Subject:
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Backlash in the making
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 16 Jul 2003 02:41:08 GMT
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Viewed:
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212 times
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Grassroots Uprising Fights to Protect Rights and Freedoms
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0715-01.htm
In October 2001, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act setting aside many of our
individual freedoms for the sake of fighting terrorism. Since then, I’ve worried
about what’s happening to democracy.
Do we understand the threat USA PATRIOT poses to our civil liberties? Or are we
willing to give up our rights and freedoms in return for a promise of safety,
and shrug off the danger to democracy from an unaccountable government?
I’m not worried anymore.
By last week, 132 cities and counties and three states had passed resolutions
stating their intention not to cooperate with some provisions of USA PATRIOT.
Elected office-holders in these communities have publicly declared that they
will not abide by federal laws and orders that would compel them to accord the
people in their jurisdiction less than full rights and protections guaranteed to
all persons in the US Constitution.
Pattern of Corruption
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0715-02.htm
The story of how the threat from Iraq’s alleged W.M.D.‘s was hyped is now,
finally, coming out. But let’s not forget the persistent claim that Saddam was
allied with Al Qaeda, which allowed the hawks to pretend that the Iraq war had
something to do with fighting terrorism.
As Greg Thielmann, a former State Department intelligence official, said last
week, U.S. intelligence analysts have consistently agreed that Saddam did not
have a “meaningful connection” to Al Qaeda. Yet administration officials
continually asserted such a connection, even as they suppressed evidence showing
real links between Al Qaeda and Saudi Arabia.
America’s Unintelligence Community
http://www.boston.com:80/dailyglobe2/196/oped/America_s_unintelligence_communityP.shtml
And lest one think of this as heinous, it should also be noted that this
‘‘filtering’’ is exactly what the vast majority of Americans, politicians, and
‘‘opinion makers’’ employed in their eager rush to war last fall and winter.
Many of the Democrats and pundits now condemning an intelligence ‘‘deception’’
did exactly the same thing to support a war they were too cowardly to oppose -
ignoring the much noted evidence (enough to sustain UN opposition) that
contradicted patently ludicrous Bush administration claims.
This last one is amongst the most emailed stories of the day for the Boston
Globe. I guess I’d be interested to know just how many of these types of
stories are being passed around without as much hoopla as say posting a quote
from the article here.
I think people may be waking up from a bad period of telling themselves that
everything is going to be okay, when they damn well knew that things were not
okay but they also had no real idea of what to do instead of just “follow the
leader.” I think it’s possible that americans became so frightened about 9/11
that they pulled the proverbial first day in prison trick: fearing for your own
life and the sanctity of your lily-white rear end, you beat the hell out of
someone clearly weaker than you -- the point is to show a ferocious and
unwavering commitment to violence such that others will leave you alone for fear
of being on the receiving end of your wrath.
I will not yet go so far as to claim that the powers that be plotted the events
of, or even knew about, 9/11 in advance. But they were not above taking
advantage of the situation -- from day one -- such that they could make HUGE
$$$ if the story could be spun correctly or at least plausibly -- and that’s
what we have plausible deniability all around. “We thought X, but we were
overzealous. So sorry.” It helps if you smile and do a lot of flag waving too.
Americans love that flag waving bit -- so much more important than honest
patriotism or love of the U.S. Constitution.
But the fog lifts from the mind eventually. I think we are in the hang-over
period now. We can see the mess we have made of things -- vomitus on the floor,
lampshade about the neck, etc. -- and soon it will be time to make amends. First
we must tidy the house and make ourselves presentable again.
“I swear, Darling, I’ll never hit you again. It wasn’t me, it was the
situation...”
-- Hop-Frog
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