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FallujaNajaf * Nukes * KerrySpin * SkyLight


27 April 2004

"The release of atom power has changed everything
except our way of thinking... the solution to this problem
lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known,
I should have become a watchmaker."


- Albert Einstein


1) Falluja, Najaf and the First Law of Holes
- - Pressed to Improve Depleted Uranium Testing
- - How America Nukes Its Own Troops
2) Why Criticize Kerry Now?
3) Massive Protest Decries Bush Abortion Policies
4) 9/11 – What They Knew and When They Knew It
5) Online Vice Presidential Primary

- - NH still close with Kerry leading by 2%
- - SwingTheVote.us
6) SolarFest Vermont July 10/11
- - New Reach for High Speed Internet

Editor's Notes:

According to an article by Rev. Lang, "George Bush and the Rise of Christian Fascism," the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said that George W. Bush told him: "God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East.." Meanwhile, as William Rivers Pitt in his article, "Falluja, Najaf and the First Law of Holes" describes: "Anyone who believes that April has been the cruelest month of this Iraq war - 111 Americans killed with the total dead now at 718, hundreds upon hundreds of Iraqi civilians killed - should gird themselves for the reality that the worst, the very worst, the unimaginably awful, is still yet to come."

Item 2 goes further to explain why we need to urge Democratic Party and Presidential politics to take a stand to bring the troops home from Iraq, to end the special privatization interests of corporations now in Iraq. Item 3 is on a very significant march in Washington D.C. – the right for human freedom and choice. Bush may think he is acting from God's interest, but as Whoopi Goldberg eloquently stated, God has already given us humans the gift of choice of free will. What Bush is doing is demeaning the oath he had taken to defend and honor the US Constitution, and the separation of Church and State.

Item 4 has more on the review of 9/11 investigations. Item 5 is on the cyber-campaign trail featuring a vice president primary. I plan to cast my vote for Bob Graham. Not just because he is from Florida, but due to his candor and integrity regarding 9/11 investigations. The difference between Bush and Kerry is not just the difference of these two Skull and Bones veterans, but the administration and cabinet they bring into the US government. In this item, too, is an update on a campaign useful for swing-states to get the Bush administration out of office ASAP.

Item 6 is a link to SolarFest, an annual solar-music event in Vermont. This is a weekend for learning about sustainability, to be surrounded with decent community-minded people, music, innovation and natural in Vermont, inspired by nature. Meanwhile, at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, they seemed to have misplaced, or lost, a highly radioactive spent fuel rod. 2012 is set for the decommissioning date for this dangers power plant, but they are now trying to increase its output, while all sorts of technical or terrorist problems exist. How crazy are we humans. Please do Vermont a favor, contact your reps and contact the Vermont Governor. Tell him that the NRC can't safely monitor highly radioactive spent fuel for 25 years. They surely are not prepared to monitor it for 10,000 plus years. VT Gov - 802-828-3333. The second part of item 6 is regarding a new dish-satellite system for high speed internet service for those away from DSL or Cable. This new company has an interesting connection to the development of a Stirling engine for cleaner electrical power generation. Nuclear Power is a technology for mad people, designed for destruction and delusions.

Please note that a heroine in our midst is coming to Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, on the evening of April 27. The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media that Love Them" is already on the New York Times best-seller list. Amy Goodman is breaking down the sound barrier for democracy, and compassion in the US. Keep checking updates and links from FlybyNews.com for more information on critical campaigns. Thanks for reading, sharing, and working for positive change in 2004.

"We are the ones we have been waiting for!"




1) Falluja, Najaf and the First Law of Holes

- - Pressed to Improve Depleted Uranium Testing
- - How America Nukes Its Own Troops

Falluja, Najaf and the First Law of Holes
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Monday 26 April 2004

Anyone who believes that April has been the cruelest month of this Iraq war - 111 Americans killed with the total dead now at 718, hundreds upon hundreds of Iraqi civilians killed - should gird themselves for the reality that the worst, the very worst, the unimaginably awful, is still yet to come.

..Bush has mobilized anti-American sentiment to such a staggering degree that Shi'ite and Sunni, enemies for generations past counting, have united to fight us. The invasion and occupation has spurred an al Qaeda recruitment drive that has swelled the ranks of that organization. A lot of people are dead, American and British and Spanish and Polish and Iraqi alike. Nine Americans and 28 Iraqis were killed this weekend alone. The light at the end of this tunnel is an oncoming freight train. That's not the worst part, however. The worst part is yet to come, in two cities called Falluja and Najaf. Americans paying attention to the spiral of violence in recent weeks will recognize those names, for they have been at the center of heavy combat since the month of April began. Bush administration officials, rocked back on their heels by the eruption of death there, were forced at one point to sue for a cease fire...

..The cease fire has failed, and American forces are at this moment surrounding Falluja and Najaf with the intention of invading these cities and routing the 'insurgents.' A showdown is coming, and nothing good will be made of it.

..The city of Falluja should be the first chapter in the urban combat strategy binder titled "Worst Terrain Imaginable." The city has nearly 300,000 residents and is made up of a dizzying maze of narrow streets, wide boulevards and back alleys. Most of the apartments have porches that will serve Iraqi snipers and RPG-toting helicopter hunters well. Every neighborhood has a mosque, a school, markets and clinics which, if struck by an errant American bomb, will deliver horrible numbers of civilian casualties.

..The religious aspect is easily the most explosive element in this matter. Falluja is a Sunni town. Through the almost mystical bungling of the Bush administration, it has become tied to the holy city of Najaf, a Shi'ite stronghold. This city, like Falluja, has been surrounded by American forces and faces imminent attack. If an attack against Najaf is indeed undertaken, the consequences for Iraq, and indeed for the entire Middle East, will be unimaginable.

Najaf is the site of the tomb of Ali, the most important Shi'ite saint. It is a holy city, like Mecca and Medina, and is the symbolic capital for Shi'ites all around the world. If American forces attack Najaf, every Shi'ite on the planet will have a dog in the fight. Iran, a Shi'ite-controlled nation, may well become involved. Shi'ite religious leaders will issue fatwas demanding massive numbers of suicide attacks against Americans.

..Anyone who thinks Iraq is a bad situation now should reserve judgment until the end of this week. George W. Bush and his crew have clearly forgotten the First Law of Holes: When you find yourself deep in a hole, stop digging. If this is what Bush meant when he talked about "changing the world" in his recent prime-time press conference, we are all in a great deal of trouble.

The complete article is posted:
truthout.org/docs_04/042604A.shtml

William Rivers Pitt is the senior editor and lead writer for t r u t h o u t. He is a New York Times and international best-selling author of two books - 'War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know' and 'The Greatest Sedition is Silence.'

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- - Pressed to Improve Depleted Uranium Testing

From Democracy Now!
Friday, April 23rd, 2004
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair
Pressed to Improve Depleted Uranium Testing

[Excerpt]

Earlier this month, a New York Daily News special investigation by Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez found the first confirmed cases of inhaled depleted uranium exposure from the current Iraq conflict. At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers was questioned by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) about depleted uranium testing policies .

At the hearing, Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton of New York pressed Myers about the issue of depleted uranium. She cited the Daily News investigation Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez conducted earlier this month.

For the complete transcript and link to listen, watch the program, see:
www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/04/23/1448253

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- - How America Nukes Its Own Troops
By Amy Worthington

Death By Slow Burn -
How America Nukes Its Own Troops
What 'Support Our Troops' Really Means
By Amy Worthington
The Idaho Observer
4-16-3

On March 30, an AP photo featured an American pro-war activist holding a sign: "Nuke the evil scum, it worked in 1945!" That's exactly what George Bush has done. America's mega-billion dollar war in Iraq has been indeed a NUCLEAR WAR.

Bush-Cheney have delivered upon 17 million Iraqis tons of depleted uranium (DU) weapons, a "liberation" gift that will keep on giving. Depleted uranium is a component of toxic nuclear waste, usually stored at secure sites. Handlers need radiation protection gear.

DU munitions are classified by a United Nations resolution as illegal weapons of mass destruction. Their use breaches all international laws, treaties and conventions forbidding poisoned weapons calculated to cause unnecessary suffering.

Ironically, support for our troops will extend well beyond the war in Iraq.

Americans will be supporting Gulf War II veterans for years as they slowly and painfully succumb to radiation poisoning. U.S. and British troops deployed to the area are the walking dead. Humans and animals, friends and foes in the fallout zone are destined to a long downhill spiral of chronic illness and disability. Kidney dysfunction, lung damage, bloody stools, extreme fatigue, joint pain, unsteady gait, memory loss and rashes and, ultimately, cancer and premature death await those exposed to DU.

..When a DU shell is fired, it ignites upon impact. Uranium, plus traces of plutonium and americium, vaporize into tiny, ceramic particles of radioactive dust. Once inhaled, uranium oxides lodge in the body and emit radiation indefinitely. A single particle of DU lodged in a lymph node can devastate the entire immune system according to British radiation expert Roger Coghill. (7)

The Royal Society of England published data showing that battlefield soldiers who inhale or swallow high levels of DU can suffer kidney failure within days. (8) Any soldier now in Iraq who has not inhaled lethal radioactive dust is not breathing. In the first two weeks of combat, 700 Tomahawks, at a cost of $1.3 million each, blasted Iraqi real estate into radioactive mushroom clouds. (9) Millions of DU tank rounds liter the terrain.

Cleanup is impossible because there is no place on the planet to put so much contaminated debris..

..Nothing compares to the astronomical cancer rates and birth defects suffered by the Iraqi people who have endured vicious nuclear chastisement for years.16 U.S. air attacks against Iraq since 1993 have undoubtedly employed nuclear munitions. Pictures of grotesquely deformed Iraqi infants born since 1991 are overwhelming. (17) Like those born to Gulf War I vets, many babies born to troops now in Iraq will also be afflicted with hideous deformities, neurological damage and/or blood and respiratory disorders. (18)

As an Army health physicist, Dr. Doug Rokke was dispatched to the Middle East to salvage DU-contaminated tanks after Gulf War I. His Geiger counters revealed that the war zones of Iraq and Kuwait were contaminated with up to 300 millirems an hour in beta and gamma radiation plus thousands to millions of counts per minute in alpha radiation.

Rokke recently told the media: "The whole area is still trashed. It is hotter than heck over there still. This stuff doesn't go away." (19)

DU remains "hot" for 4.5 billion years. Radiation expert Dr. Helen Caldicott confirms that the dust-laden winds of DU-contaminated war zones "will remain effectively radioactive for the rest of time."20 The murderous dust storms which ensnared coalition troops during the first few days of the current invasion are sure to have significant health consequences.

Rokke and his clean-up team were issued only flimsy dust masks for their dangerous work. Of the 100 people on Rokke's decontamination team, 30 have already "dropped dead." Rokke himself is ill with radiation damage to lungs and kidneys. He has brain lesions, skin pustules, chronic fatigue, continual wheezing and painful fibromyalgia. Rokke warns that anyone exposed to DU should have adequate respiratory protection and special coveralls to protect their clothing because, he says, you can't get uranium particles off your clothing.

The U.S. military insists that DU on the battlefield is not a problem.

Colonel James Naughton of the U.S. Army Material Command recently told the BBC that complaints about DU "had no medical basis." (21)

For pragmatic reasons, DOD chooses to lie and deny.

Dr. Rokke confirms that the Pentagon lies about DU dangers and is criminally negligent for neglecting medical attention needed by DU-contaminated vets. He predicts that the numbers of American troops to be sickened by DU from Gulf War II will be staggering. (26)

Dr. Rokke's candor has cost him his career.

George Bush's ongoing war in Afghanistan is also a nuclear war.. ..Drought-stricken Afghanistan's underground water supply is now contaminated by these nuclear weapons. (32) Experts with the Uranium Medical Research Center report that urine samples of Afghanis show the highest level of uranium ever recorded in a civilian population.

The solution? Americans must stop electing ruthless criminals to rule this nation.. . ..If America truly supports its troops, it must stop sending them into nuclear holocaust for the enrichment of thugs. Time is running out. If the DU-maniacs at the Pentagon and their coven of nuclear arms peddlers are not harnessed, America will have no able-bodied fighting forces left. All people of the earth will become grossly ill, hideously deformed and short-lived. We must succeed in the critical imperative to face reality and act decisively. Should we fail, there will be no place to hide from Bush-Cheney's merciless nuclear orgies yet to come or from the inevitable nuclear retaliation these orgies will surely breed.

For the complete article and references, see:
www.rense.com/general37/nukes.htm



2) Why Criticize Kerry Now?

Published in the May, 2004 issue of The Progressive
When Kerry Was Liberal
by Ruth Conniff

..But if the old John Kerry scored a lot of liberal points, the new John Kerry, the National Journal points out, was "especially moderate in his second term when it came to foreign policy issues." He voted for missile defense and intelligence spending legislation opposed by his Democratic colleagues. As Kerry likes to brag on the campaign trail, he endorsed sixteen out of nineteen military budget increases during his time in the Senate. Kerry's pro-military record is particularly galling to one of his constituents, John Bonifaz, the founder and director of the National Voting Rights Institute. Bonifaz even explored running against Kerry from the left in 2001, but decided not to when September 11 eclipsed his platform of economic and social justice.

Bonifaz was a young campaign staffer for Ted Kennedy in 1988. "I was not of the view that no one in the U.S. Senate was carrying the torch for progressive fights. There were some people, Senator Kennedy being one, Paul Wellstone being one." But Kerry, in Bonifaz's view, was no ally of progressives. His biggest beef with Kerry now is his support of the principle that Bush did not have to consult Congress again before invading Iraq--the subject of a lawsuit Bonifaz is pressing against the Administration.

Like most liberals and progressives, Bonifaz wants to see Kerry beat Bush. That raises the question: Why criticize him now?

"For starters, I'd like to see a debate at the Democratic National Convention on where the party stands about the process of going into war," he says. "Does the party embrace the [idea that] Presidents have inherent authority to invade other countries on their own volition, or does it embrace the view of the framers of the Constitution?"

Initially, Kerry explained his vote on the Iraq resolution by saying that the President had promised he'd go to war only with U.N. approval.

"Kerry made his own promise in a floor speech," says Bonifaz. "If the President didn't proceed to build a multilateral coalition, he'd be the first to speak out. He did not."

Instead, Bonifaz says, he stood by as the Administration blew off the international community and now endorses Bush on the war powers question.

Beyond that, says Bonifaz, a lot of people want to see a challenge to corporate politics. "That mobilized a lot of people behind Dean," he says. "Will Kerry embrace that message, or will he
move to the center and right?"

If he keeps on the way he has been going, 2004 may be the year Kerry finally loses the liberal label.

Ruth Conniff is Political Editor of The Progressive.

For the complete posting of this article:
commondreams.org/views04/0423-14.htm




3) Massive Protest Decries Bush Abortion Policies

Thousands March for Abortion Rights
By Elizabeth Wolfe
The Associated Press

[Excerpt]

WASHINGTON - Abortion-rights supporters marched in the hundreds of thousands Sunday, galvanized by what they see as an erosion of reproductive freedoms under President Bush and foreign policies that hurt women worldwide.

The rally on the National Mall stretched from the base of the U.S. Capitol about a mile back to the Washington Monument. Authorities no longer give formal crowd estimates, but various police sources informally estimated the throng at between 500,000 and 800,000 strong.

For this complete article, see:
truthout.org/docs_04/042604C.shtml

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TO Live Reports From the
March for Women's Lives
Washington D.C.
truthout.org/docs_04/MarchWomensLives.shtml

"I hope John Ashcroft is listening because YOU are a direct threat to his vision of America. And Bush, you better beware. When women vote, Democrats win!" – Cameron Mannheim

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- - Massive Protest Decries Bush Abortion Policies
by Deborah Zabarenko
(Published April 25, 2004 by Reuters)

WASHINGTON - 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.

For this article, see:
commondreams.org/headlines04/0425-01.htm



4) 9/11 – What They Knew and When They Knew It

Re: 9/11—Bush-Cheney-Rice…
What They Knew and When They Knew It…

by Bob Zimmerman

[Excerpt]

Bush, Cheney and Rice knew 9/11 was imminent; they had intelligence warnings describing al Qaeda's plan to use our commercial jets to attack the World Trade Center and Washington, D.C. The highest levels of the Bush administration repeatedly and intentionally lied about what they knew and when they knew it. The Bush administration failed to take appropriate action on numerous actionable intelligence reports and briefings, including a highly classified presidential daily briefing memo (PDB) dated August 6, 2001 entitled Bin Laden Determined to Strike inside the U.S. That PDB contained much "actionable intelligence," including information about active al Qaeda cells in the U.S. and the training of prospective terrorists at military and commercial flight schools—high-level U.S. State Department permission is required for civilian pilot training at military flight schools. Why was such permission granted to the terrorists?

Bush, Cheney, and Rice chose to ignore the al Qaeda threat warnings; they failed to task and follow-up with the FBI and the CIA; and it is uncontested that they intentionally failed to warn and protect the American people. Prior to 9/11, only privileged government personnel like Attorney General Ashcroft were warned to avoid air travel; the AG canceled his air travel plans; but the American people were not alerted; the American people were left fully exposed to the al Qaeda attack and 3,000 people were murdered.

..The post-9/11 evidentiary record clearly shows presidential gross negligence, and perhaps even complicity in 9/11. The slowly unfolding tale of what really happened on and before 9/11 is an overwhelming tale of governmental dysfunction or worse. Why did Bush, Cheney, and Rice deliberately and repeatedly lie to us saying they had received no warnings that a 9/11-type attack was imminent? Why have they spent 2 ˝ years deliberately covering up what really happened on and before 9/11? Was it because high-level Bush policy formulators had previously prepared the infamous Project for a New American Century (PNAC) policy initiative suggesting that America needed another Pearl Harbor before it could launch a War of Terror on the world?

The Bush-Cheney-Rice cover-up of what really happened on 9/11 is steadily unraveling..

Conclusion: Many Americans and most of the world now view the Bush War on Terror as a War of Terror, an evolving global nightmare for everyone except for the few who personally reap vast profits from perpetual pre-emptive war. Bush's former director of counter-terrorism, Richard Clarke, has testified under oath and said that Bush failed to take speedy action against al Qaeda, and that Bush's invasion of Iraq has increased America's risk of future terrorist attacks, making the world far less safe. There are now more than enough connected dots to warrant either immediate indictments or the commencement of impeachment proceedings. Concerned Americans and the Congress should demand nothing less.

The crucial question is: Will the official 9/11 investigating commission continue the cover-up and merely accuse the Bush administration of gross negligence, or will their findings lead to official charges of treason?

For an email of the complete article, write the author, Bob Zimmerman: BobZimmerman@usa.com



5) Online Vice Presidential Primary

- - NH still close with Kerry leading by 2%
- - SwingTheVote.us

Announcing the Online Vice Presidential Primary
April 20, 2004

PoliticsNationwide.com announced today that it will conduct the first national online preference primary to select Democratic Party and Republican Party candidates for the office of Vice President of the United States.

In a process scheduled to begin at 9 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, April 27, 2004, and end at midnight Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, April 29, 2004, voters who log on to www.PoliticsNationwide.com to participate in the PoliticsNationwide.com preference primary will be asked:

(1) Who should Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry select as his running mate for Vice President of the United States?

(2) Should Republican President George W. Bush keep Richard B. "Dick" Cheney as his running mate for Vice President of the United States?

(3) Who should Republican President George W. Bush select as his running mate for Vice President of the United States?

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- - NH still close with Kerry leading by 2%

The Rasmussen poll has consistently shown Kerry running better than most other polls. This one shows him leading in NH with Bush running behind..

Survey of 500 Likely Voters April 21, 2004 New Hampshire Still Close

Kerry 47% Bush 45%
New Hampshire 2004

On a national basis this time around, the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Election Tracking Poll has found Bush and Kerry virtually even for weeks.

http://www.RasmussenReports.com

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- - SwingTheVote.us

Help US Defeat Bush in 2004
The following web site was launched focused on defeating Bush in NH, but you can contact this group for coordinating efforts in other swing states, too!

SwingtheVote.us

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6) SolarFest Vermont -- July 10/11

- - New Reach for High Speed Internet


SolarFest - New England Renewable Energy Festival
July 10 and July 11 at the Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT

SolarFest is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status. Its mission is to educate people about renewable energy by engaging the community through the performing arts. Since its inception in 1995, SolarFest has built a reputation for promoting artistic excellence and community building, and has raised more than a few eyebrows when people realize that our entire weekend festival is run on solar energy.

Flyby News will again participate with this event, and will have information table at the non-profit area. For more on workshops, performances, and other information, visit SolarFest.org

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- - New Reach for High Speed Internet

Rural computer users have been left stranded for years from the range of affordable broadband Internet service. In higher density populations, DSL or Cable high speed Internet access have been around for years. But, now, hill folk, too, can receive high speed Internet without exorbitant costs.

In New England, SkyWay Installations has begun installing broadband Internet satellite service to rural homes and businesses that cable, DSL and wireless providers do not cover. This product from SkyWay USA includes a 28-inch dish, hardware and software packages. With professional installation, the system costs about $259.00, and a monthly service charge starting at $29.95. For those with a view to the southwest US sky, broadband internet access is reachable.

For more information, visit: SkyWayInstallations.com
or call 1-866-475-9787
Reference [ PRC # 1012 ]

Note: One of SkyWay Installations' founders is Ricardo Conde, who is business partners with Jonathan Mark – in a company focused on developing a 200+kW Stirling engine for onsite commercial/industrial electrical power generation. Stirling engines can use waste heat and renewable fuels for cleaner electrical power generation and higher thermal efficiencies.

For more information see: STIRLING Solution for Onsite Power Production.



=====News Fit to Transmit in the Post Cassini Flyby Era====>

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