the attack.
The CIA did not comment on the Newsweek report.
But a senior U.S. intelligence official said yesterday that although the CIA had the names of the attendees, the Malaysia meetingdid not take on significance until months after the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. The FBI investigative team in Yemen identified Tawfiq bin Attash, aka Tawfiq Attash Khallad, as one of the leading Cole bombing suspects. Khallad had also been at the Malaysia meeting.
Authorities sought to find out who else Khallad had met with, and Almihdhar and Alhazmi turned up. It was not until Aug. 23, 2001, that the CIA alerted other agencies, including the INS and FBI, about the two men, who by then were already in the United States.
CIA Director George J. Tenet ordered up a review shortly after the CIA on Aug. 6 gave President Bush an intelligence analysis that discussed possible attacks by Osama bin Laden's organization in the United States and mentioned a previous al Qaeda discussion of hijacking a U.S. plane.
He "ordered the counterterrorism center to go back and see if anything could be pieced together from the material received from the FBI on the Cole investigation." Kuala Lumpur photos of Khallad and Almihdhar were found along with the additional visa information.
Newsweek notes that if Almihdhar and Alhazmi had been on the INS watch list in early 2000, the FBI could have kept track of them and identified the others "given their frequent contact with at least five other hijackers." The magazine quotes an FBI official as saying, "There's no question we could have tied all 19 hijackers together." It also says FBI officials have prepared a chart showing how that would have been done.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III said yesterday he did not know such a chart had been prepared. Asked about it on CBS's "Face the Nation," he said, "I am unaware of any document that would fit that description."
Mueller also said that with new cooperation among intelligence agencies "we have prevented a number of terrorist attacks around the globe since September 11th," but he refused to identify them.
He also discussed his daily morning meeting with Bush during which he and Tenet discuss the "threat matrix." He described that as a "listing of the threats that have come in the night before and the day before." He said that Bush generally asks what the two agencies had done "in the last 12 hours to assure the safety of the American public."
Mueller also gave new details on what led to a warning within the United States last week about the possibility of aircraft being attacked by portable hand-held antiaircraft missiles such as Stingers. The United States gave the Afghan fighters Stingers in the 1980s when they were fighting the Soviet Union.
He said there was a report indicating that a broken-down missile, called a "man pad," for man portable, was found near an airfield overseas, said by others to be the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
The alert was only over one missile that was found overseas, Mueller said, but other sources said there were also exchanges on an Islamic Internet chat room indicating that some had been smuggled into the United States.
On NBC's "Meet the Press," Mueller said he believed there would be other attacks on U.S. soil, but that "we are working together in ways that we hadn't previously, and we are absolutely safer."
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49366-2002Jun2.html
6/5/02
1:54:11 PM
t r u t h o u t
Waxman Report on White House-Enron Contacts
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04A.wax.report.htm
C.I.A. Was Tracking Hijacker Months Earlier Than It Had Said
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04B.ciaearlier.htm
William Rivers Pitt | The Death of Us All
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04D.pitt.us.all.htm
Congress Returns This Week for 9 / 11 Hearings
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04C.hill.911.hear.htm
Release of Palestinian Militant Complicates Peace Effort in Mid-East
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04E.pa.release.htm
Musharraf Suggests Russian Mediation
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04F.russian.mediate.htm
Maureen Dowd | Dump Dem Bums
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04G.dowd.bums.htm
A Natural Split With Bush, and Many Quit
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.04H.epa.quit.htm
6/5/02
1:51:53 PM
DNA TESTING IDENTIFIES SUSPECT BACTERIA IN CORAL REEF DISEASE
Using molecular microbiology techniques, scientists are a significant step closer to understanding and identifying the deadly microbes responsible for the mysterious black band disease that is destroying the worlds coral reef ecosystems.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020523080001.htm
AMES LAB SCIENTISTS SAY SMALL EFFECTS ARE KEY TO HOW MATERIALS EVOLVE
In an effort to better understand how microstructures develop in materials, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energys Ames Laboratory are investigating certain properties that exist in metals at the interface between the liquid and solid phases during solidification. The basic research effort may one day allow scientists to tailor microstructural development, providing the basis for new and improved materials.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020527081531.htm
MOUNTAIN STREAMS WITH RHYTHM?
Turns out that picturesque mountain stream you've always admired doesn't just burble randomly down the hillside: It marches to the measured cadence of its own drummer. Geographer Anne Chin has discovered that like their flatland cousins, mountain streams meander too. It's just that they meander vertically, dropping from pool to pool at a rhythmic, periodic rate.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020527081615.htm
MRI BRAIN SCAN MAY DETECT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE DECADES BEFORE FIRST SYMPTOMS
MRI scans of the brain may detect Alzheimers disease decades before the first clinical signs of dementia occur, researchers from the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Kentucky report in the journal Neurology.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020528074455.htm
AMES LABORATORY RESEARCHERS DISCOVER SOLVENT-FREE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; PROCESS USES MECHANICAL ENERGY TO CARRY OUT REACTIONS IN SOLID STATE
When chemists want to combine two or more organic materials, ordinarily they use a solvent to carry out a reaction that results in the desired compound. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have found a way to combine organic materials in solid state without the use of solvents. This revolutionary solvent-free process means that environmentally harmful solvents, such as benzene, dichloromethane and others, could be removed from many of the chemical processes used to produce millions of consumer and industrial products.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020527081502.htm
OZONE LOSSES MAY BE SPEEDING UP AT HIGHER LATITUDES, ACCORDING TO UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDY
New findings by University of Colorado at Boulder researchers indicate ozone losses due to the breakdown of chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, occur much faster than previously believed at higher latitudes roughly 10 miles above Earth.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020529071845.htm
RESEARCH SHOWS OLDER CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS GREW HEAVIER IN BRAZIL, CHINA, U.S. OVER PAST 30 YEARS
Over the past three decades, the percentage of older children and adolescents who were overweight tripled in Brazil and almost doubled in the United States, according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020529072834.htm
PEOPLE LINKED TO NEW SEA OTTER DISEASES
The California sea otter is in trouble and people may inadvertently be part of the problem. Nearly half of sea otter deaths are associated with infectious diseases and several of these may be indirectly caused by people.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020529072149.htm
WAS EINSTEIN WRONG? SPACE STATION RESEARCH MAY FIND OUT
Ultra-precise clocks on the International Space Station and other space missions may determine whether Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity is correct and could dramatically change our understanding of the universe.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020530073614.htm
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDY TIES THE FREQUENCY OF EARTHQUAKES TO OCEAN TIDES
A Columbia University scientist studying an active seafloor volcano in the Pacific Ocean has determined that there is a correlation between the hundreds of micro earthquakes she recorded and the ocean tides.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020530072538.htm
NEXT UP FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION: THE COMPUTER CHIP ITSELF
The silicon chip may soon join the growing list of devices to go wireless, a development that could speed computers and lead to a new breed of useful products.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020530073010.htm
WILDMEAT: OVERHUNTING THREATENS SPECIES AND PEOPLE
In many parts of the world, people are driving wild animals toward extinction by over-eating them. Saving these species is critical to protecting both biodiversity and people's food supplies. The question is how?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020530073400.htm
ORGANIC FARMING PRODUCES SMALLER CROPS, HEALTHIER SOILS, SWISS RESEARCHERS REPORT IN SCIENCE
Organic farming methods produced crop yields that were, on average, 20 percent smaller than conventional crops, during a 21-year comparison of the two methods. But, the organic approach more than made up the difference in ecological benefits, according to Swiss scientists who conducted the study. Their results appear in the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020531073719.htm
HOT POLYMER CATCHES CARBON DIOXIDE BETTER
A new and economical technology for the separation and capture of carbon dioxide from industrial processes could lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions to the atmosphere. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing a new high-temperature polymer membrane to separate and capture carbon dioxide, preventing its escape into the atmosphere. This work is part of the DOE Carbon Sequestration Program's mission to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the environment from industrial processes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020531072522.htm
STUDENTS INVENT VOICE-ACTIVATED GRASPING TOOL FOR DISABLED MAN
Using two motors, speech-recognition software and an exo-skeleton inspired by science fiction, three Johns Hopkins University undergraduates have designed and built a muscle enhancement device that will help a disabled man grasp and lift a cup, a book and other household items. By uttering commands such as open and raise, the man will receive mechanical help in moving his fingers and bending his elbow. The motorized plastic shell will fit over the right arm of the man, who has an extremely rare degenerative muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/05/020531072224.htm
6/5/02
1:21:32 PM
Heads-Up To Ashcroft Proves Threat Was Known Before 9/11
by Harley Sorensen Special to SF Gate; June 3, 2002
Don't let them fool you, folks: They knew.
They might have been surprised by the ferocity of the attacks, but the highest-ranking members of the George W. Bush administration knew before Sept. 11 that something terrible was going to happen soon.
Bush knew something was going to happen involving airplanes. He just didn't know what or exactly when. His attorney general, John Ashcroft, knew. His national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, knew. They all knew.
And, in spite of its apparent ineptness, the FBI knew, too.
Not only did they all know, but they told us. Obliquely. And we didn't pay attention. Why would we? Then, as now, terrorist threats were a dime a dozen.
Is this my opinion? No, it's published fact.
On July 26, 2001, cbsnews.com reported that John Ashcroft had stopped flying on commercial airlines.
Ashcroft used to fly commercial, just as Janet Reno did. So why, two months before Sept. 11, did he start taking chartered government planes?
CBS News correspondent Jim Stewart asked the Justice Department.
Because of a "threat assessment" by the FBI, he was told. But "neither the FBI nor the Justice Department ... would identify what the threat was, when it was detected or who made it," CBS News reported.
The FBI did advise Ashcroft to stay off commercial aircraft. The rest of us just had to take our chances.
The FBI obviously knew something was in the wind. Why else would it have Ashcroft use a $1,600-plus per hour G-3 Gulfstream when he could have flown commercial, as he always did before, for a fraction of the cost?
Ashcroft demonstrated an amazing lack of curiosity when asked if he knew anything about the threat. "Frankly, I don't," he told reporters.
So our nation's chief law enforcement officer was told that flying commercial was hazardous to his health, and yet he appeared not to care what the threat was, who made it, how, or why?
Note that it was the FBI that warned Ashcroft before Sept. 11. That's the same FBI now claiming it didn't "connect the dots" before Sept. 11.
Had we in the press been on our toes, we might have realized that if flying commercial posed a threat to John Ashcroft, it also posed a threat to the population at large.
But the CBSNews.com story was largely ignored. CBS ran it once, briefly. A number of CBS affiliates repeated the story, even more briefly. That was it. As near as I can tell, no other major news outlet ran the story of a danger to commercial air travel so severe that our attorney general was told to stay away from it.
When the furor broke recently over who knew what, or when, President Bush chose his words carefully. "Had I known that the enemy was going to use airplanes to kill on that fateful morning," he said, "I would have done everything in my power to protect the American people."
Note the phrase, "use airplanes to kill." It suggests he thought the bad guys were going to use airplanes in some other way, perhaps, for example, as a trading chip to win the release of those responsible for the first World Trade Center bombing.
On Sunday talk shows recently, Condoleezza Rice used similar language, indicating Bush had known ahead of time that terrorists were about to attack. She didn't say that, of course, but her careful use of language suggested that Bush knew trouble was brewing but simply didn't know the extent of it.
On July 5, 2001, according to a recent Washington Post article, the White House called together officials from a dozen federal agencies to give them a warning.
"Something really spectacular is going to happen here, and it's going to happen soon," the officials were told by the government's top counterterrorism official, Richard Clarke.
Clarke considered the threat sufficiently important to direct every counterintelligence office to cancel vacations and get ready for immediate action, the Post reported.
Several senators, including Dianne Feinstein, have called for a full-fledged investigation into what the government knew before Sept. 11.
Incredibly, the Bush people are saying they don't want to be bothered by yet another investigation. Asking questions and demanding answers will help the terrorists, they say.
Even more incredibly, the public is buying it.
The public's gullibility knows no bounds. Recently, the families of the people who died on Flight 93 on Sept. 11 were allowed -- finally! -- to hear the final 30 minutes of the cockpit voice recorder on that flight before it crashed in Pennsylvania.
But they weren't allowed to record it or even take notes. Why? Because (they were told) the tape might be used in evidence against Zacharias Moussaoui, the so-called "20th hijacker."
Is there even a dollop of logic in that explanation? It's like saying we can't watch video of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center because that video might be used in a trial.
Yet, the public seems to buy such specious "explanations" when uttered by a government official.
We need a full-blown investigation of who know what before Sept. 11. We need explanations of such things as the FBI warning Ashcroft off commercial jets, while simultaneously ignoring strident warnings from its own agents in Minneapolis, Phoenix and Oklahoma. These things don't add up.
And we should not let the people we'll investigate -- the Bush administration in particular -- dictate the ground rules. Who are they to be telling us what what questions we can ask and how we can ask them? They work for us, not us for them.
One final note: The government has responded to the FBI's apparent mistakes before Sept. 11 by expanding that agency's size and power.
If you think that's a good idea, and if you approve of all the extraordinary powers the government is giving itself these days, just remember that the next president with the power to spy on Americans, to listen in on lawyer-client conversations, to arrest and detain without probable cause, and so on, may be named Hillary.
Still think it's a good idea?
Harley Sorensen is a longtime journalist and iconoclast. His column appears Mondays.
email him at mailto:harleysorensen@yahoo.com.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/06/03/hsorensen.DTL
6/5/02
12:48:16 PM
9-11 : Bush Faults CIA And FBI
by The Associated Press | New York Times; June 4, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Tuesday the CIA and FBI did not communicate adequately with each other about possible clues to a terrorist attack before Sept. 11, as Congress prepared to investigate why such intelligence failures occurred.
Bush, speaking at the National Security Agency on the first day of the joint congressional intelligence inquiry, asserted there is no evidence U.S. officials could have averted the attacks, even if the two agencies had worked together better.
"In terms of whether the FBI and CIA communicated properly, I think it's clear that they weren't, and now we're addressing that issue,'' the president said. "I see no evidence today that said this country could have prevented the attacks.''
In the latest revelation of missed clues, a CIA official said both the CIA and FBI knew as early as January 2000 that one of the eventual Sept. 11 hijackers, Khalid Almihdhar, would be attending a meeting of suspected al-Qaida members.
Bush, in the appearance at the NSA, renewed his support for the intelligence committees' investigation, but again objected to calls in Congress for a separate, independent inquiry. That could hinder efforts to prevent future terrorist strikes and jeopardize U.S. intelligence sources, Bush said.
Meeting in soundproofed, secure rooms at the Capitol, lawmakers will take stock of an intelligence community that overlooked clues and didn't always share information it had about the hijackers. The closed-door hearings begin Tuesday and will go public June 25.
"We will certainly be able to improve the capabilities that we have to focus more on the threats that actually exist,'' Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., House Intelligence Committee chairman, said Tuesday on NBC's "Today.'' "That's going to happen, but Americans are always going to have to have a little vigilance.''
Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, that committee's top Democrat, said one purpose of the hearings is to ensure federal law enforcement agencies don't react the wrong way and spy more on Americans.
"I think we have to be smarter, more clever and protect the people in a way that also protects civil liberties and the Constitution,'' Pelosi said Tuesday on CNN.
The intense scrutiny has led to fingerpointing between the CIA and FBI.
Over the weekend, government sources said the CIA had important information in early 2000 about two of the future hijackers, Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, both of whom attended a mid-January 2000 meeting in Malaysia.
Responding to the disclosure, a CIA official, speaking Monday on condition of anonymity, disputed reports that the agency had kept that information from the FBI. The CIA official said two FBI officials were briefed on Almihdhar.
Neither agency gave the information enough significance to alert authorities to watch for Almihdhar or Alhazmi at U.S. points of entry until three weeks before the attacks, when the CIA, alerted to a large al-Qaida operation in the offing, added the two men to a watch list that INS and State officials use. By this time, however, they were already in the country.
Almihdhar, in fact, had been in and out of the United States several times. The U.S. government had given him a multiple entry visa enabling him the freedom to come and go as he pleased. Both hijackers were aboard American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon.
FBI officials declined comment Monday night, saying Director Robert Mueller did not want to engage in fingerpointing.
In other developments:
--Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a New York Times interview for Tuesday editions that his country's intelligence service warned U.S. officials about a week before the Sept. 11 attacks that al-Qaida was in the advance stages of an attack on an unspecified American target. Bush dismissed Mubarak's claims at the NSA appearance.
--Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Osama bin Laden does not seem to be directing al-Qaida, although the terror organization remains active worldwide. "My guess is, if he were active, we would know it -- we would have some visible sense of it,'' he said in Tuesday editions of The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, "What we want to learn is all the information that the agencies had or didn't have and whether they disseminated it.'' The array of problems that have come to light are "just the beginning,'' he said.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Attacks-Intelligence.html
6/5/02
12:48:13 PM
9-11 : Bush Faults CIA And FBI
by The Associated Press | New York Times; June 4, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Tuesday the CIA and FBI did not communicate adequately with each other about possible clues to a terrorist attack before Sept. 11, as Congress prepared to investigate why such intelligence failures occurred.
Bush, speaking at the National Security Agency on the first day of the joint congressional intelligence inquiry, asserted there is no evidence U.S. officials could have averted the attacks, even if the two agencies had worked together better.
"In terms of whether the FBI and CIA communicated properly, I think it's clear that they weren't, and now we're addressing that issue,'' the president said. "I see no evidence today that said this country could have prevented the attacks.''
In the latest revelation of missed clues, a CIA official said both the CIA and FBI knew as early as January 2000 that one of the eventual Sept. 11 hijackers, Khalid Almihdhar, would be attending a meeting of suspected al-Qaida members.
Bush, in the appearance at the NSA, renewed his support for the intelligence committees' investigation, but again objected to calls in Congress for a separate, independent inquiry. That could hinder efforts to prevent future terrorist strikes and jeopardize U.S. intelligence sources, Bush said.
Meeting in soundproofed, secure rooms at the Capitol, lawmakers will take stock of an intelligence community that overlooked clues and didn't always share information it had about the hijackers. The closed-door hearings begin Tuesday and will go public June 25.
"We will certainly be able to improve the capabilities that we have to focus more on the threats that actually exist,'' Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., House Intelligence Committee chairman, said Tuesday on NBC's "Today.'' "That's going to happen, but Americans are always going to have to have a little vigilance.''
Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, that committee's top Democrat, said one purpose of the hearings is to ensure federal law enforcement agencies don't react the wrong way and spy more on Americans.
"I think we have to be smarter, more clever and protect the people in a way that also protects civil liberties and the Constitution,'' Pelosi said Tuesday on CNN.
The intense scrutiny has led to fingerpointing between the CIA and FBI.
Over the weekend, government sources said the CIA had important information in early 2000 about two of the future hijackers, Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, both of whom attended a mid-January 2000 meeting in Malaysia.
Responding to the disclosure, a CIA official, speaking Monday on condition of anonymity, disputed reports that the agency had kept that information from the FBI. The CIA official said two FBI officials were briefed on Almihdhar.
Neither agency gave the information enough significance to alert authorities to watch for Almihdhar or Alhazmi at U.S. points of entry until three weeks before the attacks, when the CIA, alerted to a large al-Qaida operation in the offing, added the two men to a watch list that INS and State officials use. By this time, however, they were already in the country.
Almihdhar, in fact, had been in and out of the United States several times. The U.S. government had given him a multiple entry visa enabling him the freedom to come and go as he pleased. Both hijackers were aboard American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon.
FBI officials declined comment Monday night, saying Director Robert Mueller did not want to engage in fingerpointing.
In other developments:
--Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a New York Times interview for Tuesday editions that his country's intelligence service warned U.S. officials about a week before the Sept. 11 attacks that al-Qaida was in the advance stages of an attack on an unspecified American target. Bush dismissed Mubarak's claims at the NSA appearance.
--Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Osama bin Laden does not seem to be directing al-Qaida, although the terror organization remains active worldwide. "My guess is, if he were active, we would know it -- we would have some visible sense of it,'' he said in Tuesday editions of The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, "What we want to learn is all the information that the agencies had or didn't have and whether they disseminated it.'' The array of problems that have come to light are "just the beginning,'' he said.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Attacks-Intelligence.html
6/5/02
12:45:09 AM
t r u t h o u t | 06.05
9-11 : Bush Faults CIA and FBI
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05A.bush.fbi.cia.htm
Bush Concerned About Sept. 11 Congressional Probes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05B.bush.probes.htm
Egypt Warned U.S. of a Qaeda Plot, Mubarak Asserts
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05C.mubarak.htm
Hearings Begin Today on Pre-9/11 Intelligence
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05D.begin.probes.htm
Heads-Up To Ashcroft Proves Threat Was Known Before 9/11
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05E.they.knew.htm
Bush Admits Global Warming Does Exist, Recommends No Action be Taken
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05F.global.denial.htm
Paul Krugman | Greed Is Bad
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05G.krugman.greed.htm
White House Stonewall: Day 102
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05H.stonewall.102.htm
Report Details Artifacts Lost 9 – 11
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.05I.wtc.art.lost.htm
6/5/02
12:43:12 AM
Public Citizen
June 4, 2002
Actor and Activist Mike Farrell Delivers Letter from Celebrities Opposing Dangerous Nuclear Dumps
Celebrities Urge Senate to Reject Yucca Mountain and Skull Valley Projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mike Farrell, well known for his lead role on M*A*S*H and for his long-time commitment to human rights and environmental issues, delivered a letter to Congress today signed by more than 50 celebrities urging the U.S. Senate to reject two nuclear dump proposals. One is for a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada; the second is by a private consortium that wants to store 44,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste above ground at the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation in Utah.
"Transporting tens of thousands of tons of deadly nuclear waste over our railways, highways and waterways through virtually every state presents the potential for a disaster of astonishing proportions," Farrell said. "The industry's right to profit from the creation of energy stops when it chooses to slough off the responsibility for its garbage onto us."
Farrell delivered the letter in advance of a Wednesday vote on Yucca Mountain by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Celebrities signing the letter include Ed Asner, Alec Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Ossie Davis, Jamie Farr, Ken Howard, Melissa Gilbert, Danny Glover, Tess Harper, Marilu Henner, Judd Hirsch, Norman Lear, Paula Poundstone, Bonnie Raitt, Rob Reiner, Tim Robbins, Loretta Swit and Alfre Woodard. While in Washington, Farrell met with lawmakers, including Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.).
Farrell and other celebrity signatories to today's letter join mounting opposition to these dangerous proposals to transport deadly waste across the country to unsuitable sites. Farrell and fellow actor and activist James Cromwell - who spoke out last week against the dumps at a press conference organized by Public Citizen - contacted other celebrities and invited them to join in urging Congress to reject the Yucca Mountain and Skull Valley proposals.
In the letter, posted on the Web at
http://www.citizen.org/documents/celebrity%20letter.pdf
the celebrities called for congressional oversight hearings and the rejection of the "Department of Energy's technically unfounded Yucca Mountain site recommendation."
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
For more information, please visit http://www.citizen.org
6/5/02
12:41:23 AM
DAILY GRIST
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
GIVE IT UP
Check your calendars: There's one month left until the Fourth of July, 17 days until the summer solstice, 12 days until Father's Day ... and just four days left to help keep your favorite online environmental magazine alive and kicking. That's right; after Friday, you won't receive any more such pleas asking for your support -- so show it now, by giving what you can. To those who've already given, many thanks; your open pockets and enthusiastic praise have touched our heartstrings and warmed our bottom line. To those who haven't, trust us -- every single contribution counts.
support Grist: Give it up for a good cause by making a tax-deductible donation to your favorite online magazine
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/about/support.asp?source=daily>
ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE
Yes, folks, it's the moment you've all been waiting for -- the second monthly installment from Umbra Fisk, Grist Research Associate II, grande dame of the library stacks and arbiter of all things environmental. Since her debut last month, Umbra's been deluged by questions from the curious; in the current column, she takes on computer energy etiquette (turn it off? leave it on? let it sleep?), fancy new hybrid cars versus your old 1973 Plymouth, and that age-old environmental conundrum: paper or plastic? Picking just a handful of questions to answer was no easy task, but never fear -- if you keep up the onslaught (and give to Grist; see blurb #1), we'll up Umbra's pay and publish her columns twice-monthly. Sate your curiosity; check out Ask Umbra, only on the Grist Magazine website.
only in Grist: Paper or plastic? -- astute advice on all things environmental -- in our Ask Umbra column <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ask/ask060402.asp?source=daily>
DIET OPTS FOR DIET
Following in the footsteps of the European Union, Japan ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change today, becoming the 73rd country to commit to curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Japan had previously waffled on ratification, especially after the Bush administration backed out of the treaty, but public pressure won out and the country's upper house of parliament voted unanimously in favor of ratification on Friday. The Japanese cabinet sealed the deal today. Fifty-five countries representing 55 percent of developed nations' carbon dioxide emissions must ratify the treaty for it to come into effect; with Japan's participation, the agreement has support from developed countries responsible for 36 percent of gases. When (and if) Russia signs on, the 55 percent target will very likely be met -- but not as easily as it would have been with the help of the U.S., the world's largest polluter at 36.1 percent of all greenhouse emissions in 1990.
straight to the source: BBC News, 04 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=169>
only in Grist: This just in -- the latest climate change news -- in our Heat Beat section <http://www.gristmagazine.com/heatbeat/thisjustin052302.asp?source=daily>
WHALE KILLERS
The killer whale population has declined 20 percent since 1995, and scientists think they've found one of the reasons why: whale watchers. The motorized boats that serve whale-watchers disrupt the orcas' sonar, reducing its efficiency by as much as 99 percent. That means whales have to swim harder and longer to find food; in so doing, their bodies consume more blubber, which is a storehouse of toxic chemicals. Seattle-area researchers found that adult whales burn nearly 20 percent more energy than they did before whale watching became popular; these days, close to 100 boats follow orca pods every day. Large boats are expected to keep a safe distance from the giant whales, but smaller ones frequently creep up to within a few yards. Ironically, whale-watching has helped raise public awareness about and funding for the overall plight of killer whales.
straight to the source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Lisa Stiffler, 03 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=171>
straight to the source: CNN.com, Reuters, 04 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=170>
only in Grist: Watch 'em blow, see 'em glow -- a cartoon by Suzy Becker <http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha051302.asp?source=daily>
TAYLOR-MADE DESTRUCTION
Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, has spread instability within his nation's borders and helped foment a brutal civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone. To fund the fighting, he has exploited his country's natural resources. At first, it was diamonds -- but as international scrutiny on the dirty diamond trade has increased, Taylor has been forced to turn to other resources, most recently timber. This spring, Taylor sold timber concessions inside Liberia's Sapo National Park, which is home to thousands of unique plants and animals, to Hong Kong's Oriental Timber Company to the tune of several million dollars. The deal represented the first time the park, one of West Africa's main woodland reserves, was opened up for exploitation. Global Witness, a nonprofit organization that investigates connections between environmental and human rights abuses, found "direct links between Liberia's timber industry and the network of illegal arms transfers, private militias and human rights abuses that threaten international peace and security in western Africa."
straight to the source: Washington Post, Douglas Farah, 04 Jun 2002 <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=172>
6/5/02
12:39:17 AM
The Nation
"When India and Pakistan conducted their nuclear tests in 1998, even those of us who condemned them, balked at the hypocrisy of Western nuclear powers. Implicit in their denunciation of the tests was the notion that blacks cannot be trusted with the Bomb. Now we are presented with the spectacle of our governments competing to confirm that belief.
As diplomats' families and tourists disappear from the subcontinent, Western journalists arrive in Delhi in droves. Many call me. 'Why haven't you left the city?' they ask. 'Isn't nuclear war a real possibility? Isn't Delhi a prime target?' If nuclear weapons exist, then nuclear war is a real possibility. And Delhi is a prime target. It is.
But where shall we go? Is it possible to go out and buy another life because this one's not panning out?"
Read the rest of this powerful essay by the famed Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy at The Nation's website currently:
ARUNDHATI ROY: War Talk: Summer Games with Nuclear Bombs
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s=roy20020604
A rare statement of the most basic sanity and humanity in a world in which mad has come to mean not individual anger or craziness but mutually assured destruction, this essay underscores why Roy has become one of the world's most powerful proponents of social equality, environmental sanity and economic justice.
And if you're moved by Roy's words here, check out "Power Politics," her latest collection of essays recently published by SouthEnd Press.
For information, including how to order copies online, go to:
http://www.southendpress.org/books/powerpolitics.shtml
You can also find much more info about Roy, her work and her activism at the Arundhati Roy Website at:
http://website.lineone.net/~jon.simmons/roy/
6/5/02
12:24:19 AM
"It matters not
Who you love
Where you love
Why you love
When you love
Or how you love
It matters only that you love."
John Lennon
6/5/02
12:16:59 AM
CIA Says Told FBI About Sept. 11 Hijacker In 2000
by Tabassum Zakaria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA (news - web sites) said on Monday it had notified the FBI (news - web sites) in January 2000 about Khalid Almihdhar, one of the suspected Sept. 11 hijackers, in the latest revelation of possible missed clues before the devastating attacks on America.
Congressional hearings start this week to investigate the failure of intelligence agencies to uncover the plot in which four planes were hijacked. Two crashed into New York's World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon (news -web sites), and one in rural Pennsylvania, killing more than 3,000 people.
One of the main criticisms of U.S. security agencies has been that they had not shared intelligence among themselves.
The recent focus had been on the FBI's failure to connect a July memo by an agent in Phoenix concerned about Middle Eastern men possibly connected to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) taking flight lessons in the United States to the August arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui in Minnesota, who authorities now suspect had intended to be a hijacker.
The focus shifted this week to the CIA after Newsweek magazine reported on Sunday that months before Sept. 11 the CIA knew two of the hijackers were in the United States -- Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi --and was aware that they were connected to bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Newsweek said that the CIA never told the FBI.
But a CIA official said the FBI had been informed about Almihdhar long before the attacks. It was not known what was done with the information on Alhazmi. The two men were on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
A CIA official told Reuters that a cable sent in January 2000 from Virginia headquarters to field offices overseas discussed Almidhar, including that his travel documents showed he had a multiple entry visa for the United States.
"We have passed these documents to the FBI for further investigation," the cable said, according to the CIA official.
An FBI spokeswoman said: "We don't have a comment at this point."
If the CIA or the FBI or the State Department had put the two suspected hijackers on a watch list, they could have been stopped from entering the United States.
"We know that other people who are believed to have been involved in the planning for 9/11 who were turned away, and all they did was send other people behind them," the CIA official said.
ALMIHDHAR MONITORED IN MALAYSIA
The CIA told the FBI about Almihdhar in January 2000 while trying to find out about a gathering in Malaysia of suspected al Qaeda members, the official said. The United States has blamed bin Laden and al Qaeda for the Sept. 11 attacks.
The National Security Agency, which conducts electronic eavesdropping that can pick up phone conversations and other communications, learned in late December 1999 that there was going to be a meeting in Kuala Lumpur of possible bin Laden associates.
The CIA received that information which included partial names and other fragments and began trying to find out who would attend, the CIA official said.
"We enlisted the assistance of several other countries to help us try to figure out who might be coming and what they might be doing," the official said.
One Middle Eastern country told the CIA that Almihdhar had gone through that country and it shared details from his travel documents and passport with the U.S. spy agency.
The CIA received that information on Jan. 4, 2000, Almihdhar arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 5, the gathering was on Jan. 6 and he left on Jan. 7, the CIA official said.
The CIA cable from headquarters to a number of CIA field stations on Jan. 5 included a short list of people who might attend the meeting in Malaysia and the reference to Almihdhar.
On Jan. 6, 2000, an internal e-mail from an FBI agent usually assigned to the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, but who was at FBI headquarters that day, asked the CIA about Almihdhar. The CIA replied that two other FBI agents had been briefed and they should be the FBI's point of contact for the information, the CIA official said.
"That tells us that they were aware of that piece of the pie," the CIA official said.
In March 2000 an Asian intelligence service told the CIA Alhazmi had passed through its country and was believed to be headed to Los Angeles, the CIA official said. "I don't know what happened with that information."
The CIA never learned what happened inside that January meeting in Malaysia, but had surveillance photos of attendees.
"We never learned the contents of the meeting, we never learned what they were talking about, what they were planning, if they were planning anything, because this came up so quickly," the CIA official said.
The CIA also had received some intelligence on Moussaoui in spring 2001, but from an informant who only knew him by an alias. It was not until after Sept. 11, when Moussaoui's photo was publicized, that his name was put together with the alias, a U.S. official said.
6/5/02
12:13:11 AM
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)
U.S. REPORT LINKS HUMAN ACTIONS TO GLOBAL WARMING
WASHINGTON, DC, June 3, 2002 (ENS) - For the first time, the Bush administration has linked an increase in global warming to human activities in the United States, but maintains it will not participate in the international treaty to limit global warming, the Kyoto Protocol.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-03-02.asp
U.S. AIR POLLUTION BOOSTS CANCER RISK
WASHINGTON, DC, June 3, 2002 (ENS) - Breathing toxic chemicals in the outdoor air exposes all Americans to a lifetime cancer risk at least 10 times greater than the level considered acceptable under federal law, shows new data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The complete study is available at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/nata
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-03-07.asp
ORGANIC FARMING YIELDS FRINGE BENEFITS
WASHINGTON, DC, June 3, 2002 (ENS) - A 21 year comparison of farming methods has shown that organic farming produces crops that average about 20 percent smaller than crops produced using conventional methods. The study by Swiss scientists also found that organic farmers use land far more efficiently and with less environmental impact than other modern farmers.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-03-06.asp
NEW CENTER A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR MEXICO CITY
MEXICO CITY, Mexico, June 3, 2002 (ENS) - Mexico City and the World Resources Institute have established the Center for Sustainable Transport for Mexico City to find solutions to the transport and air pollution problems in the world's second largest megacity.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-03-01.asp
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JUNE 3, 2002
Leased Supercomputer Will Improve Forecasting
Colorado Roadless Area Logging Challenged
EPA, Chemical Industry Study Environmental Effects
Study Targets Vanishing Lake Michigan Sturgeon
Petroleum Industry Causes Houston Smog
Rainforest Clearings Damage Ecosystems
Scientists Reject Plan to Remove Wolf Protections
Taxidermist Admits Selling Tiger Meat
http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-03-09.asp
6/5/02
12:09:19 AM
AlterNet Headlines
ALTERNET LAUNCHES NEW RIGHTS & LIBERTIES CONTENT FILE!
Visit our new Rights & Liberties page to find breaking news, in-depth analysis and lively opinion on the human rights and civil liberties issues that Americans are concerned with today -- immigrant rights, racial justice, the death penalty, sexual freedom and free speech.
http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=32
TOP-SECRET PRISONERS IN THE USA
Gabrielle Banks, AlterNet
Nine months ago the Justice Department rounded up hundreds of Muslims suspected of involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Only one is charged with terrorism. Why do 325 remain in custody?
*In Rights & Liberties: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=32
THE FALL GUY
David Corn, AlterNet
By taking the fall for the FBI's 9/11 oversight, Director Robert Mueller may have unintentionally provided the CIA and the Pentagon plenty of cover for their mistakes.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13263
THE PRICE OF FAILURE IN KASHMIR
Achin Vanaik, Foreign Policy in Focus
With both governments exploiting military fervor for political gain, an all-out war between India and Pakistan will break out sooner or later.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13276
WHY IS WASHINGTON IGNORING THE WARNING SIGNS OF ECONOMIC DEVASTATION?
Arianna Huffington, AlterNet
Though missed terror warning signals dominate the headlines, there is another story of warning signs being ignored by our elected officials: the sorry state of our economy.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13261
PAUL WELLSTONE, FIGHTER
John Nichols, The Nation
Virtually alone among Senate Democrats, Paul Wellstone sees himself not just as a member of Congress but as a member of a movement rife with progressives and liberals.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13279
ARE THE GREENS READY FOR PRIME TIME?
Marc Cooper, AlterNet
The Minnesota Green Party is risking political suicide by endorsing a gubernatorial candidate other than Paul Wellstone -- the greenest member of the Senate.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13280
INTELLIGENCE SHAKEUPS CONTINUE: FBI TO BE RENAMED 'FIB'
Sidney Frigand, AlterNet
And in other news, the highest ranking female agent, the popular Mia Culpa, will be tapped to head up antiterrorist investigations.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13283
FUNK SOUL BROTHER
Cynthia Fuchs, PopPolitics.com
Between NBA commercials, Snoop videos and the return of George Clinton, the funk seems to be everywhere. Now here comes the movie version of the animated series 'Undercover Brother.'
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13268
WHAT DID CHENEY KNOW?
Stephen Pizzo, The Daily Enron
Arthur Andersen didn't work its accounting magic for Enron alone. Vice President Dick Cheney's company, Halliburton, also profited handsomely. No wonder Cheney doesn't want to talk about it.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13274
ON THE POROUSNESS OF RACIAL IDENTITY
Matt Kelley, LiP Magazine
Even after centuries of mixing and melting, Americans still cling to the idea that race means either black or white, even as mixed-race Americans fill the gray areas in-between.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13275
LIFE ON THE EDGE
Tim Frasca, LA Weekly
The urbane, if somewhat rough-edged, Argentine middle class, the closest Latin America can boast to matching its First World counterparts, is now an endangered species.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13264
THE GOVERNOR'S SUB-ROSA PLOT
Daniel Forbes , Institute for Policy Studies
A four-month long investigation details political malfeasance and the misuse of public funds in order to defeat a drug treatment amendment in Ohio.
*In DrugReporter: http://www.alternet.org/?IssueAreaID=17
FORD TV SPOTS DRENCHED IN AMERICANA
Andrew Beck Grace, Flak Magazine
The new Ford Motor Company commercials featuring CEO William Ford Jr. play with notions of the automobile as a symbol of American freedom. Ironic, isn't it?
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13247
THE ARMS CONTROL SHELL GAME
Peter Ferenbach, AlterNet
The Bush-Putin nuclear arms agreement is part of an elaborate charade put on by a White House intent on jeopardizing globalsecurity.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13257
6/5/02
12:05:29 AM
Planet Ark World Environment News
US govt report blames humans for global warming - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16248/story.htm
Global warming would help many US crops - EPA report - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16249/story.htm
New USDA conservation security program months away - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16250/story.htm
Wildfires rage in three US states - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16253/story.htm
Whale watching is a killer, US studies show - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16255/story.htm
UN chief says to help Ukraine on Chernobyl, AIDS - UKRAINE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16247/story.htm
Pets join first Turkish animal rights rally - TURKEY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16254/story.htm
Peru mining vote "suspicious" - Manhattan Minerals - PERU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16252/story.htm
US - African energy ministers meet in Morocco - MOROCCO http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16246/story.htm
Nippon Mining, Codelco set up firm for bio-mining - JAPAN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16256/story.htm
Negotiators try to wrap up Earth Summit plan - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16244/story.htm
Bali village eyes tourists, but environment first - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16245/story.htm
China GMO cotton bad for environment - Greenpeace - CHINA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16251/story.htm
6/3/02
5:32:18 PM
16th Anniversary of Chernobyl
2002 marked the 16th anniversary of worst nuclear power plant accident in history. On April 26, 1986 at 1:23 am technicians at the Chernobyl Power Plant in the Ukraine allowed the power in the fourth reactor to fall to low levels as part of a "controlled" experiment. The reactor overheated causing a meltdown of the core. Two explosions blew the top off the reactor building releasing clouds of deadly radioactive material in the atmosphere for over ten days. People living near Chernobyl were exposed to radioactivity 100 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. People in other parts of the world were also exposed to radioactive material blown northward by the wind. Seventy percent of the radiation is estimated to have fallen on Belarus. Ten years after the accident, babies were still being born with no arms, no eyes, or only stumps for limbs. Some 15 million people have been victims of the disaster in some way. More than 600,000 people were involved with the cleanup, many of whom are now sick or dead. The Chernobyl Plant is made up of four graphite reactors; Number 4 exploded in 1986, Number 2 was shut down due to a fire in 1991.
Remembering the 16th anniversary of Chernobyl, Ecodefense! and the Youth Human Rights Movement in Russia organized a demonstration in front of the Kremlin. Activists from 30 Russian cities gathered to speak out against the government's intention to import nuclear waste into Russia and against the country's plan to develop nuclear energy. Dressed in white jumpsuits with radiation symbols on the front, many activists experienced violence from police, and both activists and journalists alike were arrested at the demonstration. Many individuals and organizations oppose the plans of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Power (MINATOM) to import spent nuclear fuel from other countries, plans that were approved by both the Russian Parliament and President Vladimir Putin in 2001. Environmentalists say their country cannot even handle its own nuclear waste safely, and until problems with Russian waste are solved, waste from anywhere else should not be imported. (source: Environmental News Service; 26 April)
In London, Irish protesters commemorated the 16th anniversary of Chernobyl by bombarding Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prince Charles with postcards demanding the closure of Britain's Sellafield nuclear plant. Ali Hewson, the wife of Irish rock star Bono of the band U2 stated, "Sellafield has the potential to be 80 times the size of the Chernobyl accident." More than 1.2 million postcards reading "Tony, look me in the eye and tell me I'm safe," were sent from Irish households for delivery on 26 April. Sellafield, which houses some 75 tons of plutonium, has been an ongoing source of tension between Ireland and Britain because it is a source of pollution on the Irish coast and prone to accident.
>From 6-8 May, Norway will host talks with 20 countries on how to cooperate in the case of a Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster. Experts discuss ways to implement conventions on early notification and assistance in nuclear accidents. Countries attending include Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Nordic nations, the US. Russia has said it is unable to attend but is willing to contribute to later work.
Resources on Chernobyl:
Graph of Chernobyl Fallout
http://www.nea.fr/html/rp/chernobyl/c02.html
Chernobyl Children's Project
Chernobyl: Ten Years On Radiological and Health Impact
http://www.nea.fr/html/rp/chernobyl/welcome.html
Chernobyl radiation disaster information
6/3/02
5:30:52 PM
The Most Dangerous Place In The World
By Salman Rushdie, May 30, 2002
he present Kashmir crisis feels like a deja vu replay of the last one. Three years ago a weak Indian coalition government led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party had just lost a confidence vote in India's Parliament and was nervously awaiting a general election. At once it began to beat the war drums over Kashmir. Now another coalition government, still led by the B.J.P. and deeply tainted by B.J.P. supporters' involvement in the massacre of hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat State, may be about to lose another general election. So here goes the government again, talking up a Kashmiri war and asking India to stand firm behind its leadership.
Three years ago in Pakistan, the equally weak government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had bankrupted the national economy and was facing well-documented corruption charges. Mr. Sharif, too, had much to gain from war fever -- fed by the various Muslim terrorist groups operating in Kashmir. The hawkish Pakistani general then responsible for communicating with and training those terrorist groups was one Pervez Musharraf. (By the way -- just so we're clear on who Mr. Musharraf, now Pakistan's president, really is -- some of these groups were almost certainly sent by Pakistan's intelligence service to Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.) When Nawaz Sharif succumbed to American pressure and promised to rein in the terrorists, General Musharraf was furious. A few months later he overthrew Mr. Sharif in a coup and seized power.
Will the outcome also be a replay of three years ago? Will the conflict be contained again?
This time President Musharraf is the one being pressed by the United States to stamp out Kashmiri terrorism. He has been playing a double game, arresting hundreds of members of the groups he once fostered but quietly freeing most of them soon afterward. Caught between two necessities -- placating his major international sponsor and playing to the home audience -- he may well in the end follow his deepest political instincts: to support (overtly or covertly) the Islamist radicals who have terrorized the once idyllic valley of Kashmir for well over a decade.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee of India, with his talk of a "decisive battle," clearly feels that direct military action, resulting in the reconquest of some if not all of the Kashmiri territory now under Pakistani control, is the only way of preventing attacks like the atrocity this month in which women and children were slaughtered at an Indian army base. Mr. Vajpayee knows that Indian rule is unpopular in the valley, that the Indian army looks to many Kashmiris like an army of occupation. But he will also have calculated that in the opinion of the international community, and also of many fearful, near-destitute Kashmiris, Pakistan's protracted sponsorship of terrorism has damaged its claims to moral legitimacy.
Would a war between India and Pakistan, if it came, go nuclear?
Pakistan, with its suggestively timed missile tests, its refusal to adopt a policy of not being the first to use nuclear arms and its hawkish talk, is trying to give the impression that it would have no compunction about using its nuclear arsenal. India's military leadership has said that if attacked with nuclear bombs it would respond with maximum force and that in such a conflict India would sustain heavy damage but survive, whereas Pakistan would be destroyed utterly.
Is it really likely, however, that Pakistan would, so to speak, strap a nuclear weapon to its belly, walk into the crowded bazaar that is India and turn itself into the biggest suicide bomber in history?
Mr. Musharraf doesn't look like martyr material. Ah, but if he were losing a conventional war? If India's overwhelming numerical superiority on land, at sea and in the air won the day and Pakistan lost its prized Kashmiri land, would reason be swept aside? Worst of all, if Pakistani fury at a military defeat by India were to result in Mr. Musharraf's overthrow by Islamist hard-liners, Pakistan's nuclear warheads could fall into the hands of people for whom martyrdom is a higher goal than peace, people who value death more highly than life.
Pakistan is calling on the international community to intervene, but this call must be heard with caution. For half a century Pakistan has sought to internationalize the Kashmiri dispute while India has consistently described that effort as interference in its internal affairs. Both sides are locked into old language, old strategies and an old game of chicken that's currently playing itself out across the Line of Control. Like two aged wrestlers fighting on a cliff, India and Pakistan are locked together, rolling ever closer to the edge.
But their ancient hatred is no longer a matter only for them. The risk of a nuclear battle, however improbable, makes Kashmir everybody's problem. Right now it's the most dangerous place in the world. These pathetic old fighters must be pulled apart, and soon. Yes, that probably does mean intervention by the West, though Russia seems eager to help as well, which is useful.
This should not, however, be the intervention that Pakistan wants. The point is not to restrain Indian "aggression," but to make the world safer for us all. The situation can only be stabilized if India and Pakistan are both forced to back away, preferably to outside of Kashmir's historic, unpartitioned borders. This "hands off Kashmir" solution will have to be externally imposed on the reluctant principals and will require that a large peacekeeping force be sent to the region to support Kashmir as an autonomous area. But who in the West wants that -- it's just the old colonialist-imperialist power trip, isn't it? And who's supposed to pay for all this peacekeeping, anyway?
The answers to those questions are also questions: What's the alternative? Do you have a better idea? Or shall we just stand back and keep our postcolonial, nonimperialist fingers crossed? Will it take mushroom clouds over Delhi and Islamabad to make us give up our ingrained prejudices and try something that might actually work? In the immortal words of the Spice Girls, "Will this deja vu never end?"
Salman Rushdie is the author of "Fury: A Novel" and the forthcoming essay collection "Step Across This Line."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/opinion/30RUSH.html?todaysheadlines
6/3/02
5:24:19 PM
Press Release
June 2, 2002
UnansweredQuestions.org
9-11 and the Public Safety: Seeking Answers and Accountability
To members of the press:
A national press conference and formal web site launch for UnansweredQuestions.org will be held on Monday, June 10th from 2-5 PM at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The goal of this unprecedented press event and public inquiry is to pose pointed, as yet unanswered, questions regarding the failure of our national security infrastructure, and the response that has sacrificed civil liberties and rewarded failure as opposed to ensuring performance and guaranteeing freedom, now and in the future.
UnansweredQuestions.org is being launched by an independent, non-partisan network of citizens concerned about the growing number of issues surrounding September 11th that have yet to be addressed or resolved; and their related public safety and Constitutional implications. Invited panelists will offer statements, present well-documented research, and ask incisive questions relative to these issues while addressing how citizens can act now to ensure accountability from those in government directly responsible for public safety and upholding the Constitution.
The conference will be moderated by Catherine Austin Fitts, President of Solari and former Assistant Secretary of Housing during the 1st Bush administration.
Confirmed participants include:
Mary Schiavo, Esq., lawyer for 32 passengers' families from all 9/11 hijacked planes, former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation ('90-'96) and author of Flying Safe, Flying Blind.
Lorna Brett, Director of Media Relations, Nolan Law Group, representing 9/11 families on United Airlines hijacked planes.
Ryan Amundson, whose brother Craig was killed at the Pentagon; founder of Peaceful Tomorrows.org.
Tom Flocco, independent investigative journalist who has researched and written extensively about insider trading in the trading days immediately preceding September 11th.
Jared Israel, Investigative Journalist and author of forthcoming book on 9-11.
Peter Erlander, Professor of Constitutional Law, William Mitchell University and past President of the National Lawyers Guild.
J. Michael Springmann, a veteran of 20 years of foreign service, who worked at the Saudi Embassy during a two year period when visas were issued to suspected Saudi hijackers.
Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), the foremost House proponent of U.S. border security.
--Other members of Congress have been invited to participate in the third hour of the conference.
--Further panelists will be announced in the coming week.
Organizers maintain that it is the role of informed active citizens to insist upon standards of performance from our public officials in regard to the events surrounding 9-11 and ongoing threats. Organizers are calling for a complete and public investigation of the failures of government agencies (FBI, CIA, INS, FAA) uncovered recently. This, they insist, requires a fuller disclosure of the circumstances surrounding each case in order to effectively address documented misappropriation (or lack of appropriation), incompetence, negligence and possible corruption. Doing so will ultimately foster an intelligence and national security apparatus that is effectively committed to the public safety and a government worthy of trust and fully accountable to the American people.
Members of radio, television and print press are invited to attend. There will be ample opportunity for questions and follow-up, and one-on-one interviews with the panelists directly following the event. Please contact Kyle F. Hence by Thursday, June 6th to register: 401-847-1963; kylehence@earthlink.net Media Notes: 1) please reply if interested in receiving updates relative to additionally confirmed panelists and television coverage by C-SPAN or other media or or look to the project website for updates later in the week. 2) please look for audio and/or video archives of the event to be accessible at www.unansweredquestions.org following the event.
Press credentials and registration required for admittance
National Press Club
Holeman Lounge
529 14th Street NW; [corner of 14th & F St.]
Washington, D.C.
24-Hour Events Line: 202-662-7595
Event Reservations: 202-662-7501
6/3/02
5:05:51 PM
Chief Seattle - 1853
"The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?
Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.
We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.
The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.
The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother.
If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.
Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.
This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
One thing we know: our God is also your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.
Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.
When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?
We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love it, as God loves us.
As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you.
One thing we know - there is only one God. No man, be he Red man or White man, can be apart. We are all brothers after all."
6/3/02
4:49:25 PM
Planet Ark World Environment News
Zimbabwe rejects U.S. food aid consignment - ZIMBABWE http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16230/story.htm
Green groups push US to act on ozone problem - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16238/story.htm
California seeks Florida-style deal on offshore drilling - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16234/story.htm
FEATURE - Alaska battleground shifts to offshore oilfields - USA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16232/story.htm
FACTBOX - Who ratified the Kyoto treaty at United Nations - UNITED NATIONS http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16236/story.htm
EU ratifies global warming pact, slams Washington - UNITED NATIONS http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16233/story.htm
UK generators may burn wood, straw at coal plants - UK http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16239/story.htm
EU ministers back "European motorways of the sea" - SPAIN http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16229/story.htm
Russian factory tests turbine for Iran nuke reactor - RUSSIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16225/story.htm
Peru town votes on mine plan amid pollution fears - PERU http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16235/story.htm
Italy's Snam to fight Sicily tax, seek refund - ITALY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16222/story.htm
Ministers to add muscle to Bali Earth Summit talks - INDONESIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16224/story.htm
Only organic farms in feed crisis-German minister - GERMANY http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16241/story.htm
Czech CEZ launches second nuke reactor at Temelin - CZECH REPUBLIC http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16228/story.htm
Andes deforestation threatens Colombia's water - COLOMBIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16220/story.htm
FEATURE - Gold diggers draw ire from environmentalists - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16223/story.htm
Strong winds fan forest fires across Canadian west - CANADA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16221/story.htm
Russia seeks to build new Bulgaria nuclear plant - BULGARIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16227/story.htm
FEATURE - Pioneer Brazil seeks to crank up alcohol motor again - BRAZIL http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16237/story.htm
World Bank to give $50 mln Chernobyl aid to Belarus - BELARUS http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16226/story.htm
Australia Greens scuttle Telstra-for-trees deal - AUSTRALIA http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16231/story.htm
6/3/02
4:07:46 PM
Castro Rejects Bush Democracy Ideas
by The Associated Press | New York Times; June 1, 2002
HOLGUIN, Cuba (AP) -- In a blistering speech before hundreds of thousands of people in a drenching rain Saturday, President Fidel Castro said the democracy President Bush wants to see in Cuba would be a corrupt and unfair system that ignores the poor.
``For Mr. W, democracy only exists where money solves everything and where those who can afford a $25,000-a-plate dinner -- an insult to the billions of people living in the poor, hungry and underdeveloped world -- are the ones called to solve the problems of society and the world,'' Castro said in his continuing attack on Bush's hard line policies toward the island.
``Don't be a fool, Mr. W,'' Castro said. ``Show some respect for the minds of people who are capable of thinking...Show some respect for others and for yourself.''
Castro's early morning address is part of Cuba's answer to Bush's May 20 speeches in Washington and Miami, promising trade sanctions against Cuba would not be lifted until all political prisoners are freed, independently monitored elections are allowed and a series of other conditions are accepted for a ``new government that is fully democratic.''
A week ago, Castro made a similar speech answering Bush's declarations, telling the American people that they should never fear an attack by Cuba and can always count on this communist country's support in the war against terrorism.
Saturday's speech in this eastern provincial capital 500 miles east of Havana was aimed directly at Bush.
``None of our leaders is a millionaire like the President of the United States, whose monthly wage is almost twice that of all the members of the (Cuban) Council of State and the Council of Ministers in a year,'' Castro told several hundred thousand people from across rural Holguin province and neighboring Las Tunas and Granma provinces.
``None can be included in the long list of Mr. W's neoliberal friends in Latin America who are Olympic champions of misappropriation and theft since the few who do not steal from the public coffers and state taxes steal from the poor and the hungry,'' he said.
``The criminal blockade he has promised to tighten will only multiply the honor and glory of our people,'' Castro declared of Bush's stated intention to not only maintain but tighten U.S. restrictions on trade and travel with Cuba.
Castro contrasted Bush with the late American President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
``It was a long time ago when a man spoke from his wheelchair with a soft voice and a persuasive accent. He spoke as a president of the United States of America and he inspired respect ... He did not speak like a showoff or a thug,'' Castro said.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Cuba-US.html
6/3/02
4:03:06 PM
The Bush 9/11 Scandal for Dummies
by Bernard Weiner, TruthOut.org; June 2, 2002
Don't know about you, but all this who-knew-what-when pre-9/11 stuff is mighty confusing. So once again, I head to that all-purpose reference series for some comprehensible answers.
Q. I've heard all these reports about the government knowing weeks and months in advance of 9/11 that airliners were going to be hijacked and flown into buildings, and yet the Bush Administration apparently did nothing and denied they did anything wrong. They claimed the fault lay in the intelligence agencies "not connecting the dots," or that it was the "FBI culture" that failed. Can you explain?
A. Most of the "it's-the-fault-of-the-system" spin is designed to deflect attention from the real situation. Bush and his spokesmen may well be correct in saying they had no idea as to the specifics -- they may not have known the exact details of the attacks -- but it is more and more apparent that they knew a great deal more than they're letting on, including the possible targets.
Q. You're not just going leave that hanging out there, are you? Just bash Bush with no evidence to back it up?
A. There's no need to bash anybody. There is more than enough documentation to establish that the Bush Administration was fully aware that a major attack was coming from Al-Qaeda, by air, aimed at symbolic structures on the U.S. mainland, and that among mentioned targets were the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the White House, the Congress, Statue of Liberty. (According to Richard Clarke, the White House's National Coordinator for Anti-Terrorism, the intelligence community was convinced ten weeks before 9/11 that an Al-Qaeda attack on U.S. soil was imminent.)
Q. If they knew in advance that the, or at least an, attack was coming, why did the Bush Administration do nothing to prepare the country in advance: get photos of suspected terrorists out to airlines, have fighter jets put on emergency-standby status or even in the air as deterents, get word out to the border police to stop these "watch-list" terrorists, put surface-to-air missiles around the White House and Pentagon, etc.?
A. The explanation preferred by the government is to admit, eight months late, to absolute and horrendous incompetence, up and down the line (although Bush&Co., surprise!, prefer to focus the blame lower down, letting the FBI be the fall guy). But let's try an alternate explanation. Think about it for a moment. If their key goal was to mobilize the country behind the Bush Administration, get their political/business agenda through, have a reason to move unliterally around the globe, and defang the Democrats and other critics at home -- what better way to do all that than to have Bush be the take-charge leader after a diabolic "sneak attack"?
Q. You're suggesting the ultimate cynical strategem, purely for political ends. I can't believe that Bush and his cronies are that venal. Isn't it possible that the whole intelligence apparatus just blew it?
A. Possible, but not bloody likely. There certainly is enough blame to spread around, but the evidence indicates that Bush and his closest aides knew that bin Laden was planning a direct attack on the U.S. mainland -- using airplanes headed for those icon targets -- and, in order to get the country to move in the direction he wanted, he kept silent.
Q. But if that's true, what you've described is utterly indefensible, putting policy ahead of American citizens' lives.
A. Now are you beginning to understand why Bush&Co. are fighting so tenaciously against a blue-ribbon commission of inquiry, and why Bush and Cheney went to Congressional leaders and asked them not to investigate the pre-9/11 period? Now do you understand why they are trying so desperately to keep everything secret, tightly locked up in the White House, only letting drips and drabs get out when there is no other way to avoid Congressional subpoenas or court-ordered disclosures? They know that if one thread of the coverup unravels, more of their darkest secrets will follow.
Q. You're sounding like a conspiracy nut.
A. For years, we've avoided thinking in those terms, because so many so-called "conspiracies" exist only in someone's fevered imagination. Plus, to think along these lines in this case is depressing, suggesting that American democracy can be so easily manipulated and distorted by a cabal of the greedy and power-hungry. But I'm afraid that's where the evidence leads.
Q. You mean there's proof of Bush complicity in 9/11 locked up in the White House?
A. We wouldn't use the term complicity. So far as we now know, Bush did not order or otherwise arrange for Al-Qaeda's attacks on September 11. But once the attacks happened, the plans Bush&Co. already had drawn up for taking advantage of the tragedy were implemented. A frightened, terrorist-obsessed nation did not realize they'd been the object of another assault, this time by those occupying the White House.
Q. This is startling, and revolting. But I refuse to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon until I see some proof. Bush says he first heard about a "lone" pre-9/11 warning on August 6, and that it was vague and dealt with possible attacks outside the U.S. Why can't we believe him? After all, the FBI and CIA are notorious for their incompetence and bungling. You got a better version that makes sense, I'd love to hear it.
A. Bush and his spinners want us to concentrate on who knew what detail when; it's the old magician's trick of getting you to look elsewhere while he's doing his prestidigitation. We're not talking about a little clue here and another little clue there, or an FBI memo that wasn't shared. We're talking about long-range planning and analysis of what strategic-intelligence agencies and high-level commissions and geopolitical thinkers around the globe -- including those inside the U.S. -- saw for years before 9/11 as likely scenarios in an age of terrorist attacks.
The conclusion about Al-Qaeda, stated again and again for years by government analysts, was basically: "They're coming, by air. Get prepared. They're well-organized, determined, and technically adept. And they want to hit big targets, well-known symbols of America." (There was a 1999 U.S. government study, for example, that pointed out that Al-Qaeda suicide-bombers wanted to crash aircraft into a number of significant Washington targets; during the 199 5 trial of Ramsi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, he revealed plans to divebomb a plane into CIA headquarters, and earlier he had told FBI agents that the list was expanded to include the Pentagon and other D.C. targets.)
Elements in the FBI, all over the country, who suspected what was coming, were clamoring, begging, for more agents to be used for counter-terrorism investigations, but were turned down by Attorney General Ashcroft; Ashcroft also gave counter-terrorism short shrift in his budget plans, not even placing anti-terrorism on his priority list; John O'Neill, the FBI's NYC anti-terrorism director, resigned, asserting that his attempts at full-scale investigating were being thwarted by higher-ups; someone in the FBI, perhaps on orders of someone higher-up, made sure that the local FBI investigation in Minneapolis of Zacaria Moussauoi was compromised. All this while Ashcroft was shredding the Constitution in his martial law-like desire to amass information, and continues even now to further expand his police-state powers.
(Note: An FBI agent has filed official complaints over the bureau's interfering with anti-terrorism investigations; his lawyers include David Schippers, who worked for the GOP side in the Clinton impeachment effort; Schippers says the agent knew in May 2001 that "an attack on lower Manhattan was imminent." A former FBI official said: "I don't buy the idea that we didn't know what was coming...Within 24 hours [of the attack], the Bureau had about 20 people identified, and photos were sent out to the news media. Obviously this information was available in the files and someone was sitting on it.")
One can accept the usual incompetency in intelligence collection and analysis from, say, an anti-terrorist desk officer at the FBI, but not from the highest levels of national defense and intelligence in and around the President, where his spokesman, in a bald-faced lie, told the world that the 9/11 attacks came with "no warning." More recently, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, in a quavering voice, tried to characterize the many warnings as mere "chatter," and concerned attacks "outside the U.S." But the many warning-reports focused on terrorist attacks both inside and outside the United States; the August 6th briefing dealt with planned attacks IN the United States.
Not only were there clear warnings from allies abroad, but the U.S., through its ECHELON and other electronic-intercept programs, may well have broken bin Laden's encryption code; for example, the U.S. knew that he told his mother on September 9: "In two days you're going to hear big news, and you're not going to hear from me for a while".
And, the word of an impending attack was getting out: put options (hedges that a stock's price is going to fall) in enormous quantities were being bought on United Airlines and American Airlines stock, the two carriers of the hijackers, as early as September 7; San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown was warned by "an airport security man" on September 10 to rethink his flight to New York for the next day; Newsweek reported that on September 10, "a group of top Pentagon officials suddenly canceled travel plans for the next morning, apparently because of security concerns"; many members of a Bronx mosque were also warned to stay out of lower Manhattan on September 11, etc. etc.
Q. You're giving me intriguing bits and pieces. Can't you tie it all together and make it make sense?
A. OK, you asked for it, so we're going to provide you with a kind of shorthand scenario of what may well have gone down, a kind of narrative that attempts to tie a lot of disparate-seeming events together. There is voluminous, multi-sourced evidence that establishes this scenario. It's scary, so prepare yourself.
We believe that the HardRight began serious planning for a 2000 electoral victory -- and then implementation of a HardRight agenda, and the destruction of a liberal opposition -- a year or two after Clinton's 1996 victory. (The impeachment of Clinton was a key ingredient to sully Democrat opposition.) The GOP HardRight leaders decided early to select George W. Bush, a none-too-bright and easily malleable young man with the right name and pedigree. They ran into a speed-bump when John McCain began to take off in the public imagination, and so with dirty tricks they wrecked his campaign in the South and elsewhere, and continued on their merry course.
For a while, they fully expected an easy victory over dull Al Gore, tainted goods for a lot of conservative Republicans and others because of his association with Clinton, but, given the obvious limitations of their candidate, they weren't going to take a lot of chances. In Florida, for example, where it looked as if the race might be tight, they early on arranged things -- through Bush's governor-brother Jeb, and the Bush campaign's Katherine Harriss, Florida's Secretary of State -- so that George W. couldn't lose. An example: removing tens of thousands of eligible African-American voters from the rolls.
As it turned out, Gore won the popular vote by more than a half-million votes nationwide, and, we now know, would have won Florida's popular vote had all the ballots been counted, but the U.S. Supreme Court HardRight majority, despite its longtime support for states' rights, in a bit of ethical contortionism did a philosophical reverse in midair and ordered the Florida vote-counting to stop and declared Bush the winner, installing a President rather than letting the people decide for themselves.
Q. That's ancient history. I'm interested in 9/11, not tearing at an old scab.
A. OK. We're merely trying to indicate that the HardRight's campaign to take power was not an overnight, post-9/11 whim but worked out long in advance. After so many near-chances to take total control, they would do anything to guarantee a presidential victory this time around -- which would give them full control over the reins of power: Legislature (where HardRightists dominated the House and Senate), the Courts (where the HardRight dominated the U.S. Supreme Court and many appelate courts), and the Executive branch, not to mention the HardRight media control they exerted in so many areas.
They had followed the news, they knew that the Al-Qaeda terrorist network was engaged in a maniacal jihad against America, and was quite capable -- as they had demonstrated on many occasions, from Saudia Arabia to East Africa to the first attempt on the World Trade Center -- of carrying out their threats. They also knew, from innumerable intelligence reports from telecommunications intercepts, and from various commissions, CIA and foreign agents that Al-Qaeda liked to blow up symbolic icon structures of countries targeted, and that Al-Qaeda, and its affiliates, had an affinity for trying to use airplanes as psychologic or actual weapons. (The French had foiled one such attack in 1994, where a hijacked commercial airliner would be flown into the Eiffel Tower.)
By early 2001 and into the Summer, warnings were pouring in to U.S. intelligence and military agencies from Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Israel, and other Middle East and South Asian intelligence sources, along with Russia and Britain and the Phillipines, saying that a major attack on the U.S. mainland was in the works, involving the use of airplanes as weapons of mass destruction.
Indeed, in June and July of 2001, the alerts started to be explicit that air attacks were about to go down in the U.S.; even local FBI offices in Phoenix and Minneapolis began passing warnings up the line about Middle Eastern men acting suspiciously at flight schools. In July, Ashcroft stopped flying on commercial airliners and traveled only by private plane, and Bush, after but a few months in office, announced he was going to ground, spending the month of August on his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Cheney disappeared from view, and our guess is that he was coordinating the overall, post-attack strategy.
Under this scenario, in mid-Summer 2001, Bush&Co. decided this was it. Bin Laden unknowingly was going to deliver them the gift of terrorism, and they were going to run with it as far and as fast and as hard as they could. The various post-attack scenarios had been worked out, the so-called USA Patriot Act --which contained various police-state eviscerations of the Constitution -- was polished and prepared for a rush-job (with no hearings) through a post-attack Congress, the war plans against the Taliban in Afghanistan were readied and rolled out, the air-base countries around Afghanistan were brought onboard, and so on. All during the Summer of 2001.
Q. I don't understand how war against Afghanistan could have been anticipated so early.
A. Follow the money. Various oil/gas/energy companies had wanted a Central Asian pipeline to run through Afghanistan (costing much less to build, but also so it wouldn't have to go through Russia or Iran); that project was put on hold during the chaos in Afghanistan, but when the Taliban took over and brought stability to that country, the U.S. began negotiating with the Taliban about the pipeline deal. Even after sending them, via the United Nations, $43million dollars for "poppy-seed eradication," and inviting them to talks in Texas, the Taliban began to balk. At a later meeting, the U.S. negotiator threatened them with an attack unless they handed over bin Laden and reportedly told them, in reference to the pipeline, that they could accept "a carpet of gold" or be buried in "a carpet of bombs." (The later U.S. government spin was that the bin Laden issue and the pipeline issues were separate, and that the U.S. threats didn't mix the two and there were misunderstandings of what was said.) Shortly thereafter, bin Laden, hiding out in Afghanistan, initiated the September 11th attacks, and the U.S. bombing of that country began. Oh, by the way, in case you haven't noticed, under the new U.S.-friendly government in Kabul, the pipeline project is back on track. Oh, by the way, the pipeline will terminate reasonably close to the power plant in India built by Enron that has been lying dormant for years, waiting for cheap energy supplies.
Q. You're saying that U.S. war and foreign policy have been dictated by greed?
A. Among other pleasant motivations, such as hunger for domination and control, domestically and around the globe -- which always ties in with greed. That's why Bush&Co. play such political and military hardball. That's why the arrogant, take-no-prisoners, in-your-face attitude, to bully and frighten potential opponents into silence and acquiescence, even questioning their patriotism if they demur or raise embarrassing issues.
Q. But this is a democracy, people are still speaking their minds, right?
A. Certainly, there are areas of America's democratic republic that have not yet been shut down. But where there should be a vibrant opposition party, raising all sorts of questions about Bush Administration policy and plans, America receives mostly silence and timidity. However, as more and more of the ugly truth begins to emerge -- and Enron, Anthrax, and pre-9/11 knowledge are just the tips of the iceberg -- the Democrats (and moderate Republicans) are beginning to feel a bit more emboldened. But just a bit, preferring to run for cover whenever Bush&Co. accuse them of being unpatriotic when they raise pointed questions.
Q. You're so critical and negative about the Bush Administration. Can't you say anything good about what they're doing?
A. Yes. They have moved terrorism -- the new face of warfare in our time -- front and center into the world's consciousness, and have mobilized a global coalition against it. They may be making mistakes, which could lead to horrifying consequences, or acting at times out of impure motives, but at least the issue is out there and being debated and acted upon.
Now, having said that, we must point out that the institutions in this country -- the Constitution, the courts, the legislative bodies, civil liberties, the Bill of Rights, the press, etc. -- are in as much danger as they've ever been in. And the U.S.'s bullying attitude abroad may well lead to disastrous consequences for America down the line.
Q. So, what's to be done?
A. The most important thing at the moment -- even, or especially when, the inevitable next terrorist attack occurs -- is to break the illusion of Bush&Co. invulnerability. The best way to do that, aside from ratcheting up the Enron and Anthrax and 9/11 investigations (and it may turn out that those scandals are deeply intertwined), is to defeat GOP candidates in the upcoming November elections. If the Democrats hang on to the Senate and can take over the House, the dream of unchallengable HardRight power will be broken. Bush&Co. will become even more desperate, overt, nasty, and in their arrogance and bullying ways, will make more mistakes and alienate more citizens. The edifice will begin to crumble even more; there will be more and deeper Congressional and media investigations; resignations and/or impeachments (of both Bush & Cheney, and Ashcroft) may well follow.
Q. You're asking me to support ALL Democrats, even though in a particular race a moderate GOP conservative would be better?
A. Yes. In some cases, you may have to hold your nose and send money to, canvass for, and vote for a Democrat; we can get rid of the bad ones later. The objective right now -- for the future of the Constitution, and for the lives of our soldiers in uniform and civilians around the globe -- has to be to break the momentum of the HardRight by taking the House and keeping the Senate from returning to GOP control. Doing so would be even more important than what happened when that courageous senator from Vermont, Jim Jeffords, appalled by the HardRight nastiness and greed-agenda of the Bush folks, resigned from the GOP and turned the Senate agenda over to the Democrats.
Q. And you think if the GOP gets its nose bloodied in the November election, that will convince Bush to resign or lead to his impeachment? I don't get that.
A. Churchill once told the Brits during World War II that "this is not the beginning of the end, but it is the beginning of the beginning of the end." There is a lot of hard work and organizing and educating to be done, but the recent exposure of Bush coverup-lies about pre-9/11 knowledge is "the beginning of the beginning of the end." With a GOP defeat in November, Democrats will be emboldened to speak up more, investigate deeper, and those inquiries will unlock even more awful secrets of this greed-and-powerhungry administration. And that will be the beginning of the end -- and the beginning of the beginning of a new era of more humane values for America and the rest of the world.
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D., has taught American government & international relations at Western Washington University and San Diego State University; he was with the San Francisco Chronicle for nearly 20 years, and has published in The Nation, Village Voice, The Progressive, Northwest Passage and widely on the internet.
Source: http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03D.bw.911.dum.htm
6/3/02
2:46:38 PM
Senator Seeks FBI Agent For Probe
by The Associated Press | New York Times; June 1, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants to hear testimony next week from a Minneapolis FBI agent critical of the bureau headquarters' handling of a terrorism investigation before the Sept. 11 attacks.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Coleen Rowley can help the panel improve FBI operations and restore public confidence in the bureau by appearing next Thursday.
Rowley wrote a letter last week to FBI Director Robert Mueller criticizing Washington headquarters for refusing to allow Minneapolis agents to step up their investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui, who was in custody in the weeks leading up to the attacks.
Moussaoui is under indictment on charges of being a conspirator in the attacks. The FBI was suspicious of his flight-training activities last August and he was picked up on an immigration violation.
The New York Times reported Saturday that a top-secret internal document warned the FBI director in the months before Sept. 11 that the bureau faced significant terrorist threats from Middle Eastern groups but lacked the resources to deal with them.
Despite the assessment, Attorney General John Ashcroft rejected a proposed $58 million increase in financing for the bureau's counterterrorism program last Sept. 10. The Times quoted an unidentified Justice Department official as saying the document, known as the Director's Report on Terrorism, was not provided to Ashcroft's budget staff.
Rowley has pledged not to discuss the Moussaoui case, so Grassley said national security concerns should not stand in the way of her testifying.
Minneapolis FBI spokesman Paul McCabe declined to comment on Grassley's request.
The office of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee chairman, will determine whether to call Rowley as a witness.
While the Senate Judiciary Committee meets in open session, the Senate and House intelligence committees will begin joint closed-door hearings on the attacks next Tuesday.
Those hearings will begin with presentations by staffers summarizing what they have learned in their probe of the events leading up to the attacks. Witnesses will appear in open sessions later in June.
Mueller and CIA Director George Tenet are expected to appear in some of the open hearings, which begin June 25.
Ashcroft said he fully supports the FBI director. ``Bob Mueller is reforming the FBI'' and ``Mueller's going to get that done,'' he said on CNN's ``Larry King Live'' Friday.
``He's grabbed the agency'' and ``he has begun to shift the culture,'' Ashcroft added.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-FBI-Reorganizing.html
6/3/02
2:42:55 PM
t r u t h o u t | 06.03
John O'Neill | The Counter-Terrorist
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03A.oneill.nyer.htm
India-Pakistan; Westerners Evacuate, Nuclear Threat Quite Real
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03B.ind.pak.nuk.htm
Senator Seeks FBI Agent for Probe
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03C.grassley.rowley.htm
Bernard Weiner | The Bush 9/11 Scandal for Dummies
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03D.bw.911.dum.htm
Bush: U.S. Will Strike First at Enemies; New Threats Require Preemption, He Says
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03E.bush.preempt.htm
Tearful FBI Agent Apologizes To Sept. 11 Families and Victims
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03F.cbs.wright.htm
Deborah Sontag | In the Time of Hugo Chavez
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03G.time.of.chavez.htm
Castro Rejects Bush Democracy Ideas
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.03H.castro.rejects.htm