- 04 Mar 2004 06:11
#311530
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government
February 29, 2004
http://www.legitgov.org/
All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
http://legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
Please contribute today, for March expenses!! We need donations to continue. Thank you.
"All 'notorious terrorists' backed by US" Iran's influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani alleged that the United States was backing "notorious terrorists," after the United States criticized the Islamic Republic's human rights record. "All the world-known and notorious terrorists are made with US money, support and experience," Rafsanjani said during a sermon at weekly Friday prayers broadcast on state radio. [The Bush dictatorship backs some lesser known terrorists, as well.]
Get Shorty --Maverick ex-minister Clare Short could face a Scotland Yard investigation over leaking state secrets about spying. As more claims about international espionage emerged yesterday Home Secretary David Blunkett said Ms Short may be investigated for claiming Britain spied on UN chief Kofi Annan. The Mirror can also reveal the government will face embarrassment next week about its bugging operations, when Labour MPs demand the truth from Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in the Commons.
Short: Legal ruling on Iraq war fixed --An ex-minister claims Britain's top law official may have submitted to political pressure and illegally approved going to war with Iraq. Speaking to the Observer newspaper on Sunday, former cabinet minister Clare Short said Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith hastily redrafted "prevaricating" advice to the government just days before the war began.
Revealed: Attorney General changed his advice on legality of Iraq war --Lord Goldsmith believed that a 'further UN resolution was needed'. Blair under increasing pressure to publish full legal case for Iraq war --The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, changed his advice in the run-up to war in Iraq to declare that the conflict was legal, The Independent on Sunday has learnt.
Blix says US spied on him over Iraq --Former chief United Nations weapons inspector Mr Hans Blix said today he suspected the United States bugged his office and home in the run-up to the Iraq war, but had no hard evidence. Describing such behaviour as "disgusting", Mr Blix told Britain?s Guardian newspaper in an interview: ?It feels like an intrusion into your integrity in a situation when you are actually on the same side."
PM must answer to House on Short claims, says Kennedy --Poodle Tony Blair will be under pressure this week to tell Parliament whether it is true that British agents bugged the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.
Iran's Defence Minister slams US plan for M-East --Iran's Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani rejected Washington's plan to spread US-style democracy across the Middle East, saying it was a pretext to threaten his country, as well as Lebanon and Syria. "My visit aims to reinforce cooperation to counterbalance American threats against the region under the slogan of the extension of democracy," said Shamkhani shortly after he arrived in Beirut from Damascus.
"Rumsfeld knows nothing about Middle East" Iran denied Tuesday it was allowing militants to cross its border into Iraq, saying allegations to the contrary from US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld only showed he was "incapable of understanding Iraq or the Middle East".
Iran allocates $1.5 mn to fight US conspiracies --The Iranian parliament adopted a bill authorising the government to spend $1million and 500 thousand to "neutralise US plots and conspiracies" against the Islamic republic.
US troops 'made Aristide leave' Haitian leader Jean Bertrand Aristide was taken away from his home by US soldiers, it was claimed today. A man who said he was a caretaker for the now exiled president told France's RTL radio station the troops forced Aristide out. "The American army came to take him away at two in the morning," the man said. "The Americans forced him out with weapons. It was American soldiers." [Another Bush coup d'etat. American citizens will *not permit* him to carry out a second coup d'etat on U.S. soil in November.]
"The Fog of War" Wins Oscar --Director Errol Morris' "The Fog of War" - a portrait of Robert McNamara, U.S. defense secretary for much of the Vietnam War - won the Oscar for feature-length documentary. Morris compared U.S. military action overseas today with the Vietnam era. "Forty years ago, this country went down a rabbit hole in Vietnam - millions died," Morris said. "I fear we're going down the rabbit hole once again."
The Destabilization of Haiti --by Michel Chossudovsky "The armed insurrection which contributed to unseating President Aristide on February 29th 2004 was the result of a carefully staged military intelligence operation... It constitutes a well armed, trained and equipped paramilitary unit integrated by former members of Le Front pour l'avancement et le progrès d'Haiti (FRAPH), the "plain clothes" death squadrons, involved in mass killings of civilians and political assassinations during the CIA sponsored 1991 military coup, which led to the overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Jean Bertrand Aristide. The self-proclaimed Front pour la Libération et la reconstruction nationale (FLRN) (National Liberation and Reconstruction Front) is led by Guy Philippe, a former member of the Haitian Armed Forces and Police Chief. Philippe had been trained during the 1991 coup years by US Special Forces in Ecuador, together with a dozen other Haitian Army officers... Washington seeks to reinstate Haiti as a full-fledged US colony, with all the appearances of a functioning democracy. The objective is to impose a puppet regime in Port-au-Prince and establish a permanent US military presence in Haiti. The US Administration ultimately seeks to militarize the Caribbean basin."
Bush sends US Marines into Haiti --US Dictator George Bush says he has deployed US Marines to be the "leading element" in an international force to help stabilise Haiti. Early on Sunday, Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide flew out of the country in an unmarked jet, following a three-week rebellion against him.
Looters step over the dead as Haiti collapses into anarchy --by Phil Davison in Port-au-Prince "I thought it was a pile of rubbish I stepped on, half-covered by sheets of cardboard on the seedy waterfront of the Haitian capital. It took a photographer colleague to point out that it was the body of a young man, riddled with bullets and covered with rotting fruit... Hundreds of Haitians trampled over the body as they looted everything they could lay their hands on from the port of this lawless city."
Bush ignored Haiti: Edwards --America's Democratic presidential candidates today attacked Dictator George W. Bush's handling of the crisis in Haiti, saying he ignored the impoverished country and let it slip into chaos. Senator John Kerry, the frontrunner for the party's nomination, made no explicit endorsement of plans to send US troops to the Caribbean state, but his main rival, Senator John Edwards, said they should be part of a UN force.
UN Security Council Approves Sending Peacekeepers to Haiti --The United Nations Security Council approved sending a peacekeeping force to Haiti after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide "resigned."
Chavez Denounces Bush as Foes Fight Troops --Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Dictator Bush an "---hole" on Sunday and told him not to meddle as his opponents battled troops ahead of a ruling on a recall vote against him. Chavez, who often says the U.S. is backing opposition efforts to topple his government, accused Bush of listening to "imperialist" aides whom he said advised the U.S. leader to support a brief 2002 coup against him. "He was an ---hole to believe them," Chavez roared at a rally of supporters in Caracas. [Bush is an "---hole," period.]
Venezuela would stop oil to U.S. if invaded -Chavez --Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned the U.S. government Sunday that if it tried to invade Venezuela or impose a trade blockade against his country, he would shut off Venezuelan oil supplies to the United States. In his speech, Chavez also called Bush an "asshole" for, he said, supporting a short-lived coup in 2002 that briefly toppled him.
Venezuelan Loyalists Take to the Streets --Chanting "Chavez! Chavez!" more than 100,000 Venezuelans marched Sunday to support President Hugo Chavez as opponents [supported by Dictator Bush] demanding his recall staged demonstrations in several cities.
Seattle is closer to France than to Texas --by David Horsey "In January, a cartoon festival was held in the town of Carquefou, just outside of Nantes in the northwest corner of France. Students of all ages competed in a contest to illustrate their vision of the United States... One cartoon summed up American villainy with a series of three hands. The first was a fist representing Stalin's Russia. The second was a saluting palm, representing Hitler's Germany. The third was another fist clutching a cross, representing Bush's America. Stalin, Hitler and Bush -- one French student's axis of evil."
Work on Israeli Barrier Ordered Stopped --Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday ordered the government to suspend work for one week on a section of the West Bank security barrier, an attorney said, while security forces arrested three Palestinian youths who planned an attack.
Bush orders bin Laden caught --George W. Bush has reportedly ordered US agencies to step up efforts to catch Osama bin Laden amid accusations by Democratic presidential frontrunner John Kerry that the White House has neglected the al-Qa'ida leader to the US's peril. The renewed focus on bin Laden, who US intelligence believes is hiding on the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, comes amid bitter politicking in the US over national security.
Kerry takes aim at national security --Harshly criticizes dictator's policies --Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday launched a scathing offensive against Dictator Bush's national security policy, accusing him of failing to protect the American people in myriad ways -- from allegedly allowing al-Qaida terror leader Osama Bin Laden to escape two years ago to failing to clamp down on terrorism funding sources. [Did Bush let bin Laden 'escape' so that he could be 'captured' at a more politically expedient moment?]
Death-penalty trial for Oklahoma bomb accomplice could backfire on FBI --Oklahoma prosecutors have one simple but provocative goal in dragging Timothy McVeigh's friend and convicted accomplice, Terry Nichols, back into court today: not satisfied with the life sentence he is already serving, they want to send him to the death chamber for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. As the trial gets under way, however, a flurry of new evidence promises to demonstrate quite the opposite of what the prosecutors are hoping to prove: that Nichols, far from being a key player in the conspiracy, was a relatively marginal figure, and that a gang of neo-Nazi bank robbers, hitherto ignored by federal and state prosecutors, had a far more prominent role.
Attorneys Will Try to Argue that Nichols was Framed --Attorneys for Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols say they will try to keep him out of the state's death chamber by claiming he was the fall guy for a group of conspirators. His attorneys say they plan to call several witnesses including an inmate who spent time on death row with Timothy McVeigh, and a member of a gang of white supremacist bank robbers.
U.S. Muslim Charities Complain of 'Witch Hunt' Muslim charities and organizations in the United States say they are the target of a government "witch hunt" since Sept. 11 which is intimidating donors and hampering their work. Required by their faith to pay "zakat," or alms for the needy, Muslims say the ripple effects of the government's hunt for terrorist funds are hurting their community at its core and making them feel like suspects.
Area colleges doing their bit for homeland security --BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. The efforts to bring terrorism training into the classroom go beyond in-house resources. Textbooks on the topic are being published at an accelerated rate. National workshops and conferences with a focus on terrorism training have also cropped up recently.
Marines in Valley to train for urban war (AZ) The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. is tuning up its urban-warfare techniques. As part of the training, Marine helicopter pilots will practice urban flying and navigation techniques using routes and altitudes approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. The Marines will also coordinate their activities with federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies.
Have your thumb ready to ride the bus --Pinellas schools ponder a $2-million system that would require students to use their thumbprint to get on the bus. The Pinellas school system is ready to approve a new technology that uses student fingerprints to keep track of who is riding school buses. If the School Board approves the proposal March 9, Pinellas will become one of four Florida school districts in the process of implementing Global Positioning Systems with a student-tracking system.
Did Your Legislator Vote To Kill U.S. Job Market? --by Tom Flocco "Wide reports indicate that Washington politicians are purposefully bleeding away America's wealth, economic vitality, and high-paying or national security-oriented industrial jobs--forcing constituents to absorb costs of corporate financial and tax incentives which subsidize the loss of these jobs. White House officials now refer to shipping American jobs overseas as a 'new type of international trade,' thus creating a federal 'job deficit' to stand adjacent to its burgeoning trade and spending deficits."
Gas prices surge --The average U.S. price of gasoline jumped nearly 7 cents per gallon over the past two weeks, the result of higher prices for crude oil and [the overwhelming greed of the copora-terrorists who control our government who allow them to have record-breaking profits every quarter].
Nearly Half of Black Men Found Jobless --A new study examining trends in joblessness in New York City since 2000 suggests that by 2003, nearly one of every two black men between 16 and 64 was not working.
Black Voters Align With Democrats Against Bush --Kerry's Appeal Has Been High, but Edwards Hopes to Connect in Georgia Primary --With little prodding from the two major candidates, black voters have joined the Democratic Party's quest to take back the White House this year.
Poll: 'Investor class' favors Kerry --Money/ICR poll shows that Democrat has narrow edge over Bush; health care seen as top issue. The nation's investors give Democratic presidential contender John Kerry a slight edge over Dictator Bush, according to a new poll that also shows health care costs and deficit reduction are investors' most pressing concerns.
A vote for Dean (The Rutland Herald) "Howard Dean is no longer an official candidate for president, but he remains a Democratic leader with an important message and a committed following. Our endorsement for him in the Vermont primary on Tuesday is a gesture of gratitude for what he has done in the Democratic campaign and a vote of confidence in the message he brings to the nation now and in the future. Dean brought clarity to the Democratic race when there was muddle. He brought courage to the Democratic field when there was timidity. He helped set the agenda for the Democratic primary and potentially for the nation as the general election nears." [Click here for Dean photo gallery]
Georgia voters in foul mood --Democrats feel ignored by party angry with Bush --As Georgia Democrats head to the polls to choose a presidential nominee on Super Tuesday, the red clay on the soles of their shoes may be about the only thing that distinguishes them from Democrats elsewhere on national issues. Like voters in other Democratic primaries, they are dissatisfied with, if not downright angry at, Dictator Bush; worried about jobs, health care and education; and upset about the war in Iraq, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution/WSB-TV poll conducted by Zogby International.
Poll Woes For Bush --A CBS News poll shows Dictator Bush's approval rating slipping below 50 percent for the first time in that survey. Some 47% of Americans now approve of the way the Dictator is handling his job, while 44% disapprove. The same poll shows a John Kerry/John Edwards ticket beating one headed by Mr. Bush and Vice pResident Dick Cheney in the fall election, by a margin of 50 percent to 42 percent.
Bush Focuses on Raising Campaign Cash --Dictator Bush plans a week of heavy fund raising starting Monday, collecting campaign cash in the nation's capital, California and Texas for his re-s-election and for fellow Republicans.
Rowland lawyers to submit impeachment standards brief --Connecticut Gov. [Republican] John G. Rowland's lawyers will submit a 26-page brief Monday to a legislative inquiry committee, laying out a legal and historical analysis of what standards of impeachment they believe should apply to the embattled governor. One standard should be that impeachment should be reserved for grave misconduct during office, the brief says. [Why was Bill Clinton impeached?]
Planned Parenthood Refuses To Hand Over Records --The San Diego chapter of Planned Parenthood said it will not comply with a court order demanding it hand over hundreds of confidential medical records to the inJustice Department, 10News reported.
S.F. Mayor Slams Bush Over Gay Weddings --Mayor Gavin Newsom accused Dictator Bush of political showmanship and discrimination because of the Social Security Administration's decision to not accept any marriage licenses from San Francisco ? gay or straight ? until the same-sex issue is resolved.
Sharpton Returns With a Few Good Jabs but Very Few Delegates --Mr. Sharpton has few volunteers working in the streets of New York and his campaign is deeply in debt. In addition, both he and the campaign have been rocked by less-than-favorable attention by the media, including the black press, specifically for his work with a well-known Republican strategist, Roger Stone. [*See: Sleeping With the GOP --A Bush Covert Operative Takes Over Al Sharpton's Campaign]
I Detest This Film ..With A Passion --by Christopher Hitchens "If you like seeing handsome young men stripped and tied up and flayed with whips, The Passion Of The Christ is the movie for you... Along with the protracted torture comes a simple-minded but nonetheless bigoted version of the more questionable bits of the Gospels... [H]e [Mel Gibson] ran a series of screenings for right-wing fundamentalists only, and refused to show any tapes to anyone who wasn't a religious nut."
[February 28 lead stories:] U.S., Pakistan Deny Bin Laden Was Captured --Pentagon and Pakistani officials on Saturday denied an Iranian state radio report that Osama bin Laden was captured in Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan "a long time ago." The director of Iran radio's Pashtun service, Asheq Hossein, said he had two sources for the report. The radio quoted its reporter as saying bin Laden had been in custody for a period of time, but a U.S. announcement of the capture was being withheld by Dictator Bush until closer to the November election. "Osama bin Laden has been arrested a long time ago, but Bush is intending to use it for propaganda maneuvering in the presidential election," he said. [Look for an Osama sighting, round-up, and trot-out during the Democratic National Convention, to change the debate (a la gay marriage and "The Passion of the Christ"- good 'cultural' distractions) and to zap the media coverage of the convention.]
Pakistan denies bin Ladin 'capture' Pakistan has denied a report that Usama bin Ladin has been captured in a tribal area of Pakistan. The report on Saturday by the external Pashto-language service of Iranian state radio quoted an "informed source" as saying the alleged arrest took place "some time ago", but gave no further details. It went on to claim that US officials were keeping news of the arrest secret and were likely to announce it later in the year - in order to help US Dictator George Bush's re-s-election chances in November polls.
U.S. Denies Iran Report of Bin Laden's Capture --The U.S. Department of Defense denied reports by Iran's official IRNA news agency on Saturday that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been captured. IRNA quoted a story on Iran's state radio Pashtun service which reported "a very reliable source" as saying bin Laden had been captured in a tribal area of Pakistan. [Reuters 'forgot': The radio quoted its reporter as saying bin Laden had been in custody for a period of time, but a U.S. announcement of the capture was being withheld by Dictator Bush until closer to the November election. "Osama bin Laden has been arrested a long time ago, but Bush is intending to use it for propaganda maneuvering in the presidential election," he said.]
Iranian Radio Reports Bin Laden Captured --February 28, 2004 at 3:30:30 PST TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's state radio, quoting an unnamed source, said Saturday that Osama bin Laden was captured in Pakistan "a long time ago." U.S. and Pakistani officials denied the report. The report said that U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's visit to the region this week was in connection with the arrest. In Washington, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied early Saturday that bin Laden was captured. The report was carried by Iran radio's external Pushtun service. The director of Iran radio's Pushtun service, Asheq Hossein, said he had two sources for the report that bin Laden had been captured.
February 29, 2004
http://www.legitgov.org/
All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
http://legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
Please contribute today, for March expenses!! We need donations to continue. Thank you.
"All 'notorious terrorists' backed by US" Iran's influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani alleged that the United States was backing "notorious terrorists," after the United States criticized the Islamic Republic's human rights record. "All the world-known and notorious terrorists are made with US money, support and experience," Rafsanjani said during a sermon at weekly Friday prayers broadcast on state radio. [The Bush dictatorship backs some lesser known terrorists, as well.]
Get Shorty --Maverick ex-minister Clare Short could face a Scotland Yard investigation over leaking state secrets about spying. As more claims about international espionage emerged yesterday Home Secretary David Blunkett said Ms Short may be investigated for claiming Britain spied on UN chief Kofi Annan. The Mirror can also reveal the government will face embarrassment next week about its bugging operations, when Labour MPs demand the truth from Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in the Commons.
Short: Legal ruling on Iraq war fixed --An ex-minister claims Britain's top law official may have submitted to political pressure and illegally approved going to war with Iraq. Speaking to the Observer newspaper on Sunday, former cabinet minister Clare Short said Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith hastily redrafted "prevaricating" advice to the government just days before the war began.
Revealed: Attorney General changed his advice on legality of Iraq war --Lord Goldsmith believed that a 'further UN resolution was needed'. Blair under increasing pressure to publish full legal case for Iraq war --The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, changed his advice in the run-up to war in Iraq to declare that the conflict was legal, The Independent on Sunday has learnt.
Blix says US spied on him over Iraq --Former chief United Nations weapons inspector Mr Hans Blix said today he suspected the United States bugged his office and home in the run-up to the Iraq war, but had no hard evidence. Describing such behaviour as "disgusting", Mr Blix told Britain?s Guardian newspaper in an interview: ?It feels like an intrusion into your integrity in a situation when you are actually on the same side."
PM must answer to House on Short claims, says Kennedy --Poodle Tony Blair will be under pressure this week to tell Parliament whether it is true that British agents bugged the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.
Iran's Defence Minister slams US plan for M-East --Iran's Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani rejected Washington's plan to spread US-style democracy across the Middle East, saying it was a pretext to threaten his country, as well as Lebanon and Syria. "My visit aims to reinforce cooperation to counterbalance American threats against the region under the slogan of the extension of democracy," said Shamkhani shortly after he arrived in Beirut from Damascus.
"Rumsfeld knows nothing about Middle East" Iran denied Tuesday it was allowing militants to cross its border into Iraq, saying allegations to the contrary from US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld only showed he was "incapable of understanding Iraq or the Middle East".
Iran allocates $1.5 mn to fight US conspiracies --The Iranian parliament adopted a bill authorising the government to spend $1million and 500 thousand to "neutralise US plots and conspiracies" against the Islamic republic.
US troops 'made Aristide leave' Haitian leader Jean Bertrand Aristide was taken away from his home by US soldiers, it was claimed today. A man who said he was a caretaker for the now exiled president told France's RTL radio station the troops forced Aristide out. "The American army came to take him away at two in the morning," the man said. "The Americans forced him out with weapons. It was American soldiers." [Another Bush coup d'etat. American citizens will *not permit* him to carry out a second coup d'etat on U.S. soil in November.]
"The Fog of War" Wins Oscar --Director Errol Morris' "The Fog of War" - a portrait of Robert McNamara, U.S. defense secretary for much of the Vietnam War - won the Oscar for feature-length documentary. Morris compared U.S. military action overseas today with the Vietnam era. "Forty years ago, this country went down a rabbit hole in Vietnam - millions died," Morris said. "I fear we're going down the rabbit hole once again."
The Destabilization of Haiti --by Michel Chossudovsky "The armed insurrection which contributed to unseating President Aristide on February 29th 2004 was the result of a carefully staged military intelligence operation... It constitutes a well armed, trained and equipped paramilitary unit integrated by former members of Le Front pour l'avancement et le progrès d'Haiti (FRAPH), the "plain clothes" death squadrons, involved in mass killings of civilians and political assassinations during the CIA sponsored 1991 military coup, which led to the overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Jean Bertrand Aristide. The self-proclaimed Front pour la Libération et la reconstruction nationale (FLRN) (National Liberation and Reconstruction Front) is led by Guy Philippe, a former member of the Haitian Armed Forces and Police Chief. Philippe had been trained during the 1991 coup years by US Special Forces in Ecuador, together with a dozen other Haitian Army officers... Washington seeks to reinstate Haiti as a full-fledged US colony, with all the appearances of a functioning democracy. The objective is to impose a puppet regime in Port-au-Prince and establish a permanent US military presence in Haiti. The US Administration ultimately seeks to militarize the Caribbean basin."
Bush sends US Marines into Haiti --US Dictator George Bush says he has deployed US Marines to be the "leading element" in an international force to help stabilise Haiti. Early on Sunday, Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide flew out of the country in an unmarked jet, following a three-week rebellion against him.
Looters step over the dead as Haiti collapses into anarchy --by Phil Davison in Port-au-Prince "I thought it was a pile of rubbish I stepped on, half-covered by sheets of cardboard on the seedy waterfront of the Haitian capital. It took a photographer colleague to point out that it was the body of a young man, riddled with bullets and covered with rotting fruit... Hundreds of Haitians trampled over the body as they looted everything they could lay their hands on from the port of this lawless city."
Bush ignored Haiti: Edwards --America's Democratic presidential candidates today attacked Dictator George W. Bush's handling of the crisis in Haiti, saying he ignored the impoverished country and let it slip into chaos. Senator John Kerry, the frontrunner for the party's nomination, made no explicit endorsement of plans to send US troops to the Caribbean state, but his main rival, Senator John Edwards, said they should be part of a UN force.
UN Security Council Approves Sending Peacekeepers to Haiti --The United Nations Security Council approved sending a peacekeeping force to Haiti after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide "resigned."
Chavez Denounces Bush as Foes Fight Troops --Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Dictator Bush an "---hole" on Sunday and told him not to meddle as his opponents battled troops ahead of a ruling on a recall vote against him. Chavez, who often says the U.S. is backing opposition efforts to topple his government, accused Bush of listening to "imperialist" aides whom he said advised the U.S. leader to support a brief 2002 coup against him. "He was an ---hole to believe them," Chavez roared at a rally of supporters in Caracas. [Bush is an "---hole," period.]
Venezuela would stop oil to U.S. if invaded -Chavez --Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned the U.S. government Sunday that if it tried to invade Venezuela or impose a trade blockade against his country, he would shut off Venezuelan oil supplies to the United States. In his speech, Chavez also called Bush an "asshole" for, he said, supporting a short-lived coup in 2002 that briefly toppled him.
Venezuelan Loyalists Take to the Streets --Chanting "Chavez! Chavez!" more than 100,000 Venezuelans marched Sunday to support President Hugo Chavez as opponents [supported by Dictator Bush] demanding his recall staged demonstrations in several cities.
Seattle is closer to France than to Texas --by David Horsey "In January, a cartoon festival was held in the town of Carquefou, just outside of Nantes in the northwest corner of France. Students of all ages competed in a contest to illustrate their vision of the United States... One cartoon summed up American villainy with a series of three hands. The first was a fist representing Stalin's Russia. The second was a saluting palm, representing Hitler's Germany. The third was another fist clutching a cross, representing Bush's America. Stalin, Hitler and Bush -- one French student's axis of evil."
Work on Israeli Barrier Ordered Stopped --Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday ordered the government to suspend work for one week on a section of the West Bank security barrier, an attorney said, while security forces arrested three Palestinian youths who planned an attack.
Bush orders bin Laden caught --George W. Bush has reportedly ordered US agencies to step up efforts to catch Osama bin Laden amid accusations by Democratic presidential frontrunner John Kerry that the White House has neglected the al-Qa'ida leader to the US's peril. The renewed focus on bin Laden, who US intelligence believes is hiding on the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, comes amid bitter politicking in the US over national security.
Kerry takes aim at national security --Harshly criticizes dictator's policies --Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday launched a scathing offensive against Dictator Bush's national security policy, accusing him of failing to protect the American people in myriad ways -- from allegedly allowing al-Qaida terror leader Osama Bin Laden to escape two years ago to failing to clamp down on terrorism funding sources. [Did Bush let bin Laden 'escape' so that he could be 'captured' at a more politically expedient moment?]
Death-penalty trial for Oklahoma bomb accomplice could backfire on FBI --Oklahoma prosecutors have one simple but provocative goal in dragging Timothy McVeigh's friend and convicted accomplice, Terry Nichols, back into court today: not satisfied with the life sentence he is already serving, they want to send him to the death chamber for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. As the trial gets under way, however, a flurry of new evidence promises to demonstrate quite the opposite of what the prosecutors are hoping to prove: that Nichols, far from being a key player in the conspiracy, was a relatively marginal figure, and that a gang of neo-Nazi bank robbers, hitherto ignored by federal and state prosecutors, had a far more prominent role.
Attorneys Will Try to Argue that Nichols was Framed --Attorneys for Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols say they will try to keep him out of the state's death chamber by claiming he was the fall guy for a group of conspirators. His attorneys say they plan to call several witnesses including an inmate who spent time on death row with Timothy McVeigh, and a member of a gang of white supremacist bank robbers.
U.S. Muslim Charities Complain of 'Witch Hunt' Muslim charities and organizations in the United States say they are the target of a government "witch hunt" since Sept. 11 which is intimidating donors and hampering their work. Required by their faith to pay "zakat," or alms for the needy, Muslims say the ripple effects of the government's hunt for terrorist funds are hurting their community at its core and making them feel like suspects.
Area colleges doing their bit for homeland security --BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. The efforts to bring terrorism training into the classroom go beyond in-house resources. Textbooks on the topic are being published at an accelerated rate. National workshops and conferences with a focus on terrorism training have also cropped up recently.
Marines in Valley to train for urban war (AZ) The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. is tuning up its urban-warfare techniques. As part of the training, Marine helicopter pilots will practice urban flying and navigation techniques using routes and altitudes approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. The Marines will also coordinate their activities with federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies.
Have your thumb ready to ride the bus --Pinellas schools ponder a $2-million system that would require students to use their thumbprint to get on the bus. The Pinellas school system is ready to approve a new technology that uses student fingerprints to keep track of who is riding school buses. If the School Board approves the proposal March 9, Pinellas will become one of four Florida school districts in the process of implementing Global Positioning Systems with a student-tracking system.
Did Your Legislator Vote To Kill U.S. Job Market? --by Tom Flocco "Wide reports indicate that Washington politicians are purposefully bleeding away America's wealth, economic vitality, and high-paying or national security-oriented industrial jobs--forcing constituents to absorb costs of corporate financial and tax incentives which subsidize the loss of these jobs. White House officials now refer to shipping American jobs overseas as a 'new type of international trade,' thus creating a federal 'job deficit' to stand adjacent to its burgeoning trade and spending deficits."
Gas prices surge --The average U.S. price of gasoline jumped nearly 7 cents per gallon over the past two weeks, the result of higher prices for crude oil and [the overwhelming greed of the copora-terrorists who control our government who allow them to have record-breaking profits every quarter].
Nearly Half of Black Men Found Jobless --A new study examining trends in joblessness in New York City since 2000 suggests that by 2003, nearly one of every two black men between 16 and 64 was not working.
Black Voters Align With Democrats Against Bush --Kerry's Appeal Has Been High, but Edwards Hopes to Connect in Georgia Primary --With little prodding from the two major candidates, black voters have joined the Democratic Party's quest to take back the White House this year.
Poll: 'Investor class' favors Kerry --Money/ICR poll shows that Democrat has narrow edge over Bush; health care seen as top issue. The nation's investors give Democratic presidential contender John Kerry a slight edge over Dictator Bush, according to a new poll that also shows health care costs and deficit reduction are investors' most pressing concerns.
A vote for Dean (The Rutland Herald) "Howard Dean is no longer an official candidate for president, but he remains a Democratic leader with an important message and a committed following. Our endorsement for him in the Vermont primary on Tuesday is a gesture of gratitude for what he has done in the Democratic campaign and a vote of confidence in the message he brings to the nation now and in the future. Dean brought clarity to the Democratic race when there was muddle. He brought courage to the Democratic field when there was timidity. He helped set the agenda for the Democratic primary and potentially for the nation as the general election nears." [Click here for Dean photo gallery]
Georgia voters in foul mood --Democrats feel ignored by party angry with Bush --As Georgia Democrats head to the polls to choose a presidential nominee on Super Tuesday, the red clay on the soles of their shoes may be about the only thing that distinguishes them from Democrats elsewhere on national issues. Like voters in other Democratic primaries, they are dissatisfied with, if not downright angry at, Dictator Bush; worried about jobs, health care and education; and upset about the war in Iraq, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution/WSB-TV poll conducted by Zogby International.
Poll Woes For Bush --A CBS News poll shows Dictator Bush's approval rating slipping below 50 percent for the first time in that survey. Some 47% of Americans now approve of the way the Dictator is handling his job, while 44% disapprove. The same poll shows a John Kerry/John Edwards ticket beating one headed by Mr. Bush and Vice pResident Dick Cheney in the fall election, by a margin of 50 percent to 42 percent.
Bush Focuses on Raising Campaign Cash --Dictator Bush plans a week of heavy fund raising starting Monday, collecting campaign cash in the nation's capital, California and Texas for his re-s-election and for fellow Republicans.
Rowland lawyers to submit impeachment standards brief --Connecticut Gov. [Republican] John G. Rowland's lawyers will submit a 26-page brief Monday to a legislative inquiry committee, laying out a legal and historical analysis of what standards of impeachment they believe should apply to the embattled governor. One standard should be that impeachment should be reserved for grave misconduct during office, the brief says. [Why was Bill Clinton impeached?]
Planned Parenthood Refuses To Hand Over Records --The San Diego chapter of Planned Parenthood said it will not comply with a court order demanding it hand over hundreds of confidential medical records to the inJustice Department, 10News reported.
S.F. Mayor Slams Bush Over Gay Weddings --Mayor Gavin Newsom accused Dictator Bush of political showmanship and discrimination because of the Social Security Administration's decision to not accept any marriage licenses from San Francisco ? gay or straight ? until the same-sex issue is resolved.
Sharpton Returns With a Few Good Jabs but Very Few Delegates --Mr. Sharpton has few volunteers working in the streets of New York and his campaign is deeply in debt. In addition, both he and the campaign have been rocked by less-than-favorable attention by the media, including the black press, specifically for his work with a well-known Republican strategist, Roger Stone. [*See: Sleeping With the GOP --A Bush Covert Operative Takes Over Al Sharpton's Campaign]
I Detest This Film ..With A Passion --by Christopher Hitchens "If you like seeing handsome young men stripped and tied up and flayed with whips, The Passion Of The Christ is the movie for you... Along with the protracted torture comes a simple-minded but nonetheless bigoted version of the more questionable bits of the Gospels... [H]e [Mel Gibson] ran a series of screenings for right-wing fundamentalists only, and refused to show any tapes to anyone who wasn't a religious nut."
[February 28 lead stories:] U.S., Pakistan Deny Bin Laden Was Captured --Pentagon and Pakistani officials on Saturday denied an Iranian state radio report that Osama bin Laden was captured in Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan "a long time ago." The director of Iran radio's Pashtun service, Asheq Hossein, said he had two sources for the report. The radio quoted its reporter as saying bin Laden had been in custody for a period of time, but a U.S. announcement of the capture was being withheld by Dictator Bush until closer to the November election. "Osama bin Laden has been arrested a long time ago, but Bush is intending to use it for propaganda maneuvering in the presidential election," he said. [Look for an Osama sighting, round-up, and trot-out during the Democratic National Convention, to change the debate (a la gay marriage and "The Passion of the Christ"- good 'cultural' distractions) and to zap the media coverage of the convention.]
Pakistan denies bin Ladin 'capture' Pakistan has denied a report that Usama bin Ladin has been captured in a tribal area of Pakistan. The report on Saturday by the external Pashto-language service of Iranian state radio quoted an "informed source" as saying the alleged arrest took place "some time ago", but gave no further details. It went on to claim that US officials were keeping news of the arrest secret and were likely to announce it later in the year - in order to help US Dictator George Bush's re-s-election chances in November polls.
U.S. Denies Iran Report of Bin Laden's Capture --The U.S. Department of Defense denied reports by Iran's official IRNA news agency on Saturday that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been captured. IRNA quoted a story on Iran's state radio Pashtun service which reported "a very reliable source" as saying bin Laden had been captured in a tribal area of Pakistan. [Reuters 'forgot': The radio quoted its reporter as saying bin Laden had been in custody for a period of time, but a U.S. announcement of the capture was being withheld by Dictator Bush until closer to the November election. "Osama bin Laden has been arrested a long time ago, but Bush is intending to use it for propaganda maneuvering in the presidential election," he said.]
Iranian Radio Reports Bin Laden Captured --February 28, 2004 at 3:30:30 PST TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's state radio, quoting an unnamed source, said Saturday that Osama bin Laden was captured in Pakistan "a long time ago." U.S. and Pakistani officials denied the report. The report said that U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's visit to the region this week was in connection with the arrest. In Washington, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied early Saturday that bin Laden was captured. The report was carried by Iran radio's external Pushtun service. The director of Iran radio's Pushtun service, Asheq Hossein, said he had two sources for the report that bin Laden had been captured.
- By Rancid
- By Tainari88
- By Rich