Stand with Conyers in Resolutions to IMPEACH Bush and Cheney //kid from Ft. Laud goes to Iraq

 

LET'S MAKE OUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION TO IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY!

Bob Fertik writes: "My New Year's Resolution for 2006 is to do everything in my power to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney. I will support John Conyers' bill (H.Res.635) to investigate and impeach Bush and Cheney. I will express my support for impeachment by calling and writing the media, and by educating my friends and neighbors. In the 2006 election, I will work to elect candidates who support impeachment, and work to defeat Members of Congress who do not."

Read Bob's blog here:
http://www.democrats.com/2006-resolution

If you agree, why not share your Resolution with your representatives and senators?
http://democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/17

IMPEACHMENT IS POSSIBLE

Even before the NSA wiretapping scandal broke, a Zogby poll found that 53% of Americans thought Bush should be impeached if he had lied about the war -- and 57% believe he lied.
http://democrats.com/bush-impeachment-polls
http://democrats.com/bush-lied-polls

Since the wiretapping scandal, even libertarians and conservatives have started suggesting impeachment. The list includes former Reagan official Bruce Fein, Norm Ornstein of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute, law professors Jonathan Turley and Geoffrey Stone, and even Barron's editor Thomas Donlan.
http://www.impeachpac.org/?q=taxonomy/term/10

CONYERS LEADS THE WAY

Congressman John Conyers has compiled Bush's impeachable offenses in a must-read report: "The Constitution in Crisis."
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5769

Conyers has introduced two bills (H.Res.636 and H.Res.637) to censure Bush and Cheney for withholding evidence from Congress, and a third bill (H.Res.635) to create a select committee to investigate the Administration's intent to go to war before congressional authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing torture, and retaliating against critics, and to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5768

The following articles highlight some of the findings in Conyers' report:

Bush Administration Refuses to Comply With FOIA Request on Pre-War Intelligence
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5998

White Phosphorous: The U.S. Used It; The U.S. Says It's Illegal
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6023

White House Leaked Classified Intelligence to Make its Case for War
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6062

Rumsfeld Admits to "Ghosting" Detainee
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6120

DEMOCRATS TALK IMPEACHMENT

Senator Barbara Boxer is consulting four Constitutional scholars about impeachment. Civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis announced his support for impeachment. Urge your favorite Democrats to join these brave leaders in openly discussing impeachment.

IMPEACHMENT AS CAMPAIGN ISSUE

Impeachment is becoming a campaign issue as well. With your support, www.ImpeachPAC.org has raised $46,261.70 to support pro-impeachment candidates. Our first endorsed candidate, Tony Trupiano of Michigan, is proudly campaigning on his support for impeachment. Please send Democratic Congressional candidates here:
http://impeachpac.org/candidates

CITIZENS IMPEACHMENT COMMISSION FORMING
We are also forming a powerful Citizens Impeachment Commission of prominent Americans who are willing to lead the fight in the year ahead. Our commission already includes activists Medea Benjamin, Gene Bruskin, Tim Carpenter, David Cline, Steve Cobble, Karen Dolan, Jodie Evans, Mike Ferner, Bob Fertik, Kim Gandy, Doris "Granny D" Haddock, Tom Hayden, Doug Kreeger, Bill Mitchell, Bill Moyer, Michael Rectenwald, Cindy Sheehan, David Swanson, Jonathan Tasini, and Kevin Zeese; former government officials Elizabeth de la Vega, Larry Johnson, and Ann Wright, Historians and Legal Scholars John Bonifaz, Marcus Raskin, Lawrence R. Velvel, and Howard Zinn, and Talk Show Hosts/Editors/Bloggers/Pundits/Authors David Allen, Dave Allsopp, The Bulldog Manifesto, Tom Engelhardt, Thom Hartmann, Laura Flanders, Justin A. Frank, Doug Ireland, Rob Kall, Susie Madrak, Mark Crispin Miller, Brad Newsham, Liza Sabater, and Jeff Tiedrich. And we're just getting started! Please encourage prominent citizens you know to sign up here:
http://impeachpac.org/citizens

IMPEACHMENT BLOGGING COLLECTIVE FORMING
If your blog has a news feed containing only your articles on impeachment, we'd like to post the headlines and first paragraphs and link to your site from here:
http://www.impeachpac.org/impeachment-blogging
Just send the URL for the feed to david@davidswanson.org

ALMOST HERE: NATIONAL DAY OF TOWN HALL FORUMS ON ENDING THE WAR
Attend a public forum on Saturday, January 7, on the topic of ending the war! There are 76 events already planned around the country, many of them with Congress Members.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event

NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
After Downing Street, Progressive Democrats of America, and allied organizations are calling upon you to hold Bush and Cheney accountable. We need you to call your member of Congress and ask him or her to cosponsor Congressman Conyers' bills. Join us on the National Call-In Day, January 9th, 2006. Let's kick off the New Year with a bang.

On Monday, January 9th, we ask that you call your member of congress in their home district.Ask to speak to your member of congress. Urge your Representative to cosponsor Rep. John Conyers' bill to create an investigation and make recommendations on impeachment, a second bill to censure Bush, and a third to censure Cheney.
Find the phone number:
http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/dbq/officials/?lvl=C

Read about the bills:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5768

HIGH PRAISE FROM THE NATION FOR AFTER DOWNING STREET
John Nichols, in the Nation Magazine, writes: "The media did a slightly better job of monitoring political wrongdoing in 2005 than it did during the first four years of the Bush-Cheney presidency -- when it actually would have mattered. But the real work of exposing the misdeeds of the administration is still being done by activist groups. And the most inspired of these in 2005 was After Downing Street, the coalition of groups that describes itself as "working to expose the lies that launched the war and to hold accountable its architects, including through censure and impeachment." In conjunction with Progressive Democrats of America, the able activist group that seeks to create an actual opposition party in America, After Downing Street is pushing the political envelope in exactly the direction it needs to go. Check out their website at www.afterdowningstreet.org website and keep ahead of the action in 2006."

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR MEMBERS
Thank you to every organization and individual member of the After Downing Street coalition for a terrific year's work. (Although we started in May, we did a year's worth of work!) Here's a growing list of who you are:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/coalition

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  TVNL Editor's Comments: If you have not noticed yet there is a young student who just acted more like a journalist than virtually every single American news industry poser! This kid understood what his English teacher said while discussing journalism and the need for a journalist to immerse him/herself in a story.

He understood the difference between immersing himself in a story and embedding himself in a story, if you know what I mean. He got up and flew himself to Iraq. He did not embed himself in the controlled environment provided to the fake journalists by the military; he went to Iraq to see what it was like to live in Iraq

As far as I am concerned he just added to the embarrassment of the US news establishment. He out braved and out performed everyone in the US who calls him/herself a journalist (except for the independents who also immerse themselves as apposed to embed themselves…but we rarely hear from them). He also showed that he understands more about journalism than they all do. I think that the teacher who taught this young man about journalism also deserves kudos. Together they serve an example of how rare journalism is in America. So sad. Think about it! – Jesse, Editor, TvNewsLIES.org

Florida Teen's Iraq Adventure Draws to Close Youth Ran Off to Baghdad Without Telling Parents

By JASON STRAZIUSO, AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Dec. 30) - A 16-year-old from Florida who traveled to Iraq on his own without telling his parents was put on a flight home Friday, the U.S. Embassy said, while warning Americans of the dangers of undertaking similar journeys.

Peter Dejong, APOn Farris Hassan's first full day in Iraq, six vehicle bombs exploded in Baghdad, killing five people and wounding more than 40.

Watch Video: Mom Has No Idea How He Got a Visa to Iraq

Farris Hassan, of Fort Lauderdale, had been under the care of the U.S. Embassy after being on his own in Iraq for several days.

"I am very pleased to announce that the young American citizen who has been in Iraq the past few days has now safely departed Baghdad, and this young American is now on his way back home to his family in the United States," Consul General Richard B. Hermann said.

Hermann reiterated warnings by the State Department and embassy against traveling to Iraq and said Americans in Iraq should register their presence. Forty American citizens have been kidnapped since the war started in March 2003, of which 10 have been killed, a U.S. official said. About 15 remain missing.

The U.S. Embassy had no immediateinformation about Hassan's flight.

 

Hassan, a junior at Pine Crest School, a prep academy of about 700 students in Fort Lauderdale, recently studied immersion journalism -- a writer who lives the life of his subject in order to better understand it.

The teenager, whose parents were born in Iraq but have lived in the United States for about 35 years, says he wanted to travel to Baghdad to better understand what Iraqis are living through.

"I thought I'd go the extra mile for that, or rather, a few thousand miles," he told The Associated Press.

Skipping a week of school, he left the country on Dec. 11, telling only two high school friends of his plans. His travels took him to Kuwait and Lebanon before he arrived in Iraq on Christmas Day.

Hassan's mother, Shatha Atiya, said she offered to take her son to Iraq later, when tensions eased, but he was not satisfied. He left without telling her, and sent an e-mail after his departure, Atiya said.

The teen traveled to Kuwait, where a taxi dropped him in the desert at the Iraq border, but he could not cross there because of tightened security ahead of the Iraqi parliamentary elections on Dec. 15. He went to Beirut, Lebanon, to stay with family friends, and flew from there to Baghdad.

After his second night in Baghdad, he contacted the AP and said he had come to do research and humanitarian work. The AP called the U.S. Embassy, which sent U.S. soldiers to pick him up.

State Department officials notified his parents, and assured Atiya that her son was in Baghdad's U.S-protected Green Zone, where he would be safer than in the sector where he first contacted journalists.

"I was so anxious. Words cannot even express it," Atiya said Thursday.

Hassan does not speak Arabic and has no experience in war zones, but he wanted to find out what life was like there.

"He is very driven and he is very patriotic. He believes in democracy," his mother said.

Atiya said her son is studious, works on the school newspaper and is on the debate team. He is a member of a Republican Party club at school who spends his time reading, rather than socializing, his mother said.

"He thinks girls require too much time, and he has more important things to do. He loves history," Atiya said.

When school officials learned of Hassan's trip, they threatened to expel him, but Atiya and Hassan's father, Redha Hassan, a physician, persuaded officials to allow him to remain, Atiya said. It was not immediately clear why they wanted to expel him.

Michael Buckwald, a 17-year-old classmate, said Hassan immerses himself in subjects that he likes and was opinionated in class.

"He always struck me as a very intellectual person. He's very outspoken at the same time," Buckwald said.

Hassan is the youngest of Atiya's four children. The others are enrolled at universities.

Aside from the research he wanted to accomplish, he also wrote in an essay saying he wanted to volunteer in Iraq.

He said he wrote half the essay while in the United States, half in Kuwait, and e-mailed it to his teachers Dec. 15 while in the Kuwait City airport.

"There is a struggle in Iraq between good and evil, between those striving for freedom and liberty and those striving for death and destruction," he wrote.

Hassan told AP he understood how dangerous his trip was. He'd said that his plans on his return to Florida were to "kiss the ground and hug everyone."

Fast Chat: Cindy Sheehan AND The Year the Chickenhawks Will Go Home to Roost

Fast Chat: Cindy Sheehan

Newsweek

Dec. 26, 2005 - Jan 2, 2006 issue - Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son Casey in the war, staked out President George W. Bush at his Crawford, Texas, ranch last August looking for answers about U.S. involvement in Iraq. She spoke with Martha Brant from London, where Sheehan addressed the International Peace Conference and is currently the subject of a one-woman play.

What do you think you achieved in Crawford?
We brought the war into the forefront of American consciousness and started the discussion that should have started before the war. The mood in our country is turning around.

But the peace movement in the U.S. remains small. Why?
One thing that has prevented the peace movement in America is the media. I spoke with 5,000 people in North Carolina on March 19, 2005, and the press called the protest "insignificant." They covered the Terri Schiavo case instead.

You feel like you were mistreated by the press?
They got hold of everything I've ever said and scrutinized it so carefully. They never scrutinized what Bush said. No one said, "Why did you lie to the American people and say there was WMD?" The press found an easy target in Iraq, and they found an easy target in me.

What's next for you?
I'm working on a book about Casey's story. It's about how one person can make a difference.

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2006: The Year the Chickenhawks Will Go Home to Roost
    By Cindy Sheehan 
    

    Wednesday 28 December 2005

    Since hot, hot Camp Casey in August, some amazing grass roots actions have taken place all over the country. People are starting to speak up and Congress has begun to take action against the criminal and neo-Fascist regime that tried to take over America.

    From Camp Casey, to Katrina, to use of chemical weaponry and extraordinary rendition, to illegally spying on American citizens without due process, BushCo has miserably failed our country and the world. We as Americans said "enough is enough." We sacrificed a lot when we showed up in DC and other cities around the country in the hundreds of thousands to protest and show that we withdraw any consent to be governed by murderous thugs. We started to peacefully but forcefully resist the notion that this government has any right to govern us when they have betrayed their offices and their sacred trusts as "defenders" of the Constitution so horribly.

    This was also the year that we also began to hold such Republicans in Democratic clothing like Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman, Joe Biden, and Diane Feinstein (list is my no means all inclusive) accountable for their support of what George is doing in Iraq. When we as Democrats elect our leaders we expect them to reject and loudly repudiate the murderous and corrupt policies of this administration, not support and defend them.

    There are Camp Caseys in front of Hillary's and Chuck Schumer's offices in Long Island every Friday, as well as one in front of Diane Feinstein's Los Angeles office on Fridays. There has been a Camp Casey in front of Kay Bailey Hutchinson's office in Dallas since August. Several protestors have been arrested in Dallas exercising their First Amendment rights. We need to let these warmongers, as well as the Republican warmongers, know that we mean business when we say "bring them home now." Set up Camp Caseys in front of your Senator's or Congressperson's office if they support George in his wars of aggression.

    Gold Star Families for Peace is planning many activities for the first part of 2006. I would like to give you all a heads up on them so you can make your plans accordingly to support us and to join us if at all possible.

    On January 31st, we will be inWashington, DC for the State of the Union address when George gets in front of Congress and the world and lies through his teeth about how great everything is going in Iraq and here at home. His idiotic policies have ruined Iraq and New Orleans and made the world a more dangerous place - allowing that terrorist attacks have tripled world wide since he decided to "fight them over there." He also may be laying the ground work for further acts of needless aggression against Syria and Iraq. GSFP and representatives from other peace organizations and refugees from New Orleans will be gathering in DC to give the "Real State of the Union." Check our website for place and time.

    For the love of God, can't you make him stop? Recently, it was revealed that George only interacts with four people: Laura, Condi, Karen Hughes and his mom. His mom, the Ice Queen who didn't want her "pretty mind" burdened with the images of flag draped coffins coming home, lives in Houston. On President's Day, (Feb. 20) we will be demonstrating in front of her house to implore her to forget about the obscene profits that her family and their friends are making off of this occupation and to beg her to finally do the right thing and make her son stop this insane war of terror against the world. George and Dick are defiling the highest offices of the world and they need to resign. On President’s Day, when we have the day off, we need to demonstrate against the ones who are illegitimately in power, anyway. If you can't make it to Houston, organize your own President’s Day protest.

    The Camp Casey Peace Foundation will hold its first annual Peace Festival and Concert on April 4, 2006. April 4th is the day Casey and Martin Luther King, Jr. were killed. We want to turn it into a true day for celebrating peace. The Camp Casey Peace Foundation will be awarding the Casey Sheehan Peace Prize, a cash prize, to a young peace activist every year. We want to foster the growth of solving problems non-violently and young people are the ones who get killed in the gray haired old men's wars. We are working on an exciting event and we will announce more details as the event draws closer.

    Camp Casey Easter edition: We will be heading back to our leased land in Crawford April 11th for Easter, which is April 16th. Easter is a time of renewal and hopeful promises. Casey was killed on Palm Sunday and his body was returned to us in the cargo section of aUnited Airlines flight on Holy Saturday and we buried him two days after Easter. Last Easter Season was so painful to us. This Easter we will again be demonstrating in front of the man's home who is responsible for such pain and abject heartache in the world. But, we will be there with a renewed sense of hope that the Chickenhawks will be sent out to pasture this year. Like Michael Moore, I want to be a fly on the wall when Bush and company are hauled out of the White House in handcuffs. Impeachment is not necessary for people who never were elected - eviction is what is needed. If you can't join us in Crawford, set up your own Camp Casey near you.

    In 2005, we learned that we have the power. We learned that we can't rely on the propaganda media or the empty promises of most of our elected leadership. We learned that we need to be the change that we desire to see.

    We learned that one person can and does make a difference.

    We cannot relax in 2006. We cannot slip back into the evil of apathy and complacency that the neocons rejoice in. We need to keep pounding, working, and fighting. We need to support organizations like Gold Star Families for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink and Iraq Veterans Against the War, or the Peace organization of your choice so we can continue our struggle for peace with justice. We need to support true American patriots like John Conyers who is calling for an investigation and censure for the lies that have cost us so much of our national human treasure.

    2006 will be a great year for the people of our country. I know it.

    It won't be easy, but we will prevail and the struggle will be worth it.

Casey's Story by Cindy Sheehan

 

    My son, Casey Austin Sheehan, was born on May 29, 1979. After a long labor, he was born on Memorial Day. I would look into his eyes and see a depth of wisdom there from the time he was born. He was born with an "old soul." As a proud mom, I knew, and I would tell everyone who would listen to me, that he was going to be a great man. I was right. I just didn't realize how great he was going to be ... or how much his moment of greatness was going to hurt me.

    Casey was a very goodbaby. From the time he was about 7 months old and had gone into his own room, he would wake up in the morning and talk to himself and play with his crib gym. His dad and I would lie in our room and listen to him play. When he learned to walk, he would come up behind me when I would be doing the dishes and he would throw his arms around my legs, kiss me on the butt, and say: "I wuv you mama." He had a little teddy bear that he called "Bear." He ate all the fur off of it and he ate all the fuzz from the inside of it. He wouldn't go to bed without it though. I still have his bear and it is now sitting on the shelf by the flag that was draped over his coffin.

    Casey was our first born. We had three more children after him. Carly, Andy, and Janey. Their dad, my husband Pat, made our family of six complete. We did everything together. The kids went to Catholic school together. Even when one of us would want a frozen yogurt, we would all pile into "Vanna White," our white Chevy Astro Van, and we would go to Bellflower, to Yogurt Lee, together. There was no such thing as one of us going and bringing yogurt home for everybody. We all just went.

    On most Friday nights, we would have "Chicks and Dudes" night. After a long week of work, school, and other activities, we would go out to dinner. Usually at Chris and Pitts in Bellflower, where you could get a good and filling bar-be-que dinner for about 25 dollars for our entire family of six. Anyway, we would go home and watch TGIF on ABC. Full House and the show that Steve Urkel was on were among the shows on TGIF. The "Chicks:" me, Carly, and Janey, would go in the parent's room to watch TGIF; the "Dudes:" Pat, Casey, and Andy, would stay in the living room and watch the shows. The kids still remember those nights fondly. The boys having some quality time with their dad and the girls doing the same with their mom.

    Casey was always a good boy. He could play for hours by himself. He loved Nintendo, G.I. Joes, World Wrestling Federation, baseball (especially the Dodgers), his church and God. He joined Cub Scouts when he was in 1st grade and he eventually earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He became an altar boy when he was 8 and he continued serving his church for the rest of his life. He loved to act and was in the International Thespian Society when he was in high school. Before he joined the Army, he earned an A.A. degree in drama. He was a reporter for his college newspaper. He never talked back to his dad or me. He rarely fought with his brother and sisters. He loved our animals and he loved little children.

    Everyone assumed Casey was going to be a priest, because he was so faithful to God and to the church. He never missed mass, even when he went into the Army. If he was on post, he went to mass. He served his church in every capacity that a lay person can. He also was very involved with the youth ministry of our parish, especially when I was the Youth Minister. Even after he graduated from high school, he stayed active in the ministry, helping me as a young adult leader. Casey confided in me, though, that he wanted to get married and have children. He hoped one day to be a permanent Deacon in the church. Deacons can get married and serve the church in various ways. Casey also confided to me that he was a virgin and he wanted to save himself and give his virginity to his wife as a wedding present. He took lots of heat for that in the Army. Pat and I always wondered why he would even tell anyone he was still a virgin, but he did. His buddies would say: "Sheehan, you gotta get laid." He would just say: "Naw, that's okay."

    Casey was such a good Christian and good Catholic, that when his chapel on Ft. Hood started a new Knights of Columbus Council, they named it the "Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan Council." The brother Knights told Pat and me that he embodied everything that they want to stand for: Love of God, Country, Family, Church, and Service. Pat and I were honored that they would name their Council after Casey. Casey's name and what he stood for will always be remembered on Ft. Hood. The Knights were going to name their new Council after a Priest who had served there for quite awhile, but after they heard about Casey's heroic sacrifice they decided to name the Council after him. They all voted unanimously to do this.

    In the beginning of this essay, I told you the day Casey was born, but I bet you have guessed from the body of the essay that Casey is no longer with us. Casey joined the Army in May, 2000. His recruiter told him that he would be able to finish college, be a Chaplain's Assistant, receive a $20,000 signing bonus, and most insidiously and heartbreakingly, that he would never see combat. Casey scored so high on the ASVAB (military competency test) that he would only be in a support role and he would never be in a battle. Well, every promise that Casey's recruiter made to him, he broke. The only promise that I care about, though, is the one where Casey would never see battle.

    Casey's division, the First Cavalry Division, out of Ft. Hood, was sent to Iraq in March, 2004. He called home once from Kuwait on March 14th. He said he was hot, they had been busy getting ready to convoy to Baghdad, and he was on his way to Mass (naturally). His company, Charlie Battery, convoyed peacefully to Baghdad and reached their post F.O.B. War Eagle in Sadr City on March 19th. On April 4th, Palm Sunday, we got the word that Casey had been killed in an ambush. The first chance he got, my brave, wonderful, faithful, sweet, gentle and kind boy volunteered for a rescue mission as a Combat Life Saver. He was a Humvee mechanic who never should have gone on a mission like that. Casey and 20 of his buddies were sent into a raging insurgent uprising to rescue wounded soldiers. Only 13 of them returned. Casey was riding in the back of a trailer with no protection when they were ambushed. He was killed within minutes of the ambush. He was able to return fire and buy some time for his unit. His actions that day saved lives. Casey is a hero who belongs to history now, but I wish he were a living breathing coward. So I could still talk to him, e-mail him, send him care packages, Christmas Presents, hug him and never let go when he got back from War.

    This war has devastated my family, but especially me. My sweet boy who never passed up a chance to kiss my behind and tell me he "wuvs" me is gone forever. God, I hope this war ends before other mothers have to go through this. I hope that our planet and world survives four more years of the lies and betrayals of this president. Eventually, this war will end, as all wars end. This president will either bumble through four more years, or he will do something so egregious that he will be impeached. But when this nightmare is over for the world, it will go on for me. Forever, and ever, without end. Amen.

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t r u t h o u t - William Rivers Pitt | Silent Night

Silent Night
    By William Rivers Pitt
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Monday 26 December 2005

    The first paragraph of the story reads, "An Ohio soldier was killed in Iraq on Christmas Eve when he was attacked by enemy forces, the Department of Defense announced Sunday." This lost soldier from Ohio is one of 2,168 who have died in Iraq. His death is no harder than all the others, no less wrenching for his family. Somehow, however, this death on Christmas Eve brought an extra twist of the knife for me, though I did not know the man, and now, never will.

    I'm not sure why. Certainly I am thinking of his family, who found out the day before Christmas that a beloved son was gone. I cannot even begin to imagine their sorrow. They experienced, along with every other family of every soldier fighting over there, the fear of that knock on the door, or that phone call, or that telegram. On Christmas Eve, the terrible message came. Santa brought them a crisply folded American flag, and the thanks of a grateful nation. Christmas will never be the same for them, ever. There are no words for this. None.

    Perhaps I am also thinking about the much-ballyhooed "War on Christmas" we have been hearing so much about of late. That foolishness may be over thanks to the rolling of calendar pages, but the rank idiocy of it all will linger for a while. Anyone who attempts to genuinely convince you that there is some sort of organized assault on Christmas is either astonishingly stupid, irrevocably deluded, trying to sell you something, or trying to distract your attention from something. As this is America in the waning days of 2005, it could very easily be all four.

    In case you haven't noticed, Christmas is doing just fine. Leave aside the fact that Jesus-shouting hypocrites have managed to occupy every office of national significance and power. Leave aside the fact that these Jesus-shouting hypocrites are celebrating Christmas along with a majority of the country, said majority being comprised of entirely sane Christians who are wondering how these benighted yahoos managed to steal their religion. Leave aside all the Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, and advertisements for Christmas shopping opportunities that have bombarded anyone dumb enough to turn on a television since early November.

    This whole thing was ginned up by a fantastically wretched fool on the Fox News Channel named John Gibson. He recently wrote a book titled - can you guess? - "The War on Christmas," and his network graciously agreed to beat the drum so he could sell his book.

    Hmm.

    The only war on Christmas happening in the last week was fought by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who are away from family and in harm's way, many for their second or third tours.

    The war on Christmas this past week was fought by tens of thousands of soldiers who are learning how to face life without an arm, without a leg, without eyes, without a face, with permanent brain damage, and perhaps worst of all, with the prospect of diminished veterans benefits because those benefits were cut by an administration that needs money to pay for the production of more wounded soldiers.

    The war on Christmas this past week was fought by tens of thousands of Iraqi families who have had friends and loved ones killed, maimed or tortured.

    The war on Christmas this past week was fought by tens of thousands of American families who have friends and loved ones in harm's way, or in a hospital, or six feet under the ground.

    On Saturday night, the war on Christmas was fought by a family in Ohio who will never see their beloved boy again.

    On Sunday, the war on Christmas was fought by a friend of my mother named Frank, whose son has been deployed to Iraq for the last year. He has remained mercifully unharmed, and is scheduled to rotate home on Tuesday, December 27. For Frank, his wife, and their family, the war on Christmas is represented by the slow passage of seconds, the agonizing awareness of the gulf of time that stands between right now and his safety. Two days? An eternity. Just ask that family from Ohio.

    Cindy Sheehan fought the war on Christmas, passing the holiday without her beloved son Casey, who was killed in Iraq. "Peace on Earth is not just a platitude to sing about or stick on Christmas cards," she wrote in an email that came on Christmas Eve. "It is a value worth giving everything for."

    Take a silent moment tonight and offer a thought or prayer to that Ohio family. Take a silent moment to offer a thought or prayer for the safe return of Frank's son. Take a silent moment to offer a thought or prayer to all of the families for whom this Iraq occupation is more than fleeting images on the television.

    Take a silent moment and consider what you will do in the New Year - what you will give - to bring about the peace on Earth that Cindy Sheehan spoke of.

During the Holidays...

DESIDERATA
Go pracidly among the noise and haste, and remember what peace there be in silence
A far as possible, without surrender, be in good terms with all persons
Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others
Even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story
Avoid loud and agressive person, they are vexations to the spirit
If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter
For always there will be greater and lesser person than yourself
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans
Keep interested in your own career, however humble
It is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery
But let this not blind you to what vitrue there is
Many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism
Be yourself, especially do not feign affection, neither be cynical about love
For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefull surrendering the things of youth
Nature strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune
But do not distress yourself with imaginings, many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself you are a child of the universe
No less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here
And whether or not it is clear, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should be
And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noise confusion of life
Keep peace with yourself.

With all its shame, drudgrey and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world
Be careful, strive to be happy!

NSA traced LARGE volumes of calls and internet communications

December 24, 2005 Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report By ERIC LICHTBLAU and JAMES RISEN

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 - The National Security Agency has traced and analyzed large volumes of telephone and Internet communications flowing into and out of the United States as part of the eavesdropping program that President Bush approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to hunt for evidence of terrorist activity, according to current and former government officials.

The volume of information harvested from telecommunication data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the officials said. It was collected by tapping directly into some of the American telecommunication system's main arteries, they said.

As part of the program approved by President Bush for domestic surveillance without warrants, the N.S.A. has gained the cooperation of American telecommunications companies to obtain backdoor access to streams of domestic and international communications, the officials said.

The government's collection and analysis of phone and Internet traffic have raised questions among some law enforcement and judicial officials familiar with the program. One issue of concern to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which has reviewed some separate warrant applications growing out of the N.S.A.'s surveillance program, is whether the court has legal authority over calls outside the United States that happen to pass through American-based telephonic "switches," according to officials familiar with the matter.

"There was a lot of discussion about the switches" in conversations with the court, a Justice Department official said, referring to the gateways through which much of the communications traffic flows. "You're talking about access to such a vast amount of communications, and the question was, How do you minimize something that's on a switch that's carrying such large volumes of traffic? The court was very, very concerned about that."

Since the disclosure last week of the N.S.A.'s domestic surveillance program, President Bush and his senior aides have stressed that his executive order allowing eavesdropping without warrants was limited to the monitoring of international phone and e-mail communications involving people with known links to Al Qaeda.

What has not been publicly acknowledged is that N.S.A. technicians, besides actually eavesdropping on specific conversations, have combed through large volumes of phone and Internet traffic in search of patterns that might point to terrorism suspects. Some officials describe the program as a large data-mining operation.

The current and former government officials who discussed the program were granted anonymity because it remains classified.

Bush administration officials declined to comment on Friday on the technical aspects of the operation and the N.S.A.'s use of broad searches to look for clues on terrorists. Because the program is highly classified, many details of how the N.S.A. is conducting it remain unknown, and members of Congress who have pressed for a full Congressional inquiry say they are eager to learn more about the program's operational details, as well as its legality.

Officials in the government and the telecommunications industry who have knowledge of parts of the program say the N.S.A. has sought to analyze communications patterns to glean clues from details like who is calling whom, how long a phone call lasts and what time of day it is made, and the origins and destinations of phone calls and e-mail messages. Calls to and from Afghanistan, for instance, are known to have been of particular interest to the N.S.A. since the Sept. 11 attacks, the officials said.

This so-called "pattern analysis" on calls within the United States would, in many circumstances, require a court warrant if the government wanted to trace who calls whom.

The use of similar data-mining operations by the Bush administration in other contexts has raised strong objections, most notably in connection with the Total Information Awareness system, developed by the Pentagon for tracking terror suspects, and the Department of Homeland Security's Capps program for screening airline passengers. Both programs were ultimately scrapped after public outcries over possible threats to privacy and civil liberties.

But the Bush administration regards the N.S.A.'s ability to trace and analyze large volumes of data as critical to its expanded mission to detect terrorist plots before they can be carried out, officials familiar with the program say. Administration officials maintain that the system set up by Congress in 1978 underthe Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act does not give them the speed and flexibility to respond fully to terrorist threats at home.

A former technology manager at a major telecommunications company said that since the Sept. 11 attacks, the leading companies in the industry have been storing information on calling patterns and giving it to the federal government to aid in tracking possible terrorists.

"All that data is mined with the cooperation of the government and shared with them, and since 9/11, there's been much more active involvement in that area," said the former manager, a telecommunications expert who did not want his name or that of his former company used because of concern about revealing trade secrets.

Such information often proves just as valuable to the government as eavesdropping on the calls themselves, the former manager said.

"If they get content, that's useful to them too, but the real plum is going to be the transaction data and the traffic analysis," he said. "Massive amounts of traffic analysis information - who is calling whom, who is in Osama Bin Laden's circle of family and friends - is used to identify lines of communication that are then given closer scrutiny."

Several officials said that after President Bush's order authorizing the N.S.A. program, senior government officials arranged with officials of some of the nation's largest telecommunications companies to gain access to switches that act as gateways at the borders between the United States' communications networks and international networks. The identities of the corporations involved could not be determined.

The switches are some of the main arteries for moving voice and some Internet traffic into and out of the United States, and, with the globalization of the telecommunications industry in recent years, many international-to-international calls are also routed through such American switches.

One outside expert on communications privacy who previously worked at the N.S.A. said that to exploit its technological capabilities, the American government had in the last few years been quietly encouraging the telecommunications industry to increase the amount of international traffic that is routed through American-based switches.

The growth of that transit traffic had become a major issue for the intelligence community, officials say, because it had not been fully addressed by 1970's-era laws and regulations governing the N.S.A. Now that foreign calls were being routed through switches on American soil, some judges and law enforcement officials regarded eavesdropping on those calls as a possible violation of those decades-old restrictions, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires court-approved warrants for domestic surveillance.

Historically, the American intelligence community has had close relationships with many communications and computer firms and related technical industries. But the N.S.A.'s backdoor access to major telecommunications switches on American soil with the cooperation of major corporations represents a significant expansion of the agency's operational capability, according to current and former government officials.

Phil Karn, a computer engineer and technology expert at a major West Coast telecommunications company, said access to such switches would be significant. "If the government is gaining access to the switches like this, what you're really talking about is the capability of an enormous vacuum operation to sweep up data," he said.

Language of the Heart By Cindy Sheehan

Language of the Heart
    By Cindy Sheehan
    t r u t h o u t | Perspective

    Friday 23 December 2005

    I have been in Europe for 2 weeks now. I have been toasted by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, and greeted by Foreign Ministers, a Vice President and members of the various Parliaments. Those stories are for another article.

    My highest honor both here in the States and in Europe now is meeting with the families of children murdered in George Bush's War of Terror against the world.

    No matter if we all speak differently accented English, Spanish, or the heavy Glaswegian accent of my Scottish sister in sorrow, Rose Gentle - whose gentle-giant son, Gordon, was killed by Blair and Bush in Iraq in July of 2004 - our hearts all speak the same idiom of pain, and we sing the same lament of futile loss.

    In Scotland, as we were meeting with Ministers of Parliament and urging them to stand up to the government in London and withdraw Scottish troops from Iraq, I met a woman named Sue Smith, whose son Philip was killed in Iraq this past July. Her voice vibrated and fluctuated with incalculable loss as she spoke of the betrayal that she felt at burying her son too early and for the lies of her Prime Minister: a co-war criminal with George Bush. The wound in her heart was fresh and openly bleeding. In her wounded eyes I saw my heart as it was about a year ago.

    At the International Peace Conference in London, I met Shaun Brierly's dad, Peter. Shaun was in the British Army, and he was killed in Iraq in March of 2003 in the very early days of the war. Peter lugged my heavy satchel around London with quiet good humor. In his heavy Yorkshire accent, he tried to describe to me what losing his son has done to him and his family. We drank a pint in a pub to our boys and to our hurt but especially to our hearts' resolve to end this war and expose the villains who mislead our countries so shamelessly. Through our blinked-back tears we promised each other we would stay strong.

    Also at the Peace Conference were Reg Keys and John Miller. Reg's son Tom was KIA along with John's son, Simon. We attendeda few events together, and I teased them about the suits they were wearing, and they teased me about my "gym" clothes. Reg stood against Tony Blair for Prime Minister of the UK last year and made a respectable showing. John and Reg are hanging in together with their pain. It is so hard for Dads. It is easier for us Moms to express our heart pain as the Dads try to head their heartache off at the pass. I also met Ann Laurence, who described her beautiful English countryside home to me and showed me pictures of her handsome son, Marc. She had a quiet voice and eyes filled with heaviness and tears ready to overflow at any moment.

    In Spain, I met two women whose sons were callously murdered by the policies of our two governments: governments and leaders who hand in jaded hand took our countries to an impossible and immoral invasion and occupation of an innocent and mostly defenseless country.

    Maribel Permuy is the mother of slain Spanish cameraman Jose Couso. Jose was murdered in the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003, along with other journalists. With new evidence coming out that George Bush wanted to kill al Jazeera journalists, and with the targeting of Giuliana Sgrena and her rescuers, I find it so hard to believe that Jose's murder was an accident. In fact, a Spanish magistrate has indicted the three US troops who fired a missile at the hotel. The one who should be indicted, though, is George Bush. Maribel speaks not one word of English and I speak very little Spanish, but our hearts are connected in sorrow and also hope. I am called "Madre Coraje" (Mother Courage) in Spain and Latin American countries. However, Maribel is Madre Mas Coraje. She has steely and uncompromising resolve to see justice done for her son Jose. Her unconditional and undying love for Jose and her other children gives her the strength to fight against her government and mine. We laughed and cried so much together, I wonder how we could have communicated any better if we spoke the same language?

    I also met Pilar Mahon in Madrid. Her son, Daniel, was killed in the terrorist bombings of March 11, 2004. The day I met her would have been Daniel's 22nd birthday. Her nose and eyes were red from a day of mourning her son. She could barely speak, but when she did, her voice rose in anger against George Bush and Spain's former President Aznar, who took our countries to an unnecessary war based on the pipe dreams of the heartless neocons who are even now holding tenuously onto their power base. The same falsehoods of "fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here" killed both Casey and Daniel. I get filled with outrage when I meet people like Pilar who should be celebrating their son's birthday and Christmas but who spend days weeping at their child's final resting place. In spite of her constant longing for Daniel, Pilar is leading the fight in Spain for the rights of the families affected by the March 11th terrorist attack.

    There are so many people in this world who will be celebrating sorrow-filled holidays this year. Christmas is so hard for us, not only because our children are dead, but because we remember the Christmases past that were filled with joy and happiness. It is so painful to remember the Christmas mornings when the kids would get up before the sun came up and beg Mom and Dad to get up so they could open what Santa had brought them. It is too painful to get out the decorations and hang the one sock that will remain empty for eternity. So most of us skip the traditional Christmas and do whatever we can to support each other through the devastation that our lives have become. Devastation that is so needless and avoidable. Our hearts go out to all families who are experiencing the pain of loss instead of the joy of togetherness this year.

    George Bush and the other purveyors of pain can take a day off from spying on Americans without due process to celebrate the holidays with their families. Dick "the Grinch" Cheney made a "surprise" visit to Iraq the other day. His black heart feels no pain for the tragic loss of life that his greed has caused. How dare he show his face in a country that has been destroyed by his insatiable quest for black gold and his obscene lust for profits for his company Halliburton and the other war profiteers?

    The pain that these people have caused the world is inestimable. The people of the world want an accounting for the pain and they want the people who seem to be getting off scot-free to be brought to some kind of justice for the damage they have wrought on humanity.

    This Christmas, as you fill your children's or grandchildren's stockings, wrap and unwrap presents, cook your holiday meals, light your Menorah or dance around your Festivus pole, or however you celebrate your holidays, please remember the families who will be trying to enjoy the holiday season with a part of them missing. But most of all, please remember the people (American and Iraqi) in harm's way in Iraq for the old lies and the new lies that seem to surface with the same frequency as a Republican corruption scandal.

    In conclusion, this is an excerpt of an email I received from a mother in Iraq whose son Zaydoun Mamoun Fadhil Al-Samarai, a Shi'a insurgent, was involved in the same battle in which Casey was killed. Zaydoun was later killed.

We, my friend, in the march of pain could work together, each from where she is, toward putting an end to the blood shed and toward peace and love to prevail, instead of war.

We could, my lady, work together toward peace and toward putting an end to the blood shed and give all mothers a hope for happiness because we experience pain when we lost our sons. Because, he who did not experience pain cannot understand happiness.

I will be very happy when the war ends so we can celebrate in my town, Samara, which witnessed the birth of my oldest son, Zaydoun, who I thought would mourn me when I die, but, unfortunately, I mourned him one month before his wedding.

I am conveying his fiancée's greeting, who is still mourning him.

At the end, please accept my deepest sympathies, from a mother who lost her son to another mother who lost her son.

I hope to be able to meet with you on the march for peace and love.

    George Bush, et al, have taught too many people in this world the language of pain by their lies and their doctrines of pre-emptive killing for profit.

    We need to learn a new language of peace and love that we can speak, even shout, to our leaders who only understand the language of greed and murder.

    Peace, shalom, paz, salaam.

    Go to Original

    European Tour: Cindy Sheehan Is Surrounded by People Who Want to Know,
    'How'd That Guy Get Re-Elected?'
    By Samuel Loewenberg
    The American Prospect

    Thursday 22 December 2005

    Madrid - Cindy Sheehan blazed through Madrid this week like a rock star or a political candidate, shuttling from peace rally to a day-long press event to a private dinner with her supporters. Watchful handlers hurried her from venue to venue, drawing her away from autograph seekers, though she seemed always to have time to give her supporters a hug.

    It was a mission to rally the faithful, amidst signs that Europe has backed off from confronting America over foreign policy and is turning inward to deal with domestic problems.

    The Madrid stop was the third and final leg of Sheehan's European tour, which had taken her through England and then Ireland, where she met the foreign minister, before arriving in Spain. The whirlwind tour had clearly left her exhausted, but like a veteran candidate, AmericaR17;s most famous anti-war protester always kept up a smile. "I always wanted to come to Europe,R21; Sheehan told The American Prospect. "So I finally came but I didn't get to see anything."

    The mother from California gained international fame for keeping up a vigil in front of President George W. Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch after the death of her soldier son in Iraq. For many Americans, it drove home the horrible pain of war. It was something that until then many had seemed oblivious to, unlike the millions of Europeans who protested in cities across the continent in the months leading up to the U.S. invasion.

    Sheehan said she was surprised to find herself a cultural ambassador, asked repeatedly by Europeans reporters to explain why Americans were not more outraged about the war. "In almost every interview, people asked why George Bush was reelected," she said.

    Her last rally in Spain, a protest in front of the heavily guarded American embassy in Madrid, was particularly poignant because it was in honor of José Couso, a Spanish television cameraman who was killed by an American tank while filming the invasion from a hotel in Baghdad. At the rally on December 20, she met with Couso's mother, Maribel Permuy.

    Sheehan does not speak Spanish, but she said it did not matter. "We don't need to speak the same language, we have the same pain," she said.

    Permuy said that she had attempted to find answers from the U.S. government for the death of her son, but had received nothing other than an unsigned form letter from the Pentagon.

    A spokesperson from the U.S. embassy declined comment on both the Couso death and the Sheehan rally.

    Couso has become a cause celebre in Spain, where placards bearing an image of his face under the word "murdered" can be found hanging in cafes and pasted onto students' notebooks.

    Still, yesterday's protest was sparsely attended. The 50-person crowd was nearly matched in number by the security guards and police in front of the embassy. The protesters were mostly Spanish but included a sprinkling of Americans, who joined in the chants of "We want peace now" and "Bush is a terrorist." The streams of passing cars and crowds didn't pay them much attention, more concerned with the coming holidays and the shopping that needed to get done.

    For the Spanish, as for many Americans, the war is something that has grown increasingly distant. It's quite a change from the fierce anti-war sentiment that drew millions here to street protests early last year. In the wake of the March 11, 2004, terrorist bombings in Madrid, which were widely interpreted as retaliation for Spain's participation in the war, the conservative government that had been an ally of the Bush administration was toppled from power. One of the new Socialist government's first acts was to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq.

    The war in Iraq has ceased to be a Spanish problem," said Fernando Vallespin, who heads the Center for Sociological Investigation, a publicly funded polling organization in Madrid.

    At the time, the Socialists' abrupt troop withdrawal caused a serious breach with the Bush administration; now, it seems, the Socialists are trying to put aside their old disputes and repair their relationship with the world's only superpower. A sign of this was during the recent hullabaloo over the alleged CIA flights of suspected terrorists through Europe, many of which stopped in Spain. Despite an uproar in the Spanish press, the Socialist-led government kept a low profile and refrained from picking a fight with the Americans.

    For the two mothers, though, the war in Iraq goes far deeper than politics, and it is not something they are willing to set aside.

    We came together to fight for peace and for justice,R21; said Sheehan.

    We are mothers who have lost children because of the lies of politicians," said Permuy. "We have to fight together to tear down their impunity."

Heads roll at Veterans Administration (bush doesn't care about PEOPLE)

http://www.copvcia.com/free/ww3/122005_world_stories.shtml#0    

Heads roll at Veterans Administration Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandal blamed

by Bob Nichols
Project Censored Award Winner
http://www.sfbayview.com/012605/headsroll012605.shtml

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter charged Monday that the reason Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier this month was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War.

 

Considering the tons of depleted uranium used by the U.S., the Iraq war can truly be called a nuclear war. Writing in Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter No. 169, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York, stated, "The real reason for Mr. Principi's departure was really never given, however a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret naming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the 'Gulf War Syndrome' has fed a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US Military." Bernklau continued, "This malady (from uranium munitions), that thousands of our military have suffered and died from, has finally been identified as the cause of this sickness, eliminating the guessing. The terrible truth is now being revealed." He added, "Out of the 580,400 soldiers who served in GW1 (the first Gulf War), of them, 11,000 are now dead! By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on Permanent Medical Disability. This astounding number of 'Disabled Vets' means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who served have some form of permanent medical problems!" The disability rate for thewars of the last century was 5 percent; it was higher, 10 percent, in Viet Nam. "The VA Secretary (Principi) was aware of this fact as far back as 2000," wrote Bernklau. "He, and the Bush administration have been hiding these facts, but now, thanks to Moret's report, (it) ... is far too big to hide or to cover up!" "Terry Jamison, Public Affairs Specialist, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, at the VA Central Office, recently reported that 'Gulf Era Veterans' now on medical disability, since 1991, number 518,739 Veterans," said Berklau. "The long-term effects have revealed that DU (uranium oxide) is a virtual death sentence," stated Berklau. "Marion Fulk, a nuclear physical chemist, who retired from the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab, and was also involved with the Manhattan Project, interprets the new and rapid malignancies in the soldiers (from the 2003 Iraq War) as 'spectacular . and a matter of concern!'" When asked if the main purpose of using DU was for "destroying things and killing people," Fulk was more specific: "I would say it is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people!" Principi could not be reached for comment prior to deadline.

References

1. Depleted uranium: "Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty bullets: A death sentence here and abroad" by Leuren Moret, http://www.sfbayview.com/081804/Depleteduranium081804.shtml.

2. Veterans for Constitutional Law, 112 Jefferson Ave., Port Jefferson NY 11777, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director, (516) 474-4261, fax 516-474-1968. 3. Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter. Email Gary Kohls, gkohls@cpinternet.com, with "Subscribe" in the subject line. Email Bob Nichols at bobnichols@cox.net.

We're Making News!

Come Join Us!  Every Friday from 5-7pm Downtown Ft. Lauderdale in front of the federal building. Our weekly pro-peace rally.

EVERY SATURDAY, 12pm-1pm in Boca Raton:
Palm Beach County antiwar activists protest at the
corner of St. Andrews & Glades Rd. every Saturday.

EVERY SATURDAY, 1pm-2pm in Deerfield Beach:
Deerfield Beach residents are organizing peace vigils
every Saturday, beginning Dec. 24, 2005. Meet on the
south side of Hillsboro Blvd. between Military Trail
and the entrance to Century Village.

EVERY SUNDAY, 7pm to 8pm in Coral Springs:
Peace Vigil Organized by Coral Springs for Peace at
the SE corner of Sample Rd. & University Drive.

EVERY MONDAY, 5pm to 6pm in Delray Beach:
Join the Raging Grannies and others who recently began
organizing vigils in Delray Beach. Meet at the NE
corner of Atlantic Ave. and Swinton (Old School
Square). For more info, contact Vicky at
raginggrannies@juno.com

EVERY FRIDAY, 5pm to 7pm in Fort Lauderdale:
Join BAWC at our weekly antiwar protest vigil in front
of the Federal Bldg/Courthouse at the corner of
Broward Blvd. & NE 3rd Ave. downtown. Bring a sign or
feel free to use one of ours.

Protesters rally against government surveillance

By Mike Clary / South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Representatives of a dozen or more South Florida anti-war and environmental groups gathered in front of the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach on Wednesday to demand an end to secret surveillance by the U.S. government that one speaker said represented an attempt "to deliberately undermine the legitimate political activities" of advocacy organizations by linking them to terrorism.

"The Truth Project Inc. believes that we have been defamed by agents of the federal executive branch by being designated a `credible threat' to military recruiters and recruiting facilities," Marie Zwicker, a board member of the Lake Worth group, said while reading from a prepared statement.

The Truth Project, which offers counter-military counseling in area high schools, was infiltrated and spied on last year by the Pentagon, according to documents that served as the basis of an NBC News report broadcast earlier this month.

That revelation, which came days before President Bush acknowledged authorizing a clandestine spy program being carried out by the National Security Administration, has sparked calls for Congressional inquiries and energized local activists who oppose the administration tactics and the war in Iraq.

"We are alarmed to see the way that secrecy has taken hold in this country today," said Dr. Ethelene Jones, president of the Palm Beach County branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Rob Ross, an attorney representing the Truth Project, said he is working with the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York to explore filing a lawsuit on the group's behalf.

Also on hand at the hourlong rally was Jonathan Katz, legislative director for U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, a member of the House Judiciary Committee. Wexler has joined several Democrats and some Republicans in pressing for hearings into the Bush administration's surveillance activities.

Of about 30 people who attended the rally, all were either members of a participating organization or a news reporter.

Other speakers who railed against the secret actions of the government included representatives of the Green Party, the Broward Antiwar Coalition, the American Friends Service Committee in Miami, the National Lawyers Guild, the Improvised Action Collective and the Lake Worth Global Justice Group.

Spied on by government, S. Florida activist group demands congressional inquiry

Pentagon scrutiny may lead to lawsuit

By Mike Clary / South Florida Sun-Sentinel

A Palm Beach County group known to have been spied on under a secret Pentagon program has launched a campaign to seek a congressional investigation of what members allege are blatant infringements of civil liberties.

Attorneys for the Truth Project Inc., formed last year to counter military recruitment in high schools, say they also are exploring a lawsuit that could put the Lake Worth-based group at the center of a wider effort to reveal a pattern of Bush administration surveillance of anti-war and activist organizations in South Florida and elsewhere.

The group plans a news conference at 5 p.m. today in front of the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach, where members intend to discuss their legal strategy.

"We expect this to be a springboard for litigation with a national impact," attorney Rob Ross said.

The efforts of the Truth Project comes at a time of growing furor over President Bush's assertion that he has the authorization to order the National Security Agency to carry out domestic eavesdropping, without a court order, in pursuit of terrorists.

Adding to the concerns of civil libertarians were revelations, published by The New York Times on Tuesday, that the FBI had conducted many secret intelligence-gathering efforts directed at groups as diverse as animal rights organizations and poverty agencies.

There have been no indications that the members of the Truth Project were being monitored for any links to terrorism or al-Qaida, or would have been the focus of any of the domestic spying efforts Bush said he has approved on more than 30 occasions since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Yet members of the Truth Project and other South Florida groups, many of them veterans of the local protest scene, seemed convinced they still are under surreptitious scrutiny by the government.

At an organizing meeting Monday at a member's home in Lake Clarke Shores, several people reported hearing mysterious clicks and echoes during recent telephone conversations and noticing cars they considered suspicious pass by during meetings.

During one outdoor gathering by a Lake Worth canal, Marie Zwicker said she had seen men in a Boston Whaler cruise by, posing, unconvincingly, she added, as fishermen. "It was the wrong time of day," she said.

More than one person at Monday's meeting, including host Bonnie Redding, recalled a one-liner popular during the Nixon era: "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that someone isn't out to get you."

"They may try to silence us, to intimidate us, but it just makes me feel more committed," said Redding, 55.

Also at the meeting were representatives from Coral Springs for Peace and the Broward Antiwar Coalition.

The Truth Project gained national attention Dec. 13 when NBC News reported that a Pentagon agency had monitored and infiltrated the group when about eight of its board members met in November 2004 in a Quaker meeting house in Lake Worth.

The 400-page document obtained by NBC described the group as both a "threat" and "credible."

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, on Tuesday released a letter from Undersecretary of Defense Stephen A. Cambone in which he directed the military's counterintelligence arm to review its policies regarding "receipt and retention of information about U.S. persons."

Nelson is a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Cambone, in the letter to Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John Warner, said he also ordered intelligence officers to "receive immediate refresher training" on handling information about U.S. citizens and residents.

Truth Project board member Rich Hersh of Boca Raton said the group would file several Freedom of Information Requests to obtain more information about government monitoring.

"We really want to know the extent of the spying that has been going on, and want Congress to do something about the misbehaviors by the executive branch," said Hersh, 59.

"They are out of control," said Allen Taylor, a Delray Beach attorney and Truth Project board member. "Some people are afraid. It is absurd to think that anything we're doing is against the U.S. There is no reason to investigate us."

Constitutional scholar Bruce Rogow, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, said, "Everybody has reason to be alarmed by the government's actions."

The Pentagon's spy efforts were conducted by the 902nd Military Intelligence Unit, based at Fort Meade, Md. That also is the home of the NSA.

It's not a HAPPY HOLIDAY/MERRY CHRISTMAS for many

Season is tinged with sadness for family of fallen soldier

By Norm Parish / St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

LaKesha Johnson, 17, works as a gift wrapper at 'That's a Wrap' in the Jamestown Mall.

The smile on her face doesn't erase the heavy heart of LaKesha Johnson, a part-time gift wrapper who helps customers excited about the holidays.

LaKesha, a senior at Hazelwood Central High School, loves her job in Jamestown Mall, but she doesn't have much cheer herself.

Her only sister, Army Pfc. LaVena Johnson, died mysteriously July 19 near Balad, Iraq, nearly two days after assuring her mother she would be home for her favorite holiday - Christmas.

"I don't feel great at all," said LaKesha, who lives with three brothers and her parents in a stately seven-bedroom house in Florissant. "LaVena is not here."

Before this year, Christmas was a big celebration for the tightknit Johnson family. Since 1998, LaKesha and LaVena, along with their father, John, decorated their house with the same artificial, 7-foot, green Christmas tree.

During the last telephone call LaVena had with her family, she excitedly told them she would be home for Christmas. Instead, her remains are in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

LaVena Johnson was the first female soldier from Missouri to die while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Her family still isn't sure how she died. An Army official told them she died of a self-inflicted, noncombat-related injury. And days after her death, John Johnson said, a military medical examiner told him his daughter had killed herself.

But the Johnsons don't believe she committed suicide.

LaVena Johnson, 19, joined the armed forces because she wanted to travel and pay for her own college education. She was an honor roll student at Hazelwood Central and played the violin. She hoped to become a Hollywood movie maker.

The military's Criminal Investigation Division is still investigating her death, her family said. Calls to a spokesman with the division were not returned.

The Johnson family also has called on the office of U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., D-St. Louis, to make inquires into how LaVena died.

The controversy surrounding her death makes it especially tough, her family said.

"How can I hang stockings when one of my children got murdered this year?" asked Linda Carter Johnson, LaVena's mother. "I just don't want to do this, this year."

John Johnson recalled: "Ever since LaVena was a little girl, she would ride us until we put a tree up. Usually, we decorated the tree the first Saturday after Thanksgiving."

The house also was decorated with stockings. Christmas jingles played in the home. The family enjoyed a big turkey and ham meal. And some family members, including LaVena, would volunteer to feed the homeless Christmas meals.

This year, however, the family doesn't plan to put up a tree. And they aren't sure what they will do. Whatever the celebration, it will probably be low-key.

Linda Johnson, however, said she wanted the family, which includes sons John, 26, Jay, 24, and Jermaine, 21, to attend church.

"Of course, Christmas is a very difficult time," said Linda Fehrmann, who organizes support groups for the St. Louis chapter of Bereaved Parents of the USA. "A parent has memories of past Christmases, and now knows a child is no longer with them."

Her group has a special candlelight vigil in December to help grieving families because of the various holidays this time of the year. On Dec. 6, more than 900 people attended the group's vigil at Temple Shaare Emeth in Ladue, she said.

"I have clients who wish they could fast forward the holidays from Halloween to the beginning of the year," said Bob Lewis, a clinical psychologist in St. Louis.

"Everyone is suppose to be blissfully happy, and that is not how (some bereaved families) feel."

Some Johnson family members have had a hard time sleeping, while others have moments when they simply break into tears. LaKesha has even missed a couple of days of school because she was so depressed, Linda Johnson said. But her son John, a musician, wrote a song to commemorate his sister.

The elder John Johnson, who has a doctorate in psychology, said he spent time attempting to help his family deal with LaVena's death by having them talk about their feelings for her. He said he also had his family, as well as himself, continue to move forward with various goals.

"I just try to get them focus on other things," said Johnson, who is a motivational trainer. "LaVena was a go-getter, and so I want my children to focus on their career goals and school, too, and any other ambitions they have. I know this has changed the way LaKesha has planned for her future. She was talking about going away for school. Now, she is talking about attending colleges closer to home."

LaKesha said: "No one really understands what people go through in death. People can say they know what people go through, but they don't. . . . I don't really even look at television anymore because LaVena and I use to watch a lot of it together. . . . I am probably just going to stay asleep on Christmas."


2005 Missouri military deaths

Spc. Justin B. Carter, Mansfield

1st Lt. William A. Edens, Columbia

Pfc. Colby Farnan, Weston

Lance Cpl. Erik R. Heldt, Hermann

Sgt. Lindsey T. James, Urbana

Pvt. LaVena Johnson, Florissant

Sgt. 1st Class Obediah J. Kolath, Louisburg

Pvt. Anthony M. Mazzarella, Blue Springs

Spc. Joshua J. Munger, Maysville

Spc. Edward L. Myers, St. Joseph

Spc. Peter j. Navarro, Wildwood

Sgt. Timothy J. Sutton, Springfield

Master Sgt. Thomas A. Wallsmith, Carthage

Sgt. Charles T. Wilkerson, Kansas City

Illinois military deaths in 2005

Pvt. Christopher M. Alcozer, Villa Park/DeKalb

Gunnery Sgt. Terry W. Ball Jr., East Peoria

1st Lt. Debra A. Banaszak, Bloomington

Cpl. Jonathan S. Beatty, Streator

Spc. Miguel Carrasquillo, River Grove

Cpl. Kevin Michael Clarke, Tinley Park

Pfc. Wyatt D. Eisenhauer, Pickneyville

1st Lt. David l. Giaimo, Waukegan

Staff Sgt. Daniel G. Gresham, Lincoln

Spc. James T. Grijalva, Burbank

Staff Sgt. Gary R. Harper Jr., Virden

Sgt. Jessica M. Housby, Rock Island

Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas C. Hull, Princeton

Sgt. Grzegorz Jakoniuk, Schiller Park

Lance Cpl. Adam Wade Kaiser, Naperville

Lance Cpl. Sean P. Maher, Grayslake

Cpl. Nathaniel K. Moore, Champaign

Cpl. John T. Olson, Elk Grove Village

Spc. Jacob C. Palmatier, Springfield

Lance Cpl. Andrew G. Patten, Byron

Sgt. 1st Class Eric P. Pearrow, Peoria

Lance Cpl. Hector Ramos, Aurora

Sgt. Kenneth L. Ridgley, Olney

Spc. Brian M. Romines, Simpson

Spc. Adriana N. Salem, Elk Grove Village

Sgt. Joshua A. Terando, Morris

Pfc. Jeffrey R. Wallace, Hoopeston

Staff Sgt. Kyle B. Wehrly, Galesburg

Spc. Jeffrey A. Williams, Warrenville

Spc. Brian A. Wright, Keensburg

Cpl. Christopher E. Zinny, Cook

Compiled by Steve Bolhafner, News Research

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TVNL Editor's Comments: “I did not have sexual relations with that illegal wiretap order!” Maybe if that was one of the thousands of lies uttered by George W. Bush over the last 5 years it would get news coverage. Maybe if sex was involved with the numerous lies of George W. Bush the news coverage would be adequate. I suppose you can change the “illegal wiretap” portion of that statement to any one of a thousand things like “fixed intelligence about Iraq”, “widespread voting irregularities that all went in my favor”, “unanswered questions about 9/11”, etc. The list is endless

So have you been able to count the lies that have come out of George W. Bush’s mouth? I lost count years ago, but I can tell you how many of his lies were pointed out by the US media: ZERO! Interestingly enough this week we have clear and undeniable poof that Bush once again lied and he lied to cover up the fact that he broke the law. We are not talking about marital infidelity here; we are talking about violating the US Constitution

We have seen video evidence of George W. Bush acknowledging that all wiretaps require court orders and that all the wiretaps that his administration complies with the law. Wouldn’t it be nice if  America had a single broadcast news organization who felt that this was important as the Monica Lewinski scandal? Think about it! – Jesse, Editor, TvNewsLIES.org

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HOW THEY WIN ELECTIONS

California “Hack” test stalled as Diebold certification derails

BREAKING – Dec. 20, 2005: California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson
has laid a subtle and elegant trap. Today, California threw Diebold Election Systems’
pending certification into a tailspin, using Machiavellian logic designed to cast doubt
on the federal testing lab process, the upcoming HAVA deadline and Diebold voting
systems simultaneously (while standing neatly aside to watch the house of cards
collapse).

This move follows on the heels of a devastating hack demonstration by Harri Hursti
sponsored by Black Box Voting, which took place in Leon County, Florida on Dec. 13.
This hack manipulated memory cards by exploiting design defects and Diebold’s
customized “AccuBasic” program code.

Here’s how the California trap works: In a terse letter to Diebold, State elections
chief Caren Daniels-Meade writes, “Unresolved significant security concerns
exist with respect to the memory card used to program and configure the
AccuVote-OS [optical scan] and the AccuVote-TSX [touch-screen] components
of this system because this component was not subjected to federal source
code review and evaluation by the Independent Testing Authorities (ITA) who
examined your system for federal qualification. It is the Secretary of State’s
position that the source code for the AccuBasic code on these cards, as well
as for the AccuBasic interpreter that interprets this code, should have been
federally reviewed.

“…we are requesting that you submit the source code relating to the AccuBasic
code on the memory cards and the AccuBasic interpreter to the ITA for immediate
evaluation. We require this additional review before proceeding with further
consideration of your application for certification in California.”

And herein lies the trap. Federal testing authorities are supposed to rely on
standards set by the Federal Election Commission. The FEC standards prohibit
“Interpreted code” – thus, the AccuBasic “interpreter” is illegal. (The entire
AccuBasic source code tree is written in a home-brewed language that Diebold
programmers made up themselves, making it more difficult for certifiers to examine.)

The Hursti memory card attack demonstrated in Leon County Florida manipulated
the voting system by passing code through -- drum roll please -- the Diebold
interpreter, using a set of programs called AccuBasic which was written in a
concocted computer language and (now it is revealed) was never examined at
all by federal testing labs.

The ITA dilemma: ITAs have the choice of either recommending code that explicitly
violates FEC standards (placing an unsupportable liability burden on them) or
admitting that the original certification was defective. If the ITAs retract their
recommendation, it will effectively strip Diebold of its federal certification, and
may also affect its older products.

The Diebold dilemma: Diebold can refuse to submit its code to the ITAs, but that
will lose the state of California, continuing a pattern initiated last week when
two Florida counties dumped their Diebold machines. Alternatively, Diebold can
submit its code and watch as the federal authorities sever their product line
from the U.S. market.

The position is made more unstable because Diebold is now fending off stockholder
suits by an armload of attorneys piling on to solicit clients for a voting machine-related
securities fraud lawsuit.

California Secretary of State letters to Diebold Election Systems:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/legal/Dumpty1.pdf
http://www.bbvdocs.org/legal/Dumpty2.pdf

Something terribly wrong has happened here.

American citizens have been commenting on the unacceptable performance of the
ITAs since before Black Box Voting was incorporated in 2004.

In November 2002, Dan Spillane (a former senior test engineer for VoteHere) met
with Black Box Voting founder Bev Harris.

“It’s a house of cards,” he said, showing her stacks of bogus ITA reports.
“The bottom card is the certification process.” Spillane says he flagged more
than 250 system integrity errors in the touch-screen system he evaluated, yet
the system passed every level of certification. He was terminated by VoteHere,
he sued, and the case was settled by VoteHere with details kept confidential.

Here are writings by computer programmer Jim March on this subject: "The
Federal testing process was subverted multiple times by Diebold staff…we’re
going to need to study the Federal certification process, in public.” http://www.equalccw.com/lewisdeconstructed.pdf (Date 9/23/2003; Jim March)

Bev Harris’s book, Black Box Voting, took the ITAs, NASED and the state examiners
to task: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-6.pdf (Date 10/10/2003;
Bev Harris). Harris published interviews with state voting machine examiners
exposing slipshod state certification that relies on the flawed premise of strong
federal certification: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-9.pdf
(Date 10/15/2003)

A Riverside (Calif.) computer programmer Jeremiah Akin writes of ITA failure
during testing of Sequoia voting software: "Failure of certification process to catch
major security flaws in software:…Riverside has run elections on software that
was later found to contain major security vulnerabilities that were not spotted in
the certification process."
http://www.exit.com/RiversideVoteTest/letters/response_to_mudslinging.pdf
(Date 2/29/2004; Jeremiah Akin)

Black Box Voting published ITA reports from Ciber Labs for Diebold showing that
“penetration tests” (security evaluations) were marked “not applicable” and “not tested.” http://www.bbvdocs.org/general/ciber-reports.zip
(Date: Oct. 17, 2004; Black Box Voting, Inc.)

Susan Pynchon, an ordinary citizen who now runs the Florida Fair Elections Coalition,
wrote this analysis demonstrating a breakdown in Florida's state certification process:
http://www.bbvdocs.org/general/FFECreport.pdf (Date July 11, 2005; Susan Pynchon)

Ordinary citizens led this investigation, gathering momentum and evidence nationwide,
resulting in the Thompson and Hursti security tests in Florida, culminating in the
California Secretary of State ordering Diebold and federal testing labs to go clean up
their room (while neatly diverting attention from state-level certification failures).

And now, a word from one of our forefathers:

"There is only one force in the nation that can be depended upon to keep the
government pure and the governors honest, and that is the people themselves.
They alone, if well informed, are capable of preventing the corruption of power,
and of restoring the nation to its rightful course if it should go astray. They alone
are the safest depository of the ultimate powers of government."
-- Thomas Jefferson - END