The Pot calling the Kettle Black?

How dare he of all people mandate psychiatric testing? The inmates have already escaped the asylum and are squatting in OUR White House!!!
http://www.newswithviews.com/Levant/nancy3.htm
AMERICA THE INSANE
Nancy Levant June 28, 2005 NewsWithViews.com It’s looking more and more like the American contribution to population reduction will be in the form of diagnosing half its citizens as mental incompetents. That will naturally lead to reproductive legislation and control. And when they come up with a way to declare eldership and religiosity as mental illnesses, which is well underway, that will clear the way for incarceration and euthanasia legislation, including, but not limited to, starvation and dehydration. The plan, according to Bush, his pharmaceutical connections, and TMAP is to test every American citizen for emotional and “social” problems. Children and pregnant women are being tested, as we speak, and senior citizens are of particular vulnerability and concern. There are a lot of seniors in the U.S. The government already spent all the Social Security savings, and once the powers-that-be crash the stock markets, seniors will be flat broke and destitute. All one can say is… who let the freaks wag the dog? The people who are running this country, and those they truly serve, slipped over an edge a long time ago. Now, after losing property, homes, Constitutional rights, and even toilets that hold proper amounts of water, we are to simply allow ourselves to be diagnosed by partnership-money trails and desires for pathological power and profits. Sincerely, truly, we are not going to allow this to continue…are we? The legislation and executive orders that are oozing over this nation and its people are loathsome and insidious. As each day goes by, it seems as if we are reading a nightmarish novel, but in truth, we’re reading the laws of the land of an anti-human government. What is going on in America, under the guise of professionalism, is pure evil. It is the result of political favors returned to campaign supporters and lobbyists. It is the result of out-of-control corporate powers and greed, and a totally out-of-control aristocracy. There is a blatant political effort to reduce humanity to artificially controlled robots, for lack of a better term, or highly manageable slaves. This in the name of spreading freedom, preserving nature, eliminating poverty, and whatever else the globalists are using as their excuse to enslave cheap and compliant labor. If these criminally insane partners are not stopped, God knows what the final results will be to American people, and all people around the world. And if you can’t see the insanity that is in your midst - in your schools, in your health care system, in your houses of Congress, at the Executive level, and in your courtrooms, then you are, in fact, diagnosable. We have to stop this. Every American citizen has to demand that there be an end to professional deviance and treachery, and we must demand their resignations and their citizenship. These people are dangerous to our nation, and they are conquering America by diminishing the citizenry, drugging the citizenry, poisoning the citizenry, and manipulating the citizenry. We can’t go another 3 years at this pace. We can’t wait for another pretense of an election. American people are in danger. Wake up! Wake up, American people, and use the blessing of your eyes and what remains of your unscathed brains. READ! Understand what is actually happening inside of this nation. Every American citizen is to be tested for mental health problems, and treatment is ENFORCED. In other words, you can’t deny treatment – not for yourselves or your children. Do you understand the ramifications? Do you understand that this means the end of parental rights if either you or your children are diagnosed and labeled? Do you understand the insanity of a leader of the United States enforcing this kind of legislation upon every American citizen? You better wake up, folks, because one day, you may be so drugged that you will be unable to do so.
I leave you with this horrific warning from Dennis L. Cuddy’s series, Mental Health, Education, and Social Control, Part 14, which states: “…President George W. Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (NFCMH) has proposed screening all of America's youth. Used to support this initiative will be the recent findings of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCSR), the results of which are published in the June edition of the ARCHIVES OF GENERAL PSYCHIATRY. It found that half of those who will ever be diagnosed with a mental disorder show signs of the disease by age 14. In Rick Weiss' "Study: U.S. Leads In Mental Illness, Lags in Treatment" (THE WASHINGTON POST, June 7, 2005), one also learns that the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded the $20 million NCSR study, which found that one-quarter of all Americans met the criteria for having a mental illness within the past year.
The study also found that almost half of Americans meet the criteria for such an illness at some point in their lives, and that less than half of those in need get treated. Thomas Insel, chief of the NIMH, expressed his disappointment to learn from the survey that about a third of people in need rely solely on nonprofessional sources such as internet support groups and spiritual advisers. You might ask yourself at this point what kind of broad definition they are using to determine that half of the American population will be mentally ill…” Websites for Wisdoms: Robert F. Kennedy Jr 's Story on Thimerosal : SF Indymedia – very important article www.newswithviews.com www.news.phaseiii.org/article1335.html Berit Kjos Beverly Eakman www.dshs.state.tx.us/mhprograms/TMAPover.shtm © 2005 Nancy Levant - All Rights ReservedNancy Levant is a life-long writer, a believer of God, country, Constitutional and individual rights. She resides in rural Southwestern Ohio. She has worked professionally with children since 1974 and is an ardent supporter of home schooling. Nancy Levant has done radio and television interviews, has been a guest speaker in many venues including college campuses, schools, Indian reservations, human service organizations, and has been the president of a youth sports organization.Ms. Levant just completed 'The Collapse of Intuition', a non-fiction book about the decline of instinctual and intuitive abilities in American women. Equally, she is a writer for freedom and land rights issues and opposes the United Nation's Agenda 21 implementation in America. E-Mail: nlevant@woh.rr.com

Read it and weep...

This is who we are in the world...how do we escape from this no man's veil of tears?

Tribunal on Iraq Findings World Tribunal on Iraq
Monday 27 June 2005
The attack on Iraq is an attack on justice, on liberty, on our safety, on our future, on us all - The Jury of Conscience
Istanbul, 27 June, 2005 - With a Jury of Conscience from 10 different countries hearing the testimonies of 54 members of the Panel of Advocates who came from across the world, including Iraq, the United States and the United Kingdom, this global civil initiative came to an end with a press conference at the Hotel Armada where the chair of the Jury of Conscience, Arundathi Roy, announced the Jury's conclusions.
The Jury defined this war as one of the most unjust in history: 'The Bush and Blair administrations blatantly ignored the massive opposition to the war expressed by millions of people around the world. They embarked upon one of the most unjust, immoral, and cowardly wars in history. The Anglo-American occupation of Iraq of the last 27 months has led to the destruction and devastation of the Iraqi state and society. Law and order have broken down completely, resulting in a pervasive lack of human security; the physical infrastructure is in shambles; the health care delivery system is a mess; the education system has ceased to function; there is massive environmental and ecological devastation; and, the cultural and archeological heritage of the Iraqi people has been desecrated.'
On the basis of the preceding findings and recalling the Charter of the United Nations and other legal documents, the jury has established the following charges against the Governments of the US and the UK:
Planning, preparing, and waging the supreme crime of a war of aggression in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the Nuremberg Principles.
Targeting the civilian population of Iraq and civilian infrastructure
Using disproportionate force and indiscriminate weapon systems
Failing to safeguard the lives of civilians during military activities and during the occupation period thereafter
Using deadly violence against peaceful protestors
Imposing punishments without charge or trial, including collective punishment
Subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
Re-writing the laws of a country that has been illegally invaded and occupied
Willfully devastating the environment
Actively creating conditions under which the status of Iraqi women has seriously been degraded
Failing to protect humanity's rich archaeological and cultural heritage in Iraq
Obstructing the right to information, including the censoring of Iraqi media
Redefining torture in violation of international law, to allow use of torture and illegal detentions
The Jury also established charges against the Security Council of United Nations for failing to stop war crimes and crimes against humanity among other failures, against the Governments of the Coalition of the Willing for collaborating in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, against the Governments of Other Countries for allowing the use of military bases and air space and providing other logistical support, against Private Corporations for profiting from the war, against the Major Corporate Media for disseminating deliberate falsehoods and failing to report atrocities.
The Jury also provided a number of recommendations that include recognising the right of the Iraqi people to resist the illegal occupation of their country and to develop independent institutions, and affirming that the right to resist the occupation is the right to wage a struggle for self-determination, freedom, and independence as derived from the Charter of the United Nations, we the Jury of Conscience declare our solidarity with the people of Iraq and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the coalition forces from Iraq.
The Istanbul session of the WTI lasted three days and presented testimony on the illegality and criminal violations in the U.S. pretexts for and conduct of this war. The expert opinion, witness testimony, video and image evidence addressed the impact of war on civilians, the torture of prisoners, the unlawful imprisonment of Iraqis without charges or legal defence, the use of depleted uranium weapons, the effects of the war on Iraq's infrastructure, the destruction of Iraqi cultural institutions and the liability of the invaders in international law for failing to protect these treasures of humanity.
The session in Istanbul was the culminating session of commissions of inquiry and hearings held around the world over the past two years. Sessions on different topics related to the war on Iraq were held in London, Mumbai, Copenhagen, Brussels, New York, Japan, Stockholm, South Korea, Rome, Frankfurt, Geneva, Lisbon and Spain.
They have compiled a definitive historical record of evidence on the illegality of the invasion and occupation that will be recorded in a forthcoming book.


Go to Original
Preliminary Declaration of the Jury of Conscience World Tribunal on Iraq Istanbul
27th June 2005, Istanbul
In February 2003, weeks before war was declared on Iraq, millions of people protested in the streets of the world. That call went unheeded. No international institution had the courage or conscience to stand up to the aggression of the US and UK governments. No one could stop them. It is two years later now. Iraq has been invaded, occupied, and devastated. The attack on Iraq is an attack on justice, on liberty, on our safety, on our future, on us all. We the people of conscience decided to stand up. We formed the World Tribunal on Iraq, to demand justice and a peaceful future.
The legitimacy of the World Tribunal on Iraq is located in the collective conscience of humanity. This, the Istanbul session, was the culmination of a series of 20 hearings held in different cities of the world focusing on the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.
We the Jury of Conscience, from 10 different countries, met in Istanbul. We heard 54 testimonies from a panel of advocates and witnesses who came from across the world, including from Iraq, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The World Tribunal on Iraq met in Istanbul from 24-26th of June 2005. The principal objective of the WTI is to tell the truth about the Iraq war as clearly as possible, and to draw conclusions that underscore the accountability of those responsible and underline the significance of justice for the Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein's crimes against his people are not the focus of this Tribunal. We believe it is up to the Iraqi people to investigate these crimes in an independent and free trial.
I. Overview
1. The reasons given by the US and UK governments for the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq in March 2003 have proven to be false. The real motive was to control and dominate the Middle East. Establishing hegemony over the Middle East serves the goal of controlling the world's largest reserves of oil and strengthening the position of the US's strategic ally Israel.
2. Blatant falsehoods about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and a link between Al Qaeda terrorism and the Saddam Hussein régime were manufactured in order to create public support for a "preemptive" assault upon a sovereign independent nation.
3. Iraq has been under siege for years. The imposition of severe inhuman economic sanctions at the end of the first Gulf war in 1991; the establishment of no-fly zones in the Northern and Southern parts of Iraq; and the concomitant bombing of the country were all aimed at degrading and weakening Iraq's human and material resources and capacities in order to facilitate its subsequent invasion and occupation. In this enterprise the US and British leaderships had the endorsement of a complicit UN Security Council.
4. In pursuit of their agenda of empire, the Bush and Blair blatantly ignored the massive opposition to the war expressed by millions of people around the world. They embarked upon one of the most unjust, immoral, and cowardly wars in history.
5. The Anglo-American occupation of Iraq of the last 27 months has led to the destruction and devastation of the Iraqi state and society. Law and order have broken down completely, resulting in a pervasive lack of human security; the physical infrastructure is in shambles; the health care delivery system is a mess; the education system has ceased to function; there is massive environmental and ecological devastation; and, the cultural and archeological heritage of the Iraqi people has been desecrated.
6. The occupation has intentionally exacerbated ethnic and confessionnal divisions in Iraqi society, with the aim of undermining Iraq's identity and integrity as a nation. This is in keeping with the fam liar imperial policy of divide and rule.
7. The imposition of the UN sanctions in 1991 caused untold suffering and thousands of deaths. The situation has worsened after the occupation. At least 100,000 civilians have been killed; 60,000 are being held in US custody in inhuman conditions, without charges; thousands have disappeared; and torture has become virtually routine.
8. The privatization, deregulation, and liberalization of the Iraqi economy has transformed the country into a client economy that serves the Washington Consensus. The occupying forces have also accomplished their primary goal of acquired control over the nation's oil.
9. Any law or institution created under the aegis of occupation is devoid of both legal and moral authority. The recently concluded election, the Constituent Assembly, the current government, and the drafting committee for the Constitution are therefore all illegitimate.
10. There is widespread opposition to the occupation. Political, social, and civil resistance through peaceful means is subjected to repression by the occupying forces. It is the brutality of the occupation that has provoked a strong armed resistance and certain acts of desperation. By the principles embodied in the UN Charter and in international law, the popular national resistance to the occupation is legitimate and justified. It deserves the support of people everywhere who care for justice and freedom.
II. Findings and Charges
On the basis of the preceding findings and recalling the Charter of the United Nations and other legal documents quoted in the appendix, the jury has established the following charges.
A. Against the Governments of the US and the UK
1. Planning, preparing, and waging the supreme crime of a war of aggression in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the Nuremberg Principles.Evidence for this can be found in the leaked Downing Street Memo of 23rd July, 2002 in which it was revealed that: "military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were fixed around the policy." Intelligence was manufactured to willfully deceive the people of the US, the UK, and their elected representatives.
2. Targeting the civilian population of Iraq and civilian infrastructure, by intentionally directing attacks upon civilians and hospitals, medical centers, residential neighborhoods, electricity stations, and water purification facilities in violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR"), Articles 7(1)(a), 8(2)(a)(i), and 8(2)(b)(i). The complete destruction of the city of Falluja in itself constitutes a glaring example of such crimes.
3. Using disproportionate force and indiscriminate weapon systems, such as cluster munitions, incendiary bombs, depleted uranium (DU), and chemical weapons. Detailed evidence was presented to the Tribunal by expert witnesses that leukemia had risen sharply in children under the age of five residing in those areas which had been targeted by DU weapons.
4. Failing to safeguard the lives of civilians during military activities and during the occupation period thereafter, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Articles 13 and 27, and the ICC Statute, Articles 7 (1)(a) and 8(2)(a)(i). This is evidenced, for example, by "shock and awe" bombing techniques and the conduct of occupying forces at checkpoints.
5. Using deadly violence against peaceful protestors, beginning with, among others, the April 2003 killing of more than a dozen peaceful protestors in Falluja.
6. Imposing punishments without charge or trial, including collective punishment, on the people of Iraq, in violation of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Geneva Conventions, and customary international law requiring due process. Repeated testimonies pointed to "snatch and grab" operations, disappearances, and assassinations.
7. Subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in violation of the Geneva Conventions, the ICCPR, other treaties and covenants, and customary international law. Degrading treatment includes subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to acts of racial, ethnic, religious, and gender discrimination, as well as denying Iraqi soldiers Prisoner of War status as required by the Geneva Convention. Abundant testimony was provided of unlawful arrests and detentions, without due process of law. Well known and egregious examples occurred in Abu Ghraib prison as well as in Mosul, Camp Bucca, and Basra. The employment of mercenaries and private contractors to carry out torture has served to undermine accountability.
8. Re-writing the laws of a country that has been illegally invaded and occupied, in violation of international covenants on the responsibilities of occupying powers, in order to amass illegal profits (through such measures as Order 39, signed by L. Paul Bremer III for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which allows foreign investors to buy and takeover Iraq's state-owned enterprises and to repatriate 100 percent of their profits and assets at any point) and to control Iraq's oil. Evidence listed a number of corporations that had profited from such transactions.
9. Willfully devastating the environment, contaminating it by depleted uranium (DU) weapons, combined with the plumes from burning oil wells, as well as huge oil spills, and destroying agricultural lands. Deliberately disrupting the water and waste removal systems, in a manner verging on biological-chemical warfare. Failing to prevent the looting and dispersal of radioactive material from nuclear sites. Extensive documentation is available on air, water pollution, land degradation, and radiological pollution.
10. Actively creating conditions under which the status of Iraqi women has seriously been degraded contrary, to the repeated claims of the leaders of the coalition forces. Women's freedom of movement has been severely limited, restricting their access to education, livelihood, and social engagement. Testimony was provided that sexual violence and sex trafficking have increased since the occupation of Iraq began.
11. Failing to protect humanity's rich archaeological and cultural heritage in Iraq, by allowing the looting of museums and established historical sites and positioning military bases in culturally and archeologically sensitive locations. This took place despite prior warnings from UNESCO and Iraqi museum officials.
12. Obstructing the right to information, including the censoring of Iraqi media, such as newspapers (e.g., al-Hawza, al-Mashriq, and al-Mustaqila) and radio stations (Baghdad Radio), targeting international journalists, imprisoning and killing academics, intellectuals and scientists.
13. Redefining torture in violation of international law, to allow use of torture and illegal detentions, including holding more than 500 people at Guantánamo Bay without charging them or allowing them any access to legal protection, and using "extraordinary renditions" to send people to torture in other countries known to commit human rights abuses and torture prisoners.
B. Against the Security Council of United Nations
1. Failing to protect Iraq against a crime of aggression.
2. Imposing harsh economic sanctions on Iraq, despite knowledge that sanctions were directly contributing to the massive loss of civilian lives and harming innocent civilians.
3. Allowing the United States and United Kingdom to carry out illegal bombings in the no-fly zones, using false pretense of enforcing UN resolutions, and at no point allowing discussion in the Security Council of this violation, and thereby being complicit and responsible for loss of civilian life and destruction of Iraqi infrastructure.
4. Allowing the United States to dominate the United Nations and hold itself above any accountability by other member nations.
5. Failure to stop war crimes and crimes against humanity by the United States and its coalition partners in Iraq.
6. Failure to hold the United States and its coalition partners accountable for violations of international law during the occupation, and giving official recognition to the occupation, thereby legitimizing an illegal invasion and becoming a collaborator in an illegal occupation.
C. Against the Governments of the Coalition of the Willing Collaborating in the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
D. Against the Governments of Other Countries Allowing the use of military bases and air space, and providing other logistical support, for the invasion and occupation.
E. Against Private Corporations Profiting from the war with complicity in the crimes described above, of invasion and occupation.
F. Against the Major Corporate Media
1. Disseminating the deliberate falsehoods spread by the governments of the US and the UK and failing to adequately investigate this misinformation. This even in the face of abundant evidence to the contrary. Among the corporate media houses that bear special responsibility for promoting the lies about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, we name the New York Times, in particular their reporter Judith Miller, whose main source was on the payroll of the CIA. We also name Fox News, CNN and the BBC.
2. Failing to report the atrocities being committed against Iraqi people by the occupying forces.
III. Recommendations
Recognising the right of the Iraqi people to resist the illegal occupation of their country and to develop independent institutions, and affirming that the right to resist the occupation is the right to wage a struggle for self-determination, freedom, and independence as derived from the Charter of the United Nations, we the Jury of Conscience declare our solidarity with the people of Iraq.
We recommend:
1. The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the coalition forces from Iraq;
2. That coalition governments make war reparations and pay compensation to Iraq for the humanitarian, economic, ecological, and cultural devastation they have caused by their illegal invasion and occupation;
3. That all laws, contracts, treaties, and institutions established under occupation which the Iraqi people deem inimical to their interests, should be considered null and void;
4. That the Guantanamo Bay prison and all other offshore US military prisons be closed immediately; that the names of the prisoners be disclosed, that they receive POW status, and receive due process;
5. That there be an exhaustive investigation of those responsible for crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity in Iraq, beginning with George W. Bush, President of the United States of America; Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and other government officials from the coalition of the willing;
6. That we initiate a process of accountability to hold those morally and personally responsible for their participation in this illegal war, such as journalists who deliberately lied, corporate media outlets that promoted racial, ethnic and religious hatred, and CEOs of multinational corporations that profited from this war;
7. That people throughout the world launch actions against US and UK corporations that directly profit from this war. Examples of such corporations include Halliburton, Bechtel, Carlyle, CACI Inc., Titan Corporation, Kellog, Brown and Root (subsidiary of Halliburton), DynCorp, Boeing, ExxonMobil, Texaco, British Petroleum. The following companies have sued Iraq and received "reparation awards": Toys R Us, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Shell, Nestlé, Pepsi, Phillip Morris, Sheraton, Mobil. Such actions may take the form of direct actions such as shutting down their offices, consumer boycotts, and pressure on shareholders to divest.
8. That soldiers exercise conscience and refuse to enlist and participate in an illegal war. Also that countries provide conscientious objectors political asylum.
9. That the international campaign for dismantling all US military bases abroad be reinforced.
10. That people around the world resist and reject any effort by any of their governments to provide material, logistical, or moral support to the occupation of Iraq.
We, the Jury of Conscience, hope that the specificity of these recommendations will lay the groundwork required for a world where the international institutions will be shaped and reshaped by the will of people and not fear and self-interest, where journalists and intellectuals will not remain mute, where the will of the people of the world will be central, and human security will prevail over state security and corporate profits.
Appendix: List of Legal Documents The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) The Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952) The Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1963) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984) The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998) The European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) The American Convention on Human Rights (1969) The Code of Conduct for the Armed Forces of the United States of America (1963)

With thanks from Truthout.org

Better late than never..I guess..

AP FINALLY COVERS IT.....

Memos Show British Fretting Over Iraq War
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, June 19, 2005 now part of stylesheet -->

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(06-19) 07:17 PDT LONDON, United Kingdom (AP) --
When Prime Minister Tony Blair's chief foreign policy adviser dined with Condoleezza Rice six months after Sept. 11, the then-U.S. national security adviser didn't want to discuss Osama bin Laden or al-Qaida. She wanted to talk about "regime change" in Iraq, setting the stage for the U.S.-led invasion more than a year later.

President Bush wanted Blair's support, but British officials worried the White House was rushing to war, according to a series of leaked secret Downing Street memos that have renewed questions and debate about Washington's motives for ousting Saddam Hussein.

In one of the memos, British Foreign Office political director Peter Ricketts openly asks whether the Bush administration had a clear and compelling military reason for war."U.S. scrambling to establish a link between Iraq and al-Qaida is so far frankly unconvincing," Ricketts says in the memo. "For Iraq, `regime change' does not stack up. It sounds like a grudge between Bush and Saddam."

The documents confirm Blair was genuinely concerned about Saddam's alleged weapons of mass destruction, but also indicate he was determined to go to war as America's top ally, even though his government thought a pre-emptive attack may be illegal under international law.

"The truth is that what has changed is not the pace of Saddam Hussein's WMD programs, but our tolerance of them post-11 September," said a typed copy of a March 22, 2002 memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press and written to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
"But even the best survey of Iraq's WMD programs will not show much advance in recent years on the nuclear, missile or CW/BW (chemical or biological weapons) fronts: the programs are extremely worrying but have not, as far as we know, been stepped up."

Details from Rice's dinner conversation also are included in one of the secret memos from 2002, which reveal British concerns about both the invasion and poor postwar planning by the Bush administration, which critics say has allowed the Iraqi insurgency to rage.

The eight memos — all labeled "secret" or "confidential" — were first obtained by British reporter Michael Smith, who has written about them in The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times.

Smith told AP he protected the identity of the source he had obtained the documents from by typing copies of them on plain paper and destroying the originals.The AP obtained copies of six of the memos (the other two have circulated widely). A senior British official who reviewed the copies said their content appeared authentic. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secret nature of the material.

The Sunday Times this week reported that lawyers told the British government that U.S. and British bombing of Iraq in the months before the war was illegal under international law. That report, also by Smith, noted that almost a year before the war started, they began to strike more frequently. The newspaper quoted Lord Goodhart, vice president of the International Commission of Jurists, as backing the Foreign Office lawyers' view that aircraft could only patrol the no-fly zones to deter attacks by Saddam's forces.

Goodhart said that if "the purpose was to soften up Iraq for a future invasion or even to intimidate Iraq, the coalition forces were acting without lawful authority," the Sunday Times reported. The eight documents reported earlier total 36 pages and range from 10-page and eight-page studies on military and legal options in Iraq, to brief memorandums from British officials and the minutes of a private meeting held by Blair and his top advisers.

Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert who teaches at Queen Mary College, University of London, said the documents confirmed what post-invasion investigations have found.

"The documents show what official inquiries in Britain already have, that the case of weapons of mass destruction was based on thin intelligence and was used to inflate the evidence to the level of mendacity," Dodge said. "In going to war with Bush, Blair defended the special relationship between the two countries, like other British leaders have. But he knew he was taking a huge political risk at home. He knew the war's legality was questionable and its unpopularity was never in doubt."

Dodge said the memos also show Blair was aware of the postwar instability that was likely among Iraq's complex mix of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds once Saddam was defeated.
The British documents confirm, as well, that "soon after 9/11 happened, the starting gun was fired for the invasion of Iraq," Dodge said.


Speculation about if and when that would happen ran throughout 2002.
On Jan. 29, Bush called Iraq, Iran and North Korea "an axis of evil." U.S. newspapers began reporting soon afterward that a U.S.-led war with Iraq was possible.
On Oct. 16, the U.S. Congress voted to authorize Bush to go to war against Iraq. On Feb. 5, 2003, then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell presented the Bush administration's case about Iraq's weapons to the U.N. Security Council. On March 19-20, the U.S.-led invasion began.
Bush and Blair both have been criticized at home since their WMD claims about Iraq proved false. But both have been re-elected, defending the conflict for removing a brutal dictator and promoting democracy in Iraq. Both administrations have dismissed the memos as old news.
Details of the memos appeared in papers early last month but the news in Britain quickly turned to the election that returned Blair to power. In the United States, however, details of the memos' contents reignited a firestorm, especially among Democratic critics of Bush.

It was in a March 14, 2002, memo that Blair's chief foreign policy adviser, David Manning, told the prime minister about the dinner he had just had with Rice in Washington.
"We spent a long time at dinner on Iraq," wrote Manning, who's now British ambassador to the United States. Rice is now Bush's secretary of state.

"It is clear that Bush is grateful for your (Blair's) support and has registered that you are getting flak. I said that you would not budge in your support for regime change but you had to manage a press, a Parliament and a public opinion that was very different than anything in the States. And you would not budge either in your insistence that, if we pursued regime change, it must be very carefully done and produce the right result. Failure was not an option."

Manning said, "Condi's enthusiasm for regime change is undimmed." But he also said there were signs of greater awareness of the practical difficulties and political risks.

Blair was to meet with Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, on April 8, and Manning told his boss: "No doubt we need to keep a sense of perspective. But my talks with Condi convinced me that Bush wants to hear your views on Iraq before taking decisions. He also wants your support. He is still smarting from the comments by other European leaders on his Iraq policy."

A July 21 briefing paper given to officials preparing for a July 23 meeting with Blair says officials must "ensure that the benefits of action outweigh the risks."
"In particular we need to be sure that the outcome of the military action would match our objective... A postwar occupation of Iraq could lead to a protracted and costly nation-building exercise. As already made clear, the U.S. military plans are virtually silent on this point."
The British worried that, "Washington could look to us to share a disproportionate share of the burden. Further work is required to define more precisely the means by which the desired end state would be created, in particular what form of government might replace Saddam Hussein's regime and the time scale within which it would be possible to identify a successor."

In the March 22 memo from Foreign Office political director Ricketts to Foreign Secretary Straw, Ricketts outlined how to win public and parliamentary support for a war in Britain: "We have to be convincing that: the threat is so serious/imminent that it is worth sending our troops to die for; it is qualitatively different from the threat posed by other proliferators who are closer to achieving nuclear capability (including Iran)."

Blair's government has been criticized for releasing an intelligence dossier on Iraq before the war that warned Saddam could launch chemical or biological weapons on 45 minutes' notice.
On March 25 Straw wrote a memo to Blair, saying he would have a tough time convincing the governing Labour Party that a pre-emptive strike against Iraq was legal under international law.
"If 11 September had not happened, it is doubtful that the U.S. would now be considering military action against Iraq," Straw wrote. "In addition, there has been no credible evidence to link Iraq with OBL (Osama bin Laden) and al-Qaida."
He also questioned stability in a post-Saddam Iraq: "We have also to answer the big question — what will this action achieve? There seems to be a larger hole in this than on anything."
___

President and Prophet

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.

– James Madison

Daring to dream again...

Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream

words and music by Ed McCurdy

Last night I had the strangest dream
I'd ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

I dreamed I saw a mighty room
Filled with women and men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again

And when the paper was all signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful pray'rs were prayed

And the people in the streets below
Were dancing 'round and 'round
While swords and guns and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground

Last night I had the strangest dream
I'd never dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war.

TRO-©1950,1951 & 1955 Almanac Music, Inc.
New York, N.Y. Copyrights renewed
Used by permission

A glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel?

If there ever was a case of "must see tv," no, it's not Survivor nor is it American Idol.

C-Span 2, C-Span 2, C-Span 2, 8:00 p.m. TONIGHT!

For those of you still wading in the waters of oblivion, the MOST HONORABLE REP. JOHN CONYERS' hearing on the Downing Street Minutes will be re-broadcast after a huge public outcry demanding this be shown to the American people who have a right to know the truth around these incredible communications within the British government, clearly implicating bush (no, not a typo...I NEVER capitalize his name) in planning the Iraqi slaughter at least a year prior to going to war.

To think that the last elected president was impeached for a private, irrelevent and a none of our business matter costing us millions and millions of dollars, up until now, this war criminal has not been held accountable for his lies and sowing the killing fields they drooled for as a family tradition. They make me bow my head in shame as an American and as a human being.

And let's be honest...we are not "spreading democracy;" we are spreading corporatism, capitalism, greed and lies. And our method of choice is abominable. Utterly, profoundly anathema to the principles America used to represent. "Kill the people to set them free, who put this price on our liberty?")*. Now, we have a mentally ill buffoon who, in under 5 years, has managed to nearly eviscerate, desecrate and destroy not only our image around the world but our very Constitution itself.

But still, there remain heroes. Men and women of honor, integrity and seekers of truth. Leading them all is John Conyers, a man of courage and conviction and truth.

Representative Conyers...THANK YOU for being a beacon of light and truly a voice for not only your constituents, but for every single one of us.

May the Force be with you!

*Paul Stookey

In a word...

I-M-P-E-A-C-H!!!

Ask and you shall receive...

Thanks for your inquiry about C-SPAN's coverage of Thursday's meeting > with John Conyers regarding the Downing Street Memo. We recognize > that there is a great deal of interest in the meeting, which is why > we are carrying it live on as many C-SPAN platforms as we can: C-> SPAN3, C-SPAN.org, and C-SPAN radio, which you can hear on XM and > Sirius satellite Radio. This program is scheduled to re-air on > Friday, June 17th at 8pm ET on C-SPAN2. Please check our TV > Schedules at c-span.org for programming information (please remember > the schedule is subject to change).> > C-SPAN and C-SPAN2 remain committed to live coverage of the U.S. > House and Senate on a week when the Congress is dealing with several > major pieces of legislation. But this is exactly the reason why C-> SPAN3 was created. So, if you have an opportunity, please tell your > satellite or cable provider that you want C-SPAN3.> > Thank you for your interest in the C-SPAN Networks.

Don't Let Us Down, C-span!

Calling all fans of the Downing Street Memo/Minutes!!!

Your calls and emails are desperately needed for C-span to consider airing Congressman Conyers' hearing on the same which is being held at 1:30 on Thursday. Please do what you can...just a few words will do. C-span has listened to us in the past and this is the 11th hour now. Here's the information for you. I thank you and our future grandchildren will thank you.

C-SPAN TELEPHONE NUMBERSMain Number: (202) 737-3220Viewer Services: (765) 464-3080 (for programming questions)C-SPAN Archives: (877) ON CSPAN or (877) 662-7726 (to order tapes)Employment with C-SPAN: (202) 626-7983 Washington Journal: Democrats (202) 585-3881Washington Journal: Republicans (202) 585-3880Washington Journal: Others (202) 585-3882
C-SPAN EMAIL ADDRESSESC-SPAN PROGRAMMING: SEND COMMENTS/QUESTIONSBook TV: booktv@c-span.org Booknotes: booknotes@c-span.org-->C-SPAN Radio: radio@c-span.org Washington Journal: Ask a Guest a QuestionWashington Journal: Contact the Producers PROGRAMMING QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONSViewer Services: Questions about our schedule, how to buy videotapes, and for any other general comments about C-SPAN - viewer@c-span.org

Well, now what are we gonna do???

"It doesn't matter who's wrong or right just

BEAT IT, BEAT IT...."

Ya, so who's got the last laugh, Jacko???

Oh, well, at least he got his 15 TRILLION minutes of fame, eh? Who cares how many soldiers died today. Downing Street what??? Oh, go down 2 blocks, take your first right, second stop light turn right and it's the first house on the left...duh. Wild man Dean done did it agin...didn't he know we were locking up "BAD" people??? How dumb can one unlovable guy be??? Just LOOK at the benevolent sneer on Sick Dick's face as he castigates the only Democrat to tell the truth in ten years. But as long as we know what brand of deodorant Michael Jackson wore to court today, all's right in our little world. Oh, and by the way, you stupid so-called media...Michael wasn't "stoic"...he was STONED you jerks!!!! Sedated off his ass!!! Get it yet???

Some days, it just doesn't pay to get up in the morning. I sure hope some celebrity commits a crime soon; otherwise, it's going to be a pretty boring summer.

Ready for a Rerun?

Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,-

One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."


Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where Swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.


Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.


Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.


Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.


Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.


A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.


It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.


It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.


It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.


You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.


So through the night rode Paul Revere.
And so through the night went his cry' of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forever more!
For, borne on the nightwind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~

Rep. Conyers? We Love You!!!

I posted the original memo when it first surfaced and now, we have this! We are long overdue for a glimmer of hope....with great credit to Truthout.org and Rawstory.com...

Memogate Hearings Scheduled for June 16
t r u t h o u t | Press Release

Friday 10 June 2005

On Thursday June 16, 2005, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of House Judiciary Committee, and other Democratic Members will hold a Democratic hearing to hear testimony concerning the Downing Street Minutes and the efforts to cook the books on pre-war intelligence.

On May 1, 2005 a Sunday London Times article disclosed the details of a classified memo, also known as the Downing Street Minutes, recounting the minutes of a July 2002 meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair that describes an American President already committed to going to war in the summer of 2002, despite contrary assertions to the public and the Congress. The minutes also describe apparent efforts by the Administration to manipulate intelligence data to justify the war. The June 16th hearing will attempt to answer the serious constitutional questions raised by these revelations and will further investigate the Administration's actions in the lead up to war with new documents that further corroborate the Downing Street memo.

Those expected to testify include Joe Wilson, Former Ambassador and WMD Expert; Ray McGovern, 27-year CIA analyst who prepared regular Presidential briefings during the Reagan administration; Cindy Sheehan, mother of a fallen American soldier; and John Bonifaz, renowned constitutional lawyer and co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org.

Directly following the hearing, Rep. Conyers, Members of Congress, and concerned citizens plan to hand deliver to the White House the petition and signatures of over a half million Americans that have joined Rep. Conyers in demanding that President Bush answer questions about his secret plan for the Iraq war.

AfterDowningStreet.org is a rapidly growing coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups, which launched on May 26, 2005, a campaign to urge the U.S. Congress to begin a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war.

FFFool Me Once..uh..Don't get fooled again!

You're not gonna fall for it again this time, right? You ARE paying attention, right???


U.S. ATTACK ON IRAN IMMINENT?

Carl F. Worden



Uh-oh. I don’t know if your local newspaper ran this story at the top of the front page like mine did, but the headline reads,



“EVIDENCE POINTS TO TERRORISTS HIDING IN IRAN”



The sub-headline reads,



“Bush administration has repeatedly warned countries against harboring terrorists”



The story was co-authored by Katherine Schrader and John Solomon of the Associated Press.



You may recall that a few months ago, Scott Ritter, the former weapons inspector, warned that President Bush had already set into motion a plan to attack Iran in the month of June. Well, it’s June and this front page “news” is tantamount to an artillery barrage intended to “soften-up” a beachhead for invasion, only it’s just you and me who need to be softened-up enough (again) do nothing while this president goes about his business of killing people in yet another sovereign nation that did not attack us or our allies.



Apparently, Scott Ritter is a very “dialed-in” guy. Ritter did everything he could to refute the Bush administration’s contention that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and intended to use them against us or our allies “imminently”. We now know Saddam didn’t have the WMD, because they weren’t there when we invaded Iraq, and the infamous “Downing Street Memo” has proven to be the smoking gun that reveals Bush knew Saddam didn’t have WMD and didn’t have a relationship with al Qaeda or any other terrorist group. Further, the Downing Street Memo reveals Bush and his people conspired to “fix the facts and intelligence”, meaning Bush deliberately misled the American people before he ordered the attack on Iraq March 19, 2003.



You could say Bush lied in order to “soften-up” domestic resistance against invading Iraq. This latest headline and story appear to be exactly the same kind of thing: Get the American people to believe Iran is “harboring” the terrorists who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, and an attack on Iran is thereby justified in the public mind.



But if there are terrorists hiding out in Iran, you can be rest-assured the government of Iran is not knowingly or actively “harboring” them. They know better than to give the U.S. any excuse to attack, and they know the U.S. will launch an attack over the slightest provocation, so we citizens can all safely assume this headline and story is nothing more than U.S. Government propaganda. For example, I could hide out in the mountains of California, but that in no way translates into the government of California “harboring” me. See what I mean?



Iran knows the U.S. wants any excuse to destroy their nuclear program in order to prevent Iran from developing nuclear warheads they would use against Israel. Unlike the Iraqi nuclear facility that Israel destroyed in a lightning air strike, the Iranians built their nuclear facilities deep underground. Coincidentally, the U.S. recently sold Israel hundreds of “Bunker-Buster” bombs than can penetrate the earth 100 feet or more before detonating. The tricky part is knowing for a certainty where all of the Iranian nuclear facilities are located, and I’m fairly certain the Iranians deliberately built a number of decoy facilities, as well as carefully hidden ones Israeli and U.S. intelligence may not know about. If the U.S. and Israel are planning a joint attack on Iran this month, it means they have reached a level of near certainty that their intelligence has located and identified the targets of interest. We can only hope…



When you are a super-power like the United States, the nation can be temporarily led by a complete moron because our wealth and military power can make up for a lot of stupid mistakes. Of course, it costs a lot of money and our soldiers have to die in the process, but that’s just the way it is.



The characteristic I’ve noticed in President Bush is his impulsiveness to act without considering the consequences beyond that first move, and I doubt very much he has considered what actions the Iranians might take in retaliation for a pre-emptive United States/Israeli attack.



When I wrote, “If I Were Saddam” months before our invasion of Iraq, I accurately predicted what Saddam and his regime would do in almost every detail, including a well-funded and well-armed insurgency. That doesn’t mean I’m the brightest bulb on the tree; it just means I considered Saddam’s limited options and predicted he’d use them. As simple as that is, our president and his boys didn’t look ahead of the invasion itself, and that is why a lot of American parents have a tri-folded American flag sitting on their mantle instead of their son or daughter coming to visit for Sunday dinner.



I do have a bit more faith where the attack on Iran is concerned, because it involves Israel, a nation so small and vulnerable they cannot make the mistake of temporarily electing even one stupid leader, and if they do, they assassinate him before too much damage can be done.



I do not believe Iran will mass an army and counter-attack because they know we can beat them on the ground with fewer soldiers and our deadly military technology. They saw what we did to Saddam’s army in Desert Storm, so the options left to the Iranians, short of an American/Israeli land invasion, which I do not foresee as even possible, is to send thousands of well-armed and well-funded Iranian fighters covertly into Iraq to bolster the Iraqi Resistance and kill as many American soldiers as they can. In the highly unlikely event Bush is stupid enough to try a land invasion of Iran following the air strikes, the Iranians will resort to an insurgency just like Saddam effectively did.



That’s what I would do, and it would exacerbate an already stressed American military. The Iranians know the U.S. military is facing its worst manpower shortage in U.S. history because they can read American newspaper reports just like we can. They know how demoralizing repeat combat duty can be on an all-volunteer army, and they know that if the U.S. is forced to reinstate the draft, which they are prepared to do overnight, the American public backlash will be massive and swift.



Bush’s impulsiveness absolutely scares the bejeebers right out of me. He’s like a monkey who reaches for a banana through narrow bars and will not relinquish it even though he can’t get his hand and the banana back in. That’s is why Bush will keep throwing soldiers at the problem in Iraq indefinitely, whereas a President Kerry, who actually served in combat in Vietnam, would have known when it was time to say “enough”.



Anyway, if my instincts serve me as the usually do, today’s headline and story are no different than a flare shot up to signal a night attack, and I believe that night attack will commence shortly against Iran’s nuclear facilities by joint U.S. and Israeli forces.



Carl F. Worden

Wish I'd written it

Jesus, what do you think of the recent presidential election?

In the United States?

Yes.

I don't do politics.


But the President is a Christian. He has dedicated his life to serving you.

He has dedicated his life to serving himself. That is the opposite of what I teach.


But he's a Christian.

He is an Old Testament Christian. The ancient Hebrew scriptures say that God is an angry God, a vengeful God, a jealous God. But he is not. Nor is he petty, nor vindictive, nor narrow minded, nor self-righteous. God was not made in our image. He is not insecure or emotionally immature. God is not like us, but in our better moments we can be like him.

He wants his children to be full of love, not full of hate.

He wants his children to be compassionate, not vindictive.

He wants his children to be open-minded, not narrow-minded.

He wants his children to be accepting not intolerant.

He wants his children to be righteous, not self-righteous.

This is the message that god sent me to share with the world two thousand years ago. This is the message for which I was crucified. And just as those who put me to death then ignored god's message, so your president ignores god's message today.


But he believes in the Ten Commandments.

If he does, then why does he ignore them? One says that "Thou shalt not kill." Yet he sends an army to invade a foreign land and kill tens of thousands of men, women, and children. Another commandment says “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” In modern language, this means that you shouldn't tell a lie. Is there anything your president has said that isn’t a lie?

Think of the Ten Commandments as one, single commandment that encompasses all the others: Love your fellow human beings as you love yourself. If you obey this one commandment then all the other commandments will take care of themselves.

This single commandment is the foundation of god's laws, the one on which all of the others are based. If you treat this as the foundation of your laws, and of your life, then you will be doing god’s work. If you honor this single commandment with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, then you honor god. There is no greater form of worship. There is no other form of worship that even matters. A thousand years in church are not worth a single act of compassion toward another human being, or to any of god's creatures.

But Bush has been born again. He accepts you as his Lord and Savior.

I was sent to teach people to turn the other cheek. He starts a war in the Middle East.

I was sent to teach people to feed the poor. He steals from the poor and gives to the rich.

I was sent to teach people to heal the sick. He ignores the tens of millions people in his own country who have no way to pay for health care. And he cares even less about those outside his country who need help.

I was sent to teach people to love all their fellow human beings as they love themselves. He orders American soldiers to slaughter the citizens of a foreign land. He brags about the death penalty. He ignores the millions of starving and sick human beings around the world who will die without food and medical supplies, things that his rich nation could provide for half the cost of his war in the Middle East.

It doesn't matter who you claim as your Lord and Savior when your hands are drenched in blood.


Are you saying that President Bush will go to Hell?

I'm saying that he has brought hell to us.


But he says he is a Christian. People believe him. I believe him.

Then watch what he does instead of what he says. He is a man full of hate, and anger, and violence. He is an anti-Christian. Verily, I say unto you that if he had he been alive two thousand years ago, his voice would have been the loudest among those who clamored to have me crucified. To him I would have been a terrorist.

The Bible speaks of the Antichrist. But there isn't just one, there are many. Everyone who washes his hands in blood and then claims to do so in my name is an Antichrist. These hypocrites say one thing and then do the opposite. They say they love god but then they brutalize god’s children. They say they are compassionate, but instead of comforting those in need they increase the suffering of their fellow human beings. The Antichristians are those who spew hatred, intolerance, and violence in the name of Jesus Christ. For now, for this generation, your president is their leader.


Then you don't agree with his policies?

I don't agree with his morals. He talks about moral values but his actions are immoral. In a world full of poverty and want, his life's work is to make the rich still richer. In a world from which god’s creatures are disappearing in huge numbers, where the air in many places is unfit to breathe and the water unfit to drink, where the future of life on the planet is in jeopardy, the crowning glory of his presidency is to make matters worse. He is a liar and a hypocrite. Worst of all, he is a mass murderer. These are the things I condemn.


Do you condemn him for using politics to pursue his religious agenda?

I condemn him for using religion to pursue his political agenda. He uses religion to manipulate people. He uses religion to spread intolerance and commit violence. And he does it all in my name.

He claims to follow my teachings, but I teach love, not hate.

I teach compassion, not “compassionate conservatism.”

I teach acceptance, not intolerance.

I teach forgiveness, not revenge.

I teach that “Thou shalt not kill” means just what it says. There is no exception for capital punishment. There is no exception for war.

Your president lives a life that violates everything that god asks of us.


But he’s such a devout man.

If you believe that a liar, and a hypocrite, and a mass murderer can be devout, then you do not know the meaning of the word. Reading the Bible doesn't make the world a better place. Going to church doesn't save lives or feed the hungry. God doesn't care about our devotion to scripture, he cares about our devotion to each other. That's why he sent me here. Not to save man from sin, but to save man from himself. That is the meaning of salvation.



http://www.chattingwithjesus.com/Politics.htm

With thanks to my mentor, Elsie.

A prayer..

Dance of Love

The moon is full of lusty light,
Take my hand, we’ll dance tonight.
Receive Her Love in Heaven’s sight,
Raise our power with all our might.

The Dance of Love enjoins our power,
We make Magic in this dark hour.
Skin to skin, flesh to bone
The Mystery awaits, no longer unknown.

Earth and Air, Water, Fire,
We summon the shield as we fill with desire.
Sacred Circle, cast in love
As is below, so it is above.

Round the fires we dance and embrace,
The light plays gentle upon your face
But faster, faster we move in grace,
O, Lady stir me with quickening haste.

Her Power aligns with ours within
We come together, this is not sin.
Our love releases, pours forth from our souls
Our union complete, again we are whole.

Communion shared as the gift we partake,
Goes forth to the world, from all we create.
Our Dance of Love for Her to see
Is the bond that unites and sets our souls free.

Who-ever You are, What-ever You are, He/She/It of all Creation, in the name of Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Allah, or Yahweh, behold the one who reveals himself as False Prophet, Deceptor, Hypocrite and Murderer. I beg You from each cell that I share with the Oneness of all You've created that is good and is holy, awaken the Light that dwells within your universal children and help us reclaim the gifts You have given us, those of grace, of truth, of peace and of love; and may the recognition of You in each other ignite and fuel the fires of outrage enough to burn out the vulgarity upon us as others who have gone before us have done.

Freedom misused, abused and misunderstood insults what You've given us and we've called Free Will. Awaken from their slumber those who have squandered Your gifts intoxicated by all that is material. Give them the hearts that the eyes can see through and let them know their sister and brother. Let them restore and renew all that is below their feet and above and around with commitment to never dishonor again the home You have provided us. May Awareness and Responsibility grow in all; may for-granted turn for-given.

May we live in Peace.

Pssst....The not so secret Secret..pass it on...

Those of you already in the know, and there seems to be more and more daily, already know the "secret." But for those of you who don't, I'm providing it here just in case...I would never want to see anyone left out of a big, fat, juicy secret!

May 01, 2005 The secret Downing Street memo
NI_MPU('middle');

SECRET AND STRICTLY PERSONAL - UK EYES ONLY

DAVID MANNING

From: Matthew RycroftDate: 23 July 2002S 195 /02
cc: Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Attorney-General, Sir Richard Wilson, John Scarlett, Francis Richards, CDS, C, Jonathan Powell, Sally Morgan, Alastair Campbell

IRAQ: PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING, 23 JULY
Copy addressees and you met the Prime Minister on 23 July to discuss Iraq.
This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its contents.

John Scarlett summarised the intelligence and latest JIC assessment. Saddam's regime was tough and based on extreme fear. The only way to overthrow it was likely to be by massive military action. Saddam was worried and expected an attack, probably by air and land, but he was not convinced that it would be immediate or overwhelming. His regime expected their neighbours to line up with the US. Saddam knew that regular army morale was poor. Real support for Saddam among the public was probably narrowly based.
C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action.

CDS said that military planners would brief CENTCOM on 1-2 August, Rumsfeld on 3 August and Bush on 4 August.

The two broad US options were:

(a) Generated Start. A slow build-up of 250,000 US troops, a short (72 hour) air campaign, then a move up to Baghdad from the south. Lead time of 90 days (30 days preparation plus 60 days deployment to Kuwait).
(b) Running Start. Use forces already in theatre (3 x 6,000), continuous air campaign, initiated by an Iraqi casus belli. Total lead time of 60 days with the air campaign beginning even earlier. A hazardous option.
The US saw the UK (and Kuwait) as essential, with basing in Diego Garcia and Cyprus critical for either option. Turkey and other Gulf states were also important, but less vital. The three main options for UK involvement were:
(i) Basing in Diego Garcia and Cyprus, plus three SF squadrons.
(ii) As above, with maritime and air assets in addition.
(iii) As above, plus a land contribution of up to 40,000, perhaps with a discrete role in Northern Iraq entering from Turkey, tying down two Iraqi divisions.
The Defence Secretary said that the US had already begun "spikes of activity" to put pressure on the regime. No decisions had been taken, but he thought the most likely timing in US minds for military action to begin was January, with the timeline beginning 30 days before the US Congressional elections.

The Foreign Secretary said he would discuss this with Colin Powell this week. It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran. We should work up a plan for an ultimatum to Saddam to allow back in the UN weapons inspectors. This would also help with the legal justification for the use of force.

The Attorney-General said that the desire for regime change was not a legal base for military action. There were three possible legal bases: self-defence, humanitarian intervention, or UNSC authorisation. The first and second could not be the base in this case. Relying on UNSCR 1205 of three years ago would be difficult. The situation might of course change.
The Prime Minister said that it would make a big difference politically and legally if Saddam refused to allow in the UN inspectors. Regime change and WMD were linked in the sense that it was the regime that was producing the WMD. There were different strategies for dealing with Libya and Iran. If the political context were right, people would support regime change. The two key issues were whether the military plan worked and whether we had the political strategy to give the military plan the space to work.

On the first, CDS said that we did not know yet if the US battleplan was workable. The military were continuing to ask lots of questions.
For instance, what were the consequences, if Saddam used WMD on day one, or if Baghdad did not collapse and urban warfighting began? You said that Saddam could also use his WMD on Kuwait. Or on Israel, added the Defence Secretary.

The Foreign Secretary thought the US would not go ahead with a military plan unless convinced that it was a winning strategy. On this, US and UK interests converged. But on the political strategy, there could be US/UK differences. Despite US resistance, we should explore discreetly the ultimatum. Saddam would continue to play hard-ball with the UN.
John Scarlett assessed that Saddam would allow the inspectors back in only when he thought the threat of military action was real.

The Defence Secretary said that if the Prime Minister wanted UK military involvement, he would need to decide this early. He cautioned that many in the US did not think it worth going down the ultimatum route. It would be important for the Prime Minister to set out the political context to Bush.

Conclusions:
(a) We should work on the assumption that the UK would take part in any military action. But we needed a fuller picture of US planning before we could take any firm decisions. CDS should tell the US military that we were considering a range of options.
(b) The Prime Minister would revert on the question of whether funds could be spent in preparation for this operation.
(c) CDS would send the Prime Minister full details of the proposed military campaign and possible UK contributions by the end of the week.
(d) The Foreign Secretary would send the Prime Minister the background on the UN inspectors, and discreetly work up the ultimatum to Saddam.
He would also send the Prime Minister advice on the positions of countries in the region especially Turkey, and of the key EU member states.
(e) John Scarlett would send the Prime Minister a full intelligence update.
(f) We must not ignore the legal issues: the Attorney-General would consider legal advice with FCO/MOD legal advisers.
(I have written separately to commission this follow-up work.)
MATTHEW RYCROFT
(Rycroft was a Downing Street foreign policy aide)