Tuesday, April 1, 2003

A Fool's Errands QUOTE OF THE DAY " You can do more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word." - - Al Capone HEADLINE OF THE DAY: WAR ENDS SHRUB & SADDAM MAKE UP! US Returns Statue of Liberty to France The Statue of Liberty - a gift from France in 1881 - In the latest of a series of angry remonstrations against Jacques Chirac and the French government, the Senate voted unanimously to return the Statue of Liberty to its makers. The Statue of Liberty, famous throughout the world as a symbol of US freedom and democracy was hastily dismantled, packed in crates and shipped to France where - it is believed - it will be melted down at a copper-recycling facility. Designed by sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, and constructed by famed engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel - whose celebrated 'Eiffel Tower' is now emblematic of France - the Statue of Liberty was presented to the USA as a gift from France in 1881. But in recent weeks, after France's refusal to ratify a second UN resolution sanctioning use of force in Iraq, diplomatic relations between the two countries have quickly soured, and as the name-calling and accusations escalated, the Senate convened to vote on a hastily composed s. 2593: "Little French Shit-heads" Bill, unanimously voting to return France's gift. US debates Liberty Island development The plinth on Liberty Island now stands empty for the first time in 122 years. As New Yorkers continue to flock to South Manhattan to gaze somberly at the latest insult to their ravaged sky-line, the media are already hotly debating what will stand in its place on the now-abandoned plinth. Already representatives from McDonalds, Texaco, and Pizza Hut are reported to be meeting with City officials to put forward their own proposals. http://www26.brinkster.com/aaahhh/liberty.html RHINO HERE: Did you know that APRIL FOOL'S DAY!... ...originated with the calendar change in 1752. A day of pranks & fool's errands. Everything above this is APRIL FOOLS! Everything below is not. APRIL 1ST IN HISTORY http://www.eskimo.com/~recall/bleed/0401.htm 1954 -- First H-bomb tested on Bikini Atoll. 1964 -- Brazil: Right-wing coup topples government of Beloved & Respected President João Goulart. Years of military repression follow. http://www.patriagrande.net/uruguay/eduardo.galeano/memoria.del.fuego/19640401.htm 1974 -- North Vietnam: "Hanoi" Jane Fonda arrives on her 2nd visit. The American right wing's still livid. 1982 -- "Pacific Peacemaker" damaged by French police boats during nuclear weapons testing protest, Muroroa Atoll, South Pacific. 1983 -- England: Human chain 14 miles long linked Brughfield, Greenham Common & Aldermaston to oppose Cruise & Pershing missiles. SOME FACTS ABOUT THE EIFFEL TOWER Completed March 31, 1889 Built for the Paris Exhibition of 1884 Over 300 meters high 1671 steps to the top 15,000 structural members 2,500,00 rivet holes 8,000 tons Only 250 workers to build Can withstand winds of up to 148 miles per hour at the top http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/ Interesting development in both the war & the world of blogging is the new "Soldier War Blogs". Several American soldiers posting from the battle field. Soldier 'bloggers' report from war Reuters, 3/26/03 http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26518427.htm SOLDIER WAR BLOGS: Sgt. Stryker http://www.sgtstryker.com L.T. Smash - "Live From The Sandbox" http://www.lt-smash.us Rhino says, "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS - BRING THEM HOME SOON & ALIVE" 8:49:33 AM    comment

THE BOTTOM LINE - War Stories You May Not Have Seen THE BOTTOM LINE - A collection of war stories you may not have seen on the tri-letter newscasts: A Christian's Duty The Nation's Daily Outrage for 3/31/03, The Nation Before this Administration came along, it was hard to imagine that something as intensely personal and private as a man's prayer before going into battle could be appropriated in a business-like fashion. Now, according to "A Christian's Duty in Time of War" -- a pamphlet given out to thousands of Marines in Iraq -- our soldiers in the war zone are supposed to fill out a form pledging to pray every day for George Bush. The pamphlet has a tear-out section which the soldier is to sign and mail to the president: "I have committed to pray for you, your family, your staff ..." The pamphlets were created by In Touch Ministries, an evangelical group that says "We may not all be in the military, but we are all engaged in warfare ..." http://www.thenation.com/outrage/index.mhtml?bid=6 Bush Lied About Humanitarian Aid Shipments: No US Aid Will Arrive for Weeks U.S. State Department, via Democrats.com, 3/31/03 Bush PROMISED over a week ago that within 36 hours, food from the US would arrive in Iraq for distribution. First he promised 675,000 tons, then 50 tons up front, with 610,000 to come. However, the reality is that only 500,000 tons of wheat and rice (combined) has officially been authorized for release, and only 50,000 tons of this will be immediately shipped. Worse, it is not expected to arrive in the Iraq region until mid April at the earliest. An additional 110,000 tons in food aid was supposedly authorized earlier and shipped, but appears to have disappeared from the "radar." The only real aid right now is coming from the Brits (the Sir Galahad). In short - Bush plans to stick the allies with the check. http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/nea/iraq/text2003/032130usaid.htm With Humanitarian Aid for Iraq Blocked at the Kuwaiti Border, a Disaster is Imminent Australian Broadcasting, via Democrats.com, 3/31/03 It is becoming clear that Bush's plans for humanitarian aid delivery were even more unrealistic than his military plans. What did he think - that the elves would leave it in the night? But the reality is now coming out: Civilian aid workers are being blocked from even getting food and medicine across the Kuwait-Iraq border... There is a water pipeline into the area - but only into secured areas - a small fraction so far... Most sewage and water treatment plants in Basra have been knocked out... But Bush and Rummy say "There's NO evidence of a humanitarian crisis." In what parallel universe? http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s821108.htm Media watchdog condemns U.S. bombing of Iraqi television station Source: Associated Press, via Yahoo! , via SPJ PressNotes An international media watchdog on Friday condemned the U.S.-led bombing of Iraq 's main television station in Baghdad two days earlier and said that allied forces had violated the Geneva Conventions by attacking a civilian target. The Vienna, Austria-based International Press Institute said in a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that the allied attacks Wednesday against Iraq's TV facilities constituted an "unwarranted violation" of the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of warfare, which bans direct attacks on civilian targets. The institute said that the attacks were also "in flagrant breach" of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees media freedoms. Media Watchdog Condemns Bombing Invasion honeymoon is over Source: Chicago Tribune, via SPJ PressNotes Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld began his briefing Friday by talking about "mood swings" in the media. The White House reportedly is frustrated at some reports questioning U.S. military strategy. Some in the media are equally frustrated with what they see as a lack of hard information in Pentagon and Central Command briefings. And there is contention over who was responsible for raising public expectations for a quick war: the media or the military and the administration. With the invasion's initial jolt of adrenaline wearing off, the press last week began moving toward a more traditionally adversarial role, asking harder questions about strategy. Even so, some media executives and critics were questioning whether the coverage has been hard enough. "Did the so-called war experts get it all wrong?" CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked on air, a tone that was typical of some television coverage by week's end and a far cry from what many critics viewed as cheerleading when the U.S.-led campaign began. Invasion Honeymoon Is Over Mubarak Says Iraq War 'Will Create 100 Bin Ladens" London Times, via Democrats.com, 3/31/03 London Times reports, "The invasion of Iraq will backfire spectacularly, igniting Islamic fanaticism and creating '100 new bin Ladens', President Mubarak of Egypt told the US yesterday. Mr Mubarak, accused by many of his countrymen of being a White House stooge for maintaining Egypt's increasingly unpopular peace treaty with Israel, voiced the fear of moderate Arab states that America was playing into al-Qaeda's hands by waging war. 'When it is over, if it is over, this war will have horrible consequences. Instead of having one bin Laden, we will have 100 bin Ladens.' His warning followed the suicide bombing in Iraq at the weekend in which four American soldiers were killed, and the claim by Islamic Jihad that it has sent 4,000 volunteers for suicide missions to Baghdad. The linking of Iraq with the Palestinian conflict was made explicit when Islamic Jihad leaders dedicated a suicide-bomb attack at the Israeli coastal resort of Netanya on Sunday as 'a gift to the heroic Iraqi people.'" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-630902,00.html "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. 8:32:48 AM    comment

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