What has happened to the American "Rule of Law" and belief in the rights of humanity?? I am ashamed of our government....
New York Times: Dec 18th"Saddam Hussein is now prisoner No. 1 in what has developed into a global detention system run by the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, according to government officials.
It is a secretive universe, they said, made up of large and small facilities scattered throughout the world that have sprouted up to handle the hundreds of suspected terrorists of Al Qaeda, Taliban warlords and former officials of the Iraqi government arrested by the United States and its allies since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the war in Iraq.
Many of the prisoners are still being held in a network of detention centers ranging from Afghanistan to the United States Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. Officials described it as a prison system with its own unique hierarchy, one in which the most important captives are kept at the greatest distance from the prying eyes of the public and the media. It is a system in which the jailers have refined the arts of interrogation in order to drain the detainees of crucial information"
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Molly Ivins
RELEASE: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2003, AND THEREAFTER
AUSTIN, Texas -- I do not think it premature to conclude that the entire financial industry of this country is riddled with fraud. As Allan Sloan of Newsweek observed, this is not a case of "a few bad apples," it's the Cockroach Theory -- you see one, you know there's a whole nest of the nasty maggots.
RELEASE: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2003, AND THEREAFTER
AUSTIN, Texas -- I do not think it premature to conclude that the entire financial industry of this country is riddled with fraud. As Allan Sloan of Newsweek observed, this is not a case of "a few bad apples," it's the Cockroach Theory -- you see one, you know there's a whole nest of the nasty maggots.
Jim Hightower
Thursday, December 11, 2003
"WRITING TELEVISION DRAMA"
Calling law and order! I don't mean the America ideal of justice – in this case, I'd settle for the "Law and Order" television show.
I'm talking about a corporate story that would've made great television news, but the media missed it. Perhaps they were too busy covering George W posing with the Queen of England on this same day, to be able to cover a story about the theft of billions of dollars from us taxpayers.
So why not call on fiction to give us the news? After all, Mark Twain observed that "The difference between fact and fiction is that fiction has to be believable." This factual story of finagling seems unbelievable, but the fictitious "Law and Order" show would not have to stretch to dramatize it, for Senator Carl Levin provided all the drama a producer could want.
KPMG, the accounting giant, was caught illegally designing and selling tax shelters whose sole purpose was to allow the wealthiest Americans to escape paying their taxes to Uncle Sam. In just four years, these rich folks dodged $1.4 billion in taxes they owed – and KPMG collected $124 million from them in tax-avoidance fees.
In November, KPMG was grilled by Senator Levin. In an investigative hearing, a supervising partner of KPMG's tax scam ducked and dodged, claiming he knew nothing. But Levin had internal e-mails, including one written by this guy saying that the scams were "designed" to dodge taxes. The guy shucked and jived, trying to blame subordinates, while also claiming that these were legitimate investments that only coincidentally allowed tax avoidance.
But Levin leaned in, asking: "Did you write 'designed,' yes or no?" The guy's voice grew tighter, Levin pressed harder, the senate hearing room grew silent, and KPMG's man finally whined: "I don't know how to change my answer."
Then, in a made-for-TV moment, Levin dryly said: "Try an honest answer."
Now that would've been great TV.
Thursday, December 11, 2003
"WRITING TELEVISION DRAMA"
Calling law and order! I don't mean the America ideal of justice – in this case, I'd settle for the "Law and Order" television show.
I'm talking about a corporate story that would've made great television news, but the media missed it. Perhaps they were too busy covering George W posing with the Queen of England on this same day, to be able to cover a story about the theft of billions of dollars from us taxpayers.
So why not call on fiction to give us the news? After all, Mark Twain observed that "The difference between fact and fiction is that fiction has to be believable." This factual story of finagling seems unbelievable, but the fictitious "Law and Order" show would not have to stretch to dramatize it, for Senator Carl Levin provided all the drama a producer could want.
KPMG, the accounting giant, was caught illegally designing and selling tax shelters whose sole purpose was to allow the wealthiest Americans to escape paying their taxes to Uncle Sam. In just four years, these rich folks dodged $1.4 billion in taxes they owed – and KPMG collected $124 million from them in tax-avoidance fees.
In November, KPMG was grilled by Senator Levin. In an investigative hearing, a supervising partner of KPMG's tax scam ducked and dodged, claiming he knew nothing. But Levin had internal e-mails, including one written by this guy saying that the scams were "designed" to dodge taxes. The guy shucked and jived, trying to blame subordinates, while also claiming that these were legitimate investments that only coincidentally allowed tax avoidance.
But Levin leaned in, asking: "Did you write 'designed,' yes or no?" The guy's voice grew tighter, Levin pressed harder, the senate hearing room grew silent, and KPMG's man finally whined: "I don't know how to change my answer."
Then, in a made-for-TV moment, Levin dryly said: "Try an honest answer."
Now that would've been great TV.
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Rev. William Sloane COFFIN:
" In defense, the big secret is not to lose from within what you're trying to defend from without. And now in this country, the fact that we incarcerate more people than any other country in the world, the fact that we have inner cities that are deteriorating -- When I was at Riverside Church those ten years, I watched in New York City the deterioration of everything in that city not connected with profit making, and largely because all that money was going into that arms race. "
"But I was getting worried that the United States was arrogating to itself a right it would never accord any other nation; namely, the right to decide who lives, who dies, and who rules in Third World countries thousands of miles away. Anybody who knew anything about that situation, anyone who cared enough to do his homework, was patriotic enough to see that good Americans weren't asked to die bravely in a bad cause should have known that this was an enormous mistake. "
Coffins own axis of evil consists of environmental degradation, pandemic poverty, and a world awash with weapons.
As Americans, we should love America, but pledge allegiance to the earth, to the flora and fauna and human rights
"All of us want Al Qaeda stopped. But there's a choice: by the law of force or by the force of law, international law, which means multinational coalition building, sharing intelligence, freezing assets, even by forceful extradition of terrorists, if internationally sanctioned, and by trials not in Guantamo Bay but before an international court such as the International Criminal Court which almost alone we refuse to recognize."
" In defense, the big secret is not to lose from within what you're trying to defend from without. And now in this country, the fact that we incarcerate more people than any other country in the world, the fact that we have inner cities that are deteriorating -- When I was at Riverside Church those ten years, I watched in New York City the deterioration of everything in that city not connected with profit making, and largely because all that money was going into that arms race. "
"But I was getting worried that the United States was arrogating to itself a right it would never accord any other nation; namely, the right to decide who lives, who dies, and who rules in Third World countries thousands of miles away. Anybody who knew anything about that situation, anyone who cared enough to do his homework, was patriotic enough to see that good Americans weren't asked to die bravely in a bad cause should have known that this was an enormous mistake. "
Coffins own axis of evil consists of environmental degradation, pandemic poverty, and a world awash with weapons.
As Americans, we should love America, but pledge allegiance to the earth, to the flora and fauna and human rights
"All of us want Al Qaeda stopped. But there's a choice: by the law of force or by the force of law, international law, which means multinational coalition building, sharing intelligence, freezing assets, even by forceful extradition of terrorists, if internationally sanctioned, and by trials not in Guantamo Bay but before an international court such as the International Criminal Court which almost alone we refuse to recognize."
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has won this year's "Foot in Mouth" award for the most baffling statement by a public figure.
The top prize went to Rumsfeld for this logic-twister he gave at a press briefing on Iraq :
"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns, there are things we know we know," Rumsfeld said.
"We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know."
The top prize went to Rumsfeld for this logic-twister he gave at a press briefing on Iraq :
"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns, there are things we know we know," Rumsfeld said.
"We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know."
How Bush and his coal industry cronies are covering up one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. (www.salon.com)
Nov. 13, 2003 | INEZ, Ky. -- The EPA called the Inez spill the worst environmental catastrophe in the history of the Eastern United States. Far more extensive in damage than the widely known 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska, the Martin County Coal slurry spill dumped an estimated 306 million gallons of toxic sludge down 100 miles of waterways.
Within days of Bush's inauguration a new team leader was brought in to head the Martin County Coal investigation. The scope of the investigation was dramatically narrowed -- offering yet another dramatic example of how the wholesale takeover of the White House by the energy industry is having a real impact on real lives, not just on the whistle-blowers like Jack Spadaro but on the people he's trying to protect.
Nov. 13, 2003 | INEZ, Ky. -- The EPA called the Inez spill the worst environmental catastrophe in the history of the Eastern United States. Far more extensive in damage than the widely known 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska, the Martin County Coal slurry spill dumped an estimated 306 million gallons of toxic sludge down 100 miles of waterways.
Within days of Bush's inauguration a new team leader was brought in to head the Martin County Coal investigation. The scope of the investigation was dramatically narrowed -- offering yet another dramatic example of how the wholesale takeover of the White House by the energy industry is having a real impact on real lives, not just on the whistle-blowers like Jack Spadaro but on the people he's trying to protect.
Monday, December 01, 2003
Report by YellowTimes.org
NewsFromtheFront.org
WASHINGTON (NFTF.org) -- Amnesty International reports that U.S. forces are destroying homes of suspected insurgents, including the demolition of at least 15 homes in Tikrit since November 16.
"The U.S. government should clarify whether it has officially permitted house demolitions as a form of collective punishment or deterrence," Amnesty International stated in a letter sent to the U.S. government. "If such proved to be the case, it would constitute a clear violation of international humanitarian law."
Articles 33 and 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention expressly prohibit destruction of civilian property by Occupying Powers.
NewsFromtheFront.org
WASHINGTON (NFTF.org) -- Amnesty International reports that U.S. forces are destroying homes of suspected insurgents, including the demolition of at least 15 homes in Tikrit since November 16.
"The U.S. government should clarify whether it has officially permitted house demolitions as a form of collective punishment or deterrence," Amnesty International stated in a letter sent to the U.S. government. "If such proved to be the case, it would constitute a clear violation of international humanitarian law."
Articles 33 and 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention expressly prohibit destruction of civilian property by Occupying Powers.
Red Pigs in Snow
By Verlyn Klinkenborg
Copyright © 2002 by The New York Times
A couple of weeks ago I found a small settlement of lice on one of the pigs. It was only about the width of a pencil eraser, but even that was too big. I got out a stiff horse brush and gave that pig and her companion a serious brushing, which is one of the great joys in a pig's life. Then I raked out all the old hay in the pig house, closed the two pigs inside with a fresh hay bale to tear apart, and hauled the house off to a different part of the pasture. I brush them every time I feed them now, and I haven't seen any lice since. Eventually, as I'm brushing, the pigs flop over on their sides and lie there, barely breathing, eyes closed, legs practically quivering with pleasure. I try to remember to watch just how much affection I let myself feel for them.
Affection is what we're really farming up here, farming it mostly in ourselves. Snow fell late the other afternoon, and as it thickened all around me, I realized that there is nothing more definite in the world than the top line of a red pig against the snow. I can always see the self-interest in the animals, and perhaps they see it in me too.
The Rural Life
by Verlyn Klinkenborg
By Verlyn Klinkenborg
Copyright © 2002 by The New York Times
A couple of weeks ago I found a small settlement of lice on one of the pigs. It was only about the width of a pencil eraser, but even that was too big. I got out a stiff horse brush and gave that pig and her companion a serious brushing, which is one of the great joys in a pig's life. Then I raked out all the old hay in the pig house, closed the two pigs inside with a fresh hay bale to tear apart, and hauled the house off to a different part of the pasture. I brush them every time I feed them now, and I haven't seen any lice since. Eventually, as I'm brushing, the pigs flop over on their sides and lie there, barely breathing, eyes closed, legs practically quivering with pleasure. I try to remember to watch just how much affection I let myself feel for them.
Affection is what we're really farming up here, farming it mostly in ourselves. Snow fell late the other afternoon, and as it thickened all around me, I realized that there is nothing more definite in the world than the top line of a red pig against the snow. I can always see the self-interest in the animals, and perhaps they see it in me too.
The Rural Life
by Verlyn Klinkenborg
Turning Northeast Wyoming Upside Down in the Hunt for Coal-Bed Methane
By VERLYN KLINKENBORG
Published: December 1, 2003
I've come to think of the coal-bed methane industry as a metaphor for something deeper that's going on in our country. The methane play, as the industry likes to call it, is being sold on the grounds of energy security, as a way of ensuring that the American lifestyle can continue uninterrupted and undiminished. But what that means is turning everything upside down. All that drilling and scarring, all that animosity and moral erosion lead to one year's supply of natural gas and the waste of billions of gallons of water.
Americans could essentially create that amount of energy through conservation, which is the true source of energy security. But conservation turns no profits, not to the owners of subterranean mineral rights or the gas companies or the pipelines or the lobbyists who drive this kind of extraction through the highest levels of government. No. The methane play is about short-term profits, not long-term security. A deal gets done, and soon you no longer recognize the country you live in.
By VERLYN KLINKENBORG
Published: December 1, 2003
I've come to think of the coal-bed methane industry as a metaphor for something deeper that's going on in our country. The methane play, as the industry likes to call it, is being sold on the grounds of energy security, as a way of ensuring that the American lifestyle can continue uninterrupted and undiminished. But what that means is turning everything upside down. All that drilling and scarring, all that animosity and moral erosion lead to one year's supply of natural gas and the waste of billions of gallons of water.
Americans could essentially create that amount of energy through conservation, which is the true source of energy security. But conservation turns no profits, not to the owners of subterranean mineral rights or the gas companies or the pipelines or the lobbyists who drive this kind of extraction through the highest levels of government. No. The methane play is about short-term profits, not long-term security. A deal gets done, and soon you no longer recognize the country you live in.
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