Thursday, April 29, 2004
Muslim American Society | CBS Broadcasts Images of U.S. Troops Mistreating Iraqis, General Under Investigation: "NEW YORK, April 29 (MASNET & News Agencies) - CBS broadcast images of U.S. troops mistreating Iraqi prisoners, saying an army investigation had found 'systemwide' problems in the handling of captured Iraqis, causing the suspension and beginning of an investigation into the general in charge of the U.S.-run prison system.
Six U.S. soldiers are being court-martialed on charges stemming from the investigation into abuse of prisoners at Abu Gharaib, said General Mark Kimmitt, deputy chief of military operations in Iraq, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP)."
Here is a video from 60 Minutes II.
(Real Video Format)
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
CBS News | Court Martial in Iraq | April 28, 2004: "(CBS) Last month, the U.S. Army announced 17 soldiers in Iraq, including a brigadier general, had been removed from duty after charges of mistreating Iraqi prisoners.
But the details of what happened have been kept secret, until now.
It turns out photographs surfaced showing American soldiers abusing and humiliating Iraqis being held at a prison near Baghdad. The Army investigated, and issued a scathing report.
Now, an Army general and her command staff may face the end of long military careers. And six soldiers are facing court martial in Iraq -- and possible prison time.
Correspondent Dan Rather talks to one of those soldiers. And, for the first time, 60 Minutes II will show some of the pictures that led to the Army investigation. "
But the details of what happened have been kept secret, until now.
It turns out photographs surfaced showing American soldiers abusing and humiliating Iraqis being held at a prison near Baghdad. The Army investigated, and issued a scathing report.
Now, an Army general and her command staff may face the end of long military careers. And six soldiers are facing court martial in Iraq -- and possible prison time.
Correspondent Dan Rather talks to one of those soldiers. And, for the first time, 60 Minutes II will show some of the pictures that led to the Army investigation. "
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Pravda | Deserters from US Army are running to Canada - PRAVDA.Ru: "Two US Army soldiers requested Canadian authorities to grant them asylum. They do not want to serve in Iraq.
One of them is 18-year old Brandon Khagei from San Angelo, Texas. Currently he is living in the family of Quakers in San Katarinas, Ontario, and is preparing the papers to submit them to Canadian authorities. Another soldier, 25-year old Jeremy Khintsmann did not follow the order to depart for Iraq, but left the military base in Fort Bragg, NC. He hopes to be granted asylum in Canada for himself and his family: wife Nga Nguen and son Liam whom has not turned 2 years old yet.
Khagei and Khaintsmann are requesting the refugee status, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported.
'I believe that the war in Iraq is contradicts the international law, and I am not in the position to fight in this war', soldier Khaintsmann said."
One of them is 18-year old Brandon Khagei from San Angelo, Texas. Currently he is living in the family of Quakers in San Katarinas, Ontario, and is preparing the papers to submit them to Canadian authorities. Another soldier, 25-year old Jeremy Khintsmann did not follow the order to depart for Iraq, but left the military base in Fort Bragg, NC. He hopes to be granted asylum in Canada for himself and his family: wife Nga Nguen and son Liam whom has not turned 2 years old yet.
Khagei and Khaintsmann are requesting the refugee status, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported.
'I believe that the war in Iraq is contradicts the international law, and I am not in the position to fight in this war', soldier Khaintsmann said."
Monday, April 26, 2004
San Jose Mercury News | Activism by young women may boost Democrats in November polls: "WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Though the pictures of Sunday's abortion-rights march in Washington focused on the size of the crowd, the truer story of its political impact could be measured by the age of the demonstrators.
More college-age women showed up than usually attend abortion-rights rallies, which tend to be dominated by older women. If that translates to increased voting in November by young women - a group that usually doesn't vote in high numbers - it could help Democrats in a close election.
If not, the march probably had no lasting political significance, for it reflected a longstanding partisan divide over issues related to abortion rights and is unlikely to change the political equation or affect the outcome of the election.
The march attracted hundreds of thousands of women to the National Mall in downtown Washington, where they rallied for abortion rights and protested against President Bush. A key complaint was Bush's signature on two new laws: the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which grants a fetus legal rights, and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which criminalizes a medical procedure sometimes used to terminate late-term pregnancies."
More college-age women showed up than usually attend abortion-rights rallies, which tend to be dominated by older women. If that translates to increased voting in November by young women - a group that usually doesn't vote in high numbers - it could help Democrats in a close election.
If not, the march probably had no lasting political significance, for it reflected a longstanding partisan divide over issues related to abortion rights and is unlikely to change the political equation or affect the outcome of the election.
The march attracted hundreds of thousands of women to the National Mall in downtown Washington, where they rallied for abortion rights and protested against President Bush. A key complaint was Bush's signature on two new laws: the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which grants a fetus legal rights, and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which criminalizes a medical procedure sometimes used to terminate late-term pregnancies."
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Politics News Article | Reuters.com - Mass Protest Decries Bush Abortion Policies:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Protesters crowded the National Mall on Sunday to show support for abortion rights and opposition to Bush administration policies on women's health issues in one of the biggest demonstrations in U.S. history.
There was no official crowd count, but organizers claimed more than 1 million people participated.
Pink- and purple-shirted protesters raised signs reading 'Fight the Radical Right,' 'Keep Abortion Legal' and 'U.S. Out Of My Uterus' and covered the Mall from the foot of Capitol Hill to the base of the Washington Monument.
Speakers ranged from actresses Whoopi Goldberg, Ashley Judd and Kathleen Turner to philanthropist Ted Turner, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Goldberg raised a wire coat hanger -- a symbol of illegal abortions in the days before the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling recognizing abortion rights -- and told the crowd, 'We are one vote away from going back to this!' "
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
The New York Times > Arts > Wal-Mart, a Nation Unto Itself: "SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 13 - We already know that Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer. (If it were an independent nation, it would be China's eighth-largest trading partner.) We also know that it is maniacal about low prices. (Some economists say it has single-handedly cut inflation by 1 percent in recent years, saving consumers billions of dollars annually.) We know that its labor practices have come under attack. (It charges its workers so much for health insurance that about one-third of them do not have it.)
But the more than 250 sociologists, anthropologists, historians and other scholars who gathered at the University of California here on Monday for a conference on Wal-Mart came looking for more than the company's vital statistics. Like archaeologists who pick over artifacts to understand an ancient society, the scholars here were examining Wal-Mart for insights into the very nature of American capitalist culture. As Susan Strasser, a history professor at the University of Delaware, said, 'Wal-Mart has come to represent something that's even bigger than it is.'"
But the more than 250 sociologists, anthropologists, historians and other scholars who gathered at the University of California here on Monday for a conference on Wal-Mart came looking for more than the company's vital statistics. Like archaeologists who pick over artifacts to understand an ancient society, the scholars here were examining Wal-Mart for insights into the very nature of American capitalist culture. As Susan Strasser, a history professor at the University of Delaware, said, 'Wal-Mart has come to represent something that's even bigger than it is.'"
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Global Security .Org | Slow job market good for military recruitment: "HILLARY WICAI reporting:
Suzy Yates' husband is an Army cavalry scout serving in Iraq. He's been there for the last year. She says while he was there, they decided he would re-enlist for another three years.
Ms. SUZY YATES: The job security was a big factor.
WICAI: It wasn't just his job security. Suzy is a marketing assistant at her husband's post in Fort Polk, Louisiana. She loves her job, and it took her six months to find it.
Ms. YATES: If we move out of this area, I don't know if I'll be able to find a job, you know, and especially a job in my field. That had a huge impact on our decision."
Suzy Yates' husband is an Army cavalry scout serving in Iraq. He's been there for the last year. She says while he was there, they decided he would re-enlist for another three years.
Ms. SUZY YATES: The job security was a big factor.
WICAI: It wasn't just his job security. Suzy is a marketing assistant at her husband's post in Fort Polk, Louisiana. She loves her job, and it took her six months to find it.
Ms. YATES: If we move out of this area, I don't know if I'll be able to find a job, you know, and especially a job in my field. That had a huge impact on our decision."
The New York Times > Washington > Byrd Questions Legality of Iraq Funds: "WASHINGTON, April 20 - Senator Robert C. Byrd, the senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday that the administration may have broken the law by failing to inform Congressional leaders in mid-2002 of its use of emergency antiterror dollars to begin preparations for an invasion of Iraq.
Mr. Byrd, a West Virginian who was chairman of the spending panel at the time, said in a statement that he was never told of any shift of money approved in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, as the spending measure required. The journalist Bob Woodward reported a diversion of $700 million without Congressional approval in 'Plan of Attack,' his new book on the administration's planning for the Iraq war."
Mr. Byrd, a West Virginian who was chairman of the spending panel at the time, said in a statement that he was never told of any shift of money approved in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, as the spending measure required. The journalist Bob Woodward reported a diversion of $700 million without Congressional approval in 'Plan of Attack,' his new book on the administration's planning for the Iraq war."
Monday, April 19, 2004
The Onion | New Negative Campaign Ads Blast Voters Directly: "WASHINGTON, DC - In the latest round of political mudslinging, both John Kerry's and George W. Bush's election committees have replaced ads that focus on their opponents' shortcomings with ads that personally insult the voting public.
'The Bush people initiated this volley of negative ads, but we won't be lured into a reactive campaign against the Republicans,' Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said Monday. 'It's time to redirect the cheap name-calling away from Bush and toward those Americans who might be idiotic enough to vote for him.'
A controversial 30-second TV spot for Kerry that aired throughout the Midwest Monday blamed the country's ills not on Bush's policies, but on the 'sheer stupidity' of America's voters.
'In the past four years, America's national debt has reached an all-time high,' the ad's narrator said. 'And who's responsible? You are. You're sitting there eating a big bowl of Fritos, watching TV, and getting fatter as the country goes to hell. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.'
Over a series of images of America's senior citizens, the narrator of another 30-second spot says, 'The Medicare drug bill is a triumph of right-wing ideology masquerading as moderate reform. The pharmaceutical-drug and insurance industries are tickled pink. Guess who's paying for it? You. Congratulations, moron. I'm John Kerry and I approved this message."
'The Bush people initiated this volley of negative ads, but we won't be lured into a reactive campaign against the Republicans,' Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said Monday. 'It's time to redirect the cheap name-calling away from Bush and toward those Americans who might be idiotic enough to vote for him.'
A controversial 30-second TV spot for Kerry that aired throughout the Midwest Monday blamed the country's ills not on Bush's policies, but on the 'sheer stupidity' of America's voters.
'In the past four years, America's national debt has reached an all-time high,' the ad's narrator said. 'And who's responsible? You are. You're sitting there eating a big bowl of Fritos, watching TV, and getting fatter as the country goes to hell. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.'
Over a series of images of America's senior citizens, the narrator of another 30-second spot says, 'The Medicare drug bill is a triumph of right-wing ideology masquerading as moderate reform. The pharmaceutical-drug and insurance industries are tickled pink. Guess who's paying for it? You. Congratulations, moron. I'm John Kerry and I approved this message."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Women and children hit by 'random shooting': "Dozens of civilians, including children, are among the 600 or more Iraqis who have been killed and injured in the past two weeks of bombing and ground operations by the US marines trying to retake Falluja, doctors and witnesses say.
US commanders insist their attacks are precisely aimed at resistance fighters.
Last week Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, accused the Arabic television station al-Jazeera of 'vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable' reporting for suggesting hundreds of civilians had died there. 'It's just outrageous nonsense,' he said.
But the accounts of witnesses in Falluja and nearby villages suggest many have been injured and killed.
In the intensive care unit at Medical City hospital in Baghdad Yusuf Fayar Ali said his son Mohammad, 12, was shot through the mouth when troops attacked gunmen in his village, al-Na'amiya just south of Falluja, last week. The boy, seriously ill, is on a ventilator."
US commanders insist their attacks are precisely aimed at resistance fighters.
Last week Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, accused the Arabic television station al-Jazeera of 'vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable' reporting for suggesting hundreds of civilians had died there. 'It's just outrageous nonsense,' he said.
But the accounts of witnesses in Falluja and nearby villages suggest many have been injured and killed.
In the intensive care unit at Medical City hospital in Baghdad Yusuf Fayar Ali said his son Mohammad, 12, was shot through the mouth when troops attacked gunmen in his village, al-Na'amiya just south of Falluja, last week. The boy, seriously ill, is on a ventilator."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Opinion swings against PM after bloodiest month in Iraq: "Support for Tony Blair's stand on Iraq has fallen sharply in the last two months, according to the findings of the latest Guardian/ICM opinion poll.
The bloodiest month since the invasion of Iraq has seen public opinion in Britain swing sharply against Mr Blair, with 48% saying the war was not justified.
The survey also found that two-thirds of British voters have little or no confidence in the Americans' handling of the situation in Iraq, with 79% saying it is too dangerous for civilians working for British companies to be in the country.
There is still majority support for US and British troops to remain but a growing and significant minority - 42% - believe Mr Blair should follow the example of the new Spanish government and bring the army home within six months. "
The bloodiest month since the invasion of Iraq has seen public opinion in Britain swing sharply against Mr Blair, with 48% saying the war was not justified.
The survey also found that two-thirds of British voters have little or no confidence in the Americans' handling of the situation in Iraq, with 79% saying it is too dangerous for civilians working for British companies to be in the country.
There is still majority support for US and British troops to remain but a growing and significant minority - 42% - believe Mr Blair should follow the example of the new Spanish government and bring the army home within six months. "
Sunday, April 18, 2004
USATODAY.com - Politics, not science, blocks access to 'morning-after' pill: "Each year, hundreds of people die from overdoses or adverse reactions to common pain relievers such as aspirin, which any child can buy at the corner drugstore. By contrast, research shows no deaths or serious harm from a contraceptive known as the 'morning-after' pill. Even so, dispensing or obtaining it without a doctor's prescription is a crime in 45 states.
Now, two advisory panels of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are urging that the contraceptive, marketed as Plan B, be available without a prescription. If taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, the pill prevents 89% of pregnancies, research shows. The panels cite voluminous studies that conclude the drug works and does not pose health risks in other nations where a prescription isn't required."
Now, two advisory panels of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are urging that the contraceptive, marketed as Plan B, be available without a prescription. If taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, the pill prevents 89% of pregnancies, research shows. The panels cite voluminous studies that conclude the drug works and does not pose health risks in other nations where a prescription isn't required."
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Global Security.Org| Americans going the Roman way: "Washington-based think-tanks and Russian military experts suggest that the strains of the floundering year-old US occupation in Iraq may have altered global strategic realities more profoundly than most people realise.
The problem is stated eloquently in an essay by American historian Paul Kennedy whose ground-breaking book The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers foretold the collapse of the Soviet Union and the imminent decline of US global influence.
He pointed out that the American military power has been overstretched like the Roman Empire, and the US may not be able to sustain the physical strains or the political costs for long. The growing American deployments around the word are indeed jolting. The US Army has 31 combat brigades, and before the 9/11 attacks, only four were deployed overseas; today the number is 22."
The problem is stated eloquently in an essay by American historian Paul Kennedy whose ground-breaking book The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers foretold the collapse of the Soviet Union and the imminent decline of US global influence.
He pointed out that the American military power has been overstretched like the Roman Empire, and the US may not be able to sustain the physical strains or the political costs for long. The growing American deployments around the word are indeed jolting. The US Army has 31 combat brigades, and before the 9/11 attacks, only four were deployed overseas; today the number is 22."
Bush Joke Video: DC Humor in Bad Taste | MFA: "In light of the killing of 5 marines and 4 private contractors in Iraq today, we thought it would be appropriate to repost this video by Jason for America. If you missed it last week, Bush attended the Radio and Television Correspondent's Dinner and made a few jokes about our failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Pretty poor taste, if you ask us, when our soldiers are dying for his mistakes. Jason pulled together some clips of Bush's dinner speech and juxtaposed them with some not so pretty pictures from the front. Check it out. It really wakes you up to some of the human costs of this war."
Click here for the video.
Click here for the video.
Aljazeera.Net - Bush faces Iraq backlash at home: "A group of military families opposed to the occupation of Iraq demonstrated in front of the White House recently, calling on President George Bush to end the occupation and withdraw US troops immediately.
'We are here to bring a message to the president ... We are saying - end the occupation, end the war and bring the troops home now,' said Charley Richardson.
He is co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, an organisation of about 1500 military families with children and spouses serving in Iraq, some of whom have already died in combat.
Richardson's own son, Joe, is a US Marine who returned home safely from Iraq in May of last year. Other families at the demonstration were not so fortunate.
Sue Niederer, from Pennington, New Jersey, lost her son Seth, an Army 1st lieutenant who was killed in Iraq on 3 February 2004.
Rosa and Mario Gonzolez of Rialto, California lost their son, Marine Cpl. Jorge Gonzalez to a friendly fire incident on 23 March 2003."
'We are here to bring a message to the president ... We are saying - end the occupation, end the war and bring the troops home now,' said Charley Richardson.
He is co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, an organisation of about 1500 military families with children and spouses serving in Iraq, some of whom have already died in combat.
Richardson's own son, Joe, is a US Marine who returned home safely from Iraq in May of last year. Other families at the demonstration were not so fortunate.
Sue Niederer, from Pennington, New Jersey, lost her son Seth, an Army 1st lieutenant who was killed in Iraq on 3 February 2004.
Rosa and Mario Gonzolez of Rialto, California lost their son, Marine Cpl. Jorge Gonzalez to a friendly fire incident on 23 March 2003."
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Marines Investigate Photo Posted on Web (washingtonpost.com): "NEW ORLEANS - The Marines are investigating a photograph circulating on the Internet that depicts a soldier with two Iraqi boys and a sign, in English, proclaiming the soldier had killed one boy's father and impregnated the boy's sister.
A Washington, D.C.-based Muslim civil rights group complained about the photo and urged the Marines to punish the soldier.
Investigators have not determined if the photo showing Lance Cpl. Ted J. Boudreaux Jr. was altered, said Capt. Jeffrey Pool, a spokesman for Marine Reserves in New Orleans.
Results of the investigation and possible punishment were expected Wednesday, Pool said."
Monday, April 12, 2004
An estimated 125 people are buried in this sports field, turned cemetery. Up to 600 people have been killed in the six-day siege of Falluja.
ABC Online | AM - British forces concerned by American tactics: "It's been a bloody April in Iraq, the heaviest period of fighting since Saddam Hussein fell.
About 70 coalition troops have died and perhaps 10 times that number of Iraqis have been killed in fighting.
But as the British Prime Minister prepares for his trip, there are rumblings of disquiet from within British forces about the hardline American tactics adopted this week.
JOHN SHOVELAN: British officers are reported as highly critical of the way the US military has put down resistance.
A senior British officer in southern Iraq is quoted saying: "My view and the view of the British chain of command is that the Americans' use of violence is not proportionate and is over-responsive to the threat they're facing. They're not concerned about the Iraqi loss of life in the way the British are."
He went on: "The US troops view things in very simplistic terms. As far as they are concerned, Iraq is bandit country and everybody is out to kill them."
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bush given hijack alert before 9/11: "The Bush administration was yesterday striving to play down the political impact of a secret document it was forced to release warning the president, weeks before the September 11 attacks, about 'patterns of suspicious activity' in the US 'consistent with preparations for hijackings'.
The document, a daily intelligence briefing provided to President George Bush on August 6 2001, also mentioned 'recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York' and a CIA-FBI investigation into a tip-off to the US embassy in the United Arab Emirates alleging an al-Qaida cell was in the US 'planning attacks with explosives'."
Friday, April 09, 2004
:: Xinhuanet - English :: Japanese PM refuses to meet hostages' relatives: " TOKYO, April 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has no plan to meet relatives of three Japanese abducted in Iraq while insisting there will be no withdrawal of the Self-Defense Forces, Kyodo News reported Saturday.
"There will be nothing to talk about," the premier told family members through the Foreign Ministry. He also denied chance of direct talks in the future.
The families of Soichiro Koriyama, 32, Nahoko Takato, 34, and Noriaki Imai, 18, came to Tokyo on Friday. They are pleading the government to pull troops out of Iraq, even if temporarily, in exchange of the release of their beloved."
"There will be nothing to talk about," the premier told family members through the Foreign Ministry. He also denied chance of direct talks in the future.
The families of Soichiro Koriyama, 32, Nahoko Takato, 34, and Noriaki Imai, 18, came to Tokyo on Friday. They are pleading the government to pull troops out of Iraq, even if temporarily, in exchange of the release of their beloved."
The Washington Post | Rice, Clarke Offer Different Conclusions: "WASHINGTON - From the same sets of facts, Condoleezza Rice and former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke have offered the Sept. 11 commission conflicting conclusions.
Rice avoided directly criticizing Clarke during her appearance Thursday before the panel that is looking into the Sept. 11 attacks. However, Bush's national security adviser rebutted many of the conclusions drawn by Clarke during his time in the witness chair several weeks ago."
Independent.co.uk | News | Legal: "After vanquishing killer cyborgs and medieval warriors on screen, California's film-star governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is set to face his own judgement day in an English court.
Mr Schwarzenegger, 57, will be forced to defend allegations that he made unwelcome advances towards several women including the British television presenter Anna Richardson. She is expected to file a £100,000 libel suit next week.
Ms Richardson alleges that during a pre-recorded television interview with the actor he pulled her on to his knee and squeezed her nipple.
When Mr Schwarzenegger, who starred in three Terminator films, was first confronted with the allegation he is said to have claimed that Ms Richardson had encouraged this behaviour."
Mr Schwarzenegger, 57, will be forced to defend allegations that he made unwelcome advances towards several women including the British television presenter Anna Richardson. She is expected to file a £100,000 libel suit next week.
Ms Richardson alleges that during a pre-recorded television interview with the actor he pulled her on to his knee and squeezed her nipple.
When Mr Schwarzenegger, who starred in three Terminator films, was first confronted with the allegation he is said to have claimed that Ms Richardson had encouraged this behaviour."
Boston.com / News / Nation / Friendly fire deaths of Marines in Iraq detailed in report: "As many as 10 Marines may have been killed by friendly fire in the midst of the deadliest battle of the Iraq war when a Marine air controller mistakenly cleared Air Force A-10 jets to shoot on US positions, according to a long-awaited military investigation.
The report, portions of which were obtained Saturday, paints a chaotic picture of the March 23, 2003, battle in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, as Marines fought to seize two bridges crucial to the American advance on Baghdad."
The report, portions of which were obtained Saturday, paints a chaotic picture of the March 23, 2003, battle in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, as Marines fought to seize two bridges crucial to the American advance on Baghdad."
The Washington Post | McCain Defends Kerry's Record on National Security: "Republican Sen. John McCain yesterday defended Sen. John F. Kerry's record on national security, undercutting the Bush-Cheney campaign's latest attacks on the Democratic presidential challenger and frustrating conservatives hoping for a unified front against the Massachusetts senator.
Asked on the CBS "Early Show" whether he agreed with Vice President Cheney's assertion that Kerry is a threat to national security, McCain said: "I don't think that. I think that John Kerry is a good and decent man. . . . I think he has different points of view on different issues, and he will have to explain his voting record. But this kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice."
Asked on the CBS "Early Show" whether he agreed with Vice President Cheney's assertion that Kerry is a threat to national security, McCain said: "I don't think that. I think that John Kerry is a good and decent man. . . . I think he has different points of view on different issues, and he will have to explain his voting record. But this kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice."
The Washington Post | Army Beefs Up Suicide Prevention Programs: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military has intensified its suicide prevention efforts here as a result of an investigation into the self-inflicted deaths of 23 U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait last year, the U.S. Army said Thursday.
The Army is requiring all soldiers to take a suicide prevention class within three months of arriving in Iraq or Kuwait, said Capt. Jeff Greenlinger, an Army mental health expert. Previously, soldiers had to take the class within a year."
The Army is requiring all soldiers to take a suicide prevention class within three months of arriving in Iraq or Kuwait, said Capt. Jeff Greenlinger, an Army mental health expert. Previously, soldiers had to take the class within a year."
The Mercury News | AP Wire | 03/19/2004 | Media: fear of seeming unpatriotic undermined Iraq reporting: "BERKELEY, Calif. - Competitive pressures and the fear of appearing unpatriotic prevented journalists from doing more critical reporting in the lead-up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, according to reporters and other key figures at a conference analyzing the media's coverage of the war.
The journalists on the panels at the University of California, Berkeley, this week blamed the Bush administration for leaking faulty information, but said the media also has itself to blame for failing to report critically enough about justifications for the war in Iraq."
The journalists on the panels at the University of California, Berkeley, this week blamed the Bush administration for leaking faulty information, but said the media also has itself to blame for failing to report critically enough about justifications for the war in Iraq."
t r u t h o u t . o r g |Amnesty International: 10,000 Iraqi Civilian Deaths: "More than 10.000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since the American invasion of Iraq a year ago, asserts Amnesty International, which denounces the 'flagrant violations' of human rights in the country in a report released March 18. These figures corroborate the figure given by Iraq Body Count, a site which captures and collates data from numerous sources and which exceeded the threshold of 10,000 civilians killed on February 8."
The Nation Magazine | A Nation of Victims: "George W. Bush is generally regarded as a mangler of the English language. What is overlooked is his mastery of emotional language--especially negatively charged emotional language--as a political tool. Take a closer look at his speeches and public utterances, and his political success turns out to be no surprise. It is the predictable result of the intentional use of language to dominate others. "
The Observer | International | Now the Pentagon tells Bush: climate change will destroy us: "Climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters.
A secret report, suppressed by US defence chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian' climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world."
A secret report, suppressed by US defence chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian' climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world."
