Flyby News
"News Fit to Transmit in the Post Cassini Flyby Era"
ElectionDebased * NotOneRedCent * RevolutionTV
09 January 2005
"Our people are dying all over the world ... to bring democracy
to the far corners of the world. Let's fix it here."
– Senator Barbara Boxer1) Democrats Force Debate on Election Mishaps- - In the Clearing Stands a Boxer... a letter from Michael Moore
- - Members of Congress who voted for challenge of Ohio results
- - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich On Ohio Electoral Vote
2) Terrorism Expands by coming new US policy?- - The Salvador Option
- - The Other Tsunami by John Pilger
- - Advise and Rubber Stamp ~ Gonzales Attorney General?
3) "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" ~ the film
4) "Not One Red Cent" Boycott Bush's inauguration
Editor's Notes:It appears on every issue there are many spins to what may be true or not, but on one issue one thing appears certain, a free and democratic Republic in the United States is in question. Item 1 gives an overview on events of January 6. Yet it still begs the question: How or when will we reclaim a lost USA democracy? A list serve colleague wrote: "It would be better to support genuine liberals and progressives people in the democratic party than to form a new one. It would take years and years for a new party to be recognized." I, in part, agree, but would certainly consider a third party candidate if a real progressive Democrat cannot win in the Primaries. Something about a Barbara Boxer - Dennis Kucinich ticket is appealing. However, if we get compromising candidates, they will end up compromising our freedom, and their sworn duty to defend and protect the US Constitution.
Item 2 is very disturbing. In desperation, the Pentagon may overtly put "Special-Forces-led assassination or kidnapping teams in Iraq." This is in part the result of last November's election theft and world domination plan for chaos. The plan for world domination may not succeed, but their plans for world chaos may. Yet in resistance and hope, item 3 suggests our learning from the failed coup attempt against the presidency of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Last Friday I watched the film, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Thanks to Frances Crowe and the Northampton Committee to Stop the War in Iraq and the Media Education Foundation for the free screening. Frances has offered Flyby News a copy for an upcoming screening in Keene, NH. Item 4 is on an action in response to election theft 2000 and 2004, and to the terror-producing strategies of George W. Bush. On January 20, 2005, the day of Bush's inauguration, many conscientious citizens will boycott all commerce.
"NOT ONE RED CENT"
Don't spend a dime on January 20, 2005.
1) Democrats Force Debate on Election Mishaps- - In the Clearing Stands a Boxer... a letter from Michael Moore
- - Members of Congress who voted for challenge of Ohio results
- - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich On Ohio Electoral Vote
- - In the Clearing Stands a Boxer... a letter from Michael MooreDear Friends,
Something historic happened yesterday. For the first time since 1877 a member of the House and a member of the Senate stood up together to object to a state's electoral college votes.
This is the first step on a necessary road toward making sure that everyone is allowed to vote and that every vote is counted (something we did not see in 2000 or 2004) so the next time around ALL of us can be confident, when the election results come in, that they reflect the will of the people, not the whim of mechanical error and human obstruction.
Unlike the 2000 election, when the black members of Congress were told to sit down and shut up, this time a senator had the courage to stand with them, as the law requires, to force Congress to go back to their separate chambers to discuss and debate the issues surrounding the vote count. Senator Barbara Boxer rose to the occasion and stood with Ohio Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and 30 other Representatives "to cast the light of truth on a flawed system which must be fixed now." The ensuing debate, at times, became a debate over me and all of you and the fact that we would dare make the attempt to protect our democracy.
For the complete article, and links for video clips and transcripts, see:
http://michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=180= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
- - Members of Congress who voted for challenge of Ohio resultsFrom BuzzFlash ~ January 7, 2005
BuzzFlash has received a number of requests to make it easier for people to thank Senator Boxer, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones and all the Democrats who stood up for our democracy by calling attention to the problems with the 2004 election and the need for open and fair elections.
Excerpts from "Democrats Force Debate on Election Mishaps":
Boxer, Tubbs Jones and several other Democrats, including many black lawmakers, tried using the sessions to underscore the missing voting machines, unusually long lines and other problems that plagued some Ohio districts, many in minority neighborhoods, on Nov. 2.
"If they were willing to stand in polls for countless hours in the rain, as many did in Ohio, than I can surely stand up for them here in the halls of Congress," Tubbs Jones said.
"Our people are dying all over the world ...
to bring democracy to the far corners of the world.
Let's fix it here."
Boxer said.
You can thank
Sen. Barbara Boxer and
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones by visiting their web sites (linked). We should also thank
Rep. John Conyers, Jr. for his tireless efforts to bring the 2004 voting problems to light and thoroughly exposing Ohio Sec. of State Ken Blackwell as the catalyst of the major voting problems in that state.
If you're still in the thanking mood, below are the 31 Congressmen and women who voted to support the objection by Rep. Tubbs Jones. Let them know their efforts will not be forgotten.
Corrine Brown (FL)
Julia Carson (IN)
William "Lacy" Clay Jr. (MO)
James Clyburn (IN)
John Conyers Jr. (MI)
Danny Davis (IL)
Lane Evans (IL)
Sam Farr (CA)
Bob Filner (CA)
Raul Grijalva (AZ)
Alcee Hastings (FL)
Maurice Hinchey (NY)
Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
E. B. Johnson (TX)
Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH)
Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI)
Dennis Kucinich (OH)
Barbara Lee (CA)
John Lewis (GA)
Ed Markey (MA)
Cynthia McKinney (GA)
John Olver (MA)
Major Owens (NY)
Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ)
Donald Payne (NJ)
Jan Schakowsky (IL)
Bennie Thompson (MS)
Maxine Waters (CA)
Diane Watson (CA)
Lynn Woolsey (CA)
BuzzFlash thanks all the above, and the dedicated activists that helped bring this issue to a vote.
For links and article, see:
http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/05/01/ale05006.html= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
- - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich On Ohio Electoral VoteFloor Speech Of Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich
On The Challenge To The Ohio Electoral College Vote
For Immediate Release Contact: Doug Gordon
Thursday, January 06, 2005 (202) 225-5871 (w)
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) gave the following speech today on the House floor during consideration of an objection to the certification of the Electoral College votes from Ohio:
"Let us not denigrate factual concerns about the Ohio election by dismissing them as simply partisan. This is not about Democrat or Republican votes. It is not about red or blue or black or white. It is not about wrong and right. It is not about winners or losers. It is about protecting voting rights in our democracy against corruption.
"Let us review just one of the very serious concerns with the Ohio election. Voting machines were misallocated causing some voters to stand in line for 10 hours. That denies voters equal protection of the law. In the states' capitol, a shortage of machines in predominately African American communities was created. Even though the Secretary of State knew far in advance that 102,000 voters were registered in that county alone. The misallocation of machines was estimate to have denied at least 15,000 people the opportunity to vote.
"Furthermore the Secretary of State, who, under Ohio law has a constitutional duty to ensure election laws are upheld, failed to issue guidelines under the Help American Vote Act (HAVA) for two years. Contrary to the spirit of HAVA (which is to encourage voting and to have every vote count), Ohio's top election official conducted the activities of his office in a most partisan manner, undermining public trust in the election. He sharply restricted the ability of voters to use provisional ballots. He endeavored to make it more difficult for lower income people, who are more likely to move, to vote.
"We know who won the election. But what the American people do not know is the extend to which voting irregularities in the State of Ohio deprived tens of thousands of my fellow citizens of their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the law and their constitutionally protected right to vote.
"The right to vote is expressly protected by the Fifteenth Amendment, the Nineteenth, the Twenty-Fourth and the Twenty-Sixth Amendments to the United States constitution.
"It is that right which has produced our very presence in this chamber. It is that right which binds us as a nation, which creates the unity of states, which legitimizes the government, which enfranchises not just a people, but in which reposes the treasure of the American people: A Government of the people, by the people and for the people. People have marched for that right, have put in their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor on the line for that right, and the least we can do is show our commitment to protecting that right.
"The outcome of the election will remain unchanged. But what we must change is a system which denied citizens of a great state their opportunity to change the outcome. Election reform is our solemn duty. Out statements today show is we intend to do our duty."
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/oh10_kucinich/050106electoralcollege.html
2) Terrorism Expands by coming new US policy?- - The Salvador Option
- - The Other Tsunami by John Pilger
- - Advise and Rubber Stamp ~ Gonzales Attorney General?
- - The Salvador Option
Newsweek Editor's Note | While this may very well be an escalation of current U.S. policy, it is an extension of a disturbing pattern of using excessive force against detainees at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere in Iraq. -smg
The Salvador Option
By Michael Hirsh and John Barry
Newsweek
Saturday 08 January 2005
The Pentagon may put Special-Forces-led assassination or kidnapping teams in Iraq.
What to do about the deepening quagmire of Iraq?
The Pentagon's latest approach is being called "the Salvador option"-and the fact that it is being discussed at all is a measure of just how worried Donald Rumsfeld really is. "What everyone agrees is that we can't just go on as we are," one senior military officer told Newsweek. "We have to find a way to take the offensive against the insurgents. Right now, we are playing defense. And we are losing." Last November's operation in Fallujah, most analysts agree, succeeded less in breaking "the back" of the insurgency-as Marine Gen. John Sattler optimistically declared at the time-than in spreading it out.
Now, Newsweek has learned, the Pentagon is intensively debating an option that dates back to a still-secret strategy in the Reagan administration's battle against the leftist guerrilla insurgency in El Salvador in the early 1980s. Then, faced with a losing war against Salvadoran rebels, the U.S. government funded or supported "nationalist" forces that allegedly included so-called death squads directed to hunt down and kill rebel leaders and sympathizers. Eventually the insurgency was quelled, and many U.S. conservatives consider the policy to have been a success-despite the deaths of innocent civilians and the subsequent Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal. (Among the current administration officials who dealt with Central America back then is John Negroponte, who is today the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Under Reagan, he was ambassador to Honduras.)
Following that model, one Pentagon proposal would send Special Forces teams to advise, support and possibly train Iraqi squads, most likely hand-picked Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shiite militiamen, to target Sunni insurgents and their sympathizers, even across the border into Syria, according to military insiders familiar with the discussions. It remains unclear, however, whether this would be a policy of assassination or so-called "snatch" operations, in which the targets are sent to secret facilities for interrogation. The current thinking is that while U.S. Special Forces would lead operations in, say, Syria, activities inside Iraq itself would be carried out by Iraqi paramilitaries, officials tell Newsweek.
Also being debated is which agency within the U.S. government-the Defense department or CIA-would take responsibility for such an operation. Rumsfeld's Pentagon has aggressively sought to build up its own intelligence-gathering and clandestine capability with an operation run by Defense Undersecretary Stephen Cambone. But since the Abu Ghraib interrogations scandal, some military officials are ultra-wary of any operations that could run afoul of the ethics codified in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That, they argue, is the reason why such covert operations have always been run by the CIA and authorized by a special presidential finding. (In "covert" activity, U.S. personnel operate under cover and the U.S. government will not confirm that it instigated or ordered them into action if they are captured or killed.)
Meanwhile, intensive discussions are taking place inside the Senate Intelligence Committee over the Defense department's efforts to expand the involvement of U.S. Special Forces personnel in intelligence-gathering missions. Historically, Special Forces' intelligence gathering has been limited to objectives directly related to upcoming military operations-"preparation of the battlefield," in military lingo. But, according to intelligence and defense officials, some Pentagon civilians for years have sought to expand the use of Special Forces for other intelligence missions.
Pentagon civilians and some Special Forces personnel believe CIA civilian managers have traditionally been too conservative in planning and executing the kind of undercover missions that Special Forces soldiers believe they can effectively conduct. CIA traditionalists are believed to be adamantly opposed to ceding any authority to the Pentagon. Until now, Pentagon proposals for a capability to send soldiers out on intelligence missions without direct CIA approval or participation have been shot down. But counter-terrorist strike squads, even operating covertly, could be deemed to fall within the Defense department's orbit.
The interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi is said to be among the most forthright proponents of the Salvador option. Maj. Gen.Muhammad Abdallah al-Shahwani, director of Iraq's National Intelligence Service, may have been laying the groundwork for the idea with a series of interviews during the past ten days. Shahwani told the London-based Arabic daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat that the insurgent leadership-he named three former senior figures in the Saddam regime, including Saddam Hussein's half-brother-were essentially safe across the border in a Syrian sanctuary. "We are certain that they are in Syria and move easily between Syrian and Iraqi territories," he said, adding that efforts to extradite them "have not borne fruit so far."
Shahwani also said that the U.S. occupation has failed to crack the problem of broad support for the insurgency. The insurgents, he said, "are mostly in the Sunni areas where the population there, almost 200,000, is sympathetic to them." He said most Iraqi people do not actively support the insurgents or provide them with material or logistical help, but at the same time they won't turn them in. One military source involved in the Pentagon debate agrees that this is the crux of the problem, and he suggests that new offensive operations are needed that would create a fear of aiding the insurgency. "The Sunni population is paying no price for the support it is giving to the terrorists," he said. "From their point of view, it is cost-free. We have to change that equation."
Pentagon sources emphasize there has been no decision yet to launch the Salvador option. Last week, Rumsfeld decided to send a retired four-star general, Gary Luck, to Iraq on an open-ended mission to review the entire military strategy there. But with the U.S. Army strained to the breaking point, military strategists note that a dramatic new approach might be needed-perhaps one as potentially explosive as the Salvador option.
-------
Original posting, see:
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6802629/site/newsweek/also:
www.truthout.org/docs_05/010905V.shtml= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
- - The Other Tsunami by John PilgerThe Other Tsunami
By John Pilger
The New Statesman
10 January 2005 Issue
While the sea may have killed tens of thousands, western policies kill millions every year. Yet even amid disaster, a new politics of community and morality is emerging.
The west's crusaders, the United States and Britain, are giving less to help the tsunami victims than the cost of a Stealth bomber or a week's bloody occupation of Iraq. The bill for George Bush's coming inauguration party would rebuild much of the coastline of Sri Lanka..
For the entire article, see:
www.newstatesman.com/nscoverstory.htmalso, posted at:
www.truthout.org/docs_05/010905Z.shtml= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
- - Advise and Rubber Stamp ~ Gonzales Attorney General? Published January 8, 2005 by CBS News
Advise and Rubber Stamp
by Dick Meyer
When John Ashcroft was up for confirmation as attorney general, the Democrat on the job, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., cautioned that the Constitutional role for the Senate was to "advise and consent" not "advise and rubber stamp." Four years later comes the nomination of Alberto Gonzales and the cowed Democrats are poised for a policy of "advise, snarl, bombast and then rubber stamp."
I am shocked (not "shocked, shocked" but sincerely shocked) that Gonzales will get a single Democratic vote, much a relatively less easy confirmation. And I would have expected that some Republicans -- the ones who profess deep belief in the American mission of fostering Arab democracy, the ones who have renounced Secretary Rumsfeld, like McCain, Hagel, Lugar – would be struggling with their votes, too. But no.
For the complete article, see:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0108-23.htm
3) "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" ~ the filmThe film, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" was directed and photographed by Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain in 2003. Its running time is 74 minutes and in Spanish with English subtitles.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised ~ a review
Sometimes, a good documentary is all about being in the right place at the right time. It does not get much better for Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain, who, in late 2001 began filming a documentary about Hugo Chavez, the controversial President of Venezuela. As they worked on their documentary, events in Venezuela reached a fever pitch and the duo was able to capture on film a coup from the perspective of the Chavez government. The footage is remarkable, especially given that actual events were so clouded by propaganda on both sides. What is clear is that this was a coup orchestrated with the crucial help of the media. Without their support, it would not have been successful..
For the complete review, see:
www.haro-online.com/movies/revolution_will_not_be_televised.htmlThe following is from the web site of the film:
chavezthefilm.comHUGO CHAVEZ ELECTED PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA IN 1998, IS A COLORFUL,
UNPREDICTABLE FOLK HERO, beloved by his nation's working class and a tough-as-nails, quixotic opponent to the power structure that would see him deposed. Two independent filmmakers were inside the presidential palace on April 11, 2002, when he was forcibly removed from office. They were also present 48 hours later when, remarkably, he returned to power amid cheering aides. Their film records what was probably history's shortest-lived coup d'état. It's a unique document about political muscle and an extraordinary portrait of the man The Wall Street Journal credits with making Venezuela "Washington‚s biggest Latin American headache after the old standby, Cuba."
Distributor:
Deckert Distribution GmbH
Peterssteinweg 13
D-04107 Leipzig
Germany
Tel +49 (0) 341 215 66 38
Fax +49 (0) 341 215 66 39
Email: info@deckert-distribution.com
Web: www.deckert-distribution.com
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" - deals with the events surrounding the short-lived coup d¹etat against President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in April 2002 - was first broadcast in Europe in February 2003 and since then has been aired on a variety of national TV stations including the BBC, ZDF ( Germany), Arte ( France), and NPS ( Holland) as well as at numerous international film festivals. In Venezuela the film had its first airing on national TV in April 2003.
On April 12th 2002 the world awoke to the news that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had been removed from office and had been replaced by a new interim government. What had in fact taken place was the first Latin American coup of the 21st century, and the world's first media coup...
The Politics of Oil
www.chavezthefilm.com/html/backgrd/oil.htmFor a clip or transcript from the film, see this special featured on Democracy Now!
Thursday, November 6th, 2003
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Why is Amnesty Not Screening a New Documentary About the Failed 2002 Coup in Venezuela?
www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/11/06/1558221"In February 2002, Chavez announced his plan to shake up the state oil company and to put his own people on the Management board. The war had begun.."
also info posted at:
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5168.htm
4) "Not One Red Cent" Boycott Bush's inaugurationNot One Red Cent Day ~ January 20, 2005
Boycott Bush's inauguration by not spending any money on inauguration day!
Since our religious leaders will not speak out against the war in Iraq, since our political leaders don't have the moral courage to oppose it, Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is 'Not One Red Cent Day' in America.
On 'Not One Red Cent Day' those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24-hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending.
During 'Not One Red Cent Day' please don't spend money, and don't use your credit card. Not one red cent for gasoline. Not one red cent for necessities or for impulse purchases. Nor toll/cab/bus or train ride money exchanges. Not one red cent for anything for 24 hours.
On 'Not One Red Cent Day,' please boycott Walmart, KMart and Target. Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store. Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter).
For 24 hours, please do what you can to shut the retail economy down. The object is simple. Remind the people in power that the war in Iraq is immoral and illegal; that they are responsible for starting it and that it is their responsibility to stop it.
'Not One Red Cent Day' is to remind them, too, that they work for the people of the United States of America, not for the international corporations and K Street lobbyists who represent the corporations and funnel cash into American politics.
'Not One Red Cent Day' is about supporting the troops. The politicians put the troops in harm's way. Now 1,200 brave young Americans and (some estimate) 100,000 Iraqis have died. The politicians owe our troops a plan -- a way to come home.
There's no rally to attend. No marching to do. No left or right wing agenda to rant about. On 'Not One Red Cent Day' you take action by doing nothing. You open your mouth by keeping your wallet closed.
For 24 hours, nothing gets spent, not one red cent, to remind our religious leaders and our politicians of their moral responsibility to end the war in Iraq and give America back to the people.
Please share this as an email with as many people as possible, and please express your opinion at
NotOneRedCent.com .
The views expressed herein are the writers' own and not necessarily those of Flyby News.
A "Fair Use Policy" that describes Flyby News' use of copyrighted material is posted at flybynews.com.
Your feedback for story suggestions and networking Flyby News are welcomed and appreciated.
You can write to the publisher/editor Jonathan Mark via email: info@flybynews.com
Flyby News is educational and nonviolent in focus, and has supported critical campaigns
for a healthy environment, human rights, justice, peace, and nonviolence,
since the launching of NASA's Cassini space probe in 1997.=====News Fit to Transmit in the Post Cassini Flyby Era====> = = = = = = www.FlybyNews.com = = = = =