Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Truths by Conyers, Galloway & McNamara FEATURED ARTICLES - US, NATO Nuclear Policies 'Immoral' - McNamara, Reuters - Galloway v the US Senate: Transcript of Statement, Times of London - Interview with British MP George Galloway, Thom Hartmann - RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE: Letter to George W. Bush on the Downing Street Memo, by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. 2 QUOTES: "If I were to characterize U.S. and NATO nuclear policies in one sentence, I would say they are immoral, illegal, militarily unnecessary, very, very dangerous in terms of the risk of inadvertent or accidental launch and destructive of the non-proliferation regime that has served us so well." - - Robert McNamara, 5/24/05 (Former US Defense Secretary from the Vietnam War era) "Everybody's talking about Revolution, evolution, masturbation, flagellation, regulation, integrations, meditations, United Nations, Congratulations. All we are saying is give peace a chance" - - John Lennon THE HISTORY: June 1st 1969 -- John & Yoko record "Give Peace a Chance," Montreal (with friends Tom & Dick Smothers, Derek Taylor, Murray the K &Timothy Leary). RHINO HERE: Uncompromised truth spoken by government representatives has become so rare that when it happens, it's like a breath of fresh air in the L.A. Basin on a still spring day. If you missed British MP George Galloway's testimony to the US Senate last month, take the opportunity to read his statements linked below. His performance was a model for how the Rhino wishes all our government representatives could operate. Also linked is an interview with Mr. Galloway by Thom Hartman. Next is a Reuters piece reporting on comments by Viet Nam War architect Robert McNamara, subject of the documentary‚ "Fog Of War,' on the occasion of a United Nations conference taking stock of the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. His condemnation of US & UK nuke policies should be a wake up call for Republicans. United States Representative John Conyers, Jr., a Detroit Democrat, was re-elected in November 2002 to his nineteenth term in the U. S. House of Representatives, winning 93 percent of the vote in Michigan's Fourteenth Congressional District. He is one of the few members of Congress actively working to get American's to take off their blinders and see what's right in front of them: that Bush planned this war, manipulated or made up "reasons" to attack Iraq, and Tony Blair went right along. If you haven't read about this, just Google "Downing Street Memo". (o/)(o/)(o/) Galloway v the US Senate: Transcript of Statement The Times of London, May 18, 2005 George Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, delivered this statement to US Senators today who have accused him of corruption. "Senator, I am not now, nor have I ever been, an oil trader. and neither has anyone on my behalf. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one - and neither has anyone on my behalf. Now I know that standards have slipped in the last few years in Washington, but for a lawyer you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice. I am here today but last week you already found me guilty. You traduced my name around the world without ever having asked me a single question, without ever having contacted me, without ever written to me or telephoned me, without any attempt to contact me whatsoever. And you call that justice... READ THE REST AT: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1616578,00.html Interview with British MP George Galloway by Thom Hartmann, May 28, 2005 CommonDreams.org ... In the international system that we have there's no chance of the likes of Henry Kissinger, for example, the greatest living war criminal in the world today with the blood of millions of people in Vietnam and Cambodia and Laos and Chile and East Timor or in many other places on his hands. He will never appear in a court or be behind bars. That's for the tin pot tyrants, the tiny tyrants like Milosevic; they get sent there. The big tyrants never face justice.... READ IT ALL AT: (o/)(o/)(o/) US, NATO Nuclear Policies 'Immoral' - McNamara By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, 24 May 2005 Editor's Note: Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He was considered the architect of "McNamara's War," which claimed the lives of 3 million Vietnamese, one million Cambodians and Laotians, and 58,000 Americans. He eventually tired of the war, and left to become president of the World Bank. His misgivings were that the policies would be unsuccessful, not that they were wrong. McNamara continues to be unapologetic about his responsibility for the Indochina War. He does admit, however, that he and Gen. Curtis LeMay, who planned massive fire bombings in Japan including a raid over Toyko that killed 100,000 civilians in one night, would have been prosecuted as war criminals if we had lost World War II. -- mc/TruthOut ... "If I were to characterize U.S. and NATO nuclear policies in one sentence, I would say they are immoral, illegal, militarily unnecessary, very, very dangerous in terms of the risk of inadvertent or accidental launch and destructive of the non-proliferation regime that has served us so well," he said. McNamara said the monthlong conference should strengthen the treaty and "ensure that North Korea and Iran do not become nuclear powers." But he added, "I believe there is a high probability that the conference will fail to achieve those objectives."... MORE AT: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052505Z.shtml (o/)(o/)(o/) 11:01:18 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Letter to George W. Bush Concerning the Downing Street Memo Letter to George W. Bush Concerning the Downing Street Memo By Tony Norman, Pittsburg Post Gazzette, May 24, 2005 Dear Friend: As many of you are aware, a classified memo was recently disclosed in Great Britain that I believe has serious ramifications for the integrity of the United States Government. Dubbed the "Downing Street Memo," but actually comprising the minutes of a meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair and other top British government officials, the memo casts serious doubt on many of the contentions of the Bush Administration in the lead up to the Iraq war. With over 1,600 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen killed in Iraq, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and over $200 billion in taxpayer funds going to this war effort, we cannot afford to stand by any longer. Along with 88 of my colleagues, I wrote to the President requesting answers about this grave matter. Thus far, our search for the truth has been stonewalled and I need your help. I believe the American people deserve answers about this matter and should demand directly that the President tell the truth about the memo. To that end, I am asking you to sign on to a letter to the President requesting he answer the questions posed to him by 89 Members of Congress. I will personally insure that this letter is delivered to the White House.You can read the letter here and sign on to it below. You and I know the White House is just hoping that this matter will fade away, but in a few short weeks, with our steadfastness, the memo has found its way into leading newspapers and White House press briefings. With your help, we can hold this Administration accountable. Please pass on this important letter to your friends and colleagues, and ask them to sign as well. Thank you for your help and support. John Conyers, Jr. Letter to President Bush Concerning the Downing Street Memo http://www.johnconyers.campaignoffice.com/index.asp?Type=SUPERFORMS&SEC=%7B0F1B03E0-080B-4100-B143-36A5985EF1E3%7D (o/)(o/)(o/) Rhino's Blog is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. Feedback & requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. (rhino@kifaru.com) See The Latest Greatest Political Cartoons      While You Read Rhino's Blog 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 9:33:59 AM    comment

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