From: Supreme Law Firm <paulandrewmitchell2004@...>
Subject: [AmericanDUST] "Barack Obama Administration Continues U.S. Military Global Dominance," by Prof. Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University, California
To: "Peter Phillips" <peter.phillips@...>
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 6:24 PM

Thank you very much, Prof. Phillips! Cc:  The Internet Sincerely yours, /s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, B.A., M.S. Private Attorney General, 18 U.S.C. 1964(a) http://www.supremel aw.org/decs/ agency/private. attorney. general.htm Criminal Investigator and Federal Witness: 18 U.S.C. 1510, 1512-13 http://www.supremel aw.org/reading. list.htm http://www.supremel aw.org/index. htm (Home Page) http://www.supremel aw.org/support. policy.htm (Support Policy) http://www.supremel aw.org/guideline s.htm (Client Guidelines) http://www.supremel aw.org/support. guidelines. htm (Policy + Guidelines) All Rights Reserved without Prejudice --- On Thu, 2/19/09, Peter Phillips <peter.phillips@ sonoma.edu> wrote: From: Peter Phillips <peter.phillips@ sonoma.edu> Subject: We wish it wasn't true but the facts show that the Barack Obama Administration Continues US Military Global Dominance To: mliaresearch@ gmail.com, "Ed Pearl" <laamn@yahoogroups. com> Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 2:45 PM Barack Obama Administration Continues US Military Global Dominance   By Peter Phillips   The Barack Obama administration is continuing the neo-conservative agenda of US military domination of the world— albeit with perhaps with a kinder-gentler face.  While overt torture is now forbidden for the CIA and Pentagon, and symbolic gestures like the closing of the Guantanamo prison are in evidence, a unilateral military dominance policy, expanding military budget, and wars of occupation and aggression will likely continue unabated.   The military expansionists from within the Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, G. W. Bush administrations all put into place solid support for increased military spending. Clinton’s model of supporting the US military industrial complex was hold steady defense spending and to increase foreign weapons sales from 16% of global orders to over 60% by end of his administration.  The neo-conservatives, who dominated the most recent Bush administration, amplified this trend for increased military spending. The neo-cons laid out their agenda for military global dominance in the 2000 Project for a New American Century (PNAC) report Rebuilding America's Defenses. The report called for the protection of the American Homeland, the ability to wage simultaneous theater wars, to perform global constabulary roles, and to control space and cyberspace. The report claimed that in order to maintain a Pax Americana, potential rivals — such as China, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea — needed to be held in check. Their military global dominance agenda required forward deployment of US forces worldwide and increasing defense/war spending well into the 21st century. The result was a doubling of the US military budget to over $700 billion in the last eight years. The US now spends as much on war/defense as the rest of the world combined making American taxpayers the highest war tax providers in the world.  Barack Obama’s election brought a moment of hope for many. However, the Obama administration is not calling for deceased military spending, or a reversal of US military global dominance. Instead, Obama retained Robert Gates, thus making Obama the first president from an opposing party, in US history, to keep in place the outgoing administrations’ Secretary of Defense/War. Additionally, Obama is calling for an expanded war in Afghanistan and only minimal long-range reductions in Iraq.  The US military industrial complex is deeply embedded inside the Washington beltway. According to the most recent reports from OpenSecrets. org, 151 members of Congress in 2006 had up to $195.5 million invested in defense companies.  Major defense contractors were seriously involved in the 2008 elections. Lockheed Martin gave $2,612,219 in total political campaign donations with 49% to Democrats ($1,285,493) and 51% to Republicans  ($1,325,159) . Boeing gave $2,225,947 in 2008 with 58% to Democrats and General Dynamics provided $1,682,595 to both parties.  Northrop Grumman spent over $20 million in 2008 hiring lobbyists to consult to Congress, and Raytheon spent $6 million on lobbyists in the same period. Nancy Pelosi received more money from registered lobbyists than any other House candidate in the recent election cycle.  The International Monetary Fund's prediction for global economic growth in 2009 is 0.5 percent—the worst since World War II. The United Nations' International Labor Organization estimates that some 50 million workers will lose their jobs worldwide this year. There are an estimated 62,000 U.S. companies expected to close this year, and while official unemployment is at 7 percent in the US, when you add people no longer looking for jobs and part-time workers, it is closer to 14 percent. The military-industrial -political elite are worried about the potential of increasing global insecurity. The answer inside the Obama Administration is to continue high defense/war spending to insure military control of both domestic and foreign instabilities.   The military, industrial, congressional, and administrative elite profit from defense spending, both financially and ideologically.  Insider profit taking from pentagon spending is widespread in Washington. But perhaps more important is the belief that this global military machine is seen as necessary for the protection of US corporate interests and the American upper classes in a increasingly destabilized world. Given that belief, the Obama administration is unlikely to change the established defense spending policies of the previous US administrations.      Peter Phillips is a Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and Director of Project Censored a media research organization. His 2006 study on the Global Dominance Group in the US is available on line at: http://www.projectc ensored.org/ articles/ story/the- global-dominance -group/

From: Peter Phillips <peter.phillips@...>
Subject: We wish it wasn't true but the facts show that the Barack Obama Administration Continues US Military Global Dominance
To: mliaresearch@..., "Ed Pearl" <laamn@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 2:45 PM

Barack Obama Administration Continues US Military Global Dominance

 

By Peter Phillips

 

The Barack Obama administration is continuing the neo-conservative agenda of US military domination of the world— albeit with perhaps with a kinder-gentler face.  While overt torture is now forbidden for the CIA and Pentagon, and symbolic gestures like the closing of the Guantanamo prison are in evidence, a unilateral military dominance policy, expanding military budget, and wars of occupation and aggression will likely continue unabated.

 

The military expansionists from within the Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, G. W. Bush administrations all put into place solid support for increased military spending. Clinton’s model of supporting the US military industrial complex was hold steady defense spending and to increase foreign weapons sales from 16% of global orders to over 60% by end of his administration.

 The neo-conservatives, who dominated the most recent Bush administration, amplified this trend for increased military spending. The neo-cons laid out their agenda for military global dominance in the 2000 Project for a New American Century (PNAC) report Rebuilding America's Defenses. The report called for the protection of the American Homeland, the ability to wage simultaneous theater wars, to perform global constabulary roles, and to control space and cyberspace. The report claimed that in order to maintain a Pax Americana, potential rivals — such as China, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea — needed to be held in check. Their military global dominance agenda required forward deployment of US forces worldwide and increasing defense/war spending well into the 21^st century. The result was a doubling of the US military budget to over $700 billion in the last eight years. The US now spends as much on war/defense as the rest of the world combined making American taxpayers the highest war tax providers in the world.

 Barack Obama’s election brought a moment of hope for many. However, the Obama administration is not calling for deceased military spending, or a reversal of US military global dominance. Instead, Obama retained Robert Gates, thus making Obama the first president from an opposing party, in US history, to keep in place the outgoing administrations’ Secretary of Defense/War. Additionally, Obama is calling for an expanded war in Afghanistan and only minimal long-range reductions in Iraq.

 The US military industrial complex is deeply embedded inside the Washington beltway. According to the most recent reports from OpenSecrets.org, 151 members of Congress in 2006 had up to $195.5 million invested in defense companies.

 Major defense contractors were seriously involved in the 2008 elections. Lockheed Martin gave $2,612,219 in total political campaign donations with 49% to Democrats ($1,285,493) and 51% to Republicans  ($1,325,159). Boeing gave $2,225,947 in 2008 with 58% to Democrats and General Dynamics provided $1,682,595 to both parties.  Northrop Grumman spent over $20 million in 2008 hiring lobbyists to consult to Congress, and Raytheon spent $6 million on lobbyists in the same period. Nancy Pelosi received more money from registered lobbyists than any other House candidate in the recent election cycle.

 The International Monetary Fund's prediction for global economic growth in 2009 is 0.5 percent—the worst since World War II. The United Nations' International Labor Organization estimates that some 50 million workers will lose their jobs worldwide this year. There are an estimated 62,000 U.S. companies expected to close this year, and while official unemployment is at 7 percent in the US, when you add people no longer looking for jobs and part-time workers, it is closer to 14 percent. The military-industrial-political elite are worried about the potential of increasing global insecurity. The answer inside the Obama Administration is to continue high defense/war spending to insure military control of both domestic and foreign instabilities.

 

The military, industrial, congressional, and administrative elite profit from defense spending, both financially and ideologically.  Insider profit taking from pentagon spending is widespread in Washington. But perhaps more important is the belief that this global military machine is seen as necessary for the protection of US corporate interests and the American upper classes in a increasingly destabilized world. Given that belief, the Obama administration is unlikely to change the established defense spending policies of the previous US administrations. 

 

 

Peter Phillips is a Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and Director of Project Censored a media research organization. His 2006 study on the Global Dominance Group in the US is available on line at: http://www.projectcensored.org/articles/story/the-global-dominance-group/ 

 

 

 

 

 

From: bob.bobnichols <bob.bobnichols@...>
Subject: Re: [AmericanDUST] Fw: [globalnetnews-summary] Uranium ammunition used in Gaza?
To: AmericanDUST@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009, 11:16 PM

Hi Jim,

No, I don't think the GBU-39 285 lb 6 ft long 7.5 in diameter Smart Bombs with JDAM flying devices were Uranium Munitions.

They were going after the "tunnels" to shut off protein from Gaza. It is another steop up in the Warsaw Ghetto experience for the 1.5 million people in Gaza.

Not a hard target to hit, either. Crowded in on about half their land there are about 20,000 human "targets" per square mile. Like shooting fish in a barrel would be true; except, the IDF is using 1400 mph F-15s and High Explosive bombs. Bad for the fish (people.)

No, the American Pentagon shut off all of the specially equipped mass spectrometers in the world and vehemently denied using "depleted" uranium. From a certain point of view, that is quite right. The Americans switched to "natural uranium" and "Lo-enriched" Uranium a while back. Tricky they are.

Then, along with the goal of stealing the Palestinian natural gas they piggy backed a uranium weapons scam and cover up on the "war," if you want to call ritualized slaughter that. 100 to 1 is the Hitler like Kill Ratio so far.

Best,

Bob Nichols
San Francisco

On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 10:04 PM, James Nimmo <violadamore2@ yahoo.com> wrote:

Uranium ammunition used in Gaza? (Agencies) Updated: 2009-01-22 07:46 http://www.chinadai ly.com.cn/ world/2009- 01/22/content_ 7420169.htm The UN nuclear watchdog said yesterday it would investigate allegations by Arab countries that Israel may have used ammunition containing depleted uranium during its 22-day military offensive in Gaza. Separately, Israel's army is said to have launched an inquiry into whether paratroopers used banned white phosphorus shells close to civilians during the Gaza offensive. The Arab countries made the allegations in a letter to Director General Mohammed ElBaradei which was delivered by the Saudi Arabian ambassador. They asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate the matter. IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming confirmed the receipt of the letter. "We are circulating the letter to member states and will investigate the matter to the extent of our ability," IAEA spokeswoman Fleming said. The exact course of action would be decided after consultation with member states. The Israeli ambassador to the IAEA, Israel Michaeli, declined to comment. Depleted uranium is a waste product of uranium enrichment and has a number of civilian and military applications, including its use in weapons to penetrate tanks and armor plating. Depleted uranium could pose a health risk in the form of dust found at impact sites. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported yesterday that the probe in the alleged use of white phosphorus shells centered on the firing of some 20 shells "which are banned for use in populated areas" around Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip by a reserve parachute brigade. An army spokesman told AFP it was not an official inquiry. Haaretz said the army used two types of phosphorus shells and considered them as smoke bombs. Under international law, white phosphorus is banned for use near civilians, but is permitted for creating a smokescreen. The report came after Amnesty International alleged on Monday that Israel could be guilty of war crimes, saying the use of the shells in a civilian areas was "clear and undeniable". Medics in Gaza reported treating dozens of people for burns caused by white phosphorus during Israel's 22-day offensive against the Hamas-ruled territory that killed more than 1,300 people before it ended on Sunday. Israel has insisted that all weapons being used in its Gaza war were within the bounds of international law. The substance is a toxic chemical agent, which can cause severe burns. Dispersed in artillery fire, it burns on contact with oxygen and creates a smokescreen in order to hide troop movements.

Uranium ammunition used in Gaza?
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-22 07:46
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-01/22/content_7420169.htm
The UN nuclear watchdog said yesterday it would investigate allegations by
Arab countries that Israel may have used ammunition containing depleted
uranium during its 22-day military offensive in Gaza. Separately, Israel's
army is said to have launched an inquiry into whether paratroopers used
banned white phosphorus shells close to civilians during the Gaza
offensive.
The Arab countries made the allegations in a letter to Director General
Mohammed ElBaradei which was delivered by the Saudi Arabian ambassador.
They asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate the
matter.
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming confirmed the receipt of the letter. "We
are circulating the letter to member states and will investigate the matter
to the extent of our ability," IAEA spokeswoman Fleming said.
The exact course of action would be decided after consultation with member
states.
The Israeli ambassador to the IAEA, Israel Michaeli, declined to comment.
Depleted uranium is a waste product of uranium enrichment and has a number
of civilian and military applications, including its use in weapons to
penetrate tanks and armor plating.
Depleted uranium could pose a health risk in the form of dust found at
impact sites.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported yesterday that the probe in the alleged
use of white phosphorus shells centered on the firing of some 20 shells
"which are banned for use in populated areas" around Beit Lahiya in
the
northern Gaza Strip by a reserve parachute brigade.
An army spokesman told AFP it was not an official inquiry.
Haaretz said the army used two types of phosphorus shells and considered
them as smoke bombs.
Under international law, white phosphorus is banned for use near civilians,
but is permitted for creating a smokescreen.
The report came after Amnesty International alleged on Monday that Israel
could be guilty of war crimes, saying the use of the shells in a civilian
areas was "clear and undeniable".
Medics in Gaza reported treating dozens of people for burns caused by white
phosphorus during Israel's 22-day offensive against the Hamas-ruled
territory that killed more than 1,300 people before it ended on Sunday.
Israel has insisted that all weapons being used in its Gaza war were within
the bounds of international law.
The substance is a toxic chemical agent, which can cause severe burns.
Dispersed in artillery fire, it burns on contact with oxygen and creates a
smokescreen in order to hide troop movements.

From: Cathy Garger <savorsuccesslady3@...>
Subject: [AmericanDUST] Help save Hawaii! A call to ACTION! Sign On for Public Release
To: DU-Watch@yahoogroups.com, americandust@yahoogroups.com, EarthU@yahoogroups.com, AmericanConscience@yahoogroups.com, No-New-Nukes-Yall@yahoogroups.com, NucNews@yahoogroups.com, V911T@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 9:25 AM

Despite tremendous citizen outrage and opposition, the US military is continuing to train soldiers on bases where Uranium munitions have been found and tested in the soils of Hawaii.   I heartily support and endorse this action by Malu 'Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action. From all reports, this non-violent peace organization has been consistently, reliably "going the distance" in opposing and exposing the Uranium contamination, bombing, and wide scale militarization of Hawaii.   The people of Hawaii desperately need our help now. I urge you to please join me in obtaining signatures, sending them back to the email address listed below, and forwarding this around widely.   With each passing day, Hawaiian paradise is being destroyed by our military, which has been using the islands in the Land of Aloha for their war-games  "playgrounds" for over a century. Only with tremendous support and solidarity across the nation can we succeed in stopping the continued destruction and contamination of Hawaii's exotic islands - and its precious inhabitants and wildlife.   See www.dmzhawaii. org/  for more details about the vast Hawaiian expanses that have been occupied and desecrated by our military.   The people of Hawaii desperately need our help now. I urge you to please join me in obtaining signatures, sending them back to the email address listed below, and forwarding this around widely.   Thank you in advance for your assistance in helping to save the beautiful Hawaiian Islands from further destruction!   Best,   Cathy Garger www.mytown.ca/ garger Please pass the word on the sign-on below.  Return names to me by Jan. 20, 2009.  Mahalo. Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O.Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai'i 96760 phone: 808-966-7622 email: JA@interpac. net Visit us on the web at: www.malu-aina. org (For Public Release) A Call To Action! We support a spiritual ceremony of healing for the 'aina and peaceful protest of the U.S. military bombing, contamination, desecration, and occupation of the independent nation of Hawai'i  10 AM Saturday, January 3l, 2009 at Mauna Kea Park. ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ___ (please print name)                signature                            address ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ________ (please print name)                 signature                            address ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ________ (please print name)                 signature                            address ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ________ (please print name)                 signature                            address ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ________ (please print name)                 signature                            address ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ________ (please print name)                 signature                            address ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ________ (please print name)                 signature                            address ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ________ (please print name)                 signature                            address Mahalo: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760. Phone (808) 966-7622.  Email ja@interpac. net  http://www.malu- aina.org

Please pass the word on the sign-on below.  Return names to me by Jan. 20, 2009.  Mahalo.

Jim Albertini

Malu 'Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action

P.O.Box AB

Kurtistown, Hawai'i 96760

phone: 808-966-7622

email: JA@...

Visit us on the web at: www.malu-aina.org

(For Public Release)

A Call To Action!

We support a spiritual ceremony of healing for the 'aina and peaceful protest of the U.S. military bombing, contamination, desecration, and occupation of the independent nation of Hawai'i  10 AM Saturday, January 3l, 2009 at Mauna Kea Park.

___________________________________________________
(please print name)                signature                            address

_________________________________________________________________
(please print name)                 signature                            address

_________________________________________________________________
(please print name)                 signature                            address

_________________________________________________________________
(please print name)                 signature                            address

_________________________________________________________________
(please print name)                 signature                            address

_________________________________________________________________
(please print name)                 signature                            address

_________________________________________________________________
(please print name)                 signature                            address

_________________________________________________________________
(please print name)                 signature                            address

Mahalo: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760. Phone (808) 966-7622.  Email ja@...  http://www.malu-aina.org

Below follows a message from Cindy Sheehan that I'd like to share with you.
 
I'd first like to mention that I've been following the work of this
awesome woman over the years and have never seen anyone work harder to end
these illegal, amoral wars. Nor have I been so impressed with anyone
for speaking out  adamantly and passionately for racial, economic, and social
justice.  
Talk about a brave, relentless, and un-compromised human being!
 
Cindy has also demanded the clean up of toxic and radioactive contaminated
sites, has spoken out about our need to find out the actual truth about
9-11, has championed to stop the use of illegal radiological
weapons, has embraced the need for environmental stewardship, and has
advocated for an end to new nuclear power.
 
The list of the issues and things Cindy Sheehan has courageously spoken
publicly about is truly phenomenal!
 
As Cindy describes below, her efforts have hit a (financial) wall and she
desperately now needs our support! If we can dig down deep and scrape
together even a few dollars, these monies will allow Cindy Sheehan to keep on
working for us. And next time around, with more support, we can hopefully get
Cindy Sheehan elected into Congress!
 
Please forward this and do what you can to help keep Cindy Sheehan speaking up
and out for peace on earth and for the rights, health, and welfare of all the
good people of our country!
 
With warm wishes and thanks,
 
Cathy Garger
 
--- On Thu, 12/18/08, Cindy for Congress <contact@...>
wrote:
From: Cindy for Congress <contact@...>
Subject: Last Ditch Effort...
To: savorsuccesslady3@...
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2008, 6:42 PM
Dear Friend,
On Monday, I sent an e-mail announcing that the Cindy for Congress campaign
organization was closing its doors. In response, I received a flood or replies
begging me not to give up. Believe me, I do not want to give up. As noted in that e-mail, I will continue
to do what I can, while also trying to keep life and limb together. I've
lived in tents and on couches before because my commitment to the cause is
greater than my financial resources. And, yes, I'm willing to do whatever it
takes to stay in the game if you, my supporters, are able to help provide some
of the necessary resources. Given that we literally are within days of losing our office space, having the
electricity turned off and so on, if we're going to save the Cindy for
Congress campaign, we need to act now. Of course, this plea comes at the worst time of year. Thanks to the failed
economic policies of this and past administrations, we're all financially
strapped. Yet holiday traditions call for spending more money than usual.  Now,
here I am, hat-in-hand, literally begging for money and other resources. Before you delete this message, let me give you a breakdown of what it costs to
keep the Cindy for Congress campaign running. If you'll read the next few
paragraphs, you'll see that even little donations have a huge impact on our
ability to keep the doors open. We spent roughly $600,000 last year while my opponent raised $2.3 million to
ensure her re-election and to elect more status-quo supporting Democrats around
the country.
Next year, 2009, we'll need approximately $240,000 to maintain even a
minimal level of visibility and momentum. This will be critical going into 2010
when we'll need even more money to mount an aggressive campaign that has a
more significant impact.
If we divide $240,000 by 12, that means about $20,000 per month in donations to
keep the campaign afloat. If we take the monthly figure and divide it by 5000
supporters, we'd need EVERYONE receiving this to donate $4.00 per month.
But the bottom line is, we need you to click the donate button at the top of
this message and donate something. Anything. If we can get thru the next month
or two, we'll have time to work on building a more stable financial
foundation.
True Grassroots Movement
IF we're to keep the Cindy for Congress campaign alive and growing between
now and the next election in 2010, we need every individual who supports us to
be actively involved. We need to focus on convincing thousands upon thousands of
people that our efforts are worth supporting. If I can win a seat in the US House of Representatives, my official duty will
be to represent the people of the 8th Congressional district in San Francisco
but you know I can't - and won't - stop there. No matter how well or successfully (or failing) Obama is in addressing the ills
plaguing this country right now, both the House and Senate need more members who
believe they answer to the people. Currently, most members of both houses are
beholden to corporate contributors and the super-rich. Together, these two often
overlapping groups control a disproportionate amount of the country's
resources and political power.  
Our founders believed in one person, one vote (if you were a white, male
property owner; but movements have achieved universal suffrage), but we've
seen this principle erode over the years. Now we're seeing the results: An
economic meltdown; No public healthcare; One environmental disaster after
another; Our Constitution lies in shreds; Less security at our ports and borders
than before 9-11; A full brigade of the US Army trained and poised to turn on
the American public should the president deem it advisable;  A public education
system rated at the bottom of all such systems in the industrialized world. The
list goes on and on and on. The ONLY answer lies with us … with "We, the People." Until we
stand up for our rights, the deck will continue to be stacked against us. Again,
not because of anything the incoming administration does or doesn't do. The
entire system is full of weeds. We need to ferret out those weeds and replace
them with healthy green grass. I apologize for being so long-winded and brazen in my request for support.
However, as I said at the beginning of this note, the response to my
announcement about suspending the Cindy for Congress campaign was overwhelming.
As such, I thought it was worth a last-ditch effort to scrape together enough
funds and new volunteers to re-energize the campaign while we figure out how to
keep the organization solvent, going and growing.
My most heartfelt thanks for any help and support you can offer. You'll
hear from me at least one more time with an update on the success (or failure)
of our efforts.
Best,
Cindy
PS: If it's impossible for you to make a financial contribution at this
time - and I know about financial hardship - continue reading. There are a whole
host of things you can do that would help the Cindy for Congress campaign
greatly. Remember, the more of you who get involved, the more likely we are to
win the next election! Can't donate money? While money is critical at this point - and I do mean critical - we can use
help in a number of other areas. Here's just a partial list of things we
need donated that perhaps you or someone you know can help out with:
•    Fundraising - house parties, spreading the word, more
•    Graphic design
•    Hook-ups - If you're involved in a group of political or human
rights activists we can reach out to, let us know.
•    Mailing Lists - we need to expand our base of supporters. If you have
a mailing list we can use for solicitation and outreach, let us know.
•    Media Relations - We desperately need someone to focus on getting the
campaign exposure in print, broadcast and electronic media. •    Premiums / sale items - t-shirts, key chains, umbrellas, coffee mugs,
etc. Anything that we can put a logo on and sell via the Web site to help
produce income.
•    Printing (offset)
•    Reciprocal Links - put a link to Cindy for Congress on your Web site
and we'll return the favor. •    Spread the Word - send this e-mail to ten of your friends. Ask them
to do the same.
•    Transportation - In order to run a successful campaign, I'm going
to need to travel the country, spreading my message, raising funds, giving
interviews, attending events, etc. Anyone with a private plane … unused
"bonus miles" or working for an airline who can get tickets at low or
no cost, let us know!
•    Volunteers - In San Francisco for community activism, distributing
pamphlets, gathering signatures, answering phones, replying to requests for
information, and participating in other events designed to increase the
campaign's visibility.
•    Web site maintenance and development
•    Web-hosting service
•    Other - If you have any other ideas on how to help build exposure,
generate income or access goods and services that would help the campaign, let
us know!
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From: Cindy for Congress <contact@...>
Subject: Last Ditch Effort...
To: savorsuccesslady3@...
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2008, 6:42 PM

	Dear Friend, On Monday, I sent an e-mail announcing that the Cindy for Congress campaign organization was closing its doors. In response, I received a flood or replies begging me not to give up. Believe me, I do not want to give up. As noted in that e-mail, I will continue to do what I can, while also trying to keep life and limb together. I've lived in tents and on couches before because my commitment to the cause is greater than my financial resources. And, yes, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to stay in the game if you, my supporters, are able to help provide some of the necessary resources. Given that we literally are within days of losing our office space, having the electricity turned off and so on, if we're going to save the Cindy for Congress campaign, we need to act now. Of course, this plea comes at the worst time of year. Thanks to the failed economic policies of this and past administrations, we're all financially strapped. Yet holiday traditions call for spending more money than usual.  Now, here I am, hat-in-hand, literally begging for money and other resources. Before you delete this message, let me give you a breakdown of what it costs to keep the Cindy for Congress campaign running. If you'll read the next few paragraphs, you'll see that even little donations have a huge impact on our ability to keep the doors open. We spent roughly $600,000 last year while my opponent raised $2.3 million to ensure her re-election and to elect more status-quo supporting Democrats around the country. Next year, 2009, we'll need approximately $240,000 to maintain even a minimal level of visibility and momentum. This will be critical going into 2010 when we'll need even more money to mount an aggressive campaign that has a more significant impact. If we divide $240,000 by 12, that means about $20,000 per month in donations to keep the campaign afloat. If we take the monthly figure and divide it by 5000 supporters, we'd need EVERYONE receiving this to donate $4.00 per month. But the bottom line is, we need you to click the donate button at the top of this message and donate something. Anything. If we can get thru the next month or two, we'll have time to work on building a more stable financial foundation. True Grassroots Movement IF we're to keep the Cindy for Congress campaign alive and growing between now and the next election in 2010, we need every individual who supports us to be actively involved. We need to focus on convincing thousands upon thousands of people that our efforts are worth supporting. If I can win a seat in the US House of Representatives, my official duty will be to represent the people of the 8th Congressional district in San Francisco but you know I can't - and won't - stop there. No matter how well or successfully (or failing) Obama is in addressing the ills plaguing this country right now, both the House and Senate need more members who believe they answer to the people. Currently, most members of both houses are beholden to corporate contributors and the super-rich. Together, these two often overlapping groups control a disproportionate amount of the country's resources and political power.   Our founders believed in one person, one vote (if you were a white, male property owner; but movements have achieved universal suffrage), but we've seen this principle erode over the years. Now we're seeing the results: An economic meltdown; No public healthcare; One environmental disaster after another; Our Constitution lies in shreds; Less security at our ports and borders than before 9-11; A full brigade of the US Army trained and poised to turn on the American public should the president deem it advisable;  A public education system rated at the bottom of all such systems in the industrialized world. The list goes on and on and on. The ONLY answer lies with us … with "We, the People." Until we stand up for our rights, the deck will continue to be stacked against us. Again, not because of anything the incoming administration does or doesn't do. The entire system is full of weeds. We need to ferret out those weeds and replace them with healthy green grass. I apologize for being so long-winded and brazen in my request for support. However, as I said at the beginning of this note, the response to my announcement about suspending the Cindy for Congress campaign was overwhelming. As such, I thought it was worth a last-ditch effort to scrape together enough funds and new volunteers to re-energize the campaign while we figure out how to keep the organization solvent, going and growing. My most heartfelt thanks for any help and support you can offer. You'll hear from me at least one more time with an update on the success (or failure) of our efforts. Best, Cindy PS: If it's impossible for you to make a financial contribution at this time - and I know about financial hardship - continue reading. There are a whole host of things you can do that would help the Cindy for Congress campaign greatly. Remember, the more of you who get involved, the more likely we are to win the next election! Can't donate money? While money is critical at this point - and I do mean critical - we can use help in a number of other areas. Here's just a partial list of things we need donated that perhaps you or someone you know can help out with: •    Fundraising - house parties, spreading the word, more •    Graphic design •    Hook-ups - If you're involved in a group of political or human rights activists we can reach out to, let us know. •    Mailing Lists - we need to expand our base of supporters. If you have a mailing list we can use for solicitation and outreach, let us know. •    Media Relations - We desperately need someone to focus on getting the campaign exposure in print, broadcast and electronic media. •    Premiums / sale items - t-shirts, key chains, umbrellas, coffee mugs, etc. Anything that we can put a logo on and sell via the Web site to help produce income. •    Printing (offset) •    Reciprocal Links - put a link to Cindy for Congress on your Web site and we'll return the favor. •    Spread the Word - send this e-mail to ten of your friends. Ask them to do the same. •    Transportation - In order to run a successful campaign, I'm going to need to travel the country, spreading my message, raising funds, giving interviews, attending events, etc. Anyone with a private plane … unused "bonus miles" or working for an airline who can get tickets at low or no cost, let us know! •    Volunteers - In San Francisco for community activism, distributing pamphlets, gathering signatures, answering phones, replying to requests for information, and participating in other events designed to increase the campaign's visibility. •    Web site maintenance and development •    Web-hosting service •    Other - If you have any other ideas on how to help build exposure, generate income or access goods and services that would help the campaign, let us know! click here to unsubscribe

So for those who say that today's Uranium, used in our current combat "theaters," 

is the Agent Orange of tomorrow? They're more than a bit off in terms of considering the ungodly human suffering caused by genetic mutations and radiation-induced diseases, not to mention environmental contamination in the ballpark of - give or take 45 to 90 billion years. Or, for simplicity's sake, let's call it an eternity. 

On a more positive note, however, at the end, this piece tells us what's going to have to happen in order to make these radioactive, lethal, poison gas orgies end. And just as a hint for those in a hurry? Don't look to Washington - even after the Inauguration - to bring about the change we so desperately now need to see.

We would be facile indeed to expect that the simple pulling of a lever at a polling booth a couple of weeks back is going to instantly change what has been rightfully labeled "The American War Machine." Thus, we must not now - nor ever - expect those in power to make change on their own and voluntarily represent the overwhelming will and desire of Americans to put an end to these grossly illegal, unjustified, killing occupations.

In order for change to take place, it is actually going to be up to us to make this happen. In order to halt two current wars that make even Vietnam pale in comparison? We are going to need to augment our outraged cries for war crimes trials for untold numbers of crimes against humanity and gross violations of human rights - at a level and magnitude we have not yet even begun to contemplate.

Or, at least that's a good place for us to start.

Cathy Garger

November 23, 2008

Antiwar.com Action Alert  Say 'NO' to Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State   Quick Links   Originial Antiwar.com Column by Justin Raimondo Newsletter  Take Action Donate Dear Antiwar.com Supporter,   Please let the incoming presidential administration know that you demand real change in our interventionist foreign policy. A Secrectary of State Hilllary Clinton is not change but tacit approval for someone who supported the bombing of Kosovo, the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and a renewed cold war with Russia.    Demand President Elect Barack Obama make a stand for peace by not appointing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. You can easily let the transition team know your thoughts on this matter by calling 202-540-3000 or pasting the letter below into this form.     Dear President Elect Obama:   You sailed to victory on the promise of change and hope. For those of us who love peace, a change in foreign policy cannot come about by rewarding those who support and argued for the continued occupation of Iraq. You said we must not "to bully it [the world] into submission - we must lead the world, by deed and example."  Please allow your administration to reflect those values you so eloquently expressed.    President Elect Obama, we want change in the White House. We ask you to not to appoint Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.   Respectfully,       [Antiwar.com Reader]   For more information about this action item, media requests, donations or other information, contact Angela Keaton at 323-512-7095 or angela@....

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Subject: THE CODE KILLERS: An Expose by Ace Hoffman (free download!)
To:
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 12:40 AM

November 10th, 2008
Available for download now!
THE CODE KILLERS: AN EXPOSE
Alternate title: Nuclear Power, Nuclear Weapons, Corrupt Government, Corporate
Greed, Mass Hysteria, General Ignorance, and Your DNA: A Dangerous Mix? A look
at the Data
by Ace Hoffman
First published: 2008
35+ years in the making -- thousands of interviews conducted to research this
book!
Hundreds of books read -- thousands of magazines scoured!
Hundreds of drawings, photos, diagrams, and vital historic documents presented
in one place!
A unique compendium! Great for the beginner OR the expert!
Bring THE CODE KILLERS to public hearings (and submit it electronically) so you
always have the facts handy and THEY DO TOO!
Available free from:
www.acehoffman.org Direct URL (300 dpi printable version):
http://www.acehoffman.com/books/TheCodeKillers.pdf
(File is about 111 megabytes. Warning: If printed, it takes a lot of ink!)
Printed copies are available directly from the author: 600 dpi; 28-lb acid-free
paper (67-lb covers): Only $12.00 + $3.00 S&H.
Copies of The Code Killers were sent to about 75 Congresspeople today (then I
upgraded page 9 (again)).
I hope you enjoy The Code Killers and will want to recommend it to your friends
and colleagues!
Sincerely,
Ace Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA
Ace Hoffman
Author, The Code Killers
PO Box 1936
Carlsbad, CA 92018
www.acehoffman.org

-------------------------------------------------------

10 November 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7720049.stm
Mystery of lost US nuclear bomb
By Gordon Corera
BBC News security correspondent, northern Greenland
The United States abandoned a nuclear weapon beneath the ice in northern
Greenland following a crash in 1968, a BBC investigation has found.
Its unique vantage point - perched at the top of the world - has meant that
Thule Air Base has been of immense strategic importance to the US since it
was built in the early 1950s, allowing a radar to scan the skies for
missiles coming over the North Pole.
The Pentagon believed the Soviet Union would take out the base as a prelude
to a nuclear strike against the US and so in 1960 began flying "Chrome
Dome" missions. Nuclear-armed B52 bombers continuously circled over Thule
-
and could head straight to Moscow if they witnessed its destruction.
Greenland is a self-governing province of Denmark but the carrying of
nuclear weapons over Danish territory was kept secret.
'Darker story'
But on 21 January 1968, one of those missions went wrong.
Pilots recount Thule crash
We reunited two of the pilots, John Haug and Joe D'Amario, 40 years on to
tell the story of how their plane ended up crashing on the ice a few miles
out from the base.
In the aftermath, military personnel, local Greenlanders and Danish workers
rushed to the scene to help.
Eventually, a remarkable operation would unfold over the coming months to
recover thousands of tiny pieces of debris scattered across the frozen bay,
as well as to collect some 500 million gallons of ice, some of it
containing radioactive debris.
A declassified US government video, obtained by the BBC, documents the
clear-up and gives some ideas of the scale of the operation.
It would be very difficult for anyone else to recover classified pieces if
we couldn't find them
William H Chamber
Former US nuclear arms designer
The high explosives surrounding the four nuclear weapons had detonated but
without setting off the actual nuclear devices, which had not been armed by
the crew.
The Pentagon maintained that all four weapons had been "destroyed".
This may be technically true, since the bombs were no longer complete, but
declassified documents obtained by the BBC under the US Freedom of
Information Act, parts of which remain classified, reveal a much darker
story, which has been confirmed by individuals involved in the clear-up and
those who have had access to details since.
map
The documents make clear that within weeks of the incident, investigators
piecing together the fragments realised that only three of the weapons
could be accounted for.
Even by the end of January, one document talks of a blackened section of
ice which had re-frozen with shroud lines from a weapon parachute.
"Speculate something melted through ice such as burning primary or
secondary," the document reads, the primary or secondary referring to
parts
of the weapon.
By April, a decision had been taken to send a Star III submarine to the
base to look for the lost bomb, which had the serial number 78252. (A
similar submarine search off the coast of Spain two years earlier had led
to another weapon being recovered.)
But the real purpose of this search was deliberately hidden from Danish
officials.
One document from July reads: "Fact that this operation includes search
for
object or missing weapon part is to be treated as confidential NOFORN",
the
last word meaning not to be disclosed to any foreign country.
"For discussion with Danes, this operation should be referred to as a
survey repeat survey of bottom under impact point," it continued.
'Failure'
But the underwater search was beset by technical problems and, as winter
encroached and the ice began to freeze over, the documents recount
something approaching panic setting in.
US 'abandoned nuclear bomb'
As well as the fact they contained uranium and plutonium, the abandoned
weapons parts were highly sensitive because of the way in which the design,
shape and amount of uranium revealed classified elements of nuclear warhead
design.
But eventually, the search was abandoned. Diagrams and notes included in
the declassified documents make clear it was not possible to search the
entire area where debris from the crash had spread.
We tracked down a number of officials who were involved in dealing with the
aftermath of the incident.
One was William H Chambers, a former nuclear weapons designer at the Los
Alamos nuclear laboratory who once ran a team dealing with accidents,
including the Thule crash.
"There was disappointment in what you might call a failure to return all
of
the components," he told the BBC, explaining the logic behind the decision
to abandon the search.
B52 bomber. File photo
The US was flying so-called Chrome Dome missions over Greenland
"It would be very difficult for anyone else to recover classified pieces
if
we couldn't find them."
The view was that no-one else would be able covertly to acquire the
sensitive pieces and that the radioactive material would dissolve in such a
large body of water, making it harmless.
Other officials who have seen classified files on the accident confirmed
the abandonment of a weapon.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the investigation, referring back to
previous official studies of the incident.
But the crash, clear-up and mystery of the lost bomb have continued to
haunt those involved at the time - and those who live in the region now -
with continued concerns over the environmental and health impact of the
events of that day in 1968.

From: Cathy Garger <savorsuccesslady3@...>
Subject: [AmericanDUST] US Crashes Afghan Wedding Party-Too Much for Even Karzai to take
To: DU-Watch@yahoogroups.com, americandust@yahoogroups.com, AmericanConscience@yahoogroups.com, FightTheseWars@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008, 9:26 PM

"We must pause and ask why, for the past seven years, the United Nations have been waging war in Afghanistan. " When even Afghan Prez Karzai starts begging the US to stop killing his civilians, www.presstv. ir/detail. aspx?id=74424&sectionid=351020403 you know things must really be seriously out of control. Talk about hell on earth.... Can you imagine - It's your wedding day and the US GIs decide it's time to plan a very special wedding gift surprise - one you'll never forget!  Wait. Oh no! Those exploding bombs are *not* made of potpourri!   "I'm hit!" says the bride, as she passes out and asks, on her way down..."Are those fireworks on the dance floor? And why's the room such a fiery explosive red?!" Then, instantly, you (the bride) and 93 of your guests are injured in the bomb blast and meanwhile, your groom has vanished off the face of the earth in a nano-flash!   Poof! There you go - another fine example of US Military hospitality at is finest! www.presstv. ir/Detail. aspx?id=74445&sectionid=351020403   Meanwhile, the official death toll in Afghanistan due to these horrid bombings just so far this year only (not counting the previous six) is being reported as 4,700 ... but that number does not even begin to touch the multitudes of radiation-poisoned, walking dead.   Can you imagine if some nation came over here to the US and started nuking our towns, bombing our weddings, radioactively contaminating our environment, and offing thousands of innocent Americans? Do you not imagine that rapidly formed, rag-tag US Minutemen brigades would make the Afghan Taliban look like a bunch of Peace Corps workers in comparison?   Meanwhile, even an unfathomable 70,000 international soldiers can't keep the Taliban from trying to remove the occupiers, who, after 7 long years, have more than worn out their welcome as Liberators!  But, lest we feel all aglow with hope and optimism with the new Commander in Chief? As our next President made his (pro-war) stance quite clear back in July, www.cnn.com/ 2008/POLITICS/ 07/20/obama. afghanistan/  he's in no big hurry for the US to pull out of Afghanistan, as "it will take time to prevail. But with the right strategy and the resources to back it up, we will get the job done," said Obama.   While Obama is waiting for our troops to uh, "prevail," here's an article (below) that gives a realistic picture of Human Rights... and what's actually going down in Afghanistan.   Compare and contrast the Obama celebratory pics in the news with blood stained pictures of that bombed-out Afghan wedding no Americans will ever be allowed to see.   So tell me, would you please? How can we even consider partying over electing a man who wants us "to prevail" by getting the job done in Afghanistan. .. by bombing wedding parties, just for starters?!  What in the world is anyone celebrating over this so-called election victory with a man who has, in all likelihood, never uttered the words 'bring the troops home now" in his life? Is this acceptance of brutal radiological butchering of one nation after the next, after all, national madness of the most delusional variety?    Cathy Garger War in Afghanistan – a Severe Violation of the UN Charter Urgent Appeal to the UN Human Rights Council On the occasion of the 8th Session of the Human Rights Council in the Palais des Nations in Geneva, an informal meeting on the topic: The Humanitarian Tragedy in Afghanistan – Human Rights violations and Health Effects took place on Wednesday 4 June. Adressing  their interested audience, among them many students, the speakers drew a gloomy picture, and called for the international community to act.   thk/Geneva. The speakers on the panel were the Afghan political scientist and Middle East expert, Professor Mohamed Daud Miraki, the pulmonologist and specialist for internal medicine, Dr Daniel GĂĽntert from Switzerland and the former Special Rapporteur of the UN and Professor at the Geneva School of Diplomacy Dr Alfred de Zayas. The panel discussion was headed by Dr Karen Parker, president of the NGO International Educational Development and the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers. Daud Miraki informed about the present  shocking situation in Afghanistan. Miraki, who had just returned from a visit to Afghanistan, drew a disillusioning picture: After seven years of war (longer than World War II), the country is in a desolate condition. Despite all assertions by the military exponents, no successful reconstruction work has been done. Neither was the number of illiterates decreased nor was the number of school-leavers increased. The so-called humanitarian help is for the benefit of international organizations for the greater part, but only to a small extent for the benefit of the people. The number of people going hungry is steadily increasing , fields lie fallow, as the people do not dare to work on their fields in fear of fighting and bombardments by the occupation forces. However, poppy growing works well, especially in those areas that are under allied control. The Karzai government that Miraki described as a puppet regime dancing to America’s whistle is not rooted in the population and the majority disdain this government.   Its influence does not reach beyond the borders of Kabul and it is oriented towards the US and their allies; its influence is waning, however. The people in Afghanistan deeply despise the methods of the occupation troops. Their brutal violence when pursuing the alleged terrorists is indescribable and represents a severe violation of the Geneva Convention and Human Rights. Arbitrarily, men are taken from their homes kidnapped, then tortured and killed without any reason. The people are tired of this disaster and want the occupying forces to leave as soon as possible.   Professor Miraki also mentioned another severe problem, i.e. the contamination of the environment by the use of new and unknown weapons, especially DU bombs. Due to constant bombing, whole areas have become uninhabitable, as  happened in Iraq. People in these areas are suffering from terrible diseases, especially from cancer and genetic deformations. The incidence of cancer deaths and malformations in newborns has risen dramatically. Miraki documented his statements with numerous pictures and statistics. He did not conceal his sympathy with the people’s resistance against American troops and their allies. These actions have nothing to do with terrorism, Dr Miraki  claims; instead they are a legitimate armed fight against illegal occupation. In the second speech, the pulmonologist Dr Daniel Guentert described the effects of uranium weapons on the human organism. He pointed out  how radioactive nano-particles, resulting from the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons, are incorporated in the body and destroy cellular structures there with devastating effects on the human organism. The effect on human health depends on the dosage, the frequency and the duration of DU exposition. A high dosage contributes to an acute deficiency of the human airways and to death within a few days. Lower dosages cause unspecific symptoms (fatigue, loss of hair, diarrhoea, etc.), a deficiency of the immune system, different inflammatory responses (kidney failure, chronic respiratory infections), chromosomal damage (leads to malformations in newborns) and different forms of cancer (lung cancer, liver cancer, skin cancer, leukaemia, lymphoma etc.). We know that there is a linear dose-effect relation for ionising radiation in a cumulative manner. The damage, done to human cells by DU particles incorporated into the human body is increased up to thousand folds compared to the damage done by X-rays. After an explosion of DU-ammunition an enormous heat develops, in which DU oxidizes to Uraniumoxide (UO2), which is insoluble; this burning metal has tendency to produce submicron particles like a fine dust with tiny particles of 1-10 ÎĽm or even less. Inhalation is the major route of exposure leading to internal contamination with uranium. These tiny particles pass the airways  and enter the alveoli;  the smaller ones (< 5 ÎĽm) penetrate the alveolar membrane and enter the vessels and the cardiovascular system respec¬tively. This means that exposed soldiers or other persons inhale tiny radio¬active particles which are stored in the lung tissue and also in other organs via the cardiovascular system.   Various epidemiological studies on Uranium miners and workers in the nuclear industry have been performed. These studies have shown an excess relative risk of lung cancer and lung fibrosis associated with the exposure to uranium. An increase in different types of cancers (lymphopoietic, brain, kidney, breast, prostate and lung) among uranium process workers could be observed.   Investigations from Lauren [sic - it's Leuren] Moret of Gulf War veterans, who were exposed to DU, showed that they suffered from brain tumours and different brain malfunctions. The assessment of the carcinogenic risk from DU is complicated by the dual toxicity of uranium, radiological as well as chemical. DU has been shown to induce transformation of different human cells (osteoblast cells) to a carcinogenic phenotype and chromosomal aberrations or genetic damage in blood samples among Gulf War veterans. The main target cells after inhalation of DU are macrophages and epithelial cells. Macrophages are mainly involved in our immune defence system. They produce different mediators for regulation pro- and anti-inflammatory reactions. The inflammatory response is a key component of host defence; but excessive, persistent and pathological inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of diseases and cancers. The facts are frightening and show the devastating effects of these weapons whose use, as Karen Parker has already pointed out several times, is forbidden, since it represents a severe violation of the Geneva Convention. The last lecture was held by Professor Alfred de Zayas. He focused on the international law aspects of the Afghanistan tragedy. He called to mind that the United Nations had been created in order to establish and maintain peace, not to wage war. The function of the Security Council is to facilitate peace-making, not to impose peace by massive bombing, resulting in the peace of the graveyard. According to article 2(3) of the UN Charter all 192 member States of the United Nations are obliged to settle disputes through peaceful means. Trying to impose “unconditional surrender” on the Taliban raises the spectre of genocide. We must pause and ask why, for the past seven years, the United Nations have been waging war in Afghanistan. Is such behaviour consistent with the UN charter? Is it for or against the people of Afghanistan?  Tens of thousands of civilians have already been killed in the name of the United Nations.  The countryside has been polluted by the use of chemical agents and depleted uranium weapons.  This is contrary to the Geneva Red Cross Conventions of 1949 and to the imperative of protecting the environment of the planet, which is the common heritage of all mankind. In the last two decades, it appears that the sacred duty of the Organization has been hijacked for purposes of maintaining the hegemony of the most powerful states.  Whereas self-determination is recognized as jus cogens or peremptory international law, the Afghan people are being denied this right.  It is time to stop the bombing and the “collateral damage” afflicted on the civilian population. It is time to withdraw all foreign troops, which are perceived by the majority of the Afghan population not as liberators, but rather as occupiers.    Indeed, the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine requires the United Nations to protect the Afghan population from the destruction of their livelihoods and of their environment. Continuing this war is as senseless and criminal as the United States bombing campaigns against North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in the 1960s and 1970s. Massive reconstruction assistance will be required to amend the damage already done. We owe it to the people of Afghanistan in the name of human rights and international solidarity. During the final discussion several participants called for the allocation of these severe violations of human rights to the Human Rights Council, together with the urgent appeal to immediately appoint a Special Rapporteur both for Afghanistan and for Iraq (cf. box). In defiance of the world public the US and their allies can do as they please. The use of DU weapons has repeatedly been called a stealthy genocide. The UN has mechanisms at hand that allow an immediate investigation into these proceedings. We may not allow international law being violated under the pretence of women’s liberation, democracy and war on terror while the community of states remains silent. The meeting set a clear signal that cannot be without effect.• HUMANITARIAN LAW PROJECT “International Educational Development” United Nations Office, San Francisco, California United Nations Human Rights Council 8th Session, General Debate: Human rights situations that require the Council's attention* “International Educational Development” addresses three situations – Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka – in which there is a protracted armed conflict but neither a special rapporteur nor an item 10 independent expert [technical assistance and capacity-building] . These three situations illustrate the tragic results when the Council is backed into a corner by certain actors – not limited to the governments of these countries – and rendered ineffective to stop the carnage, the near and actual starvation of civilian victims of armed conflict, genocidal policies and intents, and other grave breaches of humanitarian law. In Afghanistan, the US-led military forces have a legal duty to ensure the subsistence needs of the civilian population. However, hundreds of thousands of Afghani citizens, especially women and children, have essentially nothing to eat. This is true not only in the rural areas, but in Kabul, which is ostensibly under the military control of the foreign military forces. The Council must act. In Iraq, the situation is so out of control that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis meet the criteria for political asylum. Hospitals continue to be attacked, and, as in Afghanistan, the use of uranium weapons has resulted in a huge increase in birth defects, cancers and other illnesses, and has made much of available agricultural land unusable. The Council must act. In Sri Lanka, the United States geopolitical interest in establishing military bases in the Tamil areas of the island has resulted in US pressure on the EU, the UK and Canada to attempt to convert what is clearly an armed conflict into terrorism/counter- terrorism, leading to a total disregard for humanitarian law and to a racist attempt to demonise the Tamil people as a whole. There will be no resolution of this conflict as long as the legally incorrect "terrorism" elephant is in the room. There will be no resolution to this conflict as long as the Tamil people are attacked in such a racist manner. The Council must act in accordance with the wishes of the High Commissioner and many of the Council's mandate holders for an enhanced role of the High Commissioner in Sri Lanka. If the authorities continue to resist this, then the Council must hold a special session. *Statement by Karen Parker on behalf of “International Educational Development” at the Human Rights Council www.currentconcerns .ch/index. php?id=597

From: Wes Rehberg <wildclearing@...>
Subject: [AmericanDUST] Updates on arrests from direct action at military air show (DU-related)
To: nomoreDU@yahoogroups.com, americanDUST@yahoogroups.com, du-watch@yahoogroups.com, "No Nukes" <no-new-nukes-yall@yahoogroups.com>, "List Nukenet" <nukenet@...>
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2008, 10:41 AM

I'm not sure, but some of you may have wondered what became of the eight of us who were arrested for a civil disobedience direct action in Salina, Kansas, at the Heartland Speaks demonstration against a "strafing and bombing" air show of A-10 Warthogs. As you know, these are the very same military fighters used in close combat that fire 60 rounds a second, and have sprayed terrain and military hardware with contaminating depleted uranium munitions in recent U.S. wars.

Four of us who were arrested are over age 70 and not one was under age 50 -- 

Two of the arrested are Sisters of St. Joseph in Salina, one is from Kathy Kelly's Voices of Creative Nonviolence in Chicago, another from the Des Moines Philip Berrigan Catholic Worker House, and one is from Chattanooga TN, me, brought to Salina for a presentation on DU munitions and their terrible consequences. The remaining three are from Salina People for Peace.

We were all charged with criminal trespass, spent some time in the Saline County Jail, eventually convicted, given 30-day suspended sentences, and fined $100 plus $70 court costs. The fine can be paid via 20 hours of community service in Salina ... or, if it can be arranged, in our home areas. Three of us were from out-of-town, which means the remainder were from that small city of 40,000 persons -- a clear home-grown commitment.

Tomorrow will be a fundraiser in Salina by Salina People for Peace, detailed below, to help defray the penalties we face. If you haven't seen the 7-minute video of the rally, gathering, and arrests yet, you may on YouTube at;

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=YhK85W5rRbY

or with better resolution at:

http://www.wildclea ring.com/ ice-ages/ heartland. html

Ann Zimmerman, the attorney/folk- singer who wrote the song in the video, will also be playing at the fun'raiser. The arrested folks and their supporters from Salina will also be there. Mokas is a coffee house where the peace group meets weekly.

Best, In Peace,

Wes

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Janie M. Stein" <hopenow1@cox. net>

Date: November 8, 2008 9:48:55 AM EST

To: "Janie M. Stein" <hopenow1@cox. net>, "margaret Rourke" <margaretcsj@ hotmail.com>, "Carolyn Teter" <carolynteter@ sbcglobal. net>, "Frank Cordaro" <frank.cordaro@ gmail.com>, "Gerald Paoli" <gerald@vcnv. org>, "Martin Andrew Bates" <martinbikes@ cox.net>, "Wes Rehberg" <wes.rehberg@ wildclearing. com>

Subject: local paper

These items were listed under the "what's next" part of the Salina Journal.  We hope to see most of you there tomorrow; out-of-towners, we'll let you know how it goes!

Saturday, November 8, 2008 SALINA JOURNAL

Great Plains

A Look Ahead

9 Sunday

 Book Fair for Haiti Mission Fund, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Trinity United Methodist Church, 901 Neal; 825-5270.

 Heartland Eight Legal Fun'raiser, noon-2 p.m., Mokas, 109 N. Santa Fe; meet the protestors who were arrested at Hawgsmoke; music by Ann Zimmerman, Mattson and Weaver, and The St’ates; 643-5334.

 United Way food drive for Project Salina, 1-4 p.m., Dillons, 2350 Planet; 827-1312.

 

Protesters plan ‘fine’ fundraiser

A fundraiser — or Fun’raiser, as they’re calling it — will be Sunday to help pay the fines levied against the eight peace protesters who got themselves arrested for trespassing last month at the Salina Municipal Airport.

The event will be from noon to 2 p.m. at Mokas, 109 N. Santa Fe. Music will be provided by Ann Zimmerman, Mattson and Weaver, The St’ates and more.

The eight activists were arrested Oct. 15 when they crossed a yellow-tape boundary designating the area where they were allowed to protest Hawgsmoke, a bombing and strafing competition for A-10 fighter pilots.

Each of those arrested was assessed $70 in court costs and given the choice of a $100 fine or the equivalent in community service. A 30-day jail sentence was suspended.

 

"I'm hit!" says the bride, as she passes out and asks, on her way down..."Are those fireworks on the dance floor? And why's the room such a fiery explosive red?!" Then, instantly, you (the bride) and 93 of your guests are injured in the bomb blast and meanwhile, your groom has vanished off the face of the earth in a nano-flash!

Poof! There you go - another fine example of US Military hospitality at is finest!

www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=74445&sectionid=351020403

Meanwhile, the official death toll in Afghanistan due to these horrid bombings just so far this year only (not counting the previous six) is being reported as 4,700 ... but that number does not even begin to touch the multitudes of radiation-poisoned, walking dead.

Can you imagine if some nation came over here to the US and started nuking our towns, bombing our weddings, radioactively contaminating our environment, and offing thousands of innocent Americans? Do you not imagine that rapidly formed, rag-tag US Minutemen brigades would make the Afghan Taliban look like a bunch of Peace Corps workers in comparison?

Meanwhile, even an unfathomable 70,000 international soldiers can't keep the Taliban from trying to remove the occupiers, who, after 7 long years, have more than worn out their welcome as Liberators!  But, lest we feel all aglow with hope and optimism with the new Commander in Chief? As our next President made his (pro-war) stance quite clear back in July, www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/20/obama.afghanistan/  he's in no big hurry for the US to pull out of Afghanistan, as "it will take time to prevail. But with the right strategy and the resources to back it up, we will get the job done," said Obama.

While Obama is waiting for our troops to uh, "prevail," here's an article (below) that gives a realistic picture of Human Rights... and what's actually going down in Afghanistan.

Compare and contrast the Obama celebratory pics in the news with blood stained pictures of that bombed-out Afghan wedding no Americans will ever be allowed to see.

So tell me, would you please? How can we even consider partying over electing a man who wants us "to prevail" by getting the job done in Afghanistan... by bombing wedding parties, just for starters?!  What in the world is anyone celebrating over this so-called election victory with a man who has, in all likelihood, never uttered the words 'bring the troops home now" in his life? Is this acceptance of brutal radiological butchering of one nation after the next, after all, national madness of the most delusional variety?

 Cathy Garger

War in Afghanistan – a Severe Violation of the UN Charter

Urgent Appeal to the UN Human Rights Council

On the occasion of the 8th Session of the Human Rights Council in the Palais des Nations in Geneva, an informal meeting on the topic: The Humanitarian Tragedy in Afghanistan – Human Rights violations and Health Effects took place on Wednesday 4 June. Adressing  their interested audience, among them many students, the speakers drew a gloomy picture, and called for the international community to act.

thk/Geneva. The speakers on the panel were the Afghan political scientist and Middle East expert, Professor Mohamed Daud Miraki, the pulmonologist and specialist for internal medicine, Dr Daniel GĂĽntert from Switzerland and the former Special Rapporteur of the UN and Professor at the Geneva School of Diplomacy Dr Alfred de Zayas. The panel discussion was headed by Dr Karen Parker, president of the NGO International Educational Development and the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers.

Daud Miraki informed about the present  shocking situation in Afghanistan. Miraki, who had just returned from a visit to Afghanistan, drew a disillusioning picture: After seven years of war (longer than World War II), the country is in a desolate condition. Despite all assertions by the military exponents, no successful reconstruction work has been done. Neither was the number of illiterates decreased nor was the number of school-leavers increased. The so-called humanitarian help is for the benefit of international organizations for the greater part, but only to a small extent for the benefit of the people. The number of people going hungry is steadily increasing , fields lie fallow, as the people do not dare to work on their fields in fear of fighting and bombardments by the occupation forces. However, poppy growing works well, especially in those areas that are under allied control. The Karzai government that Miraki described as a puppet regime dancing to America’s whistle is not rooted in the population and the majority disdain this government.

Its influence does not reach beyond the borders of Kabul and it is oriented towards the US and their allies; its influence is waning, however. The people in Afghanistan deeply despise the methods of the occupation troops. Their brutal violence when pursuing the alleged terrorists is indescribable and represents a severe violation of the Geneva Convention and Human Rights. Arbitrarily, men are taken from their homes kidnapped, then tortured and killed without any reason. The people are tired of this disaster and want the occupying forces to leave as soon as possible.

Professor Miraki also mentioned another severe problem, i.e. the contamination of the environment by the use of new and unknown weapons, especially DU bombs. Due to constant bombing, whole areas have become uninhabitable, as  happened in Iraq. People in these areas are suffering from terrible diseases, especially from cancer and genetic deformations. The incidence of cancer deaths and malformations in newborns has risen dramatically. Miraki documented his statements with numerous pictures and statistics. He did not conceal his sympathy with the people’s resistance against American troops and their allies. These actions have nothing to do with terrorism, Dr Miraki  claims; instead they are a legitimate armed fight against illegal occupation.

In the second speech, the pulmonologist Dr Daniel Guentert described the effects of uranium weapons on the human organism. He pointed out  how radioactive nano-particles, resulting from the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons, are incorporated in the body and destroy cellular structures there with devastating effects on the human organism.

The effect on human health depends on the dosage, the frequency and the duration of DU exposition. A high dosage contributes to an acute deficiency of the human airways and to death within a few days. Lower dosages cause unspecific symptoms (fatigue, loss of hair, diarrhoea, etc.), a deficiency of the immune system, different inflammatory responses (kidney failure, chronic respiratory infections), chromosomal damage (leads to malformations in newborns) and different forms of cancer (lung cancer, liver cancer, skin cancer, leukaemia, lymphoma etc.). We know that there is a linear dose-effect relation for ionising radiation in a cumulative manner.

The damage, done to human cells by DU particles incorporated into the human body is increased up to thousand folds compared to the damage done by X-rays. After an explosion of DU-ammunition an enormous heat develops, in which DU oxidizes to Uraniumoxide (UO2), which is insoluble; this burning metal has tendency to produce submicron particles like a fine dust with tiny particles of 1-10 ÎĽm or even less. Inhalation is the major route of exposure leading to internal contamination with uranium. These tiny particles pass the airways  and enter the alveoli;  the smaller ones (< 5 ÎĽm) penetrate the alveolar membrane and enter the vessels and the cardiovascular system respec¬tively. This means that exposed soldiers or other persons inhale tiny radio¬active particles which are stored in the lung tissue and also in other organs via the cardiovascular system.  

Various epidemiological studies on Uranium miners and workers in the nuclear industry have been performed. These studies have shown an excess relative risk of lung cancer and lung fibrosis associated with the exposure to uranium. An increase in different types of cancers (lymphopoietic, brain, kidney, breast, prostate and lung) among uranium process workers could be observed.

Investigations from Lauren [sic - it's Leuren] Moret of Gulf War veterans, who were exposed to DU, showed that they suffered from brain tumours and different brain malfunctions.

The assessment of the carcinogenic risk from DU is complicated by the dual toxicity of uranium, radiological as well as chemical. DU has been shown to induce transformation of different human cells (osteoblast cells) to a carcinogenic phenotype and chromosomal aberrations or genetic damage in blood samples among Gulf War veterans. The main target cells after inhalation of DU are macrophages and epithelial cells. Macrophages are mainly involved in our immune defence system. They produce different mediators for regulation pro- and anti-inflammatory reactions. The inflammatory response is a key component of host defence; but excessive, persistent and pathological inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of diseases and cancers.

The facts are frightening and show the devastating effects of these weapons whose use, as Karen Parker has already pointed out several times, is forbidden, since it represents a severe violation of the Geneva Convention.

The last lecture was held by Professor Alfred de Zayas. He focused on the international law aspects of the Afghanistan tragedy. He called to mind that the United Nations had been created in order to establish and maintain peace, not to wage war. The function of the Security Council is to facilitate peace-making, not to impose peace by massive bombing, resulting in the peace of the graveyard. According to article 2(3) of the UN Charter all 192 member States of the United Nations are obliged to settle disputes through peaceful means. Trying to impose “unconditional surrender” on the Taliban raises the spectre of genocide.

We must pause and ask why, for the past seven years, the United Nations have been waging war in Afghanistan. Is such behaviour consistent with the UN charter? Is it for or against the people of Afghanistan?  Tens of thousands of civilians have already been killed in the name of the United Nations.  The countryside has been polluted by the use of chemical agents and depleted uranium weapons.  This is contrary to the Geneva Red Cross Conventions of 1949 and to the imperative of protecting the environment of the planet, which is the common heritage of all mankind.

In the last two decades, it appears that the sacred duty of the Organization has been hijacked for purposes of maintaining the hegemony of the most powerful states.  Whereas self-determination is recognized as jus cogens or peremptory international law, the Afghan people are being denied this right.  It is time to stop the bombing and the “collateral damage” afflicted on the civilian population. It is time to withdraw all foreign troops, which are perceived by the majority of the Afghan population not as liberators, but rather as occupiers. 

Indeed, the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine requires the United Nations to protect the Afghan population from the destruction of their livelihoods and of their environment. Continuing this war is as senseless and criminal as the United States bombing campaigns against North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in the 1960s and 1970s. Massive reconstruction assistance will be required to amend the damage already done. We owe it to the people of Afghanistan in the name of human rights and international solidarity.

During the final discussion several participants called for the allocation of these severe violations of human rights to the Human Rights Council, together with the urgent appeal to immediately appoint a Special Rapporteur both for Afghanistan and for Iraq (cf. box). In defiance of the world public the US and their allies can do as they please. The use of DU weapons has repeatedly been called a stealthy genocide. The UN has mechanisms at hand that allow an immediate investigation into these proceedings. We may not allow international law being violated under the pretence of women’s liberation, democracy and war on terror while the community of states remains silent. The meeting set a clear signal that cannot be without effect.•

HUMANITARIAN LAW PROJECT “International Educational Development”

United Nations Office, San Francisco, California

United Nations Human Rights Council 8th Session, General Debate:

Human rights situations that require the Council's attention*
“International Educational Development” addresses three situations – Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka – in which there is a protracted armed conflict but neither a special rapporteur nor an item 10 independent expert [technical assistance and capacity-building]. These three situations illustrate the tragic results when the Council is backed into a corner by certain actors – not limited to the governments of these countries – and rendered ineffective to stop the carnage, the near and actual starvation of civilian victims of armed conflict, genocidal policies and intents, and other grave breaches of humanitarian law.
In Afghanistan, the US-led military forces have a legal duty to ensure the subsistence needs of the civilian population. However, hundreds of thousands of Afghani citizens, especially women and children, have essentially nothing to eat. This is true not only in the rural areas, but in Kabul, which is ostensibly under the military control of the foreign military forces. The Council must act.

In Iraq, the situation is so out of control that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis meet the criteria for political asylum. Hospitals continue to be attacked, and, as in Afghanistan, the use of uranium weapons has resulted in a huge increase in birth defects, cancers and other illnesses, and has made much of available agricultural land unusable. The Council must act.

In Sri Lanka, the United States geopolitical interest in establishing military bases in the Tamil areas of the island has resulted in US pressure on the EU, the UK and Canada to attempt to convert what is clearly an armed conflict into terrorism/counter-terrorism, leading to a total disregard for humanitarian law and to a racist attempt to demonise the Tamil people as a whole. There will be no resolution of this conflict as long as the legally incorrect "terrorism" elephant is in the room. There will be no resolution to this conflict as long as the Tamil people are attacked in such a racist manner. The Council must act in accordance with the wishes of the High Commissioner and many of the Council's mandate holders for an enhanced role of the High Commissioner in Sri Lanka. If the authorities continue to resist this, then the Council must hold a special session.

*Statement by Karen Parker on behalf of “International Educational Development” at the Human Rights Council

www.currentconcerns.ch/index.php?id=597

Revel in music and dance from around the world - Vietnam, Japan, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina - and help disabled children.

Dear Friends,

Today, over 30 years after the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese children are still being born with birth defects as a result of their parents' or grandparents' exposure to Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant dropped by the United States in the millions of gallons. Did you know that Vietnam now has a birth defect rate FIVE TIMES that of other Asian countries? As citizens of the U.S., we recognize our responsibility to make amends for this tragedy by reaching across cultural borders to build reconciliation.

We want to tell you about a major benefit concert planned for this November 15 as part of our Poisons of War awareness series.

The concert will benefit the Dream Bridge Project, an international grassroots humanitarian development effort aiding Vietnamese children suffering birth defects from Agent Orange three decades and several generations after the Vietnam War. It is a joint-effort project initiated by the Japanese non-profit organization Dream of the Earth, joined in the USA by the Washington Peace Center through the DC Hiroshima-Nagasaki Committee, and operated in Vietnam by the YMCA ("Youth Movement for Cooperative Action") of Vietnam..

The Dream Bridge Concert will be held Saturday, November 15, 2008, from 1:00 to 4:00pm at the University of District Columbia Auditorium, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW. It will feature international and local musicians, including: Wayno (internationally acclaimed traditional Andean music with a jazz flavor), Emma's Revolution (folk rock duo with soulful harmony and powerful messages), Hai-Trieu (Vietnamese pop sensation), and Batala! Washington (a team of energized women delivering Brazilian-style drums and movement). All the performing artists are deeply committed to the causes of peace and social justice, through direct interaction with the affected populations. We plan to include local youth and disabled artists, as well as speakers about the project.

Concert Tickets are available in advance for $15, $10 for students and seniors ($20 and $15 on the day of the show).  Further discounts and complimentary tickets are available upon request to individuals with disabilities and groups. Sustainers of the Dream Bridge Project ($100 and up) will receive two complimentary concert tickets and be listed in the concert program.

To obtain tickets early and receive a discount, send a check ("for (#) tickets" in memo line) to the Washington Peace Center, PO Box 50032 Washington, DC 20091.

To reserve tickets, email <wpc@...> or call 202-234-2000 and leave a message.

"POISONS OF WAR" EVENTS

Leading Up To The Dream Bridge Concert:

Wednesday October 29, 2008, 7:00 pm

Film: "Battle’s Poison Cloud," about effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

Discussion afterwards.

-- People’s Media Center, 4132 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC (Petworth Station)

Friday November 7, 2008, 7:00 pm

Teach-in: "Poisons of War, Past and Present"

Panelists will discuss chemical weapons from World War I to the drug wars in Latin America, atomic weapons in World War II, Agent Orange in Vietnam, depleted uranium (DU) in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, and elsewhere … weapons first tested at military proving grounds in the U.S. and all over the world. Confirmed: Cathy Garger, Peter Kuzinick. Invited: Bobby Muller

-- St. Stephen’s Church, 1525 Newton St NW, Washington, DC 20010

Saturday, November 15, 2008, 1:00 to 4:00pm

DREAM BRIDGE CONCERT

-- UDC Auditorium, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC

Questions?

For more information about Dream Bridge go to: http://www.washingtonpeacecenter.net/civic/node/847

In peace, hope and action for a brighter future,

Washington Peace Center Hiroshima – Nagasaki Peace Committee

202-234-2000 | <wpc@...> 202-682-4282 | et@...

Ask all your friends to share the exquisite afternoon of November 15 …

… for the children.