Monday, August 30, 2004

Briefin FEATURED ARTICLES - Thousands March Against Bush in NYC on Convention Eve, Bloomberg - Thumbnail Overview of Corporate Media Coverage of the NYC Protests, Democrats.com - In less than 30 days assault weapons may be back in this country, Stop The NRA - To End Najaf Battle before Convention, Bush Let Sadr Keep Heavy Weapons, AP - 2nd Annual Lakota Hemp Days, HEMPhasis Magazine - Battle of Little Big Vote, The American Prospect - Follow the Money; How John Kerry busted the terrorists' favorite bank, Washington Monthly QUOTE OF THE DAY "Liberty and democracy become unholy when their hands are dyed red with innocent blood." - - Mohandas Gandhi KNOW YOUR HISTORY - August 30th 1146 -- European leaders outlawed the crossbow with the intention to end war for all time. 1957 -- In an effort to stall the Civil Rights Act of 1957 from passing, Repuglican Senator Strom Thurmond (D-S.C.) filibustered for over 24 hours. The bill passed, but Thurmond's filibuster becomes the longest in Senate history. 1967 -- US Senate confirms Thurgood Marshall as 1st black U.S. Supreme Court Justice. RHINO HERE: As planned, hundreds of thousands of patriotic Americans converged on The Big Apple to give voice to the outrage so many U.S. citizens feel at having been lied to by their government & having had so much innocent blood spilled in the name of their country. Here's coverage of Sunday's march past Madison Square Garden. Thousands March Against Bush in NYC on Convention Eve Bloomberg, Aug. 29, 2004 Thousands of protesters marched past New York's Madison Square Garden, where the Republican National Convention starts tomorrow, to show their opposition to the Iraq war and President George W. Bush. An estimated 400,000 people participated, according to the organizing group, United for Peace and Justice. Police wouldn't give a figure, said Doris Garcia, a police spokeswoman. Mayor Michael Bloomberg called them a ``sizable crowd.'' MORE: Thousands March Wanna try to keep up with all the anti-repuglican events going on in The City this week? Here's a list of web sites to help out, [integral]provided by The Nation magazine. The People's Guide http://www.rncguide.com/calendar/index.shtml RNC Not Welcome http://rncnotwelcome.org/calendar.html The Imagine Festival http://www.imagine04.org CounterConvention.org http://www.CounterConvention.org MediaChannel http://www.MediaChannel.Org The Nation - Act Now http://www.thenation.com/actnow/ Democrats.com will be monitoring the media coverage of the N.Y. protest events & rating them A thru F. MEDIA METER SPECIAL: Thumbnail Overview of Corporate Media Coverage of the NYC Protests AT: http://www.democrats.com/view.cfm?id=23381 Speaking of repuglicans, just 2 days after this year's anniversary of the September 11 killings, the shrub & his cohorts are set to let [integral]the landmark federal Assault Weapons Ban expire. That means Uzis and AK-47s will be legal again and back in our neighborhoods and in the hands of nearly anyone who wants to get them. Playing politics with the Assault Weapons Ban is completely reckless. But President Bush and the Republican Congressional Leadership have so far decided to listen to the NRA, not to the 80% of Americans who want the Assault Weapons Ban renewed and not o every major police group in the country. You can tell the President and Congress to renew the Assault Weapons Ban by visiting the "stoptheNRA.com" website, signing their petition &/or making a contribution to their media campaign. stoptheNRA.com - In less than 30 days assault weapons may be back in this country http://www2.stopthenra.com Speaking of the shrub gang allowing AK-47s & Uzis back on the streets for political gain, check out this story. To End Najaf Battle before Convention, Bush Let Sadr Keep Heavy Weapons AP, 8/30/04 Fighters loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr have been allowed to keep weapons such as AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers as part of secret provisions in a deal that ended the 22-day siege of the Iraqi holy city of Najaf. The revelation by Sayyed Immad Mohamed Kalantal - who acted as an intermediary in the agreement brokered by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric - raised fears members of Sadr's Mehdi Army could regroup and prepare a new armed uprising against the Government and its US backers... MORE: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10613173%255E401,00.html On Wednesday, Rhino's Blog reader Alex White Plume will appear on the national Native radio call-in/talk show, "Native America Calling." [integral]Alex has been trying to exercise his Lakota Nation's sovereignty, but instead of doing it by operating a casino, he's been doing it by growing industrial hemp. Here's the blurb from the Native America Calling website where you can listen to the program live. http://www.nativeamericacalling.com Alex White Plume on Native America Calling , [integral]Wednesday, September 1 A Native farmer on the Pine Ridge Reservation held the 2nd Annual Lakota Hemp Days in connection with his wild hemp harvest. He cites his rights outlined in an 1868 Treaty that gives Lakota people the right to grow whatever they see fit for food and clothing. He wants to grow and harvest his hemp and turn it into paper. Unlike marijuana, hemp doesn't have the psychoactive chemical that produces a high thus making it illegal. Is hemp a viable crop and business for some tribes? For more on the saga of Alex White Plume, check out: 2nd Annual Lakota Hemp Days HEMPhasis Magazine, July 19, 2004 http://www.globalhemp.com/News/2004/July/lakota-hemp-days.php And in another story from The Great Sioux Nation, someone's trying to suppress the Indian vote. Battle of Little Big Vote - Welcome to South Dakota, [integral][integral][integral]where Republicans tried to impose a poll tax to suppress the Indian vote. By Tara McKelvey, The American Prospect, 8.27.04 A plastic sign outside a polling place in Andes Central High School on the Yankton Sioux reservation was clear and concise. "Photo ID required," it read. [integral]The only problem, said Charon Asetoyer, executive director of the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center in Lake Andes, South Dakota, was that the sign was illegal. [integral]Sitting in a conference room decorated with a buffalo skull, hand-sewn medicine bags, and a poster that says "Prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome," Asetoyer explains how the law doesn't, in fact, require voters to have a photo ID. If you don't have one, you can sign a personal-identification affidavit.. MORE: Little Big Vote 8:46:12 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Follow the Money How John Kerry busted the terrorists' favorite bank "SEND THIS ARTICLE TO A REPUBLICAN!" Follow the Money How John Kerry busted the terrorists' favorite bank. By David Sirota & Jonathan Baskin, The Washington Monthly, September 2004 Two decades ago, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was a highly respected financial titan. In 1987, when its subsidiary helped finance a deal involving Texas oilman George W. Bush, the bank appeared to be a reputable institution, with attractive branch offices, a traveler's check business, and a solid reputation for financing international trade. It had high-powered allies in Washington and boasted relationships with respected figures around the world.  All that changed in early 1988, when John Kerry, then a young senator from Massachusetts, decided to probe the finances of Latin American drug cartels. Over the next three years, Kerry fought against intense opposition from vested interests at home and abroad, from senior members of his own party; and from the Reagan and Bush administrations, none of whom were eager to see him succeed. By the end, Kerry had helped dismantle a massive criminal enterprise and exposed the infrastructure of BCCI and its affiliated institutions, a web that law enforcement officials today acknowledge would become a model for international terrorist financing. As Kerry's investigation revealed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, BCCI was interested in more than just enriching its clients--it had a fundamentally anti-Western mission. Among the stated goals of its Pakistani founder were to "fight the evil influence of the West," and finance Muslim terrorist organizations. In retrospect, Kerry's investigation had uncovered an institution at the fulcrum of America's first great post-Cold War security challenge.  More than a decade later, Kerry is his party's nominee for president, and terrorist financing is anything but a back-burner issue. The Bush campaign has settled on a new strategy for attacking Kerry: Portray him as a do-nothing senator who's weak on fighting terrorism.... READ IT ALL  AT: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0409.sirota.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 7:13:31 AM    comment

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