tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84247146825054616332024-03-13T19:13:36.416-04:00ATrue Blue ProgressiveA True Blue Progressive offers an independent progressive analysis with an American history emphasis on today’s party politics and relevant issues that have, too often, ignored the interests of the American public.A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-54272722334361736502014-03-05T08:29:00.001-05:002014-03-05T08:29:33.444-05:00Chronology of the Ukrainian Coup
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Listening to the US media, even the most diligent
news junkie would find it difficult to know that the U.S. State Department
played not only a vital role in the </span><a href="http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/02/23/democracy-murdered-protest-ukraine-falls-intrigue-violence/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">violence and chaos</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> underway in Ukraine but was also
complicit in creating the coup that ousted democratically elected President
Viktor Yanuyovch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the Russian
Parliament’s approval of Putin’s request for military troops to be moved into
Crimea, Americans uninformed about the </span><a href="http://michael-hudson.com/2014/03/ukraine-go-west-young-man/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">history</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of that region might also be
persuaded that Russia is the </span><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/02/28/obamas-dumbest-plan-yet/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">aggressor</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and the sole perpetrator of the
violence.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let’s be clear about what is at stake here:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/10668978/Ukraine-crisis-even-a-less-menacing-Russian-leader-than-Vladimir-Putin-would-not-let-Ukraine-go-easily.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">NATO missiles</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> on the adjacent Ukraine border
aimed directly at Russia would make that country extremely vulnerable to Western
goals and destabilization efforts while threatening Russia’s only water access
to its naval fleet in Crimean peninsula, the Balkans, the Mediterranean Sea and
the Middle East – and not the least of which would </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">allow world economic </span><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/02/28/obamas-dumbest-plan-yet/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">dominance</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> by the US, the European Union,
the IMF, World Bank and international financiers all of whom had already
brought staggering suffering to millions around the globe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The fact is that democracy was not a demand on the
streets of Kiev.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The current record of
events indicates that protests of civil dissatisfaction were organized by
reactionary </span><a href="http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/02/23/democracy-murdered-protest-ukraine-falls-intrigue-violence/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">neo-Nazi forces</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> intent on fomenting a major
domestic crisis ousting Ukraine’s legitimate government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As events continue to spiral out of control,
here is the chronology of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>how the coup
was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>engineered to install a government
more favorable to EU and US goals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">April 11,
2011</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - A </span><a href="http://www.kyivpost.com/content/business/ukraine-hopes-to-get-15-billion-tranche-from-imf-i.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="color: blue;">Kiev Post</span></span></a><u><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">article</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">entitled “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ukraine Hopes to Get $1.5 Billion from IMF in June</i>” states that the
loan is dependent on pension cuts while<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">maintaining cooperation with the IMF, since <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it influences the country's interaction with other international
financial institutions and private investors</b>” and further that the “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">attraction</b> of $850 million from the
World Bank in 2011, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">depended on
cooperation with the IMF</b>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, that
about says it all - if Ukraine played ball. then the loan money would pour
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://sofiaglobe.com/2013/11/22/ukraine-eu-suspension-order-was-economic-move/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;">November 21, 2013</span></span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><u><span style="color: blue;"> - </span></u></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fast forward to the EU summit in Lithuania
when</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
President Yanuyovch<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>embarrassed the
European Union by </span><a href="http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=16674.0"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">rejecting</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> its Agreement in favor of
joining Russia’s Common Union with other Commonwealth Independent States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">November
27, 2013</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> – it was
not until </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">February
23, 2014 when<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anonymous Ukraine hackers </span><a href="http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_23/Anonymous-Ukraine-releases-Klitschko-e-mails-showing-treason-3581/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">released</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> a series of
emails from a Lithuanian government advisor to</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span lang="EN">opposition leader and former
boxer Vitaly Klitschko regarding plans to destabilize Ukraine; for example:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Our American friends promise to pay a
visit in the coming days, we may even see <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nuland</b>
or someone from the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Congress</b>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12/7/2013<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Your colleague has arrived ….his services
may be required even after the country is destabilized.” 12/14/2013<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I think we’ve paved the way for more radical
escalation of the situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it
time to proceed with more decisive action?” 1/9/2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">November
29, 2013</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>well-orchestrated protestors were </span><a href="http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/euromaidan-rallies-in-ukraine-nov-21-23-coverage-332423.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">already in the streets</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of Kiev as European Commission
President Jose Manual Barroso announced that the EU would “</span><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25154618"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">not accept Russia’s veto</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">” of the Agreement. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">December 13, 2013</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - As if intent on providing incontrovertible
evidence of US involvement in Ukraine, Assistant US Secretary of State for
Europe and Eurasia Victoria Nuland proudly told a </span><a href="http://www.sott.net/article/273602-US-Assistant-Secretary-of-State-Victoria-Nuland-says-Washington-has-spent-5-billion-trying-to-subvert-Ukraine"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>meeting</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of the International Business Conference sponsored
by the US-Ukrainian Foundation that the US had ‘invested’ more than $5 billion
and ‘five </span><a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/02/27/geop-f27.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">years worth</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of work and preparation” in achieving
what she called Ukraine’s ‘European aspirations.” Having just returned from her
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">third trip to Ukraine in five weeks, </b>Nuland
boasted of her ‘coordinated high level diplomacy’ and a more than two hour
‘tough conversation’ with Yanukovych.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Already
familiar with Nuland as former Secretary Clinton’s spokesperson at State, one
can imagine her discourteous tone and manner when she says she made it
“absolutely clear” to Yanukovych that the US required “immediate steps” …to
“get back into conversation with Europe and the IMF.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
Western media have portrayed Yanukovych as a ‘weak’ leader, Nuland’s
description of a ‘tough’ meeting can only mean that he resisted her threats and
intimidations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In what must have been a
touching moment, Nuland spoke about a show of force by government police on
demonstrators who “sang hymns and prayed for peace.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
Nuland did not reveal on December 13 was that her meetings with ‘key Ukrainian
stakeholders’ included neo-Nazi </span><a href="http://propagandamatrix.com/articles/february2014/280214_nazi_party.htm"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">Svoboda party leader</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Oleh Tyahnybok and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>prime minister wannabe Arsenly Yatsenyuk of
the Fatherland Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At about the same
time Nuland was </span><a href="http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/02/23/democracy-murdered-protest-ukraine-falls-intrigue-violence/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">wooing fascist extremists</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, Sen. John McCain (R-Az) and
Sen. Chris Murphy (D- Conn) </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-meets-oleh-tyahnybok-in-ukraine-2013-12"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">shared the stage</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in Kiev with Tyahnybok offering
their support and opposition to the sitting government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-meets-oleh-tyahnybok-in-ukraine-2013-12"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">Svoboda party</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> which has roots with extreme
vigilante and anti-semitic groups has since received at least three high level
cabinet posts in the interim government including deputy prime minister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no doubt that the progenies of west
Ukraine’s historic neo-fascist thugs that fought with Hitler are now aligned
with the US as represented by Victoria Nuland. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">January
24, 2013</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> –
President Yanukoyvch identified </span><a href="http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_01_24/Yanukovych-says-foreigners-involved-in-radical-actions-in-Kiev-4844/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">foreign elements</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> participating in Kiev protests
warning that armed radicals were a danger to peaceful citizens</span><a href="http://www.debka.com/article/23700/Yanukovych-leaves-Kiev-Opposition-leaders-lose-control-of-hard-core-protesters"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Independent news</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> agencies also reported that</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not all of Kiev’s
population backs opposition rule, which depends mainly on a group from the
former Polish town of Lvov, which holds sway over Kiev downtown - but not the
rest of the city.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">January
30, 2013</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>T<span style="color: #252525;">he </span></span><a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/01/221059.htm"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">State Department’s website</span></span></a><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Media Note
announced Nuland’s upcoming travel plans that ”In Kyiv, Assistant Secretary
Nuland will meet with government officials, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">opposition leaders</b>, civil society and business leaders to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">encourage agreement on a new government and
plan of action.”</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words,
almost a month before President Yanukovych was ousted, the US was planning to
rid the world of another independently elected President.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">February
4, 2013</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More evidence of Ms. Nuland’s meddling with
extremist factions and the high level stakes of war and peace occurred in her </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxaa-67yGM"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">taped conversation</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> with</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> U.S.
Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt discussing their calculations of who’s in
and who’s out to replace Yanukovych. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note mention of Nazi leader Oleh
Tyahnybok.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are some selected excerpts:</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nuland</span></u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What do you
think?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pyat</span></u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">t:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I think we’re in play… the [Vitali] Klitsch
piece is obviously the complicated electron here especially the announcement of
him as deputy prime minister. Your argument to him which you’ll need to
make,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the next phone call<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we want to set up is exactly the one you made
to Yats [Yatsenyuk].<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I’m glad you
sort of put him on the spot on where he fits in this scenario and I’m very glad
he said what he said in response.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nuland</span></u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I don’t think
Klitsch should go into government. I don’t think its necessary. I don’t think
it’s a good idea.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pyatt</span></u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“yeah…I
mean I guess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You think…what…in terms of
him not going into the government,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>just
let him sort of stay out and do his political homework and stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m just thinking in terms of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the process moving ahead, we want to keep the
moderate democrats together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The problem is going to be Tyahnybok</b>
and his guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure that’s what
Yanukoyvch <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is calculating on all this</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nuland:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I think Yats is the guy who’s got the
economic experience, the governing experience. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What he needs is Klitsch and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tyahnybok</b> on the outside and he needs
to be talking to them four times a week you know…I think with Klitsch going in
at that level working for Yats, it’s not going to work.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nuland:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“My understanding is that the big three
[Yatsenyuk, Klitsch and Tyahnybok] were going in to their own meeting and that
Yats was going to offer in that context a three plus one conversation with you.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pyatt:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“ That’s what he proposed but knowing the
dynamic that’s been with them where<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Klitsch
has been top dog;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he’s going to take a
while to show up at a meeting, he’s probably talking to his guys at this point
so I think you reaching out to him will help with the personality management among
the three and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">gives us a chance to move
fast on all this stuff </b>and put us behind it before they all sit dow<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">n</b> and he explains why he doesn’t like
it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nuland:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>… “when I talked to Jeff Feltman this
morning, he had a new name for the UN<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>guy …Robert Serry<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– he’s now
gotten both Serry and </span><a href="http://www.sify.com/news/ukraine-ban-highlights-need-for-resolution-of-political-crisis-news-default-ocmx9iccdhf.html"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">Ban ki Moon</span></span></b></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to agree that Serry could come in Monday or Tuesday… so
that would be great I think<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to help glue
this thing and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">have the UN help glue it
and you know fuck the EU.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pyatt:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Exactly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">we’ve got to do something
to make it stick</b> together because you can be pretty sure the Russians will
be working behind the scenes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>….Let me
work on Klitchko and I think we want to get somebody with an international
personality to come out here and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>help
midwife this thing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nuland:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>”…Sullivan’s
come back to me saying you need Biden<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said probably
tomorrow for an” ‘atta’ boy’ and get the deeds to stick<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so Biden’s willing.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">February
20, 2014</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Foreign ministers from Poland, Germany and
France visiting Kiev secured President Yanukovych’s </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/20/ukraine-eu-foreign-ministers-agree-sanctions-officials"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>agreement</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> that would commit the government to an interim
administration, constitutional reform and new parliamentary and presidential
elections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">no clear sign that EU or US pressure</b> has achieved” the desired
effect,</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7be2df76-8617-11e3-b30d-00144feab7de.html#axzz2uqSgRPgy"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: blue;">opposition</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> leaders</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">rejected Yanukovych’s compromise
which would have ended the three month stand-off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called
on the German, French and Polish </span><a href="http://www.debka.com/article/23700/Yanukovych-leaves-Kiev-Opposition-leaders-lose-control-of-hard-core-protesters"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;">foreign ministers to step in</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> and take
responsibility for upholding the deal they helped forge and not let “</span><a href="http://www.infowars.com/this-is-how-the-new-government-in-ukraine-deals-with-opponents/"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;">armed extremists</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">” directly
threaten Ukrainian sovereignty.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">February
21<sup>, </sup>2014</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At a
special summit in Brussels, European foreign ministers </span><a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/02/21/ukra-f21.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">agreed to adopt</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> sanctions on Ukraine </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">including
visa bans and asset freezes. The EU decision followed “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">immense pressure from the US</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">for
the European powers to</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">take punitive
action against the Ukrainian regime</b>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Washington had already imposed travel bans on 20 leading Ukrainians.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">February
22, 2014</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
–<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An hour after </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/yanukovych-leaves-kiev-2014-2"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">refusing to
resign</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">,
the Ukrainian Parliament voted, according to Russian president Vladimir Putin,
in an </span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/putin-ukraine-unconstitutional-coup-yanukovych-legitimate-leader-article-1.1709894"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">unconstitutional
action</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
to oust President Yanukovych and that pro-EU forces </span><a href="http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2014/02/25/police-state-ukraine"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">staged a
‘coup’</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yanukovych departed Kiev in fear for his
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">March 1,
2014</span></u><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - During
a<sup> </sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/02/28/readout-vice-president-s-call-ukrainian-prime-minister-arseniy-yatsenyuk"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">conversation</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> initiated by the vice president,
Biden delivered his ‘atta boy’ with a phone call to newly installed prime
minister Arseniy </span><a href="http://www.infowars.com/central-banker-appointed-as-prime-minister-of-ukraine/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">Yatsenyuk </span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reaffirming US support for Ukraine’s
‘territorial integrity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">All of the above machinations expose an incoherent and
corrupt American foreign policy with a litany of US hypocrisy that might be
hilarious if not for potentially grave global implications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The comment “you just don’t behave by
invading another country on completely trumped up pretext” might just win
Secretary of State John Kerry the Hypocrisy of the Year Award.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kerry, of course, famously supported the
2003 invasion of Iraq seeking weapons of mass destruction.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">But then again, the President’s own </span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-obama-putin-ukraine-20140304,0,5279776.story#axzz2v5mfLGat"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: blue;">comments</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> that “..countries have deep concerns and
suspicions about this kind of meddling..” and that “…as long as none of us are
inside Ukraine trying to meddle and intervene.. with decisions that properly
belong to Ukrainian people…” while<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>announcing </span><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/03/04/obama-russia-ukraine-1-billion-putin-crimea/6006759/"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$1 billion aid</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>package to
Ukraine (but not Detroit) would be a close runner-up for the Award. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-42634360566730418862013-07-19T13:47:00.000-04:002013-07-19T13:47:05.067-04:00Juror B37 and the Acquittal of George Zimmerman
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As the bitter disappointment and initial anger subside after
an all-female jury’s verdict in George Zimmerman’s trial for the murder of
Trayvon Martin, provocative questions linger about their Not Guilty judgment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is, of course, appropriate to question not
only whether the State Attorney’s Office, far more accustomed to convicting
young black men rather than defending their rights, put their best effort
forward in a case that was always going to be circumstantial but whether the
entire judicial process failed to provide justice to the Martin family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Early on, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson handed
the prosecution a critical blow when she ruled that ‘</span><a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/17620-zimmerman-vs-martin-racial-profiling-and-self-defense"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">racial
profiling’ </span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>could not be mentioned
during the trial, limiting the State Attorney to only ‘profiling’ despite
Zimmerman’s racially charged statements to the 911 operator. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Given juror B37’s unexpected timing and desire for public
exposure with a lengthy </span><a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=juror+b37&qpvt=juror+b37&FORM=ASMMVR"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">public
interviews</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> with CNN’s Anderson Cooper as well as the refutation of her statements
by four other jurors, it is also proper to consider her role in shaping the
ultimate not guilty verdict. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Originally expressing
surprise at the national demonstrations of outrage protesting the unfairness of
the verdict and public cynicism at the failure of the judicial system, B37
stepped forward to make a multitude of </span><a href="http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/18436-7-mind-blowing-moments-from-zimmerman-juror-b37s-first-interview"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">stunning
admissions</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. With considerable public attention focused on her, juror B37 announced
a deal with a literary agent contacted on a Sunday afternoon to write a memoir
with her attorney-husband about the trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then, just as quickly, announced the next day that she would not be
pursuing a </span><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2013/0716/Zimmerman-trial-juror-B37-drops-plans-for-a-book"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">literary
career</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, perhaps with the forewarning that some of her juror peers were coming
forward to dispute, in general terms, her version of events. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 261.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of </span><a href="http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/321673/250/Who-are-the-six-jurors-in-Zimmermans-trial"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">six
jurors</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, there is a reasonable question as to how the prosecution passed on
B37 to allow her to be seated when most professional jury<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>selection consultants would have quickly
raised red flags<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not just regarding<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>her enigmatic responses but also displaying a
less than open and inquiring mind. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See voir
dire video </span><a href="http://gawker.com/george-zimmerman-juror-b37-hates-media-called-trayvon-787873533"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, it could be argued that a
distinct political bias existed as B37 repeated <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">three times</b> during </span><a href="http://gawker.com/george-zimmerman-juror-b37-hates-media-called-trayvon-787873533"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">voir
dire</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> that Sanford experienced ‘rioting’ which never occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a considerable stretch of credulity, she
stated that she never, not once, not to her attorney husband or her two adult
daughters (one of whom lives at home) expressed any opinion or discussed any of
the events that were occurring in the community at the time and that no family
member ever expressed an opinion to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Based on B37’s recent </span><a href="http://newday.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/16/zimmerman-trial-what-happened-in-jury-room/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">CNN
interview</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, her earlier <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>commitment to
both defense attorney Mark O’Mara and assistant state attorney Bernie de la
Rionda during voir dire that she had not formed an opinion in the case, had not
been influenced or had any predisposition either way is now in serious
doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 261.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If, in fact, B37 was as uninformed as she
claimed, where did she get the idea that rioting had occurred? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While she<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was encouraging the prosecution and defense
to believe that she was a totally disinterested<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>citizen <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who would be an unbiased
juror and stressed her availability to be sequestered, we now know <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>B37 emerged during her Cooper i</span><a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1307/15/acd.01.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">nterviews</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>speaking </span><a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-jeffrey-toobin-claims-zimmerman-juror-b-37-sympathetic-to-defense-from-beginning/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">authoritatively</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
about the legal </span><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/15/justice/zimmerman-juror-book"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">implications</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law and was considerably more opinionated than
she had been during voir dire; thus, now unencumbered by the need for
neutrality to </span><a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-jeffrey-toobin-claims-zimmerman-juror-b-37-sympathetic-to-defense-from-beginning/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">parrot</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
virtually every “theory of defense’ element used by Zimmerman’s attorneys. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We don’t yet know exactly what it was in her statements that
prompted four other jurors to </span><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/16/4-jurors-distant-themselves-from-zimmerman-juror-who-gave-television-interview/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">publicly
distance</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> themselves from B37’s media grab but it has raised questions as to
her </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/07/zimmerman_trial_juror_b37_why_did_prosecutors_let_her_on_the_trayvon_martin.single.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">leadership</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
during<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>jury deliberations including her
new-found </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/15/juror-b37-zimmerman-trial-911-tape-george_n_3601501.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">assertiveness,</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
a marked departure from her more reserved yet prickly style during voir dire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still
unknown is which juror served as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“foreman’
but if it was B37, that would account for her assuming a public platform as if
spokesperson for the entire jury as well as having<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>encouraged <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>her to assume an influential role during
deliberation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">More explicit detail on B37’s assertion that the jury spent
‘hours deliberating over the law’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>including her follow up “</span><a href="http://newday.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/16/zimmerman-trial-what-happened-in-jury-room/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">that’s
how we got to the point of everybody being not guilty</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">” is a crucial
statement and might <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shed light on how
and why </span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-zimmerman-juror-20130715,0,5484479.story"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">three
jurors</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> originally in favor of a guilty verdict turned around to acquit
Zimmerman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless one of the other jurors has an attack
of conscience to clear the public record, we may never know<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whether B37 was a ringer right out of John
Grisham’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Runaway-Jury/60031241?strkid=1876910705_0_0&strackid=5f44db5ec6c92248_0_srl&trkid=222336"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Runaway Jury</span></i></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or simply a bored housewife desirous of
writing a best seller or whether her attorney co-author husband might have influenced
her <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>participation and the final verdict
in any way. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Confused Jury instructions have been cited as leading the
jurors to acquit Zimmerman as another of Judge Nelson ‘s rulings from the bench
benefitted the defense when she withdrew the </span><a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/17620-zimmerman-vs-martin-racial-profiling-and-self-defense"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">‘first
aggressor’</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> instruction which could have allowed the jury to find Zimmerman
the ‘initial aggressor’; thereby denying his claim of self-defense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-29225506082089141962013-07-05T11:27:00.000-04:002013-07-05T11:27:37.572-04:00UN Accuses Israel of Torturing Palestinian Childen<a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10350">http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10350</a>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-88069012166683205472013-07-01T15:19:00.000-04:002013-07-05T11:28:15.482-04:00NSA Revelations Refute Obama interview <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While much
of the country’s media was tracking whistleblower Edward Snowden’s whereabouts
or </span><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/hey-msm-all-journalism-is-advocacy-journalism-20130627?print=true"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">questioning</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Glenn Greenwald’s journalistic </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/frank-rich-david-gregory-glenn-greenwald-question_n_3504569.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">credentials</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, President Obama took the
opportunity to support NSA’s massive surveillance programs in a recent </span><a href="http://www.charlierose.com/download/transcript/12981"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">interview</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> with Charlie Rose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ever cool
and personable, even as his approval </span><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">ratings</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> continued to slide, the president’s
enviable ability to remain unruffled in defense of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the government’s highly controversial
surveillance policy deflects a deeper understanding of what makes the inner man
tick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the conversation moved from
the shambles of war in the mideast and onto NSA’s role, the President
maintained his usual upbeat and optimistic demeanor uttering predictable
responses; yet following a one-dimensional script disconnected from the
magnitude of the country’s </span><a href="http://www.newsmax.com/surveys/Results/id/78"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">disapproval</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the
Obama Administration has favored a </span><a href="http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/320-80/18145-ecuador-breaks-us-trade-pact-to-thwart-blackmail-over-snowden-asylum"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">big stick</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> approach instead of diplomacy in
its demands for the return of Snowden,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> w</span>ith Secretary
of State John Kerry and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in screed-mode displaying
little political finesse. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kerry
hilariously called on other countries to ‘uphold the </span><a href="http://www.kcci.com/news/politics/Kerry-defends-U-S-attempts-to-get-Snowden-back/-/9356970/20692154/-/plb607z/-/index.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">rule of law’</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and predicted that ‘<a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Kerry+%22people+may+die%22+re+NSA+leaks&mid=3CE3ED7E7F37F6B808FD3CE3ED7E7F37F6B808FD&view=detail&FORM=VIRE1"><span style="color: darkblue;">people
may die</span></a>” while the insipid Schumer was threatening Russia with ‘</span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/schumer-blasts-russia-allowing-edward-snowden-land-moscow-article-1.1380288"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">serious consequences’</span></span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;"> – </span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">all
that came before </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the
revelation that NSA had been collecting data on<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>many of our European allies since 2010. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Russian
President Valdimir Putin brushed off the US snit-fit as “</span><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-security-flightbre95m02h-20130623,0,7253812.story"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">ravings and rubbish</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">” as the President joined <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rose just prior to attending the G8 meeting in
Ireland where he was attacked in the Irish Parliament as a ‘</span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/clare-daly-obama-war-criminal_n_3479158.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">war criminal’</span></span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;"> </span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and
the target of protest demonstrations in </span></span><a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Berlin+demonstrations+against+Obama&mid=456A879FF8EA594BE7EB456A879FF8EA594BE7EB&view=detail&FORM=VIRE8"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">Berlin</span></span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;"> </span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/29/19204734-protesters-scuffle-with-police-before-obamas-town-hall-meeting-in-soweto?lite"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">South Africa</span></span></a><span style="color: darkblue;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">President Obama
responded to the allegation of Chinese cyber hacking US private and public
sectors assuring Charlie that “we had a very blunt conversation about cyber
security” suggesting that he administered a stern dressing-down to President Xi
Jinping with “this can adversely affect the fundamentals of US/China
relationship” at their meeting in early June in California.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What is key here
is that the conversation with President Xi was prior to the Snowden </span><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1266875/exclusive-us-hacked-pacnet-asia-pacific-fibre-optic-network-operator"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">disclosure</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> that the US had
hacked Tsinghua University, </span><a href="http://www.pacnet.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">Pacnet</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">, Asia’s largest
independent tele communications service and the City of Hong Kong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One can only imagine President Xi’s chagrin
upon belatedly discovering that after having been chastised by Obama, that the
US President was fully aware that the US had been doing exactly what China was
being accused of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here was an
opportunity for Charlie to clarify how the foregoing endangers ‘national
security’ or<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>determine whether the real
crime is more like intense political embarrassment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As the interview
moved to the 1.7 billion electronic messages intercepted each day, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the President skillfully described how innocuous, how
matter-of-fact<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NSA surveillance was as
he offered the “unequivocal ” assurance that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls or read your email without a
‘probable cause’ warrant from the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Security Act)
Court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately for the President,
the entire world now knows that the President’s assertion does not jibe with
top secret rules signed by Attorney General Holder in 2009 (and revealed by
Edward Snowden) which details the procedure for data collection of US and
non-US persons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charlie missed the scoop of his life when he failed to ask
the President if he supported the omnipotent <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ability of General Keith Alexander, NSA
Director to </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">intercept</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">all</b> communications of every Member
of Congress, every Fortune 500 CEO and members of the Cabinet including The Big
Man on Campus himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With
earnestness, the President offered repeated assurances that sufficient
oversight and safeguards were in place describing the FISA (Foreign
Intelligence Security Act) court as ‘transparent’ with ‘independent federal
judges overseeing the entire program’ adding that ‘you’ve got Congress
overseeing the program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not just the
intelligence committee, not just the judiciary committee but all of
Congress.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But that’s not
exactly how it works, Mr. President -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>only select members of Congress (without staff) are allowed to visit the
inner sanctum where uber-classified documents are secreted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are prohibited from taking any notes
and depart without any copies of documents to review. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Assurances
of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>legislative oversight are at odds
with Senators Mark </span><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23425397/colorados-sen-mark-udall-says-u-s-surveillance"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">Udall</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> and Ron </span><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/06/sen_ron_wyden_cites_contradict.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">Wyden</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">, among other </span><a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/06/members_of_congress_denied_access_to_secrets_they_are_entitled_to_know.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">Members</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> of
Congress,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who have been requesting
documentation and complaining about NSA’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>stonewall citing “significant inaccuracies” regarding safeguards for
American citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most recently, 26
Senators have written<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/12/james-clapper-intelligence-chief-criticism"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">James Clapper</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">, National
Intelligence Director </span><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/node/95960"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">to protest</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> a secret
reinterpretation of the Patriot Act (thus creating a new secret law) and its
application to NSA data collection described by Sen. Wyden as raising </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">serious civil
liberty concerns and all but removes the public from an informed national
security and civil liberty debate</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The FISA </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act#FISA_court"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">Court</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> was established
in 1979 to oversee requests for surveillance warrants with eleven </span><a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/FISA-Judge-Who-Approved-Ma-by-Rob-Kall-130630-473.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">judges</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> appointed by
the Chief Justice with one to be on-call 24-7 for emergencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The court meets in secret, all proceedings
are </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_parte"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: darkblue;">ex parte</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> and evidence is
presented only by the Department of Justice with no opportunity for the
hearings or information collected to be public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since its formation, the court has denied
eleven surveillance warrants out of over 33,000 warrant requests – far from the
kind of ‘checks and balance’ that the President has assured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Mention of the
Court prompted Charlie to inquire whether ‘any of those (warrants) have been
turned down?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The President appeared not
to hear the question and steered the conversation elsewhere, no doubt confident
there would be no follow-up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Undeterred, Charlie gave it another go when he asked ‘but has the FISA
court turned down any requests?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
President responded amiably, ‘first of all Charlie, the number of requests are
surprisingly small’ but failed to elaborate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With no discussion about how NSA surveillance has impeded
the war on terror, the President was asked what’s going to change, was he going
to give James Clapper any instructions? </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The President announced that</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the
intelligence community is now reviewing whether any unspecified
declassifications would be appropriate - raising the question of how such
declassification might impact the government’s case against Edward Snowden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The President told Charlie he would meet with his </span><a href="http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/112thCongressExecutiveNominations/PrivacyAndCivilLibertiesOversightBoard.cfm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which he described
as made up of ‘independent citizens, including some fierce civil libertarians’
with the goal of setting up the structure for a “national conversation” on the
broader question of surveillance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Boasting that the NSA is “bigger and better than everybody
else and we should take </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/opinion/the-criminal-nsa.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: darkblue;">pride</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in that,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the reality is that the President’s promises
are feeble attempts to dissemble his way out of what may be the most severe,
on-going crisis of his Presidency – the one that will taint his legacy into
future generations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-78718901581769851702013-05-29T14:16:00.000-04:002013-05-29T14:16:08.761-04:00With TPP's Fast Track Authority, Who Needs Congress?
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite the Obama Administration’s well-known penchant
for secrecy, enough information has leaked out of its closed-door negotiations
on the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2011/november/united-states-trans-pacific-partnership"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">TPP</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">)
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to reveal there is much to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.foe.org/projects/economics-for-the-earth/trade/trans-pacific-partnership"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">oppose</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
about the Mother of all Trade Agreements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rarely mentioned in trade discussions is the
inevitable connection between establishing a global corporate-financial
apparatus within the military-economic objectives of American foreign policy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, what country would dare reject
American demands for ‘trade’ in the face of the most domineering military
presence since the Roman Empire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://fasttrackhistory.org/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Authority</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">”
by Public Citizen’s Lori Wallach, only five TPP chapters out of 29 are strictly
devoted to ‘trade’ with the remainder focused on a broad array of public policy
issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How would the American public
respond if they knew that TPP’s agreed-upon authority will take absolute precedence
over all relevant US Federal and state law representing a grave threat to our
democratic federal republic. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the TPP slides under the radar to Congressional
approval, one of the more egregious elements of the Agreement is the not-so-innocuous-sounding
Trade Promotion Authority (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/29/us-usa-trade-kirk-idUSTRE81S1FF20120229"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">TPA</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also known as ‘fast track’ authority, the TPA
is receiving little attention given TPP’s gargantuan nature with more widespread
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://tpp2012.com/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">tentacles</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
than any previous agreement that reaches far </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/27/pacific-free-trade-deal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">beyond</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a basic trade agreement. Since the President considers ‘fast track’
essential to assure passage of what would otherwise be highly controversial if
the American public were informed, the TPA will apply to not just a
seriously-flawed TPP but to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all </i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/29/us-usa-trade-kirk-idUSTRE81S1FF20120229"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">future trade agreements</span></span></i></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, with a separate
Congressional vote on the TPA<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>expected
in June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After two years of clandestine discussions with a
dozen, mostly Pacific Rim, countries, revelations have identified TPP’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>extraordinary attack on the </span><span><a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/05/dimon-looks-to-keep-reins.html"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">sovereignty</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">of established US
law subject to an international tribunal as the Agreement takes a giant leap to
generate a massive economic integration steamrolling toward a fully corporatized
global economy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Never meant to be a vehicle for economic
equality or noble ideals, here are two brief </span></span><span><a href="http://nyc.sierraclub.org/tpp-resources/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">example</span></span></a><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">s of how 600
participating corporations expect to amass unprecedented power to own the
world:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the TPP would give companies the
right to circumvent the judicial process as it challenges Federal and state
regulations and ‘investor states” would allow corporations to sue a host
government with a panel of private attorneys to act as judges. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<u><span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As proposed, the TPA would eliminate Congress’
Constitutional responsibility as defined in Article I, Section 8 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to ‘regulate commerce with foreign nations.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is nothing ambiguous about
Constitutional intent in 1789 – having just concluded a revolutionary war against
an imperial autocrat with trade disputes a central issue, separation of powers
and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘checks and balance’ were a clear
decision by the country’s Founders to prevent a strong Executive from usurping power
from the legislative branch – and that included foreign trade. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What’s at issue is not just the TPA being used by a
determined Executive to seize Congressional authority, much as the War Powers
Act has been appropriated, but as a guise to push an objectionable trade
agreement without the American public understanding how trans-national
corporations are destabilizing the democratic principles of self-government. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keeping in mind the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.citizen.org/TPP"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">magnitude</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
of the issues encompassed by TPP (many details are still secret), here’s how
‘fast track’ would subvert Constitutional intent, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congressional protocol and the public’s right
to know: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there would be no public hearing, no witness
testimony or debate by any Congressional committee, no ‘mark up’ of the TPP, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>no amendments and no vote for adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, the TPP would go directly to the
House/Senate floor for action within a prescribed timetable during which there
would be no floor debate and no amendments with only one up-or-down vote – with
the Senate probably not requiring the usual 60 vote majority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, if and when Congress
approves the TPA, it will have willfully </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.cfr.org/trade/fast-track-trade-promotion-authority-its-impact-us-trade-policy/p13663"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">acquiesced</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
its own legal authority and its legislative prerogative as well as its proper
oversight role on Executive decision-making - as if intent to further destroy
its already-dismal </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_approval-903.html"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">credibility</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since the Administration has refused to provide a
draft for Congressional review,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>no member of Congress has so far been allowed
to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2012/08/eight-members-of-congress-request-access-to-leesburg-round-tpp-negotiations.html"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">attended</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
the hush-hush negotiations, there will be no Congressional input into the TPP content
with no assurance that the Agreement will reflect the needs of the American
people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Admittedly it might be
delusional to suggest that a mediocre Congress might <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have the intellectual wherewithal to make a meaningful
contribution or that a comatose Congress might recognize the stunning revelation
that the TPA<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>violates the fundamental
rules of American governance.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">None of this should come as a surprise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since President Richard Nixon initiated the
first fast track authority on trade agreements in1974, Congress has voted to
diminish its own Constitutionally- mandated role six times, according to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://fasttrackhistory.org/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Lori Wallach</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite labor union opposition, the
Democratic establishment in Congress has consistently supported trade
agreements when Vice Presidential candidate Al Gore called NAFTA a ‘good deal
for the country.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(See CNN’s classic </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=GhwhMXOxHTg&feature=endscreen"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">video</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
of the 1993 Gore-Perot NAFTA debate) <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">By 2008, after five million American
manufacturing </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://economyincrisis.org/?s=nafta+impacts&x=0&y=0"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">jobs</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> had been shipped overseas, Presidential
candidate Barack Obama criticized Sen. Hillary Clinton for her support and
referred to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://economyincrisis.org/?s=nafta+impacts&x=0&y=0"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">NAFTA</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>as <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘a mistake.’ Obama went on to
make repeated </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF9gpvI2UfU"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">promises</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> to renegotiate
and enforce labor and environment improvements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even as Obama was suggesting that the US
leave NAFTA if it could not be renegotiated, the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/us/politics/04nafta.html?_r=1&"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">New York Times</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> was reporting
that Austen Goolsbee, a senior campaign economic advisor, was quietly assuring
the Canadians that the candidate’s words “should be viewed as more about
political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://fasttrackhistory.org/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Wallach</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, candidate Obama promised to “ensure
that Congress plays a strong and informed role in international economic
policy” and that he would “replace fast track” as a process. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, talks have begun with the EU on a
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.truthabouttrade.org/2013/03/06/president-obamas-trade-policy-agenda-3/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">TTIP</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">)
to further eliminate market and regulatory barriers to trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-10007752825439725822013-05-06T10:33:00.001-04:002013-07-10T17:14:47.624-04:00Operation Urban Shield: Protecting the Homeland<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As if the recent NSA revelations were not reason enough to worry about the Federal government's drift toward an authoritarian state, shortly after the
bombing of the Boston Marathon that took three lives and seriously injured
scores of others, three black <a href="http://offgridsurvival.com/urbanwarfaredrillsdowntownchicago/"><span style="color: blue;">helicopters</span></a>,
accompanied by heavily armed soldiers, were spotted buzzing <a href="http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/19548300-418/nighttime-military-training-in-tinley-park.html"><span style="color: blue;">downtown</span></a>
<a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/04/27/tinl-a27.html"><span style="color: blue;">Chicago</span></a>.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Independent research confirmed that the exercise was conducted
by the Pentagon utilizing a combination of special force troops and local law
enforcement, <a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Urban+military+drills+in+Chicago&qpvt=Urban+military+drills+in+Chicago&FORM=VDRE"><span style="color: blue;">similar</span></a>
to a drill that took place prior to NATO ‘s Chicago conference in 2012
described by City Hall as a ‘<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLeePP9_O9Q"><span style="color: blue;">routine</span></a> military training
exercise.”</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So how ‘routine’ is it for
military drills to occur in highly populated, dense metropolitan
neighborhoods that includes simulated gunfire and strafing runs, troops
rappelling out of helicopters, building breaching for practice amidst assorted
flares and smoke bombs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the
Posse Comitatus <a href="http://civilliberty.about.com/od/waronterror/a/posse_act.htm"><span style="color: blue;">Act</span></a> of
1878<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>prohibits military forces from acting as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/25detain.html?scp=3&sq=Posse%20Comitatus%20Act%20of%201878&st=cse&_r=2&"><span style="color: blue;">civilian</span></a>
law enforcement on American soil, similar full-scale military exercises, known
as Operation <a href="http://dgncwd.com/urban14/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86&Itemid=519"><span style="color: blue;">Urban
Shield</span></a> (OUS),<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>continue to <a href="http://www.mutualink.net/DHS-2010-Urban-Area-Security-Initiative-UASI-List.asp"><span style="color: blue;">occur</span></a>
in many of the country’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>largest
municipal areas including <a href="http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Military-Training-Exercise-Awakens-Coconut-Grove-Residents-150852825.html"><span style="color: blue;">Miami,</span></a>
<a href="http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8971311"><span style="color: blue;">Houston</span></a>,
<a href="http://www.necn.com/10/17/10/Urban-Shield-exercise-held-in-San-Franci/landing_nation.html?blockID=333009&feedID=4207"><span style="color: blue;">San
Francisco</span></a>, <a href="http://offgridsurvival.com/videospecialforcesnighttimetrainingdtla/"><span style="color: blue;">Los
Angeles</span></a>, and <a href="http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?id=5837"><span style="color: blue;">Boston</span></a>. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While OUS exercises are
conducted by ”<a href="http://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/news_view/50045"><span style="color: blue;">military</span></a>
personnel, designed to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban
environments,” its roots can be traced to Presidential Policy Directive <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/presidential-policy-directive-8-national-preparedness.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">#8</span></a> of 2011 entitled “<a href="http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?fromSearch=fromsearch&id=5689"><span style="color: blue;">National
Preparedness</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><u><span style="color: blue;">.</span></u></span>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Directive provided the framework to
create the Urban Security Areas Initiative (<a href="http://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/2011/fy11_nsgp_kit.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">USAI</span></a>)
dedicated to<span style="color: black;"> provide “support for high-threat, high-density
urban areas to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from threats
or acts of terrorism.</span>” As an agency within <a href="http://www.fema.gov/fy-2012-homeland-security-grant-program#0"><span style="color: blue;">FEMA</span></a>
(Federal Emergency Management Agency), USAI is <a href="http://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/2011/fy11_nsgp_kit.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">funded</span></a>
by the Department of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.dhs.gov/creation-department-homeland-security"><span style="color: blue;">Homeland
Security</span></a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The City of Boston’s Urban Shield drills in <a href="http://bostonurbanshield.org/"><span style="color: blue;">May,
2011</span></a> and another in <a href="http://theoilage.com/urban-shield-exercise-in-boston-test-of-police-state-t7899.html"><span style="color: blue;">November,
2012</span></a>, present an ideal opportunity to consider how well the <a href="http://vimeo.com/41709220"><span style="color: blue;">program</span></a> functioned during that city's recent true-life
emergency and whether it is a valuable tool in terrorist situations
to justify the
dismantling of the nation’s once-sacrosanct civil liberties. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now know it was the Massachusetts Emergency
Management Agency (<a href="http://www.mass.gov/eopss/home-sec-emerg-resp/"><span style="color: blue;">MEMA</span></a>)
that issued the ‘shelter-in-place’ order on April 19 that challenged the fourth amendment with house-to-house searches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Utilizing a high-tech ‘<a href="http://www.emergencymgmt.com/emergency-blogs/alerts/Boston-Bombing-Shows-How-042313.html"><span style="color: blue;">wireless
emergency area’</span></a> message system, described as ‘phone sirens”, MEMA sent a
media advisory announcing the upcoming search as part of its
ensuing tracking operation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Despite those earlier drills and </span>a massive 9,000
member dragnet with every technological advantage at its fingertips, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> a wounded, unarmed 19 year old amateur-terrorist who had no after-plan or escape route managed to elude the manhunt until he was discovered in a boat by an observant neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Not surprisingly, our
well-funded intel agencies appear to have been caught flat-footed by not more
closely following up on earlier alerts from the Russian government warning
about Tamerlan Dzhokhar - although details about the nature of the relationship
of those agencies with the older brother are still ambiguous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While authorities remain tight-lipped about
the details of the Thursday night shoot-out that killed Tamerlan, it would be
essential to know if Urban Shield recommends a ‘no kill’ order or use of a
sophisticated laser stun-gun to subdue a critically-valuable suspect. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If so, we might have considerably more relevant
information than we have today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since there was no way
for OUS to predict the bombing, the inescapable conclusion is that such
full-scale military trainings are of limited use <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">after</b> a ‘situation’ has occurred, therefore, leaving open the
question of why military training needs to take place in urban areas and where
and when will such training be necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The argument that Urban Shield will prevent a future attack neglects the
reality that OUS was not directly responsible for the capture of the suspect. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More to the point, the intel game plan that asserts
Operation Urban Shield strategic value has apparently failed to calculate the
inherent complexity of conducting a house-to-house search and a massive dragnet
within the tight confines of a densely crowded urban neighborhood. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 117.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the advantages of Federal government
largesse of unlimited funding and manpower<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and an enormous bureaucracy, there remains a fundamental question of
whether any amount of money, training or preparation can defend against or
anticipate a lone-wolf, homegrown kind of attack – and at what cost to the Bill
of Rights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Default" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-62122598802644167682013-04-25T17:10:00.000-04:002013-04-26T08:48:31.095-04:00More Links to US Intel on the Boston Bombing<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Less
than two weeks after the bombing of the Boston Marathon, details are still
emerging about whether US intell agencies, specifically the FBI, were on the
job and whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev slipped through an inefficient web of
overlapping and confusing jurisdictions - despite billions of US dollars
funding multiple intel organizations and a significant erosion of the country’s
once cherished Bill of Rights. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">According
to the President’s 2013 budget request, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/44/post/federal-budget-2013-intelligence-agencies-would-get-44-percent-less/2012/02/13/gIQAEvFDBR_blog.html"><span style="color: blue;">$52.6
billion</span></a> will fund the National Intelligence Program<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which will be spread to include intel
programs at the CIA, FBI, Pentagon and Departments of Homeland Security, State
and Justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not to say that
those agencies will not receive additional funding directly through its own
budget process with, for instance, the Department of Homeland Security receiving
<a href="http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43520"><span style="color: blue;">$68.9 billion</span></a> in 2013 which
will trickle $4 billion down to the FBI for its domestic counterterror efforts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So
which agencies knew what and when did they know it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s where it gets really thought-provoking:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For
starters, with a House Homeland Security Committee hearing pending, the public
might be interested to know how a wounded 19 year old with no real resources at
his disposal eluded the world’s greatest military arsenal and an estimated force
of 9,000 law enforcement officers for almost 24 hours, much of it in broad
daylight. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Associated Press <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/officials-suspect-unarmed-when-arrested-boat"><span style="color: blue;">quoted</span></a>
two unnamed officials that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was unarmed when he was
apprehended thereby removing the need for armed Swat team house-to-house
searches. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Almost
immediately, the Senate Intelligence Committee held a closed door <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hearing with the FBI after which <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/04/24/Senator-Russia-Warned-FBI-Multiple-Times"><span style="color: blue;">Sen.
Richard Burr</span></a> (R-NC) emerged stating that the FBI confirmed ‘multiple’
contacts with Tamerlan Tsarnaev.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> After denying that they knew Tamerlan, t</span>he
FBI is still standing by its story that it interviewed the older
brother only once, prior to his 2012 trip to Russia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sen. Burr’s comments lend some credence
to what the Zubeidat Tsarnaev, the mother of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, has been
saying for days - that the FBI visited her oldest son<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on multiple occasions and even visited
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NBC is now reporting that the FBI
also visited Tamerlan and “members of the Tsarnaev ‘<a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/24/17899652-what-did-the-fbi-and-cia-know-about-bombing-suspects-and-when?lite"><span style="color: blue;">family</span></a>’
in 2012.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">On
April 18<sup>th</sup>, the FBI released a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57580325/fbi-releases-video-of-2-boston-bombing-suspects/"><span style="color: blue;">video</span></a>
of two young men whose identity remained a mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The FBI said they needed the public’s help in
identifying the two men in question yet we now know that the FBI knew at least
Tamerlan, the older son from interview(s) in March, 2011 and again in November, 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is it that no one at the FBI, presumably
the agents who conducted the interview(s)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>trained to be more observant than the average citizen, did not recognize
Tamerlan?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">CBS
is now reporting that in September, 2011, the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57581350/cia-had-boston-bombing-suspect-tamerlan-tsarnaevs-name-added-to-terror-database-before-attack/"><span style="color: blue;">CIA</span></a>
requested the addition of Tamerlan’s name to the TIDE database
after being contacted by Russian authorities (who had earlier contacted the
FBI) due to his alleged association with Chechen terrorists. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The elder Tsarnaev’s name was added to the
classified “<a href="http://nctc.gov/docs/Tide_Fact_Sheet.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">Terrorist
Identities Datamart Environment”</span></a> list of “suspected terrorists” which includes
approximately half a million Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Despite
earlier denials by the FBI that they did not know the Tsarnaev brothers and
then later confirming that they had interviewed Tamerlan in 2011 without any
follow-up and that they did not catch his trip to Russia in 2012 because his <a href="http://www.news.com.au/world-news/fbi-did-not-catch-tamerlantsarnaevs-russia-trip-because-his-name-was-misspelled/story-fndir2ev-1226626698711"><span style="color: blue;">name
was misspelled</span></a> yet <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/04/23/178651282/napolitano-immigration-bill-would-enhance-national-security?ft=1&f=2"><span style="color: blue;">Janet
Napolitano</span></a> testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 23rd
that the Homeland Security system ‘pinged’ when Tamerlan left for Russia in
January, 2012. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The misspelling of Tamerlan’s name may be
indicative of competing data bases since presumably once a name is in the
system, it is in the system or perhaps the relevant agencies have not
integrated their procedures.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Meanwhile,
a New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/opinion/how-to-handle-a-terrorism-case.html?ref=editorials&_r=1&"><span style="color: blue;">editorial</span></a>
of August 22<sup> </sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>entitled “How to
Handle a Terrorism Case” cited the “superb civilian police work” that led to
the capture of Defendant Tsarnaev – but failed to mention one word about the
Boston Lockdown or violations of the Fourth Amendment by the house-to-house
searches as if they had never occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The editorial goes on to warn of allowing ‘raw emotions associated with
a terrorism case to trample on the American system of justice." <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">During
the FBI’s ‘public safety’ interrogation before Miranda rights were read,
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev clearly identified the reason for their attack at the
Marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It came as no surprise that
their opposition to US <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/boston-bombing-suspect-cites-us-wars-as-motivation-officials-say/2013/04/23/324b9cea-ac29-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f26d70e_story_2.html"><span style="color: blue;">foreign
policy</span></a> in Afghanistan and Iraq and its brutal assaults on Islam would be
motivating factors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As
the corporate media and its indentured politicians continue their simplistic
thinking and bombastic rhetoric to divert attention from the root cause of
terrorism, Vice President Biden’s recent <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/04/24/biden-boston-bombers-cowardly-knock-off-jihadis-video/"><span style="color: blue;">speech</span></a>
at a memorial service in Boston did little to encourage healing or bring
comfort to a traumatized community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead the Vice President chose to inflame the passions of hate,
vengeance and misunderstanding as if to throw down the gauntlet when he
suggested:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They can never defeat us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can never overthrow us<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can never occupy us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>why, whether its al qaeda central out of the Fatah or two twisted,
perverted cowardly, knock-off jihadists here in Boston…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>why do they do what they do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve thought about it a lot because I deal
with it a lot and I’ve come to the conclusion …they do it to instill
fair…fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To have us, in the name of
our safety and security, jettison what we value most in the world,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>our open society, our system of justice that
guarantees freedom, the access of all Americans to opportunity, the free flow
of information and people across this country, our transparency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s their target</i>.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s
hope al qaeda and the Taliban were not listening…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-43592674091195553542013-04-22T15:22:00.002-04:002013-04-23T08:49:28.612-04:00Boston Manhunt Challenges Constitutional Principles<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was with great relief when the manhunt and
apprehension for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev brought one chapter of the Boston Marathon
bombing to a conclusion – even as that manhunt raised important legal,
constitutional questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friday was
obviously a terrifying experience for the citizens of Boston and especially
Watertown – <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it was a surreal and
disturbing event even for a distant viewer glued to the television as I was
that day.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Almost immediately, the overwhelming presence of
heavily attired swat teams with assault weapons, armored tanks with machine
guns, Blackhawk helicopters circling, and empty neighborhood streets created a
frightening futuristic vision of a police state with civilians locked
inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not to minimize the injuries and
trauma inflicted by the dastardly deed, the simultaneous explosion of a
fertilizer plant in Texas killed and injured more people and did considerably
more damage but what was happening on the streets of Boston, the cradle of the
American Revolution, was the equivalent of martial law with precedent-setting
warrantless house to house searches by heavily armed civil law enforcement tactical
teams that had morphed into a military presence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The </span><a href="http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/4th-amendment.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Fourth
Amendment</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> was adopted to protect Americans privacy from ‘unreasonable
search and seizures’ from an intrusive government but allows access ‘upon
probable cause’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously in this
situation of </span><a href="http://www.lawfirms.com/resources/criminal-defense/defendants-rights/search-seizure.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">‘extraordinary
circumstances’</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, Bostonians cannot be faulted for opening
their doors with little hesitation but here’s the conundrum:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>did law enforcement believe that a wounded 19
year old was sufficiently dangerous and that a reasonable threat existed to
demand entry in what can only be considered a gross violation of the 4<sup>th </sup>Amendment?
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Given the challenge to Constitutional principles, the
public interest would benefit from straightforward answers to the following:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Was Attorney General Holder consulted and was there
a house-to-house search game-plan already in place?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was there any suggestion that a
knock on the door might have been sufficient? Was the possibility that
Bostonians had the option to resist armed entry ever considered? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
was the deliberative process and who made the final decision to conduct a
house-to-house search? What consideration
was given to establishing a dangerous Constitutional precedent? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While many Americans appear blissfully unaware of
the Fourth Amendment, if the Bill of Rights is allowed to continue to erode as
it has since 911, the fragile state of our democracy as well as the quality of
life for all Americans will continue to rapidly diminish<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- even as a majority of the public fails to
recognize the threat from within. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By late afternoon on Friday, MSNBC’s Alex Witt and
Michael Isikoff were </span><a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2013/04/20/msnbcs-witt-fbi-failure-monitor-boston-bomber-after-interview-hind"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">reporting</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
that the FBI had interviewed Tamerlan at least once in 2011 and that his
application for citizenship had been stalled by Homeland Security based on that
interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The FBI has since </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/21/fbi-tamerlan-tsarnaev-questioning"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">responded</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
that the result of their interview “did not find any terrorism activity,
domestic or foreign.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the distraught mother of the Tsarnaev brothers
has claimed that the FBI <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>made repeated
visits to Tamerlan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ARE9rclZCqw"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">RT
News</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“..he was controlled by FBI for 3-5
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They knew what my son was doing,
they knew what actions, what sites on the internet he was going. They used to
come home, come <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>talk to me…they were
telling me that he was really a serious leader and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>they are afraid of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They told me whatever country, whatever information
he is getting, they are controlling him.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/opinion/sunday/terrorist-plots-helped-along-by-the-fbi.html?_r=5&"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">New
York Times</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> revealed in 2012,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>FBI agents have<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>been known to
pose as terrorists, provide necessary resources to conduct<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>illegal activities and then ‘entrap’ those
people enticed into committing acts of ‘terrorism’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully, the ACLU or Center for
Constitutional Rights will file a Freedom of Information request for the FBI’s
entire file on their contact with Tamerlan Tsarvnaev. </span></div>
<div class="blackgraphtx" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
During law enforcement’s press conference immediately
after the capture of the younger brother who had eluded a massive dragnet for
almost 24 hours, US Attorney Carmen Ortiz <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50145261n"><span style="color: blue;">announced</span></a> that the
suspect would not be read his <a href="http://mirandarights.org/"><span style="color: blue;">Miranda
rights</span></a> and that a ‘<a href="http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/february2011/legal_digest"><span style="color: blue;">public
safety exemption’</span></a> would be invoked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the special exemption dates back to 1984,
according to the FBI’s Law Enforcement Bulletin, the Supreme Court interpreted that
“the exemption would be triggered …. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to
protect the police or public from immediate danger.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The exemption has not been widely used until
the Obama Administration secretly <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/01/19/obama_holder_doj_miranda/"><span style="color: blue;">expanded</span></a>
its authority in 2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="p1" style="background: white; margin: 12pt 0in 1em;">
While on one hand, U.S. Attorney Carmen
Ortiz was announcing at the Friday night press conference that the ‘public
safety’ exemption would be invoked yet on the other offered the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/boston-suspect-arrested-press-conference-2013-4"><span style="color: blue;">assurance</span></a>
that no immediate threat existed stating that <span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Tonight we feel a tremendous sense of gratitude and
relief." "Tonight we can sleep a little bit easier.”</span><span lang="EN"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Sunday morning news show <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reliable Sources </i>included a lengthy hashing out of numerous media
missteps that occurred on the day of the manhunt<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- misstatements that were understandable
since the media were precluded by law enforcement from their role of providing
the public with immediate, on-the-scene reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the early part of that day, CNN’s
Chris Cuomo announced the unsettling news that the media had been asked to not
‘interfere’ with law enforcement efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Viewers watched as reporters and photographers were pushed
into a ‘safe zone’ out of the ‘line of fire” as the national networks filled
time with an array of expert commentators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cuomo went on to inform the public that CNN was airing on a five second
delay and would only broadcast feeds that ‘police are comfortable with.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Presumably, Fox and NBC followed suit. The
net effect of an almost total media blackout left reporters dependent on law
enforcement for vital information, compromising the public’s right to know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the word censorship was never uttered,
Cuomo explained that “we don’t know what we can’t control.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Videos that have surfaced of the Thursday
morning shootout and the capture of the suspect on Friday evening were taken by
neighbors who live in the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Part of the TV coverage on Friday included persistent
questioning about why this heartbreaking tragedy had occurred, conjecture on
the motive and whether the Tsarnaev brothers were lone wolves or part of a
larger conspiracy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One after another
authority speculated about what could have radicalized either brother<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- was it al qaeda, could it have been an inability
to integrate into American society or perhaps they were just a couple of evil, wicked
terrorists who hated America and certainly Tamerlan’s visit last year to
Chechnya was proof-positive. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps the most credible and informed commentator
was Phillip Mudd, former Deputy Director of the CIA’s Office of
Counterterrorism Analysis who </span><a href="http://inthetank.newamerica.net/blog/2013/04/philip-mudd-and-peter-bergen-boston-manhunt"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">responded</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
to the Why question that “they believe the US is intervening in places where
they shouldn’t be intervening, raping women and killing children.” Mudd</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>later suggested that the bombing was ‘</span><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/17/bin-laden-hunter-philip-mudd-talks-about-boston-at-manhunt-screening.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">very
basic’</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and that these are ‘</span><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51568147/#51568147"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">not
the guys</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> I watched for twenty years.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Fareed Zakaria’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Global Public Square </i>on Sunday, Mudd, now a senior research fellow
with the Counterterrorism Initiative at the New America Foundation, said that
the attack was more reminiscent of Columbine than al Qaeda since the brothers
failed to obscure their faces, had no after-action plan and that he saw no
evidence to hold Dzhokhar as an ‘enemy combatant.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
By Monday evening, after Defendant Tsarnaev was questioned by the FBI, he was informed of his Miranda right to remain silent, a Public Defender was appointed and it was announced that he will be prosecuted through the civil legal system. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-57081197447324270162013-04-17T13:15:00.002-04:002013-04-17T13:15:09.984-04:00The Boston Bombing and Failure of the Military/Intelligence Complex
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In the aftermath
of the bombing at the finish line of the 117<sup>th</sup> Boston Marathon, much
of the American public, mainstream media and politicians have<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>responded with a level of shock as if the
sovereignty of the United States, Our Homeland, would be so honored and
respected that such a horrific event, premeditated and cold-blooded, could not
have occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Exhibiting the
indignation of a leader who would never consider such a nefarious act on
noncombatants, </span><a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/16/live-president-obama-addresses-the-boston-marathon-bombings/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue;">President Obama</span></span></a><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> appeared
unaware of the irony when he suggested that “any time bombs are used to target
civilians, it is an act of terror.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
pledging that the “American people refuse to be terrorized’ the President
raises the disturbing possibility in its insinuation of future vengeance to be
wrecked upon the presumed perpetrator(s). </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Responsible for
three fatalities and injury to an estimated 170 people including the loss of
limbs to perhaps dozens of individuals, the </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/16/boston-bombs-pressure-cookers_n_3093288.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue;">FBI</span></span></a><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> has determined
that the detonation was caused by two shrapnel studded ”pressure cooker” type
bombs previously seen in Afghanistan and Pakistan and were traced to two black
duffel bags. </span><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Not to diminish the pain and suffering and fear
experienced by the citizens of Boston,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>the
American public deserves to know why the US military-intelligence complex, with
unlimited resources at their disposal, was caught by surprise?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What has been absent from the early reaction
has been any inquiry as to why the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI,
the CIA, the NSA and who knows how many other national security agencies that
cost the American taxpayer billions and billions of dollars each year failed in
their responsibility to identify, to predict or to otherwise anticipate a
possible attack.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to the Homeland Security Department’s
mission, its ‘</span><a href="http://www.dhs.gov/mission"><span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">founding
principle</span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and highest priority is to protect the American
people from terrorist threats.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Created
by a pusillanimous Congress intent on satisfying public panic after 911,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: AGaramond-Regular;"> </span><a href="http://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-act-2002"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: AGaramond-Regular;">Homeland Security Act of 2002</span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: AGaramond-Regular;"> was </span><a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll367.xml"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: AGaramond-Regular;"><span style="color: blue;">adopted</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: AGaramond-Regular;">
by a bi-partisan Congress with a 295 – 132 vote in the House of Representatives
and a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Senate 90 - 9 vote initiating the
largest reorganization of the federal government since the National Security
Act of 1947 combining 22 separate agencies into a single entity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">As if the catastrophe at Boston was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not enough to question the Department’s
effectiveness, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Sans Serif";">the Congressional Budget Office analysis of the DHS </span><a href="http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43520"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Sans Serif";"><span style="color: blue;">2013 budget</span></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Sans Serif";"> identified the Department’s expenditures
at “more than a half a trillion dollars” since 911 with another $68.9 billion
in funding for 2013 (1.3% over 2012). </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly, throwing money at a problem does not
necessarily bring the desired result.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Also essential to public understanding is that
the Patriot Act, the National Defense Authorization Act, the Authorization for
Use of Military Force, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the daily
intrusive degradations at every airport across the country have been, largely,
for naught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The justification that
legislative assaults on the Constitution that seriously eroded the First,
Fourth and Fifth Amendments were necessary to prevent another 911 are now
revealed to be as fictitious as any imaginary fairytale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While the foregoing queries would make for an
enlightening Congressional oversight hearing with Janet Napolitano and John
Brennan providing public explanations as to why the military-intelligence
agencies disastrously botched their assignment - despite an investment of
hundreds of billions of public dollars, thousands of employees provided with
the latest technological advancements – but don’t count on it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ‘Why” of this tragedy may be found in
one obvious fact:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>violence begets violence and we are a
violent society - not just domestically but from decades of a </span><a href="http://williamblum.org/books/americas-deadliest-export"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">foreign
policy</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> that has, in the name of democracy, spread
American violence around the planet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-43992121224486376522013-03-20T10:32:00.000-04:002013-03-20T10:32:35.416-04:00Gun Control Legislators Face Colorado Recall
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As
the Colorado General Assembly, guided by an unflinching Democratic leadership,
moves to become the second State to adopt gun control legislation since the
Newtown tragedy, the </span><a href="http://www.bfdf.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Basic Freedom
Defense Fund </span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has set its sights on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoAccountability/events"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">recalling</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> the President
of the State Senate and at least two other legislators, prominent proponents in
the State’s pending gun control efforts. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">in
mid-January, the </span><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/15/nation/la-na-gun-control-20130116"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">New York State
Assembly</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
moved fast and clean to approve the country’s most stringent gun control legislation
barely one month after the Newtown tragedy, including limits on assault
weapons, mental health requirements and ammunition magazines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barely one month after the Newton tragedy,
New York efforts shrewdly occurred so swiftly as to preclude effective
opposition with Governor Andrew Cuomo signing the legislation one hour after
passage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In
what is may be a warning to other state legislators across the country and even
Members of Congress acting on similar legislation, the BFDF, a tax-exempt
organization based in Durango, Colorado has begun circulating petitions against
politically vulnerable </span><a href="http://www.coloradoaccountability.com/cms/node/7"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">State Representative</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Mike McLachlan as
local affiliates of BFDF have formed a committee to unseat State Senate
President </span><a href="http://www.coloradoaccountability.com/cms/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">John Morse</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> (D, Colorado
Springs) and </span><a href="http://www.coloradoaccountability.com/cms/node/10"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Senator Edie
Hudak</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
(D, Denver).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Kjersten
Forseth, legislative aide to Morse, Colorado State Statute requires each
petition to have signatures from 25% of last year’s Presidential vote to
qualify for a recall ballot initiative. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">After
recent testimony before the Colorado House Judiciary Committee by former
astronaut </span><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/03/mark-kelly-gabby-giffords-husband-to-testify-in-support-colorado-gun-law/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Mark Kelly</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">, the country’s
most famous husband<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to a wounded wife,
former Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford, Colorado’s </span><a href="http://www.koaa.com/news/senator-john-morse-facing-recall-effort-over-gun-laws/#_"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">legislative
package</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
took shape including a prohibition on gun ownership to individuals with </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/domestic-violence-offende_n_2854162.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">domestic
violence</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
convictions, a limit on ammunition magazines to 15 rounds, requirement for gun
owners to pay for background checks, an expanded background check process and
required training to receive a concealed weapon permit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Home
of a state that has experienced the horror of the Columbine attack in 1999 and
the Aurora Theatre shooting last year, </span><a href="http://www.koaa.com/mobile/news/senator-john-morse-facing-recall-effort-over-gun-laws"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Anthony Garcia,</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> who is organizing
the petition effort on behalf of the BFDF, said that the gun control efforts
were ‘an affront to the second amendment, an affront to the Constitution.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With
a Democratic majority (23 – 12), Forseth confirmed that the Senate had finalized
their legislative efforts on Monday evening, </span><a href="http://cortezjournal.com/article/DU/20130311/NEWS01/130319945/-1/politics/Colorado--Senate-passes-5-gun-bills--&template=politics"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">approving all
five bills</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
with the required fee legislation on the way to Governor Hickenlooper’s (D)
desk for signature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Forseth,
the other four bills go back to the State House (with a 39 – 26 Democratic majority)
for approval and then onto the Governor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a sign of desperation,
Republicans have promised to </span><a href="http://kdvr.com/2013/03/07/senate-republicans-planning-filibuster-on-gun-control-debate/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">filibuster</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> final passage. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 27.0pt;">
<a href="http://www.koaa.com/news/senator-john-morse-facing-recall-effort-over-gun-laws/#_"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Senator Morse</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">, a strong
supporter of the gun control package said “I wasn’t expecting things to get
this divisive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really thought that after
Sandy Hook that even the NRA recognized we’ve got to do something. “ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Commenting on the effort to recall him, Morse
added “that‘s why politicians around the country don’t want to stand up for
this issue.“<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
As if writing a new chapter to P<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rofiles in Courage</i>, Colorado Democrats might teach Congressional
Dems a thing or two including Morse who said he is willing to lose his seat and
accept whatever the public decides but that he “<a href="http://www.koaa.com/news/senator-john-morse-facing-recall-effort-over-gun-laws/#_"><span style="color: blue;">will
not back down</span></a>”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a recent
development Wednesday evening, the State House <a href="http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20130313/NEWS01/130319816/Votes-anger-gun-activists--"><span style="color: blue;">approved</span></a>
a bill limiting ammunition magazines to 15 rounds (34 – 30) that is now headed
to the Governor for his signature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
endangered State Representative McLachlan from a swing district who won
election by less than 800 votes, voted Yes in the face of “<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">threatening and disparaging emails against his
family” stating that “I’m not going to let them bully me. I’m not going to let
them hold out a recall as a way to make me abandon the principles that I stand
for and the reasons people elected me.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-37962061472834519192013-03-07T13:26:00.001-05:002013-03-08T09:48:54.503-05:00Holder tells Senate Commitee President will Speak on Drone policy<span style="font-family: Calibri;">During Attorney General Eric Holder’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.c-span.org/Events/Atty-Gen-Holder-Faces-Senators-on-Judiciary-Cmte/10737438568-1/"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">March
6<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> testimony</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in
response to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s dissatisfaction with the Administration’s
lack of transparency on intelligence matters, Holder informed the Committee that
President Obama would, within a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>‘relatively short period of time,’ be publicly speaking to explain that
‘we do these things reluctantly in conformity with international law, with
domestic law and with our values as American people.”</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Feinstein, who also serves as Chair of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, cited the need for ‘vigorous oversight’ regarding the
“legal underpinnings” of clandestine activity and has previously urged the
Administration to be more forthcoming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Feinstein told Holder that she believed the Administration ‘had good
solid legal rational for the use of drones” with ‘very sound’ legal opinions
and, referring to Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster underway on the Senate floor, did
not believe it was ‘true or correct’ that an American citizen “walking down the
street or eating in a café in this country can be targeted for elimination.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul’s filibuster was prompted by a
loosely-worded </span><a href="http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/BrennanHolderResponse.pdf"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">March 4<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup>
letter</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> from Holder attempting to outline Administration policy regarding
the use of drones domestically on American citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder, who was not sworn in prior to his testimony (usually
providing an essential legal framework for any Congressional witness), further
agreed that there is a ‘greater need for transparency’ and "appropriately
sharing information". <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assuring the
Committee that “I have heard you, the President has heard you,” Holder stated
that the President “feels strongly” and, within the next few months, will be
‘speaking about this’. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is not every day that Republicans in the Senate give a
good reason to applaud their legislative behavior but Holder’s Committee
appearance provided an opportunity for the newly-elected, already-controversial Sen. Ted
Cruz<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(R-Texas) to question the Attorney
General on the Administration’s drone policy: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cruz:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’d like to start with the topic of drones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In </span><a href="http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/BrennanHolderResponse.pdf"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">your response</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
to Sen. Paul yesterday, you suggested there may well be ‘ circumstances in
which it is permissible to use drones to target a US citizen on US soil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d
like to explore those circumstances; in particular you pointed to two, Pearl
Harbor and 911 – both of which were extreme military attacks on the homeland. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to ask a more specific question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If an individual is sitting quietly at a cafe
in the United States, in your legal judgment, does the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Constitution allow a US citizen on US soil to
be killed by a drone?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…” for sitting in a café and having a cup of
coffee?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cruz:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“If that individual is not posing an imminent
and immediate threat of death or bodily harm, does the Constitution allow a drone
to kill that individual?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“On the basis of what you said, I don’t think
you can arrest that person." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cruz: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The person is suspected to be a terrorist,
you have abundant evidence he is a terrorist, he is involved in terrorist plots
but at moment he’s not pointing a bazooka at Pentagon. He’s sitting in a café; overseas
the United States government uses drones to take out individuals when they are
walking down a path, sitting in a café. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a US citizen on US soil is not posing an immediate
threat to life or bodily harm, does <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
Constitution allow a drone to kill that citizen?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I would not think that would be appropriate
use of any kind of legal force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
would deal with that in the way that we typically deal with a situation like
that ….”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cruz: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“With respect General Holder, my question
wasn’t about appropriateness or prosecutorial discretion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a simple legal question. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does the Constitution allow a US citizen on US
soil who doesn’t pose an imminent threat to be killed by the us government?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I do not believe, again, you have to look at
all the facts but on the facts that you’ve given me, this is a hypothetical. I would
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not think that in that situation, the
use of drone or legal force would be appropriate because….” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cruz:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“General Holder, I have to tell you I find it
remarkable that in that hypothetical, which is deliberately very <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>simple, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you are unable to give a simple one word, one
syllable answer - no. I think it is unequivocal that if the US government were
to use a drone to take the life of a US citizen on US soil and that individual
did not pose an imminent threat that that would be deprivation of life without
due process…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Maybe I’m not being clear. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said the use of legal force; ….use of
drones, guns or whatever else <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>would not
be appropriate in that circumstance.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cruz:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You keep saying appropriate. My question isn’t
about propriety. My question is about whether something is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>constitutional or not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Attorney General, you are chief legal
officer of United State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you have a
legal judgment <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on whether it would be
constitutional to kill a US citizen on US soil in those circumstances?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A person who is not engaged as you describe,
this is the problem with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hypotheticals; the
way in which you have described it, this person sitting at a café not doing
anything imminently, the use of legal force would not be appropriate,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>would not be …”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cruz:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I
find it remarkable you will still not give an opinion on the constitutionality.
Let me move on to the next topic.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Let me be clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Translate my ‘appropriate’ to ‘no’, I thought
I was saying no, all right?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cruz: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I am glad that, after much gymnastics, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very glad to hear that it is the opinion
of the Department of Justice it would be unconstitutional to kill a US citizen
on US soil if that individual did not pose an imminent threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That statement has not been easily forthcoming.
I wish you had given that statement in response to Sen. Paul’s letter asking
you it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>point out that I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will be introducing legislation in the Senate
to make clear that US government cannot kill a US citizen on US soil absent an
imminent threat and I hope, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>based on
that representation the Department will support that legislation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Holder: “Well,
that’s totally consistent with the letter I sent to Sen. Paul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I talked about 911 and Pearl Harbor - those
are the instances where I said it might possibly be considered but other than
that, we would use our normal law enforcement authorities along those
lines…...”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Inexplicably, the Attorney General appeared unable to grasp
the distinction between his use of what is ‘appropriate’ and what is Constitutional.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-3787232851642722482013-03-05T08:49:00.004-05:002013-03-08T10:02:50.858-05:00FDR, the Budget Control Act of 2011 and Pentagon Spending<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the summer of 1935,
at the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>signed the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1935"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Revenue Act</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
into law to pay for New Deal programs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Act </span><a href="http://www.ehow.com/facts_6976768_revenue-wealth-tax-act.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">raised
tax rates</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> from 59% to 75% on those Americans earning more
than $5 million and raised corporate taxes from 13% to 15% on businesses
earning over $50,000 annually. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 49.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the summer of 2011,
as President Obama’s </span><a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2011/07/07/obamas-4-trillion-grand-bargain/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">$4
trillion ‘grand bargain’</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> with Speaker Boehner fell apart,
the now-discredited </span><a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ25/pdf/PLAW-112publ25.pdf"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Budget
Control Act</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (BCA) was adopted on a bipartisan vote <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to avoid an immediate economic default.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
assumed that the sequestration portion of the </span><a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ25/pdf/PLAW-112publ25.pdf"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Act</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
which proposed mandatory </span><a href="http://nation.time.com/2012/09/24/sequestration-and-what-it-would-do-to-u-s-military-power/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">cuts
to military</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and domestic programs were so </span><a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-27/news/chi-sequestration-cuts-20130227_1_sequestration-cuts-congressional-leaders-budget-talks"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">egregious</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
that those reductions would never be allowed to occur. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that Congress and the Administration
were willing to take that gamble raises the inevitable question of whether the </span><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-04/dysfunction-in-congress-creates-clinton-accord-nostalgia"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">existing
political structure is competent</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> to run the country –
especially in times of </span><a href="http://www.norwichbulletin.com/columnist/x2082692189/Way-view-from-the-left-Sequestration-is-a-result-of-dysfunction#axzz2Mb8CbTFa"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">crisis</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.
</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 49.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3635"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Politically
incoherent</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> from the outset, the BCA which contained almost $1
trillion across-the-board cuts, brought the </span><a href="http://costofgovernment.org/debt-ceiling-budget-control-act-a189"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">debt
ceiling crisis</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> to a conclusion while establishing a </span><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/congress/joint_congressional_committee_on_deficit_reduction/index.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Joint
Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka Super Committee</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">)
with twelve equally apportioned members of Congress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
the forced negotiations failed to achieve a consensus on an additional $1.5
trillion cuts and increased tax revenue, then the BCA allowed a mandatory
trigger of that amount to occur over the next ten years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress_Joint_Select_Committee_on_Deficit_Reduction"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Super
Committee</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> was doomed from the start – why would a dozen
members of Congress <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>willingly commit
political suicide by assuming<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>total
responsibility<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for determining the
economic<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>future of world’s number one
super-power. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 49.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>bipartisan finger-pointing and blame game
continues, it is important to acknowledge that an enforced budget-cutting
mechanism dubbed ‘sequestration’ originated with the </span><a href="http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/projects/debt/1985grammrudmanhollings.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Gramm
Rudman</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Reduction Act
of 1985.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that time, Rudman referred
to sequestration as ‘a bad idea whose time had come.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether its current incarnation came from </span><a href="http://cnsnews.com/news/article/lew-skirts-question-whether-he-originated-idea-sequestration"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Jack
Lew,</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
current Treasury Secretary <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/wh-admits-putting-forward-idea-of-sequestration"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Gene
Sperling</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, White House Economic Council Director <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as Bob Woodward cites in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Politics of Power</i> (pg. 215) remains open to speculation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 49.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Once the politically-generated
‘</span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/27/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-fiscal-cliff-in-one-faq/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">fiscal
cliff’</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> stalled in January with modestly raised tax
revenues while cutting unemployment benefits , the </span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/04/us-usa-economy-policy-idUSBRE92302Y20130304"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">first
sequestration $85 billion budget cut</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (coincidentally the
same amount that the </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/business/fed-officials-debate-banks-losses-once-economy-mends.html?_r=0"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Fed
Bank distributes</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> monthly to the banks) kicked in on
March 1<sup>st</sup> despite a </span><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/02/22/what-sequester"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">White
House list</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> of potentially horrendous cuts to education,
transit, health care, housing, infrastructure projects and other essential
people programs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 49.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, as
Republicans sputter in protest over a </span><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-07/defense-budget-cuts-of-45-billion-seen-by-pentagon.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">$45
billion cut</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> to Pentagon spending which represents
only a softening of the edges, there is every reason to believe that the
reduction will be </span><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-02-27/inhofe-seeks-pentagon-flexibility-on-sequestration-cuts"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">watered
down </span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the name
of ‘national security’ in the next<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Continuing Resolution. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since even
before the fiscal debacle of 2008, the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tactic of Republicans to </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/pelosi-republicans-want-to-destroy-government"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">undermine
and destroy</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> the credibility of the Federal
government, only to turn around and point to the result of their own actions as
proof of why there is a breakdown in the Federal government’s performance, has
proven to be shrewdly successful. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 49.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For their part, today’s
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Democrats bear little resemblance to
past Democrats who constructed <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the country’s
once-sacrosanct social safety net. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Erroneously
assuming </span><a href="http://defense.aol.com/2013/02/06/sequestration-stalemate-gop-rehashes-year-old-proposal-to-sto/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Republicans
would resist</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> any military cuts and be forced to
negotiate, the White House seriously misread the tea leaves as the party of
Thomas Jefferson backed themselves into a tight corner with </span><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/274577-obama-lawmakers-return-to-cliff-with-little-room-left-to-maneuver"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">little
room to maneuver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the February 12<sup>th</sup> Senate Armed
Services Committee </span><a href="http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310943-1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">hearing</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
on the potential impacts of sequestration on the Department of Defense<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with all five Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in
attendance, Committee Chair Carl Levin (D-Mich) opened the hearing with one
example of ‘devastating’ sequestration impacts:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Army had requested<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$36.6 billion for 2013 but will only receive
$30.6 billion (same as 2012 budget) with<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>sequestration cutting an additional $6 billion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Levin went on to inform that since the Army
has already spent $ 16 billion for 2013 with only $8 billion remaining for
fiscal year 2013.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With “unexpected high
operational demands requiring $6 billion to be spent overseas,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>left the Army with only $2 billion for
domestic operations and maintenance for the next six months<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- which, Levin pointed out, was originally
budgeted at $20 Million.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As Committee members, regardless of political
affiliation, expressed their empathy with the military’s need to pull in its
belt for the first time in over thirty years, there was little evidence of a
vibrant two party system <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– until<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tea party favorite Sen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mike<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lee of Utah had the last word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Citing
former Senator Chuck Hagel’s December 2012 </span><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ed0ed5a8-4a11-11e2-a7b1-00144feab49a.html#axzz2MbEodKLC"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Financial Times</span></span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
interview, Hagel was asked about <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta’s quote that sequestration would be ‘disastrous’ to
national defense. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lee quoted Hagel as
stating that Defense “in many ways has been bloated”, “they have gotten
everything they wanted in the last ten years”, that the “waste and fraud has
been astounding” and that “they have taken priorities, taken dollars out of State
Department and other agencies and put them in Defense”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In conclusion, </span><a href="http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310943-1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Lee invited</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
each Joint Chief “down the line” to respond<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>whether they agreed with Hagel’s general characterization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few nervous twitters, only Ashton
Carter, deputy Secretary of Defense responded, woefully failing the straight
face test, citing Secretary Gates’ efficiency initiative to reform and improve
the acquisitions system, how management problems occurred when it was easy to
reach for more money to solve technical problems, that habits had accumulated
over decades<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and that “we have accommodated
a substantial budget adjustment relative to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>a few years ago.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In his first term, Lee,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who has shown a populist streak on occasion, </span><a href="http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310943-1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">responded</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
that Carter’s answer appeared “inconsistent” since “Hagel’s statement was made
just recently - in December.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 49.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-56044672534508346362013-02-19T11:43:00.000-05:002013-02-19T22:43:53.642-05:00MOX Fuel, Plutonium Proliferation and the Russians<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As automatic
sequestration budget cuts loom, the </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://energy.gov/em/downloads/strategy-management-and-disposal-used-nuclear-fuel-and-high-level-radioactive-waste" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Department of Energy</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> has managed to keep a $5 billion plutonium plant alive - just
barely. According to an Office of Budget and Management </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/project-on-government-oversight/budget-for-mox-program-cu_b_2662552.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">proposed budget</span></a></span><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> funding for the
controversial </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/basicmoxinfo.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mixed Oxide (MOX)</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> fuel program would be cut 75% with no
justification for not pursuing an outright cancellation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the collapse of the
Soviet Union ending the </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Cold War</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in 1990, </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enduring_Stockpile" target="_blank"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">United States</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">was faced with the dilemma of discarding </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.radiochemistry.org/history/nuke_tests/nuclearweapons/nuc_stockpile.html" target="_blank"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">stockpile</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of dismantled nuclear warheads containing tons
of lethal plutonium, leftovers from a frenzied arms-race with Russia that
fabricated thousands of unnecessary budget-busting nuclear weapons, warheads
and bombs since the end of WW II.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amidst Administration
concerns about nuclear proliferation with Iran’s potential entry into the world
of nuclear weapons and as the North Koreans conduct a ‘</span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/north-korea-nuclear-test_n_2666319.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">miniaturized</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’
nuclear device, the MOX fuel plant under construction since 2007 at the DOE’s </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.efcog.org/library/council_meeting/SAMtg.120810/Presentations/Michalske,%20Terry.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Savannah River Site</span></a></span><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in South Carolina
sounds, on the surface, like a conscientious effort to limit the spread of
weapons-grade plutonium. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The beleaguered MOX
plant, designed to convert plutonium from obsolete nuclear warheads to
ultimately fuel commercial nuclear reactors has been plagued by out-of-control
cost overruns and is significantly behind its 2007 startup date, has been
targeted for total elimination by environmentalists, safe energy, peace and
taxpayer groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keeping the project on
the books with a $2 billion life-line is of dubious legislative wisdom since
the MOX facility may never function as originally designed or be reconfigured
for any other purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even as the DOE
has failed to find one commercial utility willing to utilize MOX, it is unclear
what would be accomplished by maintaining an empty building with no purpose. In
the marbled halls of Congress, it is frequently a clever ploy to ‘deep six’ a
controversial, indefensible project and then quietly slip it back in when the
opponents are engaged elsewhere – but the reality is that the 75% cut should
not be considered a ‘done deal.’ Committed Congressional friends of the project
can be expected to find a way, during all the hustle-bustle of the
sequestration debate, to restore full MOX funding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In recognition of the
proliferation risks from surplus irradiated </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">plutonium,</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Energy" target="_blank" title="U.S. Department of Energy"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">U.S. Department of Energy</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (DOE) signed a contract in
1999 with a </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consortium" target="_blank" title="Consortium"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">consortium</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of
corporate partners including Duke Energy to design and operate a </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOX_fuel" target="_blank" title="MOX fuel"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">mixed oxide (MOX) fuel</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> fabrication facility. By 2000, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the US and Russia, which had also accumulated
tons of excess plutonium, entered into a </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://fissilematerials.org/library/PMDA2010.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Management and Disposition of Plutonium Agreement </span></a><a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/04/140097.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">PMDA</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. with each country accepting </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/2012/infcirc549a9-14.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">International Atomic Energy Agency</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (IAEA) monitoring and committing to convert <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">no less</b> than 34 metric tons of
plutonium, also known as nuclear fodder for terrorists. The US had estimated </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-energy/issues/us-russia-plutonium-disposition-ong.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">50 tons </span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of surplus plutonium in
its possession with 38 tons considered ‘weapons grade’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to the </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.fissilematerials.org/blog/2010/05/us-russian_plutonium_mana.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">2000 Agreement</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
two options were identified for preventing plutonium from any future use: one
option called for </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://belfercenter.hks.harvard.edu/publication/198/immobilization_of_excess_weapon_plutonium.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">immobilization</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
of plutonium in a ‘glass or ceramic matrix using a can-in-canister system of
chemically stable ceramic discs suitable for geologic disposal.’ In 2001,
President Bush cut project funds as he </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-energy/issues/us-russia-plutonium-disposition-ong.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">halted construction</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of an immobilization plant considered<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>by Ed Lyman, Senior Scientist with the </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.nci.org/PDF/lyman-mox-sgs.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Union of Concerned
Scientists</span></a></span><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to be worth exploring as an alternative.
Instead Bush gave the green light for development of a full-scale MOX program. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Upon scrutiny, the </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://allthingsnuclear.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/INMM2011paper-lyman1.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">MOX fuel option</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is an untested nuclear boondoggle with the potential for
accomplishing the opposite of the Agreement’s stated goal: prohibiting the
proliferation of </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/plutonium.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">weapons-grade
plutonium. </span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The more experimental
MOX process is considerably more hazardous and complicated with numerous
opportunities for plutonium diversion - beginning with the removal of a
plutonium “pit” (about the size of a grapefruit) from a defunct nuclear
warhead. The ‘pit’ is to be converted into an oxide powder mixed with </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+MOX&qpvt=What+is+MOX&FORM=DTPDIA" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">depleted uranium</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to form the </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/basicmoxinfo.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mixed Oxide (MOX)
fuel</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Of special concern to
Lyman is the increased handling by personnel and multiple transportation risks
of one of the “world’s most dangerous substance and a usable nuclear weapon material
traveling in unmarked trucks with </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://allthingsnuclear.org/ucs-foia-finally-uncovers-the-nrc-staffs-plan-for-weakening-fissile-material-security/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">weaken security safeguards</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> than would otherwise be required for comparable toxic material.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of no less importance is
the status of the bilateral Agreement (</span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/04/140097.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">amended</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in 2011) with its
Russian partner. Lyman and Tom Clements, nuclear weapons expert with </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.foe.org/projects/climate-and-energy/nuclear-reactors" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Friends of the Earth</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, share the concern of the U .S. </span><span style="color: darkblue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://fissilematerials.org/library/PMDA2010.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">sanctioning</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Russia’s use of a </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">fast neutron reactor</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and the reprocessing of some of its spent fuel
to produce additional plutonium, thereby undermining the original intent of the
Agreement to decrease plutonium stockpiles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Clements added that the
promise of the Agreement is no longer being pursued as Russia has abandoned the
use of MOX in light-water reactors and has instead been building a new
plutonium BN800 "breeder" reactor which poses significant nuclear
proliferation risks as the reactor using MOX fuel can produce weapons-grade
plutonium. "It is a blow to international nuclear non-proliferation
policies that the US has helped enable Russia to build the BN800 breeder
reactor," said Clements. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-48133401124674530932013-01-31T14:55:00.000-05:002013-02-06T14:30:21.579-05:00The NYC School Bus Strike and Wall Street<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p>
<span>Despite assurances that ‘<a href="http://www.theliberaloc.com/2012/01/25/president-obamas-state-of-the-union-shared-sacrifice/"><span style="color: blue;">sharing
the sacrifice</span></a>,’necessary as a result of the 2008 economic collapse, is the
patriotic duty of every American, the latest challenge to that burden- sharing
philosophy are the school bus drivers, matrons and mechanics of Amalgamated
Transit Union, Local 1181, the country’s largest transit union with 8,800
members in New York City. </span><o:p> </o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
<br />
<span><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/16/nyc-school-bus-drivers-strike/1839011/"><span style="color: blue;">On
strike</span></a> since January 16, the walkout was provoked when Mayor Michael
Bloomberg withheld a court-ordered <a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/01/28/nybu-j28.html"><span style="color: blue;">Employee
Protection Provision</span></a>(EPP) from Department of Education bids for upcoming
school bus contracts. The EPP, which dates back to 1965, guarantees each
employee a job regardless of which company wins the bid by requiring the
company to hire current workers at their current salary based on seniority.
Without the EPP in force, the privately owned bus companies will be able to cut
wages and benefits and replace experienced, trained personnel with minimum wage
workers who lack the necessary CPR training or other required certifications. </span><span><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span>Like most large urban cities,
the city of New York does not directly employ its school bus drivers, matrons
or mechanics, the majority of whom work for the <a href="http://www.atlanticexpress.com/about.html"><span style="color: blue;">Atlantic Express Transit Group</span></a>
which is the City’s largest transit company and second largest in the country.
While the majority of the City’s 1.1 million public school students walk to
school, 150,000 city students depend on bus service; <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Labor-board-says-NYC-school-bus-strike-is-legal-4243416.php"><span style="color: blue;">one-third</span></a>
of whom are <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/city-school-bus-strike-hits-disabled-students-hardest-article-1.1242273"><span style="color: blue;">disabled
requiring a wheelchair</span></a> or autistic children. </span><span><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span>In the background, beyond public
purview is a Wall Street <a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Atlantic+Express+Transportation+Group+Announces+Recapitalization+by...-a053178523"><span style="color: blue;">private
equity</span></a> firm, the Greenwich Street Capital Group, that <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/57/57572.html"><span style="color: blue;">purchased a controlling share</span></a>
of AETG in 1999. As any private equity firm’s prospectus will confirm, its
purpose in life is to invest in companies it perceives to be potentially
profitable and to take whatever steps are necessary to assure that
profitability…no matter if that means cutting services to school age children
whose physical disabilities require an attendant on their school bus ride each
day.</span><span><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span>Driving a school bus or serving
as an on-board caretaker is not exactly a Sunday drive through the park
especially in the most densely packed, high-traffic city in the country,
frequently driving long distances through multiple boroughs on tight schedules.
While the City's school busing costs have risen to <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/education/2013/01/17/school-bus-strike-new-york-city-enters-day/RUPimRn1VrX9uC8ahCWP1N/story.html"><span style="color: blue;">$1.1
billion</span></a> in 2012, up from $300 million in 1994, it is not because of
exorbitant bus driver salaries which top out at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/Despite%20assurances%20that%20‘sharing%20the%20sacrifice,’%20necessary%20as%20a%20result%20of%20%20the%202008%20economic%20collapse,%20is%20the%20patriotic%20duty%20of%20every%20American,%20the%20latest%20challenge%20to%20that%20burden-%20sharing%20philosophy%20are%20the%20school%20bus%20drivers,%20matrons%20and%20mechanics%20of%20Amalgamated%20Transit%20Union,%20Local%201181,%20the%20country’s%20largest%20transit%20union%20with%208,800%20members%20in%20New%20York%20City."><span style="color: blue;">$50,000</span></a>
a year or with matrons maxing out at $26,000. Working split shifts in the
country’s <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/nyregion/striking-school-bus-drivers-criticize-new-york-city-over-impasse.html?_r=2&"><span style="color: blue;">most
expensive</span></a> place to live, many members of 1181 are on food stamps and as of
February 1<sup>st</sup>, the bus companies have stopped providing the strikers
with <a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/176262/union-leaders-claim-mayor-spreads-misinformation-on-school-bus-contracts"><span style="color: blue;">health
benefits</span></a>. </span><span><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span>With the choice of getting
arrested on the picket line or lose their job certification, Local 1181’s back
is to the wall in a classic labor struggle against a bazillion dollar Wall
Street private equity firm and the City of New York which <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/nyregion/striking-school-bus-drivers-criticize-new-york-city-over-impasse.html?_r=2&"><span style="color: blue;">refuses
to negotiate</span></a>. Overwhelmingly minority, members of 1181 are on strike
without the support of either political party as the teacher, firefighter,
sanitation and transit unions (all working without a contract) remain on the
sidelines and a union leadership that has offered to order workers back on the
job. </span><span><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span>On Friday afternoon, the <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/02/01/bus-strike-continues-as-labor-complaint-is-dismissed/"><span style="color: blue;">NLRB</span></a>
dismissed a Complaint brought by a coalition of bus companies that the walk-out
is illegal citing the companies <a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/02/02/nycc-f02.html"><span style="color: blue;">refusal to
negotiate</span></a> on the EPP which, according to the ruling, is an ‘integral
part’of employee contracts. The NLRB went on to affirm that the City of New
York is a 'primary employer' associated with the strike. The bus coalition has
said it will appeal the decision – and until the job security of the EPP is
restored, the strike goes on. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
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A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-66063483615397978682013-01-28T20:47:00.002-05:002013-01-28T20:47:58.098-05:00Failed Filibuster Reform Threatens Legislative Agenda<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (Nev) </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/rachel-maddow-harry-reid-filibuster-reform_n_2549826.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">repeated
pronouncements</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> that the Republican stranglehold on the
Senate’s filibuster could no longer be tolerated, that is exactly the final
outcome of recent reform efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
the success of important Obama legislative initiatives like depending on a
Democratic Senate for enactment, what was Harry Reid thinking?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reid’s stunning flip in favor of retaining
the most egregious elements of the Republican filibuster clearly jeopardizes
the President’s legislative agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since the 2010 Congressional election when Senate
Democrats lost their 60<sup>th</sup> vote to Scott Brown of Massachusetts, the
minority Republicans played hardball requiring a 60 vote majority to bring any
legislation to the Senate floor for a vote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even with a clear advantage of 59 – 41 votes, Senate Democrats remained
inexplicably unable to assert their legislative resolve as the business of
running the government fell into disarray and public support for Congress
dropped to historic lows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As recently as the day after the 2012 election which
kept the Senate majority in Democratic hands (56-44), Reid indicated that the
filibuster rules were being abused by Republicans and that he would act to
change them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that encouragement,
reform-minded Senators Tom Udall (NM) and Jeff Merkley (Ore) took up the banner
as they had two years ago to require that any Senator who wanted to filibuster
a bill must personally appear on the Senate floor to defend their filibuster
and to inform the country why their filibuster was needed to stop what they
considered to be an ill-conceived act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The current rules allow any Senator to ‘hold’ a bill without having to
be publicly identified or to provide any explanation for that hold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet given public anger at Congressional gridlock and
the Senate’s inability to function as Republicans brazenly brought public
business to a near-halt, last week Reid formalized a “</span><a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/filibuster_changes_get_senate_approval-221072-1.html?pg=2"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">gentlemen’s
agreement</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">” with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky) by
stating that he was “not ready to get rid of the 60 vote threshold.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What is unfathomable is Reid’s disregard for
improving the Senate’s stature or making it an efficient, effective legislative
body to assure passage of the President’s most important legislative issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet to be explained is why the Udall-Merkley
proposal could not muster a simple majority of 51 Democratic votes for adoption
or why every Democrat in the Senate voted </span><a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00002"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(86-9)</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
to adopt the Reid McConnell watered -down ‘reform.’ Only Senator Bernie Sanders
(Vt) and 8 ultra-conservative Republicans were in opposition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is with no small irony that the vote to
continue the requirement for a Super-Majority of 60 votes was adopted with the
requirement of 60 votes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even as Republicans remain mired in a disconnect
from political reality and despite reports of a bi-partisan agreement on an immigration
reform ‘blueprint’, there is little reason to expect that the party of Lincoln
will not continue to effectively stonewall<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>every reasonable legislative initiative addressing the country’s most critical
problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as Senate Democrats
continue to stumble into an era of lost principles, there will be no one to
blame but themselves. </span></div>
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A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-69586014522118884802012-02-03T15:17:00.003-05:002012-02-03T15:19:16.702-05:00To read Renee's newest posts, contact<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-parsons/">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-parsons/</a>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-65458265061941218372012-02-01T14:29:00.000-05:002012-02-01T14:29:51.761-05:00Bahrain Arms Sale Challenges Congress<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Obama Administration has been planning to send a supply of spare parts and maintenance equipment to Bahrain without triggering requirements of the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA) asserting that “none can be used against protesters.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/27/obama_administration_selling_new_arms_package_to_bahrain"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/27/obama_administration_selling_new_arms_package_to_bahrain</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In stating that the Bahrain sale does not meet the AECA threshold, the Administration has not publicly noticed the proposed sale or notified Congress as the AECA requires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode22/usc_sup_01_22_10_39.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode22/usc_sup_01_22_10_39.html</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A spokesperson at the State Department confirmed that the U.S. is maintaining “a pause on most security cooperation pending further progress on reform<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>while supplying some items on a case-by-case basis that directly affect U.S. national security interests.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since last fall, a $53 million shipment of helicopters, advanced missiles and high mobility, multi-purpose Humvee tanks to that small island Kingdom with a population of less than half a million has been on hold but the Administration’s current efforts have stirred Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass) and Sen. Ron Wyden (R-Ore) to circulate a letter to colleagues in opposition to the sale that will be sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, Bahrain made headlines in 2011 with its own Arab Spring pro-democracy protests and when the government prosecuted medical personnel for treating injured and tortured protesters. </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12729786"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12729786</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> According to McGovern, Bahrain recently denied entry to several human rights monitors and on Monday, police tear-gassed mourners attending a funeral for a teenager who died in police custody. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain_Independent_Commission_of_Inquiry"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain_Independent_Commission_of_Inquiry</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"></span></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the road to hell paved with good intentions and strewn with bricks of gold, the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 was adopted in recognition of the need for Congress to reassert its authority in foreign policy decisions as the sale of U.S. weapons to foreign countries escalated after the Vietnam War. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode22/usc_sec_22_00002751----000-.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode22/usc_sec_22_00002751----000-.html</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In what was originally intended to control armament export<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from the U.S. military industrial complex as well as act as a diplomatic tool with the ultimate goal of ‘reducing international trade of weapons and to lessen the danger of regional conflicts,’ the Act, with the noble goal of a ‘world free from the scourge of war,’ has instead transformed the United States into the global tooth fairy for armaments and other military toys as the AECA has become little more than a rubber stamp for the country’s weapons industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In adopting the AECA, the 94th Congress urged the President to ‘maintain adherence to a policy of restraint’ solely for the purpose of ‘specific national defense requirements’ including consideration of whether those exports would “contribute to an arms race, aid in the development of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_mass_destruction" title="Weapons of mass destruction"><span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">weapons of mass destruction</span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, support </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_terrorism" title="International terrorism"><span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">international terrorism</span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yet, despite words of peace and reconciliation, the AECA also included the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) Program within the Pentagon to provide loans and grants to countries like Bahrain to purchase American made weapons and military equipment. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While the AECA requires the President to provide Congress with written notification of its ‘intent to sell,’ </span><a href="http://www.dsca.mil/PressReleases/36-b/36b_index.htm"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.dsca.mil/PressReleases/36-b/36b_index.htm</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in December, 2011 alone, President Obama notified Congress of five possible foreign military sales (FMS) including a continuation of its PATRIOT system to Saudi Arabia, FMS of C27J aircraft to Australia, Javelin anti-tank guided missiles to the UAE, F161Q aircraft to Iraq, and UH-1N helicopters to Hungary. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In a maze of alphabet-soup acronyms, the FMF is a central program within the Defense Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) which under its “Scope of our Business” cites “13,000 active FMS (foreign military sales) valued at $327 billion”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.dsca.mil/"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.dsca.mil/</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A separate fund from the State Department’s humanitarian or economic development foreign aid, t</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">he <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>FMF’s $5 billion in 2008 included assistance to Israel as its top beneficiary until 2003 when Iraq received the most military assistance from 2003 – 2007 with Afghanistan now the top recipient of U.S. military support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80701.pdf"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80701.pdf</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">While the President has the ultimate authority to approve a weapon ‘transfer’ after advance notice to Congress, the Act also gave Congress the oversight power to deny (but not approve) the sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Presidential role of using weapon sales as a diplomatic tool to influence foreign policy with potentially complicated implications involving the State Department has been sufficient reason for many in Congress to accept their limited role. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While objection to any sale requires a simple majority vote via a joint Congressional resolution, rejections or even modification of a weapons sale continues to be rare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As currently written, supporters of maintaining the AECA’s status quo would argue that for Congress to have a more comprehensive role in the process, to vote aye or nay on each weapon sale, is to risk politicizing sensitive foreign policy discussions while each weapon sale decision may be unique with a very different set of policy ramifications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, would it be reasonable to expect that a Congressional denial of the recent $30 billion sale of F-15 jets to Saudi Arabia might negatively impact US - Saudi relationship given that country’s reliable standing as the second highest importer of petroleum to the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The potential sale of a weapon may be used to positively influence a foreign country to improve its human rights record as in the case of Bahrain or to allow for democratic elections or whatever other goal may be in our ‘national security interests.’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="http://www.dsca.mil/PressReleases/36-b/36b_index.htm"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.dsca.mil/PressReleases/36-b/36b_index.htm</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">On the other hand, given a more complex and challenging world since 1976, without a broader role, the AECA allows little - no room for meaningful Congressional<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>negotiation on any sale, whether it should be modified in some appropriate way that better reflects international realities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, a Congressional debate on why a petite country like Bahrain, located in the Persian Gulf, dependent on annual U.S. military assistance, would benefit the American taxpayer’s understanding of ‘foreign aid.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, if each weapon sale was publicly debated and voted on the floor of Congress, presumably fewer weapon sales would occur and the nature of many foreign policy decisions now made behind closed doors without public or, in some cases, Congressional input, would be open and transparent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The fact is that the Bahrain request for military assistance is but a drop-in-the- bucket, the tip-of-the-iceberg when it comes to US funding and facilitating the sale of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Made in USA” military equipment to foreign countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The list of “Congressional Notification” that reads like a who’s who of Nation’s of the World indicates little discretion at determining if a country’s FMS requests meet the in-their-defense-only goals set out in the AECA. </span><a href="http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/reports/intro_congnotify.html"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/reports/intro_congnotify.html</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rep. M<</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">cGovern’s point that to approve the Bahrain request “sends the wrong message by giving any type of military equipment to Bahrain while the Bahraini government fails to meet its human rights obligations and promises” is a principle for the U.S. to follow in every FMS request. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-16176392702631230952012-01-29T22:57:00.001-05:002012-01-30T07:02:46.501-05:00<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">On Sunday night’s 60 Minutes program, Scott Pelley opened an interview with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta with the question “How many countries are we currently engaged in a shooting war?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surprised by the question, Panetta, who laughed heartily as if Pelley had just told him a really humorous knock-knock joke that tickled his funny bone, responded ‘that’s a good question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to stop and think about that.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Panetta proceeded to answer “we’re going after al Qaeda wherever they’re at….Clearly, we’re confronting al Qaeda in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, North Africa….” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In case you’re wondering, yes, Panetta confirmed that US troops are in Pakistan. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7396828n&tag=contentMain;contentAux"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7396828n&tag=contentMain;contentAux</span></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="style1" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Pelley’s question could not have been more clear just as Panetta’s answer was unequivocal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What neither Pelley nor Panetta, who received a law degree from Santa Clara University Law School, mentioned was that for the US to be ‘engaged in a shooting war,’ not to mention more shooting wars than he could recount, without Congressional approval is not only unconstitutional but is a clear violation of the War Powers Act of 1973..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">After the debacle in Vietnam, with the American people dispirited and exhausted from a bloody, divisive war, the 93<sup>rd</sup> Session of Congress recognized the need to restore its Constitutional authority to declare war and oversight on national security and foreign policy issues with adoption of the War Powers Act of 1973. </span></span><a href="http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal22/warpow.htm"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal22/warpow.htm</span></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Act, which was also intent on improving accountability requirements for the Executive Branch, necessitated a Congressional override of President’s Nixon’s veto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In lieu of a declaration of war, the Act requires three things of the President: ”in every possible instance” to consult with Congress <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>before introducing US troops “into hostilities”, to report to Congress within 48 hours of committing troops and to withdraw US troops by 60 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, while Presidents have cited Congressional funding votes as tacit endorsement of their actions, the Act (Sec 8 (a)(1)) specifically prohibits any appropriation from being “intended to constitute specific statutory</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">authorization.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since its adoption in1973, the spirit and, we now know, the legal mandate of the Act has been consciously challenged, undermined, dismissed, dodged or violated in an on-going erosion of Congress’ Constitutional authority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Military action against Libya began on March 19 with the US in command<sup> </sup>with several submarines and frigates firing Tomahawk cruise missiles. into Libya with the Presidents of Zimbabwe, Uganda and Namibia in opposition. <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/odyssey-dawn.htm"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/odyssey-dawn.htm</span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=63225"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=63225</span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> That day, </span>President Obama announced the deployment of US forces stating his action did not include any ‘troops on the ground’ and notified Congress that its authorization was not necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=63225"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=63225</span></a> </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">As Congressional criticism of the action grew, the President announced the 'transfer' of command to NATO. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the 60<sup>th</sup> day of US participation, the President had still not sought Congressional approval and was no doubt aware that the Act does not distinguish between troops on the ground or air or naval attacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">On Friday, June 3<sup>rd</sup>, the US House of Representatives rebuked the President in a bi-partisan resolution offered by Speaker John Boehner for committing US forces to Libya without Congressional approval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boehner’s resolution was approved on a 268 – 145 vote with 45 brave Democrats voting to reprimand the President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/world/africa/04policy.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/world/africa/04policy.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Even prior to Panetta’s admission Sunday evening, the Constitutional questions for Obama’s new global occupation<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-parsons/us-plans-for-perpetual-wa_b_1237365.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-parsons/us-plans-for-perpetual-wa_b_1237365.html</span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by U.S. combat troops in potential hot-spots on every continent, participting in specious counterterrorism chases across the planet, remained problematic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With confirmation Sunday evening that US armed forces are engaged militarily without prior Congressional approval requires some Member of Congress, any Member of Congress, to demand an immediate full-scale Congressional inquiry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If the President of the United States, known as a Constitutional scholar and after having been rebuked once already, persists in repeating past indiscretions, what are the implications for the Act to retain any trace of its legal authority or for the country to maintain any semblance of a Constitutional democracy? <o:p></o:p></span>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-87309422297575134702012-01-27T12:07:00.003-05:002012-01-27T13:42:31.272-05:00U.S. Plans for Perpetual War<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As an attack on Iran remains temporarily on the backburner and Syria, home to US-identified terrorist group Hamas, moves up the queue as the next target for military intervention, both are part of a larger strategy proposed to newly-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 1996.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The “<i>Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm</i>” </span><a href="http://www.iasps.org/strat1.htm"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.iasps.org/strat1.htm</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> suggested a “new approach to peace’ premised on a ‘clean break’ from the Oslo peace process of the 1990’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oslo would have withdrawn Israeli troops from the occupied territories while affirming Palestine’s right of self-determination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than pursuing a ‘comprehensive peace’ with the Arab world, <i>Clean Break</i> advocated an aggressive pre-emptive military strategy to destabilize Iraq and eliminate Saddam Hussein.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, <i>Clean Break</i> retained the ‘right of hot pursuit’ anywhere within the occupied territories and encouraged ‘seizing the initiative’ by “engaging” Hezbollah, Syria and Iran to trigger ultimate regime change. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The key authors of that document, American neo-cons Richard Perle, David Wurmser and Douglas Feith (who Gen. Tommy Franks called the ‘f… stupidest guy on the face of the earth” ie Bob Woodward’s <i>Plan of Attack, pg 281</i>), soon found themselves influential national security positions within a receptive Bush Administration from which to proselytize their recommendations.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> A decade later, the authors of that Study are gone in name but their spirit of unending wars is</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> alive and well within the Obama Administration’s recently announced “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Defense Strategic Guidance</i>” as part of “Sustaining US Global Leadership:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Priorities for 21<sup>st</sup> Century Defense,” </span><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/282223-defense-strategic-guidance.html"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/282223-defense-strategic-guidance.html</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Clean Break</i> offered what was then a radical Middle East military strategy, Obama’s DSG<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>identifies US military priorities for the 21<sup>st</sup> century to “confront and defeat aggression anywhere in the world” with an emphasis on the Middle East and Asia-Pacific region as the “greatest challenges for the future.” (Panetta, 1-5-2012)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Even prior to announcement of the DSG, the American military is still pursuing WMD’s as combat troops have been deployed to chase local ‘terrorists’ that pose no threat to the US; such as the Lord’s Army in Uganda and escalating a US military presence dispatching 2,500 Marines to Australia to protect US ‘national interests’ in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Addressing <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a January 5<sup>th</sup> news conference at the Pentagon, </span><a href="http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/StrategicR"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/StrategicR</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the President, cited ‘enduring national interests’ as he read a prepared ten minute statement and left the podium without taking any questions; attending <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reporters remained in their places with bright, shiny faces leaving Defense Secretary Panetta and Joint Chief Martin Dempsey to carry on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With his usual eloquence, the President pledged that </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the United States is going to “maintain our military superiority ..ready for the full range of contingencies and threats” and that ‘the US faces a complex and growing array of security challenges across the globe.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The President’s grim pronouncements failed to reassure a US commitment to international law or to provide an analysis to justify a future of perpetual armed conflict and, as both Obama and Panetta postulated the pretense of victory in Iraq, neither acknowledged the 800 pound gorilla in the room that if the systematic destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of U.S. interventions was an example of providing for a ‘safer, more stable, prosperous world’, then perhaps the world would be better off if the United States stayed at home and minded its own business.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In a questionable grip on reality, the President recounted<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the ‘extraordinary’ growth of country’s military budget since 9/11 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as he acknowledged that </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“global responsibilities demand leadership, the defense budget will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still be larger than it was toward the end of the Bush administration</i>.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obama went on to make the prediction that the American people will “accept a defense budget” that ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">continues to be larger than roughly the next ten countries combined</i>.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the news networks almost entirely allowed the implications of DSG to slide under the radar neglecting to inform the American public of the President’s generosity regarding his new military strategy, the average American taxpayer remains unaware of Obama’s future foreign policy objectives and its consequences for social programs that millions of Americans rely on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor has the American taxpayer benefited from a Presidential explanation of how a budget ‘larger than it was’ will affect the country’s fragile economic stability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With passage of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is required to prepare budget projections for all Federal departments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those projections are premised on a baseline budget process that predicts future budget increases based on inflation, new programs, increased administrative costs, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a bi-partisan game of smoke and mirrors intent on tricking the taxpayer, it is reductions to this baseline budget projection that the Pentagon is now heralding as ‘cuts.’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, the $487 billion in ‘cuts’ over the next ten years are, in reality, coming out of the projections prepared by the CBO which explains why there are no cuts to any major weapons program. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.cbo.gov/budget/budget.cfm"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.cbo.gov/budget/budget.cfm</span></span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In addition, with the Pentagon’s four year baseline budget cycle of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 at $515 billion, $533 billion, $549 billion and $531 billion, respectively; for the President and Panetta to claim that the proposed ‘baseline’ budget for 2013 of $525 billion is a dramatic cut representing significant savings does not meet the straight-face test or their ethical obligation to the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
</span><a href="http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy12/pdf/BUDGET-2012-BUD-7.pdf%20%20pg%2064"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy12/pdf/BUDGET-2012-BUD-7.pdf<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pg 64</span></span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Neither the President nor Panetta felt any need to articulate a credible global threat that requires eternal armed vigilance as the country continues to dismantle its People Programs and as its infrastructure continues to crumble - nor did either provide the American people with a thoughtful rationale for who, why, when, where and how.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In sync with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Clean Break’s</i> principles, DSG provides a framework for reassuring any nervous Nellies of the US ability to sustain multiple wars simultaneously in multiple global locations as Secretary Panetta suggested <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a land war</i> in South Korea and at the same time, threats in the Strait of Hormuz” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1-5-2012 news conference q and a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/DBr"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/DBr</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As DSG transforms the nature of US combat realigning its forces beyond the Mideast, the US will “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of necessity”</i> rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region in recognition of the ‘growth of China’s military power….to avoid causing friction in the region.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recognizing that ‘over the long term, China’s emergence as a regional power will have the potential to effect the US economy and our security in a variety of ways,” refers to more than just the US missing an interest payment on its debt or China knocking on our door to demand payment. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">DSG eschews diplomacy as a viable alternative in favor of a military response to international tensions with a reduction in the need<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for ‘boots on the ground’ while relying on an increase in a leaner, meaner new generation <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of remote-powered guilt-free drones, the weapon that Ron Paul suggests are unconstitutional, and more agile, flexible Special Op troops. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-auto-drone-20120126,0,740306.story"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-auto-drone-20120126,0,740306.story</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">After the President’s departure, Panetta, once known as a liberal House Democrat from California, began to morph into a gnarl-faced Dr. Strangelove with every utterance of war, enemies, threats, death and destruction as he touted U.S. military dominance and its ability to “decisively prevail in any conflict.’<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">With the world’s largest military force including an incomparable nuclear arsenal and a budget to match, exactly who are we protecting the Homeland from – and what condition will it be in when they arrive?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If al Qaeda’s goal was to destroy the country’s quality of life, its economic prosperity or its high regard for the First Amendment and civil liberties while creating a second-rate banana republic, they have done a terrific job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-30476318696989446212012-01-20T07:18:00.000-05:002012-01-20T07:18:26.408-05:00Keystone Pipeline Fight is Not OverA<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">s Bill McKibben and his environmental supporters bask in a well-deserved satisfaction of the now-infamous Keystone XL pipeline denial, a close reading of the President’s statement indicates reason for concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 4.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In what would have otherwise been another slam-dunk for the petroleum industry, McKibben et al can take credit for bringing the issue and its deleterious impact on American farmers and climate change to the public’s attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The case against the pipeline is overwhelming with the Natural Resources Defense Council warning that synthetic crude made from tar sands will generate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">three times</i> as much CO2 pollution as conventional crude oil production because the extremely heavy, thick viscous bitumen (tar) requires great amounts of water and energy in order to flow through a pipe. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 4.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At issue has been the route of the pipeline which would run through the Sandhills, designated a distinct ecoregion area of significance by the World Wildlife Fund that sits atop the all-important Oglala acquifer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Ogallala spans eight states and is responsible for providing ground water for 27% of all the irrigated land in the US as well as drinking water for 82% of residents who live within its borders. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 4.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2011, the President announced he would ‘delay’ a decision on the pipeline until 2013.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that time, McKibben and other environmentalists hailed Obama’s decision as a defeat for the pipeline in that such a delay would create onerous costs and the project would collapse under its own weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, shortly after the President’s decision, Alex Pourbaix, Trans Canada's president made it clear that the company would re-route the pipeline in order to receive approval when he announced that "I can confirm the route will be changed.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 4.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Congressional proponents were, however, not content to wait until 2013 as Republicans attached a rider to the payroll tax bill requiring a Presidential decision on the pipeline within 60 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How that timeline requirement made it through a Democratically-controlled Senate remains a mystery. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 4.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But here’s where political reality collides with environmental ethos – as McKibben, NRDC and others rejoice in the President’s most recent decision to deny, it is curious that the TC’s already agreed-to compromise with the State of Nebraska last November to reroute the pipeline has fallen through the cracks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that time, TC indicated that a reroute would add 30-40 miles of pipe and an additional pumping station and that a supplemental environmental assessment would take more than a year to complete. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/22/us-oil-pipeline-nebraska-idUSTRE7AL1M120111122"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/22/us-oil-pipeline-nebraska-idUSTRE7AL1M120111122</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and/ or <a href="http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/11/15/transcanada-to-reroute-pipeline"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/11/15/transcanada-to-reroute-pipeline</span></a> Despite TC’s earlier vehemence about sticking to their original route and from my years of wrestling alligators at FOE (ie challenging the nuclear industry), I know that the industry’s stated public posture can be very different from what they are willing to settle for when the chips are down – and in this case, it would be naïve not to think that while TC was publicly <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pushing for the maximum, they already had a reroute plan in their hip pocket. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike average citizens who actively oppose the pipeline, the industry has the resources to play the waiting-game as they string out the opposition with bureaucratic delays and amoral obfuscations. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 4.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In perhaps the most unkind cut of all is that the President’s two paragraph statement of denial makes no mention of the pipeline’s impact on climate or agriculture <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/18/statement-president-keystone-xl-pipeline"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/18/statement-president-keystone-xl-pipeline</span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but rather refers to a new environmental assessment and that “this announcement <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is not a prejudgment of the merits of the pipeline</i>” and further that this decision “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil.</i>” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the President is saying between-the-lines is that his denial of the pipeline is a temporary one, pending submission of an amended application with a route that will steer clear of the sand hills and the Ogallala. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 4.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While House Speaker John Boehner is correct when he says, “this fight is not over” but Bill McKibben and his idealistic cohorts need to take heart and not lose sight of the goal or ever forget that the Keystone pipeline is worth the fight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have come too far to be discouraged by the rough street game of American politics or the realization that the playing field is not level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did it once, they can do it again. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 4.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Renee Parsons was an environmental lobbyist with Friends of the Earth in Washington DC focusing on nuclear energy issues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-24883159208006327722012-01-07T11:19:00.009-05:002012-01-18T10:01:31.953-05:00Israel's Nuclear History as US Troops Deploy to Drill<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As the Obama Administration coordinates a global PR campaign of scare tactics for the upcoming attack on Iran, eerily reminiscent of the Bush Administration’s lies of WMD’s to justify its invasion of Iraq, it comes as no surprise that the US Congress has added its voice, in repayment for the Israel lobby’s $3 M during the 2010 election cycle, to ban any communication between US and Iran government officials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Intensifying the drums of war with over-the-top statements that Iran, with an inferior set of missiles and a vastly inadequate Navy, represents ‘the greatest threat to world peace” and that ‘the actions and policies of Iran threaten the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States” ignore the inconvenient reality that US intelligence has found no evidence of a nuclear weapons capacity in Iran. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who needs to cut back on the coffee, recently told <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">60 Minutes</i> that Iran has “reached a point where they can assemble a nuclear bomb in a year or less’ only to have Pentagon press secretary George Little set the record straight “we have<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> no indication that Iran has made a decision to develop a nuclear weapon.”</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 15.75pt 11.25pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently contributed her opinion that "Recent days have brought new evidence that Iran's leaders continue to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">defy their international obligations and violate international norms</i></b>” yet Clinton makes no mention of Israel, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">which has refused to sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty for 40 years, continues to deny access of IAEA inspectors <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to their Dimona facility as it did in 2004 and continues to reprocess spent nuclear fuel into weapons-grade plutonium – all in defiance of “international obligations” and in violation of “international norms”.</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Only India and Pakistan along with Israel have refused to join the world community as signers of the NPT.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At the same time, the Inter Press Agency reported that while</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Panetta failed to </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">obtain agreement from Israel that it would not attack Iran without first informing Washington, Obama has shirked any responsibility for Israel’s action in that he ‘<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had no say’ over Israel</i></b> ”as a sovereign country.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">President’s recent Executive Order increasing economic sanctions stated that “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">illicit nuclear activities</i></b> of the Government of Iran, along with its <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">development of unconventional weapons and ballistic missiles</i></b> and its support for international terrorism<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, threaten the security of the United States”</i></b> is disingenuous and that “all options are on the table” defies the reality that Iran’s modest <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>military budget (1.8% of GDP) is no match for Israel (6.3% of GDP) or that the US (4.7% of GDP) never created an international crisis when Russia or China or India or Pakistan or any other nation ‘went nuclear’ just as it has, over the last 40 years, allowed Israel to become a dominant nuclear military power without international safeguards and allowed Israel’s interests to dictate US foreign policy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Former White House analyst on Iran Gary Sick has called US sanctions that would block Iranian shipments through the Strait of Hormuz “little more than a military blockade’ that could be considered an ‘act of war.’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea III ratified in 1994 by 154 countries, signed but not ratified by the US and Iran while Israel has done neither, sets a 12 nautical mile territorial water limit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It is curious that </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">the most powerful man in the world representing the most powerful military in the world who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize defending ‘just’ wars without condemnation of the neo-con concept of pre-emptive war, who exhibited tremendous drive and ambition to be elected President but now has ‘no say’ over $4 billion annual military aid to Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as Obama has allowed the Republicans to dance rings around him, he, no doubt, has already discovered that the Israeli’s play a much rougher game than any Republican.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It is inexplicable that there is Zero discussion amongst the mainstream media about Israel’s ”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">illicit nuclear activities</i></b>” with estimates of between 200 - 400 nuclear war heads and all the US-supplied tanks, submarines, fighter jets, guns and assorted weaponry and implements of destruction that $4 billion from the US taxpayer can buy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As if US orchestration<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of war was not menacing enough, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jerusalem</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i> has reported that Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc met with his Israeli counterpart to plan an ‘unprecedented’ missile defense exercise dubbed “Austere Challenge” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this Spring involving the ‘<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">deployment of thousands of American soldiers to Israe</b>l.” In addition, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post </i>further reported that Chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey is expected to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israel officials in mid-January as “US escalates its rhetoric regarding <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">US military preparations to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jerusalem Post </i>articles (“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">US Commander visits Israel to finalize Missile Drill”</i> 12-20-2011<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=250249"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=250249</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">US Army Chief to visit Israel, Reassure it on Iran</i>” 12-29-2011 </span><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=251504"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=251504</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">) represent a deliberate, if reckless, attempt by the United States and Israel to escalate tensions with Iran regardless of the very real possibility of war with nuclear weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">But the threat of a nuclear attack is not from Iran which the most recent IAEA report certified that Iran has not ‘diverted any nuclear fuel for military purposes.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>US intel agencies agreed with IAEA conclusions and the Arms Control Association, a US think-tank, said that a “nuclear-armed Iran is still not imminent nor is it inevitable” while Israel’s well-known hair trigger is worrisome to international experts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Even as Israel continues to neither confirm nor deny its own nuclear capacity and makes its case for military action with world peace in the balance, its accusations against Iran must be viewed in the context of a country that preaches one set of principles and yet, does not follow those same principles for itself as well as its own sordid nuclear history of lies, deceptions, evasions and total disregard for the international Rule of Law. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="indent" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 7.5pt 0in 15pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Israeli romance with nuclear weapons began immediately upon Statehood with the French assisting in the construction of the Dimona nuclear facility and supplying its earliest uranium fuel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prime Minister Ben-Gurion was committed to making Israel a nuclear power creating the Israel Atomic Energy Administration in 1952.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite Israeli denials, U-2 flights in 1958 reported the existence of the massive Dimona nuclear facility confirming CIA fears that the Israeli government was reprocessing high level nuclear fuel into weapons grade plutonium. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After Count Folke Bernadotte, the UN’s appointed emissary to mediate the Israel and Arab dispute, was assassinated in 1948 by radical Zionists, President Harry Truman adopted an arms embargo on major weapons to Israel fearing an escalation of violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That embargo continued through the Eisenhower Administration until the Kennedy Administration agreed to a modest sale of anti-aircraft missiles to counter Russian arms to Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="indent" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 7.5pt 0in 15pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Increasingly concerned about Israel’s determination for nuclear arms, JFK wrote to Ben-Gurion on May 18, 1963 diplomatically protesting that Israel was stalling and that US “scientists” were not being allowed unfettered inspections of the Dimona site. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that same letter, Kennedy suggested that “</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I see no present or imminent nuclear threat to Israel from there”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></u></i></b><u><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">and further that<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Egyptians do not presently have any installation comparable to Dimona, nor any facilities potentially capable of nuclear weapons production</i></b></span></u><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ben-Gurion avoided responding to Kennedy and retired shortly thereafter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">America’s last President to not be intimidated by Israel’s aggressive posture, Kennedy followed up in a July 5, 1963 letter to newly elected PM Eshkol with stronger and more insistent language including “</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">visits should be…in accord with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">international standards</i></b>, thereby <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">resolving all doubts</i></b> as to the peaceful intent of the Dimona project.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kennedy continued to push for a specific schedule of inspections stressing the importance that “our scientists have <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">access to all areas</i></b> of the Dimona site .. such <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">as fuel fabrication facilities or plutonium separation plant</i></b>, and that sufficient time to be allotted for a thorough examination.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>JFK warned Eshkol that “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this Government’s</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">commitment to and support of Israel could be seriously jeopardized</i></b> if it should be thought that we were unable to obtain reliable information on a subject as vital to the peace as the question of Israel’s effort in the nuclear field.” Clearly, Kennedy understood the potential threat to world peace with the indiscriminate spread of nuclear weapons<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="indent" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 7.5pt 0in 15pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">With LBJ in the White House, Israel’s domination of US Middle East foreign policy can be traced to a shift away from its previous neutrality as Johnson boosted sales of major weaponry to Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite State Department and Joint Chief objections, Johnson began what has become decades of ‘unconditional’ US support and Israel dependence on US military shipments. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">According to former NRC Commissioner Victor Gilinsky in a May 13, 2004 letter to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">NY Review of Books</i>, a complicated clandestine scheme featuring multiple ‘front’ organizations and a dramatic mid-sea transfer smuggled 200 tons of uranium ore into Israel in 1968, avoiding European Atomic Energy Commission controls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gilinisky states that ‘</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This was not the first, or last, secret Israeli uranium purchase</span></u></i></b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once Euratom discovered what had happened, Gilinsky says it informed the US Atomic Energy Commission and both agencies “sat on the story.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="indent" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 7.5pt 0in 15pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">That same year, CIA Director Helms was known to have reported to Johnson that Israel possessed nuclear weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unwilling to risk adoption of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which Israel refused to sign and in deference to Israel, LBJ told Helms to keep the information secret and not inform any member of his cabinet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In 1969, President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger raised the nuclear concern with then-PM Golda Meir who rebuffed them with claiming a previous US agreed-to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ compromise. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The CIA’s conclusion in 1968 that 100 kg’s of weapon grade uranium stolen from <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a US naval nuclear fuel plant had found its way to Israel and produced that country’s first nuclear bombs has been written about extensively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Operated by the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp., NUMEC was known to have close contacts with Mossad agents and had been visited by representatives of the Israeli government. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On September 22, 1979, a US satellite designed to detect nuclear tests registered a signal over the Indian Ocean that was believed by US intelligence, Federal science agencies and Los Alamos experts to indicate an Israeli nuclear test carried out with South African cooperation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The test, probably of a hydrogen bomb, came at a time when the Carter Administration was attempting to mediate Israeli and Palestinian peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In 1986, a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sunday Times of London</i> article revealed that an Israeli nuclear scientist Mordecai Vanunu had publicly confirmed, for the first time, secrets of Israel’s nuclear arsenal including its production of tritium and plutonium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An opponent of weapons of mass destruction, Vanunu was kidnapped and imprisoned for 18 years (11 of those in solitary) and after his release in 2004, expressed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘near certain indications’ that Mossad was implicated in Kennedy’s assassination. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In an obscure <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</i> 1-1-2012 article entitled “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Iran Asks to Resume Talks on its Nuclear Program</i>” and in what may be a futile attempt at rapprochement, Iran’s negotiator says he has formally requested the United States and its negotiating partners (Russia, France, England, China and Germany) to begin another round of negotiations “to return to the path of dialogue for cooperation.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Given his lackluster performance to date, there is slim hope that President Obama will show real leadership and take the high road to peace. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><u>January 9<sup>th</sup> UPDATE</u>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">L</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">eon Panetta, Secretary of Defense on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Face the Nation</i> January 8<sup>th</sup> admitted that Iran has </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">not yet committed to a nuclear arsenal and</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No.” while refusing to rule out a pre-emptive strike.</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<strong><u>Gilinsky and JFK Letters</u></strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 9pt 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Israel’s Bomb<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 5;"><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/issues/2004/may/13/"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="color: #990101;">May 13, 2004</span></span></b></a><b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.75pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/contributors/victor-gilinsky/"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Victor Gilinsky</span></b></a><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/mail_friend/5/17104/"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">E-mail</span></span></a><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/?pagination=false&printpage=true" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">Print</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">Share</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To the Editors:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amos Elon’s review of Avner Cohen’s Israel and the Bomb [NYR, January 15] gives the author deserved credit for writing a fascinating book that reconstructs for the first time the secret story of the Israeli nuclear bomb project, one “whose existence the Americans were slow to confirm.” There is much to learn from this account for our current efforts to cope with clandestine nuclear weapons developments abroad. In the Israeli case American officials started by wishing away the obvious and progressed to hiding deep inside the government what they knew was politically explosive. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Which brings me to three curious omissions in Cohen’s book—the 1968 smuggling past Euratom inspectors of two hundred tons of uranium ore to Israel, the CIA’s conclusion at about the same time that Israel previously stole bomb-grade uranium from a US naval fuel plant, and the 1979 Vela satellite signal that was widely interpreted as an indication of an Israeli nuclear test. The book’s complete silence on these important events is especially odd as they have been discussed extensively elsewhere.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fn1-909841583"><u><sup><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">1</span></span></sup></u></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Plumbat Affair</span></i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the 1967 Israeli–Arab war France ceased to supply Israel with uranium. The following year, through complex covert operations involving European front companies and mid-sea transfers from one vessel to another, Israel managed to obtain two hundred tons of uranium ore that had been stockpiled in Antwerp. The sealed drums were labeled “plumbat,” or lead.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fn2-909841583"><u><sup><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">2</span></span></sup></u></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>This was not the first, or last, secret Israeli uranium purchase</u></i></b>. The significance of the Plumbat affair, however, and therefore the sensitivity, arose from the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>violation of European Atomic Energy Commission (Euratom) controls. Eura</u></i></b>tom approved the sale on the understanding that it was an intra-European one. Euratom soon caught on to what happened and informed the US Atomic Energy Commission. Both then sat on the story for another decade. Cohen doesn’t say a word about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The NUMEC Affair</span></i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Cohen relates in his book, in 1968 CIA Director Helms reported to President Johnson the exceedingly tightly held conclusion that Israel already possessed nuclear weapons</span></u></i></b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Among other indications, the United States had observed Israeli Air Force practice runs that could only be for nuclear delivery. This was a political shock that, if revealed, could have derailed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">then nearly ready for signing. A public revelation would have shown that previous US “visits” to Israeli nuclear facilities—to make sure they were not supporting bomb work—were a farce, </b>and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">that US assurances on this point to Arab countries were false. Johnson is reported to have told Helms not to tell anyone, not even Dean Rusk or Robert McNamara.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But there is more. Cohen’s reference for the 1968 CIA conclusion about Israeli bombs is 1976 “testimony” of CIA Deputy Director Carl Duckett before the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fn3-909841583"><u><sup><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">3</span></span></sup></u></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The reason Duckett briefed a small group of commissioners (of whom I was one) and several senior NRC staff was not to tell us Israel had the bomb. It was rather to deal with rumors about a deeper secret in the CIA reports, one that had an even bigger potential for political disaster, and one that I believe was the real reason for the hyper-secrecy. What Duckett confirmed, to everyone’s astonishment, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>was that the CIA believed that the nuclear explosives in Israel’s first several bombs, about one hundred kilograms of bomb-grade uranium in all, came from material that was missing at a US naval nuclear fuel plant operated by the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC), in Apollo, Pennsylvania.</u></i></b></span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fn4-909841583"><u><sup><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">4</span></span></sup></u></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> NUMEC had exceptionally close and suspicious ties to Israel. The firm’s sloppy material accounting could have masked the removal of the bomb-grade uranium. After numerous investigations and reinvestigations the facts remain unclear. Still, it seems more than strange that Cohen does not even mention the controversy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1979 Vela Satellite Nuclear Test Signal</span></i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On September 22, 1979, a US Vela satellite designed to detect nuclear tests registered a signal over the Indian Ocean that was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">generally believed in the US intelligence community to indicate an Israeli nuclear test </i>carried out with South African cooperation</b>.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fn5-909841583"><u><sup><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">5</span></span></sup></u></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> But this conclusion was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">politically awkward for the Carter administration then trying to mediate Mideast peace</i></b>. The President’s science adviser brought together a group of prominent nongovernmental scientists for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">a narrow review</b> of the event. The panel came up with the inventive interpretation that the light signal detected by the satellite came not from the ocean surface far away but rather from reflections from tiny particles that happened to pass in front of the satellite detector in exactly the right way to imitate a bomb signal. The White House panel discounted data from ionospheric disturbances recorded by a radio telescope in Puerto Rico that was consistent with the bomb interpretation of the satellite data<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. Just about everyone else in the federal scientific community believed the signal did come from a bomb test.</b> The Vela satellite <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">experts at the Los Alamos laboratory</b> are still convinced their satellite recorded a nuclear test.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fn6-909841583"><u><sup><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">6</span></span></sup></u></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The technical significance of such a test was that it would have indicated Israel was developing <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">hydrogen weapons</b> (for which testing is essential) and thus its weapons program was then already highly advanced. The international political significance of Israeli nuclear weapons cooperation with South Africa is obvious. Cohen is completely silent about the 1979 event. The timing is indeed past the main account of his book, but given a test’s tremendous significance I am surprised he did not even mention it in the Epilogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I realize that Avner Cohen bravely took on a lot in telling the Israeli bomb story—Amos Elon’s review tells of Cohen’s grilling by Israeli security. Still, I can’t help feeling that there is a deeper layer of the story yet to be told. And there is still a lesson to be learned by the United States about facing <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">politically inconvenient facts concerning clandestine nuclear weapons efforts abroad.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Victor Gilinsky<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The author, an independent energy consultant, was formerly a member of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He was previously the head of the Physical Sciences Department at the Rand Corporation.</span></i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">1 <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">See, for example, the Web pages of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (www.nti.org/e <i>research/e1</i>israel_nuclear.html) and of the Federation of American Scientists (fas .org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/farr.htm).</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr1-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="display: none; font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">2 <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">Using this keyword on the amazon.com page brings up a number of books that tell the story of the affair.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr2-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="display: none; font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">3 <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">This wasn't formal testimony. </span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr3-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="display: none; font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">4 <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">Cohen cites a USNRC interview conducted in the course of the NRC's "Inquiry into the Testimony of the Executive Director for Operations." The NRC conducted the inquiry to ascertain whether its executive director had testified truthfully to a congressional committee when he did not inform the committee about the suspected Israeli diversion of bomb-grade uranium from the NUMEC plant after being asked whether there was any evidence of illicit diversion from a US facility.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr4-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="display: none; font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">5 <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">The South African Navy was on alert that day.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr5-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="display: none; font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">6 <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">Los Alamos press release, "Blast from the Past: Los Alamos Scientists Receive Vindication," Los Alamos, New Mexico, July 11, 1997.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr6-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="display: none; font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">See, for example, the Web pages of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (www.nti.org/e <i>research/e1</i>israel_nuclear.html) and of the Federation of American Scientists (fas .org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/farr.htm).</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr1-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using this keyword on the amazon.com page brings up a number of books that tell the story of the affair.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr2-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This wasn't formal testimony. </span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr3-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cohen cites a USNRC interview conducted in the course of the NRC's "Inquiry into the Testimony of the Executive Director for Operations." The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>NRC conducted the inquiry to ascertain whether its executive director had testified truthfully to a congressional committee when he did not inform the committee about the suspected Israeli diversion of bomb-grade uranium from the NUMEC plant after being asked whether there was any evidence of illicit diversion from a US facility.</u></i></b></span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr4-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></u></i></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The South African Navy was on alert that day</span></b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr5-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Los Alamos press release, "Blast from the Past: Los Alamos Scientists Receive Vindication," Los Alamos, New Mexico, July 11, 1997.</span><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/may/13/israels-bomb/#fnr6-909841583" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text"><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990101;">↩</span></span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<h2 align="center" style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">Kennedy Letter to Ben-Gurion Regarding Visit to Dimona<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2><br />
<h3 align="center" style="margin: 1em 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333;">(May 18, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></span></h3><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This is a telegram from the Department of State to the Embassy in </span></i><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/israel.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990101;">Israel </span></span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">transmitting the text of a letter from President </span></i><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/jfktoc.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990101;">Kennedy</span></span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> to Israeli </span></i><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/ben_gurion.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990101;">Prime Minister Ben Gurion</span></span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> on arrangements to visit Dimona.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Verbatim text. You should deliver following letter from President to Prime Minister Ben-Gurion: <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"Dear Mr. Prime Minister:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"I welcome your letter of May 12 and am giving it careful study.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"Meanwhile, I have received from Ambassador Barbour a report of his conversation with you on May 14 regarding the arrangements for visiting the Dimona reactor. I should like to add some personal comments on that subject.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"I am sure you will agree that there is no more urgent business for the whole world than the control of nuclear weapons. We both recognized this when we talked together two years ago, and I emphasized it again when I met with Mrs. Meir just after Christmas. The dangers in the proliferation of national nuclear weapons systems are so obvious that I am sure I need not repeat them here.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"It is because of our preoccupation with this problem that my Government has sought to arrange with you for periodic visits to Dimona. When we spoke together in May 1961 you said that we might make whatever use we wished of the information resulting from the first visit of American scientists to Dimona and that you would agree to further visits by neutrals as well. I had assumed from Mrs. Meir's comment that there would be no problem between us on this.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"We are concerned with the disturbing effects on world stability which would accompany the development of a nuclear weapons capability by Israel. I cannot imagine that the Arabs would refrain from turning to the Soviet Union for assistance if Israel were to develop a nuclear weapons capability--with all the consequences this would hold. But the problem is much larger than its impact on the Middle East. Development of a nuclear weapons capability by Israel would <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>almost certainly lead other larger countries, that have so far refrained from such development, to feel that they must follow suit.<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"As I made clear in my press conference of May 8, we have a deep commitment to the security of Israel. In addition this country supports Israel in a wide variety of other ways which are well known to both of us. [4-1/2 lines of source text not declassified]<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">" I can well appreciate your concern for developments in the UAR. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>But I see no present or imminent nuclear threat to Israel from there. I am assured that our intelligence on this question is good and that the Egyptians do not presently have any installation comparable to Dimona, nor any facilities potentially capable of nuclear weapons production</u></i></b>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, of course, if you have information that would support a contrary conclusion, I should like to receive it from you through Ambassador Barbour. We have the capacity to check it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"I trust this message will <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>convey the sense of urgency and the perspective in which I view your Government's early assent to the proposal first put to you by Ambassador Barbour on April 2.<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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"John F. Kennedy<o:p></o:p><br />
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<h2 align="center" style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Kennedy Letter to Eshkol Regarding Dimona<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h2><br />
<h3 align="center" style="margin: 1em 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;">(July 4, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></span></h3><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is a telegram from the Department of State to the Embassy in Israel transmitting the text of a letter from President </span></i><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/jfktoc.html"><i><span style="color: #990101; font-family: Calibri;">Kennedy</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> to </span></i><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/eshkol.html"><i><span style="color: #990101; font-family: Calibri;">Prime Minister Eshkol</span></i></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i> regarding visits to Dimona.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"Dear Mr. Prime Minister: <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
"It gives me great personal pleasure to extend congratulations as you assume your responsibilities as Prime Minister of Israel. You have our friendship and best wishes in your new tasks. It is on one of these that I am writing you at this time.<o:p></o:p><br />
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"You are aware, I am sure, of the exchanges which I had with Prime Minister Ben-Gurion concerning American visits to Israel's nuclear facility at Dimona. Most recently, the Prime Minister wrote to me on May 27. His words reflected a most intense personal consideration of a problem that I know is not easy for your Government, as it is not for mine. We welcomed the former Prime Minister's strong reaffirmation that Dimona will be devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes and the reaffirmation also of Israel's willingness to permit periodic visits to Dimona.<o:p></o:p><br />
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"I regret having to add to your burdens so soon after your assumption of office, but I feel the crucial importance of this problem necessitates my taking up with you at this early date certain further considerations, arising out of Mr. Ben-Gurion's May 27 letter, as to the nature and scheduling of such visits.<o:p></o:p><br />
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"I am sure you will agree that these visits should be as nearly as possible in accord with international standards, thereby resolving all doubts as to the peaceful intent of the Dimona project. [3-1/2 lines of source text not declassified]<o:p></o:p><br />
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"Therefore, I asked our scientists to review the alternative schedules of visits we and you had proposed. If Israel's purposes are to be clear beyond reasonable doubt, I believe that the schedule which would best serve our common purposes would be a visit early this summer, another visit in June 1964, and thereafter at intervals of six months. I am sure that such a schedule should not cause you any more difficulty than that which Mr. Ben-Gurion proposed in his May 27 letter. It would be essential, and I understand that Mr. Ben-Gurion's letter was in accord with this, that our scientists have access to all areas of the Dimona site and to any related part of the complex, such as fuel fabrication facilities or plutonium separation plant, and that sufficient time be allotted for a thorough examination.<o:p></o:p><br />
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"Knowing that you fully appreciate the truly vital significance of this matter to the future well-being of Israel, to the United States, and internationally, I am sure our carefully considered request will have your most sympathetic attention.<o:p></o:p><br />
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"Sincerely,<o:p></o:p><br />
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"John F. Kennedy"<o:p></o:p><br />
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In conveying foregoing, you should stress that exhaustive examination by the most competent USG authorities has established scheduling embodied in President's letter as minimum to achieve a purpose we see as vital to Israel and to our mutual interests. Scientific reasons for this are that (a) only a visit before criticality can fully establish features of a reactor--this is reason for requested early summer visit which we hope could be this month or next at latest; (b) it is widely known and accepted by knowledgeable international scientific community that, if intended for ultimate production of weapons grade plutonium, a reactor of this size would be operated to burn a single fuel load approximately every six months, whereas for peaceful purposes optimum burn-up time would be about two years--this is what makes it essential that after mid-1964 visits be scheduled semi-annually.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Rusk<o:p></o:p><br />
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</div>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-52947847739685311772011-12-26T22:59:00.002-05:002011-12-27T09:53:25.553-05:00Who are the Terrorists?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p> On the morning of July 12, 2007, the year of Bush’s Iraqi Surge which saw 1,000 American combat fatalities, two on-loan Apache AH-64 attack helicopters joined the First Infantry Division as part of Operation Ilaaj (Care) in south Baghdad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The goal of the six hour operation which involved 240 US infantrymen in 65 humvees and several Bradley Fighting Vehicles was to counter recent attacks on US forces by supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In announcing the operation to his Battalion, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich offered the encouraging words “it’s time to get some.”<o:p></o:p></o:p><br />
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<div style="background: white;">Embedded with Battalion 2-16 that day was David Finkel, a Pulitzer prize winning <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Washington Post</i> reporter, who went on to write about what became a world famous horrific experience in a July 13<sup>th</sup> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pos</i>t article entitled “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">US Shiite Fighters Clash in Baghdad</i>” and further expounded about the incident in his acclaimed book, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Soldiers</i>” recounting his embedded status in Iraq between January, 2007 and June, 2008. <o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">In 2003, as the Bush Administration geared up for its pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, criticism of a lack of access for reporters during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan provided the perfect foil for adoption of new agreed-upon journalistic rules to control information from the frontlines. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While providing reporters with protection, the deal required that the 800 American journalists expected to cover the war would be ‘embedded’ with a specific Army unit during combat and that they would sign a contract promising to not reveal certain ‘classified’ information that might assist the enemy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every major US media outlet sending a journalist to cover the upcoming conflict jumped at the chance for a ringside seat with little concern that journalistic freedom might be compromised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly, the Administration and Pentagon were well aware that whoever controls information may also control public opinion – and nowhere is that more true than during war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">The American media establishment did not need a Thesaurus to know what the term ‘embedded’ meant: that while their reporters would be on the front line of the battle, they were acquiescing their First Amendment rights to interact with the Iraqi population, to question the wisdom of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>military decisions and to equitably present both sides of the conflict – independent of any expectation of a favorable bias influenced by 24-7 bonding with American boys; some just off the farm and others away from home for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the easy capitulation of major US media outlets, the Pentagon created an effective propaganda arm, reducing war-time journalists to little more than a servile body of stenographers outfitted in 21<sup>st</sup> Century ballistic helmets and Kevlar vests. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">What Finkel, whose 2006 Pulitzer was in the “Explanatory Reporting” category, had no way of knowing when his book was published in 2009 was that the on-board video from the Apache helicopter would ultimately surface as part of the Wikileaks expose in 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">As reported by Finkel (with co-author Joshua Partlow of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i>’s Foreign Service), the assertion that U.S. “soldiers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>clashed with Shiite militiamen</u></i> leaving at least 11 Iraqis dead and an unknown number injured, including two children hit by shrapnel from a U.S. helicopter attack, according to American soldiers who took part in the mission” failed to acknowledge that there was no away for the Apache crew to know beforehand that the group of unarmed civilians in their gun sights were Shiite fighters or militiamen. <o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post<u> </u></i>article’s statement that “during the fighting, an Apache helicopter “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fired bursts</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of 30mm rounds</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">toward several people <u>who had been directing machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. soldiers</u></i>” is not supported by viewing the 38 minute video. <u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i> article goes on to state that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American soldiers recovered two cameras from the site</i>” and that ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A camera believed to belong to the Reuters photographer lay nearby.</i>” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reporting that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“i<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">t was <u>unclear whether the journalists had been killed by U.S. fire or by shooting from the Iraqis targeted by the Apache</u></i>” and that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>the cameraman gave every appearance of preparing to fire an RPG on US soldiers</u>”</i> are gross distortions of the facts as confirmed by a review of the video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i> article, no doubt written within hours of the attack, fails to mention any weapons being found at the site and it was not until after two Reuters employees were identified among the victims that Pentagon officials claimed the retrieval of an AK47 and an RPG.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">The video begins with the Apache crews impatiently stalking the Iraqis in their cross-hairs with disturbing radio chatter that makes any listener wonder what kind of American family produced the young man who became known as Crazy Horse 1-8. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In their eagerness to ‘engage’, Crazy Horse 1-8 and his counterpart known as Hotel 2-6 mistakenly identified the Reuter’s long telephoto lens <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- ‘that’s a weapon,’ “yep,’ and “..two individuals with weapons’ suddenly became “we have five or six individuals with AK 47’s.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then, certain of their target, “light’em up…firing..(delay)…come on, fire” followed by “look at those dead bastards,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“nice shooting”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and “thanks.” <o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i> article reported that “The helicopter also fired on a silver Toyota minivan in the area as several people approached the vehicle” yet completely missed the commission of a war crime as two unarmed civilians aiding a wounded civilian were mercilessly gunned down by the Apache crew. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The radio chatter between Crazy Horse and Hotel included “just trying to find targets again” and “we got one crawling around down there but we can definitely get him…” followed by “is he picking up a weapon” and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“you shoot, I’ll talk,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“come on, let’s shoot.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Minutes later, “look at that – right through the windshield – aha!” with audible snickers and then ‘…slight movement from the van – looks like kids.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once confirmed that a two year girl and her brother had been seriously wounded, “that’s what they get for bringing children to a battle” and “that’s right.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">As if that was not enough killing for one day, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the unedited version of the video shows a third attack (not mentioned in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i> article or in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Soldiers</i>) minutes later when an unarmed Iraqi civilian is seen entering a building, followed by two additional civilians who may be carrying some unidentifiable object enter the same building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Apache crew, now claiming “at least six individuals in the building with weapons,” fire three AGM-114 Hellfire missiles into the building which housed three families, killing four to six more Iraqis – and we wonder why the Arab world hates Americans. <o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Soldiers,</i> Finkel notes that the Reuters photographer was not ‘embedded’ and therefore had not informed the U.S. military of his presence. Back at camp, while it was ‘concluded that everyone had acted appropriately,” Finkel asks, but “had the (Reuters) journalists?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would be for others to decide” concluding that “the good soldiers were still the Good Soldiers and the time had come for dinner.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">Immediately after the incident, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i> article quotes Major Brent Cummings, the Battalion’s Executive Officer that “the Apache crew fired because they had <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>positive</u> identification that the <u>militants</u>" <u>had weapons</u> and <u>were using them against coalition and Iraqi security forces</u>.</i>"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither assertion is supported by the video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cummings went on to say that "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No <u>innocent</u> civilians were killed on our part deliberately</i>. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>I don't know how the children were hurt.</u>"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>After the incident, Iraqi police referred to the attack as a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘random American bombardment.”</i><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">After the death of its two employees, Reuters filed a Freedom of Information request for a copy of the video and the Pentagon’s internal investigation. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">They were refused and until the April, 2010 Wikileaks release, the raw footage of the Apache attacks remained ‘classified.”</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reassessing the day of the Apache’s multiple attacks on Iraqi civilians raises disturbing questions about the role of a free press on crucial issues of Constitutional importance. Coverage of the Apache attack presents an ominous picture of how an ‘embedded’ journalist reports on a combat situation (with irrefutable evidence of at least one war crime) prior to any expectation that the tragedy would become an internationally reviled occurrence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Soldier’s</i> chapter about the July 12<sup>th</sup> incident contains numerous, very specific quotes and details that could only have come from the Apache video – or from Finkel being on-board one of the Apaches (as former CIA agent Ray McGovern believes) as the 2010 Wikileaks video had not been made public by the time T<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">GS</i> went to press in 2009. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So while Reuters was denied a copy of the video in 2007, the possibility exists that an embedded reporter was provided access to a ‘classified’ video in order to complete his manuscript. <o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">Finkel’s responses to questions in his April, 2010 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Washington Post</i> blog immediately after <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wikileak release of the video are deliberately vague when he refers to his ‘presence in the area that day’.. “without going into the details…I’ll say the best source of information was being there.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether Finkel was on the ground with the First Infantry that morning or in the company of Crazy Horse 1-8 as a first-hand eyewitness who audio-taped the radio chatter, Finkel’s comment that he “based the account in my book on multiple sources, all <u>unclassified</u>” indicates the irresistible temptation of embedded journalists to report skewed versions of the facts that benefit the military’s eternal goal of sanitizing the horror of war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
<div style="background: white;">As Bradley Manning awaits a military judge’s decision on whether to set him for court-martial and Julian Assange fights extradition that will surely bring him to the United States for prosecution as a ‘terrorist’, the essential question remains:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Exactly who is responsible for the Apache helicopter attack on Iraqi civilians?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-14238485556765723912011-12-26T10:28:00.000-05:002011-12-26T10:28:34.765-05:00Recommended ReadingA Must-Read to better understand how the US went to war in Iraq and why the American public is being manipulated with fear of Iran as a prelude to invasion.<br />
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"The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by John Mearsheimer and Stephen WaltA True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-90059567127126948882011-12-15T10:14:00.000-05:002011-12-15T10:14:43.818-05:00The Senate's Wheel of Vote Rotation<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Despite flowery speeches and grand statements about protecting the middle class, it is the Senate’s roll call votes that are the true measure of a Senator’s worth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A voting record that covers six years in office is more revealing than any <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">60 Minute </i>interview and communicates more about a Senator’s true beliefs than any Floor speech <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– and it is the civic responsibility of citizens to scrutinize those votes or risk being snookered by those who cast<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>votes contrary to the best interests of their constituents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Bringing new meaning to the old adage that ‘actions speak louder than words,” any citizen curious about how their Senator votes and willing to take the time to monitor those votes, will find that after staring at endless lists of the ayes and nays, it becomes apparent that something does not compute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A close examination of the public record reveals a plethora of inexplicable Democratic Senate votes in conflict with perceived Democratic principles, votes that were sufficient to defeat certain progressive legislation, most often by a narrow margin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">At first glance, one irregular vote may appear to be just a ‘bad day at the office’ or an aberration when a liberal Senate Democrat votes against an amendment they would be expected to support or votes in favor of legislation they would normally be expected to oppose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What may seem like trivial minutiae to others is more than just an academic exercise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The act of sifting through lists of Senate names marked with a Y or a N searching for clues takes on a life of its own with the awareness that there is more here than meets the eye. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">One vote gone awry is only one vote - until it becomes a pattern of ‘bad’ behavior responsible for really important social legislation like the DREAM Act to be defeated as it was in the Senate in December, 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first, the possibility of collusion on votes may seem a preposterous theory but the recorded votes, enshrined in the Congressional Record, do not lie. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">On the surface, there appears to be no logic to justify those baffling Senate votes and monitoring a Senator’s voting history for a length of time becomes a puzzling, sometimes frustrating avocation until suddenly one day, out of the blue, the obvious becomes apparent with the most plausible explanation - the existence of a Wheel of Vote Rotation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Hidden deep within one Senator’s voting record, rarely scrutinized for its commitment to a broad progressive philosophy, is evidence of the Senate’s near-total breakdown and its inability to function as a vibrant democratic institution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When viewed in a wholistic way, from a ‘big’ picture perspective rather than taking each vote as a random separate act, the individual votes become the whole, a pattern emerges with each vote creating a larger paradigm. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is in reviewing that totality that aberrant votes are most readily apparent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The DREAM<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act provided a path to citizenship for immigrant children who had been in the United States for at least five years and were pursuing higher education or military enlistment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">During the Congressional lame duck Session of 2010, the still Democratically -controlled House adopted the Act (HR 2965) by a vote of 216 in favor (including 8 Republicans) vs. 198 against (including 38 Democrats.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With 60 Democrats in the majority in the Senate, the Act (S 3992) went on to lose on a vote of 59 Yes vs. 40 No votes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only in the US Senate can 59 votes be declared the losing side while 40 votes carries the day, thanks to the Senate’s acceptance of an arbitrary 60 vote requirement to break a filibuster. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But here’s the rub on the Dream Act:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four Senate Democrats (Feingold, Menendez, Merkley and Pryor) voted against the Act while five Republicans (Murkowski, Corker, Crapo, Risch and Vitter) voted in Favor of the Act. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reasonable question is what motivated Sen. Russ Feingold, a progressive hero who’d been defeated for re-election and was on his way out of the Senate, to vote against citizenship for immigrant children - or why Sen. Bob Menendez, himself the son of Cuban immigrants, voted to not support the Act? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the votes were being counted that day with ultimately one vote making the difference, did it ever occur to the liberals (Feingold, Menendez or Merkley) that unless they switched their vote, thousands of immigrant children who’d grown up in the United States, the only home they’d ever known, would be denied citizenship and doomed to live in fear of deportation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What happened to the Dream Act was not an anomaly and can be found on a wide variety of ‘big’ legislative votes on high profile progressive issues like Supreme Court confirmations (see </span><a href="http://trueblueprogressivereport.blogspot.com/2011/11/re-electing-senate-democrats-in-2012.html"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://trueblueprogressivereport.blogspot.com/2011/11/re-electing-senate-democrats-in-2012.html</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">) including assorted war funding and Patriot Act votes among others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What happened to the Dream Act is a reflection of how totally the elite political-corporate-financial establishment dominates the public’s business. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Hypothetically, the game is played<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>after a vigorous spin of the Wheel by the Wizard of Oz. Each Senator takes a turn casting a ‘bad’ vote; like any prizefighter ‘throwing’ a bout, often enough to spread the burden out over a period of time and to shift the focus so as not to arouse undesirable attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Under the guise of preserving a historic Senate procedure, the Senate’s arcane process of roll call votes, considerably less open and transparent than the House with no electronic tally board, further provides an opportunity to quietly rotate votes without being exposed publicly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As CSPAN viewers have noted, Senate votes are cast with the public largely in the dark until the final tally is announced. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Predominately a function of Democrats who have had an identity crisis since the 1980’s, the Wheel of Vote Rotation applies less to Republicans since they vote in block almost 100% of the time and the Republican base is not as easily duped as the more gullible Democratic base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Senator Bernie Sanders who routinely challenges the ruling oligarchy with relish as if his job depended on it, is the only known exception to the Wheel game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">There is also a Vote Swinger Option which allows a Senator to be accepted as an unreliable Democratic vote. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Senators Ben Nelson (D-ND) and Joe Leiberman (I-CT) come readily to mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Option comes in handy so that, when necessary, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘swing’ votes will not be considered an unusual occurrence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With no apparent consequence from the Democratic Party, after endorsing John McCain in 2008, Leiberman was rewarded with Chair of the important Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee while the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has already contributed $1 million to Nelson’s 2012 re-election. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Republicans have no comparable Vote Swingers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Above all, vote rotation must maintain the appearance of spontaneity for the results to be seen as credible and be apportioned only on very special votes. A tip-off that the Wheel is ‘in play’ is when “moderate’ Democrats like Sens. Kent Conrad or Max Baucus vote (against their natural inclination) in a progressive way as they did on the Dream Act. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If the vote rotation hypothesis seems like an improbable theory, skeptics can easily (dis)prove its validity for themselves by conducting their own meticulous scrutiny of Senatorial votes that fit a progressive profile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether the Senate’s Ethical Deficit Disorder is due to a formalized vote rotation system or whether we are naïve enough to believe that those perverse votes are merely spontaneous errors in judgment, the implications of how a publicly-elected, taxpayer-funded Senator participates in a 21<sup>st</sup> Century election scam, should be enough to disqualify them from continued public service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424714682505461633.post-75800713351193165362011-12-04T08:13:00.001-05:002011-12-04T12:00:39.124-05:00Senate Approves Indefinite Detention<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If Al Qaeda needed a recruitment tool for its dwindling numbers, its operatives simply needed to video tape the Senate’s recent consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1867).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What should have been a serious discussion on the cost and moral authority of the President’s endless war policy stretching U.S. military tentacles around the globe morphed instead into a platform for endless harangues about American ‘traitors’ during WWII, inflamed passions about ‘terrorists’, bipartisan ravings in fear of Iran, redefining the Constitution and other war-mongering subjects. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The grim reality is that with the country presumably on the edge of a cataclysmic deficit crisis, Senate Democrats who once might have been expected to support the Rule of Law, lined up on the side of a $690 billion appropriation for the Pentagon including $119 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with NO debate on military funding over the country’s favored People Programs or the Constitutionality of drone attacks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Once the House of Representatives approved the Act (HR 1540) on a 322 – 96 vote (with 90 Progressive Democrats and 6 Republicans against the Act), the legislation was referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee with legislative oversight for all things military including the Department of Defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normal parliamentary procedure would have seen the Act referred to other Committees with shared authority, a series of public hearings would have been conducted with debate on amendments before a Committee vote sent the bill to the Senate floor – but that’s not how the NDAA proceeded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Instead, as if a Congressional approval rating of 9% doesn’t matter, the SASC’s autocratic procedure offers proof positive that the Senate not only deserves a lower approval rating but more importantly, that democracy is on a very thin thread. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Not only did the Committee violate its own legislative procedures which protect the public’s right to know, it never issued its customary Committee report which presents the Committee’s work for public inspection – nor was the Congressional Budget Office or the Congressional Research Service able to prepare their usual summaries prior to Senate floor consideration. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given what we know now, such a public process would have set off alarm bells raising public concern about why the Senate bill had been prepared behind closed doors and approved by the Committee in secret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Through legislative flim-flam, Committee Chair Carl Levin (D-Mich) and ranking minority Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) reworded House-approved Section 1031 to allow any citizen anywhere in the world to be held in indefinite detention by military authorities without charges or trial on the ‘suspicion’ of association with terrorists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an on-going attack on the Constitution, the Levin-McCain rewrite offered no opportunity for legal counsel or an opportunity to prove one’s innocence. <span style="color: #333333;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Senate’s transfer of all prosecutorial authority for detentions from the Department of Justice to the Defense Department assures the militarization of all domestic dissent. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) made the point that the inclusion of such language not only jeopardized Constitutional protections but implied a future of never-ending wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither Levin, McCain nor any other Senator challenged Paul’s assertion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), smooth as a snake-oil salesman who featured prominently throughout the bill’s consideration, defended S 1867 that “says <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in law for the first time that the Homeland is part of the battlefield</i>” and that people can be imprisoned “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">citizen or not</i>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In a shameful colloquy, Graham played the once-liberal stalwart Levin with the deftness of a Stradivarius, as Graham, who served six years as a Judge Advocate in the Air Force safely ensconced in Germany, offered the alarming assertion that the Posse Comitatus Act does not prevent a military presence from American streets in pursuit of ‘terrorists.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The goal of the Act, adopted after the Civil War in 1876 when Northern troops were withdrawn from the South, was to prevent Federal military troops from enforcing the law of the land. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Levin, in an ominous metaphor of how liberals have emerged as pro-military, pro-war and neutral on the Rule of Law, never questioned Graham’s logic.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As a prelude to voting on a series of flimsy amendments offered by Sen. Udall (D-Co) and Feinstein (D-Cal) to clarify Section 1031 that American citizens could not be arrested, detained indefinitely or sent to Guantanamo, Sen. Paul Kirk (R-Ill) took the Senate floor and proceeded to educate the Senate on the merits of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution and its ‘inalienable rights.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For one brief, shining moment, when Kirk returned to defend himself, there was a rare face to face debate on the Senate floor with Graham and McCain sputtering and fuming at Kirk’s insolence. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The gravity of a revised House Section 1031 lies in the fact that while the President has already assumed Executive privilege with the ability to arrest and detain an American (Jose Padilla) without due process and to assassinate (Anwar al Awlaki) American citizens without charges or trial, what Levin and McCain have done is to codify illegitimate precepts like the erosion of habeas corpus and Grand Jury protections, denial of a civil trial and to permit unreasonable search and seizures into American law; further eroding a Constitutional government’s ability to operate within the Rule of Law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) lost an opportunity to contribute to world peace by introducing an amendment meant to stir patriotic fervor as it sanctioned the Central Bank of Iran and any financial institution doing business with it. Independent scientists have criticized the recent IAEA report on Iran as a flawed politically-inspired document.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Menendez’ amendment which could have been adopted as a routine unanimous consent item, was brought to a roll call vote (100-0) in order to warn Iran that the US Senate ‘meant business.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After reciting incorrect assertions with regard to Iran’s nuclear program, the mindless flag-waving threats were reminiscent of 2002 and raised the question of whether the Senate has learned anything in the last decade.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">While most Democrats were content to wring their hands in pro-military <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>doublespeak, Sen. Paul offered a stunning amendment to de-authorize the 2002 Authorized Use of Military Force in Iraq Resolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul’s amendment would have not only truly ended the Iraq war but would have removed the government’s legal rationale to currently engage in warrantless surveillance on Americans and restore Congressional authority to make war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) spoke in support citing that the Executive ‘never wants to hand back authority’ and that “Congress has yielded its authority too often; too many times Congress failed to do its fair share in the Constitutional framework.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul’s amendment lost on a 67-30 vote with 25 Democrats voting NO. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With a complicit media blackout similar to how Izvestia ‘managed’ the news, by the time of final passage, 93 – 7 (Sens. Wyden and Merkley of Oregon, Paul, Harkin of Iowa, Lee of Utah, Sanders of Vermont and Coburn of Oklahoma), it was obvious that despite being held in extreme disregard by a huge majority of Americans and with 63% against the war in Afghanistan, the U. S. Senate continues to embarrass itself and the country with no realization that the whole world is watching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If a total lack of esteem on the part of American taxpayers is not enough motivation to change, what will it take for Congress to recognize it has a problem and that ‘It” is the problem. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">While President Obama’s warning of a veto makes good campaign rhetoric, there is little serious expectation that the Constitutional scholar in the Oval Office will follow-through. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span>A True Blue Progressivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09377003411031921610noreply@blogger.com0