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Kucinich
Is the One
by Studs Terkel -
The blue-collar Congressman is the one who can win back the Reagan
Democrats, the disenchanted, and the disfranchised. (more
on Kucinich here) 4/24/02
Letter to Bush From Physicians for Social
Responsibility Condemns 'Unending License' to Wage War
A spokesperson for Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR) spoke at the massive gathering before the
White House on 4/20, echoing comments made in this March 8
letter to Bush. The letter reminds Bush that America's support
on the war against terrorism "was not intended as an
unending license to permit unilateral, unauthorized attacks
anywhere on the globe or to drastically escalate US military
spending and overseas military bases, to promote massive arms
transfers, and to conduct diplomacy by threat. We are
particularly disturbed by bellicose, provocative rhetoric and
unilateral threats to sovereign nations, made outside the
framework of international law and without the support of the
international community. Such statements erode the honored place
of the United States as a nation that has, at its best, not only
defended freedom, but upheld human rights, international
cooperation, humanitarian aid, and the rule of international
law. " ....more
Rep. Cynthia MCKInney
In March 2002, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)
shocked the American political establishment by demanding answers
to the unanswered - and even unasked - questions about September
11. ...more
Thoughts
On Our War Against Terrorism
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info@whitecloud.com
See Also:
Bill Moyers' wake up call
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| VT:
WE SHALL NOT BE.... |
May
14 2002 |
Activists Occupy Jeffords' Office
BURLINGTON, VT - Calling on Senator
Jeffords to pull his support for Trade
Promotion Authority (Fast Track), a group of non-violent Vermont
activists has occupied and locked themselves together at his Main
St. office at 3:00 pm today. Refusing to leave, the group is
demanding that Senator Jeffords vote against Fast
Track and not allow the president to negotiate trade deals with
other nations without congressional or public debate on the creation
of such agreements.
Fast
Track takes the power to negotiate trade agreements away from
the US Congress and gives it to the Bush administration. Under Fast
Track, there are no checks and balances and Congress must vote
the entire free trade agreement up or down. Congress can make no
amendments or modifications to free trade agreements if they are
negotiated under Trade Promotion Authority. This has huge
implications for trade agreements like the Free
Trade Area of the Americas and other pending agreements.
[ read
the press release | philly
imc's alternatives to globalization ]
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Open Letter to
President George W. Bush
from Physicians for Social Responsibility
Please sign on to this letter and add your voice to those
calling for true leadership ensuring sustainability and human
survival, and decrying the our dangerously provocative foreign
policy. To sign on now, send an email to response@psr.org
with your name, affiliation, and degrees. Thank you.
March 8, 2002
President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. President,
We write to you on behalf of Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR), an organization which shares the Nobel Peace
Prize and which represents over 20,000 U.S. physicians and health
professionals deeply engaged with caring for our fellow humans and
the social, economic, and ecological systems essential to health
and well-being. We are profoundly concerned about the recent
pronouncements, policies, and priorities of your Administration in
the wake of the initial military response to the September 11
terrorist attacks on the United States.
US military actions to capture or destroy Al Qaeda and
eradicate its base of support from the former Taliban regime in
Afghanistan have been supported by most Americans. These efforts
are carried out with authorization from the United States Congress
and in accordance with the UN Charter's right of self-defense.
However, such authority was not intended as an unending license to
permit unilateral, unauthorized attacks anywhere on the globe or
to drastically escalate US military spending and overseas military
bases, to promote massive arms transfers, and to conduct diplomacy
by threat.
We are particularly disturbed by bellicose, provocative
rhetoric and unilateral threats to sovereign nations, made outside
the framework of international law and without the support of the
international community. Such statements erode the honored place
of the United States as a nation that has, at its best, not only
defended freedom, but upheld human rights, international
cooperation, humanitarian aid, and the rule of international law.
We are specifically opposed to:
 | The depiction of North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as an
"axis of evil," blurring distinctions between
nations and people, foreclosing diplomacy, and providing
rallying points for anti-American extremists.
| The proposed Defense budget increase of $48 billion,
composed mainly of bloated Cold War programs. This amount
alone is roughly double the entire sum the US spends annually
on all diplomacy, international relations, and aid. Just this
increase, by itself, exceeds the defense budget of any nation
in the world, with the exception of Russia. This is excessive
and will perpetuate a permanent US war economy.
| The unilateral abrogation of the ABM Treaty, the unilateral
renunciation of the Kyoto Protocol, the failure to support the
ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and
the failure to support any effective verification mechanisms
for the Biological Weapons Convention.
| The Nuclear Posture Review which foresees US nuclear weapons
possession and production throughout the 21st Century. This
stance flouts U.S. legal obligations under Article VI of the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and stimulates the
proliferation of nuclear weapons. Proliferation increases
terrorists' ability to obtain nuclear devices.
| The abandonment of long-standing US policy under various
Administrations to renounce the use of nuclear weapons against
nations which do not possess them. According to the
International Court of Justice, this is both morally
indefensible and legally impermissible.
Taken together, these and other actions of your
Administration are fueling anti-American sentiment worldwide.
Coupled with inattention to economic development, medical and
public health demands, environmental degradation, human
rights, education and other needs both abroad and at home,
such policies threaten, in the long term, to bring on the
instability, conflict, and terrorism we all seek to prevent.
We therefore call upon you to renounce unilateral military
actions and to carry out US foreign and military policies in
accordance with international law. We call upon you to shift
US priorities away from military solutions and toward nuclear
disarmament, the diplomatic resolution of conflicts, and the
fulfillment of worldwide human needs.
As President, we call upon you to lead Americans in
overcoming fear and reclaiming our core democratic values
after the tragic events of September 11. This goal cannot be
accomplished by military action alone. You must lead us in
declaring our love of civil rights, freedom, and fairness.
Lead us in a renewed American commitment to the painstaking
work of peaceful, collaborative conflict resolution. Lead us
to a world united in oneness of purpose as we confront global
military and environmental threats to human health,
sustainability, survival. Such leadership, we believe, will be
most consistent with our long-term security interests and with
America's deepest values. We will look forward to working
along with you and with all Americans to achieve these aims.
Sincerely,
Robert K. Musil, PhD, MPH
Executive Director and CEO
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Roy Farrell, MD
President
Physicians for Social Responsibility
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