09
Aug
The News We Need to Know
NAGASAKI ASKS US TO REMEMBER ‘FAT MAN’
BBC reports on the commemoration held today in Nagasaki, Japan, of the 60th anniversary of the dropping of a plutonium bomb. The death toll is now 140,000.
“A peace bell rang out as the city marked the exact moment 60 years ago when a U.S. plane dropped the bomb nicknamed ‘Fat Man’ for its rotund shape…
“Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Ito asked U.S. citizens whether their security was enhanced by their nuclear arsenal.
“‘We understand your anger and anxiety over the memories of horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yet, is your security actually enhanced by your government’s policies of maintaining 10,000 nuclear weapons, of carrying out repeated sub-critical nuclear tests, and of pursuing the development of new ‘mini’ nuclear weapons?’ he said.
“Mr. Ito appealed to them to join hands with others to work together for a peaceful planet free from the threat of the nuclear bomb.”
www.bbc.com
Q: WHAT WILL GO UP BEFORE IT COMES DOWN?
A: TROOP LEVELS IN IRAQ:
“Pentagon Likely to Raise Iraq Troops:
“Before the Pentagon begins reducing troop levels in Iraq next year it probably will increase them this fall to provide extra security for a planned October referendum and a December election, a Pentagon official said Monday.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/08/08/national/w083900D40.DTL
THE BIG FEAR
Mike Whitney writes: “Why Iran will lead to World War 3…”
“Bush, Sharon and the western media will exploit the details in a way that condemns Iran and paves the way for a preemptive attack. The drive to war will not be derailed by mere facts.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9706.htm
http://snipurl.com/gt1p
The Washington Post reports: “Oil-Food Official Pleads Guilty…”
“A former Russian procurement officer is accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from companies doing business with the United Nations.”
Washingtonpost.com
WHO KNEW WHAT WHEN?
The New York Times reports:
“In 2000, a military intelligence unit identified Mohammed Atta and three other future Sept. 11 hijackers as likely members of a cell of Al Qaeda operating in the U.S.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/politics/09intel.html?th&emc=th
WHISTLEBLOWERS AND PROTESTERS UNDER ATTACK
Top civilian in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blows whistle, and may lose her job:
“As Bunny Greenhouse sees it, people do the right thing. They stand up for the greater good and they speak up when things go wrong. She believes God has a purpose for each life and she prays every day for that purpose to be made evident.
“These days she is praying her heart out, because she is in a great deal of trouble.
“Bunnatine ‘Bunny’ Greenhouse is the Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting (’PARC’ in the alphabet soup of military acronyms) in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lest the title fool, she is responsible for awarding billions upon billions in taxpayers’ money to private companies hired to resurrect war-torn Iraq and to feed, clothe, shelter and do the laundry of American troops stationed there.
“She has rained a mighty storm upon herself for standing up, before members of Congress and live on C-SPAN to proclaim things are just not right in this staggeringly profitable business.
“She has asked many questions: Why is Halliburton — a giant Texas firm that holds more than 50 percent of all rebuilding efforts in Iraq — getting billions in contracts without competitive bidding? Do the durations of those contracts make sense? Have there been violations of federal laws regulating how the government can spend its money?
“Halliburton denies any wrongdoing. ‘These false allegations have been recycled in the media ad nauseam,’ the company said.”
http://news.findlaw.com
REPORT: CINDY TO BE BUSTED
And then there is the case/example of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, who has been picketing the President. David Swanson reports on the Daily Kos:
“Cindy Sheehan phoned me from Texas a few minutes ago to say that she’s been informed that beginning Thursday, she and her companions will be considered a threat to national security and will be arrested. Coincidentally, Thursday is the day that Rice and Rumsfeld visit the ranch, and Friday is a fundraiser event for the haves and the have mores. Cindy said that she and others plan to be arrested.”
http://www.meetwithcindy.org
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/8/124941/6758
