[Peace-discuss] News notes, 1/06/02 (Part 2 of 2)

[C. G. Estabrook]

[continued from part 1]

FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2002

MILITARY MOVES. There's a naval blockade along Somalia's 1,800-mile
coastline. [WALL ST JOURNAL] U.S. military is preparing for its first
prolonged stay in a former Soviet Union republic. American warplanes and
troops from the 101st Airborne Division will be setting up base in
Kyrgyzstan as early as next week, a senior Pentagon official says. The
move may strain relations with Russia and China, both uncomfortable with
an extended U.S. presence in central Asia. [USA TODAY]

Federal prosecutors will not be filing charges against New Jersey Sen.
Robert Torricelli, ending a three-year probe into illegal campaign
contributions. The matter will now be passed along to the Senate Ethics
Committee. The papers agree on the decision's major
ramification-Torricelli will almost certainly be re-elected to his seat
later this year, and Democrats have a better shot at keeping Senate
control. [NY TIMES] [The Torricelli case is reminiscent of the one
involving Michael Espy in which the former Agriculture Secretary was
acquitted of taking bribes while Tyson food pled guilty to illegal gifts
to Espy and is still on criminal probation. Moral: it is more blessed (and
much safer) to receive than to give.] *** CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY - No
charges will be filed against Sen. Robert G. Torricelli, D-N.J., in
connection with allegations he received unreported gifts from a New Jersey
businessman, federal prosecutors said today. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Mary
Jo White said in a one-page statement that she reached the decision after
"an exhaustive investigation" by her office, the FBI, the Internal Revenue
Service and the U.S. Customs Service, the Associated Press reported. . .
Torricelli repeatedly insisted he did nothing out of the ordinary to
assist Chang, whose accusations were central to the federal investigation.
Chang pleaded guilty to making $53,700 in illegal donations to
Torricelli's 1996 Senate campaign and agreed last year to work with
investigators. He has told prosecutors the senator accepted gifts in
return for intervening in Chang's business deals in North and South Korea.
*** WASHINGTON POST - Before Chang pleaded guilty, Torricelli had embraced
him as a friend. The two traveled to South Korea in 1999, where Torricelli
took Chang to a meeting with Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil. Chang proposed
to buy the Korea Life Insurance Co., then under government control. Chang
also sought Torricelli's help in recovering $71 million he contended the
North Korean government owed him for a grain shipment. There were other
instances when Torricelli helped the man he now condemns as a liar. For
example, Chang was introduced to President Bill Clinton at a Torricelli
fundraiser, and Torricelli vouched for Chang's legitimacy with Democratic
National Committee Chairman Terence McAuliffe when McAuliffe hired on as a
consultant for Chang in Korea. Torricelli also helped Chang when he sought
a State Department meeting on a plan to import zinc from North Korea. ***
NY TIMES - After coming under investigation by the Justice Department's
Campaign Financing Task Force, Mr. Chang admitted in June 2000 to having
obstructed justice, tampered with a federal witness and made more than
$50,000 in illegal contributions to Mr. Torricelli's candidacy. As part of
a plea bargain, people involved in the case said, Mr. Chang, 58, told
federal investigators he had also given Mr. Torricelli a series of lavish
gifts and tens of thousands of dollars in cash. Mr. Chang's purchase of
some of the gifts he mentioned - expensive watches, an Oriental rug and
tailored Italian suits - was quickly confirmed by FBI agents. In several
cases, people involved in the inquiry said, there was also some
corroborating evidence that the gifts were delivered to Mr. Torricelli. It
was also revealed that contrary to a series of public statements by Mr.
Torricelli, his lawyers and his aides, he went to considerable lengths to
help Mr. Chang, writing letters, making introductions and lobbying foreign
officials. [PROGRESSIVE REVIEW]

Three years after then 17-year-old Londonderry High School student Joseph
Heirtzler was charged with drug possession and distribution after being
questioned and searched by school officials, the New Hampshire Supreme
Court gave Heirtzler and legions of New Hampshire students to come a
constitutional Christmas present. On December 24, the court ruled that his
interrogation and search was unconstitutional because school officials
were acting as agents of the police, but failed to afford Heirtzler the
constitutional protections (e.g. a Miranda warning) police must grant
criminal suspects. [DRC NET]

SATURDAY, JANUARY 05, 2002

President Eduardo Duhalde said devaluation of the peso was a foregone
conclusion in "bankrupt" Argentina, and issued a dire warning that any
further economic setbacks would lead to a bloodbath. He made the remarks
as Congress was due to consider the new government's urgent economic
recovery plan. The cornerstone of the package is the scrapping of a
decade-old law tying the peso to the dollar at a one-to-one rate, a move
certain to lower the value of the Argentine currency. [AGENCE
FRANCE-PRESSE]

R. MCCHESNEY & J. NICHOLS. No one should be surprised by the polls showing
that close to 90 percent of Americans are satisfied with the performance
of their selected President, or that close to 80 percent of the citizenry
applaud his Administration's seat-of-the-pants management of an undeclared
war. After all, most Americans get their information from media that have
pledged to give the American people only the President's side of the
story. CNN chief Walter Isaacson distributed a memo effectively
instructing the network's domestic newscasts to be sugarcoated in order to
maintain popular support for the President and his war. Fox News anchors
got into a surreal competition to see who could wear the largest American
flag lapel pin. Dan Rather, the man who occupies the seat Walter Cronkite
once used to tell Lyndon Johnson the Vietnam War was unwinnable, now says,
"George Bush is the President.... he wants me to line up, just tell me
where." [NATION -- Media issue, 1/7]]

Nelson Mandela, who was criticized in some quarters for coming out
strongly in support of the American-led campaign against terrorism, said
that he may have overstated his backing for the war and that his earlier
comments may have unintentionally suggested that he was ignoring the
conflict's toll on ordinary people. "Our view may have been one-sided and
overstated," said Mr. Mandela, a Nobel Peace laureate as well as South
African's first post-apartheid president. He added that "such unreserved
support for the war in Afghanistan gives the impression that we are
insensitive to and uncaring about the suffering inflicted upon the Afghan
people and country." [NY TIMES]

MID-EAST REALITIES - The Palestinian Authority on Thursday closed down the
offices of the "Hebron Times," an independent weekly newspaper published
in the southern West Bank town of Hebron. The paper's editor, Walid
Amayreh, said more than 30 Palestinian security operatives arrived at the
offices of the paper shortly after midnight with an order to close his
tabloid-like weekly. "They told me that they were acting under duress and
that they were embarrassed but had no choice." Earlier, a high-ranking PA
security official intimated that CIA officials had recommended the closure
of the paper for being overly critical of Israel and US policy toward the
Palestinian people. "It is lamentable that the United States which values
press freedom at home is bullying the Palestinian Authority to suppress
press freedom in Palestine. What happened to the American First Amendment,
or maybe it doesn't apply to non-Americans?" Amayreh asked rather
bitterly. The Hebron Times occasionally hosted Islamist columnists, such
as Nayef Rajoub, a brother of PA Security Chief Jebril Rajoub. Last week
the editors of the Hebron Times were summoned to the Hebron Governor's
office where they were told to tone down the paper's criticisms of
American policy. Amayreh said he would sue the PA for damage. "This is a
licensed publication, we didn't violate the press law or any other law,
the PA itself didn't cite any wrongdoing on our part, so the closure is
absolutely illegal. The paper was the only source of income for more than
ten families, the CIA-ordered closure of the paper means that ten families
are going to live in poverty, and poverty breeds lots of nasty things." A
PA official, who asked for anonymity, said "Amayreh is absolutely right,
but we are obliged to close the paper, because the Americans and the
Israelis want it to be closed because they don't like it, and we can't say
no."

RICHARD DUBOFF.  1. In December 2001, the United States officially
withdrew from the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty. . . 2. 1972
Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention ratified by 144 nations including
the United States. In July 2001 the US walked out of a London conference
to discuss a 1994 protocol designed to strengthen the Convention by
providing for on-site inspections. . . 3. UN Agreement to Curb the
International Flow of Illicit Small Arms, July 2001: the US was the only
nation to oppose it. 4. April 2001, the US was not reelected to the UN
Human Rights Commission, after years of withholding dues to the UN
(including current dues of $244 million)-and after having forced the UN to
lower its share of the UN budget from 25 to 22 percent. . . 5.
International Criminal Court Treaty, to be set up in The Hague to try
political leaders and military personnel charged with war crimes and
crimes against humanity. Signed in Rome in July 1998, the Treaty was
approved by 120 countries, with 7 opposed (including the US). . . 6. Land
Mine Treaty, banning land mines; signed in Ottawa in December 1997 by 122
nations. The United States refused to sign, along with Russia, China,
India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Egypt, and Turkey. . . 7. Kyoto
Protocol of 1997, for controlling global warming: declared "dead" by
President Bush in March 2001. . . 8. In May 2001, [the US] refused to meet
with European Union nations to discuss, even at lower levels of
government, economic espionage and electronic surveillance of phone calls,
e-mail, and faxes (the US "Echelon" program), 9. Refused to participate in
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development-sponsored talks in
Paris, May 2001, on ways to crack down on off-shore and other tax and
money-laundering havens. 10. Refused to join 123 nations pledged to ban
the use and production of anti-personnel bombs and mines, February 2001
11. Withdrew from International Conference on Racism, bringing together
163 countries in Durban, South Africa 12. International Plan for Cleaner
Energy: G-8 group of industrial nations (US, Canada, Japan, Russia,
Germany, France, Italy, UK), July 2001: the US was the only one to oppose
it. 13. Enforcing an illegal boycott of Cuba, now being made tighter. In
the UN in October 2001, the General Assembly passed a resolution, for the
tenth consecutive year, calling for an end to the US embargo, by a vote of
167 to 3 (the US, Israel, and the Marshall Islands in opposition). 14.
Comprehensive [Nuclear] Test Ban Treaty. Signed by 164 nations and
ratified by 89 including France, Great Britain, and Russia; signed by
President Clinton in 1996 but rejected by the Senate in 1999. . . 15. In
1986 the International Court of Justice (The Hague) ruled that the US was
in violation of international law for "unlawful use of force" in
Nicaragua, through its actions and those of its Contra proxy army. The US
refused to recognize the Court's jurisdiction. A UN resolution calling for
compliance with the Court's decision was approved 94-2 (US and Israel
voting no). 16. In 1984 the US quit UNESCO and ceased its payments for
UNESCO's budget, over the New World Information and Communication Order
project designed to lessen world media dependence on the "big four" wire
agencies (AP, UPI, Agence France-Presse, Reuters). . . 17. Optional
Protocol, 1989, to the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, aimed at abolition of the death penalty and containing a provision
banning the execution of those under 18. The US has neither signed nor
ratified and specifically exempts itself from the latter provision, making
it one of five countries that still execute juveniles . . . 18. 1979 UN
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women. The only countries that have signed but not ratified are the US,
Afghanistan, Sao Tome and Principe. 19. The US has signed but not ratified
the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which protects the
economic and social rights of children. The only other country not to
ratify is Somalia, which has no functioning government. 20. UN
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966,
covering a wide range of rights and monitored by the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The US signed in 1977 but has not
ratified. 21. UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime
of Genocide, 1948. The US finally ratified in 1988, adding several
"reservations" to the effect that the US Constitution and the "advice and
consent" of the Senate are required to judge whether any "acts in the
course of armed conflict" constitute genocide. . . 22. The three best aid
providers, measured by the foreign aid percentage of their gross domestic
products, are Denmark (1.01%), Norway (0.91%), and the Netherlands (0.79),
The three worst: USA (0.10%), UK (0.23%), Australia, Portugal, and Austria
(all 0.26). [Z MAGAZINE]

JOE CALDERONE. A respected firefighting trade magazine with ties to the
city Fire Department is calling for a "full-throttle, fully resourced"
investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center. A signed
editorial in the January issue of Fire Engineering magazine says the
current investigation is "a half-baked farce." The piece by Bill Manning,
editor of the 125-year-old monthly that frequently publishes technical
studies of major fires, also says the steel from the site should be
preserved so investigators can examine what caused the collapse. "Did they
throw away the locked doors from the Triangle Shirtwaist fire? Did they
throw away the gas can used at the Happy Land social club fire? . . .
That's what they're doing at the World Trade Center," the editorial says.
"The destruction and removal of evidence must stop immediately." . . . A
growing number of fire protection engineers have theorized that "the
structural damage from the planes and the explosive ignition of jet fuel
in themselves were not enough to bring down the towers," the editorial
stated. [NY DAILY NEWS]

Abbott Laboratories, Argenbright, Bayer, Coke, Enron, Exxon Mobil, Philip
Morris, Sara lee, Southern Co. and Wal-Mart have been named the 10 worst
corporations of 2001, in Multinational Monitor magazine's annual listing.
"These behemoths have ripped off the public, polluted the environment,
abused their workers and debased our culture," said Robert Weissman,
editor of Multinational Monitor. "They appear in our lives everyday,
disguised as 'respectable members of the community.' They deserve public
opprobrium, and, in many cases, government sanction." Abbott Laboratories
made the 10 worst list for its TAP Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture with
Japanese Takeda Pharmaceuticals. TAP was forced to pay $875 million to
resolve criminal charges and civil liability in connection with
allegations of major Medicare reimbursement fraud.
	Argenbright, the security company, was named to the list for
repeat violations of regulations for airport security. Argenbright's
appalling record helped convince Congress to federalize U.S. airport
security operations.
	Bayer appears on the list for its overcharge of the government and
public for the anti-anthrax drug Cipro, as well as dangerous peddling of
antibiotics for poultry (contributing to antibiotic resistance among
humans) and its harassment of a corporate accountability group.
	Coca Cola was named among the 10 worst for its sponsorship of the
first Harry Potter movie and possible sequels, using a children's favorite
to hawks its unhealthy product, and for alleged complicity with death
squads in Colombia targeting union leaders there.
	Enron made the 10 worst list for costing many of its employees
their life savings by refusing to let them dump Enron stock from their
pension plans, as the company plunged toward bankruptcy.
	ExxonMobil earned a spot on the list for leading the global
warming denial campaign and blocking efforts at appropriate remedial
action, plus a host of other reckless activities.
	Philip Morris asserted its claim to be among the 10 worst by
virtue of a "we've changed" marketing campaign - revealed to be a hoax by
a Czech study it commissioned alleging the cost savings from
smoking-related premature death, as well as the company's ongoing efforts
to addict millions of new smokers.
	Sara Lee was named to the list because of a scandal involving its
Ball Park Franks hot dogs. Contaminated hot dogs due to company negligence
killed 21. Southern Co., the largest electric utility in the United
States, grabbed a place on the list for its efforts to defeat sensible air
pollution regulations.
	Wal-Mart secured its place among the 10 worst by mistreating
workers domestically and abroad, and by contributing to the sprawl that
blights the U.S. landscape.
	Corporations on Multinational Monitor's 10 worst list appear
alphabetically, and are not ranked internally.

New unemployment figures: up to 5.8%, with another 124,000 jobs lost. The
numbers might have been worse were it not for unexpected hiring in health
and government. "The new numbers are pretty ugly," says a LA economist.
"They show the economy wasn't declining as fast in December as it did in
previous months, but it was still declining." White-collar and
college-educated workers suffered the steepest losses. [LA TIMES]

In 1942, John B. Hughes of the Mutual Broadcasting Company opens an attack
on Japanese Americans in California. He charges they are engaged in
espionage & their dominance in produce production & control of the food
supply are part of a master war plan. The press attack is joined by
"patriotic" organizations & white farming interests. President Roosevelt
authorizes interning west-coast Japanese Americans in remote desert
concentration camps.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2002

Our syntactically-challenged president declared yesterday, :"Not over my
dead body will they raise your taxes," which implies that it will be
useless to kill him in order to raise taxes. Unable to get the cliche
right, Bush actually seems to have meant ONLY over his dead body, etc. --
i.e., that he'd oppose with his life (metaphorically speaking) the raising
of taxes. The Times continues,
	"Mr. Bush also used the Portland speech to suggest for the first
time that voicing a terrorist creed would be viewed by his administration
in the same terms as committing an act of terrorism. He told the crowd
that anyone "who espouses a philosophy that's terrorist and bent [sic], I
assure you we will bring that person to justice." His aides did not
elaborate...
	"But Mr. Bush said little new about the war and offered no hint of
where it would lead next, but twice he called the effort in Afghanistan
"the first front," reminding his audience that he was committed to routing
out terrorist groups elsewhere." [NY TIMES]

"The NYT fronts a story on Taliban-less Afghanistan, a land of thieving
warlords and guerillas, or as a skeptic might put it, capitalists."
[SLATE]

	* * *

	WAR PARTY VS. THE CONSTITUTION By Patrick J. Buchanan

With the Taliban dethroned and Osama dead or on the run, the War Party has
begun pulling down the invasion maps of Iraq. Op-ed pages and the little
magazines are in full blossom with fresh war plans.
	One scheme is to make the Iraqi National Congress our Northern
Alliance, march it out of Kuwait, capture Basra, cut off Saddam's oil
exports, and force his Revolutionary Guard to come out and fight - where
they could be cut to pieces by U.S. air power.
	But the military reception to this scheme has not been kind.
	Alluding to the Bay of Pigs, where anti-Castro Cubans sent in by
JFK were all dead or POWs in 48 hours, Gen. Anthony Zinni has called this
plan a "Bay of Goats," adding the United States would not "let some
silk-suited, Rolex-wearing guys in London gin up an expedition."
	Another senior official reverted to barracks vocabulary to
describe the neoconservatives behind this scheme as half-tailed "pissants"
who never "smelled cordite."
	The War Party now concedes U.S. troops will probably be needed to
crush Iraq. One plan calls for 50,000 U.S. troops to enter from Turkey,
linking up with the Kurds, and another 50,000 to head north from Kuwait.
Still another plan calls for virtual carpet-bombing.
	What all these war plans lack, however, is an indispensable
element. President Bush does not have the authority to launch a war on
Iraq.
	The Joint Resolution of Congress authorizing the attack on
al-Qaida and Afghanistan is specific: "[T]he President is authorized to
use all necessary and appropriate forces against those nations,
organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, or committed,
or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or
harbored such organizations or persons ..."
	Thus far, no hard evidence linking Iraq to Sept. 11 has been
presented to the nation. Where, then, does Bush get the authority to make
war on that country?
	Indeed, the constant clamor of the War Party for "Action This
Day!" is taking on an aspect of desperation, rooted in a fear perhaps
that, if Bush does not strike now, the moment will pass and their window
will close. But if the War Party has a persuasive case to make for war,
why are they trying to stampede us?
	After all, President Bush's father faced a more formidable Iraq in
1990, but made his case for war to Congress and the country over six
months and won the support of both. Why does the War Party want to
circumvent the Constitution? What is its hidden agenda?
	We are told Iraq is acquiring weapons of mass destruction and we
must act now! But so are Libya and Syria, and Iran is even closer to a
nuclear capacity. North Korea has atomic weapons, and we give them foreign
aid. China has pointed atomic weapons at U.S. cities, and we just
chaperoned her into the WTO. Why is Iraq, with a defense budget 1 percent
of ours, the greater threat?
	Comes the reply: If Saddam gets weapons of mass destruction, he
will use them on his neighbors, or us. But all those neighbors - Turkey,
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Egypt - are telling us not to attack
Iraq and warning us not to expect assistance if we do. And why would
Saddam, who is grooming his younger son as his heir and who has built
monuments to himself all over Iraq, order an act of terrorism against
America that would rain down fire and destruction on him, his regime, his
dynasty and his legacy. Evil though he may be, the man seems more a crafty
survivor than a crazed suicide bomber.
	Even so, on this issue of Iraq, the War Party may be right.
	Perhaps Saddam will secretly acquire some awful weapon and use it
in a suicide attack on America, and bring down the wrath of the United
States on his head. But if the War Party believes this, let it make its
case to Congress for a formal declaration of war. Why are they reluctant?
	Today, Bush has united this country behind his campaign to punish
those responsible for Sept. 11 and has built an international coalition
that includes old adversaries like Russia. But if it is vital to our
national security to oust Saddam - even if it means dividing America and
shattering that coalition - let this president do as his father did: Make
the case to the country and Congress, and ask for the constitutional
authority to make war. No more presidential wars.
	When the 13 colonies declared their independence, Jefferson gave
the world our reasons, to show "a decent respect to the opinions of
mankind." Ought we not do the same?
	As for those who would bypass the Constitution to make war, before
their country has had time to reflect on its consequences, they should
cease to call themselves conservatives, "neo" or otherwise.

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