Friday, August 22, 2003

Watchdoggin' the Shrub Gang QUOTE OF THE DAY "We profile Osama as an Arab but we never define what he really is -- a multi-millionaire.  Why don't we round up all the multi-millionaires and deport them! What do you call the doubling of homelessness and joblessness in the last two years but Acts of Terror? " - - Michael Moore KNOW YOUR HISTORY - AUGUST 22nd 1952 -- Four major American oil companies are sued by the US Justice Department for overcharging on Middle East oil shipped to Europe under the Marshall Plan. 1978 -- The Sandinistas' capture of the Nicaraguan National Palace starts a revolution. According to the best thinkers among right wing intellectuals & think-tanks in the US, those who for so long nurtured & promulgated the Domino Theory, the US will fall to a Commie takeover in a couple more minutes. 1996 -- The US Army began operating an incinerator in Utah to destroy a 14,000 ton stockpile of chemical weapons over 7 years. Fourteen thousand tons? Do they have paperwork for all that? RHINO HERE: Reuters Asks Rumsfeld for an Inquiry into Cameraman Killing Reuters Cameraman Mazen Dana was buried in his hometown of Hebron Wednesday, the 2nd Reuters journalist killed in 4 months by U.S. troops. The U.S. military said the soldier who killed Dana mistook his camera for a grenade launcher. Reuters wants Rummie to have a fair & comprehensive inquiry. Reuters Urges Probe The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) Challenges Patriot Act The RCFP has released a list of questions that journalists should ask about the Patriot Act's application to journalists and newsrooms. The primary section of the Act that of concern to journalists is Section 215, allowing prosecutors to obtain "any tangible thing" -- not just "business records," as the Department of Justice keeps saying -- for investigations involving foreign intelligence or international terrorism. A Justice department official acknowledged last year in a letter to Congress that such an order could be applied to a newsroom, but the department will not answer questions about whether or how often it has been. http://www.rcfp.org/news/releases/view.cgi?2003_08_20_ashcroft.txt MoveOn On the Move Word has it MoveOn is about to turn its attention to the California recall, rallying its forces to quickly create a war chest to buy ad space hoping to defeat the recall. But first, this week, they have a different campaign going. I'm sure many Rhino's Blog readers are MoveOn members & therefore get their mailings. But for those who aren't, Rhino suggests checking out the amazing drama unleashing in Texas, and then consider making a donation to spoil Karl Rove & Tom Delay's plans. Excerpts from MoveOn's latest mailings 8/20/03 - Impeachment. The 2000 Election. The California Recall. The pattern is becoming clear: there's a group of men in power who will do anything to consolidate that power, including undermining our democratic institutions. We've got to fight back. In Texas, they are fighting back. And while the world is focusing on the California mess, they are fighting alone. They need our help. A partisan plan pushed by Karl Rove and Tom Delay will redistrict up to 7 Democrats out of Congress. Right now, 11 Democratic State Senators are hiding across state lines -- with the Texas Governor calling for their arrest -- to prevent this illegitimate plan from being strong-armed into law. They have put their reputations and careers on the line for all of us. A letter below from State Senator Rodney Ellis explains the situation in detail. Please read it, and then please help us launch a hard-hitting ad campaign to fight back in Texas. Whether you donate $5 or $5000, you will be helping to hold accountable reckless leaders who think they can get away with anything. Please contribute to this effort now: http://moveon.org/texasads 8/21/03 - In one day MoveOn members have contributed more than $400,000 for our "Defend Democracy" campaign. We've been overwhelmed by the response. The 11 Texas legislators who are right now risking everything for us and for democracy are deeply grateful to receive this support. Let's raise $1,000,000 to make this our biggest campaign ever. Let's take this campaign to national media outlets, and go deep with Texas media... http://moveon.org/texasads 7:56:15 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - America Two Years after 9/11 America Two Years after 9/11:  25 Things We Now Know By Bernard Weiner, The Crisis Papers, August 18, 2003 Last year, close to the time of the first anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks, I wrote "Twenty Things We've Learned One Year After 9/11." Now we're approaching the second anniversary, and it's time for an update.  Things we could only speculate about a year ago have taken place -- to name just three: an invasion and occupation of Iraq (based on misleading intelligence and outright lies), an administration that may have committed the treasonous act of deliberately revealing the identity of a CIA agent, and shocking revelations about the computer-screen voting system now being put into place around the country for the 2004 election. The abbreviated list below can be used both as a reminder to all of us why we're fighting this good, oppositional battle, and as a place to start from when organizing and talking to others about why you will be voting for someone other than George W. Bush in the presidential vote next year. Here are the topics and here's what we've learned, all factually validated by -- or strongly suggested in -- journalistic reports. THE IRAQ WAR 1. We know that a cabal of ideologically-motivated Bush officials, on the rightwing fringe of the Republican Party, were calling for a military takeover of Iraq as early as 1991. This elite group included Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Woolsey, Bolton, Khalizad and others, all of whom are now located in positions of power in the Pentagon and State Department... Rhino suggests printing it out & using it for talking points. IT'S ALL AT: http://www.crisispapers.org/Editorials/25-things-we-know.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. 6:22:03 AM    comment

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