Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Crime & Punishment Amiss FEATURED ARTICLES - GOP refusing to allow testimony on Halliburton spending, Knight Ridder - REPORT: Cheney Lying About Halliburton Involvement, The Daily Mislead, - Requiems, by Kathy Kelly, QUOTE  OF THE DAY "People talk peace. But men give their life's work to war. It won't stop 'til there is as much brains and scientific study put to aid peace as there is to promote war." - - Will Rogers (Cherokee) KNOW YOUR HISTORY - JUNE 1970 -- The US Supreme Court rules that any individual may object to military service on ethical & moral grounds & need not base their moral beliefs on an organized religion if such convictions "are deeply felt." 1985 -- El Salvador: Contingent of armed gunmen opens fire on an outdoor restaurant in a posh district of San Salvador known as the Zona Rosa. 13 killed, including four US Marines & two US businessmen. A radio broadcast of June 24, Radio Venceremos, says, "If U.S. Army members & CIA agents died in San Salvador, it was because they came to attack our people. No one had summoned them; they died as a result of the interventionist policy carried out by President Reagan, whose intervention grows day by day. Reagan will have to assume full responsibility for his deeds." NORTHERN CALIFORNIA EVENT TIP: Wake Up America! And Vote…For a Change! A conversation with: Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Global Exchange, environmental and political activist; Norman Solomon, Executive Director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and founder of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), will be signing his book "Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You" Barbara Lubin, Founder of Middle East Children's Alliance, just returning from Iraq and Palestine. Music by David Gans, singer-songwriter whose music is both socially conscious and great fun.  He is also the host of the show 'Dead to The World' on KPFA Radio. This is a fundraiser for Peaceroots Alliance and our Signs of Peace campaign to encourage voting…for a change! WHERE: Sebastopol Community Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol, CA 95472 WHEN:  Friday, June 18, 2004, 7:30pm $15.00 donation. For more information contact PRA 707-765-0196, prawest@peaceroots.org http://www.peaceroots.org RHINO HERE: The evidence continues to build against Dick Cheney & his bank account stuffing cohorts at Halliburton, about the many ways they take advantage of the shrub gang war mongering to rip off the American taxpayers. Meanwhile the non-violent activists who protested last fall against The School of The Americas (SOA) are serving time in prison. In case you haven't been catching the reporting on the Halliburton war spoils and the proof Cheney lied about his influence in awarding their contracts, today's blog provides plenty of links. MoveOn is mounting a TV ad campaign focused on Cheney & Halliburton that if you can afford to assist, is well worth the support we can provide. Learn about  it & contribute at: https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/halliburton.html?id=2940-173483-GLMfr2cXQn_I3olBPF.5Bw Then lastly but never leastly, RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE entitled, "Requiems" is written by 3 time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Kathy Kelly, who began a four-month prison sentence on April 7th for her actions of civil disobedience at the SOA. Her essay is an evocative comparison of the criminals of Enron & Halliburton, with some of the people she's meeting in prison. A worthwhile read. "SEND THIS ARTICLE TO A REPUBLICAN!" GOP refusing to allow testimony on Halliburton spending By Seth Borenstein, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Jun. 14, 2004 Halliburton Inc. paid high-priced bills for common items, such as soda, laundry and hotels, in Iraq and Kuwait and then passed the inflated costs along to taxpayers, according to several former Halliburton employees and a Pentagon internal audit. Democrats in the House of Representatives, who are feuding with House Republicans over whether the spending should be publicly aired at a hearing on Tuesday, released signed statements Monday by five ex-Halliburton employees recounting the lavish spending... MORE AT: http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/8922543.htm REPORT: Cheney Lying About Halliburton Involvement The Daily Mislead, June 15, 2004 Vice President Dick Cheney has repeatedly assured Americans that he has positively no involvement in directing billions of taxpayer dollars in no-bid contracts to Halliburton, his former employer. In September of 2003, he told NBC's Meet the Press that his office has "absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts."1 In January of 2004, he told Fox News Radio, "I don't have anything to do with the contracting process,2 and I wouldn't know how to manipulate the process if I wanted to." But, according to new evidence, Cheney's office "coordinated"3 the Halliburton contracts and had the Pentagon specifically seek its input in constructing what ultimately became a multi-billion-dollar contract. According to the New York Times, the Pentagon discussed a $1.9 million planning contract with "senior Bush administration officials, including the Vice President's Chief of Staff"4 before inking the deal... ...Sources: 1.  "Cheney denies role in Iraq deal", The Boston Globe, 9/15/2003. 2.  "Cheney faults 'desperate' attacks on Halliburton", CNN.com, 1/23/2004. 3.  "Cheney Coordinated Halliburton Iraq Contract: Report", Common Dreams News Center, 5/31/2004. 4.  "White House Officials and Cheney Aide Approved Halliburton Contract in Iraq, Pentagon Says", NY Times 6/14/2004. 5.  "Appointee's Role in Halliburton Pact Told", Los Angeles Times, 6/14/2004. 6.  "VP Interview with Wolf Blitzer, CNN", WhiteHouse.gov, 3/2/2004. 7.  "Contract Sport", The New Yorker, 2/9/2004. 8.  "Halliburton asks employees to help defend company", CNN.com, 10/25/2003. 9.  "Cheney may still have Halliburton ties", CNNmoney.com, 9/25/2003. 10. "Whistle-blowers say Halliburton rife with waste", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/15/2004. 11. "Senator Seeks Halliburton Special Counsel", Reuters, 6/14/2004... ARTICLE & LINKS AT: http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn?06152004.html 9:31:45 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Requiems Requiems by Kathy Kelly, CommonDreams.org, June 14, 2004 ...Enron, Halliburton, Boeing and Dow Chemical CEOs adeptly cover and shield themselves from harm when accused of shady dealings. I haven't kept informed about their most recent appearances in courts, but I don't want any of them to go to jail. I do want the court of public opinion to regard peddling weapons, designing massive machines for destruction, ravaging the world's ecosystems, and poisoning our environment as criminal behavior. Would these CEOs ever refuse clients who declare foreign wars to exploit other people's resources? Would they ever insist that their clients stop making war against the biodiversity of Mother Earth? What would their thoughts be if they heard Kim's story?  June 26, 2004 is Prisoner Awareness Day in the US. We've thought of inviting our network of friends, outside the prison to observe the day by making advance agreements to completely suspend all communications with loved ones, friends, and household members for just one day. No phone calls, emails, visits, or conversations... http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0614-08.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. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 6:29:26 AM    comment

© Copyright 2005 Gary Rhine.