Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Dubious Danger QUOTE OF THE DAY "The history of John Adams' failed presidency gives hope and encouragement to those committed to real democracy and genuine freedom. History shows that when enough people become politically active, they can rescue the soul of America from sliding into a corrupt, abusive police state." - - Thom Hartmann JUNE 17th IN HISTORY: 1954 -- Guatemala: Making the World Safe For Democracy? US-CIA supplies & directs forces in overthrow of democracy, destroying the constitutionally elected government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (when it nationalizes United Fruit Co. property) & murdering many of his supporters.  Decades of government sponsored genocide against Guatemalan Indians follow. RHINO HERE: Those pesky CIA guys are up to their tricks again. But this time, they seem to be the good guys. the truth tellers. If you haven't heard about the organization known as the "Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity" (VIPS), they are a coast-to-coast enterprise; mostly intelligence officers from the analysis side of CIA, but the Operations side is also represented. VIPS can be reached at vips@counterpunch.org To get the jist of their efforts, check out 2 things. First, their memo to President Shrub dated February 8, 2003, the day Commandante Powell lied to the UN General Assembly & the world about the imminent threat Iraq supposedly posed, therefore claiming the need to send our youth to kill & be killed. SEE THE MEMO AT: http://www.counterpunch.com/vips02082003.html Second, check out the article published yesterday in the Miami herald written by a member of the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, 27 year veteran CIA analyst Ray McGovern Iraq Posed an Unclear and Dubious Danger by Ray McGovern, Miami Herald, 6/16/03 FOX News asked me to present my views on June 8 on the ongoing quest for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the first thing the anchor asked was why I should care about that when the vast majority of Americans don't.  I responded, somewhat indecorously, that this was largely the fault of FOX News and other media that have kept Americans malnourished on issues such as why our country launched a preemptive war. I was dyspeptic earlier that day after watching Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell blow still more smoke at these key issues and disparage those with legitimate questions. READ THE ARTICLE AT: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/6096903.htm WORLDLINK TV ROLLS OUT INCREDIBLE WEEK OF PROGRAMMING This week our beloved WorldLink TV presents a week long investigative & documentary exploration of the history of nuclear weapons and the present dangers inherent in today's nuclear environment. Never before has such a comprehensive collection of documentaries and investigative reports on the history and scope of today's nuclear realities been shown on television. For highlights the week's programming, go to: http://www.worldlinktv.com/ The schedule includes another episode of Peter Coyote's "The Active Opposition"    The Active Opposition: The Nuclear Lullabye - What We Are Not Being Told Host Peter Coyote and studio guests discuss the nuclear threat in the post-Cold War age. Who is the greatest nuclear threat in the world? Is it North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Israel or perhaps the United States itself? After decades of cold-war, superpower parity and carefully constructed nuclear arms agreements, the Bush administration has now again begun thinking the unthinkable: the development and use of nuclear weapons as a viable means of warfare and counter-terrorism assaults. FOR ACTIVE OPPOSITION SHOWTIMES, GUEST LIST AND USEFUL NUKE LINKS, GO TO: http://www.worldlinktv.com/cgi-bin/displayProgram.cgi?code=active_nuclear If you still don't have either Direct TV or Dish Network, or if you  do but haven't yet tuned into WorldLInk TV, you're missing some amazing stuff, like over the weekend, they aired "Afghan Massacre" the documentary the shrub gang is doing everything they can to bury. CHECK OUT THE SUMMARY OF AFGHAN MASSACRE AT: http://www.worldlinktv.com/cgi-bin/displayProgram.cgi?code=massacre Also on WorldLink TV is "First Peoples TV (FPTV)", the only nationally broadcast TV series on Indigenous People's issues. (curated by yours truly) This week FPTV airs the documentary produced by the Indigenous Environmental Network and GreenPeace, entitled, "Drumbeat For Mother Earth". DETAILS & SHOW TIMES AT: http://www.worldlinktv.com/cgi-bin/displayProgram.cgi?code=drumbeat Today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE is written by Thom Hartmann, who once again retrieves a chapter of U.S. history, forgotten by most Americans, (if they ever knew about it) and highlights it for us in the context of current affairs. This time, it's about our second President, John Adams, who instigated laws during his administration that were very similar to the shrub gang's Patriot Act. A great read! 7:13:39 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - How An Earlier "Patriot Act" Law Brought Down A President RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE How An Earlier "Patriot Act" Law Brought Down A President by Thom Hartmann, CommonDreams.org, 6/16/03   Many Americans are suggesting that the Patriot Act (and its proposed "improvements" in Patriot II) is totally new in the experience of America and may spell the end of both democracy and the Bill of Rights. History, however, shows another view, which offers us both warnings and hope. Although you won't learn much about it from reading the "Republican histories" of the Founders being published and promoted in the corporate media these days, the most notorious stain on the presidency of John Adams began in 1798 with the passage of a series of laws startlingly similar to the Patriot Act. It started when Benjamin Franklin Bache, grandson of Benjamin Franklin and editor of the Philadelphia newspaper the Aurora, began to speak out against the policies of then-President John Adams. Bache supported Vice President Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party (today called the Democratic Party) when John Adams led the conservative Federalists (who today would be philosophically identical to GOP Republicans). Bache attacked Adams in an op-ed piece by calling the president "old, querulous, Bald, blind, crippled, Toothless Adams." To be sure, Bache wasn't the only one attacking Adams in 1798. His Aurora was one of about 20 independent newspapers aligned with Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans, and many were openly questioning Adams' policies and ridiculing Adams' fondness for formality and grandeur.... READ THE REST OF THE HISTORY LESSON AT: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0616-03.htm "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. 6:13:27 AM    comment

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