CITIZEN ALERT v1.63TALKING PEACE

The Ugandan peace talks are in jeopardy as the LRA has walked away twice from the table due to the Ugandan military mobilizing in the southern parts of the country they say. Sudan President Salva Kiir who is mediating the peace talks held separate meetings with both sides to try to continue the process. Hopefully, we will see a real peace instead of just both sides taking a breather and rearming themselves as some truces go.


Back in the U.S. of A.
Zogby puts Bush's approval rating at 42%.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.62IRAN, WORLD LEADER INJUVENILE EXECUTIONS

From the HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Iran: Juvenile Offenders Face
the Hangman’s Noose
Despite Two Reprieves, Iran Leads the World in Juvenile Executions

(Cairo, September 23, 2006) – The scheduled executions in Iran this week of two juvenile offenders – and their last-minute reprieve – highlight the country’s status as the world leader in juvenile executions, Human Rights Watch said.

In what would have been at least the 15th such execution in the past five years, Sina Paymard was scheduled to be put to death by hanging on September 20, two weeks after his 18th birthday. The second youth was Ali Alijan, now 19. Each was convicted of a murder committed under the age of 18. According to Paymard’s lawyer, the sentencing court did not properly consider evidence that Paymard suffered from a mental disorder.

Both youths received reprieves on Wednesday by the families of the victims, who exercised their option under Iran’s Islamic penal code to seek blood money in lieu of the death penalty. If an offer of blood money meets certain formalities – it must be in writing and notarized, for example – and the individual found responsible for the crime pays, there is no possibility of imposing the death penalty in the future for that crime. Capital punishment is by hanging for most crimes in Iran.

“Although these two youths were spared by last-minute acts of mercy, Iran has earned the dubious distinction as the world leader in executing child offenders,” said Clarisa Bencomo, children’s rights researcher on the Middle East at Human Rights Watch. “The Iranian authorities should abolish this repugnant practice at once.”

When a defendant has been sentenced to death in Iran, the victim’s family members are asked just before execution is carried out if they wish to offer forgiveness. Paymard’s pardon came after he was granted a final request to play the ney, a Middle Eastern flute. According to press accounts, his playing greatly affected those present to witness the execution, including the victim’s family members.

A third youth, who was either 20 or 21 at the time of his execution this week, was not granted a pardon by family members. It is not known whether he was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime for which he was convicted.

Two core international human rights treaties, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, prohibit the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of 18. Iran has ratified both treaties.

Iran has executed more juvenile offenders in the last five years than any other nation. It is known to have executed 14 juvenile offenders since 2001, including at least one earlier this year and eight in 2005. About 30 juvenile offenders are on death row in the country.

The United States, China, and Pakistan are the only other countries known to have put juvenile offenders to death since 2001. Pakistan has conducted two such executions, including one this year. China has executed two juvenile offenders. Five juvenile offenders were put to death in the United States during this period before the U.S. Supreme Court declared the juvenile death penalty unconstitutional in March 2005.

For five years, Iran’s parliament has considered legislation that would amend the civil code to prohibit executions for crimes committed under the age of 18. Human Rights Watch, which opposes capital punishment in all circumstances, urged Iran’s leadership to support these reforms.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.61CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESSTALKING POINTS

Losing the War on Terrorist Networks

America is losing the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq is the principal cause. An April National Intelligence Estimate—declassified yesterday by the Bush administration for political reasons only—reveals that jihadists are "are increasing in both number and geographic dispersion." A big reason why: the "Iraq conflict has become the 'cause celebre' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement." One of the main factors fueling terrorists: "the Iraq jihad." Meanwhile, the Bush administration has insisted that "America is winning the war on terror," "America is safer ," and the idea that Iraq is fueling terrorism "doesn’t hold water." Nevertheless, nothing in the NIE will come to a surprise to the nation's national security experts. A bipartisan survey of more than100 national security experts conducted by American Progress and Foreign Policy magazine found that overwhelming majorities believed: 1) we are losing the war on terror (84%), 2) the Iraq War is making the terror threat worse (87%), and 3) we are not safer (86%). “Staying the course” means putting America at risk.

The war in Iraq is increasing radicalism. In 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote a memo that famously asked this question: "Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?" The NIE definitively answers this question: "a large body of all-source reporting indicates that activists identifying themselves as jihadists...are increasing in both number and geographic dispersion." The Bush administration response? To undermine those conclusions and question the motives of the jihadists. White House Homeland Security Advisory Francis Frago Townsend also said of the new jihadists: "it's not clear that those are people willing to commit murder."


While the NIE paints an overall grim picture, there is evidence that it was overly optimistic and missed some key items. In a prediction that proved to be deadly wrong, the report says that if leaders like Musab al-Zarqawi were killed, "We assess that the resulting splinter groups would, at least for a time, pose a less serious threat to US interests than does al-Qaida." Zarqawi was killed in June. Since that time, violence in Iraq has increased sharply. In addition, “the declassified excerpts from the report make no mention of Afghanistan, where the war against al-Qaida began five years ago, but where the Taliban has rebounded in parts of the country and reconstruction efforts have flagged."

The administration continues to cherry pick the intelligence they make public. Yesterday, the White House only released three pages from a document that is reportedly 30 pages long. Yesterday, Jane Harman, the ranking member on the House intelligence committee said, "the body of the NIE provides additional information to support the key judgments, and I see no reason why it cannot also be declassified." In addition, there is another National Intelligence Estimate being created by the intelligence community that focuses specifically on Iraq. Yesterday, Harman "called for it to be shared with the American public -- before the November elections." Thus far, it hasn't even been shared with Congress. Yesterday, Townsend acknowledged its existence but said it wouldn't be ready for distribution, conveniently, until January 2007.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.60THE UNITED NATIONS

So, getting back to the e-mails and comments I’ve gotten over the UN in the past couple days. The general gist of the e-mails were that the UN was an institution that has become ineffective, corrupt, and unnecessary. Well, my answer to this is that the UN, while flawed, is completely necessary.

Shashi Tharoor the current United Nations Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information and one of the guys on the short list to succeed Annan explained as much as the UN has its screw ups, a lot of good has come of it, “Over the years, more than 170 UN-assisted peace settlements have ended regional conflicts. And in the past 15 years, more civil wars have ended through mediation than in the previous two centuries combined.” That’s not a bad track record.

One of the problems that people see with the UN is its current Secretary General, Kofi Annan who much to his critics delight will be stepping down this year after 10 years. Again, one of the men on the short list to replace him is Shashi Tharoor along with South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon who actually leads Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor has been working with the UN since he was 22, and is of Indian origin. He’s the author of several books both fiction and non-fiction which I plan on picking up this week, and, dang it, he has his own website - half devoted to his literary work and half to campaigning for the Sec. General gig. Come on! That’s funny!

Having read over some of his articles, questionnaires, and a recent interview in World Policy Journal, I find myself to be in agreement, at least so far, with his goals for the UN, and those are that the UN continues to be an important and necessary institution but one that would benefit from changes being made.

The planet is globalizing right before this generation’s eyes and we must have an organization in place to mediate objectively, and push the envelope of non-violence. The world and the UN changed drastically in the early 90s with the collapse of the Soviet Union leaving the U.S. as the sole super power and by default pitted against the United Nations. In effect, the UN has become the conscious of the Western World and must remain so until it is strengthened into an institution with real powers not just strings to pull.

With the e-mails, and debates I’ve had with friends over the admitted failures by the UN, and there have been terrible mistakes, you must remember that it is, as its name implies, “nations united” - participation is optional.

The UN does not maintain its own army; it is financed by its member states that do not always pay their dues. The United States is currently $1.2 billion behind, I believe, in our dues. Some of which were withheld to twist the UN’s arms from time to time, and also keep in mind that all peacekeeping missions must be approved by the UN Security Council which the U.S. sits on.

According to Tharoor, the 3 essentials for a peacekeeping mission are the orders, the financing and the political will. Well, we’ve already discussed the financing, so let’s look at will. The will of the UN members has always been in service of their own individual interests and that does not bring peace it brings spoils. If anything is to improve the impartiality of this peacekeeping body, the UNSC must be put in check.

The same people in this country that complain that the United States has become the police of the world are the same people I hear complain that we should leave the UN. Well, which is it? If you don’t feel like policing the world, then someone else has to and as soon as you turn the law over to that body then you no longer are above that law and must adhere to its decisions democratically.

The UN can work because it has no country, it has no land, no ulterior agenda, no home except loyalty to an ideal – and all this is in theory. But we must resign ourselves to the fact that while it works in theory it is easily corrupted and manipulated by the governments that hold the permanent seats and those permanent strings they so readily pull. And if we so resign ourselves to this fact then it must follow that we resolve to cut those said strings and free our best hope at uniting a peaceful world.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.59TUNE IN. SIT OUT.

On the FOX News program The Beltway Boys this weekend, Fred Barnes said that Wal-Mart has reduced poverty more than any government program by lowering their prices. Does this guy own stock? Is he that stupid? I had to replay the thing twice on my TIVO to make sure I was hearing what I was hearing.

Also, this weekend campaigning was in high gear as Bush spoke to a group of voters telling them that if Democrats take control of the Congress they will raise taxes and ruin this economy. It made me think that the DEMS are played time and time again on the tax issue to the point where they are synonymous with raising taxes and the REPUBS are synonymous with lowering them.

Let's switch it! Let's just sit out the next two elections. Let them keep Congress, let them keep the Whitehouse. These "Laffer Curve" worshippers have it coming to them. They know they can run the country on a deficit because eventually DEMS will come along and put a surplus back in by raising taxes. Don't give them the luxury! It would only take one more term.

Remember two term Reagan followed by "READ MY LIPS, NO NEW TAXES" Bush? Ha! Didn't work for 3 terms did it fellows! You gotta put the money back eventually. Let them try and run another 4 years with tax cuts and wars. Ain't gonna happen. They'll have to raise taxes and then bang! slam! smack! we rush in with a tax cut plan for Sam Walton's heirs and we're back in business on the otherside of the issue.

It might just work.


Naaaaaah.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.58WAR IS A RACKET

I had meant to answer some e-mails and put down my thoughts on the UN today, but this weekend I was bogged down in band stuff and what not, and I'd like to make sure I get my thoughts and answers to your e-mails down clear. So, I'll wait until my head is a little more focused. For now though, check out this excerpt from a speech given by General Smedley Butler.

Gen. Butler served 33 years in the US Marines and is one of only 19 people ever to receive TWO Congressional Medals of Honor - the highest decoration the US Military awards. The following is part of a speech he gave in 1933.


"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."

CITIZEN ALERT v1.57WHEN TO PUSH THE BUTTON

With the UN speeches and the detainee bill behind him, Bush aka El Diablo will I’m sure be concentrating on November 7 and helping REPUBS keep control of both houses. So, what does CITIZEN ALERT see in the next few weeks?

Well, on Wednesday I spoke of U.S. Air Force colonel Sam Gardiner telling Wolf Blitzer that the U.S. has been on the ground in Iran for 18 months and plans are at the Whitehouse for military action against Iran. So, we’re going to be bombing Iran by mid-October, yes? That would seem quite the October surprise for a President with a 44% approval rating. What I do see, and did see today was me filling up my car for $2.77 a gallon.

Thursday morning Tony Snow took some early morning questions in an informal press gaggle and when asked if the Administration is somehow manipulating gas prices ahead of the midterm elections, he said, "How do you manipulate global markets given the gigantic and complex forces that are involved in setting oil prices?"

Is he kidding? Back when Bush declared that the U.S. would tackle Iran’s uranium enrichment diplomatically gas prices started dropping. It’s been shown that Bush’s approval ratings inversely affect gas prices. So, I would expect the Bush administration to take their ire out on Democrats in the coming weeks instead of Iran to keep the gas prices in check and a few more, and I say very few, bucks in our pockets.

Does that mean after the election all bets are off? Will we storm Tehran on November 8th depending on who wins control of Congress. First off, I’m not placing any bets on who’s taking Congress. I know a lot of polls show DEMS 10 points ahead and all, but the REPUBS have control now and the ability to manipulate events up until election to their advantage. They have the home field so I’m not getting my hopes up, I'm just voting.

Having said that, I don’t think it would matter one way or the other who controlled Congress when it comes to Bush pushing the “go” button on Operation Third Times a Charm. Snow alluded to a very aggressive 2nd term for Bush as he is in the unique position of having a Vice President who is not running for election in 2008. There will be no looser cannons than Bush and Cheney in 2007-2008.

So, even though we are “on the ground in Iran”, any aggressive action before the election by our military would spike gas prices, and drill Bush’s approval ratings down to 30%, maybe 27%.

Tomorrow, let’s talk about a guy who’s on the short list to replace Annan as Secretary-General of the United Nations. I’ve been reading up on him, and so far I like him even though he may have ego problems. But, hey, that could be a good thing.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.56QUOTE OF THE DAY

Let's do more predictions tomorrow. For now I'll leave you with this:

"Under a government that imprisons unjustly,
the true place for a just man is also in prison."

Henry David Thoreau

CITIZEN ALERT v1.55THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY ON TUESDAY

Tuesday started out with a bang with a military coup in Thailand. While Prime Minister Shinawatra was in New York for the UN meeting his military was busy surrounding his offices with tanks.

Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin orchestrated the coup and has taken the role of Prime Minister while remaining loyal to their monarch and is himself a Muslim. Are we saying goodbye to this nearly 75 year old democracy and replacing it with yet another theocracy? Time will tell, although early reports on the streets have the people of Bangkok supporting the coup and glad to see Shinawatra go as they were fed up with his failing approach to that country's Muslim insurgency.

Back in New York at the UN Bush rolled out his "freedom on the march" speech to the General Assembly. I only saw President Karzai of Afghanistan nodding over and over again like a sitcom audience plant. Other heads of state were seen reading their brochures while Bush rocked back and forth at the podium reading from his speech like a first year public speaking student. Man, is he boring when he's delivering a speech.

After he wrapped up, I've never seen Condi and the others run so fast as to exit the room. I guess there were a few people they were trying to miss like say, President Ahmadinejad from Iran who spoke hours later telling the room that his country was peaceful and that the US had hijacked the UNSC and Bush was trying to start a war and on and on.

All these stories buried what should have been the top story of the day which was commentary on retired U.S. Air Force colonel Sam Gardiner going on CNN on Monday and telling Wolf Blitzer that the U.S. has been on the ground in Iran for 18 months and plans are at the Whitehouse for military action against Iran. Blitzer spent most of the interview trying to spin Gardiner away from his assertion but the retired colonel laid it out in no uncertain terms:


1) The House Committee on Emerging Threats recently called on State and Defense Department officials to testify on whether U.S. forces were in Iran. The officials didn’t come to the hearing.

2) “We have learned from Time magazine today that some U.S. naval forces had been alerted for deployment. That is a major step.”

3) “The plan has gone to the White House. That’s not normal planning. When the plan goes to the White House, that means we’ve gone to a different state.”

CITIZEN ALERT v1.54DUELING SPEECHES

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and President Bush are both set to address the UN General Assembly today. Look for Ahmadinejad to try to turn this is into a one-sided pseudo debate that he's been looking for with President Bush and expect Bush to probably not be there when he gives his speech.

Bush heads into the UN today with a bit less shine on his foreign policy. Along with France, both China and Russia are "hesistant" to support any sanctions against Iran for ignoring the August 31st deadline for enriching uranium just as CITIZEN ALERT predicted they would be back on August 24th. I call 'em like I see 'em people.

Bush's speech is to highlight his "freedom agenda". Yeah, right. This should be good. See CITIZEN ALERT v1.53 for his take on freedom.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.53PROOF THAT THE WORLD IS GREY

As much as conservatives like to claim the world is black and white so they can push their fear agenda, today's stunning story (coming as no great shock to me BTW) lays to rest the debate once and for all that while they may talk up a black and white world they ply their trade in a very grey one.

From the Washington Post today comes this story:

Canadian intelligence officials passed false warnings and bad information to American agents about a Muslim Canadian citizen, after which U.S. authorities secretly whisked him to Syria, where he was tortured, a judicial report found Monday.

Syria! The same country who in 2003 Rumsfeld accused of permitting Islamic "jihadis" to infiltrate Iraq to fight U.S. troops. The same country that Bush issued an Executive Order Blocking Property and Prohibiting the Export of Certain Goods to Syria. The same country that for years has always been "next on the list" to be knocked down by the United States.

So why would we be allowing this?

The inquiry, which focused on the Canadian intelligence services, found that agents who were under pressure to find terrorists after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, falsely labeled an Ottawa computer consultant, Maher Arar, as a dangerous radical. They asked U.S. authorities to put him and his wife, a university economist, on the al-Qaeda "watchlist," without justification, the report said.

Arar, now 36, was detained by U.S. authorities as he changed planes in New York on Sept. 26, 2002. He was held for questioning for 12 days, then flown by jet to Jordan and driven to Syria. He was beaten, forced to confess to having trained in Afghanistan -- where he never has been -- and then kept in a coffin-size dungeon for 10 months before he was released, the Canadian inquiry commission found.

O'Connor concluded "categorically there is no evidence" that Arar did anything wrong or was a security threat.

Although the report centered on Canadian actions, the counsel for the commission, Paul Cavalluzzo, said the results show that the U.S. practice of [extraordinary] renditions "ought to be reviewed."

Reviewed!? How about halted?! No, information coming from a guy who's been in a coffin size room is worth anything.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.52CONTINUING THEIR ATTACK

White House National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley appeared on FACE THE NATION this weekend to reiterate the Bush administration's threat to the American people that if congress doesn't redefine Common Article III then they will stop the CIA program used to interrogate prisoners.

When asked why they couldn't apply the same rules to the detainees that the FBI uses, Hadley said the FBI doesn't have the training that is needed in these interrogations which makes me wonder then why they have a most wanted terrorist list.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.51COMMON ARTICLE III

Article 3 describes minimal protections which must be adhered to by all individuals within a signatory's territory (regardless of citizenship or lack thereof): Noncombatants, combatants who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat (out of the fight) due to wounds, detention, or any other cause shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, including prohibition of outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.

Seems pretty cut and dry to me. Does it to you? Noncombatants or combatants who are no longer fighting because they've surrendered or have been imprisoned are to be treated humanely, and cannot be humilated or treated in a degrading way.

How clear is that? That paints some broad strokes for a very simple reason. It covers all forms of torture. The Bush administration finds Article 3 "vague". They want it changed with more specific wording i.e. whatever doesn't show up in the new version gives them clearance to perform that form of torture on detainees.

Consider this exchange at a press briefing with Tony Snow:

TONY SNOW: Some of the language in Common Article II -- Common Article III -- I'm sorry -- is vague. It is not unusual for the United States Congress in such circumstances to use legislation as a way of making clear our treaty obligations....In the case of Common Article III, of course, you have had some of -- the "prohibitions against cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment" -- that's important to figure out what that means. As you know, in --

REPORTER: It's vague to you?

MR. SNOW: Yes, it is.

REPORTER: Mean, cruel, inhuman, degrading?

MR. SNOW: Yes, because you have to specify exactly what you mean.

REPORTER: Keep smiling. (Laughter.)

Ouch!

Here's Bush, the brain trust that he is, giving his take on Article 3:

It's very vague. What does that mean, "outrages upon human dignity"? That's a statement that is wide open to interpretation.

What does that mean?! Are you kidding me? Next we'll have to explain what war means to him.

Bush has hit a brick wall thankfully with his own Republican Congress led by Republican Sens. John Warner of Virginia, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina as well as Colin Powell who chimed in with a letter earlier this week . One of the many points that they oppose is the classifying of evidence against a detainee -in effect, barring him from seeing the evidence being used to prosecute him. The Republicans rightly argue that this undermines the credibility of the court. Sometimes it seems Bush's own party has to remind him that in order to spread democracy you need to act democratically.

McCain also adds that, "Weakening the Geneva protections is not only unnecessary, but would set an example to other countries, with less respect for basic human rights, that they could issue their own legislative 'reinterpretations'. This puts our military personnel and others directly at risk in this and future wars."

Now, it was brought up this weekend on the McLaughlin Group that the Bush administration was redefining Common Article 3 to protect themselves (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc.) from possible prosecution of war crimes which is why I found this statement from the President during his Rose Garden press conference on Friday to be at best disturbing.

I will tell you this, I've spent a lot of time on this issue, as you can imagine, and I've talked to professionals, people I count on for advice -- these are people that are going to represent those on the front line of protecting this country. They're not going forward with the program. They're not going -- the professionals will not step up unless there's clarity in the law. So Congress has got a decision to make: Do you want the program to go forward or not?

He's basically calling the congress out on this one saying that if you don't give us this legislation then the programs come to a halt and the next terrorist attack is your fault. Now, back when everyone was giving him grief over his wiretapping program, he said he didn't care he was protecting American lives and wasn't going to stop the program no matter what. Here, he has suddenly changed his mind - he will stop the programs - he will stop protecting the American people, and if the changes he is requesting are in fact to protect his administration from war crimes, then he is telling the American people: If I go down, I'm taking you with me.

Bush is set to address the UN on Tuesday.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.50REPORT FROM CENTER FORAMERICAN PROGRESS

FRIST SLIPS INTERNET GAMBLING
PROVISION INTO DEFENSE SPENDING BILL:

"Looking to burnish his credentials with conservative Christians," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) "is making a last-minute attempt to attach a rider to the defense authorization bill that would crack down on the $12 billion online gambling industry." The bill he is looking to attach to spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan "would bar banks and credit card companies from processing payments for online bets and make it a crime for a gambling business to accept credit cards, wire transfers or any other bank instrument to process payments for illegal gaming transactions."

Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA) has sponsored similar legislation in the House. Frist has used defense bills to push unrelated legislation before. Last December, Frist inserted a provision into the 2006 Defense Appropriations bill - after conferees had signed off on the final report - to protect avian flu vaccine manufacturers from liability claims. The move promised "enormous financial relief for a small group of largely foreign-owned pharmaceutical companies."

CITIZEN ALERT v1.49GOODBYE ANN

Before I move on to today's CITIZEN RED ALERT, I must say goodbye to one of my favorite Governors, Ann Richards. Fellow Texan, fellow Baylor Alumni, she was fun to watch because she always spoke her mind and often in ways you wouldn't expect a politician to speak. She had her misteps and controversy but on the whole I enjoyed watching her career.

Now, on to today's RED ALERT! Remember, RED ALERTS mean you will be asked to BE A CITIZEN by participating in your own government.

Today is the day to send word out to our dear Governor, who has recently raised California minimum wage to the highest in the country, to further his education on liberal issues by sending him an urgent letter to support the passing of two bills.

The two most common causes of wrongful conviction are mistaken eyewitness identification and false confessions. Modern DNA evidence has proven that innocent people are sent to prison for crimes they did not commit far more often than we think. But we can change that.

The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice is a blue ribbon Commission chaired by former Attorney General John Van de Kamp, and made up of prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and defense attorneys. To prevent wrongful convictions and make sure that the guilty person is caught, the Commission has recommended that police be required to use modern, “best practices” in line up procedures and that all interrogations be recorded in cases of violent felonies.

Two bills passed by the California Legislature and on the Governor’s desk would make these reforms law.

SB 1544, authored by Senator Carole Migden, would improve California’s eyewitness identification procedures, using scientific standards. Improving these procedures will simultaneously decrease the rate of wrongful conviction and increase our ability to convict those who are truly guilty.

SB 171, by Senator Elaine Alquist, would require that interrogations of individuals in custody for violent offenses be electronically recorded. Experts agree that recording interrogations is the most important reform to prevent false confessions and ensure that the guilty are convicted.

Write to the Governor and urge him to sign SB 1544 and 171!

Click the link above and fill in your name and a letter is automatically generated for you and sent to the Governor. It's very simple and quite a little impressive system they have set up. You even have the option of writing your own letter.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.48THE BEST WAR EVER

Before I get into what I'll be blogging about today, can I just say that after listening to yesterday's fallout over Bush's very political speech on the 11th and hearing it reported that Tony Snow was saying that there was only 3 or 4 sentences in the speech pertaining to Iraq, I went and counted them. There were 25. Okay, off we go.

I was very happy to get an advanced copy of THE BEST WAR EVER a new book that will be hitting bookstores tomorrow by authors Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber the same guys that brought us Weapons of Mass Deception.

It is a damning look at why we are losing the war in Iraq starting with our prewar intelligence spun into a PR machine put out by the Bush administration that they themselves began to believe. Now, if you are politically aware and have been keeping up with events, then a lot of what's in the book is no big surprise but it makes a good read seeing it condensed into a timeline and more importantly sourced out for you which I loved.

For instance, even though I knew of the INC , the chapter regarding the Iraqi National Congress and Ahmed Chalabi was a highlight for me as it went in depth into the development of intelligence from this CIA funded organization that I had not seen before.

As the authors make a solid case for the government believing their own spin they also warn that the same officials who misled us into war with Iraq are now gearing up to argue for war with Iran. The authors urge all Americans to understand the lies that were told, and to hold accountable those responsible for creating and disseminating them.

You can check out a commercial for the book on You Tube right here.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.47LIKE NIGHT AND DAY

This just in on the newswire as I'm getting ready to shut down for the night. I'm sure more information will be available by the time we wake up in the morning.

AP - Gunmen apparently blew up a car outside the U.S. Embassy and exchanged fire with Syrian guards in a bold attack inside Damascus' diplomatic neighborhood Tuesday, a witness said.

A witness said two gunmen stopped a car on the street in front of the Embassy, got out and shot at the Syrian sentries in front of the building's entrance and then detonated the car. The security personnel shot back, and security forces in the area quickly rushed to the scene, said the witness who was in the area. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

It was not immediately clear if there were casualties. A U.S. Marine guard who answered the phone at the Embassy would not provide any information. In Washington, the State Department said it had no immediate information and was looking into news reports of the attack.

This made me think, so here's a thought for you to ponder for the day. Ever notice that terrorists usually attack in the day time so that you can see the death and destruction and America attacks late at night so that you cannot see the death and destruction.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.46TONIGHT ON KXLU

Tonight, Pepper will be appearing on KXLU 88.9fm to talk with neuz Pollution host Justin about the anniversary of 9/11.

For those out of state or out of range go to kxlu.com for a stream. 11pm PST. Also, appearing tonight is Bobot Adrenaline pals Pu$$y Cow performing live on the air.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.45MEET THE PRESS

Today on MEET THE PRESS while discussing the war on terror and Iraq, Dick Cheney said , "Americans don't have the stomach for the fight".

I find this hilarious and at the same time disgusting coming from someone who took FIVE deferments during the Vietnam War.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.44IT'S THE PEOPLE DUMMY

Chrystia Freeland from The Financial Times made an EXCELLENT point on the McLaughlin Group today as they were talking about whether Bush deserved credit for deflecting terror attacks on U.S. soil, and that is: what we have not seen in the U.S. is American born Muslims rising up in concert with their jihadist brethern around the globe as some pockets have done in Europe and abroad.

This speaks volumes, to me at least, that the American people and the American culture are more likeable, more adept at spreading our values and ideals, and on the whole will more easily absorb another culture's traditions, values and messages rather than our own American government.

It is the American government that has sparked terrorism across the globe and it is the American government that has waged its own war on terror and it will only be the will of the American people that brings a stop to this war, to this government's imperialist intentions, and any kind of lasting peace to the world.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.43REPORT FROM THE SOAW

An update from THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS WATCH

www.soaw.org

SOA Watch representatives Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Lisa Sullivan, Linda Panetta and Carlos Mauricio returned last week from an inspiring and incredibly successful trip to Chile, Peru and Ecuador, where they met with local human rights organizations, community organizers, and local government authorities to request that their respective governments discontinue sending military and police officers to be trained at the SOA/WHINSEC.

In Chile the four had the opportunity to meet with Defense Minister Vivianne Blanlot, who agreed to “suggest” to the army that they no longer send officers and troops to train at the SOA/WHINSEC. Congressperson Tucapel Jimenez, a member of the human rights commission of Congress, promised to introduce legislation which would require the president to order withdrawal of Chilean troops from the SOA/WHINSEC, hopefully at the beginning of October. Congressperson Jimenez’s father was a labor leader and was killed during the Pinochet regime. The person responsible for his murder, now serving jail time, is Carlos Herrera Jimenez, a graduate of the SOA. Over a half dozen human rights groups committed to organizing a vigil in Chile to correspond with the November 19 vigil at Ft. Benning.

In Ecuador, where the presidential race is ongoing, the SOA Watch delegation met with Presidential Candidate Leon Roldos, who was well aware of the role of the SOA in Ecuador and all of Latin America. He enthusiastically agreed to support the withdrawal of Ecuadorian troops from the SOA/WHINSEC.

And in Peru, SOA Watch met with Peru’s Prime Minister Jorge Del Castillo, only one day after his new cabinet was approved by Congress. SOA Watch shared concerns about Peru’s participation in the SOA/WHINSEC, and the Prime Minister expressed surprise that Peru was continuing to send troops there. He took information and promised to look into the matter with his cabinet. Congressperson Nancy Obregon indicated that she will make sure that the Prime Minister follows up with this request and offered to help in getting more Peruvian government officials on board with the work of withdrawing their troops from the SOA/WHINSEC.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.42BUSH MOVES THE CHESS PIECES AROUND THE BOARD

Well, Tony Snow certainly wasn't lying when he told the press room it was gonna be a big news day. I've never seen more orchestrated crap in my life! Just days before the 9/11 anniversary, and the Bush administration realizing that everyone's caught on to what a disaster their policies have gotten them into and in a blatant move to shift the weekend news to their stories they decide that yesterday was the day they'd better start doing stuff.

First up Bush announces that, yeah, we had secret CIA prisons overseas that were used to "interrogate" prisoners. Now, these top 14 suspects are been moved to Guantanamo Bay for their trials.

Now, let's look at that for a moment. If we're supposedly not torturing anybody, and they can be held at Guantanamo Bay now, then why couldn't they have been held there all along? "Why the two orders Col. Jessup"? They weren't being held at GITMO because they were in a country where THEY WERE BEING TORTURED! That's the only reason why they couldn't be there before but it's perfectly okay today.

And now, the trials of the detainees will be starting in the coming weeks I'm guessing. Is this our October surprise perhaps? A media blitz of trials and terrorists being carted off to jail for the 11 o'clock news?

And what of Afghanistan and Bin Laden? Well, they covered that yesterday as well.

U.S. troops on Wednesday launched a fearsome barrage of artillery and rockets into a mountainous militant stronghold in eastern Afghanistan where they suffered their deadliest combat loss more than a year ago.

Terrorists. CHECK Afghanistan. CHECK.

What about Iraq? When is the hand over going to be...oh, wait a minute.

Iraq will take control of its armed forces command on Thursday, a major step on its painful path toward independence and an essential move before international troops can eventually withdraw.

I heard a Congressman yesterday ask why we can send our kids to just 8 months of boot camp before we send them into a war, but it takes Iraq years to train.

IRAQ. CHECK.

The only thing missing yesterday was a kid down a well. This is how your government is arranging their agenda to run our country. Not what is best and most efficient, but how it will fit in their political timetable to save their jobs! Is this how you want your country run?

Watching Karl Rove roll out everything on Wednesday like he was a kid who waited til the last minute to clean up his room before his mom got home just reinforces what I was talking about yesterday. It’s their jobs and their friends first then the country.

Next thing you know they’re going to be putting out their own proganda films to coincide with elections just to make sure…oh, wait a minute.

I got this yesterday from DNC Executive Director Tom McMahon:

The ABC television network -- a cog in the Walt Disney empire -- unleashed a promotional blitz in the last week for a new "docudrama" called "The Path to 9/11". ABC has thrown its corporate might behind the two-night production, and bills it as a public service: a TV event, to quote the ABC tagline, "based on the 9/11 Commission Report".

That's false. "The Path to 9/11" is actually a bald-faced attempt to slander Democrats and revise history right before Americans vote in a major election.

The miniseries, which was put together by right-wing conservative writers, relies on the old GOP playbook of using terrorism to scare Americans. "The Path to 9/11" mocks the truth and dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims to serve a cheap, callous political agenda. It irresponsibly misrepresents the facts and completely distorts the truth.

Again, back to yesterday, the GOP has a two night docu-drama and we got Al Gore standing over here with a freaking slide show?!

CITIZEN ALERT v1.41MYPARTY

So, today I received my newsletter from Howard Dean with some exciting news that they were launching a new component of the Democratic Party's website called PARTYBUILDER. A social network modeled after MySpace where you can create your own profile, add other liberal friends, and stay in touch with other DEMS in your zip code or find out what DEM events are going down in your town.

Is this a good idea? Yes. Is it a great idea? Well, it would have been a great idea if the Republicans didn't send me the same message of launching their own MySpace knock off like 2 or 3 months ago with MyGOP.

Howard! Baby! Geez! You're my party (for the moment) and I believe you're the party with ideas, but when it comes to elections...agh! You're always chasing the REPUBS. Dean even admits in the newsletter, "When it comes to the mechanics of running elections, Democrats have in the past been accused of showing up to a gunfight with only a knife. " You don't say.

Here's how I break down the REPUBLICAN PARTY. They don't really care about your problems, they care about your vote. They don't really care about fixing important issues, they only care about how they can position themselves around them to get into office.

Examples: Republicans love to cut taxes. Doesn't matter that they run the country into a huge deficit; in their playbook the country can absorb a huge deficit and they all know that a good thing can't last forever and the DEMS will eventually get back in office and when they do, it's the DEMS that clean up the REPUBLICAN'S mess and balance the budget. Then the next election rolls around and it's "We're going to cut your taxes, and give you back YOUR money. Elect us!"

Another example: They are pro-life and pro death penalty, meaning they can go make speeches about saving babies and killing criminals while Democrats have to defend killing babies and saving criminals. Are we right? Of course, because it's not that oversimplified, but the conservatives can oversimplify anything to point where defending free speech becomes unpatriotic!

I'm getting really tired of these transparent patriots with their plastic moralities spewing out propaganda like they've got a pocket full of "Get out of Jail Free" cards in their breast pockets, and middle America stands there and asks for another spoonful.

Why are we the only ones that see right through the right?

Dean and his Democrats better come out swinging this election because when it comes to governing this country I think we have them beat hands down, but when it comes to running elections...well...where's our Diebold?

CITIZEN ALERT v1.40QUOTE OF THE DAY

Okay, this is Bush actually talking about U.S. Trade at his Labor Day speech at the Paul Haul Center in Piney Point, Maryland, but it still made me laugh...

And my message to the world is this: Just treat us the way we treat you. That's all we expect. We just want the rules to be fair...

Now, come on, that's just too good. I took it out of context but heck it's still funny even when talking about trade.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.39REPUBLICAN WANTS TIMETABLE

Rep. Christopher Shays, a Republican from Connecticut, seems to have taken a cue from watching Lieberman go down for his pro-war stance and has come out saying that while he still supports the war in Iraq, he'd like to see a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops. His excuse is that this will help drive home the point that the Iraqi government needs to pull it together.

The Republicans have no where to go but down as the election draws closer and they've pumped the congressional agenda for September full on National Security issues where they feel they can out shine the Democrats. But this latest tidbit may be a sign that a few Republicans are getting cold feet and may flee slightly to the left in an effort to save their elections since the war has become an aggravation for most Americans.

Will the October surprise be the Republican party splintering as they do on the immigration issue? One can only hope. Democrats better not let up on their attack as I'm sure the Republicans will have plenty of little booby trapped pieces of legislation lined up for Democrats to vote on before the election.

I think I will look into voting absentee on this one, thus "banking" my vote for the Democrats, so they can concentrate their efforts on other potential voters.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.38KXLU 88.9

Pepper will be appearing on KXLU 88.9fm on September 11th to talk about the anniversary of 9/11. For those out of state go to kxlu.com for a stream. 11pm PST.

CITIZEN ALERT v1.37THE VOLUNTEER CITIZEN

No political commentary today because I was off BEING A CITIZEN and doing my volunteer work for the week. Were you?

CITIZEN ALERT! v1.36BOXER DRIVES THE POINT HOME

Press Release of Senator Boxer

Boxer to Offer Sense of the Senate
Resolution Calling for Rumsfeld to be Replaced


Calls on Bush to stop scaring the American people and start protecting them



Thursday, August 31, 2006


Los Angeles, CA U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today announced that when the Senate returns to session and resumes consideration of the Defense Appropriations Bill, she will offer an amendment calling on the President to immediately appoint a new Secretary of Defense.

Boxer said, This latest Rumsfeld rampage cannot stand. By comparing critics of this Administrations policies in Iraq with those who wanted to appease fascism and Nazism in the run up to World War II, he is slandering the majority of the American people, who oppose the war in Iraq.

Boxers sense of the Senate resolution also points out that Secretary Rumsfeld failed to adequately plan for post-war operations in Iraq, leading to widespread violence, the rise of sectarian militias, and the rapid growth of the insurgency.

A number of retired generals who served our country with honor and distinction have called for Secretary Rumsfelds resignation over his mishandling of the Iraq war, including General Anthony Zinni, General Wesley Clark, Lieutenant General Greg Newbo ld, Major General John Batiste, Major General Charles Swannack Jr., Major General John Riggs, and Major General Paul Eaton, as well as numerous United States Senators.

Boxer also commented today on President Bushs speech in Utah this afternoon, saying This latest speech by the President was just a long repetition of old messages and rhetoric to scare the American people. The war in Iraq and the war on terror are not one and the sameits time to stop scaring the American people and start protecting them.


READ BOXER'S AMENDMENT HERE