Revolution

was i angry? sorry on that! didn't mean to let it on you!

Yeah War sucks...sucks every bit of sanity out!

No need for you to be sorry!

But don't you just feel awful to know you can't do anything about it!

But I can. And will. Everything in my power. When Israel bombed Lebanon, I signed the petition that went to Downing Street, demanding that Blair call for a cease-fire. I also marched with 100, 000 people in London.
Many say that it was this anti war-movement pressure that drove Blair to resign.

George Bush is taking our world to the edge of disaster and I will continue to support those who see the truth in that fact.

I started this thread because I care about what's become of Britain and the US - and because I am struck dumb by the atrocities being committed all over the world in the name of freedom and democracy

It might have sounded like i was being flippant when i said keep yourself alive - so that you can write about it one day.
I meant every word - how else are people going to learn the truth?
Those who never experience war - only support it?

Maybe you don't want to hear this right now, but you are a fine writer for such a young person - I know. And that's a valuable skill to have.

But seriously, Naima - I'm just glad you're okay
And don't worry about being angry - i understand. And you are not alone.
I've been here a few years now and you are one of the warmest and most caring of people i have come across. Also one of the most honest.

Never believe that you are less than anyone else.
The real inhuman ones are the ones who behave inhumanly.

With respect
Your friend
Endy

that's probably the most encouraging thing anyone has ever said to me my entire life!!!

thank you, dude---thank you!

off to kick some ass now :wink:

"What are we supposed to do with our Dead"
Odds n' Ends in the War on Terror

By Mike Whitney
07/17/07 "ICH" --- - Observations on unrelated facts from the weekly news

Part 1; Bush to Putin: "Let them eat cake"Part 2; Israel's Friends on the Hill

For readers who may have missed the recent events on Capital Hill, there was this interesting tidbit which appeared The Jerusalem Post: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1184168552181&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

"The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday afternoon condemning a British call to boycott Israeli universities. The measure, approved 414 to 0, urged the European Union and governments around the world to reject the call by the leadership of the University and College Union of the United Kingdom to cease cooperation with Israeli institutions".

Always nice to see diversity of opinion on these key humanitarian issues, isn't it? Congress has been equally supportive of the punitive measures which have prevented food and medicine from entering the Gaza Strip in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Congress has no problem approving "collective punishment" or any other internationally-condemned behavior as long as it serves the greater interests of Israel. Ironically, you would never see such unanimity on any issue among the members of the Israeli Knesset.

Part 3; Iranian Jews would rather stay in Iran?!?Part 4; If Iran is Attacked, will anyone Help?

If the United States attacks Iran preemptively (a third carrier moved into the Gulf just last week) how would the other nations react?

We don't know---but we do know that the signatories of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty do have certain obligations. As Gordon Prather points out in his article "More Neocrazy Media Sycophancy" (antiwar.com)

"The [Sixth] Conference notes the reaffirmation by the nuclear-weapon states of their commitment to the United Nations Security Council resolution 984 (1995) on security assurances for non-nuclear-weapon states parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons." (excerpt from the 2000 NPT Review Conference)

So, what does that mean?

As Prather says:

"Well, basically Russia and China, as well as France and the United Kingdom, will "provide immediate assistance" to Iran if it "is a victim of an act, or an object of a threat of, aggression in which nuclear weapons are used."

Interesting, eh? So if Bush-Cheney bomb Iran, the other NPT members are required under international law TO DEFEND IRAN. That might be worth a follow-up to see if they honor that commitment.

Part 5 ; Russia ReduxPart 6; Iran forces Japan to pay in yenPart 7; Iraqi Child Prostitution on the rise:Part 8; Another Journalist Killed in Iraq under suspicious circumstancesPart 9; Al Qaida: "They're Everywhere!"

In a White House speech this week, President Bush reiterated his pet fantasy that we are fighting "the same people" in Iraq who attacked the Twin Towers on September 11. This isn't a theme that Bush is likely to abandon as it provides the last, feeble justification for the ongoing-blitz in Iraq.

There was a good article in the LA Times by Ned Parker which helps to shed some light on the "miniscule" role of foreign fighters in Iraq.

Parker states: "Of the 19,000 "insurgents" held by the US military in Iraq, only 135 are foreigners."
In other words, al Qaida is just not a significant part of the so-called "insurgency". In fact, only 7% of detainees are foreign fighters.

The US is fighting a Sunni-led army of resistance in Iraq. They are not allied to Bin Laden or al Qaida.
So, which country is providing most of the foreign suicide bombers?

Saudi Arabia. (Although no one in the Bush administration has called for bombing Riyadh!)

Repeat: There is no significant cadre of foreign "al-Qaeda" fighters in Iraq …"Everything Bush and Cheney have said about the nature of the war and the supposed dangers of a US withdrawal is transparent falsehood." http://www.juancole.com/

Is that like a lie?

Part 10; Bombs Away: Beefing up the air war

The Associated Press reported this week that the Air Force is building up its force-capability in Iraq. According to Charles Hanley, the Air Force "sharply stepped up bombing and laid a foundation for a sustained air campaign in support of American and Iraqi forces….Squadrons of attack planes have been added to the in-country fleet. The air reconnaissance arm has almost doubled since last year. The powerful B1-B bomber has been recalled to action over Iraq.

"The night before last we had 14 strikes from B-1 bombers. Last night we had 18 strikes by B-1 bombers," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said approvingly of air support his 3rd Infantry Division received in a recent offensive south of Baghdad".

This tells us everything we need to know about Bush's future plans for Iraq. B-1 bombers are not used for pinpoint attacks on "terrorist strongholds". That's bullsh**. They are used for carpet-bombing and vast indiscriminate destruction which invariably causes massive civilian casualties.

The statistics confirm this assertion. There's been a fivefold increase of bombs dropped over the first half of 2006 which proves that civilian carnage has not deterred the military from trying to "pacify" the Iraqi people through vicious, unrelenting bombardment.

The article continues: "The Air Force sent a squadron of A-10 "Warthog" attack planes - a dozen or more aircraft - to be based at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq. At the same time it added a squadron of F-16C Fighting Falcons here at Balad." Air operations are constant with "more than 100 aircraft crisscrossing Iraqi air space at any one time."

As Bush is forced to reduce troop deployments, the "air surge" will continue into the foreseeable future---poisoning the country with depleted uranium, killing and maiming tens of thousands of civilians, and further reducing Iraq's infrastructure into rubble.

The Democrats fully support this bloody "scorched earth" policy.

Part 11; A Word from one of the Victims

Iraqi blogger and poet Layla Anwar manages to express what many of us feel about this ghastly war, but are unable to state in words. Here is a short passage from a recent piece called "Some Thoughts on Forgiveness" Layla Anwar) http://arabwomanblues.blogspot.com/

"What are we supposed to do with our dead ones, our injured ones, our memories, our lost hopes, our vanished dreams? What are we supposed to do with our exile, our losses, our uprootedness?

Christ was crucified once. He was able to forgive.
But you are crucifying us daily.

So how do I forgive?"


God help us for what we have done to the Iraqi people.

Mike Whitney
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18022.htm

"I said, 'Summer, were you as scared as I was?' She said, 'Mommy, I was more scared,'"

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=10051

Oh yes yes f*cking YES!




My God - I have been waiting too long for this day... Hope at last, folks
(Or at least recognition that help is needed)



Published on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 by ABC News


http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/18/2612/


I've been hoping for just this - please, let this be a return to sanity
Somehow I knew Kofi Annan was never going to walk away from this mess -

NOW FU CK OFF GEORGE

i was glad to see Jimmy Carter in there

token white guy

just kidding - really glad

Lest we forget for 5 minutes....


Lies, More Lies, And Damn Lies


By Eric Margolis

07/18/07 "ICH" -- -- As Americans turn increasingly against President George Bush's calamitous war in Iraq, and revolt spreads through Republican ranks, the White House is again resorting to its tried and true ploy of fanning grossly inflated fears of terrorism.

The president just made two preposterous claims last week that insult the intelligence of his listeners. First, Bush insisted US forces in Iraq are fighting `the same people' who staged 9/11.'

Second, withdrawing US forces from Iraq, as the Democratic-controlled Congress is urging, means `surrendering Iraq to al-Qaida.'

These canards mark the latest steps in the Bush administration's evolving efforts to mislead Americans into believing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are all part of a global fight against al-Qaida.

When marketers want to change the name of an existing product, they first place a new name in small type below the existing one. They gradually shrink the old name, and enlarge the new one until the original name vanishes.

That's what's been happening in Iraq. When the US invaded, Iraqis who resisted were initially branded `Saddam loyalists,' `die-hard Ba'athists,' or, in Don Rumsfeld's colorful terminology, `dead-enders.' Next, the Pentagon and US media called the Iraqi resistance, `terrorists' or `insurgents.' The reason for invading Iraq, the White House insisted, was all about removing the tyrant Saddam, seizing weapons of mass destruction, defending humans rights and implanting democracy.

Then, a tiny, previously unknown Iraqi group that had nothing to do with Osama bin Laden appropriated the name, `al-Qaida in Mesopotamia.'

This was such a breathtakingly convenient gift to the Bush Administration, many cynics suspected a false-flag operation created by CIA and Britain's wily MI6. Soon after, the White House and Pentagon began calling most of Iraq's 22 plus resistance groups, `al-Qaida.'

The US media eagerly joined this deception, even though 95% of Iraq's resistance groups had no sympathy for bin Laden's movement. Watch any US network TV news report on Iraq and you will inevitably hear reporters parroting Pentagon handouts about US forces `launching a new offensive against al-Qaida.'

Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia didn't even exist before 9/11, but that didn't stop President Bush from trying to gull credulous voters. He simply ignored the 2006 National Intelligence Estimate that found US-occupied Iraq had become an `incubator' for violent anti-American groups.

If the US were to withdraw from Iraq tomorrow, the nation would be split between warring Shia, Sunni and Kurdish parties. The fake Al-Qaida in Iraq would end up at the bottom of the totem pole, or be wiped out by other Iraqis. Even Osama bin Laden and his number two, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, have blasted the phony al-Qaida in Iraq and called for an end to its attacks on Iraqi civilians.

Polls show that in spite of a mountain of evidence to the contrary, White House disinformation strategy has worked. Today, an amazing 60% of Americans still believe Saddam Hussein was behind the 9/11 attacks.

At least that's down from the 80% who originally believed this Orwellian big lie in 2003. The White House continues to blur the facts and make Americans believe Iraq and Afghanistan are `central fronts in the global war on terror.'

The fact recent polls found 60% of Americans - and 90% of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - still believe Saddam and bin Laden had colluded to launch 9/11 is shocking, but not surprising. Ignorance of foreign affairs and mindless flag waving are as American as apple pie.

Tens of millions of Americans are fed a steady diet of political or religious ideology disguised as news from the administration's house organ, Fox News; from evangelical Christian TV and radio; or from the neoconservative's version of Pravda, the Wall Street Journal's editorial pages. The rest are too busy watching brain-deadening TV pap to pay the least attention to events overseas.

They remain unaware the faux `war against global terror' is now costing a mind-boggling US $12 billion monthly, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service. That's the cost of 3 nuclear-powered `Nimitz' class 97,000 ton aircraft carriers every month.

The Bush Administration has spent $610 billion dollars since 2001 on its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, making them the second most expensive conflict in US history after World War II.

Last week, US Homeland Security Czar Michael Chertoff allowed he had a `gut feel' that an al-Qaida attack on America was imminent this summer. At the same time, Washington was abuzz with a leaked US intelligence report that al-Qaida - the objective of the so-called war on terror - had reconstituted and was as strong as prior to 9/11, 2001.

America's sixteen intelligence agencies spend $40 billion annually, with another $15-20 billion in their hidden `black budgets.' Homeland Security spends $44.6 billion. In spite of these gargantuan expenditures of a trillion dollars - that's $1,000,000,000,000 - the best intelligence Czar Cheroff can come up with is `gut feel?'

One suspects Chertoff's worried stomach has far more to do with the growing Republican Party revolt against the president's Iraq war than nebulous threats from Osama bin Laden's loud but tiny group.

Polls show the only area where Republicans still command popular support is the `war on terror.'
So Bush/Cheney & Co are trying to use al-Qaida to scare Americans to vote Republican, just as they did prior to 2004 elections. It worked well last time and got Bush re-elected.

But Americans are increasingly leery of the White House's crying wolf. Many are also asking how Bush could claim `steady progress' was being made in his wars when it appears the al-Qaida movement is back to pre-2001 strength, anti-American groups are popping up across Asia and Africa, and Iraq is a bloody mess.

After six years of conflict, 3,600 dead and 25,000 wounded American soldiers, expenditure of $610 billion, tens of thousands of dead Iraqis and Afghans, collapse of Mideast peace efforts, and a Muslim World enraged against the US, nothing positive seems to have been accomplished by a leader who likes to style himself, `the war president.'

As the White House now ponders an attack on Iran, we would do well to recall the famed words of King Pyrrhus of Epirus, `one more such victory and we are ruined.'

Eric Margolis - Foreign Correspondent / Defense Analyst & Columnist http://www.ericmargolis.com/

Copyright Eric S. Margolis 2007

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18032.htm

YES!!!!

Hi Olga - yes it's a great moment and one that I think people will look back on in the future with surprise and say , "Hey, when the Elders first formed, they were ignored by much of the press in favour of celebrity - Oh well, you can hardly expect a bunch of brainwashed dictators (the western media) to have the heart or vision to recognise saviours when they see them."

- but I don't think that really matters - in fact, I think it's a good thing.


No glittery concert of promotion. Thank you

No bullshit lies about what's intended. Thank you

No cheesy flag or bono singing "you can count on me" or whatever. Thank you. thank you, thank you

These people have made me feel better... about myself, strangely.
When they stand up and address a need for change, I don't feel quite as alone.
I no longer need to worry that I'm going nuts or that I've somehow been propelled into an evil, secondary existence - with no hope of getting back to the days when we were not constantly being monitored, tested, judged and patronised by our governments.

When folk like these pictured above are so moved to respond to inhumanity. I don't care what's on their agenda.
Just knowing they are sitting around a coffee table together debating the needs of the masses and prepared to fight fascism - makes me feel a whole lot better. Because it's a lot about balance. And we are at a tipping point. Feel it? I do.

This is a crucial time in human history.
Are the people of the world really going to embrace Nazism?
Or have we come to a place where we look down that road and see only one thing - Razor wire, death camps, genocide.

An American veteran of the war in Iraq said (jokingly - I hope) that his country is mincing up the Muslims and sending their meat to Mac Donald's. (Actually, I've seen this suggested twice in different places on the net).

Jesus Christ, I say to myself (having read 1940's reports of something similar in Nazi occupied Europe) dehumanising millions of people is a prelude to sticking them in the gas chambers.
This self-destruction MUST stop - now.

These brave 'elders' are saying to the world - WE ARE WILLING TO RISK OUR LIVES TO FIGHT FASCISM
They are the Revolution. Just like Ghandi was and King was. If they can keep themselves alive and keep inspiring courage, the human race might just have a chance to stop a great catastrophe from happening.

In WWII it was the same - people were willing to lay down their lives to stop themselves and their families from being swallowed whole by the Nazi movement (****).

I think the time has come for each of us to find out, one way or another, what it is we are really made of. We can't hide away from our crimes forever. The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia are all supporters of one of the greatest crimes against humanity. And not just against Muslims - but against us all, whatever our beliefs or faiths.

Disregard for the environment, disregard for the masses in poverty, disregard for human life in the Middle East - all these things are de-humanizing us - not the people we intern without trial, not the people we torture or sodomize, not the people we make disappear - but us

I look at these people standing up and I think - first, let them speak out for the victims of repression and fascism - and then let them, for the love of man - help us
Because here in Britain, in The United States, and elsewhere (Israel ) we share one thing in common.

We have all been victims or enemies of the Nazis in the past and we are all now (government at least) behaving like them. It is a classic chain of abuse and it can only make Nazism grow - because everything we do to others now - they will in turn do to others later (Israel is an evident victim of this continuous chain).

If a man abuses a boy - the chances are that boy will grow up to either be an abuser of others - or of himself. I know this for a fact - I've studied it with professionals.

As a species, we have to recognise this chain of abuse for what it is and break it.
But we need intelligent beings to help us do that, and we need leaders in Britain, The United States and elsewhere, who are going to address the true root of our fear driven immorality - for our sakes.

This world has so much to offer us all. It is sickening and terribly depressing to have to every day wonder at the mentality of those in charge.

We need moderation. We need vision. We need to stop spending billions on war and plough all that money into Africa - where we build miles of solar panels
The middle East - where we build peace by handing back Iraq's oil, cleaning up their rivers and rebuilding the infrastructure we have so coldheartedly destroyed.
We need to admit our mistake and apologise and send to the Hague our war criminals

We need to plant forests again. We need an army of strong men and women to help us do this. We have everything we need. The money, the man power, the desire to protect our children. Like Kennedy said, "We all breathe the same air…"

I get so angry, just knowing it's all there and that the truth is we don't have any leaders with guts enough to do the right thing.

From now on - these elders are the real UN
And they get my vote - because at least they are doing something

What are our leaders doing, except squabbling amongst themselves while it all burns down around our ears?


Thanks for getting me going again, Olga :wink:
Peace
Endymion

'Sicko' in Top 5 Grossing Docs of All Time -- This Weekend it's "'Sicko' Night in America!"
...from Michael Moore

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Martin Rowson 2007 Guardian - On Brown's relationship with Bush

Facing the Truth

By Monica Benderman

07/21/07 "ICH" -- - -It's about time Americans faced the truth.

A Marine not only convicted of conspiring to commit kidnapping, larceny, and making false statements; but the murder - MURDER - of an innocent Iraqi man, was given his sentence. He is to receive a reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge.

THIS is what America has become.

It is now considered "bad conduct" to murder an unarmed man, knowingly return to the scene to fabricate the appearance of self-defense and hide the facts after the fact.

Murdering an innocent Iraqi is now considered "Bad Conduct."

In 2004 my husband, a ten-year US Army veteran, made a conscious decision to no longer participate in war - he spoke openly of the bad conduct of his commanders in giving orders to soldiers in his unit which not only jeopardized the lives of innocent Iraqis, and children, but also those of the soldiers he served with.

For his decision to no longer be part of the destruction, wanton killing, and unjust, immoral action this war has shown itself to be, my husband was accused of being a deserter, faced trumped up, fabricated charges of intentionally missing his unit's movement, and when the first court-martial attempt failed, was handed additional trumped up charges of larceny for combat pay his command erroneously placed in his paycheck. During a second court-martial attempt he was found guilty of missing movement or not getting on a plane and was sentenced to 15 months in prison, loss of all pay, reduction in rank and a dishonorable discharge.

A veteran with ten years of honorable service, who took a stand to no longer participate in an action in which murdering innocents is acceptable is now considered "Dishonorable."

How low do you intend to go, America?

How far are you going to let your values dip before you stop the slide?

We don't need to see the documents "executive privilege" is denying us the right to see. Their content is evident in the actions of our military courts - Justice in America no longer has a conscience, and the travesty continues as Americans sleep through the reality of what it is they are about to lose.

The United States Congress spent an entire night - wasted an entire night - in a public display of ridiculous bantering over a war which has now caused the deaths of almost 4000 US military personnel and hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians - CHILDREN are dying every day in Iraq because of what this country has allowed to happen, and our Congress has the foresight to remember to place cots in the Senate chambers in case one of the illustrious elite might grow weary of their repetitious "pillow talk" and need a rest.

I am weary of the talk - the Iraqis are weary of the talk - and I know for a fact that American soldiers are weary of the talk.

There are some who, while wearing our nation's uniform, have committed horrendous crimes in this war, and in a great many instances have received little more than a slap on the hand for their actions. Hundreds of thousands more soldiers have served honorably under the most horrendous conditions, fighting against their instincts for survival to maintain morality in their actions in the most difficult circumstances. They deserve better than to see those who cannot control themselves face so little consequence for their lack of character.

The administration that sent our military to war has become nothing more than a dictatorship in emperor's clothing and our congress is clearly displaying how little backbone they have when it comes to defending the truth in the hallowed halls within which our Constitution is supposed to still matter.

The American people seem to live in a stupor as our soldiers continue to be sent to war - our congress can't seem to find it in themselves to get up off their cots and realize that our military needs a rest too, as do the Iraqi citizens who have seen their country devastated beyond recognition by the maniacal whims of an administration that is lost in its love for self-aggrandizement and its need for public recognition regardless of whether their behavior is even remotely recognizable as human.

Where is America's Conscience?

This country has become such a nation of followers, addicted to letting someone, anyone else make their decisions for them as long as they can continue on in their hazy stupor, wrapped in the illusion of living a celebrated life, carefree and requiring no responsibility for their actions.

Why is this administration still allowed a shred of credibility?

Why are we still acknowledging any of the members of our congress as being capable of representing any truth in their actions?

The truth is that none of our government officials are willing to admit to a mistake. None of our government officials are willing to take a stand to acknowledge that their role in sending our soldiers to war was instrumental in the greatest mistake imaginable. Our government officials continue to hope that a "surge and a prayer" will bring victory to the glittery false promises they so boldly made as they sought to assure a fearful nation to put their trust in leaders who have yet to come to terms with the true meaning of responsibility; and the war drags on as more soldiers die and more families face their loss in the heart of a nation whose beat yields a very hollow sound.

Our soldiers and their families deserve better and it is past time for American citizens to take a stand to defend the laws they have expected our soldiers to fight for in their name.

Our government leadership stands with their hands over their hearts crying crocodile tears as they tell story after story of the "brave soldiers and families" who continue to sacrifice so greatly in this country's name - doing so with all the feeling of the new robot baby introduced as the latest "must have toy" soon to be all the rage in every American household.

Our military families stand with their hands empty and their hearts heavy as they struggle to make it through a memorial service trying to find meaning in the cause for which their loved one died -grasping at believing the words of the politicians when they are told this sacrifice has been worth the loss, simply because they don't want to believe they lost their loved one for nothing.

America doesn't know their loss - America knows talk. America knows drama. America knows politics.

America hasn't the first clue about loss - and so Americans continue to lose, and soldiers continue to die while the games of politicians are acted out on the nightly news in dramatic displays of understanding with the depth of a two inch mud puddle.

Americans haven't the first idea what it means to sacrifice - and Americans don't care whether there was a reason for our soldiers to die or not, as long as they are not the ones who must look in the mirror and face what they have become - a nation without a conscience.

I watched soldiers board buses in the middle of the night, somber and teary eyed, even in their strength, as they left to invade a country in a war which even then made little sense. I watched them hold their heads high as families stood in the distance until the buses were no longer in view, and felt the emptiness of the darkness we were left with, wondering whether one of those men would be the first to die in a war whose cause has still not been defined.

I have walked across the sidewalks lined with almost 400 trees now, in the middle of Fort Stewart's parade grounds; trees planted to remember lives lost. I'm sorry but I don't see that to be an equal exchange and the memory of a lone soldier kneeling beside the base of one tree to leave a note for someone who had been so much more than a friend represents a loss this country can't seem to comprehend.

Our soldiers deserve better than a congress that is willing to spend an entire night in a debate of futility.

Our soldiers deserve better than an administration that cares more about defending its right to hide its incompetence from us than it cares about even its own humanity, as it orders our soldiers to a war that has become nothing more than another act of covering the tracks of a leadership that has clearly demonstrated its inability to lead.

Our soldiers have been stranded in a country that is now decimated and in danger of becoming lawless because American citizens have sat idly by and allowed themselves to be led toward becoming a nation of lawlessness, and there is no end in sight unless American citizens step up and defend the laws which have given them their freedom for over two hundred years.

Where is your conscience, America?

Monica is the wife of Sgt. Kevin Benderman, a ten-year Army veteran who served a combat tour in Iraq and a year in prison for his public protest of war and the destruction it causes to civilians and to American military personnel. Please visit their website, www.BendermanDefense.org to learn more.

Monica and Kevin may be reached at [email protected]

Go to Iraq and fight, Mr. President

Cindy Sheehan to Lead March for Impeachment, Arlington to Capitol Hill, July 23rd

http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4212&Itemid=223

The Impeachment Moment

Submitted by davidswanson on Sun, 2007-07-22 13:43. Activism | Impeachment | Nonviolent Resistance

We've reached the impeachment moment for Vice President Dick Cheney. We are now at what Rev. Lennox Yearwood calls the lunch counter moment in the impeachment movement. We've pushed the cosponsor list for H. Res. 333 up to 14. Chairman John Conyers says that if we get 3 more he'll begin the impeachment proceedings. And many Congress Members must be recognizing that there is no other path available. Cheney and Bush have repeatedly refused to comply with subpoenas, ordered former staffers not to comply with subpoenas, and announced that the Justice Department will not enforce contempt citations from Congress. When a special prosecutor attempted to hold this administration accountable, Cheney's chief of staff obstructed justice, and Cheney persuaded Bush to commute his sentence. There is no course left for Congress but impeachment.

On Monday, July 23rd, the fifth anniversary of the meeting that produced the Downing Street Minutes, Cindy Sheehan, Ray McGovern, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Ann Wright, Debra Sweet, Dave Lindorff, David Swanson, Jodie Evans, Medea Benjamin, Kevin Zeese, and Tina Richards will lead a march to Chairman Conyers office and not leave until he agrees to begin impeachment proceedings. If you cannot be there, you can take two minutes on Monday and do two things: phone Chairman Conyers at 202-225-5126 and ask him to start the impeachment of Dick Cheney; and phone your own Congress Member at 202-224-3121 and ask them to immediately call Conyers' office to express their support for impeachment. Your Congress Member might be one of the three needed, not just to keep impeachment activists out of jail but to keep this nation from devolving into dictatorship.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/

Debunked: politicians' excuse that cannabis has become stronger


By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Published: 21 July 2007

In a week in which Gordon Brown signalled a toughening of the law on cannabis and Labour MPs queued up to confess to smoking dope in their youth - a dozen cabinet ministers at the last count - there has been a widespread assumption bandied about that the country is in the grip of an epidemic of cannabis-induced psychosis.

But there is no evidence that cannabis poses a greater threat to health today than it did 30 years ago, and reports that stronger forms of the drug, called skunk, have 25 times the potency are wildly exaggerated. The joint, symbol of peace and love in the 1960s, has become a totem of degenerate Britain - increasingly linked with mental breakdown and axe-wielding maniacs.

The Prime Minister, who has ordered the second review of the classification of cannabis in two years, is said by insiders to want to reverse the decision of the former home secretary, David Blunkett, who downgraded the drug from class B to class C in 2004.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which examined the issue 18 months ago, will be asked to do so again. It concluded in its report in December 2005 that the strength of cannabis resin (hash) had changed little over 30 years and was about 5 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Skunk, it found was 10 to 15 per cent THC - two to three times as strong, not 25 times.

Professor Leslie Iversen, a pharmacologist at Oxford University, said the widespread belief that skunk was 20 to 30 times as powerful was "simply not true".

more
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2788634.ece

July 22, 2007
It's not over yet: washout Britain on alert for more flooding
Jonathan Leake

THE Environment Agency yesterday warned of an immediate risk of further flooding, with water released by last week's torrential downpours threatening to overwhelm river and drainage systems across the country.

Last night six severe flood warnings remained in place in the Midlands and motorists were still facing long delays on the M5 and the M50. Police advised anyone venturing through Hereford and Worcestershire to pack plenty of supplies and warm clothing as more heavy rain is predicted in the region today and into this week.

"It's not over yet," said Phil Rothwell, head of flood risk policy at the Environment Agency. "Over the next one to two days some of our biggest rivers like the Severn will keep rising. The areas around the Severn, [upper] Thames, upper Great Ouse and others in Lincolnshire will remain at risk of floods."

The warnings follow two days of chaos after a series of cloud-bursts hit England and Wales, flooding homes, stranding holi-daymakers and bringing businesses to a halt.
Yesterday rescuers were still dealing with the aftermath of the disaster, which saw hundreds of rail and bus services cancelled and thousands of cars stuck. Ten thousand drivers had to spend Friday night in their vehicles on the M5 after floods caused a 40-mile gridlock.

The train company First Great Western announced the Cotswold line between Oxford and Worcester would be closed for up to a week while Network Rail repaired flood damage in the Evenlode valley, Oxfordshire.

Severe flood warnings remained on the rivers Severn, Avon and Teme.

Yesterday Gordon Brown acknowledged the scale of the crisis, promising local authorities 100% government compensation for the costs of dealing with the freak rainfall.

Brown defended the government's record of investment in flood defences as some experts argued that Britain is badly prepared to deal with the increasing number of extreme weather events.

MPs attacked the government's "appalling response" to the crisis. John Redwood, the Conservative MP for Woking-ham, Berkshire, which was badly affected, said: "The government's failure to prevent these floods is an outrage. Their response was appallingly lackadaisical.

"There were no sandbags in place, no pumps and no ditches had been cleared. Why wasn't the fire brigade or even the army mobilised?"

Chrise Huhne, the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, Hampshire, said: "The government patently failed to alert the public to these floods. Flood defences and, more importantly drains and sewers, are not properly maintained."

Last night the bad weather moved north and conditions in the Atlantic brought warning of more rain on Monday.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weather/uk_and_roi/article2116338.ece


Is this a bit like what happened in New Orleans - i mean the goverment failings? That lack of support/response?

I heard that an electrical substation somewhere is being protected from flooding by a huge sandbag dam with the RAF supporting fire brigade

But guess what? If we need the army - we're in trouble




Troops for emergencies 'almost non-existent' says general
By Andrew Woodcock, PA Chief Political Correspondent
Published: 21 July 2007

Burdens in Iraq and Afghanistan have left the Army with almost no spare troops to deal with unexpected emergencies, Britain's senior soldier warned in a leaked memo published today.

The head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said under-manning meant that almost all units were now committed to operations, training for war in Iraq or Afghanistan or on leave.

Only one battalion of 500 troops - the Spearhead Lead Element - was immediately available to deal with emergencies such as a terrorist attack, suggested the document, obtained by the Daily Telegraph.

Britain's second back-up unit, the Airborne Task Force, formed around the Parachute Regiment, was unable to deploy fully "due to shortages in manpower, equipment and stocks".

"We now have almost no capability to react to the unexpected," wrote Gen Dannatt, the Chief of General Staff, in his memo to other defence leaders.

Reinforcements for emergencies or operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were "now almost non-existent", he added.

The emergence of the memo comes shortly after Defence Secretary Des Browne's announcement on Thursday of a cut of 500 UK troops in Iraq this winter, which will leave 5,000 personnel on the ground.

But it comes at a time when additional soldiers are thought to be needed to deal with a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.

Mr Browne this week gave his backing to an MPs' report calling on Britain's Nato allies to supply more troops.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said the lack of reserves was a "damning indictment" of the Government's stewardship of the Armed Forces.

"They are being asked to carry out tasks for which they are neither funded nor equipped," he said.

"There is an urgent need to review our strategic approach because we cannot continue over-stretching our forces."

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We have made no secret of the fact that the Armed Forces are working hard. The situation in respect of current operations remains manageable.

"We have already stated publicly that if the current tempo of operations continues at this pace, we will have to revisit our planning assumptions.

"In recent months, we have drawn down our force levels in a number of operations. The Armed Forces' mission in Northern Ireland will end on July 31, we withdrew the bulk of our forces from Bosnia-Herzegovina earlier this year, and only yesterday we announced that we will reduce further our force levels in Iraq by 500.

"We are certainly not complacent about the longer-term implications, which we are acutely aware of and are addressing."

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2788694.ece



I heard on the BBC radio that the Thames is filling up fast - the Severn river - 10 centimetres every hour.
To be honest i can't help wondering.... at the way nature redresses an imbalance or equating what is happening with hurricane Katrina.

Time to move on- we should withdraw our troops from the middle east, recuperate, build our defences and begin work towards peace and coming to terms with the fact that we have no choice but to live in harmony with nature - we don't own this planet. It owns us

be safe
peace
Endy

Yes this is Britain

*************************************************

Rebecca - hope you're okay where you are
Let us know -



150,000 homes are without water and power supplies are threatened in the areas of England worst hit by flooding.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Flood crisis grows as rivers rise


The flooding crisis in central and western England continues with thousands of homes losing water and electricity supplies.

Up to 350,000 people in Gloucestershire will be left without running water by Monday evening, as the Severn and Thames rivers threaten to overflow.

The Environment Agency said water levels on both rivers had exceeded those of devastating floods in 1947.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would set up a review of the crisis.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6911226.stm