Friday, April 9, 2004

Tales From The Shrubousphere FEATURED ARTICLES: - U.S. Terrorism Policy Spawns Steady Staff Exodus, Reuters, - Ethics Complaint Cites Frist's Work On Medical Malpractice Legislation, Washington Post - Journalists Killed by U.S. Troops in Iraq Remembered, Reuters, via NY Times - Generals: Israeli Wall Will Harm Security, AP - Report from Baghdad; Opening the Gates of Hell, Empire Notes, A Blog by Rahul Mahajan TWO QUOTES TODAY: (Both borrowed from the weblog, "Empire Notes", as is today's BOTTOM LINE) 1) "We don't seek empires. We're not imperialistic. We never have been. I can't imagine why you'd even ask the question." - - Donald Rumsfeld, (questioned by an al-Jazeera correspondent, April 29, 2003) 2) "No one can now doubt the word of America," - - George W. Bush, (State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004) KNOW YOUR HISTORY - APRIL 9th: 1984 -- One day after his administration announced it will not recognize the Worlds Court's jurisdiction over U.S. mining of Nicaraguan harbors,  President Reagan proclaims May 1 as "Law Day USA." Sez the prez: "Without law, there can be no freedom, only chaos & disorder." 1989 -- Over 300,000 choice supporters march in Washington, D.C., to defend the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. A 1985 poll showed that 74 percent of the country did not believe that abortion could be outlawed again. But with the right to choose clearly in danger, agitated volunteers have inundated the National Organization for Women, the National Abortion Rights Action League, Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union & the Fund for the Feminist Majority. 1997 -- The CIA apologized to Gulf War veterans for failing to do a better job in supplying info to U.S. troops who blew up an Iraqi bunker at Kamisiyah in 1991 later found to contain chemical weapons. This apology, is the first admission by the U.S. Government that CIA errors led to the catastrophe that to this day plagues many thousands of Gulf War Vets. RHINO TROTS OUT FROM THE SHRUBBERY & SEZ: Condoleezza, (MSEG) Master of the Shit Eating Grin. Since every pundit & their mother is currently all Condi all the time, Rhino thinks of providing a loosely related stack of other stories taking place in the age of the shrubousphere, not the least of which is the, "ALL HELL'S BREAKING LOOSE ON THE STREETS OF IRAQ" story. Today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE covers that tale as told by blogger Rahul Mahajan who writes  his blog, "Empire Notes"  from Baghdad. (http://www.empirenotes.org) But first... "SEND THIS ARTICLE TO A REPUBLICAN!" U.S. Terrorism Policy Spawns Steady Staff Exodus By Caroline Drees, Reuters, 04.07.04 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has faced a steady exodus of counterterrorism officials, many disappointed by a preoccupation with Iraq they said undermined the U.S. fight against terrorism. Former counterterrorism officials said at least half a dozen have left the White House Office for Combating Terrorism or related agencies in frustration in the 2 1/2 years since the attacks.  Some also left because they felt President Bush had sidelined his counterterrorism experts and paid almost exclusive heed to the vice president, the defense secretary and other Cabinet members in planning the "war on terror," former counterterrorism officials said. http://www.forbes.com/iraq/newswire/2004/04/07/rtr1326389.html YOUR ASSIGNMENT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT: This week, the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights (FTCR) of Santa Monica, Calif. called for an investigation into US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, son of the founder of the nation's largest private hospital chain HCA --  and his unwillingness to step aside from future votes to change medical malpractice laws. FTCR called for Frist to recuse himself from the medical malpractice issue because of the millions of dollars he has invested in HCA (the Hospital Corporation of America and its insurance affiliate, HCI. Ethics Complaint Cites Frist's Work On Medical Malpractice Legislation by Helen Dewar, Washington Post, April 07, 2004 http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/nw/nw004161.php3 FTCR's letter to the Senate Ethics committee can be read at: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/pr/pr004158.php3 You can take action to stop Senator Frist from promoting legislation that would line his own pocket: Call Ethics Committee Chair, George Voinovich (R-OH) at 202-224- 3353 and Vice Chair, Harry Reid (D-NV) 202-224-3542 and ask them to end Senator Frist's advocacy for HCA by removing him from the medical malpractice debate. Journalists Killed by U.S. Troops in Iraq Remembered Reuters, via New York Times, April 8, 2004 KIEV (Reuters) - Family and friends of Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk gathered in Kiev on Thursday to mark a year since he was killed by U.S. troops in Baghdad amid calls on Washington to probe further the deaths of journalists in Iraq. Protsyuk, a Ukrainian, and Jose Couso, a cameraman with Spanish television Telecinco, died when a U.S. tank fired a shell into the Palestine Hotel, where most foreign media were staying during the U.S.-led invasion. Couso's brother laid flowers in his memory in the Iraqi capital and demanded those responsible be brought to account. Tarek Ayoub, of Qatar-based Al Jazeera television, was killed in a U.S. air raid in Baghdad the same day. At least three other journalists have been killed by U.S. troops in Iraq in the past year. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-iraq-journalists.html Generals: Israeli Wall Will Harm Security By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press, Mar 30, 2004 JERUSALEM - The route of the barrier Israel is building in the West Bank will harm the country's security instead of improving it, dozens of reserve military officers said in a letter Tuesday. The Israeli government says the complex of fences, walls and barbed wire that will eventually stretch 425 miles is needed to keep out suicide bombers and other Palestinian attackers. Palestinians charge the barrier disrupts the lives of thousands of Palestinians by cutting them off from their land, jobs and schools, and constitutes a land grab since it cuts deep into the West Bank at several points. The letter, sent to Cabinet ministers, warned that they would be held responsible for the bloodshed that could result from the barrier's route. The 101 Israeli officers, many of them generals, are members of the Council for Peace and Security. Council members were among the first Israelis to suggest the construction of a security barrier. But the council says it should be built along the so-called Green Line, a cease-fire line between Israel from the West Bank. MORE: http://tinyurl.com/3dpcs 8:33:00 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Report from Baghdad ó Opening the Gates of Hell Empire Notes - A Blog by Rahul Mahajan Report from Baghdad -- Opening the Gates of Hell ...The most recent incident, in which four mercenaries from Blackwater Security, a company formed by ex-Navy Seals (Blackwater people are performing many of the same functions as soldiers in Iraq and do get involved in combat), did not arise in a vacuum. In fact, just the week before, U.S. Marines had mounted heavy raids on Fallujah, killing at least seven civilians, including a cameraman. Residents spoke of this as the reason for the attack on the Blackwater people and the gruesome spectacle that followed. With the recent fighting in Falluja, cordoning off the city, in which 12 Marines, two other soldiers, and at least 66 Iraqis were killed, there is no chance to get off this track in the foreseeable future. But, not satisfied with this massive problem with the Sunni, the CPA chose the same time to pick a fight with the Shi'a followers of Moqtada al-Sadr. Whatever al-Sadr's views about democracy may be, Bush's claim that he started this violence to derail democracy is ridiculous. First of all, for all of al-Sadr's firebrand rhetoric, he and his followers had always stopped short of overt violence against the occupying forces. Second, the incident that precipitated this whole round of violence was the closing of his newspaper, al-Hawza, a blatantly undemocratic act. In fact, the paper was not closed for directly advocating violence, but simply for reporting one eyewitness claim that a supposed car bombing that killed numerous volunteers for the New Iraqi defense forces was actually done by plane (and therefore by the United States). In general, there is no quicker way to get an Iraqi to laugh than to talk about how the United States is bringing freedom or democracy to the country. It's standard when talking about the latest problem the Americans cause, to say derisively, "This is the freedom." When I asked Rasool Gurawi, a spokesman at the al-Sadr office in Thawra, the slum of two million that is perhaps al-Sadr's strongest base of support, about Bush's claims, he said, "This is democracy? Attacking peaceful demonstrations? Killing people and destroying buildings?"... READ IT ALL AT: http://www.empirenotes.org/gatesofhell.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. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 7:41:12 AM    comment

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